Two to Wrangle

by Victoria Vane

  “That’s not what this is,” she protested, even as her gaze slid slowly over his near naked body. “I came in here because I was curious. I wanted to know what it was like for you growing up here.”

  He held out his hand to help her to her feet, his weary body coming back to life the moment his fingers closed over hers. “If there’s something you want to know, all you have to do is ask me,” he said. “Didn’t I prove that just one night ago?”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “You did, but I thought it was mostly the booze talking. Sometimes people under the influence say things they really don’t mean.”

  “Maybe the booze unlocked my lips, but I remember every word I said, Monica. I not only remember it, but I meant it. Do you need to hear it again to believe me? I still want you,” he continued. “You’re the only one I want, and it’s damned near making me crazy.”

  “Me too, but I don’t want to do this again, Ty. We’re no good together.”

  He stroked his hands down the length of her arms, watching a trail of gooseflesh form. “I don’t know if you’re trying to convince me or you. Either way, it’s not working. If you want me, all you have to do is say so.”

  “Please Ty, I really can’t.” She pressed her hands against his chest.

  The contact with his body only made him itch to have her hands slide up and around his neck. He tamped back the powerful urge to wrap his arms around her and pull her in close.

  “Yet you’re here. In my room.” He added softly, tracing a finger over her lips. “Waiting in my bed.”

  “I wasn’t waiting for you!” she protested. “I told you I just wanted to know more about your life here with Tom. I can’t help feeling a little jealous that you had him for all those years and I didn’t.”

  “There’s no need to feel that way,” he said. “Sure, Tom was like a father to me but you’re his flesh and blood.”

  “I feel so resentful,” she confessed. “I lost something that I can never, ever replace.”

  “That makes two of us,” he said. “But it’s time to move on. You know as well as I do that Tom would have wanted that.”

  “And that’s why I came here,” she said. “To say goodbye and then to move on.”

  “Back to New York?”

  “Yes.”

  “And that asshole, Evan? Are you back with him?”

  “No, I’m not back with Evan. When I left Vegas with him it was only to return to my job. We’re not back together as a couple.”

  His gaze narrowed. “But you’re thinking about it?

  “I haven’t decided,” she replied.

  “It’s time you did decide,” he replied. “We’re too old for games, Monica. You need to make up your mind if you’re coming or going.”

  Was it only weeks that had passed since this impossible and infuriating woman had strutted into his life in her four-inch fuck-me pumps, barking orders and expecting everyone to kowtow to her? They’d butted heads from the very start, both believing they had nothing in common besides Tom, but it hadn’t taken long for their mutual antagonism to combust into explosive passion.

  He’d never met another woman who had such an effect on him. He’d hoped this incomprehensible attraction would wane in time, but his aching balls told him not a chance. He slid a hand into her silky hair and cupped the back of her head, his gaze probing hers.

  “What’s it gonna be, Monica? Are you coming or going?” He continued in a smooth, seductive tone, “Just know that if you do stay, I can guarantee you’ll be coming.”

  She swallowed hard as if unsure whether he meant it as a promise or a threat. But Ty wasn’t in the habit of making idle threats or promises he didn’t intend to keep. Before she could reply, he claimed her mouth. She whimpered a half-hearted protest, but instead of pushing him away, her arms crept up to entwine around his neck. He deepened the kiss. Their tongues tangled. She shut her eyes on a moan as his erection pressed against her soft belly.

  Breaking from the kiss that left them both panting, she insisted breathlessly, “This doesn’t mean anything. We’re both hurting and need to relieve some stress; that’s all this is.”

  “That’s pretty much what you said the first time we were together,” he said, “and I still don’t buy it.” Their moans mixed as they continued a slow backward two-step to the bed. “But if that’s what you need to tell yourself, just keep talkin’.”

  He reached under the dress she’d fallen asleep in, sweeping up the inside of her silky smooth thigh, groaning into her mouth as he delved into the warm wetness beneath her lace panties. She echoed with a long, shuddering moan of her own as he slid his fingers inside her. Ty continued kissing her senseless while his skilled fingers worked her into a frenzy of want.

  “Now, Ty,” she begged. “Please, I need you.”

  “What do you need, sugar?” he asked, salivating at the mere thought of getting his tongue back inside her. “My mouth or my dick? Whatever you want, however you want it, I’m yours. But I wanna hear you say it.”

  “What if I want both?” she asked, bold as brass.

  “Both?” He cocked a brow. “You’re a greedy one, Ms. Brandt.”

  “Hell, yeah, cowboy.” She smirked. “I was raised to shoot for the moon.”

  Ty couldn’t help chuckling when she parroted back his own words from a month ago. No, he wasn’t half ready to let her go again. “If we do this, will you stay?” he asked, suddenly serious.

  “I don’t understand what you want from me,” she said, brows drawn.

  “I don’t want you to go,” he replied, still too wary to commit himself beyond that. “And I’m not beyond blackmail if that’s what it takes. So here’s the deal, if you want this gigantic rock-hard cock inside you, you’ll agree to give me a little more time.”

  “Gigantic?” she snorted. “It seems to get bigger every time.”

  He grinned. “When I think of you, it does.”

  He brought her hand down between them, wrapping her fingers around his thick length. Her eyes grew wide and her breath came faster as he moved their joined hands up and down over his pulsing shaft.

  “Maybe you’re right,” she replied in a hoarse whisper. “But this still won’t change my mind. Once I say my final goodbye to Tom, I’m going back to New York.”

  “If that’s how it is, there isn’t much point to this, is there?” He released her hand from his dick.

  “C’mon, Ty.” She shut her eyes on a frustrated huff. “Why can’t we just enjoy this? Isn’t that what you always wanted from me? To live in the moment? Why do we always have to mix business with pleasure?”

  “Because the two things are inseparable,” he said, “at least as long as we both have an interest in Brandt Morgan. When you first came out to Vegas, you promised me sixty days to come up with financing to buy you out. I still have a month left. I want you to wait until that time is up. We’re not doing this again unless you agree.”

  “Why? What difference does it make if I’m there or in New York?”

  “All the difference in the world. I want a chance to show you the hotel could really be something.”

  “But I can’t do it, Ty. If it wasn’t for Tom, I never would have gone out to Vegas at all. I don’t belong in Las Vegas. It’s not who I am.”

  “Maybe you feel that way because you never tried to belong,” he suggested softly. “Things might have been a whole lot different if you had.”

  Monica drew a breath but then closed her mouth. She had no rebuttal because he was right.

  “I want you to come back to Vegas with me,” he said. “Just thirty days. That’s all I’m asking.”

  “Why, Ty? You don’t need me anymore.”

  His brows rose. “What are you talking about?”

  She sighed. “There’s something I have to tell you. Something that changes everything. There’s a codicil bequeathing you controlling interest in Brandt Morgan. You see? You don’t have to answer to me or anyone else anymore.”

  “You’re shitting me.
” He’d never asked Tom about his will before, and anytime Tom tried to bring it up Ty had changed the uncomfortable subject.

  “No. Bob told me today.”

  “Wow.” He pursed his mouth. “I sure didn’t see that coming.” He didn’t know why he was so shocked. It only made sense that Tom would be as generous after his death as he’d been while he’d lived.

  “I think you should also know that I’m still planning to sell out.”

  He regarded her with a scowl. “You can’t sell it out from under me,” he said. “Not anymore.”

  “I know that. I’m not trying to screw you over. I just want you to know I had an offer.”

  “So you’d sell your share?”

  She nodded. “That’s my intent. If not to you, then to another investor. You can do whatever you want, but I don’t want to be in the hotel business.”

  He jerked back. “Who made the offer?” Her answer only confirmed what he already suspected.

  “Evan. He came in from New York on a fishing expedition. He wants the property. I think you should sell it to him. Let’s just say for the sake of argument that you bought out my share, what are you going to do with the place? Even if you invest millions in renovation, you’ll never survive with your current business model. If you keep it, it’s only going to bankrupt you. If you had any sense you’d take Evan’s money and run.”

  Evan’s money. The words rang in his head like a hammer striking an anvil. The thought of dealing with her ex almost made Ty see red. Evan was everything Ty wasn’t—a rich asshole who got off by throwing his weight around. Was it Evan’s money she wanted? But she’d just inherited nearly a billion. Maybe it was Evan’s name and power she wanted? Ty had none of that. Were those the real reasons she’d boarded Evan’s plane bound for New York?

  “If I sold, then what?” he asked slowly.

  “With tens of millions in the bank you could do whatever you want,” she replied.

  “The hotel is what I want, Monica.”

  “Look, Ty, even if you don’t want to, I’m still selling my interest. You see how this alters everything? I’m not in the picture anymore, so you can drop this whole seduction routine.”

  “Is that what you think?” he asked. “That I was just using you?”

  “Aren’t you?” she asked. “Not that I really mind all that much.” She stepped closer and ran her hands slowly up his chest. “I want this too, Ty.”

  He scowled, all his former playfulness fading. “I don’t play these kinds of games.”

  As much as he wanted to want someone else, Monica was the only woman he desired. He’d taken her to his house, something he’d never done, making an exception—for her. But even after he’d confessed as much to her, she’d flat out walked on him the next day. From that morning until the night he’d gotten shit faced, she’d given him the cold shoulder. Even explaining about Cassie and Delaney hadn’t helped. It was as if everything that had happened between them had never taken place. He still couldn’t figure out where he’d gone wrong. Hell, he’d never tried so hard with a woman before.

  Hands on her shoulders, he backed her toward the door. “I’m sorry for you and me both, but you’re right that things have changed. I need more from you than just sex.”

  Her gray eyes widened in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re serious.”

  “As a heart attack, sweetheart.” With mouth compressed, he gently but firmly propelled her out of his room. “My terms are nonnegotiable. I suggest you sleep on it.”

  Cursing the whole while under his breath, Ty closed the door. Instead of a warm, soft bed, he was now looking at an icy-cold shower. Although it sucked, sometimes short-term sacrifice was necessary for long-term gain. As much as he hated to admit it, he still needed Monica.

  Feeling as if she’d been doused with ice water, Monica found herself staring at Ty’s closed door. She couldn’t believe his sudden about-face. Was it only last night that he’d begged her to stay with him? But now, when she’d offered herself on a silver platter, he was discarding her like yesterday’s leftovers?

  The same guy who never committed to anyone expected her to give up a month of her life for him? What was he risking? Nothing. While she had everything to lose. Her feelings for him went well beyond lust, but given his history with women, she just couldn’t take that kind of gamble. That thought still did nothing to console her as she lay awake in bed aching with deep, unsatisfied need.

  Chapter Five

  Bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, Ty dragged his sleepy ass out to the kitchen and straight to the coffeepot. Judging by the burned smell, it was already several hours old, but he didn’t care. He needed a big dose of something thick and strong to thin the cobwebs in his head.

  “Hey, Ty. When’d you get in?” asked a perky voice that made him shudder.

  “Early this morning,” he answered without turning around.

  “Then you drove straight through?”

  “Yup,” he said.

  “I was really sorry to hear about Tom. I know how much he meant to you.”

  “Thanks, Delaney.” He finally turned to acknowledge her. “Now may I ask what the hell you’re doing here?” He’d dreaded any encounters with his ex, but he should have known she’d come by the minute he arrived at the ranch. Here in Oklahoma, she was as unavoidable and inevitable as a springtime tornado.

  Setting her cup down, Delaney rose from the table to park herself squarely in front of him. “Came to offer my condolences, of course. It’s the civilized thing to do.”

  He cocked a brow. “Since when do you and me abide by any kinda rules of civility?”

  “Don’t you think Tom’s death might be a good opportunity to draw up a truce?” She stared up at him with innocent baby blues, but he wasn’t buying it.

  “What do you want from me, Delaney?”

  “We need to talk, Ty. We’ve got some unfinished business.”

  “No we don’t.”

  “Yes we do,” she insisted. “Look, I know the timing is horrible, but Uncle Phil wants an answer. I can maybe put him off for another week, but he’s not going to wait forever. If you don’t decide soon, he’s gonna take his gazillions and move on to another investment. I don’t think you’re in a position to take that chance. Do you?”

  Ty scowled back at her. “How would you know what kind of position I’m in?”

  “I know you don’t have many options,” she said. “You’ll never get a conventional loan large enough to renovate the hotel. It’s too risky without a big corporate name behind you.”

  “If I went into business with him, he could sell his share anytime he wants to anyone he chooses. I can’t have that, Delaney. I’m not taking that chance.”

  “If you want to gain a controlling interest in the place, you’ll need to come up with another twelve million. So what are you going to do?”

  “As it turns out, I have a controlling interest.”

  “How?” Delaney asked.

  “Tom’s will. You’re looking at the new CEO of Brandt Morgan. No one can sell the place out from under me anymore but I still need money to renovate.”

  “How are you going to get it?” she asked.

  “Fuck.” He tossed his hat on table and clawed a hand through his hair. “I don’t know.”

  “Um, what if you took on a silent partner, someone you already have a vested interest with?”

  “Like who?”

  Her lips stretched into a broad smile. “Me, of course. You know I’m good for it, Ty. All I have to do is sell some of my oil stock. I could have millions in the bank within two weeks.”

  “And what’s in it for you?”

  “Well,” she hesitated and then took a deep breath. “Remember a while back I said I had a favor to ask? Something I wanted to talk about when the time was ripe? Well, I think this is the ripest it’s ever gonna get.”

  “What is it, Delaney? Quit hedging.”

  “All right. You want it straight out. I’ll give it to you.” Her eye
s met his levelly. “I want a baby, Ty.”

  Ty’s head jerked back in disbelief. “What the fuck did you just say?”

  “You heard me right. I want a ba-by.”

  “What the devil put that harebrained idea into your head?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe my cows did.”

  “The cows?”

  “Yes. They all look so happy with their babies. Please, Ty! Just hear me out. Can’t we just talk about this like two rational adults?”

  “That’s a tall order when one of us is out of her ever-lovin’ mind.”

  “Look, it’s not like I’m asking for us to get back together. It’s just a little sperm, Ty. How hard can that be? Hell, you’ve probably wasted enough of it over the years to populate half of Oklahoma.”

  He returned a glower. “I’d never be so reckless. I’ve never gotten a woman pregnant.”

  “I didn’t say you had. I just said you could have, given all the ones you’ve slept with.”

  “It’s probably only a fraction of the number you think I’ve been with.”

  “Whatever.” She waved a hand. “It’s water under the bridge.”

  “Look, we hashed through this once before when we were married. I’m no more ready to settle down now than I was back then . . . and we ain’t married anymore, Delaney, in case you forgot. And I have no intention of changing that. I’ve been to that place before, and it’s not on my list of repeat destinations.” After their ugly divorce he’d sworn to live as he pleased and answer to no one. He’d played it fast and loose ever since, never involving himself in any serious relationship, hadn’t even considered it—until Monica. “Why don’t you just find yourself another husband?” He asked. “Wouldn’t that be a lot better solution? You might be batshit crazy, but at least you still have your looks.”

  “I don’t want another husband, Ty. Once was enough for me too. Thank you very much. I just want a baby.”

  “And what is your family gonna say about that? You raising a kid on your own?”

  “Women do it all the time. There’s millions of single mothers. At least I don’t have to worry about making rent and buying groceries. I have plenty of money.”