"Just wanted you to know that I got those boxes shipped off like I said I would. You should get them in a few days."
"Thank you. I appreciate your going to the trouble," Alyssa said.
"No trouble. Kim dropped by this morning trying to sweet-talk me into telling where you were. I didn"t tell her a thing. Actually, I told her you were off seeing a client."
"Thanks, I appreciate it," Alyssa said.
"Jessie also called asking about you, but I figured Kim put him up to it."
Alyssa had to a.s.sume the same thing. Her uncle rarely sought her out these days.
"And how are things with you and your cowboy?"
Alyssa chuckled. "He isn"t my cowboy, but things are going just fine." At least she hoped they were. She hadn"t seen him since breakfast that morning. She knew he had returned for lunch because she had heard him when he"d ridden up on his horse. She had glanced out the window-being careful not to be been seen this time-and watched as Clint dismounted and walked with his horse toward the stables. The way the jeans hugged his body nearly took her breath away.
"I"m glad to hear it. Well, I"ve got to go. Eleanor is dropping by later and we"re going to attend a church function together later."
"Okay, Aunt Claudine, and thanks for everything," Alyssa said.
"You"re welcome."
Alyssa hung up the phone thinking how appreciative she was of her aunt.
"How are things going?"
She turned to see Clint standing in the doorway.
"They"re going fine. My aunt is shipping some boxes to me and I"m hoping to get them in a few days," Alyssa said.
Opening her mouth and getting words out had been a real challenge, especially with the way he was looking at her. Heat was beginning to slither through her body from the intensity of his gaze. He stood leaning in the doorway and she could feel her control begin to unravel. Whether she liked it or not, desire seemed to grip her each and every time she saw him.
"In the meantime," he said, interrupting her thoughts, "I figured you might need some additional clothing so I placed a few items of clothes on your bed."
She lifted a brow. "Clothes?"
"Yes."
"Women"s clothes?" There was a suspicious note in her voice which she wished wasn"t there. She further wished he wouldn"t pick up on it.
"Yes, women"s clothes. You and Casey are about the same size so I took the liberty of borrowing some of her things for you. When she left for Montana she wasn"t certain she would be staying so she left some of her things here," Clint said.
Alyssa felt relief that the clothes belonged to his sister and not some other woman. She was mature enough to know that Clint had probably dated a slew of women over the years. Some had probably stayed at the ranch. That was his business. And what he did after the thirty days were up and their marriage was annulled was also his business. So why did the thought that his business could include other women bother her? So why did the thought that his business could include other women bother her?
And then there was the thought that he had been in her bedroom. Granted, this was his house, the one he"d grown up in as a child, which meant that he probably knew the location of every room blindfolded. But the idea that he had been in the room where she"d slept last night, had gotten close to the bed, made every nerve in her body tingle.
"Thanks for being so thoughtful," she managed to say as she stood.
"No problem."
When it became obvious that he had no intention of leaving-he just stood in that same spot staring at her-she raised a brow.
"Is there something else?"
"Yes, there is," he said.
She felt the lump in her throat. She didn"t want to ask but felt compelled to do so anyway.
"And what is that?"
"Chester wanted to know if you would be joining us for dinner," Clint said, clearly uncomfortable with extending the invitation to her.
Alyssa released another deep sigh as she studied his expression. That hadn"t been what she expected him to say and she felt a touch of unwanted disappointment. It had been her idea that they agree on how far they would take their attraction, so why was she feeling so edgy?
"Alyssa?"
"Yes?"
"Will you be joining us?"
She wondered if he really wanted her to.
"And how do you feel about me joining you for dinner, Clint?" she asked quietly.
He rubbed his chin as he continued to look at her. She watched as his gaze slowly scanned her body from head to toe. He smiled slightly and then said, "We"re having meat loaf. I"d much rather look at you across the table than down at a plate of meat loaf." He added, "Chester usually burns it. He says it"s supposed to taste better that way."
She couldn"t help her smile. "Does it? Taste better that way?"
"Not really," he said, looking thoughtful. "But then the only taste I seem to enjoy lately is yours."
His words singed fire through her body with the force of a blowtorch. A woman could only take so much flirting with a man like Clint. She watched as he slowly moved away from the door to walk toward her. And as if her feet had a mind of their own, they moved, and she found herself coming from around the desk to meet him. He came to a stop right in front of her and his eyes stared into hers.
"This is crazy. You know that, don"t you?" As he asked her that question, he leaned forward and circled her waist with his arm. The heat of his words warmed her lips.
"Yes. Real crazy," she heard herself mumbling in response.
"I"m going to be real p.i.s.sed about it later," he said, catching her bottom lip between his teeth for a gentle nip. "But right now, at this minute, I have to taste you again."
And then as if to prove his point, when she tilted her head up to him he reached out and gently took hold of a section of her hair and tenderly pulled her mouth closer to his, locking it in place. He was determined to take the kiss deeper. Make it even more intimate.
She didn"t think that was possible until she felt the tip of his tongue coaxing hers to partic.i.p.ate. Hers gave in and together they explored every sensitive area of her mouth. Her senses went on full alert and she became a turbulent ma.s.s of longing. In all her twenty-seven years, it had taken a trip to Austin to discover what it meant to be kissed senseless.
The kiss seemed to go on nonstop and Alyssa felt herself being pa.s.sionately consumed with a need that was making her feel weak. It just didn"t seem possible that within days of seeing Clint again after five years, she could be this attracted to him.
He pulled back and ended the kiss, but not before gently nipping at her bottom lip as if she was a tasty morsel he just had to have. And then he took his fingertip and traced it across her wet and swollen lips. "You did want my kiss, didn"t you?"
She didn"t answer immediately, and then she decided to be totally honest with him. "Yes, I wanted it. But-"
He quickly swooped down and captured her mouth with his again, and she hungrily opened her mouth beneath his. Yes, she had wanted it and he was making sure she was getting it.
This time when he pulled back he placed a finger against her lips to make sure she didn"t utter a single word.
"No buts, Alyssa. I know my limitations. I"m aware of the terms that I agreed to. The only person who can renege on them is you," he said.
Arousal was shining in his eyes and she could feel his erection pressed hard against her stomach. "And if you ever decide to do so," he added in a husky tone, "you"re fully aware of where my bedroom is located. You are more than welcome to join me there at any time."
"Are you sure Alyssa will be joining you for dinner?"
Clint first glanced at the clock on the stove before meeting Chester"s gaze. "That"s what she said, but who knows, she might have changed her mind."
Chester stood leaning against the counter and held a spatula in his hand. He narrowed his eyes at Clint as he placed his arms across his chest. "What did you do to her?"
Clint rolled his eyes. "I didn"t do anything to her. I merely told her that-"
"Sorry I"m late," Alyssa said as she rushed into the kitchen.
Both men"s gazes shifted to Alyssa. Clint"s gaze went from her to Chester"s accusing glare. If you didn"t do anything to her then why are her lips all swollen? If you didn"t do anything to her then why are her lips all swollen? the old man"s expression seemed to say. the old man"s expression seemed to say.
Instead of cowering under Chester"s glare, Clint stood and returned his gaze to Alyssa. "No harm done. Besides, you are worth the wait," Clint said.
And he meant it. She was wearing one of Casey"s outfits that he"d placed on the bed for her. Funny thing was, he never remembered Casey looking that good in the sundress.
"Thank you," Alyssa said.
She crossed the room to take her place at the dining room table-s.p.a.ce usually reserved for the lady of the house. Clint wondered if she knew that. He sat down as she began easily conversing with Chester, asking how his day had been at the hospital. While setting everything on the table, Chester told her of how one of the kids had been afraid of him and how he had finally won the child over by doing magic tricks.
"Will the two of you need anything else before I go?"
"Where are you going?"
"I"m going to the bunkhouse to feed the ranch hands," the older man said and smiled.
"Oh," Alyssa said. "No, I won"t need anything else."
"Neither will I," Clint tacked on, more than ready for Chester to leave the two of them alone. He had heard the catch in her voice letting him know that the thought of being alone with him made her nervous. She should be nervous, Clint thought. Whether she knew it or not, she was driving him crazy. If the outfit she was wearing wasn"t bad enough, her scent was definitely getting to him, almost drugging his senses, eating away at his control. The sundress had spaghetti straps and revealed soft, creamy flesh on her arms and shoulders. It was skin he ached to feel, touch and taste. He would love to trace his tongue along her arm and work his way up to her shoulders and- "Clint, Chester is saying something to you," Alyssa was saying.
He blinked at her words and then sent a sharp glance in Chester"s direction. The old geezer had the nerve to smile as if he knew where Clint"s thoughts had been.
"What?" Clint probably asked the question more roughly than he should have, but at that moment, he really felt like he was losing it.
The older man"s smile widened when he said, "I was trying to get your attention to remind you that I won"t be here in the morning. Snuggles the Clown is doing another performance at the hospital."
"I remember," Clint said shortly.
"Oh, by the way, Alyssa offered to do breakfast for the men in the morning," Chester said, undeterred by Clint"s sour expression or gruff tone.
Clint shifted his gaze from Chester to Alyssa. "You did?"
"Yes. It"s the least I can do around here," Alyssa said.
Clint frowned. "That"s a lot of food to prepare. n.o.body said you had to do anything around here," he said.
"I know, but everyone around here has ch.o.r.es. Fixing breakfast tomorrow will help me to feel useful," she replied.
"What about the work you were doing on the computer for that client?" Clint was not sure he liked the idea of her in his kitchen performing domestic tasks. There hadn"t been a woman in his kitchen since Ada died.
"I"m almost done and on deadline," Alyssa said, smiling proudly.
Clint leaned back in his chair. "Well, let me know when you"re ready to take on another customer. I was serious when I mentioned I needed a Web site for the Sid Roberts Foundation."
She lifted a brow. "And you want me to do it?"
"Only if you have the time. The next time you"re in my office take a look in the side drawer on your right. There"s a folder with information about the foundation in there. If you decide to do it, we can sit down and discuss it when I get back," he said.
"Get back? Are you going someplace?"
He heard the catch in her voice again. "I"m not going off the property so I"ll still be safe in saying we were together for the thirty days, but I"ll be spending a couple of nights under the stars on the south ridge. The horses arrived today and the ones I"ve decided not to train I"ll be setting free on that designated land that"s governed by the foundation," Clint said.
"And how long will you be away from the ranch?"
He shrugged. "It usually takes a couple of days."
"Oh," Alyssa said.
"Well, folks, I"ll be leaving," Chester said. Clint shot the older man a glance. He"d forgotten he was still in the room. He had been too focused on Alyssa and that wasn"t good.
"So, did you get a lot accomplished today?" Clint asked as he loaded his plate with food.
Alyssa watched him and was again amazed at the amount of food he consumed. "Yes, I put in a lot of time doing that Web site. It"s for a teachers" union in Alabama."
He nodded. "How do you get your clients?"
"Word of mouth mostly. One satisfied client will tell another. But I"m also listed in all the search engines and that helps," she said.
"I take it that you"re good at what you do," Clint said.
She glanced up and met his gaze. She hoped they were still talking about the same thing. "Yes, I"m good. I believe in satisfying my customers and I rarely get complaints. If you need references then I can-"
"No, I don"t need references."
Conversation between them ceased again, which was fine with her since he seemed keen on eating his meal. She wondered if he still thought the taste of the meat loaf had nothing on her. It was hard to tell since he seemed to be enjoying every bite of it. But then whenever he kissed her it appeared that he tried to gobble her up, as well.