Taming Clint Westmoreland - Brenda Jackson [30]
“Oh,” Alyssa said. “No, I won’t need anything else.”
“Neither will I,” Clint tacked on, more than ready for Chester to leave the two of them alone. He had heard the catch in her voice letting him know that the thought of being alone with him made her nervous. She should be nervous, Clint thought. Whether she knew it or not, she was driving him crazy. If the outfit she was wearing wasn’t bad enough, her scent was definitely getting to him, almost drugging his senses, eating away at his control. The sundress had spaghetti straps and revealed soft, creamy flesh on her arms and shoulders. It was skin he ached to feel, touch and taste. He would love to trace his tongue along her arm and work his way up to her shoulders and—
“Clint, Chester is saying something to you,” Alyssa was saying.
He blinked at her words and then sent a sharp glance in Chester’s direction. The old geezer had the nerve to smile as if he knew where Clint’s thoughts had been.
“What?” Clint probably asked the question more roughly than he should have, but at that moment, he really felt like he was losing it.
The older man’s smile widened when he said, “I was trying to get your attention to remind you that I won’t be here in the morning. Snuggles the Clown is doing another performance at the hospital.”
“I remember,” Clint said shortly.
“Oh, by the way, Alyssa offered to do breakfast for the men in the morning,” Chester said, undeterred by Clint’s sour expression or gruff tone.
Clint shifted his gaze from Chester to Alyssa. “You did?”
“Yes. It’s the least I can do around here,” Alyssa said.
Clint frowned. “That’s a lot of food to prepare. Nobody said you had to do anything around here,” he said.
“I know, but everyone around here has chores. Fixing breakfast tomorrow will help me to feel useful,” she replied.
“What about the work you were doing on the computer for that client?” Clint was not sure he liked the idea of her in his kitchen performing domestic tasks. There hadn’t been a woman in his kitchen since Ada died.
“I’m almost done and on deadline,” Alyssa said, smiling proudly.
Clint leaned back in his chair. “Well, let me know when you’re ready to take on another customer. I was serious when I mentioned I needed a Web site for the Sid Roberts Foundation.”
She lifted a brow. “And you want me to do it?”
“Only if you have the time. The next time you’re in my office take a look in the side drawer on your right. There’s a folder with information about the foundation in there. If you decide to do it, we can sit down and discuss it when I get back,” he said.
“Get back? Are you going someplace?”
He heard the catch in her voice again. “I’m not going off the property so I’ll still be safe in saying we were together for the thirty days, but I’ll be spending a couple of nights under the stars on the south ridge. The horses arrived today and the ones I’ve decided not to train I’ll be setting free on that designated land that’s governed by the foundation,” Clint said.
“And how long will you be away from the ranch?”
He shrugged. “It usually takes a couple of days.”
“Oh,” Alyssa said.
“Well, folks, I’ll be leaving,” Chester said. Clint shot the older man a glance. He’d forgotten he was still in the room. He had been too focused on Alyssa and that wasn’t good.
“So, did you get a lot accomplished today?” Clint asked as he loaded his plate with food.
Alyssa watched him and was again amazed at the amount of food he consumed. “Yes, I put in a lot of time doing that Web site. It’s for a teachers’ union in Alabama.”
He nodded. “How do you get your clients?”
“Word of mouth mostly. One satisfied client will tell another. But I’m also listed in all the search engines and that helps,” she said.
“I take it that you’re good at what you do,” Clint said.
She glanced up and met his gaze. She hoped they were still talking about the same thing. “Yes, I’m good. I believe in satisfying my customers and I rarely get complaints. If you need references then I can—”
“No, I don’t need references.”
Conversation between them ceased again, which was