The #1 Bestsellers Collection 2011

by Catherine Mann

  “Happy to have me in his bed anyway,” she muttered and tried to find the bright spot in that statement. At least they shared passion. At least they connected occasionally. Even if it was only physically.

  “Pitiful, Gina, just pitiful.” She shook her head, met her own gaze in the mirror and gave her reflection one last glance. Not exactly a femme fatale, she admitted. In her pink T-shirt, worn jeans and boots, she looked more like a ranch hand than a newlywed. Her long dark hair hung down her back in a single braid and her eyes looked huge in her face.

  She’d had a lot of hopes for this bargain. Had counted on Adam being a little easier to maneuver than he was proving. Instead he seemed determined to keep to himself. To keep their relationship as superficial as possible, despite the fact that they were married and living together.

  Gina turned away, opened the French doors to their bedroom terrace and stepped out onto the glossy wood floor. The early morning sky was deep blue, but there were storm clouds banking out over the ocean. Now why, she wondered, did that sound like a perfect metaphor for her marriage?

  They’d been back from Vegas for nearly a week, and it was as if that brief “honeymoon” had never happened. She leaned both hands on the second-story balcony railing and curled her fingers over the sun-warmed decorative iron. The minute they’d arrived back at the ranch, Adam had closed himself off. She actually felt like they were a couple those days and nights together. It was as if a switch inside him had been flipped. He’d become the recluse he’d been for five long years. She hardly saw him during the day and when she did, he was distant, if polite. The only time he warmed to her was at night.

  Then, he was the man she’d always dreamed he would be. Then, he gave himself and took from her. Every time they came together was better than the time before. Frankly the sex was incredible. Gina’d never known anything quite like it. But at the bottom of it, if all they shared was great sex, was there anything between them worth fighting for?

  “Way to go, Gina,” she muttered. “Depress yourself.”

  She squinted into the sun and watched Adam walk with long, determined steps into the barn. Once he’d been swallowed by the shadows, Gina sighed. She wondered what he was doing. What he was thinking. He didn’t talk to her. Didn’t share his plans for the day. Didn’t let her into what was going on in his head. It was as if she were a boarder here at the ranch. Nothing more than a guest who would be moving on shortly.

  Another sigh escaped before she could stop it. Bending slightly, she leaned her elbows on the railing and studied the shiny new gold band on her ring finger. She wasn’t a guest. She was his wife. For now.

  At least, for as long as it took her to get pregnant.

  Which, she thought, explained why she was still using her diaphragm. A tiny thread of guilt whipped through her like summer lightning. She admitted at least to herself that what she was doing wasn’t technically fair. But she was willing to risk everything for the chance at real love. Even if that meant Adam one day finding out what she’d done. If that day came, she’d confess all and hope that he understood.

  Every night, he did everything he could to impregnate her, no doubt so that he could end the marriage quickly and send her on her way.

  He just had no idea that she was sabotaging the bargain she had proposed in the first place.

  “Gina, this might turn out to be a lot harder than you thought it would be.” And maybe, she admitted silently, it would be impossible.

  But even as that thought niggled away in her brain, she vowed she wouldn’t give up so quickly.

  She’d made the decision to keep using her diaphragm before the wedding. Yes, she wanted a baby. Adam’s baby. But she also wanted a chance to make Adam want her for longer than the duration of their arrangement. She wanted time for them to get used to each other. Time for him to realize that they could have something special together.

  Time to make him fall in love with her.

  Risky?

  Oh, yeah.

  But if she could pull it off, so worth it.

  While her mind wandered down the “what if” paths it was getting so used to lately, she noticed a bright red sports car turning into the driveway. Before she could even wonder who their visitor was, though, another vehicle turned onto the ranch road right behind the zippy little car. This one was a huge horse trailer. Instantly excitement shot through her.

  “They’re here!” She grinned, turned and ran back into the bedroom she shared with Adam. She raced through the big room, hardly looking at it, then down the hall and took the stairs two at a time. She was already standing in the driveway when the car and then the horse van pulled up in the yard and stopped.

  A tall, gorgeous man stepped out of the car, took one look at Gina and said, “I’m guessing that eager welcome isn’t for me?”

  Gina gave Adam’s brother a quick smile. Travis was so easygoing. So relaxed. So ready to smile and quick to laugh. How much easier would her life had been if she’d only fallen in love with him? Unfortunately, though, when she looked at him, she didn’t get that “zing” of something hot and sweet inside her. It was just pure female admiration for a gorgeous man.

  “Hi, Travis. Nice to see you.” She waved a hand at the trailer. “My horses are here.”

  “Upstaged by a truck full of horses?” Travis walked around the front of his car, then leaned lazily against the front fender. “Must be losing my touch. Came by to see my new sister-in-law and say welcome to the family.”

  She knew that Travis and Jackson had a feeling of the true circumstances of her marriage, but he’d come anyway. Wanted to welcome her, however briefly, into the King family. For that, she wanted to kiss him. She walked to him and gave him a brief hug. “Thanks. I appreciate it, really.”

  He gave her a hard squeeze and held on to her when she would have backed away. Looking down into her eyes, Travis asked, “How’s it going, Gina? Adam making you nuts yet?”

  “Not completely.” She smiled, grateful for the understanding.

  “Give him time,” Travis said with a wink. Then the smile faded from his face. “Gina, I just want you to be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt and—”

  “Why’re you hugging my wife, Travis?” Adam’s voice boomed as he walked out of the barn.

  “Well, she’s just so damn huggable, isn’t she?” Travis sounded amused as he gave her another squeeze. He winked down at her before letting her go.

  Adam’s features were tight and his eyes were narrowed. Gina wished she could pretend he was actually a little jealous, but she had the feeling it was more about Travis showing up unannounced than about a hug.

  Adam looked at her, then shifted his gaze back to his brother. “What’re you doing here?”

  “And hello to you, too, big brother,” Travis answered.

  Gina looked at her husband and tried to rein in her instant physical response. But it was way too late. No matter how she tried to control it, her body lit up the moment she saw Adam. Where she could look at Travis or Jackson, for that matter, and see a handsome man with a great body and lots of charm, that’s as far as it went. When she looked at Adam, though, her stomach fluttered with the nervous clip of butterfly wings and her heartbeat quickened into a fast gallop.

  Even with his crabby nature and tendency to shut out anyone who threatened to get close, she loved him. Somewhere inside that perpetual crab, there was still the guy who at sixteen had helped her home after she’d fallen off her horse. Inside Adam, there was still the young hero who’d come to her rescue at a school dance when her date had gotten too grabby.

  She looked at him and saw not only the past, but their possible future and the love for him she’d carried around inside her for years was alive and well. God help her. She took a deep breath, waited for him to look at her and then said with a forced brightness, “My horses are here.”

  “I see that,” he said, shooting a glare at the trailer as it parked close to the corral. “Why?”

  That she ha
dn’t expected. “What do you mean, why?”

  “Simple question, Gina,” he said, folding his arms over his chest, planting his booted feet wide apart as if readying for battle. “Why are they here? Why didn’t you just keep them at your folks’ place?”

  Gina stared at him. He was mad about her horses being shuttled to the ranch? “Because I live here now.”

  “Temporarily,” Adam said.

  Direct hit, she thought and inwardly winced.

  “For God’s sake, Adam.” Travis straightened up and walked to Gina’s side, clearly aligning himself with her.

  “This is none of your business, Travis.”

  Gina appreciated Adam’s brother’s attempts at help, but she needed to take care of this herself. “He’s right, Travis. This is between Adam and me.”

  She walked over to her husband, whose scowl looked fierce enough to strip paint and tipped her head back to look up at him. “Adam, we’re married. I live here. I work with the Gypsies every day. It’s not exactly convenient to drive over to my parents ranch every morning to do that work.”

  Adam did a quiet seethe. She could see it in his narrowed eyes and the tense lock of his jaw. Then she watched him flick a glance at Travis before turning his gaze back to her. Clearly there was more he wanted to say, but Travis being a witness wasn’t something he was interested in.

  Taking her upper arm in a firm grip, he steered her farther away from his brother and didn’t stop until they were standing in the shade of the open barn doors. “You don’t have to put on a front, Gina. We both know that this marriage isn’t real.”

  Another barb that hit home with deadly accuracy. But damned if she’d let him know it. If she was going to make Adam see her, really see her, then she had to stand up to him. Let him know right up front that she wasn’t going to be ignored or placated or pushed around.

  “You’re wrong,” she said shortly. “This marriage is very real.” She held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger at him. “Whatever you’d like to think, Adam, we’re legally married, for however long it lasts.”

  He released his grip on her arm, but her skin kept buzzing as if his touch had branded her. “I know it’s legal, but it’s not your ordinary marriage, now is it?”

  “What marriage is ordinary, Adam?”

  He blew out a frustrated breath. “You’re purposely misunderstanding me.”

  “Oh, I understand just fine,” she said and tapped the tip of her index finger against his chest. “You want to pretend that I’m not really here. The only place you want to see me is our bedroom. Well, get over it. I am here. And I’m not going anywhere just yet.”

  “I know that.” He shot a look at Travis, lowered his voice and said, “I’m just saying it doesn’t make much sense to uproot your horses. Besides, there’s no room for them here. Not to mention the fact that you could have talked to me about this before arranging for their arrival.”

  Okay. Love him or not, Gina wasn’t going to be walked on. “There’s plenty of room on this ranch for the horses, Adam. You don’t even use the front corral and the barn’s half empty.”

  “That’s not the point—”

  “You just made it the point. Plus,” she said, rushing on before he could get started again, “you knew going in that I work with those horses.”

  “I didn’t think—”

  “What?” Her eyes widened and she waved both hands in the air. “You didn’t think I’d work with them here? Where I live?” She lowered her voice a little and leaned in. “What did you think, Adam? That I’d just stay tucked up in the bedroom waiting for you to service me? I said I wanted a baby, but I also have a life. One I’m not interested in giving up.”

  “You could have told me—”

  “Maybe I should have. But I didn’t realize I would have to discuss every one of my decisions with you to get your approval.”

  “I didn’t say that—”

  “What did you say then?” She was almost enjoying this, Gina thought. Adam looked confused and off balance. But it was better than disinterested. At least he was looking at her. Talking to her. Actually, she thought, keeping him off balance might be just the answer.

  He scrubbed one hand across his face in an impatient gesture. “Fine. I’m not going to argue about this.”

  “Too late.”

  “You want the damn horses here, then fine.”

  “Oh,” she said, laying one hand on her chest. “Thanks so much.”

  His mouth worked, he pulled in a long breath and then said, “You’re really starting to irritate me, Gina.”

  “Good,” she said and gave him a smile. Irritated meant she was getting to him. Keeping him confused could only help her. “I like knowing that I can make you feel something.”

  When she turned to leave, he grabbed her arm again, spun her around and before she could ask what else he wanted to complain about, he kissed her. He covered her mouth with his in a fast, hungry kiss that left her knees wobbly. He let her go then took a step back as if even he were surprised by what he’d done. “Be careful what you wish for, Gina. Not all feelings are pretty.”

  She lifted one hand to her mouth, rubbed her lips with her fingertips and looked up at him. “Even that would be better than feeling nothing.”

  “Now you’re the one who’s wrong,” he said. Then he jerked his head at the trailer, where the driver was jumping down from the truck cab. “Go get your horses settled in.”

  He turned his back on her and walked away, stepping into the darkness of the van without another look her way.

  Adam stalked to the rear of the barn and turned into the small ranch office that had been built into what had once been just another stall. He took a seat behind the battered desk his ranch foreman usually used. Today, though, he was damn glad that Sam was somewhere out on the ranch.

  Travis stopped in the open doorway, leaned one shoulder against the jamb and looked in at him. “You really enjoy being a jackass?”

  “Butt out.” Adam propped one boot up on the corner of the desk and folded his hands atop his middle. He could still taste Gina and that wasn’t good. He hadn’t meant to kiss her. But she’d prodded him until damned if he could control the urge to touch her.

  Since coming back home from Vegas, he’d done his damnedest to avoid spending much time with her. If he kept himself busy enough, it was almost possible to pretend that she wasn’t living there. That nothing had changed in his life. He went about his normal routine during the day.

  But every afternoon, his mind started drifting to thoughts of her. His body started yearning. And every night, he went to her like a man on fire.

  He hadn’t counted on this. Hadn’t planned on being affected by Gina’s presence at all. This was just one more deal made. One more bargain struck.

  But she was wriggling her way into his thoughts, his life, with a surety that bothered him more than a little.

  “Gina deserves better than the way you’re treating her.”

  Adam shot Travis a look through narrowed eyes that should have fried him on the spot. Naturally Travis was unaffected. “What’s between Gina and me is just that,” Adam said. “Between Gina and me.”

  Travis pushed away from the doorjamb, walked into the room and pushed Adam’s foot off the edge of the desk before sitting down. One eyebrow lifted and a corner of his mouth tipped into a half smile. “She’s getting to you.”

  “No,” Adam lied. “She’s not.”

  “She could if you let her.”

  “And why would I do that?” Adam’s fingers, laced together atop his stomach, tightened until the knuckles went white.

  “Let me answer that with another question. Do you really like living like a damn monk?” Travis demanded. “Do you enjoy locking yourself away on this ranch? Shutting out everybody but me and Jackson?”

  Adam inhaled slowly, deeply, getting a rein on the flare of anger that had erupted inside him. “I’m not shut away. I’m working. The ranch demands a lot of time and—”
<
br />   “Tell that to somebody else,” Travis said, neatly interrupting him. “I grew up here, too. I know what it takes to run this place. Didn’t I watch Dad do it year after year?”

  “Dad didn’t have the same plans for it I do.”

  “Yeah,” Travis agreed amiably. “Dad wanted a life, too.”

  “I have a life.”

  Smiling, Travis nodded. “After seeing that kiss, I’m guessing you’ve got a shot at one, anyway. If you don’t screw it up.”

  Adam fixed him with a frown. “Is there a reason you came by here today? Or are you just here to be another thorn in my figurative paw?”

  “The thorn thing appeals, I’ll admit. But I did have a reason.” Standing up, Travis stuffed both hands into the pockets of his black slacks. “I’m taking one of the family jets to Napa for a couple of weeks.”

  “Bon voyage,” Adam said, standing himself. “But what’s that got to do with me?”

  “Just wanted to let you know. There’s a winery there doing some interesting stuff with cabernets. Want to see what I can find out about their operation.”

  “So why is it when you do something related to the vineyard it’s okay, but when I’m concentrating on the ranch I’m a recluse?”

  “Because—” Travis grinned “—I make time for the ladies, too. I don’t live and die by the grape, Adam. And now that you’ve got yourself married again, maybe it’s time for you to remember that there’s more to life than this damn ranch.”

  “You know exactly why I’m married. Don’t make it out to be more than it is.”

  “Doesn’t mean it couldn’t work out. For both of you.”

  “Not interested.”

  “Just because you and Monica—” He stopped short when Adam flushed a dark red. “Fine. We won’t talk about it. Even though you should—”

  “I don’t need to be psychoanalyzed, either.”

  “Wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Travis said, then continued. “Go ahead, Adam. Bury your future because of your past. But—” he half turned to point toward the ranch yard beyond the barn “—that’s a fine woman out there. Too good for you to use and toss away. She deserves better.” When his brother didn’t say anything else, Travis added, “Hell, Adam, you deserve better.”