Page 5 of The Wrangler

“Keely,” His voice was nothing but gravel, “I am not a man you want to play with.”

Something flickered in her eyes, something sharp and knowing. “You’re wrong Jesse. You’re the man I’d love to play with, and therein lies the problem, isn’t it?”

Jesse held her stare, knowing damn well she had no idea what would happen if he ever let go. He wasn’t some wannabe metrosexual Dom—the kind she usually played with and whom she topped from the bottom. No. If he ever stopped pretending that she wasn’t the one woman he wasn’t supposed to want… God help them both.

Keely sat back, satisfied. “See? This is fun. I knew you’d be glad I had you moved up here next to me.”

Jesse ran a hand down his face. “You’re exhausting.”

She just grinned. “And you’re so much fun to rile up.”

Jesse bit his tongue to keep from saying something he shouldn’t. She was Reed’s sister, and therefore, off limits. The moment that seatbelt sign dinged after landing, he was getting off this plane and putting some distance between them… before he did something really stupid.

By the time the plane touched down at San Antonio International, Jesse had his plan locked down.

He would get her home, make sure she was secure, and then he’d hand her back over to her big brother or anybody else Reed at Silver Spur Security wanted to assign her to. He’d taken one for the team. The fact was when Reed announced he needed someone to go to Milan; the guys had drawn straws, and Jesse had drawn the short one.

“Thank you for agreeing to watch over my sister,” Reed had said. “I know she can be difficult…”

“Difficult?” Jesse scoffed. “Let me be plain—the only reason I agreed to chase your sister all over Milan is because I drew the short straw.” Reed had looked surprised at the notion that none of them relished the idea of providing protection to Keely, who was uncooperative, to say the least. “The fact is, I’d rather wrangle rattlesnakes than your sister.”

If he spent one more second in Keely’s orbit, he was going to forget why she was off-limits.

The seatbelt sign blinked off, and Keely was already moving, collecting her designer carry-on and standing like she didn’t have a care in the damn world.

“You in a hurry?” he asked.

She tossed him a look over her shoulder. “I’d rather not get stuck behind slow walkers.”

Jesse sighed, standing to his full height, stepped into the aisle so she could exit their row, and followed her off the plane. The second they stepped into the terminal, she was on the move, striding through customs like she owned the place.

And hell—for all he knew, she did. Reed Malone’s baby sister was a complete and total brat and was completely oblivious to that fact.

The agent at the counter barely glanced at her passport before waving her through.

“Welcome home, Miss Malone.”

Jesse wasn’t far behind, but when he reached the same agent, the man actually paused and looked him over.

“Anything to declare?” the agent asked, his gaze dipping to Jesse’s boots like he was hiding contraband in them.

Jesse gritted his teeth. “No.”

The agent gave him one last assessing look before finally waving him through.

Keely stood just beyond the customs area, holding her suitcase, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

“That was easy,” she mused.

Jesse slung his carry-on over his shoulder, eyeing her with suspicion. “They barely looked at you.”

Keely lifted a shoulder. “What can I say? I travel a lot. They know me.”

Jesse let out a slow breath, scanning the baggage claim area. “You ready to go?”

Keely turned, sauntering toward the exit without waiting for him to follow. “Depends, cowboy. Are you?”

Jesse cursed under his breath and moved after her, ignoring the way his body responded to everything she did. This woman was going to kill him. And the worst part was, he was starting to enjoy it.

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