Chapter Four
Hungry and firm, Cord’s lips gave and demanded without apology, and Haley wasn’t sorry, either. She knew his mouth would be amazing on hers. She knew it and had fantasized about it for two years now, but…holy shit, Sherlock. She hadn’t been prepared for the real deal. For raw Cord. Never expected his kiss to be this good.
So freaking good.
His tongue slipped inside and brushed against hers in a delicious show of need she matched without hesitation. God, she was swamped by new sensations. New urges. She’d never been kissed like there was nothing on earth more important than her. He made her feel soft and feminine, and desired above all others. It was amazing. And she needed that. Sweet mercy, she never realized how much she needed that.
Shoving her hands in his hair, she held his head and kissed him back with the same fierce enthusiasm, lost on this wild rush she never knew existed. Damn, the man could kiss. He was thorough, and hot, and very hungry.
Her hands ran over his magnificent body, brushing over those sexy freckles and exploring the powerful muscles she’d lusted after in her dreams. His weren’t dormant, either. He trailed a hand down her spine to palm one of her cheeks and tug her close. Heat rushed to all her quivering good parts, so when he suddenly stopped, released her and drew back, she uttered a protest and tried to clutch at him.
“Damn, Haley. I’m sorry,” he muttered between breaths. “I shouldn’t have done that…”
Before she could reply or even blink, he was gone, leaving her shaken to her core, wondering what the hell had just happened.
And whether his rejection was because he found her lacking, too…
…
The following evening, Cord was back at At-Ease, sitting in on the group therapy session held in the rec room in the back of the main house. A circle of folding chairs were set up for everyone to sit while one person talked about what troubled them. Most came to listen, some came to share. Tonight, Cord didn’t do either. He zoned out. Completely flaked. His damn mind was in another county, at another ranch, holding a sexy woman in his arms, as he relived the hottest kiss he’d ever experienced.
Deep down, he always knew kissing Haley would be incredible, but damn, he hadn’t expected the heat, or for her to be so responsive. One kiss had knocked him on his ass. She’d tasted unexpectedly sweet, like a ripe raspberry straight off the bush. And the way her curves had melted into him when she’d sighed released a fierce primal urge to protect, to worship, to have her for his very own.
What the bloody hell?
Luckily, a little brain matter had surfaced in time for him to pull away when he had, otherwise…
Damn, he couldn’t let his mind even think about otherwise.
“Cord, is there anything you’d like to say?” The therapist’s voice broke through his confusion.
Other than he was an ass who needed to get his body under control? “No.” He blinked the room back into focus and swallowed a curse when he found all eyes on him.
Ah hell. He was going to pay for it later. The Mitchum brothers had that look of knowing in their damn eyes.
“Then I guess we can call it a night. See you all next week.” When the therapist stood, everyone else followed suit.
Cord got up, folded his chair, and carried it to where the others were stacking theirs, his mind focused on the beer that was calling his name from the refrigerator behind the bar. He felt bad—he usually tried to contribute to the sessions. The first few he’d shown up at were to support Leo, one of his fellow Rangers, who was the reason At-Ease and Foxtrot Construction became a reality.
Last year, Leo had tried to permanently quiet memories from the op that had landed the guy in the hospital and taken Drew’s life. None of them came away unscathed, but Nikon—Leo—had a photographic memory, so the images never faded.
Christ, it ate at Cord’s gut just thinking about his buddy’s perpetual nightmare. Therapy was Leo’s idea, and a good one. For months now, the guy had been going to private therapy and group with noticeable results.
Standing behind the bar, Cord cracked open his beer and watched Leo laugh at something Vince said as the two racked up a set of pool balls to start a game. The mood swings and alcohol binges seemed to be a thing of Leo’s past.
Brick smirked, grabbing his own beer. “So tell me, Cord, are you enjoying playing house with Haley?”
Taller and a little wider than his brother, the good-looking jackass had earned the name Romeo for his prowess with the ladies. He’d earned Cord’s friendship when they’d endured boot camp together, then came deployments, suffering through Ranger training, and finally, placement on the same Ranger Rifle Team. They went through hell and back multiple times, but nothing had ever tested their friendship until Brick started dating Cord’s sister.
The idiot’s only saving grace had been that he’d had no idea Beth was actually Cord’s sister, Lizzie. Of course, Cord hadn’t found out until after he’d defended his sister’s honor and nearly ruined their relationship.
But it was all good now. And damn, he needed that drink. Putting the bottle to his lips, he tipped the beer back and let the ale wash away what ailed him. It didn’t work.
“Yeah, Cord.” Amusement crossed Vince’s face. “I’d love to know the answer to that.”
“Me, too.” Stone sank down onto a bar stool on the other side of the counter, grabbing the beer Brick slid his way.
Shit. He was hoping by ignoring the question they’d let it drop.
Leo straightened from the table and leaned on the stick. “I noticed you packed a bigger bag. You moving in for good?”
“That’s messed up,” he said with a shake of his head, ignoring the twitch from the body part highly in favor of the idea.
“Why?” Brick frowned. “We were there, remember? Drew told you to take care of her.”
Cord’s gut soured. Christ. The guys had been too busy trying to help save Leo. Only Cord had heard the “she deserves better” in Drew’s last breath. “He didn’t mean it that way.”
“Yes, he did,” Brick insisted.
Vince nodded.
“Drew—” Stone began.
“Ah hell,” he cut him off. “Not you, too.” They didn’t get it. Nor did they realize by putting his wife first, their buddy had been unselfish for the first time in a long time. An attempt to make up for his betrayal. No way, no how, was he asking Cord to shack up with his wife.
Leo ambled closer. “I may have been busted up, but I can still see his face. He meant it, Cord. Drew needed to know you would be there for Haley. He gave his blessing.”
Jesus, this was getting out of hand.
Cord exhaled. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. She needs me to help her with a few things.”
“I think you had the first part right.” Brick slapped his back. “She needs you, buddy.”
The jerks laughed in agreement. Cord stared them down.
“She needs all of us,” he corrected, then went on to explain the woman’s new venture. The deadline she was looking at earned a few curse words and worried looks.
“When you going back?” Stone asked.
“In the morning.” He needed one more night to pull his head out of his ass and center himself. The past twenty-four hours since he lost his mind and kissed her had been a bit tense. Mostly his doing. He was the one who walked away and had been careful not to be in the same room with her since.
“Well, we’re already scheduled out this weekend,” Stone said, setting his beer on the bar, “but we should be able to finish up the Henderson job by Thursday. I don’t see why Brick and I couldn’t help you guys the next two weekends. Vince and Leo can handle things here.”
Relief rushed through Cord. Between the three of them, they’d knock a lot off Haley’s list.
Stone took a pull of his beer then pointed at his brother with the bottle. “I’m sure the girls would love to talk to Haley about the business side of boarding horses. We’ll bring them, too.”
Cord set his bottle on the counter and nodded. “Good.”
It would be good for Haley to socialize. According to the guys, Lizzie and Jovy were enjoying a girls’ night out. Haley needed that, too. From what he’d gathered from Pete, the woman hardly ever left the ranch, unless it was work related.
“So tell us, how is Haley?” Vince asked, standing back to let Leo shoot.
“Yeah.” Brick smirked. “Has she loosened up any?”
He washed down a grunt with his last mouthful of beer. Yesterday, during that damn kiss, she’d been far from tight lipped. Her guard had dropped, loosening all sorts of feelings in him best left locked up tight.
“Still having trouble with your words, Cord?” Stone chuckled, lifting his bottle for another pull.
“Fuck you,” he grunted.
Vince snickered. “No trouble with those words.”
“So, you’re saying the stubborn woman hasn’t given you any trouble?” Brick glanced sideways at him, his eyes dark with disbelief. “She let you work? Didn’t try to do things on her own?”
“Is she any good with tools?” Leo asked.
Cord tossed his empty bottle in the recycle bin in the corner and grabbed another beer from the fridge. “Yeah, she’s good with them, especially on bringing them down on herself.”
Leo frowned. “What? Tools fell on her?”
“Yeah.” His chest tightened at the thought of the shears cutting her chest instead of her arm. She was damn lucky.
Stone straightened in his seat. “Was she hurt?”
He nodded. “Cut her arm and hand, and bruised her wrist. Not too bad, though. I took care of it.”
Brick studied him closely. “Did you now?”
Christ. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“But it is a big deal. Other than to fix my back, you haven’t opened a first-aid kit in years.”
He sipped his beer and shrugged. “She was bleeding. I couldn’t just let her stand there and bleed.”
“No,” Stone said, “but you could’ve let Pete handle it.”
Ah hell. He knew where this was going to lead. “Pete had already left to stay with his sister.”
The whole room grew quiet. He swore the balls on the table even came to a complete stop.
Stone blinked. “Wait…didn’t you say she let the other ranch hands go?”
“Yep.”
“And she only kept Pete,” Brick said.
“Yep.”
“So it’s just you and Haley on the ranch? Alone?” Vince asked, slight twitch to his lips.
Fuck it. He was done answering.
Brick folded his arms across his chest and continued to regard him closely. “And you’re going to be there three weeks?”
He fought back his annoyance and lost. “So?”
“No so. None whatsoever.” Brick shrugged. “But you, my friend…oh, you are so going down.”
He jerked his head toward the idiot. “What the fuck are you talking about?
His buddy snorted. “You and Haley have killer chemistry, and now you’re stuck in a house together all alone. Do the math, man.”
“Changes nothing.” Except it already had, and Jesus, if the guys ever found out he’d never hear the end of it. “Nothing is going to happen because I won’t let it.”
Brick and Stone glanced at each other before they barked out laughter loud enough Haley probably heard them in the next county.
Bastards. There wasn’t anything funny about it.
He stared them down. Again. “When have you ever seen me do anything I didn’t want to?”
“Don’t you see? That’s just it. You do want to, Cord,” Stone insisted. “You very much want to do stuff with Haley.”
Brick clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ve been in your shoes, buddy.”
He glanced at the others.
“Don’t look at me,” Leo said, holding up his hands. “I’m still working on getting my head on straight. Don’t need to bring a woman into my shit.”
God, could he relate.
Vince sighed, leaning on his stick. “I’d love to be in Stone and Brick’s shoes.”
“And what shoes are they?”
Brick grinned. “The ‘I’ve got a handle on this attraction’ shoes. Big news flash, pal. You don’t.” The idiot chuckled. “I felt the same way. Well, actually, ever since meeting your sister, I wanted to do stuff with her. To her. You get the picture.”
Christ. Now he needed to wash his ears out with icepicks and rinse with a Japanese sai.
Brick grabbed his beer. “But I never planned for it to lead to a relationship.”
Thank the Lord the guy was going to shut up. He didn’t need to hear anything related to his sister and sex. Tipping back his bottle, he sucked down more beer.
“Yeah.” Stone nodded, twisting his bottle on the counter. “You think, okay, I can handle a couple of dates. After all, it’s only for a few weeks.”
“Then bam.” Brick hit his fist off his palm. “You don’t want it to end.”
“And you’re left scrambling because you’ve fucked up.”
“Big time.”
He still didn’t see what this had to do with him, though, and he was past tired of the subject. Time to end it. “Good talk.” He finished off his second beer, tossed the empty bottle in the recycling bin, and nodded as he walked around the front of the bar. “Good night.”
“You know what? For us, it will be.” Stone grinned. “And you want to know why?”
“No.”
“I’m going to tell you anyway.” The bastard grinned. “Because we took a chance and let someone in.”
That wouldn’t work for Cord. He didn’t have a heart to leave open.