Always a Lady by Sharon Sala

None of the men would dare come in search of her at this time of night. It had to be Case.
It was.
"Me," he answered.
    Lily opened the door and stared, trying not to give away the burst of pleasure she felt at just seeing him again.
    "I thought you'd like to know that Lane is going to survive," he drawled. "At least he'll survive the accident. I can't vouch for what I'm going to do to him when he's dismissed from the hospital, and I can't say what the authorities are going to do to him for driving drunk, but I don't really give a damn. I just thought you might."
    Pain opened and spread as Lily listened wordlessly to Case's almost angry recital.
    "I'm glad he's okay," Lily answered. "And I thank you for thinking of me."
I always think of you, lady, Case thought.
    "I'm sorry to be so much trouble," Lily mumbled, reading his behavior as angry and directed at her. "I suppose when you hired a long-distance cook, you never expected all this."
    "I don't know what I expected," Case muttered. "But it wasn't you . . . and you're not trouble . . . and I'm thankful as hell that you're in my house, glaring at me, and building your walls to keep people out. For a short time today, I didn't think I'd ever get to say that, and I wasn't going to let another sun rise before I did. You can be mad. You can be offended. You can be any damned thing you please. And I don't care whether you like it or not, you're about to be kissed."
    Lily was still trying to absorb what he'd just said when he hauled her into his arms and leaned toward her with intention in his eyes and love on his lips.
    She knew just before their mouths merged that she'd been wondering what this would feel like ever since the first day she'd seen him dust-covered and weary, standing tall beneath the hot prairie sun.
The kiss.
    At first it was tentative, a careful foray of nips and tastes that sent shivers spiking through the pit of Lily's stomach. Her hands knotted in the jacket he was wearing, and she inhaled as his mouth slid across her lips, seeking a firmer place to begin a more daring exploration. She drew his breath into her mouth and swallowed the groan that followed as Case slid his arms around her back and wrapped her so tightly against him she thought she'd just been melted and poured into his body.
    "Oh God, lady," Case whispered, as he tore his mouth away from her open, inviting lips. "Make me stop before this goes any farther. You've got to because I don't think I've got enough guts to be a gentleman about this. I ache for more than you're ready to give."
    Lily struggled with sanity, and slowly but surely pulled herself back together, withdrawing from Case's embrace with as much grace as she could muster.
    "I don't think I'll ever be ready to give you what you want, Mr. Longren," she said coolly. "I don't hop in and out of men's beds."
    Case was struggling with passion and fury as he grabbed Lily by the shoulders and shook her.
    "I don't think I asked for anything casual, lady. In fact, I didn't ask for any damn thing at all except some sanity. You've taken away all of mine. I just thought you'd be willing to share some of your own. And don't think for a minute I'm going to forget that you kissed me back. You'd do well to remember it, too."
    He turned and stalked away, disappearing into the shadowy darkness of the near-empty house with an ache in his heart and the pain that comes with unfulfilled passion.
    Lily watched, dumbfounded by what had just transpired, and remembered, too late, that she was supposed to be the injured party here. She stepped back and slammed the door shut with a reverberating bang. But it was a bit too loud and a bit too late. Case had already torn a hole in the wall around her heart and left her empty and aching for more.
    The next few days passed in a blur of revitalized activity. Another herd of cattle had been moved from their winter pasture back down to the ranch. The men were busy making steers out of the little bull calves, branding all