Country Heat (King Creek Cowboys Book 1) (5 page)

She felt the same connection between them that he did, something that was clear in her green eyes.

Raw. Sexual. Intense.

A truth of knowing each other in ways he couldn’t explain.

Shit.

He was already in over his head and he barely knew the woman. Maybe it was time to get the hell out of there and cool off.

For one moment he thought about saying goodnight and leaving.

No.

One thing Carter McLeod never did was run away from anything, including his feelings. He faced things head-on, figured it out, and determined if he should move on or explore the situation further.

This was one instance where he didn’t intend to go anywhere.

K
it brushed
hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture as Carter studied her. She looked tired but still beautiful as hell. The sexual tension between them ramped up even higher now that they were alone.

She leaned back against a counter, clearly in an attempt to appear casual. “I’ve been so busy all day that I haven’t thought about where I’m supposed to sleep.”

The thought of her in bed shot erotic images through his mind. He forced away pictures of her, beautiful and naked in his own bed.

Once he managed to put the slideshow in his head to sleep, he cleared his throat. “I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

The thought of her quitting and driving away flashed through his mind. He didn’t even want to think about her leaving the ranch. Even though he barely knew her, he felt a pull like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It was…
magic
.

Shit. What the hell am I thinking?

She pushed away from the counter. “Everything I have is still out in my SUV.”

“I’ll help you with your belongings.” He walked toward the hat rack. He glanced back to her. “I take it the purse is yours.”

“Yes. My keys are inside it.” She waited as he retrieved the purse from the hat rack and he handed it to her. The keys jangled as she dug them out of the leather bag. “I saw two smaller houses.” She looked up at him. “Am I rooming in one of them?”

“Better yet,” he said, “I have a guest house in the back that you’ll have all to yourself. Belle prepared it for you this morning. It’s about the size of a small apartment and includes a kitchen, bedroom, living room. Lots of privacy with the hedges and trees that surround it.”

“Sounds fantastic to me.” Her shoulders visibly relaxed. “I thought I would be rooming with other onsite employees.”

He gestured for her to precede him, then fell into step beside her as they headed to the front door, which he opened for her. His mama had taught him to be a gentleman, and it was second nature to him. Women deserved respect, and he liked putting a woman before himself.

He walked beside her into the night. Landscape lights illuminated their way as they strolled down the path to the Lexus, and a new moon rose above the horizon.

“I can drive the SUV to your new parking space,” he said.

She nodded as she used the fob to unlock the SUV’s doors and handed him the keys.

Their fingers brushed as he took them. The connection was nothing short of electric—like the air before a storm started and lightning struck. He heard her sharp inhale and his heart thumped hard against his breastbone.

She tore her gaze from his and hurried to the passenger side. He beat her to the door and opened it. Another zinging sensation passed between them as he helped her into the vehicle. His cock hardened and ached as visions of her bare body beneath his shot through his mind.

Thank God it was dark so she couldn’t see his erection.

After he shut the door behind her, his mind spun as he strode to the driver’s side. He hesitated long enough to make sure his cock wasn’t at full attention before he climbed in.

What the hell was going on? He’d felt strong attraction to women, but nothing like this.

Without looking at her, he started the Lexus. He inhaled deeply through his nose, her soft, floral scent filling him.

Get it together, McLeod.

Gravel crunched beneath the Lexus as the vehicle ate up the short distance to the back of the house. It traveled smoothly—compared to the work trucks—over the uneven ground. He glanced at her. “Nice ride.”

She looked tired and relaxed in the passenger seat and all together beautiful. “This SUV and I have been through a lot together.”

He thought about asking her what she had been through with the Lexus. She didn’t offer and it seemed it might be too personal a question to ask when they barely knew each other.

The headlights bounced on the dirt road that went to the back of the property. The guest house was a fair distance from the house to give the resident privacy, and was usually reserved for family. However, when he hired Kit, Carter had decided to let her live in it for the time being because she had taken such a drastic pay cut to work for him. He’d thought it would only be for as long as she lasted, which could be days or months. He’d figured it wouldn’t be long, and that would give them time to find another cook.

Now, after one day, he didn’t want her going anywhere.

He pulled up to the small white cottage-like house surrounded by hedges and shaded by trees fighting each other to reach the sky.

When he parked the car and killed the engine, he turned his full attention on her. She had her hand on the door handle, like she was ready to bolt the moment she could get out.

He rested his hand on her forearm and tried to ignore the softness of her skin and the hitch in her breathing. “Let me get the door.” He said his best country good ol’ boy voice, “If you don’t, my mama’s gonna tan my hide.”

Her expression turned from wary to amused, and she laughed. “We can’t have that.”

K
it let
out a sigh of relief when Carter let his fingers slide from her arm, leaving a heated trail on her flesh, it wasn’t hard to imagine what it would feel like to have his strong, callused hands caressing her body, his touch setting her on fire.

Get it together, Kit.

S
he didn’t want to offend his cowboy honor, so she waited for him to come around to the passenger side. Truth was, she wanted the contact of his flesh against hers, but she wanted more than just his hands on her…

A shiver raced through her as he reached the door.
Stop it. No more thinking this way.

One day on the job and she was ready to fall into this cowboy’s arms. The boss’s arms.

Was she once again catering herself to a man, falling right back into step with the first man she’s attracted to?

She struggled to break away from the thoughts, and clenched her teeth to try to ground herself. He opened the door and held his hand out for her to take. She smiled, no easy task with her jaws clamped shut. She forced herself to relax, but felt a little wobbly as his large, warm hand surrounded hers, and from the crazy, tingling sensations his touch sent through her.

When her feet were on the ground, he held her hand longer than necessary, or longer than she should have let him.

It took some effort to calm herself, but she managed. She drew her hand away and walked in front of him, around to the back of the SUV. The night air was cool, the slightest of breezes caressing her face and arms.

He beat her to the back of the Lexus, of course, and he raised the door. She doubted she’d ever be able to move fast enough to avoid his gallant gestures. Did she want to avoid them?

The back was filled with the belongings she hadn’t put into storage. Mostly clothes and personal items were packed in the SUV, but she had brought along some of her favorite things that she refused to be parted from.

“I just need my overnight case for now.” She rested her hand on the smaller purple bag. “I can get the rest tomorrow.”

He slung a duffel over his shoulder then grabbed a pair of large suitcases that matched the overnight bag. “Might as well bring everything in now.”

His voice thrummed through her, the vibrations sending shivers to every part of her body.

No doubt she just needed to give in on things like letting him bring in all her belongings, because she wasn’t going to win. Not that winning had anything to do with it.

She slid the strap of the overnight bag over her shoulder and pulled out a box with some of her personal “treasures.” She followed him to the front of the guest house, glad landscape lighting illuminated the path. Grass extended throughout the backyard of the main house, out to the guest house. It smelled like it had been freshly cut and the diamond sparkles across the tips showed it had recently been watered.

It was the most adorable guest house she could remember ever seeing. If it was built into a hillside and had a round door, it could have been a hobbit hole. It had a small white porch and a pretty vine-covered arbor arched over the stepping stones before the porch.

It had been painted a bright yellow with white trim, and had a small front porch with two chairs and a little table. During the fall, winter, and spring the Phoenix, Arizona weather would be perfect for sitting out here. The summer, not so much unless it was five in the morning.

Carter was so tall he had to duck under the arbor. He set the suitcases on the porch and fished a set of keys out of his pocket. He handed her a key with Mickey Mouse chain attached to it. “This is the key to the guest house. Another key is at the house if you lose yours.” He showed her another keychain with a matching key. “This is my copy. Don’t worry—this is your home while you’re here, and no one will be entering unless there’s an emergency.”

“Such as flooding?” She leaned against the yellow wall. “Or fire?”

He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Those would qualify as emergencies.”

The door swung open and he stepped aside so that she could walk through. She expected the place to smell musty and unused. Instead, warm smells of vanilla and cinnamon greeted her.

Carter flipped on the light switch, and lamps brightened the room, casting a golden glow over the decorator furniture done in tapestry fabrics and mahogany wood. Artwork hung from taupe shaded walls and the floor was wall to wall Saltillo tiles with a colorful braided rug beneath the coffee table.

“It’s lovely.” Kit stepped into the room. “It has such a homey feel.”

“Mom decorated the place and Belle keeps it up.” He set the bags down in front of an armchair. “Belle likes to keep it welcoming, so she’s always freshening the place up in between guests.”

Kit set her down her bags. “Am I going to be in the way when it comes to company?”

He shook his head. “Nah. We have the smaller of the two employee houses that’s free. It’s larger than this and holds more people. This one is more cozy as Mom would say.” His eyes met hers. “Will this work for you?”

She looked away from him and swept her gaze around the room again. “It’s perfect.”

“I’ll bring in the rest of your things.” He started back to the door. “To the left is the hall to your room. To the right, through that doorway, you can see the kitchen.”

She started to follow him. “I can help get everything out of the Lexus.”

He paused and shook his head. “I’ve got it. You get settled in.” He turned and ducked out the door.

She grasped her overnight bag and the box and headed down the hallway to the bedroom.

Even before she entered the room, she caught the perfume of lavender and rosemary. When she flipped on the light, she smiled. The room was as perfect as the rest of the place. She set the box down on the Saltillo tile, and took her overnight case to the bathroom. A citrus scent filled the soft blue-painted room. On the sink were bottles of orange mango hand soap and lotion, with bottles of the same scented shampoo and conditioner that rested on a shelf in the marble-tiled shower.

“Perfect.” She smiled to herself. “Absolutely perfect.”

Carter finished bringing everything and shut the door behind him. “After the long day you had, you should be getting to bed.

The mere mention of “bed” caused exhaustion to flow over her like a wave. “Until you said that, I was running on my second wind. I think you’re right and I should get to bed. I’ve got an early morning ahead.”

He moved closer, so that he was mere feet away. “Breakfast is at seven, when the men are finished with their morning chores” His voice was low, husky, even as he talked of the mundane. “The office staff eats lunch with the men. The office hours are generally eight-thirty to five.”

“Got it.” Kit gave him a thumbs up. “I’ll be ready.”

He said nothing as his gaze darkened, as if he was drinking her in. She felt self-conscious, yet incredibly sexually aware as everything froze in time. He took another step forward, so that he was only a foot from her.

She saw everything in his eyes—the desire to touch her, taste her, be inside her.

Heat flushed throughout her body. She must be tired to read all of that into one look.

But that look encompassed so very much.

She wanted nothing more than to step into his arms, let his hands slide over her body as he lowered his head and took her mouth with his.

What am I thinking?

His throat visibly worked as he stepped back. “Get some sleep, Kit.” The words sounded almost choked as he spoke.

“Good night,” she managed to say.

He gave her one last look before letting himself out and into the night and closing the door behind him.

Kit dropped into the closest chair. “Oh, God.” She flopped back in her seat. “What in Your name am I supposed to do now?”

Because not only was she incredibly attracted to her boss, but she was certain he felt the same attraction.

“It would never work.” She straightened in the chair. “How could it? I’m an employee and he’s the boss. The last thing I want to do is jeopardize my job.”

Not to mention, she had too many secrets…too many reasons to make him walk away if he eventually found out.

It wouldn’t be
if
, it would be
when
. She could never hold back something so important. And when he found out, that would be the end of it.

“Better not to start anything you can’t finish,” she said out loud. “You’re going to keep Carter McLeod at a distance and that’s that.”