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Adaira, and it wouldn’t be polite for me to ditch her.”
His grin faded fast. “If that’s how you feel, I’ll respect that. But need I remind you that I saved your pretty little ass yesterday? The least you can do is give me five minutes of your time. We can stay right here in the barn. There’s a nice quiet tack room right past that first stall where we can talk privately.”
Little ass . This man really needed to get himself a pair of glasses. She nodded. “Fine. I’ll give you five minutes,” she said, blowing out an impatient breath.
He nodded and turned in the direction of the tack room.
Ella’s eyes quickly searched the barn’s interior until she spotted Adaira. When she got her attention, Ella gave her friend the evil eye. Adaira shrugged her shoulders and mouthed, I’m sorry .
Not nearly as sorry as she was going to be.
Following Decker down a lengthy corridor past stacks of pungent hay bales, Ella couldn’t help but admire his backside. Yesterday, when he had carried her down the ladder, she had been overwhelmed by his frontal beauty. But it was quickly becoming obvious to her that the man didn’t have a bad side. She swallowed hard at the sight of his back muscles bulging and dancing beneath his denim shirt. His every movement teased her senses. Snug-fitting Wranglers showcased his hot, taut derriere. Each stride stretched the dark blue material across his powerful, muscular thighs.
By the time they stepped into the tack room, she was breathless. Without speaking, he pulled a long chain hanging from the ceiling. Instantly, the room was cascaded in a soft yellow glow that illuminated the walls around them. His expression held an intensity that she hadn’t seen in him before. Holding her gaze, he shut the door behind them. Never breaking eye contact with her, he slid the bolted lock in place.
This room was much warmer than the area of the barn they had just been in. Here, there was no night air stirring from an open door. The upbeat tempo of the country music had been muted to a nonintrusive, distant background noise.
Ella tried to slow her heart. With great effort, she drew in a long, deep breath. Having spent a summer on her grandparents’ ranch as a teenager, she recognized the strong scent of leather, saddle soap and horse hair. Smells that were familiar and soothing—something she could use right now as Decker Wyman was purposely closing all space between them. With each step he took, Ella took a backward one. He continued slowly advancing until he had her back pressed against a huge stack of sacks filled with grain.
He leaned in close, placing his hands against the wall on either side of her head.
She trembled when his chest brushed her breasts. Gasped when he pressed his hips into hers. She nearly swooned when he whispered in her ear, “My five minutes starts now.”
Steeling her resolve, she raised her chin. “I’m listening, Decker.”
“Oh, hell, what I have to say can wait a minute. I need to taste my little cupcake cutie.”
Like lightning he dipped his head. There was no time for Ella to dodge him. No chance for her to protest before his mouth captured hers. His lips were warm and firm and insistent. One hand tangled in the long curls of her thick, chestnut brown hair, drawing a moan of pleasure from deep within her. The other roamed over the dip at her waist and around her low back, urging her even closer.
Ella could literally feel the years of sexual repression melting away. In this man’s strong, masculine arms she didn’t feel like the lonely, self-conscious, overweight girl. Those feelings had all but vanished, being replaced by a much stronger feeling—one awakened by a masculine touch that she couldn’t get enough of.
She knew she should push him away. He still hadn’t explained himself, and he was still married. She really should tell him to stop. Instead, she