Free Cassie's Cowboy Crave: Witness Protection - Rancher Style (Sweet Montana Bride Series) by Kimberly Krey Page A

she wouldn’t forget the feel of his mouth on hers as long as she lived. Mindlessly, she pulled a small trash bin to the table, tossing napkins and sacks into it.
    Her heart pounded restlessly as she worked in the dimly-lit room. How could she have forgotten about Griffin so easily? It was like he’d disappeared from her memory completely. Until… she didn’t even want to think the words. She felt too guilty. But they played in her head all the same: She’d been lost in Shane’s kiss. The incredible sensation of his rough, stubbled jaw against her cheek. The feel of it around his lips as he kissed her. The pure masculinity in everything about this rugged, Montana cowboy had caused thoughts of contrast to sneak into her mind at the worst possible time. The contrast between Shane and Griffin – her boyfriend ! Not ex-boyfriend, like some guy from her distant past – the current man in her life. Yet maybe Cassie had already detached from him more than she was willing to admit. Perhaps her mind had been made up weeks before she’d received his letter, and she feared the words might send her back into a relationship that was nothing but a dead end.
    Still, she was a total jerk for enjoying Shane’s kiss. For encouraging it, even. How had she so easily lost her senses? Cassie dropped to her knees, glancing at the damp washcloth she held in her hand. She didn’t even remember going to the sink to get it, yet she’d already wiped the surface clean. Her ring glistened in the small hint of light, and Cassie couldn’t help but smile at it. She quickly replaced the expression with a reproving frown. It was lack of sleep, that was all. Like Shane had said. Beautiful, wonderful, bull-riding, cowboy-from-Emerson Ranch –  Shane.
    In a slow daze, Cassie shuffled her way to the bed, not bothering to remove her sweats. She reached for the remote, shut off the TV, and sunk into the mattress. The last thing she remembered was a sick, strong feeling of regret, prodding at her thoughts. Not regret for kissing Shane, like any good and decent person would have. It was regret in a different way. Cassie was sure she’d burn in Hell for her thoughts, but she only wished she would’ve let it go on for longer. A kiss was a kiss, after all. If she was to endure a world of guilt over it for who knew how long, at least she could have kissed him back.
     
    In her dreams, Cassie did just that. Over and over the event played blissfully in her mind. The scruff of his jaw against her cheek as goose bumps spread over her arms. The all-too-brief press of his lips to her neck. That ruggedly handsome smell of him teasing her senses. And that mouth. In her dreams she kissed him back, long and thorough, intoxicated by the man he was. She ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair and listened to him groan in response. His kiss was strong and certain, and she reveled in the feel of it. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a lucid thought told Cassie it was only a dream. Still, she relished the moment, knowing it may be the last taste of Shane Emerson she’d get.
    ~+~
    The sound of a light tap woke Shane from his sleep, though it wasn’t enough to help him pry open his eyes. It felt like he’d been sleeping for days, weeks even, as hard as it was to gain a conscious thought. The tapping came again. And just before Shane found it in him to yell at whatever ranch hand was disturbing his sleep, an image of Cassie Lovell slipped into his mind, along with the sound of her name.
    His eyes shot open. “Come in,” he said, voice hoarse from sleep. His eyes shut against his will as he waited.
    The knob squeaked. The door creaked. Soft footsteps padded into his room. Hotel room, he reminded himself.
    “If you want to sleep longer, I can wait.”
    There was something about the sound of her voice that got Shane’s pulse to racing. “What time is it?” he asked, forcing his eyes open once more. He sat up and stretched, looking for a clock as she