“Oh, please,” she said with a soft cry. “We can’t…we mustn’t even talk like this.” His gray eyes smoldered above hers, and their breaths merged as his mouth hovered so close to her own.
“I vowed I wouldn’t touch you again.”
Rorie looked away. She’d made the same promise to herself. But it wasn’t in her to deny him now, although her mind searched frantically for the words to convince him how wrong they were to risk hurting Kate—and each other.
His hands drifted up from her shoulders, his fingertips skimming the sides of her neck, trailing over her cheeks and through the softness of her hair. He placed his index finger over her lips, gently stroking them apart.
Rorie moaned. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. Clay’s left hand dug into her shoulders as her tongue caressed the length of his finger, drawing it into her mouth and sucking it gently. She needed him so much in that moment, she could have wept.
“Just this once…for these few minutes,” he pleaded, “let me pretend you’re mine.” His hands cupped her face and slowly brought her mouth to his, smothering her whimper of part welcome, part protest.
A long series of kisses followed. Deep, relentless, searching kisses that sent her heart soaring. Kisses that only made the coming loneliness more painful. A sob swelled within her and tears burned her eyes as she twisted away and tore her mouth from his.
“No,” she cried, covering her face with her hands and turning her back to him. “Please, Clay. We shouldn’t be doing this.”
He was silent for so long that Rorie suspected he’d left her. She inhaled a deep, calming breath and dropped her hands limply to her sides.
“It would be so easy to love you, Rorie.”
“No,” she whispered, shaking her head vigorously as she faced him again. “I’m not the right person for you—it’s too late for that. You’ve got Kate.” She couldn’t keep the pain out of her voice. Anything between them was hopeless, futile. Within a day or two her car would be repaired and she’d vanish from his life as suddenly as she’d appeared.
Clay fell silent, his shoulders stiff and resolute as he stood silhouetted against the light of the Grange Hall. His face was masked by shadows and Rorie couldn’t read his thoughts. He drew in a harsh breath.
“You’re right, Rorie. We can’t allow this…attraction between us to get out of hand. I promise you, by all I hold dear, that I won’t kiss you again.”
“I’ll…do my part, too,” she assured him, feeling better now that they’d made this agreement.
His hand reached for hers and clasped it warmly. “Come on, I’ll walk you back to the hall. We’re going to be all right. We’ll do what we have to do.”
Clay’s tone told her he meant it. Relieved, Rorie silently made the same promise to herself.
Rorie slept late the next morning, later than she would have thought possible. Mary was busy with lunch preparations by the time she made her way downstairs.
“Did you enjoy yourself last night?” Mary immediately asked.
In response, Rorie curtsied and danced a few steps with an imaginary partner, clapping her hands.
Mary tried to hide a smile at Rorie’s antics. “Oh, get away with you now. All I was looking for was a yes or a no.”
“I had a great time.”
“It was nothing like those city hotspots, I’ll wager.”
“You’re right about that,” Rorie told her, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“You seeing Kate today?”
Rorie shook her head and popped a piece of bread in the toaster. “She’s got a doctor’s appointment this morning and a teachers’ meeting this afternoon. She’s going to stop by later if she has a chance, but if not I’ll be seeing her for sure tomorrow.” Rorie intended to spend as much time as she could with Clay’s fiancée. She genuinely enjoyed her company, and being with her served two useful purposes. It helped keep Rorie occupied, and it prevented her from being alone with Clay.
“What are you going to do today, then?” Mary asked, frowning.
Rorie laughed. “Don’t worry. Whatever it is, I promise to stay out of your way.”
The housekeeper gave a snort of amusement—or was it relief?
“Actually, I thought I’d finish putting the data Clay needs for his pedigree-research program into the computer. There isn’t much left and I should be done by this afternoon.”
“So if someone comes looking for you, that’s where you’ll be?”