Rogue grinned. Nothing like rough denim to drive a girl wild. Hungry to have his hands on her, they roamed, skating the flat plane of her tummy. Up, up, he let his fingers dance until he reached her luscious breasts. After plumping and molding them while he kissed a path along her collarbone, he squeezed her nipples between his knuckles until she keened her approval. His erection grew even harder as she rocked her hips.
“Touch me, Rogue, oh god, touch me.”
“Just tell me where you want me, baby.” Like he was following a path to the Promised Land, he let his hand seek the sweet place between her thighs.
“That’s it, that’s it,” she encouraged as her head fell back. She closed her eyes at his first intimate touch. She shuddered from her spiral curls to her dainty toes. His fingers had found her clit and were now stroking her wet pink folds.
“Look down, Kit.” He playfully nipped her collarbone, one hand still on her breast, caressing, using it as the most erotic of hand holds. “See what I’m doing to you.”
She did as he asked, almost unable to breathe. What they were doing was glorious. Rogue rubbed her slit up and down, teasing her clit until she was writhing in his arms. Placing his palm over the pad of her vagina, he massaged her pussy, using the end of his thumb to play with her clitoris until she began to moan, her bottom bucking to match his rhythm. And when he speared a finger deep inside of her to find the spongy G-spot, she arched her back and rode his hand.
“You are so hot. So sweet,” he growled against her hair. Faster and faster he finger-fucked her—higher, harder—until she bowed her back and stretched her legs down to balance herself on her tiptoes.
“Rogue!” Her greedy little channel clamped down on his fingers as she flew apart. He held her as she trembled, his hand still slowly rubbing her drenched sex until the pulsing spasms came to an end.
“Thank you, that was amazing,” he whispered into her delicate ear. When his own voice came out hoarse, he understood that she’d shaken him to the very core.
“We need to finish the game.” She curled up against him. “Have you ever played like this before?”
Rogue chuckled. “Can’t say I have. Although, I can guarantee Gin Rummy tournaments would far surpass the Super Bowl or the World Series in popularity if more people did.” He helped her up and handed Kit her clothes. “You are one beautiful woman.” Her skin was creamy, velvety smooth and her body was absolutely perfect, especially those breasts he couldn’t get enough of.
Kit didn’t know why she was blushing now, but she did. She also couldn’t help noticing he was hugely erect. “You’re hard.”
This time Rogue laughed heartily. “Yea, I’m so hard, it’s a mite hard to hide.” At her look of dismay, he ran a caressing hand down her arm. “Don’t worry. It won’t kill me.”
“Do you want me to…” she began, one hand reaching out toward him, then pulling back.
Rogue took her hand. “Like I said earlier, I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. That’s not what this is about.”
Kit felt a fluttering in her chest. She was confused. Her heart didn’t know if he was her hero or the enemy. “Thanks.” Almost reluctantly she followed him back to the table, knowing the outcome was either going to push him out of her life, probably forever, or she might hate him if he won.
And she really didn’t want either of those things to happen.
The score at this point was fairly close. She had a total of three hundred ninety-five and he had four hundred twenty-five. He’d bested her at three hands but she could still win if her cards and the fates would cooperate.
This time it was her deal. With hands that were shaking a bit, she handed out seven cards each, laid the deck in the middle and turned over one card, a three of diamonds. Casting her eyes on Rogue, she found he was looking at her, he hadn’t even picked up his cards. “What’s wrong?”
He covered his cards, pressed his lips together and spoke, “I want to say something before we begin. One of us is going to win, of course. If it’s me, I want to promise you that all this game means is that I’m not handing you back the note tonight. It doesn’t mean I’m going to abuse it or you. If I win, nothing will change, the payments will just be made to me rather than Dave.”
Kit rubbed the wood grain of the table. “I’m sorry, maybe I have totally overreacted to all of this. Our past has colored our present.”
Rogue knew she was right. “I know, so that’s why I’m making a decision.” He covered her hand with his. “If I win this game, I won’t be collecting a prize. We shared some beautiful moments tonight, but so far it’s just been fun and games. Once we play this hand, you are either going to be elated or disappointed, and I don’t want to be the one who takes advantage of you under either of those circumstances.”
A pang of disappointment hit Kit right between her breasts, those same breasts he’d worshipped just moments ago. Could she trust him? Was he her knight in shining armor or was he having fun at her expense? Sadly, she still wasn’t completely sure. “Okay. I agree.”
Slowly, hesitantly, Kit picked up her cards. It took all of her self-control not to stand up and shout! She was looking at four aces, two kings and a three. All she needed was another king and she’d have it made! Surely Rogue’s hand couldn’t compare to this.
“Your draw,” Rogue said, pointing to the deck.
“Yes, okay.” She drew the card, a queen. Drats. She discarded the three.
Rogue had been dealt a lot of good hands in his life, but even he had to admit this was one of the best. He couldn’t draw. He didn’t need to, he was holding a royal heart flush and three tens in his hand.
With an almost apologetic look, he announced, “Gin.”
CHAPTER SIX
All the way home Kit relived every moment she’d spent with Rogue. She’d gone there with the hope to beat him at his own game, instead she’d done everything but have sex with him. “Willpower, I have absolutely none.” She had to admit the truth, the only thing that kept her from sleeping with Rogue – was Rogue. Why had he picked now to become a gentleman?
When her plane landed in Kansas, she’d gotten in her car and headed home.
When Kit set foot onto White-Wing property again, she knew something was wrong. The lodge looked abandoned. There was no one there at all. “What’s going on?” Worried, she parked, tucked her hair behind her ear and climbed out. A flare of panic hit Kit in the gut. She’d had guests scheduled to arrive. But sure enough, once she’d bounded up the steps and grabbed the door handle, nothing budged. It was locked.
Racing back to the truck, she raced to her mother’s house. It looked as dark and desolate as the lodge. Like a kid outside a candy store, she peered through the glass of the front door. “Mother! Mother!” She banged on the door. This didn’t make any sense. Her mother wouldn’t up and leave without letting her know. Her father had built their family this house when Kit had been small, a beautiful rambling house with high ceilings and big fireplaces. Then her mother had married Dave and he’d seen fit to push Sheila until they’d renovated every square inch of it. Not one floor board or wall had gone untouched. The changes had broken her heart. It’s said that a spirit who haunts a house is disturbed by changes and will awaken when their home is in danger of being transformed into something they aren’t familiar with—she knew the feeling. “Mother!” she called again. What if something had happened?
Digging in her purse for the key, she was about to insert it in the lock when she heard a noise inside. Cupping her hand to the glass, she looked again. A feeling of relief swept through her when she saw her mother coming toward the door. She was crying. “Mama!” Hastily, she opened the door. “Mama, it’s me, Kit. What’s wrong?”
In half a second, she was in the foyer and had her mother in her arms. Sheila wasn’t a fragile woman but she’d been protected to a certain degree. Will Ross had sheltered her. She’d never had to make a decision, pay a bill or wonder where anything she needed was going to come from. Wh
en their ranch had begun to fail, she’d relied heavily on Kit and then on Dave once he had stepped into the picture. It wasn’t that her mother was simple. She, like many of her generation, was used to relying on a man for everything.
“He’s gone! Dave’s gone.” She began to cry. “I don’t know why he left me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Kit hugged her. “What did he say?”
Sheila cried harder. “He said something about that stupid note and that he wouldn’t be liable and he didn’t like people snooping around.”
Kit’s head was spinning. She opened a drawer in a side table and took out tissues to hand to her mother. “What people?”
“I don’t know, but it’s all because of the card game and that man, your friend, the one from Texas. It has to all be his fault.”
Kit didn’t argue. She didn’t really know what to say. “Come on, let’s go to the kitchen and get some tea.” Maybe she could make sense of what her mother was saying.
Together they walked, her supporting Sheila, who was still crying. “He didn’t take all of his clothes. Do you think that means he’s coming back?”
Worry made Kit’s stomach hurt. She wished he wouldn’t come back. Her mother was blind to Dave’s shortcomings – and he had plenty. “I’m sure he will.” Bad pennies tend to keep turning up. Kit patted her hand. “Just rest and I’ll be right back.
She sat her mother down at the breakfast table and went to put on a kettle in the kitchen. As she hurried around the country styled room, she remembered how warm and welcome Rogue’s home had been. Kit still hadn’t processed exactly what happened. Actually, she didn’t know exactly what she’d been thinking—challenging a man like Rogue to a parlor game and then offering sexual favors as a wager. Color flamed in her face at the memory of all that had transpired.
She pushed the more erotic thoughts aside, this was no time to relive them, especially with her mother making accusations about Rogue. It was strange – but right now, she didn’t feel that way. Rogue’s only crime was winning a bet, he hadn’t been the one to place the deed to her home at risk in the first place. That was all Dave.
As soon as the water boiled, she poured two mugs and filled a tray with cream, sugar, lemon and an assortment of flavored tea bags. This was one tradition her grandmother Ross had passed down to her along with her jewelry.
Rogue could have taken her jewelry. He could have taken her horse. He could have pressed her for sex, but he hadn’t. And despite her insecurities, there was no denying he’d wanted her. He’d been hot and hard for her. A shiver of desire raced through her, making the china on the tray rattle. All of those thoughts and revelations made her seriously doubt that any of this was Rogue’s fault.
When she rejoined her mother, she repeated her question. “Now tell me everything that happened, something must have set this argument off?” When her mother put her hand over her eyes, Kit grew suspicious. “Did he hit you? Did he hurt you?”
Sheila shook her head. “No, nothing like that.” Her mother picked up her cup and chose a tea bag, dipping it into the water. “It was silly. We were about to have breakfast and I asked him to hand me a book I’d been reading. When he did a card fell out that I’d been using as a bookmark. It was an old birthday card your father had given me years ago. I’d found it one day stuck back in a drawer and slipped it into Nicholas Sparks’ latest. Seeing that reminder of Will set him off.”
Looking at her mom wasn’t exactly like staring in a mirror, she’d taken more after her dad’s side of the family—but the eyes were the same. She gazed into her mother’s face and tried to read what she saw there. “I thought he and Dad were friends.”
Giving Kit a small smile, she sipped her tea. “There was always rivalry between those two. I dated Dave first, he actually introduced me to your father. When I met Will, things faded with Dave quickly. Your father was quite a man.”
“I agree with that assessment.” Kit placed a hand on her mother’s shoulder. “He loved us very much.”
“Yes, he did.” She nodded. “My father liked Will a lot more than he did Dave. He always said Dave was flighty and too willing to take risks.” Sighing, she let her eyes wander to a window, seeing only their reflections in the darkened surface. “I guess he still is, he can’t seem to stay away from those card games.”
Kit took a drink of her own tea. “Games of chance have their appeal, I guess.” She closed her eyes as she remembered being naked in Rogue’s arms. Losing a bet wasn’t always so pleasurable.
“My father gave us money when we married. I’m not sure what Will invested it in, but I know he and Dave fought over that too.”
“But how was that any of Dave’s business?” Kit realized there was a lot about her mother and father’s early married life that she knew very little about. She’d always been close to her father, trying to make up for the fact that he’d never had the son he probably longed for.
Sheila shrugged. “Will always felt sorry for Dave. He seemed to have ill luck all of his life, his father drank too much and lost everything the family had. In his own way, your father tried to take care of Dave. He bought most of White-Wing from him.” Sheila waved her hand around. “The land where this house sits and about a hundred acres surrounding it was mine, the rest Will bought from Dave. He had Dave owner-finance the purchase so Dave would always have steady income coming in, or at least that’s what he said.”
Kit couldn’t help it, she had to ask. “Knowing all of that, why would you marry him, Mother?”
Sheila blushed, she actually blushed. “I loved your father, don’t ever think I didn’t. But I always cared for Dave, too. He can be very charming and he cares about me.” She ran her fingers over the wood grain of the table. “I need a man to take care of me.”
Biting her tongue, Kit didn’t say what she was thinking. Dave Parker didn’t deserve her mother’s loyalty. It was odd how women could overlook faults in the men they loved. “Okay, well, I’m sure he’ll be back.” As far as she knew the man didn’t have any other place to go.
“I hope so.” She wiped her eyes and took a last sip of tea. “He was acting strange. He kept asking me about some bonds. Do you know anything about any bonds?”
Her mother looked so lost. “No, I don’t.” Kit couldn’t imagine Dave holding onto money long enough to buy bonds. She patted Sheila’s hand. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay. Dave losing the note in the card game may not prove to be the disaster I first thought. Rogue isn’t going to do anything crazy. I’ll just make the payments to him.” On to more pressing matters. “How about the guests and the staff?”
Sheila buried her face in her hands. “There was a cancellation, the group that was supposed to come rescheduled for the weekend. I sent the staff home because I wanted to be alone with Dave. We were yelling, I was crying. I was embarrassed.”
Kit felt a bit of relief, at least they hadn’t disappointed anyone. “It’s okay. We’ll get a handle on all of this. I promise.” As they sipped their tea, Kit tried to make sense of the series of events. “What did Dave mean when he said he wouldn’t be liable?” She wondered.
Her mother shook her head. “I guess he meant he wouldn’t pay the note for the ranch to Mr. Walker.”
“I can’t believe he kept the note alive. After you were married, why didn’t he tear up the note or forgive it? Who ever heard of a husband making his wife pay back money?” Even as she enunciated the words, she knew Dave was that type of man. Now she found herself doubting any of Dave’s motives when he married her mother. Would Rogue do something like that? For some reason she couldn’t see that happening. Despite the accusations she’d railed at him, he’d assured her from the beginning that she had nothing to fear from him.
But he’d hurt her before. So, that was the question. She had to decide if she could trust Rogue Walker or not.
“I don’t know.” Sheila shrugged. “You know I don’t like to think about things like that. I’d rather worry about what flowers we plant in the
beds or what we’re going to serve for dinner. After your father died in the accident, you managed things until Dave and I married. The few times we discussed anything like that, he showed me papers and I signed them, I let him take care of the details.”
“What did you sign?” Kit asked, worried.
Sheila shook her head. “I don’t know and all of the papers are gone. He took them when he left.”
Kit didn’t really understand what had gone on. “I’m sorry, Mother.”
Sheila nodded. “I just never believed he’d leave me. I thought we were sharing our lives.”
Okay, enough. “You need to get some rest.” And she needed to think. As she helped her mother up the stairs, Kit’s mind was whirling. Bottom line, she needed to make sure they weren’t dependent on anyone else. To do that, she needed to raise money—fast. There were several horses she’d been planning on selling in a few months. They were ready, Kit had just wanted to hold on to them until the right buyer came along. Now, she didn’t have the luxury of time. When they reached her mother’s door, she kissed her on the cheek. “Have the staff come back in tomorrow. I need to make some calls and see if I can find anyone interested in buying my horses.”
“Okay.” Sheila hugged herself, looking into the darkened room that was now devoid of the husband who usually shared this space with her. “Is that where you were yesterday, seeing a man about a horse? Your father used to tell me that all the time.”
Hearing her mother use the old idiom with a straight face made her laugh. Her father did always say he had to ‘see a man about a horse’ when he didn’t really want his wife to know what he was doing. Kit now knew how he felt. She wasn’t about to admit that she’d followed Rogue to Texas, much less confess that he’d had his hands all over her…and she’d loved every second of it.
Rogue: The Sons of Dusty Walker Page 10
