Strictly Business Read online

  She lifted her flannel, and showed him the canteen she had hooked to her belt. “This really isn’t my first time doing this. You need to have a little more faith in me if we’re going to work together.”

  “Then take off the damn jacket. That might prove you have the sense that God gave you.”

  “Okay, listen up.” The cool composure had already snapped and she sounded pissed again. “I wasn’t planning on living here for five months, so the better part of my wardrobe is at home. Now, I’ll have it here in a couple of days, but in the meantime I have what I packed. Which is mostly business suits. I only brought the jeans for evening use, hence the thicker flannel. I always wear a long sleeve and this is what I have. So, quit treating me like a stupid child and trust that I can take care of myself!”

  Jake found himself smiling again. For some reason, he liked her better when she was angry. Something sparked in her eyes when she yelled at him. And anything was better than that cool stuck up thing she had going. “Well, I guess I’ll believe it when I see it. So far, the only thing you seem to have going for you is the ability to get on a horse. Can you ride as well?”

  Her eyes squinted, her jaw tightened. “Try me.”

  Jake smiled again as he wheeled Satan around. Lady was just that, a lady, very gentle and calm, which is why he’d chosen her for the unknown rider. But if handled well she had some speed. I guess we’ll see just what she can do. He heel-kicked Satan, and the horse took off into a full run.

  Chapter 6

  Jess nudged Lady with her knees, thankfully she responded to that, and away they went. It was only a matter of minutes before she was grinning like a kid. She loved to ride, not for competition, but just to ride. The wind in her face, the feel of the horse, strong and powerful underneath her. The pounding of the ground beneath the hooves. Every now and then as a child, she would manage to sneak away from whatever lessons she’d had going and run over to the stables. She would grab her mare, Savannah, and run her as far and as fast as she could go. Sometimes, she would even ride bareback. That was her secret though. Only Billy, their stable hand, ever knew she did that. For just a minute, she was even able to forget where she was and who she was with. For just a minute, she was eleven years old again, riding through the trees in Virginia. Not a care in the world.

  Jess, saw Jake slow his horse and then saw the scowl flash across his face. She sighed. Okay, back to the present. Forced politeness. “Thank you. That was a lot of fun. Is this where you want the house?” She looked around to see where she was. It was beautiful. A wide open field, surrounded by trees. It was even fairly level, so it wouldn’t take too much to build the foundation. He was still glaring at her.

  “Yeah, this is the spot. I’ve always liked it here. There’s even a stream just down a ways over there.” He was pointing to just beyond the tree line.

  The words were all normal enough, but he was almost growling them at her. What is his problem? “It’s a great location. I think it would make for a lovely home site.” She hopped down, reached under her flannel and took out a pencil and notebook. She started making some quick notes, pacing off measurements.

  She could feel his eyes boring into her back as she worked. Somehow, he was angrier now than when they'd left the barn. She did her best to ignore him and finish as quickly as possible. When she was done, she calmly turned to face him, a tentative smile on her lips. Now he looked even angrier than before. “Can you please show me the road?” Her tone was no longer cool, but the words were polite enough. It would have to do.

  “This way.” He turned the horse and walked him over to the road.

  He must have heard her catch up to him because he kicked it up to a trot and took her all the way down to where the side road met a larger road. “We’ll go back to the house this way.”

  That was all he said. No other words. He slowed down when she stopped to make more notes and then sped back up to a trot when she was done.

  It’d probably been over two hours by the time they got back to the barn. She was hot. Way overheated. All she wanted to do was go into the house and take off the stupid flannel. The silence, which would have normally been uncomfortable, had been a blessing. They couldn’t be civil to each other, so silent was better. She did need to talk to him though. She turned, intending to ask him when they could meet to go over some ideas and get the details of what he needed in the floor plan. She saw him hop off the horse and walk quickly toward her.

  He grabbed her flannel and started unbuttoning it, yanking, almost ripping the buttons off. She tried to grab at his hands and he swatted hers away. “What do you think you’re doing? Stop it right now!”

  “Taking off your damn flannel. You’re hot enough that you’re turning red. And obviously you’re too stupid to take it off yourself, so I’m doing it for you. I will not have someone passing out because she doesn’t have a brain in her head!”

  At this point, he had the shirt unbuttoned and was yanking it off her arms. Jess was struggling, trying to keep her shirt on her arms, but it was a losing battle. In all her wrestling, the only thing she seemed to be accomplishing was wiggling herself against him. And God help her, her body responded to his nearness, his hard strength and size. She felt her breasts tingling, her nipples tightening and her breaths coming in shorter gasps.

  She decided the shirt wasn’t worth it. She yanked her arms out and swung herself away from him.

  * * * * *

  Jake threw the stupid shirt on the ground and turned toward her. “Now, drink some of that water you brought—” The words died in his throat.

  Had he really considered her bland? He was wrong. She was gorgeous. He found himself swallowing hard as he absorbed what he saw. Her hair had come loose, partly from the ride, and partly from the fighting. Her eyes were blazing back at him, the brown almost sparking, with…anger? Her cheeks were flushed, not just with heat, and her lips were red. Very red. And her body was…there were no words. She was built like every man’s fantasy. Long legs, surprisingly long since she was so little, curvy hips that dipped in to the tiniest waist he’d ever seen. Her jeans fit like they’d been custom made for her, riding low across her hips. Her waist flared back out to large, rounded breasts. Bigger than they should’ve been for her frame, but they didn’t look fake. They looked soft and natural. And the tips were pressing hard against her fitted T-shirt. This was what she hid underneath those stupid suits? How was that possible? Better yet, why?

  She stood completely still while his brain tried to process what his eyes were seeing. When she finally spoke, her voice showed all the anger he knew he deserved. “Have you seen enough? May I have my shirt back now?” At the husky tone, Jake felt his already throbbing groin tighten into a full hard on. He had to get away from her before he did something he’d regret. The lack of control over his body’s response pissed him off even more. He threw her shirt at her. “Put it back on before you go out there,” he managed to mumble. There was no telling the response she would get from the other men on the ranch. There weren’t many eligible females around here, and none that looked like her. “Meet me in my office.” He walked away, shouting over his shoulder to Bobby to cool down Satan and Lady.

  * * * * *

  Jess laughed in spite of the fury. Satan is the name of his horse? It figures. She threw her shirt back on and stormed after him.

  She popped into the bathroom to fix her hair and splash some cold water on her face. She took off the fanny pack/belt kit she always wore to the sites, grabbed her notebook and headed into his office. When she got there he was waiting for her and holding a lightweight, long sleeve shirt.

  “Until your clothes come, you can wear this.” He tossed it over to her.

  Apparently, he didn’t like her figure any better than her mother did. She sighed. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” She pulled off her flannel and slid his shirt on. It was blessedly cool, and smelled like him. Soap and man. It was also huge. She buttoned all but the top two buttons, and rolled the sleeves. It cam
e halfway down her thighs, but it would work.

  They spent the next four hours going over details. Marsha brought lunch in to them. He wanted a large house, around five thousand square feet. At least six bedrooms, an office, a game room for the pool table and a huge kitchen. They went over the color schemes he preferred. She was right, his office and the master bedroom, which she had not seen, were the only true reflections of his personal taste in this house.

  She wanted the exterior to match him as well. “Will you take me to your bedroom?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized what she’d said. She felt the blood rush upward, heating her cheeks as she tried to backpedal. “I just want to get a feel for you. The real you. No, wait…” She covered her face with her hands. “I need to see what your style is before I design the damn house.” She sighed.

  A deep chuckle seemed to rumble up from within him. A huge smile lit up his face when he answered, “Sure, let’s go.” He walked over and held the door for her.

  Jess was stunned by his smile. His face softened, relaxed. His deep blue eyes sparkled making an already handsome face knock-down gorgeous. She felt her breath catch. Maybe it was better when he was angry at her. Or at least it was less distracting... and dangerous. She rushed to the door, pausing to let him pass again and lead the way.

  Did he brush by her a little too closely? Was it intentional or simply because of his size? This house really was too small.

  The moment Jess walked into his bedroom, she knew she'd been right. This was him. The dark mahogany furniture was obviously expensive and oddly ornate while still being masculine. It was a huge four poster bed, with a black and silver satin comforter set. Lots of black wrought-iron accents made the room complete. He had art work displayed throughout the room, with warm earth tone colors.

  All of a sudden, she could see his house. She knew just what it should look like. She had to go, had to start drawing, right now. She turned and faced him, the grin she couldn't suppress splitting her cheeks. “I’ve got it.”

  Before she could slip past him, he did something she never would have expected. He reached a hand out, and pushed a stray lock of hair back behind her ear. Jess froze, holding her breath as she waited.

  She wanted him to kiss her. This was wrong, unprofessional. She didn’t even like him; he was overbearing and rude at best. A more realistic description would be a complete ass. And yet, her cheek tingled where he’d brushed it. She found herself mumbling “I…I…have to…go.” Then she did something she’d never done in her life. She fled

  Chapter 7

  When she came into the kitchen for dinner, or supper as Marsha called it, she deliberately waited until she heard the noise level die down. She was hoping that he’d be gone when she came in. He was still there, but his plate was almost empty.

  “Hurry up girl, grab some food before these hooligans eat it all,” Marsha said. “They’re all in a hurry so they can get ready to go out.”

  “Out?” Jess asked.

  “Oh yeah, it’s Friday night. They all pile into the truck and head into town to the bar there. There’s drinking and dancing. Food, too, although mine’s better.” She smiled as she said the last part. “You should go with ’em. It’s a good time.”

  “Are you going?”

  “Oh, heavens no, child. I’m too old for that now. Mostly. Every now and then I head in with ’em. You go on though. They can be a little rowdy, but they’re all good boys. They won’t let nothin’ happen to ya. Besides, Ben and George are going too. I think Ben is going to be the driver tonight.”

  “I don’t have anything to wear, not until my clothes get here.”

  “Oh, no, it’s not like that. Just wear what you got on. It’s not fancy.”

  Jess thought about it for a minute. That might actually be fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she went dancing and she had never been to a small town country bar. They didn’t have them in Virginia, not in her neighborhood. And even Austin was still pretty 'big city'. “You know what, I think I will. That sounds fun. Do I have time to go fix my hair? When are they all leaving?”

  “You got time, but your hair looks fine. Or maybe take it down. Doesn’t that twisty thing you always do ever make your head hurt?”

  Jess laughed, “Yeah, it really does, but it’s better than the alternative. I just can’t bring myself to cut my hair.”

  Jess finished eating as fast as she could and headed back to get dressed. She really didn’t have much of a choice in clothing. She pulled off the work boots and slipped on some sandals. Then she changed her shirt, pulling on a blouse she usually wore under her tan suit. It was navy blue silk and a little dressier than she’d like, but it worked okay with jeans. It was loose, with a scoop neck and an elastic band around her hips, making it fluff out like a peasant blouse. It was loose enough to play down the curves.

  She freshened her makeup and took down her hair. As it fell down her back, she sighed. If she were at home she would leave it loose, maybe even go in her spa, let it float around her head. Wearing it up really was starting to make her head ache, but she couldn’t leave it down. She twisted it up into a looser French roll, and held it in place with chopsticks. She should put it tighter, but this would have to do. She grabbed her jacket in case it got cooler, and headed out to the barn to catch a ride with everyone else.

  * * * * *

  Jake had been silently listening to Marsha invite Jess and when she'd agreed to go out with the guys, it’d been all he could do to stay in his seat and not shout “No!” at the top of his lungs. At least she was still wearing his shirt.

  He didn't really understand his reaction. How can I possibly be attracted to her? The answer was simple. He wasn’t. He had just been too long without a woman’s company. He thought about his plans for the evening. He had called up an ex-girlfriend of his. Not necessarily the smartest move, but better than heading into the bar and bringing home someone new. Besides, at this point it didn't really matter. He’d already made plans to pick Bethany up. Maybe he would just have to bring her to Gilroy’s instead of going to Evanston.

  He told himself he wasn’t jealous. He’d just met her, he couldn’t be jealous. He was just worried about her. She hadn’t yet proven she could take care of herself. And after seeing what she hid under those horrible clothes, he just thought it might be better if he were close enough to keep an eye on his men. If that seemed a bit possessive, well, it was his job to protect her. She was here at his request, after all.

  When Jake walked into the bar with Bethany at his side, he found himself scanning the room for Jessica. His eyes immediately locked on her. She sat at the bar with George and Bobby. She was smiling and laughing at something someone had said. And she was stunning. Her hair was still up, but it was looser, with pieces escaping around her face. Her lips were redder than normal, although it didn’t look like lipstick. And the shirt she was wearing was something soft that just begged to be removed. And then she laughed again. Jake looked at Bethany and forced a smile. “Want a drink?”

  She nodded and then rubbed up against him. He knew Bethany hadn't wanted to come here tonight, she'd said as much in the car. While he'd been watching Jess, Bethany had clearly been watching him. Now she sent a glare in that direction before turning to smile up at him. “Gin and tonic, please. Aren’t those the guys from your ranch over there? Let’s go say hi.”

  As they reached the bar, George turned and greeted Jake with a smile. “Hey boss, Bethany, what are you doin’ here tonight? I didn’t know you were comin’.”

  “Heard Marsha talkin’ about it earlier and it sounded like a good time,” Jake said. “Bethany, this is Bobby, don’t know if you’ve ever met him. And this is Jessica Wythe, my new architect. She’s helpin’ me build the new house.”

  * * * * *

  “Hi, Bethany. Very nice to meet you, please call me Jess.” She managed a sincere smile for the tall willowy blonde. Sigh. What I wouldn’t give to have that body. Then I could wear whatever I wanted to. />
  “Bobby, Jess, nice to meet you. You know, I’d love to come out and see what you have in mind for the house. I’ve known Jake here a long time.” She wrapped her arms through his. “Maybe I could help you with some of the interior. Especially when it gets around to cabinetry, furniture, that type of thing. I have a pretty good feel for what he likes, and shopping is not high on his list.”

  Aaaahh, Jess thought. She’s staking her claim. As she looked over at Jake, she wondered if he knew that. “Well, I’m working with Mr. Morgenstern to decide on the exterior style. And I already have an interior designer that I generally work with. If Jake approves it, then by all means, you can work with her when we get that far. We just went out to the home site this afternoon. I haven’t even broken ground yet. Although, hopefully before the end of next week.” Jess tried to keep her tone distant and professional. She really didn’t need this woman’s ‘help’ but she also wanted to let her know she wasn’t after Jake in that way. Female drama had never been a game she enjoyed playing.

  Just then, a voice she didn’t recognize said, “Jake, you bastard, how come you always grab all the pretty women for yourself? Why don’t you just pick one and let me dance with the other?” Jess turned and saw that the speaker was an early thirties man. Golden blond hair, baby blue eyes, strong chin and dimples and a smile designed to melt hearts. If she wasn’t mistaken, under that tight T-shirt there was also a set of rock hard abs.

  And Jake was giving him that back slap hug that guys do.

  “Cody, when’d you get back? Why didn’t you come into my office and say hello?”