Jese Calhoun's stomach clenched at the sight of her.

Her denim clad - and perfectly rounded - buttocks peeped out from above full length brown leather chaps. While her starched white shirt was cinched in by a thick leather utility belt. Dragging her shirt against her curves in the most distracting way.

Ignorant to his arrival, Nova knelt on the ground below her horse to attach the girth. He watched as she slipped her fingers between the belt and the horse's belly to her ensure that the mare had enough space to breath.

"Miss Radcliffe?"

With a small cry, Nova jumped to her feet. "Jese! You scared me." She pushed a lock of hair from her face, it was heavy with sweat. Nova's chin jutted out, defiantly. As if angered that Jese had witnessed her vulnerable side.

Perspiration had gathered on her throat and cleavage. Jese felt a strange stirring. That his fiancee could be saturated with sweat and still look feminine... What was that feeling? He asked himself.

"Good morning," he said, ignoring her shock. "Well rested?"

Brushing her shirt with the flats of her hands. He noticed the color in her cheeks rising. "Fine."

Silence. He noticed - in satisfaction - that she grew considerably nervous the longer he paused.

"And the mare? Calmed down since yesterday?"

"Its an ongoing battle," Nova replied. "She was neglected by her previous owners, which has made her skittish."

"She'll recuperate in time." And if she didn't they would soon replace her, he thought savagely. He wouldn't be spending hard earned cash to feed a horse that was determined to break necks.

"I have a weak spot for mistreated animals," Nova admitted. "And thanks to a cartload of ignorant pioneers and my soft heart I am now hundreds of dollars in debt."

"Are most of your animals strays?" He asked, ignoring her blatant plea for sympathy. The cold, calculated Radcliffe gaze (which accompanied her words) spoke volumes. Jese knew that she would do nothing for anyone if she couldn't find anything in it which benefitted her.

"Not most of them.... all of them," she replied. "I spent a lot of money on each."

He suppressed an ungentlemanly smirk. She obviously thought he was wet behind the ears. Calf prices depended on the quality of the beast. Therefore - regardless of what she said - she would have paid less for a sick calf than what she would of for a healthy one, yet his fiancee was determined to hide behind this heart-wrenchingly sweet and charitable facade.

Just like her father. Jese noted. He liked to imagine that he was quite the generous soul.

#

His gaze seared across her flaming hot cheeks, like a brand on a cow's hide. She was sure that, if she sniffed deeply enough, she would smell her flesh burning.

"So," she spoke awkwardly. "Are wanting to look around?"

He nodded. "I need to find a body of water to land my airship." If only he'd invented a way to land on the earth. Without that, flight was restrictive.

"There are a few spots. I'll mention it to my workmen, they can show you around today, if you like." His presence was causing her lungs to fail, or maybe her belt was too tight? She went to loosen it a little, but stopped when she noticed his disturbing gaze watching her.

With so many other problems concerning her, she didn't need to add hospitalization to the list. She needed to get some space between her and her fiance, the quicker the better.

"I'm coming with you."

"With me?" Her brows puckered together. She grappled wildly at fabricated excuses, but words were as sparse as oxygen. She rubbed her clammy hands discreetly on her jeans.

"Of course," he said.

Nova wondered if he could see inside of her. Past the clothes and the curves, straight into her soul. From his disdainful expression, if he could see straight through her, he didn't like what he found there.

She tried to minimize eye contact. To look at Jese Calhoun directly was similar to staring at the sun; painful, blinding and likely to cause damage. She had no intention of being followed about the ranch by him. She wasn't an enthusiast of self torture. "I'm going to look for coyote tracks, and I can't be distracted. Perhaps I can give you a tour later?" Preferably when the sun had set... that way she wouldn't have to worry about him seeing her blush like a school girl at every elongated pause.

His smoldering black eyes took in everything. Jese cut a domineering figure. His jaw was square and clenched. The only emotion which played across his features was one of contempt. "I won't distract you."

To hell you won't! Nova's body was on edge. Her breath caught in her chest. But how could she tell him that she couldn't focus in his company? She couldn't leave herself bare like that. Nova had to protect herself from him... and that meant maintaining a cool distance. Not by giving him the chance to believe that he might have some effect on her. No. She could be as unapproachable and distant as he was.

"Alright then," she muttered with a shrug. Mounting Twilight, Nova dug her calves in trying to put some space between her horse and his.

But as her mare headed off she could hear his horses hooves close being her. Nova's heart sank. If she couldn't find a way out of this impending marriage then life was going to get awfully claustrophobic!