Riding Red (16 page)
Authors: Nadia Aidan
“I don’t think so, Mr. Downing. This is my home and you weren’t invited.”
“Not according to Natalie. She said I could stay here for as long as I liked, so that’s what I’m doing.”
Angry red flames flared to life in her topaz gaze, and he knew instantly that those were the last
words she wanted to hear.
“Well, Natalie doesn’t live here. I do. And as the foreman, I decide who comes and goes on this property.”
His eyes hardened, and he levelled her with a steely glare, causing her to take a tiny step back. From the wary expression on her face, she must have quickly realised he was not to be trifled with. But, just in case she wasn’t too sure, his next words made it absolutely
clear that he would not be pushed around by her.
“You don’t get to make the decisions around here anymore, BJ, because as of right now, y
ou’re fired.”
“What?”
He almost pitied BJ Parker, who stood there with her mouth agape and her eyes wide. He was sure she hadn’t been expecting that. And truth be told, he hadn’t really wanted to throw down the gauntlet in such a high handed manner. He needed this woman because she knew the land better than anyone else. But from what he knew of her, and what he’d just witnessed, she was not used to people challenging her nor was she used to taking orders, and he couldn’t stand for that. The Downing brothers were now the new owners of Cottonmouth, and she would either have to accept that and learn to work with him or she could find herself a new job.
“This is
my
home,” she gritted out angrily.
Her caramel hued cheeks glowed red with fury, and despite the rage pouring off of her in waves, he still found himself feeling a twinge of guilt as he glimpsed the pain in her eyes. Unlike her sister, he could tell this place meant something to her and for some inexplicable reason he knew that tearing her from her land would be like tearing out her soul. He empathised with her, but didn’t cave under the weight of her fury. This was business and if she couldn’t do her job then she couldn’t stay.
“You cannot kick me out of my home and off my land.”
“Let’s get this one thing straight—by law I
can
, but I don’t
want
to and that’s certainly not why I came here. I came here to get the pipeline up and running in order to funnel out oil, but if you’re determined to make things difficult for me then I will have no choice but to fire you.”
“You won’t find oil without me,” she said stiffly, her eyes as hard and cold as granite.
Something about the way she said those words had him seeing red. He was a man slow to anger so the very fact he felt heat crawling along the back of his neck was not a good sign for either of them.
Still holding his bags, he closed the distance between them so that she was forced to crane her head back in order to meet his ferocious gaze.
“I don’t tend to do well with threats or blackmail so if you have plans to sabotage this operation you won’t have to worry about getting fired because I’ll have your ass thrown in jail.”
She snorted, seemingly unmoved by his threat, which was surprising. Most people caved under the weight of his fury.
“I won’t have to lift a finger to sabotage you because as soon as you send me away you’ll be hard pressed to locate even a single drop of oil. And don’t think Natalie can help you. She hasn’t spent more than a night here since she was eighteen. You can fire me,
city-boy
but then be prepared to comb over more than a hundred acres looking for what I could find with my eyes closed.”
The smug look on her face annoyed the hell out of him, but it was the way she called him a
city-boy
that really pissed him off. She probably thought because he wore a suit and drove a fancy car that he would prove himself to be a walking moron if left out in the wide open space of the Texas plains. But she was wrong. All of his brothers spent their days working out on the ranch. Even Jacob spent a fair amount of time doing ranch work, despite the fact that he was the main one who ran the business end. If this woman thought he was a spoilt and pampered rich playboy then she was in for a surprise.
“I don’t care if you can find oil in your sleep. If you can’t find a way to cooperate with me then I will have no choice but to let you go.”
If looks could kill, he would have been dead as soon as he stepped out of his car, but the glare she shot him now was a thousand times worse. He half expected to go up in flames at any moment from the look in her eyes, which was damn near incendiary.
“I can cooperate as long as you understand that I’m in charge,” she finally bit out, and he knew it must have pained her to say even that.
“I have no interest in running your ranch. My only reason for being here is to set up drilling operations. That’s it,” he said, although he itched to remind her that she was
not
in charge, at least not entirely, but he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She was willing to cooperate, which meant he could finally unpack his things, and get some rest. He could deal with the semantics of their arrangement later, when he was well rested.
She continued to stand there for a long moment, still rooted in the same spot, and he wondered wearily if she was going to force him to fire her for real this time. Luckily, she just shrugged and turned away from him.
“I’ll show you to the guest room,” she called from over her shoulder, her long braid whipping down her back. Jackson didn’t miss her less than enthused expression before turning her back to him, or the deadpan tone of her voice. Even if he had, the rigid lines of her slender back would have given her away as she disappeared inside the house on long, stiff legs.
He slipped inside to follow after her, all the while mentally preparing himself for the hard reality that the next several months were going to be hell.
It was a sad irony. BJ was as beautiful as a desert rose, but about as pleasant as a cactus, and he had no doubt she would prove to be a thorn in his side the entire time.
About the Author
Nadia Aidan lives, works and writes on the West Coast in the United States. Under her real name, Nadia holds a PhD in Political Science and Public Policy and by day she works as an Assistant Professor.
She writes across all genres, from historical, to fantasy/sci-fi to contemporary. In addition to writing erotic romances Nadia enjoys reading other authors, playing flag football, studying muaythai, working out, listening to music, scuba diving, and target shooting.
Her other interests include collecting Top Cow comics, especially Witchblade and Tomb Raider. She loves professional football and soccer. Her favourite teams are the Washington Redskins and Manchester United, respectively.
Nadia loves watching, reading about, and writing about strong, assertive heroines which is why she is an enduring fan of Fight Girls, Xena, Buffy, American Gladiators—New and Old, and La Femme Nikita!
Email:
[email protected]
Nadia Aidan loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.total-e-bound.com
Also by Nadia Aidan
Downing Brothers: Sleeping with the Enemy’s Daughter
Downing Brothers: A Rebound Affair
Heroes and Harlots: Every Desire
Heroes and Harlots: A Madam into a Mistress
Caught in the Middle Anthology: Mating Season
Pleasure Bound Anthology: Sex Therapy
Summer Seductions: A Wild Wicked Three Day Affair
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