He made sure I was safe. And I would save his ranch… if he let me. “Rafe.”
My voice was nothing more than a whisper as I looked up into those slate gray eyes.
He took another step back, creating more distance between us. His thumb swiped at the corner of his mouth, then pushed the heel of his hands at his eyes for a few moments before focusing back on me.
“This was a mistake.” His arms fell to his side and he stepped away from me. “We shouldn’t have done it.”
I tried to take a step back, but there was no room for me. He had me against the desk with nowhere to go. “No, we shouldn’t have.”
I took a deep inhale, allowing my lungs to fill with air and my breath to even out.
“I’m your boss.” His hand raked through his hair, as he walked around the desk. “You have trouble chasing you. And as you no doubt have figured out, I have my own set of problems.”
He was right. The simmering heat between us needed to be ignored. There was nothing either could or should do about it. But I could solve some other problems. “Rafe about the?—”
“No, Rory.” He picked up his hat off the filing cabinet and turned to face me. “Send Miller another email and apologize for the misunderstanding. And if there are other contracts around town you’ve cancelled, fix that too. There has to be other ways to save me money. But don’t let me lose the trust of the town. I may not have a lot, but I have that, and I will not lose it.
He turned and walked out. My hand shot to my mouth, the touch of his lips still tingled on mine. How? How the fuck could I kiss my boss. I was not the kind of woman to be swept away so easily. But Rafe made me crazy. And not just in theI want tothrottle him with my bare handskind of way. No. He made me want to stop running. Was it even possible?
CHAPTER 7
Rafe
The Talk
Five days of silence.Before Rory arrived, I relished the silence, craved it. But for five days the quietness was heavy. And I fucking hated it.
What I hated even more, was how she became the perfect employee.Yes, Rafe. No, Rafe.That defiant lift of her chin and disdain in her eyes was the reason I didn’t feel bad for even a moment. She did it to prove a point. She’d apologized to Mr. Miller. I’d overheard her using the kind of charm she usually reserved for the chickens. Her apology was so effective, the old man called me not even five minutes later to thank me for the contract. Yet, she continued to give me the cold shoulder.
And I was still thinking about that kiss. The way her body fit so perfectly into mine. The little moans she made, the taste. Fuck, the woman tasted like coffee and honey and for-fucking-ever. And even I could admit her stubbornness was more of a turn on than a deterrent.
Or maybe it was because that very stubbornness was about protecting me. Sure, she went about it the wrong way and I could never be that mercenary with the people around me. But she hadn’t done anything other than look out for me. Yeah, I liked it. More than I wanted to admit I did. A lot more.
I took another sip of my whiskey, and grinned at the farmhands making fun of Calvin. Instead of strippers and debauchery, he wanted his bachelor party to be only the men who supported him. Basically, only the men who were at the harvest.
“That first one you made last year, though.” Winston, my foreman raised a brow. “It was pure vinegar. Never tasted anything so awful come out of a barrel.”
The man was not wrong. It took Calvin a while to figure out the timing and the storage for a good vintage. The rest of the wine last year was good though. And I had no doubt the next batch would be even better.
“I cannot believe Sterling is getting married.” Carl, one of our high school buddies, commented. “I always thought Vierra would be the first man down. I even thought I’d go down before Mr. Heartbreaker.”
Calvin rolled his eyes. “What can I say? Love is powerful. I took one look at my Allie, and knew I was done with the field.”
That, I could believe. When they first met, he couldn’t stop talking about her. Still couldn’t, really. I was happy for him. Glad he had found the one person who made him happy. At the time, it hadn’t bothered me. I knew I wanted to dig the ranch out of the hole it had been in since my father died. I knew then I didn’t want to drag a woman into the mess I found myself in.
But as I listened to Cal speak about Allie, I couldn’t stop the envy from creeping in. The way his face softened when he spoke about her. Or the glare he gave anyone of the men who dared to make an inappropriate comment about her. The smile thatformed when it was clear he was thinking about her. I wanted all of it. And all I had was a kiss where I was more angry than I needed to be, and more horny than she needed from me. A kiss that was everything I wanted, and couldn’t have.
I had been so deep in my head, I hadn’t even noticed everyone had started to get up.
Winston gave me a shove. “I’m headed home. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, boss.”
I nodded as one by one, the men started to leave until eventually it was just Calvin and me left. The weight of his stare bored into me, and I squirmed as I tried to avoid it. I’d had just enough to drink that if he pried too much he might get the answers I knew he had questions for.
“There a reason you’re staring at me?” I picked up the whiskey bottle and took a long pull, before passing the bottle to him.
My friend took a sip, swallowed and winced at the burn before narrowing his eyes at me. “We could play this game, Rafael, or you could tell me what is bothering you.”
Where did I start? What would be easier to handle? His outrage at me kissing an employee? Or the pity that was bound to follow when I told him about the failing ranch. Perhaps I could avoid it all.
