Fierce

Chapter 2

2

CHARLIE

I was used to working in a man’s world, but there was more testosterone on this ranch than on the entire Bronco football team.

It was nice to see another woman and cute baby, but they didn’t do anything to help. Not after Levi had put his foot down.

As I followed Levi to the bunkhouse, I shook off the way they’d stared when I arrived. He’d insisted on carrying all my bags—even wanted to haul my purse, which was ridiculous.

This wasn’t the first time time a bunch of horse people had freaked out to discover their vet was a woman. A black woman, no less. I’d been busting stereotypes from the beginning in the uppercrust horse world. There was a reason I dressed and acted professionally at all times, even here in Cooper Valley. There was a big difference between Mr. Claymore’s spread in Colorado and Wolf Ranch. With my boss, everything was precise and perfect… clinical. He expected perfection in everything from his employees to his horses. That was why I was here in Montana. He wanted his mare bred with a Wolf Ranch stallion to make the perfect offspring. It was my job to see it done. Literally.

Even if it meant staying with a super hot, super sexy, super grumpy cowboy named Levi.

Not that I minded. Not the Levi part but being in Montana. I’d bought myself two weeks of reprieve. The stress of my job. My grandfather starting to be forgetful. Those were nothing in comparison to the blackmail I was dealing with. I popped antacids like they were mints to ease the churn in my gut.

Being here and only having to worry about spreadsheets and horse insemination meant I had my life back. I could—hopefully—forget about ordering more illicit batches of ketamine. I was perpetually freaked that I’d be discovered. I’d be fired. Lose my vet license. Ruined. All because of Dax, an asshole coworker who’d found a way to use me to supply him with his stash to sell.

“Okay back there?” Levi asked, startling me from my thoughts.

I set my hand on my racing heart and glanced at him. He was studying me closely, as if he could read my thoughts. I gave him a fake smile, nodded, then followed.

The bunkhouse was close to the stable, just across a grassy field. Levi led me inside and upstairs to where the rooms opened onto a balcony at one end and a shared bathroom was at the other. We’d cut through a living area downstairs that two other bedrooms opened to. I’d caught sight of a big kitchen and rec room with a ping pong table and foosball. I could see why Clint mentioned it was a space for guys, with simple decor and large furniture for large men. I guessed there were six bedrooms although I wasn’t sure how many were occupied.

“You’ll be right here.” Levi pushed open a door to a plain but clean room with a neatly made single bed, a dresser and nightstand with a reading lamp. He managed my heavy suitcases with total ease, the muscles of his arms flexing impressively as he lifted them onto the bed.

I turned to him, looked him over as he set my stuff down. He was big, with mammoth shoulders and a broad chest. Big enough to make me feel small, and I was plenty tall. Under the cowboy hat, his eyes appeared to be aqua and the bit of hair peeking out looked sandy blond. He had scruff on his face, like he hadn’t shaved since yesterday, adding to the rugged cowboy look. He seemed intense yet quiet, which reminded me a little of myself.

Although I wasn’t ever called intense. I was uptight. Yeah, a woman always wanted to be that. No wonder I was still a dang virgin at thirty. Who wanted to f**k the uptightedness out of a woman? Not Levi, surely. I couldn’t imagine he was short of female attention with those roped forearms and sturdy thighs. I had to wonder if he was big all over.

I blinked, surprised by my ridiculous thoughts. I cleared my throat.

“Thank you. Levi, was it?” I asked that, even though I knew his name. I doubted I’d ever forget it.

I stepped back to let him pass, but the room was so small, he ended up brushing close—close enough for me to catch the scent of leather, horse and hay. To see the sheen of sweat on his skin, to know he put in an honest day of hard work and wasn’t afraid to get dirty.

Close enough to make my pulse pick up speed at his raw masculinity.

The image of him picking me up and throwing me on the bed slammed into my brain, and I took another quick step backward. God, I was behaving like I was in heat, just like Seraphina. The mare who I’d completely forgotten in the back of the trailer. I wasn’t the one here to get f****d.

“Levi, yes.” His deep voice seemed to snake underneath my clothes, undressing me with their quiet reverberation as his gaze raked over me. “Sorry if we were awkward back there. You just took us by surprise. We didn’t expect the arriving vet to be quite so…”

I arched my brows. “Quite so, what?”

“Beautiful.” His face broke into a friendly smile that eased some of the tension in my chest. Despite my resolve to never get involved with anyone at work—even though Cooper Valley was hundreds of miles from work—I found myself more than a little attracted to this giant of a man.

Was it warm in here?

Instead of fanning myself, I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t going to fall for his come-on. I wasn’t the hook-up with the ranch hand type, especially not five minutes after my arrival.

Sadly, I wasn’t the hook-up with anyone type. I’d tried it, but… yeah, that hadn’t worked out since we hadn’t gotten much past first base. Once Levi found out I had a loudly ticking biological clock and that if he wanted to get his d**k in me he’d have to punch my V-card, he’d bolt faster than a wild mustang.

Which was fine because I was here to get away from Dax and the crap going down at Mr. Claymore’s stables. I hoped being two states away would be a good break from the little s**t’s threats.

“What’s your role here at the ranch?” I asked. I’d spoken to Clint and Rob Wolf by phone and email to organize the breeding visit, but that was all.

“I’m a part-time ranch hand. I do everything from fix broken fences to birth calves.” He tips his hat back. “I’m also the acting sheriff of Cooper Valley.”

My smile slipped, and my stomach plummeted. “Sheriff?” I whispered then cleared my throat. “You’re not wearing a uniform.”

He lifted a brow. “Glad you noticed what I’m wearing, doll. I’m not working today.”

I could only nod because… sheriff? Seriously? The hot guy was a lawman? I was definitely steering clear of this one.

It would be horrible if he found out what I was mixed up in. Knew I was… bad. That I was doing ridiculously illegal things. That the large quantities of ketamine I’d ordered for Dax were probably going to go into the hands of young people. That was what gutted me about this. Sure, he was destroying my life, but I was possibly destroying others by doing what he said. f**k, my gut churned. I needed another antacid.

“I should see about Seraphina. The horse,” I added dumbly. What if Dax got in touch with me? He would. Just because I was away didn’t mean the phones didn’t work. I took a deep breath, let it out. I’d deal with him when the time came. I was used to startling and jumping at every turn at work, afraid I’d bump into him, or he’d find me alone somewhere. That thought made me inwardly freak.

Hell, what if he showed up here? No. I came to Cooper Valley to get away, to figure out how to get out of the mess I was in. To figure out how to get a guy to stop blackmailing me, all the while somehow staying out of jail.

I just had to play it cool. I had no idea how to do that. I’d been plagued by him for weeks. I hadn’t figured out a way to make it stop yet. I was sure “felon” was stamped on my forehead. And with Levi being a sheriff—

“I’m sure Clint and the others are getting her settled in the stable. I promise they’ll treat her like a princess.”

Okay, he had no idea. He had no idea. Breathe!

“Yes, but she’s in heat,” I finally said, focusing on his words. “She needs to be separated, for now. Then teased in the corral with your stallion. Her vaginal secretions indicate—”

I bit my lip. Oh my God. I did not just say vaginal secretions aloud. In front of this man.

“I’m here to breed a horse,” I said finally after taking a breath. Then another. My cheeks were hot, and it was almost impossible to keep my gaze on his, but I forced myself to.

His smile grew, and his face changed from gruff to… gentle. That seemed almost impossible for a guy whose hands were like dinner plates and clearly had DNA of Vikings and cavemen. “Take a few minutes to settle in. I’m sure your boss doesn’t expect you to get to work right away. Like you said, the mare needs to be teased first. All females like a little foreplay, right?”

Were we still talking about Seraphina?

His eyes darkened, and I felt like this was somehow foreplay for us. Pheromones must be pumping off of him in waves for me to even be all hot and bothered. Speaking of vaginal secretions… my panties were wet.

All at once, he stepped back. “Get settled. I’ll take care of Seraphina.”

When he closed the door behind him, I dropped onto the bed. What had just happened? That cowboy was interested. In me. I was inexperienced, not an i***t.

He was a sheriff!

I needed to keep my distance way more than I needed to get laid by a hot cowboy. Pulling my phone from my purse, I texted Mrs. Vasquez, the neighbor, who was keeping an eye on Pops while I was away. He had signs of early dementia, on occasion forgetting where he was, my name. So far, he was safe, but I worried that might change. I didn’t want him to go for a walk and forget where he was or go to take a bath and forget, leaving the water running and flooding the house.

Keeping my veterinarian’s license and my job was paramount. With Pops’ medical bills and prescriptions on top of the mortgage and everything else, the bigger paycheck working for Mr. Claymore versus buying into a private practice was a requirement.

Now I was stuck. I had to keep my job, so I could order the ketamine for Dax. I couldn’t do it if I worked at a regular practice. On a horse farm? Orders would go unnoticed. At least I hoped.

I was screwed. So screwed.

But at least Mrs. Vasquez offered to keep an eye on Pops, so I could be away. He was safe. He had no clue about my troubles or stress. The only perk of memory loss.

Sighing, I let my thumbs fly on the cell phone screen.

Me: How’s Pops doing?

She wrote back right away.

Tina: Good. He had dinner at the Elks Lodge. Now we’re watching his shows.

I sighed in relief.

Me: Great. Just wanted you to know I made it fine.

Tina: Don’t worry while you’re there. Have fun!

Don’t worry? I had a blackmailer probably wondering where I went.

Have fun? Did she mean with Levi?

Not happening. I grabbed my charger and plugged my phone in. I was here for a job and to figure out how to ditch a blackmailer while doing it. I just had to remember that Seraphina was the one to get thoroughly f****d, not me.