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  “You’re not like that,” he said.

  “Well, I did sort of fall into bed with you,” she returned, flushing.

  “You were inebriated,” he pointed out.

  “I guess so.” She hesitated. “You know a lot about what to do with women,” she added.

  “I suppose I shocked you to the back teeth.”

  She smiled. “You did.” She felt the heat rush into her cheeks. “I never knew...”

  “Not even from reading all those torrid romance novels?” he teased.

  “They were nothing like what happened,” she said. “And they had scenes about how people felt, but, gosh, in real life, it’s...” She swallowed. “I thought the first time would be awful.”

  “Maybe it is sometimes,” he said. “Men can be cruel. Some are heartless.”

  “You aren’t. You were...” She swallowed again. “Sorry. It’s hard to talk about.”

  His fingers contracted gently. “You can talk to me about anything.”

  And she realized suddenly that she could. Anything at all.

  “You don’t think I’m like my mother?” she worried.

  “Honey, you’re not promiscuous. I came up on your blind side because we both had too much to drink. That said, I don’t regret one second of what happened. You’re an experience I’ll never forget as long as I live.”

  “Until some new woman comes along,” she laughed.

  He didn’t answer her right away. He was thinking about some new woman, and with absolute horror. He didn’t want some new woman. It was a revelation that shocked him speechless.

  “Did I offend you?” she worried.

  “I’m not offended.”

  “You’re very quiet.”

  “I’m thinking.” He’d never considered abstinence. It wasn’t even a word he knew. But when he thought about what he’d done with Mina in that hotel room, he couldn’t imagine doing it with some social climbing gold digger. In fact, he couldn’t imagine doing it with any other woman.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  MINA LOOKED UP at Cort with her heart in her eyes. It didn’t take a genius to realize that she was falling in love with him.

  That shocked him. He knew that she’d enjoyed him in bed. It had been her first time, and he wanted to make it something that she’d want to remember. But he’d assumed that two piña coladas had influenced her decision to sleep with him. Now he could see the real reason she’d given in, and it wasn’t completely due to alcohol. Her eyes were soft, dark brown and soulful, as they met his. A woman like that, with principles, wouldn’t fall into bed with a man just because her reflexes were dulled. She’d only do it out of love.

  He touched her face gently. It was disconcerting to know how she felt. Women had loved him for years—for what they could get out of him. But Mina had been out of her mind with fear for him at the gas station the night before, when it looked as if Cort might be hurt during the holdup.

  It made him feel warm inside, as if all the cold places the years had dug into him were thawing. It was like spring. He smiled.

  “You really do look sweet,” he whispered, and he bent his head.

  She lifted hers for the slow, hungry descent of his hard mouth, clung to him as he grew hungrier and drew her body close against his. He wrapped her up tight, his mouth invasive now, tender, ardent. She moaned softly at the sensations that wound through her. All her senses were awakened, and she recalled with anguish the pleasure he’d taught her in bed. She wanted him now, as she’d never wanted anyone. She’d been unawakened before, with no desire for intimacy. But with knowledge of it came the craving, the aching need of possession. She pressed close to him, feeling his powerful body react almost instantly to the feel of her against him.

  Cort was dying for her. He could hardly contain the hunger as he drew her closer in the shade of the cottonwood tree. It had been a long, dry spell, but his memory of the night before was driving him mad. In bed, Mina was everything he’d ever want. Even out of it, she was a constant surprise, a delight.

  He groaned. His body was in agony, and there was no place they could go without being interrupted except a motel. His mind rebelled at the thought of treating her the way he’d treated women in the past. She was so innocent!

  He drew back, grinding his teeth together when he saw her rapt expression. She was feeling similar things, having only just been awakened to physical need.

  “Damn,” he bit off.

  Her eyebrows lifted. “Damn?”

  His sensuous lips made a thin line. “There’s not a soul in sight, but if I start undressing you, every cowboy in the county will suddenly have to ride this way!”

  She gasped. “We couldn’t...” she began.

  He drew her hips to his and looked down at her sardonically as she flushed. “We damned sure could, if there was a private place.”

  She flushed. Her fingers drew soft patterns on his shirt under the shepherd’s coat. “Well, actually, we...couldn’t,” she said, and couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to mention that horseback riding was giving her some problems, although she’d wanted to go with Cort too much to mention that she was uncomfortable. But sleeping with him would be painful.

  Cort sighed. It had been her first time and her body was reacting to it in a way he should have realized. She wasn’t saying it, but he saw it in her embarrassed face. He tilted it up to his eyes. “Sore?” he asked gently, and without rancor.

  She grimaced. “Sorry.”

  He drew her head to his chest and took a deep breath. “No. I’m sorry. I should have realized how new it was to you. And I shouldn’t have taken you riding.”

  “I wanted to go with you,” she said huskily.

  He realized that. It made his heart swell. His big hand smoothed over the long, thick hair over her shoulders. “It’s too soon.” He smiled wistfully. “Even if it wasn’t, where the hell would we go?”

  She laughed, too. “I guess it would have to be a motel, because there’s no privacy here at my place.”

  “Or Bart’s. Not that he’d approve of me bringing you there,” he added.

  Which brought to mind what she’d heard about Cort asking Bart if he could bring Ida over for the night. Her self-confidence took a nosedive. He’d been dating Ida. Everybody knew that she was promiscuous. Did Cort think Mina was like that, too?

  She looked up, concern darkening her eyes.

  He shook his head. “We aren’t going that route,” he said quietly. “I respect you too much.”

  She felt elated at his expression, which was both protective and possessive.

  He traced a pattern on her cheek. “I’ve never been much for emotional ties,” he said haltingly. “It’s pretty much been take them and leave them, when it came to women. But you’re not like that, Mina.”

  She searched his eyes in the silence, unbroken except by the gurgle of the stream. “You were dating Ida,” she began worriedly.

  He put a long forefinger over her soft lips. “Ida isn’t what she seems. And I haven’t slept with her, regardless of how it might look.”

  She caught her breath. “I didn’t ask...!”

  “I wanted you to know the truth,” he said, sketching her face. “People will think what they want to.”

  She bit her lower lip. “I guess you know what they think.”

  He nodded. “Ida encourages gossip. I’m not overly fond of it. Gossip can destroy lives,” he added quietly.

  “Yes.”

  He smoothed her fingers over his shirt. “We’d better get going, before the horses decide to leave us here,” he mused.

  She laughed. “Okay.”

  * * *

  THE NEXT FEW days were like magic. Mina was in love and falling deeper as she spent more time with Cort and learned more about him. He borrowed Bart’s truck to take her over to Yellowstone National Park and
watch Old Faithful erupt with her. Big game was all over the highway, where many tourists stopped in the middle of the road and got out with cameras to film bighorn sheep and even a moose.

  Mina laughed, delighted. “We had a moose come right up to the barn when we had our milk cow,” she commented. “I think he was in love.”

  “What happened to him?” he asked softly.

  “He broke down a fence trying to get to her, so we had to have him relocated by the wildlife people. And soon afterward, I had to sell the cow and her calf.” She grimaced. “We have hard times occasionally. I missed the cow, but not the daily milking. It really hurt my hands.”

  He chuckled. “I tried to milk a cow once. I never could get any milk.”

  “There’s an art to milking,” she agreed. “Bill McAllister taught me how. I guess he’s done a little of everything in his life.”

  “I guess.” He was looking down at her curiously.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “This.” He touched the silver wolf pendant he’d bought her. He smiled tenderly. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “I love it,” she said, smoothing her fingers over the cool silver. “I’ll always wear it.”

  His heart jumped. A simple silver pendant, and she was overjoyed to have it. One of his lovers had taken a huge dinner ring sparkling with diamonds from his hand and put it on without even a thank you.

  “You don’t have expensive tastes,” he said, thinking out loud.

  “Not really,” she agreed. “I’ve noticed that a lot of money doesn’t make people happy or make up for what they don’t have. Cousin Rogan lives alone. He has nobody, except me, and he spends his life traveling.”

  “He might be happy doing it.”

  She sighed. “I guess.”

  “There are a lot of things money can buy,” he countered.

  She looked up at him with an impish smile. “Like either of us would know,” she chuckled.

  He had to laugh. It wasn’t true. He knew exactly what money could buy.

  She slid her hand into his and he relaxed. Odd, she gave him peace. He didn’t know that he’d ever experienced it with a woman.

  “Mina,” he said softly, and looked down at her. “What’s it short for?”

  “Oh, this is rich. Wilhelmina,” she told him. “It was my father’s idea. I was named for one of his ancestors.”

  “Somebody German?”

  “I’m not really sure. I was so young when he left.” Her face tautened. “I shortened it to Mina when I was still in grammar school. I took a lot of teasing about it.”

  His fingers contracted around hers. “My first name is Cortrell,” he told her. “God knows where my mother got it from. At that, it’s not as bad as Cash’s. His real name is Cassius.”

  She laughed. “Really?”

  He nodded. “He shortened it to Cash when he started in military school. Dad sent him away when he was nine, just after our mother died.”

  “That’s awful,” she said softly.

  He shrugged. “He didn’t get along with our stepmother. She told Dad something that made him furious. He packed Cash up and sent him off the same day. Cash never got over it. He and Dad didn’t even speak until our brother Garon went to see him, just before he settled in the same town.”

  “Your father doesn’t sound like a very nice man. Sorry.”

  “He isn’t a nice man, and there’s no need to apologize.” He linked his fingers in between hers. “He was a rotten father. He never remembered birthdays or gave us much affection. He was gone most of the time, so our housekeeper pretty much raised us after Dad booted our stepmother out for cheating on him.”

  She sighed. “I guess we both had pretty rotten childhoods.”

  “Yours was worse than mine, honey,” he said softly, smiling at her reaction to the endearment. “I had neglect. You had something a lot worse.”

  She nodded. She moved closer to his side. He let go of her hand and slid his arm around her.

  “I’ll be a better mother than mine was,” she said quietly.

  “I’ll be a better father than mine was,” he returned.

  She drew in a long breath. “I forgot to tell you. I have to go out of town this weekend. I wouldn’t go, but I promised.”

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “My best friend is getting married,” she lied. “I promised I’d be her maid of honor.”

  “I could drive you,” he offered.

  “I’d love that, but she lives in Miami.”

  He burst out laughing. “Okay. That’s a little far to drive.” He could have offered her a ride in the family jet. But she didn’t know about him yet. He wasn’t anxious to tell her. He was enjoying being just a man, with his best girl beside him. “I’ll miss you,” he added gently.

  She pressed close to his side, just as Old Faithful shot water and steam up into the air. “I’ll miss you, too. But it’s only for a couple of days.”

  His arm contracted. “Okay.”

  * * *

  SHE WAS CRAWLING through the underbrush in Nicaragua with her small commando group. They’d adopted her two years earlier when she asked a local man—one who’d retired from duty as a mercenary soldier—a lot of questions about what mercenaries did. So he introduced her to his five old comrades. They were flattered by her curiosity, took her under their collective wings and began taking her out on missions with them through various insect-and snake-infested jungles. They’d taught her the ropes, and now she could handle military hardware right along with them. She learned about covert operations from the ground up, which gave her books a realism that many armchair adventurers couldn’t manage.

  Dan handled communications. Reg was their demolition expert. Harlan was the heavy weapon specialist. Ry was the leader and strategic planner of the group, with Craddock as his second in command and small weapons expert. Mina was small weapons backup, and she was proficient with a .45 auto.

  On this mission, they were rescuing a small boy who’d been kidnapped by a poor relative of a very wealthy family. He was holding the boy for ransom, and the parents were afraid of local law enforcement. The father knew Ry and phoned him for help. He called in the group.

  It wasn’t the mission Mina had signed on for this weekend. She was supposed to observe the guys handling a military cleanup of a recent combat operation. Instead, she was on the front lines of a rescue. She didn’t even hesitate. It was exciting. She loved the adrenaline rushes she got from participating in missions with these guys. They were like family.

  Ry held them up just at the edge of the jungle. There was a shack in the distance. If their GPS was accurate, that was where the child was being held. Mina stood in awe of Ry’s ability to dig out information from the locals.

  “Crad, see what you can see.”

  Craddock shouldered his sniper rifle and looked through the telescopic sight. There was a long pause. “I see a man. The curtains are thick and they shelter the room.” He swung the weapon around. “Only cover is a few trees just to the right of the shack. Open land getting to it.”

  “We’ll need a diversion,” Ry said at once. He looked at Mina and smiled. He was tall, with a light olive complexion, black hair and odd pale blue eyes. “Feel up to a little excitement, Bubbles?” he asked, using the group’s nickname for her.

  She grinned. “Always.”

  “Okay. I need you to fire at that caved-in barn to the left of the shack when I tell you.”

  “Will do.”

  “Reg, I think a few flash bangs might do the job.”

  “I’ll need to be closer than this,” he replied.

  “Let me do it. I’ve got the ghillie suit,” Craddock said.

  “Don’t need to ask me twice,” Reg chuckled. “I hate crawling on my belly.”

  Craddock got into the ghillie suit and took
ages to get in position. Ry signaled him. He tossed the flash bangs and the man came running out of the building just as Ry signaled Mina and she opened up with the .45 automatic toward the distant derelict barn.

  Ry ran out, his semiautomatic leveled, and yelled at the man to get down.

  Minutes later, they had the scared child in custody and the kidnapper tied up like a tangled kite.

  Mina laughed with pure delight.

  “At least you didn’t get shot this time,” Ry teased.

  “Ah, well, that’s the breaks,” she said with a grin. “And what a great chapter this is going to make!”

  “I want to be twenty and blond and handsome,” Craddock told her.

  “I want to be twenty-five, fabulously wealthy, dripping with gorgeous brunettes,” Reg added.

  She smiled. “I promise to do my best!”

  She cuddled the frightened child while they made their way back to the truck they used for transport. Sometimes, she thought, the most unpredictable things were the most rewarding. It was a reminder that you couldn’t choose exactly what experiences you got in life.

  * * *

  SHE WAS BACK in Catelow on Wednesday, a week and a few days before she was due in New York. She hadn’t caught a bullet, but she’d had to take a course of quinine before, during and after the trip to ensure that she didn’t come down with malaria, which was rampant in Nicaragua’s rural areas. It was next to impossible not to get bitten by the mosquitoes that carried the disease, even with the best precautions. Poor Reg had forgotten to take his course of medicines and he’d come down with malaria just as they were all getting off the plane in Miami. Mina had felt guilty for leaving so soon, but she had to get home. Nobody blamed her. She also asked Ry if she could get back in touch with him about another mission they’d run in her absence. He said sure, just call him, and he gave her a new cell phone number where he could be reached.

  She’d missed Cort. They’d been together almost every day since they’d been to the casino. She couldn’t wait to see him when she got home. But she was in for a shock when she called Bart to ask for Cort to call her. Cort was gone. “Gone?!” she exclaimed, devastated.