Things quickly started to heat faster and faster until we were so close together, I could barely breathe. I could feel the bulge in his pants pressing against my body, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more than for him to take me right there in the kitchen. I hadn’t felt this kind of attraction ever in my life, like we were two magnets being pulled closer together by the second. It had been simmering since the beginning, but until my lips hit his, I’d had no idea how intense it really was. I wasn’t the kind of girl who jumped into bed with a man right away, but Ryan made me want to throw caution to the wind. I had to fight it, though. There was more at stake than just my love life. If Ryan was right, him being there with me was bad for him and bad for me. He had no idea what kind of pull Janson had in that town.
Finally, I mustered enough strength to pull myself away, dislodging his arms from around my body. Instantly, I regretted it, wanting to be right back there pressed against him, but I needed to have more self-control than that. I leaned back against the counter and put my hand out, both of us out of breath. We stood there for several moments collecting ourselves. I looked up at him as he pulled away from the island and took a step forward. His eyes moved up my body and met mine, turning dark with lust. I couldn’t look at him any longer, knowing I was teetering on the edge of self-control. I looked away quickly, closing my eyes and breathing deeply, trying to gain control of myself. This man had a serious spell over me, and as much as I liked it, I had to break it, at least for that night.
“You all right?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, nodding my head and wiping my lips. “I’m all right. A little tired is all. It’s been a really long day with work and the stables and then the date and the deer. I’m pretty much spent.”
“I understand.” He smiled. “I can take the hint.”
“No,” I said, turning around. “Please, don’t take it in a bad way.”
“Hey,” he whispered. “It’s okay. We can maybe pick this conversation up later.”
“I’d like that.” I smiled, looking down at the floor.
“I gotta get going anyway. I have some phone conferences really early in the morning.” He smiled, grabbing his keys off the table and turning back to me. “I want you to know that I had a really lovely evening with you. It’s definitely climbing the charts as one of the best dates I’ve ever had. Thank you for that. It was definitely unexpected. You were unexpected.”
“You too.” I smiled. “But I have to ask, was it worth five thousand dollars?”
He chuckled and walked out of the kitchen and down to the front door. I stood there at the front door watching him open it and turn back toward me. His smile sent butterflies through my whole body, and my knees went weak watching him.
“Honestly?” he said. “I should have paid double.”
With that, he winked and walked out of the house, closing the door behind him. I smiled, walking over and locking the door, leaning against it and laughing to myself. I really knew how to get myself into some crazy situations, including falling for some guy I barely knew but seemed to have a knack for saving me every chance he got. He definitely was going to be on my mind for a very long time.
That night, I tossed and turned in my bed, my body still on fire as I lay there thinking about how hot that kiss was. His lips, his smell, the feeling of his bulge pressing against me, it all ran wildly through my mind as I tried to sleep. Even in my dreams, I could see him standing in the rain, kissing me passionately. He was shirtless, his skin slick from the rain falling over us. Every drop of rain that hit me instantly turned to steam, sizzling and radiating off my body because I was so turned on. I woke over and over, wanting to fall asleep again, wanting to see him in my dreams and touch that soft, supple skin. I barely got a wink of sleep that night, and I was okay with that.
Chapter 11
Ryan
It was no use. I couldn’t stop thinking about Sara all night. I tossed and turned, got up and walked around, showered and tried again, but there was just no way I could stop thinking about her. That kiss, everything about it, had driven me to complete distraction. The way her lips moved across mine, the way her body shaped against me, it was all so perfect and probably the biggest turn-on I had ever experienced. My mind wouldn’t let it go and neither could my body for that matter. I didn’t think I had ever had that passionate and lustful of a connection with anyone in my life, and it just happened to be while I was on assignment far away from New York City. It was my luck all wrapped up in a very telling package.
When I woke up the next morning, or more like rolled over and looked at the clock, I decided a little time out at the ranch would do me some good. Sure, it was Saturday, but we had some serious deadlines going on, and this wasn’t supposed to be a vacation. It was supposed to be work toward the project I had been planning for years. I had paid for unlimited overtime to get the ranch up and running as quickly as possible, so I knew the planning team would be there, working hard. The guys I had hired were serious about the job, thankful to have one, and even more thankful I was paying higher than average wages with time and a half. All I wanted to see was good quality progress, and I was happy. Besides, I figured getting to work would help me take my mind off the enchanting veterinarian who was running through it even as I sat there getting ready to leave.
When I had prepared for the date the day before, I had been a bit nervous, but it was nothing more than first-date jitters. There was no doubt in mind, after spending ten minutes with her before, that we would have a great time on our date. What I wasn’t prepared for was how good of a time I’d had, minus the dead deer of course. Sure, I was attracted to her. I had been attracted from the moment she’d walked out onto the auction stage wearing that sequined blue dress, but this was more. Our attraction wasn’t only off the charts, but I hadn’t expected our personalities to mesh so well together. I seriously could have sat at that restaurant for the rest of my life and never gotten bored talking to her. Talk about firsts. That was definitely one for me.
I wish I could say we seemed to be perfectly matched and were all good to go, but we weren’t. This girl was a small-town vet, a girl who loved Bonanza and loved the idea of small-town living. I, on the other hand, was only going to be in town for another week, tops, before heading back to a completely different world in the concrete jungles of New York City where if you knew your neighbor’s first name, you were doing good. It was obvious those facts alone were a red flag to me. I shouldn’t pursue her or anything with her any further. It was a recipe for heartache, and I was starting to think it would be on both of our parts. I would just need to change my mindset about the whole thing. I could chalk it up to an enjoyable charity auction date, a great donation to a very deserving organization, and let that be that. The feelings would simmer out eventually, and I would move on, or at least I hoped so.
I walked out of the bathroom and sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbing my boots and putting them on. The site was a pretty dusty place, and with recent rains, it would probably still be muddy. It was nice to hang up my suit and tie for something more casual for once. I wondered if Sara would prefer me in jeans and boots or in a suit and tie, realizing again that she had crept back into my mind. I shook the thoughts and grabbed my keys, deciding to drive myself that day. I jumped into the SUV and headed toward the site. As I was driving, my phone started to buzz, so I patched the call through to the Bluetooth in the SUV and answered the call.
“Brother,” Alec said, laughing. “I was hoping I’d catch you!”
It was my best friend, Alec, who was still in New York tending to his own billion-dollar company. Alec was the guy who always gave me good advice, always steered me in the right direction, and never let me down when it came to being there at the perfect moment. Most of the time, I wouldn’t survive my life without having him to lean on.
“Hey, dude.” I smiled.
“I was just calling to see how the project was going,” he said.
“Oh, man, it’s going wel
l. It’s coming together nicely minus a little snafu with one of the councilmen, but I’m sure it’ll blow over,” I said. “This town, though, is literally the smallest town I have ever seen. You could throw a rock from one end to the other, and the population is around five hundred.”
“Shit, dude, I think my preschool graduating class had five hundred kids in it.” He laughed. “I think there were three times that many people at the last gala you held.”
“I know, right?” I laughed. “The sheriff here even walks around with a badge pinned to his leather jacket.”
“So, I’m assuming it’s safe to say you’re dying of boredom.” He laughed.
“I would be if it weren’t for this little, sexy town vet who’s been keeping me occupied.” I smirked.
“I should have known you would have found the one hot chick out of the bunch and bagged her.” He laughed.
“Not yet,” I said in defense. “We went on a date, and it was pretty amazing. But I’m debating on whether to see her again since I’m leaving in a week, and she’s actually, genuinely, a nice girl.”
“Personally, I think you should call it quits on that little venture,” he said. “You tend to break hearts even when you aren’t trying to. And you know how quickly girls get attached to you. It’s like you give off some crazy pheromone or something.”
“I know,” I groaned. “I actually like this chick for once, like really dig her. She’s been on my mind since I met her.”
“Let me put a name out there for you and see if it rings any bells,” he said. “Natasha.”
I groaned just hearing the name, shaking my head while I drove. He had to bring up Natasha, which always set me straight. I sighed and turned into the drive for the site.
“If you don’t want to hurt the girl, you should stop seeing her now,” he said.
“You’re right,” I said. “But, hey, I’m at the site. I’ll call you later.”
“Will do, buddy,” he said.
I parked the car and got out, not giving myself any time to think. I went straight to work checking on the progress and lending a hand wherever I could. Later that afternoon, one of the workers came in my office and reported an elk who was limping around the tree line.
“You sure?” I said.
“Yes, sir,” he replied. “Seen them all my life, but this one is acting funny.”
“All right.” I put down my clipboard and headed outside.
I followed the worker to the edge of the property and looked over at the tree line. Sure enough, there was an elk standing there, but it was more than limping. It looked very injured, almost so much that it could barely walk. My heart went out for the thing, and thoughts of the deer in the back of my SUV made me think of Sara. She was a vet. Maybe she could help the poor guy. I knew I was supposed to be staying away from Sara, but I couldn’t help myself. There was an injured animal near my property, and I couldn’t just let that go. Before I even realized what I was doing, I had my phone out and I was dialing Sara, hoping she was going to be available to help. She answered after only two rings.
“Hey there,” she said. “Miss me already?”
“You could say that.” I laughed, butterflies shooting up into my stomach.
“What’s up? You just calling to talk, or is there something going on?” she asked.
“Well, I heard you make house calls,” I said, watching the elk trying to move but bending down on its front legs and lying on the ground instead.
I never knew my heart could break for animals like it had with the fawn and with this elk. I was starting to think this town was making me soft, but I was okay with that. Sara laughed on the other end of the line.
“I make house calls but for animals.” She chuckled. “I’m not really sure you qualify for what I do. What’s going on?”
“There’s an elk on the edge of the property, and it’s injured,” I said. “It’s barely able to walk. In fact, it just laid down in the brush and is snorting and making a strange noise like it’s in pain.”
“Oh,” she said, her tone instantly going serious. “Don’t approach it. Injured animals can be dangerous if you don’t handle them correctly. I’m going to throw my stuff in the truck and head over from the stables.”
“Thanks,” I said, staring over at the field. After I got off the phone, I looked over at my ranch worker. “I have a vet on her way. Oh, hey, while we’re on the subject of wildlife, I have a dead deer in the back of my car. It was left in the vet’s driveway for some reason. You think you could dispose of it for me?”
“Sure,” he said, looking at me strangely. “Kind of strange a deer would wander out that far.”
“Yeah, I thought that too,” I said, turning and walking back over to the parking area.
Sara arrived shortly afterward, and as soon as I saw her, my heart began to race. I walked her over to the edge of the field and pointed toward the woods, showing her the elk. It was lying completely down, not even flinching as we stood there. I could tell by the look on her face that she was already trying to figure out what was wrong.
“I’m going to approach,” she said. “But these animals are wild and spook very easily, which causes them to kick out pretty hard. I want you to stay back, okay?”
“All right,” I said, nodding my head.
I walked halfway with her and stopped, letting her proceed the rest of the way on her own. I watched in awe as she slowly crept toward the animal, setting her bag down and kneeling just out of its reach. The tone of her voice was calm and sweet, and the animal responded to her like it knew her. It was amazing to watch, like she had a connection with the animal that I couldn’t understand. I watched as she carefully pulled each leg up and inspected its hooves. The animal barely moved, only shaking its head from time to time. When she was done, she moved away as carefully as when she had approached until she returned back at my side.
“How is it?” I said.
“She has something lodged in her hoof,” she said. “I need a tool from the back of the van.”
“Okay,” I said, turning with her.
We walked across the field and back to her work van with the name of her vet clinic on the side of it. I was impressed with how prepared she was for a hometown operation. She opened the back and grabbed a couple of things out of the bags she had stowed there. The van was neat but cramped, and I could tell she was getting a bit frustrated. She opened another bag and started digging around.
“This isn’t the ideal situation,” she said, looking over her shoulder. “One day, I want to buy an even larger van and create a mobile lab in the back of it. Kind of like an ambulance, only I can do a lot of things right there on the spot. It will make treating animals on house calls so much easier.”
I watched her sift through her things, pulling out the tools she would need. It was the first time I had seen her in action on the job, and she was really good at it. I admired her for that, for how focused she was, and how devoted she was to her job and to the animal. She smiled at me and turned back, walking back out to the edge. I followed her and stopped where I was before, watching her approach the elk and kneel down in front of it. She started to treat the animal carefully, and after a few minutes, the elk jumped to its feet and ran off into the forest. I could feel a warmth in my chest, watching her smile, and I realized that when she was happy, so was I.
Chapter 12
Sara
After the animal had run off, I walked with Ryan back to the van and threw my tools into the back. He walked me inside and started giving me a small tour of the main building, stopping at the office he had been using. The place was coming along really well and really fast. I was impressed with the work he’d been doing and with how much money he was pumping into the community. The office was functional and nothing more. It wasn’t fancy or ornate and seemed to fit the purpose. For a billionaire, Ryan sure did seem to have simple tastes, which I liked. I wasn’t the kind of girl who was into the fancy and crazy. I could only imagine how hard it would be for
someone to go from New York City billionaire life to small-town life in a matter of minutes, but he seemed to do it with ease. He had settled in with relatively little complaining, as far as I could see, and that fact was incredibly endearing to me.
“So, what’s going to happen is, once the main area is set up and all the mechanical units are functioning properly, we’re going to fill the side fields with solar panels,” he said. “In fact, this whole facility, while producing green energy, will also run off green energy. It makes the carbon footprint of having it here very low. There isn’t a ton of maintenance to be done unless something breaks, so the staff will be needed but nothing like a power plant and definitely not as dangerous when it comes to working conditions.”
Just then, the office phone rang, but he didn’t seem interested in picking it up. He turned and looked at a huge map of the property behind him, pointing out the intended solar fields. I was distracted by the phone, though.
“You should probably take the call.” I chuckled.
“It’s all right. I don’t have to,” he said.
“But you’re at work.” I laughed. “And surely, empires like yours were not built by ignoring phone calls.”
“Maybe you’re right,” he said. “But I hate taking phone calls. Call me a rich snob, but I miss having a secretary to screen my calls.”
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