Page 9 of The Rancher's Vengeful Heart

Maybe there would come a time when it would be his hand under her dress—-

WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HER?

It was as if having from zero to infinite thoughts of Lucius Young had fried her brain cells out of order, and she had become hypersensitive to just about everything because there was no longer a rational mind capable of governing the reactions of her body.

The way her cotton dress was clinging against her skin was suddenly like a premonition of his caress, and having him seated so near had her throat so dry that she had to lick her lips, and...why did she suddenly feel like he was staring at her?

Her bemused gaze flew to his, andoh!

Luciuswasstaring at her.

And when her lips parted in shock, his gaze slowly lifted to hers, andoh no.

The chemistry between them...

It was chemistrying.

Again.

Chapter Two

CYNICISM HAD LUCIUSbracing himself for the worst as soon as he was seated next to his mystery lady.

One thing that only his siblings knew about him was how his taste in women could be described as old-fashioned. He preferred to do the wooing than the other way around. He appreciated a woman who had her own mind, certainly, but being opinionated and shallow was different from being intelligent and smart.

Lucius had lost count of the number of times a woman who looked good on paper had turned him off within five minutes in her company. A part of him was prepared for the same thing to happen now. But it did not.

Over a minute had already passed, and most women would have started chatting him up by now. His mystery lady, however, had yet to even look his way...and it had Lucius wanting her even more.

Her short dark hair fell only an inch or two past her chin, and the sight had him realizing howallof the women he previously dated had long hair...by coincidence.

Because the longer he looked at his mystery lady, the more he also realized how much he liked her short hair. The way it revealed the elegant length of her neck was a visual pleasure in itself, and an unexpected jolt of desire shot through his belly as Lucius imagined himself branding the sensitive skin of her neck with his mouth.

How he wanted this woman, to the point that his years of unplanned celibacy seemed all but natural. It was as if his body had known what his mind had not yet realized, and it was why his body had rejected all others. A part of him had been waiting for her all this time, and now that she was finally in his sight...

Lucius leaned forward slightly, this time holding nothing back as he stared at her. The heat of his gaze did its job in just a couple of seconds, with his mystery girl turning to him, and her lips parting in shock as she glimpsed the desire in his eyes.

"My apologies." Lucius found himself playing the wolf in sheep's clothing for the first time in his life. "Have I bothered you?"

Tassy felt as if she had stepped in an alternate universe, and in this new world, everything she knew stopped making sense.

People often described Lucius Young as cold and aloof, and these were already the "good" things that people who actuallylikedhim had to say.

His business rivals, however...

Ruthless. Cold-blooded. Vicious.

And yet the Lucius in front of her seemed so...nicethat even though she did find his presence intensely disturbing, she actually heard herself say, "No, Mr. Young."

The billionaire raised a brow, and too late she realized she had inadvertently admitted to knowing who he was.

Oops?

Lucius gazed at his mystery girl thoughtfully. So she knew who he was, apparently, but she still hadn't attempted to engage his attention in any way. Was it her way of being coy?

"It seems you have me at a disadvantage..."

"I heard you speak once," Tassy felt the need to explain, "when I was still in university."

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