by Leah Brooke
Anxious to find out what had happened in his absence, he bit back a curse. “Mom, I have to go. Lana and I are still getting to know each other. She’s scared and still skittish. Don’t push it. I mean it, Mom. Stay out of my love life. I have work to do. John’s waiting for me. I’ll talk to you soon.”
He jabbed the button to disconnect, making a mental note to ask Lana if her parents were asking questions about their living arrangements.
She’d been innocent, and he didn’t want her feeling uncomfortable about having him spend the night.
Something had to give, and soon.
With a sinking feeling in his stomach, J.W. got out of the truck and strode to the porch. “What happened?”
John stood and followed J.W. inside. “We had a small fire last night.”
Ice settled in the pit of J.W.’s stomach. “You should have called me. Where? How bad?”
“Tack room.” Following J.W. to the kitchen, he nodded at Alice, who rushed to pour each of them coffee. “I took care of it. I did what you asked and doubled the men on guard but tripled the number of men close to the house and outbuildings. One of the men smelled smoke and caught it in time. There wasn’t much damage, but we’ll have to make repairs to the building and replace some tack. I’m sorry, J.W.”
“It’s not your fault.” Accepting the coffee from Alice, J.W. blew out a breath. “This is pissing me off. I need to be here.”
The last two times John had met him when he’d come home from Lana’s apartment, there’d also been trouble. Another fence cutting and a stolen truck.
John shrugged. “I didn’t want to call and bother you. We handled it, but it seems the Avery brothers are getting more and more brazen. A couple of the other men caught them trying to break in here. They ran them off in time, but you’re gonna have to get the back door replaced.”
Furious, J.W. set his coffee aside with a thud. “I don’t want them run off. I want them caught. I want to get my hands on them.”
John blew out a breath, his features tight with anger. “They tried, J.W., but the Avery brothers took off.” Getting to his feet, he sighed again. “I’ve got men on different shifts to keep an eye on things. The Avery brothers are showing up at night, so I’ve got as many men on at night as I do in the daytime.”
“Hire more. Anything else?” Seeing the flicker of fear in Alice’s eyes, J.W. led John into his study.
As his foreman went over several other matters that needed his attention, J.W. couldn’t stop thinking about the talk he’d have to have with Lana.
Staying at her apartment was no longer an option.
He needed to be here, and he sure as hell couldn’t leave her alone.
Hell, he probably couldn’t sleep without her anymore.
She’d become more to him than he’d ever imagined in the weeks they’d spent together, and he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to have her live with him.
As John rose to leave, J.W. got to his feet as well. “I’ll be out as soon as I make a few phone calls. Have my horse saddled. I want to have a look around.” He picked up the phone and started to dial to order the tack John had told him they’d lost and the material to repair the tack building.
“Will do.” After opening one of the French doors, John paused and turned back. “The men are getting curious about your girlfriend. They’ve all noticed that you’re out all night. You’ve never done that before, and it’s been every night for over two weeks.”
J.W. stiffened, shooting his foreman an angry glare. “It’s none of anyone’s business. I won’t have the men—anyone—gossiping about Lana. Anyone who does will answer to me personally.”
John nodded once, smiling faintly. “I’ll make that real clear.”
After ordering the supplies he needed, he dialed Lana’s number.
“Hello?”
The sound of her voice made his cock stir.
Smiling, he perched on the edge of his desk, remembering the warm feel of her naked in his arms and their slow lovemaking that morning. “Hi, baby. How do you feel?”
“Incredible.”
Filled with male satisfaction, J.W. smiled. “I’m glad. Did I make you feel good enough that I can ask for a favor?”
“Hmm. Sounds interesting, especially since you’re calling only an hour and a half after leaving my bed. What kind of favor do you have in mind, cowboy?”
“I want you to move in with me.”
A pregnant silence followed. “J.W., we already talked—”
“And I gave in to you because I knew you were scared and didn’t know me that well. I think you know by now that you can trust me. I’ve got some problems here, and I can’t leave.”
“What kind of problems?”
“There was a fire last night.”
“Oh God! And you didn’t get a phone call?”
“John didn’t call me because he knows I don’t want calls when I’m with you.”
“Why not?”
“So you can sleep, baby. I don’t want the phone waking you up. The point is, I need to be here, but I can’t leave you alone.”
“J.W., I can’t move in with you just because—”
“Lana, damn it, my hands are tied here. I’ve been patient. You’ve got to give a little, too.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, desperate to get through to her. “Baby, I don’t think I could even sleep if I knew you were there alone. Plus, you keep my bed warm.”
She didn’t answer right away, frustrating J.W.
Fisting his hand at his side, he rose and started to speak, snapping his mouth closed again when she finally answered.
“Just for a few nights. But I want you to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“I want you to tell me when you want me to leave or if I’ve overstepped my bounds. I don’t want to cause any trouble for you.”
Grinning, J.W. unclenched his fist. “You give me trouble all the time by not being here. Alice has been nagging me because she thinks I don’t like her cooking anymore. I’ll have her fix something tonight. That’ll get her off my back. I’ll expect you before dinner then.”
“Okay. I have some things to do here, and I’ll have to let my parents know where I’ll be.”
“Are they giving you any trouble about me spending the night?”
“Not in the way you think.”
J.W. stilled. “Oh? What does that mean?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you later. Uh, J.W.?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“You’re not going to make me ride a horse, are you?”
Grinning, J.W. stepped out onto the patio, his smile falling when he saw the results of the fire. “No. Not yet. I know you’re scared of them, and I’d like to get you on one, but I don’t want to take any chances.”
“Chances? Are you afraid I’ll steal one of your horses?”
“No, baby. I’m scared you’ll fall off, and we don’t know yet if you’re carrying my baby. We should know soon, huh?”
Smiling at her gasp, J.W. realized just how much he wanted her to be pregnant. “You forget about that, darlin’?”
“Yes. I mean, no. I mean—”
Laughing, J.W. shook his head. “We’ll talk about it tonight. See you later, baby.” Walking back inside, he lowered his voice. “Tonight we’ll be making love in my bed.”
“You have anything special in mind?”
J.W. smiled again, delighted with her on too many levels to count. He heard the vacuum upstairs and knew Alice couldn’t overhear him. “Maybe, if you’re good, I’ll take that ass you’ve been daring me to take for the last week.”
Lana gasped again then ruined it by giggling, something she did more and more often. “I haven’t dared anything.”
“You’ve been wiggling it at me and pumping your hips every time I slide my finger inside you.”
“J.W.! I have not!”
Lowering his voice again, he chuckled again. “You’re such a little liar. Maybe I should sp
ank you first for lying to me.” Just the thought of it had his cock stirring, her sharp intake of breath rousing it to life. “Yep. Just as I thought. You’re dying to get fucked in the ass, baby.”
“I thought I was too delicate for rough sex.”
The sarcasm dripping from her voice pleased him immensely—proof of her growing confidence with him.
“I didn’t say anything about rough, baby. We’ll go real slow. I want my cock inside you as long as possible. You’re not going to be able to take it all. I’ll give you just enough to make you wild and remind you just who that ass belongs to.”
“Belongs to?”
“Of course. I took your pussy first, so it’s mine. Same thing I’m gonna do with that ass. You’re all mine, baby.”
“J.W., you don’t have to say that just because I gave you my virginity. I—”
“Have no clue what you’re talking about. I want you for many reasons, and being the first man to take you is only a small part of it.”
She giggled, the sound of it like a fist around his heart. “Oh yeah? So what’s the big part?”
“Your heart.”
Smiling at her sharp intake of breath, J.W. couldn’t resist adding something more before hanging up. “Your bravery and your smart mouth. See you later, baby.”
He hung up before she found an excuse to change her mind about staying with him. No longer hearing the vacuum, he yelled up the stairs. “Alice, Lana and I will be eating dinner here tonight.”
“Sure thing, J.W.”
J.W. smiled as he walked out the back door, talking to himself under his breath. “And, if I can find a way, every night from now on.”
He’d find a way, somehow, to get her to stay.
She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he wasn’t about to lose her.
* * * *
Lana disconnected and stared at the phone, her smile falling.
The tender, thoughtful man who was always so patient with her had to have a harder side in order to run a ranch the size of his.
She’d glimpsed the iron cowboy underneath the night that they’d met, and right before they’d made love the first time.
She needed to know that side of him better, and living at the ranch would give her the opportunity to do that.
She needed to know that side of him as much as she needed for him to know the woman she’d been before the attack.
In order to do that, she needed to be strong again.
She needed to know that J.W. would still be interested in her if she had the strength she’d had before.
Blowing out a breath, she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the ceiling, wondering if she’d ever shake off the fear of her attack.
He was still out there, and she didn’t know if he’d ever be caught.
If not, she wondered if she’d ever get back to normal again.
If she couldn’t get past the fear of her attack, how could she ever allow herself to stay with J.W.?
She couldn’t live with herself if she allowed him to protect her from the world forever.
He’d eventually resent her for it as much as she’d hate herself for allowing it.
Chapter Ten
Lana moved restlessly around the kitchen, pausing to glance out the window from time to time. Hoping to catch a glimpse of J.W., she leaned forward. She’d love to see him on horseback and see how he interacted with his men.
She wanted desperately to see the side of him that he’d kept hidden from her since she’d first met him.
“Go on outside.” Alice came up beside her, laying a hand on Lana’s arm and startling her. “He should be close to the house soon. If not, you can call him. All the men carry walkie-talkies with them. J.W. ordered them special. He tried cell phones, but the mountains kept interfering with the signal, and he got tired of trying to remember everyone’s number. Go sit out on the patio in the shade. I’ll bring you a glass of lemonade, and you can sip it while you ogle him.”
Shaking her head, Lana smiled. “No. Thank you. I know I’m just a guest here, but that doesn’t mean you need to wait on me. While I’m here, I’ll pull my own weight. Okay?”
After several long seconds, Alice smiled. “Okay. But there’s nothing wrong with me bringing you a glass of lemonade is there?”
“I’ll get it. Please don’t stop making it, though.” Lana grinned at the housekeeper, pleased by their budding friendship. “Your lemonade is the best.”
With her lemonade in hand, Lana walked outside to the patio, surprised at the number of men out in the yard. On horseback and on foot, each glanced in her direction, tipping their hats to her.
The old-fashioned gesture made her smile, warming her to the men and making her feel welcome.
Stretching out on the chaise, the top half of her body shaded by the umbrella someone had placed there, she kicked off her shoes and let the sun warm her toes.
* * * *
J.W. glanced in the direction of his home for probably the hundredth time that day, wondering if Lana was there yet.
He wondered what she was doing, wondered if she’d unpacked her clothes and hung them next to his.
He hoped like hell she’d left those long, loose things at her apartment. He knew she wore them to cover up and appear unattractive, but nothing she did could disguise her stunning beauty.
“J.W.?” John’s tone told J.W. that his foreman had been talking to him for some time.
Turning his horse, he headed in the other direction. “Yeah?”
“So what do you think about Rod Stevens? He’s been here for almost ten years now and knows every inch of this ranch as well as you and I do. He’s a good man and a hard worker.”
J.W. inclined his head. “He’s got a good head and knows the way I want things done. You and Rod work well together, too.”
“We do.”
Feeling John’s skeptical glance, J.W. smiled faintly. “No. I have no intention of replacing you, but I find that I want to spend time closer to home now. I’ve worked my ass off for years so I could have something to pass on, and it’s about time I started a family. Having Rod in place as another foreman gives us both a little breathing room, especially with the hundred and fifty acres I’ll add to the ranch next week. It’ll also help to have another foreman with all the new men I’m hiring.”
John nodded, looking relieved. “And trouble like we’re having with the Avery brothers doesn’t help. The men should finish painting the tack room by nightfall.”
“Good. Keep your eyes and ears open. I want to know how the hell they got onto the ranch undetected. I want to know where every man is, and I want them moved around on a rotating schedule so I know where every man is working at all times.”
John pulled his horse to a stop. “You’re looking for a pattern. You want to know who’s working where there’s trouble and see if there’s a common denominator.”
“Or more than one.” J.W. clenched his jaw. “It’s hard to believe they got past the men long enough to cause the kind of damage they’ve caused without help.”
Looking at the setting sun, J.W. turned in the direction of the stables. “I’m going in.” He wanted to make sure Lana had gotten settled and couldn’t wait to see her again. He also didn’t want her alone in the house in the dark her first night on the ranch.
“J.W.?” John turned to ride beside him.
“Yeah?”
John glanced at him as though hesitant. “Now that your woman friend is moving in, are we still going to meet in your study?”
J.W. smiled. “Of course. I have no problems with her listening to our conversations—except when it comes to the Avery brothers. I don’t want her living in fear. Make sure you add more men around the house. Men you trust.”
Glancing toward the house again, he smiled when he saw that Lana sat in one of the chaise lounges, looking in his direction. “We’ll meet after dinner. Bring Rod with you tonight, and I’ll tell him about his new position and outline his responsibilities. I wa
nt you there for that.”
John inclined his head, smiling when he followed J.W.’s gaze. “Will do. J.W.?”
“Yeah?”
“Everybody’s real happy for you.”
J.W. smiled at that. “Yeah, well, I haven’t been able to talk her into marrying me yet, so hold off on the good wishes. With Lana, I’ve got to take things real slow.”
Turning at John’s laugh, J.W. had starting riding toward the woman he feared he was already more than halfway in love with when he stopped suddenly and waited for John to catch up to him.
“Something wrong, J.W.?”
“Lana’s special and needs to feel safe.” J.W. had no intention of telling anyone Lana’s personal business, but he’d never brought a woman home before and wanted to make sure the men knew what he expected of them. “She deserves respect, and if she goes to anyone because she’s afraid, I want them to find me immediately and stay with her until I get there.”
Although questions glittered in John’s eyes, he didn’t voice them. “No problem, J.W. Don’t worry.”
Don’t worry.
J.W. inwardly sighed as he turned his mount over to one of his men and headed toward the house.
He couldn’t help but worry about Lana, especially now that she was in his home. He felt as if he walked on eggshells around her, the fear of doing something to remind her of her attack always in the back of his mind.
Her physical scars would fade even more, but her emotional scars would take some time to heal.
He just had to hold on to her and surround her in security until they did.
The glimpses he’d had of the woman underneath them—the woman he suspected she’d been before the attack—intrigued and excited him as much as the woman she was now did.
Every nuance of her personality fascinated him, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life learning everything about her.
Approaching her now, welcomed home by her warm, slightly flirty smile, he knew he’d found what he’d spent the last several years searching for. Lowering himself to the end of the chaise, he ran a hand up her leg.
When she turned toward him, he realized she had her cell phone to her ear.
