Two To Wrangle (Hotel Rodeo #2)(35)

Exhaling a painful breath, he threw the phone down, then sat in silence, deliberating his next move. Bringing her back to Vegas had only steeled his determination to forge the partnership. Last night he’d taken a huge leap out of his comfort zone. He’d even told her that he loved her, for Christ’s sake. Didn’t that mean anything? She was much more to him than just the means to an end, but what more did he need to do to convince her? He didn’t have a f*cking clue. The only thing he knew for certain was that he wasn’t about to let her loose without a damned good fight.

It was time for that long talk he’d promised her. He might not get another chance.

She was still asleep when he walked into the bedroom. He’d never watched her sleeping before. Her brown hair was tousled, and mascara shadowed her eyes. She was snoring softly into her pillow. She must have had a restless night, judging by the condition of the bed.

He stretched out lengthwise beside her and reached out an arm to pull her close. She snuggled up against him spoon-style. He noticed she wore one of his T-shirts. He wondered why when she had all her clothes with her. He nuzzled her hair, thinking how nice it smelled. Feminine but not too perfume-y. “Sugar, I think it’s time we had that talk now.”

“Your timing sucks, Ty. I’m sleeping,” she mumbled back, wriggling her ass even closer.

Shit. He’d come to talk but hadn’t figured on having to wake her up first. He kissed her neck. “We can either talk or we can fool around. Your choice.”

She grumbled something unintelligible and hooked her leg over his.

His prick responded in no uncertain terms. He slid a hand under the shirt. Sure enough, she wore nothing underneath. His game plan instantly changed. “I’ll take that answer as door number two.” Injured ribs be damned. He wasn’t about to pass up the invite.

He stood to shed his shirt and jeans, but when he got back into the bed, her eyes were wide open. Her gaze dropped southward to his morning wood. Her brow wrinkled. “Ty? What are you doing here?”

“What does it look like?”

“I thought you were going to give me some time alone.”

“I was. I did.” He shook his head with a frown. “Do you by chance talk in your sleep?”

“Not that I’m aware of. I thought I was dreaming.”

“Then shut your eyes again, and I’ll be happy to pick things up right where we left off.”

“What about that talk you promised me last night?”

“We can do both,” he answered. “It’s called multitasking.”

“No, Ty. Having sex with you will only confuse things. I need to be able to think clearly. It’s hard for me to do that when you touch me.”

“Fine then. You can do all the touching.”

“Please, Ty.” She sat up with a scowl. “I’m serious here. I was up half the night. I have questions I need you to answer.”

“I have some questions for you too,” he said.

“Like what?” she asked.

“Are you going back to Evan?”

Her forehead creased. “No. Why would you even think that?”

“He texted you this morning. I picked up your phone thinking it was mine.”

“What did he say?”

“He’s waiting for an answer too. Makes me wonder if it’s to the same question.”

“And what question is that, Ty?”

“Are you staying here with me, Monica? Or are you going back with him?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “Maybe neither. I’ve got some really big decisions to make.”

“That you do,” he answered steadily.

“I can’t make those decisions until I understand exactly what it is you want from me.”

“I thought that part went without saying,” he replied with a smirk.

Her gaze flickered back to his erection. She licked her lips. “Maybe we shouldn’t have this talk while you’re naked. It’s just a tad distracting. We need to move this conversation out of the bedroom. Can we talk in your office instead?”

“Sure,” Ty replied. “Wanna meet in an hour? I’ll have breakfast sent up.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. “Breakfast would be great.”

He rose, pulling his jeans on with a dry laugh. “What I had in mind would have been a whole lot better.”



Ty was waiting in his office, boots propped on the desk and hands resting behind his head, when Monica walked in, looking all prim, proper, and businesslike in her black pencil skirt, white blouse, and stiletto heels. His gaze traveled appreciatively up her long legs before he cocked his head for a better view of her ass. He’d made no secret that her librarian look always gave him an instant hard-on.

She returned the look with a glare. “Are you ready to talk business, Ty, or should I leave and let you take care of your little problem.”

“Sweetheart, you know by now it’s not little.”

“You promised we’d have a serious discussion.”

He blew out a breath and pulled his feet from the desk. “All right, sugar. You wanna get down to brass tacks, let’s do it. You have questions. I’ll give you answers.”

“Thank you.” She sat across from his desk. “I told you straight-out from the beginning that I had no interest in running a hotel, but it occurs to me that in all this time, I’ve never even asked you what you wanted to do with it. I’m asking you now, Ty. What was it that sold Tom on your crazy idea to renovate this place?”