Was this the same guy from earlier? I forced myself not to continue gawking at him and I turned to get a glass out of the cabinet. I handed it to him. “I keep a pitcher of ice water in the fridge. We have well water here and water from a well tastes better when it’s really cold.”
He nodded, “Thanks.”
I turned back around and checked the temperature of the oil on the stove.
The sound of Cage gulping down the water had images flashing in my head of how his throat muscles would move with each swallow. I closed my eyes tightly trying to stop my imagination. I listened as he opened the fridge and poured himself some more water. Then once again he drank it quickly. The silence in the kitchen only intensified the sound of his drinking.
“That’s better. I was fu—uh—really thirsty. Thanks for the glass and the water,” Cage sighed and walked to the sink. “You want me to wash it or is that something you’d rather do?”
“Uh, I can get it,” I stammered, still completely thrown off balance by his behavior.
“Thanks. But I don’t mind washing it.”
“No, really I can do it. I’ll just rinse it and stick it in the dishwasher anyway,” I was rambling.
The kitchen door swung open again and I was so thankful for the interruption until Becca Lynn came bouncing into the house all blonde curls and smiles. Normally I enjoyed Becca’s bubbly interruptions in my life but not now. Not when Cage was standing here. Becca was an idiot when it came to attractive guys and Cage York went beyond attractive.
Her big brown eyes slowly took him in. I cleared my throat trying to get her attention but she wasn’t aware anyone else was in the room. The tight tank top and cut off shorts complete with cowboy boots was Becca’s summer wardrobe. It was all she ever wore and she wore it well. I shifted my attention from Becca to Cage whose sexy smirk had returned and he was enjoying the view just as much as she was. I couldn’t call Becca Lynn my best friend because Josh had always been my best friend. Nevertheless, she was the closest female friend I’d ever had. Where Josh and Jeremy grew up to the right of me, Becca Lynn grew up on the farm to the left of me. So when I’d needed a partner in crime that wasn’t male, it had been Becca. She and Jeremy had once had a thing back during our sophomore year of school. I was pretty sure she’d been the one to take his virginity. But it was short lived. Jeremy had ended it without an explanation and Becca Lynn had cried on my shoulder a few days then moved on the next week to Benji Fitz.
“You didn’t tell me you had company, Eva,” Becca Lynn cooed, twirling one of her long blonde locks around her finger while batting her eyelashes in Cage’s direction. Good Lord she was ridiculous.
“I don’t have company Becca,” I retorted, hoping to get her attention but it didn’t work. “This is Daddy’s summer help. He’s working with our cows. Because he got a DUI and he’s serving time.” Maybe that would snap her up out of the worshipful gaze she had on him. It didn’t.
“Oh, so you’ll be here all summer?” she asked, still smiling up at Cage like he was a freaking rock star.
“Looks that way,” he replied in an amused tone. Great, even the man whore beside me thought she was making a fool of herself.
“Well, when you’re not working and get bored I could keep you company—“
“Becca Lynn,” I raised my voice to stop her from offering to come warm his damn bed in the barn.
Finally, her eyes shifted off Cage to meet my gaze. The twinkle in her eye told me she knew exactly how it sounded and she didn’t care one bit.
“Thank you. I’m sure that I’ll be needing someone to show me what to do for entertainment when the work-day is through. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have take me around and enlighten me about the things to do out here in the country.” The sexy drawl thing he had going on just pissed me off. It also gave me chill bumps and made my heart race.
Becca Lynn’s eyes swung back over to eat Cage alive. “That sounds like a really good plan.” She cooed, closing the distance between them and holding out her perfectly manicured hand. I was sure the hot pink nails that she wiggled in his direction invitingly, matched her toenails. Becca was as high maintenance as they came around here. “I’m Becca Lynn Blevins.”
Cage closed the small amount of space Becca had left between them and slipped his hand into hers. Did Becca just shiver? “Cage York and it’s a pleasure, Becca.”
“Oh,” she breathed out, her head tilted back as she drank him in. I swear, if he kissed her in my kitchen I was going to throw my cobbler batter at him.
“I got to get back to work. I’ll be looking for you to come entertain me soon, Becca Lynn,” Cage said in a low whisper then stepped around her and headed out the door without a backward glance.
The second the door closed behind him Becca pulled out a kitchen chair and sank down into it with a loud thump. “OHMYGOD!” she squealed. “I swear I think I just creamed my damn panties.”
Cringing from the mental image, I shook my head and made a gagging noise. “I was ready for you to lay on my table and spread your legs for him right here. You really need to get a grip on yourself, Becca. You came off as a complete slut.”
Becca let out a loud sigh, “Oh, who cares! He was the most incredibly delicious male specimen I have ever laid my eyes on. I want to marry him and have his babies and wash his body and dress him and hell, Eva, I just want to touch his body all day long. I could do it the rest of my life and never grow tired.”
Before I could think of a response that would hopefully be a source of wisdom for her, the door swung open again and Jeremy walked inside. His presence eased me. Just the familiar face that was so much like his brother’s helped remind me I’d had it all once. Jeremy’s eyes found Becca sitting at the table with the dazed expression still on her face. A knowing grin touched his lips.
“I see Becca Lynn met Cage.”
I nodded and dropped a chicken breast into the oil that was finally bubbling.
“I bet he ate you up, Becca. Poor boy got a rude welcome from Eva earlier. Having a female actually drool over him must have been nice for his ego.”
Jeremy would have to bring that up.