Sacrifice of Passion (Deadly Legends) (9 page)

“Hmm?”

“What’s a chupacabra do? In the legend,” she asked breathlessly.

“It sinks its fangs into an animal’s neck,” he said, nipping hers with his teeth, “and sucks its blood.” Then he latched on, pulling her skin into his mouth, sucking the blood up to the surface.

A small moan escaped her lips as a shiver shot through her. Okay, not working. He released her neck and took her face in his hands. And kissed her, his lips feather light against hers.

She flattened her palms backward against the side of the Jeep. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, feel him more completely, but she couldn’t. Her heart raced. Stuttered.

He’d break her heart…abandon her…

Everything went black. Her skin chilled beneath his touch. She froze. God. No. She’d thought she could do this, but…

She raised her hands. Pushed him away. “Please. Wait.”

“Laney,” he muttered, pulling her back, his mouth closing over hers again.

The sound of a motor barreled toward them. With a quick movement, she shoved Vic away. A horn blared, and a car rushed past.

She ran her hand over her mouth. What was she doing? He felt familiar and kissing him felt safe, but how could that be real? He wanted one night with her, to purge her from his memories. But for her, that meant opening herself up to the only man she’d ever loved. And if she fell for him all over… She couldn’t bear the thought of going through the pain of being abandoned by him again.

“I’m sorry… This…” The words stuck. “We can’t go back.”

He put his hands on her hips and started to tug her to him. “Yes, we can. Right where we left off.”

She could hear her heart thudding in her ears and she wobbled on shaky legs. How could he say that? Where they’d left off was the point of betrayal. Of heartache. Of violation. She didn’t want to go back there, not in a million years.

But God, she wanted him. So badly. The ache low in her belly and the longing centered between her legs told her what her body wanted.

It wanted Vic. It wanted what they’d come so close to having when they were younger. Wanted to feel his mouth on her body, his breath against her skin. Her vision blurred as she was sucked into imagining him inside her, rocking against her until they were finally, at long last, one.

She couldn’t go back, but maybe she could go forward…

Cautiously.

“Laney?”

His voice brought her back to the moment. This wasn’t one of her fantasies. It was real. And she had to decide.

Yes. She wanted him.

Hell yes, she’d take him up on his deal.

They’d finally make love and then they’d know what they’d missed so long ago, and with any luck they’d be able to forget each other, just as he’d said.

But she had to be in control. This would be on her terms.

Slowly, she drew in one deep breath so she could remember his earthy scent later, when she was alone, and then pushed him away one last time. “I have to go,” she said as she slipped back into her Jeep.

As she started up the engine, he leaned toward her, one hand keeping the door open, the other on the door frame. She could see his eyes smoldering, see the frustration in them.

“You let me know if you want to learn more about chupacabras. Or anything.”

“I’ll do that,” she said, starting to pull the door closed. She definitely would. And soon.

His frustration spread to his face. “Try to drive more carefully.”

“I will.”

“We’re not done, you know,” he said as he stood back with a confident air. “You’ll be back for more. I’d bet my ranch on it.”

She swallowed. She didn’t answer, but slammed the door shut and then sped off, deliberately not looking at him in the rearview mirror as she left him in the dust.

Because in her heart she knew he was right. They’d never be free of each other until they took care of their unfinished business.

…

Vic sat in the cold cab of his truck and ran over the encounter with Delaney. She’d said no, but that amazing kiss made him wonder. He hadn’t started it this time, she had. Oh, yeah. She was definitely considering his suggested deal. Why else would she have melted into him like she had?

He slammed his hand against the steering wheel and swore. “Dammit.” What was she up to?

He replayed the rest of their conversation on the drive back to his mother’s, where she and Ray were hanging out with Eva and Zach. Chupacabra. Esperanza had mentioned the mythical creature to him, too, the other day on the hill when they’d discovered the blood-drained goat. In a macabre, twisted way that made sense. But why in the hell would the curandera tell Delaney the chupacabra was after her? Why scare her with a warning to be careful about a myth? What did Laney have to do with dead goats or any of that stuff? God only knew. Probably nothing. Maybe Esperanza was getting old—losing sight of reality.

His thoughts strayed back to moments ago. And how right Delaney had felt in his arms. How good she tasted. He knew it wasn’t possible for two people to go back and start again emotionally…not after that kind of betrayal. But there was still pleasure to be had. Why waste it?

He’d only touched her face, her neck. Imagining what touching the rest of her might feel like made him grow hard again. It would be pure ecstasy to experience the rest of it with her.

Somehow, he had to make it happen. Had to get her into his bed.

Picking up his son from his mother’s chased thoughts of Delaney away—for the moment.

Spending time with his mother made Vic feel even more inadequate as a father. Nieves Vargas was the rock of the family. She’d never faltered. Not when his father had walked out on them and Vic had rebelled, refusing to do his schoolwork. Not after Delaney had left him and his only interests had become drinking and getting laid to fill the hollow spot in his heart. And not when he blew out of town to go play college ball and didn’t call his mother for close to a year.

Yet here she was, welcoming her grandson with open arms while Vic floundered and struggled to learn how to be a good father to the boy. With parenthood, he was pounding his head against a closed door. And Zach wouldn’t open up the damned thing.

While his mother busied herself at the stove, Vic and his brother sat next to one another in their mother’s kitchen, sinking chips into
pico de gallo
and watching Zach and Eva play War with a deck of cards.

He had to make some changes if he was going to do things right for Zach. “I need to cut down my shifts at the bar,” he said.

Ray seemed unsurprised. “I thought you might.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Ray shrugged. “Delaney West is back in town.”

Vic downed what remained of his beer. “And?”

“Heard she was at El Charro the other night—”

“Which has absolutely nothing to do with my need to cut back.”

Ray scooped more of the tomato mixture onto a chip. “If you say so.”

He did say so. “I need more time with Zach. And the ranch is a full-time job. I already lost one of my sheep to this mystery predator, and with so many other animals in the area being killed… I should be at Tierra del Oro.” He lowered his voice. “It’s bad enough I’m losing livestock—I can’t let anything happen to Zach’s pig.”

Ray nodded. “We’ll work out a new schedule.”

Vic suddenly appreciated his brother’s sense of family. Ray devoted every waking minute to Eva and to being a good dad, and he’d do what he could to help Vic. They were polar opposites. Ray was ex-marine and had gone into teaching and school administration after leaving the corps. Although he didn’t necessarily understand Vic’s passion for ranching and working the land, he didn’t criticize it. Especially now that Zach was in the picture.

Eva murmured something to Zach and he laughed.

Vic shook his head, frustrated. First Jasper. Then Delaney. Now his niece. He didn’t get it. What was it going to take to convince the kid that things were going to be okay? That
they
were going to be okay? Father and son. They were supposed to be a team. They were a family. So why couldn’t they figure out how to be one?

He sat down at the table and drew a second deck of cards from its box. “How about a little poker?”

Eva’s face lit up. “Definitely!” She pulled her brown hair behind her head and wound a hair band around it.

“Oh, getting serious,” Vic said, grinning. Maybe he could get to Zach through Eva, he thought. “Want to play, bud?”

“Poker is not a game for children,” his mother scolded through her heavy accent.

Eva, in perfect teenage form, ignored her grandmother and took the cards Vic dealt. Ray joined them at the table and they each picked up their cards, fanning them out and organizing them. Zach leaned toward Ray. “What’s this mean, Tío?”

Tío
.
Abuela
. Vic’s gut twisted at the easy way Zach was able to call his brother “Uncle” and his mother “Grandma.” Zach only stumbled whenever he tried to call Vic anything at all. Damn. Vic knew he shouldn’t feel jealous and should just focus on the game. Zach was having fun. That’s all that mattered. Vic played through the hand and waited while Eva shuffled and dealt.

Ray helped Zach organize his cards. “Not bad, kid,” he said, and Zach smiled up at him. A big, warm, hero-worshiping smile.

Vic didn’t know when he’d become discontented with his life, but that was the reality now. He wanted to know his son. He wanted a proper family, but it all felt so out of reach. He, who was always so sure of himself and knew exactly what to do, was floundering because of an eleven-year-old boy.

When he wasn’t asking Ray questions, his son kept his eyes glued to his cards.

I’m here!
Vic wanted to shout.
I didn’t leave you
. I didn’t even know about you. Give me a goddamned break
. Instead, he bent down next to Zach. The kid had a decent hand. A pair of twos and a pair of jacks. “Get rid of that one,” he whispered.

Zach went back to his game and Vic bit his tongue. Being a father was nothing like he’d ever imagined it would be. Ray made it look so easy with Eva. Those fatherly conversations seemed second nature to him. Meanwhile, he and Zach were stuck in no man’s land, miles apart from each other. Kind of like him and Delaney.

Vic stifled a sigh. He should take a breather and put things in perspective. Give Zach a chance to connect with his new family. It was a start, and he had to be content with that. Their relationship with each other would come in time. He just had to be patient and let the boy come to him.

Kind of like with Delaney.

Chapter Nine

Vic’s dream about Delaney grew vivid. The scent of bluebells tickled his nose, enveloping his bed and his mind. His hands pressed flat on the cool sheets until he felt the bed move. Knew she was crawling toward him. He stayed flat on his back and suddenly Laney was straddling him, kissing him, her hands under his shirt. His erection was instantaneous and she writhed against it, moaning softly.

His fingers danced across her back as he kissed, tasting her, slipping his hands around to her waist. God, he wanted her right now, but he wanted to go slow, to savor every second. Then she pulled away from him suddenly, and sat up. He stirred, sleep leaving him. Hell no! He didn’t want to lose the dream.

“I won’t leave this time,” she said, her voice husky and slurred.

Even as his eyes opened, he felt her on him, real as life. His vision cleared and he saw her. Holy Christ. This was no dream.

“Laney.”

She pressed herself against him, her auburn hair wild and untamed, copper streaks shimmering in the moonlight. Her eyes were dreamy and vacant.

“What are you…how’d you get in here?” A movement of the curtains to his right caught his eye. The bedroom window.

“I want you,” she murmured.

A thrill shot through him. She was in his bed. For real. She’d accepted his deal just as he knew she would. He forgot about everything else and gathered her in his arms. “Whatever you say,” he muttered, and started to pull her back down so he could kiss her again.

But she resisted, her hands splayed on his chest, her elbows locked. “Not yet.”

So she wanted to be in charge. No problem. He closed his eyes, and as she ground herself against him, he groaned in pleasure. He felt like a teenager, ready to explode before he was even inside her. She stopped the rhythmic motion and he opened his eyes, watching her in fascination as she crossed her arms and took off her top. There was just enough light filtering in through the window to see the curves of her breasts, her nipples taut and calling for his mouth.

An ethereal tone dusted her voice. “It should have been me, not her…”

He grimaced. He didn’t want her to think about the choices they’d made in the past. Didn’t want to talk about it and risk ruining what was happening right now. She was here, at this moment. “It’s you now. The way it should be.”

Slowly, her eyes closed as she nodded.

Was he still dreaming? Why had she changed her mind after just a few hours? But he didn’t ask questions. He traced his fingers over her breasts and teased her nipples. A small moan escaped her lips and contentment flooded him. She was real, flesh and blood, and here in his bed. Finally. He tried to pull her toward him, again, but she knocked his hands away.

“Not yet,” she said.

There was something unsettling about her voice. About the way she wasn’t looking at him, but rather at a spot on the wall behind him. He tried not to care. She’d come to him. What else mattered? “What do you want me to do, Laney?”

Without a word, she moved herself back, wrapped her hands around his arms, and pulled him to a sitting position. She arched back, guiding his mouth to her breasts. As though she’d read his mind. “I waited for you,” she said, her body shuddering.

“I’ve been waiting for you, too,” he said, his voice barely a breath against her skin. And then his tongue passed over the hard points of her nipples, over the swell of her breasts, moving back and forth between them, making him feel like he was home. “What else have you been waiting for, Laney?” he asked before latching on and sucking until she groaned deep in her throat, the rumble in his chest a match.

She gasped and ground her pelvis against him, the friction of her cotton pajama pants against his boxers creating an agonizing mixture of pleasure and pain. He cupped one hand on her backside, his need to feel the warmth between her legs almost overwhelming.

Suddenly she was standing on the bed over him, her naked breasts taunting him. He whipped off his shirt as she said, “Everything we never had.”

From his mind to her mouth. “We can have it now.”

“It’s not supposed to hurt.”

Something in her voice changed and he stopped, let his hands move to her sides, tilted his head back to look up at her. She’d moaned in pleasure, not pain. He was sure of it. “Does it hurt?”

“No.” She raked her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. Light from outside reflected on the silver bracelet around her wrist. He recognized it. He’d given it to her, and she was wearing it now, when she’d come to him.

“It should have been you…” Her voice was distant. Sad.

His puzzlement grew. “Laney, it
is
me…”

After another moment, she dropped her arms and her body relaxed. “Vic.” Her voice dropped to a low, sultry incarnation that made him shudder. “I can’t forget…”

That made two of them. He couldn’t forget about her either, not since he’d run into her in San Julio’s veterinarian office. Every freaking waking moment of the last three days. “Me, either,” he murmured. He pulled her down and started to kiss her, but she put her fingers to his lips, pushed him flat, and shimmied out of her thin pajama bottoms.

Finally, she brought her gaze to his face. Smiled faintly. “It’s time.”

Seeing the curves and hollows of her body and feeling the faint pressure of her knees and calves along his outer thighs as she kneeled over him forced his heart to his throat. This was Delaney West. His Laney. “Long overdue.”

Her smile turned wicked. Seductive. And then she caressed one of her breasts and ran her other hand up her thigh, teasing her fingers against the space between her legs.

He almost came on the spot. “Come down here, Laney.”

With firm hands, he pulled her forward and she sank down until her bare backside was resting on his stomach. Reaching behind her, she slipped her hand into his boxers and stroked his erection with a long, even rhythm. He let his hands slide up her thighs with a feather-light graze until they wound through the thin strip of hair between her legs. She closed her eyes and moved with him as his fingers explored her, her urgency increasing.

He needed more. Now.

As if they could read each other’s thoughts, she released her hold on him as he gripped her hips and propelled her upward. She fell forward, propping her hands against the wall at the head of the bed, her hips positioned perfectly over his face, her knees on either side of his head.

And then, at long last, he was tasting her. She moved against him as his tongue pinpointed her arousal. He worked slowly at first, then faster with each of her low seductive pants.

Delaney. God, he’d been waiting for this for years. Never thought she’d take him up on his deal. But he’d been delusional to think they could do this one time and then it would be over. He knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, that making love with her would not cleanse his mind of her. No, it would infuse her more deeply into his soul. After this, he’d never be free of Delaney West.

She tasted sweet, just as he’d imagined. His tongue circled and flicked against her as she moved against him. Her moans grew. He wasn’t the first man to love her, he knew, but he’d give her the best orgasm she’d ever had.

She writhed, her rhythm growing erratic. She was close…

The wind outside picked up, a gust blowing into the room. The bedroom door slammed, and Delaney jerked, her body close to convulsing. She froze. Trembled. Tried to pull away from him. “Oh, no…”

Oh, yes. He gripped her hips, flicking his tongue against her until the sudden force of her orgasm hit, a tidal wave that visibly coursed through her, making her cry out. He held her tight, relishing the feel of her shuddering body, her total loss of control. The orgasm he’d been waiting twelve years to give her.

The second it passed, he felt her body go limp. She fell backward, her hair spilling down in front of her, obscuring her face from him. Her hands dropped to his chest, her breath ragged and strained. Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

“Oh, God. No, no, no…”

He reached up to push her hair out of the way with his fingers, stifling his urge to flip her onto her back and find his own release. He wanted to be in her. Now. But he stopped when he saw the expression on her face. She seemed…horrified.

The only evidence of the sensations her body had just experienced were the faint marks of scarlet on her cheeks. That uneasy feeling drilled deeper into him. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, her fingers clawing at her hair. “Oh, my God,” she moaned. Her eyes had muddied and her voice trembled, its seductive edge gone.

His heart constricted. Had he hurt her somehow? “Laney?” He reached to stroke her face, but she turned her head.

“No,” she said in a harsh whisper. “I need to leave.”

Was she playing some sort of game? “The deal was making love,” he said tightly.

“There’s no deal.”

What the hell was she talking about? “You’ve got to be kidding. Then why the hell else are you here, in my bed? Naked?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

He stared at her, his frustration mounting. “Didn’t know what?”

“I…” She looked around, eyes wide. “I have to go.”

Pushing away from him, she climbed off before he could stop her.

“What the hell? We’re not done here.” He sat up, reaching for her. “Laney. I want you.” Screw that. He needed her. Beyond that, he was getting ticked off. He didn’t go for game-players. Had never pegged Laney as one. Would never have thought she’d crawl into his bed, get him to make her come, then take off like a bat out of hell. Anger flared and clouded his mind.

As she pulled on her pajamas and her top, he bounded off the bed, grabbing her arm. “What the fuck is this about, huh?” His heart pounded, all the pent-up desire for her funneling into his veins. He gritted his teeth. “Are you trying to punish me? Why? What did I ever do to you?”

She grew pale. “You weren’t there.”

“You keep saying that!” He fumed. “No, damn it, I wasn’t there. And yeah, I should have been straight with you. I didn’t want to elope,” he blurted. “I wanted your parents to approve of me. I wanted you to have a real wedding—”

“It doesn’t matter now,” she whispered. She moved toward the window, turning to face him, pain written on her face. “You weren’t there to stop him.”

His blood turned to ice. “What the hell are you talking about?” But before he finished speaking, she was through the window and running across the yard.

Slamming his hand against the windowsill, he let out a string of curses. This was insane. He was naked, with an aching erection, and she was confusing the hell out of him. What had just happened?

He shoved the window shut, throwing the lock, and barreled out the back door, turning the key in the deadbolt behind him. Zach was sound asleep, Sheila curled by his side, which meant he could make sure Laney got back home. Keep your distance, he told himself. He wasn’t going to chase her or scare her, but he could make sure she got home safely.

“Damn it!” He drove his truck across his property, trying to get a trace on her, zigzagging back and forth over the treed land. Finally, after what felt like hours but had to be only minutes, he spotted a lone figure in his headlights passing in front of the Chain Tree and onto the West ranch, past the little cabin, and on toward the house.

He exhaled. She was safe.

Throwing the truck in Park, he watched her until he was sure she’d made it inside, letting himself think about what had just happened and what the hell had she been talking about. He hadn’t been there to stop who? From what? Or was this payback she was giving him for his inane deal? She’d left him high and dry, with only his hand to finish the goddamned job. And the feel of her, the taste of her, the scent of her was branded on his soul.

He was done playing games with Delaney West. Next time, he’d be the one making her ache for him the way she’d left him aching for her.