Chapter Eight
Cole sighed. Three days. Three goddamn days without seeing her. Not a single glimpse. He’d gone to her cabin several times, but she never answered. He hadn’t known if she was there or not, but could not in good conscience unlock the door with the master key to find out.
He knew she came out of her cabin because Daisy told him she did.
In fact, Daisy took great pleasure in detailing everything Emily did, which he was happy to hear about anything having to do with Emily, but Daisy didn’t have to enjoy his frustration so damn much.
If he didn’t know any better, he’d think Emily was hiding from him, and that shit wasn’t going to fly with him.
That night, his ranch hands were setting up a wiener roast and s’more bonfire get-together. Daisy had mentioned that Emily had planned to go, and Cole knew this was an opportunity he couldn’t let go.
Cole held back and waited in the shadows of one of the barns as he watched for her. He chuckled at himself, hiding and acting like a love-struck teenager.
Cole’s gaze swept the area around the bonfire before moving toward the path Emily would probably take from her cabin. He hoped she didn’t see him hiding in the shadows. She might think he was a creepy stalker and give her another reason to hide from him.
Cole’s features sharpened as he zeroed in on the woman walking toward the group of people sitting around the bonfire that was driving him out of his mind.
She was wearing a tan pair of baggy shorts that made her legs look a mile long but hid her trim hips and thighs.
She paired it with a size too large, untucked, white, sleeveless, button-down shirt, blatantly hiding as much of her body as she could.
He wanted to strip the offending clothes off of her and show her she didn’t have to hide.
Her beautiful, straight, dark brown hair streamed loose around her shoulders, just the way he liked it. It picked up the light from the campfire, catching the mahogany and rosewood hues mixed together in a beautiful cascade of silk.
He smiled when he witnessed her casually looking around. She visibly relaxed when she didn’t catch sight of him.
“Oh, yeah,” his smile broadened. “You think you’re safe, darling?” Tonight, she wouldn’t have a chance to hide from him. He watched as she sat down on the wooden bench, one of many the ranch had placed around the fire, with Daisy and Daisy’s two children, one boy and one girl.
He walked steadily toward them, staying behind Emily.
His heart tripped in his chest when Emily clapped her hands and held out her arms for Daisy’s eighteen-month-old daughter Maddie.
What amazed him was that Maddie flew out of Daisy’s arms into Emily’s and held her tight around her neck.
Maddie didn’t go to anyone besides Daisy.
Even Neil, Maddie’s own father, couldn’t hold her without her screaming.
And here was his little Emily. She’d been there four days and already won over his sweet but very stubborn little great-niece’s heart.
He caught Daisy’s eye quickly. He smiled when she barely nodded her head, telling him she understood.
He sat down on the other side of Emily and listened to her sweet talk to Maddie.
It was such a delightful conversation that Cole could have sat there and eavesdropped forever.
At such a young age, Maddie’s vocabulary was limited, but Emily seemed to be able to understand everything the child said or was good at pretending to.
Maddie was the first to see him, squawking her outrage at him and dove back for her mother.
****
Emily gasped when Maddie pulled back suddenly, thinking she was falling.
She sighed when Daisy caught her mid-flight, apparently used to her abrupt moves.
She turned to see what had caused the little girl’s upset, and her eyes clashed with the eyes that had haunted her dreams for the past several nights.
Emily took in a sharp breath, a hundred butterflies flying crazily around in her stomach.
His gaze refused to release her from its grasp. Everything and everyone around them seemed to disappear, nothing was in focus but him.
Her stomach tightened when he smiled.
He reached for her bare arm when she tried to stand, holding her in place.
Her stomach flipped at his touch. His hand on her arm felt like little shocks of fire that raced directly to her privates, turning them into liquid heat. Her arousal was so acute it took her breath. She realized she’d been holding her breath when black spots appeared in her vision.
Emily looked down at the hand holding her arm in a gentle grip. His hands were huge and effortlessly wrapped around her bicep. His skin appeared darker against the whiteness of her skin. His fingers were blunt, his palms callused, all of it very masculine. She raised her eyes back to his.
“Take a breath,” Cole demanded softly.
She instantly inhaled, holding it for a second before releasing it.
“There you go, sweetheart. I don’t want you passing out on me.”
Emily shook her head and tried to pull away from him, only to have him tighten his grip.
“May I have my arm back, please?” Emily tried to sound stern but was afraid it came out breathless.
Cole chuckled. Everything about her pleased him.
“Absolutely,” he said but didn’t release his hold. “I will as soon as I’m sure you won’t run away from me again.”
Emily’s eyes flashed to him and then away. “I guess I am pretty fun to play with. But isn’t there someone else here you can mess with? Because I’m not strong enough to deal with it.”
His hand tensed. He bent toward Emily and whispered in her ear. “I don’t know what the heck you’re talking about. I’m not playing with you, sweetheart. I very much want to be with you, just you.”
She blinked back tears and tried unsuccessfully to pull away from him. “Yeah, right. Are there no other single ladies here then?”
Cole's anger and confusion spiked before he gained control. “Honey, we’re going to talk about what the hell is in that beautiful head of yours.”
A rough, hoarse laugh slipped from her mouth, interrupting what else he was going to say.
“I’m sure other women would fall for that, but I look in the mirror every day, so don’t try to insult me by lying to me.”
Cole stood and pulled her up unexpectedly with him, taking care not to hurt her, and led her around the campfire.
Emily looked at his profile, and a sliver of nerves ran over her.
She lifted her chin. She’d made him mad.
Well, too bad. She wasn’t paying to stay here for him to play with her for his own amusement.
She dug her heels into the dirt when she realized he was taking her around the side of a barn where they would have some privacy.
She was amazed she had no fear of him at all.
It wasn’t fear that made her apprehensive, but the sensual heat coursing through her body.
She got a little dizzy when she looked up at him. Their heights were disparate. Although he made her feel feminine, nothing made her feel pretty or excited, two of the things her ex-husband had complained about the most.
****
Before they got to the corner, Cole’s cellphone beeped several times, stopping him in his tracks, yet he didn’t release her. He swallowed several curse words and the anger that was riding him. Cole turned to her, holding both of her shoulders in his hands, and waited for her to look at him.
“Look at me.” Several seconds passed without her lifting her head.
He waited for a heartbeat, and still no movement.
He released one of her slim shoulders, using his hand to cup her chin and raise her face.
He inhaled sharply at the pain he saw in her face.
He pulled her into him, pressing his torso tightly against hers until no air could get between them.
Her head was tucked perfectly under his chin.
He ignored how rigid she kept her body even as she pressed closer to his warmth.
He didn’t think she realized she was pressing herself snugly against him.
He reluctantly pulled himself away from her, his hands on her shoulders again, and looked at her intently, trying to find the dark shadows he’d seen in her eyes moments before. He gritted his teeth when he saw defeat and anguish before she visibly built her protective wall up against him again.
“I have to go check on the mare that’s been having problems. She’s due any day, but something else is up with her. Can I ask you to stay here until I get bac—?”
She shook her head and tried to look him in the eyes. “No. I really think I should go back to my cabin.” Her voice shook with emotions. “I have a lot of work to do.”
He could tell she was getting agitated and decided to let her go tonight and find her in the morning.
He nodded his head. “Okay. I’ll give you tonight.
But tomorrow we talk. Don’t even think of hiding from me.
” He lifted her face again. A muscle ticked in his upper jaw.
“I mean it, Em. If I have to come looking for you...”
“What?” she asked breathlessly.
His phone went off again. “Damn it. I’ll find you tomorrow.” He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “Sleep tight.”
Emily nodded and watched him leave. A suffocating sensation tightened her throat at the thought of being near him, so she knew she would make herself as scarce as possible.
She wasn’t afraid of the threat that came from him.
She felt a lot of things for him. Way too much, in fact, but fear was not one of them.