Too Close To The Fire/Too Hot To Handle (Montana Men 3) (19 page)

Right
now, she was in a state of denial. Lacey believed she was safe there in her
house. He’d let her run, but she could only run so far. So fast. He had her
scent. He was in hot pursuit.

Lacey
would soon realize she was never going to be safe from him again.

Chapter Seven

Falling
in love consists merely in uncorking the imagination and bottling the common
sense.

~Helen
Rowland

Two Months Earlier

Dec.25, Thursday

6:30 p.m.

Rafe
turned off the hot water, stepped out of the shower, and wrapped a navy blue
towel around his hips. After Lacey left him standing in the cold, he’d remained
in the barn for over an hour. Determined to give her some time alone, time to
think, time to decide if she wanted him, and time for his body to cool down,
he’d paced inside the barn like a wild stallion in need of a mare.

He’d
have remained there forever if that was what it took to reassure her he wasn’t
a sex maniac on the verge of attacking her, but damn, the temperature started
to drop. The snow fell harder and harder, until finally, the cold drove him
inside.

What
if she told him to leave?

He
held out his hands, amazed at how they shook.

Fumbling
with the towel, he finally managed to knot it at his waist and sighed. The heat
from the water rinsed the chill from his bones, but it hadn’t done a damn thing
to wash away his desire for Lacey.

Hell,
all he had to do was see her and his cock turned to instant wood. Rafe ran a
comb through his wet hair, quickly shaved and brushed his teeth. His reflection
looked grim. The determined glitter in his dark blue eyes said he was done
waiting. He drew a deep breath and slowly released it. This was it. No changing
his mind. No turning back. Lacey and he were at a crossroads. He knew very well
where he intended it to end.

Lacey
belonged to him. Now he had to convince her the truth of it.

He’d
slipped past her defenses without her realizing it. It left her vulnerable.
Danger’s actions made her susceptible. The naked helplessness he saw glinting
in the depths of her gold eyes when she fell on top of him in the barn, when
their gazes locked, the way her lovely mouth trembled when he felt every inch
of her body locked to his, and she felt every hard inch of his, told him she
was on the brink of surrender.

He
could have taken her there in the barn, crumbled what defenses she had left to
dust, but he’d known she wasn’t quite ready to accept him. She needed time to allow
him into her heart, her mind, to cast aside her reservations and acknowledge
the truth and the inevitable. Her marriage to Danger was over.

There
was something powerful between him and Lacey. She had to understand it and
agree her life was headed in a brand new direction. When she’d been lying on
top of him, he hadn’t taken the kisses he wanted, or torn off her jeans as he’d
yearned to do. Instead, he’d arched his hips, a subtle movement that put him
right there against the notch of her sweet mound. He’d done it slowly,
casually, without a hint he’d done it purposely.

But
she knew what he’d done.

Before
she scrambled away from him, she’d responded to touches, to his hardness, had
uncontrollably rubbed her lower body against his hard cock like a kitten in
heat. She made the sexiest little mewling sounds in the back of her throat.

And
that’s why she ran.

She
responded that little bit, rode his shaft for those infinite seconds, and she’d
liked it. But worse, so much worse in her mind was the fact she’d had an orgasm
and with little encouragement on his part. No woman climaxed that quickly and
with so little provocation unless she was starved for sex.

Well,
she could run, but she couldn’t hide.

There
was no way in hell he was giving up the upper hand he’d worked so hard and
surreptitiously to gain.

She
belonged to him, in ways she didn’t know, in ways she no longer belonged to
Danger—and never would again. He didn’t understand why the man had left her in
a weak position, utterly handing her over to him with his blessing like he no
longer loved her.

By
God, he wasn’t questioning his good luck or Danger’s idiocy any more.

Rafe
gargled and spat out the spearmint-flavored mouth rinse. Six months earlier he’d
set out on a campaign. He’d done things to Lacey he should never have done, but
the opportunities had been there, and he’d grabbed them with both hands each
and every time. He’d started a crusade to wear down her defenses. He was so
close now to bringing it to culmination, he wasn’t about to back off.

Rafe
had taken his time seducing Lacey. Winning her was too important to rush. Long
hours on stakeouts taught him patience. Taking his time was something he did
well, but the sample he’d had of Lacey in the barn whetted his appetite.

His
patience dangled by a thread. Months of foreplay had destroyed his nerves and
left them strung as tight as barbed wire. His body ached, but he’d known his
use of touch had always been his key to winning Lacey.

He
used it ruthlessly. Every chance he got, he tucked a stray curl behind her ear,
plucked an eyelash off her cheek, rubbed a smudge of dirt off her chin. A non-threatening
caress of her shoulder, a brush of his thumb across her wrist—he used
everything he could think of to his advantage. Touch. It was always about
touch, and the ultimate recipe for her seduction.

Shamelessly,
he’d listened for Danger to leave that morning to go collect the prisoner in
Havre. The sheriff hit the road around four-thirty, long before daylight. Rafe
made a point of rising right after Danger left.

Instead
of Lacey’s husband sharing breakfast with her, he had. He was still stunned
over the fact that Danger had taken off and left them alone. They had the house
to themselves, and he knew well that the Rimrock sheriff had no intention of
coming home any time soon. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Rafe wondered if
Danger planned to ever return, period.

He’d
seen something in his stark gray eyes the night before when the lawman said he
might have to get a room. Rafe had sensed the sheriff had other plans, and he’d
had them for quite awhile.

Danger’s
early departure set the final phase of Rafe’s plans in motion. He didn’t
hesitate to start the day off spending every available minute with Lacey.
“Morning, Lace.”

She
turned with a cup of coffee in her hands, a faint smile on her face that slowly
faded when she took in his drowsy appearance. He’d purposely left his shirt
unbuttoned. His hair was tousled with that just-got-out-of-bed look, his eyes
heavy-lidded. Deliberately, he’d left the top button of his jeans unfastened.
They rode low on his hips.

He
saw her gaze trace the arrow of dark hair that worked its way into the
waistband of his jeans.

“Morning.”
She turned her back on him, but he knew she hadn’t missed a single detail about
his appearance. “You want coffee?”

Even
after clearing her throat, her voice still sounded husky. Sexy. Nervous.

He
reached above her head for a coffee cup, nudging her rear with hard thighs.
“Oops,
sorry. Yeah, I’d kill for a cup
of your coffee. So, Danger took off for Havre?” He filled his cup, took a sip,
and headed to the table, never letting on he’d bumped her deliberately.

“Mmm,”
she replied around a swallow of coffee. “He just left.” She busied herself with
making breakfast for them. All the little things throughout the day slowly
awakened her to his masculinity.

Yet
he’d spread his attack on her senses far enough apart over the six-month
campaign, and except for the incident in front of the fireplace the night
before, nothing could possibly have struck her as out of kilter, until it was
too late and it all came together, maybe added up in the barn when she lay sprawled
on top of him.

Even
then, he didn’t think she realized he’d made her body so acutely sensitive to
his, that he’d patiently taught her to accept his innocent caresses, but in
doing so, he’d created a raging fire in his balls.

Rafe
heard her now, hurrying down the hall. She probably thought she’d make it to
her bedroom before she had to face him again. Maybe hide out in there for the
rest of the night. It wasn’t going to work. He had no intention of allowing her
to escape so easily.

Stepping
out of the guest bathroom at the end of the hall, he halted, as though
surprised to see her there. “Oh, Lace, I’m sorry, I thought you were in the
kitchen putting the finishing touches on the turkey.”

She
froze. Her gaze raked over him, first meeting his eyes, then shying away, only
to settle briefly on his mouth as if she was remembering the taste of his
kisses in the barn. She licked her lips. Her gaze flickered across the width of
his chest, then landed on the towel knotted at his waist. She didn’t go past
the knot, but swallowed hard and lifted her head to meet his steady gaze. “No,
I uh—” she cleared her throat, “yes, I–I mean yes, I’m finished. Everything’s
on the table, but uh, Danger called, and he uh, definitely isn’t…he isn’t
coming home. He’s, uh, icy roads, and he–he…got a room. I…made a salad and was…just—”
She exhaled a long breath. “An–and Anna Leigh isn’t bringing Joseph. Their
drive is solid ice. Sh–she can’t make it up their drive.”

Rafe
hid a smile. Nervous. She was so damn nervous. He saw the uncertainty in her
eyes, the certain knowledge it was just him and her, alone for hours—man and
woman, both ravenously hungry for sex. How else could it end except with him
buried inside her?

Unfortunately,
he was about to make her even more edgy. He folded his arms across his chest.
“That so?”

He
deliberately glanced at his crotch, drawing her gaze with his. Rafe quickly
looked up and acted as embarrassed as she over the fact the front of the towel stood
out with an obvious tent. “Yeah, I’ll…just hurry to my room and get dressed.
I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes.” He hadn’t left her a choice
about returning to the kitchen to join him.

She
flattened herself against the wall as he started past her, but still, he was in
her space, up close and personal, and he knew, even though he didn’t touch her,
she was aware of his bare chest and the hard-on he sported.

Slipping
inside his room, he pushed the door closed, but made certain it didn’t catch.
While he pretended to rummage through his bag for clothes, he dropped the
towel, turned, and acted as if he wasn’t aware she still hugged the wall in the
hallway with full view to his room.

He
flashed a full frontal at her. He was in high form, so fucking hard he was
about ready to drop to his knees and beg her to sleep with him. Not daring to
look up, he slowly pushed the door shut in an absent-minded way, as if he was
distracted, and had no clue she stood there gaping open-mouthed at his dick.

But
he heard her sharp intake of air, listened to her hurried footsteps turn toward
the kitchen. He’d given her an eyeful and something to think about. Rafe smiled
and glanced at his throbbing cock. Without being conceited, he knew he was
hung. Even when soft, his dick hung heavy over his balls, thick and broad at
the tip.

Sometimes
women flat-out refused him sex because of his generous size. There were some
females who couldn’t take what God blessed him with.

Rafe
finished dressing, at least as much as he planned to dress, and went in search
of Lacey. He found her in the kitchen. He smiled. He could honestly say Lacey
was one of the few women he’d ever known whose heart was in her kitchen.

She’d
set the table for the two of them.

A
richly browned turkey rested on a decorative platter. The delicious aroma of
spicy dressing teased his nostrils. Although he didn’t think it was deliberate
on her part, Lacey had made the dressing the way he liked it, with lots of
fragrant sage. A bowl of mashed potatoes, brown gravy, and a Frito salad
rounded off the meal. Two pies set to one side, a pumpkin and a pecan.

And
Jesus, she’d baked two cakes, too, an orange slice and a Mississippi Mud.

It
all looked wonderful and smelled heavenly, but who the hell did she think was
going to eat all this food? None of the holiday dinner appealed to him the way
she did. His gut clenched. He rubbed an unsteady hand over his heart, a heart
that ached with love for her. There was no way he could sit down at the table
and pretend nothing had happened between them. He couldn’t go back to being
just a friend.

Rafe
sighed. This was it. Tonight. Now.

He
should have stayed in his room, or in the barn, and let her escape.

He
should never have gone looking for her, but he had—

Chapter Eight

Yes…It
became clear that the marriage had irretrievably broken down.

~Prince
Charles

Two Months Earlier

December 25, Thursday

6:45 p.m.

Lacey
tensed when she heard Rafe’s footsteps fall on the kitchen tile behind her.
Aware he’d come in search of her, she didn’t acknowledge his presence but
remained where she was, standing at the kitchen sink.

She
sipped hot chocolate and stared out the window. There wasn’t much to see
through the rivulets of condensation dribbling down the pane, except a watery
blur of her own reflection, but still she kept her back to him and stared into
the dark, frozen night. Tears trickled down her face. For a moment, she
wondered if she looked as sad as the windowpane. Oh, God, she was in so much
trouble.

How
had she reached this critical level in her life?

When
had it happened?

She
was married to a good man. Wasn’t she? Good, yes, but that didn’t mean he loved
her. Things had changed slowly between them, so slowly, she hadn’t realized
their love was dying.

What
happened to the love she and Danger once shared? She didn’t know. The one thing
she did know was Danger had pulled away from her months ago. He’d left her
vulnerable to another man, a man who’d shared more of her life in the last six
months than her husband had in over a year.

Her heart
thundered. Her pulse pounded. Between her thighs a wild hunger pulsed. Moisture
pooled. Her fingers curled around the cup. It took all her will to keep from
turning around, leaping on Rafe, tugging his zipper down, freeing his cock and
riding it until she lay limp with exhaustion. She hadn’t felt this out of
control in such a long time.

She
wondered if this day was ever going to end. The hours crawled by. Christmas day
had lasted forever. The aroma of roast turkey permeated the kitchen. Holiday
scents. Holiday foods. Family time. No family to share the wonders of the season
with—and a husband who preferred the cold, clinical atmosphere of a stuffy
motel room to spending Christmas with her. Her heart exploded with pain. Deep
in her soul, she knew Danger never planned to come home tonight. So that meant
he’d deliberately left her alone with a man who wanted to have sex with her.

Her
husband had purposely left her needy for months. What did he think would
happen? Worse, what did he
want
to
happen? More importantly, why had he done this to her? Had Danger chosen Rafe
because he thought she was attracted to the Texan or was something else going
on in her husband’s mind?

She
didn’t fear Rafe. The idea he’d hurt her was totally foreign to her. She didn’t
believe that at all. Lacey frowned. She didn’t know the truth of the matter,
but her womanly intuition told her Danger knew exactly how Rafe felt, and her
husband didn’t care enough about her to give a shit if she slept with his
friend or not, and that broke her heart into tiny pieces.

Inside, her
stomach clenched. Somewhere, she’d done something terribly wrong and lost her
husband’s love and respect. Oh, God. Yes. She’d done something terribly wrong
that very afternoon. She’d let Rafe kiss her. Touch her intimately. She still
felt his hands on her ass, his mouth on her breasts. Still felt the way her
nipples tightened when he suckled them. To her everlasting shame, she wanted to
feel it all again.

Deep
inside, her heart quivered like a mass of jelly. She was starved for the feel
of a man’s arms around her, a man’s body thrusting inside her. It had been
months since Danger even bothered to kiss her, let alone make love to her.

She
straightened her shoulders. One thing her husband had made absolutely clear, he
didn’t want or love her anymore. Acceptance of what she couldn’t change settled
on her shoulders. Damn it, she was no different than any other human. She
needed love, needed to be loved. She needed to touch and be touched. Tears spilled
down her face. She needed the words softly spoken between lovers, the whispers
in the night, the touches, the sighs. She needed—to feel Rafe inside her.

“It’s
still snowing.” Quickly, Lacey swiped away the evidence of her crying. Damned
if she was shedding anymore tears over Danger. He’d literally thrown her away.
“I can see the flakes falling underneath the light out by the barn.”

“I
know.”

* * *
*

Lacey’s shoulders
tensed. Her back stiffened. Rafe knew she saw his reflection in the window. He
remained in the doorway between the living room and kitchen, hesitant to
approach her. He’d heard the tears in her voice. His heart squeezed. He didn’t
think he could bear to see her cry. He should back away.

Rafe
ordered himself to turn around, pack his bags, and no matter the weather, get
the hell outta here. But he couldn’t take the first step away from her.
Instead, he moved closer. Halfway across the kitchen, he hesitated. He stood
there shirtless, barefoot, his jeans riding low on his hips, and he waited for
her to make up her mind if she wanted him.

The
hunger lashed at him, a tight knot in his belly that clenched and unclenched in
raw spasms. He watched her for the longest time, so hungry for a taste of her
he started to shake. Hell, he wasn’t seducing her. She’d seduced him a long
time ago.

He’d
never been nervous when it came to sex. This time was different. This woman
meant everything to him. When he touched her, he wanted it to feel perfect to
her. Rafe held out a hand and watched it shake. Jesus. He was scared. Scared of
saying the wrong thing, terrified he wouldn’t please her or he’d frighten her
away.

He
dropped his arm to his side. Seeing how pale her reflection looked in the
window, he thought he might die of a broken heart if she rejected him. Rafe had
never been the type of man who tiptoed around on eggshells, afraid they’d smash
to smithereens if he stepped on them too hard. With Lacey, he was already
shattered inside, a hopeless wreck of twisted nerves. The fear of losing her
felt like his soul had been cut through with a sharp knife.

He
tried to gain control of his roiling emotions. If he didn’t slow down, it would
all be over before it started. Rafe studied the way her jeans tightened when
she stretched to put something in the cabinet. Busy. She kept herself busy
avoiding the truth. Avoiding him. Denying what Danger had done to both of them.

His
burning gaze studied her heart-shaped ass, the ass he’d cupped in his hands a
few hours ago. No wonder he stayed hard when he was around her. She had the
most delicious rear he’d ever seen in a pair of tight-fitting jeans.

Every
time he was a guest in Lacey and Danger’s home, he stayed semi-erect and
restless as a jungle cat in search of a mate. Worse, he knew Lacey had thought
of him as a friend, up until last night, up until the moment he’d let her know she
aroused him, up until he’d kissed her and touched her in the barn—

He’d
rubbed the illusion from her head. Until then, she hadn’t fully comprehended
the depth of his feelings for her or how vulnerable she was to him. Rafe
frowned. Hell, he was still trying to understand why Danger left his wife to him
to do whatever he willed. If
he
was
having trouble wrapping his mind around it, he could only imagine the hurt and
confusion going on inside her.

Rafe
clenched his fingers. God, he just wanted to hold her. Pet her. Comfort her.
Rock her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be all right, when he
knew perfectly well it was never going to be all right again.

He
was in such deep shit here. He’d done some stupid things in his life, but
falling in love with a woman who belonged to another man was at the top of his
list of idiot acts for the single white male.

Rubbing
a hand down his face, Rafe swore softly.

He
was under no illusions. If he ever made love to Lacey, he was feral enough to
fight Danger for her when the time came. He would not relinquish an inch of
ground.

For
now, he and Lacey were alone. They were going to be alone for many hours. He
was damn glad, and he couldn’t find it in his heart to feel any regrets for
what he knew was going to happen between them. Soon.

“Lacey?”

Turning
round to face him, she eyed him, clearly skittish. Soft color stained her
cheeks. She stared back at him. Tears welled into her eyes. Her lips quivered.
“Rafe.”

Her
gaze slid away from his bare chest. He saw her breasts rise and fall in
agitation. He made her nervous. She made him hungry.

“You
know?”

She
shook her head in denial. “Please. Don’t. You’re Danger’s friend.”

“No.
I stopped being his friend months ago.”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t
what? Tell you I love you? I’m never going to stop telling you that. I love
you. I do, but then you know it already. Don’t you?”

“Yes.”
She was all gold eyes and hair that hung to her hips in variegated streaks of
sunshine and honey. She held onto a cup as if it was a lifeline. “I know.”

She
didn’t speak another word. He wasn’t certain if she was acknowledging the fact
he loved her, or acknowledging the fact she was about to break her wedding vows
and let him make love to her, or both. She stood there, her breasts heaving,
and waited for him to make his move.

Rafe
crossed the short distance between them, until he stood right in front of her.
She took a step back and bumped up against the sink counter behind her. There
was no place left for her to run. No more time to deny what had built over the
months between them. He wasn’t giving her more time. She’d bolt like a runaway
mare.

Sliding
his hand down her shoulder, he paused at the soft curve of her right breast,
rubbed his palm across her tight nipple, then slowly took the cup of hot
chocolate from her hands and set it aside.

“I’m
in love with you, Lacey. I’m so damn in love with you I can’t think straight. I
can’t eat. I can’t sleep. Hell, I walk around with an erection nearly all the
time. I haven’t touched a woman in three years.” He cupped the sides of her
face. “I haven’t wanted any woman but you for so long. You don’t have to be
afraid…I won’t hurt you. I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to, but you
need to know that, know how I feel.”

“Rafe,
I—” She hesitated, swallowed hard, and rested her palms against his bare chest.
Her fingers curled in his chest hair.

With
just that light touch, his nipples tightened. His balls squeezed and throbbed.

“I
don’t think I can do this. I—”

He
took her hands, pressed his mouth to her fingers and slowly pushed his arousal
against her mound. They fit together. Male. Female. Perfect alignment. “You
aren’t doing this. I am.”

And
Danger was.

Danger
had set the scene like a director on a movie set. In a way, the man had set up
both of them. Rafe didn’t care. He’d take what he could get any way he could
get it. “Give me this night,” he whispered. “That’s all I ask of you. One
night. I’ll leave in the morning. I promise I’ll never come back, if that’s
what you want.”

She
stared at him. Her lovely gold eyes lost their luster. In its place, sadness
filled her eyes, that and guilt. She looked down, refusing to meet his steady
gaze. “I can’t, Rafe. Please don’t ask me to be unfaithful. Please,” she
whispered. “I’ve already done enough to Danger. I–I—let you kiss me, touch me.
In my heart, I’ve been unfaithful. I—”

“I
know you’re married, sweetheart. I know you don’t take your marriage vows
lightly. Wanting you is wrong, I realize that, but it doesn’t prevent me from
getting a hard-on every time I’m near you. It doesn’t stop me wanting to kiss
you or wanting to sleep with you or loving you with each breath I draw.” He
lifted her chin, forced her to look at him. Slowly, he traced her eyebrows with
a trembling fingertip. So soft. Silky. “Would you give yourself to me…just this
once? I’ll never ask you again. I need you. I need the memory of you in my arms
just once in my life.”

“I
can’t do what you ask of me.” Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her
face.

The
ache he felt at his loss twisted his guts. “I envy Danger your love. I do.” He
brushed a tiny gold curl behind her ear. “I wish he deserved it. I’m not asking
you to leave him. I’m not asking for your love. I’m asking for one night in
your arms, then we’ll take it from there.”

“Rafe.”

“Please?
I’ve never begged before, but I’m begging you for tonight.”

“Rafe.”

“You
don’t have to worry. If it comes down to facing Danger with the truth, I’ll
tell him. I won’t let you face him alone. One night, Lacey. Give me one night.”

“Please,
let me go.”

He
dropped his hands to his sides and closed his eyes for the longest moment, before
facing his defeat. Slowly he opened his eyes, but the ache in his heart hadn’t
magically disappeared. His mind felt shattered, but he couldn’t deny he’d known
her answer all along. She didn’t take marriage lightly.

Rafe
lowered his head, raked trembling fingers through his hair. “All right, I’ll
leave, sweetheart. I’ll wait for you for as long as it takes. I’ll wait until
you’re ready.”

He
should have left then, gone to his room, packed his bags, and asked her to
drive him to the airport.

But
he hadn’t voiced the words. He couldn’t.

He
wasn’t ready to accept defeat yet.