Chapter Six
Her heater was trying to escape. That was not going to happen. Without opening her eyes, Topher wrapped her arms and legs around the delightfully toasty form trying to slide out of bed. A male chuckle should have woken her completely, but the short night and cozy bed made her cling to the last traces of sleep.
“Tophie.”
James’s husky voice succeeded in opening her eyes. She froze, still holding on to the man like an insane monkey, at the realization that it was James she was clutching like he actually was a real-life teddy bear and not just the uncle of her pretend boyfriend.
“Tophie.” His lips brushed the top of one ear. If she hadn’t been speechless before, then that tiny touch would’ve done the trick. “Let go, baby girl. I need to feed the horses, or they’ll be kicking down our door, demanding to know what the delay is.”
The mental image made her give a sleepy smile and loosen her grip. When the chilly morning air slipped between them, though, her arms and legs tightened again.
With another low laugh, James climbed out of bed with Topher still attached like a baby koala.
“If you don’t let go, I’ll have to bring you out to the barn with me.”
When Topher opened her mouth to answer, a yawn escaped first. “Okay.” His shoulder was a perfect resting place for her head, and she took advantage of that fact. “Horses are pretty.” It was easy to play Tophie when she was half-asleep. In fact, it hardly felt like she was acting at all.
James’s chest shook with his chuckle. He definitely seemed to be in a good mood in the mornings. It would be annoying if he wasn’t so warm and cuddly. Carrying her into the bathroom, he set her on the counter next to one of the sinks. The light was obnoxiously bright, so much so that she groaned and pressed her face tighter against his shielding body.
He moved against her, but she didn’t want to risk getting hit by the glare if she raised her head, so she couldn’t see what he was doing. Her first hint came when the stiff bristles of her hairbrush scratched pleasantly against her scalp. Topher was startled enough that she braved the light and pulled away from his chest.
“Why are you—” she paused to yawn again “—brushing my hair?”
“Because if I left it up to you, we’d be up here until noon.” Although his words were cranky, the way he ran the brush through her hair was tender. The rhythm of the strokes lulled her, making her close her eyes again and just enjoy. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had brushed her hair, except for stylists. No one had ever done it just to care for her, and the sensation was surprisingly addictive.
When he stopped, she couldn’t help but pout a little.
Since he wasn’t looking at her, the effect of her protruding lower lip was lost. It was probably a good thing, though, since he’d threatened to spank her the last time she’d pouted at him. James didn’t seem like the type of guy to make idle threats.
“Open.”
While she’d been distracted, he’d found her toothbrush where she’d left it next to one of the sinks, and he’d added some toothpaste.
“I can do it,” she protested, reaching for the toothbrush.
With a stern look, he held it out of her reach. She frowned at him. It was one thing for him to brush her hair—that was sweet and kind of sexy. Having him clean her teeth was a whole different matter. There was something too intimate about it. Topher kept her mouth closed.
Without saying anything, he cradled her chin in his free hand and swept his thumb over her bottom lip. The touch triggered a spark of pleasure, and she inhaled in a startled breath. As soon as her lips parted, he slipped his thumb into her mouth.
Once it was inside, Topher wasn’t sure what to do with it. Without consciously deciding, she found herself starting to suck on the invading digit. It was shockingly arousing, having his thumb filling her mouth. She mentally added it to the list of weird things that got her wet. Just in the past couple of days, she’d added quite a few items to that list.
She wasn’t alone in enjoying it. James made a low, raspy noise and stepped closer, inserting his body between her knees and pushing them farther apart. The stretch of her inner thigh muscles was almost painful, but it oddly added to the pleasure rushing through her. Another thing to add to the list.
Her whimper as he withdrew his thumb was soft but still pathetic. James took advantage of her still-parted lips and inserted the toothbrush. Giving in to the embarrassment of having her teeth cleaned for her, she opened her mouth wider so he could finish brushing.
“Why are you brushing my teeth for me?” she asked. Since her mouth was full of toothpaste and a toothbrush, though, it came out sounding like, “Whreushineethoee?”
His only answer was the slight lift of one shoulder in a shrug as he concentrated on cleaning her molars.
It felt like it took forever before he was offering her a drink from a glass so she could rinse. Even after having him brush her teeth, she hesitated, waiting until he’d turned away to grab a towel so she could spit without him watching.
He lifted her off the counter so she was standing on the floor. The cold tile made her shiver and stack one foot on top of the other. The chill made her realize that she’d only been in her thin, short nightgown the whole time. She crossed her arms over her chest, telling herself it was for warmth rather than modesty.
“Go potty,” he ordered, stepping out of the bathroom and closing the door behind him.
Topher stood in stunned silence for several seconds. “Potty?” she mouthed. It occurred to her that he’d very likely return shortly. If she didn’t want his assistance going to the bathroom, she’d better hurry. The thought of him watching her pee made her turn red and rush to the toilet.
As she washed her hands, she stared at herself in the mirror. Why had she allowed him to brush her hair and her teeth like she was a little kid? Not only had she let him, but a weird part of her had actually enjoyed it. Usually, she was perfectly capable of standing up for herself. Something about James made it much too easy to let him take care of her.
When she stepped back into the bedroom, he brushed by her on his way to the bathroom, running a quick hand down her back as he passed. The contact made her shiver and smile. Her happy expression faded when she saw that he’d laid clothes on the bed—her clothes.
“What the hell?” she muttered, picking up a pair of skinny jeans and a green sweater. The outfit was as practical as Tophie’s wardrobe got, though, so she shrugged and pulled off her nightie. “At least he didn’t insist on dressing me.”
He’d even selected a bra and panties for her, which made her smirk even as she blushed. Feeling naked and exposed in the huge bedroom with James only a closed door away, she hurried to don the tiny bits of light blue lace.
The jeans were annoyingly tight. By the time she’d worked them up her legs and over her hips, she was breathless and red-faced from exertion. She buttoned them with a feeling of triumph that she’d actually managed to squeeze her lower half into them.
Grabbing the sweater, she tugged it over her head and shoved her arms into the sleeves. At the store, she’d thought that the top’s tendency to slide off her shoulder was sexy. After only thirty seconds of wearing it, Topher decided it was more annoying than anything.
“Ready?”
James’s voice made her jump and twist toward the bathroom. He was leaning on the doorframe with a settled air that made it seem like he’d been there for a while. His pose and heated expression made her wonder how much of her reverse strip-tease he’d watched.
Forcing a Tophie-appropriate smile, she held up the socks in her hand. “Almost!”
When she plopped down on the bed, James crossed the room and took the socks out of her hand. That time, she didn’t have to feign confusion as she looked up at him.
“No socks?” she asked.
“Foot.”
Topher realized that she hadn’t escaped getting dressed after all. “Jamie-Bear,” she whined, although she did extend her right foot obediently. “I can put on my own clothes.”
For once, he didn’t reprimand her for pouting. “I know.” He slid a sock over her right foot and then did the same for her left. “I like doing things for you.” After giving her now-socked foot a final squeeze, he released it and stood. “Boots and let’s go.”
She grabbed his extended hands and let him tug her to her feet. As she passed him on the way to her pink Muppet-skin boots, he slapped her on the butt. With a squeak, she hopped forward as her hands covered her abused posterior. The spank had surprised her more than it had hurt, although there’d definitely been a sting beneath the tight denim.
“What was that for?” she asked, tugging on her furry boots.
“Whining.” The look on his face made her stomach tighten with want. “You’ll get the rest later.”
“Rest?” Her voice had gone up a few octaves. “But, Jamie-Bear...”
His implacable expression with an undertone of heat made her words trail away. She wasn’t quite sure why she was arguing, anyway. The thought of a spanking from James made her embarrassingly wet. Closing her mouth, she meekly left the bedroom when he waved her through the doorway.
The house was quiet, and they didn’t talk on their way to the front door. In the foyer, James held her coat as she slipped her arms into the sleeves. When she reached to fasten the front, he beat her to it, zipping up the coat to right beneath her chin. He tugged on her hat and mittens, and she let him, resigned to having him dress her.
Once they were both bundled in multiple layers, they walked outside into a winter wonderland. Topher’s breath caught. She tended to consider snow a nuisance. Before she’d moved to LA, she’d gone to school in Connecticut. The cold, white stuff just snarled traffic, cancelled classes and made the sidewalks slippery. This, though... This was a whole different take on snow. It had layered a pristine white blanket over everything—the ground, tree branches, fences, the porch railing—making the place look like a holiday card.
A happy laugh escaped her as she hurried down the front steps. “Everything looks like Christmas!” The early morning sun had colored the landscape pink and pastel yellow, warming it just enough to make the snow a perfect level of stickiness.
With her back to James, she scooped up a double handful and packed it together. Spinning around, she hurled the snowball at him. It smacked him square in the chest, and she threw her arms above her head in triumph.
James looked at the snowball remains on his chest and then back at her. Her crow of victory cut off when he stalked toward her. Dropping her arms, she ran toward the barn—a gorgeous, cedar-sided building with expansive windows that looked more like another house than a place to keep horses.
Despite her head start, James caught her within a few strides, his steely arm looping around her waist and yanking her back against him. Topher couldn’t contain her giggles as he swung her around, mock-growling in her ear.
“Sorry!” she panted, her laughter and the proximity of his hard body making her breathless. “Sorry, Jamie-Bear. The snow is just too perfect. I couldn’t resist!”
“Uh-huh,” he grumbled skeptically, but he placed her back on her feet. “You need to work on your impulse-control.”
“My what?” She hiccupped on a residual giggle.
“Exactly.” With a hand on her back, he guided her toward the barn. Even through his glove and her coat, she swore she could feel his heat burning her skin. She missed the contact when he used both hands to roll the barn door to the side.
The interior of the stable was as opulent and gorgeous as the outside, with a wide brick walkway, lofted ceiling and arched wrought iron stall fronts. Surprisingly, though, it was completely empty.
“Jamie-Bear?” she said as she followed him down the aisle. Each stall was perfectly clean, bedded with a thick layer of wood shavings that hadn’t been touched by a single hoof. “Where’d the horses go? Because if they’re in here, they’re the cleanest and most invisible horses I’ve ever seen.”
He made an amused sound. “In the south pasture. They’re turned out as much as possible.”
“Oh.” Topher had to skip to keep up with James’s fast pace. “Too bad. Invisible horses would’ve been super-awesome. Almost as super-awesome as having a unicorn.”
His laugh was more of a choke. “Sorry to disappoint.”
She grabbed his hand, hoping it would slow him down. James shot her a sideways look before closing his gloved fingers around hers. Instead of reducing his speed, though, he just towed her along behind him, not stopping until they entered a feed room that was nicer than most people’s kitchens.
Topher watched as he added grain and supplements in varying amounts to ten or so small buckets. He worked quickly, obviously familiar with the routine. It made her like him even more to know that he did horse chores on a regular basis. Stacking the buckets together, he headed for the exit.
“Can I help?” she asked, opening the feed room door for him.
“I’ve got them.” He dipped his chin in thanks as he passed through the doorway. Feeling rather useless, she watched as he walked toward the opposite end of the stable from where they’d entered. She hurried ahead of him so she could push open the large door.
Once they were outside again, she saw a small herd of horses in what must be the south pasture. The sight of them made her smile and skip toward their gate. Topher hadn’t realized how much she’d missed horses since she’d moved out of Ben’s and her mom’s house.
They were obviously impatient for their grain, even though there were multiple feeders filled with hay dotted around the pasture. A black pony, probably just a couple of inches short of being a horse, flattened his ears and rushed at a bay warmblood. The larger horse shied out of the way, cantering a small half circle, and the pony took the prime spot right next to the gate.
Topher laughed. “Aren’t you Mr. Sassy-Pants?”
The pony pricked his ears toward her but quickly turned his attention to an approaching James. After all, he was the one bringing breakfast.
Unlatching the gate, Topher swung it open, shooing horses and the pony out of her way. James thanked her as he passed through the opening, and she closed it behind them. Turning back toward the horses, she admired the scene—the rising sun reflecting off the pristine blanket of snow, the clouds of vapor puffing from the horses’ nostrils, the beautiful man kicking the snow off of a shallow feed pan while fending off the pony trying to get at the grain.
“I’m on it!” she called, moving to help. Topher pulled the black rubber feed tub out of the snow and dumped it out before dropping it onto the ground again. As James poured the grain from one of the buckets into the newly cleared pan, she moved to empty the next one of snow.
Soon, all the horses were eating. Placing his stack of empty buckets by the gate, James walked over to the pony, who’d already vacuumed up his breakfast with gluttonous speed and was eyeing what remained of his neighbor’s grain.
“Greedy.” James wrapped an arm beneath the pony’s neck. “You don’t need any extra, Popcorn.” As he scratched beneath the pony’s mane, Popcorn leaned into the touch. Topher couldn’t blame the animal, since she did the same thing when James’s hands were on her.
“Popcorn?” Topher stepped in front of the pony, and he extended his nose toward her. After blowing a warm breath into the crook of her neck, Popcorn rested his chin on her shoulder while she buried her fingers in his plush winter coat. “Isn’t he the wrong color for that name? Unless his full name is Popcorn Burnt in the Microwave Because I Got to the Good Part of the Movie and Forgot About It Until the Smoke Detector Went Off?”
James’s grin was wider than she’d ever seen it. Despite how it twisted the scarred side of his face, his smile was so stunning it made her breath catch in her chest. Giving the oddly named Popcorn a final pat, he let his arm drop back to his side. “You’d understand if you rode him.”
Topher decided to take that as a dare. Before she could reconsider, she moved to the pony’s left side, grabbed a couple handfuls of mane and tossed a leg over his back. As she hauled herself up, she gave silent thanks for his pony-ness. If he’d been a full-sized horse, she never would’ve been able to manage mounting without stirrups, but he was the perfect height for impromptu bareback riding. Except for shifting his weight, Popcorn stood quietly beneath her, and she mentally thanked him for that, too. Being bucked off a bite-sized pony would be much more embarrassing than if she came off a standard-sized horse.
“Tophie...” Although James’s tone was stern, there was also an underlying amusement in his voice.
She blinked at him innocently. “You just told me to ride him, Jamie-Bear.” Before the lecture could begin, she squeezed with her legs. Popcorn willingly strode away from James, and Topher couldn’t resist glancing back at him.
The other horses had finished eating. Most had wandered toward the hay feeders, but a few stuck around, checking the tubs for any stray kernels that might’ve been missed. James approached a sturdy-looking bay gelding and vaulted onto his back with much more grace than Topher had managed. She watched with a mix of admiration and envy as he rode toward her.
Although she considered herself a competent rider, Topher could already tell that James was much better than she was. When he was a few strides away from her, she realized that she’d lost her lead while she’d been drooling over James. She tightened her legs, nudging Popcorn into a trot.
Instantly, she regretted it. His trot felt like she was on a sewing machine, quick and bouncy. Laughing at the rough gait, she pushed him into a canter, which was only slightly smoother. James caught up to her easily and rode next to her, his bay’s trot easily matching the pony’s speed at a canter.
“Still think his name doesn’t fit him?” he asked teasingly, making her laugh again.
“Popcorn is the perfect name for him,” she admitted. “He’s bouncy but so much fun.”
“Exactly.” James grinned at her, and she couldn’t help but return it. “Race you.” The bay switched gears as smoothly as a sports car, easing into a canter and immediately pulling ahead of Popcorn. Snow flew up behind them, forcing Topher to turn her head and squeeze her eyes shut for a few moments so she didn’t get a face-full of slush.
“No fair!” Although she was trying for righteous indignation, her words came out as a laugh. “I’m on a bumper car and you’re on a luxury SUV. We’re not racing!” Despite her words, she leaned forward and muttered to Popcorn, “We’re so going to beat his ass.”
He twitched an ear back at her as she urged him to go faster. Despite his chubby body and short legs, Popcorn was surprisingly responsive to her leg pressure, speeding up as they chased after James. It was incredibly fun, galloping bareback across the snowy field on her fuzzy, eager pony.
James was taking a wide turn to the left, still in that annoyingly easy canter that outpaced Popcorn’s flat-out gallop.
“Shortcut,” Topher sing-songed, shifting her weight slightly and pressing with her right leg against the pony’s side so he veered sharply to the left. They headed straight across the pasture, reaching the far side just before James caught up with them.
“Cheater,” he scolded, but he was smiling as he drew level with them, slowing the bay to a trot and then a walk. Topher went from a canter to a walk with Popcorn, skipping his rocky trot altogether. Her one experience with that rough gait was enough.
“Am not,” she said. “We never said what the rules were. You’re just embarrassed at being beaten by an adorbs little pony.”
He just snorted at that. “You’re a nice rider.”
“Papa Ben has horses. My very first pony, Sprinkles, was a lot like Popcorn, only smaller and naughtier. She knew all the tricks.” Topher laughed at the memory. “She’d go under low-hanging tree branches to try to scrape me off her back, and she’d lie down in water, and she’d pretend to spook at the same mailbox she saw every day. I got really good at staying on, no matter what.”
“Popcorn used to be Daniel’s pony.”
“Really?” Topher grinned at the thought of Danny as a dramatic little kid, bombing around on Popcorn. “Who rides him now?”
With a shrug, James said, “No one, really. Laurie, the trainer, gets on him every so often to tune him up. Otherwise, he just bosses the horses around in the pasture and gets fat.”
“But you still keep him?”
“Of course.” His matter-of-fact tone made her throat get a little tight.
“I...um...” Her voice sounded thick, so she swallowed hard and started again. “On my tenth birthday, I went down to the barn, and Sprinkles was gone. Papa Ben gave me another pony for my present. He said that I’d gotten to be a good enough rider that I could start showing, but I needed a better pony in order to be competitive.” She glanced at James, and he was watching her so intently that she felt naked. Ducking her head, she played with a tuft of Popcorn’s mane. “The new pony was beautiful and really well-trained. I think he could’ve done the hunter courses without anyone riding him, and he’d have still won.”
“But you didn’t like the new pony.”
She shot him a guilty, sideways look. “No. Isn’t that awful? I sound like the biggest spoiled brat in the kingdom of spoiled brats, don’t I? My stepdad gives me an expensive, ribbon-winning pony, and I just want my naughty, cranky Sprinkles back.”
“It’s not awful.”
Wrinkling her nose, she sighed. “I felt awful. Every time I was at the barn I felt guilty and sad and terrible. I hated showing, too. I’d get so nervous that I’d throw up beforehand.”
“Did you quit riding?”
Her laugh didn’t hold much humor. “I wish. It was important to Ben, though, so I kept riding and showing and puking until I went to college. Every couple of years, he’d get me a new horse. He wanted me to go to a school with an equestrian team, but I managed to wiggle out of that.” She realized that she’d completely dropped her Tophie role and winced inwardly. Now that the plan had gone completely sideways, though, it didn’t really matter whether James liked her or not. The thought was a relief, since she really, really did not want him to think she was an idiot.
Silence stretched between them, making her tense enough that Popcorn must have felt it, since he hurried his stride. Topher laughed.
“What?” James asked, one side of his mouth already curling, as if he was ready to be amused at whatever she said. It was a heady sensation to be able to melt James’s hard exterior and get him to relax enough to smile.
“Popcorn reminds me of a mall walker when he’s chugging along like this,” she explained. “All he needs are some pink hand weights.”
Looking bemused, James regarded the pony. “I’m not seeing it.”
Topher opened her mouth to respond, but closed it when she saw a couple of people at the pasture gate. Apparently, their private ride was done. “We have company.”
As soon as he spotted the two figures—Danny and Barb by the looks of it—outside the fence, all amusement disappeared from his face. “So I see.”
After witnessing his relaxed, happy mien just minutes earlier, Topher hated to see the stiff, humorless James return. “If we turn around now, we could pretend we don’t see them.”
His expression lightened slightly, although he shook his head. “The pasture’s not that big. They’d find us eventually.”
“I suppose,” she sighed. “Oh well, I was getting hungry anyway.”
They continued heading toward the gate, although both of them kept their horses at a slow, plodding pace.
“Are you going to return to bimbo mode?” he asked casually.
Giving him a sharp glance, Topher debated denying everything. James was too smart to not have noticed her sudden use of words over two syllables, though, so she just shrugged. “Probably. It helps deflect the bitchy ginger’s insults.”
That drew a bark of actual laughter from him. “Good. It’s entertaining.” There was a short silence before he added, “Besides, I like being the only person to see the real you.”
Her cheeks, already flushed from the cold, heated even more. She wasn’t sure how to respond, so she kept her mouth shut until they were within speaking distance of Danny and Barb.
“Dan-Dan! Barbie Doll! We just had the funnest ride! I won our race, even though Jamie-Bear cheated.” Swinging her leg over her mount’s back, she slid to the ground. “Popcorn is the sweetest pony ever!” She hugged his thick neck and then released him with a final pat. He trotted over to one of the feeders, flattening his ears and snaking his neck at the two horses already there eating hay.
“Barbie Doll?” Barb repeated, her lip curled.
“I did not cheat.” Dismounting the bay with a gracefulness that made Topher’s mouth water, James stroked the horse’s neck and then stalked over to her side. “And you did not win.”
“I didn’t know you guys were riding this morning,” Danny said, frowning. “We would’ve gone with you if we’d known. Barb’s a great rider.”
“Oh, we didn’t plan it or anything.” Taking advantage of James’s proximity, she leaned against his side. He circled an arm around her shoulders. “It was sponsorious.”
“Spontaneous?” Danny corrected, his pout fading into amusement.
“Exactly! We didn’t plan it or anything. I hopped on Popcorn and Jamie-Bear got on...what’s his name, sweetie-plum?”
James’s mouth flattened into a hard line, an expression that Topher was pretty sure was hiding his urge to laugh. “Endeavor. And we’ll do a planned ride later this week. There are some nice trails around the property.”
“Oh! Oh!” Topher hopped up and down, despite the heavy weight of James’s arm holding her earthbound. “Can I ride Popcorn again? Please?”
“Are you sure you want him?” Danny asked. “Have you experienced his trot?”
“Yes. It’s very bumpy but strangely fun.”
“If you want to ride Popcorn, then you can ride Popcorn.” James was using his crooning voice again, which made her melt into his side. Turning a little so she could wrap both of her arms around him, she gave him a besotted smile that required no acting skills.
“Aww, Jamie-wamie. You spoil me.”
“You deserve to be spoiled, baby girl.” His eye was warm with what looked like real affection as he looked down at her. She tightened her grip around his middle, warmth spreading through her stomach and chest.
“What horse will I be riding?” Of course, the ginger had to spoil the moment. Topher had to work to plaster her happy smile into place, rather than glaring at the other woman like she was dying to do. Barb’s tone had been flirtatious, so Topher thought she’d directed the question at Danny. Instead, the skinny witch had her gaze and syrupy smile fixed on James. There was even some eyelash fluttering happening. Topher repressed a growl. The ginger had already stolen her first pretend boyfriend. Topher wasn’t about to let her steal a second—especially not her Jamie-Bear.
James seemed oblivious to Barb’s attempted eye-humping as he scanned the scattered horses, frowning in thought. “Maybe Ghost. Or Willie. Diamond’s a possibility, if your hands and seat are quiet.” He pointed out each one as he named them.
By her pursed lips, Barb wasn’t impressed by the options. “What about that one?” she asked, pointing.
“Nessie? No.”
“Why not?” Barb pouted. “She’s pretty.”
“Pretty or not, she’s a handful,” Danny chimed in. “Last time I visited, I came off of her three times. She’ll be going along just fine and then boom! I’m flying through the air.” The leggy chestnut mare raised her head and eyed them warily, as if she knew she was the topic of conversation.
Turning a sultry smile on Danny, Barb walked her fingers up the front of his coat. “Please can I ride her? Don’t you want to spoil me like your uncle spoils his girlfriend?”
“No,” James said flatly before Danny could answer. “Riding Nessie is not an option. Letting you break your neck is not spoiling you.”
Topher choked back a giggle. From the scathing look Barb sent in her direction, she obviously did not suppress it well enough. Deciding to change the subject before the ginger exploded, she disentangled herself from James’s hold and moved to the gate.
“Did Leigh cook breakfast this morning? If she made cinnamon rolls, I’m going to eat ten, and then I’m going to run away with her to live happily ever after.” Turning to pat James on the chest, she gave him a consoling smile. “Sorry, honeybee.”
He rewarded her teasing with a wicked half smile. “I could run away with you two. Make it a threesome—you, me and Leigh’s cooking.”
Her eyes rounded at the thought. “Oh, boo-boo, would you? That would be awesome! If you come along, I’d get food and Jamie-Bear loving.”
His eyelid lowered, giving him a sleepy, toe-curling-ly sexy appearance. “Or you could just stay here with me, Leigh and Leigh’s food.”
“Okay,” Topher breathed, leaning toward him, so caught up in his hotness that she had no idea to what she was agreeing.
“Get a room,” Barb snarled.
Looking at the other woman, Topher didn’t even have to pretend to be dazed. She was still enveloped in a fog of lust. “A room? You mean, like at a hotel? Why? I’m staying in Jamie-Bear’s room.”
With her eyes squinted and her mouth pulled tight with irritation, Barb looked almost unattractive. It made the small, nasty-gremlin part of Topher gleeful.
Barb made an angry sound that was almost a growl. “Daniel,” she snapped, whirling around and stomping toward the barn. “Come.”
Shooting Topher an irritated look that she didn’t think she deserved, Danny followed her. Topher had to shove her face into James’s chest to muffle her giggles. When his arms went around her, pulling her even tighter against him, she didn’t even attempt to keep from melting. James was warm and solid and as delicious as Leigh’s food.
“What’s so funny?” he murmured, his mouth close enough to her ear for Topher to feel the heated air of his breath.
After lifting her head just far enough to make sure that the other two were out of hearing range, she explained, “The witchy carrot might as well strap a choke-chain and leash on Danny. Look! He even follows four steps behind her like a good little pet.”
Although he gave an amused huff, James quickly lost his smile. Looking down at her, the gravity of his expression alarmed Topher a little. “You and Dan really weren’t serious, then?”
She swallowed back a Hell, no! I’d rather have dated a yeti and pretended to consider the question. “Really, really not serious. He was fun and not all clingy and needy and jealous like guys can get, you know?”
Clearing his throat, he said dryly, “I don’t have any personal experience with clingy, needy, jealous boyfriends, so no. I don’t know.”
“Good,” she said, petting his chest and making her tone sound as earnest as she could while trying not to laugh. “I’m glad you haven’t had to go through that. It’s not fun having a guy who follows you around everywhere, even after you’ve broken up with him. I couldn’t even go to the gas station without him lurking behind the pumps. Ugh. He actually broke into my car so he could put a little teddy bear on my dashboard. What a major creeper.” A muscle twitched in James’s cheek, and Topher realized that her teasing had morphed into a rant. She tried to play it off with a sunny smile. “I’m surprised you don’t have a whole crowd of clingers trailing after you like a herd of lovesick goats.”
“Like a...what?” He shook his head. “Never mind that. Is this asshole still bothering you?”
“Nope.” Topher grinned with unfeigned relief. “Not for months. I asked this guy I know from auditions, Brady, to pretend like he was dating me for a while. He’s a total gym rat and always gets roles like Thug Number Three or Nightclub Bouncer, so he’s a pretty scary-looking dude. When you get to know him, though, he’s a total marshmallow on the inside, so I told him what was happening with Garrett—he was the freaky stalker guy—and Brady came up with the fake meathead-boyfriend idea.”
Since James was looking grimmer with each babbling word that came out of her mouth, Topher paused, not wanting to finish the tale. He waited her out, though, the tense position of his jaw demanding that she speak. Topher had never met anyone with such commanding facial muscles.
“That didn’t work exactly as we planned,” she continued reluctantly when it became clear that they were going to stand silently in the pasture until she completed the story. “In fact, it kind of made things worse. Garrett the dick-face creeper got really jealous and sort of kidnapped me. I got away, of course, but it was a totally sucky thing for him to do. When Papa Ben found out about it, he had some of his security guys fly into LA to ‘talk’ to Garrett, and I haven’t seen him lurking in the bushes since. Part of me hopes that he’s not in the bottom of the Pacific wearing concrete shoes, but another part of me—the vengeful, semi-evil part—is just glad he’s not breaking into my apartment to pull my panties out of the clothes hamper anymore.”
James had gone silent and tense. Topher looked up at him and saw his expression was so fierce she had to fight not to flinch. She forced a smile. “The whole annoying Garrett situation is over, and I’m fine—well, I’m hungry for breakfast, but otherwise I’m fine. Do you think we can mosey over to the house before everyone else eats all the cinnamon rolls?”
His expression eased slightly—very slightly—but it was enough to encourage Topher.
“Please, Jamie-Bear?” She gave him her best big eyes and hopeful smile combination. “I’m cold.”
That did the trick. Releasing her, James opened the gate and ushered her through before heading back to pick up the stack of empty buckets. She checked behind them before latching the gate to make sure none of the horses was attempting an escape, but they were all happily occupied at the hay feeders.
They were halfway to the barn when James asked, “What’s his last name?”
Her laugh contained a snort, but she was too amused by his attempt at casualness to care. “Nice try, Jay-bear, but you don’t get to kill him.” After a pause, she added, “Especially if he’s already dead.”
“I wasn’t—”
“Were, too,” she interrupted, bumping him in the ribs with her elbow.
“Was...” This time, he cut off his own words. “I’m not going to argue like a five-year-old.”
“Good.” She smirked up at him. “Because I’m not going to tell you anyway. I’m better at arguing like a five-year-old than you are.”
His mouth curved into a smug grin, which she eyed uneasily.
“Why are you smiling like a super-villain before he takes over the world in an evil way?”
“I’m not—” Mashing his lips together, he took an audible breath. Topher was rather pleased that she’d managed to turn his self-satisfaction into exasperation. Taking advantage of his distraction from his murder plot, she ran ahead a few steps.
“James,” she barked over her shoulder, imitating Barb’s haughty tone. “Come.”
Just like that, his expression went from bemused annoyance to flat-out lust. Pretending to ignore his burning stare, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and faced front. She’d only made it two more steps before an iron bar of an arm caught her around the waist and lifted her off her feet.
She shrieked with laughter as he yanked her against him and spun around a couple of times. Still holding her off the ground, he stopped and nipped her earlobe sharply. Her moan was thick with want, and he gave a raspy laugh, his mouth close to her ear.
“Who’s in charge here, baby girl?” His words were low with a hint of teasing, but there was a rough edge that made her heart beat faster.
“Me?” The word was breathy and high-pitched, but Topher was too caught up in the moment to be embarrassed by how juvenile she sounded.
Her answer brought another sharp nip to her earlobe. The pinch of his teeth made her jump before she melted back against him. Just that tiny bite had raised goosebumps all over her body.
“Wrong.” His voice was so low that she felt the bass rumble more than she heard it. “I think you need a reminder.” He slid his hand between them, palming her ass cheek and giving it a sharp squeeze. If she thought the earlobe bite was intense, it was nothing compared to the molten heat that coursed through her from the feel of his fingers biting into the flesh of her butt.
Her brain was blank. All she could focus on was how amazing it felt when he touched her. “Okay.”
She could almost feel his husky laughter as it rippled over her. “Later.” The word was so rough it was almost a growl. “It’s too cold out here. Besides, I need to feed you.”
His last sentence made her stomach clench with a surge of unexpected heat. She’d gone from complaining about her ex-boyfriend’s obsessive behavior to creaming over her pretend boyfriend’s insistence on taking care of her. Although the responsible-adult part of her was demanding that she tell James that she was fully capable of feeding herself—and brushing her own teeth—that grown-up section of her brain was drowned out by the little girl in her who loved James’s close attention and care. His stern commands pushed a lust-button she didn’t even know she had, too.
It was both exhilarating and terrifying. A steamroller of lust was flattening her into the pavement, and that desire was for a guy who was just pretending to be her boyfriend. He was also the uncle of her other fake boyfriend. Topher’s head started to hurt, and she forced herself to stop dwelling on it. It’s two weeks. Just enjoy whatever happens, but don’t expect anything to last. She shot James a sideways glance. It was easy to tell herself not to get involved, but harder to follow her own advice.
With a final pat on her ass—one hard enough to make her squeal and hop forward out of his reach—James steered her through the barn, dropping off the grain buckets and closing both sliding doors as they went.
Once the house was in sight, Topher’s stomach snarled. The impromptu ride had exacerbated her usual morning hunger, making her hurry through the snow toward Leigh and her magical kitchen. James kept up with her easily.
“After stuffing myself like a piggy last night, I thought I’d never be hungry again.” She rested her hands on her demanding stomach as they climbed the front steps. “But I was wrong.”
James started to comment, but the rumble of a truck engine caught their attention. A plow truck was making an initial sweep of the driveway, and James raised his hand in greeting. In response, the driver tapped the horn lightly a few times and then resumed clearing snow.
“Maybe the Golfinis will leave now,” Topher said hopefully.
With a snort that was part amusement and a greater part cynicism, James reached to open the door. “They’ll stay the full two weeks just to torture us.”
Faking a pout, she ducked under his arm through the doorway. “Is it torture being my boyfriend?”
Even though he muttered the words under his breath, Topher heard them clearly and had to bite back a pleased grin. “That’s the only good part of all this.”