Destiny Wears Spurs (12 page)

“No, not that.” He cut her off with a swipe of his big hand. “Although, I’m not sure I’d call that dancing and singing. You looked a heck of a lot more like you were hopping around in agony and crying in pain. I was talking about what you are--”

“You came to rescue me?” She stared at him in disbelief.

“That’s not the point. What happened to your clothes?”

She looked herself over. What the heck was wrong with her clothes now? Was there no pleasing this man? “Well, the carrot managed to rip my pants.”

“The carrot?” He let out a snort and shook his head.

She never had been good at explaining herself when she was rattled, and Studly rattled her in a big way. “It was in my back pocket. I thought Bugs was trying to eat it--”

“Baby calf. Relax, cowboy. You’re turning red.” He must think she was a complete wacko. She certainly felt like one, babbling like an idiot and wearing her workout clothes. She sighed. So much for going back to change before anyone saw her.

Cody knotted his fists and gritted his teeth. Turning red? Hell, he was seeing red. The crazy woman would give him a heart attack yet. He tamped down his frustration with an iron will. “Continue.”

She shrugged. “When he nibbled on the seat of my pants, I figured he was after the carrot. He’s a calf, so I assumed carrots weren’t a part of his diet.”

“No, they’re not. Animals smell things all the time.”
Like when he stuck his nose in my ass
, Cody thought, asking wearily, “What happened next?”

“He ripped my pants, of course.”

“Of course.” Why did this not surprise him? “How come you took them off?”

“Well, I couldn’t wear them with a big gaping hole in the center of my butt, now could I?” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him as if
he
were the crazy one.

“Actually, yes.” She raised her chin a notch. “I caught it on a nail. I can’t believe you’re complaining. I dressed in layers just like you said.”

He barked out a laugh. “Yeah? Where in God’s name are the rest of your layers?”

“What do you mean, where are my layers? I’m wearing them.” She spread her arms wide and glanced down at her outfit.

He tipped his head back and roared with laughter. “You call that skimpy scrap of material an outfit? What the hell are you outfitted for, teaching my animals morning aerobics?”

“Funny,” she ground out. “I didn’t have anything else small enough to fit under my clothes. Besides, I
am
exercising, after all. Not that you’d notice all the work I’ve done around here. You could eat off the floor, it’s so clean.”

He leaned in until the tip of his nose almost touched hers. “I’ve noticed the work and the indecent attire.”

“Indecent? Give me a break. This isn’t the Stone Age. I only wore them in case I got hot again.”

“Hot? Yeah, right. You’re ‘hot’ all right. I know exactly why you wore them, but it ain’t gonna happen, woman. I’m no one’s cowboy toy.”

“Get over yourself.” She poked her finger in his chest. “The last thing I want is to play with your toy, cowboy. People dress like this all the time in New York.”

“Well, you’re not in New York, now, are you?” He poked his finger in her much softer chest, causing her to gasp. “Out here, it just ain’t proper.”

“Why, you little--”

“Look out, Miss Hammond. You’re turning a mite red there yourself.”

“Oh, you’re the most bullheaded, impossible man I’ve ever laid eyes on.” She scuffed her purple boot across the floor then took several deep breaths and said in a calmer tone, “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice the fantastic job I did.”

He glanced at her heaving chest. Damn, she stirred his passion something fierce. He had to give the spitfire credit, though. She gave as good as she got. “Fine,” he responded.

“Fine,” she sounded much calmer. “Why do I let you get to me? It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

He looked at her in surprise. Though he wasn’t about to admit she got to him, too, it comforted him knowing he wasn’t the only one confused. He decided to call a truce. “Explain why my calf was out of his stall, smelling like he took a bath in Hank’s cologne.” He couldn’t wait to hear this one.

“Probably because he did take a bath in Hank’s cologne.” Her eyes met his. He lifted a brow, and she bit her lip.

“Start talking.” Cody could feel the beginnings of a headache behind his right temple.

“Well, I know next to nothing about taking care of babies, so I thought of what my cousin would do, since she’s had three of her own. Only, hers are the human kind, but how much different can they be, right?”

His jaw throbbed, his head pounded, hell, his damned teeth ached. The lady always managed to turn a simple answer into a story. When she tucked her hair behind her ear in what he now recognized as a nervous habit, he forced himself to relax and soften his features. “And?”

“And I managed to feed him. Oh, the carrots are for the horses. Remind me to thank Festus. He’s such a nice ....”

Cody frowned.

She took the hint and steered the conversation back to the question at hand. “Anyway, I finished feeding Buggy, but he escaped and ran into me, but he’s fine. I checked.”

She sounded like she truly cared about the calf. A city chick caring about a calf. Something inside Cody went soft, but then she started babbling again, squelching the feeling in a hurry.

“I realize that, but he’s just a baby. I didn’t want him to catch a cold. Anyway, I was putting the soap back on the shelf, and I left the door open by mistake. Buggy came up behind me and nudged my leg. I was so startled, I grabbed the shelf and the cologne fell. By the time I climbed down, the bottle was empty and Buggy smelled like a gigolo. End of story. Care to know anything else?” She smiled.

“Okay. Give me a minute to finish up. Oh, and thanks for coming to my rescue.” She twisted around and bent over to sweep the last pile of dirt into the dustpan. “That was sweet of you.” She took a few steps, her hips swaying, and then leaned forward to dump the dustpan outside. “So, is it hard?”

Cody gulped.
Christ is it ever
.

Oh, hell, he’d gotten her started again. Once that happened, it was a damn sight harder to turn her off. “I remember now. Be right back. Men’s room.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She leaned forward to touch him again, and her full cleavage came into view.

“Need a drink,” he croaked, avoiding her touch. Jesus, her body was one deadly weapon. Crossing the barn with long, purposeful strides, he headed to the bathroom and didn’t stop until he’d reached the sink and dunked his head.

“Crazy woman’s trying to kill me,” he said to his dripping reflection.

Sticking his head under the water again, he tried in vain to cool the heat burning up his body. He came up shaking like a dog, spraying the mirror with hundreds of tiny drops. Reaching for one of the towels Monica had hung out to dry, he thought of gigolo Buggy’s bath and changed his mind.

Cody leaned against the wall, waiting for his arousal to go away, and shook his head in amazement. Crazy woman wasn’t wearing any goddamn underwear. No panty or bra lines beneath that tight little number.

Layers, my ass.

She acted like she wanted him as much as he wanted her, so what would be the harm in a little fling if she was willing? Hell, she was one of those do-for-yourself independent women who probably had affairs all the time. Wasn’t that the way of most women? Have a lover until you tire of him? That had been his experience so far. Well, he’d tire of her about the time she’d be ready to leave, so it would be mutual. No promises, no ties, no hurt feelings.

Just the way he liked it.

* * *

Monica put away the last of the equipment and then exited the tackroom as Cody emerged from the back of the barn. “Oh, my. You’re wet.”

“Yeah. I was hot.” Studly swaggered toward her, with his western shirt hooked over his index finger and draped down his back like some centerfold in a Sexy-Men-of-the-West calendar. Now that he stood before her, she was powerless to halt her greedy gaze from wandering over his impressive body.

Gulp. Hot? Lord, was he ever.

His hair tangled around his broad shoulders like he’d been caught in a thunderstorm, the black strands shiny and wet. The curly hair on his chest glistened with tiny drops of water. She tracked the path of a single drop rolling down his washboard abs, and her lips parted.

He’d left his jeans undone? Double gulp.

“Wh-What are you doing?” she asked.

“What do you want me to do?” His hand relaxed, and his shirt dropped to the floor in a soft puddle. They stared at each other, and heat blazed. He exuded sex through every pore, and she felt her temperature rise as her gaze dropped lower.

Triple gulp. Her temperature wasn’t the only thing rising.

A bead of sweat slipped down through the valley of her breasts, and he followed its path, his eyes lingering. A muscle in his jaw flexed. His smoky-gray gaze wandered down her figure, burning into her. She saw the intent in his eyes as he made a step toward her. She blinked and took a step back, wondering what had come over him. Not that she didn’t like it, but this was pretty much a 180 for him.

A slight smile hooked the corner of his mouth as he took another step toward her. She could feel his heat, and her body quivered.

Monica had never dated anyone like him, hadn’t really dated much at all. She’d never been good at flirting and had focused all her energy on her art, so when Wendell had come into her life, he’d seemed like the perfect match. He was good-looking, came from a good background, and worked for her father’s company. But she’d found out the hard way, he wasn’t half the man he claimed to be.

Her gaze wandered up Cody’s length, and her mouth went dry. There was obviously so much ... more. She had the strongest urge to find out just how much more. No. She couldn’t do this. It would be too darned hard to let this hunk of a man go when it was time for her to leave. Staying wasn’t an option.

All the while her mind tried to sort out what was happening between them, Cody seemed to have a plan of his own as he steered her up against a wall. Literally.

“Oh,” she said when her back bumped the rough boards. “You can drive your steer up my canyon anytime.”

His lips formed a half-smile. “Glad to hear we’re on the same page.”

Holy cow, had she really said that? She would never pull this campaign off in three weeks. And how in the world would she talk her way out of this one?

When he raised his arms and braced his hands on the wall behind her, a moment of panic set in. It was all so intense. So magnetic. So powerful. He made her feel things she’d never felt, not even with Wendell.

Her heart pounded and body trembled. She glanced toward the door. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not now. Not with him. She flattened her palms on his broad chest. “Wait, I’m not quite on the same page yet.”

She didn’t want him to stop, but he radiated intoxication and it overwhelmed her. She needed a minute to catch her breath. It felt good knowing someone wanted her this much.