A few days later Luke turned up early in the morning to put up the temporary stockyards for the arrival of the cattle later in the day. There was apparently a lot to do with them before they could be released into the paddock and Hayley was getting her first lesson in cattle handling, ready or not. She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she held another panel for Luke to drop a pin into.
Luke had brought along a helper, Barry, a man she’d seen in the feed store once or twice. Luke had insisted she didn’t need to be there, but she’d informed him that she was there to learn and so she’d willingly jumped in to lend a hand putting up the yards.
The sound of a slow-moving, heavy vehicle announced the arrival of the cattle. Hayley stood back and watched as the driver manoeuvred the vehicle into position. What the Galloways lacked in size, they more than made up for in noise. The driver disappeared inside the belly of the vehicle, and Hayley glanced across at Luke as the sound of loud banging against the side of the truck walls and a colourful procession of swearing ensued. When he didn’t seem overly concerned, Hayley turned her attention back to the truck as there was a clatter of hooves down the ramp and cattle began to pour forth in a constant stream of small, boisterous, fluffy bodies.
Barry and Luke worked like a well-oiled machine, sorting, drenching and tagging the protesting cattle. Hayley tried not to flinch at the constant click of the ear-tag gun as it placed a brightly coloured tag in each animal, replacing the old one from the previous owner. Hayley’s job was to record numbers. Luke called out how many calves they had, how many steers and how many heifers and Hayley kept a running tally. As well as that, she was the gate opener and closer when the men needed to move and separate the cattle. It kept her busy and she’d soon worked up a sweat.
Later that afternoon as the last of the cattle were tagged, Hayley brought out a sixpack of cold beer from the kitchen and passed them around.
‘You did really well today. Not bad for a city chick,’ Luke said, looking at her after he’d taken a long swig of his beer.
Hayley was absurdly pleased with herself over his compliment, and the lingering look he sent her made her hot and flustered—and not in a working-all-day-in-the-sun kind of way.
‘Yeah, well, I better get going,’ Barry said, clearing his throat, and Hayley felt her face heat up even more when she realised he’d obviously picked up on the vibe between them.
Luke thanked him and Hayley said goodbye, feeling awkward in the silence that followed his departure.
‘I meant it, you know,’ Luke said, breaking the quiet. Hayley glanced up at him. ‘You did a great job today.’
‘I didn’t do that much. You guys did all the hard work.’
‘Don’t sell yourself short. I reckon we’ll make a cattle-woman out of you yet.’
‘Considering I was only thinking of a few cows I could feed over the fence,’ she added dryly.
‘Yeah, well, sometimes we have opportunity thrust upon us.’
‘I think you’re mixing up your quotes.’
Luke shrugged and Hayley found herself tracing the outline of his broad shoulders, until she realised he was watching her and she glanced away, embarrassed. He tipped the last of his beer down his throat and Hayley dragged her eyes from the hypnotising action of his tanned neck moving up and down with each swallow. There is something very wrong with you, Stevens. Stop ogling the poor guy like he’s some…sex god…Sweet baby Jesus. Her gaze fell lower. Even though his jeans were covered in dirt and dust, they still looked so good the way they lovingly traced his muscular thighs and…Oh God! He’d caught her staring at his groin. Hayley dragged her eyes away from him so fast it almost gave her whiplash. She jumped to her feet and threw her empty can into the plastic bag she’d brought them out in and looked out over the cattle yards.
‘So, how long until we can let them out into the paddock?’ she asked, ignoring the smug smile he was wearing as he got to his feet. Clearly her attempt at covering up her lustful staring hadn’t fooled anyone.
‘I’ll come over tomorrow and they should be right to let out. Usually we’d keep them segregated for a week or more before letting them out onto the rest of the place, but you don’t have any other stock at risk of contamination, so it won’t be a problem here.’
‘Great. Okay.’
‘They’ll be a bit unsettled tonight. Don’t worry about it, that’s normal.’
‘Okay,’ she nodded, noticing he was moving toward her. With her back against the cattle yards, there was nowhere for her to go, and as he leaned towards her, Hayley could feel the warmth of his body, smell the tangy scent of male, a mix of sweat and deodorant, cow and dust. It should have been offensive but it wasn’t. Her eyes drifted shut of their own accord, waiting for the touch of his lips…that never came. Her eyes shot open in an instant and she found him leaning down to put his empty can in the bag at her feet. Could today get any more humiliating?
She prayed he hadn’t noticed her bizarre behaviour, sidestepping away from him and muttering silently to herself.
‘Hayley?’ he said softly, and she paused, turning back to look at him reluctantly.
His hand settled on her hip, so hot that it could have been a branding iron against her skin. This time when he leaned close, she didn’t have time to close her eyes, his lips were on hers firmly, and the kiss they shared was anything but feather light. It melted her down to the bone.
Luke couldn’t remember a time he’d enjoyed watching a woman more than he had today. Hayley might have been a novice around a cattle yard but damned if he hadn’t gotten a little hard watching her swing her leg up and over the rails, her tight jeans moulding her backside in glorious detail with each movement. He’d cursed more than once when he’d found himself distracted and almost had his foot trodden on. If he didn’t watch himself he’d end up with some ribs cracked or worse. The miniature Galloways might be smaller than the cattle he was used to handling but they still outweighed him and could do some nasty damage if he didn’t keep his mind on the job.
He wasn’t ashamed to say he got a kick out of catching her checking him out earlier. He was pleased to see she was affected by him as much as he was affected by her. He probably could have hidden the fact he’d seen her but she looked even cuter when she turned bright red. She did have the last laugh, though, when he’d caught her staring at his junk. Her gaze had felt as hot as a touch and he was sure the effect was visible. He wanted her. There was no point denying it. He’d wanted her for weeks now. He couldn’t stop thinking about her and there was no denying she felt something for him too. The only thing stopping him from acting on his impulse earlier had been the memory of what happened last time they’d kissed. But one touch of her skin now and none of that mattered. He needed to kiss her. He needed to feel her against him and he didn’t give a toss about what might happen if he acted on it.
As her lips moved under his, he could taste malt from the beer they’d just drunk, and something else sweet, something undeniably Hayley. His chest felt like it was ready to explode, along with another part of his anatomy as the kiss deepened. He pushed against her, yearning to be closer, needing to feel her against him, but when she gave a small groan that somehow registered in his brain as more pain than pleasure, he swiftly turned them so his back was up against the rails, lifting her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. He could feel the heat of her against his bare stomach where his shirt had ridden up, and a low guttural curse ripped from his chest as a wave of pure need washed over him.
He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so out of control. But she deserved better than a quick shag against the stockyards. It took everything he had to pull back from her and catch his breath, but the dazed look in her eyes was almost his undoing. ‘This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever said in my entire life, but I think we should stop. I seriously stink, and I’m pretty sure you’re not going to appreciate getting cow manure and hay in your hair, so maybe this isn’t the best time to…’
Her initial confusion slowly transformed into a shy grin, stopping his attempt at chivalry in its tracks.
‘I can solve both problems,’ she said quietly, taking his hand and leading him wordlessly through the paddock and back towards the house.
Maybe he hadn’t completely ruined his chances after all. He kept his mouth shut in case he said something to spoil the moment.
Inside Hayley was shaking as she led Luke to the house. Was she really doing this? Hell yes, you are, a little voice said defiantly. There was something explosive between them, it was undeniable. In fact she was so immersed in lust that she was prepared to get down and dirty—literally—in the middle of a paddock in full view of a herd of cattle.
Thank goodness one of them had the sense to put a halt to it before things went too far and yet…She couldn’t recall a time she’d ever felt that reckless. She hadn’t cared about anything other than Luke. Sure, afterwards she’d probably have been horrified by her actions, but she was pretty sure if Luke hadn’t stopped, she would have happily continued. Somewhere along the line she’d made a decision she was going to see where this thing between them led. She hadn’t gone looking for it, but now that she’d found it, she was ready to see where things went.
Hayley stepped into the bathroom and swallowed nervously before turning to face him. ‘There are clean towels in the cupboard over there,’ she said, clearing her throat when her voice came out sounding like a squeak. ‘I’ll leave you to it then,’ she said, moving away.
He reached out and took her hand. ‘You know, in the country you have to be careful how much water you use. There’s this thing we do to save it,’ he said, his low voice close to her ear.
‘Really?’ she said, feeling her breath quicken as he leaned closer.
‘If we get in together, we’ll use less water.’
‘Oh. Well, maybe we should do that,’ she agreed, surprising herself by making the first move and pulling her T-shirt up and over her head.
She took a moment to appreciate the darkening surge of need she could see in Luke’s eyes as his gaze swept across her torso. He made quick work of the buttons down the front of his filthy shirt and tossed it on the floor, before closing the gap between them and pulling her against him.
The flame was instantaneous. It licked at her insides, igniting her desire into an inferno. His mouth found hers and she was swept away by the intensity of it. The touch of his skin against her own sent a quiver of longing through her as he ran his hands up along her sides to lightly brush her covered breasts. Leaning away, she swiftly unhooked her bra and let it fall away. She smiled a little at his whispered oath, moments before he rid himself of the rest of his clothing then helped divest her of her own.
Luke pulled away and she heard him mutter beneath his breath. She opened her eyes to see he’d reached back to turn on the water but nothing was happening. Hayley opened her mouth to warn him but it was too late, the water suddenly gushed forth in a spluttering torrent of icy-cold needles, catching Luke full force and dragging out a rather unmanly squeal that momentarily distracted her from her own shock at having ice-cold water splashed over her.
‘Holy fu—’
‘You have to give the water a minute to warm up…’ she told him too late. ‘I’ve been meaning to get it fixed. Here, let me,’ she leaned past him to adjust the water temperature, but her foot slipped on the wet tiles and she fell heavily against Luke’s chest, knocking him off balance and pressing his back against the freezing wall tiles, tearing another yelp from him.
‘Sorry,’ she winced, finally adjusting the temperature of the water. ‘There, that’s better,’ she said, trying for a calm smile, but distracted by the feel of solid chest beneath her hand. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Apart from my testicles lodging somewhere up around my throat…I’m fine,’ he said with a wince, which turned to a sigh of relief as he angled his back under the now warm stream of water.
‘Here, let me help. Turn around,’ Hayley said, taking a bottle of shower gel and a fluffy sponge and starting to lather his wide back. He let his head drop and sighed as she worked the muscles of his shoulders and neck. Her gaze wandered lower and she found herself contemplating his buttocks and legs, white against the tanned skin of his arms. She followed the soap suds as they trailed down over his firm backside. Sweet baby cheeses, that butt’s firm enough to…
‘What?’
‘What!’ Hayley gasped. Oh, my God, she did not just say that out loud…did she?
‘I thought you said something,’ he said, looking over his shoulder at her.
‘Nope. I didn’t say a word.’
‘Here, I think I’m clean enough now, but you, young lady, are filthy,’ he said, and his voice dropped so low that it gave her goosebumps as he turned and took the sponge from her loose grip.
Oh, she was filthy, all right. Her mind had never had this many lurid thoughts running through it in her entire life. And now she understood why he’d sighed—she’d forgotten how wonderful it was having your shoulders rubbed, especially after a long day outside working cattle. Look at me saying working cattle like a real farm worker person. Oh yeah, she could get used to this, she thought as the soapy sponge ran in circles over her back. Her eyes widened. Okay that was not her back and she was fairly certain that had not been exposed to dirt and dust throughout the day either. Hayley swallowed hard as she fought to keep from panting out loud. The man sure knew how to clean, but she wasn’t sure she could remain standing for too much longer. As a ripple of longing passed through her, Hayley arched and tipped her head back. Unfortunately, at that exact moment Luke had been about to kiss her neck and she cracked her head against the bridge of his nose with an eye-watering whack.
‘Ouch.’ Hayley’s hands went to the back of her head as she turned, only to find Luke clutching his nose, blood spurting out through his fingers.
‘Oh shit,’ Hayley gasped, forgetting her own pain to exit the shower stall and grab a wash cloth. ‘Here, put this on it,’ she said, coming back to the shower.
‘This is not how I was expecting the afternoon to end,’ Luke said, his voice muted behind the cloth.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Hayley apologised, feeling terrible and reaching out for a towel to wrap around herself.
‘It’s okay,’ he said, turning the tap off with one hand as he stepped from the stall.
‘I think the universe is trying to tell us something here.’
‘Yeah,’ he agreed caustically, ‘like maybe next time I should keep my mouth shut about a bit of cow shit and sweat.’
‘In all fairness, I’m willing to bet something even worse could have happened out there.’
‘I don’t know…this was pretty damn spectacular.’
Hayley left him to take care of his nose while she headed to her bedroom to find some clean clothes. When Luke was dressed, Hayley made him sit at the dining table and tip his head back and placed a pack of frozen peas over the red, swollen nose.
‘I’d offer you a coffee but I’m pretty sure having something hot isn’t good for a nosebleed.’
‘Thanks anyway, but I better be getting home. I still have some things to finish up.’
Hayley wrung her hands together. ‘I feel really bad about this, Luke.’
He gave a strangled-sounding chuckle and took the peas off his face. ‘I’m sure we’ll look back on this and laugh someday. Someday, but not today,’ he added.
They walked towards the door together and Hayley tried to summon a smile as he turned to look down at her.
‘Seriously, Hayley, despite everything, I’m glad we took things to the next level. It would have better if it hadn’t involved a bloody nose, but I still prefer what we had today over nothing.’
‘Me too,’ she whispered.
He leaned down towards her and Hayley moved to meet him, but he pulled back and gently placed his hands either side of her head, holding her steady. ‘No offence, but I’m not taking any more chances,’ he murmured before touching his lips gently to her forehead. ‘How about I take you somewhere for lunch tomorrow?’
Lunch sounded safe—safer than being alone together here at least. ‘Okay.’
‘Great. I’ll drop by and let the cattle out before we go,’ he said, turning away.
As she watched him drive away her heart was beating out of kilter. She thought back over the things they’d done earlier and a small smile touched her lips. It hadn’t been a complete disaster.