Raleigh And The Rancher (Wranglers & Lace #3)

by Laura Anthony

  Her heart jumped.

  “You look good enough to eat.” His voice spilled over her like a creamy chocolate confection—dark, rich, and sinfully delicious.

  She liked the way his eyes crinkled at the corners; it made him appear friendly, approachable, like someone she could tell all her secrets to.

  Where did that last thought come from? Raleigh shook her head. She didn’t want to discuss her past with anyone, much less Daniel McClintock.

  “Hello,” she said primly, casting her gaze around the milling crowd. “Is there anything I can help with?”

  “Stay next to me.” He took her hand and squeezed. “Remember, this is our project and I need you.”

  “I’m not much of a party girl, I’m afraid. If that’s what you’re used to.”

  Dan stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger. The sensation sent tingling messages flooding through her neurons.

  “I don’t want a party girl,” he whispered low and husky. “I want you.”

  “Why would you want me? I’m boring,” she said. “Haven’t you heard? Even my kid brother thinks so.”

  “Caleb didn’t mean anything by that remark. He just wants to see you happy. And I happen to think you’re the most intricate, fascinating woman I’ve ever known. You elude me, Raleigh. I only want to understand.”

  “Shouldn’t we mingle with the guests?” she interrupted, anxious to change the subject. She did not want to hear his words, realizing how close she was to weakening, to giving up and accepting the inevitable.

  “Dan! How you doin’?” Jerry Hanks from the feed store called out. “Where you hidin’ the suds, old buddy?”

  “Got a designated driver tonight, Jer?”

  “Sure do, brought my missus, Arlene. She’s ‘round here somewhere, gabbing it up.”

  “In that case, follow me,” Dan said, escorting Jerry over to the iced keg.

  The next few hours passed in a blur of activity. Buzzing voices mixed with the scent of grilling meat, infusing the growing twilight with a down-home quality. Folks laughed, joked, talked. The sound of slamming car doors heralded more visitors.

  Dan greeted the guests with hearty handshakes and enthusiastic words of welcome, but all the while he kept one arm securely draped across Raleigh’s shoulders. It felt good resting there, she grudgingly admitted to herself, and for the first time in many weeks, she started to relax.

  Pete lit the lanterns, bathing the old ranch in a soft, romantic glow. The band broke into a slow, tear-jerking ballad about lost love.

  “Have you had a chance to eat yet?” Dan whispered to her.

  “No.”

  “Me, either. The line’s thinned out, want to go grab a bite?”

  “Sure.”

  They walked over to the grill and helped themselves to the buffet. Carrying plates loaded with food, they sat side by side at a vacated picnic table. Most of the livelier guests packed into the barn to dance, while the more sedate bunch sat in lawn chairs around the periphery.

  “The party’s going well,” Dan observed. Light as a feather, his bare arm brushed her shoulder and his hard thigh pressed against her soft one.

  Denim strumming cotton. Friction. The sensation evoked in Raleigh a sincere desire to sin.

  Dan’s teeth flashed white in the darkness.

  A half-moon smiled wide across the velvet sky. Spicy barbecue lingered sweet yet tart on her tongue. Woodsmoke hung acrid in the air, and the ground beneath their feet vibrated with the power of a throbbing base. Raleigh tapped her toes in time to the music.

  “Would you like a dish of homemade ice cream?” Dan asked after they’d finished their meal.

  “Okay.”

  He stood and extended his hand. Letting her tranquil mood carry her along, Raleigh slipped her palm into his. Together they ambled over to the now-silent ice-cream makers.

  Picking up plastic bowls from a nearby table, Dan opened the lid and dipped out homemade peach ice cream. Then they strolled over to the barn, helping themselves to spoonfuls of the creamy concoction.

  Inside the barn, dancers promenaded to the “Cotton-Eyed Joe.”

  “You seem to be having a good time,” Dan said. “I’ve never seen you look so serene.”

  “This is nice,” she confessed.

  “And it’s only a start. Tonight has stoked my enthusiasm. I can’t wait until the dude ranch is in full swing.” His face brightened as he talked about his dream. Raleigh stared at him, mesmerized.

  “It’ll be wonderful,” she said.

  “Would you like to dance?” he asked.

  No, her mind warned. Not now. She felt too vulnerable, too ripe for suggestion.

  “I enjoy watching just fine, thanks.”

  “Come on. One dance won’t kill you.”

  “I don’t know about that,” she replied, cautiously eyeing the boisterous dancers two-stepping across the hay-strewn floor.

  “Yeah,” Dan said. “You’re right. Better not risk it, you might actually have some fun.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. He was right. She did shy away from a good time. As a young girl she’d been too busy accepting responsibilities to worry about having fun. The loss of her mother had robbed her of her childhood innocence, then Jack’s death had brought her up short, stealing any of the carefree impulses she might once have possessed. And Pa’s demise had only compounded her serious, practical nature.

  Dan smiled. “Please, Raleigh, dance with me. For one night, let yourself go free.”

  “I can’t. I don’t know how to dance,” she confessed.

  “Well, darlin’,” he drawled, thick and sexy. “You let me take care of everything.”

  Before she could protest further, Dan eased her through the crowd and onto the dance floor. Clutching her tightly, he angled his head down and whispered, “Follow my lead.”

  She clung to him, feeling nervous and out of her element. The disparity in their heights made dancing together almost comical. The top of her head grazed his shoulder.

  “Regular Mutt and Jeff, aren’t we?” Dan commented as if reading her thoughts.

  “Yes. A bad match, indeed.”

  “When you’re prone, darlin’, height don’t mean a thing.” He chuckled.

  With her ear pressed so close to his chest, she heard the distant rumble of his hearty laughter. Cursing the hot flush running up her neck, Raleigh moved her head. He certainly had a way of burrowing under her skin. And what was this “darlin’” stuff, anyway?

  Gracefully, he guided her around the other dancers. She spied Fay and Pete dancing together. Fay caught her eye and winked. The crowd thickened, making it impossible to keep any distance between herself and Dan.

  He held her close yet cautiously, as if she were rare porcelain. Raleigh wondered how many other women he’d held like this on a dance floor. Probably hundreds.

  They swayed in time with the music and she felt the hard outline of his thigh bumping against her hip. He rested his cheek against her hair and sighed.

  “Raleigh.”

  She raised her head and looked into his face. A sheen of perspiration dotted his upper lip. “Yes, Dan?”

  “We’ve got to talk. In private.”

  “Not tonight.”

  “No,” he agreed. “But soon.”

  He was right. They did need to talk. Things couldn’t continue as they were. Something had to give between them and Raleigh would be damned if it was her heart.

  The band burst into a fast-paced song.

  “Ready to boogie?” Dan asked, spinning her breathlessly around the floor.

  How could she hope to combat his relentless optimism? Raleigh wondered, knowing Dan possessed the ability to talk her into things she knew weren’t prudent. Nothing daunted this man for long.

  They shimmied and shook to the upbeat tune. Her head swam and she hung on to Dan, helpless as a rubber raft tossed adrift on wild ocean currents.

  Raleigh practically floated in his arms. She was petite, dainty, and
he wondered, not for the first time, how she managed to wrangle horses so well.

  He knew he was walking on eggshells where their relationship was concerned. One false move and she’d disappear from his life like a plume of ephemeral smoke. Although she’d begun to change in the weeks she’d worked at the ranch, she still remained guarded, distant, veiling her true feelings with stubbornness and anger.

  But tonight he sensed her staunch resolve weakening. Tonight could be the night he finally crashed through her defenses.

  The crowd jostled them. He clung tighter to her hand, pulling her along with him. The soft rhythm of her breasts sliding across his torso drove him crazy with lust. He meshed his hips into hers, letting her know exactly how much she affected him.

  “Will you go on the hayride with me?” he murmured into her perfectly shaped ear, his heart chugging at the thought of her refusal.

  She looked up. Pain lodged in his midsection. Would she reject him?

  “Please?”

  Her full lips parted, he smelled the fruity scent of peaches on her breath. Tendrils of copper-colored hair drifted around her pixie face. When she lowered her gaze, long lashes brushed against her cheeks.

  Anticipation gripped his chest, suspense stretched endlessly as he waited for her reply. Please let her say yes, he prayed.

  “Ride with me tonight,” he whispered. “Will you?”

  Though a worried frown creased her brow, she nodded, ever so slightly.

  “You will?” His eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected a positive response.

  “Yes, Dan, I’ll sit with you on the hayride. And stop looking so shocked.”

  “I...but...oh...never mind.” He shut his mouth and grinned, feeling fifty pounds lighter. Did this mean what he hoped it meant? Had she just agreed to take their relationship one step farther?

  She tossed her head back and laughed, a tinkling melodious sound that drove a spike of desire straight through to his groin. What a beautiful noise it was! A sound to be courted. A sound to be worshiped.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “The look on your face is priceless.” Mirth crinkled the corners of her lips. If only there was some way to cajole her into laughing more often.

  “I’m glad I make you happy, sweetheart.”

  Her laughter died instantly, her sober, serious look returned. What had he said wrong?

  The song ended and Raleigh sprang away from him. “It’s time for the hayride,” she said. “You should make an announcement.”

  Dan walked to the stage and moved to take the microphone. But his eyes never left Raleigh.

  He cleared his throat and announced the end of the musical entertainment and the start of the hayride.

  Stepping off the stage, he captured her gaze. He extended his hand to her and held his breath. When at last she settled her palm into his, Dan knew with absolute assurance that after tonight there could be no turning back for either of them.

  * * *

  The band disassembled while the crowd filtered outside. Some guests headed for their cars, others climbed into the back of the tractor-trailer rig piled high with musty hay. Pete fired up the tractor engine and honked the horn.

  “Where’s Caleb?” Raleigh asked.

  “He’s around here somewhere,” Dan assured her.

  “Maybe he’d like to go with us, too. He’s worked so hard, I don’t want to run off and leave him.”

  “There he is.” Dan pointed.

  She caught a glimpse of her brother sitting alone at an abandoned picnic table. Without waiting for Dan to follow, she scurried over to her brother. “Hey, you going on the hayride with us?”

  Caleb grimaced. “Nah, my stomach hurts.”

  “Too much rich food,” Dan diagnosed.

  “Listen, Dan. I can’t possibly go now,” she said, feeling both relieved and disappointed.

  “Oh, please, sis. Go on. I’ll be fine. Fay’s staying behind to help clean up. She can look after me.”

  Dan touched Raleigh’s elbow. “He’s a big boy, Raleigh. You’ve got to untie the apron strings sometime.”

  “You sure it’s okay?” Torn between duty and a desire to snuggle with Dan on the hayride, she looked from Caleb to Dan and back again.

  “Go. Have fun.” Caleb shooed them with a wave of his hand. “Have you guys ever considered I might want you out of my hair?”

  Pete honked again. “All aboard that’s going aboard,” he sang out.

  “That’s our ride,” Dan cued.

  Raleigh cast a worried glance over her shoulder at Caleb as Dan hauled her to the overcrowded trailer. Everyone shifted closer to make room, but it was a tight squeeze. Raleigh found herself sitting on Dan’s lap, encircled by his muscular legs and pressed firmly against his lower anatomy. They fit together perfectly, like interconnecting cogs.

  Someone pulled out a harmonica and began to play “Down in the Valley.” The festive mood continued as everyone sang along. Dan’s rich baritone blended with the other voices, yet stood alone, strong and distinct.

  “‘Angels in heaven know I love you,’” he sang, wrapping his arms around her waist. Raleigh leaned into him, savoring the happy moment she knew would never last.

  Pete drove the rig across the pasture and soon they lost sight of the house. They lumbered over bumpy hills and several times she lurched into Dan’s chest.

  One song flowed into another. She tilted her head back and eyed the wide expanse of sky and stars.

  “We created this,” Dan whispered. “You and me and Pete and Caleb.”

  “Yes,” she said. At this moment the world seemed made for them, but Raleigh knew just how short-lived joy could be. The minute she dropped her guard, took happiness for granted, trusted in the status quo, life dissolved into heart-wrenching tragedy. It had occurred again and again, teaching her severe lessons at an early age.

  Pete reached the end of Dan’s property and turned the trailer around. Couples cuddled. Mesquite loomed in the dark. An owl hooted. Hay and peanuts scented the breeze. Dan’s wristwatch glowed green and she could hear the steady, reliable ticking.

  The tractor labored, sending vibrations seeping through the bed of the trailer, flowing energy upward to invade her bottom with spirals of sensation. She shifted and wondered if Dan felt it, too. His grip on her waist tightened as they traveled to the house. Several guests yawned. The singing stopped and conversation lagged.

  The rig ground to a halt in front of the barn. Guests hopped down, voicing their appreciation for the party and drifting in the direction of their vehicles. Raleigh started to get up, but Dan kept her restrained in his arms.

  “Wait,” he said. “Let them all leave.”

  Bidding their visitors good night, they sat planted in the comfortable hay, watching a succession of departing headlights sweep over the driveway. Dan plucked loose straw from her hair, feathering it gently across her cheek.

  “That tickles.” She giggled.

  “I’d like to trail it over your whole body,” he said.

  Oh, heavens, she would like that, too!

  “Well,” Pete announced, climbing down from the tractor. “I’m turning in for the night.” He grinned slyly.

  “Good night, Pete,” they chorused.

  Chuckling, Pete shook his head and disappeared into the night.

  Dan lay back in the hay and pulled Raleigh down beside him. His outstretched arm rested under her head. “Alone at last,” he whispered.

  “We’re going to have one heck of a mess to clean up in the morning,” Raleigh said.

  “There you go again, obsessing about work. Relax. Clear your mind.”

  “Easier said than done.”

  “Skeptic,” Dan replied, propping himself on one elbow and peering down at her. She knew he was going to kiss her, but she possessed no will to resist.

  His lips sought hers, hungry, searching, demanding. His kiss escalated her passion, left her gasping for more.

  Threading both hands through her
hair, he held her face to his and delved deeper with his tongue, stoking the torch flaming inside her.

  With the agility of a champion Thoroughbred, he rolled them over until his body covered hers like a saddle blanket. He kissed her again and again, expertly, intently, his lips promising so much more to come.

  While his mouth occupied hers, his fingers smoothly undid the buttons on her dress, exposing the flesh beneath. The night breeze cooled her sizzling skin like a soothing balm. But then his large hands skimmed her rib cage, provoking a fresh cascade of heated longing.

  “Raleigh, Raleigh, Raleigh,” he crooned. His fingers released the catch on her bra and pushed the restraining material out of his way. Moaning deep in his throat, he cupped her breasts in his palms.

  His deep, guttural sounds ignited her. Writhing under his touch, she cried his name, no longer aware of her surroundings, no longer caring. All that mattered was Dan and her body’s starving response. She wanted him, needed him, but she was so afraid to surrender everything to him.

  Wrenching his mouth from her lips, he trailed fire red kisses down her neck, teasing her with his tongue. Intense shivers rippled through her body as she arched her back and begged for more.

  “You’re so sweet.” He sighed. Feverishly, he tore his shirt open, buttons popping into the hay with soft plopping sounds. He guided her hands to his bare chest. Her fingers splayed outward, massaging him, kneading him, arousing him to unbelievable heights.

  She tugged gently at his chest hairs and he growled in answer. Angling her hips upward, she moved against him, felt his obvious arousal straining at his restrictive blue jeans. She whimpered, acutely aware of his masculine hardness.

  Her hands clutched his shoulders and she savored the tactile experience of caressing his warm skin. What strange, mystical powers did Daniel McClintock possess that he could reduce her to a quivering mass of pure desire?

  The pressure between them increased to a fever pitch. Jack’s tender lovemaking had never aroused her to this level of wondrous ecstasy.

  Jack. Thoughts of her ex-fiancé zapped through Raleigh’s mind like a charged cattle prod.

  Dear God, hadn’t she learned her lesson? What was she thinking, succumbing to Dan in such a wanton way? Physical intimacy with this man made it so much harder to keep a rein on her emotions. And control her feelings she must, if she ever hoped to keep from destroying him and herself in the process.