Gaze clashing with hers, he crossed the barn and tucked a finger under her chin. Slowly, he lowered his head until their lips met. The solemnity of the gesture pretty much got lost in the explosion of need that rocked through both of them. He had to drag himself away before he tossed her down on the hay and took them right back to the edge of passion they’d reached the day before. One of these days there would be no turning back, but not tonight.
“I think we’d better get to dinner while I can still walk,” he said wryly.
“It’s possible you’ll have to carry me,” she said, her own expression rueful. “I think you made my knees too weak to hold me up.”
“Gladly,” he said, and scooped her into his arms until she was cradled against his chest. Unfortunately, that put her tempting mouth within inches of his own.
“Bad idea,” he said, and lowered her to her feet. “I think you’re going to have to get there under your own steam.”
“Too bad. I kind of liked your way.”
“Me, too, but my way was likely to land us in a heap of trouble,” he said with regret. “I’m pretty certain neither of us wants Grady and Karen to wonder what’s taking us so long and come looking, especially if they’re likely to find us making love in a pile of hay.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, giving him a wink over her shoulder as she sashayed past. “At least it would put an end to all that wild speculating they’re doing up at the house right now.”
Two nights later, Lauren sat at a table at Stella’s and endured a whole host of speculative looks from the Calamity Janes. Apparently Karen had been busy sharing information with the others about the budding romance out at the Blackhawk ranch.
“But what do we really know about this guy?” Emma demanded. “I think we need to look into his background.”
Lauren frowned. “He’s a wrangler. Grady interviewed him. He’s excellent at what he does. Isn’t that enough? You met him. Does he strike you as anything other than a decent, hardworking cowboy?”
Emma waved off the question. “First impressions don’t count. I’d feel better if we knew more. For all we know he could be after your money.”
“He doesn’t know I have any,” Lauren said quietly.
The others stared at her.
“How can that be?” Gina asked. “He has to know you’re a Hollywood superstar.”
Lauren shook her head. Karen chimed in to confirm it. “He doesn’t even know her last name. We sort of made sure it never came up.”
“That’s what you think,” Emma insisted. “It’s entirely possible he’s known all along. Even out here in the wilds of Wyoming, Lauren has made a name for herself. Surely he’s seen her face on a supermarket tabloid or on some TV talk show.”
Again, Lauren shook her head. “I don’t think so. He has issues with rich people. If he knew who I am and what my net worth is, he’d run the other way.”
“Not likely,” Cassie scoffed. “What man would turn his back on that? I’m with Emma. I think we need to be sure he’s not a golddigger.”
Lauren frowned. “Did I put your men on the spot like that?”
“Yes,” they replied in a chorus.
“I did not,” she insisted, then shrugged. “Okay, maybe I gave some of them a rough time to make sure they weren’t out to hurt you, but I didn’t go snooping around trying to get dirt on them.”
“Gee, that wasn’t how it seemed to Rafe when you confronted him with his society page mentions from the New York papers,” Gina teased. “The ones you researched on the Internet within ten minutes of meeting him.”
“I was just being protective,” Lauren said, undaunted.
“And that’s what we’re being now,” Emma told her. “I can call an investigator and have him do a quick check just to be sure there are no major skeletons rattling around in Wade’s closet.”
“Absolutely not,” Lauren said, horrified by the idea. “I will never speak to you again if you do that. I know everything I need to know about Wade Owens.”
“Sweetie, I have just two words for you,” Emma said. “Two divorces.”
Lauren groaned. “Okay, my judgment was impaired, but I’ve learned my lesson. Besides, I have Grady and Karen to back me up. They like Wade.” She turned to Karen. “Right?”
Karen nodded. “I don’t think Grady would have him working at the ranch—much less be encouraging a relationship with Lauren—if he didn’t have total faith in Wade’s honesty.”
“Maybe so,” Emma began.
“That’s it,” Lauren said, cutting her off. “No investigator.”
Emma sighed. “Okay, I’ll agree to that on one condition.”
Lauren regarded her with suspicion. “Which is?”
“We all get to spend time with him,” she replied. “Check him out. See how he fits in with the Calamity Janes and our guys.”
Cassie’s eyes lit up. “Perfect. A party is just what we need. We can have it at our place. Cole needs to learn how to fire up that humongous gas grill he insisted he had to have.”
“He can cook the steaks, but I’m bringing everything else,” Gina said, jumping on the bandwagon. “Everybody have their calendars? I want to be sure Rafe’s going to be in town. We never get to do anything fun together.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she blushed furiously. “Well, nothing in public anyway.”
Lauren laughed. “Then this will definitely be good practice for your social skills.”
Only Karen looked worried by the plan. “Are you sure Wade will go along with this, especially if it’s at Cassie’s?”
“Why wouldn’t he? He’s in here all the time. He knows me,” Cassie said.
“Yes,” Karen agreed. “But he probably doesn’t know that you’re married to one of the richest computer geniuses in the universe. Once he gets a load of that house you and Cole built, he’s going to conclude you don’t need the tips.”
Cassie grinned. “I don’t. I have the most overloaded piggy bank in ten states. All that money is going to end up in a trust fund for the kids.”
“Which brings up another point,” Lauren said. “Why are you still working here? I thought after the baby came, you’d give up the job.”
“Never. It’s what I do,” Cassie said simply. “Just like you want to work with horses, even though your glamorous Hollywood career left you rich enough to retire. I like being with people, finding out what’s going on around town. It gives structure to my days. I’d go nuts sitting around the house while Cole shuts himself away with his mysterious computer software. Besides, I don’t put in that many hours. I have plenty of time for the baby and Jake.”
“Good point,” Gina said. “We’re all independent women. We love our men, but we want more.” She lifted her soft drink. “To us and the lucky men who have us.”
“Amen,” Emma said as they clinked their glasses together.
“So, are we agreed? I’ll have the party at my place?” Cassie asked.
Lauren hesitated, giving Karen’s concern a little more consideration, then nodded. “I think it’ll be good for Wade to see that people aren’t automatically bad just because they have money. He’s already excused Grady and Karen from his generalization. If I can get him to look beyond the dollars with a few more people, maybe I can finally tell him exactly what I did for a living over the last ten years.”
“We could always let it slip out at the party,” Emma said. “Watch his reaction. Then we’d know for sure whether he’s known all along.”
“I predict that finding out he’s been sleeping with a superstar is going to be quite a shock,” Gina said. “I don’t think a party with Lauren’s friends is the place for that particular revelation.”
Lauren blushed. “I agree. Besides, he hasn’t exactly been sleeping with me,” she said, then grinned. “Not yet, anyway, but I have high hopes for tonight.”
“Tonight?” they chorused, glancing pointedly at the clock above the counter. It was already eight-thirty.
“I figure his defenses will be weak at
this hour,” she said, then lifted the package beside her. “Besides, the sexy new nightie I ordered just came in. It’s guaranteed to make him forget why sleeping with me is a bad idea.” Never mind that she had been the one holding out till the time was right. This would send Wade the message loud and clear that that time was now. She was counting on extraordinary sex to make the news of her identity—and the fact that she’d deliberately kept it from him—a bit more palatable to Wade.
“Let me see,” Gina insisted, peeking into the box at the scraps of pale peach lace. “Oh, my,” she whispered, fanning herself. “And Rafe’s in New York.”
She passed on the package.
“But Cole isn’t,” Cassie said, scooting out of the booth as soon as she’d caught a glimpse of the gown.
“Grady, either,” Karen added, right behind her.
“And, lucky me, Ford is right across the street,” Emma noted. She looked at Lauren. “Are you sure you’re not going to be wasting this on Wade? I’d pay big bucks to take it off your hands.”
Lauren snatched the package away from her. “Get your own.”
“In Winding River?” Emma asked.
“I’ll bring you the catalog,” Lauren promised. “I have big plans for this one.”
And if Wade didn’t cooperate, she was going to have to reconsider whether he was half as smart as she’d given him credit for being.
Chapter Nine
Wade had been restless all evening long. He’d gone up to the house earlier and discovered that both Lauren and Karen had gone into town to get together with their friends. Grady was taking the opportunity to catch up on ranch paperwork, but Wade was at loose ends. For the first time in years, he didn’t like having time on his hands.
He’d sat on his front porch for an hour, truck keys in hand, considering a trip into Winding River for a drink at the Heartbreak. In the end, he’d just gone inside, gotten a beer from the fridge and popped the top. He’d drunk that one and two more on the porch, trying not to admit to himself that he was watching the driveway for the return of Karen Blackhawk’s car.
When the headlights finally cut through the inky darkness, something that felt an awful lot like relief eased through him. He knew then that he was a goner when it came to Lauren.
The car came to a stop close to the main house, and feminine laughter drifted on the night air. He was able to separate Lauren’s low-pitched laugh from Karen’s with no trouble at all. It was the one that sent a shiver down his spine.
He had two choices. He could sit right here, satisfied with the knowledge that she was home safely. Or he could drum up a flimsy excuse and go on over to the house so he could catch a glimpse of her before she went off to bed. So what if she figured out that he’d been watching for her? He was past the point of trying to hide his desire for her, wasn’t he?
Before he could decide whether to follow his usual cautious route or risk making an idiot out of himself, he heard a whisper of sound. Searching the shadows, he spotted Lauren heading his way. So, he thought with satisfaction, that settled that. She was coming to him. It remained to be seen precisely what that meant.
“Is there any more of that wine from the other night?” she asked as she stepped onto the porch.
He nodded and stood up. “The rest of the bottle’s in the fridge. I’ll get you a glass.” He eyed the package she was carrying. “What’s that?”
A wicked grin flitted across her face. “You’ll see,” she said. “Why don’t I get the wine? You need another beer?”
He sat back down and lifted his half-full bottle. “Nope. I’m good.”
“I’ll say,” she murmured as she slipped past him, her perfume every bit as taunting as her words.
Gaze narrowed, he watched her go inside. The woman was up to something, no doubt about it. And it had something to do with that package she was carrying. The prospect of discovering exactly what she was up to filled him with an edgy sense of anticipation.
When she hadn’t returned within the couple of minutes it would take to pour a glass of wine, Wade grew increasingly suspicious. Eventually he heard a rustle of sound and turned toward the door. Lust promptly slammed through him like a freight train.
“What in the name of all that’s holy…?” he murmured before his mouth went dry.
Lauren stood framed in the doorway, wearing something…well, he assumed it qualified as something…what there was of it. Every pale curve, even the dusky peaks of her breasts were plainly visible through the sheer peach fabric that dipped to a low V in front and barely skimmed the tops of her thighs. He’d imagined those creamy, shapely thighs in his dreams, but it turned out his imagination hadn’t been nearly vivid enough to capture the sensuous reality.
As for the rest, the subtly rounded hips, the generous breasts…they were every man’s fantasy. He was hard as a rock, and so hot, he felt as if the sun were blazing down instead of a pale moon. He had to resist the need to wipe the sudden perspiration from his brow.
“Well?” Lauren whispered, her expression expectant.
He struggled to find words, struggled even harder to prevent himself from snatching her into his arms and hauling her straight to his bed.
“I’m speechless,” he managed to say finally in a choked voice.
She gave him a coy look. “Speechless in a good way, I hope.”
“Do you honestly need to ask?”
“Since you haven’t budged, yes, I think I do.”
“It’s better this way,” he said. “If I get out of this chair, there’s no telling what I might do.”
“That’s the idea.”
Again, he swallowed hard and fought temptation. “Not until I know what brought this on.”
“You’ve said it yourself,” she said. “We’ve been heading down this road since the day we met. I’ve just decided it’s time to see what’s at the end of the road.”
“But why now? Why tonight? What the hell went on while you were in town?”
She shrugged and one skinny little strap of the gown slid down her shoulder, allowing even more flesh to be exposed. She ignored it, but Wade couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away. He was way past the point of resisting, but at least he could make a pretense of a valiant struggle. Suddenly that seemed to be a point of honor, to demonstrate a little self-control rather than stripping that scrap of material right off her.
Lauren opened the screen door and stepped onto the porch. Wade cast a frantic look toward the main house, praying that neither Grady nor Karen had the same clear, backlit view he was getting. He bolted to his feet.
“Maybe we should go inside,” he said, getting between her and the main house to block any view.
Her lips curved up in the smile of a pure seductress who knew she’d won the battle. Not even a saint could have resisted that smile. “For a minute there, you had me worried,” she said as she stepped back across the threshold.
“I doubt that,” he muttered. “You’ve had this under control from the minute you got here.”
Inside, even with only one lamp lit, he could still see the satisfaction in her eyes at his words. He dared a step closer, so that he could risk a touch to see if she was as warm and inviting as she appeared. It was like touching a flame, far more dangerous to him than to her.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” he noted.
Her gaze locked with his. “Which was?”
“Why now?”
“It seemed like the right time. If we waited any longer, we’d just end up analyzing it to death. I’m a big believer in spontaneity.”
“So you decided on action,” he concluded, finally permitting himself a full-fledged grin.
“Do you object?”
Wade was surprised by the hint of vulnerability behind her words. How could she not know that she took his breath away, that he wanted her so much he physically ached from it?
“Not a chance,” he assured her, lowering his mouth to cover hers.
This time there was no holding back. They
both knew the kiss was a prelude to more. Much more. Wade took his time with it, tasting, savoring, even as he deliberately kept his hands off her. Once he felt that heated skin again, once his caresses began to roam with nothing but filmy material between him and her exquisite body, the fire would rage out of control in no time. Better to take things slowly, to concentrate on making this kiss so memorable neither of them would ever forget it.
Just the kiss.
For now.
Time stood still. It was amazing, he thought when he could think at all, how many nuances there were to a kiss. Dark and dangerous. Sweet and heady. Languid, lazy matings of tongue and teeth. Dizzying, breath-stealing brandings. Quick, tantalizing pecks. They tried them all. No one was better than the others. They were all mind-numbingly spectacular. Cumulatively, they made his heart pound and his blood roar.
Lauren made soft little whimpers of sound deep in her throat that drove him crazy. When she swayed toward him, he caught her, his fingers skimming silky skin and slippery, felt-like-nothing fabric. Restraint flew out the window.
His hands were everywhere then, exploring curves, searching for secret heat and moistness, turning her quiet moans to shuddering demands. She was the most giving lover he’d ever met, opening herself eagerly to him, sharing her pleasure with delight, taunting him with desperate touches of her own that shook him to his very core.
And here they were, still in the living room, still on their feet, though Lauren had sagged against him in weak-kneed surrender more than once. He held her steady and gazed into her eyes.
“I guess we’re not going to call it quits this time, are we?” he asked seriously, his gaze searching hers.
“If you do, I’d have to kill you,” she said with such fervent desperation that it made him grin.
“We can’t have that,” he said, scooping her into his arms and heading for the house’s tiny bedroom, grateful that for once he’d done more than haphazardly toss the bedspread over the tangled sheets before he left in the morning.
There wasn’t much to the room—a double bed, a pine dresser, an overstuffed chair beside an ancient floor lamp, impersonal furnishings for a room that had had its share of occupants through the years. It suited him just fine, but it was hardly the romantic setting the impending event deserved. It would have to do, he thought as he crossed the threshold and gently placed Lauren on the bed.
Wrangling the Redhead Page 11
