Secret Cravings by Kris Cook Page B

him to leave once the horse was put up given all the troubled history they had together.
    “Good for you, Kate. Will you keep going? Get your PhD?”
    She shook her head. “Nope. I’m done.”
    “Will you be coming back here to set up shop?” God, he wanted that. Screw the consequences. He’d missed her so damn much. Rance would want that, too, no matter how much he denied it. “With your Masters in Psychology, you could help some of the crazies around here. You’d have plenty of heads to shrink.”
    “Gran must’ve told you what degree I got.” Kate tilted her head. Too smart. She wasn’t buying the small talk one bit. “Perhaps I could start with yours and your brother’s heads to shrink.”
    Ouch! Apparently, time didn’t heal all wounds. “I guess I deserved that given what happened.”
    Her face darkened. She opened her mouth to say something, but then turned away.
    They walked into the barn and led the horse through the narrow space between the stalls on either side to the last one on the left.
    Kate patted the beast on the neck. “You’ve been very bad, Nightmare.”
    Troy took the lead rope off of the stallion and hung it on one of the hooks, glaring at the beast with a silent threat. He was grateful that Nightmare remained motionless while Kate put some feed in his trough. They secured the horse for the night and pulled the gate to the stall closed. The gate and the walls hemmed them close together. Kate turned to him, finally meeting his gaze. Her sultry scent filled the air.
    Now she was less than twelve inches from him, eroding his sanity. “Don’t you miss all this, Kate?”
    Her eyes widened, and she inched away to the open space on the far side of the barn, like prey scampering away from a predator.
    “I don’t think so, Troy.” Her tone hinted that she was not being fully truthful. You could take the girl out of the country but not the country out of the girl. “I think Dallas or Fort Worth would be better for me. I even have some leads in New York, Boston, and Baltimore. Who knows where I’ll end up?” She shrugged. “Let’s get out of this smelly barn.”
    Unable to look away, he fixed his gaze on her. She trembled and looked down. And he finally got it. She sensed the unfulfilled tension between them. He made her edgy, a bit nervous. And that only made him want her more. Fuck the risks. Somehow, he’d figure it all out. Rance wouldn’t approve. They’d made a promise, brother to brother. And of course he’d be breaking tribal law by mating with an outsider. But being with Kate again, even for a few minutes, had awakened the old desires that had clawed at him for years. Then, it had been adolescent, hormonal pining. Now, it was the full-blown hunger of man for this woman. He’d have her, with or without Rance’s blessing.
    They exited the barn and walked to Gran’s front porch.
    “Kate—” Troy heard an engine that sounded to be about a mile or two distant. Rance’s truck. His brother would be here lickety-split. Dammit.
    “Y–Yes?”
    His twin must’ve found his abandoned truck, saw Nightmare’s tracks, and realized that Troy had come to Gran’s.
    He clenched his fists and drew in a deep breath. He’d have to wait to claim her. But not for long. “I’d like to have dinner with you while you’re here.”
    Troy heard Rance’s truck stop and the door open. By now, his brother would’ve gotten wind of Kate’s scent. Fuck. Things were going downhill fast. Rance knew the pull that Kate had on him…hell, on both of them. His brother would be pissed off that he was trying to make plans to spend more time with her and risk exposing their secret.
    “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” She looked up at him.
    “Just dinner. We can talk and catch up. I want to hear all about you.” He’d never thought she would come back, but he’d always hoped. “You can ask me any question you want…and I’ll answer.”
    “Truthfully?”
    “Yes.” He would be