by Kim Redford
“I hate to say it, but no.” She rested her chin on her fist a moment, thinking. “Any ideas about who it might be?”
“I’ve racked my brain trying to pin the fires, the cut fence, the trouble on somebody, but I can’t do it.”
“What about Bert and his son?”
“Maybe,” Trey agreed. “But I don’t see how the tree fires and the cut fence have anything to do with them.”
“I admit it’s a stretch.”
Misty rubbed her hand up and down the condensation on her tea glass, hoping something—anything—helpful would come to mind.
“Guess we might as well table it for tonight.”
She nodded in agreement. “I’m glad you’re going to post guards here. I can’t stand the idea of more trouble. There’re these beautiful homes. And your wonderful cattle.”
“You like the cows?”
She glanced up at his face, warming to his expectant expression. “You know I couldn’t resist kidding you. Bessie and the Bessiettes are the greatest.”
He threw back his head and laughed long and hard. “Now you’ve turned them into a rock band.”
“I bet they could do it.”
“Not another word about the cows. I can’t take it.” He stood up, still chuckling at her words. “Let’s carry Slade’s wine to the sofa. We can watch night fall over the ranch.”
“Perfect.” She looked up at Trey, drinking in every little thing about him. “Why don’t I put the dishes in the dishwasher while you pour our wine?”
“Deal.”
A little later, she heard soft Christmas music as he turned on his surround-sound system. She dried her hands and swiveled to look. Only the Christmas tree lights illuminated the room in soft colors. He’d set two wineglasses on the coffee table. Now he stood thoughtfully gazing out the windows, a long, tall Texan surveying his expansive domain.
She felt her breath catch in her throat. When had he come to mean so much to her? How could it have happened so fast? She hardly dared think “love.” And yet, that’s where her heart was leading her.
Trey had everything he needed in life. What would he want with a city gal who knew nothing about cattle or horses or ranches? She had a pair of red cowgirl boots as her one claim to that life. Yes, they could enjoy a fling, but he was teaching her to want so much more than she’d ever dared to hope for in life. And now she wanted him. Forever and always.
She felt like she was wishing on a star. Sadness washed over her. She wasn’t in Wildcat Bluff to find love. She was here to do a job—one that had turned out to be more important to the locals than she could have imagined when she’d arrived in town. She needed to keep her mind on business. Yet Trey beckoned to her with wine and so much more.
“Penny for your thoughts.” He glanced back at her as the last rays of the fading sun turned him into a dark silhouette.
She tried to plaster a smile on her face, but she wasn’t sure how far she succeeded in looking happy again.
“Come over here.” He held out a hand to her. “I’m lonely.”
She didn’t say it, but she was lonely for him before he was even gone from her life. They’d been born too far apart in too many ways to ever bridge the gap. Yet he’d made her giddy with happiness and she wanted to keep that feeling forever.
She walked over to him and he wrapped a warm arm around her waist, snuggling her against the length of him. He smelled of cinnamon, citrus, and his own unique compelling scent.
She laid her head against his broad shoulder and watched the sunset, savoring the specialness of the fleeting moment. Magenta, crimson, and orange streaked across the deep blue sky. Longing burned so brightly in her that she felt tears sting her eyes.
“Do you think you could be happy in a place like this? I mean, outside the city.” He stroked her waist with long fingers.
She caught her breath. How could he tantalize her with fabulous sex, endearing family, fascinating friends, and a beautiful home? After Christmas, he’d snatch it all away. She’d be left with what would now seem like a lonely life in an uncaring city teeming with millions of strangers. Of course, she had plenty of friends and acquaintances in Dallas. Cindi Lou was there. Her business was there. Memories were there. But Trey wouldn’t be there and that now made all the difference in the world.
“You don’t have to answer. I know what you’re going to say.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah. You’d be bored here in five minutes flat.”
She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “You’re so wrong.”
“Am I?”
“You’re here.”
“And?”
She hesitated—and took a chance on love. “What more could I possibly want?”
Chapter 33
Trey felt a great tenderness wash over him. He crushed Misty against his chest, stroking down her back with hands gone hot. He molded her to the length of him as night slowly fell across the ranch and wrapped them in a soft cocoon of gray shadows. He felt as if no one else existed except the two of them in this time and place of new beginnings.
He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before he tilted up her face so he could look into her luminous eyes. She glowed in the soft, colorful lights of the Christmas tree, as if she truly were an angel come to Earth.
“Do you know how happy you make me?” His voice sounded low and raspy as if he’d delved deep into his soul to bring this message to her.
“Tell me.” She pressed a fingertip to the corner of his mouth as if to encourage him.
Yet no words came to him. Only feelings. He kissed her fingertips, and then placed her hand over his heart so she could feel the fast beat of his desire, the solid strength of his intent, the enduring quality of his love.
She answered him with no words. She clasped his hand and moved it from his heart to her heart. And he could feel the strong, steady beat beneath his palm—a heart that beat for him alone.
Still, he didn’t want her here under false pretenses so that she grew disillusioned with him later. It’d been so fast—their coming together—that nothing seemed quite real and yet nothing had ever seemed so real. He forced words to form in his mind and he pushed them out through reluctant lips. “You know I’m tied to my ancestral land.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Do you truly like it here?”
She reached up and softly cradled his cheek with the soft palm of her hand. “I feel as if I’ve come home.”
“But is this enough for you?”
She gazed at him with green eyes as bright as a Christmas ornament. “You’re all I need, all I want, all I desire.”
And her words were his undoing.
He kissed her, all gentleness gone in the sudden surge of heat and need that rocked him to his core. He nibbled her lips, feasting on her as he slipped inside her soft mouth to delve deep as she returned his kiss with her own urgent fervor. He couldn’t get close enough even as he wrapped her in his arms and felt her hands clasp his neck, then his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin through his T-shirt. He growled deep in his throat as he stroked downward and grasped her butt in his hands and pulled her against his hardness.
Now that she’d unleashed him, he felt as wild as a rampaging bull. He wanted more—everything she could give him. He left her mouth to trail hot kisses across her jaw to the sensitive whorls of her ear, then down her long neck, stopping to feel the fast beat of her pulse. He growled in frustration when he reached her clothes, but he remembered she wore a Western shirt. He pulled, and—snap, snap, snap—the buttons came undone. He tossed the shirt aside and pressed hot kisses to her bare flesh made festive in the lights of the Christmas tree.
He grinned in pleasure at the sight, knowing he probably looked half feral, because she backed up several steps toward the sofa. Then again, she was giving him a come-hither look that made a
blaze spread out from his chest and kick into an inferno that turned him even harder with desire.
He couldn’t wait another second. He surged forward, grabbed her around the waist, and toppled her backward onto the sofa as he planted his legs between her spread thighs. Heat burst between them like a match set to kindling as he pressed her into the soft cushions.
She tugged on his T-shirt and he jerked it up, over his head, and threw it on the floor. She helped him get rid of her bra. And then they were flesh to flesh. He could feel her breasts against his chest. And still it wasn’t enough. He lifted his torso and looked down at her. She lay bare to him, all satin and silken skin in the lights of the Christmas tree. He stroked her pink nipples into hard buds, and then followed his fingertips with his lips till she moaned and clasped his shoulders, drawing him closer to her.
He grew urgent as he pushed between her thighs, feeling desperate to join them by burying himself in her hot, moist core. But their jeans separated them and he groaned in frustration as he kissed and licked and nibbled down to her belly button, where he teased her sensitive flesh. She moaned again and clutched him closer, raising her hips so that she rubbed against his hardness.
He captured her lips again, feeling their plumpness, knowing they were swollen from their desperate kisses. Once more he thrust deep into her mouth, teasing and tormenting, as he felt her naked breasts soft and plump against his chest. He raised his head and looked into her green eyes so he could watch her expression as he held her in a tight embrace and pushed against her, setting a rhythm that had her writhing up against him.
“Trey, I need you—now.” She moaned as she closed her eyes and dug her fingernails into his naked back.
He gave her a quick kiss, then pushed back and stood up. He racked his brain for the location of the nearest condom. He might have left a box in the downstairs bath, but it’d been so long since he’d needed one that he wasn’t sure anymore. He quickly walked into the bath, found a half-empty box in a drawer, pulled out several condoms, and hurried back.
When he reached the sofa, he stopped in surprise. She hadn’t waited for him. She’d taken off her jeans, set them aside, and now sat on his Frosty the Snowman blanket like the most beautiful of models. If he’d been hot before, now he felt like a flaming torch.
She smiled up at him, glanced down at his jeans, and pursed her lips in disapproval, but still beckoned him closer.
He couldn’t shuck his jeans fast enough. He kicked them aside, feeling hard as a rock, and quickly slipped on a condom.
And then he hesitated—watching her watch him with eyes darkened by desire—as he savored the sheer pleasure of the moment. Only a few days ago he’d been alone, not knowing that he was missing a big chunk of his life till he’d flagged down his Christmas angel on Wildcat Road. Now he couldn’t imagine life without her.
With that thought, his control snapped. He dove for Misty, tumbled her onto her back, and ended up in the place he most wanted to be—wedged between her long, tantalizing legs.
“Oh, Trey,” she moaned. “Please don’t make me wait any longer.”
He pressed a soft kiss to her lips as he held her close. When she lifted her hips, he pushed into her hot depths. And knew he’d come home.
Quickly, he set the ancient rhythm. She set the blazing fire. And they moved ever closer to ecstasy as they shared their spiraling passion together.
Then she was coming apart in his arms—and he eagerly joined her.
Chapter 34
“I don’t like leaving you here alone for the night.” Trey stopped his pickup in front of Twin Oaks under twinkling Christmas lights.
“I won’t be alone and I’ll be fine.” She put her hand on his thigh and felt his hard muscles contract under her touch. She thrilled at his response. They’d shared so much only a few hours ago that she still felt slightly giddy.
“You could stay with me.” His voice held more than a hint of stubbornness.
“My stuff’s here.”
“Stuff can be transferred.”
“You want me to move in with you after only a few days together?” She chuckled to try and lighten the mood.
“I’m worried about you.” He slanted a glance at her.
She felt captured by his gaze. She didn’t want to leave him. Once separated, she feared they might lose the bridge they’d built between them. Still, she had to trust their connection was strong, not fragile.
“Misty, you’ve undone me.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “If anything happened to you—”
“I feel the same. But we’ve got a situation on our hands.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he grumbled.
When she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, she pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID. “It’s important.” She looked at Trey. “Texas Timber.”
He nodded in understanding.
“Hey, Audrey. How are you?”
“I’m okay, but I’ve been better,” Audrey said in a muted voice.
Misty sat up straighter. “What gives? Thought I’d call you first thing in the morning about the fire since there might be more news then. But I can talk now, too.”
She glanced at Trey and held a fingertip to her lips to indicate for him to be quiet. She put her cell on speakerphone so he could listen in on the conversation.
“Misty, I’m sorry,” Audrey said in her West Texas twang. “I called as soon as I found out.”
“Bad news?”
“Yes. I swear I didn’t know till a moment ago. And I only found out from a friend of mine, so I got it through the back door.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Texas Timber may not be the only player in Wildcat Bluff.”
“And that means?” Misty kept her voice neutral, although she was getting a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.
“National Timber is trying to acquire Texas Timber. Hostile takeover isn’t off the table.”
“But that’s vital information I should’ve had from the get-go.”
“I agree,” Audrey said. “Still, you can imagine how anxious they are not to have that information leaked by anyone.”
“But they hired me as their troubleshooter. Why wouldn’t they give me all the facts?” Misty rolled her eyes in exasperation at Trey. “Guess that explains why they were so anxious to get me here before Christmas to solve this issue before they had bigger problems.”
“You know corporate think,” Audrey said. “Need-to-know basis.”
“Bottom line.” Misty clenched her fist. “Are we looking at two separate culprits? Even worse, can I trust Texas Timber now? Are they causing problems, or is it all National Timber?”
Audrey grew quiet a moment. “I don’t think my company is at fault here. But I’m guessing they’d be real happy if you’d catch the corporate saboteurs and solve two problems at once. Sabotage would take National Timber’s play permanently off the table.”
“I see,” Misty said. “They’re counting on me to catch the arsonists and expose National Timber without knowing in advance the real situation.”
“That’s right,” Audrey agreed. “And you’d better play your hand that way or you’ll expose me.”
“What if it isn’t National Timber?” Misty glanced at Trey.
“Then we’ve got a big problem,” Audrey said.
“We’ve already got one.” Misty kept a lid on her temper, but it wasn’t easy. “Maybe I ought to call Cindi Lou and ask her to break my contract with Texas Timber right this very minute.”
“Please don’t. It could cost me my job,” Audrey pleaded. “I shouldn’t have told you any of this, but I didn’t want you in more danger than necessary.”
Trey put a hand on Misty’s arm and shook his head in the negative.
She nodded to let him know she wouldn’t abandon Wildcat Bluff, but she w
as mad about not getting all the information she needed to do her job right. “Okay. I won’t pull out yet.”
“Thank you,” Audrey said. “You’re the best.”
“I’ll let Cindi Lou know. She’s not going to be happy.”
“Would you tell her it’s not my fault?” Audrey asked.
“She won’t hold it against you, but Texas Timber is another matter.”
“Just find the saboteurs fast.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Thanks,” Audrey said. “And good luck.”
“Bye.” Misty clicked off her phone and glanced at Trey.
He looked disgusted with the situation. “You think the whole ball of wax is as simple as National Timber?”
“If I’d only known from the first—”
“I figure if National Timber wants to buy Texas Timber, they likely want to buy my ranch, too. Sabotage. If it’s good for the goose, it’s good for the gander.”
“Makes sense.” She glanced out the window at Big John, letting her mind wander over possibilities, and then she looked back. “But what if it’s not National Timber? And even if it is, how do we catch the corporate saboteurs? They’ve been one step ahead of us all the way.”
“Not anymore,” Trey said. “We’re on to them now.”
“You’re right.” She smiled, feeling her confidence soar. “We’ve got a leg up. We’ll win. And when we do, I’ll get my troubleshooter fee.”
“With those big bucks, maybe you’ll take me on an Alaskan cruise where I can see lots of snow.”
“Hah! With those little bucks, maybe I’ll take you to see the Goodnight buffalo herd in the Panhandle.”
“That’ll work, too.”
As they laughed together, she felt most of her tension ease away. She’d try to get a line on the saboteurs before Christmas in the Country with the chili cook-off and all the other festivities.
“As long as we’re here, why don’t we slip up to your room?” Trey squeezed her hand. “Bet it’s got a good bed.”
