Having her at the ranch would cement their “engagement” for everyone in town and Thomas Buckley. More than that, having her in his house would speed up the seduction—which he was really interested in. Just sitting across the table from her was making him crazy.
Every time she chewed at her lip or took a deep breath, Dave felt a slam to his center. Mia Hughes was going to be his. On his terms. Soon.
“Mia, you’re living alone in that big empty house, and there’s no reason for it,” he reminded her. “For the next few weeks, move in with me. Take a break.”
She laughed. “A break?”
“Yeah. No house to clean, no worries.”
“You’ll worry me,” she admitted.
“Me? I’m harmless.”
She laughed again, and he liked the sound of it. “You are many things,” she said, “but harmless isn’t one of them.”
“Not afraid of me, are you?”
“Said the big bad wolf,” she murmured, then shook her head. “No. I’m not afraid of you, Dave. I’m just…”
“…going to agree.”
“Do you always get your way?”
“Always,” he said.
She looked at the ring, then him and finally said, “Then I guess you win again. Okay. I’ll move in.”
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“You have no idea.”
“Here,” Dave said, sliding his untouched chocolate cake across the table toward her. “You look like you could use this.”
She picked up her fork and dug in. “Thanks.”
* * *
After a week at the Royal Round Up Ranch, Mia was no more at ease than she had been the day she’d arrived. If anything, her nerves were stretched a little tighter. Royal had been buzzing about their engagement for days. Whenever she went into town, she was stopped a half dozen times on Main Street with people wanting to talk about her “romantic, whirlwind engagement.” Which only made her feel like a cheat. And if there’s one thing her father had taught her, it was that “cheating is the coward’s way.”
She hated lying. Hated playing a part. And really hated thinking about what everyone in town would be saying when her engagement ended.
But that was a worry for further down the road. Right now, even though it wasn’t easy, she was grateful to be at the ranch because Dave had been right. The reporters were even more intrusive than before, though none of them could get to her here at the Royal Round Up.
She steered her old Volkswagen Bug through the gates of the ranch and waved at the guard Dave had posted there. No reporter could get past that guard, and if anyone tried to just hop a fence and cross the ranch, they’d get lost long before they made it to the main house.
Smiling to herself, Mia drove down the winding road toward the ranch house, her mind wandering as she traveled the now-familiar route.
It had been a weird week. Oh, she was used to his house now, had even learned her way around. And in spite of its size and innate elegance, it was a homey place. Warm and welcoming. Her bedroom, directly across from Dave’s, was bigger than her entire suite of rooms at Alex’s house. And she was getting very used to waking up to a spectacular view of Dave’s ranch. The land stretched out forever, marked by stands of wild oaks and stock ponds. It was quiet, as it could only be in the country, and at night, the sky was velvet, covered by a blanket of stars so thick it took her breath away.
It wasn’t her surroundings making her nervous.
It was Dave.
And it wasn’t as if he’d gone out of his way to make her jumpy. On the contrary, he’d done nothing but be very nice. Thoughtful, even. They had dinner together every night and spent hours in the library she had loved from the moment she first saw it. He took her on rides around the ranch and introduced her to his mare, due to deliver her foal any day.
Every time she turned around, there he was. Gorgeous. Warm. Sexy. He was turning her inside out and she had the distinct feeling he was doing it on purpose. That he knew by his constant attention he was wearing down her resistance. Seducing her.
And damn if she wasn’t enjoying it.
It was a bad idea, though. Mia knew that. This wasn’t going to be her home. He wasn’t going to be hers for any longer than it took to make the deal he wanted so badly. Nothing about their relationship was real. Except the wanting. And the desire that thrummed inside her all the time was as insistent as a heartbeat.
But if this was seduction, it was the long way around. He hadn’t even tried to kiss her.