by Julie Kenner
He gripped her waist, adjusting his position. Then he eased his support and let her sink onto him. As she took him in, inch by searing inch, the enormous pressure sent whirls of pleasure arrowing through her. Desperate for even more of him, she arched. He shoved her back against the door and thrust into her fully.
He began to move then, his rhythm fast, right on the edge of violent. She welcomed the speed and met him thrust for thrust until the climax ripped through her. Once again, he let her body drop. She hadn’t thought she could take any more of him, but incredibly she did as he pushed into her a final time and found his own release. A second orgasm, even stronger and longer than the first shot through her.
Afterward, she clung to him. The room was silent except for the sound of ragged breaths being dragged in and released. She couldn’t distinguish which was his, which was hers. He kept her braced against the door, and as her head cleared, Jordan figured that it was as much for his own balance as hers. The darkness in the room was broken only by the thin shafts of sunlight slipping through the edges of the drapes. As the moments spun away, she decided that she could be content to stay this way for a very long time.
What was it about this man that he could make her feel wildly desperate one minute and sweetly comforted the next? She was going to have to figure it out.
It was Cash who moved first. He tightened his grip on her. Then with one arm around her back and the other under her bottom, he carried her to the bed. He was still inside of her when he lowered her and settled himself on top of her.
And he was still hard.
Using all the energy she had at her command, she opened her eyes, and what she saw in his had the fever building in her once more.
“Again,” he murmured in her ear. “You’d think that would have done it, but I want you again.”
She could feel the proof of that as he hardened inside of her. Heat built once again to wildfire proportions. “Me, too.”
He began to move, pushing in and pulling out. His rhythm was slower this time, but no less compelling. As the need began to build between them, she wrapped her legs around his and dug her fingers into his butt to pull him closer, deeper. Gradually, the speed built as they rode each other, moving as one until they both shattered.
Afterward, he rolled off of her, then slid an arm beneath her to pull her close. For a while neither of them spoke. Her hand rested on his chest and she could feel the gradual slowing of his heartbeat. Cash Landry was a man who was comfortable with long silences. She never was.
“It seems I was wrong,” she finally said.
“About what?”
“I thought that I wasn’t the woman you were with last night. It seems I was. I am.”
“I can’t be anything but grateful for that.”
“Me, either. I guess.”
He tilted her chin up then so she had to meet his eyes. “You guess?”
She frowned a little. “Well, we’re going to have to figure out what to do about this—about what’s happened between us.”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I vote for just enjoying it.”
“I suppose we could do that. For the three weeks I’m here. As long as the ground rules are clear.”
“Ground rules?”
Something in his tone had a ripple of unease moving through her. But surely, he had to understand. “Cash, we come from different worlds. At the end of three weeks, I’m going back to New York and Maddie’s coming here. Whatever it is that we have will end then.”
His eyes had that intent look again. “Why talk about the end when whatever we have is just beginning?”
“Because I like to know where I’m going. I need to know. I’m where I am today because I developed a plan and followed through on it to the letter. Can you understand that?”
“Life isn’t as predictable on a ranch. Things happen that you can’t foresee. The price of cattle goes up and down. A hard winter can make it difficult for the herds to find enough to eat. A dry spring can cut back on the water supply. I’m used to rolling with the punches and coming up with solutions on the spur of the moment.”
“Well, we could think of our…relationship…as rolling with the punches, I suppose. As long as we agree that at the end of three weeks, we can roll with ending things between us. That way, we don’t have expectations that might hurt us.”
“What if the punch rolls us in a different direction?”
“It won’t. My mother’s business is very important to me, and I’m needed in New York, especially now that she’s…not there. I have to see that her legacy lives on.”
When Cash said nothing, Jordan’s frown deepened. “I’m not going to get you to agree to anything, am I?”
He lifted the hand that was pressed against his chest and brushed his mouth over it. “I certainly agree that we should enjoy each other as long as you’re here.”
“And the rest?”
“Why don’t we agree to disagree on the ending part?”
She studied him for a moment. There was just a hint of recklessness in his eyes—something that she hadn’t seen before. And damn it, she was attracted by it. She was suddenly struck by the realization that no matter what they agreed to, this man was trouble for her. Hadn’t he already made her discover things about herself that she’d never known before? “I’m glad you’re not a client of mine.”
“I can agree with that.” He shot her a smile that was so charming she forgot she was annoyed with him.
“C’mon.” He took her hand and pulled her from the bed. “You need to see Maddie’s designs, and then we should head into Santa Fe so you can check out the venue for the show.”
Her brows shot up. “You’re awfully agreeable all of a sudden.”
He turned to her. “The day isn’t getting any younger, and if I stay anywhere near the bed and you, we may not make it into Santa Fe.”
She said nothing because her throat had suddenly gone dry as dust. She was very tempted to grab his hand and pull him back into the bed. Or onto the floor. Had the man turned her into some kind of sex maniac?
He shot her that bone melting smile again. “However, I’m flexible. If you want to change your plans…”
When he took a step closer to her, she threw up both hands palms outward. “No. I need to go into Santa Fe.”
But she held her breath until Cash grabbed his jeans and boots off the floor and left the room.
Then she nearly ran toward Maddie’s bathroom. A cold shower. It would help her think and get her back on track.
Hopefully.
JORDAN WAS FAIRLY CERTAIN that she had herself back on track when she climbed into Cash’s pickup truck. First of all, she’d taken the time to open the safe and examine the pieces that Maddie intended to showcase at the jewelry show. There had been a wide range—from intricately designed silver belt buckles to delicate necklaces and earrings featuring the turquoise that New Mexico was famous for.
Maddie had clearly inherited their mother’s talent for design. But like Eva, she might need help in the marketing department. Jordan intended to give it to her. She was already thinking of the best ways to display the pieces at the show.
“Buckle up,” Cash said.
“Sorry,” she said. “I was miles away.”
“You have been ever since you opened that safe.”
“I didn’t know until I did how much talent Maddie has.”
The moment she fastened her seat belt, he started the motor and turned down the long lane that led to the highway. The searing noontime sun pounded down and the air conditioner blasted out more heat.
“You don’t design?”
“No. My job at Eva Ware Designs is marketing. I’ve made a lot of changes since I joined the business. I intend to come up with some ideas for Maddie while I’m here. For starters, she needs a total makeover of her Web site.”
Cash said nothing. One thing she was coming to know about him was that he only spoke when he had something to say. So he probably agreed w
ith her on the Web site. If he’d ever taken a look at it.
The first thing she’d decided during her cold shower was that she wasn’t going to argue with him over anything that was nonessential. He’d suggested they take his pickup. Since who drove whom in which car into Santa Fe was very low on her list of priorities, she’d agreed. In fact, taking Cash’s truck would give her a chance to study her sister’s notes again. In Santa Fe she was going to have to pretend to be Maddie full-time.
It wasn’t until she’d gauged Cash’s reaction that she’d thought she just might pull the masquerade off. The way he’d stared at her when she’d joined him in the living room of the ranch had finalized her decision.
“You look just like her,” he’d said.
She should. She’d tried on three of Maddie’s more formal outfits before she’d made her choice. Then she’d selected the newest and most feminine pair of boots. In her opinion, her sister needed a serious wardrobe makeover. She’d had to constantly coax her mother into keeping her clothes updated, and it seemed that Maddie favored Eva in that respect.
Still staring at her, Cash had moved closer. “What did you do to your hair?”
“Hair piece.” She’d pulled her hair back from her face and concealed the short ends beneath a braid that was twisted in a circle. As Cash had circled her, she’d caught his scent, fresh from the shower, and firmly put it out of her mind. “Once I talked Maddie into switching places and going along with the will thing, I picked it up in a wig store and had my hairdresser dye it to match.”
“I’ve seen her wear her hair exactly like that.” When he’d completed his circle and stood in front of her again, he’d said, “You’re going to pretend to be Maddie in Santa Fe, aren’t you?”
She met his eyes directly. There was nothing slow about the way his mind worked. She hadn’t wanted him to try to talk her out of it, so she’d gathered her thoughts and made her case. “It will be simpler. And better for Maddie. I know a lot about marketing jewelry, but buyers at the show will have more confidence if they believe they’re talking to the designer. Maddie gave me some notes so I have names and backgrounds on buyers she’s dealt with before. And even without the wig, I fooled the man who told us about Maddie’s studio.”
“Sweeney. I forgot to introduce you.”
“I’d just as soon you didn’t. I’m only going to be here for three weeks. I think it will be easier all around if everyone just assumes I’m Maddie. I think I can handle the boutique owners. Maddie gave me some notes on their names and their stores. I’m really interested in seeing what I can do to help my sister improve her marketing. And I’d rather not have to waste time explaining that I’m her twin and the terms of the will and so forth.”
“That might make it easier.”
“And if we run into that real estate agent, Daniel Pearson?”
Cash had frowned at her then. “That might be trickier. He’s been out to the ranch, even took Maddie out to dinner a couple of times.”
Jordan’s brows had shot up. “He’s putting that much pressure on her?”
“He is. In fact, if we run into him, he might be so focused on getting you to list with him that you might be able to fool him after all.”
As Cash slowed at the highway, Jordan twisted in her seat to get a look at the ranch. Even through the spew of brown dust the pickup was leaving behind it, she saw that the neat cluster of buildings in the middle of a vast open space with a blue sky overhead made a perfect picture for a postcard. Something she couldn’t quite put a finger on stirred at the edges of her mind. And she experienced the same feeling she’d had when she’d walked through the front door.
Home.
Why? She’d only been a baby when her mother had taken her away. Had some memory of the place lingered deep inside of her all this time?
She shifted her perspective to take in the blue-gray hills in the distance, the miles and miles of grazing land. It was so vast, so beautiful. Her throat tightened with an emotion she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Longing? What she was certain of was that she had to figure out a way to make sure that Maddie didn’t have to sell the place.
“Would my father have ever considered selling off part of his land?”
“Never.”
“I don’t suppose he would have considered leaving here.”
“Ranching to Mike Farrell was like a religion. I think he thought of it as his calling. It’s a perception that a lot of ranchers have, my father included.”
And you have it too, Jordan thought. Something tightened around her heart. “So if my mother thought that she had to leave here and go back to New York, my father wouldn’t have followed.”
Cash glanced at her. “My best guess would be no.”
Jordan sighed. “I can’t blame him for that. In a way, my mother’s jewelry design business was like a religion, too. She had such tunnel vision about it. They came from such different worlds, I can understand why they split but I don’t understand why they separated Maddie and me—and why they kept it a secret.”
Cash’s only answer was to reach over and run a hand down her arm. They were beginning the climb into the hills and to distract herself, Jordan tried to concentrate on the view. But her rebellious mind kept returning to Cash.
She glanced sideways at him. Sweeney must have brought him the clothes he’d requested because he was wearing a white shirt and black jeans. The belt sported a silver buckle that she bet was one of Maddie’s designs. He’d rolled his sleeves up in deference to the heat and the white cotton contrasted sharply with the sun-bronzed color of his skin. She had a sudden desire to reach over and run her hand down the length of that muscled forearm. God, she wanted to touch him. To get him out of that shirt and run her hands very slowly over every inch of him. They hadn’t taken much time to explore each other during their frenzied lovemaking against the door or in the bed. Clearly, she hadn’t had nearly enough of him yet.
And what exactly was wrong with that? Just as long as she kept their relationship in the proper perspective.
Bottom line—anything that developed between them had a three-week expiration date. But that wasn’t all bad. She’d never taken the time to have a fling in her entire life. She’d been too busy going to school and then planning the changes she’d wanted to make at Eva Ware Designs. Those goals had been her focus. But there was absolutely no reason why she and Cash couldn’t enjoy one another while she was in Santa Fe. As long as it didn’t interfere with her other plans.
Cash glanced at her. “Is there anything else you want to ask me?”
Jordan felt her face heat. Could he have read her mind?
Get a grip. Turning her attention to the road, she saw that they had started their descent down an incline. To the right, the land began to drop away.
“I’m assuming because of the dates on the marriage license and the birth certificates that my mother spent at least eleven months on my father’s ranch starting around twenty-seven years ago.”
She frowned. “Of course, I could be wrong about that. But they married a good eleven months before Maddie and I were born—so the marriage wasn’t because she got pregnant. You said you didn’t know anything about me. Do you think your father might have? Could he have known that there were two of us at one time?”
“He never said anything, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t know about you. My mother might have known, too. Your father could have sworn them both to secrecy. I’ve been giving it some thought. Ranch life is pretty isolated. It’s hard work, too. There isn’t a lot of time for socializing. So very few people might have known about you.”
“Can you think of anyone I could talk to who might have known about my mother and about Maddie and me?”
Cash thought for a moment. “Maddie’s foreman, Mac McAuliffe, has only been working here for ten years. Sweeney was around twenty-six years ago, but he never had any call to come over here. I was only three at the time and pretty much confined to the house. But there’s old Pete Blackthorn.�
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Jordan dug her sister’s notes out of her bag. “I don’t think Maddie mentioned him.”
“She probably figured you wouldn’t run into him. He doesn’t stop by the ranch as often since your father died. They used to play the occasional game of chess together. I think Pete misses him.”
“Where does Pete live?”
“He keeps a trailer in a park south of Santa Fe. But he’s rarely there. Pete’s spent his whole life as a sort of free-lance prospector. His great-great-grandfather worked some of the Navaho turquoise mines in the area. A lot of people believe that he has some old maps that were passed down in his family that show the location of some of the old mines. He certainly seems to find more than his share of turquoise.”
“Is he the source of those beautiful stones in Maddie’s studio?”
“He’s her only source.” Cash grinned. “Even when she was a kid, he used to bring her stones to play with.”
“I’d love to meet him. Not just to see if he knows anything about Maddie and me, but I’d like to buy some of that turquoise for Eva Ware Designs.”
“When I take you on a tour of the ranch the day after tomorrow, we might run into Pete. I’ve seen him frequently in the hills to the southeast.”
Jordan sent him a smile. “Thanks.”
“Are you up to riding Brutus?”
“I’d love to ride him.”
Cash glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned.
“What is it?”
“We’ve got company. There’s a van behind us that’s coming up fast.”
Jordan twisted in her seat. In spite of the brown dust Cash’s pickup was leaving in its wake, she could see the van clearly. It was black with dark windows. Sun glared off them as it closed the distance.
Cash eased his foot off the gas and pressed the brake. “There’s a couple of curves coming up that are tricky. No one familiar with this road would be driving that fast.” He pressed the brake again. “Maybe he’ll take the warning and slow down.”
The van closed the distance to ten yards, then five, then three. “He’s not slowing. If he wants to pass—” But he wasn’t trying to pass them, Jordan realized.
