A Trick of the Moon (5 page)

28

Melinda Barron

He pulled the rope up quickly, then handed one end to Dario. They both stood and pulled the rope between them as they backed away from each other.

Maura turned onto her back, her gaze moving between the two of them.

“We were right,” Dario said. “I'd guess it at eleven feet.”

“About right.” Declan relaxed his grip on the rope at the same time Dario let his drop. The rope draped across Maura's stomach as she propped herself up on her elbows.

“That's an interesting picture.” Dario's voice was deep, and Declan fought the urge to either agree with him or tell him to shut the hell up.

“Don't get any ideas,” Maura said, as she ducked under the rope, then stood up. “I'm the boss, remember, and a comment like that could be construed as sexual harassment.”

“Can an employee sexually harass the boss?” Dario began gathering up the rope. Declan let his end fall to the ground and walked toward Maura, who watched Dario carefully.

“Oh yes,” she replied. “It could mean a dock in pay, or something equally bad, like going to bed without dinner.”

“Hmm. How about going to bed and then getting dinner?” Dario licked his lips and Declan cleared his throat. He glanced at Maura, whose face had turned a nice shade of red. It spread under her shirt and her full breasts seemed to be moving faster. It was definitely a nice sight. He looked at Dario to see his friend's gaze fastened on the same spot Declan's had been just moments ago.

“Behave, or I'll send you back to Albuquerque on the next bus.” Dario looked up at him and Declan gave him a look that he hoped conveyed the words,
Keep your eyes off Maura's tits.

“I don't think that's your call,” Dario retorted. “I'm still on the payroll, right boss?”

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They both looked at Maura, and Declan was happy to see she was still smiling, and still blushing. “I might dock both your pay for interoffice fighting if you don't straighten up. Besides, it's getting late in the day and we need to start back so we can make it to the Moon before the sun goes down totally. The area's pretty flat, but there's always the possibility of snakes or hungry coyotes coming out of nowhere.”

“The trickster,” Declan said, as he took the rope from Dario and turned toward the horses. “Definitely something we don't want to meet up with.”

Declan heard Maura and Dario shuffling behind him and he resisted the urge to turn and see how closely together they were as they walked. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to bring his handsome friend along with him. If he screwed up this chance to let Maura know how he felt about her, he'd kick himself for the rest of his life.

That meant he needed to make a move quick, maybe even tonight. He just needed the right moment to give her more than a kiss on the cheek.

30

Melinda Barron

Chapter Four

Maura stepped into the kitchen and sniffed the air appreciatively. Declan had started the grill and the wonderful smell of charcoal filled the air. She'd had the meat for the fajitas marinating since last night. All she had to do was get it out of the refrigerator, drain it off, and take it to him to cook.

The rice was almost done, and the beans had been in the pressure cooker for the last eight hours. Now she needed to take them out, mix in some spices, and mash them, and dinner would be ready.

Her “employees” would have to make do with store-bought tortillas, since she hadn't made any homemade ones in quite some time. This afternoon had been very fulfilling. Declan had confirmed her suspicion that the kiva was old, although whoever was using it now might be damaging its historical value. She couldn't wrap her mind around why someone would use it.

Kivas were places that had high religious value, true, but who around here still believed in the old ways? She had eight employees on the ranch, and all of them were native. But as far as she knew, all of them were Christian. They wouldn't be using a kiva to perform rituals. Or at least she didn't think they would.

But then again, did you really know the people you worked with? You saw them for a few hours a day, and then they went about their regular lives. And unless you were good friends, their regular lives didn't generally include you.

That gave them lots of hours during the day to be doing things that you had no clue about.

Thinking about that made her remember Declan. In college, they'd been great friends, seeing each other every day, eating lunches together, and going A Trick of the Moon

31

to movies. After college their time together had lessened, until they saw each other a few times a week, and then it was once a month.

Then it been even less than that. She'd missed him, and sometimes she called just to talk, but the relationship she'd always hoped would blossom hadn't sparked. Now she had a second chance, but there was one major problem. Dario. Declan bringing along a friend could mean one of two things, as far as she was concerned. He was either bringing him as a cop who could help him investigate the kiva and what was happening. Or he'd brought him as a shield, to keep Maura from hitting on him.

She certainly hoped it wasn't the latter, because she'd thought about hitting on Declan for ages. Unfortunately things just hadn't worked out that way. Thinking about getting physical with Declan also made her think about Dario, which was another unexpected problem. He was just as gorgeous as her friend, and he stirred her senses. They both did.

Maura closed her eyes and imagined herself between the two of them, two sets of lips on her shoulders and neck, two sets of hands roaming over her breasts and thighs, gently caressing her, tweaking her nipples and seeking out her clit, making her body writhe in passion.

She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her body close as she imagined the two of them making love to her. Their bodies would be hard and sweaty as they licked, kissed, caressed, and sucked. Declan would kiss her first, and then Dario would claim her lips while Declan's traced down her stomach, coming to rest in that sweet spot at the apex of her thighs, his tongue finding her clit and…

“That's a lot of food.” Maura gasped and wheeled toward Dario, her face burning with excitement from her vision and embarrassment at being caught daydreaming about the two men who were now basically her employees.

“Do you think?” She breathed in and out through her mouth, trying to get her breathing under control. She turned back to the counter, praying he didn't notice how flushed she was, and glanced at the four chicken breasts and three 32

Melinda Barron

flank steaks. Last night she'd worried that she'd gone a tad overboard in marinating. She knew Declan was a big eater from their time in college. But she hadn't been sure about Dario.

Now that she'd met him and learned that he was a large man, she was sure he had an appetite to match Declan's.

“I figured you guys would be hungry.” She looked back to where Dario stood, studying her. His body was still damp from his shower, and a tight T-shirt clung to his chest and upper arms.

“I'm always hungry,” Dario said, winking at her. His dark hair hung in wavy, wet ringlets around his face, emphasizing his expressive eyes and the deep grin that now rested on his face. “What about you, boss? Are you hungry?”

Hungry for what?
she wanted to ask. The tone of his voice made it sound as if he were asking if she was hungry for more than the food they were discussing. But she didn't want to go there. Not with Dario. She wanted Declan. Not Dario.

“Of course.” She picked up a green pepper and an onion. “I still have some preparation to do. Why don't you take the meat out to Declan and see if he's ready to start grilling. Tell him I'll have the vegetables out in just a few minutes.”

“You got it, skipper.” He leaned over to pick up the bags of meat, his body brushing against hers as he did. Electricity zinged through her and she tried to keep herself from responding. This wasn't what she had planned.

She watched as Dario walked to the back door, letting it thump shut as he went through. The noise made her think of banging, as in being bent over the kitchen counter while Dario banged into her from behind. She closed her eyes and imagined Declan leaning against the doorjamb, watching her before he came over and lightly caressed her back.

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You look so beautiful
, he'd whisper.
You don't mind if we share, do you?
Oh no, she didn't mind. This wasn't exactly what she'd had planned for this little excursion. But then again, plans changed, and lots of times those changes were for the better.

“Maura! Bring the veggies.” Declan's voice rang out from the patio and sent shivers down her spine.

“Cut it out,” she whispered to herself. “You're acting like you're a teenager and he's your date to the prom.”

She quickly cleaned the green peppers, cut them in half, then dumped the seeds. She sliced the onions into rings, then piled them on a plate. After wrapping the tortillas in tinfoil, she went to the back porch, where Declan was putting the last of the meat on the grill. He looked good enough to eat as he stood there with the tongs in one hand and a bottle of hot sauce in the other.

He liberally sprinkled the sauce on the meat, then turned to give her a wicked grin.

“Nice and spicy, just like you like it!” He winked and her knees felt as if they would buckle out from under her. Oh yes, she liked it nice and spicy, in more ways than one.

“You remembered. I'm flattered.” She put the plate with the veggies on the tray next to the grill, then stepped back, afraid she would give in to the desire to rip his clothes off if she stood too close. “Do we have everything we need?”

“Looks that way.” Declan waved the tongs to indicate the grill and the table. “For the cooking, that is. Everything else is in the fridge?”

“Yup. I'll bring it out after we're done.” She glanced at Dario, who was taking a swig from a beer bottle. “What do you think?”

“I think I'm starved, and it all looks delicious.” He took another swig, then stretched out his legs in front of him. “So spill, I want the whole story.”

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Melinda Barron

“Story?” Maura frowned as she moved around Declan and put the foil-wrapped tortillas on the outer edges of the grill so they could warm. “I don't know the story. That's why you're here, remember?”

“I'm not talking about the kiva,” Dario said. “I'm talking about the two of you. How did you meet? I want the who, what, where, when, why, and how.”

“Isn't that what a journalist asks?” Declan turned toward his friend.

“I'm taking lessons from Sorcha, my sister-in-law. She's helping me to learn to get to the bottom of things. Think of this as practice.”

Maura didn't want to be the first to go. Would Declan remember the first time they met, or the second, or even the third? The first time was burned in her brain, but if she recited that story and heard Declan say,
Really, I don't
remember that
, she would just die of embarrassment.

“We were in the library.” Relief flooded her as Declan waved the tongs in her direction. “Someone was reaching for a book on Shakespeare, and it just so happened to be the one I was looking for. She wouldn't let me take it either; she tore it right out of my hands.”

“I had it first,” she replied, wrinkling her nose at him.

“If you'd had it first, then you wouldn't have had to tear it out of my hands, would you? As I told you that night, I had it first. If I remember right, that was the meaning behind our second encounter, at the checkout desk downstairs.”

Maura batted her eyes innocently. “Yes, and the clerk agreed with me, didn't she? Because I had the book.”

She leaned closer to him. The air smelled of soap and shampoo, mixed with the spices coming from the grilling meat and veggies. She took the tongs from his hand and flipped the foil-wrapped tortillas so they wouldn't stay in one place too long and burn.

“Yeah, that's what happens when you steal something. You have it in your possession.”

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“It was a library book. How did I steal it?”

“You took it right out of…”

Maura opened her mouth in astonishment, then started to talk right over him. “I did not. It was on the shelf and…”

Dario snapped his fingers, and they both turned to him. “I didn't mean to open an argument that's obviously never been settled. If you fought during your first encounter, how did you get to be friends?”

Declan turned the meat, and Maura laughed. “We met at a party a few nights later, where oddly enough, Declan was complaining to a friend of mine about a pushy woman who took the library book he needed for his term paper.

Turns out we had the same class, just at different times. So I did the nice thing and invited him to my house the next afternoon, which was a Sunday, so we could
share
the book.”

She gave Declan a meaningful glance. “Emphasis on the word 'share.' He came over to the apartment a few times after that, and we used it to get what we needed done. We even helped each other out on our papers, and thus was born our friendship.”

“A friendship born out of thievery,” Dario said with an exaggerated sigh; the sound was one a man made when he was making fun of a woman telling a romantic story, and Maura narrowed her eyes at him.

“It wasn't thievery,” she said.