Burned by a Kiss Read online

  Emma had looked back at him, her face a little flushed, her red hair spiraling out from under the white mortar board. He’d thought she looked like an angel.

  But the angel had gone off to college, and he’d gone off to enlist. The kiss had stayed on his mind. No matter how many women crossed his path, he’d never forgotten the softness of Emma’s mouth.

  All that sweet velvety hotness would be criminally wasted on well-meaning, upstanding-citizen Foster Smith.

  Chapter Two

  Santana felt the presence in his room before his three oversized brothers said a word. “Don’t you even think about it,” he said, not bothering to open his eyes. “If you dogpile me like we did when we were kids, I promise my reaction won’t be favorable.”

  His brothers guffawed and leaped on his bed anyway, which meant Joe, who’d slept peacefully and obediently beside his bed all night, leaped onto his bed, too.

  “Welcome home, bro!” Cisco tried to rub a knot on Santana’s head, and he swatted his brother’s hand away.

  “Sorry we didn’t greet you sooner.” This from Romero, who told Joe to get off the bed and quit being an attention hog.

  “Never thought you’d come back home,” Luke said. “Now that you’re back, we have lots of work for you to do. We’re presuming you’ll be joining up either at the fire station or the sheriff’s office, but the ranch needs another hand, too.”

  “Assholes, get off,” Santana growled, secretly enjoying the brotherly camaraderie. These brothers, his family, were his reason to return. Glutton for punishment, he’d said at the time he’d left, but the truth had been that he needed to stay away then. Wasn’t ready to come home to the ranch and Star Canyon. Kept thinking there was more out there he needed to do. He’d elected to do one more tour of duty because he believed in the mission and the brotherhood of his team had kept him sane.

  Home felt pretty damn good, filled in a hole he hadn’t known needed healing.

  “Heard you asked Emma Glass out,” Cisco said.

  Santana abandoned his bed to the dogpile, pulled on some jeans. “That’s a dumb rumor, even for Star Canyon.”

  “But is it true?” Luke asked. “According to the grapevine, which is white-hot over this, you practically kissed her at the clinic yesterday.”

  “We got probably twenty calls while we were on the road buying a couple of new horses,” Romero said. “So, Emma, huh? You didn’t waste any time. You’ve been back all of what, twenty-four hours?”

  Santana shoved a worn Stetson on his head and decided now was as good a time as any to hit the chores. “Emma might have a date with someone, but it’s not me. Sierra says Foster Smith is going to ask her out. Or did already. I didn’t catch the details.”

  His brothers roared with laughter. Santana grimaced.

  “Dude, Foster’s not asking Emma out,” Luke said. “He’s getting married next weekend.”

  Santana glared at his brothers, then pulled on a blue long-sleeved work shirt. “Sierra said—”

  They filed out of the room, shaking their heads. Cisco shot him a sympathetic look as he followed his brothers, and the look clearly said you poor dumbass, you let Sierra sucker you again.

  Had his sister been trying to get him to realize his feelings for Emma? There was nothing Sierra liked better than to keep her brothers with their boots set firmly on run. He reminded himself that Sierra reveled in her position as the baby of the family, and thought her services were required to manage their lives.

  “Come on,” Santana said to Joe, who perked up instantly now that he realized he was the center of Santana’s world again. “I smell eggs and bacon. If you lie down in the den and let me eat, I’ll sneak you an egg.”

  Joe planted his paws on Santana’s chest, his gaze delighted with the promise. “Oh, you don’t know what I’m saying. You’re just working an angle, dog, like everybody else around here. Get down before you hurt something. Probably me.”

  For a dog that was only about a year old, Joe was really big. Santana couldn’t believe his sister had saddled him with a needy canine. And was trying to saddle him with a girlfriend, too, obviously. His brothers were going to try to sign him up for the fire station or the sheriff’s office.

  It was oddly comforting to know that Star Canyon hadn’t changed at all in his absence.

  • • •

  Emma closed up the clinic. There’d been two surgeries, a splinter removed from a paw, assorted checkups and boo-boos, and even a turtle that had cracked its shell. Marty had returned with Squeakers, but the sweet black-and-white guinea pig seemed to be responding well to mite treatment with special shampoo and changing to newspaper bedding.

  She drove home, stopping only to grab takeout. Jenny and the two new puppies were curled up studying in the den. “I brought takeout from The Last Stop café. Hope you’re hungry.”

  Jenny got up. “I’m hungry for gossip.” She peered in the bag, pulled out bread wrapped in foil, sighed with pleasure. Dug a little deeper for the two containers of steaming pot roast and carrots. “Since you ran into Santana yesterday, I’ve gotten several texts saying that you two are practically an item.”

  “Not true. And you know it’s not.” Jenny kicked off her rubber shoes, then headed to her room to change and wash up. “I consider it a good sign that the puppies barely raised their heads to look at me when I came in. Busy day?”

  “We played catch and tag and watch Aunt Jenny fall on her butt in the snow. The dogs liked that game the best, because then they got toweled off with soft towels. I’ll put this in the oven while you change.”

  Emma hopped in the shower, thinking about Santana’s dark eyes on her. An item? So far from it she had to marvel at Star Canyon’s penchant for matchmaking. But Joe had a good home with Santana and the rest of the Dark clan, and that was all that mattered.

  She hurried, not allowing herself to enjoy the unbidden fantasy of soaping Santana’s strong body. Toweling off, sighing with contentment now that she was refreshed and a meal was waiting, she jumped into some comfy gray sweats, pulled her wet hair into a loose ponytail, then padded down the hall, her nose leading the way to the delicious smell of warming pot roast.

  “We have company,” Jenny said, grinning from ear to ear because Santana had made himself quite at home at her kitchen table, with a German shepherd puppy in his arms, another at his feet.

  “I brought dinner,” Santana said.

  “So did I.” She tried to act like Santana showing up in her kitchen was no big deal, but frankly, it was a big deal even by Star Canyon’s fast-and-furious matchmaking standards.

  “I brought dinner for Gus and Bean.” Santana couldn’t have looked sexier if he’d tried, and Emma was aware Jenny was trying not to laugh at the stunned expression on Emma’s face. Big and hunky in worn blue jeans and a dark blue shirt, his gaze on hers—and what woman could resist a man who loved animals?

  “Gus and Bean?” She got a sparkling water from the fridge, gulped at it, trying to cool down her suddenly very nervous libido. The sexual tension kicking in caught her off guard. At first she’d thought she was having some kind of weird hot flash, then realized the only flash she was having was a major Santana flash.

  Which meant it had been way too long since she’d been kissed by a man. Really kissed—and then some.

  “Your puppies.” He kissed the one he held and handed him to her. “Jenny said they’re called Gus and Bean.”

  “Sure. Why not.” She hadn’t named them yet because she’d just taken them in when she’d been contacted by a rescue society for veterinary care. Emma shot a glance at Jenny, who had a distinctly pleased air about her as she took the plates of pot roast from the oven.

  “There you go.” Jenny looked at both of them. “I’ve got to scoot, kids. Early morning tomorrow, and I still have tons of studying to do. Case law really takes it out of a girl.” She patted the newly christened Gus and Bean, then pulled on her coat and a red-striped muffler. “You be good boys for your mom tonight. You
don’t know it, but you’ve landed in pretty awesome digs. Welcome home, Santana.” She waved at Emma and departed on a rush of cold air that gusted into the kitchen when she opened and closed the door.

  Santana studied her. “I didn’t really bring dinner for Gus and Bean. I brought it for us, and I think Jenny figured that out. I didn’t mean to run her off.”

  Emma shook her head. “She’d been here all day, now that she’s assigned herself chief babysitter for the puppies. I’m sure she’s happy to get home. Besides, she took one of your meals.”

  He glanced at the huge white plastic sack he’d put on the table. “She sure did, the minx.”

  “Mm.” Emma got up on a bar stool. “To what do I owe the honor?”

  He passed her a plastic takeout dish. “Joe sends his regrets and promises he’ll learn manners quickly.”

  She could have sat and stared at Santana all night. She’d heard he’d been a sniper, and that he’d been awarded commendations for kills. He wouldn’t talk about his last deployment if she asked, so she focused on the food he’d brought. “I’ll split my pot roast with you, and I’ll rob you of half of Joe’s offerings. I’m too starved to be polite.”

  “I took a chance that food would get me in the door, so help yourself.” He grinned, a charming bad boy. “I think I also owe you for a pair of jeans. Connie said yours ripped yesterday when Joe knocked you down.”

  “You don’t owe me a thing.” Emma perked up. “However, the clinic could use some things.”

  “You haven’t changed, and I’m happy to see it.”

  Emma hesitated. “Of course I’ve changed. You’ve changed, too.”

  “No. You’re still Emma, the girl with the heart of gold.”

  “Hardly. My heart is steel, that’s all. And not too proud to beg when it comes to the clinic. Now, about a donation.” She smiled, and he smiled back, warming her. “We could use some fence repair out back, because I’d like to have a genuine dog run for the dogs to get fresh air. A kennel, so they can get exercise. We have the space, but the fence isn’t secure, not for the bigger dogs, and certainly not for the diggers.”

  “I’ll get my brothers on it. It’ll be done faster than you can blink.”

  Emma smiled. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. That was an easy one.” He certainly didn’t look all that concerned, although it was a big project. Emma decided she’d save that detail for later. No reason to scare him off.

  When had Santana ever been afraid of anything?

  “Anyway,” Santana said, “it appears there’s been plenty of gossip going around about us.”

  Folks in Star Canyon embellished if there weren’t solid details to work with. “It’ll blow over.”

  “That’s just the thing. I’m kind of hoping it doesn’t. I was going to try that theory on you, see how you feel.”

  Her heart kicked up uncomfortably. For some reason, her traitorous eyes wouldn’t stop staring at his nicely shaped mouth, his broad shoulders—oh, just all of him. “Why would you want to encourage gossip?”

  He shrugged. “You and I will both know there’s nothing to the rumors.”

  She wanted there to be something. The problem was, she was no sex kitten. This was as sexy as she got most days: springy wet hair, no makeup, rushing from home to clinic and back. She wasn’t the type of woman Santana would go for. Even in high school, he’d run with a faster crowd than hers—and sexy, athletic Donna Adams with the sleek blonde hair had been his steady.

  Of course, Donna had three kids now and a job at Toby Smith’s Quick-Mart, so the sexy had worn off a bit. Donna was one of the sweetest people Emma knew, but back then, she’d been a little envious of Donna catching Santana’s attention.

  Now he was offering her a relationship of sorts—but there were dangers for her.

  “So you don’t want me to deny the gentle-natured ribbing and matchmaking of our friends.”

  “Right.” He nodded. “They’ll just make up something if we discourage them, and what they make up might be worse. No harm, no foul.”

  “You’re the guy who’s going to have no sex life if people have you heading to the altar with me. Fair warning.”

  “What about your sex life?”

  “My sex life?” she asked. Emma straightened her shoulders, trying to look like she remembered what a sex life even was.

  “Sierra told me you and Foster are kind of a thing, but then I heard Foster’s getting married soon. Catch me up on the Star Canyon news.”

  Emma wrinkled her nose. “Sierra told a tiny whopper.”

  “Tiny?”

  “I’m trying to be polite.”

  “Ah. Good of you.” He looked at her so intently she wished she was in his lap, his mouth on hers—

  Whoa. Stop that, she told her frazzled, sex-deprived body.

  “So you’re not pining for Foster?”

  “Foster and I were a thing, a while ago. Long over.” She realized she’d never pined for Foster, not the way she’d pined for Santana. “He’s getting married soon, and I couldn’t be happier for him,” she said definitely. “Foster and I were more friends than we were soul mates.”

  He smiled at her, and Emma felt it inside her soul. Her heart melted into a puddle of gooey mush.

  “And you?” she said, hating that she asked.

  “Nothing of any great interest.”

  Oh, damn. There was that smile again, letting her know she’d have to dig harder to get more information out of him. He wasn’t going to make it easy, teasing her with mystery. He was here in her house, he’d accepted Joe with good grace, and okay, she’d always wondered if that graduation-day kiss had been that awesome, or if she’d just been innocent and shell-shocked by being kissed by Santana Dark.

  They had to get off this topic. She drank some tea, deciding to go for nonchalant. “It won’t matter, since we’re not going to be denying any rumors, I guess.”

  He leaned back and grinned. “I like the sound of that. Benefits for both of us.”

  Benefits? She hadn’t had any benefits in a long time. “Here’s the thing,” Emma said, her heart racing like mad. She got up, crossed around the table, approached him. “Don’t let this scare you, but—”

  “Sweetheart, there’s very little that scares me.”

  She looked into his eyes. Santana gazed back at her, completely oblivious to what her traitorous body was urging her to do. It was now or never. Her courage was tiny, a fractional small voice of daring shouting at her to get her inner sex kitten on—so Emma leaned close, placing her lips against his, closing her eyes tightly.

  Felt him freeze.

  She was making an ass of herself.

  She gasped as he hauled her into his lap, taking her mouth with his, holding her in his big strong arms, her face held gently in his hands. Eagerly she leaned into the kiss, sighing as she felt his hands roam under the waistband of her sweats. All the lightning bolts she remembered hit her all over again, only now she wanted more. She wanted him to kiss her and never stop.

  He stopped. Looked into her eyes. Carefully set her out of his lap.

  “I’ve got to get back for chores with my brothers. But you’ll have your fence by next week, and it’ll be digger-proof and jumper-proof.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say, she was on a limb she’d never been on before. He shoved his hat on, shot a last glance her way, and went out the door.

  Just like that.

  Suddenly she felt like she had the day he’d kissed her at graduation, practically having heart failure because the Big Man on Campus had kissed her.

  Great, a little more awkward in my life is just what I needed.

  But the kiss had felt wonderful while it lasted. Sweet and gentle yet somehow demanding, his hand pressing her tight against his body as their lips met over and over. Tingles shot over her, goose-pimpling her skin.

  Yet he’d torn out of her house faster than Joe could grab a steak.

  She didn’t have to wait for N
ew Year’s to start her list of resolutions. Right at the top of the list was to stay away from Santana Dark’s sexy mouth and his hunky body. Be professional when he brought Joe to the clinic, and never, ever fall into his arms again.

  Chapter Three

  By the weekend, Emma’s clinic had a fence so escape-proof it was like the canine version of Ft. Knox—no dog was breaking in or out of the new runs. The clinic patients could exercise to their hearts’ content. He’d kept his mind on Emma, and off anything to do with his family. And wasn’t that the reason he’d stayed out of the country so long?

  But today’s meeting couldn’t wait any longer. There was no ignoring the fact that their father was never coming back, his body had never been recovered.

  It felt weird as hell sitting in this huge room in a sumptuous office in Albuquerque. Santana and his siblings grouped around a long, oval, mahogany table that looked like it was shined daily. Wide windows revealed the bustling city below. Santana idly wondered why their father hadn’t used a less ostentatious firm to handle his estate. A local attorney in Star Canyon could have handled it, but then Santana realized that they hadn’t had a lawyer there in some years. Folks always wanted to move to the bigger cities with more lucrative clients.

  If they could wrap this thing up fast, maybe he could get home in time to stop by and see Emma, Gus, Bean, the cat, the whole menagerie. He’d stop by and get Joe, take him along.

  The thought made him smile in spite of the sadness of the occasion. Santana realized he’d needed that, needed to know that life was going to go on, and that there was something on the other side from this wrap-up of his father’s affairs.