Page 9

“To make a call!” she cried, unable to keep the frustration from the tip of her tongue. “What else do you use a phone for?”

“Oh, lots of things. Personally, I like the camera. Takes real good pictures, that iPhone 10. You ever see the kinds of pictures it takes? Clear as a whistle.”

He said it with a southern twang to his words, making fun of her for accusing him of being behind the technological times. She nodded, lowering her head as she scratched at her hairline just below where the towel was wrapped there. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry for what I said.” She tilted her head as she glanced at him. “Can we start over?”

He hesitated a second, but then lowered his feet once more and leaned forward, studying her across the expanse of that big bed. She tugged at the top of her towel, pulling it up to cover more of her generous chest even as she crossed her arms tight across her breasts, both hiding them and making them pop a little more over the top of that white towel, her necklace resting against one pale mound. She saw his gaze hesitate there, knew his earlier disinterest had been an act. There were many things a man could hide, but she’d never met a man who could hide his fascination with the female form.

“Who are you, Ms. Adams?” His eyes slowly came back up to hers, burning with that same electricity she’d felt before. “Who was that guy trying to pull you out of your car?”

“An ex,” she said almost automatically, a little surprised how easily the half-truth rolled off her tongue.

“An ex? What does he want with you?”

She rolled her shoulders, allowing her arms to slip a little so that he could get more of a peek at her breasts. “I guess he doesn’t consider himself as much of an ex as I do.”

“So, this whole thing is just about some asshole who can’t take no for an answer?”

“I suppose so.”

He reached up and ran the fingers of both hands through his hair. “Who do you want to call? Him?”

“No, of course not!” Lea adjusted the towel again. “I have a friend who was expecting me tomorrow. I just want to let him know I’m not going to make it.”

“Another man? Is that why the first man is so upset?”

Definitely. But she wasn’t going to tell him that. “May I please use your phone?”

He hesitated, his eyes moving over her again, once more hesitating over her chest. She squeezed her arms against her breasts, making it look like a nervous gesture, but aware of what it did to his wandering gaze each time she did it. He stood and slipped the phone from a back pocket, tossing it onto the bed. She leaned over to retrieve it, aware that she was giving him even more of a sneak peek as the sunflower dangled, almost like a hypnotist’s tool to draw the eye. Then she settled on the bed, her back propped up by the pillows as she woke the screen and found herself looking at a surprisingly skillful picture of the sunset over the main gates of the ranch.

“You take this?”

He sat back and propped his feet up again, ignoring her question.

Lea dialed a number she knew better than her own, closing her eyes briefly as she lifted the phone to her face. A warm, familiar voice spoke almost distractedly in her ear.

“It’s me,” she said, more relief than she’d intended in her voice. “There’s been a snag.”

“Where are you?”

“Colorado. Fang found me.”

“You’re kidding me! How did that happen?”

“I don’t know. I must have left a trail somewhere.”

“You don’t leave trails.”

“Not usually.” She glanced at the cowboy who was now pretending to take a nap. “I’m safe where I am, for the time being. I think I’ll lie low for a couple of days, let things play out.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Lee. What if—”

“He has my rental car. He has everything.”

There was a string of curses that burned across the miles between them. Then the man on the other end said, “All right. I see what you’re saying.” He made a grunting sound. “Right. Let me see what I can do. Call back tomorrow, okay? Sooner if you run into trouble.”

“I will.”

Lea ended the call, holding the phone between both her hands, wishing she had her own phone. All the things that were in that car when Fang took off with it! And the asshole probably had no clue exactly what he had. They didn’t call him Fang because he was intelligent.