Page 99 of A Rancher's Heart

Chapter Twenty-Two

“How do you want to do this?” Tamara asked. It was just past noon, two days later, and they were lying in bed with nothing but lingering heat between them.

Caleb traced a trail over her breasts, his gaze following his fingers. “I just showed you how we do it. Need me to demonstrate again?”

She shot a hand down to cover her sex before he could make it there first. “Stop or I won’t be able to walk.” She tilted her lips toward him and gave him a kiss. “Although, I’m not really complaining about that option.”

The past couple of days had been a glorious haze of sexual satisfaction. They’d started each day tangled together, then he’d drop in for lunch, which had turned into a quick romp. Followed by shower sex before dinner.

Sitting in front of the fire in the evening, their glances would become longer and longer, until they were shutting up the place an hour before usual, slipping off to her bedroom to start again.

Tamara figured the man had over seven years of celibacy to make up for. She wasn’t going to deny him. So self-sacrificing of her,to be willing to have sex at the drop of a hat.

In her imagination, her sisters’ eye rolls were audible.Self-sacrificing, ha!

It had been worth it because Caleb wore the expression of a well-satisfied man. “What’s your question?”

“What do you want to tell the girls?” They’d ignored the conversation until now as agreed, but it couldn’t be put off any longer. “They’ll be here in a couple hours.”

He didn’t hesitate. “We tell them we’re getting married, and that you’re—”

“Caleb Stone.” Utter shock hit and instinct kicked in. She smacked a hand down on his shoulder. “Number one, that isnotwhat we’re going to do, and number two, you didn’t ask me.”

A frown folded his features. “I could have sworn I did.”

Tamara thought back. “Unlessoh my God, oh my God, hell yeahis cowboy forTamara, will you marry me? you seem to have missed that detail.”

He shrugged, the slight motion shifting his broad shoulders against the tangled sheets. “Marry me.”

Okay, great in bed, sexy and dependable, and not a romantic bone in his body. Tamara raised a brow and ignored the little fist bump of happiness inside that he’d at least popped the question.

Once he’d been prodded.Hmmm.

She stuck to her guns. “Nice try, but no. Considering you’ve gone to your knees before, I’m not accepting that.”

For a second his eyes clouded, but she refused to let his past remain a forbidden topic between them. “I get that you have bad memories, but you need to think big picture here, dude.”

“I like the view from where we are just fine,” he grumbled.

Tamara sat up sharply to glare at him. While she’d been willing to let the past few days be all about the physical, that wasn’t enough to base a marriage on. And she was fairly certain she wasn’t the only one in the relationship who actually cared.

Getting him to admit he had feelings for her might be the biggest battle.

Her on the other hand? No problem expressing her feelings, at least regarding the annoyance rushing her. Yes, he’d asked her to marry him, and an honest thrill was running through her system, but…

But…

It wasn’t enough, and it wasn’t fair to either of them to not fight foreverything.

Hence her annoyance rising to the top and escaping. “You not being much of a talker might be a good thing, because you’re doing a fine job putting your foot in your mouth.”

His face registered confusion. “What? Do you want a ring? Because we can get one by tomorrow. Maybe later today.”

“A ring would be part of it, but it’s not the main thing.” She folded her arms over her chest. Either he was being deliberately obtuse or the man honestly didn’t have a clue. Tamara examined his face, but it was unreadable again. He’d closed off and shut down, andhell noto both of those.

It was one thing for her to be stupid in love with the man, but was it too much to ask that he feel the same about her? No, of course not.

He probablywasin love with her but too stubborn to admit it yet.