Page 44 of Mister Cowboy
“Mmm,” he murmured, watching the gold chain hit the light of the morning sun.
She shifted onto her elbows, and the necklace fell from his fingers and settled back between her cleavage. “I should get up and shower. Edward will be here in thirty minutes.”
“How’s everything at the ranch coming along?”
She stood before him completely nude, and he made no attempt to hide his appreciation of her fine figure.
“Starting on the bedrooms today. Which one was yours?” she asked huskily as her eyes washed over the full-frontal view he was providing.
“The one next to the office that overlooks the barn,” he responded, clasping his hands together behind his head.
“Any trace of your childhood left in there?”
The question was innocent enough and reasonable, but it caught him off guard and made him fight to push down the nostalgia that nearly two decades couldn’t erase. “I don’t know. I haven’t been in that room in over eighteen years.”
“Seriously? You never went back for Christmas or summer vacation?”
“No. My mother visited me when she came to the city. What about you? Is there a pink explosion room in Chicago with dolls and horse figurines scattered about?”
A girlish smile transformed her face. “Close. It’s purple not pink, and no dolls or horse figurines.” She bit her lip, and he knew she was considering telling him more.
“I thought all little girls collected dolls or horse figurines.”
“Dogs.”
“You had dogs? Real dogs?”
She shook her head. “No. I desperately wanted a real dog, but we lived in the city and my father traveled too much for it to be practical.”
He tried to picture her with a dog, a small teacup one in her purse or a well-groomed poodle, but he couldn’t. “What kind?”
“A golden retriever or a lab, maybe—something big and playful.”
“We had labs at the farm. They’re good dogs and very spirited.”
She sighed and turned away from him, pulling clothes from her closet and taking them with her to the bathroom. She left the door open, which was the only invitation he needed.
“Ah.” The water seared his skin as he stepped into the shower. Her hair was piled high on her head as she massaged her scalp, causing the shampoo to suds up into a thick foam.
“Let me.” Moving in behind her, he ran his fingers through the soapy mixture, and she leaned her head back. Little moans escaped her lips, and he had to remind himself—and his dick—that they didn’t have time to get too excited this morning.
“I could get use to this.”
“Me, too. Although, perhaps next time we can stay at my apartment. I’m going to smell like fruit and flowers all day.” His words sounded like a complaint, but in reality, not only did he love the idea of smelling like her throughout the day, but he was certain he’d be rock hard for as long as the smell lingered.
* * *
Poised at the whiteboard, Tina dictated as they brainstormed.
“Who can we get that’s already connected in the farming market?” she asked, holding the dry erase marker below her chin. “Dan is the best there is, but I don’t know how open he’ll be to hearing from you after you told him to go fuck himself on the merger.”
“I didn’t really tell him to go fuck himself,” Brecken chuckled. “But he’s not going to be on board unless we can show that we have all the other pieces. We still need someone with more connections.”
He ran a hand over his chin. His brain had turned to mush. “Let’s break for lunch. I’ll give Martin a call—he knows everyone, maybe he has a lead for us.”
Tina placed the cap on the marker and tossed it on the table. “All right. I’m going to head out to the ranch and check in.”
“No need. I’m heading out there later, so I’ll make sure everything is running smoothly.”
