* * * * *
Feeling more than a little tired as she drove up to the Lonestar the following Monday, Elise thought about her long weekend, or at least that’s what it felt like—long!
After she left Colt on Friday, she’d arrived home to find no less than five messages on her cell phone from her parents. She’d shut off her answering machine a week ago because her father kept leaving her messages asking when she’d be coming home. Then he’d started calling her cell phone instead. Hence the reason she left it at her apartment. Every message on her cell phone related to her parents wanting to make sure she would be back from her vacation before the late summer party. According to them, they’d planned it as a special occasion.
Elise knew she had to tell her parents in person that she had made a new life for herself away from Virginia. She also had a few more of her things in storage she wanted to have shipped down to Texas. Her parents’ persistence just stepped up the timeframe sooner than she’d expected.
The next morning she’d taken the first plane flight out to D.C. She’d considered giving Colt a call to let him know she’d be gone for a few days, but they weren’t in a relationship. Plus, a phone call from her might have given him the impression she perceived them as a couple and as such felt the need to check in with him. Not!
Ugh, going home hadn’t been a pretty scene.
“You’re going to what?” her father had railed.
“Now Fred, don’t go getting your blood pressure up,” her mother said in a calm voice as she smoothed her blonde bobbed hair against her neck. “What Elise meant was that she wanted to spend the rest of her summer tending to her investment.”
“That’s not what I said,” Elise interrupted as frustration knotted her stomach at her parents’ complete disregard for her hopes and desires, once again. “I said that I plan to move to Boone permanently. It’s my home now.”
“Look here, young lady,” her father began, drawing his bushy, dark brown brows together in a frown. “You so much as even think of moving to Texas for good and you can kiss your inheritance goodbye.”
Elise had stiffened at her father’s ultimatum. Once again he’d tried to use the lure of money to keep her in Virginia and working for Hamilton’s. The problem with his plan was that she didn’t care about the money.
She’d narrowed her gaze on her father, then tilted her chin in a defiant manner. “I’ll be back here at the end of the summer for the party. I haven’t forgotten my obligation to the Save a Heart Charity. If I have to give them the donation from my own funds, so be it.”
Her father had snorted in anger at her response, then he nodded as if pleased with himself. “Twenty thousand dollars is a lot of cash, Elise. You might have done well when you sold your share of that dot com company you helped start, but somehow I doubt you have that kind of cash lying around.”
She’d refused to answer him and had to listen the entire rest of the weekend as her father hounded her about her duty and responsibility to Hamilton Industries. In her heart, she understood he wanted her to help maintain and manage the fortune he’d amassed over the years. Unfortunately, she couldn’t force herself to live that life just to please her father, especially not now that she’d found the perfect life for herself at the Lonestar. She’d decided that no matter what happened between herself and Colt, she knew her heart belonged in Texas.
Leaving D.C. on the red-eye last night, she’d gotten very little sleep on the plane. Needless to say, this morning she was beat.
When she walked into the ranch office and shut the door against the early morning heat, she turned to greet Mabel and saw the secretary jerk her head toward Colt’s office, a warning expression on her face.
“Mabel, is that…?” Colt called out as he stepped into the doorway of his office.
“Where the hell have you been!” he barked at Elise. He crossed his arms over his chest as a frown creased his brow.
“Well, happy Monday morning to you, too, Colt,” Elise quipped.
As Colt’s frown turned into a scowl, she asked, “Is something wrong with the website?” She cut her gaze over to Mabel to remind him they had an audience.
Colt must have realized her intention because he immediately straightened and lowered his arms. “Uh, yeah.”
Elise laughed. “Okay, I’ll go take a look at it.” She turned and walked down the hall feeling the weight of her long weekend dragging her body down.
Sighing, she sat down in her chair and booted up her computer. Colt had been right on her heels and was now demanding her attention. Closing the door behind him, he stood there, his stance tense, anger emanating from his body.
“Where have you been?” he repeated.
“Is there a problem, Colt?” She looked up from her computer.
He waved his hands in the air. “Problem? You’ve got me wound tighter than a stallion downwind of a mare in heat with no way to get at her and you ask if I have a problem?”
“You
did
say I would be worth the wait,” she said with a smirk, even though her heart raced at his words. Damn, his metaphor was effective.
“For the whole weekend!” he said, his voice growing louder. When she arched her eyebrow, he immediately lowered his voice. “I tried calling you several times and when I didn’t get an answer, I got worried and drove over to your apartment. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Imagine my surprise when your neighbor told me she thought you left town. You could have at least called.”
“And said what?” she countered. “‘Sorry, I can’t make it for a
jollies
session, but I have something I have to take care of.’ It’s not like we’re in a relationship, are we?”
She had him stumped there. Colt seemed to be at a loss for words. She could tell this man was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. Good. She liked to keep him guessing.
Looking back down at her keyboard, she began typing once more. “If you want to keep tabs on me, buy me a pager.” She gave him a meaningful look. “Preferably one that vibrates.”
Colt turned on his heel, opened the door and stalked off down the hall.
Three minutes later, Elise looked up from her keyboard. The sensation of someone watching was just too great to ignore. Mace leaned casually in the doorway.
“I’ve seen the looks between you two. If you don’t do something soon, the man is going to rip someone’s head off. He’s been meaner than a rattlesnake all morning and not at all likable to be around.”
Elise laughed at Mace’s doomed version of Colt’s situation. “Mace, worry about your own love life.”
Mace pushed off the doorjamb. “Hey, no problem there, darlin’.”
“So I gather,” she teased.
“What can I say? I’m just the kind of guy the girls fall all over.” He gave her a wide grin, not at all apologetic.
Elise scanned his six-foot-one, muscular body from the top of his light brown, sun- streaked hair to the tip of his scuffed boots. He was leaner than Colt, his muscles less bulky, but there was something in his green eyes that called to a woman’s heart. He had dreamy eyes. “I guess I can see where some women might find you attractive, Mace.”
Mace raised his eyebrows. “Just some women?”
Elise laughed at his cockiness. “Yes,
some
women. You can’t possibly have them all to yourself.”
Mace turned to go. “Yeah, but it sure is fun tryin’.” He walked off toward his office chuckling.
Elise turned back to her computer. Mace was right. She should try to make it up to Colt. She waited until eleven-thirty and then told Mabel she had to run an errand. Knowing Colt typically worked through lunch, she went out and bought sandwiches for them.
The office was quiet when she got back. Mabel and Mace must have gone out to grab something to eat. She reached up and lightly rapped on Colt’s closed door.
“What!” he barked.
Oh boy. This was going to be fun.
Elise opened the door with a flourish and said, “Lunch is served,” as she walked in carrying a white paper bag.
Colt looked up from his desk, his eyebrows pulled together, frustration written all over his face. “Unless it involves you, naked and laid out like a sampler platter, I’m not interested.”
Her insides turned to butter at his vivid description. He might be blunt, but the man certainly did have a way with words. “You have to eat, Colt.”
Colt grunted as he looked at the bag in her hand. “What’s that?”
She held up the bag. “I brought you a sandwich.”
Chapter Six
After Elise handed him a sandwich, Colt watched with growing anticipation as she sashayed behind his desk and settled her lovely butt on the surface. As she proceeded to eat her own sandwich, he looked up into her face. She had her dark hair pulled back in a clip, giving him a full view of her face. It was such an expressive face with high cheekbones and a stubborn chin. But right now, her lips were driving him wild. As she chewed and stared down at him, it was all he could to swallow the food in his mouth.
He didn’t want her to know how much it bothered him that she left without so much as a word to him. He’d spent a long Friday night with Evan trying to figure out what was wrong with his bull. The animal was so agitated he’d acted stoned. Evan—the best vet around to be so young—decided to test his urine. Sure enough, faint traces of Jimson weed laced the sample. Even though the animal’s urine only had enough of the toxic plant to whack him out, he was so messed up, he was throwing himself against the barn and the barbed wire fence.
Anger boiled through Colt at the discovery. The hallucinogenic wild plant only grew in the spring and it was summer. This stunt had Riley written all over it, but there was no way to prove the bastard did it.
Coming home in the early morning hours, he knew it was too late to call Elise. He fell into bed with the knowledge he’d see her the next day and they’d have all weekend together. When he’d discovered she’d left town, he didn’t like the sense of panic that gripped him. He knew his raging emotions stemmed from the fact he hadn’t been able to touch her, to slide against her sweet flesh the way he wanted.
Over the course of the weekend, Colt had moved from irritated mode to “maybe it was for the best” mode. By the time Sunday rolled around, he’d started to wonder if she’d changed her mind about Texas and gone back home to stay. If she really had left for good, maybe it was best he didn’t get to know her better. While he was doing his laundry that weekend, her panties fell out of his jeans back pocket. He picked them up and frustration filled him all over again until it slowly burned into simmering anger. He admitted to himself he’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted Elise.
By Sunday night he still hadn’t heard from her, nor did she answer her phone, he began to worry. But he didn’t know who to call since Marie was on vacation. He’d decided to give her until Monday and then he’d dig out his documents with her home address in Virginia to call her family and check on her.
When he’d seen Elise waltzing into the office this morning as if she hadn’t just taken off without a word and left him hanging, his temper flared. Now that he knew she was fine, his libido kicked in once more. She’d offered, then not shown to deliver. And he sure as hell wanted to take her up on that seductive offer, damnit.
Colt munched his sandwich in silence for a few minutes and then he casually asked, “So, where did you go this weekend?”
Elise raised her hand in the air at his question to indicate she wanted to finish chewing before she spoke.
“I went home.”
“To Virginia?”
“Yeah, I wanted to get some more of my stuff from storage.”
That sounded promising. He wondered if she was serious about staying.
“What does your family think about you moving so far from home?” he asked in a conversational tone.
Elise looked away as she answered, “Let’s just say, they aren’t thrilled.” She shrugged. “But they’ll just have to get used to it. It’s my life. Plus, Aunt Marie is here. Well, she’ll be here in a few weeks once she gets back from vacation.”
Colt continued to eat, wondering about the conflict with her family. When he finished his sandwich, Elise was chewing her last bite. She picked up her napkin and dabbed at her lips.
He had to touch her. Her alluring floral scent had already reached out and wrapped around him, drawing him in. Colt ran a finger along the edge of her lips, rubbing off a bit of mustard that had collected in the corner of her mouth.
“Missed a spot,” he said. He knew his voice sounded gruff. He didn’t care as he put his finger in his mouth and sucked the mustard off. When her pupils began to dilate, he knew she was turned on. Good. That’s just the way he wanted her. He gave her a devilish grin and started to put his hands around her waist.
Before he could reach for her, Elise jumped off his desk and quickly began collecting the bag and leftover wrappers.
“What are you doing?” he said, frustration evident in his voice.
Elise looked up from her task. “I’m cleaning up, silly. What does it look like I am doing?” She walked around the desk toward the door of his office.
“Elise!” He was losing patience fast.
She turned her head as she neared the door and gave him a saucy grin. “Hold your horses, Colt. I’ll be right back.”
Colt waited. Impatiently. A couple of minutes passed and he deemed she’d been gone longer than necessary to dispose of the trash in the kitchen. He was about to go get her when she appeared in the doorway again and shut the door behind her.
He studied the natural sway of her hips as she walked back to his desk. He felt the blood pumping in his body and his heart rate kicked up several notches as she approached. She settled herself on his desk, this time right in front of him. Her pink tongue darted out, wetting her lips as she cast him a saucy, come-hither look.
He didn’t have to be asked twice. Rolling his chair closer, he reached for her slim hips. His heart jerked in alarm when she planted her booted foot a little too close for comfort on the chair in between his legs, stopping the chair from moving forward.
“Not so fast, Cowboy.”
Colt jerked his gaze to her face. What kind of game was she playing? Before he could form the words, with a swift push of her foot, she shoved his chair until the back of it slammed against the credenza behind him.
“We haven’t finished lunch yet,” she said as a small smile formed on her lips.
“Elise, I’m done eating.” His patience with this woman’s teasing ways hung by a thin thread.
She hopped off the desk and put out her hand. “No. I’m ready for dessert. How about you?”
She held one of those small paper containers that usually held ketchup at fast-food restaurants. As she waved it under his nose, his sense of smell kicked in. Mmmm, chocolate syrup. She must have warmed it in the microwave because its rich scent clung to his nostrils as she moved it back and forth in a teasing manner.
He smiled as he put his hands around her waist and started to pull her shirt out of her jeans.
“Uh-uh.” She stepped back and set the container on his desk. Turning, she began to unbutton his jeans with nimble fingers. “This is about you, not me. I’ve been told you’ve been quite ornery lately and we can’t have that, now can we?”
Colt’s heart jerked into hyperdrive. He held his breath while she finished unbuttoning his pants and let out a deep groan when she put her hand on him through his boxers.
“I love a man in boxers,” she murmured.
And just how many men had she done this to
? he wondered. No, he didn’t want to know. Colt just gave into feeling. She stroked him through his underwear, her hand moving down the full length of him. She shifted gleaming eyes to his half-closed ones, a smile on her face.
“My, my, I think your name should’ve been Stallion instead of Colt,” she said, her voice full of amused appreciation.
He chuckled at her “hung like a horse” reference. But his amusement quickly turned into a groan of anticipation when she found the opening to his boxers and slipped his hard cock through it.
The feel of her hand on his exposed flesh lit him on fire. He reached over and pulled the clip out of her hair, sending the weight of her glossy black hair rolling down her back. Sliding his hand into the thick mass, he rubbed the dark tresses before gripping a handful. He didn’t have to wonder anymore. It did feel as soft as it looked.
“You sure know how to seduce a man,” he groaned as she slid her hand up and down his arousal.
She looked up at him and gave him a wink and a knowing grin. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, darlin’.” Retrieving the container from the desk, she tipped it over him and warm chocolate drizzled down his sensitized flesh. Colt rocked his hips forward at the sensation of warmth rolling down his cock.
She gave a throaty chuckle. “Now close your eyes and just experience,” she said before her mouth descended on him.
The feel of her wet, hot mouth sliding around him just about sent Colt over the edge. He had to measure his breathing to keep from losing it as soon as her mouth touched his skin. She must have sensed it too, for she said in a husky voice, “See how long you can hold out. I promise it’ll be worth the wait.”
Colt ground his teeth at the feeling of her delicious tongue sliding up and down and around him. He could feel the pressure building, his lower belly tensing. “Elise,” he said in a tight voice as he crushed her hair in his fist, his heart ramming in his chest.
Pulling her mouth off of him, she teased, “Not yet.”
Colt opened his eyes and look down at her, not sure if he wanted her to tease him more or not.
“Let me know when you’re almost there, okay?”
He nodded and gave her a brief smile before closing his eyes again. She moved her mouth back to surround him and the sensation of warmth washed over him once again. Sensing the welcome tightening deep in his groin, Colt knew he couldn’t hold back much longer. “Elise,” he warned, expecting her to pull away.
And she did for a brief second, then he felt a sudden rush of coolness bathing him along with her warm mouth. The drastic change in temperature was all he could take. His body shuddered with a mind-blowing climax as he thrust his hips against her again and again. Elise kept her mouth moving over him until he was completely spent.
As she pulled away, he opened his eyes and started to say, “How did you…?” when he saw her sitting back on her heels. A Cheshire grin lit up her face as she stuck her soda straw in her mouth and sucked seductively on it.
“Gotta love a cold drink,” she said with a wink.
Colt grinned at her and just shook his head. What a woman.
With a pleased look on her face, she stood up, set down her cup and moved in between his legs. “Feeling better, Cowboy?”
Colt put his hands on her waist and pulled her onto his lap. “I won’t feel better until I am buried in you. I want to hear your screams as I rock your world.” He watched the desire flicker in her eyes and knew they would be good together. Colt cupped her head and pulled her to him, giving her a thorough kiss.
Elise lifted her head and arched an eyebrow. “Such promising words, Cowboy. The question is…can you deliver?”
He was about to answer her when he heard Mace’s voice, as he entered the main office door. He gave Elise a heated look as she stood and he fixed his pants.
Once he was dressed, Elise walked over to the door. Before she opened it, she turned and blew him a kiss. “Here’s to open-ended promises, darlin’.” She opened the door and left the room.
Elise walked back to her office feeling very happy. She liked Colt. Liked the way he made her feel. And she wanted him. So much so she did things with him she had never done with another man. It just felt so right with him…so natural to be less inhibited and more…wild. She smiled as she sat in her chair and moved her mouse to get rid of the screen saver. And she
had
made his day. Boy, had she made his day!
She chuckled to herself at the look of surprise on his face at her aggressive behavior. She really didn’t know where it was coming from. Normally, she didn’t act like this. Colt must just draw the bad girl out of her. She liked it, liked the power of it. Lost in thought, she looked up to see Mace standing in her doorway for the second time that day.
“I don’t know what kind of magic you worked on my brother, but keep it up.” He grinned. “I just might get a raise, yet.”
Elise feigned a puzzled expression. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Even though she was secretly pleased she could bring about such a swift change in Colt’s mood, she didn’t need or want to broadcast their relation…er, whatever it was, just yet.
Mace laughed. “Yeah, right.” He continued to stand there as if waiting for her to respond.
Elise stared him down, waiting for him to get bored and leave. With a shrug and a wide grin, Mace turned to walk away. He swiftly glanced back and said, “I like your hair down.” An innocent expression crossed his face as he continued, “Is that the way you wore it this morning?”
Elise involuntarily put her hand to her hair. She had forgotten about her clip Colt had removed in his office. Her cheeks grew hot as Mace walked away, a deep, knowing chuckle following in his wake.