Wild Nevada Ride (7 page)

“Just stay here for a minute, all right? Do that for me at least.” She turned and headed for the sliding glass door, leaving him standing by the stairs.

She heard him follow several minutes later as she bent down next to her grandmother while the crowd laughed and hugged her, congratulating her on her long life. The crowd thinned out, leaving Katrina next to the older woman while she watched Justin move off next to the fire pit and sit down on the rock bench. The intense brown eyes never left her.

“I see you’ve made the acquaintance of Mark’s handsome friend.”

Katrina’s gaze swung back to her grandmother and she blushed. “I…uh….”

“It seems you already know him, sweetie. Care to elaborate to your old grandmother?”

“We’ve met before, Grams, last week when Mark had a business meeting. Justin is one of Mark’s clients. That’s how I know him.”

“Justin, is it?”

“Gram, don’t play matchmaker, okay? He’s not interested in any kind of a relationship, and neither am I.”

“You might have fooled most of the guests here today with you coming out first, but not this old lady.” Her grandmother raised a gnarled hand to Katrina’s cheek. “The pretty blush on your face tells me you know him a little better than just Mark’s client.”

Katrina’s blush deepened, and she felt the heat crawl up her neck, even turning her ears bright red.

“It’s nothing more than a passing fancy. Let it go, okay?”

“The fire in that young man’s eyes is bright enough to light up this whole back yard. You are a fool, young lady, if you don’t grab a hold of him and hang on for dear life. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that kind of passion on a man’s face for a woman, and it does my old heart good to see it directed at you. Now,” she said, patting Katrina’s hand, “go on over there and bring him back here, so I can meet him.”

Katrina kissed her grandmother on the cheek and stood. She turned back to where Justin had been sitting, but he wasn’t there. She searched the crowd nearby and spotted him on the other side of the yard with his arms full of a brunette who currently had her tongue down his throat. She felt like she’d been punched in the stomach as she gasped and spun around, tears filling her eyes.

Chapter Six

He laughed and pulled the woman’s arms from around his shoulders.
I don’t need Katrina seeing her plastered to my chest with her tongue down my throat. Why in hell does she have to be here?

“It’s been a long time, Adrianna.”

“Too long if you ask me, baby. You haven’t called me in forever. Where have you been?”

“Around,” he said, stepping back, but she continued to follow.

“Not around me.”

He laughed again and said, “No. No, I haven’t.”

“Have you been avoiding me?” A pout rippled across her red lips.

“Not avoiding exactly. I’ve been busy.”

“Well then, why don’t we blow this party, and I’ll remind you how good it was between us.”

“I’m here with one of the family. It would be rude for me to leave.” He spotted Katrina across the yard.

“One of the family? Who?”

“Katrina. We’re seeing each other, Adrianna,” he said, trying to move in Katrina’s direction to discourage the overzealous woman.

“Well, bring her along, pumpkin. You know I don’t mind threesomes,” she answered while she followed.

A startled chuckle escaped his lips. He could never imagine Katrina in a threesome, and he thought it funny to even think about it. “Katrina’s not really into that kind of kink.”

“I know you are though, Justin.”

He had almost reached Katrina’s side when she turned around. If she would have had a gun in her hand, he would have been a dead man, by the look on her face. Shoring up his defenses, he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side.

“Kat, sweetheart. Do you know Adrianna?”

“Let me go,” she hissed, completely ignoring the other woman except to shoot her a deadly glare.

“Now, sweetie, I know we had a little spat earlier, but I thought we’d worked everything out in your bedroom.” He nuzzled her neck with his nose, and she tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he held tight, wrapping his other hand around her waist.

“Get your hands off me, you bastard.”

He smiled at Adrianna and said, “You’ll have to excuse her. Obviously she’s still upset with me.” Katrina continued to squirm in his arms until he growled, “Enough.”

The startled look on her face and her momentary stillness gave him just enough time to tell the other woman he would talk to her some other time before Katrina started punching him in the chest. “Ouch, damn it Katrina, stop that!”

“Get your fucking hands off me this instant.”

“All right. I’ve had enough of your attitude.” He bent at the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder while she screeched in outrage.

“Damn it, Justin, put me down!”

“Not until we talk, sweetness.” He started for the door of the house until Mark stepped between them and the door. “Not now.”

Mark gave him a stubborn look, but stepped back out of the way. Justin shot a look to his right and met the sparkling eyes of Katrina’s grandmother as she smiled and gave him a thumbs up sign. He chuckled and pulled open the sliding glass door before stepping through it, closing it behind him, and heading for the stairs. They were going to talk, and talk right now. He wasn’t sure what had pissed her off this time, but he wanted to get to the bottom of it and fast. He would much rather have her melting against him and screaming his name as she came hard around his cock, than fighting with him, especially in front of her family.

Once he reached her room, he moved toward the bed and dumped her unceremoniously in the middle. She attempted to scramble off of it and race for the door, but he was quicker, reaching it and slamming it shut while he blocked her escape.

“Let me out of here.”

“Not until you tell me what’s got you in such an uproar.”

She folded her arms under her breasts, which only made him want her more as she pushed them up. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I give a shit what you do with other women.”

“Ah, so that’s it. You saw Adrianna.”

“Saw what, Justin?” she asked, her tone dripping so sweet it made his teeth hurt.

He moved next to her, and she tried to skirt around him, reaching for the door.

“Uh-uh.” He wrapped his arms around her and spun her around so her back was against the door as he pinned her with his body. “You don’t have anything to be jealous of with her, Kat. She means nothing to me.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Um…your beautiful green eyes say different.”

“Tell me this—how can I be jealous of you with other woman if there is nothing between us? Come to think of it, there is no us, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see to my family.” She pushed against his chest, but he didn’t budge.

“Oh, but there is, Kat. There is definitely something between us. I just haven’t figured out exactly what to do about it yet,” he whispered, nibbling at the corners of her lips.

“Stop it.” She tried to sound stern, but the words came out in a breathless murmur as his lips moved across her cheek and down her neck to the hollow of her throat.

“You really don’t want me to stop, do you?”

She sighed and tipped her head, but she whispered, “Yes.”

He lifted his head, and they stood almost nose to nose, staring into each other’s eyes before he dropped his arms and moved away. She paused for a moment then turned around quickly, pulled open the door and disappeared down the stairs.

He sighed heavily before following her. When he reached the patio, he wasn’t surprised to see the disappointed look on her grandmother’s face. She waved a gnarled hand in his direction and he decided he didn’t want to deal with the wrath of Elaine Jamieson, so he walked in her direction.

“Come here young man,” she demanded when he neared.

“Yes, ma’am.” He tried flashing his dimples in hopes she would soften a bit and not rake him over the coals, but it didn’t appear to be working very well. She pointed to the bench beside her, indicating he’d better sit down.

“I don’t believe we’ve met. I know you came with Mark, but I’ve never seen you at any of our functions before. What is your name?”

“Justin Wilder, ma’am.”

“Justin. Nice strong name.”

“I believe my mother thought so, yes.” He tried grinning again.

“Don’t you go flashing those gorgeous dimples at me. I’m immune to your charms, but I believe my little Kat is not.”

He dropped his gaze and blushed under his tan.

“You must be a strong man to tame her, but I think it’s not above your abilities, Mr. Wilder.”

“Call me Justin, please.”

“All right, Justin.” His eyes met hers again and the wisdom of ninety years shined bright in her gaze. “I’ve seen a lot of men come and go in her life. Most couldn’t or wouldn’t stand up to her and her stubborn pride as well as her temper. Trust me when I say she has her father’s Irish stubbornness.”

He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am, she does.”

“How did you two meet? She hasn’t mentioned you before, but by your interactions today, I would guess you know each other rather well.”

He spent the next hour telling Katrina’s grandmother about how they met, and he knew the woman saw right through him with her piercing stare. Even though he didn’t give her the details of what had happened between them, he had a feeling she knew.

“I would say, you need to decide what you want from my grand-daughter then. You seem to care for her.”

“I don’t know about that. I mean we don’t know each other well enough for anyone to say I care about her.”

“It doesn’t take long for feelings to take root in someone’s heart. If you want more than just a short term relationship with her, you need to build on those feelings.”

“I appreciate the advice, ma’am.”

“I’ll warn you though young man, don’t hurt my granddaughter, or you will deal with me.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Now off with you. This old woman is getting tired, and I think you have some making up to do with Katrina.”

He smiled and stood. “It’s been nice talking with you.”

“You are a charmer, Justin.”

He bowed at the waist and turned to find the one woman who, in the short time he’d known her, had managed to invade his thoughts on a daily basis.

* * * *

She watched the exchange between her grandmother and Justin from her spot near the waterfall. Not able to hear the conversation, she almost shuddered at what her very loveable, but nosy grandmother must have been telling him. He had been smiling and laughing while they talked, and even though he hadn’t been looking her way, the magnetism of the man drew her attention like a moth to flame.
Damn it!

When he stood and turned in her direction, she didn’t want him to catch her watching him, so she quickly turned around to face the water.

“Katrina,” he whispered softly when he stopped behind her.

She turned to face him with a questioning arch of her eyebrow.