Army Ranger with Benefits (the Men of At-Ease Ranch) Read online

  But, damn, she was giving now.

  A needy, sexy sound rumbled in her throat as she clutched at his shirt and brushed her tongue along his. Fire flickered down his spine and increased his desire for more, but lack of oxygen forced him to break the kiss.

  Setting his forehead to hers, he dragged in air while her warm, delicious breath washed over his neck in ragged spurts. Need tightened his groin. He tried to ignore it, but failed. “I think we have our answer,” he said, kissing a path to her ear, unable to keep his lips off her. “Our reactions to each other have nothing to do with Stephan’s presence and everything to do with chemistry.”

  Still clutching his shirt, she gasped. “I agree.”

  “Do you want me to stop?” he asked, brushing his mouth along her jaw.

  “No way,” she breathed, turning to meet his lips, rocking his world with a deep, hot-as-hell kiss that had him hard and throbbing like a teenager.

  The woman made him feel hunger. She made him feel a deep-seated need.

  Made him feel…again.

  Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her up and set her on the island, where she wrapped her legs around him and drew him in. Her heat and desire had him on fire and it increased when her hands sneaked under his shirt and blazed a path up his torso.

  God, he needed to touch her. He needed to feel her skin, too.

  With one hand cupping the back of her head, he glided the other up her arm and over her bare shoulder, loving the feel of goose bumps covering her soft skin. Yeah, Emma’s reactions and responses had everything to do with him.

  Satisfaction was swift and strong, and it swelled more than his chest.

  Basking in that knowledge, he released her mouth to nip and taste his way down her throat while he lightly brushed his palm over her chest. She moaned, and arched into him, pressing her lush curves into his hand.

  Groaning, he captured her lips for a hot, wet, deep kiss that had his eyes crossing and erection denting the zipper in his jeans. He was ready to burst, and when she gasped his name as he grazed his thumb over the nipple poking against her dress, he nearly lost it.

  “Vince,” she whispered this time, clutching at his back in a move he interpreted to mean more.

  He had more. A hell of a lot more.

  Kissing a delicious path down her cleavage, he slipped his fingers under the top of her strapless dress and pulled it aside to reveal a mouthwatering, pert peak. “Gorgeous.”

  Just as his mouth was about to close over the beauty, he heard a thud down the hall, followed by muffled curses, and the sound of a door being wrenched open.

  “Vince!” his brother called out.

  Shit. In one swift move, he released her and stepped back, taking in his surroundings and the fact they were out in the open in the middle of his brother’s kitchen.

  “The damn bottle fell, and I can’t fucking pick it up,” Dom grumbled, but it sounded as if he hadn’t left the bathroom.

  Thank God.

  “I’ll be right there,” he hollered as he watched Emma fix her dress. “Sorry,” he told her quietly, reaching out to help her off the counter. “You had me so worked up I forgot where we were.”

  Surprise widened her eyes, while a smile tugged at her lips. “I forgot, too. It—”

  “Vince? Dammit, come on,” Dom snapped, cutting her off. “I’m dripping wet here.”

  He rolled his eyes at Emma. “Sorry. I’ll be right back.” Then he turned and rushed to his brother. “Coming, princess. Hold your tiara.”

  The idiot either had the worst timing in the world, or perhaps the best. Christ. He’d been so close to ravaging the poor woman right out in the open where his brother could’ve walked in to witness.

  He was an idiot.

  “What the hell took you so long?” Dom grumbled the second he saw Vince.

  Entering the bathroom, he shrugged and walked past the guy without responding. No way would he say a word. What happened between him and Emma was their business. He secured the bottle of body wash from the shower floor, then handed it to his brother. “Here. Maybe you need to tighten your grip.”

  Dom chuckled. “Fuck you.”

  He had someone better in mind.

  With a shake of his head, he shut the bathroom door and headed back to Emma. He needed to talk to her about that kiss, but when he entered the kitchen it was empty.

  The pie plate was gone.

  And so was Emma.

  He leaned against the counter as disappointment washed through him. It was probably for the best. Their chemistry was too crazy. Too dangerous. Both of them were better off leaving it unexplored.

  Now he just needed to get his body to agree.

  …

  Emma had been on the fast track with Vince earlier. She needed to change course. “Could you jump from a train to a ship?”

  Macy frowned as they sat in a booth at Kelley’s that evening, confusion clouding her brown eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  “Never mind.” She shook her head and bit into her slider.

  For a Sunday evening, the bar and grille was moderately packed. Which was good. The live band and activity on the dance floor kept her focus from slipping to Vince and their hot kiss. Mostly.

  “So are you going to tell me what’s got you drinking a huge glass of wine instead of water tonight?” Macy asked.

  Emma frowned. “I drink wine.”

  “Yeah, but not when you drive.” Her friend smiled. “Did you have another encounter with Vince?”

  Memories of their heated kiss in the kitchen, and the way she’d unexpectedly gone up in flames, flashed through her mind. She went to deny it, but unfortunately, had a mouthful of pinot noir at the time, so she choked instead.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” Macy grinned, lifting her own glass of wine.

  After much coughing and some chest pounding, she managed to clear her airway. “Now I’m not going to tell you.”

  The smug woman waved a hand at her. “You don’t need to. The wine and choking spell it out clear.”

  “I’m sure it doesn’t,” she said. “It just went down the wrong way.”

  “Whatever floats your boat, girlfriend.” Macy lifted a shoulder.

  Emma burst out laughing and Macy joined her.

  “Well, it’s nice to see you two having fun,” Stephan said, appearing out of nowhere in front of their booth.

  Her heart didn’t quite rock, but it tipped a little. She hadn’t planned a Stephan encounter, and yet, here he was in khakis and a white button-down shirt…smiling at her.

  She fixed her posture and smiled back. “Hi, Doct—”

  He lifted a brow. “What’d I tell you to call me outside of work?”

  “Stephan,” Macy replied. “He told us to call him Stephan, Emma. Don’t you remember?”

  Using her foot, she wacked the woman’s shin to relay exactly how much she remembered. “Of course. Would you like to sit down?”

  “Perhaps he’s not alone.” Macy stared up at him as if waiting for an answer.

  His smile returned. “I’m here with a few friends, and actually, I came over to ask Emma to dance.”

  If he told her he was a Time Lord from the future she wouldn’t have been more surprised.

  “Too bad the band is still on a break,” her friend pointed out.

  If Emma didn’t know better, she’d swear Macy was trying to sabotage her lucky break with Stephan.

  A second later, the band retook the stage and started with a rock ballad.

  She smiled up at him. “I’d love to.”

  “Great.” He held out his hand and helped her from the booth.

  “You two do remember Emma has a boyfriend, right?”

  Oh. My. God.

  “He’s not my boyfriend. It’s just a casual thing. There’s no relationship.” Placing her back to Stephan, she turned to face her friend and mouthed, What are you doing? before leading her childhood crush out onto the dance floor. This was Macy’s freakin’ plan. She was the o
ne who’d encouraged Emma to have someone help her appear desired, so that Stephan would take notice and make a move.

  Well…this was him making a move. Why the heck was Macy trying to sabotage it?

  Vince was a casual, not-supposed-to-be-real thing…who happened to make her heart flutter and knees weak. But that was okay because Stephan did those things, too. Sort of.

  Holding her hand, he turned to face her and reached out with his free hand to lightly grasp her…purse?

  “Sorry.” She readjusted the thin designer crossbody out of the way. As much as she’d been thrilled to score a deal on the purse at an outlet, right now, she wished she’d brought her clutch.

  A smile spread across his face as he cupped her hip. “No problem.”

  The light touch of his hand sent a tiny butterfly flickering through her belly. Not exactly the swarm she’d expected, but there was movement. Although, to be truthful, she wasn’t 100 percent certain the flickering was due to the man in her arms, or the fantasy of the man she’d created in her mind all those years ago.

  Where was this uncertainty coming from?

  This was Stephan. She had his attention. The attention Emma had longed for since her teens. Now was not the time for doubts.

  Lifting her chin, she smiled at him and wished to goodness she could think of something to say.

  It hit her then. Other than high school, they had nothing in common. He came from a higher-class household. She was raised middle class. He went to college and med school. She took a medical transcription course. He’d lived in New York and Boston. She’d always lived in Columbus. He belonged to country clubs. She belonged to the Book of the Month Club.

  But Stephan was a nice guy back in high school. And yet, she was strangely uncomfortable and stressing about what to say.

  You don’t have that problem with Vince, the voice in her head reminded her, sounding vaguely like Macy.

  She needed to get her friend out of her head.

  The reason she didn’t have that problem with Vince was because they weren’t really a couple, and didn’t have the pressures that come with it, she mentally countered.

  “True.”

  “What’s true?” Stephan asked.

  Shoot. “Nothing.” She shrugged. “Just thinking out loud.”

  He nodded, but still wore a frown. “Dancing with me won’t get you in trouble with Vince, will it?”

  “No.” That was the perfect lead-in to remind him there wasn’t anything serious going on with Vince. That they were just casually going out. But by the time the song ended, none of those words had left her lips.

  “That’s good,” he said, releasing her. “Because he just walked in with two other guys.”

  Vince was here?

  She glanced at the door, and sure enough, there he was in jeans and a blue T-shirt that hugged his lean frame. Emma’s heart rocked in her chest.

  Now that’s what I call movement, the voice in her head said in Macy’s tone again.

  She ignored it, and when they reached her booth, she turned to Stephan and smiled. “Thanks for the dance.”

  “My pleasure,” he said, then gave them a slight bow. “Enjoy your night, ladies. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Macy lifted a brow after he walked away. “Well?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know.” She sat down, never taking her eyes off her friend. “It was your idea to go the whole phony-date thing to get Stephan’s attention, and the second it starts to work you tell him Vince is my boyfriend?”

  “You’re right, but as far as I’m concerned, the plan changed when you told me you liked kissing Vince.”

  Dammit. She had mush for brains. Why’d she ever tell her that?

  “Still, I’ll stay out of it…even though Vince is clearly the right man for you.” Her friend held up a hand when Emma opened her mouth to protest. “And enough with the suspense, girlfriend. You’re killing me. How’d it go? According to you, you’ve been waiting for that moment your whole adult life. So, tell me, what happened? Were there fireworks? Harps playing? Heavenly choirs singing?”

  She snickered and reached for her wine. “You watch too much TV.”

  “Ah, come on. You mean to tell me there wasn’t even a little flicker?”

  Swallowing her wine, she nodded. “Yes, there was a flicker.” And it felt good to realize it wasn’t a lie.

  “And what did you feel when you spotted Vince?” her friend asked with a grin.

  Since Emma had felt major fluttering, she kept her mouth shut.

  “I thought so.” Macy chuckled as she glanced at the guys sitting at the bar. “Mmm…mmm…mmm…hose me down with warm melted butter, who is that extra helping of hunk with them? He’s got that delicious bad-boy vibe going on. You know, he kind of looks like that superhero cold soldier dude from the movies.”

  “Sebastian Stan’s character?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “Oh, wow.” Emma blinked. “You’re right.” Why hadn’t Vince mentioned he was best friends with a sexy Winter Soldier look-alike? “That must be Leo.”

  Macy turned back to face her. “Leo…he’s Vince’s friend from Texas you made the pie for, right?”

  Before driving to Kelley’s, she’d sneaked into Dom’s house and set the pie on the counter, grateful to escape without running into anyone.

  “Yes.” She sipped more wine and tried not to notice how the muscles in Vince’s back rippled as he reached for his beer.

  “Shouldn’t you go say something to him?”

  She nodded, watching her wine swish as she twisted her glass. “Yeah. I’m sure Stephan would find it odd if we didn’t interact. Even if we are just casual.”

  “Forget Stephan,” Macy said. “Concentrate on the delicious man walking toward us.”

  Walking…?

  Before she could fully brace herself, Vince appeared with a devastating smile that sent more than a flicker of awareness through her belly.

  “Hello, beautiful ladies,” he said. “Are you having a good time?”

  “Yes,” Macy answered first. “But you should take Emma out on the dance floor.”

  Vince’s grin grew. “It’d be my pleasure,” he said. “But I wouldn’t want to intrude on your girls’ night out.”

  Macy waved a hand at him. “No intrusion at all. Go have fun.”

  Emma raised an eyebrow. It was interesting how Macy was so generous with Emma’s permission. Not that Emma would’ve turned him down. Even though she should. But wouldn’t.

  He shook his head. “Not without you. I’m Italian from Jersey. I’m more than capable of dancing with two women at the same time.”

  Winking, he held his hands out to both of them.

  Macy laughed and grabbed his hand. “You’re on.”

  Emma took his other one, impressed that the guy was willing to tackle a fast song and beyond touched that he was including her friend so she wasn’t left sitting alone. That was sweet. Really sweet. And her heart cracked open a little more for the man.

  Vince led them to the dance floor, where he indeed held his own with her and Macy. The guy had more moves than the two of them put together. He was a natural, and so darn cute she couldn’t stop smiling. For three songs she danced and laughed at his smooth footwork and his exaggerated ones.

  By the time the band announced they were slowing things down, Emma was both grateful for the break, and sad to see it end.

  “Thank the Good Lord.” Macy fanned herself. “I don’t think I could’ve held up through another one. You can seriously groove, Vince.” The panting woman nudged him toward her. “You two go ahead. I need to sit down.”

  “All right. If you’re sure,” he said.

  Macy nodded. “I’m sure.” Then walked away.

  Emma was sure, too. She was sure this dance would be the most enjoyable of the night. Which meant she probably—no, definitely—should complain about being tired and join her friend at the booth.

  Only she didn’t. Nope. Instead, she ad
justed her purse so it rested on the side of her hip and wouldn’t interfere like before. Nor did she stop him from pulling her in close, much closer than she’d danced with Stephan.

  Emma’s heart leaped and beat erratically, and she suspected it didn’t have anything to do with Stephan’s presence. In fact, until that moment, she’d forgotten he was there.

  Two strong hands lightly squeezed her waist. “You okay?”

  Unable to find her voice, she nodded and set her palms on his chest, and that incredible wall of solid muscle. He was magnificent, and she was in trouble. Every part of her body screamed for her to press against him, but she managed to remain strong. Barely.

  “That was a nice thing you did,” she said when her voice returned. She was trying to keep things light, but it was tough with those talented lips of his so close.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Asking Macy to dance, too.” Looking into his warm gaze, she couldn’t help but smile. “She’s going to talk about that for years. Did you have ballroom dancing lessons or something?”

  His lips twitched. “No. It’s an Acardi trait, although it seems to have skipped my brother.”

  “That explains it.” Her steps faltered as a thought occurred. “I’ve never seen him on the dance floor during a fast song.” And truthfully, she’d never equate her tough, muscle-bound neighbor with sophisticated moves, although the man in her arms was full of solid muscles, too.

  Vince nodded. “Oh yeah. He has two left feet.”

  She giggled. “A princess with two left feet. Not sure I can look at him the same again.”

  “Good.”

  Wave after warm wave of awareness spread through Emma while her heart raced in anticipation, for what she had no idea.

  He glanced over her shoulder, then back at her, an undecipherable look drifting across his face. “Stephan’s watching. Do you want me to kiss you?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Emma nodded. She wanted the kiss, but wasn’t entirely sure it had anything to do with Stephan.

  As they continued to sway, Vince slowly captured her lips in a lazy, thorough kiss that stole the strength from her legs and the ability to form a thought from her brain. By the time he lifted his head, she was clutching his shoulders and working to clear the fog from her head.