“Did you brand enough steers to make the roundup worthwhile?” Bob asked.
“I can always use more but to be honest, I was very surprised at the final total. Pleasantly surprised,” he added.
“Have you got a buyer?” Ed asked. “Because if you haven’t sold the lot, I’d like to buy a few to butcher for beef for the café. I bet the owners of the Black Bear would take some, too.”
“Of course, they would.” Sally winked at Cade. “That’s prime free range beef you’re holding in your corrals, Cade. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could get double or triple the normal price if you contacted a broker.”
“That’s a brilliant idea, Sally.” Mariah beamed at her friend. “Restaurants in Denver feature free range beef on menus and it’s always more expensive.”
“Thanks for the tip, Sally,” Cade told her. “I’ll look into it. And Ed, we’ll cut out steers for you and any other Indian Springs restaurants that are interested.”
“Great.” A smile lit Ed’s craggy features. “As a matter of fact, as soon as you’re finished with that,” he said as he pointed at Cade’s full plate, “we’ll go find Denise Larson—her and her brother own the Black Bear. I saw her dancing a bit ago and there’s no time like the present to get a deal worked out.”
“Ed,” Sally protested. “You promised no business tonight.”
He patted her arm. “Honey, this is just a little friendly dealing between friends, right, Cade?”
Cade grinned, white teeth flashing in his tan face. “Right, Ed.”
A half hour later, after emptying their plates, Cade, Ed and Bob excused themselves to find Denise Larson and her brother.
Julie heaved a dramatic sigh as the three women watched the men walk away. “Mariah, that man is so gorgeous.”
“Yes, he is.” Mariah’s pleased satisfaction made the other two laugh out loud.
“Ed hasn’t looked at me like that for years,” Sally told her with a sigh.
“Like what?” Mariah asked, lifting her bottle to drink.
“Like you’re a big bowl of ice cream and he wants to lick you all over.” Julie’s smile was wicked.
Mariah sputtered and choked. “Julie!” She wiped moisture from her hand and stared at her friend.
Julie’s smile was wide. “Well, he does.” She turned to Sally. “Doesn’t he?”
Sally nodded emphatically, her eyes gleaming with laughter. “Oh, yes. He definitely does.”
Mariah didn’t know what to say. She was delighted that Cade wasn’t hiding his interest but on the other hand, she wasn’t sure exactly how their attraction for each other would turn out.
Sally leaned over and patted her hand. “Relax and enjoy it, Mariah. I remember when Ed and I first got together and he had that look in his eye. We had so much fun.”
“You two are incorrigible,” Mariah told them.
“No we’re not,” Julie protested. “This is basic Married 101 class. Take notes, because given the way Cade looks at you, I’m guessing you’re going to need this important info.”
“We aren’t even dating,” Mariah protested.
“You haven’t had time,” Sally pointed out reasonably. “He’s too busy trying to save the Triple C and find his brothers.”
“And you’re too busy helping him,” Julie added.
“You don’t think we should at least go to a movie or something before…” Mariah waved a hand vaguely.
“No.” Sally and Julie chorused.
“You have the rest of your life to date,” Sally told her. “Besides, the two of you have probably spent more hours together than a couple who’s dated for a year.”
She was right, Mariah realized. She and Cade had spent hours and hours together over the last weeks, bonded by working toward common goals on the Triple C.
Before she could pursue Sally’s comment further, the men returned and conversation veered into more conventional channels.
Mariah and Cade danced, chatted with neighbors, rejoined Sally, Ed, Julie and Bob for a drink before moving on, and all the time, the simmering sexual awareness between them grew steadily stronger, hotter.
At last the crowd began to thin, guests making a point of stopping to thank Cade for his hospitality. After a half hour of goodbyes, Cade excused himself and Mariah saw him stop Pete, the two exchanging words before Cade returned.
“Pete’s going to play host with Asa, Ben and Wayne for the rest of the night,” he told her, slipping his arm around her waist and walking her toward the stairs. “Let’s get our coats and I’ll walk you home.”
Mariah murmured an assent and went with him, anticipation ratcheting higher with each step as they left the barn and walked down the lane to her cabin. His hand was warm around hers and they climbed the steps without a word. Inside, he slipped her coat from her shoulders, shrugged out of his, and tossed them on the chair just inside the door. Then he knelt to take off her boots.
Mariah balanced herself with one hand on his shoulder, the muscles flexing and bunching beneath her fingertips as he removed first one, then the other of her boots. When he stood, he rested his hands on her waist and looked down at her.
“If you’ve changed your mind about this, tell me now,” he said, his deep voice a low rumble in the quiet house.
“No, I haven’t changed my mind.” She slipped her hand in his and tugged, drawing him down the hall to her bedroom.
She’d left a lamp burning on the nightstand, the linens turned back invitingly.
“Were you expecting company?”
“What?” Startled, she looked up and met his gaze, his green eyes unreadable. “No, I always leave a light on and the covers turned down when I go out at night. I hate coming home to a dark house.”
The hard lines of his face eased. “Good to know.” He slipped his arms around her waist and tugged her near until her hips and thighs rested against his. “I’m glad you weren’t expecting company tonight.” He bent and brushed a kiss against her mouth. “Unless it was me.”
“I, um…” Mariah lost track of what she was about to say when he brushed another teasing kiss at the corner of her mouth. “I don’t bring men home, Cade.”
He went still, his mouth leaving its warm exploration of the sensitive skin just below her ear as he lifted his head. His gaze searched hers. “Never?”
“Never here. Never since I came to Indian Springs.”
“Then it’s been a while for you,” he murmured. “We’ll take it slow.”
“I’m not sure I want slow,” she confessed.
A slow, sensual smile curved his mouth. “I’m not sure I can give you slow, but I’m willing to try.”
Before Mariah could reply, his mouth took hers and all thoughts of slow, leisurely lovemaking went up in a blaze of heat. She moaned in protest when Cade’s lips left hers. He leaned back, caught the hem of her sweater and pulled it up and off, dropping it on the floor. His gaze fastened on the curve of her breasts, covered in pale blue silk and lace, and she felt the flick of green fire before he gently turned her around.
He made short work of her bra, his palms smoothing up her back and over her shoulders to push the scrap of satin and lace off her body. It fell to the floor but Mariah barely noticed because Cade pulled her against him, his hands surrounding her to cup the sensitive fullness of her breasts.
His lips found the place where shoulder met throat and she felt the scrape of his teeth, his mouth hot as he marked her. Mariah arched back against him, lost in sensation.
He muttered an oath and released her to unzip her skirt and push it down over her hips, leaving her clad only in blue silk and lace thong and thigh high stockings. He spun her around, wrapped his arms around her waist and nudged her backward until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the mattress.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” she told him, tugging at the snaps of his shirt. The fasteners gave way with audible pops as she pulled his shirt open down to his waistband. She had to unbuckle his belt and undo the top button of
his jeans before she could tug his shirt free. She laid her flat hands against the washboard muscles of his abdomen and slid them upward, pushing the shirt aside. Distracted by the hard male body under her palms, she leaned into him, her bare breasts cushioned against his chest, and pressed an openmouthed kiss to the throbbing pulse at the base of his throat.
He growled, arms tightening as he pressed her closer, and the pulse beneath her mouth pounded harder.
“Enough,” he groaned. He eased her away from him and laid her on the bed before stripping off his shirt. He bent to yank off his boots, then shoved his jeans and shorts down his long legs and kicked them aside.
Mariah’s mouth went dry. He was an intimidating man fully clothed. Naked, he was breathtaking. Barely knowing she did so, she scooted over on the bed, widening the space between them.
Cade didn’t give her time to worry. He bent over her, pressing a deep kiss against her navel before he tugged her panties down her legs. Too impatient to take time to remove her stockings, his mouth covered hers with carnal demand that quickly swamped any second thoughts on Mariah’s part.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and urged him closer, reveling in the heat as his muscled body lowered over hers.
The cove of her hips cradled the hard angles of his, his powerful thighs between hers. Drowning in sensation, Mariah ran her hands down the length of his spine and wrapped her legs around his hips, murmuring an incoherent demand.
Cade’s hand closed over her thigh, hips flexing as he joined them with one controlled thrust.
Mariah stiffened, adjusting to the intrusion, but then he moved, stroking her, pulling her with him into an ocean of sensation and desire that burned higher until they came apart together, exploding into a thousand brilliant pieces.
She fell asleep in Cade’s arms, her arms around his waist, her head on his shoulder. Sometime later, she woke to find him nuzzling her throat, his hands moving with tactile enjoyment over her back.
“Mmm,” she murmured. “Is it morning?”
“No, not even close.”
“Good.” She stroked her hands down the hard line of his spine. His muscles rippled in reaction to her touch, his skin like satin over steel.
He kissed her throat, the underside of her chin, then the soft skin below her ear. Mariah shuddered, turning more fully in his arms until more of her bare skin pressed against as much of his as she could manage.
He responded by sliding his hands down her back to cup her bottom and press her closer.
Mariah murmured her approval and tugged his face higher until she could press her lips to his. Instantly, languid teasing became hotter, focused and intense, and his weight pinned her to the bed as he moved between her thighs.
She thought hazily how wonderful it was that their bodies seemed so perfectly attuned before she was swept away.
Chapter Ten
They spent the night making love, Cade waking her again just before dawn lightened the dark sky outside her bedroom window.
“I wish you didn’t have to go,” Mariah said, wrapping her arms around his waist as he poured coffee in the kitchen. He was dressed while she wore only a light robe.
“I have to.” He turned, his mouth meeting hers in a slow, thorough kiss before he stepped back to pick up a filled mug and hand it to her. “I don’t want you to worry about Pete and J.T. seeing me leave your house this early.”
“Mmm.” Mariah sipped her coffee, knowing she would be more comfortable if their night together was private.
Cade leaned his hips against the counter behind him and sipped his coffee, his gaze warm as it skated over her. He glanced around the kitchen with its touches of blue and yellow in the pottery on the sideboard, the place mats on the pine table and canisters on the white tiled countertop.
“I like what you’ve done with this place,” he told her. “Looks a lot better than I remember it from the last time I was here, years ago.”
“Thank you.” Mariah felt a surge of pleasure at his words, her gaze touching lightly on the sunny kitchen. “I’m glad you’re okay with Joseph leaving it to me.”
“Hey.” He shrugged. “I don’t blame you for wanting a home. Especially after you told me your mom and dad are gone and the house you grew up in was sold. Everybody needs a place that belongs to them.”
Something about his comment didn’t feel right to Mariah.
“You mean you don’t blame Joseph any longer for leaving me the cabin?”
“I don’t blame any man for giving you anything,” he told her with a half grin. “If you asked me for every acre of the Triple C, I’d be tempted to hand it over, just for one of your smiles.”
The apprehension in her stomach grew stronger.
“You still believe I used my friendship with your father to get him to leave me the cabin, don’t you?” she whispered, numb with hurt.
“I didn’t say that. I don’t know why my dad left you the cabin.”
“But you think I influenced him in some way.” Mariah clenched the mug, willing him to unequivocally deny her statement.
“Honey, every beautiful woman influences every man who comes in contact with her.”
“We aren’t talking about every other woman. I specifically want to know if you still believe I somehow convinced Joseph to leave me this cabin.”
The small silence stretched between them, his green gaze holding hers. “I don’t know what happened between you and my father,” he said at last. “What I do know is that he held on to the rest of the Triple C and apparently damn near starved doing it. Given that, why would he give up a cabin and land?” He shrugged again. “I don’t have the answer to that.”
Mariah fought back tears of hurt and anger, swallowing twice before she could speak past the thick emotion lodged in her throat. “I’d like you to leave, Cade. If you don’t know by now that I would never purposely use Joseph, then you don’t know me at all.”
He stiffened, eyes narrowing over her. “I didn’t say you purposely used Joseph. And after what happened between us last night, I’d say I know you more than a little.”
“A physical relationship isn’t enough for me—and without trust, that’s all we’ll ever have.” Mariah struggled to keep her voice from trembling. “I want more than just great sex.”
“Just great sex,” he repeated, his voice rough. “You think that’s all this is?”
“I don’t know. And,” she told him, fighting back tears, “neither of us will ever have a chance to find out. There isn’t a future for us. I can’t be with a man who doesn’t trust me.” She paused, dragging in a breath through lungs that felt crushed with the pain in her chest. “I won’t be working on the ranch any longer,” she told him.
“Are you telling me you’re quitting?”
“Yes.”
His eyes flared, his mouth setting in a hard line. “Mariah, don’t do this.”
“I don’t see that I have a choice. Unless you can tell me, truthfully, that I’m wrong.”
“Dammit, Mariah, this isn’t personal. If you were a saint, I’d still assume there was a part of you, whether you know it or not, that looks out for number one. Every human does it. I’m not saying I blame you—and I’m not saying I even care anymore. You’re here—I’m here—we’re great in bed together and the reasons Dad left you the cabin don’t necessarily matter all that much anymore. Not to me.”
“But they do to me,” she said softly, tears hovering on her lashes. “It matters a great deal to me that you believe I acted without honor.”
Cade thrust his fingers through his hair, raking it back off his brow in frustration. “When did I ever say you’re not an honorable person?” he demanded.
“If I was kind to Joseph in order to get a piece of his estate, then I acted dishonorably.”
“Hell.” He stared at her, clearly frustrated.
“We can’t get past it,” she said quietly.
“Is it this important to you?”
“Yes.”
“Imp
ortant enough to walk away from what we could have here?”
“Yes.” Her voice throbbed, husky with tears.
His hands settled on the curve of her shoulders and he pulled her forward, wrapping his arms around her as he bent his head and took her mouth in a fierce, hard kiss. When he set her away from him, her knees were unsteady.
“All right, I have to respect your decision,” he bit out, a muscle flexing along his jawline. “But if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
And he turned and walked out, the door closing behind him with a loud snap.
Mariah held herself erect, stiff, until she heard the door close before bending at the waist, keening with grief. She staggered into the living room and fell onto the sofa, muffling her sobs against the cushions. She didn’t know how long she cried before the tears slowed. Exhausted, she pulled the afghan off the back of the sofa and curled under it. She couldn’t go back to bed. Cade’s scent was all over the sheets and blanket. She couldn’t bear to know he’d never share the bed with her again.
Cade stood in his kitchen, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, and watched Mariah’s car move down the lane, past his house, and onward to cross the bridge and head for the highway.
He glanced at the clock. She must be working the early shift today, he thought.
In the five days since they’d made love, she’d refused to speak to him. He’d called but she didn’t answer her phone. He’d walked down the lane and knocked on her door but if she heard him, she wouldn’t open the door.
She’d told him that she didn’t want to see him again. Apparently, he thought with frustration, she’d meant it.
Hell, he thought with disgust. This is what happens when a man gets hung up on a woman. Can’t stop thinking about her, bothered when she won’t talk to me.
He’d grown accustomed to having her in his life, seeing her every night over dinner at the bunkhouse and dammit, he missed her.
More than that, he was miserable without her.
He filled an insulated travel mug with coffee and left the kitchen, pausing at the door to shrug into his coat and settle his hat on his head before going outside. Across the ranch yard, the windows of the bunkhouse gleamed with welcoming light and Cade stalked toward it. With luck, Pete had breakfast already cooking on the stove.
Cade Coulter's Return Page 15