Free Have a Little Faith by Kadi Dillon Page B

proposal for marriage, would he allow her to have a baby ? Would she want to bring a child into a cold, loveless marriage?
    As if the thought of him brought him to her, Alex jolted when the barn door opened and Lane stepped in. He wore the same clothes as he did to Brewster’s, she noticed. He must not have gone to sleep, and followed her out to the barn.
    Alex sto od up, gripping her quilt in her rigid fingers. It wasn’t fear. She told herself she wouldn’t be afraid of him. It was awareness, caution that had he r backing up a step.
    “What are you doing out here?” s he asked before she could stop herself.
    He closed the door with a thump, slid the lock into place, and walked slowly into the room. “I was going to ask you the same question. Are you intending to sleep out here?”
    The way he worded the question and the tone of voice he used put her back up. “I s leep in here often, actually,” s he told him defiantly.
    A muscle w orked in his jaw while his eyes seared into hers. She reminded him of the way she looked that morning when she ’d learned of the marriage proposal. This time, however, she looked like a cat backed into a corner , ready to hiss and scratch him at any minute—n ot a tiger on the prowl.
    Banking down on his own temper from the fact that he had just found out why he never saw her in the house, Lane closed the distance between them.
    “Why do you sleep out here?”
    She jerked a shoulder and fiddled with the straps on her tank top. “I always have.”
    Deciding he liked the way he made her nervous, Lane touched a finger to the underside of her wrist where her pulse was scrambling. He hated that he had scared her the other day, but her nerves were a pleasant surprise. With the lightest touch, he trailed his finger down to her elbow then back up to link his hand with hers. With his free hand, he brought her chin up and held her there. Her eyes closed; her lips parted and waited for his.
    “Look at me, Alex.”
    She felt his breath on her face before her eyelashes fluttered open. He seemed to be searching he r face for some hidden secret; t aking her in as if she was the only thing that mattered. Her muscles went lax even as her breath quickened. Finally, his lips curved before he brought them down to hers.
    Her eyes clothed instinctively. His lips were firm and warm on hers, only tasting the surface. Alex thought she would die from the bliss of it. He brought her hand to his chest and held it to his heart. She felt it pounding brutally in his chest. Her heart rate matched his beat for beat.
    His tongue shot out and traced her bottom lip. He swallowed her gasp before he deepened the kiss. The hand on her chin wrapped around her waist as he crushed her to him. She brought her other hand to his chest and grabbed hold of his shirt, tilted her head to deepen the kiss further.
    A moan tore from his throat as he backed her up against the wall. Panicked excitement consumed her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Here was strength that wouldn’t bruise, she thought dizzily , riding each new wave of passion. Here was a power that would drown her in ecstasy. At last.
    Lane slipped his hand under her shirt and found skin. She was as smooth as the undersi de of a rose petal and tasted of dark secrets. His hand crept up until it found her breast.
    Her breath hitched as he left her mouth to trail wet, open mouthed kisses down her throat, to the front of her neck— all the while his thumbs teasing the sensitive flesh.
    She bit her lip to bite back a moan, but couldn’t quite muffle the sound. He caught her earlobe between his teeth while he worked to get the pins out of her hair.
    Blind with sensations she had never felt before, Alex reached for him.
    He pressed his face to the side of her neck and fought to get his breathing under control. He wanted her badly enough to beg at that moment. Something, God knew what, had him stopping to ask.
    “Tell me yes or no while you still have a choice,” he