Lindsay McKenna

by High Country Rebel

  “Where’s Cat?” he asked Gus.

  “She’s not feelin’ well,” she said, picking up the bowl of mashed potatoes that had large gobs of yellow butter floating in the center.

  Val leaned over Talon and handed him the bowl of steamed green beans with pearl onions and slivered almonds. “She had a really bad ambulance call today, Talon. When it happens, Cat needs some alone time.”

  Talon’s heart clenched. He took the bowl and thanked Val. She moved around the table, slid her hand across her grandmother’s small shoulders and squeezed her gently and then sat down next to Griff.

  He said nothing, noting the silent worry on all their faces. Generally, dinner was a happy, chatty affair. This time, they made some conversation but it was tense.

  *

  AFTER DINNER, VAL made up a dinner tray for Talon to take to Cat. The woman seemed to know how much he wanted to see her.

  “Just go down the hall, knock on her door.” Val gave him a warm look. “I’m pretty sure she’ll let you in.”

  As Talon nodded and took the tray down the hall he wondered if everyone knew he liked Cat. Seemed that way. He halted at her door and knocked gently.

  “Cat? It’s Talon.” His heart rate amped up. He was torn between worry and anxiety. He’d missed her so much the past two days, he’d been miserable. The work around the ranch kept him busy and took the edge off his loneliness, but it didn’t stop his heart from pining away for her.

  Cat opened the door. “Hey,” she murmured. “Sorry I didn’t join you for dinner.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Val said you might eat a little.” Talon held the tray forward. He didn’t like the look in Cat’s murky blue eyes. She seemed utterly devastated, her shoulders slumped.

  “I’m not really hungry, Talon. But come on in.” She stepped aside. His presence just automatically lifted her spirit and made her feel better.

  Talon entered her room, which was furnished exactly like his room. There was a flowery, tufted couch in one corner along with an overstuffed chair. “Where do you want the tray?” he asked.

  Cat shrugged. “Just put it on the dresser.”

  The pain in her eyes tore at him. He placed the tray on the dresser, watching as she pushed her fingers distractedly through her loose hair. He said to hell with it and walked over to her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders.

  “What happened?” he demanded in a low tone, searching her face. Inwardly, Talon groaned as tears glimmered in her eyes. “Talk to me,” he rasped.

  Cat tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her go. She was going to cry and she hated crying in front of anyone. The concerned look in Talon’s narrowed eyes, the set of his mouth, tore at her. All Cat wanted to do was be held. Talon was so tall and strong, quiet and calm compared to how she felt right now. Grief mixed with anger and frustration.

  “I—I don’t cry in front of others,” she whispered brokenly, turning away from his burning look.

  “I don’t, either,” he growled. “But sometimes it’s good to let someone who cares for you hold you, Cat.” His voice grew firm. “Let me at least do that for you.”

  Someone who cares for you. The words shocked her, warmed her. They scared the hell out of her. But his thickly spoken words beckoned to her, too. Cat was unable to sort through the avalanche of feelings that came simply because Talon was here. In front of her. His hands large and warm, comforting on her shoulders. Did he know he made her feel less alone? She could see his sincerity. Talon really did care about her.

  Finally, she surrendered. As soon as her cheek brushed the rough weave of his chambray shirt, she closed her eyes. His arms came around her, warm, comforting and strong, but not hurting. She felt him rest his chin gently against her head. This was exactly what she needed, she realized, her arms automatically sliding around his narrow waist. And then the hot tears spilled out of her eyes. Cat pressed her face into his chest, feeling the strength of his muscles beneath the fabric, felt them tense. The moment he slid his fingers through her hair, it broke her, because the gesture was one of him comforting her, not taking something away from her.

  Talon tried to prepare himself for Cat’s sobs. She clung to him as if she was in an emotional free fall, needing him as an anchor. Her face was pressed against his chest, the sounds tearing out of her ripping him up. He had absolutely no way to shield himself from Cat’s weeping. Talon’s mouth tightened, and he held her tightly, feeling her entire body shake with each deep, clawing sob. The sounds were filled with so much anguish that he cursed to himself. And yet, a new tenderness unfolded and flowed through Talon toward her. This wasn’t about sex. About wanting her in his bed, he discovered. It was about protecting Cat, supporting her when she was hurting. All of this was new to Talon. He knew that he’d move heaven and hell not to ever hear her sob like this again.

  Finally, the sobs lessened. Cat leaned heavily against Talon and he could feel her knees weakening as he took more of her weight. “Come on,” he whispered roughly against her ear. “Let’s sit you down.”

  Talon guided her over to the couch. He chose a corner and eased her down beside him. She clung to him, sniffing and hiccuping, her hand pressed against her face, as if ashamed she’d cried in front of him. Talon knew that one. Men never cried in front of anyone, either. Maybe out of embarrassment that someone would call them weak. As Cat nestled against him, Talon steeled himself. She was all curves against his angles, but she fit against him perfectly in every way. He felt his body harden, respond swiftly to the way she rested against him. Her breasts were pressed to the wall of his chest, her long, spare hand resting there, his skin smarting, tightening beneath her fingers. Jesus, did she realize what she was doing to him? No. Talon closed his eyes and slowly dragged in a breath, struggling to control his sexual reaction to Cat. She was seeking a safe harbor, not sex. Talon wanted her so badly. He was dying to feel her soft mouth beneath his. Trapped within so many emotions, her tears shattering him in ways he’d never had to deal with before, Talon gritted his teeth. He could feel the dampness of her spent tears on his shirt, his skin moist beneath the fabric. Tears of pain. He was so screwed.

  Sliding his fingers through her hair was a secret pleasure that made him throb. Talon hoped like hell Cat didn’t nestle closer, because she’d become very aware of his erection very quickly. Her hair tickled his jaw and chin. The scent of cinnamon. It reminded Talon of his mother’s kitchen as she baked an apple pie. He couldn’t help himself, finding deep enjoyment in his fingers as they moved across those silky ebony strands.

  Cat began to relax against him with each gentle stroke, as if he were taming a skittish, wild horse with his touch. A sudden realization humbled him. Cat trusted him. He kept up his light ministrations, his fingers brushing her shoulders and upper back.

  And then he did the unthinkable, driven by his need to heal her from whatever she’d just experienced. Talon pressed a light kiss on her hair, inhaling her scent. It drove him mad to kiss her again, this time, along her hairline. He wasn’t thinking. He was reacting emotionally, wanting to protect Cat, ease her pain. Sliding his hand beneath her jaw, he eased her chin upward until his mouth curved tentatively against her lips. He was lost. Driven. The sweetness of her lips, their natural lushness, overwhelmed his mind and Talon was hungry, wanting Cat in every way. He tasted the salt of her tears on her lips and it did something to his heart. Something good and clean, and then he was lost. So lost.

  Cat closed her eyes as Talon slid his mouth lightly across her lips in invitation. It seemed so right that she didn’t freeze or try to pull away. Talon’s male scent filled her, driving her to increase the pressure of her mouth against his. She’d wanted to kiss this man from the second she saw him. She heard him groan, his large, callused hand sliding against her jaw, holding her in place, his mouth deepening their unexpected but, oh, so wonderful kiss. Heat unraveled within her like a lava flow suddenly springing to life from deep within. As his mouth touched her, worshipping her lips, Cat quivered inwardly. Th
is man knew how to kiss. Her body erupted with fire, need and hunger. Dampness suddenly gathered slickly between her thighs. His mouth was coaxing, asking her to meet him halfway, to dance fearlessly, to take and give.

  Her world stopped spinning as she slid her hand up across his chest, fingers caressing his thick, corded neck. Cat inhaled his unique male fragrance, part sweat, part fresh evergreen and the rest cold Wyoming air. She’d never been kissed like this, the man asking her to participate, not just taking from her. His tongue moved skillfully with hers, creating electric jolts inside, tightening her breasts, making her nipples hard and needy. Her mind unraveled beneath his moist breath flowing across her nose and cheek, the roughness of his hand against her skin eliciting even more erotic sensations. Talon’s scalding kiss erased her grief. She found herself feeling her body as never before, as if he were awakening it with just his slow, deep exploration of her lips, her mouth. A gnawing ache built rapidly between her legs. Cat pressed her hips against his, and when her hip met the hardness of his erection, it didn’t scare her. Just the opposite.

  Talon dragged his mouth from hers, breathing unevenly. He opened his eyes, staring down into hers. God, she was just as hungry as he was. His brain wasn’t working, his body hard, painful and aching for her. He had to get a grip. Her face was flushed, and her eyes glistening with arousal damn near dissolved his control. Without thinking, he grazed her cheek, his thumb moving across that pouty lower lip of hers.

  “I—” His voice was rough. “I didn’t mean to kiss you, Cat. I’m sorry.” Friends didn’t kiss. Wasn’t that the argument he’d pitched to her a couple days ago because she was afraid of intimacy with a man? Afraid of men, period?

  Cat laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m not sorry,” she whispered unsteadily. Because she needed exactly what Talon had given. Right now, all she could do was feel her lower body behaving as if fireworks were going off within her. Talon’s kiss had opened up a treasure chest of sensations she’d never, ever experienced with any man. And she felt safe.

  “Neither am I,” he admitted thickly.

  “It’s okay,” Cat managed, her voice wispy. All she wanted was for this moment to never end. Talon was so tall, strong and caring. She felt weak. At least, emotionally. And he’d unerringly realized what would heal her. Even now, her mouth tingled in memory of his branding kiss. Cat had never experienced this kind of heat. Until now. Cat worried that maybe her body was different. Because of her childhood. Her fear of men. But her friends had reassured her that she was all woman and that the right man would make her feel exactly as she was feeling right now in Talon’s arms.

  Talon relaxed against the corner of the couch, gratefully absorbing Cat against him. He couldn’t stop touching her, feeling the silky strength of her hair sliding across his fingers, her hand soft against his chest, her palm over his thudding heart. She remained relaxed against him and he breathed a deep sigh of relief. His kiss hadn’t destroyed the new trust that was silently strung between them. His mind told him he shouldn’t have kissed her at all, but dammit, he had lived too long on his instincts. Kissing Cat was the most right thing in the world for her in that moment. He wanted to ease her tears, absorb her anguish.

  He didn’t know how long they lay in each other’s arms, time dissolving into only awareness of Cat’s softened breathing, the rise and fall of her breasts against his chest, her arm around his waist, content. Hell, he was equally content. For the first time in Talon’s life, he hadn’t made a move to get a woman into his bed. For whatever reasons, Cat was bringing out another side of him as a man. Contentment wasn’t something he’d necessarily equate with bed, woman and sex. Right now, it felt wonderful. And it was all Cat, he realized. Whatever magic resided from the moment he’d opened his eyes and seen her looking down at him with that caring blue gaze of hers, it had triggered openings into his heart that he’d never realized existed. Until now. Right now.

  Did he want to love Cat? Hell yes. But was it the right thing for her? Funny, Talon mused, that he was even considering what she needed versus his needs. Before, women had been plentiful at the Coronado base. He never wanted for female companionship. All he had to do was walk into one of the SEAL bars on Coronado Island, and there they were, eyeing him, telling him they wanted him in bed. It had been that easy.

  So what had changed? Maybe he had. Since the capture and torture. Hayden dying. Grief scored Talon as he thought of his best friend. And just as quickly, the warmth of the woman in his arms eased that anguish. Just her soft breath across his chest soothed his grief. Just her trust. Talon swallowed hard, caught up in such a foreign feeling. Cat brought out all of his protectiveness. All his need to care for her, make her happy, see her smile. He ached to see her lustrous blue eyes shining with joy. He wanted to make Cat happy. She came first in his life, not second.

  Cat stirred. She reluctantly eased from Talon’s arms and sat up, wiping the dampness from her cheeks. The silence weighed between them as she looked at Talon, really looked at him. His eyes were clear and he wasn’t hiding how he felt. At all. Her pulse quickened because she sensed his powerful protection and care and that, yes, he wanted her. No question. To her surprise, Cat wanted him just as much. Talon lifted his hand and moved it along her shoulders, a gesture of caring. Not sex.

  “How are you doing?” His voice was thick with emotions he still didn’t understand. A bolt of need went through him as she watched him. He knew in that instant he could take Cat to bed, love her, make her feel incredible pleasure. He could give her that gift. And God help him, he’d never wanted to pleasure a woman more than Cat. Her innocence felled him. Made him breathless.

  “Better,” Cat admitted softly. “You’re good medicine for me, Talon.” She reached out shyly, her fingertips barely grazing his sandpapery cheek. He’d shaved this morning, but his beard had grown enough to emphasize the hard lines of his face. It made him dangerous looking. Exciting. Frightening. Her body, however, was completely trusting of Talon, his mouth taking her lips with heat and promise, his touch upon her making her flesh contract and skitter with fire.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked her, tucking a few strands behind her ear. Talon couldn’t…didn’t…want to keep his hands off Cat. She was okay with his contact and, God knew, he wanted to touch her.

  Everywhere.

  Cat sat back, folding her hands in her lap. She stared down at them. “I’m just not used to talking about stuff.”

  He grunted. “Yeah, I know that one.”

  She eyed him coyly. “We’re a lot alike.”

  Talon nodded, moving his fingers across her shoulders. “Like Miss Gus would probably say—two peas from the same pod.”

  Cat chuckled, nervously knitting her fingers. “I’ve never cried in front of anyone until now.”

  His heart turned to mush. Powerful, aching new emotions flooded Talon as he held her unsure gaze, her eyes moist. “I don’t cry in front of anyone, either, if it makes you feel better.”

  “You want the truth?”

  Talon’s hand stilled on her shoulder, and his voice dropped with emotion. “I always want to know what you’re thinking, Cat.” He saw a flush move across her cheeks and she tucked her lower lip between her teeth for a moment. Heat soared through his lower body. He’d kissed that lush mouth of hers, tasted her inner sweetness, felt her shy, hot response.

  Cat forced herself to look at Talon because he deserved her courage, not her fear. “It felt good to be held by you… I felt safe.” And wonderfully kissed, but she couldn’t go there. At least, not yet. For Cat to even admit this was monumental.

  Talon lifted his arm away from her shoulders, sat up and turned toward her. He framed her face with his hands. “Babe, you deserve to be held, to be protected.” His voice grew husky. “There’s something good between us. And I want to explore it with you, Cat. At your pace. What feels right for you.” Because I need you. I need to crawl into your arms and be held when I have a bad nightmare. I know you can heal me. I know that i
n the depths of my miserable, fractured soul.

  Talon stared hard at her, saw the shock register in her Cat’s glistening eyes. At the same time, felt her warm, damp fingers curve around his forearms.

  “That’s more than being friends,” she managed in a choked voice.

  “Yeah, I know it. Are you game?”

  The words leaped of her mouth before Cat could even think. “I need time….”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  TALON KNEW HE had to be patient but couldn’t help feeling some disappointment over Cat’s response. She was going to think about them. He didn’t want to scare her off.

  Cat stood up, pacing the bedroom, turmoil in her eyes. He sat there forcing himself to understand that they had just kissed. Already, they were more than friends. And she’d kissed him back. That would definitely confuse her.

  “Can you tell me what happened out there today?” he asked.

  Cat turned and studied Talon. He seemed at peace with the fact that they’d kissed. Her whole body still felt hot and hungry. His gaze never left hers. He leaned forward, clasping his hands between his opened thighs. How could he look so calm, cool and collected after that life-altering kiss? She felt anything but! Licking her lower lip, Cat swore she could taste Talon on her mouth.

  “It was a bad rollover accident out on the main highway,” she muttered. “I have a real soft spot for children.” Her voice dropped to an aching whisper. “The husband was driving drunk. The wife was holding her two-year-old in the front seat when he drove off on the berm and the car flipped. None of them were wearing a seat belt. By the time we arrived, the mother was dead, the child dying.”

  She went to sit on the other end of the couch. Cat rested her elbows on her thighs, hands clasped. As she leaned forward, her black hair partially hid her profile from him, but there was no mistaking how she felt.