Strictly Business (12 page)

She sat down, set her plate on her lap and put her coffee on
the ground. All of a sudden, there was an awkward silence. They both ate their
food while Jess wondered what to say next.

After a few minutes he finally asked, “Are you sorry? About
last night?”

His voice had taken on the husky quality that sent shivers
up her spine. She looked into his eyes. “Are you?”

“No, not at all. I don’t think I could be less sorry.” He
moved a little closer to her. She felt his fingers in her hair. “I like it
better down, but this looks good too.”

“I was going to leave it down, but I want to go riding, and
it’s going to be hot this afternoon.”

“I’m glad about the contacts though.” His hand traced down
to her neck. “That silver… Well, it kind of does something to me.”

He kind of laughed a little, sending a little shiver racing
up her neck. “Plus, I’m not at all sure that room full of guys in there could
have handled the whole package. You pack quite a wallop, darlin’.”

Jess had never felt sexy in her life. She had mostly felt
out of proportion. But right now, looking in his eyes, she could almost believe
him. Although, she kept missing half of what he said. She was distracted by his
fingers tracing lazy circles on her neck.

“So, you’re going riding this afternoon? Going out alone?”

“Umm, no. Mike’s going with me.”

She felt his body tense next to her. His muscles got tight
and his hand froze in mid circle. After just a second, he seemed to loosen up.
Right before he pulled her into a kiss.

Finally, his mouth was on hers again. It was a soft slow
kiss but it was still enough for her to feel that flare of heat zip through her
body. She leaned in, tracing his lips with her tongue. He sucked her tongue
into his mouth, causing her to whimper.

He pulled back on a groan. “Well... wow.”

“Yeah, wow is right.” Jess could still feel that kiss in her
toes.

“So, I have some stuff to do today with Ben, but maybe we can
go out to dinner sometime soon. Just me and you. Would that be okay?”

She smiled up at him. “I’d like that.”

She wasn’t sure how long this new situation with them would
last, but she was going to enjoy it while it did.

* * * * *

She and Mike went for their ride that afternoon. She was on
Lady, and Mike was on the same horse he’d taken that first day. Jess had found
out his name was Sam. Sam was of indeterminate breed, but he was strong and
sturdy. He was a pretty horse in a pedestrian way. He would never win any
shows, but she kind of liked him all the better for it.

They rode in silence for a while. When they got to a shady
spot, she slowed Lady and hopped down. She thought it might be nice to just sit
under the tree for a bit. Mike got down too and ambled over to flop down beside
her.

“So, I saw you follow Jake out this morning. It seems like
last night might’ve done you some good.”

Jess almost choked on the water she was drinking.
How
could he possibly know about last night?

“Did you guys bond over the new colt? I like the new look by
the way.”

She smiled at him.
The colt, right
. “Yeah, last night
was good. He actually apologized for being so horrible and said he’d try to be
nicer. Then the colt was born. That was just amazing. Mike, you have no idea.
It makes me excited to see Dana’s new baby. Although, I don’t think I’ll be in
the room for that. It was just phenomenal.”

Jess saw the quick scowl, but barely had time to register it
before he was talking again.

“Come on babe, let’s get back to the ranch. We have an early
start tomorrow.” He pulled her to her, feet, following her back over to the
horses.

The next couple of weeks passed in a blur. Everyone was
really busy. The house was moving along pretty well. All the utilities had been
run out to the home site, the foundation was poured and starting Monday they
would begin framing. There had been a city road construction crew out this past
week, working on the road in and out. She had never asked specifically, but
based on the speed with which things were getting accomplished, Jess was pretty
sure that Jake had money. Real money. She didn’t care one way or another, but
she could recognize the signs when she saw them. She had grown up with that
kind of money and power. If she felt inclined, she
had
that kind of
money and power. Considering their timeline was now under four months for
completion she appreciated all the speed she could command. She needed to get
Jake to start thinking about cabinets. They were still a ways from needing
them, but cabinetry and flooring took time once ordered. Especially if he chose
any custom cabinetry. She was still a bit miffed about doing a job that wasn't
truly hers to do, but the more involved with this house she got, the more she
wanted to see it through. So, she would round him up and make him find some
time to go with her to Evanston to pick out the dang cabinets.

She gave a little shiver at the thought. She hadn’t had any
time alone with him since they’d had breakfast on the swing almost two weeks
ago. It wasn't as if they could sneak off without everyone else noticing. Since
she didn't even know what was going on between them, she figured letting other
people know was a bad idea. Plus, there’d been so much going on. He’d been out
of town for a couple days. He was in Virginia, looking at a line of race
horses. And there’d been more deliveries. She’d missed them all, they’d all
happened during working hours, when she was at the home site. Since it was
finally Friday, everyone was heading into town to Gilroy’s. It’d been a couple
weeks since the guys had cut loose and apparently they were overdue. She wasn’t
sure if Jake was going or not, but she was hoping. She had already agreed to go
with Mike and the others.

She thought back over the last couple weeks. There’d been a
few lingering glances, a couple that were hot enough to get her system zipping
again. A few times, he had even brushed by her, running a hand down her arm or
across her waist. But they’d always been in a room full of people. She wondered
how anyone got together out here. Or better yet, how Jake had even been
conceived. Maybe she should ask him? She chuckled a little at that thought. She
figured it was probably easier when everyone on the ranch knew you were a
couple. And when you shared the same bedroom every night. If she had a bit more
courage, she might have tried to sneak down to his room. On a sigh, she gave up
on the wishing. It just wasn't
her.

As she walked into the kitchen to grab some food, she noted
that one really good thing had come of the last couple weeks. She was a lot
more comfortable in her own skin. The guys had quit gaping at her. It’d only
taken a couple of days. Now, some of them, like George, would even pay her a
compliment or two sometimes. Always very polite and very respectful. She was
starting to feel a little better about her figure. Apparently it wasn’t quite
as bad as her family seemed to think.

It probably didn’t hurt that she had managed to shed those
last five stubborn pounds. She’d been worried when she first got here. Afraid
that with all the food at her fingertips, combined with no gym handy, she might
actually gain some weight. But apparently all the hiking around, working on the
house and horseback riding more than counteracted the extra food she’d been
eating. And she had been working. She hated feeling useless and normally she
would be designing another building at this point, so she pitched in at the
home site wherever Mike said he could use her. And she tried to help Marsha out
as much as possible, although she wasn’t much of a cook. She made a really good
taco soup. It was kind of like a chili. She’d made that one night last week,
giving Marsha the night off.

She had just made her plate, and was grabbing a bottle of
water to take with her out to the porch swing when Jake walked in. She looked
up at him and felt the breath whoosh out of her lungs. He was fresh out of the
shower, clean shaven with wet mussed hair. He was gorgeous. He was also looking
at her with those midnight blue eyes of his. To anyone that cared to look,
those eyes said he wanted to eat her for dinner, skip the meatloaf. She knew
she was blushing so she looked away, grabbing her food and heading to the back
porch. She heard the guys asking if he was going with them tonight, although
she was too far away to hear the answer.

It was twenty minutes later when she felt him join her on
the swing. She’d already finished eating and was just relaxing and drinking her
water, watching the sun set. He sat down right next to her and put an arm on
the back of the swing. He started to gently tug on little strands of her hair,
tracing those lazy little circles on her neck again. She’d shoved it in the
chopsticks after her shower, to come down and eat.

“So, are you going out with everyone tonight?” She really
hoped he said yes.

“I don’t know. I was kind of hoping maybe you and I could go
out. Or stay in.” He reached up and pulled one of the sticks from her hair.

She swallowed hard. “No, I already told Mike I would go with
them. I’ve already cancelled on him twice. I have to go this time.”

“Well then, I guess I’m going too.” He leaned in closer.
Just before his lips touched hers, she heard the inside door opening. He sat
back, moved his hand and scooted over a little bit.

Jess jumped up. She needed to get away from him before she
lost all her inhibitions and threw herself across his lap, people be damned. “I
need to go get ready. I’ll see you later?”

Jake just nodded. She couldn't quite tell if he was
disappointed or relieved by the interruption. He really looked kind of pissed
off.

Jess debated for all of thirty seconds before she decided to
leave her hair down. Her clothes were a little harder. She wore jeans, but she
skipped the boots and went with some strappy brown sandals. They had a two inch
heel, so she was a little taller without looking like she was wearing ‘fuck-me’
pumps. Then came the shirt. Her jeans were very low waisted, sitting just above
her pelvic bone. Her stomach was nice and flat now, and more toned than it had
ever been, so she’d decided this was a good time to wear them. Cindy had picked
them, and packed them, but Jess had never worn them before. She found a shiny
red silk T-shirt-style top that stopped above her waist, but cut down in a vee
in the front. It had a wide scoop neck, so there was just a hint of cleavage
without really showing anything. She decided that would work, slipped it on and
admired the results. She thought about removing the contacts but left them in.
She wasn’t quite ready for all the questions that would cause. She dabbed on a
reddish tint lip gloss and her standard mascara, and decided she was ready.

She felt pretty good about the way she looked until she
walked outside and saw all the guys standing there, staring at her. This time,
she wasn’t going to stand meekly by while they all gaped at her. “Okay, come on
now. This is ridiculous. Ya’ll need to quit staring and go on about your
business.”

Apparently, it was the right approach, because they all kind
of chuckled and started piling into cars. George told her she looked very nice.
Ben stopped and kissed her hand, and commented, “Don’t mind all of them. It’s
not often we get someone as pretty as you on this dusty old ranch.”

Mike walked by and kissed her head before he climbed up into
the backseat of the truck, next to George and Ben, just as Jake walked over to
her. He touched her elbow and those stupid tingles shot through her arm.

“Nicely handled. And I loved the ‘ya’ll.’ Apparently you do
have a little Texas in you somewhere. When you’re not freezing me out, that
is.” He walked her over to the front seat of the truck and opened her door for
her. “And by the way, you look stunning.”

* * * * *

All the way in to Evanston, Jake kept reminding himself that
they were in a car full of people. He also had to remind himself that he had no
claim on her, and therefore had no right to be upset that she was flirting with
Mike. He told himself all of this while he participated in the inane
conversations going on around him. And he still had to force his hands to stay
on the wheel instead of grabbing her. By the time they got to the bar, he had
to touch her. He went around as quickly as he could to help her out of the car
and kept his hand on her lower back, just under her shirt hem as he led her
inside. Just having that skin to skin contact helped him rein in the primal
instinct screaming out inside him to claim her. He had never in his life felt
like this, not even with his wife. As much as he wanted her, he was still leery
about this odd lack of control he felt around her. When they got inside, Jake
was quickly swamped by people greeting him, asking him how the ranch was,
commenting on all the foals they’d had. Small town talk.

He watched her walk away to join Mike and the others.
Watched her order a drink, watched her take her first sip. Watched Ben claim
her for a dance. He was communicating, answering people’s questions, asking the
appropriate ones in return, but always he knew where she was. She danced at
least once with almost every guy from his ranch. And finally, Mike got hold of
her. They did a quick two step and the band followed that with a slow dance.
Before anyone else could cut in, Mike pulled her up against him. She seemed to
go willingly enough. He was pretty sure he growled at old Mr. Johnson who’d
been telling him about his new grandbaby. The look on the man’s face was
priceless.

As he excused himself, trying to get over and cut in, he
felt small female hands. One slid into his hand and the other onto his butt. He
glanced beside him to see Bethany.

“Hey stranger, long time no see. Been busy out there?”

Bethany was the last person Jake wanted to see right now. As
he turned, trying to politely remove her hand from his ass, she took the
opportunity to press herself more firmly against his front half. He saw Bethany
cast a rather rude glance toward Jess, right before she grabbed both his hands
and started tugging him toward the dance floor.“Come on Jake, dance with me.”