“I’m not looking,” he lied. “Now, let’s get downstairs.” He wanted a sturdy story between them and any falling debris.
Mandy crossed the room and struggled into her jeans, slipping her arms into her shirtsleeves.
Caleb tried mightily not to watch, but he couldn’t stop himself from taking a few surreptitious glances.
“Should we call the office?” she asked.
“I think they’ve long since closed. And I’m pretty sure they know the property’s getting wind damage. Nobody should go out in this.”
“I guess staying here is the safest,” she agreed, tucking her messy hair behind her ears as she bent to put on her boots.
She turned then, and she seemed to realize for the first time that he was nearly naked.
“I rushed up here,” he defended. “I thought you might be hurt.”
Her mouth tightened into a smirk. “You’re a knight in shining…boxers?”
He crossed to the door and pulled it open. “You can’t embarrass me.”
She moved toward him. “Not modest?”
“Not at all. You can see me naked any old time you want.”
“Pass,” she tossed over her shoulder, striding out into the rain.
He shut the door tight, double-checking it before he followed her downstairs. Rain splattered against his hair, wind chilling his wet skin, while the lightning and thunder continued to crack through the black sky.
In his own suite, he lit a couple of the decorative candles, dried off with a towel and switched his wet boxers for his damp jeans. Going commando under his jeans wasn’t the most comfortable feeling in the world, but his options were limited.
She stood in the middle of the room, hands on her hips. “I suppose you’ll want the bed.”
He flipped back the comforter and stretched out. The love seat would barely fit a ten-year-old. “You’re welcome to share,” he told her.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“As opposed to one of us staying awake all night? It’s a big bed, Mandy.”
“Can I trust you?”
He rolled his eyes. “Trust me to do what? Not to attack you while you sleep?” He leaned over and pulled back the opposite edge of the covers. “Give me a break, Mandy.”
The thunder rumbled as she took a single, hesitant step forward, looking decidedly uncertain. Not that he blamed her. Despite his bold words, it was going to be a challenge to keep his hands to himself.
“Can I trust
“Ha. I’m still mad at you.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m not hot,” he goaded.
In response, she marched defiantly to the bed. “You’re not that hot.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She stuck her nose in the air, turned her back and plunked down on the edge of the bed, tugging off her boots and dropping them to the wooden floor. Her socks followed. Then her hand went to the snap of her jeans, and he heard the zipper pull down, and she shimmied out of them.
Okay, he was a gentleman, and he was proud of his self-control. But, good grief. Was the woman insane?
Six
An insistent, intermittent buzzing dragged Mandy from the depths of a deep sleep. She was comfortable, toasty warm, and she sincerely hoped it wasn’t time to get up yet.
As consciousness returned, she felt Caleb shift against her. She knew she should recoil in shock at having cuddled up to him while she slept. But his big body felt so good against her own, that she decided to pretend she was asleep for a few more seconds.
The buzzing stopped, and his deep, husky voice penetrated the darkness. “Yeah?”
He didn’t pull away, either, and she let herself sink into the forbidden sensations. She’d kept her blouse on, while he was wearing his blue jeans, so there was no danger of intimate skin contact. Still, her belly was snuggled up to his hip, her breast against his arm and her calf against his.
“Anybody hurt?” His voice sounded stronger, and her brain engaged more thoroughly on his words. “Good. So, how bad is it?”
She heard the rustle as he swiped a hand across his forehead, into his hairline, and she could picture him blinking his eyes open in the darkness.
“Tell her to call Orson Mallek. He can source the parts worldwide.” Caleb shifted, his arm grazing her nipple, and it was all she could do not to gasp in reaction. “A week will cripple us,” he said. “Tell them forty-eight hours max.”
Arousal invaded her system, hijacking reason. The urge to wrap herself around Caleb and give in to her desires, to hell with the consequences, was quickly gaining traction in her brain.
“Colorado,” he said into the phone.
She felt him shift, and knew he was squinting at her in the dim light, probably wondering if she was awake or asleep. It was getting to the point of unreasonable that she could have slept through the conversation.
It was time to put up or shut up.
Grabbing a final scarp of sanity, she drew away, shifting onto her back, putting some space between them.
“Call me when you know something. Thanks.”
“Something wrong?” she asked sleepily, hoping against hope he’d buy that she’d only just woken up.
“A breakdown in the chassis plant.”
“Is it serious?”
“Depends on how long it takes to repair.” He moved to his side, propping on an elbow, facing her in the predawn glow. “We can go a couple of days before we have to start cutting back shifts. After a week, we’re looking at temporary layoffs. I hate to have to do that.”
She found herself curious. “How many people work for your company?”
“In that plant, a few hundred.”
“Overall?”
“I don’t know. Thousands, anyway.”
“You have thousands of people working for you?” It defied Mandy’s imagination.
“Not directly.” He chuckled.
“Nobody works for me.”
“And you don’t work for anyone else, either. It’s a whole lot simpler that way.”
“Technically, I work for my dad. Though,” she allowed, “that’s definitely going to change for a while.”
“Who’ll take over the ranch?” Caleb asked, laying his head back down on the pillow. “Is Seth the heir apparent?”
Mandy thought about it. “It’s hard to say. Especially with his mayor campaign coming up. Travis’s the most hands-on of us all, but he’s more of a day to day, roll up his sleeves guy. Seth definitely takes the strategic view, but he’s not out on the range very often these days. Abigail’s the organized one. She knows pretty much everything about everything.”
“And you?” Caleb asked. “What’s your strength?”
“I don’t know. Diplomacy, maybe.”
He chuckled. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Hey,” she protested. “People like me. I broker compromises all the time.”
“Not for me, you didn’t.”
“Jury’s still out on that one. I predict that someday you’ll be thanking me for my role last night.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath.”
