The Rancher Returns (6 page)

“Yes, that's true.”

He leaned back in his chair, deciding to keep her talking about the dig for a while, after all. He doubted she realized that whenever she talked about her work she lowered her guard. “So you admit you're inexperienced.”

Layla frowned. He could tell she wasn't sure if they were still talking about the dig. “I don't think of myself as inexperienced, Gavin, so you shouldn't think that, either.”

“Then tell me what I should think.”

After several moments, she said, “You should focus on the fact that my being here is the result of several years of research. I didn't just wake up one morning and decide to do this. I've tracked each and every one of James's bank robberies in this area. Mapped out every possible trail he could have taken, every single place he and the gang could have hidden out. Then I obtained records of this land and the surrounding properties. I had my team digitally re-create how this area would have looked back then.

“The Silver Spurs would have been the ideal place to stop over because of the low-hanging trees. And the lake between here and the Lotts' spread would have allowed the gang time to wash away their scent and stay hidden from the sheriff's posse. I could even see James's gang being smart enough to use a decoy to send the posse racing in another direction. One away from here to give them time to bury their loot and lighten their load.”

Gavin was trying not to get caught up in the sound of her voice. He wanted to hear the words she was saying. She was excited about her work and discussing it energized her. He couldn't help noticing the glow in her eyes, the confidence in her voice, the smile on her lips. The same lips he had tasted last night.

She was trying like hell to convince him that she was onto something, that she had researched her findings and believed in everything she was telling him. He knew there had to be a number of doubters...like himself.

When she stopped talking, he shifted his gaze from her lips to her eyes. “I take it you've already surveyed the area, used ground penetrating radar on the location already.”

She nodded. If she was surprised by his knowledge of her preliminary assessment, she didn't show it. “I've gone further. I was able to get an infrared spectrum.”

He lifted a brow. “How?”

“One of my students is big into digital technology and created it for me. That's the advantage I have over others working on this subject, I'm bringing this excavation into the digital age.”

The technological aspect was an area Gavin was somewhat familiar with. The military already used all sorts of futuristic developments. It was important whenever they were sent into enemy territory that they didn't step on booby traps or buried explosives.

She looked at him expectantly, as if he would question what she said. He merely nodded. “I'm familiar with the use of high-tech digital to detect buried items.”

She smiled, obviously glad that he was following her. “All the equipment my team and I use is state-of-the-art, some have never before been used in an archaeological context and they were developed exclusively for this dig by students in my department,” she said proudly.

Because she was young he couldn't imagine her getting others to rally behind her for the cause. Whether she knew it or not, that spoke volumes about her character as a leader. It would take a strong individual to coax others on board. He knew how that could be.

“It's too late today but tomorrow I want to check out the area you've targeted.” What she would discover was that he also had a high-tech camera, one designed by Flipper for marine purposes. However, it had proven effective at detecting objects underground, as well.

“Alright.”

He heard the hope in her voice and figured that was because he'd shown interest in the dig site. She probably thought he was almost on board. That wasn't the case. But he wouldn't tell her that yet.

When he didn't say anything else for a while, she lifted a brow and looked over at him. She even had a little smile on her face. That glow brightening her eyes almost undid him. “Any more questions, Gavin?”

There was something else; something he had to know. “Yes, but not about the dig. It's something about you that I want to know.”

“What?” she asked, lifting an arched brow.

He held her gaze steadily. “When was the last time you made love with a man?”

Four

L
ayla gaped, certain Gavin hadn't asked her what she thought he'd asked her. What man would inquire that of a woman...especially one he'd known barely twenty-four hours? However, from the look on his face, he evidently saw nothing wrong with the question. He was sitting there waiting on an answer.

She lifted her chin and crossed her arms over her chest. When she saw his gaze shift from her eyes to her upraised breasts, she dropped her hands. “Do you actually expect me to answer that?” Somehow she managed to get the words past a constricted throat. The way he stared at her was making her head spin.

He shrugged massive broad shoulders. “Don't know why not. We're sexually attracted to each other. Just want to know what I'm dealing with when we decide to go for it and take the edge off.”

Go for it? Take the edge off?
Layla shook her head, clearly missing something. She knew they were attracted to each other; she got that. What she didn't get was him thinking that attraction meant they would eventually decide to “go for it.” She had no intention of going anywhere. She was here to do a job and not indulge his fantasies...or her own, for that matter.

“I think you need to explain what exactly you're getting at. We agreed to keep sex out of this, Gavin.”

“I didn't agree to any such thing. You suggested it but I didn't agree to it. Why would I?”

“Why wouldn't you?” she countered, not understanding his way of thinking.

He leaned back in his chair and her gaze watched his every movement. Restrained and controlled. She wondered if his actions were intentional, to put her off-kilter. When he picked up his glass of tea, her gaze automatically shifted to his hands. They were large and callous. They were the same hands that had sent shivers up her spine last night.

Memories of their kiss suddenly bombarded her and then her gaze shifted to his mouth as he took a swallow of iced tea. She was drawn to the way his mouth covered the rim of the glass and the way the liquid flowed down his throat. But what really got to her was the way he licked his lips afterward. When he caught her staring, those penetrating eyes darkened as they held hers.

“Want some?”

She snatched her gaze away. The lump in her throat thickened. She was glad to be sitting down; otherwise it would have been impossible to stand on both feet. The look he was giving her had her weak in the knees.

Somehow she managed to clear the lump in her throat and hold up her glass. “No thanks, I have my own.”

His eyes blazed as they continued to hold hers. “I wasn't offering you any of my tea, Layla.”

She sucked in a deep breath. He couldn't have set her straight any plainer than that. There was no need to ask what he was offering. That was the moment she knew Gavin Blake intended to be a problem. One she needed to deal with here and now.

“You never did answer my earlier question. When was the last time you were with a man?”

She set her glass of tea back down on the table. “And you never answered mine about why you wouldn't agree to keep sex out of it.” Feeling flustered, she added, “We need to talk.”

A smile touched the corners of his lips. “I thought that's what we were doing.”

There was no way he could have thought that. What he was doing was deliberately getting her all unglued. If he thought for one minute his arrogant behavior would make her run, then he didn't know her very well. “There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here.”

“Is there?”

“Undoubtedly. I'm here to do a job...that is, if you let me stay to do it. But under no circumstances am I here for your pleasure, Gavin. I don't play those kinds of games. Evidently just because we shared a kiss last night, you've gotten the wrong idea about me. I need to set the record straight now. So hear me and hear me good.” She leaned part of the way over the table toward him. Although his face was void of any expression, she was certain she had his undivided attention.

“I am
not
here to engage in an affair with you, if that's why you want to know about my sex life.”
Or lack thereof.
But that was something he didn't need to know.

* * *

Gavin didn't say anything. He knew she assumed his attention was on her words. In truth his attention was on the mouth delivering those words. Her lips were perfectly shaped with a little cute dip in the center. He liked the play of that mutinous tip whenever she frowned and how those same lips folded pensively when she appeared in deep thought. But more than anything, he couldn't forget how those lips felt beneath his. Their lushness. How delicious they'd tasted. How sweet.

When she got quiet after delivering her spiel, he figured she thought she had set him straight. Far from it and it was time to let her know where he stood. “Are you finished?”

She seemed surprised by his question, but nodded nonetheless and said, “Yes, I'm finished.” She then straightened in her chair, her posture a lot more relaxed than it had been moments ago.

“Evidently, there's a lot you don't understand about sex, Layla.”

Her body tensed again. And somehow those gorgeous lips looked even more sensual. “What's there to understand?” she asked.

Gavin continued to study her. He saw her nonchalant expression and noted her features had taken on a blasé look. Her apparent indifference to this discussion of sex could mean only one thing. She'd been cheated of something he considered as vital as breathing. Reaching her level of success in such a short period of time meant something had been sacrificed. An active sex life, perhaps?

“I want you and you want me,” he said, deciding to point out the obvious.

“And?”

He forced himself not to smile, thinking she was pretending not to have a clue. Then it occurred to him that maybe she wasn't pretending. Maybe it was time to explain to her what it meant whenever a woman became the object of his personal fantasies.

“And...” he said, “we
will
sleep together.”

She sat up in her chair, straightening her spine. Her lips went from sensual to tense but turned him on even more just the same. “No, we will not,” she said adamantly.

He smiled. “Yes, we will. It's inevitable.”

She frowned. “No, it's not. Just who do you think you are?”

He figured it was time she knew the answer to that. “A man who wants you. A man who intends to have you. A man who will show you, Layla Harris, just what you've been missing.”

* * *

Layla tried to keep her heart from pounding deep in her chest, while at the same time fighting off the heat stroking through her body. She knew she shouldn't ask but she couldn't hold back.

“And just what do you think I've missed?”

“Hot, raunchy, mind-blowing sex. Evidently over the years you've been too preoccupied with other things to indulge. Don't you know it's not good to deprive your body of meeting certain needs?”

Her frown deepened. “I haven't deprived my body of anything.”

“Haven't you? Why do you think you're so attracted to me?”

Layla actually rolled her eyes. Really? Honestly? Had he looked in the mirror lately? When was the last time he'd studied all those photos Ms. Melody had plastered on the walls. Any woman would be attracted to him. Even now he sat there not doing anything and still looked sexy as hell with that well-toned body of his. And here she was sitting across the table from him. Right within kissing distance.

As far as she was concerned, Gavin Blake was eye candy of the richest kind. Passion personified. But she definitely wouldn't tell him that. She would deny everything he'd said with her last breath if she had to.

“I am not all that attracted to you.” At least she hadn't completely lied and said she wasn't attracted to him at all.

“You want me to prove otherwise?”

What was it with men always wanting to prove things when it came to sex? “No, thanks. That's not necessary.”

“I think that it is.”

He'd said the words in a low, vibrating tone with a sexy rumble she wished she could ignore. But there was no way, what with all the shivers oozing down her spine. “Are you trying to scare me off, Gavin?”

He lifted a brow. “Scare you off?”

“Yes. Say all these things so I get angry enough to leave the ranch, sparing you the trouble of making a decision one way or the other about whether I can dig on your land or not.”

“Is that what you think?”

To be honest, she didn't know what to think. She needed his land and all he had on his mind was sex. That made her wonder...

“Then are you trying to box me into a corner? Implying that I will have to sleep with you before you'll give me permission to dig?”

Gavin shook his head. “I would never put pressure on you to sleep with me. But be forewarned, Layla. If you hang around here doing that dig, we
will
sleep together. There's no way we won't. Your own body will betray you. When it does, I will be ready for the opportunity.”

Seriously?
If he thought her body would eventually weaken, he didn't know her. And that was the point, one she couldn't lose sight of. He
didn't
know her. He didn't know about her dedication when it came to her work. Nor did he know of her ability to be single-minded when it came to her career goals. She could put everything out of her mind except what was most important. She was driven to be successful in her field, and she wouldn't let Gavin—or any other man—stand in her way.

He was pretty sure of himself where women were concerned. A man couldn't look like him, be built like him, and not be in demand and get any woman he wanted. All Gavin had to do was snap his fingers and she figured the women came running. Being denied anything from a woman would be foreign to him.

“Think whatever you want, Gavin, but I'm not the kind of woman you're used to. I won't break.”

He rubbed his hand over his chin as he studied her. “Would you want to bet on that?”

Layla frowned. She had no intention of betting on anything and she proceeded to tell him that. He only smiled, and it was one of those smiles she was getting to know too well. The one that made her body sizzle when it should make her angry. His smile all but said he had her where he wanted her.

“Would you be willing to bet on it to guarantee your dig on the Silver Spurs?”

That piqued her interest. “Depending on what you have in mind.” She hoped she was not setting herself up for something she would regret.

* * *

Gavin held back his
gotcha
smile. Little did Layla know but his teammates didn't call him Viper for nothing. To some, a viper might be considered a spiteful or treacherous person, but for him the name meant he knew how to capture his prey using any means necessary. Striking when they least expected it. He wanted her in his bed willingly and he intended to do whatever it took to get her there. It was time to push his agenda.

“I'm willing to make a deal, Layla.”

“What sort of a deal?” She held his gaze.

Did she know how beautiful her facial features were? How striking her bone structure? He could sit for hours and stare, taking her in. But doing so would make him want her even more than he already did. Before he'd met her, he couldn't have imagined that degree of need for any woman. But he could imagine it for her.

He lifted his shoulder in a half shrug as if what he was about to say wasn't of grave importance. As if he really didn't care one way or the other if she took the deal or left it on the table.

“I'm not as convinced about this buried loot as you and my grandmother seem to be,” he said. “And I doubt reading any report will make me change my mind. But wanting you in my bed will,” he said bluntly, needing her to fully understand what he was saying.

“This is the deal,” he continued. “I will let you dig, regardless of what I think. If you find something, great. You will have proven me wrong. I will be happy for you. Be the first to congratulate you on a job well done. However, if you come up with nothing then you admit you want me as much as I want you and we sleep together.”

“You are counting on me failing? And plan to take advantage of me if I do?”

The thought was firing her up. He could tell. The flash of fire in her eyes told it all. “You shouldn't worry about failing. Unless you think you will. If there's some doubt in your mind regarding the accuracy of your research, then I understand if—”

“My research is on point. There's no doubt in my mind about anything.”

His smile spread across his lips. “In that case, do we have a deal?”