No. Absolutely the fuck not.
She's not landing in any bed but mine.
"Excuse me?" she hisses, drawing herself up to her full height, which, let's be honest, isn't all that impressive. I've wrangled cows taller than she is. I've fought bulls meaner than the look in her eyes right now, too. But her chin comes up, and her shoulders go back, pushing her tits up in her t-shirt.
I doubt she'll let me tug it off with my teeth to bury my face between them.
Jesus Christ.
Get it together, motherfucker,I mentally order myself. It doesn't help, not when she's still standing in front of me.
Tanner scratches his beard, trying—and failing—to hide a smug grin as she glares daggers at me, ready to introduce her palm to the side of my face.
I should apologize for offending her. It's what a decent man would do. But…I'm not feeling particularly decent with the indentations of my zipper all up and down my shaft. I'm not feeling particularly rational right now, either.
She can't cook for us. I'll have to bury bodies all over this ranch.
"She'll be a distraction," I mutter, cutting my eyes at Tanner instead of responding to her. "The last thing we need is some woman running around here, causing problems."
"A distraction? Some woman?" she repeats, her voice rising an octave with each question. It's damn near thunderous by the time she growls, "Causing problems?"
Hearing her repeat it, I realize just how rude I sound. Actually, I sound worse than that. I sound like a Grade A Asshole. But it's also true. If she's here, the men are going to give her hell. They will hound her day and night, trying to woo her into their beds. It'll be a fucking nightmare for her. And with Flint busy with his pregnant wife, Cole in Montana, and Abel caring for his son, we're running short of watchful eyes around here.
Tanner's shoulders shake as she makes this muted sound like a tea kettle about to blow its top. The prick isn't even trying to hide his laughter. "You'll have to forgive Walker, Letty," he says, wheezing like he's an asthmatic mid-attack. "He was actually raised in a barn."
I shoot him a death glare, which only makes the bastard laugh harder. I swear, I'm happy as hell for Cole and all that shit, but if he doesn't bring his ass back from Montana soon, I'm killing his brother.
"You know it's true," I mutter because, apparently, I don't actually know how to quit when I'm ahead. "They'll find ninety different reasons to spend all their goddamn time in the kitchen. I don't have time to babysit her because they can't leave her the fuck alone."
"I don't recall asking you to babysit me," Letty snaps, her hands on her wide hips now. "In fact, I don't recall asking you for anything but basic common decency. Apparently, when God was handing that out, you skipped the line."
"He did," Tanner agrees, still laughing like this is the best thing that's happened around here all week.
"Don't get your back up," I growl, dragging my gaze down her curvy body. Is that a Care Bear on her shirt? Jesus Christ. "I'm just tellin' you the truth, sweetheart. You don't look big enough to fight your way out of a wet paper bag. How are you going to handle twenty goddamn ranch hands trying to mount you in the kitchen morning, noon, and night?"
The thought alone has my blood pressure rising. I'm not worried about the men who work here year-round—not particularly, anyway. They know better than to fuck around. But the seasonal hands? Well, they're a different breed.
Put a pretty woman in their general vicinity, and they're like stink on fuckin' pigs.
"Jesus Christ, Walker," Tanner says, doubled over now. "You need to stop talking."
"First of all," Letty says, stomping toward me. The way her hips sway is downright hypnotic. I want to see her walk that way while she's naked and dripping wet. "No one will be trying to mount me in the kitchen. This may be a ranch, but I'm not a damn horse! Second of all, I may not look big enough tofight my way out of a wet paper bag," she snaps, pitching her voice low in a poor imitation of mine, "but I guarantee I can put a man on his back if necessary. Want to volunteer?" She bats her lashes at me in a way that's all warning.
"Uh, no?"
"Smart choice," Tanner mutters dryly.
"You are the most infuriating, insulting man I have ever met," Letty continues, like neither of us said anything. "And I've had men trying to slap my ass since I was seventeen."
"What the fuck?" I growl, suddenly pissed. "Who has been trying to slap your ass?" I'm going to hunt down each and every one of the pricks and take a cattle prod to their asses, see how they like it.
"This is 2026, not 1906," she says. "I'm more than capable of handling myself, you overgrown caveman."
"Says you," I mutter, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Have you ever worked on a ranch before?"
"That's beside the point."
"No, that's the whole point." I take a step toward her. "I'm not tryin' to insult you. I'm tryin' to protect you."
