Learnin' The Ropes (19 page)

Good gracious, but his shoulders looked massive as he sat with his elbows propped on the counter. Muscles bulged in his arms, rippling along his back and tapering down to the waist of his shorts. She wouldn’t allow herself to look at his legs. Emotionally and physically, she just couldn’t handle any more of the buff, good-looking man at the moment.

“Have you ever had a tick before?” she asked as she set down her supplies and got out a tiny dish. After pouring in rubbing alcohol, she set it aside then took her tweezers to the sink and poured a liberal amount of alcohol over them.

“No, ma’am.” Ty battled to keep control of his urge to shudder in revulsion. He imagined he could feel it sucking his blood as he waited for Lexi. Even though he knew it was impossible, the thought kept entering his head. It was important to him to maintain his calm façade although inside he was shouting in protest at having the disgusting thing attached to his shoulder. “I don’t know any more about ticks than I do ranching or farming.”

“Then you’ll be happy to know this particular kind of tick doesn’t carry diseases like deer ticks. We’re supposed to have a bad year of them since the winter was mild. Hard winters tend to kill off a lot of bugs and spiders. We didn’t have that many days of bitter cold this year so we’ll have more than our share of insects.” Lexi moved a stool closer to the bright light by the kitchen sink and motioned Ty to sit down.

“So we’ll have problems all summer?” The idea of being a traveling buffet for ticks until the weather cooled off again didn’t hold any appeal for Ty.

“Probably,” Lexi said as she worked the tweezers under the tick, trying to get as close to its head as possible. “Ticks feed off warm bodies, be it cattle, dogs, horses, and sometimes humans. Most likely, you picked up this freeloader out in the sagebrush this morning. From now on, when you come in from the range, you might want to do a full body check. Just get a hand mirror and hold it in front of the bathroom mirror. That way you can easily spot if you have one attached somewhere you can’t necessarily see with a quick glance. You should throw your clothes in the dryer to make sure you kill any that might still be searching for something to eat.”

“Good to know.” Afraid to breathe as she worked, Ty remained still.

“If the guys offer to burn one out or smother it in Vaseline, ignore them. The best way to remove them is to jerk them out by the head with tweezers.” She pulled out the tick and dumped it in the dish with the alcohol, effectively killing it. She poured alcohol on a cotton ball and swabbed the spot on Ty’s shoulder, rubbing it gently. “All done. You can smoosh the tick if you like, but it makes an awful mess.”

Ty shuddered, not from the tick, but from the nearness of Lexi and her warm softness pressed against his back. Before he could think about the consequences of his actions, he spun around on the stool and tugged her against his chest. The towel on her head fell to the floor and he buried his face into the fragrant, damp locks.

It had been almost a year since Ty held a woman in his arms. His girlfriend dumped him as soon as he lost his job. A homeless man has no worthwhile dating prospects. Although he’d nearly forgotten how wonderful it felt to hold a woman, he knew none had ever felt as good or made his blood thrum like Lexi.

“Thanks.” Ty drew her tighter in his arms. Anxious, he waited for her to pull back or offer some resistance. Instead, she melted against him.

“Anytime,” Lexi whispered against his neck, her lips hot and moist against his skin. Taken aback, she hadn’t anticipated Ty putting his arms around her. She certainly hadn’t planned on it feeling so good, so right. If she had any sense at all, she would pull away, walk him to the door, and bid him good night. But her need to be close to him won over common sense.

The reality of being held in Ty’s powerful arms against his hard muscled chest was ten times better than any of the multiple dreams involving him she’d played out in her head. Her ability to think and reason completely vanished at his welcome proximity.

Sliding her hands up his arms, she savored every touch of her fingers to his body, memorizing the feel of his muscles, his enticing scent, and the warmth of his skin. Finally surrendering to the temptation, she ran her hands through his thick brown hair, twining her fingers at the back of his head.

“Lexi,” Ty growled in her ear, making her lift her head. He slipped into the deep green depths of her eyes as he lowered his lips to hers. An explosion of fire jolted through him as he tasted and tested her sweet, soft lips. Slowly rising to his feet, he drew her tighter against his chest, while his hands rubbed up and down her back.

The only thought Lexi could process was that she wanted to be closer to Ty and took a step forward, leaving only a breath of space between them.  On tiptoe, she returned his passion, kiss for kiss. Engulfed in his arms, surrounded by his presence, Lexi fell into a place she’d never been. A place where only she and Ty existed.

Ty eventually started to draw away, but Lexi tugged him back to her lips. “Not yet, Ty, don’t stop.”

He moaned as he kissed her long and deep, until they both gasped for breath. When they came up for air, he rested his forehead against hers. Ty ran his hands over her arms, down her back and circled her waist. A soft yellow robe was all that stood between him and discovering if his dreams of Lexi were half as good as he imagined. Firmly grasping the last bit of control keeping him on the right side of doing something wrong, he released a sigh.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. My apologies.” Contrite, but not quite remorseful enough to let go of her and walk out the door, he studied her.  She was so warm, so real, so beautiful. Ty knew no woman had ever fit so perfectly in his arms and he had the fleeting thought that no one else ever would.

“It’s okay, Ty. I shouldn’t have enjoyed it quite as much as I did,” Lexi admitted as much to herself as Ty. She stared at his sculpted chest as he pressed his stubbly cheek against her temple. “It’s as much my fault as yours.”

“You mean you planted the tick on me, made sure no one who could be of assistance was around so I’d have to seek your help, and then planned to seduce me while you took it out?” A teasing grin tipped the corners of his full lips.

“Of course not! Don’t be ridiculous!” Indignant, she stepped back from him. The playful look on his face made her grin. “You’re wicked and ornery.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ty kissed her again, just to make sure he hadn’t dreamed the past several fantastic moments of holding her in his arms.

Unable to resist him, Lexi gave herself to the kiss. Her knees grew as weak as her resolve to stay away from Ty.

“I think it’s time for you to go,” Lexi whispered when he drew back, smiling at her with such warmth, heat radiated throughout her entire being. Purposefully hitching the ties on her robe tighter, she walked him to the door.

“Thanks for removing the tick,” Ty said, as he lingered at the door. “And for kissing me all better.”

“Get out of my kitchen, buckaroo!” She shooed him out, but gave him a wink that let him know she enjoyed the kisses every bit as much as he had.

Lexi watched him stride down the walk and back to the bunkhouse before she closed the door. She held her robe closed at the neck, feeling the need to hold herself together mentally much the same way.

So much for her theory that after one kiss, they’d realize they weren’t really attracted to one another. Assuming one kiss from Ty would quench her thirst for him was every bit as stupid as expecting an eyedropper full of water to put out a rampaging wildfire.

If she thought she had a problem keeping her mind off Ty before, Lexi had no idea how she’d keep from being consumed with him now. Never had she experienced kisses like that, never had her emotions exploded like that. Desperately, she wanted to continue exploring the wonder of it all.

The heat of Lexi’s gaze bored into his back as Ty walked to the bunkhouse. It took no small amount of effort to leave her when what he really wanted was to go on holding and kissing her the rest of the night.

He knew it was wrong, knew he shouldn’t even think about it. Regardless, Lexi reached places in his heart that he hadn’t known existed until their lips met in a fiery burst of heat and passion.

Cal and Keith looked at him as he entered the bunkhouse.

“Get the tick out?” Cal asked as Ty stopped in the kitchen for a glass of water.

“Yep,” he said, drinking the water in one long swallow.

“You okay?” Keith asked, watching him down the water.

“Yep. Good night.” Ty gave them a curt nod as he went down the hall to his bedroom. The smell of Lexi’s sweet floral scent still filled his nose and clung to his skin as he collapsed on the bed. He closed his eyes and imagined her warm body pressed against him. How was he going to keep thinking of her as his boss when he knew, without a doubt, that she was the one woman on the planet meant to fill his arms and his heart?

The next morning, Swede studied him as they left the bunkhouse after breakfast. “Heard ya had yer first tick encounter,” Swede said, accompanying him to the shop. “Creepy lil’ boogers, ain’t they?”

“Yeah, they are,” Ty agreed. No matter how much the idea of a tick freaked him out, if Lexi would remove them all like she did last night, including the kissing session, he’d traipse through the sagebrush until another one latched onto him.

“Boss said she took one off for ya. Said ya didn’t even flinch.” Swede slapped Ty on the back. “I think ya jes may have earned yer spurs, my friend.”

Ty wasn’t sure what that meant, but from the pleased look on Swede’s face, he assumed it was something good.

Later that afternoon, he walked into the shop to find a set of used spurs and a pair of worn chaps on the workbench along with a note.

Ty,

Swede thinks you’ve more than earned your spurs and chaps. I agree. Wear these proudly, they belonged to my dad.

Lexi

Lesson Nine

Treat Women with Respect

“Treat a woman like she’s made of glass,

even tho’ she’s made of steel.”

Ty cleaned off the workbench and began washing out the big sink he used to clean parts when Lexi stuck her head inside the doorway of the shop. Baby wagged her tail in greeting, beating Ty on the leg. A glance at her forced him to swallow twice before he could speak. The impassioned kisses he’d shared with his employer a few nights ago had remained at the forefront of his mind.

“Hi, Lexi. What are you doing out so late?” Ty dried his hands on a paper towel and tossed it in the garbage. Outwardly, he attempted to appear calm and cool although the sight of Lexi made his heart pound and insides heat.

“I could ask you the same thing. I saw the shop light on and figured you were burning the midnight oil.” She stepped inside but kept a safe distance away from him. If she got too close, she was afraid she might kiss him. Or let him kiss her. Either way, she couldn’t allow it to happen. “I had a question to ask you.”

“Okay.” Ty leaned against the counter and shoved his hands in his pockets. If he didn’t, he might  reach out to Lexi and pull her to him. A hug would lead to a kiss, and he couldn’t think beyond that.

“I’m going to Portland tomorrow to meet with a client and I wondered if you’d like to go along to see Beth and the baby. I’ll be leaving bright and early and get back after dark, but I’d be happy to have company on the drive if you’d care to go.” Trapped in a car with Ty would be an exquisite form of torture, one she would eagerly endure. She really did want some company on the long drive. In addition, he needed to see his nephew. The baby was  almost a month old now and, according to what Ty shared, Beth would return to her job full-time the following week.

“Are you kidding me?” Ty asked, not sure he heard her correctly. “You want me to go to Portland with you? I can see my family, and we’ll be back tomorrow night. Is that right?”

“That’s what I said, buckaroo,” Lexi said with a flirty smile as she nervously twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “Unless you’re afraid of my driving.”