He stroked up her side then down again, feeling the little shudder that worked through her at the caress.
She breathed out heavily. “Are you going to break my heart, Rick?” she asked then.
He breathed in slowly, almost regretfully. “Only if you let me, Hannah. Please don’t let me.”
She stared back at him for long moments before nodding and moving away from him.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She glanced back at him, her gaze somber, thoughtful. “I need to get ready.”
“I’ll wait right here,” he promised. He wasn’t going anywhere, not yet, not without her.
HOW DO YOU stop a man that you’re completely fascinated with from breaking your heart? Hannah wondered as dinner drew to a close and she sat back in her chair to enjoy the glass of wine she had ordered.
Rick sat across from her, his golden-brown gaze hooded, sensual, watching as she sipped at the wine.
He had talked. They’d discussed his s
on, Kent, and the camping trip the boy had taken with Rick’s sister Mona.
“Have you been camping this summer?” Rick asked as he sipped at his coffee and watched her with those dark, hungry eyes.
“Not yet.” Hannah shook her head. “My brothers haven’t decided yet if they can make the trip in from Dallas with their families.”
Camping was a family thing for Hannah. Her parents, three brothers, and their families usually managed to get away several times through the summer and fall months.
“Your brothers are doing well?” Two of her brothers were his age, the third was close enough that they had been friends when they lived in Alpine.
“Good.” She nodded. “They stay busy.”
“Don’t we all,” he breathed out roughly.
“They talk about you often.” She smiled then. “The older they get the more I get to hear about how wild they were. You’re usually included somehow.”
“Dragging their butts out of trouble,” he said, chuckling, the sound a dark rasp of pleasure against her senses.
And it had been true. He’d usually been the one covering for them or watching out for them.
“Are you ready to go?” He glanced at his watch before turning his gaze back to her. “I thought we’d go dancing for a while.”
There was a slight shift to his expression, a nuance that assured her that Rick wanted any excuse he could to get his hands on her.
He had warned her not to let him break her heart. She had a feeling that was a foregone conclusion.
“I’m ready.” She finished the last bit of wine as he rose from his chair and moved to her.
His hand settled on her lower back as they moved through the dining room. The feel of his fingers there, faintly caressing her through the thin material of her summer dress, sent the blood racing through her body and dampness spilling from her sex.
She was so damned wet now she should have made her excuses to go to the ladies’ room. But she’d already been twice. He’d catch on fast if she went again.
Walking out into the sultry night air, Hannah had to take a fierce grip on her own control to keep from suggesting that perhaps they could return to her house. Or to his. To a bed. She didn’t care where.
Sweet heaven, but this man had an effect on her that wasn’t easy to combat. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he was going to break her heart, because she knew she would end up falling in love with him. She was already halfway there. She had been for more years than she wanted to count. She should break this off now. She should go home and forget that he had kissed her, touched her. Forget that she wanted him as desperately as she wanted her next breath.
Instead, she let him help her into the truck and stared back at him as she settled on the seat, her legs still hanging out, his hands on her knees, holding her in place.
“I’ve wanted you a long time, Hannah.”
She stared back at him in shock.