Propositioning Mr. Raine (Riding the Raines Book 1) Read online

  “I was trying to protect you,” Ryder said softly. “She was going to hurt you.”

  “She was going to hurt me?” Navarro yelled. “Her? You hurt me. You, man! I was happy with Trina but look at everything now. I told you to stay the hell away from her and to leave it alone but you didn’t. You fucked up everything. You told me she was married and lying to me.” He lowered his voice. “I was happy—and now she won’t even talk to me. I lost her.”

  Ryder sighed. “I didn’t fuck it all up, Nav. You have Tammy back.”

  Navarro closed his eyes as his shoulders sagged. “Get in your car and go back to your band before I beat the shit out of you, Ryder.” He took a deep breath. “Run before I kill your ass.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Trina glanced at the clock and frowned because it was nine-thirty at night, long after anyone should come to her front door.

  The doorbell rang again and seconds later, someone pounded on it repeatedly.

  She tied her robe tighter around her body as she walked down the stairs, turning on lights as she went. If that’s Paul, I’m going to grab an umbrella from the stand and beat him with it. She walked to the front door and flipped on the porch light.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s Navarro. Please open the door, Trina.”

  Surprised, she hesitated, trying to think, but her mind was blank of any reason he’d be there that wouldn’t make the situation worse. “Go away.”

  “Damn it, open up the door so we can talk.”

  “We have nothing to say to each other.”

  “Please, Trina? I’m not leaving. Don’t make me stand out here all night, because it looks like it’s going to rain and I won’t leave until you talk to me. I swear to God, I’ll sleep on your porch.”

  She looked at the door and found herself reaching for the locks, knowing it was a really bad idea. She unlocked the door and opened it a few inches to stare up at Navarro. He’d obviously changed clothes from when she’d seen him a few hours earlier at the diner, because now he was wearing a black sweater with jeans. She wasn’t sure why he was there but as she stared up at him, she really wished he weren’t. His hair was down and he looked angry as she met his eyes.

  “Can I come in?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “What did you want to talk about? Shouldn’t you be sleeping? It’s late. I was in bed.”

  “I went to bed at eight and laid there because I can’t sleep. Please let me in. We really need to talk and I don’t want to do it on the porch.”

  She stepped back and released the door, moving away a few feet as Navarro pushed it slowly open. He stepped into the house and glanced around the living room as he closed the door behind him. He took the room in with a quick sweep and then his gaze locked with hers.

  “I don’t even know where to start.”

  She hugged herself around her waist. “There’s nothing left to say. We should just go on with our lives like nothing ever happened. I think that’s the best way to handle this.”

  He frowned. “Bullshit. There’s plenty to say. Ryder left town because I was going to kill him and he damn well knew it. He fucked us up. I am so torn up right now.”

  She was trying to make sense of his words but he just wasn’t making any. “What does that mean?”

  His hand lifted but it dropped before he touched her. “Ryder said you were married and that he met your husband. He saw a photo of you…” His gaze left hers as he went to the fireplace.

  Trina turned to watch as Navarro lifted the picture of her and Ted from the mantel. He held it up, studying it, and softly cursed. He turned, showing her the picture. “Is this Ted?”

  “Yes. That was a few years ago.”

  “Ted and his asshole brother sure look a hell of a lot alike. Ryder noticed this and saw your brother-in-law, thinking you’d lied to me about being a widow. He told me that you’d lied just to have an affair on your rich husband, who had just come to town, and then he handed me the statement you wrote out that ended our contract as the proof. He met your brother-in-law, who reamed his ass about giving the ranch a loan and threatened to have Ryder arrested.”

  Navarro put the picture back. He faced it toward the wall so the photo of her and Ted no longer showed. “I believed the worst and I’m so sorry, Trina. I was so pissed I headed right to town to get shitfaced. I was feeling ten times the idiot for being fooled by another woman I trusted.”

  It hit her then. “That’s why you were so angry with me at the bar?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Angry doesn’t cover it. You know what my ex-wife did to me. I was the last one to know that she screwed half the guys in town before I was clued in. I was working my ass off trying to recover from my injury from the bull and trying to put the ranch back in order after my dad had let it go. I was busting my ass and my wife was doing any guy who said yes to her.” He paused. “I have trust issues. I think guys who screw married women are scum and I was so angry, thinking you’d used me like that and made me the kind of man I hate worst.”

  “I never lied to you, Navarro. Ted died last year. Paul and Ted look a lot alike. I wish you’d just picked up the phone and called me to ask me to explain.”

  “I should have.”

  They stared at each other until she looked away first. “Well, thank you for explaining why you were so angry. I thought you were upset about me forcing you into sleeping with me.”

  “What?” he nearly snarled.

  “Ryder came here and he told me how I’m not your type, how I’ll never be your type, and how you would do anything for your family to keep the ranch. He told me how you felt, and I’m so sorry I put you in that position. That’s what I tried to tell you in the bar. I was going to tell you how sorry I was.” She looked away and then her gaze lifted to meet his again. “If you’ll remember, I did offer to loan you the money without strings.”

  He took a step toward her. “Exactly what the hell did Ryder say?”

  Trina shrugged, looking away from him. “I don’t remember word for word. He just made it clear how you didn’t really want me and how you felt forced into it.” She refused to look at him now and put distance between them as she moved to the couch to sit, rubbing her fingers over the armrest.

  “Look at me.”

  She hesitated long seconds before lifting her chin. Their gazes locked. Navarro looked livid. “Ryder is full of shit and he wanted to fuck you. When he was feeding you this bullshit, didn’t my asshole brother hit on you?”

  She nodded. “He was waiting for me in my bedroom late Sunday night when I came in from the airport. He scared the shit out of me. He’d broken in and I was half naked by the time I realized he was there. He said he’d take over the contract and how he wanted me and how he even had a friend he could call to join us if I ever wanted a threesome. He scared me because he wouldn’t leave, no matter how many times I asked him to, so I locked myself in my bathroom.”

  “I’m going to kick his ass,” Navarro swore, his hands fisted at his sides while he stared at Trina. “How could you think I didn’t want you? You were in bed with me. You’ve had me inside you. You know damn well what happens between us when we touch.”

  “How could you think I was married and everything was a lie?”

  He took a step toward her and then stopped. “I miss you. I was happy with you and I looked forward to you coming over every night. Ryder put his nose in our business and fucked it all up. I am so sorry I believed the worst of you but damn it, I’ve been burned. It’s no real excuse but it’s all I’ve got. Whatever the hell he said to you, he was full of shit. He was worried that I’d get hurt because of the past and he knew you were under my skin. He didn’t know you, and he assumed you were some heartless slut who goes around paying men to fuck you on a regular basis. I told him he was way off base but then he had to go and start his shit because he wanted to fuck you himself.”

  She stared at Navarro, trying to take it all in. He was talking fast and rambling but she’d picked out som