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Sydney wondered why she wanted to keep riling him. Maybe it was hormones, or lack of sex, or plain old attraction prodding her to goad him, to get under his skin the way he had hers. Looking up at him, her heart stuttered at his direct, blue gaze under the low brim of his hat. Shit. What the man could do to a girl’s insides with just a look ought to be illegal.
“I love to… ride,” she drawled with blatant innuendo.
His jaw tightened, his reply stated in a low, controlled voice. “Horses, Sydney.”
“Oh, well, no, I’ve never been on top of one of those. Bu
t it couldn’t be too hard. You said she’s a sweetheart.” She reached out a tentative hand to stroke the mare’s soft neck, enjoying the ripple of muscle under her hand.
“When I have time, I’ll take you up, give you a few lessons. Until then, don’t even think about it,” he warned.
“Another rule?” she quipped, beginning to chafe under the weight of his restrictions.
“Safety is high on our priority list, along with no employee membership, or even visits to our private club,” he stated, laying it on the line in blunt terms.
Sydney blew out a frustrated breath and gripped the rail. She may just end up as lonely on this busy ranch as she’d been traveling alone for the past few weeks. “You sure know how to suck the fun out of a new job, boss. I guess I’ll have to come up with other ways to enjoy my time off.”
Caden wanted his reply to confirm his distrust of the innocent look on Sydney’s face when she uttered that last question. He needed to squash her interest before he caved, and he was the one to break his own, steadfast rule. “You saw how I deal with little girls who let their mouths run away with them. Same goes for those who break the rules.” Which wasn’t true for employees, of course, but she didn’t know that.
“I’m not a little girl,” she returned, unfazed. He should’ve remembered how she hadn’t shied away from watching him spank Mindy, and how there’d been no reasoning with her last night.
“Then don’t act like one and we won’t have a problem,” he growled in frustration, doing his best to ignore the way the twinkle in her eyes stirred his cock.
Caden didn’t hear Connor come out of the barn until he spoke behind him, his voice laced with amused curiosity. “Is big brother giving you a hard time?”
“Connor, meet our new cook, and yes, she’s also our trespasser from last night. Sydney Baker, my brother, Connor.”
“Thank God.” Pushing his way between them, Connor held out his hand. “We may have had a mutiny on our hands come noon if the guys had to eat one more catered meal from the deli in town. It’s so frigging nice to meet you, Sydney.”
The smile Sydney bestowed on his brother lit up her face with pleasure, the look drawing Caden’s hands into fists to keep from giving in to the urge to shove Connor away from her. How the hell could she get to him so fast, and in a way no other woman ever had?
“It’s nice to be greeted by a friendly face, Connor. Caden was going over the rules with me, with an emphasis on safety and no more spying in the window of your ‘other’ barn.” The finger quotes she put up when she said other drew a reluctant smile from Caden. The girl didn’t give an inch and damned if he couldn’t help the thread of admiration that trait elicited.
“That’s funny. Caden was always the one to tell me rules were made to be broken when we were growing up and getting our butts walloped,” Connor drawled.
Since he couldn’t fight both of them at once, Caden yanked on his hat in exasperation. “We have work to do and Sydney has a meal to prepare. I suggest we all get to it.”
“Sydney, again, nice to meet you. See you at lunch.” Connor tipped his hat to her before catching up with Caden in the barn.
Why it should grate that his brother was so friendly and showed an interest in Sydney, Caden didn’t know, and didn’t care for the fact it did. Under any other circumstances, he’d enjoy the attraction, the interest in kink, and act on it. But he couldn’t afford to sour a much-needed employer/employee relationship by giving in to her and indulging in a brief fling.
“You could cut her a little slack. She seems nice.”
He flicked his brother a sharp glance. “She is nice, but rules are put in place for a good reason.”
“Yeah, I know,” Connor sighed in agreement. “But sometimes bending the rules doesn’t hurt anything and can be a hell of a lot of fun.”
The Dunbar brothers together certainly packed a punch, Sydney mused, watching the pair stride off. They were of the same height, but Connor had a leaner build than Caden, his hair a lighter, tawny shade of brown worn long enough to pull back in a short ponytail compared to his brother’s shaggy, collar-length, dark mahogany. The twinkle in Connor’s matching blue eyes belied the whole scruffy, rugged look he had going on with the shade darker beard that was sexy as hell. But the horny, perverse side of her only tingled when Caden drilled her with his irritated, cobalt gaze and warmed from just an innocent touch of his callused hand, leaving her no choice but to jump him if given the chance. Since that prospect seemed unlikely, she’d have to suck it up for now and concentrate on her job.
As she suspected, the pantry and large refrigerator/freezer in the mess hall held only the basics, ingredients that lacked imagination. After finding everything she needed for a large batch of spaghetti, which would take no time, she indulged herself by sinking her hands into yeasty dough for fresh, homemade bread. She just pulled the golden loaves from the oven when she heard the outer door open and voices heralding the arrival of the hands.
Snatching up the mitt hot pads, she lifted the heavy pot of spaghetti and meatballs off the stove and carried it into the dining hall. A lanky young man rushed forward and took it from her with a beaming smile, his tanned face shadowed by his Stetson.
“Billy Joe, ma’am. Welcome to the Dunbar Ranch. Oh, man, this looks fu… er, darn good.”
Amused, Sydney smiled at him. “Thank you. I’m Sydney. I’ll grab the bread.”
Another young hand swiveled his blond head toward her, his blue eyes widening at her announcement. “Bread? Is that what I smell?”
