I dragged a rough hand over my face and looked at the woman who had barged uninvited into my nightmare. “What exactly do I have to do in order to fulfill this contract and get the rest of the balance?”
Her hazel eyes widened a fraction, as if she was prepared for me to put up a fight and not acquiesce so easily. Normally, I would have fought tooth and nail to get out of this mess, but right now, the prissy, proper blonde was actually the answer to my prayers. She was holding the light at the end of the very dark tunnel I’d been plunged into. And the only option I had was to move toward her.
She swallowed audibly and once again shifted her weight in those expensive-ass shoes. “You have to do everything I say and follow my instructions exactly.”
I sighed. How hard could that be, and honestly, what other choice did I have?
“Alrighty, Ms. Priss. Do with me what you will.”
Lord help us both.
Chapter 3
Della
A million and one questions were running through my mind after Crew agreed so easily to fall in line and play by my rules. It seemed out of character for him to be so passive and agreeable. At least from everything I’d read about him in the press and based upon his less-than-stellar first impression. The man was obviously wound so tightly, any little thing might cause him to snap. It was evident in every line of his tall, strong body. Every muscle he had, and there were a lot of them, was pulled so tight and tense that he almost seemed to be vibrating. After hastily throwing a few items into a worn, leather duffel bag and placing a frantic call to someone I assumed was his lawyer to change the banking information on the contract, he coolly informed me he was ready to go. He didn’t ask where. He didn’t ask how long we would be gone. He didn’t seem at all concerned to be walking away from his entire life while I molded him into an entirely new person. I found it all unnerving and unsettling as I ushered him toward the car and driver I’d hired to chauffeur me around for the weekend.
I’d anticipated a fight. I thought I was going to have a much harder negotiation on my hands, so I wasn’t as quick to skip town as Crew was. I had to go back to the hotel and pack. I also needed to call my pilot and make sure the company jet was ready to fly back to Manhattan ASAP. I spent the car ride to my hotel on the phone, sneaking sideways glances at the silent man seated next to me. His fingers tapped against his knee and a small tic in his razor-sharp jawline kept twitching. His bright blue gaze was trained on something outside the window, making him appear to be miles and miles away even though he was close enough to touch. At first, I thought he was being polite while I handled business over the phone, but I soon realized he was barely aware of my presence and he was totally indifferent to everything that was going to happen next.
I barely got a nod when we pulled up to the hotel, and I told him I would only be a few minutes while I packed and checked out. On my way up to my room, I called my father and wasn’t surprised when I was told he was unavailable. Through gritted teeth, I left a message telling him I was on my way to New York with his cowboy in tow. I informed him the man’s professional reputation was now in tatters, but I was going to do anything to keep my product launch on track. I sounded more like a whiny teenager at the end, but my father had an uncanny ability to bring that out in me, even though he never seemed to notice. It was a vicious circle, me trying everything to get him to pay attention, to acknowledge me, to appreciate me, only for him to treat me, alternately, like the furniture or one of the lackeys who worked for him. Not once in the six years that I’d overseen the entire product development team at Deveaux Beauty had my father ever given me credit for dragging the business, kicking and screaming, into the modern—and exceedingly profitable—beauty market. If it weren’t for me, we would never have our own storefronts—brick-and-mortar shops that rivaled Sephora—from LA to Singapore.
Still grumbling under my breath about difficult men, I stopped short when I approached the car, tugging my Tumi carry-on behind me. I felt my jaw drop slightly and heard my breath make a soft whooshing sound as it rushed out of my lungs.
Crew was leaning against the side of the luxury car, one long leg bent so the heel of his cowboy boot was pressed against the black paint. His head was bent down, the brim from his cowboy hat casting shadows over his face, making him look dangerous and mysterious in the best way. He had a cell phone to his ear and his other hand shoved in the front pocket of his skintight jeans. The entire scene was a heady, sexy clashing of modern and classic masculinity. I felt my heart thud heavily in my chest as ideas started whirling in my mind.
“I don’t care, Kody. I know you think you can take care of yourself and that you’re the baddest bitch in all of Central Texas, but if these guys show up in Loveless, I need you to promise me that you’ll tell Case. I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone for, but I wouldn’t put it past them to come looking for me. You cannot mess around with them. You cannot go up against them. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?” His deep voice was rumbling with irritation, and his already tense body seemed to tighten even more as whoever was on the other end of the phone obviously didn’t tell him what he wanted to hear. “Goddammit! Don’t make me call Case. That’s the last thing I want to do, but I will if you can’t stop being a brat for five minutes.”
There was more grumbling, followed by some more colorful swearing, but eventually he seemed to get the reply he wanted, and he lowered the phone and pushed himself off the car. He dragged his hands over his face and suddenly realized he was no longer alone in the parking lot. Without a word he moved toward me, taking the handle of my small suitcase from me and hauling it to the trunk of the car. Someone had taught him manners somewhere along the way, and I felt a stab of guilt that I was surprised by that fact. I needed to stop being so judgmental and prickly. My entire campaign rested on this guy’s brawny, wide shoulders. It would be so much better for me if we could work together without animosity and anger.
“Is everything all right?” I tried not to fidget under the sharpness of that neon-blue gaze as it snapped back in my direction. I wasn’t prepared for him to be so intense. When I pictured a cowboy, a rodeo star, I imagined someone laid-back and easygoing. Crew Lawton was neither of those things. He was forceful and enigmatic. Way more intriguing and alluring than I was ready to give him credit for.
“Just my little sister being a pain in the ass as usual. She’s got more attitude than me and my brother combined, and she tends to pick fights she knows she can’t win when it comes to protecting her family.” He opened the car door for me and ushered me inside.
I tried to hide the way I shivered when I brushed against him as I slid into my seat. He was in no way my type. He was, in fact, the opposite of my type completely. There was no reason for me to shiver. There was no reason the spacious backseat of the car seemed to shrink as he folded his big body into the seat next to me. There was no logical explanation for the way it was suddenly hard to breathe, and for my heart to be beating so hard and loud I was conscious of every single pump.
I cleared my throat nervously and made a big deal of smoothing out my blazer and pants. “So you have a fairly big family?”
He cocked his head to the side and his mouth quirked in a smirk at my obvious attempt to make small talk.
“I have an older brother who’s a cop, and a younger sister who’s a bar owner. They both still live in my hometown. My dad is around, but I don’t have much to do with him. My mom passed away when I was a teenager, but her folks live in the same town where I grew up, and I go back to see them every now and then. My granddad was the one who got me into horses and eventually into rodeo. They’re all good folks, except for my old man. I could never lay eyes on him again in this lifetime and be okay with it.” The smirk on his face turned into a grimace. I wasn’t sure if the change in expression was because of the reminder of his father, or the fact that he had given so much personal information away. “What about you? You have family you’re tight with?”
I shrugged
in a practiced move. I was used to hiding how touchy the subject of family was with me but figured, since he’d relented so easily to letting me drag him across the country and had been so transparent about his own history, I could give him a little insight.
“No. I’m an only child, and my mom also passed away when I was very young. It was always just my father and me, but when I was little, he was always working. He took over the company from his father when he was very young and was determined to make his own name in the industry. When my grandfather retired, he and my grandmother moved to the south of France. I didn’t see them much before that, and never after they left. I was sent to a boarding school in Connecticut when I was eleven and only saw my dad on holidays and over breaks. When I went to work for Deveaux Beauty, I assumed I would see him more and we would get to spend more time together, but the opposite happened. My father spends most of his time in Paris, and I spend most of my time in New York.” There was no disguising the bitterness that colored my tone. “Now I hardly see him, even on holidays.”
Crew made a sympathetic noise low in his throat and shifted uncomfortably on the leather seat. “Can’t pick where we’re from, or the people we’re related to. Probably a good thing. My brother, Case, would have cut ties and thrown me back years ago if he had a choice. But because we’re family he can’t stop himself from being a protective big brother; he still pulls my ass out of the fire time and time again. And Kody, my sister, she’s the only woman in my entire life who’s ever been able to put up with my shit for longer than a week. They got the short stick in the sibling department, but I’m a lucky bastard, since blood makes it impossible for them to walk away from me.”
I shifted on the seat and forcibly pulled my eyes away from his before I drowned in the endless blue depths. I fidgeted uneasily, noticing that now since I was no longer sneezing and sniffling, he smelled like leather and sunshine. Something very manly and fresh that I would never have thought I would find appealing, but suddenly did.
“Your family isn’t proud of everything you’ve accomplished in your career? I don’t follow your sport, but when my father decided to sign you I did some basic research. You’re a big deal in the rodeo world. You’ve done well for yourself up until this season.” I tried to speak with more authority than I possessed. It grated that he was a stranger, a virtual unknown, and yet my entire future was tied to him.
“Sure, they were proud. But they also know me well enough to know that no matter how good I was, or how much I loved riding, I was bound to fuck it all up. They’ve been waiting for the other boot to drop, exactly like it did this season. I’ve let them down my entire life, so their expectations are pretty low when it comes to me.” He puffed out a raspy laugh and turned his head to look out the window, effectively ending the conversation. He sounded resigned to the fact that he was nothing more than a failure.
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I have no expectations. You are starting with a blank slate with me, Mr. Lawton.” I folded my hands primly in my lap and watched out of the corner of my eye as a familiar smirk lifted the edges of his mouth.
“I highly doubt I’m going to be the man you need, Ms. Deveaux, but I sure am gonna do my best. At least until I get the rest of the money you owe me.”
As long as he was willing to try, I could work with that.
Chapter 4
Crew
I didn’t skip town, Vargas. I told you, I had to figure out a way to get the money I owe you now that my season is over.” And probably my career, because of him. I glared out the window, taking in the blinding, chaotic lights from Times Square. This was a different kind of chaos than the type I was used to, but just as wild and just as entrancing. The flow of people, the energy emanating from the busy streets, even the heavy windows of the fancy hotel Della Deveaux had dropped me off at couldn’t totally block the noise. It all rushed around me, calling to me, tempting me to do things that should be expressly forbidden. There was trouble down there, the kind that would be so much fun to find. The kind that would bite me in the ass and screw everything up as soon as the sun was back in the sky. “Stop threatening me, Vargas. I don’t like it.”
The other man snorted, and I could picture him narrowing his dark, beady eyes. My hand was wrapped so tightly around my phone, my fingers were starting to hurt. I wanted all of this to be over. I wanted out of this city that looked like it could eat me alive, and I wanted out from under the thumb of the blond dynamo who had effortlessly taken over my life. Owing Vargas was a pain in the ass and stupidly dangerous. Owing Della, well that was proving to have all kinds of complications I hadn’t anticipated. I wasn’t used to putting my best foot forward for anyone. Trying to impress the chilly, reserved woman who so clearly thought I was worthless was exhausting. I never realized how much effort being reliable and dependable took.
“I can threaten you, or I can have words with your family, cowboy. I can also raise your interest rate anytime I like. This is a dangerous game you’re playing, son.” The man’s voice was smooth and the warning clear. Play nice or get my hand slapped, or knowing Vargas, get the whole thing chopped off.
“The money is coming, and for once it’s a sure thing. Dante, if you go after my sister, you’re going to have to face off with my brother. My old man might have been as corrupt as the day is long, but Case isn’t like that. He takes his job seriously, and he’s even more protective of Kody than I am. You roll into Loveless and start sniffing around either of them, Case is going to shut you down.” It was a warning of my own. My brother didn’t play around when it came to rules and regulations. He would take Vargas down, even if it meant I ended up crashing and burning right alongside him. I was a selfish man, thoughtless more often than I wanted to admit. But I would never let my siblings be used as pawns in this game I’d unwittingly started losing as soon as it began.
“I am not afraid of the law, cowboy. Especially not some backwoods, hick sheriff in a nowhere town.” There was a sniff and then a low laugh that made my skin crawl. “I expect at least half of the balance you owe plus interest at the end of this week. Five days, cowboy. If I don’t see it, the interest rate goes up ten percent, and I’m tacking on a ten-thousand-dollar late fee. Hope you come through, my boy; people are counting on you.”
The call ended with him still laughing and me choking on swear words as I threw my phone in the direction of the pristine white bed. I was almost afraid to touch anything in this overly opulent hotel room. Everything looked like it cost a million dollars and would be irreplaceable if broken. I knew that probably wasn’t the case, but I was still overly cautious as I moved around, throwing myself into one of the plush, velvet settees that sat near the windows.
I had no clue what a settee was. I asked Della why the couches were so small and useless-looking and she explained what they were. My long legs dangled over the side as I ran my hands through my hair and cursed the minute I placed my first bet. Of course, I was the guy who had to go all in. I couldn’t do anything by half measures, which meant something that should have been inconsequential turned into a full-blown addiction before I could blink. I never knew when enough was enough until it was too much and I was being crushed under the weight of all my choices.
As my hair curled around my fingers, I looked over at the clock by the bed. I forgot that one of the many things Della had planned for me since my boots hit the ground in New York was a haircut. Yesterday, I’d spent the entire day at Deveaux Beauty’s main office, signing a million different things after negotiating a partial payment for when the initial campaign images were shot and approved by the end of the week. I ended up getting a crash course in the seemingly endless number of products I was going to be hocking, and met Della’s staff, which included the advertising and marketing people, who had all weighed in on everything from my hair to my slightly chipped front tooth. I was lucky I still had all my teeth, considering how often I was stepped on by hooves, and how often I ended up in situations where I took a fist to the face. I’d fel
t like a bug under a microscope, but I kept my opinions to myself because, at the end of the day, I was going to do whatever the reserved blonde in six-inch heels said as long as I got paid.
I was pushing to my feet just as there was a tentative knock on the door. Sighing and wondering if I was ever going to be back in control of my life, I wandered over to open the door. I flinched as it swung open before I could reach the knob. Della had given me a very clear set of rules before leaving me to my own devices. No women. No drinking. No drugs. No running amok in the city. No disappearing without warning. She told me she had her own key to my room and to expect the unexpected. I knew she was looking for me to give her a reason to forfeit the contract, so I was going to have to work extra hard not to give her the opportunity.
Those unusual, catlike eyes of hers widened when she practically walked into my chest. I watched as the yellow-gold colors flared brightly around the green and overtook the brown in her gaze as she skidded to a halt on those neck-breaking shoes she seemed to live in. She put her hands on my chest to catch her balance, and I didn’t miss the way heat flooded into her face or the way her breath hitched when her palms landed on my pecs. I flashed her a grin and flexed under her touch, because I could, and because I was curious to see if I could crack some of the ice she was encased in. Her pale eyebrows lifted and before she could hide it, a spark of appreciation blazed through the lighter parts of her eyes.
It was gone in a second as the man standing behind her dramatically cleared his throat, and followed the sound with a low whistle as he pushed past me and Della into the hotel room.
Colorado Cowboy Page 29
