A shiver ran through her body, and she crossed her arms. "Of course not. It's just
not safe."
"Probably not. They've found more than one body at the bottom of this ridge." He
took a couple of steps back.
She wondered if he'd considered ending it all at some time in the past. If his life had
once been so unbearable that he'd considered a swift leap into eternity. The thought of
him dying pierced her with fright. Before she could speak, though, he continued.
"People speculated that Sadie Cutley jumped off here, but her body was never
found, so unless a predator took off with her body, I don't think she did jump.
Sometimes when I stand up here, I think I can hear her voice. Telling me that she had
secrets, and that the secrets are in your excavation, waiting to be found." He turned
around, pinning her with his bright gaze. "If she did fall off, it's more likely she was
pushed."
A grisly thought came to her mind. "You think she was killed because someone
thought she was wealthy?"
"It's possible. But as I told you when we first met, I don't know that there are any
valuables. Legends are legends."
Shane looked at the ground and once again she sensed he knew more than he could
tell her.
"Perhaps I was attacked because someone believes there's treasure."
"That's why I wanted you out of here. These people mean business."
"Who are they?"
"Assholes who wouldn't hesitate to twist your beautiful neck if they thought it
would suit them." His words came harsh and dark, like the taste of bitter coffee on her
tongue.
"Why do you want to protect me from them?"
His shoulders bunched and flexed as he shrugged. "You really have to ask that?"
Recalling the day they'd been in The Golden Brand together and he'd twisted her
words, turning her questions back upon her, she said, "You know I wouldn't leave."
"I've guessed that by now."
"Tell me more, Shane. Tell me what's going on with the excavation. Does it have
something to do with this agency you worked for?"
"I can't tell you any more."
She sighed, a tremor of disappointment making her voice unsteady. "And you want
me to trust you."
He returned to her side, his gaze warm and full of entreaty. "Do you?"
She wanted to. She realized with a warm glow in her heart that she did. More than
she thought she ever could trust a man again. "Yes." She chewed on her lip. "I'll admit
that not knowing the whole package frightens me."
For long moments Shane didn't speak. His gaze, warm and laced with barely
controlled need, melted her bones and made her weak in the knees. At the same time,
she saw speculation and maybe even empathy in her eyes, as if he'd been as
apprehensive as she was at one time.
"I'll tell you what's scary," he said finally. "Having you in my arms. It's like the
world doesn't exist. I could get lost there and never surface."
Stunned by the revelation in his words, she froze. For the second time in less than a
couple of minutes, he'd thrown her back with the force of a bomb by saying things she
didn't expect. He'd described exactly what she'd felt when he kissed her, loved her
breasts, licked her pussy and sucked her clit. Just thinking about what he'd done, what
she'd allowed, made her cream with instant arousal.
"I can see why you made a good agent. There's no getting a straight answer out of
you." She allowed herself a small, compliant smile.
"Hmm. Well, maybe you're not asking me the right questions." Low and husky, his
tone rippled over her like silk, caressing her ears delicately. "I used to come up here
every day after I'd finished with all the chores." He turned away again, taking in the
scope of the miles of wilderness around him. "I wondered if Sadie ever regretted
cutting herself off from people. Did she wish she'd found something deep and
meaningful?"
Emma walked toward him, knowing that he could hear the crunch of the rocks
under her feet. When she stood behind him, she took a chance. She placed a hand on his
shoulder, enjoying the coiled strength under her fingers. He stiffened, but he didn't turn
around.
"How could she? She was alone."
"You're alone, Shane. But you told me you were happy on the ranch until recently. I
sense a strength in you that doesn't need anyone or any thing. There's nothing wrong
with self-sufficiency." She swallowed hard. "You're not tied down and you don't have
to answer to anyone else's whims."
He pivoted toward her, his eyes haunted with years of secrets and pain. Her hand
slipped from his shoulder. "What about you, Emma? Don't you ever need someone?"
Would he notice the way her pulse leapt when he spoke in that intimate, hoarse
tone? "I stopped being needy a long time ago. I realized that not everyone is cut out to
bond."
He reached up almost reluctantly to touch the bandage on her head. "Or maybe,
like Sadie, you had love once and let it go."
Her heart expanded with an unsteady, tumultuous emotion she didn't want to
define. "I've never stayed in one place long enough for relationships."
"Work?"
She nodded. "Yes. And I like it that way."
"What's the old saying about the pot calling the kettle black?"
Frowning, she gave him her most disapproving look. "What do you mean?"
"You can't practice what you preach."
Mild animosity, similar to what she'd experienced when she first met him, rolled
through her. "Full of adages today, aren't we?"
"I can feel it in you." He traced the delicate line of her collarbone with his index
finger. "You want me to reveal everything I know, but you're hiding from me.
Something is eating you deep inside, Emma. If it's anything like what I've experienced
over the years, I know how you feel."
How could he know? He'd never killed anyone. "You couldn't know," she said as he
stepped a little closer.
That damnable smile flickered over his lips quickly. "Why? Do you still think I'm a
dumb cowboy?"
She grinned. "Of course not." She looked past him, into the sky where the wispy
clouds grew darker, heralding storms for the afternoon.
Shane moved closer, this time cupping her face in both his hands as he looked
down at her. She reached up to touch one of his hands. She ached, a desire to kiss him
potent in her blood.
He leaned in closer, his lips so close, she only needed to reach up and pull his head
down to her. "Maybe Sadie came here to forget. What can I do to make you forget?"
Like the wavering of a match flame, she saw the old Shane, hard and cool, then the
warm, passionate man she'd discovered in his embrace. He was searching for
something elusive. In that moment she tossed off a couple more inhibitions, wanting to
give him whatever he needed to erase the wounds, the hurt that obviously dwelled
deep in his heart. Perhaps in return she'd have moments of enjoyment. She could leave
Gambit Creek when this was over with a memory of sweetness and passion.
What would it take to make her forget the past? A night in Shane's arms? She took a
deep breath. "Here's another old saying for you. Better to
have loved once than to have
never loved at all."
"Have you ever loved like that?"
"No," she said. "Never."
She smiled. He returned her grin, the warmth of it glowing over her like the hot
rays of sun that warmed the earth on a cold winter day. Emma felt herself sinking,
drifting toward something that felt suspiciously like more than admiration. She dangled
over the edge of the ridge, about ready to take a step off. She could be certain that at the
bottom was the end to all pain.
He released her face and she lost the moment.
As large as the space between one canyon wall to the next, a gap existed between
them and she didn't know if they could cross it. Shane had his own world here in
Gambit Creek. Moving into his territory too far could be fatal to a woman's heart.
She walked away from the ledge and went to stand by the horse. Charlie walked up
to her, but she barely noticed. "I want to go back to the site. If there's something down
there people are willing to hurt others for, we'd better find it before they do."
* * * * *
As they came to the edge of the clearing where the site lay, Shane's senses
heightened, broadening and readying for trouble. The weapon in his saddlebag brought
some consolation, but Emma could be in danger just being with him.
Then again, if she stayed at the ranch house she could also be in jeopardy. No
matter what he did, her life was threatened.
In danger from the people who wanted Sadie's treasure. In danger from forces she
couldn't begin to understand.
In danger from his raging hormones.
Shane felt the ache in his loins like a fire. Never, in all his life, had a woman made
him dizzy with longing, this intoxicated with a need to sink deep within her. He'd been
crazy to think he could withstand the hot press of her bottom against his groin or the
softness of her within his arms. But he couldn't allow her to ride alone when she'd been
injured the day before. If she fell from the horse because she didn't feel well, he'd never
forgive himself. He'd thought he could keep a kiss controlled, then found his passion
unleashed, wild, unwilling to keep a rein on his desire. Tasting her breasts was heaven,
but lingering over her hot, slick pussy and her musky nectar had almost made his cock
spew cum. He hadn't been with a woman in a damned long time, and if he'd found a
way to fuck her up on that ridge, he would have ejaculated within one thrust. Even
now, his cock throbbed.
He gritted his teeth until his jaw ached. He rode on a thin edge, wavering between
losing control and pushing her away from him entirely. Neither alternative appealed. In
both directions lay pain. He'd never seen an indication she'd go for a meaningless
affair, and he found he didn't want one. Yet forcing her to leave his ranch where he
couldn't keep an eye on her gnawed at his sense of responsibility and his growing
concern for her. Whether he liked it or not, Emma had fallen smack-dab in the middle of
the mess.
He couldn't do a damned thing about it. Nothing but protect her.
As Shane dismounted from the horse and then helped Emma down, he made sure
he didn't let his hands linger on her waist. He knew if he did he'd want to draw her
close.
Walking over to the pit, Emma examined the site and then leaned down to remove
the rocks that held the tarp over the hole. "This doesn't look right."
"What's wrong?" He started to help her.
The answer became clear when they pulled away the tarp. Pitted and scarred by
rampant digging, the trench was ravaged.
"Fuck," Shane said.
"Bastards," she whispered. "Whoever hit me on the head must have something to
do with this."
"Possibly."
Her glance went to him, sharp and accusatory. "Isn't your so-called secret
government organization supposed to stop this sort of thing? Where the hell was
protection for the site?"
"I'm all the protection the site has." Putting his hands on his hips, he shifted from
one booted foot to another as he assessed the damage. "Two months ago I realized
someone had been poking around this area. Someone cut a few of my fences and there
were tire tracks. I kept a watch out for whoever was trespassing, but without results."
"Looks like they're back."
"We don't know it's the same people."
He shook his head. "Fuck it. I thought I'd given up on this part of my life.
More missing pieces must have fallen into place for Emma. Her eyes flashed with a
cold fire that screamed residual anger. "And when Grant and I came to do the
excavation and ended up on your side of the ranch, you suspected us."
"Yes and no. I did a background check on you and Wilder. Nothing about Wilder
showed anything other than a guy trying to keep his business afloat."
She leaned over and retrieved a palm-sized rock and he wondered if she imagined a
dozen ways to bash him over the head. "And what did you find out about me?"
"That you've been working with Grant for a short time. You have a modest
apartment but you don't spend much time there. Your mother and father retired to
Longmont a month ago and you don't talk to them much, if ever. Before you acquired
your job with Grant Wilder, you were on a dig in South America that was cut short by a
small military uprising. You got out by the seat of your pretty ass because the colonel
who led the insurrection liked blonde women and allowed you and your crew to leave
before the border closed permanently. You've spent a large part of your life on
archaeological expeditions in Egypt, Peru, France, Germany and England. Not exactly a
dull life, Emma."
She tossed the rock from palm to palm. A tiny smile twitched across her lips. "I
suppose you also know where I buy my red underwear."
Uncontrollably, he smiled. "Victoria's Secret."
Her mouth popped open again and she dropped the rock into the trench. "You
really found that out through your spook agency?"
"No. I read the tags on your bra and panties."
Pink tinged her cheekbones. "Oh." Then her cheeks paled again, as if she'd thought
of something horrible. "How much can you find out about a person's life, Shane?"
"With my connections, probably about anything I want."
When she didn't say anything, he grew suspicious. Obviously she hid something
else from him. One part of him wanted to demand answers. The other part knew he
couldn't expect her to say more when he hadn't revealed everything about himself.
He'd let her keep the secret for now.
"I'm beginning to wonder about Grant," he said, switching avenues. "It looks to me
like he's left the area for good. And last night, while I was away from the ranch,
whoever is in on this ransacked your site."
"You're sure it was last night?"
"It had to be. I checked out the site before I went looking for you at the
campground. Nothing had been disturbed at that time."
He could almost see her quick mind working at the speed of lightning. After giving
him a narrow, assessing look, she bent over the trench again. She looked through the
upturned dirt, using a trowel to see if the cretins who had savaged the pit had filched
anything valuable. Nothing.
"Well,
either the treasure was here and is gone, or they hacked away and didn't
find anything." She stood and tossed the trowel to the side, disgust on her face.
He moved to stand next to her and reached to touch her shoulder. He looked up at
the ridge where they had been and the surrounding mountainous terrain. "I'm not
comfortable with this setup as it is. Come on. Let's get out of here."
They headed back to the ranch house, and during the trip Shane knew someone
watched them. The feeling didn't really make sense. Charlie probably would have
realized an intruder lurked and started barking. But the sensitive dog hadn't barked
once or acted nervous. He shrugged off his apprehension and concentrated on ignoring
the rampant craving running through him to send the horse galloping back to the
house. Emma had tied her ruined shirt up under her breasts so that her flat, smooth
belly was exposed above her jeans. He'd been bold enough to place his palm over her
flat, naked belly to keep her steady on the horse.
Safely home and once they'd put the big mare back in her stall, Shane noticed how
stiffly Emma walked on the way back to the house.
"Saddle sore?" he asked.
"You could say that." She rubbed the back of her neck as they went in the back
door, Charlie trailing behind them. Shane removed his boots and she slipped off her
athletic shoes.
"Why don't you take a hot bath and relax? I'll make us something to eat." He came
up behind her and touched her shoulders. She twitched slightly. "Easy. You're as
jumpy as a filly."
"I guess it's this whole situation."
"Such as?"
She laughed, but not with humor. "If you'd asked me last week if I thought
everything that's occurred in the last couple of days would happen, I'd have said you
were crazy."
"This coming from a woman who scraped her way out of South America simply
because she's beautiful as hell."
As his fingers kneaded her tense shoulder muscles, he felt her shudder again.
She turned, breaking his grip on her shoulders. Her expression transformed to a
worried frown. "I have a terrible feeling."
"What is it?"
"Something must have happened to Grant. I didn't want to think about it until now,
but he hasn't turned up or tried to contact me. It doesn't make sense."