Big Sky Country

by Janet Dailey

  Try as she would, Jill couldn't forget the scene his indifferent voice had described. It haunted her, dulling the beauty of the meadow and marring the serenity of the mountain stream. That long-ago event didn't hurt him anymore. She was a fool to let it hurt her.

  It didn't change the fact that she had the power to bring him to his knees. She could still use the physical attraction he felt for her to manipulate him into approving of Todd and Kerry's marriage.

  A cold, ruthless streak had become embedded in him and he would not hesitate to use any means within his grasp. It wasn't as if she could hurt him again. He was beyond being hurt. He pitied no one, so why should she pity him?

  Todd's catch of trout had been spitted and cooked slowly over the glowing embers of the camp fire, then served with canned tomatoes and piping hot bannock biscuits Riordan had fried. It had been a delicious meal, only Jill's appetite had been dulled.

  She stared at the speckled gray coffee pot suspended at the side of the fire. Kerry had enlisted Todd's aid in carrying the dishes to the stream to be washed. They had not camped close to the stream because Riordan had explained that animals came down at night to water and he didn't want their camp obstructing the animals' right of way to the stream. The explanation had not put Kerry at ease.

  "More coffee?" Riordan stooped beside the fire and refilled his cup from the gray pot.

  "No." Jill shook her head absently, her hair catching and reflecting the amber flames of the fire.

  From the stream, she heard a startled shriek from Kerry, and Todd's laughing admonition that it was only a harmless raccoon. The corners of Riordan's mouth turned up crookedly.

  "Your friend is a little jumpy."

  His faintly derogatory tone made blue diamond chips of her eyes, cold and cutting, her heart hardening against him. The time of indecision was thrust away. How dared he criticize Kerry's feelings of fear toward the unknown when he possessed no feelings himself?

  "What can you expect, Riordan? Camping in the wilds is completely outside Kerry's experience." Her voice was low and tautly controlled. "It's not so difficult to understand that when you're in alien surroundings with alien creatures known to be wild, you feel apprehensive and not a little bit frightened."

  "You aren't frightened."

  "No." She turned her head, sharply challenging his hooded look. "But my family camped a lot, backpacking into Yellowstone on weekends, so this isn't a totally new experience for me."

  "I see you're still intent on defending your friend." Riordan was in the shadowy circle beyond the fire, the sardonic amusement in his voice mocking her.

  "I see you're still intent on breaking them up," Jill retorted smoothly, keeping the anger from her voice.

  "I didn't realize butterflies could be so irritable. What's the matter, Jill?" he taunted.

  Closing her eyes against the impulse to snap, she took a deep breath, releasing it in a shrugging sigh. "Most butterflies probably never spend a day in the saddle riding up a mountain."

  "Stiff?"

  "Brilliant deduction," she responded dryly, unconsciously arching the protesting muscles in her back. She stared into the crackling flames of the camp fire.

  Pine needles rustled beside her, warning her a second too late of Riordan's approach. As she started to turn, a pair of hands closed firmly over her shoulders and began to spread the taut muscles in her back. A soft moan escaped her startled lips, a mixture of pain and enjoyment.

  "If you weren't so prejudiced because Kerry is your friend, you would see that in the long run they aren't suited to each other and you would join forces with me in separating them before they make a big mistake."

  His fingers were working magic on her aching flesh. Jill almost wished there wasn't any need for conversation, but she shook her head determinedly.

  "You don't know your brother well, Riordan," she murmured. "I think you somehow believe that he survived the separation of your parents relatively untouched. But you're quite wrong. He's chosen a wife whom he knows will be at his side through anything. If you thought this trail ride was going to point out their differences to Todd, you've failed. If it revealed anything to him, then it's the fact that Kerry joined in without one word of complaint, adjusting as best she could to the surroundings."

  "But will she continue to do that?" Riordan mocked softly with underlying sarcasm.

  His strong fingers, had sent a lethargy creeping through her bones, but at his question Jill stiffened, holding herself motionless as a light flashed in her eyes.

  "It isn't Kerry you object to, is it, Riordan?" She answered the quiet demand herself. "It's marriage. No matter who Todd chose, you wouldn't approve."

  "No," was his simple and uncaring reply, laced with a touch of amusement.

  A short breathy laugh slipped from her throat, not expecting that he should admit it so nonchalantly. Tilting her head to one side, she glanced over her shoulder at his lazily alert expression.

  "Do you really despise women that much?" Her eyes searched the carved, imposing features, the enigmatic gray of his eyes.

  The hard masculine mouth curved into a cold taunting smile. "What do you think of men, Jill? Do you admire them? Look up to them? View them as equals? Or do you enjoy twisting them around your pretty little finger and letting them fall when they no longer amuse you?"

  His mocking accusation struck too close to the mark. She did tend to play with men, but not cruelly and callously as Riordan suggested. Deep down there was always the hope that the man she went after would be the one she loved. Only with Riordan did she want to be the unfeeling enchantress.

  Her tongue nervously moistened her lower lip, unconsciously sensual until she saw the smoldering light darken his eyes. A wicked sparkle flashed in her eyes, enticing and challenging.

  "And you, Riordan," she murmured with husky suggestiveness, "do you really despise everything about a woman? Or do you find that they have occasional uses?"

  He smiled, recognizing the invitation on her gleaming lips. A dark brow arched, the massaging hands on her back sliding near her ribcage.

  "Occasionally," he responded coolly.

  Jill fixed her blue gaze on his mouth, feeling her heartbeat quicken. "Like this morning on the hilltop?" Forgotten for the moment was her own naked response to his embrace. Only the memory of the way she had aroused him was considered.

  His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as if measuring the strength of the trap she laid for him. The rakish thickness of his hair gleamed blacker in the firelight, a faint arrogance hardening his impassive features. "Did you enjoy it?"

  "Did you?" Jill breathed.

  The hands tightened on her ribs, lifting and turning her into his arms. The initial shock of having physical contact again with his hard-muscled chest made her mind spin. Her head rested against his arm, the tawny gold of her hair spinning over his shoulder while he inspected the perfection of her face with slow deliberation. Jill let herself relax pliantly. A hand slid across her stomach to curve over her hip.

  Then the male mouth was closing over hers. That seductive searing fire that she had somehow forgotten consumed her again. There was no fierceness in his touch this time, only a series of long, drugging kisses calculated to undermine her sensibility to everything but his virility. A warning bell chimed that she was losing control. Riordan was seducing her, not the other way around. The insanity of it was that she didn't care. She wanted to go on drowning in the sensual oblivion of his caress.

  From this admission came the strength to resist. With a tremulous gasp, she twisted away from his mouth using her arms to wedge a space between them. Her skin felt hot to the touch, the raging fire within refusing to be banked.

  Strong fingers cupped her jaw, tilting her chin upward. Not daring to meet his eyes for fear she would be captured by their silvery sheen, Jill stared at his mouth, so cool, so self-composed compared to the trembling softness of hers. The tanned fingers trailed down her neck until his hand rested lightly and deliberately on her breast.

/>   "I want you," Riordan said with soft arrogance.

  Yes, he wanted her, Jill acknowledged, but not enough, not yet. Straightening toward him, she let her lips flutter submissively against his mouth as if in surrender to his dominant strength. Then, with a single fluid movement, she was out of his arms and on her feet standing in front of the fire. She could feel him watching the uneven rise and fall of her breasts and tried to stabilize her breathing. Her limbs were treacherously weak beneath her.

  Riordan made no move to follow her, his long male length stretched in a half-sitting position, seemingly relaxed and undisturbed. She forced herself to play by the rules of her game, the rules that would allow her to win.

  "You'll have to forgive me, Riordan," she sighed, tossing a faint smile over her shoulder. "I'm afraid I got a bit carried away."

  "Why should I forgive you for that?" he returned evenly. "I enjoyed it."

  "So did I—a little too much." That was the absolute truth, but it served her purpose to say it. "Todd and Kerry should be back soon. Would you care for another cup of coffee?"

  "Since there's nothing stronger," he agreed.

  Forgetting that the pot had been sitting above the flames for a long time, she tried to pour the coffee without the aid of a pot holder. She had barely closed her fingers around the handle before she released it.

  "That's the way to get burned," Riordan drawled, tossing her a towel.

  Jill could have told him there was more than one way to accomplish that as she successfully filled his cup and one for herself as well. She had just sat down, a discreet distance from Riordan, when Kerry and Todd returned.

  "Ah, coffee!" Todd kneeled beside the pot, wisely picking up the towel before he attempted to pour a cup. "Was that a cougar I heard a while ago?" He directed his question at Riordan as he settled on to the ground near the fire, pulling Kerry down beside him and nestling her in the crook of his arm.

  "Yes," Riordan agreed. He caught Jill's startled glance, the glitter in his eyes mocking the fact that she had obviously been deaf to everything when she was in his arms.

  "Aren't you going to organize a hunt to go after him?" Todd frowned. "He could raise havoc with the spring calf crop."

  "So far he's restricted his prey to the deer. I certainly don't object if he keeps them to a manageable number. That way there aren't so many deer to compete with my cattle for graze. If he shows a taste for beef, I'll have to get rid of him," Riordan shrugged.

  Kerry shuddered. "I hope he doesn't."

  "So do I," Riordan responded dryly. "As far as I'm concerned, the range is big enough for both of us. I respect the cougar's right to survive. If it's possible I'll drive him out of the area rather than destroy him. That isn't always possible."

  Unwillingly a tightness closed over Jill's throat that Riordan should feel compassion for wild animals and none for humans. Was it his affinity for the land that made him that way?

  Later, snuggled in her bedroll, the fire dying beside her, she stared at the stars, the question still unanswered. There was so much about Riordan she under stood. His cynicism, his hardness, his aversion to any lasting relationship with a woman. Yet was there more? Was that little twelve-year-old boy still hiding somewhere inside, sensitive and alone?

  The morning sun made Jill forget all her unanswered questions of the night before. The answers were really of little consequence anyway. She was still determined to go ahead with her plans. But she did recognize after last night that it was a dangerous game she was playing, luring Riordan with implied promises she had no intention of fulfilling. It served to make the game more exciting and the vivid color of her eyes revealed it.

  While Kerry poured water on the remains of the camp fire, Jill stirred the coals to be certain no live ember remained. Todd was saddling the horses a few yards away and Riordan was loading the packhorse.

  "It's all out," Jill announced with a bright smile.

  "Last night…" Kerry moved restively, drawing a curious glance from Jill. "Last night, I saw you with Riordan. Jill, what are you doing?" Anxious brown eyes searched Jill's face, as if certain her friend had taken leave of her senses.

  "Exactly what it looked like. I was letting Riordan chase me," she replied. Her gaze moved thoughtfully to the broad shoulders of the man in question.

  "You know the old saying, Kerry, a boy chases a girl until she catches him. Well, I'm going to catch Riordan."

  "Do you mean you've fallen in love with him?" Kerry breathed incredulously.

  "No, silly," Jill laughed softly. "I'm not that big a fool. But I think I can get him to agree to your marriage before the month is up. It's impossible to reason with that man. That only leaves female trickery."

  "Oh, Jill, do you think you should?"

  "Should has nothing to do with it. I'm doing it."

  "Come on, honey. We're ready to start back." Todd stood holding the reins to Kerry's horse, effectively ending the conversation between the two.

  The mountains in the east were reflecting the purpling pink glow of a setting western sun when the four rode into the ranchyard. During the ride down Jill had not attempted to force a conversation with Riordan or even lightly flirt with him. This was the time to be slightly inaccessible, to be friendly if he made the move but never to imply an intimacy.

  One of the ranch hands was there to take the horses. Jill smiled easily when Riordan helped her from the saddle, deliberately ignoring the fraction of a second his hands remained on her waist after she was on the ground.

  "I hope Mary has fixed an enormous roast with potatoes and gravy and the works," Todd declared. His arm was nonchalantly draped over Kerry's shoulders as they all started toward the house.

  "I hope she's a mind reader and has a hot bubbling tubful of water waiting for us," Jill inserted. "The food can wait."

  "You girls can laze in the tub if you want," Todd grinned. "I'll take a quick shower and eat."

  "Not all of it. I'm starved, too," Kerry laughed.

  "There's a car in the driveway. Oh, oh!" Todd arched a brow expressively at his brother. "It looks like you have a visitor."

  Jill recognized the gold and brown car. It belonged to none other than Sheena Benton. This was not exactly the way Jill had wanted to end the day. She slanted a glance at Riordan and caught the watchful glimmer of his gray eyes on her. He expected her to be disappointed.

  "Maybe she can stay for dinner," she suggested in a deliberately casual vein.

  "I'll ask." Riordan's mouth quirked.

  Todd's eyes shifted from one to the other. He had seen what Kerry had seen the night before, and unless Kerry had enlightened him, which Jill doubted, he had put his own construction on it.

  "It ought to be an interesting evening," offered Todd dryly. His comment was followed by a sharp dig in his ribs by Kerry's elbow.

  Entering the house through the rear door, they found the kitchen empty but with all sorts of delicious smells coming from the oven. In the entrance hall, they could hear Sheena's voice. Jill couldn't make out what she was saying, but it was obvious she was talking to Mary.

  "Oh, Riordan, there you are," Sheena declared with purring delight when the foursome walked into the entrance hall.

  "Hello, Sheena," Riordan greeted her blandly. "I didn't expect to see you here."

  "I was just leaving, actually. Mary told me you'd gone on a trail ride and, of course, I had no idea when you would be back. Did just the four of you go?" Her tiger eyes swerved to Jill, hostility sparkling in their almond shape.

  "Just the four of us," Jill answered with a challenging smile.

  "It must have been a long ride back. You certainly look grimy and saddlesore," Sheena replied.

  Miaow! Jill thought, catching the snapping humor of Mary Rivers's black eyes and trying not to let an answering sparkle enter her own. It would simply not do for Sheena to discover that she and Mary were laughing at her, however silently.

  "You're right on both counts," Jill agreed. "Although—" an impish demon made her
glance at Riordan "—it was certainly worth it"

  Amber fire flamed over her face and Jill knew she had thoroughly evoked Sheena's jealousy. So did Riordan. The gray eyes appeared complacently amused.

  "What brings you here, Sheena?" he asked. "Business or pleasure?"

  "Business mainly." The fires were banked as she swung her gaze to him, the light in her eyes adding that just how much "business" depended on him. "I was hoping I could persuade you to come over one evening and go over my accounts with me."

  "Will Friday night be soon enough?" He didn't seem surprised by the request, which led Jill to believe that it was a common one or a smoke screen for a more intimate rendezvous. Or both.

  "Friday will be fine," Sheena purred, sending a cool sweeping smile that bordered on triumph to the others in the room. "I'll be going now to leave you all free to wash the trail dust off."

  "Aren't you staying for dinner?" Clear blue eyes widened innocently. There was immense satisfaction in turning the tables on Sheena and pretending to be the hostess this time. "I'm sure Mary can stretch the food."

  "You're welcome to stay if you like," Riordan inserted, a faint twitch of amusement near one corner of his mouth as if he knew the intent of Jill's invitation.

  "Thank you, darling," Sheena purred. "But I know you're all on the verge of collapse. I'll see you Friday"

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  Chapter Eight

  A BEE MADE a downward swoop toward her head and Jill ducked quickly away from his buzzing path. Raising a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, she looked again to the truck parked beside the fence, its tailgate down. Beyond it and partially hidden by it was Riordan's dark head. Her fingers tightened their grip on the unopened bottle of cold beer.

  Since the trail ride, she had seen next to nothing of Riordan. Myriad small obstacles had littered her path, ranging from sick animals to mechanical breakdowns of ranch equipment. Her plans were threatening to stagnate unless she took them in hand. Today was Friday and it was imperative that she make an impression on Riordan before he visited Sheena tonight.