Dancing was not Maggie’s thing. She was so incredibly nervous. In fact, by the time Darren pulled up in front of the big square metal building of a local bar and grill that boasted dancing, Maggie was thinking that this was the worst idea ever. She especially regretted her decision to let Darren drive. There was no way out. She was here until he was ready to go. What if he was one of those men who walked into a club and scoped out every beautiful woman in the room? What if he danced with everyone and she wound up having to call a cab?

Feeling almost panicky, Maggie checked the pocket of her skirt where she had tucked her phone and a credit card. She at least had a way to call for a ride and get out of here when things went south. She wasn’t trapped. She was an independent woman who could take care of herself.

Ugh! I spent all afternoon with the man. He’s not going to turn psycho on me now! Why am I so worried?

Darren suddenly looked over from the driver’s seat of his truck. The big vehicle had the Hernandez Land & Cattle brand stamped on the doors. It was obviously a company vehicle, and perhaps it lent just a little credence to Laredo’s earlier complaints about Darren. Was Darren truly a lazy man who avoided real work at all costs? Or was she right about him? Could she be right?

“It’s going to be all right,” he told her softly.

She wasn’t sure she heard correctly at first. There was nothing but the low greenish glow of the dash lights allowing her to see his face. His blue eyes looked luminous. They were huge and very serious at the moment. There was something about his chiseled profile that inspired confidence. She didn’t know what it was, but she was so glad to be with him right now. It made her nervousness about what was going to happen inside seem harmless.

“How about we get a table and get some dinner first?” Darren suggested. “If you decide you’d rather not dance, then we’ll just watch.”

And to think she’d always assumed that chivalry was dead. Maggie could not hold back her grin. “That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”

“Just wait there for a sec.” Darren picked up her hand and kissed the back of it right behind her knuckles.

Then he got out of the truck, shut his door, and ran around to the passenger side of the vehicle. He opened her door and very carefully reached up to help her down from the monster-sized vehicle.

Touching him was still electric. She felt a tingle from the tips of her fingers to her toes. It flew through her body and made her shiver. She scooted off the seat and her feet touched the pavement. She stumbled a bit, but he caught her. Automatically reaching out, she pressed her palms to his chest. The warmth of his skin beneath his T-shirt was incredible.

Feeling almost shy, she looked up and realized that he was staring down at her as well. She was protected there between his truck’s door and his body. The parking lot was crowded with cars, but the people seemed to be inside. The daylight was almost gone, and the lights from the inside of the bar and grill seemed to overpower the dim streetlights outside. There was a bit of a breeze blowing down off the front range and into the city. It ruffled the hem of her skirt, but she was warm in spite of it because having Darren so close made her feel as though she were on fire.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered. He touched a stray strand of her hair that stubbornly blew around her face. “Do you have any idea how much I love to look at you? Your face is so expressive. I can see everything you’re thinking, but I still want to ask you about all of the thoughts I see because I want to know you better.”

He cupped her cheeks in his hands and gently ran his thumbs across her lower lip. She closed her eyes and reveled in the sensation of his touch. The contact was so exquisite. Her whole body was responding. Her heart sped up. Her skin felt sensitized, and it was as if every ounce of blood in her body were right there beneath the surface making her feel utterly alive.

Darren lowered his mouth to hers slowly. Kissing him was becoming more comfortable, but not boring. Never boring. She anticipated it as though she had been waiting all this time just to breathe. His lips touched hers, and the light contact made her shiver with delight. He gently moved his mouth against hers. She could not resist the urge to put her arms around him.

His back muscles moved beneath her hands as he folded his body around hers. There was a protective element to it but something more as well. She felt cherished for the first time ever. This was what it was like to be cared for. And she was fairly certain she was quickly becoming addicted to the sensation.

His tongue snaked out to lightly caress her lower lip. She gave a little sigh and opened her mouth just enough for his tongue to slide inside. He made love to her, tangling his tongue with hers until they were straining to get closer. Teeth clicked and bodies rubbed as they held each other as tightly as they could.

Darren’s hand slid up and down her sides until she felt him slip beneath the loose hem of her blouse. The sensation of his hand on her bare skin was like a brand. She gasped as his fingers found her ribs and traced a path over each bumpy ridge until he was rubbing the sensitive area right beneath her breasts. She was going to die, and yet she loved every single second of it.

Her sounds of pleasure seemed to embolden Darren. He slipped his fingers beneath the underwire of her bra. Slowly caressing the full flesh, he soon found her nipple with his fingertip. Slowly circling the bud, he moved his lips from her mouth to her jaw and then to her neck.

Maggie was trembling. The touch of his finger to her sensitive breast was exquisite. Heat built between her legs until her core was pulsing with excitement and pure, unadulterated arousal. She felt more like a woman in that moment than she ever had before. The anticipation was so great that she could not imagine where it would go from there.

His lips tickled the shell of her ear. “I want to bring you pleasure, Maggie. Can I touch you? Can I make you scream?”

She was trembling with excitement. This was not what she had expected. This was not what she had thought would ever happen to her in a parking lot. Was he talking about sex?

“Darren, we can’t have sex in a parking lot,” she whispered, feeling naughty just for saying that out loud.

“Oh, sweetheart, no.” He put his hands around her waist and lifted her back into the passenger seat of his truck as though she weighed no more than a feather. Then he put his hand beneath her skirt and slid it up between her thighs. “This is all for you. It’s not about sex. I want you to feel good. I want you to feel pleasure.”

Why did it seem like such a foreign concept? She was trembling and feeling almost lightheaded as his fingers inched dangerously close to her most intimate place. She was so hot that she was positively aching. The first brush of his fingers against her mound caused her to gasp. She reached out and took hold of his shoulders.

Darren was tall enough that even sitting in the truck she was only just above him. She could not resist the temptation to kiss him as he stroked her thighs with such gentleness. She put her palms against his cheeks and pressed her lips to his. She moaned against his mouth as he began to knead the tight muscles on the insides of her legs. His touch was both gentle and stirring. She felt the insistence in the way he touched her and made her core wet with desire.

Tension built at the base of her spine. She pointed her toes. She kissed him with desperation and whimpered as pure, unfiltered need made her want to do daring things that would have made her blush on any other night.

“We should go inside,” Darren whispered in her ear. “You are far too tempting for your own good.”

“Is that right?” Was she being sassy? It was all there in her tone. She felt beautiful and confident in a way she hadn’t experienced before. If this was what a good kissing session with Darren could do for her self-esteem, maybe she needed to do that more often.

“Are you hungry?” He raised an eyebrow, and she could not help but wonder if he wasn’t giving her a bit of a double meaning there.

“I am hungry,” she admitted. “French fries sound divine.”

His smile made her feel like a million bucks. He took her hand and helped her back down out of the truck. She stayed in his arms beside his body for just a few minutes as he steadied her. She loved that feeling of being so close to him. She loved his scent and the feel of him against her. There was still a sense of excitement, but now there was familiarity too. It was comforting. She liked the way that felt. It was just so natural.

“Here we go.” He opened the front doors of the bar and grill, and she walked in ahead of him.

Darren held up two fingers to the hostess when they walked through a second set of doors. Maggie could not even focus on the cute hostess seating them. She was too busy gawking at the interior of the place. She lived in the Western portion of the United States. That had always been the case. But Maggie had never immersed herself too much in the culture here. She didn’t wear boots or jeans or ride horses and win belt buckles. She didn’t own a cowboy hat and had never considered riding a horse as a fun activity she wanted to learn more about.

But this was not necessarily ranch life. This was different. The booths and tables were tucked against the walls because the entire center of the space was dedicated to a dance floor. The place was absolutely packed wall to wall with people. There were couples doing an energetic two step on the right side of the room, but the left side sported four long lines of dancers moving in absolute concerted rhythm in a “line dance.”

“It’s like they all know the steps,” Maggie murmured in awe. “How did they learn?”

“It’s pretty simple.” Darren motioned her into a booth and then slid in right beside her. “Once you learn the steps, you’re free to embellish however you want.”

The men and women wore everything from working ranch clothes and boots covered in what was probably cow or horse manure to fancy stitched leather boots with pointed toes dripping silver decorations. They wore hats. They wore skirts. They wore tight jeans or loose jeans, or in one case, there was a woman in a full prairie-style skirt. The sight of it was stirring in a way that Maggie had never thought possible for her. She didn’t like to dance. She didn’t like to make a spectacle in public. But for some reason, that did not feel like what this was. It was different, and she wanted to try it and find out just how different it really was.

“Do you want to eat first and then try a dance?” Darren whispered in her ear. “It’s totally up to you.”

“No.” She turned to face him and could not suppress the smile on her face. “I want to try the line dance.”

Darren began sliding out of the booth as a waiter popped over. Darren grinned at the young man. “Bring us a couple of beers. Local draft. Something good. We’re going to have a dance and then come back and order.”

“Sounds like a fantastic idea.” The waiter actually gave Maggie a look up and down.

Maggie wondered if there was any truth to the notion that men always found a woman more attractive if she was with another guy. She didn’t know if there was any truth to that, but she knew that she felt as though she were ten times more attractive than she had been less than twenty-four hours ago.