Dirty Proof (Novak Springs) Read online

  Dirty Proof

  Dawn Brower

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Dirty Proof Copyright © 2015 Dawn Brower

  Cover art by Dawn Brower

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dirty Proof (Novak Springs)

  Cowgirl Fever 1

  Cowgirl Fever 2

  Unbridled Pursuit 2

  Sensual Games 1

  Sensual Games 2

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  In Cowgirl Fever Tori is attracted to Wes, and doesn't understand why he hates her instantly. She tries to charm him in a way only she can. It backfires on her and she finds herself covered in manure. This is the scene in her point of view. It is short and not so sweet, but it gives you insight into the beginning of their relationship and what led them to the path they took in their own book, Unbridled Pursuit.

  I wrote this for the people that asked to see what actually happened that day between Vitoria Miene and Wes Novak. I hope it lives up to your expectations. Enjoy and keep in mind this doesn’t end with a happy ever after or even a happy for now. It is one scene in the grand design of the relationship between these two characters that start out loving to hate each other.

  Make sure to keep reading for a sample of each of the Novak Springs books.

  DIRTY PROOF

  At noon the sun was at its highest and hottest on the ranch. It was one of the first things Vitoria Miene—Tori to her friends—realized once she’d joined her best friend Ginnifer on the ranch for their annual vacation. The heat never bothered her, but then again, they’d never taken a vacation on a ranch before. She preferred sandy beaches with turquoise waves crashing on the shore. Ginnifer wanted a change, and there wasn’t much Tori wouldn’t do for her friend.

  Now Ginnifer was mad at her. Their vacation wasn’t as fun as it usually was. In fact, it was the worst one she’d ever been on. She had only told one teeny-tiny white lie. She’d never thought for a second Ginny would have held it against her. Now they had interlopers sharing their cabin, making it inherently more difficult to make it up to her. She’d left the cabin hoping to find her...but her friend appeared to have found a hidey-hole somewhere on the ranch.

  Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the sexy rancher she’d met when she arrived with Colt. Wes Novak had shoulder length golden blond hair and rippled muscles she wanted to spread her hands all over. There was only one problem...he also hated her as soon as he’d laid eyes on her. She had no idea why. Maybe she should find out. It would give her some entertainment while Ginnifer avoided her. Maybe she could charm him into liking her.

  She smiled to herself. It was the best idea she’d had since she arrived at the ranch. She wouldn’t think about the bad ones. They weren’t worth mentioning.

  Wes had rope slung over his shoulder in a circle. He lifted his hat and ran his hands through his sweat soaked hair. Tori licked her lips in anticipation. If she played her cards right that sexy man could be all hers. She rubbed her hands together with excitement. Time to amplify the Tori sex appeal several notches and rope in the cowboy... She followed him out to a pasture and watched him with one of the horses. It was a beautiful silver and white stallion.

  She sashayed toward him and stopped a few feet away.

  “What are you doing with him?”

  Wes turned and scowled at her. “Don’t you have something better to do than bother me?”

  Tori frowned. He hadn’t warmed up to her yet. But she hadn’t turned up the charm yet either. She hadn’t met a man who she couldn’t get. Wes would be no different.

  “I thought we could get to know each other better.” She strolled over to him swinging her hips seductively. Tori stopped in front of him and reached up and glided her fingers across his stomach, pausing just above his belt buckle. “We started out all wrong and I’d like to rectify that if you’ll let me.”

  He glared at her through hooded eyes. “I’m not interested in anything you have to offer. Go back to your cabin or better yet find another man to bother. I have a lot of work to do and you’re wasting my time.”

  She batted her eyelashes at him. He was a prickly one, but she’d dealt with worse. It would only take a little bit more than she anticipated to melt the ice cube around his indifference. “I bet I could change your mind.” She wound her arms around his neck and rubbed her breasts against his chest.

  He stared down at her. Desire filled his eyes. She wanted to shout in triumph. Finally a reaction she was used to seeing from a man. Wes pulled her tight against him and crashed his lips into her. He bit her lip causing her to gasp. Their tongues lashed together in a mesh of heat and need. Tori pushed his hat off and ran her fingers though his glorious hair. She’d always loved a man with a little length to his hair and he was blond too. A bonus in her eyes. He was damn near the perfect man for her.

  The kiss pushed her to the limits. It didn’t satisfy her craving at all. It made her want him more. She wrapped her arms around him and dug her fingernails into his back. A tingle of excitement trailed through her body and pooled at her center. She wanted to feel him deep inside her.

  Wes stopped and shoved her away. He stalked away from her cursing with each step he took. What had gone wrong? It had been clear to her that he’d wanted her as much as she desired him. Why was he not as happy as she was?

  “You didn’t have to stop.”

  He spun around and flashed her an angry glare. “You would like that wouldn’t you,” he spat out.

  Well—yes, she would. Why did he make it sound like it was a bad thing? They had sparks galore between them. If Tori got her way they’d explore it as much as possible while she was stuck in Washington. Hell with the mess Colt had gotten himself in she’d be in Seattle a lot. They could visit each other often while she traveled to deal with her client’s issues. It seemed like a win-win situation to her.

  “I don’t want you, Ms. Miene.” He snorted. “I’m not interested in easy women and from where I’m standing you’re as cheap as they come.”

  Vitoria’s mouth flew open in shock. She’d never been so insulted in her entire life. What an asshole. Perhaps it was time to reevaluate her assessment of his worthiness. She tilted her head and let her eyes roam from top to bottom, feigning disinterest she didn’t feel. Damn it, he was by far the sexiest man she’d ever met. She barely stopped herself from licking her lips and fanning herself again. She was supposed to not like him anymore. Down girl.

  She shrugged. “Your loss.”

  She turned to walk away when something twirled around her pulling her back. She tripped over her own feet and fell into a pile of manure. The rope Wes had been carrying was wound around her waist. He yanked it backward pulling her toward him. She rolled trying to get herself loose and smeared the horse crap all over herself.

  He is going to pay—and pay heavily for doing this to me!

  She stood up and pulled the rope over her head and stormed forward. Anger shot out of her as she stalked over to his side.

  “Why are you such a dick?” Tori yanked his t-shirt ripping it down the middle. “Perhaps you would like to smell as heavenly as you’ve just christened me.”

  She rubbed her body all over his—the only pleasure she received was his shocked silence.

  “Princess,
I enjoy nothing about you.” Distain rippled through his voice as he spoke down to her. “You’re everything I don’t want in a woman. I thought maybe you’d enjoy rolling around in something that is easily your equivalent.”

  She punched him in the stomach. “You did not just equate me to a pile of shit.” She kicked him in the shin causing him to fall to the ground. “I am not something you wipe off of the bottom of your shoe.”

  “I think the proof is in the shit smeared all over your perfect body,” he sneered.

  “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” Tori frowned. He made less sense the more he talked.

  “I believe the evidence speaks for itself.” He sat up and leaned back on his arms. His gaze traveled up and down her body. “For once everyone can see all the dirty proof they need to get a clear picture of who you really are. The shit tells the story of Vitoria Miene in intricate detail—evil, untrustworthy, and filthy from the inside and out.”

  Tori turned around and stomped in the opposite direction. Tears burned at the corner of her eyes. She’d never been so humiliated in her life. At least she learned an important lesson. Wes Novak was and never would be a man worth having in her life. He might be incredibly gorgeous, but he was a beast. She wouldn’t lower herself to trying to charm him ever again.

  They understood each other.

  He hated her and now her emotions equaled his. It was for the best.

  Maybe if she kept telling herself that she’d believe it.

  The tears she attempted to hold back fell in earnest. Why couldn’t she be attracted to a man that respected her? This was always one of her failings, and also why she remained perpetually single. There was a reason Ginnifer was her only friend. It was time to make peace with her best friend.

  She could thank Wes for that at least. He put her back on track and showed her what was truly important. He could hate her for no reason for the rest of his miserable life. Once she left Novak Springs she’d never look back and not give him a second thought.

  He just wasn’t worth it.

  Tori wiped the tears from her eyes and headed in the direction of the cabin she shared with Ginnifer. Maybe she would get lucky and find her already there, at the very least she could take a shower.

  Maybe if she scrubbed hard enough she could wipe away Wes’s touch and the feel of his lips on hers...

  ***If you enjoyed this scene from Cowgirl Fever: Novak Springs book 1 (Dallas and Ginnifer’s book) between Wes and Tori, check out their story Unbridled Pursuit: Novak Springs book 2*** Keep reading for a sample of Cowgirl Fever, Unbridled Pursuit, and Sensual Games.

  Cowgirl Fever 1

  The hot summer sun was beating down on the windowpane and making the room hotter than it should be with the central air blowing out on full blast. It was mid-July, and Dallas was looking over his sister Emma’s business plan for Cowgirl Yoga. It was an addition to the already operational horse ranch they lived on. It was equally owned by Dallas, Wesley, and Emma, but Dallas had final say in everything that affected the ranch’s bottom line. The three siblings had inherited Novak Springs when their parents passed away several years ago.

  “I’m just not buying it as a viable option, Emma,” Dallas explained to his sister.

  “Of course it is. We are not making any money in the fall months, and it’s a great idea, admit it,” Emma said, her heart-shaped lips lifting into an impish smile.

  “Cowgirl Yoga?” He raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief, one of his blue eyes widening with the gesture. “A bunch of frilly, wanna-be cowgirls coming here for what? Exercise? It’ll be one hell of an expensive venture when you throw in the cost of food, accommodations, and advertising. The turnaround just isn’t worth it. I have serious doubts we can make a profit off of this. I’m sorry, it just isn’t going to work.”

  Dallas could see a small tear form in the corner of Emma’s blue eyes. She clenched her fists and shook her head at him in defiance. Her cinnamon ponytail smacked her neck as it bounced sideways. He wanted to give her idea a chance, but he didn’t like to take unnecessary risks. Maybe he could consider a trial run. He didn’t want to commit to more than that. Her business model was sound and did hold some promise of working. He knew she had switched her plans and created some new goals. Her original plans hadn’t been anywhere near working at the family ranch. Making a decision to try a different tack, he sat back in his chair and smiled. Dallas was capable of being reasonable, at times. When it suited his purposes, anyway.

  “How about we agree to disagree on whether or not Cowgirl Yoga has a chance of working and look at this from a different angle?” she said with a gamine smile.

  He nodded at her and said, “Okay I’m listening, what do you have in mind?”

  “Give it a trial run. Let me do it in September, and if it fails, I’ll let it go, but if it is a success, then you will let me continue to do it every fall. We can talk about expanding after a few years, provided it’s profitable.” After she got her spiel out, Emma sat quietly in her chair.

  Leaning back in his own chair, Dallas started to tap the armrest as he silently stared at her. He gave no emotions away as he looked at Emma and contemplated what his next step should be. After a few moments, he said, “In your business plan you have your clients staying for two weeks. They would share the cabins on the ranch, with up to four per cabin. The price for this two-week vacation is $1,500 per week. Do you have any marketing ideas? I don’t see it anywhere in your mockup who is going to run the yoga portion of this program, either. How are you going to afford to pay someone to run that?”

  “Yes, I have one idea in place already. A magazine writer is coming for the first session. She is planning an article on Cowgirl Yoga for publication in the October issue. That is, of course, for future clientele. In the long term I want to utilize all of the social media that is available. As far as the yoga—the instructor I took classes with at school agreed to do the initial phase of the program. She is going to stay on at the ranch. Her only pay is going to be free room and board while she runs the yoga sessions and helps me finish up my certification to take over for any other sessions we have.”

  Dallas’s lips formed a grim line of disapproval, and a hint of anger laced through each of his words as he asked, “Are you telling me that you already have someone coming and it wasn’t even agreed that you could go ahead with this plan of yours?”

  “Well, let’s be honest. I deserve a chance to prove this is going to work. So what if I went ahead and scheduled her coming? You are going to give me this chance.” Emma had a determined look on her face, and Dallas knew fighting her would prove to be futile.

  Folding his arms across his chest, Dallas leaned back in his chair again and a half smile formed on his face. He knew how to deal with his baby sister. Too bad he was a sucker and usually gave in to her whims. “That’s awfully presumptuous of you.”

  “But you love me anyway.” She blew a kiss at Dallas, and crossing her legs, she sat back in her chair to wait for his response.

  Dallas laughed at her antics; he loved his sister, and only she had the capability of getting him to lighten up. She was the adored younger sister, and there really wasn’t much he wouldn’t do to make her happy. He needed her to be the fun-loving girl he knew her to be.

  Dallas picked up the mockup of her business model and asked, “Okay what can you do with social media and this magazine writer? Are you comping her stay? How can you make a profit if you start giving things away for free right from the start?”

  “Well, for starters social media is free. We can create a business page and start the hype going early on. Give them contact information and some ideas of what the ranch currently does and how it is going to benefit them to participate in this new program we’re going to run. I also plan on expanding our current web page to include links to the various social media pages and give them an idea of what Cowgirl Yoga has to offer.”

  That didn’t sound too bad. The plan held a lot of appeal. Perhaps those
business classes she had taken at college helped after all. Admittedly he didn’t know a whole lot about marketing, that was Wes’s area, but he didn’t believe having a magazine writer come out for free was a good way to start out. Emma hadn’t come out and said it, but usually that was how they enticed those types to attend a function. They wanted a free ride in order to give the much needed publicity.

  “What about the media person, is she staying free?”

  “Yes, she is. It is important to get her here so that I can get that advertising her article will give the new program. She writes for a prominent magazine and is an invaluable tool in promoting this venture. It’s a good thing that she is coming, I promise. Let me worry about the profit margin. It is up to me to make a go of this if you agree to the trial.”

  Dallas sighed and looked at her with a grim face. “Okay. It’s clear you have thought this out completely. The business plan is well written. I still have doubts, but I’m willing to give it a trial run. Just remember you agreed that if you don’t turn a profit, we will not continue with the program.”

  “Thank you, Dallas, you won’t regret this. I promise.” Emma let out a squeal of delight and jumped up to hug her brother.

  He hoped her Cowgirl Yoga plan worked as she planned it would. At the very least he had been able to extricate a smile from her. That alone made the added expense worth it. Emma had a hard time in her last semester of school. Her heart had gotten broken by her longtime boyfriend, Colt Lewis. The football player abandoned her for someone else when he signed a contract with a professional football team. It left Emma devastated, and she came home to lick her wounds.

  “Okay easy now, there is a lot to be done to get your idea up and running. Do you know what you need to do first?” Dallas smiled.

  Emma nodded her head in agreement as she said, “Yes, I have so many lists of things that need to be done. Do you think Wes would help me? He’s so good at this stuff, and he can charm anyone.”