Hot Westmoreland Nights (6 page)

Callum gave him an innocent look, one Ramsey wasn’t buying or selling. “I don’t know what you mean, Ram.”

Ramsey leaned back against his desk and frowned. “You were flirting with her.”

Callum shrugged as another smile formed at the corners of his lips. “What if I was?”

Ramsey crossed his arms over his chest. “If you did it to get a rise out of me, then—”

“It worked,” Callum taunted as he eased his muscular frame into a chair across from the desk. “Come on, Ram. Go ahead and admit you want the woman, which is why you’re trying to get rid of her. When you know for yourself, even after eating just one meal, that she’s a lot better cook than Nellie and her temperament is a vast improvement to what we’re used to. I hate to say it but Nellie hasn’t been missed around here and you know why.”

Ramsey drew in a deep breath. Yes, he did know why. Nellie’s disposition had begun deteriorating months ago after discovering her husband had been unfaithful to her. It was as if she had taken her hurt and anger out on the entire male population and his men knew it. They had tried being understanding, even sympathetic. But then after a while they’d become annoyed and just plain irritated. There was nothing worse than pissing a man off about his food.

Although Nellie’s unexpected trip had placed him in a bind, he thought she needed the distance from his men for a while
and vice versa. She still had a job when she returned, but the two of them would have a long talk first.

“Okay, so Nellie hasn’t been missed, but when she comes back, she still has a job,” he decided to speak up.

“Fine. Great. But in the meantime I think your men deserve a nice smile and friendly words every now and then, not to mention food they can eat without worrying about it being burned or overly seasoned.”

Ramsey was silent.

“Look, I understand your problem with Chloe, Ram. Welcome to the club. I know how it is to want a woman so bad you ache,” Callum said.

Ram frowned. He then narrowed his eyes on his friend. “You’re referring to my sister,” he said in a warning tone.

Callum snorted. “I’m referring to the woman I intend to marry who refuses to give me the time of day and it’s getting damn near frustrating. Don’t be surprised one day if you wake up and find us both gone.” A smile touched Callum’s lips. “I might resort to kidnapping.”

Ram’s frown deepened. “You’d better be joking.” He then shook his head at Callum’s outrageous threat. And then he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Go ahead and kidnap her. I’ll give you less than a week and you’ll be bringing her back. Gemma will make your life a living hell if you did such a thing and I wouldn’t be one to close my eyes on her if I were you. She likes getting even.”

Ram smiled. Although he’d gone a little overboard he knew Callum got the picture. Of his three sisters, Gemma was the one who had a knack for not only speaking her mind but for backing up her thoughts. Callum knew this and was still in love with her. Go figure.

“Are you really thinking about letting Chloe go?” Callum
asked and Ramsey figured he was now desperate to change the subject from Gemma back to Chloe. “I think it’s a sin and a shame that your men will have to suffer just because you can’t control your urges,” Callum said.

Ramsey knew there was really no reason to deny what Callum had just said. It was true. He was finding it hard to control his urges around Chloe. And they were urges he’d been controlling just fine before she’d shown up.

“The men are taking a bet as to how long we’ll keep her.” Callum grinned and said, “I bet some will be surprised to find her still here this morning.”

Ramsey didn’t see anything amusing. He didn’t like being reminded that others had noticed his interest in her yesterday. “She’s not the only good cook around these parts.”

“I’m sure she isn’t, but not many would want to have to live on the ranch. Most would probably have homes of their own; families they had to take care of when they left here like Nellie.” Callum rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Um, that makes me wonder.”

Ramsey lifted a brow. “About what?”

“Why would a woman with her looks take a job where she’ll have to live here in the middle of nowhere for two solid weeks. Doesn’t she have any family?”

Ramsey considered Callum’s question. To be honest Chloe’s personal life hadn’t crossed his mind, mainly because he hadn’t intended for her to stay. In fact, he had planned to call the employment agency when it opened this morning to see how soon they could send a replacement. But Callum had posed a good question. Evidently she did have a place in town because she had returned last night with her luggage in tow.

“What if she’s on the run and took the job to hide out here?”

Ramsey looked over at Callum. “On the run from what?”

“An abusive husband. A psycho fiancé. A possessive boyfriend. Hell, I don’t know, Ram. But if I were you I would find out.”

Ramsey’s frown hardened at the thought that Chloe might be running from a demented stalker. But then when he’d mentioned to her yesterday that she was hired as a live-in cook she’d seemed surprised. And last night she claimed that she’d only returned after deciding she didn’t want to risk being late this morning. What if there was more than that?

“I don’t think she’s married or engaged because she’s not wearing a ring and there’s no indentation around her finger to indicate that she’s worn one in the past,” he said.

Callum chuckled. “You’re as bad as Eric and Thel if you noticed all of that about a woman’s finger.”

Ramsey shrugged his shoulders, refusing to let Callum bait him. “Whatever.”

“Well, it might be
whatever
if you don’t find out. If you make her leave, then you could very well be sending her to her death.”

Ramsey rolled his eyes. “Spare me the dramatics.”

Callum stood. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you if something were to happen to her.” He headed for the door.

Ramsey watched him about to leave. “Hey, where are you going? We haven’t had our meeting yet.”

Callum smiled over at him. “And we won’t. At least not this morning. I smell homemade biscuits and
both
bacon and sausage. If you’re still thinking about getting rid of her, then I need to make sure I eat well this morning. No telling what we might end up with for lunch.”

Ramsey had always been a man who’d prided himself on two things: strength of mind and self-control. He felt both take
a flying leap when he walked into the dining area an hour later. His men were gone and Chloe was clearing off the table. She glanced over in his direction and the moment he looked into her eyes, he wanted to cross the room and pull her to him and kiss her until she was nothing more than a limp body in his arms.

“You missed breakfast, but I kept you something warming in the oven. The eggs will be made to order,” she said.

He nodded, surprised she had thought of him. “Thanks.” He had deliberately remained in his office, trying to concentrate on finishing reports he had failed to do last night. His men’s voices had carried to his office and he could tell from their conversations that they had enjoyed breakfast and were looking forward to lunch.

“Your men were wondering why you didn’t eat breakfast with them.”

He glanced over at her as he poured a cup of coffee, wondering if his men had been the ones speculating or if it had been her. “Were they?”

“Yes.”

When he didn’t say anything but sipped his coffee while watching her, she said. “If you’re ready to eat I’ll get your plate out of the oven.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate it.”

He moved toward the table and after sitting down he watched her and wondered if Callum’s speculations were true. Was she living here at the ranch as his cook because she was on the run from someone? He sipped his coffee thinking that he was not one to overreact, but what if some of what Callum assumed was true?

“How do you want your eggs, Ramsey?”

He blinked, realizing she had asked him a question. “Excuse me? What did you say?”

“Your eggs. Do you prefer scrambled, sunny-side up or over easy?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say he preferred them
over her
so he could lick them off, but thought better of it. She was wearing another short dress and like last night she had spoiled the effect by a pair of leggings. What was with those things? Why the hell were women wearing them under their dresses? He enjoyed seeing bare skin. Nothing was wrong with seeing a nice piece of feminine flesh on occasion. And although he’d never seen her legs, he had no reason to believe they weren’t gorgeous, a real arousal-getter just like the rest of her.

The lower part of his body was already throbbing with the way her outfit fit over her bottom, showing a perfect shape. He could just imagine lying in bed with that backside curved against his front in spoon fashion, dipping his head to nibble on her neck and to place marks of passion there before moving toward…

“Ramsey?”

He blinked again. “Yes?”

“How do you want your eggs?”

“Sunny-side up will be fine.”

He watched how she handled the frying pan. There was no doubt in his mind she knew what she was doing. And the way she cracked the egg was sure and precise. He couldn’t help wondering about her cooking skills. Had she gone to culinary school? If so, why wasn’t she working at a first-class restaurant somewhere? Why was she here on a sheep ranch on the outskirts of Denver? There was only one way to find out. He’d discovered that with some women if you got them talking they would tell you just about anything you wanted to
know. It worked with Bailey, although it hadn’t been a proven trick with Megan or Gemma.

As she cooked his eggs he studied her. She didn’t look like a woman under any sort of duress. She seemed calm and looked cool. And she appeared to enjoy what she was doing.

His gaze moved to her face. She didn’t have normal features. She was beautiful. Soft-looking brown skin, a sensual pair of eyes, a cute nose and a pair of lips he longed to taste. Her dark brown hair was shoulder length, lustrous curly strands. It didn’t take much to imagine that hair spread across a pillow. His pillow. And those sensual dark eyes shimmering with arousal right as she shifted her body to spread her thighs, open her legs to fill the air with her scent while he stared down at her feminine mound, moist, ready, waiting for him to sample.

The surge of desire that swept through him at that moment was so fierce it almost took his breath away. He needed something stronger than a cup of coffee and was tempted to pull a beer out of the refrigerator. Instead he drew in a long, deep breath, shifted his gaze to look out the window. Think about something else. The bill that was soon to come due on his new tractor. The fact that Gemma was bugging him about decorating the rest of his house. Anything except making hot, carnal love to Chloe.

Trying to regain control of his libido and senses, he looked over toward her. She might know how to wield a frying pan and all that, but there was a refined air about her that disconnected her ability in the kitchen with the way she carried herself. It was as if she should be getting served instead of being the one doing the serving. “Are you married?”

She glanced over at him but only for a second. She went back to concentrating on cooking his eggs. “No.”

“You sure?”

Her head lifted and she stared at him, gave him a look like he’d suddenly grown two heads or something. “Of course I’m sure.” She held up her left hand. “See, no ring.”

He shrugged. “That doesn’t mean anything these days.”

She frowned as she slid his egg from the frying pan onto the plate. “It would mean something to me.”

“Okay, so you’re not married. Are you involved in a serious relationship?”

She set the plate in front of him and gave him a pointed look. “Is there a reason for these questions?”

He smiled. Because she asked he might as well go ahead and tell her. She was mature enough to handle it. “Yes, there’s a reason. When I get around to kissing you I’ll feel better knowing your mouth doesn’t belong to any other man. Legally or otherwise.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. Then she opened her mouth, probably to tell him just where he could take his own mouth—legally or otherwise—but instead of saying anything right then, she just tightened her lips together.

He chuckled. “Tightening those lips shut won’t keep me from prying them apart for a kiss if that’s what I want to do, Chloe.”

Chloe folded her arms across her chest. “Is there a reason for this madness?”

“Is that what this is? Madness?” he asked as he began eating.

She lifted her chin and glared at him. “You got another name for it?”

“What about hunger?”

She frowned. “Hunger?”

“Yes, hunger of a sexual nature. I need to get you out my
system and I figured I’ll start by kissing you to see if that will work.”

Chloe dropped her hands by her side. Not believing he’d said such a thing. And not believing her heart was thumping rapidly in her chest at the thought of him making good on his threat. “You’re nothing like Daren.”

He raised a dark brow. “Who’s Daren?”

“The last guy I was involved with.”

Ramsey ignored the twinge of jealousy that invaded his gut. “Is not being like Daren good or bad?”

She shrugged. “Not sure. Although, I think it would have been nice if he would have had even a fraction of that
hunger
thing.”

He immediately caught on to what she’d insinuated. “I can’t imagine any man hanging around you for long without wanting to gobble you alive. He must have been a real idiot.”

Chloe kept herself from smiling and refused to admit she’d thought the same thing. “He had his own ideas about what down to earth lovemaking was about. He suggested that we participate in a threesome.”

Ramsey frowned. He could handle the fact that her ex-boyfriend hadn’t had a passionate bone in his body, but the thought that the man had actually wanted to share her with someone else was as demented as it could get. No man in his right mind would share her.

“Then he wasn’t just an idiot,” Ramsey spoke up to say. “He was a crazy idiot. Any man who could get it into his mind to share you evidently doesn’t have the brain he was born with. There’s no way I would consider doing such a thing. I would want you all to myself.”