Unmasking the Maverick Prince

by Kristi Gold

  Buck chuckled. “Yeah. We call him Bandit, for one-armed bandit.”

  Tori frowned. “That seems kind of cruel.”

  “Nah. He’s the one that started it. It kind of describes his way with the ladies. He’s been known to steal their…. Well, never mind about that.”

  Tori laughed. “He sounds like an interesting guy.”

  “He’s a good guy. Back when Gus came to visit during the summer, he’d follow Gus around like a pup looking for a teat. After Rand—that’s his real name—lost his arm when he was sixteen, Gus kind of adopted him, taught him how to rope with one hand and his teeth. It’s the strangest sight you’ll ever see.”

  Rand, the software developer Mitch had mentioned yesterday. “He’s the computer expert?”

  “Yeah, but he wanted to be a horse vet. Even went to school and came close to finishing before he quit. He said it wasn’t for him, but we figure it was too much for him to handle, with his missing arm and all.”

  Tori suspected there was quite a story there, but she had to concentrate on the one that presently needed her attention. “Why do you call Mitch ‘Gus’?”

  “At first I called him ‘Grumpy Gus’ cause he was so grumpy as a boy. Damn serious from the day he was born.’ Course, I could make him laugh by showing him my teeth.” Buck thrust a partial containing his top two teeth out with his tongue, then shoved them back in the same way.

  “Ouch,” was all Tori could think to say.

  “Don’t hurt a’tall. Now when that horse kicked me in the mouth, it hurt somethin’ fierce.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I can imagine.”

  She could also imagine why Mitch was so fond of this man. Buck was salt of the earth, as good as gold, and those kind of men were hard to come by in this day and time. Obviously his grandson had picked up some of those same traits, considering he was inclined to hire the down-and-out from town. That must have been what Mary Alice had meant when she’d said Mitch was kind to the common folk. To look at him now, he appeared just as common. To know him as she was beginning to know him, he was anything but common—in appearance, in personality, in his ability to mesmerize, as he was doing right then when he rode around the pen, looping the rope with both hands and guiding the horse with the sheer strength of his legs.

  She was vaguely aware that Buck had said something, but in her daze, she hadn’t heard a thing. Tearing her gaze away from Mitch, she said, “Huh?”

  “I said he’s a good man.”

  “I’m sure he is.” She knew he was.

  “All he needs is a good woman.”

  Tori continued to watch Mitch in an effort not to appear too interested as he chased after a calf someone released from the chute. “I’m sure he’ll find one eventually.”

  “I’m beginning to wonder. He wasted nine years on the wrong woman.”

  Only then did she turn to Buck. “You weren’t disappointed when it didn’t work out between him and Mary Alice?”

  “Nah. She’s too prissy. Gus needs someone who understands him. Not too many gals around here to choose from.”

  She gave her attention back to Mitch. “I’m sure that’s true. It’s a small town.”

  Tori sensed Buck staring at her in the moments of passing silence before he said, “How long do you plan to stay?”

  “Until Sunday.”

  “I couldn’t talk you into staying longer?”

  She glanced at him briefly. “I have a job and an apartment waiting for me back in Dallas.”

  “You got a boyfriend?”

  She dropped her foot from the rung and leaned one shoulder against the rail to face him. “Now, Buck, you know you’re much too young for me.”

  In his grin, she saw a glimpse of his grandson. “Yeah, but you ain’t too old for Gus. He could use a woman like you, someone to keep him grounded.”

  “You don’t even know me.”

  “I know you well enough, Tori. You’re like him. You’re smart and you hung in there when people weren’t so nice to you.”

  “Why do you think people weren’t nice to me?”

  “I know about your mama and how she never got married. I heard a few people talk, but I was never one to pass judgment on anyone. You don’t know a person’s situation till you’ve walked in their shoes.”

  She lowered her eyes and studied the dried grass beneath her feet. “It wasn’t bad all the time. I have a few very good memories. But I’ve since moved on. I don’t intend to live here permanently again.”

  “This town ain’t so terrible, as long as you have someone to lean on when the going gets tough.”

  The crowd scattered and headed away in all directions, while Mitch dismounted and started toward the barn. Tori saw that as an excuse to avoid any further matchmaking attempts by Buck, as well as her chance to finally talk to Mitch. She patted Buck’s shoulder and smiled. “Got to get some work done now. I guess I’ll see you later.”

  “You can go with me to the fair if that grandson of mine won’t take you.”

  “Fair?”

  “The Harvest Festival. You remember that. Happens the same time every October and ends with the rodeo this weekend.”

  Once more, Tori was thrust back into her past. She’d been conceived following that rodeo almost twenty-eight years ago, the only thing she knew about how she had come to be, and her father—a roving rodeo bum. “I remember, but I hadn’t thought about going.”

  “You need to go. Best barbecue and beer in the state. Not that I touch the stuff.”

  Tori grinned. “You expect me to believe that?”

  “Nope, but you do need to believe one thing.” He pointed at the barn and closed one eye as if preparing to take a shot. “That boy in there has it bad for you.”

  Tori couldn’t think of any response, so she gave him only a friendly goodbye as she walked away to seek out Mitch.

  Mitch had it bad for her? Not hardly. Maybe her body, but that was it. On the other hand, she was starting to have it bad for him, and that might not be so good.

  But it could be so good, if she continued to weaken in his presence. And if the devastating cowboy kept pressing the issue, she had no doubt her resolve would eventually wane.

  After rinsing Ray off, Mitch stepped out of the wash rack to find Tori leaning back against the opposing stall. She had her hair pulled into a ponytail high atop her head and the sweatshirt she wore looked like a jogger’s reject. The jeans were too big, and if she wasn’t the cutest thing he’d ever seen, he’d eat his roping saddle for lunch.

  She lifted her hand in a flat-palm wave. “Hi. Got a few minutes to spare?”

  He’d give her a few minutes. Hell, he’d give her hours if she would just give it up and acknowledge they wanted each other. He could see it in her dark eyes, feel it in his bones. The heat between them was so fierce that it could fry the shavings in the stalls.

  “Sure. I’ll just leave Ray tied up until he dries. We can go into my office.”

  Tori followed behind him, keeping her distance even after they were tucked away behind a closed door. She hadn’t noticed that he’d locked it, but if she had, he would offer the explanation that anyone was bound to come in, and he didn’t want to interrupt the interview. That sounded logical, even if it was a stretch in the truth department.

  He’d stayed up most of the night, literally up, hard and aching for her. That ache had yet to subside, nor would it until he made love to her again, this time with slow precision, until he’d convinced her that answering their mutual need was only natural.

  While Tori stood with her arms folded tightly over her middle, Mitch claimed a seat on the edge of his desk.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked, thinking that was the most innocuous thing he could say at the moment.

  “Obviously. You should’ve gotten me up earlier.”

  He’d wanted to rouse in ways that she could only imagine but had resisted with the little scrap of will he had left. “I figured you needed your rest. Besides, this is the only tim
e I’ve had a break since dawn.”

  She nodded at the computer. “What are you doing there?”

  “Tracking the herd and adding in a couple of new calves into the program. They all have numbers.”

  “They should have names.”

  “If you can come up with twenty-three, then have at it.”

  “That could be a challenge, I guess.”

  The challenge right now came when she wet her lips. Mitch had to grip the edge of the desk to keep from grabbing her and kissing her into mindlessness. “Anything else you want to know about the business?”

  Her gaze shifted to the diploma hanging on the wall to her right. “I’m sure I’ll think of something, but first, I want to apologize for my behavior last night.”

  He was tired of both hearing and voicing those words. Tired of fighting their attraction. “When’s it going to stop, Tori?”

  She centered her gaze on him. “It won’t happen again.”

  “I meant our apologies for wanting each other. Maybe it’s time we just quit saying we’re sorry and accept the fact that this thing is stronger than both of us.”

  “It’s not, Mitch. We’re adult enough to control ourselves.”

  “This has nothing to do with how old we are. It has everything to do with how hot we are for each other.”

  “You certainly are making some fairly big assumptions.”

  “Assumptions or truths?”

  “Assumptions.”

  Mitch pushed away from the desk and moved closer to her. “You’re not even a little bit hot and bothered right now, knowing we’re alone? Knowing we could do anything we please and not a soul would know about it?”

  “No.” She turned away from him and walked to the window, but not before he saw the uncertainty in her expression, the desire in her eyes.

  He came up behind her and this time, he didn’t bother to keep his hands off of her. He couldn’t.

  Circling his arms around her waist, he pulled her against him. She didn’t resist, but she also didn’t relax. “I don’t believe you, Tori. I think right now, you’re about to go up in flames. So am I.”

  “I’m about to go up to Stella’s and get my camera.”

  He worked her sweatshirt up and rested his palm on her bare abdomen. “I wouldn’t mind taking a few pictures as long as we do it without our clothes.”

  Her breath hissed out when he began to trace the waistband on the loose-fitting jeans with a fingertip. “Not a good idea. They could fall into the wrong hands.”

  Mitch slid his palm right beneath the jeans until he contacted the band on her panties. “I’d make sure they stayed in my hands.”

  “Mitch, we can’t.” Tori tipped her head back against his shoulder, belying her protest.

  He inched his palm lower, beneath the lace. “You don’t have to do anything, Tori, except enjoy it.”

  The gasp that slipped out of her mouth was soft, needy, and so was her flesh as he searched for the place that would ensure her pleasure.

  “You’re hot, Tori,” he told her as he caressed her with his fingertips, his strokes deliberate in their intent. He wanted her weak and wanting. He wanted to hear her moan, feel her come apart.

  When the rap sounded at the door, Tori yanked his hand from beneath her jeans and wrenched away.

  “Hey, Mitch, are you in there?”

  Mitch walked to the desk, braced both palms on the edge and lowered his head. “Yeah, Bob. I’m here.” He sounded winded, something that wouldn’t be lost on his foreman.

  “Is Tori with you?”

  “Yes,” she answered in a raspy voice. “We were just talking.”

  Bobby chuckled. “Okay. Stella wanted me to tell you she’s made some lunch, so when you and Mitch are done talking, come on up.”

  “She’ll be there in a minute, Bob,” Mitch answered for her.

  “If it’s only going to take you a minute, Mitch, then maybe you should grab something to eat so you’ll have more stamina.”

  One more word and Mitch was going to rearrange his foreman’s face. “Get out of here, Bob.”

  “I’m leaving, boss. Take your time, Tori.” Bobby’s retreating footsteps could barely be heard over his laughter.

  “Mitch, I’m—”

  “Don’t say it, Tori. Don’t you dare say you’re sorry.”

  “I was going to say I’m totally losing my mind.”

  He shoved back from the desk and faced her. “Join the club.”

  She linked her hands behind her neck, causing the sweatshirt to ride up where Mitch caught a glimpse of her navel. He did not need to see anything that even resembled bare flesh.

  Dropping her arms to her side, she blew out a slow breath. “Okay. Maybe this thing is stronger than both of us.”

  “What clued you in? Was it before or after I almost made you—”

  “Before.”

  “What are we going to do about it?” he asked even though he knew exactly what he wanted to do—carry her up to the house and into his bed.

  “Well, right now, I’m going to get some lunch, then I’m going to write down a few notes.”

  He allowed a disparaging smile to surface. “Until we finish what we started a minute ago, your notes are going to be incomplete.”

  She came as close to a scowl as Mitch had witnessed so far. “Notes as in your business skills.”

  He took two steps toward her. “That’s not going to be as interesting.”

  She smiled and took two steps back. “I’ve got a great idea. Mitch Warner’s ten favorite ways to please a woman.”

  He advanced one more step. “Only ten?”

  This time, she didn’t move. “You know, I don’t think you really want to go there in the article. You’d never have a moment’s peace for all the women lining up the drive to find out if you live up to the hype.”

  One more step and he’d be in her face, and back into trouble. “Do I live up to the hype?”

  She hesitated and pretended to think a moment. “I’m not sure yet. As you’ve said, my notes are still incomplete.”

  Five more minutes of this kind of talk and he was going to back her up against the wall, to hell with the bed. “Maybe we should do some more research tonight.”

  “Your granddad invited me to the festival.”

  Mitch had totally forgotten about the event that he’d attended for the past ten years without fail. “I’ll go with you.”

  “You will?”

  “Yeah. You probably need some protection from all the cowboys. Once they get a good look at you, you’ll be fighting them off in record numbers.”

  “Yeah. Sure.”

  “I’m serious, Tori. It’s not too often that a woman as good-looking as you comes into town.” And he’d be damned if he’d let any of them touch her.

  “And who is going to protect me from you?”

  Man, he’d really done it now if she was that wary of him. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  She walked up to him, adjusted his collar and then patted him on his chest. “We could consider this a friendly date.”

  “A date?”

  “Does Mitch Warner not date?”

  The last real date he’d been on had been a wreck—dinner with Mary Alice and her daddy. Clyde Marshall had spent the entire evening blowing cigar smoke in Mitch’s face while he’d tried to sell Mitch on the benefits of becoming a member of the family. “I might shock a few people in town if I stroll in with you on my arm.”

  Her expression sobered. “No one has to know it’s actually a date, Mitch, if that’s what’s worrying you.”

  “I didn’t say I cared what anyone thought.”

  “You might, considering you’ll be with me.”

  He didn’t understand this one damn bit. “You’re not making any sense, Tori.”

  She sighed. “When I was younger, people assumed that since my mother had me out of wedlock, I would automatically follow in her footsteps. I heard the speculation ma
ny times before I got out of this godforsaken town. For that reason, I didn’t date. I didn’t give anyone any reason to believe that I was anything but a good girl who didn’t dare step out of line.”

  Now it was beginning to make sense. On one level, she was the self-assured career woman. On a deeper plane, she was still that vulnerable teenager trying to prove her worthiness to walk among society. “Then you’re saying I might not want to be seen with you because people might assume that you, a grown woman, might be sleeping with me?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Tori, you don’t have anything to prove to me or anyone else. Whatever happens between us is our business, and no one else’s. It doesn’t make you a bad person.” When she lowered her head, he lifted her chin. “I would be honored to escort you through the streets of town. To hell with what anyone thinks.”

  Her smile illuminated the room, and something in Mitch lit up, too. It felt good to bring out that smile with such a simple gesture. Unlike Mary Alice, it took so little to please Tori, only one more reason why he enjoyed her company. One more reason to show her more pleasure than she’d ever known.

  “Great,” she said. “I’ll get to work, you get to work then we’ll go to the fair. What time?”

  “Seven. I’ll pick you up.”

  Her smile withered. “Are you sure you want to do this? I could always go with Stella and Bobby or Buck.”

  He brushed a kiss across her cheek. “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t want to. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.” Except he didn’t want to feel what he was feeling for Tori, but it seemed he had little choice in the matter.

  “Okay. I’ll see you at seven,” she said, followed by a quick kiss on his cheek.

  When she turned and headed for the door, he said, “One more thing, Tori.”

  She faced him with her hand curled around the knob. “What?”

  “You and I both know that what’s going on between us isn’t going to change anytime soon.”

  “And your point?”

  “Would it be so wrong to just enjoy each other while you’re here?”