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The long, dusty driveway ends abruptly at a huge lodge of timber and glass. A large wraparound porch sports two rocking chairs that look out over the pasture land to either side of the home. The two-story structure boasts enormous windows along the front, centered by a massive oak door complete with large brass ring knockers. The only thing, besides the smell of cow shit, that points to the fact that I’m on a working ranch, is the beat up pickup truck parked in front.
I take a deep breath and climb out of my car, stretching my long legs from the drive. Propping my sunglasses up on the top of my head, I stride toward the front porch and the door opens before I am even up the steps.
“Holy shit,” I say out loud before I can catch myself.
“I’m sorry?” comes the reply of the Adonis that stands in the doorway.
I feel a blush creep up my neck and clear my throat. “Uh, hi,” I try again. “I’m Sydney Baines,” I say, sticking out my hand. Never in my twenty-seven years on this earth, have I seen a man this gorgeous.
He takes a step out on the porch and I realize that he’s even taller than I had originally thought. I’m on the tall side for a woman, standing nearly five foot ten and this guy towers over me. He must be well over six-five. His shoulders are broad, his hips are narrow, and his tousled black hair falls over his forehead. My palms are immediately sweaty and I try to pull my hand back but he reaches out and grabs it in his before I can. I nearly sigh as his large, calloused hand completely envelops mine.
His dark brown eyes take me in from head to toe and a smirk spreads across his tanned face. “Cole. Cole Parker,” he says, amusement clear in his eyes.
I know this look, and the immediate attraction I’d felt is quickly replaced by annoyance. This asshole thinks he’s better than me. I nearly yank my hand from his and stuff it in the pocket of my short red shorts. I notice that his eyes travel immediately to my chest and I take a step back, the heel of my wedge shoe catching on the top of the step. I feel myself start to fall, but before I can, Cole’s massive arms are around my waist. He hauls me up against his rock-hard chest and steadies me on my feet before letting go. He is still standing close enough that I can feel the heat coming off of him.
My heart is hammering in my ears and it’s not just from the near tumble down the porch steps. The feel of him pressed up against me has made me weak in the knees, and more than a little wet. Holy fuck Sydney, get ahold of yourself.
“Uh, thank you,” I manage to mumble as I smooth my clothes.
“Now I’ve had women fall for me pretty fast before, but that might be a record,” Cole teases.
My face immediately goes hot and I start to stammer out a response but he holds up a hand and stops me.
“Cool down Miss Baines, I’m only joking. Why don’t we get your bags and get you inside and out of the heat?”
As I watch him walk down the steps toward my car to grab my luggage, I can’t help but think that as long as I’m anywhere near Cole Parker, I’ll never be out of the heat.
Chapter Two: Cole
I look up at the clock and groan to myself. It’s nearly dusk and my “guest” is set to arrive any minute now. I don’t normally do this sort of thing but I just can’t say no to my Aunt Nora. Shit, if it hadn’t been for her, my brothers and I would have been split up and put into foster care. I owe her.
I get up from the chair and do another cursory sweep of the living room. It isn’t possible for any dust to have gathered since I checked five minutes ago, but I’m feeling on edge and need something to do. Some of the other ranches in the area rent out rooms to bored, rich city people for extra income, but that’s never been my deal. Besides, the ranch does pretty well and we don’t need the extra cash.
My younger brother, Luke, comes down the hall and tosses a smirk in my direction.
“Your new roomie here yet?” he asks.
“Shut up,” I throw back at him. “I don’t know why I let Aunt Nora talk me into this shit.”
“Uh, yes you do. Without her, we’d have nothing. So, she calls and asks us to do something and we do it. Come on, it’s only for a few weeks. It won’t be that bad. I’ll bet she spends most of her time in town or up near Billings where there’s more to do,” Luke reasons.
I shrug my shoulders and hope that he’s right. The last thing I need is
some city chick hanging around while I’m trying to work. I’ve seen it before and the novelty wears off rather quickly for them every time. All they end up doing is getting in the way.
I shake my head as Luke raids my fridge before heading out the back door. He’s got his own place on the property near the back, but he likes to come up and do his grocery shopping in my kitchen every once in a while. He’s lucky I like him.
I see the headlights of the little red sports car come up the drive and pull to a stop next to my truck. Here we go, I tell myself, taking a deep breath. I walk over toward the front door and stop in my tracks, my heart skipping a beat. Aunt Nora never told me what this girl looked like. I could’ve used a warning.
Long, tanned legs unfold from the car and her high, large breasts jiggle a bit when she slams the door shut. Her auburn hair is in a messy pony tail and she tucks some loose strands behind her ears. She is tall and lean with killer legs and a rack to match. I can feel my jeans start to get tight just looking at her. This is going to be a long few weeks. Damn you, Aunt Nora.
I decide it’s better just to get this over with, so I step out onto the porch to introduce myself. I notice her take a step back and feel her eyes on me. I can’t help but smile a bit to myself; she thinks I’m hot. For the briefest moment, I imagine those long legs wrapped around my waist and feel my balls start to tighten. I need to get a grip or I’m going to be in some serious pain here soon.
She steps back and nearly falls off of the porch. I react quickly and grab her around the waist, pulling her back up against me. The feel of those nice tits pressed to my chest is almost more than I can bear so I let her go almost immediately. I make a dumb comment and piss her off. Good, that should help. I can’t afford to have her looking at me like that for too much longer.
The scent of her shampoo fills my nose and I know that if I don’t get away from her soon, I’m going to take her right here up against the side of my rusty old pickup. I offer to get her things and step off of the porch before I totally lose my cool. I offer up a silent prayer that Luke was right and that she will spend most of her time up in Billings, because the thought of this woman in my house is making me nuts. Five minutes in and I can already tell that Sydney Baines is going to be trouble.
“So here is the living room and the kitchen. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. If there’s something you want that I don’t have, I’ll make sure to get it for you when I run into town day after tomorrow,” I tell her.
