“Why? The cows can wait fifteen minutes.” He nuzzled her ear. “I’m dyin’ for you, Celia.”

“I…we can’t.”

He pushed up. “What’s wrong?”

Her cheeks were bright pink “I got my period.”

“Oh. So that means I can’t kiss you? Grind on you a little? Do you have cramps or something?”

She blushed harder. “Can’t we just drop it?”

“Why are you embarrassed?”

“Just stop looming over me. You’re making me self-conscious.”

Kyle rolled until they were on their sides facing each other. “Don’t be self-conscious. We’ve had our arms up a cow’s birth canal together. We can talk about this stuff.”

“That’d be a first.”

“Really? Why?”

Celia briefly closed her eyes. “After my mother died, I had no one to ask about that kinda girl stuff when it happened to me. I finally got up the courage to tell Abe and he got all embarrassed. He drove me to Kmart in Rawlins, handed me twenty bucks, and told me to stock up on female supplies. I doubt he ever mentioned it to Hank.”

“That was f**kin’ stupid and insensitive of him. It’s part of life for women and men who live together. My mom went to bed with a heating pad, a bottle of Midol, a stash of chocolate, and a bottle of wine after her bar shift during that time of the month. She never hid it from me because she said I’d have to deal with it. She never sent me to the store to buy tampons, but it wasn’t some dirty secret either.”

“Things were a little better when Janie lived there,” Celia admitted. “But I was back to ignorance with other female issues after she left.”

“Like what?”

She glanced down at his chest. “Like girl clothes. Bernice cornered me to tell me to stop acting like a tomboy and start wearing a bra. Problem was, I didn’t own a bra. I was so small-chested I didn’t think it mattered. And the last thing I wanted was to draw attention to my lack of curves and become even more self-conscious that I didn’t look like Harper.”

“Hey.” Kyle nudged her face up to look into her eyes. “I teased you about that, didn’t I?”

“You never called me tiny tits or anything, but you made cracks about whether I was even a girl.”

He rested his forehead to hers. “Jesus. I’m sorry.”

“I know. I also know you didn’t do it because you secretly had a crush on me, which in hindsight, would’ve made it worse. You were just being a guy, jerking me around like you always did. I would’ve been more suspicious if you’d stopped.”

Kyle’s lips forced a path down her neck. Happy she’d worn a shirt with snaps, he popped them one at a time and dragged openmouthed kisses over each bit of exposed skin.

And looky there, she hadn’t worn a bra.

She made a soft noise when he licked her left nipple.

He cupped a breast in each hand and pressed the flesh together to tongue both ni**les. “Put your hands up my shirt. Play with my ni**les like I’m playing with yours.”

Celia’s cold fingers made him jump and she responded with a low, sexy chuckle that he felt beneath his lips.

Her hands were all over him, sending goose bumps across his arms and down his back. She brushed the ridges of his abs. She mapped the planes of his chest with her palms, her fingertips, not just focusing on his ni**les.

He scooted up to kiss her in the same unhurried manner that he caressed her. Exploring her mouth. Sinking deeper into the moment. One last nuzzle and he eased back to look at her. Her face was flushed, her eyes a soft silvery gray.

Celia set her hands on his cheeks. Her thumbs followed the arc of his eyebrows, trailed down his temples and jaw. “You’re so damn good-looking, Kyle. Such a perfect mix of rugged and handsome.”

Kyle blushed.

“I’m sorry if I don’t say that enough. But I am thinking it. Every day when I look at you.”

“Thank you.” He kissed the inside of her wrist and changed the course of the conversation. “I love touching you, Celia.” His hands mapped her face the same way hers had mapped his. “I love that I can touch you whenever I want.”

“Same goes.” She yawned. And looked embarrassed by it. “Sorry. You touching me is far from yawn-inducing.”

“I’ll stop hogging your sleep time.” He kissed her forehead and pulled the covers under her chin.

She said, “Kyle. Wait,” when he’d reached the door.

He turned back around.

“Don’t go. There’s nothin’ that needs done for a little while. And I really like being curled up next to you. I’ve missed that the last few days. Will you crawl back in here for a bit?”

Oh, sweet woman, what am I gonna do without you?

Kyle hoped he would never have to find out.

Chapter Twenty

Celia was so damn tired she thought she might be hallucinating when Abe’s truck pulled up. Paranoia slammed into her when both Hank and Abe trudged up the driveway.

She stepped outside. “Please tell me you’re not here because of bad news.”

Hank gave Abe a little shove. “See? I told ya we should’ve called first.”

Abe gave Hank a one-handed shove right back. “We can’t drop by and see how our newly married little sister is doin’?”

“I guess. It’s just sort of weird.”

“Actually, we came by to talk.”