Tempting Fate

by Stacy Finz

  Inexplicably disappointed, she pulled the ham out of the refrigerator, along with a container of stuffed mushrooms and some potato salad. He got down two plates and they took turns warming the mushrooms in the microwave.

  “You want a glass of wine?” He perused the rack in the sideboard and pulled out a red. “It might help you get back to sleep.”

  “No thanks.” And, for no reason she could understand, she told him what she’d never told Logan. “I’m an alcoholic.” Ninety days sober.

  He took that in, mulled it over for a second or two, and nodded. “How about a soda or a glass of water?”

  “Tea,” she said, and started a flame under Annie’s kettle. “You want some? It’s peppermint.”

  He scrunched his nose. “Nah, I’ll stick with water.”

  They sat in the kitchen, eating in silence until it drove her nuts.

  “Go ahead and say something.”

  “About what?” He snagged a stuffed mushroom off her plate because he’d eaten his. “About you being an alcoholic? Clearly you’re doing something about it; I haven’t seen you touch a drink since you’ve been here.”

  “I’m ninety days sober.”

  He held her gaze, a world of pride shining in his expression. “That’s a big deal, Raylene.”

  Her chest squeezed. It was the best thing he could’ve said, because it was a big deal. Not touching a drink in three months had taken every ounce of strength and courage she had. Each day was still a struggle.

  “Logan doesn’t know…about my drinking. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell him.”

  “What happens between us, stays between us.” This time there was something else shining in his eyes. Something a little playful and a little suggestive.

  She never knew whether his flirting was bona fide interest or him just playing the horndog, a role he’d apparently perfected in the Navy.

  “In that case, let’s not tell him about his pick either,” she said. “I’ll get a new one tomorrow at the hardware store before we go back to the site.”

  He’d started to take their plates to the sink and stopped in the middle of the kitchen. “It’s time to give up on that, Ray.”

  “Uh-uh, I’m not leaving until I find it. I don’t care if someone’s trying to scare me off, I won’t go without the gold.”

  “Then you’ll be here forever, because there is no gold.”

  “You’re wrong.” She got up, took the plates from him, and stuck them in the dishwasher. “It’s there, and I’m going to find it.”

  He pinned her in at the sink. “What makes you so certain?”

  “My dad wouldn’t have told us about it if it didn’t exist.” Ray was a bastard, but he wasn’t prone to believing in fairy tales. If he said the gold was there, it was there.

  He exhaled. “Suit yourself, Ray. But I think you’re wasting your time.”

  She shrugged. “I have to find a place for Gunner before I can leave anyway.”

  “Yeah, about that.” He moved in closer, completely boxing her in. “You got any ideas? Because I’m thinking after Tawny’s dress situation, Nugget isn’t feeling too hospitable toward you and Wilbur.”

  “I was told by Harper Matthews that there’s a stable at Sierra Heights. Do you know the guy in charge there?”

  “You mean Griffin Parks?” He lifted her chin with his finger, so she’d have to look up at him. “The same Griffin Parks who owns the Gas and Go where you had your famous incident with Jake Stryker? I believe he was there that night.”

  “Oh jeez.” She’d been in rare form that night. Raylene squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block the memory. But it all came rushing back.

  “Have you been drinking, ma’am?”

  “No. Have you?” She flashed a little boob, and when he didn’t take the bait, screamed, “Don’t you touch me!”

  Jake ignored the accusation. “Ma’am, I’m gonna need to see your license.”

  “Uh…I don’t think so.”

  “If you want to drive away, you’ll have to take a sobriety test, and I’m afraid that starts by you giving me your license.”

  “Do you know who I am?” She jabbed her finger at his badge.

  “More important, do you know who you are?” Jake said, and Griffin had laughed.

  “I’m calling my father,” she said, and tottered backward on her high-heeled boots. “In case you didn’t know, he’s Ray Rosser of the Rock and River Ranch.”

  “I think that’s a good idea, call him,” Jake told her. “That way he can drive you home and you can sleep it off.”

  She dumped her purse on the floor, looking for her cell phone. She found it in a pile of makeup and tampons, made a big show of pounding in a number, then staggered off to a private corner of the store.

  Lucky had come in and gotten her that night, and they’d had a big fight on the way home. If she had to guess, he’d already fallen in love with Tawny by then.

  “Well, there goes that idea,” she told Gabe. Was there anyone in Nugget who hadn’t witnessed her acting badly? Raylene didn’t think so.

  “I’ll talk to Grif. He’s a good guy. If there’s room in the barn, he’ll give your horse a temporary home.”

  She’d still have to come up with the money to pay for it, and find someone to feed and water Gunner until she could afford a permanent situation. Even so, she’d be eternally grateful. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose, then drew a deep, unsteady breath. “Now, what are we going to do about the fact that we really want to have sex with each other?”

  She snorted. “Speak for yourself, bucko.” But even to her own ears the retort sounded weak. Especially when she continued to stand there, one inch away from plastering her boobs against his chest.

  He thought so too, because he rolled over her denial like an eighteen-wheeler by hooking his arm around her waist. “Logan won’t like it. In fact, he’ll probably cut my balls off.”

  “I thought what happens between us, stays between us,” she mimicked and then wondered what she was doing, egging him on like that.

  “I can’t lie to my best friend.”

  “It’s not lying, it’s omitting information that’s none of his business to begin with.” Okay, this was insane. She was practically begging him to have sex with her. She closed her eyes and pretended to be naked with Butch, hoping the visual would make her sufficiently sick. Nope, all she saw was Gabe, which made her entire body tingle, even her hair.

  “It really isn’t his business, is it? I mean we’re both consenting adults—hardly innocents.” Gabe looked to her for confirmation.

  She nodded, and once again questioned her sanity. But she wanted him, and she hadn’t wanted a man in a long time.

  He lifted her onto the counter and stared into her eyes, silently telling her it was her move. She wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him closer. He kissed her. It was more intense than before, like the buildup to this moment had left him so wanting that he was out of control. The idea that she could do that to him was heady.

  “Let’s get this off.” He fumbled with her zipper, and she had a feeling that he was usually defter at it.

  She shrugged out of the down jacket and let it drop to the floor, leaving her in a sleep camisole that was thin and lacy—a weird contrast with the horse pajama pants. But she hadn’t planned for anyone to see her sleepwear tonight. Gabe didn’t seem to mind. He’d stopped kissing her to stare, a sexy smile playing on his lips.

  “Damn, you’re hot, Ray.”

  She tugged him in and got his jacket off. He had on a thermal shirt that clung to his torso like a second skin. She could see the ridges of muscle in his abdomen and couldn’t help herself. She ran her hand over his stomach. Everything was hard as granite, and she felt him shudder at her touch.

 
“Jeez, Moretti, you’ve let yourself go to pot.”

  He chuckled, knowing exactly how ripped he was. Then he cupped the back of her head and captured her mouth with another kiss. She clung to his shoulders, her body igniting and her breasts tightening.

  His hands trailed up her sides and slid back down in slow motion, teasing her senses. Her pajama bottoms became constricting, and she longed to take them off. He shifted to her ribcage and worked his way up to her breasts, stroking her nipples over the flimsy material of her top. She whimpered, and in one quick swoop he lifted her off the counter.

  “Where we going?”

  “To find a bed.” The words came out like a croak.

  He carried her upstairs, found her room, and laid her in the middle of her rumpled sheets. She still had her boots on and scrambled to the edge of her bed to pry them off.

  “Later, the boots stay on.” He slapped her hands away and tugged them off himself, then fell on top of her, the hard bulge in his jeans pressing against her belly.

  She inched her hands under his shirt and explored his chest. It was solid like the rest of him and slightly furred. “Take this off.”

  “You first.” He winked.

  Raylene had never been known for her modesty, but she suddenly felt shy. When she stalled, he took over, dragging the hem of her camisole over her head.

  “Damn,” he said, and weighed each breast in his hands, then took one in his mouth.

  She let out a moan, the sensation of his warm lips and hot breath so exquisite she thought she’d never felt anything this good. And then it only got better. He squeezed her other breast with his hand, rubbing his thumb in circular motions over her nipple. She arched her back, giving him better access, and nearly came off the bed. The mattress was only full size, and Gabe was a big man.

  “Good?” he asked, and her entire body answered with a quiver. “Yeah,” he whispered.

  His hand slid inside the drawstring waist of her pajama bottoms and his fingers moved over her. One dipped inside. “You’re so wet.”

  “Mmm” was all she could manage, and went for his belt buckle.

  He pushed her hand away and tugged the flannel pants over her ass until she lay completely naked. Gabe turned on his side and went up on one elbow to gaze down on her. His eyes slid up and down her body, taking her in from head to toe. “I’m going to say it again: damn!”

  “Now your turn.” She rucked his shirt up and he finished the job, tossing the thermal somewhere past the foot of the bed. The man was Italian Renaissance-statue perfect. She kissed his chest and worked her way down to the waistband of his jeans, trying once again to unhook his belt.

  He unfastened it himself and lifted his hips to pull his jeans down. They got stuck around his boots and he kicked them off, using his foot to get his pants the rest of the way down. All Raylene could do was stare. He was thick and long and hard and so purely male it made her mouth water.

  “I was in a rush,” he said about the fact that he’d been commando under his jeans.

  “I’m not complaining.” And then she did the rare thing—at least for her—by taking him in her mouth. He tasted salty and musky and…so good.

  “Ah, shit, Raylene. Honey…” He brought her head up. “I want you to do that…but later.” Gabe rolled onto her and pressed his erection between her thighs.

  She bowed and moaned as he slid up and down against her. The friction was working her up to a fever pitch. “Gabe?”

  “Huh?” His hands were underneath her, squeezing her butt, driving her even higher.

  “Please.”

  “Yeah, okay, let me get a condom.” He was out of breath.

  The entire time he’d dug up her land, looking for the gold, she hadn’t seen him so much as break a sweat. But this—she—had undone him. The thought heightened her excitement even more.

  He leaned over the bed, got something off the floor, and before she knew it he was suited up and entering her. For a second, she froze.

  “You okay?” He started to pull out.

  “No, don’t stop. It’s just been awhile.”

  He went slow, rocking into her a little at a time. The sensation of him filling her was so erotic that she nearly climaxed right then and there. It had been more than a year since she’d had sex, and even longer since she’d had an orgasm. Even the self-administered kind.

  “Mmm.”

  “Better?” he asked.

  “So good.”

  He quickened the pace and laved her breasts with attention. Her body grew more accustomed to his size, and the extra stimulation loosened her up. Soon she was matching him stroke for stroke, moving to their own special rhythm, so in sync that the pleasure rocketed through her like a current of electricity.

  He grunted, calling out her name, whispering endearments and describing the things he wanted to do to her in explicit detail. The words, and his caresses—both dirty and sweet, rough and gentle—took her to a new plateau. She wrapped her legs around his hips, wanting him deeper. Faster. Gabe pumped harder, stroking every erogenous zone on her body with his hands and his lips.

  “Ah,” he called out. “You close?” He reached between their joined bodies and worked her with his finger while he tongued her nipples.

  She felt it low in her belly, and then her whole body began to tremble as she called his name. The orgasm ripped through her in a forceful rush, rocking and rolling like a seven-magnitude earthquake. He continued to pound into her, prolonging the sensation until her body felt limp and sated.

  Gabe pistoned his hips a few more times, threw his head back and shuddered, then fell on top of her like a rag doll.

  “Wow,” he said, coming up on both elbows. “You alive down there, Ray?”

  “Just barely.” She was exhausted, but all her nerve endings purred.

  He rolled to his side and pulled her into his arms. “A little shut-eye, then round two. What do you say?”

  She was already asleep.

  Chapter 14

  The sun was shining in Gabe’s eyes, and for a second he couldn’t remember where he was. Then he felt something warm and curvy nestled against his front and instantly got harder. If his memory served him right, he and Raylene had done it a total of three times during the wee hours of the morning, not counting some extracurricular activity before they couldn’t stay awake any longer.

  He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Ten AM. Shit. He was usually an early riser. Then again, he’d been up since right before dawn. Raylene wiggled her butt in her sleep, and he had to keep himself from entering her from behind. Instead, he draped his arm over her shoulder and fondled one perfect breast. Raylene had an amazing rack. Pert, firm, and the size of ripe peaches. He loved her long legs and her shapely ass, not too skinny. Nope, the woman had a little junk in her trunk, just the way he liked it.

  When she didn’t stir, he tweaked her nipple, making her stretch against him. He’d woken up many times with naked women in his bed. But this…well, this was something he could get used to. And that wasn’t good, because Raylene was Logan’s sister and, more important, she was leaving, and he wasn’t.

  “Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up.”

  “Uh-uh. Make us coffee…and breakfast.”

  “Okay. But what about this first?” He rubbed his erection against her backside and she whimpered. “You like that, huh?”

  She arched, pushing her ass against his groin, and he almost lost his mind. He spread her legs, reached inside, and stroked her until she was ready for him. He reached over to the nightstand and remembered that they’d already used his last condom.

  Gabe pushed away her long blond hair and kissed the back of her downy neck, continuing to stroke her with his fingers. She moaned and made little panting sounds that drove him crazy. He couldn’t recall a woman ever getting him this hot. It was as if Raylene’s body was made for his. Th
e way he could arouse her with a single touch or kiss, the way she came apart when he was thrusting inside of her…it was a huge turn-on.

  “Gabe?” She looked over her shoulder, those baby blues so imploring it made his chest expand.

  “We’re going to do it this way. It feels good, right?”

  “Uh-huh.” She sank against him. “But I want you…in me.”

  He slid a finger inside her and rocked against her. “We’re out of condoms.”

  “Oh, oh, Gabe…so good. I’m dying here. Don’t worry about it, I’m on the pill.”

  He started to push into her and stopped, his balls aching from the sudden denial. He wanted her so badly that every muscle strained with it. Just this once, he wanted to throw caution to the wind, but Raylene was Logan’s sister. She was also too impetuous for her own good.

  “Shush.” He turned her onto her back, spread her legs wide, and crawled between them.

  She fisted the blankets with both hands as he covered her with his mouth, licking and sucking until she practically came off the bed.

  “Good?”

  She tried to say something and squeaked instead. His interpretation was that she was enjoying herself. Ditto, he thought as he reached up to fondle her breasts. She shuddered, her whole body quivering like he was rocking her world. And that right there made him come, too.

  She tipped her head back on the pillow and he slid up to kiss her on the lips. “Hopefully that worked for you.” He couldn’t help himself from flashing a cocky grin. “You ready for breakfast?”

  “I don’t know if I can move yet.”

  He rolled over to his side and ran his fingers through her hair. It was silky and looked sexy all rumpled and tangled.

  “Take a shower and I’ll strip the bed,” he said.

  “And you’ll make coffee, too?”

  “Sure.” She cocked her head to one side and he said, “What?”

  “Nothing, you’re just awfully accommodating.”

  What was the big deal? Both chores would take him less than five minutes. “That’s the way I roll, baby.”