The Bridal Path: Sara (12 page)

She didn’t look distraught, so maybe she had succeeded in persuading Zeke not to abandon her. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know how she’d accomplished that. He already knew that Sara’s unexpected wiles added up to a dangerous weapon.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked eventually.

“I was just wondering if you were busy tonight?” she asked, carefully avoiding his eyes.

“Why?”

“You promised me dinner if I solved that little bookkeeping problem the other day. You haven’t paid up.”

“Sorry. A few things came up.”

“I’ll say,” Sara said under her breath.

Jake doubted she intended the remark for his ears, so he swallowed the irreverent laugh that bubbled up in his chest. She had a way of taking him by surprise that was thoroughly disconcerting. Even though he was suspicious of her motives, he couldn’t resist this latest opportunity to find out what she was up to now.

“Tonight’s fine. Where do you want to go?” he asked.

“How about the Old West Grill? They have country-western dancing tonight. I feel like kicking up my heels.”

Jake got the distinct impression there was more on her mind than whirling around a dance floor, but he’d made her a promise. It was too late to back out on it now just because he’d envisioned something slightly more private and romantic.

“Seven o’clock,” he suggested.

“I’ll be ready.”

Ready for what, he wondered. Something in her tone suggested to him that there was a warning there he shouldn’t ignore. For the life of him, though, he couldn’t figure out what was going on in that pretty little head of hers.

Maybe that was why he couldn’t seem to shake the almost constant thoughts of her. She was like a missing word in a crossword puzzle, nagging at him to find a solution.

Unfortunately, no answers came to him. He still didn’t have a clue about what she was up to when he pulled up in front of the main house at seven.

Sara slipped out the door before he could set foot on the front porch, which suggested to him that she didn’t want her father to know about their plans for the evening. For some reason that grated on him. It reminded him all too plainly that for the time being he was nothing more than a worn-out rodeo champ and Sara was the daughter of the prominent and powerful Trent Wilde.

He resisted the almost overwhelming desire to march inside and announce that he and Sara were going out for the evening. There really was no point in stirring up that particular hornet’s nest just for the momentary satisfaction of seeing Trent’s shocked expression.

Instead, he focused on the woman who’d slipped into the car beside him. He surveyed the slim-fitting jeans that cupped her incredible derriere, then moved on to the western-cut shirt that molded itself to her breasts, and the boots that emphasized her shapely calves. With her red hair spilling over her shoulders in sexy disarray, she was enough to turn a saint into a sinner. No one had ever considered Jake to be a saint. Pure lust hammered through him.

“If you aren’t the prettiest sight I’ve seen in a long time,” he told her. “I’m going to be the envy of every male in the Old West.”

“I suppose that will make your day,” she retorted.

He grinned at her. “Compared to the rest of the day, it won’t hurt.”

As they drove into town, a comfortable silence fell in the car. Jake was surprised that Sara didn’t see any need to fill it with idle chatter the way a lot of women would. It was yet more proof that Sara wasn’t like other women. He should have found that satisfying, but for some reason it only scared the daylights out of him. It reminded him he was up against an unpredictable force. Bull riding had been unpredictable, too, but he’d mastered that. He told himself he could master Sara, if he tried hard enough.

What startled him even more than his determination to figure out this hold she had on him was how much he enjoyed not just her astonishing sensuality, but simply her company. He’d always assumed the only way for a man to guarantee any peace and serenity in his life was to keep a woman out of it. Sara was proving to be an exception to that.

“You going to get around to telling me what happened at Zeke’s today?” he inquired eventually.

“Maybe later,” she said.

“Still too upset to talk about it?”

“Not exactly.”

The answer was a little too enigmatic to suit him. “You’d probably feel better if you’d just get it out of your system. Go on and yell, if you feel like it,” he said generously. “I won’t hold it against you.”

She actually grinned at that. “I don’t think yelling would accomplish anything, but thanks for offering.”

“What will help?”

“A good dinner, pleasant conversation, some dancing,” she said. “That and the company, of course.”

“I’ll do my best to cheer you up,” he promised, though for some reason he couldn’t fathom, she didn’t seem all that upset to begin with.

“Don’t worry, I won’t put all the burden on your shoulders.”

He regarded her curiously. The comment suggested she had plans for tonight that he knew nothing about. If she intended to torment him by dancing with every man willing to give her a spin around the floor, then she was in for a big surprise. Jake never shared. With his background, it hadn’t been a trait he’d learned. He saw nothing particularly admirable about starting now with Sara.

He was still mulling over her comment, when they walked into the already smokey, crowded interior of the Old West. He was about to suggest that Sara wait while he circled the room in search of a table, when she latched on to his hand and pointed across the dance floor.

“Over there.”

“You see an empty table?”

“No, Zeke and Mary Lou. They’re saving one for us.”

A tingle of dread slithered down Jake’s spine. That old familiar crowded feeling crept over him. “You knew they were going to be here?”

“Sure. I thought it would be fun to get together with them. You’re old friends, right?”

“Right,” Jake agreed tersely. At the moment, however, he was viewing Zeke as being a whole lot closer to a traitor, than a pal. The fact that Sara was still so chummy with him suggested that the lessons were on again. No wonder she was in such a terrific mood. She’d won another battle of wills. The victory must be tasting sweet about now.

Zeke stood up as they reached the booth. Jake shot him a sour look, then smiled at Mary Lou and leaned down to kiss her. It wasn’t her fault she’d hooked up with a dirty, rotten scoundrel.

“You’re looking more beautiful than ever, darlin’.”

“And you’re every bit as handsome as ever,” Mary Lou replied. “It must be a trial being so good-looking. Do women ever want you for your brains?”

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t waste time asking,” he countered just as he always did.

Mary Lou shot a look toward Sara, then said pointedly, “Maybe it’s time you did.”

“Okay, you two, enough,” Zeke grumbled. “Sit down. I’m starved. I’ve ordered ribs and beer. Hope that’s okay.”

Since there was very little else on the grill’s menu that was worth discussing, Jake nodded. People didn’t come here for the food. They came for the music and the noise and the camaraderie.

Jake let Sara precede him into the booth, then slid in next to her, close enough to be sure she wouldn’t be able to ignore his presence.

After one quick, amused glance, she countered his move, by making sure they were hip to hip and thigh to thigh.

Check and checkmate.

Jake leaned back and surveyed his three companions thoughtfully. “Okay, what’s up?”

Three innocent gazes met his. Mary Lou’s were the first lips to twitch with amusement. He leaned across the table and tucked a finger under her chin.

“Okay, you. What’s up?”

“Who says anything is up?” she replied, smiling sweetly.

“I didn’t just fall off a turnip truck, darlin’. You all look like a trio of cats that’ve been feasting on plump old canaries.”

They didn’t even have the decency to look guilty. Jake waited, but when not a one of them opened up, he tried again. “Should I assume from the way you’re acting that the riding lessons are on again?”

“Oh, definitely,” Sara said as if there’d never been any doubt about it at all.

Jake shot a look at Zeke. “No willpower, huh?”

“Well, she was mighty persuasive,” he agreed, “but I’m not the one who’s going to be teaching her.” He nodded toward his wife. “Mary Lou is.”

If Jake hadn’t spent a lifetime learning to disguise his feelings, his mouth would have dropped wide open. Mary Lou hadn’t been near a rodeo ring since she’d retired. He’d only seen her ride once, but the experience had been memorable. He’d always regretted that their paths hadn’t crossed sooner, so he could have watched her in her prime. She had epitomized all of the flowery descriptions of those riders who were at one with their horses, a single unit of grace and passion and power.

“Well, well, well,” he murmured. “Sara must have made quite a case for herself to drag you out of retirement.”

“Let’s just say I’m sympathetic with her desire to hold on to what’s hers,” Mary Lou responded tartly. “And I do look forward to someone bringing you down a peg or two.”

“And you think Sara can do that?” Jake asked.

“I’d stake one of Zeke’s prize horses on it.”

“Oh, no, you won’t,” Zeke replied heatedly. “I don’t want my horses mixed up in this foolishness.”

Jake slanted a look at Sara to see just how much she was enjoying all of this. Her smile suggested she was very pleased with herself. That smile was pure challenge as far as Jake was concerned, as much of a dare as if she’d spoken aloud.

After listening to be sure the music was slow and provocative, he leaned over and whispered, “Care to take a whirl around the dance floor, sweetheart? You did say you wanted to kick up your heels this evening.”

The dare in his invitation was unmistakable and they both knew it. Her startled gaze met his. The smile trembled on her lips before fading. As the sensual beat of the music registered, she swallowed hard, then shrugged.

“Sure, why not?” she said, her voice satisfyingly breathless.

Grasping her hand in his, he helped her from the booth, then promptly spun her into his embrace. Her body fit perfectly against his own, too perfectly for comfort.

Jake recognized his mistake instantly. Even the slightest contact with Sara had the power to arouse him. With her breasts snug against his chest, her hips molded to his and her thighs brushing his each time they swayed to the soft music, his entire body was on fire.

And so, he realized, was hers.

He might have taken some satisfaction in knowing that she was as hot and needy as he was, but it was difficult to get past his own aching yearning to strip away clothes and pretense.

Never in his entire life had a woman gotten under his skin so immediately and so effectively. Given his determination to avoid emotional entanglements, it terrified him.

But he was willing to overlook the fear. The feelings were too fascinating to ignore. Some perverse, daring, analytical part of his brain wanted to figure out why the chemistry between them was so explosive.

“Jake?”

“Hmm?”

“The music’s stopped.”

He gazed down and discovered amusement mixed with awareness in her eyes. He grinned impudently and tightened his embrace ever so slightly. He swayed with her to an unheard beat.

“Is that a problem?” he asked, his eyes locked with hers.

“It’s not a problem for me, if it’s not for you,” she said bravely. “We are attracting just the tiniest bit of attention, though.”

“Darlin’, I’ve been a sucker for attention ever since I rode my first bull into the ring and heard the applause.”

Defiance flared in her eyes. “Then by all means, let’s give them something to look at,” she said and twined her arms around his neck.

Lifting herself on tiptoe, she slanted her mouth across his in a no-holds-barred kiss that flat out left Jake weak-kneed. No woman ever had had that kind of power over him, not even that heartbreaking Sue Ann.

When Sara finally pulled away, he stared at her, dazed. “You are a very dangerous woman, Sara Wilde.”

A grin of absolute delight spread across her face, as if he’d just confirmed her own discovery.

“And I’d advise you not to forget it,” she said, slipping from his embrace and sashaying back to the table in a way that had Jake’s blood pumping harder than a Texas oil rig.

Up until now, Jake had thought he was in control of whatever was happening between him and Sara Wilde. The last few minutes had proved otherwise. For a man who never, ever, let his control of a situation slip, the realization was damned disconcerting.

* * *

All of her life Sara had run to Dani with her problems. Something told her, though, that her big sister wouldn’t have the answers she needed to deal with Jake. For this, she needed the advice of an expert in the battle of the sexes. That meant Ashley.

Ashley had dated more boys in Riverton than all of the other girls in her class combined. Sara had no reason to think she wasn’t cutting an equally wide swath through the bachelors in New York. She was pictured in the tabloids with a different man on her arm practically every week, though none got more than a casual mention in her letters or calls home.

Ashley adored men. She reveled in their attention, but she would never let a man interfere with achieving her goals. Sara prayed her sister could give her some tips for maintaining that same focus when she was in Jake’s powerful presence.

It was after midnight in Wyoming when Sara dialed her sister’s number. Except when she had a crack-of-dawn photo shoot, Ashley was a night owl. Even with the time difference, it was unlikely she was asleep, and if she was, she never minded being awakened for some girl talk.

Sure enough, she answered on the second ring, sounding as alert as if it were two in the afternoon, rather than two in the morning.

“Is this the world famous cover model?” Sara asked.

“Depends on who you ask,” Ashley retorted. “What on earth are you doing up at this hour? I thought you got up with the chickens.”

“We don’t have chickens,” Sara reminded her tartly. “You should come home more often. You’d know that.”