by HELEN HARDT
When I walked out of the building, there stood Talon.
My breath caught. I would never grow tired of looking at him. He wore a black cotton shirt, short-sleeved, his forearms tanned and sinewy. His denim jeans hugged his hips and thighs. He was rugged through and through, all the way down to his black cowboy boots. A black felt Stetson sat on his head, and I thought I might swoon. He looked every bit the cowboy today, and I wanted to launch myself into his arms.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I came to plead guilty.”
I let out a sigh. “Haven’t we been through this?”
“I changed my mind. I want to plead guilty to a lesser offense. I…don’t want to be locked up.”
“Well then, you’re in luck. I just talked to your attorney on the phone. I’m offering a plea of guilty to reckless endangerment and a five hundred dollar fine, plus any restitution Colin demands.”
“Your boss will go for that?”
“My boss has no choice. He gave this case to me even when I told him I shouldn’t take it.”
“Why shouldn’t you have taken it?”
“I have a major conflict of interest. The alleged victim is my ex-fiancé, and the defendant—that’s you—well, you’re my best friend’s brother, and you and I are…”
His lips trembled a bit. Only a bit, but I noticed. He looked down and mumbled something I didn’t understand.
“What? I can’t hear you.”
He looked up, his dark eyes burning into me. “Thank you,” he said softly.
Those two words permeated my soul and lifted me high. Instinctively, I knew saying them had been difficult for him.
“You don’t have to thank me, Talon. I’m doing my job.”
“Blue eyes, your job is to prosecute me, not get me off.”
“Actually, you’re wrong. Colin is not my client. The city is. My job is to do what’s in the best interest of the city of Snow Creek. And quite frankly, it’s my professional opinion the interests of the city are best served if we don’t spend the taxpayers’ money to prosecute this case.”
“What if you’re wrong? What if I should be prosecuted? What if I beat the shit out of someone else?”
“You won’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because, Talon, I won’t let you.”
To my surprise, he nodded. “What do I do now?”
“Your attorney will call you and give you the details. There will be a hearing sometime soon, and we will present the plea to the judge.”
“All right.” He dug his hands into his pockets and looked down again. “For what it’s worth, Jade, I’m…sorry.”
I smiled. More difficult words from him. “Sorry for what? For beating Colin?”
He let out a chuckle. “Only for taking it as far as I did. The jerk deserved a good ass whooping for what he did to you.”
“I can’t say I disagree with you there. And Talon, I’m sorry too. I’m sorry that Colin put you in a position to do what you did. He should never have come here. I didn’t want him to. It’s over between us. I hope you understand that.”
He didn’t respond. Not that I thought he would.
“Well,” I said, “I guess I’ll get back to the ranch.”
“I thought maybe…”
“What?”
“You might like to have dinner or something?”
“Are you asking me out?”
“Well…you’re here, and I’m here, and it’s almost dinner time…”
I couldn’t help a laugh. He was something else. “Talon, I would love to have dinner with you. Where do you want to go?”
“Follow me.” And then he smiled.
My heart nearly burst right there. The man had a beautiful smile. I just wished I could see it more often.
We walked a couple of blocks to the greenbelt area. A path of bricks led about a quarter mile into the park under a big shaded oak tree. A red-and-white checkered cloth had been set out along with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. My breath caught, and I silently thanked God that I had worn pants instead of a skirt to work this morning.
“Did you do all this?” I asked.
“Well, no. Felicia made the food. I just brought it here and set it out.”
Tears emerged from my eyes. Talon Steel was a man of many facets, and I liked almost every single one of them.
To keep him from further embarrassment, I walked forward. “What’s for dinner?”
“Good ol’ country food. Felicia’s famous fried chicken, potato salad, and fresh fruit salad.”
I laughed. “No Steel beef?”
“Steaks don’t make for an easy picnic, unless we grill them here, but grills aren’t allowed in the city park.”
Talon opened the basket and pulled out a corkscrew. He deftly opened the bottle of red wine and poured two glasses, handing one to me. He looked at me for a moment, and I almost thought he was going to propose a toast of some sort, but he didn’t. He simply took a sip, so I followed suit.
Then he opened the basket and pulled out a couple of plates.
“Here, let me help you.” I pulled out the container of fried chicken and opened it. “I like thighs. What do you like?”
“Thighs? Really? You mean you’re not a chicken breast girl? The leaner cut?”
“Do I look like I try to be supermodel thin? I may be Brooke Bailey’s daughter, but my figure comes from my father’s side. Besides, once it’s battered and fried, the leaner cuts really don’t matter.”
He laughed. A happy laugh. “I actually do like the breast, but not because I’m worried about my weight.”
I scanned his beautifully sculpted body. Nope, he sure didn’t need to worry about his weight. I placed a breast on his plate and a thigh on mine. He scooped some potato salad and fruit on my plate. I smiled and thanked him. We began eating, and we didn’t talk much, but oddly, the silence didn’t seem awkward. I laughed when he dropped a piece of potato salad on his shirt. I wiped it up with my napkin. For a few fleeting moments, we were almost like a couple, and I wanted to enjoy it. Appreciate it.
My feelings for Talon had grown deep. I wasn’t ready to say I loved him, and I knew he didn’t love me, but some of the emotion I was feeling went beyond anything I’d ever felt with Colin, someone I’d supposedly been in love with. Something infected Talon, and I wished I knew what it was so I could help him. Since I couldn’t, I wanted to just enjoy this simple meal with him. Maybe he was enjoying it too, and maybe we’d have another one sometime.
“Do you want another piece of chicken?” I asked when I saw he had finished his breast.
He nodded. “Yeah, let me try the other thigh, unless you want it.”
I shook my head. “Nope, it’s yours. If I want more, I can have a drumstick. I’m pretty easy to please.” I cursed myself the moment after the words left my lips. I didn’t need him to take that the wrong way.
But he went right on eating, sipping his wine, spearing a strawberry or a chunk of pineapple with his fork. He seemed…comfortable, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him comfortable.
I finished my thigh and decided I didn’t need a drumstick after all. I was getting full. “Felicia is a great cook. I’ve really enjoyed my meals since I’ve been here.”
“She’s the best.”
“Did you know Marj would like to go to culinary school?”
He shook his head. “Really? She is a good little cook, that’s for sure.”
“I’m surprised she doesn’t cook more often.”
“She’s not used to working hard. She’s so much younger than the rest of us, and she was the baby and very spoiled. So she just lets Felicia do most of it.”
I nodded. I loved Marjorie dearly, but she was a bit spoiled. Four years of living with her as a roommate in college had taught me that. “Maybe I can get her to cook more often. I’ll tell her how much I enjoy her cooking. In fact, why don’t you, Jonah, and Ryan tell her, too? It might mean more coming from her br
others.”
“Jade…”
I looked up. His eyes had darkened. I had the feeling we were done talking about Marj’s cooking.
“Yeah?”
“I don’t want to…”
“What?”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
I cupped his cheek. “Do I look hurt to you?”
“You’re good at that, aren’t you?”
“Good at what?”
He let out a tiny laugh. “At asking a question instead of making a comment. You’ll make a good attorney.”
“I hope so. And Talon, you haven’t hurt me.”
“I don’t understand what it is about you. Right now, I’m hard as a rock just sitting near you. Something in you calls to me, and I’m powerless to resist it.”
Even in the warm sun summer evening, my cheeks heated further. I was wet for him too. “If you’ve noticed, I haven’t been resisting you either.”
“I guess that’s what I mean. Maybe you should be resisting it.”
“Why? If we’re both enjoying ourselves, why not do it?”
“Because, like I said, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Do I look hurt?”
He huffed. “Would you stop doing that please?”
“You won’t hurt me. I won’t let you. If I think I’m going to get hurt, I’ll end this…” This what? I had no idea how to finish that statement. “This…” I said again. “What the hell is this thing between us, anyway?”
Chapter Twenty–Four
Talon
My craving.
This thing between us was my craving. How could I tell her that she had become as necessary to me as food and water? That she was my sustenance? That I’d gladly crawl through the depths of hell just to have her for a few seconds each day? That when I wasn’t with her, half of me was missing? My skin rippled. This had gone beyond craving. She was becoming my obsession.
I didn’t understand it myself. How could I explain it to her?
So I took the easy way out.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“I don’t know either.” She sighed. “You said you didn’t want a relationship, and you said you would never love me. I’m not asking for your love, Talon. I just got out of a seven-year relationship, and I care too much about you to make you a rebound guy. So why not just let it be what it is? Why not just enjoy each other while it lasts?”
I nodded. What she said made a lot of sense. But what if it didn’t last? What if she left someday? She had almost left a couple days ago. To not be able to see her smile, her steely gaze, to hear her sweet voice… I closed my eyes. I couldn’t bear it.
I had told her I couldn’t love her. I had never loved anyone, other than Marj, since before I was ten years old. I loved my brothers, and I had loved my mother and father. I loved them all enough not to torture them, which is why I had told Jonah and Ryan I would leave.
If Jade stayed, I would only cause her pain, like I caused my siblings pain. An invisible knife sliced through my gut. She was an angel, and she deserved happiness, not a torturous existence because of me.
I would have to leave her eventually. I knew this truth in my heart. But for now, perhaps it was okay to do as she said—to enjoy it while it lasted. I took a sip of my wine and let the smooth acidity slide down my throat and warm me. Ryan’s Rhône blend, my personal favorite, though my drink of choice was a nice smooth whiskey, neat.
She chewed on her beautiful full lower lip, her hair as sexy as could be even though it was wrapped up into a bun on top of her head. She wore black stretch pants and a white V-neck pullover shirt. Her cleavage was evident.
What if I could never love her? Someone else could, and she would leave me.
Suddenly my skin tightened, and my breathing quickened. No. She couldn’t leave me. I gulped down the rest of my wine and grabbed her arm.
“What?” she said, her eyebrows arched.
“I want you. Now.”
“We’re in a public place.”
“I don’t care.” And I didn’t. I was ready to rip our clothes off and take her up against the oak tree, forcefully, marking her, making her mine and only mine.
I moved the plate from her lap and stood, pulling her with me. I clamped my lips down on hers and kissed her ferociously. My cock strained against my jeans, and I ground into her.
She ripped her mouth away. “Talon, stop,”
But I couldn’t stop. I was going to have her and have her now.
I cupped her breast and squeezed it, finding her nipple through the flimsy fabric of her bra and pinching it.
She gasped. “Talon, please!”
I didn’t care who saw us. I didn’t care who was witness to my taking. I was going to have her. My body cried out for hers.
“Get hold of yourself,” she insisted.
I pinched her nipple again, and again she gasped.
And she pulled away from me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she said through clenched teeth. “You need to stop this. Now. What we do in the privacy of the bedroom is one thing, but you absolutely cannot do this to me in public in broad daylight. I don’t care what has gone on between us before. I won’t stand for this.”
Her skin was bright pink with her anger. Her nostrils flared, and her silvery eyes bored into mine, her lips red and puffy from our raging kisses. I only wanted her more.
I grabbed her to me again and took her lips, gliding my tongue into her mouth.
Instead of squeezing her nipple, I slid my hand down and cupped her mound through her stretch pants.
She pushed me away again. “Goddamnit. Didn’t you hear me?” She raised her hand and slapped me across the cheek.
I didn’t even feel the sting. She fidgeted with her pants and shirt. I reached for her again, but she stumbled backward, nearly losing her footing.
“I’m going home,” she said. “Don’t bother coming anywhere near me tonight.” She picked up her briefcase and stomped off.
My whole body was on fire. Her ass swayed slightly as she walked. I itched to run after her, but…damn! I was nursing a raging hard-on. I’d barely be able to walk, let alone run. I could drive into Grand Junction and call any of about a dozen women who would be happy to have me warming their bed. But that wouldn’t work. I had tried it before. My body cried out for Jade and only Jade.
I needed a fucking drink.
When I had cooled down a bit, I walked away, leaving the picnic basket and cloth sitting on the lawn. After a couple of blocks, I entered Murphy’s bar.
“Hey, Steel,” Sean Murphy, the owner said. “Long time no see. What can I get you?”
I took a seat at the bar. “Peach Street, neat.”
“You boys do have taste,” Sean said. He poured my drink and set it in front of me. Then he went about his business.
I liked Sean. He wasn’t the kind of bartender who tried to get a guy talking. He poured a drink and then made himself scarce.
I wanted to be alone. I took a sip of the smooth whiskey, letting it float over my tongue for a moment before I swallowed, its spicy warmth coating my throat. What the hell? I finished the rest like a shot and set my glass back on the bar. “Another, Sean.”
“You got it.” Sean took my glass and filled it again. “How’s everything at the ranch?”
“The same.”
“Jonah was in here the other night. We chatted a little bit.”
I nodded. Sean set down my glass with a smile and then turned to another patron.
I downed the second and ordered another. Luckily, I hadn’t drunk much wine with dinner. My mind churned. What was I going to do about Jade? This incessant need was eating me alive, destroying me, consuming me. She was like a drug I couldn’t live without. Was it time to go cold turkey? If she were truly like a drug, would I suffer withdrawal symptoms?
I let out a chuckle. Of course I would. I suffered withdrawal every time I was away from her. I would have her, and then within seconds of completing, I would cr
ave her again. What could I do? Maybe I should leave. I shouldn’t have let Joe and Ryan talk me into staying.
I couldn’t have a life with Jade. I didn’t even want a life with Jade. Did I? This desire, this all-consuming passion…was it indicative of something else? Did I want more than just sex? Was I feeling something I had never felt before?
I finished the third drink and plunked the glass back on the counter. No. I wasn’t feeling anything like that. I couldn’t allow myself to feel anything like that. It would only lead to more heartbreak. Jade deserved better than to be saddled with my baggage.
She deserved the best.
I stood, a little buzzed but not drunk. Good thing, because I had to drive home. I would go home, I would find Jade, and I would apologize.
And then I would tell her that whatever this thing between us was, it was over.
I just hoped the withdrawal wouldn’t be too painful.
Chapter Twenty–Five
Jade
I was in the shower when he came barreling in without even knocking. I screeched, grabbing the shower door and nearly falling. He caught me, his hands steady, though the aroma of alcohol hung on his breath. He handed me a towel.
“Dry off. We need to talk.” He left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
Damn right we needed to talk. He owed me a big apology. And if he thought I was going to fall right into bed with him…
Fuck. Who the hell was I trying to kid? Of course I would fall right into bed with him. I had been wet since we sat down at that sweet little picnic. I dried off quickly, squeezed the moisture out of my hair, slipped into a short satin robe, and left the bathroom.
He was sitting on my bed, looking sexy as hell. His hair was a mess, but then it was always a little tousled. His dark eyes were burning, singeing me. They could melt right through my robe.
“What do you want, Talon?”
He stood, his eyes full of passion. “We…need to stop this.”