Beneath the Stetson(33)
Her fists clenched. “What do you want me to say, Gil? It was wonderful. But we both have responsibilities.”
“I’m tired of being responsible,” he said, the words flat. “What I want is to go back upstairs with you and close the door.”
Her heart raced. The image he conjured was unbearably tempting. “So would I,” she said. “But that’s not really an option, and you know it. Please let me go, Gil.”
Something vibrated in his big frame and flashed in his eyes. Anger. Desire. He jumped to his feet and paced. “I’d rather you stay away from the club for a few days. Until some of the gossip and complaints die down.”
She nodded. “I was almost done, anyway.”
He folded his arms across his chest, looking more combative than amorous. “So why do you need to work today?”
“You are a stubborn man.”
He shrugged. “I know what I want.”
“If you must know, I had planned to speak with Alex again. The doctors only allowed me a brief moment with him when he was found, and of course, he remembered nothing.”
“You think that has changed?”
“No. But perhaps on his home turf I can pick up some small clue...anything we might have missed earlier.”
The ring of a cell phone interrupted them. Bailey glanced at Gil’s phone where it lay on the table. “It’s the sheriff.”
“I’d better take this. Nate doesn’t call to chitchat.”
Bailey listened unashamedly during the extremely brief conversation. When Gil hung up, she quizzed him. “Anything wrong?”
He nodded, sober-faced. “Alex was rushed to emergency during the middle of the night with an excruciating headache. And now there’s some kind of uproar at the hospital. Nate asked me to get in touch with you and let you know.”
Her mind raced. “Is Alex critical?”
“I’m not sure. Nate was in a rush and didn’t take the time to explain. Do you think we should head over there?”
She nodded. “I certainly want to. Especially since Sheriff Battle was being mysterious. When do you have to pick up Cade?”
“Not until mid-afternoon. I’ll drive you to the hospital.”
“Thank you. But I’ll take my own car. I don’t know how long I’ll be there. I don’t want to be stranded when you leave.”
He didn’t like her choice. She could tell. But he didn’t argue further. Instead, he pulled her to her feet, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Her arms circled his waist, feeling the heat of his body, the power, the ripple of muscle in his lower back.
His mouth was hungry, but gentle. They were essentially on display, though no one appeared to be close by at the moment. The broad light of day was far less protective of secrets, however, and far less private than a shadowy bedroom and a moonlit mattress.
She kissed him back, unable to resist. The way he held her conveyed so many things that hadn’t been put into words. In his embrace, she felt not only desire, but also a tenderness that disarmed her.
His tongue teased the recesses of her mouth, making her knees wobble and her stomach tighten with pleasure. When she tasted him in return, he cursed quietly and set her away from him. The lines of his face were carved in frustration and thwarted need. “We’re not done with this. Make no mistake.”
Ten
Gil brooded on the way to the hospital, his hands wrapped around the steering wheel in a death grip. Only a short time ago he had awakened feeling jubilant and sexually sated and better than he had in a long, long time. A sleeping Bailey lay nude in his arms, her leg angled across his thighs, her hair a dark cinnamon cloud around her face.
He had held her close in the predawn darkness, deeply grateful for whatever path led her to him. She walked alone in life, it seemed. Halfway estranged from her father. No other close family. Though Gil admired her self-sufficiency, he wished she would not discount the possibility that her current assignment put her in danger.
The urge and desire to protect her was strong. As was the need to stake a claim somehow. That last bit didn’t make sense. Bailey was not involved with anyone else sexually or otherwise. She might be staying at Chance’s dude ranch, but Gil had no real worries on that score. Even if Chance made a move on her, Bailey would never get involved with someone who might be key in her investigation.
But still the urge remained.
Gil knew that some bridge had been crossed last night. Over the years, particularly when Cade was too small to realize that his dad was gone overnight, Gil had spent an evening with an amenable woman and had his sexual needs fulfilled. It hadn’t taken very long for him to realize that such encounters left a sour taste in his mouth.