Page 19 of Rough Stock

Craig had always been blessed with perfect abs.

Once upon a time, her fingers fed her desire, to slide under the edge of his T-shirt just to touch those abs. And at night, while in bed, she used to rest her hand on them, just to feel that warm smooth marble, made even better when he’d hold her hand to his chest. But that was so long ago.

Seeing him like this was so freaking hard.

Izzy tugged on an earlobe. She knew he was talking to her, she just couldn’t hear him, so she pinched her arm.

‘Hey.’ Craig grabbed her wrists. ‘Stop that.’

‘Stop what?’ It was his fault for having the best set of abs on the planet. He should never have taken off his shirt, so she didn’t have to stare at the flat muscular stomach and that treasure trail that disappeared into his jeans, that stirred up all sorts of bad girl fantasies. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be obsessing over them for the next—

‘Hey.’ Craig held the sides of her face, dragging her vision up to focus on his handsome face and his sparkly blue eyes. ‘Deep breath, baby.’

Damn him.

‘I’ve got you. Just breathe, baby.’

Left with no choice but to close her eyes, as Craig covered her ears to magically shut out the world both inside and out, where everything stopped spinning enough for her to sigh.

‘There we go.’ Craig let her go and leaned back against the examination bed. ‘Dare I ask what you were obsessing over?’

She shook her head, already feeling the heat prick across her cheeks. She turned her back on him to read the doctor’s diploma on the wall. Was it real? Or was it one of those fake certificates printed off the Internet?

She stepped in closer to look for any telltale signs. Even though she knew the diploma was real, it helped switch her focus away from Craig, despite being able to see his reflection in the polished frame.

‘Why don’t you think I should take Finn’s job?’

‘Because Finn’s a cop and you’re not.’

‘I know that.’

‘And they get paid danger money, meaning it’s a dangerous job.’

‘I don’t think I’ll be near any danger. Only the livestock, like I do now—ifI ever get back to work.’ He sighed so heavily it made his shoulders slouch as he sank into the chair. At least she couldn’t see the abs anymore, just the fine structure of his muscular arms and solid shoulders.

No wonder the single women in this town were so desperate to have their one-on-one time with the infamous ladies’ man, Cowboy Craig. He was a top ten stunning male, who had the gift of making a woman feel special.

The sad thing was she’d had that taste, and even though she was never going back there—ever—it made it so much harder for her to move forward.

It was rare to find a man willing to put up with a female who had issues. At first, the men she’d dated liked her quirky oddities, until they realised it was more than that. It became easier to not date than deal with rejection, making the world so much simpler. Until all she had left was her job.

But then, it was her job that got her into the current boatload of trouble.

‘Are you worried about me?’

‘Huh?’ She spun around, suddenly remembering Craig was in the room. Dammit. She rubbed her forehead. ‘I’m sorry, I’m just…’

‘Overstimulated. I get it. Come on.’ He gently tugged on her wrist, making her sit beside him. ‘Do you still do that trick with your toes?’

‘Not for a while…’

‘You’re not on any medication?’

‘Haven’t needed it.’ But she started squeezing her toes in her shoes.

‘Because you had your morning routines, your treadmill and stair-master to help you cope. Your mantra…’

‘Exhaust the body to tame the mind.’ They said it together.

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