by Debra Kayn
She stood next to the rock fireplace in the living room, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the raging river that seemed to sweep under the second story but was at least fifty feet away from the house. Rain had driven around the house, showing her the outside, and she’d taken in the natural rural landscape in awe.
The hundred-foot fir trees, the large, rounded boulders, and the fast-flowing river were too much to take in all at once. She’d walked into the house and was surprised when the door shut, the musical background of water, breeze, and birds shutting off. Reality slammed into her.
Living in hotels, rental cabins, and even in her truck for the last six years hadn’t given her time to explore the less populated countryside. She ran her hand along the bare hearth, marveling at the craftsmanship Rain informed her came from using natural byproducts of the area.
This cozy home gave her a different picture than believing he lived in the cabin behind Cactus Cove. While he drove his Corvette out of town, he’d filled her in on his life. He not only owned Cactus Cove, but Shift’s garage, the Cozy Inn and Lounge, and twenty acres of prime forestry land that his primary house sat on.
She could handle trouble coming to her through Rain making that ridiculous statement claiming her as his woman. She’d taken care of herself since she was sixteen years old, and had seen worse things. But living here wasn’t going to work. It brought up too many emotions she kept carefully hidden. The house represented family, safety, and shelter. It’d make her weak and throw her off guard.
She wasn’t a “real home” kind of woman. Especially in a home that was bigger than anything she’d ever seen, and she’d probably get lost inside trying to find the bathroom. She cupped her elbows in her hands and walked to the window. Tomorrow, she’d let Rain drive her to the Shack for work and when he wasn’t looking, she’d hook up the mobile to her truck and hit the highway.
“Babe?”
She shivered. Not from having to face Rain, but because she was going to face Rain. Whatever she felt about the biker-turned-millionaire, she needed to nip it in the bud. Her fascination and attraction to him needed to die a swift death.
“Yeah?” She stayed in the living room.
“Come here.”
She gazed up the sweeping staircase. The peeled and polished logs highlighted the extra-wide steps and tan runner. She glanced around the foyer as she put her foot on the step, unsure if she climbed to the second level of the house if she’d find her way back to the front door. The place was amazing and intimidating, much like the man who lived there.
It scared her how easily she’d let him take care of her. How she’d leaned into him as he’d held her shoulders. How, in the car, he’d reached for her hand, and she’d held on for the security he offered the whole ride to his house. She never relied on anyone, and because she did with Rain, it worried her.
“Babe.”
She flinched. “Coming.”
Brandishing the thoughts from her head, she hurried up the steps and followed the hallway. “Where are you?”
“Here. Uh, third door on the left.”
A large sleigh bed sat in the middle of the room. She stood in the doorway and took in the rumpled comforter, the throw pillows. A pile of dirty jeans lay in front of what she suspected was the bathroom door. Leather chaps were draped over a recliner in the corner of the room.
Rain picked up the pile of dirty clothes and carried them through the open door at the side of the room. She stepped forward and peeked inside. He returned, blocking her view, but not before she confirmed it was the bathroom.
“Tomorrow, we’ll shop for clothes.” He opened the dresser drawer. “You can wear this tonight.”
She stared at the black T-shirt he removed from the drawer and handed her. “Uh, okay.”
A humorous noise came from deep in his throat, and his eyes warmed. “I put clean sheets and pillowcases on the bed.”
Her gaze swung to the side. “Isn’t that your bed?”
“Yeah.” He strode across to the other side of the room, opened a different door, and disappeared inside. “Taylor’s on your job.”
She walked to the doorway. “What did you say?”
“Taylor.” He removed a sack off the top shelf of his walk-in closet, dug inside, and held out a brand new toothbrush. “She’ll run the Shack for a couple days.”
“No.”
“Yeah,” he said.
“Rain, you can’t take over my business.” She scooted out of his way when he moved. “I need to make money.”
“I got you covered.” He sat down in the recliner, pulled up the leg of his jeans, and started unlacing his black biker boots.
“I don’t understand what that means when you say it.” She sat down on the edge of the bed, and then hopped off when she realized she was sitting on Rain’s bed. “I had my purse with me when the fire happened, and I still have my bank card. If you’ll drive me into work, I’ll pick up a few outfits to tide me over until I can afford more.”
His boot hit the wood floor. “The fire is my fault. I’ll take care of your clothes.”
He was impossible to talk with. She raked her teeth over her bottom lip. Today was never going to end. There was no use arguing with him.
Tomorrow, she’d leave, and dealing with Rain would be in the past. She stifled a yawn.
“You need sleep.” He stood and unbuttoned his jeans.
She turned around. “Hang on. What are you doing?”
“Changing clothes. I reek of smoke.”
“Maybe a little warning next time, dude.” She walked to the door, but he called her name before she could make her escape. “What?”
“Where’re you going?”
“The couch.” She clutched his shirt to her chest without turning around.
“Take a nap in here, and I’ll see about getting us some dinner in a couple of hours.”
She glanced behind her, found him semi-dressed, and turned around fully. He’d taken off his vest and stood there in his bare feet, his jeans half-undone, and his chest — she looked away and swallowed. God, he had a nice chest. The tats enhanced the contours of his muscles.
“You want me to sleep here? In your bed?” she whispered on a croak.
“Go change. I’ll come back up to grab your clothes and wash them while you sleep.” He grinned and shook his head when she covered her cheeks. “The guys are coming over, and I need to speak with them. You can take the time to relax in private.”
“Can’t I rest in a different room?”
“Nope.” He smiled as if she were the funniest person in the room. “Rooms are empty, babe. It’s just me here, and I seldom stay too long. It’s easier to stay at the cabin.”
“How about a sleeping bag? I can even sleep on the floor.” She pinched the soft spot at the base of her neck, nervous about sleeping in his bed. “A lounge chair we can bring inside?”
He narrowed his eyes. “My bed. No argument.”
Then he disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door. She stood in the same spot until she heard the shower start. Then she hurried and slipped out of her clothes, putting on his T-shirt, which hit her right above the knees. When he came out, she didn’t want to be standing in the room looking like an obedient child. Who knew what he could order her to do next, and what he could make her do.
She seemed to have zero control over saying the word “no” lately.
Curled on the edge of the bed, she covered herself to the neck and squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart raced. Parts of him were all over the room.
She was in his space. His very manly space. She inhaled roughly, a pleasant flutter settling deep and low in her abdomen. Even with laundered sheets, Rain’s scent filled her nostrils. He smelled familiarly of sexy, tummy-twirling testosterone and the breeze outside his rural home.
The water shut off in the bathroom. She relaxed her facial muscles and pretended to sleep.
The door clicked opened. She could sense him walking past the bed, and she peeked through her lashes. Oh. My. God.
His perfectly sculpted ass walked right beside the bed and disappeared into the closet. She swallowed and buried her face in the pillow. He walked around as if he owned the place, which he did. But she was a guest. Didn’t he have any qualms about strutting around in the nude?
A few minutes later, he returned to the room and hesitated beside the bed. She held her breath, letting it out slowly, hoping it was enough to make him believe she was deep asleep.
He kissed the top of her head. “Relax, babe, and sleep. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
She remained in fake-sleep mode, not daring to move or open her eyes. Her body heated under the blanket. Aware of him leaving the room, she kept her eyes closed. She had no time to wonder why his words brought her comfort before she felt herself slipping off to sleep.
Chapter Twelve
Rain stared out the kitchen window, past his reflection, and into the darkness. He had more to worry about than what the other men were feeling about having their territory invaded. His woman slept upstairs in his bed.
He’d wanted to go bust some heads when he’d watched the cabin go up in smoke. Something wasn’t right about the fire. The Lagsturns played ugly, and attacking him personally came as no surprise. It was the fire, in the daytime, which sat wrong.
They’d always worked at night. His riders outnumbered Sanchez and his men. It was strange that the Lagsturns would challenge them. They’d stayed away all year after the last blowup with Crystal. Why come back now?
He had a feeling Tori’s arrival and the Lagsturns’ arrival at around the same time was not a coincidence. He hoped Tori was innocent, but he’d thought the same about Crystal.
“Where’s Sanchez?” he asked, turning around.
“At the hotel.” Slade sucked the last of his beer down. “There’s only him and three others staying in town. The rest went over the bridge into Oregon to lay low.”
That game plan didn’t add up, either. He leaned against the counter. Unless Sanchez had something or someone bigger to protect him, there was no way he’d stay in Pitnam with so few men. “Chief Jordan’s looking into the state patrol, going to keep his ears open to anything going on with a connection with the Lagsturns. Until then, we stay aware. You hear anything, see anything … I’m the first one you call. Hear?”
Ronny, Slade, and Torque nodded. He knew the rest of the men in the living room would go along with the leaders. He saw movement out of his peripheral vision, turned and spotted Tori slowly walking down the stairs. His whole body relaxed, and then quickly went hard in male appreciation.
She drowned in his shirt, and her hair lay tangled around her shoulders. He walked over, tucked her into his side, and cupped her face. “Rest well?”
She nodded. “What time is it?”
“Ten,” he said.
“I didn’t mean to sleep that long.” She shivered, looking past him to the room. “I’ll go upstairs. I didn’t know everyone was still here.”
“Stay.” He led her over to the island in the kitchen, hitched his chin for Ronny to move off the stool, and left her sitting with her back to the other men. “The guys brought dinner over. It’s still warm.”
“That’s okay. I’m not that hungry.”
“You’ll eat.”
“Rain … ” She pressed her lips together, and he knew she was holding off from arguing with him because of the other men in the room.
“Eat,” he said.
“Whatever.” She rubbed her lips together.
She had no idea how damn sexy she looked, fresh from crawling out of his bed, skin warmed, cheeks rosy. Hell, she still had the imprint of her hand where she’d slept on it printed on the side of her face. It was bad enough he wanted to take her upstairs right this minute, but so did all the other men in the room.
He took the plate of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and biscuits out of the oven. First thing tomorrow, he’d get her a shitload of clothes. He didn’t need his men ogling his woman.
Torque leaned on the counter and grinned at Tori. “Hey.”
“Hey, Torque.” She smiled at the other man in a way that made Rain want to order everyone out of the house. Then she awarded an even brighter smile to Rain that had him grinning back.
She pointed her fork at the plate. “Chicken is my favorite food.”
“Yeah?” He motioned to the food. “Eat up.”
He glared at Torque, making him look somewhere else but at Tori’s legs. “Watch it.”
“Sure, boss.” Torque swiveled around on the stool and looked out to the living room.
She glanced around while picking a piece of crispy breading off the meat and popping it in her mouth. “So, what’s up? What was the big meeting about?”
Rain tossed a kitchen towel in front of her on the counter. “Setting things up to make sure you’re safe and the Lagsturns don’t get anywhere close to our people.”
She licked her finger, and he shifted, leaning over the counter and bracing himself on his elbows. Hell, watching her eat was an erotic moment in itself.
“People? You mean your employees?” She held her hands poised above her plate.
“The members of the Bantorus club.”
She raised her brows. “Is that the polite way to say biker gang?”
The others laughed. He shrugged. “It’s a family. A gang is what the Lagsturns call themselves.”
“So who are you related to?” She stuck her index finger in her mouth and pulled it out with a soft pop. “You look nothing like Torque.”
He laughed. There she was being cute again, and playing with him. “We claim each other. Treat each other like family. They’re my brothers. Closer than a brother, seeing as how I can’t stand my blood brother.”
“Ha.” She smacked her hand down on the counter. “So all this posturing and claiming me in front of everyone means you’re like my big brother now? I get it.”
He growled. “Hell, no.”
The guys no longer listened raptly, but moved over into the living room, giving Rain time to talk with Tori. He lowered his voice. “You’re my woman.”
She picked up her spoon and drew a circle in her potatoes, mixing the gravy in. “I’m not qualified to be anyone’s woman. So, explain to me how this all works. Since I don’t want to be claimed, and I certainly don’t want to be your woman, exactly what do you expect from me until I can leave this town and be rid of bikers trying to steal me away on their motorcycle and setting fire to where I sleep at night? Cause really, Rain, I don’t understand any of it. I don’t know you. I don’t even know how to get out to the damn road when I walk out your front door.”
“Babe — ”
“Stop calling me that.” She stood. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m freaking out.”
Her voice broke, and he moved toward her. She held up her hand. He ignored what she was saying and her body language, because her eyes had gone cold. He raised his chin and looked behind her while holding her hand. “Everyone out.”
Torque picked up his jacket. “Later, boss.”
“No worries.” Ronny slapped him on the shoulder as he walked past him to the foyer.
“We’ll lock up.” Slade turned to Tori. “’Night.”
When all of them had left and the door closed, Rain gathered Tori in his arms and cushioned her against his chest. She struggled, but he kept hold of her.
“Sh.” He molded his hand to the back of her head and held her in place.
“I don’t get it,” she mumbled against his shirt.
“I know,” he said. “You’re stressing and you’re tired. Wo
men get hormonal … ”
“Shut up,” she whispered.
For several minutes, he simply held her stiff body. It took longer than he’d thought it would, but her shoulders eventually softened and she leaned against him. Her hands came up and clung to the edge of his flannel shirt. He stroked her hair.
“You don’t understand.” She leaned her head back to look at him, and there were tears welling up in her eyes. “I can’t stay here.”
“You keep saying that but until you explain, I’m going to be in the dark about you,” he said softly.
She shook her head. “Just let me go.”
“Can’t, babe. It’s not safe. Not yet.” He kissed her forehead.
“Why are you being nice to me?” She blinked. “I’d rather you be mean and bossy.”
He frowned. “You like the mean me?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “That you I understand and can handle. This one … ”
“What?”
“Nothing.” She tried to push away.
He held her closer. “What?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, it does.” He waited until she lifted her gaze again. The way she pressed her lips together and couldn’t meet his eyes spoke volumes. “You’re scared.”
That was what this entire outburst was about? All the arguing, the attitude, and stubbornness she worked herself into when they finally got comfortable around each other? She wasn’t running or hiding — she was scared.
She snorted. “Sorry to burst your ego, big guy, but you don’t scare me.”
“Then if it’s not me, it’s us.” He grinned.
“Don’t look so pleased with yourself. You don’t know anything.” She glared. “There is no us. I don’t know why you’d think — ”
He moved fast, faster than she could think about what was happening between them. Sitting her on the counter, he situated himself between her thighs and cupped his hands around her face. His fingers sunk deep into the sides of her hair, and he brought her face close to his. “Bullshit, baby. You’re scared because you feel the attraction between us, and you know damn well we’re going to end up in bed together, whether you fight me every step or you drag me there yourself.”