Free One Night with her Bachelor by Kat Latham Page B

A sweet and sultry cowgirl, too proud to ask for help but not too shy to try her hand at seduction. His belly tightened with longing. Her touch had made him come alive. He’d been dead too long. He needed that feeling again.
    A hand on his arm stopped him a few feet from Molly. “Gabriel! You shaved!”
    He glanced down and found Lily smiling up at him. “Yeah. As soon as I figured out what lumbersexual meant, I decided I didn’t want to be it.”
    “That’s good, because you weren’t exactly killing it, I’ll be honest with you.”
    He chuckled, surprising himself with the sound. His main reason for shaving was that he didn’t want to be humiliated tonight. Camo pants, jeans, plaid shirts, and plain T-shirts took up all the space in his closet. He’d chosen his nicest clothes—soft, faded jeans and a red plaid shirt that an ex had said accentuated his dark, brooding sexuality. He had no idea what that meant, but he figured it was a good thing, since she’d gone down on him with gusto right afterward. But he wasn’t aiming to get sex tonight. He just hoped to raise some money for Molly.
    And escape with his manhood intact.
    She finally turned and noticed him. Excusing herself from Buck, she walked over and one of his questions was answered—deep V-neck and one of those necklaces that had several strands of small beads, drawing his gaze to her otherwise bare upper chest. The spit dried from his mouth. He wanted her so badly he was ready to swipe his arm across the nearest table and toss her onto it.
    You’re such a romantic.
    Molly deserved a hell of a lot better than a broken guy like him.
    “Gabriel.”
    “Hey, Molly.”
    She gave him a soft smile. It looked like it hurt her, like it didn’t come naturally anymore. What would he do to make it her lips’ default position again?
    Anything.
    Lily let out a long breath, her brows shooting up her forehead. “Hooo, look at the time. I better go see if the rest of the meat has arrived yet.”
    And then she slipped away into the crowd.
    Molly scrunched up her face apologetically. “Thank you for doing this. It wasn’t my idea at all—”
    “I know. Lily explained.”
    She took a deep breath. “I’ve gone over this moment a million times in my head—what I would say to you, all the things I want to tell you. They flew away as soon as I saw you.”
    He so badly wanted to grab her hands and give them a gentle squeeze. He shoved his fists into his jeans pockets instead. “It’s okay. I got your letter.”
    He’d kept it, tacked it up next to his bed so it was the first and last thing he saw every day.
    She looked embarrassed. “I wish I could’ve put it into words better. And then all the gas, the ramp… Gabriel, I can’t thank you enough.”
    “It’s okay,” he repeated. “I wanted to do those things.” They’d given him purpose, something to do. If he’d been brave enough to face her, he could’ve found out about her money problems earlier and tried to help with those, too.
    She swallowed hard, her gaze never leaving his. “I haven’t been allowed to see the menu. What are you offering?”
    “Menu?”
    Her lips twitched again. “Josh put together a menu of the dates you guys are selling. What’s yours?”
    “Before I tell you, do you know what the other guys are offering?”
    “I’ve heard rumors floating around the room. A day of skiing, a helicopter ride, a house cleaner for a day…”
    “Helicopter?” Damn. His date sucked.
    She laughed, and his heart stuttered. “The house cleaner was the one I would’ve gone for, if I could bid. I’m sure there aren’t any rules against you bidding, though, if you really want that helicopter ride.”
    “Baby, my helicopter days are behind me.”
    Her face fell as she probably remembered why. “Yeah. Makes sense.”
    He could’ve punched himself for reminding her of Scott’s death. Tonight was a night for partying, for celebrating the fact Josh was alive and maybe not kicking but still