The Millionaire Cowboy's Secret Read online

  Breathing hard, she staggered into her tiny bathroom and splashed water on her face. Then she started the pot of coffee, and while it was brewing, she jumped in the shower.

  Later, clean and dressed, with her hair still damp, she checked her watch. Chugging her second cup of coffee, she grabbed her secure cell phone from her backpack. She had time to make another report before meeting Matt.

  Punching in a number, she waited until her boss answered.

  Tersely, she relayed an abbreviated account of the events of the previous night, sticking strictly to the facts. Which were, basically, that she’d found nothing.

  After she finished making her report and received the standard “Good job, keep looking,” she concluded the call and went into the small bathroom to dry her hair and put on a touch of makeup. She didn’t wear much, just mascara and lip gloss, so she was ready well before an hour had passed.

  Stepping out into the bright sunshine, she inhaled, hating that the smoke and soot smell still lingered in the air, even overriding the normal earthy scents of a working horse-and-cattle ranch.

  She hurried down toward the big outdoor arena, which meant she had to pass by the ruins of the barn. When she reached it, she stared at the charred beams—all that remained of the once beautiful structure.

  The yellow crime-scene tape waved in the breeze and one or two investigators or fire department staff still picked through the rubble.

  Skylar lifted one hand in a wave but didn’t stop to talk. Since she had her camera, she snapped a few quick photos before going on her way.

  The big outdoor riding arena was just past the barn, though she had to cross a small paved parking lot and the ranch office. Inside the arena, Matt lunged one of his mares, so intent on his activity that he didn’t notice her approach.

  Leaning on the railing, she watched. He wore jeans and a Western shirt, along with a Texas Rangers baseball cap. She’d be the first to admit he looked good, like every woman’s dream cowboy. Focused on the horse, he moved in unison with it, turning and waving the long whip just enough to keep the animal moving forward.

  A wave of longing swamped her. Oh, how she’d missed this. There was a beauty to a horse’s gait, poetry in the flowing movements, legs and body and neck and head, pure grace.

  With an aching that surprised her, she wondered if Matt would let her ride. She needed more than a stolen trail ride in darkness. She wanted to circle the arena and put the horse through all of its paces. Just once or twice, long enough to remind her of happier times.

  For the first time, she realized she’d been able to think of the past without the sharp stab of pain.

  She wanted to ride. She’d ask him later.

  “Hey.” Noticing her, he flashed a smile and dipped his chin. “This is my newest mare. She’s a roan, which is rare among Arabian horses.”

  Dutifully, Skylar raised her camera and began snapping pictures. She thought she got some good shots—she’d check them later when she reviewed the camera’s display.

  Finishing with the lunging, Matt had the horse stop and then led her over to Skylar. “Glad to see you made it,” he said, smiling. Though the corners of his eyes crinkled and, for a heartbeat, her mouth went dry, she sensed something edgy inside him, as though he were trying to be in two places at once.

  Shrugging this off—when would she ever stop this ridiculous romanticizing of him?—she gestured toward the old barn across the parking lot. “I thought you’d have a bunch of employees out here, leading out the horses for me to photograph. Sort of like putting on a show.”

  “Nope.” Still cheerful, he turned and began leading the mare toward the old barn. “This morning it’s just you and me. Come with me. You can pick the next mare.”

  Following him, she was struck by the contrast between this barn and the newer one that had just burned down. The new one had been huge and modern and efficient. But this one had...character. Stone walls made up half of the exterior, and lumber made up the rest. The openings to the horses’ stalls were large, and she could see there’d once been runs on this side. They were still attached on the other side, and it looked as if a few hasty repairs had been made.

  Still, this barn was half the size of the other.

  “What’d you do with the remaining horses?” she asked.

  “I had some runs with three-sided lean-tos. I put the rest of them there.” His smile turned into a frown. “I’m trying to get the insurance guy moving, but since it appears to have been arson and they’re going to do a formal investigation, it looks like I’m just going to have to start construction on a new barn in another spot on my own.”

  “Seriously? Then what, get reimbursed later?”

  “Maybe.” He put the mare in her stall and turned to face her. “Or just have two barns. I’m lucky I can afford to build another without waiting for the insurance.”

  Just like that, the warm, fuzzy feeling she’d been having about him vanished. Of course he had the money. He was a criminal, after all.

  “Must be nice,” she quipped, careful to keep her voice warm and hide the coldness that had iced through her.

  Moving past him, she stopped at a stall and began stroking the head of a beautiful gray horse. “I’d like to see this one next, I think.”

  “Good taste!” Offering her a quick smile, he took down the halter hanging outside the stall and put it on the horse. Clipping the lunge line to it, he led the horse out.

  “Why do you say that?” she asked, curious.

  “Because this is another of the horses I plan to make the cornerstone of my breeding program, along with Saint. She came all the way from Egypt. She’s won numerous awards in the show ring, and now we’ve bred her to Saint. I have high hopes for her foal.”

  Outside in the bright sunlight, Skylar realized the mare was even more beautiful than she’d looked in the stall. Once they’d reached the lunge arena, a circular, fenced-in place, and she began to move, she appeared to float through the air.

  Heart in her throat, Skylar raised her camera and began snapping. She didn’t know if her rudimentary photography skills could even begin to do the majestic beast justice, but she’d certainly try.

  Especially since Today’s Arabian Horse magazine had agreed to consider publishing any article she wrote, as long as she was amenable to heavy editing.

  This precaution had been taken in case she’d needed to prolong her cover story.

  For the next several hours, she stayed with Matt as he lunged horse after horse. He kept up a running commentary, and she took notes as he gave her the bloodlines of each horse, the awards and standings in the Arabian Horse Breeders Association, and little tidbits about their individual personalities.

  She liked this part best. And when she realized she’d relaxed and was back to actually liking Matt again, this time she decided to simply postpone judgment and go with the flow.

  Finally, he’d finished up with the last mare in the barn.

  “Are we moving on to the others?” she asked eagerly, surprised at how quickly the time had flown.

  Slowly he turned to stare down at her. All traces of friendliness had vanished from his face. “No, I thought this would be enough. These are my best horses, the ones I want featured in your magazine.”

  Though she wasn’t clear on what had happened, she managed to nod. “Okay. I’ll just write up what I’ve got, put the photos with it and let you read it for approval.”

  “Email it to me,” he said.

  That sounded... “I’m not sure what you mean,” she said slowly. “You don’t want to stop by my trailer tomorrow or the day after and take a look?”

  “No.” His gaze shuttered, he looked away. “Because you won’t be in your trailer. I’m afraid with all that I’ve got going on here, I can’t spare any more time for you. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  Chapter 7

  Stunned, Skylar eyed his back as he turned to walk away. While wanting to send her away was reasonable, perfectly understandabl
e considering everything that had happened, why had he messed with her earlier and let her believe she could stay?

  It didn’t matter. She couldn’t let him kick her off the ranch. This would blow her assignment. All because of one extremely foolish move along with an even more stupid kiss.

  She couldn’t fail. Not now. Her job was all that she had, and the potential for promotion would vanish if she blew this job. On top of that, her departure would only make things worse for him. The ATF would send somebody else.

  She had to get him to change his mind. There was too much at stake.

  “Wait!” Calling after him, she hurried to catch up. When she reached him, she was slightly winded and sounded breathy, which she hated. “The agreement was for ten days.”

  His unfriendly look would have made a lesser woman cringe. Instead, Skylar simply straightened her spine and continued to look him in the eye as though daring him to renege on his promise.

  “True,” he finally allowed. “But now I’m thinking that might have been a little excessive. Come on. Do you really need ten days? You’ve taken enough pictures and an entire notebook full of notes. I think I’ve already given you everything you could possibly need for your article. All you need to do is write it.”

  With the ball back in her court, she desperately tried to think of an excuse. Hell, she realized with a sinking feeling it looked as if she was going to have to ramp up her game. Because he was absolutely correct. If she had been writing an article, she would have at least written the first draft by now.

  Thinking fast, she swallowed. She needed to give him some other reason to keep her around. But what? Her stomach dropped at the only thing that occurred to her. Hell. Her boss might have been right. She was going to have to try harder to seduce him.

  She thought of the women he usually dated, with their lithe model’s bodies and beautiful skin, and wondered if he’d even take her seriously.

  Still, she had to try.

  “Wait,” she called. Hurrying after him again, she snagged hold of his arm. Though he stopped, the look he gave her was still far from friendly.

  With an effort, she smoothed out her expression, hoping she could manage to sound professional. “Okay, you’re right. I am almost done with the article. But something is missing.”

  Still silent, he waited.

  “I tried to write a first draft last night,” she rushed on, trying to think like a real writer. “But something’s missing. Some spark. While it’s true I have all the information about your horses and your breeding program, I need a bit more.”

  Now she had his interest. He cocked his head, studying her. “Like what, exactly?”

  Hoping she didn’t sound entirely ridiculous, she continued, “Personal flavor.”

  His gaze narrowed. “Personal what?”

  “You. You’re the owner, the mastermind behind the breeding program. That’s what I was looking for yesterday. Something’s missing. I’m not sure what yet. But I’ve found interviewing the owner adds depth to the piece.”

  He crossed his arms. Not a good sign. “So interview me, then.”

  Crap. “Not right now,” she said smoothly. “I’m still working up the questions. How about tonight? Maybe we could have a drink together before I go?”

  “Tonight?” He frowned. “I was hoping you’d be out of here by this afternoon.”

  Was that squeezing emotion she was feeling hurt? Surely not.

  “Well, what harm could one more night be?” Laughing lightly, she pressed closer. “That’s all I need. I promise. One more night, to let me finish the interview. I’d like to have a drink with you, maybe dinner. Just the two of us.”

  Tilting her head, she hoped she hadn’t overdone the huskiness she’d put in her voice.

  He considered her, his expression still unreadable. But his eyes had darkened, going cobalt, pupils enlarged. His chest rose and fell and she could hear the harshness of his breathing.

  A shiver ran down her spine.

  Taking heart, she moved a tiny bit closer. However he might try to hide it, he was attracted.

  As for herself, that tingle of heat, the way her body felt heavy and hot, well, it had to be nerves. Still, she forcibly didn’t try to throttle the wave of desire that made her nipples pebble beneath her bra.

  “Please?” she asked, swallowing hard as she gazed up at him through her lashes, privately wishing she was a bit more experienced at this seduction stuff. “Just one more night?”

  When he didn’t immediately respond, other than a slight hitch in his breathing, she continued pressing her advantage. “One final evening.” She practically purred the words. “Then no more of your time. I already have some of the questions written up. I can finish the rest in an hour.”

  Truthfully, she didn’t have anything, but how long would it take to whip up some interviewer-type questions?

  Eyes narrowing, he stared at her. “Fine,” he said, his voice harsh and not sounding happy about it at all. “I’ll grill us a couple of steaks or something.”

  “Oh, thank you.” She stood up on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

  For a moment he froze, as though her kiss had stunned him. Then his mouth twisted into what could only be described as a cross between a grimace and a smile.

  “Be there at six,” he ground out.

  She nodded, thinking furiously as she tried for a tremulous smile. “Just the two of us, okay? Some of these questions are kind of personal.”

  “I don’t do personal,” he growled. “But yes, I’ll send José home. And I can manage a simple dinner without my household staff tonight.”

  Before she could form a reply, he turned and strode off, leaving her standing there feeling inexplicably foolish and aching for something she knew she could never have.

  * * *

  Blood pounding in his groin, more aroused than he had a right to be, Matt called himself all kinds of an idiot as he walked away from Skylar. When she’d told the blatant lie, he’d felt a surge of anger so potent he felt as if he were drowning. As a knee-jerk reaction, he’d asked her to leave. This was done out of a sense of panic more than anything else.

  Nothing was going the way he’d thought it would. He never expected them to come here and threaten him—this still made absolutely no sense to him. As far as they knew, he was just some Texan who wanted to get richer by selling them ammunition.

  Yet for some reason, someone in the cartel wanted to send him a message. He still didn’t understand what they were trying to say. That things weren’t moving swiftly enough? Or had the powers that be learned of Diego Rodriguez’s plans to forge his own cartel?

  Either way, something had gone wrong. If he wasn’t more careful, his meticulously laid plans would come crumbling down around him.

  Despite both his and José’s assumptions that one of the cartels had set the fire as a warning not to sell the ammo to the upstarts, they hadn’t received any sort of message like they’d expected. So what was the point?

  José’s contact was still off the grid, and the tension was about to drive Matt insane. Skylar in her thin Dallas Cowboys T-shirt with her perky breasts and come-hither gaze hadn’t helped. Her lush mouth begged to be kissed. Hell, he found himself growing hard every time he even so much as looked at her.

  Unexpected and unwelcome. But lust he could deal with. The uncertainty of not knowing if Diego would walk into the trap Matt had so carefully set he definitely could not.

  If things weren’t so close to the edge, he’d have welcomed the distraction Skylar brought. The several hours he’d spent with her, showing off his horses and watching her as she snapped photo after photo, had only made him want her more. Her tight little behind in her faded Levi’s, the cute way she bit her lip when she angled her head trying to get that perfect shot.

  She got to him, but that was to be expected. He’d always had a thing for gorgeous women.

  Too bad everything about her was false.
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  Even this. He grimaced, unable to believe she was willing to go this far.

  A private dinner? Drinks? What then? Seduction? Ignoring the part of him that would be ready, willing and eager to take her up on that, instead he tried to make himself despise her. The only problem was that he knew better than most how far someone could be willing to go to gain the means to an end.

  But for her, it was just a job. For him, it was his entire existence.

  Still, he found himself actually curious to see how far she would go.

  Slamming into the kitchen, he began rummaging in the freezer to see what he had that he could grill.

  “What’s up, amigo?” José wandered over, biting into an apple.

  “I just asked Skylar to leave.”

  José’s dark brows rose. He took another bite, chewed and swallowed before commenting, “Are you sure that’s wise?”

  “She invited herself to dinner tonight to try to talk me out of it.”

  A slow grin spread over his friend’s face. “I see.”

  Though one corner of his mouth twitched, Matt ordered himself not to smile back. “Alone,” he elaborated.

  “Her idea or yours?”

  “Hers.” Matt shook his head. “She was insistent about that.”

  José laughed. “So are you going to let her persuade you?”

  Growing serious, Matt shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably not. I don’t need the complication right now.”

  “Yes, but you sure could use a distraction.”

  Since his friend had no way of knowing exactly how distracting Matt found the ATF agent, Matt went back to perusing the freezer. “I could have sworn I had a couple of T-bones,” he muttered.

  “You do.” Reaching around him, José pulled out two thick steaks. “Here you go. Sounds like a really nice dinner for someone you don’t even like.”

  Matt shook his head. “I didn’t say I don’t like her. I do. Sort of. But I’m worried she’s going to get in the way if and when Diego Rodriguez decides to make a move.”

  “Skylar?” José smiled. “She seems clueless. If I didn’t know her background, I’d think she was new to this type of thing. I’m actually starting to like her.”