Round-the-Clock Temptation (10 page)

Spraying gravel and dust, she took off, glancing in the rearview mirror just in time to see Connor emerge from the house. She couldn't see his face, but she knew he had to be furious.

Somebody give the girl an Academy Award because she'd sure fooled him. She hoped he was kicking himself for falling for her phony broken foot routine.

She took a sharp right onto the road and floored it,
buried the needle at seventy, giving herself a nice long head start. That's what he got for thinking he could outsmart her. By the time he found Jimmy, got the keys for the other truck then figured out where she was headed, she would be halfway to Odessa.

Grinning to herself, she hummed along to the song playing on the radio. She reached the first in a series of curves in the road and hit the brake, but the pedal felt soft, as though she'd lowered her foot into a damp sponge.

Huh, that was weird.

She let up and tried again, and this time her foot went straight to the floor. Even worse, the truck didn't appear to be slowing down.

Oh, this was not good.

She stomped harder on the brake and
nothing
happened. The truck didn't stop.

Her heart stalled in her chest.

“Stay calm,” she told herself, gripping the wheel, fighting to keep the truck on the road through the curve. When she was back on straight even road, she tried the brake again, sure it was some temporary malfunction, and still nothing. Fear gripped her when she realized she really had no brakes. She had no way to stop, and in another few miles she would run out of road. She would either have to turn right, or left, which would be virtually impossible at this speed. She had to try to slow down. She had to calm down and think.

The ignition! She fumbled for the key, but at the last second hesitated. With the car off, would she lose steering? If she couldn't stop
or
steer she'd really be in trouble. Instead, she grabbed the gearshift and popped it into
neutral. The truck instantly began to slow, but at this rate she still wouldn't stop soon enough. Fences spanned either side of the road so running off into a field and coasting to a stop wouldn't work.

She knew that whatever she did, she could not let herself panic.

On her belt, her phone started ringing. Probably Connor, calling to chew her a new one. She wasn't exactly in the mood to chat so she let it go to voice mail. Less than a minute later, as she was scrambling to decided what to do next, it rang again.

She tore it from the case and flipped it open, telling him, “Now's
really
not a good time.”

“Put the truck in neutral.”

It
was
Connor. What the—? “How did you know—?”

“Just do it.
Now
.”

“I did already. Where are you?”

“Behind you. Now, pull on the parking brake.”

She looked in the rearview mirror, stunned to see Connor's car. How the heck did he—

“Nita! Listen to me.
You are running out of road.”

She looked out the windshield and could see the intersection where she would have to turn looming ahead. At the speed she was going she would flip the truck. If she went straight, through the fence, she would mow down a couple of grazing horses. Definitely not an option.

“Use the parking brake. You're going to have to pull hard, and
don't
let go.”

She dropped the phone on the seat and grabbed the lever for the brake, pulling with all her strength. The truck began to slow in short, jerky spurts. She saw Connor zip past her, then pull in front of the truck.

Was he
nuts?
She was going to run right into him!

Nita pulled harder on the brake, until her arm began to tremble. In front of her Connor gradually slowed until she felt her bumper tap the back of his car, then he applied his own brakes. She realized, he was helping her stop. She watched the needle on the speedometer gradually fall. It seemed to happen in slow motion, but they finally rolled to a complete stop about a hundred feet from the intersection.

Talk about cutting it close.

With a trembling hand, she put the truck in Park and killed the engine. The reality of what just happened hit her like a horse kick to the belly. She leaned back against the headrest and tried to tame her wildly pounding heart.

Connor's car door flew open and he got out. The second she saw him she knew he was furious. Radical plastic surgery couldn't make the lines in his face any tauter. She could just imagine the lecture she was going to get from this one. Not that she didn't deserve it. She'd been dumb with a capital
D.

He stalked to the truck and yanked the door open. She braced herself for the explosion, for the reaming she knew was coming. The one she'd more than earned. Instead Connor just looked at her for a second, then he grabbed her and pulled her from the seat and straight into his arms.

W
hen her boots hit the road Nita's legs buckled underneath her but Connor caught her and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him, and he hugged her tight against his chest. He carried her away from the truck and sat on the hood of his car with her still wrapped around him. Now that it was over, and she was safe, her entire body began to tremble and she felt dizzy and fuzzy-headed, as if she might pass out.

Adrenaline.

This had happened once before when she'd been thrown by a stallion and almost trampled. Afterward she'd felt weak and shaky. But not like this.

Connor stroked her back, her hair. “Are you okay?”

She nodded against his shoulder.

“Don't you ever,
ever
pull a stunt like that again, you hear me?” Intermingled with the anger in his voice, she
could swear she heard fear. Which meant he still cared about her, despite how he'd been acting lately. Nothing like a near-death experience to make someone admit he liked you.

Well, hell, if she'd known this was all it would take, she'd have staged her near-death weeks ago.

She heard another vehicle approaching, knew from the squeal of the brakes as it slid to a stop that it was the other farm truck. For the first time in her life she didn't care what the boys would think seeing her this way. She didn't care about being in control. She didn't even care if she looked weak. She just wanted Connor to hold her.

She heard doors open and slam shut, then Jimmy's voice. “She okay?”

“Yeah,” Connor said. “Just scared.”

“I called the sheriff like you asked. He's on his way.”

“Thanks, Jimmy. Make sure the boys know not to touch anything.”

“Will do. If you don't need us here, I'm gonna get back. Her daddy is worried something fierce. I want to let him know she's okay.”

“We're going to wait here for the sheriff,” Connor said, still rubbing her back in slow, soothing circles.

She heard the scuffle of boots, then the truck doors opened and closed. The engine roared to life and she heard them pull away in the opposite direction.

“You okay now?” Connor asked.

“I'm okay,” she said, but he didn't let go, didn't even loosen his grip on her.

“How did you know about the brakes?”

“There was brake fluid all over the driveway where the truck was sitting.”

“But your car? I took your keys.”

“I keep a spare in my wallet.”

She gave a shaky laugh. “Not much of an escape artist, am I?”

And thank God for that. Connor didn't even want to consider what might have happened had he not gotten to her in time. He never would have forgiven himself if she'd been hurt.

He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent, felt her warm, moist breath caressing the side of his neck. He was so relieved, so grateful she was safe, he felt weak-kneed. And he wanted to get his hands on whoever had done this. He wanted to rip them to pieces.

“Did I hurt your car?” she asked.

“I don't give a damn about the car.” He'd have happily totaled it if it meant she was okay.

“I really screwed up.” Her voice sounded stronger now and she'd stopped trembling.

“Yep.”

“I thought you would be mad at me.”

He had been. As soon as his car came to a stop his mind had gone into overload thinking of a million different ways he could punish her for being so foolish, for scaring the holy hell out of him. He'd yanked open the truck door, ready to lay into her.

Until he'd seen her face.

He'd seen corpses with more color. He knew right then, if there was a lesson to be learned, she'd learned it, and all the yelling and cursing he could do wouldn't compare to the scare she'd just had. All she'd needed was someone to hold her.

When he'd pulled her out of the truck and she'd clung
to him, her arms so tight around his neck he could barely breathe, her legs clamped like a vise around his waist, whatever was left of his anger dissolved into the cool, dusty air. To see her so scared, so vulnerable, made him sick in his soul.

He tried to imagine what would have happened if he hadn't gotten to her in time, if she'd been hurt, and his chest clenched so tightly he could hardly draw a breath. He didn't know what happened to him in those minutes between the time that he saw the brake fluid on the driveway, and the point when he'd opened the truck door, but he felt irrevocably changed.

All he knew, the only thing he was
certain
of, was now that he had her in his arms, he didn't ever want to let go.

“I'm so sorry,” she said softly and he had to swallow the lump forming in his throat.

“Not as sorry as I would be if I'd let something happen to you.” He stroked her back, tunneled his fingers through her hair, let himself really feel her—the long length of her body curled around him, the heat of her skin radiating through her shirt, the softness of her breasts against his chest. Her pulse vibrated through him like an electric charge, jump-starting the heart that had lain dormant inside him for so long. He could feel his body waking to her touch, his resolve weakening, and he let it happen. He'd been fighting so long and hard, he was too tired to do it another second. It was a relief to finally let go. To give in.

Nita leaned back to look at him, so young and vulnerable. She reached up and touched his face, smoothed an unsteady hand across his cheek, a look of longing in her eyes.

He lost it.

For once in his life, he was going to take what
he
wanted.

He cupped her face in his hands, brushed his lips across hers, and the sensation traveled through him like a wrecking ball, knocking down the invisible barrier he'd kept around his emotions. For the first time since he couldn't remember when, he was letting himself feel something other than the heavy hand of responsibility or that tedious sense of regret he'd grown so tired of. And the anger, the rage that gripped him at the slightest provocation—it was gone.

With Nita in his arms, he felt excited and peaceful and restless all at once. Her mouth was hot and sweet as their breath mingled. Tongues touched. So lightly, as if they wanted to linger in that perfect moment. And it
was
perfect, he realized. Nothing had ever felt so right to him.

He had to touch her, had to have his hands on her body.

He pulled her shirt from the waist of her jeans and slid his hands up her back, over her bare skin. She moaned softly, kissing him deeper, showing him once again she wasn't afraid to take what she wanted. He slipped his hands around to cup her breasts and her legs tightened about his waist, her body riding intimately against him. He was the one who groaned this time. He wrapped his hands around her rear end, pulled her even more firmly against him. He could feel himself losing control, the kiss going from demanding to reckless, but he didn't care. He wanted to touch every inch of her, taste her skin. He wanted it hot and rough and sweaty. He wanted whatever she was willing to give him. Which he was guessing would be pretty much anything.

In the distance he heard an approaching car. Nita pulled away and they both turned to see the sheriff's SUV sailing toward them, lights flashing.

They swore simultaneously.

“Can we get rid of him?” she asked breathlessly.

Connor sighed and pressed his forehead to hers. “He's going to have to question you.”

She looked at him and whatever fear had been there before was long gone. “If you could feel how wet I am right now, I'll bet you would find a way.”

That mouth of hers never ceased to amaze him. And fascinate him. “We'll pick this up later.”

“You can bet on it, cowboy. I don't care if the house catches fire. We are gonna get naked tonight and I'm going to show you everything you've been missing.”

 

Gavin snapped his phone shut then turned to Nita, Connor and her father, all sitting in the family room, waiting for what Connor was sure would be bad news.

“There's no doubt about it,” Gavin told them. “The line was cut.”

Connor shook his head. “Whoever did this has gone too far. Nita could have been killed. This was attempted murder.”

“And the sheriff's office is going to give it top priority,” Gavin said, then he flashed Nita a stern look. “But you need to be more careful. Don't go anywhere without Connor.”

Though Connor would have expected an argument from her, she was silent. In fact, she'd been quiet all afternoon and into the evening, answering only the questions she was asked, saying nothing more. Gavin had
interviewed Nita, Connor and every member of the staff. They'd determined the line had to have been cut sometime the night before, but no one had seen or heard a thing.

“Have you folks ever thought about getting a watchdog?” Gavin asked. “It could deter someone from trespassing.”

“Daddy and I are both allergic,” Nita said.

“Well, I'll make sure my deputy takes a few passes by the farm every night, but that's about the best I can do for now. We just don't have the manpower to watch all the property.”

“Whatever you can do to help,” Will said. “I'm just glad you're finally taking this feud seriously.”

“Will, you have to remember that, until we have evidence to the contrary, this has nothing to do with the feud. Throwing accusations around will only make things worse.” Gavin turned to Connor. “If anything comes up or if I have more questions, I'll be in touch.”

“I'll walk you out,” Connor said. He led Gavin through the house to the door.

When they were on the porch Gavin asked, “She realizes how serious this is now?”

“She knows. She had a hell of a scare today.”

“Yeah, she looked pretty scared when I pulled up. I thought I was going to have to arrest you both for public indecency.”

For the first time in his life he was taking something
he
really wanted, he'd be damned if he was going to apologize to anyone for it. “You got a problem with that?” he snapped.

Gavin laughed and held both hands up. “No problem
at all, Connor. I think Nita is a fine woman. You're a lucky man.”

Didn't he know it. “Call me if you get any new information. I want you to nail whoever did this.”

“Don't worry, we'll find him.”

Gavin left and Connor went inside, locking the door behind him, wishing once again that they had a security system. When Clint had told Nita how much it would cost, she'd said absolutely not and wouldn't even discuss it. Maybe now she would reconsider.

He locked the kitchen door, then walked back to the family room, found Nita and her father sitting together on the couch. His arm was around her and her head was resting on his shoulder. Connor couldn't help feeling a stab of envy. Will showed Nita more love and affection than Connor's parents ever had combined. He'd always been taught to hide his feelings, that speaking his mind only got him a whack with the belt. The only way he knew how to please his father, the only way he had known how to measure up, was to follow in the old man's footsteps. To be everything his father expected. And in spite of it all, Connor had never gotten the approval he'd longed for. Never felt good enough.

The further he stepped back and really examined his life, the more bitter he felt. But bitterness had gotten him where he was now. If he was ever going to be happy, he needed to let it go.

“House is all locked up,” he said.

Nita yawned long and deep. “I know it's early yet, but I'm exhausted. I think I'm just going to head up to bed.”

“Go ahead,” her father said, patting her arm. “Get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning.”

“Are you going to need help getting to bed?” Nita asked.

“No sweetheart, I can get by just fine.”

“'Night, Daddy.” She kissed her father good-night then got up from the couch. As she walked past Connor, she flashed him a lingering look. “'Night Connor.”

She really did look tired and she'd been through hell today, still, Connor couldn't help feeling a healthy dose of disappointment. All afternoon he'd been looking forward to this evening, to see if he could get her as wet as she'd claimed to be earlier. But she'd had a long, trying day and it had probably caught up with her.

Maybe tomorrow.

“I guess I'll head up to bed, too,” Connor told Will. “I have some reading to catch up on.”

“Thank you for takin' care of my girl.”

“No need to thank me,” Connor said.

“Yes, there is. You see this,” he said, raking a hand through his short, salt-and-pepper hair. “Used to be jet-black, just like Nita's. I've got one gray hair for every stunt that girl ever pulled, every scare she's ever given me, and as you can see there have been quite a few.”

Connor grinned. “Yes, sir.”

“She also has a heart of gold. I know she's been trying to shelter me from the truth, but I looked at the books the other day. I know how bad things are, and I know that you've been working without pay because of it.”

The last thing he needed was for Nita's father to think he had ulterior motives. “We worked out a deal. Nita's been teaching me the business in exchange for my help.”

“Despite being a little wild at times, Nita has a soft side. And though you would never know it, she bruises
easily, even if she doesn't let it show. Any man who dared hurt her would have to deal with me.”

Connor wasn't sure if that was a general threat, or aimed at him in particular. “Only after they got through me,” he said.

Will just looked at him for a minute, then nodded. “I believe you. And I want you to know I appreciate all you've done for us these past couple weeks. You're part of the family now, and you'll always have a place here with us, understand?”

Connor was so choked with unexpected emotion, he could only nod.