Bride Included

She attempted to lean back, but the railing bit into her spine. That discomfort was nothing compared to the scratch of denim between her thighs and the metallic bite of Seth’s heavy belt buckle pressing against the strip of bare skin exposed between her breasts and the waistband of her shorts. She did her best to ignore the liquid warmth rushing through her veins.

He blew out a harsh breath that tickled the loose strands of hair around her face. His body shifted subtly to accommodate her wriggling, and she felt the muscles flex beneath the hands she’d flattened on his chest. She was appalled to discover that he wasn’t as immune to their position as she’d originally thought. The evidence of his desire nudged the front zipper of her shorts, an unmistakable masculine hardness that caused a deep, clenching thrill to spiral straight to where his knee pressed so insistently.

She didn’t understand how two people who despised each other so much could respond to one another on such a primitive, sensual level. Couldn’t comprehend how eleven years of anger and hurt could melt away with just a look, a touch from Seth. He seemed to be her greatest weakness despite his past betrayal.

His warm gaze focused on her mouth, and the vital hunger she saw there swept through her like the heat of wildfire. And then he gradually lowered his head, his parted lips homing in on hers.

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. She was fully aware of the quiver of anticipation thrumming beneath the surface of her skin, the need to give herself to this man she’d never been able to forget...or forgive.

Summoning every ounce of willpower she possessed, she turned her head away just as his lips descended. His mouth landed on her cheek, warm and damp and soft as down. Her lack of cooperation didn’t succeed in hindering the rogue’s exploration. His lips slid along her jaw to her ear, and she thought he murmured, “You still want me as much as I want you,” but couldn’t be sure. His rich, dark voice rumbled along her nerve endings, making it impossible for her to think coherently...making her dizzy with a wanting that was not only stupid, but dangerous.

She gritted her teeth against the onslaught of his blatant sexuality and her body’s shocking response to his seduction tactics. “I hate you,” she whispered hoarsely, reminding him, and herself, of that fact. “And I refuse to marry you.”

Finally, he lifted his head and gave her the breathing room she so desperately needed, but he didn’t let her loose. Triumph shone in his dark, sexy eyes. “You’d give me the ranch so easily? Just because you can’t stand the thought of me being your husband and having the right to touch you and kiss you? Or is it because you can’t stand the fact that you want me to touch you and kiss you that has you so fired up?”

His words were mocking, too accurate, and they enraged her. His hold slackened, along with his body, giving her enough room to pull her arm back and wallop him in the belly. He grunted at the impact, but she knew the punch had startled him more than hurt him. Reflexively, he moved his arms from the railing to defend himself, enabling her to take advantage of his surprise and escape. Sidestepping him, she headed down the porch stairs and headed across the lawn toward the stables in her bare feet. She came upon the Stetson she’d shot off his head earlier. Smirking at the gaping hole in the crown, she gave it a good swift kick that sent it tumbling in the opposite direction.

She heard him swear colorfully from behind her and ignored him when he demanded she come back so they could finish their discussion. His boots echoed off the wooden steps as he followed her. She picked up her pace, putting as much distance as she could between them, even though she knew it was inevitable they talk and settle issues.

His taunting words, You’d give me the ranch so easily?, played through her mind, making her realize the seriousness of her quandary. No, she wouldn’t just hand over the only home she’d ever known. But the thought of becoming Seth O’Connor’s wife and living with him on a daily basis with all the resentment and bitterness between them was enough to make her want to rail at the injustice.

There was Kellie to consider in this mess of things, too. How would her daughter react to her mother’s marrying a virtual stranger? And most importantly, how would Seth treat Kellie, considering the awful rumors of the past?

Dad, how could you do this to me? Tears of frustration and uncertainty burned the back of her eyes. She needed to find her father—not that his presence would change the future if those documents Seth had in his possession were legal. But surely they could work out some other compromise or monetary compensation.

He caught her before she could slip into the stables and lose him in the maze of stalls. His hand closed around her arm, bringing her to an abrupt halt, and he turned her around to face him. She glared at his intrusion, despite the hot tears of anger threatening to spill over her lashes.

One look into her eyes and the dark, irritable scowl etching his features slowly faded, replaced by something more charitable. Compassion? she briefly wondered. Surely not. An O’Connor wouldn’t know that emotion if it slapped him in the face.

“Look,” he said, his tone gruff with impatience, “I know this is a shock and you’re upset—”

“I’m not upset. I’m furious!” She shook off his hand, her lips pursing into a tight line. “This is my home, and I’ll be damned if I’ll just hand it over to you without a fight!”

“If you fight, you’ll lose everything, Josie,” he stated relentlessly. “Thanks to your father, there’s one way you can win and keep the ranch and land, and that’s to marry me.”

She laughed, but the sound was dry and humorless. “Yes, it was quite thoughtful of my father to add that stipulation, but it’s hard to be grateful when I can’t stand the thought of being married to you.”

His jaw tightened at her barb. “You’re not my first choice of a bride, either.”

Resurrected anger and hurt shimmered between them. She saw the animosity of the past in his eyes, felt the misery in her heart. Once, she’d wanted to marry him, but that had been before she realized that his interest had nothing to do with love and everything to do with simple revenge on a McAllister.

“Then why did you agree to my father’s terms?” she asked, keeping their conversation, and her thoughts, firmly entrenched in the present. “Why didn’t you just let him lose the money and let the IOUs stand? I would have found a way to pay you and Gary back.”

The corner of his mouth tipped in an easy smile, reminding her how charming he could be. “You always were the responsible one of the family, weren’t you?”

She stiffened, recalling how she’d confided in him when she was sixteen, how she’d foolishly opened her heart and revealed things she’d never told anyone before. She’d told Seth about how her mother died when she was just a little girl of five, and how something in her father died, too, casting him adrift. As a young girl, she’d struggled to keep the household together and, with Mac’s help, learned everything she needed to know about running the ranch until she was finally old enough to take over for her wandering father.

But Seth already knew most of that, and she was beyond needing a shoulder to cry on. “Answer my question,” she said. “If you didn’t like my father’s terms, which include marrying me, why didn’t you just let my father lose the money and let the IOUs stand?”

“It’s not the money I’m after, Josie.” Sighing, he trans ferred his gaze to the green pasture next to the stables Something in his expression softened as he looked out ove the land that went on for miles. “I want this spread, partly because it was originally O’Connor land.”

“Partly?” she questioned, guessing there was more and wanting to hear it all. “What’s the other reason?”

Meeting her gaze again, he pushed his fingers through his thick hair, disheveling the strands more than they al ready were. “I want a place of my own—”

“You have a place of your own,” she interrupted heat edly. “You have the Paradise Wild!”

“Jay inherited Paradise Wild when my father died fou years ago.”

She couldn’t contain her shock. “Your father didn’t leave the place to the both of you?”

“Nope,” he said, his tone filled with a bitterness she didn’t understand. “I just work the ranch and live in a cabin on Jay’s property. He shares the house with his wife and two kids.”

She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened for David O’Connor to disinherit his younger son.

Seth must have sensed the questions forming in her mind since he quickly diverted them. “I agreed to Jake’s term because as much as I want this ranch and property, I have no desire to leave you and your daughter homeless Marrying you is a small price for me to pay to gain this land.”

She refused to give up so easily. “Let me give you the money my father and Gary owed you, and a little more for your trouble, and leave us alone. I’ll give you enough to put a down payment on another spread.”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that.”

“Can’t, or won’t?” Desperation made her voice rise a few decibels.

“Both,” he said in a tone that brooked no compromise. “This was O’Connor land before it ever belonged to a McAllister, and now it’s back in the family. And even then, we don’t know the legitimacy of a McAllister winning it in a poker game all those years ago.”

“My great-grandfather won this land fair and square,” she said, unable to believe any McAllister would cheat so ruthlessly. “And now you’re getting everything we McAllisters worked so hard to build from nothing more than dirt and barren land.”

Her arguments didn’t sway him in the least. “I’m not giving up the deed, Josie, so resign yourself to the fact that there is only one way for you to keep this ranch.”

Her hopes began to dwindle. “And that’s to marry you?”

“Yes.” His expression held no apology or remorse. “I’m willing to put our differences aside and make the marriage work. I’m even willing to take full responsibility for your daughter, even though she’s someone else’s child.”

“How gracious,” she said, nearly choking on the words. “But that’s not necessary. Kellie is nobody’s responsibility but my own. She’s lived ten years without a father and managed just fine.” Josie could see curious questions in Seth’s eyes regarding her daughter and knew she wasn’t prepared to answer any of them. “You’ve conducted your business, and now I’d appreciate it if you’d leave.”

“In a minute,” he said, and from the back pocket of his jeans brought out a folded envelope and handed it to her. “When I picked up the deed from your father’s attorney, he asked me to give you this letter that Jake left for you.”

Not about to refuse the only link she might have to her father, she took the envelope from him.

“Think about your options carefully, Josie, and I’ll be back in a few days for your answer.” He turned and headed for the stables where he’d left his horse. She watched him mount the chestnut in a fluid motion, then direct the mare around to face her.

His horse pranced anxiously, champing at the bit to go. Seth effortlessly held the powerful horse in check with a slight pressure of his thighs. From atop his steed, Seth perused the length of her one last time, from her spring) auburn curls, past the blouse tied beneath her breasts, over her faded cutoffs to the tips of her bare toes. By the time he finished his blatant male survey, her pulse was racing out of control and she felt more restlessly inflamed than she cared to admit

I hate him, she mentally chanted, and shook off the disturbing sensations unfurling within her.

He smiled as if reading her thoughts and accepting her challenge. “Keep in mind, Josie darlin’,” he said, reverting back to that sexy, lazy drawl of his, “we’ll need to be married by next Friday, or everything is mine.”

On that last parting shot, he took off, spurring his horse across McAllister land that eventually gave way to O’Connor property, leaving Josie behind to make a decision that would either bind her to a man who’d cruelly deceived her or force her to give up the only home she and Kellie had ever known.