Claim & Protect Page 9

  Her smile slipped a notch. “Everything okay?”

  “Right as rain.” Or it would be as soon as she wasn’t within grabbing distance. As it was, if she so much as inched a toe his direction, he’d have the storeroom door locked, her back to a wall and his mouth on hers faster than she could say yes. “Tell Vicky I’ll be up with the coasters in a bit.”

  “Okay.” She cocked her head like she thought about saying something else, then shrugged, grabbed the empty syrup box, and headed for the door.

  You meet a woman you think about before you go to sleep and first thing when you wake up, she’s worth chasing no matter how messy it is.

  “Nat.”

  She froze with one hand holding the door open and glanced back at him.

  “You got Levi this weekend?”

  She shook her head, and a little of the lightness behind her eyes dimmed. “He’s not back until Sunday.”

  Great. Here he’d gone and reminded her how her kid was spending the week with his dickhead dad. “So next weekend he’s back at your place?”

  “Yeah, why? You need me to work?”

  He could say yes. Completely play shit off and act like that was all he wanted. Damned if that was the route he was going to take though. “Was actually thinking you and Levi might want to come out to my place. The weather’s supposed to be nice the next few weeks. Thought I’d make good on my promise to Levi for a horse ride. Your day job’s only Monday through Friday, right?”

  A mix of emotions moved across her face, the wave too fast to discern which one held more sway. “My company’s closed on the weekends, but I’m not so sure Levi and I coming to your place is a good idea. Levi’s over the moon with the idea I’m seeing someone, particularly when he can brag about that someone with his best friend.”

  “Not sure I’m seeing how that’s a problem.”

  She bit her lip and tucked her free hand in her back pocket. “Because at some point I’m either going to have to tell him the truth, or pretend we’ve parted ways. He’s already going to be crushed. I can’t risk hurting my son.”

  He prowled closer, the pain and worry in her gaze tugging him to her more thoroughly than any lasso. She was right, though. Common sense said they’d be smart to let things fizzle on their own, but damned if his gut could get with the program. “There’s another option.”

  Her brow knitted up tight and her head jerked back an inch. “What option?”

  “We keep doing what we’re doing and ease him into the idea we’ve decided to stick to a just-friends relationship. No kisses. No hugs. Just friends who look out for one another.” Of course, as soon as he said it, his head screamed bullshit foul. Now that he’d felt her against him—tasted her mouth and heard those sweet sighs she made—the concept of friends didn’t appeal at all.

  She swallowed and slid her hand from her back pocket to rest on her belly. “What about people at work? I don’t want them to get the wrong impression.”

  “Do I look like a man who gives a rat’s ass about impressions?”

  “You’re the boss. You don’t have to care, but I do.”

  He leaned in close, halfway tempted to coil his hand around her nape and take what he craved. “Anyone on my staff so much as gives you the hairy eyeball, they won’t make it another second on my payroll.” He held his place long enough to let his vow sink in, then straightened and gripped the edge of the door. “Now are you gonna help me keep the promise I made your kid, or do I have to get creative on how I talk you into it?”

  Her eyes flared wide, and the same dazed hunger he’d seen in them after their first kiss blazed bright. “I’m not sure what to say.”

  “Easy. Say yes.”

  A shy smile tipped her lips. “You’re bossy.”

  “And we’ve established you’re stubborn, but I’m also persistent.” He inched closer.

  She licked her lip, the innocent swipe making his cock strain a little farther. “You’re sure about this? Levi’s a handful.”

  “Levi’s got nothing on me. I was a seven-year-old boy once too, remember?”

  Her gaze roamed his face, and her smile softened in a way that soothed everything inside him. “I can only imagine.” As soon as she said it, her focus sharpened and she took a discreet step back. She nodded. “All right. Just this once. Levi’s been through a lot, and I’d like to see him have a special day. Just remember, we’re working our way toward friends. I can’t risk hurting him more in the long run.”

  Friends. It was the smart move. Definitely safer for Nat, but it still didn’t sit right in his gut. For her, though, he’d give it a shot.

  For now.

  Next Saturday? Maybe not.

  He winked and dropped his hand from the door. “Next Saturday it is. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

  Chapter Nine

  Natalie twisted in front of the full-length mirror and reconsidered the chambray shirt she’d pulled on over her white tank top. From the front it gave her an easy, casual vibe, but from the back she had zero figure.

  She shouldn’t care. Trevor was just a friend, which meant it didn’t matter what her booty looked like.

  Scowling, she gathered up the tail of her shirt and tied it around her waist. Friend or not, there was no way she was sauntering into today looking like a sack of potatoes. She checked the effect over her shoulder, let out a satisfied harrumph, and cocked her hip in a sassy pose. Wyatt may not have appreciated her backside while they were married—had even gone so far as to suggest she needed to lose a few pounds in their last few years—but Natalie liked it. Especially in her favorite jeans with the pretty silver stitching on the pockets.

  Levi’s voice ricocheted from the living room. “Mom, he’s here!”

  Great, now both of her neighbors were probably sitting upright in their beds contemplating murder. Very few tenants were up and about in her apartment complex before ten o’clock on the weekends. Before eight o’clock was an absolute ghost town.

  Steady footsteps sounded on the concrete walkway outside her window.

  “Mom, did you hear me?”

  “Yes, Levi. So did the people next door. Now, settle down.” She snagged her purse off the dresser and hurried into the living room. It felt weird not having her mom there, but she’d suspiciously come up with breakfast plans with some of her friends the night before. While she’d come clean with her mom about her and Trevor’s pretend relationship, Natalie had a feeling Maureen was still secretly planning their wedding.

  Trevor’s sharp knock sounded on the door, and Natalie’s heart kicked in answer.

  You’re just friends. That’s all. Over a week, she’d chanted that mantra, but those stupid flutters that came with the merest thought of Trevor refused to buy into the idea. She opened the door and caught her breath, the brilliant sunrise backlighting Trevor’s broad shoulders and narrow hips like something out of a movie. She stepped aside and waved him in. “Good morning.”

  “It is now.” His smile matched his playful tone, but the deep appreciation as he ambled inside and gave her a thorough head to toe left her flushed and out of sorts. His gaze shifted to Levi and he hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “Nice boots, bud.”

  Levi beamed and puffed out his chest. “Thanks! I told Mom if we were ridin’ horses we’d need some, so we went shoppin’.”

  “Did you, now?” Trevor twisted toward Natalie, nodded toward her simple white Keds and cocked a lopsided grin. “I see mom didn’t splurge for her own pair.”

  “Do you know what it costs to keep a growing boy in clothes? I promise you, answering endless questions about insurance claims all day doesn’t generate the paycheck you’d expect. I did good to get Levi a pair.” She slung her purse on her shoulder and feigned a casualness she absolutely didn’t feel. “Besides, I’m just along for the ride. I’ll take air-conditi
oning to the great outdoors any day.”

  “Darlin’, if that’s the case, you haven’t been doing things right.” He waved Levi toward the door. “Come on, bud. Time to get your momma up on a horse.”

  Natalie locked the front door and trailed the two of them down the stairs to the parking lot. The pair made for a sight almost as glorious as the early November sun creeping up the horizon. Trevor’s easy saunter was a beautiful thing to behold any day, but with her son beside him, chatting up a storm and watching Trevor’s every move, the moment was perfect.

  When Trevor guided them to his huge silver truck parked in the back row, Levi’s strides quickened. “Whoa! You’ve got a dually!” He stopped and studied the long body with big eyes. “Mom, look! He’s got a Silverado Duramax Diesel Dually.” He turned to Trevor, all levity replaced with a sincerity reserved for conversation between men. “Bobby’s dad has a Ford, but your Chevy’s way better.”

  Natalie stepped closer to Trevor and lowered her voice. “What’s a dually?”

  Grinning, Trevor splayed his hand at the small of her back and steered her to the passenger side. “More tires in the back. I like to take my horses out on trail rides and the dually makes a better hauler when I’m pulling a trailer.”

  “I bet it guzzles a lot of gas, too.”

  “Well, it’s not gonna win any efficiency awards, that’s for sure.” He opened her door and held out a hand.

  “Ain’t you gonna drive?” Levi said from beside her.

  “Aren’t you going to drive,” Natalie said.

  “Yeah, bud, I’m gonna drive,” Trevor said, “but I’m gonna get your momma settled first.”

  Levi shrugged and strode forward, ready to climb in.

  Trevor gently snagged him by the shoulder and pulled him back against his legs. “Ladies first, bud. We’ll get you settled in the back.”

  Natalie hesitated and braced to smooth over Trevor’s gentle guidance, but Levi just nodded, cataloged the information away and waited for her to get on with business.

  She climbed in and swallowed around the knot blossoming in her throat. This was the kind of life she’d wished for Levi. For her son to have a coach and a role model he could rely on instead of a man who viewed him as a nuisance or a means to an end.

  The forty-five-minute drive to Trevor’s ranch felt more like fifteen, and not one second of it lagged for conversation. Of course, most of it ping-ponged between Trevor and Levi, but with her son’s rampant curiosity, the topics kept her highly entertained. Planes, ranches, bars, and sports, Levi covered it all.

  Several miles down a less-traveled country road, Trevor slowed in front of an open black iron gate. A rustic four-rung fence stretched on either side for what had to be at least a mile, and the winding driveway led to a dark wood home with a green tiled roof. While she’d never traveled to the mountains, the home’s design was exactly what she’d have expected to find at such a locale. “Is this your place?”

  “Yep.”

  The click of Levi’s seat belt coming unhitched sounded and his little hands curled around her seat back a second before his head popped up between them. “Wow! Cool house!”

  “Thanks, bud.”

  Levi pointed to a tan metal building off to one side. “Is that where you keep your planes?”

  “Just a little Cessna 310,” Trevor said. “It’s the prop plane I told you about. I keep all my commercial planes at an airport south of downtown.”

  Practically bouncing on the seat, Levi’s hands tightened on the seat back. “Can we fly it?”

  Trevor drove them around the back of his house and parked outside the garage. Another truck like Trevor’s was parked off to one side, though it was black and splattered with mud. About fifty feet away was a miniature version of Trevor’s home, and a little beyond that was a barn that looked nicer than some high-end homes.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Trevor said to Levi. “You pay attention and earn those boots your mom bought, and I’ll take you out on the next trip. That work for you?”

  “Yeah!” Scrambling to his door, Levi yanked the handle and hopped out.

  Before Trevor could do the same, Natalie gripped his forearm and squeezed. “I appreciate this. Really I do. But I don’t think it’s smart to make Levi any more promises. We’re supposed to be winding down this farce to just friends, and he’ll be crushed enough by that alone.”

  For several seconds, Trevor just stared at her, a mood she couldn’t quite pinpoint moving behind his pale blue eyes. “One thing you need to learn about me, darlin’. If I say I’ll do something, I mean it. I don’t give empty promises. Damn sure not to a seven-year-old boy who can charm the spots off a ladybug.” He twisted and cupped side of her face, the contact both comforting and possessive. “And the friends thing won’t be an act. That’s a promise I’m making you.”

  Friends. He’d said friends. She was sure of it. But the tone behind the word caressed her in a far more intimate stroke. Charm the spots off a ladybug, indeed. God help her if Levi grew up to be as alluring of a man as Trevor. She’d have more love-struck girls sniffing around her house than she’d ever be able to deal with.

  When she found her voice, it came out soft and shaky. “Okay.”

  He grinned, clearly pleased he’d earned the answer he wanted. “Good.” His gaze dropped to her mouth and his smile slipped, a sexual focus slipping into place that set her whole body on fire.

  Levi’s delighted voice rang across the clearing. “Mom, look! He’s got a dog!”

  The mood broken, Trevor exited the truck and helped her out. By the time she stepped clear of the door, Levi was kneeling in the grass just outside the barn, his arms wrapped around a border collie who seemed determined to lick Levi’s entire face.

  Trevor shut the passenger door and whistled sharp. “Lady, settle.”

  On cue, Lady dropped to her butt, but her tail kept moving ninety miles an hour.

  Levi took full advantage, moving in closer and rubbing both hands behind her ears. “Isn’t she cool, Mom? We need a dog like this. We could train her and everything.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Natalie said low to Trevor.

  He chuckled and urged her forward, that same claiming touch he’d given her a few times before settling low on her back. “Sorry. Wouldn’t be the full ranch experience without a dog though, now would it?”

  A stocky man in seriously faded Wranglers, a white-and-blue-striped button-down and cowboy hat that had probably been white about ten years ago, strolled out of the barn and waved to Trevor. “Good timing, boss. Just got your boys rounded up and fed.”

  Trevor held out his hand. “Appreciate it, Thomas.”

  Thomas shook it, pounded Trevor on the back hard enough it had to have hurt, then turned his attention to her. “You must be Natalie?”

  “I am.” She motioned toward Levi now running and dodging Lady, who seemed to think it was her sole mission in life to herd him their direction. “That’s my son, Levi.”

  Tipping his hat just a fraction, he grinned enough to make his eyes crinkle at each side. Black hair peeked beneath the edges of his hat and curled a little at his shirt collar. The way he moved, he seemed as young and spry as Trevor, but his deeply tanned skin gave him an older appearance up close. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  “Thomas and his boys manage the ranch and take care of the horses for me,” Trevor said. “Known him since before I moved to Dallas.”

  “Fifteen years, at least,” Thomas tacked on with a smirk. “First time he’s ever brought a pretty lady out to his place, though.”

  Trevor slid his arm around Natalie’s shoulders and tucked her tight against him, but the smile on his face said the good-natured ribbing was a frequent occurrence between the two of them. “You keep flirting, I’ll rat you out with your wife, and you’ll have to sleep in the bunk
house for a week.”

  “Man, you’re lucky it’s only me bustin’ your chops. Tessa heard you were havin’ company and damn near came out herself to lay eyes on the woman who’d scored the invite.” Thomas winked at Natalie before shifting his focus back to Trevor. “Don’t worry, I’ll be out of your hair directly. Workin’ on the fence in the north section this morning, then headin’ out. The boys are running errands with their momma.”

  “Works for us.” Trevor tipped his head down to her. “You and Levi want a tour of the house first, or would you rather get right after the horses?”

  Even if the place didn’t look like a mountain resort, she’d have jumped at a chance to see what kind of place a man like Trevor called home. “Considering I’m still not convinced I’ve got any business on a horse, I’ll start with the tour.”

  Trevor’s eyes lit, a devilish glint that made her insides smolder even with chilled wind licking her cheeks. “You’re gettin’ on a horse, Nat. Only choice you’re getting is riding solo, or mounted up in front of me.”

  Holy smokes.

  The smolder flashed to a raging blaze, her all-too-vivid imagination conjuring up the feel of his hips pressed against hers and his muscled chest tight against her back. She cleared her throat and shifted her attention to Levi to hide the heat climbing up her face. “I can do solo.”

  He gently squeezed her shoulder and leaned in close, his voice low and only for her, but just as potent as his woodsy scent. “Chicken.” Straightening, he spoke to Thomas. “I’ll handle Titan when we’re done, but do you mind gettin’ Deuce and Peso saddled up while I show them around?”

  “Don’t mind a bit.” Thomas pinched the rim of his hat and tipped his head to Natalie. “Nice meeting you, ma’am. You and your kiddo come back this way, I’ll bring Tessa and the boys around for an intro.”

  “I’d like that,” she said. Not that there would be another time around. Clearly, Trevor was the type who appreciated his privacy and had already gone out of his way to share it with her son. Letting herself think anything else was akin to riding an elephant across a barely iced-over pond.