She watched him drop his chin to his chest and rest his hands on the back of the couch that split the room from the formal dining table. It was probably a good idea to keep a large piece of furniture between them.
“Guess you’re okay if you’re up and about. I heard you needed a favor.”
That deep voice did something to her insides every time. His sexy tone seeped somewhere down her spine and made her very aware of how his breath had touched her there—and a lot of other places. She shifted and could see his reflection in the window again, seated in the side chair now, bent at the waist, pulling his boots on. Muscles rippled in his arms just like when they’d—
Whew. She couldn’t go there every time they were in the same room. But it was so easy to return to that blanket, next to the mountain fire, under a gazillion stars. His hair was wet, dripping onto his shirt. She’d seen it before. Seen just about all of him in the buff.
“That was a quick shower,” she said as if she knew how long his showers were normally.
He stamped his heel into place inside his boot as he stood. “Mom’s baking biscuits. Tends to get me out fast. Do you need something or not?”
All right, the biscuits were a priority and he hadn’t taken a quick shower just because she was waiting. That was good to know.
“Your arm is okay. Right?” he asked with a shrug.
She looked at her sleeve as if she could see through it to the deep graze she’d received when she’d been shot. A consequential wound that had made her woozy enough not to remember exactly what had transpired before she embarrassingly passed out. “Yes. It’s healing nicely.”
This boring conversation was quite different from their last. At that time, Nick had said something along the lines that she was an inept agent and he never wanted to see her again. And here she was feeling like a tossed-off girlfriend. Juliet and Kate had assured her it was necessary to convince Nick that staying here was all her idea. But the women didn’t know they’d slept together. That put an embarrassing spin on things.
Having to take the blame for staying at the Burke’s wouldn’t encourage him to believe she didn’t want a relationship. Honestly, there couldn’t be any fraternization now. She could fight it. She was a professional. This was her work environment. If she ever wanted to be transferred from this desolate area and back to the real action... Well, she needed to learn how to be successful here. She had to get along with Nick Burke.
Shooting the man holding him at gunpoint had been easier than facing him. He wasn’t smiling. And beyond all reason she still felt the attraction throughout her entire body.
He slapped his thighs, breaking her stupor.
“So what’s this favor?”
“Your mother has a great sense of humor,” she began, hesitating at his quizzical expression. “She, um, volunteered your ranch as a favor for the DEA. Not really a favor for me—”
She braced for a barrage of reasons why she should leave the Burke ranch. Nick couldn’t possibly want her here. Should she fight him or let him win? No question, she had to fight him. This was the only place for her to learn what she needed. The Rocking B and Nick Burke were her last chance.
“She volunteered the ranch for what?” He fisted his hands and rested one on each hip, waiting for the answer. It didn’t take a genius to interpret the rapid pulse visible in his neck or the dread his voice didn’t disguise.
Nerves froze her in place. Even though she didn’t want to watch his reaction, she couldn’t turn away. “My headquarters.”
“Right. That’s hilarious.”
“I’m not... It’s not a joke, Nick. I need a place with easier, quicker deployment into the mountains.”
“I’m willing to help the task force find the creeps behind the smuggling. But you don’t know the first thing about a horse. How are you supposed to investigate anything?”
“That’s the favor. I need you to teach me to ride and survive in the mountains.”
“No way. There’s no way in—”
“I’ll stop you before you say something you’ll regret,” Juliet said, pushing through the swinging door at the end of the dining room. “Breakfast is ready. Beth, we eat in the kitchen unless we have company.”
“What’s she?” Nick asked.
“She’s moving in. Get over it or you know the alternative.” Nick’s mother disappeared behind the swinging door.
He crossed the room. His boots sounded heavy on the wooden floor as he headed toward her. He didn’t stop until he stood almost on top of her Jimmy Choo shoes. How he got that close without touching her, she didn’t know. And she hated that if he had touched her, she would have welcomed the intimacy.
She was literally nose to nose with him in her heels. Sometimes her near six-foot height intimidated men. Not Nick. The first time they’d kissed, he’d told her how much he enjoyed the way their bodies fit. She’d enjoyed it, too, more than she wanted to admit.
Living across the hall from him is going to be seriously difficult.
Loud music filtered from the kitchen. White noise Juliet obviously supplied so Nick could have a private conversation. The woman was very smart.
“I’m not going to help you pass the time while you’re here,” he whispered. “On a horse or anywhere else.”
“And who’s asking you to?” She wanted to retreat, to give him ground. His jaw muscles clenched, his whiskey-colored eyes burned brighter with the sun in his face. She stayed put, deliberately tipping her nose a little higher. “This is business. There’s nothing personal about asking to stay here.”
“Good, ’cause there isn’t any personal left between us. No matter how much my momma would prefer it that way and may push us together. You should have listened to me last week instead of concocting a reason to stay here.”
“You are so full of yourself.” She took a step sideways. Ready to march out the door, ready to demand another cover story and place to stay. But that was exactly what Nick wanted. “Some things are more important than our personal relationship—which I agree to be nonexistent. I listened to what you said at the sheriff’s office last week. It’s insulting and egotistical that you believe I’d want anything to do with you after that.”
“Sure doesn’t seem like you were listening. You’re here, aren’t you?”
“As of matter of fact, I looked for another place. But when it came down to choosing, the agency had the last say,” she lied. “Since you already knew I was working undercover, it made more sense to use this as my base.”
He took a step back and crossed his arms. “If that’s the only reason, I’m a fly on a horse’s ass.”
If she said that she thought he was the rump and not the fly, he’d be even more likely to request that she leave. No matter what his mother had demanded, he’d stick by what he’d said to the sheriff and be done with investigations. How in the world was she ever going to get him to open up about the shooting? That was the only reason Juliet wanted her living at the ranch. Ultimately, Beth was supposed to get him to either talk about the trauma of being shot or get him to see a shrink.
If only her parents were here. Both were well-known psychologists and that was the reason Juliet had suggested the arrangement. The only reason. It had nothing to do with a possible romantic involvement between Nick and Beth. But she couldn’t tell him that.
His strong jaw twitched with