Propositioning Mr. Raine

  She helped him dry before leading him to their bed, instantly stripped off her shirt and undies, and followed him down into the sleeping bags. His skin was icy cold but she ignored it as she wrapped her body over his, trying to warm him as they lay together. He pulled her tighter, shivering hard.

  “Sorry, babe. This isn’t very romantic, is it?”

  “Shut up,” she laughed. “Just hold onto me. Am I warming you any?”

  “Yeah.”

  She pulled the sleeping bag higher, tucking it around his body. When his chills lessoned and finally stopped she lifted her head to study his face, only to realize he had fallen back asleep with her sprawled on top of him. Her fingertips tested his skin, worrying a little less now that he wasn’t noticeably cold to the touch. She lowered her head to put her ear to his chest and listened to his heartbeat, a sound she loved to hear. Navarro Raine was a remarkable man and watching him in that stall with Willow showed what kind of caring person he was.

  Eventually she eased away from him, climbed out from under the sleeping bag, walked to the light switch, and turned the harsh overhead lights off so just the dimmer one by the stall was on. She paused at Willow’s stall to check on mom and baby and saw they were doing well as Willow tended to her foal. Trina climbed back on top of Navarro to warm him and tucked the blankets tightly around them. He didn’t stir, proving he was exhausted.

  Trina admitted to herself that she was attached to Navarro way too deeply and also faced the fact that she was letting herself feel too much for him as she put her head down, listening to his heartbeat again. It was slow and steady as he slept. She loved lying on top of him, being wrapped around him, and decided that being skin to skin with him was pure heaven. One week with him had passed, leaving seven more of them to look forward to. In less than two months Navarro wouldn’t be hers anymore.

  An ache settled in her chest, knowing she was going to get her heart broken. That fact slammed into her brain hard. She was falling for a man who was only with her to save his ranch—a contract made up by a lonely woman looking for good sex with a man who needed money. She squeezed her eyes closed, knowing in that moment that falling completely in love with Navarro was going to be unavoidable unless she stopped seeing him immediately. The only decision to make was that next week she wouldn’t come back.

  In his sleep Navarro moved, wrapping his arm around her waist and his large hand slid down, gripping a handful of her ass. One of his thighs shifted her legs, pushing between. His other hand moved to rub her hip.

  “Thanks, babe,” he mumbled.

  She smiled. Maybe I could stay two weeks and still be able to leave with my heart intact. One week more can’t hurt, right? Then I’ll end it before I get too wrapped up in Navarro to walk away without it tearing me apart. She drifted to sleep listening to the sound of his heart.

  Chapter Six

  “Nav? Hello? Wake up.”

  The body on top of Trina’s tensed, waking her. But she didn’t want to wake so she burrowed tighter against the warmth above her. She realized at some point their positions had changed since now Navarro was sprawled on top of her. He moved slightly and then cursed.

  “Shit. Get out and give us a minute, Ryder.”

  Trina opened her eyes as some of her sleep fog cleared, remembering where they were instantly, the barn rafter above her a good clue. Navarro was pinning her down and his head was turned to look at something near their feet. Ryder? She let her mind search for why that name was familiar and then it hit her.

  She tensed before lifting her head to stare over Navarro’s shoulder at a longer-haired version of Navarro, only his skin was a lot darker. His eyes were a piercing dark brown, and his features were just a little harsher. His black hair was loose and ran down the front of his tank top almost to his waist. His eyes met hers.

  “Who is this? Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Ryder smirked with amusement.

  “Damn it, take a walk and give us some privacy.” Navarro sounded irritated.

  “Do you bring women to the barn often, Nav? I never pictured you for the kinky type.”

  Navarro almost growled. “Damn it, Ryder. I said take a walk. We’ll join you outside in a minute. Willow had a rough birth and we were here because of it. Now take a hike or I’ll get up and kick your ass.”

  The man peered over his shoulder, glanced at the stall, and his amusement left. “Did Willow do okay? Is the foal sound?”

  “Yeah. Now leave.”

  Ryder turned his attention back on Trina. “I’m Ryder.” He grinned and held out his hand, bending a little at the waist as he reached for her. “I’m his younger brother and I’m the better-looking one.”

  She waved, avoiding his hand. “It’s nice to meet you but could I shake your hand when I’m dressed?”

  He grinned as he dropped his outstretched hand, straightening to his full height. “I prefer you didn’t. What’s the fun in that?” He chuckled. “Being dressed is overrated and I prefer naked chicks myself.”

  “Get the fuck out,” Navarro gritted out. “On the count of five I’m going to carefully get up so I don’t flash Trina’s body and then I’ll kick your perverted ass out of the barn the hard way if you don’t move. One. Two.”

  “Spoil sport.” Ryder spun around and walked away.

  Irritation was clear on his features as Navarro stared down at Trina. “Sorry about that. I guess my brother’s band is on a break. I told you they never call before they show up.” He carefully got to his feet, extending his hand to pull Trina up. He turned, finding their clothes, and handed Trina hers. “Get dressed fast. He is a pervert and it wouldn’t surprise me if he walked back in, trying to catch you naked.”

  She laughed as she started to dress but frowned a few seconds later, searching the area around the container. “My bra is gone.”

  Navarro shoved into his jeans and cursed. “Damn Ryder.” He focused his attention on her chest for a second. “I’ll get it back. He loves to pull pranks so he probably swiped it before he woke us.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. My shirt is thick and loose enough to mostly hide that I’m not wearing one. He can’t laugh about his prank if you ignore what he’s done.”

  Navarro watched her, grinning. “I see.”

  “I grew up with six boy cousins tormenting me as the only girl and the best way I found to deal with them was to pretend I didn’t notice what they’d done. I once wore a dress with two happy face stickers stuck to my butt. It drove them nuts that I wouldn’t remove them or give them the satisfaction of acknowledging they were there.”

  He laughed. “What else did they do?”

  “The usual shit. They decorated my dolls with trash, they painted my bike black with spray paint and I just thanked them and told them they looked better that way. It pissed them off. I guess I was supposed to pitch a fit or cry. I got my revenge plenty though when they hit their teens. They discovered girls and I discovered getting even.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Trina laughed. “My cousin Marty was the worst and had a mean streak so when he was fifteen he was all into this girl named Becky and I saw them at the diner together. I figured if there was ever a time to get even, there it was, so I walked up to the table and asked him if that rash on his privates was any better, mentioning my mom could whip him up a new cream if it was still itching like crazy and oozing green goo. You should have seen his face and hers.” Trina giggled. “Oh, I thought he was going to kill me but he was afraid to mess with me after that. You can bet he didn’t get anywhere with her with his supposed nasty-boy rash. I had my own mean streak.”

  Navarro chuckled, reaching out to cup her face, lifting her chin until she was staring into his eyes. “Thanks for last night. I’m sorry about Ryder. Adam wouldn’t have come in here, seeing your SUV still parked outside.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “This wasn’t how I planned our night.”

  “It’s really all right and I’m glad it turned out
this way.” She waved toward the stall. “Watching a foal being born was amazing and so were you.”

  He pulled her closer. “Why don’t I make it up to you tonight?”

  Temptation was there but she shook her head. “Your brother came home and you get two days to yourself. I’ll see you on Sunday, right? Eight o’clock?”

  “I’d like to see you tonight.”

  “You don’t owe me for last night, Navarro. Seriously.” She went on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Your brother is waiting.” She dropped to her heels and then spotted the container. “Oh. I hope you don’t mind but I was bored yesterday so I baked.” She pointed. “I’ll get going.”

  A hand shot out to grip hers, his blue intense gaze locked on hers while his fingers played with her wrist. “I would like you to come over tonight. It’s not about making anything up to you.” He moved closer. “I want you.”

  There was no missing the passionate look and she responded to it. “Okay.”

  “Come hungry at six o’clock because I’m grilling steaks. You eat them, right?”

  “I love them.”

  “Now let me introduce you to Ryder and expect to get hit on. He loves blondes and the guy never misses an opportunity to try to get one into his bed.”

  Outside it wasn’t just Ryder waiting but Adam was there too, eating some kind of burrito, sitting on the tailgate of his pickup. He grinned when Navarro and Trina walked out of the barn. Ryder turned around, his gaze locking on Trina, and grinned at her as they approached.

  She held out her hand. “Hello, Ryder. I’m Trina.”

  Ryder had large hands like Navarro, but his weren’t calloused on the palms. His had rough spots on his fingertips, which she discovered as they shook hands. He didn’t just shake her hand, instead he gripped it and lifted it to his lips, turning it palm down to place a kiss on her skin. Trina cocked an eyebrow at the tall man.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Trina.”

  “Let her go.” Navarro sighed. “I warned her about you.”

  “Well, hell.” Ryder released her, shooting his brother a dirty look. “That’s no fun. I’m trying to impress the lady.” His amused gaze fixed on Trina. “He’s full of shit so anything he said isn’t true.” Amusement lit up dark eyes. “I’m an angel.”

  Laughter spilled from Trina. “Sure you are and I’m a six-foot-six heavyweight wrestler.”

  Adam laughed, almost choking on his food, and winked at Trina before his attention slid to Navarro. “Willow do good?”

  “It got iffy for a while but both are fine now. How was the party?”

  “Great.” Adam chuckled. “It’s a miracle I pulled my ass out of bed this morning.” He glanced at Trina before looking back at Navarro. “Her name was Candy and she went home with me since Trip is getting married this weekend.”

  “Candy?” Ryder chuckled. “Stripper?”

  Adam’s grin spread. “A really good one. She was a very talented…dancer.”

  Trina grinned. “Well, I better head home so he can finish that story without fear of making me blush.” She faced Navarro. “At least you’ll have someone to share that container with.”

  A smile curved his lips. “How much did you bake for me?”

  She hesitated for a second before answering. “I went overboard since I haven’t had a chance to bake for anyone but myself. I avoid doing that since I don’t want to balloon up.” She touched her hip. “I got carried away and made the things I thought you’d like.”

  “Thanks.” He winked at her. “I’ll see you at six.”

  “Should I bring anything?”

  “Just yourself.”

  She nodded, waving at the men who were watching her. Gripping her purse she walked to her SUV. She followed the dirt road, easily finding the main road to the Raine house. She turned toward the highway without getting lost.

  * * * * *

  “So who’s the blonde?” Ryder studied his brother. “She’s cute but not your type.”

  Navarro tensed, an instant frown curving his mouth.

  “Where’s the legs with red hair?”

  Adam cleared his throat. “Bad topic. Drop it.”

  Ryder glanced at Adam and then Navarro. His expression hardened. “I heard a rumor in town, so are you going to tell me what in the hell is going on? Is the ranch in trouble? I stopped to buy smokes at the drug store and Mable asked how I was holding up since the ranch was about to be taken away from us. What the fuck is going down, Nav?”

  Navarro hooked his thumbs in his jeans. “Dusty got into debt and put a loan out on the ranch but its fine now, all paid off so the ranch is free and clear. I handled it. I would have called but you never replaced your damn cell phone or you just didn’t bother to give me a new number.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Ryder growled. “What did he do now?”

  “Same shit.” Adam sighed loudly. “Drinking too much and gambling, only he borrowed from the wrong sort this time. He took out a loan on the ranch and hid it until it was damn near in default.” His gaze shifted to Navarro. “How did you get the money? We sat down and figured we couldn’t pull it off without selling some land. Did you sell the far pasture to ole man Horris?”

  “Sell the land?” Ryder looked furious. “You didn’t!”

  Rage hit Navarro. “No. I didn’t. What the hell do you care? You breeze in here whenever the hell you want and you can’t even be reached. Once again I was left dealing with shit to save this family without you around.”

  Ryder stepped back, shocked. “I’m sorry. I should have called to give you my new number. I’m…shit. You’re right. Do you need money? I have some. We’ll pay off the loan together.”

  Navarro hesitated. “I have the money so don’t worry about it and this won’t happen again. I had Dusty sign off on the ranch so he can’t take out anymore loans against it.”

  Ryder stared at Navarro with a frown. “It’s his ranch too.”

  “He’s always welcome here but he’s no longer on the deed since I can’t risk this happening again.” Navarro glared at his brother. “We damn near lost the ranch. Do you get that? He had the notices sent somewhere else and if I hadn’t gotten my hands on twenty grand we’d be homeless. What happens if next time he takes out a hundred grand or more? He’s not trustworthy. He is our brother but he’s sick, Ryder. We can’t risk our home again.”

  Adam cleared his throat. “He’s right, Ryder. You haven’t seen how bad Dusty is. We were left with just over a week to get our hands on that money or they would have taken everything away and we don’t have that kind of money sitting around.” Adam eyed Navarro. “Where did the money come from?”

  Navarro hesitated.

  “I grew up on this damn ranch too.” Adam looked grim. “You all tell me I’m your brother even if we aren’t blood. This is where I live and you say the land is as much mine as yours since I grew up with you. I have a say, right? Where did you get the money? Please tell me you didn’t do something crazy, like sell your championship buckles.”

  A groan came from Ryder. “Not your buckles, bro. Tell me who you sold them to and we’ll buy every damn one back.”

  “Fuck.” Navarro didn’t want to tell them. “It goes no farther, okay? It’s between the three of us.”

  Both men nodded and Navarro relaxed. “Trina had the money and she wrote me a check for twenty grand. She’s the one who made it possible to save the ranch.”

  “Nice girlfriend.” Ryder whistled. “We’ll pay your woman back. What happened to Red anyway? You upgraded, by the way. I hated her. She was bitchy and whiney.”

  Adam snorted. “You have no idea what kind of bitch she was. When she realized the ranch was going to be lost she dumped Nav faster than you could say broke.”

  “I’m sorry.” Ryder frowned at Navarro. “You liked her a lot.”

  “I liked fucking her.” He shrugged. “She was okay but I wasn’t in love. It pissed me off more than anything that at the first sign of trouble, she was leaving dust trails on her way o
ut of here.”

  “Who is this Trina? I don’t remember her from town.”

  “Her name is Trina Mattews and she bought the Vern’s farmhouse. She’s from California.” Navarro hesitated. “She’s a widow whose husband was accidentally killed in some job-related accident last year. Don’t bring it up though because it’s still painful for her. She came here to start a new life away from reminders of the life she had with him.”

  “Kids?” Adam sipped coffee from his mug.

  “Her husband couldn’t have them and he didn’t want to adopt. She married him despite it.”

  Ryder’s body tensed as he stared at his brother. “Really?”

  Navarro met Ryder’s eyes. “Yeah and yes I told her I couldn’t get her pregnant. She didn’t bat an eyelash. She is a good person.”

  “I like her already.” Ryder smiled.

  “So do I.” Navarro turned his attention toward the barn. “Trina’s a great cook who makes omelets that melt in your damn mouth. She bakes and she made me something. I’m hungry so let’s see what she made.”

  Navarro retrieved the tub and placed it on the truck bed next to Adam. “It’s heavy. She said she overdid it but I thought she was kidding. She used to bake shit and send it to work with her husband for his friends.” He popped the lid and stared. “I mentioned I’d like to see how she could bake yesterday morning so she was nice enough to send this so I could sample her cooking.” A grin split his lips. “It looks like she sent me everything to try.”

  “Shit,” Ryder chuckled, diving a hand in. “Cookies. A cake. Brownies. Hot damn! Is that banana bread?” He sniffed and groaned, his gaze lifting to Navarro. “How interested in her are you? I might give you a run for this woman if this tastes as good as it smells.”

  Adam grabbed a bag of chocolate chip cookies and popped one into his mouth, chewing, and grinned at Navarro. “Forget Ryder. Worry about me. I always believed Mama when she said the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach and I’m falling in love.”