Catch Me a Cowboy (Wattle Valley, #1)

by Jacquie Underdown

  Emily gripped his waist tighter and she kissed him deeper. Oh God, it almost stole his control to feel the fervour in that mouth and the hot press of her body against his. He wanted to push her back against the tree, wrap her legs around his waist and …

  He pulled away and took her hands in his. He was breathing heavy. He needed to back up a bit, or this show was going to be over. God, he wished he never signed that contract now.

  ‘I know how you feel about this show.’ His voice was hoarse. ‘It doesn’t sit right with me either. I thought—my brother thought—it would be a bit of fun … but then there’s you and … it’s complicated now.’

  She frowned. ‘I complicate things?’

  He shook his head. ‘Not in that way.’ He drew a hand away and rubbed his face. ‘I have to give equal attention to everyone. It’s not … me, to be like that, but I’m contracted. There are requirements.’

  She nodded. ‘I understand.’

  He stepped closer and gently held her face. ‘Do you? Do you understand that you’re the only one I want to spend time with?’

  She smiled. ‘I do now.’

  He chuckled and pressed his lips to hers, lingering for a long moment. ‘I see you getting frustrated and I want to say all this to you, but the cameras are always there, and the other girls. I need you to understand that. We’re on a dating show, and I’m obligated to give my attention to other women, but I only want to be dating you.’

  She gazed into his eyes. ‘This is real?’

  Again his mouth fell to her lips and his tongue slid against hers. He couldn’t help himself. He’d watched the dating shows, where the man got to kiss a dozen beautiful women and whisper sweet nothings to all of them. He deepened the kiss, and the urgency grew, his mouth hard against her hot lips and he could no longer doubt that this was real. And he knew there was only one woman he wanted to be kissing. Emily was real. His emotions. The little sighs that sounded in her throat when he pulled her closer. The electricity sparking. All real, intense and alive.

  Wil pulled away, his breaths heavy. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. ‘If I don’t stop kissing you, I’ll want to throw you over my shoulder and carry you back to my bedroom.’

  Emily’s eyes widened. ‘We wouldn’t want that now, would we?’ Her words were weak with a sarcastic lilt.

  He arched a brow. ‘Are you tempting me to, Emily?’

  She said nothing.

  He chuckled and drew her into his arms, cuddling her to his chest. She was warm and soft and fitted perfectly to him. ‘Tomorrow we start the individual dates.’

  She nodded against his chest.

  ‘How do you feel about that?’

  Releasing herself from his embrace, she looked into his eyes. ‘I don’t have a claim on you, Wil.’ She grinned. ‘I’d like to, but I’m not that naive. You’ve got to do what you need to do.’

  He smiled. ‘I keep thinking if it was you I was competing for, against a bunch of men, I’d be losing my cool.’

  She laughed. ‘Believe me, I’ve had to mentally pull myself back from getting my claws out. Especially with the comments I’ve had thrown at me. Then getting pushed in the mud …’ She shook her head.

  He frowned and sighed. ‘I didn’t want this to get nasty.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘What type of comments?’ His voice had an angry edge to it.

  She lowered her gaze. ‘You heard a few from Amber.’

  ‘She was a nasty piece of work.’ His eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched tight. It fascinated him that he, already, felt so protective of Emily.

  ‘Then the other night, I was called a cheat,’ Emily said.

  He shook his head, brow furrowed. ‘Cheat?’

  She smiled sardonically. ‘Some girls think I’m spending more time with you than them …’ Stopping, she groaned. ‘I shouldn’t be saying this to you.’

  He took her hand in his. ‘Em, I want you to open up to me. Good and bad.’

  She sighed. ‘It’s so easy to forget this is a game show. And then I hear myself bitching like that, and it’s a big reality check. I don’t want to be … I can’t be …’

  He tilted her chin when she could no longer look at him. ‘What?’

  ‘I can’t be one of those women who fall for a guy like you.’

  It hit him in the guts like a punch. A guy like me? So this is what she had been fighting against. Not the show so much, but the man who would choose to be the centre of it.

  Wil inhaled noisily, but he didn’t let go of her hand. He reached for her other hand. A strong grip. ‘I get it, Em. I told you that. I’ve seen other dating shows. I’ve seen what some of those men are like. I’ve seen the drama. But, if I tell you my intentions are honest, will you believe me?’

  She shrugged. ‘I knew from the first moment you opened your mouth, you were different. But I have these niggling doubts in the back of my mind.’

  ‘We’ll work through that barrier, Em. Just give this—give us—a chance.’

  Her honey-brown gaze firmly locked with his, and she asked, ‘You truly want that?’

  He nodded without hesitation. ‘Yeah. I really do.’

  She looked out over the darkened fields, hidden under the cloak of night, then peered back at him. ‘Okay. Let’s give this a go.’

  He drew her to him and kissed the top of her head.

  Emily stayed in his arms for a while longer. But being together was a risk—especially with the other contestants. He didn’t want that trouble for her. And this would only make it harder.

  ‘I better get back,’ she said.

  He nodded, understood.

  ‘If you need help with your duties, you know who to call. Pigsties and I are as compatible as chocolate and cherries.’

  He laughed softly into her neck and inhaled her intoxicating scent—so sweet. He kissed her cheek. ‘Have a good night.’

  ‘You too.’

  Wil pulled away from her, releasing her from his arms. He smiled and when she smiled back, he melted that little bit more. ‘See you tomorrow, Em.’

  She nodded. ‘Looking forward to it.’

  He strode away and she left in the opposite direction, yet so badly wished they were leaving together. As he walked, he breathed in deeply and shook out his hands, trying to expel some of the sexual tension tingling through his body. There was no way he was getting much sleep tonight.

  Chapter 20

  Emily pressed her fingers to her lips when she woke. She could still feel Wil there, taste him. An excited energy swirled through her veins just thinking about last night—sparking her to life. She rolled out of bed and took her time showering, dressing and eating breakfast. Her date with Wil wasn’t until this afternoon. He was spending the morning with Tatiana. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit the thought of Wil on a date with a woman as gorgeous and smart as Tatiana made her skin crawl.

  But she was committed to the words she had spoken to Wil last night: she didn’t have a claim on him, and he had to do what was required by the show. It felt wrong to direct his actions. Sure, she wanted to win this. And she would love to get to know Wil more. She definitely desired to kiss him again, a thousand times over and run her hands over the hard slopes of his body. But this was temporary. It had to be.

  What if one of those girls was someone he could love long-term? It would be a low act to deprive him of that opportunity. No denying the sparking, crackling, dizzying chemistry between them, though. She could sense it surging through her body each time she thought about him.

  Mid-morning, Emily went for a walk around the property. The beginnings of spring had taken hold—new buds were sprouting on the trees, little yellow and purple flowers grew from the grass, and everything was so green. She strode past the tree where she snuck in her phone calls and shared that delicious first kiss with Wil. Her belly fluttered as the memory struck her. Moving further along, she marvelled at this place and what it was doing to her. The air dragging into her lungs was like medicine—not only
for her body but also her mind. Since the first day, she hadn’t had another panic attack and that rushed sensation she always had was slowly subsiding.

  Further she strode, knowing she would never find the end to the farm in one day. After a little while, she took a seat on a small elevation in the grass and looked out at the landscape: the paddocks of hairy cows, the dirt roads that cut across the fields, the kilometres of fences. Stunning, but she couldn’t ignore the amount of work that would go into maintaining a property like this. Yesterday with Wil was a little taster, she knew that. You didn’t get a body like his, big and rugged, without doing hours of hard, physical labour.

  So different from the type of men she dated in the city. They were professionals—worked all day in an office, and only ever gained their bulk from working out at a gym. And that was okay. She liked it—the sharp suits and polished shoes. At least, she thought she had. But there was something so earthy and honest about Wil and the way he got amongst it all. The rough touch of his hands. Knowing that if he had really wanted to, he could have thrown her over his shoulder.

  She shook her head and giggled. This place was bringing out long-dormant primal instincts. And she didn’t, altogether, want to discourage that.

  A noisy engine sounded from just over the slope. She stood and brushed off her jeans, watching as a white ute with lumber in the back drove along the nearby dirt track. Couldn’t be Wil; he was on a date.

  It drove a distance across the grass and stopped beside the fence to a paddock. The door opened and an older male dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and boots stepped out. ‘Hi there,’ came his deep voice when he faced Emily.

  Emily could see immediately that this was Wil’s dad. He bore the same piercing blue eyes and big deep dimples.

  Grinning, Emily strolled to him. ‘Hi. I’m Emily,’ she said holding out her hand.

  ‘William,’ he said, shaking her hand. ‘Wil’s dad.’ Then his eyes sparkled and recognition showed on his face. ‘Oh, that Emily. Yes, Wil’s mentioned you.’

  Her eyes widened. ‘He has? All good I hope.’

  William laughed and it was as contagious as his son’s. ‘Yes. All good.’

  She looked at the ute and back towards the cottage in the distance. ‘I’m sorry if I’m intruding on—’

  ‘Not at all. I’ve got fencing to do. And Wil’s, as you know, occupied at the moment.’

  She smiled. ‘Yes. Quite.’

  ‘I’ll tell you what, Emily. I need some help here for a couple of minutes. Do you mind giving me a hand?’

  Emily shook her head. ‘Not at all, but I must tell you, I’m … hopeless when it comes to manual labour.’

  William laughed then, big and strong. ‘We heard all about the pig sty.’

  Emily’s cheeks warmed. ‘I wish you hadn’t. It wasn’t a proud moment.’

  He laughed again. ‘We’ve all had it happen. And besides, my boy had trouble staying on his own two feet by the sounds of it.’

  ‘You’re right,’ she said faux indignantly. ‘You wait till I see him again.’

  William walked around to the back of the ute. Emily followed. He opened up the tray, pulled out a piece of timber and handed it to Emily. She took it, hoping she had the strength to hold it, but when she bore its full weight, she knew she was capable.

  ‘Just throw it down near the fence there,’ he said.

  She did as he asked and went back for the rest, another nine times.

  ‘I fell off a ladder a little while ago and broke some ribs,’ he said.

  She gasped, but he waved his hand dismissively.

  ‘It happens. I’m not quite ready to do the heavy work yet and my son-in-law is tending to a heifer having some trouble calving.’ He lifted his gaze to meet hers, her eyes wide with bewilderment. ‘So I’m glad I ran into you.’

  She nodded. ‘I’m glad I can help. W-what would you like me to do?’

  With casual ease, exactly like Wil, he directed her to hold the timber while he drilled nails, sticking them to the horizontal posts. She helped him pack the soil around the posts, so they were sturdier. By the end of it, despite the cooler weather, she had a sweat up and her muscles ached deliciously.

  Afterwards, they leant back against the side of the ute. ‘You enjoying yourself so far, Emily?’ William had a relaxed country twang that Emily found endearing.

  She nodded. ‘I am. I’ll admit, I was scared to come here. I’ve only ever known the city.’

  He crossed his arms over his chest. ‘It’s a bit different, yes. But we’re not so far from the city here. We head in to watch football games a lot. Or if the missus wants to do some shopping. We prefer the lifestyle here, though.’

  Emily nodded. ‘I can see why.’

  ‘What have you got planned for the afternoon?’

  Emily jolted and looked at her watch. ‘I nearly forgot. I’ve got a date with your son in half an hour. The directors will be wondering where I am.’

  ‘Jump in,’ he said. ‘I’ll drive you back.’

  She shook her head. ‘You don’t have to—’

  ‘I do. And I am. Now jump in. We don’t want you late for Wil now, do we?’

  Emily smiled and climbed into the passenger side. William joined her in the driver’s seat and started the engine. They headed to the track and down towards the contestants’ quarters. ‘Wil’s a good lad,’ he said.

  Emily met his blue gaze briefly. ‘I can see that.’

  He nodded. ‘And he’s using his manners?’

  She nodded and giggled. ‘Very much. He’s attentive and incredibly polite.’ Not to mention an amazing kisser with the hottest body known to mankind.

  ‘Good to hear it. His mother would take it as a personal failure if he wasn’t.’

  They pulled up outside the cottage. ‘Thank you very much for the ride back.’

  ‘It’s the least I could do for keeping you so long.’

  She smiled and climbed out of the car. ‘It was lovely to meet you.’

  ‘You too, Emily. You enjoy your date with Wil now, won’t you?’

  She nodded. ‘I will.’

  They said goodbye and she closed the door, waving once as he manoeuvred the ute around and started back up the road.

  Emily barely had time to freshen up before she was loaded into a car and driven to the farmhouse. Wil awaited her in his living room. When she strode in and met his blue gaze, last night came rushing back and stung her directly between her thighs.

  ‘Hi, Emily.’

  She grinned bashfully as his taste, scent, and feel swamped her senses. ‘Good afternoon.’

  ‘You ready?’

  A small twinge of nerves pulsed in her belly. What did he have planned? She managed a nod.

  He laughed loudly as he approached her. ‘You look nervous.’

  ‘A little,’ she admitted. ‘I never know what you’re going to rope me into.’

  ‘I have to warn you, today will be incredibly taxing. Lots of hard work. Mud,’ he added in a teasing tone.

  Emily’s eyes widened. After helping his father with fencing, she hoped he was tricking. But, she wasn’t going to play the damsel regardless. ‘Bring it.’

  He laughed even louder and she grinned along with him. ‘Oh, I’ll bring it all right,’ he said and led her through the house, out to the front. He grabbed her gumboots from the front porch and handed them to her. ‘You’ll be needing these.’

  She bit back a groan but kept her expression calm. She nodded and said through clenched teeth, ‘Great.’

  He chuckled and she tossed her gumboots into the back of the ute before climbing into the front seat. As they drove across the farm, Emily wanted to ask how his date went with Tatiana but decided it was inappropriate and she didn’t need the details. It would only anger her. She also wanted to mention that she met his dad, but felt with microphones recording everything they said, and the cameramen in a car following behind, it was too personal a subject for prime-time television.

  Looking throug
h the windscreen, she saw a big dam in the distance, the water a deep blue. Beside it was a cluster of trees and nestled within was a white canopy.

  Glancing sidelong at Wil, she asked, ‘What’s this?’

  He winked. ‘You’ll see.’

  He parked a short distance from the canopy and they climbed out of the ute. The mid-afternoon sun was warm though the breeze had a chill to it. He took her hand and a shot of sensation rocked her to feel his warm skin against her own. ‘Remember I said I would organise something relaxing for you?’

  She nodded.

  ‘I kept my word.’

  He lifted the tent door and led her inside. There were two massage tables and a heating lamp at the side of the canopy filling the small space with warmth. Two ladies, dressed in white shorts and shirts, stood near the wall, grinning. Obviously massage therapists. It smelled delicious, like lemon and lavender and expensive hand creams.

  Emily’s eyes widened as she glanced back at Wil. ‘Wow. You keep surprising me.’

  He laughed. ‘I’d hate to be predictable now, wouldn’t I?’

  She arched a brow. ‘So the gumboots?’

  ‘Were a devious ruse.’

  ‘Well played.’

  He grinned wide and her heart melted. He gestured she go further inside. ‘I’ll wait outside while you get ready, then I’ll meet you back in here.’ He released her hand and left the tent.

  Emily’s muscles were already relaxing just contemplating a massage. She stripped down to her knickers and laid stomach down on the table, poking her head through the head hole. The massage therapist covered her backside with a towel and squirted oil over her back.

  Her fingers were like heaven as they worked away years of built up stress in Emily’s back, shoulders and neck. A rustle and footsteps sounded as Wil entered the tent again. She lifted her head to the side to catch a glimpse of him as he was lifting his shirt over his head. Holy mother of God. He was as delectable as she imagined. His chest, arms, shoulders and abs were unbelievably strong—all thick lines of muscle. His skin was gorgeously tanned, as though he worked through the summer without a shirt.