Under Pressure (6 page)

“I’m sorry, but
I have plans so I must hurry. I won’t spend much time with my explanation. You played my sister. Therefore, I’m showing you what it’s like to be played.”

He perused his brain, trying to find a clue as to
what she was referring too. He came up blank. This had to be a joke! “Lady, the only one of us who is a player and a manipulator is you.” Seeing a flicker of confusion, he chuckled. “Yes, that’s right, Jewels Stone.”

One brow snapped up and her hands clenched into fists. “So…so,
you knew who I was all along?” Her lips thinned. Good thing she didn’t have a weapon, otherwise he’d be dead, he was certain.

“What? You don’t l
ike being caught at your sordid game? Pot. Kettle. Black.” He gave his arms a jerk and the bed creaked.

She darted her glance to his bound wrists, but only a mere flash. “Don’t talk or I’ll have to get the tape and cover your mouth.”

Anger sliced through his gut. Damn, woman! He didn’t doubt for a minute that she’d do as she threatened.

With a cold glance
in his direction, she bent and grabbed something. His jeans! She dipped her hand into the back pocket and withdrew his cell. Now what was she doing?

“B
e thankful that I’m not cruel, otherwise I’d leave you tied up here until the cleaning lady came, and considering I rented this room for two days, that’d be a long time to stay bound to the bed. Imagine the laugh the employees here would have.”

“Letting me go would be
the best decision you’ve made, before things got out of hand.”

“Are you threatening me?” She shook her head. “Tsk, Tsk.”

“You have a warped mind, don’t you?” Pulling himself up, he heard the wood crack and the springs pop. It wouldn’t take much pressure for him to break the bed, but he’d have no way of getting the rope undone. Apparently, she was thinking the same thing because her eyes widened.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” She came to stand beside the bed. “Who would you like to call to ask for help?”

“9-1-1,” he grumbled.

“And imagine the story you’d tell. You were sleeping so hard that a woman tied you to the bed and placed hot wax strips on your legs.
That’d be another group finding the humor in this scenario. So, would you like to change your contact person?”

He hated
it, but she was right. How the hell had he slept so soundly. He guessed after being awake for twenty-four hours, he had been tuckered. He’d have a hard time explaining how a big man like him was tied up by a woman who wasn’t even half his size. Some would probably think he was stupid for complaining.

Hell, he knew he wouldn’t bother with the police anyway. As peeved as she looked, he didn’t feel like his life was in danger.

“Call Clay Silver. He’s in my contacts.” She clicked through his phone. Thankfully, he didn’t have anything secret. Clay would also get a good laugh from this crazy shit. Usually, his buddy got into messes. A thought made his lungs cease. “Wait.”

She lo
oked at him over the phone. “Change your mind again?”

“No. I want to know, what makes you think I’m the cowboy who played your sister?”

“Spark Ryder. You hang out at Two Step. And don’t even try suggesting that Spark isn’t your name. The bartender pointed you out and I looked at your driver’s license. Nice snapshot, by the way. I think I’ve seen some just like yours on the funniest ID pictures ever taken. Were you having a bad hair day? I also saw your age. I never would have thought my sister would find an older man attractive. Old enough to know better.” She rolled her eyes.

Every hair on his body lifted as
realization broke through him. He wanted to laugh, but this was far from an amusing predicament. “I can explain. I’m not who you think I am.”

“Like I said, don’t sa
y a word.” She reached down, grabbed one of the strips and ripped it off.

Spark
considered himself a tough guy. He’d ridden five-hundred pound bulls who could toss a rider as easily as a paper doll. He’d served four years in the military, went through boot camp and dangerous conditions in the Middle East without blinking an eye. He could wrestle a cow with his bare hands. But never in his life had tears come to his eyes from physical pain. His rough and tough reputation was taking a hard hit. He doubted his ego would ever be the same—and he was an innocent man.

Knowing he could face the wrath of a waxing strip again, he needed to clear the air. “I’m not from around here. I’ve only been i
n town for less than two weeks—”

“Don’t waste my time.” Her hand moved over the phone and then she held it out. “It’s ringing.”

Hearing Clay pick up, Spark held Jewels’ gaze. “I need you to come get me. The motel down the road from Two Step. Room 250. And pal, you’re dead meat.”

She
took the phone away and dropped it beside him. “Good. Now I should be on my way.”

Spark didn’t even bother trying to convince her
of his innocence. In good time, she would know the truth. It was best to stay quiet and let her go.

Keeping his gaze
on her, she grabbed a duffel bag and headed to the door. She stopped at the threshold and looked at him. “I can see why my sister fell for the charm. It was only hidden under a couple layers of dust.”

“I don’t know your sister, but I’d go out on a limb and say you
’re the one who fell. I could see the yearning in your eyes, feel the heat in your body and smell the scent of sweet juicy pussy.” He couldn’t help himself.

With a blank expression, she wriggled her fingers in
a goodbye salute and slammed the door behind her.

Spark brought his gaze up to the headboard. He wrapped his fingers around the thick rope, and putting all of his strength and body
weight onto the twine, he heard several cracks before the wood splintered. He fell to the bed, his arms free. Smirking, he looked at the closed door. He had a feeling she made it easy for him and had wanted to carry out a lot more torture, but something changed her mind.

Looking
at his legs, he sighed. Maybe he was wrong. Four strips remained. His gut clenched. How the hell would he get them off?

He had every right to be angry, but truthfully, he couldn’t be as
livid as she deserved. After all, if what Jewels said was true, her sister had been duped, and he above anyone knew what he’d do for those he cared for. When his sister died in a car accident ten years ago, he would have given his life for hers.

Swallowing the constriction in his throat,
he grabbed his jeans from the end of the bed and brought his mouth down on the material. He didn’t want to scream and wake up the entire second floor. He maneuvered his bound hands and picked up an edge of one pink strip.

He co
uld do this. No problem.

He remembered
Jewels had pulled the strip in one swift tug.

D
amn. He couldn’t wait to get his hands around Clay’s neck!

Biting
down deep, he ripped the strip from his skin.

After he could breathe again, he lifted the
thin ribbon and stared at the hairy side of the paper. Droplets of blood were forming on his skin. Only three more to go. Sweat beaded his brow.

Fifteen minutes later, the door opened and Clay walked in, confusion on his smooth face. Spark had managed to pull his pants on, but the binding wasn’t budging. “It’s about time, buddy,” he snapped.

“Looks like you had a wild night, bro.” He laughed.

“Does the last n
ame Stone ring a bell in that pretty boy head of yours?” His patience had long evaporated, after finally removing every strip of wax. The pain was now a dull ache. All tan left his buddy’s features and a suspicious green surrounded his lips. “Yeah, just what I thought.”

~°°°~

Jewels fluttered one eye open and stretched. She’d come back from the motel, crawled into bed and curled up into a dream of hunky cowboy bound to the bed. She moved and the sheet fell off her body.

She bet
he
had nice smooth legs now.

Laughing, she climbed from bed and gave her dog, Oyster, a scratch on the head. The scraggly
-haired sheepdog rewarded her with a tilt of his head and a swipe of his tongue through the air. “I wish you could have been there, Oyster. I showed that evil man how to never treat a woman again.”

Feeling vindicated, she went to her closet, ready to start her day.

Oyster growled.

“What’s
wrong, boy?”

He jumped up and ran out of the room. His barks echoed off the hallway walls.

Curious, Jewels went to the window and pulled back the curtain. She saw the parked truck at the same time she heard the
bang
of the driver’s door shutting. Her mouth went dry and her heart skipped a beat. Stepping back, she let the curtain drop back into place.

S
cooting into gear, she ran down the hall, sliding on the freshly waxed floors, and hurried into her father’s office. Unlocking the cabinet, she grabbed the shotgun from the shelf. She didn’t bother checking to see if it was loaded—her father always kept it loaded.

Racing
back into the hall, she darted into Em’s bedroom and yelled, “Wake up. We have trouble.”

Her sister flopped, sending on
e arm swinging out of the blanket. “No!”

“Wake up.”

Em lifted her head. Her strawberry blonde curls were sticking up and frizzled. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she wrinkled her nose. “What?” she said through a yawn.

“G
et up. Something’s happened.” Jewels sprinted to the window and peeked through the glass to the driveway. Spark Ryder was standing by the porch steps, his arms crossed over his chest and a frustrated expression on his face. He looked almost scary.

Running across the room, down the hall, taking the staircase at an unbelievable
stride, she threw open the front door—shotgun raised.

Disbelief shot over Spark’s expression, but he didn’t show an ounce of fear. She’d give him that, alt
hough he should know she was capable of following through.

“I don’t know what drug you
’re taking to make you brave enough to step foot on this land, but I suggest you slowly back up and get into your truck. You’re on private property.”

“With permission.”

She lowered the barrel of the gun, only slightly. “Who gave you permission?”

“Your father,
Joshua Stone.” His cold eyes were on her, but surprisingly a smile played at the corner of his lips.

“What are you talking
about? My father would never give you authorization to be here, especially after I tell him what you’ve done. You’re nothing but a sack of manipulation, aren’t you?” After only a couple of hours of sleep, she didn’t have the patience to deal with the likes of a cocky cowboy. She’d never have guessed he’d be courageous enough to come here.

“He already knows. I spoke to
Stone an hour ago and explained why I’d be late getting to work on my first day.”

“Work? Your first day?” She kept the gun steady but she was starting to feel sick to her stomach.

“Yeah, I’m the new ranch hand. After I told Stone that I was tied up because of a mistaken identity by his daughter Jewels, he wasn’t shocked. This isn’t the first time one of his daughters has caused a ruckus at the sake of a poor innocent man. I hated to disturb him on his vacation with his female friend, but he was very courteous.”

“I don’t believe you!
Someone must have told you he was away. How easy it would be to lie.”

“If you don’t believe me, then talk to him yourself. His contact is already up.” Spark reached into his front pocket and tossed her the phone.
“You already know how it works.”

Catching it with one hand, she looked at the screen. Her throat narrowed. Hitting talk,
it rang twice and her father answered. Hitting speaker, she wanted Spark to hear her father loud and clear when he told her to shoot him. “Dad, it’s me. I have a guy here who says he’s the new hand.”

“Spark Ryder. And honey, please don’t shoot him.” Her father’s si
gh rattled the phone.

“What makes you think I have him facing the barrel of a gun?”

“Because I know you. Now, put the gun away, be a hospitable helper and show him the property.”

“But Dad…he doesn’t have a very trustworthy character.”

“Sweetheart, there’s been a misunderstanding. He explained it to me, now let him do the same for you. I’ve got to go because I’m in the community dance off.” The phone went dead. She threw it back at Spark and he juggled it from hand to hand.

“Who are you?”

Turning, Jewels narrowed her eyes on Em who was now standing in the doorway. “What do you mean? This is Spark Ryder. The cowboy who lied to you,” Jewels said.

Em
blinked twice and her mouth twisted. “No, Jewels, he isn’t.”

“What
? Yes it is!” Her nerve endings blushed.