Page 3 of The Gruff Loner’s Bargain

Then he turns and walks away.

My eyes drop to the perfection that is his ass. Wranglers highlight his asset with a snug fit.

“You can take a picture, if you want,” he hollers over his shoulder. “It’ll last longer.” He climbs into his truck and drives away.

I pound on my steering wheel again. Dammit. There is nothing worse than a cocky man. Except a cocky man who keeps catching you checking him out. Here’s hoping that’s the last time I’ll see him.

chapter

two

Landry

It’s been a week, and I haven’t been able to get that sassy brunette out of my head. I don’t even know her name. Chances are I won’t see her again any time soon. Which fucking sucks because the moment our eyes met, it was like getting struck by lightning from the inside out.

Those dark brown, nearly black eyes and her fuck-me gaze had me hard as stone while the rain soaked my skin.

I turn my truck down the drive to my buddy Linc’s house. It’s poker night, and I could definitely stand to blow off some steam. To say it’s been a stressful week is a damn understatement. I’d returned to the scene of her crime multiple times just to see if I spotted her car.

That fucking car too. A sleek, black Mercedes. That girl is city to her core and way too good for a country fuck-up like me. Someone who didn’t even graduate from high school. So it’s a good thing I didn’t see her again because she’s way out of reach.

But then as if I conjured her out of my mind, she’s there. Standing at the edge of the gravel drive that leads to Linc’s house. I park my truck and jump down to speak to her, but then she disappears.

“The fuck?” I jog in that direction, ready to check myself into the hospital for delusions, but she’s there. Just on the ground.

I’m not even a little sorry that I found her like this either because her skirt is askew, revealing bright red, silky panties.

“You’re just an accident on two legs, aren’t you darlin?” I squat down.

“You,” she hisses. She straightens herself, covering her plump cheeks and thick thighs and then shooting me a glare.

“Yes, me. Evidently, someone has to be around to save your pretty ass when the time calls for it.” I pull off my cap, and scratch my head, then put it back on. “Though I don’t recall that being in my job description.”

Her eyes narrow on me. “Are you stalking me?”

I laugh because if I’d known where she was, I likely would have been following her around. “You wish I was stalking you.”

“No. I really do not.”

“What the hell did you trip on?” I ask. Sure, the ground around her is uneven with jagged limestone and cacti dotting the landscape.

“A rock?” She shrugs. “I don’t know.”

I glance down at her feet and find her in strappy black heels that are definitely made for fancy city galas or a Michelin star restaurant, and not the un-manicured yards up on Saddle Ridge.

“Let’s get you up.” I pick her up, lifting her under her arm pits. But when I’ve got her on her feet, she stumbles a little and winces in pain. “These are not the kinds of shoes you wear in the wilds of Texas.”

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

“Rescuing you. I thought we’d already covered this.” I lift her in my arms—bridal style—and look down at her beautiful, frowning face. She’s so prickly and fuck if I don’t love that.

“Seriously, why are you here?” she asks again.

“I was invited.”

She snorts. “That’s doubtful. This is my sister’s house. So I can’t imagine why you would have been invited here.”

“It might be your sister’s house, but before that, it was my buddy’s house, and tonight is our standing poker game.”