LITMIR.BIZ

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      He chuckled. “You practically told me to get out, that I wasn’t wanted here.”

      “I told you I don’t want you here as manager.”

      Gaze sharpening, he verbally pounced. “But you want me.”

      “Well, of course I want you.” At his sudden wolfish grin she realized what she’d said. “I mean, I want your help. As you pointed out, we need help.”

      “Help. Of course.”

      She placed her hands on her hips, ready to annihilate him. “Look, you egotistical ass. I don’t deny that a few minutes ago, when you were…I might have become… ‘preoccupied’ with you—”

      “Preoccupied?”

      He gave her such an innocent look that she wanted to deck him. Instead she thrust the bundle of towels and sheets toward him. “Never mind. That’s not the point.”

      “Pity,” he said with an elegant lift of his shoulders as he took the linens from her. “So what is the point?”

      She inhaled, then exhaled, hoping to calm herself. “The point is my father’s getting older, and even before his recent accident, whether he admits it or not, it was getting tougher for him to work with the horses, not to mention the rest of the farm. And you may have noticed that Tater isn’t a babe in arms, either.”

      Darcy turned aside, tossing the linens onto the bed. “I noticed that.”

      “Then you can see what the problem is. It’s hard to get the regular work done, much less the training and the breeding we need to move forward with the horses we’ve still got. And make no mistake, Braybourne Farm still has what it takes. We might not have ended in the big money, but we’ve had winners, lots of them. And we’ve had them since the first Braybourne settled in Kentucky.” She lifted her chin. “We’ll have them again.”

      Darcy turned back to her, his expression becoming serious. “You love this place, don’t you?”

      “It means everything to me.”

      “That’s nice.”

      Taken aback, she stared at him. “What’s nice?”

      “Caring that passionately about something.”

      “Well, naturally. Why do anything if you’re not passionate about it?”

      He smiled.

      A few moments earlier that smile would have made her want to open to him as eagerly as a mare to a mate. Even now her impulse was to lead this man over to that bed so fast he’d be crying for mercy! Instead, she stepped back.

      “Listen,” she said. “Just because you’re a passably good-looking man, don’t think I’m some little exercise girl who’d be impressed by that. Regardless of what you seem to think.”

      “You’re not, huh?” His eyes held hers with a challenging gleam. “What if a time comes when I decide not to listen to you?”

      “You—you…” Silver heard herself sputtering like a worn-out tractor. “You have no choice but to listen to me.”

      “There’s always a choice. It’s just that sometimes there isn’t any maneuvering room.”

      Silver lifted her chin and glared at him. “Well, you certainly aren’t going to maneuver me into something I don’t want to do.”

      “Oh, I don’t know.”

      She shook her finger under his nose. “You will not get around me with what you consider excess charm.”

      “I don’t want to get around you.” He held her gaze. “What makes you think I don’t have another position in mind?”

      “Why, you…how dare you!” Even as he enraged her, she felt the lick of excitement race along her nerve endings.

      He grinned. “Are you afraid you might enjoy it?”

      “The sheer arrogance of that remark makes me want to fire you on the spot.”

      “I don’t think you can do that, Silver. Since your father hired me, I believe he’s actually the one to fire me.”

      “I’ll speak to him about it.”

      “And you’re going to tell him what? After all, nothing happened. It’s not as if I kissed you or anything.” He dropped his gaze to her mouth. “What would you have done if I’d kissed you?”

      “Slapped you with a harassment suit.” Which was stretching the truth, but as usual when she was angry, she lashed out regardless.

      “Theoretically speaking, what if I kissed you and you kissed me back—with a great deal of passion, of course?”

      She couldn’t look at him. “I wouldn’t.” Another lie.

      “Silver?”

      She glanced back, practically mesmerized by his reproachful dark eyes. “Oh, all right, I’m human. Maybe I would kiss you back. I don’t know why, except…”

      “Except?”

      Reluctant to answer, she looked away again. She might not understand herself lately, but she certainly wasn’t about to open her heart and mind to a man who’d only butted into her life an hour before.

      One finger under her chin turned her back to face him. “Except maybe now you’re wondering what it would be like to have an adventure? To make love with a stranger? Not the familiar young blueblood your father wants you to marry.”

      “No. I’ve never…I’m not marrying him. That’s my father’s idea, not mine.” She scowled. “Why am I even having this conversation with you? This is none of your business.”

      He smiled, as sweetly as the big bad wolf looking for a snack. “I don’t know. Why are you?”

      “You started it with all your talk of flirting.” Love with a stranger. She tingled at the thought. What woman didn’t have a few fantasies—maybe of a chance encounter with a dark stranger, and steamy, uncomplicated sex? That didn’t mean she acted on them.

      After a long, searching moment and an even more searching look, Darcy stepped away from her to indicate the pile of sheets and towels. “Thanks for bringing these down.”

      “My pleasure.” She threw her shoulders back, adjusted her pearls and tugged down her jacket, attempting to restore herself to the elegant woman she’d tried to present when she first came into his room, which was pretty damn hard under the circumstances. “I have to go.”

      Darcy walked over and opened the door.

      Silver walked past him, then stopped. “Oh, by the way, my mother asked me to invite you up to the house for dinner if you don’t have other plans.”

      “I hope she isn’t going to any trouble.”

      “No. There’s always plenty for one more. Mother’s used to cooking for a big family and can’t seem to stop.”

      He hesitated, staring at Silver for a moment. “In that case, I’d be delighted.”

      “I’ll pass that along. I, um…okay, I’ll see you.” Feeling awkward, she stood there for a moment, then turned and stepped away.

      “Silver?”

      “Yes?” She glanced over her shoulder. Darcy stood in the doorway, shoulder leaning against the doorjamb, hands in his pockets. He was an animal in his prime, confident and seemingly at ease with the world and his place in it.

      “What time?”

      Her mind went blank as her eyes feasted on his chest. “Time?”

      “For dinner.”

      She met his gaze, noticing the devils dancing there, tempting her closer, beckoning

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