Spurred On (The Quick and the Hot) (2 page)

He often rode his horses until they frothed. And Zoe Beth had once witnessed Joseph beating his dog.

She shuddered and opened the door to the house. Turning, she watched Hayden limp up the long shallow steps of the porch. A crease lived between his strong brows. Again her softer side surfaced—the side that didn’t think about Hayden taking the position she wanted. No, the position she deserved. Instead she just thought of his discomfort.

“Come along inside. I’ve got a good hand with first aid. I’ve patched up more than one cowboy.” She led the way through the main hall of the ranch house to the airy kitchen. A quick scan of the space revealed that their cook, Mattie, was probably taking her break between slinging food for twelve ranch hands, her father, and Zoe Beth. The scent of freshly baked biscuits filled the room though.

Zoe Beth gestured to a long bench at the scrubbed wood table. “Have a seat. I’ll get my first-aid kit.”

HAYDEN COUNTED FIVE heartbeats before he realized he’d been staring at Zoe Beth’s ass as she sidled out of the kitchen. Her faded jeans molded to every curvy inch of her hips, behind, and slender legs. Between her thighs, a V of light attracted his attention and drew his balls up tight.

The throb in his leg outweighed the one in his groin. He dropped to the bench.
What a hell of a morning.
His first day, and he’d come up lame within minutes of arrival. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to say hello to the boss yet.

“Damn.” He hitched his foot onto the bench and bent over his injury. Most of the bite was in the dead center of his calf, so he couldn’t see all of it at once.

Raising his head, he glared at the dog. Tripod’s three sets of nails clicked as he revolved around the space, first drinking floods of water from a big bowl, then circling ten times in a patch of sunlight in front of the sink before collapsing into a heap. He was snoring seconds later.

Something about seeing the dog with an insufficiency gave Hayden a warm feeling, even if the little fucker had bitten him. No wonder Valentine—or Val as he was called—had taken on a washed-up bull rider with a weak right shoulder.

Though Hayden had proved himself during their interview by roping and tying, and then by hoisting saddles and bales of hay, he secretly feared the older man would see through his facade and find him lacking.

He couldn’t afford to make more mistakes and sustain more injuries. If this dog bite took time away from his work the way his shoulder had knocked him out of competition forever…

A light step made him look up. Zoe Beth stood there. For a minute Hayden’s senses went haywire. Her freckled face and upturned nose should have looked childish, but on her heart-shaped face, they were perfect. Her sea-green eyes were wide and fringed with dark lashes. Her warm brown hair fell to her shoulders in easy waves.

Too easily he pictured her in his bed, hair tousled, plush pink lips parted on a moan.

Jesus, where did that come from?
Looking at the rancher’s daughter was a big no-no. Not only with Val, but
period
. If Hayden wanted a job—and he needed this one—he’d better keep his head down and his cock in his pants. He averted his eyes, but when she spoke, he jerked his gaze back to her.

“How’s the leg feeling?” Her tone was somewhere between soft and throaty. Fuck, this wasn’t going to be easy.

Her breasts swelled just under the thin cotton of her tiny Cole Ranch T-shirt, tormenting in their fullness. The compass insignia representing the family’s empire stretched between them, slightly skewing the circular shape of the emblem.

Hayden passed a hand over his face, hoping to clear his thoughts. “I haven’t been bitten by a dog since I was four.”

She laughed, again throaty in a way that would bring men to pleading just to hear it once more. She sank to her knees beside the bench.

His cock throbbed.

“What happened when you were four?” She prodded the denim hole around the wound.

“Stole the bone out from under the neighbor’s dog’s nose.” He held up his forearm where a faint scar was visible. “Never did that again.”

He caught a trace of a smile kissing her lips while she tried to figure out how to get at the bite.

Finally she said, “Look, I need to pull these jeans away so I can tend the bite. Animal saliva is full of bacteria, no matter what people tell you. I need to make sure we’ve cleaned it well.”

He rotated his leg left and right. The only way to get to the wound was to cut off the pant leg…or drop his drawers.

Not on your life. Not in this condition.
His cock shoved at his zipper at the mere thought of Zoe Beth’s close proximity. Once she put her hands on him—even to pour alcohol into an open wound—there’d be no covering his erection.

Awkwardness stretched between them. Zoe Beth met his gaze, and he cleared his throat with a grunt.

She glided to her feet, graceful as a dancer. Did she ride? He imagined her mounting a horse and straddling the big animal with those round little thighs.

He clamped down on his runaway thoughts.

“Why don’t you just go into the bathroom there”—she pointed to a room off the kitchen—“and strip your jeans off? Then I’ll be able to see the wound.”

“Miss—”

“Zoe Beth.” She started to smile, then sank her square white teeth into her lower lip.

Hayden’s need compounded like metal shards attracted to a powerful magnet. “I thank ya, but I can’t…”

“You’re not wearing underwear, are you?” she blurted.

A laugh burst from him before he could check it. “What? Of course I’m wearing underwear.”

A flush climbed her throat and face, deepening until a slight dew broke out on her hairline. “It’s just that sometimes cowboys don’t—because of the chafing when they ride.” She blushed more ferociously. “And I’m embarrassing the hell out of myself. I’ll shut up now.”

Amusement tingled in Hayden’s stomach. When was the last time he’d so enjoyed a conversation? For months—a year—he’d been in a piss-poor mood, aggressive, agitated, and angry at the state of his life.

One bull ride away from the title.

One bull ride that ended his career. He’d never regain full strength in his shoulder.

But here he was at a beautiful ranch with good, honest work ahead of him. He couldn’t fuck it up by messing with the boss’s daughter, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t listen to her either.

He tugged on his hat brim. “Thank you, miss. I’ll just slip into the bathroom then.”

As he passed her, the hairs stood up on his forearms. Damn, there was that magnetism again. Just getting into her field of gravity was causing his body to react.

He hurried into the bathroom. Toeing off his boots hurt like hell as it stretched his calf muscle, but he got them and his jeans off. Glancing down, he took in the sight of his tight red boxer briefs. His cock bulged, the outline apparent.

“Ain’t gonna be good.” Shaking his head, he tugged his shirt hem down farther in hope of covering his not so little problem.

The sound of the bathroom door opening cracked loudly in the still space. Tripod snuffled and turned his head in his sleep.

Zoe Beth faced away, fiddling in the first-aid kit. On the table she’d laid out gauze, antiseptic, and some clean kitchen towels. “Ready?” she asked without looking at him.

Maybe she had experience with cowboys’ erections while she tended their wounds. For some reason the idea made Hayden firm his lips.

“Yep.”

“Why don’t you lie on the bench facedown? It will grant me better access to the bite.”

Thank God. At least his arousal would be hidden. He doffed his hat and did as she said. When she loomed over him, he actually felt her gaze ticking over his body. The hair on his nape ruffled—on its own or with her breath?

He clenched his fists, balancing his broad body on the narrow bench.

“Wow.”

He twisted his head to the side to see her. “Is it bad?”

“Oh. Once we clean the blood away, I’ll be able to tell.”

The cotton towel against his skin suddenly felt unbearably erotic. No amount of silky lingerie could be as good as that terry under Zoe Beth’s hand. Hayden ground his teeth.

“This will be a little cold.” She applied the antiseptic wash directly to the wound.

A growl caught in his throat as the wash hit his jagged flesh. The sting seemed to sink deep then deeper until it felt as if his whole leg was on fire.

“Ohh, I’m so sorry. I know it stings like a mother,” she cooed. A second later he felt a slight breeze pass over his skin. Looking back he found her waving a clean towel to cool the sting.

He relaxed a fraction. Putting his head down on his forearm, he tried to think of anything but her fresh young body so close to him. He’d had Buckle Bunnies galore, but in the past year he’d been celibate.

Yeah, that’s it. I need to head into town and find me a girl to take a tumble with.

The sting eased completely, and Zoe Beth started prodding the outer edge of the wound. “It looks a little deeper here.” She skimmed the ripped skin, and he hissed. “I don’t think you need stitches, which is good because I’d hate to drag your sorry ass to the ER so early in your career here on the Cole Ranch.”

He swallowed hard.
Me too.
Damn, this would look bad to the boss. Even worse if the man walked in on Hayden in his underwear in his kitchen with his daughter.

A long pause, then Zoe Beth said, “I’m going to butterfly the wound together. I’ll wrap it with gauze, and that should last the day. I’ll see to it again tonight.”

“No need. If it’s not bad, it will heal on its own.” He levered his upper body off the bench, and she pressed on his spine with a firm hand. Sparks raced along his nerves from her touch.

“You’ll listen to me. Keeping this clean and dry is imperative.” She smeared something gooey on his leg, and there was the sound of tape tearing.

A giggle escaped her, and Hayden’s balls clenched once more. His cock throbbed wildly. Twisting around, he glanced at her. She met his gaze, her sea-green eyes filled with mirth.

Irritation dampened his need a little. But not enough. “What’s funny?”

“The tape is going to be hell to get out of your leg hair.” She didn’t seem bothered in the least. In fact it sounded as though the idea of ripping off that tape and removing half of his leg hair would be entertaining.

He burrowed his face against his arm again.
Damn woman.
“Just get it done.”

In seconds she had applied the tape and was rolling a length of gauze around his calf. She fixed it into place.

He looked back at her. She stood staring at his leg. Or was she staring at his ass?

Jesus.
He had to get out of here. In a swift motion, he sat up. She stepped back and busied herself with putting away the supplies. He practically ran to the bathroom. There, he hurried into his jeans and boots, pissed off he couldn’t stomp his foot into his cowboy boot the way he always did.

Pissed off because I can’t take care of this damn hard-on.
His cock was a hard ridge in his jeans.

When he entered the kitchen again, Zoe Beth’s face was flushed. She held out a glass of water. He raised a brow, and she revealed two small pills on her left palm.

“Take these painkillers. They’ll help you through a few hours of work. When the leg starts throbbing, come back for more.”

He accepted the tablets and glass from her. Knocking back the pain relievers with the crisp, cold water soothed his hot body a bit. But when she shifted to the counter where the first-aid kit rested, his attention was drawn once more to the V of her legs.

Dammit, she was the whole package—adorable, smart, full tits, trim hips, and a killer smile. Too bad she was off-limits. But he also hated the way she made his heart tumble. That feeling was all too familiar—the lack of control. The minute he’d been carried out of the arena on a stretcher, he’d battled that sensation.

“Take it easy today, cowboy. The pills will help the pain, but they won’t keep the rabies bacteria from spreading through your veins.”

And apparently she had a sick sense of humor when it came to him. It was obvious from her light tone she wasn’t serious.

Or was she?

He didn’t know her well enough to guess. Well, he was going to take her words with a grain of salt—and some tequila and lime later.

He jammed his hat back onto his head and tipped it though she faced away from him. “Thank ya, miss. I’ll be scoping out the property, if your father is looking for me.”

Without pivoting in his direction, she said in the same throaty voice that made his cock batter his zipper, “I’ll be sure to let him know our celebrity foreman has arrived.”

Something in her tone spoke of the fact that he didn’t have an ally in her, let alone friend. No matter, since he’d had to quit the Tour and leave his friends behind, Hayden had been a loner. He wasn’t at the Cole Ranch to make friends.

Don’t need ’em anyway.

Chapter Two

Zoe Beth cranked on the hose and sprayed her boot heels, which were caked with muck. After a long day cleaning the barn, she wanted nothing more than a soak in a hot bath and something clean to wear.

“Hey, Freckles, what’s for dinner?”

She spun. A few of the ranch hands had started calling her “Freckles.” Annoying because they obviously weren’t taking her seriously, yet the nickname had given her a warm feeling—a feeling of camaraderie. The brothers she’d never had and all that.

She smiled at Mark, the hand who had been trying to charm her since day one. He’d turned up on their doorstep like a lost puppy, and as she’d always had a soft spot for strays she’d asked her daddy to take him on. Since then the man had followed her around the ranch, insisting upon lifting and carrying for her when she was perfectly capable.

“Not sure what Mattie’s cooking, but I smelled biscuits earlier.”

He groaned and held his stomach, which was a six-pack of defined man beneath his dusty Cole Ranch T-shirt. He was tall and lean with warm brown hair curling under his hat. Good-looking. However, he didn’t stir Zoe Beth’s ardor even if she were willing to strike up a relationship with a worker.