Too Close To The Fire/Too Hot To Handle (Montana Men 3)

by Jaydyn Chelcee

  Lacey stilled. Danger never spoke to her like she mattered to him anymore. His voice always carried a distant chill, harsh, as if he despised her. She didn’t understand what she’d done that made him talk to her so mean.

  I slept with Rafe!

  She wanted to scream the confession at him.

  He shifted his gaze away from her, as if he lacked interest enough to bother to look her way for very long.

  Instead, he opted for a cold beer and plopped down on the sofa in front of the television. “God, I’m tired.” He took a chug from the bottle and stared at the picture on the screen.

  Lacey stood there, silently screaming words through her head.

  I slept with Rafe! I might be pregnant by him!

  The confession hammered away at her conscience.

  Tell him! Tell him!

  She opened her mouth. “Danger, I—”

  “Do you mind? I’m watching TV.” He picked up the remote and flicked through the channels. Silent. Another swallow of beer. Click-click-click. Three more channels. Click-click-click. He paused long enough to roll the cold bottle across his forehead. “God, my head is killing me.”

  “Are you hungry?” she asked. She hoped not. Everything she’d cooked for Christmas dinner had either been scraped down the garbage disposal or fed to the dogs.

  Danger snorted. “Hungry for your cooking? Hell, no. I already ate.”

  Another gulp of beer. Click-click-click. Channel after channel popped up on the television screen.

  Look at me! I slept with another man. I might be pregnant by him. Can’t you tell I’ve cheated on you? Would you care?

  The words filled her head, but she didn’t say them. “I think I’m coming down with the flu,” she said, choking back her confession.

  “Stay the fuck away from me,” he snapped, irritable. “I don’t need your germs.”

  “Yeah, I’ll make sure I do.” Tears stung the back of her eyelids. Nausea bubbled in her stomach. Oh, God, she was going to be sick. She couldn’t live with this guilt. She had to tell him. “Danger, I—”

  “Not now, Lacey.” He groaned and rose from the sofa, clicked off the television and tossed down the remote. Still not looking at her, he killed the bottle of beer and dropped it in a trashcan by the fireplace. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed.”

  He started past her, but she halted him with her words. “Why did you really go to Missoula?”

  Danger paused. His eyes narrowed. He settled his gaze on the hickeys for a brief second. His top lip curled before a look of annoyance flashed across his dark face, there and gone. “I told you. I took a prisoner there for trial.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Whose?”

  “The prisoner you escorted to Missoula. What’s his name?”

  “I’m not in the mood for games. I’m tired. My head feels like it’s going to explode.”

  “Too damn bad! Answer me. What’s his name?”

  “Luke Peterson.”

  “Wrong answer.”

  He lifted his head. “Ah. So, my secret is out. You caught me in a lie. I didn’t take Luke to Missoula.”

  “I know that. What I don’t know is why you preferred to spend a day and a night alone in a motel room in Missoula?”

  His gray eyes turned to steel. “You wanna do this now?”

  “Yes. I want to know why you preferred to spend Christmas away from me, spend a day and a night alone in a motel room.”

  Danger’s lips twisted into an icy curve. His eyes hardened, dark as flint. “God, Lacey, you are so stupid. Who the fuck said I was alone?”

  Her heart plummeted. “I see. You were with someone?”

  “Yeah. I was with someone.”

  The sarcasm in his voice made her want to wince. “Another woman?” She barely managed to squeeze out the words.

  Danger threaded fingers through his dark hair and swore softly. “What? You’re so dense you want me to paint a picture? Yes. Another woman. Did I fuck her? Yes. I spent last night and most of today fucking her. Did I like it? You’re damn right. It felt good to be inside her, to be inside a woman I can trust. Am I going to fuck her again? Ohh, yes, every damn chance I get. Do I give a fuck if you know about her or not? Not really. Do I care that you spent the time I was away screwing Rafe? Not particularly.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s not that difficult.”

  “Maybe not for you, but I’m playing catch up here.”

  “You aren’t playing catch up. I’m the one playing catch up. You’ve been going away for months at a time with men into the wilderness. Men I don’t know, part of a team. Whose fucking team? Not mine!”

  “What?”

  “Yeah. You haul ass out of here at every opportunity to go on your fucking photo shoots. I’m sick of it! But here you are, preparing to leave again in a couple of months, and I notice the number of men scheduled to go on this shoot to Alaska has increased to six. Are you fucking every one of them?”

  Lacey stood there, too stunned to respond. He thought she’d been cheating on him? Dear God, she might be guilty now, but she’d never been unfaithful before Rafe. “How long have you believed I’ve been sleeping with other men?”

  “Ever since Jared told me he shared his tent with you, and he sure liked what you have between your legs.”

  “What? I’ve never slept with Jared. I swear to God, I’ve never—”

  “Don’t lie, Lacey. Don’t you fucking lie to me!” He grabbed her by the shoulders. His fingers bit into her skin.

  “I’m not lying. I’ve never cheated on you.”

  He shook her. An ugly snarl tightened his lips. “I said, don’t lie to me! Hell, at least be honest, you fucking whore.”

  “Get your hands off me.”

  Danger slowly released her and stepped back.

  Lacey rubbed the reddened areas on her arms. “Don’t you ever, ever call me a name like that again. I’ve never lied to you about anything. Ever. I’ve loved you with all my heart.”

  He snorted. “Right. While you were ‘loving’ me with all your heart, you were screwing the men on your little expeditions to God knows where.”

  “I told you—”

  “Shut the fuck up! I wouldn’t believe you no matter what you said. Your willingness to sleep with Rafe is enough to convince me of your guilt. Besides, Jared showed me the panties you were wearing that he stripped off you.”

  “Jared Davis showed you a pair of women’s panties and you took it for granted they were mine? You never questioned the fact he might be lying, stirring up trouble? There were two other women on that shoot.”

  “He didn’t lie about anything.”

  “He lied to you!”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because the panties he showed me were the ones I bought for you last Christmas, the pair with your initials, L.B.”

  “He stole them out of my tent!”

  Danger snorted. “How do you explain he knew about your tattoo?”

  “My tattoo?”

  “Yeah, you know that perfect butterfly with the pretty red and blue wings on your right hipbone? Only a man who’s been between your legs would know of its existence. How do you explain him knowing about it?”

  “I don’t know. God, maybe he spied on me while I was bathing.”

  He sneered. “You might be a whore, but you aren’t that tempting to look at. Why would he sneak a peek when you were giving it to him anytime he wanted?”

  Lacey gritted her teeth. “For the last time, I did not sleep with Jared Davis, and if you call me a whore once more, I’ll deck you with something.”

  “For God’s sake, Lacey, I’m tired of your lies, just give me a damn divorce and get the hell out of my life!”

  Lacey reeled. “Divorce?” She’d known it was coming, but the word still sent a shaft of pain through her soul.

  “I want free of you as soon as possible.”

  “You sle
pt with another woman to get even with me for sleeping with Jared Davis?”

  “That’s right. I got even plenty of times. Hell, once you even showed up unexpected at the jail and Karen was in the bathroom. I’d just fucked her, and you didn’t have a clue. As soon as you left, I screwed her again. It felt even better the second time round.”

  Lacey swallowed hard and held up a shaky hand. “I’m happy for you, Danger. I am. I’m glad you got even for all the wrongs you think I’ve done. But I wonder is it me you were punishing or your mother for all the times she left your father for other men?”

  Inside, Lacey wept. She couldn’t remember Danger ever being deliberately cruel or crude.

  “Don’t act so self-righteous and innocent. I know Jared wasn’t the only man in the expeditions you slept with.”

  “You do?”

  “I know about Marcus Ryan and Jack Miller. Jared told me how the three of them shared you one night. Marcus confirmed what Jared told me.”

  “Marcus and Jared are buddies. He’d say whatever Jared wanted him to say, and Jack is dead. He can’t confirm their lies, but he’d tell you the truth.”

  “I know the truth. For pity’s sake, you have nothing to complain about, Lacey. I made sure you were taken care of before I left for Missoula. From the marks on your throat, I’d say Rafe did a fair job of satisfying you. Or are you going to stand there and tell me you didn’t sleep with him, either? He’s had the hots for you for so long, I figured since you were putting out I’d do him a favor and give him the night alone with you. I knew you’d grab the opportunity to fuck him. I see I was right…looks like he nailed you good.”

  “What?” Lacey’s throat tightened. Her stomach dropped to her knees. Nausea curled its way through her gut. She staggered back from him, reaching blindly for the wall behind her to brace herself. “Why would you do such a thing? Why would you set me up for such a fall?”

  Danger smiled, but his eyes looked as cold and deadly as the blade of a knife. “You didn’t fall, I didn’t force you to do one damn thing you didn’t wanna do and I’m betting Rafe didn’t force you. Did he?”

  She shook her head, too numb to reply. What a fool she was.

  “I gave you to him, Lacey. Hell, I hoped you’d get the fuck out of my life and leave with him when he returned to Texas.”

  Lacey stared at him. Her body trembled. A numbing chill iced her mind. “You gave me to him? Did…h–he know?”

  “Yeah, he knew. I didn’t come right out and say, Here, take the cheating bitch off my hands, but he got the message I wasn’t going to get in his way or give a shit if he fucked you.”

  “You bastard!” Lacey slapped him across the face as hard as she could. His head snapped back. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. “What gave you the right to give me to anyone? You aren’t God. I’m not a piece of property you can pass around to another man! I’m your wife.”

  “My wife? You haven’t been my wife for a long, long time. At least not to me. Besides, you liked it, didn’t you? Liked Rafe screwing you?” He wiped the blood away with his thumb. “Yeah, I see it in your eyes…you liked it a lot. Was he as good as Jared in the sack?”

  “When did you stop loving me, Danger?”

  “You sure you wanna know that?”

  Lacey nodded. She didn’t think it was possible for him to hurt her more. Inside, her soul ached. She felt totally destroyed. Devastated. She couldn’t summon any more anger. Maybe later, when the icy numbness around her heart thawed, when the lack of sensation returned to her body and she started to feel again, maybe then she wouldn’t feel so dead. “Yes. When did you stop loving me? I want to know.”

  “I’ve never loved you. I wanted you. You gave me what I wanted. I was too stupid to realize then it was only lust. I might have stayed married to you, but let’s see, I stopped wanting you long before Jared told me he screwed you. So, for at least a year, maybe longer, I’ve tolerated you, Lacey, but I’m so ready for you to leave. You make me sick! I can’t believe it took you so long to catch on. Are you such a fool not to realize if I’m not fucking you, then I’m screwing another woman?”

  Could he humiliate her anymore? Everything inside her curled up and died. The light, the warmth fled from her soul and left an empty shell behind. Up until now, even with making the mistake of sleeping with Rafe, she’d fooled herself into thinking there might be a way to salvage her crumbling marriage, but it was dead, cold and shriveled as the winter landscape outside. “How long?”

  “What?” Danger frowned. “How long what?”

  “How long have you been…had someone else?”

  “Since way before your last trip to Alaska with Jared.”

  “I didn’t go with Jared.”

  “It sure looked that way to me. As I recall, he was waiting in Havre at the airport for you.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Don’t, Lacey. Don’t try to think up a lie to explain. I don’t want to hear your miserable excuses. You sound just like my mother and all the lies and excuses she made to Dad every time she took off with another man. I’m not my father. I don’t believe a word you say. It’s over. Don’t try to hang on to something that’s dead and ready for the grave. I can’t stand the sight of you. I sure don’t want to hear anymore of your fucking lies. Just go. If Rafe will have you, then I suggest you go to Texas. I don’t want to see you…ever.”

  Lacey nodded and swallowed back the pain. The hurt. She’d concentrate on the dull ache that settled around her heart later when she didn’t feel quite so frozen inside. She refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how his words cut her.

  She needn’t have worried about sleeping with Rafe. It wasn’t what had destroyed her marriage. No. Danger’s lack of faith and trust in her had been the culprit. That and his determination to make her pay for something she’d never done.

  She wondered if there had been the tiniest niggle of doubt in his mind about her innocence.

  Was that why he’d set her up with Rafe?

  His own conscience would be in the clear if she slept with Rafe?

  Was that the way he saw it?

  Sleeping with Rafe was proof of her guilt in his eyes and wiped away any lingering traces of doubt. Boy, she’d fallen right into the web.

  Lacey fought to keep from doubling over with the blow he’d dealt to her heart. Almost a year he’d been seeing another woman, sleeping with her. No wonder he hadn’t been interested in touching her. Danger was right—she was stupid. But she’d trusted him. Loved him. She hadn’t known about the lies Jared had told, hadn’t suspected. She felt like an utter fool.

  Why hadn’t she seen the signs? Realized Danger was cheating on her?

  “I want a divorce, Lacey. The only thing that kept me from asking for one before now was Joseph, but things have changed. Karen’s three months pregnant. I love her. I want to marry her as soon as possible.”

  Oh, God. This mortal blow to her soul nearly knocked her to her knees. Lacey stared at him dry-eyed, but inside, the tears were drowning her. “I see. Well…I hope you’ll be very happy, Danger. I do.” She pushed her way past him in the hall.

  “Where are you going? Don’t you want to know who she is?”

  Why? So he could add one more blow to heart?

  She turned to face him. There was something spiteful in his eyes, a triumphant gloat on his face. He wasn’t finished ramming the knife through her heart. He wasn’t satisfied with his victory. He wanted to twist the knife, break it off and leave it inside her heart where she could slowly bleed to death. “You said Karen. The only Karen I know around here is Karen Monroe, the new waitress at the diner in Rimrock who moved here about a year ago, the diner where you spend a lot of time. Her?”

  “Yeah. Her. She’s a lot more woman than you. Hell, she’s a far better fuck than you’ll ever be. Rafe is welcome to you. Maybe he’ll get more pleasure from you than I ever did.”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  He shrugged.

 
Lacey quietly closed Rafe’s bedroom door behind her. Later that night, she moved her things out of the bedroom she’d shared with Danger for three years and moved into the guest room. They didn’t talk. What was left for either of them to say except for hateful, hurtful words? She’d been accused, charged, tried and found guilty of a crime she’d never committed. Danger hadn’t bothered to ask her if she’d slept with Jared. He’d simply believed and punished her accordingly.

  It didn’t matter. She was guilty now of being unfaithful, and nothing would ever change that fact or the fact her husband had been sleeping with another woman for a long time. Her husband loved another woman and had loved her for quite awhile.

  Danger had deliberately led her into Rafe’s arms, then sat back and waited for her to fall. Well, he could have his divorce. He’d earned it. She wouldn’t stand in his way, but she wasn’t leaving the ranch until she was damn good and ready.

  Lacey tried to forget all the cruel things Danger had said, words that had hammered the final nails in their marriage. She couldn’t drag her thoughts together and make sense out of any of it. She had no clue how Jared knew about her tattoo or why he’d told Danger such horrible lies. Of a sudden, she felt very old, cast aside like a worn-out shoe, good for nothing or nobody.

  The weeks that followed Christmas passed in a blur. Lacey spent each day in a daze. Danger and she lived like strangers. He left early, came home late, if he bothered to come home at all. He didn’t take meals with her or speak when they did see each other.

  Joseph was the only thing that kept her going. Nothing made sense to her anymore. Except for two things—Danger wasn’t the man she’d always thought him to be. And he’d trampled the love she once felt for him into the dirt. He’d ground it and her spirit into dust as surely as if he’d pounded her bones to powder.

  In light of Danger’s confession that he’d someone else in his life, she needed Rafe more than ever, but she simply couldn’t summon the energy to pick up the phone and call him. She couldn’t bring herself to answer his frequent calls either.