Free Blame it on Texas by Amie Louellen Page B

“I’ve missed you.”
    Shelby swallowed back the knot of regret that formed in her throat. “I don’t think it’s the time to talk about that either.”
    He gave a jerky nod and started toward her. His feet were suddenly steady. Maybe he wasn’t as drunk as she had originally thought. By the time she realized his intent, it was too late.
    One arm snaked out, wrapping around her and pulling her to him. His lips captured hers, swift and sure. Her knees buckled with surprise and desire, but he was there to hold her up. And she was lost.
    Her fingers went to the bill of his hat, tipping it up and off his head like she had done a thousand times before.
    Memories teemed around her, fueled by the night and his lips on hers. All the days she had spent in his arms, in his bed. Regret mingled, but she pushed it away. She should do the same to him, push him away. Fight the passion rising to the surface.
    But she had been fighting her feelings for so long she didn’t have the strength anymore. Or maybe it was the desire. It took so much to protect herself. So much to pretend that this wasn’t what she wanted. That he wasn’t what she needed.
    She sighed, melting into him. And he pulled her closer still, turning and walking her toward the bedroom.
    She forced herself to pull away. “Ritt, I—”
    “We were good together, Shel.” He kept moving.
    She kept letting him. “That was a long time ago.”
    “This feels like now.”
    And now felt amazing…wonderful…right.
    He pulled his shirt over his head and her heart pounded in her throat.
    Who was to know but the two of them?
    She didn’t protest as he nudged open the door to his room and urged her inside. Didn’t protest when he stripped her T-shirt over her head and lowered her to the bed.
    A sigh escaped her lips as he moved away, trailing kisses down her neck, across her collarbone, into the hollow of her throat.
    “I’ve dreamt of this, you know. Holding you again.” One callused hand moved from her hip to the curve of her waist and higher still to palm her waiting breast.
    His touch was like coming home. Filled with warmth and comfort, all the things she had been missing in her life.
    Suddenly respectability wasn’t so important anymore. Not if she could have this, this fire blazing between them. This love burning her from the inside out.
    He had changed little in the years they had been apart. His chest was a little broader. She traced her fingers across the star-shaped scar just under his collarbone. “What happened?”
    He chuckled, low and sexy. “Fishing accident. Took a lure for the team.”
    She leaned in and kissed it.
    He stopped laughing, sucking in a sharp breath as her tongue met his bare skin.
    “Shelby,” he groaned.
    She raised her head. “What?” Her gaze met his. She wanted him to see the light in her eyes, the desire and longing she held only for him.
    “Nothing.” He dipped his head and kissed her again.
    Shelby fisted her hands in his hair, holding him to her, perhaps even trying to hold on to him forever.
    Then he pulled away. His hair slipped from between her hungry fingers, her body chilled as he moved his heat from on top of her.
    “Where are you going?” she asked, still reeling. Her head was spinning with desire, her heart full to bursting with the realization that she loved him. She had always loved him. Her Texas husband.
    “Condom,” he said, digging through the nightstand drawer. “Can’t have a repeat of last time.”
    Shelby’s heart fell into her toes. She felt as if a bucket of snow had been dumped on her desire.
    Ritt froze, realizing he’d said the wrong thing. His eyes reflected the regret that turned down the corners of his mouth.
    “Shelby.” He licked his lips as if they had suddenly gone dry. “I—”
    “Don’t.” She held up a hand as she reached for her clothes. Her insides were raw with the realization that she loved him, but he didn’t love her back. How could he, if he said things like that to