“Exactly. But subtly. Daily. Seize upon openings and just gently slip into his space.”
“We’ve seen so much violence,” Shay admitted wearily. “I mean, I couldn’t be brazen. I think gentle is the only thing either of us can handle at this point in our lives.”
“Subtle is underrated,” Diana agreed. “And because you’ve both seen combat, being aggressive or in-your-face with him, just isn’t going to work.”
“Okay, I’m so glad we had this conversation. It does give me some ideas . . . some ways to maybe quietly lasso Reese and let him get used to the fact I want him in my life on a steady, everyday basis.”
Grinning, Diana reached out, squeezing Shay’s hand. “No one is more subtle than a woman when she wants something. I think at first, Reese won’t know what’s going on. I know I didn’t when Chuck focused on me . . . on us, getting me used to the fact he was going to be in my life one way or another. He’s an operator. He knows stealth like the back of his hand. And he used that on me. And it worked.”
Shay gave her friend a warm look. “Stealth 101. That, I think I can do. Or at least, it doesn’t seem as daunting as the other way.”
“My bet’s on you. Heck, Maud already has you two getting hitched.” Diana laughed.
Chapter Twenty-One
Shay used the next two weeks to let Reese know she was clearly interested in him on an intimate level. Sometimes, he would call her into the office to show her financial information. Instead of standing across the desk from him, she would come around to where he was sitting and lean close enough to inhale his male scent, which made her body respond powerfully to his presence. Then she’d place her hand lightly on his shoulder and remain close with some physical contact.
At first, she felt his confusion. And then, the second week, he was finding small ways at different times to touch her hand or arm in return. Inwardly, Shay thanked Diana for her counsel. It was working. She could see it. And now, when they met late at night out in the kitchen for tea, she was very aware of him being sexually interested. It was tough to hide an erection in a pair of cotton pajamas. And it always happened after they sat down together to talk over their tea. Shay began to realize that those touches, looking and holding Reese’s gaze, were turning him on.
She wasn’t sure how long she could keep on doing it because Reese stirred her physically, too. One night, she had a torrid dream of Reese making love to her. She’d awakened, shaky, dampness between her thighs, her lower body heated. Being accessible to Reese was, it seemed, making her desire him more openly. She wanted to kiss this man. Feel his mouth across hers, have him take her to places she’d never been before. Shay knew Reese would be a tender lover. Her whole being ached whenever he was near her.
She wished that Diana had explained that letting Reese know she wanted him would make Shay, too, feel turned on and sexually vibrant. Never had she ached for a man like she did Reese.
*
Reese was out in the July heat in the main barn. The box stalls needed to be cleaned daily and he took turns doing it with the rest of the vets. Shay had just ridden in on Jak, the black quarter horse, from working on fence repair, dismounting at one end of the aisle when she spotted Reese at the other end, closing the last box-stall door.
The smell of fresh straw and hay that had been placed in each stall, filled the air like perfume. She took the reins, pulling them over her gelding’s neck, and walked into the aisle, glad to get out of the hot sun. She saw that Reese had rolled up his sleeves to just below his elbows, and his face was glistening with sweat. His Stetson was hooked on a peg on the wall.
Her throat tightened as she saw him look up, his green eyes locking on hers for a long moment. Heat soared through her, and she felt her breasts tighten beneath his swift, fully assessing gaze. Tremors of heat flowed through her lower body, the coals of need flaring to life. Reese straightened, placed the pitchfork aside, and wiped his brow with the back of his forearm.
“You’re a glutton for punishment,” he told her with a grin, walking casually toward her, his gloved hand ready to take Jak’s reins from her. “Pretty hot out there, isn’t it?”
It’s hotter in here, Shay thought, watching how Reese moved with that feline masculine grace of his. No man had turned her on with just the way he walked before. But Reese did. “I’ll take care of Jak,” she told him. “You’ve been working hard. Take a break?”
Reese nodded. She stopped Jak, and Reese took the reins, removing the bridle and replacing it with a frayed green nylon halter. “Getting out of the office is a break,” he told her wryly, pulling the panic snap over and hooking it to both sides of the horse’s halter.
Shay nodded and began to loosen the girth on the saddle as he placed Jak into the cross-ties. “I love the sun. I like being out in it. I always come back re-energized.”