Unleashed: Volume 1 (Unleashed #1) (4 page)

We’d started dating a
few months ago. It all seemed kind of inevitable. I was a
cheerleader, co-captain with Mandy for senior year. Bruce was the
quarterback. We looked good together, both blond and blue-eyed. Ken
and Barbie. My daddy liked that we were a couple. He liked to talk
about how Bruce came from a good family, as if that upped my chances
for having the same someday. Bruce’s daddy was the mayor and folks
talked about him getting ready to run for governor, maybe even try
for a senate seat one day. He sure did like the public spotlight and
never missed a photo op. He seemed to like me and Bruce together,
too, taking more than a few pics with one arm around his son’s
shoulder, one arm around mine.

We’d taken one that
afternoon at the pep rally at school. Technically, spring sports were
track and softball, but they didn’t exactly draw the crowds. Our
football and basketball teams were a different story, though. Pretty
much the whole town turned out for their games, which I know wasn’t
saying too much for a town of 2,700, but we made the most out of what
we had. And we certainly knew how to party. Our football team had
made it into the state championships earlier that year and the whole
town was still high off of it. We kept making up excuses to cheer and
rally and bring the boys back into the gym, even if this time it was
in the name of finishing up the school year.

That’s why I was in
my cheerleading uniform that afternoon. We’d bounced out into the
gym and gotten the crowd all hyped up, given everyone a chance to
scream and shout. But it wasn’t as if I was going to wear my
uniform out to the lake. I needed to change.

I pulled up by the side
of the house pretty quick. The dust billowed out from the tires of my
truck. Daddy was always telling me to slow down, saying I was going
to break my neck one of these days. But I knew those old country
roads like the back of my hand and nothing felt better than ripping
around on them, windows rolled down, wind in my hair, tunes blasting
from the radio as I tapped on the steering wheel and sang my heart
out.

As the dust settled, I
realized Daddy was standing out by the house. And he wasn’t alone.

You know how I said
time was funny? Sometimes it speeds up real fast but other times it
stretches out slow as molasses. Well, when I stepped out of that
truck and got a good look at the man standing next to my father, time
just about stopped.

He was long and lean,
slim hips and strong shoulders, so sexy and rugged. He stood with one
hand in the pocket of his jeans, watching me underneath the brim of
his cowboy hat with heavy, low-lidded eyes. There was something about
him, some kind of dark and powerful magnetism that made me forget to
breathe.

I’d probably seen one
too many old movies. My dad and I loved to stay up late with a bowl
of popcorn and watch black and white classics. When I looked at him,
I saw James Dean in a black leather jacket, a cigarette hanging out
the side of his mouth. I half expected him to have a motorcycle
nearby. He’d straddle it, look over his shoulder and give me the
nod to come along. I’d jump up next to him, pressed in close in a
hot second.

“Kara, when are you
gonna slow down?” My daddy waved his hand through the air, real
theatrical over the dust.

“I was going the
speed limit, Daddy.” For the Interstate. I batted my eyelashes.

“Don’t you give me
that innocent look.” But he was smiling at me. I had him wrapped
around my pinky finger. But I didn’t take advantage of it. Much.
He’d had it rough, losing my mom in childbirth with me. We were all
either of us had, so we took care of each other. And I sometimes gave
him a splitting headache with my music and acted like a pain in the
rear staying out too late. But I was a teenager, after all. It was
practically written into my contract to be a problem every now and
then.

“Come on over here
and meet Declan. He’s going to be helping us out through the
summer.”

I walked toward them
and he watched me, leaning against our house with one big boot up
against the shingles like he owned the place. Under his gaze I walked
unsteady on my feet in my own yard. I felt so excruciatingly
self-aware, my bare legs, the tiny skirt of my silly uniform. I
wished I’d already changed before I met this guy. It seemed so
juvenile, like I’d been caught playing with my old Barbie dolls.
Cheerleading suddenly seemed so… high school. He looked like he’d
traveled to faraway places I’d never heard of and though he didn’t
really look that much older than me he seemed like he already
understood more about life than I ever would. Somehow he looked
aloof, a million miles away, even though he stood right there before
me in dusty boots and jeans.

A lick of a tattoo slid
out under the sleeve of his t-shirt, coiling around the bulge of his
bicep. I wondered what it was. It looked like it might be the tip of
a snake, but then as I got closer I thought I saw a pattern.

Sensing my interest, he
crossed his arms against his chest and brought his hands up over his
arms. I couldn’t see the tattoo anymore. I could see him stare me
down cold, unfriendly, almost reprimanding.

I bit my lip and looked
down at the dirt. He’d caught me checking him out. And he didn’t
want me to. How embarrassing.

“This here’s my
little girl, Kara.” My daddy gave me a pat on the head like I was
five.

“Pleased to meet
you,” I said to Declan, cool and polite, trying save face like I
hadn’t just left a trail of drool walking over to him.

He nodded in response,
dismissive.

Turning toward my
father, my smile came back. “Daddy, can I head out to the lake
tonight? A bunch of us want to hang out.”

“Is Bruce taking
you?”

“Yes.”

“Course you can,
princess.”

Oh, no. The nickname
he’d been using since I was a little kid. Every photo from the ages
of three to five showed me in some kind of princess costume. I’d
loved it all, funny pointed hats with satin streamers out the top,
sparkly wands, and of course the big, poofy gowns I’d worn until
they were nothing but tattered rags. My father had indulged me, his
only child, the only girl on his big ranch. And until now, princess
had seemed like a sweet term of endearment. Now, though? I felt as
dumb as an 18-year-old with some corny dress-up princess hat on top
of my head. Why couldn’t he have just used my name?

Sure enough, Declan had
a smirk on his face. Not the kind you could see breaking into a big,
fun laugh. A quiet kind, real controlled, that could be gone in an
instant.

“Declan’ll be
staying down in the old cabin,” my father said. “Until
September.”

His level, cool gaze
made me shiver. I couldn’t see much of his hair underneath that
cowboy hat, but I could tell it was dark. I could picture it hanging
low across his forehead like the lead singer of my favorite band.
Only I was pretty sure Declan would get himself kicked out of a band
in about 60 seconds. He looked dangerous, the way his eyes narrowed,
watchful. He kept one fist balled at his side, and even though he
leaned against the house, his chest stayed strong and solid like a
cobra waiting to strike. He looked like he’d been in a lot of
fights. And I bet most of them he’d won.

“Have a good time,
sugar.” Daddy gave me another smile, then turned his attention back
to Declan. I headed straight into the house. I had places to go and
people to see. I wasn’t going to let that guy rattle me, no matter
how deadly sexy he was.

But later that night as
I sat around the bonfire with all my friends, Bruce goofing around
like he couldn’t toast a marshmallow right for me so he could keep
eating them all himself, my mind wandered. What was Declan up to
right then? Was he back in the old cabin? I wondered if we even had a
TV set in there for him. The last person to live there had been an
older guy who’d come round several summers to help out when things
got busy. But that had been a while ago. Had anyone even tidied
things up?

Maybe Declan had gone
out into town? We didn’t have much going on, but there were a
couple of places. There was the grill that stayed open until about
eleven and had a decent dartboard in back. But if I had to guess, I’d
bet he headed down to the Silver Dollar Saloon. I frowned at the
thought. I’d never been into the bar, of course, and my daddy had
warned me he never did want to see me hanging around that place. I
could see why. Late at night if we ever drove past the parking lot,
it would be full of 18-wheelers, motorcycles, clusters of men smoking
and drinking and more than likely a fistfight. Basically it was on
the corner of seedy and rowdy. One time I’d seen a man with a woman
up against his truck and I couldn’t be sure, we were driving fast
and it was late, but under the streetlight it sure looked like they
were doing more than just kissing.

Had Declan gone there?
And if he had, who was he with? Instantly, I pictured Darlene with
her dark red lipstick and knowing smile. She’d graduated a few
years ahead of me. She specialized in jean skirts that barely covered
her you-know-what and fishnet stockings, usually with a few holes
ripped into them. Real classy. My frown deepened.

“I’m just playing.”
Bruce elbowed me and handed me a toasted marshmallow. “You knew I
was going to give you one.”

I smiled at him and his
attention turned back to the group. A couple of guys were horsing
around and pretending to swordfight with some sticks, like they
should be wearing pirate costumes or something. I wondered what
Declan would think of it all, hicks out goofing off the same way we
had ever since we were kids.

“Last one in has to
haul it all!” One of Bruce’s friends yelled out, then raced
toward the lake. I knew better than to ignore that threat. I didn’t
want to have to lug a cooler and a couple of beach blankets up
through the sand. I peeled off my shorts and shirt ran like the wind,
dusting more than a few of my tipsier friends as I tore down to the
shore and dove into the cool, clear water.

It wasn’t until late
that night that my mind returned once again to Declan. I lay in bed
and realized that from the window in my room I could see his cabin.
At night I would be able to tell what he was up to, if he was in and
awake. Tonight he was either asleep or still out. His window was
dark.

I had to admit, I was a
little surprised that Daddy had hired him. Declan looked like
trouble. He was no mild-mannered hermit who barely managed a “thank
you, ma’am” if I fixed some sandwiches for the guys for lunch.
We’d had a bunch of those types before, seasonal workers just
passing through, drifting through life. My father was pretty good at
picking out the trustworthy from the troublesome characters, and so
far they’d all been harmless. A little lost, maybe, but they’d
never caused any problems.

Declan looked hungry.
His eyes burned something fierce. I’d met him for all of a minute
and I didn’t know what I was talking about, not really, but it was
a feeling I had. I couldn’t see him aimlessly bouncing around like
this for long, picking up seasonal work on other people’s ranches.
He seemed destined for something more. Maybe that’s why my daddy
had hired him. Maybe he thought we could use a little more fire in
the furnace, maybe even a few new ideas. That’d be interesting.

My head on my soft
pillow, a warm spring breeze blew in gentle through the open window,
making my white cotton curtains slowly undulate. It was the kind of
night you loved to fall asleep, closing your eyes with a smile on
your face.

Only tonight, I stayed
awake for a while. I had some vivid images in my mind. A strong,
masculine jaw set hard like something had made him angry. Corded
muscles that had bulged when he’d crossed his arms across his
chest. Worn jeans that hung low on his lean hips.

I’d never given much
thought to that kind of guy before. We had a few of the dark and
dangerous types in my high school. You’d pass them on the way to
gym while they smoked a cigarette, skipping some class or another.
Usually it didn’t take long before they dropped out, got arrested
or both. I knew some girls went in for that stuff. I wasn’t one of
them.

My boyfriend Bruce was
a good guy. He was about to head off to U Montana to get his
four-year college degree just like his father before him. He’d make
some girl real happy someday, I knew that much. I didn’t know about
that far down along the line myself, but I did know that right now we
fit together like two puzzle pieces. You didn’t even have to think
about it, it just worked. Easy.

But Declan. All rough
edges and darkness, like you’d never exactly know what he’d say
or do next. He seemed dangerous somehow, not violent but exuding a
kind of raw power I felt helplessly drawn to, even when I knew I
shouldn’t be. He was like a fantasy I didn’t even know I had.

Now

“Are you OK?” A
woman with a kind face and a baby stroller stopped by my side.

Doubled over, hands on
my thighs, I took a few deep gulps of air. Then I stood up, put on a
fake smile and lied through my teeth. “Fine, thanks!”

Outside Declan’s
office building, I didn’t know which way to turn. I did know that I
needed to calm the hell down after seeing that man again for the
first time in six long years.

What had happened up
there in his office? He hadn’t said yes, but he hadn’t said no.
He’d sat there and surveyed me, all wealth and power. I’d never
seen him in a suit before. The shirt taut against his broad chest,
his jacket tailored to meet the wide expanse of his shoulders, he
looked right at home behind his massive desk, a king on his throne.
Yet somehow he still looked like he might strip off the constraints
at any moment, unleashing the beast within. The intense, hungry look
in his eyes and his tanned skin contrasted with the crisp, white
shirt collar, the masculine virility of him wrapped in a suit.