Natural Born Trouble (20 page)

She'd lost count of the exact number of times he'd managed to steal a kiss since they'd met. She just knew it was enough to make sure she craved them. She'd moved them straight to the top of her list of things to avoid at all costs, way, way above hot fudge sundaes.

Which just proved how totally and thoroughly perverse she was. She knew the pitfalls of a relationship with a man like Duke. Ironically, she had conceded now that he was nothing like Rob. He probably wouldn't dump her on a whim without the slightest consideration of his boys. In fact, he was very much a single father whose first obligation was always going to be to his sons. And at the moment, what he wanted most to give them was a mom. In fact, she suspected that at least fifty percent of his actions lately had been calculated to claiming her not for himself, but for them. Making her the substitute mom for his kids would create a strong bond, but not strong enough to withstand the lure of another woman he might someday decide he wanted all for himself.

Nobody knew the danger of playing with that particular fire better than she did. That didn't seem to stop her from shivering like a wisp of grass in the wind every single time he touched her. Thinking about him only a few feet away, naked, was enough to send shock waves through her.

He was going to touch her tonight, too. Any minute, in fact. She just knew it, knew it with the certainty of a woman who was head over heels in love and searching for signs and portents in every single glance and innocent caress.

He was going to brush one of those oh-so-casual kisses across her forehead. She was going to subconsciously moisten her lips and then,
wham,
his mouth was going to slant across hers, and there would be no stopping what happened next. Pent-up sexual frustration had a way of exploding sooner or later. This was definitely later, which meant the explosion was likely to be of atomic proportions.

* * *

Duke started his shower with the water as hot as he could stand it, hoping to chase away the chill that had cut all the way through to his bones. It didn't heat him nearly as fast as thinking about Dani being right outside the door, maybe resting on one of those impossibly huge beds.

He chuckled at the memory of her expression when she'd seen them. She'd looked flabbergasted, panicky and then, in surprisingly short order, wistful. He took the last as a very good sign.

Not that she wasn't sending out more mixed signals than an inexperienced Ham radio operator. He knew in his gut that it wasn't a question of her being indecisive. He figured she'd already made up her
mind that she wanted to make love. She just hadn't figured out how to deal with the aftermath, the inevitable, unspoken questions that always tumbled through a woman's mind when she wasn't sure where a relationship was headed.

Duke figured he had enough answers for both of them. This wasn't going to be a one-night stand, if that's what she feared. It was simply going to seal their fate, tie up the deal like a signature on a contract. He would go home from Fort Worth with two palominos, one skittish pinto and a fiancée.

“Now, that's romantic,” he muttered under his breath. “Tell her that and you can kiss marriage goodbye.”

Fortunately, he'd had the foresight to plan the rest of their evening with more care. He'd done more than peek into that restaurant. He'd spoken to Mr. Perez and planned an evening that would bring tears to her eyes and, with any luck at all, melt her heart.

By the time they got to the restaurant, there would be a bouquet of fresh flowers to replace the artificial ones on the table. Instead of a dripping red candle in an old wine jug, there would be half a dozen thick white candles casting a glow from fancy silver holders. Mr. Perez said the family had brought many pieces of fine silver from Mexico, and they would be happy to share them on such a night. And, yes, he had the perfect bottle of champagne. Like his wife, Mr. Perez had the soul of a romantic. He'd understood immediately what Duke was after.

“Very big night,
sí?
”

“Very big,” Duke had agreed. The most important of his life.

Just thinking about the dinner and his plans for after raised his body temperature to a shade under unbearable. Suddenly, he had to shut off the hot water and replace it with cold. Which meant he left the shower right back where he'd started, chilled to the bone and shivering.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped back into the room to grab his clothes. At the sight of Dani sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, her eyes glued to the TV, he halted in his tracks.

“What the hell are you watching?” he demanded as he glimpsed bodies writhing on the screen.

“Cable,” she said, her voice breathless and vaguely stunned.

Choking back a chuckle, he inquired lightly, “X-rated cable, by any chance?”

She nodded, but never looked away from the screen. Duke didn't dare follow her gaze for more than a flash. Too many images like the one on-screen, and they would never get out of the room for dinner.

Dani tilted her head to follow the unlikely angle of the action. “Can you imagine?” she murmured.

“Dani?”

“Hmm?”

“Turn it off.”

Her head snapped up, eyes wide. “What?”

“Turn it off,” Duke said in a choked voice.

“But why?”

She studied him intently. Duke recognized the precise instant when she noticed his arousal. Suddenly, she grinned impishly.

“It's very educational,” she told him.

“Any education you need along those lines, I'll be glad to give you firsthand.”

Color bloomed in her cheeks. That wistful expression flared in her eyes. She fumbled with the remote and turned the TV off. There hadn't been all that much talking going on in the movie, but the absence of even that much background noise left the motel room way too silent. Duke could practically hear the wheels in her brain turning as she tried to reach a conclusion about his intentions—and her own.

Now what? He heard the question as clearly as if she'd spoken it aloud. He wished the answer were half as clear. He could tumble her onto that bed right this second. The invitation was plain in her eyes.

But he'd had a plan, he reminded himself. A good plan. One that would win her heart, as well as her body. It didn't start with a quick roll in the hay, even if that would put an end once and for all to this awkward indecision that hung over them. She deserved a little wining and dining.

“I'll be dressed in a minute,” he said, his gaze still locked with hers.

Before he could change his mind, he went back into the bathroom and slammed the door. Desire made his pulse race and left his fingers unsteady. It took him twice as long as it should have to drag on his clothes, run a comb through his hair and a toothbrush over his teeth.

He even pulled a bottle of that after-shave from his bag, the kind Josh and Zack thought all girls liked, and splashed on a little. He supposed there was something to be said for the spicy scent the boys had chosen for him one Christmas, but as far as he could tell, there was nothing wrong with plain old soap and water.

He gazed at himself in the mirror and shook his head. What was wrong with him? He was acting like a besotted schoolboy. If he wasn't careful someone would get the idea that he was in love. Of course, he knew better. With any luck, Dani wouldn't see through the charade and guess that he thought love was a fool's game.

Before he could have another bout with second thoughts about shortchanging her, he opened the door. “Ready?”

“As ready as I'll ever be,” she said, “since I only have the clothes on my back.”

“Just be thankful you didn't get drenched the way I did,” he said. “Do you want to drive back up to the restaurant or make a dash for it? It's undercover most of the way.”

“Dashing will be fine.”

She meant it, too. She sprinted ahead of him so fast, he realized that she was every bit as nervous as he was about being alone together in that room.

Though the motel was fully occupied, they were the only two people in the dining room.

“I hurry everyone,” Mr. Perez announced with a beaming smile. “I know this is very special occasion. A honeymoon, yes?”

Duke let the guesswork pass. He had a feeling there would be enough discussion about Mr. Perez's conclusions with Dani once they reached their table.

Sure enough, Mr. Perez had no sooner filled their glasses with champagne and vanished into the kitchen than she turned on Duke.

“Honeymoon?” she inquired sweetly. “Where would he get an idea like that?”

“I told him tonight was special, that's all,” Duke declared. “He obviously drew his own conclusions.”

“Conclusions that merited fresh flowers, candlelight and champagne, I see.”

“Actually, those were my ideas.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? Fascinating. Is the mariachi band warming up in the back?”

Duke chuckled. “Probably, but if it is you can thank Mr. Perez for it. I was content with the jukebox. It has some really terrific oldies on it.”

She stared hard. “You checked out the jukebox, too?”

“Of course. You can't slow dance to just anything on a first date.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course not. It has to be romantic, memorable.”

“Just one question. When did this go from being a business trip to being a date?” She tilted her head and regarded him thoughtfully. “When you saw the beds, perhaps?”

Duke shook his head and regarded her solemnly. He reached across the table and brushed a tendril of hair away from her cheek, then followed the curve until he cupped her chin. “No. I got this idea the first time I laid eyes on you.”

She didn't blink and look away as he'd expected. Instead, she smiled. It was like sunshine breaking through clouds. Duke knew in that instant that he was more than halfway to reaching his goal.

If the rest of the night went even one-quarter as smoothly as this, by morning there was no way she wouldn't say yes when he asked her to marry him. He would find a jewelry store, if he had to bribe the manager to open it on a Sunday morning, and insist
on picking out a ring before they ever left Fort Worth. He wanted her well and truly committed to being his before they ever got back to Los Pinos.

“You're looking very smug all of a sudden,” she observed.

“Not smug,” he insisted. “Pleased. I can't tell you how much I've wanted to share an evening like this with you.”

“Stranded in a storm with me smelling like a barn?”

“If you're trying to spoil the mood, forget it. You look beautiful, and you smell like flowers.”

“That is flowers you're smelling,” she pointed out. “Either that or the after-shave you have on.”

“You don't like it? The boys promised me all girls loved it. They picked it out special.”

Dani grinned. “The boys have been coaching you?”

“Just on a few of the finer points of courtship.”

“Tell them they missed the boat on the after-shave. Soap and water suits me just fine.”

“I'll shower again the minute we get back to the room,” he offered.

She swallowed hard at the promise. Duke had a hunch she was mentally climbing into that shower with him. Suddenly, she regarded him with suspicion.

“You're playing with my head, aren't you?”

“Am I?”

“You bet.”

“How, precisely, am I doing that?”

“You're deliberately planting provocative ideas.”

He worked hard to hold back a triumphant grin. “You're having provocative ideas about the two of
us?” he inquired innocently. “You can't possibly hold me responsible for what goes on in your head.”

“Of course, I can. You're sneaky and devious that way.”

“Ever stop to think that maybe you're the one with the wicked mind? You were watching X-rated cable, you know.”

“That was an accident,” she protested. “Once it was right there in front of my eyes I couldn't seem to look away, sort of like stumbling on a wreck on the highway.”

“An interesting comparison.”

She scowled at him. “I wasn't comparing sex and traffic accidents.”

“Good, because they don't have a lot in common as far as I can see. Sex is a whole lot more fun, to say nothing of way less deadly, at least if it's done right. We could talk about it more, if you like.”

“You're doing it again,” she accused.

“Doing what?”

“Putting those images into my head.”

“Darlin', it seems to me you just have a one-track mind.”

She sighed heavily at that. “Maybe I do,” she conceded. “But it wasn't true until I met you.”

Duke barely contained a victorious shout. “Fascinating,” he said quietly.

“To the contrary, it's actually pretty terrifying how badly I want you,” she admitted.

She looked so lost and vulnerable that Duke wanted to scoop her up and comfort her…right before he seduced her. He settled for taking her soft hand in his and brushing his lips across her knuckles.

“Don't look so scared, darlin'. We're going to be sensational together.”

For how long?
He could practically read the unspoken question in her eyes. Because she needed to know this much—and he needed to make it very clear, he answered her unspoken question aloud.

“Stop worrying, darlin'. We're going to be sensational forever.”

T
he entire evening had been calculated to destroy her unspoken resolve. That much was obvious to Dani as she slipped into Duke's arms for yet another slow dance.

What was less clear was why he had gone to so much trouble. After a couple of glasses of bubbly champagne and a few spins around the deserted dance floor, the answer was fuzzier than ever.

Okay, he wanted to seduce her. Nothing unclear or unexpected about that. But he also seemed determined to make the whole evening memorable.