Some Like It Sizzling

As she knelt beside the bed, a little alarm sounded in the back of her brain that she quickly shut off. This was her one chance to gawk at Buck up close, and she wasn’t going to waste it. She eased her elbows onto the edge of the bed and leaned in, inhaling the scent of him—an advantage of getting close that she hadn’t even considered. He smelled of something warm and woodsy and unmistakably male, and the scent was intoxicating. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeper, nearly melting as the smell overtook her.

Eyes open again, she admired the smoothness of his tanned, olive skin and the little brown nipples that were nearly flat against his chest. The only body hair he had was under his arms, and a thin, dark trail that started below his belly button and disappeared into the waist of his jeans, calling Lucy’s eyes lower to the impressive bulge that filled his worn-out Levi’s. She felt her jaw sag as she contemplated the size of the bulge. Were there really men out there who were that well endowed? If so, she’d been missing the boat. Heck, she hadn’t even known the boat existed.

“Hey there, darlin’. Like what you see?”

The shock of Buck’s voice sent Lucy sprawling backward, landing on her rear end with a thud as she stared up at the man she’d thought to be asleep.

“H-how l-long have you been awake?” She felt her face burn as he watched her with amused eyes.

“Since you leaned against the bed.”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Lucy found herself mesmerized by his mouth as it formed words, words she didn’t want to hear at the moment because he had the sexiest mouth she’d ever seen and all she wanted to do was to find out how it would feel to kiss it. Oh, it wasn’t just his mouth, but his whole face! The hat had slid back to reveal features just as stunning as those below his neck. Straight nose, strong jawline, hint of a five o’clock shadow, dark brown lashes to match his tousled dark hair.

“What question?”

“Do you like what you see?” He had a lazy smile and a deeper voice than she’d imagined.

Lucy pushed herself up from the carpet and stood, futilely trying to brush cat hair from her black pants. Anything to hide her flaming-red face from Buck. “I was just a little shocked to find a strange man handcuffed to my bed, that’s all.”

“You’re hurting my feelings, darlin’.”

Lucy swallowed the acid taste of fear in her mouth and wished she could slink under the bed. She forced herself to look him in the eyes, and found that they were a most intriguing shade of pale gray. “You look quite acceptable.”

“Acceptable?”

“Nice, I mean.”

“Look, hon, I can call the ranch and have them send another guy if I don’t meet your standards—”

“No, that won’t be necessary. I mean, I’m afraid my friend—the woman who arranged for you to be here—she made a bit of an error in judgment.” Her face must have turned the same color as her shirt by now. She cleared her throat in the futile hope that he’d stop staring at her so blatantly.

“What sort of an error in judgment?”

“She assumed I would agree to go on this trip, but…”

He adjusted his shoulder and winced, and she realized he must have been in pain because of the handcuffs.

“Oh, dear, let me get you out of those. Do you have the key?”

“It’s in my right-hand pocket,” he said. “Just reach in there and feel around for it.”

Lucy’s mouth went dry as she caught his meaning. “You mean, in your pants?”

He nodded, a smile playing on his lips.

“I don’t think my hand will fit in there.” She eyeballed the skintight denim and wondered how she’d gotten herself into such a predicament. Claire. She was going to strangle that woman.

“You could unzip them if you think that would help.”

“That won’t be necessary.” She took a deep breath and tried not to think of the things that could possibly go wrong while fishing around in a stranger’s pocket.

What the heck? This is your one chance to stick your hand into a gorgeous man’s pants.

She lurched forward, the toe of her platform sandal catching in the plush carpet, but found her balance just in time. He didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable as she slid her hand inside his right pocket for the key. It was a tight squeeze, and she had to lean over his torso a little to get her hand at the right angle. Her position forced her to inhale that dreamy scent of his again, and for at least the second time that night she felt certain parts of her anatomy turn tingly and liquid with sensation.

But there was no key.

“Are you sure you put it in your right pocket?” She withdrew her hand and breathed a sigh of relief that she had managed not to bump certain parts of his anatomy.

“Hmm, maybe it was the left pocket.”

Lucy glared at him as she realized that he had possibly sent her fishing in the wrong pocket on purpose, that he was actually enjoying this little game. Okay, so maybe she was enjoying it, too. Just a little.

Bracing her knees on the bed, she leaned further across his torso and started to slide her hand into the left pocket, but that was when she noticed that the sizeable bulge she’d been admiring a few minutes earlier was situated on that side. Her hand froze and she became all too aware of her compromised position leaning over him, at least four inches of her bare waist exposed by the short top.

She said a silent thank-you to the genius who’d invented fat-free yogurt. At least she could rest assured there were no unsightly rolls hanging over her too-tight pants. That is, if Buck were even interested enough to notice, which she doubted.

The quicker she found the key, the quicker she could put a comfortable distance between them, so as she swallowed her fear, she plunged her hand the rest of the way into his pocket and luckily felt the edge of something hard and metal rather than that other something she was trying to avoid. She caught it between her fingers and pulled it out.

“Is this it?” She held it up for him to see, but what surprised her was that she had caught him staring at that little slit of exposed skin at her waist.

“Mmm-hmm.” His gaze held a glint of teasing and she knew then that he’d only been looking because he could—just like any man would—and not out of any particular sense of admiration.

Her hands shook as she inserted the key into the lock on the handcuffs and turned it, releasing Buck from his restraints. He pushed himself up, letting out a sigh of relief as he lowered his arms and rubbed his wrists where the cuffs had been. Lucy watched him, but instead of feeling relieved that there was no longer a cowboy handcuffed to her bed, she felt a new sense of vulnerability. He was a stranger in her bedroom, and now he was no longer restrained.

He must have spotted the uneasiness in her eyes, because he said, “Don’t worry, darlin’. This is my job—I don’t go around preying on women.”

“So what exactly is it that you do besides get handcuffed to strange women’s beds?”

“I work for the ranch, doing various jobs. I normally don’t come to guests’ homes and handcuff myself to their beds, but your friend must like you a lot, because she made special arrangements.”

“My friend’s a little eccentric.”

“Weren’t you about to tell me about her error in judgment?”

Right, she had been, but now as she stared at Buck’s glorious abdominal muscles, she couldn’t remember what error in judgment she’d been about to point out. He was just so…hot.

Lucy imagined he got more than his share of women at the ranch. In fact, they probably threw themselves at him left and right. Women went to places like that to let loose, to get wild, and to forget about their boring everyday lives. He must have thought Lucy was one of those women looking for a good time, and the idea shocked her. After a moment, though, the idea didn’t seem so strange. Why couldn’t she be?

Why couldn’t Lucinda Jane Connors, boringly normal travel agent, let loose and have a wild, unforgettable time? That’s what Claire wanted her to do. Maybe that was even what Lucy really wanted to do.

As Buck rose from the bed and retrieved his white Stetson, settling it on his head of dark brown curls, Lucy realized that this was what she wanted herself to do—to go to the Fantasy Ranch and do things she’d never done before, be a party girl, drink too much and stay in the sun too long, eat sinful foods and flirt with sinful men. And maybe find a man—perhaps even one who looked like Buck—with whom to have a wild, lustful one-night stand that she’d never forget. Then Claire would never again have reason to call her boring. More important, Lucy would never again think of herself as boring.

“Something wrong?”

“Huh?”

“You looked like you were in a trance there for a minute.” Buck had produced a black T-shirt from somewhere and removed his hat again to slide the shirt on. Lucy allowed herself to admire the bronze contours of his torso as he lifted his arms over his head, but she averted her gaze before he could catch her staring.

“I was just thinking about what I have to do before I can leave,” she lied. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here, and I didn’t plan to leave until tomorrow.”

“Your friend told me to tell you she asked your neighbor to feed the cats, so you don’t need to worry about them.”

“I haven’t packed yet.”

“She took care of that for you.” He nodded at the suitcase across the room.

“Yes, but Claire tends to be forgetful.”

“She told me you might try to repack, and I have strict orders to make sure you just take that bag and come with me. I’m supposed to remind you about ‘your possible future with cats.”’

Lucy opened her mouth to argue but then thought better of it. What about this daring new woman she wanted to become? She couldn’t very well become her wearing khaki trousers and penny loafers.

“Everything you need is in the bag.”

“Well, I just need to grab my vitamins out of the kitchen, and then I’ll be ready to go.”

“Vitamins?”

“I know Claire wouldn’t have thought to pack them,” she said, heading into the hallway. She stopped in her tracks. She had to learn to think like a wild and crazy party girl. This new and improved Lucy probably wouldn’t worry about Vitamin C deficiency or osteoporosis. She resisted the urge to grab her dietary supplements, reassuring herself that after the week was up, she could always start taking them again if she didn’t like her new reckless self.

“Did you get them?”

Buck appeared beside her in the hallway, the black suitcase in his left hand.

“I decided I won’t need them. But let me just check to make sure Romeo and Juliet have enough food and water to last until my neighbor stops by.”

After she’d given the cats several extra bowls of food and water, she joined Buck in the living room where he was inspecting the photos on her mantel with a keen interest.

“I’m ready,” she announced, realizing too late that the Lucy in those photos looked a lot more conservative than she did standing there in her groupie getup.

“Is this you?” he asked, pointing to the photo in which she stood next to a Christmas tree with Claire. In the picture, Lucy was wearing a long burgundy-and-green-plaid wool skirt and a baggy turtleneck sweater. She’d been having a particularly bad hair day and little sprigs of curly hair had escaped from her bun to poke out all around her face. She looked horribly dull, she realized as she saw the picture through Buck’s eyes, but it was one of her best photos. She’d never been very photogenic.

He was still waiting for a response.

“Um, yes, that’s me. Bad hair day.”

“It’s a nice picture.”

Lucy watched for him to make a face or to otherwise indicate his sarcasm, but no, he seemed serious about the compliment. Perhaps he was a bimbo stud with exceedingly good manners.

Romeo marched into the living room and gave Lucy a belligerent look. He knew what a packed suitcase and three bowls of food meant—that his Slave Human was leaving him—and he didn’t like it one bit. He let out a mournful meow, prompting her to bend to rub his back one last time before leaving.

“Sorry, but you have Juliet to keep you company. I’ll be back real soon.”

Buck made a move toward the cat and Romeo slipped underneath the nearest chair, eyeing the stranger with derision.

“Oh, you cowardly cat. Be a nice boy and say goodbye to Buck.”

“Buck? Who’s Buck?”

Lucy looked up at him, her head beginning to spin. “Aren’t you Buck?”

He frowned and shook his head. “My name is Judd. Judd Walker.”

2

IT TOOK JUDD A MINUTE to figure out who Lucy was talking about. And then he remembered—Buck Samson. He was the ranch’s most popular employee with the female guests. Claire Elliot had apparently heard about him through word of mouth and called to request that Buck himself pick up Lucy and escort her to the ranch.

Judd’s older brother Mason was the owner of the Fantasy Ranch, and in the past three months he’d been experiencing what he believed were elements of a plot to ruin his business. With the busy last weekend of summer coming up, when much of the ranch’s return business was decided, Mason was anxious to ensure no disasters occurred like the ones the ranch had already experienced—tainted food at the restaurant, theft, unpleasant deliveries made to guests’ rooms—and that was where Judd came in.

Mason had reason to believe that Sunny Horizons Travel Agency might be involved in the sabotage, through its connection with his vengeful ex-girlfriend. Right now he was at the height of paranoia and trusted no one, including his star employee Buck, so he’d hired Judd as his private investigator and sent him on his way to find out what he could about Lucy Connors.

So here he was in the most ridiculous undercover operation he’d ever conducted, dressed like an idiot in this sleazy cowboy getup.

“I’m Buck’s replacement,” he explained. “He couldn’t make it to be your escort, so the owner sent me instead. Is that okay?”

She still looked confused. “It’s just that Claire said your name would be Buck.”

“I forgot to tell her I was replacing him. The subject of my name never came up when she let me into the apartment.”

“Oh.” She took a step back, obviously not thrilled to find a total stranger whose name was not Buck in her apartment.

He could understand her reluctance. “Why don’t you call the ranch and speak to the owner, Mason Walker. He can confirm for you that I am indeed your escort and that I don’t bite—” he forced himself to add in typical Fantasy Ranch style “—unless you want me to.” He realized too late that his little act didn’t help the situation, so he set down the suitcase and reached for his wallet to retrieve his brother’s business card.

Lucy stared at it for a moment and then looked up at him. “Walker? Isn’t that your last name, too?”

“Mason’s my brother.”

“Oh. Well, if you don’t mind holding on a minute, I think I will call, just to be safe.” She eyed him warily, and he began to feel as if he had fangs.

“Why don’t I wait outside?” he offered, hoping that might help her relax.

“No, that’s not necessary. It’s not like I haven’t already been alone with you all this time.”

She sat on the sofa and dialed the number to the ranch.

Judd occupied himself looking at her photos again. Why couldn’t this in-person Lucy be more like the conservative Lucy in the picture? That was the kind of woman he needed to spend a week with, not an obvious seductress. It was almost impossible to tell if the real-life woman and the woman in the photo were one and the same.

If he had to spend an entire week keeping an eye on Lucy, he was in big trouble. The promise he’d made to himself only a month ago would be out the window in no time flat if she kept looking at him the way she did, with those satin brown eyes of hers. He had a thing for brown eyes. A bad, bad thing. But why couldn’t he run into nice, respectable women with irresistible brown eyes and made-for-sin bodies?

Instead he attracted sex kittens. He’d already promised himself—no more wild women. They’d brought him nothing but trouble in the first thirty years of his life, and now that he was ready to settle down, he needed someone steady, respectable, and maybe even a little bit boring.

Lucy Connors, with her natural beauty, lush pink lips, wild bedroom hair and slim little waist that begged to be gripped, was definitely not boring. And in her presence he was already forgetting that he was supposed to be conducting an investigation.

He’d had enough of red-hot lust and crash-and-burn passion. He’d been scalded one too many times. He’d nearly lost himself to women like Lucy.

Judd winced at the memory of his most notable disaster—the woman who’d cost him his career in the police force. It had been his own fault for hopping into bed with a near stranger, for letting passion rule his decision-making. He should have guessed she might have been involved with one of his co-workers by her very presence at the party full of cops where they had met, but he’d never imagined she was his own boss’s girlfriend.

He had put that mistake behind him and was now well on his way to respectability. The last thing he needed was to be led back into temptation by a woman who could addle his brain with her beauty and turn him back into a man ruled by his sexual urges.

But he’d promised Mason.

He made a mental note to himself to kick Mason’s ass at the soonest possible opportunity. Just like when they were kids, his brother could still get him in trouble. Only this time Judd had walked into it with his eyes wide open. He never would have agreed to the investigation if his older brother hadn’t sounded as though he needed the favor so desperately. Judd hadn’t seen any way to say no.

“You’ll have the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on her,” Mason had said. “Just pretend that maybe you’re attracted to her on your off hours and she’ll be putty in your hands.” Mason had given him the same pleading look he’d used when they were kids to get Judd to tell their mother it had been him who’d broken two plates from the china collection.

Lucy’s voice interrupted his thoughts and snapped him back to the present. “Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Walker. Goodbye.” She hung up the phone and offered Judd a crooked smile. “Your story checks out, so I guess we can go.”

Judd took a deep breath and smiled at the woman that was sure to be his undoing.

NOW THAT SHE HAD A GOOD view of Judd’s face, Lucy couldn’t stop staring. He was handsome the way banana splits were delicious—decadently so, with a little too much of the good stuff. Too much beauty for one man to contain, yet he managed it somehow. Remarkably, those silvery gray eyes, that nose a plastic surgeon would be proud of, those soap-opera-hunk cheekbones, and that outrageously lush mouth all combined to make a face that was gorgeous in an unmistakably masculine way.

Lucy melted a little every time she looked at him. And that was only in the beginning. After those early moments in his presence, the full weight of the situation began to sink in…And sink in some more, bringing with it a schoolgirl giddiness that threatened to undermine her sex-kitten wannabe disguise. How could she be a cool seductress as she constantly resisted the urge to blush and giggle?

She couldn’t, at least not without a little help. Her plan became clear when Judd showed her to the rear passenger seat of the sport utility vehicle and offered her the complimentary bottle of champagne and box of overpriced chocolates. She’d succeed with the assistance of alcohol.

Although the rear seat had the advantage of proximity to the vehicle’s built-in bar, Lucy smiled with as much confidence as she could muster and said, “How ’bout I sit up front…and keep you company.”

Judd nodded one time. “Whatever you like.”

She plucked the already-opened bottle and a plastic glass from his hand, eyeballing the box of chocolates he also offered with apprehension. Boring Lucy would never succumb to the wanton calorie binge that gold foil box of sin represented, but she had the feeling Wild-and-Crazy Lucy would relish every bite without thinking twice about the health consequences. It had been so long since she’d eaten real chocolates, she could barely remember their flavor.

“I’d better take those, too. Champagne makes me hungry.” She took the box with her free hand and tucked it under her arm before climbing into the front seat.

A little alcohol-induced courage was just what she needed to get the vacation started right, Lucy told herself as she promptly filled and emptied the champagne flute twice. Since they hadn’t even started moving yet, she was thankful when Judd climbed into the driver’s seat and studiously ignored the suddenly emptier champagne bottle that sat in the little cooler between their seats.

“Ready to go?” His gaze stopped for a moment at her shoulder, and she imagined he was checking to make sure she was buckled in, an act she found incongruously charming.

He’s doing it for insurance purposes, the librarian voice in her head pointed out.

“Ready and willing,” she blurted, feeling her face heat up.

Okay, so she needed a little more champagne. Problem was, she had no idea how many glasses would produce the desired confidence without bringing with it the stumbling drunkenness she hoped to avoid. Too bad alcoholic beverages didn’t come with recommended dosages like prescription medications. For increased confidence, take three eight-ounce servings every four to six hours.

But they didn’t, so she realized her plan had a big chance of backfiring. Especially since she normally didn’t drink. Lucy had heard all about Claire’s drunken escapades, though, so she knew it was an accepted thing for party girls to drink a little too much champagne now and again. If things got out of hand, she could always explain it away later as her way of getting rid of the stress of the workweek.

As Judd pulled out of her apartment building’s parking lot, Lucy downed her third glass, and a few minutes later she was wrapped in a fuzzy sense of well-being the likes of which she couldn’t remember. It occurred to her as she peered at her tantalizing driver from across the darkened cab that her plan needed another step to be complete.

Seduce Judd Walker. What the heck. If she could pick any birthday present in the world, at that moment he was what she most wanted.

She wanted to touch him, to taste him, to feel their limbs tangled together in bed. She wanted to make love to him all night, then wake up and do it again in the morning. It was the most outrageous idea she’d ever had. And possibly the most brilliant.

She opened the box of chocolates, picked one out, and took a big, sinful bite.

JUDD DIDN’T HAVE REASON yet to suspect Lucy was anything but a woman taking a vacation. He realized with a little pang of guilt that he’d already let his attraction to her cloud his reasoning. He didn’t want her to be guilty of anything clandestine.

Before calling in Judd to investigate, Mason had figured out on his own that all the sabotage so far had taken place while employees of the Sunny Horizons Travel Agency, where Lucy worked, were staying at the ranch. And he’d made that connection because the travel agency was owned by the same corporation that owned the resort’s biggest competitor, the Oasis Spa and Resort, also the same corporation run by Mason’s slightly psycho ex-girlfriend.

It sounded more than a little far-fetched to Judd, but he had to agree with his brother that it was all they had to go on so far.

Judd peered over at Lucy for a moment, wondering if she’d had enough to drink yet to get loose-lipped and slip him some helpful information. “You enjoy being a travel agent?”

“How did you know what kind of work I do?”

“I did my homework, checked out your guest bio. Said you’re celebrating your birthday, right?”

“Right. What’s there to celebrate? Getting another year closer to death?”