His To Claim (The Westmoreland Legacy Book 4)

by Brenda Jackson

  She felt so much love and desire. So much need.

  From the first, when he’d introduced her to lovemaking for the very first time, she’d never wanted a man the way she did him. That thought rang through her mind every time her body lowered down on him and then lifted up. Her knees ground into his side and it seemed instead of reining him in, it spurred him to lift up the lower part of his body to meet hers.

  Her fingers gripped his shoulders and his hands were wrapped around her waist. Suddenly, his hands moved up to the back of her neck to maneuver her head down to capture her lips. His tongue took control of hers and she could feel his heat, every ounce of strength within him and the full throttle of his masculinity.

  Suddenly, a bolt of sensation struck her. She pulled her mouth from his to scream as an orgasm tore through her and she could feel the same rip through him. He quickly reclaimed her mouth and switched their positions where she was now beneath him, their limbs entwined, their bodies plastered together.

  Moments later, when he broke off the kiss, she slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him. In a voice filled with sexual exhaustion, she said, “Plan accomplished, Mr. McRoy.”

  * * *

  Mac woke the next morning to glance down at the beautiful woman in his arms. Their second round of lovemaking had completely worn out his wife—to the point where she’d immediately drifted off to sleep.

  Easing out of the bed, he closed the door behind him and went into the sitting area to call his teammates. If he didn’t, they would wonder why he hadn’t returned home by now.

  He told them about his surprise and what he’d guessed it was. Of course, Bane, Viper and Coop were excited at the prospect of Tia getting a horse. They would be, since they owned plenty of horses and the animals had been part of their lives for years. All three owned ranches and Bane had family members—a brother and several cousins—who raised and trained horses for a living. Mac admitted that after thinking about it, he’d decided Tia having a horse wouldn’t be so bad. Especially since she did enjoy her riding lessons. Coop, who had a ranch in Laredo, even explained to Mac the best way to ship the horse to Virginia.

  Mac recalled the horse that had been kept for him at his grandparents’ ranch in Florida. Riding that horse had been the highlight of his summers each year, when he and his sister would leave the city to enjoy their time with their grandparents.

  From the bright light coming in through the window, he figured it was about eight, and a glance at the clock on the nightstand confirmed it. He would let Teri sleep. Once she awakened, their day would get started. He figured, at least he hoped, she would take him to see the “surprise” so they could get back home to the girls.

  * * *

  “I love Dallas,” Teri said, looking around after the waitress had taken their order.

  They had decided to get out of the hotel to dine at a small café within walking distance. What Mac liked about this particular café was that it was one of those mom-and-pop establishments and wasn’t crowded. Only a few of the tables were taken.

  He leaned back in his chair while sipping on his coffee as he gazed over at her. He’d drifted back to sleep after his phone call to his teammates and he and Teri had awakened just before noon. Hungry. He hadn’t asked her anything other than how soon they could eat since they’d skipped breakfast.

  “Do you?” he asked her.

  “Yes. Have you forgotten I used to live not far from here?”

  She was right. He had forgotten.

  He’d never visited her in Terrell, where her grandparents’ ranch had been located. But he did recall how hard the decision had been for her to sell it. “Yes, I had forgotten,” he admitted. “I guess a lot of things bring back memories for you here.”

  “Yes,” she said wistfully.

  He reached across the table and took her hand into his. “I don’t have a problem with that, just as long as they don’t include an old boyfriend.”

  She chuckled. “They don’t. If you recall, I was too busy trying to juggle both school and the rodeo to have a steady beau.”

  He did recall her telling him that one of her grandparents’ stipulations about her involvement with the rodeo meant she had to also do well in school and college. Since education was important to him, he could see him making a similar stipulation with Tia if she ever decided she wanted to one day compete on the rodeo circuit like her mother had done. He’d long accepted the rodeo might be in his oldest daughter’s blood and he was preparing for that day.

  “I find that odd,” she said suddenly.

  He lifted a brow and looked at Teri. “You find what odd?”

  “That man and his daughter. Their behavior.”

  He glanced across the room. The little girl who sat across the man appeared to be about eight. The two were eating breakfast and he didn’t see anything the least bit strange about them. They were just two people eating breakfast.

  “What’s so odd about them?” he asked, looking back at his wife.

  “She seems petrified of him.”

  Mac again glanced at the two. Again, he saw nothing amiss. The man seemed to be enjoying breakfast and the kid was not eating anything. In his opinion, the little girl appeared defiant, not afraid. “He probably laid down the law about something she didn’t like. It happens, Teri.”

  “How would you know?” she asked, grinning.

  “What do you mean how would I know?”

  “That’s what I’m asking. When have you ever laid down the law to your girls?”

  He grinned back when he actually couldn’t think of one single time. “I have good girls. I don’t have to lay down the law. I lay it down to their mother, who I’m sure passes that law on to them when needed.”

  Teri rolled her eyes. “You come home after I’ve established the law and let them break it.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  Mac smiled. Okay, maybe he did. “So, I spoil them a little whenever I’m home. Is there anything wrong with that?”

  “Yes, a lot.”

  He didn’t want to argue with her about it right now and was glad when the waitress delivered their meal.

  * * *

  Teri clicked off her cell phone after talking with Mac’s parents to check on the girls. According to them, everything was fine. Mac had gone to the men’s room and she was slipping her phone back into her purse when her eyes fell on the table where the man and girl still sat.

  She had tried not to stare, but more than once her gaze had been drawn to the two. Regardless of what Mac said, Teri was convinced something wasn’t right. She was about to take another sip of her tea when the girl caught her eye while the man talked on the phone. There was a look in the little girl’s gaze as they stared at each other. The man noticed the exchange and frowned at Teri, quickly clicking off the phone and saying something to the girl, who looked at him with what Teri felt was fear in her eyes.

  Then, as she continued to watch them, the girl intentionally swept her plate and eating utensils to the floor. The man stood and grabbed the girl, nearly snatching her off her feet.

  Teri was out of her seat in a flash and had crossed the room. “Turn her loose,” she told the man.

  He pulled the child behind him. “Do you dare to interrupt me chastising my child?”

  “Yes, because if she was yours, you wouldn’t handle her that way.”

  “Get out of my way, lady.”

  “No, I won’t. Prove she’s yours.” Teri knew they were drawing stares and she didn’t care.

  “You either get out of my face so I can get my child out of here or I will—”

  “You will what?”

  Before he could respond the little girl said, “He’s not my daddy!”

  When the man turned as if he was going to give the child a slap, Teri pushed him and grabbed the child. Now it was t
he man hollering. “She took my child.”

  “What the hell is going on here?”

  Teri immediately recognized Mac’s booming voice. When the man tried to push Teri aside to reclaim the child, Mac intervened to protect her and shoved the man back instead, nearly knocking him to the floor.

  “I asked, what the hell is going on?” Mac roared again.

  “This woman took my child,” the man snapped, straightening on his feet.

  Mac looked at his wife, who had a furious expression on her face. There was no doubt in his mind she was ready to fight to shield the child if she had to. Teri Anne McRoy, the mother, was showing her protective colors.

  Mac then looked at the little girl hiding behind Teri, who seemed to be holding on to his wife for dear life. He saw the fear in her small eyes. His gaze shifted back to Teri and before he could ask her anything, she got back in the man’s face and said, “This child isn’t yours. She gave me the signs.”

  “What signs?” Mac asked, trying to figure out why his wife thought this girl was not the man’s child.

  Teri glanced at her husband. “The same ones I’ve told our daughters to make if they were ever taken against their will.”

  “She’s crazy!” the man shouted. “That is my child.”

  “Prove it!” Teri snapped at the man.

  Mac noticed the man had yet to ask anyone to call for the police. Leaning down to the child, who was still clutching Teri, he asked, “Is he your father?”

  The little girl shook her head. “No. He took me from Mommy.”

  “She lies! She is my daughter!” the man shouted.

  “Then prove it,” Mac said, backing up Teri by making the same demand she had earlier. He noticed the other customers in the restaurant were evidently suspicious of the man’s relationship with the little girl and were taking out their cell phones.

  The man reached into his jacket as if he was going to pull out his wallet. Instead he pulled out a revolver and pointed it at them. “Give me the girl!”

  Teri knew from the growl she heard from Mac that all hell was about to break loose. Mac could handle himself and would protect her. Teri’s main concern was the child. When the man repeated his words, someone in the restaurant shouted, “The police are on their way.”

  That announcement angered the man. He tried reaching for the girl and Teri snatched back at the same time Mac moved forward, knocking the gun out of the man’s hand before giving him a hard blow to the gut, sending him sprawling to the floor. When he made an attempt to get back up, Mac knocked him out cold.

  “Teri, you could have gotten killed,” Mac said. She heard the anger in his voice.

  She smiled up at him before leaning up on tiptoe and kissing him on the cheek. “Not with my husband standing here protecting me. You’re my hero.”

  She then looked down at the little girl and asked softly, “Are you okay?”

  Instead of answering, the little girl threw herself into Teri’s arms and cried. Moments later, the police burst into the restaurant.

  Fourteen

  Mac sat beside Teri at police headquarters while she gave a statement regarding what had happened in the restaurant.

  The little girl had been reported missing that morning, snatched from her mother in broad daylight at a shopping mall. Instead of taking her immediately into hiding, the man had probably figured he had time to enjoy a meal first with her in plain sight. As Teri spoke to the police, explaining why she’d decided to come to the girl’s aid, he could see obvious admiration and respect in the officers’ eyes.

  “His name is Leonard Caper and he has a rap sheet a mile long. This was the first time he tried snatching a child. He’s confessed to some guy paying him to do it, pick up any little girl. He’s singing like a canary and we’re following up all leads,” a police detective was saying.

  “Well. I’m glad he’s off the street and I hope you get everybody who’s involved.”

  “Yes, ma’am, we intend to.”

  Mac and Teri had met the little girl’s parents. They hadn’t wasted any time arriving at the police station to get their daughter. He doubted he’d ever met two more thankful individuals. The girl’s mother had thrown her arms around Teri and cried profusely. Teri had cried, too. As the father of four girls he understood the father’s need to get a piece of the guy, and more than one officer had to hold the man back from doing just that.

  “If there’s a trial, ma’am, you might be called back to testify,” the detective added.

  “I don’t have a problem doing that if needed.”

  “Thanks, we appreciate it. And there is a ten-thousand-dollar reward for you, Mrs. McRoy. It was set up by the Dallas Fire Department, where the little girl’s father is employed.”

  Teri shook her head. “I don’t want it. Give it to the parents to go toward the little girl’s college education.”

  Even more admiration shone in the officers’ eyes. “You will have to sign papers for that to be done.”

  “Sure, I can do that,” Teri said.

  Mac raised a brow when Teri turned to him with a worried look on her face.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked her.

  “I hope not keeping that money is fine with you. We didn’t discuss it.”

  “And there’s no need. I agree with what you’ve decided to do. Besides, it was your money to do whatever you want with.”

  Teri shook her head. “No, it’s our money. That’s the way it is between us, Mac.”

  He knew that to be true. That was the way it was between them. Mac sighed deeply. They still had a lot of talking to do, things he needed to find out that he still didn’t know. Namely, what she had bought that had her anxious.

  One thing he’d discovered today was that his wife was capable of holding her own, even without him.

  * * *

  “Man, do us a favor,” Bane said, as he and his teammates talked to Mac on the phone later that day. “You and Teri need to go home as soon as a flight can get you there. Instead of spending quality time together, the two of you are doing nothing but finding trouble to get into.”

  Mac couldn’t help laughing at that, since it certainly seemed that way. They had finished giving their statements to the police but not before the news reporters had gotten there. “I’m just glad Teri picked up on the fact that little girl was in trouble. I hadn’t suspected a thing.”

  “That just goes to show that she has certain skills you don’t have, Mac. When will you realize you have a special woman on your hands?” Coop asked. “It’s all over the news how she faced that man and took that girl from him.”

  That part angered Mac. “She could have gotten hurt. That bastard had a gun.” Mac didn’t think he would ever forget the moment when that man had pulled his weapon out and pointed it at them. Namely, at Teri.

  “And you got back in time to take care of business like you were supposed to do,” Viper said.

  “I’m going to make sure my daughter knows the signs when she grows up. People are messed up these days,” Coop tacked on.

  “Just the thought of that bastard assuming he could snatch somebody’s kid like that,” Flipper said. “It was a good thing you and Teri were there.”

  Mac nodded. “Well, it was almost too much action for me,” he said. “I expect it as a SEAL but as a civilian? What’s wrong with coming home to peace and quiet?”

  “Nothing is wrong with it, unless you’re married to Teri,” Bane said, laughing.

  Mac chuckled, knowing he wouldn’t have it any other way. Moments later, after ending the call with his friends, he left the sitting area to go into the bedroom, where Teri was just clicking off her own phone.

  She glanced up at him. “That was the folks. They saw us on television. The girls saw us, as well. They think their parents are heroes.”

  Mac smiled. “You mean they think
their mom is a hero. You’re the one who figured the kid was kidnapped. You want to tell me about these signs?”

  She smiled over at him. “Keep your fingers on one hand crossed, and when you can, get someone’s attention.”

  “And the kid did that?”

  “Yes. She was sitting with her fingers crossed, and after you left, she knocked her dishes off the table, hoping to get someone’s attention. But I was already on it.”

  “Apparently.” He had walked out of the restroom to return to his table, only to find Teri confronting the kidnapper, with the child cowering behind her. He was certain that had he not knocked the man out then Teri would have done so herself. After ten years of marriage, he was surprised to be seeing his wife in a new light.

  “Her parents told her what to do and she did it. Like I told the police, she was a real trouper. If anyone was a hero, that little girl was.”

  “Well, more than ever I’m ready to go home,” Mac said. “When are we going to see the horse?”

  She lifted a brow. “What horse?”

  “I figured that was the surprise. Am I right?”

  She shook her head. “No, you aren’t right.”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute and then he asked, “Then what kind of surprise is there here in Dallas? What on earth could you have bought here?”

  “Nothing in Dallas.”

  He lifted his own brow. “Then where, Teri?”

  “In Terrell. I was able to buy back my ranch. So I did.”

  * * *

  Mac stared at her, certain he’d heard her wrong. “Could you say that again?”

  She nodded. “I got a chance to buy back my grandparents’ ranch due to a ‘first right of refusal’ clause I had included in the contract when I sold it. That meant the current owners had to offer it to me first before they put it on the market.”