“Yeah, I’ll either get her home or she can crash at my place if I don’t feel like driving into town by the time we reach my turnoff. Come on, Legs. Up you go.”
“Have I ever told you I like your nicknames?” Nan murmured as she batted her eyes up at the lawyer. “You are so frickin’ hot.”
“Good to know,” he returned with a fond look.
They were quite the group, Connor mused as he lifted Tam into his truck and pulled the seatbelt around her, grateful for her silence. She’d been on his mind all day, the same as she had ever since he’d heard she had returned to stay, and he still didn’t know what to do about the tightrope they were both walking regarding their relationship. He wanted to stay on the end where it was safe, but she kept insisting on pushing the boundaries into uncharted, dangerous to his peace of mind and libido territory.
Shutting the door, he strolled around to the driver’s side and settled behind the wheel, glancing over to see she’d already fallen asleep. She was so much easier to deal with inebriated, he mused. Shaking his head, he followed Grayson and Dan down the drive toward the highway, resisting the temptation to draw Tam against his side. It was bad enough he hadn’t been able to drum up any interest in playing with a willing sub again last night and couldn’t forget how her nipple puckered under his stroking tongue, how soft her breast was or how her breathy moans and arching body stirred him. He refused to compound his dilemma by feeling her soft body pressed against him and her warm breath fanning his neck in the dark, quiet of his truck.
Connor pulled in front of Tam’s house ten minutes later, her soft snoring sounding loud in the compact space, his mouth twitching to break into a smile as he came around to lift her out. She stirred as he set her on her feet at the door.
Leaning into him, she whispered in an achingly young voice, “Connor, I missed you.”
He sighed and rested his brow on hers, replying as Amy swung the door open. “I missed you too, Tam. That’s why I’m trying so hard not to make another mistake.”
“Well, this looks familiar,” Amy drawled. “I’ll take her from here, Connor. Thank you.”
“No problem. That’s what I’m here for. Goodnight.”
Well, heck. Tamara watched with bleary eyes as Con strode back to his truck, his words ringing in her head. That’s why I’m trying so hard not to make another mistake. How could she fault him for that?
Chapter 8
“Jeremy, I’ve asked you to stop calling.” Tamara wished she hadn’t answered his call but ignoring them the last few days hadn’t worked. She didn’t need the added aggravation of her ex’s refusal to accept the end of their relationship on top of everything else she’d had to deal with this week. Between Neil’s continued tardiness and half-assed efforts on his chores and a close call with losing more cattle to the rustlers, she had her hands full. At least the diligence of the rest of her hands and those of the neighboring ranches in keeping watch for the thieves had paid off. The last she heard, the authorities were tracking down license plates and descriptions and everyone was hoping for good news.
“There’s no reason we can’t stay friends,” Jeremy insisted. “In fact, I was thinking about making a trip to see you, give you a chance to show me what’s so appealing about running a ranch.”
“No, that would not be a good idea. I’m way too busy and there’s a lot going on.” His presence was the last thing she needed right now.
“Like what? Wouldn’t it help to share your burden?”
She snorted. “What can you do about rustlers and a difficult employee?” Not to mention a stubborn cowboy she couldn’t quit thinking about getting naked with.
“Take you away from all that?” he returned with a hopeful note in his voice.
The door to her therapy room opened and Tamara looked up from behind the desk, her heart jumping as Connor walked in. She thought of the leather corset dress she’d let Nan talk her into buying yesterday, pictured his face when he saw her in it and went hot all over, her pussy going uncomfortably damp. “I’m working and have to go,” she told Jeremy before cl
icking the phone shut and smiling. “Hi. Any luck?” He’d canceled his Monday appointment to help follow the lead on the rustlers.
“Some, not enough.” Tossing his hat on a hook, he ran a frustrated hand through his shoulder-length, brown hair. “The authorities in the next county found the truck our guys spotted and they’re pulling prints, so we’ll see if anything comes from them. At least this time they got away empty-handed.”
“There’s that. Sit down and I’ll check your shoulder.”
Sinking onto the mat, Connor gave her an assessing look. “How was your head Monday morning?”
Other than his text to cancel his appointment, they hadn’t spoken since he’d dropped her off Sunday night. “As you might expect. You’ve been overdoing, you’re tight.”
“I’m fine,” he insisted.
“And you call me stubborn. I would suggest giving it a rest, maybe applying heat to loosen you up, but you won’t listen, so I won’t bother. Let’s skip the pulleys and I’ll go over some new stretches you can work on.” Tamara turned and took two steps toward the file cabinet when he stopped her with his next question.
“Are you returning to the club Friday night?”
“Honestly, Con,” she replied without looking back at him, “I haven’t decided.” Which was true. Every time she imagined herself wearing the dress she’d bought, at her friend’s insistence yesterday, to the club in front of all those people, she wanted to call Nan and back out.
“Here.” She handed him the papers showing the stretches. “Try these along with some heat. I’d planned for this to be your last appointment, but maybe you should let me check your progress one more time next Monday.”
Pushing to his feet, he pinned her with those blue eyes. She couldn’t read his expression or figure what he was thinking, but his look alone made her uneasy. “I’ll behave if you will, Tam.” Stepping around her, he grabbed his hat and opened the door. “Later, little one.”