“I’ve been waiting to do this all day,” he whispered.
She leaned into him, gripping his shirt with both hands. Her lips parted beneath his, wanting more. Hearing him groan, feeling the slide of his tongue against hers, made her hold tighten. Her arms slid up, wrapping around his neck for balance.
He broke away, pressing a kiss to her nose. “Let’s go.”
He took her hand in his, but stopped at the top of the stairs. She peere
d around him, absolutely mortified to find his brothers and cousins standing on the bottom step—in various stages of shock and amusement.
“Archer,” Hunter, the oldest, called out in greeting.
Ryder started to say something, but Hunter elbowed him hard in the gut.
Archer sighed, shooting her an apologetic look before leading her down the stairs to his waiting truck. He held the door open for her, acting like they didn’t have an audience, even though her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
She could only imagine what they said after Archer pushed her door closed. Whatever it was, they were smart enough to keep their voices down. But even then, she saw the slow shake of Archer’s head and his reluctant smile.
By the time he’d climbed into the truck she was giggling.
He took one look at her and laughed, too. “Guess I should apologize for them, but...”
She shook her head, still laughing.
He started the truck and backed up, waving a hand at the group still watching their every move.
“You look good in blue,” she said, meaning it. His eyes were as clear as the Texas sky.
“Same,” he said, shifting gears and taking her hand. “You’re beautiful, Eden.”
She smiled. “I feel that way when I’m with you.”
His gaze locked with hers, so intense and heavy she found breathing difficult. He swallowed, turning his attention to the well-rutted dirt-and-gravel road. They bounced along, the view growing more pastoral—they weren’t headed to town. It took a few minutes before she realized where they were going. But once she did, she relaxed. There was such an energy between them, being in public was hard. Going to his place would give them the privacy to talk through the laundry list of things they needed to talk about.
After they were done diffusing the charge of want and hunger that filled the truck cab.
* * *
ARCHER’S NERVES WERE on high alert. He’d planned out what would happen. He’d escort her to his house, feed her dinner, talk to her and go from there. Losing his head was not part of the plan. But he hadn’t counted on how damn beautiful she was. How sweet her smile was. Or the way her laugh ignited a hunger deep inside him. It’d been a struggle to wait until they were on the porch. But once they were there, he’d had to touch her. And taste her.
It hadn’t been enough.
His brothers would never let him forget it. Not that he cared. They’d all made total jackasses out of themselves when they’d found their wives. Guess it was part of the courting process.
But now that they were here, parking in front of his place, all the things he’d wanted to tell her sounded too harsh or too flowery. He climbed out of the truck and came around, but she met him halfway, taking his hand in hers.
“How’s your dad?” she asked, the scent of her perfume tickling his nostrils as he opened the front door.
“He’s good. He’ll be home tomorrow morning.” He pushed the door shut behind them, tossing his keys on the table.
“How’s River?” she asked.
He smiled. She would think about his horse—and it made him happy. “I think he’s okay. He was a little shy of me at first.”
“Poor thing. I’m sure he knows what happened.” She ran her hand along the back of the couch. “Do you think he feels guilty?”
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
“So how do you tell a horse it’s not his fault?” she asked, sincere.