Page 69 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

“Thanks for your confidence in me. You’re leaving lights on,” she said as he walked beside her.

“I can turn them all off from my room when I turn on the alarms.”

As they climbed the stairs, they talked about the new wing. He stopped with her in front of her door and turned to face her. He stood close, once again holding her full attention. She forgot the hour, the place, everything around her. She forgot the incredible differences between them. All she was aware of was the handsome man facing her with an expression that made her heart race.

He reached behind her head, moving languidly, his fingers working at the silk scarf knotted behind her neck. Each faint brush of his warm hand against her nape stirred tingles. He tugged lightly, and her hair fell free with long strands tumbling slightly below her shoulders.

Sinking in brown eyes, she couldn’t get her breath and her heart drummed.Step away...step away...repeated steadily in her thoughts, a silent warning that she couldn’t possibly heed. His mesmerizing eyes sent another message. He intended to kiss her.

Never before had she crossed that invisible line between business and pleasure, but she couldn’t back away now or even dredge up a protest.

“I don’t know why we have this volatile chemistry between us,” he said in a husky voice, “but we do. It’s impossible to ignore. Sooner or later, I’m going to kiss you. I figure it might as well be sooner and get this attraction settled,” he said as he slipped an arm around her waist.

Why couldn’t she walk away right now—set the right precedent? Common sense whispered that now was the time. This was what she had intended to avoid, yet she couldn’t pull away.

Her heart clamored for his kiss. Curiosity made it inevitable. With the hot attraction between them, what would it be like to kiss him?

She couldn’t answer her own question. She had to take the risk to find out.

Three

Immobilized by his declaration, Sierra felt her heart thud. She placed one hand lightly against his forearm, feeling the hard muscles that indicated physical labor. He definitely did not spend most of his time in his Dallas office.

He stepped closer, and then leaned down as she finally managed to whisper, “We shouldn’t—”

He brushed her lips with his, a faint, feathery touch that stirred a longing for more. Her insides heated while her heart pounded faster.

“We shouldn’t,” he whispered, “but we’re going to.” He kissed her before she could say anything else.

For a second she stiffened, and then she slipped her arm around his shoulders and placed her hand at the back of his neck while she kissed him in return. With his tongue stroking hers, he drew her tightly against him. He was solid, flat planes of rock-hard muscle against her softness.

She tumbled into heart-thudding passion. For a moment all caution vanished, replaced by yearning for more of him. She wanted to touch and kiss him, to forget all her warnings to herself. She longed to let go and make love. What chemistry did they have that set this sizzling desire burning between them?

His kiss stopped logic and caution, and made Blake the most desirable man she had ever met. It created a bond between them that she couldn’t easily—if ever—forget.

How long did they kiss? She didn’t know, but finally common sense resurfaced.

Gasping for breath, she stepped back. He was also breathing heavily, gazing at her as if he had never seen her before. A sinking feeling enveloped her. She had opened the proverbial Pandora’s box.

“We have to forget that happened,” she whispered.

“There’s no way in hell I can forget that kiss,” he replied.

“You’ll have to. We’re working together. The dinner was wonderful. Good night, Blake,” she said, then stepped into her suite and closed the door.

Her heart pounded. How was she going to work with him? How could she keep from falling in love with him? She had left her last job not only to pursue her dreams but also to get away from a sexual situation with her employer. Now she had taken a job where she had a far bigger problem with her employer—she wanted him.

The fleeting thought of quitting was gone as fast as it had come. His donation was too big, the possibilities too great to turn him down.

She would just use caution and stay away from him. He was a busy man with many interests and friends, including women who should be far more appealing to him than Sierra was.

Taking a deep breath, she walked through her suite to get her cotton pajamas and get ready for bed. She couldn’t imagine sleeping. Every inch of her body tingled. An intense longing to be in his arms was paramount and hopeless to try to shove out of her thoughts. Her lips still tasted of him, and it was as impossible to forget his kiss as it was to ignore the electrifying attraction between them.

Could he sleep? Or was he tied in knots with desire too?

She couldn’t think about what Blake felt—that would only make the situation worse. She hoped he realized they both needed to back away. Blake was a charmer, but his deepest feelings and views on life were the opposite of hers. He was hard, cynical and didn’t believe in the goodness of others. During dinner he had talked about his feelings on commitment and the career she’d left behind. He didn’t understand her views at all.

For her own good, she had to stop this before it went any further.