For Love's Sake Only (3 page)

And that was the way she’d begun to think of Ty, as her cowboy. Although they’d only talked for a little while, Charlotte found herself intrigued by the imposing man. There was 14 Lena Matthews

just something about the way he looked at her from beneath the brim of his sexy tan Stetson, that made her knees wobble and her pulse dance.

She’d thought about him all afternoon long. Normally, when it came to business, Charlotte was able to tune everything out and focus on the project at hand. It was how she had gotten so far in her career by the age of thirty-two, further than men who were more than double her age. But today, Ty had taken her mind off her game.

Even Nathan noticed her distraction, which was a bit odd, seeing how he was having attention issues of his own. For two lifelong workaholics, they were both having a hard time thinking about work. Must be something in the dusty air.

“If you say one word, I’ll fire you on the spot.” Confused, Charlotte twisted around in her chair to see what had Nathan riled, and almost dropped dead on the spot. Her normally conservative boss was dressed like a country music singer.

“Oh, my God!” Eyes widening in shock, Charlotte couldn’t have closed her mouth if her life depended on it.

“I’m not joking, Charlotte,” he growled, pulling out a chair at the table and dropping into it.

“Who’s laughing?” Charlotte wasn’t amused. She was amazed. He looked damn good.

Either her taste in men was changing, or there was something in the Southern California air that made men in cowboy boots and Stetsons suddenly look unbelievably great. Charlotte finally understood what the fuss was all about when it came to cowboys.

Nathan shot her a quick look, as if to judge her sincerity, and what he saw must have appeased him. “This doesn’t get out.”

His discomfort was amusing and endearing, all at the same time. “I’m not going to breathe a word, but damn, you could have given a girl warning. An ass that great deserves a heads-up.”

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“You’re enjoying this a bit too much.”

“As if you wouldn’t if the situation were reversed,” she teased, nudging him gently with her shoulder. “In the seven years I’ve known you I haven’t been able to get you to change suit colors, and in one week, Calamity Jane has you wearing her brand.”

“Her form of persuasion was a mite more tempting.”

“It’s like that, is it?” Damn, it was in the air. Charlotte was going to have to start taking shallow breaths if she was going to get out of Santa Estrella with her heart in one piece.

Nathan didn’t answer her, which was answer enough. The intense look on his face spoke volumes, as did the way he perked up when Loren walked into his view.

He turned to Charlotte as he rose. “I’ll be ...”

“It’s all right, Nathan. I can take care of myself, you know.” With a nod, he was gone, and Charlotte was more amused than she’d been in eons.

Nathan was a goner. Charlotte only wondered how long it would take him to admit it.

Sitting back in her chair, Charlotte sipped her wine as she watched the dance floor with a look on her face akin to amusement. The shuffling and buffling looked difficult, but in no way resembled the grinding she saw back home. Although some of the moves guaranteed that you knew all of your partner’s body dimensions, it still wasn’t the dancing she was used to. Neither was the music, if that was what they called this whining, blaring from the overhead speakers.

“So, is this more your thing?” said a smooth voice from behind her.

Charlotte smiled, but didn’t turn around. She knew exactly who it was. His voice had been rolling around in her head all day long. “Not exactly, but close enough, I guess.” Ty chuckled and dropped a black hat on the table next to her drink, as he slid smoothly into the seat next to her. It was so slick, Charlotte wondered if it was a honed skill that he practiced over and over again on the local bar bunnies.

16 Lena Matthews

Charlotte had rehearsed how she was going to act, but when she turned to look at him, all thoughts of pretense flew out of the window. The man was fucking hot! There went her cowboy hat theory, because without it, Ty was still gorgeous.

Dark brown, curly hair brushed his temples and his nape, short enough not to appear too girlish, and long enough that she would have something to pull on in bed. His eyes were a brilliant shade of blue, with long lashes that almost seemed too feminine. On any other man they would have been, but on Ty, they just looked mouthwatering. His eyelashes were the only thing feminine on him, though. Ty had a strong jaw line, a nose that seemed as if it might have been broken once or twice, and the beginning hint of stubble on his cheeks, though Charlotte could tell he’d already shaved tonight.

Gathering her wits, Charlotte stumbled for something to say. Ty’s effect on her was disconcerting, to say the least. Charlotte wasn’t one to let men get the upper hand in her relationships. She liked to feel in control of everything, and the last thing she was feeling around Ty was in control.

“So,” she said, mentally grasping at straws. “Is this your fancy hat? The one you wear for ‘special occasions’?”

Ty’s eyes crinkled at the corner. “Yes ma’am,” he drawled in a fake southern accent. “I even have one for Sundays.”

“Is this how you normally spend your Saturday nights?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink to steady her nerves.

“No, actually I don’t come into town very often, unless I have business to attend to.

The ranch keeps me pretty busy.”

“So you made an extra trip to town just to see little ol’ me,” Charlotte teased.

“Yes.” The way he said it was completely serious, and devoid of any humor, causing Charlotte to stare in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting that.

“Oh.”

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“You seem surprised.”

“Ty, I have to say there isn’t much about you that doesn’t surprise me.” Charlotte was too blown away to try and play any games. She didn’t know how to deal with him. He wasn’t anything like she’d been expecting or used to.

His long, graceful fingers toyed with the rim of his hat, as he watched with an expression akin to amusement. “Don’t you like surprises?”

“Normally, no.” Charlotte hated not knowing what was coming next. She liked everything to be in nice, safe little boxes, especially her men.

“Then I guess you’re going to have to get used to it.” Charlotte snorted instead of replying. Ty was too cocky for his own good. He reminded her of a male version of herself.

“Care to shine my belt buckle?” Ty asked, changing the subject.

Shine his what? “Excuse me?”

Ty smiled at her confusion and nodded his head toward the dance floor. “It’s slang for dancing. See the way she’s rubbing against him?” It better have been slang. “See, where I come from, we call that grinding.”

“A little culture shock, huh?”

Charlotte wouldn’t necessarily call this culture, but whatever floated his boat. “Let’s just say, when I hear the expression ‘hoedown,’ I think of something entirely different.”

“And honky-tonk?” he asked, amusement gleaming from his eyes.

“You don’t even want to know.”

“You’re probably right,” he agreed with a smile. Holding his hand out, Ty tried again.

“Well ...”

18 Lena Matthews

“I don’t think so,” Charlotte said, eyeing the people moving on the floor. Knowing her luck, she’d fall flat on her ass. She’d been blessed with rhythm from birth, but the moves they were making required a bit more than the ability to find the beat.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Ty stood up and moved to pull her chair back, but Charlotte shook her head no. Once again, he was going outside of her comfort zone.

When all else fails, pick a fight. “What, you want to take me out there so everyone can see what a fool I’m going to make of myself?”

His smile slowly slid off of his face, making Charlotte feel as low as an ant’s belly. She hits, she scores. “Sorry,” she muttered, wondering if her dress was loose enough for her to kick her own ass.

Ty leaned down until he was a hair’s breath away from her ear, his words tickling her senses as he spoke to her. “No. I want to take you out there so every man in here can see what a beautiful woman I have on my arm. I want to twirl you around, dip you, spin you, show you a different way to have a good time. But most importantly, I want a reason to be able to hold you in my arms, besides the fact that I can’t get you out of my head. Is that all right with you?”

Charlotte nodded her head like an idiot, too shocked to speak. Was he kidding? She wasn’t going to be able to stand, let alone dance, after his sexy little speech. She was weak-kneed, lightheaded, and completely aroused, and Ty hadn’t touched her with anything but his words.

Ty pulled back and tipped her chin up with his fingers so she was looking directly in his eyes. “Ms. Charlotte, you’re looking all kinds of good tonight. “ Dropping his fingers from her chin, Ty picked his hat up off of the table, and slipped it on his head. “May I have this dance?”

As if there was any doubt. “Yes.”

* * * * *

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It had taken a bit of work to get Charlotte on the dance floor, but Ty could tell she was having a good time now that she was out there. A few boot scuffs and a smashed toe later, she was dancing like a natural, following his lead as if they’d been partners for life. Ty was a big believer that chemistry on the dance floor was parallel to the chemistry a couple had in the bedroom, and by the way she was moving next to him, they would be combustible.

Ty hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to feel her in his arms. From the moment he’d spotted her in the bar tonight, he knew that the attraction he’d felt earlier in the day wasn’t all in his head. She was a sexy little package, especially when she was decked out like she was tonight.

The little black number she was wearing was stunning, particularly the way it molded to her curves the way his hands itched to. Ty missed a step or two because he’d been paying more attention to the way her ass filled out the back of her dress than he was to the flow of the song. But he couldn’t help it. He was an ass man, and she had been blessed with a fine cut.

He wasn’t the only man to notice the contours of her body. Ty was on the receiving end of several envious stares tonight, but he took it in stride. Charlotte was a beautiful, desirable woman, and any man alive would be a fool if they didn’t notice.

Laughing as she missed a step and almost knocked into someone, Charlotte rolled herself into his arms and gave him a little bump with her bottom against his crotch. Ty’s body, stimulated already from just being close to her, kicked into overdrive at the mere touch of her ass against him.

Charlotte looked up at him smiling, no doubt unaware of the havoc she was causing inside of him. Her pretty brown face was damp with perspiration and her eyes were lit with joy. It was a look he could get used to seeing on her face. She gestured for him to move in close, and leaned up to speak in his ear. “We better get off this floor before someone penalizes me for full body contact.”

20 Lena Matthews

Ty nodded and led her off the floor. He’d had enough of the musical foreplay for one night. Ty was ready to move on to the next stage. The table she’d been sitting at was occupied now, so they squeezed up next to the bar.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked, nodding to the busy bartender, who was waiting to take their order.

“Water is fine.” Grabbing a napkin off the bar, Charlotte dabbed at her forehead, as he paid for their drinks. Ty handed her the tall glass of ice water and watched in amusement as she drank it almost completely down in one gulp. His amusement quickly merged into arousal as he watched her take an ice cube out of the glass and run it over her throat and down her dusky cleavage. Ty would have given his left testicle at that moment to be the ice cube, or better yet, be the slip of water running down between her breasts. When the hell did his jeans get so tight?

“That was more fun than I’ll ever admit,” Charlotte said, dropping the lucky ice cube back into her glass. “But, like Cinderella, I should be heading home.”

“Home home?” God wouldn’t be that cruel!

“Oh, no, I’m here until Monday, then back home to LA.” The fates were kind to his undeserving soul. “Monday is a lifetime away. There are so many things that can happen between now and then.” Charlotte tilted her head and raised an eyebrow slowly. It was probably one of the sexiest things Ty had seen in a long time. “Sounds ... tempting.” God, he hoped so.

Easing back on the barstool, Charlotte crossed her leg over her knee. “Are you working the arena tomorrow?”

Ty paused with his beer in mid-motion, when she began to gently rock her foot in tune with the music. Her skirt rose up a bit, and he was playing peak-a-boo with her thigh.

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“Earth to cowboy. Earth to cowboy,” Charlotte teased, snapping her fingers to capture his attention.

Ty was too aroused to be embarrassed. “Listen, little lady,” he drawled, watching her eyes light up with humor. “You can’t expect me to pay attention to what you’re saying up here, when you have my complete attention down there. I’m a man, sugar; I can’t multitask.”

“You’re not even going to deny you’ve been ogling me and not listening to a word I’ve said?”

“Honey, I’m hardly listening now.” Charlotte roared with laughter as Ty looked on with a smile. She might have thought he was joking, but he was completely serious. It was hard to pay attention to one thing, when his cock was focused on something else.

“You are bad.”

“Darlin’, you have no idea.” But he’d liked for her to.

“You didn’t answer my question earlier. Are you in the rodeo tomorrow?”

“Why? Would you come out and watch?”

“No, but I might be tempted to play nurse afterwards.” Her words were like arrows shooting straight at his groin. Just when he thought she couldn’t get any sexier, she’d up and say or do something else. It was getting to the point where it was hard to sit still.