by Laurie Paige
“Sapphires,” the young Native American manning the display answered. “They come from around here. I search the stream beds for them. The miners used to find them when they were digging in the mountains for gold and silver. There’s supposed to be a lost mine somewhere on the old Baxter place up near the Crazies.”
“The Crazy Mountains,” Cade clarified when she cast a puzzled glance his way.
“Wish I could find it,” Gil said, pushing in beside Leanne, his hip touching hers. “They use sapphire lasers in some medical machines nowadays. Sapphires good for that are worth a fortune, I understand.”
Leanne didn’t like being crowded. She never had. Adroitly, she shifted her weight, angling away from the cowboy. She felt the immediate warmth of Cade’s body along her other side. For some reason, touching him didn’t bother her.
Because he wasn’t coming on to her. Gil was.
She hid a wry smile and picked up a pendant. “This is beautiful. The color is so deep.”
“It’s radiated,” the young Native American explained. “A lot of stones are almost colorless unless they’re heated. You get this color with heating.” He held up another necklace. “But radiation gives the deepest color.”
“Doesn’t that make the jewelry dangerous to wear?”
He grinned. “There’s very little residual radiation, not nearly as much as a person gets on a sunny day outside.”
She was aware of Cade pressing closer as he leaned over her shoulder. She glanced at him in surprise.
“Caleb Whitecloud,” he said, picking up a business card. “You any kin to Bessie and Joe?”
The young man grinned. Like Cade, his smile changed his appearance, his teeth startling white against the dusky tones of his skin. There was a devil-may-care quality in his manner that reminded her of Cade at moments.
“Nephew,” he replied. “Aunt Bessie makes the best fry bread on the res.”
Cade held out a hand. “She’s a cousin on my mother’s side. Are we kin, too?”
Caleb shook his head as he clasped Cade’s hand. “Uncle Joe’s my blood relative. I don’t recall seeing you around.”
“I’m from Gilas, down around San Antone. This is my first visit up here. My mom used to tell me about her and Bessie’s adventures here on the res.”
“Aunt Bessie is handling the bead booth, on down about ten places, then turn left. She’ll want to see you.”
“Thanks. I’d like to meet her, too.”
To Leanne’s disappointment, Cade hurried off. Since she wasn’t invited, she didn’t go with him. That was the last time he was with the ranch group the rest of the day.
A couple of times she caught a glimpse of him with an older woman. Aunt Bessie, she assumed. The woman was introducing him to a group of Native Americans, some of which were very pretty females.
A hot, smothery sensation poured over her. She wasn’t jealous or anything like that, but…well, he rode with her. He could have asked her to join him.
The tribe displayed various types of ceremonial dancing later that evening. The tourists were invited to try some of them. Gil grabbed her hand and pulled her into the circle.
Without causing a scene, she had no choice but to go. Fortunately, the dance didn’t call for him to hold her. Once she relaxed, she enjoyed moving to the rhythmic beat of the drums.
When some of the younger Native Americans formed a conga line, matching their movements to the increasing tempo, she was pulled into it. The elders frowned. Leanne grinned at the obvious clash between generations. It was the same in all cultures.
As the day faded into evening, the cowboys decided to head for the Black Boot, a bar on the outskirts of Whitehorn. She looked around for Cade, but he was nowhere to be seen. Fine. He could just find his own way home.
A jukebox was blaring out a song about a honky-tonk woman, which Leanne thought entirely appropriate to the place when they arrived.
Gil, who’d been drinking beer all afternoon, ordered a round for them. She told the waitress firmly she wanted a soda. “Lots of ice,” she requested. “I’m driving,” she reminded the men. “So is Gil.”
Cookie nodded. “I’ll drive home. We’re in a ranch truck. The Kincaids don’t much like it when their men get in a wreck or arrested for drunk driving.”
Gil looked as if he was going to argue, but changed his mind. Instead he clasped Leanne’s wrist. “Let’s dance.”
“No, thanks.” She made a circular motion with her arm and freed herself from his grip.
Gil grunted in surprise, then his face flushed dark red. Instead of cursing, he surprised her by smiling. “You too good for an ordinary ranch hand?”
Jimmy, the youngest cowboy hired for the summer, spoke up. “She doesn’t want to dance.”
Gil turned a mean gaze on him. “Who asked you, punk?” He raised a fist. “You want a taste of this?”
“If you think you can deliver it, go ahead and try,” the cowboy challenged.
“Stop it,” Leanne ordered. She threw a couple of singles on the table for her soft drink and stood.
Gil caught her around the waist. “Come on, sweetheart, just one dance.”
“No.”
“Let her go,” a deep baritone drawled.
Leanne and the cowboys turned as a group. Cade grinned at them in his laid-back, insouciant manner. Relief washed over her as Gil let her go and stepped back.
“You ready to head in?” Cade asked politely.
“Yes.” She glanced around. “How did you get here?”
“Caleb and his brother dropped me off.”
“Oh, yes, you’re newfound cousins.” She couldn’t stop the bite of sarcasm from seeping into her voice.
“Right,” he said easily. “Goodnight, boys. See you at work bright and early tomorrow.” With a grin, he led the way out of the bar.
Leanne breathed deeply of the fresh night air. She didn’t know why she’d agreed to go to the bar in the first place. She hated smoke-filled rooms.
Cade climbed into the passenger seat of her car. She had expected him to demand to drive. Her brother would have gone right to the driver’s seat, then lectured her all the way to the ranch on her rash behavior. Even though she adored Rand and knew he felt responsible for her, at times she wanted to tell him to shut up.
Her stomach went into a dive. She was going to have to face her family sooner or later. Later would be preferable, though.
Coward, her conscience admonished as she drove down the road to the ranch. Right. She also had the present moment to face up to.
“I was glad when you showed up. Sorry I got you into an awkward situation,” she apologized to Cade. “I shouldn’t have gone to the bar with the men.”
“You should have been safe with them,” he corrected. “It was their job to protect you. That includes respecting your wishes.”
“That’s probably an old-fashioned attitude in this day and age, cowboy,” she said lightly.
Actually his words touched her. It was reassuring to be with a male who still thought it was his job to defend the female of the species. She felt cherished or…or something. She swallowed as a knot formed in her throat. She couldn’t define what that something might be.
“Yeah, it’s hard to be a hero with you independent women insisting on being treated as equals.”
She broke into laughter as she realized he was teasing her. “But you would have helped a buddy who was being attacked by a bully, wouldn’t you?”
“Only if it wasn’t a fair fight. Where’d you learn to use that move to free yourself?”
“Tae kwon do self-defense class.”
He whistled softly.
“I’m not a black belt, but I know some good moves.”
Laughter rippled through his voice. “I’ve noticed.”
Warmth spread through her like warm syrup on pancakes. Cade Redstone was endearingly unpredictable. Just when she thought he was going to come on as the stern older brother type, he surprised her with an entirely different attitude.
The sudden changes kept her off balance with him, never quite sure where she stood or what her reaction should be.
Except she hadn’t mistaken the pure male interest in his eyes up at the cabin during the storm.
Her breasts tingled and the nipples beaded up into tight buds. With any other man, she might have been frightened at that incident, but not with this one. She’d known he was trustworthy from the moment he’d told her to sit down, then had set the soup and crackers on the table. He’d shared his dessert, too. And given her all the hot water.
How tired and full of despair she’d been Friday. With the wrong person, the night could have been a disaster….
Such as her fiancé?
“I’m glad I came to the ranch,” she said slowly, thinking it out as she spoke. “The marriage would have been a terrible mistake. For Bill as well as me.”
“How do you figure that?”
“I’ve realized I don’t love him…actually, I do, but as a friend, not a husband. I don’t think he truly loves me, either. Rand wanted the marriage more than I did. He wanted me to settle down.” She sighed. “I think he felt he wouldn’t be responsible for me if I was married.”
“You’re over twenty-one,” Cade pointed out.
“Tell that to my big brother.”
“What did you do before you lit out from your wedding like a scalded cat? Didn’t you support yourself?”
“I worked in a farm and ranch supply store. I kept the books for them, and ordered the inventory after I got it all on the computer.”
“You good at using a computer?”
“Well, proficient at any rate.” She parked under the overhang beside the bunkhouse. “Why?”
“I’m setting up a breeding program to track the bloodlines of the new herd I’m starting. I could use some help.”
Her pulse beat a rapid drum song at the thought of working with him. The attraction between them reinforced the conviction that her feelings for her fiancé weren’t what they should be. With Bill she’d never felt the awareness, the on-edge tingles she was experiencing now. With Bill sex had been embarrassing and uncomfortable. Already she knew making love with Cade would be passionate and thrilling. But why was she thinking such things? She’d only just met the man. Reining in those sexual thoughts, she returned to their conversation.
“Sounds interesting. I love working with animals,” she added. That much was true, but it wasn’t the only reason she was interested in the breeding program. Worry ate at her as she realized she wanted to get to know this man, this wary rogue who was made up of so many intriguing parts.
His mouth kicked up at the corners. “Working with the horses isn’t what I had in mind.”
“I know,” she said quickly. “But I’ll be able to track them. Are you going to breed Appaloosas?”
“Yes, as riding and show ponies as well as cutting stock.”
“Stepper will make a fine sire. His lines are perfect, and the color markings are beautiful.”
Cade walked with her to the bunkhouse door. All the rooms within were dark. She realized all the men, including the cook, were off the ranch and she would be alone.
Cade opened the door and flicked on the lights in the dining room. “You afraid to stay here by yourself?”
“No. I feel safe at the ranch.”
“Don’t relax too much. You called me lecherous. Where you’re concerned, you might be right.”
He was smiling, but his eyes were serious. Like her, the attraction worried him. Tension zoomed straight up to the top of the scale.
“I think you might have noticed my reaction up at the cabin,” he continued, his dark eyes roaming over her. “I’ve wanted to touch you since you walked into the cabin in that fancy bride’s outfit.”
“It wasn’t fancy,” she protested. “I made it.”
“You were beautiful in it,” he said, his voice dropping to a deeper register, his eyes settling on her face in moody hunger. “A dream come to life.”
He touched her hair, startling her as he smoothed the tangles caused by the busy day. Electricity ran through her scalp and down her neck, lodging in the middle of her chest. She had to open her mouth to breathe.
There was something in him, some breath-stealing darkness that called to something equally wild and restless within her, a quality she didn’t know she had until she’d stumbled into his hidden lair.
She didn’t know why he made her feel this way, and it bothered her. No man, including her fiancé, had ever induced the pulsing sensations that throbbed inside her, demanding attention. It confused her. It made her angry.
And it excited her beyond all reason.
He touched her neck, tracing a line along the vee of her shirt. “That dress…and then the silky nightgown…makes a man want to undress you slowly and see what surprises lie in store for him.”
She gasped as pure energy flowed from the point where his fingers touched her to that wild, restless place inside. She wanted the surprises, too. Oh, heavens…
His eyes locked with hers. “You’re shocked,” he stated sardonically. “Now, that does surprise me.”
“You didn’t try anything.” She bit the words off. Her voice came out strangled, choked with emotions she didn’t understand. “You never indicated…except that one time…and your eyes, before then, when the dress slipped—”
“Yes,” he said when she stopped abruptly. “When the bridal gown fell. No artist could conjure a more perfectly formed female shape. You’ll never know the will-power it took not to drop to my knees and take my fill of you.”
“You were a perfect gentleman,” she managed to gasp.
“Was I? What about when you came out from that blanket in the white silky gown and lacy robe? I couldn’t stop the reaction that time. You noticed,” he accused.
She couldn’t look away from the dark intensity of his gaze. The hunger was there again. And a certain cynical knowledge in the smile that played around his sharply etched lips. She couldn’t hide the desire that rose in her.
“Yes, but you didn’t…never once did I feel threatened.”
“I’d never hurt a woman,” he agreed. “Or try to force one who’s unwilling.”
“What about seduction? Would you seduce one?” She couldn’t believe she’d asked such a stupid question.
“Who’s being seduced?”
She couldn’t lie or act nonchalant. “Me. I think.” Her heart pounded like a jackhammer, causing so much racket she couldn’t think.
“You?” he questioned, the smile edging his lips upward ever so slightly.
His finger traced the V-neck of her blouse, barely touching her skin, which was suddenly hot, as if lava flowed under its heated surface. A sheen of perspiration broke out over her.
“Or me?” he continued on a deeper, quieter note.
“Both,” she admitted. “It was the circumstances, the storm, the isolation…”
“And now? What is it now, if we both feel the same? The lingering aftereffects?”
She shook her head. She licked her lips, not nervous, but not sure what was happening, either.
He crooked his finger under her chin so she had to return his gaze. “I want to kiss you. Is that what you want?”
The thought hadn’t consciously entered her mind, but now she realized she did. “Desperately.”
His pupils widened. “Are you always so honest?”
“I don’t know. It’s different. Something is different. Because of you. I’ve never wanted like this.”
A frown creased a tiny nick between his dark eyebrows. “Never, and you an almost-married woman?”
She shook her head. “It’s confusing. I’ve never cared much for being touched.”
He caressed her throat. “Like this? You don’t like this?”
“No. I mean, I…” She took his hand in hers, stopping the tantalizing stroking. “I do like it. I don’t want you to stop. I don’t understand this at all.”
“I’m a man. You’re a woman. We�
�re alone. That seems simple enough.”
She cast him an upward glance from under her eyelashes. “You know that isn’t all,” she chided, disappointed that he would treat the situation so lightly.
He was silent for a long minute. “It’s enough,” he murmured. His breath caressed her a second before his lips did. “Give me your mouth,” he said.
She opened her lips to him, unable to resist tasting just a little bit more of this hunger between them. She laid her hands against his chest and felt a shudder go all the way through his big masculine body; he wasn’t taking the situation lightly at all.
It seemed miraculous that she could cause such a force in him. Or that he could cause such heat in her.
He tasted her mouth with his tongue, gentle at first, then more demanding. She returned the kiss, taking it deeper as she did the same to him. His hands clasped her shoulders and brought her closer.
She slid her arms around his back and held on as her legs grew weak with a passion she’d never experienced. It was strange to have never known this, and stranger yet to find it here in this place at this time.
“I’m melting,” she warned him.
“Lean into me. You weigh no more than a sack of thistledown.” His muscles rippled as he leaned against the door and pulled her into the vee of his legs.
The hard ridge outlined his zipper again. This time she got to feel it as well as see it. She moved experimentally back and forth. He groaned deep in his throat and kissed her again with savage tenderness this time. She answered with the same wild longing coursing through her.
She dropped her head back and closed her eyes as ecstasy swept over her. A whimpering sound forced its way out of her.
He stopped. She opened her eyes slowly and stared up at him, shaken by the tempest they had created. The moment grew and lengthened, until she saw a hardness descend over his face.
“You’re a temptation.” He stepped back and dropped his arms to his sides. “And almost enough to make me forget my one foray to the altar. Almost.” He walked off into the night.
Four
“Kincaid ranch.” Cade answered the phone in his office as he frowned at the computer screen in annoyance. Trying to find information on the Internet was great when it went fast and easy. Other times it was frustrating.