Page 17 (1/1)

Chapter 1

Why now and, hts of Sydney Baker’s Mustang offered just enough illuh the pitch darkness of late evening Her tires crunched over gravel and dirt, the narrow lane a vast difference froo Gripping the steering wheel, she squinted her eyes, peering ahead when she spotted a sht “Thank God,” sheturn out of Billings that had resulted in herthe three-o’clock report tier had forced her to take the tiet a different set of directions to the Dunbar Ranch than her GPS spewed out and pray her poor sense of direction wouldn’t steer her wrong before it became too late to meet her new boss, and that he wouldn’t fire her on the spot for being tardy She possessed two vices her fa under control: a penchant for always getting lost and getting herself into difficult situations

Okay, in her defense, she’d tried to learn the art of following maps and directions fro herself with the directions of east, west, north and south no matter where she was, but finally had to admit defeat by the time she’d hit her mid-twenties and still hadn’t mastered the skill others found so easy “So I can’t find ru alone and away froripe to If nothing else, her beloved grandmother and sympathetic cousins were always available to lend an ear

Sydney breathed a sigh of relief when the road ended at a gravel parking lot filled with vehicles parked in front of a lit-up barn The largeset above the wide double doors was too high to see inside, but from the number of trucks and cars, there had to be a substantial crowd inside the well-kept barn Maybe it was a barn dance, or so ho-down What the heck did she know about ent on in the boonies of Big Sky Country? Cutting the engine, she pondered what to do now because it was obvious this was not the sprawling ranch house where she’d accepted a job as the new chef for a crew of twenty cowhands Checking the time, she swore If she didn’t find her new eht to show up, jeopardizing her position thatthe last five years as the star chef in St Louis’ top restaurant, throwing together a pot of chili or batch of spaghetti to appease a group of hungry cowboys wasn’t a position she craved to juars couldn’t be choosers, and since she was down to her last hundred bucks, she couldn’t give up on the position yet, and didn’t dare attes

Getting out of the car, Sydney hugged her light jacket against the cold breeze Early October in Montana blew as brisk as January in Missouri, just another reason to bemoan the circumstances that forced her to flee her hoo With any luck, someone inside would tell her she was only a ten-ive her detailed directions Grabbing the front door’s frigid metal handle, she pulled and dae

Shit Couldn’t anything be easy? Sto for another entrance, she ca Tom, or Thomasina, she stood to the side and peeked around to see what sheher head, Sydney blinked, the

scene inside catching her co near what she’d expected

Oh, , just…Crouching under the , she hugged her jacket around her and tried to get a better view of the cavernous roo like the inside of a normal barn It wasn’t the circular bar centered in the ape, but the naked wo back on her hands, the wo at her side poured his beer between her bent, splayed legs and then dipped his head to lap up the spilled, tangy brew

Sing past her suddenly dry throat, Sydney shifted her gaze, taking in the round tables and chairs then the gyrating bodies on a dance floor, the wo A staircase in the far corner caught her eye and she looked up into the loft to see another wo body pink-striped fro from a tall man’s hand Da?

Sydney wasn’t a prude by any means She’d read her share of smutty romances and drooled over every explicit, erotic word She enjoyed sex as much as anyone, and since she’d tipped the scales over thirty threetheir sexual prime in this decade of their lives Heck, she’d even asked a few of her lovers to slap her butt during sex Only one granted her request, just a light tap that didn’t even sting But she could still recall how the slight burn that lingered afterward spread, surprising her by fueling her lust

It never entered her er she crouched at thatand the er she wanted to stay and the ht air didn’t feel as cold Froe equip position, those apparatus were being put to good use by willing women and some of the sexiest ed in her throat when she clapped eyes on a tallhis attractive partner said drew Sydney’s nipples into tight puckers And that was before he yanked the short blonde over a bar stool, shoved down her shorts and peppered her upturned buttocks with a volley of ass reddening swats

A shiver racked Sydney’s body, one that had nothing to do with the cool temperature Would she lie there and take such a punishle of her hips for more as the other woman just did, or would she blast the son-of-a bitch and stomp off in a fit of pique? God help her, she believed her response would be a hell of a lot closer to the fors was any indication Then her heart rolled over as the stern cowboy lifted the blonde with large, gentle hands, sat on the stool and pulled her onto his lap Cuddling her to hisback in a soothing caress, his head bent to whisper in her ear Whatever he said calmed the wo her thighs as far as her lowered shorts allowed

The pleased, tender look on the ers inside the blonde cut Sydney to the quick No one, not one azed at her like that, not even the few she’d grown closest to andin her relationships that kept her fro woman exhibited as he drove her toward cli as the woman climaxed, and then the h-hewn face setting off a series of butterfly flutters that tickled her lower abdoaze upon her like that after being driven h pain induced pleasure His tall fraht or nine inches, which she loved, and his thick, wavy , finger-itching way She couldn’t detect the color of his ed face and previously stern mouth softened spoke volumes

Sydney knew she needed to get going and at least find the closest town to book a rooht since it’d become too late to arrive at her destination But this was theSt Louis, and the first ti enough to enjoy herself With effort, she tore her eyes away froot her fired up on all cylinders just fros on By the time she worked her way around the roo, panty-da hunk, he was nowhere to be seen

With a sigh, she started to stand but the deep, irritated voice co from behind her wiped away Sydney’s disappointment and sent a frisson of heated awareness down her spine Before she even turned around and looked up, she kneho stood there

“You’re trespassing on private property and snooping where you don’t belong”

Caden did not appreciate having the first hours of relaxation away fro his thirty-thousand-acre ranch all week interrupted by an encroaching Peeping Tom Mindy had been a soft lapful of teary-eyed sub his lust hen his brother, Connor had pointed toward the pale face peering in the ith wide eyes that didn’t shy away fro on in their private club

Those big eyes rounded evenback to gaze up without flinching Hell, he had to admire her for that

“Sorry” Her snaled she wasn’t too sorry, and he found hie to smile “I’m lost, and this is the first place I came to Your front door is locked”