Hearts Are Wild (25 page)

Chapter Seven

Lily would have liked a
real
tour of the property but, as things stood now, Shain was in no mood to play tour guide. He was quiet as stone the entire way back to the ranch, and Lily resigned herself to the fact that, despite his current rosy disposition, Shain had helped her discover something truly surprising about herself: she liked sex. No, ‘like’ was too weak a word. She
loved
sex.

Her gaze strayed to Shain’s strong arms on either side of her. More accurately, she loved sex with
Shain
. She frowned, trying to pull her thoughts away from such fantastical notions, like Shain feeling the same way about her. Wanting not just her body, but her smile, her laughter, her company.

Crap.
Lily closed her eyes and breathed out through her nose. The sun was still high in the sky by the time they made it back to the paddock. Darrell opened the gate and they rode inside. Shain handed Lily down, before sliding off himself and giving the reins to one of the hands Lily had yet to meet.

“Ma’am,” the red-headed cowboy said with a nod.

Lily tried to straighten her legs once she was on solid ground, wincing at the myriad of subtle aches between her thighs. “Hello,” Lily responded, wondering if the young man could tell from her face alone what she’d been up to. Her cheeks colored, and she turned away, searching for Shain.

He was already through the gate and heading for the front door of the house.

Well,
Lily thought with a scowl.
Goodbye to you too
.

She turned back to the redhead who was unfastening the saddle. “I’m Lily and you are…?”

Without looking at her, the cowboy said: “Peter, ma’am. Peter Owens.”

Lily forced a smile. “Nice to meet you, Peter.” Shain Stevenson be damned.

“Well, Peter. How about you show me how to remove the, er, tack, and how to rub this beast down?”

Peter stopped what he was doing and raised a coppery eyebrow. After a blink or two, he nodded. “All right. First thing you do is…”

* * * * *

Day one, and Lily had de-saddled her first horse, mucked his stall and portioned out feed to over twenty horses before helping rake and shovel the fouled bedding into a compost pile at the back of the barn. All this after a mind-blowing morning of sex-in-the-grass with the most gorgeous, work-toughened man she’d ever met.

Lily groaned silently, wiped a hand over her sleep-deprived face and forced herself out of bed. What had she been thinking yesterday? She hadn’t been. She’d been feeling instead. Feeling all sorts of mixed up, fantastic, frightening emotions and sensations.

Her fingers gripped the oak frame, wood biting into the flesh beneath her nails. Shain. It still seemed so unreal.

Berating herself, Lily stood and stretched, grimacing at the myriad of aches and pains that assaulted her. She stared at her reddened palms. Darrell had handed her a pair of gloves halfway through the day, for which Lily was eternally grateful. The guys had told her more than once that she could knock off, take a rest, but Lily had refused.

She couldn’t tell them that the work did wonders at keeping her mind off Shain, who’d stormed out of the house and driven off at top speed. And who was absent the entire day.

After spending a pleasant evening with Shain’s sister, Lily had found she enjoyed the young woman’s company and the atmosphere of the Red Bear immensely. As well as learning about her dangerous cowboy. Nhya talked about her brother with deep affection and respect. She told Lily about his fame as a circuit rodeo wrangler and all the many trophies and titles he’d earned, which explained the scars. Stories of him as a precocious, yet hardworking and focused child. Lily was beginning to think that maybe a week at the ranch wouldn’t be so bad,
if
Shain didn’t haunt her at every turn.
If
she could stop looking over her shoulder expecting—wanting to catch a glimpse of his smoky eyes and broad shoulders.

Unable to stop herself, Lily went to the window and yanked the curtains aside. She drew in a sharp breath. Shain’s truck was parked in the drive. He must have come back sometime last night, or this morning. A thread of longing curled in her belly as she gripped the windowsill.

Calm down, girl…he might not even speak to you.

Dressing in a flash, Lily tripped down the stairs, trying to
not
look as if she was going to a five alarm fire. Hushed voices drifted out from the kitchen and Lily slowed, trying to settle her scattered thoughts.

“I don’t trust her, Nhya.”

A sigh. “Shain, you haven’t given her a chance. I’m telling you, she’s for real. I can sense it and—”

“Damn it, Nhya, we can’t afford to rely on ‘feelings’ when it comes to the ranch. You need to let me take care of things…”

Lily pressed her back against the hallway and bit her lower lip. As quietly as possible, she sidled down the hall and made a beeline for the library. A quiet place to think. To escape. The muted light and dark wood welcomed her and she slipped into an overstuffed leather chaise at the back of the room.

He didn’t trust her. Could she blame him? There was obviously something serious going on with the ranch both financially and personally with the looters. It
would
seem pretty coincidental to have a museum curator show up in the middle of all of that. Even so, Shain’s words cut at her heart and left Lily empty, hollow.

“I need to leave.” Lily said the words aloud, needing to hear something concrete to aid her conviction.

She was up the stairs nearly as quickly as she’d gone down. Lily grabbed her suitcase and began stuffing it with what few items of clothing and personal products she had. She looked down at the form-fitting jeans and worn, comfortable boots and shrugged. She’d have to mail the clothes back to Nhya once she got home.

You’ll lose the bet.

Her cousins’ voices chimed in tandem in her mind. Lily closed her eyes. Yeah, so what. She’d lose the bet. There were other, more pressing things she’d be losing. A friendship with Nhya. The experience and nearly magical atmosphere of the ranch. And Shain.

Lily roughly pushed hair out of her face. “He doesn’t want you, Lily. Don’t be a jerk.”

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She spun, suitcase in hand. Shain filled the doorway, his darkly handsome face thunderous. Lily’s heart fell into her toes. Gripping the handle, she straightened and put on her best scowl. “I’m leaving.”

Shain took a step forward, his bulk blocking the doorway. “Like hell you are.” His hand shot out and gripped her suitcase. Shain yanked, Lily held on, which brought her stumbling forward within an inch of Shain’s chest. Muscles rippled beneath the tight t-shirt. He obviously wasn’t dressed for the day yet. Lily looked up. His hair, still damp from the shower, curled darkly against his neck. Lily could barely draw breath, her entire body electrified.

Forcing her gaze to meet his, Lily dug for courage. “I—I need to go.”

Shain’s brows rose. “One day of honest work and you’re ready to throw in the towel, is that it?”

Lily’s eyes narrowed. “What?” She released the suitcase and knotted her hands on her hips. “Absolutely not. I did fine yesterday, and if you’d been around, you would have noticed.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Lily regretted them. Damn it. Why should she care if Shain was there to watch her work?

“That so?” With a flick of his wrist, Shain tossed the suitcase to the side. It landed on the bed with a plop. “Well, I’ll be here today. Why don’t you show me?”

Trapped. Lily bit her lower lip, her mind racing. Damn, damn, damn. She had to admit she hadn’t wanted to leave anyway but the thought of working all day alongside Shain left her weak, breathless. Among other things…

But how could she refuse?

Lily took a deep breath and looked up. “Fine. But the first time you do something inappropriate, I’m gone. Got it?”

Shain’s face fractured into that wicked grin. “You mean something like this?” Before Lily could react, Shain’s hands were on her shoulders, pulling her in and up. His lips captured her in a bruising kiss and Lily’s entire body shuddered with longing. She eased her lips further apart to take him in, a groan building in her throat, wetness dampening her panties.

Suddenly Lily found herself back on her feet, lips cool and swollen, her head spinning. Shain stepped outside the doorway, a confident, wry smile on his luscious lips. “Be downstairs and ready to work in fifteen minutes. If you’re up to it.”

For some absurd reason, Lily did as Shain demanded. Her heart thudded triple time as she made her way outside to the barn. Darrell was waiting for her, a strained expression on his face.

“Good morning, Darrell.”

“Ma’am,” Darrell replied, tipping his hat.

Lily studied the hardened cowboy, noting he looked as if he were about to deliver the worst news of the year. “What is it, Darrell?”

He cleared his throat. “Well, um, it seems as though we have a pretty full schedule this morning.”

Lily’s eyes narrowed. Shain. She scanned the barn and yard. “I imagine we do.” Her gaze refocused on Darrell. “But I’m up to it.” Lily slipped on her gloves. “Let’s get started.”

Eight hours later, Lily had helped mend two paddock fences, turn four huge, steaming piles of crap into the compost pile and curried every horse in the stable. Leaning against the water barrel near the pump, Lily groaned, her entire body screaming with fatigue.

And she’d done it all without catching as much as a glimpse of Shain. Her tormentor. Her nemesis. Damn him. Lily smacked her palm onto the dampened wood. Shain hadn’t even been interested enough to hang around and see if she
could
manage the workload.

So why did you stay?

Lily squelched her little voice and stripped off her gloves. “Because I’m an idiot. A romantic, out-of-my-head fool.”

Watching from the loft, Shain ground his teeth. Damn but the woman looked great, even after a back breaking day of hard labor. Even with her hair tangled around her flushed cheeks and stubborn chin. Shain’s gaze cut to the front of her blouse that gaped from where she’d unfastened two buttons to cool off. His cock jumped at the mere thought of shoving his hand inside that small opening and cupping her pert breasts. Cursing under his breath, Shain sat back on his heels and closed his eyes. Eyes that had trailed her for an entire day…from afar. Shain knew when he’d stood in front of her in the house that morning, her lips red from his kiss, her green eyes flashing, that he’d never be able to work with her all day without throwing her over his shoulder and taking her into the nearest dark corner.

Without licking every inch of her delicious body. Twice.

Stifling a groan, Shain sidled to the open loft door, scanned the yard, then slipped down the rope to the hard-pack below. He had to get away from the woman. From her rich, wildflower scent. From the deep longing that rattled him like a May tornado every time he saw her.

“You’re a horny dumb ass, Shain,” he mumbled to himself.

But he knew it was more than that. The whispered voices that were always present in his days growing up on the ranch had been pestering him since he’d stepped off the plane and onto home soil. Since Miss Whitman’s arrival, they’d been practically screaming.

Pay attention! She’s special.

“Shut up,” Shain muttered as he walked around to the back of the house where he’d parked Nhya’s truck. “Back to plan A.”

Once inside, Shain took a deep breath and wiped a hand over his tired eyes. He’d spent all of last night riding range and keeping an eye on the house. Damned if he’d let the looters anywhere near his sister or Lily. He’d only been able to catnap in the loft, his thoughts and dreams tangled around a leggy, gorgeous blonde. Shain started the Toyota and pulled around to the front of the drive. Darrell stood just outside the barn. Their eyes met and he tipped his head. Shain returned the nod, then drove out. Only Darrell knew what Shain had been doing.

Shain couldn’t imagine why the looters were still digging up random areas on the ranch. His jaw clenched and his hand tightened on the wheel. He’d gone into town yesterday and reported the trespass…again, getting nothing but a sigh and head shake from their seventy-something sheriff. Again, the sheriff said he didn’t have the manpower to set up a sting operation out at the Red Bear. There were over six thousand acres. And there was no telling where they’d show up. Did Shain want him to call in the feds?

Hell no
, had been Shain’s heated response. He’d damn well take care of things himself. He’d stormed out, calling Darrell on his cell to tell him what he intended to do. And could he bring Windigo out to the culler’s shack on Cragen Butte?

Darrell did what Shain asked but his foreman was none too happy with Shain insisting he search for the looters on his own. Shain made it quite clear that Darrell’s job was to watch over the ranch and the women inside it. After much grumbling, Darrell had agreed and left Shain in the north pasture with his horse, a Winchester, food and water enough for four days and nights and curt instructions to not get himself killed.

But Shain couldn’t resist coming back this morning. His rationale was that he needed to talk to Nhya, let her know what was going on. Truth was, he wanted…no, needed to see Lily. Touch her. Smell her. Find out if the intense feelings he had for her were a fluke.

They weren’t. Seeing her that morning in her—
his
—room, getting ready to leave, had left him feeling as if someone had punched him in the gut, then jabbed him in the heart. The thought of her simply disappearing from his life before he had a chance to figure things out made him want to throw her suitcase out the window and toss
her
onto the bed.

But he couldn’t. He needed time. Time to figure things out. Think. Plan. Investigate who Lily Whitman really was and what she meant to him and the ranch.

Which is what he was going to do. Shain pulled out his cell and punched in Lance’s number.

Now.