Chapter Six

Jovy’s heart literally stopped when Stone lifted his hands to cup her face, taking that first step to act on the attraction that nearly had her melting into a pile of goo at his feet all damn afternoon.

Walking beside him, listening to the intelligent cowboy talk about the ranch and his solid, well-thought-out future plans sent her heart aflutter, but it was the mutual respect she’d seen in the eyes of his men that had knocked the lid off her attraction.

So now, when he hesitated, giving her the option to push him away, she slid her palms up his chest to grip his shoulders tight.

No way was she backing out.

Apparently happy with her choice, he stared down at her, heat flaring in his gaze while his mouth hovered, barely above hers, sharing a breath, breathing her in, as if needing to savor her acceptance. She breathed him in, too, so heady on his essence she could no longer hold still. At the brush of lips, she sighed and melted against him, his height lining their bodies to near perfection. And the man was perfection, big and tall with hard muscles and ridges, making her feel all soft and curvy. She’d never been held by a man this tall before. The sensations were new, and that, coupled with their chemistry, had her trembling against him, nipples beading and poking his chest while he drank her in, over and over, as if he couldn’t get enough of her taste.

Jovy knew kissing Stone would be memorable. How could it not with that attraction zinging between them? Still, nothing had prepared her for the fierce awareness rippling through her body like an untethered electrical current at the faintest touch. Gripped with an unrecognizable need like she’d never known, she fought the urge to strip them naked and conduct an in-depth personal interview on his desk.

But he appeared to want to savor. Take his time to explore. Feed off her enjoyment. Learn what she liked. Drive her freakin’ out of her mind. So when he tipped her head for a better angle and slid his tongue into her mouth, making long, slow, decadent sweeps, she moaned, thrust her hands through his hair, and initiated her own expedition.

This was insane. How could it be so good? The man tasted hot and hungry, pressing his tongue against hers with mind-drugging strokes. A fierce, tangible heat shuddered through Jovy straight to her own “V-Spot Café.” The experience was new and incredible, and if she weren’t about to lose consciousness from lack of air, no way would she have ever broken the kiss.

Still holding her head, Stone set his forehead to hers, working to control his breathing while she slumped against him, clutching his shoulders as she did the same.

“D-damn…you’re potent,” she stammered between breaths. “What did you do to me? I can’t feel my legs.”

Brushing her temple with his lips, Stone dropped his hands to her shoulders and drew back to catch her gaze. “Despite fighting this crazy-ass need to kiss you since we met, I swear, Jovy, I didn’t plan that.”

Confusion and heat mixed to darken his eyes. Good. She wasn’t the only one knocked off-kilter. He felt the out-of-control attraction, too.

“I know.” She nodded, her chest rising rapidly as she continued to drag in air. “I’ve been fighting it, too.”

Lifting a finger, he traced a line from her shoulder, up her neck to her lower lip. “The timing is bad. I can’t afford the distraction.”

“M-me, either.” Her whole body trembled under his touch. “I’ll be heading back to Philly in four weeks.” Starting any kind of a relationship would be foolish. Unfounded. Jovy hadn’t gotten where she was today by letting emotions rule her head.

He nodded, and she watched stark resolution chase the disappointment from his gaze. “So we’re in agreement? We keep our hands to ourselves?”

“And lips.” She grinned under his thumb.

“And lips,” he repeated, his gaze devouring her mouth as well as her strength.

Dammit.

Need increased, sending her pulse into orbit and a memo to her brain requesting an extension on her break from reality. “Starting ten minutes from now?”

“God, yes,” he growled before crushing her close and kissing her stupid. Again.

The man was on a mission to destroy every last brain cell in her body and was doing a hell of a job, too. He was hired. And hot…and dead sexy. Cupping the back of her head with one hand, he ran the other down her side, brushing the swell of her breast with his thumb. She moaned and tugged his shirt from his jeans, giving in to the raw, fierce need to feel his skin, to stroke his hard, hot abs, to rock against him without shame.

A sexy sound rumbled in his chest and he ground against her, siphoning what little strength remained in her legs.

Still, she didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t. Longing consumed her, turning her stupid. Why else would she wrap around him like a pretzel when he set her on his desk?

Because she was an idiot who wasn’t thinking straight. Hell, she wasn’t thinking at all. She was feeling. Lost in a crazy vortex of heat and need and hunger unlike anything ever to cross her personal résumé. She didn’t want to stop. She wanted to explore the avenues presented to her, because, oh, hell yeah, Stone could definitely teach her a thing or two about heat and delicious sensations.

The sound of gravel crunching on the drive barely registered in her fogged brain, until she heard the front door open and voices filled the hall.

Stone broke the kiss and stepped back.

…

“Hey, Stone,” his brother called out, reminding him where he was…and that the office door was wide open.

Shit.

He watched Jovy scramble to her feet, her face flushed, lips swollen, and hair mussed thanks to him. A smile tugged his lips. Ravaged looked good on her. Damn good. And she tasted damn good, too. Then there was the whole responsive thing. No woman had ever reacted to his touch, his kisses, like Jovy.

She was addicting.

He couldn’t get enough. One touch…one taste and he was set, locked on. Missile to target locked on. All concept of time and presence of mind disappeared, along with his common sense, the second their lips touched.

Maybe celibacy wasn’t such a smart idea. He was wound so tight he was like a firecracker ready to go off with the slightest spark. That had to explain his lack of control and the asinine move.

Tucking in his shirt, he positioned himself between Jovy and the doorway to block her body from view while she smoothed her dress and hair back into place.

“Any luck finding that paper?” Brick strode into the room and stopped dead, his gaze moving over Stone before he tilted his head and glanced past him. “Oh, hi, Jovy. Didn’t see you there.” Stone could tell his brother knew something was up by the slight tilt of his mouth. “Looks like you were…busy.”

Stone glared a warning.

“Hi, yeah, I’m still here,” she replied, stepping out from behind him. “I was helping Stone file paperwork.”

A small twitch tugged his brother’s lips. “Is that what they’re calling it?” Brick muttered under his breath so only Stone could hear.

The son of a bitch. Stone opened his mouth to lay into him, but the idiot continued.

“You two have been busy. The room looks great. You even found the desk.”

Yeah, they’d found it all right, and if the asshole had returned a half hour later, they would’ve…

Stone stiffened. What the hell was wrong with him? Instead of chastising Brick, he should be thanking the man. Christ. If they hadn’t been interrupted, he would’ve conducted a totally different type of business in the room. Not something he’d ever normally do. The woman had him acting out of character.

Brick’s gaze turned serious. “Did you find the McGregor stuff?”

He reached for a paper on the desk and held it up. “Yes. I was just about to start working on the estimate.”

“Terrific.” His brother’s trademark dimples made an appearance. “I know I don’t have to tell you to make sure you look at this incredible prospect from every angle.” Something in Brick’s tone told Stone he was no longer talking about the feed store. “I get the feeling this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, little bro. Don’t blow it.”

There was nothing to blow. She wasn’t staying. He wasn’t looking. They’d already agreed to go hands-off.

So why did it feel like a big mistake?

…

For the first time in over a decade, Jovy slept in on a Monday. It was Stone’s fault. Although she’d acted all tough yesterday, agreeing to keep her hands and lips to herself, she never said anything about her mind. Nope. Her mind kept replaying his incredible kisses, over and over, until she dozed off and dreamed about sharing a whole hell of a lot more than kisses with the cowboy. After they’d christened his desk, they were headed for his couch in her yummiest dream ever, when she woke up and realized the time and the fact that the cowboy was due with a crew to help her paint within a half hour.

In less than half that time, she showered, pulled on her cutoffs and a T-shirt, and tied her damp hair back before swiping a banana from her kitchen counter on her way out the door. There wasn’t time to grab anything else, or to think, for that matter. Which was good, considering the last time she’d seen the guy she’d had her tongue in his mouth while rubbing against his hard body like a cat in heat.

Or a lovesick cow.

Ah, crap. Her steps faltered on the stairs. She was turning into Lula Belle.

Her only saving grace was he’d felt it, too. Stone had been just as caught up, just as lost in the crazy rush of heat and need that had sucked the common sense from her brain. But they’d left on good, mutually understanding terms yesterday. The kiss was incredible, but the timing was bad.

End of story.

A rap sounded on the door at the bottom of the stairs that led to the parking lot behind the building. Great. He was ten minutes early. Jovy shoved the last of the banana in her mouth and raced down the remaining steps.

It was too damn early for this. She needed a coffee.

Promising to remedy that soon, she reached the bottom, her ponytail whipping forward as she halted in front of the door and swallowed the last of her breakfast. With no time to be embarrassed or wonder how to act, she plastered a smile on her face and yanked the door open on the third knock.

Disappointment momentarily froze her features when she found Cord standing there with two bearded men she recognized from brunch the day before.

No Stone in sight.

“Oh, hi, Cord.” She blinked back her surprise. “I wasn’t expecting you…this early,” she added, moving aside to let him and the other men into the hallway.

He nodded. “Hey, Jovy. Stone sends his regards. Something came up. He asked me to help instead,” he explained before walking through the open door on his right that led to the shop.

“I appreciate it,” she said, following the men inside. “I taped everything off last night. I don’t think I missed anything.” Too much pent-up energy upon returning from the ranch yesterday had led to a trip to the next town for paint, followed by an hour and a half of taping off woodwork to prepare for this morning’s paint date. With Stone. Who wasn’t there.

Get over it.

No touching of hands or lips, remember?

Cord glanced around and nodded. “It’ll save us time. Thanks.”

Two hours later, Jovy started the second coat on the window trim while the men finished the walls. For something that should’ve been a chore, painting had turned out to be visually pleasing. All around. Toning down the bright yellow walls made a huge difference. The café already felt more inviting. Exactly what she wanted to project.

Watching the fit men help her paint had been an extra bonus, too. She enjoyed the yummy display of muscles and ridges rippling under their T-shirts, and wasn’t sorry. Nope. She ogled. Didn’t care. The guys were hot. Not as hot as Stone, but they were not shabby by far.

“Nice color choice,” Cord said, rolling the wall to her right.

“Thanks. I like it better, too. I’m glad Stone agreed to the blue. Not sure I could’ve stomached the yellow.”

“He hated it. Told me he looked forward to covering it up.”

She stopped painting to stare at the man. “He did?”

The former Ranger must’ve felt her gaze, because he turned to face her. “Yes. Trust me. Stone had fully intended to be here to have the honor himself. But his…something came up and he couldn’t.”

“I understand.” Not really. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate the finished product. It’s exactly as I envisioned.” It had better be. Last night, she’d spent two hours picking out the color.

“I’m sure he will. You have a good eye for business, both academically and aesthetically.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

He cocked his head and stared at her. “Why are you going through all this trouble if you’re only here for a month?”

Crap. “It’s complicated.”

“Humor me.”

Blunt. Direct. She liked him. He worried about his friend. It was clear in the lines tightening his features.

She set her brush down and held his gaze. “I have four weeks, starting two days ago, to make as much money as possible in this café.”

“Or else what?”

She shook her head. “There is no or else. I have to. Period. The alternative isn’t an option. I won’t even speak about it.”

“Because that might give it wings.”

The man was very astute. “Exactly.”

He scratched his temple. “Does Stone know?”

She bent to pick up her brush. “Know what?”

“That you’re not staying.”

“Yes. Why?” She stilled. “There’s nothing going on between us.”

“Are you sure?”

She opened her mouth to deny it, but memories from yesterday flashed through her mind and stilled her tongue. Cord was right. That embrace in Stone’s office was too hot, too intense, to classify as unimportant.

“Yeah.” He nodded as if reading her mind. “Look, Stone’s had a rough year. He put his personal life on hold to help out a friend. And because of that, he hasn’t dated in a long time. Just tread carefully. Okay?”

Not something she wanted to know. It made her feel things for her landlord she had no business feeling. Sympathy. Understanding. Thrilled that he’d broken his restraint because of her.

Dammit.

She tamped down her delight and set a hand on Cord’s arm. “You’re a good friend. But you don’t have to worry. Stone and I already talked about it.”

“You have?”

“Yes, and we agreed, given the fact that I’m only here for the blink of an eye, we’d be foolish to start something.”

He held her gaze for a beat, then nodded. “Smart, but sometimes things don’t always go as planned.”

She released him to wave her hand. “Well, not this time. I’ve got the feeling we both have too much at stake.”

“Time will tell.” He shrugged, then went back to quietly rolling the wall.

Which was fine with her. The conversation was too disturbing. Made her chest feel funny, and she needed to keep her chest out of it. Her mind. Her brain. Everything.

Glancing out the window, she caught sight of Stone exiting the post office down the street. Her pulse hiccuped as she took him in. Tall, broad shoulders, mouthwateringly lean, dark hair gleaming under the sun. Simply gorgeous. He had a quiet assurance that made him sexy as hell. All of the protests and reasoning she’d just spouted to Cord began to fade.

Damn, she was really beginning to regret that no-touching agreement. Without it, the next four weeks could be quite amazing.

As if sensing her scrutiny, he turned to stare at her shop. She didn’t think he could see her because of the sun’s position so she remained and watched, waiting to see what he’d do. Hesitation removed his confident air and he stood in the middle of the sidewalk, hat in his hand, staring at her café. Her hiccuping pulse now thundered in her ears. She wondered if he regretted the agreement, too. But then he shoved the hat on his head, pivoted around, and strode away without a backward glance.

That would be a resounding no.

Jovy had her answer. One she would respect. There was no reason to be mad. No use for hurt feelings. Texas was a stepping-stone. The unreasonable feeling of loss ripping through her made as much sense as a vegan café in the middle of cattle country.