She searched his expression. “Who are you, and what have you done with Sawyer Smith?”
He smiled. “I’m very sorry about last night.”
She wasn’t. What woman didn’t like to dress up, go out on the town and be swept off her feet by a sexy cowboy?
“I don’t know what came over me,” he said.
“I kind of hoped it was me.”
He tugged her closer. “You’re not saying yes, Nellie.”
She gave a tiny, noble bow, fighting a grin as she stared into his eyes.
He stared right back, irises darkening to indigo. His fingertips twitched against her waist, but he didn’t make a move.
“Are you going to stand there and let me tease you?” she challenged.
“I’m waiting for you to say yes.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I’ll assume you mean no.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.” He waited.
Longing came to life within her, sending a zigzag of awareness to her limbs. Her gaze moved to his mouth, remembering the touch of his full lips, their sweet taste, their firm texture. The way they gave and took at the same time.
She knew she should break down and tell him yes, but there was something electrifying about their standoff.
She walked her fingers playfully up his chest. “You didn’t wait for a yes last night.”
He trapped her hand. “That was a mistake.”
“I thought it was sexy.”
He jerked her flush against him, and there was an edge to his tone. “Every single thing about you is sexy.”
“Have I gone too far?”
“Depends on what you’re trying to do.”
“Make you kiss me.”
He sucked in a breath. “Okay, that’s a yes.”
“You’re cheat—”
His mouth swooped down on hers.
She remembered this—his incredible kiss, the feel of his strong arms around her. Last night, she’d been guarded, reluctantly swept along by passion. But today, she stepped into it. Her world didn’t seem quite so precarious, Sawyer quite so forbidden.
She opened to him, stretching up, meeting his tongue, while her own arms wound around his neck, steadying her on the uneven walkway. Their bodies flush to one another, he shifted, one leg slightly between hers. His hand cupped the back of her head, deepening the kiss.
Then, suddenly, he gasped, pulling back, touching his forehead to hers, sucking in deep breaths. Niki was breathless herself. But she missed his kiss, and tipped her head, tilting in an invitation.
“We’re in full view of the restaurant,” he reminded her.
She swore under her breath.
“Agreed,” he offered. Then he captured her hand, entwining their fingers as he put a little distance between them. “Let’s go see the falls.”
Niki had to remind her feet to move. She clumsily fell into step beside him. But it took her heart a few seconds to calm down, brain a bit longer to find equilibrium. The roar of the falls grew in the distance, while the path followed the curve of the river.
“Another average kiss?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking.
“What?” He seemed to shake himself out of a daze.
“You told me my kisses were average.”
He frowned. “When did I do that?”
“In the river. After you rescued me.”
He seemed to consider that for a moment. “I told you my kisses were average.”
She waited, wondering if he’d turn it into a compliment. He didn’t.
“Sawyer?”
“Yeah?” His tone was a bit gruff, but she was feeling too carefree to let it upset her.
“Your kisses aren’t average.”
His hand squeezed down on hers. “Here are the falls.” He pointed to a wall of white, foaming water.
“They’re huge,” Niki whistled, quickening her pace.
“One of the longest vertical drops in the state, so they say,” Sawyer remarked.
A few clusters of people were standing beside the chain-link fence that lined the cliff’s edge. Behind them were benches and a few gazebos dotting the lawn.
“The sign says they light them at night,” he told her.
Niki glanced at the setting sun. “Can we wait to see?”
“Of course.”
They paused beside the fence. He let go of her hand to place his around her shoulders. The spray dampened her face, her hair, the front of her shirt. The sound of the water was deafening where it crashed at the bottom of the cliff, roiling into streams of white foam that cascaded down the riverbed, over boulders, cutting into the side of the channel. It was somehow mesmerizing.
“Can you imagine riding down that?” Niki found herself venturing.
“The fall would probably kill you.”
“Well, I wouldn’t jump from here.”
“I wouldn’t jump from anywhere.”
She shifted to look at him. “Have you ever done white-water rafting?”
He met her gaze, and she couldn’t help but drink in and appreciate his tousled, windblown looks.
“I have,” he responded. “Kayaking, too, and I’ve also taken on very big waves on the ocean.”
“Was it fun?”
“It was exhilarating.”
“Is that fun?”
“It was fun for me.”
“But it’s dangerous, right?” Her gaze went back to the rushing rapids. She couldn’t help but imagine bobbing over them in a raft.
“Depends,” he drawled.
“On?”
“On whether or not you take a former naval officer along for protection.”
Niki grinned, casting him a sidelong gaze. “If I was to take a former naval officer along for protection?”
His hand moved around to the curve of her waist. “Then, you’d be perfectly safe.”
“Good to know.” She tried to gauge and quantify her fear after the flood and after getting towed away by the river current at the water-polo game. She and water seemed to be having a power struggle.
“Nellie?”
“Yes?”
“You want to try white-water rafting?”
“I think I do.” Her heart beat a little faster at the thought of shooting a river, but she didn’t want to let that stop her. She was in the mood to confront her fears, take control of her life, and this seemed like a good place to start.
“You can just come right out and ask, you know.” There was a knowing chuckle in his voice.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean—” he brushed the tip of her nose with his index finger “—you don’t have to manipulate a man into doing what you want.”
Something stilled inside Niki. Her fear was replaced by annoyance. She didn’t manipulate men, that was Gabriella’s weakness. “I don’t do that.”
He did a double take of her expression. “Okay.”
She eased slightly away from him. “I mean it, Sawyer. I don’t manipulate men.”
“I said okay.”
“That’s not an admirable character trait.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want you to apologize.”
“Then, what do you want?”
What she wanted, was to not be her mother. Gabriella was the master of mind games with men. She got what she wanted, and they didn’t know what hit them. Winning had never made her particularly happy, but she seemed compelled to do it with every man she came across.
Niki also didn’t want to be the person she’d been for the past three months.
“Nellie?” Sawyer prompted. “What do you want?”
“I want not to be afraid.”
“Of white-water rafting?”
“Yes.” It wasn’t her only fear, not even her biggest fear. But she’d told her brothers the truth, and she was ready to move on to something else. Maybe she’d work her way up to confronting her mother’s lovers.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he told her, snagg
ing her at the waist and pulling her close once again. He kissed her damp hair. “We’ll take a thrilling, exhilarating trip down some whitewater rapids. I guarantee you’ll love it. And, afterward, you won’t be afraid anymore.”
“I won’t,” she vowed.
“Look,” he told her, nodding to the waterfall. “The lights are coming on.”
A rainbow of lights came on beneath the water, layering their way down the falls, pink to purple, to blue and green, with white pot lights glimmering beneath the foliage that clung to the rocks. The water danced, and mist rose up, making the atmosphere a cloud of pastel magic.
“Gorgeous,” Niki breathed.
“Stunning,” Sawyer agreed.
When she glanced up to smile at him, he was gazing at her, not the waterfall.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” she whispered.
“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” he vowed.
* * *
Sawyer could have seduced Niki last night. Or he could have let her seduce him. Either would have had a fantastic outcome.
But he’d ruthlessly held back, dropping her off at the Terrell ranch, safe in the bosom of her family, with little more than a fleeting good-night kiss.
While no one would accuse any Layton of misguided chivalry, Sawyer wasn’t morally bankrupt, either. At least, not yet. Though making love with Niki could well put him over the edge.
Plus, he was starting to truly like her. Maybe it was because his expectations had been so low in the beginning, but he’d been pleasantly surprised. She was bright and funny, and he hadn’t seen any of the conniving nerve he’d imagined from seeing her pictures and hearing stories of her mother.
He was now completely certain she didn’t know who he was. And he wasn’t even sure anymore that she was plotting against his uncle, or against anyone else for that matter.
He had to consider the possibility that she was simply trying to keep herself safe in the middle of a senseless situation. If that was true, she had a very big problem. Sawyer might be the first to find her, but he wouldn’t be the last, and not everyone would take this low-key approach to getting information.
At the breakfast table with Dylan, Sawyer’s cell phone chimed.
“She was heading back to Denver today,” Dylan was saying. He’d been describing his evening with the brunette he’d met at the rodeo dance.
“That’s a good thing?” Sawyer asked as he extracted his phone.
“Good thing for me,” said Dylan. “She was fun and all, but I don’t see happily ever after in the cards for us.”
“You never see happily ever after in the cards,” Sawyer replied, noting his uncle Charles’ office number on the screen.
“That’s because I stack the deck,” said Dylan.
Sawyer didn’t have any argument with that logic. He raised the phone to his ear. “Charles,” he greeted while Dylan gave him an eye-roll.
“I need a status report,” his uncle came straight to the point.
“You know the status,” said Sawyer. “I found her, and I’m trying to figure out where she’s hidden the diary.”
“You said you were going to seduce her. What’s taking so long?”
“I said romance, not seduce.” Sawyer regretted having told him anything at all.
“Don’t play with semantics. Get it done. The midterm elections are right around the corner.”
“I’ve got another date with her. Besides, we’ve got a few months to play with,” Sawyer replied.
“You do not have a few months. I want this settled and resolved asap.”
“I’m working my way in,” said Sawyer.
“Do you need more manpower?”
“It’s a one-man job.”
Dylan coughed out a laugh, and Sawyer sent him a glare.
“And are you the man for it?” Charles demanded.
“Yes,” Sawyer responded with conviction.
“Then get on with it.”
“Uncle, you are going to have to acquire some patience.”
“Easy for you to say. It’s not your career that’s on the line.”
“I’m also not the one who screwed around on his wife.”
Dylan’s brow rose in obvious surprise and clear admiration.
“Don’t get cocky with me, young man,” Charles sputtered. “I still control this family, and that includes the money.”
“Yeah?” For some reason, Sawyer felt more than the usual impatience with his uncle’s arrogance. “Well, I’m perfectly employable in the US Navy.”
“Is that a threat?” asked Charles.
“It’s a statement of fact.”
“Go ahead. I’d like to see you try to live on a Lieutenant’s salary.”
Sawyer regretted letting the conversation get off track. “You have to leave this to me, Charles. I’m the man on the ground, and I’m doing what’s best.”
“Do it faster.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I know something. Goodbye.” He hit the disconnect button before Charles could say anything else.
Dylan was the first to speak. “You decided to poke the bear?”
“What’s he going to do?” Sawyer tucked the phone away. “He knows damn well I’m his best chance to solve this problem.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I think your family should have ganged up on the bastard years ago. I just wonder why now.”
“Because this isn’t going to work his way.”
“Nothing ever works his way. But you usually humor him.”
“Guess I’m in a bad mood.” Sawyer polished off his coffee.
“Sexually frustrated, perhaps?”
Sawyer didn’t dignify the accusation with an answer. Although it was completely true.
“I’m taking her white-water rafting,” he noted.
Dylan asked in a wry voice, “Did you read somewhere that that was romantic?”
Sawyer frowned at Dylan.
“Did you even consider dinner and a movie?”
“She wants to go white-water rafting,” Sawyer countered. “Just because you’re completely unimaginative about your dates…”
“I got lucky after the dance. That’s not unimaginative.”
Sawyer grunted a noncommittal response.
But Dylan didn’t let it go. “I’m just sayin’ if you want to compare techniques.”
“You’re the one who told me to romance her, not seduce her.”
Dylan smirked into his coffee cup. “Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy your pain.”
Sawyer pushed away from the table. “I’ve got work to do.”
He’d found a white-water rafting outfit a couple of hours away, and now he needed to track down Niki and invite her along.
He rose. Just thinking about her made his steps a little lighter. His frustration over his uncle’s stubbornness evaporated, and his mood improved.
“Don’t wait up,” he told Dylan as he crossed for the door, snagging his cowboy hat.
“Big talker,” Dylan jeered.
Sawyer turned and gave a cocky grin.
A flash of worry crossed Dylan’s face. “Don’t do it. I’m just messin’ with you here. Don’t screw it all up by sleeping with her.”
“Have a little faith,” Sawyer returned.
“I have too much faith. I’ve seen you in action.”
“Nice of you to finally admit it.” Sawyer swung the door closed behind him.
He stuffed his hat on his head, chose the closest pickup truck, and peeled out of the yard, bouncing down the driveway toward the Terrell place.
* * *
Niki had expected a solid raft, a wide, stable craft with eight passengers and an experienced guide at the tiller. Instead, she was standing on the River Adventures dock, next to what looked like an inflatable kayak, narrow, wobbly, with only two seats, and not a guide in sight.
“It’ll be fine,” Sawyer reassured her, checking the clips and cinching down the straps on her bright orange life jacket. “You’ll have a blast.”
“What if we tip over?” she found herself asking.
“Then I’ll rescue you.” He handed her a two-ended paddle. “I’ve done it before.”
“Be serious,” she pressed.
“That’s what the life jacket’s for. It’ll keep you afloat until I get to you. Besides, the rapids are only grade four. We probably won’t go over.”
“Probably?” Her voice had gone embarrassingly high.
“Nellie.”
“What?”
“This is going to be fun.”
She stared at him, trying to ascertain the level of confidence on his face. He looked plenty confident. He also looked relaxed. He looked like he was laughing at her.
“You’ve done this before?” she confirmed, telling herself to buck up.
“Many, many times. In smaller boats and in bigger boats.”
“But, not this size.”
His face broke into a grin. “Has anybody ever told you, you worry too much?”
“Many, many times,” she muttered, thinking of her mother.
Gabriella had called Niki a worrywart. It was true that most of her worry had proved pointless. They’d usually gotten away with Gabriella’s schemes.
“You don’t need to worry.”
“That’s what my mother used to say.”
“And was she right?”
“Don’t worry, Niki,” Niki parroted. “The sign on the backstage door doesn’t mean us when it says No Admittance. Niki, you don’t have to be on the guest list if you know what to say. Niki, speed signs are for people who don’t know how to flirt with police officers.”
Sawyer grinned. “I think I might have liked your mother.”
“Everybody liked my mother,” said Niki. “That’s how she got away with it.”
He moved to where the small craft was tied up, crouching to release the ropes. “For today,” he said to Niki. “You truly don’t need to worry. I promise I won’t speed down the river.”
“That’s a comfort,” said Niki, squaring her shoulders.
“You get in the front,” said Sawyer. “And I’ll launch us. Remember, paddle when I tell you, like I showed you. If we do go into the water—”
Niki shot him a warning look over the bulky life jacket.
“If we do go into the water,” he repeated. “Keep your feet downstream. Try to avoid the white water, because there are rocks underneath it, and angle toward the shore.”
Millionaire in a Stetson Page 10
