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Cabe grinned. “Maybe we should just have the minister marry us right now so we can proceed straight to the honeymoon.”
Hannah’s eyes widened. “Oh, Cabe, you’re not serious!”
“Why not?” Cabe turned to Tanner. “Do you have the rings?”
Tanner patted his jeans pocket. “They’re right here, safe and sound. But you’ve already reserved the barn and put a down payment on the reception hall. Then there is the caterer to consider, and the band. Both will demand to be paid even if you don’t use their services.”
“See,” Hannah said with a laugh, “at least someone is sensible around here.”
Tanner’s jaw clenched. Sensible. Now he was not only dull and boring, but sensible. How much worse could it get?
Hannah turned to him. “Oh, before I forget, I wanted to tell you that my cousin Jane is coming to the wedding tomorrow. You’ll adore her, Tanner, I just know it. She’s so sweet—a little quiet though. But she loves to talk about embroidery, so that would be a good icebreaker.” Hannah turned back to Cabe. “Jane embroidered ten sets of matching pillowcases for us as a wedding present.”
Cabe winced at Tanner over his fiancée’s head. “Honey, maybe Tanner already has a date for the wedding.”
“Oh,” Hannah exclaimed, turning to Tanner. “I never thought of that. Do you?”
“Yes,” he improvised, before he found himself shackled to a blind date for the wedding reception. He’d had more than his share of dreary dates lately. He didn’t want someone sweet and quiet. He wanted a woman who excited him. A woman who was completely unpredictable. A woman who would agree to attend a wedding with a perfect stranger at a moment’s notice.
And now he had less than twenty-four hours to find her.
SHE’D FOUND HIM.
Maddie took a deep, calming breath as she looked around her hotel room, making certain everything was in place. She hadn’t been thrilled about the two-hundred-dollar-a-night room charge, although it would definitely be worth it if she could pull this off.
She’d arrived in Texas three days ago and traced Tanner Blackburn to a house in Dallas. It had been surprisingly easy, but then he probably hadn’t expected a bounty hunter to locate him through the Texas Mail-Order Men magazine, especially since ninety-nine percent of the bounty hunters were men.
A chat with Tanner’s next-door neighbor had revealed that Mr. Blackburn was planning a weekend trip to Abilene to attend a wedding. Several phone calls later, Maddie had all the information she needed. Tanner Blackburn had a room reserved for two nights at the Huntington Hotel in Abilene.
She’d tailed him from Dallas. Seen him register at the hotel, then leave again. After registering for her own room and setting everything in place for the takedown, she’d gone back to the lobby for surveillance.
After spending three hours in the lobby pretending to read the newspaper, she’d finally seen him return with a small group of people, half of them heading for the elevators, the other half making a beeline for the bar. Blackburn had joined the group at the bar.
He’d played into her plan perfectly.
Maddie had returned to her hotel room to make certain everything was ready when she brought Blackburn here. She knew she had to play this game carefully. One screwup and she’d lose not only the Kissing Bandit, but her dream to join the family business.
She walked over to the bed, adjusting the pillows. Then she checked once more for anything he might be able to use as a potential weapon. She’d already hidden the glasses, ashtrays, mirrors and other breakables.
Not that she expected him to turn violent. Her extensive study of the Kissing Bandit’s methods had taught her that he preferred to use his wiles instead of weapons.
But a girl could never be too careful.
“It’s almost time,” Maddie said aloud. She’d waited for this moment for so long. Her first takedown. And since she hadn’t seen or spoken to her father or brothers in over a week, she didn’t have to worry about Tate and Ben interfering this time. She’d taken extra care to make certain they couldn’t trace her whereabouts.
The Texas Mail-Order Men magazine lay open on the desk. She picked it up and studied the man’s picture once more. Blackburn had altered his appearance somewhat, which was only natural when you were a fugitive from justice. She stared at the photograph, a tingle of excitement racing through her veins. Soon she’d be meeting the elusive Kissing Bandit face to face.
Maddie slid the magazine into the desk drawer, then slipped into a pair of high heels, ignoring that her knees were shaking. She checked her makeup in the mirror, applying a last dab of cherry-red lipstick to her mouth. Her plan was definitely risky. Playing the femme fatale had never been her forte. Although she’d attracted her share of men, they always seemed to lose interest in her after the first date. And she couldn’t entirely blame her overprotective brothers.
Maddie knew her flaws better than anyone. She was too stubborn, too bossy, too self-reliant. Most men liked to play the hero for a woman. Impress her with his muscles and machismo. They didn’t like a woman who knew how to take care of herself. Her own family had taught her that much.
She smoothed her hands over the snug fabric of her red dress, hoping the exorbitant price she’d paid would be worth it. The agency would receive eight thousand dollars if Blackburn was turned over to the court in time. But that time was running out. A bail jumper had to be returned to the custody of the court within one hundred and eighty days of his failure to appear. Otherwise the bail bondsmen had to pay the entire amount of the bond, which in this case was eighty thousand dollars.
The Griffin Bail Enforcement Agency was on the payroll of several Chicago area bail bondsmen, and their reputation for catching elusive felons like the Kissing Bandit was unparalleled in the Chicago area.
Now it was up to Maddie to maintain that reputation. She had just nine days left to bring Blackburn to justice. Adrenaline shot through her veins as she walked toward the door.
The Kissing Bandit was about to be unmasked.
2
TANNER SAT IN THE empty hotel bar, nursing his beer. The wedding party had retired to their rooms, most of them exhausted from the long trip into Abilene. But Tanner was on a mission. Find a woman to take to the wedding tomorrow or learn more than he ever wanted to know about embroidery.
Unfortunately, his hopes for snagging a date were fading fast. He still wore his cowboy hat, since his sister had once informed him that women were attracted to the rugged, outdoorsy type. He might not actually live on a ranch, but he did spend plenty of time outdoors. A former state champion swimmer, Tanner still worked out four evenings a week at the local recreation center. He glanced at the clock, wondering if he’d have more luck impressing the ladies down at the hotel swimming pool.
Surprised to see it was close to midnight, Tanner drained his beer mug. Hannah had suggested he turn in early so he’d be fresh for the wedding tomorrow. But he just wanted to be numb.
“Can I buy you a beer, cowboy?”
He slowly turned around to see a tall, slender brunette. She had big brown eyes and silky nutmeg hair that caressed her bare shoulders. She wore a strapless red sundress that hugged her mouthwatering figure. The three-inch heels on her matching red pumps made her long legs seem endless.
He swallowed hard, then abruptly stood up and motioned to the bar stool beside him. “Only if I can buy you one first.”
She sat down, then held out one slender hand. “My name is Giselle, but all my friends call me Gigi.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Somehow he guessed a woman named Giselle wouldn’t be interested in an estate lawyer. She’d want someone exciting. Impulsive. Someone who lived life on the edge. He could imagine the interest fading from her beautiful eyes as soon as he said, “Hi, I’m Tanner and I manage the affairs of dead people.”
So why say it?
Tanner straddled his bar stool and spoke before he had time for tedious second thoughts. “My name is Whip. I’m a bull rider.”
Her finely winged brows arched in surprise. “Really? I’ve never met a bull rider before.”
Tanner propped his cowboy boot on the rung of her bar stool. “It gets a little rough sometimes.”
“I can imagine,” she said, obviously impressed.
He tried to remember all the stories his brother Ronnie had told him about the rodeo. Most of them had been highly exaggerated, but entertaining. He signaled the bartender for two beers, mentally weaving a story that would keep her smiling.
It was amazing how easy it was to fall back into the playboy role after all these years.
Gigi crossed her impossibly long legs. “So are you in Abilene to ride bulls?”
“Actually, I’m here for a wedding.”
She reached into the bowl of stale popcorn that sat on the bar between them. “I love weddings.”
Just the words he wanted to hear. Gigi would be the perfect woman to take as his date, if he could convince her to go with him. Take it slow, Blackburn. Don’t scare her off.
But Gigi definitely didn’t look scared. She leaned toward him, her foot lightly brushing against his ankle.
He watched, mesmerized as she slowly licked the salt from her fingertips. It had been too long since he’d been with a woman. Much too long.
Tanner cleared his throat. “This wedding is a little unusual. I met the bride in a mail-order magazine.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Well, it’s a little complicated,” he said, realizing he’d given her the wrong impression. Not that he wanted to explain by telling her Hannah had dumped him, especially since he could barely think straight. Either the beer or her subtle, exotic scent had intoxicated him. Maybe both.
“No, I think it’s fascinating.” She gave him an encouraging smile. “Tell me about the magazine. Did strange women contact you?”
“Day and night,” he said, tipping up his hat. He might be stretching the truth just a little, but it was getting easier by the minute. “I’ll admit I did it as a lark, but it paid off.” For Cabe, anyway.
She smiled. “Something tells me you like to live dangerously.”
“Whenever possible.” His whole body tightened as his gaze fell to her full, sultry mouth. She wasn’t anything like Hannah, but there was something about her that pulled at him. Something that triggered a deep, primal urge that made him want to throw her over his shoulder and haul her back to his cave. Or at least his hotel room. He took a deep gulp of beer to cool his blood.
“So tell me about bull riding,” she said, reaching for another handful of popcorn.
Tanner spent the next hour making up the wildest stories possible. Fortunately, he’d been to enough rodeos to sound credible. And Gigi’s riveted attention and enthusiastic questions encouraged him to keep talking. Three beers later, he’d almost convinced himself that he was one of the best bull riders in Texas. Or at least one of the best at shooting the bull.
“I’m on a hiatus now,” Tanner said, rubbing his knee. “Trying to heal up after that last ride.”
“Have you ever ridden Diablo?”
“Who?”
She circled one fingertip around the rim of her beer mug. “I saw a special on television once about rodeo bulls, and they said Diablo was known as the meanest one on the rodeo circuit.”
“I…uh…no,” he said, suddenly wary that he was about to blow his cover.
But she didn’t press the point. Instead she gazed up at him. “Your eyes are very blue, aren’t they?”
“As blue as the Texas sky,” Tanner improvised, emphasizing his Texas drawl for effect. “That’s what my mama always said.”
His mother, who never permitted any of her three children to call her mama, had never said any such thing. But Mom was in Florida at the moment, so what did it matter?
“Your face is so classic.” She reached out her fingers and brushed them lightly across his jaw. “I’d love to do you nude.”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
She laughed. “Did I mention that I’m an artist?”
“No, ma’am,” he said, mortified by the blush warming his cheeks. Whip the Bull Rider would never blush.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a small lavender card. “This is my business card. I’m in Abilene for a showing at the Courtyard Gallery.”
He took the card from her, noting the New York City address and the fact that she didn’t include her last name on the card, only Giselle.
“Whip, I know this may sound a little forward.” She gently laid her hand on his arm, causing his muscles to jerk in response. “But would you mind coming up to my hotel room? I’m just itching to sketch you.”
“I never say no to a lady.” Especially a lady who wanted to take his clothes off.
“Good.” She slid off the bar stool and reached for his hand. “I promise to make it an experience you’ll never forget.”
His heart pounded in his chest as he followed her to the elevator. When he’d first seen Gigi, all he’d wanted was a date for Cabe’s wedding. Now he wanted more.
Much more.
Maybe he should skip his trip to Jamaica and stick around Abilene instead. He couldn’t think of a more enjoyable way to spend his vacation than with the sexy and intriguing Giselle.
Standing next to her in the elevator, he closed his eyes, breathing in her unique scent. He’d never been this intrigued by a woman before. He wished he’d foregone that last beer at the bar, wanting all his senses keen and sharp. Somehow he knew this was a night he wouldn’t want to forget.
The elevator doors opened and Tanner’s pulse kicked up another notch as they headed down a long hallway. Picking up strange women in bars wasn’t his usual style.
Judging by the way Gigi’s hands were shaking as she tried to insert the plastic key card into the lock of her room, picking up strange men wasn’t her style either. She swore softly under her breath when the light on the door lock flashed red instead of green. She tried it again, then a third time.
Tanner deftly took the key card out of her hand, turned it around so the arrow pointed in the right direction, then slid it smoothly into the lock. The light flashed green and he turned the handle to open the door.
“Thank you,” she said, a pretty blush suffusing her cheeks. She retrieved the key card from him, then placed one hand on his chest. “Would you mind waiting out here for just a moment? I’d really like to straighten up the room just a bit.”
“That’s not necessary….” he began, taking a step forward. But she’d already slipped inside and closed the door behind her.
He stared at it, slightly confused. Gigi had seemed a little nervous on the elevator. Was she already having second thoughts?
He mentally kicked himself. Whip the Bull Rider wouldn’t have let a woman keep him waiting in the hallway. He’d have carried her over the threshold and showed her his real talents. Just when he was about to give up hope, she opened the door again.
He strode inside without a word, then pulled her into his arms. A small gasp escaped her mouth right before he kissed her. She tasted of butter and salt and beer. And something else. Something uniquely Gigi that made him pull her even closer and deepen the kiss.
She moaned low in her throat and circled her arms around his neck. Without breaking the kiss, he kicked the hotel door shut behind him.
The kiss smoldered between them, so thrilling and hot that he never wanted it to end. At last he lifted his head, tantalized by the raw desire he saw gleaming in her brown eyes. “You’re incredible, Gigi.”
She swallowed, then took a deep, shuddering breath. “You’re not exactly what I expected.”
He grinned. “Good.”
She reached up and undid the top button of his shirt. “Whip, I have a confession to make.”
He sucked in his breath as her fingers slid down to the second button. “A confession?”
“I really did want to sketch you, but now…”
She stood so close to him that he could smell the sweet raspberry fragrance of her hair. Her fingers slowly teased each button out of its buttonhole. At last, his shirt gaped open and her warm breath caressed his bare chest.
“Now…what?” he asked huskily. He liked the way her sundress outlined the generous curves of her body. Liked the way she kept licking her lips, as if savoring the kiss they had just shared.
She tugged his shirttails out of his jeans. “Now I want to do so much more.”
His gaze fell on the king-size bed that dominated the entire room. “So do I.”
Without another word, she turned around and opened the hotel room door, placing the Do Not Disturb sign on the exterior door handle. Then she closed it again and flipped the lock.
He moved toward her, but she smiled and held up one hand. “Don’t move. Not yet. I want to look at you.”
She walked slowly toward him, her gaze lingering on his chest, then gliding downward. His body reacted as if she was actually touching him and it took all his willpower not to pull her into his arms.
“You’re so big.” Her hands slid slowly up his chest. “So tall and strong.”
He closed his eyes with a low groan of pleasure at her touch. But despite the desire pounding in his veins, he willed himself not to move. He let her set the pace, enjoying every moment of this exquisite torture.
Her hands smoothed over his skin and he opened his eyes when she touched the small scar below his left nipple.
“Did this happen while you were bull riding?” She slowly slid her finger back and forth over the pale pink scar.
His nipple tightened at the feathery sensation. He nodded, not wanting to ruin the moment by telling her the real story. Somehow he didn’t think she’d be impressed that he’d tripped on a staircase in high school and been pierced by the metal math compass in his shirt pocket.
Her hands hungrily caressed his ribs, her fingers running through his chest hair, then over his shoulders as she pushed his shirt halfway down his arms.
She was so close, he couldn’t breathe right. Couldn’t think straight. His body tightened as the front of her dress brushed against his bare chest. He could feel her firm breasts through the thin fabric. More than ever, he wanted to hold her, kiss her senseless. But his arms were now pinioned by his shirt. It was an odd sensation, being at her mercy, that he found strangely erotic.
“What do you want?” she breathed, slowly guiding him backward toward the bed.
He wanted so many wonderful things. Things only Gigi could give him. “You,” he said, lowering his head to nuzzle the tender skin behind her ear.
She leaned into him, causing him to fall back onto the bed. A bolt of pain shot up his arms, still trapped behind his back. But he quickly forgot about the discomfort as Gigi followed him onto the bed, straddling his waist.
She leaned down until her lips were only a hairsbreadth away from his mouth. “I knew I wanted you as soon as I saw you.”
“Me, too,” he murmured, then tipped his head up just far enough to kiss her. He moaned as his tongue slipped inside her mouth. The sweet taste of her, combined with the incredible sensation of her bare legs wrapped snugly around his waist, was almost more than he could bear.
Somewhere in his frazzled mind, he knew he should confess, too. Tell her he wasn’t really Whip the Bull Rider. And that he’d never met a woman like her before.
But now certainly wasn’t the time. Not when she was so warm and soft and inviting. Her tongue arched into his mouth at the same time her hands flexed against his shoulders. She deepened the kiss, putting so much enthusiasm into it that his head fell back onto the pillow.
Tanner lay there, completely at her mercy, unable to touch her with anything but his mouth. It heightened every sensation. He could smell the soapy scent of the freshly laundered pillowcase and feel every inch of her warm body pressed against his own. One silky tendril of her hair teased his left ear.
He arched his hips upward, welcoming the delicious friction of her body against his aroused flesh. Despite the long dry spell in his love life, he could never remember reacting to a woman like this before.
At last she broke the kiss and rose to a sitting position, her soft, silky thighs cradling his hips. The hem of the sundress was pushed up past her knees. Her breathing was fast and heavy.
“I need to touch you,” he said huskily.
A high flush stained her creamy cheeks. “Turn over.”
He readily obliged, anxious to have her rip his shirt off and free his arms. Then he could finally touch her. Undress her. Lose himself in her.
But instead of yanking his shirt off, she straddled his backside. Then she leaned down, her soft, buttery breath curling inside of his ear. “Do you like to play games, Whip?”
Before he could reply, she slid her hand under the pillow and pulled out something pink. It took a moment before he realized they were handcuffs.
Very unusual handcuffs.
“Uh…what exactly do you have in mind?” he asked, as she dangled the pink ménage à trois cuffs in front of his face. There were three individual cuffs connected by a Y-shaped, silk-covered chain.
“You’ll see,” she teased, then slapped one of the three cuffs onto his right wrist. He barely had time to blink before she shackled his left wrist as well.
He lay there, trying to decide exactly what Whip the Bull Rider would do in this situation. But desire and anticipation had clouded his brain. He tried to turn over, but her weight kept him firmly anchored to the mattress.
Tanner tugged on his wrists, but the handcuffs held tight. “Uh… Gigi?”
“Yes?”
“This is a little uncomfortable.”
She rolled off of him. “Let me see what I can do.”
He frowned in confusion as she bent his right leg at the knee and slipped off his cowboy boot. Then he heard another click and realized too late that she’d locked the third empty cuff around his ankle.
He lay there hog-tied and completely helpless.
Where had he ever gotten the idiotic idea that picking up a strange woman in a bar would be fun? Of course, it had been fun when she’d been taking his shirt off. And it had been beyond fun when she’d kissed him.
Somehow, somewhere, they’d taken a wrong turn. He arched his head up far enough to see her smiling at him.
Then she gave him a saucy wink. “Gotcha, cowboy.”
3
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING on here?”
Maddie tensed as the Kissing Bandit yanked hard on the handcuffs, but they held tight. Beneath all that pink silk was solid core steel. “You need to calm down.”
He took a deep breath, his face pressed halfway into the pillow. “Look, Gigi, I don’t think it’s going to work out between us after all.”
She rolled her eyes. The man was gorgeous, but completely clueless. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? I’m not Gigi. My name is Maddie Griffin and I’m from the Griffin Bail Enforcement Agency in Chicago.”
He stopped moving. “What?”
“You heard me, cowboy. You’re all mine.” She took a deep breath, still a little shaky from her first takedown. It had all gone according to plan. Sort of. She hadn’t actually intended to let him kiss her, or to kiss him back. But that didn’t matter now.
She had him exactly where she wanted him.
“You’re a bounty hunter?” he said at last, his blue eyes wide with disbelief.
“That’s right.” She stood beside the bed, waiting for him to accept the situation. He’d soon tire of fighting the handcuffs.
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but you’ve got the wrong man. My name isn’t really Whip. I made that up….”
“I know,” she interjected. “You’re the Kissing Bandit.”
“Who?”
“The Kissing Bandit.” She reached down, unable to resist brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes. “I realize Tanner Blackburn is your alias du jour, but even if the name changes, the crime stays the same. You’ve been scamming women for the past seven years, but your luck just ran out. I’m taking you in.”