Billionaire Bachelors 9 : Hidden Treasure(14)

That hoity-toity image she'd assumed and wanted him to think she was all about had to be a smoke screen, because the kiss she'd just given back to him was about as hot as it got. There were some serious fireworks hidden inside Brielle, and she'd just ignited his curiosity - and that wasn't all she'd ignited. The home fires were burning.

Halfway to the back of the store, where the women's clothing was located, Colt got distracted by a rack holding new merchandise. He could use a few more shirts. Having no qualms about stripping in the store, he began unbuttoning the shirt he was wearing, pulled it from his broad shoulders, and flung it over a chair.

He didn't notice Brielle stopping in her tracks as she came around a clothing rack and focused in on his obscenely toned abs. Working on the land day and night had done delectable things for his body, and Brielle was openmouthed and wide-eyed, with her gaze locked in tight on his midsection.


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When Colt turned and saw the look she was sending his way, he stopped what he was doing, which left him standing there with one sleeve of the shirt on and one not, and with his bare chest on display for anyone who happened to stroll into the store.

After a few tense seconds, Colt broke out into a grin, looked down at her luscious pink lips, and took a step toward her. That startled her enough to make eye contact with him. Perfect.

"Enjoying the view, Princess?" he asked with an exaggerated drawl.

"Just trying to figure out if you're as arrogant as you act. I guess you are."

Colt might have been offended, but that look in her eyes was pure fire. He'd seen it before, so he wasn't fooled - not at all. She wanted him, and if he put in the slightest bit of effort, he had no doubt that she'd be his. Colt just had to choose whether he wanted to make that happen or not.

He decided right then and there that he was going to find out.

A plan in place, Colt slid the shirt the rest of the way on and buttoned it up, then turned to find the mirror. "Nice color. Pull the tag, Peggy. I'll wear this one home."

"You're going to need to buy a few more things before you're forgiven for your previous display, Colt Westbrook!" But Peggy was already thawing as she moved toward Brielle. There was nothing Peggy liked more than to outfit a pretty lady - and Brielle was certainly that.

Colt couldn't wait to see what the newcomer looked like in some cowgirl wear. Shopping wasn't one of his favorite pastimes, but playing hooky from his ranch for an afternoon was probably worth it in this case.

"Come on, honey," Peggy said, taking Brielle's arm. "Let's find you some real clothes. I don't know where you did your shopping before now, but those clothes, and especially those shoes, will land you with nothing but a broken ankle on top of a bad sunburn." Now that Peggy wasn't distracted by Colt, she went back into merchant mode.

Brielle turned toward Colt with a look of panic in her eyes, but he just tipped his hat and smiled. He'd been the enemy just a few seconds earlier, but now the woman was looking to him to save her.

This was one mission he didn't want to rescue her from. He wanted to see her all dressed up and ready to ranch. Not that he had any faith that the clothes would suddenly change her, make her an instant cowgirl. But in the space of a few minutes, he was thinking that city girls might not be so bad after all.

No. He had no business thinking that. Sure, he might want to play with the city girl, but at the end of the day he wanted her long gone from his neck of the woods - far away, with only memories left from her stay in Montana.

She was on his land, dammit, and he would get it back. No matter what it took, he was going to have her on the first plane out of Sterling that he possibly could. Still, the two of them might just have to play a little bit before that one-way flight. 

Taking his time about it, he found her and Peggy at a rack of Wrangler jeans. "I think these will be a perfect fit," Peggy was saying as she pulled out a pair that looked as if they would be show Brielle's fine ass to perfection.

He joined the conversation enthusiastically. "I agree."

"Colt may act like an ass," Peggy said, echoing one word of his thoughts, "but he does have good taste when it comes to clothing. You should listen to him." Her sugary-sweet sales voice had Colt in yet another of his patented grins.

Brielle's enthusiasm didn't match Colt's.

She was soon being pushed from one rack of clothes to the next, and her arms were laden with things she knew she'd never wear again after she left this benighted place. She didn't want to even think about the money she was about to spend on clothes that she would have scoffed at before today. Heck, she was still scoffing today.

When she finally made it to the changing room and slipped into a pair of the jeans and a button-down shirt, she felt itchy and uncomfortable. She was used to silk and cashmere, not cotton and polyester. She'd never get used to this new life. But if she wanted to earn the respect of the men working for her, she needed to fit in to their world a little better.