Hot Westmoreland Nights / Scandalising the CEO: Hot Westmoreland Nights / Scandalizing the CEO

He could pretend he had no idea what she was talking about, but he didn’t. If the truth be told, he was the one with the attitude and was well aware it had probably been the pits since their initial meeting. He wasn’t used to having to deal with a woman who made men pause when she walked into a room. A woman who wore her sexuality like it was a brand with her name on it. A woman who even now had blood surging through his veins.

And a woman he wanted to kiss.

His heart was racing at the very thought of locking his mouth with hers, and he knew at that moment if she stayed another night under his roof he would be doing that very thing if for no other reason than to get her out of his system. It would only be right to give her fair warning.

“How old are you, Chloe?”

From her expression he could tell she was wondering what her age had to do with anything. “I’m twenty-eight.”

He nodded slowly, while his gazed continued to hold hers. “Then I would think you’d know what it is with me. But just in case you don’t have a clue, I’ll show you later.”

Chloe felt a slow burn in her midsection followed by the feel of her heart thudding erratically in her chest. The meaning behind his words was pretty clear. If it hadn’t been, then his eyes would have spelled things out for her. She could see the promises in the dark depths. Promises he wasn’t trying to hide. Promises he intended to keep.

Before she could level a response the back door opened and Callum Austell walked in. He looked first at her and then at Ramsey. The smile that touched the man’s lips would have been too deadly sexy if she hadn’t thought Ramsey had a monopoly on sexiness.

“Ram. Chloe. Did I come at a bad time?” Callum asked in a low tone.

Chloe watched an irritated frown touch Ramsey’s features and she drew in a deep breath. Lucia had warned her that he was a private person and she wasn’t sure just how he felt about his friend picking up on the sexual tension flowing between them. It was tension so thick you could probably cut it with a knife and then spread it on bread. Deciding she needed to play off Callum’s words, make the man think he was wrong in his assumption, she turned to Callum, opened her mouth to speak, but Ramsey beat her to it.

“No, you didn’t come at a bad time. Come on, Cal, let’s have that meeting.” He then sat the coffee cup he’d been holding on the counter with a thud and headed out of the room. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at Callum who had halted beside her.

“You sure look nice this morning, Chloe,” Callum said in a husky tone with his deep Australian accent.

Chloe glanced up at the handsome man whom she figured was a year or two younger than Ramsey and couldn’t help wondering what he was about. Had he just delivered a polite comment or a blatant flirtation?

“You’re wasting my time, Cal. Are we meeting or what?” Ramsey called out in a sharp tone.

Callum looked across the room at Ramsey and smiled. “We’re meeting.”

And then he moved to follow Ramsey out of the room.

* * *

Ramsey clenched his jaw until he was in the office and then he all but slammed the door shut before facing Callum. The other man had the nerve, the very audacity, the damn gall, to smile. “What the hell was that about?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Callum gave him an innocent look, one Ramsey wasn’t buying or selling. “I don’t know what you mean, Ram.”

Ramsey leaned back against his desk and frowned. “You were flirting with her.”

Callum shrugged as another smile formed at the corners of his lips. “What if I was?”

Ramsey crossed his arms over his chest. “If you did it to get a rise out of me, then—”

“It worked,” Callum taunted as he eased his muscular frame into a chair across from the desk. “Come on, Ram. Go ahead and admit you want the woman, which is why you’re trying to get rid of her. When you know for yourself, even after eating just one meal, that she’s a lot better cook than Nellie and her temperament is a vast improvement to what we’re used to. I hate to say it but Nellie hasn’t been missed around here and you know why.”

Ramsey drew in a deep breath. Yes, he did know why. Nellie’s disposition had begun deteriorating months ago after discovering her husband had been unfaithful to her. It was as if she had taken her hurt and anger out on the entire male population and his men knew it. They had tried being understanding, even sympathetic. But then after a while they’d become annoyed and just plain irritated. There was nothing worse than pissing a man off about his food.

Although Nellie’s unexpected trip had placed him in a bind, he thought she needed the distance from his men for a while and vice versa. She still had a job when she returned, but the two of them would have a long talk first.

“Okay, so Nellie hasn’t been missed, but when she comes back, she still has a job,” he decided to speak up.

“Fine. Great. But in the meantime I think your men deserve a nice smile and friendly words every now and then, not to mention food they can eat without worrying about it being burned or overly seasoned.”

Ramsey was silent.

“Look, I understand your problem with Chloe, Ram. Welcome to the club. I know how it is to want a woman so bad you ache,” Callum said.

Ram frowned. He then narrowed his eyes on his friend. “You’re referring to my sister,” he said in a warning tone.

Callum snorted. “I’m referring to the woman I intend to marry who refuses to give me the time of day and it’s getting damn near frustrating. Don’t be surprised one day if you wake up and find us both gone.” A smile touched Callum’s lips. “I might resort to kidnapping.”

Ram’s frown deepened. “You’d better be joking.” He then shook his head at Callum’s outrageous threat. And then he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Go ahead and kidnap her. I’ll give you less than a week and you’ll be bringing her back. Gemma will make your life a living hell if you did such a thing and I wouldn’t be one to close my eyes on her if I were you. She likes getting even.”

Ram smiled. Although he’d gone a little overboard he knew Callum got the picture. Of his three sisters, Gemma was the one who had a knack for not only speaking her mind but for backing up her thoughts. Callum knew this and was still in love with her. Go figure.

“Are you really thinking about letting Chloe go?” Callum asked and Ramsey figured he was now desperate to change the subject from Gemma back to Chloe. “I think it’s a sin and a shame that your men will have to suffer just because you can’t control your urges,” Callum said.

Ramsey knew there was really no reason to deny what Callum had just said. It was true. He was finding it hard to control his urges around Chloe. And they were urges he’d been controlling just fine before she’d shown up.

“The men are taking a bet as to how long we’ll keep her.” Callum grinned and said, “I bet some will be surprised to find her still here this morning.”

Ramsey didn’t see anything amusing. He didn’t like being reminded that others had noticed his interest in her yesterday. “She’s not the only good cook around these parts.”

“I’m sure she isn’t, but not many would want to have to live on the ranch. Most would probably have homes of their own; families they had to take care of when they left here like Nellie.” Callum rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Um, that makes me wonder.”

Ramsey lifted a brow. “About what?”

“Why would a woman with her looks take a job where she’ll have to live here in the middle of nowhere for two solid weeks. Doesn’t she have any family?”

Ramsey considered Callum’s question. To be honest Chloe’s personal life hadn’t crossed his mind, mainly because he hadn’t intended for her to stay. In fact, he had planned to call the employment agency when it opened this morning to see how soon they could send a replacement. But Callum had posed a good question. Evidently she did have a place in town because she had returned last night with her luggage in tow.

“What if she’s on the run and took the job to hide out here?”

Ramsey looked over at Callum. “On the run from what?”

“An abusive husband. A psycho fiancé. A possessive boyfriend. Hell, I don’t know, Ram. But if I were you I would find out.”

Ramsey’s frown hardened at the thought that Chloe might be running from a demented stalker. But then when he’d mentioned to her yesterday that she was hired as a live-in cook she’d seemed surprised. And last night she claimed that she’d only returned after deciding she didn’t want to risk being late this morning. What if there was more than that?

“I don’t think she’s married or engaged because she’s not wearing a ring and there’s no indentation around her finger to indicate that she’s worn one in the past,” he said.

Callum chuckled. “You’re as bad as Eric and Thel if you noticed all of that about a woman’s finger.”

Ramsey shrugged his shoulders, refusing to let Callum bait him. “Whatever.”

“Well, it might be whatever if you don’t find out. If you make her leave, then you could very well be sending her to her death.”

Ramsey rolled his eyes. “Spare me the dramatics.”