KISSING THE RANCHER

“I’ve got this,” Rachel said as he again struggled to pull apart the packaging with his gloves on. “There’s a tab right here.”

“Thanks.”

They were so close she only had to look up to be staring right into his eyes.

“What, no qualifiers about doing it all yourself?” Rachel said breathlessly.

The side of his mouth kicked up. “I know when to quit.”

Her gaze fixated on his lips, and the warm scent of his skin. Unable to stop herself she leaned in.

“What do you want from me, Rachel?” he asked so softly she barely heard him.

She knew he was giving her the opportunity to step back, no questions asked, but she stayed exactly where she was, her mouth an inch from his.

With a stifled sound he closed the gap between them and kissed her, the shock of his cold lips swiftly dispelled by the heat of his tongue as he took possession of her mouth.

He kissed with an intensity that stopped her breath and made everything inside her go quiet, and then hot, and needy. She grabbed for his shoulder to keep him exactly where she wanted him . . .