The Royal Wager

by Kristi Gold

  “It’s nice that the Internet provides a place for senior citizens to go.”

  “Yeah, but he doesn’t go there. He likes to hang out with the 30-something crowd. He says the old fogies are boring.”

  She laughed, a soft musical sound that brought back Mitch’s reminiscence of the first time he’d heard her laugh. The first time he’d heard her sing. The first time—and the last time—they had made love.

  Once more, his body reminded him that it only took a thought or two to propel him back into lust mode. But he was quickly realizing that with Tori Barnett, the lust was secondary to the fact that he really liked her, probably a lot more than he should. After all, she would only be here for a few more days and then they’d both go back to pursuing their careers instead of mutual pleasure. Unfortunately, she hadn’t agreed to exploring that pleasure thing again—yet.

  Tori slid her fingertips back and forth over the edge of the desk, causing Mitch to look away for the sake of his sanity. “You obviously have a good program going on here,” she said.

  That wasn’t all he had going on. “Yeah. We raise a few Red Angus, the last of Buck’s herd. We have two top-grade bulls and about fifty heifers for breeding.”

  “That’s all?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And you make a living on that?”

  He bypassed her and slipped behind his desk to retrieve a business card. “Here,” he said as he slid it forward.

  Tori studied the card for a few minutes before raising her eyes to his. “This says L and W Consulting. What kind of consulting?”

  “Cattle consulting. I’ve developed several methods that ensure quality stock. I employ a few men and women who go out in the field to present workshops to various ranchers all over the country. We teach them how to get the most out of their breeding programs. We also distribute instructional software and videos that I helped develop with Rand Wilson.”

  “Rand?”

  “He’s one of my ranch hands, but he’s also a computer wiz.”

  “I assume you do this to supplement the ranch income.”

  “It isn’t a sideline; it’s a very lucrative business. I’ve made enough money to retire at least twice and live in Maui. I needed to put my business degree to good use. Of course, there are a few young ranchers who need a hand in getting started. I usually provide my services for free to them.”

  “You’re an enigma,” Tori said. “A true renaissance cowboy.”

  “I’m driven. I always have been.”

  And she was driving him crazy every time she looked at him, not to mention every time she nibbled on her bottom lip. What the hell was wrong with him? Could he not spend more than fifteen minutes in her presence without wanting to crawl all over her? Hell, a thirty-three-year-old man shouldn’t be this wildly out of control over a woman he barely knew, even if at times he felt as if he’d known her a lot longer than three days. That was nuts.

  She strolled to the small window facing the back paddock. “Well, I see a horse out there. I suppose that means you still work cattle the old-fashioned way.”

  Mitch walked up behind her, keeping his hands fisted so he wouldn’t touch her. He needed to take this slowly from now on, otherwise she might keep running away. He didn’t want her to run away. He didn’t want her going anywhere in the near future except maybe into his arms again.

  “That’s my gelding, Ray. Buck gave him to me for my seventeenth birthday. He’s on up in years, but he still has a few miles left. One of these days, I’m going to have to retire him.”

  “He looks like he’s in great shape.”

  So was she, Mitch decided as he took a visual tour down her back and over her butt. She had a great body, and he had a building pressure below his belt buckle in response.

  Mitch hadn’t realized how close he had moved to her until Tori turned and practically ran into his chest. Deciding to give her a little space and a reason to trust him, he took a step back.

  She crossed her arms over her breasts as if trying shield herself from him. “Okay, you have a successful business and a wonderful house that’s probably at least four bedrooms.”

  “And four baths.”

  “You must be planning to have a large family with lots of kids.”

  “That has never been in my plans.”

  “Why?”

  This was a subject he didn’t really care to broach, but he needed to be honest with her now. “Because I’ve never put much stock in marriage.”

  “Your parents were happily married for quite a while, as I recall.”

  “Before my father…” Whoa, Mitch. He was getting a little carried away with his open book bit.

  Her gaze didn’t waver. “Before your father did what?”

  Betrayed his entire family by not sticking around when he was needed most. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude since that subject is apparently very painful for you.”

  Damn. She could see right through him. No one had been able to do that before, especially not a woman. But Tori was an extraordinary woman and too intuitive for Mitch’s own good. “I’m over it.”

  “But you can’t forget it, can you?”

  “Tori,” he said in a warning voice.

  “I know. I know. Nothing too personal.” She grabbed a lock of her hair and began twisting it into a spiral. “So what shall we see next?”

  If Mitch had his way, he’d show her his bedroom and release all his frustration, his latent anger, in one long, hard session of lovemaking. “You need to go back to Stella’s to settle in and I need to do some work.”

  “Can I watch for a while?”

  “No. If you’re in here, I won’t be able to concentrate.”

  “I’ll try to be really quiet.”

  And he’d be trying to silence her with his mouth. “You don’t have to say anything to distract me, Tori. You only have to stand there, looking pretty.”

  “I’ll definitely make a note of your penchant for flattery.”

  She had no clue about her beauty, and Mitch found that very engaging. “I don’t throw out compliments that often, so accept it graciously and go visit with Stella for a while. I’ll see you later.”

  She stuck out her lip in a pretend pout. “Okay. I guess I need to get my camera loaded anyway.”

  “Camera?”

  “Yes, I brought it for the wedding, then promptly left it at Stella’s house without taking a single picture. I have plenty of film left and that’s where you’ll come in.”

  Hell, he didn’t like the sound of that. “You plan to take pictures of me?”

  “Sure. A few candid shots of you and the ranch. And if you’re concerned, I’ve taken tons of photography classes. I’m fairly good at it.”

  “I have no doubt about that.” He had no doubt she was good at everything she endeavored.

  “Normally I’d have a staff photographer come and do it, but I assumed you wouldn’t want anyone else involved in this. That means you’re stuck with me.”

  Funny, Mitch didn’t feel at all stuck with her. He did feel incredibly hot at the moment, and on the verge of compromising his dignity. For a man who’d always prided himself on self-control, he was bordering on the edge of losing it big time. He collapsed into his chair and laced his hands behind his head before she caught him having a weak moment. “Get out of here, Tori, before…”

  “Before what?”

  Before he changed his mind, locked the door, and tried one more time to seduce her out of her sneakers, and everything else. “Before it’s dinnertime and I don’t get a thing accomplished today.”

  “Oh, but you’ve accomplished a lot.”

  “What would that be?”

  “You just spent the last twenty minutes without trying to kiss me. Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  He leaned forward and locked into her gaze. “You have no idea how hard it’s been.” Or how hard it was going to be as long as he wanted her this ba
dly, and that could be for a long while.

  Dinner with Stella and Bobby had been pleasant enough. The evening entertainment was not.

  Tori covered her face with her hands following the first moan, then crushed the pillow over her head when the succession of name calling began.

  Admittedly, tonight the love sounds bothered her on a different level. She didn’t want to be reminded that if she would just say the word, she could be in Mitch’s bed enjoying a little love fest of her own. In fact, she was beginning to wonder why she’d continued to fight Mitch, fight her overriding attraction to him. Sure, she should try to remain objective while gathering information. But no one would have to know what they did in the dead of night.

  In reality, her resistance to intimacy with Mitch had more to do with her fear of falling for him. He wasn’t really commitment material, something he had made quite clear today. Granted, he had spent nine years with one woman, but he hadn’t asked that woman to marry him. No, siree, Bobby…who happened to be groaning loud enough to call the cattle home.

  That did it.

  Tori vaulted out of the feather bed and her feet hit the cold hardwood floor, reminding her that the weather was not conducive to taking a walk. However, she would rather face the elements than endure one more thwack of the headboard hitting the wall in a torrid tempo.

  Not bothering to turn on the lamp, she snatched her robe from the bedpost and slid her feet into the ridiculous furry brown gorilla slippers Stella had given her as a gift for serving as maid of honor. The other two bridesmaids had received frogs and pigs, so she supposed she got the better end of the deal.

  The floor creaked beneath her feet as she felt her way along the wall. She finally reached the small living room illuminated by a lamp in the corner—a good thing considering the area was littered with unpacked boxes. Grabbing her leather jacket from the coat tree, she yanked open the door and stepped onto the porch. The moderate breeze flowed over her and until that moment, she hadn’t realized how hot she’d been. She could attribute that to the down comforter, or her own desire for Mitch that she’d warred with all day long…and most of the night.

  “I figured you’d be out soon.”

  With her heart lodged firmly in her throat, Tori spun toward the sound of the deep voice to find a dark figure silhouetted against the limited light. She laid one shaky hand against her throat. “God, Mitch, you scared the hell out of me!”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

  She walked to the glider where he now sat and hovered above him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Couldn’t sleep.”

  “And you walked all the way here to alleviate your insomnia?”

  “I decided you’d probably need some company eventually.”

  “You were certainly taking a huge chance that I would come outside.”

  “Not really. I know Stella and Bobby’s habits well enough to know they’d eventually drive you out of the house. If you hadn’t come out when you did, I probably would’ve left in an hour or two.”

  “An hour or two?”

  His gaze raked over her in a slow excursion. “If you’d agreed to stay with me, then you wouldn’t be traipsing around in the cold in your nightgown.”

  He was nothing if not tenacious. “Okay, I’m here, you proved your point, so you can go back to bed now.”

  “Not until you come back to my house with me.”

  “I really don’t think that’s necessary. They can’t keep going at it all night.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  No, she didn’t, because she wasn’t at all sure when Stella’s and Bobby’s antics might end, possibly not before dawn. “I would have my own room?”

  She could see a flash of white teeth before he said, “Do you think I’m going to make you bunk with Buck?”

  “That never entered my mind.”

  “But you thought I might offer my own room.”

  “That thought did cross my mind.” Several times, in great detail.

  “You can stay in the bedroom on the opposite side of the house from mine.”

  “I’m still not sure that’s wise.”

  He released an impatient sigh. “Would you rather spend a week listening to the Stella and Bob parade on a nightly basis?”

  No, she wouldn’t. But she wasn’t sure she could trust Mitch not to pursue the lovemaking issue. And worse, she didn’t really have a lot of confidence in herself not to eventually concede.

  The glider whined as he pushed out of it to stand before her. “Tori, I do solemnly swear I am not going to pull any funny stuff while you’re in my house. Not if you don’t want it.”

  She did want it, and that was the problem. Yet she didn’t think she could stomach more nighttime sex noise that didn’t involve her. And Mitch. “Okay. Let me just grab a few things and I’ll spend the night tonight.”

  He inclined his head. “Only tonight?”

  “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On whether you behave yourself.”

  “The door has a lock. Then you can be assured I won’t bother you while you’re sleeping.”

  Predictably, he hadn’t said he would adhere to that when she wasn’t sleeping. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”

  As she pulled open the screen, Mitch said from behind her, “Nice slippers.”

  She turned and stuck out a gorilla-covered foot. “Yeah, I like to monkey around now and then.”

  He gave her a crooked smile. “Oh, yeah?”

  Releasing a groan, she turned away from all that charisma and hoped she had enough strength to keep turning away for the remainder of the week.

  Mitch felt a little guilty over being grateful that Bobby had a penchant for hamming it up in the bedroom. But Tori really would be more comfortable in his house. She’d also be nearby in case she changed her mind.

  “This is it,” he told her as he pushed open the door. “Nothing fancy, but it does have its own bathroom.”

  Tori walked into the room still wearing her leather jacket over her nightclothes. When the light hit the pale blue gown, he could see the outline of her bare legs all the way to her thighs beneath the sheer fabric. Best not to look there if he intended to go back to his own room and get some sleep.

  She set her duffel down on the red plaid spread and faced him. “It looks comfortable enough.”

  “The bed was from my room in the old house but it has a new mattress.” Mitch was having a hard time not looking at her breasts.

  When Tori clutched the jacket closed, he realized he’d been caught. “You know, the old house is nice enough,” she said. “Why did you build a new one?”

  The memories had been too much for Mitch to bear—memories of the time he’d spent with his mother during the summers when his dad had been too busy for them both. Memories of the last days of her life. Too many ghosts, and facts that Tori didn’t need to know, even though he had the strongest urge to tell her.

  Instead, he said, “I wanted something that was solely my contribution to the ranch, a symbol of my putting down roots here. Buck was resistant at first, but I finally talked him into living here and letting Bob use the old place instead of staying with the other hands in the bunkhouse out back. He did insist we bring in some of the furniture so he’d feel more at home.”

  Tori pointed at a picture hanging on the opposite wall. “Did he insist on that, too?”

  Mitch moved closer to her to see what had caught her attention. Damn. He’d forgotten all about that stupid photo of him on a pony wearing a red felt cowboy hat, complete with a jockey string cinched beneath his chin and matching red chaps. “Yeah, that was definitely his idea.”

  “Nice outfit,” she said, grinning. “I think it’s adorable.”

  He could say the same about her with those damned ape house shoes hugging her feet. He gestured toward the closet. “You can hang your stuff in there.”

  She glanced at the bag on the bed. “I didn’t bring that much stuff. Since I wa
sn’t planning on staying, I’ll have to borrow some clothes from Stella.”

  Right now, he’d like to help her shed her clothes. “Tomorrow, you can bring whatever else you need.”

  She propped both hands on her hips. “Now what makes you so sure I’m going to stay here for the remainder of my visit?”

  “Because you want to get some sleep.”

  “True, I do.” She stretched her arms and yawned, causing the jacket to gape, revealing the outline of her breasts and the shading of her nipples.

  If he didn’t get out soon, there was no telling what he might do. “If there’s nothing else you need, I’ll go to my room now. Buck’s two doors down, but he shouldn’t bother you.”

  “Actually, I do need something from you.” She perched on the end of the bed and patted the mattress. “Come here.”

  Before he could sit, she pointed a finger at him. “I only want to talk, so get rid of that look on your face.”

  He scowled. “What look?”

  “The one you always give me when you have certain things on your mind.”

  Good going, Mitch. He might as well have I Want You, Tori tattooed on his forehead. “Fine. I won’t look at you.” He didn’t dare sit by her, either, not if he wanted to control himself. “I’ll just stand here and you talk.”

  “All right. I have an idea I want to run past you.”

  If it didn’t involve them assuming a prone position, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it. “Okay. Shoot.”

  “I’ve been thinking about us, our relationship, and I’ve decided we need to start over.”

  “Start over?”

  “Yes. As friends. Maybe then we won’t be so inclined to skip ahead to the next step.”

  “We’ve already gone way beyond the next step, Tori. We can’t go back.” Nor did he want to. He wouldn’t take back one moment of their first night together.

  “It’s all a mindset, Mitch. Besides, we do have a few things in common, a good basis for a friendship.”

  Mitch could think of one in particular—they were damn good together in bed. Or at least in the bed of a truck, since they hadn’t actually made it into a real bed. “What things?”