Page 25 of Operation Wolf: Hunter
“Hey!” Hunter slammed his cab door behind him before jogging up to us from his truck. A thunderous scowl marred his handsome face as he looked back and forth between Samuel and me. “Who the hell is this guy?”
I knew it was wrong, but Hunter’s aggressive tone got my back up, and I responded in kind. “His name is Samuel Bradley,” I said sweetly, “and he’s offering me one hundred thousand dollars for the ranch.”
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “That’s a mighty nice sum,” he told Samuel. “Wonder why some bigwig like you would pay so much money for a run-down place like this.”
“This is prime real estate here,” Samuel answered, flashing Hunter a sharklike smile that made me remember I probably shouldn’t be on Samuel’s side. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, buddy, but it is my business.” Hunter planted himself directly in front of Samuel, putting a buffer between Samuel and me that I was grateful for. “This little lady is sticking around for a bit.”
“Is that right?” Samuel asked, looking over Hunter’s head to raise his brows at me.
I nodded. “Hunter is the one who agreed to help me fix up the ranch.”
“Is that so?” Samuel’s expression seemed mild, but there was a cold gleam in his eye that told me he wasn’t pleased by this news. “Well, best of luck to you.” He stepped smoothly around Hunter, produced a card from his inside jacket pocket, and handed it to me. “But in case you change your mind and are interested in selling me the ranch, here’s my card. I hope you’ll be in touch.”
Samuel sauntered back to his car, as if he hadn’t a care in the world, and I let out a sigh of relief. We watched as he turned his car around and drove away, and the knot of tension in my stomach eased as the black sedan crossed the cattle guard and moved out of sight. That was, until Hunter rounded on me with a look so deadly, I knew I’d have been struck dead on the spot if looks could actually kill.
“I wonder,” he said quietly, “if you would have made the deal with that guy if I’d come back but five minutes later.”
“Of course not,” I said hotly. “Why would you even say such a thing?”
“Because I saw the dollar signs in your eyes,” he spat, closing the space between us until we were barely three inches apart.
I felt his breath on my face, and a tremor of fear went through me as I noticed that the gold rim was back in his eyes.
So, I didn’t imagine it. That is some weird birth defect.
“You wanted to make that deal so bad, you could practically feel the money in your hot little hands,” he finished.
“And so what if I did?” I shot back, rising onto my tiptoes so I was nose-to-nose with him. I wasnotgoing to let him intimidate me, freaky eyes or otherwise. “It doesn’t make me any less of a person just because I faced temptation today. What should matter to you is that I. Didn’t. Give. In. To. It.” I jabbed my finger into his chest with each word to make my point, which was a little like trying to poke a boulder. His chest was a wall of solid muscle.
I suddenly remembered what those rock-hard pecs had felt like when I’d pressed myself against them, and I had to take a moment to shove the memory from my mind. “I don’t know what kind of bug got up your ass today, but you can get off your high fucking horse anytime now,” I snarled. “I haven’t given you any reason to think that I’m untrustworthy, so fuck you if you think you can go ahead and be my judge, jury, and executioner.”
Turning on my heel, I stomped back inside the house, slamming the door.
