Hunter (Stud Ranch 2)

There hadn’t been anything real between them at all.

No soul-searing connection.

Her leaving this morning with no goodbye should have been enough of a red flag.

But Jesus, he was such a fucking cliché. As if the first woman he slept with since Janine was going to be his soul mate or some bullshit. He was such a goddamn sap. Come to think about it, didn’t he think he’d fallen for Janine after a few nights together too?

He had a bad habit of letting his dick do all his thinking when it came to relationships. Look where that had gotten him last time.

He clenched his teeth and extended his hand toward Isobel, but only because it was what Mel seemed to expect. If he never saw the woman again it wouldn’t be soon enough.

“Nice to meet you.” He didn’t bother making it sound sincere. As quickly as he took her hand to shake it, he dropped it.

“You too,” she said. Was it just him, or did she sound sort of breathless? Jesus, was he still at it? He wanted to sock himself upside the head.

He just needed to make his excuses and then get the hell out of here. Go to work. Vaccinations were monotonous but he’d take anything over the torture of standing here trying not to look at Isobel. Even her scent was getting to him. Which was ridiculous because she’d showered with his soap and shampoo, yet he’d still swear there was a scent that was distinctly her.

Was she aroused? Was that what he smelled? Did seeing him after their sizzling night together have her soaking her panties? Everything else might have been a lie, but she hadn’t faked those

orgasms. Hunter had felt them around his cock when she came. He lost count of how many times.

“Hunter,” Mel went on, completely ignorant of the growing tension between him and Isobel, “I was just telling Isobel about how you were looking for a summer intern.”

Hunter’s attention jerked back to Mel at the words. No. If she was going where he thought she was going—hell no.

“She was hoping for a position on the ranch but we’re all full up on workers at the moment,” Mel went on. “But I thought maybe we could do an arrangement like we did with Murray last year and Carlos a few years back. She could board here and drive out to the clinic—”

Hunter shook his head vigorously. “I doubt that’s how she’d want to spend her summer.” He looked at Isobel finally. She had a deer caught in headlights look. “Giving cows and pigs vaccines hardly has the glamour of feeding and riding horses all day long.”

“Did you forget about the mucking out stalls part?” Mel scoffed. “Your job is easy compared to shoveling shit two to three hours every day. Plus, she’s in school for veterinary medicine. Interning with you would be far more interesting.”

Hunter crossed his arms over his chest. “I run a very small-town practice. I’m sure she’s used to a much faster pace of life. And Cornell is one of the top veterinary programs in the country. She could get an internship wherever she wanted. So if she’s got another option, she should go—”

“She,” Isobel broke in, eyes flashing like something Hunter said had pissed her off, “would be happy for any work, no matter how hard, if it comes with room and board.”

She stepped right in front of Hunter and his spine became even more rigid. Fuck but she was sexy when she was angry. Her blue eyes flashed, her cheeks went pink against the rest of her pale, smooth skin, and her full lips went all pouty. And it pissed Hunter off that he was noticing any of it.

He took a deep breath as he regained his senses. He had to put a stop to this idea before it got a foothold. He loved Mel but apart from Janine, he’d never met a more stubborn female.

“Interning with me means long, irregular hours. Sometimes ranchers will call in the middle of the night with an emergency and my interns are on call with me. Seven days a week. Twenty-four hours a day. That’s what it means to be a rural, small-town vet. You don’t get a pristine little office somewhere with people bringing in their pets who have breathing problems because they’re overweight. These animals have real troubles. And I spend half my day with my arm up their back ends.”

Isobel crossed her arms over her chest and her lips pursed. Thank God, maybe he was getting through.

He continued piling higher and deeper. “Not to mention the mess of record keeping and office work that needs to be sorted. My last intern made a total jumble out of everything and it will probably take weeks to get it all organized again.”

Then Isobel dropped her arms and gave Hunter a saccharine smile. “That does all sound challenging.”

He nodded. Good. His shoulders relaxed. “So you’re going to head back east, then? That’s probably for the b—”

“I love a challenge,” she cut him off. “I’m not afraid of hard work. I’ll be happy to get all your records back in order and I’ve been needing more field training. On all kinds of animals. Not just pets.” She still had that oh so sweet smile on her face.

Hunter could only stand and stare at her. She wasn’t meeting his gaze. No, her eyes seemed locked further south, somewhere in the vicinity of his mouth. Or rather, his lips. When he licked them to get some moisture, her eyes flared slightly. Which made his pants start to get tight again.

Like she had some internal sensor about his arousal, her eyes finally flicked up. Their gazes locked. And for a second, just the merest moment, Hunter felt the same electric connection he had the night before.

Guess she was pulling out all the stops to get this job. Hunter jerked his eyes away.

“Wonderful,” Melanie broke in. “So that’s settled. Right, Hunter?”