“We’ll see.”
They stepped into an entry foyer that held a full-length mahogany mirror, two hat racks, hooks for coats, shelves that housed several pairs of boots. Stepping through the hallway, they came to a huge kitchen with state-of-the-art-equipment and luxurious dark wood cabinetry. The adjoining family room held a stone fireplace, a big-screen television, a game table, as well as a desk with two computers and other electronic devices.
“All the comforts of home, huh?” she asked. “It’s a marvelous home.”
“I suspect you have one to match,” he remarked.
“Odd that we’ve never been in each other’s houses in all the years we’ve known each other,” she said.
“There’s a lot we didn’t do in all the years we’ve known each other,” he said, setting her nerves on edge. “C’mon, I’ll show you more.”
They walked down a wide hall with Western paintings and beautiful tapestries that surprised her. The hall held finely crafted furniture, double front doors where floor-to-ceiling windows let in light and offered a grand view of the front of his property.
“Very beautiful, Tony. And a little surprising.”
“You probably pictured me in a log cabin with brass spittoons and bawdy paintings,” he said grinning.
She smiled. “Not that extreme, just maybe a little more rustic than this. After all, you’re a rancher at heart. This fancy home could belong to a Chicago stockbroker.”
He shrugged. “It’s comfortable, what I like and a haven when I come home.”
“That I understand.” She followed him as he directed her down another hallway.
“I don’t really know much about you as a person,” she said when he stopped outside a closed door. “Just as an annoyance in my life—until this month,” she said.
“I’m glad you added that last part. Here, Lindsay,” he said, ushering her into a suite with a sitting room that held floor-to-ceiling windows affording a panoramic view of a terrace and fields beyond it where horses grazed. “Here’s my living room. Want to see my bedroom next?”
Smiling at him, she shook her head. “I think we’re skirting the edge of temptation too much as it is. Thanks, I’ll pass.”
“Okay, then, on to the study.”
They went down the hall to another room, as elegant as the last, with leather furniture, oils on the walls, heavy shelves and polished cherrywood floors.
As she looked around, he said, “We can finish the tour later.” He glanced out the window. “Because I want you to see one of the pumps before the sun goes down.”
“Good idea,” she said. She wanted to see it in daylight, too, because if it really was his old pump, it would have rust.
“I’m ready.”
He placed a hand on the small of her back. “So am I,” he said in the husky tone he’d had when making love.
She stepped back. “You’re not helping the situation. We agreed that we were not pursuing...” She searched but couldn’t find the word she wanted. “Not pursuing this,” she said, “any further.” She tried to sound forceful, but her words sounded hollow, even to herself.
Tony must have thought so, too, because he said nothing. He merely stepped close and placed his hands on her waist. Her breathing became shallow and erratic as his steady gaze met her eyes and then lowered to her mouth.
Dimly the thought nagged at her that it had been a mistake to come here, but she wanted to see if he had been truthful with her.
She couldn’t step away or protest. She saw the desire in the blue-green depths of his eyes and her mouth went dry. She wanted his kiss just one more time.
He leaned down to kiss her, a hot, possessive kiss that made her feel he wanted her with all his being. Her heart pounded as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, once again trying to make him remember this moment and be as conflicted as she was.
Her world spun away, lost in Tony’s kisses that set her ablaze. She felt his hands drifting up her back, then moving forward to lightly caress her breasts.
“Tony,” she whispered, unable to tell him to stop, yet knowing they should.
She caught his wrists and leaned back. “This isn’t why I came,” she whispered, and then stepped away. “Water well pump, remember?” she asked, unable to get any firmness in her voice.
“When you’re ready, we’ll go,” he said. He stood so close that her heart pounded and it took all the willpower she had to move away.