The Rancher's Marriage Pact. Kristi Gold
throwing her for a mental loop. “They try but I don’t listen to them when it comes to my choice in female companionship.”
That led Paris to a question she’d been dying to ask, perhaps at her own detriment if she dared. “You really don’t have a girlfriend waiting somewhere in the wings?”
He turned those silver-blue eyes on her. “Nope. I’ve had a couple of steady girlfriends in the past, but rodeo and relationships didn’t mix well.”
“Apparently you no longer rodeo, so do you see yourself eventually settling down?”
He sent her an odd look before he brought his attention back to the mementos from his past. “Only if and when the time is right.”
“I’m sure you’re considered quite the catch in these parts. Probably throughout the state.”
He turned and leaned a shoulder against the case. “I’ve had my share of propositions, but it’s kind of hard to tell if they’re more interested in my personality, or my personal finances.”
Or his stellar physical attributes. “I’m sure more than a few are drawn to the cowboy fantasy and the notion you’ll scoop them up and ride off into the sunset.”
“Is that your fantasy?”
Not until that moment. Not until he favored her with that winning, dimpled grin again. “My exposure to cowboys has been nonexistent, so I’d have to say no.”
He inched a little closer. “Now that you’ve been exposed, do you think you might change your mind?”
Heaven help her, he was flirting like a teenage jock. And she responded like an adolescent schoolgirl with a self-conscious smile. “The jury is still out. I’ll let you know after dinner.”
“And I’ll do my best to show you there’s something to be said for the cowboy way.”
They stood there in silence, tension as thick as a morning haze hanging over them as Dallas’s focus landed on her mouth. Paris sensed if she moved just a little closer, gave him just a little encouragement, he might actually kiss her. And she might actually hurl caution to the warm wind and let him.
The sound of staccato footsteps interrupted the moment and drew Paris back into reality and her attention to the doorway where Jenny now stood sporting a knowing look. “Dinner is served, y’all. Just come on out to the veranda when you’re finished doing whatever it is you’re doing.”
As soon as Jenny disappeared, Paris turned back to Dallas. “Shall we go? I’m suddenly starving.”
“So am I,” he replied, keeping his gaze centered on hers. “Food sounds pretty good, too.”
Paris released a nervous laugh. “I can tell you have a little bad boy in you.”
“Yeah, darlin’, I do. But don’t ever doubt I’m every bit a man.”
That wasn’t up for debate. Paris had a sneaking suspicion if she hung around too long after dinner and let down her guard, she could very well see exactly how manly he could be.
* * *
She was getting under his skin, a dangerous prospect. He didn’t need to lose all control around her, but he almost had. He didn’t need a woman complicating his life, even if he couldn’t deny he needed a woman. But not just any woman. This woman.
Dallas pushed his empty plate aside and watched as Paris sipped at the second mint julep Jenny had served her. He’d settled for a beer, but only one, in order to keep his wits about him. He didn’t know enough about Paris to bring out the usual moves, even if those fantastic green eyes had reeled him in like a trout on a fly from the minute she’d walked into the office. He brought his attention to her hands, imagined those slender fingers raking across his chest, then traveling lower to the nagging place down south that craved some female attention.
Shaking off the images, Dallas thought it best to talk, not fantasize about her being naked beneath him. “How long have you been a vegetarian?”
She dabbed at her lips then set the napkin aside. “When I started college, I was determined not to gain the typical freshman fifteen. And honestly, when I was in my teens, I was somewhat...chunky.”
He couldn’t even imagine that. “Are you kidding?”
“It’s true. I wasn’t obese, but I was anything but thin. My family moved around a lot and I tended to use food to compensate for the fact I didn’t have time to make friends. Before I knew it, I was a regular porker who lived on cheeseburgers and fries.”
“The only way I’d believe that is to see some pictures.”
She shook her head. “No way. Besides, I think I probably destroyed all evidence.”
He downed the last of the beer and pushed the mug away. “You said you moved a lot. Why is that?”
“I was a navy brat. We were rarely in one place for any length of time.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“An older sister. She’s living around the corner from my parents in Idaho with her husband and three kids. My folks are so proud.”
“They’re not proud of you?”
She rimmed a fingertip around the edge of the glass. “Let’s just say they don’t understand my creative nature. Or at least my father never did. He preferred I become a nurse or teacher.”
“A traditionalist, huh?”
“More like a taskmaster. It was always his way or the highway.”
He could relate to that. His father was still controlling his life from the grave. “My dad never liked me devoting all my time to the rodeo. That made him a damn hypocrite since he met my mother on the circuit.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. She was a barrel racer and he was a bulldogger.”
“Bulldogger?”
“Steer wrestler.”
She frowned. “Why would you want to wrestle a steer? That sounds rather dangerous.”
He chuckled over her lack of comprehension. “Sorry. I’m just surrounded by women who lived with rodeo cowboys. Most of the time they think they know more about it than I do.”
After downing the last of her drink, she took off her jacket and laid it in her lap, revealing a sleeveless silk top that sparked his imagination. And suddenly he started to sweat.
“Well, you’ll never have to worry about that with me,” she began, “because obviously I know nothing about the rodeo. Not that I’m averse to learning. I’m a quick study.”
Just seeing her bare arms, and a hint of cleavage, brought to mind a few lessons involving his second favorite sport. “I’m a good teacher.”
Smiling, she bent her elbow on the table and supported her cheek with her palm. “When is my first lesson?”
He wanted to suggest tonight, but the fact her voice sounded a little thick led him to believe she might be feeling the effects of the alcohol. “You name the place and the time, and I’ll be there.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she straightened and stared out at the horizon. “This place really surprised me. I was expecting a lot more desertlike terrain, not all this green pastureland. The scenery is really beautiful.”
So was she, and the fact she didn’t seem to realize that only elevated Dallas’s opinion of her. “Yeah, when the sky turns orange at sunset, it makes all the mesquite trees look good.”
She sent him a smile. “Where are you going to put the lodge?”
“On the east side of the property. We’ve surveyed about five acres that will be dedicated to Texas Extreme.”
“How