by Starla Kaye
His jaw nearly dropped to the ground. “Kinky sex?”
She laughed again and her eyes sparkled even more. “You wish!”
Okay, that had been what first flashed into his thoughts. But, no, he couldn’t see her teaching kinky sex techniques. Could he?
“There won’t be a bunch of lust-crazed people wandering around my ranch all summer, right?” He would throttle Victoria the next time he saw her. She was no doubt getting a real riot out of what her friend was doing to him. Making him crazy.
“No kinky sex. No battery-operated play toys.” She looked thoughtful. “Hmmm. I might want to rethink that. Play toys really can liven up a marriage.”
She started to turn away, but he grabbed her arm. “Mandie…” He didn’t know what to say beyond that. She’d surprised the heck out of him, continually surprised him. He wasn’t used to women doing anything but hurting him, at least not lately.
She looked up and something hinting at naughtiness flashed in her gaze. Her cheeks were pink, but she teased him anyway. “Are you going to turn this wild woman over your knee again, cowboy? Think a soundly applied hand will make me behave like the proper kind of woman you think a psychologist should be?”
He couldn’t believe she had the nerve to hint at the way he’d spanked her yesterday. Hell, he still couldn’t believe he’d even done it. Then he’d spent a good long while thinking about the spanking during the night. Only he’d pictured her bare butt over his knee. Worse, he’d seen himself caressing that butt and sliding his fingers into places they had no business going. His jeans started feeling tight and he forced away the disturbing memory before things got really bad.
“We’d best let the subject drop for now.” He needed to put distance between them before he did something else foolish. Like pull her to him and kiss those tempting lips of hers.
With a knowing smile and a quick glance at his shoved out jeans, she started to move away once more. “Too bad I was so tipsy and didn’t get to enjoy the experience. You know, that real sense of submitting. The feel of a hard hand; the tingling warmth afterward.”She grinned cheekily back at him. “Being drunk I missed most of that.”
“I’ll be damn sure you’re fully aware next time.” His heart thudded at her cockiness. They were standing here where any of his men could happen by and talking about him spanking her. Didn’t that just beat all!
Crazy woman did the finger thing where she kissed it and made sounds of it sizzling when she reached back to touch that hot little bottom she thrust out for his benefit. Then she pranced off toward the cottage, her hips swaying in exaggeration. Well damn!
* * * * *
Mandie eased into the big, claw-footed tub in the bathroom adjoining the cottage’s master bedroom. A night breeze fanned the lacy curtains that framed the partially open window. It made the dim light flicker from the cluster of lit candles on the vanity. The night air was sultry, filled with the smells of being in the country. Freshly plowed dirt from Bessie’s decision to add to the garden this afternoon.The sweet scent of honeysuckle growing up the trellis outside the bathroom window. Nothing like the smells she was familiar with. Not that she opened her windows back in Phoenix. Too hot, most of the year.
She bent her knees and slid down against the back of the tub, slid lower until bubbles tickled her chin. She hoped the hot water would ease away the soreness from sitting so long yesterday on the long drive. And she hoped the warmth would relieve some of the sexual tension she’d felt ever since she’d walked away from Cole earlier.
Her eyes closed on a sigh. Boy howdy, that had been some strange moments! Especially at the end, when she’d for some bizarre reason brought up how he’d spanked her the night before. Of course, it hadn’t been much of a spanking. It had been enough, though,to give her the most titillating dreams she’d had in a long time. Dreams that had involved a certain oh-my-god-handsome cowboy. His big hand had gone on from warming her bottom to doing some very naughty and delicious things. Maybe the dreams also had to do with an inner readiness to escape the too many months of celibacy she’d suffered after being left at the altar. She had a feeling he’d be starring in her dreams tonight as well, probably in many of her dreams while she stayed here. Good? Bad? Did it really matter?
The phone in the bedroom rang and jarred her out of her musings. She could let it keep on ringing, but what if it was Victoria or one of her clients? Resigned to answering, she sloshed her way out of the tub and padded dripping wet to the nightstand. Too late, she realized she now stood completely naked in front of the window she’d opened and pulled the blinds up on earlier. With the ceiling light on, she was on display for anyone who might see her. And—to her horror—the window was straight across from the hot tub on the side deck of the main house. The hot tub that Cole, of course, stood behind, looking directly at her.
Like a deer caught in a car’s headlights, she froze with her hand just above the still ringing phone. Her heart pounded. Oh. My. God! She ducked down, heat flaming over her entire body.
Finally she managed to reach up and snag the phone. “Hello,” she stated, hoping the person on the receiving end didn’t hear the mortification in her tone.
“Mandie? Mandie, are you all right? You sound funny.” Naturally it would be her too observant friend calling.
Mandie sat bareassed on the wooden floor, water trickling down her body and pooling around her. “Other than having just given your brother a freebie look at my naked body? Yes, I’m fine.”
“What?” Victoria squeaked.
She considered crawling back to the bathroom for a towel, but didn’t. “I really don’t want to discuss it right now. I’m too embarrassed.”And, oddly, kind of turned-on.
“Are you two--”
“Lord, no! We’re not in the middle of having sex!”
“Well, okay.” There was the hint of disappointment in Victoria’s voice. “I was just checking to see if you two had a talk today. Cole mentioned last night he planned to convince you to tear up the contract. He sounded pretty determined to get you off his ranch.”
Mandie wanted to bob her head up and see if he was still standing there looking in this direction. Maybe he hadn’t actually seen her. Maybe he hadn’t actually been looking this way at all. Maybe… Yeah, right.
“Mandie James, answer me.”
She really wanted to do anything but chat with Victoria right now. Resigned, she said, “Yes, we had a talk. And we came to an agreement to see how the first session went.” She thought about what else they’d discussed but definitely wasn’t mentioning that to her friend. She shivered. She really needed a towel.
“It’ll go just fine. Then you’ll be staying the whole summer.”
Mandie mulled over how happy Victoria sounded. She appeared much more pleased about Mandie staying on the CW and doing her camps than felt right. Surely her friend wasn’t…
“Have you been playing matchmaker, Victoria Anne Whitlock?”
Victoria took a couple of seconds to respond. “Don’t be ridiculous. I know a rough-edged cowboy isn’t the kind of man that would ever attract you. I doubt Cole even owns a suit, like the men you’re used to dating. He isn’t into fine dining. Beer is his drink of choice.”
Annoyed at the odd attack on Cole, Mandie bristled. “He’s an unhappy man, not necessarily rough-edged.”
“Ah, he’s getting to you already.” Victoria sounded smug, very pleased. “Good. You’re perfect for what I had in mind.”
Mandie sat up stiffly. “Exactly what do you mean by that?” She still thought her friend was playing matchmaker, no matter how she tried to get around it.
“Remember all those hours I helped you with research in college? All those books I lugged home from the library for you? Practically broke my back helping you. I figure that you owe me.”
True enough, but Mandie didn’t appreciate the guilt trip. “Get to the point, Victoria.”
“My brother needs your special kind of help.”
Mandie immediately thought
about the bulge in his jeans she’d noted before she’d walked away from him. She recalled the heat she’d seen in his eyes when she believed he might kiss her. She heard the huskiness in his voice when they’d had that strange discussion about spanking. There were a number of ways she wouldn’t mind helping the big cowboy. But she wasn’t really fired up about having an affair, and that’s all it could be from her side of things. And she didn’t want to hurt him. He’d been hurt enough.
“What are you talking about?” she asked cautiously.
“Well… He’s pretty bitter about women right now, as I’m sure you noticed. But Cole is really a good man. He’d be a great husband to a woman who wasn’t solely after his money.”
“Yes, I caught the bitterness part. And he told me about Danielle, the witch-bitch. My words, not his.”
“He did? Wow! He hasn’t even told me much. I just had some personal experience with the witch-bitch, which, by the way, fits her nicely.” Victoria drew in a breath before she continued. “I was thinking you could take him under your nurturing wing, help him work his way through all that bitterness. Maybe give him a few tips in the romance department.”
Mandie thought back to how she’d mentioned helping him heal. He hadn’t exactly taken her suggestion well. He’d been pretty crude. Only wanted a woman willing to spread her legs for him. Liar, liar. He wanted so much more than that; it had been in his anger about marrying two women who hadn’t really wanted him. Still, the idea of spreading her legs, having him come between them, having him drive into her….
She fanned herself. “I don’t think he needs my help. Or wants it.”
“Is he too much of a challenge for the great romance therapist, Dr. Mandie James?” Victoria taunted.
“Unfair. You know I can’t resist a challenge.” And she wasn’t really sure she could spend the summer resisting her attraction to Cole. In fact, she wasn’t sure she could resist him for a week. She was in such trouble. What about not wanting to hurt him? What about not wanting an affair?
Suddenly someone pounded on her front door.
Mandie stiffened, knowing exactly who it was: Cole. Then the door opened and she heard his heavy footsteps. She was going to burn his ears for daring to walk into the house like that! In fact she was so outraged that she hung up on Victoria and shot to her feet.
She marched into the hallway, spotted him heading her way, and snapped, “You have no right to come barreling into my house!”
He skidded to a stop. “I own the house.” He gaped at her; his eyes widened.
That’s when she remembered her lack of clothing. “Oh damn!” She raced back into the bedroom. Her face absolutely flaming.
He stormed in right behind her. “You can’t go flaunting yourself around like that. What if it had been one of my men catching sight of you standing in front of the open window instead of me?”
She pulled the quilt from the bed and hugged it in front of her. “I wasn’t flaunting around anywhere. I’d been taking a bath when the phone rang. I simply went to answer it and failed to grab a towel.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Were you spying on me?”
“Hell no! I just happened to glance over this way when I heard your phone ring.”
He strode around her and pulled the blinds down over the window, then flicked them closed. “Remember that talk we had earlier?”
Mandie was having trouble getting over the rush of desire she’d experienced when she noticed his bulging jeans. She could smell his arousal. She’d caught the way his eyes had darkened while he’d tried to look through the quilt she held. “Talk?”
“Your ass is all nice and bare. Perfect for…” He let the words fade away.
Tingles shot through her, straight to where her lower lips now quivered. “For spanking me?”
“Damn tempting.” His voice was lower than normal, thick and husky.
“I’ve done nothing wrong. I was in the privacy of my—your—house, not running around the backyard naked.” Her clit pulsed and moisture beaded between her legs. “I don’t think it would be a good idea.”
His chest heaved and his hands formed fists at his sides. “I’m sure you’re right. Touching you at all would be a hell of a bad idea.” Yet he walked closer. “Major mistake.”
She let the quilt fall to the floor. “You’re sure spanking me is what you want to do?”
He moved toe-to-toe with her. His hands circled her, clamped over her bare bottom. He squeezed the cheeks and rubbed his hard ridge against her. “Now I’m more interested in that other thing we talked about.”
She reached around and squeezed his backside, smiling when he sucked in a breath at her daring. “The spreading my legs thing?”
“This is so wrong.” He eased away and began unbuckling his belt, unzipping his jeans.
She walked back to the bed and lay down on her back, spread her legs wide as he toed his boots off, then shoved his jeans and undershorts off. She was wet and ready. “Very wrong.”
He crawled onto the bed. He looked so disgusted with himself she wanted him that much more. “How about we don’t analyze this anymore? Just do it.”
“Damn.” He scrambled back off the bed and pulled a condom out of his jeans’ pocket. In a flash he had it on and crawled between her legs once more.
“Awfully sure of yourself, cowboy.” But she really didn’t care. All she wanted was his long, thick shaft driving inside her. Yummmm!
He leaned over her and drove home, taking her breath away for a second. “Stupidest thing I’ve done in a long while.”
“Shut up and just take me,” Mandie gritted out, clamping her legs around his back.
Chapter Three
The sun hung high in the sky the next morning by the time Cole returned to the main part of the ranch. He’d ridden out to the south range at sunrise. He hadn’t slept more than a good solid hour. His dreams had been hot and heavy; he’d woken up hot and heavy. Lord a’mighty, he’d been an idiot last night. How in Hell was he going to face the little blonde spitfire again? The things he’d said to her yesterday. Even worse, the things they’d done in her bed! He didn’t regret any of that, but he sure felt bad about losing control. She was a sweet—okay, pretty damn uninhibited—woman. She didn’t deserve a man as hard as he could be to live with, a man who couldn’t seem to control his sexual needs.
Damn fool. You should have kept your cock in your pants. He’d be steering clear of Dr. Mandie James, that was for sure.
Jazz headed automatically for the corral beside the barn, unconcerned that her rider couldn’t get his thoughts straight today. He’d have to give her an extra treat for putting up with him.
“Miss Mandie, don’t look so afeared,” he heard Pickle Joe, his young, freckle-faced ranch hand call out. “Jezebel won’t do nothing to harm ya.”
Cole reined Jazz in and shot a look toward the big riding arena that Bessie’d had built as part of the guest ranch. A half dozen of his ranch hands stood around the arena watching an extremely stiff-looking Mandie sitting on top of the oldest horse on the ranch. Jezebel could barely manage a turtle-speed walk on a good day. Right now she appeared content to just stand there and not move, other than to flick her tail at a fly or two.
As Cole urged Jazz closer, he noted that Mandie gripped the reins so tightly her knuckles were white. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere in the world but on the ancient mare. Who the blazes had talked her into getting on a horse? Any fool could see she was scared to death?
The culprit, he was sure, stood on the far side of Jezebel. Rusty Hawke, his foreman and usually his best friend, tipped his hat back and flashed a flirtatious grin up at Mandie. “If you want, Miss Mandie, I could ride behind you. It’s not the most comfortable way to ride, but if it would make you more confident, I’d be glad to do it.”
“Really?” she squeaked out. “We could ride together?”
Cole rode up next to the railing, pleased when his men glanced at him nervously. They had chores to be doing. Mandie wasn’t here to
entertain them, or distract them. He’d be speaking to her about bothering his men. He’d be having a few words with them, too. For now, he gave them a silent look that didn’t bode well for them. They started drifting away. Except for Rusty, naturally.
“Sorry, Dr. James, but Rusty here has supplies to pick up in town.” Cole slid from the saddle and Pickle Joe hurried over to take Jazz’s reins. “Getting kind of late, too. You best get going.”
“But… I-I…” Panic filled her expression.
Tears glistened in her eyes.Well, shit. His good buddy didn’t seem to notice them. Cole didn’t even bother with walking around to the gate; he scrambled over the fence into the arena.
“Didn’t know you were feeling that limber these days. Guess your leg is better.” Rusty stood there grinning, watching Cole stride closer.
“Who’s responsible for this?” Cole didn’t want to talk about his leg, which now rebelled at his decision to haul ass over the fence. He tended to forget he was going on thirty-five and his body had suffered through too many injuries to remember.
The first sign of spunk reappeared on Mandie’s pale face, distracting him from his aches and pains. She continued to have a death grip on the non-moving Jezebel, but she snapped, “It was my idea!”
“You’re terrified of horses, aren’t you?” Cole stopped a couple of feet from Rusty, tempted to knock his still-grinning friend flat on his backside. “Any idiot can see that.”
Rusty’s grin faded and he straightened. “She only told me they made her uneasy. She wanted to try and overcome that, since she was going to be here all summer long. Made sense to me.” He had the grace to look uncomfortably up at Mandie. “At the time it made sense.”
Jezebel shook her head lazily at a fly buzzing around her ears, then she stomped a back leg before becoming deathly still once more. Mandie gasped and the rest of the color left her face.