The last thing on his mind at the moment was a tree breaking a window or her fear of the storm. His focus had narrowed to the enticing woman with very little on lying next to him.
“Thank you, Cole,” she said softly. “You probably think I’m just being a big baby about this, but I really appreciate your consideration.”
“We all have things that bother us.” He chuckled. “You don’t like storms. I’m not a big fan of snakes.”
“I don’t like those, either,” she agreed.
When another clap of thunder interrupted the quiet, she snuggled closer and placed her delicate hand on his bare chest. It was all he could do to keep from groaning aloud.
Yeah, he was just a regular saint, he thought sarcastically. If she only knew how the feel of her soft hand on his skin made the blood in his veins turn to liquid fire or how her lush breasts pressed to his side had him throbbing with need, she would probably kick him out of bed, out of the house and off the Double R Ranch faster than he could slap his own ass with both hands.
Her delightfully warm body was quickly making him harder and hotter than he could ever remember, and he suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He did his best to hold himself away from her, but it was all but impossible when every time it thundered she moved a little closer to him. When she suddenly went perfectly still, he knew beyond a shadow of doubt that she had felt the bulge straining at his fly.
“I don’t think this is going to work, Cole,” she said, breaking the silence as she started to roll away from him.
“It’s all right, Paige.” He tightened his arm around her and briefly wondered if he had become a glutton for self-punishment. “I’m a man of my word. I promised that nothing is going to happen unless that’s what you want.”
“That’s the problem,” she murmured.
His heart stalled. “What do you mean?”
She was silent for a moment before she finally whispered, “I know it’s insane, but I do want something to happen. I want you to kiss me again.”
Cole didn’t even bother to ask if that was what she really wanted. He didn’t have the strength to hold out any longer.
Covering her lips with his, he slowly explored her perfection, then traced the seam of her mouth with his tongue to coax her to open for him. When she did, he once again savored her with all of the reverence she deserved.
He’d kissed a lot of women in his time, but none of them tasted as sweet as the woman in his arms. Cole wasn’t going to dwell on what there was about Paige that was different from other women. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
Unable to stop himself, he moved his hand from her back around to the underside of her breast. Cupping the soft mound, he gently caressed her as he chafed the hardened peak with the pad of his thumb. The thin cotton fabric of her nightshirt became an intolerable barrier, and without thinking he reached for the hem of the garment.
He brought his hand to an abrupt halt when he realized what he was about to do. Paige had asked him for his kiss, not his lust. But when he felt her hand move down his abdomen to the unbuttoned waistband of his jeans, his heart felt like it might jump right out of his chest and it sent a surge of heat straight to his groin. But when she reached for the tab at the top of his fly, he quickly took her hand in his to stop her.
“Paige, sweetheart, it’s not that I don’t want you touching me. Believe me, I do.” He stopped to draw in some much needed air. “But besides the fact that I didn’t bother pulling on underwear when that bolt of lightning took down the tree, I don’t want us starting something we can’t finish.”
She kissed his collarbone. “All of my life, I’ve played it safe, lived by the rules and done what everyone expected of me. If I learned nothing else when that tornado came through it’s that life can be over very quickly and unexpectedly. Just once I don’t want to hold back and do what others think is appropriate or right. Tonight I want to break the rules and do what I really want to do.”
Cole closed his eyes and waged an inner battle with himself. He knew it wasn’t wise. Besides the fact that she was his late brother’s wife, they were barely reacquainted. But he had wanted her for more years than he cared to count and his nobility only went so far. He had reached its limit and there was no way he could turn back now.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, Paige,” he finally said, forcing himself to ignore the complications making love to her would bring with the morning light. “Let’s break a few rules.”