King Creek Cowboys Box Set 1

Chapter 9

Kit released a sigh of relief when Carter let his fingers slide from her arm, leaving a heated trail on her flesh, it wasn’t hard to imagine what it would feel like to have his strong, callused hands caressing her body, his touch setting her on fire.

She didn’t want to offend his cowboy honor, so she waited for him to come around to the passenger side. Truth was, she wanted the contact of his flesh against hers, but she wanted more than just his hands on her.

A shiver raced through her as he reached the door. Stop it. No more thinking this way.

One day on the job and she was ready to fall into this cowboy’s arms. The boss’s arms.

Was she once again catering herself to a man, falling right back into step with the first man she was attracted to?

She struggled to break away from the thoughts, and clenched her teeth to try to ground herself. He opened the door and held his hand out for her to take. She smiled, no easy task with her jaws clamped shut. She forced herself to relax, but felt a little wobbly as his large, warm hand surrounded hers, and from the crazy, tingling sensations his touch sent through her.

When her feet were on the ground, he held her hand longer than necessary, or longer than she should have let him.

It took some effort to calm herself, but she managed. She drew her hand away and walked in front of him, around to the back of the SUV. The night air was cool, the slightest of breezes caressing her face and arms.

He beat her to the back of the Lexus, of course, and he raised the door. She doubted she’d ever be able to move fast enough to avoid his gallant gestures. Did she want to avoid them?

The back was filled with the belongings she hadn’t put into storage. Mostly clothes and personal items were packed in the SUV, but she had brought along some of her favorite things that she refused to be parted from.

“I just need my overnight case for now.” She rested her hand on the smaller purple bag. “I can get the rest tomorrow.”

He slung a duffel over his shoulder then grabbed a pair of large suitcases that matched the overnight bag. “Might as well bring everything in now.”

His voice thrummed through her, the vibrations sending shivers to every part of her body.

No doubt she just needed to give in on things like letting him bring in all her belongings, because she wasn’t going to win. Not that winning had anything to do with it.

She slid the strap of the overnight bag over her shoulder and pulled out a box with some of her personal “treasures.” She followed him to the front of the guest house, glad for the landscape lighting that illuminated the path. Grass extended throughout the backyard of the main house, out to the guest house. It smelled like it had been freshly cut and the diamond sparkles across the tips showed it had recently been watered.

It was the most adorable guest house she could remember ever seeing. If it was built into a hillside and had a round door, it could have been a hobbit hole. It had a small white porch and a pretty vine-covered arbor arched over the stepping stones before the porch.

It had been painted a bright yellow with white trim and had a small front porch with two chairs and a little table. During the fall, winter, and spring the weather would be perfect for sitting out here. The summer, not so much— unless it was five in the morning. Of course, no one really sat outside for fun in the Arizona summer.

Carter was so tall he had to duck under the arbor. He set the suitcases on the porch and fished a set of keys out of his pocket. He handed her a key with Mickey Mouse chain attached to it. “This is the key to the guest house. Another key is at the main house if you lose yours.” He showed her another keychain with a matching key. “This is my copy. Don’t worry—this is your home while you’re here, and no one will be entering unless there’s an emergency.”

“Such as flooding?” She leaned against the yellow wall. “Or fire?”

He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Those would qualify as emergencies.”

The door swung open and he stepped aside so that she could walk through. She expected the place to smell musty and unused. Instead, warm smells of vanilla and cinnamon greeted her.

Carter flipped on the light switch, and lamps brightened the room, casting a golden glow over the decorator furniture done in tapestry fabrics and mahogany wood. Artwork hung from taupe-shaded walls and the floor was wall to wall Saltillo tiles with a colorful braided rug beneath the coffee table.

“It’s lovely.” Kit stepped into the room. “It has such a homey feel.”

“Mom decorated the place and Belle keeps it up.” He set the bags down in front of an armchair. “Belle likes it to be welcoming, so she’s always freshening the place up between guests.” He paused to look around, almost like he hadn’t really paid that much attention to it before.

Kit set down her bags. “Am I going to be in the way when it comes to company?”

He shook his head. “Nah. We have the smaller of the two employee houses that’s free. It’s larger than this and holds more people. This one is cozier as Mom would say.” His eyes met hers. “Will this work for you?”

She looked away from him and swept her gaze around the room again. “It’s perfect.”

“I’ll bring in the rest of your things.” He started back to the door. “To the left is the hall to your room. To the right, through that doorway, you can see the kitchen.”

She started to follow him. “I can help get everything out of the Lexus.”

He paused and shook his head. “I’ve got it. You get settled in.” He turned and ducked out the door.

She grasped her overnight bag and the box and headed down the hallway to the bedroom.

Even before she entered the room, she caught the perfume of lavender and rosemary. When she flipped on the light, she smiled. The room was as perfect as the rest of the place. She set the box down on the Saltillo tile, and took her overnight case to the bathroom. A citrus scent filled the soft blue-painted room. On the sink were bottles of orange mango hand soap and lotion, with bottles of the same scented shampoo and conditioner that rested on a shelf in the marble-tiled shower.

She definitely hadn’t been expecting anything this nice. This welcoming. She felt the worries she had before melt away. For a ranch in the middle of nowhere they clearly knew how to make sure the people were comfortable.

“Perfect.” She smiled to herself. “Absolutely perfect.”

Carter finished bringing in everything and shut the door behind him. “After the long day you’ve had, you should be getting to bed.”

The mere mention of bed caused exhaustion to flow over her like a wave. “Until you said that, I was running on my second wind. I think you’re right and I should. I’ve got an early morning ahead.”

He moved closer, so that he was mere feet away. “Breakfast is at seven, when the men are finished with their morning chores.” His voice was low, husky, even as he talked of the mundane. “The office staff eats lunch with the men. The office hours are generally eight-thirty to five.”

“Got it.” Kit gave him a thumbs up. “I’ll be ready.”

Is it getting hot in here?

He said nothing as his gaze darkened, as if he was drinking her in. She felt self-conscious, yet incredibly sexually aware as everything froze in time. He took another step forward, so that he was only a foot from her.

She saw everything in his eyes—the desire to touch her, taste her, be inside her. He wanted her. She could feel it radiating from him.

Heat flushed throughout her body. She must be tired to read all of that into one look.

But that look encompassed so very much. She had heard people talk about it. Conversations through the eyes.

Two people who wanted each other more than anyone else, showing it with nothing but a look. The kind that couldn’t possibly say anything else.

She wanted nothing more than to step into his arms, let his hands slide over her body as he lowered his head and took her mouth with his. She suddenly realized that if either of them moved it would end in a kiss. And something in her gut told her that a kiss like that had the possibility of stopping her heart.

The man was walking sex. That much had been obvious from the start. And there were moments that felt like they had known each other for years.

What am I thinking?

His throat visibly worked as he stepped back. “Get some sleep, Kit.” The words sounded almost choked as he spoke.

“Good night,” she managed to say. Her throat felt like it was going to close up on her.

He gave her one last look before letting himself out into the night and closing the door behind him. Once again, his eyes had spoken more than his words ever could.

Kit dropped into the closest chair. “Oh, God.” She flopped back in her seat. “What am I supposed to do now?”

Not only was she incredibly attracted to her boss, she was certain he felt the same attraction.

It was all over his expression.

She groaned to herself as she dropped her face into her hands.

“It would never work.” She straightened in the chair. “How could it? I’m an employee and he’s the boss. The last thing I want to do is jeopardize my job.”

Not to mention, she had too many secrets—too many reasons to make him walk away if he eventually found out. No. It hadn’t worked with Derrick. He’d said he understood. Then the next thing she knew she was hearing about a pregnant girlfriend. The last thing that she wanted was anything like that happening again. She couldn’t survive it.

It wouldn’t be if, it would be when. She could never hold back something so important. And when he found out, that would be the end of it.

“Better not to start anything you can’t finish,” she said out loud. “You’re going to keep Carter McLeod at a distance and that’s that.”

She paced through the cottage, opening every single cabinet and closet to explore the place she would be staying in for a while.

A brief thought of leaving crossed her mind.

You threw your whole life away to come here.

It would be idiotic to just take off because her boss was impossibly hot. She pushed the idea away. There was no way she was going to sleep with her boss, even if everything in her body told her she wanted to.

She would have to fight those feelings. It would get easier with time.

At least it should.

She would keep this job. This place could end up being good for her.

If she could figure out what to do with Carter McLeod.