Tex Appeal

by Kimberly Raye, Alison Kent

  Macy smiled. “I’ve noticed.”

  “The curtains are hung, Lonnie,” Cade said as he strolled into the kitchen. “And if you’re through talking about me…”

  “That’s my exit line.” Lonnie winked at Macy, then slid from the stool and walked over to hug her brother. In the archway to the foyer, she turned back. “Have fun, you two.”

  Cade waited for the sound of the outer door closing before he said, “Did she fill you in on all the family secrets?”

  Macy arched her brows. “I don’t know. How many are there?”

  “Knowing Lonnie, you’ve probably learned the lion’s share of them. She’s on her cell phone right now catching Lissa and my mother up on what she walked in on. All three of them will find an excuse to drop by now that they know you’re here.”

  He loves them, Macy thought. She could hear it in his voice, see it in his eyes, and she felt something soften inside of her.

  “On the topic of what we were doing when she walked in…” He moved toward her, took her hands and pulled her close. “I like to finish what I start.”

  Macy grinned at him. “I think we were about to use the counter—and not for cooking.”

  “Ah, yes.” He brushed his lips over hers, then took them on a journey down her throat. “I need you, Macy.”

  It wasn’t just the words, it was the intensity of his tone that sent her heart into a free fall.

  He brought his mouth back to hers, and whispered against her lips. “I’ve been thinking of doing this ever since I left your bed this morning.” Then he began that delicious journey down her neck again.

  “You seemed to be totally focused on work.”

  “I was trying.” In a smooth movement, he lifted her into his arms and with a few long strides, they were climbing the stairs. She was sure her heart stuttered.

  “This is what I was thinking of doing as soon as Alan left this morning. You, on the other hand, were hunched over your laptop as if the world hung in the balance.”

  She fisted her hands in his hair and brought his mouth to hers. “I was thinking of this, too.”

  “Great minds think alike,” Cade murmured as he settled her on his bed. Sitting beside her, he pulled her T-shirt off and dropped it on the floor.

  When she reached for the snap on his jeans, he captured her hands and set them back on the bed. “We always seem to be in such a hurry. Why don’t we try something different?”

  It already was different for her. The heat in his eyes as he inched the jeans down her legs had her insides melting and her mind starting to fog. He unfastened her bra without taking his gaze from hers. She’d never had a man strip her, look at her in quite that way—as if she were all he wanted to see. Her body trembled.

  “Panties today, I see.” He ran a finger along the band at the top of her thigh. “I much prefer imagining you without them.”

  “Then get rid of them.”

  “We’re on the same page again.” When they were off, he spread her legs and leaned down to press quick kisses along her inner thigh.

  “Cade.” She arched upward as heat arrowed through her.

  He settled on top of her then, stilling her movements and linking her hands with his.

  “You have all your clothes on,” she objected.

  “I’ll get to them. But first I want to do this.” He explored her mouth, slowly, thoroughly, until she was drowning in his flavor.

  The gentle movement of his lips, the weight of his body trapping hers was an erotic torment she’d never experienced before.

  “And this.” His lips were so soft, a featherlike brush as he moved over her cheek, then down her throat.

  “And this.” He sampled the skin on the swell of each breast, then lingered over each nipple as if there was some flavor there he couldn’t get enough of.

  Her heart pounded, her vision blurred as he took that clever mouth and tongue on a slow, patient journey down her torso, only to linger at the tops of her thighs.

  He’d released her hands, but what he was doing to her had turned her muscles to water. “Please. Cade, I want you. Now.”

  “You’ll have me. I promise. But first I need more of you.” He shifted until he could cover her mouth with his again. She was so generous, so responsive. So captivating. He felt the heat that she always ignited begin to build, but he kept it banked. More than anything, he wanted to draw out the pleasure—for her, for him. Finally, with great reluctance, he moved away from her mouth again, only to be equally enchanted with the curve of her cheek and the pulse that thudded at the base of her throat. As he absorbed the knowledge that it was beating for him, he felt the desire move through him and clamped it down.

  He wanted to go slowly, to savor each taste, each flavor. Seeing her in his kitchen, watching her talk with his sister had opened a well of tenderness inside him that he’d never tapped into before. Even now, steeped in her scent and in the silken texture of her skin, he needed to cherish her. What he hadn’t expected was to drown in a whole new world of sensations, and to have his own excitement build in a way it never had before.

  As his mouth once more roamed lower over her thudding heart and the damp, trembling skin on her stomach, he felt his own blood begin to pound and his own need escalate.

  “Cade, now. Please.”

  The desperation in her voice was nearly his undoing, but he fought for control. Spreading her legs apart, he began to sample the one flavor that he hadn’t yet indulged in. Using teeth and tongue, he drove her higher and higher, absorbing each separate sensation—the catch of her breath, the tightening of her muscles, the helpless arch of her body. Finally, there was the hoarse cry of his name as she reached the peak.

  A feeling of power shot through him, along with a need to give her even more. Rising, he watched her as he rid himself of clothes and put on a condom. Then he covered her body with his and framed her face with his hands. “Macy, look at me.”

  She opened her eyes.

  “I’m going to take you again.”

  “Yes. Now.” She wrapped her arms and legs around him.

  With his blood pounding in his ears and burning through his veins, he kept the rhythm slow and easy—until his control finally slipped and he surrendered everything.

  “MORE wine?”

  Macy shook her head. The moonlight picnic on the living-room floor had been her idea. She’d taken one look at the frozen pizza he’d managed to overcook and announced that it needed a good bottle of wine and some ambience. He’d provided a nice merlot, and she’d lit candles in the fireplace and spread a cloth on the floor in front of the hearth.

  Now Macy sat there wearing one of his shirts and nothing else. That was ambience enough for him. Cade studied her in the moonlight. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her. He wondered if it would always be that way. Setting his wineglass down, he said, “I have a favor to ask.”

  There was just a touch of wickedness in her eyes. “If what you want is another chocolate tattoo, I’d be happy to oblige. The recipe isn’t quite right yet. I really need to test it again.”

  “It worked for me.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “The rule was to wait until I licked the tattoo completely off. You broke it.”

  Unrepentant, Cade chuckled. “I got distracted.” And he certainly had. “I think it was a placement problem.” She’d brushed it onto his stomach, then straddled him and started fanning it to help it harden. But the chocolate wasn’t the only thing that had hardened. Somehow in the process of brushing the tattoo onto him she managed to trap his erection in very nearly the right place. How he’d managed to wait until she’d licked off half the chocolate, he didn’t know. But one torturous moment longer and he might not have gotten the condom on.

  Macy pointed a finger at him. “This time we stick to the rules.”

  He took her hand and pressed a kiss into her palm. “Deal. But another chocolate tattoo isn’t the favor I had in mind. Will you go horseback-riding with me tomorrow morning?”

  He w
atched the play of emotions on her face—surprise, pleasure and finally wariness. The last had his temper flaring.

  “Why?” she asked.

  He could read her like an open book. She was reminding herself of her ground rules and pulling back. He wasn’t going to let that happen. He reached for her hand and raised it to his lips. “Please come with me. I’d like to show you the ranch.”

  More than that, he wanted to see the ranch with her at his side. The realization sent fear sprinting through him again. He was almost getting used to the sensation.

  “Okay. Sure.” She reached for their plates and wine glasses as she rose. “It’ll be fun. I haven’t been riding in years.”

  Patience was a virtue he’d had to hone as a Ranger. And all he needed was a little more of it, he told himself as he followed her to the kitchen. How could he fault her for wanting to keep a little distance when he was still hesitating to tell her how he felt?

  She poured chocolate bits into a bowl and placed it over a pan of simmering water. He’d let her draw away for now. She was under enough pressure, what with her final TV show to film and a crazy man trying to kill her. For the time being he’d let her believe that he was still playing by her ground rules.

  MACY WAS careful to keep her back to Cade as she stirred chocolate and adjusted the heat. She heard the rattle of silverware as he placed it in the dishwasher. The silence was companionable. Almost.

  He’d asked her to go riding with him. Surprise and pleasure had been her first reaction. But it wouldn’t do to read too much into it. He simply wanted her to see the ranch. But why? The question was dancing at the back of her mind, but she couldn’t afford to let herself explore the possible answers. She was not going to waste a moment of the time she had with Cade wishing for something she couldn’t have.

  “There. It’s ready.” She poured melted chocolate into a small bowl, then nearly jumped when she turned to find Cade standing right behind her.

  “This time it’s my turn to be the tattoo artist,” he said.

  “Okay.” She barely kept her hand from trembling as she handed over the chocolate.

  “I get to choose the body part and the position, right?” He snagged her wrist and drew her with him toward the sofas.

  “Yes. But you have to stick to the rules.”

  He glanced at her as he set the chocolate and the stencil on an end table. “I will unless you change your mind and tell me to break them.”

  “I won’t.”

  “We’ll see.”

  When she started to unbutton her shirt, he stilled her hands. “You can leave that on for now.” Gripping her by the waist, he turned her so that she was facing the arm of one of the sofas. He slipped his hands under her shirt and pushed it up. Then with one hand on her back and the other pressed against her stomach, he lowered her until the upper part of her body was resting against the leather seat of the sofa and her derriere was raised up over the arm.

  Perhaps it was the fact that she couldn’t see him, or the fact that her feet were dangling several inches above the floor, leaving her feeling exposed and vulnerable, but her blood had already started to pound, and she could feel herself beginning to thaw.

  He ran a hand over her right buttock and positioned the stencil low near the top of her thigh. “Perfect.” By the time he’d finished brushing the chocolate on, the heat battering her system was brutal. Then he drew her thighs apart, and began to blow on the chocolate.

  She tried to raise herself up, but her arms were so weak. “Cade, please.”

  “Please what?”

  This time she felt his breath right at her core. The blast of pleasure that shot through her was so intense she was sure it must have liquefied the chocolate tattoo. His tongue pierced her then, and the instant contraction of her inner muscles told her that her climax was close.

  Then suddenly, he withdrew. “I forgot about the rules for a minute. I’m supposed to remove the whole tattoo first, right?”

  “Forget the rules.”

  As if that was all that he was waiting for, Cade rose. She heard him zip down his jeans and the tearing of the wrapper on the condom. Then he was stretching her and filling her at last.

  And she was so hot, so tight, so ready for him that Cade very nearly came on that first thrust. She was close too. He could tell by the way she pulsed around him. He gripped her hips to hold her perfectly still, intending to keep them both right there teetering on the brink.

  “Now, Cade—right now.”

  His body betrayed him, moving of its own accord, thrusting in and pulling out. Each time he seemed to thrust deeper; each time she gripped him more tightly, making it harder for him to withdraw. Even when he did, he knew that he was leaving parts of himself behind.

  The moment that he felt the first ripple of her climax, his own slammed into him with a force that made his vision gray. All he could do was to cry out her name as he thrust into her one last time and shattered.

  8

  CADE READ the new e-mail message for the third time: Now you see her…

  Now you don’t. The rage and frustration he was feeling was exactly what Leonard wanted, so he willed the emotions away. A cool head was essential if he was going to protect Macy. Checking, Cade saw the message had been sent at 8:00 a.m.; he and Macy had been out riding.

  Just as they’d gotten back, Nate had arrived with Alan, and Cade had escaped to his office to go over the report Nate had brought. His hunch that Leonard might be working at the TV station hadn’t panned out. All current employees had been there for at least ten months. The other possibility was that Leonard had an informant—someone on the inside who was feeding him information.

  And that someone would be working as part of the crew today. Cade was betting on it.

  “Earth to Cade Dillon.”

  Cade swiveled his chair around to see Nate standing in the doorway.

  “I brought you coffee and company,” Nate said as he entered the room.

  “I thought you were on kitchen duty.” After taking the mug, Cade stretched out his legs.

  “It’s getting crowded. First Dix arrived. I didn’t think that old geezer ever left the stables.”

  Cade studied the drawing. The street was the obvious spot, but one thing Cade was pretty sure of—Leonard wouldn’t go for the obvious. And that wasn’t the only problem. “Even with a diversion, I can’t figure out how he’ll get near enough to snatch her.”

  “You’ll figure it out.”

  As he continued to study the sketch, Cade wished he felt as confident as Nate sounded.

  SHE WAS a natural in front of the cameras. Cade stood in the archway to his kitchen, flanked by his mother on one side and his two sisters on the other. Nate and Alan stood on either side of Macy, just out of camera range. Cal stood on the other side of the island behind the lights, keeping his eyes on the crew.

  Everyone had their attention totally focused on Macy. There was a natural and engaging energy about the way she talked and smiled at the camera that drew people in.

  Since the cameras had started rolling, she hadn’t once given any indication that her life was in danger.

  “She’s amazing,” his mother said in a low tone.

  Cade couldn’t have agreed more.

  Macy looked right into the camera and held up three fingers. “To grill a perfect steak, first you need to preheat the grill until it’s smokin’ hot. Number two, place the meat on the surface.”

  A cameraman moved in for a close up as she set two steaks on the grill. Steam rose and a sizzling sound filled the kitchen.

  “Step number three—don’t touch the steaks until it’s time to turn them. Four minutes on each side for medium rare, six for medium, and eight if you like your steaks to taste like shoe leather.”

  Someone on the crew chuckled.

  She winked into the camera. “If you’re tempted to touch them, find something else to do with your hands until it’s time to turn them.”

  The premise behind her sexy Va
lentine’s Day Supper was to create an easy to prepare menu to make with your lover. Her suggestion that to add a little extra “heat” to the meal, the chefs might try working in nothing but their aprons had the whole crew breaking into laughter.

  “I like her,” his mother whispered.

  “So do I.”

  “I invited her for dinner next Sunday.”

  Surprised, Cade shifted his gaze to his mother. “Did she agree to come?”

  “She did.” She grinned at him. “When I didn’t take no for an answer. You can come too if you’re free.”

  Sunday, Cade thought. He had to make sure that Macy was still here on Sunday. What in hell was he missing? What was Elton Leonard’s master plan?

  And why the e-mails?

  Because Leonard wanted him on the scene? Over the last two months, it had become personal—did Leonard want to prove that he could eliminate Macy right under Cade’s nose?

  In front of him, Macy plated the steaks. But he no longer saw what she was doing. Instead, he was picturing the sketch that Nate had made of the prize-winner’s house. Now you see her…How was he going to make Macy disappear in front of a camera crew? Even with a diversion, how would Leonard get close enough to Macy? Cade was confident that Leonard wouldn’t let an accomplice handle it. The man had too big an ego. Always before he’d had the advantage of working on the inside, but he wasn’t working at the TV station. So how could he…?

  Suddenly, Cade had a very good idea of just how Elton Leonard was going to get to Macy. After signaling Nate to follow, he strode back to his office.

  Once they were both inside, he said, “Here’s how I think it’s going to go down.”

  “SMILE into the camera, Macy.”