“I’ve never met anyone quite like her.”
“Then you might want to consider telling her who you really are. I’m no expert, but it seems like a relationship based on lies doesn’t have a chance in hell of working out.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Although technically, he hadn’t lied that much. Not to her, personally. He just twisted the facts a little. “I better get back to the house.”
“I know, butt out,” Clint said. “You won’t hear another word out of me about it. And by the way, the beard looks pretty good on you. You should think about keeping it when you come home.”
“That’s funny, because on my way out here Ellie said that if I didn’t shave it off the minute the truth was out, she would make the men hold me down and she would do it herself. And with a straight razor, so I would be sure to sit still.”
Clint laughed because he knew Ellie would probably do it. “You go on in. I’ll lock up.”
Brandon grabbed his empty beer bottle and headed to the house. It was pitch-black out. He’d hoped to take Paige for a walk around the property, but it would have to wait until morning. At least with the paperwork for the sales mostly ready, and the horses prepared, he wouldn’t have to be up at the crack of dawn. He also hoped the buyer was as serious as he’d led them to believe, and the purchase went quickly so he and Paige could set out early. He had a full day planned for them. And something very special planned for tonight, too. He stepped through the front door, wondering if Paige was still upstairs in the bedroom, when he heard voices from the kitchen.
He walked over and pressed his ear to the door and could hear Ellie and Paige talking. From the tone of the conversation, and the laughter, he would say the two of them were getting along well. Which would give him time to get everything ready.
Paige would never buy them having permission to sleep in his boss’s bed, but there was nothing wrong with using his tub.
Twelve
Paige lost track of how long she and Ellie had been sitting there chatting, but when she’d polished off her third glass of wine, Brandon stuck his head in and asked, “Any chance I could steal my date back now?”
Ellie glanced at the clock over the industrial-size stove and said, “Good Lord, look at the time! I didn’t realize how late it was.”
“Well,” Paige said, rising from her chair, “It was really nice talking to you. Thanks for the tour of the house. And keeping me company.”
“Breakfast is at six sharp,” Ellie said.
“You might want to keep something warm in the oven,” Brandon said. Which she took to mean they would be up late, and wouldn’t be awake that early. Then he took Paige’s hand and pulled her along with him out of the kitchen and toward the stairs.
“Looks like you and Ellie hit if off,” he said as they started up.
“We had a nice chat.”
He glanced back at her warily. “Not about me I hope.”
“Actually, no. We talked a lot about flowers, then I asked her what it was like living on a ranch and she was telling me stories. I figured it would be kind of…monotonous. But she makes it sound exciting.”
“It can be. In good ways, and in bad ways, too. It’s hard work.”
Well, Paige definitely liked hard work. Although she was sure working on a ranch would be a lot more physical than sitting behind a desk planning parties. Not that she only did that. But she wasn’t averse to physical labor—not that she was thinking of a career change.
Brandon led her down the hall, but when they got to the bedroom, he didn’t stop. Instead, he took her to the master suite.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
She hesitated in the doorway. “But isn’t this your boss’s bedroom?”
“Yeah, but we’re not using the bedroom.” He tugged on her hand, and pulled her inside. The room was dark, so she couldn’t see much more than the shapes of the furniture, but the smell of the room was weirdly familiar. Then she realized, it smelled like Brandon. He and his boss must wear the same aftershave. “Now, close your eyes,” he said.
She wasn’t sure why she should bother, since she could hardly see a thing anyway, but she closed them.
He stepped behind her, holding her upper arms to guide her as they walked into what she was assuming was the bathroom. “Okay, open them.”
She opened her eyes and gasped at the scene before her. Dozens of lit candles around a whirlpool tub already filled with steaming water. On the ledge sat a bottle of champagne in ice and two flutes.
No, they definitely wouldn’t be getting up at six.
“You like?” he asked.
“It’s amazing.” No one had ever taken the time to do something like this for her. She knew Brandon was a romantic, but she had never expected anything like this. But would his boss mind? “Are you sure this is okay?”
“Positive. In fact, my boss is the one who suggested it. And he left the champagne as a congratulations for my award.” He turned her to him and began unbuttoning her shirt. When the sides parted, and he saw her new bra, he growled low in his throat.
“You like it?”
“I like it.”
He cupped her breasts, grazed his thumbs across her nipples, watching as they hardened.
“There’s more.”
He didn’t have to ask what she meant. A sexy grin curled his lips as he reached down to unfasten her jeans, then he eased them down her hips, revealing her barely there thong. “Nice.”
“I went shopping at lunch.”
He gazed at her, a hungry look in his eyes. “I really love seeing you in sexy underwear.”
“And wearing it makes me feel sexy.”
He looked down at his clothes. “Suddenly, I feel overdressed.”
She slid her hands up his chest, tugging open the pearl snaps on his shirt. She pushed it down off his arms to the floor, sighing with pleasure at the way the candlelight danced across his skin. She unfastened his jeans and pushed them down.
“I hate to see these go,” he said, turning her so he could unfasten her bra. “But the water is getting cold.”
Her panties went next, then he flipped a switch beside the tub and the jets turned on. He got in first, then held her hand while she slipped in, pulling her into his lap, so she was straddling him. The water was just hot enough to be soothing, and the jets felt delicious on her skin. He reached for the champagne to pop the cork, and when she saw the label, she nearly swallowed her tongue.
“Brandon, that’s Cristal.”
He shrugged. “So?”
“That’s a two-hundred-dollar bottle of champagne.”
The cork popped and some of the contents fizzed out. Brandon brought it to his lips and took a swig right from the bottle. Then he grinned and said, “Tastes like plain old champagne to me.”
He poured two glasses and handed her one. She took a sip, letting it roll around on her tongue. It was…exquisite.
“I’ll bet I know how it would taste even better,” he said. He lifted his glass over her shoulder and she gasped as the icy liquid hit her. Brandon leaned forward and sucked it up, his mouth hot. He licked his lips and said, “I was right. Delicious.”
“I can’t believe you’re wasting two-hundred-dollar champagne.”
“I’m not wasting it. I’m enjoying it. You should try it.”
Though it made her cringe to think of pouring anything so expensive literally down the drain, she poured a little bit over his collarbone, then quickly lapped it up. The fresh, fruity flavor mixed with the saltiness of his skin had an undeniable appeal.
He poured some of his on her opposite shoulder and licked it up with the flat of his tongue and the sensation made her shiver. Somehow she doubted this was what his boss had in mind when he left Brandon the bottle, but she couldn’t imagine enjoying it more.
She did the same to him, then he poured lower, across her breast. The cold made her gasp in a breath, and as his hot mouth closed over the tip, suck
ed hard, she moaned and arched against him.
It went on like that until they had drained the entire bottle, finding new, creative ways to lick champagne from the other’s body. If they hadn’t been in the tub they would have been a sticky mess. And they were both so hot for each other by the time they made love that they got a little carried away, and sloshed water over the edge of the tub and onto the tile floor.
When the water in the tub cooled, they cleaned up the mess, wrapped themselves in big, fluffy towels and tiptoed back to the bedroom. Not that there was anyone up at eleven-thirty to hear them. According to Brandon, everyone rose before dawn, so Ellie went to bed early.
Paige wondered, since Brandon had to be up early, if they would go right to sleep when they got into bed, but he had other ideas.
They made love, then they talked for a while, mostly about the ranch and how it worked. They made love again, then snuck downstairs, her wrapped in a blanket, him in a sheet, and heated up some of that leftover stew, which they took upstairs and ate in bed. After two, with their stomachs full and their appetites for each other quenched, they curled up in each other’s arms. Paige drifted off to sleep thinking how perfect the night had been, and how she wouldn’t change a single thing. She also realized that she had more fun with Brandon just doing simple things, than she’d ever had with men she considered professionally successful and financially stable. Fancy dinners and nights at the theater were nothing compared to the closeness she and Brandon shared. If he never took her anywhere fancy, never bought her expensive jewelry or a big house, it couldn’t change how she felt about him.
She loved him.
And it happened so…effortlessly. But their time was almost up. That meant she had exactly two weeks to fall out of love with him.
This was shaping up to be a really good day.
Good to his word, the breeder had purchased every mare he’d expressed interest in, plus a young stallion that hadn’t been part of their original deal. And he’d barely haggled on price. Brandon had to do a bit more paperwork, so the transaction had taken a little longer than expected, but now, with a check in his office and the horses loaded in the trailer, it was a done deal.
“That went better than I expected,” Clint said as the trailer pulled away. “I thought he would try to get you to lower your price.”
“I guess he knows a fair deal when he sees it. Or he just couldn’t get a better deal from anyone else.”
“I probably could have handled it on my own.”
Brandon shrugged. “My ranch, my responsibility.”
“You headin’ out soon?”
“As soon as Paige is ready. Can you have Buttercup and Lucifer saddled up?”
“Sure thing Bo—I mean, Brandon.”
“You almost slipped up last night, too.”
Clint flashed him a sheepish smile. “Sorry ’bout that. But I’ve called you boss for a long time. And you know that if I can’t remember, the men won’t, either. If I were you, I’d keep your lady friend away from the stables.”
“I might just do that.”
He left Clint and headed back to the house, wondering if Paige was up yet, and thinking of few fun ways he could wake her. He went in the kitchen door on the side, plucking a crimson tulip from the flower bed on his way past. Ellie was at the chopping block cutting up vegetables for soup, and the broth was boiling on the stove. “Paige up yet?”
“I heard her moving around up there, but she hasn’t been down yet. Not an early riser, huh?”
“Usually she is,” he said, then grinned. “But I didn’t let her get much sleep.”
She grimaced and shook her head. “I really didn’t need to know that.”
He laughed.
“What does she think of that horrid thing on your face?” she asked.
He stroked his beard. He’d always kept his face clean-shaven, and at first it had been a little uncomfortable, but he was actually getting used to it now. Even the longer hair was getting less annoying, but he was looking forward to going back to his normal, shorter cut. “She says she likes it.”
“I hope that doesn’t mean you’re going to keep it. You have such a handsome face. You shouldn’t keep it covered.”
“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
She shook her head, as if he was hopeless, and went back to slicing vegetables. “You’re in a good mood. I guess the deal went well.”
“Perfect.”
“It’s nice to see you happy for a change.”
It was nice to feel happy. In fact, he’d been feeling that way a lot lately. “Did you see the list I left you?”
She gestured to the basket on the table. “I packed everything you asked for.”
“You’re a gem.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and nabbed a carrot chunk from the cutting block. “I’m going to go fetch Paige.”
He popped the carrot in his mouth on his way out of the kitchen and headed up the stairs to find Paige, realizing that, for the first time in a long time—a really long time—he felt great. Life was good.
Paige was in the bedroom, sitting on the bed. She had dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved, button-up shirt and was pulling on a pair of well-worn hiking boots. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. For a minute he leaned in the doorway, hiding the flower behind his back, and just watched her.
Damn, she was pretty. And while she looked good in a suit, with her hair fixed and her makeup flawlessly applied, he liked her better this way.
She looked up, saw him standing there watching her, and smiled. “Good morning. I didn’t hear you come up.”
“’Morning.”
“Thanks for letting me sleep.”
“Only seemed fair, since I kept you up so late.”
She grinned and gestured to the window. “I saw them loading the horses. I take it business went well?”
“Without a hitch.”
“Your boss will be happy, I’ll bet.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“So,” she said, glancing down at her outfit. “Am I dressed appropriately?”
He smiled. “Looks good to me. Although…I think something is missing.”
She looked herself over. “A jacket?”
He pulled the flower from behind his back. “This.”
She smiled, almost shyly, and took it. “It’s beautiful. I’ll put it in the vase, so it doesn’t wilt.”
She turned to do it and Brandon stepped up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. “I had fun last night, by the way.”
She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back against him. “Me, too.”
He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, slipped a hand up under her shirt and laid it on her bare stomach.
She moaned softly and said, “If you don’t stop that we’ll never get out of here.”
It was tempting to just undress her and spend the rest of the day in bed, but he had so much he wanted to show her.
He kissed her one last time then slipped his arms from around her. “Are you ready to learn to ride a horse?”
“I think so. I spent a few hours online the other night learning how.”
Typical Paige. But she would find that reading about it and actually getting up in the saddle were very different.
They headed downstairs and Brandon grabbed the picnic basket on the way out. Buttercup and Lucifer were saddled up and ready to go. While he secured the basket to his saddle, Paige said, “I hope I’m riding the smaller horse.”
“Sure are. Buttercup is old and gentle. She won’t give you any trouble. Lucifer here doesn’t like anyone but me riding him. He’ll throw anyone else who gets on his back.”
“What are all those lines across his skin?”
“Scars. He was severely abused. He’s one of a few horses we took in from a rescue group a couple years ago. When he came to us he was skin and bones and terrified of all people.” He rubbed Lucifer’s neck. “I nursed him back to health, and since then I’m the only person he trusts.
Isn’t that right, boy?”
Lucifer whinnied and tossed his head, as if he understood what Brandon was saying.
“Why would someone hurt a defenseless animal?” Paige asked.
“There’s no accounting for the things people do.” He gave Lucifer one last pat and turned to Paige. “You ready?”
She nodded, looking a little nervous. “I think so.”
He explained how to mount, then helped her up into the saddle and adjusted the stirrups. She looked wary at first, but he walked her around for several minutes to get a feel for it and she relaxed. When she looked comfortable he hoisted himself up on Lucifer’s back. The horse was champing at the bit to run, but Brandon kept him at a slow pace as they started out, along the pasture and through the valley to the east pass. From there he took them up the rocky path, deeper into the mountains.
After half an hour or so he realized Paige was awfully quiet, so he looked back and asked, “You all right back there?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “I’m in awe. Everything is so beautiful, and the air is so clean. Your boss owns all of this?”
“This and a lot more.”
“Where are we going, exactly?”
He shot her a grin. “You’ll see.”
“How long will it take to get there?”
“At this rate it should take another hour or so. Maybe a little longer.”
They moved along in companionable silence, stopping occasionally to look at a plant that interested her, or to point out the wildlife. She gasped when two elk, a mother and baby, darted across the path in front of them several yards ahead.
“There isn’t anything dangerous out here, is there?” she asked.
“Usually, if you leave the wildlife alone, it doesn’t bother you.”
“And if it does bother you?”
He patted the 12-gauge strapped to his saddle. “A warning shot typically does the trick.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “I didn’t even notice that.”
“It’s good to be prepared. But don’t worry, you’re safe with me.”
Her smile said she trusted him. After all she went through as a kid, he knew that had to be hard for her.
Exposed: Her Undercover Millionaire Page 12
