Playing For Keeps (Montana Men) (36 page)

Lacey
plastered a weak smile on her lips and put on a brave front, but she knew Rafe
was pissed off over her ex being here. She also knew he’d be pissed no matter
the time Danger popped in. He was a part of her past. They’d shared a child and
a life together. He’d always be a part of her. Rafe had to come to terms with
that, and she needed to come to terms with the fact that her life with Danger
was dead and buried. There was nothing left between them.

“Would
you like coffee?” Lacey asked quietly, at last looking up at Danger. She held
her breath. The last few months she and Danger were together, nothing she
cooked suited him, not even her coffee. She hardly expected things to be any
different now.

Rafe
growled. “I’m sure the sheriff has to be on his way.”

Danger
bared his teeth in a wolfish challenge. “I’d appreciate a cup, thanks. You know
how much I love my caffeine. You know how much I love your coffee.”

Lacey hesitated. Startled by his words, she wondered if
Danger had deliberately said them to remind her of the little intimate details
they’d once shared or if instead, he’d said them to annoy Rafe. From the
glitter in his dark grey eyes, she thought it was a bit of both.

She
jerked her gaze away from his and turned to open a cabinet door. Standing on
tiptoe, she stretched to reach a mug. The short robe crawled, the soft silk
rubbing just below her butt. She tugged at the hem one handed.

“Don’t
look at her.” Rafe snarled with a baring of teeth.

“I’ve
seen her in less.”

Rafe
swore quietly. “She isn’t yours to look at.”

“You have her,” Danger replied. “She’s your wife. Surely
you don’t think I’m a threat to you?”

Rafe
folded his arms across his bare chest. “You’re no threat at all. By the way, do
you have any idea if the pharmacy in Rimrock carries early pregnancy test
kits?”

Lacey
whirled at the question, nearly dropping the mug. Her gaze settled on Danger’s
face. She saw the ache that spread across his dark face. “Rafe, don’t.”

Danger’s
head jerked away from her and his gaze narrowed on the Texan. “Lacey’s
pregnant? I thought you said she couldn’t have any more kids.”

“What?”
The cup she held slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor.

Danger
raced to her, lifted her into his arms and swung around, heading to the living
room. “You don’t wanna cut your feet.”

Lacey
gasped, amazed
 
he’d moved so fast. The
narrow belt on her robe loosened and the top parted, giving him a bird’s eye
view of her bare breasts.

“Lace,”
he whispered. “God, baby, I want to touch you so much.” He squeezed her closer
and buried his nose in her hair. Her nipples tightened and she knew he not only
felt them, but saw them poking like little spikes against the thin silk in
response to his words.

He
eased her down on the sofa, his hand deliberately brushing against her tight
nipples.

Lacey
smothered a moan and jerked her robe together. “Don’t,” she pleaded on a soft
note only he heard. “Don’t do this to me.”

“Damn
it, Danger!” Rafe scurried across the room right on their heels. “She’s my
wife, if she needs rescuing, I’ll be the one who saves her.”

“You
were a little slow on the draw, Rafe,” Danger said, his voice taut.

Lacey
slid her gaze over him, settling on his crotch. She looked quickly away trying
to control her breathing. God, he had a huge hard-on and he wasn’t making any
attempt to conceal it. He wanted her to see, to know. She prayed Rafe didn’t
notice. Thank God all Rafe’
s attention was on her.

“Sweetheart,
I
—
”

She held up a hand halting Rafe’s words. “I can’t
conceive?” she asked in a shaky voice. “You let me believe there was a chance?”

“Trouble
in Paradise?” Danger quipped. “So soon? How the serpent of truth rears its ugly
head. You didn’t tell her?”

“Lace,
I’ll tell you everything the doctor told me…later. Okay?”

“Tell
her now,” Danger said. “Don’t mind me.”

Rafe
clenched his hands into fists at his sides. “No, I won’t tell her now. It’s
none of your business.”

Lacey
got up and headed back in the kitchen.

“The
glass,” Danger reminded her.

“I
took care of it,” Rafe said. “You can go now.”

“Stop
it,” Lacey shouted. “Both of you…just stop it. I’m not a bone for you two to
fight over.” She didn’t want these men fighting over her. It was ridiculous.
She was Rafe’s wife and that was the end of it. She took down another mug,
filled it, and pressed it into Danger’s hands. “Why don’t you tell us why
you’re here?”

She
glared at both men. Danger took his time sipping the coffee before he finally
said, “Karen would like for you to come over and
—
”

“No,”
Lacey exploded. “No. I don’t give
a good damn what Karen wants. I didn’t agree to come back here to be sociable
with your wife!”

“Get out!” Rafe balled his fists. “What the hell is wrong
with you? Do you believe for one second Lace wants to be around Karen?”

“No.” Danger handed her the cup. “I know why Lacey came
back. She’s bait, but this might work as bait. Smitt is watching my house. I
know he is.”

“How do you know?” Lacey asked.

“My gut. I’m not so inhumane that I’d come here and ask
you to accept Karen’s invitation, but I…”

“What?” Her brows creased with question.

“I don’t know.”

Rafe snorted. “Lacey isn’t coming to Blackstone. If Smitt
Davis wants her, he’ll have to come here.”

“I accept,” Lacey said. “What time?”

“No, Lace,” Rafe argued, anger lacing his words. “I won’t
let you put yourself at risk.”

“Then there was very little reason for my returning to
Rimrock. I understand why you didn’t tell me what the doctor said, but you
can’t protect me from life, Rafe. I won’t break. I might crack around the
edges. In fact I already am, but I won’t shatter. ”

“Rafe, listen to me,” Danger quickly inserted. “I know you
don’t like this and believe me, I understand.” He settled his gaze on Lacey.
“She’s precious to both of us—if she’s carrying your child, then doubly so. I
don’t know what’s going on with Karen, but I do know she makes my skin crawl.
The
re’s
something not quite right
—
”

Rafe snorted. “You’re just now figuring that out?”

“I’ve known almost from the moment I married her that I
made a big mistake. I have to live with that, with her, but if Lacey doesn’t
come to the house, then Karen might come here. I don’t know what she might do
or say. I think she’s unstable and in her own way, as dangerous as Smitt
Davis.”

“What time do you want me there?” Lacey asked.

“Four this evening? Karen thought you might want to see
Calla or visit Joseph’s grave.”

“I’ll be there, but I might be a bit unstable myself,”
Lacey replied, her eyes blazing.

Danger grinned and scratched his jaw. “Unpredictable,
sweetheart, but never unstable. The invitation is for both of you. I’ll meet
you in the barn.”

Rafe nodded. “I’m sure you know the way out.”

“Yup.” Danger nodded. “Relax, Rafe. Lacey loves you.
You’re a lucky man. Take care of her.”

“Count on it.”

Danger opened the door, hesitated, then turned back. “By
the way, who do you think assassinated the first lady?”

“What?”
Rafe
sounded shocked. “Molly’s dead? When?”

“You didn’t know? Sorry, I figured you’d listened to the
radio or saw a newspaper.”

“No.” Rafe shook his head. “There was too much static on
the air waves the last few days. Shit. Is Duel in D.C.?”

Danger shrugged. “No. He disappeared. Jace called earlier
and said Sam’s lost contact with him and a potential witness, some woman. You
have any idea where Duel might vanish with a witness?”

“No.” Rafe rubbed a hand down his face. “When Duel and I
worked together, he wasn’t much of a talker.”

“Duel not a talker?” Danger laughed. “You must not know
him as well as you think.”

“There’s a side of him you don’t know,” Rafe said. “He’s
dangerous. He’s a walking lethal weapon. There isn’t any kind of weapon or
self-defense move he doesn’t have or use. If you cross him or someone he loves,
he’ll kill you. I saw him bring down ten men in hand-to-hand combat when we
were in Iraq. He didn’t even raise a sweat and we were in the damn desert.”

“I knew he was involved in some deep cover work,” Danger
said. “I just never saw a dangerous side to him.”

“It’s there, believe me.” Rafe slid a possessive arm
around Lacey’s waist and drew her close. “Duel allows people to see what he
wants them to see. If he’s protecting a witness, then he probably doesn’t want
to be found. He’ll take care of her.”

Chapter Thirty

I love you for not only what you are, but
for what I am when I am with you.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Annandale, Virginia

February 19, Thursday

Fifty-six hours after the assassination…

Sam
opened her eyes and knew immediately Travis was in her bed. He lay spooned
against her, one arm around her waist.

“Hi,
beautiful,” he whispered, nuzzling her ear.

“Hi.”
She turned so she faced him. He tugged her on top of him and settled his hands
on her butt.

“Sam,
I love you. Marry me?” His gaze steady searched hers.

Panic
slammed inside her. She loved Travis, she did, but she didn’t know if she was
ready to give herself over to the complete control of a man again, be a wife,
risk being dominated.

He
brushed her hair behind her ears. “I can see the idea of becoming my wife
terrifies you.”

“No.”

“Yes,”
he whispered. “I’d never hurt you, Sam. I’m not David.”

“I
know. I know.” She splayed her hands across his wide chest. “My heart tells me
that you’d never hurt me, but my mind says something entirely different.” She
shrugged. “I just can’t, Travis. I can’t marry you.”

The hurt in his eyes sent a shaft of pain through her
heart. Nervously, she toyed with the V of dark hair on his chest. “I’m sorry.”

He rolled her off him and flung back the covers. Sitting
on the side of the bed, he sat there breathing hard, his head bowed. He slowly
rose to his feet and stood before her, unashamed and gloriously naked. Even
after their night of loving, and God, he’d loved her well, his shaft rose hard
as the barrel of a gun. “I hope you’re on the pill, then.”

“What?”
She blinked. “Why?”

“For
God’s sake, Sam, I didn’t use anything. I thought
—
”

“I
know. I know. It’s okay. I didn’t want you to use anything.”

He
stared at her, baffled. “But…I don’t understand.”

“Travis.” Sam crawled to the edge of the bed and took his
hand. “I love you. I do. Please try to understand, I don’t have to be wed to
you to be happy or feel complete. I don’t care that you didn’t wear a rubber. I
think it’s time Hayley had a brother or sister, but we don’t have to be married
to give her one or the other. We can see each other, but we don’t have to share
the same roof to prove we care about one another.”

Travis
pulled his hand out of hers. “Maybe you’d be happy pregnant and not married to
me, but it’s you who doesn’t understand, Sam. You see, I want a wife. I want a
woman I can come home to every night, one I can call my own, who loves me
enough to trust that I’d never,
ever,
do anything to bring her pain. I want babies. I’d love for you to be their
mother, but only if you’re my wife, otherwise…what’s the point?”

Sam
stared at him stunned. “But…we–we already took the risk. It only took one time
with you last time and I conceived Hayley. How many times…last…night…did we…”
Her voice ended on a questioning note.

“Three.”

“So
I might already be…”

“Yes.”

“Wha–what
if I am? What if I’m pregnant?”

“Then
I guess we’ll have a problem.”

“We won’t have a problem.” She choked on the lump in her
throat. “I love you, Travis.”

“Not
enough,” he said quietly, walking away. He closed the bathroom door with a soft
snick behind him.

Still,
she flinched. It had sounded like a death knell to her. With her refusal to
marry him, she’d destroyed something between them. Sam rubbed her shoulders and
tried to concentrate, but all she saw was his face. He’d looked devastated, as
though her refusal to marry him had crushed him.

She
sat there on the side of the bed, too numb to move and listened to the sound of
splattering water as Travis showered.
Not
enough.
Oh, God, she’d made a terrible mistake. She should never have slept
with Travis, given him hope, because he was right—she didn’t love him enough.

Tears
filled her eyes. Sam grabbed her clothes and keys. She couldn’t face him again,
not right now and she sure couldn’t bear to see his face again. No. Not yet.
She needed time to think, to decide what she was going to do with the rest of
her life.

* * * *

West of Denver

Duel’s Cabin

February 19, Thursday

Fifty-seven hours after the assassination…

“One
thing’s for certain, you’re not and never have been Mac’s mistress. So what the
hell are you to him?” Duel stood staring out a north side window at the
snow-capped mountains. His face remained dark and distant—etched with fury.

Flayme shivered at the iciness in his tone. She pulled the
colorful blanket over her breasts he’d handed her when he left her side a few
minutes ago. Leaning back on both arms, she gazed across the room at him.
“You’re angry at me?” she asked, incredulous. “You’re pissed because I
wasn’t
Mac’s lover?”

He whirled to face her.
“Yes,”
he spat. “No!
Yes,
damn it!” He thrust fingers through his dark hair. “But I’m angrier at myself
for not realizing until it was too late.” He shoved his hands in his front
pockets and rocked back on his bare heels. “What is Mac to you?”

“Does it matter?” Flayme searched for the thong he’d
removed from her earlier, but couldn’t locate it. To hell with it! She shimmied
into her jeans and shirt and stood facing him. So far as she could tell, there
was no pleasing the male species, especially this tough cowboy. He’d been
pissed when he thought she was a whore. Now he was pissed because she hadn’t
been.

“Yes, it damn well matters. Of course it does,” he said,
his cheeks flushed with rage.

“No, it doesn’t. What are you mad about?”

“Flayme,
who
is
he to you?”

“Why?” she asked.

“Who is he?”
he
shouted.

“My
father!
God.” She drew a sharp breath. Struggling to hold back the tears welling in her
eyes, she met his steady gaze. “He’s my father and yes, I love him. I’d do or
say anything to protect him, but he wouldn’t let me save his job. Mac’s the
only family I have that I can have any kind of a relationship with.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t believe he’s my father?”

“No.”

Flayme clenched her hands into fists at her sides. This
was madness. “I don’t give a good damn what you believe. Mac’s my father.”

Duel stared at her, his face filled with disbelief. “It’s
impossible.”

She relaxed her hands and lifted a brow. “I’m here, so I
assure you it is entirely possible.”

“How?”

“I’m also sure you know how it’s done,” she said,
laughing, “if what you just did to me is an example to go by.”

“Yes, certainly I know how it’s done.” Duel wiped a hand
across his mouth and sighed. “I guess I’m asking when.”

Flayme dragged her fingers through her mass of tangled
curls. “I only know what Mac told me a few months ago when we first met. After
my mother’s first husband died, she married Camden Jansen, but she hadn’t given
herself time to grieve or know for certain if she even loved Camden. My mother
had a brief affair with Mac, many years ago…well not so many, but you know.”
She shrugged. “Mother was on a dig in Thebes right after she wed Camden, and
Mac was in Egypt on assignment. They met by chance, Duel, pure chance. They
happened to be staying at the same hotel. Mom was lonely and unsure about her
new marriage. One drink led to another and conversation led to—”

“Bed,” Duel supplied.

Flayme tilted her chin. “It happens. She and Camden had
been apart for months on different sites. I’m not excusing what she did, but if
she hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

Duel shook his head. “I wasn’t condemning her, just
following the conversation, but I can’t see Mac with anyone but Marie. He loves
her, or at least I thought he did.”

“He does love her.” Flayme assured him. “I think you’re
more of a romantic than you know.”

He frowned. “I believe in the sanctity of marriage,
although God knows where I get it from.”

She touched his arm lightly. “It didn’t have anything to
do with Marie. Mom and Mac were both far from home among strangers in a country
filled with daily threats. I guess she needed to feel protected, if only for a
little while. They spent one night together.
One
night.”

“Thank God for that single night,” Duel whispered.

“Thank you,” she said on a tiny sob. “For a moment there,
I wasn’t sure you were happy about my existence.”

“Aww, sweetheart,” Duel said softly, “if not for that
night, I’d have been condemned to an eternity of loneliness. My life would have
been empty and worthless.”

“You’d have found someone else.”

“No, baby, when a Remington man falls, he falls hard. We
love but once in a lifetime, and we never settle for second best.”

Flayme thought if she didn’t say something, she’d burst
right out and bawl like a baby. “I have to tell you everything,” she said,
fighting tears.

Duel nodded. “I’m listening.”

“After my birth, Mom sent Mac a letter telling him he was
a father. She didn’t want anything from him. She thought he had a right to
know. I think they both decided it was best to leave things alone. He’d met
Marie by then, and Mom had returned home and she and Camden were happy. I don’t
know if she told Camden or not, but he was the only father I ever knew until
recently. She never told me about Mac.”

“She should have told you.”

“Maybe she would have someday, but she didn’t get the
chance.”

“Marie?”

“My conception happened before Mac and Marie met and
married, but when she learned about me, she was still angry that he’d had a
child and kept it a secret from her. She divorced him. I wanted to tell
everyone at the office that he’d done nothing wrong, that he was my father, but
someone started the rumor we were having an affair, and Mac said let it be. He
wouldn’t let me clear his name. He suffered because of me.”

“He wasn’t the only one, sweetheart. You were besmirched
by almost everyone.”

“It was better than the alternative,” she said. “Mac
didn’t want me exposed to John’s wrath. So we let everyone believe he was
cheating on his wife with me. It cost him his job and Marie, but there was
worse danger if anyone found
out I was his daughter. There was the
risk of someone snooping deeper. One nosy reporter digging for the entire
story, and everything would come unglued.” She sighed. “It’s complicated, and
if you want to change your mind about getting involved with me I
—
”

“I don’t.” He growled the words. “My family and I have
survived far worse. I love you, Flayme. I fell in love with you the moment I
saw you standing there in the hall giving Neil hell. You looked like a candle
flame and so damn beautiful I couldn’t breathe.”

Tears burned her eyes. “I fell in love with you first.”
She smiled through her tears. “Before you commit to me, maybe you better
understand that the complications I come with lead right up the steps to the
White House and into a den of snakes.”

“Your brother?”

“Yes, and his cohorts. He’s good friends with Senator
Ross.”

Duel held up a hand. “Wait. Hamilton Ross? Jayla Ross’
father?”

“I believe he’s her stepfather, but yes, Senator Hamilton
Ross. He’s a twisted bastard if ever there was one.”

“Good God, why does everything always circle back to that
woman?”

Flayme blinked, confused. “Who? Jayla? You know her?”

“I know her better than I want to, believe me. So, does
the president know about Mac?”

“No.” Flayme shook her head. “He doesn’t know about Mac,
and I tell you, John isn’t a forgiving man. If I did anything to risk his
presidency or smear his good name, then I’d be as dead as Molly.”

“You still think he’s behind her assassination?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Duel asked.

“What?”

“That you were a virgin.”

She lifted her shoulders in a little shrug. “Would you
have believed me?”

“Yes.” Duel dropped his head as though ashamed. “No” he
said quietly. “I wouldn’t have believed you.” He lifted his head and gazed at
her. “I’m sorry for that. I wish I had known.”

“Why?”

“Because…God, do you have any idea how I feel? I thought
you were experienced.
Fuck!
I feel as
if I raped you. If I’d known…” He drew a deep breath, slowly exhaled and
started again. “If I’d known, I’d have gone slower, sweetheart. I’d have been
gentler.”

“I didn’t want you to go slow or be gentle. I wanted
you,
the man you are. I wanted you to
take me the way you needed to take me. Don’t you see? It had to be perfect. I
wanted it to be real, for both of us. And it was.”

“Oh, it was real all right, maybe a bit too real.”

“Why?” She frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I did something, Flayme, something I
never
do. I don’t take risks, sweetheart, and I did…with you.”

“Risk?” Heat warmed her face. “Oh. I see.” She licked her
dry lips. “Is that a bad thing?”

Duel walked the distance that separated them and stopped
in front of her. Gently, he brushed a curl behind her ear. “No. It isn’t a bad
thing,” he said huskily, “not if you don’t mind the chance we just took, and it
was only once. There isn’t likely to be any consequences from one time. I could
have protected you, but I…to be honest, I didn’t want to. I needed to feel your
heat around me.” He pressed a kiss to her eyelids, then leaned back. “I can be
careful next time…if you prefer, and I will, but I don’t care if we don’t.”