Country Courtship (The Texas Two-Step Series, Book 2) by Kathy Carmichael Page B

breathed. More than anything. If he didn't kiss her soon, she thought she might die from wanting.
    Her palm came to rest on his shoulder, the heat of him nearly her undoing.
    Bobby Gray's lips touched hers and her knees almost buckled. She whimpered at the warmth and rightness of his lips on hers.
    At first he merely brushed the corner of her mouth, as if expecting her to force him away. And she should.
    But she couldn't bear not to have his kiss.
    She couldn't bear to miss this moment.
    She couldn't have him, but she could always have this memory. His lips crushed her own and he pulled her deeply into his arms.
    He smelled of leather and all things manly.
    He tasted of—heaven.
    Surely it was heaven?
    And for that tiny moment, she forgot Lori and honor and loyalty—and everything she'd ever been taught about them—and kissed him back.

 
     
     
    Chapter 9

     
    At the sound of David Bishop clearing his throat to let them know he'd joined them, Bobby Gray ended the kiss. Sooner than he wanted. Much too soon.
    Kelli's lips were soft, supple, but there was a firm promise to her kiss. He stepped back. It took her a moment, but she opened her eyes, and her expression was one he wouldn't have missed for anything. She looked happily dazed and it took time for her to fully focus.
    Her momentary confusion was cute. She was cute. More cute than any woman he'd ever seen before, and he didn't generally think in terms of such a feminine word.
    As she turned toward David, hot color traveled from her neck to her face, making her look like an especially attractive beet.
    "Came to check on the foal," said David, lowering his gaze.
    "He's a healthy boy," said Kelli, smiling tenderly at the newborn.
    They all stood back and studied him. That was the exact moment Bobby Gray decided this foal would be added to the Nelson stock.
    "I'm just thankful you were here today," said David. "Otherwise, it probably would have turned out differently."
    Kelli shot him a tremulous smile. "I'm glad I was here, too. I wouldn't have missed his birth for the world."
    As David tended to the mare, Bobby Gray said to Kelli, "You do great work, Dr. Princess."
    "Don't call me that." She grabbed a Wet Wipe from a storage area in a corner of the stall and began cleaning her hands. Her brows were clenched with annoyance. "My mother may be a marqueza, but I'm nothing like her and I'm definitely not a princess."
    "It applies," he insisted.
    "My ancestry doesn't mean anything." She tossed the wipe into a garbage bin and pointed at the newborn. " This means something."
    "That's where you're totally wrong."
    She looked at him as if he'd grown not merely another head but maybe two or three.
    He quickly added, " This , as you call it, gives meaning to the word. Without meaning, sure the word is worthless. But with meaning, it takes on huge significance—Dr. Princess. To me you personify the ideals of both doctor and princess-like behavior."
    She opened her mouth to reply, but Bobby Gray gave every indication that he'd said his piece and that was it. He turned and headed for the ranch office. He looked back over his shoulder and said, "I need to discuss the stock."
    Kelli touched her lips, which were still swollen from his kiss, and didn't know exactly how she felt, other than dazed.
    * * *
    Bobby Gray completed his business with David quickly and found Kelli waiting outside the office. They walked companionably to the truck and, as she took her seat, he leaned in through the open truck door for another of the kisses he couldn't get out of his head.
    However, his plan went awry when Kelli turned her head. He connected only with the soft skin at the base of her cheek.
    Placing his forefinger on her chin, he gently adjusted her face toward him.
    Kelli's eyes widened and she held up her hand in a stop gesture. "Time for this Cinderella to go."
    "It's not midnight."
    "For me it is." She shoved him of out the door and closed it.
    He wouldn't rush her, he thought as he headed for