by Tina Leonard
“You didn’t. I was craving one of those brownies you brought and didn’t want to rustle the bag if you were asleep.” He grabbed it, pulling out the last brownie. “Want a bite?”
A bite of you, yes. Suz shook her head. “No. But thanks.”
Suz closed the door, showered, sighing as the warm water washed over her. Thought about Cisco lying out there a bit beat up, wondered how he was going to be up to speed for next weekend. She dried her short hair with a towel, pulled on some pajama shorts and a top from her duffel and walked out to find Cisco munching happily on his brownie and calling for pizza.
“Really? At this hour?” Suz asked. “It’s 2:00 a.m.”
“Would you rather have something else? The only other thing I can get delivered in this town at this hour is doughnuts.”
“I can wait four hours until a coffee shop opens for breakfast.” She plopped down on the bed next to him, flipped on the TV.
“Uh, you know what? Cancel that order, please,” Cisco said, hanging up. “A western omelet sounds really good before I ride.”
Suz stiffened. “You’re not planning to do that, are you?”
“I am. I have to, or I don’t make it into the next round.”
She stared at him. “The doctor won’t clear it. Besides which, weren’t you disqualified? You have to have been. The bull won.”
“Oh, ye of little faith. I have another ride coming to me. I have to ride or I lose my chance at points. Which is bad for my next rodeo.”
“Cisco, you don’t get it.” He really didn’t understand that she couldn’t witness him suffering bodily harm again. “You have to rest for next weekend.”
“Aw, kitten.” He touched her cheek. “Don’t you worry about me. I promise you I suffered much worse when I was in the navy.”
“That was then and this is now.” Suz tried to think how she could convince him that he totally wanted no more part of rodeo. “Come back to BC, Cisco. The rodeo circuit isn’t for you. I mean, look at you.”
Yes, indeed, look at him, all six-foot-two worth of god-bodied hunkiness. It was all she could do to tear her eyes away and think rationally. Not think about slipping those tight black boxers off him and—
No, no, no. “Cisco, look. There are just some things in life one has to accept. I’m not a good swimmer, and you’re not a good bull rider.”
He grinned. “Don’t sell me short, beautiful. I was doing well until a certain sexy doll blew my focus today. And I’m determined to get better.”
“And lose all your major organs in the process.” She shook her head. “I vote you give up rodeo. Come back to BC.”
“Nope. I belong here.” He ruffled her hair affectionately. “You cute little Smurf-haired thing. I like it when you act all concerned.”
“I’m not concerned.” Suz glared at him. “I’m just protecting the race.”
“So? It’s not like I’m ever going to be free of Daisy. Why do you think I’m here?” He shook his head. “I’m never going back. I don’t believe in all that silly juju, but Daisy’s convinced that I’m the man of her starry slumbers. And since my buddy has his tail in a knot over her, BC’s a bad place for me to be. It’s the fastest way I know of to lose a friend. And I worked real hard not to lose his gnarly ass in Afghanistan. Not gonna lose our friendship over a spoiled daddy’s girl.”
Suz took a deep breath. “That’s the other thing. Daisy went kind of gonzo when you left. She’s pretty sure you and I cooked up some kind of plan together to cheat her of her one chance at the charm.”
He looked at her. “I don’t understand.”
“Daisy thinks you and I have a secret thing going on.”
“That would be interesting indeed. But not true.”
Suz pulled the covers up to her neck and sank against the pillow, her gaze melting into his and desperately trying to avoid staring at the sexy muscled abs leading right down to a no doubt very desirable area of his body. “Daisy had her father start foreclosure proceedings on the new addition being built at the Hanging H. Which means there won’t be any expansion to the haunted house this year.”
“Why?”
“She’s like her dad. Determined to have her way.” Suz shrugged. “Since I live at the Hanging H with Mackenzie and Justin and the babies, and since the Haunted H is our family business—” she took a deep breath “—and since she thinks you and I scuttled her big day at Bridesmaids Creek...”
“And that we have a secret thing,” he added.
“Yes. She’s taking it out on our home and business. Besides that, she’s also talked her father into finally squeezing Cosette and Phillipe out of their businesses. Robert owns the company that has their financing. There’ll be no more Madame Matchmaker and Monsieur Unmatchmaker located in the center of BC, where they belong. Where they’ve been for years.”
The whole situation was devastating. She had to make Cisco see how badly they needed him to take on this challenge.
“Hmm.” He pondered that, rubbing his chest absently, which Suz really wished didn’t have her quite so mesmerized. “Has anyone tried talking to her?”
“I have. She won’t listen. She caught us that day.”
“The swimming lesson.”
She didn’t reply. He picked up her hand, held it in his bigger one, which felt comforting.
“Who taught you to swim so well by Saturday? I noticed a definite improvement in your skills. And Daisy was stunned.”
“Sam.”
“I knew it!” Cisco laughed, and it was a pleasant, rich sound that had her nerves practically jumping with its sexy appeal. Not to mention how nice it would be to put her head on that big, strong chest, let her hand roam down that trail—
“There’s only one way to solve this.”
She looked at him. “How?”
He rolled onto his side, pulled her face close to his. “We need to start a secret thing. Right now.”
“What would that solve?”
“I don’t know. But if I’m accused, I’d like to be guilty. I’ve never had a secret thing. It sounds fun.” He kissed her fingertips. “The only thing is, I’m not entirely sure you’ve told me everything.”
Suz cleared her throat a trifle nervously. “Like what?”
“Like the real reason you want me in BC.”
She squirmed a bit, Cisco’s rock-hard body giving her own body fits she had to ignore. “I told you. The committee has decided the fair thing to do is to hold a tiebreaker.”
“But the magic is the magic. It doesn’t care about ties, if I understand magic. The first race is the one that would matter, since you didn’t win me the second race, either.”
She lowered her gaze from his piercing perusal of her. “We’ve never tested BC’s magic before. We just don’t know.”
“What would change Daisy thinking she wants me?”
“Maybe if you go out with her, show her what you’re really like.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“I just know Squint could beat you if you guys ran the Best Man’s Fork,” Suz said a bit desperately. “And now that you’re all banged up, he’d really have a shot!”
“Oh, I see.” He laughed. “You want me to throw the race, so Daisy will see Mr. Leg Cramp as the big guy. The more desirable specimen.”
“In a word, yes.”
“And then, if she has her own man, by her own choice, she might give up on foreclosing.” He lingered over her fingertips, nibbling, sending shivers up and down Suz’s back. “That’s the game, my little Smurf, and the real reason you want me to go back with you. You’ve been sent to find me, meaning you drew short straw once again. You’re to bring me back, have me race and lose to my buddy so he can be the conquering hero. Thus will Daisy have a new love, and in her newfound state of happiness she will cease the legal
proceedings that have the town in a twist. Because as we all know, as goes the Hanging H, so go the fortunes of Bridesmaids Creek.” He gave her a steady look, a half smile on his lips. “What you’re asking me to do, Suz Hawthorne, is to save Bridesmaids Creek.”
She sniffed. “Okay.”
He smiled. “I lived in BC long enough to know how the crafty minds works there. All this talk about you wanting to have a baby, and you acting all worried about me—that’s all a smoke screen.”
“Not entirely,” Suz said defensively. “I am worried about you. I’ve seen children tear up toys more gently than that bull lit into you.”
He leaned back against his pillow. “I don’t believe a word of your story. You want me to return to throw a race to my buddy.” He shook his head. “And if Squint gets another so-called leg cramp, am I supposed to walk to let him beat me?”
“In your present condition,” Suz began, and Cisco pulled her to him, effectively silencing her by kissing her, invading her mouth, stealing her senses. Suz realized she was in trouble; this wasn’t like kissing the big ol’ gummy bear, as she’d called Squint. No, this was all rock-hard, demanding man, slightly annoyed man, who had ideas of his own about how he wanted things to go.
His mouth wasn’t soft on hers, and she didn’t want to be anywhere but in Cisco’s arms. In fact, of all the guessing Cisco had done about why she was really here, why she’d actually sought him out, he’d hit a lot of the reasons why she’d been sent to find him—and not hit on the one reason why she’d actually come.
She wanted him.
She got as close to him as she could, and he tucked his hand under her fanny, pulling her closer still. Suz practically melted from the hot nearness and the rising heat taking her over.
When he released her, Suz gasped with surprise. And a fervent wish that he hadn’t.
“Now, little lady,” Cisco said, “you’ve had your say. I’ve listened to all the malarkey and whatsis from the BC crowd that I intend to. Here’s the deal. I don’t care what anyone prognosticates or sees in their crystal ball. The sky could open up and Zeus could hit me with a thunderbolt, and I still wouldn’t be damaged enough to go for Daisy Donovan. It should be perfectly clear to you by now that I want a thing with you, and I don’t care if it’s secret or not. I’m sorry your place is getting foreclosed on, but I’m not your magic carpet ride to salvation for that, either. In other words, I’m not the hero you’re looking for. All right?”
Suz blinked. “I think you are,” she said softly.
He shook his head. “I’m not, darling. I’m just Frog, no matter how much you want to turn me into Cisco, the conquering hero.”
He sounded serious, and angry, and almost like he wished she hadn’t come. Suz gulped, not about to let him go again, not when she’d come so far to find him. So she kissed him, not the way he’d kissed her, but softly, enticingly, begging him silently to make love to her.
And he seemed to get the message. His eyes widened and she felt his breath catch in his chest, where she’d put a hand over his heart. His muscles felt wonderful, his whole body was wonderful, and when he pulled off her pj top, she hurriedly scooted up against him, gazing up at him with huge eyes. “Fair warning, I really do want a baby.”
He studied her. “My baby?”
“Yes.” She gasped as he stroked her breasts, kissing her as he did. He shoved down her pj shorts and she moaned against his mouth, which seemed to inflame him. He kissed her hard, urgently, and Suz gasped out, “Cisco, I’m very serious. I’m on that same prescription Mackenzie took—”
“That’s nice,” he said, interrupting her by taking her mouth with his, exploring it as his hands explored her body and the secret places that were hot and wet for him.
“You’re going to kill me,” he said. “I’m going to have a massive heart attack if I don’t have you.”
She was going to expire if he didn’t get on with it, so Suz tugged him closer, leaving him no doubt about how much she wanted him. Her hands roamed his body, all the wonderful muscles and strong, hard places—and especially the hardest place of all, which made Cisco groan like a tiger. And when he finally slid inside her, Suz gasped, staring up at him, feeling like a thousand stars were exploding inside her. He played with her, taking her so close to the edge of pleasure, then pulling back just to hear her gasp his name. And beg. She begged him not to leave her, to release her from the pleasure he held back.
When he finally did, magic swept Suz, something she’d never felt before. Cisco held her in his arms, tight, oh, so tight, and her tremors of pleasure forced him over the edge, too.
She closed her eyes, loving being in his arms.
It was the best moment of her life. And she never, ever wanted it to end.
* * *
CISCO HAD DIED and gone to heaven, and heaven was a sweet pair of peach-size breasts, a petite woman clinging to him, pressing those darling breasts against his chest, her legs locked around him like she couldn’t bear to be parted from him. He closed his eyes tightly, thinking that if this was the prize at the end of any race, he could turn into a regular warrior to stand and fight for this every day.
The thing was, Suz had an agenda. He was going to have to turn her agenda into his. And that would take a lot of work, because she was a product—a favorite daughter—of a very tricky town.
“Okay, beautiful, up and at ’em,” he said, carrying her into the shower. “We have a long drive ahead of us.” He set her down gently, gazing at her. “God, you’re beautiful.”
“Where are we going?” Suz asked.
“Back to BC to get some things straightened out. That’s why you’re here, right?”
“Not entirely.”
He turned the water on, making sure it wasn’t freezing before he carefully pushed her under it. “Yes, entirely.” Now she was all slick and sexy, slick as she’d been in the wet suit in Bridesmaids Creek, only now she was gloriously naked and Cisco realized he’d made a slight miscalculation of how much he wanted her. Her breasts had tipped into delicate peaks, so he had to kiss those, teasing them into tight hardness that drew a moan from her. Of course he had to kiss her again, catch those moans with his mouth. Then he had to kiss a path from her waist down to those heart-shaped butt cheeks, and kissing them led him around to her sweetness. When she clutched his hair and gasped his name, Cisco teased her into pleasure he wanted her to remember for a long time. He lifted her onto him, holding her, trapping her against him so he could let her ride him to her heart’s content.
When she cried out his name, he relaxed into his own pleasure, loving the fact that he was buried deep inside her. He kissed her neck and then her lips urgently, wanting so badly to tell her that this was the magic, this was the charm. No charm or magic back in BC could predict this much rightness, this much passion.
He had to make his point, which couldn’t be made in a shower. Switching off the water, he dried her off and carried her to the bed, looking forward to spending all day in the sheets with her—after he rode the bull he was scheduled to master today.
“I’m going back with you,” Cisco said against her lips, “but you have to marry me.”
Chapter Six
Suz froze at Cisco’s words. “Marry you?”
He didn’t look like he was going to take back his statement, which sounded like something a man might say in the heat of passion. “Yes. Marry me. Before we go back to BC. We’ll drive to Las Vegas, and we’ll do it. In secret.” He kissed the tip of her nose, stroked a nipple into hardness, convincing her that he was serious. “That secret thing we’re rumored to have sounds pretty good to me.”
Suz pulled back, tugged the covers up over her to keep Cisco on task. “Someone has to talk sense, and apparently it’s not going to be you. If you’re going back to BC, you’re planning to run in the race next weekend.”
He
nodded. “Absolutely. I’m all about the fund-raising, because underneath everything, I think that helps BC the most.”
“But it won’t be an honest run. You won’t be a true candidate for marriage.”
He kissed her, and Suz squirmed, wishing they could lie in this bed and kiss for another week.
“It’s our secret thing, babe.”
Suz shook her head. “I’m certain no one has ever tried to cheat the magic before, Cisco.”
“Ah, but we were. You were suggesting that I throw the race to my buddy Squint. I’m willing to do that.” He kissed her again, and she couldn’t help arching up against him, trying to get more of his mouth. “But,” he said, “I want what I came to Bridesmaids Creek for in return. And as you may recall, when Ty Spurlock talked us into coming here, he said BC was ripe with ladies who wanted nothing more than to become brides. ‘To experience the magic of BC for themselves,’ he said, ‘with their own big day.’” He tugged her fanny up against him, fitting her to him. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve competed for you twice. I’m going to do it a third time, at the cost to my pride, but I’ll lose the race to win my bride.”
Suz swallowed. “That’s quite poetic. I don’t think I realized you wanted to get married that badly.”
“I didn’t. Not until I met you. Frankly, I thought Ty was full of crap. I came along for the ride.” He teased her with the promise of future pleasure, then playfully spanked her bottom. “Let’s go get married. Then I’ll reward you with the best lovemaking you’ve ever experienced in your life, I promise you.”
Suz’s head swam. “I thought you already had.”
He laughed, got out of bed and slid on his jeans. “Appetizer. Just enough to get you interested.”
She was interested, all right. Suz hopped out of bed and dressed in a hurry. “I’m a little worried about this scheme you’ve cooked up. It feels like it has a few holes.”
“Don’t worry about anything. We’ll get married, and then sometime this summer, we’ll get married again, for public digestion. I’m sure you want a Bridesmaids Creek shindig with all the trimmings.”