She stared up at him with a soft smile on her lips. She couldn’t help it, she’d never felt quite like this. Her whole body hummed, like Colt’s energy vibrated through her. She felt that close to him.
“You have the most gorgeous eyes.”
“All the better to stare at your gorgeous face.” She reached up and laid her palm to his rough jaw.
“And that mouth.” He swept his thumb across her lips. She pressed a kiss to the pad of his thumb.
She thought of how they started making love, her taking his hard length into her mouth. “You just like that thing I did,” she teased, smiling because it made her a bit embarrassed.
“I like everything you do to me.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. Especially the way you make me feel.” He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. He pressed back up and gave her an intent look, making sure she understood he meant those words.
“I really can’t explain the way you make me feel, except to say that I don’t want to lose it.”
Colt rolled to her side and fell on his back, hooking his arm around her and pulling her close. She settled against his big, warm body with her leg draped over his and her head nestled on his chest at his shoulder.
She reached out and traced the scar along his forearm resting on his stomach. “What happened here?”
“Barbed wire broke and snapped back at me. Doc Bell at the clinic sewed me up.”
“Looks like it hurt like hell.”
“That about covers it.” Colt kissed the top of her head. “Are you hungry?”
“You’re staying?”
Colt tilted his head up and looked down at her. She stared back at the disgruntled frown on his handsome face.
“Don’t you want me to?”
“Um, yeah, I do. I just thought . . .”
“What? That I’d just walk out now that I got what I wanted?”
“Something like that.”
Colt laid his free hand over his forehead, stared at the ceiling, and swore. He looked down at her again and squeezed her to his side with the arm down her back, his hand on her hip.
“What I most want is to spend time with you, Luna. Don’t you get that? Haven’t I shown you that?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I’m using my past mistakes to anticipate how this will go.”
“I really should have punched some sense into Billy when I had the chance.”
Colt was nothing like Billy. He might have been the good-time-guy with other women in the past, but he’d shown her a different side of himself. She didn’t think he shared his serious, protective side with many others outside his family. He truly cared about her. He’d just shown her how much. He made love to her like she was special, precious, not just a good time, though they’d had that, but it was so much more. She needed to trust it. Him. After all, he didn’t back away because her life had become a whole lot of drama. He stayed and tried so hard to keep her safe.
She leaned up and nipped his chin. “I would love for you to stay and have dinner with me.”
“Good, because I’m not done having you either.” He gave her a soft kiss, then rolled away and sat on the edge of the bed. He leaned down and picked up his jeans, dragging them up his legs as he stood and pulled them over his lean hips and very nice ass.
“Such a shame to cover up all that yummy goodness.”
Colt turned with a mischievous grin. He leaned down over her and swept his gaze over her naked body. “You get to unwrap it again later.” He pressed down on his hands and laid a kiss over the butterfly tattoo on her hip again. Pleasure tingles fluttered out from the spot and made her giggle. “Get dressed, honey. I’ll go light the fire in the grill.”
Colt turned and went to the bathroom before giving her one last hot glance and walking out of her room. She took a minute to lie in the bed they’d made love in and think about the fire he’d started in her. Even now, it smoldered in her chest. His staying for dinner, maybe even the night, made her happy, but she wanted more. She wanted him here with her always. She didn’t want to think of spending another night without him. She . . . nope, not going to go there. It was too soon for her to think her feelings went deep enough to that L word she’d used with another man, which had turned out to be nothing more than lust and wanting attention from someone who only gave it when it was convenient for him.
Colt wasn’t like that. But she didn’t trust her feelings. She trusted him, but not herself. She’d grown up the child who’d always come second but had wanted to be first. That deep need drove her as an adult to find that someone who thought her special enough to put her first in his life. Someone who thought of her happiness. Someone who wanted to be with her because he loved her. She wanted something like that. Something that lasted a lifetime.
Chapter 18
Luna smiled up at Colt from her seat at the table. He set the platter of mouthwatering steaks in front of her, forked one up, and dropped it on her plate. He put the other on his and sat beside her, reaching out to place his big hand on her bare leg beneath the simple black cotton tank dress she put on after they made love. He squeezed her leg, sending a shot of heat up her thigh.
“Hungry, honey?”
“Starving.” She put a helping of salad on his plate, then hers, tore a hunk of bread from the loaf for her and him and spread the garlic butter she’d whipped up in the kitchen on her piece. She slid the bowl to him and handed him the butter knife. “I’d eat some of that, otherwise I’m going to stink like garlic and you’ll never kiss me again tonight.”
Colt hooked his hand around the back of her neck and drew her close. “Never going to happen.” He kissed her softly, keeping the heat between them at a simmer. She loved the dancing trills in her belly, the anticipation of being with him again. More than anything, she liked the easy way she felt being with him.
She bit into a perfectly cooked piece of medium rare steak and hummed with satisfaction.
“Good?”
“Fantastic. Thanks for cooking.”
“My pleasure. Grilling is one of the few things I do well when it comes to cooking a meal.”
“You don’t like to cook?”
“I’ve got cooking duty twice a week, though Sadie does most of the cooking these days. I don’t mind cooking, it’s just I tend to stick to what I know, so it gets boring after a while.”
“You should experiment. Try new things.”
“I’m willing to try anything you cook, honey. And bake. I’m addicted to those muffins you make.”
“You’re a sucker for sweets.”
“You’re sweet. I’m definitely a sucker for you.” God, his grin might just kill her.
She giggled. “Good for me, then.”
“Oh, honey, it was good for me, too,” he teased about them making love.
The blush rose up her cheeks, but instead of shying away like she used to, she reached out and rubbed her fingers along his rough jaw and smiled, enjoying being able to touch him and play like this.
“Just good, huh? I’ll have to try harder next time.”
Colt chuckled. “Driving me crazy again will only land you in hot water.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Her cell phone rang back in the house. Wondering who’d call this late, she frowned at Colt. “Maybe that’s Sadie wondering where you are.”
“Doubt it. She and the rest of the family probably assume I’m with you.”
“I’ll be right back.” She rose and ran for her phone on the kitchen counter. She didn’t recognize the number but swiped the screen to accept the call anyway. After eight at night, it couldn’t be a telemarketer trying to sell her car insurance or siding for her house, right?
“Hello.”
“You two look real cozy sitting out on the patio, eating dinner together.”
Her heart stopped. She didn’t recognize the voice. Couldn’t, since their gravely whispers made it even harder to decipher if it was a man or woman.
“Who is
this?” she asked, stepping back to the kitchen doorway, staring out at the darkness that lay beyond the halo of light surrounding the patio. Her sharp tone drew Colt’s questioning gaze.
“He’s using you, you stupid bitch. He only wants you because he wants Rambling Range. He’s tired of taking the scraps his brothers leave behind, and he wants what you stole.”
“Who is this?” The tremble in her voice made Colt stand up and search the area behind him because she kept doing the same, looking for any sign of the person who watched them.
“Sell the ranch. I’ve got your cowboy lover in my sights. I could kill him right now.”
Luna didn’t think. She ran to Colt and put herself between him and the darkness, shoving at his chest to get him to move back into the house.
“Luna, what is it?” He stumbled back and got moving, because she kept pushing him.
“Move. Now. Hurry.”
“That’s right, you want to save him, but is he worth it?”
“Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know which Travers you are, but hear me when I say this. I won’t sell, so leave us alone.”
“Sell, or Colt may not be around much longer to kiss the stars up your back.”
The caller hung up and Luna dropped her phone on the kitchen floor. She sucked in a horrified gasp and covered her mouth with both hands.
Colt nearly lost his shit watching her on the call, but seeing her face pale and her eyes go wide as saucers made his insides go cold.
Her phone slid across the hardwood floor and thumped against the wall. They stood away from the windows, tucked in the alcove that opened up into the walk-in pantry. He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a soft shake to make her see him. “Luna, honey, what is it? What happened?”
“Th-they saw us.”
“Who?”
“I . . . I don’t know. I’m not sure who it was. One of the Traverses. They watched us . . . in the bedroom . . . while we . . .”
“Christ.” Colt pulled her against his chest, wrapped his arms around her, and held her trembling body. “It’s okay, honey, I won’t let anything happen to you.” The thought of someone peeking through the windows, watching her, them, creeped him out and pissed him off. That went beyond someone messing up the house in the heat of the moment. Whoever the fuck thought they could come here and scare Luna like this needed to be taken down.
Luna pressed closer, burying her face in his chest, gripping his sides so tight, her nails bit into his bare skin. “They threatened to shoot you.”
Colt jolted with the news and glared down at her. “Is that why you pushed me into the house? You put yourself in front of me?”
“Yes. I couldn’t let them hurt you.”
“But you’d take a bullet for me?”
She wrapped her arms around him and held on for all she was worth. “I couldn’t let them hurt you.”
It hit him all at once. She really would have taken a bullet for him. He could count the three people who loved him that much they’d stand between him and danger without a thought for themselves. His two brothers and his granddad. Add to that small list: Luna.
Holy fucking shit. Did she love him?
His chest went tight, cutting off his oxygen supply and making him dizzy. Did he love her?
He cared about her a lot. Enough that the thought of someone hurting her pissed him off more than he’d ever been in his life. He didn’t want anyone messing with his woman. And there you go. He did think of her as his.
Not one to be possessive about any one woman, he’d kept his relationships in the past low-key, nothing but fun. This thing with Luna was as serious as he’d ever gotten about a woman, a relationship, the possibility they’d actually have a future together.
He couldn’t think about all that right now. He needed to take care of the woman still shaking in his arms, desperate to hold on to him and keep him safe.
With a gentleness he had to work to find within the rage coiling his gut, he set Luna away. She gripped his arms, not letting him go.
He cupped her face and stared down into her big blue eyes, hating the fear and desperation he saw in their depths. “It’s okay, honey. I’m just going to call the cops.”
He tried to step away to grab her phone off the floor, but she tugged his arms to get him to stay. “No. They’ll shoot you.”
“I’m not going near the windows. We’ll let the cops check things out.”
He wasn’t stupid enough to go out there searching in the dark and leaving her inside the house, vulnerable and alone, a sitting duck for whoever wanted to hurt her. She’d be a perfect target while he searched the yard. He didn’t have a gun, or any idea how many of them were out there. Probably just one, maybe both of Wayne’s sons. It had to be one or both of them.
He kissed Luna, trying to ease her mind with the soft touch of his lips to hers.
“Please, Colt, stay here.”
“I’ll stay with you, honey, I promise.”
Colt let her go, but it took Luna an extra few seconds to release his arms. He carefully made his way the five feet to her phone and picked it up, making sure he didn’t put himself in the line of sight from any of the massive windows surrounding the kitchen. Luna had made a smart choice when she’d shoved him through the huge room to the back alcove.
He went back to her, leaned against the wall, held her down the length of him, and called the cops. He put the phone on speaker so she could listen while he explained the situation to the dispatcher. They stayed on the line while the cops drove out to the house. He wanted to call his brothers, but he’d left his phone and wallet on the bedside table in Luna’s room.
It seemed to be taking forever for the cops to arrive. Colt and Luna waited in the tense silence, listening for any sound that someone tried to get into the house, and the intermittent check-in and relayed instructions and updates from the dispatcher.
Colt and Luna let loose a sigh of relief when the dispatcher came back on the line.
“Mr. Kendrick, Deputy Foster just entered the property. He should pull up in front of the house in a minute.”
The siren grew louder. “We hear him.”
“Wait until he knocks on the front door before you leave the kitchen and answer it. More officers have been dispatched to the house and are en route. They will assist Deputy Foster in searching the property for the suspect.”
Luna jumped at the knock on the door. “Are we sure it’s him?”
“Stay here. I’ll go let him in.”
“No. I’m going with you.”
“Deputy Foster is at the door,” the dispatcher confirmed.
Colt took Luna’s hand and led her from the kitchen, through the living room to the front door. He shoved her behind him and opened the door, keeping a firm grip on it in case someone tried to kick it in. An overabundance of caution, yes, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
Deputy Foster stood with his back to the door, his hand on his weapon, and turned his head side to side, sweeping the yard with his gaze. He glanced quickly over his shoulder, then backed into the house and slammed the door.
“Mr. Kendrick. Miss Hill. We have a report that someone threatened to shoot you.”
“They were watching us. He called on my phone.” Luna pointed to the phone in Colt’s hand. He ended the call with the dispatcher now that the cops had arrived.
Deputy Foster held out his hand, indicating they should move into the living room. He went to the shutters on the windows and pushed them all closed.
“What exactly did he say?” The deputy pulled out a notebook and pen, ready to write down Luna’s statement.
“That Colt and I looked cozy having dinner together. We were out on the back patio.”
“Did you see anyone? Hear anything that made you suspect someone was out there watching you?”
“No. Nothing.”
Colt shook his head, agreeing with Luna. They’d been oblivious to the danger.
“What did the caller say nex
t?”
Luna hesitated and looked away from Colt.
“Luna, whatever the bastard said you can tell me.”
Luna still didn’t look at him but answered the officer. “He said that Colt was using me the way I used Wayne. That Colt was tired of the leftover scraps from his brothers and looking to use me to get Rambling Range.”
“Fuck.” Colt raked his fingers through his hair. He tried to walk away to pace off the anger roiling in his gut, but Luna hooked her finger in his belt loop and held him still.
“I don’t believe one word of that, Colt.”
“But it sounds about right, doesn’t it?”
“No. I never used my friendship with Wayne to get anything from him. You don’t believe I’d do something like that, right?”
“No. Never.” She was too kind and softhearted to do anything of the sort.
“You don’t see your place with your brothers as anything less than a true partnership. You work that ranch together. You share in its successes and failures as one. Maybe you do want more. But not from them. You want something of your very own. Who wouldn’t? But that doesn’t mean you’d use someone else to get it. You’re just not that guy, Colt.”
“Simon tried this same thing on you the day you moved in here,” he pointed out. “He said just about the same thing that fuck said on the phone tonight.”
“Did you recognize the voice on the phone?” Deputy Foster asked. “Could it have been Simon?”
“They kept their voice very low, gravelly. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.”
“Are you sure they were watching the two of you and not just saying something about you having dinner together and guessing right that you did?”
Luna shook her head. “He told me to sell or Colt wouldn’t be around to kiss the stars up my back.”
“What does that mean?” The officer narrowed his gaze.
Colt swore again. “The bastard watched through the bedroom window while Luna and I made love. He saw her tattoos.”
Luna stood with her arms wrapped around her middle, her gaze on the floor. Colt hooked his arm around her shoulders and turned her body into his. He held her close and kissed the top of her head.
Her Renegade Rancher EPB Page 17
