Resisting the Rancher (Redwood Falls 3)

Her lips flattened as she shook her head in disbelief. “Unbelievable. You are freaking unbelievable. When did you talk to him?”

“Yesterday,” he answered, seeing no reason not to own up to his actions—hell, he was as good as caught anyway.

She stood glaring, as if he were beneath contempt. Well, shit, he knew he was. But did he care? Not really. All he really cared about was that she never step foot in that motherfucker’s house again. And if he’d decided to handle the situation man to man, that was his fucking prerogative, wasn’t it?

As he sat silently behind his desk and waited for her explosion, he felt an almost addictive high flood his bloodstream. They were alone out here and he needed her butt-ass naked, even if the act would be colored in anger. His cock hardened as tension laced his pectorals. Come on, baby. Please. Give me a fucking reason. Open that beautiful mouth and give me a reason.

But she didn’t. She didn’t give him a reason to move from his seat and restrain her to the wall. She only stood there, as straight and tall as she could, while she studied him. The curves of her body screamed indignation, but she watched him carefully, in a way that was telling him that she understood his current state of mind. That she understood the short leash he was on, and was she ready to face his retaliation? His cock pulsed again, absolutely ready to challenge any reprimand she might dare to make.

Finally, she opened her mouth and at the sight of her tongue darting out and swiping her lower lip, his insides clenched in vicious need, a primitive hunger clawing up, ready to take over at any moment.

But she obviously recognized his volatile emotions, her mouth clamping shut for a moment before opening again, her eyes narrowing, her words emphatic. “You owe me an additional hundred bucks a week, asshole, until that man is either married or dead—understand? Because that was easy money and you screwed it up for me.”

What the hell did she think he was going to say? Even though he knew she was only letting off steam, it didn’t matter to him. A hundred bucks a week was a mere pittance to him, damn worth never having to worry about her being in the vicinity of that motherfucker ever again. “Done,” he thrashed out in thunderous agreement.

Her expression changed. She looked poleaxed for a moment, almost swaying where she stood. He began standing to his feet, his patience stretched way too thin, but she must have read his intention, because before he could take even one step forward, she turned and fled back to the house.

****

Son-of-a-bitch, she wanted to kill him. As Janet marched back toward the house, she literally didn’t know what to think or how to act. She’d been pissed when she’d hung up the phone, but her fury hadn’t been directed at Jason Parker. No, not at all. She laid the blame squarely on the man who deserved it, Jeffrey-you’ll-do-as-I say-or-else-McIntyre.

The nerve of the man.

What the hell was she thinking to continue putting up with his bullshit? His testosterone levels were off the charts, and what kind of a crazy woman was she to still be hanging around here? Yeah, she’d been about to light into him, but there had been that look in his eyes. A look that said he knew he’d stepped over the line, but with an added glimmer that said he’d do it all over again if he had to. A glimmer that dared her to challenge him, a coil in his muscles that told her she’d be naked inside of ten seconds if she so much as opened her mouth to dispute his right to control her actions.

And it was a clash of wills that she couldn’t allow to happen, certainly not at that moment, when the expression on his face kindled an answering flare of desire inside of her. They hadn’t had sex in soooo long and she admitted in that moment that she wanted it just as much as he did.

But she couldn’t give in to him; it wasn’t the right time. She couldn’t even imagine the ramifications of doing so. He’d done something completely beyond the pale, and how would it seem to him if she rewarded those actions with not only compliance, but complete wantonness?

Not going to happen.

So she’d simply mouthed off a useless threat about the money and fled, her dignity still intact.

But he had agreed to her ridiculous demand, although she knew she’d never really enforce the mandate. But he had agreed and that made her insides quiver. The way the man looked at her, it seemed to change a little bit every day. The looks he gave her contained an added heat, an added awareness as he watched her move around his home. It was as if he was biding his time, hanging back so as not to scare her off.

The man was smart that way—he knew exactly how far he could go and he went no further. And the reason was becoming more and more obvious every day she stayed. He wanted her. He wanted her and he was willing to bend just that much so she wouldn’t run scared.

But how would it be if they were married? She knew exactly how it would play out. He’d think he had every right to tell her where she could go and who she could see.

But wasn’t he doing that already? And why did his jealousy heat her blood instead of pissing her off? Why was her tummy quivering even now as she thought about that look in his eyes?

The look that said he would win—and when the battle was over she would be the spoils of war.

Well hell, she knew why. It was because everything feminine within her wanted to roll over and give in, because the man didn’t scare her anymore. Not his ranting, not his raving, not his mandates.

No, all she felt was protected. Secure. Wanted beyond a shadow of a doubt.

And she was so freaking tempted by those feelings that she didn’t know how to act.

****

Jeff breathed a sigh of relief that the Parker situation had been laid to rest. But that didn’t help the ache he felt keenly—it was the eighth day doing without. And that irritated the hell out of him. But at least he didn’t have to spend the day in the barn.

All day long, Janet had moved gracefully around the house, going from one child to the next, doling out love and attention as she balanced caregiving with getting the housework caught up. All the while, she seemed to ignore him without making it blatant. Yeah, the house and laundry had suffered with his son’s illness, but truthfully, Jeff hadn’t even noticed.

All he noticed was that he had none of Janet’s attention. Zero attention and it made him as grumpy as a bear.

She seemed to have forgiven him for his jealous rage out in the barn earlier in the week, or at the very least, they’d moved past it. And he wouldn’t fuck up in that way again. And if she was still pissed about Parker, she wasn’t showing it. All she did was glide around the house accomplishing so much while not looking frazzled in the least.

So yeah, he was damn glad they’d moved past the hiccup they’d almost had that morning.

So now, his main concern was getting some of her time for himself. He didn’t need much. Half an hour a day—was that asking too damn much?

But he didn’t have the right to demand her time, and that fact was festering like a boil on his happiness. So after supper, when Zach was on the couch in the living room working on homework as the baby played in her playpen at his feet, a sitcom on the television, Jeff made up his mind.

Janet was loading the dishwasher, first running the dishes through the water with a sponge.

Feeling as if he had zero control over his body, he walked up behind her. He crowded her against the sink, putting each of his hands on the counter beside her, enclosing her within his embrace, but not touching her anywhere except the point of contact where her back met his chest.

He felt her suck in a breath as she clenched her fingers around the sponge. Her movements stalled under the stream of water as his mouth fell to her ear.

He breath

ed in her scent as his eyes closed in reflexive response, his body actually shaking. Jesus, she was sweet. As she remained completely still, he opened his mouth and let her feel the warm air as it left his lungs. When she shivered in response, he felt it all the way to his gut, and he couldn’t stop himself from saying what he was feeling, all in a low whisper, directly in her ear. “Imagine how it would be, sweetheart. Night after night. Kids asleep in bed. No need to hide the way things are between us. How good would that be?”

“Jeff, we can’t do that,” she mumbled, stiffening under his touch.

“Sure we can,” he said, his chest moving forward to push against her, just that much. “All you have to do is marry me. We can get the license on Monday and by Friday for sure, it’ll be a done deal.”

She hung her head for a minute, her shoulders tense, but she didn’t speak, so he persevered, trying to get her to see things his way. “Janet, baby. You’re mothering my kid. Cooking my meals, taking care of us. Just put me out of my misery and marry me. Noon isn’t working for us anymore, sweetheart.” Her muscles tightened a bit when he said that and then she turned around until she was facing him, a conflicted look on her features. His hands left the counter and settled on her shoulders.

She began shaking her head, holding his eyes, as if he were a piece of chocolate she wanted so damn bad but couldn’t let herself have. “Jeff—no—”

As he stared down into delicately carved facial features that did nothing but make him want to lock her in his bedroom, he felt his abs tighten. A stroke of predatory aggression ran through his veins like quicksilver, making his tone harsher than he’d intended. “I’m fairly tired of hearing that word on your lips. I need some goddamn paperwork that says I get you in my bed and I need it now.”

She sucked in a breath, her cheeks flushing pink, but goddammit, she needed to understand what he needed. “I get that you think it’s too soon, but our situation isn’t normal. I have to protect my son—and I have to have you in my bed. There’s only one way to accomplish that, and it’s marriage.”