“I can think of lots better ways to reduce tension than driving up into the mountains in the dark.”
Suddenly his voice was different, a low murmur in his throat that rasped against her nerves. Tension flared again, the heat unmistakable. Her heart started to pound and she began to tremble. Ignore it, she ordered herself.
“Driving works for me.” She tried to make her voice brisk, but she failed miserably. She hardly recognized the throaty purr as her own voice.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached out and trailed one finger down her cheek. He lingered at the angle of her jaw, and she felt his finger tremble. “I bruised your cheek. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She could barely get the words out. Her heart thudded so hard in her chest she was sure he could hear it. And every nerve in her body leapt in response to his touch on her face. When he let his hand drop, she wanted to beg him to touch her again.
Instead of moving away from her, he leaned closer and looked at her cheek. “I think I need to kiss it to make it better,” he murmured. Without giving her a chance to think, to protest, he brushed his lips over her cheek.
She tried to inhale, the ragged, unsteady breath catching in her throat. Her heart stuttered, then began to pound out an ancient rhythm that echoed the throbbing inside her. Jesse lifted his face for a moment and stared down at her.
Her heart raced faster when she saw the desire in his eyes. She wasn’t the only one who was affected by that simple caress. For a moment his eyes were unguarded, and what she saw was wild, unfettered need.
She swayed closer, the need inside her yearning for him. He hesitated for a moment, desire battling with denial in the depths of his eyes. She saw the instant that desire won.
He wrapped his arms around her, hauling her close. Weaving his fingers into her hair, he tipped her head so the moonlight shone full on her face. “I’ve wanted to do this since the first moment I saw you, wrestling with that steer.”
She couldn’t look away. Never before had she seen such desire, such naked need, in a man’s face. For her, Shea McAllister. And she blurted out the only thing she could say. “I think I have, too.”
He groaned and covered her mouth with his. The kiss wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t a civilized caress. It was as wild as the need in his eyes, crushing her mouth beneath his, laying a claim and taking possession.
She rose to meet him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she moved closer, so that her body pressed against his from leg to chest. The hard planes of his body surrounded her, branded her with his touch. And when she slid her hands along his back, she realized he was trembling.
She was trembling, too. His mouth had gentled and now he nibbled at her lower lip, every tiny bite making her tremble more. When his tongue glided along her lips, she groaned.
He slipped into her mouth, tasting, teasing, and she groaned again. He tasted of coffee and hot male, dark and intoxicating. When he slid his hand down her back and cupped her hips, pressing her against his hard length, her voice quivered with wonder as she murmured his name.
The sound seemed to shock him back to reality. He froze, one hand on her hip and the other tangled in her hair. Then, slowly, he stepped away from her.
“I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice. “I was out of line. I shouldn’t have done that.”
His face was still hard and taut with passion, and she had no trouble seeing the evidence of his arousal, even in the dim moonlight But she saw the anger in his eyes and wondered if it was directed at her or himself.
“I didn’t exactly try to discourage you.”
“You should have.”
“Sorry. I don’t do a lot of things I’m supposed to do.” His face softened. “No, you don’t, do you? I’ve never met anyone quite like you. And I’m sorry, Shea. That really was inexcusable. I frightened you half to death, then I took advantage of your vulnerability. I promise you it won’t happen again.”
She tilted her head and watched the regret on his face. “You’re an honorable man, aren’t you, Jesse?”
“There are certain rules I live by,” he said stiffly. “Kissing your employer is definitely against most of them.”
“I imagine that up until now, it wasn’t a tough rule to keep.”
His face softened again, involuntarily she thought, and he half smiled. “It’s true that all of my other employers have been men. But they all had wives or sisters or daughters.”
She stepped away from him, knowing that he was right. The last thing that she or the Red Rock needed was for her to get involved with another drifter cowboy. The few kisses she’d shared with Kyle Diggett had been bland, passionless things compared to what had just happened with Jesse. But they had still blinded her to Kyle’s true nature. That wasn’t going to happen again.
“You’re right, of course. And I don’t have time to get involved with anyone right now, let alone someone I work with.” She wondered if the regret she saw in Jesse’s eyes, even if it was grudging, mirrored her own. “So we’ll just chalk it up to fear and nerves and forget about it. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” He raised his hand and touched her cheek again, almost as if he couldn’t help himself. “Although I am sorry that I bruised your cheek.”
She had to fight the temptation to let her fingers linger on the spot where his had been. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had far worse.”
“But not from me.”
“It’s all right, Jesse,” she said, her voice low. “You were trying to protect my ranch. How could I be angry at you, or upset with what you did?”
He tilted his head. “Most women would be screaming about it.”
“I’m not most women.”
“I’m beginning to see that,” he said slowly. He watched her for a few moments, then said, “Do you want me to walk you to the house?”
“No, I’ll be fine.”
“Good night, then.”
“Night.”
She walked toward the house, too aware of Jesse standing and watching her. Even though she’d told him not to walk her to the door, he’d make sure she got into the house. When she reached the porch she turned around, and he raised one hand in response. Waving quickly, she slipped inside and locked the door behind her.
Jesse watched Shea’s progress through the house. One by one, the lights on the first floor went out. Soon there was only one light burning, and he assumed it was her bedroom. Banishing images of her bed from his mind, he forced himself to stand and wait until that light, too, was out. Only then did he head over to her truck.
He’d managed to screw up royally tonight, he thought grimly. Not only did he break every single rule he’d ever had about the job and getting involved with a suspect, he hadn’t even been aware that she was gone from the property.
He hadn’t given her enough credit. He’d imagined that she’d play it close to the vest for a while, wary because he was around. He’d taken it easy tonight, secure in the knowledge that Shea was doing paperwork on his first night on the ranch, and she’d slipped past him.
It wouldn’t happen again. Running back to his cabin, he grabbed a small flashlight and several small plastic bags. Then he walked over to her truck, training the light on the vehicle.
It was covered with dust. It usually was, but he thought this dust was a different color than the bright red dust of the ranch. Snapping on a pair of latex gloves, he used a piece of paper to scrape a little of the dust into one of the plastic bags. His first piece of evidence against her.
He went over the truck methodically, taking samples of fibers from the seats and carpets and checking every scrap of paper in the car. There was precious little to be found.
But he had a start. The dust could be compared to that on the Red Rock, and if it wasn’t from this ranch, Jesse had confidence that the FBI lab could find a match for it. He had some fiber and hair samples, and they, too, could be compared with Shea’s clothes and hair. He held one bag up and shined the flashlight on the single strand of hair
. He smiled grimly. The coarse black hair hadn’t come from anyone on this ranch. But he guessed it would be a perfect match for a refugee from San Rafael.
As he turned off the flashlight and headed back to his cabin, he recognized the irony of what he’d been doing. Not an hour earlier, he’d been locked in a passionate embrace with Shea. He’d forgotten the reason he was at the Red Rock Ranch, his job, everything but the way she felt and tasted. He’d been so aroused, so hot for her, that he probably couldn’t have remembered his own name.
Now he was coolly logging in the first of the evidence he hoped to use to convict her of a crime. He was a cold bastard, he acknowledged. But he had to be. He had no feelings. His life was his job. He did what needed to be done to solve a case, and never had any regrets. He was the Renegade.
He thought he would be up before Shea the next morning, but when he stepped out of his cabin into the predawn darkness, he saw that he was wrong. Someone was in the barn, and he knew it wasn’t Levi. He could hear the old man’s snores coming from the large cabin Hurrying toward the light coming from the barn door, he told himself he was anxious to get on with his job. Seeing Shea again had nothing to do with it.
His hands had burned during the night, remembering the silky softness of her hair and the satin smoothness of her cheek. Her scent had swirled around him, waking him from restless sleep, tormenting him with memories of her taste. He’d woken too many times, hot and aroused, with visions of Shea slipping just out of his reach.
But that was the nighttime. He had no control over his dreams, but he sure as hell could control what happened during the day. And during the daylight hours, he intended to be all business.
She was measuring out rations of corn for the cattle in the barn. Besides the steer with the laceration, there were a few others. He thought he approached quietly, but she turned around as he got close.
“Good morning,” she said, and her voice was too bright.
“Don’t you think it’s stretching it to call it morning? What are you doing up so early?”
“We have a lot to do today, and I wanted to get started.” She spoke a little too quickly. “We’re going to have a long day, and being shorthanded isn’t going to help.”
He gave a lazy shrug and leaned against a stall, watching her. “That’s what I’m doing here. I figured there’d be a lot of catching up to do.”
He saw the flash of relief on her face at the businesslike conversation. He’d bet she was wondering how he was going to handle the little incident of last night, the little incident that was the reason he was up so early. Even though the memories of their kiss had tortured him all night, he’d be damned if he’d give her the satisfaction of knowing it.
“Great,” she said briskly. “Let’s go ahead and give the steer his injection, then you can help me feed the rest of the cattle in the barn.”
They worked together smoothly and with few words, taking care of the steer with the laceration and then tending to the rest of the cattle. It was still dark by the time the last stall had been cleaned.
“Thank goodness you were up early.” Shea gave him a weary smile. “This chore usually takes twice as long.”
“I guess we make a good team,” he said lightly.
“I guess so.”
She didn’t look at him as they headed toward the house, but warning signals flashed in Jesse’s brain. It had almost felt as if they didn’t need to talk about what to do. He’d known intuitively what she needed, what she was going to do next. And he didn’t like it. He only wanted that kind of connection with a suspect if he was going to be able to use it to arrest her.
“I suppose once you’ve worked on a couple of ranches, the chores are the same everywhere.” Her voice was too bright again, as if she, too, was looking for an explanation for the peculiar connection he’d felt in the barn. As if she, too, didn’t want to acknowledge it.
“Pretty much. Cattle need to be fed, stalls need to be cleaned, fences need to be mended.”
“Right.” They’d reached the porch of the house, and he paused. “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes,” she said. “But the coffee will be hot. Come on in.”
He’d noticed a coffeepot in the tiny kitchen of his cabin, and he knew the smart thing would be to go back to his cabin, alone, and make his own coffee. But he went into the house with her anyway.
He had more of a chance to study the house this time. Shea hurried toward the kitchen, and he followed at a slower pace. The living room was furnished with mission-style furniture that looked comfortable and inviting. A massive stone fireplace filled one wall, and above it were several paintings. Shelves filled with books covered one wall, and the gun case stood against another. The room beckoned, but he’d bet that no one spent much time in it. It had the feel of an unused space, waiting for someone to fill it with life.
“Go ahead in and look around.” Shea’s voice came from behind him, and he turned around.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
She waved one hand, clutching a coffee cup with the other. “You weren’t.” She grinned at him. “Being incurably nosy myself, I excuse it in other people.”
He wandered into the room, heading for the paintings above the fireplace. “These are very good. Are they scenes from the Red Rock?”
Her face softened as she smiled. “Yes, they are.”
“Who painted them?”
“My mother. She’s a very talented artist.”
“I can see that.” Shea was right. The woman who’d painted these pictures had a gift. Her love and passion for the land leapt out of the canvas.
“She’s down in Arizona right now, painting. She always takes off in the fall and comes back in late spring. She’ll be home in a few weeks.” Shea smiled again, her love for her mother shining out of her face. “She says she’s faced as many Utah winters as she intends to face.”
He didn’t want to see that softness in her eyes or listen to her talk about a mother she clearly adored, although he wasn’t sure why. It was a well-known fact that even criminals loved their mothers. Heading out of the room, he asked, “Where can I get some of that coffee?”
“In the kitchen. There’s always a pot going. Help yourself anytime during the day.”
“Thanks.”
Levi came in a few minutes later, and Maria put a stack of pancakes on the dining room table. After they finished eating, Shea pushed back from the table.
“Levi, why don’t you and Jesse check on the pasture that borders the Hilbert land? See if it’s ready to be grazed. The herd on the back pasture is going to need to be moved in a few days.”
“Okay.” Levi barely stopped eating long enough to answer.
“When you’re done with that, take a look at the truck that Joe and Dusty crashed. It’s going to need some repair work, but I’d like to avoid a big mechanic’s bill.” She turned to Jesse. “Do you know anything about fixing cars and trucks?”
“A little. That was never my area of expertise.”
“Why don’t you leave it for a few days?” Levi spoke up. “That’ll give Joe something to do until he’s up to working again. And you know how he feels about his trucks.” Levi took another gulp of coffee.
Shea stared across the table at the older man, pinning him with a glare of laser intensity. “I need to know what’s wrong with the truck so I can plan how much we’ll need to spend to fix it,” she said deliberately.
“But Joe...” Levi’s voice trailed off as he stared at Shea. Suddenly he nodded. “Right. We’ll take a look at the truck today.”
Jesse watched the interchange, certain that some unspoken message had been sent. He wondered if it had anything to do with keeping him close to the house and away from the mountain. What had Shea been doing up there last night? He’d bet his badge it had something to do with her smuggling of the illegal aliens.
He’d find a way to get up that mountain today, one way or another.
A few minutes later he and Levi were in the truck, hea
ding in the exact opposite direction. He wondered if that had been deliberate, too, and suspected that it had. Leaning back against the cushion of the truck, he said casually, “The three of you and Shea do a lot of work around here.”
“We manage. Dev used to help out quite a bit, but he moved to town when he got married, and lately he’s been gone a lot.”
“Shea sure seems to love what she’s doing.”
The old man’s face softened as he glanced at Jesse. “That she does. Even as a little girl she would trail after her pa or one of us, begging to help. All she’s ever wanted to do was work the Red Rock.” The old cowboy smiled. “She’s the one who named me, you know.”
“What do you mean?” In spite of his vow to stay uninvolved, Jesse hungered to know everything he could about Shea.
“I was the only cowboy who didn’t wear Wrangler jeans. I liked Levi’s jeans better. When Shea was a little girl, she found that fascinating, and she started to call me Levi.” He shrugged. “The name stuck.”
“So you’ve known her since she was a child.”
The old man turned fierce eyes on him. “I’ve known her since the day she was born. And I’m telling you, there isn’t a better boss, or a better woman, for that matter, on either side of the Mississippi. I’d take it powerful bad if anyone was to hurt her.”
“From what I’ve seen, most of Cameron feels the same way,” he said smoothly.
Levi watched him for a moment, then turned his attention back to the road. “I’ve got eyes in my head. You leave that girl alone. She doesn’t need anything from the likes of you.”
Levi might be getting on in years, but clearly he was still a force to be reckoned with. “I’m just passing through, Levi. I’ll remember what you said.”
“You do that, and we’ll get along just fine.” He shifted gears and pulled the truck over to the side of the road. “Now let’s take a look at this pasture.”
Shea pushed away from the desk and rubbed her eyes. She’d just finished the bookkeeping that had been interrupted by her trip the mght before. and she was ready for a break. Miguel and the one remaining child needed enough food to get them through to the weekend, and now was a good time to take care of that. Levi would keep Jesse busy for at least the rest of the morning, and she could drive up to the cabin without worrying.
The Fugitive Bride Page 6
