Life was so much easier when Colt was only dealing with Neil.
“But you do things like this and I don’t know what angle you’re working,” she went on, her tone lowering as she seemed to be running out of steam. As she spoke, he advanced, step by slow step. “If you’re trying to seduce me, I can tell you you’re wasting your time. Even if I find you attractive, that doesn’t matter. I can’t—”
Colt gripped her shoulders, backing her up to the post between the stalls. “You find me attractive?”
Her lids closed as she blew out a breath. “That is all you would take away from what I said.”
How could he not? He was going to take this minor victory and run with it. Not that he hadn’t already guessed it, but to hear her admit her thoughts had his body tightening.
Colt knew he’d have to take advantage of every moment of her weakness if he wanted to penetrate that wall of defense she’d erected.
He leaned in closer as he flattened his palms on either side of her head. Her flush from the work she’d done, her musky scent, the way her chest rose and fell against his own, it would be so easy to turn this into something more right here and now. They were alone, there was nothing stopping him. And he knew Annabelle was his for the taking.
Colt shifted until his lips grazed across hers like a whisper. “A man could get used to hearing a beautiful woman give him compliments.”
“Then maybe you should find a beautiful woman who wants to,” she murmured.
He nipped at her bottom lip. “I’ve found her.”
“Colt.” Her hands came up to his chest.
The way his name came out on a breathy sigh had his entire body stirring to life. The fight she attempted to put up was weak. There was no conviction in her tone, no pressure from her hands to push him away.
How could he want someone so desperately? He had always been able to control his needs, but not with Annabelle. She challenged him in so many ways, and she was the one woman he really shouldn’t want.
Still, seducing her was too sweet, too perfect.
Keeping one hand beside her face, he ran the other over her hip. His thumb slid beneath the hem of her tank. Her smooth skin beneath his touch was everything he’d been dreaming of...and he’d dreamt of her plenty last night.
“I want you.”
“No, you want to control me.”
“Only in bed.”
Her eyes met his. “You’re blunt.”
“Honest,” he corrected, going in to graze her lips once again.
“You have no idea what you’re doing,” she muttered, as if thinking out loud. “I’m not... Trust me when I say you don’t want me.”
He cupped her cheek with one hand, his other still at her hip. “Don’t put yourself down. I know exactly what I want and I assure you, it’s you.”
“I’m not putting myself down or fishing for compliments. But you need to know that I’m...”
“What?” he urged.
Now she did push him away. “Not for you.”
She picked up the basket, keeping her back to him. Shoulders hunched, she appeared to be defeated. How was that possible? His body was revved up and she seemed as if she’d just lost a battle. They could both win here if she’d just quit fighting the chemistry.
“Just take me home,” she whispered. “I can’t do this.”
When he didn’t make a move, she turned to face him, tears swimming in her eyes. “Please.”
Whatever internal battle she waged with herself, Colt wanted no part of it. He’d wanted simple, he’d wanted sex. He still did.
Someone like Annabelle would take time to seduce, but he wasn’t about to back down. She was needy, aching, just the same as him. He’d felt her heart beat against his chest, felt her arch into him slightly before she pushed him away.
It was only a matter of time before he unleashed that passion.
* * *
Annabelle’s hands still shook as she unloaded the basket.
Get a grip.
She tried to focus on the amazing food that Colt’s cook had prepared. The fact he’d done this for her simply because he’d heard her discuss her hectic home life... Annabelle had no words to describe her emotions.
Of course, maybe she was speechless because her brain was totally fried after that heated encounter in the barn. Yet as hands-on and blatantly sexual as he’d been, he was a total gentleman on the ride home—in his truck. He’d also procured a bag of dog food for the new pup. Confusing, frustrating man. And she’d never wanted anyone more.
“What’s all this?”
Her father stood in the doorway, holding Emily and patting her back.
“Dinner. Where is Lucy?”
“She’s content chewing a doll head in the Pack ’n Play. I actually just fed her some apricots.” He eased Emily into one of two high chairs. “Where on earth did you get all of that food?”
“Colt’s cook made extra.”
She didn’t look up as she busied herself unwrapping everything. No way did she want to see her father’s face. She already knew she’d have to answer questions.
“Colt’s cook, huh? Sounds like you’re getting friendly with him.”
Friendly wasn’t the correct term. But she truly didn’t know what label to give this warped situation. She was caught in between the proverbial rock and a hard place, all the while getting completely turned on by her boss.
Of all the men she could feel a stirring for, why did Colt Elliott have to be the one? She hated her emotions, but the reality was, she felt more of a need, an ache for Colt than she ever did with Matt, and they’d been engaged.
In light of all that had happened, though, Annabelle was relieved she hadn’t slept with Matt, that he’d respected her wishes to wait until they were married.
But if the scenario were different and she were engaged to Colt, she couldn’t guarantee she’d wait.
“Belle?” Her father waved a hand in front of her face. “What the hell is going on? You bring home this food, you’re daydreaming. Is that Elliott boy pressuring you?”
Boy? Not hardly. Colt was all man.
Annabelle circled the long farm-style table and crossed to the high chair. Emily’s big green eyes met hers and Annabelle’s heart melted. She loved her girls so much. Even though her sister had betrayed her in an unforgivable way, they’d still been family and these twins were all Annabelle had left.
She kissed Emily on her head, smoothing the red curls aside. “He’s my temporary boss, Dad. Nothing more.”
That wasn’t a lie, not for lack of trying on Colt’s part, but it was clearly a tidbit of information her father didn’t need to know about. That kiss out in the field had to remain her secret...and her fantasy.
Emily clapped her hands together, then banged them on the tray. “How has her fever been today?”
“Just a little this morning, but otherwise it hasn’t come back. She’s played more this afternoon.”
Annabelle went to the pantry and pulled out a jar of baby food. “Never worry about calling me. I want to know if there’s any problem with her or you.”
Neil grabbed two plates from the cupboard and started filling them with homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn. The homemade rolls had Annabelle salivating. She’d hurried through her glamorous lunch of a turkey sandwich so she could get back to work. Ranching was the fastest way she’d ever known to burn calories.
“Where’s the puppy?” she asked, glancing around the kitchen.
“I put him outside in the fenced area to run around for a bit. He’s a cute little guy, but a handful when I’m alone with the two girls.”
Annabelle couldn’t feel guilty about that. The situation they were in was part his fault, part fate.
As far as the dog was concerned, she should come up with a name for him soon. She wished the girls were old enough to decide, but at six months, they were just making random sounds and squealing.
Annabelle pulled a wooden kitchen chair over to the high ch
air and scooped up a bite from the jar. Emily pressed her lips together and turned her head.
“If that’s green beans, I tried those for lunch. She hates them. Though Lucy was quite a fan. They’re total opposites, except for their looks.”
Annabelle chased Emily’s mouth around with the spoon. “Yeah, well, I’d like a chocolate cake for dinner, too, but we can’t all have that. Come on, little one. Veggies are good.”
As she wrestled bite after bite past Emily’s lips, Annabelle went over in her head exactly how to approach her father about the debt to Colt’s family. It was more than the house, she was positive. Colt, surprisingly, hadn’t been willing to throw her dad under the bus. But she needed to know what she was up against. She didn’t have time to try to piece all these snippets together for the full story.
Maybe being blunt was the best approach. “Did you gamble against Colt’s father before all of this happened?”
“What?” he asked, his fork clanging against his plate.
Annabelle shifted in her seat to face him. “Before now, had you borrowed money or gambled against Colt’s father?”
Neil Carter’s face tightened, his lips thinned. “Is that what he told you?”
Attempting to distract herself from the ball of tension in her stomach, Annabelle scooped up another bite for Emily. “He didn’t tell me anything. That’s why I’m asking you.”
“There’s nothing for you to worry about.” He aggressively cut into his chicken. “I don’t like you working over there, Belle. You and I can move and start over. We don’t have to stay here, you know.”
Nearly everything she’d ever loved had been taken from her and as long as there was fight left in her and a chance this place could be hers again, she wouldn’t back down.
“If you want to go, then go.”
She knew he could never afford to live on his own. His addiction wouldn’t allow it. He didn’t have any savings, and everything she was bringing in would have to go to bills. There was no extra.
“We can find something inexpensive,” he argued. “I know your mother had this dream, but she’s gone and...”
“Well, I’m still here,” she snapped. “I will see this through with or without your help.”
Her father leaned back in his seat and raked a hand down his face. “Don’t let them come between us. You’ve been over there for two days and your attitude has changed already.”
Perhaps she had changed, but not because of Colt.
“I’m not the same person I was a month ago,” she informed him. She scraped the bottom of the jar and fought to get the last bite into Emily’s mouth. “Losing my sister and fiancé, then finding out they were having an affair pretty much destroyed me.”
“I lost a daughter,” he murmured. “I know how much it hurts.”
Yes, he was hurting, too. But, they were both feeling different types of pain. He’d lost a child, Annabelle had lost her future. They were going to have to lean on each other to get through this nightmare or she’d never make it.
“I need you here,” she told him. “I need you for Emily and Lucy so I can work. You need to get better for not just yourself, but for those babies who will look up to you one day. And I need you to work on making yourself the father I used to know because I can’t do this without him.”
Her voice caught on that last word. Tears clogged her throat as she blinked away moisture. Sometimes a girl just needed her dad.
“I’m trying.”
Silence settled between them. Suddenly she wasn’t in the mood to eat. She pulled Emily from the high chair and wiped her mouth with the bib before tugging it over her head. She dropped the dirty rag onto the tray.
“I’m going to give her a bath and then I’ll come back for Lucy,” Annabelle told her father. “If you can let the dog in and feed him, that would be great. I’ll clean the kitchen later, after the girls are bathed.”
“You’re not eating?” he asked as she headed out of the room.
“I’m fine,” she lied. But she didn’t want to get into the mess inside her head. Especially not with her father.
Annabelle hugged Emily a bit tighter as she mounted the steps. “We’re going to make it,” she vowed. “You guys will have a stable home and never doubt my love. We’re in this together.”
All Annabelle had to do was make it through the next three months and she’d be free. She’d be able to push forward, take control of her life once and for all...and be rid of Colt Elliott.
Eight
“Hayes will be home next month.”
Nolan laid the blanket across the horse he’d appropriately named Doc. Colt grabbed his own blanket and saddle and readied his stallion.
“I already asked Charlie to get the house ready and stock it before he arrives,” Colt replied. “I’m sure he’ll be ready to have some downtime to adjust to civilian life again.”
Hayes had been in the service for the past fifteen years. He’d enlisted straight out of high school and now he was getting out for good. They’d thought he’d stay in a few more years and then retire, but Hayes wasn’t the same man he used to be. He’d seen too much, things he’d never discuss, and there had been a haunted look in his eyes last time he’d been home.
Colt wasn’t sure if Hayes would want anything to do with ranch life or if he’d like to explore other venues, but Colt would readily welcome him here for as long as he wanted to stay. Hayes had enough money that he’d never have to work a day in his life, but Colt intended to keep him a little busy so those demons didn’t creep up and take control.
“Think Dad will remember him?” Colt asked.
Nolan hoisted the saddle across his stallion’s back. “Depends on the day Hayes goes to see him. I stopped in earlier after my shift and he wasn’t having the best day. He kept telling me to find Virginia because the dog had been hit by a car.”
Virginia, their mother, had been gone for years. He still asked about her, still would question why she wasn’t there. He may have dementia, but they had a love that would rival any fairy tale Colt had ever heard.
“That dog was killed when I was a baby,” Nolan added. “So he’s gone back pretty far. He thought I was Hank.”
Hank had been their father’s right-hand man at the stables, but he, too, had passed on. Their father was a prisoner in his own mind and he had no clue. All they could do was keep visiting, and hopefully he could grasp that he wasn’t alone in his living hell.
“I’m going to see him tomorrow.” Colt adjusted the saddle and patted Lightning’s side before mounting him. “It’s been a hectic couple of days.”
When Annabelle had gone home an hour ago, Colt had been too keyed up to do anything. He’d just wanted to ride, but then Nolan had stopped in for some downtime.
“How’s your new employee working out?” Nolan asked as he set off toward the back pasture.
Colt gripped the reins in one hand and tipped his hat down with the other. Who knew what truth his eyes would tell? He’d thought of little else since that kiss. Well, he’d thought of excuses to touch her again, because he was having a damn hard time not touching her.
“She’s a hard worker. Josh and Ryan are impressed, too.”
He rode parallel with Nolan, as they’d done so many times over the years. The inquisition was coming, Colt would bet the ranch on it.
“And you?” Nolan asked easily. “You’re impressed.”
He could still feel her tight body against his when he’d pressed her against the wall. Could still feel that warm breath brush across his cheek, his neck. She wasn’t immune to their chemistry. She practically melted against him when they touched, and he couldn’t wait until she was his.
“She doesn’t complain about the heat or the work. She does her job and is prompt.”
The sun, barely visible on the horizon now, cast an orange glow. The gorgeous summer nights never ceased to catch his breath. There was nothing more peaceful than a sunset on the ranch. There was nowhere else he’d rather spend his days t
han Pebblebrook.
“This is a hard life,” Nolan said, giving Doc a gentle pat. “Think she’ll be just as professional in three months?”
“She’s determined to pay off her father’s debt. She knows I want her land.”
Nolan’s disapproving sigh had Colt gritting his teeth. “Don’t start,” Colt warned.
“I didn’t say a word. Sounds like the guilt is already getting to you.”
That wasn’t the only thing getting to him.
“I can’t make decisions based on personal feelings, Nolan. This ranch is a business.”
“Fair enough. So what are you going to do at the end of this, when the debt is paid?”
Colt rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m going to give them time to find another place.”
“She’s not going to be happy.”
Colt pulled Lightning to a stop. “I’m not making friends. I’m pursuing a goal Dad had and I’m making sure it’s carried out. How do you suggest I acquire the land? Because I asked multiple times to buy it.”
Nolan eased to a standstill as well and glanced around at the acreage stretching as far as the eye could see. “You know, I made a poor choice years ago that affected the rest of my life. I just don’t want to see you doing something you regret.”
Colt didn’t need his oldest brother to spell out the mistake he’d made. Nolan had been in love, but when she’d pressured him to settle down, he’d gotten scared. Add an unexpected pregnancy and a miscarriage and Nolan hadn’t been able to deal.
While Colt didn’t know the entire story, he knew Nolan had never found that type of bond since. He flitted between the hospital and dates, occasionally working on the ranch when he could. But there was barely a weekend that Nolan didn’t have someone on his arm...or in his bed. Of course, he never brought women back to Pebblebrook because that would be too personal.
“I’d regret if I let that land go,” Colt stated simply. “I’m going to turn Pebblebrook into the greatest dude ranch the west has ever seen. I already have an engineer coming to draw up some plans for renovations on the house next door.”
Nolan tugged his hat off and settled it onto the horn. “I wouldn’t let Annabelle know that.”
Twin Secrets (Mills & Boon Desire) (The Rancher’s Heirs 01) Page 7