Her Rocky Mountain Protector

by Patricia Thayer

  He pulled the towel from his shoulder and took the check. “This is a nice profit.”

  “Yes, I appreciate you letting me sell them for you.”

  She locked on his deep-set brown gaze and it stole her breath. Why this man? She also noticed that he looked tired. Maybe he hadn’t slept any better than she had. He caught her staring and frowned. She glanced away and pulled out the manila envelope from her large purse.

  “Lori asked me to give you this,” she said. “It’s the legal papers on your grandfather’s property.” She hated feeling the tension between them. “She said you needed to have Joe sign them. But he wanted you to look them over.”

  “All right.” He didn’t open it. “The next time I visit.”

  “Okay. I should go.” She nodded and turned toward the door, but never reached her destination.

  Before she got there, Grady reached for her. “Gina.”

  She loved his hands on her, but had to resist. “Don’t, Grady.” She couldn’t look at him. “Please, don’t say anything. I’m sorry that I upset you last night. I never meant to.” She ached inside as tears gathered in her eyes. Please, she couldn’t cry in front of this man.

  “You didn’t upset me. I did that all by myself. You did everything right. That’s the problem, Gina. I keep thinking that it would be so easy to let things happen between us.” He turned her around to face him. “I want you, Gina Williams. That hasn’t changed, but neither has the reality that I’m leaving here.”

  She felt brave. “Did I ask you to stay?”

  Grady released her. “No, you didn’t.”

  “I know your life is in Texas. Mine is here with my son.” She wanted him to be a part of that family, too. “For the first time in a very long time, I’m making my own decisions on what I want to do.” She took a step closer. “And I wanted you to show me what it’s like to make love.”

  Grady was a little stunned by her declaration. “Gina, you’re not thinking this through.”

  “Oh, but I have. You’ve been honest with me in saying you wanted me, and I’m saying that I want you to make love to me. To show me what it’s like to feel tenderness, to be cherished by a man—”

  Grady stopped her words when he reached for her and his mouth closed over hers. She could only manage a weak protest as he drew her into a tight embrace.

  In no time at all, she became a willing participant, slipping her arms around his neck. His tongue ran along the seam of her lips and she parted them, allowing him to delve inside to taste her.

  He finally tore his mouth away. His breathing labored. “God, Gina, this isn’t a good idea. You deserve to be cherished and more.” Grady searched her pretty face and her thoroughly kissed mouth, wishing he could give her the world.

  “Damn, you’re so sweet,” he breathed, then went back for more because he couldn’t seem to avoid the temptation. He pulled her against him, feeling all her curves, and backed up against the table. He lifted her and sat on the edge, then pulled her between his legs.

  She whimpered and he immediately pulled away. “Did I do something wrong?”

  Her pretty green eyes were glassy with desire. “No, it’s just I’ve never felt like this before.” She smiled shyly. “I like your hands on me. I like it when you touch me.” She took his large hand and brought it to the front of her sweater and placed it on her breast.

  He cupped her weight in his palm and watched her eyes close, but not before he saw them darken with desire. “Oh, Grady.”

  He kissed her again, bringing her body against him. This was quickly getting out of hand.

  “Gina, we’re reaching the dangerous area here. My control is only so strong.”

  He found himself smiling at the fact that Josh wasn’t going to be home until tomorrow. Cupping her face, he zeroed in on her big green eyes. “Gina, this is your decision. If you want this to go any further, it’s your choice.”

  She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the scar on his neck. “I choose you, Grady Fletcher.”

  He shivered at her tender gesture, causing him only to want her more. “Then I suggest we move this off the table and into the bedroom.”

  He captured her mouth again in a hungry kiss, then scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. The curtains were closed, leaving the room in shadows.

  “I’ve been aching for you since that first night you slept out on the sofa.”

  He set her down next to the big brass bed.

  “I didn’t know,” she said, sounding a little breathless.

  He kissed her again. “It’s a good thing.”

  Reaching for the hem of her sweater, he swept it off over her head, revealing her ivory lacy bra that barely hid the full breasts. His heart raced as he unfastened her jeans and slid them down to display the matching scrap of material that served as panties.

  “Oh, darlin’, you’re lucky I didn’t know what you had on underneath your clothes.”

  “You like?”

  He gave her the once-over from her shapely legs up over her trim waist and flat stomach, then to her full breasts.

  He wasn’t going to survive this. “You have no idea.”

  She smiled shyly. “I was thinking about you when I bought them.”

  Grady took a steadying breath. He’d never felt desire like this before. He fought to keep it light. “Why, Miss Williams, are you trying to seduce me?”

  “I have no idea what I’m doing.” Her voice was husky. She reached for the three buttons at his neck and managed to open them. She looked up at him. “I don’t want to do anything that bothers you, Grady.” Her palms rested on his chest as her emerald gaze met his. “I have scars, too. Maybe not as visible as yours, but they’re there just the same. Your scars were honorably earned, Grady. They could never change how I feel about you.”

  He remained silent as Gina took over and tugged the shirt from his jeans, then slipped her hands underneath. He sucked in a breath as her touch began to work magic. Then she took it further as she raised the shirt and placed her lips against his hot skin.

  Once, twice... Oh, God. He was barely holding on to the last of his control when he jerked off the shirt, exposing the damages of war.

  She looked at the puckered skin that ran from his shoulder to nearly his waist, then up at him. He saw the tears in her eyes. “Oh, Grady.” She then leaned in and kissed the puckered skin. “How you suffered.”

  He didn’t want to think about the past. Only now, with her. “You’re making it feel a lot better.” He lifted her onto the bed. “But right now that’s not the area of my discomfort.”

  She smiled up at him. “Then maybe we should redirect our efforts.”

  His mouth covered hers and he kissed her as he continued to show her how much he desired her. How much he would always desire her. That was the problem. Being with her like this was only going to make it harder to walk away.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THREE hours later Gina opened her eyes and discovered the sun was going down. She glanced at the clock beside the bed and saw that it was after six. And here she lay naked in bed, Grady Fletcher’s arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close. She smiled, knowing she should be heading back to Destiny and dinner with Lori.

  “Getting restless again?” Grady raised his head from the pillow, but didn’t release her. “I thought the last time would keep you satisfied for a while.”

  She blushed, recalling they’d made love twice. Never had she been treated as if she were so special, so treasured. She rolled over and smiled at the sexy man.

  “It was wonderful. But...I do have to pick up Zack. He’s with Lori and Jace.”

  He frowned. “What if I won’t let you go?” He pulled her close, letting her know he still desired her.

  “I didn’t say I wanted to leave.
” She cupped his face and pulled him down to meet her lips. And within seconds she let him know how much she meant those words.

  He rose over her, bracing his arms on either side of her head. “That’s some serious seduction tactics.”

  “So, Sarge, what are you going to do about it?”

  Truthfully, Grady had no idea what he was going to do with her, but at this moment, he wasn’t going anywhere. “My best, ma’am.”

  He lowered his head and kissed her, once, twice, then his mouth began to move, trailing kisses, tasting her soft skin. He worked his way down over her breasts, lower to her flat stomach. That was when he caught the nearly invisible tiny white lines. Stretch marks. The proof she’d carried a baby in her womb. He closed his eyes and tried to push away the recurring memory about his own child. He paused and Gina’s hands moved to his back.

  “Grady?”

  He raised his head. “Sorry.” He rolled away, grabbed his jeans from the floor and slipped them on. “I guess you can call it a flashback.”

  He turned back to see she’d covered her body with the sheet. “It’s okay, Grady.”

  He watched her eyes shift away from his gaze. “Oh, hell.” He went back to her and sat on the bed. “It’s not you, Gina. I know that sounds like a line, but it isn’t. I carry around a lot of baggage.”

  She touched the side of his face. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

  “I just need some time.” That was a lie. He hadn’t been able to forget the pain or the guilt over the last few years. “I’m working through some things.” He got up, grabbed his shirt off the floor and walked to the doorway. “I should go check on the dogs.” Then he left.

  Gina sat there stunned. What had happened? Okay, she wasn’t so experienced that she could drive a man wild, but she thought together they’d been pretty incredible. She climbed out of the big bed and started pulling on her underwear. After she fastened her bra, she quickly dressed in her jeans and sweater. She should be getting home anyway. Her thoughts turned to Zack. The safe way would be to forget about a relationship and focus on her life with her son. Grady Fletcher wasn’t going to commit to her. She’d thought that was what she wanted until she realized how much she cared about him.

  She passed the dresser and saw Grady’s keys and coins tossed on the scarred surface. She also noticed the carved box and the corner of a photo hanging out. Okay, she was curious. She opened the lid and took hold of the grainy picture. A sonogram?

  She looked closer and smiled seeing the familiar details of the baby. Who was this? She turned the photo over to the back and read, “Boy Fletcher” and the date. Several years ago.

  She gasped. Grady had a child? She suddenly realized she wasn’t alone in the room and glanced toward the doorway to find Grady.

  “I’m sorry. I had no right.” She put the picture back. “I should leave.”

  Grady came inside the room and took the picture. He wasn’t sure why he was so angry. “Come on, Gina. Don’t stop now. Don’t you want to know who this is?”

  She swallowed. “Only if you want to tell me.”

  His chest tightened, but he got the words out. “That’s my son.”

  “You have a child?”

  “Had. That’s the operative word, Gina. Had.”

  “What happened to him?”

  Here came the hard part. “My wife went into early labor...he was stillborn.”

  She gasped. “I’m so sorry.”

  “So am I. I was told that no one was to blame for what happened.”

  Grady remembered the two days it had taken him to get across the globe, to be there for Barb, for his son.

  He couldn’t look at Gina. “That’s what the doctor told me once I got there two days later. I was overseas when my wife was delivering our baby.”

  He closed his eyes, and could see the long hospital corridors as his footsteps echoed when he ran from the elevator to the nursery, but there wasn’t a Fletcher baby behind the glass. Finally the nurse sent him to see his wife in her room. He found her, all right. She was packing her clothes and about to go home with her parents. When he went to her, she pushed him away.

  “You’re too late, Grady,” she cried. “Too late for your son. And too late for us.” She’d walked out the door.

  He opened his eyes and met Gina’s gaze. “Don’t make that mistake, Gina. Don’t depend on me. I’ll let you down.”

  “How could you know your wife was going into labor early?”

  He shook his head.

  “Did she keep the pregnancy from you?” she asked.

  “No, but it wasn’t planned, either.” He sighed. “When things started to turn bad in the marriage, I chose another deployment, instead of staying and trying to work through our problems.”

  “The army was your job. Surely your wife knew that when she married you.”

  Gina went to Grady, wondering who’d been there for him to help him grieve over his child. She reached for him and felt him tense, but she ignored his resistance. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. She shed tears for the father and the child.

  “I’m sorry that you never got to hold your son. That you never got to say goodbye.” His grip tightened around her and she felt his tears drop against her cheek. She never dreamed she could love a man as much as she loved Grady Fletcher. She held on to him a few minutes until he finally loosened his grip and moved away.

  Once he composed himself, he turned back to her. “Thank you.”

  “Any time.”

  He started to say more when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out. “Hey, Josh.” He answered it as he walked away.

  Gina put the treasured picture back in its special place, then pulled the bed together before she walked back into the main room.

  “Okay, I’ll see you back here tomorrow,” Grady said into his phone. “Goodbye.” He hung up.

  Embarrassed that she hadn’t given a thought to Grady’s housemate, she blurted, “Oh, I forgot all about Josh.”

  “I didn’t. He went to Texas to check out places for our kennel.”

  Suddenly reality hit her. Grady was still leaving.

  He noticed her surprise, too. “I told you from the beginning, I was opening our business in Texas.”

  “I know, but a girl can always hope.”

  He came to her. “Gina. I can’t tell you how special you’ve become to me, but... I’ve tried to make a go of settling down before.”

  She hurt a lot. “Can’t say you didn’t warn me.” She forced a smile. “Hey, it was fun.” She worked hard to hide her blush. “And this afternoon...was incredible.” She glanced around for her purse and grabbed it to make her escape. “I’ve got to go. Maybe before you leave town you’ll stop by and say goodbye.”

  He took her arm and stopped her. “Gina. Don’t do this. You mean too much to me—”

  She stopped his words of regret. “Just not enough to stay around.”

  “I told you before—”

  “Believe me, I heard everything you said.” She released a breath. “Too bad for you, Master Sergeant Fletcher, because there’s a guy out there who’s going to want to stick around for me.”

  “And that’s what you deserve.”

  “It’s something we all deserve, Grady, but first, you have to forgive yourself, realize you deserve happiness, too.”

  She swung around and walked out praying she could make it to her car. Once down the road, she pulled off and burst into tears. She’d lost everything she’d ever wanted in a man.

  * * *

  By the next morning Grady’s bad mood hadn’t improved at all. Even the dogs wanted no part of him. Add in no sleep and too much coffee, there was no hope that things would change anytime soon.

  “Break time, boys,” he cal
led to the dogs. “Get your toys.”

  The shepherds took off and Scout was the first back with the yellow tennis ball. The animal dropped it on the ground and Grady threw it to the far end of the pen while he kept telling himself he’d done the right thing by letting Gina go yesterday.

  He felt his chest constrict as he continued to toss the ball. She had no idea how hard it had been to lie to her, to tell her he didn’t want her or her kid.

  Hell, he was already involved whether he liked it or not, but she’d already had one jerk in her life—she didn’t need another.

  He closed his eyes and could still picture her in that big bed. Her sweetness nearly drove him over the edge. Yet, everything she did pleased him. He’d never... He shook away the wondering thought.

  Damn, he had to get out of here and back to Texas.

  He called to Scout, Beau and Rowdy. “Time to get to work,” he told them.

  He’d only been at it for about ten minutes when he saw an SUV pull up and Justin Hilliard got out.

  The businessman was dressed in dark pleated trousers, a white shirt and striped tie. He walked through the rough terrain as if he had on boots instead of expensive Italian loafers.

  Grady shook his hand. “Hey, Hilliard. What brings you out to my neighborhood? Come to see how the other half lives?”

  The sarcasm didn’t seem to bother the visitor. “I came by to see you, Grady,” he said as he stopped beside the waist-high gate. “I just finished a meeting down in Durango with my new mountain bike instructor, Brian Connelly. He’s retired now from the pro circuit, so running my school is perfect for him.” The man grinned. “Also he’ll be designing mountain bikes which I’ll be manufacturing right here in Destiny.”

  Grady felt extreme envy for the man who just about had everything, not his money as much as his pretty wife and children. “Seems all your dreams are coming true.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been a lucky guy. That’s why I can afford to spread my good fortune around.”

  That piqued his interest and Hilliard saw it. “You haven’t stopped by to see me, Grady.”