Читать книгу A Cowboy In Paradise - Shana Gray - Страница 11

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JIMI DID HER best to keep calm even if she was roaring inside with frustration. She chewed on her finger and stared at the clothes generously donated by the other guests. She truly was thankful and would make sure she said so later. Looking forlornly around the tent that would be hers for the next three nights, Jimi fought back tears and breathed deeply. She had no idea what Diana was thinking, having a wedding here. Jimi hadn’t been in a tent since she’d left the commune when she was of age.

Sorting through the clothes, she picked out a shirt and jeans that looked like they might fit. The plaid shirt and jeans would be way too big. The strip of baling twine would have to work as a belt. Holy hell, she felt like Elly May Clampett, and might as well just put her hair up in pigtails.

She opened her purse and fingered her compact, afraid to look at herself. But she did and gasped. How would she ever get through this week without her makeup kit, moisturizer and hair products? But it wasn’t the end of the world, right? She’d been an earthy girl before, and she could give it a whirl again.

Jimi stared wistfully at her Louboutins, tossed aside when she’d kicked them off. They certainly looked out of place on the rustic wooden floor.

She shrugged off her dress, now almost beyond saving, and stood in her bra and panties. Jimi sighed as the fresh breeze blew through the tent, cooling her heated skin. The air smelled wonderful. Clean, crisp, fragrant and with a tinge of coolness that was a relief from the heat. She almost felt her stress and upset seeping out of her body, slowly rolling down her legs, over her feet and into the floor. Almost as if the ground sucked the negative energy out of her. She eyed the boots she’d been given, not wanting to put them on. It felt too good going barefoot, and she wiggled her toes when a rush of childhood memories came at her. Jimi distracted herself, refusing to remember.

A rustle outside the tent made her jump and she spun around. Jimi’s heart nearly burst out of her chest when she saw standing at her tent opening the drop-dead-sexy cowboy from earlier. She couldn’t read the expression on his face, but his mouth seemed to tighten and his eyes were heavy with an intensity that made her belly clench. He didn’t look away from her. Instead, he met her gaze, then looked her up and down. More than once. She felt the heat in his stare as if he’d branded her. His searing look sent her body into turmoil, and her knees wobbled.

Jimi froze. It wasn’t that she couldn’t move—she didn’t want to. She tingled under his hooded gaze, feeling vulnerable, exposed and, yes, terribly excited. If she moved she might break this magically erotic moment. There was something about this man that made her want to throw caution to the wind.

Jimi wanted to say something witty and charming, enticing, but found her mouth suddenly dry and her tongue stuck to the back of her teeth. “Ah...” She cleared her throat. “Um...”

He touched his fingers to his hat and nodded. “I apologize, ma’am.” His deep voice did all sorts of naughty sensual teasing to her senses. She wanted him to keep talking, this cowboy who had completely caught her in his ropes.

Jimi shook her head and stepped toward him, totally forgetting she was close to naked. “It’s fi—”

She nearly stumbled when he walked toward her tent and placed a foot on the step in front of the raised floor. Then he filled the opening. Was he coming in? Oh, God, please do! He leaned in and reached to the side, yanking on a strap that released the tent flap she’d totally forgotten to drop down. He didn’t let it fall right away, holding it for a few moments, his eyes never leaving hers.

Jimi melted. She felt her nipples rise against the lacy material of her bra, sending all sorts of wake-up signals straight down to her clitoris. She didn’t give one whit that his eyes flickered down to her breasts before snaring hers again. Suddenly she wanted this man with a yearning that made her heart quicken.

The silence stretched. He seemed to loom bigger in the doorway, dwarfing everything else around him. Jimi hadn’t realized just how large and muscled he was when he’d spoken earlier. Now, close enough for her to take only a few steps and be able to fall into his arms, she trembled as his presence filled the little tent. Lord, she wanted to be wrapped in the strength of those big, powerful arms. The animal magnetism of this man had her ready to step off her very straight, narrow path and fall right into the tangle of the dark jungle.

“Ma’am. Remember to close the tent, keep unwanted critters out.” And he gave her a crooked smile.

Then he dropped the tent flap and was gone, leaving her breathless and feeling empty. Jimi didn’t move, now feeling utterly foolish, realizing she’d been in sight for anyone to see had they walked by her tent. Plus, she’d just stood there, close to naked in front of a strange, albeit very sexy, man. What must he think? She quickly pulled on the plaid shirt. Embarrassment rushed through her, followed by anger that she’d been placed in this frustratingly dumb situation in the first place.

* * *

DALLAS COULDN’T BELIEVE his eyes. A vision like that wasn’t something you saw every day. He’d grown used to the daily ritual of horses, ranch hands and mountains. In all the years he’d been running the guest ranch, never had he walked by a tent to see a near naked and fantastically gorgeous woman. He’d watched her for only a few moments. Just long enough for his cock to sit up and take notice, and make him feel like a Peeping Tom. Hell, could you blame a man? Standing in her lacy and very sheer ivory bra and panties for all the world to see was totally unexpected. He was captivated.

He couldn’t look away from her, like a lioness ready to pounce. Her blond curls fell wild around her shoulders and down her back. His fingers twitched with the urge to bury his fingers in the silky strands. Her almost virginal image oozed an untamed sexuality that reached deep down inside and grabbed him by the balls. Her smoking-hot body was anything but virginal—made for pleasure. And he’d be at the front of the line if given the opportunity. Shit, hadn’t he told himself she was untouchable and for a few very good reasons? One being a risky business fraternizing with guests. It took a few minutes to gather his wits before he could move and react in a gentlemanly fashion. Dropping the tent flap had been his salvation before he’d stalked off to check the horses. A fine excuse to try to rid his mind of the imprint she’d made on it and his dick wanting something that likely would never happen.

Dallas sucked in a breath and knew it was no use. The image of her would be seared into his memory for the rest of his days. He also knew the only way he stood a chance to get her out of his blood was to bang her. But his gut told him that would only whet his appetite, making him want her more.

He entered the barn and wandered down the center between the horses. Their wide standing stalls either side of him ran the length of the shed row. Dallas had had the structure built a few years back to house up to fifty horses and storage for a couple hundred bales of hay. The peaked roof and no sides kept the weather and sun out, but the breeze from the ocean flowed freely. He’d also had storm shutters built into the roof that could be dropped down easily. He hoped like hell they wouldn’t be needed on this trip. All the horses faced in, so it was easy to feed and water them.

“Hey, boss. We’re all set,” John said, tossing a few more flakes of hay into the last couple of stalls. He’d finished bedding down the horses for the night.

Dallas rechecked the ties and rubbed the forehead of every horse he walked by on his way to John. He loved the comforting sounds of their contented munching and their earthy scent. He loved everything about horses.

“Good job. Everything for the wedding all ready?”

“I guess so. I’m steering clear of all that hullabaloo. It’s chaos, I tell ya, and I want no part of it.”

Dallas laughed and nodded. “I’m with you there, buddy. Listen, keep it all tight, though. I have a feeling we’ll be getting some rain.”

John walked out from under the gabled roof and looked to the sky. “Ya think? Only thing that showed up on radar was about three hundred miles offshore, tropical-storm status but not heading this way.”

Dallas nodded. “Still, keep an eye on the sky. A little bit of rain won’t hurt anybody, but if that storm shifts and intensifies we’ll be stuck up here.”

John grunted his agreement as he walked away and said over his shoulder, “Time to get that barbecue fired up. Oh, hey, Tucker wanted me to tell you he was heading up.”

Dallas nodded. His brother usually joined them, but wasn’t sure if he’d be on island soon enough. He was also friends with Matt, and did his damnedest to get chickenshit Matt to surf. Now Diana had put a complete stop to that activity, saying it was far too dangerous. Dallas shook his head and was glad he’d managed to sidestep any long-term commitments where women were concerned.

He lingered with the horses. They were his spirit animal and he felt best when hanging with them. He was here as a wedding guest as well, not just as a boss or ranch owner, but it was hard to not oversee everything. All these people up here were his responsibility in the long run and he wanted them to have the best time in order for them to spread the word about Broken Creek and bring in new business.

“Excuse me.”

Dallas paused, his hand on the forehead of the gray gelding. Both he and the horse turned in unison toward the female voice.

Dallas sensed who it was. His heart thumped in his chest like a smitten boy, which he was none too happy about. The woman who only moments before had stood close to naked in her tent walked toward him, her fingers tucked into her jeans front pocket. They were way too big for her, and so was the plaid shirt. He noticed she had bare feet. He raised his eyebrows, not expecting to see bare toes. But he liked it—maybe she wasn’t so high maintenance after all. It definitely made her much more intriguing even though he didn’t want to be intrigued. Or tempted.

Her tits jiggled under the top. Was she still wearing that see-through bra? Even with the baggy jeans and baler twine for a belt, her curves left little to the imagination. Her hips moved with an enticing sway that made him want to grab them and haul her up tight to him. Heat boiled down into his balls and he shifted his feet.

“Yes, hello.” It was about all he could muster up with the images of her luscious body still seared into his brain.

She cocked her thumb behind her and gave him a direct look. “Um, back there. I—”

“Don’t worry.” Dallas shook his head, not wanting her to feel...what? Bad. Uncomfortable. Exposed. Yet he was so glad he’d walked by to get that visual treat. He’d been celibate far too long.

“I’m not worried. It’s just that, well, if you liked what you saw, why didn’t you just come inside?”

She was direct.

He narrowed his eyes and searched her face. Did she want a fling? Weren’t wedding hookups commonplace? If she was offering, he decided he didn’t want to let her down. That wasn’t gentlemanly, right? But then who said he was a gentleman. He’d been told as much by... He refused to finish that thought and pressed his lips together. Ranch rules. His rules. No getting involved with guests. “Well, ma’am—”

“Please don’t call me that. My name is Jimi.” And she smiled at him, a seductive and enchanting curve on her lips that heated his blood. It was like the sun came out and shone down just on her, while everything else faded to black. He was mesmerized, again. Oh yeah, she spelled trouble with a capital T. Perhaps this would be a much more interesting weekend than he’d anticipated. He knew he was about to break all his hard-and-fast rules, which made him angry at himself just as much as it excited him. Something about this chick had his radar humming, and he was obligated to find out why.

“Pleased to meet you, Jimi.” He offered his hand. She took it. Dallas was surprised by the strength of her slender fingers and the sizzle of erotic heat that flashed up his arm. He curled his hand around hers and pulled her ever so slightly closer to him. She didn’t resist.

He looked down at her. She wasn’t short, likely around five-seven, but still much shorter than his six foot two. He liked taller women, and her height was just under his preference. Still, though, he figured they’d fit together perfectly, just like puzzle pieces.

She gazed up at him and goddamn if he didn’t lose his breath. Like Kilauea had erupted inside him. His blood pumped in his veins, hot, thick and achingly slow. He was lost in her eyes, which sparkled like stars twinkling against the indigo canvas of a Hawaiian night, a beautiful blue with tinges of amber and sand in their depths. Her curly hair a halo around her head. Dallas sucked in a breath as desire slipped down his spine and settled in his hips. In the short space of time since this woman had crashed into his life, it was like everything had changed. Something in his world had shifted. All he wanted to do was drag her into his arms, kiss her senseless and crush her to him. Dallas was rocked to the core, never before having had such a powerful reaction to a woman. All because of a smile, the touch of hands and a body he’d like to feed off for days.