by Linda Conrad
Bella went wild under his hands. She writhed, bucked, reached … begged. Cal craved more. He craved the curves of her. The burning sensation of her skin under his mouth.
He'd lavished her navel, tasted the sweetness of the tender flesh below it. And he still craved more. More of the tastes of her.
Using his teeth, he scraped her inner thigh and felt the strong muscles quiver in response. She planted her feet and arched, opening herself to him. And he slid in to feast on paradise.
With one part of his brain, he heard her whimpering, then screaming and calling his name—over and over. He kept tasting her varying flavors, tangy, salty, suddenly sweet.
But when he reached one hand up to soothe and touch her cheek, Bella took his forefinger into her mouth and sucked hard. That erotic pull muffled her screams and sent electric jolts straight through him. He returned the jolt with one more quick tug of his lips on her center nub.
The climax ripped through her like a hot knife on warm butter. She dug her nails into his shoulders and then grabbed fistfuls of his hair.
Sobbing, she let each fantastic aftershock rock through her. She relished it. Gloried in her first real climax. Breathless power drove heat swarming over her body.
"Now, Cal. Please, now."
"Not yet." But he quickly dispensed with his jeans and bent to her again.
He couldn't get his fill. Every time he thought his urgent hunger would finish him off, he found something new about her to tantalize and keep him going. He soothed and kissed, let her breathing deepen and calm.
His own breathing was shallow and threatened to clog his lungs. There was more to her than even he'd dreamed. He flipped her on her stomach and cherished the curve of her waist, the roundness of her bottom. He dug his hands into the smooth silk of her hair and buried his nose in handfuls of the sweet-smelling strands.
He ran his hands over the golden satin of her skin. Smooth, slightly sweaty from the exertion of her climax, he bent his head to taste.
He felt the tremble and heard her moan. He reached underneath her body and splayed his hand flat against her belly. Fire and ice. She shivered. But her skin was so hot it burned his palm.
Cal knew when he turned her over he would find her panting. And he had to turn her. Had to see her eyes.
Before he moved, though, Bella eased over onto her back and looked up at him. Her breath came in raspy, short gasps. The glazed look in her eyes was unfocused and wild. She reached for him, ran her hands up and down his arms. Her hips bucked. She moaned, arching her back and spreading her legs wide.
"Bella, look at me," he whispered.
Her eyes widened and focused on his. That was all he could see. Her eyes, glinting black with passion and want.
He rose over her, holding back while a look of amazement, mixed with a tiny bit of fear, passed through her eyes. Cal almost crowed with male pride.
Here lay everything he'd ever needed. The thought caught him off guard, as he plunged into her. Then all thought shattered and fled while her body closed hot and tight around him.
She first rose to meet him, then fell back to the bed while the pounding of two bodies mating stirred the night air. He watched her smile with pleasure and captured that smile with his mouth on hers. Their breaths mixed as they linked together, moving beat for beat.
He felt her heart thundering under his and realized their two hearts were joined in time. The same as their bodies were one.
The tempo of their bodies picked up, and the pounding became slaps, ringing in the darkness. He reached for her hands and linked hers with his while her hips urged him on.
Cal felt it when the wave began to rumble through her. Little spirals of internal pulses sucked at his body as he rammed into hers. Her breathing stopped and he knew she'd gotten caught up in the crest.
Feeling the explosion of volcanic heat crashing against him, and seeing the glorious surrender to pleasure on her face, Cal let himself slip. His own explosion whooshed the breath right out of his lungs as he collapsed down over her.
When Cal buried his face in her hair, she was lost. The minute she took her first breath and reveled in the feeling of his body on hers, she knew it was all over. She would never in her lifetime get over him. There would never be another man who could make her feel such things.
How stupid was she? To throw herself into the fire this way. To practically beg the man to break her heart.
Bella was hopelessly in love. She'd tried to deny it for days now. Kept reminding herself he'd never mentioned a future for them. And he most certainly was a ladies' man, after all. She knew, because he'd just pleased this lady into losing her heart.
He placed a gentle kiss against her temple, and her eyes grew dim and damp. She blinked back the tears. Closed her eyes and willed away the pain.
"Bella … I…"
A shrill whistle sounded faintly through the darkness, bringing Cal's words to a sudden halt. Distantly Bella thought of the bird of prey that must've made that sound. Then she opened her eyes, but the room still seemed darker than before.
She felt Cal move away from her to sit on the side of the bed. Trying to focus, she realized that clouds had obscured the moonlight, casting the cabin and its occupants into alternating dark shadows and eerie nothingness.
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," Cal mumbled.
Dios Mío, she thought. He'd already realized that he'd made a horrible mistake with her. Even though she'd just been through the most amazing experience of her life. Could he really have changed his mind so soon?
Seconds later she felt his body tense as he sat at the side of the bed, and a shiver of fear ran up her spine. "Cal, what…?"
"Shush. Don't talk. Just get dressed."
She could hear him as he picked up his jeans and slid into them.
"I'm going for the rifles and the phone." He stood and moved toward the kitchen. "Stay in this room. No matter what you hear. Keep still."
And then with a whisper of denim, she knew he was gone.
* * *
Nine
« ^ »
Cal silently cursed himself as he stole through the cabin, finding first his phone and then one of the rifles. He jammed on a pair of boots and moved to the front room.
He'd been rash enough to think bringing Bella out here would keep her safe. Wiping a hand across his eyes, he cursed once more. Damnation! He couldn't even keep her safe from himself.
How could he have been stupid enough to make love to Bella without protection? He'd been cautioning himself for days now not to get carried away with her. Instead, when she'd come to him, he'd turned into the same stupid ass he'd always been.
He'd lost it. Lost his control. Lost his mind.
He vowed to stick with his plan regardless of the strange craziness he felt when he was with Bella. He was chagrined to remember that he'd lost his edge when it came to Kaydie, too. All that enticing weakness just had to change—and change now.
Cal vowed to go back to racing and leave Kaydie on the ranch. And now he added leaving Bella behind as well. He had to go. Had to protect himself. A strong person didn't allow themselves to be sidetracked by love. Love hurt.
All the people he'd ever cared about disappeared from his life. And when they went they took a piece of his soul with them.
But Bella seemed so different than all the others. She was special. Phenomenal.
They were good together, too. He knew they'd be back in each other's arms soon. But the next time, he'd be more careful. She was bound to hurt him if he didn't start using his head … and protection.
It might be crazy. He couldn't really remember feeling this way before, but he'd thought he was destined to protect Bella. Protect her from everything.
So far, he hadn't done much of job of it. And now it was way past time for him to start acting like an intelligent human being.
Standing in the dark, beside the closed front door, Cal phoned Cinco. When his brother answered in a quiet whisper, Cal figured he'd awakened him.
"I need your help, Cinco," he said with his own hoarse whisper. "The coyotes have apparently found us, and I think they're about to rush the cabin."
"I think you're right, little brother."
Cal pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it for a second. What had he just said?
He whipped the phone back to his ear. "Cinco, what the hell…?"
"Gotcha covered, kid. When you left Abby's muttering about protecting Bella, it suddenly occurred to me that if the coyotes were smart enough to find a way through a Gentry Ranch fence, they might be smart enough to follow you two when you left Abby's.
"I've got the sheriff and about a dozen men with me," Cinco continued. "We're here, about a half mile away from the cabin, trying to figure out how many men they've got and just where each of them is hiding."
Thank the Lord. "I heard a whistle a little while ago."
"Yeah, we're on it. It was some kind of signal. It looks like they're about to make a move." Cinco paused. "Stay put, Cal. Lock yourself and Bella in and barricade the doors. This will all be over soon. We'll get them."
Cal heard a click and Cinco was cut off. "Wait… Damn it," he sputtered.
How the hell was he supposed to stay in this cabin cowering under the bed when at any moment a coyote could break through and get to Bella? And what if they knew Cinco and the sheriff were out there? One of the good guys might get hurt.
No way was he staying inside. He needed to be out with the action, keeping an eye on Bella from the outside.
But he didn't want to scare her to death. She'd been upset enough today when she learned all the migrants had been murdered. What could he tell her?
He quietly slipped back into Kaydie's bedroom. "Bella? Are you dressed?"
"Oh, Cal, thank goodness. Yes, I put on my jeans and boots. What's going on?"
Bella's eyes had grown accustomed to the dark, and when she saw him standing in the doorway, she rushed to throw her arms around him. "Did I do something stupid, Cal? If I did, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"Quiet!" He pulled her arms away from his shoulders and put them at her sides. "You did nothing wrong. It's just … I thought I heard something outside … near where the horses are tied. I'm sure it's nothing, but I'm going out to check. It might be an animal or a rattler."
He sounded so distant, and almost angry. And considering everything they'd just done together, too. Her heart hurt. After trying to prepare herself for this, she'd thought she'd be ready. But she was wrong.
"I want you to lock and barricade the doors behind me," he demanded harshly. "Then stay in this room until you hear my voice at the door."
"Oh, but I could help," she pleaded. "I could quiet the horses for you."
"Uh … the floodlights don't reach that far. I'll probably have to shoot whatever it is, and I might accidentally shoot you in the dark." He pulled back from her. "Come on. Lock the door behind me, keep the lights off, and don't panic if you hear shots."
She did as he'd asked and soon found herself sitting in the dark on the little bed where they had just made love. Well, no, maybe it wasn't love they'd made. Maybe it was just great sex—at least for Cal. For her … for her it was so much more.
He'd made her feel cherished, adored and powerful. He'd needed her, if only for a little while.
She sighed, then quieted to listen for any sounds from outside. Not able to hear anything from this little protected bedroom, Bella sneaked into the kitchen to stand at the window.
But she couldn't hear anything there, either. Listening hard, she tried to make out the normal sounds of the night. The crickets or the calls of the nighthawks as they flew over the range.
There was nothing. No sounds at all but the wind as it gently rustled through the leaves of the mesquite.
Then she heard the first noise, but in short order it became a commotion. It threw her for a second, but soon she realized what was going on. The animal that Cal had heard was after the chickens in the pen near the house, not the horses down by the creek.
It might be a fox or even a coyote. Mabel! As ornery as she was, Bella still wouldn't let anything happen to her.
She ran to the kitchen door, grabbing a broom as she went. No darn fox was going to mess with her chickens.
She threw open the door and reached outside to turn on the spotlights that Cinco had installed for her last week.
And things seemed to go nuts.
Shots rang out in the distance. In fact, it sounded like a whole army was at war on Gentry Ranch.
When her eyes became accustomed to the bright light, Bella quickly looked around. She saw a man , dressed all in black with his back to her, tangled in chicken wire and pointing a rifle toward the trees.
A light glinted off something under the trees and she narrowed her eyes to see what the man was preparing to shoot. Immediately she discovered the light was moonlight bouncing off Cal's rifle as he took aim at something he'd spotted out there. And the crazy man in with the chickens was about to shoot at his back.
But he hadn't counted on Bella.
She never hesitated, but raised the broom in her hands and brought it down hard against the man's arms. The rifle bounced out of his hands and exploded, sending its shot wild.
The man staggered then turned on her.
Dios mío. It was one of the coyotes she'd seen shooting that man in Mexico.
His eyes were black, empty. But his mouth was screwed up with rage.
Bella froze. They'd found her. And Cal was out there helpless against them.
The coyote stumbled as he shook one foot free of the wire. She watched him stomp around on the ground, still trying to extricate the other foot. She stood and stared as if in some terrible nightmare.
Then out of her dreams, she could hear Cal calling to her. "Get in the house, Bella! Get away from the light and lock the damn door."
That got her attention. She dropped the broom and scooted back inside. The door was locked and bolted and she was back in the baby's room before she took her next breath.
She leaned against the closed door and prayed. Prayed for Cal. How would he manage if he was outnumbered?
If she knew where he kept the other rifles, maybe she could help him. On the other hand, she'd never fired a gun in her life. And she wasn't sure she'd be able to kill anyone, even if she knew how.
Bella heard a couple more distant gunshots and then there was quiet. She held her breath. Cal. She didn't mind dying if it was her time, but she'd give anything to make sure he was okay.
A man's voice sliced through the silence, calling out to her. But it wasn't Cal's voice. She gave up a quick prayer to be forgiven for any sins and prepared herself to die.
"Bella! It's me, Cinco. Come open the door. It's all over."
She ran to the kitchen door and threw it open. The floodlight, directed at the chicken pen, was still burning, lighting up the entire yard. Cinco had turned to call out to someone as she'd opened the door.
"Cinco," she breathed. "Where is…?" Bella stopped midsentence because at that moment Cal came into view.
There were at least twenty men in or at the fringes of the cabin's yard. Some were on the ground, bleeding and moaning. Other men seemed to be herding a few of the coyotes, who were all dressed in black, into a central spot.
The pungent odor of gunsmoke filled the night air. In the background, Bella could hear trucks coming down the dirt road toward the cabin.
But through it all, she'd spotted Cal as he found her gaze from clear across the yard. She couldn't see any blood or injuries on his body. He quickly spoke to another man and then headed in her direction.
"I think we got 'em all, sugar," Cinco told her. "The sheriff will be moving them to jail in town shortly."
She'd been distracted watching her love walk toward her. "Got all of … who? The coyotes? How'd you know they'd be here? I don't understand any of this."
Cal appeared by her side and dragged her into his arms. "Thank God you're all right," he groaned as h
e closed his wide arms around her body and hugged tightly.
She buried her nose in the material of his shirt and took a deep breath. He was alive.
"You saved my life, sweetheart," Cal whispered into her hair. "I was trying to save yours, and you—" He choked on the rest of the words.
Bella squirmed out of his embrace and pulled back to look at him. "You knew they were out there and you didn't tell me? You didn't trust me to help you?" Her eyes were on fire and she was spitting mad.
Cinco backed up a step, and Cal wondered whether his knee was healed enough to run.
Instead of taking the coward's way, he fell back on his old charms and stood his ground, grinning at her. "Sorry, honey. I didn't realize you were such a sure shot with a broomstick. If I'd known, we could've saved ourselves a whole lot of trouble … and bullets."
Instead of laughing at him as he'd hoped, she bent to pick up the broom. Cal decided it was time to go help the sheriff with his prisoners.
The following day wore into late afternoon and Cal's body was dragging. But as he looked out the kitchen window at Bella feeding her chickens and repairing the wire, he marveled at how well she was holding up.
Last night she'd tended some of the injured men, she'd made coffee, and she'd insisted he put his knee up when he hadn't realized it was bothering him. Competent, compassionate … and spectacular. He was stunned at all the things his Bella could be.
But most of all, he couldn't stop thinking about the wild and amazing sex scene they'd created together the night before. He'd known that passion was there. Known it as sure as he knew his own past.
Even thinking about it now, nearly twenty-four hours later, he found the pure, savage fervor still sent electric impulses to harden and embarrass him.
Bella finished with her hens and came inside the kitchen. "How's your knee? Are you hungry?" She opened the refrigerator door and stood studying its contents. "We have some leftovers. Want me to fix you something?"
