Page 21 of Her Bachelor Cowboy Billionaire

She pulled his sweater over her head and left it on the seat before setting her feet on the ground.

He held out his hand.

She took it with a smile.

They walked hand-in-hand to the door.

She put in her code, and the door clicked. “You can leave me here. I’m quite safe now.”

His eyebrows came together just enough to form the small lines between them. “I wouldn’t think of it. I’ll walk you to your door.”

She walked inside and down the hall to her loft. Her loft was in a nice, restored building downtown. It was nothing she was ashamed of, rather the opposite. She was very proud of her building and the way it sat back from the banks of the Platte River.

He went with her.

She unlocked her door. “Would you like to come in for a drink? I even have some of your wine.”

“As much as I’d like that, you aretootempting right now.” He pulled her close. “But I do want a goodnight kiss.”

Jessica really couldn’t believe that he was interested in someone like her. She wasn’t sophisticated or rich. She made a decent living and had purchased her loft. But right now, none of that mattered. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’d like that ver—”

His lips made her forget whatever it was she was about to say.

She felt like he was making love to her with his mouth, and she returned the response as she tangled her fingers in his hair and held him close, not ready for the kiss to end. Never ready for the kiss to end. But if she let it go on, she’d be dragging him inside to make love. She backed away. Blood rushed in her ears as her heart pounded. Why was it like this from just a kiss with him?

He rubbed her bottom lip with the pad of a thumb. “I love kissing you.”

“I love kissing you, too, but I need to stop. I have to stop.” She already regretted the decision and wished she hadn’t hit pause.

He kept his hands on her waist. “I understand and agree. I don’t want us to go farther until we’re ready to. I want it to be a conscious decision, notjusta biological one.”

“I agree, although biology looks pretty good right now.”

He laughed. “It does, doesn’t it?”

She lifted onto her toes and kissed his cheek. “Good night, Mr. Sullivan. I’ll see you soon. What time will you pick me up and on Friday or Saturday?”

He took out his wallet. “I’ll send you an email. Here’s my card with my personal phone number and email. Send me one, so I’ll have your email address.”

She took the card. “All right. Have a good night.”

“You, too, sweetheart.”

Upon hearing the endearment, her pulse raced.Sweetheart. Am I really his sweetheart?She turned, entered the loft and closed the door after her, leaning against it for a bit. Then she took off her shoes, waltzed and twirled from the living room through the kitchen and into the bedroom, where she danced into the closet. She put her shoes on the shelf in their place. Then, with some difficulty, she unzipped her dress, stepped out of it and placed it on a hanger by the little hidden straps. She hung it with her other formal gowns. They looked cheap and tacky compared to her beautiful red gown. Lanie was right, and Jessica would donate them all to charity, most likely for Halloween costumes.

Tonight, because of the dress and because of Roark, she felt particularly attractive, so she put on her silk nightgown. It was the sexiest thing she’d owned until the dress Roark had gifted her. She ran her hands over her body. She loved the way the silk clung in all the right places. She’d take this one with her to Montana.

The next morning, Jessica woke up and got ready to go see her mother. On Sundays, they always had dinner together. Actually, it was a late lunch, but her mother always called it dinner because she was from Texas. Her father’s family were farmers, and they also called the midday meal dinner and the evening meal supper.

She gathered up the dress, carefully folding it into the box it arrived in, to show it to her mother.

Jessica could have taken a picture, but a photo simply didn’t capture all the nuances of the gown or the way it felt or moved. She also wanted to tell her she was going to Montana with Roark. That bit of news would probably not go over well, but there was something between her and Roark that she couldn’t explain, and wanted to explore. Why did she desire this man more than she had any man she’d known? Why did she want him even more than she had Joseph, her fiancé? She needed her mother’s opinion on what Jessica felt when she was with him.

Her mother was in the kitchen already cooking when Jessica arrived at her home. Based on the wonderful smells wafting under her nose, they were having a pork roast for dinner. It was one of Jessica’s favorite meals because she never cooked one for herself. And sheknewher mother always made her famous mashed potatoes and gravy, Jessica’s favorite things to eat and something she could never get right. She could make the potatoes, but no matter how many times she watched her mother, she could never make the gravy. It either clumped or tasted like flour or was too thin or too thick, never perfect like her mother’s.

Of course, she had to watch how much she ate because she didn’t want to gain any weight. The dress fit perfectly right now. She wanted to wear it again and that meant not even one extra pound. She wasn’t one who dieted, but she watched what she ate. She was of the opinion that no food was forbidden.

She walked over to her mother, who stood at the stove stirring what looked like the gravy. She hugged her from behind. “Hi, Mom.”