Rhett watches as the dogs race back towards him. One extra in the mix that I recognize as Tater alongside Jackson’s two dogs, Tramp and Carrot. His head turns slightly, and I notice the playful curve of his lips.
“Fantasy, huh? Do you say that to all the guys?”
Carrot drops the ball at his feet, and Rhett picks it up before winging it away into the field again.
“Just the ones who keep me awake at night.” Rhett coughs before glancing my way again. This time, he bites his lip and doesn’t hide his perusal. Dear lord, that look is enough to kill me. “I see you brought Tater. She looks like she’s having the time of her life.”
His smile is so warm and soft as he searches the field for his dog that I want to crawl into his lap.
“I try to bring her wherever I go when I can. She loves the space to run. It’s hard to find a property with space around here for that.”
“You’re looking for a place?”
“I can’t stay at Hunter’s forever.”
“I suppose that’s true. You know I have a fenced yard and a king-sized bed that’s too big for one if you need a place.”
Rhett’s head whips my way so fast I almost burst out laughing. I wink and sip my iced tea as the dogs come racing back. Tater drops the ball at our feet, and I bend to pick it up. Rhett remains silent, and after a moment, I chance a glance to find him staring at me with a gaze so hot my clothes should catch fire.
He shakes his head and turns back out to the field. “I don’t know how to take you, Diamond.”
“Well, you could start by taking me to bed.”
Rhett’s low groan is an instant turn-on. His shoulders tense under the fabric of his shirt, and he turns toward me. Those soulful brown eyes are blown wide with lust and yet…there’s something else there I can’t quite put a finger on. But I’d rather put my hands on him and figure all that out later.
“Why are you always so sexual, Diamond? You always flirt with everyone, and the innuendo is so thick… it confuses me. There’s more to you than that. A man like you is more than a pretty face.”
His hand reaches out and grabs my arm, tugging me along with him as he drags us behind the greenhouse in Jackson’s backyard. He tosses his beer to the ground as he boxes me between his arms against the greenhouse wall.
I’ve experienced a lot of things in my life. But I’ve been waiting forever for a man to look at me like he does now. Like I’m the answer to his prayers, and maybe he can’t believe his good fortune. His face is so close to mine our breath shares space, and I want to kiss him. More than anything, I want to have my lips on his, but he’s waiting for an answer.
“There is. A lot more to me, I mean. I don’t share that part of me with many people.”
“I’m just asking why you seem to be intent on using sex to get my attention. Maybe I want to know more about you. Maybe I want to go on a date before clothes come off.” Somehow, he drifts even closer, his lips next to my ear. “Maybe we might have more in common than just a fuck.”
I’ve perished while standing. The word fuck from his lips while he’s so close is nearly my undoing, but somehow I process what he’s saying. Mostly.
“Because sex works.” My voice falls to a whisper, and the dogs race to a stop next to us. Tramp holds the ball tightly, his furry face glancing between us to see who will throw the ball next.
Rhett pushes away from me and offers his hand to the dog. Tramp spits the ball out and turns. The three wait and Rhett throws the ball harder than he has yet. When he faces me again, his handsome face is softer. The eyes I see every time I close mine shift between restraint and want so badly I can almost taste it.
“Maybe I need more than that. Maybe you should just ask me, Diamond. If you want something…ask me.”
“Ask you?”
He can’t be saying what I think he is.
“Don’t give me sexual innuendos. Don’t flatter me the way you do everyone you meet. Give me the real you and ask me what you want.”
Rhett puffs a shaky breath as he looks back to the fields after the dogs, and I almost wish I’d never said what I did earlier. He keeps his gaze on the dogs and says softly, “Darling, I don’t play games. I can’t. If I’m off base and you’re not actually interested, let’s just pretend this conversation didn’t even happen. I’m not exactly great at reading cues sometimes, and if you’re here to be polite and rile me up, just stop.”
“I don’t play games either, Rhett. Honest. I just…”
“Ask. Me,” he says quietly, but the words are loud, and I hear him.
He turns his gaze towards mine again. Maybe it’s just my brain finally tired from holding up the privacy curtain all these years, but my mouth says the words before I have time to reconsider them.
“Would you want to catch a movie together sometime? I know rodeo season is about to get busy and you’ll be at the training facility, but—”
