Thunder rumbled as Tori stared at the empty hook on the back of the bathroom door. Where in the world had her peach negligee disappeared to? She was sure she’d left it there that morning, but it was gone. Maybe she’d taken it to the kitchen without thinking. But surely, she would have noticed it while she was cleaning. Not to her surprise, that was exactly where she found it.
She slipped it over her head as a door closed. It sounded like it had come from the entrance by the servants’ stairs. Obviously, she hadn’t seen the last of Cole that night. And he could have seen her traipsing around the mansion naked as she searched for her short nightgown!
“Why that no-good s.o.b.”
Furious with him, she checked the door, hoping that he’d been embarrassed by seeing her nudity and decided to leave. But the bolt lock was still in place, and he hadn’t had enough time to lock it with the key from the outside. That meant he must still be in the house. But she hadn’t heard him on the servants’ stairs. She would have seen him if he’d gone through the laundry room to exit the billiard room door.
Going upstairs, she did a systematic search of the house, just to be sure he wasn’t still there. As she passed a window at the front, she stopped. His car wasn’t parked below. A flash of lightning lit the sky. In that moment, the shadow of a man in a trench coat hurrying through the live oak trees toward the woods. Apparently, he’d parked elsewhere again and changed his mind about staying. Well, she wasn’t about to let him get away with it this time.
Racing down the nearest staircase, Tori exited the door at the bottom. Another lightning flash brightened the area. The man was getting closer to the woods. If she was going to catch him, she had to forget about a coat and go now.
Heedless of the rain, she raced toward the woods. Now that she was in the mud, she was glad that she wasn’t encumbered by a coat. She would have lost a lot of time. Still, she slipped around quite a bit until she reached the grass on the opposite side of the road. All of a sudden her bare foot hit a puddle, and she fell, twisting her ankle. A sharp stab shot through it, but she choked back a cry of pain so Cole wouldn’t hear her.
Scrambling to her feet, she limped on as fast as she could. She was almost to the woods when a large hand grabbed her upper arm. Fear embraced her as it never had before, and she screamed. Jerking loose, she raced away. The person tackled her. Both of them fell to the muddy ground. Again she managed to free herself and rush on.
Panic overtook her. She sped forward. Then she noticed that she was headed toward the mansion. Her fear had left her confused, disoriented. She had to hide, but the house was too far away. She turned a different direction and ran parallel to the road, away from the house and woods.
A hand grabbed her again. A large body pinned her against a live oak tree nearby. Her scream of terror was almost drowned out by the loud crack of thunder that shook the earth.
Tori screamed again, but it was cut short when a hand clamped over her mouth. Terrified, she bit down until a man cried out. He collapsed against her, crushing her back against the tree. Then he grasped her head behind her ears and forced her head back.
She opened her mouth to scream again—until she saw Cole’s concerned expression. In an instant, rage replaced fear. She tried to push him away, but he was too heavy. How dare he treat her like this!
She struggled to free herself until her back scraped against the relatively smooth bark of the oak. Next she tried to extricate her head, but even that was useless, because he had a powerful yet gentle hold on her.
Suddenly exhaustion raced through her. She panted hard to catch her breath. Her firm breasts rose and fell rhythmically; her heart pounded unmercifully in her chest. But she wasn’t sure what caused it—her flight or the intense desire flooding her veins.
Cole was standing between her legs, his arousal tantalizingly evident as he pressed against her lower abdomen. She wanted to talk, to tell him to get away from her. But her words were blocked by the agonizing excitement swelling in her chest. She’d never had such a strong attraction to a man.
When he spoke, his cracking voice was barely audible over the hard rain. “Don’t you ever run away from me again. I couldn’t stop Mom from leaving, but I’ll sure as hell stop you.”
Tori wanted to respond after his first sentence, but his second stopped her. He’d been devastated when his mother left, and the thought of her leaving terrified him as much as his chase had frightened her. Was he really that attached to her already? As she inhaled to catch a breath, his mouth covered hers.
His lips met hers tenderly at first. Then his tongue slipped between her slightly parted lips, and tenderness became hunger. He probed her mouth, as though desperate to discover every portion of her body that she would allow. And she instinctively slid her arms around him in response.
His kiss changed again, burning his passion into her so insistently that she sighed heatedly into his mouth. His lips ground against hers, drawing her deeper into his power. She tightened her hold and caressed his hard, muscular back in acceptance. His large hand slid down her wet hair, across her shoulder and chest, coming to rest on her breast. Tori inhaled sharply. She wanted him now, as much as he so obviously wanted her.
A deafening crack of thunder shook the ground so hard that it knocked them both into the mud. At the sound of splitting wood, Cole looked up, so Tori let her gaze follow his. The oak beside theirs was falling, dissected by a bolt of lightning. And half of that tree was tipping toward them!
Before she could react, Cole threw his body over her, put his head down beside hers, and covered both of their heads with his arms. A moment later, the ground quaked as the large tree fell, missing them by only a couple of feet.
Cole heaved a sigh then rolled off Tori. She rolled onto her back as well. Reaching over, he grasped her hand and looked at her. “Are you okay, honey?”
“Yes.” Her voice faltered with a new fear, one of barely escaping death. “What happened?”
“We came damned close to getting hit by lightning. We’d better get back inside.” Pushing himself up, he reached down, took her hands, and pulled her to her feet. A sharp pain shot through her right ankle, and her leg buckled. But Cole caught her before she fell and swept her into his arms. “I thought you said you were okay.”
Her face heated in embarrassment. “I was until I stood up. I must have sprained my ankle.”
“I’m not surprised considering that fall you took,” he said as he hurried toward the house. Another flash of lightning brightened the dark sky, followed seconds later by a loud clap of thunder. “Thank God, that wasn’t as close. Why the hell were you running around in a storm, anyway? Wearing next to nothing at that.”
“I’ll explain after I’ve had time to clean up and change.”
“Which door did you come out? I don’t know because you were already out here when I arrived.”
“The one by the back stairs and breakfast room.”
When they reached the house, Tori opened the door for Cole. He set her down in the small hallway then stepped back to close the door by leaning against it. The light she’d left on in the nearby kitchen illuminated her, and Cole inhaled through his teeth.
The hissing sound attracted Tori’s attention. Glancing up, she saw that his gaze was riveted on her body. She looked down in mortified disbelief. Her nylon nightgown had turned almost transparent. Not only could Cole see everything she had, her short gown clung alluringly to her body.
Keeping her head bowed so he wouldn’t see her embarrassment, she mentally braced herself for his taunting remark. Instead he spoke with a seriousness that startled her.
“Here. Put this on.” Her jaw dropped as she raised her head. Hanging before her was the soaking, dark blue shirt he’d been wearing earlier. Unable to move, she stared at it while he continued. “I know it’s wet, Tori. But take it. Put it on. Please. Before I forget that I was raised to be a gentleman.”
She accepted his shirt with a half-smile and slipped into it while she stared at his naked torso. She’d already known that he was well-built, but she hadn’t realized he was so perfectly proportioned. His chest, covered with a moderate amount of curly hair, was solid without being overly muscular. A line of medium brown hair ran down his hard, slightly rippled stomach to his jeans.
“Thanks,” he said as she wrapped his shirt around her. “I’ll help you upstairs.”
“That’s okay. I can do it.” Before she could stop him, he put his left arm around her waist and grasped her upper right arm with his free hand. Instantly, the heat of their wet embrace returned. She had to do something to break the mood. “Really, Cole. I can make it upstairs alone.”
“I’m sure you can,” he said as he mounted the first step. “Okay now. Hop up here on your left foot. That right one’s really swollen.”
Even as she followed his instructions, she complained, “I feel silly doing this.”
“But you’re going to,” he teased as they made their way laboriously upstairs, “because you know it’s better for you. Besides, I imagine that ankle hurts too much to put any weight on it.”
“Don’t remind me. The very thought hurts.”
Cole laughed heartily. “A sense of humor even in the face of adversity. I like that in a woman.”
“I suppose that means you know a lot of women who face adversity.”
“Only one,” he admitted, turning serious again. “She’s the only one I care about, too.” Then his grin returned. “Do you know what sounds great right now? A roaring fire. I wish I’d cleaned out at least one of the zillion fireplaces in this place.”
“I found some of the appropriate tools in a shed and cleaned the one in the kitchen this morning.”
“You did? Great! While you’re getting cleaned up, I’ll get it started. I know where I can get some dry wood. Then you can take care of that ankle in front of a fire. How’s that sound?”
“Wonderful!” she drawled as they reached the second floor. “If I give you an extra towel, would you make an ice pack for me? I bought some ice and put it in the freezer this afternoon.”
“I’ll do anything to help, honey,” Cole said. “Just tell me what you want.”
“I don’t need much help, but I sure would appreciate that ice pack.”
Tori stripped her wet nightgown over her head then got into the tub and quickly washed her mud-splattered body. As she dried off and slipped into a short, royal blue nightgown, she added cold water. Finally, she straddled the edge of the tub and put her right foot into the water. This would help until she made her way downstairs for the ice pack.
Why would Cole frighten her one minute then kiss her the next? To make up for scaring her when he’d finally caught up with her? Then it dawned on her: the man she saw running hadn’t been Cole. His shirt had been wet, which meant he wasn’t wearing a trench coat.
Since it couldn’t have been Cole, maybe that man she’d seen running on the edge of the woods was his father. After all, it was possible that he had a key to the mansion, too. One thing was sure—that shadow had definitely not been a figment of her imagination.
Her next thought startled her. When Cole was carrying her to the house, she’d noticed his car parked beside hers. It hadn’t been there when she’d left the mansion, so he had to have arrived later.
She dismissed the idea and leaned back against the wall. They could decide later what had happened—together, while they were sitting in front of the fire.
“Tori!” she heard him call. “Did you clean out the chimney this afternoon, too? I don’t want to smoke up the house.”
“Unlike some people,” she returned loudly, “I’m not afraid of heights. Yes, I cleaned it—from the roof you don’t like me climbing on.”
His hearty laugh echoed through the mansion, diminishing the farther away he got. A door closed in the distance, and she knew that he’d left to find the wood. A sense of security enveloped her. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, she was glad that Cole had come. And she would tell him as soon as possible.
***
Backing his Rogue up to the barn, Cole parked then got out and pushed the large door aside. After getting into his truck again, he backed up a little farther, so the tail end was in the barn. Finally, he turned off the motor and got out again.
This building was so rickety it had to be torn down, anyway. He may as well salvage some of the wood for the fireplaces. Boards creaked over the rain that hit the roof, dripping through in some places, pouring through in others.
“God, this place is spooky,” he said aloud as he opened the lift-back. “I’m going to make this quick.”
He tore apart a decrepit storage bin with his bare hands and the hatchet he’d put back two days earlier. Tori was right. He really was skittish. The place was deserted—except for the little varmints making their homes here—and he was ready to high-tail it out of there and tell her he couldn’t find any wood to warm her up.
Warm her up, huh? That was an appropriate choice of words. But he wouldn’t—not tonight. He’d scared the hell out of her when he caught up with her. Now he had to be a gentleman and find another cozy bed to sleep in. There were certainly plenty in the house.
Whistling to drown out the noises, he finished his chore. With the wood stored in the back of his truck, he closed the lid, got in, and drove away.
Richard peered over the edge of the hayloft with a heavy sigh. “That was close.” He sat down opposite the woman with red hair and gazed at her. “It’s been a long time, but I still miss you. I still miss what we had together.”
“Me, too,” she replied. “I wish we could renew old times. I wish you hadn’t remarried.”
He moved closer to her, cupping her face tenderly between his hands. “Since when did a man being married stop you?”
“Since it ruined two marriages twenty-one years ago.”
“Let’s forget those twenty-one years, darlin’,” Richard said. “Let’s forget the seventeen years before that. Let’s go all the way back to when there were no children to hamper our love.”
“Too much has happened, Richard,” she replied with a slow shake of her head. “And your unfaithfulness started it all.”
“I know, but I’ve apologized a million times for it. I’ve also paid the price. I want you, darlin’. I want to make love to you like I did more than thirty-five years ago.”
“That’s not what you said twenty-one years ago. Back then, you told me that you never wanted to see me again. You told me that you only wanted me to send you my address and phone number whenever I moved in case there was an emergency.”
He slid his hands down to her shoulders then caressed her upper arms. “That was a long time ago, sweetheart. Let’s forget—at least temporarily. Nothing has changed. You’re still the only woman I’ve ever truly loved.”
Before she could protest again, his mouth covered hers in a kiss that he knew would accomplish his goal.
***
When she heard Cole get into the shower in another bathroom, Tori got out of the tub and drained the water. Donning the short, royal blue robe that matched her sleeveless nightgown, she tied the sash around her waist. Then she grabbed two pillows and the quilt off her bed and hobbled to the kitchen.
Spreading the quilt neatly on the floor, she dropped the pillows on the quilt then picked up the ice pack Cole had left on the table. Sitting down, she laid her foot on the pillows. Then, very gently, she laid the ice pack on her ankle and lay back to wait for him.
He came down the servants’ stairs a few minutes later, wearing only a pair of jogging shorts—and his bright, boyish grin.
“Didn’t I tell you, young lady,” he teased, “that you were supposed to wait for me to bring you down? Instead, you brought a bunch of stuff and didn’t even let me help.”
“That’s because I didn’t need help,” she returned as he sat down beside her Indian fashion.
Cole shook his head. “Ah, independent even in the face of adversity. Not always a good quality lately, but I like that in a woman.”
“You know, Mr. Marshall, you like a lot of things in a woman that seem to fit with adversity. Are you sure you don’t know a lot of women like me?”
Lying down on his side, he brushed some of the hair off her forehead. “I only have adverse times with one woman.”
“At a time,” she added playfully.
Cole turned serious again. “At all. Is the fire warming you up?”
“A little too much,”
“Well, it’s no wonder.” He slid his hand up her shin to her thigh. “Here you lie, all bundled up in that long-sleeved, albeit sexy, robe.” His hand slid over the satiny, nylon material to her sash while she shivered with desire beneath his tender caress. “I’ll bet that nightgown doesn’t have any sleeves on it.” He untied the sash but left the robe in place.
“Cole,” she replied in a heated whisper.
“I know,” he said, sliding one side of the material out of his way. “I’m interested, too.” He pushed the other side of the robe out of his way. “But it’s not going to happen tonight.” Carefully lifting one sleeve, he removed her naked arm. “I’ve already overstepped the bounds of decency by kissing you like that in the storm, especially after I’d scared you so badly. I really am sorry about that, too.” The other sleeve glided off her arm without her offering a single word of protest. “God, you have a great body.”
Now was the time for her to speak, but she couldn’t. His fingertip blazed a tantalizing trail across her bare shoulder to her spaghetti strap. It heated a path on her skin as it followed the thin material to her nightgown. Her nerves tingled as he traced the edge across her partially exposed breast, through her cleavage, up the other breast, and over the other spaghetti strap.
While his hand rested on her shoulder, he lightly kissed one shoulder then the other. His lips burned a path of desire across her collarbone and up her throat to her chin. Then he kissed her tenderly on the lips. To her dismay, he sat up suddenly and grinned down at her.
“That’s all for tonight,” he proclaimed in a ragged voice. “We have important things to discuss—like why you were traipsing around outside on a stormy night.”
Tori blushed in embarrassment. The heat it created in her went all the way from her face to her nightgown. With a grimace, she admitted, “I thought I was chasing you.”
The levity left his face in an instant. “You were chasing somebody? Do you know who?”
“I told you; I thought it was you. But looking back on it, it couldn’t have been you. Your car wasn’t here when I left the house, but it is now. And your shirt was soaked when you gave it to me. The man I saw was wearing a trench coat.”
“Where was this person?”
“I’m not even sure it was a person.” Her face heated again with embarrassment caused by her overactive imagination. “All I saw was the shadow of a man. I’d heard noises in the house earlier, so it could have been my imagination.”
“You don’t believe that for a second.”
“All right. I don’t. But how else can you explain that he disappeared before I could find him?”
“Where was he?” Cole demanded. “Which way was he going? And why the hell were you chasing him? You should have let him get away.”
“He was just inside the woods on the opposite side of the pastures. That’s got to be a good hundred yards from the house.”
“You still wanted to chase him.”
“You bet I did! At first I thought you were trying to sneak into the house so you could protect me without my knowing about it. Once it even crossed my mind that maybe you’d come to scare me into moving in with you. That won’t work, by the way, because I don’t scare easily.”
“You were scared as hell when I caught up with you tonight,” he reminded her. “Admit it.”
“Okay, I was scared, but I was scared because I thought a stranger was trying to assault me. As far as I was concerned, you were in the woods. I’m glad that you showed up when you did.” She smiled seductively and continued in a sexy voice. “In more ways than one.”
“You can just get that notion out of your pretty head right now. We’re not doing anything more tonight.”
“Spoil sport,” she teased. Then an unexpected thought struck her. “Wait a minute. Where did you get the shorts?”
Cole grinned and winked at her. “I brought them from home—along with several changes of clothes. You were right about my wanting to protect you, Tori. I just don’t like you living out here alone. Since you’re too stubborn to move into my beach house, I have to move into my mansion instead. And you can’t kick me out, because I own the place.”
“I don’t want to kick you out,” she said in a small voice. “In fact, I’m glad you’re moving in.”
Staring down at her suspiciously, he replied, “That’s a huge turnabout. What changed your mind?”
“I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy. At first, I thought you were sneaking around here, moving things I’d put one place to other places. Now I know better. I guess I’m just getting forgetful. Although, how my nightgown got from the back of the bathroom door to the kitchen without me realizing it is beyond me. I spent the whole day cleaning in here.”
“Maybe Dad’s snooping around. Maybe he’s trying to gaslight you out of here.”
“Gaslight me? Oh, come on. Surely he wouldn’t want me to think I’m crazy. He has to reason to.”
“We don’t know what reasons he may have yet, honey.”
“I don’t buy it.”
“You know, he could have been the man you saw tonight.”
“I thought of that, too.”
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow afternoon. I doubt he’ll stick around as long as he knows I’m here.”
“I suppose not.”
“So, are you calmed down enough for bed yet?” he asked, abruptly changing the subject.
“As a matter of fact, I am. I’m also exhausted enough. This has been quite a night, hasn’t it.”
“It certainly has,” he replied with a reassuring smile. “Tell you what. I got my first aid kit out of the truck. I’ll wrap your ankle and put you to bed. Do you have any aspirin for the pain?”
“Thanks,” she said, “but as long as I stay off it, it doesn’t hurt much.”
Rising, Cole took the ace bandage from his kit on the table. “You know, woman? You’re getting more interesting all the time. Now you’re brave in the face of adversity, too. I like that in a woman.”
Happy that he was there, Tori watched in silence as he wrapped her ankle. To her horror, however, he picked her up when he finished. She protested vehemently the entire time he carried her upstairs and laid her on the bed, despite her vivid memories of their passion.
When he kissed her lips lightly, she almost pulled him into bed. But she restrained herself, because she was exhausted. She didn’t want to spoil their first intimacy by being too tired to enjoy it. As he left to go back to the kitchen for the bedding, she rolled onto her side and slid her hand under her head.
By the time Cole returned, she was already asleep with a contented smile across her lips. Covering her with the quilt, he sat down on the edge of the bed and stared down at her. He didn’t like what was happening. As far as he knew, his father didn’t even own a trench coat. Richard always wore a slicker to work on the farm. So the man Tori had seen had to have been somebody else—unless Richard used a different kind of coat to keep suspicion from himself.