Strictly Business (5 page)

* * * * *

“You’re late. This is Lady. Lady’s Maid, actually, but we
call her Lady.” Jess looked good. Really good, actually. Casual was much better
on her than business. Even with that God awful flannel thing she was wearing.
What
is that about? It’s way too hot for that today.
“You might want to leave
that shirt thing here. It’s not exactly cool out.”

“No thank you, I’m fine. Thank you for the horse. Lady looks
beautiful. Sorry, I was late. I had to find the stables. It was easier said
than done.”

He headed around to help her on the horse, right as she
hooked a foot in the stirrup and swung her leg up. Looking down at him, she
said, “Ready when you are.”

Okay, so apparently she can ride, at least enough to know
how to mount a horse
. He swung up onto Satan and led the way out. “It’s not
all that far, but I wanted to show you some of the land as well. Also, there’s
a back road that all your construction trucks will have to come in on. I can’t
have them coming through the main ranch area. Did you bring some water? We’ll
be out here a while.”

She lifted her flannel, and showed him the canteen she had
hooked to her belt. “This really isn’t my first time doing this. You need to
have a little more faith in me if we’re going to work together.”

“Then take off the damn jacket. That might prove you have
the sense that God gave you.”

“Okay, listen up.” The cool composure had already snapped
and she sounded pissed again. “I wasn’t planning on living here for five
months, so the better part of my wardrobe is at home. Now, I’ll have it here in
a couple of days, but in the meantime I have what I packed. Which is mostly
business suits. I only brought the jeans for evening use, hence the thicker
flannel. I always wear a long sleeve and this is what I have. So, quit treating
me like a stupid child and trust that I can take care of myself!”

Jake found himself smiling again. For some reason, he liked
her better when she was angry. Something sparked in her eyes when she yelled at
him. And anything was better than that cool stuck up thing she had going.
“Well, I guess I’ll believe it when I see it. So far, the only thing you seem
to have going for you is the ability to get on a horse. Can you ride as well?”

Her eyes squinted, her jaw tightened. “Try me.”

Jake smiled again as he wheeled Satan around. Lady was just
that, a lady, very gentle and calm, which is why he’d chosen her for the
unknown rider. But if handled well she had some speed.
I guess we’ll see
just what she can do
. He heel-kicked Satan, and the horse took off into a
full run.

Jess nudged Lady with her knees, thankfully she responded to
that, and away they went. It was only a matter of minutes before she was
grinning like a kid. She loved to ride, not for competition, but just to ride.
The wind in her face, the feel of the horse, strong and powerful underneath
her. The pounding of the ground beneath the hooves. Every now and then as a
child, she would manage to sneak away from whatever lessons she’d had going and
run over to the stables. She would grab her mare, Savannah, and run her as far
and as fast as she could go. Sometimes, she would even ride bareback. That was
her secret though. Only Billy, their stable hand, ever knew she did that. For
just a minute, she was even able to forget where she was and who she was with.
For just a minute, she was eleven years old again, riding through the trees in
Virginia. Not a care in the world.

Jess, saw Jake slow his horse and then saw the scowl flash
across his face. She sighed. Okay, back to the present. Forced politeness.
“Thank you. That was a lot of fun. Is this where you want the house?” She
looked around to see where she was. It was beautiful. A wide open field,
surrounded by trees. It was even fairly level, so it wouldn’t take too much to
build the foundation. He was
still
glaring at her.

“Yeah, this is the spot. I’ve always liked it here. There’s
even a stream just down a ways over there.” He was pointing to just beyond the
tree line.

The words were all normal enough, but he was almost growling
them at her.
What
is his problem?
“It’s a great location. I think
it would make for a lovely home site.” She hopped down, reached under her
flannel and took out a pencil and notebook. She started making some quick
notes, pacing off measurements.

She could feel his eyes boring into her back as she worked.
Somehow, he was angrier now than when they'd left the barn. She did her best to
ignore him and finish as quickly as possible. When she was done, she calmly
turned to face him, a tentative smile on her lips. Now he looked even angrier
than before. “Can you please show me the road?” Her tone was no longer cool,
but the words were polite enough. It would have to do.

“This way.” He turned the horse and walked him over to the
road.

He must have heard her catch up to him because he kicked it
up to a trot and took her all the way down to where the side road met a larger
road. “We’ll go back to the house this way.”

That was all he said. No other words. He slowed down when
she stopped to make more notes and then sped back up to a trot when she was done.

It’d probably been over two hours by the time they got back
to the barn. She was hot. Way overheated. All she wanted to do was go into the
house and take off the stupid flannel. The silence, which would have normally
been uncomfortable, had been a blessing. They couldn’t be civil to each other,
so silent was better. She did need to talk to him though. She turned, intending
to ask him when they could meet to go over some ideas and get the details of
what he needed in the floor plan. She saw him hop off the horse and walk
quickly toward her.

He grabbed her flannel and started unbuttoning it, yanking,
almost ripping the buttons off. She tried to grab at his hands and he swatted
hers away. “What do you think you’re doing? Stop it right now!”

“Taking off your damn flannel. You’re hot enough that you’re
turning red. And obviously you’re too stupid to take it off yourself, so I’m
doing it for you. I will not have someone passing out because she doesn’t have
a brain in her head!”

At this point, he had the shirt unbuttoned and was yanking
it off her arms. Jess was struggling, trying to keep her shirt on her arms, but
it was a losing battle. In all her wrestling, the only thing she seemed to be
accomplishing was wiggling herself against him. And God help her, her body
responded to his nearness, his hard strength and size. She felt her breasts
tingling, her nipples tightening and her breaths coming in shorter gasps.

She decided the shirt wasn’t worth it. She yanked her arms
out and swung herself away from him.

* * * * *

Jake threw the stupid shirt on the ground and turned toward
her. “Now, drink some of that water you brought—” The words died in his throat.

Had he really considered her bland? He was wrong. She was
gorgeous. He found himself swallowing hard as he absorbed what he saw. Her hair
had come loose, partly from the ride, and partly from the fighting. Her eyes
were blazing back at him, the brown almost sparking, with…anger? Her cheeks
were flushed, not just with heat, and her lips were red. Very red. And her body
was…there were no words. She was built like every man’s fantasy. Long legs,
surprisingly long since she was so little, curvy hips that dipped in to the
tiniest waist he’d ever seen. Her jeans fit like they’d been custom made for
her, riding low across her hips. Her waist flared back out to large, rounded
breasts. Bigger than they should’ve been for her frame, but they didn’t look
fake. They looked soft and natural. And the tips were pressing hard against her
fitted T-shirt. This was what she hid underneath those stupid suits? How was
that possible? Better yet, why?

She stood completely still while his brain tried to process
what his eyes were seeing. When she finally spoke, her voice showed all the
anger he knew he deserved. “Have you seen enough? May I have my shirt back
now?” At the husky tone, Jake felt his already throbbing groin tighten into a
full hard on. He had to get away from her before he did something he’d regret.
The lack of control over his body’s response pissed him off even more. He threw
her shirt at her. “Put it back on before you go out there,” he managed to
mumble. There was no telling the response she would get from the other men on
the ranch. There weren’t many eligible females around here, and none that
looked like her. “Meet me in my office.” He walked away, shouting over his
shoulder to Bobby to cool down Satan and Lady.

* * * * *

Jess laughed in spite of the fury.
Satan is the name of
his horse? It figures.
She threw her shirt back on and stormed after him.

She popped into the bathroom to fix her hair and splash some
cold water on her face. She took off the fanny pack/belt kit she always wore to
the sites, grabbed her notebook and headed into his office. When she got there
he was waiting for her and holding a lightweight, long sleeve shirt.

“Until your clothes come, you can wear this.” He tossed it
over to her.

Apparently, he didn’t like her figure any better than her
mother did. She sighed. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” She pulled off her
flannel and slid his shirt on. It was blessedly cool, and smelled like him.
Soap and man. It was also huge. She buttoned all but the top two buttons, and
rolled the sleeves. It came halfway down her thighs, but it would work.

They spent the next four hours going over details. Marsha
brought lunch in to them. He wanted a large house, around five thousand square
feet. At least six bedrooms, an office, a game room for the pool table and a
huge kitchen. They went over the color schemes he preferred. She was right, his
office and the master bedroom, which she had not seen, were the only true
reflections of his personal taste in this house.

She wanted the exterior to match him as well. “Will you take
me to your bedroom?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized
what she’d said. She felt the blood rush upward, heating her cheeks as she
tried to backpedal. “I just want to get a feel for you. The real you. No,
wait…” She covered her face with her hands. “I need to see what your style is
before I design the damn house.” She sighed.

A deep chuckle seemed to rumble up from within him. A huge
smile lit up his face when he answered, “Sure, let’s go.” He walked over and
held the door for her.

Jess was stunned by his smile. His face softened, relaxed.
His deep blue eyes sparkled making an already handsome face knock-down
gorgeous. She felt her breath catch. Maybe it was better when he was angry at
her. Or at least it was less distracting... and dangerous. She rushed to the
door, pausing to let him pass again and lead the way.

Did he brush by her a little too closely? Was it intentional
or simply because of his size? This house really was too small.

The moment Jess walked into his bedroom, she knew she'd been
right. This was him. The dark mahogany furniture was obviously expensive and
oddly ornate while still being masculine. It was a huge four poster bed, with a
black and silver satin comforter set. Lots of black wrought-iron accents made
the room complete. He had art work displayed throughout the room, with warm
earth tone colors.

All of a sudden, she could see his house. She knew just what
it should look like. She had to go, had to start drawing, right now. She turned
and faced him, the grin she couldn't suppress splitting her cheeks. “I’ve got
it.”

Before she could slip past him, he did something she never
would have expected. He reached a hand out, and pushed a stray lock of hair
back behind her ear. Jess froze, holding her breath as she waited.

She wanted him to kiss her. This was wrong, unprofessional.
She didn’t even like him; he was overbearing and rude at best. A more realistic
description would be a complete ass. And yet, her cheek tingled where he’d
brushed it. She found herself mumbling “I…I…have to…go.” Then she did something
she’d never done in her life. She fled

When she came into the kitchen for dinner, or supper as
Marsha called it, she deliberately waited until she heard the noise level die
down. She was hoping that he’d be gone when she came in. He was still there,
but his plate was almost empty.

“Hurry up girl, grab some food before these hooligans eat it
all,” Marsha said. “They’re all in a hurry so they can get ready to go out.”

“Out?” Jess asked.

“Oh yeah, it’s Friday night. They all pile into the truck
and head into town to the bar there. There’s drinking and dancing. Food, too,
although mine’s better.” She smiled as she said the last part. “You should go
with ’em. It’s a good time.”

“Are you going?”

“Oh, heavens no, child. I’m too old for that now. Mostly.
Every now and then I head in with ’em. You go on though. They can be a little
rowdy, but they’re all good boys. They won’t let nothin’ happen to ya. Besides,
Ben and George are going too. I think Ben is going to be the driver tonight.”

“I don’t have anything to wear, not until my clothes get
here.”

“Oh, no, it’s not like that. Just wear what you got on. It’s
not fancy.”

Jess thought about it for a minute. That might actually be
fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she went dancing and she had never
been to a small town country bar. They didn’t have them in Virginia, not in her
neighborhood. And even Austin was still pretty 'big city'. “You know what, I
think I will. That sounds fun. Do I have time to go fix my hair? When are they
all leaving?”

“You got time, but your hair looks fine. Or maybe take it
down. Doesn’t that twisty thing you always do ever make your head hurt?”

Jess laughed, “Yeah, it really does, but it’s better than
the alternative. I just can’t bring myself to cut my hair.”