The Marriage Charm

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Melody wondered if with just two fire-hot kisses, the man holding her had changed his mind about ticking off the avoid-at-all-cost box.

“It’ll take me two minutes to get out of these clothes,” he said. “Let me undress you first.” It was so endearing that she burst out laughing. It felt good.

“Oh, out of my sexy sweatpants and T-shirt?”

“I don’t need fancy duds to know what you’ll look like.” He peeled off her shirt, raising her arms. “The shirt is see-through to a discerning man like me with a good memory. I remember what’s underneath, so I don’t notice the frills.” He added in a low voice, “Come on, Melody, you know I think you’re beautiful. That was never our problem.”

No, he was right. With him, in his arms, she’d always felt every inch a woman. In fact, she’d become a woman. At twenty, even in this day and age and halfway through college, she’d been a virgin. Not a conscious choice, really, but she’d had the nagging thought that it might have been. She was the naive fool who’d saved herself for him, as she’d realized later, when she faced the bitter truth.

* * *

FOR A VERY long time she’d had a crush on Spencer Hogan. When it turned into a love affair, she’d gone in feet first, like jumping off a cliff. It had been awkward when he’d grasped that she had zero experience, but all in all, they’d managed pretty well, probably because he sure hadn’t saved himself for her. She was well aware that even in high school he’d had a reputation as a player.

Over the next few months, practice had improved the situation. They’d practiced on every horizontal surface available until it came time for her to enroll for fall college classes. They’d continued their relationship—or that part of it, anyway—even after that disastrous proposal of hers, followed by his humiliating rejection, in early July. All summer long, they’d been lovers. She’d still thought they had a future.

Then he’d cut her loose.

He’d wanted a summer fling, so why couldn’t she just do the same thing now?

That annoying inner voice, the one she wished would shut up, whispered, Because that’s not you, dummy. Especially when it comes to this man.

He was beautiful, too, with all that dark hair and those oh-so-blue eyes. At least she’d put on a new bra with matching panties when she’d gotten dressed, since that was all she had. She hadn’t done laundry in a while, thanks to the wedding festivities.

He ran his finger along the scalloped lace edge over the curve of her right breast. “My X-ray vision missed this. Nice.”

She retorted, “It’s a laundry issue, so don’t think I wore it for you.”

“I hope you won’t mind if I admire it more off you than on.” He deftly undid the clasp in front and slipped it off her shoulders. At some later time, she’d probably resent that level of expertise.

Don’t think about that.

In his usual audacious way, he just picked her up and deposited her on the bed. His room was masculine, but then again, he was Spencer Hogan, male through and through. A rough-hewn bed with a headboard made of pine logs took center stage. It was covered with a bedspread in browns and greens patterned with pine trees, and there was a single dresser, a nightstand with a reading lamp and a door to what she assumed was a closet. A window with a view of the mountains drew the eye. No other decorations.

The view alone was probably the reason there wasn’t a single picture on the wall. What was the point? No framed picture could match it, spring, summer, fall or winter, but her attention was currently riveted elsewhere.

When he shed his clothes, she could see that his body certainly hadn’t changed, still honed and muscular, his broad chest tapering to a taut waist and narrow hips. She knew he worked out because she’d seen his truck at the local gym; Bex owned it and she went there, too. She also knew that he rode Reb every day, rain or shine.

His aroused state reminded her that sexual attraction was never their problem, either. Any more than mutual appreciation of each other’s looks had been. On the physical level, they’d had no complaints.

“You won’t need these.” Her panties went next as he hooked his fingers in the thin bits of lace and drew them down her legs.

When he stretched out on top of her, her heart was beating at a pace that would send the average race car driver slamming into a wall at curve three. He stroked her breast and said the most romantic thing possible, which certainly didn’t help matters.

“I’ve missed you.”

Three simple words if you discounted the contraction. But he looked and sounded as if he meant them.

He also looked hot. And sexy. And just...Spence.

“Are you talking to me, or my breast?” Melody ran her fingers through his thick hair and let him have his way. “I—”

He interrupted whatever she was going to say—she wasn’t sure what that was, actually—with another scorching kiss. Enough talking. That was also Spence. Pillow talk wasn’t his style. He was a man of action in every way, so that hadn’t changed.

Neither had the way he could so quickly ready her with a touch, with his kiss; even a meaningful look could do the trick.

Not that she really needed foreplay, but he was considerate enough to make sure by gliding his hand over the curve of her hip then sliding a finger deep inside her. “Wet and hot. You’ve missed me, too.”

If only she could deny it.

She ran her hands down his bare back. “Hurry.”

The rasp of the drawer of the nightstand being pulled open momentarily distracted her from the haze of her lust-induced delirium, and he extracted a foil pouch, tore it open and covered himself. That was something else she’d address later. He had condoms on hand.

He entered her in a slow movement that managed to convey that he wanted to go faster but wouldn’t rush it. He was the lover she remembered, finesse balanced by a hot-blooded approach to making love. He could accurately gauge her level of arousal and handle the situation accordingly.

Then it all took off.

He moved and she moved, lifting her hips in instinctive response, her body knowing what she wanted.

Spence knew it, too. He increased his pace right on cue, the erotic rhythm perfect. She felt her climax building, did her best to put it off because it was embarrassingly quick, but couldn’t. She lost it.

The most gratifying part, besides the orgasm of a lifetime, was that Spence lost it, too, and she was sure her reaction pushed him over the edge faster than he’d intended.

Both of them breathless and perspiring, he pulled her with him as he rolled to the side. His tousled dark hair was in stark contrast to the white pillowcase. After a moment, he said in a voice that was much huskier than his usual cool tone, “And here I thought I wasn’t seventeen anymore. That was damn fast.”

Clearly they’d both needed what had just happened, but if she analyzed it, she’d probably jump up, jerk on her clothes and run. So nix to the psychological aspect of what might have been a very big mistake.

“No apologies necessary.” She drew her hand along the contours of his chest. He felt solid and very real, even in a surreal moment like the aftermath of wild sex with a man she’d vowed to avoid for the rest of her life.

Bex and Hadleigh were going to strangle her for getting involved with Spence again—if she ever told them about this. Not to mention that it was Sunday morning. She was normally a regular churchgoer, but she’d just renewed her sinner’s card, instead, by making love with Mustang Creek’s most notorious bachelor.

Not to mention her stupidity card.

His breath was warm against her mouth, and his lashes lowered. “I’d like to make it up to you if you have the time. My unseemly speed, I mean.”

There was nothing to make up.

“I have to feed my cats. I haven’t done it yet this morning.”

He laughed, his eyes a crystalline blue as he gazed at her. “Can I get a better excuse than that, please?”

The second time they made love it was slower, more measured but just as intense, and she held herself together a little longer, but by the third time she hit that sweet spot, Melody wasn’t even sure she could remember her own name.

In bed he deserved a Hollywood star on a sidewalk somewhere.

Out of it, she wasn’t positive they understood each other. At all. Emotionally speaking.

The buildup to the wedding had been trying, although she supported Hadleigh and Tripp with all her cheerleader might, even in those torturous shoes, pom-poms waving. They’d all been cheerleaders in high school, way back when...

Spence said something, and she registered the cadence of his deep voice, but she was tired, physically and mentally. The sheets were soft and smelled faintly like him, and all the bustle of the past few days came crashing down. She and Bex had been running around like headless chickens, handling all the details to keep Hadleigh sane. Melody nestled into the pillow like a bear finding a cave as the weather turned cold.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty, I just asked you a question.” A gentle hand caressed her shoulder.

“Hmm. What?”

“You want to talk about this?”

“About what?”

He chuckled softly. “I’m going to run into town. Do you want me to feed your cats while you take a nap since I’ll be in the vicinity?”

What did he say?Nap. Yeah. What a glorious word. She mumbled, “Sure.”

Then drifted off to sleep.

* * *

SPENCE WASN’T POSITIVE what to do.

Okay, he needed to get this straight. For the first time since the dawn of human beings, since creatures crawled out of seas or grabbed an apple in a garden somewhere, depending on what school of thought you followed, a man wanted to talk to a woman about their relationship, and she just went to sleep.

It was supposed to be the other way around.

So...he watched her sleep. Melody had half turned toward him before she’d conked out, one hand under her cheek, her lashes casting shadows on her cheekbones.

It wasn’t even noon.

Harley whined at the bedroom door. Spence had shut him out—he didn’t want a canine audience while he and Melody were making love—and it was getting close to lunchtime. Spence got out of bed, pulled on his jeans again and headed toward the kitchen. Melody didn’t stir.

After he fed his dog, he figured he ought to rustle up some human-grade food. Trouble was, he didn’t have much in the house.

He dumped the high-end kibble—the stuff he traveled twenty miles one way to buy—into the dish and Harley went at it, gobbling it up with a gusto that made that trip worthwhile. Then he said, “Want to go into town?”

Harley did an imitation of a champion high jumper by the door out to the back porch.

Big yes.

Spence got his keys and hers, since they were on the counter, grabbed a piece of paper from the drawer and wrote a note for Melody, which was an ironic twist to an already unusual morning. Then he hit a number on his phone. The owner of the Ride ʼem Café answered on the fourth ring and he said, “Good morning, Carly.”

“Back at you, Chief. You sound chipper.”

He was feeling chipper, although he was fairly sure that was a word he’d never use to describe himself. But yes, he was in a very good mood. There was a beautiful naked woman in his bed—naked except for that bracelet. He was going to have to ask Melody if she ever took that off. And it was a bright sunny day.

Carly Riggs was from the South, which could account for her killer fried chicken, and he ordered two dinners to go, the usual sides. He remembered his first date with Melody and added two slices of cheesecake. If they were meandering down memory lane, they might as well go all the way. She didn’t do much in the dessert arena unless she’d changed a lot, but she’d always loved cheesecake.

Be back with lunch was what he’d written.

He hesitated but that seemed clear enough, so he left it at that. Harley jumped into his truck once they’d hot-footed it outside, and he drove to town.

Beautiful day, birds singing, cartoon cupids darting around with their arrows...

What had he just done? Spence’s hands curled around the steering wheel as he took the turn off the property. He’d seduced Melody.

She might have joined in with a flattering amount of enthusiasm, but he knew she hadn’t come to the ranch expecting a roll in the hay, so he had to take responsibility. It was all on him.

He really wasn’t some kind of Lothario, but that was his reputation. It had come about mostly because once he started dating women who weren’t Melody, he was quick to lose interest.

He wondered how she’d feel if she found out how old those condoms were. Surely they held up pretty well in those foil packs. He didn’t sleep around, no matter what everyone gabbed about. At one time, especially after their breakup, he’d dated lots of women, but his heart hadn’t been in it, and that was a problem, as he’d discovered.

“Her cats are weird according to what I’ve heard from Tripp,” he said to Harley as he drove into Mustang Creek proper. “You’ll have to stay outside.”

His dog gave him a look that spelled out clearly he thought all cats were weird.

That was a valid point in Spence’s view. He took a breath and expelled it. “I wasn’t looking to get involved again,” he confided. “At least I didn’t think so. Not until this weekend...”

Sprawled in the passenger seat, Harley whined in commiseration, his white paws crossed.

Some jerk was speeding, going the other way on Main, and as they passed he took a moment to radio that in. He was never truly off duty, but that was fine.

He pulled up at Melody’s house, took Harley as far as the front porch and told him to stay then let himself in, pausing to look around.

Melody had turned her living room into her studio. There were sketches scattered across a worktable, and Spence resisted the urge to examine them because that would be an invasion of her privacy, even though she’d given him permission to go inside. The place was cozy, with a comfortable sofa and a patterned rug, and the artist in her was evident in an unusual mobile by the window. Squares of brilliant stained glass hung from strands of twisted copper. It didn’t take much intuition to know she’d made it, and Spence stood there for a moment, admiring her handiwork. He knew she was gifted, but fine arts hadn’t been her major the summer they were together. Back then, she’d planned on going to law school.

Changing her mind had been wise; she’d certainly nailed that piece, and he knew her jewelry sold well. During tourist season the local shops did a land office business in the stuff and clamored for more.

But that aside, there was one small problem. There were no cats to feed as far as he could tell.

No meows, no brushing against his legs, just utter silence. It was summer, and he sincerely hoped she hadn’t left a window open and they’d all escaped. It was possible that they were hiding because he wasn’t familiar to them—cats were very canny critters with a knack for self-preservation.

Or maybe they were hiding in plain sight.

He suddenly realized that there were three cats sitting on the fireplace mantel—looking almost like works of art themselves. He stared at them. Their tails were curled in perfectly matched question marks, and they seemed identical, but then again he was far more used to horses and dogs. Occasionally cats took up residence in his barn, but they fed themselves on the inevitable mice. It was an eerie sensation to see that these felines were studying him as if assessing his status as an interloper. Friend or foe?

Tripp had been right. They were weird.

“I have her permission,” he told the trio defensively. “Besides, I’m here for your convenience. She wants me to feed you.” He thought about his relationship with Harley, the understanding they had. “Anyone care to show me where the food is?”

That ploy actually worked. Go figure.

One of them jumped gracefully to the floor and with his tail twitching, led him to the kitchen, where he stared at a cabinet.

There did turn out to be cans of cat food in that cabinet, so he opened one—how much did a cat eat? He divvied the contents into three servings, refilled their water bowl and left. On the porch, Harley thumped his tail in support, and Spence could swear there was a sympathetic look in his eyes that said cats