The Cowboy Imports a Bride(The Cowboys Of Chance Creek #3) (6 page)

That's where he drew the line.

How on earth had he made it through picking out a ring, booking a flight and traveling all the way to Morgan's home without ever facing that stumbling block? He must have been crazy to think this ever could have worked.

It was hopeless.

Except…

"Say that again – the part about choosing?"

She slid off the couch and sat on the floor beside him. In the dim light he felt like a kid again, up way past his bedtime. It was dark and quiet in the apartment, aside from the whoosh of cars passing by outside now and then.

"What if we choose to love each other? What if we decided we would? What if we said that's it – we're going to be partners for the rest of our lives, and went ahead and made a marriage out of it?" She watched him, waiting for his reaction.

In a strange way it made sense. He'd never met another woman who interested him as much as Morgan. They had chemistry in spades, and she was as ambitious as he was – more, even. Could you decide to love someone?

"Think about all those people in arranged marriages," she said, touching his knee. His skin burned and he fought the urge to capture that small hand and bring it to his lips. "We'll arrange our own marriage. We'll force ourselves to be husband and wife."

The way he felt right now, no one would have to force him to do anything. "An arranged marriage," he repeated, watching the way her lips formed her words. In another minute he'd need to kiss her.

And then he'd need to do a hell of a lot more than that.

"Do you think it could work?" she asked, trying to meet his gaze again.

He leaned in for a kiss and an electric shock jolted through his body when their mouths joined. Choose to love this woman? Choose to spend his life with her?

Why not?

When he broke off the kiss, he leaned back, but kept his hand on her arm. "I need a few things, too."

"What?"

He'd swear she was as turned on as he was, and he wanted nothing more to ditch all the talking and go straight to bed. Still, these were serious matters and they deserved to be discussed.

"I want to be respected," he said, wanting to look anywhere other than at her face, but forcing himself not to turn away. He wondered if Morgan had felt like this when she stated her needs – like she was naked in public. "I'm not talking about me telling you what to do, and I'm not saying I won't ask for your input on major decision. But in matters of my business, I need to call my own shots. I need you to trust me that I'll do my best."

Morgan laughed, a happy sound. "Of course. I trust that already."

Rob's heart expanded, and some of the pain he'd felt the last couple of days slid away. "I want to try my hand at a thing or two before I decide what to do with my share of the land. I want support and an open mind."

"Got it."

"Most of all," he hesitated, not sure how to put this desire into words. "I want…"

Morgan waited. She looked eager to hear what he might say. Eager to agree to it. He took a breath and blurted it out.

"I want to be wanted."

A smile curved Morgan's lips.

"I want you," she said. "I don't imagine that will change."

"If you'll want me, I'll cherish you. I'll be the best husband I can be. The best father I can be. I swear I'll build us a life that shows you – shows you and our kids – how much you mean to me." He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers.

"I promise I'll respect you. Lust after you." She searched his face with his gaze. "I'll stand by you no matter what may come."

Rob found himself blinking. Something huge and hard shifted in his heart. To have an ally in life – an ally who wanted him… "Even if I'm not a rancher?"

"No matter what you choose to be."

He felt as if the ground was sliding beneath his feet. As if all the walls that ever held him in gave way at once, leaving him surrounded by a world of possibilities. Freed from a lifetime of his family's strictures, Morgan's words left his future open wide. "That's the best gift you could ever give me," he said gruffly. "I'll build you that winery. I'll get you that money."

"And I'll help you do whatever you decide to do."

"Let's have lots of babies together," he said, leaning forward to brush a kiss across her cheek.

She nodded, her eyes shining. "Hold on, just a minute." She got to her feet and moved first to the kitchen, then into her bedroom. Rob waited for her, secure in his soul for the first time in his memory that everything he was doing was exactly right.

Who would have guessed when he got on that plane that his life would change like this? Could it be only twenty-four hours ago that he was back in Montana, stuck, miserable…?

When she came back she held candles that she lit and put on the narrow coffee table.

"You kneel there," she said, pointing to one side. "Put the ring there." He did what she told him, placing it on the glass surface, curious to see what she'd do next.

She took a position on the other side, and set another ring in front of her. It looked old and tarnished, definitely meant for a man.

"My mother gave me a box of jewelry last year, some things she'd inherited but didn't use. This was one of them. I always liked it." She picked it up and took his hand. In the candle-light, she looked lovely – intent and radiant. "Rob Matheson, I promise right now to bind my life to yours, forever and always, to love you, honor you, respect you, and build a life by your side. I make this pledge now…" She trailed off uncertainly.

Rob picked up the thread. "In the presence of God?" he said softly. He felt like God was here in this room. Nothing he'd ever done had felt this right.

"In the presence of God," Morgan echoed. "Forever and ever, amen." She threaded the ring onto his finger.

Rob picked up the engagement ring Rose Bellingham had helped him choose this afternoon, with many assurances he was following the right path. This darkened, quiet living room was a far cry from the bustling chrome and glass interior of the little shop in the middle of Chance Creek.

"Morgan Tate, I promise right now to bind my life to yours, forever and always, to love you, honor you, cherish you and build a life by your side. I make this pledge in the presence of God. Forever and ever, amen."

He slid the ring onto her finger.

As he stared across the table, the candles guttering between them, Rob was positive he'd spun his life on its axis and it would never be the same again. He pulled her to stand, tugged her around the table, and bent to seal the bargain with a kiss.

Yes, he would choose to love this woman. He would choose to love her right now.

* * * * *

Morgan ran her fingers through her hair and checked her reflection in the mirror, gathering the courage to leave the washroom and return to the bedroom where Rob waited for her. She still felt like she was walking on air. Her own body didn't seem to belong to her. Instead it hummed and tingled and her heart beat fit to burst right out of her chest.

She had no idea what impulse made her fetch the ring and conduct her own quasi-wedding ceremony in the drab little living room of her apartment.

Of course it hadn't felt drab with the candles lit and Rob staring across the coffee table from her. It had felt magical. It still did.

And now she was going to make love to the man she'd spend the rest of her life with.

An idea that both thrilled and terrified her.

It had been a long time since she'd been with a man. A really, really long time.

And she wasn't entirely sure she should be with a man now. Hadn't she told herself she'd wait until her wedding night before she had sex again? She hesitated, staring at her reflection. Wasn't being engaged good enough? She'd promised to marry him, and he'd promised it, too.

She wanted to know what making love to Rob would be like. She'd waited long enough. Smiling, she opened the bathroom door, made her way to the bedroom and found Rob under the covers, leaning back against the headboard of her queen-sized bed.

"Thought you'd never get here." He grinned and her heart did a little flip.

"Sorry." She sat down on the end of the bed, and played with the coverlet. She was wearing a plain blue satin short nightie with spaghetti straps. She wished she'd had something sexier, but since she hadn't been with a man in such a long time, she…didn't.

"Come on over here. Let me get a better look at you." He took her hand and gently tugged it. She slid onto the bed and made her way closer to him. When he drew her into his arms, she sighed and accepted his kiss eagerly.

Soon he was ready for more, however. And when he slid her down onto her back and moved a hand up to her breast, her heart began to pound again. Was she ready for this – right now?

What if Rob changed his mind about getting married?

What if this was one of his jokes, after all?

She blocked his hand with her own, covering up the movement by lifting it to her mouth and kissing his palm. He moved it away and kissed her again, but just as she relaxed and focused on the taste of him, he slid his hand down to her neckline once more, tugging the thin cloth to the side to expose her breast to view. He pulled back, smiled in appreciation, and bent to take it into his mouth.

Morgan stiffened, and when he grazed her nipple with his tongue, she surged up and pushed him away. She hopped off the bed, gripping the nightie to her.

"What…hey – what's wrong?" Rob sat up, too, ready to come after her.

Morgan held out a hand to stop him. "I'm sorry. I'm not ready for this. I…can't."

Rob leaned back. "Are you kidding me?"

"No. I just…I thought…" She shook her head in confusion. Sliding out of bed, she grabbed a robe from a hook on the back of her door, but he scrambled out of the bed and stopped her before she could reach for the handle and escape into the living room.

"Hold on. What's happening? You can't walk out on me without an explanation."

"We're not married yet." She hesitated, trying desperately to keep her gaze above his waist. She should have told him earlier about her vow. He was right – this wasn't fair, but she hadn't expected to still feel this way. "I don't believe in sex before marriage," she blurted, afraid if she didn't, she'd lose her nerve.

He stopped in his tracks. "Are you saying you're a virgin?"

Now she had his attention, she thought wryly. "No. I'm not a virgin. I didn't always have this attitude toward sex, but some years back I had a…scare. And the man involved was the last man I'd pick to raise a child with. I realized I had to stop fooling around, so to speak."

Rob didn't smile at her little joke. In fact, he looked downright angry. "How long's it been since you've done it?"

She felt her cheeks heat. "About five years."

"Five years?" Now he was shocked. And her neighbors knew the length of her dry spell, too, since he'd practically shouted the words.

"It's been a while," she acknowledged curtly. She felt like she'd been caught doing something perverse, instead of the opposite. Why should she have to feel bad about abstaining? She held the moral high ground. Didn't she?

Rob cocked his head, relaxing a little. "Is this about your mother?"

Damn. Nailed it right on the nose. "Yes. It's about Aria. I grew up hearing how much my birth screwed up everyone's lives. I won't do that to a child."

"But you just told me you wanted to get pregnant. You said you wanted a baby," Rob said, moving closer. "How exactly am I supposed to get that done if we don't have sex?"

"You can
get that done
on our wedding night." She couldn't believe him. Was he really trying to use her desire for a child to seduce her?

"Meanwhile, you want us to keep our distance." He began to advance on her again, and she was all too aware of a certain part of his anatomy. Evidently it hadn't gotten the news that there wouldn't be any under-the-sheets celebrations tonight.

Although…

"We can still fool around," she heard herself say as he pulled her back into his arms. He bent down and scraped a kiss across her jaw. "I think that's only natural." Her voice faltered as he nipped her earlobe.

"Oh, yeah?" Rob straightened. So did that certain piece of his anatomy she was trying so hard to ignore. "How much fooling around do you think is okay to do?" He pulled her in tighter.

Morgan laughed breathlessly. "As much as it takes."

He brushed another kiss over her forehead. "I'm up for fooling around."

Boy, was he. She scooted away, putting a few inches between them. "I'm serious, though, Rob. If you so much as try to go farther than the limits I've set, I'll tell you to leave and I'll mean it. It's hard enough sticking to my guns without you pressuring me."

"Do you find it hard to stick to your guns?" He edged closer again.

"Only around you," she said.

A smile curved his mouth. "That's what I like to hear."

"So you think you can
get this done
without going all the way?" she pushed.

He grinned and her heart gave a funny flip-flop. Damn, he was handsome. Damn, she wanted him.

"Probably can think of something. But about that wedding…"

"Yes?" Now that they'd settled matters she couldn't wait to feel his touch again.

"Let's get hitched tomorrow." He cupped her ass and pulled her in tight.

"You got it, cowboy," she said with a happy sigh.

CHAPTER FOUR

Had he ever wanted a woman as much as he wanted Morgan? Rob didn't think so. As he laid her back on the bed and fumbled with her nightie, he found that his fingers were trembling. He felt like he'd slipped downstairs early on Christmas morning and found all the presents he'd asked for under the tree. He couldn't wait to see her – all of her – as soon as he got rid of this stupid piece of satin.

Morgan seemed as eager to unwrap him. She reached for his buttons, but he was ahead of her. He shucked off his shirt and groaned with pleasure as she trailed kisses down his neck and chest.