The Girl with the Golden Gun

by Ann Major

  “I saw the way she looked at you the other day.”

  “Maybe she got me when my back was turned, and I was too dumb to figure it out.”

  “So you love her?”

  He hadn’t answered for a while, which probably meant he did, only maybe he was still too dumb to know it or too stubborn to admit it…or too proud. Mia was from a rich family, and he wasn’t as sure of himself as he wanted people to think.

  Finally he’d said, “I got her pregnant. Maybe I’d better find out if I can love her. Even if I can’t, I…”

  “Pregnant?” That reality had hit her like a thunderbolt.

  “A little girl…with big blue eyes. Her name’s Vanilla. I just found out about her.”

  What could she have said after that except goodbye?

  He was gone—forever. That was all that mattered. So here she was in a joint like this, pretending she was having fun when she felt so raw and vulnerable.

  If she was smart—she’d run from cowboys. Only here she was, throwing herself at temptation.

  I’m a moth, she thought. A stupid, horny, brokenhearted moth.

  “I don’t know why you’re so sad,” Kel said. “It’s not like Shanghai was ever around. Or like he ever called you much.”

  Fool that she was, Abby had lived on hope.

  “I don’t want to talk about him.”

  “I don’t blame you. We need to be concentrating on your future. On that happy note—” Kel held up their empty pitcher and waved it at a waiter.

  “Did we already drink all—”

  “The night is young. We haven’t even…”

  “I wish I’d driven home to the ranch.”

  A deep voice behind them that was somehow familiar cut into Kel’s pep talk. “Do you want to dance—Abby?”

  At the sound of her name, she spun on her spandex-clad bottom. The man who stood over her was tall and dark. He wore an expensive-looking, three-piece, gray, silk suit and wire-rimmed glasses that flashed with so much neon glare she couldn’t see his eyes. If she had seen them, she might not have been so quick to slot him. But she didn’t, so she thought—typical suit, who reeks of money and thinks that’s enough.

  The man looked smart and elegant and corporate—way too smart and rich as far as she was concerned. Money did something to men. They were boring robots who didn’t know how to have fun. Thinking about money all the time, dealing with it, investing it—it made them weak. It tamed them. It took the beast, all the grrrrrr out of the man. She didn’t do tame men.

  “I don’t think so,” she said, tipping her hat back and shaking her head.

  “Sure she wants to,” Kel said. “She’s been sitting here driving me crazy tapping her toes and fingernails to the beat.”

  “My feet hurt,” she lied.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Abby. Could I get you something?”

  “Hey, you called me by my name—again. Do we know each other or something?”

  “Or something.” He moved out of the shadows, so she could see him better.

  “Leo?”

  He smiled. He had nice, white teeth—due to expensive dental care no doubt.

  “Leo Storm?”

  “Right. I own the ranch next to yours.”

  “Oh, my gosh. What a coincidence.” She tapped her forehead. “How could I forget you—again? The light’s bad…. I—I didn’t realize you wore glasses.”

  “Only sometimes.”

  “I can’t believe we keep meeting…. You must think I’m really stupid.”

  “Sorry I didn’t do something brilliant to amaze you the other times we met so you’d remember me.” He reddened and looked away.

  She blushed, too. “Long day,” she said. “All day I remember everybody’s name. Then at five, I go blank.”

  “You brought a casserole over the first time we met, which was delicious, by the way. I was on the phone when you came, remember? So we didn’t talk much.”

  “Oh, right. Actually I—I met your brother, Connor. He almost ran me off the road when I was driving home one night. When he stopped and said he owned the ranch next to mine and had been dying to meet me, I bought him a casserole at a deli. But you…”

  Leo’s expression darkened. “My younger brother. He drives too damn fast. I’m glad he didn’t hurt you.”

  Just the thought of beautiful, golden, rugged Connor Storm brightened her spirits a little. “Your brother was very nice.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “So when I knocked on the door, expecting Connor, I didn’t know what to think when you answered, so I just gave you the casserole.”

  Leo had seemed so dull compared to his younger brother. Leo had been on a business call on his mobile, talking big money numbers, frowning, his voice sounding cold and pressured.

  She did business with his type all day long. Was it a crime that she avoided them when it came to her personal life?

  “When we met again at the Golden Spurs, you were there to pick up your bull rider friend, Shanghai Knight,” Leo prompted.

  She’d been so scared that he was in love with Mia, she’d been in a fog.

  “So, since we’re neighbors and have mutual acquaintances, do you mind if I sit down?” he said.

  Without waiting for her answer, he plopped himself in a chair across from them and began chomping down on a nacho. When the waiter came, he paid for their beer, added an impressive tip and ordered a third mug and more nachos.

  “No time for supper,” he said and polished off two more nachos.

  To avoid talking to him, she drank her beer too fast. As a result, Leo’s dark face began to blur.

  He leaned closer. “How’s the famous bull rider?”

  “He dumped me.”

  “For Mia?”

  She nodded.

  For some reason she found herself thinking that maybe he’d already known that. Crazy thought.

  “I’m sorry. I know now is not the time to say this. But maybe someday, you’ll see this as a good thing.”

  “You’re right about now not being a good time. But Mia and he…they go back a long way.”

  He tilted his dark face back, causing the lenses of his glasses to glint. She could almost feel him filing that tidbit away.

  “Don’t tell anybody about this,” she whispered.

  When he put a sympathetic hand over hers a minute later, she was surprised that he had large, rough, working-man’s hands.

  “You should go chase some other girl,” she said, but she didn’t pull her hand away. “I’m a mess.”

  “One dance, and I’ll scram.”

  “Promise?” she whispered.

  As soon as she stood up, his big hand slid around her and imprisoned her at the waist. Before she knew it, she was molded against him, and he had her all to himself in the darkest corner on the dance floor.

  Normal cowboys glided around the floor in a big circle like skaters at a rink with their dates. Not him. Much to her surprise, she felt better in his arms than she could have ever believed. Her grief over Shanghai lessened. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine Connor.

  Leo danced like a dream. Born rich, his mommy had probably paid for lots of dancing lessons at some country club. He was tall. At least height was one thing he couldn’t fake or buy. She liked tall.

  Through the smooth silk of his suit, she could feel the ripple of his hard muscles as he moved, and his big hands were hot wherever they touched her. His suit, which was probably padded, gave him “pretend” linebacker shoulders. He seemed big, and he exuded power. Somehow he made her realize how vulnerable she was, but instead of being threatened, she felt protected.

  Then the beer really hit her, and she found her body was plastered against his. When his legs brushed hers, the effect heated every sense in her being.

  How could she feel horny when her heart was broken?

  The next song was faster. They were already dancing before she remembered that after one dance he was supposed to be history.

  The musi
c was hot, sweet and wild. He pulled her against his body, and pushed his silk-clad leg between her thighs. Leaning back, she rocked up and down on his leg. He shimmied with her, shook with her, whirled with her, brought her close to his body again. Pressing her against his thigh again, he swayed with her to the jungle beat until she felt primitive and wild.

  She was way past telling him to stop. How could she have ever thought he was dull? Shanghai was forgotten. She wanted only one thing now—to dance and dance and dance…with Leo Storm, the dullest man she’d ever known.

  Many fast songs later, when they were both gasping for breath, he held her so close she realized his heart sounded like thunder.

  “I—I’m not attracted to you,” she said. “Connor, maybe, you—no.”

  “Connor! What is this?” he grumbled. “Confession time again?”

  “Seriously—I like cowboys. I always have. You don’t have a chance with me.”

  “I manage a ranch—one of the biggest in Texas. Does that count?”

  “Maybe a little. But it won’t for long.”

  “I’m not looking for a lifetime commitment. It’s late. What do you say we go somewhere?”

  “Kiss me first.”

  “I’m not a cowboy, remember? You prefer Connor.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  She took off her hat and placed it on his head. It didn’t quite fit, but he looked better than she’d thought he would.

  “Kiss me, cowboy.”

  “Just one time,” he said. “We’ll call it a teaser.”

  She puckered her lips and pretended to close her eyes. He took off his glasses and slipped them in his pocket. As his dark, tanned face lowered toward hers, she saw a brilliant black flame light up his gorgeous, dark eyes so that they burned with an incredible intensity. Even before his mouth touched hers, and she felt as if a volcanic heat scorched her bones, she was thrilled by the passion in his gaze.

  He was that hot.

  He ended the kiss almost immediately and let her go.

  Some teaser.

  Her heart had speeded up, and it had become difficult to breathe.

  “Not bad for a guy who’s not a cowboy,” she admitted. Without knowing what she did, her fingertips touched his cheek. “Who are you really, Leo Storm?”

  “Why don’t you come home with me tonight and find out?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I guess one more kiss won’t hurt,” he murmured.

  “Another teaser?”

  “No. I’m going for broke on this one.”

  Twenty-One

  What am I doing here?

  When Shanghai pulled up at his motel, Mia was awash in second thoughts again. She knew better than to trust herself to get out and go in with him. And yet…

  I will lose him if I do this. I’ve been too eager too long.

  He shut off the engine and turned toward her in the darkening twilight. His face was carved into hard lines. He looked as uncertain as she felt.

  Long minutes passed while they sat in silence, neither touching nor speaking. Cars whizzed past on the highway behind them. Soon the air between them was thick and heavy.

  He took her hand in his and drew it to his lips. When his mouth blew warm air between her fingers, she shuddered. The whole time she had been married to Cole and had slept alone, she had dreamed of this. In Mexico, she had dreamed of Shanghai, too. All her life, when he’d been away, she’d thought of him. He’d been with her always, if only in her imagination. There had been times when she’d felt like his spirit had called to hers; times she’d thought maybe he’d missed her a little, too. Not that she’d ever let herself believe that he was willing her to think of him as she’d willed him to remember her.

  Now he was here, really here, for what might be a brief time. She knew how foolhardy it was to give her body and risk her heart, but she didn’t want to spend another day without him.

  He kissed each of her palms, causing her flesh to tingle beneath his mouth. In a hush she turned toward him, feeling more alive and hopeful than she’d ever believed she’d feel again.

  All he’d ever had to do to add meaning and depth to who she was, was to look at her or touch her or speak to her. Theirs wasn’t just a sexual attraction. The emotional bond was equally intense, at least, for her.

  She didn’t know why he mattered so much to her. She only knew that if he left again, he would take a big part of herself with him, and she wouldn’t feel whole. But such was the risk of loving him.

  She clenched her hands for the briefest moment. Not to love him was to refuse life itself.

  Hardly knowing what she did, she began to unsnap the top buttons of his Western shirt.

  He sucked in a swift breath.

  Ripping the edges apart, she buried her lips against the corded hot skin at his waist.

  “Darlin’,” he growled in a low guttural tone as she began to kiss him, her fingers sliding inside his belt an inch.

  Faster than lightning, he slammed out of the truck and hauled her out with him. Bringing her close against his body, he moved his cheek across hers. Then he pressed her into the back truck door and held her against his long, lean body for an infinite time, his heat burning into her.

  “I thought you were never coming back,” she whispered against his throat, her voice low and desperate.

  “I was a fool.” His hands were in her hair. His leg moved between hers, parting them.

  A maid came out of a room and stood perfectly still, watching them as she clutched a large bundle of sheets.

  “You comin’ in with me or am I driving you home?” he whispered raggedly.

  She giggled and clung tighter to him.

  “That’s a yes, I guess.” His grin lit her heart.

  Then they were inside the motel room, both frantic the moment he bolted the door. He tossed his keys on the dresser, and as if that were a signal they began tearing off their clothes and throwing them into a heap until they were both naked with a rumpled mountain of garments pooled between them.

  He stepped over the clothes. Gathering her in his arms, he carried her to the bed. Lowering her onto the mattress, he kissed her again, feasting on her mouth and nipples with his lips like a man who’d been starved. Soon her skin was wet all over from his tongue. He worked his way down her belly, licking and kissing her everywhere until he parted her legs and began to stroke her.

  Her body heated when she felt his eyes looking at her. She went wild when his tongue finally delved inside her. Even when she tugged his head closer and started screaming, he kept licking her, stopping only when she’d climaxed several times and finally lay limp. Still clutching his head against herself, she shook until she was so utterly exhausted she could barely breathe. Then she flung her arms out and didn’t move. Not even when he covered her with the sheets and blanket and pulled her into his arms and held her quietly.

  A long time later, she got up and took a shower. Drained, but happier than she’d ever been and yet scared, too, she leaned against the wet tiles and let the warm water stream over her.

  Maybe she should be ashamed to let him do that the first day she’d seen him, but she wasn’t. Not really. He’d made her feel beautiful and adored in the most intimate way possible. She’d always felt ashamed of that part of her body, always wanted to keep it hidden. If she never had him again, at least she would have the memory of these fleeting moments when he had worshiped her and made her feel so absolutely feminine and gorgeous even there.

  “You okay?” he called when the hot water had grown so cold that she’d turned off the faucet.

  “I think so.”

  He laughed. “Don’t use up all the hot water.”

  She giggled. “I already have.”

  “Come out then. I have something for you.”

  “I don’t think I can walk.”

  “Then I’ll carry you.”

  Two seconds later he opened the shower door and wrapped her hair in a towel. Stepping out, she wrapped herself in
the other towel and tiptoed back to the bed.

  “You used all my towels, too,” he said.

  “I’ll bet management has more.”

  “I’m not complaining.” He pulled her into his arms. “Besides, I want you to make yourself at home.”

  “So much for not being easy where you’re concerned,” she said.

  “You can’t help yourself, apparently.”

  She blushed. His words were too true.

  “You’re too conceited for words,” she said.

  “A failing of most famous bull riders, I’m afraid. We’re a flawed bunch of arrogant, foolhardy idiots.”

  She licked her lips, reveling in the warmth and affection in his low tone.

  “Marry me,” he said, sliding a black velvet box across the sheet toward her. When she just stared at it and then at him, he opened the lid. “I know I should go down on bended knee, but the mood to ask you right now just hit me.”

  The large diamond twinkling at her made her gasp.

  “I already bought the ring…before we had sex. Or rather you had sex.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, you. You owe me one, darlin’. But the point is, I was already going to ask you….”

  When she didn’t say no, he lifted the ring out and pushed it over the knuckle of her ring finger.

  She shook her hand and made it flash. “I can’t believe you just went out and bought this without even asking me.”

  “I’m asking you.”

  When she tried to tug it off, it was so tight, it wouldn’t slide back over her knuckle.

  “Looks like a yes to me.” He grinned. “I guess we’re stuck with each other.”

  “Is that how you feel? Like you’re stuck? Do you have any other feelings?”

  Such as love, she thought, her heart aching to hear such words from him.

  “I told you about those men who tried to kill Wolf in Dallas. Well, Wolf told me they had machine guns. They were like sharks, hunting their prey in a pack. All I’ve been able to think about ever since is that I want to be here if more guys like that come after you.”

  “You’re afraid for Vanilla?”

  “And for you.” He kissed her forehead lightly. “I want to marry you. Sometimes guys like Tavio lose interest if a woman’s married because then they see her as another man’s possession.”