Stark Naked Read online

  “Matt!”

  Amy’s shout startled Reenie out of her trance, and wrenched her gaze away from the man. Seeing the embarrassment on Amy’s face, she politely covered her own with her hand. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from peeking between her fingers. Yup, he was still naked. The first thing she thought was what an ass. The second was what a hottie. Every one of her nerve endings sat up and begged. Great. Just what she needed. Not. And then the image of Asshole Aaron flashed across her mind, her stomach cramped and she thought, Not again. Please, God, not again.

  “Hey, Reenie?” That warm as molasses drawl crawled over her, even in her stupefied state. “Reenie, Reenie, Reenie. I came out to see if you’d come keep me company.”

  The voice drew nearer and Reenie squeezed her eyes tightly shut, forcing herself not to peek between her fingers. She should probably get up off the damn couch and get out of the room, give brother and sister some privacy, but her body didn’t want to move. What was wrong with her?

  “Damn it, Matthew Stark.” Amy’s sharp voice cut through the air. “Get back to your room. Right now.”

  “But—”

  “I said right now and I mean it.”

  “Okay, but…”

  Reenie heard a thud, felt the vibration of something heavy hitting the floor.

  “Oh, shit.” Amy’s voice sounded again. Angry and frustrated. “Damn it, Matt. I’m going to kick your ass from here to El Paso. Oof. Ouch.” There was a long pause. “Reenie, I’m so, so sorry but I’m afraid I need your help here.”

  “Me?” she squeaked.

  “I have a little problem here,” she huffed. “Matt, get up. Now.”

  There was no answer from Matt. The only sound Reenie heard was a snore.

  A snore?

  Slowly she peeked out between her fingers and didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or run like hell. A very drunk, very naked Matt Stark was sprawled on the floor snoring loudly. And Amy, probably half his weight, had her hands under his arms trying to tug his inert body with little success.

  “Please, Reenie.” Amy sounded ready to cry. “I need to get him to his room and he weighs a ton. I can’t move him by myself.”

  “Um, Amy…” Automatically her eyes dropped to his very exposed groin and she tried very hard not to drool. “You’re kidding me, right? I mean…” She waved at his cock and balls, which were very obviously front and center. Not that she wouldn’t mind looking a little longer, but decency dictated she be more outraged than aroused.

  Shit, shit, shit.

  “Oh, um, yeah.” Amy followed her eyes. “Shit. Wait a minute.” She dropped Matt’s arm, raced to the kitchen and came back with a dish towel. She quickly draped it over his cock and balls. “Okay. Semi-decent. Now will you help me?”

  “Okay, okay.” Reenie uncurled from the couch. “Just make sure the towel doesn’t move.”

  This is the strangest overnight I’ve had in a long time. Oh, well.

  “So, is this his usual way of doing things?” she asked as they dragged Matt out of the family room. “At least I can see why he’s such a big hit with the ladies.”

  Big being the operative word.

  “Please. I’m already mortified beyond words. I want you to know that.”

  “It’s okay, really. Really.”

  Pulling and tugging, they managed to get Matt to a huge room at the end of the hall, his naked ass bumping along on the hardwood floor. Every few feet the towel would shift and Amy would quickly jerk it back in place. Reenie alternated between trying to avert her eyes and stealing peeks at the gorgeous male body. If all cowboys looked like this, maybe…

  Don’t go there. He’s obviously turned into a boozer and a pussy hound. Not my type at all. And I just got out of one bad relationship. I sure don’t need another. Not that he’d even be interested…

  Reenie mentally shook herself. No way should she be having these kinds of thoughts.

  The carpet slowed their progress but at last they finally managed to get him next to his bed.

  “He’ll probably have rug burns on his butt,” Amy said, “but no more than he deserves.” She pulled back the comforter and sheet, but when they tried to lift him he was dead weight. And the towel kept slipping.

  “We can’t do this,” Reenie puffed. “He’s just too much for us.”

  “You’re right.” Grabbing two pillows off the bed, Amy then shoved them under Matt’s head then covered him with the comforter. “That’ll have to do. He deserves to sleep on the floor, anyway, the way he smells.”

  “Nothing as fragrant as a sweaty drunk,” Reenie told her. She waved her hand in front of her face in an attempt to dispel the alcohol fumes. “Is this a special welcome you offer certain guests or does he do this for everyone?”

  “Reenie, I can’t apologize enough for this. I promise you Matt’s not usually like this. Oh, he likes to party and all and he works hard enough to earn it. But I’ve never seen him like this before. You don’t know how mortified I am.” She shook her head. “All I can think is they got to celebrating and didn’t bother to eat dinner.”

  “That’ll do it.”

  Amy pulled the door closed as they backed out of the room. “I guess I’m lucky he made it home in one piece.”

  “It’s okay,” Reenie assured her, but it really wasn’t. Nothing seemed to be turning out right for her these days. She knew she’d never be able to last the weekend here, never be able to sit across the breakfast table from Matt like a polite guest after tonight. But if she left this minute Amy would be very upset.

  “Let me make us another batch of margaritas and get some crackers and cheese to go with it.”

  “Listen, Amy, that sounds good but I think if I had another of those lethal concoctions I’d be in about the same condition as Matt. I’m really tired anyway. Would you mind terribly if I went to bed?”

  She hated the look of disappointment tinged with humiliation on her friend’s face, but Amy dug up a smile.

  “No, I understand. No problem. We’ll have a big cowboy breakfast in the morning and then I’ll get the four-wheeler and take you around the ranch.”

  “That sounds good.” She gave Amy a hug. “Thanks for asking me out here, regardless of everything else. Being new in town can be a pain in the ass.”

  “Hey, what are friends for? Anyway, it isn’t everyone I let haul my brother around naked.”

  Reenie forced a laugh. “I’ll say this. You sure know how to show a friend a good time. See you in the morning.”

  But when she was safely in her room, Reenie repacked everything she’d taken out of the little overnight bag and lay down on the bed to wait. The door was cracked open barely an inch, just enough for her to monitor the sounds in the house. She saw the lights go out in the family room, heard the tapping of heels as Amy moved around the kitchen then headed to her room and closed the door.

  Reenie lay rigidly on top of the quilt, frequently checking the LED readout on her watch. She wondered again if she’d made a huge mistake tossing everything aside in California, moving here, taking this job. Of course, she’d only been here for a month. Not enough time to settle in. But she wouldn’t be hurrying back to Stark Ranch for any more visits any time soon, and that would just be another problem to deal with.

  Not for a million dollars would she ever let Amy know how she’d reacted to Matt Stark. How conflicted she was at the sight of his naked body. How every pulse point in her body was throbbing with insistent demand. But she couldn’t get those come-fuck-me eyes, that voice filled with sexual heat, that body whose image still danced in her brain, out of her mind. No way could she spend the rest of the weekend doing her best to avoid him, dealing with Amy’s embarrassment and her own intense awareness.

  Finally at four o’clock, when she was sure everyone was dead to the world, she took her little bag and tiptoed to the front of the house, sticking the note for Amy on the table where she’d be sure to see it. The front door was heavy but she managed to open and close it with only the
softest clicks. Thank the Lord her car was parked on the opposite side of the house from the bedrooms because an engine turning over wasn’t the quietest sound in the world. Then she tromped on the accelerator and made tracks for the city and the safety of her townhouse. Amy would be hurt but she’d find a way to make it up to her. She didn’t turn on her headlights until she reached the two lane ranch-to-market road.

  Chapter Two

  “What do you mean, she’s gone?”

  Matt popped two more aspirin in his mouth and washed them down with coffee, nearly burning his mouth in the process. A hammer was still pounding steel inside his head and his stomach felt as if he’d had a bad case of the flu. His muscles felt as if tiny elves had pounded nails into them for hours. He was sure he’d have to get better to even die.

  “Just what I said. She left. After your big appearance stark naked with your pecker hanging out can you blame her?”

  Matt winced. He had only the very vaguest recollection of the scene Amy had described to him twice already, in very graphic terms. He watched her as she moved around the kitchen efficiently, refilling and turning on the huge urn the hands used to fill their thermoses, popping bread in the toaster, cracking eggs into a bowl.

  “Well, what did she say? I mean, did she say something about me? Is that why she left?”

  Amy stopped moving and turned to him. The anger in her eyes seared him nearly as much as the coffee.

  “She didn’t say anything because when I got up this morning she was already out of here. She left me this note. Here.” She yanked a piece of paper from the pocket of her jeans and shoved it at him.

  Matt had to squint to focus his eyes. The writing was long and smooth, slightly slanted.

  “Amy,

  Thanks so much for the invitation. I really enjoyed spending time with you. Sorry to leave like this but I just remembered something I have to take care of. I just think when we see each other again it should be in the city. I’ll call you.

  Reenie”

  Amy topped off his coffee mug. “So, thanks for being such an entertaining host, big brother. And for running off a friend I just reconnected with after twelve years.”

  Matt squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I mean it, Amze.”

  “You are definitely a sorry piece, Matt Stark. You haven’t gotten that drunk since you were eighteen years old, and Daddy made you work a solid week digging post holes to atone for it.”

  “Don’t remind me.” He took another swallow of coffee and wished his eyeballs didn’t feel so singed. Jesus, what had he been thinking about? Nothing apparently.

  “Anyway, I’m not the one you should apologize to, but unfortunately she’s not around to hear you.”

  “Did you call her?” he wanted to know. “What did she say?”

  “Yes, and nothing. She’s letting everything go to the answering machine or voice mail.” Amy took a sip of her own coffee. “I’ll probably be lucky if she ever talks to me again. Sheesh, Matt. How could you do that?”

  “It isn’t like I planned it,” he snapped, then rubbed his aching forehead. “God. I can’t believe I made such an ass of myself in front of her.”

  “No kidding. Especially since you secretly lusted after her all those years ago.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “You knew about that?”

  “You have no secrets from me, big brother. I know you too well.” She heaved a sigh. “If you still had any interest in her, I think you pretty much killed your chances last night with your excellent performance. Not to mention the fact that our friendship could be shredded. She’ll probably never come near the ranch again. Or you.”

  “Shit.” He rubbed his forehead again. “What’s she doing here now anyway?”

  “She’s working in the marketing department at Orion Promotions. New job. She just moved here from California.” She slammed her hand down on the counter, the vibrations sending shards of pain streaking through Matt’s body. “I was trying to reestablish our friendship. And maybe see if the two of you…you know… So much for that.”

  Matt frowned. “She came all the way here from California to do marketing work? I thought California was the hub of marketing.”

  Amy turned away. “She has…issues. She needed a change.” She turned back to him, angry again. “Which I’d hoped to help her with until last night. Holy hell, Matt. Like I pointed out, she’ll probably never want to have anything to do with me now.”

  “Maybe you could try inviting her out here again. I’ll make myself scarce, not even be around.”

  “Forget that.” Amy flicked her hand in the air. “I don’t think she likes ranches or cowboys. Certainly not after last night.”

  Matt lifted an eyebrow, wincing at the pain from even that miniscule movement of muscle. “You’re kidding, right? I think that’s actually un-American. Anyway, if she feels that way why did she come to Texas?”

  “Let’s not discuss that. Her business. And right now I’m in no position to persuade her she might be wrong.”

  He was silent for a while, sipping the coffee, willing his system to settle down.

  “Anyway, how did I end up on floor in my room last night and not in my bed?”

  Amy made a face. “We dragged you. Reenie and I. That was as far as we could take you.”

  “Dragged me?” He stared at her. “While I was naked?”

  Amy finally laughed. “We didn’t take the time to get you dressed, you idiot.”

  He rubbed his butt. “That must be why my ass is so sore this morning.”

  “And no less than you deserve.”

  “So…you…she…did this while I was still, um, naked?”

  She laughed. “I took pity, on her not you, and threw a dish towel over your family jewels.”

  “Jesus.” He buried his head in his hands. “Shit, shit, shit.” He looked up. “Okay. I think I should go and apologize to her.”

  “What?” Amy whirled around, screeching the word. “Are you crazy? You stay away from her.”

  But Matt went on as if she hadn’t said a word. “She can’t be too hard to find if she has a phone.”

  Amy punched him on the arm. “Don’t you dare.”

  “Ouch!” He rubbed the spot where she’d hit him. Every inch of his body was supersensitive today. “I’m going to make this right.”

  “The only way that happens is if you stay out of it. Let me handle it. I’m going to wait until this afternoon then drop by her place and throw myself on her mercy.”

  “Hey, not a bad idea. Thanks.” He rose painfully from the bar stool where he’d been sitting, rinsed his cup in the sink and headed toward his bedroom. Throwing himself on Reenie Davenport seemed like a very appealing idea. Especially if the little he’d seen of her last night was in any way correct. She was a woman now in full bloom—at least from his foggy recollection of the night before—not the young college girl he’d first met. And his interest was definitely piqued. At the very least he needed to find out if what he felt was new interest or just a lingering memory. And to do that he’d have to find a way back into her good graces.

  “Matt,” Amy shouted after him. “Leave it alone. You’ve embarrassed yourself—and me—enough already.”

  Matt shut out her words. A hot shower did a lot for his aching muscles but he was still a long way from being close to normal. He shaved very carefully, aware that his hand still trembled, splashed on aftershave and combed his hair. Clean shirt, hip-cut slacks and his favorite hand-tooled boots and he was ready. He grabbed his Stetson, his wallet and his keys from the dresser and headed toward the front door.

  “Tell me you aren’t really going to find her.” Amy stood by the door, arms folded across her chest.

  “Out of my way, Amze.” He reached for the door knob. “I don’t need your permission. And I need to do this.”

  Amy stepped aside, her face a thundercloud. “You are making a huge mistake. She’ll never ever speak to me again.”

  “We’ll see. We’ll just s
ee.”

  Matt was afraid Reenie Davenport might have an unlisted phone number and he’d have to call in a few favors, but all he needed was Directory Information and his GPS. Forty-five minutes after pulling out of his driveway he was sitting at the curb in front of a row of townhouses. The neighborhood had been around long enough for the trees to be mature and the brick on the buildings to have weathered and aged some. A nice neighborhood, comfortable for a single woman.

  All right, you ass, get out of the car and do your thing.

  But he wasn’t exactly sure what his “thing” was going to be with Reenie Davenport. Sad to say the only women he’d spent time with in what seemed like forever beyond those in the ranching community were those who were as much a player as he was. His impression of Reenie was a combination of memory and last night’s hazy impression, but he was pretty sure she was a whole different breed.

  He’d rehearsed his speech on the drive in from Willow Creek, ran over it again once more in his mind, finally forcing himself out of his truck and up to Reenie’s front door. His nerves were actually jumping when he pressed the doorbell. And when she opened it his mouth went suddenly dry and his brain emptied out as all his blood flowed south.

  Today she had on a pair of tight faded jeans that hugged every mouthwatering curve and a T-shirt that showed not only the outline of her breasts but the hardened points of her nipples. Her thick mane of hair was pulled back in a messy tail, her face was devoid of makeup and she held a dust cloth in one hand.

  And she was every man’s wet dream. Certainly his. Every lingering memory he’d had of her, every residual feeling, suddenly came into sharp focus and grabbed him. Immediately his cock stood up at attention and begged to be recognized and his balls felt as if a giant fist was squeezing them. His mouth dried up and he nearly swallowed his own tongue.

  Oh, fuck. I am in big, big trouble.

  Reenie stared at the man standing on her doorstep, remembering the few times he’d driven Amy back to college and then spent a few minutes flirting with her. He’d certainly grown up. A lot. Last night she’d been so rattled by the whole situation she’d avoided looking at him as much as possible. But today? Oh, today was a whole different story. He looked fluffed and buffed to within an inch of his life and whatever aftershave he was wearing should be a banned substance. As it drifted past her nose that traitorous pulse in her cunt set up its drumbeat again. Feelings for him that she was sure she’d long forgotten came roaring back in an unwelcome rush. What was it with this guy that all these years later he still made her want to break every self-imposed rule? And what was he doing here anyway?