by Kylie Brant
Kaly smiled wryly. She could well imagine what she looked like after working all afternoon with very little sleep the previous night. Paul managed to look just as polished in jeans and a dress shirt as he had in his suit the other night. His engaging grin was toothpaste-ad bright.
Despite Jackson’s dour predictions about Paul and his morals, she had enjoyed his company at his party. Now the two of them talked for some time before Paul revealed the purpose of his visit.
“I came over to see if you could get away long enough to go for a drive.”
She shook her head regretfully and motioned to the computer. “I really have a lot of work to do before Jeff returns today. I need to get caught up.”
“How about this evening?” Paul suggested. “We could drive into Albuquerque. God knows, it’s not exactly a cosmopolitan city, but it beats anything around this backwater.” He smiled winningly and added, “I know Jackson has a more or less standing date with Gwen on Sunday nights. We could ask them along, if that would make you more comfortable.”
“Gwen?” Kaly managed.
“Surely you met her—the redhead at my party?”
Kaly remembered her all too well. She had to be the woman who’d been dancing with Jackson when Kaly had first caught sight of him. And she’d acted as if she knew him very well indeed. Kaly’s stomach plummeted in direct correlation to her thoughts. Despite all her earlier reservations, she had allowed herself to become one of Jackson’s string of women. The magic of last night was immediately tarnished.
Paul studied her closely before going on, seeming to choose his words carefully. “He hasn’t made a move in your direction, has he?” At Kaly’s startled look, he expanded. “The only reason I ask is that he’s hell on women. No lady is safe from him.”
Kaly managed to keep her voice surprisingly light as she answered him. “Why would you ask that? I’m hardly his type.”
“A woman like you is any man’s type,” Paul responded smoothly. “And Jackson is known around these parts for his appetite for beautiful women.” Paul’s handsome face was full of concern as he added softly, “I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt.”
Kaly busied herself with straightening sheaves of typed pages on her desk. “I can take care of myself.” Her tone prohibited further prying.
“Well,” Paul urged her, “if you don’t feel like driving to the city tonight, come home with me. I’m not much of a cook, but I can toss a couple of steaks on the grill and open a bottle of French wine. What do you say?”
They were interrupted before Kaly could form an answer. “She says no.”
Jackson’s voice brooked no argument as he came in the door. He’d observed the cozy picture they made with Paul perched on the corner of her desk. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to smash the man in his too-perfect nose. He was unaccustomed to the pure possessiveness he felt. And illogical as it was, he resented Kaly’s friendliness with Paul. Last night gave him rights, dammit. It was time she admitted to them.
“I’m perfectly capable of answering for myself, thank you,” Kaly said tartly.
“You obviously aren’t capable of remembering that Jeff comes home today, and he made it plain he wanted to work this evening.” Jackson told the lie without batting an eyelash. He didn’t care what he had to do to rid them of this unwanted guest.
Kaly gazed at him defiantly as he uttered the blatant untruth. Jeff had announced no such intention. She was unsure what Jackson was getting at, but she was not going to endure his obdurate attitude.
“The sheriff called and is coming out again, too,” Jackson continued. “Things are going to be busy around here.”
“What’s Dumont coming out for?” Paul asked. “Have you been hit by rustlers again?”
“I surprised a trespasser on the property last night,” Jackson informed him. “I heard something, but before I turned around, he slugged me from behind.”
“Slugged!” Paul exclaimed. “Did you see a doctor?”
“There was no need.” Jackson said dismissively. “Seems I scared the person off before he could do any damage. But I’d advise you to take count of your herd. No telling if he went somewhere else after he left here.”
“You were pretty close,” Paul observed. “Are you sure you didn’t hear or see anything that’d help wrap this whole thing up?”
Jackson hesitated, then shook his head. “It was dark, and like I said, I never had a chance to turn around.”
“Well. Kaly, looks like we’ll have to put our plans on hold. After what happened to Jack last night, it wouldn’t hurt for me to go home and take inventory of the stock.” He smiled and lowered his voice intimately. “But I will insist on a rain check on my invitation.”
Under Jackson’s impassive stare, Kaly said goodbye and Paul made his exit.
The front door slammed and Kaly faced the computer screen again. Determinedly she restarted her interrupted work—until Jackson came over and turned off the monitor. She sighed as his hand remained on the button, making it impossible for her to work. “What’s on your mind?” she asked.
Jackson settled down on the corner of her desk, the spot Paul had recently vacated. “You weren’t seriously considering going out with him, I hope.”
“No more than you were considering going ahead with your standing date with Gwen,” she said, hurt entering her voice, despite her best efforts.
Jackson leaned forward and spoke sincerely. “I wasn’t. You can’t possibly think I’d spend the night with you and then turn to someone else.” He saw her hesitation and cursed profusely. “You did think that. Dammit!” He pushed away from her desk and took several paces before turning back and asking furiously, “Why the hell did you go to bed with me if you don’t trust me, huh?”
Kaly stared at him in silence. His sudden anger at her lack of faith in him took her aback. How could she explain to him that, while she had every confidence in herself intellectually and professionally, she didn’t have much in regard to her womanhood? Her failure with Philip had destroyed that. She struggled to make him understand her confusion.
“Paul told me that you and Gwen usually went out on Sunday nights.”
“And you’d believe Paul, a man you met a week ago, but you don’t trust me, the man whose arms you slept in last night?”
She dropped her gaze then and whispered, “I didn’t know what last night would mean to you.”
Her quiet voice arrested Jackson’s anger. He’d been so caught up in the territorial feelings roused by seeing her with Paul that he hadn’t considered what she might be feeling. He studied her now and his irritation drained away. She looked as vulnerable as she had after they’d made love. Although he could understand how she might think the worst after all she’d probably heard about his past, he felt strangely hurt that she didn’t have more faith in him. He mentally shrugged the feeling away. He’d have to work to build that loyalty with her. Last night she’d admitted that she trusted him, physically at least, and he would take that and build on it. It might have happened too soon, but he was not above using their physical relationship to bind her to him. He mentally cursed Whitfield for his untimely appearance. He couldn’t allow Kaly to build any emotional barriers between them now, either real or imagined.
He felt fresh anger course through him as he remembered the easy way the man had addressed Kaly. Paul was slick, and Jackson was damned if he’d allow him to get close to her again. He came over and squatted down in front of her, forcing her to look at him.
“Last night was special for me, too,” he said huskily. “I don’t know what it means, but I do know that something like this doesn’t come along very often.”
Kaly caught her breath. Was he describing his feelings, or was he talking only about the physical attraction between them? Her eyes shifted restlessly away from his navy ones, so knowing and seeking.
“I don’t know how to handle this,” she complained, and he almost smiled. Her capable mind was used to dealing with the most complex acade
mic matters, and she was impatient with herself when she couldn’t as easily analyze the emotional ones. He rose, pulling her to her feet and into his arms. He embraced her stiff body and lowered his lips to her ear. “What do you say we just follow this through, see where it leads us? I don’t have any more idea about what’s in store for us than you do, but I’m willing to give it a shot.” He planted a warm kiss below her ear. “In fact,” he growled, “I insist on it.”
Kaly found her knees weakening alarmingly. Her mind became annoyingly fuzzy when he touched her. She sighed with inward trepidation. “All right,” she agreed, her voice quiet. She couldn’t resist him, so why pretend otherwise? But she needed to clarify some matters between them. He needn’t think he was going to have things all his own way.
His head came up at her response, and he studied her soberly. “All right?”
“Yes, I’ll agree to see where this...relationship leads us,” she said. “Under one condition.”
Jackson’s brows lowered as he anticipated another roadblock. “No conditions,” he asserted. He was not a patient man in the best of situations. His need of her was immediate, and he resented any further obstacles in their path.
“One,” she insisted. “At least for now.” Her gaze slid away from his as she named it. “I don’t want anyone else to know about us, not even Jeff and Carrie.”
With magnificent control Jackson managed to avoid shouting at her. He growled through clenched teeth, “Would you mind telling me why not?”
Kaly broke away from him. She needed to place some distance between them if she was to think clearly. “I don’t know, I just feel uneasy about it. It doesn’t look very professional for me to be living in your house working for Jeff, and be…involved with you.” She turned to look at him pleadingly. “Please, Jackson, agree with me on this.”
His face remained implacable at her entreaty. “No.”
At this inflexible response Kaly’s eyes widened in amazement. “Why not? I don’t think it’s asking too much for us to be discreet.”
Jackson was coming very close to throwing something. “Discreet, no, but you’re not asking for me to be discreet, are you? You already know I’m not about to go out and announce it to the world. What you really want is for us to hide our involvement, to pretend it doesn’t exist. I won’t do that. I’ve told you before, Kaly, I don’t share what’s mine. Our relationship will be exclusive. I’m sure as hell not going to sit idly by and watch a stream of men fall all over themselves to date you.”
Kaly could feel her own temper rising. “As if I’d be involved with more than one man at a time!”
Jackson forced his rage down. Nothing would be served by their yelling at each other. “I told you last night, I’m not interested in playing games. We either have an adult relationship or we have nothing.”
She tried to make him understand. “I’m not trying to hide anything, Jackson. I just don’t want everyone to know that I, that we’re...”
Jackson gazed intently at her, understanding dawning slowly. Kaly wasn’t playing coy; she didn’t want to play the field. She was shy about revealing the fact that they were sleeping together. He mentally berated himself for his obtuseness. What she hadn’t realized, and what he was at a loss to explain to her, was that everyone would assume they were lovers after they were seen together a couple of times. His reputation, while not totally earned, had enough truth to it that most people assumed he was having an intimate relationship with every woman he dated. He was unable to think of a way to shield her from that attitude and grimly acknowledged he wouldn’t even try. The understanding that she was his would keep other men at bay. It seemed as if he’d been tripping over her admirers lately, and he was selfish enough to want to clear the way for himself.
He took her hand as he endeavored to reassure her. “I don’t notch bedposts and I’m not about to flaunt our private lives.” Kaly slowly lifted her gaze to mesh with his. “I won’t go out and proclaim that we’re lovers, but don’t ask me to hide the way I feel. I want to take you out in public, so people are going to see us together. I’m not responsible for the conclusions they draw, but I promise I’ll try to act...discreetly in public.” It was as much as he was willing to allow her.
Kaly sighed. She supposed she was being foolish. With his reputation, of course people were going to think what they wanted when she was seen with him. She’d have to brave it out. But she was perilously close to losing her head over him. She could feel herself being drawn closer to Jackson, and she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to walk away. She was frightened of the time when he tired of her.
He sensed her weakening resolve and drew her close again. “You think I’m stupid,” Kaly mumbled against his shirtfront.
He chuckled. “Honey, you’re the furthest thing from stupid I’ve ever seen. I have a hell of a time keeping up with that mind of yours.”
She squirmed restlessly against him. “I must seem miserably naive compared to all your other women.”
Jackson was surprised to feel a warmth envelop his heart. She was as different from the other women he’d known as it was possible to be. That was partly what fascinated him about her. “I wouldn’t compare you to any other woman. I’ve never met anyone like you before. In some ways you’re as naive as a schoolgirl. In others, you’re more woman than I’ve ever known.”
She peeked up at him through her lashes flirtatiously, amazed at how naturally the gesture came to her.
He caught the look and gave her a hard kiss. His lips lingered, and when she would have moved away he prevented it by capturing her lower lip gently in his teeth. He nipped lightly, before releasing it to rub his shadowy cheek lightly against her silky one.
The rasp of his midday beard was erotic against her soft skin, and Kaly turned her head to his chin, dragging her lips against his whiskers. The abrasion against the tenderness of her lips was maddeningly arousing, and she used her tongue to bathe the area before capturing it in her teeth.
Jackson’s breath was coming faster as he shuddered and nuzzled her neck. His voice was husky as he asked, “What should we do tonight? Do you want to go into the city, have dinner, maybe a movie? Or would you rather stay here and...What? What’s the matter?” he demanded as he noticed her shaking her head.
“Jackson, I wasn’t merely putting Paul off when I told him how much work I have to get through tonight. I have to finish this up for Jeff so we’ll be ready to start fresh tomorrow. And I really need to put in several hours on my dissertation. I’m falling behind.”
But Jackson attended only to the first part of her comments. “So what you’re saying is that you would have gone out with Paul if you’d had your work done, is that it? Your turning him down had nothing to do with me, it was only because you were too busy?”
Kaly could not believe how easily his temper ignited. “That’s not what I meant at all. I’m just saying that I do have a lot to do tonight. And you said that Sheriff Dumont was coming out later. Or was that another lie to get rid of Paul?”
“What do you mean, another lie?”
Kaly reminded him testily, “I mean that you told him I had plans to work with Jeff tonight, when you knew that wasn’t true. Next time I’ll thank you to let me speak for myself. I’ve been doing it for a long time—I think I can manage.”
Jackson pushed away from her. “Well, my apologies, Miss Scott. I was just trying to help you out of a sticky situation.”
Kaly snorted. “You weren’t trying to help me—you were trying to control me. And I won’t tolerate that, Jackson. I make my own decisions.”
His voice rose as he lost his tenuous grip on his temper. “You want to make your own decisions? Great. Just don’t expect me to stand meekly by if you decide to see another man. I won’t be led around on a leash.”
“Fine!” she fairly shouted at him.
“Fine,” he growled in return.
They stood glaring at each other for a long moment before they heard the sound of a throat being cleared
from the doorway. Jeff addressed his wife innocently. “See, Carrie, I told you they’d get along swell in our absence. Look at them. I think they’re really starting to like each other.”
Kaly whirled around at the sound of Jeff’s voice and flushed guiltily at the sight of Carrie and Jeff’s bemused looks. She backed up several steps.
Jackson’s mouth tightened at her retreat, but when he answered his brother his voice was mild. “Glad to see you back. We were afraid you’d like it so well in the city you’d take up permanent residence there.”
“Good thing we didn’t,” Jeff answered as he and his wife strolled into the room, still staring curiously at them. “Looks like if we’d left you two alone here much longer, you’d have torn each other apart.”
Jackson glanced at Kaly, an amused light in his eyes. Don’t you dare! her eyes seemed to warn him. He quirked an eyebrow at her, but answered his brother innocently enough. “You couldn’t be further from the truth, actually. I was just asking Kaly for a date.”
Carrie looked delighted, Jeff skeptical. Jeff responded tongue in cheek, “Oh, is that what you were doing, asking for a date?” In an aside to Carrie he added, “And to think I once admired his technique with women.”
Quickly tiring of being the center of attention, Kaly changed the subject. “Jackson had some trouble here last night. He was waiting for you to come home to tell you about it.” She succeeded in diverting the couple’s focus from her, but Jackson looked unenthusiastic about her selection of topic.
Jeff and Carrie’s voices rose in concern, and confusion reigned for the next few moments as all four talked at once. When Jackson was finally able to briefly explain, he purposely downplayed his injury.
Carrie, however, pounced on that piece of information. “He hit you from behind? Oh, Jackson, were you hurt?”
“Only my ego, but according to Kaly, it could use a little deflating,” Jackson responded dryly.
Carrie looked at Kaly sympathetically. “I’ll bet he wouldn’t let you take him to the doctor, either, would he?”