License to Love: Holiday Box Set (Contemporary Romance) Read online

  A loud knock sounded at the door, causing him to pause.

  She clung to him, shaking her head. “Don’t answer it.”

  What could be so important? He hadn’t felt an earthquake. He didn’t smell smoke.

  For the life of him, he couldn’t pull away from her. The knock got louder, then Dale called his name.

  “Damn it all!” Brent jumped up to answer the door, saying over his shoulder, “He’ll walk right in here if we don’t answer.”

  He threw open the door to scowl at Dale. “Is something on fire?”

  Dale looked baffled. “You better get out here, the stable roof’s leaking bad and pouring water all over everything. We’ve got a muddy mess in there and some unhappy horses.”

  Dale left before Brent could grab his coat. Missy rushed to come with him.

  “Listen, you don’t need to be out in the cold and wet.” He didn’t think she’d know how to help anyway.

  Her dark gaze held his, looking determined as heck to go with him.

  “Fine, come on, I don’t have time to argue.” He turned toward the door, and she followed him into the dark night. The rain fell slow enough to look like snow, but it wasn’t cold enough for that.

  After several steps, he thought about how he’d spoken to her. Looking over, however, she didn’t look angry. “Listen, getting interrupted like that . . . it, uh, it doesn’t feel so great. Sorry I snapped at you.”

  The corners of her mouth rounded in a smile. “Forgiven. I’m not too thrilled, either. That’s why I didn’t want to sit there by myself.”

  Really? He wanted to tease her, but they were close to the stables. One reason Brent liked having Dale around was he kept everything in top shape. Right now, however, he wasn’t happy with having to fix something the minute it needed fixing.

  Dale placed a ladder against the side, with the tools close by.

  “I’ll hold, you go up first,” Brent directed Dale. Missy stepped back as Dale climbed. Brent turned to her when Dale reached the roof. Her head went back to look up, and she looked scared.

  He chucked the rolled-up tarp up and made sure Dale caught it, then he picked up the toolbox to take up with him.

  “Hold the ladder for me?” Judging from the look on her face, she didn’t like heights. He wasn’t about to ask her to come up.

  “Okay, go.”

  He didn’t rush since the ladder was wet, and he had to perch the box on a rung, take a step, and then move the toolbox. He reached the roof and looked down through the darkness to call out, “You can go in the stables and I’ll call when we’re coming down.”

  The lone flashlight he’d thought to bring didn’t do much in the way of lighting. Dale used his own flashlight to light his workspace. With the rain and tilted roof, it wasn’t a fun job, but they got it done. He was beginning to regret coming out to fix it tonight; it really could have waited.

  “Missy!” He had to bellow her name out since she was still inside. She ran out and understood he wanted her to hold the ladder. Once they were both on the ground again, he said, “Let’s survey the damage.”

  With only five boarder horses, their total came to fifteen, and Missy had moved them so every horse was in a dry stall.

  “I wonder why a little water set them off.” Dale rubbed his beard. “Horses usually like to stand in the rain.”

  Brent shrugged since there wasn’t any way to tell, but it might have been that Dale was worried and decided the horses were too. Dale thought of this place like his own, and Brent couldn’t fault him for being so diligent in his job. He noticed Missy had gotten the horses into dry blankets for the night.

  “We’ll take care of this,” Brent told Dale. “You can head on home.”

  Dale nodded to them on his way out. Missy had been quiet and he turned to her now. “You have a way with them, you know. They’re settled down like nothing bothered them.”

  She didn’t answer, and he knew she was thinking over what had happened between them in his house.

  “Warm enough?” His coat had gotten soaked through while he hammered the tarp down.

  “I’m good. We’ll be done soon anyway.” She started back to the wet stalls. “This isn’t so bad. It’ll dry now that new water isn’t dripping in.”

  “Let’s head out, then.” He waited for her to turn around and look at him, but she didn’t. She started for the door.

  Curious reaction. “Would you like to come back to my place?”

  Now she turned. “I . . . I’m not sure.”

  He didn’t plan to push things, not when she looked worried about something. “Okay, I’ll walk you home.”

  At his words, her shoulders relaxed and she tried to smile. His instinct had been on, but what scared her? He put an arm around her on the way, and was grateful she leaned into him, accepting his comfort.

  They hurried through the rain, not that they could get any wetter.

  At her door, he asked, “How about you and I go out tomorrow night?”

  She didn’t hesitate on that one. “Sure.”

  Maybe she just needed to take it slow. Now under her porch roof, he rubbed her wet hair. He pulled her chin up and sank his mouth onto hers, finding her lips as cold as his own. He kept the kiss light and added another to her forehead before sending her inside.

  Once her door was shut, he headed home, not caring about the cold drizzle coming down or the stable roof.

  * * * *

  Missy stood facing her bathroom mirror when she heard Brent’s truck. No time to change her clothes again. Still nervous about taking this step, she didn’t wait for him to knock, but grabbed her jacket and purse and walked outside to meet him on the porch.

  Memory flashes from the night before hit her, once again sending desire through her. She’d kissed him until she couldn’t think.

  He stepped out of the truck, looking dangerous in his tan cowboy hat, a crisp dress shirt, and his long legs in new jeans. Dangerous to her hormones, that was. He looked so good she ignored the flowers.

  He checked her out, up and down. Then again. “Guess you’re ready.”

  He looked dumbfounded, but she didn’t find it as funny. Another time, maybe, but now she just liked knowing she did that to him.

  She met his gaze. “I heard you coming and didn’t want to wait inside.” She took the flowers he handed her, brought the red roses to her nose, but she wasn’t expecting them to smell so rich, deep, and somehow of love. “Come in and I’ll put them in water.”

  She turned and took them with her, letting him follow. Like the view from back there? He seemed so entranced by her. She was aware she had some curves, but his adoring eyes, and hands, took her unprepared.

  She arranged them without making a fuss so they could go. He’d stayed by the counter while she poured water and set the vase down. But she smelled his cologne, felt his presence.

  She looked up. He watched her, too, his lips parted and his eyes aglow with something like sentiment or reverence. Whatever it was, it stopped her from moving or breathing for a full minute.

  This man loved his land more than anything… was it possible for a man to love a woman like that? She thought about how he watched her, how he held her so gently in his kitchen and how he took care of her so many times. Massaging her shoulders. Walking her home in the dark. Now she looked into his eyes and let herself feel those deep, secret feelings she normally would push away.

  He swallowed and she shook herself. So that was what it felt like when the world stopped. She took his hand for the short walk outside into the chilly night to the truck. It was still running, so the inside was warm.

  “How did today go?” It’d been the first thought and she needed something to stop her escalating emotions.

  “We got the roof done.” He looked over to answer, and she was pretty sure he looked down to her breasts and then to her legs.

  She smoothed her hands down her skirt, glad she’d worn the short skirt, even if it was winter. “That’s good.”

 
; “Nervous?”

  “We’re being honest about it?” She didn’t want to answer, but that answered for her. Could he be nervous, too? With his calm exterior, she had no way to tell. Even when he took on jumpy horses or tall ladders, he didn’t look nervous.

  He turned on the radio to a country station. There were a lot of things she could discuss with him, but the lack of conversation felt nice for now. Maybe he already understood she was thankful when he backed off the night before. She’d been so ready until she had time to think about it.

  It wasn’t that she needed time. She just liked to think things over. And she had. Quite a lot.

  He pulled into the restaurant parking lot and turned off the engine.

  “I get to open your door for you.” He jumped out and came around. She’d never seen the point in that type of thing, but she had to admit she liked it when he offered his hand. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look?”

  “Thanks.” She linked her arm though his. “I thought you might appreciate something besides Wranglers.”

  “Now, you can’t knock Wranglers, especially if you could see your cute little butt in them.” He gave it a pat before grabbing the restaurant door. The unexpected touch left her skin tingling. Inside, they were seated right away despite the dinner crowd.

  She studied her menu, but noted he studied her. She’d worn a burgundy top with lace at the neckline. It swooped down lower than her work shirts. Combined with the skirt, it seemed to get his attention.

  “Our waiter is coming.” She set her menu aside. “Did you decide?”

  “Oh, yeah, I know what I want.” The pure appreciation in his eyes let her know it, too.

  She tried not to blush as the waiter approached their table. Brent turned and ordered, knowing what he wanted. It must have been his favorite here and sounded so good, she ordered it as well. Alone again, they both smiled, staring.

  “I take it you don’t offer trail rides in the winter.” She decided to talk about the ranch, a safe subject.

  “Not yet. There’s several stables along the coast that do, and they’re much bigger. We take their overflow in peak season.”

  “Do you plan to expand?” She’d controlled the urge to ask this kind of question before, in case it brought back the tension.

  “I’m sure we will someday. And I guess you have a say in that now.” His tone wasn’t cold. But they were on thin ice, she knew.

  “I still want to know what you planned.” She wanted to be a part of the stables and the plans, not take over.

  “I saw a vision of the place, and that’s pretty much what it is right now. I have the land, the horses, and the beach nearby.” His gaze dropped down to the table. She didn’t think he was mad, but he was closing up in himself. Something was off.

  Ben.

  They hadn’t spoken much about her late brother. She couldn’t hold it against him, since they hadn’t known each other for a long period of time. Things were going well enough for her to want to stay on longer, and he seemed to want that as well.

  Something, however, still dogged him. Why else would he avoid Dancer? Why else would he clam up when she asked about the future?

  She remembered the one and only time she had asked him about Ben’s death. He’d refused to answer.

  Switching gears, she asked, “Do you think I’ll be able to help with the tours this spring?”

  When his face came back up, his eyes were clear. “I plan on it. Two of us always go with every group, maybe more if it’s a large one. One leads the way, the other brings up the rear.”

  He’d worked with Ben before. She could tell he didn’t want to talk about it. His hand rested on the table, and she reached over and covered his with her own. He didn’t pull his hand back, but stroked hers with his thumb.

  “You seem to have a lot of confidence in me,” she said. It gave her a warm feeling, but she didn’t want his feelings toward her to cloud his judgment on this.

  “You still have time,” he reminded, still stroking her hand. “For your first few times, three of us can go. It’ll work out fine. I can tell by watching you ride now.”

  Their meals arrived and they made small talk while eating. She enjoyed getting to know him. They’d planned on a movie afterwards, but she couldn’t sit next to him in the dark and watch a movie. “Would you like to go to my place for wine?” she asked as they walked to the truck.

  He must have seen right through that. Teasing her, he said, “Didn’t you just have wine with dinner?”

  After he opened her door, she slid in and waited until he sat behind the wheel to ask, “Then would you like to come back to my place and kiss me?”

  “Just one kiss?” He started the truck and put it in reverse. The music played and she scooted in the middle for the trip back. He smelled like pure pleasure, she thought as she leaned her head against his shoulder. She was a sucker for his wide shoulders.

  “Missy?”

  She shot up at his questioning tone. “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for... the way you are.”

  What could he mean by that? “My sultry good looks or my amazing charm?”

  He chuckled. “I like a woman with a good self image.” He rubbed her with the arm he had wrapped around her. “But I meant for your understanding. I thought you’d change everything. Now I’m not sure why I was so against you coming here.”

  She could remind him that he’d just lost a good friend, and she came looking for money. She’d also been hurt and angry over things.

  “Wasn’t the best way to meet, was it?” she said, her voice quiet and sad.

  He turned down the ranch road, passing under the Ocean View Stables sign and driving to her cabin.

  “You’re not leaving once you drop me off, are you?” Oh, boy, that sounded like panic in her voice. After all her daydreaming, she needed him in the most intimate way.

  “I’ll stay, go, do whatever you want.”

  That innuendo didn’t escape her notice. And after looking at him, she knew he meant it. Time to put it to the test.

  “Come on, cowboy.” She started to slide over to the passenger door.

  His hand on her arm stopped her. “It’s closer this way.”

  Surprised, she turned to him just as he pulled her up into his arms to carry her inside. “Let’s hurry, it’s cold.”

  He took her right in and set her on her feet inside the front door.

  Shutting the door behind her, she leaned against it, looking into his blue eyes and then that mouth waiting to take hers. Powerful urges burned inside her, keeping her from moving.

  “Missy?” His voice washed over her, making her shiver. “Are you cold?”

  She shook her head and watched him step next to her. He touched her cheek, her neck, and leaned in to kiss her. Moaning, she fell against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. His face was just a bit rough under her lips. Enjoying the texture, she ran her lips over his whiskers.

  In contrast, his neck felt like silk, right down to his collarbone. She undid the top several buttons of his shirt and ran her hand over the thin chest hair underneath. She shivered with pleasure. While she wanted to touch every inch of him, right now, she needed to savor. The last buttons went and she pushed his shirt open.

  She’d thought a lot about trusting him with this. If she thought he’d understand, she’d tell him what a big step she was taking. To understand that, however, he’d have to know why she was afraid to trust. Shame kept her from sharing. She wanted to forget other bad memories and have this now, with Brent.

  His hands sculpted her waist, running down to the dip before her hips. She could trust him this way. Her heart would be another matter.

  “All this comes off,” she told him with one brow crooked suggestively.

  “Does it?” He threw her up into his arms again and carted her back to her bedroom.

  She expected him to toss her playfully down on the bed but instead he laid her down gently, lingering with his arms wrapped tightly around her, his
face pressed into her neck and his breath feeling hot on her skin.

  “I’ve been dying to feel your legs all evening… did you wear a skirt to tease me on purpose?”

  Missy laughed softly. Missy felt a bit crazy for him right now. She tried to say his name and found she couldn’t. She was shaking.

  He lifted his head and looked at her with concern. “Are you alright?”

  She nodded and ran her hands up his arms, wishing the sleeves weren’t in the way. With her approval, he kissed his way down her stomach and under her shirt, slowly lifting it and pulling it off. After another trail of tantalizing kisses down to her skirt, he pressed his lips into the dip above her hip while slowly sliding the skirt down and off. When she reached for his shirt to push it all the way off, he leaned back with a small smile on his swollen lips. He paused before he slid his shirt completely off his shoulders and off, revealing his sculpted arms and stomach, the light hair she had been wanting to feel. He stood, watching her with passion burning in his eyes and unhooked his own jeans.

  She reached out for him, arching in her want.

  “Nope, not yet!” Brent wiggled his hips, lowering his pants inch by inch. He kicked off one leg and then the other, then reached for his boxers to repeat the same, slow, agonizing striptease.

  He let her look at him standing there, naked and smiling before he leaned over the bed to run a hand down her body. “Did that get you going?” When his hand slid over her panties, she twitched, so shocked by the feel of him on her over-sensitive and worked up body. His hand slid between her legs and his eyes widened. “It feels like it did!”

  Finally finding her voice, she said, “It looks like you’re ready too.” Her husky voice surprised her. It also made her feel even sexier.

  He leaned down over her, seeking her mouth in a hungry kiss. He reached behind to undo her bra, but feeling a bit frisky, she batted his hand away and slid away enough to sit up. Looking at his face, she wasn’t sure how he could hold himself back and tease. So it was even more fun to slowly undo her bra but hold it on for a few extra seconds. When she lowered it, he hooked a finger in the front and pulled it away, tossing it off to the side.