Her Cowboy's Caress (Taken by Cowboys: Part 1) A Billionaire Western Romance (5 page)

Her heart beat wildly. Could it really be
true—could this unnaturally attractive man really be attracted to
her? “Really?” she squeaked.

He laughed a low laugh. “Yes, Jess.
Very
.” He paused, weighing his words. “But I know you didn’t
come here to have some guy hit on you. Not to mention, it certainly
wouldn’t be proper, considering my role here.”

His words gave her pause. Of course he was
right, on both counts. Still, though, couldn’t this just be some
act that he pulled on all the women who showed up at
Getaway—seducing them at the campfire and then trying to pull the
nice guy act?

Part of her felt the stirrings of doubt, the
other half of her wanted nothing more than to pull Spencer close to
her and kiss him with as much unbridled passion as she had in her,
to let out all desire that had been steadily mounting over the past
months.

Just as she was about to make her move, he
brought his lips to hers so briefly and lightly that it could
barely be described as a kiss. “Goodnight,” he said, and with that,
he was gone.

She stood for a moment alone in the dark,
the sound of cicadas buzzing in her ears. In a daze, she went to
her door, unlocked it, and entered the cabin. She was too tired to
hunt for her pajamas. Instead she stripped off her sweater, jeans,
and top, climbed into bed in her bra and underwear, and fell into a
deep and troubled sleep.

The next day sunlight poured in through the
window she hadn’t bothered closing the night before. The view of
jagged peaks rising above the pine trees was so breathtaking that
she grinned and then leapt out of bed to admire it. It was
postcard-perfect. She glanced at the clock—7 a.m. Why wasn’t it
this easy for her to get up in New York?

Then she realized she was standing at her
open window wearing only her underwear. Oops.

Hastily she closed the blinds. She went to
sit down on her bed and contemplate the night before. It was hard
to believe it had even happened. She had arrived at the ranch, met
Nate, a ridiculously good-looking man, then met Spencer,
another
ridiculously good-looking man—the one she had spoken
to on the phone—and then ended up kissing him.

This kind of behavior was not normal. If
Dani found out, she would be shocked—though probably delighted. She
always told Jess that she should have more fun in her life. “Just
have a fling!” she’d say after one of her many dating adventures.
That was easy for Dani to say—she had a body that turned heads,
thanks to good genes and innumerable Pilates classes. Plus, Jess
had always been a long-term-relationship type of girl. When she’d
met Todd and he’d professed to be the same, she’d thought that
things couldn’t be more perfect. He was a few years older than her
and was finishing up his residency in medical school. He seemed
just as smart, kind, and serious as she could have asked for.
Before she could even discern what had gone wrong, though, their
relationship had spiraled into manipulation (on his part) and tears
(on hers). It had ended with him dumping her for a college student
and telling her that she “had it coming.”

The last thing she needed was to get
involved with another deceptively “perfect” man who would only use
and abuse her like Todd had. Spencer seemed too good to be true. He
was well-spoken, polite, successful, and of course, almost
inhumanly good-looking. The fact that he claimed to be so attracted
to her only made her more suspicious. Still, the feeling that he’d
awoken in her had been impossible to ignore. He had opened the
floodgates of her senses and drowned her in her own desire. The
feeling had been so strong that it had almost scared her. She’d
barely been able to control herself. But was that so wrong?

She sighed. Dani would tell her that she was
overthinking things. That was probably the truth. It was time to
get up and face this gorgeous day. She went to the bathroom and
showered (singing the whole time), dressed, and towel dried her
hair. She had brought her hair dryer, but it seemed silly to be so
finicky about her appearance here. In New York getting a
professional blowout twice a week was par for the course, but she
was just as happy to wear hers damp.

She headed out into the sparkling morning.
Everywhere seemed to bristle with life, from the breeze that
whistled through the trees to the buzzing bees that dove through
the air to the bright sun pouring down over all of it. She felt
happier than she had in months, a feeling of joy welling up inside
her.
Joy
—it wasn’t a word that had visited her mind much in
recently.

Already people were out and about, families
with kids darting around talking excitedly about their plans for
the day. She entered the dining lodge, where a warm, heavenly
mélange of coffee, bacon, and maple syrup hung in the air.

She scanned the room—no sign of Spencer or
Nate. She felt both disappointed and relieved. What would the vibe
be between her and Spencer? He’d said that he didn’t think it would
be a good idea for them to…to do what? She wasn’t quite sure. But
she was pretty sure the atmosphere between them might be tense.

It was time to make some friends. Feeling a
little like she was a high school freshman in the cafeteria, she
slid onto a bench at a half-filled table. Unlike in high school,
though, here she was greeted with smiles and hellos. Everyone
introduced themselves as she helped herself to a heaving plate of
eggs, bacon, fruit, and toast, a glass of orange juice, and a cup
of hot coffee.

“You’re from New York City, are you?” asked
a lithe gray-haired woman who had introduced herself as Nancy. She
was on an extended stay at Getaway with her husband Bill.

“That’s right,” Jess said, buttering another
piece of toast.

“I lived there myself when I was about your
age,” Nancy said. “Nothing quite like the city that never sleeps,
is there?”

“There sure isn’t,” Jess said. “Although I
needed to get away and get some sleep.”

“I understand,” Nancy said. “Don’t you think
the food tastes better out here? I think it’s something about the
mountain air.”

“Whatever it is, I like it,” Jess said.
Nancy tossed her head back and laughed. She liked this woman
already. “Are you coming on the hike?” she asked brightly.

A hike—that sounded like a nice idea. “I’d
love to!” Jess said. “When does it start?”

“Ten a.m.—right after breakfast. At this
time of year, you have to get started before it gets too hot,” she
explained. “Spencer’s leading it.”

She almost choked on her coffee. That was
one factor she hadn’t anticipated.

“Sounds great,” she said weakly.

“Hey, Spence, what happened to you last
night after the campfire? I was looking for you and couldn’t find
you anywhere. Was everything okay?” Nate looked up from his laptop,
where he had been reviewing their books, as Spencer strolled into
the office for their morning meeting.

Spencer busied himself by going over to the
coffeemaker and pouring himself a cup as he decided what to say in
response. He wasn’t used to lying to best friend and business
partner. “Everything was fine,” he said slowly. “Sorry for
disappearing.”

Nate looked at him questioningly but didn’t
say anything. Spencer knew he wouldn’t pry. That wasn’t his
way.

He sat down at the table. “I was with Jess,”
he admitted. “She wasn’t feeling well, so I walked her to her
cabin.”

Nate’s features crinkled with concern. “Is
she alright?” he asked.

“She’s fine. Just a little overheated and
overwhelmed, I think,” Spencer said. Then he decided to just be out
with the truth. “I kissed her.”

Nate practically spit out his coffee. “Damn,
Spencer, so much for not kissing and telling,” he said, shaking his
head playfully. “Well, she’s a beautiful woman. More power to
you.”

Spencer sighed and went to the window,
rubbing his hand through his hair. “I don’t know what got into me,
Nate. It really wasn’t the best idea,” he said. “I shouldn’t be
messing around with one of our guests.”

Nate considered this. “I don’t see anything
so wrong with it,” he said finally. “There’s no particular conflict
of interest about it, even if it gets some nosy guests gossiping.
The real question is, what do you want with her?”

“I don’t know,” Spencer answered honestly.
“I don’t want to mess her around, that’s for sure. All I know is
that I’m drawn to her.”

“I can see why,” Nate said. For a moment,
Spencer wasn’t sure if he detected something else behind his
friend’s usual affable demeanor—a twinge of what could only be
called jealousy.

In her harried last two weeks, Jess had
purchased some hiking gear for her trip: a pair of hiking shoes, a
canteen for water, and a small, durable backpack. The sales guy at
the REI in Soho had tried to talk her into buying a whole lot more,
but she had stuck with the basics. She didn’t intend to make a
career out of this, after all.

After she returned to her cabin to change
her shoes and pick up the pack and water bottle, she headed to the
main lodge, where Nancy said the hiking group was assembling. She
felt butterflies fluttering around her stomach. What would Spencer
think of her now, in the daytime? Would he still feel so attracted
to her? She felt a wave of excitement course through her abdomen as
she remembered his words the night before and the way he had looked
at her—as if he were restraining himself from taking her right then
and there.

A group of about thirty people had assembled
outside the lodge. Her heart contracted as she saw Spencer standing
on the steps, appearing to be counting the group. If possible, he
looked even better than she remembered, with his shadow of stubble,
tanned forearms and capable-looking hands radiating manliness. As
she approached the group, Spencer’s gaze fell on her and their eyes
locked. His dark eyes simmered underneath their placid surface.

“Alright, everyone, let’s get going!” he
said briskly. “Does everyone have water? It’s going to get real
hot, real fast up there.”

No kidding
, she thought.

The group set off, with Spencer at the helm.
They were going to climb Baby Big Horn, one of the smaller peaks of
the mountain range that surrounded the property. She chatted with
Nancy as they got to the trail and started the ascent. Her
heartbeat was picking up, first pleasantly, then a tad
uncomfortably.
Boy, I really need to hit the gym
, she
thought as her breathing grew heavier.
This is
embarrassing.

Baby Big Horn—now
that’s
a
joke!
The incline was only getting steeper and steeper. She
stole a glance up as she tried to hold up her end of the
conversation. The trail stretched discouragingly ahead. She was
quickly being outpaced by the other people in the group—most of
whom looked twice as old as she was.

“I’m just going to take a picture,” she told
Nancy, trying to hide her panting. “Don’t wait up!”

As Nancy strode up the hill with the grace
and agility of a gymnast, she took out her iPhone and tried to look
purposeful as she snapped random pictures of rocks and pine
branches. Her gaze was caught by a figure approaching from higher
up on the path. Oh, no—it was Spencer.

Quickly she tried to look absorbed in her
picture-taking.

“Hey, Jess,” he said as he approached her.
“How are you doing?”

“I’m fine!” she said with as much enthusiasm
as she could muster. “I’m
great
.” She was suddenly aware of
what a mess she looked. No makeup, her face no doubt red, sweat
clinging to her scalp—ugh.

“Are you sure? You aren’t still feeling
unwell?” he asked.

“Well, maybe just a little bit,” she said,
offering an excuse for what was really just her pathetic lack of
physical conditioning.

“Alright,” he said. “Well, don’t push
yourself.”

A silence stretched out between them, the
only sound the shrill chirping of an insect somewhere in the
foliage. The tension she had anticipated was definitely there.

“Nice hike,” she said to break the
silence.

“You know, I hope you weren’t offended by
my—advances,” he said. It seemed like he had been weighing whether
or not to say it. “Really, that’s the last thing that I intended.
It was rather uncouth of me.”

Uncouth
. She smiled slightly. She
couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard that word spoken out
loud. Spencer, though, looked anything but amused.

“Look, you don’t need to worry about it,”
she said. “I wasn’t offended. I promise.”

He seemed to relax. “Good,” he said. “Then
you won’t mind if I walk with you a bit now?”

“Don’t you have to lead the group?” she
asked.

“They’re all fine,” he said, waving his
hand. “I brought the first wave to the top. The rest will follow
suit. They’ll all be there for a while, taking in the view and
having a rest.”

She was relieved to hear that it was the
home stretch. They started up the incline. He was walking in pace
with her, she realized—that is, slow—but in a way that seemed
perfectly natural and not at all impatient.

“I really should work out more,” she
said.

“No need,” he said. “You’re perfect as you
are.”

A wave of pleasure coursed through her at
his unexpected words. He had called her
perfect
. Could he
really mean that? She cleared her throat. “So I’ve been wondering,”
she said, trying to deflect the attention away from her. “Yesterday
you said that it was ‘the right moment’ for you and Nate to leave
New York. Did something happen?”

Spencer breathed in deeply. He seemed to be
recalling a painful memory.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “That was a
nosy question.”

“It’s alright,” he said. “I don’t mind
telling you. Nate and I were both working at the same big hedge
fund on Wall Street. We were doing super long, crazy hours, day
after day, night after night. It was the kind of life that leaves
you with an excessive amount of money to spend, and nowhere to
spend it. I’m sure you know the type.”