And Mark...he wasn’t leaving. Instead, he was watching her with an intense, turbulent gaze. She wished she could read his mind right then.
Wished—
His gaze fell to her body. She was wearing her bra and panties—she’d ditched everything else before she climbed into bed. Since his room was on the other side of the house, she’d hoped that he wouldn’t hear her cries when the nightmare came.
He had.
His hands tightened on her. She could feel the calluses along the edge of his fingertips. Mark wasn’t just some figurehead at the Montgomery ranch. He worked day in and day out. She knew he was the lifeblood of that place.
She also knew that she should feel embarrassed to be with him this way. She should probably reach out and pull up the covers. She didn’t.
“Do you remember,” Ava asked him, “when we kissed?”
Maybe he didn’t remember. He’d been drinking that night. She had, too, or else she probably would never have gotten up the courage to kiss him. She’d just finished her undergraduate degree, and she’d been celebrating the holidays with her brothers—and with Mark. She and Mark had been alone for just a moment. The mistletoe had been right above them. She’d stood up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
Then something had happened. He’d taken over that kiss. It hadn’t been quick. It had been deep and hot.
“I wish I could forget.”
His words hurt, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “I—”
“Because if I could forget, then I wouldn’t spend so much time wanting to taste you again.” His right hand rose and sank into her hair, tipping back her head. “Like this...”
His lips pressed to hers softly at first, carefully.
But she didn’t want careful. Not from him. Everyone else in her life treated her as if she’d break apart at any moment. Not Mark, too.
Her hands curled around his shoulders. Her mouth opened beneath his, and her tongue slid out to caress his lower lip.
His body stiffened, and she heard him groan. She loved that sound. Loved it even more when he stopped being so careful. She could feel his passion taking control. One minute he was holding her as if she were fine china, and the next he’d crushed her back into the bedding. He was on top of her, kissing her deep and hard, and she loved it.
For just a moment, the ghosts and fears from her past were gone. All she knew was the need she felt for Mark. The desire that was burning hot inside her, singeing her to her core. Her nails bit into his shoulders. Her breasts tightened, ached, and her nipples thrust against his bare chest.
Her hips were arching up. The covers were tangled around her legs, though, keeping her from feeling all of his body. She wanted those covers gone. She didn’t want anything between them.
Her hands slid over his back. There were some scars there, faint ridges that rose beneath her fingers. She wondered how he’d gotten those marks, but then her hands kept moving because she wanted to explore every inch of him.
Ava knew plenty about nightmares. But because of Mark, she also knew a bit about dreams. And since he’d kissed her two years ago, she’d dreamed of being like this with him.
Only him.
His mouth pulled from hers and, for a moment, she thought he was going to back away. He didn’t. He started kissing a scorching path down her neck. She arched up against him as she moaned. She loved it when he kissed her at the base of her throat, and when he lightly sucked the skin, then scored it with his teeth... “Mark!”
“Want to taste all of you...everything...”
She wanted to taste all of him.
He was still moving down her body, only now he’d just jerked the covers out of the way. She thought she might have heard the sheet rip, but Ava couldn’t be certain of that. Her mind was focused on other things.
On him.
On the way he made her feel.
On the desire that was making her body ache.
His fingers slid under the edge of her bra. “Stop me,” he said.
Was he crazy? Stopping him was the last thing she wanted. “Touch me,” Ava said instead.
Because she was looking at his eyes, she saw his control break away. Saw his pupils swell as the darkness swallowed the blue of his gaze. Then he was shoving her bra out of the way. His fingers curled over her breasts, stroked her nipples and a ragged gasp tore from her. Yes, yes, this was what she wanted.
No fear. No pity. Nothing but pleasure.
Mark.
Then his mouth was over her breast. “So pretty,” he whispered before his lips closed over her nipple. He sucked her, laving her with his tongue, and Ava nearly went crazy. Her hips bucked because the feelings coursing through her body were too strong. She needed him, wanted him. This moment had finally come, finally. She felt as if he’d been staying away from her since that kiss, and Ava had feared that she’d imagined his desire for her.
But I didn’t. He wants me just as badly as I want him.
There was no stopping. His hands were sliding down her stomach now, heading for her panties. There was—
An alarm shrieked, blaring through the house. Mark’s head whipped up. He stared at her for a moment and shook his head as if he were coming out of a fog. Then he bolted from the bed.
“Mark!”
“Stay here!” he said as he rushed for the door. “Something set off the alarm near the stables—I know that alarm!”
He was leaving her.
Her breath heaved out. White-hot passion one moment...fear the next. That would not be the story of her life. Ava jumped out of the bed. Her knees did tremble but she stiffened them up, and she grabbed for her clothes. One minute later, she was running out of that bedroom door and racing to keep up with Mark.
Because if she’d brought danger to Mark’s ranch, there was no way she was letting him face it alone.
Chapter Two
Mark rushed out of his house, his bare feet flying over the wooden porch. The alarm was still blaring up ahead, a security measure he’d put in after a psychotic SOB had torched his stables a few months back. The jerk had been trying to get at Brodie McGuire and Brodie’s girl, Jennifer, and the fire had been set to lure them both into a trap.
No one will use me again.
He could see some of his ranch hands already running toward the stables. There was no sign of a fire, but something had sure set off the alarm.
The whole ranch was wired with state-of-the-art security, courtesy, of course, of the McGuires. He’d been watching the security feed when he’d first seen Ava pull into his drive earlier that night. Ava already knew the code to get past his gate, and he’d watched her, stunned to see her back at his place. Especially since her brothers had told him to stay away from her.
“Ty!” He yelled for his foreman because he had just come from the back of the stables. “Are the animals all right?”
Ty Watts hurried toward him. “Looks clear, Boss.” Ty was close to Mark’s age, with dark hair and dark brown eyes. “I didn’t see anyone out back, and the men are in there with the horses now.”
But something had set off the alarm—something or someone.
“What the hell do you think...?” Ty began. Then he let out a low whistle. “Sorry. Didn’t realize company was here.” His gaze was directed over Mark’s shoulder.
Mark glanced back and saw Ava. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders. Under the lights that had flashed on with the security system, she appeared even more beautiful as the harsh glare lit up her body.
She was running toward Mark, clearly coming from the house.
In the middle of the night.
“Like that, is it?” Ty murmured.
Mark cut him a killing glare. “Yes,” he told him flatly. “It is.”
“What’s happening?” Ava as
ked, her voice husky as her breath heaved out. The woman even sounded like sin right then. He’d had her beneath him moments before. His hot dreams had been about to become reality, and then—
The alarm had been a cold shower. A hard wake-up that had stopped him from making a terrible mistake.
Would it have been a mistake? Or would it have been the start of an addiction I couldn’t end?
“Something set off the sensors at the rear of the stables, ma’am,” Ty told her, his Texas accent rolling beneath the words. “After the recent fire, Mark here didn’t want to take any chances with the horses’ safety. Those sensors go off if anyone gets too close during the night.”
A few more ranch hands came out. “Clear!” one of them shouted.
“Could have just been some animal checking out the place. Maybe a raccoon,” Ty said. “It could even have been a coyote.”
Ava was staring straight at Mark. “Do you have cameras set up back there?”
“No, not there,” he said. “Not yet, anyway. The cameras are all connected to the main house and to the main road that led to the ranch.”
“What if I led someone here?” Ava asked as she stepped closer to Mark. “What if I did this?”
“Nothing happened,” he told her flatly. “You didn’t do anything.” He nodded toward Ty. “Have the men search the grounds just in case. We don’t want to leave anything to chance.”
Ty nodded and turned away. A few seconds later, Mark heard Ty barking orders to his men. Mark wanted to go and join the search, too, but he needed to make sure Ava was safe. “I thought I told you stay inside,” he said as he leaned in toward her.
“I don’t always stay where I’m put.” Her voice held a distinct edge. “If there was a threat out here, I didn’t want you facing it alone.”
Ava...riding to his rescue. And some folks thought she was weak? Those folks didn’t know her at all. “I just wanted you safe.”
She stared up at him. “Are any of us ever really safe?”
With her past, yes, she’d wonder that.
“I want to help, and I don’t intend to help by hiding inside your house.” She straightened her shoulders. “If you’re searching, then I’m going with you.”
“Ava...”
“I...can’t wait in there alone.” Her voice was stark. “Don’t ask me to.”
He understood. He offered his hand to her. “Stay with me every step?”
Her smile flashed. “Of course. That’s how I keep you safe, right?”
She had a gorgeous smile. One that winked dimples on each side of her mouth. He hadn’t seen that smile of hers in a long time. He’d missed it.
The same way he’d missed her.
Ava put her hand in his.
* * *
FROM HIS HIDING PLACE, he watched Ava McGuire and Mark Montgomery cross the paddock. Ava was making a huge mistake. She couldn’t trust Mark, not for an instant. She needed to realize how dangerous he was to her.
Mark had been keeping secrets from Ava for years. He’d been lying to her. And now she was going to turn to the man for help? Wrong move, Ava. Wrong.
In fact, that move could prove deadly for her.
Ranch hands were scrambling around, checking on the horses, trying to make sure they were all safe. Mark stayed beside Ava every moment, but he didn’t think it was because he wanted to protect her.
You just want her.
In many ways, Mark Montgomery was just like his old man. When he saw something that he wanted, he took it, not caring at all for the consequences. Or for the shattered lives that he left in his wake.
Mark wanted Ava, so he thought he’d take her.
That won’t happen.
Ava wasn’t going to be destroyed. The Montgomerys had already wrecked enough lives. Maybe it was time for Ava to learn the truth about her so-called hero.
He slipped back into the shadows.
Maybe it was time for everyone to learn the truth.
* * *
THEY SEARCHED THE PROPERTY but found no sign of an intruder. Mark headed back to the house with Ava by his side. She seemed tense next to him, and he knew she had to be exhausted. They’d spent at least an hour out there because—
Because I wanted to make sure the jerk who has been harassing Ava didn’t follow her to my home.
He shut the door behind them and set the alarm. “You should try to get some sleep.” He wasn’t touching her right then. Probably a good thing because the more he touched, the more he wanted.
I had her in the bed beneath me. Her breast in my hand. In my mouth. She was moaning for me. Ava wanted me.
And he’d been about thirty seconds away from taking the woman he wanted most.
He turned away from her.
“You’re not going to talk about it, are you?” Ava asked him.
He locked his jaw. “The alarm went off. Maybe it malfunctioned. Maybe someone was here. I don’t—”
She grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face her. “I’m not talking about the alarm. I’m talking about us!”
He tried to unclench his back teeth. “There isn’t an us.” Even though he spent too much time thinking about her. Even though he wanted to strip her right then and get her back on a bed once more. Even though—
“Why not?” Ava asked. Her eyes were big. Her gaze so deep. “Don’t you want me?”
Wanting her sure wasn’t the problem. He cleared his throat. “The age...difference between us is—”
“Bull.”
He blinked.
“So you’re a bit older than me. I’m not some kid. I’m in my twenties. I’ve got a graduate degree. I support myself.” She waved the age difference away. “My brothers have dated plenty of women who are older and younger than they are, so don’t give me that baloney. We’re both legal.”
“Your brothers...they are my friends.”
She exhaled. “Are you sure about that? Because Davis told me just a few months ago... He said you weren’t the man I thought you were.”
And Davis had been acting odd around him ever since Detective Shayne Townsend had died. Mark didn’t know what was happening, but the McGuires had definitely put the freeze on him.
“But I don’t really care what Davis thinks about you. I want you.”
Then she leaned forward, trying to wrap her arms around him.
He stepped back.
Hurt flashed across her face.
“Ava...”
“You were kissing me like a desperate man earlier. Like you didn’t need anything more than me in the whole world.” She shook her head. “Now you back away from me? Why?”
“Because I don’t want to hurt you.”
A faint line appeared between her brows. “You wouldn’t! You never have. You’re the one who has always been there for me. Never judging, just accepting. You know all of my secrets.”
“But you don’t know mine, Ava.” And that was the problem. He’d shielded her from that part of his life. Did the very best that he could not to taint her image of him.
But Ava didn’t know the things he’d done. Ava didn’t know about the dark core inside of him and, for her sake, he hoped that she never did.
Ava had always looked at him as if he were some kind of hero. He wasn’t. He was about as far from hero material as a man could get. If she knew the things he’d done, Ava would never let him so much as touch her again. And that’s why she won’t ever know.
“Go to sleep,” he told her because he had to put some distance between them. He couldn’t be that close to Ava and not feel her sensual pull. “It’s been a long day.” He walked away from her.
* * *
AVA STARED AFTER MARK, narrowing her eyes. He was seriously just walking away? She wanted to scream at the man. Fina
lly, finally, they’d been close. The desire had been burning between them. There had been no barriers. Nothing at all holding them back, and now—
Now he was pulling away.
It won’t be that easy, Mark.
She headed back toward the guest room. Sleep wasn’t going to come for her, not then. Adrenaline spiked her blood, and if she slept—well, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with a second nightmare. No way.
Ava pushed open the door to her room. It was dark inside. Pitch black.
Ava hesitated. She’d been sure that she left the lights on when she ran out earlier. The lights had been blazing. She’d dressed as fast as she could and then rushed out after Mark.
And I didn’t turn the lights off.
She glanced back over her shoulder. “Mark?”
It was just like before. Small things. Things that most people would overlook. But after a while, those little things had started to add up.
Ava pulled in a deep breath. Then her hand slid out, moving along the wall near the door. Her fingers touched the light switch. She flipped it on, fast, and illumination flooded the room.
The bed sheets were still tangled. Her purse was on the chair in the right corner—just where she’d left it.
The windows appeared to be closed and still locked.
She crept forward. Her body was tight with tension and fear. They’d searched the perimeter for the prowler, but maybe they hadn’t found the intruder because he hadn’t been outside. He’d been inside. The ranch house had been empty. It would have been the perfect time for the guy to sneak in.
No, I must be wrong. I left the lights off.
She bent and searched under the bed. Nothing was there. The closet was empty. She turned toward the bathroom. The door leading to the bathroom was shut, too. Ava tried to remember...
Did I leave it open or closed? She inched forward.
Open?
Another step.
Or closed?
* * *
DO NOT GO back to her. Do not. The chant echoed in Mark’s head, but his body wanted to turn around and go after Ava. She’d just looked so hurt.
And he’d never wanted to hurt Ava. He wanted to protect her. To keep her safe, always.