Chapter 10

Mik grinned as Jesse spun her around. Boy could the man dance. Right now there were at least a dozen set of envious eyes on them from the women in the country-western club. Mik had no doubt that if he chose, he could go home with any woman in the place.

Well, any but her. Which turned her to scanning the crowd for Jed.

Heat flooded her face when her eyes landed on him. With one elbow on the bar, he held a long-necked beer in his free hand and smiled at one of the four women crowded around him.

“Hold on there, beautiful,” Jesse grabbed her arm as she pulled free and started in the direction of the bar. “He’s just talking.”

“They’re not.” She pulled him along.

They made their way through the crowd and came up behind Jed just in time to hear an exchange between him and one of the women.

“You wanna drop by my place later?”

The redhead who asked the question was giving Jed a look that said she’d like to smear honey on him and take a long time licking it off. Mik wanted to rip her hair out but held her tongue.

At least until Jed responded with, “Well, sugar, what would I be dropping by for?”

She barely heard the “oh shit!” Jesse muttered beside her. Jealously wasn’t something she was experienced in, but it had a good solid grip on her, and reason had fled.

Just as the redhead put her hand on Jed’s chest and leaned in like she was going to kiss him, Mik bounded in between them. “You might want to rethink that,” she warned.

“Or what?”

“Or you and I are going to have a problem.”

The redhead laughed and shoved Mik to the side, moving in on Jed. Mik cut a look at Jesse. “You saw that. She fired first.” That left Mik free to do what she wanted to do in the first place. She grabbed a handful of red hair and yanked.

The redhead hit the floor with a solid thunk and a scream. Her friends squeaked but crowded in on Mik. ”You little bitch!” The largest of the three, a busty blonde, took a swipe at Mik. A long-nailed swipe like a cat.

“Oh hell, no.” Mik batted away the swipe with her left hand and followed with a solid right cross that caught the woman in the side of her face. The blow whipped the woman’s head to the side and her body followed. She tripped over the redhead who was climbing to her feet and they both went down.

“You want some?” Mik challenged the final two of the quartet, two brunettes who topped her by a good foot. “Bring it.”

One of them, the brunette smirked and shoved Mik. She staggered back a couple of steps then got her footing and dove at the woman, taking them both down on top of the two women already on the floor.

From that point she didn’t know who she was hitting, she just punched whatever got close. When arms wrapped around her, pulling her up, she swung an elbow, connecting with a solid whack that had a grunt sounding in her ear.

“Simmer down!” Jed barked, hanging onto her as she struggled.

Mik elbowed again and he released her. She whirled around, her right fist shooting up and meeting the point of his chin.

Jed’s head snapped back but that’s about all the effect the punch had. Before Mik could swing again, he had hold of her, slinging her over his shoulder.

She kicked and beat at his back but couldn’t break away. When they were outside by the truck, he plunked her to the ground and pinned her against the side of his truck.

“What the hell was that?”

“You tell me!” Mik knew she’d made a jackass out of herself, but she wasn’t ready to admit it. What she’d seen hadn’t just made her mad, it had hurt.

Just hours earlier he’d professed to love her. So why did he say what he did to that woman? That wasn’t the response of a man in love, but a man ripe for a quick roll in the hay.

Jed’s eyes went dark and flinty, a sure sign that his anger was building. At the moment, she didn’t care. He’d made a fool of her, made her believe that he loved her, that what she longed for was possible.

“Nothing happened, Mik.”

“Sure looked like it was about to.”

“It was nothing.”

“Oh? You call accepting an invitation to get a quick fuck nothing?”

“I didn’t accept anything.”

“Like hell! Now just what would I be dropping by for, darlin’?” She gave a fairly good imitation of him “That’s not what I said.”

“Whatever!” She screamed and shoved at him. “Just get the hell away from me. You were right. Nash men can’t be trusted.”

Jed went still as a statue, his eyes boring into her. For a moment, she wondered if she’d gone too far. Would he strike her?

*****

Mik’s words rang in his head like an old record with a skip, repeating over and over. “Nash men can’t be trusted.”

What the hell had he done? He loved Mik and the idea of losing her twisted his gut into knots. So why had he responded the way he did to those women? Habits of a lifetime?

Yeah, he supposed he could claim that’s what it was. And maybe there was a kernel of truth in it. But the larger truth was that at the moment, he just hadn’t thought. Hadn’t considered Mik and how she would feel, or that his actions reflected the attitude of a man who wasn’t committed.

Which begged the question. Was he?

“Mik, I—“

“Don’t.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t tell me what I want to hear knowing it’s a lie. Just walk away, Jed. Walk away and leave me be.”

He let his hands fall and stepped back. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was right all along. Nash men weren’t good at forever. The curse just wouldn’t allow it.

Her eyes stayed on him a good long while, tears tracking her face. Finally, she raised one hand, swiped at her eyes, and pushed away from the truck. “I think I’ll go see if Jesse will take me home.”

Jed watched her walk away. He wanted to run after her, to tell her he was sorry and that he’d made a mistake—one that wouldn’t happen again. But how could he do that unless he fully believed it?

Lost in his own misery, he wasn’t aware how much time had passed. Suddenly Jesse was beside him, clapping one hand on Jed’s shoulder. “I’m gonna run Mik back to the ranch. I’ll be back for you and Jake later—wherever he is. Couldn’t find him a minute ago.”

“He left about an hour ago to head up to Coyote Joe’s with Mitch Broom.”

Jesse nodded. “So, I’ll be back for you.”

“I think I’ll just head on home.”

Jesse cut his eyes across the truck at Mik who was climbing in the passenger door. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Jesse climbed in behind the wheel, leaving Jed to slide in beside Mik. She never looked at him. No one spoke a word on the drive home. Jesse stopped at the main house and Jed looked at him, confused.

“Thought I’d have a beer with Mik at the lake house.” Jesse asked. “Figured you’d want to head on in.”

Jed started to open the door, paused, and looked at Mik. Her eyes were still focused straight ahead. She wouldn’t even look his way. Jed got out of the truck and watched it pull away. When the taillights disappeared, he went inside.

The house was dark and quiet. Jed went upstairs to his room, kicked off his boots and peeled off his shirt. He lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The longer he lay there the more unwelcome images flooded his mind. Like Jesse in the lake house with Mik. Drinking, sitting on the sofa by the fire, talking and laughing, discussing their mutual love of the rodeo.

He shook his head to clear the images but instead of abating, they intensified. Jesse with his arms around Mik. Her looking at Jesse with that expression that made a man willing to tear through steel to get a taste of her. Jesse’s lips on hers, his hands on her body.

Before he knew it, he was off the bed, slamming his feet into his boots and headed down the stairs.

The walk to the lake house did nothing to cool the jealous fire that burned in his gut. If anything, it intensified the flame to a roaring inferno. By the time he stomped up on the back porch and through the door, he was fit to be tied.

Mik was his. Okay, he’d screwed up, but didn’t he at least deserve a chance to explain?

The kitchen was empty. Jed marched into the small den. And there they were. On the couch. She was in Jesse’s arms.

And she was crying.

Christ on a crutch. Seeing her naked with his brother would have been easier. All his anger faded.

“Mik.”

She looked up at him. “Go away.”

“No.”

Mik jumped up. “Go away!”

Jesse stood beside her. “Jed, maybe it’d be best if you—“

“This is between me and Mik. Go home, Jesse.”

Jesse looked from Jed to Mik. Her eyes were locked on Jed. Finally, she turned to look at him and nodded. “Thanks, Jesse.”

Jed’s guts twisted when she wrapped her arms around Jesse’s neck and pulled him into a tight hug. Jesse returned the embrace then pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. “You know where I am if you need me.”

She nodded and Jesse left. At the sound of the back door closing, Mik spoke up. “There’s nothing to talk about, Jed. I was wrong to believe in you. Shame on me. End of story.”

“You weren’t wrong.”

“Tonight would indicate otherwise.”

“Tonight indicates only that I wasn’t thinking. Mik, I know it sounds like a truck load of shit, but I had no intention, no desire to take that gal up on her offer. I was just flirting.”

“Flirting?” She threw her hands on her hips, fire coming back in her eyes. “That went way past flirting!”

“Depends on your definition of flirting.”

“Oh, don’t play that shit with me! If I hadn’t stepped in you’d have been in a lip lock with that woman in two seconds flat and that definitely leaps way past flirting.”

“I would not.”

“Like hell. I saw you, Jed.”

“Oh yeah? You saw me kiss that gal?”

“No, I stopped you. But you would have.”

“How do you know?”

“Because—because I do. And don’t try to turn this back on me. I didn’t do anything but get the shit stomped outta me by a lying, cheat who—“

“I don’t lie!” Jed would take a lot of crap and would admit to being wrong, but one thing he wouldn’t do was stand there and be accused of being a liar.

“Oh no?”

He didn’t realize he was in motion until his hands wrapped around her upper arms and squeezed. “I don’t lie.”

“You lied to me!” She tore away and swung at him.

Jed caught her fist before it could make contact with his face. “I did not lie.”

She tried to yank away, but he held on, and she lashed out with her free hand. Suddenly they were wrestling around, him trying to keep from hurting her and her doing everything she could to hurt him.

One boot made contact with his left shin, and he cursed. “Damn it all, Mik, stop!”

“Screw you!” She kicked him again, in the same spot.

This was getting out of hand. Jed swept one foot against her legs, unbalancing her, and then he lifted her up, pivoted, and slammed her down on the sofa. Before she could counter, he climbed on top of her, straddling her body and stretching her arms up to pin them over her head.

“Get off me!” She bucked and squirmed like a bronco, trying to unseat him.

He wanted to be mad, wanted her anger to disgust him. Only it was having the opposite effect. He was getting turned on.

“Stop!” He shouted.

Mik went still, looking up at him with wide eyes. “I don’t lie,” he said as calmly as possible.

“I don’t believe you.”

“I can prove it.”

“Yeah, how?”

“You know how.”

He saw realization flare in her eyes, followed immediately by fear. “Let me in, Mik, and you’ll know.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“No.”

He searched her eyes. He couldn’t force himself on her. He needed a way to convince her.

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Because you’ve got something to hide?”

“No!”

“Then what do you have to be afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Then let me in.”

She hesitated, her eyes boring into his, then nodded. Jed loosened his hold on her and gently cupped her face. “Here I come.”

The emotion that hit him was almost staggering. He knew Mik’s emotions ran high but wasn’t quite prepared for the onslaught. Fear and anger warred with love and need. Hope battled with despair and dreams clashed with dread.

The jumble was almost overwhelming but overshadowing all the conflicting emotions was one that loomed stronger and sharper. Love. She loved him. As unwise as she felt that was, she couldn’t change it. He’d hurt her, made her feel betrayed and foolish but still, she loved him.

Jed sucked in his breath and loosened his own controls. He’d asked for this. Now he just had to be man enough to bare his soul to her and hope it was enough.

*****

Mik gasped as the first wave of emotion blasted into her mind. There was so much hurt that had been hidden for so long. Loneliness and hopelessness loomed large and powerful in Jed’s past. He never expected to find love. Was afraid of what would happen if he did so he ran from it, burying his emotions.

Until her. She’d broken through where no one else had been able to. She’d given him hope, accepted him for who he was and made him believe they had a future. He so wanted to be able to believe it, too.

He loved her. So much, it scared him. What if the curse was stronger and he hurt her? How would he ever live, knowing that he’d turned her love to something dark? To one day look in her eyes and not see the light of love burning there? To see disappointment, or worse, hate.

“I could never hate, you,” she whispered.

“You almost did tonight.”

“No, I hate what you did to me. I felt like a fool, a woman so desperate that she’d allowed herself to believe something that wasn’t real.”

“It is real, Mik.”

“I know. Now.”

“And?”

She pushed at him so that he rocked back and let her sit. She wiggled from beneath, getting on her knees between his legs. “And,” she said, putting both hands on his chest and leaning close.

He grunted as she shoved him back on the couch and climbed on top of him. “If you ever pull as stunt like that I’m going to kick your sorry ass.”

“Is that so?”

“You better believe it, Nash. You’re mine.”

“I am that.”

Mik tried not to smile. “I’m still mad at you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I am, too!”

“You gonna beat me up like you did those gals in the bar?”

Mik bit her lip as his lips stretched into a smile. “You were something, Mik. A real spitfire.”

“You just like the idea of women fighting over you,” she teased.

“Well, there is that.”

Mik chuckled. “Well don’t get used to it. Next time I’m belting you first.”

“There’s not going to be a next time.”

Mik didn’t need to ask if he meant it. She could feel it.

“I do love you, Jed.”

“I love you, Mikayla.”

“Then show me.”

Jed pulled her down to him and did just that.