“If there is any, it’s in the little travel bag in the bathroom next to the sink.”
“I’ll look. I need to wash up a little anyway.”
He didn’t find ibuprofen but he did find some tablets for menstrual cramps when he went through her bag. He read the back. Headache and body aches were two symptoms the tablets helped with—and wow, it sucked a woman could depend on getting those plus bloating, fatigue, and cramps once a month—so he figured what the hell? But he decided to take just one since he wasn’t bloated or cramping. He washed his hands and face and stepped back into the main room.
He decided to just cut to the chase. “So you think I’m kind of an asshole to goats,” he said. “What am I doing here?”
She tipped her head and let her gaze roam over him.
Zeke felt his eyebrows climb.
“I’ve had a really crazy week.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “Actually, a couple of weeks. A really good friend of mine died recently.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks.” She lifted her eyes to him again. “How do you feel about sex as a stress reliever?”
Awesome. He was now on the same page. A non-poisonous-gas-or-other-weapons page.
“In general, I am of big fan of sex, for almost any reason.”
The corner of her mouth curled up. And nothing could’ve removed Zeke Landry from that room now.
A reaction. An emotional reaction. Toward him, not a goat.
“How do you feel about sex as a stress reliever?”
“Big fan. It works really well for me.”
His body liked the sound of that. Not that he liked the idea she was stressed. He wasn’t an asshole, in spite of his previous goat interaction. But this conversation seemed to be going in a very nice direction.
“I’m happy to help,” Zeke told her. “I can be your personal therapist tonight.”
She waved her hand like she was flicking a fly away. “Sex is faster and easier than therapy. It’s also easier to get up the next morning than if I drink too much wine. And it costs less than going for a massage.” She tipped her head. “Can be faster than that too. But not always.”
“So your stress-relieving list is sex, therapy, wine, and massages. And sex is your preference because it’s faster, easier, and cheaper than all the others.”
“Yep.”
Wow. She was…something.
“Except, like I said, it’s not always faster than a massage.”
Right.
“How long are your massages?”
“An hour. Hour and a half if I’m really tense.”
“Yeah, this is going to take longer than that.” He didn’t know why he felt so compelled to make an impression on this woman, but now that he’d made her smile, and had her full attention, and had seen her green eyes up close, he was going to send her on her way with a huge grin and very fond memories of Autre.
“Do you have more tattoos?” Her eyes were back on his arm where his full sleeve showed beneath the edge of his t-shirt. Oh, she liked tattoos.
“I do.”
“Are you any good at dirty talk?”
The woman knew what she liked.
His entire body felt like he’d just taken a big shot of his grandpa’s moonshine. He was hot, on edge, and ready for the unexpected. Because when Leo Landry’s moonshine came out, you never knew what could happen.
“As a matter fact, I can’t really help it.”
She let out a breath. Then she gave him a full smile.
Yeah, he wasn’t going anywhere for a nice, long time. And suddenly his head felt fine.
“Do you have a wife, fiancée, girlfriend, woman who thinks she’s your girlfriend even if you don’t think so?”
“No. No. No. And I did but we cleared that up.”
She gave him another of those little half smiles. Like she didn’t want to be amused by him, but she couldn’t resist.
“How do you feel about one-night stands? Because I’m not looking for anything serious.”
“They are my favorite kind of night stand.”
Her smile grew and Zeke felt a strange warmth along with the heat.
“And you won’t brag about this to your friends tomorrow?”
“Oh, I’m absolutely going to brag to my friends about this tomorrow,” he said. He took a step closer to her. “Especially Michael. Since he was out there saving goats and being all charming and sweet and you didn’t invite him to your room.”
“He was on duty.”
Zeke lifted a brow. “That’s the only reason.”
“Probably. He’s hot. And has the heroic, sweet thing going for him.”
“He fakes most of the sweet stuff.”
“How about the heroic stuff?”
Zeke gave a dramatic sigh. “Unfortunately for the rest of us assholes, that’s all real.”
She gave a soft snort. “Maybe I actually am concerned about your head and thought I should keep an eye on you to be sure you don’t slip into unconsciousness and never wake up.”
“I’m going to accept that only because I like it better than the realization that Michael could be in here with you right now.” He leaned in. “But I don’t believe you. I think you took a look at my boots and Michael’s and realized that mine were bigger.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you know I did that?”
He paused, then shook his head. “You did do that?”
“Of course.”
“You are…”
“I know,” she said, when he trailed off.
He wasn’t even sure what he’d been intending to fill in there. Odd? Quirky? Fascinating?
Yep. To all of that.
“So, can I brag to my friends about it tomorrow?” she asked, her voice huskier now.
“You better,” he said, dropping his voice to a gruffer note.
The next smile she gave him was one that said he’d given all the right answers, but even more, it was filled with heat as well.
“There it is.” He reached up and cupped her face.
Her breathing got more ragged as she looked up at him. And she had to look up a ways. She was small. She probably stood about five-three to his six-four.
“What?” she asked softly.
“The reaction I’ve been going for.”
“Reaction?”
“Yes, until now. You’ve seemed very…dispassionate towards me.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as if she was thinking about that. “Have I?”
“You have.” He leaned in, bracing a hand on the door just above her ear. “Quite insulting.”
This smile was a little more sly and definitely had a touch of mischief. “Maybe you should see how passionate you can make me.”
“Oh, challenge accepted,” Zeke told her.
His posture with his one hand braced on the door and him leaning over her could have felt intimidating, like he was caging her in.
But Jill only felt excitement.
Her mother would have heart palpitations if she knew. She was in a hotel room in a strange town with a man she had literally just met.
And had just agreed to have sex with.
No, she hadn’t agreed. She’d been the one to initiate that entire conversation.