When lunchtime arrived, she started to pull out her camera bag to take the film to be developed when she suddenly remembered she never finished grooming Bess properly. Guilt washed over her as she put her camera bag back in her drawer. Shutting down her computer, Elise left the office and headed straight for the barn.

  “Hiya, ‘ol girl,” she cooed to Bess as she entered her stall. Picking up the brush from the shelf, she spoke in a low, conspiratorial voice, “I’m sorry I left you hanging, but I got a bit distracted. I’m here to make it up to you.”

  As she started to brush her neck, Elise ran her hand across Bess’s coat, then paused at its sleek feel, not a bit of dust clung to the horse’s hair. “You’ve already been brushed,” she said with surprise in her voice.

  “Imagine that,” May called out in her heavy Texan drawl from behind her.

  Elise turned her head and raised her eyebrow, irritation rising at the woman’s condescending tone. “Come again?”

  May propped the door open, took a couple of steps into the stall, and folded her arms over her chest. “Colt took care of Bess, since you saw fit to leave her unattended after your roll in the hay,” she said, unmistakable sarcasm dripping from her accusatory words.

  Anger rumbled to the surface of Elise’s emotions, laced with a twinge of guilt at leaving Bess’s grooming half-done. Being distracted by Colt and then further distracted by May’s fawning over the man, did show a lack of responsibility—even if she was here, foregoing her lunch in order to remedy her error. But hell would be fifty below before she’d ever let May know she felt any guilt at all.

  Raising her chin a notch, she faced the woman head on. “What I do or do not do is none of your business.” Narrowing her gaze, Elise continued, “It’s my understanding your job is to run the promotional sales booth at the rodeos, not tell the owners what to do.”

  May’s cheeks turned red and Elise could swear she literally saw steam rise from the woman’s ears as she dropped her arms and curled her hands into tight fists by her side.

  “I’ve taken care of more than my share of livestock for the Lonestar.” May nodded to Bess and finished, “Including, Bess here. She’s usually my mount when I’m home. So yeah, I think I have a bit of say-so in how she’s treated.”

  Just who the hell did she think she was, talking down to her? Elise picked up on the woman’s possessive tone and her own heart rate roared in her ears. It really shouldn’t bother her that Bess was the chosen mount for females visiting the Lonestar, but knowing of May and Colt’s past, she couldn’t help the feeling of “taking May’s seconds” that slammed through her at the discovery.

  Carefully placing the brush on the wooden shelf, she stepped away from Bess and bent slightly at the waist, waving her arm toward the horse with a flourish. “Then, by all means, enjoy Bess along with the benefits of grooming her during your short stay.”

  May gave her a haughty look as she crossed her arms once more. “He might screw you, but that’ll be all he’ll want from you. I’ve asked around. You’re too much like—”

  “May,” a man’s deep voice cut May’s words off.

  She immediately stopped talking and sucked in her breath, turning toward the front of the stall.

  Elise shifted her gaze to the man and felt her stomach drop to her knees. Standing a little over six feet tall and dressed in a black T-shirt and black jeans, the lean, fit man had his arms crossed over his chest. With broad shoulders, a wiry upper torso and defined biceps, the stranger was the ultimate cowboy from the tip of his black cowboy hat to the gold buckle at his trim hips, down to the spurs gracing his boots. He stood too far away for her to see the color of his eyes but one word came to mind…dark.

  He leaned on the stall’s entrance and narrowed his dark, penetrating gaze on May.

  “Cade! It’s so great to see you. I heard you placed first at the last three rodeos. I’m so proud…” she babbled like an incoherent school girl talking to the most popular boy in school.

  Elise caught herself before she snorted out loud at the woman’s complete change in demeanor. So this was the rodeoing Tanner brother…

  Cade interrupted May, his tone curt, “Go make your mischief elsewhere, May.”

  “Cade!” she whined as if offended by his comment.

  He didn’t speak again, just stared at her with his intemperate gaze. The way he held himself, his very demeanor, told Elise he was not a man to be crossed.

  “Oh, all right,” May finally said in a disgruntled voice as she threw her hands up in the air.

  As she passed by him on her way out of the stall, May said in an alluring voice, “Save a dance for me at Rockin’ Joe’s tomorrow night, okay?”

  Cade didn’t spare her a glance as she walked off. Instead he fixed his assessing gaze on Elise for a long, agonizing minute.

  As his impassive gaze skimmed down her body, then back to her face, Elise knew, in a matter of seconds, he’d sized her up, measured her worth, and had her neatly cataloged in his mind.

  She held her breath, waiting for an indication of his judgment.

  Touching the brim of his hat, he tilted his head slightly, a devilish gleam in his eyes as he said in a respectful tone, “Afternoon, ma’am,” before he turned and walked off.

  A shiver passed through her at the memory of his penetrating look—how much he conveyed in so few words. God, the man was sex incarnate. But as much as she’d bet he’d be a relentless lover in bed, she wondered at the dark, distant look in his eyes…as if nothing or no one had ever been allowed to get close to him.

  Picking up the brush once more, she slid the rough bristles across Bess’s back, saying aloud to the horse, “So that’s the Tanner boys. Other than loads of sex appeal, could they be any more different?” she finished with a chuckle, shaking her head.

  That evening, for the first time since she’d joined the Lonestar, Elise ate dinner with the entire ranch and rodeo staff at the main house.

  They all sat at the long kitchen table. Extra leaves had been added and chairs pulled up to accommodate the larger than normal crowd.

  When a ranch hand near Nan started to pick up his fork, she slapped at his hand, “Not yet, Davy, we’re waitin’ on Cade to show.”

  Just then, Cade came in through the kitchen side door, the screen slamming behind him.

  Standing up, Nan walked over to stand in front of him. “Well, it’s about time you showed your face, young man—”

  Cade stunned Nan in mid-sentence when he’d picked her up, twirled her buxom body in a big bear hug and kissed her on the cheek, saying, “But Nan, I just wanted to make sure I came to the table all clean and freshened up for ya.”

  Elise saw the deep love Nan felt for the boys as the older woman’s eyes misted. She shoved him away and ran her hands down her apron as if brushing out imaginary wrinkles. “Aw, go on with ya devilish self. Sit down so we can eat.”

  Cade winked and cast a devastating smile Elise’s way as he sat down next to Mace and across from Colt. Yep, dark, she thought. His hair was as dark as Colt’s—though worn longer. His eyes were a shade of blue so deep they appeared almost black.

  Once Cade was seated, Colt surprised Elise when he introduced her as the Lonestar’s half-owner and webmaster. Thank God he hadn’t called her the webmistress or she was sure May would’ve had a field day with that one.

  Cade gave her a respectful nod and said, “Nice to meet ya, ma’am.” Not once did he acknowledge that he’d made her acquaintance in the barn earlier.

  While Elise ate, she enjoyed listening to Colt and his brothers exchange amusing childhood stories. Their interaction included a good bit of teasing, but she could tell they held a genuine love and respect for each other. Colt even made sure to include her in a small way by winking at her when he started to relay one particular story of Cade dunking Mace in the horses’ water trough in payment for some trickster deed Mace had done. She enjoyed seeing Cade laugh.

  Elise realized the middle brother might be a man of few words, the kind who seemed to hold his emotions in constant check, a laugh or a smile a rare sight. But as evidenced with his deferential treatment of Nan earlier, he certainly had a helluva way with women when he turned on the charm.

  As dinner came to an end, Tom walked outside and pulled in a cooler full of beer. Passing the longnecks to everyone, he held his up and said, “Here’s to the rest of the rodeos, folks. May they be as busy and as profitable as the first half of the season.”

  “Yee-haw,” everyone agreed at once, holding up their beers in salute. Elise did the same and smiled at Colt before she put the beer bottle to her lips.

  Turning to Elise, mischief twinkling in his eyes, Tom said, “What time’s my interview tomorrow, Elise?”

  “Me too,” another man said.

  “Me too,” a third man echoed.

  Laughing, Elise turned to the men and started setting up an interview schedule for the next day. While she talked to the employees, she saw Colt, Mace and Cade slip out of the kitchen into the living room to talk.

  Good for them. She figured with Cade’s schedule it wasn’t often that all three brothers got to spend quality time together.

  As her interview schedule filled up, the kitchen emptied. When Elise got around to scheduling May’s interview, the woman stood, then walked toward the screen door. “I see you saved the best for last,” she commented, her tone irritated. As she opened the door, her expression turned triumphant, “That’s okay. Colt knows just how worth the wait I am.”

  When the door slammed behind her, Elise gritted her teeth as she stood to help Nan gather the dishes.

  Scraping food off a plate into the trash, Nan harumped. “I saw the way she was lookin’ at Cade.” She shook her head mumbling, “Goin’ from one brother to another—that woman is trouble.”

  Elise gave a hollow laugh. “She told me Bess was her mount earlier today.”

  Nan looked up and her knowing brown eyes narrowed. “I think she needs to find another job. Anyone can run a concession stand.”

  “Don’t say anything to Colt about this, Nan,” Elise said. “If May is fired, I want it to be because she deserves it, not because she enjoys needling me.”

  Nan grinned. “Don’t worry, Elise. Someday May’s goin’ to tie her own noose. I won’t have to say a word.”

  * * * * *

  Elise frowned at the swift knock at her door. She glanced at the clock. Ten o’clock. She’d washed her face, pulled on an oversized T-shirt that reached her mid-thigh and was just getting ready to climb into bed. It had to be Colt.

  After she’d finished up with Nan, she heard Colt still talking with his brothers, so instead of intruding, she decided to head home. Now he shows up two hours later. Who knew he was such a talker? Then again, he could’ve been waylaid by May. Her heart sank at the thought. But he’d sounded so adamant when he’d said he was a one-woman man, she reminded herself. The memory of his steely tone calmed her nerves. She believed him.

  Great, instead of a sophisticated Elise Hamilton, he would get to see a woman who looked more like a teenager with her hair down, no makeup on, sporting an old Hard Rock Café T-shirt and bare feet.

  As she headed for the door, her chest tightening, she thought in defiance, Maybe that’s exactly what he needs to see. Me at my plain Jane-est. Second best to May, my ass!

  Feeling rebellious, yet very unsexy, Elise opened the door.

  Colt stood outside, one hand on the doorjamb, waiting.

  His cowboy hat hid his face in shadows from the bright parking lot lights. All she saw was his strong jaw with that muscle tic and her heart leapt. When he tilted his head and the light filtered across his face, the sight of his glittering gaze raking her body from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, then settling on the peaks of her nipples jutting against the soft cotton fabric, took her breath away.

  Damn his smoldering gaze, as if he knew she wore no underwear beneath her shirt. And double damn her traitorous body for reacting instantaneously to his black cowboy shirt and faded jeans covering his tall muscular frame. The visual stimulation coupled with his intoxicating male scent and potent, seductive charisma, made her heartbeat roar in her ears.

  “You left without sayin’ goodbye, darlin’,” was all he said, but his tense stance and the distinct muscle jumping in his jaw spoke volumes.

  No way would she let him know how much the whole Bess thing had bothered her. Colt had never said anything about commitment, had even ignored her flippant statement about them not being a couple.

  He walked inside and shut the door behind him, his look predatory as he advanced on her in long strides.

  She answered, her heart racing, “You were busy talking to your brothers. I figured you had a lot of catching up to do.”

  Colt pulled his hat off and tossed it on the kitchen table as he continued to stalk her across her living room, his tone possessive, intense, “I had plans, Lise, things I wanted to do…” His voice dropped to a seductive rumble. “To you.”

  Right when he finished speaking, the backs of her knees bumped into her Papasan chair and Elise lost her balance, flopping into its deep, circular cushion.

  Oh God! The primal look in his eyes and the promise of his words, made her realize her T-shirt had hiked up her thighs, almost exposing her to his gaze. Her breasts tingled and her sex began to throb in tense anticipation.

  Grasping the rattan outer edge of the chair, she started to pull herself up when Colt placed his big, warm hands on her naked thighs.

  “No. Don’t move,” he ground out as he sunk to his knees in front of her.

  Her breath caught in her throat and her heart rammed in her chest as he slowly slid his hands up her thighs.

  Massaging her muscles, he pulled her legs apart and moved between them as his deep blue gaze locked with hers. Sliding his hands under the hem of her shirt, his thumbs teased her damp curls.

  “I’ve wanted to taste you all day and when I discovered you’d left…” he trailed off, while his hardened expression told her how much her absence bothered at him.

  “Colt, I—”

  Elise’s words trapped in her throat as Colt slid his hands around and grasped her naked rear, pulling her along the cushion, closer to the edge of the chair.

  “Put your feet on my shoulders,” he ground out.

  “Colt—”

  “Now!” The fierce expression on his face reflected his hunger, his pent-up desire to have her right then.

  Elise had barely touched her heels to his shoulders when Colt swiped his tongue across her sex in a slow, deliberate lap, his action a territorial branding that spoke volumes to his intentions.

  She grasped the edge of the chair and let out a mewing sigh of pleasure as he teased her entrance once more before delving his tongue deep inside her. While he sucked her juices, he groaned his approval. The feral sound was such a turn-on!

  His heated breath bathed her thighs as he spoke, his voice sounding tortured, “Everything about you intoxicates me. Your scent when you walk past, your throaty laughter, and now your taste…” He paused and let out a controlled breath. “It makes me want to have you again and again.” He looked up, his clouded, dark gaze colliding with hers. “I’ve never claimed to be a gentle lover, Lise.”

  His intensity sent thrills up and down her spine. “I never asked you to be,” she shot back, panting in expectation.

  The look in his eyes shifted to satisfied determination as he lowered his head and found her clitoris. Sucking at the throbbing nub, he alternately nipped and pulled at the sensitive flesh, bringing her to the edge only to lave at her until her impending orgasm abated. Again and again he played her body to his own tune.

  Rocking her hips to his torturous onslaught, Elise finally fisted a hand in his thick, dark hair and pressed him closer, hissing out, “You need to add sadist to your list of faults, damn you.”

  Colt’s chuckle rumbled against her right before he thrust two fingers deep inside her and sucked hard on her sensitive flesh.

  “Yes!” she screamed out at the welcoming sensation as her body began to clench around the fingers pumping in and out of her body. As Elise drew in her breath, her heart hammered and her stomach tensed right before a full-blown orgasm rolled through her in waves of intense pleasure.

  Just as the tremors in her body started to dissipate, he lifted his head and grasped her hips. Backing out of the way of her legs, he swiftly pulled her out of the chair and rolled her over on her stomach.

  Facing the chair, her knees now on the floor, Elise’s heart raced at her quick change in position. All she could think about was having Colt inside her as quickly as possible.

  As she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor, the sound of Colt unbuckling his belt and ripping the buttons of his jeans apart only fueled her desire. Placing one hand on her hip, he pressed the flat of his other hand against her back, silently directing her. Panting in anticipation, Elise complied, bending at the waist as she laid her arms on the cushion of the chair.

  When Colt grasped her hips, pressed his erection against her and slammed into her in one swift, deep thrust, she keened out her pleasure at the satisfying feeling of completeness. The sensation of his jeans rubbing the back of her lower thighs as he withdrew and sank back in made her feel wanton yet so very desired.

  “Come on, Elise, show me what you’ve got,” he encouraged in a rough rasp as his hips met her rear once more.

  Feeling thoroughly challenged, Elise rose up on her hands and used the chair for leverage as she pushed back against him, clenching her inner muscles around his erection.

  At the sound of his low groan of pleasure, she smiled and pressed harder.

  In response, Colt laid his chest, his bare chest—aaah, he’d removed his shirt!—against her back and slid his hands over hers, clasping her hands and stretching her arms forward toward the back of the chair as he rammed into her. With each penetrating thrust, her nipples rubbed back and forth against the wooden edge of the chair, causing her to moan in delight.