by Amelia Jade
Instead of opening into the hallway as she stormed out it held firm and Cheryl walked right into it with a resounding thud. Stepping back she stifled a scream, flicked the lock, and tried it again. Flipping out at her own actions wouldn’t be of any help. Nobody else had made her lock the door besides herself.
She emerged into the kitchen to find Rowe sitting in the same chair he’d been in when she ran out of the room half an hour earlier. The only difference was that her mess was conspicuously absent. Great, he’d cleaned up as well, which meant she had to interact with him.
“Thank you…” her eyes darted to the side of the fridge. “Did you make fresh coffee?”
Rowe nodded, eyes flashing in the diffuse morning light that filtered in through the blinds. At least those had been closed. “I figured you could use it. I hope I did it right. I’m not very familiar with making coffee.”
“You’re a morning person.”
“You could say that.”
“Ew. How…cheery.”
What the hell? Was she flirting with him? Cheryl tamped down on her emotions and walked over to the coffee machine to pour herself a cup. Moments later she leaned back against the counter and sighed for the second time that morning.
“Okay.” She paused, taking another sip. That was better. “You. Talk. Explain yourself. Why were you watching me in my underwear like some kind of criminal?”
Rowe blinked slowly. “I was sitting in the chair drinking water and reading the paper. I turned the page. Several times. How was I supposed to know you’re not only blind but also deaf until you’ve had some coffee?”
He’d turned the page? Newspaper wasn’t exactly quiet. What had her brain been doing all that time? Purposefully ignoring him?”
“Okay. Fine. Why did you decide to wait so long until getting my attention? Do you not think it a bit weird I was just in my underwear?”
Rowe looked nonplussed. “I guess we hang around different people, but no, I didn’t think it weird. I’m sorry, next time I’ll make it quite apparent that I’m in here.”
“Thank you. My underwear is for me, and me only. Not you. Got it?” She pinned him to the chair with a stare.
At least, she tried to. Rowe just let her gaze slide off him, uncaring. “Yeah, I get it.”
“Good. Now stay out of my sight. I don’t want to see you for the rest of the day.”
“Yes ma’am.” The sarcasm pooled on the floor under him.
Cheryl tried to glare a second time, but it was just as ineffective, his gemstone-like eyes not even flinching. God he was hot. Just gorgeous. High cheekbones and a strong jaw gave him very prominent features that had the sharp edges covered in smooth alabaster skin. The combination served to give him a regal air, especially when combined with the darkness of his eyebrows and hair.
“You can stare daggers at me all you want, but it’s not going to change anything.” He spoke so calmly that Cheryl had to smother an urge to walk over and punch him in the face. “If it makes you feel better—”
“I don’t know what you’re going to say, but the answer is no, it won’t make me feel better.”
“Suit yourself. I’ll be hungry soon enough.”
“What do you mean?” Now she was curious about what he had been going to say.
“I’ll let your attitude go because you’re embarrassed, but know that I normally wouldn’t put up with you being so rude when it’s your own damn fault that this happened.”
Cheryl wanted to throttle him, but the thing was, he was right. She’d been so oblivious in her need for coffee and food that she’d not bothered to check her surroundings, and had instead tuned everything else out. Yes, he could have said something, but truthfully, if their situations were reversed, she probably wouldn’t have said anything.
Especially if he was bending over to look deep in the fridge…
Ugh.
“There’s a bunch of chopped veggies in the fridge in case you wanted to make yourself another omelet.” Rowe waved vaguely at the kitchen. “I know I’d be starving right now if I were you, so I took the liberty of preparing those.” He got up and headed for the stairs. “I hope the rest of your day goes better.”
Then he was gone, leaving Cheryl all alone just like she’d asked.
Now if only the stomach full of guilt would leave as well. He was right; she’d been really rude to him, and he didn’t really deserve all of it. Some, yes, but the fault was just as much hers. Any normal person would have noticed him at the table. She quite literally had to walk right past him to get to the rest of the kitchen.
What a morning. What else could go wrong?
Chapter Three
Rowe
His dragon was slithering wildly inside him.
Rowe closed his eyes and focused his breathing as green scales with hints of light blue rose near to the surface of his skin. His beast was so crazed it was trying to transform on its own. Never before had he heard of such a thing happening. The mental wrestling match to subdue it left him breathing hard and wincing as pain stabbed deep into his skull. It was not happy about being kept caged.
It wanted to be freed.
It wanted…shit, what the hell was her name again? He’d heard it before, he swore. There was only one other person that would be living on the ranch besides Torran and Lilly. Shaking his head in an attempt to recall the knowledge buried somewhere inside his head, Rowe groaned, pressing his temple into his palm. The agitation had worsened the headache from his dragon. A lot. Asshole.
“She doesn’t want you,” he hissed, standing up straight.
His dragon disagreed. Loudly. She did want him. Badly. All he needed to do was go and claim her. It would be as simple as that, it said.
Which is why Rowe was in charge of things. The other side of him had no respect for things like emotions, feelings, societal boundaries and all that other stuff. There was no denying though that he’d been awestruck by her beauty.
And her fire. Oh, the way she’d come charging back into the kitchen full of fiery righteousness had awoken a hunger in him he hadn’t known he possessed. Rowe had every inch of her face burned into his memory and he loved it. She was beautiful when relaxed and doing her own thing. But when she was angry…she was gorgeous. He’d been unable to stop staring, but thankfully she hadn’t picked up on it.
In his mind strawberry-blonde hair bounced wildly as she jerked her head left and right. It always settled down her back, the long, loose curls appearing to be natural. Either that, or the only thing she did in the morning was curl her hair before coming for coffee. Judging by her dependency on the bitter black liquid, Rowe doubted it.
Then there was the wild lines of her body, the curves and softness, the way it moved just so naturally as if she was meant to be that way. It was better than anything he could have imagined. Drool had been building like wild in his mouth as he moved about, and for a time he’d been unable to believe his luck that she was comfortable enough to walk around in her bra and underwear.
He’d read that one wrong. Probably should have made more noise earlier, but what was done was done. Unlike what he’d accomplished for the day, which was precisely nothing. Well, unless daydreaming about a woman whose name he didn’t even know counted. In which case he’d had the most productive day of his life.
The report he was putting together for the council of dragon elders was barely half done. Part of that was the lack of work he’d put in. There was another reason, however, and that was because Rowe no longer knew what to say. For so long it had been fiery rhetoric. In fact, his first report had been almost exclusively that. But now things were changing. Watching his comrades find their mates had introduced a lot of doubt into his mind.
Rowe was lost.
Instead of confronting the issue, he was going to run from it and use the mysterious woman as a distraction. The last he’d seen she was outside making notes. Although she didn’t know it, Rowe could track her anywhere, so all he had to do was go outside and catch her delicious ci
nnamon-infused scent.
He was halfway into the back mud room where his boots were when the door opened and she came inside, looking like a slow-motion model from the movies. There was little he could do but stare and bask in the moment.
Beautifully curved eyebrows that spoke of a lot of time and care helped to frame two
round and inquisitive eyes that went wide as they saw him. She shouted in surprise and clutched at her heart. Fearful for her health, Rowe rushed to her side.
“Are you okay?” he asked, trying to ease her to the ground.
“What?” she yelped. “Yes, I’m fine. You just scared me. Why are you trying to help me to the ground? Please remove your hands.”
Rowe immediately stopped what he was doing. She stumbled slightly, not having realized how much of her weight he was supporting. Righting herself, she gave him an angry glare, but it subsided as he stepped back.
“You’re making a habit of startling me, and I have to admit I don’t like it. My heart can only handle so much of it.”
“I’m sorry. I was just about to go outside. I didn’t know you were coming in or I would have waited before entering.”
“Oh, you were leaving?”
Was that disappointment he’d heard in her voice? Rowe was so busy trying to figure that out that he stumbled over his answer. “I…guess. Yeah. Wait, no!”
“No? What were you doing then?”
“I was coming to find you,” he stated, feeling his confidence come trickling back.
“Me? I thought I told you I didn’t want to see you for the rest of the day?”
“You did.”
She frowned, cheeks dimpling furiously, taking much of the seriousness out of the look. “Why come find me then?”
“You never told me your name.”
“What?”
Rowe smiled, enjoying the way it seemed to throw her off. “I want to know your name. You didn’t tell me it when we met earlier.”
“You mean when you stared at me while I was in my underwear.”
“I wasn’t staring.”
She snorted, but didn’t leave. She was giving him a chance to explain.
“I read two pages of the newspaper while you were there.”
“What did they say?”
“Uhhh.”
“Exactly. So just stay out of my way, please.”
Rowe didn’t move. “You can’t be serious.”
“I was completely serious. Look at this face. I know you weren’t looking at it much earlier, but look now. Does it seem like I’m joking?”
“We’re the only two people living in this massive place, and you want nothing to do with me?”
This time there was a definite hesitation before she replied. “Exactly. I have a job to do, and you’re preventing me from doing it.”
Rowe blinked. A job? That sounded familiar. He felt like he should know what it was, but his brain wasn’t helping him out at all. “What do you do?”
“I was hired by Palin to—”
Rowe’s memory came crashing back to him. “I know it!” he shouted.
The abrupt exclamation sent her scrambling back from him, eyes bugging out again. Damn, he needed to stop doing that to her. Still, he couldn’t contain the excitement. He knew her name.
“Cheryl,” he said, pointing a finger at her.
“Please don’t kill me,” she whispered fearfully.
Rowe jerked. “What? I’m not going to kill you. Why would I do that?”
“You’re acting really weird. Weird people kill people.”
He sighed. “You’ve seen way too many horror movies. I was excited because I swore I knew your name, but I couldn’t remember it. Then when you were telling me what you were hired to do it all suddenly popped up in my brain. I’m sorry I scared you. Again.”
“This is the most cardiac activity my heart has gotten in a long time,” she muttered. “There’s a reason for that. I hate it.”
Rowe laughed.
“So you know my name, do you?”
“Cheryl, though don’t ask me about the last name. You’re a manager or something. Palin contacted a huge farming consortium to come in and get this place up and running to turn a profit. You’re the one they sent to oversee it.”
She nodded. “Controller is the position name, to be specific. And yes, that’s my job, which you are currently preventing me from doing.”
“I’m sorry.” Rowe’s lips twisted. “I feel like I’m doing that a lot.”
“You are, and trust me, each one has been unnecessary.”
Before he could respond she pushed past him into the house at last. Rowe followed after her. He wasn’t about to give up that easily. She was feisty and focused. He liked that, and intended to tell her so.
“I think it’s pretty awesome that you’re doing this big job,” he said, meaning it.
“What? Why? Because I’m a woman?” Cheryl rounded on him. “You have no idea who I am or what I’ve done, but you’re impressed?”
Rowe threw his hands up in surrender. “I just meant it’s a big job, that’s all.”
Cheryl sighed. “Sorry. You’re right, it is a big job, and because I’m losing all this time talking to you, I’m getting stressed over it.”
Rowe thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Sounds like you need an assistant then.”
“What? Oh no. No way.” Cheryl started backing away from him, shaking her head. “I am not going down that path with you, mister. That’s way too much trouble.”
There. That was the first confirmation that she couldn’t think straight around him either. It was at least partially mutual, which is all he could hope for.
“I’ll be an excellent right-hand man,” he countered, chasing after her, not bothering to hide his grin. The hunt was on.
“Nope. No way. Not happening. I can do this on my own.”
“Nobody is saying you can’t. But I come free, and believe it or not, I still have a few smarts knocking around in here.”
“Do people ever believe you when you say things like that?”
Rowe smiled wider. She was starting to cave, flirting and teasing him back instead of continued outright denial. He was going to get her to agree, and then show her that she had no reason to be doubtful at all. This was going to be a wonderful partnership. On many levels.
“No, don’t use that smile on me. Yes, you’re a pretty boy, I get it. It won’t work.” Cheryl was at the stairs now, and she slowly started backing up them, shaking her head the entire time.
Despite all that, her lips kept quirking upward, as if she wanted to smile but wouldn’t let herself.
“Free trial then. You don’t have to buy it outright, but at least give it a whirl, see how it is having me help you out.”
Cheryl stopped climbing the stairs backward. “You’re not going to stop.”
“Nope.”
“If I say yes, you have to promise that when the farmhands arrive, you act like a professional around them.”
“Of course.”
Cheryl gave him a long stare, evaluating. “I am so going to regret this.”
Rowe shook his head. She wasn’t. This was going to be the best decision of her life. He just couldn’t tell her that.
Not yet.
Chapter Four
Cheryl
“Where are we going?”
She frowned as Rowe came bounding out of the house behind her. “What do you mean?”
He pointed at her big boots, thick pants, goggles, and winter hat, which was currently squishing her hair flat against her head, much to her dismay. “You’re going somewhere.”
“Correct.”
“So where is it?”
“I am going to finally tour the property. Tour the fences and just get a feel for everything as best I can.” She frowned. “It took too long at Palin’s to get me up to speed, since he had absolutely nothing ready for me.”
Rowe laughed. “Sounds like Palin. Always diving in headfirst, never giving anyt
hing any real thought.” He paused for perhaps a nanosecond. “So how are we doing this tour? It’s not walking, is it?”
“No,” she said slowly, allowing her disgust at the idea to show.
“Thank goodness for that.”
She had to admit, he was growing on her. They’d spent much of the rest of the morning poring over property maps and anything they could dig up to show when the land had last been truly worked, and what the owner had planted on it. They’d also begun drawing up lists of buildings that needed serious structural inspection, giving everything a priority for when the workers arrived the next day.
Rowe had been a major help in that. He’d revealed a significant amount of expertise in general construction knowledge, pointing out issues she’d not noticed, including a foundation crack in one of the silos that could be the biggest project of them all. She’d never admit it out loud, but she was glad to have accepted his help.
Having him around to look at when she grew tired or frustrated wasn’t too bad either, though she’d attempted to keep most of her peeks short and timed for when he wasn’t looking. It was tough, because he was extremely easy on the eyes. The body of a god, and he only seemed to wear tight-fitting shirts and jeans that made her understand a lot about why guys enjoyed girls in tight jeans. He had buns of steel, she was sure of it, even if she didn’t have the guts to grab them and find out. Though she had begun to think he’d be okay with it if she did.
Maybe one day.
“Palin has loaned me an ATV,” she explained, heading toward the smallest of the three barns, where it was stored.
Rowe fell in beside her, but he didn’t say anything. He couldn’t actually think…
“You’re not coming with,” she said firmly as they reached the barn doors.
He casually pushed the sliding door open with one hand, his attention elsewhere. Cheryl gaped in astonishment. She’d needed both hands to do it herself, and even then it had been a struggle until she could put her body behind it. It wasn’t just her being weak—which she admittedly was—but the doors were heavy! Yet he hadn’t even seemed to notice the weight. Maybe his muscles were more than just for show.