My heart stopped in my chest, and I fumbled for a reply.
“Here we are, hungry people.” Rose appeared with our breakfasts and set them down in front of us with a flourish. The tension while she was there was thick. I gave her a polite smile, then turned back to Luna.
“I can’t think about what could be until the job’s done. If I start now, I’ll lose focus, and I can’t risk that. Not when your safety depends on me.”
She chewed the side of her lip but ultimately nodded. I waspositive she had more to say, but was grateful that she dropped it for now.
“Eat. You need your strength to finish your book and the tour.”
We finished our breakfast in companionable silence, both lost in our own thoughts. After we had paid and I’d given Rose a hug, we went back out to my truck. “It’s too early to check into the hotel. Do you need anything while we have time?”
“Oh, yes, I need handcuffs.”
I stared, wondering if I needed to get my hearing checked.
“Please,” she added.
“What…? Do I really want to know?” I turned my eyes back to the road with some difficulty.
She sighed, like I was the one out of line here. “I’m just trying something new with the story I’m writing. I want it to be accurate. I need the real thing to make the scenes authentic.”
“So this is research material?” The part of my brain that had recovered from the shock of her request was picturing her handcuffed to my headboard. “I’d rather get you a ball-gag, but the reason isn’t very romantic.”
She smacked my arm. “That’s not funny…although…”
“No, Luna. When I asked if you needed anything, I was thinking like toothpaste or something, not fetish gear.”
“Prude.” She scoffed, then pulled out her notebook and made a note.
“What did you just write down?”
The side of her mouth kicked up, but she didn’t answer.
“You know what? Never mind. I’ll teach you how to make your own handcuffs later if that will make you happy.”
Her eyes lit. “Really?”
“Sure.” Whatever got me through thisassignment. “But seriously, we have some time to kill. What do you want to do?”
She shrugged. “This is your town, so you tell me.”
I wasn’t really in the mood to be around crowds. For a moment, I thought about taking her back to my place so we could rest, but I wasn’t sure I could handle having her in my space. An idea came to me, and I pulled an illegal U-turn before heading out toward The Ranch.
Chapter Eleven
Luna
“Where are we?” I asked as Hayes brought the truck to a stop and put it in Park.
“This is The Ranch, Lone Star Security HQ. It is mostly a training compound, but I thought you might like the real cowboy experience you were asking about.”
My brows rose. “Does that mean—”
“Come on, cowgirl, let’s ride.”
I ignored the obvious joke and instead scanned the view before me. The place looked straight out of a modern western. Fences and rolling hills, horses off in the distance. It was hot as hell already, and dust puffed up around our feet as we walked.
A man stepped out on the front porch, and Hayes greeted him with a raise of his hand. “Morning, Gray.”
