A Texas-Sized Secret (Texas Cattleman's Club: Blackmail 6)

Best friend. He took a breath and let it slide from his lungs. No matter what else happened, he would remain her friend, and that would be easier, he told himself, if he let go of her hand and slid just a bit farther away from her.

“Oh!” Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open.

Instant panic clutched at his throat. “What? What is it? Is it the baby? Are you okay?”

She didn’t answer him, just kept looking at him through wide eyes shining with something far more magical than the promise of Hollywood. Then she took their joined hands and laid them on her belly. “It moved. The baby moved, Toby.”

His insides settled now that he knew she was okay. But then the baby moved again, the slightest ripple of movement beneath his hand, and he felt the magic still glittering in her eyes. “That was...”

“I know,” she said breathlessly. “Wait for it.”

She pressed his hand to her belly, and Toby held his breath, hoping to feel that rustle again, and when it came, they smiled at each other. Secrets shared and a moment of real wonder connected them more deeply than ever before.

“Isn’t it amazing?” Naomi launched herself at him, planting a hard, fast kiss on his mouth that changed instantly from celebration to something else entirely.

Heat erupted between them, surprising them both. Toby’s heart jolted into a fast gallop, and Naomi did a slow melt against him, parting her lips under his. His tongue swept in, tangling with hers, tightening the knots inside him until he was pretty sure they’d never come undone. His hands fisted at her back. Her hands stroked his shoulders and slid up into his hair, her fingers holding him tightly to her. Seconds passed, and the building heat between them became an inferno.

Toby had never felt anything like it, and he wondered how he’d been so close to her for so many years and never tried this. She moved against him, sliding onto his lap, and he knew she felt the hard proof of what he was feeling for her, because she squirmed on his lap, making it both better and worse all at the same time.

When that thought hit, Toby knew he had to end this. Before they completely crossed the line they’d agreed on to protect them both. He broke the kiss, lifted her off his lap and set her down on the couch. Then he got up, needing some space between them.

“Toby—”

He looked over his shoulder at her and nearly groaned. Her mouth was full and tempting, her eyes wide with surprise and her breath coming in short, hard gasps. He knew the feel of her, the soft curves, the warmth and eager response to his touch. And damned if he knew how he’d ignore that knowledge now.

“Just give me a minute here, Naomi,” he ground out and pushed both hands through his hair. He dragged in a deep breath and shook his head.

“Why did you stop?” she asked.

Toby spun around and glared at her. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” She pushed herself off the couch and walked toward him.

Toby held up one hand to keep her at bay. Her hair was loose on her shoulders. The T-shirt she wore clung to her rounded belly, and her white shorts displayed way too much tanned leg. Her bare feet didn’t make a sound on the floor, but it was as if every step thundered in his head, his chest, as a warning. Well, he was going to listen.

He’d been burned once by a woman he cared too much for, and he wasn’t going to set himself up for that again. They were going to be friends. Nothing more.

“Toby, that was—”

“A mistake,” he finished for her and walked to the bar in the far corner of the room. Yanking the mini fridge open, he pulled out a beer, opened it, then slammed the fridge closed again. He took a long pull of the cold, frothy brew and hoped to hell it served to put out the fire burning inside him. Somehow he doubted a beer was up to that task, though.

“Why does it have to be a mistake?” she asked. “We’re engaged, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” he said, taking another drink. “And it’s a marriage of convenience, remember? We agreed to no sex. It’ll just complicate everything, and you know it.”

She scowled at him. “Nobody said anything about sex tonight, Toby. I’m talking about a kiss.”

“A kiss like that?” He waved one hand at the couch where they’d been just moments ago. “Leads one place, Naomi.”

“Wow. You’re really sure either of yourself or of me.” She tipped her head to one side to watch him like he was a bug on a glass slide. “You think kissing my brains out means I’m just going to leap into your bed shrieking, ‘Take me, baby’?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” She pushed that silky mass of copper-brown hair back from her face. The better to scowl at him, he guessed. “For God’s sake, Toby, I’m not that easy.”

He snorted, shook his head and took another gulp of his beer. “You are many things, Naomi, but I never thought easy was one of ’em.”

“Right.” She folded her arms across her middle, unconsciously lifting her breasts so that the tops peeked out of her T-shirt’s neckline. “But you figured one hot kiss from you and I was going to toss my panties over my head?”