losing her wallet.
He rose from the bed and trod toward her. If she wasn’t going to worry about nudity, then neither was he, especially when his clothes were still drenched. He’d toss them in the dryer in a bit. It was still pouring outside anyway, so he might have to stay the night. He immediately wondered if he could entice her into round two.
He hefted his saddlebag from where he’d dropped it by the door earlier, and brought it over to the kitchen table.
She moved around the small kitchen, putting a pot with water on the stove. “Just so you know, I plan on paying the ranch back, once I have access to my bank account. I should have the credit card company overnight me a new card, and need to get wired some cash. There’s no address here, but I wonder if they could deliver it by courier if I gave them directions.”
He studied her, more intrigued by the minute. “I can give you an address to have it all delivered. In the meantime, I will cover for you. Just tell me how long you’re planning to stay.”
She beamed. The smile on her face took his breath away. “Really? That’s so nice of you. I’m here for two weeks before I have to be in Vegas. Want some ramen?”
Shaking his head, with a self-deprecating laugh, he said, “Sure, why not. Ramen and half a sandwich it is.”
Of all the things he had expected when he and Tank set out this morning on their ride, she was the last thing Colt had anticipated. And, if truth be told, she was the best thing to come along for an age. Great fucking sex could do that—put a new perspective on your life. Plus, she had no idea who he was or that he owned the ranch. It was clear she needed someone to look after her. The story she had spoon-fed him stirred up all his protective Dom instincts.
Colt figured that, when he got back to the ranch, he’d mark the cabin as being paid for the time of her stay, and would cover it himself. It would give him an excuse to come see her, check in on her every night. Who knew? Two weeks with Avery might end up being the getaway from his life that he’d needed all along.
2
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay the night?”
Avery stood in her burgundy plaid robe and the gray hiking boots she had tugged on to follow Colt out into the small barn attached to the cabin. The solitary hickory wood cabin, with its open floorplan much like a studio apartment, had been barren and lonely until his arrival.
Much like her life.
Sunlight had returned now that the storm had blown past. Steam rose from the ground, melting the layer of hail, and turning the air downright muggy. The glowing sun dipped toward the western horizon and would soon slip behind the mountains to usher in night. Avery had always loved the world right after a storm, the way the colors in nature seemed to gleam brighter, fuller, and lusher.
“I have an early start in the morning,” Colt replied, checking his horse over. Just look at him, she thought, all big and rangy in his jeans and gray shirt. The chestnut horse was handsome, too. But the cowboy—his sudden advent into her world—set her entire body aflame. Avery didn’t mind a bit of casual sex now and then. She enjoyed sex. Figured it was a great way to pass the time. And arguing with him in the storm had fired all her cylinders to cataclysmic heights.
And his body… she almost purred. He was tall and broad shouldered, with a full head of sun-streaked dirty blond hair that was weeks past needing a trim. His face had strong lines, with cheeks that were sharp like razor blades. His angular jaw fit and accentuated his tall, lanky frame. His strong jaw was lined with day old stubble, and she shivered in remembrance of how it had felt against her skin.
“I don’t like the look of the mud on the trail. Take it from someone who has hiked the Andes in the rain. There’s nothing quite like sliding two hundred feet in the mud down a trail. And I didn’t have this big handsome guy with me.” She gestured toward the horse. The poor thing could wind up lame, and that would be a damn tragedy. Plus, there was a part of Avery that