Free Highly Compromised Position by Sara Orwig

“Leave it dark and let me look around first.”
    â€œYou’re scaring me with your precautions.”
    â€œGood. You need to be careful. Just don’t forget—you’re a Windcroft, you’re involved. Anyone on this place is at risk.” All the time he was talking, he was looking at the drive and yard, which were well lit with outside lighting.
    â€œâ€™Bye, darlin’,” he said, slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her to him to kiss her in a long, passionate, possessive kiss that curled her toes and stopped her breathing. And filled her with more regret.
    When he released her, he smiled, turned and left. She watched his long strides as he walked to his car and knew he was walking right out of her life.
    She had asked him to, but it still hurt. Deep inside, she had a knot of guilt and uneasiness. She should tell him about her pregnancy soon, but she needed space and distance before she could deal with him.
    She watched him drive away. With a sigh she closed the back door. Shivering, she rubbed her arms, feeling alone. Should she continue to go out with him so they had a chance to fall in love?
    She knew the answer was no because all too soon, when she revealed her pregnancy, he would want to marry her. She was certain he was the type to feel obligated.
    She switched off lights and went to bed, lying in the dark and remembering being in Tom’s arms, being lovedby him. She’d had a wonderful time—but duty couldn’t serve in place of love, and she wanted a marriage of love. She was certain to the depths of her being that Tom wouldn’t wait to give love a chance but would want to marry her immediately when he learned she was pregnant with his child.
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    Tom drove along the driveway, watching the swath of road that was revealed in his headlights, as well as glancing into the darkness on either side of the car, wondering if all was safe on the Windcroft land.
    When he returned to the Devlins’ D Bar V Ranch, he passed the sprawling one-story brick-and-frame ranch house. In the lush green lawn surrounding the house, automatic sprinklers sprayed silver arcs of water, creating an oasis in cactus and mesquite country.
    Dark shadows were broken by splashes of light from lamps on tall posts along the drive as he headed for the guesthouse.
    Once inside and reaching his bedroom, Tom stripped and sprawled on the bed, unable to sleep for thinking about Rose.
    If she wanted to break it off between them, he could. He had always known that a day would come when a woman would tell him to get out of her life before he was ready to walk away on his own, and it finally had happened.
    He wasn’t happy that she wanted to stop seeing him, but he would get over it and the time would come when it wouldn’t matter. They didn’t have a commitment or anything serious between them. He hadn’t been into obligations or long-term relationships and now he’d met a woman who wasn’t either.
    â€œServes you right,” he said aloud to himself. In any affair he had always been the one to walk. So she was the first this time—it wouldn’t matter. Sooner or later he would have wanted out. So why was he unhappy about it and unable to sleep?
    He groaned and switched his thoughts to the danger that surrounded the Windcrofts. Rose really shouldn’t be alone in the guesthouse. Tom was certain about that. She was far more vulnerable than she realized.
    He needed to call a Cattleman’s Club meeting to let them know about the truce between the Windcrofts and the Devlins. Sheriff O’Neal had asked his fellow club members for aid and, along with the sheriff, there were five of them working on solving Jonathan Devlin’s murder and trying to find who was behind the terrible things that had been happening at the Windcroft place.
    Mulling over the facts, Tom tossed and turned, but in too short a time he was back to thinking about Rose, admitting to