Her Rugged Rancher

by Stella Bagwell

The cat moved off the step at the same time Noah heard the faint tinkle of a bell and the crunch of footsteps on gravel.

  “What the hell is she doing?” he muttered the question more to himself than the curious cat.

  Noah had already risen to his feet, when he spotted Bella rounding a curve in the road. The sight of her caused his stomach to clench, his jaw to tighten. These past few days, he’d purposely avoided stopping at her house. Mainly because he knew that each minute he spent with the woman brought him closer to making love to her.

  Moving off the step, he stood on the rough ground and waited for her to get within earshot. Then, not bothering with a greeting, he asked, “What are you doing walking? Is your car on the blink?”

  “The road from my house to here is too rough for my little car,” she explained. “So I walked.”

  Since he’d left her house a few nights ago, he’d halfway convinced himself that Bella wasn’t really as pretty or sexy as the image he carried in his mind. But he’d only been fooling himself. Just looking at her made him ache with longing.

  “You shouldn’t have. Dusk is when the predators go on the prowl.”

  She lifted her wrist to show him she was wearing a bear bell, then quickly slipped it off her wrist and jammed it down in the pocket of her jeans. “It’s not even a quarter of a mile from here to my place and I’m the only one prowling about this evening,” she said, then gestured toward the yellow tom, who’d sidled up to Noah’s leg. “Who’s that? I didn’t see him the day I was up here.”

  “Jack isn’t always around. He comes and goes whenever he gets the notion.”

  A smile tilted her lips as she eyed the cat. “He’s a handsome guy. I’m surprised he doesn’t go back to the barn and stay with his furry friends.”

  “Jack isn’t a barn cat. When he was just a baby, I found him alone on the edge of the highway.”

  “And you’ve had him ever since. He’s lucky that you rescued him.” She bent down to pet the feline, but before she could put a hand on him, Jack quickly dashed off into the shadows. “Well, I can tell he definitely belongs to you.”

  Noah couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve taught him to be cautious.”

  “No doubt,” she said with a laugh, then her expression grew serious as she gestured toward his bandaged forearm. “I was in Jett’s office when Sassy called him about your accident. I wanted to come see for myself how you’re doing.”

  Did she really care that much? The notion tore at him. He couldn’t deny he wanted her love and attention. Yet the scarred, cynical part of him didn’t want to risk having everything, including his heart, torn away. Enduring that sort of loss once in a man’s life was more than enough.

  “Well, I can tell you that my arm is stiff and sore and my back ouches if I move a certain way, but otherwise I’m fine. Didn’t Jett tell you?”

  “I had to work late this evening,” she said. “I haven’t seen Jett since he left the office to come up here.”

  He mouthed a curse word under his breath. “Jett shouldn’t have bothered on my account. Jack gives me worse scratches than this whenever I try to give him a dose of wormer.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Jett cares about you. So do I. That’s why we bothered to check on you.”

  Besides the Sundell family, only one other person had ever really cared about Noah and that had been Ward Stevens. Yet even his old partner had eventually turned his back on Noah. But not before he’d sworn to forget the very name of Noah Crawford. Sooner or later, Jett and Bella would do the same. That’s what happened with people he let himself get close to.

  “Come on,” he said gruffly. “I’ll make us some coffee.”

  She followed him into the house and he shut the door against the cooling night air. A lamp was already on in the living area of the small room. Noah walked over to the kitchen and switched on a light above the sink.

  “Let me make the coffee,” she insisted. “You don’t need to be moving your arm. You might tear the cuts open.”

  He grunted with amusement. “Not hardly. Sassy has me trussed up tighter than a stuffed turkey.”

  Bella moved over to the short span of cabinets and he stood to one side watching the subtle movements of her body as she gathered the makings for the coffee. Tonight she was wearing black jeans and a thin white blouse tucked inside the waistband. Her dark hair hung loose against her back and swung against the fabric like a curtain pushed and pulled by a gentle breeze.

  Unable to ignore the desire rising up in him, he walked up behind her and slipped his good arm around her waist. She dropped the spoon of coffee grounds onto the cabinet and then with a little moan, fell back against him.

  Noah bent his head and buried his face in the side of her fragrant hair. “You shouldn’t be here,” he murmured. “But I’m glad you are, Bella.”

  She twisted around to look anxiously up at him. “When I heard you’d had an accident it scared me. An incident like that can be deadly.” She touched a hand to his cheek. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “What I’m feeling right now is a lot more dangerous than a few cuts on my arm,” he said huskily.

  “Noah—”

  The soft invitation in her eyes was almost his undoing. Before he caved in to temptation, he quickly stepped back and sucked in a deep breath.

  “You’d better fix the coffee, Bella.”

  A look of frustration stole over her face, but she didn’t argue or reach to touch him. Instead, she turned back to the cabinet and began cleaning up the spilled coffee grounds.

  Moving to the other side of the room where the couch faced the small fireplace, he started to take a seat, then decided he was too restless to sit. Especially with her up and moving about the kitchen.

  He ended up standing by the open window, watching the distant mountains being swallowed up by a darkening sky, and wondering why he was such a coward. Why couldn’t he simply take what Bella was offering and be thankful she wanted to be near him?

  Because she’s not just any woman, Noah. She’s beautiful, classy and a successful lawyer to boot. She’s not the sort to have an empty affair. She’s looking for a man to love. A man to be her husband. And she’s looking straight at you. That’s why you’re scared.

  Annoyed at the voice in his head, he looked over at Bella. “If you’d like I can turn on the radio or CD player. I have a stack of old standards. Jo Stafford, Dinah Washington, that sort of music. And I have a collection of Western swing and cowboy trail songs.”

  “That’s a strange combination,” she said. “I figured you for the modern country stuff—dancing on a barroom floor dusted with sawdust.”

  He let out a short laugh. “Me, dance? I have two left feet. Besides, that was my father’s thing and it triggered many fights with my parents. I think that’s why that sort of entertainment never appealed to me.”

  She said, “Our father spent a lot of time in nightclubs. But he was there to play in a band. Not to drink or pick up women. He wasn’t that kind of guy.”

  She poured water into a fast-drip coffee machine and closed the lid. “But back to your question. I think I could use the quiet tonight, if you don’t mind. Peta, our secretary at work, always keeps music going in the background, which is good. It keeps our offices from feeling like tombs. But sometimes it’s nice not to hear anything, especially after a hectic day like today.”

  The weariness in her voice prompted him to return to her side. “I hope you didn’t let my little run-in with a piece of barbed wire ruin your day.”

  Sighing, she shoved a hand through her hair and for the first time tonight Noah noticed her eyes looked tired. The fact struck him hard. For some reason, he’d never imagined Bella putting in an exhausting day of work, or agonizing over her job. The times he’d seen her, she always looked fresh and full of energy. He’d assumed her finances were so secure she could make her workday as light or as busy as she wanted. Apparently her world wasn’t that easy.

  “I was worried about you,” she admitted. �
�But it all started this morning. I took on a criminal case. That’s something I don’t normally do. Now I’m afraid I’ve made a mistake.”

  “If you feel that uncertain, why did you take the case in the first place?” Two weeks ago, he would’ve never asked Bella such a question. Before that day he’d stopped to help her with Mary Mae, he hadn’t wanted to know what went on in her day-to-day life. He had no desire to hear about her hopes and fears or anything in between. Distance. That was the safe way to treat a provocative woman like Bella. But somehow she’d closed the distance between them and now, damn it, he wanted to know her every thought.

  Sighing, she turned back to the coffeepot. As she filled two cups with the steaming brown liquid, she said, “An old friend asked for my help and I couldn’t refuse her.”

  “That’s admirable. Helping out a friend.”

  She handed him one of the coffees and they moved over to the couch. Thinking he’d put as much space as possible between them, Noah sat on one end. But Bella eased onto the middle cushion to leave only inches separating their knees.

  After she took a careful sip of coffee, she said, “That’s just it. I don’t know if I can handle this case. All afternoon I’ve been wondering if I should tell her to find a more experienced lawyer. You see, this is about her brother. He’s been arrested on theft charges. And from what she tells me it sounds like a frame job.”

  Noah felt like cold water had been thrown straight at his face. He knew exactly what it meant to be set up for a fall. He’d not forgotten how the lies and suspicions had eaten at his insides until there’d been nothing left but the shell of a man.

  He stared blindly at the floor as his past rushed at him from all directions. “What about the brother?” he asked stiffly. “What’s his story?”

  “I’ve not talked to him yet. I’m planning to do that tomorrow. Along with a request to get his bail lowered.”

  He sipped his coffee in hopes the warm, rich brew would ease the frozen muscles in his throat. “So you think he deserves a chance to tell his side of things?”

  Noah could feel her brown gaze boring into the side of his face and from the corner of his eye he could see the space between her brows pucker with confusion. “Well, naturally. Why wouldn’t he deserve a chance? Everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty.”

  “That’s only in a fairy-tale world, Bella. In real life things don’t work that way.”

  “You say that like—have you ever been in trouble with the law?”

  He cut her a skeptical glance. “And if I said yes, would that make you get up and leave?”

  “No. Everyone makes mistakes of one kind or another. If you have, I figure you’ve already paid for them.”

  “I’ve paid for them all right,” he said cynically. “But if it will ease your mind I’ve never had any run-ins with the law.”

  She placed her cup on a small table where he kept a stack of reading material, then scooted across the cushion until her thigh was pressed alongside his. Noah watched with a mixture of fear and fascination as she brought her hands up to frame his face.

  “Noah,” she said softly, “there’s so much about you that I don’t know or understand. I wish you’d share your thoughts with me. Even a little would make me happy.”

  The gentle way her hands were cradling his cheeks was unlike anything he’d experienced before. The affection flowing from her fingertips left him feeling cornered and vulnerable and far too weak to pull away.

  “You’re asking a lot from me, Bella.” His voice sounded oddly thick, as though he’d just woken from a deep sleep.

  An enticing little smile curved her lips as she murmured, “That’s because I want to give you a lot.”

  Her mouth moved toward his and Noah couldn’t deny her or the need inside him. He closed the fraction of distance between their lips and the sweet taste of her instantly flooded his senses, and sent desire throbbing through his body.

  He started to draw her closer, then realized he was still holding onto his coffee. Without breaking the contact of their lips, he somehow managed to lower the cup over the arm of the couch and set it safely on the floor. Once he was rid of the hindrance, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her upper body onto his.

  Her breasts flattened against his chest, while her mouth parted, inviting him to take more. Desire shot straight to his brain and sent a torrential rain of heat pouring through his body.

  Like a starved man, his tongue thrust past her lips and began a slow, seductive exploration of the ribbed roof of her mouth, the sharp edges of her teeth. Immediately her tongue tangled with his, causing an erotic dance to ensue and all the while he could hear her soft whimpers, feel her fingers digging into his upper shoulders.

  The urgency of her kiss drove him onward and he couldn’t touch her enough, kiss her enough. As his lips feasted on hers, his hands roamed her shoulders and back before finally slipping low enough to cup around her bottom.

  Bella was the first to finally tear her mouth away and as she sucked in long, raspy breaths, she pulled apart the snaps on his shirt.

  Once the fabric fell away to expose his bare skin, she said, “I wondered if the rest of you was as brown as your face. Now I can see for myself that you are.”

  Helpless with need, Noah couldn’t do anything to stop the reckless path they were taking. And when she lowered her head and touched her tongue to the center of his chest, his last exhausted attempt to resist collapsed. Like a dam trying to hold back churning flood waters, it burst wide and suddenly it was far too late to push her aside and walk away from the danger.

  Slowly, the tip of her tongue made a swathe of moist circles upon his skin until the throbbing need inside him built to an unbearable pressure. Finally, he thrust his hands in her hair and gently lifted her head. And when his gaze connected with her smoky brown gaze, he was too overwhelmed to speak.

  “Am I hurting your arm? Your back?” she whispered.

  “You’re making me hurt all right. But not in those places,” he told her in a voice rough with desire.

  The corners of her lips tilted upward as she slipped her warm hands down over his rib cage and farther downward to the button on the waistband of his jeans.

  “I don’t have nursing skills,” she said impishly, “but I can try to ease the pain.”

  He quickly moved them to a sitting position, but even then, she kept her hands on him, as though she feared he still might try to slip away from her grasp. The idea that he could make an escape now was laughable. Except that there was nothing funny about surrendering to this woman’s arms. Mistake or not, he was tired of always denying himself the pleasures a man dreamed about, the love he needed to make himself whole.

  “Bella.” He breathed her name as he nuzzled his nose against her cheek. “I don’t want this to happen and then you have regrets.”

  She eased her head back far enough to look into his eyes and in that moment Noah felt like a very young man, one who’d never been intimate with a woman before. Just touching Bella, looking into her eyes and having her hands move over him felt different and new. And so wonderful it nearly sucked his breath away.

  “I don’t want you to have regrets either, Noah. That would hurt me more than anything.”

  “Bella, I—

  Before he could finish, she gently placed a finger upon his lips. “You don’t have to say it. Neither of us can predict the future. You’ve already told me no promises. I can live with that for now.”

  She could live with it at this very moment, Noah thought, but how would she feel later? How long would it be before she wanted more from him? Things that he could never give her? Like marriage, a home and children?

  He wasn’t going to dwell on those questions tonight, Noah decided. No, for now he was going to simply enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman wanted to be in his bed. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with the consequences.

  Chapter Seven

  Noah rose from the couch and pulled her along with
him. Once she was standing beside him, Bella’s legs began to tremble as if she’d just jogged a fast five miles.

  With a breathless little laugh, she snatched a hold on his arm to steady herself. “I think you’ve knocked my legs out from under me, cowboy.”

  “I can fix that.” Bending forward, he put an arm around her back and the other beneath her legs, then lifted her easily off the floor. “Just hang on.”

  “Noah! Your arm—the cuts!”

  “Shh. A little flyweight like you isn’t going to hurt my arm.”

  Past the tiny kitchen, a door led into a shadowy bedroom. As he carried her into the small space, she caught a glimpse of a standard-sized bed with an iron slatted head and footboard and covered with a light-colored patchwork quilt. Along the outside wall, a window stood open, allowing the pine-scented breeze to drift into the quiet haven.

  At the side of the mattress, Noah set her down on a braided rug, but kept his arms planted firmly around her. Their strength and warmth enveloped her with a sense of homecoming and she wondered if he had any clue as to how much he was affecting her. How much he was coming to mean to her.

  Her heart was thumping wildly and the more she breathed, the more light-headed she felt. It seemed as if she’d wanted to make love to Noah forever. From the first moment she’d ever laid eyes on him, a feeling of wild, wicked desire had popped into her mind. It hadn’t made sense then. But it did now. And as she slipped her arms around him, she felt as though her life was just beginning.

  Tilting her head back, she met his gaze and a swell of emotions caused tears to sting her eyes. “Noah, it’s been a long time since I—well, have been with a man. Please forgive me if I’m awkward.”

  His hands gently cradled the back of her head. “Oh, Bella. You could never be anything but perfect. And anyway, I’m not exactly Mr. Romeo.”

  She splayed her hands against his bare chest and curled her fingers into the patch of curly black hair. “You are to me, Noah,” she whispered. “And I want you just as you are.”

  “You don’t know what you’re saying. But right now I don’t care. All I care about is you. And this.”