“She’s not just a cop, Lucas. She’s a fed. The forbidden fruit of cops.”
“Aye, she is. Which will just make it sweeter when she drops into my hand.”
* * * *
He found Kathryn exactly where Nicholas said she’d be, with the sweet smell of fresh hay and horses all around her, using a curry comb on Sassy, who despite her name, was one of his more mild-tempered mares. Kathryn had donned a pair of faded denims, and they showed her ass to perfection, just as he’d known they would. Much better than the boxy slacks she’d worn the previous night. The barn was warm, despite the cool night air, and she was working hard. A tailored blouse hung outside the box stall, leaving Kathryn in a stretchy white tank top that accented her smoothly muscled arms with every stroke of the comb.
Lucas tilted his head and listened. Kathryn was talking to the horse as she worked, speaking so softly that even his vampire hearing couldn’t pick up the words.
He started to say her name, then changed his mind. She was so entranced with the animal and the repetitive motion of the curry comb that she hadn’t even noticed he was there. The mare noticed him, of course. But after a soft whicker of greeting, she ignored him. Which left only Kathryn. Walking as quietly as only a vampire can, he stepped up right behind her and dipped his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply as he deposited a soft kiss just below her right ear.
Kathryn gasped and spun around, her hand going to her hip for the weapon she’d left sitting on the tack box beneath her shirt. That didn’t hamper her any, however. She swung the damn curry comb instead, and if he hadn’t been a vampire, he’d have been wearing more than a few stripes on his face.
Lucas caught her wrist gently, laughing in both surprise and appreciation. He did love a woman with spirit. And he should have expected it from Kathryn Hunter, he thought ruefully. After all, a woman didn’t make it in the man’s world of the FBI without being able to take care of herself. Nor did such a woman traipse halfway across the country looking for her missing brother. He was lucky he wasn’t sporting a bloody face about now.
Kathryn wrenched her arm away from him and shoved him back a step. Neither of which she could have done if he hadn’t let her, but she didn’t know that yet.
“You’re lucky that pretty face of yours is still intact,” she snarled angrily.
Lucas widened his eyes. “Was that a compliment, Agent Hunter?”
“No, you ass, that was a warning. Don’t ever sneak up on me again. What if I’d been armed?”
“Then I trust you’d have held me gently as I bled onto all this nice, clean straw.”
She bit her cheek, trying not to smile, but it was a lost battle. “Are you ever serious?” she asked, trying to recover lost ground.
“Only when I have to be.”
Tromluí bellowed angrily from his box stall at the other end of the barn, demanding Lucas’s attention.
“Excuse me a moment. Tromluí is very possessive. You and he will have to work something out if we’re going to continue this relationship.”
“What relationship?” she muttered behind him. He smiled as he made his way down the uncluttered aisle to his beautiful black. The stallion poked his head out before he got there, blowing and snorting as if to say, “What took you so long?”
“Och, boyo, I missed you, too,” he murmured, rubbing the big horse’s broad nose.
“Is this the horse I saw you working with last night?” Kathryn asked from several steps away.
Lucas glanced over his shoulder and received a solid head bump from Tromluí for his trouble. The stallion rolled his eyes in Kathryn’s direction and shifted behind the gate of his box stall, as if trying to interpose his considerable bulk between his beloved master and the interloper.
Lucas laughed at the horse’s antics. “You’ve nothing to worry about, mo Tromluí,” he crooned, then spoke to Kathryn in the same smooth tone, without looking back at her. “The horse last night was Nightshade, Tromluí’s oldest son. He’s barely a yearling, while Tromluí is a strapping man of four.”
“He’s gorgeous. I mean, they both are, but Tromluí is larger than life.”
“Did you hear that, boyo? The lady thinks you’re handsome.” He glanced at Kathryn.
“Judy thinks the two of you make a pretty picture.”
Lucas laughed easily. “The truth is he’ll take no other rider. It’s a bad habit, but one I indulge since we both enjoy the relationship. Speaking of which, it’s a beautiful night, would you like to ride?”
“Now? I mean, in the dark?”
“It’s not dark. The moon is only a day past full. Besides, the horses know the trails, and we’ll stick to the easy ones for now.”
“But I’m not dressed—”
“You’re dressed just fine, Kathryn. Even wore your boots. Are you looking for an excuse? Afraid to be alone with me?” He glanced at her again, long enough to wag his eyebrows suggestively.