Heartstealer (Women of Character3 (28 page)

It had been an awful risk letting
her go back down that ledge. He felt as if he’d aged ten years while she
was down there.

He placed the tray on the bedside
table as she began to stir. She stretched and then groaned.

"Don't move," he said. He
knew he sounded incredibly bad-tempered. Jacie, of course, rolled over anyway
and groaned again. She looked down and made an attempt to pull the bedcovers up
over her breasts.

"Too late," he said
grimly. "I've seen it all. You're a mess."

She lifted the covers and looked
down at herself, then dropped the covers again. "God."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"What are you looking so
furious about?" she asked in confusion.

"You. I should never have let
you go back down."

Her mouth relaxed and a warm
concern entered her eyes. She lifted a scratched and bruised hand and ran her
fingertip along his cheek.

"You've had one heck of a
worry, haven't you?"

"You're covered in head-to-toe
bruises. I've never seen such a body."

"Thanks, glad you
noticed." She grinned at him and stretched languidly, apparently not
adverse to showing him more of it.

He tried to look annoyed, but his
lips twitched.

"You're not getting out of it
that easy." He indicated the tray. "I brought you water for tea. But
first you should get into the tub, take away the sting of those bruises."

"The tea will get cold."

"It'll keep. Come on."

She sat up and pulled the covers
with her. "Awful bossy, aren't we?" she queried mockingly.
"However, I will let you have your way for the moment."

He picked up a large blue robe and
turned to her. "By the way, the rest of your brothers showed up early this
morning."

"All of my brothers are
here?" she squeaked. "Did they give you a hard time?"

"Nothing I couldn't
handle," he assured her.

She arched a brow at him, opening her
eyes wide. "You handled my brothers?"

"That’s right. I
understand your parents are already on their way here, too. Come on, I've got
the bath ready." Without looking at her, he held out the robe and she
slipped into it and followed him into the bathroom. The small room was steamy,
the floor-to-ceiling mirror fogged. He turned to leave, doing his level best
not to look at her. She needed time to heal.

"Sloan, wait." She was
looking at the over large bathtub, a doubtful expression on her face. "My
legs are terribly sore." She pulled the robe aside and exposed a bruise
high on her thigh. "I don't know if I can get in by myself."

He muffled a curse. "I'll help
you," he said grimly. Again, he reminded himself she was bruised and he
should put his lustful thoughts aside.

He almost lost his control when she
dropped the robe off her shoulders, down to her waist, and finally to her feet.
He groaned, and tried to cover the sound by clearing his throat.

She lifted her hair from her
shoulders with both hands and threaded her fingers through it as she stood
naked in front of him. She glanced at him over her shoulder. "Can you help
me?"

He grunted in response, it was all
he could manage.

She leaned heavily against him as
he helped her into the bath. The water was warm. With a moan, she leaned back
and closed her eyes.

"Okay now?" he asked as
he backed away. He didn't know how much more he could stand of this.

"No, my hair...it's going to get
all wet and it'll take forever to dry." He frowned at her. He had never
heard her whine before. Her eyes were closed as she plucked fretfully at her
hair. "Could you help me? My fingers are sore."

"What do you want me to
do?"

"Tie my hair back. Do you have
a rubber band?" She lifted several strands where they had fallen on her
breast. His mouth went dry. She peeked up at him. "Please?"

With an almost inaudible groan, he
sat on the edge of the tub. "Turn around."

She twisted slightly so he had
better access to her hair. He looked at the curve of her neck, its slender
arch. The lightly tanned skin of her back begged for his lips, as did the
delicate shaping of a rounded shoulder as it curved down to her breasts.

He looked at the wall, ignoring the
tightening of his body. She shivered and he couldn’t help but notice the
goose bumps spread down her arms.

"I have goose bumps," she
said, a laugh in her voice.

His hands went still in her hair as
his eyes ran over her body, seeing every single goose bump.

"Are you through?" she
asked breathlessly.

"I don't have any rubber
bands."

She ran her fingers over her
collarbone and between her breasts. He stood. He’d had enough.

"This bath feels so
good," she said softly. She swept her hand through the water and
splattered him from his neck to the floor. "...doesn't it?" she
added.

He saw the mischievous smile on her
face and knew she had been playing him all along. If he hadn't been so
preoccupied with not looking at her...

"Here I am trying to be a nice
guy." Slowly unsnapping his wet shirt, he tossed it into the corner.
Standing on one foot, he removed first one boot, then the other. "I'm not
usually so slow, Jacie."

Her gaze openly admired him.
"Took you long enough," she jeered softly.

He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops
and jerked. The jeans landed in a crumpled heap. His boxer shorts followed.

"My word," she said,
fluttering her lashes.

"Lady, you better hope this
thing is big enough for both of us," he warned as he slid into her arms.
The water sloshed dangerously close to the tub rim.

"I think we’ve already
established that," she said coyly.

Ω

Sloan handed Jacie a cup of
steaming tea and sat on the couch beside her. She took a sip, then leaned her
head back against his chest. His heart beat steady and strong, like him, she
reflected.

"I was trying to be
considerate," he murmured. "I put you in the guest room when I saw
the shape you were in." He’d helped her undress the night before and
it was all he could do to keep his mouth shut at the bruising she had taken. He
lifted one of her hands. "And your hands, they're a mess."

"I'm fine." She placed
her cup on a table behind the couch, then trailed her fingers across his jaw,
liking the rasp of his whiskers.

"I wanted you to take it easy
today."

"I didn't need consideration
or gentleness earlier. It's a sorry thing when I have to seduce you."

"I enjoyed it." He cupped
a bruise in the hollow of her shoulder and frowned. "This is serious, when
I think of the risk..."

"Sloan," she said gently,
"please stop. It’s over." She sat up. "Brad is okay,
right?"

He nodded, his mouth grim.
"Yes, you were both damn lucky. They set his arm and operated on the gun
wound."

"I'm relieved he's okay. He
prevented Bonnie from shooting me."

His palm slid down to her wrist and
his mouth touched several scratches on her neck. Heart racing, she arched
forward, letting him pull her gently against him.

"I think it’s time you
told me everything about Brad and Angel Falls." His beautiful eyes were on
her.

"The helicopter pilot should
have been on standby, but Brad had released him prematurely. They radioed him
back, but it took four hours. While I was in the tree the wind came up and I
thought I'd fall before he got there. They got it all on film." She
clenched her hands. "Brad used that footage."

"I watched the video," he
said grimly.

"I've never seen it."

"What about Carlton?"

"I never saw him." She
clenched her hands. "I have to let it go, it's past history. Brad's been
history for a long while. It just wasn't right. I have him to thank for cutting
it off a year ago." She grimaced. "If he had hung on, I might have
settled for a lot less. I’m not happy admitting that either."

"Abandoning you, you
mean?" he cut in, a hard line to his jaw.

"Whatever..." she
shrugged. "It's over, before it began, really. I still can’t believe
after the last year, Bonnie’s friendship was nothing more than a way to
access my private information."

"Apparently, you’re not
the first person she’s run a scam on. They don’t even know yet if
that was her real name."

"I guess it's lucky I'm
weak," she said smugly.

He raised his brows skeptically.
"You?"

"When Brad walked out, I told
myself not to trust in any man's smile again. It took me a while to sort out
the difference between you two. Good thing I've got a soft spot for
cowboys."

"Make that cowboy and I'll
agree," he said with a grin.

She stretched. "Well, it's
over and done with. It's a great release."

"Does this mean you're going
back to your family's business?"

She opened her mouth, but he
forestalled her. "Wait, let me get this out. I might not be crazy about
your line of work, but I know how important it is to you. I'll work through it.
Somehow, I was seeing you and my mom in the same mold...risk-takers, period. I
know now that's not true. You're a responsible adult and you’re good at
the job you do. God knows I don't want to talk you out of staying, Jacie, but
this is a pretty quiet place, not much happens here."

She raised her brows. "You're
kidding, right?"

"Let me put it this way, quiet
until you arrived." He smiled and then sobered. "I won't ask you to
walk away from skydiving because it's not on my agenda. I don't want that
spilling over into our relationship. If skydiving is what you have to do, then
I'll be there for you."

She blinked hard, emotion closing
her throat. Sloan was a man who wanted stability, maybe a family life. He
thought he would have to forego that, thinking such a step was necessary to
make her happy. "I've had that career, still have it, if I want it. The
idea has gone over pretty good right here. The thing is, I'm not willing to
forfeit you.

"When I hung upside down in
that tree, I saw every small detail of my life, like a video rolling. I've done
a lot of things, been a lot of places, and yet I never really belonged.

"They say I was unconscious; I
don't remember. I could have died, but I didn't. My whole life is ahead of me,
the possibilities are endless. Life doesn't add up to much if you don't share
it with someone special," she ended fervently. "If that's all I've
learned, I count it as the most important."

"You're one hell of a woman,
Jacie."

He wrapped her close, then loosened
his arms with an apology.

Having none of that, she pulled him
back. "I've told you, I'm tougher than I look, even though you once said a
strong wind could blow me away." She poked her fingers through the opening
of his shirt.

He grabbed her fingers. "That
first night I came to your cabin you looked like death warmed over when I
turned your light on."

"So it was you."

"I wouldn't let anyone else
over there, not even James." Ruefully, he shook his head. "When I
caught you coming out of the shower, I was lost."

"Don't be misled. I am
tough."

"You don't have to be tough
with me. Just be Jacie." He set her away from him. "There's one last
thing we have to clear up," he said brusquely. Before she could get
alarmed, he continued, "We have to get married. My reputation is at risk
since a lot of people saw me bring you in here last night. Not to mention your
family knows you’re staying here. The most important factor, of course,
is that I love you."

Jacie wanted to laugh and she
wanted to cry. He looked so serious, this man she loved. "Pretty sure of
yourself, aren't you?"

"No, just desperately
optimistic."

"Well, you're in luck. I'm a
romantic at heart, and I can’t envision a better happy ending than
marrying the man I love." She looked at him with raised brows. "By
the way, where are my brothers? I’m surprised they’re not knocking
down the door."

"My dad convinced them to help
him round up the herd, which is by now scattered far and wide."

Jacie started laughing.
"You’re really in trouble now."

"I kind of figured that when
my Dad started giving your brothers instruction on which side of the horse to
mount. I think we’d better drive out and break the news to your family
before there’s a serious injury."

Jacie pressed her mouth to his.
"Okay," she murmured, "but I need another kiss before we leave.
I’m feeling neglected."

Sloan grinned. "You realize,
of course, I won’t stop at one kiss."

"I’m counting on
it." And she was right.

§ Epilogue §

"Relax," Jacie said.

Some part of Sloan’s brain
heard Jacie's raised voice above the noise of the plane's engine.

"Don't think about the
distance to the ground, just think about soaring on a current of air. You'll
love it. I won't let go of you."

He looked at the ground far below
them, knowing he would love it once he was on terra firma. "I can't
believe I'm doing this. I can’t believe I’m doing it in a
tuxedo!" he yelled as together they jumped from the small plane.
Immediately, her satin wedding dress billowed up to her waist, exposing her
skin-tight white spandex leggings. They held hands as they spun slowly in the
sky, first one way and then the other.

He released his chute and they were
pulled upwards. Their landing was effortless, right on target in the midst of
cheering family, friends, and the minister who waited to marry them.

Jacie looked at Sloan, noticing
that although he seemed to have made a good landing, he was now sitting on the
grass, hands on his knees and staring at the ground.

She bent down and looked into his
face. "Sloan, are you okay?"

He looked up at her and gave her a
slow grin. "I sure am, sweetheart, although I think I've got grass stains
on my tux. Call the pilot back, we'll have to do it again after the
ceremony."