The Dangerous Gift, page 14
“You did what you thought was right. We can make up for lost time.” Jennie kissed his chest and laved his nipple, which hardened with her touch. “Though it pains me to say it, maybe Ralf was right. Five years ago, this wouldn’t have been the same. I would have been too young, too naive.”
Jared laughed. “Now who’s being philosophical?”
***
Jennie stretched. Her body ached in some unusual places, but she wasn’t complaining. She needed to take a shower, but Jared was already in there. The sheriff could arrive at any time. At least one of them needed to be downstairs to meet him when he did.
She opened the en suite’s door, and a steamy, spicy atmosphere engulfed her as she walked into the heat. Jared’s phone vibrated, and he opened the shower enclosure and grabbed it from where it rested on top of the toilet. “Hello, Sheriff. No, that’s fine. We’ll see you later, then.”
Jennie took the phone from his damp hand, hung up, and placed it on the shelf. “Isn’t he coming?”
Jared stepped out of the shower. “Not until this evening at the earliest. There’s been a pileup on the Interstate, and he’s been drafted to help.”
The steam filling the room allowed her tempting glances of his muscled, naked butt and thighs, and Jennie leaned forward to improve her view. She’d endured years apart from the man she loved and was entitled to ogle him. Without warning, Jared lifted her and pulled her against his hard, wet body.
“Jared, what are you doing?” But Jennie immediately forgot her halfhearted protest as her body gravitated to his like a key to a lock.
“I thought you wanted a shower?” Jared let her slide down his slick torso until her bare feet rested on his. His erection rubbed against her naked tummy. Her toes curled as he kissed her in a deeply satisfying way. When he ended the kiss, he looked at her expectantly, clearly waiting for her answer. If only she could remember the question. “So do you want to take a shower now, sweetheart?”
“Yes.” Jennie was incapable of more than a monosyllabic response.
Jared opened the enclosure to its full extent and scooped her up. Inside the humid shower, he lowered her gently onto the tiled floor. Jennie shivered under the rhythmic flow of the pulsing water, cool against her heated skin. She pushed her long hair out of her eyes, and the shower enclosure door clicked shut. A sigh escaped when she realized Jared wasn’t showering with her, especially since their guest wouldn’t be arriving for hours. She reached for the soft sponge and ylang-ylang shower cream and soaped her body.
The sponge disappeared as she lifted her arms to soap her breasts. Jennie looked over her shoulder, and through the water she saw her naked cowboy up close and personal. He enclosed her in his muscular arms, added shower cream to his large hands, and let them slide over her breasts and abdomen. Teasing sparks of renewed arousal skittered across her breasts and down her body to pool between her legs, which were still incredibly sensitive from their earlier passion.
Jared moved his bubble-covered hands lower, his long fingers blazing a trail of devastation. She leaned against his hard torso as her knees buckled. His erection pressed between her thighs, hot and insistent. He lifted and turned her so she faced him. Instinctively, she opened her legs and straddled him.
His intense gaze left her in no doubt what would happen next. He pressed her against the shower’s slippery walls. Legs braced, he thrust his cock deep inside her. Jennie wanted him to fill her, push her over the edge into sweet sensation. She drew him closer until he thrust into her balls-deep and catapulted her into a powerful orgasm, which rocked the shower enclosure. Jennie’s screams mingled with Jared’s rough voice shouting out her name as he followed her lead, intensifying her pleasure.
The shower spray relaxed her sated body as he withdrew and let her slide gently down his muscled frame until her feet touched solid ground. She swayed, but his arms anchored her as he washed the evidence of their loving away and turned off the shower.
Jared opened the enclosure and snagged a white, fluffy towel, which he draped over her. He lifted her into his arms and stepped into the en suite, keeping her tight against him until he laid her on the bed before dropping down beside her. He pulled her against him and held her until she slept.
***
The insistent buzz of a cell phone dragged Jennie out of her dreamless sleep. When she stretched and encountered a hair-roughened leg, her heavy eyelids lifted at the unexpected discovery. Her sleepy gaze skimmed over the muscled calf and thigh and rested on a semi-aroused shaft. She forced her gaze away from the tempting sight and let it skitter over the near-perfect six-pack and defined pectorals.
The corded throat vibrated. “Seen enough, Jen?”
Jared’s deep, gravelly voice made her shiver as it resonated in all Jennie’s pleasure points. “Oh, you’re awake…”
“Yeah, the phone buzzing woke me.” Jared stroked Jennie’s hair away from her eyes and pulled her close enough for a kiss. Jennie opened her mouth, and their tongues met and tangled. Sexual fireworks exploded along her nerve endings. Reluctant, she pulled away, anxious to know who had called and woken them. It might be important.
“Good morning to you too. Who called your cell?”
“The sheriff. He’s on his way.” Jared gently disengaged from Jennie’s embrace and stretched. She barely resisted the urge to trace the rippling muscles and tendons defined under his supple, tanned skin. “It’s evening, not morning, hun. We only slept for a short while. The sheriff’s coming here straight from the Interstate accident.” Jared got off the bed as he spoke.
“Have I got time for shower before the sheriff gets here?” Jennie slipped off the bed with a sense of déjà vu.
“He’ll be here in forty minutes, so yes, as long as it’s alone.” Jared’s smile reached his blue eyes. They twinkled with amusement and heat as Jennie recalled her last shower. She threw the still-damp towel in his direction. He caught it easily and wrapped it low on his hips.
Jennie snatched a quick, fortifying breath as she stared at the tent his erection made. Jared’s hot gaze speared hers when she looked up. “Sure you’re not sharing my shower, Jared?” She walked slowly towards him, uncaring of her nakedness. “I could help you with your wardrobe malfunction.” She walked past him, so close she could smell his arousal, but she didn’t look back until she stood in the en suite’s doorway. “Last chance.”
Jared groaned but stood his ground. “I can’t, but don’t think this is over.” He stroked his shaft through the towel. “This will keep.”
Jennie licked her lips, enjoying the heat burning in Jared’s stare.
“Enough. I’m out of here while I can still walk straight.” He reached her bedroom door in a few strides and snatched it open. “See you downstairs in twenty minutes.” Jared blew her a kiss and shut the door quietly behind him.
Jennie worried her bottom lip. She could follow Jared; his obvious arousal would make him a pushover. No, they needed to be downstairs and focused when the sheriff arrived with the investigator’s findings on Annie and Ralf’s plane crash. Whatever the outcome, Jared would need her support. Physical comfort could come later.
She turned on the shower and made the temperature colder than she favored. It would cool her libido and focus her for the ordeal ahead.
***
Ryder
The sun glinted on the powerful camera lens, which Ryder focused towards the Unicorn’s ranch house. He’d ridden back to the Pegasus when he left Jennie late that morning, disturbed by her none-too-subtle digging into his and Darleen’s past. He didn’t buy that she simply wanted to take a trip down memory lane. Jennie was suspicious, but how much did she really know?
Later, Ryder found where Jared was working and waited. When Jared and the men headed back towards the Unicorn late that afternoon, Ryder followed them, determined to watch Jennie and Jared together, to see if they were suspicious of him. He took the camera as an afterthought, hoping to add to his photographic record of Jennie. A few more candid shots to adorn the walls of his secret place would be pleasing.
What he saw at the ranch angered him. He clenched his long fingers around the camera as the screen showed an image of a man and a woman in a tender embrace. The image wobbled and blurred. When Ryder refocused the lens, the couple was gone. He noticed a movement at the French doors on the upper floor and remembered Jennie’s bedroom had French doors. They allowed the powerful lens an uninterrupted view of the couple, now in the throes of unfettered passion as they discarded their clothes and gave in to their animal urges. His hands shook uncontrollably at the tableau of love laid out before him.
Ryder furiously clicked the camera’s button. Later, in the silence of his sanctuary, he would relive the experience and torture himself for not preventing it. Jared had fucked Jennie, unaware he tampered with destiny. Jennie denied Ryder was her soul mate. Why didn’t she feel the magnetism he felt between them? She was a deceitful whore.
The sound of bone meeting a hard surface echoed in the silence. Ryder stared at the ground. Drops of dark red blood stained the dusty track. His gaze flicked to his bloody, bruised hand. The pain didn’t register, obliterated by the painful thump of his heart and the red fire that coated every thought in his aching head. Whatever it took, Ryder must ensure Jared and Jennie met their fate. A low, eerie howl of anguish echoed in his head. They would pay for his pain. It was no longer about the land or even the oil. It was personal. He would punish them until they accepted that they didn’t belong to each other but to him and Darleen.
The sound of cattle lowing and horses jostling forced Ryder back to the present. He needed to get away from here before he was recognized. He whistled for his horse, and the pinto trotted out of the group of horses feeding in the paddock on the edge of the Unicorn’s ranch complex. He picked up the camera and vaulted onto the horse’s back. He closed his fingers round the reins, and the horse moved swiftly away in the direction of the Pegasus. Fortunately, the horse knew the way because Ryder sat unseeing on his back, too lost in his hate to guide it.
Chapter 14
Jared
The sheriff took a long swig from the cold beer Jared had given him and stretched his legs out in front of him. Jared passed Jen her mineral water and snagged a beer for himself.
“It’s good of you to come over on your own time, Dan. Tomorrow would have been fine.” Jared sat on the swing seat, and Jen sighed as his leg brushed against hers. He would much rather be in bed with her than sitting here with the tired sheriff, who seemed settled for the night.
“I was close by, and this beer’s a real lifesaver after today.” Dan removed his Stetson and ran his fingers through his thinning hair, apparently unaware of the sparks arcing between Jared and Jen.
“Was it a bad accident?” Jen frowned.
“Over ten cars were involved but thankfully no fatalities.” Dan rubbed his chin, which was smudged with grime. “Now about the plane crash investigation, Jared.”
Jared’s grip tightened on the neck of the beer bottle, and he consciously relaxed his tense fingers. His father was not to blame, whatever the investigators decided. “So what’s the verdict, Dan?”
“There were traces of bomb components in the cockpit. It’s inconclusive, but the most likely cause is sabotage.” Dan clenched his beer bottle, his gaze serious.
“Someone planted a bomb on our plane? Where did it happen, at the airport in the city?” Jared’s mind whirled as he considered various scenarios. None of them offered any comfort.
“Unlikely it was at the airport. Their security is top-notch. Most likely it was planted when it was here on the ranch.” Dan took another swig of beer. His gaze didn’t waver.
“The plane was kept in a large barn in the centre of the property, miles from anywhere. Are you suggesting someone from the ranch did this?” Jared stood and paced the deck, his footsteps a repetitive tattoo.
“It’s a possibility.” Dan finished his beer and placed it at the side of his chair, his expression guarded.
“Jared, stop. Sit down.” Jen’s voice penetrated the red mist clouding his thoughts. He ceased pacing but leaned against the porch rail, too wired to sit. “What about the neighbours on the surrounding properties?” Jen asked. “Presumably they knew where you stored the plane?”
Jen wanted him to tell the sheriff she suspected Darleen and Ryder were behind this. Someone must pay for what happened to his parents, but Jared refused to fire Jen’s bullets. Her reasons for distrusting Darleen and Ryder had nothing to do with this. “Yes, I guess so.”
“So that would be the Pegasus Ranch, then?” Dan’s gaze flicked between Jared and Jen. “I thought you were on good terms with the owners. Darleen and Ryder now, isn’t it?” He smiled slightly; he knew Jared had dated Darleen a few months back.
“Yes, Darleen and I are friends, nothing more.” Angry now, Jared began pacing again; the repetitive exercise stopped him losing it. “Ryder is another story. He’s fixated on Jen. I want you to warn him off officially, Dan.”
“What about you, Jennie? Do you think they have a hidden grudge against the Unicorn?” An experienced lawman, Dan wouldn’t be diverted from his line of questioning.
“I don’t know for sure, Dan. I’ve only been back a few days. Darleen and Ryder weren’t running the Pegasus when I left.” Jennie glanced at Jared, her gaze wary. “Annie and Ralf died in that plane crash. The investigators say someone planted a bomb. At the very least, Darleen and Ryder need to be ruled out as suspects.”
“I’ll go there tomorrow. Find out what they were doing a few days before the crash. See how they react.” Dan stood up. “I’ll need to interview all your people here, Jared. I’ll send some deputies over first thing in the morning. In the meantime, I need a list of your cowboys and other staff. I’ll run them through the database to see if anything suspicious turns up.”
“I don’t like this. The ranch hands are like family. They all loved my parents. None of them would have done this.” Jared raked his fingers through his already-messy hair.
“I hope you’re right, Jared, but we have to eliminate them.” Dan patted him on the back.
“I’ll print you a list off.” Jared walked towards the office.
***
Jennie
“Do you really think someone from the ranch could be involved, Dan?” Jennie watched the sheriff closely after Jared had left.
“Gut feeling, probably not.” Dan smiled, his gaze full of sympathy. “Although what we know suggests it must be someone with local connections. They knew where Ralf stored his plane.”
“What do you know about Darleen and Ryder?” Jennie leaned forward.
“Not much at all. I knew their grandparents, of course, and I remember their son from before he went off to college, but he never came back, except for fleeting visits when Darleen and Ryder were small. He got married in the city. His wife was a city girl, and she wouldn’t live out here. I’m surprised—” Dan stopped as Jared returned.
Jared gave him the list of ranch employees. “What have I missed?”
“Jennie asked me about Darleen and Ryder. I don’t know them that well. There’s never any trouble on the ranch, so I’m not a regular visitor.”
Dan’s wary gaze made Jennie insistent. “You will speak to them about the plane, though, won’t you?” she asked as she touched Dan’s arm. She wanted action, not platitudes.
“I said I would.” Dan looked pointedly at her hand.
“Thanks, Dan, we appreciate it. If there’s anything else you need from me, just ask.” Jared rested his hand on Jennie’s shoulder, a gesture of comfort or to prevent her questioning Dan further, she couldn’t tell.
“Okay, I’ll get going. I’ll keep you up to speed, Jared. Nice to see you again, Jennie.” Dan’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. She’d overstepped a boundary and dented his professional, not to mention masculine, pride.
Jennie smiled at the lawman. “Bye, Dan, and thank you. I’m sorry if I was overzealous, but the number of accidents and near misses around here worry me.”
“I understand. We’ll get to the bottom of this, trust me.” Dan stood a little straighter. “I want to solve this before the federal authorities get involved. Once the report is finalized, they will be all over this place like a rash. It’s in everyone’s interest to find the culprit and get a confession before that happens.”
“I’ll walk you to your car, Dan.” Jared patted the older man on his back in a masculine show of support. His gaze flashed a warning at Jennie before he followed Dan down the steps into the ranch yard.
Jennie turned away in disgust. She liked Dan, but the laid-back sheriff was no match for a bomber and murderer. Perhaps she could uncover something to help him.
She picked up the laptop from the office desk and sank into the welcoming softness of the couch. She typed into the search engine:
Ryder and Darleen James.
She couldn’t call the federal authorities yet; she didn’t have any proof. Determined, she clicked on the first link associated with Ryder and began to read.
Still reading information snippets from the Internet a few minutes later, Jennie twisted her hair into a rough knot. When Jared strolled into the office and dropped a gentle kiss on her bare neck, she shivered and leaned back to look at him. Jared’s sad smile tugged at her heartstrings, and she leaned back against his rock-hard abs and let him draw her closer.
“Are you okay with the news, Jared? It’s awful that someone did this to Annie and Ralf deliberately.”
“I’m kind of relieved, if anything. At least no one can blame Dad. Move up. I need to hold you.”
Jennie put the laptop onto the floor and scooted across to allow Jared to sit with her. He pulled her onto his lap and rested his forehead against hers, and Jennie stroked the back of his head. Their lips met as a natural consequence of their embrace, and she could taste his pain. Short of breath, she drew back. Jared stared into her eyes, his gaze a volatile mix of anger, desire, and pain.
