by Joanne Rock
He cupped her chin with one hand before he kissed her cheek with a lingering brush of his lips.
“I appreciate the offer, but there’s no way I’m leaving here yet.” He trailed another kiss down her neck, just below her ear.
Shivers chased each other down her spine.
“I don’t want you to regret the time here with me if something goes wrong.”
He paused to look down at her, his expression serious.
“First of all, there’s no way a tabloid journalist is going to be better at getting answers—real answers—than you. I’m not worried she’s going to show up and suddenly uncover the truth overnight.”
His faith in her work touched her, even as doubts crept in. “But—”
Before she could voice her concerns, he stilled her lips with a kiss. A slow, thorough kiss that scattered her thoughts and reminded her of how incredible he could make her feel. By the time he eased back, her pulse was thrumming fast, her skin tingling with anticipation.
“Besides,” he continued, his voice pitched low in her ear, “there is a bed in the other room, and more than anything else, I need you in it.”
* * *
So much for keeping things light.
But Weston didn’t know if he’d ever have time alone with April like this again. Especially when all hell could break loose in Mesa Falls at any moment.
He’d be damned if he was going to hold this woman at arm’s length tonight when he wanted her with a fierceness he’d never felt for anyone else.
Her lips worked silently for a moment before she bit the lower one and gave a jerky nod. “I like the way you think.”
His body revved at the green light. And even though they’d just been together, he felt all the same urgency as before. More, even. Because now he knew what awaited them. Remembered the way she whispered his name when she found release. Recalled how her whole body trembled when she freed it from all the damnable restraint she exercised the rest of the time.
“Put your arms around my neck,” he urged, ready to see that side of her again.
More than ready to bury himself in her sweetness.
She did as he asked, and he hauled her up into his arms, carrying her through the living area back to the bed in the master suite. He wanted to lay her in the middle of the duvet and strip her clothes from her beautiful body, kiss every square inch of her. But she put a hand on his chest before he could settle her there.
“I want to undress you this time.” Her splayed fingers curled gently against him, her fingernails lightly raking against the cotton tee. “Do you mind?”
Mind? He only wished he had every lamp on in the room so he could burn the memory of it into his brain.
“I’d like that,” he said, setting her on her feet. She landed silently on the gray-and-white rug.
Her blue gaze darted from his shoulders to his hips, as if to assess the situation. The tiny furrow between her brow revealed how much thought she was giving to where to begin. His body throbbed already, anticipation ratcheting up fast.
When her attention returned to his eyes, a sexy grin plucked at the corner of her mouth. “I may have fantasized about doing this that night we spent on Trapper Peak.”
Her fingertips slid beneath the hem of his T-shirt, skating over his skin with a tentative touch. He braced himself for her exploration, only too glad to be her fantasy.
“I wouldn’t have complained.” Not even subzero temperatures could cool a heat like this.
She skimmed the T-shirt up his back, and he lifted his arms to help her tug it off. Then she shrugged out of her long-sleeved thermal, tossing it aside to rest on top of his discarded shirt.
His gaze snagged on the sight of her breasts swelling above white lace cups, an embroidered red rose nestled between, and he couldn’t see anything else. She looked impossibly beautiful in the muted glow from the lamp above a painting near his bed. Her gaze tracked her fingertips as she smoothed them along the exposed skin just above his jeans, the denim all but shrink-wrapping him, getting more and more uncomfortable the longer she wielded those barely there touches.
She leaned closer to press a kiss to the base of his throat, her breasts straining the white lace of her bra with the movement, her breath coming faster. And still he let her set the pace, even now that he was twitching to be inside her. When she eased his zipper down—oh, so carefully—he knew his control was slipping. Fading.
Flinging off his jeans, he left her long enough to find a condom, his blood pounding so hard he felt light-headed. He returned to the bedroom to see her sidle out of her pajama bottoms, a tiny patch of white lace covering the V between her thighs. He told himself not to fall on her like a starving man, but the truth was he needed her.
Now.
He ripped open the condom packet and sheathed himself before he even reached the bed. Dropping to the edge of the mattress, he pulled her down with him. She straddled him, those luscious breasts of hers grazing his chest and making him realize he hadn’t undressed her yet. Somewhere in the back of his brain he was appalled to make rookie mistakes with her, but being with April was so damned different than any other woman it didn’t even matter.
He was about to peel off the last of her clothes when she curved a palm around his hard length, stroking him from base to tip. He couldn’t think. Could barely breathe.
Instead, he listened to her breath, ragged and rasping. In. Out. Her lips fastened to his throat, her tongue licking him while she positioned herself over him, sliding her lace underwear to one side.
His hips jerked, and he was already pushing inside her. She felt so. Damned. Good.
Sensation surged through him. Wrecked him. He anchored her waist with one arm, guiding her into the rhythm he wanted, hoping like hell she was as close as he was. He moved slowly, trying to give her time, listening to find out what she liked best.
When she began to make kittenish moans, he sped up. He kissed the soft swell of her breasts, lingering over a taut nipple that spilled out of the lace. Her fingernails bit into his shoulders, her thighs clamping against his, and then her release was upon her. Her body squeezed his, urging him on even though he didn’t need any encouragement. He came so hard the pleasure mingled with pain in the best possible way. Stealing all his breath. Wrenching through every muscle.
He wrapped her in his arms afterward. Wordless and sated. He pulled a woven blanket over them both and stroked her silky waves, the perfect curls having given way to tousled bedhead that invited his touch. She fit against him like she was made to be there, her breath huffing softly against his chest.
He knew it couldn’t last. Not this perfect night together. Not the connection they felt.
But for now it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except that she was here in his arms. She wasn’t here because of her case or because she wanted to get close to one of the wealthy owners of Mesa Falls Ranch. April was here because she felt the same irresistible draw that he did.
That would have seemed like a miracle. Two people drawn together because they both felt the magnitude of inevitability. An undeniable attraction.
But it wasn’t a miracle, because it would come to an end. Once the investor meeting was done and she had all the answers she wanted, she would go back to Denver. She’d return to her mission of making numbers add up, bringing order to a messy world one financial investigation at a time.
As for him? He would fulfill the promises of his past, honoring the friend he couldn’t save by ensuring good works were done in his name. He’d protect the rest of his friends, who each had his own reasons for not wanting the past to come to light. Somehow, he would keep the scandalmongers of the world at bay while he did it.
He only hoped that his inevitable parting with April would be peaceful. Because if her need for answers threatened the remaining secrets he had to keep, the perfect harmony he felt at this moment wouldn’t
end simply.
Their whole relationship would implode. And no matter how much he cared for this incredible woman falling asleep beside him, he couldn’t afford to be the one who was burned.
Ten
The return to Mesa Falls Ranch felt like a fall from paradise after the idyllic night spent with Weston.
Taking shelter from the world in her accommodations at the main lodge two days afterward, April scrolled through emails in an in-box crammed full of messages about her case. She’d had no luck tracking down a Matthew Smith born at hospitals near Dowdon but had received a list of other boys named Matthew born within a forty-mile radius during that year, as well as new travel records for Alonzo. She had all sorts of developments to comb through, which had forced her to decline Weston’s offer to meet him for dinner that evening.
She knew he faced a lot of work of his own today since a tabloid reporter was apparently already staking out the ranch for a story. But even with the increasing social media interest in Mesa Falls, Weston had made time for April tonight, inviting her to his home for dinner.
Yet she’d forced herself to stay in her room. Alone.
A decision she was beginning to regret now that bedtime neared and she’d only eaten a protein bar for supper. A decision she’d regretted long before that, actually, since she craved seeing Weston again far more than she wanted food. But she couldn’t allow her need for him to overrule her work ethic. She wasn’t on vacation, after all. She’d been glued to her phone for hours, trying to make sense of the myriad results she’d received from the staff back at her home office in Denver. All of which would have been more rewarding if she’d been eager to close her investigation. But now that she was developing feelings for Weston?
She definitely didn’t have the same drive to wrap things up in Montana just to return to her mother’s problems. And when she left, her own life would seem even more lonely than before she’d met the most compelling man she’d ever known. Staring blankly at the data on her screen—a travel log with confirmed dates and airfare for Alonzo Salazar’s travels—she wondered if it had been a mistake to make that trip to Kalispell with Weston in the first place. She’d hoped maybe the passion between them would burn out if she let it blaze, hot and fast.
Instead, her time with him had only deepened the bond between them. He was so much more than an attractive man. She’d gotten to see his tender thoughtfulness toward his aunt. She’d experienced his generosity as a lover. And she couldn’t forget his support of her work by bringing her to meet Fallon Reed in the first place. On top of all she already knew about him—that he would even hike into the snowy peaks of western Montana to save her—she knew she was in over her head. How much deeper would she fall once she attended the investor meeting with him next weekend?
As his date.
Reaching for the refillable water bottle she kept on her nightstand, she unscrewed the cap and tried to focus on her work, since ruminating about Weston only made her chest ache. Her gaze moved from the travel log on her screen to an incoming message from Nicole Smith. She clicked on it right away, since Nicole hadn’t responded to her text the day before.
I got fired yesterday before I boarded the plane to return to Mesa Falls Ranch with the rest of my coworkers. I was told my belongings would be shipped to me and that I would be escorted from the premises if I return. Know anything about that?
The message was accompanied by a red-faced emoticon with steam coming from its ears.
April went back and reread the text. Twice.
Was Nicole implying that April had somehow gotten her fired? Worse, had she—inadvertently—done just that by discussing Nicole’s presence at Mesa Falls with Weston? She didn’t want to think that he’d orchestrated something like that without her knowledge, but then again, he’d made it clear that he had secrets to keep that weren’t his own. What if he’d fired Nicole to protect the other ranch owners?
Wariness and worry mingled, making her wonder if she’d been wrong to trust him with as much information as she had about her investigation.
Biting her lip, she debated how to respond, knowing that Nicole was crucial to the case in spite of the fact that she still hadn’t provided April with any concrete evidence of funds dispersed to her nephew through a channel that April could trace. She’d sent some bank statements to show regular deposits, but without knowing where the money came from, that information was worthless. So she typed her reply.
I didn’t know anything about it. I hope the circumstances won’t prevent a conference call at your convenience. We will learn more together than separately.
Slipping from the bed where she’d been propped with her laptop for hours, April wandered to her window overlooking the snow-covered grounds. In the distance, she could see the small pond with its skaters and the lodge where she’d first kissed Weston over dinner. Between the lodge and the pond, a few lighted paths glowed eerily, the low landscape lighting covered with fresh snowfall so that the very earth seemed to glow bright white.
She loved the clean look of the guest ranch. There was no clutter or excess decoration. Just beautiful nature and well-structured buildings. Lights to ensure the place remained easy to navigate even at night. Somewhere out there, Weston Rivera had a house high above the Bitterroot River, half built into a mountainside. She’d heard about it but hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. She wondered if he was there now, thinking of her. Missing her.
Or was she just ten kinds of foolish for feeling something for him after what they’d shared?
She wondered how she could continue to avoid him all week until the investor meeting. As if that would prevent her from falling for him.
She feared she was only delaying the inevitable.
Her phone chimed again. She hoped it might be Weston firming up a time for the event he’d promised she could attend. But it was Nicole again.
There was no message in the body of the text.
Just an attachment.
April clicked on it and saw that it was a bank deposit detail that included lines for both the payer and payee. The payee had been carefully blocked out, presumably by Nicole to keep her sister’s identity secret a little longer. The payer was still legible, however. A limited liability corporation called ClearSkies, all one word.
April didn’t need to review her notes to recall ClearSkies was a shell corporation used by the nominee service that Alonzo Salazar employed to handle the income from his book. That nominee service allowed Salazar to conduct business without his name being used. He’d paid taxes through the lawyers and covered his travel expenses using checks from ClearSkies.
Now the connection between Alonzo and Nicole Smith’s nephew was clear. She held the proof in her hands. The evidence, in conjunction with the way Nicole had just been fired from her position, suggested that someone in a position of power at Mesa Falls didn’t want the connection coming to light. Was Nicole’s nephew one of the secrets the ranch owners were keeping?
Frustration simmered through her at the thought.
She didn’t know if Weston had been the one to personally fire Nicole, but she suspected he’d had a hand in it after April had shared her progress on the case and Nicole’s involvement. If he’d shared that information with the other owners, she might have inadvertently thwarted her own case.
Her exhaustion retreated as adrenaline took over. She slid her feet into a pair of boots and shoved her arms into the sleeves of her warmest coat. She would find Weston tonight and get to the bottom of it, one way or another.
Because no matter what feelings she’d developed for him, her case had to come first. If he was going to share her confidences, she would remind him that she could also share his. She wouldn’t even have far to look to find a way to deliver on that.
Even now, a tabloid reporter hungry for a story was due to check into the ranch any minute.
* * *
Elena Rollins
was here to kick ass and take names.
At least, that was the mantra she kept repeating to herself as she dragged her battered suitcase with a broken wheel along the icy path from the parking lot.
A Southern California girl at heart, she had no clothes appropriate for Montana. A newly destitute girl, thanks to the world’s worst divorce, she was lucky to have as many clothes as she still did.
Her ex-husband’s new girlfriend had moved in while Elena was at a work conference tracking makeup trends for her Instagram in her former career as a beauty influencer. While Elena had been building her following to help her eventually work from home to have the kids her ex supposedly wanted, her replacement was busy laying claim to all of Elena’s things in her LA residence. When she’d returned, she’d been forced to start from scratch.
Elena’s high heels didn’t fare any better on the ice than her suitcase with the broken wheel. They both thumped, out of sync, as she approached the main lodge building to check in to a hotel she couldn’t afford.
But she wasn’t bitter about her ex or his new live-in girlfriend. Much. On some level, she’d always known her marriage to the mild-mannered cooking show host had been a rebound relationship after the one man who’d broken her heart. That was on her. She should have taken her time to heal after her long-ago breakup with Gage Striker, one of the owners of Mesa Falls Ranch. If she’d done that in the first place, she never would have married her ex.
So maybe the time had come to deal with her past. This tabloid story she planned to write would stir trouble for Gage, and she couldn’t deny taking a small bit of pleasure in that. Elena would gladly bankrupt herself for the chance to exact some small payback on Gage, who was at the cause of so many other problems for her.
After the year she’d had, who could blame her for having less-than-charitable thoughts? She’d spent too much of her life being a doormat. Now? She planned to be the one doing the stomping.