Jared (Coyote Ridge) (Volume 2)

by Nicole Edwards

  Then again, he wasn’t going to tell her that her little plan was backfiring in her face, either. He’d have a far better time sitting back and letting her figure that out on her own.

  As he crowded her between his much bigger body and the grille of his truck, Jared let his eyes caress her face. She was wearing makeup, he noticed. Very subtle, but it highlighted her eyes and made her lips glisten in a way that practically hypnotized him. Beautiful was a word that didn’t even begin to describe this woman.

  “Are you allergic to peanuts?” she whispered.

  It took a moment for her words to process; he’d been too caught up in the heat generating between their bodies. Or maybe that was coming from his engine.

  “I … uh… No, I’m not allergic.”

  “What about your son?”

  Now he was really confused. “No.”

  “Good. Then we can go in.”

  The way she said good did not actually sound good. She sounded somewhat disappointed. Did she want him to be allergic to peanuts? Or was she simply hoping they wouldn’t have to go inside?

  Ding, ding, ding.

  Based on the gleam in her eye, Jared knew that Hope had been hanging on to one last … well, hope. If he or his son were allergic to peanuts—which he assumed this restaurant had, probably on the floor—then she could back out kindly, and he would take her home.

  Sorry to disappoint, sweetheart. Hope wasn’t getting off the hook that easily.

  Jared stared back at Hope for a moment, replaying the last few seconds. He briefly wondered if he would ever understand the way her brain worked. Rather than try, he took her hand and linked their fingers together before turning toward the door. When she tried to pull away from him, he held firm, enjoying the way her small hand fit perfectly in his. If Hope really wanted to get away, she could, but he didn’t think that was the case.

  She proved him right a few seconds later when she quit trying and sighed.

  When they reached the door, he pulled it open and allowed her to walk ahead of him.

  His smile returned when he got his first glimpse of the restaurant Hope had wanted to come to. A second later, his assumption about peanuts proved to be true.

  Then again, he wasn’t all that surprised considering the sign out front said Marla’s Bar, not restaurant. Jared had known from the second she made the suggestion that this feisty little cowgirl was trying to turn the tables on him.

  “This is nice,” he said, watching her face as she stared back at him, clearly confused by his response. “Do we seat ourselves?”

  “Yeah,” she huffed. “At the bar.”

  “Lead the way,” he encouraged, grinning widely.

  Before Hope turned away, Jared noticed the way she rolled her eyes and inhaled sharply.

  Two could play this game.

  He couldn’t help but let his eyes slide down her body, admiring the fit of that white T-shirt, along with the snug jeans that accentuated her phenomenal ass. She was tiny, but he knew better than to underestimate her. There was something fierce inside that small package.

  Once they were seated at the bar, Jared took a moment to look around. This was probably the most rustic place he’d ever been to. Certainly what he’d expect to find in a small, backwoods town in Texas. Embers Ridge was a lot like Coyote Ridge in size, which he actually preferred. And from what he could tell, the few businesses they had rivaled those in Coyote Ridge as well.

  Not that he was bothered by that fact; it just wasn’t the sort of place he would’ve chosen for a first date. This place reminded him a lot of Moonshiners. The wood-paneled walls and hardwood floors were fitting, and the animal heads—those were the one thing Moonshiners lacked, which meant the most-rustic award went to Marla and her bar—that decorated it were a nice touch. It appeared that this particular establishment hadn’t gotten the memo about no smoking indoors, because it was still allowed, apparent by the haze and the overwhelming stench that lingered.

  But Jared hardly noticed anything other than the sexy woman now seated beside him, currently ordering a beer and a cheeseburger, as though she did it all the time. She probably did.

  “I’ll have the same,” he told the bartender, smiling kindly.

  The look he got back was one of amusement, and he got the impression the bartender knew Hope. She probably figured Jared would be out on the curb before the night was over. If Hope had her way, he figured that would be the case as well.

  What they didn’t know was that Jared wasn’t the type to back down from a challenge. He’d spent the better part of the last several years recovering from a bitter divorce battle with his ex-wife, not to mention raising the little boy that his ex had tried to take away from him. It would take a hell of a lot more than a redneck bar and peanuts on the floor to discourage him.

  Despite all that, Hope was a breath of fresh air. Even if she was ornery as hell.

  He could deal with ornery over bitchy any day of the week. And tonight, he had every intention of winning Hope over. It looked as though they would be spending a little time together while they worked on getting the family reunion set up, but Jared didn’t intend to make all that time about work, so he had to make the most of it.

  “You dance?” Hope asked him after the bartender brought over their beers.

  “I hold my own,” he replied, sipping his beer as he spun around to get another look at the dance floor. He glanced back at her. “Why? You askin’?”

  The corners of her soft pink lips curved up. “Not in this lifetime.”

  “What do you want to bet that by the end of the night, I’ll get you on that dance floor?” he wagered.

  Hope’s golden eyebrows lifted. “I’ll take that bet.”

  Jared didn’t bother to place the bet on whether or not he would end up in her bed before he went back home, but he was already trying to find a way to make that happen.

  More than once if he had his way.

  SITTING AT THE bar made it nearly impossible for Hope to face Jared, which turned out to be a good thing. It kept her mind from wandering to things better left alone.

  Like how it would feel to have those lips on hers. When he’d been so close to her out in the parking lot, it’d taken a tremendous amount of effort not to stare at them, not to think about him kissing her. Would they be as soft as they looked?

  Or what about his hands? She could practically feel them sliding over her skin, warm, strong, demanding…

  Lord help her.

  Hope had mentally kicked herself for thinking those things when he’d trapped her between his extremely impressive body and the grille of his truck a short time ago. Rather than hate that he’d gotten her in such a vulnerable position, Hope had actually enjoyed it.

  Though she wouldn’t admit that even if there was a gun to her head. She’d worked hard to establish a reputation for being no-nonsense and in charge. She’d learned early on that it was exactly what her sisters needed. In order to allow them the ability to grow up without having to spend all their time working, Hope had tried to take on some of that burden. Sure, it might’ve hardened her a bit, but that wasn’t a bad thing.

  Plus, she had to show backbone in order to work with men all day. One show of weakness and she would’ve lost all the respect she’d worked so hard to earn.

  Didn’t mean that she wouldn’t mind being the submissive one from time to time. It was quite possible that Jared knew that. And if he didn’t, he’d probably figure it out rather quickly if he kept the whole alpha thing going.

  She was a lost cause. No doubt about it.

  Which was why Hope had assumed that sitting at the bar would be the safe bet. Sure, they were close enough that their legs touched from time to time, but she didn’t have to look at him. Or so she thought, right up until she realized she could see him in the mirror above the row of liquor bottles on the wall.

 
Aww, crap. Their eyes met in that damn mirror, and Hope felt a flash fire ignite in her veins. This man was proving to be far too much temptation for her undersexed body. She needed to get this moving along so she could go back to the safety and security of her bedroom. Alone.

  “Have you determined a good time for your family reunion?” she inquired, sipping her beer and staring down at the scarred bar top to keep from looking his way.

  “I have,” he said, his tone far more confident than it’d been the last time she’d asked that question.

  Unfortunately, that confidence had her swinging her head around to look at him. “You have?”

  His smile was slow and…

  Whatever.

  “When?” She might’ve sounded a little like a frog just then.

  “October twenty-ninth through November fourth.”

  Hope nodded, as though that made sense. A week at a dude ranch was actually about the right length of time to enjoy all of the amenities. “I’ll have to check the schedule to see if we can accommodate that.” She wouldn’t really. She knew they had it open, because she had made a point to check which weeks weren’t available. Halloween week was wide open. He wasn’t giving himself much time to plan, but she assumed, with thirty-something first cousins, he would have quite a bit of help.

  The smile he gifted her with was a knowing one.

  “What? Why’re you lookin’ at me like that?”

  “I actually called the office earlier and spoke with your father. He checked the schedule and assured me that you’d be able to accommodate roughly one hundred guests during that week.”

  Well. Hope didn’t know what to think about that.

  “I figured I had to get the basics in line so we could start working on the rest.”

  Hope nodded, then took a long swig of her beer. “Maybe you should work with my father on getting this set up.”

  Jared immediately shook his head. “Sorry, sweetheart, you’re not gettin’ rid of me that easily.”

  “I’m not tryin’ to get rid of you.” She was definitely trying to get rid of him. “I just figure my father might have more time to help you get everything in order.”

  Jared tipped his bottle to his mouth, and Hope’s eyes were drawn to his lips once again. He had nice lips. Firm lips. Sexy lips.

  Shit.

  “He actually offered to help,” Jared explained after taking a pull on his beer. “I told him I’d prefer to work with you.”

  “Why me?”

  The amusement dropped from his expression, and when their eyes met, Hope felt like something punched her in the solar plexus. Something that felt a hell of a lot like … pure, unfettered lust.

  When his big hand landed on her thigh, then pressed down as he turned her to face him, her breath caught in her throat. What the hell was he doing? And why the hell wasn’t she pushing him away?

  “I’ve been thinkin’ about you since last week,” he said softly, his mouth only inches from hers when he shifted on his stool to get closer.

  “Yeah?” Yep, that was her sounding all breathless.

  “Oh, yeah. And I’ve decided I want to get to know you better.”

  “What if I don’t want to get to know you?” Well, if that was the case, someone should probably alert her rapidly thrumming pulse and the gravel in her throat, because she definitely didn’t sound like she didn’t want to get to know him.

  And yes, just as Hope suspected, Jared noticed.

  “If I thought that was the case, I wouldn’t be here now.”

  Was he getting closer?

  Hope swallowed hard.

  “But we’ll be working together,” she said, trying to come up with a way to get out of this.

  “We will. So what’ll it hurt?”

  Did he expect her to answer that? Because she had a dozen answers on the tip of her tongue.

  “How about we don’t put any pressure on this, Hope? We’ve got a month and a half to plan the greatest family reunion in the history of family reunions, and when that’s over, if you want me to go away and never come back, I’ll do that.”

  This was completely unfair. He’d clearly given some thought to this already, and she felt … blindsided.

  Okay, maybe she wasn’t entirely out of the loop. She had met him. That momentous occasion was ingrained in her brain. There had been something about this man that she couldn’t stop thinking about ever since he’d showed up at the ranch three days ago. Wow. Had it only been three days? And to think, she’d spent that much time trying to stop thinking about this cowboy. Trying and failing.

  Maybe Jared was onto something. Maybe they could pursue this while they were spending time together anyway. Like he’d said, what could it hurt?

  The rational side of her brain told her that if they did pursue this—whatever they were doing here—then this could only be about…

  “Sex,” she blurted.

  His dark brows lifted, and a smile that Hope decidedly categorized as sinful appeared on his lips. “I like the idea of it, yeah.”

  “No… I didn’t… I meant, we shouldn’t … have it,” she whispered back. That was a lie. They should have lots and lots of it.

  God, she was a mess.

  Jared leaned in closer, his lips only a fraction of an inch away from hers. If he wanted to kiss her, he could’ve so easily done it. Hope was trying to keep it together, but the heat emanating from this man and his intoxicating scent, mixed with the adrenaline fueling her rapidly pounding heart, was making it hard for her to think.

  “We should have lots of it,” he breathed against her lips. “As much and as often as possible.”

  Hope tried to shake her head, but that caused her lips to brush against his and her thighs to clench together.

  “Is there someone else?” he questioned.

  Hope shook her head.

  “Then what’s stopping us? No strings, Hope.”

  “Only sex,” she managed to say.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  How had they gotten to this point? Three days ago she’d met the man for the first time, and now she was sitting here on the barstool in her favorite bar ready to drag him out to his truck and … ride him.

  Oh, hell.

  “What d’ya say, Hope?”

  Hope swallowed hard, licking her lips ever so slightly, gearing up to say…

  “Here’s your burgers, lovebirds. Anything else I can getcha?”

  Relief, sharp and all-consuming, swamped her, nearly causing Hope to fall off her stool.

  Chapter Nine

  JARED HONESTLY WASN’T sure what just happened.

  One minute he was pledging to win Hope over, and the next he was committing to endless amounts of no-strings sex with the woman. Shit, he hadn’t even kissed her yet.

  As intriguing as the idea was—both endless sex and kissing her—he needed to do a quick rewind and figure out just how they’d made it this far this quickly. While Hope turned around and faced the bar, Jared took a deep breath and gave a little attention to his burger while signaling the bartender for another round.

  “What just happened?” Hope muttered, casting a sideways glance his way, letting her hair fall over her face on the other side, shielding her from the bartender.

  Jared grinned. Good. She was feeling it, too. “I’m pretty sure you offered unlimited sex.”

  “Oh, God.” She grabbed her burger with both hands, leaned forward, and took a bite probably twice the size of her mouth.

  He couldn’t help but laugh.

  She, however, did not find his reaction at all amusing based on the way she grimaced.

  This was quite possibly the weirdest situation he’d found himself in, and truth was, he damn sure wasn’t a saint. He’d had more than his fair share of one-night stands in his lifetime, but usually the proposition cam
e after dinner or drinks or … or something more than simply sitting on a barstool.

  Then again, he hadn’t met a woman like Hope Lambert before. There was something about her, something that intrigued him, made him think that not all women were the devil and out to string a guy up by the balls.

  Jared ate a couple of French fries while he waited for his beer. He watched as Hope dutifully ate several bites of her burger and finished off what was left of her beer before daintily wiping her mouth with a napkin.

  Damn, she was pretty.

  She shot another sideways glance his way. “You know we can’t have sex, right?”

  Her words were spoken so softly he barely heard them over the music coming from the jukebox in the corner.

  “Oh, I beg to differ. It’s quite possible.”

  She looked at him fully. “I don’t even know you.”

  “But you will.”

  “But I won’t have sex with you until I do.”

  “No one asked you to.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes widened, but their conversation was cut off when the bartender returned, setting their beers on the bar in front of them.

  For the next few minutes, they ate their dinners quietly, neither of them saying a word. Jared wasn’t sure what to say that would make this less awkward. Part of him wanted to toss her over his shoulder, carry her fine little ass out to his truck, and do some things to steam up the windows. The other part of him wanted to wait this out, to see what Hope would say once they were finished.

  He got the feeling she was going to do a lot of backtracking. Well, he was ready for her. No way was he going to let her get out of this. They might not have sex tonight, or hell, even this week, but it would happen. And it would be fucking incredible.

  As he pushed his plate away, his thoughts instantly drifted to Derrick. His little boy was currently at Kaleb and Zoey’s house, probably already lying down, watching television after playing with Mason for a couple of hours. His cousin had so kindly agreed to watch him so that Jared could take Hope out, under the guise of talking about the reunion. That little detail alone meant that Jared wouldn’t be spending the night away from home. In fact, he would have to call it an early night in order to get back to his son.