“Why not? We’re stuck here, right?”
“Yeah.” He carried the wine back, handed it to her, then hit the switch for the fireplace. Instantly, flames leaped into life on artificial logs.
He took a seat opposite her. Those eyes of hers were mesmerizing, and he couldn’t seem to look away. What did he think of her plan? Personally, he thought it was a good idea. Made him remember being a boy, following his father around the ranch, learning about horses, conserving water for the cattle herd and dreaming of one day having his own place. Besides that though, he had three females working for him on the Perry Ranch, and they were every bit as good as any of the men. They could ride, train, herd, do most anything asked of them. Why shouldn’t girls be allowed to dream of being ranch hands?
On the other hand though, if he said yes, and made the recommendation to Sterling, then he’d have to spend the next few weeks dealing with Chloe. And Liam didn’t want to have to deal with wanting and not having her on a daily basis. If that made him selfish, he’d just have to live with it.
“So?” she prodded, and Liam stood up, unable to sit still while his mind worked and his body wept.
“So, I’ll think about it,” he said a little hotter than he’d planned.
“What is there to think about?” she countered, standing up, too. She took a deep breath, and that knotted towel dipped in response.
He gritted his teeth. “Look, you made your pitch, I listened, but I’m not going to be rushed into a decision.”
“Who’s rushing? We’re talking. You could tell me what you’re thinking,” she demanded.
He snorted.
“I’m really tired of that sound,” Chloe said, eyes narrowing.
“I’ll make a note,” he ground out and walked away from her toward the window. Better to keep a safe zone between them. He should just go and take a shower, but damned if he wanted to get naked around her. As it was, standing too close to her was more temptation than he could bear.
She followed him. Of course she did.
“Why won’t you just tell me what you’re thinking?”
His gaze shifted from the storm to her eyes, and he read a different sort of storm in those golden depths. And he knew she wasn’t talking about the camp anymore. “Trust me, you don’t want to know what I’m thinking right now.”
“What if I do?” She moved in closer.
“Then you’re crazy.”
“That’s been said before,” she admitted, tipping her head to one side to stare up at him. “You are seriously the most irritating man...”
“Good,” Liam told her. “Hold that thought.”
“...and the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met.”
He stifled a groan. He really didn’t need the complication that could rise up from whatever was happening here, so he brushed that aside with a laugh. “Yeah, I’m a beauty.”
She reached up to slide the tips of her fingers across his bare chest, and he hissed in a breath in reaction.
“Why am I so drawn to you?”
He grabbed her hand to keep her from touching him again. “Temporary insanity.”
She grinned and her whole damn face lit up. Those eyes of hers were pulling him in, and Liam didn’t know how much longer he could resist what she was plainly offering. His gaze dropped to the towel again, and he found himself willing that knot to loosen.
“Looks like I’m not the only one temporarily crazy.”
He looked into her eyes again. “Maybe it’s contagious.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” She smiled and the curve of her mouth made him want to kiss her, drown in her.
He made one more attempt at extricating them both from the situation. “Chloe, don’t start up something you’ll regret later.”
She sighed and shook back her still-damp hair. “I don’t do regrets anymore, Liam. I live my life my way, and I don’t make apologies for it.”
“And I admire that,” he murmured as his gaze locked on the tip of her tongue sliding across her bottom lip. “But you and me? Hell, you’re starting something here that has nothing to do with that camp of yours.”
“I hope so,” she said, and moved in close enough that he could see down the gap of the towel to the swell of her breasts. His body clenched, and it took everything he had inside him to keep from grabbing hold of her and losing himself in her.