Free Cowboy After Dark by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

stick it in the cabin door.” Leaning down, he picked up the envelope, opened it and started to laugh. “Oh, jeez.”
    “What? Who’s it from?”
    “Never mind.” He shoved the envelope and whatever it contained in his back pocket. “You can brush Isabeau, and I’ll take care of Navarre.”
    “All right.” She picked up a brush and started in on Isabeau’s dark gray coat. Curiosity was one of her failings, but she vowed not to be nosy. Keeping that vow would have been easier if Liam had quit chuckling.
    She tried to imagine what would have caused that reaction. It hadn’t been a note, because he’d taken no time to read it. As she replayed the moment, she remembered hearing the envelope crinkle. She recognized that crinkle.
    By the time she and Liam had settled both horses in their stalls, she’d figured out the likely contents of the envelope. She waited until they’d left the barn and he’d slid the bar across the double doors before confronting him. “Was there a condom in that envelope?”
    His sheepish expression said it all. “Um...yeah.”
    “Who—?”
    “Cade, but it’s not like you’re thinking.”
    “Then the two of you didn’t discuss the subject of condoms while you were out here saddling up for our ride?”
    “We did discuss it.”
    “Ha! And I was giving you points for being a gentleman! Meanwhile you and Cade were—”
    “Doing what good guys do.” He gripped her arms. “If you picture us taking bets on what would or wouldn’t happen tonight and making crude remarks about it, then you don’t know either of us very well.”
    “No, I don’t.” And she’d pictured exactly that.
    “Here’s how it went. Cade wanted us to have a good first date. He suggested taking a blanket, and I agreed. Then he asked if I had condoms, and I told him I wouldn’t presume to take them on a first date. He thought maybe I should reconsider because...” He paused. “That part doesn’t matter. I didn’t take them, as you know.”
    “I think it does matter, considering he left one so you’d have it at the end of our ride. Why did he think you should reconsider?”
    He cleared his throat. “He’s convinced you want me.”
    “Oh, really? Why is he convinced?”
    “He’s observed how you look at me.”
    “Oh.” Her cheeks grew hot. “Well, that’s damned embarrassing. I didn’t realize I was telegraphing my interest to the world.”
    “Not the world.” He drew her closer. “Before dinner I mentioned to Cade that I’ve liked you for a while. Cade, being protective of me, paid attention during the meal to whether you returned that interest.”
    “I see.” She wondered how Cade would react if he knew her interest was strictly short-term. Probably not well.
    “Should he have left that condom for me? Probably not, but that’s Cade. He means well, but he doesn’t always think how something will be perceived. He didn’t want us to go to bed frustrated.”
    “What exactly did you say to Cade before dinner?”
    “That you seemed special and I’d been meaning to ask you out for weeks.”
    “And why didn’t you?”
    His gaze searched hers. “The truth is, I had a strong feeling you’d refuse. So I put off asking to avoid what I thought would be a rejection.”
    “It would have been.”
    He accepted that with a nod. “Then my instincts were right, and as it turns out, the situation we’re in now is the only way you would ever have agreed to spend time with me.”
    “Exactly.”
    “A brief affair.”
    “Yes. But now I’m worried you won’t be okay with that.”
    An emotion flickered in his eyes and was gone. He smiled down at her. “Are you kidding? What guy wouldn’t be thrilled with a week of great sex with a beautiful woman?”
    “A guy who wants more.”
    “But you don’t have more to give.”
    “Right.”
    “So I’m grateful for whatever you are willing to give.” He rubbed her back. “We’ve just begun, and you’ve already made me a very happy and satisfied