Be strong, Callie. Please, be strong.
He presses a kiss to that sensitive spot right beneath my ear. I suppress a shudder that boomerangs through me and lands between my legs.
“I’ll make this up to you,” he says softly, brushing his lips over the sensitive spot once more and then trailing downward to my neck. “Please.”
Despite myself, I moan softly.
He trails his lips over my neck and to the top of my chest. “I’ll make it up to you. We’ll go anywhere. We’ll go to Aspen if you want. I’ll take you to the best restaurant there. Or we’ll drive into the city. Drive into Denver, even. I know all the best places. We can spend the night at a hotel and drive back on Sunday. Whatever you want.”
“Donny…” I’m quivering.
He presses a kiss along the edge of my shirt, where my breasts are only an inch below. “Anything, Callie. Please. I’ll do anything to make this up to you.”
“For God’s sake, Donny.”
He lowers his head and closes his teeth around my nipple—right through my shirt and bra.
I’m going to erupt in a moment if he doesn’t stop this.
“What?” he asks.
“Just fuck me, will you? Please.”
He chuckles against my still-clad boobs that are aching to be freed. “Only if you forgive me.”
Oh. My. God.
The man is…
The man is fucking irresistible.
“Fine. Fine. I forgive you. I’ll go out with you tomorrow night. Now please. Please.”
To my utter shock, he pulls away. “Not here.”
“Why not here? It was good enough earlier.”
“Because there’s a party outside. I won’t take the chance of you having to hide in the closet again. I’m so sorry about that, baby. Please believe me.”
“But…”
“Please. My only thought was getting back here to you.”
I sigh against him. Every cell—the ones controlled by my pussy, anyway—in my body aches to accept him at his word.
Every cell in my brain urges caution.
I could fall so easily for this man.
And to him, I’m a notch on the bedpost.
I thought I was okay with that.
Turns out, I’m not.
I want more.
“Okay,” I say finally. “I forgive you.”
He smiles then—a dazzling smile that lights up his whole face and ignites a spark in my already hot loins.
How did I ever think Dale was the handsomer of the two?
Donny is beautiful. He could be modeling between the pages of Esquire and GQ.
“I won’t let you down again,” he says. “Just tell me what you want for our date tomorrow, and it’s yours.”
“You choose,” I say.
He shakes his head. “Nope. We’re not playing that game. I want to know what you want.”
“Dinner. Just dinner. Where doesn’t matter, as long as it’s with you.”
Part of me wants to puke a little at my words. Even more so when I realize how much I truly mean them.
I’m so not the romantic and mushy type.
But I mean those damned words with my whole heart.
“Aspen, then?” he says.
“Don’t be silly.”
“What’s silly about it? We have a place there. A couple, actually. They’re unoccupied at the moment. It’s a two-hour drive. We can drive back or stay the night. Your choice.”
“Dinner in Grand Junction is fine. It doesn’t matter where, Donny.”
“Aspen it is, then. I’ll make a reservation at my favorite place. They serve our beef and our wines.”
I can’t help a laugh. “You Steels. Always paying good money to eat and drink your own stuff.”
“Because it’s that good.” He smiles slyly.
“You said you’re not much of a wine drinker,” I say.
“I’m not. Doesn’t mean I don’t know good wine when I taste it.” He smiles. “Want to know a secret?”
“Sure.”
“My cocktail of choice is a margarita.”
I can’t help it. I laugh out loud. “A sweet drink?”
“It’s a manly drink,” he says.
“Manly with an umbrella.”
“Manly because it’s made with tequila.”
“And a buttload of sugar.”
“And it’s also delicious.”
I nod. “I can’t argue with you there. I prefer a sweeter cocktail myself, when I drink at all. That or a beer.” I don’t mention how good the screwdriver Brock mixed for me earlier tasted.
Donny gives me another searing kiss and then backs away. “Tomorrow. And I owe you.”
I cock my head. “What? Other than an apology, which you already gave me, you don’t owe me anything.”
“You’re wrong.” He presses his lips to mine once more. “I owe you an orgasm.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Donny
I don’t leave Callie’s side the rest of the evening. We share a few more dances, and then I take her home, give her a scorching kiss, and drive myself back to the house with a hard-on.
So strange how badly I want to make this up to her. Any other woman, and I’d be screwing her right now. I sure didn’t come home to Snow Creek to get serious with someone.
My crush on Callie Pike will probably be short-lived, but while it’s here, I’m going to treat her right.
I get back to the ranch house, and Dale is still there, which doesn’t overly surprise me. He and I still have a lot to discuss. I’m still angry about what our birth father did to us, but it’s not Dale’s fault. His only crime is that he didn’t tell me—was never going to tell me.