Wanted!

DOMINIQUE SPENT THE short ride back to the ranch house getting her bearings. When she’d first glimpsed a rugged cowboy working in a pasture, she’d thought Fate had sent her down that dirt road specifically to discover him. Everything had played out in fantasylike detail, until she’d learned the identity of her mystery lover.

An anonymous hired hand fit her image of wild and crazy behavior. She wouldn’t say anything about the encounter and neither would he, for fear of getting canned. Very neat and tidy. Over and done with.

Had it gone that way, she could have rounded out the vacation by photographing the landscape, and flown home with a renewed sense of who she was. Her next guy wouldn’t be as boring as Herman, or as disloyal.

But Fate hadn’t been as kind as she’d thought. It had thrown a Chance man in her path, one who had the freedom to continue what they’d started, despite his brother’s obvious disapproval. She dared not risk it. If the prospect of sex with him could make her forget about condoms, then he obviously appealed to a side of her she needed to control.

Besides, why mess with a good thing? She had her perfect memory to take home with her, and there was every possibility a second go-round wouldn’t measure up. After two years with Herman, she had little confidence in her ability to improvise. What if they tried sex in a normal bed and Nick found her boring? She couldn’t bear the thought.

In the midst of her inner debate, Nick reached over and took her hand. She had to admit that felt very good. She didn’t know him at all, and yet she believed he was a nice guy. For sure he was an amazing lover, so amazing that he intimidated her more than a little.

“Look, you might have the wrong impression of me,” she said. “Until today, I’d never had sex with someone I just met.”

“Neither had I.”

“Really? You seemed so … so cool about it.”

He laughed. “Then I put on a good show. That was the wildest thing I’ve ever done in terms of sex. I kept wondering if you were part of a dream.”

“I wondered the same about you. I actually pinched myself before I started taking your picture.”

He squeezed her hand and released it so he could downshift. “Out of curiosity, what are your plans for those photos?”

“I suppose that depends on whether you’ll grant me a release.”

“Be happy to.”

“Then I could …” She was brought up short by the knowledge that this was the first picture she’d taken in ages where the subject wasn’t a relative or a paying client. Her portfolio contained family portraits, wedding photos and high school yearbook shots. All her work prior to Herman’s reign was tucked into the back of a closet, except for a few she’d framed and hung in her apartment.

“I know.” He grinned. “You’ll frame it and put it on your bedroom wall so you’ll have something to remember me by.”

His chutzpah made her laugh. “You have quite the high opinion of yourself, don’t you?”

“If I do, it’s your fault.” He recaptured her hand. “You’re the one who said you had to pinch yourself when you caught sight of me without my shirt.”

She hadn’t been teased much in two years with Herman, and she’d forgotten how fun it could be. “Maybe I was slightly mesmerized.”

“Only slightly?”

“Okay, fully mesmerized. Which means other women might have the same reaction. I could make money off that shot. Maybe a gallery would be interested.”

“Do you do that much? Display your photography in galleries?”

“Not anymore. I was going broke selling my work as fine art and borrowing money from my folks to keep afloat. My ex-boyfriend was right about one thing—weddings and portraits are a steadier income once you build up a reputation.”

“Makes sense.”

“Oh, it’s very sensible.” Herman’s lectures on the subject still echoed in her head. Her parents had been thrilled when he’d steered her in the direction of financial stability. Everybody had said Herman was so good for her, a practical guy to offset her tendency to ignore the mundane details of life.

His practical nature wasn’t quite so attractive to her friends and family now that he’d applied it to his romantic life. But still they’d expressed fear that she’d go off the deep end without someone to counter her impulsive, artistic urges.

“Well, here we are.” The truck’s tires crunched on gravel as he pulled into the circular drive in front of a massive two-story log house. The center section was a good thirty feet wide, and the wings on either side were angled forward so that the house seemed to reach out in a welcoming gesture. A porch ran the length of the house, and rustic wooden rockers beckoned a visitor to sit and contemplate a view of meadows, wildflowers and snow-capped mountains.

Dominique had liked the white clapboard quaintness of the Bunk and Grub, the B and B where she’d originally thought she’d be staying. It sat on the outskirts of the little town of Shoshone, and she’d planned to explore the small village while she was here.

But she wasn’t sorry Pam had moved her on down the road. Besides the obvious perk she’d just enjoyed in the woods, she’d be staying in this majestic ranch house. Pam had told her the ranch had been in the family for a long time. What a treat to grow up here.

“Was the house always this big?” she asked.

“Nope. The old house was trashed, so Grandpa Archie built a two-story box with a sleeping loft upstairs. Then he added the right wing after my dad was born, and my dad added the left one after Jack was born. My mom was the one who insisted on the porches and a new kitchen and dining room.”

“So the house has grown with the family. That’s nice. I’ve never lived in a house built by the original owners.”

Nick turned off the engine. “I can’t think of doing it any other way. I’ll probably build my own house when the time comes.”

From the way he said it, she knew that time would be the day he decided to marry. She pictured the lucky woman and felt a pang of envy. Which was dumb, considering how little she knew about the guy. For sure he had a fabulous body and knew how to use it. But he could also have a thousand irritating habits that would drive a girl insane if she had to put up with him 24/7.

“So, before we go in, I have a suggestion.” He glanced over at her. “How about me taking you into Shoshone for dinner tonight? They’ll feed you here, of course, but I could show you the nightlife, such as it is.”

She was sorely tempted. He looked mighty fine wearing his straw cowboy hat, faded jeans and a Western shirt with the sleeves rolled back. She knew the wonders hidden beneath that ensemble, and thinking about him naked made her mouth water.

But she’d had her impulsive moment, and she could tell this was a guy who would foster more of those. She still needed to exercise restraint even if Herman wasn’t around, to keep from doing something foolish or jeopardizing the business she’d worked so hard to build.

“There’s a funky bar called the Spirits and Spurs, and during the summer they have live music. The dance floor’s small but adequate.”

She could picture it—a cute little bar, some frothy glasses of beer and a tiny dance floor where they’d engage in that age-old foreplay ritual called dancing. She was a lousy dancer, but with a beer or two, she could fake it.

Regret tightened her chest as she gave him the only answer that made sense under the circumstances. “Nick, it wouldn’t be fair for me to accept.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not going to have sex with you again.”

His eyes became very green. “You’re blushing, Dominique. I think you want to have sex with me again.”

“That’s not the point.”

“It is the point. You want to and I want to. We’re consenting adults who happen to be occupying the same place on the planet for the next five nights. I don’t see the problem.”

She did. Herman was a jerk, but he’d also stabilized her life. Maybe this man had been sent as a test to see if she’d revert to the person she had been, the one who dropped everything, including her financial obligations, when the next new experience appeared on the horizon.

She had to stay strong and focused. The trip had been excellent so far and she didn’t need to go overboard in a way that would mess it up. Therefore she’d sleep alone tonight.

Facing Nick, she met his tempting gaze and said what had to be said. “I’m sorry. Thank you for a wonderful morning, but that has to be the end of it.”

He threw up both hands in defeat. “I don’t get it, but I’ve never begged a woman in my life and I’m not about to start now. Hold on a minute and I’ll help you out.”

“Not necessary.” Dominique opened the door, which squeaked on its hinges. “But thanks.”