Cowboy to the Core

by Joanna Wayne

  “She was pregnant?”

  He nodded. “By a friend of mine who’d promised to look after her while I was out of the country.”

  “Some friend.” And some wife, though Dani didn’t voice that sentiment. But his wife had been the real loser, walking out on a man like Marcus. It was difficult to imagine any sane woman doing that.

  “It must be tough to bounce back from that type of betrayal,” she said. Actually, she knew it was. She’d been there, too. Only her ex had a much better reason for walking out on her.

  “Our breakup was probably inevitable,” Marcus said. “Tyrone was there. I wasn’t. It’s not quite as easy to forgive the fact that she’d blown all our savings on expensive clothes to impress him or on fancy trips for the two of them.”

  “Ouch. Talk about a low blow.”

  “You got it. It put the skids on my buying a ranch, but I’ll get there eventually. In the meantime I have the Double M and a job that’s getting more interesting by the second.”

  Marcus let go of her hand and shifted so that he faced her. She met his smoldering gaze, and the inhibitions that controlled so much of her life went up in smoke. She touched his whiskered chin with her fingertips, then traced a line to his waiting lips. Her heart skipped to a ragged rhythm. If he didn’t kiss her, she was going to have to kiss him.

  But his mouth found hers, and the thrill ripped through her, awakening every part of her body. When she parted her lips and felt the quick thrust of his tongue, her insides quaked from the intensity of her emotions. For the first time she could see how a person could drown in desire.

  She ached for air, yet couldn’t bear to pull away. When Marcus did, the separation of their mingled breaths was almost painful.

  “The girls. They’re coming back,” he added when the truth of the situation didn’t sink in fast enough.

  Dani jumped to attention, turning away from Marcus and covering her mouth with her hand as if her lips would give her away.

  “We should be going,” she said, when the girls tramped into sight. The hoarseness of passion tinged her voice, but the girls didn’t seem to notice.

  Marcus took the lead, jumping to his feet and extending a helping hand to her. In minutes they were back in the saddles. Everything was as before, except now there was no way to deny the raw sensual hunger he incited.

  But it was more than just physical need. It was passion. Frightening, mind-numbing, breath-stealing passion. And the kiss had only touched the edges of it.

  DANI AND MARCUS absentmindedly thumbed through magazines in the waiting room, waiting for the clock on the wall to hit 7:00 p.m., the designated time for visiting ICU patients.

  The kiss still dominated Dani’s mind in spite of her efforts to push it aside. It had rocked her soul, and when she touched her fingertips to her lips, she could swear she still felt its heat.

  Marcus showed no sign that it affected him in the same way. He’d been cool to her since the kiss, avoiding meeting her gaze or touching her in any way.

  It hurt, but she didn’t blame him. He knew what he wanted from life. A psychic who slipped into trances without warning and got pulled into other people’s danger wasn’t it. The kiss had likely brought that home to him. Better for him to back off before he started something that might be difficult to stop.

  Finally the reality that she’d see Ella in a matter of minutes began to sink in. Her hands grew clammy. Her stomach churned.

  She’d seen Ella twice before, and each time the feeling that she knew Ella from somewhere had been incredibly strong. Yet she had no clear recollection of ever having crossed paths with the woman. If this was part of the psychic experience, it was a new and unfamiliar dimension.

  The most important thing was for Dani not to let their meeting push her into a trance while she was in the ICU. She needed to talk to Ella and assure her that she’d be protected, not frighten her more.

  The hour hand inched toward the twelve, and a petite nurse with short black hair opened the door and waved the visitors into the unit.

  “Are you family?” the nurse asked when Dani and Marcus reached the door.

  “No, just friends. I was with her last night before the attack.” That was all the information Dani offered. Any more and she’d probably be denied permission to visit.

  “Good. It might help for Ms. Somerville to hear a familiar voice. Her recovery is remarkable, and her vital signs are strong. She may even be moved into a semiprivate room tomorrow morning if she continues to improve. The main concern now is that she’s unresponsive much of the time. It could be the result of the violence.”

  The nurse walked with them to Ella’s bedside. “Talk quietly,” she cautioned. “Hopefully she’ll respond, but don’t say anything to upset her. I’ll be nearby if you need me.”

  Dani stared at the pale woman lying beneath the bleached white sheets. Breathing tubes carried oxygen into her nostrils. An IV was attached to her right arm, and she was hooked to a monitor that measured every heartbeat.

  The same powerful sense of déjà vu attacked again, and Dani clutched the bed rail to keep her hands from shaking.

  “Hello,” she whispered, leaning in close so that only Ella could hear her words. “I’m Dani Baxter. We crossed paths yesterday at the festival and again last night just before you were attacked.”

  Ella opened her eyes but turned her face to the wall as if she didn’t realize Dani was standing there.

  “I want to help you.”

  No response.

  “A friend of yours came to see me today. She thinks you may still be in danger.”

  The muscles in Ella’s face twitched. Dani was almost positive she heard and understood.

  “I’m hiring a bodyguard to stay with you until you get back on your feet and are able to handle the situation yourself. And I’m putting my card on the table by your bed. Call me when you feel like talking.”

  Finally the woman turned and faced Dani. “I don’t want your help,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “Stay out of this. Stay out of my life.”

  Her words were harsh, but it was the terror in her haunted eyes that made Dani’s blood run cold. “I just want to help. You don’t owe…”

  “Get away or he’ll kill you, too.” Ella slung the arm with the IV attached into the bed railing on the opposite side from where Dani was standing. The loud clunk brought the nurse instantly.

  The IV was still in place, but Ella’s body jerked spastically beneath the sheets.

  “You’ll have to go now,” the nurse said. “We need to calm the patient.” A second nurse appeared at Dani’s elbow to lead her away from the bed. Dani slid her business card next to Ella’s water glass.

  Marcus put a hand to the small of her back as they left the hospital.

  “Ella Somerville knows exactly what’s going on,” Dani said as they approached the truck. “She’s just horribly afraid. I felt it and saw it in her eyes.”

  “Maybe, but she made things perfectly clear,” Marcus said. “She wants you out of her life, and she thinks you’ll be in danger if you don’t abide by those wishes.”

  “It’s not like I asked to get involved with her. Some unearthly spirit with a rotten sense of humor dragged me into her problems with that dratted nightmare and those incongruous visions.”

  “Let it go, Dani. You did what you could. It’s out of your hands. Let’s go home and leave Ella’s problems to the police.”

  She sucked in a jagged breath. “My home’s in Austin, and I don’t think I have the energy to drive that far tonight.”

  “We’ve already discussed this. You have a bedroom in mine.”

  A bedroom but no suggestion that she share his. Ella was not the only one making things perfectly clear.

  Chapter Eight

  The campfire was blazing by the time Dani and Marcus returned to the ranch, the odors from sizzling wieners and toasty marshmallows drifting through the air with the sparkling embers.

  The girls ran to meet them with n
ews of their own. “My mom says I can stay the night,” Katie said, “as long as I’m back home for bedtime tomorrow night.”

  “And Linney says we can ride again and help with the horses tomorrow morning,” Celeste added. “So, please don’t make us go home tonight.”

  Dani looked to Linney for assurance the invitation was genuine.

  “I love having them here,” Linney said. “So do the horses. They’ve never had so much attention. And Cutter will be gone most of the day tomorrow. It can get a tad lonesome out here when it’s just me, Eddie and the animals around.”

  “Who’s Eddie?” Dani asked, feeling a bit out of the loop.

  “Eddie Johnson is our foreman and almost family. He’s worked at the Double M for years.”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t met him.”

  “He’s away for the weekend,” Cutter said, “visiting a new grandson up in Fort Worth.”

  “Is Eddie it,” Dani asked, “or do you have other people working on the ranch?”

  “He’s it for now,” Linney said. “But I’ve been negotiating with a couple of wranglers from El Paso who may start working here in the spring. If they do, we’ll have to update that old bunkhouse. And I think Cutter may have found another former special ops guy for his business.”

  Marcus stepped away from the fire where he’d been warming his backside and hands. “I hadn’t heard that.”

  “I got a call from Hawk Taylor today. He heard about our operation and he’s interested.”

  “Hawk? In quiet little Dobbin, Texas? This I gotta see.” The men exchanged high fives.

  “Maybe I should meet this man before you hire him,” Linney said.

  “So, Mom, can we stay the night?” Celeste asked again, turning the conversation back to her own interests in true preteen fashion.

  “We can and we are. I’m too exhausted to risk driving home on dark country roads tonight.”

  “Does that mean we can stay long enough to go riding again in the morning, too? Please, Ms. Baxter. Please.”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  The girls squealed their delight and went back to roasting marshmallows and warming themselves at the open blaze.

  Dani took her plate over to sit by Linney at the patio table while Marcus and Cutter found a quiet spot near the freestanding garage to eat and chat, no doubt about their visit with Ella. The two men seemed an inseparable team where work was involved.

  Dani wasn’t sure exactly what Marcus had shared about her with his boss, but she trusted that he hadn’t mentioned the psychic abilities that he’d sworn to keep secret. All indications were that he was a man of his word.

  Besides, if Cutter and Linney knew the truth about her, she doubted they’d still be welcoming her to the ranch with open arms. More likely they’d be warning Marcus to keep her at a distance.

  Apparently he’d come to that conclusion on his own. Too bad he hadn’t made that decision before he’d kissed her. Before desire had rocked through her every cell. Before she’d ached for fulfillment. Before she’d…

  “Dani?”

  She jerked from her reverie, her cheeks burning at being caught entertaining such sensual thoughts. Fortunately, it was too dark in the firelight for Linney to see her embarrassment.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I’m fading fast. Did you ask me a question?”

  “Nothing important. I’m just curious about your job as a formal wear buyer. It sounds fascinating.”

  “It is, especially my trips to market.”

  “Are those in Dallas?”

  “Yes, and New York, London and Paris. Duran Muton caters to the wealthy and fashionable, but we specialize in tasteful, classic styles.”

  “You do a great job with that. I know. I’ve shopped there—when I was married to my first husband. He liked me in the sexiest designs imaginable, but I preferred the classic look. You’d think I’d miss my extravagant shopping excursions, wouldn’t you?”

  “Do you?”

  “Not really. I had my fill of being a socialite. I love my life on the ranch, but to tell you the truth I’d be happy anywhere as long as I was with Cutter. I’m absolutely crazy in love with him.”

  “It shows. He obviously feels the same about you.”

  “We were meant to be.” Linney fingered her wedding band. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but I get the feeling today that you and Marcus have a little chemistry going on, as well.”

  “I don’t. We haven’t…” Dani stumbled over her words like a drunk. “What I meant to say is we barely know each other.”

  “Sometimes that’s all it takes. Marcus will make a great husband for the woman who’s able to rein him in.”

  That wouldn’t be Dani. She looked around for Marcus. He was still deep in conversation with Cutter, but when he caught her eye, he nodded. In less than a minute, he was by her side and announcing that it was time for them to settle in at his cabin.

  No one questioned that she was spending the night with him there, not even the girls. Dani and Marcus were responsible adults, and his cabin housed the only spare bedroom.

  Chemistry or not, she’d sleep in it alone tonight.

  THICK LAYERS OF BLACK CLOUDS had blown in, obscuring the moon and stars. Marcus skulked through the house in the pitch dark, as silent as if he were in enemy territory. He couldn’t sleep, but he didn’t want to wake Dani with his rambling.

  Cutter had warned him not to let his emotions get tangled up with his determination to protect Dani. He’d thought he could handle the attraction, but he’d proved today he couldn’t.

  It had been all he could do not to take her right there in the woods like some beast. He’d been that turned on. If the girls hadn’t been with them, who knows what might have happened.

  Now guilt had him feeling like a barbarian. Dani was vulnerable, dealing with a barrage of paranormal trances and visions that had her afraid and confused. Not so much for herself as for the woman who’d come out of her fake unconsciousness only to snarl at Dani—and to warn that she, too, could be in danger.

  He knew the rules of engagement as well as Cutter. Keep a clear mind and focus at all times when there is a possibility of danger.

  But the kiss had definitely changed things. He’d known the attraction was there, but he hadn’t anticipated that that level of fire and raw, animalistic hunger could be brought on by a kiss.

  It was as if they’d both erupted with passion, giving in to desires as basic as breathing, as overwhelming as a tidal wave. She was a contradiction—yielding, yet demanding. Her soft pliant body, fitting against his. Her sensual energy as electric as direct current.

  Just thinking about her was getting him worked up again. He didn’t see how a man could ever get enough of a woman like Dani. Yet some jerk had walked out on her. The world was full of lunatics.

  Like the lunatic who’d attacked Ella Somerville last night.

  The wind picked up and the first drops of rain started to fall. A cold front was coming in. Weather made for snuggling against a warm, supple, seductive body. And if he kept thinking like this he’d never make it through the night without tasting Dani’s full, sweet lips again.

  That was a mistake he planned to avoid.

  THE GOWN WAS EXQUISITE, jade velvet with delicate white lace at the neckline and peeking from under the laced corset and below the hemline. The waist was tiny, the skirt billowing. It was fit for a queen. Or a burial.

  “No, please, don’t. You’ve made a mistake.”

  “There’s no mistake. Did you really think changing your name and the color of your hair would make you unrecognizable?”

  “I’m not Ella.”

  “I know, my sweet Helena. You forget how well I know you. You could never be an Ella. Now stop whining, and put on the dress.”

  “I won’t.”

  He slapped her across the face so hard she stumbled backward and fell against the wall. She tried to run, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “We can make t
his as bloody and as painful as you like, or you can behave like the lady you used to be.”

  “Get your hands off me.”

  He hit her again, this time with his fist. When she fell to the floor, her head cracked against the leg of the sofa. He put a fist in her stomach, then unbuttoned her jeans and tore them from her body. The panties were the next to go. Then her shirt and her bra, not stopping until she was stripped naked.

  “Put on the dress, Helena. Put on the dress for me, the way you wear it for your drunken lover.”

  “I’m not Ella.”

  He lifted a pearl-handled dagger above her, its blade pointed at her chest. “Put on the dress.”

  She retched and choked on the blood that was dripping from her mouth. She tried to scream, but she was choking on the warm, sticky river trickling down her throat.

  His hands lifted her bruised and bleeding body and pulled the dress over her head.

  “Make love to me the way you’ve made love to him, Helena. Make love to me. And then you die.”

  THE SOFT GURGLING in the wee hours of the morning wakened Marcus. He never slept soundly. His hearing was as fine-tuned as the rest of him, like a machine programmed to detect every change in the environment.

  He jerked to a sitting position. The noise sounded like a muted coughing or as if someone were choking. Adrenaline galloped through his veins. A heartbeat later, he was rushing toward Dani’s bedroom, his weapon on ready.

  He shoved the door open and pushed inside. Dani was in the middle of the bed, squirming frantically, fighting the covers. The front of her white pajamas were wet with perspiration.

  Her eyes were open, but his presence hadn’t seemed to register with her. She was deep in a trance, and whatever she was seeing was killing her.

  “It’s okay, Dani. I’m here.”

  He crossed the room, dropped to the side of the bed and took her shuddering body in his arms. “I’m here, baby. You’re okay.”

  She wilted against him, and the wetness of her flesh and clothing dampened his chest. His heart crumpled, and he buried his face in the tangled locks of her hair.