Had she only finished her degree, she wouldn’t be in this mess now, climbing a dilapidated house’s front steps with a huge cowboy not far behind her.
“Out here, we’re a little more friendly. But it’s probably a steep learning curve for a rich bitch like you.”
Brielle spun around at the top of the stairs and gazed down at Colt, who was looking up at her with a mocking smile that had her grinding her teeth.
“If I gave a damn about your opinion, I would ask you to speak,” she said with what she hoped was a smirk on her lips. There was no way she was going to let this man — this complete stranger — make her day any worse than it already was.
She turned away, but before she had a chance to dig into her purse for the key to the house, she heard the steps creek, and without any more warning than that she felt him behind her, making her jump. She faced him again — better to see your enemy — but backed against the door.
He didn’t say anything for a few moments, just lowered his face to only inches from her wide-eyed stare.
“Lady, you really need to learn basic manners.” It wasn’t a threat, the voice too low, the sparkle in his eyes telling her he was enjoying himself. But she didn’t know this man, didn’t know what he was capable of. If she were wise, and at the moment she apparently wasn’t, she would apologize and send him away.
But once Brielle felt backed into a corner, she didn’t tend to make the wisest of choices. Crew had often told her that when she was a young girl, she would be the first to cut off her own nose just to spite her face. She felt as if she were doing that right now, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from poking the bear — a bear who happened to have some pretty stunning hazel eyes.
When she finally found her voice, she was grateful that it came out with a bite. “Get your hands off me this instant, or I swear you will never be able to have children!”
When he didn’t even cringe, just sported a huge grin with perfect white teeth, Brielle tensed, her body preparing to keep the threat she’d just issued. He must have felt her slight movement because suddenly he was pressed up against her, his legs preventing her from lifting her knee.
“Honey, I plan on making lots of babies, so I suggest you don’t do that,” he practically whispered, making Brielle more furious with her body’s reaction to his breath floating across her lips as he dipped his head just a little bit closer.
Utterly, horrifyingly speechless, Brielle found herself looking deep into his eyes, which she was discovering had flecks of silver in them. Why and how could she notice that right now? Shouldn’t she be afraid?
“Mmm, Brielle, it’s going to be a pleasure working with you,” he said, leaning even farther forward.
With his lips only half an inch from her own, she sucked her breath in through parted lips, wondering whether she was going to let this stranger — this cowboy — kiss her.
Why in the world would that be the thought crossing her mind? She should be screaming, not contemplating how his lips would feel pressed up against hers. Finally, her voice returned.
“Colt?” The sudden sweetness of her voice must have confused him, because he drew back a few inches, giving her space to breathe.
“Yeah, darlin’?”
“Let’s hope you were lying about those babies.” The smile she gave him was one of promise.
It took him a moment to process what she was saying, and then he returned her smile with one even brighter than before.
“Again, a pleasure,” he said before stepping back, out of kneeing range. “Have a great day.”
With those final words, he turned and jumped down the steps, soon disappearing — she didn’t know where. After five minutes… ten minutes — hell, maybe an hour — Brielle finally pulled herself from the door and turned around.
That was one hell of a first encounter, and it had started in her first ten minutes on the property. If each day went this well, she wouldn’t survive a week…
Chapter Three
He shouldn’t have called her a rich bitch. He shouldn’t have gotten in her face. He knew he’d made an impression on the city girl, but he might have blown it all with that one careless remark. But she had been acting like a… Nope. Better not even think the word again. There was just too much at stake. His frown deepened as he looked around at the land that should have been his.
It was adjacent to his own ranch, and Arnold had promised him first option on buying the property when the old guy’s time came. But Arnold’s wife hadn’t, and Arnold had gone first. What was it with women?
Colt wanted to expand his 30,000-acre ranch, but Martin Whitman’s property sat to his right and there was no chance that man would part with a single acre of his spread. Nor would Colt ever expect him to.
But Arnold’s property was ideal. And it was supposed to be his, dammit. When Colt found out that Richard Storm had swooped in and purchased it, he’d been furious. It was supposed to be his.
Colt had heard rumors about what was going on in the Storm family. To look at Brielle Storm, it was no wonder — the man’s kids were obviously hopeless idiots. And that was a good thing. She was a city girl through and through and had no business running a ranch. No business at all. And that meant that Colt wouldn’t have to wait long to get the land.
The world would make sense again.
Or would it? What in the world were those shoes she’d been wearing? Sure, they were red and incredibly sexy, but they weren’t for Montana, and certainly not for a Montana ranch. Hell, no! They were more suited for a night on the town, or maybe for the bedroom — just the shoes, with nothing else on...
Nope!
He was thrusting…er…pushing…removing that thought right out of his mind. He was there to convince her she wasn’t suited to running a ranch, convince her to sell to him. And his task had just become a whole lot easier. The worthless little brat thought he was an employee of hers.
Though Colt hoped he wasn’t normally so cruel, even in thought, this woman had immediately burrowed under his skin, and in the wrong places. She’s just been so…stuck-up — or maybe something was stuck up her sweet backside — and she obviously had no justification for her arrogance. But the babe didn’t want to be here, so they could both win if he bought her out. He hated deceiving her, for even a short time, as he wasn’t usually dishonest. He’d grown up in the tiny town of Sterling, Montana, population negative two, he thought with a soft chuckle, and around here, neighbors were…well, neighborly. It was a tight-knit community, and they all helped each other, no matter what needed to be done.