“For your food?” he chuckled. “It does my manly pride good to think I can render you speechless. But I assume, since you’re here, you’re planning to eat.”
“Oh. Yes.” She wet her lips. “I’m, uh, getting takeout.” She looked around the small space to see if anyone was paying attention to them. Someone from the Lucky L or a client.
Alex was still close enough that his mouth was right at her ear. “Everyone’s too busy getting their own orders to even glance at us.” He kept his voice pitched low enough so only she could hear him beneath the babble of sound around them. “There’s nothing wrong with us sitting at one of those tables out on the patio and sharing a meal like all these other folks are doing.” He nodded in that direction. “A lot of people are out there, and I don’t think anyone’s gossiping about them.”
“But…but…” She searched her mind frantically for an excuse. Any excuse to avoid the intimacy of a meal with him. “Your sister and her husband are clients of mine. How would that look?”
“Jesus, Liz.” The smile disappeared. “It would look like you’re paying attention to clients and their family. Now, come on. Let’s spend a pleasant hour together outside in the sunshine. I promise not to order you to strip naked so I can paddle your ass.” The grin flashed again. “I’m saving that for later.”
Even as she bit back further objections she felt the strong flash of heat through her body at his words. And from his point of view she was being ridiculous. He had no idea the storm of conflict raging in her mind.
“Okay. But I pay for my own food.”
“You drive a hard bargain, woman. But all right. Just this time.”
This time? No, no, there wouldn’t be another time. No personal socializing. Hard and fast rule, Liz. Remember? Don’t set yourself up again. And didn’t you say you’d handle this? Yeah, right.
She was finding it harder and harder to cling to those rules. She kept hearing Katie’s voice in her head. Maybe this time the risk is worth it.
Alex’s low, sexy laugh rumbled in her ear. “If you’re finished having that mental conversation with yourself, our food’s ready.”
Liz startled, forcibly shut down her brain, and stepped up to the counter to pay for her food. Okay, lunch in the open. How bad could it be? And maybe she could get her message across to him in a casual environment.
But then no more of those incredibly satisfying sessions at Rawhide.
Well, damn. She’d certainly gotten herself into a real mess. She’d been better off when she wasn’t having sex at all.
But a lot more miserable and frustrated.
Maybe her only choice was to tell him the truth. But, oh, hell…
They took their food to a small vacant table at one end of the outdoor patio, settling beneath the bright red umbrella that shielded them from the sun. Liz opened the packets of sweetener and stirred them into her iced tea, then busied herself opening the ketchup packets and squeezing them into a neat pile on the plate with her French fries. Then she salted her food carefully and finally cut her burger in half with the plastic knife.
“Think you’ve spent enough busy time avoiding conversation?” Alex’s voice was tinged with amusement.
Liz looked up to see him watching her with those hot, blue eyes, and her thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. It distressed her that he could affect her so strongly, and she had to work hard to keep the bad memories from pushing their way back to the surface.
He’s not like that. It won’t happen again.
How do you know? And what if—
Shut up, brain.
“Liz.” Alex leaned forward and rested his hand on her forearm, his fingers lightly stroking her skin.
She finally allowed herself to let her gaze travel over the parts of him she could easily see. God, he was so magnificently mouthwatering. Not in the overt way of some Doms she’d been with. Rather it was a combination of his rugged good looks, quiet confidence, and an aura of sexual awareness. He smiled at her again, obviously hoping to put her at ease.
She cleared her throat. “Trish is making a really good start in her training. She’s only had two lessons so far, but she’s a natural. So is Jester.” She picked up a French fry, dipped it in ketchup and delicately bit off the end.
Alex lifted his hamburger and watched her over the top of it. “I plan to come to her lesson tomorrow. To watch. I promised her.” He took a bite of the burger.
Liz watched the muscles of his jaw flex as he chewed, of his throat as he swallowed, and felt herself getting instantly and thoroughly wet. She wondered if her scent carried to the people around her or mercifully was buried beneath the heavy aroma of grilled meat and fried side dishes.
“I assume that’s all right with you?” he asked. “I mentioned it the day I delivered Jester.”
She could tell by the laughter in his eyes that he’d caught her staring at him. Holy hell! She was just getting herself in deeper and deeper. But she seemed to have no real resistance where this man was concerned, drawn into the erotic web he was weaving despite the reservations growing within her. Liz let out a slow breath. Was Katie right? Could this really be different than her big disaster?
For the past two days, she’d driven herself crazy, trying to blank her mind with hard work. Her brain, unfortunately, refused to shut down and kept dredging up Katie’s words.
“Everyone is different. I didn’t know this other man, but I can tell you Alex would never try to control you like that.” Then a grin. “Except in the bedroom, of course.”
Should she tell him her sordid little story? Explain why she was afraid to move things beyond Rawhide? Would he look at her as someone too pathetic it warrant further sessions? Or anything else? It had been hard enough dredging it up for Katie, but she had a feeling that Alex would not be put off by anything other than the truth. Why, oh why had this had to happen? If she didn’t feel this intense connection to him, she could just walk away, but suddenly the prospect of that seemed less and less attractive.
And now, today, while she was still so unsettled about everything, here was Alex himself, setting fire to her with just a look and a touch. And he was looking at her expectantly, for some reason.
Oh, right. Coming to watch Trish’s lesson tomorrow.
“Of course, that will be fine. And I know she’ll be excited to have you there.”
“And you, Liz?” He leaned across the table. “Will you be glad, too?”
“I…Alex, I don’t…” God, could she sound any more idiotic?
“It’s okay.” He leaned back in his chair and picked up his hamburger again. “As long as you’re glad to see me at Rawhide, I’ll accept that for now. But you need to know something. Whatever’s keeping you from taking this thing between us any further, you can talk to me about it. And I don’t mean the bullshit about what your workers will think. Anyone gives you any lip, just fire them. Reece or I can always help you with new hires.”
She gave a shaky laugh. “Katie said the same thing.”
“Katie is a sensible person.”
“And now I think we should just enjoy our lunch. Like two friends.”
Two friends. Right.
But in the end, it turned out to be very pleasant. The weather was sunny and warm with a soft breeze that ruffled the edges of the umbrellas. All around them conversation ebbed and flowed, traffic noises playing a counterpoint. And the hamburger and fries were damn good.
Liz actually found herself falling into an easy conversation with Alex. About horses, training, ranchers in general, and the Hill Country specifically. Alex told her how he’d started out in banking but decided it was too confining for him. And the area at the time really needed a good ranch supply company. A loan from the bank he was leaving got him off the ground, and he took it from there.