Arizona Temptress

by Smith, Bobbi

  “At the McCaine ranch.”

  “That is where Lucia rescued you from?”

  “Yes. She was staying in the main house.”

  “She was?”

  “Yes. They had accepted her as one of them. She risked everything to free me. She even stole the guns we have and helped me to get the horses.”

  “And she is here? Now?”

  “Yes. She is waiting down by the stable.”

  Malo took another drink from the bottle and then handed the bottle to Pablo. “If she has been in the McCaine house, she knows everything that is going on. Go and get her and bring her to me.”

  Pablo chugged a good portion of the liquor and then asked, “You will not hurt her?”

  “No. I will not hurt her,” he said flatly. “But what I am going to do is get even with Ricardo Peralta. I do not like to be made to look the idiot, and he is going to pay for his attempt. I will need Lucia’s help, so you can tell her she will be safe with me.”

  “She will be glad.” Pablo started from the room.

  “Pablo, bring her up the back steps.”

  “Right.”

  “And Pablo?” Malo waited until the other man looked to him. “How did you get away from the Apache?”

  “It was Rick Peralta and Jake McCaine. They circled around behind the Indians and drove them off.”

  Malo did not want to hear about what a great Indian fighter the man was. “Go,” he said with disgust. “Get Lucia. We have much to plan.”

  Pablo quickly left the room to find Lucia and bring her back.

  Eve lay, wide awake, in her bed at the hotel. The day had been long, hot, and tedious, and though she was exhausted, sleep would not come. Tense and on edge, she had retired early in hopes that blissful rest would relieve the feeling of disquiet that had been haunting her, but the solitude and darknes in the room only intensified her anxiety.

  Giving up the effort to sleep, she left the bed and moved to stand at the window, staring out across the deserted streets of Mesa Roja. Though she was not one given to introspection, Eve wondered how she had ever come to this. She was a beautiful, sought-after woman, and yet here she was alone, nearly broke and growing more desperate with each passing day. She knew her bad times were all Andre’s fault. Why, if he had just stayed out of trouble with the law, they would be together somewhere right now, enjoying life and each other.

  The thought of Andre and his passion-filled lovemaking filled Eve with frustration. It had been so long since she’d been with a man. Had it been another town, she would have considered taking a lover, but she couldn’t risk the scandal. Not here in Mac’s town.

  Groaning at the thought of remaining celibate, she stumbled to her trunk and searched through her things until she found what she was looking for: the small silver cask filled with her favorite brandy. She had intended to nurse the expensive liquor along, but tonight she no longer cared. She needed relief from her thoughts and her body, and from long experience she knew that only drinking could help. Tilting the flask to her lips, she drank deeply, wanting to achieve mindlessness as quickly as possible.

  Going back to bed, she plumped the pillow and, using it for support, she settled herself back against the headboard, brandy in hand. She thought idly of Mac as the liquor’s potency eased her worries, and she wondered what he looked like now. He had been a handsome man years ago, but at that time she had wanted more from life than a good-looking husband. Stlll, she mused, they had been good together in bed, and she found the possibility of bedding him now most interesting. Eve took another drink and smiled as she imagined using her body to bend the arrogant Mac McCaine to her will. Pondering the thought, she relaxed and closed her eyes as a pleasant wave of forgetfulness washed over her.

  The night was beautiful, silvered by the moon’s clear brightness, but Mac took little notice as he rode toward town at a vicious pace. Though his horse was lathered and straining, he kept on, clearheaded in his purpose.

  Eve. Her name screamed through his mind. He had loved her so much and she had betrayed him. To this day he didn’t understand why she’d gone. He had given her everything: his life, his love, his children, and she had walked away from it all. And she had never looked back, at least, not until now.

  A tremor of emotion shook him as he remembered the fateful day when he’d returned from working the few head of cattle they’d owned to discover Eve’s absence. He’d been a wild man at first, searching everywhere for her. She had been so beautiful and he’d been so afraid that something terrible might have happened to her. In the beginning, it hadn’t occurred to him that she might not want to be found. Only after long, agonizing fruitless months of trying to locate her did he realize that she really had deserted him and their three young children, that she had meant everything she’d written in the note she’d left. That was when the bitterness had nearly consumed him.

  Hildago had come into his life then, to care for Jake, Jennie, and Carrie, and what had begun in his heart as gratitude to her, over the years, had blossomed into love. Though she was a completely different kind of woman from Eve, she offered him the undying devotion and tender support that he’d needed to build the M Circle C into the successful ranch that it was today.

  Hildago was, in truth, his life’s partner, and now that Eve had returned, he was going to make sure that whatever ties still existed between them were severed. He wanted nothing whatsoever to do with Mrs. Eve McCaine, and the sooner she left town, the better.

  Mac worried briefly that Eve might attempt to contact the children, but he put that from his mind. Somehow, he would have to convince her that they were not interested in meeting with her. He had taken great care to erase her from their lives, and he wanted to keep it that way.

  As the lights of Mesa Roja appeared on the horizon, Mac slowed his breakneck speed for he did not want to cause any undue attention to himself when he reached town. What he had to handle would be best kept quiet. Everyone believed his wife to be dead and he planned to maintain that facade.

  “Lucia?” Pablo’s call was almost a whisper.

  “I am here.” Lucia stepped from behind a small shed. “Did you find Malo?”

  “Yes. He has a room over the saloon, and he wants to see you,” Pablo told her urgently.

  “He does?” she asked warily. She had known Miguel Malo for too long to trust him in this matter.

  “Yes,” he confirmed. “I told him everything, and he wants to talk with you. He promised me that he wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “Ha!” She was more than a little frightened at the prospect of seeing him again.

  “Lucia,” Pablo said, touching her shoulder, “I will not allow him to lay a hand on you. I will protect you, should the need arise. All right?”

  Her eyes glowed with gratitude and she nodded her agreement. Leading their horses, they headed for the saloon, being careful to stay out of sight. It was then that they saw him.

  “Look, Pablo!” Lucia hissed, nervously. “It’s Mac McCaine!”

  “Ah, Dios! How could they have found out so soon?”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Let’s watch first and see where he goes. Then, if there is time, we can warn Malo.”

  Tying their horses, they crept through the shadows to watch Mac’s progress through town.

  Mac was glad when he found the streets deserted, and he reined in calmly in front of the hotel and dismounted with a seeming casualness that belied the tense anger within him. The town was quiet except for the raucous music coming from Dolly’s, and he strode slowly toward the hotel entrance, he thought, unobserved.

  “The hotel?” Lucia looked at Pablo, confused.

  “The sheriffs office is farther down the street. Why would he have gone into the hotel?”

  “Maybe he’s not after us,” she murmured hopefully.

  “I don’t know, but I think we’d better tell Malo right away. Since no one has seen us together yet, we can get you into his room, and we should still be safe,” Pabl
o said. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  The small lobby of the hotel was unattended as usual with only a single lamp burning low, but it was all the light Mac needed as he reached the desk and flipped the register open, searching for Eve’s signature. He cursed under his breath as he saw Mrs. Mac McCaine. Damn Eve! Now the whole town would be wondering about her. Noting the room number, he rushed up the stairs.

  Mac located her room with little difficulty and, after trying the knob and finding the door locked, he put his booted foot against it and, uncaring that someone might hear, he pushed. The lock gave with a splintering groan, and the door flew open, banging loudly against the wall.

  Eve had finally managed to fall asleep after having drained her flask of all its precious contents, and she was caught totally by surprise by Mac’s precipitous entrance into her room. The crash of the door brought her bolt upright in bed, and she stared in horror at the shadowed figure of the man who stood framed in her doorway.

  “Who is it?” Eve whispered, but he didn’t speak to her. Instead, the man turned to the few peole who’d appeared in the hall.

  “It’s all right, folks. The lock just stuck. Go on back to bed,” the man said.

  Eve recognized his voice and she watched uneasily as he stepped slowly into her dimly lighted room and forced the broken door shut behind him.

  “Mac,” she whispered, and her eyes widened as he crossed the room to stand at the foot of her bed.

  His expression was wooden as he stared down at her, and though Eve was tempted to hide from his glaring presence, she faced him boldly, the liquor she’d consumed giving her extra courage.

  “Well, I’m certainly glad you finally managed to get here,” she told him brazenly, and she was pleased to see the stunned flicker of emotion that crossed his face. “And, Mac McCaine, I certainly hope that you plan to pay for the damage to the door. You could have knocked, you know.”

  Eve let the covers she’d been clutching to her drop to her lap, revealing the lace and silk bodice of her gown.

  “Shut up,” he said flatly, trying not to look at the outline of her breasts beneath the satiny gown. “I want to know why you’re here.”

  “Why, Mac,” Eve began coyly, “I thought I made that perfectly clear in my letter. I’m back. I want to be with you and my children.”

  “Why now, Eve? After all this time?”

  Eve knew she’d won a small victory when he used her name, and she decided to press her advantage. Shrugging, her gown straps slipped from her shoulders, exposing the tops of her full breasts, and she smiled to herself as his gaze lingered on the smoothness of her alabaster flesh.

  “Is that as important as the fact the I am here—now?” Eve leaned toward him to give him a better view of her bosom. She remembered how enamored Mac had always been with her body, and she hoped to awaken those feelings within him again. “Mac,” she said throatily, “I’ve missed you.”

  Mac couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the glory of her breasts, and as the memory of their time together came flooding back, heat surged through his body. He remembered the taste of her and the smell of her and the endless hours they’d spent making love.

  Eve read his reactions correctly and moved to kneel before him. “Mac, did you miss me, too? Maybe, just a little?”

  She wanted to break the rigid control he had over himself and entice him to take her right then. She had been longing for a man, and she knew that Mac would certainly be able to satisfy her.

  Eve smiled up at him, her eyes smoky with desire. “Show me how much you missed me, Mac. Show me.”

  She started to reach out and touch him, but Mac wanted to stop her. He didn’t want anything to do with her, and he grasped both of her forearms in a steely grip.

  “The only thing I want to show you is the way out of town,” he ground out, his jaw clenched against the desire that was burning through him. Eve saw the reaction his body was having to her nearness, and she laughed huskily. “Why fight it, Mac? You know you want me. You always have and you always will.” And she allowed the gown to fall then, revealing to him the beauty of her hard-tipped breasts. “Touch me.”

  His iron-willed control snapped as she bared her bosom to him, and he shoved her back on the bed. In a vicious motion, he ripped the gown from her body and then stood over her, enjoying the sight of her sprawled naked before him. Mac knew he should leave. But the temptation she offered was too much, and if she wanted to act like the slut she was, then he would treat her like one. Following her down on the bed, he covered her nude body with his fully clad one.

  Eve smiled with satisfaction, knowing that she could push him to the limits and still come out the winner. No wonder she had left him before: He was so predictable. She gave up her thoughts, though, as he began to explore her body with rough, almost angry caresses that she found very stimulating. This was certainly not the old Mac she’d remembered. Moving sinuously against him, she encouraged him in all the ways Andre had taught her. Eve wanted to prove to him that he couldn’t resist her, and then she knew he’d give her everything she wanted.

  Mac was on fire with desire as he caressed her. This was Eve, the woman he had loved beyond all reason. He remembered everything about her: the texture of her skin, the sensitivity of her breasts, and the way her softness surrounded him when he plunged deep within her.

  Rational thought returned with a vengeance as he realized what he was doing. Shocked that he had lost control of himself, he jerked himself away from her, getting to his feet and stepping away from the bed.

  “Mac, why did you leave me?” she purred, holding out a hand to him invitingly.

  “Get up and get dressed. You’re leaving here right now.”

  “Oh, good. Are you taking me out to the ranch?” Eve asked, thinking that he wanted more privacy for their more intimate reunion. “We would have more privacy there, I’m sure.”

  “The ranch?” Her words washed over him like ice cold water.

  “Of course, and then once I’m all settled in, we can talk.” She stretched languidly on the bed.

  “You’ll never set foot on my ranch.”

  “What?” She was startled into reality by his words.

  “You heard me,” he said calmly as he looked down at her with a mixture of disgust and condemnation. “Now, get up and clothe yourself, woman.”

  “But you wanted me. And we are still married,” she said as a shiver of apprehension shook her.

  “That’s a mere technicality as far as I’m concerned. Now that I know where you are, it will be a simple matter to start divorce proceedings.”

  “You’d divorce me?”

  “I’d have done it long ago but I didn’t know where you’d gone.”

  “But I don’t want a divorce. Think of the scandal.”

  “Don’t you think it’s a little too late to worry about scandals? You’re the one who left me with three children to raise, remember? And you’re the one who returned unannounced and signed the register Mrs. Mac McCaine.”

  “How can you be so cruel when I’ve come back to you so willingly.” She tried another ploy, forcing tears and looking up at him pleadingly.

  “I’m not being cruel, Eve. I’m just stating the facts.”

  “But you want me. I could feel it in your embrace just now.”

  “You are sadly deluding yourself if you think that I want you back in my life. What happened between us just now could have happened with any woman who bared her breasts to me and taunted me the way you did. I used you as I would use any whore.”

  She realized then that she had greatly underestimated him and that it was too late to correct the damage she’d done.

  “I want to see my children. If you don’t want anything to do with me, maybe they will.” She was desperate for another angle to gain a place in his life.

  Mac had been expecting her to bring up Jake and Jennie and Carrie, and he was ready for her. “They have absolutely no desire to see you. They know that you deserted them. They know
that you never once tried to make contact with them when they were growing up. And they know what kind of a woman you really are.”

  “I want to hear them say it.”

  “No. I won’t have you upsetting them any more than you already have. You will be on the next stage out of Mesa Roja, and I am personally going to put you on it.”

  Driven to the wall by the hopelessness of her situation, she came back at him viciously. “I won’t go meekly, Mac. I’ll create a disturbance in this town like they’ve never seen before, and when I’m through, your good name will be ruined.”

  Mac regarded her dispassionately. “I’ll be back for you at sunup. Be packed and ready to leave.”

  Turning his back on her, he quietly opened the door and stepped out into the hall, closing the broken portal behind him.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Pablo knocked softly on the door to Malo’s room, and he was relieved when it was opened quickly.

  “Get inside with her,” Malo ordered, keeping his voice down, and they hurried in.

  He stared at Lucia for a long minute, his dark eyes roaming contemptuously over her before turning to Pablo.

  “Malo, we just spotted Mac McCaine riding into town,” the other man told him hastily.

  “What?”

  “Mac just rode into town. He tied up in front of the hotel and went inside.”

  “Why would he be going to the hotel at this time of night?” Malo was puzzled.

  “I don’t know, but I think we’d better find out in a hurry.” Pablo was worried. “If he is after us, then we’re going to have to get out of town as soon as possible.”