Kurt framed Dana’s face in his hands.
“Listen to me,” he said. “Trust works both ways. You can trust me, Dana, you really can. Talk to me.”
Oh, she wanted to, Dana thought. She wanted to be wrapped in the safe, comforting cocoon of Kurt’s embrace, to feel his strong arms acting as a barrier between her and the world beyond.
She wanted to pour out her heart to him, tell him about the living nightmare she was existing in, plead with him to help her prove her innocence by finding Natalie.
She wanted to rest her weary head on the solid wall of Kurt Noble’s chest and weep until the tears of fear, betrayal and loneliness were no more.
But she couldn’t, just couldn’t. Kurt was an officer of the law first, a man second. She had to remember that. She had to.
“I’ll take good care of the cats,” she said, her voice trembling.
“Ah, Dana…” Kurt said, shaking his head. “What’s going on? Whatever it is, you don’t have to square off against it all alone. I’m here. Do you realize that? I am here for you.”
“Kurt, don’t,” she said. “Please don’t. You’re going to make me cry, and if I start I won’t be able to stop. I can’t…I can’t talk to you, not now, not yet.”
Kurt studied her face for a long moment, his heart thundering.
Dana was in trouble, his mind hammered. And in danger? Damn, he wanted to fix it all for her, whatever it was, slay the dragons, make her smile again and hear her laugh right out loud.
But he couldn’t do any of those things if she continued to shut him out, keep him on the other side of her wall of silence. He felt so helpless, so frustrated.
“Damn,” Kurt said, then lowered his head and captured Dana’s mouth in a rough, searing kiss.
Dana fought against threatening tears, then gave way to the desire suffusing her, allowing it to push aside everything except the want, the need, to make love with Kurt. The book in her hand dropped unheeded to the floor, and her arms floated upward to encircle his neck.
She returned the kiss in total abandon, drinking in the taste, the aroma, the protective strength, of Kurt. The nightmare was replaced by passion, and she welcomed it, rejoiced in it and the heat it brought to the chill of fear within her.
The kiss gentled, and passions soared.
A groan of need rumbled deep in Kurt’s chest, and Dana gloried in the masculine sound, knowing Kurt wanted her as much as she did him.
They were not in a shabby motel room in Whitehorn, Montana, she thought dreamily. They were in a beautiful field of fragrant wildflowers that would be a bed created by nature just for them. They would make love beneath a crystal-clear blue sky, their bodies warmed by a golden sun. It would be their private world, where no one else was granted entry.
Kurt raised his head and drew a ragged breath.
“Dana, I…” he began, his voice gritty.
“Want you,” she said. “Yes. Yes, and I want you. Here, in the midst of the wildflowers, we’ll make exquisite love together.”
“What?”
“Make love with me, Kurt. Please.”
No! Kurt’s mind yelled. Dana had secrets, was keeping things from him, wasn’t being totally open and honest with him. He’d vowed to never again be rendered vulnerable by a woman who was not who she appeared to be. He mustn’t do this. No, he would not, could not, make love with Dana Bailey. But…
“Kurt? Please?”
But right now he didn’t give a damn about Dana’s secrets, he told himself, about what he didn’t know about her.
“Yes,” he said, “we’ll make love. Here. In the wildflowers.”
They moved to the side of the bed, then shed their clothes as quickly as possible, fingers fumbling with stubborn buttons. When they stood naked before each other, Dana’s breath caught as she saw the vivid, angry scar on Kurt’s shoulder.
“What happened?” she said, searching his face with a troubled gaze.
“It’s old news.”
“No, it’s not old news. That scar is from a recent wound. It’s still healing.”
“Shh,” he said, and then his mouth melted over hers.
They tumbled onto the bed, Kurt automatically catching his weight on his uninjured side. Their need was earthy, raw and urgent. They touched, explored, discovered, hands, lips, tongues, never still, savoring all.
Their breathing was labored, echoing in the quiet room. Hearts beat in racing tempos. With an unspoken agreement that they could wait no longer, they meshed, Kurt surging deep within Dana’s moist femininity, bringing to her all that he was as a man.
The rhythm they set was thundering, pounding, carrying them up and away from the flowers to fly through the blue heaven above. Higher. Hotter. Wild and wonderful. Ecstasy.
“Kurt!”
Dana clung to him as she was flung into oblivion. He followed her in the next moment to where she had gone, calling her name in a voice not recognizable to him as his own.
He collapsed against her, spent, ignoring the pain radiating through his shoulder and down his arm.
They were still, sated, savoring, as hearts slowed and breathing returned to normal levels.
“Oh, my,” Dana whispered.
“I’m crushing you,” Kurt said, then moved off her to lie by her side.
“That was…” Dana said, then words failed her.
“Yes, it was,” Kurt said. “Unbelievable.”
“And wrong, I suppose,” she said, with a sigh.
“Not if we agree that it wasn’t. It was ours, Dana. We both wanted this to happen.”
“Yes, you’re right. It was ours. A memory to cherish. And I will.” Dana paused. “But, Kurt? I hope you don’t think that I make a habit of… What I mean is, I hardly know you, but… Oh, drat, I’m starting to babble.”
“I understand what you’re saying,” he said quietly, sifting his fingers through her tousled hair. “Will I still respect you in the morning? Yes, Dana Bailey, I most definitely will.”
“Thank you. I feel like Alice in Wonderland after she zoomed down the rabbit’s hole. Nothing in my life is how it was. What just happened between us is out of character for me, too, but I refuse to regret that we made love.”
“Good. That’s good.” He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek with his fingertips. “You feel like Alice because of what you witnessed at the convenience store, and the fact that you have to stay on here in Whitehorn?”
“I…um… Yes, of course. Things are topsy-turvy, in my once well-ordered existence. Well-ordered. Now that I think about it, that means borderline boring at times.” Dana laughed softly. “My life at the moment is definitely not boring. It’s unreal, crazy, bizarre and… Oh well, never mind.”
Kurt frowned. “Those are pretty heavy-duty adjectives for someone whose day consists of sitting in a dinky motel room reading a book.”
“I do have a life beyond Whitehorn, Montana, Kurt.”
“Yes, I know you do, and you’re very secretive about it.”
“No more than you are about why you’re in Whitehorn, instead of Seattle.”
“I told you that I’m on a leave of absence from the Seattle police force.”
“But you’re working for Sheriff Hensley. That’s not a normal leave of absence.”
Kurt moved off the bed and began to dress. Dana slipped beneath the bedspread to cover her nakedness, pushing the pillow upward so that she could lean against the wall.
“It’s not a major mystery,” Kurt said, reaching for his shirt. “I was shot while on an undercover assignment. The doctor released me to return to desk duty, and I said I’d pass. I can work for Judd while my shoulder finishes healing. That’s it. End of story. Your turn, Ms. Bailey. Where are you going and why?”
Oh, dear, Dana thought. She didn’t want to lie to Kurt, she really didn’t. They’d just made exquisitely beautiful love, shared the most intimate act possible between man and woman. She cared for Kurt with emotions that went beyond physical desire. She certainly wasn’t fa
lling in love with the man—she had more sense than that—but she really did care.
“I…I’m trying to find my twin sister, Natalie,” she said.
Kurt sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Dana intently.
“Your sister is missing?” he said.
“Yes, she is,” Dana said. And that was definitely the truth. If Natalie could be found, then the nightmare could end. She could prove her innocence, return to Chicago, to the career that was the focus of her existence. “I have to locate her, talk to her.”
“I see,” Kurt said slowly. “Are the police in Chicago helping you?”
“I’ve hired a private detective.”
Kurt raked one hand through his hair. “Dana, excuse me if I’m overstepping here, but you and Natalie are…what? Twenty-six? Twenty-seven?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“So, okay, we’re not talking about a missing teenager who could be in trouble somewhere. Natalie is a grown woman, who has the right to go where she wants to.” Kurt paused. “Or am I missing something here?”
Brilliant, Dana, she thought dryly. She should have known better than to think she could dish up a few crumbs of information for Detective Noble and have him be satisfied with the offered serving.
Oh, why did Kurt have to press, push her for more details? It really was so important to her that she not come right out and lie to him. She just didn’t want to do that.
“Natalie is very headstrong,” she said. “She does get herself into situations where she doesn’t belong. She has created a nightmare of a mess, not just for herself, but for others, as well, and it’s imperative that I find her so things can be set to rights.”
“So why are you in Whitehorn, Montana? Has Natalie headed this way before?”
“Kurt, please,” Dana said, covering one of his hands with one of hers. “I feel as though I’m under a bare lightbulb, being interrogated. I’m attempting to locate my twin sister. Can’t we just leave it at that?”
No! Kurt’s mind yelled. Because there was still too much that Dana wasn’t telling him. His investigative instincts told him that she was skittering around the edges of the whole story, the complete truth.
Natalie had created a nightmare of a mess? For others, as well as herself? Had Natalie done something to place Dana in danger?
“Yeah, I’ll let it go,” he said, getting to his feet again.
Thank goodness, Dana thought.
“For now,” he finished.
Dana sighed and shook her head, weary defeat sweeping over her like an oppressively heavy blanket. After making certain her bare breasts were covered with the spread, she rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes.
Kurt hunkered down to tie his shoes, his glance falling on Dana as he straightened again.
Lord, she was beautiful, he thought. Making love with Dana Bailey had been emotionally moving, had been much, much more than just physical release and satisfaction.
And now? There she sat, looking pale and vulnerable again, because he had jabbed at her, pushed and prodded for answers he felt he deserved to have.
Deserved to have? Who in the hell did he think he was? He hadn’t been questioning Dana as a cop. No, it had been Kurt Noble, the man, who wanted to know her innermost secrets.
Because he’d been so out of line, Dana once again appeared tense, tired, and in need of a hug. Had he overshadowed their lovemaking, ruined her memories of what they’d shared, with his arrogant demands? Lord, he hoped not. For some reason he couldn’t begin to fathom, he wanted, needed, Dana to treasure, as he was treasuring what had transpired between them.
Kurt dragged both hands down his face.
She was doing it again, he thought. Dana was driving him nuts. His emotions, his thoughts, his reasoning, were bouncing back and forth like Ping-Pong balls.
He trusted Dana. He doubted her. She was strong and independent. She was soft and vulnerable. She was open and honest. She was secretive and hiding things.
Ping…pong…
Dana was vibrantly alive, with a smile like sunshine, laughter like wind chimes. She was tense, closed, drawn and tired.
She was as free and uninhibited as a soaring bird when making love. She was carefully guarded by a high wall around her inner truths.
Ping…pong…
He wanted to put many, many miles between them. He wanted to pull her close and never let her go.
He wished she’d never come to Whitehorn, Montana. He now had the answer to the haunting question of what had been missing from his life.
No! No way. He wasn’t getting seriously involved with a woman again. Especially one who was keeping truths from him. But Dana had become very important to him, very quickly, and…
Ping…pong…
“Damn it,” Kurt said.
Dana’s eyes popped open at Kurt’s sudden outburst, then widened as he strode to the bed and planted his hands on either side of her hips. He leaned forward to speak close to her lips, his blue eyes blazing.
“Listen up, Ms. Bailey,” he said. “I’m leaving now, going home to pack, then heading out to Billings. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but when I do return, you and I are going to have a long talk.”
“But…”
“Why?” Kurt went on as though Dana hadn’t spoken. “Because you’re keeping things from me, no doubt about it. I’ve got this knot in my gut that says you might be in some kind of danger. I can’t handle that, Dana. I can’t deal with the thought of anything happening to you. Are you getting this?”
“Yes, but…”
“Good. That’s good.”
Kurt captured Dana’s lips in a kiss so searing it literally stole the breath from her body. When he finally broke the kiss, he straightened and looked directly into her eyes, his own eyes radiating raw desire.
He spun on his heel, crossed to the door, yanked it open, then slammed it closed behind him with a vibrating thud.
Dana blinked, drew a much-needed breath, then pressed trembling fingertips to her tingling lips.
Kurt Noble cared, her heart and mind hummed. At that moment, that tick of glorious time, she didn’t care about the right or wrong, the wisdom or foolishness, of having her life intertwining with a police officer.
All she knew was that she cared about Kurt, and he returned that caring in kind.
All she knew was that for the first time since the nightmare created by Natalie had begun, she was suffused with warmth, instead of the chill of fear and loneliness.
Seven
She missed Kurt.
Dana sat on the front steps of the Noble home as the cats, now numbering sixteen, ate their lunch.
During the two weeks Kurt had been gone, Dana had established a routine that was becoming increasingly enjoyable, staying at Kurt’s house a little longer each day.
Dana’s gaze swept over the brilliant blue sky, which was dotted with pillows of white clouds. Taking a deep breath, she marveled yet again at how crisp and clear the air was, with no hint of pollution.
The blessed silence was heavenly, she mused. The few sounds that reached her were soothing; the cats munching eagerly on their room-service meal, the buzzing of a bee, the chirping of a bird.
May in Montana was marvelous, she thought, then laughed softly, deciding she should give that slogan to the chamber of commerce.
It was so very different here from the way it was in Chicago. And she was different, changed, as well. In the past two weeks, she’d learned to shut off her mind when she drove into Kurt’s driveway, absolutely refusing to think about Natalie and the nightmare her twin sister had created.
She could actually relax here, just be. Kurt’s house was her haven, the place where she came for a sense of peace, well-being, an escape from fear of what the future held for her.
At Kurt’s, she also allowed herself the luxury of taking the memories of him from the treasure chest in her heart and savoring each, one by one, every minute, every special detail.
She missed Kurt
.
She wanted to see him, to drink in the sight of his tall, strong body, his dark hair sprinkled with gray, those eyes that matched the color of the Montana sky in May.
She wanted to trace Kurt’s rugged features with her fingertips, then her lips, etching them indelibly in her mind.
She wanted to hear the rich masculine chuckle that rumbled in Kurt’s broad chest, then match his smile with one of her own.
She wanted to fill her senses with his aroma of fresh air, soap and man.
And she wanted to make love with Kurt Noble.
One of the cats finished eating and wandered over to where Dana sat, meowing and leaning against her.
“Hello, Mama Kitty,” Dana said, stroking the cat’s swollen stomach. “Those babies must be due to arrive very soon. You look big enough to pop.”
The cat stretched out on the porch, then began to clean her paws as she stayed close to Dana’s side. Dana watched in fascination as the unborn kittens moved within the mother-to-be, rolling, bunching, shifting.
“The miracle of birth,” Dana said, unaware that one of her hands had floated upward to splay on her own flat stomach.
A baby, she mused. What would it feel like to have a baby growing within her, being nurtured by her body, waiting for the moment to be born?
A baby, created by the beautiful act of making love with the man of her heart. A child, who would be a unique combination of herself and that man, a human being who hadn’t been here before.
A baby.
Kurt’s baby.
Dana stiffened, startled by where her wandering, whimsical thoughts had taken her.
For heaven’s sake, what an absurd idea, she admonished herself. Well, it was understandable, in a way. She was spending a great deal of time at Kurt’s home, and was admittedly also spending a great deal of time thinking about Detective Noble.
The lovemaking she shared with Kurt had been like none before; so beautiful, so intense, combining the physical with the emotional in a new and wondrous way.
Oh, yes, she cared for and about Kurt. But he was part of her life as it now stood, a player in the scenario that had unfolded after she fled from Chicago in the dead of night.
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