Baby on the Oregon Trail by Lynna Banning

Author:Lynna Banning
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-08-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Without a word Lee drew her into a waltz. Silence stretched between them, but she didn’t mind. Instead, she found herself listening to what his body said as it moved with hers. It said, among other things, that he valued her. He held her so carefully, so gently, it was as if she were made of glass.

When the dance ended, he did not release her. A slow two-step followed, then another waltz, and now he held her close, so close her breasts brushed the front of his white linen shirt, and her long calico skirt kept getting tangled between his legs. His warm hand spread across her back, pressing her into his lean, hard frame.

She felt a bit drunk being so near him, moving with him as if they were one being. She had never danced with a man like this. Randall had always been busy at night, when the Roseville socials were held. She saw him only in the daytime, when she brought documents her mother had signed to his law office.

Lee’s chin grazed her temple. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of pine soap and tobacco smoke and the faint salty tang of perspiration. His breathing was uneven, as if he had been running.

Her own breathing grew ragged. This should not be happening. Never again did she wish to be the object of a man’s desire.

Over his shoulder she glimpsed Mick McKernan circling at the edge of the floor, obviously waiting for a chance to cut in. She stiffened, and Lee’s arm tightened about her waist. Adroitly he kept turning them so his back was always facing Mick, shielding her, and finally the Irishman stomped off with a scowl on his flushed face.

Lee began gently circling his hand on her back, caressing each bone of her spine under her shirtwaist. Then he slid his hand lower, to her waist, and then lower still to a place that sent a shiver through her frame. It was scandalous where he was touching her! But everyone else was dancing, and no one seemed to notice.

But she noticed! And she didn’t want to notice. Physical attraction between herself and Mathias had not been part of their bargain, but Lee was different. Being close to him was different. She felt warm and safe and cared about. This was nothing like Randall’s hurried protestations of devotion and his hot, breathy kisses against the closed door of his office.

With Lee’s body so close to hers she felt something she’d never felt before, a kind of yearning. She didn’t want to like it. But she did.

You like Lee. You like being near him. She didn’t have to trust him to like being near him, did she?

A sweet, hot ache began below her belly. He folded his fingers around her hand and after a moment drew it in and pressed it against his chest. She could feel his heart thumping under her palm.

She forgot all about Mick McKernan, and the girls, and Colonel Owens.

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