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“Around.” Noah said nothing more, and Derek knew he needed to pull back. Whatever loyalties were there were embedded deep, forged over a lifetime. He needed to go slowly.
“She’s quite a woman. Clearly that started at a young age.”
“That it did. Look. Give me a minute to get Lucky Strike taken care of and I’ll get you settled.”
Noah dismounted and walked the regal Lucky Strike toward a groom waiting at the edge of the corral. Derek took the moment to observe the exchange, the groom’s respect more than evident in the set of his shoulders and the ready smile at whatever joke Noah told.
In moments the man was back, directing Derek toward a long barn equipped with the latest in technology. Electronic signs lit up the walls, detailing feeding schedules, medicine needs, upcoming vet and farrier visits, and general comments around exercise and well-being. The horses he passed in each stall were impeccably groomed and glowed with good health.
Noah’s doing?
“You manage this part of the estate?”
“In a roundabout way. I manage most of the agriculture on Adair Acres. But the horses are my passion. So this is where I spend most of my free time.”
Derek hadn’t been on a horse in years, and he was surprised to find himself anticipating the experience like a kid waiting for Christmas.
“Why don’t you take San Diego Sunrise out? Diego needs some time in a big way.” Noah pointed toward a horse two stalls down from where they stood. The large bay was a deep brown, the color of the richest dark chocolate.
“Anywhere on the property you’d prefer we don’t go?”
“Nah. Enjoy the morning and give him his head for a bit if you will. He hasn’t been out for a while. And be sure to give him some time in the alfalfa pasture down on the south edge of the property.”
Derek patted Diego’s nose, smiling when the horse nudged his palm. “He wants me to butter you up.”
“A few well-placed words never hurt, but a trip to his favorite pasture and Diego here will be yours for life.”
They worked in tandem, quickly saddling the horse, before Derek pushed his last comment of the morning. “Thanks for the help. This is a beautiful place. It’ll be great to see it up close and personal.”
“There’s something special about Adair Acres. I felt it the first time I came here.”
The specific word choice caught Derek’s attention, and he cycled quickly through the details Carson had provided in advance. He knew what the family believed about Noah’s parentage, but if the man hadn’t even been in the States, how could he be the missing Adair heir?
“First time? Haven’t you come here your whole life?”
“Nah.” Noah added a few notes to Diego’s stall via a keyboard. He quickly tapped his way through several screens before turning back toward Derek. “I lived in Europe as a kid. Didn’t get here until I was about eight. But I fell in love with this place and haven’t looked back.”
Was he purposely kept away from the ranch and his real family by his mother? Or was he truly the biological son of Emmaline Adair Scott, Reginald’s widowed sister?
Derek reflected on the implications as he maneuvered Diego out of the barn. Noah Scott seemed like a decent, hardworking, stand-up sort of guy.
And whatever love or sense of belonging he felt at Adair Acres was at risk of breaking into a million shattered pieces.
* * *
Mark Goodnight glanced at the various materials laid out on his desk and calculated how much he’d need to use to tip Winchester off. He’d already cut out enough letters from magazine covers and newspaper headlines to make a pretty good demand note. All that was left was to glue it together and then mail the note to Winchester at the FBI office.
So damn easy.
It’d be even easier if he could just sneak the materials into the lab and run a few tests on his own, fudging results where he needed to, but a guy couldn’t have everything.
Besides, he didn’t need everything. He just needed Sarah. And in a few more weeks, he’d have her. He’d already been the world’s greatest friend, meeting her every afternoon for coffee and letting her pour her heart out about Derek. How he wasn’t there for her. How he made the job his life. And how he couldn’t get the disappearance of one small girl out of his head.
What else could she do but leave him?
Mark crooned out loud, his whispered chorus of “of course you needed to leave” a litany that spilled from his lips as he unscrewed the cap on a bottle of rubber cement.
And when he solved the case of the missing Rena, Derek’s mania would finally be put to rest.
Winchester hadn’t been trying to help the girl.
He’d been obsessively destroying her.
And Mark would deliver the proof that put Derek Winchester far away from Sarah. And his job. And everything else he held dear.
* * *
Landry let Pete move at his own pace, the fresh morning air whipping past both of them as the thoroughbred thundered over the lush fields of Adair Acres.
Fool. Liar. And freaking Lone Ranger wannabe.
She’d made a deal with Derek Winchester, and a mere twenty-four hours later he’d already disregarded their agreement.
Toad.
Pete’s powerful body moved and shifted underneath her, sinewy grace and unleashed speed. The ride matched her mood—wild and untamed—and she hoped like hell Derek Winchester had put on a hazmat suit this morning, because she was about to unleash a rain of fire on his too-fine ass.
She caught sight of Derek and Diego, just where Noah had promised they’d be. The horse grazed in his favorite alfalfa pasture and Derek held lightly to his reins, walking beside the horse at a leisurely pace, bridle in hand.
She applied subtle pressure to Pete’s back and he slowed instantly, the hard race over the grounds calming to a swift gallop. His ears perked up and she could have sworn she felt him begin to prance beneath her as he realized their destination.
Every resident of the Adair Acres barn loved the rich field that lay at the south end of the property. Her father had planted it for the thoroughbred he loved—Pete’s brother—and it had become a sort of tradition on the property.
She slowed Pete down even more as they grew closer before bringing him to a halt a few yards from Diego and his traitorous rider.
“Good morning.”
“Save it.” She dismounted and held up her free hand. “I do not want to hear it.”
“Isn’t exercise supposed to make you less grumpy? You swam God knows how many laps this morning and just rode hell for leather over the grounds. Where are all your endorphins?”
Whatever she’d been about to say sputtered to a halt at the jovial fellow who stared at her. Where was the pensive bodyguard? Or the FBI agent with hidden, troubled depths? Or even the frustrated playboy wannabe who had to demonstrate a decided lack of ambition to the governor?
She’d seen all those personas yesterday, and wondered how they’d given way to the happy fellow standing in the middle of an alfalfa patch.
“I have plenty of endorphins.”
“Could have fooled me.”
She felt Pete’s tug on his reins and stepped back, unwilling to tease him so close to his treat. She made quick work of removing his bridle, leaving only his halter so he could graze properly.
Or gorge, if he had his way.
As soon as she had him situated, she turned back to Derek. “We made a deal yesterday. I’d do this with you if we were equal partners. And first thing this morning you run away when you knew I wouldn’t be looking to come talk to Noah.”
“Yes, I did.”
She was so taken aback by his words she simply stood there. Did he really think she’d calm down in the face of his honesty?
“Look, Landry. What would it look like if you were with me the first time I tried to get to know the guy?”
“It would look like I was introducing my supposed new boyfriend to my cousin.”
“And it would have been polite chitchat before he turned tail and ran to avoid being in the company of the new lovers, in the throes of new, unbridled passion.”
She swallowed hard at the image he painted, her mind quickly filling in the heated detail of what unbridled passion actually looked like.
And felt like.
Shaking off the bold images, she forced as wry a tone as she could muster into her voice. “Right. Because I can’t keep my hands off you.”
“Hey. You said it.”
The sheer lunacy of their conversation struck her at the same moment she registered his shockingly huge sex appeal. A worn gray T-shirt stretched over his shoulders and chest, molded to the perfection of his body. Faded jeans followed as she worked her gaze down his body, covering his slim hips and long, long legs.
The man was a vision, and she was increasingly helpless to ignore that fact.
She’d been around the block, and hadn’t lived a completely chaste life in her first twenty-six years. She wasn’t promiscuous, but she wasn’t innocent, either.
And no man she’d ever met made her as aware as Derek Winchester.
Energy flowed between them, swift as a raging river, as they stood there in the middle of the pasture. Pete tugged on his lead, pulling her back to the fact that more than a thousand pounds of horse stood behind her.
“Want me to take him?”
“No.” She took a step back, the lead once again going slack in her hands. “I’ve got him. Focus on Diego. He’s liable to race off if you don’t keep watch.”
“Right. Because he’s found the equine equivalent of heaven and he’s going to race off without getting his fill and then some.”
“Just—” She broke off, not sure of what to say. The self-righteous anger that had carried her across the grounds faded in the reality of his words. Her presence would have stood in the way of Derek’s initial introduction to Noah.
But it still stung.
She was more than everyone’s expectations of her. And for some strange reason she’d thought Derek Winchester had understood that.
Derek moved closer, letting the length of Diego’s lead out as he moved. “This field has some pretty fantastic properties for humans, too.”
“Oh?”
He took another step closer, one hand closing over her hip while the other held the full extension of Diego’s lead. “I’d say it’s pretty amazing, actually.”
“It’s just a grazing pasture.”
“No. It’s more than that.”
She tried to keep up, but the heat of his body was wreaking havoc on her ability to form a coherent thought. “More? I don’t think so.”
“It’s a pasture with Landry Adair standing smack in the middle of it.” That lone hand on her waist pulled her until she was flush with his body. The hard lines of his chest pressed against the sensitive curves of her breasts, and a hard tug pooled low in her belly.
“And if I play my cards right, she might even kiss me.”
A question formed on her lips, then vanished as his mouth came down over hers and answered it.
Chapter 4
Landry felt the rigid boundaries of her self-control slipping as Derek’s arms wrapped tight around her. Long, luscious moments spun out, one more glorious than the next, as his mouth plundered hers, his hand drifting over her spine until it settled low on her back.
She leaned into the kiss—and the hard man who held her as though she was something precious—and let herself go in the moment.
The long months of fear and worry faded away in the press of a hard male body against hers. The featherlight aromas of citrus and alfalfa mixed with the more potent scents of sweat and leather, all imprinting themselves on her senses.
Life.
It was the one word that kept running through her mind as she leaned into Derek, as taken with the kiss as he was.
This was life.
Raw and needy. Necessary, even.
She vaguely registered Pete’s lead in her palm before using her other hand to settle low on Derek’s hip. Thick muscles bunched under her fingertips, proof the body she’d sensed lay under his clothes was as taut and well honed as it appeared.
A smile worked its way to her lips, vanishing the moment he reached out with his teeth, drawing the sensitive skin into his mouth. Hot need swirled through her, settling itself low in her stomach, tightening the muscles a few inches below.
The hand at his hips fisted in the material of his T-shirt, and she was about to drag a handful over his stomach to get to the warm skin beneath when his strong hand snapped to her shoulder.
His movements were firm—final—as the moment jolted to a harsh stop and the sensual exploration vanished as if it had never been.
Their connection lost, Landry could only stare up into the dark orbs of his eyes. She didn’t miss how his pupils had gone wide with need and arousal, despite the bright sun that shone down on them both.
“That was—” He broke off.
At the increasing evidence of his embarrassment, she took a step back, desperate to get away from the heat that branded her as it shimmered off his body. With long years of practice, she swirled the anger that rose up inside her like a protective shield, cloaking herself from hurt.
“What’s the matter, Ace? Cat got your tongue?”
His mouth snapped closed, whatever he was about to say vanishing at her careless tone.
She should have kept quiet. Landry knew she’d regret it later, even as the words spilled forth, but a sad recklessness gripped her with iron claws. With a soft pat on his shoulders, she shot him one of her trademark carefree smiles. “Don’t worry. It’s obvious we can put on a good show for anyone watching. Our fake relationship should be a breeze.”
Without waiting for a response, she tightened Pete’s lead in her hand and headed for the stables.
* * *
His first year in the Secret Service, Derek and his team had faced a bomb threat at a hotel while on protection detail. Despite working their way through a series of practiced maneuvers as they moved the vice president to safety, he’d never forgotten the sheer rush of adrenaline and the absolute lack of knowledge of what the next several minutes would bring.
Annihilation or safety.
The question had hovered through his mind as they escorted the VP down several long corridors toward her waiting car, a phalanx of men surrounding her in unified timing.
They’d had one goal, one mission.
And they’d executed that mission with flawless grace, their only concern the woman in their protection.
Images of that day still remained, emblazoned on his memories with detailed precision. He’d understood his job before then. He’d known what he’d signed up for and what it meant to lay down his life for another. But until that day, with Kate Adair wrapped in a tight cocoon of protection, he hadn’t understood what that vow truly meant.
While Derek knew a kiss in a meadow on a bright spring morning couldn’t—and shouldn’t—qualify as equally dangerous, he’d be damned if the same thought didn’t keep spinning through his mind as he crossed the sweeping property of Adair Acres.
Annihilation or safety.
Although the vice president was no longer his responsibility, her niece was, and Derek recognized the trust Kate had placed in him. Which meant he had no business dragging said responsibility in for a mind-blowing kiss in broad daylight, all while his body screamed with the unfulfilled need to do so much more.
He slipped in the back door of the house, Landry’s parting words echoing in his ears.
Our fake relationship should be a breeze.
Yeah. Right.
The sound of voices rose up from the direction of the dining room, Landry’s huskier tones mixed with the deeper baritone of her brother. Although Derek sensed the conversation was private from the muted undertones, he was in the middle of whatever was happening here, whether Landry liked it or not. With a resigned sigh, he headed for the entry to the long room, prepared to join in the melee.
“I don’t owe you an explanation, Carson.” Her direct words spilled into the hallway. “I said I’d go along with it and I am.”
“By stomping around here like the spoiled princess of the manor?”
“Oh come now, big brother. I’m simply living up to expectations. You know that as well as I do.”
Derek let out a short, discreet cough to announce his presence, and both turned as he walked into the room. Carson and Landry stood close, their similarities as siblings more than evident in their fair coloring.
But it was the matched battle stances that truly marked them as siblings, warriors down to their core.
Whatever he might have been, Reginald Adair had a reputation for being ruthless in going after what he wanted. Stubborn to a fault, he didn’t take no for an answer, nor did he back down. It was a trait his children had apparently inherited in spades.
“Am I interrupting something?”
“Would it matter if I said yes?” The quick words snapped at him with the force of a striking cobra. Despite their earlier kiss and his subsequent fumbling, he couldn’t quite shake the smile at the fierce expression that only served to heighten the sensuality of those bee-stung lips.
Derek shrugged. “Probably not.”
Her bright blue eyes narrowed and Derek saw the light of battle as clearly as if she’d hollered “Charge!”
“Well, then. Since you’re not leaving, perhaps you can explain to my brother why you felt the need to introduce yourself to Noah this morning, despite our explicit agreement that we’d manage this little deception together.”
“I thought we already worked that out.”
“Do I look like we worked it out?”
You look like a woman who’s been loved.
The thought gripped him so tightly he was amazed the words didn’t actually leak from his lips. Color still rode high on Landry’s cheeks, and the faint mark of his morning stubble edged her gorgeous lips in stubborn lines of pink like a brand.
His brand.
“Why don’t I get going and leave you two to figure this out?” Carson edged away from his sister, his gaze wary.
“Some ally you are. You’re a traitor to the cause.”
“Yep.” Carson smiled for the first time since Derek had entered the room, then added a wink for good measure. “See you later.”
Landry’s moue of disgust did nothing to hide the sultry sweep of her lips, and she turned on a very fine heel to refill her coffee mug.
“I didn’t talk to Noah on my own to go against your wishes. I thought I made that clear earlier.”
“You did.”
Something faint drifted across the gorgeous blue of her eyes. If he hadn’t been searching her face so hard, he’d likely have missed it. “You think I was wrong for taking the opportunity?”
“No.”
“Then why the attitude?”
Her gaze drifted around the opulent room before she settled her focus back on him. “Noah’s my cousin. My family. And he has no idea what we all suspect.”
Landry’s words stopped him and the momentary amusement he’d felt at her battle stance faded. He knew what it was to ruin someone’s life with the truth. Knew even better what it was to have that truth thrust upon you without warning.
Despite that knowledge—or perhaps in spite of it—he pressed his point. “Noah can’t know. Not yet.”
“Why not? If we ask him, he might be able to assuage our fears. Might be able to give us answers to our questions.”
Derek understood her deep desire to keep the truth at bay. Like a hovering specter that turned warm memories cold and settled fear deep in the bone, their suspicions would change the course of Noah Scott’s life if they were proven true.
“Or we’ll possibly create more questions. What if he tips his mother off before we have a chance to properly investigate and make our case?”
The mention of Noah’s mother, Emmaline, did the trick. Landry’s open, almost pleading gaze faded, replaced with stoic resolve. “You think she’s guilty?”
“I think we need to evaluate on our own before making suppositions or rushing to judgment.”
Her long, slender fingers fisted at her sides. “And you haven’t?”
“An investigation based on facts isn’t judgment. It’s what I do. What I know how to do. If you can’t accept that, then maybe my initial thought to work this alone was a better idea.”
“Threats, Derek?”
A retort rose up but he held it back, the urge to defend himself fading in memory of the clear hurt in her eyes when she leaped off her horse to confront him earlier.
She had been hurt. While he wouldn’t have done anything differently, even if given the chance, he wasn’t immune to the disappointment he’d seen in the set of her slim shoulders.
Landry Adair was used to being let down. He wasn’t sure how he knew that with such bone-deep certainty, but he did. And he’d be damned if he wanted to be yet another person who did the same.
“I don’t make threats. And I’m not apologizing again. But now that I’ve met Noah on my own terms, I have no interest in continuing to work this on my own.”
“Oh.” The admission was enough to knock the wind from her arguments, and Landry shot him a stoic gaze over her shoulder before picking up a delicate pot of creamer on the sideboard. The dollop she dropped in her cup barely colored the black coffee, and an image of a woman in fierce control of herself struck him with swift fists.
No muffin the day before over breakfast. A spot of cream that was so small as to be invisible. And a fierce battle of wills over her family that she was obviously desperate to win.
Perhaps he’d misjudged the woman who appeared to have everything.
From his vantage point, he was beginning to wonder if she had nothing.
* * *
Landry dropped her purse in the backseat of her SUV before she reached for the driver’s door. Derek had kept a low profile through the rest of the morning, simply asking her to be ready to take off at lunchtime.
She’d wanted to ask where they were going, but sheer stubborn pride had kept her mouth closed. As a result, she had no idea if the light sweater set and cream-colored slacks were appropriate for their outing or not.
Especially when Derek Winchester sauntered out of the house in another one of his T-shirts—black this time—and low-slung jeans. That same heavy throb from their morning in the alfalfa pasture gripped her stomach and she fought it back, slipping her dark sunglasses quickly over her eyes.
She wouldn’t let him see the irrepressible response of her body, which no doubt filled her gaze with ripe appreciation.
And she’d be damned if she worried she was overdressed for whatever outing the infuriating man had planned that he couldn’t bother to share with her.
Partners.
The word stuck bitterly in her throat as she climbed into the car.
They were no more partners than her parents had been. Those two loveless souls who’d drifted over Adair Acres, perfectly content to lead vastly separate lives. Reginald and Patsy had known how to turn on the charm and lay it on thick when the social situation warranted it, but the rest of the time they seemed equally happy to ignore each other.
Functional. Cold. And devoid of any sense of passion or need or that bone-deep craving that bonded lovers together.
Was she destined for the same?
Images of her morning kiss with Derek flooded her mind’s eye, the thought so vivid she could once again taste him on her tongue. Masculine, with a hint of something smoky like whiskey, tinged with dark coffee overtones. She fought the shiver that gripped her and tightened her hands on the wheel.
Derek climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door, oblivious to her discomfort. Damn man.
The walls of the spacious SUV grew tight as his scent surrounded her once more. She’d accepted the feeling of confinement the day before because her sports car was so small, hence the decision to take her boat of an SUV for today’s little errand.