The Colton Bodyguard

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He gazed at her for a long moment before replying. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure. I know I’m tremendously drawn to you physically and I’d definitely like to get to know you better. I’ve wanted that for a long time, but beyond that, I don’t know.”

She averted her gaze from his once again. “I appreciate your honesty.”

“But you didn’t answer my question.” He waited until she looked at him again and then he smiled. “You know what you’re good at and I know what I’m good at.”

She laughed, a musical sound that only increased his desire. “Does that ego get in your way much?”

“I try not to pull it out too often,” he replied lightly. But his lightness of tone didn’t last but a moment. “Make love with me again, Greta. Let me hold you in my arms again and kiss you until you can’t think straight.”

He could tell by the expression on her face that she was conflicted and he pressed on. “Don’t overthink things. Just let it happen. There is no right or wrong to this. I want you again and I believe that you want me, too.”

Her eyes filled with an emotion that had his blood simmering. “I do want you,” she confessed softly.

He didn’t say another word. He stood and took her hand and pulled her up from the sofa, and together they walked down the hallway to his bedroom.

* * *

She’d officially lost her mind. That was Greta’s first thought when she awoke in the guest bedroom the next morning. She’d made love with Tyler and again had refused to stay in his bed through the night, as if that somehow mitigated the fact that they were acting like horny teenagers with no self-control.

He’d told her he wanted to get to know her better, and she’d like to get to know him better, too. But they’d got it all backward, making love first and getting to know each other later.

She had never allowed physical attraction to lead her in a relationship. She’d always allowed her heart and her head to be in charge of her hormones.

But when Tyler looked at her with such hunger, when his lips curved into that sexy smile, she became powerless to deny him whatever he wanted...because she wanted it, too.

It was time she fixed things, refused any more physical contact with Tyler until she at least decided if she really liked him or not. So far she found him surprisingly warm and charming, but she’d really known him for only two short days.

She hadn’t forgotten that the times she’d encountered him while she’d been with Mark, he had struck her as cold and not particularly interested in her presence.

Will the real Tyler Stanton please stand up? she thought as she scooted out of bed. She grabbed a pair of jeans, a blue flannel shirt and clean underwear for the day, intending to spend most of the daylight hours in the corral with Sugar.

Minutes later as she stood beneath a hot shower spray, she couldn’t help but think of being in Tyler’s arms, of his kisses and caresses, which had formed such an intense fire inside her, a fire she’d never felt before.

They fit together perfectly in the bed, but she had no idea how well they’d fit together out of bed. Things had happened so fast. Everything had been pleasant between them so far, but it was early in the game and she really had no idea what to expect in day-to-day life with him.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” she muttered as she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a fluffy fresh-smelling towel from a cabinet.

At least Tyler would be at work today and she would be able to focus her sole attention on the horse renamed Sugar. To Greta there was almost nothing worse than somebody who abused a helpless animal, unless it was somebody who took the life of an innocent human being.

Once she’d dried off and dressed, she stared at her reflection in the mirror and thought of the twin sister she’d never met.

It was obvious from the fact that Abra had thought it was Greta who’d attacked her, and that Daniel had believed he’d seen Greta at the ranch when in reality she’d been in Oklahoma City, that her sister was an identical twin.

Greta had seen heartwarming shows on television about the reunion of separated twins. The reunions always resulted in joy and love and new extended families. Why hadn’t that happened for her? She would have welcomed her twin sister into her life, enjoyed the friendship and love of somebody she’d shared a womb with through nine months.

She didn’t even know her twin’s name or much of anything about their biological mother. All Big J had been able to tell them was the woman’s name was Tamara Stewart and that she had sold him the baby. He’d met her only once, in a small house someplace on the west side of Tulsa near the hospital.

He hadn’t been able to remember the address or the specific neighborhood of the house. He hadn’t even remembered that much about the woman. He either hadn’t paid attention or had forgotten the details from that day so long ago. All he knew was that he’d been so desperate to replace the baby Abra had lost that that was all he’d really cared about. He hadn’t wanted Abra to suffer the grief of finding out that her baby girl had died.

Greta knew her brother Ryan was investigating and attempting to locate Tamara in an effort to get a handle on her daughter, who had become a threat to both Greta and her adopted family.

She turned away from the mirror and tried to clear her mind. There was nothing she could do about her twin sister. She needed to focus on greeting Tyler this morning and letting him know that from now on, there was going to be no more physical interaction between them.

She had to be strong and not allow his smooth talk, his gorgeous blue eyes or his sexy smile to change her mind. She was here to do a job, and if in the process they got to know and like each other, it would be a bonus. But she wasn’t going to be persuaded to sneak into his room for a bout of mind-blowing lovemaking again.

Feeling strong and looking forward to the day of work with the horse, she left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. She found Tyler seated at the kitchen table, a newspaper folded and laid to the side of him and a cup of coffee before him.

Clad in a navy business suit, a white shirt and a navy-and-silver-striped tie, he looked like the man she’d been accustomed to seeing on the rare times they had run into each other when she’d been with Mark.

The only difference was the warm smile that lit his handsome features when she walked into the room. “Coffee is made, but you’re on your own for breakfast this morning.”

“That’s fine,” she replied. She poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the table. “I suddenly feel terribly underdressed for coffee.”

“You look gorgeous in denim and flannel,” he replied.

“And you look handsome in your power clothes. I know you’re probably ready to head into work, but before you go, I need to talk to you for just a minute.”

“I’ve got something to discuss with you, too. But you go first,” he said.

She raised her chin and looked into the depths of his eyes. “I am not going to sleep with you again.”

His lips rose in a rueful smile. “You haven’t slept with me yet.”

She huffed out a sigh of frustration. “You know what I mean. I’m here to train your horse and that’s it. I’m not going to be your nightly toy to play with at will. If you want me again, then we have to get to know each other first.”

He looked at her in obvious amusement. “So you want me to court you.”

She eyed him with a narrowed gaze. “Are you making fun of me?”

He laughed. “Not at all. I’m just trying to get clear on what you want or what you need from me.”

“I’m not arguing that there isn’t some sort of crazy physical attraction between us, but I won’t settle for that. We don’t really know each other. I want to get to know you out of bed, and I want you to get to know me that way, too.”

He sobered and nodded. “As much as I’d love for you to be my bedtime toy every night, I respect your wishes. I’d like to get to know you better. That’s part of what I wanted when I first saw you so many months ago.”

He took a sip of his coffee and set the cup back down. “Greta, I understand that we rushed into things fast and furious and you want it to slow down. I can be slow and patient.” His eyes twinkled. “I promise I won’t try to cajole you into my bed again. I’ll wait until you ask me to make love to you again.”

“You sound sure that I will,” she replied.

“That’s hope you hear in my voice.” The twinkle in his eyes disappeared and he picked up the folded newspaper next to him. “And on a much less pleasant note, the issue I wanted to talk to you about is this...” He opened the newspaper to a prefolded page and shoved it across the table in front of her.

Greta looked down in horror at the photo of her and Tyler kissing by the side of her Jeep. The caption read Cattle Princess Jilts One Brother for Another.

Chapter 5 (#ulink_6c044370-03c6-58ff-8b30-fdb000fde578)

It was after nine when Tyler finally left the house and Greta headed out toward the small corral. Tyler had suggested that it was probably Mark who had taken the picture and given it to the newspaper. The accompanying story had been tawdry and filled with misinformation and salacious half facts.

Tyler had tried to calm Greta down, but she’d been both furious and embarrassed. She knew her father had a subscription to the Oklahoma City paper. How was she supposed to explain all this to him...to the rest of the family?

She breathed in the fresh morning air as she walked briskly to the corral, telling herself that the article and photo didn’t really matter. But she was surprised to find herself hurt by Mark’s betrayal, if, indeed, he was responsible for the picture and the column of gossip.

When she reached the corral, she remained outside the wooden enclosure. There was no way she could go in and begin to introduce herself to Sugar until she relaxed herself. The horse would immediately pick up on any anger or anxiety Greta carried with her, and at the moment Greta had both bubbling hot inside her.

A short dark-haired man came out of the barn to greet her. He introduced himself as Raymond Edwards. “Yes, Tyler told me you’d be around,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Greta Colton.”

“I know who you are, Ms. Colton. I know of your work,” he said respectfully.

“Please, make it Greta,” she replied and turned her attention to the horse backed against the far railing. “And I don’t know if Tyler told you or not, but from here on, that horse’s name is Sugar.”

Raymond grinned. “If you can make that filly sweet as sugar, then I’ll know your reputation as a miracle worker with horses isn’t overblown.”

“Time will tell,” Greta replied. The two chatted for a few minutes, talking about rodeos they had both attended and mutual acquaintances in the horse business, and then Raymond returned to his work in the barn, leaving her to sort out her mood.

The photo had been such a shock. Why would Mark want to do something like that? Why would anyone do that? Something so ugly? Why make her out to be some kind of a slut when he was the one who had left her to languish in a jail cell while he wined and dined old girlfriends?

It was mean-spirited and so unfair, and it only made her more grateful than ever that the wedding had been called off before she’d married such a man.

Did Tyler possess that kind of mean streak, too? That was the problem. She didn’t know him well enough to discern all of the facets of his character.