Cowboy & the Captive (11 page)

His tongue was a weapon of sensual torture. It flickered in and out of her vagina, licking up the shallow cleft to torment her swollen clit, his lips covering it, suckling it, his tongue rasping over it. She was seconds from an orgasm. She could feel it building in her womb, her nerve endings gathering themselves for the explosion to come.

“Hey Luc, where the hell are you?” She froze at the sound of the unfamiliar voice echoing through the house. “Dammit, boy, thought you wanted to sell those horses.”

Luc jerked back. As he looked up at her in surprise, Melina felt her womb contract in vicious need at the sight of his lips glistening with the proof of her arousal.

“Fuck.” His voice was brutally rough with lust, his eyes nearly black as he straightened quickly.

He pulled her shirt down quickly, then her skirt. Grabbing a clean cloth from the rack over the washer, he quickly dried his lower face, his expression rueful as he stared back at her.

“Sam August,” he muttered. “Hell. Get presentable, baby. That’s one ole boy you don’t want to tempt.”

“Well hell, no wonder you didn’t answer.” Amused and blatantly confident, the laughing male voice was like a splash of ice water to Melina’s hormones.

The big cowboy suddenly framed in the doorway was breathtakingly handsome. Laughing blue eyes watched them in amusement as sensual lips curved upward in response to Luc’s curse. “Should I come back later?”

“You should get your ass back in the kitchen until I get there,” Luc snapped, frowning at Melina’s surprised look.

Sam August laughed quietly. “That’s okay, Luc, Heather would have my balls if I even considered it. Do what you have to do and get out here. I brought her with me and she gets a mite impatient if she has to wait too long.”

Melina looked between the two men in astonishment as Luc helped her from the washer, shielding her body with his as though trying to hide her from the other man.

“Maria Angeles, right?” Sam craned his neck to see around Luc. “Hell, son, she don’t look tough enough to be a criminal…”

The kick Melina delivered to Luc’s shin was anything but weak as she pushed past him and moved for the doorway. Fury engulfed her. Damn him to hell and back.

“What the hell…” Luc stared down at her with a glimmer of his own anger. “What was that for?”

Rather than answering him, she turned back to his friend.

“Maria Angeles, my ass,” she informed Sam heatedly. “Try Melina or I’ll take your head off right after I get finished taking his off. Now, excuse me while I go try to find my sanity. I’m sure it’s floating around here somewhere.”

She stalked from the washroom past a surprised Sam August, her head held high as she mentally kicked herself for ever believing, for even a second, that there was a chance in hell that Luc Jardin could have even considered suspecting she wasn’t Maria. Hell, he had even told his friends about her. And only God knew what he had told them.

Twit, she accused herself again. And it wasn’t like she didn’t deserve it. She had fallen into Luc’s hands like the silly ninny he thought she was. And this time, she couldn’t even blame it all on him. She had done everything but beg for the humiliation. Twit.

Chapter Thirteen

Melina had every intention of rushing straight upstairs as she cursed herself for her lapse in common sense. And she would have, if she hadn’t nearly run over the slender redhead who had her head buried in the depths of the nearly empty refrigerator.

“Oh. Hello.” The other woman straightened and flashed Melina a bright smile before glancing back at the cavernous interior of the appliance. “I’m convinced Jardin is a vampire. The man has to exist on some sort of nourishment, but you never see anything in his fridge.” She gestured to the half empty gallon of milk, a few jars of pickles and a full package of lunchmeat.

“That’s because his cooking abilities are zero.” Melina reached up and jerked open the upper freezer to display the myriad TV dinners, and frozen entrees he kept stored there.

“Oh.” Her expression seemed to drop as she sighed in disappointment. “I knew I should have made Sam stop at the hamburger joint in town.” She closed the door and stuck out her hand. “I’m Heather August. You must be Luc’s kidnap victim. You know, it’s against the laws of the Geneva Council to starve prisoners. You should mention this to Luc.”

Melina shook her hand automatically as she stared back into the amused green eyes regarding her. Heather August wasn’t much taller than Melina. She had a healthy, wholesome appearance, clear creamy skin with only a scattering of freckles across her nose. Long red hair, pulled back from her face and bound into an intricate braid that fell past her shoulder blades, hinted at a temper that was nowhere in sight at the moment. She was dressed in jeans and a loose, dark blue silk blouse.

Her hands were propped on her hips as she regarded Melina curiously.

“Amazes me how everyone knows and yet I’m still stuck here. Kidnapping is against the law,” Melina grunted as she stood aside for Luc and Sam to enter the room.

“So is drug running,” Luc retorted as he passed her. “Beats prison. Remember?”

Heather laughed softly before Melina could snap out a reply to Luc. “If I thought you were in any danger, I would kick his ass myself. But I have to admit, you’re not what I expected. You’re definitely not the drug runner type.”

Melina felt like rolling her eyes. “Could be because I’m not a drug runner.” She cast Luc a hateful glance as he followed her into the kitchen. “Exactly who all have you told anyway? If I find out the law enforcement in this God forsaken…wherever I am…knows about this, I’m not going to be happy.”

Luc arched his brow mockingly as his dark gray eyes filled with amusement.

“I haven’t seen the sheriff in a few weeks, actually. I didn’t get around to telling him about it.”

“Why not just take out a damned newspaper ad?” Melina snapped temperamentally. “Then you wouldn’t have to remember to tell anyone.”

Luc chuckled, though Sam and Heather both seemed to watch her curiously.

“A newspaper ad isn’t nearly as fast as some people’s wagging tongues,” Sam laughed. “Luckily for Luc, we’re trustworthy.” He turned to Luc then. “Let’s go do some horse trading. Maybe your woman will have pity on mine and fix something edible. Those frozen dinners are gonna kill you, boy.”

Melina crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the two men furiously. “I am not his woman. He didn’t court me, he kidnapped me.”

“The best marriages in the west started that way.” Sam shrugged, then chuckled when his wife’s fist landed on his thick shoulder. “That’s my cue to go.” He turned to Luc. “Let’s go check out my horseflesh, Luc, before I get myself in trouble.”

Melina watched Luc, her eyes narrowing as he struggled to hide his own grin and followed Sam from the house. She wanted to hate him, wanted to blame him, but the more time she spent with him the less she looked forward to him learning the truth of who she was. And that only made her madder. Though the anger was directed more at herself now than at Luc.

“He’s a hard man, but he’s a good man.” Heather’s voice suddenly interrupted her musings. “And I think he’s a little bit fonder of you than perhaps he’s letting on.”

Melina sighed and looked over at the other woman. “You’re hungry?” She ignored Heather’s observation.

“Not really.” She shrugged. “I just like to hassle him over it. He never eats properly.”

Melina snorted. “The man can’t boil water safely. Thankfully, he kidnapped someone who does know how to cook. How about some coffee and cinnamon rolls instead?”

“Sounds great. Can I do anything to help?” Heather asked as Melina moved to the coffee maker and began making a fresh pot.

“The rolls were baked this morning and coffee won’t take but a few minutes.” Melina shrugged. “Go ahead and sit down. I’ll have it ready soon.”

Silence filled the small room as Melina prepared the coffee, removed the cups from the cabinet and set out the fresh baked rolls she had fixed that morning. It took only minutes for the coffee to brew; during that time Melina laid out small saucers, sugar and cream and endured Heather’s narrow-eyed perusal.

She wondered what Luc had told the couple about her. Of course, they would have known about Maria’s part in the shooting two years before. Luc seemed rather close to the other man, so she had no doubt that Sam August knew about it. There had also been a glimmer of resentment in the other man’s eyes when he watched her. He was polite, a bit mocking maybe, but she could tell he was concerned about Luc.

Heather seemed more direct, though she had yet to say anything. She merely watched as Melina prepared the coffee, poured it into oversized cups and then returned to the table.

“You’re the sister,” Heather finally said softly. “You’re not Maria.”

Surprised, Melina stared over at the other woman.

“Luc swears there isn’t a sister,” she said sarcastically. “So you must be wrong.”

Heather laughed gently. “I would say Luc spent very little time researching his subject. The minute Sam told me what Luc had done I got on the computer. I have to admit, I’m glad he didn’t kidnap Maria. She would have made certain he went to prison for it.”

“And you think I won’t?” Melina asked coolly as she stirred sugar into her coffee.

Heather tilted her head to the side and regarded her for long moments.

“I don’t think you will. I think you’re more likely to fuck him silly than you are to see him locked up behind bars.”

Melina could feel the heat filling her face and knew she was flushing in both embarrassment and knowledge. The other woman was far too perceptive.

“I’m more likely to kill him myself.” She sighed. “Do you intend to help me convince him he has the wrong woman?”

Heather leaned back in her chair and watched her silently. Melina found that those green eyes could be uncomfortably focused as she stared back at her.

“Why not just let him hang himself?” Heather finally shrugged. “I’ve rarely seen Luc smile as he did today. He’s more relaxed—almost happy. And I don’t sense a burning desire in you to be free.”

She was much too close to the truth.

“I should be desperate to escape.” Melina shook her head at that knowledge. “I think I’m a failure as a kidnap victim.”

The episode on that washer earlier proved that. She would have begged him to take her then and there if Sam hadn’t shown up. And she wouldn’t have regretted it, she thought. She would have gloried in it.

“I think maybe you’re just what he needs right now.” Heather leaned forward again and picked up her coffee cup. “Teach him how to cook while you’re here. Maybe he won’t kill himself with frozen dinners after you leave…that is, if he lets you leave.”

Melina wondered at the smile that played about the other woman’s lips as she lifted her coffee cup and sipped at the hot brew. Heather seemed much too convinced that leaving wouldn’t be an option.

“He has to let me go soon.” Melina glanced out the window to her side, watching as Luc led one of the huge horses from the barn for Sam to examine. “He won’t keep me forever.”

No matter how much she wished he would. For a moment, shock vibrated through her system. This wasn’t what she wanted, was it? It wasn’t a question she could answer right then.

“Stranger things have happened.” Heather shrugged. “But what will be, will be. Now tell me about your sister and how the hell you ended up being kidnapped in her place. I’m dying of curiosity.”

Chapter Fourteen

Heather and Sam hadn’t stayed long, but by the time the two men had concluded their visit, Melina knew she had made a friend. Not that Luc seemed comfortable with the idea, nor did Sam. But both men seemed smart enough not to comment on it. Besides, as the evening wore on, Melina could tell that Luc had something much more serious on his mind.

He kept watching her silently. His dark gray eyes were reflective, his expression too serious to suit her. She had a feeling she knew what was coming, but when the question was voiced, she found that she still didn’t have the answers that would have placated him.

“What happened to frighten you last night?” Luc’s softly voiced question finally came after dinner.

Melina stood in front of the sink finishing the last of the dinner dishes and staring through the window at the steadily darkening backyard. She lowered her head, focusing on the thick mass of suds that covered her hands and wondered what to tell him.

The truth can often hurt, and Melina had no desire to hurt Luc. The fact that he had been the catalyst that ended with her in that jail cell that week had been forgiven long ago. Her own foolishness, she realized, was the reason she had landed there. She had trusted her parents, had trusted Maria, when she knew better.

She flinched as she heard the chair he was sitting in scuff across the floor. Her gaze rose to the window, her heart speeding up in her chest as he approached her. His expression was somber, his black hair falling over his brow, his lips compressed into a controlled line as his eyes met hers in the reflection.

“Wouldn’t any woman be frightened at the thought of being tied naked in a stranger’s bed?” she finally snapped in defense.

He was getting too close. She could feel the heat of his body along her back now, the intensity that was so much a part of him wrapping around her with gossamer threads of emotion.