“Colt, you old sidewinder, where are you?”
Colt sat in his office preparing the weekly payroll. At the sound of a rich male voice calling his name he slammed the ledger and groaned. Caesar, lying inches away, awoke with a start and leaped down from the desk wearing an injured look. Colt thought things were bad already, but they’d just gotten worse. Jett was home.
The study door slammed backward, vibrating on its hinges. Jett strode into the room grinning as if he’d just won the all-round cowboy title at the National Finals Rodeo. That was the way Jett always appeared. Breezing in and out with a smile and a few wild stories.
Times like now when the ranch was so busy and the responsibilities so heavy, Colt envied his brother’s freewheeling lifestyle. Jett had the easy part—though that had been the deal between them years ago. Colt retained controlling interest and ran things his way. Jett shared expenses and profits without questioning Colt’s decisions.
Colt rose from his desk, striding across the room to wrap his brother in a bear hug, acknowledging deep down that he wouldn’t trade places with him for anything. He’d grown roots and Jett hadn’t.
“What tornado blew you in?” Colt stepped back to survey his baby brother.
Jett was a good-looking cuss just like all the Garret men. Though not as tall as Colt, Jett shared his dark features, right down to the tiny sun lines around his eyes. In Jett’s case they were undoubtedly laugh lines.
Jett proved as much by laughing at his brother’s question. “I got bunged-up some at the rodeo over in Odessa a couple of nights ago. Figured home was as good a place as any to rest up a bit.”
Colt now saw what he hadn’t noticed before. Jett held his right arm at an odd angle against his body. “What have you done this time, boy?”
“Ah, dislocated my shoulder. Got hung up on a pretty rank bull that liked to buck. Nothing serious, but it’s got me on the sidelines for a few days.”
Having done some rodeoing himself, Colt knew the awful feeling of getting “hung up.” With the right hand securely tied during the eight-second ride, it was a minor miracle that every cowboy didn’t lose an arm when he jumped from the bull’s back. Occasionally the rope didn’t release and the cowboy’s body hung by that one hand, flopping like a rag doll until the bullfighters could set him free. Getting hung up was one of the reasons he was a rancher now instead of a bull rider.
“Too bad you’re wounded, Jett,” he grinned, knowing his brother wore his injuries like a badge of honor. “We could sure use some help around here.”
Jett laughed. “Give me a couple of days, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“That’s what I figured.” Ranching was never Jett’s idea of a good time.
The brothers stood grinning at each other until something caught Jett’s eye.
“What is that?” He pointed at a blue baby rattle and started toward it slowly. He picked the toy up from the chair and held it toward Colt. “Is this what I think it is?”
Colt’s troubles all came back to him. He propped a hip on the corner of his desk and answered tiredly, “You’ve been gone awhile.”
“Not that long.”
“Sit down, Jett. I need your help.”
“Oh, no.” Turning the rattle over and over in his hands, a look of horror on his face, Jett eased himself into a chair. “Brother, what have you done?”
Colt rubbed at the tension in his neck. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“You’re scaring me, man.” Jett took off his hat and plastered it against his chest. “You’re scaring me real bad.”
Unsure how to break the news, Colt reached inside his desk and removed a copy of Evan’s custody papers and the letter that had arrived with them. He handed them to his wary brother.
Jett’s face turned serious as he scanned the information. “Is this some woman you knew?”
“Not that I know of.”
“So the baby’s not yours?”
“Not you, too.” At Jett’s questioning look, Colt explained, “Everyone keeps asking me that.”
“Well?”
“Well, what?” That question was starting to wear thin. Jett of all people should know better. “No, Evan is not my son. Not naturally, anyway, but I’m trying to do right by him.”
Jett raised an eyebrow. “Getting attached, are you?”
“No!” he yelled, then on second thought admitted, “Maybe.” He paced to the window and back. “I’m trying to find this Natosha woman, but she’s disappeared without a trace.”
“That’s not good. How can a single cowboy who has nearly as many women after him as his baby brother does—” Jett paused to grin at his own humor “—take care of a baby?”
“That’s where things start getting complicated.” He flopped down at the desk, folding his hands as if in prayer and told Jett about Kati.
Throughout the story, Jett’s expression grew more and more incredulous until he was nearly levitating above his chair.
“Have you lost your mind?” Jett shouted when the story ended.
“That has occurred to me.”
“You don’t actually want to marry this woman, do you?”
Colt’s mouth opened and shut twice before he was able to answer. Jett was the one losing his mind if he thought for one minute Colt wanted to get married. He didn’t. Did he?
“Of course not. We both know what marriage does to people.”
“Thank goodness.” Jett stood and slapped his brother’s shoulder. “You had me scared there for a minute. I thought you were actually going to go through with this thing.”
“What?” Jett threw up both hands. “Whoa. Wait a minute. Hold on. You don’t want to marry her but you’re going to?”
“Temporarily.”
Jett bared his teeth and hissed. “Why do I hate the sound of this?”
Colt explained the dilemma again, emphasizing the quickie divorce part. Clearly stated, the plan actually didn’t sound as horrible as he’d thought. Jett, on the other hand, having lived through the same nightmare of broken homes that Colt had, saw the situation differently.
“Back out now. Once she gets her hooks into you and this ranch, she’ll never let go.” Jett was pacing the carpet. “This is a trap, brother. I can smell it like a ’coon dog smells a ’possum.”
“A man’s only as good as his word. You know I won’t back down from a promise.” Colt applied a thumb and index finger to his eye sockets, rubbing hard, then exhaled loudly. “The only way to stop the thing is if Kati changes her mind. And I’m working on that.”
Jett stopped dead still in front of the desk. “How?”
Slowly, Colt brought his gaze on a level with Jett’s. “By putting on a little pressure to scare her off.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Sure you do.” He shifted uncomfortably. “She wants a marriage in name only. I didn’t promise her that.”
Funny, he suddenly didn’t want to discuss this aspect of his relationship with Kati. Not even with Jett.
“Come on,” Jett responded with disbelief. “We Garret brothers aren’t exactly the ugliest guys around. Why would any woman want a loveless marriage when they could have one of us to snuggle up with?” Jett raised his eyebrows into question marks. “Unless she’s gay…or ugly as sin.”
Now, why did Jett have to say that? He didn’t even know Kati. Sure, he and his brother had talked man talk about dozens of women over the years, but discussing Kati that way seemed wrong somehow. After all, she could end up being his wife in a day or two. He blanched at the thought but still felt a need to defend Kati.
“That sort of thing makes her nervous. She’s kind of inexperienced.”
Jett guffawed. “I think you’re falling for the oldest trick in the book. I’ve met my share of women and they’re all experienced, Colt. Sometimes they just hold out for a better deal. Like this ranch. You’re not exactly broke, you know, and from what you tell me, this Kati woman doesn’t have anything.”
“Maybe you’ve been meeting the wrong women,” Colt growled, surprised by the intensity of his anger. He’d been around plenty of experienced, conniving women, and Kati didn’t fit the mold.
“Maybe you found one that’s playing you like a bass fiddle.”
Jett hadn’t been home an hour and already he was getting on Colt’s nerves. Usually they were two peas in a pod, but if Jett opened his fat mouth once more about Kati, Colt just might have to shut it for him.
In confusion, Colt scrubbed angrily at his face and threw his head back, staring up at the circling ceiling fan. The whirring noise set his teeth on edge.
Caesar chose that moment to ease out from under the desk to sniff Jett’s boots.
“What the devil is this?”
“You hate cats.”
“Yeah, but I can’t convince him of that.”
“Babies, nannies, cats. Now I know you’re losing it.”
“Look, Jett, I need your help here, not your snide remarks. Two days from now, barring a miracle, I’m going to be a married man. Either make a useful suggestion or shut up.”
“You want a useful suggestion?” With his thumb, Jett pushed at the brim of his hat and grinned. “I’ll give you two. Either toss this Kati Winslow out while you can, cat and all, or get your good suit cleaned.”
Saturday. D-Day. Colt sat at his desk, certain the top of his head would blow off before four o’clock. The past two days had flown by in a flurry of blood tests, license and praying for the miracle that hadn’t come. He’d done everything he could to dissuade Kati from going through with this thing, but he’d failed miserably. The more he skulked around like some pervert, muttering about a real marriage, the more determined she became.
This morning at breakfast, she’d been pale as a ghost and just as quiet. He could relate to the terror in her eyes. He felt the same way for different reasons. At least, he supposed they were different.
Bracing his forehead on the desktop, he covered his head with his hands. How had he come to make so many bad decisions in such a short span of time? In one month his entire world had turned upside down.
Even Jett, his own flesh-and-blood brother, had abandoned him in his time of need. Not that he thought Colt should get married. Not by a long shot. But, after he’d met Kati and hung around her awhile, he’d shrugged his shoulder and agreed that Colt had his butt in a bind. A lot of help he was.
And Cookie sided with Kati, making noises about worthless cowboys who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves, sure that Colt must have compromised her virtue. Maybe he would feel better if he had.
“Colt.”
He jumped as if he’d been shot. Heck, he wished somebody would shoot him and put him out of his misery.
Even with his forehead pressed against the desktop, he knew his visitor was Kati. No other voice slid across his name like warm honey.
Slowly he raised his head. She smiled, and he felt as if the sun had come out after two days of rain.
“What?” he asked, not sounding nearly as grouchy as he’d felt a moment ago.
She pointed. “You have a crease on your forehead.”
“Oh.” His hand went to the spot. “The desk.”
“Yes.” She came around the desk, high heels swishing over the carpet to stand beside his chair. “Here.”
When he raised his eyes in question, she smiled again and touched his forehead, massaging the wrinkled skin. Her fingers trembled as she moved closer.
Colt’s stomach lifted. Her breasts were not six inches from his face. He could see them rise and fall with each breath she took, and could smell the mix of flowers and baby powder that clung to her all the time. The combination was highly erotic to a man who’d lain awake last night wondering if he would be sharing a bed with this woman tonight.
“There.” She dropped her hand and stepped back, straightening her shoulders. “That’s better. Are you ready?”
“It’s not too late to call the whole thing off.”
“Cookie agreed to watch Evan while we run into town. We won’t be long.”
“Kati.” He grabbed her hand. Her skin was ice-cold. “We’re not going after ice cream.”
Her gray eyes grew large as she whispered, “I know that.”
Carefully she withdrew her hand and gathered a small white purse from the desktop. Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath and walked determinedly to the door.
Already straining at the ring in his nose, Colt followed her out to the truck.
The drive to town was mostly silent. Colt fiddled with the radio a bit, but none of the stations suited him. He gave up and slid a CD into the player.
“Do you like George Strait?”
Such a stupid question. He was going to marry her, and he didn’t even know if she liked country music.
At her nod, he adjusted the volume and settled into the drive, his hands strangling the steering wheel.
Kati could hardly take her eyes off him. They’d not discussed what to wear today, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d worn work clothes. But he hadn’t. He looked resplendent in a black Western-cut jacket, black jeans, hat, boots, and string tie with a crisp white shirt contrasting against his sun-darkened face. This gorgeous cowboy was enough to take any woman’s breath away, and he’d actually agreed to be her husband. At least for a while.
She gazed down at her dress, the simple yellow sheath she’d bought for Easter. A short jacket with white embroidered daisies dressed the outfit up a bit, and she’d worn her only pair of white heels. Still, she knew how the peahen must feel beside her more glorious mate.
Kati’s heart swelled with a bizarre sense of joy. Colt Garret was not only a gorgeous cowboy, he was an honorable man. He could have refused to go through with this, and she could have done nothing. But he hadn’t. As much as he hated the idea of marriage, he’d dressed up in his Sunday clothes to keep his promise.
The muscles in Colt’s leg flexed as he slowed for a hay baler crossing the road. His work-honed body fascinated her. She loved looking at him, touching him, and the notion frightened her. Would he really demand his rights as a husband? If he did, could she refuse? Would she want to?
Her nerves tightened at the prospect. She had to. If she gave herself to Colt, she’d be lost forever. The pain of loving him, then losing him, would be too much to bear. She had made a promise, too, and she would keep her end of the bargain.
With steely control she redirected her gaze, riding the rest of the way into town with her attention glued to the golden plains of Texas and the pure country sound of a steel guitar.
Heat rose from the sidewalk in waves as Kati and Colt made their way into the low-slung brick building marked County Courthouse. Inside the cool, fluorescent-lit hallway Colt paused. “You sure about this, Kati?”
The butterflies in her stomach fluttered wildly. “No, but I have to.”
He shook his head slowly in exasperation. “Temporary. This is only temporary.”
“Absolutely.” Like everything else, she wanted to say.
He took her elbow and guided her over the white industrial tile and through a glass door marked Judge Carson. Her heels tapped out a hollow echo in the quiet building, but she was certain her heart pounded louder.
For Kati, the next minutes passed in a blur. She and Colt stood side by side in front of a surprisingly youthful judge who read from a small maroon book. The words sailed over her head like lost helium balloons. She was far too busy trying to stand up to listen. Her knees wobbled and her ears rang. Once she even thought she might faint. Colt must have thought so, too, because he looked at her in concern and slid an arm around her waist. He was rock hard and solid, giving her some of his strength, though a tremor ran through him from time to time.
“Do you have the ring?” the judge asked.
“Oh, no,” she whispered. “I forgot about the ring.”
Colt returned her horrified look with one of his own. “So did I.” Then his expression lightened. “Does that mean we can’t get married?”
“No, no, not at all,” the judge assured them. “You can add the ring later. It’s not a necessity. We’ll continue without it.”
Though Colt looked crestfallen, the ceremony continued, and in less time than he could say, “Hog-tied,” the judge pronounced them man and wife.
“You may kiss your bride, Mr. Garret,” the judge said with a smile.
Colt turned her in his arms and stared down at her, an odd light in his eyes. His lips curved the tiniest bit before he bent his head and pressed his mouth softly against hers.
“You’re as white as a sheet,” Colt told her as they settled into the pickup ready for the long drive home.
“So are you.”
He glanced up into the mirror. “I am not. I’m steady as a rock.” He stuck a hand out to prove it, then grinned wryly and slammed his hand down on the steering wheel when his fingers made a liar out of him.
Kati drew in a deep shuddering breath and slithered down into the seat. “At least it’s over.”
“Yeah. It’s over,” he repeated. Suddenly he stiffened and fiercely gripped the steering wheel. “Good grief almighty, I’m a married man.”
“Temporarily,” she reminded him in a faint voice.
He exhaled in relief. “Right. It’s only temporary.” Then why did he feel this overwhelming sense of exhilaration as though he’d won the Texas lottery? He’d expected to feel depressed, not exhilarated.
He sneaked a look at Kati, her gray eyes huge in a pale face, and longed to comfort her. Stupid reaction, he knew, but there it was, big as Dallas. “Scoot over here,” he said gruffly.
“Excuse me?”
He patted the seat beside him. “You’re my wife now. You have to sit by me. It’s a rule.”
“A rule.” She said it doubtfully, but a ghost of a smile tickled her lips. “Why haven’t I ever heard of this rule before?”
“Because you, pretty lady, have never been married before.” Grasping her wrist, he gave a gentle tug. “Come on. Scoot. The bankers may be watching.”
Kati shot a furtive glance out the side window, an action that made Colt want to laugh. Propelled into action, Kati slid across the long bench seat, her pretty yellow dress easing upward as she came. Swallowing hard, Colt forced his gaze from the sight of her long, smooth legs, though his brain wouldn’t stop wondering if she was wearing panty hose.
During the forty-mile drive, Colt called himself ten kinds of idiot. Having Kati beside him, her clean scent driving him crazy and the pressure of her warm thigh against his, tormented his already strained libido. To make matters worse, she was funny and sweet and laughed at every corny joke he told. A man could get used to a woman like that, and Kati clearly wasn’t interested in a real marriage any more than he was. And he wasn’t. He couldn’t be.
Inside forty-five minutes, the truck, spewing dust and gravel, barreled beneath the cross timbers of Garret Ranch. A bay horse whinnied and galloped alongside white metal fencing, racing the truck down the long driveway.
Colt was so busy enjoying the pleasure on Kati’s face as she watched the horse, his mane and tail flying, that he didn’t notice the activity around the ranch house until the truck ground to a halt.
“What in blazes is going on?” Killing the motor, Colt frowned at the dozen or so trucks and cars parked on the sparse green lawn.
Kati unsnapped her seat belt and blinked in bewilderment. “Looks like someone decided to have a party while we were gone.”
They both froze, eyes meeting in stunned comprehension.
“You don’t think Cookie…?” Recognizing the vehicles of ranch hands and neighbors, the suspicion in Colt’s gut increased. Dadblast that old geezer. What had he done?
“Surely he didn’t.” Kati gripped the dash. “We told him this wasn’t a real marriage.”
“Did he mention a wedding cake to you?”
“Well, yes, sort of.” If such a thing was possible, Kati looked more horrified than he felt.
“Oh, boy.” Briefly Colt laid his head on the steering wheel. Then, in defeat, he took Kati’s soft hand in his. “Come on, Mrs. Garret. Whether we like it or not, looks like we have a wedding reception to attend.”
As soon as they walked through the door, a hoard of well-wishers surrounded them. Tightness banded Kati’s chest. Dear sweet old Cookie, convinced she was the perfect mate for his boss, was determined to celebrate. Kati felt like such a hypocrite.
While they’d been gone, someone—Cookie and the few women on the ranch, she would later discover—had decorated the living room with richly scented yellow roses and crepe paper wedding bells. A long table stretched across one end of the massive room, a three-layer wedding cake dabbed with more yellow roses perched in the center. Around the cake were enough bottles of champagne to wipe out half the Texas Panhandle, and from somewhere came the predictable strains of the “Yellow Rose of Texas.” Everything was perfect. Everything except the marriage itself. Kati’s heart ached, both with joy that someone even cared and with sadness that these nice people were celebrating a charade.
Cookie was in his element. He sashayed around, giving orders, taking pictures, toting Evan on one hip like a plump grandma. Knowing Cookie, he’d put one of those pictures in the local newspapers, along with an announcement of the nuptials.
With a guilty sigh, she acknowledged one benefit of this reception. Word of their marriage would get back to town, convincing the necessary parties that it was the real deal.
At one point, the sweet old cook whipped across the room carrying a rose.
With a glare at Colt, he pressed the rose into Kati’s hand, grumbling. “Ignorant cowpoke didn’t have sense enough to buy you no flowers. Even an old sailor knows better than that. What are you gonna throw to the ladies without a bouquet?”
“Cookie, I’m not throwing the bouquet. I told you—”
Cookie waved a flabby arm. “I don’t want to hear it. This is your weddin’ day, and you’re sure enough going to toss that flower.”
When she looked to Colt for help, he shrugged and said, “Humor him, Kati. You can’t win when he gets like this.”
“But I really should tend to Evan.” She reached for the child only to have Cookie draw back.
“You ain’t taking this boy. Why, every woman in this place is dying to get their hands on him. He’s a perfect lady magnet for an old salt like me.” With a delighted chortle, he whipped away before Kati could argue.
“Let him go.” Colt took her elbow and pulled her aside, his darkly handsome face serious. “I haven’t seen Cookie havin’ this much fun since his fiancée died.”
Kati’s insides lurched as she watched the cook head straight toward an attractive older woman. “Cookie was engaged?”
“About fifteen years ago. She died in a car wreck a couple of weeks before the wedding.” His gaze followed the portly cook. “Even if this party isn’t real, he believes it is. Let him have his fun, okay?”
Kati gripped the rose to her heart. “Of course I will. Poor, sweet old Cookie. I had no idea.”
“The rest of these yahoos think it’s real, too, so we might as well go along for the ride. Anything less, they’ll be embarrassed and so will we. And word will fly back to town so fast your loan will be denied before you can say ‘collateral.’”
Standing this close to Colt, looking into his dark brown eyes and remembering that he was actually her husband—for now—moved the loan to the back burner of her brain. And when he touched her with those tender-tough hands, she didn’t even remember her name much less her ambition.
“Hey, bro.” Jett’s voice interrupted them as he sauntered toward them. “Don’t I get to kiss the bride?”
Before either Kati or Colt could react to such an outlandish request, Jett swept Kati into his arms and kissed her. His mouth was warm and smiling and brotherly, nothing at all like Colt’s, but when he lifted his face and laughed down at her, Kati blushed from head to toe.
Yanking her away, Colt hooked an arm around her waist and snugged her close to his side. “Go find your own woman, bro.”
There was something fierce and possessive in Colt’s manner—something so real that Jett backed off and threw up his hands. “What’s the matter, bro? Afraid she’ll like my kisses better than yours?” He grinned his crooked grin at Kati. “Look out, Kati. You’ve married you one jealous cowboy.”
“Don’t you have a rodeo to go to?” Colt asked.
Jett laughed at the scowl on his brother’s face. “What? And miss all the excitement around here? I haven’t had so much fun since that college kid had a runaway on your stud horse.”
“This isn’t funny, Jett.”
“Depends on your perspective, I guess. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Married Man, I think I see a gorgeous single female giving me the eye.” With a quirky pump of his black brows, he sauntered away.
“He was only teasing,” Kati said as a frowning Colt took her hand and led her toward the refreshment table. “Are you angry?”
“That he kissed you?” He handed her a flute of champagne. “No, darlin’, not with you anyway. My baby brother has a way of making a nuisance of himself, but if anybody’s gonna kiss you,” he growled down at her with a wink, “it’s gonna be me.”
Kati nearly choked on the tart drink. Resisting this devastating attraction to Colt strained her willpower to the shattering point. Adding inhibition-lowering champagne to an already lethal mix of a sentimental wedding reception and a sexy, charming husband might not be the wisest idea, but she took a long sip to ease her tension just the same.
As the reception moved into full swing, Colt guided her among his friends and employees, the smile on his lips as tight as the arm around Kati’s waist. He was as charming as sin, pulling off the charade as easily as he rode a horse. Kati, on the other hand, felt as stiff as starched underwear.
Somehow they survived the evening. At Cookie’s insistence, Kati tossed the bouquet. Then she and Colt cut the cake and managed to look surprisingly happy doing it. Colt whispered something silly in her ear, and she found herself laughing. And when some of the rowdier cowboys demanded that Colt kiss the bride, he wrapped her in a bear hug and kissed her breathless. The crowd was delighted, of course, while Kati trembled with trepidation. The wine, the kiss and the man were all potent intoxicants that she could not succumb to.
At last the guests began to dwindle, and though Kati had been happy to spend time with the other women, especially the shyly smiling Juana Rodriguez, she was glad to see them go. When there were only a few cowboys, including Colt, leaning on the fireplace telling lies, Kati managed to slip away.
After a long, soothing bath, she donned an oversize T-shirt and plopped onto the bed for a moment’s rest. Soon she’d have to wrestle Evan from Cookie and get him settled for the night, but right now she needed to catch her breath and calm her overwrought nerves. Getting married had been strange enough, but coming home to a reception had been—sweet, actually. Uncomfortable as all get-out under the circumstances, but very sweet indeed. Colt had behaved almost loverlike, especially after Jett had kissed her. Funny how the brothers looked so much alike but kissed so differently. Kati raised her fingertips to her lips, the memory of Colt’s kisses far stronger than that of Jett’s.
As she closed her eyes, reliving Colt’s cake-tinged kiss, the bedroom door clicked open. “Come on in, Cookie,” she said without looking up, certain Cookie was bringing the baby to her. “I’m sure he’s ready for bed.”
The springs groaned and the bed sank to one side. A warm woodsy scent drifted into Kati’s consciousness.
“He is ready for bed.” Colt’s rich baritone hinted that he wasn’t talking about Evan.
So much for soothing her frayed nerves. Every one of them stood at attention. Her heart rate went from normal to tachycardia in 0.2 seconds.
“Evan,” she protested, wishing like crazy she had on more clothes. “I have to see to Evan.”
“He’s gone.” At her wide-eyed look, he continued. “Cookie and Jett took him to Jett’s camper for the night.”
Cookie and Jett were gone, too. She and Colt were alone in this enormous house. Her pulses tap-danced against her skin. Alone with Colt, the sexiest, most masculine man on earth, who also happened to be her husband.
In the butter-cream light shafting in from the bathroom, Kati saw that her bridegroom had shed his coat and tie and boots. His shirt hung open so that Kati glimpsed the wide, tanned chest sprinkled with dark hairs. Her gaze traveled downward to his rippling belly and the vee of fine hairs above his waistband.
She swallowed a knot as yearning turned to desire. This wasn’t going to be easy. Not easy at all. “It’s been a long, nerve-racking day, Colt.”
“I’m your husband now, Kati.”
“Only on paper.” Tugging at the far too short T-shirt, she squeezed her eyes shut. If she dared look at him, all gorgeous and dark and lustful, she might not have the strength to keep this a marriage in name only. She might not want to.
When he touched her arm, her eyes flew open again. He was still there, her brand-new husband, looking good enough to eat for dessert.
“I never agreed to a marriage in name only.” His soft, seductive voice slid over her sensitive nerve endings. “Sleeping apart doesn’t make sense. We’ve got the official piece of paper, so why not enjoy the only good thing about marriage?”
Didn’t he understand the complications of sex? So what if she wanted him. She’d wanted a lot of things in her life that she couldn’t have. Self-preservation was far more important than self-indulgence. She’d come here with one purpose in mind, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember what that purpose was when Colt looked at her this way.
“I want you, Kati.” His hand slid over her arm lightly, blazing a trail of goose bumps. “Don’t you want me?”
“I can’t. Please understand.”
“Why? I’m a man. You’re a woman. And we are married.” He leaned closer, his chest grazing hers.
“But not for long.” She swallowed hard, an action that drew Colt’s attention to her throat. He traced the hollow of her throat with one finger. Almost moaning, Kati clamped her eyes closed and shivered in response, her words forced. “I haven’t—I’m not—I don’t believe in affairs.”
“How could it be an affair when we’re married? Unless you’re not attracted to me.” He seemed sincere, as though he doubted his potent effect on her. “Is that the problem?”
Grasping the lifeline, Kati replied, “Yes, that’s it.”
Colt’s hand stilled. Her tattletale pulse pecked against his callused fingers. “It is?”
“Yes,” she choked.
“Are you saying my kisses don’t affect you?”
“Yes.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. Boy, was that a true saying if there ever was one.
“Then you won’t mind if I…”
In the next heartbeat Colt’s lips closed over hers and she was lost, melting into the warmth and pleasure of his champagne mouth and tongue joined to hers. Sensations she’d sublimated for so long erupted with the violent force of Mount Saint Helens.
When the delicious pressure of Colt’s mouth suddenly disappeared, disappointment replaced it. Drat her traitorous heart. Why had she married a man she’d once had a crush on?
Hot from head to toe, Kati dared to peek at her husband. Oh dear, he was undressing and sliding into bed beside her, wearing only a pair of boxers that didn’t hide the fact that he wanted his new wife in the worst way. Kati sat bolt upright and clutched the neck of her T-shirt. “What…what are you doing?”
“Sleeping with my wife. If you’re not attracted to me, then what difference does it make? I can kiss you and hold you and you won’t get turned on, so there’s no need to worry about your virtue. Right?”
Why did that sound off-kilter? Fuzzy-headed from Colt’s devastating kiss and too much champagne, Kati couldn’t think straight to save her liver.
“I don’t want to…to—” She couldn’t get the words out.
“Make love?” His husky voice was amused.
“Right.”
“I do.” At her sharp intake of breath, he relented. “But I won’t. Not unless you want to. But if I have to be a married man, I am not sleeping alone. At least give me that.”
“No, this is crazy. I won’t.” But she stayed in the bed, aware of his washboard belly touching her upper thighs.
“We can sleep here or in my bed or on the kitchen floor for all I care, but wherever you choose, we’re sleeping together,” he insisted. “You’re getting what you want out of this crazy marriage of ours, so at least give me the courtesy of behaving like a real wife. I won’t have every hand on this ranch thinking I’m an idiot. A man has his pride, you know.”
Kati gnawed on her lip as she stared into the nuclear gaze of her make-believe husband. She’d never considered his point of view before. Naturally, he’d be embarrassed for others to know he’d made a marriage of convenience with the nanny. Just look at the way Jett had teased him. Considering all Colt was giving her, maybe she could do this one thing for him.
“Okay,” she relented, wondering how on earth she would be able to lie beside him every night without going out of her mind. “You can sleep in here at night, and I’ll pretend to be your wife during the day. But that’s all. No hanky-panky.”
“Spoilsport,” he muttered with a wry grin that made her stomach quiver. “Okay, if you insist, no hankypanky. But a real wife kisses her husband.” He reached for her braid and tugged, drawing her down beside him. “And holds him…” He placed her arms around his neck.
When his mouth found hers again, she gave herself fully to the kiss, knowing moments like these were unfailingly temporary. Heat sizzled past her lips, flowing down her body to form a molten pit low in her belly. Desire more potent than anything she’d ever experienced threatened to burn her alive. She didn’t want the kiss to end. Ever. Pressing closer and closer to Colt’s hard, hungry body, she longed to melt into him, to be part of him. Any minute now she was certain her body would spontaneously combust.
When Colt suddenly ended the glorious exploration of her mouth and pulled her into the spoon of his body, Kati couldn’t believe the degree of disappointment. As she lay breathless, struggling to stop the fierce craving of her body, Colt’s hot, sexy voice whispered against her ear.
“It’s a good thing we’re not attracted to each other.”