Long Tall Drink by L. C. Chase

acknowledge his foreman, didn’t look, didn’t stop. From far away he heard the man’s voice, registered concern in the tone, but couldn’t decipher the words.
    “And groom that goddamn horse!” Ray yelled without looking back.

Chapter Nine
     
    Ray’s worn boot heels struck hard-packed earth with enough force to send shock waves reverberating up his legs as he stormed from the barn.
    He’d been a heartbeat away from bending Travis over a saddle and had almost been caught with his pants down. Literally. He’d come far too close to destroying his reputation, the ranch’s reputation, everything his family had spent decades building. His life. Travis would be nothing more than a fling. Gone with the wind in a couple of months, a distant hollow memory.
    And he’d thought the man was dangerous? What a joke. Travis Morgan was downright treacherous.
    The terrifying thing was, a part of him didn’t care. He’d jumped that fence, and now he wanted to ride that wild horse into the sunset.
    Ray clenched his hands into tight, bone-snapping fists.
    There was no way he could go back out to the corrals and train alongside the too-goddamn-sexy cowboy today. Not without remembering how that solid body had felt against his. No way he could sit at the dinner table tonight and look into that sublime face and those magnetic green eyes that had controlled him. No way he could watch those entrancing lips move without wanting to feel them against his mouth again. Kiss and lick and taste every inch of the man they belonged to.
    Oh God, he was in so much trouble.
    He felt like a walking stick of dynamite. Had to get off the ranch before his wick burned to its base. Had to get to Billings and douse this bonfire.
    And just because it pours when it rains, Dot was sitting in a chair on the porch as Ray approached the house, watching him intently. He sighed a silent curse. Too late to hide his anger now.
    “You look mad as a peeled rattler, Raymond,” she said, concern and amusement dancing in her bright eyes. “What’s got in your craw?”
    The dull thud of boot heels approaching from behind had Ray straightening his spine in automatic response. He didn’t have to look over his shoulder to know who owned that long, sure stride.
    Dot looked past him to the advancing man, then back to Ray with narrowed eyes, her shrewd gaze not missing a beat. Ray ground his molars hard enough to crack his jawbone. He strode past Dot without a word, yanked the front door open, and charged into the house straight to the phone in his den.
    After arranging to meet Landon, Ray threw a change of clothes, lube, and a whole box of condoms into a duffel bag before making his way back through the house. He’d deliberately waited until Travis had returned to the corrals so he could make a clean break. No such luck. Travis was gone, but Dot had come inside and was now sitting in the living room on an oversize leather chair that almost swallowed her whole. He barely suppressed a groan as he put his head down and made a futile attempt at escaping the “Dot McCray Inquisition.”
    “What’s going on, Raymond?” she asked in her soft, motherly tone. “You boys have some sort of spat?”
    The implication grated. Ray stopped halfway across the room, eyes locked on the front door, and counted to ten when five wouldn’t do. “It’s nothing, Dot.”
    “Really? So ‘nothing’ that you’re dashing for the door with a packed bag and won’t look me in the eye?”
    He sighed and turned to face her. “Just a difference of opinion is all.” It was a struggle to keep his expression flat and voice level, even though he knew he could never truly fool her. “Like I said, nothing to worry about.”
    “Where you running off to in such a hurry then?”
    “Business in Billings.”
    Dot studied him a moment, brilliant blue eyes dancing. “That so?”
    Ray steeled himself under her scrutiny. He knew she wasn’t buying it, not for a second, but whatever he said right now