by Eve Gaddy
“I haven’t had a hamburger since—” She broke off, then laughed. “I have no idea when I last ate a hamburger. I’d like one too.”
Mitch ordered for them then went to the small wooden writing desk where his laptop sat. Glenna explored the room while he waited for the computer to boot up. “Want me to pull up a chair for you?” he asked her.
“No, I’ll just stand behind you. I doubt it will take that long unless there’s a ton of stuff on it. Besides, we really don’t know what is on the drive. It might not even be important.”
“Which is why you mailed it to your real self in the US from your fake self in Argentina,” he countered skeptically.
She scowled at him. He plugged in the small drive and pulled up the files. Spreadsheets. A lot of them, it looked like. Mitch clicked on one of the spreadsheets at random. “People in the organization, possibly. Or mules. They have to distribute the money somehow.” He opened another and scrolled down. “Cost of various supplies. Paper, Venezuelan notes, ink, glue, flour... Glue and flour? I’m not sure what those are about.”
He opened yet another. “This is a detailed list of when and what supplies were ordered, when they came in, how much was wasted. You downloaded the mother lode of incriminating documents here. Where do you suppose you found this information?” She didn’t answer.
He turned around to look at her. Glenna had turned sheet-white and was hanging on to the back of his chair, white-knuckled. He jumped up and grabbed her, afraid she was going to pass out. “What’s wrong? Did you remember something?”
“My head... I can’t... Oh, God.” She covered her eyes with her hands, as if to block out whatever vision she saw.
“Come on,” he said, half-carrying her to the couch. “Sit down and put your head between your legs.”
She did as he instructed. Mitch watched her anxiously, wondering if he should call a doctor. Hell, she had three brothers and a soon-to-be sister-in-law who were doctors. He took his phone out of his pocket to call them.
Glenna raised her head. “Who are you calling?”
She looked better. Marginally. “You scared the shit out of me. I’m calling your family. They’re doctors. They can decide if you need to go to the hospital.”
“Don’t call them. Please. I’m all right now.”
He reserved judgment on that but she was looking better by the moment. He turned off his phone and set it on the desk. Then he ejected the drive before turning back to Glenna. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“I—I don’t know. It was the strangest thing.” She rubbed her temples. “I had a flash of something. A computer. I was downloading files. I was nervous...hoping he wouldn’t come in.”
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know. When I tried to concentrate, to remember what I’d seen more clearly, I thought my head would explode.”
Was she starting to get her memory back? It sure as shit sounded like it. “Don’t force it, then. You’re not ready to remember all of it—whatever this is.” The fact that it made her sick to try to remember didn’t bode well, however. “I’ll see about contacting the Secret Service or the FBI in the morning. There’s a satellite FBI office in Bozeman. I’m sure they’ll want to talk to you.”
“That will do a lot of good. Can’t you email the files?
“I could, but I’d rather give the drive to a person. The actual jump drive might tell them something we miss.”
“This must be why those men were after me. You were right. The Villareals must have sent them to get the drive back. I wonder how they knew I had it?”
“We may never know the answer to that.” He looked at her critically. “You look better, but damn, don’t do that again.”
“It didn’t feel too good from where I’m sitting, either. But I’m fine now. As long as I don’t think about those spreadsheets.”
Someone knocked on the door. “Room Service.”
Mitch let the waiter in, had him put the tray on the coffee table and signed his name to the bill. “When did you eat last?”
“Breakfast.”
“This should make you feel better. No wonder you almost fainted.”
She lifted her nose in the air. “I didn’t almost faint. I was simply unwell for a minute.”
“Potato, po-taw-to.”
That drew a smile from her. “Touché.” She started on her hamburger. “This is really good. I must like hamburgers.”
They ate mostly in silence, but it was companionable not awkward.
“You were right,” Glenna said after demolishing almost everything on her plate. “I feel better now. Could I use your restroom?”
“Of course.” She took her purse with her and disappeared into his bathroom. Mitch wasn’t sure why he thought Glenna was up to something but he did.
Chapter Twenty-One
Glenna shut the bathroom door and looked in the mirror. Not awful, but she’d sure as hell looked better. Sam had lent her a purse, a large brown bag that Glenna dumped everything from her backpack into, except for her clothes.
The first thing she did was to take the band out of her hair and brush it. Then she used some of Mitch’s toothpaste to brush her teeth with her finger. She dug around for her small stash of makeup, set it on the counter and went to work. A little eye makeup, a bit of lipstick, and she was done. That’s as good as it’s going to get.
There wasn’t a whole lot she could do about her clothes. When she’d left for the hospital, she’d been wearing jeans and a button-down white cotton shirt over a white sleeveless T-shirt with a built-in bra. She took off the top shirt and stuffed it in her bag. Better. Not great but it would have to do.
It was pretty freaking obvious that if she wanted Mitch, she was going to have to take matters into her own hands. If he turned her down this time... Best not think about that. She knew he wanted her. She could not be so deluded that she thought he wanted her when he didn’t.
You have amnesia, girl. Of course you could be deluded.
Bending over, she fluffed her hair, stood up and looked in the mirror one last time. Then she left her bag on the counter, opened the door and stepped out.
Mitch sat on the couch, head down as he fiddled with his phone. Without looking up he asked, “Are you ready for me to take you home?”
“No.”
He looked at her then. His eyes widened, then narrowed. “What are you doing, Glenna?”
She walked over to stand in front of him. “You’re a smart guy. I think you can figure that out.” Apparently, she’d robbed him of speech. She sat in his lap and looped her arms around his neck. “Tell me you don’t want me. That’s all you have to do and I’ll stop throwing myself at you.”
For a long moment he simply looked at her. Finally, he said, “I can’t,” and crushed his mouth to hers.
She was drowning in his kiss. In the smell of him, the taste of him, the feel of that rock-solid body next to hers. His kiss was not sweet, or gentle, or easy. It was steaming hot and full of purpose. This kiss said he wanted her and this time there would be no holding back, no hesitation, no retreat.
He slipped his hand beneath her shirt to fondle her breasts. She sucked in a breath, her nipples tightening at the warmth of his hand on her bare skin. He helped her turn to straddle him, pushed up her shirt and stripped it off. One hand on her breasts, the other caressing her butt, pressing her sex against his, his lips on hers, his tongue in her mouth tasting her, seducing her.
Mitch stood and she wrapped herself around him, kissing him as he walked them both toward the bed. Glenna landed on her back, her legs open to welcome him.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this,” Mitch said roughly, lying down beside her.
“As long as I’ve wanted you to. Almost from the first.”
“Yes. From the first moment I laid eyes on you.” He kissed her again, sliding his tongue inside her mouth, teasing, testing, taunting. Breaking for air, she tugged at his T-shirt. “Take this off.”
“
Gladly.” He rolled off of her and stood, yanking his shirt off before looking down at her, smiling. “Damn, Glenna, you’re beautiful.”
She held out a hand. “So are you.”
He shook his head, still smiling.
“I don’t suppose you have a condom?”
His smile widened. “I suppose I do.” He stepped into the bathroom.
Glenna got up, unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans and stripped them off, along with her socks. Mitch came up behind her, moved her hair aside to kiss her neck and shoulder. After tossing a condom packet on the bed, he covered her breasts with his hands and she could feel his erection pressing against her. He turned her around, pushed her onto the bed and came down beside her.
He caressed her breasts, tugging on the nipples gently, teasing them to hard points. His hands played with her while he kissed and sucked each breast. His fingers slid inside her and out, then did it again, and again teasing her to madness. Her back arched, her hips bucked, each movement of his fingers bringing her closer to the edge.
She slid her hand down and stroked his shaft. He was hard and getting harder. She wanted him inside her, now. Pushing him onto his back, she picked up the condom, tore open the packet and reached for him.
He laughed and said, “Better let me. I told you, it’s been a long time.” He put it on, then he rolled on top of her, spreading her legs, his cock, warm and hard, pressed against her, nudging at her opening. He kissed her and began to enter her, slowly. She raised her hips and met him, tightening her muscles as he plunged into her until he was seated deep inside. She moaned and twisted restlessly.
“Too much?” he asked hoarsely.
“No, just right,” she said pressing her hips upward.
He drove into her then, pulling out and sinking back in, faster and faster and she spiraled higher and higher, exploding at the peak. Mitch thrust into her a final time, a husky groan, and then moaned her name as he came.
After a while he disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later, he returned and pulled her into his arms, her cheek lying against his chest.
“Are you sorry?” she asked.
His chuckle rumbled against her ear. “Do I look sorry?”
She drew back and looked at him, traced a finger over his lips. “No, you look satisfied.”
“I am. For now,” he added, his voice dropping.
Just that implication made her stomach flutter and the ache between her legs intensify.
When he continued talking it made her ache even more. “Later, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to explore all those places I missed the first time.”
“Are you? I think I’d like that.” She kissed him again and said, “Once you make up your mind, you put your whole self into it, don’t you?”
“I’m a very thorough person.”
“Why did you resist so long?”
“So long?” He smiled. “We’ve only known each other for a little over a week.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, it seems like I’ve known you forever.”
“That’s because I’m the only person you do know.”
“I don’t think that’s the reason. Or not all of it, anyway.” And she was about to get into a spot where she didn’t think Mitch wanted to go, so she changed the subject. “I’m glad you had condoms. In Santiago, when you said you hadn’t been with anyone in a long time, I thought you wouldn’t have any.”
“I didn’t. Then. I bought them the day we got to Marietta. After you kissed me and announced to your brothers that we were going to get together.”
“Really? You said nothing was going to happen.”
“Yeah, I know. I was just fooling myself. But I didn’t trust myself around you. For obvious reasons since here we are in bed together.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be.” If only they could stay here, where she could be completely herself—whoever that was—and not worry about disappointing anyone. Not think about a family she wanted to remember, yet couldn’t. Not worry about spreadsheets and counterfeit money and bad guys coming after her.
Where she could be with Mitch and love him and not think about anything else.
Glenna called her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Sam, and told her she wouldn’t be home that night. Mitch didn’t blame her for choosing to tell Sam rather than Dylan. He didn’t at all look forward to her brothers’ reactions to the news that their amnesiac sister was getting it on with the PI who’d found her.
She hung up, turned her phone to silent, and put it on the bedside table.
“Everything okay?”
Glenna smiled. “Everything is great. She told me to have fun.”
“Somehow I don’t think that will be Dylan’s reaction.”
“Dylan’s pretty reasonable. They all are, really. They know I’m going to do what I want and they have no say in it. Well, other than owing them a ton of money.”
“Which I’m sure they’re demanding payment of right away.”
She frowned. “You know they’re not. But Dylan did say he’d hire me to help with the horses. Once he figured out I was intent on getting a paying job, and repaying what they spent on me, he said he’d hire me at the going rate.”
“That’s great. When do you start?” It didn’t surprise him that Glenna was determined to pay back her family. Just another indication that she wasn’t a taker. She stood firmly on her own, paid her own way, and didn’t like to be beholden to anyone, not even family.
“I thought I’d ask him if he wants me to start work tomorrow. Maybe after we take the jump drive to the authorities.”
She wore one of his button-down shirts with the top two buttons undone and her breasts peeking out whenever she moved. Her legs were long, bare and silky soft below the hem of the shirt. Why was it that a woman could make a man’s shirt look so damn sexy?
Boobs, for one thing.
Legs, for another.
“What are you staring at?”
Mitch reached out and ran his finger down the opening of his shirt. “You, what else?” He slipped his hand inside to cover her breast, cup it, use his thumb to tease her nipple to attention.
Glenna dropped her head back and closed her eyes, giving a tiny moan of pleasure. He kissed her jaw, the curve of her neck, the hollow at the base of her throat. Reached beneath the shirt to strip off her panties. He spared a moment to wonder why she’d put them back on when she knew he would only remove them again. He slipped his hands beneath the panties and drew them slowly down her legs, following the progress with his lips. Flung the panties aside and kissed his way back up her legs.
Glenna hadn’t been idle. While he was working his way up her beautiful legs, she unbuttoned the shirt and wiggled out of it. “Now?” she asked, her voice a low, sexy timbre.
He looked at her, smiled and shook his head. “Not yet. I made a promise to explore everything I missed the first time around and I haven’t even gotten started.”
“When you put it that way...”
Since there wasn’t a Secret Service office anywhere remotely close, Glenna and Mitch wound up taking the jump drive to the FBI satellite field office in Bozeman. It occupied their entire morning but Glenna thought it was worth it to be able to hand over that evidence and have the whole question of counterfeiting be somebody else’s problem.
When they returned to the ranch, Glenna asked Mitch to stay for a while and meet the horses and see Dylan’s operation. Her brother was doing really well breeding his horses. Most of his horses were Norwegian Fjords. According to Dylan, they’d had quarter horses when they were growing up. Dylan had raised them too, but then he’d seen the Norwegian Fjords and fallen in love with them, and now he’d been raising them for a number of years.
Dylan and Glenna had agreed on a wage the day before. “Do you need an advance on your wages?” Dylan asked her when he met her and Mitch down at the barn. “You’re bound to need some money.”
“No, I’m fine.” She wasn’t really, but she could make do until payday. “Dylan, we haven’t
discussed how much you should take out of my paycheck to settle my debt.”
“That’s because I’m not taking your money.”
“We’ve talked about this before, Dylan.”
“And I told you then I didn’t want your money.”
“Fine, then you’ll pay me and I’ll immediately turn around and give some of it to you. Which seems like a complete waste of time.”
“Can you talk some sense into her?” Dylan asked Mitch.
“Not if she’s made up her mind. Looks like she has. You might as well do what she asks.”
Dylan frowned at her. “You’re going to pay us back, even though we don’t want it, aren’t you? Damn, Glenna, you are one determined woman.”
You are a very determined woman.
That voice. She knew that voice. She shuddered as the memories cascaded through her mind.
She was Volcán’s last chance. A magnificent Criollo stallion, coal black with white socks and a white stripe on his nose, Volcán was slated to be sold if she couldn’t tame him.
But damn, the gorgeous animal was almost as stubborn as she was. Almost. She was determined to ride him; he was equally determined that she wouldn’t stay on longer than a few seconds. She mounted him. He bucked her off. She climbed back on. He threw her again. She climbed back on again. Over and over until she and Volcán came to an understanding. She rode him long enough to cement the lesson, then she dismounted and fed him a sugar cube. She led him into the barn to cool him down. Took off his saddle and the blanket and grabbed a brush.
Glenna patted his cheek and fed him another sugar cube and began brushing him. “There, Volcán, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” No, she was the one who would ache for days.
“You are a very determined woman.”
Startled, Glenna realized the man she’d thought was one of the ranch hands watching her was actually Rolando Villareal, only son of her boss, Jorge Villareal. She’d seen him before, of course, but always at a distance. Rolando didn’t spend a lot of time at the ranch and never had in the years that she had worked there. Rumor had it he preferred a more cosmopolitan existence. He’d come home occasionally, but always left after a short time. A couple of days at most.
