10
TRACY HAD PULLED AWAY from Zane so quickly that she ripped off the button she’d just sewn on to his shirt. Not only that, but the material on her shirt ripped as well, creating a rather large hole in the blue chambray material. Another outfit down the drain.
She should have been embarrassed to have been caught in a compromising position with Zane. But she was too distracted by the realization that Zane was not as indifferent to her as he’d said. Despite all his claims to the contrary, there was no mistaking the way he’d kissed her.
He’d kissed her like a man who needed her the way he needed air to breathe and water to drink. As if she were necessary for his existence. As if he couldn’t go a millisecond longer without tasting her mouth and caressing her lips.
He’d told her she was driving him plumb loco. No man had ever said that to her before. And she could commiserate, because he had the same effect on her.
Zane’s expression now wasn’t giving anything away. Buck, on the other hand, looked like he’d eaten one of her inedible meals and was about to choke on it.
Somebody had to break the silence, so she did. “I was just sewing a button back on Zane’s shirt.” Not the most brilliant of openings, and thank heavens Buck made no comment. He might have wondered how locking their lips together got a button sewn back on. “Everything is...uhm...fine now,” she added, her voice clearly distracted.
Better than fine. Despite getting caught, she couldn’t help the way her heart was soaring. She wasn’t the only one wrapped up in this wild attraction—Zane was as much a victim of it as she was. It felt so good knowing this was a two-way street. She wasn’t the only one in love....
Her eyes opened wide. In love? Was that what this was all about?
It would explain a lot.
In love. With Zane. She tested the concept. It was terrifying and exciting.
She needed some time to herself to get her thoughts together. “I’ll leave you two alone,” she murmured.
AS SOON AS TRACY LEFT the room, Buck lit into Zane. “Are you loco, son?”
“Probably,” Zane muttered, tucking his loose shirt back into the waistband of his jeans.
“That little gal is falling for you like a heifer in a mud puddle.”
“That little gal is city born and bred,” Zane scoffed. “No way she’s like a heifer in a mud puddle. More like a fancy butterfly, here while things are good and gone when they aren’t.”
“What you know about she-folks would fit in the ear of a gnat,” Buck retorted. “Ain’t no way she’s a butterfly. A butterfly would have hightailed it back to Chicago that first day. Or the next, when the twins tied her to the bed. Or the next, when King was on the toilet. Or...”
Zane held his hands out in a reluctant concession. “Okay, so she’s kept her promise and stayed. But it’s only for the summer.”
“She’s no delicate flower. That woman can hold her own out here. She’s got a temper that would turn a blizzard around and send it home with a suntan. Yet she’s real gentle and patientlike with the kids. And she’s turned this place into a home, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“I noticed,” Zane said gruffly.
“I figured you did.” Buck fixed him with a piercing look. “That why you were kissing her?”
Zane shrugged. “Like you said, it was a plumb loco thing to do.”
“Only if you’re regretting it.”
The only thing Zane regretted was being this attracted to a woman who was sure to leave. It was like lying down in a stampede and asking to be trampled by a herd of cattle. But he couldn’t honestly say that he regretted kissing her. Not when it had felt so good. Better than good. He wasn’t a poetic man or he’d come up with some kind of description. Only thing he knew was that a kiss had never affected him this way before. But that didn’t change the facts. “She’s not our kind.”
“And what kind might that be?” Buck demanded.
“From around here.”
“Pam was from around here,” Buck pointed out. “That didn’t seem to help matters none.”
“Pam was a city girl.” Zane made sure to place the emphasis where he did.
Buck snorted, clearly not impressed with Zane’s logic. “Pam’s problems came from her character, not from her geography.”
“I’m telling you, you don’t have to defend Tracy this way.” Zane was getting aggravated by his father’s attitude. The way he saw it, he was the injured party here, the one perched on the horns of a dilemma. And as any cowboy could tell you, being stuck on a pair of horns is a mighty uncomfortable place to be. “She’s well able to look after herself. As for me, after my first marriage, I’m love-proof.” Saying the words were meant to make him feel better. “My heart belongs to my kids.”
Buck fixed him with another steely-eyed look, the kind he’d often given him as a kid when he’d known Zane was about to do something stupid. “She’s taken to this ranch like a horse takes to corn. You’d be a fool to let her go.”
“She’s not going anyplace until the kids start school. Then she’ll head back to her old life and I’ll...”
“Be back where you were when this started,” Buck interrupted him to say. “Knee-deep in cow patties. Take them blinders off, boy. They’re affecting your vision. No need to be slicker shy around this filly. I’m telling you, she’s a keeper.”
“I TOLD YOU he’d be a keeper,” Maeve was telling Tracy over the phone.
“What do you mean?” Tracy had retreated to her room and done what she always did whenever she had a personal crisis. She called her aunt, this time using her cell phone. There was no telling when the twins or, heaven forbid, Zane, might pick up the extension on the ranch phone. So Tracy always used her own phone for personal calls.
“I mean that I could tell by the way Herbie talked about Zane that he’d be perfect for you. I can’t wait to meet him. Have you two set a date yet?”
“Whoa!” Tracy exclaimed.
“How cute,” Maeve murmured in delight. “You’re even sounding like a cowgirl.”
“Zane doesn’t think so.” Tracy started pacing. “I think I love him anyway.”
Tracy winced and held the phone away as Maeve squealed. “I knew it! I could tell you were falling for him.”
“And I think he may be falling for me, but he’s not happy about it.”
“What man is? They’re never happy when their hearts get lassoed.”
“Now you’re starting to sound like a cowgirl.”
“Herbie and I have been talking about coming out there for a visit.”
Tracy could just imagine the mayhem of adding her aunt to the mix. That’s all she’d need, Maeve hugging Zane and asking him if he’d set a date yet. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. Not yet, anyway. Things are still too much up in the air.” Tracy plopped onto the bed. “I can’t believe I’ve fallen in love so quickly.”
“Quickly is a relative term,” her aunt retorted. “I knew I loved Herbie the very first moment I saw him. You, on the other hand, have been on that ranch for two months now. And it’s not like you were truly in love with Dennis. You told me so yourself.”
“I know. And Zane is nothing like Dennis. Do you think Zane could really grow to love me?” she asked, almost afraid to say the words aloud.
“If he’s half as smart as Herbie says that Buck says he is, then he’d have to love you. He certainly doesn’t seem like the kind of man to kiss a woman he doesn’t have feelings for.”
“That’s true. And I’ve already got the man hooked on papaya-orange drinks. I’m the only one who knows how to use the juice extractor to make them.”
“He’d be lost without you.”
Tracy laughed at the concept. “So all I have to do is sit back and wait for him to realize that I’m invaluable, huh?”
“That’s right”
“As Buck would say, that’s about as likely as pigs flying.”
TWO DAYS LATER Zane was stunned to walk into the house and find his father upstairs packing up the twins. “What are you doing?”
“Taking the twins to see the state fair,” Buck replied as if this was an everyday occurrence.
“But that’s clear down in Pueblo.”
Buck nodded. “Which is why we’re staying a few days.”
Zane trailed his family down the stairs and out to the front porch, grappling to keep up with this new wrinkle in his life. “I’ll come with you.”
Buck shook his head even as he loaded the twins and their bags in the truck. “You’ve got to stay here at the ranch and keep an eye on things.”
“Murph’n’Earl...”
“Can’t do everything that needs to be done by themselves,” Buck interrupted him to point out. “It’s only a few nights. Is there some reason why you’re suddenly so nervous you’d make a rat in a snake’s den look comfortable?”
Zane shifted from one foot to another before catching himself. Heck, he was acting like a fool teenager. He had to come up with some logical explanation, so he grabbed hold of this one. “The twins have never been away from me overnight.”
“About time they were then,” Buck retorted, clearly not moved by Zane’s reasoning. “They’re excited over the prospect of going to the fair. Don’t ruin it for them just because you’re scared.”
Zane threw back his shoulders and glared at his father. “I’m not scared.”
“Fine.” Buck patted him on the back with enough force to make Zane step back a pace or two. “Then we’ll see you in a few days.”
The twins hugged him and waved out the truck window, but Zane could tell that they were thrilled at the idea of going on a trip with their grandfather.
So why was he standing there feeling like he’d just been deserted in a blizzard and kicked in the heart by a mule.
“What are you looking at?” Zane growled at Murph‘n’Earl, who were standing nearby, eyeing him with knowing grins. “We’ve got fences to check. Let’s get to work.”
“WHERE IS EVERYBODY?” Tracy asked as she and Zane sat down to dinner.
Zane glared at her as if she’d just committed a capital offense instead of having asked a simple question. “You mean to tell me that you only now noticed that the twins and my father are gone?”
“Of course not,” she said, stung by his implication that she wasn’t paying attention to the twins. “Buck told me they were going to the state fair. I asked if I could go with them.”
“Wanted to get back to a big city, huh?”
Ignoring his taunting words, she just finished her explanation. “Buck said that I was needed here more.”
“You were disappointed at not going to Pueblo.”
“I’ll go another time.”
She seemed mighty unconcerned about things. Why wasn’t she itching to head off to Pueblo? Maybe it wasn’t a big enough city for her.
It hadn’t escaped his notice that she didn’t spend her days off exploring any of the bigger cities in the area. Not even when he’d given her an entire weekend off.
No, she’d spent the time surfing the Internet on that little computer of hers, looking for more places to distribute and sell Buck’s Barbecue Sauce. Or she’d read the twins a book or cajole Buck into writing down some of his Cockeyed Curly stories. Or she’d go riding with him or work on the garden she’d planted with the kids.
She’d done just about everything but what he expected her to do. And he suspected she was doing it deliberately. Just to aggravate him. Or to prove him wrong.
Still deep in his heart, he was finding that excuse more and more lame. But he wasn’t about to give it up without a fight.
After helping himself to a large serving of Tater Tots, he resumed his questioning. “So you must be missing your job back in Chicago?”
“No.”
“No?” he repeated, clearly surprised by her simple denial.
“I’ve decided that this job could be just as rewarding as the one I had back in Chicago.”
He frowned. “How do you figure that?”
“Because what I’m doing here is making a difference. Do you deny that?” she challenged him.
“No comment,” he muttered.
“You never did tell me where Murph’n’Earl are,” she reminded him while passing him the bowl of peas.
“They went into Kendall for the evening.”
“So we’re alone?”
“Something wrong with that?” Now he was the one who challenged her.
“Not as far as I’m concerned,” she replied, deliberately keeping her voice light and unconcerned. “How about you?”
“Fine by me, too.”
She nodded. “Good. Glad to hear it. Here, have some more steak.”
“This actually tastes pretty good,” he confessed.
“Why sir—” she waved her hand in front of her face as if she were doing a Scarlett O’Hara impersonation “—you’re going to make me swoon with all your fancy compliments.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “That your way of saying I’m a rough ol’ cowboy and not a silvertongued sweet-talker?”
“I don’t think anyone could ever accuse you of being a sweet-talker,” she assured him with a grin.
For some reason her words irritated him. It had never bothered him before that Reno was the charmer in the family but now he found that he wanted to...how had she once put it? He wanted to wow her with his words. “Oh, I don’t know. If I had the proper inspiration, say like your hair, I might be able to surprise you with my lyrical ways.”
She looked at him. When had this conversation turned seductive? There was no mistaking the warmth in his voice or the intensity of his gaze. It was one of those full-impact, sin-city looks from eyes so blue they put the sky to shame. Now she was the one getting lyrical.
Looking down, she nervously tugged down the hem of her white T-shirt and wished she was wearing something more...alluring than jeans and a T-shirt. She couldn’t remember that last time she’d worn a dress. At least her top didn’t have any stains on it from cooking dinner.
“When you’re outside your hair is like liquid sunshine,” he suddenly said. “The sun hits it and makes these little streaks of gold stand out. There are times when you look too good to be true.”
“I am true,” she whispered.
“Prove it.”
“How?”
He shook his head as if already regretting his words. “Forget I said that.”
“The same way I was supposed to forget that kiss we shared out in the barn?” she said.
“Forgettin’ seems harder where you’re concerned,” he admitted before shoving back his chair and leaving the table. “I’d better go check on the horses.”
He’d never done that in the evening before. “Check on the horses?” she repeated, still astonished by the way he’d turned that seductive voice of his on and off. “What for? What do you think they’re going to do?”
“I’m more afraid of what I might do,” he muttered before jamming his hat on his head and taking off.
It didn’t surprise her that she didn’t see him again for the rest of the evening. So, he was hiding out in the barn. Fine. Let him. She wasn’t going to chase after him.
She went to her own room and brooded. She felt such a strong sense of belonging here on the ranch with Zane and his family that she’d actually allowed herself to start daydreaming about a possible future with him. Why was it so hard for him to believe she could be happy here?
Okay, so he was slicker shy. So was she. But there were times when you had to take the bull by the horns and...kiss him? What would Zane do if he came back from the barn to find her in his bed?
She’d been in his bedroom before, when putting away his clean washing. She’d just been in there yesterday. She knew everything from the green color scheme to the way he neatly stacked his loose change on top of his dresser. She’d washed his underwear for heaven’s sakes. In the same load with her own. And both had managed to survive.
So what would he do if he found her in his bed? Kick her out or welcome her with open arms?
If she was a gutsy girl she’d find out. Instead she applied an avocado face mask and considered her options. A knock on her door caught her by surprise—green goop covered her face and fingertips.
“Who is it?” she croaked. Dumb question. There were only two of them in the house.
“It’s Zane.” His voice sounded just as froggy as hers did. “I wanted to...never mind.”
She heard the sound of his boots ringing against the hardwood floor as he headed back to the main part of the house and away from her room.
What had he been about to say? Why had he chickened out? Maybe he just wanted her to make him a midnight snack, even though it was only nine at night. Or maybe he planned on making her his midnight snack.
Either way, she had to find out So she quickly rinsed the face mask away and tried to decide what to wear. At the moment she was dressed in her nightgown and ivory satin robe. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her in it before. Several times.
Securing the belt around her waist, she paused long enough to splash on some cologne before heading out on her fact-finding mission. Only problem was that Zane was nowhere to be found. At least not on the main floor.
Maybe he’d gone back to the barn. Or maybe he’d gone upstairs to bed. She’d promised Rusty and Lucky she’d check in on their pets and feed them tonight. Which meant she should go upstairs anyway and do that.
Precious, already curled up and snoozing, didn’t need dinner, but King did. Tracy had brought some shredded lettuce up with her, which the iguana ate with appreciation. Joe, the mouse, however, was missing. The door to his cage was slightly ajar, which meant he’d made a break for it
Then she saw the mouse, perched on the bookcase above Rusty’s bed. Laughing down at her. Just as Randy, the horse, had in the barn a few weeks earlier.
She was tired of being laughed at. It was the last straw.
Marching over, she grabbed the mouse in one hand and read it the riot act. “Listen, buddy, you’ve been making me nervous long enough, checking under my bed every night to make sure you’re not hiding out there. And all because some bully traumatized me with a mouse when I was a little kid. Okay, the truth is that I’m never going to love mice, but I refuse to have you turn me into a quivering idiot. Are we clear on that?” The mouse wiggled its little whiskers at her and appeared to nod its head. “Good. I’m glad we both agree on that. Now you get back in your cage and behave yourself.”
Two seconds later the mouse was back where it belonged and Tracy felt on top of the world. She’d done it! She’d confronted one of her worse fears. She’d met the mouse and beat it, figuratively speaking. If she could do that, she could do anything!
Like confront Zane. Feeling gutsy and confident, she headed right for his bedroom, where she pounded on the door.
She began speaking the instant he opened it. “You came to my room a few minutes ago. What did you want?” she demanded almost belligerently.
“You.”
His blunt declaration took the wind right out of her sails. “Oh,” she sort of hiccuped.
“Yeah, oh.”
Not wanting to misunderstand him, she carefully said, “You mean you wanted me to do something for you?”
His smile was positively wicked. “Yes, ma’am, you could say that.”
She was getting impatient with him again. “Then why don’t you say it?”
“I want you in my bed.”
“I want the same thing,” she admitted. “So what’s stopping us?”
“A whole passel of things, none of which seem to matter right now.”
“Which leaves us where?” she asked.
“Here.” He leaned down and kissed her. Gently. Giving her time to back away. Letting her know the final decision was hers. Come or go. Stay or leave. Her choice.
“Yes,” she whispered against his mouth, deepening their kiss.
Once again, the heat was instant. It was as if their previous kisses hadn’t been interrupted, as if they’d picked up right where they’d left off—wanting each other with a hunger that was elemental and went clear through to the soul.
Zane made short work of undoing her robe, peeling it back to reveal the nightgown she wore beneath it. He glided his hands over her satin-covered form with both reverence and ravaging in mind. When he bent his head to kiss the curve of her breast, she threaded her fingers through his dark hair.
She could feel him smile. Her own smile turned dreamy as he practiced his tongue-tasting ways on her, lapping along the lacy edge of her nightgown before slipping his hand beneath the material to free her breast. The cool night air was a direct contrast to the wet warmth of his mouth against her bare skin. He brushed his thumb across her nipple with a velvety touch, before covering it with his lips.
Undeniable flames of desire flared deep within her body as her need for him grew with every passing second.
When he suddenly pulled away and put her nightgown back in place, she felt the loss intensely, so intensely she ached from it.
“If you change your mind now, I’ll kill you,” she warned him, her eyes glittering with feminine passion.
“I’m not changing my mind,” he assured her, his own gaze just as heated. “I just don’t aim on taking you right here against the door frame. And that’s what might have happened if we didn’t slow down a tad. We’ve got all night.”
“We do?”
He nodded. “I thought a highfalutin advertising woman like you would have figured that out some time ago. This is why my father left us alone.”
“So we could...”
“Get acquainted.”
She smiled. “I guess you wouldn’t have much trouble selling me on the idea of getting better acquainted with you.”
“You’re the one who is the expert on selling.”
“Maybe I should teach you a thing or two about the dynamics of selling. The first step is getting your audience’s attention.” Her smile was pure temptation filled with naughty enjoyment as she undid the bow holding her wraparound nightgown in place, then whipped it open to flash her bare breasts at him before covering them again so quickly he might have dreamed the whole thing. “The second step is arousing interest.” This time she removed her nightgown and robe from one shoulder and gave him the kind of come-hither over-the-shoulder look he’d been dreaming of. “Next step is creating desire.”
“You’ve been doing that since the second you showed up on my doorstep,” he huskily confessed, drawing her into his arms.
“Same here.” She set to work on undoing the snaps on his shirt, each pop indicating a cause for celebrating, which she did by kissing the newly exposed skin.
“What’s the next step?” His voice rumbled beneath her lips.
She smiled against his chest before looking up at him. “Producing action.”
“I think I can manage that just fine.”
“I think we both can.”
Words were forsaken for action after that, as Zane kissed her and walked her toward his bed. Her long hair fell around her shoulders as he undid her hair clasp. He seemed fascinated with her hair, running his fingers through the long strands.
She focused her attention on getting him naked as quickly as possible. It seemed only fair since he now seemed intent on doing the same to her. Besides, he had more clothes on.
She removed his shirt and tossed it over her shoulder, placing tiny kisses along his bare collarbone as she did so.
He’d already removed his leather belt with the shiny silver buckle.
While he nibbled on her ear and whispered words of encouragement, she set to work on the fastening of his button-fly jeans. The sight of her slim fingers against his tanned abdomen was incredibly erotic and empowering. She felt his body quiver as she undid the first metal rivet.
The backs of her fingers were against his skin as she moved on to the next, one hand inside his jeans and the other outside—which meant the fingers of her left hand got to enjoy the warmth he was emanating while the fingers of her right hand brushed against denim and metal. Until she got lower. Then her hands were brushing against the ridge of his arousal.
Pushing her hands aside, he undid the single remaining button himself and tugged off the jeans. His underwear just happened to go with them.
He was just as she’d imagined he’d be. Maybe better. Definitely better.
While she paused to admire him, Zane took the opportunity to rid her of her robe and nightgown. Now she was as naked as he was.
Slinging her arms around his neck, she kissed him. He took her down with him as he fell onto the mattress. It was firm. Like him.
No, he wasn’t just firm, she decided. He was hard, all heat and steely need. She explored him with awe and appreciation, her fingertips not missing a thing.
“Wait,” he gasped. “Protection.” He fumbled in the bedside table, his eyes on her bare body as he yanked what was required from the drawer, holding it up triumphantly.
“Nice bubble gum,” Tracy said.
“What?” He looked and, sure enough, he held a packet of the twins’ favorite brand of bubble gum in his hand instead of the condom he’d been looking for.
“What exactly do you aim on doing with that?” she asked with naughty interest. “I should warn you that I was an excellent bubble blower in my youth. It’s all in the tongue, you know? Shall I show you?”
He groaned, his body already on fire for her. Now she fanned the flames.
By the time he finally found the condom and rolled it on, he’d made sure that he wasn’t the only one trembling with need
He came to her in one powerful surge, filling her completely. The friction of his thrusts created a ripple of undulating pleasure that grew to monumental proportions until she shouted his name as her world expanded and contracted with the ultimate satisfaction.
It was only later that she realized that she’d told him she loved him, not only with her body but with words.
TRACY WAS AWAKENED by the sound of someone pounding on the front door. Since her body was still wrapped around Zane’s, she knew it wasn’t him pounding.
“Who is it?” she asked groggily. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. Not after they’d made love two more times.
“You stay here. I’ll go see.” He stepped out of bed, giving her a nice but all too brief glimpse of his sexy backside.
“Your father and the twins aren’t due back yet, are they?”
“They wouldn’t knock before entering,” he reminded her as he tugged on his jeans.
“Maybe it’s Murph’n’Earl wanting their breakfast.”
“If it is I’ll get rid of them,” he promised her with a quick kiss.
He left the door open as he hurried downstairs. “Keep your pants on,” he shouted as the impatient pounding on the front door continued. “I’m coming.”
Because Zane’s bedroom was located at the top of the staircase, she could hear what was going on as he opened the door.
“Who are you?” she heard Zane ask.
Then she heard a voice from her past, a voice she never dreamed she’d hear out here in Colorado. “My name is Dennis. Dennis Waverly. I’m here for my fiancée, Tracy Campbell.”