The Hottest Ticket in Town

by Kimberly Van Meter

  “Kane Dalton...don’t you hurt my feelin’s now,” she teased just as she slowly pulled her nightshirt off, revealing two of the most achingly perfect breasts he’d ever had the pleasure of staring at, and just then, he lost all ability to reason, function or otherwise think with anything other than the part of his anatomy that was sucking up all the blood in his body. “Like what you see?”

  “Oh, damn, girl,” he breathed, forgetting about the squeaky floor and the possible repercussions. Within seconds, his pants were off and he was climbing onto the bed with Laci beneath him. Her blond hair was spread out on the pillow like a halo, and her nipples hardened like twin berries, ripe for the plucking. His eyes nearly crossed with crazy desire and he lost himself for a brief moment in the vision of perfection beneath him. “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever known,” he murmured as she threaded her hands through his hair and drew his mouth to hers for a sweet kiss that sent rocket blasts of pleasure straight to his toes.

  She broke the kiss and stared into his eyes. “And you’re mine, Kane Dalton. Always. You hear me?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he agreed, his heart approving. “I’ll always be yours.” His fervent vow was as true as any, but what the hell did a seventeen-year-old boy know of anything? Still, it didn’t stop him from solemnly promising her his soul. “Nothing’ll ever change that fact, I promise.”

  “I love you, Kane...”

  “I love you, Laci.”

  Kane jerked himself from that memory and shook his head as if he could dislodge it, but the whisper-soft pledge remained an echo from his distant past. He sat on the edge of the bed, wondering if he was going to be able to sleep there. Just walking over the threshold had nearly caused his brain to melt with the recollection of what he and Laci had done in this room, in this bed that summer. What would sleeping there every night do to him? Hell, what was he getting so worked up about? It was a damn bed. It was natural to reminisce about your first time. Plenty of women between that memory and now, so stop dwelling.

  He kicked off his shoes and undressed, climbing into the bed nude, as he always did, and prepared to fight sleep because he rarely slept well in a bed that wasn’t his own, but sooner than he’d imagined, he was out.

  4

  LACI HADN’T MEANT to end up in Woodsville, but her rented convertible seemed to have a destination in mind from the start because before she knew it, she was entering the town where she’d often spent summers while her daddy was out logging. The town square, quiet and still bathed in twilight, brought an easy smile to her mouth, even though it’d been a dog’s age since she’d been back. Everything about Woodsville was steeped in nostalgia—the kind that sucked you in with a powerful current that was impossible to swim against. Woodsville was as charming as a postcard on the surface, but she knew not everyone harbored sweet memories of this place.

  Kane’s face appeared in her mind’s eye and she fought the immediate catch in her chest. Kane Dalton had been her everything—the light in her soul and the fire in her heart—until he’d gone off and joined the Marines, leaving her behind in a red-hot minute as if she’d meant nothing to him. He’d broken her heart in a million pieces and it was safe to say she’d never fully recovered from his abandonment. Well, some might say she’d done all right for herself but they didn’t know her private pain, the nights she spent thinking of him, wondering where he went, or if he was all right. For all she knew, he was dead, killed in a war on the other side of the world. Sometimes it was easier that way—thinking he was dead—because then she wouldn’t have the option of looking him up just to satisfy some wicked curiosity about things that didn’t matter anymore.

  She made a point to never ask the Bradfords about Kane and bless their hearts, they seemed to understand and never volunteered anything, either, which was just the way she liked it. Ignorance was better than knowledge sometimes. It was right selfish of her, but she didn’t want to know if Kane was happily married off to some other woman, when that woman should’ve been her. So, yeah, she preferred to know nothing about Kane Dalton.

  But as she was driving through Woodsville, the memories were too strong to deny. Her daddy had started dropping her off at the Bradford ranch, with Warren and Cora, when she was about fifteen. Sweet old couple, they were, but she’d been a terrible brat at times because she’d been mad at her daddy for dumping her off with strangers, even if they were nice enough. Still, they’d been good to her. Cora had taught her how to make the best pies in four counties. She even had the blue ribbon from the county fair to prove it. Not that she had much time to bake these days. Trent didn’t schedule much downtime. A pinch of guilt followed at the thought of her manager. She probably should’ve left a note, but then he’d have followed her and, by damn, she needed some downtime or she was going to lose her ever-loving mind and then where would they be?

  She needed peace and solitude and the sound of the farm around her. No more lights in her face, people fussing about her everywhere she turned and definitely no Trent booking her for umpteen appearances until she fell over dead from pure exhaustion. I’ll call as soon as I’ve had a few days to regroup, she promised herself, if only to assuage the guilt, and it worked because after that moment, Trent completely left her mind, and for that, she was grateful.

  Since she was already in Woodsville, Laci knew exactly where she wanted to go. It was way past the appropriate time to reconnect with the Bradfords and now was as good a time as any. She knew without a doubt that they would let her stay for as long as she liked and that was exactly the kind of hospitality she needed right now. Everything in life that had ever made sense could be found at the Bradford ranch.

  When she rolled up to the house, she saw the truck parked out front and smiled quizzically. Warren had always been a Ford man, but this truck was a Dodge. Maybe the old guy had switched loyalties over the years. Hopefully, that was the only thing that’d changed. She climbed the stairs and, when she found the front door locked, she searched under the welcome mat for the spare key—aha! Some things don’t change—and quietly unlocked the door.

  At two in the morning, she knew Warren and Cora would be dead asleep—life on the ranch was hard work—so she figured she’d surprise them in the morning. Tiptoeing to what had always been her room, she slipped inside and closed the door, grateful for a bed after hours on the road and way too little sleep. As if a switch were flipped, pure exhaustion returned and extreme fatigue pulled at her eyelids. Everything smelled like home and safety and all she wanted was to put her head on that pillow. Tomorrow, she and Cora could make biscuits and gravy—her favorite—and catch up. But until then...sleep was all she wanted.

  Stripping as she went, she climbed beneath the covers and dropped off almost immediately with what she was certain was a smile on her face.

  Thank you...this was bliss.

  * * *

  KANE’S MOUTH CLOSED over a tightly budded nipple and sucked the sweet berry, teasing the tiny ridged piece of flesh until the woman writhed and moaned, arching into his arms, offering more of herself for his touch. Her skin was like the smoothest alabaster, perfect in every way. Her breasts overflowed his hands and he squeezed the abundant flesh with a groan as he moved to the other nipple. Her breathy pants fueled his need to touch and feel every inch of her, to know what made her squirm, what made her cry out with abandon. He needed to know everything about her. He wanted to own her cries and make her body quake with each thrust. His finger slid between her slick folds, searching for that sweet heat, testing and teasing. There was something so familiar about the way she cried out, the way she clung to him, pressing herself against him so that every part of her was touching him in some way. Her body, soft and willing, created a carnal need so fierce that his hands shook as he gripped her hips and ground his swollen cock against her. Their tongues collided with urgent, desperate thrusts as they swallowed each other’s breath and created a maelstrom of lust
and want between them. Good God, his heart hammered with a ferocity that he’d never experienced. He needed that slippery heat as much as he needed air to breathe. He wanted to plunge inside her, going balls deep, straight to the hilt, but as he was poised above her, ready to slide into blessed home, something—an errant sensation, a discordant moment amid total bliss—caused him to realize he wasn’t dreaming and that he was about to make love with a complete stranger.

  Kane’s eyes flew open and he stiffened, ignoring the aching pulse between his legs, as he stared down at the woman beneath him, her arms still looped around his neck with drowsy desire. Her eyelids fluttered open and her mouth opened in confusion, followed by alarm. “Oh my God!” she cried, jerking her arms away from his neck and then pushing at his chest. “Get off me! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  It was then that he realized that he was lying on top of—son of a bitch!—Laci McCall.

  * * *

  OH, GOOD LORD! Laci’s cheeks burned with mortification as, of all people, Kane Dalton stared down at her with sudden dawning recognition. What the hell was he doing in her old bed at the Bradford ranch? She pushed at his chest, refusing to appreciate all that solid muscle beneath her fingertips or the fact that he felt pretty good on top of her, glaring as she demanded that he get off. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but if you don’t get yourself off me right now, I’m going to turn you from a rooster to a hen in about five seconds.”

  “No need for that,” he bit out, seemingly just as thrown off-kilter by the current events as he rolled off her, taking most of the blankets with him, further exposing her naked body. She gasped and retrieved the blanket, scooting as far away from him as possible. Ten seconds ago, their tongues had been in each other’s mouths and he’d been about to...oh, goodness gracious... Yeah, you know what he was gonna do and you were about to let him!

  She gathered the blankets around her tightly, even though she realized it was a lot like closing the barn door after the horses have already run out, but it gave her some sense of control in a whacked-out situation. Damn, he looked good. He was a breath of fresh air after too much time spent on a tour bus. Stop that! Kane had always been a good-looking devil, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t lead a girl straight to hell with a smile on his handsome face. “So? Explain yourself,” she said, glaring.

  “Me? I was asked to take care of the ranch while the Bradfords go to Florida for a special cancer treatment for Cora. How about you? Last I heard, you haven’t been around this ranch in close to five years, too busy going off and getting famous and all that to visit. Warren and Cora might make excuses for you, but I sure as hell ain’t gonna do it. So that brings me back to my original question... What the hell are you doing here?”

  Her mouth dropped open, filled with ready and hot words to defend herself, but there was something else that caught her attention and jerked her around. “Cancer? What do you mean, cancer? Nobody told me Cora was sick,” she said, genuinely concerned, forgetting for the moment that she and Kane were still naked in a room together. “How sick?”

  “That’s not for me to say,” Kane answered gruffly. “If Cora wanted you to know, she would’ve found a way to tell you.”

  “Don’t be a jerk. I have just as much right to know about Cora’s illness as you do. She was like family to me and you know it.”

  “Do I? Do I know that? Because the way I see it, you plain disappeared and walked away from anyone who’d ever meant anything to you, including the Bradfords.”

  “Shut your mouth. Don’t you dare talk to me about walking away when that’s exactly what you did when you joined the Marines, leaving me behind as if I were an old sack of potatoes,” she retorted, her fury returning in a blaze of fire. “You’ve some nerve, Kane Dalton, to talk to me like you’ve got a leg to stand on. You left me without so much as a ‘catch you later’ and I was left to deal with the fallout.”

  Kane buttoned his lip—as well he should—and didn’t deny her accusation, but that didn’t stop him from maintaining his position. “The situation between me and you ain’t got nothing to do with the Bradfords. You could’ve kept in contact and if you had, you would’ve known about Cora.”

  “I did keep in contact as much as my schedule allowed,” she told him as tears pricked her eyes, but she held them back. He was right. She should’ve made more of an effort, but Trent kept her moving at breakneck speed and it was hard enough to remember what city she was in, much less to call people from her former life. But she couldn’t say that—even to her own ears it sounded petty and self-absorbed, no matter that it was the truth—and so she swallowed her tears and her need to defend herself and simply jerked a short nod, conceding a small point. “I love the Bradfords and they love me. If you don’t believe me, you can go screw yourself.” Ignoring her nakedness, because who cared at this point, she tossed the blanket away and climbed from the bed, proud as you please, then scooped up her discarded clothing and walked from the room with her head held high. Take a good look, Kane, because it’s the last one you’re gonna get!

  5

  HOT DAMN, THAT ass was going to be the death of him, Kane thought as Laci left the room, purposefully giving him an eyeful out of spite. Oh yeah, he knew it was spite, too, because he could see it in the angry twitch of her sweet hips as she exited. She’d wanted him to know exactly what he was missing—as if he didn’t already know—and make him hurt with the knowledge. His cock throbbed with plaintive disappointment and he pushed at the stiff member with irritation. Ain’t nothing gonna happen with you, so settle down.

  He found his jeans and a T-shirt and went straight to the kitchen for some coffee and a slice of Cora’s peach pie. It didn’t matter that Laci was here; the chores waited for no one—that was one thing he’d learned all those years ago and nothing had changed that fact.

  He found Laci already brewing the coffee, except he noted with a mix of relief and disappointment that she’d dressed—although the short sparkly number wasn’t exactly made for modesty—and he wondered what her plans were. She couldn’t stay, that was all he knew, but he’d wait until after he’d had his pie to deliver that sour news.

  “Did you leave your tiara at home?” he asked, gesturing to her getup with a grimace. “What the hell are you wearing?”

  Laci glared. “Don’t you dare get after me for what I’m wearing because it’s none of your business.” She glanced down at the short, impossibly tight dress, but admitted snippily, “If you must know, it’s all I had with me. I left in a hurry.”

  That begged more questions, but he bit his tongue. He didn’t want to know what trouble she was in. Whatever was happening in her life was her own doing. Still, he didn’t think he could focus with her traipsing around in that sparkly thing. “I’m sure Cora wouldn’t mind if you borrowed a dress or shirt or something other than that thing,” he said.

  “There’s no way I’m going to fit into anything Cora can wear and you know it. You’re just going to have to deal with me in my costume until I can get to town and pick up some supplies.”

  “Whoa, now. What are you talking about? You thinking of staying?” The alarm in his voice did nothing for her already prickly disposition, but he couldn’t help it. “C’mon now, what are you thinking? Don’t you have your famous life to get back to?”

  “You hush your mouth before you choke on your damn foot,” she snapped with a glower. “I can see right now some things never change. Tact was never your strong suit.”

  “Don’t see no point in sugarcoating shit.”

  Laci drew a deep breath and started over. “I didn’t come here to fight with you. I didn’t even know you would be here, but we have ourselves a situation that we need to work together to figure out.”

  He crossed his arms and waited. “This ought to be good. Tell me how we’re going to work this out? I’m all ears.”

  “So t
he Bradfords aren’t here and you’re taking care of the ranch for them,” she surmised.

  “That’s about the long and short of it, but I fail to see how that creates a situation for the two of us when it seems pretty clear to me what the solution is.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “Is that so? Enlighten me.”

  “You leave. I stay.”

  “And why should I have to leave? The Bradfords have extended a standing invitation to me. I have every right to be here with their blessing.”

  “Why would you want to?” he asked point-blank. “It’s not like we’re the best of friends. I have a purpose for being here...you don’t.” She bit her lip, her gaze acknowledging that fact, but there was something else there, something she wasn’t saying, that she held back. Kane didn’t want to care, but he couldn’t seem to help himself, saying roughly, “Listen, you’ve got your reasons for coming and it’s none of my business. All I’m saying is that I can’t leave because I made a commitment to the Bradfords. You can stay or go, your choice, but if you choose to stay, it could be awkward.”

  “So you wouldn’t care if I stayed?”

  Hell yes, he would care. “No,” he lied, because there was no sense in adding more fuel to the fire. The fact was, there was some truth to her accusation that he’d left her behind, but she didn’t know the whole story, nor would he tell her, either—that was his gift to her, even if she never knew the whole of it. But he supposed if his arm were twisted, he’d have to admit there was no harm in letting her hang out if she needed to. The ranch was plenty big enough. Hell, he could take the pump house and let her stay in her old bedroom. He exhaled a long breath, prepared to do the one thing he never saw himself doing. “We got off on the wrong foot...you can stay. I’ll move out to the pump house and give you the room. If we stay out of each other’s hair, everything should be fine. We’re adults, right?”

  “Yeah,” she agreed and damn, if that wasn’t the right thing to remind each other at the moment because he was fairly certain she was remembering what they’d almost done this morning as adults. She cleared her throat and smiled, gesturing to the coffeepot. “So, how about we share a pot of coffee and start over? Can we do that?”