Page 20 of His Last Nerve

“You got a death wish?” he barked once he was just a few feet from me. I beamed at him, plan in place, ready to fight. Crossing my legs and perching my tablet on my thigh, I greeted him. “Good morning, Mr. Langston.”

He didn’t stop charging towards me, not until I was leaning back, his hands planted on the hood beside my hips. I tried to ignore the tingles in my thighs and the heat radiating from his massive body.

“Thought I told you to leave,” he all but growled down at me.

“You did,” I said firmly. “But that was yesterday.”

He blinked and then stared at me like I’d lost my damn mind.

Maybe I had.

I was here, wasn’t I?

I smiled up at him again before getting down to business. “I’m here, representing Moonie Pipelines. Mr. Tim Moonie has an offer for you and your ranch. Now, I understand that you may have some concerns—”

“That man doesn’t know shit,” he hissed, cutting me off. He pushed off the hood and took two steps back before gesturing to me. “This ain’t going to work, sweetheart.”

“I—”

“You sittin’ on the hood of this car with your long legs crossed ain’t going to get me to change my mind about shit,” he continued, venom in his voice.

I remained silent, letting him get it all out before I continued. He closed the distance between us again. I had to tip my head back to look into those smokey eyes of his.

I ignored that I liked having to tip my head back to look into his eyes.

“My dick ain’t on a fucking leash,” he sneered, his jaw muscle jumping underneath his short, trimmed beard.

My brain short-circuited at the mention of his dick. I should not be thinking of this man’s body, at all, let alone his dick. Heat crawled up my cheeks as his smoke began to surround me once more, just like it did the other day. The tablet slipped out of my hands and landed on the gravel as he leaned down closer to me, getting in my space. Way in my space.

So close, I could smell him.

And, dammit, this cowboy smelled good, like pine and mint, not like sweat and dirt. No.Of course not.The infuriating, rude, handsome, taller than me, cowboy had to smell good. The universe had no plans of being benevolent today.

“You women are all the same. Let me clue you in, City Girl. Seducing me ain’t going to work. Get off my land,” he sneered.

I stared at him in disbelief, my chest brushing against his with every quick breath. His smoke drifted away as he bent down to pick up my tablet. He didn’t hand it to me. No, he tossed on the hood of the car next to me like it was a piece of trash. He looked me up and down once more.

“They need to do better thanthatif seduction is their play,” he said, looking at the pasture.

Pain sliced through me at his words, digging deeper than when he called me a bitch. It was like a hot poker was shoved into my gut. I knew I wasn’t the skinniest woman in the world, and I was not small by any means. Still, I tried my hardest not to let my height and weight define me. I was curvy and tall, that wasn’t a crime.

I sucked in a breath. He didn’t hear it, though, because he was already walking away from me. Again.

Ten million dollars.

I sat there for a few more minutes, watching the barn waiting to see if he would return. He did, but this time, he was mounted on a beautiful brown horse, flying out to the pastures.

Denver Langston didn’t even cast me a second glance.

That’s okay.

He would tomorrow.

Thenextday,Igot there around the same time, ready to fight. Yesterday, after I left the ranch, I went back to the hotel and changed into jeans.

Then I explored the town of Hayden.

I walked downtown, taking in the peaceful, little town with a smile on my face. This town really was lovely, a place where, maybe in a different life, my mom’s flower shop could have been, nestled across the street from the bakery between the grocery store and the police station.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com