The Rancher Returns

by Brenda Jackson

  He wanted her.

  There. He’d confirmed it in his mind without an ounce of regret. He was a man with needs and that kiss last night had totally obliterated any desire for the Mississippi vixen. He’d lost interest in heading south as planned. Nor did he want Layla to leave the ranch. But like she’d reminded him last night, unless he agreed to let her dig on the property, she had no reason to stay.

  That meant he had to come up with a plan.

  He rubbed sleep from his eyes, remembering that he had detected a few insecurities lurking within Layla last night. Something about her need to prove herself. What was that about? Did he really want to know? Did he even care?

  Yes, he cared. He would go so far as to say that he even admired her spunk. Layla was tough and he had a feeling he hadn’t even seen half the strength she possessed. She had to be resilient to have become a college professor at such a young age. He could see her holding her own when it mattered. He couldn’t help but smile when he recalled her saying that he needed to keep sex out of this situation. Little did she know he had no intention of doing that. Their attraction was too strong and he intended to use it to his advantage.

  As he stood to head for the bathroom, he halted upon hearing voices. They were his grandmother’s and Layla’s. His body immediately reacted to the sound of Layla’s voice. They were in the kitchen. And he could tell his grandmother was enjoying the conversation.

  He could understand why Gramma Mel was so taken with Layla. Although he never thought about it much, his grandmother probably got lonely around here whenever he was away. Even though she had Caldwell, there hadn’t been another woman staying on the Silver Spurs since Gavin’s mother had left.

  He tried pushing thoughts of Jamie Blake from his mind like he’d always done. Why should he think about the woman who hadn’t thought of him? One day she’d packed up and left, drove away leaving only a letter claiming she needed time away and would return. She never did. That’s what had bothered Gavin the most, knowing a woman could just walk away from her husband and eight-year-old son without looking back.

  Refusing to think about his mother anymore, Gavin entered his bathroom to shower. He hoped Layla stayed in the kitchen with his grandmother for a while because he definitely needed to talk to her.

  * * *

  Layla’s hand tightened on her glass of iced tea the moment Gavin entered the kitchen. She didn’t have to glance behind her to know he was there. His presence filled the room and sent all kinds of sensations vibrating through her. She was a little irritated that she was so aware of him. The sexual chemistry she’d hoped was a fluke was back in full force.

  “Gavin, I figured the smell of food would wake you sooner or later,” Melody Blake said, smiling at her grandson.

  When he moved into Layla’s line of vision she had no choice but to glance over at him. “Yes, it definitely did,” he said, answering his grandmother but staring straight at Layla.

  Then he spoke to her. “Layla. How are you today?”

  She wanted to tell him she’d been fine until he’d made an appearance. She couldn’t stop her gaze from roaming all over him. He stood near the window and the fading afternoon light highlighted his features, his clothing, everything about him. Not for the first time, Layla thought he had to be the sexiest man alive.

  When he lifted a brow, she realized she had yet to answer his question. “I’m fine, Gavin. Thanks for asking.”

  She quickly switched her gaze away from him and back to her plate. Why had she waited so long to answer? Doing so had made it obvious she’d been checking him out. Thoroughly.

  “I left your food warming in the oven, Gavin,” Ms. Melody said, breaking the tension.

  “Thanks, Gramma Mel. All I’ve been able to think about these last few days was getting back to your home-cooked meals.” Gavin opened the oven to peek inside.

  After getting his plate out of the oven, he smiled at Layla and crossed the kitchen to sit in the chair beside her, brushing his thigh against hers. He said grace and then lifted his head and looked over at Layla. He caught her staring at him again. She knew his touch had been no accident. Totally deliberate.

  He pasted an innocent smile on his face and asked, “So, Layla, how was your day?”

  Layla gritted her teeth. The nerve of him asking how her day had gone when she’d been waiting to meet with him. She hadn’t mentioned anything about Gavin’s visit last night to Ms. Melody. There was no way Layla could have mentioned it with a straight face, especially when she couldn’t help thinking of the kiss they’d shared.

  Knowing he was waiting for her response, she said, “My day has been going great.”

  “Gavin, I’m glad I got to say hello before I leave,” his grandmother said, standing to her feet.

  Gavin looked at his grandmother. “Where are you going?”

  “The civic center. It’s bingo night and Viola is picking me up. She should be here any minute.”

  It suddenly occurred to Layla that she would be left alone with Gavin. That shouldn’t be a big deal since they still needed to talk, but it was. Already nerves stirred in the pit of her stomach.

  “We’ll take care of the kitchen,” she heard Gavin say. “Layla and I need to talk anyway.”

  Ms. Melody looked back and forth at the two of them before directing her gaze to her grandson. “I think that’s a good idea.” At the sound of the car horn, a smile touched her lips. “That’s Viola.”

  Before Layla and Gavin could tell her goodbye, Melody Blake had grabbed her purse and was out the door.

  That’s when Gavin turned his attention back to Layla.

  * * *

  When Gavin saw Layla loading her dishes into the sink, he said, “You don’t have to help me with the dishes.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t mind.”

  Her back was to him and he couldn’t stop his gaze from covering every inch of her backside, wrapped tight in her skirt. And before she’d left the table, more than once he’d checked out her pink blouse, noticing the deep V neck. There was nothing like seeing a little of a woman’s cleavage every now and then. Made him wonder what her breasts looked like. How they would feel in his hands. Taste in his mouth.

  “Your grandmother forgot to mention she made a dessert,” Layla said, breaking into his thoughts and turning around to meet his gaze.

  “What is it?”

  “Peach cobbler. Do you want some?”

  That question was not one she should be asking him. Not when he had an erection nearly hard enough to burst out of his jeans. Yes, he wanted some, but his thoughts weren’t on the peach cobbler.

  Why did the picture of her standing at his grandmother’s sink make a pang of desire shoot through him? The hair she’d worn down and around her shoulders yesterday was now confined in a ponytail. It wouldn’t take much to walk across the room and set it free. After doing that, he would proceed to do all kinds of naughty things to her. Gavin shifted in his seat to relieve the pressure against his zipper.

  “Yeah, I’d love to have some,” he said in a deep, husky voice. And he knew Layla had figured out they weren’t talking about peach cobbler.

  She didn’t say anything, just stared at him. He wished she didn’t look so damn sexy while she sized him up, trying to figure him out. There wasn’t much to find out on that score. He was a horny bastard and would remain so until he’d taken care of his sexual needs. That meant they needed to talk, and the sooner the better.

  “We can talk while eating peach cobbler,” he said.

  Layla seemed relieved to finally begin their discussion and returned to the table with two plates of peach cobbler. “Where do we start?” she asked, sliding one of the plates in front of him before sitting down.

  He picked up his fork and looked over at her. “We can start by talking about us.”

/>   Her expression clearly said that wasn’t what she thought they should be talking about. “We agreed to discuss the dig and not this thing between us.”

  Gavin wondered if Layla knew that “this thing” actually had a name. It was called physical desire. “I think we should talk about us before discussing the dig.”

  She gave him an annoyed look. “Why? I told you last night we needed to keep sex out of it.”

  Yes, she had said that, but did she actually think they could keep sex out of it when there was so much chemistry between them? So much that even now he would have no problem taking her right here on this damn table? “You’re an intelligent woman, Layla. I’m sure you’re well aware of how the human body operates. All of us have needs.”

  “Speak for yourself, Gavin.”

  He watched her nervously gnaw on her lower lip and heated lust danced up his spine. He was trying like hell to figure her out. Was she denying she had needs, as well? He knew from last night’s kiss that that was a lie. Her denial made Gavin wonder about her experience level.

  “Are you saying you don’t want to have sex with me?”

  As if the question shot her to full awareness, she leaned over the table and glared at him. “I don’t want to have sex with you, Gavin. I don’t want to have sex with anybody. All I want is to do my job. A job you refuse to let me do.”

  They weren’t getting anywhere. For some reason he didn’t want to talk to her about the dig until he found out why she kept certain emotions in check. So he tried another approach.

  “Tell me about yourself, Layla.”

  Layla lifted a brow. That was clearly not what she’d expected. “I graduated from high school at sixteen and immediately went to college. Graduated with my bachelor’s degree in history, then went on to get a master’s in archaeology. My doctorate is in both history and archaeology.”

  “And you’re just twenty-six?”

  “Yes. I went to college year-round. I’ve worked on dig sites as an undergrad and while working toward my PhD so this won’t be my first excavation.”

  “But it will be the first one you’ve been in charge of, right?”

  “Yes, that’s true.”

  He leaned back in his chair, deciding to keep her talking about the dig for a while, after all. He doubted she realized that whenever she talked about her work she lowered her guard. “So you admit you’re inexperienced.”

  Layla frowned. He could tell she wasn’t sure if they were still talking about the dig. “I don’t think of myself as inexperienced, Gavin, so you shouldn’t think that, either.”

  “Then tell me what I should think.”

  After several moments, she said, “You should focus on the fact that my being here is the result of several years of research. I didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to do this. I’ve tracked each and every one of James’s bank robberies in this area. Mapped out every possible trail he could have taken, every single place he and the gang could have hidden out. Then I obtained records of this land and the surrounding properties. I had my team digitally re-create how this area would have looked back then.

  “The Silver Spurs would have been the ideal place to stop over because of the low-hanging trees. And the lake between here and the Lotts’ spread would have allowed the gang time to wash away their scent and stay hidden from the sheriff’s posse. I could even see James’s gang being smart enough to use a decoy to send the posse racing in another direction. One away from here to give them time to bury their loot and lighten their load.”

  Gavin was trying not to get caught up in the sound of her voice. He wanted to hear the words she was saying. She was excited about her work and discussing it energized her. He couldn’t help noticing the glow in her eyes, the confidence in her voice, the smile on her lips. The same lips he had tasted last night.

  She was trying like hell to convince him that she was onto something, that she had researched her findings and believed in everything she was telling him. He knew there had to be a number of doubters...like himself.

  When she stopped talking, he shifted his gaze from her lips to her eyes. “I take it you’ve already surveyed the area, used ground penetrating radar on the location already.”

  She nodded. If she was surprised by his knowledge of her preliminary assessment, she didn’t show it. “I’ve gone further. I was able to get an infrared spectrum.”

  He lifted a brow. “How?”

  “One of my students is big into digital technology and created it for me. That’s the advantage I have over others working on this subject, I’m bringing this excavation into the digital age.”

  The technological aspect was an area Gavin was somewhat familiar with. The military already used all sorts of futuristic developments. It was important whenever they were sent into enemy territory that they didn’t step on booby traps or buried explosives.

  She looked at him expectantly, as if he would question what she said. He merely nodded. “I’m familiar with the use of high-tech digital to detect buried items.”

  She smiled, obviously glad that he was following her. “All the equipment my team and I use is state-of-the-art, some have never before been used in an archaeological context and they were developed exclusively for this dig by students in my department,” she said proudly.

  Because she was young he couldn’t imagine her getting others to rally behind her for the cause. Whether she knew it or not, that spoke volumes about her character as a leader. It would take a strong individual to coax others on board. He knew how that could be.

  “It’s too late today but tomorrow I want to check out the area you’ve targeted.” What she would discover was that he also had a high-tech camera, one designed by Flipper for marine purposes. However, it had proven effective at detecting objects underground, as well.

  “Alright.”

  He heard the hope in her voice and figured that was because he’d shown interest in the dig site. She probably thought he was almost on board. That wasn’t the case. But he wouldn’t tell her that yet.

  When he didn’t say anything else for a while, she lifted a brow and looked over at him. She even had a little smile on her face. That glow brightening her eyes almost undid him. “Any more questions, Gavin?”

  There was something else; something he had to know. “Yes, but not about the dig. It’s something about you that I want to know.”

  “What?” she asked, lifting an arched brow.

  He held her gaze steadily. “When was the last time you made love with a man?”

  Four

  Layla gaped, certain Gavin hadn’t asked her what she thought he’d asked her. What man would inquire that of a woman...especially one he’d known barely twenty-four hours? However, from the look on his face, he evidently saw nothing wrong with the question. He was sitting there waiting on an answer.

  She lifted her chin and crossed her arms over her chest. When she saw his gaze shift from her eyes to her upraised breasts, she dropped her hands. “Do you actually expect me to answer that?” Somehow she managed to get the words past a constricted throat. The way he stared at her was making her head spin.

  He shrugged massive broad shoulders. “Don’t know why not. We’re sexually attracted to each other. Just want to know what I’m dealing with when we decide to go for it and take the edge off.”

  Go for it? Take the edge off? Layla shook her head, clearly missing something. She knew they were attracted to each other; she got that. What she didn’t get was him thinking that attraction meant they would eventually decide to “go for it.” She had no intention of going anywhere. She was here to do a job and not indulge his fantasies...or her own, for that matter.

  “I think you need to explain what exactly you’re getting at. We agreed to keep sex out of this, Gavin.”

  “I didn’t agree to any such thing. You sug
gested it but I didn’t agree to it. Why would I?”

  “Why wouldn’t you?” she countered, not understanding his way of thinking.

  He leaned back in his chair and her gaze watched his every movement. Restrained and controlled. She wondered if his actions were intentional, to put her off-kilter. When he picked up his glass of tea, her gaze automatically shifted to his hands. They were large and callous. They were the same hands that had sent shivers up her spine last night.

  Memories of their kiss suddenly bombarded her and then her gaze shifted to his mouth as he took a swallow of iced tea. She was drawn to the way his mouth covered the rim of the glass and the way the liquid flowed down his throat. But what really got to her was the way he licked his lips afterward. When he caught her staring, those penetrating eyes darkened as they held hers.

  “Want some?”

  She snatched her gaze away. The lump in her throat thickened. She was glad to be sitting down; otherwise it would have been impossible to stand on both feet. The look he was giving her had her weak in the knees.

  Somehow she managed to clear the lump in her throat and hold up her glass. “No thanks, I have my own.”

  His eyes blazed as they continued to hold hers. “I wasn’t offering you any of my tea, Layla.”

  She sucked in a deep breath. He couldn’t have set her straight any plainer than that. There was no need to ask what he was offering. That was the moment she knew Gavin Blake intended to be a problem. One she needed to deal with here and now.

  “You never did answer my earlier question. When was the last time you were with a man?”

  She set her glass of tea back down on the table. “And you never answered mine about why you wouldn’t agree to keep sex out of it.” Feeling flustered, she added, “We need to talk.”

  A smile touched the corners of his lips. “I thought that’s what we were doing.”

  There was no way he could have thought that. What he was doing was deliberately getting her all unglued. If he thought for one minute his arrogant behavior would make her run, then he didn’t know her very well. “There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here.”