he said.
Yeah. Right. It was a form of greeting that she could do without. Especially because kissing Clint Westmoreland made her want to indulge in other things. Things that were better left alone.
“Like I said, Alyssa,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “The key is self-control. As much as I want you and as much as kissing you places temptation in my path, I promise I won’t take our attraction to the next level. I have too much work to do around here to get involved with a woman—in any way,” he said.
She admired his iron-clad control...if he really had it. He sounded so confident, so sure of himself, she would love to test his endurance level to see what it could or could not withstand.
“But I have to admit you bring something to the table a lot of women haven’t,” he said.
She glanced over at him and her pulse jumped at the way he was looking at her.
“And what might that be?” she asked softly.
“Although it’s only on paper, you’re my wife. Perhaps it is because I’ve seen things from a male perspective, but it’s as if knowing you’re bound to me is opening up desires and urges that I usually don’t have. The fact that we are married makes me crave things.”
She frowned. In other words, having a woman under his roof was making him horny, Alyssa quickly surmised. “Then I need to add another condition to my visit. That from a female perspective, whatever desires are opening up for you, I suggest that you take your time and close them. I may not have all the self-control you claim to have, but I have no interest in getting involved with a man—in any way. Besides, if I were to get involved with a man it would have to be serious. I’m not into casual relationships where the only goal is relieving sexual frustrations,” she said.
He was silent for a moment as he stared at her, and for a fraction of a second she thought she saw a challenging glint in his gaze. And then he said, “I won’t try getting you into my bed...or yours...but I won’t promise to keep my mouth to myself. I can’t see us denying ourselves that one bit of indulgence.”
“Why? When it won’t lead anywhere?”
He inclined his head. His gaze locked with hers. “I desire you. Kissing you is a way to work you out of my system. I believe the same could be said for you, as well. At the end of the thirty days I suspect you will be ready to leave as much as I’ll be ready for you to leave,” he said.
Alyssa held his gaze and read what she saw in his eyes. He really believed that and she would go even further to say he was counting on it.
“Because we would have kissed each other out of our systems by then?” she asked, needing to be sure she understood his logic in all of this.
“Yes,” he replied evenly.
“And you think you’re that elusive and wild at heart.”
He lifted a brow. “Wild at heart?”
“Yes. You don’t think there’s a woman who exists who’s capable of capturing your heart,” she said.
“I know there’s not.”
He had said the words with such venom that she was forced to ask. “Have you ever been in love, Clint?”
She could tell by the look that appeared in his eyes that her question surprised him. She saw the way his shoulders tightened, the firm grip he held on his coffee cup and knew she had waded into turbulent waters.
For a while she thought he wasn’t going to respond, but then he did.
“No,” he said.
For some reason she didn’t believe him. Not that she thought he was lying to her, but she figured that the love he might have had for someone had been so effectively destroyed that it was hard to recall when that emotion had ever gripped his heart. It had been that way for her after she’d discovered what Kevin had done. It was as if her love had gotten obliterated with that one single act of unfaithfulness. She couldn’t help wondering about the woman who had crushed Clint’s heart.
“Are you satisfied with our agreement?”
Alyssa dragged in a deep breath. The issue of them kissing hadn’t been fully resolved to her liking, but the way she saw it, he was not a man to force himself on anyone. If she resisted his kisses enough times, he would find some other game to amuse himself. “Yes, I’m satisfied,” she said.
“So, are you agreeing to remain here for thirty days, live under the same roof with me?”
Intimate images flooded her mind. She forced them out. His home was humongous. His bedroom was on one side of the house and hers on the other. Chances were there would be days when their paths wouldn’t even cross. “Yes, I’m agreeing to do just that,” she said.
He nodded. “I’ll call Hightower and let him know. By the way, what about more clothes for you? You only brought an overnight bag,” Clint said.
“I spoke with my aunt yesterday and she told me if I decided to stay she would send me some things.”
“Your aunt is the only family you have?”
She might as well be, she wanted to say.
“No, I have an uncle and several cousins,” she said instead. “My mother sent me to live with my grandfather and Aunt Claudine when I was thirteen. Over the years Aunt Claudine has become a surrogate mother to me,” she added.
“And your grandfather?”
A pain settled in her heart. She wanted to correct him so badly.
“My grandfather died four years ago,” she said softly.
“That was about the same time I lost my mother,” he said, looking down at the coffee in his cup. She could hear the sadness in his voice. He glanced up and at that moment an emotion passed between them—a deep understanding of how it felt to lose someone you truly cared about.
“Were you close to her?” she asked.
“Yes. Casey, Cole and I were her world and she was ours. She and Uncle Sid, along with Chester and the other old-timers on the ranch were our family. What about your mother? You said she sent you to live with your grandfather and aunt when you were thirteen. Do the two of you still keep in touch?”
In a way Alyssa wished he would have asked her anything but that. That her mother could so easily send her away and not stay in touch was still a pain that would occasionally slither through her heart.
“No. I haven’t seen or heard from my mother since the day she sent me away,” she said.
Deciding she didn’t want to subject herself to any more of his inquiries about her family, she stood. “I need to make a few calls. In addition to contacting my aunt, I need to make sure I have everything I need to continue my business while I’m here. That means I will need to use your computer a lot,” she said.
“I don’t have a problem with that.”
Alyssa nodded. “Okay. I’m sure you have a lot to do today, as well,” she said, picking up her plate and cup and carrying both over to the sink. “And since today is Chester’s day off, I’ll take care of the dishes as soon as I’ve made those calls.”
With nothing else to say, Alyssa walked out of the kitchen.
* * *
Clint continued to sit at the table. From the moment he had gotten the letter from the bureau advising him of his marriage to Alyssa, he had simply assumed that getting out of the marriage would be easy—a piece of cake. He had miscalculated on a number of things. First, the bureau being so hard-nosed over such a blatant mistake and second, his attraction to the woman who was legally his wife. Now, he was fully committed to go to extraordinary restrictions to keep his hands off of her. In other words, to stay out of her bed and to make sure she stayed out of his.
Neither would be easy.