Page 37 of The Rancher's Rejected Bride

Did he just read my mind?

The lengthening silence seemed to prompt Damian into looking up, and he let out an exasperated sound when he saw the way I was staring at him.

"That's it, you know," I told him seriously. "That's the sign we're meant to be. It's serendipity—-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake."

"It is—-"

"Past your bedtime," he cut me off with a pointed look at my wristwatch. "That's what it is."

"Stop treating me like a kid," I protested with a pout. "I'm eighteen, not eight."

"There doesn't appear to be any difference," he retorted, "with the way you're—-" He broke off when I shot out of my seat. "Where—-" He stopped speaking again as I slid into the seat next to him and pressed close, enough to have my already straining breasts brush against his arm.

"There." The breathless note of my voice didn't surprise me at all, considering how hard and fast my heart was beating. "Is there a difference—-"

"Are you like this with every guy?" Damian gritted out.

I quickly shook my head, wide-eyed and breathless at the heat suddenly blazing from his eyes.

"Don't lie," he growled.

I shook my head again, saying vehemently, "I'm not!" And it was the truth. "I promise—-"

"So why me?" he demanded roughly.

"I d-don't know—-"

Damian cursed under his breath, and I jerked in surprise.

"I can feel your nipples, dammit." The heat in his eyes smoldered into a sensual blaze as he spoke, and ohGod...

A whimper escaped me as I felt my nipples tighten and poke harder against his arm.

Oooooh.

The look in his glittering blue eyes was feral now, and he looked like he wanted to eat me alive.

"This is fucking crazy, damn you."

I just kept shaking my head. It was the only thing I felt capable of doing, my mind no longer functioning properly. No guy...just no guy had ever made me feel this way before, and I could barely keep myself still on my seat.

"Goddammit."

But even as he kept cursing the situation we found ourselves in, he didn't move away, and I didn't fail to notice the way his nostrils flared the moment he saw me nervously licking my lips. Whether he admitted it or not, he wanted this, too, and the realization made me feel heady and ache in places that had never ached before.

"Serendipity," I whispered. Heaven had blown me another kiss, and it was pointing to Damian's direction.

"Fuck serendipity."

And Damian shot out of his seat, leaving me to gape in surprise as he strode away without even looking back.

"Wait!"

But he was already out of the lounge room, and I found myself running after him.

"Will you please wait?"