But what if Slater had been serious? Jared scowled at the bottle in his hand. What if he’d meant it when he said he wanted to marry Annie?
Nah. Jared shook his head. Slater had been hassling him, that’s all. He wasn’t the marrying kind.
Was he?
Jared remembered the way Annie had looked in that skirt and tight-fitting top. Just a glance from that woman could bring the strongest man to his knees.
He started to raise the bottle of beer to his mouth, then banged it down on the counter. Dammit, anyway! Why had he left them alone together like that? He started to head for the front door, then stopped.
One more day. He only had to get through one more day. Whether they hit oil or not, Annie would be leaving. He’d have to learn to live with that.
He started to turn away when the front door flew open, and the object of his attention stood in the doorway. She slammed the door behind her and marched up to him.
“Jared Stone—” she leveled her gaze with his “—do you love me?”
Shocked, he stared at her. “What?”
“I said, do you love me?”
He couldn’t be hearing her right. But she’d asked him twice. Do you love me? Panic gripped him. How could he answer that. He couldn’t answer that.
“Annie,” he choked out. “I can’t...you can’t...”
“Can’t what?” She moved closer.
He could feel the sweat bead his brow. He wanted to back away, to turn and run, but his feet felt like lead. “For God’s sake...”
“The truth. That’s all I’m asking for. Just say it, Jared.”
Heart pounding, he stared down at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her hazel eyes intense. She stood so close he could smell the floral perfume she wore, feel the heat of her body. His fingers curled, his palms ached, he wanted her so bad.
Do you love me? He never allowed himself to think the words, let alone say them out loud. Well, except for one time, in a moment of weakness. The only person who’d ever known, the only person he’d ever told was...
Slater.
It was like a kick in the stomach. He went very still. “What did Slater tell you?”
She didn’t blink an eye. “That you fell in love with me the first time we met.”
He was going to kill his foreman. Slowly. Painfully. “Slater has a big mouth.”
“He’s honest, which is more than I can say for you. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for me to marry him.”
Jared clenched his teeth. “Did he ask you?”
“In a way.”
“What did you say?” His voice was iron hard.
“I told him I’d think about it.”
He decided he wouldn’t kill the man. He’d torture him. That would be more satisfying. “You don’t love him.”
“So what? The man I do love is too big a jackass to even tell me he loves me. Why should I waste my time?”
The room was growing smaller, the corners moving in on him. He said nothing, just stood there, feeling as if a steel band was closing around his chest. He saw the pain and disappointment in her eyes.
“Goodbye, Jared,” she said softly, and turned away.
Without thinking, he took hold of her shoulders and brought her back around to face him. “Look at me, Annie,” he said raggedly.
She kept her gaze on the floor.
“Annie, please, look at me.”
Jaw set, she complied. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“I can’t love you.”
She flinched at his words. “Because of me, or because of Jonathan?”
“Don’t do this to me—”
“To you! Don’t do this to you?” She jerked out of his hold. “You are one self-centered bastard, Jared Stone. You’re so wrapped up in your own guilt, have you once thought about me? About what I’m feeling?”
She tried to leave, but he grabbed her again. She struggled, but he held on to her tightly, forcing her to look at him.
“Thought about you?” he said with a hoarse laugh. “Lady, there isn’t a moment goes by I don’t think about you. Not one minute I don’t wish to God that things were different, that I didn’t love you so much my insides ache from wanting you.”
He closed his eyes, realizing he’d said it. He’d told her he loved her. Annie stilled in his arms. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a tear slide down her cheek.
“I do love you, Annie,” he said again, and pulled her tightly to him. “I love you so much it scares the hell out of me.”
He brought his mouth to hers. It was impossible not to. He tasted the salt of her tears, felt the quiet sob from her throat as he deepened the kiss. Her arms slid around his neck and he lifted her off the floor, grinding his mouth against hers like a man obsessed.
She clung to him, whimpering, and he carried her to the bedroom. His lips never left hers as he let her body slide down his until her feet touched the floor. She was so soft, so precious. He’d never wanted like this before; he never would again. She was the only woman he’d ever loved, and the realization was so profound he could hardly breathe.
He would have stopped, pulled away before this went any further, but she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and lifted her body snugly against his, moving against him in a way that drove all rational thought from his mind. There was only Annie and the wild driving need pumping through his body to possess her in the most primitive way.
He tugged at the sash of her skirt, pulling it loose, then dropping it to the floor. Impatient with the barrier of clothes between them, he quickly pulled her blouse away from her shoulders, unhooked her lacy white bra and slid both articles of clothing off, letting them fall beside the sash. He cupped her breasts and caressed the hardened tips, then bent her backward, giving him the freedom to taste the sweetness of her soft skin. She arched her back, straining against him as he took her into his mouth, murmuring her pleasure.
Annie was on fire from Jared’s touch. Her breasts felt full and tight, and every touch and stroke of Jared’s tongue sent sparks of pleasure racing over her skin. She burrowed her hands into his hair, murmuring incoherently to him.
I love you. His words careened through her, making her dizzy with elation. She was in a whirlwind of sensation, certain she would be swept away at any moment, terrified that it was a dream and she would wake up. But he’d said it. I love you. She knew that didn’t make him like it, but it was a start.
“Jared,” she whispered, “I love you.”
He moaned, and she wasn’t sure if it was desire or despair, but she knew that she loved him so much she thought her heart might burst. The light of the setting sun was like a haze in the room, settling over their bodies in a soft golden glow.
“Make love to me, Jared,” she murmured. “Please.”
“I am, sweetheart. I am.”
He gathered the fabric of her skirt in his hands and lifted it, then slid his hand over her hip. He watched her, his eyes dark with passion as he pressed his knee between hers, opening her legs wider as he moved his hand over the smooth skin of her inner thighs. His fingers moved upward and traced the thin strip of her lace underwear. She shuddered at his touch.
There was a freedom in their lovemaking that hadn’t been there before, an openness and honesty that had been missing the first time. It made the pleasure more intense, more exciting, and she reveled in the feeling, torn between wanting to laugh or cry at the depth of emotion swirling through her. She slid her hands up his arms and gripped his shoulders, holding on tightly because she was sure her knees would not be able to hold her.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her lips, still wet and swollen from his kiss, were parted, and her eyes were heavy with desire. Desire for him. For him. The realization surged through him like a thunderbolt. He cupped the silky juncture of her legs in his palm, marveling at the texture of her soft skin against his callused hand. She sighed when he slid one finger under the top band of lace, then gasped when he dipped lower and lightly stroked the s
ensitive folds of velvety flesh.
His heart pounded frantically in his chest. His blood raced as he delved into the liquid heat of her body. She was so tight, so ready for him. An urgency gripped him, and he pulled her closer, hungrily covering her mouth with his as he continued to caress her.
And then she was as crazy as he was. She twisted away from him, as if the pleasure was more than she could bear. She struggled with the buttons of his shirt, releasing them one by one, moving her hands and mouth over his bare chest, exploring every hard angle, making his skin burn, turning his insides into an inferno of need. He moaned when her hand moved lower to unsnap his jeans, then sucked in a sharp breath when she slid denim and underwear smoothly down his hips, freeing him for her touch.
Deep ragged breaths consumed him as he closed his eyes, luxuriating in the sensation of her smooth fingers stroking him. It wasn’t possible to feel this intensely, this desperately, he thought, moving his hands over her shoulders and back. It couldn’t be possible. He’d heard a man could die from this kind of pleasure, but he’d never believed it. Now he wasn’t so sure.
They fell to the bed, and the mattress sank beneath them as he covered her body with his. His mouth moved over hers as he kicked off his jeans and boots. She lifted her hips as he tugged her skirt and underwear off.
The tension building inside Annie had become unbearable. Gasping, she wrapped her arms and legs around Jared, wanting frantically to join their bodies and feel him inside her. She made a soft cry of protest when he suddenly pulled away.
Confused, she watched as he reached into the nightstand, then smiled when she saw the small silver packet he pulled out.
She wanted to help, but with her hands shaking the way they were, she was afraid she’d only delay the process, and every second he was away from her was agony.
He moved between her legs then and spread them. Once again their eyes met and held as he lowered himself. She opened her body, her heart and her soul, and pulled him tightly to her, arching her body to meet every strong thrust. The crescendo rose and built, lifting them higher and closer. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, and she cried out his name as her release burst forth in a kaleidoscope of intense sensation. He groaned, then surged hard and deep as his own climax shuddered through him.
Eleven
She lay on her side, one arm draped over the edge of the bed. Jared lay behind her, his arm circling her waist possessively. Their breathing had calmed, and the night settled over them like a satin blanket.
With a sigh, she nestled back, closer to the heat of Jared’s body. He kissed her shoulder, and she smiled at the thrill that rippled through her.
“May I ask why you happened to be so, uh, prepared, Mr. Stone?” she asked teasingly.
“Well—” he nipped at the nape of her neck “—we can thank Jessica for that. She included them in the emergency bag she made up for me. I seem to recall she referred to them as ‘necessities.’”
“Jessica bought them for you—because of me?” Annie groaned and buried her face in the pillow. “How can I ever face her again?”
Jared chuckled, and she felt the rush of air against her neck. “She’s a big girl, Annie. No doubt she suspected something was up between us and—”
They both burst out laughing at his choice of words. Jessica more than suspected, Annie thought, recalling her lunch with his sister. Jared didn’t need to know that, though.
Turning to face him, she pressed her mouth to his jaw, and his beard bristled her lips. The sensation sent a shiver through her. “Well, then, I suppose I’ll just have to thank her.”
“Annie,” he said quietly, and she already decided she didn’t like the tone, “you never told me. Do you know yet about...”
She shook her head. “It’ll be a few more days.”
They were silent then, neither one of them certain what to say. She didn’t tell him that she’d bought a home-pregnancy test, but hadn’t had the courage to use it. She’d wanted to wait until she got back to Dallas, where she could deal with the results, whatever they were, by herself. She didn’t want Jared to be with her because of any responsibility he might feel toward her, but because he loved her and could finally put the past behind them.
At least they’d overcome one of those obstacles, she thought with a smile. He did love her, though getting him to admit it had been like cutting a tree down with a pocket knife. Letting go of the past for Jared was going to be doubly hard.
And as much as she wasn’t ready to face the issue at this moment, it wasn’t going to get any easier by putting it off.
“Jared,” she said gently, “we have to talk about it.”
She felt his body tense beside hers. “About what?”
“About what Slater told me.”
He sat up and reached across her to turn on the light. For one terrible moment she thought he was going to leave. Instead, he propped his elbows on his knees and raked his hands through his hair.
“Do you remember the first day Jonathan brought you to Stone Creek?”
She pulled the sheet around her and sat up, brushing his shoulder with hers. “You were on the rig, tightening one of the drill pipes, I think.”
He nodded. “Did you ever wonder why he brought you to the rig first, instead of the house?”
Now that she thought about it, Jonathan had driven right past Stone Creek Ranch and gone to the rig. “I never thought about it.”
“He brought you here first because he wanted you to meet me before the rest of the family. Not because he needed my approval, but because he wanted to know I liked you.”
He gave a dry laugh and curled his hands tightly in his hair. “I liked you all right. The minute you stepped out of that car and smiled at me, I felt as if I’d been poleaxed.”
His words stunned her. She closed her eyes, trying to remember something about that day. “You barely looked at me,” she said softly. “You were busy working and said you were too dirty to shake my hand.”
“It was my mind that was dirty.” He shook his head in disgust. “My own brother, my twin, brings his fiancée to meet me, and I’m having fantasies about her the moment we meet. It made me sick to my stomach.”
Annie sighed heavily. “Jared, it doesn’t matter now. And Jonathan never knew.”
He turned toward her and took her by the shoulders. “I knew, Annie. I should have stopped it right then and there. Pushed every thought of you out of my mind.”
Her chest ached at the torment she heard in his voice. “You would have, Jared. If Jonathan had lived, you would have.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Even all these years made no difference. I couldn’t control what I felt for you then, just as I can’t now. If Jonathan had lived, I’d still want you. I’d still love you.”
It was strange how those words brought such joy and such sorrow at the same time. She’d wanted desperately to hear them, but seeing the misery they gave Jared only tightened the ache in her chest. How was she going to make him understand he’d done nothing wrong? That there were some things that went beyond control, some things that a person was powerless to prevent?
“We both loved Jonathan. Neither one of us would have ever hurt him. He knew that.” She reached up and gently touched Jared’s cheek. “But Jonathan loved us, too. I don’t believe for one second that he wouldn’t want us to be together now.”
As if in pain, Jared closed his eyes. “I have this dream,” he said hoarsely. “It’s the same one over and over. I’m with you, like this, and Jonathan walks in. He accuses me of betraying him. Of stealing you from him. Then he wants to know why I didn’t save him, why I didn’t stop him from falling.” Jared opened his eyes and Annie saw the anguish there. “I wake up then, in a sweat asking myself the same question.”
She was crying now, and though he stiffened when she circled his waist with her arms, he didn’t pull away. “That’s not Jonathan,” she said through the thickness in her throat. “That’s you. You couldn’t have stopped Jonathan, or y
ou would have. I know it, Jonathan knows it, and in your heart, you know it, too. You would have traded places with him up there on that rig, and still would, if it were possible.”
She lifted her face and looked at him. “But it’s not possible, Jared. It’s not possible.”
He stared at her, but she had no idea if he really heard her. “I think I see him sometimes,” he said distantly. “The back of his head in a crowd. Or through the window of the Cactus Flat café, sitting at a table, reading a paper.”
His shoulders sagged as he let out a long breath. “Once, early in the morning, I even thought I saw him up on the rig. He was smiling. Then he just disappeared, and I knew I’d been imagining it, seeing what I wanted to see.”
“Maybe not, Jared,” Annie whispered. “Maybe that was his way of saying goodbye to you.”
She felt him tremble, then wrap his arms around her and pull her close. She held him tightly, terrified that this was Jared’s way of saying goodbye to her.
She refused to think about that now. Whether she left or she stayed, at least they’d been honest with other. He knew she loved him, and she knew he loved her.
But if that would be enough for Jared to let go of the past, she still didn’t know.
* * *
As they neared the target zone of 12,360 feet, the tension on the rig was stretched taut. Every crew member knew how critical the final feet of drilling were, and as the time approached, a silence closed around the site. The men’s faces were somber, and there was none of the usual conversation or joking that lightened the otherwise tedious hard work. Even Slater, who was always calm, seemed anxious as he stood to the side with Ken, Annie’s supervisor, and explained the operation.
The drill man called out a depth of 12,340 feet.
Jared had felt pressure on every rig he’d worked on, but nothing as oppressive as this. He knew that every man here was pulling for him; they wanted to hit oil almost as badly as he did. They’d been a good crew, a loyal crew, even sticking around through the permit fiasco. He wanted to give them a bonus, but unless they hit pay dirt today—within the next half hour—they’d all be standing in the unemployment line together.
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