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The scent of leather, smoke, hot metal, and sexy man still swirled around her head. He hadn’t moved away from her. She owed him an apology for her rudeness. Perhaps once her heart slowed down to only three hundred beats a minute, she’d be able to speak.
Cooper placed another small brown napkin square on the counter and put a glass with an amber liquid down next to her glass of wine. His expression seemed puzzled. Whether by her slutty staring or Nathan’s still very close proximity, she wasn’t sure.
“Thanks.” He nodded at Cooper once as if to dismiss him, but he didn’t back away. Instead, the bartender waited as if his part-time job was sentry.
Nathan turned his head and put his intense focus back on her. “What’s your name, darlin’?” he asked in a quiet tone, apparently ignoring the fact that Cooper still stood there.
She sucked in a slow deep breath, released it, and turned to answer. But then she saw his beautiful eyes. They were lighter in color than she’d expected. Closely matched to the shade of whiskey waiting for him on the bar’s scarred wooden surface.
“I’m Suzanna.” An accomplishment, getting her name through her lips, and getting it correct to boot. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cooper smile. He moved away from them to tend other customers.
“Good to meet you, Suzanna. I’m Nathan.” The sound of her name on his lips didn’t quiet her libido at all. If he’d kissed her, or demanded she strip naked so he could fuck her against the bar, she probably would have. He had that certain forceful manner of a man who likely always got exactly what he wanted. Especially with women.
Even so, why did this man impact her in the same way Gabriel did? Had she turned into a wanton after too much time alone? She cast a quick look down the bar at Cooper waiting on two new guests. He was boyishly attractive with his smiling eyes and ready grin, but he didn’t send her pulse beating wildly in her veins.
“I’m so sorry for earlier. The staring, I mean. I wasn’t trying to be rude.”
He moved back, and half a smile formed on his beautiful mouth. “No problem. Do I look familiar to you or like someone you know?”
“No. Not exactly. I saw you and immediately thought you’d make a perfect bodyguard, if I could afford one.” The part about wanting him to fuck her against the bar, she kept to herself.
Seating himself next to her, he grabbed his drink and took a healthy swig. He turned to her with a question in his eyes. “Why do you need a bodyguard?”
Suzanna hadn’t meant to be so forthcoming. “It’s a long story.”
He held up his glass. “I’ve got a little time.”
“That’s okay. I’m sorry to have stared you down like a morsel of food.”
He laughed. It was low-pitched and perfect.
“You don’t have to be sorry. I’m not. Actually, I thought it looked like you wanted me to kiss you.” He turned a seductive gaze her way. Her already hopelessly saturated panties paid the price. She squeezed her legs together as if it would help stem the flow of pussy juice. She wanted to kiss him with a sudden desperation that was completely inappropriate.
He winked at her and added, “A kiss would be no problem, by the way.”
Chapter Four
Gabriel left Suzanna at the saloon and headed to the sheriff’s office as scenarios of Kendall’s possible reactions ran through his mind.
The worst Kendall could say was no to her staying at the saloon, which meant he’d then have to tell him she’d be staying at his and Nathan’s place behind the compound walls. Kendall guarded that space even more than after hours at the Old West Town park.
He crossed the street, climbed onto the wooden sidewalk, and opened the door to the sheriff’s office. He’d always loved coming in here. The place reminded him of the television show Gunsmoke, right down to the old-fashioned blue-speckled coffeepot on the stove in the corner.
Zane Washburn, in the role of Kendall’s primary deputy, was kicked back in a wooden chair with his feet crossed and propped up on the corner of the desk. “Hey, Gabriel. What’s up?”
Gabriel glanced around the room, noting Zane was alone. “Is Kendall here?”
