Texan’s Wedding-Night Wager / The Oilman’s Baby Bargain: Texan’s Wedding-Night Wager. Michelle Celmer

any real tenderness in her life, but right now, she needed to be with Kevin, kissing him and feeling like a woman again.

      It wasn’t long before Kevin’s kisses turned her into Silly Putty, except there was nothing silly about the intensity he displayed. He pulled her along, walking backward until he sat upon the edge of a picnic table. He fitted her between his legs and continued to nibble on her mouth until he drew his lips downward to the base of her throat.

      Pinpricks of excitement flew up and down her body. She tingled everywhere, breathing in his sexy cologne. The musky scent she recognized from years before drove her further into oblivion.

      It was easy for him to untie her rope belt and pull her blouse down. With a groan of appreciation, he murmured her name and her heart rate sped up.

      Kevin unfastened her bra with adept fingers and he pulled the garment away from her. “Damn it, sweetheart,” he murmured, the curse a soft and beautiful endearment.

      Exposed from the waist up, the pushed-down sleeves of her blouse trapping her arms slightly, Cara could only watch as Kevin touched her breasts, caressing, weighing, cupping her with such tenderness, she wanted to cry.

      He made eye contact as he flicked his thumbs over her nipples, toying with them and making her moan with pleasure.

      “You still like me touching you,” he whispered, his torturous fingers breaking her out in a sweat.

      She bit her lip and nodded. She loved the way Kevin touched her. He’d been the only man who could turn her on so fast, so furiously. But Cara gave as good as she got and she never let Kevin have the last word. “Seems to me,” she said, breathless, “you could put that mouth to better use.”

      Kevin chuckled, then clamped his hands around her trapped arms and brought her closer. Her breast grazed his mouth and he teased her with tiny tongue swipes until her knees nearly buckled.

      “Better?” he asked in a whisper and she nodded enthusiastically.

      He filled his mouth with her, suckling and blowing hot breath over her breast. Her nipple stood erect and a rush of sizzling heat invaded her body. Everything below her waist throbbed.

      Kevin was in no better shape. His body was rigid, the bulge of his desire pressed against her clothes. Crazy thoughts entered her head of making love to Kevin right here, out in the open, beside the lake where they’d first revealed their love for each other.

      Kevin’s thoughts couldn’t have been far behind. He kissed her soundly and stood up, his manhood grazing her between the legs. “I need more, baby.”

      Cara nodded and helped Kevin unzip her pants. He cosseted her close and slipped his hand inside. With nimble fingers, he pulled her panties aside and cupped her womanhood.

      “Ohh.” His touch sent her mind reeling. She’d been so long without this, without Kevin bringing her pleasure.

      Alone at the lake in the darkness, the night lit only by moonlight, Cara succumbed to Kevin’s ministrations. He slid his hand back and forth, his fingertips caressing her most sensitive skin. She rocked and swayed, and he kissed her while she moved over his hand.

      “You feel so good, Cara,” he whispered over her lips. He slipped one finger inside.

      Cara’s eyes closed. She surrendered to Kevin’s will. Every single part of her body tingled as he stroked her, slipping his finger up and down until she moved in rhythm like the music of a sexy samba. When she arched her back, Kevin followed her, sliding his lips along her throat, creating sensations that burned like a branding iron.

      Whimpers of pleasure tumbled from her lips and Cara’s face twisted in ecstasy. “Oh, sweet heaven.”

      Kevin cupped her breast with one hand and stroked her unmercifully with the other. Again and again, until Cara’s body rocked out of control.

      “It’s so good, baby. Remember?”

      Cara remembered. Kevin had always been an unselfish lover. But her thoughts stopped there, because she was too far gone to answer him. Her pleasure heightened and heightened, Kevin drawing out every quiver, every earth-shattering morsel of ecstasy, relentless in his pursuit.

      Her muscles contracted and squeezed, her body quaked, and Kevin stopped his assault, allowing her to enjoy this moment on her own terms. He knew, oh, yes, how he knew to bring her the utmost pleasure.

      Her orgasm came in slow, torturous, drawn-out bursts. Cara relished each mind-blowing second of shuddering release. Then slowly, slowly she came back down to earth.

      When she opened her eyes, Kevin was watching her, his gaze smoldering with lust. “That was—”

      “Heaven,” Cara whispered, not shy about her display.

      Kevin shook his head. “The sexiest thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

      Cara glanced down at his obvious erection. “Are you…okay?”

      “I could make love to you ten times on this picnic table and not be satisfied.”

      Cara squirmed, tempted by the erotic thought.

      Kevin worked her zipper up and handed her back her bra. “But a deal’s a deal.”

      Fully sated and feeling very lighthearted, Cara dressed. “A man of his word.”

      Kevin inhaled a sharp breath. She knew how much he’d held back, for her pleasure. “Would have been safer to teach me how to dance.”

      Cara couldn’t contain her smile. “Safety is overrated at times.”

      Chapter Five

      “So, you’ll come to Lance and Kate’s reception with me?”

      Cara turned to Kevin before entering her hotel room. He stood close, boxing her in by the door. Her face still glowed from the attention he’d paid to her at the lake, and the taste of her lips still lingered on his mouth.

      “Are you trying to manipulate me?” she asked coyly.

      Kevin winced and faked a stab wound to the heart. “You’re killing me, Cara.”

      Cara nibbled on her lower lip with indecision. She’d had him at his boiling point. It had been all he could do not to make love to her on that picnic table tonight. Desire and lust combined made for a heavy aphrodisiac.

      “Why do you want me to go?”

      Kevin tilted his head and spoke in a serious tone. “Regardless of what has happened between us, Lance has always been your friend. I know he’d want you to be there.”

      “Why do you?” Cara asked, searching his eyes.

      “You’re awfully suspicious.”

      “Don’t I have a right to be? After all, you’re blackmailing me.”

      “It’s not blackmail, Cara. We made a deal. And tonight, I asked you to celebrate the marriage of a good friend. It’s as simple as that.”

      Kevin wanted her on his arm that night and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible during these two weeks, but it surprised him how much it mattered to him.

      Cara finally relented. “Okay. I’ll go and share in the celebration. Lance is a good man.”

      Kevin nodded, glad that she’d changed her mind. “Good night, Cara.” He leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers, relishing the soft, subtle nuances of her giving lips and baby-soft skin. “I had a good time tonight.”

      Cara closed her eyes briefly. An image of her panting out a rocking orgasm flashed in his head.

      “Uh, Kevin. Maybe we shouldn’t—”

      Kevin leaned in and kissed her a second time, stopping her next thought. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

      She gazed into his eyes and shook her head as if trying to figure him out before turning