Page 54 of Fairest of Heart

Had she? She ducked her face away from the path of his eyes. “I-I didn’t mean to presume.”

“Don’t you dare take it back.” The roughness in his voice startled her. She peeked up. The fierceness in his face made her breath catch. He crooked a finger and placed it beneath her chin to keep her from hiding from him. “You are a part of the Diamond D family. Have been since the day you decided to stay. Doc and the others love you like a daughter and would protect you with their dying breath. You aren’t some stray they decided to take in. You’re family, Penelope. I’m just glad you’re finally starting to feel the same way about them.”

“Starting to?” Penelope swallowed against the emotion thickening in her throat. “I adore these men. They are the grandfathers I wished for when I was a little girl. I just . . . I suppose I’ve been holding a piece of myself back because I know how much it hurts to wish for a family and be disappointed. I lived on the charity of others most of my life, and I’ve felt the difference between being tolerated and being wanted. I’m living on charity again here, and I . . . I guess I was afraid of being merely tolerated.”

She lowered her lashes to hide her eyes from him.

His hand moved around her chin to cup the side of her face, his fingers slipping into the hair at her nape. “Penelope.”

She held her eyes closed, not wanting to see his pity. Not wanting to reveal her tears.

“Pen. Look at me. Please.” His voice permeated her like the heat from a freshly stoked hearth on a cold winter morning.

Slowly, her lashes lifted. His eyes. Lord have mercy. She’d never seen such sweet intensity. Such fierce tenderness. Her pulse throbbed in her veins.

“You, my dear Penelope, could not be more wanted.”

Pleasure shot through her at his words. Pleasure and longing. She knew he referred to Doc and the others, but the way he looked at her made her think there might be just a tad bit of himself included in that statement.

“It doesn’t take blood ties to make a family, especially not at the Diamond D. There’s not a drop of matching blood between my grandpa, Jeb, Angus, and the rest, but I doubt you could find natural brothers any closer than those seven.” He rubbed his thumb along her cheek. “And now there are eight in the Diamond D family.” A crooked grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Eight and a half, if you count Lucky.”

Her skin tingled where he stroked her face. “We definitely need to count Lucky.”

Good heavens. What had happened to her voice? It sounded so . . . breathy. Which was strange since she seemed to be having trouble filling her lungs. Her chest felt too tight as her heart ricocheted against its walls.

Was he looking at her mouth? His lids had lowered a bit, so it was hard to tell, but every instinct she possessed confirmed the theory. Was he thinking about kissing her? Merciful stars. She’d dreamed of her first kiss. Of magic and fairy tales. But something told her that Titus’s kiss wouldn’t be the slightest bit ethereal. It would be solid and firm and . . . earth-shattering. A craving built inside her. A hunger. Her chin lifted ever so slightly in invitation.

Heat flared in his gaze. His head dipped closer. Then at the last moment, his neck twisted, and his lips pressed against her forehead.

Penelope’s eyes slid closed as she savored the sweet touch. It might not be the kiss of her dreams, but it soaked into her like a promise. Hinting of a future that might someday entwine her life with his.

Her heart slowed its ferocious pounding as the tender kiss soothed the frenzy, leaving a pool of warmth in its place.

Titus’s lips lifted from her brow, but he hovered near her hairline for a moment before raising his head and sliding his hand away from her cheek. Slowly, Penelope opened her eyes. Regret warred with lingering desire in his gaze, spawning a need within her to smooth things for him. She’d not pester him with questions or try to hold on to a moment that needed to pass. Instead, she offered a smile. Not one marked with giddiness or embarrassment, but one that revealed her heart. She held his gaze for a charged moment, then patted the place on his chest where her hand lay and stepped out of his embrace. Time to refocus on the matter at hand.

“I have some supper in the warming oven for you,” she said as she turned back toward the house. “Come eat. Then we can join the search for Rowdy.”

Titus fell into step beside her after swatting Rex on the rump and sending him toward the water trough by the corral. “It’ll be full dark soon,” he said, the huskier-than-usual timbre of his voice having an odd effect on her pulse. “Better for you to stay here. Keep the coffee going for Doc and the others as they start stragglin’ in.”

Penelope stopped in her tracks and spun to face him. “I’m not going to sit in the house doing nothing while Rowdy is out there somewhere, alone and possibly hurt. The only reason I’m not out there looking for him right now is because someone needed to stay behind to explain things to you.”

Well, that wasn’t precisely true. They could’ve left a note. But Doc hadn’t wanted her out there, either, and he’d asked her to wait for Titus as a stalling maneuver. Since he’d asked and not demanded, she’d given in to his wishes, wanting to please him. She’d not give in to Titus so easily, though. Not when she knew what kind of mental torture awaited her if she stayed behind again. She needed to do something, and heating coffee wasn’t enough.

Titus recognized the stubborn tilt of her chin and the determination firing her gray eyes like lightning inside a storm cloud. Man, but she was beautiful when her passionate nature exerted itself. Of course, she’d been beautiful when she’d shyly tipped her face up to his out in the yard, too. His gut tightened at the memory. He’d nearly kissed her. Really kissed her. The desire to clutch her tightly against him, slant his mouth over hers, and kiss her deep and long had been nearly impossible to resist. Even now, he wasn’t quite sure how he’d diverted at the last minute to place a tame little buss on her brow instead. Though even that innocent gesture had been a sweet torture he’d be reliving for many nights to come. The softness of her skin, the clean scent of her hair, her quiet sigh as she leaned her body into him. His pulse had yet to recover.

He’d never felt an attraction so strong. And not just because she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. No, it was because she needed him. Trusted him. Wanted him. Although, looking at her now, her wanting had more to do with him giving in to her wishes than him giving her kisses. An unfortunate turn, seeing as how he didn’t intend to allow her to put herself in danger.

“I know you want to help Rowdy,” he began, choosing his words with care, “but you’re not an experienced rider.” He actually had no idea of her horsemanship skills but figured an orphaned girl growing up in a big city wouldn’t have had many opportunities to ride. “I’ll be able to cover more ground on my own.”

“But Rowdy never rides. He always ventures out on foot.”

“He ventures far on foot,” Titus countered. “Several miles, I’d wager, since no one at the Diamond D seems to know exactly where he goes.”

Her lower lip wobbled, and his gut reacted with a few wobbles of its own. Softening his resolve. Urging him to give in to make her happy. But he couldn’t. Everything he’d told her was true. She would slow him down. Distract him from his purpose.

“Please, Titus.” She stepped closer to him, and his heart thumped in response. “I need to do something to help. Sitting here alone, contributing nothing, is torture.”

“I know.” He reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “I felt that same helplessness watching Tate slip further and further away from the family. I know how it eats at a person. But you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, Penelope. You’ve endured so much hardship, yet your soul remains guileless and optimistic. If anyone has the strength to hold on to hope in a dark situation, it’s you.”