A couple of hours later, after stopping at the station to shower in the locker room, Kade reached the ranch and his temper had cooled. He noticed Chuck’s truck was gone, but Sadie’s SUV was parked in the driveway.
When Kade walked in the door and kicked off his boots, he smelled something great, like Italian food. Tomatoes, basil, and oregano. He headed to the kitchen and smiled when he saw Kelsey. Her back was to him and she was wearing a pink blouse, a short little skirt, and was barefoot. She stood at the range lifting the lid off a pot, then turned off the flame beneath it. She looked good there, like she belonged.
He walked up behind her and slipped his hands around her waist. She gave a little yelp and whirled around, brandishing the pot lid. She held her other hand to her heart. “Don’t do that.”
He took the lid from her and set it on the counter. “I should’ve learned by now that you’re pretty dangerous to startle.”
“You’d better watch yourself, cowboy.” Her voice was low and breathless, her eyes wide.
“I’d rather watch you.” Kade studied Kelsey’s lips and braced his hands on either side of her, pinning her against the counter. “Where is everyone?”
“I think they’ll be back from Tucson in an hour or so.” She glanced at the stove, then back to him. “I’m making angel hair pasta for dinner. With garlic bread and steamed broccoli.” She sounded a little nervous as fast as she was talking. “The sauce is done, and I’ve got everything else ready to throw together once they get here.”
He didn’t take his eyes off her lips. “I’m hungry.”
She waved one hand, shooing him away. “Don’t you have to take your shower or something?”
“Didn’t do any fieldwork,” he murmured. “But I took a shower in the locker room.”
“Oh.” She would have been happy to volunteer to soap his body all over...
“Let’s start with dessert,” he said, his lips inches away from hers. Kelsey caught her breath, then swallowed. “Dessert sounds good.” She gave a surprised yelp as Kade grabbed her around the waist and set her on the countertop, away from the range top.
***
Her pulse raced as he pushed her skirt up around her waist. Thank goodness she was wearing her nice silky pink panties and not cotton grannies. “What are you doing?”
“Sampling dessert.” He hooked his fingers onto the sides of her panties and looked at her, waiting for her to tell him to stop.
Kelsey worried her lower lip as she stared at him. Why not? Why not enjoy what he was offering?
Yeah, when it came to Kade she was a total goner.
Instead of answering aloud, Kelsey braced her hands on the countertop and lifted her hips.
Kade gave her that slow, sexy smile that made her insides melt. He pulled her panties down her thighs, then gradually eased them over her legs and ankles, teasing her with every deliberate movement. Just the way his fingers caressed her legs as he brought the panties down was enough to make her ache from her nipples to the juncture of her thighs.
He stuffed the pair of pink panties into his back pocket, then pushed her thighs apart with his hands, totally exposing her to his gaze. The countertop was cool beneath her, but her body was already burning up. She was faintly aware of the pot of sauce bubbling on the range and the smell of garlic.
Everything faded as her world came to a pinpoint on the man between her thighs.
“You are so beautiful, darlin’,” he murmured as he lightly brushed his fingers over the blond curls of her mound.
She trembled at the contact and her cheeks heated.
Kade set his Stetson on the counter beside Kelsey, then knelt on the tile floor between her legs. He gripped her thighs with his large hands as he brought his face to her folds. He paused and inhaled. “You smell like heaven.”
Kelsey shivered and bit back a moan. This was right. This was good... Feeling and experiencing what life had to offer and doing it with Kade.
Go for it, Kelsey. Live.
She couldn’t hold back that inner voice that worried about the consequences. “What if everyone comes home early?” What if I can never say no to you?
He gave her a wicked grin. “Then I’ll throw you over my shoulder and cart you off to my room and finish the job.”
Before she could think of a suitable reply, Kade parted her folds with his fingers and licked her slit with a long, slow swipe of his tongue.
Kelsey moaned from the exquisite sensation and watched him sliding his tongue over her clit. She clenched the edge of the countertop as he pressed her thighs wider apart and licked and sucked her swollen nub.
His tongue swirled and tasted her as he slipped two fingers into her channel. Blood pounded in her veins and in her ears, so loud she could hear nothing else.
She’d never had a man do this to her before, and the feeling was incredible. Nothing on earth could replace the feel of a man’s mouth on her folds, licking her slit, and his fingers thrusting inside her. She could just imagine him sliding into her channel, his rock-hard body pressed against hers.
She tilted back her head and felt her nipples, hard as stones beneath her blouse. Kade’s stubble was rough against her folds and the insides of her thighs, driving her closer to that place inside her that was growing, budding, and blooming. She’d never felt anything like this and she was sailing so fast toward her climax that it fully blossomed inside her in a rush. She gave a little cry as heat burned her from head to toe and back again.
Kade slowed his movements but continued licking her until Kelsey’s hips finally stopped rocking against his face. “No more,” she begged, and shuddered with another aftershock.
He stood and moved between her thighs. Slowly he brought his face to hers and kissed her long and deep. It made another tremor go through her.
With a smile he moved back and caught her around the waist. He lifted her off the countertop and set her on her feet.
Kade tugged her skirt down over her hips while Kelsey tucked in her shirt. “I can’t believe we just did that,” she said.
His lips quirked as he dragged his hand over his mouth and chin. “I’ve been dying to taste you since I met you.”
At that moment the front door crashed open and Trent’s yell shattered the moment.
“Dad! We’re home!”
Kelsey bolted out of his arms before Trent made it into the kitchen. Kade winked at her and then smiled at his son. “How’s my favorite guy?”
After Trent had run off to his room and Kade greeted his mom and dad he excused himself and headed down the hallway.
Kelsey’s gaze widened as she watched him walk away and she prayed that no one else had noticed.
Her bright pink silky panties were peeking out of his back pocket.
***
“Eduardo Montano, please,” Kelsey said to the courthouse’s elegant receptionist. The nameplate on the woman’s desk read PORTIA ZAPATA.
“Do you have an appointment with the mayor?” The receptionist wore a sleek black business suit, her voice smooth and professional. She seemed accustomed to heading off unwanted visitors.
“Yes. I’m Kale C. Nichols with San Francisco’s City by the Bay magazine,” Kelsey replied.
While the receptionist buzzed the mayor’s office, Kelsey ignored the urge to fuss with her skirt and her press badge, doing her best to appear calm, cool, and collected despite the humidity. She’d spent the past week in casual clothing, and for the first time she could remember she felt confined wearing a silk suit. On top of that, the leather heels pinched her toes and she longed to be in her casual sandals or tennies. She’d arranged her hair in an elegant chignon at the nape of her neck, applied her makeup so that it gave her an air of elegance, and she wore diamond studs in her ears.
One of the most important things she’d learned early in her career was to dress as the natives do. When interviewing a rancher, dress comfortably in jeans and a blouse. When speaking with an office clerk, wear nice slacks or a pant outfit. When meeting with a politician, dress to kill.
A few moments later, the receptionist escorted Kelsey into the mayor’s office. The news reports she’d seen of the mayor hadn’t done him justice. He was almost beautiful with his long black eyelashes and aristocratic features. Not a speck of gray marred his ebony hair or his full mustache.
“Buenos días, Señorita Nichols,” the mayor said with a small bow. “With the name Kale, I expected a man. Instead I find myself in the company of a most beautiful señorita. Or is it señora?” His voice was well modulated, his manner that of a true politician.
She smiled. “Thank you, Mayor Montano. I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. Is there a Spanish word that translates to Ms.?”
He took Kelsey’s fingers lightly in his, lifted them to his mouth, and brushed his lips across her knuckles. His cologne was heavy, a cloying smell that reminded Kelsey of her ex-husband’s cologne. “I’m afraid not. Call me Eduardo, please. May I call you Kale?”
She didn’t share that her real name was Kelsey in situations that involved individuals in politics or certain other areas. As she withdrew from his grasp, Kelsey replied, “Of course.”
“Have a seat, Kale.” With a sweep of his arm, he gestured to one of two leather chairs in front of his desk. After Kelsey sat, the mayor hitched up his slacks and settled into the chair next to her. “Mr. Montano—”
“Eduardo, please.”
“Ah, yes.” Kelsey swallowed. “Eduardo. May I record our interview so that I can ensure my notes are accurate?”
He nodded and crossed his legs at his knees. “By all means.” After Kelsey pulled the cell phone out of her purse, she prepared it, then withdrew her notepad of questions. She glanced at the rich furnishings, trying to get a sense of the man she was about to interview.
Behind the desk was a large window, but the wooden blinds were drawn shut. Bookshelves lined one wall, filled with brass sculptures of bullfighters and bulls, as well as a few thick volumes. Oil paintings of matadors in vivid hues of reds, greens, blues, and yellows dominated the other two walls, the fighters waving traditional red capes before powerful black bulls.
“You have a lovely office,” she said. “I see you have a penchant for bullfighting.”
“Si.” Montano’s mustache twitched and he gave a ruthless smile. “The greatest of all sports.”
Kelsey turned from looking at the sculptures and gave him her let’s-get-down-to-business smile. “I understand you’re running for United States Congress in this fall’s election, and your campaign is on an immigration reform platform.”
“Yes, that is correct.” He placed his elbows on the arms of his chair and steepled his fingers. “I feel very strongly that something must be done to alleviate this ongoing problem.”
“Will you explain?”
He nodded. “But of course. First, I believe we should grant amnesty to all Mexican nationals now living in the U.S.” He ticked off the points on his fingers. “Second, I advocate free schooling for children of undocumented aliens in all states, and that we should not require these children to prove citizenship in order to go to school. Third, I believe that no one in any state should have to provide a Social Security number or proof of residency to obtain a driver’s license.”
Montano continued in the manner of a politician practiced in out-lining his views. “Fourth, I oppose mandatory reporting by employers of their employees’ nationalities. Fifth, I do not believe we should fine employers who hire undocumented workers. And sixth, I do not agree with dragnets that round up immigrants from their homes or workplaces.”
Kelsey made a note to herself on her notepad. “How do you feel this will help the problem with the numbers of people attempting to cross the border illegally every day?”
“I believe that we must ease the hardship of the suffering souls living in fear and despair on our side of the border,” he replied. “Those poor people on the other side are in my thoughts and prayers. However, they must wait and cross into this country legally, as did my father, many years ago.”
Typical politician. Talking in circles around her questions.
“I see. Now regarding the number of aliens crossing the border illegally, do you feel that going after the smugglers and coyotes would get to the root of the problem?”
“Of course we wish to find and prosecute these reprehensible beings.” Montano shrugged. “Let me express how much it saddens me that these smugglers of humans, these so-called coyotes, continue to cause the loss of so many lives. It’s a terrible problem and something must be done about it.”
She met his gaze head-on. “What do you propose?”
“First we must address the most important issues on immigrants already living in this country before we can tackle that obstacle.” Not going to get a straight answer.
Kelsey checked her list of questions and looked back to Montano. “What do you know of a coyote named Gordo?”
For a fraction of a second, Kelsey thought she saw unease in the mayor’s eyes, but a questioning look replaced it almost at once. “Gordo? I do not recall a coyote by that name. Where did you hear it?”
Was there something in his look? “Someone mentioned it to me,” Kelsey said, and went to the next item on her list.
Montano answered more of her questions in his carefully rehearsed manner, then glanced at his watch. “As much as I enjoy your company, senorita, I have another appointment I must attend to.” She gathered her belongings and thanked the mayor. He seemed like he was a nice enough man for a politician. As she left she wondered why the interview with him had made her feel so uneasy.