by Jaci Burton
He pulled back, searching her face. "Des."
The strain in his voice as he moved against her reflected what she felt. The tension, the need that occupied every nerve ending in her body, that stretched her taut on a rack of need, making her body tighten as he pulled back, then slid within her again, hitting every one of her pleasure spots until the stars she saw weren't in the sky but within.
She held tight to his shoulders as she fought for balance, as she hovered right on the brink until he rolled against her. When she released, he was right there with her, catapulting both of them over the edge. He grasped her chin and held her, kissing her with a passion that only served to batter her senses with an onslaught of pleasure that brought tears to her eyes.
She was shaking as she floated back down to earth, her limbs hardly able to hold themselves upright. Fortunately, Logan had a firm hold on her as they disentangled and they made their way back into the house.
"Shower?" he asked.
"Yes." He turned on the shower and they climbed inside. Logan gently washed her, and she had the pleasure of running her hands over his body. They dried off and Logan stepped out onto the deck to grab their clothes and bring them inside.
"Would you like to stay tonight?" he asked.
She nodded.
"What time do you have to be back tomorrow?"
"We don't film tomorrow. We have two days off."
His lips curved. "I could put you to work tomorrow here."
She crawled onto the bed and lay on her side, her head propped up in her hand. "Think you could make a rancher out of me?"
"I don't know. You do have boots, right?"
"Indeed, I do."
He got in bed and lay down beside her, lazily stroking her hip. "Then tomorrow, let's see what you've got."
She grinned. "You're on, McCormack."
Chapter 16
DES FROWNED AS she was poked in the butt.
"What?"
"Let's go. Time to get up."
She blinked and looked outside "It's still dark."
"Yup. Come on. You want to work cattle today, we have to get an early start."
She rolled over onto her back and grabbed her phone from the bedside table. "Jesus, Logan. It's not even five a.m."
"Welcome to cattle ranching, Des. Changing your mind?"
In the foggy part of her sleep-addled brain, she recognized the challenge she heard in his voice. She slid out of bed and yawned. "Nope."
"You'll need jeans. I'll drive you to your trailer so you can grab a change of clothes."
"Great. Coffee first, though."
"Already have it brewed."
"You're like some kind of vampire." She grabbed her clothes and, in a daze, climbed into them. True to his word, Logan had coffee made downstairs.
Martha was already there, too, and something that smelled an awful lot like food came from the stove.
"Morning, Des," Martha said, looking not at all shocked to see her there.
"Good morning, Martha."
"There's bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast this morning. Logan tells me you're going to stay on the ranch and work with him today."
"I'm going to attempt it. We'll see how it goes."
Martha handed her a brown paper bag. "You'll do just fine. Grab yourself some coffee in one of those cups with a lid. You two can eat in the truck while you go get yourself some different clothes. I'll see you for lunch."
"Thanks, Martha." Des filled her cup, slid on the lid, and took the bag from Martha. She headed out the front door, where Logan already had the truck ready. She climbed in and put the bag between them.
"Martha didn't say anything about me being there."
"Why would she? She likes you. Hand me one of those sandwiches. You should eat, too."
"Who can eat this early?"
"You will. We're going to burn a lot of fuel, so force yourself even if you're not hungry."
She opened the bag, the smell of bacon wafting out, which immediately woke her stomach. While Logan drove over the ruts in the road, Des unwrapped the other sandwich and took a bite.
"Yum."
Logan nodded while busily chewing.
"I'll dash in and change clothes. I won't take long."
Logan put the truck in park and turned in off. "I'll walk in with you."
She should be used to his manners by now, but they still surprised her. "Okay."
It only took her a minute to change into her jeans, a T-shirt, and her boots. She braided her hair and then she was ready. She finished her sandwich and her coffee in the truck on the way back to the ranch.
"What are we doing today?" she asked Logan as they made their way to the pasture.
"Moving and sorting cattle."
"Which means what, exactly?"
"We sort them according to size before we work them. Then when we return them to the pastures for grazing, they're all of equal size. It makes a difference when we load them up for sale later on in the year."
"Okay."
"Do you know how to ride a horse?"
"Sort of."
"That means no. We'll go slow. You'll get the hang of it."
She laughed. "I love your confidence in my abilities."
When they entered the barn, Logan chose a horse for her.
"This is Athena. She's a sweet mare and perfect for you."
The gray-and-black dappled mare had a thick black mane over her crest, and stood very still while Logan saddled her.
Des ran her hands over her and spoke to her in quiet tones. Logan led her out to the fence where his own horse, who Des learned was named Frosty, waited for them.
"She's beautiful, Logan."
Logan patted Athena. "Yeah, she is. She doesn't get to ride as much anymore, so she'll enjoy working today."
"Is she older?"
"Older than some of our working horses. She's enjoying her retirement, but she's still got some miles left in her, don't you Athena?"
Des admired the way Logan spoke to the horses. There was a warm respect in his voice, as if he knew the work the horses did was just as valuable as the humans'.
"Seriously," he asked. "Have you ever ridden at all?"
"I have. But it's been a few years."
"At least you've been up on a horse before. Slide your foot in the stirrup and I'll help you up."
She got her foot in the stirrup, and Logan gave her a leg up. Athena was tall, and a stout horse, but Des felt comfortable on her, and the horse wasn't skittish at all. Des knew the rein commands, so she followed Logan over to where his men were waiting.
"We're going to head north a couple miles. Then we'll gather up the cattle and drive them down here so we can sort them."
"Sounds fine. Obviously, I'm going to attempt to not get in the way, and hope someone will yell at me and tell me what to do."
Logan motioned to one of the younger hands, who rode up to them. He couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen, though he rode with confidence, just like Logan.
"This is Vic, one of my cousins. He's home from college for the summer and getting a little work in on the ranch. Vic, this is Des. She's an actress working the movie on the ranch. You might know who she is."
"Hey, Vic. Nice to meet you."
Vic blushed a hard shade of crimson, but tipped his hat. "Ma'am."
"Vic's going to be bringing up the rear. She's a little rusty on riding, so stick close to her and let her know what needs to be done."
Des turned to Logan. "I assume you'll be leader of the pack?"
Logan's lips curved. "I'll be back and forth. Ben will run lead. So I'll be back here to check on you."
"I'm sure Vic and I will do just fine. Won't we, Vic?" She smiled at him, and his blush deepened.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Call me Des, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Des quirked a smile. Vic was awfully adorable, with his tall, lean body and oh, God, those dimples. He probably had a lot of girlfriends at school.
&n
bsp; "I'll see you later?" Logan asked.
Des nodded. "Yes. I'm looking forward to this, so you just do your thing."
"Take good care of my girl, Vic."
"Will do," Vic said.
Logan turned his horse and galloped away. He and Frosty moved as one, and Des had to admit he looked damned sexy riding.
"This way, ma'am."
"Vic. If you're going to call me ma'am all day, we're going to have a problem. Call me Des."
Vic gave her a crooked smile. "Okay. Des."
Oh, yeah. Definite lady-killer material. What was it with these McCormack men? It had to be in their genes.
She followed Vic as they set up behind the cattle. She figured they'd sit and wait until Ben, Logan, and the others got them moving, but Vic took off right away, inching the cattle in the direction he wanted them to go, which in turn got the ones ahead of them moving.
"Stay on their left," Vic told her. "Our job is to keep them in formation. Cattle like to wander, so holler if you see any stragglers, and I'll take care of them."
"Will do." The entire herd started their trek south. For the first part of the trip, everything seemed to be going fine. It might have been several years since Des had ridden, but Athena was a joy to ride. She took direction well and wasn't spooked by any of the noises of the men's whistles or shouts or the constant mooing of the cattle. Obviously, this horse was well versed in what to do. Des stayed abreast of the cattle at the tail end, keeping her gaze peeled for any that might look like they were about to bolt.
When one did, straying off as they passed one of the ponds, she hollered over to Vic, who came around from his side in a hurry and herded the wayward heifer back toward the herd.
Crisis averted, and back to smooth sailing.
It took a while to traverse the two miles back to the ranch because a large herd of cattle didn't move as fast as horses. Once they returned, they directed all the cattle into a large holding pen, and she followed Vic to the barn where Logan was waiting for them.
"How'd she do?" Logan asked Vic as he held his hand out for her.
"She did good. She was alert and noticed one of the heifers trying to make a dash for the lake. She's a good hand."
Logan helped her off the horse. "Good for you. I knew you'd catch on quick."
It had been hot as blazes out there and sweat dripped down her back. Grateful for the hat Logan had given her, she took it off and swiped the sweat from her brow. "Thanks."
"Let's go take a break. We'll have lunch and something cold to drink before we start on sorting the cattle."
She was glad he'd insisted she eat breakfast because between the heat and how much leg work it took just to manage her horse, she was already exhausted and had burned off all those calories from her sandwich.
Just the thought of heading inside to Logan's cool, air-conditioned house made her want to cry with joy.
She followed along beside him, hurrying to keep up.
The air-conditioning hit her as soon as they stepped inside. "I think I'll go wash up a bit first."
"I'll do the same. You can take my room if you'd like."
She nodded. "If I'm not back downstairs in fifteen minutes, it means I've passed out, facefirst on your bed."
He smiled and tipped her chin with his fingers, then brushed her lips with his. "Don't fall asleep. We haven't even started on the hard work yet."
"That's not tempting me to stay awake, Logan." She turned and headed up to Logan's room, staring longingly at his bed before moving into the bathroom to wash her hands and splash cold water on her face.
She stared at herself in the mirror, horrified by her beet red face, the splotches of dirt kicked up on her arms and neck by the horses and cattle, and her hair . . . well, there was no help for her hair. Between the sweat and the cowboy hat, her hair was flat and stuck to her head, and she couldn't understand why in the world Logan had wanted to kiss her.
Ugh. Her appearance gave new meaning to the phrase "rode hard, put up wet," which she had never appreciated until she looked at herself in the mirror.
And the hard work hadn't started yet? She was never going to make it, and she mentally praised every single female working rancher, because they were way tougher than she was. It wasn't like she was some sissy, either. She was a runner. Hell, she'd run a half marathon. She worked out regularly, had learned several forms of martial arts.
But this? This was a real workout.
Doing what she could to smooth out her hair, she went back downstairs and found Logan and Ben in the kitchen with the rest of the guys.
"There you are," Martha said. "Logan said you might be taking a nap."
She poured herself a glass of iced tea and nearly downed it in two gulps. "No, I was just washing up."
"You lost that bet," Ben said to Logan as Des slid into one of the chairs at the oversized table.
"What bet is that?" Des asked.
"That you wouldn't make it past this morning."
Des turned to look at Logan. "You bet against me?"
"Yeah. Sorry. But this heat wave is an asskicker, and I've seen your trailer."
She frowned. "What about my trailer?"
"It's a luxury item. It has a whirlpool tub."
"Your bathroom has a whirlpool tub, too," she shot back to Logan.
A chorus of oohs and ahhs broke out. Des ignored them.
"Yeah, but I've never used it," Logan said. "I'll bet you've used the one in your trailer."
Irritation prickled her skin. She knew he was baiting her, teasing her. And normally, she could handle it. But right now she was tired and hot and just damned pissed off. "Bring it on. I can take whatever you can dish out."
"Be careful what you wish for. You might get it."
That brought about more whistles and laughs from the guys.
"Okay, boys, knock it off," Martha said, bringing Des a sandwich. "And, Logan, I'm ashamed of you. Des is our guest. You're supposed to be showing her a good time."
"She asked to work the ranch today. I'm showing her how it's done. She can quit anytime she wants."
Oh. So that's what this was about. He was testing her to see if she'd walk away.
Like his mother did.
Not a chance.
She shrugged and picked up her sandwich. "I'm not a quitter. Never have been."
"We'll see how you feel about that by the end of the day."
LOGAN KNEW HE was being an asshole, but there was something inside of him that demanded he test Des to her limits. He didn't know what had come over him. Normally, he would have gone easy on a guest. They'd had plenty of people want to try their hand at ranching, and he and Ben and the hands always gave them easy tasks.
It had to be near a hundred degrees out there today. When they'd stopped for lunch, Des's face was as red as a tomato, and she'd looked like she might pass out. She'd handled the morning just fine, and if he'd been a nice guy, he'd have told her to sit the rest of the day out.
But she'd been so goddamned determined, and she'd never once complained. So why not see if she had the grit she claimed, right?
So now, as she stood in the lane while they sorted cattle, he'd once again let Vic work with her.
Not a peep out of her as she ran to open one gate and close another so the cattle would head into the correct pens.
She learned fast, too.
The task took several hours, with no shade and in the baking afternoon sun. Des wore a long-sleeve shirt, jeans, boots, and a hat. He knew what it was like to work in those temperatures, but he had been born and bred to this, had been working cattle since he was a little kid.
Des wasn't used to it, and typically they'd give their guests a sample of the work process, then give them a break.
Logan hadn't given her a break. He was treating her like any of his other hands, making her put in a full day's work.
What kind of a dickhead did that make him?
A first-class one. And he didn't understand what the hell was the matter with him
.
"You gonna cut that filly loose before she drops, son?"
Logan looked up at Ben, and lifted his chin. "She's doin' fine."
"She ain't fine, and you know it. You have a fight with her or somethin'?"
"No."
"Then what the hell is your problem? Even with your momma on her meanest day, your daddy would have never treated her the way you're treatin' Des. So you go cut that girl loose, Logan, or I'm gonna do it for you."
It was unheard of to be lectured by Ben. It hadn't happened since he was in his teens. And he was ashamed it was happening now.
"You're right. I'll go take care of it."
"You do that. The boys and I will handle things here. We're almost done anyway."
Logan walked around the outside of the pens and made his way to the rear where Des and Vic were working. He slid under the chute, signaled for one of the other hands to take Des's place, and headed toward her.
She looked a wreck. Her boots were filthy and covered in cow shit. As a matter of fact, so was she. But she never even glanced his way, just worked with machine-like precision alongside Vic.
She'd make a fine hand. He admired her work ethic.
Logan whistled and everyone came to a stop, including Des.
"Brian's going to take over for you, Des" he said, motioning to Brian, who stepped into the chute.
Des narrowed her gaze. "Why? I've got this covered."
"I know. You did a great job today. Most seasoned hands wouldn't be able to handle the kind of day you did. But that's enough. You proved your point." He led her out of the chute and back toward the house.
"I had no point to prove," she said, staying in step beside him. "I think that was you."
He stopped and turned to her. "No, I didn't."
"Didn't you?" She took off her work gloves and handed them to him, then pulled her phone out of her back pocket and hit a button. "Hey, it's Des. Can you come get me? I'm over at the McCormack ranch."
She waited, her gaze staying firmly on Logan. "Great. I'll see you soon." She tucked her phone back into her jeans.
"Des."
She held up her hand. "Look, Logan. I get that you don't trust many women. But I thought we were past that, that things between you and me were different. I guess I was wrong."
She headed over to the barn so he followed. She stopped at the sink, shrugged out of her long-sleeve shirt, leaving her wearing only her tank top. She turned on the water and grabbed the soap, then started scrubbing her hands and arms. And the whole time, she ignored his presence.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
This time, she wouldn't look at him. "Don't you? Betting against me? Trying to test me to see if I'd crumble and run?"