Cowboy Underneath It All (4 page)

And that's why he stepped back.

She stared at him, her face flushed, her breathing way too fast, and even though Kane didn't say a word, Eliza seemed to understand what was going on in his head.

“You think if we have sex, it'll mean something,” she said. “Something more than just sex.”

Bingo. Sex with Eliza would come with strings. Whopping big ones. They'd have to live in this small town, just a few miles from each other, and even casual sex might not stay so casual. Not in her mind anyway. He'd managed a relationship like that with Violet, but Kane didn't think he could pull it off with Eliza.

“Maybe you're right,” she admitted.

That didn't help. He was hoping she would come up with an argument that would convince Kane that they could do this. Of course, his erection was cheering for that particular option.

“But maybe you're wrong,” Eliza added.

Yeah. There it was. The argument he'd been waiting for. It was a weak one. No doubt about it, but it was something his erection wanted to hear. It was his brain that was having some trouble with it.

“The limo's here,” she said.

Kane hadn't heard a thing, but then his heartbeat was pounding in his ears. He went to the side of the porch so he could see the front yard and sure enough, the limo was sitting there with the engine running. And the limo driver wasn't the only person out there. He saw Lucky McCord riding up on a horse. Lucky had another saddled horse that he was leading by the reins.

Eliza stared at him, and Kane was pretty sure she was waiting for him to respond to the “maybe you're wrong.” He didn't, because he wasn't sure what to say. But then Eliza didn't say anything, either. She gave him a sneaky little smile and hauled him back to her for another kiss.

Mercy, this one was just as hot as the others, and after a few seconds, Kane was about to ditch his argument to halt this and send the limo driver and Lucky on their way.

But Eliza stepped back. “Maybe you're wrong,” she repeated.

With that smile still on her face, she strolled away. She stopped, though, when Lucky got off his horse, and she made a detour over to him. Kane couldn't hear what they said, but Lucky flashed his panty-dropping smile, Eliza laughed, and she kissed Lucky on the cheek. She gave Kane a wave before she got into the limo, and it drove away.

“So, it's true,” Lucky greeted.

His friend didn't need to explain what he meant. Lucky was grinning in that guy sort of way because he was certain that Kane had just finished off a night of sex with Eliza. But Kane wasn't thinking of sex right now. Well, not sex between Eliza and him anyway.

“Please tell me that you didn't sleep with Eliza,” Kane growled. It wasn't a friendly tone for his best friend.

Lucky's grin turned into a chuckle. “No. Eliza falls into the kid-sister category for me.”

Kane instantly regretted the growl because Lucky had seen right through it. Actually, what Lucky had seen was the reaction of a jealous man.

“I thought she fell into that category for me, too,” Kane admitted after he cursed.

Now Lucky laughed. “Yeah, right. You sure could have fooled me, because I always thought you were fighting to keep your hands off her.”

Kane frowned and was about to say “no way,” but heck, maybe Lucky was right. Still, Kane had a beef with his friend. “Why didn't you tell me Violet was getting married?”

“I haven't been in town much. Logan,” he said as if that explained it.

And it did. Lucky didn't always see eye to eye with his twin brother, mainly because Logan was always trying to suck him back into the family business. Kane couldn't understand why Lucky was so mule-headed about not doing that, but that wasn't his rodeo, wasn't his bulls. He had his own bulls and bullshit to worry about.

“One of the ranch hands filled me in on Violet, Eliza and you this morning,” Lucky added.

So, that meant it was already all over town. Not that Kane had expected anything but after Charlene and the others had seen Eliza and him at the pub.

“Of course, Eliza always had the hots for you,” Lucky went on. “Any fool could have seen that.”

Kane hadn't, and that put him several notches beneath the fool level. Sheez. He was learning crap about himself that he wasn't sure he'd wanted to learn.

“Guess you two finally gave up fighting it and got together after all,” Lucky added.

That only deepened Kane's frown. “We're not together. Eliza told her sister we were so that Violet wouldn't feel bad about being with Dax.”

Lucky just stared at him and glanced at Kane's shirt. “Spilled coffee. One cup in the yard, another on the windowsill that's about to fall off. Plus, Eliza looked as if she'd just been kissed by a guy who hadn't had a morning shave. You, my friend, have stubble.”

“Hell. When did you become Sherlock Holmes?”

“A three-year-old could have figured this out. So, you want to tell me what's really going on between Eliza and you?”

“No.” Because Kane didn't know what was going on. Didn't want to analyze it, either. “Why are you here anyway? Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to see you, but it's early.”

Lucky shrugged. “I just got back this morning from a rodeo. Thought I'd ride out and check your fences so they'd be ready when you get those Angus you want to buy. I brought an extra horse in case you wanted to do that with me.”

Kane had already cursed enough for the morning, but he wanted to add some bad words aimed at himself. “Thanks. I would like to check the fences. And thanks for keeping an eye on the place while I've been gone.”

Another shrug. “Eliza does more than I do. I have a theory that she takes care of this place because it's her way of taking care of you. Nonsexually, of course. Although it appears she's working on the sexual part now that you're home to stay.”

“How the hell did we go from fences back to sex?” Kane snarled.

Lucky jabbed him with his elbow. “It always goes back to sex. If you're thinking you can resist Eliza, then you're not thinking straight.”

That was probably true, but Kane didn't want to discuss Eliza and sex in the same sentence. Especially after that stubble-irritating kiss they'd just shared.

“Eliza and I can come clean after the wedding,” Kane explained. “After that, I'll have time to get my footing. And it's not as if I don't have things to do. I'll be so busy rebuilding this ranch that I won't have time to even think about Eliza.”

As if on cue, both horses whinnied.

Lucky grinned. “You can lie to yourself. Lie to me. Heck, you can even lie to Eliza. But horses know bullshit when they smell it.”

Chapter Four

There were a bunch of hungover people at the dinner table, and Eliza was one of them. The other three were Dax, Violet and Kane. The only people without the obvious signs of overindulgence were her mom and dad.

In hindsight, it had been a really bad idea to plan a family dinner the night after her sister's bachelorette party. Especially when that party hadn't ended until the wee hours of the morning.

And especially since there was a secret dangling over her head.

The relationship ruse.

Because of it, she had to be on her best behavior and not let anything slip. Kane was on the same high alert while seated right next to her at the dinner table. But they were the sole ones who knew that the long, lingering looks he kept giving her were as fake as the smiles Eliza kept doling out. She was happy for her sister and Dax, but once they were married and off on their honeymoon, there'd be no looks from Kane. No kisses on his porch.

That wouldn't stop her from having dirty thoughts about him, but apparently he was not going to take her up on her suggestion that it might not be so wrong for them to do more kissing. Which, of course, was an offer that would lead to sex.

“It's good to see you all so happy,” her dad said. He'd “dressed up” for the occasion and was wearing what he called his Sunday jeans. If he owned dress pants, Eliza had never seen him wear them. Even for the wedding, he'd likely have on jeans and a suit coat.

Eliza pasted on another smile, which made her face hurt. Judging from the wincing that Kane did, he was in the same boat. Maybe that's the reason he hadn't taken her up on her offer to make their relationship a real one. Or called her. Or given her any indication whatsoever if that porch kiss had meant anything.

Her mother wasn't smiling, but she was watching them in that way that only a suspicious mother could manage. It was hard to tell what was going on in her mind, especially recently, but it was possible her mom was picking up on whatever nonverbal cues Kane and she were giving off. Cues that hinted they weren't the happy couple they were pretending to be.

“Heard you'll be buying some cows from Charlene Fletcher,” her father said to Kane.

“Maybe. She's waffling so the deal might not happen.”

This was the first Eliza was hearing of it, so that meant it hadn't hit the gossip mill yet. Nor was it a surprise. Charlene was using those cows as leverage to get Kane into bed.

“You might want to talk to Logan,” her father suggested.

Kane nodded. “Already did, a couple of hours ago. He doesn't have any small herds right now, but he'll keep a lookout. I'm just anxious to get started.”

Judging from the way her mother covered up a small cough, she might have thought Kane was referring to more than just cows.

“Is there something you want to tell us?” her mother asked.

Eliza hoped that question wasn't directed at her. But no such luck. Her mother was looking right at her.

“No, nothing,” Eliza said. It was an easy answer. The less she said, the less she'd have to lie. Or risk exacerbating the stabbing pain in her head.

Her mother flexed her eyebrows. “Well, you didn't come home until after six this morning. Violet got to Dax's around four because he texted me to let me know she'd made it in all right.”

Since Eliza lived in a cottage just about thirty yards from her parents' house, it wouldn't have been hard for her mother to notice the limo dropping her off. Which meant her mother might be fishing for some kind of admission that Eliza had spent the night with Kane. Her mom wouldn't see that as fodder for a shotgun engagement, but she might be asking Kane's intentions.

“She was with me,” Kane volunteered.

“I see,” her mother said. Her father pretended to be oblivious to the conversation. He probably didn't want to know that his grown daughters did such things.

“You stayed the night?” Violet asked her. She attempted a smile, winced again.

“A few hours this morning,” Eliza corrected.

And the room fell silent. Then something happened that Eliza certainly wasn't expecting. Tears filled her mother's eyes.

“They're happy tears, I promise,” her mother quickly assured her. “It's just when you broke up with Brett, I thought maybe you were chasing a dream that wasn't meant for you.”

Oh, God. Her mother hadn't just said that, had she?

Yes, she had, and she just kept on going.

“I mean, I felt responsible because I thought maybe you were in the ‘seize the day' frame of mind because you realized life was short. And I knew you'd always had a crush on Kane, but I had no idea it would ever work out between you. I can see now, though, that you were right to break up with the wrong man so you could go after what you really wanted.”

Eliza mentally repeated that “oh, God.”

Her mother didn't seem to notice what had to be a shell-shocked look on Eliza's face. Maybe because her happy tears had clouded her eyes. Maybe also because everyone had finished eating, and she stood to start clearing the table. Eliza stood, too, to help, but Kane stepped in front of her.

“We need to, uh, talk,” he whispered.

It seemed like a good time for another “oh, God.”

“I'll be back to help you in just a minute,” Eliza told her mother.

“Take your time,” Dax insisted. He winked at Kane and her. “I'll do the dishes.”

Dax probably thought Kane was carting her off to a kissing session, but Eliza figured that was the last thing on his mind right now. Not with the juicy little detail her mother had just tossed out there. Since she didn't want her family to hear this, Eliza took the lead and motioned for Kane to follow her to the front porch.

“You broke up with your boyfriend to be with me?” Kane asked the moment they were outside. “And what was all that ‘seize the day' stuff about? Why would your mother feel responsible for any of this?”

Figuring she'd need it, Eliza took a deep breath and decided how much of this she should tell him. Since there'd already been too many lies, she went with the whole truth.

“Yes,” she admitted. Judging from his flat look, he wanted slightly more than that. “I ended things with my old boyfriend because I thought I'd give it one last shot to be with you.”

Obviously, he still wanted more because he made a circling motion for her to continue.

She sank down onto the porch swing and hoped she could get through this without tears. They wouldn't be of the happy variety, either. Not with the emotions still raw and too close to the surface.

“My mother has breast cancer,” she explained. “She's had the surgery and the treatments. That's why she's so thin.”

He shook his head, cursed softly. “I noticed the weight loss, but since I hadn't heard anything about her being sick, I just thought she'd been on a diet.”

“She didn't want anyone in town to know. I'm not sure why. But she's going for her treatments in San Antonio.”

Kane sat down beside her. “Will she be all right?”

“Her odds are good. The treatment seems to be working.” She swallowed hard, trying to ease the lump in her throat. Eliza wanted to add more, but she needed a minute to compose herself.

“I'm sorry,” he said, slipping his hand over hers.

Eliza appreciated that more than he would ever know. She'd been through an emotional wringer with her mom's health, but Kane had a way of easing the pain with just a simple touch.

“
Seize the day
,” he repeated. “I get it now. Is that also the reason for Dax and Violet's hasty wedding?”

Eliza nodded. “We both just realized how short life can be. And Violet really does love Dax, and he loves her.”

Kane nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. But it was a gamble for you to break up with your boyfriend. You guys had been together for—”

“I didn't love him,” she interrupted. “I wanted more.”

There. She'd said what she wanted to say. Almost. But she should have just admitted that “more” was “Kane.” Or maybe it wasn't necessary. When Kane looked at her, she could see that he got it.

He cursed. Groaned. Scrubbed his hand over his face.

Eliza decided to give him an out. “Look, I don't expect anything from you. I broke up with Brett knowing full well that nothing might ever happen between us. I just didn't want to go on, well, settling. So, no pressure on your part.”

Kane cursed again. “I kissed you. That's pressure.”

She supposed in a way it was, so Eliza went with a second out. “We got caught up in the moment, in a hangover haze.”

He nodded as if giving that some thought. If he truly wanted an out, she'd just handed him one, and it was right there for the taking—

Or not.

Because Kane cursed again, turned to her, pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Eliza wasn't sure who was more shocked because both of them made sounds of surprise. Sounds that got trapped in the kiss. Actually her hand got trapped, too, between Kane's chest and her breasts, but Eliza didn't move it. Instead, she turned her palm to his chest and inched in even closer so that it would make it easier to deepen the kiss.

And deepen it he did.

Oh, my. He was so good at this.

Despite the heart-tugging conversation they'd just had, all of that hurt vanished. Kane was apparently the cure for plenty of things. Not the cure for the tug below her belly, though.

That only got worse.

He slid his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her even closer. Not that he had to put up much of an effort to do that because Eliza wanted to be closer. And somehow, the fingers on her trapped hand worked their way into the gaps between the buttonholes of his shirt. Finger foreplay. It didn't have nearly the effect that the scalding kiss did, but touching his bare skin took her from the tug stage to needing much, much more.

And Kane gave her more.

He kept on kissing her, kept on moving against her until she was certain the planet had spun out of the galaxy. When he pulled back, he left her with that raging fire that was mixed with the dreamy feel of pleasure.

“You want to do something stupid?” he asked.

It took her a moment to get her vocal cords working. “If it involves more of this.”

“It does. Do you want to go back to my place and see just how stupid we can get?”