Suspended (23 page)

Shane dropped his arms to his sides and walked up beside
Doyle. “I’m not your pal, I don’t like excuses, and I’m well aware that you’ll
hate me by week’s end. But if you give me five days, I’ll give you enough
overtime in your paycheck to make it worth it. Buy your girlfriend something
pretty, have a round on me at the local bar, I don’t care what you do—but do it
after we’re done here. I don’t want hungover idiots shuffling in ten minutes,
fifteen minutes, or an hour late. Be here to work, and Doyle will pay you
handsomely. Anyone not willing to do the work, let me know now.”

There was a light grumble, and one of the trio spoke up. Color
Shane shocked. He was tall and slightly more athletic than his entourage, but
he was still soft. “Who are you to come in and take over?”

Doyle opened his mouth, but Shane held up a hand. “For the
next week, I’m your boss. Don’t like it? I’ll be happy to give your overtime to
men hungrier and willing to work harder than you.”

“You don’t know anything about me, buddy.”

“I know your type. Those two with you probably do twice as
much work as you do.”

The dark-haired man beside him found his boots fascinating,
and the shorter man with a shaved head stared at Shane with glittering eyes. Oh
yeah, trouble right there. Shane inwardly sighed.

He dismissed the man and turned to Murphy. “How about we go
into the office and talk? I’m sure you’ll get me up to speed.”

Doyle clapped his hands. “All right. That’s what I like.
Thanks for your help, everyone.”

Shane just hoped the handful of troublemakers he’d seen
could control themselves until he got the hell out of there.

* * * *

Shane pushed through the afternoon. The initial complaints
from the men had died down quickly. As he’d thought, most of them were hard
workers, but they needed direction. With clear goals in mind, they were able to
focus and get their jobs done.

The incentive of overtime didn’t hurt either. He hitched his
tool belt on and followed his nose to the fresh-cut pine they were using to
frame out the stalls. He nodded to Murphy, and they both fell into an easy
rhythm of cutting and nailing. The afternoon passed, and the shadows deepened
before he lifted his head.

Rhythm lost, he looked up to see what had caused a
commotion. He should have known. Kendall walked through the barn, her sunny
hair scraped back in a high tail that twitched with her bouncy walk. She was a
beautiful woman, and while unconscious of it most of the time, a room full of
men would make any woman strut her stuff. Kendall was no different. He moved
into the hallway between the stalls and crossed his arms.

A grin split her face wide with crinkles and lightly bronzed
skin and enough bawdy bravado that he wanted to lift her up against the nearest
wall and taste her sunshine. The number of men who were probably thinking the
same thing tightened his fists under his arms.

Instead of denting her smile, Shane’s scowl made her laugh.
Even more men took notice. “There’s my Oscar. I’ve missed you.”

His brows snapped lower when she leaned in and nipped at his
jaw.

She looked over her shoulder. “Am I not supposed to kiss the
boss? Is that frowned upon?”

“Jesus, Sunshine.”

She gripped his forearm, and the soft press of her breast
kicked him where it hurt. “Well, I can’t be in too much trouble.” She jammed
her hand into the crook of his arm until he loosened and let her in. “I didn’t
realize there were so many young guys on the crew.”

He focused his gaze on the dozen pairs of eyes that looked
their way instead of the woman by his side who smelled of horses, hay, and
wildflowers. A sprig of wheat hung drunkenly from her hair. He picked it out,
hooking his hand around her waist.

Half of the men fell back into line, but a few still
remained. Especially one who was far too cocky for his peace of mind. He’d
gotten the lowdown on the trio he’d been worried about. And as he’d figured,
Murphy had spilled all sorts of information.

Lon Mackie—an ex-football jock who continued to live
vicariously through the memory of his glory days—watched intently. He hadn’t
gotten the memo that those glory days were fifteen years back.

She gave Shane a side eye. “You didn’t just stake your claim
or something equally asinine, did you?”

He dug his fingers into her belt loops. “Why? Have designs
on someone new, Kendall?”

“Well, there are quite a few men to choose from here. Ones
that certainly have a better disposition than you, Oscar.”

He stiffened and dropped his hand.

“God, you’re no fun to tease.” She laughed and hitched her
shoulder under his arm until he had no choice but to push her away or let her
in against his body. Because she smelled so good, he opted for the latter.

“I’m a sweaty mess.”

“Manly sweat and sawdust make me weak in the knees.”

“They do not.”

She giggled. “How do you know?”

He rested his chin against the top of her head. He hadn’t
known he’d missed her until she showed up. His muscles loosened, leaving his shoulders
to ache. In just a few days she’d burrowed into him until he couldn’t think
without her in the vicinity. That was dangerous and stupid. She wasn’t his to
keep. Wasn’t his to worry about.

“Where have you been?”

She peered up at him. “Earning my keep.”

He frowned. “You don’t need to do that. This job will pay
for us to get to Bradley as well as have plenty of spending money. Hell, we’ll
even have money for the house if it needs upgrades.”

She stiffened. “Why would the Heron need upgrades?”

“Every house needs upgrades.”

She pressed her cheek against his chest, oddly quiet.
Especially for Kendall. He nudged her back. “What?”

“Now you’re going to get talkative?”

His lips twitched, but he managed not to laugh. His Kendall
was a mouthy one. “We’ve agreed not to talk about New York until we get there,
but I need to know what I’m in for.”

“It’s a B and B, plain and simple. We have a dock, a half
dozen good-sized rooms, and four acres of land that we own. We’re on a lake,
and the area isn’t overly developed. It’s beautiful.”

He heard the wistfulness in her voice. Even with just a few
words he could picture it. He’d looked at the area on the Web and knew it was
close to the national parks in the northern part of New York. But not exactly
on state land. Their lake was smaller, more remote.

Good for a getaway.

Good for a developer who would want to cash in on the
picturesque Northeast.

“Do you actually have herons?”

He felt her cheeks stretch into a smile against his chest.
“Yes, quite a few, actually. More Canadian geese than I’d like, but we have a
cheerful mutt named Brody that keeps them moving for the most part. I take the
fishing trawler out a lot—both for tours and just to even out when I get to…”

Shane smoothed his hand down her ponytail and cupped her
nape. He did the same with wood and didn’t need her to explain. He lowered his
head and caught her mouth in a slow, thorough kiss. After a long day in the
dust and listening to men cracking on each other, her taste was as welcome as
an icy beer. He drank her in, forgetting where he was for a moment. She tasted
of candy and heat, of things he’d never known he wanted. That Kendall taste he
couldn’t get enough of.

The shrill whistle jerked him back to his surroundings.

“Does that come with overtime?” Lon cracked. “I’ll be
workin’ plenty of hours, then.”

Shane bristled.

Kendall flicked her finger along his beard and tapped his
chin. “He’s teasing.”

Shane gave him a hard stare across the hallway. Lon put his
hands up. “Boss perks. Got it.”

“Relax. He’s just jealous.” She popped her foot up and went
on her toes to brush her lips against his.

He wrapped his other hand in the coiling fat curl of her
ponytail and looked down at her. Her dark eyes flashed, and his half-ready cock
hardened. “I think I need a break.”

Her eyes widened, and a half laugh escaped her. “Wouldn’t
that be a little obvious?”

“I don’t care.”

“What if I do?”

He wrapped another length of her hair around his fingers
until he hit the top of her tail. “Do you?” Her throat worked as he let her go
and clasped her hand, leading her down the hall. “I just need a second.” He
whisked her into the large stall at the front of the stables. The men were
working at the back, framing out the twenty stalls that lined the walkway. This
room was blessedly empty.

The sweet scent of hay lured him closer. A shaft of sun
highlighted one bale, and he drew her down beside him. He pulled her into his
lap until a knee perched on either side of him.

“Do you really think we should do this on the first day?”

“I haven’t seen you in hours. I just want—” He cut himself
off to nuzzle her neck. Salty with the day, her taste filled his mouth. She
lowered herself until the seam of her jeans rubbed along his strangled cock.

“Oh, well, then. I see.”

He grunted and caught her mouth. “No talking,” he mumbled.

She moaned into his mouth, and he filled his hands with her
ass, grinding her against him. The quick shudder of her breath and the roll of
her hips was worth a little hiding. He wanted to rip off her jeans and slam inside
her until dust motes, sweat, and exhaustion were just a by-product of her.
Until he heard the sound that meant she was close. That twist of her fingers in
his hair, the way she palmed the top of his head when she was almost there.

He groaned into her mouth at the first scrape of her nails
in his scalp. She surged against him, her breasts flush to his chest and her
arms wrapping him in a cocoon of apples and a hint of lemon Life Savers.
Christ, she was going to kill him. He latched his mouth on to her neck and
tried to slow down the train.

The only stop he wanted was inside her, after his breath was
a gasp because she rode him into oblivion. He pressed his forehead into her
neck and gripped her back, trying desperately to hold her still. “Kendall.”

The purring moan that was half whine made him grin into her
skin. “Don’t stop. Right there, I’m so close,” she moaned. Restless hips
undulated against his aching cock, and he would have happily done anything not
to stop. A whole different kind of banging came into the forefront of his
hearing. In between the rasping breaths that made him so hard he was entirely
sure he’d lose his fucking mind, he could hear the compressor from a nail gun
coming their way.

He slammed her down on his lap and ground into her. The quick
rasp of her voice made him groan.

“So close,” she whispered into his ear. Her breath was hot
and hitching.

He dug his fingertips into the supple muscles of her back,
and he rose against her rolling hips. “Christ, are you going to come just from
this?”

She palmed the top of his head and latched her mouth over
his. Fucking shit, she was. He kept up the steady bump against her even as his
abdominal muscles shrieked and burned in time with his thigh muscles. She
turned her cheek so theirs were side by side, and her breath cracked. He
stilled under her as she ground into him so hard he knew he’d be wearing the
indent of his zipper.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her head tipped back as she
finally made the tiny shuddering moan he’d forever hear in his dreams. He
brought his hand up between them and laid it on her chest. Her heart slammed
like a kick drum under his palm. He nipped her chin.

She sagged against his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

He gripped her ponytail and brought her gaze up to his. Her
pupils were wide open, leaving only a sliver of iris and her face flushed from
wanting him. Humbled, he felt his heart turn. “What the hell for?”

“I didn’t mean… I—” She groaned and bumped her forehead into
his shoulder. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“You’re damn lucky it wasn’t me.” Her laugh was sexy and
low. He let her hair slide from his fingers and tipped her chin up. “You are so
unbelievably fucking hot.”

She flicked her tongue along her dry lips. “Only with you,
evidently.”

He dragged her in. Unable to leave her swollen lips alone,
he teased open her mouth for a last lingering taste. She lightly scratched her
way down the back of his skull to rest her fingers at his neck. Voices and the
snick of nails pounding into pine brought him around again. He set her beside
him on the hay bale and untucked his shirt. His dick was so hard he needed a
minute to adjust. Her nails dug into his upper thigh. He dragged her hand down
to his knee and laced their fingers.

With her cheek against his shoulder, he slowly relaxed.

“I didn’t mean to do that.”

He squeezed her hand. “You damn well should. Daily. Fuck,
Sunshine.”

“I don’t want to get you into trouble.”

“I haven’t taken a break since I got here. Besides, you’re
better than any coffee or soda I could go find.” Needing a minute to get
himself together, he brushed an absent kiss along her temple. “What have you
been up to?”

She nuzzled against his shirt. “I met Lucinda, the
housekeeper. She’s mildly terrifying in a completely nurturing way.”

He laughed and enjoyed the feel of her against him. “I can’t
tell if that’s a good thing or not.”

“I’m still deciding. I like it here. I’ve been near a lot of
animals over the years but never horses. Once Evelyn—that’s the horse
trainer—figured out I had a strong back, she had me in the stables.”

He took a sniff. “You don’t smell like horseshit.”

Kendall snorted into his shirt. “No, I got lucky there. She
taught me how to rip apart hay bales and feed and water the horses.”

That was why she tasted a little salty. “I’m doing this so you
don’t have to slog through a job.”

Her head popped up. “I earn my keep, Shane. So don’t worry
about me. I like it. As long as I don’t have to muck out the stalls.”