by Rita Herron
The rain had died down enough for her to hear Brett’s explanation through the window. “She’s been stalking me for months, Maddox. But tonight she went too far. She pulled a gun on Willow.”
Kitty jerked against the handcuffs, her sobs growing louder. “How can you do this to me, to us, Brett. I love you! I thought we were going to get married!”
“We had two dates, that was it,” Brett said to his brother. “I swear. I didn’t lead her on, Maddox. There was never anything between us.”
Maddox raised a brow. “Willow’s here?”
Willow ducked behind the curtain. She didn’t care if Maddox knew she was visiting Brett, but she didn’t want to face him. He probably thought she was cheating on her husband with Brett.
Worse, if he asked questions about Leo, she didn’t want to lie.
“Yes,” Brett said. “But that’s not what this is about. I need you to take Kitty into custody. Contact her family and tell them she needs psychiatric help.”
Maddox hauled Kitty into the back of his police SUV. Tears streaked her face, and she was still screaming Brett’s name as Maddox drove away.
Willow braced herself as Brett strode in. His hair was damp, his jaw rigid, that spark of flirtatiousness in his eyes gone. He looked angry and worried and...so damn masculine and sexy that her heart tripped.
“You’ve been breaking hearts everywhere you go, haven’t you, Brett?” She regretted the words the moment she said them. The bitter jealousy in her tone gave her feelings away.
* * *
THERE WAS NO way Brett was going to let Willow believe that he’d been in love with that deranged woman.
“Willow,” he said, his teeth clenched. “I swear, we went out twice, then I realized she was unstable. After that, she started stalking me.”
“I saw the pictures, Brett.” Her voice cracked. “Everyone saw them.”
He strode toward her, water dripping from his hair, his eyes luminous with emotions. “You can’t believe everything you see in the tabloids. They’re trying to sell copies.”
“But you slept with her.”
“Twice and I was half-drunk at the time. A week later, she broke into my hotel room and was waiting in my bed naked. When I told her to leave and pushed her out the hotel door, the press snapped a picture and turned it into something lurid.”
Her eyes glittered with anger and something else...jealousy? Was it possible that Willow still cared for him?
“So all the pictures of you and the women were fake?”
His heart hammered as he closed the distance between them. He knew she was scared for her son and frustrated, and so was he. But he couldn’t allow her to think that he didn’t care. That he hadn’t wanted her every damn day he was gone.
So he tilted her chin up and forced her to look into his eyes. “I wasn’t a saint, Willow. But know this, I never kissed a woman without wishing she was you.”
Then he did what he’d wanted to do ever since he’d ridden back into town.
He dragged her into his arms and kissed her with all the hunger he’d kept at bay for the past few years. Except this time he wouldn’t stop at kissing as he had before. This time he wanted all of Willow.
Chapter Fifteen
Willow clung to Brett’s words. None of those women had meant anything to him. When he’d closed his eyes, he’d seen her face.
Just as she had imagined Brett holding her when she was in Leo’s arms.
Leo had known that she hadn’t loved him. He’d felt it. Not that she had anything to feel guilty about. Apparently he’d never loved her either.
Of course he’d acted like he had. He’d showered her with attention and gifts and affection at a time when she’d been most vulnerable.
But it had all been a lie.
Brett’s lips fused with hers, and she welcomed the sensations flooding her. Anything to soothe the pain and fear clawing at her heart.
Brett stroked her hair, then ran his hands down her back, pulling her closer to him so she felt the hard planes of his body against her curves. Her pulse raced, need and desire mingling with the desperateness that she’d felt since he’d walked back into her life.
He’d come the minute she’d called. Would he have come sooner if she’d had the courage to ask?
He made a low sound in his throat, and her hunger spiraled. “Willow, I want you,” he said in a gruff whisper against her neck.
She tilted her head back, shivering at his breath on her skin. “I want you, too.”
Brett swung her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. She kissed him frantically, urging him to do more, and he set her on her feet, then looked into her eyes.
“I’ve wanted you every day since I left Pistol Whip.”
“I’ve wanted you, too, Brett.” It had always been him. No one else. There never would be.
But her voice was lost as he nibbled at her lips again and drove his mouth against hers. They kissed, the passion growing hotter as he probed her mouth apart with his tongue. Lips and tongues mated and danced, his fingers trailing over her back, down to her waist, then one hand slid up to cup her breast.
Her breath caught and her nipple stiffened as he stroked her through her robe. She wanted him naked, touching and loving her everywhere.
Her whispered sigh was all the encouragement he needed. He cupped her face and looked into her eyes again, and for a second, the young boy she’d fallen in love with stood in his place.
All their dreams and fantasies, whispered loving words, kisses and secret rendezvous... She was back in the barn with Brett, hiding out with the boy she loved.
Then there was the night he’d come back to Pistol Whip. He’d shown up on her doorstep and she’d taken one look at him standing in the rain and invited him into her bed.
They’d made love as if they’d never been apart. They’d also made Sam that night.
Her robe fell to the floor, cool night air brushing her skin. His breath rasped out with appreciation as he cupped both breasts in his hands.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.
She blushed at his blatant perusal, but shyness fled as he lowered his mouth and drew one stiff nipple into his mouth. Willow moaned as erotic sensations splintered through her, and she threaded her fingers in his hair, holding him close as he laved one breast, then the other.
Aching to touch him, she popped the first button on his shirt, then the second. He pulled away from her long enough to toss his shirt to the floor. His bare chest was broader than she remembered, dusted with dark hair, his skin bronzed from the sun, although a few scars lined his torso. She wondered how he’d gotten each one of them, but didn’t ask. She didn’t want to talk.
She wanted to be in his arms, loving him the way she once had when life had been simple and she’d had dreams of a future.
She unbuttoned his jeans, the sound rasping in the silence, and he kicked them off. Her body tingled as his hands skated over her hips. His eyes grew dark and needy, and he pulled her against him.
Her breasts felt heavy, achy, the tingling in her thighs and womb intensifying as he kissed her again and she shoved his boxers down his legs. Finally he stood naked in front of her. Powerful muscles flexed in his chest, arms and thighs, and his sex was thick and long, pulsing with excitement.
She trailed her fingers over his bare chest, and he moaned, then cradled her against him and walked them to the bed. Her head hit the pillow, her hair fanning out, as he nibbled at her neck again, then raked kisses along her neck and throat, moving down to her breasts where he loved her again until she begged for more.
* * *
NEED PULSED THROUGH Brett as he coaxed Willow onto the bed. His body ached for her, but the need to assuage her pain was just as strong.
He closed his mouth around one turgid nipple and suckled her, his sex hardening as she moaned his name. She stroked his calf with her foot, raking it up and down as she dug her hands into his hair.
Her hunger spiked his own, and he trai
led sweet hungry kisses down her belly to her inner thighs.
“Brett...”
“Shh, just enjoy, baby.” He flicked his tongue along her thigh, finding his way to the tender spot that made her go crazy. She tasted sweet and erotic, just as he remembered, and he teased her with his tongue until she clawed at his arms, begging him to come to her.
“I need you, Brett,” Willow whispered.
He flicked his tongue over and over her tender nub until her body began to quiver and she cried out in release.
“Please, Brett.”
Brett’s heart pounded with the need to be inside her as he lifted himself and covered her with his body. For a moment, he lay on top of her savoring her tender curves against the hard planes of his chest and thighs. But she rubbed her hands down his back, then splayed them on his hips and butt, and his sex surged, needing more.
He tilted his head and looked into her passion-glazed eyes, then braced his body on his hands, and grabbed a condom from his jeans’ pocket. She helped him roll it on, her fingers driving him insane as she touched his bare skin. When he had the protection in place, he kissed her again, deeply, hungrily, then rose above her and stroked her center with his erection. She groaned again, then slid her hand down and guided him home.
The moment he entered her, he closed his eyes and hesitated, forcing himself to slow down or he was going to explode. She lifted her hips and undulated them, inviting him to move inside her, and he did.
In and out, he thrust himself, filling her, stroking her with his length, pumping harder and faster as they built a natural rhythm. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he intensified their lovemaking, his release teetering on the edge.
Willow clutched at him, rubbing his back as she moved beneath him, then groaned his name as another orgasm claimed her. He kissed her again, then lifted her hips so he could move deeper inside her, so deep that he felt her core. She breathed his name against his neck.
It was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard, a sound he’d missed so much that it tipped him over the edge and his release splintered through him.
* * *
WILLOW CLOSED HER EYES and savored the feel of being in Brett’s arms. Erotic sensations rocked through her with such intensity that she clung to him, emotions overwhelming her.
Tears burned the backs of her eyelids. She had told herself not to fall in love with Brett again, but that had been futile.
Because she’d never stopped loving him.
Fear made her chest tighten again. She’d barely survived the first time he’d left her. How would she survive this time?
A deep sigh escaped her as he rolled them sideways and tucked her up against him. Brett kissed the top of her head, then disappeared into the bathroom for a moment. She thought he was going to dress and leave her alone, and she already missed him.
But he crawled back in bed with her, pulled her into his embrace and rubbed her arm. His body felt hot against hers as his breathing rasped out. She wanted to stay in his arms forever.
“Willow?”
She tensed, knowing she should confess the truth about Sam.
“I’ve been thinking. Wondering why Leo came to your house the day he died.”
Willow went still. “I hoped he was going to drop the signed divorce papers by.”
Brett took a strand of her hair between his fingers and stroked it the same way he had when they were young and in love. “But why that particular day? What if he really came back for the money? Maybe he retrieved it from the original place he’d buried it.”
Willow turned to look into his eyes. “You think he had it with him that day?”
Brett shrugged. “Maybe he knew his partners were onto him, so he decided to hide it at your house. It wasn’t in his truck. And we didn’t find it where that map led us or at his mother’s grave.”
Willow’s pulse kicked up, and she shoved the covers back. “Then we need to search my house.”
Brett nodded, although before she slid from bed, he pulled her back and kissed her again. Her heart fluttered with love and hope.
When they found the money and Sam was home, would Brett forgive her for keeping her secret? Was it possible that they might be a family someday?
Her cell phone buzzed, and she startled. Sam?
Brett handed her the phone from the nightstand and she punched Connect. “Hello.”
“Do you have the money?”
Panic shot through Willow. “No, but I think I know where it is.”
“Where?”
She swallowed, struggling for courage. “Meet me at my house in an hour. Bring my son to me, and you can have it.”
* * *
BRETT YANKED ON his jeans and shirt while Willow vaulted from bed and threw on her clothes. He hoped to hell he was right, that the money was hidden somewhere at Willow’s.
But just to be on the safe side, he grabbed the duffel bag he’d used to bring his clothes in, then packed some newspaper in the bottom.
“What are you doing?”
“If we don’t find the money, I’ll use this as a decoy until we rescue Sam.” He retrieved his rifle from the corner in the den, wishing he had that money from his accounts to cover the newspaper, but hopefully they’d find Leo’s money, and he wouldn’t need this bag. And if they checked it...well, he had his rifle. He’d do whatever he had to do to get the boy.
He snatched his coat and handed Willow her jacket.
“Let’s hurry. I want to look for the money before this bastard arrives.” His phone buzzed, though, and he tensed. Maddox.
What if he’d somehow discovered Leo’s body on the ranch?
Exhaling slowly, he punched Connect while Willow tugged on her jacket and boots. “Hey.”
“Brett, what kind of trouble are you involved in?”
“I told you that woman was stalking me. End of story.”
“I’m not talking about her,” Maddox said sharply. “I want the truth about what you’re doing. You’re looking into Willow’s husband, aren’t you?”
Brett gritted his teeth. Did he know Leo was dead? “Why would you ask that?”
“I’ve been investigating a cattle-rustling ring that a man named Garcia is serving time for. It’s his wife and kid you brought to the ranch, isn’t it?”
He should have realized that would arouse Maddox’s suspicions. “Maddox—”
“Just shut up and listen. I know you’ve always had a thing for Willow, and she’s at that cabin with you. But her husband is dangerous.”
“What do you know about him? Did he hurt her?”
“That’s my guess. Dad talked to me one day and said he was worried, that something was off there.”
If he’d been around, he would have known himself. And Willow never would have suffered.
Maddox cleared his throat. “He was in with some bad people. That’s the reason you were looking up prison records, wasn’t it?”
Brett glanced at his watch, impatient. “Yes, Maddox, but I have to go.”
“Brett, let me handle the situation. I think Howard was involved with those cattle rustlers. I don’t have proof but I’ll get it. In fact, I’m trying to locate him to question him now. Does Willow know where he is, Brett? Because if she’s covering for him, she could go to jail, too.”
Willow looked panicked and tugged him toward the door. “I’ll tell her if she hears from him to call you.”
He didn’t wait on a response. He hung up with a curse. Maddox was smart; it wouldn’t take him long to figure out what was going on.
Willow followed him outside where the rain was still beating on the roof as they hurried to his truck.
Wind and rain battered the windshield as he drove, blurring his vision of the road. He flipped the wipers to High, his nerves on edge as he turned onto Willow’s road.
The truck bounced over the ruts, mud spewing. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was following.
Hell, for all he knew, Maddox might be on his tail.
Willo
w twisted in the seat, obviously agitated. “They will bring Sam, won’t they?”
Brett’s gut contorted. He’d wondered the same thing.
If Sam could identify them, they might have already ditched him, then planned to take the money and run.
His fingers curled around the rifle on the seat beside him. If they had hurt Willow’s little boy, he’d kill the bastards.
* * *
WILLOW SCANNED THE OUTSIDE of her house in case the kidnappers had arrived early. Her throat ached from holding back tears.
She was going to see Sam again. She had to see him.
But what if she and Brent were walking into a trap? What if they’d never intended to give her back her son?
Fear almost paralyzed her. Determined not to give up, though, she forced the terror at bay. She had to stay strong.
Brett parked and got out, carrying his rifle and the duffel bag with him. Memories of finding Leo dead in her bedroom flashed behind her eyes, and nausea climbed her throat. But she forged on, determined to hold it together.
They slogged through the rain and she unlocked the door, her shoulders knotted with anxiety. The den looked just as she’d left it, and so did the kitchen.
Although it felt as if it had been years since she’d been home. She didn’t know if she could ever live here again.
“I don’t know where he would have hidden it,” Willow said.
“I’ll search the closets. You search the kitchen. He could have taped an envelope with a key to a safety deposit box under a drawer or table.”
Brett strode to the hall closet and began to dig through it. She checked the cabinet and drawers in the kitchen and the desk, under the drawers and table, and on top of the cabinets. The laundry room came next. Her movements were harried as she ripped through plastic storage containers and checked beneath and behind the washer and dryer.
She searched the pantry, but yielded nothing, so she hurried to the bedrooms. Brett was in her room. The sight of the bloodstains was still so stark that it made her stomach turn.
Sucking in a sharp breath, she darted into Sam’s room. Sam’s toys and clothes were still scattered about as they’d left them. Knowing time was of the essence, she dropped to her knees and searched beneath the bed. Her hand connected with a toy superhero and she pulled it out, along with several odd socks, a ball and a candy wrapper.