Free Tempting Dusty (Temptation Saga Book 1) by Helen Hardt Page B

his sex hung loosely, surrounded by a nest of black curls. And those eyes… She wanted to melt into them.
    “Darlin’?” He spoke again. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
    “No.” Warmth crept up her neck.
    “That wasn’t your—”
    “My first time.” She rinsed out the cloth. “Yeah.”
    “I didn’t know.”
    “I know. It’s okay.”
    “But how? Why?”
    She turned and walked into his arms. “I never wanted anyone enough. Until now.”
    He kissed the top of her head. “I’m honored.”
    Okay, now she was embarrassed. “It’s no big deal.”
    “Are you kidding?” He grasped her shoulders, pushed her away, and bored his eyes into hers. “It’s a huge deal. And if I had known, I could have made it better for you.”
    “No, you couldn’t have. It was perfect. Thank you.”
    “Aw, hell, I’m the one who should be thanking you. You gave me a priceless gift. I’ll always treasure it, darlin’.”
    Dusty didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing.
    “And it’ll be better next time. Just wait and see.” He winked at her.
    Of course, there wouldn’t be a next time, but she didn’t want to tell him that yet. She wanted to hold him and pretend nothing else in the world existed.
    His voice breached her thoughts. “If you weren’t, you know, active sexually, why are you on the pill?”
    “What? Oh, yeah, the pill.” Dusty cleared her throat. “Irregular periods.”
    “Oh.”
    “Let’s go back to bed,” she said.
    “You’re sore. We should wait—”
    “I didn’t mean it that way. I just want to lie with you. In your arms.”
    He smiled down at her, took her hand, and led her back to the bed. She snuggled into him, sighing. “You smell good.”
    “Like honey and milk?” His eyes twinkled.
    “Kind of.”
    “That’s what I put in the bath.”
    Dusty giggled softly. “Somehow you don’t seem the milk bath type.”
    “What a man’ll do for his woman.” He squeezed her breast playfully.
    His woman . Wow. She did like the sound of it. If only it could be. “It’s not just honey and milk. You smell fresh, and musky.”
    “That’s you, darlin’. I smell like you.”
    “Oh.” She heated.
    “It’s the smell of sex. Of our scents mingled together.” He inhaled deeply. “There’s no sweeter perfume.”
    She breathed in and had to agree with him.
    “Dusty?”
    “Yeah?” She winced. She already knew him well enough to know that when he used her name, instead of calling her darling, something was up.
    “What was going on with you earlier?”
    “I’m hungry.” She wasn’t, but she had to change the subject.
    “I’ll call room service.”
    “No, I should go… I’m barrel racing tomorrow.”
    “Oh. Shoot.”
    “What?”
    “I’m one of the judges for the barrel racing. I guess I’ll have to disqualify myself.”
    “Why? You’re not even a real judge. There’s no subjectivity in barrel racing.”
    “Still—” He pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. “I can hardly be impartial when I’m sleeping with one of the contestants.”
    “There’s no impartiality. You just record the time and watch if any barrels get knocked over. I trust you to be fair.” She smiled. “I’m going to win, anyway. Sydney Buchanan’s the only one who has come close to my record time, and I already know I can beat her.”
    He kissed her again. “Just the same, I’m recusing myself. But I’ll be there to cheer you on.”
    “You don’t have to.”
    “Woman, I want to. Now if you’re hungry, I’m calling room service, and we’ll have dinner together up here. And we’ll talk .”
    He stood and went into the living area.
    Talk? Why did he want to talk? Weren’t men supposed to hate talking?
    He came back in with the room service menu and tossed it on the bed. “Order whatever you want.”
    “I’m not really hungry.”
    “Damn it, Dusty, you just said you were.”
    “Oh. Right.” She had to get out of here. “I should go, though. I haven’t given Regina a