Page 101 of Tempting Wyatt

Wordlessly, Wyatt stalks over to the kitchen and opens a beer from the counter before leaning against it. His eyes remain on mine.

“Fine. Play cards. I’ll wait.” He takes a slow swallow of his beer.

The playful energy of the ranch hands’ R-rated banter is sucked immediately from the room. The weight of their boss being here settles over them, killing the mood, and I feel responsible. I’m pretty sure, aside from Colter, they were already censoring themselves for me. Now it’s as if their drill sergeant has arrived. The men playing video games sit up straight, staring at the TV without speaking. The card game has all but stopped.

I toss Colter an apologetic glance, but he only looks amused at the tension.

“It’s fine. I was getting tired anyway.” I stand and turn to Wyatt.

Then I nearly melt where I am because, damn, his dark eyes have turned possessive. I’ve never had a man look at me this way. Not even a man I was dating or engaged to marry.

“Rancher,” I say softly, struggling for air, “you look mad. Are you mad?”

His eyes roam over my body. “Depends.”

“On?”

“You ready to go?”

I nod. He jerks his chin, and I’m pulled forward by his magnetic abilities. He places a hand on the small of my back and leads me outside.

No one says goodbye.

The cool evening air is refreshing. I inhale deeply, realizing how stifling and warm the bunkhouse was.

The four-wheeler sits close by the door.

“Can I drive?”

Wyatt looks almost amused by my inquiry. “You’re really pushing it tonight, huh?”

Maybe I’m high on adrenaline or testosterone or buzzed from the beer I had. Either way, I’m feeling bold. Something about him busting in there like he thought he’d find me in the middle of a gang bang was pretty hot

I grin up at him. “Isaac taught me to drive the other one. Can you teach me to drive this one?”

“In that dress?”

“Sure. Why not?”

He holds his hand out for me to climb on first, and I could do a happy dance. I grab the handles and smile over my shoulder at him when he lowers himself onto the seat behind me.

“You gonna crash us and make me regret this?”

I pretend to contemplate this. “You’re the one who came to get me.”

A noise rumbles through his chest. “Don’t go back in there without me, Ivy. Ever. I mean it.”

“You realize I’m a grown adult and I’ve survived the mean streets of LA lots of years all on my own, right?”

His eyes narrow in the darkness. “There are a dozen men in there most nights. They work hard, and they play hard. Sometimes, it gets out of hand. The pack mentality is a powerful thing, and there’s a lot of alcohol flowing. If anything happened to you, I’d. . . ”

I wait. He inhales deeply, as if breathing me in. His hands grip my outer thighs, and I feel himeverywhere.

“It wouldn’t be good,” he finishes.

“For what it’s worth, the girl I saw seemed very willing and was there of her own volition.” I wiggle in his arms as we get settled. “For that matter, so was I. Though I promise I didn’t participate in any pool-table shenanigans.”

Outrage colors his voice when he speaks. “There was a girl in—fuck it, never mind.” His hands tighten around my hips. “Exactly how much do you know about pool-table shenanigans?”