sign of irritation. She did it more as a way to taunt him even more. His dick pushed against the buttons of his jeans.
“Fine,” she groaned. “You’re like a tall, dark, and dangerous dream. You and your cousin shouldn’t be allowed in the same zip code, let alone the same room.”
“Is that so?”
“Sure. You two are destructive to any woman’s self-control.”
“We are?” They were? That was news to him.
“Just look at you,” she went on, her words falling faster and faster. “You both have shoulders that could hold up the world, hair that just makes me want to run my fingers through it, and eyes—oh wow, your eyes are like these unending pools of deep blue. They’re like a midnight blue, your eyes. And what’s worse, your cousin is just as gorgeous with his dancing hazel eyes and yummy caramel hair. It’s like God so wanted to tempt every female on earth that he created the Gideons as punishment.”
“Punishment?” This just got better and better.
“Men like you two don’t even look twice at women like me, which is okay. I don’t know if I could handle having men like you interested in me. I’d never be able to hold up to whatever attracted you in the first place. I’m just me, just plain old Sarah Emerson. I can’t compete with the rest of them.”
Some asshole really did a number on her self-esteem. “Well, just Sarah Emerson, I hate to disappoint you, but everything I’ve learned about you so far has only attracted me more. You’re different, and I like that. You aren’t trying to wow the men at this ranch with some outrageous outfit, or something surgically enhanced.” His gaze raked across her face before flicking down to her heaving chest as she seemed to be struggling to breathe.
“You like my boobs?”
He laughed. This woman just spoke her mind, and damn if he didn’t find it endearing. “Yeah, I do.”
The color returned to her face, and she released a shaky sigh as she smiled warmly. “Really?”
A vibration of blistering pleasure rocked through his body and settled into his rock-hard cock. He shouldn’t be feeling something this intense for a guest. They’d just met, yet he’d swear they’d known each other for a lifetime.
“Tell you what, you stay with me for the weekend, and let’s see if we can find something about you I like more than your breasts. How’s that sound?”
Sarah smiled and nodded. “You’re on.”
Chapter 8
“Do you want real or decaf?”
Sarah sat in the giant industrial kitchen, her hands tightly folded in front of her to hide the way she quivered in anticipation and uncertainty. Were they really there for coffee? Or had Barrett lured her there under false pretenses for something more?
She had to admit, the idea hadn’t escaped her mind. She’d already spotted several surfaces that wouldn’t take much to clear if they decided to have hot, sloppy sex right here amongst the stainless steel appliances.
“I’d better have decaf. I’ll never sleep if I have caffeine this late.”
He turned with a grin. When he winked she physically trembled. “It’s not uncommon for guests to be up all night at the ranch.”
The quivers rocking her system intensified and attacked her, hardening her nipples and sending a shock wave of liquid pleasure ripping through her body. She imagined what it would be like spending the night with Barrett.
Yet the little doubt demon firmly planted itself in the back of her mind. Was she making a mistake by agreeing to stay with him? Would it end in disaster like every other relationship she’d ever had? What if he thought this meant more? What if she wanted more and he didn’t?
But above all else, what if they did end up having sex and she sucked at it? She wasn’t a twenty-eight-year-old virgin, but damn close. A few awkward times, once in college with a boy who never called her again, and then with Ryan, made her a far cry from experienced, despite the reputation her brother had set in place for the