“Tex, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come across like that. I do feel safe with you.” I looked down at my feet. “Okay, so let’s do what JD said then. If that brings them out of hiding and gets this over and done with quicker, then we should do that.”
A heady silence grew between us, the seconds putting miles between us.
Finally, Tex spoke. “Okay, I’ll let him know and we’ll get everything set up. We’ll post prospects here, and you and I will ride down together.”
My stomach did a weird little flip. “No thank you. We can take my truck.”
He shook his head and scowled. “No, we take my bike. It’s the quickest and easiest way to get you out of there if something happens.”
I cocked my head. “Seriously?”
“Serious as a man on death row.”
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth.
He pulled out his phone from his pocket and looked at me. “Well then you better go make yourself pretty. Not that you’re not pretty already, I just mean, I know women like to do all that other shit before they go out. I’ll make the call.”
I turned toward the stairs before he could see the way my cheeks had warmed.
Upstairs in my bedroom I stood in front of the closet longer than I should’ve, wondering what to wear. Wondering what type of woman he usually went for. Not that I really cared, because I was who I was and didn’t intend to be anyone else for anyone. Besides, there wasn’t actually anything going on between us. But a woman could enjoy being looked at by a man without there being any strings attached, couldn’t she?
I took a quick shower to wash away the horse smell and sweat of the day, scrubbing myself with my favorite orange shampoo and floral bodywash, and then I shaved my legs to within an inch of their life. When I got out, I towel-dried my hair and rubbed moisturizer over my skin. I already knew I was overdoing it. I hadn’t made this much effort in years, but there was something about the huge, gruff man in my house that made me want to feel feminine. That made me want to feel sexy, even if he was desperate to get our lives back to normal.
I pulled out a pair of fitted jeans from my closet and a soft black low-cut top that hugged my waist before flaring slightly atthe hips. After a moment’s hesitation I swapped the jeans for a short denim skirt and added my favorite brown boots.
It was cute, but not trying too hard. At least that’s what I told myself.
My hair had all but dried and I let it fall over my shoulders before heading downstairs. I normally wore it all tied up and off my face because there was nothing worse than hair sticking to your sweaty face, but tonight was about letting loose.
Tex was standing near the door when I came into the living room. He turned and stopped, his gaze traveling slowly from my boots up to my long, tanned legs, up my waist, over my breasts, and then to my face.
Something dark and appreciative flickered in his eyes and my heart skipped a beat.
He’d washed and changed too, his dark hair smoothed back instead of falling in his eyes, giving me a full view of his handsome face. He was wearing a plain black T-shirt with his leather cut over the top and then his brown leather jacket over that, and he smelled of soap and sandalwood and cigarette smoke.
“Well now,” he said slowly, “that outfit might cause some trouble.”
I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at my lips. “Shut up. You ready or not, cowboy?”
He grabbed his keys. “Oh, I’m ready, Rowan. Trust me, for a woman like you, I’m always ready.”
I turned away so he wouldn’t see me blush or see me smile. “Come on, we’ve got a bar to get to.”
Outside, the sun was dipping low, casting warm gold across the ranch. Tex’s motorcycle sat near the porch, big and black and unmistakably powerful. I’d seen bikes before, obviously. But something about this one felt different.
Two slightly smaller bikes were next to it, and two other men stood next to them, smoking. They both looked up as we walked closer.
“Put your tongues away,” Tex grumbled, “and keep your eyes on the job. Anything, and I mean, any fucking thing happens on this ranch tonight that isn’t supposed to, and I’ll hold you both personally responsible. And trust me, you do not want that to happen. You feel me?”
Both men nodded. “Got it.”
“Good, now fuck off. Go and check the horses or something.”
The two men stalked away toward the barn and I felt sorry for them.
“Did you really need to be so mean to them?”
A low rumble of laughter left Tex’s chest and he looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes of his. “Yeah, I did.”
