“She’s fine. She’s fast asleep.”
“Is there something you need?” He pulled the sheet tighter and tucked in the ends to make it stay put. His naked torso was all lean muscle, broad shouldered and flat-bellied, nicked here and there with scars.
“What I need is you,” she said. “I …” Her voice faltered. She forced herself to go on. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
The slow release of his breath told her that he did. “What about Hayden?” he asked.
“There’s no Hayden. There never really was. It’s you I need, Buck. I’ve seen your gentleness. I trust you.”
“You’re expecting me to save you?”
Cheyenne had no reply. She felt small and foolish. “I should go,” she said.
“No, sit down.” He motioned her to a seat on the edge of the bed. “We haven’t had much chance to talk, have we?”
She sat gingerly. The covers were rumpled where he’d pulled out the sheet. He took his place beside her, close but not quite touching. She could sense his warmth. He smelled of hotel soap and good, clean man. Cheyenne checked the urge to reach out and touch him.
“You’re so beautiful and full of life, Cheyenne,” he said. “It would be all too easy for me to say yes. But you need to understand what you’re asking. I’m a few years older than you are, and I’ve been around the block a time or two. I’ve had girlfriends. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about love—and lovemaking—it’s that the good stuff can’t be forced.” His gaze met hers. “Does that make sense?”
She gave him a nod, her cheeks burning.
His arm slipped around her shoulders. “Someday, you’ll find the right person, Cheyenne. When you do, everything will fall into place. You’ll see.”
“I’m in love with you, Buck.” Saying the words was like stepping off a precipice.
A startled look flashed across his face. He lowered his arm and shifted on the bed to sit facing her. “Are you really saying that you love this worn-out, worthless excuse for a cowboy? You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. I was already falling when you lectured me on the dangers of men in Las Vegas, and I told you that you sounded like my mother.”
“Oh, yes. That’s the line I always use to get the girls. It works every time.”
“Stop joking, Buck. This isn’t funny.”
“Sorry,” he said. “But if you mean what you said, we’ve got ourselves a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” Cheyenne braced herself for heartbreak.
“I’ve loved you from the moment you dropped your key card at my feet. But with Hayden hanging all over you, I figured I didn’t have a chance. I’m still not sure you know your own mind.”
“But you kissed me.”
“Just to see what would happen. It was a great kiss, but you backed off. I told myself that was all I needed to know.” He stood, offering his hand to pull her to her feet. “Maybe you need to give this time,” he said.
“You want me to leave?”
“No, but maybe you should. You’re barely grown up. Me, I’m too old for games. When I play, it’s for keeps. If you stay, that’s what you’ll have to understand.”
Stunned by his words, Cheyenne hesitated. It was only for an instant, but long enough for him to notice. With a gentle hand on her shoulder, he turned her toward the door.
“Someday you’ll thank me for this,” he said. “Go, love. Go and live your life.”
His hand dropped from her shoulder. Numb with disbelief, Cheyenne forced herself to take a step, then another. With each step, she felt more sure that this wasn’t what she wanted. At the door, she paused and turned around.
The anguish in his face told her everything.
She stood perfectly still.
“Oh, you fool!” she whispered. “You big, proud, self-effacing idiot! As if anything you say could ever make me leave you!”