Luck Be A Lady (Destiny Bay Romances-The Ranchers Book 5)

by Helen Conrad

  “Number ten,” she announced at last. “You put the limit at ten, and we’ve finally reached it. Who’ll be your last victim?”

  Ignoring her crack, Cody turned a page in his book and let his gaze run down the list of names. “Ah yes, Stacy Vance.” He leaned back with a smile of sweet memory. “Daisies for Stacy. They’ll remind her of one night we had in a high mountain meadow…”

  A frown cut into his thoughts. “No, wait. I think she’s allergic.”

  Kelly gurgled with sudden glee, pencil poised. “That must have been some evening in the meadow,” she couldn’t help but tease. “I can see it now. You quoting Browning and maneuvering for a kiss—Stacy sneezing and groping for a tissue.” She laughed at his look of mock outrage.

  “You don’t believe that my charms could overcome allergies?”

  She shook her head, still laughing.

  Though he pretended to be seriously affronted, his dark eyes were laughing back. “Listen, lady. My lovemaking has been known to make a woman change her religion.” He swung around so that he was on her side of the table. “I’ve kissed blondes until their hair turned red.”

  Laughter was bubbling up her throat. She couldn’t stop it. He was saying the most ridiculous things as though he meant every word, and moving closer to her all the time. A part of her knew exactly what was coming. But she couldn’t stop laughing and she couldn’t move away.

  “I’ve known good women to go bad after a sample of what I’ve got to offer,” Cody told her confidently, his dark eyes sparkling.

  “You’re crazy,” Kelly accused, still laughing.

  He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t believe me?”

  She shook her head, looking into his eyes.

  Slipping to the floor, he stood before her. The smile slowly faded from her face, but still she couldn’t move. His eyes seemed to deepen, darken. Her face lifted as though she were in a trance, her lips slightly parted and trembling.

  “I guess I’ll just have to prove it to you,” he was saying, his voice a soft, delicious rumble. Then he pushed back the hair that covered her shoulder, and slowly leaned down, his lips softly tracing a design across the skin he’d bared.

  She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. The handful of daisies she held hung limply in her hand. As his touch traveled up her neck, her eyes closed. The hard texture of his skin rubbed across the soft contour of her cheek. She could hear him breathing deep in his throat. His lips touched her ear, her hairline, her temple, and he nuzzled against her, his sigh a rough, rasping sound that seemed to tingle across her.

  Maybe this wasn’t really happening, Kelly thought desperately. Maybe it was happening to someone else. Maybe she was only dreaming it.

  But no. It was all too real. His large hands took her head and pressed her closer, and then his mouth was covering hers, hot and smooth, strong and tender. She had to pull away and yet she couldn’t. The taste of him was sweet and musky and he had control, utterly, completely. She was in his hands and sinking into the most heavenly, aching, yearning spin. How had she lived without the touch of a man all this time? How had she managed without his excitement stirring her blood this way, his hands on her, moving down now, caressing her back as though she were clay he could mold to suit his whim? His hands roamed down again, cupping her bottom, forcing her in tightly against him, forcing her to feel the hot, demanding pulse that fueled him, tempting her to throw aside all restraints and join him in a dance as old as time.

  She gasped, reveling in the surge of white light that split her. A wildness burst in her chest and spread throughout her body, a wildness that ached with hunger. And suddenly she was awake again, and she could see it for what it was. It frightened her. It was too strong, too primeval. With a cry, Kelly pulled away, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and staring at Cody.

  He stared back, almost as stunned and wary as she was. She’d been even softer in his arms than he’d expected, pliant and smooth, yet full of fire. But so were a lot of women he knew. There was something more to Kelly, something... he almost hated to put it into words, even in his own mind, because it sounded so dopey. But there’d been a connection made between them. Something strange and mystical had bonded when they’d kissed. She was special. He couldn’t let her slip away until he’d explored just how special.

  “Well, what’s the verdict?” he asked, forcing the teasing tone, but succeeding well enough. “Could I change your life?”

  She gave him a shaky smile and looked down at the wilted daisies still clutched in her hand, then placed them carefully on the table. “You sure could,” she said, her voice trembling but her will strong. “You could probably convince me to give up kissing altogether.”

  “Never that.” Cody grinned with almost every bit of his old spirit. “Come on, Kelly. Admit it. You don’t really hate me.”

  She avoided his eyes, snipping stems off flowers and stacking them, getting ready to make his bouquets. “Don’t I?”

  His voice grew serious and he touched her shoulder before he said, softly, “As a matter of fact, you like me a little more than you want to, don’t you?”

  She met his gaze and shook her head. “You’re impossible,” she said, but a reluctant smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “And your ordering is finished. Goodbye, Mr. Marin.”

  He frowned, glancing down at the stacks of flowers. “I could just hang around and help you....”

  “Goodbye, Mr. Marin.”

  Finally he seemed prepared to leave. “These will all be delivered this afternoon?” he asked, fingering his keys.

  She nodded, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes, then looking back at her work. She’d had a few qualms at first, knowing he was only ordering the flowers to drive her crazy. It seemed a lot of money to spend for a joke. But those reservations had evaporated long ago.

  He started toward the door, then stopped and looked back. “Just one more thing,” he said. “When he delivers the flowers, I want your delivery boy to give each one of my recipients a nice big kiss on the cheek for me.”

  She looked up, eyes blazing. “Fine. That’s just fine.” Reaching under the counter, she pulled out a blue and white cap and jammed it on her head. “It just so happens that I am the delivery boy. And I’ll be glad to do it.”

  He leaned back and laughed. “Got me again, Kelly Stanton,” he said.

  She pointed at the exit. “There’s the door,” she reminded him. She needed him gone, needed time to examine what she’d done here today without him looking on.

  But he lingered a moment longer. “I’m not such a terrible guy, Kelly,” he said softly. “I’m kind to children, small pets...”

  “And old girlfriends,” she interjected.

  “Exactly.” His smile was smug. “So—will you have dinner with me?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ve got too much work to do.” She nodded toward the flowers. “Look at all these orders I have to make up and deliver. I’ll be out half the night.”

  He looked stricken. “Shot myself in the foot this time, did I?”

  She looked up at him. He looked adorably chagrinned. She smiled. “Goodbye, Mr. Marin. And thank you for your lovely order.”

  Chapter Four

  Kelly pulled the florist van into a parking space outside the Marquis Hotel, turned off the engine, and leaned against the steering wheel with a heartrending sigh. Through the windshield she could see the golden spires of the sumptuous building, the flashing neon, the high-spraying fountain. She had two more deliveries to make, both in the Marquis, but she wasn’t sure she had the will to go on.

  Two more of Cody’s lovely show girls—and they had all turned out to be show girls—were on her delivery list. She’d been to apartment buildings all over town visiting the eight others. Every one of them had been tall, willowy, graceful. Some were redheads, some blondes, others dark-haired. Some were vivacious, some carefully slinky, and one in particular, Tanya Allen, smoldering with inst
ant sexuality. And every one had been blatantly beautiful and just thrilled to death to get flowers from Cody.

  Could she stand meeting two more of his conquests? She shuddered, turning to glare at the two bouquets still waiting in the back of the van.

  There was a boy parking cars on the other side of the lot. He wore a red vest and raced from one car to the next. Kelly eyed him speculatively for a few moments, tempted to ask if he’d like to make a little extra money delivering the flowers for her. She had merely to hand over the boxes and the addresses and he could be the one to smile at those plastic faces. It would all be over. She wouldn’t have to meet any more of Cody’s girlfriends. She could go home and have a

  nice long soak in the tub.

  She shook herself out of the lovely dream. No. She couldn’t do it. She squared her shoulders. This was her responsibility. Besides, if he ever found out she’d turned chicken and avoided the job, she wouldn’t be able to face his amusement.

  Gritting her teeth, she got out of the van and began to unload the flowers in their carefully packed boxes. She ignored the glances as she marched through the lobby with her burden. She was used to the stares of people who expected deliveries like this to be made by men or teenage girls. Her blue cap was pulled jauntily over her shining hair and her head was held high.

  She tapped her toe restlessly while waiting for the elevator, wanting this to be over with. Just two more show girls to go.

  And what would this next one be like? she mused to herself, shifting the boxes from one arm to another. Would she have curves like a beauty queen or legs like a World War Two poster girl? Or a combination of the two? That was the type Cody seemed to go for.

  The elevator doors oozed open and she went aboard, along with a small crowd of others that she hardly noticed. Her mind was still on her delivery. As she thought about it, she frowned, struck by the strength of her own emotions. She didn’t know why she resented the girls so much. After all, Cody Marin was nothing to her.

  But deep down, she did resent them, and she knew it. Every one of them seemed to have some aspect of extra-sized glamor and glitz that she knew she didn’t.

  “Who cares?” she exclaimed passionately, and suddenly eleven pairs of startled eyes met hers as everyone in the elevator turned to see why she’d spoken. She flushed, tried to smile, and gratefully escaped as the elevator door opened at her floor.

  But the point was, she told herself fiercely, she didn’t care. She didn’t want Cody. And she certainly didn’t give a damn about his dating rituals.

  She found the room number she was looking for and glanced down at the card. Ivy Blake. Her mouth twisted cynically. A tall, icy blonde, no doubt. And definitely voluptuous. They were all voluptuous. She rapped her knuckles against the wooden door.

  “Delivery for Miss Blake,” she called.

  The door opened almost immediately, but the woman on the other side was hardly the icy blonde Kelly had envisioned. Round-faced and dumpy, she was well launched into middle age.

  “Is Ivy Blake here?” Kelly asked automatically, looking behind the woman into the small hotel room.

  “I’m Ivy Blake.”

  Kelly looked back at the woman, startled. Ivy Blake smiled, and when she did that, her face took on a radiance that made Kelly want to smile back.

  “Flowers, Miss Blake,” she said, holding out the box.

  “For me?” The woman had clearly not had a lot of flower deliveries in her life. “Really?” She took the box from Kelly but seemed almost afraid to open it. “Who could it possibly be from?” she murmured, eyes wide and astonished.

  “The card.” Kelly pointed out that item and waited while the woman opened it. She couldn’t help her curiosity.

  “Cody Marin,” Ivy crowed. “I should have known.” She sighed, looking down at the roses in the box, and tears actually popped into her eyes. “Oh, he’s the most wonderful man,” she sighed, reaching up to rub at them.

  It was time for Kelly to leave, but she could hardly tear herself away. This was just too fascinating. Ivy Blake hardly matched the others. A few of them had called him a wonderful man, too, but the gleam in their eyes had been nothing like the tenderness she saw here.

  “Oh.” Ivy looked chagrined. “I should tip you, shouldn’t I?”

  “Oh, no, no, no!” Kelly started backing toward the door. “Really, I was just...” Hanging around waiting to hear more, she admitted to herself. But she could hardly say that to Ivy.

  “You wait one minute, young lady.” Ivy gently put down the flowers and began to rummage through her purse. “I want to give you something.”

  She opened one compartment, then another. “I just can’t believe he would send me flowers, after all he’s done for me. What a guy!”

  Kelly didn’t want the tip, but she certainly wanted to know what Cody had done to elicit such a testimonial. “He seemed very nice when he ordered the flowers,” she prodded, hoping for more.

  “Oh, isn’t he?” Ivy forgot all about her search, looking up earnestly at Kelly in the doorway. “Do you know what that man has done for me? I came here from Minnesota, looking for my husband.”

  She stepped closer, speaking confidentially.

  “He’s a compulsive gambler, don’t you know. And when he didn’t come home after a weekend here with his buddies, I went after him. Well, there he was, deep in debt, drowning in booze, and ready to just about do himself in. Cody Marin found out about our trouble. He got me this room, got Sam cleaned up and dried out and took him to a Gamblers Anonymous meeting. Now he’s arranging for us to get home again, and he’s having Gamblers Anonymous meet Sam at the airport in Minneapolis.”

  A veritable saint. Kelly began to inch away from the woman’s monologue, muttering polite things.

  “Oh, wait, I haven’t tipped you!”

  “No need.” She smiled and started to march down the hall. “Just enjoy the flowers.” She turned a corner and stopped to lean against a wall and catch her breath. So Cody Marin had a heart after all. Would wonders ever cease?

  “One out of ten,” she muttered to herself, trying to maintain an equilibrium as she caught the elevator for another floor. There was always the exception to the rule.

  But the wonder remained. She never would have thought that Cody would do anything so compassionate for a complete stranger. Was she wrong about the man? Or was this just an aberration?

  She got off at the fourteenth floor and glanced at her last delivery. Sugar Delfinio. Now there was no doubt about this one. She had to be a show girl.

  She found the correct door and knocked. “Miss Delfinio, delivery,” she called.

  There was no response. She waited for a moment, but nothing seemed to move. “Miss Delfinio,” she called more loudly, knocking again. “Florist delivery.”

  A last sharp rap with her knuckles and the door creaked open. She looked inside. As far as she could see, there was no one there.

  “Miss Delfinio?” she called, stepping in gingerly. “Are you here?”

  Another step inside the apartment, and suddenly the door slammed shut behind her. Kelly whirled. Behind the door stood Cody, looking positively devilish in the shadows. He held two fluted glasses of golden, bubbling champagne, one in either hand, and his face was alight with triumph.

  “Oh no!” Kelly cried, jerking back. What a fool! She should have known he would do something like this. “Where’s Miss Delfinio?” she demanded, backing away from him and holding the box of flowers out in front of herself like a shield.

  “Out,” he said, his eyes sparkling with laughter. He didn’t move a muscle, but managed to look tantalizingly intimidating, nonetheless. “Shall we wait for her together?”

  Kelly swallowed. He had her trapped again. It was hardly fair. “I don’t want to wait. I’ll leave the flowers and go.” She set them down on the dressing table. “You can give them to her in person,” she suggested, walking quickly to the door.

  But he was there before her, blocking her escape route once more
. “No,” he said, just as she’d known he would. “That’s impossible.”

  Her chin rose in hopeless defiance. “Why?”

  “Don’t you remember the conditions of our agreement?” he said softly. “The flowers must be hand-delivered, with a kiss on the cheek.” He frowned in mock sternness. “You have been kissing each recipient on the cheek, haven’t you?”

  As a matter of fact, she hadn’t, but she wasn’t about to admit that right now. “You don’t play fair,” she said, resigned. She stared everywhere—at his shoulders, the smooth fabric of his suit, the turquoise ring on his hand—all to keep from looking any longer into his mysterious eyes.

  “I play to win,” he told her just as quietly. “I have to play hard to hold my own with you. You’re a hard woman, Kelly.”

  “I try to be.” A small part of her, standing aside and watching this ridiculous exchange, laughed out loud. She’d never been hard. That had been her worst problem. Hardness might have saved a lot of heartache, but that was all in the past. Maybe she could be hard now. She could try.

  “I hope I’m not going to have to resort to something like kidnapping in order to get a moment alone with you, to show you how much I appreciate what you did the other day.”

  Her eyes flashed. “I wouldn’t, if I were you. You can get prison for that, you know.”

  “Ah, but prison might be worth it,” Cody said silkily, “if it means I also get the girl.”

  Kelly looked into his eyes then, almost laughing herself. Did he take anything seriously? How could she be offended? It was all a joke to him, all a party. And to tell the truth, she was getting tempted to join it. She spread out her hands, palms up.

  “What on earth do you see in me?” she asked him, truly confused. “I mean, I’ve been to see your other girlfriends.” She shrugged, searching his face, struggling with the problem. “I’ve seen what they’re like. They’re gorgeous, and, and—“ she shrugged again “—huge where men like things huge, and... look at me! I’m none of those things. What do you see in me?”