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His mother often warned him of the penalties for trying to run someone else’s life.
Kurt pulled off his boots and dropped them near the end of the couch. He stretched out, tucked his hands behind his neck and stared at the ceiling.
Jessie needed him, even if she didn’t know it.
She moved around in the bedroom, the whispers of her actions carrying in the stillness. Deprived of the sight of her, his memory seeped in to fill the void.
He saw Jessie, beseeching him to agree to her crazy idea, the way she dipped her head when he turned her down and the way her lips curled when she argued with him.
Superimposed over the top were images of her looking at him, her smile secretly sensual, her fingers feathering into silky strands of hair and a spark of passion in her eyes that made his insides constrict.
She was rich and complex, desirable, vulnerable, feminine and in need of a protector.
In need of him.
Kurt shifted.
He hadn’t thought of himself as anyone’s protector, particularly a woman who wouldn’t welcome it.
Adjusting his jeans, he wondered why the hell a man who didn’t believe in chivalry was being driven by exactly that.
“Going somewhere?”
Jessie froze, her hand curved around the handle of her suitcase. With her heart hammering in her throat, speech was out of the question. Reluctantly releasing her hold, she slowly turned toward him.
He stood in the entry to the kitchen, looking disturbingly refreshed and determined. The scent of alpine air seemed to brand him. Kurt Majors was every inch a male. A determined, impossible male, her mind added.
Thoughts jumbled and tumbled, making the formation of a complete sentence all but impossible. “I thought you were—”
“Gone?” Kurt shook his head. “Told you I intended to stop you from going sperm hunting.”
His voice slid through her, the masculine cadence both a promise and a threat.
“By the way, I emptied your suitcase. Coffee?”
“Coffee?” she asked, mentally stumbling as she tried to keep up with his conversation.
“Made a fresh pot.”
Fuming, she leaned down to unzip her suitcase. As he’d said, it was empty. “You have no right.” She swung around. “This is my life, my choice. Mind your own business.”
“Always this cranky before your first cup?”
How was it possible she hadn’t heard him moving around? She’d lain in bed, listening for any sound. When she was convinced he was still asleep, or better yet, that he’d left her house, she’d crept from bed and cracked open her bedroom door. The pillows on the couch were strewn haphazardly across the cushions, but there had been no sign of Kurt.
While she had showered, a mixture of emotions had cascaded over her the same way the water did. Time hadn’t helped; his rejection still rankled. More, her own foolishness stung. She wasn’t normally impulsive and now wished to heaven she hadn’t deviated from that routine.
With a sigh, Jessie had pushed away the pain and regret, letting them wash down the drain.
In their place excitement had slowly started to build as realization dawned. Today she was supposed to drive to Denver. With luck, by this time next year she’d have her own child to nurture.
After drying off, she’d dressed in jeans and a white cotton shirt, her insides humming with anticipation.
That lasted until she saw Kurt.
Yesterday she’d seen him as the answer to her prayers. This morning he quite literally stood between her and her dreams.
“Cream and sugar?” he asked.
Telling herself that she could buy clothes in Denver, she grabbed her purse.
“Your car keys are in my pocket.”
Her temper flashed. She stalked into the kitchen. Ignoring the fact that he was holding a mug of coffee and paying no attention to the differences in their height and weight, she poked her finger into his chest. “You are the most insufferable, arrogant, male...”
“Yes?”
“...jerk that I have ever met.”
“Ouch.”
“Get out of my house and my life.”
“No can do.” He reached down and shoved the cup onto the telephone stand. “Tell you what, I’m willing to make a deal.”
Her eyes narrowed, but her breaths continued in shortened gasps of fury. She dropped her hands to her sides, suddenly realizing she was touching him. From the flash in his eyes, she knew he’d noticed, too.
Something was happening to her, something she didn’t like, something she couldn’t stop.
She had never misbehaved in her life. Now, in seconds, Kurt had pushed past all her inhibitions, uncovering parts of her personality that she hadn’t suspected existed. It scared her.
“If you can convince me, in say, five days, that this is a smart thing, that collecting the donation of some man you don’t know, a man who could be a rapist or murderer—”
“More likely a med school student—”
“If you can convince me this is a good idea, I’ll drive you to Denver myself.” His voice dropped to a cajoling tenor. “What do you say? Deal?”
“It’s not your deal to make.”
“Maybe not,” he agreed. “But I’ve got your clothes and your keys.”
Her fingernails carved half-moons into her palms. “You’re holding me prisoner.”
“Offering you a chance to think this through.”
“I’ll call the sheriff.”
“Go ahead. Doesn’t matter to me if this is splashed all over the Courier.”
He was bluffing. He had to be. “It won’t be.”
“Miss Starr doesn’t have contacts?”
Jessie’s stomach tightened and frustration clawed at her.
“Five days, Jessie. I’ll convince you to do this the right way.”
“Your way,” she bit out, hardly able to keep her thoughts straight. He’d backed her into a corner, a place she swore she’d never allow herself to be in again.
She’d fought long and hard, surviving the years of being alone and unwanted, helpless to make her own decisions. And she’d nearly thrown away her independence on Sam. Instead she’d learned the lesson, in her heart as well as her mind. Reinforced by pain, it wasn’t one she’d soon forget.
“well?”
“Never,” she said.
“That’s your final answer?”
“Yes.” She’d won. She’d stood up for what she believed, had refused to cower, had proven she was in control of her own life.
“Play it your way.”
She exhaled. Now that she’d won, she could afford to be gracious. She knew he cared about her as a friend. Sometimes friends did extreme things. As long as he stayed out of her business from now on, she’d forgive him this once.
Somehow, though, his capitulation seemed easy. Too easy, maybe. “I appreciate your concern. Really I do.” In a way, she did.
Since she had no relatives, Mary had become Jessie’s confidant. Mary had expressed her reservations about Jessie’s decision to become pregnant, but since the first time they’d spoken of it, Mary had resolutely kept her opinions to herself.
Brother and sister had nothing in common, apparently. “Now if you’ll give me the keys, please.”
‘I’d rather we hadn’t had to do it this way.”
Before she had time to blink, he’d swung her from the floor.
Her breath whooshed out when her stomach connected with his shoulder. She hung upside down, grabbing for his well-worn leather belt, staring at the contours of his buttocks and powerful thighs.
She struggled, wiggling around, but didn’t dare move too much for fear of dislodging herself and toppling to the floor. “Kurt!”
“Worked my way through college calf roping,” he said, a palm pressed against her spine. “Keep still before I practice those ties on you.”
“You can’t do this. You said...”
“I said I’d stop you.”
He pivoted, and she fought a wave of dizziness. The room spun beneath her.
“Put me down!”
He ignored her.
“You were going to give me five days!”
“I will.”
When he opened the front door, winter’s last lash stole what little remained of her breath.
“Morning, Mrs. Johnson!” Kurt called out.
Jessie kicked, futilely trying to connect with bone and muscle.
“Morning, Kurt. Jessie.”
Jessie groaned, fully convinced she was going to die of mortification now that the neighbors had witnessed this horrible event. She wouldn’t die, though, she vowed, until after she killed Kurt.
“Are you two going somewhere?”
“Taking Jessie away for a few days.”
“Have a nice time. I’ll keep an eye on the house.”
He opened the door to his pickup truck and dumped Jessie unceremoniously on the seat. Then he leaned toward her. “Unless you want the neighbors to really enjoy the show, stay right where you are.”
She battled the temptation to run, but he was taller, faster and didn’t mind making a scene. Jessie didn’t want this to be splashed all over the Courier, but she doubted he’d mind at all.
“Understand?”
She slumped in her seat, and he slammed the door.
Within seconds, he sat beside her on the unyielding, cold leather. When he looked at her, his eyes were every bit as cold and unyielding.
“You’re kidnapping me.” Shock dulled her words.
“Yep.”
He had her; they both knew it.
A chill chased through her. Question was, what did he intend to do next?
Three
What had she gotten herself into?
Anger and frustration were two sides of the only coin she possessed. No matter which way that coin landed, she didn’t have a chance.
Kurt moved around the kitchen, ignoring the impatient tapping of her fingers on the table.
She could call for Columbine Crossing’s one taxi, but Kurt would stand in the way of her leaving. If she called Mary, Mary would probably throw her alliance with her brother...after all, Mary hadn’t liked Jessie’s motherhood idea much better than Kurt did. Even if Jessie called someone from the children’s center, Kurt was too well-known and—damn it—respected for anyone to take her seriously.
She fumed. If she didn’t get out of here in under an hour, she wouldn’t make it to Denver in time.
