Too Sexy for his Stetson (22 page)

Getting close to Brandy will make you want things you can’t have.

She pushed upward, taking him deeper still. He’d never felt more bonded with anyone.

Dreams didn’t get any better.

Oh, but they did when she arched her back and gave herself totally. So vulnerable. So trusting. Her surrender made his gut wrench. This emotionally fragile woman was giving herself to him. Completely. It touched a place inside he’d thought was a lonely deserted cavern.

Tendre Amour seeped into his pores.

Soft curves and damp skin moved beneath his touch.

A throaty saxophone wailed.

She convulsed around him, joined as completely as they could possibly be. They moved in harmony, suspended in time, immersed in exquisite pleasure…

Hope… dream… pleasure… pain… oblivion… joy… delight… bliss…
oh God
…With one last push, Blade lost himself in Brandy Wilcox, and he came with a force that tipped the whole damn world cock–eyed.

“Brandy.” The word rushed out, a growl and a prayer as he fell gently on her, burying his face in a mass of curls, overwhelming contentment saturating every cell of his body. This woman would haunt him forever.

She whispered in his ear, “I knew it would be like this, Beringer… the wildest ride I ever had.”

He rolled onto his back, bringing her with him. She whimpered.

Jesus, she whimpered.

Cringing, he said, “Aw, hell. Brandy, honey, your ribs must be killing you. I’m so sorry. Jeez, I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

I’ve never felt better in my life.”

“Are you sure?” He moved her alongside him on the floor, then placed his mouth against the delicate skin beneath her breasts and trailed soft butterfly kisses down her torso. “So… so… sorry.”

Except for an ache beneath his rib cage, which had nothing to do with the accident, Blade sure wasn’t feeling any pain either. He was feeling entirely, too remarkably, awesome. He heaved a sigh and sat, gently scooping her onto his lap. Bringing her against his chest, he held her as though she were his.

The lights flickered again.

Then complete darkness wrapped around them.

And stayed.

Rambo’s barks progressed from intermittent to continuous.

Blade’s sixth sense kicked in. Every muscle in his body tensed as the Brandy–hot blood humming through his veins froze.

He’d let down his guard.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

A
chill raced down Brandy’s spine when Blade’s entire body turned to the edgy steel of a warrior beneath her hands. With blackness surrounding her, she became aware of Rambo’s insistent barking and Blade’s switch to commando mode. In one stealth move, he shot up and shoved into his jeans.

With her nerve–endings sizzling, the sense of impending danger put her on edge. Still, there was nowhere she’d rather be than with Blade.

“What?” she asked.

“It’s probably nothing. You know how common power outages are around here.”

Sure. That’s why, mere seconds after he’d shattered inside her, after he’d demolished her with a white–hot orgasm, he’d jumped to his feet.
Right. It was nothing.

“It’s probably just Rambo feeling left out.”

She sat up and latched onto her dress, holding it to her chest. Blade grabbed his holster from the back of a chair and pulled out the Glock.

“I’ll go set him straight on the chaperone business.”

“With a gun?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll do a quick look around just to make sure.” He came to her, leaned down, and kissed her, a promise on his lips. “Rambo’s going to have to tough it out alone for awhile yet.”

Halfway to the door, he turned and said, “Brandy, play it safe. Stay down and away from the windows.”

She nodded, remembering exactly where her pistol lay in her pink bag upstairs in the guest room. She started to pull on her dress.

“This is probably just the ingrained cop in me,” he said, gesturing with the Glock. “The electrical system around here is crazy. More than likely, I’m over–reacting.” He smiled. “Like I said, it’s probably nothing.”

“Sure.”

“Don’t move. Because we’re just getting started.”

“I like the way you think.” She smiled.

He crept to the door, jammed his feet into his cowboy boots, and silently eased into the darkness.

Brandy’s heart thumped. Goose bumps rippled down her arms. Because of the could–be prowler? Or were her nerves on edge because of the mind–bending sex they’d indulged in?

All senses alert, straining for the sound of Blade checking things out, she ignored the erotic sensations zinging through her, and focused on possible danger—a possible Neo Nazi attack. Blood zinged through her veins. Blade shouldn’t be out there without backup. Her heart throbbed and her stomach twittered.

When she heard him exchanging greetings with Rambo, her tension eased. At least part of the tension eased. Still riding an emotional roller–coaster, she tried to tell herself she wasn’t getting in too deep.

Too close
.

Exhaling, she argued,
no, they’d simply had good sex.
Okay, it was out–of–this–world sex. Why couldn’t she simply enjoy it?

She eased back and pressed her spine to the floor and replayed their love–making in her mind. Blade’s voice drifted in. He and Rambo were still having a heart–to–heart.

A couple of minutes later, a thud banged against the house. Her euphoria gusted away like debris on the front edge of a tornado. Every nerve in her body coiled as she lurched to her knees and wriggled the rest of the way into her dress. Waxy smoke from the only source of light, the votive candle, scented the air as it sputtered, nearly burning out.

A power outage. Rambo barking. A bump in the night.

Her glance traveled the dim room, searching for something, anything, to use as a weapon.

Simmer down, Deputy.
Dogs bark for lots of reasons, and blackouts happened at the drop of a Stetson in the valley. However, bumps in the night, not so much. She raced upstairs and dug out her pistol.

Just as she returned to the kitchen, the refrigerator motor hummed to life, and the DVD player’s green display started blinking.

The doorknob turned.

Pulse ticking in her throat, she gripped her pistol, just in case, and scooted backward and against the wall.

Blade slipped in. Even though she clearly recognized him, her erratic heartbeat continued to hammer. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, like I said, I haven’t figured out the intricacies of the electrical system around here yet.” With lithe strides, he moved to her side and worked the gun from her hand.

“It’s okay, Brandy. No one’s going to attack you except me.” His arms came around her, and she relaxed. Melted into him.

Lord help her, she wanted to love him all over again. Wanted to see the need on his face. Desperately wanted to feel his corded muscles wrapped around her as he came apart in her arms—again.

He brought his mouth to hers in a sweet, leisurely, unlike–Blade kiss, then lifted her in his arms. The lip lock lasted all the way up the stairs. As though he couldn’t get enough of her, he kept kissing her, drinking her in. He carried her into his luxurious contender for spa–of–the–year. He lowered her until her feet sank into the fluffy bath mat. Still, his mouth and tongue tasted, explored. Kissed.

Maybe it was she who refused to let him go when he knelt, bringing her with him, knees on the rug. He reached blindly for the faucet. Just as water began to flow, Rambo started to bark again.

Blade moaned against her mouth. “This is not like Rambo.”

“Maybe you should bring him inside.”

“I’m… kind of busy right now.”

“Go. It’ll only take a minute, and then you can concentrate on more important things. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

“Do I look like a crazy woman?”

He grinned and broke free, stood up, and inched away. His reluctance to leave made her heart trill. The wicked–as–sin–sweet–as–honey smile that curved his lips as he backed out of the room guaranteed she’d stay glued to the spot. That smile was a sure ticket to a woman’s bed, maybe a ticket to this woman’s heart.

With Blade out of sight, an edginess crept over Brandy. Suddenly alone. Why should that bother her? She was always alone, even when she was with someone. Never, since she was fourteen and Jeremy the Teen–aged Casanova had taken off without a word, had she felt this kind of emptiness. Loneliness.

From that day forward, she’d never allowed herself to connect with anyone. With good reason. She didn’t like the out–of–control, hollow thump she felt in her chest. Or the longing for something that couldn’t be.

She concentrated on the water pouring from the shell–shaped fixture near the ceiling and watched it plunge like a waterfall into the huge oval tub.

Minutes later, Blade’s voice rose from the lower level, conversing in German with Rambo. At the sound of his feet treading softly on the stairs, warmth shimmied down her arms, and shivers of excitement rippled down her spine.

He edged into the bathroom carrying two mismatched glasses and set them on the tiled edge of the tub. “Hey, I brought you something to drink. Sparkling grape juice.”

And you. You brought me you
. “Thank you.” Blood surged to a spot deep inside, low in her belly. A spot that should have been satiated. At the same time, her heart swelled.

Don’t let yourself feel too much.

But when he reached for her and pulled her into his arms, his heat, his strength, his gentleness overwhelmed her. He held her so close it was impossible to distinguish her heartbeat from his. With his mouth crushing hers, he managed to knock every lick of sense out of her head.

Pain twisted in her chest. It had to be the cracked ribs.

As if he’d read her mind, he murmured against her lips, “The hot water will do wonders for your aching ribs.”

For the second time that evening, he removed her dress. Slid the pistol from his waistband and set it on the floor. His arms encircled her. Lifting her from her feet, he placed her into the tub, shimmied out of his jeans, and stepped alongside her. He sank into the water, bringing her along, cradling her back against his chest, until they were shoulder deep in warm swirling ecstasy.

Heaven.

You’re making a mistake.

Brandy could fight a lot of things, but not heaven. And not Blade with his arms around her.

Why? Why couldn’t she simply enjoy the here and now? Blade’s tenderness? Take what she wanted?

She turned, swiveled to bring herself face to face with him, then straddled his thighs and braced herself, placing her hands on his shoulders. His hardness pulsed against her. His muscles tightened. He groaned, clutching her tightly to his body, as she slid down onto his heat. She took all that he had to give. In return, she surrendered, completely. Never had she felt so close to another human being. When they climaxed, the world spun in a beautiful kaleidoscope of warmth and joy.

Complete.

Blade blew out a suppressed breath and kissed her neck. Sighed into her hair. Her chest still ached, but no pain pills could stop the kind of hurt burrowing into her core. She wanted something she couldn’t have. She wanted to trust someone other than herself. She wanted that elusive thing called
love.

On the bright side, making love with Blade was already halfway there.

Lord, you’re more than halfway there.

“I could get used to this.” She disintegrated against him.

“I’m more than willing to oblige.” He swiveled her around, pillowing her back with his chest.

She couldn’t miss the fact that he was once more rising to the occasion. When she reached for him, he caught her hand and kissed the back of her neck.

“Relax, darlin’ and let the hot water work its magic.”

“Magic? I think you’ve got the market on magic.”

Soothing vapors enveloped them while water continued to cascade from the faucet near the ceiling. Every muscle in her body turned to goop as she let go and luxuriated against Blade’s solid chest. A rock of strength.

Complete.

Tonight, with Blade, she’d shared more of herself than she’d ever shared since Jeremy, the player who had conned her into trusting him and had then proven he wasn’t trustworthy. At the time she’d been lonely and scared. She’d gone along with all of his sex games because, in return, he listened to her when she shared her thoughts, her hopes, her dreams. She’d confessed to him her deepest longings, admitting that she wished her grandparents had tried to find her and had wanted to bring her home.

“You falling asleep on me?” Blade nudged her from her thoughts.

“Not hardly.”

“I can hear the gears grinding in your head.” He lifted her hair and kissed her neck. “What’re you thinking about?”

“Oh, about someone I knew a long time ago.”

“Thanks a lot,” he said sarcastically. “I’m flattered.”

She turned her head to face him. “He wasn’t half as good as you.” In so many ways.

“There you go.” He grinned and trailed his lips across her cheek and skimmed them along the back of her neck.

Shivers tripped down her spine.

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” He demonstrated by guiding her chin so it aligned with his, covering her mouth, and kissing her until her head spun.

No, Jeremy wasn’t half as good as Blade.

A while later, Brandy said, “There was this boy at boarding school.”

“Your first love?”

“My first and only… until tonight. I’m not so sure about the love part.” One day, Jeremy had disappeared with the new girl, along with Brandy’s stash of cash. The money for which she’d worked long, late hours stocking shelves at the local grocery store. “You want to talk about it?”

“I was stupid, and I trusted him. It taught me a lesson.” After that, she’d gone back to fending for herself the way she had done since the day she’d hitched a ride out of Milwaukee and left her grandparents’ custody.

“Brandy, you were a kid.”

“Stupid kid.” Never again would she be on the receiving end of a blind–sided stab in the back. Not that she expected Blade would stab her in the back. He wouldn’t be that unkind. He’d let her down gently. Except he wouldn’t have to, because this time, she’d be the one to walk away.