TWO HOURS LATER, as she was finishing feeding the horses and wondering which, if any of the stock, would sell to the buyer from Sisters, she heard the sound of Trask’s Blazer rumbling down the drive. Her heart seemed to leap inside her. She looked out the dusty window of the stables to confirm what her ears had told her and a smile grew from one side of her face to the other as she watched Trask’s vehicle stop near the house. He got out of the Blazer and stretched, lifting his hands over his head, and making his flat abdomen appear almost concave with the unconscious, but erotic movement. He was dressed in worn cords and a shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. The sight of him brought tears of relief to Tory’s eyes.
He started for the house, but she pounded on the window of the stables. Trask turned, squinted against the sun and his wonderful slightly crooked smile stole over his jaw when he noticed her. That was all the encouragement she needed. Without caring that they might be seen, Tory ran out of the stables and straight into his arms. He held her so tightly that her feet were pulled from the ground as he spun her around.
Bending his head, Trask kissed her passionately, sending warm bursts to every point in her body.
“What happened to you?” she asked breathlessly, once the lingering kiss was over. His arms were still around her, locking her body next to his, pressing her curves against the hard muscles of his thighs and torso. “I was worried to death!”
“I should have called,” he admitted, kissing her forehead and letting the faint scent of lilacs from her hair fill his nostrils. All of the frustrations that had knotted the muscles in the back of his neck since visiting the penitentiary seemed to melt away just at the sight of Tory’s enigmatic smile and the feel of her warm body pressed eagerly to his.
“At the very least you should have called! You had Neva and me out of our minds with worry.”
“Neva, too, huh?” he asked with a frown.
“What did you expect would happen when you disappeared?”
“I had no idea I was so popular,” he said with a smile and she laughed, her hands still clutching his shoulders. Through the light cotton fabric of his shirt, she could feel the corded strength of his muscles tightening around her as he kissed her once again before lifting his head. His blue eyes smoldered with aroused passion.
“Why didn’t you come back last night?” she managed to ask, though her thoughts were centered on the feel of his body pressed tightly against her.
“It didn’t cross my mind that it would take all day and half the night to finish what I’d set out to do. I didn’t get back to the cabin until two-thirty and even if I had a phone there, I wouldn’t have called. I thought you’d already be in bed.” That thought brought a seductive curve to his lips.
“I was!” she retorted trying to sound angry and failing. She lovingly traced the rugged set of his jaw with a finger. “I was in bed tossing and turning and wondering what horrible fate had come to you.” Unconsciously she touched the cut on his chin. “You don’t have a great track record for keeping yourself safe, you know. I stared at the c
eiling and the clock all night long.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, refusing to release her and grinning broadly. His blue eyes twinkled with the morning light and he kissed her finger when it strayed near his mouth. Her breath caught in her throat at the feel of his tongue on her fingertip. “You paint a very suggestive picture, y’know,” he whispered hoarsely. “I would have done just about anything to be with you last night.” Familiarly his hands slid up her back, drawing her still closer to him, letting her feel the need rising within him. Instantly her body began to react and as his head dipped again, she parted her lips, anxious for the taste of him. How right it felt to be held in his arms with the warmth of the morning sun at her back.
“Maybe we should make up for lost time,” he suggested against her ear.
She had to clear her throat and force herself to think rationally. The feel of Trask’s body pressed urgently against hers made it difficult to think logically. “Later, senator,” she said, trying to ignore the sweet rush of desire flooding her veins. “I’ve got work to do and I want to hear everything you found out yesterday.”
“Can’t it wait?” His breath fanned her ear.
She swallowed with difficulty and the feel of his palms pressed against the small of her back made refusing him incredibly difficult. Tory was tempted to say “yes” but she couldn’t forget the threatening letter she had received just the day before. “I don’t think so,” she replied, reluctantly slipping out of his embrace and taking his hand to lead him toward the house. “You’re not the only one who has something to say.”
For the first time he noticed the trace of worry in her gray-green eyes. “Something happened last night?”
They were approaching the path leading to the back of the house. Alex, who had been lying under his favorite juniper bush, tagged along behind them and slid through the screen door when Tory opened it.
“Yesterday,” Tory clarified. She poured them both a cup of coffee, placed a plate of leftovers on the floor for Alex’s breakfast and retrieved the note from a drawer in her father’s desk in the den.
Trask’s eyes narrowed and glittered dangerously as she studied the single sheet of paper. “This has gone too far,” he muttered. His fists clenched in frustrated rage and the muscles of his forearms flexed. “First Neva was threatened, and now you.”
“Apparently someone has something to hide.”
“And he’ll go to just about any lengths to keep his secret hidden.” Trask let out a long sigh and leaned against the counter. “Have you talked to the sheriff?”
“Not yet.”
“What about any of John Davis’s men?”
Tory shook her head. “The one man assigned to the ranch keeps a pretty low profile. He’s only been inside the house a couple of times, but several of the hands have commented about his presence.”
Trask’s head snapped upward. “And what have you told them?”
“That I’m trying to prevent another one of the calves from being shot, you know, protecting the livestock.”
“And they bought that story?” His dark brows raised suspiciously.