Not this morning. This morning, he rolled his eyes and let the challenge go, much to the surprise of his brothers if the look they shared was any indication.
Clay blamed his lightened mood on the tasty little blonde he’d had his hands on less than an hour ago. With any luck, he’d have more than his hands on Ainsley before the end of the day. He’d have his mouth on her, his aching cock buried in her sweet body as he rode them to paradise. Why pick a fight with his brothers when he had more pleasurable things to think about?
Clay squeezed between Erin and Lauren. He placed a loud smooch on Erin’s cheek before doing the same to Lauren, and then snagged a piece of bacon from the pile. He ate it in two bites.
“Lauren fried the bacon,” Erin informed him with a proud smile. When his sister learned Lauren didn’t know how to cook, Erin had taken it upon herself to teach her.
Clay raised a suspicious brow. “That right?” He grabbed another piece. He took a deliberate bite, chewing slowly. Seriously, was there anything better than freshly cooked, extra-crispy bacon? He hummed with satisfaction. “Looks like those lessons paid off. Next thing you know, she’ll be whipping up BLT’s like nobody’s business.”
Clay jumped back with a laugh as Lauren’s fist headed for his gut. With five siblings, it paid to have quick reflexes.
“You’ll go?” Lauren waggled a butter knife in his direction.
Clay threw his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t intend to stress you out, darlin’. I’ll get it done this week. Promise.”
“Damn well better,” Gavin mumbled, his attention back on whatever he was reading.
Clay didn’t take Gavin’s attitude personally. If Clay were in love with a woman, he’d knock the shit out of anyone who made her unhappy. His brothers were no different.
“Thanks for breakfast, ladies. Everything looks delicious.” Clay grabbed a plate and piled it high before joining everyone at the table. He couldn’t resist reaching for the bowl of orange slices and adding a couple to his plate. He brought a slice to his nose and drew in its sweet scent before popping it in his mouth. The sweet juice of the fruit exploded against his bite, coating his throat with sticky goodness. He bit back a groan as the flavor brought with it an image of a naked Ainsley under his tongue.
Why couldn’t he get her out of his head?
He hardly knew her, yet he couldn’t remember when he’d wanted a woman more.
Pax caught his eye. “Mom and Dad called. They’ll be home on the nineteenth.”
Thankful for the distraction from his unruly libido, Clay responded. “That the reason we’re all here this morning?”
Gavin looked up again. “That’s one reason. Jade mentioned having a welcome home barbecue for them. Nothing extravagant. Just the family. I figured we could smoke up enough meat to feed the hands here at the ranch if they wanted to stop by to eat, or take some home for their families.”
Sounded like a great idea. “Two weeks is plenty of time to get everything together. What time they comin’ in?”
Erin spoke up. “Gavin will get them from the airport around eleven that morning. I’ll have the big smokers brought up from the warehouse and we can set them up out back.”
“Clay, could you handle the cattle check that morning?” Pax asked. “I’ll stay here and help get things set up.”
He’d have to start before the damn sun was up, but what was new? “Yeah, I’ll take care of it. Might be a little late for the festivities, though.”
“Mom’ll skin me alive if all her chicks aren’t in the nest when they arrive.” Gavin laughed. “Her words, not mine, I assure you. Do what you can that morning, but make sure you’re here no later than noon. Pax and I will help finish up what needs to be done before dark. Right, Pax?”
“Sure thing. I’ll plan to get up and check the northern herd before I head here that morning. I’ll leave instructions for the crew to check the largest herd to the west. That leaves the eastern herd for Clay. No reason for that to take all morning.”
The eastern edge of Shadow Maverick bordered Ainsley’s ranch. Provided she hadn’t kicked him to the curb by then, it wouldn’t take much to slide on over to see her. “That’ll work. You said there was another reason you wanted to talk to us?”
Gavin tapped a finger on the document in front of him. He spun it around and shoved it between him and Pax. “Take a look at this.”
“What is it?” Clay reached for it, but Pax got there first.
“It’s our last-ditch effort to purchase the Nelson Ranch.”
Clay’s spine stiffened. Ainsley’s attitude about selling was perplexing at best, considering she had zero experience with ranching and, from what he gathered, very little help. He had every intention of finding out where her head was, not because of any interest in her land, but because of his interest in her. And wasn’t that just a kick in the pants? He hadn’t been infatuated with a girl since the fourth grade when he’d stolen his first kiss in the schoolyard. “Ainsley won’t sell.”
Gavin’s gaze narrowed. “Ainsley? Since when is she Ainsley to you? You don’t even know her.”
I know how she tastes. I know the needy little noises her throat makes when I’m kissing her.
“Jesus, Clayton.” Gavin groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t…”
Soon.
“Relax. I met her at Slick’s last night. We had a few words.” Clay frowned as the fog from remembering her taste lifted. Her words from the night before rang in his ears. “Several of them not so pleasant. She actually asked me if we were all bullies. You been pushin’ that girl around, Gav?”
Gavin’s brows lowered. “Of course not. Now I’ve gotta ask, what did you do to make her ask the question in the first place?”
Clay’s cheeks grew warm and he deflected. “I know I voted for adding land to the ranch. But I didn’t sign on to badger a woman who clearly isn’t interested in what we have to say. It’s her right to keep what old man Nelson left her.”
Gavin snatched the papers from Pax and slapped them on the table in front of Clay. “No one’s badgering anyone, Clay. She has every right to say no. A fact she’s exercised on more than one occasion. We won’t stop offering until we’ve exhausted the possibilities. That is how business is done.”
Lauren offered Clay a smile. “If Gavin took no for an answer right out of the gate, he wouldn’t have gotten very far in his career.”
And Gavin’s corporate career had been very successful.
Gavin tapped a finger to draw Clay’s attention to what appeared to be a land contract. “This is our bottom line. Since you’re all of a sudden so concerned about Ainsley, why don’t you see if you can get her to see reason?”
“Or we could leave her alone,” Clay argued. He shoved his plate away, his appetite gone. He didn’t like the idea of pushing Ainsley any further than she’d already been pushed.
“Do you want the land bordering ours to be taken over by some jackass corporation that won’t give a shit about the land, or the humane treatment of the animals raised there? This isn’t just about gaining grazing space for more cattle, Clay. It’s about preserving the land, our community, our way of life. For my future children and yours.”
Pax cleared his throat.
“For all of our children,” Gavin amended. He took a breath and settled back into his chair. “Rumor has it Ainsley’s been selling off her herd to cover the debts Nelson left behind. A fair number of her crew have shown up here looking for steady work, which tells me there’s some merit to the rumors she’s in financial trouble. We could leave her alone, Clay. That’s absolutely an option. We could also leave her to the wolves, men who’d just as soon take advantage of her to get what they want than give her a fair price. We could idly stand by while a person in our community suffers through no fault of her own. We could watch as she’s forced to move away with less than she had when she got here—which Pops said was very little.”
Clay thought back to when he’d been inside her house earlier. He hadn�
��t remembered seeing any trinkets or a distinctly feminine personal touch to the place. It’d looked much the same as the last time he’d been there years ago, when he’d stopped to offer his condolences and offer his help after Mrs. Nelson passed away.
“Is that the kind of men we are?” Gavin prompted.
Clay assumed the question was rhetorical, since he knew damn well the Mathis family had more integrity than that.
Gavin seemed convinced Ainsley had no choice but to sell. Clay didn’t know the whole story, but he’d damn well find out. He looked up to find Gavin and Pax watching him.
Clay snatched up the contract and realized Gavin had just given him the perfect excuse to spend more time with Ainsley. “Fine.” He held back a smile. “I’ll talk to her. If I’m going to have to convince her, y’all have to cover me around here while I’m doin’ it. But I’m warning you now. If she cuts my nuts off, I’ll be comin’ for yours.”
As he left the room to put the contract in his duffle bag for safekeeping, he let his brothers wonder which one of them he meant to be the donor.
Chapter Six
The Texas sun was in full force by the time Ainsley finished in the barn. Her clothes were soaked with sweat. She smelled like a horse and probably had hay sticking out of her hair like a scarecrow. And she felt fantastic.
Her muscles ached, but in the deeply satisfied way only achieved through physical exertion. Not the physical activity she’d hoped for once Clay had shown up unexpectedly this morning, but her work in the barn had done the trick in burning off her libido and filling her with a sense of accomplishment.
Using the hose, Ainsley rinsed off her arms and shook the excess water from her hands. She locked the paddock gate behind her and started the walk back to the house. Her grumbling stomach convinced her to swing by the kitchen long enough to make a sandwich before she headed into the garden.
As she neared the house, a soft bang sounded.
Ainsley stopped, cocked her head, and listened. Nothing. She resumed her walk, only to stumble three steps later when the sound echoed again.
What in the world?
Ainsley took off running. When she rounded the house, she came to a dead halt.
The place where her porch had been was now a mangled mess of discarded, rotted lumber. The steps were gone. The path to the front door? Yeah, gone.
And there on his hands and knees, shirtless and glistening with sweat, was Clay Mathis. All tanned, bulging biceps, and ropes of muscle undulating as he swung the hammer in his hand.
Bang, bang, riiiip.
Another board went flying.
Ainsley was stunned. A truck bed filled with lumber was parked next to the house. Panic threatened. She’d have to dip into the operational account to pay for that kind of purchase, which meant less money to pay what little help she’d managed to keep.
Goddamn it.
Bang, bang, riiiip.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Clay straightened his back. His mouth curled into a sexy smile when he saw her. “What’s it look like? I’m fixing your porch.”
“I didn’t ask you to fix anything. Put it back the way you found it.”
He wiped his hands down the front of his jeans and stood. “No can do. Jesus, Ainsley. You’re lucky you haven’t hurt yourself. Some of the boards disintegrated the minute I touched them. Even if they hadn’t, there’s no way I’d put it back. Damn thing was a death trap.”
“So you just decided to take it upon yourself to fix it? Without asking me?” From the looks of it, he’d been at it for a while.
“Pretty much, yep.”
Beyond irritated, she snapped. “And how much is all of this going to cost me?”
His eyes darkened as he looked her over, head to boots and back again. Ainsley’s cheeks heated as she waited for him to come out and say what was clear from his expression. The arrogant bastard wanted sex for fixing her porch.
Ainsley’s stomach flipped. She wanted him, but sleeping with him to resolve a debt came too close to whore territory. No thank you.
He jumped down, his long legs eating the distance between them in no time. “Hey, it’s okay.” He ducked his head to capture her gaze. “It’s not going to cost you a thing, Ainsley.”
“Then what was that look about?”
“Damn, you’re suspicious. I was just enjoying the view, darlin’. You look mighty pretty with dirt on your cheeks and straw in your hair.” He reached up and pulled a stray piece from her hair and let it drift to the ground. “What’cha been doing to get so dirty?”
Her nipples tightened.
How does he do that?
“I cleaned out the barn. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for awhile, but hadn’t gotten around to.” She stepped back, needing distance while they talked. “I won’t let you pay to fix my porch, Clay.” As much as it would set her back, she’d make it right.
He waved an arm toward the truck. “The lumber didn’t cost anything. It’s left over from a deck my brother and I built a few years back. I kept the leftovers for a project I don’t have time for. Honestly, by using the lumber to fix your decrepit porch, you’re saving me the guilt of having an unfinished project hanging over my head.”
“I can’t let you do this for nothing. If you won’t let me pay for the lumber, then I’ll pay for your time.” She wouldn’t be indebted to him. Not in any way.
He seemed to consider that for a minute. “You know how to cook?”
Ainsley puffed out a laugh at his unexpected question. “Yes.”
“Then my fee is dinner.” He patted his flat stomach. “And don’t laugh. I’m a hearty eater. It’ll take me a few more hours to shore up the frame and add the new decking. I’ll need a shower when I get finished, but if you don’t mind me using yours—it’ll save me the drive home and back—we can eat before nightfall.”
The image of Clay in her shower hit her. With his height, he’d have to bend his knees to accommodate the showerhead. She imagined him, rivulets of water racing over his muscular body, the scent of her soap on his skin. Would he stroke his length to full erection and picture it was her hand instead of his own? Would he want her to join him?
Ainsley shifted. “And this is how you wanted to spend your Sunday?” She doubted it as much as she doubted his story about the lumber. He’d said his interest in her had nothing to do with his brother’s attempts to convince her to sell. Did she believe him? Or was this another attempt to gain her compliance? Improving the house added to the value, didn’t it? If Clay were in cahoots with his brother, he could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Add value to the house while endearing her to him with the gesture.
“The scenery is better here than at my place.” His voice turned thick, husky. “And we have some unfinished business to explore.”
Sweet mercy.
“So, how about it?” He stuck his hand out. “Have we got a deal?”
Ainsley studied his tanned face. The sharp angle of his jaw, the curve of his nose, eyes dark as coffee. He stared at her with a mixture of interest and amusement. There was no indication he was anything but sincere.
No sense fighting the inevitable. She’d started them down this path when she’d tried to pick him up last night. They were adults. And she wanted him.
“I planned to make spaghetti tonight.”
“My favorite.”
“None of that store-bought crap. I make my own sauce from ingredients out of my garden.”
“Even better.” He twitched his hand. “You gonna leave me hanging?”
Her sex clenched. Oh no, she wouldn’t leave him hanging. Not now, not later. She placed her hand in his and gave it a shake. “You’ve got a deal, but this is the last time you pull a stunt like this. If I need something fixed, I’ll take care of it. This ranch, this house—both are my responsibility. Got it?”
Even as she scolded him, a strange sense of satisfaction settled in her chest. She would take care of him tonight, in more ways than on
e. Her hands would create something to sustain him, while later, those same hands would give him relief—a massage for his strained muscles—and release—while she stroked him.
Ainsley wasn’t a girly-girl, but the innately feminine part of her purred at the knowledge she’d know him intimately before the day was through.
Clay jerked her against him, brows lifted. “What’re you thinking about, Ains? ’Cause I gotta tell you, the sexy expression on your face has me intrigued.”
The way he shortened her name made her heart flutter. She curled her arms around his neck and went up on her toes. “I’m thinking I’ve got a half-naked, sweaty cowboy all to my little ole self.”
The arrogant, panty-melting smirk made a reappearance. “That right? What’re you gonna do about it?”
Ainsley didn’t wait for him to take the lead. She dove in, lips first, and took the kiss she craved.
Clay didn’t disappoint. She half expected him to wrestle her for control. He didn’t. Instead, he kept his hold on her firm, but not pushy. His mouth opened at her insistence, and he seemed content to let her explore—his teeth, his tongue, his lips—to her heart’s content.
And explore she did. Not only with her mouth. She speared her fingers through his sweat-soaked hair and massaged his scalp with her fingertips. She traced the curve of his ear, tugging slightly when she reached the lobe. His broad shoulders were slick and hard. The light smattering of dark chest hair tickled her palms as she moved over the curves of his pecs. She took her time, learned what he liked by the rumble in his chest.
When she swiped a thumb over the flat disc of his nipple, his breath hitched. He stilled her roaming hands, nipped her bottom lip, and pulled away.
“Unless you’re prepared for me to fuck you right here in the dirt, your clever little hands better take a rest.”
She blinked. “What if I said I wanted you to fuck me right here in the dirt?”
He groaned and dropped his forehead to hers. “I’d say you’re an evil woman. I’d say give me the word and I’ll have you on your hands and knees. I’ll yank your shorts down and shove my dick so far inside you, you’ll feel me for a week. And I won’t give a shit if anyone sees us.”
Cowboy Redeemed Page 5