Colton Cowboy Jeopardy (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Guilt weighed her down, sapping the benefits of the massage. “You should be in your own bed.”

“I’ll sleep there all I want later,” he said.

“Spoken like a man without kids.”

He smiled at her and tugged her up from the chair. “Tomorrow, I’ll scoot out of here early and take your car into town. Maybe I’ll even drive by the courthouse.”

“You shouldn’t do that.” If Regina did see him, she’d harass him at the very least.

“Of course I should. My brother’s a cop and I haven’t dropped in on him in a while. Trust me.” He wrapped one loose tendril of hair around his fingertip. “Please?”

“One condition,” she said. He smiled and she momentarily lost her train of thought. “Let me help you figure out where to search for Herman’s box of proof.”

She didn’t like how he dismissed her suggestion with an eye roll. “You’ve done more for me in the past few days than anyone has done in years

. It’ll be fun for me, I promise.”

“Fine,” he relented. “As long as you’re discreet.”

She leaned back. “Please. I’m a model. Discretion is my middle name. The things I could tell you about... Well, never mind.”

He grinned. “You are a tease.”

His playful tone made her want to be. “I’ve been called worse.”

“Tell me a secret. Not about any one model. I mean a trade secret.”

“Hmm.” She tapped a finger to her lips and her mouth went dry as his gaze locked onto that spot. A delicious heat shimmered through her bloodstream. Would a kiss be such a big mistake? “In the preshoot prep, nearly every model looks like the girl next door. Plain. Mundane.”

“Like I’d fall for that one,” he said, his lips tilted into a grin. His hands slid to her elbows, holding her in place. “Nothing about you is mundane or plain.”

His fingers gripped firmly, drawing them together. Her breasts brushed up against his chest. She wanted to plaster herself to him, to discover exactly how firm those muscles were.

“Please kiss me.” The words fell from her lips and she couldn’t muster any shame. He was the most genuine person she’d met in ages. Since her father had written her off as too spoiled to try to mend fences.

Jarvis tempted her, roused a desire she hadn’t known existed. Oh, she’d wanted her husband, had enjoyed a healthy sex life in those early years. But longing? She wasn’t sure she’d ever felt this intense pull. More than a little afraid she’d break down and beg, she felt her heart race as he leaned close.

At last his lips brushed over hers. Featherlight and full of promises, with a hint of challenge. She kissed him back, let herself sink into his scent and taste as her hands molded his shoulders, stroked up the column of his throat. She laced her fingers behind his neck and held on, letting the heat, the sweet, sizzling contact, burn away every unpleasantness.

His hands came around her, gliding up her spine, down to her hips, urging her closer still. The kiss filled her with a lightness, an unrivaled joy. Here in his embrace, she found a piece of herself she hadn’t known was missing.

That discovery rocked her emotionally, left her gasping as she pulled back. For a brief eternity they stood there, staring at each other. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears she couldn’t think.

“I, ah, I won’t stay,” he said into the charged silence.

She wanted to argue, but she was too fizzy from the aftershocks of that kiss. “Probably for the best,” she managed.

He stepped back, his fingers still twined with hers. The next step parted them completely. She locked her knees, braced one hand on the chair for balance.

“Text me if you need anything from town.”

She nodded. If she tried to talk, she’d beg him to stay, beg him for more than a kiss.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, lips tingling, body humming, wishing for him to stride back in and overwhelm her again.

That was her first postdivorce kiss. While she was pregnant with Silas, rebound dating hadn’t been a priority. Did every woman have that bone-melting reaction? She was probably just dumping every random emotion on Jarvis’s broad shoulders.

Those shoulders could take it.