Adrian pushed the cup to the center of the table, rose then descended the escalators. Once at the bottom, she joined the small crowd waiting for passengers to arrive. The doors slid open again and a tall, lean man with a cream-colored Stetson walked though. Wade Randall stood out in any crowd.
Adrian squinted to get a better look. Locks of black hair peeked out under the hat and framed a tanned but serious face. With his lips drawn in a straight line and his brown eyes guarded, Wade searched the crowd. Dressed in a brown checkered shirt and jeans that hugged long legs, he was any woman’s dream of what a cowboy-lover should be. Even his brown leather boots screamed hunk.
She sighed audibly when he turned toward the sliding doors, affording her a glimpse of a tight behind. Her fingers itched to smooth some of the wrinkles out of the rear of his jeans.
Get a grip, Adrian. Your hormones have caused enough damage in your life as it is.
Handsome and completely edible doesn’t necessarily translate to dependable and faithful.
She shoved the negative thought to the background. Today she had a job to do and no time to spend rehashing past mistakes.
Another man wearing a Stetson sauntered through the doors. In direct contrast to Wade, Maverick Green’s infectious smile elicited responses and blushes from the female crowd along the ropes. He stopped at a blonde-haired girl, exaggerated a bow and kissed her hand. The girl blushed and Maverick’s hearty laugh filled the arrivals hall. Several heads swung in their direction, adding to the discomfort of the girl and increasing the twinkle in Maverick’s blue eyes.
Blond hair, blue eyes and a Colgate smile—the advertising agency must have paid big bucks to get someone like him on their payroll. The cotton shirt emphasized the bulky muscles rippling beneath, and the way he filled the blue jeans had her mouth watering.
Wade shook his head at Maverick’s antics, tapping his foot while waiting for him to finish frolicking with the girl. Adrian frowned. Wade appeared much too serious to have three weeks of fun in sunny South Africa. The cowboys had to be sexy, but they also had to enjoy life enough for it to show in the photos. From experience, she knew how unforgiving the lens of a camera could be. She swallowed.
No.
She wasn’t going down that road again.
The men joined up and elbowed their way through the crowd. Why hadn’t she checked the internet for more information on them? How was she going to keep the conversations going for three weeks?
The two stopped a few paces from her, clearly disagreeing over something. She inhaled audibly and squared her shoulders. No use postponing the inevitable, even if it meant she had to get a firm grip on her libido. She moved toward the men.
“Excuse me.”
Both glanced at her jean-clad figure. It felt like an examination, which she promptly failed and aced at the same time. Brown eyes filled with interest while a shutter fell over the blue ones. Maverick continued to scan the crowd. She swallowed to coat her dry throat.
“Maverick Green and Wade Randall?”
Wade stepped forward, tipped his hat and extended his hand. “I’m Wade Randall. You must be Adrian.”
She nodded and her small hand disappeared into his callused one. His firm grip sent heat flaring up her arm, traveling through her like lightning and settling somewhere in her lower abdomen. She hoped it was her imagination, but the air practically crackled with electricity. Being attracted to her models was not on her agenda.
“I am.” She pulled her hand out from his and turned to the other man, who stared at her through narrowed eyes. “You must be Maverick Green?”
He nodded and although he replicated Wade’s greeting, his eyes remained guarded. All sense of fun had evaporated.
Maverick resisted the urge to widen his stance to accommodate his cock straining against his jeans. Hell, he’d expected a man to collect them, not a woman who could pose for the centerfold in any pin-up magazine. Although not a classic beauty, the small woman staring at him was perfectly proportioned. Dressed in blue jeans and a figure-hugging stretch top, her head barely reached his shoulder. His libido roared into overdrive.
He met her blue eyes and realized she was waiting for him to clarify his almost antagonistic reaction. How could he explain to her that his plans of remaining celibate for the next few weeks had just boarded the plane returning to Texas? Resisting the temptation this slip of a woman presented was going to be impossible.
“We expected a man. Isn’t Adrian a male name?”
Great, Maverick. Aggression is a sure-fire way to get in her good graces.
She smiled and his heart skipped a beat.
“It is, but my mother couldn’t remember the spelling of Adrienne so she settled with the male version. But I assure you, I am all female and have been since birth.”
Her voice tingled like fine Christmas bells over his nerve-endings and had the remaining blood draining from his one head to the other one much lower in his body.
Dammit
. He usually had more self-control with the ladies. What made her different?
Wade playfully smacked Maverick on his shoulder. “Now I’m glad you talked me into this.”
Maverick glared at Wade, who seemed to have completely forgotten about Maverick’s injured shoulder. His displeasure at seeing his own feelings mirrored in his friend’s eyes stunned him. They’d shared women in the past, so why did he feel like wiping the silly grin off Wade’s face? Since he’d known Wade—and that had been all of their thirty years—Wade had never lost his cool over a woman. Now, his friend sported a crimson flush beneath his tanned skin and his brown eyes sparkled. This could get complicated.
The crowd had thinned and Adrian headed to the exit. Over her shoulder, she added, “Let’s get going. After such a long flight, you must be ready for a warm bath and a comfortable bed.”
Adrian listened to their boots thudding on the tiled floor behind her as the men followed her out of the building. Once outside, they donned their jackets and walked on either side of her, their big frames dwarfing her own five-foot height. Several people stared at them. They were two hotties and perfect for the assignment.
She unlocked the rear door of the Land Cruiser station wagon and waited for the men to load their luggage. She climbed in behind the steering wheel and turned in her seat. “I reserved a suite in a hotel in the city if you are too tired to travel to the farm. Are you guys up for a three and a half hour drive, or do you prefer to stay at the hotel for today and go out to the farm tomorrow?”
“I’d rather get there and settle in, if it’s not too much trouble.”
Wade’s deep voice did strange things to her insides, like a deep and mysterious river she ached to explore.
Damn, Adrian, get a grip. You are taking their photographs, not exploring their manhood.
Her adventurous sexual appetite had already ruined her marriage and left her hanging on to the shreds of her reputation.
The vision of the men naked in bed with their attention zeroed on her persisted and robbed her of breath. A shiver ran along her spine and she tried to rein in her thoughts. A shimmer of her own lust was reflected in Maverick’s eyes.
He patted the upholstery before reclining in his seat, turning the full wattage of his killer smile loose on her. “I agree. Besides, we have so much to explore and only a couple of weeks to do so.”
His ambiguous words had nervous excitement flooding her veins. If only she didn’t need this assignment so badly…
Adrian nodded, started the car and reversed out of the parking space. Conversation ceased until she had negotiated onto the highway and they were safely out of the city. In the passenger seat, Wade leaned his head back and spread his long fingers open on his thighs.
Adrian’s eyes rounded. How could she have thought him too lean? He filled out the jeans quite enticingly. She snapped her gaze to the road ahead.
“What made you go into photography?”
She met Maverick’s glance in the rear-view mirror. If he wasn’t packaged so deliciously, she might be able to keep her mind on the task at hand. Get them settled in, take the photos and keep the hell away from them. Why did her body have to remind her she’d never had two men at the same time? And that she hadn’t been laid in more than a year?
Horrified that Maverick might read her thoughts, she forced her gaze to the road and kept her face expressionless. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a hoarse croak emerged. She cleared her throat.
“I like the perspective the lens gives. People don’t understand how accurately a camera can capture their emotions.”
“But surely fashion photography must get boring. “
She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I mostly do advertising assignments. The subjects I photograph vary from people to landscapes to animals. It never gets boring. Besides, I know far too little about fashion to take any meaningful photos.”
He smiled and her insides twisted. Damn, no one said she couldn’t look. What harm could there possibly be in studying the menu? She didn’t want to order. No way. She would just salivate over what could have been if she had been available. And she wasn’t available—at least not until she’d salvaged her reputation as a professional photographer. Professional conduct and sexual gratification seldom made good bedmates.
Involved in her own thoughts, she realized Maverick was waiting for an answer when she met his questioning eyes in the mirror. “Excuse me, could you repeat the question please?”
His lips twitched and she blushed, averting her eyes to the road again.
Damn the man for being so attractive.
“I gather you know more about horses than fashion?” Maverick asked.
“I know they’re big, people ride on them and they pull carts.” She glanced at him again. “Do they do anything else I don’t know about?”
Maverick widened his eyes in mock horror and clapped a hand over them. “Heaven help us, they sent us a greenhorn to work with the horses.”
She shrugged. “Because most lenses have a zoom function, I don’t have to get too close.”
The big frame next to her shook slightly and Adrian glanced toward Wade. Her breath hitched in her chest. Mirth twinkled in Wade’s eyes and his gaze roamed freely over her body, causing tiny detonations of excitement where it lingered. With his face serious, the man possessed a devilish handsomeness few women would be able to resist. Smiling—he was lethal.
Her knuckles whitened on the steering wheel.
Concentrate on the assignment, not the men, Adrian. The men would bring you pleasure you would pay for later if the photos were not up to standard.
How could anyone work with these men and not be distracted? Besides, hadn’t she decided to peruse the menu and not order anything?
Wade moved his long legs closer to the gear lever and twisted his body to stare at her. “I take it you don’t ride then?”
“Not horses, no.”
Wade chuckled. “What
do
you ride if you don’t like horses?”
Visions of her riding both of them filled her mind and Adrian sucked air into her lungs. “I never said I didn’t like horses. I just haven’t been exposed to them much.”
She had to change the subject, quickly. “So, you guys are rodeo stars. What makes you risk life and limb for a couple of seconds in the arena?”
Chapter Two
Anticipation coursed through Maverick after Adrian’s reaction to Wade’s question. Judging by the slight flush on her cheeks, she’d considered the possibility of them exploring more than taking photographs. If he faced her—and he would bet his last rodeo’s takings on it—her nipples would be jutting through the T-shirt she wore.
In the rear-view mirror, Maverick watched as Adrian pursed her lips and lifted her chin. The lust in her eyes faded and was replaced by determination. What made her so resolute to resist the attraction that had the air inside the car so thick it felt like he’d just rode into the dust cloud of a stampede? Maybe she just tried to keep things between them professional.
Maverick glanced at Wade and saw his own confusion and lust mirrored in his friend’s face. Wade had kept all women at a distance after his childhood sweetheart had left him for a richer man. Since then, Wade ran like hell from the female species except for those few instances where they’d shared a woman to fulfill their sexual fantasies. Maybe they could scratch their itch together again with Adrian—if she was willing.
No time like the present to test the water.
Maverick leaned forward and rested his hand on Adrian’s shoulder. He waited for her to shrug it off or stiffen at his touch, but besides a slight hitch in her breathing, she didn’t react. “You don’t want to know what brought us into rodeo life, it’s boring. I’d rather you tell us what you like to ride.”
He shifted his hand on her shoulder and moved even closer to her ear. Adrian swallowed audibly. The pulse in her neck kicked up a notch and Maverick could barely contain his excitement. The heat from Adrian’s body sent shivers up his arm and he fought the primal urge to make her stop the car so he could drape her over the bonnet. Luckily, he had more sense and self-control than to give in to his urges. Besides, he first had to make sure she knew what she was letting herself in for.
Adrian inhaled deeply in an attempt to get more oxygen to her brain. How pathetic was she that two complete strangers turned her on so much that she almost forgot why she’d taken the job in the first place? Trying to appear unaffected, she shrugged.
“Anything with an engine, I suppose. Four wheelers, off-road motorcycles and four-wheel drive cars.”
Maverick’s smirk filled the mirror. He’d noticed her small slip and wasn’t going to let it rest.
“What a pity.”
Wade placed his hand on her thigh. “Sure is. We could have had a great time.”
Her heart palpitated in her chest and the air inside the car thickened. How was she going to resist these two? Her body screamed at her to let go and enjoy, and she ached for Wade’s hand to creep up her thigh until he reached her throbbing center.