To Tempt a Rogue

by Connie Mason

  Kitty spoke little on the ride back to the ranch. The newly soaked ground needed all her attention as she guided her horse around gullies and ditches recently formed by the downpour. But she had plenty of time to think. Her lips still stung from the fierce kiss Ryan had given her before they’d left. She felt branded by it, marked for life. Why had he given her such an inspiring kiss when he had no intention of making a commitment to her? She’d be a fool to believe Ryan wanted more from her than a few hours, days, or weeks of passion. Ryan was a prominent rancher, a man of means. If he ever found the need to marry, she knew she would never fit Ryan’s vision of a perfect wife. She couldn’t possibly become the kind of person everyone wanted her to be.

  At one time Kitty had thought Ryan was the answer to a woman’s dreams, to her dreams, but that was before she knew how unattainable he was. It wasn’t just his vow to remain single that made her dream of being with Ryan forever impossible. It was the sure knowledge that she would never be accepted by Ryan’s extraordinary brothers and the two perfect women they had married.

  Kitty felt a strange sense of homecoming when the ranch came into view. She’d never had that feeling before, and she held it to her heart, knowing that her time here was limited.

  “Thought you got lost,” a cowboy hollered as they rode into the yard. “The boss was worried but I told him you knew your way around, that you and Miss Kitty were probably holed up somewhere, waiting out the storm.”

  “We took shelter in that line cabin up in the mountains. Sure was a gullywasher,” Ryan yelled back.

  “Go on inside and get out of those damp clothes,” Ryan said as he dismounted and lifted Kitty from the saddle.

  Kitty nodded and walked toward the house. She frowned in consternation when she saw Teresa holding the door open for her. She’d hoped to slip unnoticed to her room to change her clothes and fix her hair before facing anyone. She knew she looked a mess. What she didn’t know was how tellingly disheveled she was. Her lips were swollen, her cheeks were abraded from the stubble on Ryan’s chin, and her eyes still had that dreamy look of a woman well loved.

  “Where have you been?” Teresa asked harshly.

  “Ryan and I went riding. We got caught in the storm.”

  Teresa eyed her disdainfully. “Why aren’t you wet?”

  “We found shelter. If you’ll excuse me, I need to change.” She headed for the stairs. Teresa followed close on her heels.

  “You look like a whore,” Teresa charged. “One look at you and everyone will know what you and Ryan have been up to.”

  Kitty whirled at the top of the staircase, her eyes glinting dangerously. “Speculate all you want, Teresa, only Ryan and I know what happened.”

  “You can’t have him,” Teresa hissed. “I claimed him first. I set my sights on him the moment I saw him.”

  Seething with fury, Kitty entered her room and tried to slam the door, but Teresa slipped inside.

  “What the hell do you want?” Kitty lashed out. “I suggest you leave before I kick your dainty little ass out the door.”

  “Listen to yourself talk,” Teresa goaded. “You don’t belong in polite company. Go back to your outlaw friends. I’m sure they’ll welcome you back with open arms. I’m warning you to stay away from Ryan or you won’t like the consequences. Ryan is mine, you’re not good enough for him. And don’t think seducing him into your bed means anything to him, ’cause it doesn’t.”

  “I feel sorry for you, Teresa,” Kitty contended. “Ryan will never marry you. He’s not the marrying kind.”

  “I can change his mind,” Teresa said with conviction. “Don’t interfere. You’ll never inherit Bert’s fortune if I have anything to say about it. I already have Papa Bert half convinced that you’re an imposter. It’s just a matter of time before he tells you to leave.”

  “Get the hell out of here!” Kitty shouted. “You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that. You should have been born a man.”

  “I’m going,” Teresa said, spinning on her heel and marching toward the door. “Oh, by the way,” she said, pausing with her hand on the doorknob. “Papa Bert has company. He wants you to meet our neighbor. You’re to join them when you’re ready. The man’s name is Norm Tucker. He’s a widower with two children. Lives a few miles down the road from us. At one time he wanted to marry me, but I turned him down. I’ll remain a spinster before wasting my youth raising two motherless children.”

  Teresa’s little discourse left Kitty speechless. The more she knew about her stepsister, the less she liked her. Had she known her appearance at the ranch would have caused such an outpouring of malice, she would not have come.

  Kitty changed into dry clothes quickly, then sat before the mirror to fix her hair. She picked up the comb and let out a gasp of dismay when she gazed at her image in the mirror. Teresa was right. She looked like a satisfied whore. Her lips were swollen and bruised, and her cheeks were red and raw.

  Trying not to look too closely at the love bites on her neck, she spread powder over her cheeks and neck and ran the comb through her curls, patting them into some semblance of order. When she had done all she could to repair her image, she went to join Bert and his guest.

  “Come in,” Bert called when she knocked discreetly on the door. She pasted a smile on her face and walked into the room.

  “Ah, Kitty,” Bert greeted warmly. “Teresa told me you and Ryan had returned. You two gave me quite a scare. I hope you found a place to shelter from the storm.”

  “We did,” Kitty said, unconsciously returning his smile. “I’m sorry you were worried.”

  “I should have known Ryan would take good care of you. Pull up a chair, daughter. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

  Kitty gazed at the man who had leaped to his feet the moment she had entered the room. He was older than Ryan by a few years, and somewhat shorter. But there was nothing weak about his appearance. His sturdy build implied strength, and his brown eyes glinted with quick intelligence. Kitty flushed beneath his openly admiring glance.

  “Kitty, this is Norm Tucker, a neighbor and good friend,” Bert said. “Norm, this is Kitty, my long lost daughter. Now that she’s here, I can die happily.”

  Kitty was somewhat rattled when Norm took one of her hands in both of his and squeezed. “Welcome, Kitty. I know how long Bert has waited for this day. And may I say I can’t blame him?”

  Bert chuckled. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she, Norm? I can’t wait for all the neighbors to meet her.”

  “We can take care of that right away if Kitty will accompany me to the barn dance next Saturday at the Stuarts’. That is if you don’t mind, Bert,” Norm was quick to add.

  “It’s not my permission you need,” Bert said cagily.

  “What do you say, Kitty?” Norm asked. “I know this is sudden, but Bert can vouch for me. It would be an honor to escort you to the barn dance and introduce you to all your neighbors.”

  Now Kitty was really flustered. Was Norm courting her? She hardly knew the man. Besides, there was only one man for her despite the fact that Ryan didn’t want her on a permanent basis.

  “Go on, Kitty,” Bert urged. “It will do you good to get out in public.”

  “Well,” Kitty said after a long pause, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, although I’m not sure I have anything appropriate to wear.”

  “Calico would be fine. Folks around here don’t dress fancy,” Norm assured her. “No matter what you wear you’ll be the prettiest girl there. I’ll pick you up at six o’clock. Most of the women will be bringing a box supper. I could have my housekeeper fix us something.”

  “No, I’ll take care of it,” Kitty said, wishing she’d refused Norm’s invitation. What if she did or said something to embarrass Norm? She wondered what Ryan would say when he learned Norm was courting her. He had no right to complain or consider her his private property. He’d made no commitment, had no hold on her. She belonged to no man. She almost smiled as she imagined Ryan’s expression when she told hi
m she was being courted.

  That moment came sooner than Kitty would have liked. Ryan strolled into Bert’s room a few minutes later.

  “Ryan, come in,” Bert invited. “Meet Norm Tucker, my neighbor and good friend.” Bert chuckled, showing amazing animation for a man so ill. “I think Norm and Kitty hit it off right well. She’s agreed to accompany Norm to a barn dance next Saturday night. Norm, this is Ryan Delaney, the man who found my Kitty for me.”

  Kitty flinched as Ryan’s gaze cut over to her, sharp and reproving, before offering Norm his hand. She listened to their exchange of pleasantries, blotting out all but the note of disapproval she felt certain only she could hear in Ryan’s voice. It was almost as if he were … jealous. But of course he wasn’t. How could Ryan be jealous when his feelings for her didn’t go beyond simple lust?

  Norm took his leave shortly after that. Kitty walked him to the door, then went up to her room to rest till dinner. She’d had quite a day and a whole lot to think about. It surprised her that Norm found her attractive. She thought everyone would notice her lack of poise and ridicule her for it. But obviously Norm had no complaints.

  Kitty lay down on the neatly made bed and closed her eyes, letting her imagination carry her away to the barn dance. She saw herself standing at the edge of the crowd, a lone figure amid a sea of staring people, all of whom were pointing their fingers at her as if she had committed some terrible crime. Even Norm had turned away from her, shamed by something she’d either done or said.

  Oh, God, how could she have let herself be coerced into accepting Norm’s invitation? She couldn’t even dance. She’d be ridiculed and shunned. Someone to be pitied.

  Immersed in her disturbing thoughts, Kitty didn’t hear the door open or see Ryan step inside and close the door behind him. She didn’t know he was there until he said, “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Kitty’s eyes shot open as she squinted into the dark. “Don’t you believe in knocking?”

  “I was in a hurry. Whatever possessed you to accept Tucker’s invitation? He only wants one thing from you.”

  Kitty’s temper blew. “Go to hell, Ryan Delaney! Not all men think like you do. Some men are looking for a wife. They don’t live by your standards.”

  “What standards are you referring to?” Ryan asked, his eyes slitted in cold fury.

  “The only standards that mean anything to you. The ones upon which you’ve built your life. You make love to women but can’t bring yourself to trust them. You take them for the pleasure they give you, not for the richness they can bring into your life. You shun commitment and marriage, yet you expect me to be at your beck and call whenever you want me.

  “I want commitment, Ryan Delaney, all those things you’ve avoided most of your life. I want a man to love me, a home, children. Norm Tucker might not be the man for me, but how will I know if I don’t let him prove his worth? If I thought you wanted me for more than sex, I’d tell Norm Tucker to go to hell.”

  She watched his expression change from anger to incredulity, wondering if she had gone too far. His mouth worked wordlessly before the words finally came out.

  “You want a commitment? You know how I feel about marriage. I freely admit I’ve never felt for any woman what I feel for you, Kitten. This is difficult for me to say, but if I were a marrying man I would consider you for my wife.”

  “Liar!” Kitty cried. “You’d find someone who knows all the rules of etiquette, someone with manners and refinement. Someone more like the women who married your brothers. I can’t be anyone but myself, Ryan. I’ll always be the woman who ate, rode, and shared a camp with outlaws. I held their horses while they robbed banks and took a share of the loot. I was an outlaw, Ryan. That’s something not even you can easily forgive.”

  Ryan’s face was like a thundercloud on a stormy day, dark and forbidding. “What in the hell has gotten into you? You know that’s not the way I feel. Your past means nothing to me. My God, we made love scant hours ago! I hardly expected you to fall into another man’s arms so quickly.”

  Why don’t you tell me you love me, Ryan? her heart cried in silent supplication. “I didn’t fall into Norm Tucker’s arms. Far from it. I simply agreed to go to the barn dance because Bert seemed to think I should.”

  “Since when did you care what Bert thought?”

  That stopped her cold. Ryan was right. If she disliked Bert as much as she thought, why did she suddenly want to please him?

  “I don’t want to discuss this, Ryan. I’m going to the barn dance with Norm and that’s final. Why don’t you take Teresa?”

  He let out a furious oath and turned away. “Maybe I will.”

  * * *

  Norm’s frequent visits to the ranch during the following week did nothing to improve Ryan’s mood. It was obvious to him that Norm’s visits had nothing to do with Bert and everything to do with Kitty. The damn fool was head over heels for Kitty. He followed her like a puppy and had even taken her to his ranch to meet his two children.

  To make an infuriating situation even worse, Kitty had gushed on for hours about Norm’s darling little girls. Ryan had had no idea she was so damn fond of children, and Norm Tucker seemed only too willing to give them to her. All Ryan could do was fume in impotent rage whenever Tucker took Kitty out to ride, or on a picnic, or to visit his children. Didn’t Kitty know what her behavior with Tucker was doing to him? Ryan wondered. His imagination worked overtime each time Kitty was alone with Tucker. He envisioned them in all kinds of intimate situations and couldn’t bear the thought of Kitty and Tucker together like that.

  The day of the barn dance arrived. Desperate to keep an eye on Kitty, Ryan had asked Teresa to accompany him. The night promised to be fair and warm, unlike the cold fury Ryan was feeling when Tucker arrived all spiffed up for Kitty’s benefit.

  Kitty appeared at the top of the stairs, looking like a vision in her new dress. Bert had encouraged Kitty to go to town to buy something fetching to wear, and Ryan had accompanied both her and Teresa. He hadn’t seen what Kitty purchased, but as she floated down the stairs, Ryan thought she couldn’t have chosen anything more provocative than the deep rose dimity gown whose wide sweeping skirts emphasized her tiny waist and full breasts. Small puffed sleeves clung to her bare shoulders, exposing far too much flesh for Ryan’s liking.

  Ryan’s darkening gaze lingered on the creamy slope of her firm breasts visible above the low neckline, and he had the unaccountable urge to toss his jacket over her shoulders. He swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth and started forward. Tucker beat him to it.

  “You look lovely, Kitty,” Tucker said, drawing her hand beneath his arm. “You’ll be the prettiest woman at the barn dance.”

  “What about me?”

  Ryan’s gaze drifted upward, to where Teresa stood at the top of the stairs, waiting to be noticed. With Ryan’s attention focused on her, Teresa slowly descended. Ryan had to admit that Teresa had outdone herself. She was gloriously arrayed in red silk, her neckline even lower than Kitty’s. She was a vision, but not the vision Ryan wanted. He knew Teresa was expecting him to say something, so he moved forward and offered her his arm. “You look lovely, Teresa. Shall we go?”

  “I brought my buggy,” Tucker said. “We can all go together, if you like.”

  “I don’t think …”

  “Oh, Ryan, let’s,” Teresa gushed. “It will be great fun.”

  Ryan shrugged. “I suppose. Is that all right with you, Kitty?” he inquired with a polite smile and a slight edge of wariness.

  “I don’t mind,” Kitty replied. He could tell nothing from her expression.

  The ladies collected the box suppers Rosita had prepared for them, and they all climbed into Tucker’s buggy. It was a tight fit. Kitty’s enticing scent played havoc with Ryan’s senses as Tucker took up the reins. Strange, he thought, Teresa was sitting as close to him as Kitty was but he wasn’t even aware of her as a woman.

  The ride wasn’t overly long, but t
o Ryan it was the longest one he’d ever taken. The Stuart ranch lay a scant five miles to the north, and as they drew near they could hear the fiddles. Tucker eased the buggy into place beside several others and leaped to the ground to help Kitty alight. Ryan followed, swinging Teresa to the ground. Greetings and introductions were made all around, and they joined a group sitting at a long table eating and enjoying the music.

  Ryan was munching on a chicken leg when he heard a dark-eyed brunette sitting next to Kitty ask, “So you’re Bert’s daughter. You must be thrilled to finally meet your father after being separated all these years.”

  Ryan saw Kitty’s fork pause midway to her mouth and sensed her apprehension. He was about to step into the void, but Teresa beat him to it.

  “Can you imagine?” Teresa gushed in a loud voice. “Papa Bert had never seen Kitty before she arrived at the ranch. She claims to be his daughter, but how can one be certain she’s really Papa Bert’s daughter when she has no proof?”

  “You’re the only one with doubts, Teresa,” Ryan said from between clenched teeth. He wanted to muzzle her before she said something really hurtful. Women like Teresa did little to alter his low opinion of their gender.

  Kitty couldn’t believe Teresa could be so crass. She knew her stepsister disliked her but never thought Teresa would humiliate her in public. She sent Ryan a grateful look and continued eating. But the woman, whose name was Sally, was unwilling to let the subject drop.

  “It’s strange that you and your father never met before,” Sally remarked.

  Kitty shot a quick glance at Ryan and shook her head when she saw him open his mouth to reply. She couldn’t spend her life letting others speak for her.

  “My mother and father weren’t married,” she explained. “Mama never told Bert he had a daughter. When he finally tracked me down, I agreed to come here to meet him. I probably won’t stay.”