Dillon's Claim (2 page)

Chapter Two

“Just so you know, if you hadn’t
come, I was never going to speak to you again,” Shannon “Shay” Piermont said,
tossing her shoulder-length brown hair back as she popped a roasted marshmallow
into her mouth.

Charissa smiled at her friend,
enjoying the warmth and the smoky scent of the big bonfire. “Sure you would
have. But I’m glad I saved myself the interrogation from you and Bridgette.”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t have gone
well.”

No, but luckily everything
else was going fine so far. Since that unnerving encounter with Dillon earlier,
she hadn’t seen him. At dinner she’d braced herself for the possibility of
bumping into him, but he hadn’t showed. Probably because he had a million
things to do for the ranch.

Mostly she’d been relieved,
but a disturbing stab of disappointment had left her feeling completely
confused. Why did part of her still want to be with him? Things were awkward enough
now. They’d crossed the friendship line a long time ago with those heated,
toe-curling kisses. Kisses so incredible they still made her panties wet
whenever she thought about them.

And she thought about them a
lot more than she should.

“I heard you saw Dillon
earlier.”

Charissa nodded. “Yep.”

“And? How’d it go?”

“Fine.”

Shay’s expression said she
didn’t believe it. “No fireworks?”

“Well, maybe some sparks,” she
admitted grudgingly.

“And? What are you going to do
about that?” Shay slid another marshmallow onto her stick.

“I don’t know—what are you
going to do about Dustin?” Charissa countered.

Shay turned wide blue eyes on
her. “What?”

“Oh, please. Like all of us
haven’t noticed the smoldering looks passing between the two of you? He’s
watching you from over there right now.” She cast a glance across the bonfire
where Dustin leaned against a tree trunk, close to his brother, Dane.

Grinning, Shay shrugged and got
busy toasting her next treat. “What can I say? You know the history between us.
Chemistry doesn’t go away just because you want it to.”

Wasn’t
that
the truth. She’d
felt that instant attraction with Dillon from day one, when Shay had first
introduced them. Seeing him today only confirmed that the pull between them was
as strong as ever. “Be nice if it did.”

Charissa sat at the fire for a
while longer, contemplating how she was going to handle things the next time
she bumped into Dillon. His kisses had cost her a lot more than her peace of
mind. They’d cost his friendship, and she hated that the most. She’d enjoyed
spending time with him. He was sweet beneath that macho alpha exterior,
dependable, and she admired his work ethic. His business smarts. But they
couldn’t go back to being just friends, and she didn’t have the nerve to
continue down the path they’d started on.

When one of the ranch hands
brought out a guitar for what she assumed was some sort of sing-along, Charissa
took it as her cue to leave. A quiet walk to collect her thoughts was just what
she needed before turning in for the night. With luck, the fresh night air
would help her sleep through the night without waking up from erotic dreams
about Dillon that left her body pulsing with sexual frustration.

With the singing and laughter at
the campfire fading behind her, she headed away from the lodge, past the corral,
and out across the range toward a distant copse of trees. A bright half-moon
and countless stars filled the inky sky, lighting her way. Partway to her
destination, Charissa stopped to close her eyes and take a deep breath, letting
all the residual tension about Dillon slide away. She sighed as she tipped her
head back, savoring the sound of the crickets singing in the grass. A warm
breeze blew over her, making the ends of her hair dance around her shoulders.

“Now that’s a pretty sight.”

She stiffened and whirled
around. Dillon stood a dozen yards behind her with his arms crossed over his
chest. Her heart tripped.

“You left the campfire awful
early.” His deep voice brushed over her starved senses like a caress.

“I just felt like going for a
walk. That okay?” She didn’t bother to hide the cool edge to her tone.

He shrugged his wide
shoulders. “Sure, it’s safe enough out here. Just don’t lose sight of the lodge
or you might get lost.”

She wasn’t an idiot. “I won’t.”

“I’ll walk with you if you
want.”

Nuh-uh.
“Thanks, but I don’t
want to keep you from your work. I know you must have a lot of things to get
done.”

One side of his mouth tipped
up in a sexy grin. A nonverbal
nice try
. “I’m done for the night. And I
can’t think of anything more enjoyable than walking in the moonlight with a
beautiful woman.”

The flirtatious comment made
her blush, but not because it was false flattery. Oh, Dillon could turn on the
charm easily enough when he wanted to, but she knew he meant every word he’d
just said. She opened her mouth to offer an excuse, but he cut her off.

“There was a time you thought
of me as a friend, at least,” he said softly. “I hope things haven’t changed between
us that much.”

A wave of guilt swept through
her. Walking away had been her choice. Damn him, for making her feel bad about
the way she’d handled things. She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her,
though. “Of course not.”

He jerked his chin over his
shoulder. “Come on, then.”

She almost chickened out and
made some excuse to leave. The challenging glint in his eyes stopped her. He
wanted to see if she’d take the bait? If he thought she wasn’t mature enough to
handle a civil conversation with him, he was sorely mistaken.

It was just a walk, she told
herself. No harm in that.

Biting back a sigh and
ignoring the warnings in her head, she turned and walked toward him, making
sure she had her arms wrapped around her waist so he wouldn’t try to take her arm
or hand. Dillon had impeccable manners, but she didn’t want him touching her,
even out of politeness. “So, where to?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”
The mantle of authority he wore was as natural to him as breathing. He might
have honed that trait during his time in the military where he’d served as an
officer, but she was willing to bet it had been there all along. His innate
confidence was one of the sexiest things about him.

She followed a step behind
him, and after a few minutes, she began to question the wisdom of her actions. They
were alone, heading farther and farther away from the lodge to some secluded
spot he had in mind. Probably not her best decision. Why was she torturing
herself this way?

Her gaze tracked longingly over
his wide, strong shoulders, down the muscular length of his back to the worn
denim hugging his hips. Hard to believe she’d once slid her hands over him,
feeling the raw power of his body beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. That
memorable experience was forever imprinted in her mind. It would have to be
enough.

“There,” he finally said,
pointing.

Up ahead, she spotted the shimmering
pond. When they reached it, Dillon laid his jacket on the ground next to a
large boulder and motioned for her to sit on it. He sank down beside her to gaze
out at the water while the breeze rippled the calm surface and the clouds
scuttled over the moon. The silence between them thickened and expanded until
her stomach was wound tighter than a spring. When she huddled deeper into her
sweater to ward off the slight chill in the air, he slanted an intense look at
her.

“Cold?”

“No.” Even if her teeth
started chattering, she’d still deny it. Otherwise, he’d exploit the
opportunity and use it as an excuse to pull her close, destroying what was left
of her resolve. All he had to do was touch her, and she’d turn to mush.

Dillon settled back against
the rock and stretched his long, muscular legs in front of him, his profile to
her. “So, what’ve you been up to all this time?”

“Work, mostly. Trained
everyone on some new software for our accounting department. I did some
fundraiser stuff for the hospital.”

He nodded. “Nothing else?”

She shrugged. “Nothing worth
mentioning. I guess you’ve got your hands full running this place while your
parents are away.”

“Yeah, and then some. They’re ready
to retire anyhow, so I pretty much run everything even when they are home.”

The safe topic of conversation
helped ease her anxiety. She could do this. Pretend they were friends and had
never been more than that. Maybe they could at least salvage their friendship.
She’d missed it. “Do you love it like you thought you would?”

“Most of the time.” His grin
was so charming she couldn’t help but smile back. “It’s a lot of work, but I
don’t want to see them have to sell the place. My brothers all help out, too.
We grew up here; it’s part of us.”

That was Dillon. Loyal to the
bone. Always there for the people he cared about.

He would have been there for
you, too, if you’d let him.

A sudden gust of wind made her
shiver, and she rubbed her hands over her arms to warm them.

“Change spots with me so I can
cut the wind for you.”

“No, it’s f—” She swallowed a
squeak when he snaked an arm around her waist and slid her toward him. The
effortless show of strength made her belly flip, the heat of his hand against
her waist burning through her shirt. It sank into her skin and sent little
tendrils of warmth to her hardening nipples, setting off a sudden throb between
her thighs. She put a hand on his hard shoulder to push him away, but he was
already moving.

Dillon’s thighs brushed hers
as he straddled her for a moment then swung over her to settle against her wind-exposed
side. The feel of his powerful body pressed against hers made her heart pound
and reminded her exactly why she’d run far and fast from him. When she tried to
wriggle away to put some space between them, he stopped her with a hard arm
across her shoulders.