Fuck, I need to get a hold of myself before she catches me looking at her like this.
Thankfully, her attention is entirely focused on her phone. She didn’t even notice the door chime when I walked in. Either that, or she’s ignoring me.
The thought brings a grin to my face. I always did like a challenge.
I lean across the counter with my good arm and rap my knuckles against the corner of her computer screen, ignoring the little bell that I’m supposed to ring for her attention.
She jolts when my arm enters her field of vision and drops her phone on the desk at the noise my knuckles make against her computer. Her gaze lingers on the tattoos swirling along my skin even as she straightens up in her seat. By the time her eyes meet mine, a pretty flush is blooming over the bridge of her nose, hazel eyes blown wide as she traces the lines of my face.
I bite back a smirk.
Iknowwhat girls like her look like when they’re attracted to me, know the shift of their hips and the way they lean in just an inch closer than they need to. She’s struggling hard to stop herself from doing any of that, her back ramrod straight and her fingers fidgeting at the edge of the keyboard as her eyes linger on the slow curl of my lips.
I’ve been careful to keep my bloody arm off the counter, but when I shift back to stand straight, she catches a glimpse of it, and her eyes go wide.
“Jesus Christ, new guy, what the hell did you do to yourself?” she asks, all bratty snark and sneering, glossy lips.
“Damn, not even going to give me the benefit of the doubt? Who says I did this to myself?” I ask with a disbelieving laugh.
Maybe she’s got more of a bite to her than I expected. That shouldn’t make me want her even more, but the thought sends a bolt of heat straight to my cock.
“What, did one of the chickens try to rip your arm off?” She laughs at her own taunt, pushing up from her chair and nodding her head toward a door to my left. “Go through there, I’ll bring you back to a room. Don’t get blood on anything, I’m not cleaning that shit up.”
I follow her instructions and make my way through the plain white door to meet her in a hallway lined with open doors to exam rooms. I make sure not to get blood on anything as I pull the door closed behind me, giving her plenty of time to rake her eyes over me in a way that has my blood heating in my veins. She looks like she wants to take a bite out of me, and I’m rather inclined to let her at the moment.
It’s a bad idea, but so is standing close enough that I can see down her shirt and get firsthand proof that she’s not wearing a bra.
Fuck. Maybe I can attribute my filthy thoughts to blood loss. One glance at my arm tells me I haven’t bled nearly enough for that to be the case, but I’ll take the excuse anyway.
She looks up at me with those sweet honey gold eyes, practically daring me to do something. I drag myself back from the edge of temptation by the skin of my teeth.
“Chicken wire, not a chicken. I slipped and cut myself on it,” I grunt out, forcing my brain away from thoughts of pinning her to the wall and taking her here and now. “Think there was a nail that caught me too.”
Magnolia blinks a few times, like she has no idea what I’m talking about, and then her face flushes red. “Right. Your arm. Well.” She clears her throat and turns on her heel, leading me down the hall toward the last exam room. I couldn’t have kept my eyes off her ass if there was a gun to my head. “Dad has a tabhere for the guys at the ranch. I’ll have Brooke get you set up in the computer and whatever.”
I know it’s stupid, but when she turns toward the door like she’s going to leave, my mouth starts running before I can stop it.
“You’re not even going to clean this up before the doctor comes in?” I ask with a glance to my arm, desperate to keep her from walking out the door. “We haven’t really met yet, but you’re David’s daughter, right? I’m Bennett. Just here for the cattle drive.”
I don’t know why I’m telling her all this, especially when she arches an amused brow at my babbling. Damnit, I’m usually much smoother than this. I know how to flirt, for fuck’s sake.
Not that I’m flirting.
She’s David’s daughter. I’m not stupid. I’m just… introducing myself. That’s it.
“I’m not a nurse, Bennett,” she drawls, dragging my name out like she’s savoring the taste of it.
I ignore the immediate urge to grab her by the back of her neck and make her say my name again, low and sweet in my ear. “At least get me some paper towels to clean this up, then?”
I peel back the blood-soaked gauze and toss it into the hazardous trash can by the door with a wet plop. The wound is still bleeding sluggishly, but it’s clotted up for the most part. Worse than I thought, but not as bad as it could’ve been. She hasn’t moved from her spot at the door, probably ignoring my request just like I knew her bratty little ass would.
It’s not until she finishes rolling her eyes at my request that she looks back at me, and her eyes lock onto my arm.
Thathas her moving forward, and she steps into my space again, close enough I can smell the flowery perfume wafting off her skin. God, what I wouldn’t give to sink my teeth into her andtaste.
“That looks like it hurt,” she murmurs, reaching out like she wants to touch it before stopping herself and dropping her hand back down to her side.
If I wasn’t actively bleeding, I’d grab her hand and tell her to touch me wherever she wants to.
