“I hate to rain on your parade, but how is Maddie going to run a dude ranch and still grow her design business?”
She turned to him. “Yes, that’s the kicker, isn’t it? Do you see anything wrong with the dude ranch idea besides that?”
“No. There are other dude ranches in the area, but you’ve got some unique ideas in terms of serving gourmet food and creating the ‘cowboy’ experience.” Setting the saddlebag down, he took out two glasses and a bottle of wine. “I brought red because I figured white would be too warm.”
She studied him for a moment. “You don’t seem like the kind of man who’d be into wine.”
“Your father got me interested in it. He has a good cellar.”
She waited until he’d uncorked the bottle, handed her a glass and tipped wine into it. “You’re not sounding very enthused about my idea.”
“I’m thinking about it.”
When he’d filled his own glass, she clicked hers against it before she sipped.
“Maddie has a lot on her plate right now, and she’s very intent on her business. When she’s in that studio, she loses track of everything. It’s one of the reasons the ranch is suffering. When Mike was alive, he’d drag her out and insist she do other things. If I didn’t come over and talk her into going riding or into a game of poker, I’m not sure she’d ever come out.”
“Wow.” Jordan found a flat rock and sat down. “She sounds exactly like my mother. I insisted that she and I have lunch together every Wednesday, and then we’d go to a matinee or shopping or to a gallery. I always had it planned out very carefully. Otherwise, she never would have taken a break.”
For a moment, she sat in silence. Cash moved to sit on a rock facing hers. She’d turned away to stare out over the water again, and he could tell her mind was still focused entirely on the idea of a dude ranch. She wasn’t a lot different than her mother and sister once she got her teeth into a business idea.
It was time to distract her. She’d taken the hairpiece off when she’d showered, and the wind had given a good toss to her hair. He reached out and touched just the ends.
She immediately turned to him. “I appreciate it that you’re worried about Maddie. But I’m going to figure out a way. That’s what a good business plan is for. And I won’t hurt my sister. You can trust me on that.”
He took the hand that wasn’t holding the wineglass and raised it to his lips. “I do.”
“Good.” He released her hand and leaned back enough to stretch out his legs and cross them. He wanted very badly to touch her again. But not yet.
“Thanks for bringing me here. It’s a good thinking place.”
“I didn’t bring you here just so you could think, Jordan.”
“You wanted to share the beauty of the place.”
“Partly. But I had another reason, too.”
“What?”
“I brought you here to seduce you.”
Jordan felt her throat go dry as dust. She sipped her wine. “You don’t have to. I just have to look at you to want you.” It was the simple, somewhat terrifying truth.
“I was considering earlier where I might bring you. Someplace private and safe where we could take our time. We haven’t taken a lot of time.”
“No.” He hadn’t made a move. All he’d done was sit there and talk to her in that slow, quiet drawl. But his eyes held such heat, such promise, that some of her wine spilled over the side of the glass. When she set it down carefully on the ground, she saw that her hand was trembling.
Seduction, she thought. It might not be such a bad idea. Rising, she sent him a smile. Then she lifted her hat off and tossed it on the rock behind her. Keeping her gaze locked on his, she toed her boots off next. Her knowledge of strippers was limited to the musical Gypsy, and it had been years since her mother had taken her to see it on Broadway. But if her memory served her, they always started with peripherals—gloves, hats, shoes.
She watched him as she undid her belt buckle. He hadn’t moved. He was still sitting on the rock, his long legs stretched out in front and crossed at the ankles. On the surface, he appeared relaxed. The way his fingers gripped the wineglass told her he wasn’t. He might speak slowly and move slowly, but there was always that energy she sensed below the surface. He kept it on a tight leash, and she wondered just what she could do to release it.
She took the belt off slowly. Since the buckle was one of Maddie’s, she rolled the leather around it for protection before she set it on the ground.
Still smiling, she slipped her fingers beneath her T-shirt, pulled it off and tossed it behind her.
“What are you doing, Jordan?”
Her brows rose at that. “I’m just getting into this seduction thing. Don’t you like it?”
His gaze dropped to the lacy bra that still covered her breasts.
“Yeah, I do like it. A lot. But my idea was to seduce you.”
“You still can. Later.” She pulled open the snap of her jeans. In the silence, the sound was erotic. The horses stirred. So did something deep inside of her. Cash set his glass down and didn’t notice when it tipped over.
Power pumped through her followed by arousal as she slowly lowered her zipper. She wanted to go to him then and drag off his clothes. Instead, she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her jeans and slid them slowly down over her hips. When they dropped to the ground, she stepped out of them and sent him another smile. “Okay. Your turn.”
9
HIS TURN? She was standing there in the sunlight, dressed in nothing but two wisps of lace that had been designed to make a man beg. With his body burning and his head spinning, Cash knew exactly how he wanted to take his turn. All of the time she’d been slipping out of her clothes, he’d been weaving a fantasy in his mind.
Three strides and he could turn her around, bend her over that rock she’d been sitting on. It would take only seconds to get rid of the barriers between them—his jeans and that froth of lace she was wearing. And he could be inside of her. Cash felt his mind spin, his thoughts blur. The pounding ride would be wild, wonderful—and it would relieve the aching desire she’d ignited inside of him.
Cash reined in his thoughts. It wasn’t his plan to take her against a rock. Plus, he wasn’t at all sure that if he stood up, his legs would support him.
But two could play at the game she’d just started. He’d never stripped for a woman before. But he knew how to take off his clothes. Focusing his attention on the job at hand, he took off his boots. Still seated, he met her eyes and smiled.
“More,” she said.
“You got it.”
His eyes never left hers as he pulled his shirt out of his jeans and then began work on the buttons.
“I could help with that,” she said.
“I can handle it. Besides, turnabout’s fair play, don’t you think?”
“I can only think about wanting you. Now.”
It occurred to Cash that she had a better handle on this seduction thing than he had. But he was a quick learner. Once he’d tossed the shirt aside, he had no choice but to stand up and test his legs. They held. The jeans came next. He had to bend over to free his feet. When he straightened, she was smiling at him, one arm outstretched, her finger crooked. Oh yeah, she definitely had an advantage in the seduction game.
“I want you. Now.”
“Ditto.” He moved quickly then. But when he reached her, he didn’t turn her and bend her over the rock as he’d fantasized doing. Instead, he swept her into his arms and covered her mouth with his.
Then holding her close, he turned and leaped into the pond.
When Jordan surfaced, she was still locked in Cash’s arms. Her mouth was still fused with his. And the fire that the kiss had ignited in her body more than blocked out the coolness of the water. When he pulled away, she nearly cried out in protest.
“Breathe,” he said.
“Okay.” Since she could feel her lungs burn when she did, it was good advice. She met his eyes. “I didn
’t see that coming.”
“It was a last-minute decision, one of several alternatives I had in mind. I wanted to slow things down a bit.”
“And you thought a little dip would do the trick?” She shifted suddenly, snaking her arms and legs around him, then wiggling down his body until the hard length of him was pressed against her just where she wanted him. Holding tight, she moved up and down his penis. Fire shot through her again, and she was almost certain she saw steam rise from the surface of the pond. “What do you want now?”
“You know what I want.” Gripping her buttocks, Cash lifted her up so that her legs were around his waist.
She struggled for position, but his hands allowed no movement.
“You have some very dangerous moves.” His voice was raw.
“My pleasure.”
To her surprise, he chuckled and then rested his head for a moment against her forehead. “How about a truce? I want to take my time with you, Jordan. We’ve been on a real fast track—no detours. Let me try this my way.”
She drew back, looked into his eyes. And she would have agreed to anything he wanted. “Okay.”
He touched his mouth to hers, and though his impulse was to devour, he didn’t. Instead, he used his tongue to trace the outline of her lips. Then he toyed with them—nibbling at the corners, nipping on her bottom lip.
Slipping his hands into her hair, he held her in place as he kissed her, slowly, thoroughly. There were flavors here he’d never lingered over. First he feasted on the initial tartness, then that incredible sweetness. It reminded him of the homemade lemonade his mother had fixed for him when he was a child. Addictive. He’d never been able to stop drinking it until the glass had been drained.
When he felt her body go lax and her legs slipped away from his waist, a simmering heat shot straight to his center. But he banked it down as he took his mouth on a lazy journey over her face, reacquainting himself with every angle and curve. Her breath caught and released, caught and released. Each time it did, his own pulse quickened.
Using his tongue, he traced her ear and whispered, “So far, what do you think?”
“I can’t…I just…want…”
Cash drew back then and looked into her eyes. Confusion, need and arousal made an incredible aphrodisiac. But he didn’t want to end it yet. When her head dropped back, he cupped it in one hand and began to explore her neck and shoulders. Even beneath the sheen of water, he could smell her scent, an exotic fragrance he suspected wasn’t a perfume. It was subtle at her throat, stronger as he made his way to the valley between her breasts. She still wore the lacy bra, but through the sheer material he saw her nipple. When he closed his mouth over it and used teeth and tongue, she spoke his name in a strangled gasp.
There was so much heat, Jordan didn’t think she could absorb any more. Any minute, she was going to turn into steam and vanish. But as he lifted her and took his mouth on a journey down to her stomach, she discovered she could. Her vision hazed. The world around her became dark. And oh, she could feel him. There was nothing but his mouth, his lips and the vivid sensations he was bringing her.
The water was cool on his skin, but she was so hot that his legs had begun to weaken again. His arms, too, he thought as he lowered her into the water. Time was running out. He shifted her, wrapping her legs around him once more.
“Jordan.”
Her eyes opened and locked on his. They were still clouded with the pleasure he’d brought her.
“I’m going to take you now.”
Her voice was thick when she spoke. “Let’s take each other.”
That simple sentence very nearly had his knees buckling. Gripping her hips, he slipped inside her. His heart nearly stopped when he felt her heat slip over him, surround him.
For a moment as her legs locked tightly around him, he swayed, stunned by the need that shot through him. If it hadn’t been for the water, he would have raced hard to the finish. But he couldn’t. Neither could she, though he could see she was trying.
Hampered by the water, the rhythm they created was slow, steady. As he looked into her eyes, he knew she was his. He was hers. And all the time, the pleasure built and built. When it was about to peak, he gripped her close against him and staggered with her to the edge of the pool. Kneeling, he settled her beneath him in the shallows and took her mouth with his.
Finally, they could both move the way they wanted to, had to. Faster and faster. His mouth was still pressed to hers when she tightened impossibly around him and cried out his name. His, he thought. He joined her in a shattering release.
AN HOUR LATER, Cash rode side by side with Jordan through the winding canyon. It was closing in on seven o’clock and he figured they had a couple of hours of daylight left. Still time enough to see if they could locate Pete. They’d lingered near the pond longer than they should have, but he’d been reluctant to leave. She’d been so carefree while they’d been there.
After they’d shared the sandwiches he’d packed, they’d taken a swim and then made love once more. But when they’d mounted up, Jordan had grown silent again. She was regrouping. And unless he was mistaken, she was building up a little wall of protection around herself.
From what little she’d said about her mother, he was coming to understand that Eva Ware had been totally focused on her work. He’d seen the same characteristic in Maddie. But Maddie had grown up with a father who’d spent a lot of time with her. A father who’d enjoyed spending time with his daughter.
He was guessing that Jordan hadn’t grown up with a parent like that. It had made her cautious. He figured with a little time, he could work his way around cautious. Problem was, all he had was a little time.
“Penny for your thoughts,” he said.
She glanced at him. “We’ll have to turn back soon, won’t we?”
That hadn’t been what she was thinking, but he let it pass. “I figure we can go another mile or so. If we don’t locate Pete tonight, I’ll send one of my men out tomorrow to make a thorough sweep of the canyon.”
She nodded and turned her head to search the canyon walls. “There seem to be more caves in this section.”
“Some of them are rumored to be old turquoise mines. That’s why Pete frequents the place. Navajos were mining turquoise in New Mexico long before the Spaniards and the white man settled here.”
When they turned the next corner of the canyon, they saw a horse, standing to one side.
Cash urged his own mount forward. “That’s Pete’s horse.”
As they approached, the horse whinnied and pawed the ground. Cash scanned the cliffs. Without any direct sunlight, the walls on either side were deeply shadowed. It was Jordan who finally spotted something.
“Up there.” She pointed a finger. “I see something red.”
“Pete always wears a red neckerchief. It’s his trademark.” Cash dismounted and anchored his reins with a few rocks. “Stay with the horses. I’ll climb up and see.”
It took him only a few minutes to reach the ledge of rock where Pete lay. The old man was white as a sheet. His breathing was thready and ragged, but there was a steady pulse at his throat. Cash glanced behind him and called down to Jordan, “He’s alive.”
Then he glanced above. There was a ledge about fifty feet above him. From the looks of it, the old man had taken a fall.
He considered his options. He didn’t know how badly Pete was hurt, and the cliff he’d just climbed up was tricky enough without carrying someone down on his shoulder.
He took out his cell. They were nearly at the point where the canyon passed onto Landry land. The satellite signal should be stronger here than it had been on the Farrell Ranch. He said a brief prayer and punched in a number.
It rang twice. On the third ring, Shay Alvarez picked up. Cash explained the situation. “I’m about a half mile from where the canyon empties onto Landry land. We don’t have much daylight left.”
“I’ll have someone there as soon as I can. If you can build some kind
of signal fire, it will help.”
Turning, he yelled to Jordan. “Help is on the way.”
“There’s a blanket on the back of his horse,” she called. “I’ll bring it up.”
It was while he was waiting for Jordan to join him that he noticed how battered and bloody Pete’s hands were—as if someone had stomped on them. He glanced up at the face of the cliff above him. Not a fall, he thought.
When Jordan reached him, he showed her the damage to the old man’s hands.
“It wasn’t an accident,” she said.
“Doesn’t look like it.” He tucked the blanket around Pete, then said, “Why don’t you stay with him while I build a signal fire.”
Saying nothing, she knelt and gently covered one of the man’s battered hands with hers.
No panic. No questions. She was some woman, Cash thought as he climbed back down to the horses.
10
TWO HOURS LATER, Jordan paced in a waiting room. The medics had been fast and efficient, arriving on the scene in just over thirty minutes. Then she and Cash had had to ride the horses back to the ranch and drive into Santa Fe.
They were on the outskirts when her cell phone had rung. She’d thought it might be Maddie and wondered just how much she should tell her sister, but it had been Jase’s brother D.C. His plane had landed. She’d filled him in on where they were headed and why, and he’d agreed to meet them at the hospital.
She wasn’t alone in the room. Nearby, a woman sat patiently knitting, and there were groups scattered throughout the area, some engaged in hushed conversation, others silently drinking coffee. Occasionally a man or a woman in scrubs would enter the room and approach one of the groups.
In a corner, a TV offering a continuous and muted loop of news hung from a bracket. She glanced out the open archway to a nurse’s station where she could see Cash attempting to charm information out of one of the aides.
Usually, pacing helped get her thoughts in order. But she was having trouble getting her mind around the series of events that had occurred since she’d first walked through the front door of her father’s ranch.
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