So Cass would keep this light and never let him know that she was already more than halfway in love with him.
Turning her head to look at the man beside her, she noted his forearm tossed across his eyes, his chest moving with long, deep breaths and the wall he was already erecting between them.
As she watched him, he went up on one elbow and turned to look at her. She could read on his expression that he was about to start the whole this-was-a-mistake-and-I’ve-got-to-get-out-of-here speech. So she spoke fast, saying the first thing that came to mind. Something she’d wondered about since arriving at the ranch.
“Why don’t you have a dog?”
His mouth snapped shut and he stared at her as if she were speaking Urdu. “What?”
“A dog.” She stretched comfortably and smiled. “Cowboys. Dogs. They kind of go together, but you don’t have one. I was wondering why.”
Shaking his head a little, confusion shining in his eyes, he said, “That’s what you want to talk about? Now?”
Cass forced a casual shrug she really wasn’t feeling. “What would you rather talk about? How you’re a loner and this was a mistake and how you don’t want me to get my heart broken or anything—” She broke off and deepened her voice into an overly dramatic drawl. “I’m not the kind of man you need and you should just forget about all of this and realize that I’m not interested in forever?”
That confused look in his eyes was now tangled up with the first flares of irritation. She’d been right, of course. That’s exactly what he had been about to say. Apparently having her say it for him didn’t sit very well with Jake Hunter. Well, too bad.
Seconds passed in silence but for the log in the hearth that cracked in the heat and dropped to the grate below with a muffled crash.
“The ‘talk’ is unnecessary,” she assured him, ignoring that tiny ache in her heart. “So why not ask about the dog situation?”
He huffed out a breath and frowned. “I don’t know what to make of you.”
“Forthright, remember?” Internally, she scoffed at that. If she were really forthright, she’d be telling him that she was almost in love with him and all it would take was a tiny push from him to complete the fall. But that would be like yelling “fire!” He’d be out of this room so fast, her hair would lift in the wind.
His gaze narrowed on her. “Right.” Another second or two passed before he said, “I’ve got enough animals here that I have to care for. Don’t really need a dog, so I’ve never gotten one.”
She nodded. “I understand, but the horses and the cattle are business, aren’t they? A dog would be more company than anything else.”
“Who says I need company?” he challenged. “I’ve got twenty hands who work and live here—two of them with their wives—I’ve got my grandfather across the yard and plenty of clients who come and go. Not like I’ve got the time or the leisure to get lonely.”
Though his words were firm and it was clear that he believed them, Cass thought she’d never met a lonelier person in her life. True, Jake was surrounded by all the people he’d just named, but he never let them in. According to his grandfather, even he had to fight to maintain any level of closeness, and she knew Jake loved the older man.
“Cassie,” Jake said and the calm, patient tone of his voice caught her attention. “We really should talk about this.”
Cass didn’t want to. She didn’t want to see him pull away, didn’t want to hear words that had no meaning because she already knew there was no future here for her. So she rolled into him and slid one arm around his waist. “No,” she said, looking up into his eyes. “We really don’t. I’m a big girl, Jake. I’m in your bed because I want to be here. You don’t owe me anything.”
Emotions too varied to read darted across his face before he reached for her and pulled her in tightly enough so that Cass could feel his desire stirring to life again.
“You puzzle me,” he admitted. “You never do or say what I expect you to.”
Her heart tumbled in her chest at the heat in his eyes. “That’s good,” she said, brushing her mouth across his. “I would really hate to be predictable.”
One corner of his mouth tipped up and he shook his head. “No worries there,” he assured her.
“Jake, there’s nothing we have to say to each other right now, okay?” She moved so that she could slide her fingers through his thick hair, each strand moving against her skin like a caress. “Let’s just take tonight and not dissect it.”