"I'm
here to rescue you."
Kyle Morgan was so intent on what he was doing he thought
the female voice above him was his sister Jenna, bugging
him about coming in for lunch.
"I don't need rescuing right now. Get lost." Another
turn of the wrench and he might actually be able to get the
blasted oil pan loosened.
"That's not what this paper says."
Definitely not his sister's voice. Those weren't Jenna's
legs either. But then he couldn't see much while lying in
the dirt under the truck. He tilted his head sideways and
saw red painted toenails and slim, tanned ankles. Jenna wouldn't
be caught dead in skimpy sandals like that. Definitely not
his sister.
He slid out from underneath the truck and squinted in the
midday sun to see who thought he needed rescuing. All he
could make out was a vague shadow attached to very shapely
legs.
"Are you going to lie there and stare at me all day?" Her
voice was deep and sexy, like skinny-dipping at midnight.
Risky, forbidden, yet irresistibly appealing.
He quickly got to his feet and grabbed the
shirt off the hood of the old blue Chevy truck, wiping his
hands and sweat
soaked, dirty face. Blinking to clear the sunspots out of
his eyes, Kyle got his first look at the woman attached to
the voice.
Stunning, was his first thought as he gazed
at her beautiful face. Golden blonde hair hung in cascading
waves over her
shoulders and rested just above her full, high breasts.
Eyes
the color of amber ale stared levelly at him as she licked
her lips nervously.
"Are you Kyle Morgan?"
I don't know. Am I? He seemed unable
to think about anything except the vision standing in front
of him. "I guess
I am." Great answer, dumbass.
"Then as I said before. I'm here to rescue you." A
smile that could light up the entire state of Oklahoma graced
her face as she held out her hand. "I'm Sabrina Daniels."
Kyle was dimly aware of her slim, warm hand in his as she
shook it with fervor. Her skin was soft, like sliding his
hand over silk sheets, making him wish he'd had a chance
to wash the grime off his.
Suddenly the name sparked recognition. "You're Sabrina
Daniels?" Good God, please tell me I heard wrong.
She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes.
I'm so glad to finally meet you Kyle."
So this was the woman who was going to spend the next three
months at the Rocking M Ranch. Three months, and he would
have to work closely with her every day. He stifled a groan
as his eyes washed over her cover model looks and centerfold
body, trying not to lick his lips at the way the blue silk
dress hugged her womanly curves. Surely this woman was punishment
for something bad he'd done in the past.
"I didn't expect you until tomorrow." Frankly
he didn't expect her to show up at all. Hoped she wouldn't
show was more like it.
"I know. I arrived this morning
and thought about grabbing a hotel and waiting until tomorrow
but I was so excited I
decided to come out a day early. I didn't think you'd mind
since we had an agreement and you were expecting me. You
were expecting me right?"
The woman waved her hands around as fast as she was talking.
He was already getting a headache and watching her swat invisible
flies in the air was making him dizzy to boot.
"At first I planned to call, and then I thought if
I called you might not let me come today and I really wanted
to, so I decided to just show up and throw myself at you
and here I am." She inhaled a huge breath of air.
Trying hard to recall if he'd had any whiskey for breakfast
that could possibly be screwing with his clarity, he remembered
he'd had coffee. So the reason for his confusion had to be
the five foot six fast talking tornado standing in front
of him.
"Yes I can see you're here." She might be here,
but he'd be damned if he was going to be pleasant. No matter
how good-looking she was, or how her voice reminded him of
sex and sin, or how her face showed the enthusiasm of a child.
This wasn't his idea in the first place. "So now what?"
She tilted her head, showing off a creamy expense of slender
neck. Kyle inhaled sharply, trying to avoid thinking of her
as a woman. A beautiful, desirable woman. He wanted to think
of her as a nuisance. Which she was going to be for the next
three months.
"Well, now I guess we can get
started."
"Get started with what?" He
must have had whiskey with his coffee this morning.
Sabrina smiled shyly. "With my
training."
Immediately his thoughts strayed to
the kind of training he'd like to give Sabrina Daniels.
Damned if all the blood
in his brain hadn't migrated toward baser pastures. His long
dormant sex drive sure picked a fine time to spring to life
again. Great – now he could add lack of sex to his
already long list of frustrations.
Maybe if he thought about all the negative things her presence
represented he could get his mind off the fact Sabrina Daniels
was quite an attractive woman.
It wasn't working. His mind continued on its wayward sexual
course, heating his blood. Maybe it was the weather. It was
damn hot outside, way too hot for late April. He was dirty
and sweaty and felt like a pig while she looked fresh and
clean and smelled like peaches. He shuddered to think what
he must smell like, but it was probably closer to rotted
fruit.
He looked her over from head to toe.
She crossed her arms across her chest, obviously uncomfortable
with his scrutiny.
Good. "I hardly think you're dressed to begin anything,
other than maybe hosting a cocktail party. And gee, you just
missed the one we hosted last night. All the Dreamwater elite
were here."
Sarcasm obviously wasn't lost on her as she tapped her sandled
foot in annoyance. Maybe she'd be so irritated she'd leave.
He should be so lucky.
"Kyle. I'm hot, I'm thirsty,
and I've driven a long way today. It's my understanding
we had an agreement and
you were expecting me. But if there's a problem with our
contract we can discuss it. Is there some place out of the
sun we could sit and talk?"
Well hell. If his mother were still alive she'd be kicking
his butt for lack of manners. He finally noticed sheens of
perspiration moistened her face, and the shadow between her
breasts that kept drawing his eye was damp. She looked about
ready to pass out.
"Sorry. Let's go inside where
it's cooler."
She nodded gratefully and Kyle directed her toward the large
brick ranch house, following behind her. Watching her perfect
backside swaying as she walked, it became quite clear this
bargain he and his family had struck was a huge mistake.
Kyle didn't want to do business with Sabrina Daniels, but
couldn't pinpoint exactly why. Maybe it was the instant attraction
he felt for her, bringing to life feelings long held in check.
More likely it was because she now held a financial interest
in his family's ranch. That meant an outsider owned a part
of the Rocking M.
When his parents died and he and his younger brother and
sister took over the Rocking M, they vowed the Morgan's would
retain ownership. And despite everything they'd been through,
that's the way it had remained. Until now. Now Sabrina Daniels
owned a portion of their ranch. At least temporarily.
If they didn't need the money so damn bad, if he hadn't
been forced to pay his cheating ex wife all that cash in
the divorce settlement, they wouldn't be in this predicament
now. This was his fault and an investor was the only way
to dig the Rocking M out of the deep financial hole he'd
put it in.
The sooner he finished his business with Sabrina Daniels
and got her off the Rocking M, the happier he'd be. No one
was ever going to own this ranch but a Morgan.
When his parents died and he and his younger brother and
sister took over the Rocking M, they vowed the Morgan's would
retain ownership. And despite everything they'd been through,
that's the way it had remained. Until now. Now Sabrina Daniels
owned a portion of their ranch. At least temporarily.
If they didn't need the money so damn bad, if he hadn't
been forced to pay his cheating ex wife all that cash in
the divorce settlement, they wouldn't be in this predicament
now. This was his fault and an investor was the only way
to dig the Rocking M out of the deep financial hole he'd
put it in.
The sooner he finished his business with Sabrina Daniels
and got her off the Rocking M, the happier he'd be. No one
was ever going to own this ranch but a Morgan.
