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Tess had promised Mia she would match the funds that were raised when she was auctioned off. She never expected to go so high. “I will, uh, get you a check next week,” she said as Mia hurried off, still grinning.
Mathias. Tess hadn’t even seen him in the last two months. After what had happened, she had worked at avoiding him, but she hadn’t needed to worry as she never ran into him at all. It was just wham-bam, and he was gone.
But what a wham-bam it was. Sadly, her insides tingled for hours after he had gone. If he had pounded on her bedroom door to be let in that night, she would have let him gladly, even if it had nearly broken her when he had nothing to say after it was over. But looking back, she knew she should have said something. At the time, she couldn’t think until she had shut the door to her room. Then she had come up with a few ideas. But by then, he was already gone.
As she walked to the science room, she wondered why he would bid on her. Was it to yell at her for hours on end? Was it to criticize her? Both? Was it to have his wicked way with her again? God, she hoped it was the last one.
Entering the room, she saw he was already there, talking to Hazel May, another book club member, who was taking payments from the bidders. Hazel must have told him that she was there because he looked over his shoulder at her. He was not smiling as their eyes met; his had a cold glint to them.
“Mathias.”
“Thorn.”
“When do you want to do this?” She bristled at his use of her last name. He must have forgotten about the sex they had because he didn’t seem to like her much again.
“When are you available?” His eyes went straight to her chest as he spoke, so maybe he didn’t completely forget.
“Just give me a date. I can make anything work.” Lifting her chin, she tried to sound professional, but it was hard with his eyes not meeting hers or even trying to.
“Tuesday?” His tongue darted out and ran over his upper lip ever so slowly.
“This one or next?” Her body went right to the memory of his hot tongue her breasts, and they started to tingle and ache.
“Next.” He looked up with his blue eyes, dark with desire. He was thinking about it also.
“Where?” Her eyes locked on to his, and she folded her arms, trying to get her body under control.
“My place. Do you know where it is?” he asked, but it sounded more like a challenge.
“I can get the address from work. See you at eight next Tuesday.” Tess turned on her heel and walked away from him. Tuesday was going to be a long day.
CHAPTER7
Tuesday dawned,sunny and slightly chilly. Since the kids were in town with Karen, Math was alone all morning, no breakfasts before the busy hustle of the day. Nothing to distract him from his thoughts, just him wondering what he had been thinking last week. Why did he buy Tess Thorn at the auction?
No matter how many times he asked the question, he knew the answer: because she looked scared and vulnerable up there on the stage. He didn’t think others saw her that way, but he had read the look in her eyes. When Rafferty Brooks had started bidding on her time, he had to jump in to save her. Rafferty was a playboy in this little town. No way was he letting Rafferty spend a day with Tess. Math had assumed Rafferty was aware he wouldn’t win, but he didn’t stop bidding.
So, Math kept bidding as well to keep her away from Rafferty. It was only after he won that he realizedhewould have to spend a day with her. After he had paid, he saw her, and all he could think about was how much he wanted her again. God, he wanted her in his bed. The look in her gray eyes said she wanted to be there as well. But instead of actually talking to her and being civil, he had let his anger at the loan make him mad again. What was it about that woman that stopped him from getting over that moment with her?
So here he was, waiting for her to spend the next six hours with him. Over the last few days, he had come up with a plan to get her out of his system, proving to them both what a city girl she was. Once he saw how much she disapproved of farm life, he would be over her. Math had spent thirteen years married to a woman who had grown up in town and had no interest in the farm she lived on. Karen had done nothing but complain about every aspect of country life for their entire marriage. He was not making that mistake again.
A dust cloud on the gravel road he lived on announced her arrival. He looked at his watch, smiling. She was prompt. Math leaned against the porch railing as he watched her drive his way. He wondered what cute little luxury SUV she was driving, BMW or Mercedes most likely.
Her vehicle slowed and turned on to his bumpy driveway. He hadn’t had time to fix it since the frost had let go, and there were large potholes down the entire thing. So, she drove with caution and swerved around the big ones.
The little red two-door Chevrolet had to be at least ten years old, maybe older. It looked to be in good shape, but it was not what he had expected her to be driving. When it stopped by the garage, she jumped out and petted Jonesy, his dog, acting like she did it every day. The dog’s excited welcome was not what Math wanted.
Today she was wearing her tight jeans and an orange Landstad Tigers sweatshirt. How she made a sweatshirt look stylish, he didn’t know. Smiling, he saw that she had pared the outfit with a pair of strappy sandals that had heels a few inches tall. Perfect for the day ahead.
Looking around, she gave him a smile. “Nice place. You grew up here, right?”
“Yes,” he answered, but since she had gone into the back seat of her car to pull out a leather bag and coat, she was flashing her butt his way. Not that he was going to complain about the view.
She shut the door with her backside because her arms held a computer bag and another bag that contained … he didn’t know what. She turned to him, “Where to?”
“Well, first, we will put this stuff in the house, then get you some proper footwear.” He led her to the house, letting her carry all her stuff. After all, she was here to work for him, so he was doing nothing to help her.
“I have sneakers,” she replied from behind him as she followed.
