Protecting the Princess

by Carla Cassidy

  He told himself the overwhelming surge of emotion was because of the importance of the job he was doing. He tried to convince himself that his emotions had nothing to do with the softness of her skin or the sound of her laughter. It had nothing to do with the stubbornness he found oddly charming or the fact that over the past couple of days she’d even managed to win Smokey’s affection.

  When he’d walked into the kitchen just after supper and seen her standing at the sink helping Smokey finish up the dinner dishes, he’d been shocked. The princess was transforming right before his eyes, and it was a transformation that made both a feeling of satisfaction and discomfort sweep through him.

  He focused on the here and now, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness. They didn’t run, but walked at a fast pace, the light he’d left on in his living room shining like a beacon in the darkness that surrounded them. He knew the trees and brush around his place would hide the additional men he’d called on and some of Cotter Creek’s finest.

  True to his instructions, she said not a word, made not a sound, and he didn’t breathe until they were safely inside the house and behind a closed, locked door.

  He watched her as she looked around the living room with interest. “It’s nice,” she said.

  “No, it isn’t.” He set her suitcase down and gazed at the room as if seeing it for the very first time. A couch, a chair, a coffee table and a television were the sum of the interior decorating.

  It was a room without personality, without warmth or life. It was a perfect reflection of the man who lived here.

  He frowned. Where had that thought come from? “I’ll put you in the master bed and I’ll sleep on the floor in there,” he explained. “Even though there are three bedrooms, two of them are empty. I haven’t gotten around to doing anything with them.”

  “I don’t want to take your bed. I’ll be happy to sleep on the floor,” she replied.

  “I’m on the floor,” he said firmly. “That keeps me between you and the front door.” He walked around the room, twisting the blinds closed on every window as she sank onto the sofa.

  He hoped he hadn’t made an error in not taking her off the ranch altogether, but this was familiar territory and there was a certain comfort, a certain security in knowing his surroundings.

  He just hoped his little ploy worked and they would assume by the visible guards that she was in the main house. He had every confidence that the men guarding the main house could handle whatever might come their way. And if by chance their ploy didn’t work, this house was guarded, as well.

  Anna curled her feet beneath her, looking as if she belonged on the navy sofa. “So what happens now?”

  “We wait. We see who shows up first, your father or the rebels. Want some coffee?”

  “That sounds good. I’m certainly too wound up to go to bed.”

  He walked into the kitchen, twisted the blinds tightly closed, then set about making a pot of coffee. He had a feeling this was going to be the most difficult part of the assignment, being alone with her in his house for an undetermined amount of time.

  Moments later he carried two cups of coffee into the living room and joined her on the sofa, making sure he kept as much distance as possible between them.

  “Thank you,” she said as he handed her one of the cups. For a few minutes they sat in silence and sipped their coffees. Tanner tried to ignore the scent of her, a scent that had become as familiar as the smell of sunshine on the Oklahoma ground.

  “I’ll bet you’ll be glad when this is all over,” he said, finally breaking the silence between them.

  She took another sip of the coffee and eyed him thoughtfully over the rim of the cup. “I’ll be glad when the danger has passed.”

  “Can’t wait to get back to shopping and yachting and doing all the things that princesses do?” He expected a sharp retort from her, but instead she shrugged her shoulders, looking small and vulnerable.

  “I’m sure my father loves me in his own way,” she said, and looked down into her cup. “But he’s always dismissed me, had little expectations of me, and that’s what I lived up to.” She looked at Tanner once again. “And I’ve always had this terrible loneliness inside me, a loneliness I thought I could still by shopping and traveling and partying.”

  She uncurled her legs from beneath her and set her cup on the glass-topped coffee table. “I’ve had a lot of time to think in the past couple of days and whatever the future holds, I intend to make different choices concerning my lifestyle.”

  Tanner didn’t want to hear this. He didn’t want to think of her suffering loneliness, perhaps the same kind of loneliness that haunted him at odd hours of the day and night.

  He also strangely didn’t want to hear about her decision to make better choices in her life. He was afraid she might become in his mind a woman he could fall in love with.

  He stood and picked up her cup from the coffee table. “It’s getting late. We should get settled in for the night.”

  She frowned and didn’t move from the sofa. “Do you realize almost every night I’ve been here you’ve sent me to bed like a child?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with structure in your life.”

  “Structure…rules…that’s all you seem to know. I was trying to talk to you, to tell you how things have changed for me since I’ve been here. I was trying to share with you and all you can do is stick to the rules.” Her chin rose in a touch of defiance. “Maybe I’m not sleepy yet.”

  He wasn’t sure if she was trying to pick a fight or just being difficult in general. But the last thing he wanted was to sit around and listen to her talk about her transformation from spoiled willful princess to something else.

  “I don’t give a damn if you dance around in the bedroom until dawn. I don’t care if you sit and make lists of all the things you’re going to do when you leave here until the sun comes up. But right now I’m tired and it’s time to go to bed.”

  He hadn’t realized when it had happened, had no idea that somewhere in the course of the past few days he had gained the power to hurt her, but he had and hurt now shone from her eyes. It was there for just a moment, then masked beneath a facade of coolness as she stood.

  “I apologize. I don’t want to keep you from getting a good night’s sleep. If you’ll just show me to my room, I won’t bother you for the rest of the night.”

  He picked up her suitcase and carried it into the master bedroom, trying not to feel guilty about shutting her down, shutting her up. He went to the two windows in the room and checked to make sure they were locked, then closed the blinds.

  This room held no more personality than the living room. The bed was neatly made with a brown spread and a small lamp set on the nightstand. The dresser, a rich cherrywood, held nothing on its gleaming top. For some reason, the sight of the room that had been his for the past three years depressed him.

  He placed her suitcase on the bed, then turned to look at her. “There’s some new rules while we’re here.”

  “What?” She sat on the bed and eyed him with a touch of weariness.

  “First of all, we sleep with the bedroom door open. I need to be able to hear if anyone tries to break through any of the windows or if anything threatens us.”

  She nodded, her eyes more somber than they’d been moments before. “Second,” he continued, “you don’t go near the windows. Don’t even open them a sliver to look outside. And last of all, no more sleeping in the nude. If anything happens in the middle of the night, we might have to make a run for it. I don’t want you naked and running around for everyone to see.”

  “Is that it?”

  “For now.”

  She reached behind her, grabbed one of the bed pillows and threw it to him with more force than necessary. “Fine, then get out of my bedroom long enough for me to get ready for bed.”

  He carried the pillow back into the living room and tossed it on the sofa, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. He’d needed to shut her do
wn, had been afraid of what she might confess in her monologue of sharing her innermost thoughts. There was no telling what might come out of her mouth and he didn’t want things more complicated than they already were.

  As he walked around the interior of the house, double-checking that all the windows in each room were locked, he thought of his brother, Zack.

  He had no idea exactly what had happened between Zack and his client in the three months that Zack had been on duty, but he’d seen the result. Zack had returned home a broken man because he’d allowed himself to get too close, to get emotionally involved.

  Tanner absolutely refused to make the same mistake with Anna. No matter what happened, she wasn’t meant for him. She was a princess, and despite her earlier words she would go back to being a princess once this was all over. One way or another, she would be out of his life, and he refused to put himself in a position to mourn her loss.

  For three days they had been in his house, and the three days had been filled with stress as intense awareness of one another and a simmering tension grew by the moment.

  Each night she slept in sheets that smelled of him, that clean male scent with a touch of the cologne he always wore. She’d burrow her head in the pillow and wonder why she had fallen in love with him. She fell asleep each night to the sound of him breathing as he lay on a bedroll on the floor. She suspected if he slept at all it was only briefly.

  Despite the fact that he was bossy and a workaholic, in spite of the fact that he was reluctant to share meaningful pieces of himself, she loved him as she’d never loved a man before.

  She wasn’t sure when exactly she’d fallen in love with him, had no idea if there had been a single defining moment—she only knew what was in her heart.

  There were moments when she felt his gaze on her, when she felt a connection with him that stole her breath away. There were moments when she saw a small smile begin to curve the corners of his mouth and she felt as if she’d been gifted with the riches of the world.

  She loved the fact that he had worked so hard on behalf of his family, that his values were good even if he did need some balance.

  She wanted him. She wanted him to sweep her up into his arms and make love to her through the long, lonely night. She wanted to feel his heartbeat against hers, to taste the heat of his kisses, to feel his big, strong hands against her skin.

  But she had her pride and he had shown no indication, other than that whisper of hunger she occasionally saw flashing in his eyes, that he wanted a repeat of what they’d shared before.

  While he’d spent his time pacing and brooding, she’d spent much of her time seated at the kitchen table playing hand after hand of solitaire with a deck of cards he’d found in one of the drawers.

  It was now after dinner and Anna was once again at the kitchen table, the deck of cards in front of her. Tanner sat on the sofa, tension radiating from him to fill all the spaces of the house.

  “I’m sick of solitaire,” she announced. “Why don’t you come over here and play a little poker with me?”

  He raised a dark eyebrow. “Don’t you realize all us cowboys are champions when it comes to poker playing?”

  She grinned. “I’ll bet you haven’t played against a princess before.”

  She watched as he pulled himself up from the sofa and ambled toward the table, a lazy smile curving his lips. It was the first hint of a smile she’d seen from him since they’d come to his house and warmth cascaded through her at the sight.

  He sat in the chair opposite hers and reached for the cards. Those wicked green eyes of his splashed her with heat. “So what are the stakes?”

  Her heart beat a little faster. “Let’s make it really interesting. How about some strip poker?” His eyebrows shot up and she saw the protest forming on his lips. Before he could voice it, she added, “What’s wrong, Tanner? Afraid you’ll lose?”

  His eyes flashed with challenge and he reached for the deck of cards. She jumped up from the table. “Before we start, I need to do something. I’ll be right back.”

  She went into her bedroom where she pulled on an extra T-shirt, two more socks and as a final thought stuck her crown on top of her head. There was no way she intended to be the first one naked.

  When she returned to the table he grinned in obvious amusement. “Feeling a bit insecure, are we?”

  She returned his grin, grateful for the break in the tension and stress. “Just hedging my bets.” She grabbed the cards from him. “Five card stud, deuces wild. Ready to play?”

  “Just a minute.” He got up from the table and grabbed his cowboy hat and plopped it on his head. “Just hedging my bets,” he said as he sat once again. His eyes glittered with challenge. “Deal ’em, partner.”

  Within minutes she realized he was a tough adversary. She lost the first two hands, her extra socks. He lost the next and removed his hat, tossing it to the floor next to the table.

  Back and forth they went for the next hour until she was down to her T-shirt and jeans. Her crown rested across the top of Tanner’s boots, which sat just beside the table. He was shirtless and holding his cards close to his chest.

  She had a pair of aces and a heart full of desire. She felt as if each hand they’d played had been a form of foreplay and her knees were weak with wanting him.

  She knew he wanted her, too. She felt his desire radiating from him, saw it shining in his eyes. But he made no move to act on it. His eyes remained dark and he’d gotten more and more quiet as the game had gone on and articles of clothing had piled up.

  “I’ll see you,” he said. “Read ’em and weep.” He laid down his cards, showing a pair of queens.

  Her aces beat his queens, but in the instant before she showed her hand, her mind raced. She wanted to make love with him again, but it was obvious he didn’t intend to make any move to get her back into bed.

  If she lost the hand, she’d literally lose her shirt. Would that be enough to make him lose control and shove him over the edge? Or was she imagining his desire for her because she wanted him so badly.

  “You got me,” she replied, and quickly added her cards to the discard pile. She stood and grabbed the bottom of her T-shirt, intent on pulling it over her head.

  He jumped up from the table and grabbed her hands, halting her movement. “That’s enough,” he said. “We stop the game right now.”

  He stood so close to him she could see the tiny gold flecks in his green eyes, could feel the heat radiating off him as he held her hands tightly.

  “I’m not playing a game anymore,” she replied softly.

  For a long moment they stood mere inches from each other, gazes locked as her heartbeat raced. His hands were hot on hers, as if he was consumed with fever.

  With a muttered curse he pulled her to him, tangled his hands in her hair and took her mouth in a kiss that nearly buckled her knees.

  The desire she’d thought she’d seen in his eyes was there in his kiss, in the way his hands gripped her hair, then slid down her back, pressing her close…closer against him.

  It was silly, but she felt like crying as her love for him welled up and swelled in her chest. It wasn’t just the fact that she loved the taste of his mouth or the way his hard body felt against hers. It wasn’t merely that his touch electrified her.

  When he was near, she didn’t feel the loneliness that had always plagued her. She loved that he expected her to be a better woman than what she’d been. She loved him and she knew nothing in her life would ever be the same because of her love for him.

  His mouth slid from hers and went to the hollow of her throat as his hands gripped her buttocks and pulled her more firmly against him.

  She could feel his arousal and her ability to think edged away as she allowed herself to be overtaken by sheer physical pleasure.

  “You make me crazy,” he murmured against her ear. “You make me crazy with wanting you.”

  His words enflamed her.

  “I’m crazy with wanting you,” s
he gasped. “I haven’t been able to think of anything else but being with you again.”

  His mouth claimed hers once again, making conversation impossible. Their tongues battled, dancing together in erotic play.

  She wasn’t sure how, didn’t really remember walking the distance to the bedroom, but suddenly they were there, tearing off their clothes, then falling onto the bed and into each other’s arms.

  The urgency that had gripped him in the kitchen seemed to ebb as he began to stroke her skin. The darkness in the room made it impossible for her to see his face clearly, but she didn’t need to see him.

  She saw him through his touch as his hands cupped her breasts and one of his legs rubbed against hers. She saw him in the kisses that scalded her lips with the fever of desire. She saw him in her soul, the man who held not just her safety in his hands, but her heart.

  This time she helped him put on protection, loving the way he moaned at her intimate touch. When she was finished, his mouth moved down her throat, across her collarbone and to one of her nipples. She tangled her hands in his hair as he licked and teased the rigid peak. Shivers of delight worked up her spine at each touch of his mouth.

  She felt fragile, as if every bone in her body had become soft and yielding. As his mouth moved from the underside of her breast down the flat of her abdomen, every nerve in her body sizzled with a growing tension that threatened to snap her in two.

  His hands preceded his mouth, caressing her stomach, across her hips, then touching her softly at her center. She moaned his name with pleasure and thrust her hips upward to meet his intimate touch.

  His ragged breathing filled the room along with her moans of pleasure as he stroked her and the tension inside her grew to unimaginable proportion.

  Higher and higher he took her until there was nothing but his touch and her response. When she could go no higher, she went over the edge and crashed, shattering into a million pieces as she cried his name over and over again.