“He’s like any male,” Cooper said in a low, husky voice. “Big Tom wants to know he’s loved.”
Marlee couldn’t help but smile. “Is that so?”
“Absolutely. He might like me petting him, but he’ll know the difference as soon as you touch him.”
Marlee jerked her head to Cooper and frowned. “Because he can smell me?”
“He smelled you the moment you got out of the truck. It’s because women touch animals differently than men. My dad told me that once. I didn’t believe him until he proved it with my mother. And I’m going to prove it to you now.”
“All right.” Marlee was more than ready to pet the bull.
Cooper moved a little behind her, pressing against her back. She felt his hard body and had to remind herself to keep her attention on the bull, not the very handsome, very arousing cowboy behind her.
“See my hand? See how I’m stroking the top of his head?” Cooper asked her.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“You’re going to do the same thing. Ready?”
Marlee swallowed. “Yes.”
“He’s all yours.”
Cooper moved his hand, and Marlee put hers in its place. She was shocked at how soft Big Tom’s fur was. It wasn’t as dense as a dog’s or cat’s, but still silken. With her hand moving in the same manner as Cooper’s had, the bull stayed still for a heartbeat. Then he raised his head a little to look at her with his soulful black eyes. He blew out a breath and nodded his head, bumping her hand.
“He wants more,” Cooper said, a smile in his voice.
Marlee laughed and continued petting Big Tom, but it wasn’t enough. The bull then pressed his head against her body. When he did, she began to tilt backward, but Cooper kept her upright.
“See?” Cooper said. “I told you Big Tom would know the difference.”
She could only smile in amazement as she stared at the bull. “But he was making those noises with you. He isn’t making them with me.”
“He knows me, and I know what he likes. But he likes you much more than he does me.”
Marlee shook her head as the bull gently butted his head against her again, seeking more of her touch. “I can’t believe this.”
“Don’t do this with all bulls,” Cooper cautioned. “I know some who would just as soon trample you as have you get near them. But then there are those like Big Tom. The softies.”
Marlee was soon petting the bull with both hands. “He is. I think I adore him.”
“Which usually happens.” Cooper chuckled and gave the bull a light shove when he pushed more weight into Marlee. The bull took the hint and stepped back.
“He’s so well mannered,” Marlee stated in amazement.
“If you didn’t tell him no, he’d likely have you on the ground. He has no idea how powerful he is. He needs reminding.” Cooper gave Big Tom a pat. “Time to go back in your pasture.”
Marlee wrinkled her nose. “Really? I was just getting used to this.”
“Now that Tom knows you, he’ll come greet you next time.”
Her eyes widened. “I’ve got to see that.”
“Then we’ll plan on it.”
She smiled as their eyes met. “Okay.”
He gave a tip of his head and then, with a hand on Big Tom, started toward the open gate, leading him back into his pasture. Marlee watched the males and realized she’d never thought to be looking at a man walking a bull down the road. She meandered on the quiet dirt road, wondering how it would be to live in such a place.
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up again. She looked around, but the darkness hid everything. When they first arrived, she’d thought it might have been the unknown danger of the bull that had her senses heightened, but that wasn’t the cause now. Every instinct she had told her that she was being watched.
Her eyes scanned the area. She wished the moon would shed more light, or that there were streetlights, but this was out in the country where people could still lift their gazes to see a multitude of stars. Whatever—or whoever—was out there was being shielded by the dark. But Marlee would find out who it was.
There was a sound behind her. She whirled around and saw a mass fill the area before she was unceremoniously jerked away. Marlee found herself pinned between the wooden fence and a hard body that she was coming to know well.
“Are you all right?” Cooper asked, his eyes filled with concern.
She nodded. “What was that?”
“A deer. It hadn’t been headed toward you at first, but something clearly spooked it and it shifted course. You were so still, I’m not sure it realized you were there until you turned.”
Marlee raised a brow. “Are you telling me I scared the deer?”
Cooper wrinkled his nose and nodded twice. “I’m afraid so.”
She couldn’t help but laugh now that the situation was over. Marlee didn’t want to think about what might have happened had Cooper not been there. “Is Big Tom up?”
“He’s safe in his pasture, unaware and unconcerned about the deer.”
“And the deer?”
Cooper shrugged. “I think he’ll be traumatized for a bit, but he’ll recover.”
She laughed, quite liking being in his arms. His body was nestled tightly against hers. He had pulled her in for protection, but now that the threat was over, he hadn’t moved away. And she was glad he hadn’t. It wasn’t just his heat she enjoyed. It was the man himself.
“And me?” she asked.
He raked his gaze over her. “I think you’re tougher than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“I was nearly done in by a startled deer until you saved the day.”
His eyes lowered to her mouth, and her heart thumped wildly. “Woman, do you have any idea what your smile does to me?”
She did now, and oh, how she liked how that felt. Marlee reached up and moved his hat back so she could see more of his face in the shadows. “And what does it do to you, cowboy?”
“Shall I show you?” he asked and lowered his head.
The moment their lips met, she sank into him. Nothing had ever felt so right, so … perfect, as if this moment had been set in motion eons ago.
Chapter 18
The kiss set Cooper’s soul on fire. Desire surged within him until he burned with it. His arms tightened around Marlee as she sighed. He’d tried to take things slow, but there was no stopping the emotions he felt for her. They struck him at odd moments, propelling him toward her no matter how much he warned himself to be nonchalant.
But it was difficult to act like that when all he wanted was Marlee. It should’ve been enough that they had gone to dinner, but it wasn’t. It should’ve been enough that they had a nice time, but it wasn’t. It should’ve been enough that she had agreed to go with him to deal with the bull, but it wasn’t. And it should’ve been enough that he held her in his arms.
Yet, that was the very thing that had desire raging within him now. He couldn’t remember ever … craving … someone as he did Marlee. Touching her had been a thrill, but holding her? Well, that was another heart-stopping moment altogether. Having her against him heated his blood in ways that had never happened before. And when he looked into her beautiful bourbon-colored eyes … For all her heartache, for all the trauma she’d witnessed and endured, there was still so much hope there that it was nearly blinding.