Royal Trouble (6 page)

"Is someone bothering you?"  He didn't know what he could do about it if they were, but he would damn well try to help her, if he could.

"Not anymore..." she told him softly with a shake of her head which sent her ponytail swishing behind her head.

"She'll do a good job for you, Wes," Rocky assured him, her words more sure than her expression.  "Otherwise I wouldn't recommend her, you know that."

"I trust your opinion, Rox," he replied as he shoved his hand out to Leigh Ann. " You're hired, Leigh Ann."  
Had he just said that
?

When his hand closed around the smooth skin of her smaller hand, electricity shot up his arm to zap him in his chest.  This crazy magnetism he was feeling toward Leigh Ann Baker was going to get him in big trouble if he didn't get a grip on himself.  This woman was his employee, not someone he could let himself become personally involved with.  He needed a competent assistant, nothing more from this woman, Wes reminded himself.

His ex-wife had told him she was out of his league many times.  This woman was a helluva lot more attractive than Laura, so he knew Leigh Ann Baker wasn't only out of his league, she wasn't even in the same ballpark as him.  He didn't need a woman like her anyway.  If Laura had made his life hell trying to protect and keep her, this woman would put him in the seventh ring of that hotspot.  Wes just didn't have the energy left for that.

"I have a son," Wes blurted and Leigh Ann's eyebrows shot up.  The words were meant as a reminder to himself, as well as a warning to her. 

Leigh Ann smiled sweetly, then drawled in her hypnotizing southern belle voice, "Yes, that's what Annie said...Trey isn't that his name?"

Wes watched her lips move, but like those Kung Fu movies that were filmed in Chinese, then voiced over in English, her words were delayed in penetrating the fog in his brain.  "Annie?" he repeated dumbly.

"Oh, sorry...
Rocky
," she clarified with a glance at her sister spiced with another blinding white smile.  "I've just always called her that."

"My mother's idea," Rocky grated, with a tight smile.  "But Leigh Ann is going to call me Rocky now, aren't you Leigh Ann?"

The practiced smile on Leigh Ann's face turned into a genuine grin, causing Wes's heart to do a somersault in his chest.  "Yes, ma'am, I am going to call you whatever you want me to call you."

"Good.  Now get your butt out of here, Wes.  We need to straighten out this mess you've made," Rocky ordered gruffly, walking around the desk.  Wes stood then stepped to the side, as Rocky breezed by to sit down in the chair. 

Leigh Ann squeezed between him and the desk to look over her sister's shoulder, her light floral perfume wafted up to his nose and sent his senses into overdrive.  He savored it, tried to identify it, then decided it almost smelled like the honeysuckles that grew wild out by his fence line during the summer.  Like the bees that swarmed on those flowers, Wes wanted to hover around her neck and get drunk on the scent.

Clearing his throat, Wes stepped back putting more distance between them, then turned toward the door to put more between them, before he did something more stupid than hiring a woman who had zero experience with animals.  "I'll leave ya'll to it then.  Trey and my mama should be back soon."

"Wes, I have one more favor to ask..." Roxanne said quickly, before he went through the door.  His shoulders stiffened as he turned back toward her. 

"Yeah?  What's that?"

"Leigh Ann is new to town and doesn't have a place to stay.  Can she stay with you up at the house until she gets the money together to get a place in town?"

Wes's heart skidded to a stop and he swallowed hard.  If he had the money, he'd offer to pay for her to stay somewhere else,
anywhere
other than at the house with him.  But he didn't.  He did have a spare bedroom though, and Rocky knew that.  She had done a lot for him, so how could he refuse?  If he agreed though, how could he keep his sanity?  Wes knew it was a no-win situation, but he didn't have any choice. 

"Okay," he agreed, but added, "As long as she can put up with two guys who are used to living alone.  We're a little messy."  That was putting it lightly, and Wes knew if he didn't pick up soon, the place would probably look ready for an episode of that reality show
Hoarders
.  Well, not that bad, but bad enough. 

He just wasn't home enough to keep up with it all.

"I'm good at cleaning and organizing things, so I'll do that in exchange for you letting me stay awhile," Leigh Ann offered with another smile. 

God, he could stare at her all day if given the chance.  Study every nuance of her beautiful face and magnificent body like a masterpiece painting, until he had a master's degree in it.  But he had other things to do, more important things, he just couldn't remember what they were.

Leigh Ann didn't look like much of a cleaner, she looked too elegant and refined, even in the blue jeans and ugly shirt she wore.  A high-class city girl, masquerading as a country girl.  A picture of her in a fancy low cut evening gown wearing a crown, as she entertained the many men sitting at her feet begging for her attention, flashed through his mind.  That was the kind of woman she was under those clothes.  Just the kind of woman he didn't need in his life.  Exactly like his ex-wife.

When Wes shook her hand a few minutes ago, he also noticed it was too soft for her to have done manual labor of any kind.  He didn't know why, but had a feeling this was a woman who was used to elegant things, and smooth men who could afford to supply her with those things.  Someone totally unlike Wes Jepson at this moment.

What she was doing here out in the country, applying to be his vet assistant he had no idea.  There was a story there, and he was sure he'd eventually hear it, but until she decided to tell him, he wasn't asking.  And until she did something to make him feel otherwise, he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt, and a chance. 

He owed it to Rocky, and if the woman was anything like her sister, she would work out just fine as his assistant.  But Wes used his private thoughts to brand the reasons he needed to avoid her on a personal level in his brain.

"Okay, but don't say you weren't warned.  When ya'll finish up, just come up to the house and I'll show you the room." 

CHAPTER FOUR

After a week of both working and living with Leigh Ann Baker, Wes realized he had made a mistake.  Probably the biggest of his life, second only to marrying Laura Jepson.  He had survived a week, but he wasn't sure he was going to last much longer.

Wes hadn't had sex in over a year, and Leigh Ann Baker was temptation incarnate, sex on a stick, and as sweet as the cotton candy his dad had bought him at the county fair when he was a kid.  Visions of joining her in that big bed in his spare room across the hall had tortured him every night, since she had been under his roof. 

Cold showers hadn't touched the yearning in his gut, so strong now it was almost a physical ache. Jogging hadn't helped either, or avoiding her all together.  He was a case study in pent up sexual frustration.  A man pushed way beyond his tolerance.  And Leigh Ann hadn't done a damned thing to provoke him, other than breathe.

Wes had known it was going to be rough, but the reality of the situation was so much worse.  There wasn't a corner of his life she hadn't invaded with her honeysuckle scent.  Even his damned bathroom smelled like her.  How that happened he didn't know, but it was driving him nuts.  Wes flicked on the shower spray and hastily shed his clothing then stepped under the cool spray.

He couldn't even explain his reaction to her.  Leigh Ann wasn't one of those flirty women, like Laura had been.  But every moment of the day, he knew exactly where she was in proximity to his dick.  And he was with her twenty-four hours a day.  Something had to give soon, or Wes really was going to go blind like his mother had warned him as a teenager.

If that wasn't bad enough, his son seemed to be just as smitten with her.  Last night, when he came home, he found the house spotless and Trey curled up in her lap in
his
recliner sleeping.  She had handed him off to Wes, but not before kissing his son good night.  Since she wasn't going to be permanent in their lives, Wes didn't want either of them getting too attached to her. 

He had to get her out of his house, before any of them got too comfortable with her living here.  Maybe if he just saw her in the office, he could put some distance between them.  For now, he was just going to have to keep avoiding her. Find reasons to be out of the office.  But that wasn't very easy to do at home, without coming off as rude.  Wes was running out of excuses to hide out in his room like a coward, after they had dinner at night.  It was getting old too, being a prisoner in his own home. 

He had to find some relief soon, and get some sleep.  Every time he closed his eyes, all he thought about was the woman across the hall, and how easy it would be to join her in his spare bed.  He knew exactly how many steps separated their rooms, he had actually paced them off the other day, after she left to go to the office before he did.

Last night had been the worst. 

Pictures in his mind of her in a lacy black concoction waiting for him there, her soft smooth skin cocooned in the cool cotton sheets left him hard, hot and frustrated.  At five in the morning, he finally gave up on rest, and untangled himself from the sheets to go down to his office and run on the treadmill.  Four miles hadn't touched his edginess, so he ran two more before giving up to come back to his room to shower. 

Wes wasn't much on one-night stands, but right now that was probably exactly what he needed to take the edge off.  With someone other than his new house guest and assistant.

Huffing out a frustrated breath, Wes walked out of the bathroom toweling his hair dry as he strode across his bedroom toward the clothes he'd laid out on the bed earlier.  For a minute, he thought something was wrong with his eyes, because the room looked hazy. 

Blinking twice to clear his vision, Wes suddenly realized the haze was actually smoke floating near the ceiling.  The overpowering smell burnt his nose and sent a knife-sharp pain through his skull, right between his eyes.  Panic had his heart pounding, as Wes quickly wrapped the towel around his hips and ran out into the hallway. 

"Trey!  Get out of the house!" he shouted, running to fling open his son's bedroom door.  Trey stirred, and Wes jerked his arm to drag him out of bed and into the hallway with him.  "Hurry, son, get out of the house!"

Wes ran behind him to the stairs, his feet skidding across the polished wood floor as he scrambled downstairs.  The smoke got thicker with every step, the acrid smell more intense.  In the kitchen, the fire alarm blared and the smoke was thick enough to cut with a knife. 

Covering his nose, Wes sprinted to the stove, grabbed a towel then slid the flaming skillet to the back burner, before twisting the knob to shut off the stove.  Flames from the still-burning skillet licked at the bottom of the cabinet, so he grabbed the fire extinguisher from under the cabinet to give the skillet one blast of white powder to smother them.  When the dust settled, Wes saw that the bottom of his upper cabinet was coated in soot and grease, the edge of the wood charred.

"Shit!" he cursed using the towel on the edge of the cabinet to make sure it wasn't smoldering too. 

Over the screaming fire alarm, he heard Leigh Ann Baker's somehow calm, but firm voice as she talked into her cell phone, "No, Lester, I told you I'm not going to marry you, I don't care what my mama says.  I'll pay you back for the ring, as soon as I have the money.  Yes, I realize when the wedding is supposed to be.  I'm sorry it isn't happening.  I told mama that six weeks ago, she should have sent out notices already."

On the other side of the breakfast bar, Leigh Ann stood with her back to him, apparently oblivious to the fact she had almost burned down his house.  Even though the fire in the skillet was out, more smoke filled the kitchen.  Wes spun back toward the counter and saw smoke billowing out of the toaster. 

With a growl, he ran over and yanked the cord out of the wall, then stomped around the breakfast bar to jerk the cell phone from Leigh Ann's hands.  He disconnected the call before demanding, "Are you trying to burn down my damned house?!?"

Her tawny brows shot up over her blue eyes and her mouth dropped open.  Trey ran up beside him and yanked on the towel around his hips.  Wes caught it just before it fell to the ground.  "Daddy what's burning?" Trey asked rubbing his eyes.

Wes closed his eyes and gathered his out of control adrenaline, then hugged Trey to his leg and said calmly, "It's okay now, go open the doors to the patio, and sit out there with Silas for a few minutes."

"Yes, sir," Trey replied with a cough, as he walked toward the French doors that led to the back deck.  He grabbed Silas's collar and pulled him out with him.

Wes ground his teeth and handed the phone back to Leigh Ann.  She covered her mouth with her hand and coughed too.  "Oh, God, what's burning?"

"I don't think you'd have noticed if the house burned down around you," Wes hissed then coughed as the smoke closed off his airway.  Picking up the towel from the counter, he fanned it toward the patio doors, hoping the smoke would dissipate quickly.

"I'm sorry...I was just trying to cook breakfast," she said in a wobbly voice that was followed by a moan as she scanned the kitchen.  "I'll clean it up."

"Just go outside with Trey, and don't cook anymore.  I'll clean it up," he barked, as he grabbed the skillet to carry it to the sink.  He turned on the tap without thinking and hot grease jumped up onto his forearm.  With a curse, Wes clamped his hand over the burn, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"Oh, Lord," Leigh Ann yelped.  She ran to the refrigerator to pull out a couple of ice cubes, then ran back over to him.  "Here, move your hand!" she demanded trying to pry his fingers from the wound.

She held the cold ice cubes to his skin, which eased the stinging, but nothing was going to extinguish the fire in the pit of his stomach fueled by his anger and fear.  Leigh Ann Baker needed to get the hell away from him before he said something he wouldn't regret.