Naked Hunger: Naked Cowboys, Book 8 (7 page)

Sable frowned. “What do you mean, only if it’s real? What else would it be?”

“Real means being seen in public with you, not hiding away whatever this
friendship
is we’ve got. I brought this up before. I might want to have lunch with you in town. Take you to dinner.” He locked his gaze with hers. “You know, like
friends
do.”

“I heard what you said,” she told him slowly. “It’s just…”

“We hardly know each other,” he finished for her. “I heard what you said. Let me be more specific. I expect to change that, and I’m not going to hide us away like some dirty little secret. That’s not my style. I’ll repeat it as many times as I have to so you’re good with it.”

Sable bit her lower lip. “I didn’t mean—”

He shook his head. “I know we just met and we hardly know anything about each other except—” he grinned, “—the sex is stupendous. So I’m willing to take it slow because I know there can be something more there. You know it too. I’m not a horny kid anymore, so I’m willing to work toward it. But we’re going to build here. Make no mistake about it. That work for you?”

Did it? What if someone else asked her out? Would she go? Was she making this too complicated? Right at the moment, she had no desire to spend whatever free time she had with anyone but Ryan, but she hadn’t even been here a full week.

Damn, Sable. A handsome, sexy man wants to take you out and have sex with you and you have to think about it? Get real.

“I’ve lived in small towns before,” she pointed out. “Everything seems to be fair game.”

“True. But everyone with animals, large or small, is tickled to have you here, so if there is gossip it won’t amount to much.”

“I hope.” She let out a long sigh. “Okay. Yes. Friends with benefits. If that works for you, it works for me.”

“Think we could get to a few more of those benefits right now?” He nipped her lower lip.

Astonishingly, her body, which she’d thought was totally wiped out, began to stir and come to life.

“We can certainly try.”

Chapter Four

Sable stroked the soft fur on the head of the blue heeler and helped him off the exam table.

“He’s just fine,” she told Amy Montgomery. “A great dog. He’ll be around a long time to chase cattle.”

Amy clipped the leash in place and wound the end of it around her hand. “I’m sure I don’t know what Buck would do without him. He goes on every cattle drive and helps when it’s time to herd the calves for branding.”

The dog sat patiently at Amy’s feet, erect and alert. He looked from one woman to the other, as if to say,
“Well, of course I’m perfect.”

“I’m thinking of getting one myself,” Sable said as she walked her friend to the reception area. “I can keep him—or her—in one of the runs when I’m here. Or in my office when he or she gets older.”

“I think that’s a great idea. I’m surprised you didn’t already have one.”

Sable shrugged. “Long story for another time. But I think either a blue heeler or an Australian shepherd would be perfect.” She handed the clipboard with her exam notes to Deedee to enter in the records and generate the bill.

“Have you been to the kennel out on Westover Road? Cameron Myers usually has a litter of Australian shepherds twice a year.”

Sable nodded. “Cam called me the first week I took over the practice to come look at his pregnant bitch. Nice kennel, by the way. He’s very conscientious. I was happy to see it.”

Amy nodded. “He opened it when he moved back here from Houston.”

“He lived in the city? This must be quite a change for him.”

“He needed it. He was with a high-profile accounting firm and had a bad stress attack. His doctor told him to get out of the rat race if he wanted to live.”

“So now he raises dogs?”

“Among other things. He also now has a one-man accounting business. He says he’s not as rich as he might be if he’d stayed in Houston, but at least he knows he’ll live longer.” She studied Sable. “He and Ryan Donovan are good friends.”

Sable busied herself with papers on the reception counter. “And that concerns me because?”

“No reason.” Amy shrugged. “But you’ve been hanging out a lot with Ryan, so I thought you might be interested in who his friends are.”

She’d been expecting this, even been prepared for it. In the past three weeks, she and Ryan had been out to dinner a couple of times. He’d even come by the clinic twice and picked her up for lunch.

“One of the
benefits
of being friends,” he’d stressed with a wink.

She’d laughed at that. Since he’d agreed to the whole sex-with-no-strings situation, she’d been very relaxed with him. And the sex was beyond anything her imagination could begin to create. He was experienced, inventive and enthusiastic. People could look at them all they wanted, even plot about them. As long as Ryan knew the score, that was all she cared about.

She gave Amy a direct look, the best way to deal with this.

“Ryan and I are
friends
.” She stressed the word. “Just good friends. This is very casual.”

“Very good friends,” Amy teased, “from what I see.”

Sable stared at her. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, honey. You’ve been seen a time or two with him. All anyone had to do was see the two of you the other day at the Bit and Bite to know something was going on. You practically scorched the air around you. You can lie to yourself if you want, but what’s going on between the two of you is anything but casual.”

Well, holy hell.

“Amy, you have an overactive imagination. He’s a good-looking guy, got some seasoning under his belt and he’s interesting to be around. Why shouldn’t we enjoy each other? It’s not as if it’s anything serious. That’s all I’m interested now.”

Maybe I should have that engraved on my forehead.

“Sable, really.” Amy swatted her arm. “Everyone in town loves you. I don’t think you could get more settled if you tried.”

“You say that now, but we haven’t had a real crisis yet. Not that I’m looking for one,” she added quickly. “I’m just saying that’s when people, especially ranchers, decide whether you cut it or not. And that goes for Ryan too, no matter how friendly we are. The animals come first. The kind of hours I keep aren’t easy for someone to take.”

Amy gave her a look of curiosity. “I’m guessing that’s happened to you before?”

Sable shrugged. “It happens to everyone. I’ve seen it before.”

“That doesn’t mean it would be a disaster for you.”

“Maybe I’m just not willing to chance it. At least not when I’m still finding my footing here.”

Amy laughed. “Don’t think I’m giving up on this. We are all relentless, as I think you are discovering.”

Sable grinned. That was certainly true. “I’ll remember that.”

She considered herself lucky that Amy and Reenie and their circle of friends had embraced her, welcomed her into their midst, but they were unremitting seekers of information. Nothing seemed to be sacred. And yet there was a feeling of connection, of trust, of belonging that was very rare and precious. She’d never had time to be a part of anything like this before. She got the sense that they asked questions only because they cared for each other and wanted to help. But if for some reason this practice blew up in her face, would they still be there for her?

Worry about it later, Sable.

“So tonight is ladies’ night out,” Amy went on.

Sable knew the women alternated between the Lone Star Saloon and Mike’s. The latter was owned by Liam Douglas and his father, Mike. When Liam had come home after his last tour in Afganistan, beaten up by the war, the bar had given him a place to get his head together.

“We’re going to Mike’s because Liam is working and we like to go there and harass him.” She grinned. “His wife is worse than all the rest of us.”

“I only saw them together that once, but they seem very much into each other.”

Amy sobered. “Yes, they are. She was a Dallas cop, he was a former Army Ranger, and they were both burned out. Saddle Wells has been good for both of them. So are you up for it? For tonight?”

Was she? She had planned to stay home and do some things on her new house that she’d fallen in love with the minute she’d seen. But of course, there was that all-work-and-no-play thing.

“Sure. What time?”

“Seven? Mike’s has fabulous hamburgers.”

“Sounds good.”

“Want me to pick you up?”

Sable shook her head. “I like to have my truck with me all the time. Just in case.”

Amy shook her head. “I swear, you’re as bad as an obstetrician.”

“In a lot of ways I am,” she reminded her friend. “My first official visit to the Gold Buckle was a difficult delivery. And I’ve checked on three other simple ones since then.” She shook her head. “You’ve got a lot of horny cattle around here. I’ll say that for Rowan County.”

“Don’t forget we’ve got some ready to drop at our place. Buck said you’d be out tomorrow to check on them, right?”

“Absolutely.” Sable looked at her watch. “And speaking of checking on cattle, I have to check on Dan Fusco’s steer that got himself caught in the barbed wire. Make sure infection doesn’t set in.”

“Okay. Spike and I are out of here. See you tonight. Don’t be late,” Amy called over her shoulder.

“As long as I don’t have any emergencies, I’ll be there.”

She stood in the waiting room, watching Amy head out to her SUV. She was amazed at how easily she had settled into her situation here. The house Ryan had told her about had turned out to be both perfect for her needs and affordable. Her practice was thriving, she had made friends and she even got to ride her horse a few times a week. In the beginning, until she knew the lay of the land, Ryan had ridden with her, and those hours had been among her most enjoyable.

Her mind turned to the evening ahead. Would Ryan be there? Did he hang out at Mike’s too? They’d had lunch together once and dinner out twice since that first night. And three nights of stupendous, mind-blowing sex. She’d told him jokingly it was her way of thanking him for finding the perfect house for her, but who the hell was she kidding? She was becoming addicted to him, and that definitely wasn’t in her career plan.

Swallowing a sigh, she headed back to her office to get ready for her next appointment. For the moment, she needed to put tonight firmly out of her mind.

* * * * *

Ryan carried his mug of coffee out to the back porch and stood there staring out over the scene before him. The sight never failed to give him a little thrill. In front of him, three of the horses not currently being ridden were having playtime in the corral, reveling in the sunshine and the cool breeze. To one side of it stretched the two long buildings that housed his pedigree bulls and the rest of his horses. Right now, the young bulls were in the near pasture enjoying their freedom, while the cows he bred milled lazily in the far pasture. The land was his as far as he could see. All his.

Ryan never for a minute lost sight of his good fortune. Sure, he’d worked his ass off and collected a bunch of bumps and bruises along the way to winning enough money for his dream. But now he was here, where he’d always wanted to be. With pedigreed stock bred to buck and cowboys who knew how to train them. His stock was now in great demand at many rodeos, and he was working his way up to the really big ones.

Life was certainly very good.

And then there was Sable. Hot, sexy, tempting, passionate, smart, funny Sable Hunter. God. Every minute he spent with her was an enriching experience in his life. God knows, he’d known more than his share of women on the rodeo circuit. When he was younger, fresh meat and horny as hell, he’d definitely had his share of buckle bunnies. In the beginning, they’d been tasty treats to a guy out in the heat and excitement of the rodeo. But after a while, it had gotten old, a reality that kicked him right in the ass. Who knew he’d ever get tired of an endless supply of faceless women offering inventive sex? Or that he’d yearn for someone to just have a good conversation with? Someone who didn’t see him as a trophy and didn’t want to haul him off to a justice of the peace. Jesus. It seemed all they’d wanted was to latch on to his growing fame and his bank account. By the time he’d been ready to retire, he’d about decided all the women with brains were either taken or too smart to hook up with a rodeo cowboy.

Although he’d been raised in Montana, he’d fallen in love with Texas—especially San Antonio—the first time he’d competed in the city’s stock show and rodeo. He’d driven out to Saddle Wells one day with a friend who had business there and had the instant feeling he’d come home. Looking for land here for his ranch had been a no-brainer.

There were certainly plenty of women for a town as small as Saddle Wells, but no one had really piqued his interest. Until Sable. She’d hit him with the force of a tornado. Unlike a lot of men, he had few misgivings about her ability to handle his animals. She might be only five foot five, but she used every inch to its maximum, just as he’d seen other female vets do on the circuit. He admired the hell out of her whenever he watched her with his stock. She had quick, sure hands, excellent diagnostic skills and something else. Something he’d only seen with a few veterinarians on the circuit. Pete Lynch had it and so did Sable. It was an unconscious instinct, an ability to connect with animals that made her invaluable.

So now here he was, with a woman who understood his business, rocked his boat in bed and could make him relax and enjoy life. For the first time, he’d found someone he could really see a future with, and she just wanted to be friends. Have friendly sex. If it didn’t frustrate him so much, he’d be laughing his ass off. He was finally ready to settle down and the woman he wanted to do it with wanted to be
just friends
. Fate certainly played tricks when you weren’t looking.

“That coffee must be ice-cold by now, boss.”

“Huh?” Ryan blinked, startled by the voice of one of his hands. “Oh, sorry, Sonny.” He gestured with the hand holding the mug. “Just taking this all in and telling myself again how lucky I am.”

“We all are,” his foreman agreed. “You made this a great place to work.”

“Joint effort,” he told the man. He took a sip of the coffee that had indeed grown cold. “Got that stall and pen ready for the new arrival?”

“All set.” Sonny grinned. “I can hardly wait to see this big bastard. He must be really something for you to bring him on, what with Brutus being king of the hill and all.”

Ryan smiled. If he’d learned anything riding the bulls on the rodeo circuit it was that a stud bull made the difference between average bucking bulls and those that rodeos sought after highly. When he’d first started the Gold Buckle, he’d invested a lot in Brutus, knowing that a good bull matched with the proper cow would sire a winner. Many winners. High-performance bulls were worth their weight in gold, and that was a damn lot of weight. Four years after he’d started, he had done well enough to increase his options. Now he’d forked over a bundle for a bull that would do just that.

Three days from now, his latest acquisition, Red Danger, would arrive and be housed in special quarters in the barn. Ryan had used up a lot of his ready cash for the bull, but with the contracts he had for the coming season and the bulls Red Danger would sire, he’d be in excellent financial shape when it all settled down.

Excitement sizzled through him as he thought about it.

Almost as exciting as getting naked with Sable Hunter.

He gave himself a mental shake, remembering that Sonny was talking to him.

“Let’s check that stall and the pen attached to it one last time, okay? I can’t afford for this guy to get loose.”

“Okay. Want me to get Manny too? I thought he could help me with the new guy.”

“No.” He shook his head. “Manny’s just a little too young and a little too eager to show what he can do with Brutus.”

“He’s really been working hard at this, boss,” Sonny pointed out. “He knows how to move the bull from his stall to the pen and back without letting him loose. He’s all hyped up.”

“And that’s part of the problem,” Ryan told him. “I need settled hands with this critter. This new bull isn’t called Red Danger for nothing. Manny hasn’t yet learned patience and attention to detail. And safety—both his and the bull’s.”