by Tessa Layne
He raised an eyebrow, smirking. “You seemed to enjoy it a few minutes ago.”
Her cheeks flamed. “Of course I enjoyed it. That’s not the point. Do you know how many people I can save if I get this promotion? How I’ll be able to affect policy and early warning systems on a national level?”
That sparked a fire in him. How dare she throw that at him after he’d pulled them from harm’s way? Why was she pushing him away when he’d protected her?
“You know what? It was your obsession with saving lives that ruined us. Did you ever stop to think about the collateral damage that goes along with your crusade to save every stranger in the world?”
Her face twisted and her eyes narrowed to two glittery points. “Oh, don’t you put that on me, Mr. Family Loyalty Above Everything Else.” She snapped, hands fisting at her hips. “I’m trying to make sure you have a family.”
“What do you know about family loyalty?” he shouted. “You ditched everyone who loved you as soon as it got tough.”
“Don’t you dare bring that back up. You made it perfectly clear when we were younger that if I couldn’t ‘hang with the fam’,” she quoted with her fingers, “that I wasn’t the girl for you.”
He stepped back, reeling from her words. “What do you mean? I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to. It’s obvious to pretty much everyone that your family is your life. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to let Eddie boss me around the way you let him boss you around.”
A white hot flame of anger licked through him, and his body tensed. “Don’t you think that’s a bit like the pot calling the kettle black?” he kept his voice quiet and even. “You’re the one quaking in your boots over Forte. No one’s going to fire me for who I have sex with.”
Her head snapped back as if she’d been slapped. But then she paced over to him, eyes flashing and poked him in the chest. “I have a job to do, and I’m here to do it. Brilliantly. This,” she waved between them, “is a distraction. A very nice distraction, but a distraction nonetheless. I can’t – I won’t – let emotions get in the way. Emotions on the job do nothing but cloud judgment, and that costs lives.”
So he was nothing but a distraction, huh? That offended him to his core. He ground his teeth together as he stared down at her. She stood there in front of him, vibrating with indignation. And then the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. “That’s a very nice speech, Dr. Cooper, but you’re full of shit. The whole reason you’re in this field is because of emotion.” He crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels, triumphant at his razor sharp assessment. “Look me in the eye and tell me it’s not.”
She grimaced, but held her ground. “I don’t expect you to understand. You’ve always had a safety net… a family.” She set her jaw and stared at him hard, eyes boring straight into him. “I pray to God you never lose one of them in a way that’s preventable.”
The weight in her voice was fearsome. Full of pent up emotion that matched his own.
She spun on her heel and marched to the car, stopping to pick up the control box where she’d dropped it earlier.
It was going to be a long ride back to the ranch.
CHAPTER 14
Haley paced the bunkhouse, weather report in hand, rehashing the previous afternoon as the bright morning sun streamed through the windows. The tornado she’d nearly intercepted had been classified EF-1. It had ripped off a barn roof, tossed a trailer, and taken down a bunch of tree limbs, but no one had been injured. Thank heaven. In every other respect, yesterday afternoon had been a total clusterfuck. Between the loss of her equipment and whatever was going on between her and Axel, she was more nervous than ever about her possible promotion. Why couldn’t Axel see how important it was for her to be able to do her job well?
Why did he have to be so damned irresistible?
The way he’d picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, had gotten in her face about her safety? Damned hot. And when they’d kissed in the aftermath… holy hot mama, Batman. His kiss had incinerated her. Made her lose her mind. That was the only explanation for why they’d had hot, angry sex in a ditch. Axe made every last cell in her body melt and fuse together. He’d turned her into some kind of a depraved sex zombie.
How in the hell was she supposed to concentrate in dangerous situations when he went all caveman? Maybe she needed to fire him. She’d have to ask if Cissy’s brother, Darwin, was still in town. Darwin, at least, didn’t set her body vibrating in the heat of the moment the way Axel did.
She ran a hand through her hair, trying to screw up the courage to call Forte. He would not be pleased to know his drone was unflyable. At least she’d deployed the probes. Hopefully the pick-up team had located them by now and had uploaded the data.
She could spend the day collecting her instruments. They’d at least done their job. The supercell they’d intercepted yesterday afternoon had eventually merged with another and had become a line of thunderstorms with straight-line winds as it passed through Prairie. And there was still plenty of work to be completed while she waited for a new drone and more probes – weather balloons, surface readings, scouting for the other teams to her north and south.
Haley pulled in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. She couldn’t put off the call any longer. Slowly, she walked to the small table and grabbed her phone, dialing his number.
“Forte here,” he answered on the second ring.
“It’s Cooper, do you have a minute?”
“How’re things on the ranch? They treating you well?”
Yeah. The sex is great. “Fine, fine, thanks.”
“I understand you intercepted a storm yesterday.”
“Yes. I did. Actually that’s why–”
“I want details.” His voice grew eager and excited. Sometimes Haley got the feeling that Zack Forte only developed CPARC because he thought chasing tornadoes was just some giant game. Like he was a gladiator and Mother Nature was the beast. Mother Nature was a beast, undoubtedly. But Forte didn’t get that while they might make a little headway – win a battle or two – Mother Nature was ruthless and would win. Every damned time. Whenever they had a small victory, like deploying the probes yesterday, it was a lucky break in the fight to keep humanity safe.
“We intercepted,” she spoke slowly, searching for the right words. “We… ah, ran into some complications, though.”
Forte immediately grew terse. “What do you mean, complications?”
Like having angry, animal sex with my driver after a near miss? She swallowed hard, trying to calm the sudden heart-rate spike that accompanied her vision of them going at it in the ditch. “I was nearly run over by two recreational chase vehicles while I was piloting the drone. As a result, I dropped the control box, and the drone crashed.”
After a long silence, Forte spoke, his voice flat. “I see. Damages?”
“Crushed nose, broken port wing.”
His answer was a grunt of aggravation.
“I deployed all three parachute sensors into the storm though. The pick-up team should already have the data.” Hopefully that would ease the blow? “I’ve already contacted the Doppler on Wheels team with its location. They should be able to get it back to you this afternoon for repairs.”
“I’ll need a full incident report sent to me by noon. I want to know everything that happened.”
Sure. Except for the sex. That wouldn’t be going into any report. “You’ll have it in twenty minutes, sir. I completed it last night.”
“Is there anything else?”
Great. She was being dismissed. Her heart sank. Did this mean she was out of the running for the Field Director position? She never should have let Axel distract her the way he had. Never should have given in to her attraction to him. Whether she liked it or not, the whole debacle was her fault. She had no one to blame for these mistakes but herself. If she hadn’t been so bent on impressing Axe, or if she’d been more aware of her surroundings, she’d have noticed the chase vehi
cles. She’d have been able to step out of the way, land the plane and safely deploy the intercept probe. Haley let out a frustrated sigh. She would just have to do better.
“No. No, sir. There’s nothing else.”
“Fine, then. See that you don’t cost us any more money. Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
Did he have to be so condescending? The man shit money and probably used Ben Franklins to wipe his ass. “Yes, sir. I know, sir.”
She disconnected and sank into the chair with a thud. Then slapped the table. “Dammit.”
The truth was, she and Axel made a decent team. Maybe not when he went all caveman, but in general. Where the youthful Axe had been fun and sweet, the mature Axe was all that and more. Intelligent, interested, and way too sexy for his own good. For her own good.
There had been moments yesterday and the night before, where she could feel herself softening. Like the hard knot of worry and sadness that had been her constant companion for as long as she could remember, unwound a little bit. It scared her. Walking away from Axel ten years ago had nearly destroyed her, and she carried the ache and regret like a lead weight around her neck. If she became involved with him again… let herself fall for him again… how could she walk away a second time?
Haley drummed a fingernail on the table. The frustrating part was that she wanted to fall for him again. Wanted to lose herself in his embrace, in his orbit. But just a little bit. Only she knew from experience there was no doing anything just a little bit with Axe. With him, it was all or nothing.
The door of the bunkhouse burst open, sending Haley’s heart to her throat.
“Haley Cooper, why haven’t you come by to say hello?” Axel’s little sister, all grown up now and looking radiantly happy, stood before her, mock anger on her face, and excitement in her eyes.
Haley stood, warmth rushing through her, and crossed the space in two steps. “Hope.” She squeezed the young woman in a fierce hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
Hope had been a teenager the last time Haley had seen her. Haley had always admired her independent spirit and had always been a little bit envious of the way Axel and Gunnar had looked out for her. Sure, they teased her unmercifully at times, and Haley had even sided with Hope on a few occasions when the boys had gone too far. But Haley had always understood that Axel and Gunnar would move heaven and earth for Hope.
A twinge of longing fisted in Haley’s middle. She’d always wondered what it would be like to feel that secure, that confident that someone always had your back. But no use going down the ‘what-ifs’ road. It would only give her a bellyache.
Haley stepped back and waved Hope into a chair at the little table. “So I understand from Millie and Emmaline you got married?”
Hope smiled happily and waved her left hand. “At Christmas.”
“I’m so happy for you,” she said sincerely. “I can see it agrees with you.”
“It does. Ben is…” She sighed dreamily. “Everything I could have imagined. But I’m not here for girl talk.” Hope’s eyes gleamed mischievously.
“Oh?”
“I owe Axe a little payback. I’ve been waiting a long time to bring Axe to his knees, and I want you to help me. You in?”
Oh.
These Hansen siblings and their pranks. It surprised Haley they hadn’t outgrown their desire to one-up each other. In years past, she’d always been an outsider looking in. Sure, she’d seen some of the pranks in action, but she’d never been invited to help.
Part of her thrilled at being asked. Like she finally belonged. And as long as it wouldn’t hurt Axe, she’d be game. He could stand to endure a little good-natured public humiliation. Lord knows, he’d dealt enough of it out over the years. This could be just the type of distraction she needed. Something fun to keep her mind off her mess up with Forte and her mixed up feelings about Axe.
“Oh, I’m in.” She grinned across the table at Hope. “What do you have in mind?”
CHAPTER 15
Haley’s first opportunity to help Hope execute her plan came later that afternoon. All she needed to do was flirt with Axel every chance she got over the next three days. Hope would take care of everything else.
Haley had to admit, she was looking forward to this. She’d never been good at flirting. She’d met Axe at the end of her freshman year in college, and they’d paired up almost instantly. The next few years had been spoken for. After that, it had been study hard, work harder, which didn’t leave time for things like perfecting flirting.
Once she’d filed her reports and completed inventory check, she was ready. The weather was even cooperating. No storms forecast for another four to five days.
Normally, on the rare occasions at home when she had time to kill, she’d have pulled a research paper to read. But with the plan in motion, she went looking for Axe. She didn’t have far to go. He was out in the paddock working with his interns. This time, Hope was with him, introducing the students to natural horsemanship techniques. She climbed up on the bottom rung and slung her arms over the top. It was fascinating to watch. By the end of the session, each student had managed to invite a horse to follow them around the arena without using a lead rope. Haley noticed that the students who relaxed earliest had the most success. That made sense. If they were at ease with themselves, the horse was at ease with them too.
Her regard for Axel grew too, as she watched him move with confidence among the students, offering a word of encouragement here, a gentle correction there. She liked seeing him in his element. For all his shenanigans, Axel was kind hearted and gentle when it was required. And he seemed to have a natural instinct for which student needed what approach. If only she’d had an adult like that in her life when she’d been that age, maybe she could have saved them both years of heartache.
But Axe’s demeanor alone wasn’t responsible for launching the butterflies in her stomach. He moved with a sureness and confidence that commanded attention. And although his face was somewhat obscured by his straw cowboy hat and aviator lenses, she never had trouble following where he focused his attention.
In fact, the more she watched him, the more enchanted she became. Today, Axe wore a black tee which clung to him in the afternoon heat. His jeans hugged his ass perfectly. And when he walked, she could see his thighs contracting, rock-hard beneath the worn denim.
At one point, he hunkered down, drawing a picture in the dirt for his students. The muscles in his back bunched and rippled as he gestured, pulling the black cotton tight. Her body responded with a long, slow pull, that settled between her legs. Her fingers twitched as she longed to run her palms down his torso. Soak in his heat. Knead and press until he groaned and flipped under her so she could do the same thing to his front. Her pussy clenched as a hot lick of desire snaked up her legs and took up residence in her clit.
“Like what you see?” The cocky knowing in his voice dragged her attention back to the man who now stood in front of her, grinning smugly.
She’d been so lost in her fantasy that she hadn’t noticed him rise and cross the arena. Well, she had, but it hadn’t registered. She’d been too involved in removing his shirt with her eyes.
“You think you’re all that, huh?”
“You pretty much told me that over and over again the other night.”
Even though Axel’s eyes were obscured by sunglasses, she felt his gaze slide over her, and her nerve endings zinged to attention.
“Hmm… I don’t recall.” Her stomach tap danced up her insides. Okay, if this was flirting, it was fun.
“I’d be happy to refresh your memory.”
Haley’s mouth went dry at the myriad of ways he could refresh her memory. Her brain buzzed so hard that for a moment, her fingertips went tingly. His words caressed her with the same sureness that his hands had the other night. And she was just as turned on. She bit her lip to keep from groaning aloud. His quick hiss grabbed her attention. So he liked it when she bit her lip, huh? She slowly rolled her lips together, the
n swiped her tongue out, wetting both top and bottom.
“Coop.” Was it her imagination, or was there a quaver in his voice?
“Mhmm?” She slid her thumb along her bottom lip, smoothing it.
“I mean it.” His voice held a note of warning.
“Sorry,” she grinned at him when she couldn’t stand it anymore. “Girls’ night tonight.”
She swore she saw him deflate the tiniest bit.
“Tomorrow, then,” he offered.
The hardest thing she did was to hop off the paddock fencing. When she landed, she dusted her pants and shrugged, then turned and walked away, being sure to put an extra sway in her step. “We’ll see,” she tossed over her shoulder.
She swore she heard him curse under his breath as she walked away. Maybe there was something to this flirting thing after all.
Hope cornered her a few hours later at girl’s night. Haley had been under the impression that when Millie and Emmaline had suggested “girls’ night,” it would be the three of them, a bottle of wine, and a movie. It turned out that “girls’ night” meant bunco night for the ladies’ group, The Prairie Posse. The posse was made up mostly of older women in Prairie, namely Dottie, who owned the diner, Gloria McPherson who was the organist at the Lutheran church, and Axel’s mom, Martha. A younger group had also formed. Millie and Emmaline were the leaders, but Hope was also there tonight.
At first, Haley felt awkward being there. Even though she’d dated Axel through college, she’d never felt very close to Martha. Martha was the quintessential rancher’s wife – caring for house and home, always making sure that the men in her life were supported and well fed. Haley had always been a bit intimidated by her.
