She didn’t believe he would. She waited. She was taking a chance, she knew. Josh was a big man and strong. What if he truly believed she was his enemy, someone trying to kill him?
She steeled herself. Maybe it was a risk, but Josh was worth it. And he would never be free, never conquer his demons if he didn’t get the chance.
He shifted on the mattress and perspiration broke out on his forehead. His fingers felt warm where they ringed her neck. A tremor ran through him, but his hand didn’t tighten.
Tory refused to wake him. Instead she let the nightmare play out, praying she was right and that even in his sleep, Josh would recognize the familiar feel of her body and know she was lying beside him.
His muscles went rigid, and suddenly his eyes popped open. He looked down at the hand still circling her throat, jerked away, and his gaze shot to hers. “Tory?”
“It’s all right, honey. You were dreaming, but you didn’t hurt me.” She reached out and touched his cheek, felt the rough shadow along his jaw. “I knew you wouldn’t, Josh. I knew it even if you were afraid.”
He rolled toward her, buried his face in her neck. “I knew it was you,” he said. “I was up on that roof, just like before. I was fighting for my life, but deep down, I knew it was you. I knew it was only a dream.”
Tory slid her arms around his neck and held him. “It was a nightmare, honey. Just like other people have. You can trust yourself to know it isn’t real.”
He drew back and his eyes held hers. “The day you pulled up in front of my barn was the luckiest day of my life.” And then he kissed her and he didn’t stop.
He made love to her again and this time when they finished, he didn’t leave. He spent the night in her bed, his body wrapped around hers, and they woke up together in the morning.
It would have been the best night of her life if it hadn’t been for the uneasy look on Josh’s face as he shoved the covers aside and got out of bed, as he realized the implications of what he had done.
By staying, he had taken their relationship to a new and deeper level, something she knew he wasn’t ready to do.
As he headed back to his house, she watched him through the bedroom window. Now that the FBI had caught the terrorist, he didn’t have to feel obligated to stay there and protect her.
She wondered if he would come over tonight after she put Ivy to bed or if he would stay away, try to put some distance between them. It made her heart hurt to think of it. Which told her how deeply she had fallen in love with him.
It told her how much it was going to hurt when he was gone.
*
The wind blew up a storm that Saturday morning. Dark, rolling clouds grew thick and heavy above the damp earth. The rumble of thunder and dull flashes of lightning in the distance made the livestock restless and uneasy. It perfectly suited Josh’s mood.
He couldn’t get the night he’d spent with Tory out of his head. No woman had ever affected him the way Victoria Bradford did. No woman had made him feel so protective, so possessive, so damned hungry. Her sweetness, her determination, her love for her little girl, combined with the raw sexuality that came to life whenever he touched her. They were impossible to resist.
What had started as lust had rapidly turned into something more, something he had no idea how to handle. He wanted her. Constantly. But he wasn’t ready to commit to a permanent relationship and his uncertainty wasn’t fair to either one of them.
He’d left the trailer at daybreak, though he’d wanted to stay in bed and make love to her again. Instead, he’d gone back to his house, showered and changed, gone out and started working the little two-year-old bay stud he’d brought in from the pasture a couple of days ago.
He wished he could get away. He longed to saddle Thor and ride out, just take off with no particular destination. If Cole and Noah were here, he would, but it was Saturday. The men were off for the weekend, and he didn’t want to leave Tory and Ivy completely alone.
He hadn’t forgotten the bikers. It was impossible to know what Bridger might do.
Yesterday after they’d returned to the ranch, he’d called Wes Turley and Ben Rigby, told them about the arrest the FBI had made, thanked them and said they would no longer be needed.
He’d phoned Deke Logan and relayed the news. He didn’t miss the constant buzz of ATVs zooming around the property, the sight of armed men he’d hoped to leave behind when he had left Afghanistan.
He’d called his brother at the Tex/Am office. Linc had a meeting with the governor so the call had been brief, but his brother was relieved to hear the terrorist was in custody.
Still, Josh felt hemmed in, desperate for some time to himself. He was working the colt on a lunge line, running the horse in a circle, when Tory came out to the training ring.
“How’s he doing?” she asked.
“Great. Buster’s smart and eager to please. He’s going to be a great horse.”
“I was thinking maybe we could bring Star into the barn and get him settled, take some shots this afternoon.” Fortunately, the camera gear had survived the shooting in the strip mall.
“Sounds good.” He tugged the colt in, took hold of his halter, and led him out of the ring. Tory walked beside him over to the pasture behind the barn and waited while Josh turned the horse out to graze.
“Let’s go get Star,” he said and they headed for the pasture where the stallion was grazing. As soon as Star spotted Tory, his head came up, his ears shot forward, and he trotted over to greet them.
“How’s my pretty boy this morning?” Tory scratched his topknot and he nickered softly. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe this was the same crazy-mean stallion who had been at the ranch when Josh first bought the place.
While Tory fed him half an apple in the flat of her hand, Josh slipped the halter over his head. “You like that apple, don’t you, fella?” He ran his hand along the stallion’s sleek neck, over his powerful chest, then down his back while Tory fed him the rest of the apple.
Together they walked the stallion out the gate back to the barn. Star walked into the stall without a moment’s hesitation, turned around, and placidly stuck his head over the top, looking for another treat. Tory smiled and rubbed his head, which the stallion loved.
Josh had a hunch the horse had once been well-mannered, but the cruelty of his last owner had destroyed his trust in people. Tory was helping Star regain that trust.
Josh’s stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten anything all morning.
“Sounds like you’re hungry,” Tory said. “I’ll have breakfast ready in ten minutes.”
“Great, I’ll be right there.” He watched her walk away, trying to figure how a woman could manage to look sexy and feminine in a pair of work jeans and worn cowboy boots. As she disappeared inside the house, he felt the same tug of longing that had been pulling him in two directions for weeks.
The restlessness returned. He needed some space. Badly.
He was walking through the front door when his cell phone rang. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he looked down and saw it was Linc, pressed the phone against his ear. “Hey, big brother.”
“I’ve got news. Is Tory around? She needs to hear this, too.”
“She’s close. I’ll get her and put the call on speaker.” He walked into the kitchen and set the phone on the round oak table. “It’s Linc. He’s got news.”
“Hey, Linc.”
“Morning, Tory. Thought you’d both be happy to know Damon Bridger is in jail. The little party we planned for him last night went off without a hitch.”
She looked up at Josh with those big green eyes he found so appealing. “What party was that?” she asked Linc.
“It’s a long story. A waitress named Suzy Solomon filed a civil suit against Bridger for assault and battery. He was served yesterday afternoon. Bridger wasn’t pleased.”
“I’ll bet he wasn’t,” Josh said darkly.