Heartstealer (Women of Character3 (5 page)

Jerkily, she sifted through her
clothes. Her hand bumped her bottle of allergy medicine, sending it flying onto
the floor, hitting her in the ankle.

"Ouch! Darn." Grabbing
the first thing that came to hand, she shoved her arms into the sleeves and
belted the short robe around her waist.

She moved closer to the door,
fingers nervously pleating the thin material of her robe. It was dark outside
and she couldn't see a thing.

"Who is it?" she called.

"Sloan," came the terse
reply.

"Damn, damn, damn," she
muttered, looking around. She shrugged resignedly. "Oh, what the
heck."

Leaning forward, she turned the
knob and stepped back. "Come on in, the door's unlatched." She moved
back toward the couch.

The door swung inward, admitting
Sloan. In his hands he carried a tray with covered dishes. He pushed the door
closed with the heel of his boot and walked past her, throwing her a quick
glance as he placed the tray on the small kitchen table.

Bemused, she came up behind him and
peered around him at the tray. For a moment the tang of horses and outdoors
held her close to him. His scent, mingled with the food, made her mouth water.
She stepped back quickly when he straightened.

"What's this?" she asked
hastily and then laughed. "I mean―I just didn't expect it."

"Policy, ma'am, we don't let
our guests go hungry." There was the slightest of grins molding his lips.

She couldn't resist looking under
the largest cover. "Mmm, London Broil." Her stomach emitted an
annoyingly loud growl. He pulled out a chair and invited her to sit.
Self-consciously, she touched the lapel of her robe. "I―I really
should get changed, that is, I just got out of the shower."

"Don't change on my account,
I'm leaving." Indeed, he was backing toward the door, hat behind him in
one hand.

On sudden impulse, she blurted,
"Why don't you stay?" She bit her lip as his surprised glance shot up
to her. No one was more surprised than her. The words had surely sprung from
her lips all by themselves. She shrugged nonchalantly. "There's enough
here for three people."

He looked at the plate and then at
her. "That depends on your appetite," he said as he continued to
study her. She knew what he saw. Her hair, tied in a careless knot, threatened
at any moment to free itself, and her feet were bare. She rubbed her neck.

"I don’t blame you. I
don’t have any makeup on."

"Thank you, ma'am, but
actually I’ve already eaten and I have a couple horses to see to."
He hesitated beside the door.

"Please call me Jacie. You did
earlier." She sat, her shaking fingers playing with the napkin. "I do
appreciate this. I didn't expect it, you know."

He pulled the door open. "Like
I said, we don't like our guests missing meals." His lips curved upward
and his voice dropped provocatively. "As it is, you look like a strong
wind could blow you away."

She forced a mocking smile to her
lips. "I'm stronger than I look."

"Good night, Jacie." He
pulled the door closed and she stared after him, an unfamiliar yearning
tightening the muscles of her throat. He had such a darned sexy voice. It made
her want to get to know him. Maybe she could forget about her rotten luck with
men. Maybe she needed an affair. A smile curved her lips as she mulled over
that thought.

Jacie satisfied her immediate
appetite with the delicious dinner. Re-covering the now nearly empty plates,
she stood and crossed the room. On impulse, she pulled the front door open. The
porch decking felt rough and warm against her bare feet and a slight breeze
lifted the hem of her dressing gown.

She leaned against the waist-high
porch rail, loving the warm draft of air that swept past her. Her door slammed
closed.

"Great. Now all I need is to
be nearly naked and locked out," she muttered. To her relief, the doorknob
turned easily in her hand, yet she froze. Sucking in her breath, she saw
exactly what Sloan must have seen earlier as he stood at her door. The lace
curtains were insubstantial, a mere decoration. Anyone standing outside the
door with the lights on inside could see directly into the living room.

Where she had stood stark naked.

"You look like a strong wind
could blow you away."

She groaned, but then had to laugh.
Hopefully Sloan wasn’t under the impression it was on purpose. Trust her
to make a great impression.

Early the next morning Jacie slid
from her horse’s back and looked up at the waterfall in wonder. Almost
hidden in the woods, it fell about a hundred feet, splashing onto ragged
bluestone with a small pool at its base. One of the ranch's employees,
Michelle, had taken a group of them out on a horseback ride to show them the
riding trails their first morning at Timber Falls.

Three of them had elected to come,
she and vacationers Leo and his wife, MaryAnn, whom she met at breakfast. They
occupied the cabin closest to hers. The other couple, John and Emma, had decided
to stay beside the pool.

"He'll ground tie,"
Michelle called to Jacie now, pointing to her horse. "Just drop the
reins."

She allowed the reins of her mount
to trail to the ground, then knelt and dipped her hand into the cool water.
With a delighted squeal, she cupped her hands and lifted them, letting the cool
water run down her face and neck.

"Nice, huh?" Michelle
queried with a grin. She had dismounted and now stood beside Jacie. "Boy,
is it hot." Michelle pushed her wide-brimmed hat off her head. Sweat
dampened her curly, dark hair.

"Any possibility I could stay
here awhile?" Jacie asked. "I can’t believe this is out in the
middle of nowhere."

Michelle's dark eyes shifted a
moment to where Jacie's hand rested on her outstretched leg. She nodded.
"Sure, I guess so. We'll be back around this way after a bit. Once
everyone's familiar with the layout of the ranch, you can arrange your own
rides."

"I'd love that."

Michelle grabbed a handful of water
and splashed it on her own face. With water running down her neck and dampening
her T-shirt, she grinned at her. "Great idea. That feels much
better."

"Is it okay to take a
dip?" she asked Michelle.

The other girl gave her a wicked
grin. "Sure. If I didn’t have to work I’d join you." She
bent close to Jacie. "Be quick about it though. We’ll be back in
half an hour." Michelle remounted her horse and led the other riders up
the hill.

Jacie sat at the edge of the pool
and pulled her boots off. Tentatively, she dipped her hot feet in the water.
The coldness was a shock and a bit of heaven. The sun was sweltering today.

When the sound of the horses died
away, there remained only the cooing of mourning doves and the nonstop splash
and gurgle of the water. A small creature scurried in the underbrush but
remained out of sight. She had wakened earlier to the sound of dove’s
cooing outside her bedroom window. It had felt so incredible, lying in bed,
listening to the unfamiliar sounds. No cars honking or people in the street
below her apartment as they made their way to work.

She looked at the top of the falls,
marveling at the continuous splash of water over the rock ledges. She could
feel the cool spray filming her skin.

Her jeans and T-shirt stuck to her
as she stared at the temptation of the water. She checked her watch. Twenty-five
minutes left. Never one to hesitate, she shucked her jeans and T-shirt. In her
underwear, she stepped into the water. It covered her ankles and then her knees
as she stepped further along the firm mud bottom. She ducked down and sucked in
her breath when the icy water covered the heated skin of her stomach.

She dog-paddled to the heart of the
waterfall. Here, the water was deeper and over her breasts. She lifted her
face, enjoying the gentle pummel of the water. It made her feel lighthearted.
Her laughter bounced off the rocks and echoed back to her.

Jacie put her back to the falls and
looked at her horse. He stood with his ears perked alertly forward, looking
toward the hill. She didn't see anyone and at this point didn’t care if
they came back early. She lifted her hands and embraced the gentle flow of the
water, letting it stream down her body. It felt glorious.

Without warning, something hard
glanced off her upper arm and then plopped into the water. With a muffled
squeal, she stumbled back, lost her footing on the mud bottom and the water
closed over her head.

Surfacing, she felt something brush
her right breast. Hard hands gripped her under the armpits and pulled her up.
Panicked, she drew in a deep gulp of air mixed with water, trying to find the
bottom with her toes. Coughing, she stared in amazement at Sloan. Fully
clothed, he stood in front of her, his hands holding her under the armpits.

"What are you doing?" she
demanded when she could talk.

"Are you all right?" His
features looked strained, his mouth compressed to a white line. He lowered her
until her feet touched bottom and released her as she gained her balance.
"I saw you go down. I thought you couldn’t get up."

"I’m okay, although I'm
not sure what happened." She rubbed her eyes to clear the water away. She
coughed again, conscious of a prickling sensation on her arm. Lifting her arm
to look at it she was surprised to see a swelling on the skin up near her
shoulder. "It’s cut."

Sloan stared at the area that had
begun to purple around a jagged cut. "That looks like a fresh cut. Come on
out and let me check it." He grabbed her hand and pulled her forcefully
toward the rim of the pool.

"Wait a second," she
protested, "Something hit me."

He looked at her. "Something
hit you?" He looked up toward the top of the falls. "I suppose a rock
could have worked its way loose," he said shortly, stepping out of the
pool. He turned back to her and tugged her up the bank. She noticed then his
horse stood close beside her own.

"I didn’t see you
come."

"I didn’t know anyone
was in the water until I saw the splash as you went under."

She stared back at him, bemused as
water gushed from his clothes. "You're not exactly dressed for a
swim," she said, unable to contain a burst of laughter, then she quickly
sobered. "Your clothes and boots will get ruined."

He scowled. Standing on one foot he
removed a boot, upended it so the water could flow out and did the same for the
other. "They've been through worse," he muttered, sitting down on a
large rock. He pulled the boots back on then stood and stomped his heels down.
"What happened?"

She quickly grabbed her T-shirt and
pulled it over her head, aware that her underwear clung to her as if she were
naked. "I didn't hear anything. I was under the waterfall."

Sloan looked to the top of the
falls. "You wouldn’t hear anything with all the noise the water
makes. It’s kind of puzzling considering the creeks are low. I can't
imagine how a rock worked its way to the edge."

She pushed her head through the
shirt. "One minute I'm enjoying the water and the next thing I know
something hits me." The bruising had now turned a deeper purple.

"Come to the lodge and get
something on that. Part of it's raw. Does it hurt?" Moving closer, he
gently pressed around the cut. "It looks pretty clean."

She pulled her arm away, disturbed
by his touch. "It's only a scratch. It'll be fine."

"Scratches can get infected.
It should be cleaned with peroxide and ice put on the swelling."

She dropped to a flat rock.
"Thanks for pulling me out," she said, working her pants up over her
wet legs. "It was a bit scary not being able to get my footing. How did
you happen to be here?"

He gave her a quick head-to-toe
appraisal. She wondered if he was reassuring himself she didn’t have
other injuries or was he just checking her out in her underwear? She discarded
the latter notion. Sloan wasn’t the type of guy to sneak a peek.

"I met up with Michelle and
the others," he said. "She mentioned you were here so I rode back
this way."

She felt the deep-voiced drawl sink
to her bones. She noticed now he was dressed in a black T-shirt under an
equally dark denim shirt. As she watched he pulled the tails of his shirt from
his pants, unbuttoned the shirt and pulled it off. The T-shirt underneath
pulled up, exposing the tanned expanse of a flat stomach before he pulled it
back down. The wet material molded to each muscle and contour. Her mouth went
dry, thinking he’d make a great entry in a wet T-shirt contest.

"What do you need from
me?" She cleared her throat and resisted the urge to cross her arms
self-consciously over her breasts where her bra had soaked through. "Why
did you want to see me anyway?" she asked crisply.

"James needs your skydiving
schedule. He wanted me to remind you."

Feeling she needed to get her
thoughts and eyes off this man, she stretched along the rock and pulled her
socks and boots toward her. "I have it at the cabin. I forgot to drop it
at the office this morning."

"It's lucky I came
along," he said. "You could really have been hurt."

"I appreciate the help, but I
was getting my footing when you pulled me up. I hope you're not mad at
Michelle. I asked her to let me stay here."

She sensed those light eyes missed
nothing as they swept over her once again. She flicked him an unconcerned
glance, telling herself she could handle his scrutiny. "Michelle gave us
the general tour."

"It's standard
procedure," he acknowledged. "After tomorrow, you're on your own, if
that's the way you like it. If not, we can accommodate you."

Her breath came quickly. She
wondered why she took everything he said so personally. Accommodate. That word
alone she didn't want to think about in relation to this man.

Jerkily, she stood, shaking her
legs, trying to get her pant legs straightened out where they clung to her wet
skin. "I don't mind being on my own." She ignored the fact that her
underpants would soak through her jeans as her bra had her T-shirt. The man
never looked away, never batted an eyelash. She had four brothers, for heaven's
sakes, surely one man couldn't rile her! But she knew he did. Whatever this
attraction between them he had the power to make her nervous.