Rowan

by MarieRochelle

  “Say, ‘Please, Akayie, move to the ranch because I need your help,’ and then I might take it into consideration.”

  His hazel eyes flashed with an inner fire for a second, and then it was gone. “No, I won’t do that not even for my brother Dante.” Rowan started to move around her body, but she stepped in front of him, placing her hand on the hard chest.

  The feel of his warm skin through his shirt shocked her for a moment. She could do nothing but look into his eyes. He gave her a smile that sent her pulse racing, and she quickly dropped her hand.

  “Yes, you will, because you need me and we both know it. Don’t try to deny it any longer. Just say those words and I’m all yours.”

  Slowly and seductively, Rowan’s gaze slid downward along her body, sending tiny shivers of awareness through her. But, she stood still and tried to throttle the dizzying current racing through her. However, she was by no means blind to his attraction. There was a maddening hint of arrogance about him.

  Reaching out, he cupped her face in his hand. “Are you sure that you’re ready to be all mine at the ranch? As you know, I can be very demanding at times. Can you handle it?”

  “Say the words and we will both find out, Mr. Braden,” she tossed back with more confidence than she actually felt.

  He slowly brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, making her breath catch in the back of her throat. “Rowan.”

  “Hmmm?” she mumbled, holding his steady gaze.

  “Call me Rowan. No more Mr. Braden. You call my brothers by their first names and you will do the same with me. Do you understand?”

  Akayie was powerless to resist anything with the way Rowan was looking at her right now. “Yes, Rowan,” she answered.

  Nodding, he dropped his hand. “Please, Akayie, move out to the ranch with me. I need your help more than I wanted to admit. Will you do this for me?”

  The very air around her seemed electrified. His invitation was a passionate challenge, hard to refuse. “Yes, I will do it for you,” she answered.

  “Thank you, Akayie,” Rowan said, picking up his hat off the bed. He placed it back on his head, making him look every inch a sexy cowboy.

  “I will send one of the boys back here in about an hour with a truck to pick up you and Danya.” He came back up to her and looked down into her face. “Having someone at the ranch with me after so many years of being alone will be different, but I will try my best to hold my temper.”

  “I know you will be able to do it,” she said. “Let’s shake on our new agreement.” Akayie extended her hand and waited.

  Rowan glanced down at her hand for a second or two before long, tanned fingers wrapped around hers. A jolt of awareness shot through her body as she touched Rowan’s warm skin, but she pushed it down. She wasn’t going to allow sexual chemistry cloud her judgement again. Akayie remembered how she allowed one weak moment ruin her life and she had made a promise never to do that again.

  “I will see you in a few hours,” Rowan said, letting go of her hand. Turning, he opened the door and walked out without looking back at her.

  Akayie didn’t know how long she stayed in the same spot staring at the closed door. A part of her got a sinking feeling that she might have just made a deal with the devil.

  * * * *

  Sitting in his black truck in the parking lot, Rowan wrapped his fingers around the steering wheel, wondering what in the hell had come over him, inviting Akayie to live under the same roof. The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back. He didn’t know what had come over him.

  Back in her room, the second he eased his hand away from hers he couldn’t stop staring down into her big, brown eyes. No doubt Braden Ranch wasn’t going to be the same for him when the pretty photographer and her assistant moved in. He only hoped that he would be able to keep his growing attraction for her at bay. When he stood in front of Akayie all he wanted to do was to see if her lips tasted as tempting as they looked.

  Rowan slammed his hand against the steering wheel. Damn it to hell. He was in a world of trouble.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The following morning, Rowan sipped his black coffee as he skimmed upcoming horse auctions on his cell phone. He was looking for one last horse to buy so he could build up his stable. He was so close to beating Maxwell Reed’s King Champion that he could taste it. The conceited Texan needed to understand it was time another man from Texas to win the Kentucky Derby.

  He had more time to focus on getting a better winner now that Akayie and Danya were living under the same roof as him. He hadn’t seen much of them last night, since he spent a majority of his time reading articles about one particular horse named Zeus he was interested in buying.

  A long time ago, he learned that a horse breeder should only breed the best with the best. It was always the owner’s goal of creating a foal better than its parents. When he first decided to get involved in horse breeding, he didn’t have anywhere near twenty thousand dollars to buy a mare. So, as an overly confident twenty-five-year-old, he took what money he had back then and bought the best. A well-formed mare suited for breeding, he wanted. Daisy was an excellent thoroughbred. He had even gotten lucky enough to have enough money left over from Daisy to purchase more horses.

  Over the years, he paid attention to other breeders to gain the best knowledge and wisdom as to what bloodlines mixed the best. He had worked hard over the years to get where he was, and his brothers might think he had given up a lot to get here. In some ways, he agreed with him and in other ways he didn’t. Right now, he wasn’t sure if wanted more than he had right now. Did he really need a woman? Who was out there that captured his attention and had him thinking about her night and day?

  “I came in here to thank you again for allowing us to stay here,” a warm, feminine voice said, traveling over his skin. “It was really nice of you, especially after some of our verbal battles.”

  Rowan didn’t have to glance away from the spreadsheet report to know it was Akayie standing a few feet from his desk. Why did she have to be this close to him after the night he had? She didn’t even know how much she was tempting him to the point of acting on it.

  The restless night he had dreaming about her sexy, beautiful skin, naked in his bed, had her image burned into his mind. Shit!

  Why could he be indifferent to her as he was pretending to be?

  Removing his glasses, he tossed them down on the desk and turned his head. He barely swallowed down a groan of need as his eyes traveled over the way Akayie’s clothing molded her luscious body. There was nothing truly revealing about what she was wearing, but the yellow sundress hugged her body, highlighting her rich, caramel skin. He liked how her hair was pulled back into a loose bun at the back of her neck.

  The erection he had finally gotten rid of early this morning with a cold shower came back full force. Damn it. Why did Akayie’s presence bother him like no other woman had in the past? Something about her drew him, made him want to know what was going on behind those amazing eyes of hers.

  “You’re more than welcome,” he answered. “I hope your room is comfortable.”

  Laughing, Akayie came closer to him, bringing her wonderfully unique scent with her. She took the camera off her neck and laid it on the edge of his desk. As she made her way around the side, his cock grew another inch inside his jeans.

  Fuck! Why wasn’t she out taking pictures instead of driving him crazy with unreleased desire? It had been a while since he had made love to a woman because he hadn’t been interested in anyone, but he was tempted…no, more than tempted to make up from lost time with the bundle of sexiness testing his self-control.

  Her soft laughter danced over his skin, making him wish that he had worn a different pair of jeans.

  “Are you kidding me? My bedroom is amazing. I swear I think my small studio apartment could fit inside there. Braden Ranch is truly breathtaking. You should be proud of everything you’ve accomplished here. I can see why you’re so protective of it.�
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  Pride filled his chest at her words because honesty radiated out from them. The ranch was everything to him. Rowan lost count of the endless nights he stayed up worrying over his dream. Visions for this place that only he could see for this land. Some days, he thought they would never see the light, but that was over fifteen years ago. He was a successful businessman now and didn’t look back at the past, but towards his future.

  “Thank you,” he said, folding his arms over his chest. “So, what are you doing in here talking to me? Don’t you have some unlucky soul to snap pictures of this morning?”

  Akayie waved her hand in the direction of her camera. “My memory card is full. I was on my way upstairs to get another one when I walked by and noticed you in here working away. How can you be inside on such a beautiful day?”

  “My men like to get paid on time so, someone has to make sure everything is running smoothly form the inside out,” he answered. “But, I don’t spend all of my time in here. I do go outside sometimes.”

  “Why don’t I believe you?” she questioned, pointing a finger at him. “The only times I’ve seen you outside of these four walls was to lecture me. Tell me that I’m wrong. You never come out of this room just to have some fun.”

  “What kind of fun do you think I should be having?” Rowan uncrossed his arms and waited for an answer.

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” she challenged.

  Arching an eyebrow, Rowan continued stating at Akayie, noticing how she was trying not to laugh at him again. It was like she was intentionally pushing his buttons to get a rise out of him. Well, she didn’t know who she was trying to test. He’d been at this game a lot longer than the pretty young woman standing next to him.

  “I have nothing to tell you; besides, I’m a very busy man. So, I don’t have time to go out and waste a day of work. The reason I hired capable men was so I wouldn’t need to keep a daily tally on them. They know what they need to do, and they get their jobs done.”

  She grinned mischievously. “Hmmm…I’m not sure if I believe you, but I’ll let you have that, Mr. Braden.”

  Akayie started to turn away from him, but Rowan stood up quickly blocking her between his desk and his body. Her startled gaze flew up to his and he couldn’t keep the smug smile off his face. Well… Little Miss Photographer was affected by him. He couldn’t deny the spark of excitement at the prospect.

  His attention for her had nothing to do with reason. Rowan was entirely caught up in his own emotions and needs. Nothing else mattered at the moment but being close to her, watching her reaction to him, because her nearness was making his senses spin. He wanted to return the favor twenty times over.

  “Why don’t you fill me in on what is going through that pretty head of yours?” he said, staring into Akayie’s eyes. They reminded him of the rich, deep chocolate hidden in his desk any time his sweet tooth kicked in. “Why do you think I spend so much time in my office?”

  She placed her hand in the center of his chest. The soft touch of Akayie’s hand on his body made his cock grow even thicker and higher in the confines of his blue jeans, God, he hated this unexplained attraction to this woman. She made him feel things that he hadn’t in a very long time.

  These conflicting emotions sent his senses racing. One minute he wanted to shake her and in the next, he wanted to toss her down on a bed and make love to her for the rest of the day. She could just truly walk into a room without him seeing her and he knew she was there.

  Shaking her head, Akayie stared into his eyes. “I don’t have an answer for you,” she said. “I only came in here to thank you again for allowing me and Danya to stay here at the ranch. I don’t want to get into a disagreement with you. I thought we were becoming friends.”

  Friends…hell, what he felt when he saw Akayie didn’t have anything to do with friendship. But, he would let her pretend for a little while longer that something wasn’t simmering between them. He would let her have this round, but the next one was going to be his.

  “Okay, I guess I better let you get back to taking your pictures.” He stepped back not missing the disappointment that crossed Akayie’s pretty face.

  Yeah, maybe Akayie wasn’t so determined to get back to work as she pretended to be. He was more than willing to test out his theory. “How about this, since you think I need to take a break from being locked away in here. Would you like to take a walk with me down to the stable?” he suggested.

  “I need to check on some things with a new horse that arrived. I have Duke away from my other horses to make sure there is nothing wrong with him. I remember you telling me how you spent the summers at your grandparents’ house. So, I thought you might like to see some of my prized animals, but if you are too busy to take a quick break I understand,” Rowan said, turning away from Akayie.

  He had barely moved two steps before a small hand touched the back of his arm.

  “Wait, I could use a break. I would love to see your horses. You talk about them so much and I’m very curious to see them,” Akayie admitted before dropping her hand.

  Rowan barely could keep the smile off his face. He knew that Akayie wouldn’t be able to resist seeing a part of the ranch he previously told her was off limits. Plus, he could prove to his overbearing brothers that he still could focus his attention on more than breeding horses, and Akayie was going to help him do it.

  Pivoting, Rowan smiled down at the beautiful woman standing behind him. Maybe Akayie was the break he had been looking for, but he didn’t know it until she came to Braden Ranch. “Follow me, Ms. Mathis, and I’ll show you the reasons why I spend so much time working in my office,” he said, spinning back around and heading towards his office door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Have you been hiding from me, Ms. Holt?” a sexy drawl questioned behind Danya. “Every time I come around the ranch you are nowhere to be seen. I’ve seen Akayie taking pictures all over the property, but you aren’t here. Do you see me coming and disappear on purpose? I’m not used to seeing women going in the opposite direction when they see me coming. I don’t know if I should be hurt or impressed.”

  Taking a deep breath, Danya placed the last of the equipment inside the black bag as she tried to get her heartbeat under control. Lucas Braden had a way of catching her off guard when she least expected it. So, of course she had been finding ways to stay away from him and the temptation he caused when he was within touching distance.

  He was so different from the men back in New York with the way masculinity radiated off his body. He looked good in just a t-shirt and a pair of well-worn jeans with cowboy boots. She couldn’t get too attached to him. Danya wanted to be the one in control. She couldn’t let Lucas know how badly his presence sent her body into overdrive. Somehow, he had this ability to pull her in this little world when he was around. She only saw him and no one else, which was a very dangerous thing.

  “Are you really going to keep putting those supplies away like you don’t even hear me?” Lucas demanded, moving close to her, bringing his wonderful smelling cologne with him.

  She could feel his body heat against her back and it was slowly keeping her off balance. The one thing she hated more than anything was not being in control of her emotions. This, whatever it was with Lucas, couldn’t keep going on. She had to get herself together so she could be there for Akayie. She’d bailed one too many times on her best friend and this time she would stay focused. Getting the calendar done the right way meant too much for Akayie’s future and she wasn’t about to ruin it for her.

  “I heard you, Mr. Braden,” Danya acknowledged, zipping up the bag before spinning around. Her breath caught in her throat.

  She was trying not to stare, but she couldn’t stop herself. Lucas looked so fucking good. Gone was the plaid shirt and cowboy jeans, replaced by a dark, gray suit with a crisp white shirt and white Stetson on top of his dark brown hair. Lucas looked beyond handsome and Danya was having a hard time not drooling over him.


  Damn. Why did he have to come here looking like the perfect photo when she had already packed away all the cameras?

  “So, you heard me,” he said, smiling at her. “Why didn’t you answer me and why are you looking at me like that?”

  Danya shrugged, sliding her hands into the front pockets of her shorts. She hoped it would fight down the urge to run her hands over his hard, muscular chest. The suit molded his body was like it was tailored made to fit him. Lucas Braden was an appealing man in regular cowboy clothes. But, he was dangerously sexy in a business suit, looking every much the high-powered lawyer that he was.

  Tension began to build in her body. She was nervous that she was about to enter something that might change her life forever if she allowed it to happen with Lucas. She wasn’t dumb. She knew when a man was interested in her and Lucas wanted to do more than just talk with her.

  “Sorry,” she apologized with a tiny smile. “I’m not used to seeing you in anything but ranch clothes. You look different in a suit.”

  Lucas studied her for a few seconds before coming closer into her personal space. His well-muscled body was only mere inches from hers, making her want to reach out and touch something on him. Danya tried not to get pulled in, but it was hard with the way Lucas’ deep-set eyes held hers. She was unable to look away.

  “Have dinner with me tonight,” he said, running his fingers down her bare arms. “I have to work until six, but I can come back to the ranch and pick you up. We don’t have to go anywhere fancy. I just want to take you out.”

  The feel of his warm fingers against her skin sent tiny shockwaves through her system. Lucas was potent. She better be careful, or he might ease past her promise to Akayie.

  “I can’t.”

  A frown burrowed Lucas’ forehead. “Why not? Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked. “If you do I’ll step back. I don’t flirt with another man’s woman.”