Wild Borders (4 page)

“All right.” He kissed her again, a soft lingering kiss, and she almost lost every shred of resolve. He smiled and caressed her cheek, then turned and slipped out the door.

And she was really alone then.

Dazed, Lani turned toward the bed and almost tripped over Rick’s cowboy hat. She picked it up, wondering if she should take it to him.

No. Tomorrow morning would be soon enough.

Lani ran a shaking hand through her hair. What had she just done? She’d experienced the most incredible kiss of her life—from a virtual stranger.

She sat on the edge of the bed, then flopped onto her back, Rick’s hat still cradled to her chest. She inhaled deeply, drinking in the intoxicating smell of him that clung to the felt Stetson. That masculine scent that made her ache for him.

What would it have been like to make love to Rick? Theresa would say
fuck
him, but Lani couldn’t say that word aloud. Yet it had an erotic edge to it that caused a thrill to skip around in her belly.

She widened her thighs and with one hand pulled her sundress up around her waist. Lani imagined Rick would have slow gentle hands. She slid her palm down her stomach to her panties, then slipped her fingers beneath the elastic and into the soft curls of her mons.

Lani closed her eyes, still holding Rick’s hat close to her chest. Her nipples were hard and tight against her sundress as she slipped her fingers into her folds. It had been so long since she’d given herself an orgasm, and right now she needed one. Sex with James had been mechanical and unfulfilling, and she’d always had to take care of matters herself afterward.

But she wasn’t going to think about the jerk now.

No, she was going to imagine actually letting herself go and being with that tall, dark, sexy cowboy who managed to break through the ice of resistance coating her heart and soul since her divorce. She couldn’t let him all the way in, but it wouldn’t hurt to fantasize about him, right?

Rick stands behind her, the heat of his body burning through her thin cotton dress. Slowly he unzips it then slides the straps of her sundress down her shoulders, her arms, and over her hips until it drops in a swirl around her feet. He murmurs soft words while he kisses her shoulder, then unhooks her bra and lets it fall to the floor. Her panties go next as he pushes them down, leaving her entirely naked.

He turns her around and admires her with words and burning glances. He enjoys her curves, revels in her large breasts and voluptuous ass.

But he can’t wait to have her. He unfastens his jeans and pulls out his cock…so big, so very big. Gently he pushes her onto the bed, her legs splayed wide. He moves between her thighs, his jeans rough against her soft skin, but the feeling is erotic and exciting.

Rick lowers his head and suckles her nipples, first one and then the other. His erection is teasing her folds, begging to slide inside her. With one hand he braces himself above her, and with his other he guides his cock to the entrance of her channel. She arches her hips up, begging for him. He smiles that slow sexy smile and then drives into her.

She gasps at the feel of him. The roughness of his denim jeans abrading the inside of her thighs. Rick leans down and kisses her as he drives her closer and closer to climax…

With a small cry, Lani came hard, jerking her out of her fantasy. Her fingers continued to circle her clit causing her body to shudder until she came a second time.

Heat filled her body and her cheeks flushed. Still clutching Rick’s Stetson, she slipped her hand out of her panties and pulled down her sundress.

Good lord, what an amazing orgasm. I wonder what the real thing would be like.

No, no, no. Not going there!

* * * * *

Rick spent one hell of a sleepless night after leaving Lani. It must’ve been hours that he stared at the ceiling, remembering the scent of her, the way she looked with her hair mussed and her lips swollen from his kisses. To know she was in the room next door was sheer torture. His cock was still as hard as a steel rod, and it showed no signs of settling down.

Finally he decided to take a cold shower, but once he was under the water he switched it to warm. He turned his back to the warm water and braced one hand against the smooth shower wall. With his free hand he stroked his cock, imagining Lani’s sweet body beneath him.

His hands ached to caress her generous curves. He’d touch every bit of her body, run his tongue between her thighs until he reached her folds. He’d slide his hands under her soft ass and raise her up so that he could lick her pussy. He’d dine on her sweet flesh, licking and sucking her until she shouted out her orgasm. Then he’d rise up while she was still trembling and he’d drive into her core and fuck her. Yeah, he’d hook his arms under her legs and take her deep until she cried out again.

Rick groaned as his come spurted onto the tile of the bathroom wall relieving a little of his need for Lani. But not nearly enough. Hell, he’d jacked off before, but not like this, not right after just meeting a woman…a woman who he didn’t want to let go of. And hell, he barely knew her.

One thing, though—he’d purposely left his Stetson in her bedroom so that she’d have to give it back to him in the morning. At least he hoped she would.

For awhile he’d stayed up, and even read her article in the magazine she’d given him. He’d been impressed with her writing style, and the way she’d presented a topic that she didn’t have first hand experience in. A single father for five years, Rick was well-acquainted with the subject.

Yeah, this Lani Stanton was definitely worth getting to know.

* * * * *

The next morning Rick woke early, ready to find Lani before she fled.

What had come over him? The confirmed bachelor father. Hell, even if Lani did agree to see him again, what would she think of him having a son? He and Trevor were a package deal. Usually Rick talked about his son all the time, but for some reason he’d stayed away from personal subjects, much the same as Lani had.

At seven he knocked on her door, hoping she’d still be there. The door opened, rewarding him with the sight of Lani clad in a pink T-shirt and boxers, and a glimpse of her shapely legs.

“What are you doing here so early, Rick?” She ran a hand through her tousled hair.

He leaned against the doorframe. “You all right?”

“I’m fine.” She gave a cute little yawn. “What time is it?”

“Seven.”

“Seven!” She turned away, clearly distracted, and he caught the door with his boot. “Darn hotel drapes,” she muttered. “Always make it too dark.”

Rick followed her into the room, the door slamming behind him as she pulled open the drapes and flooded the room with sunshine. “Lani, we’ve got to talk.”

She spun around, almost colliding with Rick, those dark eyes filled with emotion that he couldn’t discern. “About what?”

“Us.”

“There’s no us.” She raised her hands as if in amazement and sounded agitated. “You were nice to me on the airplane and we had dinner. That’s it.”

He reached up one hand and smoothed hair from her eyes. “What about the kiss we shared? You have to admit, it was more than a little peck.”

For a moment, he saw yearning in her eyes, mirroring every desire in his soul. But she pulled free and pushed him away.

“No.” She pointed to the door. “And you need to go.”

Was she upset with him? Or did it have something to do with her ex?

“What happened?” he said softly.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I need to get ready for my appointment.”

“Lani—”

“Please leave.” Her expression looked both sad and distant. “I’ve really got to get ready for this appointment and I just don’t have it in me for any kind of complications right now.”

Rick stood there for a second, his thumb hooked in his belt loop. “Can I at least give you my card? I’ll leave it up to you to get a hold of me. If you want to.”

Lani sighed and nodded. “All right.”

He dug out his wallet and pulled out one of his cards from the agency and handed it to Lani. She took it without looking at it and slipped it into a pocket of her backpack.

Well, at least she hadn’t tossed it into the garbage.

Just as he was about to tell her goodbye, she said, “Hold on.”

He paused wondering if she’d had a change of heart.

Her cheeks had gone a dark shade of pink as she leaned over and picked up his Stetson from a chair beside the bed. “You forgot this last night,” she said as she handed him his hat.

He put it on and tipped the brim at her. “I hope you’ll call,” he said and then turned and headed out the door. She followed him and he stood and looked at her as she held the door open a moment.

Her eyes softened and she said, “Thank you for dinner. I had a nice time.” And then she let the door close quietly behind her.

Well, hell
.

Maybe she’d call him after all.

Chapter Three

Rick realized that right now what he needed was to get his mind back on his job and start thinking about what he had to do to track down those damn
coyotes
. He knew he was getting closer to catching the bastards. He could feel it. Almost taste it.

He headed down to the hotel’s restaurant and waited for Chuck to arrive. The sun shone brilliant through the beveled glass of the Grand and spilled onto the carpeted floor. Groundskeepers worked at cleaning torn palm fronds and other debris left from the previous night’s storm, and housekeepers polished rain splatters from the windows and vacuumed dirt from carpets.

After he made his way into the restaurant, Rick was escorted to a table and let the hostess know he was waiting for another person to join him. He took a seat and tried to get his head back on the intelligence work waiting for him when he returned, but his thoughts kept turning to Lani.

“Howdy, Son.” Chuck’s voice brought Rick out of his thoughts about a certain blonde who’d given him the brush-off.

Rick smiled at his stepfather. “Mornin’, old man.”

“Old man, my ass.” Chuck removed his gray Stetson, plunked it on top of Rick’s, and took the seat across the table. After swiping his head with a meaty hand, Chuck eyed him with his penetrating stare, the same one that always could tell when Rick was up to no good as a kid. “You haven’t been sleeping.”

Rick leaned back and folded his arms. “Dad, I’m fine. Just had a restless night.”

Chuck tugged at his turquoise bolo tie. “How’re your sister and my grandkids?”

“Callie’s doing great and the twins are ornery as all get-out.” Rick laughed and shook his head at the thought of his niece and nephew. “Stevie takes more and more after his grandpa everyday. The spittin’ image of you, and full of the devil.”

“Humph.” Chuck pulled his pocket watch out of his jeans. “Reporter should be here by now.”

Raising an eyebrow, Rick asked, “What’s this about?”

“Supposedly one of those in-depth feature type reports.” Chuck took a drink of his ice water and settled back. “Didn’t your mother tell you? This reporter fella will be staying with us awhile, talking with ranchers, showing our side of the story and not just those damn militants that make us all look like a bunch of uneducated red-neck yeehaws. He’ll probably want to interview you and others from the department. He’s supposed to be one of the best.”

Rick’s attention wandered from his step-dad as Lani entered the room, brushing her hair behind her ear as she spoke with the hostess. Fire burned in his gut as he thought of last night. Those lips. The taste of her.

Bright as a summer day, her honey-blonde hair tumbled loose to her shoulders, the soft pink blouse and faded jeans hugging her body, showing off her curves. He could almost smell her honeysuckle scent.

“What’s the matter with you, boy?” Chuck turned and followed Rick’s gaze. “Ah. A looker, that one.”

The hostess grabbed a menu and led Lani straight to Rick’s table. Her jaw dropped as she reached him, and her eyes locked with his.

“These handsome gentlemen are your party, Ms. Stanton.” The hostess winked at Chuck. She set the menu in front of the empty chair between the men and left.

Chuck stood and took Lani’s hand. “I’m Charles Turner. You’re the reporter, Lane Stanton?”

She moved her gaze from Rick to Chuck, and gave him a polite smile. “Please call me Lani.”

What’s Rick doing here?
Lani thought, her body shivering with awareness.

“Call me Chuck.” Charles Turner’s hand swamped hers, and with his good ol’ boy personality, she almost expected him to slap her on the back and offer her a chaw of tobacco.

He released her and gestured to Rick. “This is my son. Rick, this here is our reporter, who’ll be staying a spell with us at the JL Star. It’ll be right nice having a pretty lady as our guest.”

“Your son?” That horrible flush rushed over Lani.

Rick’s answering grin and the sweep of his eyes told her that he’d noticed. He stood and took her hand, and she felt that dangerous tingle skitter along her entire body.

Why does he affect me like that every time we touch?
she thought, not sure what to think about anything right now.

She found her voice, and tried to sound like the professional reporter she was. “I thought your last name was McAllister, not Turner.”

Rick gave a slow nod. “It is. Chuck’s my step-dad.”

Chuck lifted his bushy brows. “You two know each other?”

With only a little difficulty, Lani extracted her hand from Rick’s. “We, ah, met yesterday on the plane.”

“And had dinner last night,” Rick added with a sparkle in his blue eyes.

Chuck’s eyebrows shot up further. “Well then. Let’s have us some breakfast.”

After Chuck pushed Lani’s chair in, they ordered from the waitress. Lani chose the fruit plate, not sure the butterflies inhabiting her stomach could handle anything stronger with Rick so close, pressing his leg against hers. When she tried moving the other way, she managed to ram into Chuck’s knee. She flushed with embarrassment as she mumbled an apology.

When the waitress took their menus and left, Lani picked up her water glass and cut Rick a look that told him exactly what she intended to do with it. He chuckled and moved his knee, the remainder of the meal only accidentally brushing up against her thigh on occasion.

During the little knee waltz, Chuck explained how large the ranch was, and sure enough, Rick lived at the ranch, in the same house.

Wonderful. Lani groaned inwardly, wondering if she should say that she changed her mind, then flee back to San Francisco. But to what? The jerk? Her little apartment above the Italian bakery?

No. Not going to happen. She could keep Rick in his place, finish the feature, conquer the west, and be on her way.

As the waitress served their breakfast, Chuck launched into his concerns on the illegal immigrant situation and with his permission, Lani brought out her pocket recorder.

Chuck speared a sausage and gestured with it. “The problems have been there for years. They’ve got to get a handle on it, before more of those poor immigrant souls lose their lives, dying of thirst in the desert.”

“What about the Border Patrol?” Lani asked. “Can they increase their efforts?”

“Ask Rick.” Chuck waved his sausage at Rick. “He’s on the patrol.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You’re a Border Patrol Agent?”

Rick gave her that easy smile. “I told you I’m in law enforcement.”

“You didn’t mention which branch.”

He shrugged. “You didn’t ask.”

Chuck’s chair scraped against the tile floor as he stood. “Son, I’ve got to go call your mother and let her know we’ll be on our way in two shakes of a jack-a-lope’s antlers.”

When Lani was alone with Rick, she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “If I thought it remotely possible, I would bet you planned this.”

“Who says I didn’t?” he smiled. “You missed a spot.”

As she speared a strawberry, she gave him a puzzled look. “What?”

He reached up and rubbed her chin with his thumb. “There, all gone.” But he didn’t stop, he continued on, trailing his thumb over her lips in a slow sensual movement.

She froze, trapped by the brilliant azure of his eyes.

No. No way could she allow herself to become vulnerable to any man again.

Lani pulled away. “Rick…that kiss last night was a mistake. I’m going to do this feature, and then I’m going to leave. There is no room for any kind of relationship with you in this equation.”

“All right.” His lips quirked. “If you say so.”

Rick practiced keeping his hands off Lani as his stepfather maneuvered her into the front passenger seat of the SUV. Before she had a chance to argue, Chuck took the back seat. While Rick drove the hundred miles to the ranch, Lani turned and spoke with the rancher most of the way.

How the hell was he supposed keep his hands off her when she’d be sleeping down the hall every night?

Every night.

Well, hell
. That thought certainly held promise.

Although being around her seemed to be short-circuiting his brain. He managed to keep forgetting the reasons he was still single. And his intent to stay that way.

Maybe he’d just been waiting for the right woman…and his gut told him Lani might be that woman.

The interstate cut through rolling hills dotted with prickly pear and
cholla
cactus,
palo verde
trees and mesquite bushes. Rick had traveled the route so often he usually took it for granted, but Lani’s fascination for the desert was like a drink of water to a parched man. He enjoyed the way her eyes lit up, the way she absorbed everything Chuck told her.

An hour and a half later, they reached the Border Patrol checkpoint just north of Tombstone, and Rick rolled down the window to say howdy to a couple of agents he’d known for years.

“‘Mornin’ Sal. Don,” Rick said.

Don Mitchell nodded, but stayed at his post to speak to the next vehicle coming up from Tombstone way.

“What the hell you been up to, Rick?” Sal sauntered over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “‘Bout time you get your lazy ass back to work.” His gaze flicked to Lani. His black brows rose and his mustache twitched. “Excuse me, ma’am. Didn’t see you.”

“Sal, this is Lani Stanton, a reporter from San Francisco. Lani, this is Salvador Valenzuela, one of the most ornery agents there is. “

“Nice to meet you, Sal.” She reached across Rick to shake Sal’s hand. Rick’s gut tightened as she leaned close, the soft curve of her breast brushing his shoulder.

Sal tipped his hat, and Rick scowled. He didn’t particularly like the way Sal’s dark eyes roamed over Lani.

After Sal and Chuck exchanged greetings, Rick asked, “What’re you and Don doing at this CP today? Get transferred while I was gone?”

Sal shook his head. “No. Short-staffed. Talk about one hell of a mind-numbing day.”

“Any new leads on
El Torero
while I’ve been gone?” Rick asked.

With a shrug, Sal said, “The man’s a ghost. I’m beginning to think he doesn’t exist.”

Rick checked the side view mirror. “Car coming. We’d better head on out.”

The agent tipped his hat and ambled back to the checkpoint.

“Do they use that huge trailer to detain illegal immigrants?” Lani asked, finally addressing a question to Rick.

“No. The UDAs sit on the ground until we can ship ‘em back to the border to process.”

“What does UDA mean?”

“Our politically correct term for undocumented aliens, sometimes referred to as illegal aliens, or just illegals.”

Lani’s look went scholarly, and Rick felt pretty sure she was making notes in her head. The shift was almost imperceptible, from wide-eyed girl in a new place to sharp-as-nails reporter, doing her job. She’d probably be a bear in an interview, if she had a mind to eat her subject instead of stroke their egos.

Tombstone eased into view, rising off the desert floor like a mirage. Lani smiled and looked out the window, still giving off that combination business-pleasure attitude. “How did Tombstone get its name?”

“Well now, Missy, that there is an interesting story,” Chuck piped up as they drove through the town. “A prospector fella named Ed Schieffelin discovered mighty rich veins of silver in 1877, in the Goose Flats area. That old boy named his first mining claim ‘The Tombstone,’ after soldiers told him the only thing he’d find in those hills was Apache Indians and his own tombstone.

“That there on our left,” Chuck continued, “is the Boothill Graveyard. They named it that ‘cause so many of the folks buried there died sudden-like or were killed with their boots still on.”

Chuck launched into a story about the town’s first mayor and the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

“Fascinating,” Lani murmured then looked back out the window. “Is that all there is to it? I think I missed the rest of the town.”

Rick chuckled and said, “If you blink you miss it. From the highway there’s not a whole lot to see of ‘The Town too Tough to Die.’” He pointed to the gentle swells of land. “When I was a boy, and Mom and Dad would drive through here, I used to imagine a dusty road replacing the highway, and wagons instead of cars. I’d picture gunslingers on horseback, plodding along the gritty trails, and prospectors mining for silver.”

“It’s so…empty,” she said. “So open and free.” Rick glanced at her as she stared out the window and drank in the landscape. “I can almost picture it. Take down those telephone poles, get rid of the asphalt, replace the soil that was blasted out to make room for the highway, and nix the occasional passing car, and I bet it looks much like it did a hundred years ago.”

He smiled. So, she could see it. She did get a sense of how it was out here, half-old, half-new—just from this little car ride. Ms. Lani Stanton wasn’t just a big city girl after all.

And he still couldn’t believe his luck, getting to bring her home with him.

When they’d walked out of the hotel that morning, the first thing that struck Lani was how warm it was, even though it was still relatively early. The air had been thick and humid from the previous night’s rain, but she enjoyed it over the freezing chill that greeted her every time she set foot outside her apartment in San Francisco.