“Really?”
She placed with bowl in the cupboard with exaggerated care. “I knew he dated others before me, of course. But once Martin and I became a couple there was no one else.” Her tone turned harsh. “This Nascha girl is lying.”
Castaña waited until she turned around. “Are you sure she’s the one who is lying? Maybe Martin lied to both of you.”
Already she was shaking her head. “He wouldn’t do that. He loves me.”
Jake spoke then. “You said you met at the roundup last year, right?”
“Yes.”
“And did you move in here right away?”
For the first time her confidence seemed to waver. “Not immediately.”
Castaña waited, allowing Jake to ask his questions. He seemed to be on a roll.
“Where did you live when you were just dating?”
Briar Rose folded her arms around her middle. “What does it matter?”
He shrugged. “Just wondering why Nascha was so insistent that she and Martin were exclusive when you were obviously — ” he glanced at her belly “ — an item.”
“I moved in here about a month after we began dating. As soon as he knew about the baby Martin asked me to come live with him. I’ve been here ever since.” She lifted her chin and stared defiantly at them.
“Okay.” Jake didn’t sound convinced and Castaña didn’t believe Briar Rose either.
Briar Rose spoke up. “Martin did mention that girl once. He said he dated her a few times, but it wasn’t serious. I think she must be obsessed with him or something. She’s just trying to cause trouble. To make him feel bad. You know, for choosing me.”
Not for one minute did Castaña believe Martin would pick Briar Rose over Nascha, but maybe the blue eyed blonde did something for him that the Navajo girl hadn’t. Jake said if he had to pick between the two, Nascha was the clear choice. Pretty, classy, she seemed like the kind of girl Martin would go for. But if he hadn’t been drawn to Briar Rose on a sexual level at least, what was she doing in his home obviously pregnant? Only Martin could answer that.
“Where were you last night?” Castaña asked.
“Who are you, my mom?” With her arms crossed over her belly, she looked and sounded about twelve.
Castaña tried to soften her voice. “I just thought you might’ve had an idea about Martin’s whereabouts and went to look for him.”
“No.”
They all waited.
“I was craving ice cream, all right? I went to the Dairy Queen in Payson. I rented a movie, brought it home and fell asleep watching it.” She grimaced a little. “A double scoop of berry parfait was a mistake. It made me sick. I didn’t sleep well at all. I was up three or four times, at least.”
Tired of beating around the bush, Castaña abruptly changed directions. “What are we going to do if Martin is dead?”
What little color had been in Briar Rose’s face drained away. “Why would you say that? He’s not dead. He’s just out on one of his mustang saving things.”
“Why hasn’t he come home?” Jake jumped in again, his voice gentle. “He’s been gone over a week, closer to two now, with no word. Why isn’t he here taking care of you? With you being so close to delivery, he has to know it’s not safe for him to be gone so long without any word.”
“I don’t know.” Briar Rose’s hands shook and she gripped the counter.
“Who will help you when it’s time for the baby to come?”
“He’ll be here,” she insisted.
“Will he?” Jake continued to grill her. “Where will you go if something has happened to him? You don’t have any family close by, do you? You said you don’t like to talk about them, so I assume you’re not close. Where will you go with an infant? What will you do?”
She looked at Castaña with a wild look of desperation in her eyes. “Martin will be fine. Besides, the baby is Castaña’s niece or nephew,” she said in a small voice. “You wouldn’t turn your family away. We don’t have anywhere else to go.”
He looked between the two women. “Castaña seems like a nice lady, but will she really want to extend her home to you, a virtual stranger, for who knows how long?” He raised his eyebrows. “Who does that?”
Briar Rose’s chin trembled.
Castaña opened her mouth to say they’d work something out when Jake jumped in again. “All I’m saying is if you know anything about Martin you should speak up.”
“I don’t!” Briar Rose swayed and grabbed the counter for support.
“Jake,” Castaña said. “That’s enough.” From the minute she’d met Briar Rose Castaña thought something was strange about this girl. But it was more her seemingly indifference to her boyfriend’s disappearance that struck Castaña as different. For all her protestations of love, she didn’t seem that worried about her lover’s absence. But they had pushed her hard enough for one day. She looked ill and Castaña didn’t want to bring on a premature labor.
Jake held out his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Okay. Okay.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to go lie down,” Briar Rose said stiffly.
When she was out of earshot Castaña turned toward Jake with a frown. “What was that all about?”
He shrugged. “I thought if we both pushed on her she might open up.”Narrowing her eyes, Castaña said, “There for a minute you sounded almost like a cop.”
“Just trying to help,” he said. “Didn’t do any good though.”
“No.” She moved toward the kitchen door. “You can take the same room you had before. I’m going to turn in. I’m beat.”
“Yeah, me too.”
• • •
Jake undressed and climbed into bed, but he couldn’t relax. He had nearly pushed too hard out there. Luckily he’d dodged a bullet. He’d have to be more careful next time. His mind twisted and turned over the facts, yet none of the pieces fit. No matter how he figured things they just didn’t add up to a whole picture. Maybe a drink of water would help. Standing and pulling on his jeans, he headed for the kitchen.
The front door stood wide open and when he went to investigate, he found Castaña sitting on one of the wicker sofas. Her head was bent and he could tell she was crying softly. He slid next to her. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
She sniffed and shook her head.
“Is it Martin?”
“Yes,” she said on a strangled sob. “I’m so afraid for him.”
“Try not to worry,” he said. “We’ll find him.” Even though Jake had his own doubts the man was still alive, the last thing he wanted to do was add to her distress. He slipped his arm around her trembling shoulders and pulled her close. A shudder ran up her body and something deep inside him responded. Turning her so she faced him, he lifted her across his lap. For a moment, she tensed then relaxed her head against his chest. Her breast rested next to his ribs and every time he drew a breath, it created unbearable friction.
Warning bells exploded in his head, but it was too late. He couldn’t have moved if his life depended on it. Trying to the block the overwhelming sensations, Jake focused on the night around him. Stars lit up the night sky like a million angels’ wings beating against a velvet backdrop. Lower, the mountains’ jagged edges met the sky like an explosion, trailing purple ribbons across the horizon. The air, still warm from the day, moved across his skin like a lover’s touch.
Not helping.
She shifted and he gritted his teeth.
“Jake?”
“Yeah?” He made the mistake of looking down into her damp eyes. There was something about the way her eyelashes stood in spiky little clumps that tore at his heart. He couldn’t let it matter. He had a job to do.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
His resolve to keep their relationship professional melted faster than ice cream on a Phoenix sidewalk. He bent and tasted her lips. Soft as he remembered, they parted under his, tasting faintly of wintergreen toothpaste. Exploring the cavern of her mouth with his tongue, he wanted more. Already hard, he ached to slide inside her. Wrapping one hand in her hair, he slipped the other under her T-shirt. Skimming the heavenly soft skin of her waist, he cupped a full breast. Not sure which one of them moaned, he flicked a thumb over her nipple and his skin tingled when she gasped into his mouth.
She shifted so he could have better access, and he took advantage of her open invitation. Kneading and releasing her breast until she was gasping had him breathing nearly as fast. When she slid a hand up his back and cupped the back of his neck, he deepened the kiss. Reluctantly tearing his mouth from hers, he moved just far enough to lift her T-shirt over her head. He dropped it in a heap on the floor and dipped his mouth to taste coral colored nipples. First one, then the other.
If the warnings flashing in his head could ever have stopped him, it was too late now. Blood pounded in his head and below his belt. The top button of his jeans was undone and when Castaña squeezed her fingers between his waistband and his skin to skim over his erection, he almost lost it right there. The investigation, the FBI, none of it mattered. Primal instinct took over. He had to finish what he’d started.
With flying fingers, they finished undressing each other.
With her clothes on Castaña was sexy as hell. With them off she was exquisite. Her long hair spilled over her shoulders and breasts, not completely hiding them, creating its own erotic lingerie. He took a strand in his fingers and the texture was like none he’d felt before. Smooth, delicate, soft.
Below her waist nothing hid her from his view and his gaze roamed over the curve of her hip, the mound of her sex, and amazing long legs. Some women would have tried to hide from his frank appraisal, but she held her chin high. His admiration for her grew. When he gently pushed her, wanting her under him, she shook her head and straddled him instead. Happy to oblige, he waited until her hips were positioned over his own, then slid a hand between her thighs. With his thumb, he drew circles over her slick opening.
When her whole body trembled, he reached for his jeans and dug a condom out of his back pocket. After he covered himself, he pulled her down over him and sheathed himself inside her. A shudder rippled down his spine as she encased him in tight, wet walls. She leaned forward and her hair fell around them like a curtain. Taking care not to speed to his own release, he moved with deliberate, slow strokes until she was tightening around him and digging her fingers into his shoulders. Aware of his straining muscles, he increased his pace a fraction. Each thrust drove him deeper until they both were spiraling dangerously close to the edge. When he shifted his position a bit, with a muffled cry against his mouth, she came in waves that sent him over the edge into his own release.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as aftershocks shook them both. Finally, when his breathing had returned to close to normal, he brushed her hair back from her face. “You okay?”
Now she was shy. She tipped her head down and nodded.
Lifting her chin, he brushed a light kiss over her lips. “Good?”
“Oh, yes,” she sighed, making him smile.
As Jake’s head began to clear, he realized the edge of the wicker chair bit into the back of his thighs. All the implications of what he’d just done slammed through him. He’d just compromised the investigation. For a few minutes of pleasure, he’d very possibly thrown away his case, his career. He had no right to get involved with a suspect, no matter how great their lovemaking had been. Even if everything in him believed Castaña didn’t know anything about Martin’s part in the murders, she was still part of the case. He had to get away to think things through. “We should move.”
Even before Jake began to withdraw from her physically, Castaña felt him pull away emotionally. She’d been this route before — a man all hot and heavy until he got what he wanted then so distant she’d wonder what she’d seen in him in the first place. Why had she thought Jake was different? How could she have read him so wrong? She slipped off him and stood as gracefully as she could manage. He, too, stood and pulled his Levi’s over his hips. Smooth muscles rippled under the moonlight and she stared, transfixed. Using her clothes like a shield she said, “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Castaña.” Did she hear regret in his voice?
Her earlier tears threatened to return and she blinked rapidly, forcing them back. Crying in front of Jake would not be an option ever again. Maybe it was time for him to leave. What did she know about him anyway? If she hadn’t nearly run him over they never would have met. If she’d bumped into him in the supermarket would she have looked twice? Yes, she had to admit, she would. Jake appealed to her on so many levels. Too bad it had been just a sexual thing for him.
She slipped between her cool sheets, body still tingling. A few minutes later, she heard Jake’s bedroom door close. Was he thinking about her, too? Wishing they’d never made love? Or was he thinking of a way to come to her door, open it and say, “Let’s do it again?”
“Yeah, right. Get real, sister.” He was probably packing faster than a speeding bullet. No wonder casual sex wasn’t for her. She just wasn’t good at it. Some of her friends didn’t have a problem with one-nighters, but to Castaña sex implied a deeper connection.
She buried her head in her pillow.
Jake hadn’t promised anything.
In fact, she’d practically thrown herself into his arms. No wonder he’d backed up faster than one of her horses. She blamed all her pent up emotion over Martin on her actions. If she had been thinking clearly, kept her entire mind on business, she wouldn’t have let things get out of hand. She had to get a grip, focus on her task and act like tonight never happened.
Like that was possible.
• • •
With the arrival of Patty and Eagle before 8
A.M.
, Jake didn’t have a chance to get Castaña alone. Other than a quick hello over toast, she hadn’t made any special effort to hash over last night. He needed to talk to her, to tell her he was leaving. During the night, he made the decision to go talk to Caroline Delacourte. He tried to tell himself fleeing didn’t have anything to do with the mistake he’d made last night, but his gut said different.
Filling a thermos and taking four coffee cups, he walked to the corral. Watching Castaña unload her horses from Eagle’s trailer in the morning sun, he almost had second thoughts. Wearing only a plain gray T-shirt and jeans, with her hair plaited in a single long braid down her back, she looked even more beautiful to him than she had the night before. It would be too easy to stick around. If circumstances were different …