Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 52957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Something that took a great amount of effort on my part.
Caleb took a half step closer, the unexpected warmth once again blossoming within me. My nipples grew hard and I drew in a deep breath, taking in his cologne. Something woodsy and crisp. Though freshly shaved, he had the kind of beard growth that kept an almost permanent five o’clock shadow along his jawline.
“Didn’t you bring a jacket?” he asked while the two women whispered together, watching us closely.
I turned back to face him, rubbing at the still numb tip of my nose. “Of course I did. But I lost it at the airport. I didn’t know it was like negative a million degrees windchill outside. Never in my life have I been in weather this cold. How do you stand it?”
The corner of his mouth kicked up a smile, the shadows of the fire giving his strong features interesting shadows as his sapphire-blue eyes glinted. “We know how to bundle up and we tend to stay indoors a lot.”
“Yeah?” More than aware of the women openly whispering about us had me taking a step away. “Well, I better get checked in. They’re bringing my bags straight to my room for me and I can’t wait to get into my jammies. Maybe after a warm shower. I could use a good soak to get the cold out of my bones.”
He smiled at me, his stance changing somehow so that he was almost looming over me. “That sounds like a good plan. Have the front desk call to have a bath started while you check in so it will be ready for you. I’d recommend the hot chocolate bath. They use a cocoa-based bubble bath, and you get a giant cup of hot chocolate and some cookies.”
“That sounds divine, thank you for suggesting it.”
He gave me a little mock bow. “Here at Rawhide we’re all about going above and beyond for our guests.”
“Caleb,” Georgiana sang out, “why don’t you offer to scrub her back.”
“Ignore her,” Caleb said with a grin and I couldn’t help but smile in return. “She’s had too much sugar. What’s your name?”
“Ivy,” I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you,” Georgiana said in a snide voice as she mocked me. “My name is Ivy, can I suck your dick?”
The laughter fled from Caleb’s face and a rather scary look took its place as he glared at the cat woman. “Georgiana, this doesn’t concern you. Please stay out of it. You’re being rude.”
“I’m being rude?” The brunette pouted as she said, “You and Mason invited us here to spend the weekend—maybe longer. And now you’re obviously flirting with a woman right in front of us and you’re saying I’m being rude?”
“You messaged us, asking us to meet you here at the fire,” the blonde said, her Hispanic accent deepening.
“I messaged you to meet me here to discuss a possible contract.” Caleb gave a tired sigh, then rolled his eyes in my direction before he said in an exasperated voice, “Mason and I contacted both you on behalf of Rawhide Ranch to see if you wanted to be judges in our Pet Parade and do a guest lecture series. You both live the Pet lifestyle, have a podcast with over five million viewers, a social media empire, and are extremely driven and talented.” He glanced over his shoulder as he said, “Don’t make our relationship sound like it’s anything more than business. You love drama, it’s part of your cat personas, I get it, but keep our relationship professional. If you want to film some drama for your social media, fine, I’ll play along, but do not talk to our guests in such a rude manner. It’s uncalled for and will not help you in our negotiations. In fact, Derek may decide he doesn’t want you to teach here at all if he believes you’re trouble makers.”
The women both looked down, whispered to each other, then Georgiana said, “You are correct. Forgive me, Ivy was it? I sometimes forget myself during negotiations. Some places anything goes… others”—she gestured to the busy lobby—“others have a more stringent code of rules for business. I misjudged you, Caleb.”
“We’ll discuss this in a moment,” Caleb said swiftly before dipping his chin in my direction. The firelight turned his face sinfully handsome as he drawled out, “Ma’am, I apologize for this. If you’ll go ahead and go over to registration, they’ll make sure you get into your room right away. Tell them Caleb sent you. Go on now, I need to have a frank conversation with Georgiana and Petal. Leave your room number for me at the front desk.”
He was so well-mannered, his deep voice so smooth and velvety soft, yet I felt like he’d ordered me rather than requested. There was something in his tone, in the way that he looked at me right in the eyes, that told me he expected me to march on over to the counter like the good little girl he evidently thought I was. I took a step back, glanced around, then smirked at Caleb.