THE TIES THAT BIND

by Ginna Gray

  "Mother didn't love him, nor did he love her, but our situation was desperate."

  "I guess it's safe to assume your mother didn't produce the way Seamus planned."

  "Oh, there was one pregnancy after another just like clockwork for five years, but the babies were all stillborn. And none of them was the son Seamus wanted. I understand that the same thing happened with his first wife, your grandmother, after Colleen was born."

  "Sounds to me like the problem lay with Seamus."

  "Yes, the doctor suspected he carried a defective gene, but Seamus refused to accept that. His determination to father a son cost two good women their lives. My mother died giving birth to her fifth stillborn daughter. Your own grandmother died with her sixth."

  "You said he ran your life. How so?"

  "He decided what I could do, where I could go and when. He even told me what I could and couldn't wear, with whom I could associate – which was no one outside this ranch."

  "Why did you let him get by with it? You sure don't have any trouble defying me."

  "I wasn't a meek little mouse, if that's what you mean, but I knew not to push him too far." Willa dried the Dutch oven and put it away. "At first I didn't rebel because I was trying so desperately to gain his approval. Later, after my mother died, I was afraid if I crossed him too much he wouldn't let me stay here. He hadn't adopted me, so he wasn't under any obligation. He could have sent me to an orphanage, and that thought terrified me. Also, by then, it seemed the only thing in my life that I could count on to always be there was this ranch."

  Zach gave her a long searching look, but he didn't comment.

  When they finished the dishes he added more wood to the fire. Then he dragged the rolled-up mattress off the bed and tossed it onto the floor in front of the stove. "We'll sleep here where we'll get maximum heat," he announced.

  Willa's mouth fell open. "We? We! What do you mean, we? If you think I'm going to sleep with you, you can just forget it!"

  * * *

  Chapter 9

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  "Relax. Your virtue is safe." Zach hunkered down on one knee and spread a silver space blanket out on the floor in front of the stove then untied the cords holding the thin bunk mattress and unrolled it on top. He didn't bother to look up.

  "Darn right it is, because I'm not getting into bed with you."

  "You don't have any choice. Neither of us has." He shook out the bedroll blanket and spread it on top of the mattress.

  "That's what you think. Lay a hand on me, Mahoney, and you'll be walking funny for a week."

  Zach stood up and dusted off his palms, his movements fluid and unhurried. Willa backed up a step.

  "Oh, for the love of— Will you cut that out? I'm not going to force myself on you."

  She didn't look convinced, and he rolled his eyes. "Look, the temperature outside is about fifteen and dropping, and all we have is one wool blanket and the two space blankets I tossed into my saddlebags. This little stove can't heat the whole cabin. It was only intended for cooking, and maybe to knock off the chill on a summer night. Hell, you could freeze meat over there in the corners right now. The only way we're going to keep from turning into a couple of popsicles is to sleep right here," he insisted, pointing to the makeshift bed at his feet.

  Willa crossed her arms and hugged them tightly to her middle. "We could sleep in shifts," she suggested hopefully.

  "Trust me, before this night is over we're going to need to share our body heat."

  Just the thought of that made Willa's stomach muscles quiver.

  Zach went to the door and took his duster from the peg and slipped it on. "I'm going to step outside for a few minutes and give us both some privacy. I suggest you make use of the facilities while I'm gone," he said with a pointed glance at the chamber pot under the bunk frame. "And I'd hurry if I were you. I'm not standing around out there for very long."

  He was out the door before she could reply. When it banged shut behind him Willa practically leaped across the room and dragged out the white enamel pot.

  She had barely zipped up her jeans when he returned amid a blast of freezing air and snowflakes. He shed his duster and shook off the snow, but instead of banging it back on the peg he carried it across to the mattress and dropped it onto the floor, then shucked out of his heavy inner coat and dropped it on top of the wool blanket. "Give me your coat."

  "What for?"

  "We'll be warmer, not to mention more comfortable if we use our coats as cover. Now hand it over."

  Willa complied reluctantly. Shivering, she rubbed her arms and watched him arrange her coat and his over the wool blanket then lay the open slicker over both. "Don't just stand there freezing. Take your boots off. By the time you're done the bed will be ready and you can jump in."

  While she hooked the heels of first one boot then the other into the bootjack by the door, Zach shook out another silver space blanket and covered the slicker and coats.

  By the time her boots were off Willa was so cold any qualms she had about sharing a bed with Zach had vanished. She scampered across the cold floor and dove into the bed.

  Scooting over as close to the stove as she could get, she pulled the covers up to her ears. Mercifully, the coats still held their body heat, and as the blessed warmth soaked in she almost groaned.

  Lying huddled in the cocoon of coats and blankets, Willa watched Zach squat down in the small space between the bed and the stove and build up the fire. He worked steadily, seemingly impervious to the cold. With each movement the muscles in his back flexed and rippled beneath his flannel shirt. From that angle his shoulders looked impossibly broad. Helpless to resist, her gaze traveled downward, tracing the beautiful taper of his back to his lean waist and narrow hips. He really was a fantastic male specimen, she thought, as a swarm of butterflies seemed to take over her stomach.

  "There, that should hold us for a while." He rose, and Willa heard him cross the room and pull off his boots. A second later she heard his belt hit the floor with a clunk. She pressed her lips together as her heart rate kicked up another notch.

  One by one, the kerosene lamps went out. Moments later a draft blew in and raced up her backside when the edge of the cover lifted and Zach slipped in beside her. Willa squeezed her eyes shut and lay as still as a stone.

  When he was settled, Zach turned onto his side, toward her, and hooked his arm over her middle. At the first touch Willa nearly jumped right out of her skin.

  "What do you think you're doing? Stop that!" she cried when she felt herself being hauled backward. She tried to scoot away but she was no match for his strength.

  "Will you settle down?"

  The deep rumble of his voice right above her left ear sent another shockwave rippling through her. With every word, his warm breath dewed the side of her face and stirred the loose strands of hair at her temple.

  "This is a single bed. For both of us to fit on it, we're going to have to snuggle close. Anyway, we'll stay warmer this way." With his hand splayed over her belly, he tucked her into the curve of his body until they fit together like two spoons.

  Willa's breath caught. The feel of that hard, utterly masculine body pressing against her back set every pulse point in her to throbbing.

  She couldn't argue with his reasoning, though. Already his heat was seeping through the layers of their clothing. She felt it from the back of her neck all the way to the soles of her feet. Willa welcomed the warmth, but the intimacy of their position shocked her to her core. Never in her life had she been this close to a man.

  Nor had she ever been so aware of her body, or its needs. She had to stifle a groan. It was foolish and crazy, stupid even, and if he knew, no doubt he would laugh, but heaven help her, it felt wonderful to be held in his arms.

  She tried to fight it, but Zach's nearness filled her with a longing so intense it was almost pain. To her horror her nipples had hardened and were suddenly so tender they ached, and that private place between her legs throbbed and yearned.<
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  Trying to ease the ache, she shifted, and immediately froze. She stared, wide-eyed, into the semidarkness, her heart pounding. Apparently, Zach was just as affected by her nearness as she was his. She felt the hard evidence of that pressing against her backside.

  Awareness overwhelmed her. With acute sensitivity, she could feel every square inch of contact between their bodies, feel his chest rise and fall with each breath he took, hear its sibilant hiss in her ear. She could even feel the steady thump-thump of his heart tapping against her back.

  His smell surrounded her, masculine and earthy, and so erotic it made her head spin.

  Every nerve ending in Willa's body had come alive as though electrically charged. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply and tried to banish the scorching desire, but it was hopeless. She was so tense her entire body was stretched as taut as a piano wire.

  "Dammit, woman, will you stop worrying," Zach growled in her ear. "I already told you, I'm not going to attack you."

  "I…I know that."

  "Oh, yeah? Then why are you trembling?"

  "I…" Willa bit her lower lip and again willed herself to relax, but it was no use. The hot, shivering longing that suffused her would not be denied.

  Though he didn't move, she sensed Zach's sudden tension.

  "Willa?"

  Her throat grew so tight it hurt. She could not have made a sound to save her life.

  Rising up on one elbow, Zach eased back enough to pull her onto her back, but she stubbornly kept her face turned away. "Willa?" he repeated softly. He gripped her chin with his fingers and turned her face toward his. "Open your eyes, Willa, and look at me," he commanded in a voice like warm velvet.

  Awash with embarrassment, she pressed her lips tightly together, but after a few moments she gave in to the inevitable. As though weighted with lead, her long lashes lifted and her feverish gaze met his. In the soft glow coming from the stove's firebox she saw his pupils widen, saw something flicker in those depths, something hot and a little wild. And unbearably exciting.

  Not quite steady, his big hand cupped the side of her face. "Willa." This time he said her name in a husky whisper. His gaze roamed her face, delved deep into her eyes. His calloused thumb swept over her cheek, touched the corner of her mouth, and when her lips quivered she heard his sharp intake of breath.

  Then his eyes grew heavy-lidded and his head angled to one side and began a slow descent.

  Every cell in Willa's body trembled with excitement and anticipation. Her breathing grew rapid and shallow. Her heart pounded so hard the heavy tom-tom beat reverberated in her ears.

  With his lips mere inches from hers, Zach stopped and waited, giving her one last chance to stop him.

  In some tiny part of her brain that still functioned with a grain of sanity, Willa knew that stopping was the wise thing to do. The right thing to do. Zach had no idea that he might be playing right into Seamus's hands. At the very least she should warn him of what she suspected. He had a right to know that it was possible they had been set up. No doubt, he would be as appalled as she was.

  She could not let them fall into the old man's trap. All it would take was a word from her, a shake of her head, and Zach would back off, of that she was positive.

  He stared down at her, his eyes sizzling with desire, waiting. Willa opened her mouth to say the words that would end this now, before it was too late, but she couldn't do it. She simply could not. Lord help her, she wanted this. Needed this.

  Instead she whispered his name, soft as a caress.

  Something flickered in his eyes, something hot and hungry and so erotic it sent a shiver down her spine.

  Then his lips were on hers.

  There was nothing tentative or restrained about the kiss. It was firm and sure and spoke of easy confidence, his lips rocking greedily over hers as though he could not get enough of her. It was the kiss of a man who knew exactly what he wanted and intended to have it.

  Though inexperienced, and on some level, aware that she was out of her league, Willa let her instincts guide her. Winding her arms around Zach's neck, she kissed him back with all the passion, all the pent-up longing that pounded through her, and when he silently urged her to open her mouth she complied without hesitation.

  The first intimate touch of his tongue against hers sent a shock of intense desire jolting through Willa. She clutched him tighter and welcomed the sensual invasion, eagerly following his lead, twining her tongue with his in an ageless mating dance.

  Then his hand closed over her breast, and when his thumb rubbed back and forth over her nipple Willa's breath shuddered to a stop.

  The pleasure was so exquisite she moaned deep in her throat.

  Zach tensed at the sound and tore his mouth from hers. "Dammit to hell!" He jackknifed to a sitting position, braced his elbows on his up-drawn knees and clutched his head between his hands.

  Willa felt instantly bereft, and for a second she was so disoriented she couldn't think. She stared at his broad back and hunched posture and blinked several times. "Z-Zach?"

  "I'm sorry. Damn, I'm so sorry."

  "S-sorry? You're … sorry?" Around the edges of her consciousness, she felt the chill of humiliation creeping in.

  "You have every right to be furious. Hell, I ought to be horse-whipped. I just finished assuring you that I wouldn't force myself on you. Then two minutes later, what do I do? I'm all over you, that's what. What kind of man does that make me? And to think, I pride myself on keeping my word."

  He clutched his head tighter and cursed vividly.

  Willa's eyes widened as understanding dawned. She reached out her hand to touch him, then thought better of it. "Zach, no, it wasn't like that. You mustn't blame yourself. I–I knew what I was doing."

  He glanced at her over his shoulder and shook his head. "No. You had a bad scare tonight. And now here we are, trapped alone together in an isolated cabin in a howling storm. You're upset and not thinking clearly."

  "That's not true. I–I wanted you to kiss me."

  "Dammit, Willa, I wanted more than just a few kisses. And believe me, if I hadn't stopped when I did, we would've done a whole lot more."

  "I know that," she insisted, trying to ignore the blush that heated her cheeks. "And I wanted that, too. So you see, you have no reason to blame yourself."

  He shot her a sharp look, and for an instant she thought she saw desire rekindle in his eyes. Then he shook his head and it was gone. "No. You're too vulnerable right now to make that kind of decision."

  His refusal to believe her was beginning to get under her skin. "That's just not true. I'm not a child. I knew exactly what I was doing."

  "Oh, yeah, right. For Pete's sake, Willa, just this morning you would've like nothing better than to see me strung up by my thumbs. If you had been yourself you would've fought me like a wildcat, and you know it. So let's just drop it, okay. I promise it won't happen again."

  "Well," Willa huffed, and flounced over onto her side. "So much for Seamus's big plan."

  "What?" Zach twisted around and shot her a hard look. "What plan? What are you talking about?"

  "Nothing."

  "Nothing, hell." He grasped her shoulder pulled her onto her back again. "What did you mean, 'So much for Seamus's plan'?"

  Willa grimaced. Once again, she'd let her temper overrule her good sense. Would she ever learn? "It's just a silly theory that Lennie has about Seamus's will. There's absolutely no proof that he's right. I shouldn't have mentioned it."

  "Tell me, anyway."

  Willa gave him an annoyed look. "Oh, all right. He thinks Seamus's will was nothing more than a scheme to trick you and me into … well…"

  "Into…? C'mon, spit it out."

  "Okay, if you must know, into marriage," she snapped.

  "What!" His head jerked back as though he'd been slapped.

  "Lennie believes that Seamus thought if he threw us together on a daily basis nature would take its course and you and I would eventually get married. If
that happened, then the ranch would remain in the family, and I would be compensated for all my years of hard work and dedication." She shrugged. "Of course, he hadn't counted on your rigid sense of ethics," she added in a resentful voice.

  "Why that sorry son of a—"

  "There's no point in getting upset. We don't know if it's true. It could merely be Lennie's suspicious mind at work."

  Zach shot her a look. "You knew the old man better than anyone else. What do you think?"

  Willa was sorely tempted to lie so he would drop the matter, but she couldn't. She sighed. "Seamus was certainly capable of doing something like that."

  "That's what I thought."

  "But that doesn't mean he did. It's still just a theory."

  "Yeah, one that makes perfect sense. It would explain why he had a change of heart about making me and my brothers his heirs." Zach mulled the idea over a few moments, his mouth grim. Then he exploded. "Damn that old coot! Damn him! I won't be manipulated."

  "What does that mean?" she asked uneasily. "You wouldn't throw away the ranch because of a suspicion, surely."

  "No. I'm angry, not stupid. I wouldn't do that even if I had proof that the old buzzard had tried to direct our lives to suit his own purposes. What I can do, though, is make damned sure his little scheme doesn't work."

  Willa took immediate offense. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about," she declared huffily. "It does take two, you know."

  "Hell, I know that. Naturally I assumed that you wouldn't like being a pawn in Seamus's little game any better than I do. I am right, aren't I?" he asked, watching her.

  "Yes. Of course."

  "That's what I thought. Look, we might as well admit it. As unlikely as it seems, there is an attraction between us. After what just happened, I don't think either of us can deny that. But we sure don't have to act on it. Right?"

  Willa nodded. "Right."

  "Fine. Then we have no problem." Lying back down on the mattress, Zach turned onto his side and ordered bruskly, "Now let's get some sleep. It's been a long day." As Willa turned over to face the stove again he draped his arm across her waist, but this time he didn't pull her close.