Marriage at the Cowboy's Command (7 page)

“Your house? It won't be for long—unless you work with me! You and I have to figure out a way to rein in expenses, sell acreage or…”

“I don't want to talk about money tonight.”

“You're right. It's premature.”

Notching her chin up proudly, she turned to go. Then, as quickly as she could while hampered by her crutches and the knowledge that his gaze burned her backside, she walked to the front door. Once inside she made her way down the hall, stopping to check on Daniel before returning to her own room.

Long after she took more pain meds, she lay in bed feeling hot and needy. Her skin burned with the memory of him watching her dress and the blistering warmth she'd felt when he'd stared at her with such longing. Even now, some wayward part of her reveled in how urgently he'd clasped her to him on the porch.

Part of her wanted to walk down the hall to his room, slide into his bed and wait for him to come inside so she could melt against his body and beg him to take her. She wanted him to kiss her endlessly. She wanted him inside her. She wanted sex, fast and hard, the kind of sex she hadn't had since he'd left. Not that she'd had
any
sex—period. Maybe if she had him again, she would wake up free of his dark spell once and for all.

But she wasn't a man. She wasn't as comfortable owning her true sexual feelings and needs as he obviously was. She was overly emotional about sex with Luke and had most likely romanticized it.

When he'd made love to her in the barn that long-ago evening, he'd been infinitely gentle. He'd kissed her, held her, took the time to pleasure her, said sweet things that had made her feel special.

“I've never been with a virgin before. I want it to be
perfect for you,” he'd said in an awed tone, pulling her close.

And it had been. Maybe because she'd been so madly in love with him, and he'd seemed equally in love.

The second time he'd made love to her, he'd been driven. Yet nothing had ever made her feel so adored and complete as his shattering climax.

Now, an hour or so after leaving the porch, she was still awake, when she finally heard him come back inside.

Holding her breath, she listened as he shot the bolt. Then she counted his footsteps as he walked down the hall to his room. She heard him come out and go into the hall bathroom and take another long shower.

A cold one, to quell his desire? Or a steamy one to relax him?

How could even the sound of the tap arouse her, making her imagine him tall and naked? But it did. She felt wet and oh so achingly hot. Then he shut off the water, and that was worse. She imagined him warm and solid, his hard body wrapped in a white towel that would be so easy to remove, if only she had the nerve to admit all the things he'd accused her of.

Fisting her sheets, she told herself she had to be strong.

After his bedroom door closed a second time, she couldn't stop thinking about him lying in his bed alone. She relaxed her hands, but her heart continued to race. More than anything, she wanted to go to him.

She threw off the sheets and sat up. Tearing off her nightgown, she lay down again and stretched out in the dark. With fingertips that trembled she began to touch herself, imagining Luke's hands on her body, bestowing all the forbidden caresses she craved.

T
he next morning when Caitlyn woke up an hour later than usual, she was shivering because she was nude and her covers had fallen off. Leaning forward, she pulled the sheets and blankets over her and lay nestled in a plump pile of feather pillows. She was glad she didn't have to do chores or get Daniel off to school. Feeling groggy and disoriented from her injuries and the pain medication, she lay there for some time, savoring the pleasant sensation of warmth and quiet in her semidarkened bedroom. How nice it was that Luke was here to shoulder a few of her responsibilities.

With a sigh, she remembered dreaming of Luke making love to her. For a moment or two she savored those dreams, but as she grew more alert, she became unhappily aware that he was the last man she should be fantasizing about. He'd abandoned her. He was a billionaire with a beautiful countess for a girlfriend. No
way could he ever be seriously interested in someone like her again. Not that she would want him to be. No—most definitely not. He was only here for Hassan and Daniel.

Annoyed now, she sat up straighter and switched on the light. Immediately her gaze fell to the silky folds of her peach nightgown, which lay neatly on top of her bedside table. On top of her gown was a slip of paper, which she greedily seized.

It was a note from Luke saying he'd fed Daniel and had gone down to the main road with him to wait until the school bus came. She wadded up the note and then unwadded it and reread the boldly flowing black script.

Luke had come in here and seen her naked!

As she imagined him standing over her, she felt a mixture of embarrassing emotions—desire, shame, tenderness. She imagined his gaze feasting on the sight of her body as she lay nude. She really should hate this almost pleasurable reaction to what was really an uncalled-for invasion of her privacy. What had he thought when he'd found her twisted nightgown on the floor and her covers thrown off?

He certainly hadn't seized the opportunity to awaken her and take advantage. No, instead he'd made himself useful by getting Daniel fed and off to school. In spite of herself, she was impressed that a shallow, wealthy bachelor would have known what to do without waking her and asking for her expert advice.

The thought of him caring enough to put himself out, even that little bit, for their son—and for her—touched her heart in ways that it shouldn't.

It doesn't mean anything. Daniel's a novelty to him right now. And he did it for his son, not to please me.
She was
not
falling under his spell again! He'd
betrayed her family's trust and left as if she'd meant nothing.

She got up and dressed. Her routine took much longer than usual—the crutches made every step slower, and she normally didn't waste time on makeup or finding her most flattering pair of jeans.

When she finally reached the kitchen in jeans so tight she wanted to scream, she found Luke's rinsed cup in the sink along with a fresh pot of coffee.

Breathless from dragging herself around, she poured herself a steaming cup and sat down at the table. She already ached under her arms from the crutches. On a normal morning she would have been up and out hours ago. She'd taken her good health for granted. Now that she was helpless and dependent on Luke, not to mention so attracted to him she was torturing herself by wearing skin-tight jeans, she felt confused and out of sorts.

She wanted him gone before he knew his full power over her, but hampered by her ankle, she couldn't go about her usual chores without him. Horses needed to be fed, watered, exercised, clocked, bred, inoculated and prepared for shipping. Someone had to deal with drivers, who needed documents signed. Stalls had to be cleaned.

If only she had a larger staff, she could avoid Luke. But with Daniel away at school, and Manuel being her only full-time employee, she would have to spend a lot of time with her ex-lover. Luke had dismissed his driver, so he'd be driving her to town for a follow-up with the doctor and the rescheduled appointment with her accountant.

So much togetherness was not good. She seemed to be becoming obsessed with the man. But what could she do other than endure him until she was better?

The most hateful question of all: what would she have done without him?

Lost in a circle of worries, she heard the unfamiliar ringtone of a phone coming from the living room. Thinking the call might be important, she slid her crutches under her aching armpits and hobbled toward Luke's phone.

A name stood out in bold black on the screen: Teresa Wellsley.

Caitlyn bit her lip. No matter how dependent on him she was, she had to remember Luke had a life that included a beautiful countess named Teresa. He might desire Caitlyn, but that was probably because she was the only woman available at the moment.

She couldn't let herself forget about Teresa. Not for a minute.

 

“So when did they die?” Luke asked softly from behind her.

A shiver of excitement coursed through her at the nearness of Luke's soft voice. All morning she'd fought to remain emotionally aloof, but that was proving difficult. He was being so nice.

She hadn't wanted him to accompany her on this errand. Using a garden hose, Caitlyn splashed water on the green lawn and flowers surrounding her parents' immaculately kept graves, which were located in the cowboy cemetery half a mile from the ranch house.

“Nearly a year ago. In a car wreck. There was a violent thunderstorm. Mother was driving. You know how she always had to be in charge.”

When he nodded grimly, she remembered that her mother had never liked him. Her mother had even
seemed to relish firing him for stealing, because she'd been proven right.

“Nobody knows what happened. Maybe she was avoiding an animal. Their car skidded off that bridge just outside of town.”

“Into the arroyo?” His low, sympathetic tone made her heart catch.

She nodded. “The car rolled and caught fire. The sheriff said they died instantly.”

“I liked your father. Before Hassan, he was the only man who saw the good in me.”

Caitlyn appreciated the fact that he admired her father and didn't run her mother down. He could have held a grudge, despite his own guilt. Her mother had never been one to keep her opinions to herself, and her opinion of Luke, from the first, had been that her husband never should have hired Bubba Kilgore's trashy son. She'd never let her father forget how Luke had betrayed him by taking the much-needed cash from the truck.

“Dad liked you a lot, too,” Caitlyn said, suddenly recalling that her father had been an excellent judge of character while her mother had always been more impressed by wealth and show. As Bubba's boy, Luke had had nothing to recommend him to her mother back then. After she'd fired him, her mother had been quick to point out it was a blessing in disguise in that it freed Caitlyn to marry Robert.

“Maybe your mother would have liked me better if you hadn't chased me so boldly.”

It probably wouldn't have mattered. Her mother had wanted Caitlyn to end up with Robert Wakefield because his daddy owned Wild Horse Ranch at the time. But there were hard truths about Robert that might have
made her mother think differently. She'd definitely have a change of opinion about Luke, if she could see him now. What was a little missing cash compared to an income in the billions?

“I enjoyed defying my mother by flirting with you. I couldn't stand the way she always tried to run my life, even after I was an adult, but I miss her. I miss both of them. I felt so alone after their accident, which happened a few weeks before Robert died. Now that they are all gone, I have no one I can talk to.”

Was that why she was talking to Luke as if they were friends? Was that why her resistance to him was dissolving so quickly?

“I felt all alone after my mother died, too,” he said. “Dad was so far gone. It was because of your father that I began to see a way out.”

She wanted to ask why he'd taken the money when he could have asked for a loan, but she didn't.

“In a way, I owe your dad as much as I owe Hassan. Which means I owe his daughter, as well.”

“You owe me nothing! Daddy always said you were an incredible worker.”

“It's the trait that made Hassan take a chance on me. Money can be very destructive in the wrong hands. For a man with no self-discipline, no goals, there are many temptations. Hassan wouldn't have backed me had I lacked the determination to withstand corruption.”

Those weren't the words of a thief. Was he speaking the truth? She hadn't asked him about the money or why he'd left. She'd believed her mother.

Did she have a false opinion of him and his life in London? Was he really a wealthy man who used his money to attract and then discard beautiful women? He didn't act like he was. From the moment he'd found out
about Daniel, he'd put his son first. Not only that, he'd gone out of his way to help her. He'd been sent here to work on her finances, but he'd done so much more.

No! She would be a fool to reverse her poor opinion of him so easily. He'd left her! Her mother had sworn he'd stolen money. He'd left
Daniel.
Why should she give him the benefit of the doubt just because he was so sexy, just because he listened and paid attention?

 

Luke's silence made her nervous.

Caitlyn hated suspense. As a child she'd hated counting the days until Christmas. When her parents had taken her on trips, she'd pestered them every five minutes with, “Are we there yet?”

This was more suspense than she could handle.

It was late in the afternoon of their first full day together. He'd arrived only yesterday, but it seemed longer.

Rosy sunlight slanted across the pasture as she stood outside her barn watching Luke shave Angel's whiskers with an electric razor. What she wanted was for him to give her some clue as to his plans for her ranch's future.

Besides taking her to the doctor and the accountant, he'd spent most of the day studying her operation, yet he hadn't said anything. Now, his attention was maddeningly focused on her big darlings, who were flirting with him like a pair of shameless hussies. He was laughing as Lilly inserted her nose between his hand and Angel's head.

“Lilly wants her turn,” he said. “I think she's jealous.”

“Indeed.”

Luke smiled. “Maybe she isn't the only one.”

“Lilly's superaffectionate with everybody!” It rankled that her big babies had taken such a fancy to Luke
and were vying for his attention while ignoring her. But, he'd always been as good with horses as he was with women.

He turned the razor back on. When he finished with Lilly, he stroked both horses and gave them carrots to munch. They neighed and nudged his shirt pocket with their noses.

“Like women, they love attention and presents,” he said. “I'm not above carrying around a few carrots to win their favor.”

As he stroked Lilly, she felt like she would burst if he didn't tell her what he thought.

After getting Daniel off to school and taking her to her parents' graves, he'd driven her into town to see the doctor and Bruce, her accountant. The three of them had gone over the books, and during a quick business lunch Luke had asked Bruce lots of probing questions. Although Luke had taken a few notes, he'd said little, thus revealing none of his thoughts on the subject.

Bruce's grim listing of the bare facts and his obvious relief that a man as successful as Luke was here to help had unsettled her stomach so much she'd left most of her sandwich on her plate. She didn't like being dependent on anyone, much less Luke Kilgore. But what choice did she have?

Luke had insisted they have a conference call with Al Johnson, a ranch manager in between jobs, a man with numerous successes in turning around ranching operations like hers.

“But I can't afford a manager, and I don't want some stranger telling me what to do,” she'd said.

Upon returning to the ranch, Luke had insisted she rest, while he'd driven her ATV to the various barns and
paddocks and pastures, inspecting everything. When he'd returned, he'd still offered nothing.

She couldn't take his silence anymore!

“Okay! So, you've spent the whole day thinking about Wild Horse Ranch. Did you come up with a financial solution or not?”

“Don't worry. These things take time,” he murmured, not looking at her as he stroked Lilly's muzzle. “You need to concentrate on healing.”

She heaved in a breath. Under different circumstances, she might have enjoyed hanging out with him and her horses, since he was being so pleasant. But not today. Not when she wanted to know what he was thinking.

“Surely you could give me some hint as to what you think, what you'll tell Hassan. What was his attitude when you last talked to him? Is he worried enough to shut me down?”

“Hassan could afford to bankroll you indefinitely. So could I, for that matter.”

“You? Why would I want that? I want Wild Horse Ranch to be a solid business.”

“There's always more than one way to skin a cat,” he said. “The ranching part of your operation is in the black. It's the horse business that's jeopardizing everything.”

As if she didn't already know that. The horses were her passion.

“Like Al said over the phone, you need to raise capital and lower your debt. You could sell some of your bloodstock. I wrote down my thoughts on what I'd sell if I took that route. I called Al back and we discussed—”

“No. I've been building my breeding stock for years.”

“Building too fast, it would seem. With horses that haven't always panned out.”

“I had a run of bad luck.”

“A run you couldn't afford. Surely you understand that you can't keep borrowing without jeopardizing the entire ranch—again. It wasn't so long ago that your father lost it to the bank during that terrible drought. Remember? When I lived here, your father had just moved your family back to the ranch, but he was leasing it from the Wakefields.”