Treasured Temptation [Triple Dare County, South Dakota 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Polyromance)

by Paige Cameron

  She giggled. “I’ll never tell.”

  * * * *

  Chad called Tor. He didn’t answer his home phone, so he called his cell.

  “Hi,” Torrad said. “I can’t wait to get to your place and sleep in on a Sunday morning.”

  “I guess you’re in the office because of the murder in North Carolina,” Chad said.

  Tor told him about the ex-wife and the suspicion the man may have killed his mother. “Dan and I will check regarding the mother tomorrow.”

  “What’s the name of the lawyer you sent into hiding?”

  “Why? Has something happened to a woman lawyer in your area?”

  “No, I was curious.”

  “You are never just curious, but her name is Amy Gresham.”

  “She’s here.”

  “You mean in Triple Dare County?”

  “Yes. She has a great-aunt who has lived in this area for years. It’s quite a coincidence. I’m heading to the aunt’s house in a few minutes with the sheriff. Amy told Kel about the situation yesterday, and her aunt called this morning after seeing the report of the ex-wife’s murder.”

  “And I thought I’d be able to get her out of my system while on vacation.”

  “You’re attracted to her?”

  “Reluctantly, yes, I am.”

  “Hmmm, maybe she’s the one for us. We’ve talked about a threesome marriage if we ever decided to commit. I’m ready to come back home and settle.”

  “I’d thought about making some changes in my life and my career, but marriage wasn’t one of them.”

  “We’ll see what the vacation brings. I’ve got to go. I see Kel driving up. I’ll call later.” He clicked his phone off.

  On the ride to see Amy Gresham and her aunt, Chad told Kel about her being the lawyer in hiding from the case Tor was working on.

  “My deputies have been cruising by the aunt’s house more frequently. I may have to have one stay right outside. This guy sounds clever and dangerous.” Kel turned his car onto the narrow driveway. The house sat back about a half acre from the street.

  “Tor was surprised she was hiding here. He’s anxious to start his vacation.”

  Kel parked the car and they walked to the front door. Jane Jenkins greeted them before they could knock.

  “Come in and join us in the kitchen. Amy is frosting the cake we made this morning and there’s hot coffee.”

  “You do know what a man likes,” Kel teased her.

  “I’ve heard your wife is a good cook. How is your baby boy?”

  “He’s wonderful and growing fast.” Kel grinned. “And yes, she is a very good cook.”

  They walked to the kitchen. Kel stepped inside and Chad went to follow him. A curvaceous, red-headed woman was putting the last touches of the chocolate frosting on the cake. She raised her head and blinked.

  Tor was right. She is beautiful. Her golden-brown eyes, more gold than brown, stared at him. A stab of pure lust hit him unexpectedly. He was thirty-four, not eighteen. He hadn’t had such an immediate reaction to a pretty woman in a long time.

  Kel introduced him. “This is an old military buddy. He works for the FBI. I thought I’d bring him along.”

  Amy nodded her head at him. She went back to her frosting, but Chad saw the tremble in her hands. So she’d reacted to him, too. Good.

  “You gentlemen can call me Aunt Janie, most of the younger townspeople do. Have a seat at the table. I’ll pour the coffee, and Amy will cut the cake. Then we’ll talk.”

  Chad sat at the small table and stretched out his long legs. He studied the two women, especially Amy. In snug jeans, a white T-shirt, and tennis shoes, she didn’t look like a lawyer. Her hair hung in waves around her shoulders, and it was a deep-red color not often seen.

  She put the cake plates around the table, placing his down last. She didn’t look directly at him. Inwardly, he chuckled. When she had bent across toward him, he had breathed in her sweet scent.

  His stare went to her face and the desirable bow shaped lips. He wanted to touch her creamy skin and hold her curvy body against his. Mentally, he shook himself and listened more closely to the conversation.

  Kel assured the two women he’d post a deputy at the house to guard them. “You’ll be safe. Chad, did you have anything else to add?”

  “I talked to my friend Tor Davidssons this morning.”

  Amy’s head jerked up, and she looked at him. “You know Detective Davidssons?”

  “He, Kel, and I were in the service together. He’s due here on Friday evening to start his vacation.” Chad smiled. “It’s a small world. Anyway, as I was saying, we talked. He was at work because of the killing of the prisoner’s ex-wife.” Chad decided to not mention the possibility the killer had shot his own mother.

  “How is the judge?” Amy asked. “They didn’t mention him on the morning news.”

  “I have a man at the hospital,” Chad said. “The judge is hanging on, barely.”

  “Who besides me does that leave to be possible victims?” Amy asked. “Besides the lead prosecutor, Gary Cecil, who worked with me on the trial? That’s all I know about.”

  “He may target the jury. The court has contacted them and arranged safe houses for all who wanted the protection. A few refused.”

  “Surely he doesn’t have the jury in mind. But who knows how a person like that thinks.”

  “Do you have any idea where the prosecutor is staying?” Chad asked.

  “No, he didn’t tell me.”

  “I’ll remind Tor about him. If we can guard all the potential victims the next few days, the man may get frustrated and make a mistake trying to get to one of them.”

  “Eat and drink your coffee,” Aunt Janie said. “Let’s all relax for a few minutes and think of more pleasant topics. Amy hasn’t visited in a few years, but she used to ride.”

  Chad took the hint. It gave him the opening he wanted. “I have several nice, easy-riding mares in my barn. Would you join me for a horseback ride today? We can barbecue a meal afterward.”

  “I just got here. I can’t desert Aunt Janie so soon.”

  “Nonsense, I don’t need babysitting. We’ll see plenty of each other before you go back home.”

  Cornered, Amy agreed to go with Chad to his ranch. He saw her throw an annoyed look at her aunt, who smiled back at her mischievously.

  “I’ve got to get home,” Kel said. “Chad, are you and Amy riding with me?”

  “No, please stay,” Aunt Janie said. “I have a few manly jobs that need done around here. You two can use my truck to go to your ranch later. Amy can drive herself home.”

  “I’m fine with those plans. Are you, Amy?”

  “I guess I’ll have to be.”

  “Amy, that was very ungracious.”

  Chad threw his head back and laughed. “She’s not sure she likes me. But she will.”

  “I don’t like arrogant men.”

  “Don’t confuse confidence with arrogance.” He winked at her and turned to her aunt. “Show me those jobs you need done.”

  * * * *

  He had a deep, warm, rich laugh, and his gray eyes had an iridescent quality. When he smiled they looked a bluish gray. His shiny black hair brushed the collar of his blue shirt, and jeans showed off his muscled, long legs.

  Her body had reacted to him the same as it had to the detective. What’s the matter with me? All of the sudden every man I meet has my hormones racing. I don’t like to feel vulnerable.

  Aunt Janie was proving to be as difficult as her mother about pairing her up with a man. But she had to admit the men in Triple Dare County were handsome. At least the ones she’d seen so far. Aunt Janie’s husbands had been big, strong men and very good-looking. They’d treated her aunt extraordinarily well.

  Amy unpacked her clothes and busied herself in her bedroom. At noon, she fixed sandwiches, potato salad, and cut up fruit. Then she called her aunt and Chad to come in to eat.

  Chad was pulling his shirt on as he came
toward the back door. Amy got a good look at his wide chest and his six-pack before he buttoned up.

  He walked straight to the bathroom, and when he returned his face was clean and his hair wet. Chad pulled back a chair for Aunt Janie.

  “I can help, Amy. What do you need me to do?”

  “Get the salad out of the fridge and put it on the table. I’ve got the rest.” But he didn’t sit until Amy sat in the chair he held out for her.

  After the first few bites, he said, “The food is good. I worked up an appetite.”

  “Thank you for clearing that flower bed for me. My old bones won’t let me bend over long enough to do a good job.”

  “I’d have done it for you,” Amy said.

  “It’s hot today. I knew it wouldn’t take Chad long at all.” Her smile showed she was pleased with her maneuvering.

  “Have you talked with Mom lately?”

  “Why do you ask? You know we seldom speak.”

  “I’d bet Mom called you while I was on my way here.”

  From the blush on Aunt Janie’s face she knew she was right.

  “After I get back from riding we need to have a talk.”

  “We’ll see. It may be late, and I’ll be asleep.”

  “There’s always tomorrow morning.” Amy raised her eyebrow at her aunt.

  “When’s the last time you rode?” Chad asked.

  “About three years ago. And I didn’t ride much then.”

  “I have an older mare. Her name’s Carmela. My mother named her. The mare is gentle and slow. She’d be a good horse to start with until we see how you do.”

  “His mother was a well-known opera singer,” her aunt added.

  “I like opera. What was her stage name?”

  “Lunette Valentina.”

  “I saw her at the opera house. She was wonderful. What a voice. Do you sing?” Chad let out another one of those sexy, warm laughs.

  “No. My father and I had no talent in that department. We cherished her and loved when she sang for us.”

  “You must miss your parents.”

  “I do.”

  “You have her eyes. I saw a picture of her in a magazine, and they talked about her beautiful, unusual eyes.”

  Chad blushed at her compliment. “I have her eyes and black hair.” He pushed off from the table. “May I help clean up? Then we’ll go to my ranch.”

  “I’ll do the cleaning. You two go on.” Her aunt practically pushed them out the door. She did give Amy time to put on sunscreen, boots, and grab a hat.

  Amy waved out the window of the truck. Then she turned to stare straight ahead. She didn’t trust herself to conquer her involuntary reactions to Chad. Maybe by ignoring him she’d regain control of her emotions. What had happened to the levelheaded, organized Amy?

  “My ranch was bought by my grandfather’s father. Over the years acreage was added. I have cattle and horses. Do you like this part of the country?” He glanced at her.

  “It seems big and isolated. I don’t know.”

  “Most newcomers say the same thing. You’ll come to love it.”

  “I won’t be here that long. As soon as they get this guy, I’m flying to Pittsburgh. I work for a large law firm, and they need me.”

  “Do you need them?”

  “Of course, I’m hoping to make partner in the next six months.”

  Chad turned onto a two-lane paved driveway. She saw a white, two-story house in the distance.

  “What will you do after you make partner?”

  His question had her turning toward him. “Work to climb the ladder and become senior partner someday.”

  “That’s a lot of climbing. Will there ever be a husband, or children?”

  His words made her feel tired. It did seem like an unending climb upwards with no assurance of further gain. Would she ever marry?

  “I doubt it. Being a career woman in this day means it takes all your energy and time. It wouldn’t be fair to a husband and certainly not to children.”

  He parked the truck in front of his house. “You’ll have a lonely life. I find the people I work with can’t replace family and close friends.”

  Chad got out and walked around to her door. He put his hands around her waist and swung her down where her feet touched the ground. “Welcome to Treasured Memories Ranch.”

  Amy swallowed around the lump in her throat and forced a smile. “Your mother named the ranch.”

  “No. My great-grandmother did. Her husband said it was a foolish name for a man’s ranch, but if that’s what she wanted they’d have the name engraved across the doorway.” He nodded to the front door.

  In large letters, Amy saw the name. “I think I’d have liked your great-grandfather.”

  “No doubt about it and he would have liked you.”

  Chapter Five

  Chad walked Amy through the house. His mother’s influence was evident in every room. The colors were soft pastels or white and many of the main rooms had light, see-through, flowing curtains. The views were of wide-open prairie and in the distance a few stands of trees and mountains.

  They entered a round room and Amy caught her breath. The walls were white. In the center on a platform was a shiny, black piano. Floor-length windows covered one wall.

  “This was my mother’s favorite spot. She’d play the piano for a while, and then often sang. Many times in the evenings after dinner, she’d entertain my father and me. From the time I was a little boy until she died, I thought she was the most enchanting, beautiful woman I’d ever seen.”

  He had a faraway expression in his eyes when Amy looked at him. “She was very special to you.”

  Chad cupped her face in his hands. “You’re beautiful in a different way, but just as fascinating.”

  She shook her head no, and stepped back from him. “I’m an ordinary career woman. There are dozens of women like me in many cities around the country.” She grinned. “Thanks for the compliment, but you’ve been in the country too long.”

  “No. The FBI office I work out of is in New York.”

  Deciding to change the subject, Amy walked to the door. “I thought we were going riding.”

  “We are. Come with me.”

  The barn was a good walk from the house. Inside it was cool and the smell of horses and hay made her sneeze.

  He took her arm and walked with her to the last stall on the right. “Meet Carmela.”

  The mare raised her head. Her coat was a dark brown. She nudged Chad’s hand and he reached in his pocket. “She knows I always bring her a few pieces of apple.”

  “I thought that was why you had me wait while you ran back to the kitchen.”

  “I’ll show you how to saddle her, and then I’ll saddle my horse.”

  Chad let her do most of the work and once he was satisfied he went to another stall and saddled a black-and-white pinto. He helped Amy into the saddle and led her to the corral next to the barn. “Let’s see how you do in a confined area before we ride down a trail.”

  He sat on the top rail and gave her instructions. “You have a good seat and with practice you’ll be a good rider. We’ll only go a short distance today or you’d be sore later.” He swung onto his horse and opened the gate to let her ride out.

  Carmela was slow and easy to ride. Amy relaxed and looked around her. The air even smelled different, more sweet, and fresh.

  “This is far enough.” Chad urged her to turn back.

  “I’d just relaxed and was enjoying myself.”

  “You can ride each day a little farther.”

  “Not at Aunt Janie’s. She doesn’t have a horse.”

  Chad turned in his saddle. “I’d like you and your aunt to come stay with me. I’d feel much better about you being safe.”

  “It isn’t necessary.”

  “We’ll see. I’ll let it go for now, but if something else happens, will you agree? You have your aunt to think about besides yourself.”

  “Are you trying to scare me?” Amy frowned
at him.

  “No, I’m being honest about the situation.”

  “Humph.” She urged Carmela forward and to her surprise the old horse speeded up.

  At the barn, Chad put his hands around her waist and helped her down. Her body slid against his hard-muscled frame. When her feet touched the ground, he stared into her eyes. Heat flushed through her body and her heart quickened.

  “You don’t play fair.”

  “Not when I really want to win.”

  “Am I just a contest, a conquest to you?”

  His gray eyes turned a steely color. “Never. I don’t play games.” Slowly, he lowered his head.

  She should turn away. She wanted to or at least she told herself she did. But her body wouldn’t move. His warm mouth covered hers, and his tongue slipped between her lips. He tasted of coffee and cinnamon. His tongue caressed the sides of her mouth and tangled with hers.

  Her heart pounded and her legs went weak. His strong arms held her close.

  Without realizing it, she’d moved her hands to his head, and her fingers brushed across the silky strands at the bottom of his neck. He groaned and his hard cock jerked against her abdomen.

  When his hands slid down and massaged along the curve of her back and buttocks, her juices wet her pussy. She yanked back out of his arms. He didn’t speak. His breath was fast and his eyes had darkened to almost black.

  Chad took her horse and showed her how to groom Carmela after a ride. His husky voice warmed her blood like a deep swallow of cognac. By the time he’d groomed his pinto, his shoulders had relaxed.

  He smiled and took her hand as they walked back to the house. “Sorry, I got carried away. But you bring out feelings in me I haven’t had for another woman.”

  “You hardly know me.”

  “My dad met my mother after one of her shows. They went out twice, and he proposed. She accepted. They were inseparable from then on.”

  “I’m not accepting a proposal after two dates or a dozen.” His soft chuckle both warmed her and annoyed her. The man didn’t believe what she said, but she’d show him.

  “We’ll barbecue the ribs I’ve defrosted. I’ll turn on the grill.”