Riding West by Emma Wildes

out.
    “You told me you thought we should get married because we‘d been neighbors all our lives and you thought not only would we suit each other, but it‘d be nice that I would live so close to my family.”
    Put that way, he supposed it didn‘t sound particularly romantic. Parker crossed his arms over his chest and flushed slightly. “All of that is true.”
    “This is big country but we have other neighbors. I suppose I should consider marrying one of them.”
    Her flippant tone irritated the hell out of him, not mention the fact he intensely disliked the idea of any other man touching her, even if she was being sarcastic. “You‘re marrying me tomorrow in Tijeras, sweetheart, so you can get over that notion. The judge comes into town every Thursday.”
    Celia shook her head and stood up, looking luscious in her simple blue dress, her eyes flashing. “You can‘t tell me to marry you, Parker.”
    “I think I just did, Miss Evans .”
    “Go to hell.”
    “That sassy mouth of yours has got to be reined in.”
    “I dare you to try.” She looked more beautiful than ever with high color in her cheeks and fire in her gaze.
    “We have to get married, sweetheart. I‘ve fucked you, remember?” The minute he said it, he regretted it. He wasn‘t handling this right, but she had the ability to get under his skin the way no one else could. She used the crude word now and then in playful banter because he disapproved, but he knew she didn‘t really think of what happened between them in bed—and a few other places—that way.
    He didn‘t think of it that way either.
    Her soft mouth tightened. “You sure have. Just like you fucked all those other women, however many there have been. I notice you didn‘t marry them, so it makes that particular argument invalid, I‘m afraid. Excuse me, I think I‘m going outside for a short walk. I don‘t think much of the company in here.”
    Lord, this is not going well .
    She turned and stalked toward the door and at first Parker figured he‘d just let her go cool off outside. When Celia thought about it, she‘d know they were obligated to get married, and more than that, he was convinced she felt the same way about him as he did her. Then he‘d ask her politely again to be his wife, and leave out all mention of the points of his first proposal she apparently didn‘t appreciate.
    She furiously swung open the door, and Parker changed his mind.
    No, she wasn‘t walking out on this argument. Whenever he played the passive suitor, he lost ground. It was an old pattern, and it had gotten him nowhere. On the other hand, she seemed to like it when he was a bit more assertive. Letting her flounce out would be a mistake.
    He lunged away from the mantle and caught her in three long strides, just as she stepped out on the tiny front porch of the cabin. Celia made a choked incensed sound of surprise as his hands grasped her waist, and he barely avoided a wild swing of her fist he suspected would have hurt if it connected. Parker dragged her back inside and kicked the door shut, ignoring her struggles.
    “Get your hands off me,” she said icily, doing her best to kick him in the knee. “I do not want to talk to you right now.”
    “Too bad. I do want to talk. Right now.” Crossing the small space, he fairly tossed her on the bed.
    She tried to sit up but he wouldn‘t let her, catching her arms over her head and pinning her to the thin mattress with his longer, much larger, body. She always felt wonderful beneath him, and he could feel the generous swell of her breasts through her dress and his shirt, not to mention the perfect cradle of her hips against his crotch.
    With a lethal glare, she called him a very, very bad name.
    In answer, he kissed her.
    It was his intention to be forceful, but instead he found he molded his mouth to hers with gentle persuasion that said more than any words he could find. At first she was stiff and unyielding, but it lasted all of two seconds. Her