“Why are you afraid of me, Chloe?” It was then that he realized he was running his fingers up and down her arm.
She lifted her chin, but did not try pulling her hand away. “What makes you think I’m afraid of you?”
“You’re trying to avoid me.”
She lifted a haughty brow. “I could very well say the same thing about you, Ramsey.”
That was true, he thought to himself. Instead of denying it, he was silent for a moment. And when he felt a shudder pass through her from the way he was running his fingers up her arms he locked his gaze to hers.
“Why the hell do we let this keep happening to us?” he asked in a low, throaty tone.
Surprisingly, she gave him a faint smile. “Hey, you’re the one who was trying to work me out of your system.”
He nodded. “With yesterday’s kiss,” he replied.
“Yes.”
Now it was his time to smile. “It didn’t work.”
She shrugged. “Maybe your heart just wasn’t in it.”
His smile quickly transformed to a frown. “Like hell. Everything I had was in it.”
She seemed to consider his words for half a second. “I know,” she said, and sighed in dismay.
With his free hand he took his finger and tilted her chin. “But just to be sure, I think I should at least try it again. Yesterday didn’t seem to work.”
He then lowered his head and caught her lips in a drugging kiss, deliberately making it hot from the start. His tongue slid into her mouth on a breathless sigh and from there it was on. He deepened the kiss, devouring her mouth with a hunger that made yesterday’s kiss seem tame.
He heard her moan. He felt the way the pebbled tips of her breasts were rubbing against his chest as if he wasn’t even wearing a shirt. And once again, her stance was perfect to cradle his erection, which was hard as a rock, engorged, as aroused as a male shaft could get.
And just like yesterday, she was returning his kiss, lick for lick. Feasting on his mouth with just as much greed as he was feasting on hers. What was it about her taste, her flavor, the way their mouths fit together? His tongue seemed at home wrapped around hers.
He tried doing a mental calculation in his head, trying to figure out just how many steps it would take to reach the table. There he would strip her naked and…
The clearing of multiple throats had him reluctantly breaking contact with Chloe’s mouth, but not before getting one final lick of his tongue across her lips. He lifted his head to glare over at the four men standing in his kitchen doorway with smirks on their faces.
It was Callum, Zane, Derringer and Jason. Of course it was Zane who had the damn nerve to ask, “Could you explain to us why you keep kissing your cook?”
Chloe eased her body into the sudsy water. Now it was late afternoon and everyone, including Ramsey, was gone and she intended to take time for herself. And she intended to get in bed early so she could be well-rested in the morning, now that she knew the routine.
She closed her eyes and thought about the events of the day, beginning that morning when the four men had walked in on her and Ramsey. This time instead of being embarrassed by the intrusion, she had been downright annoyed. And of course Ramsey had done just what she’d expected. He had begun avoiding her again.
He hadn’t shown up for lunch. Instead he had locked himself in his office. Then around two o’clock, he left and he had yet to return and it was close to six. She had prepared dinner for him again and had left it warming in the oven. She had even sat on the sofa like yesterday, anticipating his return. But when it became evident he was staying away, she decided to take a bath, make a few calls and then get into bed early.
Thinking she had remained in the bathtub long enough, she stood to dry off with the huge towel. Everything for tomorrow was taken care of, so there was no reason for her to leave her bedroom tonight. She could use her PDA to check for any messages and to call and chat with her dad.
She paused when she thought she heard a car door slam, which meant Ramsey had returned home. Slipping into her robe and tying the sash tightly around her waist, she strolled over to the window and looked out. Ramsey was getting out of his truck.
She felt her body’s reaction at seeing him. And as if he felt her presence, he tipped his head back and glanced up and saw her standing at the window.
Chloe sucked in a steadying breath the moment their eyes met. For a long time they just stood there, seemingly transfixed while staring at each other. And the heat of his gaze, the intensity of his stare touched her in areas that hadn’t been touched in a long time.
She actually felt her body tremble at the desire building inside her and the feelings that clawed in her stomach from his unwavering gaze. No height or distance could stop the flow of sensations that were seeping into her every pore. And as she stood there all she could do was remember how he had taken her mouth for two days straight in hard, hungry and demanding kisses.
Unable to handle the intensity of his gaze or the passion he was stirring within her any longer, she drew in a deep breath before stepping away from the window.
Chloe fought the urge to rush downstairs and meet him at the door, to throw her arms around him and lift her mouth up to him, to be bold enough to take his mouth with the same intensity that he’d taken hers with earlier that day. She shook her head knowing there was no way she could or would do such a thing.
Removing her robe, she slipped into her pj’s, deciding to stick with her original plan to remain in her room for the rest of the evening. She and Ramsey might be under the same roof, but the less time they spent together, the better. And she had a good reason for feeling that way. She was getting drawn to him in a way that was more emotional than physical. She wished she could blame what she was feeling on irrational hormones but she knew that wasn’t the case. Something else was taking place and she didn’t want to think what that something could possibly be.
She felt vulnerable around him, like he could be the one man who could pull her into him so much that she would forget about herself. Daren had tried and failed. But a part of her knew if Ramsey took a mind to doing so that he would be successful. He had the ability to break through all the emotional walls she’d erected since her breakup with Daren.
With Ramsey she could feel herself losing her sense of will, her sense of logic and her common sense. There was something about him that was making her think things that she shouldn’t. Like a little girl with those same set of dark eyes or a son with Ramsey’s smile. She would admit right then and there if she was interested in a serious involvement with a man, he would head the list. And that worried her.
Ramsey opened the door to his home and leaned against it for a moment. He was fully aroused. The last thing he had expected when he’d pulled into his yard was to get out of his truck and participate in mind sex. He had stood there staring at Chloe while his entire mind had partaken in the most erotic fantasy possible. There was no part of him that had not been stimulated.
Through the window he could tell she was wearing a robe and he figured she was naked underneath. The thought of a naked Chloe had made him hard. Desire had surged through him in a way that it had never done before. While standing there staring at her he’d actually felt every muscle in his body tighten.
He glanced up at the stairs knowing the object of his desire, his red-hot passion and his erotic fantasies was up there behind closed doors. He was tempted, boy was he tempted, to go right up those stairs, knock on her door and kiss her in a way that would make the kiss they’d shared that morning seem like child’s play. And now that her taste was embedded onto his tongue, he wanted more of it, doubted he would be able to get enough.
He rubbed his hand down his face wondering what in the hell was wrong with him. He had been around beautiful women before. For a while his sisters, who felt he’d still been hurting over Danielle’s betrayal, had tried their hands at matchmaking. But no woman had held his interest until now. He was finding it hard to resist he
r. She was temptation at its very best. And on top of everything else, he was feeling emotions that he couldn’t quite identify. The woman was bewitching him.
He had remained in his office the majority of the day, but all it took was to hear the laughter and the excitement in the voices of his men when they’d arrived at lunch to know that once again Chloe had made their day. That point was proven when he’d checked the shearing records for today. More sheep than normal had been sheared. Hell, they had basically set a record. That meant there was a connection between their cheerful attitudes and the work they did. A happy employee produced more and for the past two days his men had produced. And when he had dropped by the shearing plant this evening, right before closing time, he could hear the excitement in their voices when they talked about breakfast in the morning. After the omelets their anticipation as to what tomorrow morning would bring was evident.
He drew in a deep breath and it was at that moment he picked up the smell of something delicious. Pushing away from the door, he crossed the room to the kitchen and saw that Chloe had prepared his dinner again. He lifted the pots and checked the oven. She had made baked chicken, field peas, rice and gravy, and macaroni and cheese. A real Southern meal, something a westerner like him could appreciate. He had acquired a taste for Southern cuisine after meeting the Atlanta Westmorelands.
Deciding he would wash up for dinner, he moved toward the bathroom thinking he had deliberately stayed away today. That kiss he and Chloe had shared had shredded his senses, making resisting her nearly impossible. It was already rumored by his men that he had the hots for her and he didn’t want to give them any more to talk about or speculate on. So leaving here for a while had been the decision that he’d made.
And then he’d had to deal with the ribbing from his brothers, Jason and Callum. Trying to convince them that Chloe was nothing more than his cook was beginning to sound lame even to his ears. He had walked away from them when he saw they were intent on drawing their own conclusions about his and Chloe’s relationship, and he’d made a point not to accept their invitation for a game of poker over at Jason’s place.
Luckily for him Dillon and Pamela had returned to town for a few days for Dillon to attend a business meeting, so he’d had the chance to visit with them. The newly married couple divided their time between here and Pamela’s home in Gamble, Wyoming, because one of Pamela’s sisters was in her last year of high school.
Dillon seemed extremely happy as a married man and Ramsey was happy for him. From the time he could remember, he and Dillon had been closer than just cousins. In essence, they were best friends and when their parents had perished in that plane crash, he had more than supported Dillon’s desire to keep the family together.
Because Dillon was the oldest by some months, he had become head of the family and guardian for everyone. But the two of them had worked hard. It hadn’t been easy raising their siblings and cousins, nine of whom had been under the age of sixteen.
Now all of them were over twenty-one, either in college or working alongside Dillon at Blue Ridge Land Development, the company that the two Westmoreland brothers—his father and Dillon’s—had formed many years ago. Under Dillon’s guidance, Blue Ridge was now a multimillion dollar company well known in the Mountain States. It employed over a thousand people. Every family member had worked there at some point in their lives before pursuing their dreams and other ambitions.
An hour later Ramsey had finished eating and was still licking his lips. The meal had been delicious. Chloe hadn’t come downstairs and in a way he hadn’t expected her to. She was well aware, just like he was, that something was taking place between them and it was something neither of them wanted. So it would be best to avoid the situation by avoiding each other. The attraction between them was too strong, the passion was too thick. And she was becoming his weakness. If he didn’t get things in check, the desire he felt for her would consume him and that was something he simply refused to let happen.
He shook his head as he moved toward the stairs and the moment he lifted his leg to take a step he inhaled her scent. It was the scent of a woman he wanted. Her fragrance was emitting from behind closed doors, drenching the air, teasing his nostrils and making him even more aroused. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night and he doubted things would be any better tonight.
When he reached the landing, he worked his shoulders to relieve the tension that had built there. Drawing in a heated breath he made it down the hall, forcing one foot in front of the other, intent on passing Chloe’s door without stopping.
Easier said than done. When he reached her door he couldn’t help but pause. He even raised his hand to knock before snatching it back to his side.
What the hell was happening to him?
He forced himself away from her door and quickly moved down the hall toward his own. He had to formulate a plan, at least until the weekend. Hopefully, she would leave those two days to go back to her own place, get her mail, water her plants, check in with her neighbors or whatever else she needed to do. By then they would need the distance. They would need the space. The weekend was three days away and he hoped like hell that he could hold out until then.
Seven
“So what do you think of Derringer?”
Chloe couldn’t stop the smile from touching her lips. This was the third time this weekend that Lucia had asked that same question. “I told you twice already, but I’ll tell you again,” she teased, as she pulled off her jacket. “He is a very handsome man. I like him. He, Zane and Jason come by for breakfast and lunch quite a bit. They’re nice guys. Big teasers.”
She saw the wistful look in Lucia’s eyes. They had just returned from having dinner together after going to a movie. “You know how you can make yourself known, don’t you?”
Lucia rolled her eyes. “I know how you would make yourself known to him, Clo. You go after whatever it is that you want. You’re daring. I’m not.”
Chloe placed her hands on her hips. “So what are you going to do, Lou? Wait another year or so for him to need more paint thinner and hope you’re in your father’s store when he does?”
Lucia dropped down on her sofa with a downhearted look on her face. “Of course not.” She then looked up at Chloe. “Enough about me since I refuse to have a pity party. How close are you to getting Ramsey to do the magazine cover and interview?”
Chloe shook her head and dropped down beside Lucia, looking just as downhearted. “It’s not going well. Ramsey is avoiding me like the plague.”
“Why?”
Chloe smiled over at her friend. “Too much sexual chemistry in the air when we’re within ten feet of each other.”
“Must be nice.”
Chloe leaned back against the sofa and closed her eyes thinking that in essence it should be nice, but it wasn’t. Ramsey made an appearance only when he had to. He got up each morning for his cup of coffee while she prepared breakfast and instead of hanging around, he took his breakfast and coffee into his office, claiming he had a lot of work to do. He came out for lunch to eat with his men, said very little and only stayed long enough to eat and leave. In the evenings, although she prepared dinner for him each evening, he usually stayed away until he was sure she was in bed.
He hadn’t been home when she’d left to come here for the weekend. She had left a note on the kitchen table letting him know she would be returning Sunday evening. She had left her cell number in case something came up and she needed to be reached.
A smile touched her lips. Who was she kidding? She was hoping he would contact her for any reason and that wasn’t good.
“Okay, Clo, you’ve gotten quiet on me. Open those eyes and tell me what’s going on.”
Chloe slowly opened her eyes to gaze over into Lucia’s curious ones. She had an idea what was going on, but to say it out loud would be speaking it into existence and she wasn’t ready to do that yet. There was no way she could tell Lucia that she might not be the only woman who’d fallen for a Westmor
eland man.
“Stop being a worry wart. Nothing is going on.” Chloe drew in a breath thinking that Lucia had no idea just how true that was. Nothing was really going on. She was no closer to getting Ramsey to agree to that cover or an interview than before she’d shown up. Somehow, she had to get him to stop avoiding her, sexual chemistry or no sexual chemistry. And if she were to come clean now and tell him the truth, he would probably kick her off his land so fast it would make her head spin.
She stood, not ready for Lucia to question her further about anything. “It’s late and I think I’ll turn in early.”
“I think I’ll turn in as well. Mom and Dad invited us to dinner after church tomorrow and then later Aunt Pauline wants us to drop by her place.”
“All right and then after that I need to return to the Westmoreland place.” This would be her last week and she needed to make some kind of headway.
Later that night as Chloe lay in bed, images of Ramsey flowed through her mind. Two days ago while preparing lunch she had glanced out the window in time to see a shirtless Ramsey carrying a lamb in his arms across the yard to the barn. With jeans riding low on his hips she had stared at his physique, taking in every inch of his tight abs, strong arms and tight buns. He was the only man alive who could literally make her drool.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, the following morning at breakfast when he’d sat with his men, she saw again how well he got along with them as well as his brothers and cousin.
She shifted in bed admitting she missed him. She missed the ranch. And as crazy as it sounded, she even missed preparing food for the men. They were so appreciative and complimentary.
She closed her eyes thinking of Ramsey and knowing she would be glad to see him tomorrow when she returned to the ranch.
Ramsey pushed back the curtain and looked out, something he’d done too many times over the past hour. Where was she? The note she’d left on the kitchen table said she would return Sunday evening. In his part of the world the evening time came well before ten at night. The last time he had glanced at the clock it was heading toward the eleventh hour.
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