Cowboy Up by Vicki Lewis Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

hair and flipped it over her shoulder as she gazed at him. “What now?”
    Hands on his lean hips, he sent her an unhappy glance. “This is such a loaded situation that I don’t even know where to start. Your dad trusts me. If I ended up seducing you, then—”
    “Hold it right there, cowboy. I’m a big girl. That means no man is going to seduce me unless I want him to. The whole seduction issue cuts both ways. Let’s say that I seduced you . That would be betraying my dad’s trust, too, you know.”
    “I don’t know how you figure that.”
    “Think about it. A beach-loving California girl gets involved with a dyed-in-the-wool Wyoming ranch hand. We know how that story turns out and so does my dad. He’d accuse me of being careless with the feelings of someone he loves like a son, someone who—” She stopped herself before she said “someone who was raised in a series of foster homes and probably has abandonment issues.” He wouldn’t appreciate her pop psychology evaluation.
    Clay’s smile was grim. “I’m a big boy. No woman seduces me unless I want her to.”
    She could almost see the shields going up around his heart. “That may be true, but my dad is not going to be happy no matter who is the seducer and who is the seducee. Both you and I know the story of his failed relationship, and he certainly expects us to be smarter than that.”
    “I thought I was, but…” He made a sweeping gesture with his hand. “You sorely tempt me, Emily Sterling.”
    “Ditto, Clay Whitaker.” But if she hadn’t fully considered it before, she now realized that a casual fling was the last thing a man like Clay needed. He’d had enough temporary relationships over the years. She didn’t need to add her name to the list.
    “Emmett wouldn’t be happy to know about this attraction,” Clay said.
    “No, he would not.” Emily met his gaze. “I guess we have to make sure he doesn’t find out, which means no more…no more…”
    “Just no more,” Clay said quietly. “No more, Emily. Like you said, we know the story wouldn’t turn out well.”
    No, it wouldn’t, but she wanted to lighten the mood. “That kiss was a humdinger, though.”
    “It was.” He seemed to realize she wanted to end this on a teasing note. “I was hoping you were a slobbery kisser or that you would suck too hard on my tongue.”
    “You kissed me hoping I’d be bad at it? That’s twisted.”
    He shrugged. “It would have solved my problem if you’d been a lousy kisser.”
    “I see.” She gave him a long look. “For the record, I suck on tongues exactly the same way I suck on…other things.”
    He let out a low groan. “Now that was a low blow.”
    “You’re the one who calculatingly kissed me hoping I would slobber on you or dislocate your tongue.”
    “I had to do something! You were driving me crazy with that traffic-stopping figure of yours and your cute little Minnie Mouse impersonation. A guy can take only so much, you know.”
    Satisfied she’d established an appropriately light and breezy mood, she let it drop. “All right. Let’s call a truce and get those tables and benches loaded.”
    “You still want to come out there with me?”
    “Yes, I do. Now that we’ve had this experience, and we’ve talked everything out, we both understand how we need to behave toward each other.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “Oh? And how is that, exactly?”
    “Friendly, but not too friendly, if you know what I mean.”
    “I might.”
    “Accomplishing this job together will prove that we can interact without any hanky-panky.”
    “Fine. But you’re not allowed to talk about how good you are at sucking…things.”
    “I promise not to discuss my sucking expertise.”
    “Good. The tables and benches are right over here.” He started off, his long strides putting distance between them as he headed for a corner of the barn.
    She picked up their hats and her gloves from the front seat of her car and followed him. She hoped