Cowboy Payback (11 page)

The chase was on.

“Say it again.”

“Brett.”

Her voice was but a whisper, thanks to a rapid pulse beating her throat dry. Bone dry.

He yanked her close, buried his face in her neck and breathed in deep. “My name sounds good on your lips, Trisha,” he murmured against her skin.

She shivered and held tight, because,
oh, heck yeah
, her name sounded good on his lips, too. And his lips felt very good on her skin. Real good, if he just…
oh yeah, right there
.

She closed her eyes and moaned, pressing into his hard body as he nipped at the sensitive spot behind her ear. And he was hard. All of him.

Her center was wet and achy, and heaven help her, she wanted her fake fiancé to take her on the table next to her flowers in the middle of the deserted dining room.

Only it wasn’t deserted.

She snapped her eyes open. Two wait staff members still stood smiling in the corner.
Darn
. Didn’t they have other work to do?

“Ah…Brett,” she forced out.

“Humm…?” he questioned absently against the curve of her neck.

“We seem to be gathering an audience,” she informed, doing her best not to cross her eyes in ecstasy as he nipped her shoulder. “Another staff member joined the others in the corner.”

With a reluctance she could feel stiffening his body, the captain pulled back and held her at arm’s length. “Sorry. You’re damn potent, you know that?”

What she knew was
he
was the potent one. Heck. She still couldn’t focus.

He released her to run a hand over his head, and she worked to clear the fog from her brain. When he straightened, an unreadable expression crossed his face.

The captain was back.

“I think it’s time to leave. We’ve put on enough of a show for one day, don’t you think?”

A show?
She resisted the urge to reel back as if slapped. Is that what they were doing? Is that what the darn
incentive
was all about?

Of course it was. The captain knew he could count on her loose lips to lead to kissing, hence the show.

Idiot.

She clamped her jaw tight and nodded, keeping her thoughts inside. Her thoughts.
Criminy
. She thought he was just as surprised, just as shocked at the sexual attraction sizzling between them.

He
had
been, darn it.

The guy had been confused. She hadn’t imagined his furrowed brow or clouded gaze or
hard
body. All real. And he hadn’t exactly denied the attraction. Heck, hadn’t he just told her she was potent?

She was so confused.

While he walked to the table to grab her flowers and his hat, she used the time to get those crazy thoughts under control, and bent down to pick up the button she’d popped off his shirt. She had the whole night to sew it back on. They certainly weren’t going to be doing anything else. Nope. Nothing at all.

“Ready?” he asked, elbow out in an open invitation.

Hooking her arm through his, she refused to dwell on their kisses, and thought about his strange request instead as he led her outside.

A smile tugged her lips. She’d been so worried yesterday morning about asking the captain to help with the fake engagement, and here, tonight, he’d asked her. Needed
her
help. He wanted to extend their fake engagement for a full month after her parents’ visit. A total of almost six weeks.

She wasn’t going to last. No way could she fight her attraction to the sexy cowboy for that long.

A sudden sense of panic gripped tight, and her stride faltered as they stepped onto his porch.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He stared down at her, brows furrowed in question.

Hysterical laughter bubbled up her throat.
Oh, nothing, except I’ll be sharing a cabin with you the whole summer and fighting the urge to jump your bones.

Not something she could share with him. Nope.

Shaking her head, she released him to open the door. “Just thinking you should start locking your door. That might help keep naked guests out of your bed.”

He laughed, and luckily, didn’t call her out on the fact she’d stopped dead well before she’d twisted the knob to discover the unlocked door.

“Good idea,” he said, shutting the door behind them.

Her heart jumped at the sound of the lock clicking in place. Shoot. She hadn’t meant now. Nervous energy had her twisting around to smile at him. “Expecting naked guests tonight?”

“Well now.” His voice was low, smile sinful, gaze heated with a gleam of anticipation. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether or not you’re going to get naked.”

She laughed, despite her tingling good parts. “Nice try, cowboy,” she said, her voice a wee bit husky as she remembered last second to drop the c-word instead of sir.

Under no illusion, she knew, audience or no audience, the captain would make good on his incentive. Alone. With him. In a locked cabin. Not the best place for them to kiss.

At least, not if she wanted to keep things uncomplicated. Keep her goal on course with college, with
her
in control of her life.

Trisha Jennings at the helm for a darn change.

“You sure there isn’t anything I could do for you?” He stepped closer, teasing gleam still lighting his eyes.

“Well, actually there is,” she replied, finding it hard to keep a straight face. “Take off your shirt.”

“What?”

“Did I stutter? Take off your shirt.” Trisha had all she could do not to laugh at the captain’s mixed expression. Shock rounded his eyes, which were turning a deep navy while his mouth gaped open.

Obviously, he wasn’t used to women giving him orders, and yet, he appeared to possibly like it. Why did that observation heat every single cell in her body, at once? Didn’t matter. She’d worry about it later. Not now. Not with the sexy man grinning a lop-sided grin as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She held out her hand. A few more emotions crossed his face before smoldering resignation settled in his eyes, and he stepped forward to deposit the shirt in her hands.

Oh, he was a wicked one. Heat from his bared, muscled torso seeped into her body, licking her arousal to life.
Darn his potency
. They weren’t even touching.

“Anything else?”

Lose the pants.
The dangerous reply resounded in her head and made it as far as her tongue, but she managed to keep her jaw clamped and the words inside. Thank goodness. Because she knew without a doubt if she had voiced them, it wouldn’t be words tickling her tongue.

Turning her back on the sexy, half-naked man helped Trisha regain her equilibrium. “Nope. Thanks. That’s all,” she said, walking to her purse to fish out a travel sewing kit.

She settled onto a chair and proceeded to sew the button back on his shirt, all the while conscious of the captain still standing where she’d left him. He hadn’t moved an inch. She could feel his gaze boring into her flesh like a piece of hot shrapnel, but she refused to glance up.

And it was by the grace of God and sheer willpower that she managed to fix his shirt without pricking her finger. Especially, considering her hand shook like a leaf.

She tied the knot, cut the thread, set her kit aside, and stood. “Here you go. Good as new,” she said, holding his shirt out to him.

He cocked his head, ever so slightly, and held out his hand.

Darn
.

His gaze was so compelling and so hungry, Trisha actually took a step forward. But she stopped and shook her head, laughter rumbling low in her throat.

“No way, cowboy. Nice try.” She draped his shirt over the chair, then stood behind it, in case her body decided to betray her mind. With a lift of her own chin, she held his gaze. “How about we set some boundaries and discuss exactly what you expect from me.”

Sexy bugger grinned wide and broad, showing dimples and divots while he crossed muscled arms over his broad chest.
Dang
. Even the bulldog tattoo on his right bicep was sexy.

Why didn’t he put a shirt on?

“Okay, we can do that,” he said. “I expect you to act like a fiancée when you see any of the guests getting too friendly.”

She nodded, doing her best to keep her gaze on his, and not the happy trail leading from his six pack abs to disappear behind the waistband of his pants.

Lose the pants.

Her mind was losing its battle with her body. Fast. She cleared her throat and nodded. “I can do that. But what about when there are no flirtatious guests, or observing staff members?”

“I want you to have fun. I want you to take advantage of everything Royal Pines has to offer.”

She blinked. Her mind had to be playing tricks. She could’ve sworn his tone dropped on the word
everything
. Which was ridiculous. Why would he do that?

“Okay. Is that it?”

“Actually, no,” he said, gaze suddenly serious, posture straight. “I could use your help with the daily activity, if you’re game.”

“Oh?” Surprise found her tongue. “How so, s…?” She swallowed the rest of the
sir
, thankful he let the slip-up drop.

“Our spring season was hampered by a lot of rain and a busted dam,” he replied, moving toward the bed to set his Stetson on a post. He held her gaze as he sat on the edge of the mattress to remove his boots.

Lose the pants
.

Stupid inner voice. Was there an off switch? Or a mute button?

“Finn managed to get it all fixed up, but now our clientele from the spring has booked what was left open of our summer season. We’re going to need a few more guides.”

Thrilled by his confidence in her, Trisha smiled in earnest for the first time that day. “Then I’m your man. I wanted to do all those things anyway. So use me as you will.”

The captain’s gaze darkened and dropped to her lips, then her chest. She opened her mouth and tried to rephrase, but an invisible hand was squeezing her throat. His gaze lazily rose to meet hers, and she watched as he scratched his temple with his thumb, that darn, sexy, lop-sided grin softening his features to irresistible.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Trisha smiled a half-smile and shook her head. “You know what I meant.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he repeated, amusement and desire turning the blue of his eyes to a deep cobalt.

“Then I don’t need to rephrase?”

“No, ma’am. I’m quite happy with how you phrased it.”

She laughed. “I’m sure you are, but you and I both know that is never going to happen.”

Trisha walked away from him toward the kitchen half-expecting another
yes, ma’am
. When he remained silent, she had to fight to keep from turning around to read his expression.

No…I am in control here
, she told herself and promptly opened the fridge for something to do.

His soft chuckle met her ears along with some rustling.
Dear God
,
he just
lost his pants
. Her body gave an
oorah
shudder, while her mind did its best to keep her focused on the task of opening a water bottle.

Lordy, it was going to be a long night.

****

It had been another long night.

Brett stifled a yawn as he adjusted a strap on the saddle of his palomino the next morning. The corporal—
Trisha
—had occupied his thoughts and dreams most of the night. The memory of her kisses had fueled several fantasies, which turned into a hot dream once he’d fallen asleep…alone…on the couch.

His desire to not mess with her head or heart was the only thing that had kept him from initiating a kiss inside the cabin last night. Given the way the woman had responded in the dining hall, he knew she was just as lost, just as affected by the chemical thing going on between them.

She had tasted so good, and felt so damn incredible crushed up against him, he no longer cared that she was one of his own. The attraction was just too damn strong to combat that argument. It was shot. Gone. Out of the window. He could no longer use that as a deterrent to keep her at arm’s length.

But her mental well-being was a different story.

And the reason he’d retreated to the bathroom and stood under the cold spray of the shower for a good twenty minutes after she’d mended his shirt. He even remained behind the door until the cabin went dark. No way could he resist touching the woman if she even so much as glanced his way. Retreat had definitely been his best move last night.

But now, watching the beauty laughing and talking to the guests with an easy grace and friendly smile had his insides all twisted up. Especially when she transferred that smile to the male guests. The very single, very interested male guests.

Christ
. They were lined up, waiting for her to help them
saddle
their horses in hopes that she’d ride…

Gritting his teeth, he stopped that train of thought and swallowed a few unreasonable curses. The guests were happy. She wasn’t doing anything wrong, just acting like the rest of his staff, offering friendly chit-chat and a few smiles.

So, why did that bother the hell out of him?

The fact he was questioning pissed him off, too.
Damn it
. What the hell was wrong with him?

Without even bothering to come up with an answer, or think twice about his actions, Brett strode straight to the redhead and her crowd of admirers.

Chapter Eight

Bending down to reach under the horse for the saddle strap, Trisha was demonstrating the proper way to saddle a horse, but most of the men were too busy gazing at the way her worn blue jeans intimately hugged her sweet ass.

Only half-hearing her explain about the need to press on the horse’s belly to cause the animal to expel a breath before tightening the strap, Brett pushed his way into the crowd and stopped at her side.

“Need any help?” he asked, placing a hand on her back.

She stiffened and slowly straightened, a flood of pink flushing her cheeks. God, she was pretty. Blue eyes all wide, and soft lips parted in a half-smile.

“Hi…No.” Her smile widened as she glanced at the guests. “We got it covered.”

“You sure?”

Not at all happy at the eager smiles spreading through the crowd, he stepped closer, and ignoring the strange glances from his nearby staff, he brushed a strand of hair off her temple that had escaped from her braid.