“Okay. I won’t bother you, then.” She left him alone again but this time she wasn’t feeling quite so cross that he hadn’t paid her. Even though she was the one who had made him do it, he was certainly working hard for the money.
Fifteen minutes later Ryder, looking a little worn at the edges, came back into the restaurant. “All done,” he said and shoved his hands inside his pockets. “Where do I find the broom and mop?”
His question surprised Blake. She’d thought he would have kept mum on that, hoping she’d forgotten. But no, he was the one who was bringing it up. She got up. “I’ll get them for you. Wait here.”
When she got back she handed him broom and dustpan then got him a mop and a bucket filled with soapy water. “Knock yourself out,” she told him.
He took the cleaning supplies, looked around then let out a soft sigh. It was obvious he was tired but Blake had already set the fine for his failure to pay his bill. She wasn’t going to back down and look like a wimp just because she was feeling sorry for him. If there was one thing she’d learned, running a business in this tiny town of Pequoia, it was to stick to your guns and play tough. It was either that or become someone else’s lunch.
So she watched from behind the bar as Ryder’s muscles flexed when he pushed the mop over the floor. He’d shed his jacket and his shirt and was wearing a sleeveless undershirt that put his muscular arms and strong shoulders on display. And with that sexy distraction in plain sight there was no way Blake would be watching much T.V for the rest of the night. She was pretending to watch but she wasn’t absorbing a thing. Ryder Kent was just too hot to ignore.
Ted slept through the whole thing and it was only when Ryder’s mop bumped his chair that he jerked awake. “Yeah? What?” He blinked then straightened up and looked around, taking in the fact that the floor all around him was gleaming and wet. “Well, I’ll be a horse’s rear end. You really did come through, didn’t you, fella?” Then he chuckled and looked over at Blake. “He ain’t half bad. Hell, I wish he owed me some dough. He’d have my place spic and span in no time.”
Blake only shook her head. She knew Ted's place. A mess like the one he had in his house would be enough to kill Ryder. She wouldn’t wish that fate on her worst enemy.
When Ryder finished cleaning he took his tools outside. Blake even heard him out there at the outdoor sink, rinsing out the mop. Both she and Ted looked at each other, eyebrows raised.
“I think you found yourself a good one,” Ted said. “He don’t seem so bad, after all. Maybe he was telling the truth.”
She grimaced. “Yeah. Maybe.”
When Ryder came back into the restaurant he blinked then rubbed the back of his hand across his right eye. He looked like he was stifling a yawn. “Well, I’m all done,” he said then looked around for the shirt and jacket he’d left on the nearby chair.
“They’re on the rack,” she said. “Over there.” She pointed to his clothes hanging by the entrance.
“Thanks.” He strode over to the door then shrugged into his shirt and jacket, denying her the view she’d been enjoying all the while he’d been working. He turned toward them and drew in a breath then let it out in a heavy sigh. “Please accept my apologies for not paying my bill,” he said as he looked at Blake. “As soon as I get back I’ll send you the money. I promise.”
She shook her head. “No need. You’ve already paid. In full.”
“Thanks.” He nodded, looking like he was ready to go, but then he paused. “I wonder if you could tell me where to find a hotel?” He gave her a doubtful look. “If there’s a hotel in Pequoia?” Then he grimaced. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to hunt down this Marfa place in the middle of the night.”
Blake shook her head. “That would be a dumb idea. You couldn’t even find it in the daytime. What makes you think you’d find it at night?” Then she cocked an eyebrow at him. “And you don’t have any money, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” He fell silent.
“You can forget about Marfa. It’s your lucky night tonight.” Blake gave him a cheeky grin. “It just so happens that Beaumont’s isn’t just a pub and a restaurant. Sometimes it's a bed-and-breakfast, too, when it suits me.”
“Seriously?” Ryder looked like he didn’t believe it.
“Seriously.” Blake gave him a stern look. “You can get one of the rooms for the night,” she said, “but you’re going to have to work to pay your keep.”
Ryder grimaced and then he shook his head. “I’m so bushed I’ll agree to anything, just as long as I can get a bed for the night. Whatever you have in mind can’t be worse than what you’ve already made me do.”
“Fine. If you’ve got stuff in your truck, go get it. You’ve got yourself a room for the night.”
“Thanks.” Ryder nodded then turned and headed out the door and off to his truck.
Blake only smiled. Little did he know what lay in store. Poor thing.
CHAPTER THREE
“Yes,” she whispered as he slid his lips down the column of her slender neck. “Ooh, that feels so good.”
“Mmm.” It was a moan that came from deep within him. He wanted her so bad and although he held her in his arms he wanted more – to consume her, devour her, possess her wholly and fully.
Ryder lowered his lips to the curve of her collarbone, feeling himself grow hard as he felt the heat of her-
Bang, bang, bang. “Rise and shine. Time to get up and get going.”
“Huh? What?” The banging still pounding in his ears, Ryder jerked awake, dragging himself from under the shadowy blanket of his dream. He sat up in the bed and looked around, momentarily thrown by the unfamiliar scene around him.
And then he remembered. He was in the strange little town called Pequoia, in one of the guest bedrooms at Beaumont’s. In Blake Beaumont’s bed. Well, not literally, as much as he would have loved a dream like that to be true. It was the dream he’d just been having, a dream that had been all about her.
“Are you up?” There was another bang at the door and Blake’s voice came through to him, loud and clear.
Ryder cleared his throat. “Yes, I’m up,” he said. “What time is it?”
“Just after six o’clock,” she said. “Time to get moving.”