Romancing the Ranger (10 page)

He didn’t want her to go. He wanted to keep kissing her—touching her. He wanted to lay her down on the hood of that very expensive car and make her engine purr.

She drew back, her breath ragged and her eyes bright. “I’ve got to go. But I will see you in a week and a half. And Wade”—she dipped her chin and looked up at him through her long dark eyelashes—“make sure you bring your pajamas and a toothbrush.”

She pulled away and climbed into her car.

Shutting the door, she spoke to him through the open window. “On second thought, forget the pajamas. Just bring the toothbrush.” She winked and put the car into gear.

He chuckled. “Got it.”

“See you next week.” She waved and pulled away.

He watched her car drive down the long driveway and turn onto the highway.

A heavy weight filled his gut, and he dismissed the idea that he could be missing her already.

This was no big deal. They’d see each other in a few days.

So why did it feel so final? Like this was the end of something. Something good.

Something he didn’t want to let go of.

Okay, so he hadn’t asked her to stay. But at least he knew he would see her again. That was something.

But now they would be on her home turf. She’d have home field advantage.

What if this was really just a test to see if he could hack it in her world?

Chapter Ten

The doorbell rang.

Her mouth went dry, and her pulse quickened as she tried not to run for the front door of her apartment.

She’d been thinking about this night all week and had everything planned.

They would start with dinner at a fun Irish pub downtown that served the best fish and chips in town, then head out to the sports field where she had tickets to a professional soccer game. The fans were rowdy, and she’d reserved great seats right by the field.

She couldn’t wait to surprise Wade.

She wore jeans, cute sandals, and a gorgeous emerald green sleeveless top that brought out the green in her eyes.

He’d told her once that he loved the color of her eyes. That they reminded him of the water in the lake.

Maybe that might not sound too romantic to some, but it reminded her of their night at the lake, and she got a little shiver of delight just thinking about it.

Checking her hair once more in the mirror as she walked by
—
she’d worn it loose and curled
—
she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Surprise.

The sight of Wade took her breath away. He was gorgeous.

But the surprise was on her as he stood at her doorstep holding a single pink flower and wearing a suit and tie.

His black suit fit him in all the right places, and the way he smiled at her sent little tingles of pleasure coursing through her.

Suddenly shy, she hesitated, not sure if she should hug him or throw him down in the hall and jump him right there. “Hi.”

Saving her, he leaned forward and pulled her into his arms. “Hi, yourself. You look great.”

He
felt
great. So solid and warm. And he smelled amazing.

She wanted to forget going out and just drag him into her bedroom and spend the weekend naked in bed. “Thanks. Come on in.”

She stepped back and let him in to the apartment. His good-natured smile fell as he appeared to take in the opulent apartment.

To her, it was just her place, but she suddenly saw her apartment from new eyes. From his eyes.

It probably did seem a little posh. Her dad had hired a decorator, and she’d let him, of course. She never felt that she needed such an elegant place and sometimes felt afraid to make a mess.

Her apartment was a beautiful mix of contemporary and chic. Decorated in cool hues, shades of blue and green dotted the room in the form of throw pillows and artwork. Thick rugs covered gleaming hardwood floors, and a large watercolor painting covered one wall.

The apartment was set up in a great-room arrangement with the kitchen and living area as one big room separated by a large island. The black countertops gleamed, and the room smelled like the vanilla scented candle that burned there.

Her kitchen was spotless, not because she loved to clean, but because she never cooked. She was terrible in the kitchen and had her three favorite takeout restaurants on speed-dial.

The apartment stayed neat due to her dad’s insistence on paying for a cleaning service once a week. She felt so bad that someone had to clean up after her, that she often cleaned the apartment the night before they arrived. They’d been a godsend this last week, though, as she’d come home from work every night and delved into her manuscript.

Thoughts of her story filled her head as she worked, and she couldn’t wait to get home each night and fill the pages with her ideas.

She’d been dying to tell Wade all about her latest thoughts about the storyline.

Except now she seemed shy, almost embarrassed at the richness of her apartment as she watched Wade eyeball the size of the flat-screen plasma television affixed to the wall.

He whistled as he took in the rooms and tugged uncomfortably at his tie. “Pretty swanky place you got here.”

She shrugged. “It’s okay. My dad brought someone in to decorate. Personally I love the shabby chic feel of the bed and breakfast more.”

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. “Yeah, I bet you do.”

He handed her the flower. “This is for you. Gram told me to pick the prettiest flower in her garden for you.” He reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a slim rawhide. “And this is for Bagel.”

Awww. He’d handpicked a flower for her and brought a gift for her dog.

Her heart melted.

Wade looked around. “Where is the little guy?”

“I left him at my dad’s for the night since I didn’t know how late we’d be staying out.”

Although now all she could think about was how soon they’d be getting in. To bed.

Wade eyed her outfit. “Am I early? Did I not give you enough time to change?”

“No, you’re great. You’re right on time. I just got off work late. It won’t take me but a few minutes to change.” She pointed to the fridge. “Grab yourself something to drink. I’ll be right back.”

Shutting the door of her bedroom, she shimmied out of her clothes as she scrambled for a new plan for the evening.

Who knew Wade would show up in a suit? She was expecting his normal jeans and cowboy boots.

Not that she was complaining.

Ranger Wade could rock the hell out of a suit.

She scanned her closet and grabbed a turquoise blue summer dress, a short cotton number that hugged her figure. It was a little sexier style than she normally wore, but she’d bought it on a whim last week when she’d seen it at the mall.

Throwing caution to the wind, she stripped off her bra and shimmied the girls into the halter-style top of the dress.

She was probably a little too busty to go braless with this dress, especially with its deep plunging neckline, but hey, this was the new Reese. The one who didn’t conform, who dated park rangers and went out to dinner without a bra.

Sliding her feet into a pair of strappy high heels, she fluffed out her hair and was glad she’d decided to wear it down and loose.

“Okay, I’m ready.” She stepped out of her room, a little nervous about her bold wardrobe choice.

Brock would never let her wear anything that even hinted at sexy. He wanted her looking respectable and chaste. Like a good country club girl.

Respectable and chaste could take a hike.

She had the figure to wear something sexy, and she’d enjoyed the last few weeks in Cotton Creek where she could dress however she wanted. She’d had fun wearing her clothes a little more on the racy side as she’d tried to win over the ranger.

But this was the city, and they were going out.

She looked up at Wade and was rewarded with a wide-eyed ogle.

His eyes roamed from her bare legs to her eye-popping cleavage, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed. “Wow. You look amazing. I’m not sure it’s safe for you to go out like that. You could stop traffic in that dress.”

She loved the way he eyed her, not with scorn for not dressing proper enough, but with a greedy look of hunger like he wanted to devour her.

He casually leaned against the counter, holding a can of orange soda, and she had a fleeting thought of how easy it would be for Wade to peel off her dress and take her against those spotless kitchen counters.

A blush crept up her cheeks, and he grinned as if he read her mind.

She swallowed and grabbed her purse, knowing that if they didn’t leave now, her willpower would crumble, and they wouldn’t make it out of her kitchen.

The lone pink flower sat by the sink in a tumbler full of water, and a goofy grin crept across her face at the touching gesture of Wade picking out a flower for her. “Thanks for the flower. I love it.”

He hoisted the can up and offered her an easy smile. “Thanks for the orange soda. It’s my favorite.”

“I know. That’s why I got it. I paid attention to what you like.”

His smile turned naughty, and he drawled, “You do a lot of things that I like.”

Her insides did a little tumble at the way he smiled at her, and his deep, low voice swirled around her like a warm cloak.

She loved that she knew one of his favorite things and that he’d noticed and thanked her. Unlike Brock, who’d expected her to detail and catalogue all of his wants and needs.

It was much more fun to surprise someone with a thoughtful gesture than be expected to do one.

In fact, just about everything seemed more fun with Wade. And she couldn’t wait to start their date.

Actually, she couldn’t wait to end their date, in her bed.

Before another blush could grab her, she reached for her scarf and busied herself with arranging it around her shoulders. “We should probably head out. Where did you park?”

Wade left his soda can on the counter and sidled over to her. Yeah, even in the suit, he still had the swagger of a man used to wearing cowboy boots. “I’m in the lot down the street.”

“We should probably take my car then. You may never find another spot later tonight.” She pushed the intercom button next to her front door. “Don, will you have someone bring my car up? We’re going out to dinner this evening.”

A man’s clipped voice responded. “Of course, Ms. Hudson, right away.”

Wade raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as they exited her apartment and headed for the elevator. The car was empty, and Wade placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her into the small space.

The warmth of his hand against her back sent a delicious shiver through her, and her inner minx came alive.

She tipped her head up and gave him her best seductive look. “You know you haven’t kissed me hello yet.”

A surprised look crossed Wade’s face, followed by a wicked grin. “Then I should remedy that right now.”

He took a step closer, pressing her back against the elevator wall, and slid his hand behind her neck. Drawing her face up, he leaned in and took her mouth in a soft kiss, his lips barely grazing her.

She sighed against his mouth, tasting the faint lingering of orange soda, her fingers digging in to his shoulders.

His second kiss was deeper as he pressed into her, his lean body hard against hers as he took her mouth in a carnal onslaught of fever and lust. His hand slid down her waist, over her hip, and grabbed her butt, lifting her leg and wrapping it around him.

She pulled him to her, matching his frenzied desire as everything in her burned with heat and a passionate need.

Moaning into his mouth, she rubbed against him, desperate to feel his hands on every inch of her.

The ding of the elevator brought her back to reality.

Wade stepped back, leaving her gasping for breath and aching for his touch.

Cool and composed, he grinned down at her as the elevator doors slid open. “Hello.”

Holy freaking hot hellos
.

He took her hand, and she followed him out of the elevator, reeling from their passionate embrace.

The garage attendant standing by her car arched an eyebrow at her, but instead of shamefully hiding her face, she pushed back her shoulders, grinned, and acted as if it was a normal everyday occurrence for her to be ravaged in the one minute elevator ride. “Thanks for bringing my car up.”

She looked over at Wade. “You want to drive?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

She leaned toward the attendant as he opened the door of her car, keeping her voice low. “Can you please call over to The Blue Bistro and reserve us a table? We’re headed there now.”

He nodded. “Of course, Ms. Hudson. I’ll take care of it right away. Have a nice evening.”

Wade rolled his eyes as she slid into the leather seat next to him. “Geez, your family must be a little more important than you let on. Everybody treats you like royalty around here.”

She waved a hand at him. “Oh, it has nothing to do with me. They get paid to act that way.”

He answered her with an “uh-huh” sound and put the car in gear, but his light demeanor seemed to have changed a bit.

She let the conversation drop and instead focused on giving him directions to the restaurant.

…

Dang.

He could never remember if you started from the outside and went in or the inside and went out. Who needed this many dang forks anyway?

Wade adjusted the collar of his shirt, hating the constricting feeling of the tie, and waited to see which fork Reese would pick up first.

The restaurant she’d brought him to had more utensils and dishes on the table than in all of Gram’s china closet. He didn’t know what to do with half of this stuff.

He followed Reese’s examples through most of the meal, missing half of what she said to him as he concentrated on proper etiquette and not letting steak juice drip onto his shirt.

He’d thought wearing the suit would impress her. But all it had accomplished was making him feel like a fool and reminding him he was completely out of his element.

The grandeur of her apartment had kept him from even sitting on the sofa. At least it held pieces of her charm in the little knick-knacks and funny throw pillows.

But this restaurant was something else entirely.

There were no prices on the menu and half of it was in French. At least he thought it was French. It could have been Greek or Russian for all he knew. And everything was
à
la carte.

Reese had to explain to him that when you ordered the steak, all you got was the steak, and you had to order the potatoes and salad separately.

What kind of nonsense was that?

He knew the restaurant was expensive and the steak he’d ordered would cost him a bundle. But for those prices, they couldn’t throw in a baked potato or some lettuce?

They finished their meal, and he excused himself to find the restroom.

He pushed open the heavy oak door marked “Gentlemen” and stepped into an opulent room with marble floors and gleaming gold faucets on the sinks. There were no tacky urinals, but instead individual rooms with louvered oak doors.

A man wearing a dark suit stood at the sink and greeted him with a smile. “Good evening, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Huh?
Wade dipped his head to the man. “No thanks. I’m pretty sure I’ve got this under control.”

He took care of business and returned to the sinks to wash his hands, all under the watchful eye of the man in the suit.