Page 3 of Dirty-Talking Cowboy
My breath caught. There was no mistaking his meaning, not with the way his gaze was moving over my body yet again, slow and hungry and possessive. Not with the way my own body was responding, heating everywhere he looked.
“Well, you can’t have either,” I managed, but my voice came out breathless.
“We’ll see about that.” He walked back over to his horse and swung up into the saddle with easy grace, settling into the leather. Looking down at me from that height, he looked even more imposing, more in control. “You’re going to need helparound here, Maggie. And when you’re ready to admit it, I’ll be right next door.”
“Don’t call me Maggie.”
“Why not?” His smile was slow, wicked. “It suits you.”
“Because we’re not friends. We’re not anything.”
“Not yet.” He gathered the reins, and his horse shifted beneath him, ready to go. “But we will be. Count on it.”
Before I could respond, he straightened in the saddle, gave me one last lingering look that made my knees turn even weaker, and turned his horse. I watched him ride away, that same slow, deliberate pace, and tried to ignore the way my body was still humming with awareness.
Tried and failed.
“Arrogant asshole,” I muttered, turning back to my car and the mountain of boxes still waiting to be unloaded. But my hands were shaking slightly as I grabbed another box, and I couldn’t stop replaying the way he’d looked at me. Like he wanted to devour me. Like he already knew exactly how I’d taste.
I’d never been looked at like that before. Never been looked at much at all, if I was being honest. I was curvy—had always been curvy, would always be curvy. Most men seemed to prefer quiet and compliant. I came with opinions—and hips. I’d accepted that, made peace with it, stopped waiting for someone to see me as desirable.
But Rhett McKinnon had looked at me like my curves were exactly what he wanted. Like he wanted to put his hands on every inch of me and make me forget every insecurity I’d ever had.
It was terrifying.
It was also the hottest thing that had ever happened to me, and he hadn’t even touched me.
But he was right. I knew nothing about ranching, but I did know one thing for certain. Rhett McKinnon was going to be a problem.
A big, muscled, infuriatingly attractive problem.
CHAPTER TWO
Rhett
I was up before dawn, same as every day for the last forty years. Coffee, quick breakfast, make sure the hands knew the tasks for the day. All before the sun cleared the mountains. But this morning, instead of heading out with the men, I found myself saddling up my horse and riding in the opposite direction. Toward her property.
Toward her.
I told myself I was just being a good neighbor. And protecting my future investment. Making sure the new owner didn’t burn the place down or get herself killed in the first forty-eight hours.
But that was bullshit, and I knew it.
I was riding over there because I couldn’t stop thinking about her. About the way she’d looked at me yesterday, all fire and defiance wrapped up in curves that made my mouth water. About the way she’d tried to stand her ground even when I could see her pulse fluttering her throat. About how much I wanted to find out if that smart mouth tasted as good as it looked.
Maggie Garrison. I’d spent half the night rock-hard and aching, imagining what she’d look like spread out on my bed. How she’d taste. How many times I could make her say my name.
Hell, scream it.
That body of hers was all soft curves and generous flesh, the kind of woman a man could hold onto and not worry about breaking. Fuck her raw and go back for more. Mark her creamy flesh so she’d know who she’d been with.
I shifted in the saddle, my body hardening painfully. I was annoyed at how easily she’d gotten under my skin. I was in control of every aspect of my life. The women I took to my bed knew the score.
She was too young. Too innocent for my appetites.
But hell, I wanted her.
Wanted to find out if she was as innocent as I suspected. If I’d be the first man to touch her, taste her, make her come. That thought made something dark and possessive coil tight in my chest.
