Under Pressure (8 page)

She shrugged. “By the way, just to make this clear, I wouldn’t shoot anyone unless I felt I was threatened.”

“And you tho
ught I was a threat? That’s interesting since you were the one who seduced me and tied me up. What a waste of rope. We could have had lots of fun.” He loved seeing her cheeks turn a pretty shade of red.

“You’re a funny guy.
I didn’t see you laughing when I pulled the gun on you. Thank goodness, my shooting abilities are spot on. I bet I can shoot better than you on any day of the week.” Challenge lit her tone.

He
chuckled. “If you say so. But considering that you pull your gun, and wax, at the slight change in the breeze, I think it’s safer if I don’t test you.”

“Y
ou’re incorrigible,” she seethed.

“I’ve been told that a time or two.”

She examined his legs and he got a glimpse of the tops of her breasts.
Sweet baby grasshopper!

“Hmm, not to
o bad.”

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

She shook her head sending tendrils of hair falling around her cheeks. “Not sure where your thoughts are, but I’m talking about your legs—the scabs.” Did her bottom lip quiver? “The salve will help. It’ll also keep your jeans from chafing the skin.” She dipped her fingers into the clear ointment and wiped it across his shin. “So you knew who I was before Two Step? As far as I know, you and I have never met. And why didn’t you call me out?”

He relaxed back into the chair
, liking the way her fingers moved on his legs. Watching her slender fingers on his skin left him in a trance. “When I came here the first time to meet with your dad, I saw you outside. Only a glimpse, but I remembered.” She brought her chin up for a mere second. He swallowed, realizing she probably caught the catch in his tone. “When I saw you at the bar, I guess I wanted to see what you were up to. I thought you were testing me as a new employee, and now that I’ve said it aloud, it sounds ignorant on my part.”

“
That would be a very unfair way of testing employees. Most men will cave under a woman’s attention.”

“I sense
a bit of bitterness in that statement. I’m going to go out on a limb here, but I believe your vindication for your sister was more for your own personal gain.” He knew he walked a thin line, but he’d never been good at sugar coating anything.

“Oh, what makes you say that?” She
applied more salve.

“Because your sister seems
more than capable of taking care of herself. And you reacted emotionally, not logically.”

She squinted. “You’re wrong.”

“Am I? If you had probed deeper into the pieces of the story, you wouldn’t have felt as if you needed revenge. Instead, you jumped to conclusions, something we do when we’re reeling from an emotional catastrophe.”

“Do you have any clue what an emotional catastrophe feels like?” She glared at him.

“Losing a sister in a car accident is considered a catastrophe, right?”

She moistened her lips. “You lost your sister?”

“Ten years ago. But damn did I do some crazy things after that. I joined the rodeo circuit and almost got myself killed—not once or twice, but a helluva lot more.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Spark.” Sincerity turned her gaze soft.”

“I’m an innocent man, Jewels, but I think because I’m a man that instantly makes me guilty of something in your book.”

“
Good theory you have.” She stood up straight and held his gaze. “But you are right about one thing. You are guilty of something.”

“Is that right?” H
e scrubbed his jaw and the raspy sound of hair growth reminded him that he didn’t even take the time to shave this morning. By afternoon, he’d sport a halfway decent beard. “Please enlighten me.”

“You should have told me you
knew who I was.”

“And I’m to blame
? You should have been honest and told me upfront who you were. Instead, you lied.”

Her mouth thinned. “T
here’s only so many times you can run me over the coals.”

“And I believe under the
circumstances, I have a lot more times to go before you’re even close to being acquitted.”

“I think you’re getting some weird delight out of torturing me.”

“Probably about the same pleasure you got in torturing me.”

Soft foo
tsteps sounded on the floor, and before he could move a muscle, they had company. The dark headed woman stopped dead in her tracks. She looked like Jewels, except for the olive complexion and her eyes were darker.
Great, another Stone he had to face.
The surprise on the woman’s face almost made him laugh, but he bit it back.

“Holy
Moses! I didn’t know you had company.” She brought her hand up to her chest as if to stop her racing heart.

“Another sister?” Spark asked
Jewels.

“
Pearl. The middle one,” Jewels answered then turned to Pearl. “Not what you think, sis. This is Spark, the new ranch hand.”

“Oh.”
Pearl’s thin brows lifted over curious eyes. “Is this a new thing? We skip the doctor and give the employees their physical here in the kitchen? No wonder you kept this quiet.” She rolled her gaze over Spark and he shifted under the scrutiny. Not one sister had a problem saying, or doing, exactly what was on their mind.

Jewels
chuckled. “No different than examining the horses I assume.” She held Spark’s gaze a moment too long. “But I’m sure kitchen physicals are against some sort of federal regulations.”

Pearl
stepped forward and held out her hand. Spark shook it. He’d usually be comfortable with his pants down in the company of two beautiful women, but not under these conditions—and certainly not with these two.

“Did you already get hurt on the job?”
Pearl examined his salve-covered legs.

“No. I’m afraid I had an unexpected waxing incident.” He caught
Jewels’ awkward glare out of his peripheral. “Thanks to your sister here.”

Pearl
looked at Jewels, her mouth slightly parted. “Oh no, sis. What did you do?”

Jewels’
gaze narrowed on Spark. “It’s a long story. One I’ll share over Thanksgiving dinner this year.”

“Ahh, why not share now?”
Spark urged, finding the humor in this at Jewels’ expense. Obviously, she had a conscious.

“I’m getting very curious.
” Pearl crossed her arms over her waist and tapped her bare foot. “So what happened?”

“And like I said,
I’ll save it for another time.” Jewels’ tone left no room for argument.

Pearl
dropped her arms and sighed. “All right. I’ll grab what I came for and leave you two alone, doing whatever it was I interrupted.” She chuckled, grabbed an apple from a nearby bowl and left.

“I like her.” Spark laughed.
Jewels could have burnt a hole through an iceberg with her laser gaze. “I’ll pull up my pants now. It’s too dangerous to have a scorned woman this close to the family jewels.” His words earned him another heated glower.

Chapter
Five

“I SEE THE wax did nothing to ease the oversized ego.” Jewels sniffed loudly. The audacity of this man irked her, and he actually thought her frustration was funny.

While
touching him, innocently putting ointment on his wax burns, she could barely contain the shaking in her hands. Kneeling in front of him, she’d peeked through the gap in his boxers, glimpsing tanned skin and crisp hair. She’d almost swallowed her tongue when he’d grown and the tip of his erection had popped out the hole. He’d quickly adjusted himself, but far too late. She’d never had a stronger urge to wrap her fingers around a man and pump him into satisfaction.

More than just a touch.
She wanted to taste him…to smooth her mouth over his taut skin, easing him back into her throat—

“You okay?”

His easy drawl brought her back to reality. “I’m fine. I was only thinking that I should go and get dressed then show you the cock—I mean—the ropes.” Her flesh scorched from humiliation. If only the floor would open up wide and engulf her so her misery would end.

“
I’ve enjoyed the view of the itty-bitty outfit, but I’m afraid I can only take so much for one day.”

Darting her glance downward, she sucked in a breath.
The outline of her nipples and the shape of her breasts were clearly visible under the material. When she’d tossed it on in the wee hours of the morning, she hadn’t been expecting company.

Bringing
her chin upward, she blinked. “I-I didn’t think— I jumped out of bed…” He stepped closer to her, put a finger under her chin and gently closed her mouth.

“I could kiss you right now,” he whispered. Her inner thighs quivered.
Her pulse quickened. “But don’t worry, darlin’, not today anyway…”

“Wha-what?”
She hated that her voice shook—and hated even more that she felt rejected.

A grin that could make the devil
jealous curved his lips. “I think I’ll wait until you ask me to kiss you.”

Jewels
jammed her hands on her hips. His ego returned full force. “Don’t hold your breath. I’ll never ask you to kiss me, or ask for anything else for that matter.”

“
Sweetheart, haven’t you been warned never to say never.”

“Oh, trust me, you and I will
never
kiss again. Once was enough to last a lifetime,” she stammered.

He brushed
past her and stopped to look at her over one brawny shoulder. “So, what do you say?”

“About what?”

“You going to change and show me around or would you like to follow that warm urge tickling the back of your brain and ask me to kiss you?”

“You’re an ass, Spark!”

“And yet you know you want my touch.”

“Go to hell!”

“I’ve been there and I didn’t like it much. I’ll wait for you outside.” He dipped his hat, and his whistle faded down the hall followed by the slamming of the screen door.

Jewels
leaned against the stool where Spark had been sitting, hoping her knees would stop shaking.

“What the hell just happened?” she whispered.

He was playing her out of a sick need for retaliation. That was all! She refused to allow him to pull her strings. The last thing she wanted, or needed, was to tumble into another fruitless affair, especially with an arrogant cowboy who thought he was God’s gift to women.

She’d resist his charm and show
him that she was one woman that wouldn’t fall for his magnetism.

After changing out of her
nightclothes and into more appropriate ranch attire, and applying a good amount of lip tint because every cowgirl needed pretty lips, and not because she’d be kissing anyone, she stepped outside

~°°°~

Spark followed Jewels across the grass, and he cursed with every step. He was hell bent on torturing himself, and yet he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. When she’d gone to change, he’d hoped she’d return wearing a nun’s habit, but he wasn’t in luck. The tight jeans she wore fit her like melted wax and did wonders to an overworked man’s imagination.

His dick hurt like a bitch. He’d ridden bulls that didn’t work his balls to a point of ache like they did now. No, this pain came with a need that only a woman could
create.

He swallowed the
thickness in his throat and forced his gaze on something besides Jewels. Since the rodeo wasn’t happening any longer, he needed the job, for mental peace rather than financial. After the last ride on a bully of a bull, every bone on his body had been jarred, and a cruel reminder that at thirty-five, it was time he hung up his bull riding saddle. He’d won the grand prize and the ride was worth it, added with his savings account, but the ache in his hip wasn’t going away as fast this time as when he’d gotten hurt in his twenties.

Bringing
his gaze back on the sultry cowgirl walking in front of him, he bit off a growl. Damn, she’d gotten him good with the wax strips on his legs, and then she’d been nice enough to apply some salve that helped ease the irritation. Hell, he could have done without the ointment because now his insides were burning with a hunger he wouldn’t be appeasing any time soon.

She stopped by the wooden
fence and turned to face him. His gaze naturally dropped to her nice looking chest pushed up under the white tank top. He’d guess she wasn’t anything more than a B cup, but nowadays bras made a man think he was getting DD’s when he was only getting average. It deserved a man right because most put too much thought into a woman’s rack.

He’d always been more of an ass man—but if he had a choice, he’d take a woman who
had big brains. He couldn’t think of anything sexier than one who could talk politics and knock out numbers like a mathematician.