Chapter Five

Russ could admit he was becoming a bit obsessed with Susan Fielding. She was like a sore tooth a tongue rubs against, even when one knows one shouldn’t. It didn’t help that he drove past her place to get to town. Or maybe it did. At least he had a chance to spot her.

He could barely remember the taste of her soft lips. She’d been so warm in his arms. But she was a difficult woman to corral.

For someone new to town, she sure was busy. So far he’d seen her out to lunch with Irene twice, at the hardware store three times, and at the little market half a dozen times. Each time, as soon as he’d managed to haul his truck into the parking lot, she’d pulled hers out. He felt like they were playing cat and mouse.

He wanted a lot more than to play with her. He wanted to catch her and…well, do things he’d never considered before. He dreamed of her every night. Not simply rolling around in her bed until they were both exhausted, but marking her as his so everyone, from the young punk at the hardware store to any Tom, Dick or fucking Harry, knew she was taken. By him. But that was in his dreams.

Reality was a tough son of a bitch. Reality said he was a long way from even rolling in bed with her. Susan Fielding thought he was nothing more than some flirt. A flirt. He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles popped. He sank further in his seat and leaned an elbow out of his open truck window while he tried to relax his cramped muscles.

Yep, Susan Fielding was one tough little thing. She’d told Irene over lunch that he was a big flirt and got around way too much with the women. What the hell? didn’t even cover it.

He didn’t even know how to flirt, did he? Well, by Susan’s response, he’d say no. She even had him questioning himself. He didn’t flirt with women. He didn’t even buy them drinks. Women always came to him. They bought him drinks. Well, they had when he’d still been down at the base. And that usually got them what they both wanted. Sex. He had been good to them. He’d always been careful to see to a woman’s pleasure as well as his own—even if it was a one-night stand, he’d tried to make it good for them. Sometimes he’d hooked up twice, but never more.

He’d never wanted more. Now? He wanted more. It felt like he needed more. More than simply sex. He wanted to see Susan smile, listen to her life story, find out what made her seem so happy. But, yeah, he was a man. He wanted to see her cry out when he made her climax eight or nine times.

Russ snorted, remembering the things he’d fantasised about doing to her. He had it bad. This wasn’t going to be some all-night sex, maybe followed by a morning dip before he left. Not with her. He needed about thirty-six hours of straight sex. Hard, hot, heavy and wet. And then? Then he was certain he’d need more. And he needed it right now. His hard-on hurt. A man couldn’t think clearly in this condition, and hell if he didn’t feel like a major dick for jacking off remembering how soft her lips had been in that too brief kiss at the hardware store. Like he was disrespecting a friend’s daughter or some shit like that. He didn’t examine that bit too closely—he couldn’t. If he did, he might decide he needed to date her and not have sex for months—while he did what? Whatever dim-witted men did to win a girl like Susan, he supposed.

He had it bad. Could he manage another day of this? He’d fought an erection all night. Even jacking off hadn’t tamed the boy down.

He hadn’t been this edgy since a terrorist cell had been an inch away from cleaning his clock in Afghanistan. He’d lost four good men in that fire-fight. Four good, solid men. He’d been so pumped on adrenaline, and, finally seeing a woman who had all four limbs, a face and a willing body, he hadn’t taken a breather from straight sex for days. He wasn’t even sure of the woman’s name now. Some older woman he’d let pick him up at a dive outside the base. That was the closest he’d ever been to being this bad.

But hit on women? He never even paid women any mind, unless he was on leave and horny. And, shit, he was a man; men were always horny, right? He sure didn’t hit on women as often as his dick demanded. He’d been horny for months and not gone to the trouble of finding a willing woman. He frowned as the thought settled over him. The truth hit hard enough to make him tense up. He’d not had sex since moving up here. Well, maybe he’d been a bit off his game, but that was all.

Watching the rolling hills pass by his truck, he stretched his legs and shifted on his seat. Life had a way of knocking a person down one too many times. He simply hadn’t known what he wanted. Now he knew. And wouldn’t you know it? What he wanted thought he was some kind of loser, hitting on all the women. Because of one kiss in a hardware store?

He didn’t have a clue how to pursue a woman. He was from a man’s world. He’d served with men. He’d fought side by side with men for years. And now? He worked on a ranch, surrounded by more men. Women weren’t really a factor in his life, and he sure never flirted with women, as in plural. Oh, he was making a play for Susan, but not for some quick tumble. From Susan he wanted a great deal more. What exactly he wanted, he wasn’t quite sure. But he wanted it.

His stomach knotted as he took the curve in the road that led down to her house. Her truck wasn’t parked in the driveway. Didn’t she ever stay home? He sat up straighter and considered where she might be at this early hour. Maybe the grocery store. Women got up early for that shit, didn’t they? He exhaled heavily and headed down to town. Maybe he’d catch her buying food and he could suggest dinner out or something easy like that.

Frowning at the thought, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. She might think he was coming on too strong if he did. Maybe he had been too forward with the kiss, but she’d been so damned hot. She’d smelt so good and that recruit, Bud, had been staring at her ass as if he’d had a chance of touching it. It’d been all Russell could do to only kiss her once and not drag her into something a lot hotter.

How did a man fight a misperception? He was trying here, and the ache in his groin was a killer motivation to speed things up a bit. He could be patient. He knew he could. Maybe with time Susan would see he wasn’t a flirt. He could do patience. He’d been a Goddamn sniper, for Christ’s sake. He could crouch down in the hot sun, not moving more than an inch every thirty minutes, and wait for three days in the blazing heat for his shot.

And now, when patience might actually be useful? He felt like he’d used up a limited supply. He felt desperate to secure Susan. Now. Not in a day. Or a week. Or even two months. He knew a great guy from another team who’d gone months dating a little nurse down in Oklahoma. The guy hadn’t scored a thing for all that time. Was that even physically possible at this point?

He shifted his legs to ease the ache in his groin and exhaled wearily. He supposed so. Simply thinking of all that creamy skin and those big, blue eyes made him want to be with her right now, hold her close and breathe in her scent.

And there she was. He had to force his hands not to jerk the truck over the kerb so he could get into the parking lot before her truck left.

Slow down, big boy. Down. He yanked the truck door open and raked a hand through his hair as soon as he’d made certain her truck was empty. Chilly air helped tamp down the simmer he had going on, but a panicky feeling settled in his gut.

He headed towards the store and hauled the door open in a daze. Think. She thought he was a big jerk, some kind of womanising redneck. Well, cool and calm might work. Shit, could he even do that? Exhaling, he ran a hand through his hair again and shook off his unease. He was a Goddamn Navy SEAL. He could do this.

Maybe he should ask her out for coffee. Or lunch? Or maybe she would like to come up to the ranch. His heartbeat hit a hundred and eighty. He had no idea if she even drank coffee or liked horses or even ate lunch.

“Why, Major Ryland, good morning.”

God, she sounded so damned teasing. Were all beautiful women like this? A creamy beige skirt hugged every inch of her from just above her sexy knees, all the way up to meet a silky green top under a small, beige, feminine jacket. High heels with a thin strap across the small ankles completed the sexy-as-hell outfit. And, of course her hair was down her back, one side hooked behind her tiny ear in a casual style.

He blinked to clear his head, then had to clear his throat, and thank God he’d kept his jacket on, because his dick was not going down. He gritted his back teeth at how tight it felt against his zipper.

“Russell, and good morning, Ms Fielding.” Correcting her had become second nature now, but maybe Sunshine had been too much. And why was she dressed up? And why did she insist on calling him that? He wanted to hear her call him Russell, or Russ, even. No one called him Russell or Russ. Ace, Major, Major Ryland, Ryland, but not Russ and never Russell.

Her smile slipped, and she blinked before busting out in another pretty laugh. “Ms Fielding?” She pursed those pink lips and shook her head up at him. “You are too much.”

“Here we are; try this one.” Dave, the owner, operator and chief-in-charge of Dave’s Hardware strode up with some kind of lock in his hand. Another lock? Had she had trouble with the first one? And why need another one anyway? Hadn’t the house come with a top of the line security system?

“Ah, great. So, you were going to show me the back of it?” Susan sounded hesitant, even a bit uncertain, which was new. The woman always looked so active and happy. Other than the first day, he’d not seen anything but a grin on her face.

Now, a lock made her look worried? Her small fingers played with her hair, tucking it back behind the shell of her ear. He wanted to kiss her there, right behind her ear where he just knew she’d be sensitive.

Dave gave her a blank look. She tilted her head and waited. Dave was not the most gentle of men, but that look got him to do what she’d asked.

Pointing to the lock he’d set on the counter, Dave said, “Now, see this? This is the front locking mechanism. The back goes this way—”

“Oh, no!” Susan startled Dave with a laugh and covered her mouth, her blue eyes widening in surprise over her hand. “I think…oh, I am so sorry! I think I put it in upside down. That’s why the lock wasn’t working.” She grumbled the last as if it was the lock’s fault.

Russell coughed to hide a laugh and got a quick, blue-eyed glare. And, of course, that brought his dick to attention.

“Yeah, that’ll do it every time. Doors are tricky that way.” Dave blinked and slowly grinned.

Susan shook her head slowly. “Tricky is not what I would call it. I worked on that thing”—she gave the lock a dirty look—“for a few hours.” She picked the lock up and turned it around. “I think I got it inside out, too.”

Dave grinned even more at that, then wiped his mouth with a hand and nodded. “Yeah? That’s too bad. Now, what you need is—”

“I’ll come by and help you out, how’s that?” Russ asked, hoping he didn’t sound too pushy, like he was hitting on her or otherwise flirting. Didn’t matter if she thought so, though, because he wasn’t allowing her to put another of these useless locks on her door. “Better yet, why not have a security system installed? This”—he took the cheap lock and turned it over in his hand—“would stop someone for about five, ten minutes tops, right, Dave?” He could break it in less than ten seconds, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Less, if they’re determined. Locks like this are to make you feel better, not stop anyone,” Dave assured her, sending him a sharp glance. The man was no fool. At fifty, he was still as sharp as a tack and no doubt had Russell pegged.

Susan gave him a blue-eyed stare. It seemed Little Miss Sunshine had, too. “Let me get this straight…” Hand on hip, she squinted up at him. “That lock won’t stop anyone from entering my home, and I wasted a few hours, a lot of cursing, and a whole lot of frustration on it? Why sell it, then?”

Russell watched her give her little lecture, amazed at her all over again. She was worked up, that was for sure. Would she be that passionate in bed?

Dave shrugged. “People like them all the same.”

“Yeah, but they’re crap. These things are worthless. Any criminal worth his spit could have this open in no time. Or go through a window. Or jimmy the back garage door…” Russell said, not willing to let her try for a cheap lock again. Shit, she needed a real security system, not some bolt lock. He stopped when Susan’s eyes widened. Maybe that was too much?

“There isn’t much crime in Troy, miss,” Dave said.

“Well, that’s lovely.” Susan looked down at her watch and gasped. “Oh! Gotta run! Thank you, Mr Dale. Major. Later.”

Russell shot Dave a grin, tipped his hat and followed Susan in time to shove the door open for her. He took her arm as soon as they hit daylight. She didn’t slow down, but shot him a quick frown.

“You really need to stop this arm tugging thing. I have an appointment, and now I’m late.”

An appointment. What did that mean? “I can put that lock in for you, or I can call a company that puts in a much better system. Might be better than a bolt that won’t stop a teenager. My friends have a security system that won’t let a fly in unannounced.”

A feminine brow lifted at that. “Maybe, but, for now, I have to run.”

“How about lunch? I could show you the specs for the security system…”

“I’m busy for lunch. Driving to an interview, but thank you.”

Interview? She was going to work. Of course she was. Most did. Everyone did. She would. He should be. He had colts to worry over, some mares needed to be bred soon, his studs were anxious, the cattle needed tending, calves needed to be checked, fences needed to be maintained, but not much of that made any sense when all he wanted was this petite woman facing him with a teasing look on her pretty face.

“No lunch break?”

She blinked. “They’re taking me out to lunch. Some Italian place.” She met his gaze steadily, and no doubt she saw his mind working at ten times less than its usual speed. It was her smile, he decided. It was so warm, so sweet. And honest. Not forced, but a natural expression. He’d dropped her arm, but could still feel her heat in his palm. Even through the layers of clothing she wore, he felt it.

All right. At least she wasn’t giving him that look women had when men came on too strong. He’d watched men crash and burn, so he knew what it looked like. Only she wasn’t looking too open to negotiation for this, either. He crossed his arms and sighed, put out with her. He’d wait at her door if he had to.

“Well, then, I suppose I might be able to come by after I go pick up a colt, and set that lock up then? At least, until you let me talk you into that security system and contact my buddies to install it.” She would be getting a security system one way or another. Troy might be safe, but no place was safe if you were frightened. And she was frightened. Hours working on that lock? He would have liked to have seen her hot and frustrated…she’d look sexy, he had no doubt.

She chewed her bottom lip, obviously debating how to turn that down cold. Before she could, he met her look with a determined one of his own. She wasn’t as unaffected by him as she tried to appear—he’d spotted the soft pink flush darkening her cheeks. His cock lengthened and swelled. At this rate, he’d need a freezing shower after this and another before he went to her house.

“How about four? That’ll give you time, right? See you then.” He forced a casual wave and turned to walk back inside the hardware store. Why his stomach was in his toes he had no idea. But it was. His heart was racing, too. He was thanking whatever God looked after poor fools when he heard her laughing softly behind him. At least she wasn’t telling him no.

He turned for one more look to take with him through the long day, and instantly wished he hadn’t. Holy hell. She shimmied that tight little knee-high skirt up to get in her truck, and she was wearing thigh-high stockings. His entire body tightened. He spotted lace against a creamy line of pale, toned skin. His gut clenched. Susan was trying to kill him, wasn’t she? She was a fantasy come to life. He’d never seen a woman so sexy in his life. He was a straightforward guy, used to simple things. But she was giving him all kinds of ideas.

Once inside her truck, she looked up and caught him staring. Her lips curled in a knowing little smile. Damn. And he had to make it through another few hours?

Impossible.

If he’d thought the past few hours worrying over seeing Susan had been difficult, not seeing her truck in her driveway nearly killed him. After Dave’s, he’d got his colt, had even dropped off a new mare, and had then driven back to the ranch to help clean stalls since Andy, their hired hand, was out for a few weeks with a bum wrist. Russell had rushed through the chores as if he were on a mission. Now, after taking a long, hot, sweaty two-hour run and showering for another hour because he’d needed to jack off for that long, he was primed to see Susan.

He pulled in and considered what to do. Nothing came to mind, but, before he could even shut the truck off, Susan turned into the driveway. He opened his truck door and got down as she parked next to him, smile already in place. Damn. Now, why did his heart jump around at the sight of her? Was she happy to see him or smiling because, like some dope, he was here waiting for her?

“Sorry I’m late! God, the traffic was horrible! I never realised it would be so busy. Who goes to Spokane anyway? Geez. Have you been waiting a long time?” She was breathless, and he didn’t hear half of what she said past sorry and Spokane. She was just so pretty it made it difficult for him to think.

“You went to Spokane? For an interview?” Alone? he wanted to add, but didn’t press his luck.

She gave him a little frown and he realised with a shock that he’d snapped at her. Shit, he was treating her like some new recruit.

“Yep! Uh, the job sounds great. The guys were all okay, but I’m not certain about the commute. I do consulting, but still they’d want me there sometimes, so…not sure.”

She headed for her garage door, and he had to step quickly to beat her to opening it for her. She walked pretty fast for such a tiny thing. Breathing deeply to try to slow his erratic heartbeat, he caught the scent of her. Sweet like some flower, not overpowering, but barely there and mixed with the warm scent of woman. She reminded him of a fresh breeze on a sunny day. She smelt so good he wanted to tackle her against the garage wall, and rip that skirt up to cup her little bottom above those stockings. And didn’t that make him feel like a real big jerk?

“That’s not so far, is it? Not if it’s once in a while.” He didn’t like the idea of her driving so far, but he couldn’t say that.

He held the door for her and she headed in, saying, “Thank you. Well, it’s still far even for once a month or so…” She was chattering away, juggling a backpack and two bags, clearly unaware of how badly he wanted to kiss her. He tried to take the bags, but she set them down on a little counter near a big outdoor refrigerator.

“Once a month? What kind of work?”

He tried to focus, but he was distracted by her scent and the stockings. He’d never seen a woman in stockings. Outside of a magazine or movie, he amended. Not in the flesh. Certainly not less than a foot from him.

“I’m a structural engineer, drafting mostly. Nothing special, but there’s not much around in the way of jobs.” She disappeared practically inside the refrigerator with her bags of food, then popped her head back out.

Damn. That was very cool. She was smart and beautiful. “And you can do this from home?”

“Yep, Internet and all. Most of it is computer programmed anyway, and, well, since I am a girl…” She turned, then, and handed him a long-necked beer, smiling up at him again. “Beer? And it’s mainly a guy’s business, so working at home works great.”

Yeah, he’d have to agree with that. She was a girl and he’d rather she wasn’t surrounded by a bunch of construction workers, either. “Yeah, that sounds great. Working at home. Nice.”

Smiling, she leaned against the little shelf behind her and held her beer out. “Can you open?”

Open? He grinned and knocked the top off with the counter, handing it to her. She took the bottle with a little quirk of her lips, as if she’d known he was completely capable of taking the cap off. Now, why did that make him hotter for her?

“Thanks. So talented. So.” She took a sip and tilted her head. “Lock. What are these security systems you were talking about?”

Taking his own sip, he glanced down at the bottle and squinted at the label. Saranac? Oktoberfest. It was good, too. He had a buddy, or used to have a buddy back at the base, who drank Saranac. He’d loved the brewery beers and had always had Saranac or some small microbrew on hand when Russell stopped by. So, Susan had good taste in beer.

“Good, huh?” she asked. No doubt she had him pinned for a meat and potatoes guy and until her? He had been. Now, though? He was contemplating whether he could find out if she was wearing a silk or lace thong. It had to be a thong. He wanted to run his hands over her, spread those firm, slender thighs and taste her. Blinking, he pulled his brain back above her waist with trouble.

“Very. From New York?”

“A microbrewery, but they’re big time now, not so small scale. I found it in town. Not so bad, huh?”

She definitely thought he drank Bud. Or Coors. “Yeah, it’s good. I like it. Now, that locking system is crap. Let me make a call, have some guys come out and they’ll hook you up with a system no one can break.”

She made a face. “Your language sucks, Major.”

He practically choked on his beer. Wiping his lips off with his wrist, he grinned. “Sorry. Navy does that to a man’s language.”

“Really?” She sipped her beer, not cutting him any slack at all. Not that it really was much of a defence. “How much does this security system cost?”

He hadn’t thought of that. She was going to baulk at spending five thousand dollars on a new system. “A couple hundred, but it’s worth it.” She gave him a long look for that, then glanced around her garage. Her clean, neat garage. “Well, maybe…”

She bit down on her plump bottom lip and his dick jerked. Reaching out a hand, he touched her chin. She blinked up at him in surprise. He surprised himself. He’d touched her like he had the right.

“Here, let’s make a bet, what d’you say?” He wasn’t letting her off this easy. She needed this system and being all sexy with her lip wasn’t going to distract him. “You let me set this lock up for you, make sure it works, then you let me show you how quickly I can get in.”

“You?” She tilted her head, sizing him up adorably, as if she was picturing him creeping around in the dark. He didn’t bother to say anything. She’d never hear him coming. He got the job done. Now the job was her, and he was going to get this done. The sooner he did, the better he could think about something other than the pain of his dick against his suddenly too-tight jeans. She finally shook her head, the small smile on her face blooming into a grin. “You can break locks?”

“Yes, ma’am. Very well. I did all kinds of dirty deeds for Uncle Sam. This? Piece of cake, Sunshine. Now, let’s get this on.” He finished his beer and tossed the bottle into her recycling bin. “You gonna let me in?”

She laughed at that, a quick splutter that made him grin down at her. She was nervous. So was he. This was uncharted waters for him. He didn’t want to screw this up by jumping any fences he shouldn’t. He wanted to be patient, wait for the right signals from her, but that was proving to be a challenge. She was harder to read at times than anyone he’d ever met.

“Or you’ll blow the house down?” she teased, sipping her beer but walking over to the door to let him into the house. So far, so good. Then she opened the door. Without unlocking it. Her house was unlocked? “Before you ask, I couldn’t get the lock to work, and I can feel your need to say something but I suggest you really don’t.”

She could feel his need, eh? He hoped not. And what could he say to that? Nada. “Well, we’ll fix this for tonight, then I’ll have my buddies come by. They’ll set you up, give you a code and no one will be able to get in.” Except him, but he wasn’t sharing that he could break any lock ever created. He was betting he wouldn’t have to break anything to get in.

“If you can get this lock to work, then do some breaking and entering…”

There went his hard-on, painfully rubbing as it jerked to attention. Shit, jeans were not the thing for a man to wear in this condition. “Right.” His voice came out low, but what could he do?

She clicked over to the couch on her pretty little high heels and tossed her hair over her shoulder when she bent down to glance at him.

“Whew, so do you know any of the local ranchers? Maybe anyone at the Triple Bar?” She unstrapped the heels he’d imagined digging into his back and swung her long hair off her face impatiently, casting him a questioning look when he didn’t respond.

The Triple Bar? Why the… “Why?”

He must have sounded too rough because she gave him a soft frown and tilted her head, pausing with one high heel in her hand. She looked like she was debating answering him. That was sexy. No one ever challenged him like she did.

“Well, they have puppies.”

“Puppies?”

“You know, four legs, cute, furry little things?” She tossed the heel aside and bent to take off the other one. Her green silk top gaped, and he got a view of perfect, rounded breasts over some kind of low-cut, darker green silky bra.

He needed a cold shower. Now. He’d seen a woman in cheap silk and lace, but he’d never been in the same room with one he wanted this badly. She was not out to look sexy—she just was sexy. She probably wore the silky things because she liked them, not to entice some sex starved solider to tackle her down on the couch and unwrap her like a Christmas present.

“And I thought a puppy might make this big place less…empty.”

He snorted at her logic. He’d make sure the place didn’t feel empty. “Yeah? Tell you what, let me set this lock up, break and enter, and if I can get in the house in less than—”

“Five minutes?”

Piece of cake. He nodded. “Five minutes, then you let me take you out to the best burgers in the state, and I’ll show you some good pups a buddy of mine has. They’re too young yet, but you can check ‘em out. You remember Tim? His blue heeler had a litter and there’s one little lady still unclaimed.”

She sat down on the couch, sighed and tucked the tiniest feet he’d ever seen under her butt. She was adorable. He needed to slow the flood of blood to his dick. He was ready to break a zipper, not to mention her.

Their gazes met and he thanked God she was unaware of his raging cock, because he’d most likely scare that smile right off her face if she knew.

“Okay, Major, on second thought, five minutes seems like a long time. After all, you’re a SEAL, which means ‘sneaky’ in my book. So, how about, if you break and enter in less than three, I let you buy me a burger?”

Like he wouldn’t have bought her the burger anyway? Ah, the little witch. He would have demanded to pay for dinner and she would have baulked. She was giving him an out for his macho, redneck attitude. Well, okay, maybe he was a macho, redneck cowboy, but he always bought a lady’s meal.

He frowned. Had he ever bought a lady a meal? No, but he would. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned a shoulder against the wall. “That’s a tough bargain. What do you get if I don’t make the deadline?”

“Me?” She touched her chest with a finger and gave him a look that went right to his balls. And hurt. “I get to cook my own dinner, and I might let you eat with me, then take me to see the puppy.”

Should he let her win and have her cook for him? The offer was tempting, but he had more than one game on, here. This mission included her wanting that system put in so she’d feel safe.

“Hell, that sounds like a better deal than mine…”

“No cheating.” She laughed and got up. “Another beer? I have plenty.”

“One more, but, first, come here. Might as well show you how this is done…”

Lacey hid a grin at Russ’ order. He was so used to giving orders, he didn’t even seem to realise how often he issued them. Grabbing him another beer first, she joined him at the door. He’d brought all kinds of tools in a big case, complete with three little shelves inside housing more tools than she knew what to do with. She had to admit it was pretty cool.

“Now that’s a toolbox. I got one today in town, but it didn’t come with this.” She touched the step-up shelves on his and Russell grinned over at her. And oh, my, was he devastating with that smile. He’d been smiling a bit more. It seemed he alternated smiling or frowning at her without any hint of a neutral expression in between. It was like he was always on edge, then forgot and simply smiled.

“Yeah? Mine took a while to make. Been adding tools since I was a boy.”

“You’ve lived here your whole life? Except for the Navy?” She wondered about him. Irene had sworn he didn’t fool around, or hadn’t since he’d got back to town six months or so ago. He ranched, and the story was that he did jobs down in Florida for a security company. Maybe the buddies with the inside scoop on her new locks? she wondered. And she wondered about him a lot. More than she should, she knew, but it seemed like she was addicted to knowing more about Russell. And, well, Irene was a gossip.

“Wasn’t born here, but we moved here when I was pretty young. I stayed until I was a teenager, then I moved down south,” he finally said.

He was already taking out the lock she’d had in wrong, concentrating on the little parts inside and doing something to the inside of the door. His black hair looked shiny and smelt clean, fresh and a bit…spicy, maybe? Or maybe that was him. He’d taken off his jacket, but he had on a great cable-knit, dark blue sweater, with a hint of a white T-shirt around the collar. As usual, he had on a pair of jeans, but these looked brand new, still stiff and dark blue. And his boots. He looked fantastic. All man, and all lean and strong. She could see his biceps under the sweater. Guys in sweaters with T-shirts underneath just looked so good. And his thighs were impressive, too. They were so long and muscled. When he crouched down he filled in the jeans tightly, making her wonder what he looked like out of those jeans, completely naked. Would he have black hair on his legs? And his chest? She imagined he’d have some hair on his chest. He looked like he would.

Blinking, she jerked her eyes off his body and tried to concentrate.

“To join the Navy?” she asked.

He grunted. It was a bit exciting, the sounds he made. And that was just plain odd. Her dad had grunted at her when she was pestering him with questions, or when he was working on something. But coming from Russell it was…sexy.

“Yeah, after a while.”

“Mmm…” He certainly didn’t say much about himself.

“What about you? Drove here on your own and now you’re looking for work?” he asked, adjusting the lock in his hand and handing her the screws that would fix it to the door. Their hands touched and she felt a little jolt. Had it been so long since anyone had touched her?

Russell looked over at her when she didn’t immediately respond. She was struck again by his grey eyes. The irises were so dark they were almost black, except they weren’t. There were some flecks of grey and blue there but a hint of brown stood out as well. Hazel? Maybe.

“Don’t lose any of those.” He directed a look at her hand, making her blink down in order to focus on the screws.

She’d been staring at him, but he was so absorbed in the lock, he didn’t seem to notice.

Lock in his big hand, he flipped a few metal pieces around, added something else, and grinned over at her. “This way it might work better, but still not good enough.”

“Right,” she muttered at his arrogance. As if she was going to drop the screws and, if she did, where would they go? On the floor? Men.

His jaw flexed, as if he were gritting his teeth. He actually looked a little cute like that. Not that she’d tell Mr Big Navy SEAL that, but he did. She eyed his big shoulders and long arms and reassessed him—maybe not cute, but more approachable and less intense, she supposed. But still sexier than any man had a right to be. She couldn’t help noticing how long and capable his fingers were. His hands were big, rough and strong.

But they’d felt wonderful the other day. And his mouth. She’d thought about that kiss all day after he’d left the hardware store. And all night. It’d been so masculine. And possessive. And so unexpected. Had he been planning it, or had he just decided to kiss her right then and there? It had felt like he hadn’t been able to stop himself. His hand had trembled a little on her face, she remembered. For some reason recalling that made her weak at the knees. What would it be like to have a man want her so badly he couldn’t control himself? The idea shouldn’t have been so thrilling.

She could admit now that she wanted him to kiss her again. Maybe a bit more than such a quick kiss, too. But she still wasn’t sure how much more; and he didn’t look like the type of man that would simply be satisfied with a kiss or two. He glanced at her, then, and she blushed. No doubt he’d caught her staring.

“And?”

“And?”

“You were going tell me why you ended up in Troy, Montana.”

She handed him the first screw. “I was?”

He didn’t look at her but, from beside him, she could see his lip curl up at her teasing.

“Yeah.”

“You don’t know yet?” she asked instead. Irene was a gossip. And her husband was too.

Russ gave her another quick look and took another screw. “I might have heard a bit. But I like to hear it from the source.”

She laughed at that, and he did, too. He had a soft, deep chuckle. Wouldn’t you know it? All masculine, and no doubt meant to make her more at ease. He seemed to think he had to walk on eggshells with her. She’d noticed that about him, and wondered suddenly if she made him as nervous as he made her. He didn’t look it. How could anyone make him nervous? He was trained for battle—had been in battle, she corrected herself. Her making him nervous didn’t add up.

“All right, I moved here because I thought a change would be good. My dad passed away recently and this is”—different? Bizarre? Miserable?—“as far from that as I could come up with. Except maybe Australia,” she added, to soften the mood. She didn’t want to talk about her dad with Russ. It was too intimate. And she didn’t want to lie, and she’d have to lie if she said more. “Now, is that it? Because, if it is, that is seriously unfair.” It had taken him less than five minutes to undo her mistake and put the lock back in.

“Sorry about your dad. It sounds like you two were close.”

Close? She was not going there with this big man. She didn’t know him, she reminded herself. “Yep, we were. Now, is that really all it took?”

He gave her a long, steady, grey-eyed stare. Slowly standing, he lifted her up as well with a hand on hers. Without letting go, he nodded. God, his hand was strong and warm.

“That was it. Now, ready to set that timer?”

She tried to take her hand back, but he didn’t let go.

“I don’t hit on women, Sunshine, but I’m not backing down. I might not know how to flirt, but with you? I think I just might have to learn.”

Whoa. A breath escaped her lips, sounding way too much like a sigh. She licked her lips nervously, and suddenly Russell was almost on top of her. She shifted a hand up to press against his chest, and he froze. A heartbeat later, he nodded slightly. Another shiver hit her stomach and raced through her veins.

Oh, my. She wanted to kiss him. Let everything go, forget it all and kiss him until she couldn’t remember her name, or her past. The attack, her father’s death, her being in hiding, this house that wasn’t her home, everything. Only, everything would all be there afterwards, wouldn’t it? Even if they ended up in bed, it would all be there when he was gone. And somehow she knew it would be that much worse, afterwards.

“The lock. You set that timer. Then maybe change and we’ll do that burger, right?” He sounded so confident she almost missed the note of loneliness in his tone. For once, his grey eyes reflected hesitancy under the outer persona of bold, secure warrior. Maybe he was nervous around her. She wasn’t sure, but she recognised the loneliness in his eyes. She could see it—a kinship, sorta.

Somehow, Russell made her feel braver, she realised. More herself. She used to make men nervous. She used to drive the MPs crazy. And some of her dad’s friends, too. She used to flirt and tease and skip away without a problem. But she’d always had her dad, too. He’d always managed to keep the guys at bay, provided that buffer they weren’t willing to cross. Not that she’d have let them.

But she was tempted—oh, God, she was more than tempted with Russell. She could admit that. And there was no one to fall back on. To guide her. And that plain sucked, because part of her really wanted to take Russell’s hand and surprise him by leading him to that bed she had yet to sleep in. Wouldn’t that be something, to shock this big warrior like that? And she knew he’d utter not a word of complaint, either.

Taking a deep breath, she focused on him. All of him—and there was a lot of him—and then the floor. The floor was less intimidating. She could not lose her virginity like this. So, no, she was not going to tug Russell over and kiss him like crazy. She was going to let him take her out for a burger and see where this led. That was it. She could do that. Right?

“Right, you break and enter, then, if you can beat the three minute mark, burgers.” More confident, she moved back and he let her hand go.

“That’s a date, Sunshine.” He somehow made that sound more like a warning than an agreement.

“Mmm, we’ll see.” She punched in the numbers on her little microwave timer and glanced at him. He ran a hand through his short hair with a chuckle. He was very approachable when he gave her a look, as if she had done something that was not only puzzling, but funny. After a second, he stopped and slowly put his hands on his hips and tilted his head to give her a long slow look from her toes to her eyes. Her heart slammed in her chest so loudly she was certain he could hear it.

“You’re a tough little thing. Set it,” he said, with a half chuckle in his voice. Not waiting on her response, he turned, walked over to the door, turned the lock on the inside and shut the door behind him with a snap.

A grin tugged at her lips as she settled her butt against the counter and waited. She didn’t hear a thing from behind the closed door to her garage. Would he break in without a sound? At least this gave her a chance to settle her nerves. He was so big and, yes, handsome in a rough around the edges type of way. He made her nervous.

Irene said he had always been a bit of a loner when he was here. His half-brother, Daniel, and Daniel’s wife had died in a car wreck, leaving behind a teenage boy that Russell was raising with the boy’s uncle on the ranch. His buddy, Tim, was the other owner but didn’t live on the ranch itself. Irene said Tim had recently married a nice, local girl. She’d told her that with a speculative light in her eyes. So Lacey had told her that Russ was a big flirt who most likely hit on every woman he saw, and was too bossy. Obviously, he’d heard part of that, which really made her grin.

“Well, how was that?” A deep voice, followed by a huge man next to her, scared her so badly she screamed and hit him before realising it was Russ.

“Whoa there, sorry, honey. Settle down. Come on, now…” Firm hands barely stopped her from dropping to the floor. The memory of the attack rose up in front of her eyes like a film at the theatre and she shivered. Her stomach clenched and her heart beat so fast she dug her fingernails into her hand, trying to distract herself from the fear. Oh, God. Oh, God. The room was suddenly too small.

“Damn, honey, sorry about that. I wanted to show you how much you need that system, not scare the fu—the heck out of you.”

He gently wrapped an arm around her waist while the other cradled her head against his chest. The room was spinning, and she was hyperventilating. Spots flickered over her vision and she held in a soft sob.

“Sorry—sorry—you—scared me.”

“Don’t apologise, I wasn’t thinking. You were scared enough without me adding to it.” His deep voice was right against her ear, warm and masculine. He smelt wonderful, leather, horses, and something clean and spicy. He smoothed a hand up and down her back with a gentle, yet firm touch that did odd things to her.

Slowly she became aware of how hard and strong he felt against her. She was certain he could break her in two with his bare hands, but he was soothingly stroking her spine. He made a soft sound, like a drawn out sigh, right into her hair, and her panic melted.

“You surprised me,” she accused him softly, speaking into his sweater.

He chuckled a bit at that understatement, the sound travelling through her body and tingling along her libido. He rested his chin on her head and drew her closer until she could feel every inch of him, and said, “I might have noticed that. If that was all I had to do to get you in my arms, though…” He had the nerve to wrap his arms around her tighter with a low laugh.

She couldn’t help but join him, even though she knew she shouldn’t encourage him.

“Wanna skip burgers and go to bed?”

“Russell Ryland!” Like she hadn’t already thought of that. Still, she hit him on the chest, which only made him laugh louder.

“I’m teasing you, Sunshine.”

Mmm… She had to wonder, because he wasn’t letting her go, and he smelt so good and felt like a furnace, so good she considered letting him continue to hold her. It had been so long since anyone had touched her. Since her father, she realised. But this was different on so many levels. This was much more than comfort, because she was slowly starting to burn. Her breasts felt sensitive and heavy, while her heart was now racing for an altogether different reason. Him.

“Russ?”

“Yeah?” He sounded a great deal hoarser than usual.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

He stilled—even his hand on her back stopped in mid-stroke. Abruptly, he chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Promise, Sunshine.”

“Fine. Then I’ll let you buy me a burger, but don’t do that again.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he rumbled. “And I’ll call my buddies. Tomorrow you’ll have a new system.”

Blowing out a breath, she rolled her eyes as she moved back a step or two. “Fine, but I won’t be home. I…I was going to go on a hike.”

He stared at her, looking frustrated, before he glanced around, picked up his empty beer bottle from the floor and sat down in one of her big kitchen chairs. She sat, too, and tucked her stockinged foot under her butt, pulling her skirt a bit to cover more of her legs. He drummed his fingers once on the tabletop and sighed. She didn’t mind his silences, but something was on his mind. She was beginning to understand some of his subtle expressions. Now he wore that small frown, like she’d done something that irked him, but he was trying to ease his face out of it.

“What?”

“Don’t you ever stay home?”

Well, if that was all… “Not if I can help it.” Jumping up, she shrugged. “Let me go change. Beer’s in the fridge, and no walking around unless you stomp, or at least make some sort of normal noise.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And stop that.”

He grinned and nodded, stood up and headed to the garage to get a beer, she assumed. “You keep callin’ me Russell, and I’ll stop with the ma’am.”

Well, damn. She turned and headed to change, her mind and—wow—her body buzzing with the effects of Russell Ryland. He was actually kinda cute when he teased her. Russell? Not Russ? Irene called him Ryland. Irene’s husband Rob, called him Ace, and she’d heard the hardware guy, Dave, call him Ryland. That young recruit had called him Major. So she got Russell? For some reason that made her heart flutter. It sounded like a little boy’s name, not a full-grown, big, fierce man’s name.

She made sure to lock the bedroom door behind her. Not that it would keep the sneaky guy out if he decided to come in. What on earth had Russell’s job in the SEALs been? she wondered. Her dad had only talked about a few missions, and they had all sounded scary as heck. But breaking and entering? She knew enough about Russell to know he’d not break and enter her house unless she gave him permission. He was one of those honourable guys.

She tugged her skirt and hose off in record time and slipped into some cords, pulled on a sweater and tugged on socks and boots. She was ready to go. She looked excited when she checked her makeup. Her scar was still so new, she forgot about it a lot of the time. She’d caught the guys at the architecture firm staring at it today, but they’d never said a word. She’d not once seen Russ stare at it, but she knew he’d seen it. Those smoky eyes didn’t seem to miss a thing.

She sighed heavily and examined herself in the mirror. Her blonde roots would be showing again soon, which meant she’d have to sit her ass in a salon chair again for an hour or more. Bummer. She’d have to find a place in Spokane, since everyone in Troy would gossip and there was no way she was going to the one salon she’d seen. Maybe even Spokane wasn’t far enough, she considered. If anyone did see her? Well, everyone changed their hair colour. Why not her? And Russ seemed to like it. A flush filled her cheeks at that.

She was weakening to Russell Ryland. Who wouldn’t? It was nearly impossible trying to avoid him, and when he focused all that masculine energy in her direction, and only her direction, it was impossible not to respond. But maybe she needed to stay strong. She had no idea if having something with Russell Ryland was such a good idea. Heck, she didn’t even know what Russ wanted from her. Sex? More than sex? A relationship? She had no idea.

The memory of him telling her he never flirted, but would with her, made her tummy flip-flop around.

Sex. He wanted sex, for certain. Had any man ever been so close to getting it before? God, she was in over her head. She felt more alive than she ever had before in her life. It was enough to make her want to squeal. Not that she would. And not that they would be, well, yeah, having sex. Right?

He’d said he wasn’t backing down. Did he mean until he was on top of her, holding her close while they made love? God. That made her tingle all the way up her spine.

One look at her bright red cheeks, and she ran the faucet and washed her face with cold water until it didn’t feel so hot. Sighing once more, she met her eyes and shook her head at her reflection. She looked excited—almost bursting with happiness.

What would her father say? Geez, he wouldn’t be too happy, that was for certain. What did she know about the guy? Not much. He owned a ranch. He was retired from the SEALs. He owned a nice truck. He had all his teeth. Oh, yeah, and he made her toes curl. Her grin spread. Russell Ryland could do a heck of a lot more, too. Whatever she allowed, he’d do it really well. Really, really well.

Forcing a serious face, she breathed deeply a few times to calm her nerves. A date. It was a date.

A date. She could do this. Even if her stomach was going insane with butterflies. A date. One last peek at her silly smile, and she headed out to check her outfit in her full-length mirror.

She looked casual, she decided, but sexy, too, which made her consider changing clothes. Her low-rise chocolate brown cords hugged her butt and hung low enough that a flash of her stomach showed when she reached up to brush her hair off her face. The coarse weave of her burgundy sweater was cool, but the material was a little tighter over her breasts than she had noticed before. She looked stacked. Was looking stacked safe around Russell?

And there went her blush again.

She didn’t want to look too sexy, she supposed. And he had dressed casual, but nice. So this would have to do—plus, she was stalling.

One more glance and she grinned at herself. Maybe Russell was getting more than he bargained for. After all, she’d been waiting for a guy who made her feel sexy and hot for years. And now? Geez, what else did she have to do with all her time? Why not lose her virginity to a hunky SEAL-turned-cowboy? It wasn’t doing her any good keeping it, she thought as she walked back into the living room.

“Sunshine, are you trying to torture me? I didn’t think you could look prettier than you looked in that skirt, but…” He gave her a long, slow look from her face down to her boots—stopping along the way, she noted—before he let out a long sigh. His gaze had an intense, hungry look she noticed when their eyes met. “You’re beautiful, Susan.”

There went her cheeks again. “And you swear quite a bit, but thank you. You look nice as well.” Her stomach fluttered at how he’d said her name. It was the first time he’d used it, she realised. And, sadly, it wasn’t hers.

He shook his head and pulled a face. “Navy. I’m trying,” he said, as if that explained it all. And it did.

When he didn’t move, or take his eyes off her, she got nervous enough to fidget with her hands. “What?”

He blinked. “Coat? It’s cold out there.”

“Ah, my jacket’s in my truck. We’ll grab it on the way out. And where is this burger place, anyway?”

He nodded and took her hand firmly in his, leading her out after shutting off the lights, leaving the garage light on, and shutting and locking her doors for her. The entire time, he didn’t let her hand go until he helped her up into his truck. It was as if he thought she might change her mind. The way her heart was racing, she should. But nothing was going to make her jump down from his truck, she realised after taking a deep breath of the scent filling it. Warm, spicy Russell? Leather, horses and him. She was addicted already. God, who knew men could smell so…good?

He glanced at her as soon as he sat down, then turned the truck on and adjusted the heaters so they all faced her. Cute. Too cute. She saw him settle back in the seat, glance out of the windows, then let out a breath like he’d been holding it. Her heart flipped at such a sweet, unconscious gesture. When their eyes met, he seemed to shake himself and frowned.

“Seatbelt.”

“Oh, yep. Seatbelt.” She tucked hers on quickly before he issued any more orders. Men. “So, you never said how long you were in the SEALs.” She might as well dig a bit while she was here.

He shook his head. “No, I didn’t, did I?”

She hmphed at that and settled down in her seat. His truck was very clean. Neat, even. There was a little dirt on the floorboards, but not much. He shifted the heater to high and backed up slowly, turning easily and heading to town.

She was so lost in actually going out on a date that she didn’t notice for a long while that they were both sitting and not speaking. Glancing at him, she held in a grin at his leisurely style of driving. He had one hand on the wheel, hanging over the top of it, while he rested his other arm on the middle console between the seats. He didn’t seem worried about her silence. Good. She liked silence. Sometimes chatter was good, but it was nice to sit and relax, too.

“Ten years.”

She watched his profile, more than a little shocked. He was still watching the road, but shot her a quick look and grinned.

“SEALs. Four in the service, then right into the SEALs.”

“Oh, I forgot I was digging.” She held in a grin when he gave her a surprised look, then slowly smiled. His grey eyes darkened when he did that, she noticed. Got less intense and more relaxed, maybe, or maybe at least a little less guarded.

“You can ask me anything, Sunshine. What do you want to know?”

She snuggled down in the big seat, considering the angles and planes of his face. “Well, I heard you only came back recently, after your brother’s accident. I’m sorry to hear you lost your brother. That must have been such a shock.”

“Yeah, it was. We weren’t close, but it was hard all the same.”

She waited, but he didn’t say anything more. She clutched her hands together and glanced away from his stern profile. “But you came back to raise your nephew?”

She’d heard his nephew had been in trouble quite a bit before the accident. “Yeah, well, my nephew’s a great kid. Doesn’t need much more than a man around, really. His uncle—Mitchell—he’s on the ranch, too, and does more than I do with him.”

“Really?” She tilted her head and slipped her hair behind her ear. “You look like you’d be a good role model. Clean cut, all your teeth, a man…”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah, come on, Sunshine. You’re a bit hard on a man’s ego. Clean cut? That’s no compliment for a former SEAL.”

She laughed. He looked so offended at being called clean cut. He was surprising her. Unexpectedly funny, with a quick, dry sense of humour that she liked. And he was very sweet in an unpractised, real kinda way. If bossy. He was bossy. Look at how he’d closed down her house for her. Geez.

“So why Troy?”

And he obviously didn’t believe her. Why not? Didn’t it sound plausible? She was in a place that was so different from her past, it was like a dream. Or nightmare. Nothing but him reminded her of her past, and maybe that was why she was so comfortable with him. He reminded her of all those big guys that came to her dad’s house. And he reminded her of all her father had been. Big, strong, protective and bossy.

“I mean, of all the places, why this part of the country? Why not somewhere warmer?”

“Oh, you mean like California or Florida…”

He nodded and shifted in his seat. She’d wondered the same, but the agents had only said this was a good, safe, out of the way place. Perfect for her to start a new life. So was Canada, she’d replied. Or Mexico. They’d stood pretty firm on Troy, saying she needed someplace completely different from Florida. If anyone even suspected she was still alive, they’d never think of looking in a place like Troy, Montana, they’d said.

And now that she was here? Yep, Troy was so different from her life before that it was like a dream, or another universe. But what could she tell Russell? If she knew one thing about SEALs, it was that they were trained to read people and situations. He would probably sense a lie because, basically, she was a horrible liar.

Maybe she could refocus the conversation. It had worked with her dad. Refocusing and redirecting had always worked better than direct confrontation with him. It might work with Russell, too.

“How old is the puppy? I was hoping to get a puppy but maybe I should get an older dog. I’ve always had a dog, you know? An older one. A puppy’s cute, but not much for protection.”

He glanced at her once for changing the subject, but let it go. His look warned that he’d only hold back for now. The man was potent. Suddenly it occurred to her that she had no idea where they were going. And at the same time she realised why she hadn’t even thought of arguing about going out with him. He was so confident.

That was it. That was what she was attracted to in a man, she realised. That was what drew her to Russell. His confidence, and that deep, dark side to him. Bad boy with a hint of arrogance, or more like a heaping dose of confidence, was what she was drawn to in Russell Ryland.

“A puppy can grow to be a dog quick enough,” he said, interrupting her wild imagination. Why his deep voice had her heart skipping around, she didn’t know, and she wasn’t certain if she liked how easily he could affect her, either.

She suddenly realised something else.

He might want to come in after dinner and puppy visiting.

Oh, my.

She caught him glancing at her oddly and blushed, looking away. At least it was dark out now and he couldn’t see her blushes, because she was thinking she might let Russell in, and not just in the house, either.