Heartstealer (Women of Character3 (11 page)

"I need a drink," she
said.

Sloan stepped back and led her to
the bar, still holding her hand.

Jacie took a long drink of her
soda. "Sloan, I had no idea you were such a great dancer." She wiped
her mouth with a napkin, her voice breathless. "I'd dance with you any
time, Cowboy."

"I don’t do it that
often, but I do like to dance."

"What other accomplishments
are you hiding?" she asked playfully. "Where did you learn to dance
like that?"

"When I lived in the city.
There's a lot of nightlife out there as I’m sure you know. The first year
I lived there I was determined to sample all of it."

"I know what you mean."

She turned sideways and reached for
her drink. "I’ve always been one to sample whatever was out there. I
hate to miss out on any of the fun." She ran her finger around the edge of
her glass. "I’ll have to say though, in the last year I’ve
learned a bit of caution the hard way but I've never been tempted to give up
the night life. That sounds corny." She looked around. "I think about
you living here year round, living in such an isolated area. I don’t know
if I’d like it."

"Well, at least you’re
honest."

She smiled. "Sometimes to a
fault. You probably see me as too brash, maybe too independent. I’m not a
woman who wants to be taken care of most of the time." She gave a big
sigh. "It’s a pity we can’t get to know each other longer. I
think it would definitely be interesting." She stepped away from the bar.

"Where are you going,
Jacie?" he said.

She whirled to face him and
continued walking backwards. "I'm all ready to start in again. I can't let
that music go to waste." She held her hand out to Sloan and he
didn’t refuse her. He couldn’t.

Looking at her watch, Jacie decided
midnight was time to call it a night. What fun they’d had! Everyone had
loosened up, the place was still hopping, and she had been designated the dance
teacher. She didn't mind at all. She loved people! Poor Michelle, though, would
be staying until the party wound down. Looking at the other girl’s
animated face, she had a feeling she didn’t mind.

Knowing she had an early call in
the morning to prepare for tomorrow's preliminary jumps, she walked toward the
door and called good night as she went.

"Jacie, hang on a
minute." Sloan came up behind her. She had lost track of him in the last
half hour and had assumed he’d left.

As she pulled on her lightweight jacket
he came up behind her and lifted her hair out from under the collar. She turned
her head to thank him, but the words became lost as his fingers traced
fleetingly along the sensitive skin of her neck. She felt that caress clear to
her toes. She stared at his hands bemusedly. Did this man have fire in his
fingertips?

"Shall we?" he asked,
opening the door.

She lifted her face and a
refreshing breeze washed across her face. "Have you ever been drunk on
life? It's a great feeling."

"Since I’ve known you
Jacie, I’ve been asking myself all kinds of different questions. If the
way I feel right now is drunk on life, I owe it to you. I enjoyed dancing with
you."

"It was fun getting everyone
in a dancing mood." They walked along the now level road to her cabin.
"Do you live in the main lodge?" she asked idly. "I know some of
the ranch hands have rooms upstairs."

"I have a cabin a little
further up the mountain. There’s a side road before the cabins that goes
up there."

"How did you come up with the
idea of Timber Falls? This entire vacation concept? Did you and James buy this
place?"

"Our father bought it back in
the forties when land was dirt cheap. He didn’t move here until I was
about four."

"So you made the transition
from working farm to resort?"

"It’s still a working
farm. The resort is pretty much James' baby. Mine is beef cattle."

"It was your brother’s
idea to have paying guests?"

"Yes. In the beginning the
resort guests paid for the ranch and cattle. We're at a point now where the cattle
are paying for themselves and I'm expanding the breeding herd, trying out an
experimental cholesterol-free beefer."

Jacie was impressed. "I've
read something of cholesterol-free beef. Seems like it would be a good idea for
people with heart problems."

"The idea is certainly
catching on."

"So you started importing
guests?" she asked easily. "You don't strike me as a man who'd
welcome strangers on his property."

He shrugged. "I don't have too
much to do with the guests."

Jacie pondered his words.
"That’s interesting. You were there when I skydived into the ranch,
then you took me riding and here you are tonight, dancing and now walking me to
my cabin." With her usual curiosity, she had to find out what he meant.
"So you're here tonight because . . .."

"What do you think?" he
said simply. "Because of you."

She had sought that answer but now
that she had it, she dug her hands nervously into her jacket pockets.

"Well, that’s pretty
straightforward." The attraction made her feel vulnerable. He had deviated
from his usual routine because of her. Logic warned her to retreat . . .
yearning urged her to step closer. She wanted to kiss him again. That small
kiss earlier had only whetted her interest.

Sloan's hand clasped hers. She
stopped and faced him. His fingers brushed wisps of hair away from her eyes and
the light caress caused her heart to do a double beat.

"I’d like to kiss
you."

"Nothing like following words
with action," she murmured, her lips curving.

He leaned forward and touched his
mouth to hers.

She closed her eyes, enjoying his
touch, the sensation of his lips, the slight brush of his tongue along the rim
of her lips.

His lips left hers and she
reluctantly opened her eyes. "I think you’re a straight shooter too,
Jacie."

"I try to be." Right now
she felt muddled, unable to get the taste and feel of his lips out of her head.
"I feel like I’m addicted," she admitted a little shakily.
"Every time we kiss it kind of catches me off guard. I’ve never felt
like this."

"Yeah," he muttered.
"I know what you mean."

Jacie’s emotions were in a
turmoil . . . emotions that had been on hold since her break up with Brad. Now
with Sloan she kept thinking about giving in to the desire she felt for him.

She walked the remaining distance
to her cabin, climbed the porch stairs and sat on the metal glider. Drawing her
legs up, she stared up at the sky. "The moon came out," she observed,
her chin resting on her up-drawn knees. "I've never seen it so big. Right
now I can't imagine going back to my small apartment with no mountains in
sight." No Sloan.

His voice was low-pitched and
intimate, "Jacie, tell me about your life."

She felt a faint stir of panic and
breathed deeply in an attempt to dispel the flutter. "There's nothing to
tell, I lead a pretty boring life."

He walked up the steps and leaned
against the deck rail. She could see his grin in the porch light. "I find
that hard to believe coming from someone who jumps out of planes. Let me be the
judge," he added coaxingly. "Tell me."

The warmth and interest in his
voice drew her in. "We’ve moved from subtly lethal kisses to even
more dangerous territory."

"Is that how you see sharing
personal information?"

She forced a bright smile.
"Yes―but I'm not kidding, I do lead a boring life. I didn't always
think so," she added thoughtfully.

"What changed?" he
queried.

She chewed her lip. "My job
changed, my life. I went from being an active professional to doing hardly
anything at all. It was after my accident that the bottom seemed to drop out of
my life." She halted the rush of words, hating the underlying bitterness.
"God, that sounds self-pitying. It could have been worse, I could be
dead."

"What happened?"

She looked at his silhouetted
profile, familiar now with the quiet strength he exuded. She wanted to open up
to him, let him know about her but part of her still felt frozen inside.
"As you know my family's skydiving business specializes in cinematography,
film stunts."

"There’s nothing
ordinary about that business from my viewpoint."

She detected a trace of reserve in
his voice. "You’re right, of course."

"You travel a lot but
you’re mostly based in New York?"

"Yes, I've been all over the
United States and a few places internationally."

"It sounds exciting."

Lifting one shoulder, she pushed
her hair back with a careless hand. "I haven't done much of it
lately."

"Do you want to do resume that
life?"

She became still, thinking back
over the last year, the hospital, the pain . . . her family. She grimaced. Her
family.

"I had an accident on a job, a
freefall gone wrong. Since then everyone's pretty much avoided that question.
I've been recuperating and just hiding out." She made the admission
honestly, threading shaky fingers through her hair. "My friend Bonnie was
another one I’ve been hiding behind, shielding my emotions even from
myself. My family has been careful not to talk about that mistake in Venezuela.
Something happened with my chute. I should have checked it one last time but I
got careless. Since then, I’ve been afraid I couldn't handle the reality
of my job." She met his glance directly. "I'm taking this on a wing
and a prayer, hoping I'm not jeopardizing my job here by telling you this. This
job is my first assignment since the accident. I've done jumps, but not a real
job."

"I figured something was up
with you but I wasn’t sure what."

"I’m still the same
professional I’ve always been, but again, everything is different. I have
to get back into the routine so I can feel like I fit in the business
again."

"Your brother seems to keep a
close eye on you."

She grimaced. "Yes, it’s
a blessing and a curse. Con hasn’t left me alone for a minute. It got to
the point I felt as if he was babysitting me." She lifted her chin.
"I love my family, but they're too protective."

"So you returned to
work."

"I had to. I felt like I was
in limbo. Con probably realized that if I didn't get back into skydiving, I
might never do it again. As it is, I'm afraid I've lost that edge." She
felt vulnerable to have revealed so much. "I've let fear creep in."
She threw him a quick glance. "When I did this jump into Timber Falls, I
almost backed out."

"How did you manage it,
Jacie?"

She folded her arms and clenched
her jaw. "I had to. I couldn't admit defeat."

"There's no shame in admitting
you're scared. I don't know if it's something I’d ever do," he
admitted.

She crooked one brow and smiled at
him. "You would if you had to, or if you wanted to badly enough."

"Sounds like skydiving's been
part of your life too long to just let it go."

She emitted a half laugh. "I
have four brothers in the business. There was a time I couldn't imagine doing
anything else. At fourteen I did my first solo freefall. I don't know that I
ever made a conscious decision to make it my career. I just did it; it happened."

"How did your parents feel
about it?"

"Well, my mom had no problem
with it, she's the one who started the business, but Dad wasn't keen on his
only daughter taking up skydiving. Even so, he never tried to stop me." A
smile flitted across her lips. "Dad is our manager, though in recent years
Con has taken over most of that responsibility. I've been hell-bent on
skydiving most of my life. My family is giving me space to sort things
out."

"You seem to be working
through your fears," he said slowly.

"I can't imagine you being
afraid of anything, Sloan."

The rocking of the glider stopped.
She looked down and saw his boot against the metal leg.

"We've all got our
secrets," he said softly.

"Did your parents come?"
she asked abruptly, deliberately changing the subject. It felt like he was
getting too close to home. She wasn’t sure how much she was ready to
share.

"Yes, James picked them up.
They'll be staying with him and Dotty at their place in town for a couple days.
Myra . . . she's actually my step-mom. She and my dad live in Maryland. You'll
probably see them around this week."

"Oh, I thought you and James
had the same mother."

"My mother died when I was
young."

The glider swayed crazily a moment
as he joined her on the seat. She looked at him in surprise, the wanting
curling tightly inside. His shoulder brushed hers and he dropped his head down
until she could see the glitter of his eyes. His lips felt warm and tingling on
her mouth. A shock of sensation hit her. All kinds of wanton feelings surged, making
her forget the questions on the tip of her tongue about his mother.

Ω

Sloan had to touch her. Despite an
inner struggle to end the night before it began he grazed her lips with his
tongue, lightly, increasing the contact when her hands lifted and encircled his
neck.

He had it bad. His attraction to
Jacie blew to bits his good intentions to remain uninvolved. He was breaking
his own rules. He had danced with her and been given another glimpse into the
woman she was. Being with her felt like an exhilarating ride.

"After the day I had I should
be bone-tired and dragging. Instead, being with you I feel alive." When
she had roused his usually quiet vacationers into stomping and dancing down at
the bar, he hadn't known what to expect from her next.

He had had plenty of
unpredictability while growing up but his father had always been there to keep
him grounded. His mother had been like a butterfly, flitting from one exciting
pursuit to the next . . . usually at the expense of her family.