COURT-APPOINTED MARRIAGE

by Dianne Castell

  This was a good thing she was doing, Prudence reassured herself.

  "Okay," Brice called. "On the count of three, pull the rope tight, and I'll push." Brice counted, Pru pulled; the cow mooed and tossed her head, and her baby replied. The cow stumbled and fell to one side. For a moment, Prudence feared Brice might get caught underneath, but then the cow found her footing and staggered out of the mud and onto firm land. Eyeing her calf, she took off in a trot, then a run. Pru watched the grin spread over Brice's face. For a second, time froze.

  She'd never seen Brice look so truly happy, and he wasn't happy over oil or money or power or being the head of the McCormacks. He was happy because he'd saved a cow and reunited a mom and baby. Prudence felt her eyes sting with tears and her heart swell with respect for him. No one had ever looked so attractive, so wonderful, so admirable as Brice looked at this very moment.

  He was saying something. It seemed to be something important, but the loud mooing and thundering hoofs as the mama cow ran by drowned out his words. He waved, looking a bit frantic. She flashed a victorious smile. Then she heard him yell her name, just a second before there was a hard jerk on her hands that made her stumble. She was yanked around in the other direction, then propelled through the air as if caught in a tornado.

  Yikes, she'd forgotten to let go of the blasted rope!

  * * *

  Chapter 7

  « ^ »

  Prudence hit the ground with a hard whamp, her arms stretched out in front. Her ribs, stomach, hips and knees bounced over the ground, and she felt like some child's pull-toy that had lost its wheels. She fought to keep her head up, as sticks, leaves and mud slid by. She tried to release the rope, but it was tangled in Brice's oversize gloves and pulled tight over her fingers. Her teeth rattled as her head bounced up-down, up-down.

  Finally she stopped. Her arms felt as if they'd been pulled from their sockets, but the gushy ground around the pond had spared her from being cut to ribbons. She could hear the happy mooings of mama and baby in front of her. She could also hear Brice frantically calling her name, but she was too winded to answer. A second later the rope holding her arms went slack, and Brice turned her over.

  "Pru? Pru? Open your eyes. Say something."

  "You owe me a suit."

  He exhaled a deep breath. "Why didn't you let go?"

  I was too busy realizing what a great guy you are didn't sound like an appropriate answer, especially since less than twenty-four hours ago they'd agreed to avoid each other so they, could get on with their lives once this feud ended. Instead, she said, "I was watching the … cows."

  "Like hell, you were looking straight at me with some dopey expression on your face. Didn't you hear me yelling at you to let go of the rope?" He did a quick clinical assessment of her limbs. "I don't think anything's broken."

  Maybe not—but now she wasn't just unnerved, disoriented and pummeled, she was turned on. How could she be turned on when she couldn't even walk?

  "Can you help me sit up?"

  He did that, then said, "Looks like you only got a scrape on your nose and one on your chin. Good thing the ground here is soft and … oh, boy." Brice held her shoulders but turned his face away from her and cowered.

  "Oh, boy, what?" She blinked a few times to clear the dizziness, and pulled in a few deep breaths. "Criminy, Brice, those cows smell awful." Her eyes teared from the odor. "I never knew cows could smell so bad. Whew!"

  Using two fingers, Brice unwound the rope from her gloves and slipped her hands free. He tossed the gloves far over his shoulder, then wiped her face and hair with his bandanna. He tossed that, too. "Pru, honey, it's not the cows that smell."

  She was still woozy, and her eyes felt as if they were rolling around in her head like marbles in an empty box. And that smell was making her sick. "Never figured pond water to smell so bad."

  "It doesn't."

  "Must be the mud. I didn't notice it driving out here. In fact, I thought it smelled…" Her eyes suddenly focused, and her gaze locked with Brice's. He looked kind, understanding and totally sympathetic.

  "Pru, the cattle just went through here and … and where cattle go there's bound to be…"

  "Cow poop? I have cow poop on me!" She swiped frantically at her suit. "My hair? Do I have it in my hair?"

  "Just a little, sweetheart. It'll wash—"

  "Get it out!" She jumped up, pulling wildly at her hair. "Get it out! Get it out!"

  "It'll wash out. In four or five shampoos you'll never know—"

  Pru yanked off her skirt, jacket, blouse and stockings, tossing them as far away from her as possible, leaving her clad in her teddy, garter belt and panties. They seemed to be clean. At least, they didn't have telltale black smudges of questionable origin on them. Wet grass tickled her toes, and the sun offered some warmth, but she wouldn't have cared if it was forty degrees below zero. Cold beat cow poop any day.

  Brice looked dumbstruck, as if he didn't know what to make of her behavior. Then again, how many women did a striptease on a cow path?

  The sound of hoofbeats approaching drew her and Brice's attention down the path she'd follow to get here. It was Derek. No doubt followed by the entire McCormack clan, toting their cameras. Whatever had happened to the lonely life of a cowboy she'd always heard about?

  Brice moved in front of her, affording a bit of cover, as Derek pulled up short, keeping a good distance between himself and Brice and Prudence.

  "Jumpin' Jehoshaphat," Derek said, his eyes wide, surveying the scattered clothes. "Didn't mean to interrupt anything, big brother. When you didn't show up, I got worried. Hadn't figured on you two being out here and … and…"

  Brice shook his head. "Derek, this isn't what you think. Pru got tangled up in a rope and—"

  "Hold on, now." Derek's eyes widened more, and he looked away. "Don't want to hear anything about ropes and the like. That's none of my business. I'll just take Slim and the cows and be on my way."

  "Look, Derek—" Brice said.

  Derek held up his hands as if stopping a charging herd of cattle. "I don't want to look, big brother. Fact is, I don't want any explanations at all." He slid from his saddle and quickly snatched up the ropes. "To think some folks doubted you and Pru actually … well, you know what they doubted. Whoa, were they ever wrong. McCormacks and Randolphs can get along mighty fine, once they set their minds to it. Who would have thought?"

  Derek remounted and tied the ropes to his saddle horn. He smiled broadly and tipped his hat. "I'll take care of the cattle and Slim. You two just take care of yourselves, now, you hear. See you later, much later." Then he took off, back the way he'd come.

  Prudence groaned. "Stuff like this never happens to me in town. I always have my clothes on in town. What am I doing out here? How could this happen to me? I'm basically a nice person. Don't cheat on my taxes. Give big candy bars to the trick-or-treaters."

  Brice faced her. "You've had a little run of bad luck, Pru. That's all."

  "A little?" Was that squeaky voice really hers? He went to touch her, but she backed away, shaking her head. "I … stink. I've fallen off a roof. I sleep in bags." She swallowed a self-pitying sob. "Get the truck, there's a blanket on the front seat. I had it there to protect my new…" She eyed her jacket, blouse, skirt and hose. One shoe was half-buried in the mud; heaven knows where the other one was. "Just get the truck."

  Brice unbuttoned his shirt and held it out to her. "Take this to keep warm. You're … chilled."

  The sun was dropping fast. Goose bumps covered her arms, and she could feel her nipples tingle against her teddy. Brice would have to be blind not to notice it, too. But considering the other indignities she'd suffered in the past fifteen minutes, stiff nipples didn't even deserve a mention.

  * * *

  Brice leaned against the wall in the back hallway, listening to the shower in the mudroom run full tilt. He'd brought Pru her shampoo and some other stuff she'd asked for. She'd been in there for a half-hour now. Since he'd grabbed a
quick shower upstairs, there couldn't be more than a thimbleful of hot water left by now.

  "Pru?" he called through the cracked wood door that separated the mudroom from the hall. He knocked twice. "You okay in there?" He'd been tempted to add city girl, but since she'd been introduced to both ends of a cow in rather spectacular ways today, city girl didn't seem to fit. "You're awfully quiet," he called again.

  "Cow poop doesn't make me chatty."

  "Is it any consolation to know that Derek can't keep a secret to save his soul, and that by now half of Serenity's heard that you and I were in the middle on nowhere having sex with wild abandon. It's got to be good for the Randolph-McCormack image we're aiming for."

  "Excuse me if I can't work up any enthusiasm at the moment, but I still smell like cattle dung."

  He felt a smile push across his face. It was easy to do that now that Pru was safe in the shower joking about her condition, but he sure hadn't felt like smiling when he'd watched her being dragged across the ground. For the second time in two days, she'd seared the liver out of him.

  Steering clear of her wasn't such a great idea, after all. She was completely out of her element on a ranch and needed watching over. He owed her that much. Of course, when they'd been together, his hormones had gone into overdrive. He could still see her standing in the field, wearing that white lace teddy—with a hint of nipple showing—surrounded by springtime and sunshine. The lime rose tattoo on her thigh still upped Brice's blood pressure a good ten points. Pru's current fragrance may not have been designer quality, but everything else about her was damn fine.

  In fact, just knowing she was in the shower right now, naked as a jaybird, gave him heart palpitations. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hoping to find a more comfortable position. It did no good.

  The door to the mudroom opened, and Pru stood in front of him wrapped in a fluffy white towel that only reached mid-thigh. A cloud of steam surrounded her, and her lashes were spiked from the water, framing her deep blue eyes. Droplets trickled down her face, neck and chest, disappearing into the hint of cleavage. She still didn't look very happy, but she didn't look too upset, either.

  She said, "Good, you're here." She looked up at him, making his breath catch in his throat. Her tongue caught a drop of water that had been clinging to her top lip, and his insides fired hotter than a branding iron at roundup time. "I need your help." Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and she asked, "You did call your oil rig people, didn't you?"

  "Everything's taken care of. Thanks."

  "You're welcome. Now I need you to help me." She stuck the top of her head in his face. "Does it still smell like … like you-know-what?"

  Brice stared at the mass of damp, springy auburn curls in front of him. He wanted to run his hands through her hair, dry her wet face and snap that towel right off her body. The scent of warm vanilla filled his lungs and swirled around him, bewitching him like some voodoo spell.

  "You smell great, Pru. Wonderful, magnificent."

  She kept her head down and asked, "No cow? You're sure, absolutely sure?"

  He pulled in every ounce of self-control he possessed and stuffed his hands in his pockets to make sure they didn't do any towel snapping. "Yeah. I'm absolutely sure. And I'm really sorry about all this."

  Right now, he was sorrier than he could tell her. If she hadn't come after him, none of this would be happening, and the two of them would still be avoiding each other.

  Then again, she did help him save the cow. He owed her for that. "I'll make this up to you, Pru. I'll have my men work the two-track into a drivable lane. You can have your Lincoln back, and you don't ever have to ride in a truck again."

  She raised her head and gave him a smile that lit up her face like sun on snow. "Thank you."

  Those two words along with her incredible smile crumpled his self-control. How could he stay away from someone so lovely, so giving, so understanding of the responsibilities he faced?

  He kissed her because he'd been dying to all day, and because in so many ways she was his soul mate. She was unlike any other woman he'd ever met. They'd been interested in what he and his money could do for them. Not Pru. She understood responsibility and family obligations and the demands both made on him, and she helped when she didn't have to at all.

  He cupped her face, savoring the warmth of her soft skin against his rough palms, remembering the whimpers she'd made deep in her throat when he'd kissed her. She seemed so delicate, almost fragile, yet she had incredible inner strength. Her body leaned in to his, and he inhaled her unique feminine scent as their tongues stroked and caressed. He was on fire for her, and every muscle in his body was rock hard.

  God, he wanted her! He ran his hands down her elegant throat, over her shoulders and down her arms, which curved in front of her. She was holding the towel, and when he considered what was under that towel, his blood boiled like coffee on a campfire.

  "I want you to make love to me, Brice. I want to make love to you."

  He gritted his teeth as his body throbbed. Hearing her admit what he felt was a powerful aphrodisiac.

  "We can't be true to each other and to our families, Pru. Making love isn't going to change who we are."

  "Then … we'll be someone else. We'll escape. Forget who we are." She tipped her head and gave him a hot sultry look that was not at all like the Pru he knew. "Hi, my name's Prudence … Smith."

  "Smith?"

  "Uh-huh. And you're Brice … Jones."

  He laughed. "This is nuts."

  "It's the only thing I can come up with on short notice."

  "Oh, boy." He grimaced. "We have a problem."

  "Brice, we have lots of problems. You'll have to be more specific."

  "I don't have … protection."

  Pru let out a long, hot breath and rested her forehead against his chin. "Ms. Smith is going to go take a very cold shower before she combusts."

  Pru felt wonderful in his arms, all warm and soft with wanting him. "Wait."

  "Wait?" She gazed up at him. Her eyes opened wide and the pulse at the base of her throat beat faster than lightning strikes on a summer night.

  "In my luggage upstairs. I might—"

  She pressed her fingers to his lips. "Hurry."

  "If I'm not back in a minute, go take that shower."

  * * *

  Prudence listened to the sound of Brice's boots on the wood floors, echoing through the nearly empty house. She could hear him moving around upstairs, and her insides burned with anticipation. His rapid footfalls sounded on the steps again, making her hopes soar—until she saw him bolt out the front door, taking all hopes of lovemaking right along with him. This was not turning out to be one of her better days. She'd had a lot of those lately, she realized as she headed for the shower.

  The cold water felt like ice pellets pummeling her skin. Closing her eyes, she reasoned that her current situation was meant to be. She and Brice should not get involved. They were compatible, but they certainly didn't trust each other. All they needed to do was hang together to end the feud, then they'd go back to being heads of their families. Making love would just add more confusion to an already confusing relationship, though she'd give her Lincoln for some of Brice's "physical confusion" right now.

  Suddenly, she heard Brice quietly say her name. She opened her eyes, pulled back the shower curtain and saw him standing in the mudroom. He was as naked as she was, and he looked magnificent. No man had a right to be so trim, so muscled, so … so very well-endowed. Her insides turned to jelly, except for a spot deep inside that blazed hot and wild. The hot part she'd felt before, but never, ever the wild.

  Keeping his eyes on her, Brice walked over and switched the water to warm, then slid into the tiny shower with her. She watched his thick black hair mat to his scalp and droplets run down his face and off his chin. She swiped his hair from his forehead, noticing a scorching heat gleaming in his eyes.

  He said, "Ms. Smith, you are gorgeous. Perfect. Incredible. Sexy
as hell."

  "Mr. Jones, if you don't have a condom, you're dead meat."

  A grin cut across his face, and he winked. "In Derek's truck, buried under a pile of stuff in the glove compartment." He held the faded, crinkled-up gold package in the palm of his hand for her to see.

  Desire whirled through her. "I want to go to bed with you, Brice." He was a delicious-looking man, all cowboy and, right now, all hers. Her fingers trailed down his arms and across his chest, running through his short dark hair. His erection pressed hard between her hips, making her dizzy with anticipation.

  "Pru, we don't have a bed." This made her laugh. Then he kissed her hard, sending shivers up her spine in spite of the warm water. He balanced the little gold package on top of her shampoo bottle, then gently cupped her breasts, running the pad of his thumb over her nipples, sending tremors through her body. "Do you like that, Pru?" His eyes darkened to the color of chocolate.

  Her voice failed her completely, and she was reduced to nodding. She ran her hands over his stomach, then below. He sucked in a quick breath as she held him, teased him, memorized the feel of him in her hands. His fingers slid down her sides, across her thighs. Tenderly, he opened her legs.

  She thought she was prepared for him to touch her, but when his fingers connected with her most feminine spot, she nearly dissolved and slid down the drain. Desire burned in his eyes as she reached for the condom, tore it open and slowly, deliberately, provocatively covered him. His breathing quickened, and the pulse at his temple beat a rapid tattoo.

  "Put your hands on my shoulders, sweetheart. When I lift you up, just wrap your legs around me."

  She closed her eyes, but he said, "No, Pru. I want you to watch me. I want to see our lovemaking in your eyes."

  The passion and hunger in his voice and on his face thrilled her, excited her as she had never been before. And when he cupped her derriere and lifted her, letting the wall support her back, she knew she wanted Brice more than she wanted anything else on earth.

  Instinctively she encircled his hips with her legs and welcomed him inside her.