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“It’s fine, Miles. Do you have any clue how many men hit on me like a bunch of cocksure roosters crowing for a chance?” The line had come out as too cocky, but he needed to know she wasn’t some wimpy girl. She was from Wyoming, first of all, but she’d had to scrap and fight to succeed in one of the toughest industries in the nation. She could handle putting a guy in his place.
“I don’t want to imagine,” he said softly. His blue eyes looked pained.
That made her mad. “I’m sure you don’t,” she snipped back. He could have his Lily. It wasn’t as if she was hurting for male attention. But why did this male seem so ideal? Lieutenant Miles Coleville felt as if he should be hers.
“You handled him well,” he said.
“Lots of practice. If Easton is the champion bull rider, I’m the champion male-rejecter.” She gave him a challenging look, but she didn’t much like the way she was acting or this conversation.
“Hmm.” Miles held her gaze for so long, she wanted to look away. She didn’t. He studied her as if he would pry past her tough veneer. Finally, he tilted his chin up. “I hope you can rest well. If I’m not out here waiting for you when you wake up, please rap on my door. I’d like you to stay by my side at all times. Even though the ranch hands are exceptionally trained and trustworthy and will be on high alert knowing we’re guarding a VIP, there’s no reason for them to know Eva Chevron is here. We’ll clear areas before I take you anywhere, even on the ranch.”
“All right. Goodnight.”
She felt his eyes on her as she walked in. She turned as she closed the door. His blue eyes lit a fire of longing inside her chest. That wasn’t fair of him at all. She slammed the door in his face.
“Stay by my side at all times,” she snipped. “He can stay by his Lily’s side for all I care.”
She’d said the words much too loud. He’d probably overheard. Pushing out a heavy breath, she blamed her out-of-control longings for a man she couldn’t have on exhaustion. It had been a very long, disturbing, and yet thrilling day. How could she stop longing for Miles when his touch was enchanted and his blue eyes stirred something in her soul she never thought she’d feel?
She sank to her knees next to the bed. “Please help me sort this out in my head,” she begged heaven above. “I’m not seeing anything clearly right now.”
Who knew how much later she awoke, splayed against the side of the bed. Her knees hurt, and she had no answers. Miles Coleville was her rescuer, and he was also the biggest temptation and pain in her backside she’d ever encountered.
Lord give me strength, she muttered mentally, standing and walking to the bathroom. She would try to sleep in for a very long time tomorrow.
Chapter
Nine
Miles texted his twin brothers to please wake him if Eva left her room and to send him the links for the cameras and sensors. He got a thumbs-up from Walker and all the information poured in, followed quickly by a text from Easton.
Sorry, bro. Clint didn’t give me all the details. All I heard was Eva Chevron. Sorry I acted insensitive.
Miles could only imagine the tongue-lashing Easton had gotten from Mama. She doted on her boys but didn’t accept ‘ill behavior’.
It’s all right. Apparently she has millions of men coming onto her every day. Nothing you did or said bothered her.
It all bothered him. He and Clint being at odds bothered him. That wasn’t typical for them. Clint was put out for Lily’s sake. It was typical for the sheriff to think he needed to protect everybody, but he seemed overly worried about Lily. Which made him wonder if there was something more to Lily’s tears six months ago and maybe Clint knew about it. He had to get to the bottom of that soon.
Eva having ‘lots of practice and being the champion male-rejecter’ bothered Miles as well. The words he hoped he’d misconstrued through the closed door made his stomach squirm. ‘… stay by Lily’s side for all I care.’
This was sticky. He wanted to get back to the interactions with Eva before he had stupidly stopped a kiss between them and told her he had a girl.
Was that even possible? Maybe he had ruined something great before it even began. He didn’t see an alternate path, though. If he had it to do over, he had no idea how he’d change it.
He got ready for bed, said his prayers, and didn’t set an alarm. His brothers, dad, and the foreman would monitor the security, and he’d hear a beep if an alert came in.
Sunshine streamed into the room when he awoke. He checked his phone. It was seven-ten. Sleeping in for him, but still pretty early. Especially as they’d arrived after two.
He listened for sounds of movement next door and heard nothing. Rushing to shower and get ready, he went to the closet to open his duffel bag but noticed his mama had moved clothes from his cabin here. He’d dumped his bag in the closet, too tired and stirred up over Eva to notice anything last night.
He smiled—Carhartt and Ariat T-shirts, Wrangler and Ariat jeans, Justin and Tecovas boots, and some of his favorite Stetson hats. He’d brought some of his cowboy wear to base. It made him a bit unique, and it was his personality and identity to a certain extent, but for the most part if he wasn’t in his Navy uniform or issued gear, he wore casual T-shirts, joggers, and running shoes like everybody else.
Dressing in his favorite Ariat T-shirt and jeans, he pulled his Tecovas on, grabbed his Stetson hat, and headed out the bedroom door. He paused in the hallway. He’d felt empowered charging out here, but now he had nothing to do but wait. He’d been on plenty of details where he had to be motionless, monitor, and wait for hours or days on end. He didn’t love them. He should’ve used the gym out in the barn before he showered and got ready, but he didn’t want to be too far from Eva.
Hat in his hands, he paced the hall outside Eva’s door. He thought he heard movement. He paused and … nothing. The scents of bacon and sweet pancakes drifted up, and his stomach growled. Though he doubted he’d ever move back to Coleville, he missed his family and his home. Being here was great. Mama’s food was the whipped cream on top of the experience.
Miles resumed his pacing. He could go down and eat and she’d probably still be sleeping, but he wanted to be here, wanted to see her. He pushed a hand through his hair.
