Taking Home the Tycoon (Texas Cattleman's Club: Blackmail 9)

He pulled a chair to sit close to her, their knees almost touching. “Temperatures are cool in the morning. It will be perfect. You handle everything with ease.”

Max stretched his arms wide, and the buttons on his green polo shirt pulled slightly. He’d opted for comfort today. One of his tactics as an investigator was to come across as unassuming—less like a suit. Which was why he’d worn a polo, cargo shorts and boat shoes today. Respectable without any hint of superiority. People seemed more candid with him that way.

“Ease? I don’t think so. I’m holding on by a thread, one day at a time.” Her eyes seemed to examine something he couldn’t.

“I really do want to help.”

She shook her auburn hair and sighed. “You’re not paying for my plumber.”

“I’m insulted you would think I can’t handle a simple plumbing fix.” He put his hand on his chest for added drama.

“I really don’t expect you to fix my sink.”

He shoved himself to his feet in a smooth sweep. “Consider it in the realm of driving along, seeing someone on the side of the road with a flat tire in need of help. It’s minimal time and the right thing to do.”

Standing as well, she eyed him skeptically. “Are you going to wreck my plumbing?”

He laughed. “If I do, then you can let me pay for it. Now, step aside and don’t challenge my manhood, woman.”

Pushing the toolbox closer to the sink, he squatted down to investigate what was going on. The leak wasn’t too bad—it had just expelled a lot of water.

He noted the tools he needed, and she passed them to him. Natalie sat next to him, eyes watching...learning. With every pass of a tool, their fingers would brush. Slightly. Enough, though, to continuously remind him of how damn attractive she was. Of the mutual draw tugging at both of them relentlessly.

Silence had overtaken them. Max cleared his throat, craving the soothing sound of her voice. “No critiques or advice?”

“Nope. You look like you’ve got it under control.” She laughed, silky hands touching his forearm.

“Hmm...” He emerged from under the sink to stare at her, gesturing for her to take a look.

“What does that mean?” Natalie drew closer, looking at the state of her kitchen sink, inspecting his work but not commenting.

“You’re a strong-willed woman. I expected your, um, feedback.”

“And risk dinging your manhood when you’re fixing my sink for free? I’m quite content to pass wrenches on this.” She leaned back on her heels, coy and sexy as hell.

“You look hot doing it, by the way.” The words tumbled out. But at least he was being honest. Wrench in hand, he went back under the sink to make the final adjustments, drying things off before he sealed up a couple of joints with plumber’s tape.

“I thought you weren’t going to hit on me anymore. That any further move was up to me.”

“I said I wouldn’t kiss you. I didn’t say I wouldn’t try to make you want to kiss me.”

Still, the word kiss hung in the air, until he could imagine caressing her ear with his mouth as much as his voice. Someday. Yes, definitely someday.

She crossed her arms over her damp chest, over her breasts pebbling from cold—or desire? “And that’s why you’re fixing my sink?”

He shrugged, biting off another piece of tape with his teeth. “It’s a way to spend time with you.” Ah, there. Perfect. The sink cabinet was bone-dry, as were the pipes. “And I’m not fixing your sink. It’s officially done.”

“And is that why you had a tea party with my daughter? To soften me up? Because I want you to know I absolutely draw the line at you using my children to get to me.”

He pushed out from under the sink, and holy hell, they were close. So damn close. He tucked a hand behind her neck and looked her directly in the eyes. “I would never, never use a child to manipulate any situation. That’s wrong on more levels than I can count. Believe that.”

Her eyes searched his for so long he was tempted to talk, encourage her to speak, but God, the chance to touch her, to look into those deep green eyes of hers was...just damn good. So he held on to the moment that was intimate in a way he couldn’t remember feeling before with a woman.

Then she nodded slowly. “Okay.”

His throat was raw, his thoughts sluggish. “Okay what?”

“I believe you.” She touched his temple with the softest fingers, wiping away droplets of water. “Now that we’ve cleared that up, I think it’s time you kissed me.”