After the meeting with Ben and Lyle, Ty had begged off, allegedly to buy some new boots more suited to rodeo work than to “squiring around a pretty woman,” as he had put it, and Mandy decided she might as well get a manicure and chill. Ty had overstepped his bounds by offering that sweetener without consulting her, even if it did secure the business. It was a bitter taste of what having Ty as a partner would be like.
The manicure had stretched into a shopping trip for yet another pair of boots for herself—embossed tan leather, brown insets, and gold studs. Before she knew it, dinnertime was almost upon her, and she hurried back to the hotel room. She fumbled in her purse for the key card to no avail. She knocked on the door. No answer.
Apparently, she had beaten Ty back to the room. That suited her. She’d take advantage of his absence by enjoying a nice long, hot shower, if she could just find her key. She dug some more until she decided to check the zippered outer pocket. Success. She slid the key card into the slot, pushed on the handle, and opened the door.
She stepped inside, her purse and shopping bag swinging on her arm. No sign of Ty. Beds were made, suitcases and closet door closed. She strolled further into the room, spying a new pair of men’s black boots by the bed. He’d gone for barn boots, an interesting choice for a man who always looked like he’d stepped out of an issue of GQ. She noted he had rather large feet and couldn’t help wondering what else might be large.
A door clicked behind her. Whirling around she came face to…face with a gloriously naked Ty. She dropped the purse and shopping bag with a thud.
Bare chest, bulging biceps, and spectacular abs begged for her notice, but it was the large object dangling between his legs that captured her attention. And held it.
My god, he was hung. Beautifully, generously. Her heart hammered against her chest. Her palms leaked sweat. The back of her neck tingled.
She had no idea how long she stared. Just stared. Unabashedly stared. And maybe even drooled. She couldn’t tell.
She forced herself to look up, following the thin line of hair that ran from his navel up his finely sculpted chest, to those broad shoulders and thick neck, up to the chiseled jaw and lips cracked in a cocky smile, until her gaze landed on a pair of fine dark eyes dancing with amusement.
“Like what you see, Mrs. Martin?” he drawled.
Holy crap.
She swallowed the saliva that had condensed in her mouth. “What are you doing? Where are your clothes?”
“In the suitcase, which I was coming out to get. I took a shower.”
Gathering her splintered senses together, she found the discipline to turn around and face the wall. “Put some clothes on,” she demanded.
“Sight too much for you, darling?” he chuckled.
Steam rose inside her as if her heated blood was letting off vapors. She heard hard footfalls as he moved toward her. Please put clothes on before she jumped his bones like her pitiful body was exhorting her to do with each breath she took.
“You should have knocked,” she blurted out.
He chuckled again. “To come out of the bathroom?” She heard the click of the suitcase.
She waited, exercising all the control she could muster to keep from turning around and having another peek. The man was magnificent, and she was having a hard time fighting biology. She bit her lip in order to feel something other than lust.
She heard the snap of a waistband.
“You can turn around now. It’s covered. But I’m pretty sure you’ve seen one before.”
But never, ever like his.
She whirled around. He wore black boxer briefs that outlined the prominent ridge that had held her captive just moments before. Control. She had to exercise control. Get mad. Think about today and how he’d usurped her.
“Only fair since you’ve seen me that I see you. We could take a shower together. I don’t mind going twice,” Ty offered. He’d seen her checking him out. Maybe he was closer to sealing the deal than he’d imagined.
“In your dreams,” she said, but her voice had a funny little quiver in it. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” He pulled out a shirt from the suitcase he’d propped on one of the queen-sized beds. Ty thought he had reserved a king bed for their stay, but someone, apparently, had called after him to reserve a two-bed guest room in Mandy’s name.