I know you really didn’t prefer my company.”
When she didn’t deny what he’d said, he chuckled. “No wonder you don’t have a boyfriend.”
She glanced over at him. “What makes you think I don’t have a boyfriend?”
“I asked Gramma Mel if any man had visited you here and she said no.”
Layla frowned. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
He chuckled again. “Yes, it does. If you had a boyfriend he would have come here, if for nothing else but to check on you. To see how you were doing. To feel out the competition. To stake his claim.”
Even in the moonlight, he saw her roll her eyes. “Not all men are territorial, Gavin.”
“Any man connected to you would be.”
They had made it to the porch. When he offered her hand to assist her up the steps, she said, “No need.” And then she walked up to the door without his help. He knew why. All it would have taken was one touch and they would have lit up like the Fourth of July and they both knew it.
“Thanks for seeing me home. At least my temporary home.”
“No problem. What time does the equipment arrive tomorrow?”
“Sometime before noon. Thanks again for allowing me to store the equipment in that old barn.”
He nodded. “When will your team get here?”
“Some will start arriving the day after tomorrow and will be staying at a hotel in town. We’re hoping to finish the dig in a couple of weeks and then we’ll be on our way.”
A couple of weeks. He had every intention of making love to her before she left. In the meantime, he planned to stick to his resolve about not kissing her until she was ready to give in to their desire—even if it killed him.
“Good night, Layla.”
When she just stared at him, he smiled. Evidently she’d expected him to kiss her good-night. “I’ll stand here until you go inside.”
She nodded. “Good night.” And then she quickly opened the door and went in.
He didn’t move until he heard the lock click in place. Then he tilted his Stetson back from his face as he moved down the steps. Not kissing her had been hard but he meant what he’d told her yesterday. The next time they kissed would be when they made love. Just thinking about how intense that kiss would be sent heat through his body, especially to his lower extremities.
If he hadn’t needed to meet with Caldwell and his men first thing in the morning, he would have taken another ten-mile run around the ranch.
Three days later, while out riding Acer, Gavin came upon Layla and her excavation team in the south pasture. Most of them had arrived a couple of days ago but he hadn’t been around to meet them. He and his men had driven the cows to the north pasture where they would be kept during the winter months.
Over the next few weeks, the cows would be fed to maintain their good heath during the cold spell. Unlike the south pasture, there was plenty of grazing land in the north and a small pond to help irrigate the area. The pregnant cows had to be separated and tagged and the process had taken a lot longer than expected.
Just as well, he thought, as he brought Acer to a slow trot and then a complete stop at the top of the hill. He’d needed distance from Layla. With his grandmother in Cincinnati and him being out on the range for the past three days he’d assured their paths didn’t cross.
But now he was back and as he looked down at the activity going on below, he couldn’t stop his gaze from seeking her out. At first he didn’t see her, but when the crowd dispersed somewhat, there she was, looking as beautiful as he knew she would be.
He rubbed his hand down his face. Nothing about this seduction was working out like he’d figured it would. It seemed he would be the one to break before Layla. He just didn’t get it. They wanted each other. That was definite. So how could she keep fighting the attraction? Desire had to be eating away at her as much as it was at him.
He hadn’t seen her since that night they’d gone to a movie. Seeing her now made him realize that after all those hot and steamy kisses, and copping one good feel of her thighs, she had gotten into his system. That was crazy. Women didn’t get into his system—ever. So how had she managed it?
He fixed his gaze on her as if three days could have changed her. They hadn’t. Even from where he sat unobserved on Acer’s back, he could still see her flawless skin. She looked just as young as the members of her team. Her students. Wearing her hair in a ponytail, jeans, a pullover sweater and boots should have made her fit in. Yet there was something about Layla that stood out. Something that made his stomach churn and his groin ache every time he saw her.
He never did make it into town just for that booty call. The only woman he wanted was Layla.
Bottom line—she had stirred something deep inside of him that wouldn’t go away. At least not until he was inside of her, all the way to the hilt. It was only when his body connected with hers that he would be able to rid his mind of the belief that she was the only woman for him.
Watching her team work, he remembered something else. Namely that phone conversation he’d had with Clete yesterday. The old man recalled seeing the marker. He’d known why it was there, since he’d heard talk in town about someone digging on the property. But according to Clete, he hadn’t moved it. That made Gavin wonder who had. Both he and Clete agreed the wind could not have blown it away nor could it have gotten washed away by the rain. Which meant someone had come on Gavin’s property and pulled it out. Why?
Gavin hadn’t been receptive to the idea of Layla digging on the Silver Spurs. But if someone was intentionally setting her up to fail, they would have to deal with him. Flip’s camera had picked up something buried here. That made Gavin wonder if someone intended to unearth whatever was buried before Layla did so they could get the credit? His jaw tightened at the thought. Not on his property. And not on his watch. And not with his woman.
His woman...
How in the hell could he consider her his woman when he hadn’t bedded her yet? Besides, Gavin Blake never claimed any woman. But as he fixed his gaze on Layla, he knew that she was his. Bedded or not.
Layla had been reading what looked like a report when suddenly, as if she felt him watching her, she tilted her head up and stared straight at him.
* * *
A lump formed in Layla’s throat. Beneath the brightness of the noon sun sat a gorgeous man on a beautiful horse. She’d seen the horse before. One day after arriving on the Silver Spurs, she’d noticed when one of the men had taken it out of the stall to groom it. She had been admiring the animal when the man, Curtis, told her the horse’s name was Acer and that he belonged to the boss. This was the first time she’d seen Gavin on the horse and the sight took her breath away.
It had been three long days since he’d taken her to the movies and later walked her to the guest cottage, leaving her there and blatantly ignoring her since. Honestly,
