One Night with a Cowboy (Paint River Ranch) (Entangled Indulgence) Read Free Page A

sensation behind. She rubbed her arm more to capture the sensation than to scrub it away. Sweet warmth spread in her lower belly as Tucker leaned down to her as if he was going to speak. Sophie moved a little closer to him in response. It wasn’t as if she’d come here looking for a man or a relationship. Hell no. She wasn’t staying in Montana…so a little closeness with Mr. Sex in Jeans wasn’t such a big deal, was it?
    She was going with no.
    “What’s your name? We kinda forgot that part.”
    “Sophie.” She noticed how his right incisor jutted forward slightly, adding just enough sass to his otherwise perfect teeth. It jacked his cockiness through the roof. They passed a speaker blaring music and she wasn’t sure he’d heard her.
    “Fifi?” His lips nearly touched her ear. The muscles in her legs turned pretty close to jelly at the near-contact. If what he’d said wasn’t so ridiculous, her body might have given in to the mush-effect and fallen in his arms. But she burst out with a laugh instead, shaking her head, as her body recovered.
    “So-phie.”
    That crooked smile got wider. He thrust out a hand, wrapped his fingers around her palm. “Tucker.”
    Sophie groaned a little. Of course. A cowboy named Tucker who was hot as sin and probably an incredible eight-second ride. Wasn’t that the cliché? Living in the city her entire life meant she knew nothing about country boys, but she’d take cliché if it meant finding out how real it may or may not be. He looked the part so well, she was betting on real.
    They rounded a curve of games, carnies calling out to them to try a few plays. “So about that prize.” Tucker’s eyes narrowed. Her gut flip-flopped.
    “Prize?” Mmmm, her nerves were sparking at the thought of what a Tucker-prize might be.
    “For guessing where you’re from.” He looked right at her mouth, moved in so the fabric of his shirt brushed against her breasts. Her nipples tightened in response. Sophie sucked in a breath and moved to take a step back, but never actually made it that far. The thoughts rolling around in her head were sinful. And tempting. And, by the sexy expression on Tucker’s face, highly possible.
    “What did you have in mind?” She took a small sip to break the tension inside her. It didn’t work. Tucker stepped closer and took her chin in his hand. His thumb swept across the width of her mouth with a barely-there caress. The noise faded into a hazy blob, the lights tunneled into little polka dots around them. He stepped one breadth closer, leaving no question of his intention, his head dipping low. He was going to kiss her. She shouldn’t, really, but she was going to let him.
    Oh yes, she was going to let him.
    “Sophie!” Her sister’s irritated voice pulled Sophie back from the edge. She jerked away from Tucker as Carla nearly body-slammed them, pulling Ethan behind her. “I just called your cell.”
    Before she could answer, Carla gave Tucker a distasteful once-over. “Hello.” She turned wide, accusing eyes on Sophie. Forcing her irritation down, Sophie wet her lips to keep from screaming. She wouldn’t make a scene in front of Tucker, no matter how much she might want to ram her fist in her sister’s face.
    Funny how fast my sister can push my buttons.
    “Sorry,” Sophie said neutrally. “I didn’t hear it over the noise.” She gave a small smile, but there was no diffusing Carla when she got like this.
    “Sure,” Carla snapped. “You were busy .”
    Sophie chose to ignore the juvenile whine in her sister’s voice. “Carla, I’m—“
    “We’re leaving.”
    Sophie rubbed her mouth with a hand, glancing at Tucker. He sipped his beer, watching the show with an inscrutable expression. To say this was embarrassing was an understatement. Sophie wanted to sink into the beer-soaked dirt and wave good-bye to the world. But as much as she knew she shouldn’t stay, she didn’t want to go. She needed some space after the long cross-country