I couldn’t move. I was stuck fast and sweating like a barn animal.
Perfect.
"Tanner Brock," he said, his hand outstretched.
"Monique Williams." I had to lift my chin to look him in the eye. I wasn't a tiny little thing by any means, but with my heels sunk down into the mud, I only came up to his chin. He was six foot three...at least.
"Monique, sweetheart, I'll give it to you straight," he drawled in that cowboy voice. "I got a lot of work to do round here and not a lot of time to do it. I know you got a job to do, and I'll do my best to help you out, but I got my own timetable here." He stared at me, unblinking.
I was taken aback with his directness. "Well, all right, Mr. Brock..."
"Tanner's fine, darlin'," he interjected.
"Well Tanner, my aim is to get some shots of your daily life at the ranch here, so that works out perfect for me."
Without meaning to, I had slipped into the slow drawl of Heath County. Tanner noticed instantly. His eyebrows shot up his forehead. "You a Texas girl, Miss Williams?"
"I lived here a spell," I smiled. I can turn accents on and off like a faucet.
Tanner flicked his eyes up and down, so quickly I wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't the sole focus of my attention. "Pardon me, but I sorta figured a Texas girl would have better sense when it came to footwear on the ranch."
I looked down at my submerged heels and bristled. "Well pardon me, but I thought a Texas boy would have better manners than to be doing chores when he was expecting company," I shot back.
Tanner's perfect lips curved downward. "You are right sweetheart, where are my manners?" he drawled in a high falsetto. "Follow me down to the house and I'll get you a nice cold glass of sweet tea."
I shot him a murderous look. "You know damn well I'm stuck," I said.
"Oh really?" he feigned shock. "Well darlin', I sure hope you packed some boots in that nice luggage of yours."
He knelt down into the mud at my feet. "Hey now," I protested as he started yanking on my foot.
He ignored me and yanked harder. I nearly toppled over as he pulled. At the last moment, I planted my hand on his shoulder to keep from landing on my ass.
He felt as solid as a sun-warmed boulder. My hand lingered like it had a mind of its own. It was all I could do not to stroke my hand down that sweat-slicked skin...
"There you are," he said, startling me out of my trance by clapping his hands together. "Just hop on over to that dry part there."
With a little squawk, I launched myself into an inelegant little leap and landed on a non-quicksand portion of the road. "Thank you," I muttered, out of breath.
"No problem," he said, touching the brim of his hat. "Ma'am."
I seethed, my blood hotter than the sun overhead. Never in my life had I wished so badly for the ability to strike someone down with a look. I wanted to kill him.
And then fuck him.
And then kill him again.
Or maybe just one of the three. I hadn’t decided which.
Chapter Six
Tanner
I liked her immediately, partly because she was staring me down like she wanted to murder me with her bare hands.
Partly because I believed she could do it. I can't help it; I'm a sucker for a good challenge.
Since I started in the music business, women have been a constant. I used to have a hell of a good time back when I first started. Thing is, after awhile, I got bored. Maybe it was the rancher in me, but I get suspicious of things that are too easy. I feel most at home when I have something to tangle with.
Right about now, Miss Thang over there looked like a worthy opponent. She had these lips on her, the kind that looked like they could just as easily kiss me as rip me a new one.
I decided to have a little fun. Feign ignorance, watch her struggle, wiggling that ass of hers. I was just starting to enjoy myself when she called me out.
"You know damn well I'm stuck," Oh boy, I could just hear the exasperation. I had to laugh.
"Oh really?" I pulled my innocent, 'gosh-golly-gee face' but just like I suspected, Miss Thang wasn't falling for my act. Good. "Well sweetheart, I sure do hope you packed some boots in that nice luggage of yours."
Well that sure pissed her off. She was already as ruffled as a wet hen, all puffed out and squawking. But when I called her out on her footwear, she started hissing and spitting like the feral barn cat that ruled this place when I was a boy - God rest his nasty, bitey soul. But as stuck as she was, I was still in danger of being killed dead by her death glare, so I relented and went down on one knee next to her.
She hissed again, this time in surprise, and tried to hop away from me. "Hey now," she protested, but I had her by the ankle. I was enjoying myself even more now that I had an excuse to wrap my hand around that leg of hers. Up close, her skin was incredible, a million different shades of darkness - all cocoa and eggplant and ebony. There weren't too many girls who look like her in Heath County - fuck, there weren't too many girls that looked like her period - and I was flat out staring now.
Once she was free, I reluctantly released her and she did this funny little stumble-hop out of the mud. "Thank you," she said, still sounding like she wanted to kill me but at least attempting to be polite about it.
My manners kicked in on autopilot and I touched my hat when I told her she was welcome. That gesture - usually enough to make panties fall off five counties over - seemed to piss her off even more.
What was with this chick?
I stared back, wondering what the hell to do now. She narrowed her eyes. I narrowed mine. She put her hands on her hips. I planted my feet and crossed my arms. She twisted her lips and I felt my own mouth twitch in response.
We were frozen together in a staring contest and I couldn't help but feel like I was losing.
I don't like losing.
She cocked her head and arched her eyebrow and finally I couldn't take it anymore. "What?!" I exploded.
"I have to get a shot of you," she said, lunging for the trunk of the still idling car. "Golden hour. Hold still, the light is perfect."
"You're fucking kidding me, right?" I sputtered, but she was not paying me any attention anymore. She banged on the trunk and the driver, who clearly knew who was in charge here, popped it open immediately. She yanked and cursed until a black bag emerged.
Miss Thang, so polished and poised a moment ago, dropped right to the muddy ground and started fiddling with expensive looking lenses. I could have stripped naked and done a jig and she wouldn't have even noticed, so focused was she on her work.
Gave me a nice long time to stare at her body, if I was being truthful. I’m not complaining.
Her shoulders were broader and more muscular than I would have suspected, probably a result of hoofing that bag around everywhere. She had actual muscle definition in her arms, too. She wasn't afraid to work hard, that much was clear from her body, even if her clothes told a completely different story. In fact, the longer I looked at her, the more I came to the conclusion that this high-heeled princess act was just that. An act. Take away those silly, citified rags and I was sure the real Miss Williams would be revealed. Just need to let her hair out of that slicked black bun, get her out of that flimsy little blouse, unzip that hip hugging skirt that cupped her ass like a good, firm handhold...
Great. Now I've worked myself up into a giant hard-on.
"Okay!" she sang out. She whirled around with that huge camera and stopped short. I kind of awkwardly bent at the waist, but her eyes, damn those eyes, went right to it.
I was caught.
And I was blushing like a hormonal schoolboy about it too.
She twisted those lips. "I'll get a few shots from the waist, up," she said pointedly.
I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. I suddenly had no idea what to do with my hands.
"Put your hands down," she admonished me. "On the fence there. That's right, now look at me. No, look at me, not the camera. Perfect."
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The shutter clicked a few times as I stared at her. Her eyes were hidden behind the massive black lens, so I focused on her neck, that swooping, elegant neck that curved into her strong shoulders. The awkward angle of her crouch allowed her blouse to fall open a bit, revealing a creamy satin bra...