Had that come out sounding painfully abrupt? Maybe. But it had to be said. A woman needed to take responsibility for her safety and reproductive health. No surprise pregnancies—and no STDs, either.
“Yes, I do.” He took her hand. His was warm and thrillingly rough from ranch work. Her heart skipped a beat with anticipation. “This way,” he said in a low rumble.
He led her out of the kitchen area to the open great room, which had a high, peaked ceiling and more gorgeous skylights. Large, comfortable-looking sofas and chairs formed two conversation groups on either side of the plain, modern fireplace.
Across from the fireplace, a staircase with metal railings led down to other rooms below.
“This way.” He led her along the short hallway next to the staircase, where a door opened on the master suite, with its own large bathroom and private deck. The room had a peaked ceiling, too. It was all warm, rough-textured woods, the linens in soothing, soft grays.
She hesitated at the door. He stopped and turned to her.
Before he could wrap her in those big arms, she stepped back. “I have something I need to say.”
He lifted a hand and touched the side of her face. The simple caress thrilled her, sent a tingle rushing through her just from that small, brushing contact. “Tell me, then.”
She suddenly felt awkward and silly and...too young. But she said her piece anyway. “I just need to lay out the ground rules, so we both know where we stand.”
One side of his sinfully sexy mouth quirked up in amusement. “There are ground rules?”
She gave him a firm nod. “Yes, there are. This, tonight, is a special circumstance.”
“Very special,” he agreed, those beautiful eyes gleaming at her, promising all manner of heavenly delights.
“Well, that may be. But I meant special as in a onetime deal. Tomorrow, I head home to Billings.”
“You mentioned that already.”
“And it bears repeating. I live in Billings, and your life is here. And in future, when I come back again to visit my family and you and I happen to see each other somehow in passing, we will not stop. We will not give each other more than a nod and a simple hello. We will never discuss what happened here tonight. No digits will be exchanged. Neither of us will try to contact the other. This is ‘The Night That Never Happened’—” Yes, she actually air-quoted it for emphasis. “—and we need to agree that it is.”
His burnished eyebrows drew together in a doubtful sort of frown.
She barreled on. “Which, er, won’t be a problem for you because you don’t do relationships.”
“Vanessa, I never said—”
“Wait.” She put up a hand. “I won’t get in touch again because that would make you think I want a relationship, which I don’t. As for you, well, you won’t contact me because, um, you’re Jameson John and you don’t do commitment.”
His frown had deepened. “Hey, now. Hold on a minute. I do plan to have a relationship that lasts. I want a family, children.”
“Sure you do,” she teased. “Someday, right?”
“That’s not fair.” He really seemed troubled, somehow, by this subject.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and meant it. “Sometimes I get a little carried away trying to make a point. I didn’t mean to insult you, Jameson.”
“You didn’t. It’s just, well, yeah. Maybe I was that guy you’re describing. But I’m not anymore. You like players and, back at Wild Willa’s, I wanted to be whatever you needed tonight. But I’m not that guy, Vanessa, not the thoughtless boy you remember from high school. I’ve been married and divorced. I’m settled down now, a grown-ass man. I’m ready for something more than just one night.”
Her heart kind of melted—but come on. She’d just been dumped. A new relationship wasn’t even on the table right now and she needed to make that crystal clear. She gazed up at him defiantly. “Well, I’m not ready for anything but tonight.”
He stared down at her long and hard. Was this it, then? Would he walk her back out to her car and say good-night? She braced herself for that.
But then he shook his head. “I do want you, Vanessa. A lot. And if tonight is all I’m getting, so be it.”
She drilled her point home. “After this, there will be no contact. You and me, we won’t be happening again.”
He caught her hand and pulled her close. “Fair enough.”
“Jameson,” she whispered, pressing her palms to his hard chest as his mouth touched hers.
