A Match Made in Texas (21 page)

“I guess they expect you to work for the company,” he said.

She parted his knees and stepped between them. “No. They expect me to get married to some wealthy man they approve of and lead the nice, quiet life of a Southern lady.”

He laughed, and when she shot him an irritated look, he held up a hand. “Sorry, but I can’t see you leading a nice, quiet anything. And I didn’t realize that Southern ladies have pirate tattoos and a fetish for handcuffs.”

With one rather vicious snip, she cut off a piece of his hair. “I don’t have a fetish for handcuffs.” When he lifted his brows, she added, “I’m just curious, is all.”

He took the scissors from her hand and set them down on the nightstand before he pulled her close. “And I’m more than willing to satisfy your curiosity.” He nipped at her bottom lip. “But maybe we should set some ground rules. Just what do you want me to do to you once I have you handcuffed? Would you like me to do a little strip search?” He drew a line down to her belly button and dipped inside. “Or maybe you had a little corporal punishment in mind.”

In the sunlight that spilled through the window, he watched her pupils dilate.

“Corporal punishment?” she squeaked.

It was hard to keep from smiling. “Nothing too harsh, mind you.” His hand slid over her hip. “Just something to remind you who’s in control. Who’s the boss.” He drew back his hand and smacked her bottom.

She flinched, and her eyes registered surprise before they filled with so much heat that Dusty sucked in his breath. He had just been teasing her, but now the joke was on him.

Her tongue came out and licked over her top lip. “I guess we could try a little corporal punishment.”

Sweet Lord.

With a groan, he fell back on the bed, pulling her on top of him. But just when his lips settled over hers, she pulled away.

“What’s that?”

He listened for only a second. “It’s just a helicopter. They’re probably switching out agents.” He tried to coax her lips back to his, but she wasn’t having it. She sat up and stared at the window.

“This early?”

Dusty glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was pretty early to be switching out agents. But who else could it be? Brianne answered the question only a moment later when she got up and looked out the window.

“Holy crap!” she said as she hurried back to the bed. She scrambled around in the covers until she found her nightshirt. She slipped it over her head, then scurried around collecting Dusty’s clothes. “Quick.” She juggled his clothes in one hand and used the other to try to pull him to his feet. “You need to hide.”

“Hide?” He got to his feet and followed after her, trying to make sense out of her sudden hysteria. The only answer that came to him was one that really pissed him off.

He tugged her to a stop. “You lied about your boyfriend, didn’t you? You’re still together. And he isn’t stalking you as much as trying to locate his runaway girlfriend. Or are you his fiancée?”

“No!” She shook her head and tried to pull him forward. “That’s not it, at all. It’s not a boyfriend I’m worried about as much as my big—” The doorknob twisted, and Brianne’s eyes got even bigger. “You didn’t lock the door?”

For a little thing, she was strong. Before he could answer her, she shoved him into the closet, tossed in his clothes, and slammed the door in his face. He stood there stunned for a few seconds, until a loud voice boomed out.

“Just what the hell is going on, Brianne? I send you here to stay out of trouble, and you bring it with you.”

Another masculine voice chimed in. “Give it a rest, Brant. It’s not Willie’s fault that some crazy drug lord is running around.”

Brianne’s big brothers.
That would explain her hurry to get Dusty out of sight. What brother would understand catching his little sister in bed with some stranger? Not that her brothers and Dusty were strangers. They’d talked on more than one occasion. But they still weren’t close enough to keep the oldest Cates from kicking his ass.

Dusty moved farther into the closet and started getting dressed, wondering how long he’d have to hole up in there. It was one hell of a mess he found himself in. But he was no longer going to beat himself up over it. He was attracted to Brianne. What man wouldn’t be? And as long as things didn’t get out of control, he couldn’t see where it would hurt anything. Obviously, she wanted to keep their relationship under wraps as much as he did.

He had just started to snap his shirt when he felt a cool draft. He turned to see where it was coming from and was surprised to see Starlet Brubaker step out from between a row of dresses. He recognized her immediately but couldn’t figure out what she was doing in the closet.

Unaware that he was standing there, she pulled a step stool out from under the dresses and climbed up on it, carefully holding up the hem of her long dress. This one was green velvet that seemed to be busting at the seams.

“Where did I put it?” she whispered under her breath as she pushed aside the hatboxes on the top shelf.

Not sure how to alert her of his presence without startling her, he watched in silence as she started to get down. Unfortunately, the front of her gown got caught on a nail that protruded from the shelf. As she tried to get it unhooked, her eyes shifted over to him.

She released a gasp and lost her footing on the step stool. There was a loud rip as she fell backward, bumping the shelf with her flailing arms and sending hatboxes flying. Dusty made a dive for her and caught her just as the door of the closet opened.

Three sets of identical blue eyes looked back at him.

“What the hell is going on?” Brant’s voice boomed. His sharp gaze took in Dusty’s lack of clothing and Starlet’s ripped bodice, and he didn’t wait for a reply. As soon as Dusty set Starlet on her feet, a fist plowed into his jaw, sending him reeling back into the row of dresses.

“No!” Brianne yelled just as Starlet jumped in between Dusty and Brant.

“It’s not like that, Uncle Brant,” Starlet said. “All he did was catch me when I fell off the ladder.”

Brant studied Starlet. “What were you doing in Miss Hattie’s closet on a ladder?”

Her brown eyes got as big as saucers, and her face flamed a bright red. “Well… I was just…”

“I think we can figure that out.” The youngest Cates brother entered the closet. Dusty had met Beckett at Jenna Jay and Beau’s wedding. He was a studious-looking young man with intelligent eyes. Hopefully, he would be the voice of reason. That didn’t turn out to be the case.

“There’s no reason to beat him to a pulp, Brant,” Beckett said. “It didn’t look to me like the kid was fighting off his advances.”

“I’m not a kid,” Starlet huffed.

Beckett gave her the once-over, hesitating on the swell of her breast that pushed through the rip in her dress. “No, I guess not.” He looked back at Brant. “The crazy, repressed prom queen didn’t look like she was fighting him off.”

Starlet released an agitated squeak. “Being a repressed prom queen is better than being a nerdy Einstein.” She brushed past Beckett and out the closet door.

Once she was gone, Dusty figured it was now up to him to explain things. And the only way he could see to do it was to tell the truth.

“I wasn’t here in the closet because of Starlet. I was here because of—”

“The secret passage!” Brianne cut him off. Although Dusty didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. It didn’t take her long to use visual aids. She hurried over and pushed some long dresses out of the way to reveal an opened door that led into a dimly lit passageway. “Obviously, Dusty stumbled on the secret passageway and followed it here.” She flapped a hand at the step stool. “Where he startled Starlet while she was looking for something.”

Brant’s eyes narrowed, but he took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. “And what are you doing here in the first place, Sheriff Hicks?”

Before he could answer, Brianne jumped back in. “He’s protecting me and the hens, of course. Yes, I know the house is surrounded by federal agents, but everyone knows that local law enforcement has never trusted federal law enforcement.”

It took only a second for Brant’s shoulders to relax and a semi-smile to tip the corners of his mouth. “Then I guess I owe you an apology, Sheriff.” He held out his hand. “Starlet is like a daughter to me, and I can’t help but be a little overprotective.”

Dusty shook his hand. “I understand completely. It was a pretty incriminating situation I found myself in.”

“Crazy things happen,” Brianne said with a relieved smile.

Beckett didn’t say anything. He just studied Dusty with intense blue eyes.

“Well, why don’t we go downstairs and have ourselves some breakfast,” Brant said. “I’d like to talk to you about what’s being done to apprehend Alejandro.” He glanced down at Dusty’s pink boxer briefs. “Although you might want to go back to your room and get dressed first.”

Since there was no help for it, Dusty only nodded and turned to the door at the back of the closet. Before he ducked through, he looked back to see Brant holding out a robe for Brianne. She didn’t even spare him a glance as she pulled it on and tied the sash around her waist.

Dusty didn’t know why he had the sudden urge to turn right back around and kiss her senseless. Maybe because he didn’t like the fact that she could dismiss him so easily. Or maybe it was because he couldn’t seem to dismiss her. Everything, from her messed dark hair to the tips of her blue-painted toes, reminded him of their night of passion. And even standing in the cold draft, he felt hot and needy.

All he wanted was one look from her to say she felt the same. He didn’t get it. The only one who shot him a curious look was Brant, which caused Dusty to step through the door and pull it closed behind him. He waited for what felt like forever before he reopened the door and walked into the empty closet to retrieve the rest of his clothes. He planned to update Brant on Alejandro, but he wasn’t staying around for breakfast.

Lusting after Brianne in front of the hens was one thing. Lusting after her in front of her brothers was something else entirely. He had just grabbed his boots when the closet door opened, and Beckett stepped in holding his hat and holster.

The young man was so serious that it was hard to read him. Although there was a teasing note in his voice as he held out Dusty’s gun.

“I figure if you’re going to protect my sister, you might need this.”

Chapter Twenty-two

“A
RE YOU LISTENING TO ME,
Bri?”

“Of course, I’m listening to you, Brant,” Bri said. But she wasn’t listening. She was watching Dusty, who stood in the driveway talking with some of the federal agents. His shirt was even more wrinkled than it normally was, and his jeans hugged his fine butt like melted butter on one of Baby’s cinnamon rolls. One of the agents said something, and Dusty glanced back at the house. For a brief second, the mirrored lenses pinned her before he turned and headed to his car.

A part of her wanted to run after him and apologize. Except she didn’t know what she wanted to apologize for. Possibly for treating him like a stranger since her brothers had arrived. But certainly he understood why. He had gotten a taste of Brant’s protectiveness. Still, she couldn’t help feeling guilty as she watched the cloud of dust disappear.

When she turned, Brant was still talking and Beckett was studying her with a curious look.

“What?” she mouthed, but he only shrugged and returned his gaze to Brant.

“… so I think we’re in the clear as far as your picture becoming a huge media scandal.” Brant glanced through a pile of mail on the desk. “So go pack your bags and you can come back with me and Beckett.” When Bri didn’t move, he glanced up. “What’s the matter, Bri? You’ve been acting strange ever since I got here.”

Bri looked away from her oldest brother’s piercing gaze and walked over to examine the books on the shelf. “I guess I’m just worried about the hens.” She ran a finger down the spine of
War and Peace
. “With Alejandro still on the loose, I don’t want to leave them all alone.”

“Alone?” Brant pointed at the window. “Have you looked outside? The house is surrounded by law officers. Besides, I plan on coming back after I drop you and Beckett off in Dogwood.”

Bri stepped closer to the desk. “But you shouldn’t have to leave Elizabeth and the kids. And I really don’t mind staying here a few more days.”

“And just what do you intend to do if Alejandro should make it past the federal agents?” He shook his head. “No, if the stubborn hens refuse to leave, I’ll come back and stay. At least until Alejandro is apprehended.”

“I’ll stay.”

Both Brant and Bri turned to Beckett as he rolled up from the couch. It looked as if he’d grown a good three inches in the last two months. He now was even taller than Brant. “Since I just finished setting up new computer software for the company,” he said, “I don’t have a lot to do right now. So why don’t you let me stay and keep an eye on things.”

Brant shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Beckett.”

Beckett’s shoulders stiffened. “Why? Because you think your geeky little brother won’t be able to protect the hens any better than Bri?”