“I’m not going to shoot at you. I brought it out for him.” I gestured at the beast with the end of the barrel, not lowering it for a second. “Be careful, this one’s different from my wolf.”
He glanced at me and shot me a quick grin before moving his attention back to the wolf. His expression, though fleeting, threw me for a moment. Was that pride? I expected him to shoo it off or trap it somehow, but instead he stood, arms crossed in front of his chest glaring at it.
“You need to get the hell out of here.” Cash said to the wolf.
The animal simply sat in front of him, head tilted with that same wolfy grin on his face. Cash narrowed his eyes. If wolves could shrug, I’d swear that’s what it did before loping off into the trees.
“I’m sorry, did that just happen?” I asked in disbelief.
He continued to glare into the trees where the wolf had disappeared, not hearing me. I walked over and snapped my fingers in front of his face. His hand darted out and caught mine and gave it a little kiss. Zings of electricity jolted down my hand.
I quirked an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you have trapped it or something? Now it’s free to go after my calves or someone else’s.”
He pulled me tightly against him, bent and put his nose at my throat and inhaled like eau de Cowgirl was his favorite perfume.
“Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you or anything?” He asked, his voice concerned.
I growled at his deflection. “I’m fine. Why is Raymond wolf-central all of the sudden?”
He shrugged and kissed the sensitive skin on my neck behind my ears. All thoughts of wolves flew from my mind. All thoughts in general flew out alongside them. There’s a lot of flying going on!
“Do you want to go out with me tonight?”
I pushed him back so I could see his face. His cobalt gaze bore into me. A grin oozed slowly like an oil slick across my face.
“Like, on a date?”
He rolled his eyes at my junior-higher tone of voice. “Yes, a date. I’m still sort of new here, so you’d have to pick where we go.”
I beamed at him. It had been years since I’d gone on a real date. This would be so much fun. I snaked my arms around his shoulders and he grabbed my waist. I shimmied a little and discovered how excited Cash really was.
“Oooh...I hope I run into some girls from high school,” I snickered to myself as I pictured some of those cheerleader’s faces when they saw the magnificent man who was dating me. Suck it, Tiffany. Cash grinned mischievously.
“Why would that be, Shelby?”
He knew exactly why I’d said it, but wild horses couldn’t drag out the actual words from my mouth. His ego was big enough without me pumping it full of hot air. I made my eyes go wide with feigned innocence.
“Because I haven’t seen them in so long. Why ever else?”
Cash chuckled and leaned in for another one of his panty-scorching kisses. I gasped for breath when he released me, my heart pounding in my chest.
“I’ll pick you up at six?”
I looked at my watch. It was two o’clock now, so I had plenty of time to call and beg Jesse for help getting ready. I nodded and he flicked my nose before walking to his truck. I was staring dreamily after his truck as it traveled down my driveway until I realized Cash hadn’t answered any of my questions about the wolf. Damn.
I stood looking at my small closet with distain. I hadn’t ever really thought about it before, but the majority of the space was taken up by worn out Wranglers, tees and long sleeved shirts. I had a jean skirt which I’d already worn. My shoes consisted of boots and tennis shoes, neither were really what I was going for tonight.
“Jesse! I need help! I don’t have a single scrap of fabric that says, ‘I’m what you should wear on your first date with the smokin’ hot piece of man flesh,’” I whined.
Jesse gave me a sympathetic look and shoved me aside. “Let the master work, young grasshopper.” She rooted around through my clothes, grunting occasionally. I sat down hard on the edge of my bed and rubbed my face.
“What was I thinking? I should have at least given myself a day or two to buy an outfit.”
I flopped backwards and stared at the ceiling. If I was half a foot shorter and about thirty-five pounds lighter I might have squeezed into something of Jesse’s, but alas, that wasn’t the case. At least we had the same shoe size. She had brought a few different pairs of heels along with a few accessories.
“Don’t despair, my precious. I think I may have found something. When did you get this little number?” She held out a black wrap dress I’d completely forgotten about. My chest suddenly seemed too tight and I tried to rub away the pain.
“I wore that for Grandpa’s funeral,” I said quietly.
Jesse walked over and laid the garment down on the bed next to me before pulling me into a warm hug. I hugged her back hard, concentrating on keeping the moisture in my eyes from condensing into tears. She pulled away and held me at arm’s length by my shoulders.
“Well, it’s the only halfway decent dress you own, so you’ll just have to associate it with your first date with Mr. Big Hunk. I’m sure he’ll help you replace those memories with good ones.”
The look she gave me was so lascivious I had to laugh. Jesse waggled her eyebrows.
“And said memories you will share with your bestie Jesse so she can live vicariously through you. For some reason you’re having all the luck with men.” I changed into the dress and surveyed myself in my mirror.
“Jesse, you’re married, you don’t need any more luck. Besides, I wouldn’t call catching GQ-stalker boy’s attention lucky.” Jesse rolled her eyes.
I grinned and twirled in the dress. The black fabric set off my tan nicely, and the length was just right on me. On Jesse it would have fell past her knees, but on me it hit just above mine. The neckline was a V, dipping low enough to emphasize a tasteful amount of cleavage but not too much. Not too matronly but not too slutty either, it would do.
I had on a pair of lacy black panties and bra which made me feel sexy even though no one could see them. My philosophy with underwear was other people might not know what I had on, but I did and that’s what mattered. Plus, if I ever had medical emergency personnel cut through my clothes, they’d see cute stuff instead of granny panties.
Jesse wrapped my waist with a wide silver belt and lent me some silver bangles and dangly earrings. Paired with some smoky eye shadow that made my green eyes pop, and I didn’t look half bad.
“That’ll do Shelby, that’ll do.”
I spun to glare at Jesse. She grinned and danced out of reach, knowing I’d retaliate.
“I’d better not hear you say that again, ever.”
She waved off my glare and threw me some perfume. It was blood orange and my favorite. I loved citrusy clean scents. I threw it back to her after spraying some on my neck, wrists and back of my knees.
“Five bucks says he has to pick up his jaw off the ground once he gets a good look at you.”
I blushed and smiled at her. I didn’t take the bet because I hoped she was right.
“Thanks for your help, Jess. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She bowed regally, and I clapped for her.
“You would be lost and inconsolable.” She winked. “And you’d look like a ragamuffin!”
She swept out of my bedroom and I followed smiling to myself. Jesse was the only person I know that could “sweep” out of anywhere. She gave me a hug and drove home, leaving me with my own thoughts for a half hour before Cash was supposed to pick me up.
Chapter Nineteen
I didn’t know why, but I was nervous. And waiting for Cash was just making it worse. What if he doesn’t like me? I had tried to push that nasty little thought down, but unsuccessfully. Up to that point we hadn’t really ‘talked’. I blushed slightly as the thought of all the things we’d done.
I sat on my couch and flipped on the TV, but even then I fidgeted and didn’t realize what I was watching. I stayed there for ab
out five minutes before I gave up and turned on the radio instead. Unfortunately not even the Troubadour himself could calm my nerves, so I paced the living room.
The truth was, I didn’t really date. Going to the bar or the rodeo with the Albert’s didn’t really count as real dates in my book. In high school I was so busy with schoolwork, FFA and the ranch, and I had used them as excuses. Plus, not very many teenage boys made it past the tough persona that I’d adopted.
Cash had made it past all those barriers, even at gunpoint, and wrapped himself around my heart. I hardly knew the man, but the more time I spent with him, it was crystal clear to me that it wasn’t something I was could back away from intact. Honestly, backing away was a notion that I’d thought of but dismissed entirely. Not only did I not want to distance myself from Cash, I wanted to run at him full speed and collide.
Luke Bryan’s Country Girl (Shake it for me) came on. It was one of my favorite songs, and I couldn’t help but wiggle. I relaxed into the beat. Insecurities momentarily forgotten, I danced around the living room, singing at the top of my lungs. I slipped out of Jesse’s heels and got on the coffee table, flipping my hair around my face.
“Oh my,” came from a smooth, sultry voice behind me. “You can shake it for me any day, country girl.” I scanned the room in front of me, searching for a large enough rock that I could crawl under and die. No such luck. Heat suffused my face from the exertion of dancing and humiliation, so I took my time before turning around. When I finally did, he stood there looking good enough to eat. Nom nom nom…
I was fairly certain that no man had ever looked so delectable in a pair of jeans and a tight, long sleeved thermal shirt. The shirt displayed his well-developed chest and shoulders and was a dark blue that set off his eyes wonderfully. His hair was still a little damp and looked like it’d only been tousled with a towel after he got out of the shower. Oh God…Cash in the shower. I closed that thought down hard.
Cash stood with his hands in his pockets and a smug, appreciative smile on his face. I realized he’d caught me checking him out but it seemed he wasn’t above doing the same. His eyes grazed over me, taking in every blush and scrap of fabric. I felt extremely vulnerable under his scrutiny.
“Didn’t your mother teach you to knock first before walking into someone’s house?” I mumbled.
I couldn’t meet his eyes any longer so I slipped back into the heels and grabbed my purse. Cash pretended to think about it for a moment before answering. “Yes, as a matter of fact, she did. However, she didn’t tell me was what to do when you knock but no one answers and instead you hear music blaring. I didn’t know I would be getting dinner and a show tonight.”
I shot him a dirty look and walked to the door.
“Again with the smarmy grin. You’re early, anyway.” He opened the door for me and waited while I locked it behind us.
“Really? Smarmy? What are you going to call me next, a rapscallion? I didn’t know you were eighty.”
I huffed and stomped past him to the passenger side of his truck and opened the door. He had walked over like he wanted to open it for me and frowned with disapproval when I did it myself. I waited until he got in the truck to reply.
“Smarmy is a perfectly good word. What word would you use to describe it?”
“Well, handsome is a nice word. Manly, attractive, and rugged are also very applicable.”
“I guess I set you up for that one,” I laughed.
He flashed me a manly, attractive and rugged smirk. Those dimples are going to be the death of me, I thought and squirmed in the seat, aware of my damp panties.
Cash grabbed my bare thigh, stilling me. “If you don’t quit that I’m going to drive off the road. It was hard enough letting you walk out of your house unmolested after watching you ‘shake it’ for me.”
My eyes widened. I was sure he could feel the goose bumps that spread across my entire body underneath his scorching grip on my thigh. I saw that emerald light behind his eyes and coughed a little.
“So, where are we going?” I squeaked.
He stared at me for a moment more before returning his attention to the road, for which I was infinitely grateful. He hadn’t once veered over the double yellow line in the center of the road, but it was still uncomfortable having him stare me down instead of looking where he was driving.
“I told you,” he said, voice rough. “You get to pick.”
It seemed we were headed to Oakhurst, since we were going northeast on road 415. I thought about our options. Oakhurst was a small town that survived mostly on the tourists that come through on their way to Yosemite National Park. I was a Yosemite High School Badger, class of ‘04.
There were a few decent places to eat, pizzerias, diners and burger joints. My favorite was a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant that had the best tortilla chips with plenty of seasoning.
“Well, if Mexican food sounds good to you, there’s El Cid. They make a pretty decent margarita too.” A margarita and maybe a few shots of Patrón were definitely in order. I was sort of hoping that tequila would make his clothes fall off…
“Sounds great, just give me directions.” His voice sounded a bit calmer, but he still had his warm hand on my thigh and it disrupted my brain function. Oh, I’ll give you directions…I double entendre’d to myself.
“So, why did you come all the way over here to California from Wyoming?”
I thought the question was fairly innocuous, but Cash seemed to be bothered by it. It was a few moments before he answered. “I didn’t want to go into the family business.”
He seemed to want the conversation to stop there, but stubborn has ever been my middle name. “So, what is the family business?” I gasped loudly and feigned horror. “You’re not a part of the Wyoming mafia are you?”
He rolled his eyes in exasperation. “No, not the mafia,” he chuckled, but then said, “sometimes it feels that way though.”
His knuckles went white on the steering wheel and I could swear I heard the metal groaning. Cash had gone all quiet and introspective so I changed the subject.
“So what made you want to become a game warden? From what I know, it’s a pretty small branch of law enforcement.”
Cash seemed more comfortable with this line of questioning. “Well, I like that I’m by myself most of the time. We’re pretty autonomous so I can make my own schedule depending on what’s in season.” His eyes grew brighter the more he talked. “I get to keep hunters honest and also be outdoors. I think I would snap and kill a bunch of people if I had to work in a cubicle.”
I was right there with him on that one. I loved being outside. I actually had little panic attacks if was in a tight space with a lot of people. Crowded elevators, airplanes, movie theatres all gave me a giant case of the heebie jeebies. I liked to think of it as a case of agoraphobia with just a dash of claustrophobia.
“I worked for a while in Southern California, but living up here is a lot better. The pace, the people, even the landscape is more like home. But this winter I wonder if I’ll know what to do with myself without snow.” He looked at me like I was missing out. It didn’t take living up North to know that having to shovel feet of snow in order to leave the house was not preferable to the temperate area in which I lived.
“At least it get below freezing every now and then. The same can’t be said about SoCal. I get enough snow every season at China Peak, anyway.” His look informed me he didn’t think much about our little ski hill.
I loved to snowboard. It was about an hour and a half drive away, but it was worth it. Snowboarding was the way I vacationed, since I couldn’t really leave the ranch once I had calves on the ground. There was a window between November and March where I didn’t have any calves so it wasn’t as nerve-wracking to be away.
“I scoff at your tiny ski resort,” he said with a very fake Russian accent. “Someday I’ll take you to Jackson Hole. Now that is a real mountain!” My eyebrows climbed high of their own accord at his statement.
He’s already thinking of someday? Before he could see my surprise and pleasure, I smoothed out my expression.
“Do you board?” I couldn’t wrap my head around the image of 6’4” Cash barreling down the hill on a snowboard. All the snow would be melted by his hotness.
“I started off skiing, but just recently I went over to the dark side. It’s quite a bit different. Right at first I wasn’t sure I’d like not having poles.” He gave me a sardonic little smile that made me laugh.
“I felt the same way too. I learned how to ski through MASS, Mountain Area Ski School, but when I got into high school I switched over. There’s nothing worse than getting stuck on a flat spot on a board. But there’s nothing better than boarding through untouched knee deep powder. That’s my absolute favorite.” I sighed wistfully, daydreaming about flowing soundless through the trees and crisp, pine-scented winter air.
“Plus, there’s no way you can look cool skiing,” he said ruefully. I giggled
We laughed and talked the rest of the drive to El Cid, and I felt like I was on my way toward getting to know Cash. He pulled the truck into the parking lot and gave me a dirty look when I tried to open the door for myself. I raised my hands in surrender and stayed put, leering at him as he walked around to open my door.
When he did give me a hand out of the truck, he tugged me close and ran his hand through my hair. I’d left it down and it flowed long and straight down my back. He was so tall I had to look up at him, and that didn’t happen often. My bloodline harkened back to the tall Norse Vikings and every other guy I’d ever dated had been shorter than me. I enjoyed the sensation. Cash leaned down and brushed a soft, sweet kiss across my lips.
I closed my eyes and started to lean in when his arms stiffened around me. Before I could react, or even let out a yelp, he’d spun me behind him and pressed me against the truck . I searched the parking lot for whatever had set off his protective instincts, but I couldn’t see any threat. My hands were on his waist, and I could feel the vibrations from the growl that rolled out from deep in his chest. This man growls more than Reggie does…
Hunter Moon (Lupine Moon Series) Page 15
