Too Hot to Handle

When he glanced at her, Merry almost melted in sheer embarrassment. They were friends. Maybe just acquaintances. If he knew she was having those kinds of thoughts about him, he’d likely recoil in horror and find a way to never be alone with her again.

“Everything all right?” he asked.

“Sure!” she chirped. “I’m excited.” Excited. Right. “I mean…I can’t wait to finish the brochure layout tonight!”

“Well, I can’t wait to see it.”

“Great!”

She was excited about the brochure. But she was also excited about something very different. Something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Hopefully the layout wouldn’t be her best work of the night.

CHAPTER FIVE

“OH, GOD, YES!” she gasped, holding the vibrator up in triumph.

She’d decided she needed it thirty minutes ago. Those thoughts of Shane hadn’t gone away on the drive home. They hadn’t even gone away when she’d tried to work on the brochure. She’d finally decided she needed to indulge her rediscovered lust and go for it while she was still in the mood.

So she’d texted Grace to be sure she was gone for the night. Then Merry had taken a quick shower. Poured a glass of wine. Gulped the wine down and poured herself another. The last step had been finding the vibrator. Three boxes later, and she had that little sucker in her hand.

“Thank God.” She sighed before heading to the kitchen to dig for batteries. And finally, she was ready.

Amazingly she felt almost nervous. Had it really been that long since she’d touched herself? So long that she felt fucking nervous?

Well, now she was determined.

Merry unfolded her sofa bed, piled on the covers and slid beneath crisp sheets.

Shane was right next door. She’d heard his shower earlier, so Merry imagined him there, naked and wet. God, he must be beautiful. Long and lean and hard. Hard everywhere. She’d love to touch him. Run her hands down his slick back. Dig her nail into his naked, taut ass. Press herself into him and stretch like a cat in heat while he—

Merry started and shook her head. No, even if the man were naked and in her shower right now, she could never just climb in there and start manhandling him. Not even in a fantasy. Because what she’d really do is screw up the courage to slip into the shower naked, and then she’d stand there awkwardly while he soaped himself. She’d probably crack a joke. Then make an excuse about how crowded it was and just slip away.

“Stop it,” she muttered to herself, then slid deeper under the covers and shifted the fantasy around.

He’d been in the shower, yes. All soapy and wet and hard for her. But now he was out and drying off, and when he heard her knock, he slipped on a pair of jeans and answered the door in nothing but half-buttoned Levi’s.

“I was just thinking about you,” he said, giving her that dark, unreadable look he did so well.

Merry’s heart sped just as it would have if her fantasy were real. She slipped her hands over her breasts and down her body, feeling nerves shiver to life as she imagined Shane pulling her into his apartment and pressing her to the wall. He put his mouth to her neck and whispered how much he’d been wanting her, how often he’d thought of her. His impatient hands slid beneath her clothes, inspiring nervous gasps that he took as agreement. His skin felt so good that she let herself fall into it. She let him touch her, kiss her, but when he started to push her shirt up and off her body, Merry hesitated.

“Shane, wait. I hardly know you. How can—”

“Please,” he rasped. “I need this. I need you. Just once. Please, Merry. You’ve been driving me mad. I need to taste you.”

Merry turned on the vibrator and gave herself up to the story, just as she gave herself up to his hands in her mind. His hands and mouth and fingers. Oh, God. Yes. His fingers teasing her, then slipping inside her. Driving her crazy until she felt just as mad as he did. Until she was murmuring yes, yes when he unbuttoned his jeans and freed his erection. He eased a hand beneath her knee and pulled her leg high as he positioned himself between her thighs.

“Please,” Merry whispered into the empty room. “Please.” She wanted that. Needed it. She slipped the toy farther along her body, sending delicious shivers racing to branches of nerves that hadn’t stirred in so long. Oh, God, yes. This was going to feel so good, a need she’d ignored so long it had seemed extinct. But it was back now, and her hips strained forward as she eased the vibrator inside her body with a whimper of relief.

And then her world came crashing down. Or at the very least, her door sounded like it was about to crash in. Not that the knock was especially loud, but her senses were a little heightened. And the door was only three feet from her head. And she was lying there with her legs spread and a vibrator buzzing.

Merry froze, eyes wide in panic, hoping that if she didn’t move, the wolf wouldn’t spot her through the tall grass.

When the knock came again, she eased her finger over to turn off the vibrator, alarmed by how loud the silence was afterward. Had that buzzing sound filled the whole room? Had it been audible from the hallway? What if it had been—

“Merry, it’s Shane. Are you home?”

Shane?

No. “Yes!” she yelped in complete panic, trying to bite back the word even as her body volunteered it. Her eyes slid over the blankets, noting the shape of her body beneath the covers, knees parted wide, arm disappearing beneath the cozy bedspread at a suspicious angle. Then her gaze moved to the door.

Oh, God.

“I was hoping to see the brochure. Can I come in?”

“Uh…” Merry finally forced her body to let go of its frozen panic and move. She pulled the vibrator out of herself with a wince of shock, snapped her legs closed and sat straight. “Uh, sure. Just give me a second.” Why had she spoken? Why hadn’t she just kept her mouth shut and let him leave?

Stupid blind panic. Merry shoved the vibrator under the covers and leaped out of bed to race to the bathroom where she’d left her clothes. “Idiot,” she cursed herself at another misstep. She should have just said no. No, I’m not dressed, I’ll see you tomorrow. Except not being dressed had been way too close to the truth: I’m not dressed and I’m frigging myself three feet away from you. Sorry!

She frantically pulled on her jeans and the yellow Doctor Who T-shirt she’d been wearing earlier, then raced back to the living room to yank the covers tight across the bed.

She took a deep breath, pasted a smile on her face and unlocked the door. “Hey!” she chirped as she opened it just enough to wedge herself between him and the room. “What’s going on?”

“Hey.” His answering smile tipped down a little at the edges. “Are you okay?”

“Sure! Yes. Absolutely. Why?”

“You just… Were you working out?”

“Yes, I was working out!” It was the perfect answer for the sweat prickling her hairline and her rapid breathing. But then his eyes traveled down her body to the jeans and bare feet. “Anyway!” She waved a hand.

“Well…I was thinking about you.”

Merry flashed back to her fantasy so quickly that she felt dizzy. Was he about to grab her? Ravish her? Push her against the wall and slip off her shirt? Would she let him? “Me?” she finally breathed.

“All this work you’re doing for Providence. I’ll admit, it seemed silly at first. I can’t say I understand it or even approve. But now that I’m working out there with you, I’m curious. May I…?”

He gestured toward the door, and Merry automatically opened it, cursing her natural Texas friendliness for digging her even deeper. She watched his gaze focus on the unfolded bed.

“Early night?”

Guilty embarrassment leached from wherever it was the body stored it—spleen? Appendix?—and suffused every cell in her body. “I like to work in bed.” She ignored the fact that her pile of work stuff was still on the kitchen table and grabbed the end of the fold-out bed to flip it back into a couch.

Shane reached out to help, but she gave a mighty heave and it folded with a wretched groan of springs…followed immediately by an ominous rubbery thunk when she tipped the bed up for its last fold.

Oh, shit. Oh, no. She glanced into the shadowy hollow of the couch and saw her pink vibrator lying there on the hardwood like a giant finger of accusation pointing at her. You were jerking off to naked thoughts of an innocent friend. You secretly violated your nice neighbor!

A noise of horror squeaked through her throat, and she shoved the mattress down with so much force that the couch slid two inches. Even though the mattress obediently folded up, it wouldn’t quite close all the way. She remembered the blankets she’d piled on and gave another desperate shove.

“I think it’s stuck,” Shane volunteered as she put all her weight on it. “Here, let’s pull it out again and—”

“No!” Why the hell had she picked out a fluorescent pink toy? Why hadn’t she gone with a nice tasteful…beige? Or translucent! A vibrator that could blend into its wild surroundings no matter where she was!

“It’s fine,” she grunted, bouncing her weight up on her toes.

Shane’s gaze went to her breasts and then away.

“This always happens,” she finally said, and grabbed one of the couch cushions. Shane grabbed the other, then eyed the crooked hill they’d made with suspicion as she picked up her iPad and plopped into an uncomfortable seat.

Luckily Shane’s old-fashioned chivalry must have kicked in, because he just offered a puzzled smile and took a seat next to her, probably thinking that she was one of those stereotypically unhandy women. Fine. She’d perpetuate that prejudice, as long as he didn’t realize just how handy she’d been a minute ago.

Her hands froze over the iPad screen just as he leaned closer to watch. The brochure bloomed to life in full color beneath her fingers, but all she could do was stare at her hands. Her guilty hands. The glowing screen drew Shane’s attention like a spotlight to every digit that had acted out her dirtiest thoughts about him.

“Would you like a beer?” she squeaked, jumping up and dropping the iPad to the couch where it slid down the slope of the cushion before getting caught in the corner.

She didn’t hear his answer; her heart was pounding too hard as she rushed to the sink and turned on the hot water. She tried to imagine how she’d feel if she went to a near stranger’s house and found out he’d just been masturbating to dirty thoughts of her. Shuddering, Merry scrubbed her hands and regretted even considering getting her groove back.

This was the last straw. It was going to be the nunnery for her. Maybe she could find one in commuting distance.

* * *

SHANE KNEW THAT Merry was acting strangely. She was up to something, maybe something underhanded concerning Providence. He knew that, but he kept getting distracted by her breasts.

She’d always had breasts, obviously, but this time she wasn’t wearing a bra under her T-shirt, and unfettered breasts were an entirely different distraction.

They looked fucking perfect. So perfect he had the urge to blurt it out to her, just because it needed to be said. Her yellow T-shirt was so pale he thought he could see the faint darkness of her nipples beneath the fabric, but he was left wondering because the picture of a weird telephone booth on it interfered with the play of shadow and light. It teased him with the possibility. He kept watching in hopes of being more sure.

When she brought a bottle of beer he downed half of it quickly and told himself to stop being a creep. Not that that was possible. After all, he’d come over here with the sole intent of gathering information about the ghost town. That ridiculous ghost town. He felt bad that she was so damn enthusiastic about it, but what business was it of hers? She’d come here from Texas. The town was a lark for her. For him, it was a bad memory and now a serious nuisance. His grandfather had left him the burden of the Bishop land and none of the damned money. How was he supposed to pay tens of thousands of dollars of property tax every year? Shit, he could charge grazing fees to neighboring ranches, but the federal land higher up was a hell of a deal compared to what he’d need to charge.

All he really wanted to do was build a house on the land that had been passed to him. And he wanted to preserve that land. Not in a way that brought tourists to it, but in a way that kept them out.

Jesus, his ancestors hadn’t founded Providence to attract strangers. They’d built a town in the middle of nowhere because they’d wanted it to be their own.

Not that he gave a damn about that. It was just another reminder that the men of his family ran. First, they’d run to Wyoming Territory, leaving behind whatever complications they hadn’t wanted to deal with in Missouri. Then, after a little trouble with water, they’d left Providence behind, too, and moved on to greener pastures.

The habit hadn’t died with the early twentieth century. His grandfather had been married three times. And Shane’s father had taken running to a new level. One day, when Shane had been ten, his dad had kissed his wife goodbye, bought a trailer and disappeared with his girlfriend. Neither of them had ever been seen again, though the rumor was that they’d gone to Mexico to live on a beach. Shane suspected his dad had probably started a cattle ranch. He couldn’t picture his dad on the beach, and ranch land had been cheap in those days.

Shane’s younger brother had followed the pattern on the day he’d turned eighteen. He hadn’t gone to Mexico, though. He’d gone east somewhere, though he hadn’t been specific about his destination. He’d just…disappeared. After that betrayal, Shane had never bothered looking for him. If Alex wanted to be gone, he could stay gone.

Shane had stayed, but it had felt like a fragile truce with his life, even before all this.

When Merry said, “Okay,” under her breath, he looked over to see that she’d drained half her beer, too. Her shoulders rose on a deep breath, and then she smiled at him and grabbed the iPad. “The brochure! You have to be honest, all right?”

“I’ll be happy to be honest, but I don’t know anything about this kind of stuff.”

The front of the brochure appeared on the screen, the background a black-and-white shot of the long street, buildings marching down on either side of it. The Town of Providence, the title read. Established 1884. Abandoned 1901.

Even to him, the words were powerful, promising angst and drama, but it was nothing romantic to him.

Still, it was nicely done, and he told her so.

The next page was titled The History of Providence. He skimmed it, not needing to know more than he already did. On the third page was a picture of the saloon.

“Obviously I’ll take a new picture when you’re done with the work. It’s going to be amazing, Shane. That building is so perfect. People love a saloon! Look how popular the Crooked R is.”

“To be fair, that saloon still serves liquor.”

“I know, but it’s the possibility. The strangers that came through. The adventurers and outlaws.”

Shane smiled, remembering his own childhood imaginings.

“And people are fascinated that their great-great-great-grandparents hung out in bars. They drank beer and whiskey. Maybe there were even prostitutes!”

He looked at the small, inset photograph of the saloon that was taken at the turn of the century. A man in an apron stood on the porch, a towel clutched in his hand. “I don’t think my… I don’t think the women of Providence were the prostitute type.”

“I don’t know.” She stared at the far wall. “I’d bet there might have been a lonely widow or two who got tired of sleeping alone. Women have needs, too. And there were all those lonely cowboys.”

“We still talking about Providence, Merry?” he asked.

She choked on laughter and smacked his arm. He tried not to look at the bounce of her breasts under the T-shirt. She wasn’t that kind of girl. She was goofy friend Merry Kade, who didn’t even realize that the press of her hard nipples against cotton could drive a man to distraction or she’d go put on a damn sweater.

“So you started this job when I wasn’t in Jackson. When did they bring you in?”

“I’d been watching job listings for the area. I’ve missed being near Grace and it’s so beautiful here. It just felt right when I visited, you know?”

He’d heard so many compliments about Jackson Hole over the years that he just nodded absently. It was beautiful, yes, but beneath the surface, it was no different than any other place, as far as he could tell.

“When I found this ad, I thought it was perfect. I had a little experience, and I thought I could really make a difference. I thought…”

“You thought what?”

Her brow tightened. “I thought I’d truly be needed.”

“But you are, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know, Shane. I mean, I feel like I’m needed. But it turns out…”

Shane leaned forward, his eyes never leaving her face, even though she didn’t look at him. “What is it?”

“I don’t want to tell you.”

“Come on. What is it?”

She finished her beer and set it so carefully on the table next to her that it didn’t make even the tiniest clink against the stone coaster. “Apparently there’s some sort of probate fight. Something to do with Gideon Bishop’s heir. I think they only brought me in as a symbol. Something to help fight the case. They don’t actually want me doing the work.”

Shane didn’t say a word. He didn’t even dare to breathe. On one hand, this was crucial information. Important news he could take to his attorney. Merry was only being used to weaken Shane’s case.

On the other hand, she looked devastated, and he wasn’t a monster. She blinked hard, as if she were holding back tears. “Hey,” he whispered. “It’s okay. I’m sure that’s not true.”

“I’m pretty sure it is.”

“But…” He couldn’t think of anything to comfort her. There certainly weren’t any honest words he could give. After all, his future lay in the promise that Providence wouldn’t happen. That it would continue to be nothing more than dead wood and tumbleweeds. But Merry had something to prove now.

Shit.

“I’m sorry they brought you here under false circumstances, but you’re doing a good job, regardless. The brochure looks great.”

“Right. And I was smart enough to hire you.”

The watery smile she aimed in his direction was like a twisting knife in his gut. Hiring him could, in fact, get her fired. But only if the board found out.

“Look, I admire your enthusiasm for this. And whatever is going on with the board isn’t your fault. Why don’t you consider my work on the saloon a gift.”

“No! I didn’t tell you that to make you feel sorry for me. You deserve to be paid. I’ll win them over.”

Not by tossing his name around, she wouldn’t. “I’ll call it pro bono work. Giving something back to the community.” Or just helping himself.

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t ask.”

Now there were definitely tears in her eyes. “I can’t…”

“Come on, Merry. We’re neighbors. It’s no big deal.”

But apparently it was a big deal to her. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Shane felt schizophrenic; half of his brain registering the soft, warm press of her breasts to his chest, the other half telling him he was a selfish, lying asshole and she was going to regret any kind feelings she had for him.

But when he settled his hands on her back, the more noble thoughts disappeared, because damn, she was warm and nice under his touch. The cotton was a smooth expanse of heat, reinforcing his knowledge that she was naked beneath this thin fabric. And fuck, she smelled delicious. Like fresh soap and some spicy, feminine scent that made him feel a little dizzy. Dizzy and…hard.

Damn.

He pulled back and cleared his throat, hoping like hell she wouldn’t notice the uncomfortable tightness of his jeans.

“Thank you, Shane,” she said, sniffing back tears while he tried to keep his eyes off her breasts.

“You’re welcome.”

“Want another beer?”

He said yes in the hopes that his dick would give up its vigil by the time she came back, but he took the beer happily enough when she returned with it.

“Did you grow up here?” she asked as she plopped back into her crooked seat. He forced his eyes to stay on her face.

“I did. Did you grow up in Texas?” he asked, changing the focus. He never liked talking about his family, but especially in this case, it was a topic best left alone.

“Kind of. My mom is a bit of a hippie. She was raised in a tiny town in Northern California. I was born there, and we lived in a few different places while I was growing up. But I spent the last ten years of my childhood in Texas.”

“And your dad?”

“Never met him,” she said cheerfully. “It was just me and my mom.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no big deal. I think I was better off than my friends who had asshole fathers, you know? I was scared of dads when I was young. They always seemed to be yelling about something.”

Shane considered her theory. His dad had been pretty decent, though obviously flawed, but maybe he and Alex would’ve been better off if their father had never even been around. Maybe it would’ve been better than thinking your dad loved you until you woke up one day to realize he didn’t give a shit after all. At least Merry could tell herself her dad’s disappearance had nothing to do with her. But Shane had been left to wonder.

“So your mom was a hippie. That’s how you got the name Merry?”

“Of course. When I was born, she looked into my eyes and said she could tell I was a happy soul.”

“You are.”

“I suppose I am,” she said so cheerfully that Shane chuckled. “It would’ve been so awkward if I wasn’t.”

Shane thought of Grace and the way she fought hard against her moniker, but he didn’t point that out to Merry. “So you had a happy life.”

“Oh, you know. You make the best of things.”

“What things?”

She waved her beer dismissively. “Tough times. Bad neighborhoods. But you learn to make friends with everyone, and any place can be a home. My mom is great, though. She worked so hard to make our life better.”

Suddenly Shane had a completely different take on this girl. She seemed carefree and goofy and sheltered. But now he couldn’t help but read between the lines. No dad around. A single mom who probably had to work one or two jobs at a time to put food on the table. And Merry trying to find her way.

“I’ve never lived anywhere but here,” he said. “I can’t imagine.”

“It’s different, living in a big city. I can’t deny that. But people are all the same, really. There’s good and bad everywhere. But considering that people are all the same, I have to say that the scenery is pretty damn awesome here. There’s really no reason for you to go anywhere else.”

“That’s a relief. I can’t say I’m inclined to.”

“How did you become a carpenter? Was your dad a carpenter?”

“No, my uncle was. I started working with him when I was twelve.” His dad had been a horse trainer and rancher, but Shane left that off.

“Hey, I got my first job at twelve, too! A taco joint.”

“You can work in a restaurant at twelve?”

“You can if you’ve just hit a growth spurt and they pay you cash under the table. I was so excited to have spending money, I don’t even think I kept track of how much they paid me. Three dollars an hour, probably. One of the perks of hiring child laborers.”

“Well, you were smarter than I was. My uncle figured I was earning an education. I didn’t get paid anything. But that’s typical for rural kids. You work the farm or ranch for the privilege of learning the life.”

“That’s so cool.”

Shane smiled. “It’s pretty damn boring, actually. Hanging around leathery old men all day. It can be torturous when you’re a teenager and there are never any girls around. The ones that are nearby are all mooning for the guys on the junior rodeo circuit.”