Page 55 of Westin
“Apparently.”
She laughed again, but this time there was humor in it. She turned and walked away, disappearing behind the door that led to the private area of the cabin. He watched, confused. Again. Where the hell was she going?
But then she stuck her head through the door. “Don’t forget your bag.” She winked before she disappeared again.
Westin rushed to the kitchen counter and snatched up the bag, dumping out the box of condoms it contained. He tossed the bag and grabbed the box, practically jogging as he followed her to the bedroom. Lea slipped her shirt up over her head as she returned to the room. It’d seemed strange to sleep in this bed she knew belonged to Clint and his wife, even stranger to know she’d cheated on him, possibly in this very bed. It was even stranger to welcome Westin into it, but it wasn’t like she had a lot of choices. The kid’s bedroom only had a twin smaller than the beds in the bunkhouse.
What was she doing? She’d spent most of the afternoon trying to convince herself Will hadn’t turned against her, that he hadn’t sent her up here to get her killed. It had to be a misunderstanding, a mistake on someone’s part. Will’s? Or maybe someone else was feeding him information, someone else who’d been compromised. It didn’t necessarily have to be Will.
But deep in her heart, she knew it was Will. He’d set her up, and it was just dumb luck that she hadn’t fallen into his trap.
What a load of bull to have to swallow!
Being here on this ranch was like a wakeup call. It reminded her so much of her childhood in Texas, so much of those beautiful days on her grandparents’ farm. It was a simpler time, a time before her life was turned upside down, before her father died and her mother dragged her away from everything she’d always known. It was a time before the darkness descended on her life. All she’d known since then was darkness. It’d become so ingrained in her that she’d forgotten what it was like to live in the light. This place reminded her of that time, reminded her that her life had purpose. It had meaning. She wasn’t ready to allow the darkness to swallow her whole.
An idea had begun to form in her head as she lay restless in this bed… a plan. But then Westin had shown up and reminded her that she wasn’t the only one wrapped up in this mess. These people had no idea of the hellfire she was about to allow to rain down on them.
“You’re so damn beautiful!”
Westin moved up behind her, his hands sliding over her shoulders as he stepped close, still wearing that bulky jacket that must have been so hot in the heated room. He bent close, his lips grazing her neck even as his fingers carefully gathered her hair and pulled it off to the side.
She was naked now with the exception of the panties Clint had bought for her. She’d ached for her own clothes when she’d first arrived, but she was growing used to the wide band of the boy-short cut of the panties. And the high-waisted jeans Clint’s wife preferred didn’t look so bad on her curves, maybe even better than the skinny jeans she wore almost exclusively. This country style was more in tune with who she’d been before the darkness, who she still wanted to be somewhere deep inside.
Westin’s lips moved over the curve of her neck and down along the channel of her spine, his hands moving ahead, scouting the spaces between her ribs and her waist, and further, down along the base of her spine, the area just above those high-cut panties. She kind of liked the feel of his warm hand against the soft material of her panties, liked that he didn’t have immediate access to her ass the way he would have if she wore her sexier thong. There was a touch of mystery to it. Not much, but enough.
He slowly dropped to his knees as his mouth slipped down along the path of her spine, his heated breath igniting a fire inside of her that had been an ember from the moment she set her eyes on him. She sighed as she pressed her own hands to her breasts, holding back evidence of her arousal even as she leaned her head back and shivered with the pleasure that was racing up and down the length of her spine.
But she wasn’t ready. Not just yet.
Lea stepped away, tossing herself onto the end of the bed, her legs crossed, her arms across her chest. “Why don’t you take off your jacket and stay awhile, cowboy?” she asked, brushing his arm with her toes.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Westin stood and stripped out of that jacket probably faster than he ever had before. Then he untucked his shirt, a nicely pressed pearl-button shirt with a bolo tie that sent a shiver of jealousy through her. Who’d he get so dressed up for?
“All dressed up and nowhere to go.”
“Not for much longer,” he commented, already tugging at his belt buckle.
“Are you going to ask me my real name?”
He paused, his dark-blue eyes moving over her with an intensity that sent a shiver of fear through her for a second. Was he going to walk out on her? Had she told him too many lies? But then he licked his bottom lip as he tilted his head, considering her with a different kind of intensity.
“What is your name?”
“Lee.” She leaned back, resting her weight on one arm. “I’m Lee Montgomery from Seattle, Washington.”
He lowered his head slightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Lee.”
“DEA Agent Lee Montgomery.”
No surprise registered in his eyes, which confirmed that Clint had told him everything. She wasn’t surprised. In fact, she was kind of relieved. The less she had to explain, the better. Yet, there was a part of her that needed to explain.
“It wasn’t all lies. They teach you to stick as closely to the truth as possible so that you don’t get tripped up trying to remember too many lies.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, burning under his unrelenting gaze. “What I told you about my grandparents’ farm was true. And my mom making us move, though she took me to Seattle, not Van Nuys.”
“And your father?”
She sat up again, any mention of her father always a blow to the stomach. “Dead.”