Romancing the Ranger

by Jennie Marts

“I think we need to get your friend a cab,” Wade yelled to Reese and Julie. Reese had a horrified look on her face, but Julie wore the same look of passive indifference.

  “Good luck with that,” Julie said, nodding at her friend. “She’s passed out. I told her not to drink so much.”

  Wade scooped the girl into his arms, and she laid her head against his shoulders, mumbling something about wanting to dance, but the room wouldn’t stop spinning.

  Reese grabbed her purse, and she and Julie followed in his wake as he carried the semi-conscious girl to the sidewalk in front of the club.

  Reese hailed a cab. Wade deposited the girl into the backseat then handed the driver a twenty.

  Julie offered Reese another air kiss before climbing into the cab with her friend. “See you around. Tell Brock I said hello when you see him next.”

  Wow. Really?

  Wade narrowed his eyes at the little brat, wondering if perhaps she was in drag, because she had some balls.

  Reese set a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry about that. This night isn’t turning out anything like I planned. Do you still want to try to go to that pub?”

  He looked down at her soaked dress. “No. You can’t go anywhere like that, and I think I’ve had about all the excitement I can stand for one evening.” He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a sigh. He wanted to see the humor in the situation, share a good laugh about it with Reese.

  But she wasn’t laughing, and he wasn’t feeling very amused. “Why don’t we head back and get you into some dry clothes. Which way to your car?”

  Reese held up a hand to hail another cab. “It’s easier to just take a cab from here. I’ll send one of the valets at my apartment building to pick up my car later.”

  Must be nice to be able to send someone to fetch your car. Like you’d send a dog after a bone.

  Reese’s life was so different from his. And she seemed different here.

  She easily doled out instructions to staff members as if used to a life of privilege, but she didn’t have the same confidence in herself that she’d had up in the mountains the last two weeks with him.

  He hadn’t heard her apologize in the whole two weeks as many times as she had tonight. And she seemed less decisive, as if waiting for him to tell her what to do.

  Chalking it up to nerves, he slid into the cab with her as she gave the driver her address.

  Nothing about this date had gone as he’d thought it would.

  He sure hadn’t expected to see her dad at the restaurant or have a drunk girl pass out on his lap. The only woman he’d hoped to carry was Reese on their way to bed, but that hadn’t been the case, either.

  Everything about tonight reminded him of the differences in their worlds and how separate their lives were from each other’s. Reese seemed like a meek shell of the girl he’d spent the last few weeks with, and his manhood had taken several blows tonight.

  She lived in a circle of wealth and privilege where money was thrown around easily and without thought. Or used to distinguish power or authority over others.

  And he’d had no power over anything tonight. The only thing he’d even been allowed to pay for was the cab ride of her drunken friend.

  Chapter Eleven

  Reese unlocked the door to her apartment and dropped her keys back in her purse. She set her bag on the table inside the door and let out a heavy sigh. “I know this date probably didn’t turn out like you thought it would. I’m really sorry.”

  “Quit apologizing.” Wade’s gruff tone matched the scowl on his face, and he dropped onto the sofa. He ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his head. “It’s not your fault.”

  She loved the way his bangs fell across his forehead, a forehead that was now creased with tension. She wanted to brush her fingers through his hair and caress his cheek.

  Anything to wipe that disappointed frown from his face.

  His scowl reminded her of when they’d first met, and she wasn’t happy to see the expression return.

  “I’m going to get out of this dress.” She hoped he’d pick up on her subtle hint and offer to help, but he barely acknowledged her as he nodded. He seemed preoccupied and lost in thought.

  She walked toward her bedroom. “Can you listen for the door? The valet should be up any minute. My car keys are in my purse if you can just hand them to him.”

  Wade grunted in response and pushed off the sofa, not even turning her way.

  Nothing about this night had gone like she’d planned.

  Maybe because this wasn’t the night she’d planned at all.

  She pushed her bedroom door shut and tugged her sodden dress over her head. She’d had such hopes for tonight, hopes for Wade to see her again and remember how much fun they’d had together.

  So far, nothing about tonight had been fun.

  She couldn’t believe Lisa had puked right in front of Wade. Why had she let Julie even talk her into going into the club?

  And she’d wasted close to three hundred dollars on getting bottle service. She was still succumbing to peer pressure, yielding to someone else’s needs.

  Why?

  She’d been doing so great since she’d been back from Cotton Creek. She’d even told her dad no on two separate occasions.

  So why did she flounder tonight when it really mattered? Why didn’t she just tell Wade that she’d made other plans for them?

  Was she trying to impress him? If so, that plan had completely backfired.

  Time for plan B.

  Reaching for the little bag on her dresser, she pulled out the fun purchase she’d found online earlier that week.

  She ran her fingers across the silken material of the satin and lace teddy and grinned at the green and brown camouflage pattern.

  If her breasts peeking out of camo lingerie didn’t make him smile, they really were in trouble.

  She stepped into the teddy, luxuriating in the feel of the satin against her skin. Wade had shown her that she could be sexy and fun in the bedroom, and she felt as if she’d come alive the last few weeks.

  He’d made her feel an entirely new range of emotions.

  Okay, so tonight’s date had been a bust, but she’d seen Wade in a new situation, completely out of his element, and he had still impressed her. He’d handled meeting her dad with confidence, and he’d even taken the fiasco of the club in stride.

  Her friend had gotten drunk and sick, and he didn’t even bat an eye. Just got down to business and took care of the situation. Her heart had melted a little when he’d picked Lisa up and carried her out of the club.

  He may have been out of his comfort zone, but he’d tried to make the best of it. That’s because Wade was one of the good guys. One of the ones you hear rumors about.

  People are always saying there are good guys out there. And now she was sure she’d found one. She could actually see a future with Wade.

  She knew one thing. She sure didn’t want to see her future without him. There was still the little issue of them living two hours away from each other.

  But she was working on that.

  Pulling on a black lace robe, she cinched the belt around her waist and stepped back into the living room.

  Wade stood by the front door. He had the soccer tickets in his hand and a puzzled expression on his face.

  He looked up at her in confusion. “Did you buy these tickets for tonight?”

  She nodded.

  “Then why didn’t we use them? It says here they cost sixty dollars apiece, and a soccer game sounds like a heck of a lot more fun than the night we just had.”

  She shrugged. “I know. I had a whole other evening planned. I thought we would go to this Irish pub for fish and chips, then I would take you to the soccer game.”

  He arched an eyebrow at her. “You weren’t really running late when I got here, were you? You were already dressed for our date?”

  “Yeah. Sort of.” She couldn’t quite meet his eye.

  “Why didn’t you
tell me?”

  “You showed up here dressed in a suit, and you told me once that you only had one suit and it was reserved for funerals. So I knew you’d put in a lot of effort to dress up for me.” She sighed. “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

  “Disappoint me? Hell, you would have made my night if you’d have told me to go grab my jeans out of the truck.” He shook his head. “Why didn’t you just talk to me?” Frustration and hurt lingered in his eyes.

  Not used to seeing him this way, all she wanted to do was go to him and put her arms around him. She should have owned the date and told him about the tickets when he first got there. They might have even laughed about it.

  She’d messed everything up.

  Before she could take a step toward him, the doorbell rang.

  Wade shook his head at her, then turned to open the door. A parking valet stood in the hallway. He held out his hand, and Wade passed him the keys.

  “There’re singles in my purse if you want to hand him a tip,” she said.

  His shoulders tightened, and his eyes narrowed in anger as he turned to her. “I can handle the tip.” He reached for his wallet and passed the valet a five dollar bill.

  “Thank you. We’ll have your car back in the next hour, Ms. Hudson. Have a good evening.” The valet turned to the elevator, and Wade shut the door.

  Waves of anger emanated off Wade’s skin like thunderclouds before a storm. His eyes narrowed. “Do you think I’m so broke that I can’t give the man a tip?”

  She took a step back, unused to the anger in his voice. “No, of course not. I just didn’t want you to have to use your money to get my car.”

  “How about tonight at dinner? Or getting us into the club? Do you realize you, or your father, didn’t let me pay for a single thing tonight? Like I was a poor country hick that couldn’t afford to cover your meal.”

  “Wade, stop it. I never think of you like that.”

  “Don’t you?” He gestured his arms around her apartment. “How could you not? Look at this place. How could you ever be happy with anything I have to offer after you’ve been used to this all your life?”

  He didn’t give her a chance to answer. “Look, I’m just gonna go. There’s no point in wasting our time anymore with something that has no future. Good-bye, Reese.”

  A look of pain crossed his face, then he turned and walked out the front door.

  The soft click of the latch was deafening in the quiet room.

  Reese stood frozen, unable to breathe. She felt like a giant vise was squeezing her chest.

  What the hell had just happened?

  What did he mean by wasting their time?

  Indignation rose inside of her, releasing her from the frozen state. She charged forward, throwing the door open just in time to see the elevator doors slide shut.

  Racing for the stairwell, she ran down the four flights of stairs, determined to catch him. Pushing through the door on the main level, she caught sight of him just as he stepped through the front doors and out on the street.

  Gasping for breath, she rushed through the lobby and followed him out onto the street. The rough gravel bit at her bare feet, and she stopped and yelled at him. “Hey. Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

  He stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned around and his jaw dropped.

  She was sure she must have looked a sight in her bare feet and tiny silk robe. A couple giggled as they passed by.

  “What are you doing?” Wade took three strides back and stood in front of her, looking down at her in disbelief. He ripped his suit jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders.

  Taking a moment, she tried to slow her breathing. Between the stairs and her anger at him, her heart was pounding hard against her chest.

  But this was no time to back down.

  Planting her fists on her hips and jutting out her jaw, she stood her ground. “What do you mean there’s no point in wasting our time? Do you consider the past few weeks with me a waste of your time?”

  “What? No, of course not. These last few weeks with you have been amazing.” Frustration creased his forehead. “But tonight showed me that I can’t be what you need. I could never give you the things that you’re used to.”

  “Who asked you to give me anything?”

  A low roll of thunder sounded in the sky. Fat raindrops hit the sidewalk between them, but neither seemed to care.

  He held her gaze but said nothing.

  It almost hurt to breathe. But not as much as it would hurt if he walked out of her life.

  The sidewalk darkened as the rain fell harder. A small puddle formed around her right foot.

  She wanted to take control. To make her own decisions.

  But Wade had to make his own decisions, too.

  She took a deep breath. “Look, I think we have something here, and I’m not willing to just throw it away. If you don’t want me, that’s one thing. And that’s fine. I get that. But don’t run away.”

  His eyes widened, then a steely look crossed his face.

  He took a step closer, and Reese backed up into the brick wall of her apartment building. Her gaze locked with his, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

  Gripping her arms, he pressed his body against her. “Wanting you has never been the problem.” He dipped his head, his lips dangerously close to hers. His voice was gruff with need. “I’ve wanted you with everything in me from the first day I laid eyes on you.”

  This was it. This was her chance to make her own decision, decide her own fate.

  He wasn’t telling her what to do.

  She could make up her own mind. If this was what she wanted or not.

  And Wade Baker was definitely what she wanted.

  And she wanted him now.

  She narrowed her eyes and slid her arms around his waist. His breath caught as she gripped his shirt in her fists and pulled him tighter against her.

  Gathering her courage, she swallowed, then spoke, her words clear and strong. “Then take me.”

  He hesitated, only a moment, then crushed his lips against hers.

  One of his hands gripped the back of her head, and the other cupped her cheek as he feasted on her mouth, drawing her in as if she were his carnal delight.

  His kisses trailed from her lips, across her cheek, down her throat. His suit jacket fell to the ground as his hands slipped inside of her robe, baring her shoulders.

  The rain beat down on her skin, soaking the silk fabric of the robe.

  Droplets of rain ran down her chest, but his lips were warm, leaving a line of heat everywhere they touched.

  Despite the cool rain, her body burned with heat, and she wouldn’t have been surprised to see steam rising off her skin.

  His hand slipped around her waist, pulling her hips against his and leaving no doubt that the want he spoke of was real.

  His lips found hers again, and she moaned against his mouth.

  The brick wall dug into her back, but she didn’t care. People walked by them on the sidewalk, but she didn’t care about that, either.

  Nothing mattered except this moment with this man. Let them look.

  As long as he didn’t stop kissing her. Didn’t stop touching her.

  A shiver ran through her, and he pulled back, his breath ragged as he looked down at her. He shook his head as if coming to his senses.

  No. Don’t come to your senses. Stay in this crazy moment with me. Don’t go.

  “Aw hell, what am I doing?”

  She gripped his waist. “You are doing everything exactly right.”

  “You must be freezing.” He grabbed his jacket off the ground then dipped down and slid his arm behind her knees. Lifting her off her feet, he cradled her against his chest. “Let’s get you inside.”

  She curled against his chest, letting him carry her into the lobby of her apartment building and into the elevator.

  He pushed the button for her floor, and the doors slid shut.

  He looked down at
her. Her robe had fallen open and he took in the green shaded lingerie. A slow smile spread across his face. “What in the world are you wearing?”

  “It’s a camouflage teddy.”

  The silk fabric was wet and clung to her breasts, the hardened tips of her nipples partially visible through the black lace edging.

  Wade’s eyes roamed over her body, and she swore she could feel the heat in his gaze. “Well, it’s not camouflaging much.”

  The bell chimed, and the elevator doors opened on the second floor.

  A little old lady carrying a handbag the size of Texas stepped on and nodded at Reese and Wade. A curly-haired white poodle poked his head out of the corner of the purse.

  Holding back a giggle, Reese tried to maintain her composure. “Good evening, Mrs. Windish. How was your bridge night?”

  The older woman huffed. “Gladys from the third floor cheated on the second hand, and the Chex mix was stale. I swear Velma just freezes it every week and then thaws it again for bridge night.” She gave Wade a once-over with her eyes while the poodle sniffed his elbow. “Who’s this strapping young man?”

  The warmth of a blush crept up Reese’s cheeks. “This is Wade.”

  “I’m her boyfriend.” Wade nodded his head and offered Mrs. Windish one of his charming smiles.

  She didn’t know about Mrs. Windish, but Reese was pretty sure that smile just melted her panties right off.

  He’d just called himself her boyfriend.

  She couldn’t hold back the grin that now took over her face. “Wade, this is Mrs. Elaine Windish. She lives down the hall from me.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”

  The white-haired woman raised an eyebrow at Reese’s attire as the bell chimed for their floor. “My husband was quite an outdoorsman. I wonder if I had worn something similar to that, if he’d have ‘tracked’ me down more often in the bedroom.”

  The elevator doors slid open on her floor. She waved and offered Wade a saucy wink. “Happy hunting, Mr. Boyfriend.”

  Reese laughed. A loud hearty laugh as he carried her to her front door.

  She reached down and turned the knob, thankful that she hadn’t bothered to lock the front door in her haste to follow Wade.

  He stepped into the room, pushed the door shut with his hip, toed his shoes off, then purposely strode sock-footed through her bedroom and into the master bathroom.