Renegade Moon (CupidKey) (22 page)

“The Carrington Cupid,” she breathed. “But how? Where?”

“Eric handed it over just before I left the ranch. Said I might need a little help. Maybe I should have pinned you the first time, eh?”

“Better late than never.”

“Or better the second time around.”

“This time, we’ll get it right.” Iris raised her lips to his, sealing their new commitment with a kiss, Cupid pressed securely between them, radiating the warmth of promises to keep.

Sitting awhile together after Martin left, enjoying the simple pleasure of just being close, Eric pulled Destiny to her feet and steered her with an arm around her shoulders to the edge of the arroyo. “Up you go.” He boosted her onto a flat-topped boulder, bringing her eyes level with his.

Dressed in her lace-banded tee and cutoffs, Destiny could feel the lingering warmth of the day in the boulder, though the evening already turned cool. She touched the bare spot on her tee where Cupid had recently perched and stared into the distance. “It’s so beautiful.”

“
You’re
so beautiful.” His voice sounded husky, sending delightful frissons through her very being.

Their gazes locked for a moment before she glanced away. “Eric, do you think Martin will get back with Iris?”

One shoulder rose in a half-shrug. “I’d say there’s a good chance of it. When Martin arrived he didn’t know she was in the area. I only told him just as we drove up to the Wagon Wheel that night. Since it had shocked me when she appeared, I figured I should warn him. Good thing I did. When he didn’t come in right away, I thought he might not go inside at all. At least he was prepared to see her when he finally did.”

She mulled over his reply, recalling that night. “How
did
you feel, seeing her again?”

“Irritated.” He turned slightly and leaned against the boulder. “Any feelings for her had long vanished. But Glen needed me to check her out, in case she was in cahoots with Lee Duncan, or if the involvement went even higher in the company.”

“That’s why you let her hang around?”

“The only reason. Okay, I guess I did feel sorry for her in a way.” He grinned. “Why? You jealous?”

“No.” Destiny hesitated. “Well, maybe. A little bit.” She watched a tiny lizard dart between the rocks, before lifting her gaze to meet Eric’s dark fathomless eyes.

He leaned closer, sending her heart whirling as his thumb traced her jawline. “You bought back your life.”

“I don’t understand,” she said, confused.

“I saved your life when I found you in the desert. And until you saved mine, your life belonged to me.”

“It still does, Eric.”

“Do you mean that?”

“Yes, I mean it. It’s scary, but the idea of you
not
being in my life scares me even more.”

“Oh, babe,” he groaned, enfolding her in his arms. “Without you, I wouldn’t consider it much of a life.” His lips sought hers, found them.

She sighed as the passion of his kiss swept over her, yet she pulled away. “It’s not that simple.” Her gaze held his. “All my life I’ve been small and dainty.” It sounded as though she described a deformity. “Because of it, I’ve had to work very hard to get people to take me seriously. There was someone once I cared about. He took me
almost
as seriously as he would a Barbie Doll.” She searched his face. “We broke up because of it. I won’t give up all I’ve worked for because you don’t consider it important.”

“Who said I consider it unimportant? Your talent, your abilities, your
nerve
is all a part of who you are. Who I love. Don’t compare me to someone else.” He rested his dark hands on her creamy beige legs. “See how much darker I am than you. How will your family feel about me, Destiny?”

She placed her own small hands on his. “They’ll like you. Very much.”

“They won’t disapprove because I’m Apache?”

“Oh, Eric, you must be kidding.”

“Am I? Didn’t you just learn that my last relationship broke up because my girlfriend’s family discovered I’m an Indian?”

“I’m not Iris and my family is
not
the Ramptons!”

“And I’m not some guy who wants a live Barbie Doll.”

Destiny fell silent, rubbing her hands over his. “Point taken,” she said finally. When he didn’t respond, she gazed up at him to see a smile tug at his mouth. “What?”

“Have you always been such a hot pepper? Getting into scrapes?”

“I must admit my Guardian Angel has put in overtime now and again.”

He chuckled. “Well, I’ve led mine on a couple of merry chases, too. Maybe if we’re together, they can help each other keep the likes of us out of trouble.”

“Amen,” she agreed with a giggle. “Eric, you called Iris your girlfriend. I thought you two were engaged.”

“No. I never asked her to marry me. That was all Iris’s fantasy.”

“Then you didn’t pin her with Cupid?”

“Nope, never even occurred to me. It’s different with you, has been from the start. From that first time I saw you snapping away, taking those sunset photos, it’s like I knew even then something
happened
inside me. That you weren’t just another pretty girl, a chance encounter. Cupid arrived from my cousin the very day we met. I had him in my pocket when I saw you, looking so gorgeous standing there at the edge of the bluff with your camera. Didn’t realize it at the time, but ol’ Cupid cast his spell then and there.”

“When I took those pictures of the sunset.” Her lips curved into a smile. “Cupid must have lured me to take those photos just so we’d meet.”

“My Aunt Shirley will love you even more for that,” he promised with a chuckle. Then added seriously, “Babe, I need to know something.” He kissed her fingertips. “Can you live here?”

For an instant Destiny thought he was teasing until she realized he truly meant the question. “Well, it’ll be inconvenient with no electricity handy. Internet and cell reception would be useful for assignments and what-all, but you do have a generator and a land line, and the battery has been invented, and I can always zip into Las Nubes to connect.” She smiled brightly even as it dawned on her that she hadn’t satisfactorily answered his question.

“I don’t mean it that way. I’m not poor. Iris was right that day when she said I could afford to have power brought out here. Money won’t be your chief worry. I’ll get you electricity and Internet reception installed. What I mean is, can you live on this land? It’s very remote. It’s a long way to just about everywhere.”

“Eric, at Will’s shack, he talked about how you love this land. He said even as a kid you loved it, and have always come back to it.”

“True. You either love it or hate it.”

“Will warned me, ‘If you’re not careful, the mountains will steal your soul right out through your eyes. And then you’ll never again be free of this land.’ Eric, this land captured my soul. And you captured my heart.”

He gazed into her face in wonderment. “And you, babe, captured
my
heart. I don’t want to be free of you.” He gave a small shake of his head. “But I just don’t get what you see in the likes of me.”

Her lips parted and her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh, Eric. Your strength, your bravery, your loyalty.” She placed her hand against his chest. “Your very heart and soul call to me. You undervalue yourself. Even when I was afraid you were mixed up in an illegal operation, I knew that wasn’t
you
. Not the
real
Eric.” With a flirty smile, she put her other hand on his broad chest. “And being big and good-looking doesn’t hurt.”

He grinned at the twinkle in those aqua pools of enchantment. “That you think I’m a nice guy is the cake. But you thinking that I’m good-looking is the sweet creamy icing.” He couldn’t resist planting a quick kiss on those tempting lips.

She sighed in ecstasy. “Oh, Eric, it must be magic that we found each other. And, with Cupid pinning my torn shirt, we did cross the Marriage Stones together.”

“Double magic.” His mouth curved into that familiar slow smile. “You can’t fight such powerful legends, not here in the Land of Enchantment.” Glancing toward the east, he nodded at the fat moon climbing above the mountains. “Especially beneath the Renegade Moon.”

“Triple whammy. The Carrington Cupid’s love spell combined with crossing the Marriage Stones proved to be very powerful,” she agreed, tilting her face up to raise her lips a breath below his. “Old Will said the Renegade Moon brings danger and old ghosts. But this time, it brought love and justice.”

“The best part, babe, this time it brought me you.” His mouth met hers, fusing their hearts and souls, affirming the magic of love.

Find out more about Soul Mate Publishing!

Visit us at:

www.SoulMatePublishing.com

Be sure to check out the additional books in the CupidKey series:

That Carrington Magic

CupidKey Book #1

Single mom Jami Rhodes "wins" a romantic getaway with her ideal match.  Only the contest is a publicity sham to launch her friend Sierra's Internet matchmaking service, CupidKey, and the "match" is Sierra's brother-in-law, Grant Carrington.   Miffed for being railroaded, Jami drags along her mischievous little boy, Toby.  As if Toby isn't enough trouble, Grant gets stuck with the infamous Carrington Cupid charm.  A clash of wills ensues, proving love sometimes needs a bit of magic.

Wild West Cupid

CupidKey Book #2

What happens when you toss together a big city career woman, a West Texas rancher, and the infamous Carrington Cupid in WILD WEST CUPID? Love, chaos, and a touch of magic.

In Book Two of the Cupid Key series, Dara Sheen is roped into helping her friends, Ty and Sierra, develop an ad promotion campaign for their computer dating business, Cupid Key. When she travels from Houston to the Circle C Ranch in West Texas, she wrangles with Ty’s brother, Errol Carrington. Sparks fly as they clash. Will a sprinkle of Cupid magic be enough to unite Dara and Errol in a Texas Two-step of everlasting love?

Highway to Love

CupidKey Book #3

When the Carrington Cupid brooch escapes the family fold, trucker Jerry Hilton discovers it in the trailer of his 18-wheeler after several deliveries. Unaware of how it got there, or that it has united couples in the Carrington family for generations, he pins it to his visor. The escaped Cupid connects Jerry with stranded motorist Betina Hughes, leading the trucker and his dog, together with Betina and her cat, down a bumpy road that only Cupid’s magic can smooth out into a highway of love.