Page 19 of Summer on the Ranch (Royally Wed #1)

She bit back a moan. Is that what he thought?

That she was demanding he kiss her or whatever it was the teenagers did up there?

They’d pulled onto the two-lane highway.

There weren’t many other cars out on the road, and they seemed to be alone in some isolated part of the world.

There was only the low sound of the engine and the faint whisper of country music coming from the truck’s stereo.

‘‘Um, Mitch?’’

‘‘Yes?’’

‘‘We don’t have to go there if you don’t want to. I mean, I was mostly interested in the view, and it’s getting late and well, it’s not necessary.’’

He gave her a quick glance before returning his attention to the road. ‘‘In no particular order, it’s not all that late, I’m happy to show you the view and, no, you’re not making me do anything I don’t want to do.’’

Okay, so she hadn’t made herself clear. It wasn’t really her fault, she thought grimly. None of her etiquette classes had covered this particular situation. She was twenty-nine years old and she’d never been romantically involved with a man. It was incredibly pitiful.

‘‘What I’m trying to say is that I have no expectations that—’’ She groaned low in her throat. ‘‘That didn’t come out right.’’ She tried again. ‘‘I don’t expect you to feel obligated to be any way other than how you want to be.’’

Despite the darkness of the cab, she saw Mitch’s eyebrows pull together. ‘‘You want to run that by me again?’’

‘‘Not really.’’

‘‘Okay.’’ He nodded a couple of times. ‘‘Let me see if I understand this. You’re saying that your entire interest in Submarine Point is the view, and that I am under no obligation to put out. Does that about sum it up?’’

If she hadn’t thought it would have started an international incident, she would have thrown herself out of the cab and risked tumbling down the side of the mountain. Color heated her cheeks until she could only pray that she would die. Right there. In the truck.

‘‘I’ll take your silence for a yes,’’ he said.

She made a low, strangled sound which he ignored.

‘‘That leaves only one question, Princess Alexandra. Do you want me to do anything or not?’’

Before she could even try to answer, he pulled the truck off the main highway and rolled onto a dirt track. They bounced along for several minutes, rounded a bend and stopped by an outcropping of rock.

Alex leaned forward and caught her breath. Lights twinkled in the valley below, while stars twinkled in the clear sky above. The darkness seemed to go on forever, but not in a way that frightened her. Instead she had the sense of being a small part of a much larger world.

‘‘It’s beautiful,’’ she breathed.

He turned off the engine, and they were instantly surrounded by silence. Mitch opened the driver’s window a couple of inches. ‘‘Pretty soon you’ll be able to hear the coyotes and whatnot going about their business.’’

She glanced at him. ‘‘I’ve never seen a whatnot before. Are they indigenous to the area?’’

‘‘Mostly. Some came over with the Spanish back in the sixteen hundreds. We have several varieties of whatnot out here. The males are sturdy, loyal creatures, but the females can be a real pain in the butt.’’

She turned her back on him and stared out the side window. ‘‘I’m ignoring you.’’

‘‘Why?’’

‘‘You’re insulting me.’’

‘‘For talking about whatnots?’’

‘‘You know exactly what I mean.’’

She pressed her lips together so that her laughter wouldn’t escape.

With Mitch she was able to relax more than with anyone other than her immediate family.

She was both pleased and confused by that.

Maybe it was their isolation on the ranch.

Out here there weren’t any royal rituals or reminders of who and what she was.

Maybe it was the man himself. He wasn’t one to stand on ceremony.

‘‘Tell me what you’re thinking,’’ he said.

‘‘That you make me laugh.’’

She spoke without turning around. Was it her or had it suddenly gotten warm in the cab? And had Mitch’s voice turned low and smoky?

‘‘I’m glad,’’ he said. ‘‘I want you to enjoy your time on the ranch.’’

‘‘I am. You’re a very good host.’’

‘‘Not as good as you think,’’ he admitted.

She turned to face him and found that he’d shifted closer to the middle.

Her leg bumped his knee. Her breath caught at the contact, but she couldn’t find it in herself to complain…

or retreat. Was it her imagination or had her breathing gotten faster?

Her heart was pounding hard enough. She was afraid it might crack one or two ribs.

‘‘What do you mean?’’

‘‘You confuse the hell out of me.’’ In the dim light his eyes were black and bottomless. ‘‘Tonight, when you were talking about being queen of your country, I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut by a steer.’’

‘‘Why? That shouldn’t matter to you at all.’’

‘‘Maybe not, but it does. When it’s just the two of us, you’re plain Alex. But then I have to remember you’re much more than that. I don’t know how to handle Princess Alexandra, or worse, Queen Alexandra.’’

They were both speaking softly. Alex had to force herself not to sway toward him. ‘‘I’m not a horse. I don’t have to be handled.’’

His mouth turned up at the corners. ‘‘You know what I mean. I can’t reconcile what I want with what’s real.’’

Her heart pounded harder. ‘‘Wh-what do you want?’’

Instead of answering, he reached up and, with one hand, cupped her face. His fingers were long and warm against her skin. Her eyelids drifted closed and she found herself rubbing her cheek against his palm, like a cat seeking affection.

‘‘Tell me to take you back to the ranch,’’ he said gruffly.

She opened her eyes and stared at him. ‘‘What?’’

‘‘Or tell me that you wanted to come out here because my kisses make you hot. That you want to pretend we’re just a couple of high school kids who stole away to make out.’’

He was moving closer…or was it she? Not that it mattered which, she thought hazily as she licked her lips in anticipation of his kiss.

‘‘So it’s either or?’’ she asked. ‘‘I have to pick?’’

‘‘Yeah, but hurry up.’’ He put his free hand on the other side of her face and held her still. ‘‘I mean it, Alex. I have to know.’’

She’d never done anything like this before in her life. The experience was coming about nine or ten years too late, but at least she was going to have it.

‘‘Don’t worry, Mitch,’’ she said, her voice low and husky. ‘‘My parents aren’t expecting me home for hours.’’

He stared at her for what felt like forever, but was actually two very loud, very excited beats of her heart.

‘‘You are one hellcat under that bossy facade of yours,’’ he growled, then pulled her close and kissed her.