“Oh, you’re home,” he said as he lifted his head from the sofa back. “I must have dozed off.” He yawned for effect.
“I want you to stop meddling in my life,” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips. The fire’s brilliant flames danced precariously. Shades of gold and copper highlighted her red hair, making it look even more beautiful. Making her look more beautiful.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you? You deliberately sabotaged my date with Tyler tonight. And then, just a few minutes ago you were spying on me.” She pursed her lips and leveled her gaze on him.
He tried to decide when she was prettier. Was it when she was angry and the spark in her fiery green eyes twinkled, or was it when she smiled and those tiny dimples winked at him?
“I wasn’t spying. I happened to look out the window and saw Richman mauling you.”
“Tyler wasn’t mauling me. He was kissing me. Mauling is what you do.”
Luke couldn’t hold back his grin. “Yeah? Why don’t I kiss you again so you can compare?” He got to his feet and moved toward her.
“Stay away from me,” she ordered, taking a step backward toward the fire.
“Why?” he asked, deliberately taunting her. He loved it when she seemed wary of him. “Can’t you trust yourself around me?”
“Stop flattering yourself.” She took another step back and nearly lost her balance against the brick hearth. Luke reached out to steady her.
“Careful, or you might burn your pretty little butt.” It felt good standing close to her. He could smell the sweet scent of her perfume and feel her warm breath against his neck. The sleeves of her sweater were silky smooth, her hands soft, smooth and warm. “Tell me something, Rusty. When Richman kissed you, did your spine tingle?”
Her eyes fluttered, but she didn’t answer. Standing this close to the fire made her hair look as if it would ignite. Slowly, he reached up and removed the pins from her hair, watching it tumble to her shoulders. Lowering his head, he sought her lips with his and kissed her thoroughly.
When he ended the kiss, he stared into her face. Her eyes were closed, her head tilted back slightly, her face flush. Her lips appeared to be searching for his. Wanting more. Needing more. Luke couldn’t help but kiss her again.
This time he kissed her hard, wanting to punish her for making him lose control so easily. What was it with her? Did she have some kind of magic potion or spell she used on him? Why in hell couldn’t he control himself around her?
She eased her arms up around his neck, splaying her hands and fingers in his hair. He felt her body shudder and a tiny moan escaped her lips. He swallowed it, silently begging her to do it again. Bringing one hand around her back, he pulled her into him, pressing his erection against her pelvis. He wanted her to know how much he wanted her. With his free hand, he touched her breast, felt her nipple harden. He pinched it lightly through the silky sweater and bra.
Breathlessly he asked, “Is this how it was with Richman? Did he make you feel like a puddle of liquid?”
He felt her soft gasp just before she jerked away from him. Without a backward glance, she ran out of the living room and up the stairs. When Luke heard the slamming of her bedroom door, he released the breath he’d been holding and swore aloud.
Why did he enjoy torture so much? And why did he insist on driving her away? She’d been putty in his hands. He could have taken her if he’d wanted to.
If he’d wanted to.
Hell, he couldn’t remember wanting anything, or anyone, more than he’d wanted Rusty. But he wasn’t going to allow himself that painful pleasure. He didn’t need to sleep with her to prove how wrong she was for him. That she was too good for him. That there could never be anything more between them than sex.
He’d already been down that road. An heiress and an ex-con. What a laugh!
She needed her head examined. There was no other explanation. How could she have let him kiss her again? What happened to her reserve when he touched her?
Rusty hugged Brownie fiercely to her chest. It hadn’t been that way with Tyler. She’d felt nothing more than if she’d kissed a block of wood.
Why? She liked Tyler. He was an extremely handsome, decent man. And there was no doubt in her mind he’d make a good husband and a good father.
Then why, if she was attracted to him, would she let another man kiss her like that? Touch her like that? And not just another man, but Luke Galloway?
She was crazy. That’s all there was to it. Because there was no way she could ever fall for a man like that.
How would she ever rid her thoughts of Luke? Of his smoldering kisses, his long, lean, hard and muscular body? The way he made her quiver inside?
Looking at Brownie, she begged the stuffed animal to help her give the answers. But she knew in her heart there weren’t any. She was head over heels in lust with Luke Galloway. She was in his power. All he had to do was look at her and she was in his command. No matter how much she tried to fight it.
He’d been working at the computer all afternoon. Luke scratched at his head while he stared at the monitor. He’d made a mistake somewhere, but he couldn’t find it. Math had been his worst subject in school, and he still hated it today. He knew he should take a break, but he was determined to finish the end of month reports even if it killed him.
He didn’t hear her come into the study, not until she spoke.
“Hi,” Rusty said softly. “You’ve been cooped up in here all afternoon. I thought maybe you’d be hungry, so I made you a tuna salad sandwich.” She set the plate and a tall glass of milk on the desk beside the stacks of papers he’d been rifling through.
“Thanks,” he grunted, careful not to look into her eyes. He’d been avoiding her for days, ever since the night they’d kissed in front of the fire. He’d spent most of his time at the stables with the horses. But he’d neglected the books for too long and he needed to get them straightened out before they got any further behind. Then, he’d have an even bigger mess on his hands.
“Do you need some help? I’m a fast learner.”
This time he glanced up at her, but only for a moment. “It’s rather complicated.”
“And you don’t think I’m capable?” There was an edge to her voice. “It gets kind of lonely around here when you’re not harassing me. And I can’t spend all day pampering Sam, or he’ll get even more spoiled than he is. Right now Becky’s visiting with him, so I have a few hours to kill until we go into town.”
Sam had asked Luke to drive Rusty to the pharmacy to renew his pain prescription. Sam said she might enjoy seeing some of the local establishments. Though Luke doubted it. She’d probably thumb her nose at their small community. She didn’t fit in here, although he had to give her credit. She’d been a good sport so far.
Without an invitation, she pulled a straight back chair up beside his.
Luke released a frustrated sigh and said, “Suit yourself.” Hey, if she was good with numbers, more power to her. One less thing for him to worry about. He could concentrate on buying and training horses.
He traded seats with her and, in between bites of his sandwich, explained what he’d been trying to accomplish. Amazingly, she seemed to understand completely. He listened to her suggestions of how to make the job less complicated and he thanked her when she found the mistake he’d been looking for all afternoon.
“This is fun,” she said, smiling, her fingers clicking away at the keyboard. “There, I made you a spreadsheet so you can record your monthly expenses more easily. I never knew horses were so expensive, or that their upkeep and training was so costly.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sure you’ve been more concerned with important things like getting your nails done, than with what it takes to earn a living.”
Her cheerful mood quickly vanished. “I’m not ashamed that I have money. Nor should I be. Natalie’s third husband set me up with a pretty substantial trust fund, and then when Natalie died, she left everything to me.”
Fifty million dollars and some change. Not to mention the villa off the coast of Spain or the other three fortresses.
“I’ve done some pretty wonderful things with that money.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen your shoe collection.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I donated a substantial amount of my inheritance to St. Francis Children’s Hospital, so they could build another wing. And I continually give large amounts to numerous charities and non-profit organizations. I’m not like my mother, in spite of what you think. I don’t thrive on money. In fact, I’d be just as happy without any of it.”
Luke smirked in disbelief. Yeah, sure she would.
“Just because I’ve enjoyed spending some of it on myself doesn’t mean I’m a criminal.” The word criminal hung in the balance between them. She’d meant for the word to hurt him, to remind him of what he was, or had been.
In a whirl, she got to her feet and headed for the door. “Let me know when you’re ready to go.”
RUSTY DELIBERATELY IGNORED LUKE for the twenty-minute drive into town, hadn’t said a word to him when it was obvious he’d hit every pothole he spotted. Not even when she’d bounced so hard on the seat of the truck that she’d bit her tongue.
The man had nerve. She’d never met anyone so judgmental in her entire life. And he didn’t even know her. Not really. Mostly because he’d never bothered to ask about her life or her childhood. About what she wanted for her future.
He rounded a corner, the tires squealing, and nearly collided with a car making a left hand turn. But even that didn’t slow him down. Instead, he jerked the pick-up to the extreme opposite side of the lane and kept going.
“We just passed the movie theatre,” he said, sounding like a bad tour director. “And on your right is the dry cleaners. Family owned and operated for more than sixty years. The Barnharts really know how to get a spot out of your only suit.”
Casting a glance in his direction, she rolled her eyes.
“Hey,” he said with a shrug, “I promised Sam I’d show you around.”
“Well, don’t bother. If I need help reading a sign I’ll let you know.”
“Sure thing, Princess.”
Rusty seethed inside, but didn’t give him the satisfaction of telling him how irritating he was. Besides, she knew with absolute certainty he was deliberately trying to be irritating. It was his nature.
Luke maneuvered the truck into a parking spot in front of Lehman’s Pharmacy and cut the engine. Rusty opened the door and climbed out.
The March air was crisp and clean smelling, and the sky was as blue as a summer day. Luke came around the truck and joined her on the sidewalk.
“Shall we?” he asked, offering her his arm as if they were a couple.
Grabbing the edges of her coat, she pulled them together and marched toward the automatic glass doors. Once inside, she turned toward him.
“Do you think you could disappear for about fifteen minutes and let me have a few moments of privacy?”
“Sure.” He started to walk away as if she hadn’t insulted him in the least, then swung back around. “If you’re looking for tampons, they’re in aisle two.”
Luke strolled through the aisles as if he didn’t have a care in the world while he waited for Rusty to finish whatever it was she was doing. She’d wanted privacy. Hah. What she really wanted was for him to simply disappear.
The woman despised him, and he couldn’t care less. In fact, he liked it when she was angry and showing her claws. It kept him on his toes. Because when she let her guard down, he was ready to swoop down on her and take advantage of that luscious mouth of hers.
What the hell was wrong with him lately? Ever since he’d met the woman he’d been as tense as a live wire. He swore, not realizing he’d done so aloud until he heard a woman’s voice behind him.
“Do you always talk to yourself?”
Luke spun around. “Hello, Claudia.” He ran an appreciative gaze up and down the pretty elementary school teacher. Blonde, blue eyes, great body, even if her D-cups were fake. He’d taken her out a few times, they’d had a few laughs, some pretty decent sex, but that was all. He happened to know she’d been around the block more than a few times, and after spending a few nights in her bed, he’d grown bored.
“I haven’t heard from you in months,” she purred, taking a step toward him. “What’s been keeping you so busy you haven’t had time to call?”
“The ranch keeps me pretty busy.”
“You mean the horse farm. Silly, I keep telling you we call them farms. You’re not in Texas anymore.”
“Yeah, I know.” Ranch, farm, they were the same to him, no matter if he was in Texas or Kentucky.
She licked her painted red lips and smiled, taking another step forward. Lifting a red manicured hand, she toyed with the front of his jacket. “I’ve missed you, Luke. Why don’t we get together soon, for old times sake.” She batted her eyes in anticipation.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll call you,” he said.
Her smile disappeared, and she lowered her hand. “Promise?”
Luke swore silently. “Look, Claudia, we had some great times together, but—”
“But there’s someone else.”
“No. I really have been extremely busy lately. My partner just had surgery a few weeks ago so I’ve been doing a lot of extra work.” He pushed back the sleeve on his wrist and made a display of looking at his watch. “In fact, I have to go pick up a prescription for him. It’s probably ready.”
She took a deep breath, puffing her chest out beneath her black, leather jacket. “I understand. Mind if I walk back with you? I have a prescription to pick up as well,” she said, plucking a can of hair spray off the shelf.
“Sure,” he said. “After you.” Luke followed her down the narrow aisle, enjoying the sway of her hips and butt. He had a feeling Claudia was adding a bit more exaggeration to her moves for his benefit. He chuckled to himself, though he wasn’t tempted in the least.
As they rounded the corner, he spotted Brad Lehman behind the pharmacy counter, flirting with Rusty, and all thoughts of Claudia’s butt disappeared.
“ … then after dinner we could enjoy a glass of wine in the hot tub.” The man’s tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth. He looked like a sex starved teenager, and he was anything but. Luke happened to know the guy was approaching forty and had already gone through two wives.