I closed my eyes for a moment and groaned internally. I’d spent the last few years making fun of my older cousins for falling for their girls the moment they saw them. Swearing that would never be me, and here I was already thinking about kissing this woman. Payback was a bitch.
I opened my eyes and put on my best smile. I might be lusting after her, but I knew from personal experience that didn’t mean shit. I wasn’t some fool to fall to my knees and start proclaiming my love. It had been years since I was swayed by a pretty face and nothing else. Those days were done. I wanted what Dallas and Victor had. Someone they could be themselves with and talk to and laugh. There was no way to know if she had that just from sexual attraction. There had to be more.
“Nice to meet you.” I pushed everything else aside and stepped forward with my hand held out.
Her eyes took me in. She finally stood and, dear gracious, the curves of her body were a dream. I was also glad to see that she wasn’t quite as short as she’d looked sitting down. Not that she was very tall, but she’d fit perfectly next to me.
Stop it, Junior.I shook my head.Get to know her first.
“You too.” She shook my hand, and fireworks rocked through my body.
Fuck me, I shook my head. This was either going to be the longest two weeks of my life or the best.
Chapter 2
Bria
He was late.
I looked at my watch for the seventh time. I hated when people were behind. It pushed me behind, and I really hated when I was behind. It didn’t help that it perpetuated the stereotype of Black people never being on time. It was why I always made sure that I was the first person wherever I needed to be.
I shuffled the papers on my desk. I’d specifically set aside twenty minutes to walk this guy through how we did things on the ranch, what his duties would be, and then show him to his room for the next few weeks. Now I would only have thirteen minutes to get it all done. That wasn’t enough time. Thank goodness I had thought to print out a list that I could give him. That would have to do along with our ranch manual and the keys to his cabin.
I looked at my watch again. Now we were down to ten minutes. This did not bode well for his rodeo lessons. I pulled up the schedule of events for the week. I was going to have to add at least fifteen minutes to the time I’d allotted for his classes. That was the only way to make sure his tardiness didn’t cause any problems with the guests.
Finally, someone knocked on my door. I saved the new schedule and called out for him to enter.
“Hey Bria, our rodeo rider is here.” Carl smiled as he held his arm out to the man standing behind him.
“About time.” I crossed my arms, wondering if this guy had been late because that was his nature or because of Carl. We allloved the man, but he could talk the ear off a cow and still keep going. Now I might need to change the schedule again. That didn’t look good to our patrons.
I watched as piercing black eyes stared right at me. My breath hitched in my chest, but I kept my look neutral. I’d never been swayed by a handsome face and I wasn’t about to be now.
“Nice to meet you.” It took him a moment to step forward and hold out his hand.
I stayed in place. His smile was inviting, but there was something in his eyes that made me nervous. I’d never been looked at like this before, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. Most guys looked right past me. That I was used to. This was something different.
“You too.” I did the only polite thing. I stood and shook his hand. Tingles brushed over my skin and made their way up my arm just as he rubbed his thumb over the backside of my skin.
His eyes glanced down and then back up to mine. The smile that he’d been wearing turned sly, and I almost groaned. He was one of those cowboys.
I’d spent the majority of my life around men working on one ranch or another. When I first noticed boys, I thought all cowboys were the same. My first and only boyfriend taught me differently. Now I’d met just about every kind of cowboy there was. Everyone from the rugged cowboy to the flirty cowboy and the angry cowboy. But the worst was the love ‘em and leave ‘em cowboy. This guy’s smile told me he easily fit into that category. Now I wasn’t as worried about him being late as I was having to make sure he wasn’t sleeping his way through every guest we had. That was just great.
“I took the liberty of printing out a list of duties for you.” I pulled my hand back and focused on the work. That was what I was good at. That was what I was built for.
“I also have a ranch guide for you as well.” I picked up the papers I’d set aside for him. “As you were late, we don’t have the time I’d planned to go over them, but I would appreciate if you read through these before your first class tomorrow afternoon.” I moved around my desk.
“I don’t think all that is necessary,” Carl said from his place by the door. “Junior here has been around enough ranches to know things work.”
“I’ll bet.” I mumbled. “Every ranch is different, and we need him to understand how we run things here if he is going to fit in.” I added at a normal volume.
“It’s fine.” Junior took the papers with the same smile.
What kind of name was Junior? It had to be a nickname or something. That was probably fine when he was ten, but a grown man still going by a nickname? That was weird.
“Thank you. If you have questions, I’ll be happy to answer them for you.” I picked up the keys to his cabin and held out my hand toward the door. “For now, let me show you to where you will be staying so you can get settled.”
“Sounds good.” He stayed put while I waited.
