The Forbidden Bride

by Debra Cowan

  Robin shared a look with Nate, who continued the questions. “Did you drive or fly back here for this shift?”

  “Flew.”

  After he gave his flight number, she flipped open her notebook. “Where were you on April twelfth of this year?”

  He frowned. “I have no idea.”

  “What about May ninth?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “June fifth?”

  He shook his head.

  “July second.”

  “On my way back down here.”

  “What time was your flight?”

  “Ten o’clock last night.”

  Which would have allowed Roper to manually ignite the fire at Spur Creek and get to the airport in plenty of time for his flight.

  “So you have no other alibis? Maybe you did something memorable with your kids on one of the other dates?”

  He gave her a flat stare. “I don’t remember the specific dates. I didn’t know I needed an alibi.”

  Nate eyed the man. “All the fires we’re investigating have been twenty-seven days apart. Your shift schedule matches the time between these fire-murders.”

  “Well, I didn’t do anything,” Roper snarled.

  “You could help us eliminate you as a suspect by giving us a DNA sample,” Robin suggested.

  “The only thing I’m giving you is my lawyer’s phone number. Now I have to get back to work. You’re making me look bad in front of my boss, and I can’t afford to lose this job.”

  He stalked around the desk and out.

  Frustrated, Robin glanced at Nate. “What do you think?”

  “I’m thinking about that smoker’s room.”

  “Roper said he didn’t smoke anymore.”

  “We should check it anyway and see if we find any cigarette butts.”

  “Good idea.”

  Fifteen minutes later, they reboarded the air tugger. Nate carried a small brown paper sack of the cigarette butts they’d found.

  The wind had picked up since their arrival. As the crane operator began to lower the basket, it swung out then back. Squeezing her eyes shut, Robin tightened her grip on the rope attached to the center brace as they hung suspended over the dark water.

  A gust of wind swept through, jerking the basket side to side. She had no time to recover from the whiplash-quick movement as the tugger continued to drop. The lurching descent started the world spinning and the bottom of her stomach dropped out.

  She gripped the rope so tightly it burned her palm. She felt her legs give, but something steadied her. Nate. He had reached over to press a supporting hand to the small of her back. He couldn’t move from his spot or he would upset their balance, but it helped.

  She couldn’t open her eyes, but her senses narrowed to him and only him. The possessive hand low on her back, the warmth of his body. When the basket sat down on the boat’s deck, he stepped off.

  His going first gave her a moment to get her bearings. If the trip had been longer or rougher, her vertigo probably would have been as bad as it had been the day of the elevator incident.

  Nate offered her a hand and she stepped into the boat. She gave him a grateful smile. The wind ruffled his dark hair and she wanted to run her fingers through it.

  When one corner of his mouth hitched up in a grin, she felt dizzy for a whole other reason. Their gazes locked.

  By the time they reached the dock, she thought she had her balance back. But when she touched solid ground, her legs wobbled.

  Nate stopped right beside her at the end of the ramp, his shoulder providing support. All she needed was a couple of breaths. She hated this. The clammy skin, the sudden spiral of the world around her. She hoped he didn’t make a big deal out of this.

  “We didn’t get very far with Roper,” Nate said.

  Grateful he didn’t comment, she smiled. “If we find his DNA on those cigarette butts Collier found, maybe we can match it to one of the butts we collected on the rig.”

  “He said he didn’t smoke anymore.” Robin realized Houston was giving her time to regain her equilibrium. “Maybe he started up again?”

  “Maybe he saw his ex-wife with these men and his stress climbed each time he set a fire. Then last night he fell back into the habit.”

  “So we might actually get his DNA off those cigarette butts we took from the rig. We just don’t have anything to compare it to.”

  “Yet,” Nate said.

  “Yet.” The spinning sensation eased. “It doesn’t look good that he won’t give us a sample, but that could just mean he doesn’t believe in helping the law. There are a lot of people like that.”

  As they started for the rental car, he asked quietly, “You okay?”

  She knew he was referring to her vertigo. “Yes, thanks.”

  She really liked this man. Not just because his kisses turned her bones to wax, but she simply liked him. His level head, his dedication to the truth, even when it might make him look bad.

  She was ready to do something about the electricity between them. She hoped he was, too.

  Several hours later, Robin and Nate were back in Oklahoma, and on their way to his house.

  Hitting the far northwest edge of the Presley city limits, she turned west off the main road. Beside her, Nate stirred. She glanced over to see him scrubbing a hand down his face.

  They hadn’t talked much on the flight from New Orleans. He had fallen asleep as soon as the plane had taken off. The man had to be exhausted.

  “Do you think it means anything that Roper switched to an earlier flight?” Robin braked at a stop sign on what had turned into a two-lane road.

  She and Nate had stopped at the ticket counter on their way out of the airport and luckily they had found an agent to ask.

  “Him changing his flight to one that left only an hour and a half earlier than his original one does make it appear he was anxious to get out of town, but he might not have done it for a suspicious reason.”

  “Or,” Robin said as she slowed to turn off the paved road onto a gravel one, “it might mean he was trying to get the heck out of Oklahoma altogether, as fast as he could, not just away from the fire scene. His ex-wife wasted no time calling 911.”

  Nate nodded, his attention trained somewhere in the distance.

  “We may never know. Sure can’t prove anything either way.”

  Again, he simply nodded. She frowned over at him, trying a different topic. “When you spoke to Collier earlier, how long did he say Kiley had to stay in the hospital?”

  He didn’t appear to have heard her, but just as she started to ask again, he said, “Through tomorrow.”

  Gravel crunched beneath the tires, dust swirling around the car. White PVC fenced the moonlit pasture on both sides of the road. Nate was too quiet. At first Robin assumed it was because he was tired, but she sensed something else now. Something was bothering him.

  Maybe the case? Or maybe he was thinking about what had happened between them last night, before they had responded to the fire call? She had certainly thought about it.

  She took in his strong, muscular thighs gloved by worn denim, the long-sleeved blue shirt with the cuffs rolled back to reveal forearms dusted with dark hair. Remembering how that hard chest felt against hers, the solid steel of his shoulders beneath her touch, her gaze followed the angle of his stubbled jaw, his corded neck.

  His clean male scent mixed with the faint floral of her shampoo and her pulse jumped. She wanted to take a big bite of him.

  Their makeout session at her party seemed ages ago. She realized then he was watching her thoughtfully. Was his mind going down the same path?

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked. “You seem distracted.”

  “Those Roper kids. Their parents’ divorce sounded like hell.”

  Boy, had she been far off the mark. She stopped the car in front of his gray stone house. “I guess you know exactly how they feel, huh?”

  “I hope they don’t have to go through what my sister a
nd I did.”

  She killed the engine. Large windows glittered across the front of the traditional style house. With a wide porch, the structure nestled in the middle of mature, sprawling oak and maple trees. During the day, they would provide shade on every side of the house.

  “Why was your parents’ divorce so bitter?”

  “It was just like their marriage. As far back as I can remember, they never got along.”

  “Why did they get married in the first place?”

  “Because my mom got pregnant with Becca. My sister had overheard them say more than once that she was the only reason they got married, so when they split up, she felt that was because of her, too.”

  Robin felt a pang in her chest. “What did you think?”

  “At first I thought it was because of both of us. It took me years to understand it really had nothing to do with us. It took Becca longer to accept that, but she has now. They used us as bargaining chips, put us right in the middle.”

  Robin’s throat tightened, as she shifted in her seat. “And that’s why you were so determined not to get a divorce.”

  He nodded.

  “I know your dad’s gone. How do you and Becca get along with your mom?”

  “Fine now. Mom finally realized what they had done to us. She went for counseling, which helped everyone. Then she met my stepfather, Bob. He was a good man.”

  “Do you still resent your parents for drawing y’all into their fight like that?”

  “No. Not most of the time anyway. When Becca and I saw how good Bob was to our mom, how happy she was, we realized how miserable both she and our dad had been. They felt trapped.” He shrugged. “It was a long time ago. Things are fine now.”

  “Still, those family hurts go deep.”

  He looked at her. “Like you and Wendy.”

  “Yes.” Robin was still in pain over her sister’s betrayal, probably always would be, but it didn’t have to ruin the rest of her life, did it?

  Nate’s gaze softened on her face. “It took a lot of years to put things back together with my parents, but I was really glad we did, especially when my dad died while fighting that fire. One minute he was here, the next he wasn’t.”

  “I bet.”

  “My sister and brother-in-law have gone through some rough patches, but they’re still together. Becca was able to stick it out when I wasn’t.”

  “Nate, you did try to stick it out.” Robin angled toward him, her knee touching the center console. “Your wife had already left you for all practical purposes.”

  “I’ve been glad more than once that we never had kids.”

  “Would you like to someday?”

  In the shadows, she couldn’t read his expression. It took him a moment to answer. “Possibly. What about you?”

  “I haven’t thought about it since the disaster with Kyle, but maybe.”

  “Would you ever consider marriage again?” He sounded thoughtful.

  Surprisingly, his question didn’t fill her with cold dread, as it once would have. She didn’t know what to make of that, but she knew she didn’t want to talk about it. She waved a dismissive hand. “How did we get on that subject?”

  “Tell me.”

  His husky words put a shimmer in her nerves. “I don’t know. What about you?”

  “I used to think absolutely not. Now I don’t know, either.”

  Some invisible connection snapped tight between them. She gave a nervous laugh. “Neither one of us is sure about much, are we?”

  “I’m sure about one thing,” he said softly, his gaze dropping to her mouth. “I’m real sure.”

  He curled a hand around her nape and pulled her to him, his mouth covering hers.

  Oh. She was sure about this, too. Robin relaxed against him.

  He angled her head so he could go deeper with his tongue. Flattening one hand on his hard, hot chest, she held on to his waist, trying to get closer. This wasn’t close enough. It wasn’t enough of anything.

  He pulled back, his voice gruff with need. “We have some unfinished business.”

  “From the party?”

  “Yes.”

  Anticipation unfurled inside her. “You’re not too tired?”

  “No.” His features were taut with desire.

  The arousal glittering in his eyes made her flush. She felt a twinge of panic, as though what was happening with them was bigger than she was.

  “Come in,” he said roughly, threading his fingers through hers. “Stay. Whatever is between us isn’t easing up. It’s just getting stronger.”

  “I’m tired of fighting it,” she admitted. Was that her voice, husky and breathless? Yes, and there was nothing other than flat-out lust going on here. Period. Her hormones were being stirred up more than they had in years. She had it under control. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

  They got out of the car and she met him on the other side to walk with him to the front door. Time seemed to stretch as she waited for him to unlock the door. She was dimly aware of the chirp of crickets. The soft glow of the porch light slid across Nate’s bluntly squared jaw, had her lifting her hand to touch his face. This man could be lethal to her heart.

  She immediately dismissed the thought. Get real. What was happening between them had nothing to do with her heart.

  Nate pulled her to him and turned the knob. She had made the first move last night. He had no problem making the next one.

  His kiss was slow, until Robin went soft in his arms.

  He picked her up and carried her inside, kicking the door shut and pressing her into the wall.

  Working his hand under her T-shirt, he skimmed up the warm satin of her torso to cup her breast, thumb her tight nipple through the lace of her bra. He needed to see all of her.

  Making a ragged sound, she moved against him, pulling off her top as he slid one hand around to unfasten her bra and push it off her shoulders.

  Lush, creamy breasts, taut, pale nipples had him bracing himself against a savage rush of need. Keeping her against the wall, he stared in arrested silence as he closed his hands over her.

  She tugged his shirt out of his jeans, managed to open one button, then two, three. Jerking at the fabric, she blew out an exasperated breath. “Nate, help me.”

  He didn’t want to let go of her, even for a second, but he wanted to feel her naked body against his. He wasn’t wasting time with the damn buttons. Reaching back, he pulled the shirt over his head, dropped it.

  She came into him, pressing her bare breasts against him. He thought she said something, but if so, it was lost beneath the roar of his heartbeat.

  He unsnapped her jeans, pushed his hands inside her panties to curve over her bottom. The feel of her firm, silky flesh beneath his rougher skin wound him up even tighter.

  Robin slid her hands up his arms to his shoulders, as she lifted up to kiss him and rake her teeth down his throat. He wasn’t going to last much longer.

  He pushed her underwear down along with her jeans, kneeling to help her get them off. As she kicked the clothes away, he ran his hands up the backs of her thighs, inhaling the intoxicating scent of flowers and woman.

  When he rose, Robin struggled with the button of his jeans. She made a sound low in her throat. “You are one hard man to get naked.”

  He chuckled, closing his mouth over her breast as she got his fly open. When she reached inside and curled a soft hand around him, Nate had to clamp down hard on the savage need clawing to break loose.

  Driven by an urgency bordering on desperation, he cupped her between the legs, curled his fingers up inside her. She was hot and soft and wet.

  “Here?” he groaned. “Now?”

  Please let her say ‘yes,’ because he didn’t think he could move from this spot. Or wait.

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly.

  He pulled back to look at her. Moonlight streamed through the front windows, washing the foyer in hazy silver and turning her skin to delicate porcelain. Her eyes were hot blue and needy, he
r breasts damp from his mouth.

  As she worked his jeans lower, he lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and began to sink down.

  “Wait.” He gripped her hips, his head falling forward as he hissed out a curse. “Condom. Back pocket.”

  “I’ve got it.” She reached around and pulled out his wallet.

  The fever in his blood scrambled his brain. They were lucky he had even managed to think about protection.

  He heard the tear of the packet and looked down. The slow stroke of her hands as she sheathed him had Nate gritting his back teeth. “Hurry, damn it.”

  “I am—Oh!”

  He slid inside hard, deep.

  “Nate.”

  The broken sound of his name went through him like a flash fire. He buried his head in her fragrant hair, trying to hold back, but he couldn’t. The feel of her sleek, tight warmth obliterated everything else. He moved. He had to.

  And when he saw she was right there with him, he tilted her hips and brought her even closer, finding the small nub at her center. They went over the edge together.

  For long moments, they stayed against the wall, their bodies slick with sweat. Only after their pulses slowed did Nate’s legs work.

  Finally, he carried her into his bedroom. They fell onto his big bed, on top of his navy comforter. Neither spoke. There was only the sound of their breathing and the promise of the night beyond. Moonlight streamed through his windows, rippling on the floor and wall like water.

  He stared lazily at the tall chest of drawers in the corner, the TV and its cabinet at the foot of his bed.

  Robin lay on her left side, right leg thrown over his lower hairy one. The pale light polished her velvet skin to ivory. Her dark hair rippled across her shoulder, tickled his chest.

  He ran his fingers through the satin mass, stroked her shoulder with his thumb. “You doing okay?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  The feel of her bare skin, hot and sleek against his, pumped through him like a drug. He shifted so he was on his side facing her. She was so gorgeous.

  He stroked his knuckles up and down her arm. He couldn’t stop touching her petal-soft skin, didn’t want to.