by Starla Kaye
She hugged the blankets tighter and countered, “You think one of your men might….”
“Of course none of my men would harm you,” he blustered. His gaze moved over where she sat buried beneath every layer of warmth she could find. His expression darkened. “You’re coming with me.”
As always, his commanding manner got her back up. For just a second, she considered objecting. Another teeth-jarring shiver stopped her. “Just let me get dressed.”
Once more the light flickered, and he cursed. He crossed the tiny area in a heartbeat, scooping her up, blankets and all. “We’re leaving.”
“You’re awful bossy.” But she snuggled against his chest. Even with his coat cold and dusted with snow, she was content. She felt like she was being rescued by a handsome, fiercely protective, white knight. More or less anyway.
He glanced down at her, his cheeks reddening. “Do you need…well, any female things?”
She blinked at him and realized what he’d hinted at. She almost laughed, but her temporary hero and his question endeared him. “No.”
Relief sliding over his face, he carried her across to the door. She managed to open it for him and switch off the light before he stepped outside.
Daniel walked up to her portable steps, brow furrowed in worry. He motioned them to go on. “I’ll shut it.”
The three of them raced for the well-lit log home, and, in spite of how she shivered, she smiled the entire time. They’d both come for her. Two white knights. They could have stayed in his warm house and left her to herself. But they hadn’t. Her eyes misted. All of a sudden, she wasn’t ready to leave the Circle C. Cal would just have to get used to her being here.
Chapter Seven
She needed to leave. If she didn’t, he needed to. Damn, this was his ranch!
Calhoun stripped off his clothes, letting them drop to the bedroom floor as he made his way toward the bathroom. Another hellish day. Just like the last two since the snow first started falling. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d gotten this much snow. Almost a foot had built up by the time the storm gave up and moved off to the northeast. Working a ranch in the winter was tough enough without dealing with all that snow and the bitter cold.
He stepped into the shower, tension tightening every sore muscle in his body. Turning on the water, he closed his eyes and returned to thinking about Ruby McMurtry. The woman hadn’t ever completely left his thoughts from the moment she’d set foot on his ranch. He’d gotten so damn aroused having her in his arms as he’d carried her to the guest room two nights ago. When he dropped her on the bed, he’d all but run out of the room, leaving Daniel to handle the host duties of making her comfortable. He hadn’t been able to deal with his reactions to her softness, smelling her sweet scent, and remembering the kiss.
The cold water helped a miniscule amount with the immediate erection he’d gotten the second his mind envisioned the pretty little blonde. But, shivering, he switched to hot water and let it rain over him. The tension in his shoulders eased.
Fortunately—okay, not the right way to look at it—she’d come down with some flu bug. She’d stayed in the guest suite while Daniel nursed her and he worked his ass off beside his men. He and his hands struggled to get feed out to the cattle in the west pasture and break up the ice coating the top of the water troughs. They’d spent more hours dealing with the fifty-some horses still out in the south pasture. Plus, they’d taken care of the breeding mares in the horse barn. He’d dragged himself inside well after dark each night, too tired for anything more than filling his belly, grabbing a shower, and falling into bed already half-asleep.
But he’d been aware of her each night when he walked into his house. There was just something about a woman’s presence.
He heaved a weary sigh. If he wasn’t careful, he might fall asleep standing in the shower. Daniel’s concerned words that morning before he headed outside glided into his thoughts. “You’re killing yourself, Cal. How can you still be thinking about taking on more? You’ve got to stop trying to buy that other ranch.”
His shoulders tightened again. He’d lashed out in anger at his friend. In truth, he didn’t remember what he’d said. But it had been harsh enough to make him stride away without saying another word. The argument ate at him all day. He owed the man an apology. First, he had to find him. When he’d walked inside the house, he hadn’t found Daniel working on his laptop in the great room like he often did that time of day. He hadn’t been in the bedroom. Maybe he was in the downstairs office. Or in with Ruby.
As much as he dreaded doing so, he needed to stop avoiding her and check on her. If she wasn’t a whole lot better, he needed to either call his doctor or take her into the emergency center.
“Cordell?” she questioned loud enough for him to hear her from somewhere in his bedroom.
He froze, eyes flashing open, pulse racing. Shit!
“I hear the shower running, but can you hear me?” she asked, moving closer to the bathroom.
He’d left both the bedroom and bathroom doors open, not for an instant thinking anyone but Daniel might come looking for him. The shower door was clear glass. She wouldn’t….
Wrong. As he reached to shut off the water, the tenacious female stepped into the bathroom doorway. She gave a startled gasp, obviously not expecting to be seeing him.
When he glanced at her, her eyes widened. There wasn’t a damn thing he could do to cover up. At her appreciative look, his body felt her touch. His fading erection burst to life again. His long, thick cock waved in front of him.
“Out!” he growled. “Get the hell out of here!”
It took a second for pink to tinge her cheeks, for her to blink in realization of where she was, and to step backward into the bedroom. “Ummm, sorry,” she mumbled.
He shoved the glass door open and stepped out into the middle of the bathroom, snagging a towel. As he wrapped it around his hips, he caught her looking at him in the mirror. She didn’t appear the least bit sorry about finding him naked. No, her breasts were rising and falling in deep, shuddery breaths. She nibbled on her bottom lip, and her eyes heated. None of which helped his situation. His cock pushed at the towel, throbbed with need.
Disgusted, he slammed the door shut and haphazardly dried off, cursing. “What are you doing here?”
“Daniel wanted me to tell you he’s sleeping in the guest room across from me.”
His friend was that upset with him? He wrapped the towel around his waist and jerked the door open, glowering at her. “He couldn’t tell me himself?”
Her gaze darted to the towel. She swallowed hard. “He’s sick,” she said in distraction. She looked up, and guilt settled in her eyes. “I guess he got whatever I had. I tried to tell him to stay away from me. But he’s an awful stubborn man.”
“Yes, he is.” His anger slipped away, replaced by concern. He should have known it might happen. No doubt he would come down with the bug, too. He sure didn’t have time for that. One more mark in her disfavor.
She fidgeted with the hem of the pink T-shirt that hugged her body, making him too aware of how plump her breasts were, of how much he wanted to….
No, no, no! Hell no! Glaring, he motioned her to leave. “Privacy would be damn nice.”
“What?”
“Privacy,” he said, bristling.
“Oh, sure.” She started backing across the room, having trouble not staring at him. “I’ll go check on the chicken soup I’m making for Daniel.”
His stomach rumbled. He hadn’t taken time out for anything beyond toast this morning, far too many hours ago. Chicken soup wouldn’t be enough, though. Besides, she’d probably only made enough for Daniel. He experienced a pang of jealousy.
She gave him a hesitant smile. “After I take the soup to him, I can fix you something. A sandwich, maybe?”
She scrambled backward faster, not paying attention, still focusing on him—which his entire body was too well aware of. Desirous tension thrummed through him. Hi
s cock responded, swelling even more, shoving at the towel. “Watch out,” he said, sensing trouble.
“What?” she asked in a shaky tone, heat firing in her eyes. She bumped into the high bed and fell backward onto its side.
Her small gasp of surprise acted like a sensual invitation, at least to his muddled brain. In three long strides, he stood in front of her, breathing hard. Move away. Do it. But his feet ignored him.
She looked up at him, her green eyes cautious, but she didn’t move, didn’t tell him to move away either.
As he told himself not to do it, he planted his hands on the bed next to her arms. She trembled, still watching him, her eyes darkening. “Tell me to stop,” he ordered without force.
When she shook her head, silent and continuing to study him, he bent over, easing down until their mouths met. He remembered her taste, her heat. Unable to resist, he teased her lips with his tongue. When she gave a soft moan and slid her hands into his hair, it was like a siren’s call. Positioned half-on and half-off the bed, he stretched over her. Their lower bodies pressed together. The towel began unwrapping, and his erection rubbed at her sex, the layer of denim doing little to slow things down.
He fought to stop this from progressing, but the kiss deepened. He’d thought about their last one too much, dreamed about being intimate with her. He pumped rhythmically against her. Groaning. He wanted more, needed to slide those jeans off, pound into her. Yet a whisper of sanity kept him from doing more than savoring the kiss. But he knew if he didn’t move soon, he would take this to a level neither of them was ready for.
Somehow, he found the determination to shove to his feet and moved backward. But his gaze remained on her. His chest pounded, and his rod ached in disappointment. “I’m sorry.”
Myriad emotions swept over her face—longing, uncertainty, regret. She didn’t meet his eyes. “My fault.”
“Yes.”
Her gaze shot to him, and irritation flashed in that expressive green gaze. “You didn’t have to kiss me.” She seemed to realize he stood naked in front of her, and the towel had fallen to the floor. Her face heated. “Do you think you could cover that thing up?”
“That thing?” he questioned, taking hold of his shaft. “My cock?” What made him press her about this? Why wasn’t he snatching up the discarded jeans nearby and tugging them on?
Cheeks flaming, she shot to her feet. “Yes!” She blew out a breath. “This is inappropriate, you know.”
Yeah, he knew. “You didn’t seem to find what we were doing disgusting a couple of seconds ago.”
“Well…. Well, it wasn’t disgusting.” She went to the jeans, snatched them up, and thrust them at him. “Seriously. Put them on.”
He chuckled, puzzled by why he found this situation amusing. Instead of donning the work-dirty jeans, he held them in front of him. “You could just leave the room.”
She blinked, huffed, and stormed away. He couldn’t keep his gaze from the sassy sway of her taut backside. His cock throbbed. In spite of knowing his lover was at the other end of the hallway, he wanted to drive deep inside her. She made him crazy.
“The roads will be good enough for you to leave tomorrow,” he called after her.
Surprising him, she marched to the doorway, avoiding looking down his body. “I’m not leaving until I get a chance to see Starbright again.”
He stiffened. “You need to go. I—”
“I can help her,” she countered. “I won’t even charge you for my time. Just give me a chance for a couple of days.” She narrowed her eyes. “Like you originally agreed.”
He didn’t want to do it, not after what happened minutes ago. She was dangerous. In his gut, he sensed spending any more time close to her would be a serious mistake. His body wanted her, even if his brain didn’t…and he wasn’t positive about that any longer.
As if she understood his thoughts, she thrust out her chin in her defiant way. “This won’t happen again. Neither of us want it.”
“I’m not so sure.” He wished it were true, needed it to be true. But he feared he might not be able to control himself.
“What I do know, cowboy, is you’re way out of my league.” Something sad settled in her expression.
He hesitated, confused, and then irritation made him ask, “Because I’m bi-sexual? Because I have a male lover?” Anger stiffened his shoulders. He wasn’t ashamed of his relationship with Daniel, but he did suspect he could also make love with the right woman—and that woman might be Ruby.
She rolled her eyes. “Neither of those things matter to me.” She glanced down at her boots, and color moved up her face. “I’m inexperienced is what I’m saying.”
He frowned. Inexperienced? “What the hell does that mean?”
“I’ve never been with a man.” Frustration rolled off her in waves, and she met his gaze. “Or with a woman,” she added in a rush.
She couldn’t mean…. “You’re a virgin?”
“Yes.” She spun on her heels and stormed away. “And I’m not explaining why.”
He gaped after her. Well, hell. Damn if that admission didn’t turn him on more.
***
“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” Ruby muttered as she raced away from Cordell’s bedroom. She’d been shoved right past the point of sanity by her unwanted attraction for the gruff rancher. Her face flamed in mortification at what she’d admitted to him. Maybe she should leave the ranch tomorrow. But, darn, she didn’t want to. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”
Watching her feet instead of where she went, she plowed into another male body.
Daniel caught her by the arms, steadied her, and glanced down with amusement quirking up one side of his mouth. “Calhoun, I’m guessing.”
She wanted to move farther into his embrace, let him comfort her yet again. He was so easy to be near, totally opposite the cowboy. But she forced herself to step back. Sick, he didn’t need her problems. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
He nodded toward the room he’d just walked out of. “Bathroom necessity.” He shrugged. “What did my friend say to upset you?”
She hung her head in displeasure, grumbled, “I said something this time.” Lowering her voice, she said, “I told him I was a virgin.” She wondered why she’d admitted her secret to this man, too.
“Should I ask how that subject came up?” He tipped up her chin with a finger, studied her. “Are you okay?”
What did he see in her expression? Her lips were swollen. Had he noticed? Oh, jeez.
“Do I need to confront Cal for some reason? Take him down a notch or two? I’ll do it, if you want me to.”
He would, too. Embarrassed and needy, she shook her head and stepped against his bare chest. Ill or not, he swept his arms around her. She almost sighed in pleasure.
The man being discussed strode into the hallway and growled, “I thought you were sick.”
“I’ve been better, yes. Thank you for your concern,” he chastised.
Feeling the tension between the men, she attempted to slip out of Daniel’s embrace, but he held her in place.
“You’ve been upsetting our guest.”
She craned her head enough to see Cordell’s shoulders stiffen. He still wore only the towel he’d wrapped around his waist. Her heart raced. What was wrong with her? She stood snuggled up to a man capable of taking most women’s breath away. Hers had, in fact, hitched a bit. Yet her body craved the annoyed cowboy. Okay, she lusted after them both.
Angry at her reactions and blaming him, she complained, “You couldn’t take a second to get dressed. You have to stroll around the house almost naked.”
Daniel chortled, and she wiggled her way out of his hold. She frowned at him. “It’s not funny! It’s…it’s indecent.”
“From your point of view.” His gaze moved to Cordell, and he grinned. “I’m not at all bothered knowing Cal’s ‘almost naked.’”
“Daniel,” Cordell objected, thinning his lips in disapproval.
She looked from the ranch
er to the CEO and shook her head. “I imagine he’s okay with the limited amount of clothing you have on.” Actually, she was fine with how little either of the striking men wore. But she would prefer they not know that.
She browsed in Cordell’s direction at his guttural snarl of exasperation. His brow had creased, eyes narrowed at the other man. “Could we not discuss our relationship?”
Not appearing the least bit cowed by his friend’s attitude, Daniel once more chuckled. An instant later, his face tightened, and he gave a quiet groan. He brushed by her into the bathroom, closing the door.
She concentrated on looking anywhere but at Cordell. Finally, she hazarded a glance at him, found him watching her, an expression she couldn’t figure out on his face. But he no longer seemed angry. “I could fix you a sandwich,” she offered. She needed to fetch the soup for Daniel, although he might not feel up to it at the moment. “Or I can make you something else. Come down to the kitchen when you’re ready and—”
“Not a good idea.”
“Because…?”
He drew in a deep breath, which drew her attention to the wondrous inflation of his impressive chest. He blew the air out in clear frustration. “You want the truth, Ms. McMurtry?” He didn’t give her a chance to respond. “Because if we’re alone together, I might do something completely out of line.”
She cocked her head, puzzled, intrigued. “Like what?”
“You are that naïve?” His jaw clenched and his fingers tightened where he held the towel.
The terry cloth moved and stayed pushed out. Her eyes widened. God, she was that naïve. “You…?” She couldn’t finish the question, gulping in dismay, as warmth curled low in her body.
Apparently, he believed her still too innocent about the situation. “Because I just might take care of your virginity problem. And we both know that isn’t a good idea,” he gritted out.
He turned around and stormed back into his bedroom, slamming the door.
She stared after him, openmouthed. As his warning settled in, desire raged through her, along with disappointment. He wanted her. She craved him. Yes, she’d done so from their first confrontation. But the cowboy wasn’t about to cross some invisible line he’d drawn between right and wrong.
