No Ordinary Cowboy (Mills & Boon American Romance) (Rodeo Rebels - Book 6) by Marin Thomas Page A

him, Lucy disconnected the call and hiked back to the road. By the time she made it to the truck, her T-shirt was soaked through and her hair was plastered to her head.
    Tony handed her a water bottle.
    “Thanks.” She guzzled the cool liquid.
    “I was on my way to speak with your father when I saw your truck.” He shook his head. “Are you nuts?” He motioned to the empty water bottle. “Walking aimlessly in the desert without water?”
    “I wasn’t going far.”
    “Are you having a nervous breakdown?”
    She laughed.
    Tony shoved a hand through his jet-black hair. “All this nonsense—”
    “What nonsense?”
    “Bull riding. Walks in the desert.” He removed his sunglasses and squinted at her. “Ever since you came back from college you’ve been on a mission to…”
    “Go on. Say it.”
    “To bring Michael back from the dead.”
    First her father, now Tony accused her of not being able to let go of Michael.
    “You’ve got to move on, Lucy.”
    “Like you?”
    “Like me what?”
    “You can’t stand the thought of living here anymore because Michael’s gone, so you’re running away to San Diego.”
    Tony couldn’t defend himself against Lucy’s charge, because she was right. He was on the run, but he didn’t care about the demons chasing him. He cared about leaving Lucy behind, still struggling with her brother’s death.
    “I come out here to talk to Michael.” She glanced over her shoulder. “My parents still haven’t spread his ashes and this is the only place I can go where I feel a connection to him.”
    He hated seeing Lucy suffer but how the hell could he stop her pain short of bringing Michael back to life? “Was he out there today?”
    “Yes.” The soft sigh that drifted from Lucy’s throat drew Tony closer. He cupped her face and brought her mouth to his, pausing to allow her a chance to pull away. Her eyelids fluttered closed and her lips parted.
    “You frustrate the hell out of me, Lucy.” His breath mingled with hers a second before he kissed her. Forget slow and easy—too much emotion and history stood between them. He swept his tongue inside her mouth and drank in her sweetness. Tony had kissed plenty of women in his lifetime but Lucy was like no other… Her taste…her scent…reached deep inside him and tugged at his heart.
    She clutched his uniform sleeve and flattened her breasts against his chest. No sense trying to hide that he didn’t want her. He nudged her closer until her hips bumped his erection. She smelled like warm woman, a hint of perfume and the tang of sweat—earthy and sensual. If he hadn’t been on duty he would have hauled her into his truck, driven into the desert, stripped their clothes off and made love to her regardless of the consequences.
    When his fingers touched the curve of Lucy’s breast, common sense intervened and he stepped back. Was he insane—kissing her on the side of the road where anyone could drive by and see them? “I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
    She pressed her fingers against her lips.
    “I’ll follow you back to the ranch.” He climbed into his truck and waited for Lucy to get into hers.
    Once she pulled onto the highway, he kept several car lengths between their vehicles. His thoughts switched to Nina, the little girl they’d found at the mine. Tony’s coworker, Carmen Dobbs, had gotten the girl to talk. Nina claimed her cousin had also been abducted, as well as other girls from their school. Tony’s number-one priority was to find those girls and reunite them with their families.
    * * *
    T ONY TRAILED L UCY up the porch steps and into the house. He hadn’t set foot inside the Durangos’ home since before Michael had died. Not much had changed from the last time he’d stood in the foyer. The family portraits still hung on the walls. The same heirloom umbrella stand sat in the corner next to the antique grandfather clock. Then Tony’s gaze landed on a framed photo that hadn’t been there before—Michael