One Night with her Bachelor (17 page)

She bit her fist to keep from yelling at him. When Gabriel was gone, though, she and her boy were going to have a serious talk about what information was acceptable to share and—more importantly—what wasn’t.

“Just getting ready!” she shouted through the crack in the door. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be out in a minute.” And by
a minute
she meant thirty. Tonight meant too much for her to rush. Gabriel had asked her out on a second date—not a date he was obligated to take her on thanks to her conniving son, but a date he
wanted
to take her on. She’d been giddy since she’d gotten his note, and the girlie excitement she thought had died with her marriage had nearly burst out of her all week.

She tugged the door shut and got to work blow-drying her hair. Then she applied the makeup she’d bought from a drugstore yesterday, thanks to color advice from her coworker Claudine, a girl several years younger—

Wait, no. She paused with the mascara wand touching her lashes. Hadn’t she been invited to Claudine’s twenty-eighth birthday a few months ago? That made her one year younger than Molly. But Molly had always felt at least a decade older. Responsibility had aged her before her time. But now Claudine’s youthful, party-girl nature had saved Molly’s Fakin’ Bacon. The day after she’d confessed to Claudine that she was going dancing, her friend had brought a dozen outfits to school and insisted Molly try them all on. They’d ranged from sparkly backless tops that Molly would’ve needed to buy a new bra for, to sleek dresses so form-fitting they left no room for panties. She’d settled for something fun and sexy—she hoped.

She pulled on panties, tights, and a knee-length western skirt with denim covering loose layers of white eyelet that flared when she spun around. Then she put on a black, button-down top with white embroidered curlicues running from her shoulders to her breasts. It had long sleeves but was tight and supportive enough that she didn’t need a bra. It was also so low-cut the top button was between her breasts.

She surveyed herself in the mirror. Her long hair hung over her shoulders, a bit messy and rumpled as if a man had spent hours running his fingers through it. Her eyes were smoky and her dark-red lips sensual. And her cleavage was
amazing
.

She looked like a woman who wanted to have fun and knew how to do it.

Let’s do this.

Wishing her cowgirl boots weren’t sitting by the front door, she walked down the hall in her stocking feet and stepped into the living room, where she interrupted man and boy playing a rodeo video game. They were so focused on the TV she had to clear her throat. Gabriel glanced over his shoulder and did a double take, the game controller falling out of his hands the same time his jaw slackened.

Confidence surged through her. She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue, and his gaze homed in on her mouth.

Still focused on the TV, Josh shouted, “Gabriel, you’ll get gored!”

Sure enough, a bull jabbed his horns into the man on the TV and lobbed him into the air. Josh groaned and threw his controller on the couch. “It’s like you’re not even paying atten—”

He seemed to notice Gabriel’s lack of attention and turned to face her. His jaw dropped too. “Whoa.
Mom
.”

She tipped her head to the side and pretended not to know why he’d be surprised. “What?”

“You look… like a
girl
.”

“What do I usually—never mind. I don’t want to know.”

Gabriel stood slowly. “You look amazing.”

Blood rushed to her cheeks. “Thank you. So do you.” And he really, really did. Crisp white shirt, jeans faded in spots she wanted to touch, and cowboy boots. She’d never pictured him as the cowboy-boot type, but he looked as at-home in them as he did in camos.

Man, did she want to undress him. Touch and kiss and lick him all over. She glanced away before her inappropriate thoughts traveled to her face. Her son was in the room, and he didn’t need to see hints of what she was thinking, even if he—hopefully—wouldn’t understand them. Checking the antique clock she’d inherited from her grandma, she said, “Sorry I kept you waiting so long.”

“I’m not,” Gabriel said, his voice husky and appreciative.

She didn’t even try to hide her smile. “Lily should be here any minute. Did Josh offer you anything to drink?”

“No, but I got myself some water, so I’m good.”

“Good.” She clasped her hands in front of herself, unsure of what to say or how to act. This man had seen her naked. He’d brought her pleasure she’d always thought was fictional.

And tonight she was determined to do the same for him.

When Lily arrived, her double-take was even less subtle than Gabriel’s. But then a grin split her face as she hung up her coat and unlaced her boots in the entryway. “You didn’t go shopping without me, did you?”

“Nope. Promise.” Molly shoved her feet in her fake-leather boots and leaned close so Gabriel wouldn’t hear from the living room. “These are Claudine’s.”

“I like her style. It suits you.”

Molly tried to dampen the nerves fizzing inside her, the ones telling her she was an impostor. A boring woman playing dress-up in a more exciting woman’s clothes. “You think so?”

“Yeah, I really do. You look super-hot. I’d do you myself, but I doubt I’d be able to wrestle that big stud away from you.”

“Really? I mean, about Gabriel, not about you doing me. You think he wants me?”

Lily’s gaze shot over Molly’s shoulder a split second before the fine hairs on the nape of her neck stood to attention. She didn’t have to turn around to know Gabriel had walked into the hall. Embarrassment flooded her cheeks, but she fought it back and squared her shoulders.

His arm reached around her and lifted her coat from the peg. “Ready to go?” he murmured.

“Yeah.” So ready. She let him help her into her puffy, knee-length coat, noticing the sexy twinkle in his eye as she leaned over to zip it up. The move probably gave him a great view of her cleavage until she raised the zipper to her neck. “Let me just say goodnight to Josh.”

She rushed into the living room and pressed a kiss against his adorable head. “Have a good night, sweetheart. Don’t let Aunt Lily give you too many donuts.”

“Aw, Mom, you take all the fun out things.”

His words hit a vulnerable spot in her heart, and she paused. “You know what? You’re right. Tonight I want you to eat donuts till you puke. If history’s anything to go by, that’s seven donuts. Just make sure you puke while Lily’s still here, not after I come home, got it?”

He grinned. “Deal.”

She ruffled his hair and gave him one more kiss. Grabbing the big plastic bag she’d wrapped a surprise for Gabriel in, she left the house. He walked down the ramp beside her, and she gathered her courage to slip her hand into his. He gave her fingers an encouraging squeeze.

“So where are you taking me?”

“Two options.” He led her to his truck and opened the passenger door for her. “First one is to go to a place I’ve heard about in Bozeman.”

Bozeman. It was farther than she’d been from Josh since he’d come home. Of course, it wasn’t as far as him being in Colorado, but still—if he needed her, it would take a while to get to him. She climbed into the truck. “And the second option?”

He closed the door, walked around the front and got into the driver’s side. “Second option is to go to Grey’s and stick some coins in the jukebox.”

Hmm. That didn’t sound very adventurous. Plus, she wanted to get away from the inevitable looks of surprise from people who knew she didn’t normally dress like this. They would just make her self-conscious and shove her back into her shell. She shifted in her seat so she could see him better. “Let’s go to Bozeman.”

He smiled and turned the key, but she stayed him by laying her hand on his arm. “Wait. This is for you.”

He took the plastic bag from her. He couldn’t peer inside because she’d wrapped tape around it, knowing he would have to hike through the snow to his cabin. “For me?”

“Yeah. Don’t open it now. I’ll be too embarrassed. I just… I was thinking about you all week, and I wanted to give you something.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” His voice sounded gruff, touched, and it filled her with warmth.

“I know. I wanted to, though. I hope you like it.”

He laid it in the back seat and gave her a grin as he started the truck. “I do.”

She buried her smile in the collar of her coat, wishing she could take her coat off and watch Gabriel check her out again, but the truck was freezing. He flipped on the heater as soon as he started the ignition, but her breath still frosted the air and she feared if she removed her coat her nipples would get so hard they’d shatter. So she clasped her hands together and tried to keep her teeth from chattering. “Do you go dancing a lot?”

He laughed and shot her a disbelieving look. “No.”

Okay.
Her feet bounced, trying to stay warm. Her look-like-leather-but-feel-like-cotton boots didn’t do much to keep the cold out. “Not even in your Air Force days?”

His fingers seemed to tighten on the wheel. “Yeah, I danced then.”

“Line dancing?”

“Hell no.”

“What kind?”

This time the look he shot her was longer, hotter. “You really want to know?”

“Yeah.”

“How about I show you when we get there?”

Desire unfurled low in her belly, filling her with pulsing liquid heat so scorching hot she no longer needed the coat. She unzipped it and shimmied out of it without undoing her seat belt. Running her hand over her chest, she checked that her boobs were still covered—mostly. A low groan from the other side of the truck told her Gabriel noticed. His reaction made her feel more daring than ever before. “I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to be honest with me.”

“I’ll do my best.” His voice sounded choked, as if it were a struggle to get the words out.

“Did you ever really notice me before I came up to your cabin?”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “The truth?”

“Please.”

“Not as anything more than Scott’s little sister.”

The words stole a little of her confidence, but then he said, “After you visited me, though, my memories of you as a kid sort of faded away, and all I could see was this beautiful woman who had a hell of a lot more courage than I do.”

That made her pause. “Are you kidding? Trust me, I’ve never parachuted into any combat zones—though breaking up fights between five-year-olds sometimes feels like it.”

His face softened and he shot her a small smile. “You were destined to become a teacher. That’s one memory I’ll always have—you making all your stuffed animals sit on chairs in your parents’ living room while you taught them the ABCs.”

She gasped. “I never did that.”

He pressed his palm to his chest. “Scout’s honor. I must’ve been eight so you were probably, what? Like, three? Four? It was the first time I went to your house to play with Scott. I remember thinking you were sweet. Then you told me and Scott to sit, and I found myself pretending not to know the alphabet so you’d feel proud of yourself.”

Her heart did a funny little dance, and she was helpless to do anything but stare at the side of his face as he opened up more and more. “You know, a lot of eight-year-old boys would’ve just ignored me and gone to play something else.”

“Well, I vaguely remember Scott suggesting that, but you looked at me like it was really important to you, and I couldn’t say no.”

Oh God. I could love you. I really could.
She swallowed around the growing lump in her throat.

“Can I ask you a question now?” he said.

“Of course.”

“What made you come up to my cabin that day?”

The reasons were so embarrassing, but she couldn’t repay his honesty with anything less. “I wanted to get laid.”

His burst of laughter made her chuckle as she hid her face. “Hey, now,” he said, pulling her hands away. “Our force field works out here, too.”

He pushed her hands down, and she tipped her head against the seat to stare at the snowdrifts lining the road. “It had been so long. So. Dang.
Loooong.
My friends all tell me about their sex lives, and it seems like they’re
constantly
doing it. I thought I must’ve been missing out on something. I’ve never been that excited about sex. I mean, I was when I first started having sex, right after I got married—”

“Wait, didn’t you… before…”

She shook her head. “I’d wanted to wait. It seemed like it would be more special that way. In hindsight, I realize that’s why Greg and I rushed to the altar.” She shrugged. “Our honeymoon was nice. Awkward, but nice. But then I got pregnant and felt sick all the time and Greg didn’t really want to touch me anymore. I can’t blame him. I can see how insulting it would be if your wife gagged and threw up in your lap when she was…you know—” She gestured toward his crotch. “—performing certain services.”

He pressed his palm against his mouth, and she could tell he was trying not to laugh again. His voice was muffled, but she could still hear the amusement as he said, “Services?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Nope. You’ll have to be more descriptive.”

Exactly the kind of invitation she’d hoped for. She slid her hand over his thigh and channeled her inner Claudine. “Why don’t I show you instead?”

*