Too Close To The Fire/Too Hot To Handle (Montana Men 3) (12 page)

She
edged closer against him. Her sweet ass was flush against his limp dick and
balls. Oh yeah, right, like his cock was going to stay soft. Already the idiot
rope was swelling, stretching toward her. Right. It knew a good thing when it
got close. “Stay down, boy.”

Dianna
wiggled her butt against his shaft.

Boing!

Yep,
full stretch out the gate. His cock throbbed against the crease of her butt.
Hell’s bells. He slid his fingers down her belly, past the sweet nest of curls
covering her feminine sheath, and dipped inside.

Dianna
moaned and opened wider for him. Hell, did she have to be so damn cooperative?
She wasn’t making it any easier for him. Well, yeah, she was making it real
easy, but, fuck—Okay, he wasn’t about to miss an opportunity to roll her
beneath him and play hide the sausage. He shoved his dick inside her and
moaned. She opened her eyes, a dreamy smile on her lips. “Still haven’t had
enough yet?”

“Does
it feel like I’ve had enough?” He thrust hard, riding her fast and furious. “I
don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you, princess. You make my balls ache.”

Dianna
bucked beneath him, her hips rising to meet his pounding invasion. “I love you,
Taylor Spencer. You make everything inside me ache.”

Taylor
captured her mouth and, with one last penetrating thrust, exploded inside her
hot, sleek channel. Slowly, he released her mouth and looked into her eyes.
“Dianna.” Breathing hard, he buried his face against her neck. “Dianna,” he
whispered her name again, his voice as ragged as his breathing. “This has
nothing to do with love. I don’t love you. It wouldn’t work between us.”
Reluctantly he pulled out of her. “It’s morning. We need to get dressed and get
the hell out of here.”

Dianna
propped herself up on her elbows, her face pale and tight.

He
saw the strain in her eyes, the hint of tears. “Don’t cry. It was just sex.
That’s all it’s been between us all along. You have an itch. I have an itch.
Together we manage to do a fair job of scratching each other’s itches. Sex,
Dianna. Just sex.”

“Just
sex?” Her voice wobbled. “I thought it was a little more than
just
sex.” She got up, jerked on her
clothes, and started packing their meager supplies.

Taylor
fastened his jeans and yanked up the zipper. “It’s just like a woman to want
more than a man is willing to give. Why can’t you be satisfied with plain,
simple sex?”

Her
eyes flashed with temper.

“Okay,
it was great sex. Hell, baby, you’re hot. Any red-blooded male would wanna fuck
you.”

“You
aren’t endearing yourself to me, Taylor Spencer!”

“Well
shit! Okay, so I wanted to screw you. The thing is you wanted me to fuck you,
too. We’ve scratched our itch. Now, it’s over. I would think you’d be happy I’m
letting you off the hook without emotional complications. You don’t have to
worry about this lower-class male wanting more than he’s entitled to.”

Dianna
blinked. Grabbing her small bundle of clothes, she rushed out of the cave.
Taylor raced behind her, hot on her heels. “Slow down, Dianna. It rained hard
all night. The ground might be unstable in places.”

“What
you aren’t entitled to is giving me orders,” she flung over her shoulder. “Just
leave me alone, Taylor. You don’t want me, fine!”

“I
didn’t say I didn’t want you.”

She
whipped around. “You don’t get one without the other!”

“What
does that mean, for Christ’s sake?”

She
backed up. “It means no more free pussy, you jerk.”

“Bullshit!”
He stalked toward her.

Dianna
backed up another step. “Stay away from me.”

He
grinned, a savage twist to his lips. “Stay away from you? Hell, Dianna, you’re
the one who can’t keep your hot little hands off my dick. Don’t act like you
care so damn much. Hell, honey, you get an itch, come on over, I’ll fuck you
anytime you want me to.”

“What,
I’m just another Amy? Come to you, we rent a cheap motel, spend a couple of
hours rolling on the bed?”

“Sure.
Why not? You can slip into the bed right after Amy leaves.”

“I
hate you,” she cried. “You’re right, you’re a loser. But you know what? The
best thing you ever lost is standing right here in front of you.” Tears
streamed down her face. “If I have any itches in the future, don’t you worry,
I’m sure I can find someone to do the scratching for me. You don’t know a good
thing when you have it.”

“I
told you, the best piece I ever got was great. You were okay, honey, but not
the best.”

Dianna
stared at him helplessly. “Yeah. I get the picture.”

The
ground trembled beneath their feet. Her gaze shot to his. Dianna lurched
unsteadily. Her eyes widened.

“Shit!
Run,
Dianna!”

She
gasped. “I don’t think that’s going to work.” Dianna took two steps. The ground
moaned, shook and rumbled as violently as an earthquake, then simply crumbled
from beneath her feet.

Taylor
leaped toward her, but he was too far away to grab her flailing arms. She
toppled over the side, caught in the violent mudslide. One minute she was
there, the next, she was gone.

Taylor scrambled
to the edge of the landslide, rubbed an unsteady hand over his face and looked
down. Nothing. Nothing but a ton of mud and rocks, broken and splintered trees,
an endless spillway he couldn’t see to the bottom. “Dianna,” he shouted. “Answer
me!” The absolute silence ripped at his guts. His heart pounded. A knot twisted
in his belly. “Dianna,” he whispered, but there was no one to hear or answer
him.

Taylor
stared blankly into the steep ravine. It was a long slide of rocks and tons of
red mud. “Dianna!”

He
slipped and slid his way down the endless path. His heart hammered. His pulse
beat as wild as native drummer with exciting news. His stomach churned.
Dead! Dead!
Every heartbeat throbbed out
the message to his brain. Dianna was dead.

“Please.
Please, be alive.”

He
reached the end of the mudslide and paused to look around. His chest heaved
with ragged breaths. Where was she? She wasn’t at the bottom. So where the fuck
was she?

Taylor
looked around desperation beating frantically in his pulses. Then he saw her.
At least, he saw her arm sticking up out of thick mud halfway up the mudslide.
Somehow he’d missed it on his way down. “Oh, God. No!”

He
climbed up the steep slide. Taylor slipped and fell so many times he began to
wonder if he’d ever get back up it. Finally, he reached her and fell to his
knees. Breathing raggedly, Taylor clawed at the thick, red mud. He dug and dug
until he could pull Dianna free. He swiped her nose and mouth clean as much as
he could. He felt for the pulse in her throat. Nothing. Quickly, he stretched
her out on the ground, pinched her nostrils tight, and breathed life into her
lungs.

The
sound of her ragged cough sent a shaft of pure joy through his heart. “Dianna.”

She
blinked and moaned. “I can’t breathe.”

Taylor
laughed softly. “You’re breathing, baby. Your mouth and nose has mud in it. Do
you think you can stand?”

“No.
My leg hurts.”

“Which
one?”

“Left.”

Taylor
unfastened her jeans and gently pulled them to her ankles. “Jesus Christ.”

“What
is it?”

“Nothing.
I’ll carry you back up to the cave. We’ll be staying for a few more days.”

“You
don’t have to carry me. Give me a few minutes to get my breath—”

“Dianna.
Your leg is broken. The bone is…it’s, uh, it’s bad, honey.”

Tears
slipped down her face and left streaks on the mud caking her face. “My side
hurts.”

Taylor
lifted her shirt and swore harshly at the sight of the large, darkening bruise
on her right side.

“What?
God, I hurt all over.”

“I
think it might be your spleen or liver. It’s not good, sweetheart. I’ve got to
get you up this incline.”

Dianna
closed her fingers around his wrist. “We’ll make it.”

“It’s
going to hurt like hell when I move you.”

“Pain
pills…in my…pack. Think…this time…I might have…one or two?”

“I’d
give you the entire fucking bottle…but your pack’s under the mud…somewhere.”

Dianna
swallowed hard. “Oh.” She sounded tiny and fragile and he was terrified he’d
lose her. Her injuries were serious and he had no way to help her.

“Well,
we might as well get up the mountain,” she said.

He
knew she was doing her best to sound brave, but she looked scared as hell. He
didn’t blame her. Hell, he was scared enough for both of them.

Taylor
nodded grimly. “We’ll make it to the top.”

“How?”

He
gripped her hand. “One step at a time.”

To
be continued…

Too Close to the Fire

(Lacey Blackstone’s Story)

Chapter One

A
divorce is like an amputation; you survive, but there’s less of you.

~Margaret
Atwood

Time Magazine, March 19, 1973

Rimrock, Montana

Blackstone Ranch

February 5, Thursday

10:00 a.m.

Lacey
Blackstone unfolded the legal document her attorney’s secretary had presented
to her the day before and tried to ignore the dull ache deep in her soul. She
stared at the stamped red letters. Divorce Granted. Final.

With those three
little words, three years of marriage ended. She blinked back the tears
stinging her eyelids. Since December, her life had fallen apart. She felt like
she’d been on a runaway train headed downhill all the way.

Wiping
the tears from her eyes, she wondered if she’d tried a little harder, if she
could have made a bigger mess of things. Why had she ignored the signs Danger
was unhappy? She should have seen, but she’d been too wrapped up in her career.
Well, one paid the price for such ignorance.

Folding
the papers, she took time to make certain they were nice and neat and returned
them to the envelope. She shoved the envelope inside her purse with unsteady
hands. There was a duplicate copy for Danger as well. He’d be happy now. He
wanted his freedom. He had it.

She
drew a deep breath and looked around. What to do? She glanced around the
kitchen with the bright yellow walls she’d painted herself when she and Danger
first married. She’d wanted warmth and sunshine to reflect in their home. Their
life.

Not
much left here but bitter memories. Boxes filled with the items she wanted were
stacked in the hall and guest bedroom. Another day, and she’d have everything
packed she intended to take with her. The big question was where the hell was
she going?

Guest
bedroom.

Pain
slashed her heart. She’d been the only guest in that bedroom since Christmas.
If anyone had ever told her that her marriage wouldn’t last, she’d have laughed
in their faces.

They
had fallen in love so fast and out of love faster. She had no illusions left.
This phase of her life was over. Done. Dead. The end!

“Might
as well accept I can’t make him love me.”

It
was a moot point anyway. The last year she and Danger were together, she’d
struggled to keep their marriage intact. Ultimately, she’d lost the battle
before it began. There had been too many unknown elements behind the
destruction. Now, it no longer mattered because there were even stronger
elements to keep them apart.

Lacey
sighed and set a full box packed with her underwear to one side. The marriage
was dead. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t try to make it work anymore. She
slid
her palm across her stomach in a protective gesture.
No. There was no going back. Not now. Not ever!

* * * *

P
rairie Dog, Montana

February 6, Friday

4:15 p.m.

“I
now pronounce you man and wife.”

Sheriff
Danger Blackstone of Rimrock, Montana grinned and kissed his new bride. The ink
on his divorce papers from Lacey was barely dry, and here he was, marrying Karen.
Not marrying, no. Married. Deed done.

She
laughed as he grabbed her hand, and they hurried out of the little church to
his Jeep. He paused a moment to kiss his bride again, then helped her inside
the vehicle. Danger settled in the driver’s seat and groaned when he heard
Gertie Mae Crossman, his dispatcher, key the mike.
Not now!
His radio dispatcher had the damndest timing.

“Sheriff
Blackstone, you there?”

He
grabbed the mike. “What is it, Gertie?”

“Um,
you sound breathless, Danger. What are you doing?”

Breathless?

He
glanced toward his bride. Yeah. He guessed he was a bit breathless. He had a
hot date with a motel bed waiting less than half a mile down the road. He put
the Jeep in drive and turned north.

Karen
grinned at him, fumbled with his zipper and freed his straining cock. “Look
what I found,” she said softly and licked her lips.

He
moaned and nearly ran off the road when she curled her fingers around his hard
length and stroked it. God, he couldn’t wait to get inside her. If he wasn’t
careful, he’d come before they ever reached their room.

“Go
ahead, Gertie. What’s up?”
Besides my
aching dick.

He
thrust his fingers in Karen’s soft, short golden curls and watched her lower
her head to his lap. She licked and nibbled the thick head of his cock. He knew
from experience it wouldn’t take her long to get him off.

She
glided her tongue up and down the hard length, teasing him before finally
engulfing the head. Danger caught his breath on a sharp inhalation and slowly
exhaled. “Jesus! Sweetheart, you’re killing me.”

“You
say something, Sheriff?” Gertie Mae’s voice sounded shaky.

Danger
frowned. Karen muttered something about getting rid of the old bat and laughed.
She toyed and teased and sucked his dick until he thought he’d explode with
pleasure.

“Shit,”
he whispered. “Karen, stop before I—”

Too
late!

Karen’s
soft groans of pleasure sent shafts of heat raging through his blood. His
balls. She was like a kitten lapping at him. A sexy, hungry kitten.

“You
there, Danger?”

“Uh—yeah—I’m
a—little
bit busy, Gertie.” His
breath caught on a hitch as Karen moaned and sucked harder.

“Uh,
Gertie? What’s going on? Gertie?”

“Danger?”
She sounded as breathless as he did. He’d bet it wasn’t for the same reason. He
clenched his teeth to keep from shouting his pleasure. His radio dispatcher
never dragged out news. If she was hesitant to give him the reason she’d
radioed him, then it was serious. Shit!

Karen
raised her head, her ice-blue eyes sparkling. She laughed softly and motioned
for him to get off the radio. He shrugged.

“Come
on, Gertie Mae. I don’t have time for your games today.”

Gertie
keyed the radio again. “Are you very far from your ranch? How long ago did you
leave there?”

“For
God’s sake, Gertie,” Danger moaned, watching his bride tuck his cock out of
sight and zip his pants. “I left Lacey around noon. I’m in the next county, at
least an hour away. Why?”

“You’d
better get home, Sheriff. There’s been an apparent homicide.”

“What!”
For a moment, his heart leapt into
his throat. “What’s happened? Is Lacey all right?”

Lacey.
Something had happened to Lacey.

He
pulled the Jeep over to the side of the road and drew a shaky breath. No matter
what went on with Lacey, it was no longer his business. He glanced at Karen,
saw her frown at him. Fuck! She’d be pissed at him now.

“What
is it, Gertie? What’s happened?” Danger pushed his fingers through his hair and
swore softly. As sheriff, he had to know what was going on in and around
Rimrock.

“I
don’t know, Sheriff, something about Lacey. You need to get to your ranch as
soon as possible.”

“I’m
on my way.” He tossed the mike aside and swore beneath his breath.

“What’s
wrong?”

“Fuck!
I don’t know.” Danger pounded the steering wheel. “Something about Lacey.
Knowing her, she probably found a spider and wants it removed from the house.”

“Do
you think she knows about us getting married? Maybe it’s her way to get you
back to the ranch.”

He
pulled Karen closer and took his time kissing her. Whatever was going on with
Lacey could wait a few more minutes. Hell, he’d just gotten married. He wanted
to fuck his new wife. Slowly, reluctantly, he freed Karen’s mouth. “It’s a
little late for that, don’t you think?”

“What?”
she asked. Her pale blue eyes were glazed with passion, her mouth swollen from
his hungry kisses.

He
rubbed her belly where his baby nestled snug and warm. Her stomach was already
distended in her fifth month. “For Lacey to get me back. Besides, she and I are
divorced. It’s final. You’re my wife now. I’m not a part of her life anymore.
She sure as hell isn’t part of mine. I can’t fucking stand the sight of her.”

He
started the Jeep and pulled back onto the highway.

“Then
why are you hurrying toward Rimrock? Are you sure you don’t still love her?”

“I
detest her. I’m going because Gertie thinks there’s been a crime committed.
It’s my job. I have to go. I figure Lacey called Gertie and was overdramatic
about some silly something. I’ll drop you off at the motel. I’ll come back as
soon as I can.”

“No.
If Lacey is being overdramatic, then take some time with me. We just got
married. She can wait.”

Danger
grinned and pressed a kiss to her hand. “That sounds like a plan to me. I think
we can take an hour.”

She
arched a brow.

“Or
two.” He laughed softly. “My days of running to Lacey’s rescue to get her ass
out of a jam are finished.”

Karen
nodded. “Good. When our two hours are up, I’m going with you to the ranch.” She
rubbed her swollen belly. “I think it’s time she sees our baby is a fact. I
intend to make it clear to her she no longer has a claim on you and has no
business calling the sheriff’s office to try and get your attention.”

“What?
No. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go to the ranch yet. Lace is
still there. I don’t want you and her having words. She’s not exactly overjoyed
I’ve been sleeping with you for over a year or that I got you pregnant.”

“I’m
coming with you. She has to face me sooner or later. She has no choice but to
accept the fact
I’m
your wife, and
I’m going to have your baby whether she likes it or not.”

Danger
caressed the shiny gold band he’d slipped on Karen’s finger only minutes
earlier. “She isn’t going to like the fact I married you as soon as the divorce
was final either.”

“What
do you care what she likes or dislikes anymore? I’m the one you have to please
now. Not her.”

“I
don’t
care what Lacey thinks. I just don’t
want any trouble out of her. I don’t want you hurt.” He looped his fingers with
hers and sighed. “Okay. You can come with me. Hopefully she’ll be ready to
leave by the time we get there, or already gone. She’s supposed to be out of
the house by six this evening.”

“Where
is she going?”

“Don’t
know. Don’t care. She’s leaving, and that’s all that matters. I don’t ever want
to see her again. I just want her gone. You’re all I care about, you and this
baby.”

“Good.
I can’t wait to move in with you.”

He
laughed softly. “If she isn’t out by the time we get there,
she
can stay at a motel. You’re moving
in the house tonight with me. It’s where you belong.”

“Really?
Oooh.
I can’t wait to redecorate the
inside.”

“Redecorate?
Lacey has it fixed up nice inside.”

“It’s
decorated to her tastes. I want to leave my own mark, erase her out of your
life, period. I don’t want any reminders of her between us. Ever.”

“Honey,
you cut her out of my life a year ago. I’ve been yours since the first time we
made love. The only thing worthwhile between Lacey and me is Joseph. I’ll have
to deal with her when it comes to seeing him, but other than that, I shouldn’t
ever have any kind of personal contact with her again, and that’s exactly the
way I want it.”

“Good.
You belong to me. I don’t intend to share you with her. I want her gone, out of
our lives, permanently.”

“Yeah,
me, too, the sooner, the better…”