Her Bucking Bronc (5 page)

“My pastries?” She walked toward him and held out the basket. “I saved one for you, Broadway.”

He needed to walk away. He needed to do exactly what he just ordered his men to do—get to work. Yet he found himself reaching for the bear claw. The smell of sugar and cinnamon tickled his nose right before he took an enormous bite.

Pure heaven.

Holy shit but the woman could cook. The lunch he’d had yesterday was delicious. This pastry surpassed any pastry ever consumed in his life. He understood why the coffee shop was looking for a substitute, but he could have told Amber she was wasting her time.

Much to his dismay, there was no substitute for Hannah Blackwood. She picked up a bear claw for herself and delicately bit into it. Idiot that he was, he watched her chew, eager to lick the sugar crystals off her plump lips.

Hell and damnation.

“I’ve got to work.” He turned on his heel and fumbled in his pocket for the keys to the construction trailer. Dylan told himself to ignore the woman and the way she cooed at the cat. She wasn’t his. She wouldn’t be his.

He needed to keep his hands and his mind off her.

After a few moments of fumbling, he managed to yank the door open and stepped inside. The shady interior was cool and quiet. He flipped on the lights and sat down at the desk. Today the concrete trucks arrived to pour the footings. He needed to make sure they were a hundred percent ready.

Ten minutes later, he’d reestablished most of his control. Then the door opened and she stepped in. Followed by the fucking cat.

He didn’t glance up from the desk. “I’m busy.”

“You’re still licking the sugar from your fingers. You can’t be that busy.” She sat on the edge of his desk, the curve of her hip within a foot of his hands.

Damn it.

“Is there something you want? I’m trying to get a restaurant built.”

A minute of excruciating silence followed. He made notations on the ledger in front of him, noting he’d need to go back later and actually enter real numbers. Her scent filled the small trailer, the one of cookies, lemon and something fruity. He tried not to breathe through his nose.

When had he turned into such an idiot?

“Look, Hannah, we need to get past this.” He finally looked at her.

She raised both brows and cocked her head. “Past what?” He got to his feet and she reared back. “Damn you’re big.”

“There’s something here.” He waved his hand back and forth between them. “But it can’t ever be anything, so we need to get past it. This build has to be our priority.”

“I couldn’t agree more. Besides, there’s nothing here.” She flipped both hands in the air. “You’re imagining things.”

That pissed him off. “You can lie to yourself, but don’t lie to me.” He stood closer, inches from her, until he breathed in as she breathed out. “There
is
something, but it can’t be anything.”

Her pulse fluttered like a hummingbird beneath the delicate skin of her neck. Oh, she was lying through her teeth. “There’s nothing.” Her words were almost a whisper.

Dylan told himself to move, to walk away, to resist the urge to kiss her. Then she let out a little breath that gusted on his cheek.

He didn’t remember kissing her, but suddenly his lips were on hers. They were as plump and soft as he imagined. He dove into the warmth of her mouth and lost himself in the sensation. Every small hair on his body stood on end and his dick hardened to blue steel in moments.

Her scent invaded him, enveloped him, as though nothing existed but Hannah. He wrapped his arms around her. It was like heaven that smelled like cookies and was softer than anything he had ever felt before. He swept into her mouth and their tongues tangled. A sweet, rough dance that he mimicked with his hips, pressing into her softness. In another minute, he’d reach for that spectacular ass—

Meoooooowww!

The cat picked that moment to screech as though he was an opera singer. It jumped on his leg, sinking its claws into his flesh. He let go of Hannah, who stumbled backwards, while he slammed into the desk behind him. His hip screamed in pain while his leg was shredded by the crazy feline.

“What the fucking hell?” He picked up the cat by the scruff of its neck. It meowed again and then hissed at him.

Hannah regained her balance, although her breath was coming out in frantic puffs. Her cheeks were pink and her lips as red as a raspberry. God, she was gorgeous.

“Probably thought you were attacking me.” Her voice had deepened to a thicker drawl. Damn, she was sex personified. What the hell had he been thinking kissing her? How was he supposed to look her in the eye now?

“I think I was.” He opened the door and let the cat down. It put what was left of its tail in the air and disappeared beneath the trailer. “Damn cat.”

“I came to talk to you about the basement.” Hannah’s change of subject made his head spin.

“The what?”

“The basement. I noticed the plans had been changed to eliminate it and it looks like it’s only a crawl space.” She straightened her shirt, thrusting out her magnificent breasts. Jesus please us. He told his dick to look the other way.

“There shouldn’t have been a basement to begin with. The water table is too high. Didn’t you have problems with water coming in?” He stepped outside, needing space away from Hannah.

“Well, yes, but I need that basement for all the canned goods and storage. You can’t take away the space.” Her voice had risen as she followed him out of the trailer and onto the jobsite.

Dylan was pleased to see the work progressing and the men focusing on what needed doing. The woman could tempt a saint into sinning.

“It ain’t happening. Besides the fact you’d have a damp, uninhabitable space, the building department nixed it straight off.” He picked up his pace to leave her behind. Damn sure he wasn’t running away. Nope, no way.

“You can’t escape from me, Broadway.” She ran up beside him. “I want my basement.”

Dylan ground to a halt. “You’re not getting it.”

She stuck out her chin. “Don’t make me fire you.”

He puffed out a frustrated breath. “We extended out the back of the restaurant ten feet to expand the pantry. You don’t need a basement.”

“Wait, a larger pantry?” She frowned. “I’d prefer a basement.”

Dylan pointed to the trailer. “The updated blueprints are in there. Why don’t you take a look at them so you know what you’re talking about instead of making demands?”

“You don’t need to be an asshole.” She frowned so hard, her eyebrows almost touched.

“You’re right, I don’t. You’re making me crazy, Harry. Just fucking crazy.” He turned on his heel and fled. There wasn’t any other word to use. Dylan disappeared into the bustle of the job, leaving the distraction, and a pair of cornflower blue eyes, behind.

Hannah was restless. And horny. And she felt awful about it. She’d kissed Dylan and damn, she’d liked it. A lot. Enough to make her antsy for more.

That triggered her guilt. A ridiculous thing to suffer from two years after her fiancé died, but there it was. The human heart was a nonsensical organ. She didn’t want to feel again, but she wasn’t going to get her wish.

She had to find herself in the morass of her emotions or else she might be lost for good. Dylan coming to town was annoying and at the same time, exciting. He was doing a great job on the rebuild, not that she’d tell him that, and she could see the vision of the restaurant in his eyes.

Hannah wasn’t used to relying on anyone but her family. Now she had this man, a big, sexy, manly man who kissed like a dream but was nothing like Phillip. They couldn’t be more opposite.

She had to stop thinking about Phillip being anything. He was gone and wouldn’t be back. He was her past and she hadn’t yet taken a step toward the future. He would have held her and murmured sweet things in her ear.

Dylan would probably slap her ass and tell her to get busy.

Hannah shook her head to dispel thoughts of men. She laid out the blueprints and sat down to review them. To her surprise, the updates made perfect sense. The deletion of a basement wasn’t what she wanted, but she could visualize the flow of the kitchen. Everything would work and the design of the stations would keep the food compartmentalized and safe.

Damn.

She would need to thank him. Hannah didn’t want to. Her pride was almost as big of a problem as her mouth. She sighed and got to her feet. The sun was starting to go down and shadows were creeping into the small trailer.

As she walked outside, she spotted her cousin Kyle standing beside his sheriff’s car, watching the jobsite with his arms crossed. The biggest of the Blackwood cousins, as well as the most taciturn, he’d acted like a cop since he was three years old. No one ever expected him to be anything but a lawman.

He lived alone, ate alone, and the only time she saw him with other people was during family functions. She loved all her cousins, but Kyle made it hard to know him.

“Hey.” She walked up beside him and smiled.

“Hannah.” He nodded but didn’t take his gaze from the construction workers who were cleaning up for the day.

“Are you here to check on the progress?”

“I had a noise complaint.” Kyle’s Texas drawl snuck out when he said more than one syllable.

“From who? It’s a construction site!” She huffed out a breath. “What kind of asshole would call about the noise?”

“It was anonymous.” Kyle finally looked at her. “I’m glad you’re rebuilding it.”

She momentarily forgot about the anonymous asshole and took her cousin by the arm. “Thank you! You’ll come in for opening day right? I’ll have biscuits.” He always had a soft spot for her baked goods.

“I wouldn’t miss it. As long as I’m not on duty.” He pushed his hat back, revealing those gorgeous whiskey brown eyes he inherited from his mother.

“Good. I want the whole family there.” She squeezed his arm.

“I’m glad to see you off the ranch. Dax says you haven’t left much.” He never had a problem in being blunt. They had that in common.

“No, but I’m here now.” She knew her cousin was showing he cared, but it irked her to have yet another family member point out her hermit ways. “Do you have dinner plans?”

“On duty.” He patted her hand. “Whatever noise was going on, it’s within acceptable limits.”

She shook her head. “Roger that, Deputy Blackwood.”

“Is there a problem?” Dylan’s voice cut through the air.

Kyle straightened up, the alpha male in him coming to the surface. “I’m investigating a noise complaint.”

Instead of being annoyed or angry, Dylan nodded. “I appreciate that you took it seriously. Many cops would have ignored it.”

“I don’t ignore complaints.” Kyle sounded as serious as a heart attack.

“Good to know. Anything we need to do?” Dylan asked.

“No, sir. I’ve established there is no infraction occurring here.” Kyle nodded at Hannah then returned to his car.

“You about done reviewing the plans?” Dylan turned to Hannah and put his hands on his hips. His tone was neutral, but there was an undercurrent of something she couldn’t identify.

“Yep, I am. I, well, that is, they look better than I thought they would.” She didn’t mean to sound petty, but the words tumbled out in a rush before she could stop them.

“Ah, I get it. You weren’t the one who hired me, right? Why would you expect a hick like me to do a good job on your slick restaurant?” This time Dylan didn’t wait for an answer. He spun on his heel and stomped to the construction trailer.

Hannah should go home and see to supper. But she stood there with the cat winding itself around her legs like an infinity symbol. She never intended for most of what came out of her to actually exit her lips, but it did anyway. That was one glaring reason why people thought she was a bitch.

She owed Dylan an apology. Giving it wouldn’t be fun. If she was going to pull herself back into living again, she needed to start by acting like an adult.

Of course, it would be nice if there were an adultier adult to apologize to.

Hannah squared her shoulders and walked toward the construction trailer. Just as she reached it, the door banged open and she jumped backwards to avoid being hit. Dylan poked his head out and scowled.

“I thought you’d be gone.”

She shook her head, looking for the balls to do what needed doing. “I, uh, need to say something.”

“If you’re going to fire me, get on with it. I don’t have time for bullshit.” A muscle twitched in his jaw.

“I’m not going to fire you. I was trying to apologize.”

He blinked. “Apologize?”

“I know I’m like a storm knocking shit over, and unpredictable as the day is long. I was wrong about you.” The words started rushing out of her mouth. “The plans look great and it’s going to be wonderful when it’s done. So thank you.”

One brown brow quirked. “Did you just thank me and apologize in the same breath?”

She pinched her lips together. He was teasing her now and she needed to be able to let the anger go that festered inside her. Dylan was a good man, a smart one. He wasn’t to blame for the fact the universe had ripped her world to shreds. Nor was it fair to make him the recipient of her fury.