To Tame a Cowboy

“Piper?”

She jerked, dropped the pencil and sent it rolling off onto the tile. “Ryan? You okay? I didn’t expect you up this early.”

Her eyes ventured down his body, heating him even more. Okay, if she didn’t keep her eyes up, she was really going to get a sight. He was barely holding it together as it was, considering she sat there in that damn flimsy pale blue tank. The outline of her nipples mocked him just as it had last night.

“I couldn’t sleep, but I’m usually up early anyway.”

“I know you cowboys are notorious for being early risers, but I was hoping you’d rest a bit more.”

Piper came to her feet and damn that silky outfit looked just as sexy this morning—more so since it was all rumpled against her body...not to mention how sexy that satin looked lying against dewy skin. Yeah, the heat was taking its toll and he was reaping the benefits.

The curves of her perfectly shaped bottom taunted him. Ryan flexed his hands at his sides and called on his every last ounce of willpower.

She bent to retrieve the pencil and the top gaped just enough to give him even more to fantasize about. He looked away because, God help him, if he kept looking at her he was going to forget she was doing a good deed for him and totally swipe those damn papers off her table and lay her down and...

“Are you in a lot of pain?” she asked.

“Yeah.” His tone sounded like sandpaper, but he couldn’t even get enough saliva to swallow. “All over.”

She tossed the pencil onto her pile of papers and moved across the room to open a small cabinet. She removed a bottle and popped the lid, shaking out three pills.

“Let me get you some water.” She handed him the medicine and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. “You probably need to keep some ice on those ribs, too.”

While she busied herself getting his ice pack, he watched her turn into a paramedic right in front of his eyes. She was always putting others’ needs first and it was apparent he’d interrupted something she was working on.

“What are all the papers?” he asked, nodded to the mess on the table.

Piper moved to his bare side and gently applied the pack. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just the glamorous spreadsheets my life has been condensed to.”

“What the hell do you need a spreadsheet for?” he asked, walking over to take a glance.

“I like organization,” she explained. “I can’t focus on my renovations and the budget if I don’t have it laid out right in front of me.”

Ryan fingered through a few sheets before he turned back to her. “I’ve told you I will gladly foot the bill for someone to come in and finish this. You don’t have to drag out the process of fixing up your house.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Piper lifted her chin. “Are we seriously going to get into that again? I know you have a concussion, but surely you recall me not only saying no to your first offer, but hell no.”

Ryan propped his hands on his hips, a little more than pleased when Piper’s eyes drifted down. She quickly brought them back up to meet his gaze, but she’d looked enough to puff up his ego where she was concerned. Yes, he’d planted the seed and now he just needed to keep her sexual curiosity up.

“Listen, Red...” he started. “I know you have this stubborn pride, but I can afford to help. Why won’t you let me? Pay me back as needed. That’s fine if that’s how you want it. But for heaven’s sake, at least let me send someone to fix the air-conditioning.”

Before I die from watching sweat trickle down that tempting valley between your breasts.

“I told you it will be installed in a couple of days.”

“I can have someone out here today.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Quit steamrolling my life.”

“‘Steamrolling’?” he repeated. “I’m trying to make you more comfortable.”

“Really? Comfortable? Is that what you call it when you undress me with your eyes like you did last night and then admit you want to kiss me?”

Ryan raked a hand through his bed-head and sighed. “Piper—”

“Seriously, Ryan.” She cut him off. “I want to chalk this up to your concussion, but I need to know what’s going through that head of yours.”

He moved forward, knowing he walked a fine line, but he loved a challenge. “Maybe I’m seeing my best friend in a new light. Maybe I find you more appealing than I ever thought and maybe since I’ve moved back for good, I find that spending more time with the one person who knows me best is just what I need.”