Hot Blooded Read online

  “I don’t want to do this—ever,” he growled, pushing her away.

  Her eyes closed, a momentary flash of pain tightening her lips.

  Good. He’d scored a hit. She damn well deserved it.

  “Get in the truck. I’ll take you home.”

  The drive to her place was made in silence thick with tension. He kept his gaze glued to the road before him; she sat with her shoulders angled away to stare out the passenger window.

  When he pulled into her drive, she unhooked her seatbelt, and then hesitated.

  Adam braced himself, gripping the steering wheel hard.

  “It could have been you, you know,” she whispered fiercely, “but we’ve been going in circles for a month now and you never even came close to asking me out. I’m not a nun, Adam.”

  “You made your choice.”

  “It was just a kiss.”

  “And that makes it all right? Get out, Cass.”

  She opened her mouth again, but he turned to aim an angry glare her way.

  Her eyes blinked once, and she clamped her lips closed. The door slammed opened with an angry jerk that rattled the cab. Shoulders straight, she stomped all the way to her front door.

  Adam put the truck into reverse, gunned the engine, spinning the tires in a short, sharp squeal, and then peeled out.

  Did she really expect him to forget he’d seen her make out with his brother? That he’d be willing to pick up where they left off? He told himself he was glad, even relieved, he’d never made love to her. Their constant sparring had been fueled by his annoyance and her stubborn, prickly pride—never by lust. His brother was welcome to her.

  Still, he couldn’t quite push aside the feeling that had gripped him when he’d peered over the edge of the steep cliff and found her sitting there, waiting for rescue—vulnerable and alone.

  Deep, twisted satisfaction had flared hot inside him.

  He’d liked having her at his mercy.

  Chapter 2

  Three days later, Cass sat at her desk finishing up reports left from the previous day—or rather, trying to. She clicked on save, closed her computer, and then tilted her coffee cup, noting its half-empty state. She shoved away from her desk with a deep sigh. Truthfully, she’d have used any excuse not to sit there another minute.

  She’d been unbearably “itchy”—so restless she’d started planning a new bouldering excursion for her next day off. Physical exhaustion seemed the only relief from what really bothered her.

  Adam hadn’t relented. Not once. He hadn’t called. He hadn’t even used one of his flimsy “complaint session” excuses to stop by the headquarters. Apparently, he didn’t intend to collect his pound of flesh.

  She sighed, acknowledging she was one pathetic creature when she’d settle for a man taking his revenge for the simple joy of seeing him.

  Cass refilled her cup at the community pot and headed to the information desk and Mavis.

  The lobby was empty except for the elderly, gray-haired woman who was busy stocking the brochure rack with a fresh batch of trail maps.

  “Things always slow this time of day?” Cass asked, making conversation.

  Mavis continued sliding the pamphlets in their slots. “Most folks settle in the shade about this time. Days are gettin’ hotter.”

  “Gonna be a long summer,” Cass murmured.

  The older woman shot her a wry glance. “We gonna talk about the weather or what’s really on your mind? You haven’t said a word about what happened the other day on the cliff.”

  Cass grimaced. “Nothing happened. He tossed me a rope and took me home.”

  Mavis set the brochures on the counter. Her soft blue gaze studied Cass’s face. “Haven’t seen him around here since. Something happened.”

  Cass released her breath, deciding to confide because she needed someone to talk to. “I think I blew it, Mavis,” she said softly. “The night before the storm Adam caught me in the parking lot at The Stone Pony—kissing Johnny.” At Mavis’s sigh, Cass’s cheeks heated. “I know. Not smart. But it happened, and now he won’t talk to me.”

  Mavis’s soft, dewy fingers pressed against Cass’s as she stood stock-still clutching her coffee cup. “I don’t know if there’s any way to fix that, hon. Adam doesn’t give his trust easy, and he and Johnny are so competitive…have been since they were boys.”

  Which only confirmed Cass’s assessment of the situation. Deflated, she forced a smile. “At least he won’t be coming around every other day to complain about hikers crossing his fence.” She dragged in a fortifying breath and reached for a stack of trail maps. “I’ll take some of these with me to hand out. Better head out on patrol and make sure things stay quiet.”

  Mavis gave her a pinched smile and circled the counter of the information desk. Cass went slowly back to her desk to retrieve her radio and clipped it to her belt.

  As she walked back toward Mavis to say good-bye the glass doors at the entrance swooshed open behind her.

  Mavis’s eyes widened slightly, and she whispered, “Brace yourself.”

  Cass lifted both brows in question, but noted the smile Mavis quickly flashed and the two bright spots of color that filled the older woman’s cheeks.

  Cass glanced over her shoulder then stiffened at the sight of the tall glass of firewater that sauntered into the building.

  So tall his shadow stretched from the door to the tips of her hiking boots, Adam never failed to make her feel like a little girl in play clothes, although at five-foot-four she was barely petite. Broad across the shoulders, his frame narrowed neatly at the waist before flaring slightly over massive thighs.

  Dressed today in a long-sleeved shirt with the cuffs turned to bare his thick wrists, blue jeans, and boots, he looked the quintessential cowboy—except for the long, black ponytail that fell across one shoulder when he removed his straw cowboy hat and the plastic grocery bag he carried.

  Completely, thigh-clenchingly masculine, he never failed to take her breath away. “Thanks for the warning, Mavis,” she muttered.

  Mavis chuckled softly as the attractive Indian crossed the floor, making a beeline straight for them.

  “Adam Youngblood,” Mavis called out cheerily. “What can we do for you, sir?”

  He halted in front of the desk, scanned Cass with a quick, impersonal glance, and then turned his attention to Mavis. He leaned over the counter and pressed a kiss against Mavis’s papery cheek. “How’s my girl?”

  Mavis blushed. “What’s got your back up today, handsome?”

  “More hikers crossed my fence.”

  While irritation prickled because he seemed set on ignoring her, Cass still shivered at the gravel roughening his voice.

  “Sorry to hear that,” Mavis murmured. “Did they cut the wire this time?”

  “Yeah, and I have proof they came from the park. They left this next to the hole they dug.” He slapped the plastic grocery bag of trash on her desk. “Do you recognize the brochure?” he asked, pointing to a crumpled trail map at the top of the heap of soda cans and energy bar wrappers.

  Although she wished she could remain as impersonal as he, and even though part of Cass’s training had included units on public relations and role-playing exercises where she’d practiced how to diffuse aggression from unhappy park visitors, she raised one eyebrow and broke in, answering innocently, “Looks like one of our brochures. The latest printing, actually. You can tell from the pricing for the campsites. They just went up.”

  His glance cut downward, catching on her slight smile. His eyes narrowed. “I found it inside my fence,” he bit out, “next to a freshly buried Batman lunch box with a fishing lure inside it.”

  A GPS hiker’s cache box, Cass guessed. “Seems you’ve got a new lure and a lunch box, Robin. Congratulations.”

  He blinked, and then his face was suffused with ruddy c
olor beneath his darkly tanned skin.

  Cass wondered if she’d been a little too glib, but he’d pissed her off by ignoring her. “I take it you’re here to make a complaint?”

  He eyed her and let out a short, annoyed grunt. “My boys have better things to do than pick up trash, fill in holes or fix fences when a hiker decides it’s too much bother to climb. And we damn sure don’t have time to rescue them when they run out of water. What are you going to do about it?”

  Cass smiled sweetly, pretending he was a stranger. “Since this seems to be a common occurrence for you, sir, I’m sure you’re aware we aren’t responsible for visitors’ actions outside the park. Have you posted sufficient signage to alert people they’re entering private property?”

  His nostrils flared around a sharply indrawn breath.

  Mavis muttered something under her breath and eased away from the counter.

  “I’m also assuming your property borders the park,” Cass continued as though she hadn’t noted his deepening glower. “GPS hikers tend to take the most direct route to their destinations, regardless of whether they’re trespassing.”

  Another deep breath and a sharp-edged glance told her she was pushing him to the end of his patience, but she couldn’t resist one more jab at his arrogance. “You know, there is a solution. You could simply deed that section of land to the park. It’d save you the headaches and be a great tax write-off.”

  His black scowl, while intimidating, caused a ripple of pure heated excitement that raised gooseflesh on her skin. She couldn’t help wondering for the thousandth time what all that dark intensity would feel like up close and personal.

  He clamped his hat on his head and turned to Mavis. “This isn’t over.” Then he strode to the door, thrusting it open with so much force he rattled the glass surrounding it.

  “I’ll make sure to enter your concerns in my report,” Cass called after him.

  Shaking his head, he stomped out of the building.

  “You tryin’ to piss him off?” Mavis said wryly.

  Cass felt a smile stretch her lips. For the first time in days, righteous anger and an electric thrill of arousal warmed her whole body. “Tell me I’m good,” she murmured, her gaze never leaving him as he swung open the door of his pickup.

  His glance met hers through the glass and narrowed.

  Quick as a fire licking at dry buffalo grass, her anger sparked hotter and she strode quickly to the door.

  “Do you think that’s smart?” Mavis’s quavering voice called after her.

  “I don’t give a damn about smart.”

  She shoved through the doors and flew down the steps to approach him as he stepped onto the running board and slid into the cab of his truck.

  “What’d you mean, it’s not over?” she asked.

  Adam’s black brows lowered. “You’re blocking my door.”

  Cass held his glare with one of her own. “I’ll move when I’m good and ready.”

  “You aren’t big enough or mean enough to keep me if I wanna go.”

  “I’m an ex-cop and I’ve taken down men your size before.”

  His lips twitched once then flattened. “What is it you want, Officer McIntyre?”

  Cass stepped up onto the running board, not caring who might see. She leaned close and whispered harshly, “For fuck’s sake. I was drunk. I wanted you. It was dark—he looked like you. I closed my eyes and let it happen. I’ve apologized. Be a man and suck it up.”

  Adam’s jaw tightened. “Not too good at taking hints, are you?”

  “You know we have something,” she continued, anger starting to make her shake. “You’re just too damn stubborn or stupid to admit it.”

  His eyelids dipped, and his expression made a subtle shift, from obstinate to calculating.

  Encouraged, she came closer.

  Adam’s eyes flicked over her, and then came back up to lock with hers. “I don’t think anyone’s ever talked to me that way before,” he said softly.

  “Shocking,” she whispered, near enough now to catch the scent of his skin and hair—soap and his particular brand of musk teasing her nostrils.

  His glance cut away. “I need to show you something. You have to see the damage they’ve done this time.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him again that the park wasn’t responsible, but she caught herself, realizing this might just be his way of starting a conversation with her.

  “Let me tell Mavis—”

  “Just give her a wave. She knows,” he drawled, nodding toward the glass doors where Mavis stood staring out at them.

  Cass stepped down to the ground, gave Mavis a short wave, and headed around the truck to open the passenger door.

  Once inside, her heart began to beat faster. She folded her hands in her lap and barely resisted the urge to stare at him. Was he giving her another chance or was this really all about the hikers?

  The drive out of the park and around the north rim of the canyon was made in silence. Adam left the paved road and followed a long gravel trail across a bleak grassy plain, leading to a long stretch of barbed wire. The top two strands had been cut.

  He parked next to a scraggly mesquite tree and got out. She followed on his heels, climbing over the fence and heading to the edge of a dry creek that sliced through the flatland and emptied into the canyon.

  She slid in gravel and sand down the side of the arroyo and tromped toward a mound of fresh dirt. “This is where they buried the cache?”

  “Yeah,” he said, setting his hands on his hips.

  She didn’t know what he expected her to do. She’d seen the hole. Now what? She lifted her gaze to his face to find him staring steadily back.

  Cass licked her lips. “Did you bring a shovel? Maybe they left something else behind that will identify the trespasser.”

  One dark brow arched. “Not going to tell me it’s not your concern?”

  She shrugged. “I’m trying to be helpful.”

  “Why?”

  “Because…” She shrugged, deciding to be honest and to hell with pride. “Because I’m glad you asked me to come.”

  His gaze swept down her body, slowly, deliberately. His bronze skin darkened; his eyelids dipped. “About our bargain…”

  Cass inwardly cringed when his gaze settled between her legs in an obvious insult. She swallowed hard. “Have you decided what you want?”

  “Yeah. You. Now.”

  Of course, here and now in the dirt and broad daylight. She shifted uneasily, knowing this was another test. “Here?” she asked weakly.

  “If you meant what you said, why hesitate?”

  She glanced around the ravine—at the rocky sides, the gravel floor. “Doesn’t seem a likely place…”

  “The truck, then?” he said, his tone suspiciously agreeable.

  “But it’s in the open—anyone driving by could see us.”

  “Yeah, so it is.”

  Cass stood still, the hot sun beating down on her head, not a hint of breeze to cool her fevered skin.

  Despite her misgivings, her body already grew ready to accept him. Her breasts felt heavy, her nipples beaded, becoming more aroused by the scrape of lacy fabric covering them. And deep inside, heat curled, tightening and dampening her pussy. Any way you want it, she’d promised him.

  She spread her hands. “What’s your preference?”

  “The truck.”

  Cass decided not to give him a chance to accuse her of stalling. She turned on her heels and headed back up the side of the ravine, Adam right behind her.

  When she reached the truck, he opened the passenger door, inviting her to stand between him and the door with a sweep of his hand. “Undress and give me your clothes.”

  Her gaze swept his hard, implacable features, a frisson of unease sliding down her spine. She’d
be naked. At his mercy. What would his reactions to seeing her be? Would his icy reserve thaw? If not, how could she allow him to touch her? She gulped down her nervousness.

  She could do this without letting him know how uncomfortable she was, how badly she wanted to bolt. Sure, she could.

  Her hands raised shakily to her shirt, which she pulled from her pants, a little unnerved by his disconcerting stare, and glanced beyond his shoulder to the lazy, cliff side trail. She undid her buttons while his dark gaze honed in on every little movement of her hands.

  Christ, she was going to get fired. Someone was going to note how long she’d been gone and her condition when she returned. She’d lose her job and have a devil of a time finding another as sweet—just because she wanted to fuck this man.

  She shrugged off the khaki shirt, and then opened the front fastening of her bra and let it slide off her arms.

  His nostrils flared, his eyelids lowered as his gaze dropped to her breasts. “Everything else but your socks and boots.”

  She unstrapped her equipment belt and dropped it on the floorboard of the truck, then closed her eyes and unfastened her uniform shorts, shoving them down as best she could without bumping against his body.

  Her green shorts slithered down her thighs, leaving only her lacy underwear for modesty.

  Again, he arched an eyebrow.

  She briefly closed her eyes then rolled the lace off her hips until it fluttered to the ground.

  Adam leaned down, not as worried about touching her, and his face glided along her belly then her thigh. He picked up her clothing and tossed it into the truck. “Sit on the edge of the seat and spread your legs for me.”

  Cass had been pretty stoic up to this point, but her courage fled beneath the cool challenge he issued. “What about you?” she blurted.

  “Is there a problem?”

  “Why am I the only one naked? Are you doing this to humiliate me?”

  He shook his head, his soft tsking raising her anxiety. “I don’t want to fuck you, Cass. Not yet. Are you going to do as I ask?”

  Only he wasn’t really asking, was he?