The rain had stopped hours ago. Gray light filtered in through the living room curtains, brightening the dingy room. Linc rolled off the sofa, pulled his jeans on over his briefs, and padded down the hall to the bathroom at the end.
Returning to the kitchen a few minutes later, he spotted the coffeemaker on the counter and went to work brewing a pot.
He had to get going. His pilot would be picking him up at the ranch in a little over an hour. The coffee began to brew, dripping into the carafe, giving off that robust, first-cup aroma.
He found a couple of mugs and set them on the counter, glanced up to see Carly walking down the hall in a pair of boxer brief pajama bottoms that showed off her long, sexy legs. A tank top shifted softly over the fullness of her breasts while a tangle of long blond waves cascaded around her shoulders.
He thought of what had almost happened last night and desire flared hot and thick in his blood.
As she neared the kitchen, Carly spotted him in front of the counter and jerked as if she’d awakened from a trance. Her big blue eyes ran over his bare chest, over the tat on his bicep, down to the bulge in his jeans. He felt the contact like a cattle prod, making him even harder.
“I-I need a shower,” she said, then turned and started back down the hall in the opposite direction.
He needed a shower himself, a long, ice-cold one, but he didn’t have time right now. “Give me a minute before you go. I’ve got to get back to Dallas. I’d appreciate if we could talk for a minute before I leave.”
She took a deep breath, turned around, and walked into the living room, plunked down in a chair. “What is it?”
When he grabbed his T-shirt and dragged it on, Carly seemed to relax. Linc sat down across from her. “How long has it been since you’ve had a day off ?”
A smile touched her lips. “You mean since I’ve been back in Texas? Let me see . . . if you count Granddad’s funeral—one.”
“That’s what I thought. I have to go back to Dallas, but I don’t have to stay. I was thinking maybe you could come with me. I chopper in and out so it only takes a few minutes to get there. As soon as I wrap up my business, we can come back here.”
“What am I supposed to do while you’re working? I can’t go shopping—I don’t have any money. Even if I did, I don’t need any clothes. Besides, I have a lot of work to do at the office.”
“You could take some of it with you. We’d set you up at a desk somewhere. You’d get a little break from Iron Springs and I’d feel better knowing you’re safe.”
She sat forward in the chair and he forced himself not to stare at the soft mounds beneath the tank top. He clenched his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to cup them.
“What about tomorrow, Linc, and the day after that? You can’t protect me every minute.”
“Maybe not completely, but if . . .” He paused when she narrowed her eyes as if she saw the blow coming.
“If what?” she asked.
“If you stayed out at the ranch, you’d be a helluva lot safer than you are here.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you crazy? I can’t just move in with you.”
“The house is fifteen thousand square feet, Carly. It wouldn’t be like we were living together. All the bedrooms are suites. We wouldn’t even have to see each other. The thing is, the property’s gated and there’s security twenty-four/seven.”
She started shaking her head.
“A lot of people stay there. Ross Townsend stayed at the house last night.” He reached over and caught her hand. The contact speared heat into his groin. A flush rose in Carly’s face and spread across her chest.
Linc let go of her hand but kept talking. “I’m asking this as a favor. I made a promise. I need you to help me keep it.”
He glanced around the dingy, worn-out living room. Back in the day, Joe could have afforded to remodel if he’d wanted, but after Carly left, he was comfortable with the place the way it was.
“There’s a swimming pool,” he said, hoping to tempt her. “And a couple of smaller heated pools. There’s a Jacuzzi tub in every guest suite. I’ll have the chef come in and take care of meals. You could think of it as a mini vacation.”
She eyed him across the space between them. She’d cleared a lot ofstuff out of the house and painted the kitchen, but even fixed up, it was no Blackland Ranch. What woman wouldn’t enjoy a few days of living in undeniable luxury?
“You’d still be working in Dallas, right?” she said.
“Not this week, but next week, yes.” Unless he needed to be closer, but he didn’t say that.
“And I could still go to work every day?”
