Page 100 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

How could she marry him if he didn’t love her? Yet how could shenotmarry him when she loved him so much?

She stopped thinking. She was in his arms, kissing him, and right now that was all that mattered. When he picked her up and raised his head a fraction, she looked up into dark eyes filled with desire. “Where’s your bedroom?”

She pointed and pulled his head down for another kiss. He stood her on her feet beside the bed as he unfastened buttons on her yellow cotton blouse and removed her skirt.

Her hands shook as she undid his jeans. She ran her hands over him as if to make certain he was still there, and she didn’t stop kissing him when he picked her up to place her on the bed.

Later, Sierra had no idea what time it was as she lay in his arms, their warm bodies pressed together with her tangled hair spread across his shoulder. His lips touched her temple, her cheek, her ear.

“You haven’t taken any of my calls.”

“I tried to call you today, and you didn’t answer.”

He raised his head slightly. “Why did you try to call me?”

She pulled the sheet higher beneath her arm. “Blake, your father made a huge—huge—donation to the children’s shelter. It was done in honor of his four sons.”

Blake stared at her. “I’ll be damned. I called him, Sierra. I decided you’re more important than old hurts, and having your love is more important than any revenge—”

“You did?” she cried, sitting up and throwing her arms around him to hug him.

“Hey,” Blake said, hugging her and laughing. “Yes, I did. Do you want to hear what happened?”

She looked into his eyes and pulled him closer to give him a long, passionate kiss before she listened. “Now tell me.”

Looking amused, he settled beside her, pulling her close by his side. She placed her head on his shoulder as she waited.

“I called him and asked him to go to lunch. I told him I wanted to see him. He accepted my invitation.”

“You did this for me?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why?”

He gazed at her, his warm brown eyes making her heart race. “I love you and I want to marry you. That revenge thing seemed to be what was in the way. It’s gone now, Sierra. Will you marry me?”

Her heart thudded. She didn’t know what he’d done, or much about the meeting with his father, but he was telling her he loved her and she knew she loved him.

“Yes. Oh, yes, I’ll marry you. I love you, Blake.” Tears of joy filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

“Hey, what’s this?” he said, rubbing away tears with his fingers. “Why are you crying?”

“I love you so much and didn’t realize it until I thought it was too late. I thought you were out of my life.”

“I hope not.” He kissed her again. “I love you, Sierra. With all my heart. I want you more than anything else.”

“I love you so much, Blake,” she whispered between kisses. Finally, she lay back and looked up at him. “Now, tell me about lunch, and why he made this gigantic donation to the shelter.”

“My father was really a stranger. I could have grabbed a guy off the street and wouldn’t have felt any different about him. I was surprised how old and frail he looked. I remembered him as I had as a child, a strong, powerful man. I had already decided to end the competition with his hotels. It seemed pointless and was causing trouble between you and me.”

“There really wasn’t much of an ‘us’ earlier.”

“There’s been an ‘us’ since the day I met you. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel sparks flying when we met. I know better.”

“I suppose so,” she said, smiling at him. “Go back to your dad.”

“He was kind of sad. I felt sorry for him. He said he made mistakes, thinking money was the most important thing. He said he didn’t know how to be a father. I reminded him he has a new little granddaughter. He said he really never knew how to be a dad, and it’s too late now.