“Yes,” he said between clenched teeth. “I know all about your little visit that night when I was drugged up on pain medication.”
She blinked. “You know?”
“Yes, and I couldn’t figure out why you, a virgin, would get into my bed and take advantage of me. And, yes, I do remember you were a virgin even if I couldn’t recall your identity.”
She angrily reared up on her haunches. “I did not take advantage of you! I was helping you back into bed after you fell. If anything, you’re the one who took advantage of me.”
“So you say.” He could see fury consume her body. and smoke was all but coming out her ears, but he didn’t care.
She rolled off the bed and stood in front of him, almost nose to nose. “Are you insinuating I slept with you that night to deliberately get pregnant? And that I only slept with you last night and this morning for the same reason?”
“What am I supposed to think?”
She threw her hair over her shoulders. “That maybe I am different from all those other women you spend your time with, and that I would not have an ulterior motive like that,” she all but screamed at him.
“You said you had your reasons.”
“Yes, I have my reasons and they have nothing to do with getting pregnant by you, but everything to do with being in love with you. Do you have any idea how it is to fall in love with a man knowing full damn well he won’t ever love you back?”
“In love with me,” he said in a shocked stupor. “Since when?”
“Since I was sixteen.”
“Sixteen!” He shook his head. “Hell, I didn’t know.”
She placed her hands on her hips and her eyes sparked with fire. “And you weren’t supposed to know. It was a secret I had planned to take to my grave. Then like a fool I rushed over to your place when I heard you’d gotten hurt. And when you fell, I rushed up the stairs to help you back into bed and you wouldn’t get off me.”
He lifted a brow. His head was still reeling from her admission of love. “Are you saying I forced myself on you?”
“No, but I would not have gotten into bed with you if you hadn’t fallen on top of me. And then, when you began kissing me, I—”
“Didn’t want me to stop,” he finished for her. Her cheeks darkened and he knew he’d embarrassed her. “Look, Lucia, I—”
“No, you look, Derringer. You’re right. The thought of pushing you off me only entered my mind for a quick second, but I didn’t set out to get pregnant by you that night or any other night.”
“But you let me make love to you without any protection.” He remembered all too well that he hadn’t used a condom this time either.
“Then I can accuse you of the same thing. Trying to get me pregnant,” she all but snarled.
“And why would I do something like that?”
“I don’t know, but if you’re willing to think the worst of me, then I can certainly do the same thing with you. You had taken the condom out of your wallet last night, why didn’t you put it on?”
Derringer tensed. To say he’d been too carried away with making love to her would be to admit a weakness for her that he didn’t want to own up to. “I think this conversation has gotten out of hand.”
“You’re right. I want you to leave.”
He arched his brow. “Leave?”
“Yes. And my front door is that way,” she said as she pointed to the door.
He narrowed his eyes. “I know where your door is located and we haven’t finished our conversation.”
“There’s nothing else left to say, Derringer. I’ve already told you more than I should have and I’m ashamed of doing it. Now that you know how I feel, I won’t let you take advantage of those feelings. For me it’s even more important to protect my heart more than ever. Nothing has changed from the way you’ve always looked at me. Most of the time you acted like I didn’t exist.”
“That’s not true. I told you I was attracted to you a few years back.”
“Yes, and I honestly thought it meant something and that you were seeking me out after all that time. Now I know you only did so because you knew I was the one who slept with you that night.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment and then asked, “How did you know? I figured you wouldn’t remember anything.”
He jammed his hands into his jeans. “Oh, I remembered just fine, and you left a little something behind that definitely jogged my memory. Something pink and lacy. I just couldn’t remember who they belonged to. My security system gave me the answers I needed. I had video cameras installed outside my place last month. You were the woman I saw entering my house that evening and the same one I saw sneaking out the next morning with a made-love-all-night-long look all over you.”
Lucia tightened her bathrobe around her. “Like I said, that wasn’t the purpose of my visit. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“It had been storming that night. You hate storms. Yet you came to check on me,” he said.
That realization touched something within him. The reason he knew about her aversion to storms was because of something Chloe had once teased her about from their college days in Florida that involved a torrential thunderstorm and her reaction to it.
“Doesn’t matter now.”
“And what if I say it matters to me?” he all but snarled.
“Then I would suggest you get over it,” she snapped back.
“I can’t. I want to be with you again.”
She narrowed her gaze. “And I told you that we won’t be together that way ever again. So get it through that thick head of yours that I won’t become just another woman you sleep with. You have enough of those.”
Emotions he had never felt before stirred in Derringer’s stomach. He should leave and not come back and not care if he ever saw her again, but for some reason she had gotten in his blood and making love to her again hadn’t gotten her out. Instead the complete opposite had happened; she was more in his blood than ever before.
“I’ll give you time to think about what I said, Lucia.” He turned to leave the room knowing she was right on his heels as he moved toward the living room.
“There’s nothing to think about,” she snapped behind him.
He turned back around after snagging his Stetson off the rack. “Sure there is. We will be making love again.”
“No, we won’t!”
“Yes, we will,” he said, moving toward the door. “You’re in my blood now.”
“I’m sure so are a number of other women in this town.”
There was no point in saying that although he’d had a lot of women in the past, none had managed to get into his blood before. When he got to the door, he put on his hat before turning back to her. “Get some rest. You’re going to need it when we make love again.”
“I told you that we—”
He leaned forward and swiped whatever words she was about to say from her lips with a kiss, effectively silencing her. He then straightened and smiled at the infuriated face staring back at him and tipped the brim of his hat. “We’ll talk later, sweetheart.”
He opened the door and stepped outside and it didn’t bother him one bit when she slammed the door behind him with enough force to wake up the whole neighborhood.
* * *
Chloe leaned forward and kissed Lucia on the cheek. “Hey, cheer up. It might not be so bad.”
Lucia covered her face with both hands. “How can you say that, Clo? Now that Derringer knows how I feel, he’s going to do everything in his power to find a weakness to get me back in his bed. I should never have told him.”
“But you did tell him, so what’s next?”
She lowered her hands and narrowed her eyes. “Nothing is next. I know what he’s after and it’s not happening. And just to think he knew I was the one who slept with him that night, when silly me thought he didn’t have a clue. And now he wants to add me to his list.”
Chloe raised a brow. “Did he actually say that?”
>
“He didn’t have to. His arrogance was showing and that was enough.” She doubted she could forget his exit and his statement about their talking later. She was so angry with him. The only good part about his leaving was the mesmerizing view of his backside before she slammed the door shut on him.
“I’ve known Derringer a lot longer than you, Chloe, and he doesn’t know the meaning of committing to one woman,” she decided to add.
Chloe shrugged. “Maybe he’s ready to change his ways.”
Lucia rolled her eyes. “Fat chance.”
“I don’t know,” Chloe said, tapping her finger against her chin. “Of the three die-hard-bachelor Westmoreland men who hang tight most of the time—Jason, Zane and Derringer—I think Jason will get married first…then Derringer…and last, Zane.” She chuckled. “I can see Zane kicking, screaming and throwing out accusations all the way to the altar.”
Lucia couldn’t help but smile because she could envision that as well. Zane was more of a womanizer than Derringer. Jason didn’t have the reputation the other two had, but he was still considered a ladies’ man around town because he didn’t tie himself down to any one woman.
“Derringer is so confident he’s getting me back into his bed again, but I’m going to show him just how wrong he is.”
Chloe took a long sip of her iced tea. She had been out shopping and had decided to drop by Lucia’s. Unfortunately, she had found her best friend in a bad mood and it didn’t take long for her to get Lucia to spill her guts about everything.
“Now, tell me once more your reason for not wanting to sleep with Derringer again.”
Lucia rolled her eyes as she sat back on the sofa. “I know how those Westmoreland brothers and cousins operate with women. I don’t want to become one of those females, pining away and sitting by the phone hoping I’m next on the list to call.”
“But you’ve been pining away for Derringer for years anyway.”
“I haven’t been pining. Yes, I’ve loved him, but I knew he didn’t love me back and I accepted that. I was fine with it. I had a life. I didn’t expect him to phone or show up on my doorstep making booty calls.”
Chloe laughed. “He didn’t make a booty call exactly. He did take you out on a date.”
“But that’s beside the point.”
Chloe leaned forward, grinning. “And what is your point exactly? I warned you that once you had a piece of a Westmoreland you’d become addicted. Now you’ve had Derringer more than once, so watch out. Staying away from him is going to be easier said than done, Lucia.”
Lucia shook her head. “You just don’t understand, Chloe.”
Chloe smiled sadly. “You’re right, I don’t. I don’t understand how a woman who loves a man won’t go after him using whatever means it takes to get him. What are you afraid of?”
Lucia glanced over at Chloe. “Failing. Which will lead to heartbreak.” She drew in a deep breath. “I had a cousin who had a nervous breakdown over a man. She was twenty and her parents sent her all the way from Nashville to live with us for a while. She was simply pathetic. She would go to bed crying and wake up doing the same thing. It was so depressing. I hate to say this, but I couldn’t wait until she pulled herself together enough to leave.”
“How sad for her.”
“No, that’s the reality of things when you’re dealing with a man like Derringer.”
Chloe quirked a brow. “I still think you might be wrong about him.”
Lucia figured she couldn’t change the way her best friend thought; however, she intended to take all the precautions where Derringer was concerned. Now he saw her as a challenge because she was the woman not willing to give him the time of day anymore.
Some men didn’t take rejection well and she had a feeling that Derringer Westmoreland was one of them.
Nine
Jason snapped his fingers in front of Derringer’s face. “Hey, man, have you been listening to anything I’ve said?”
Derringer blinked, too ashamed to admit that he really hadn’t. The last thing he recalled hearing was something about old man Bostwick’s will being read that day. “Sort of,” he said, frowning. “You were talking about old man Bostwick’s will.”
Herman Bostwick owned the land that was adjacent to Jason’s. For years, Bostwick had promised Jason if he ever got the mind to sell, he would let Jason make him the first offer. The man died in his sleep and had been laid to rest a couple of days ago. It didn’t take much to detect from the look in Jason’s eyes that he wanted the land and Hercules, Bostwick’s prize stallion. A colt from Hercules would be a dream come true for any horse breeder.
“So who did he leave the land to?” Derringer asked. “I hope it didn’t go to his brother. Kenneth Bostwick is one mean son of a gun and will take us to the cleaners if we have to buy the land and Hercules from him.”
Jason shook his head and took a sip of his beer. “The old man left everything to his granddaughter. Got Kenneth kind of pissed off about it.”
Derringer lifted a brow. “His granddaughter? I didn’t know he had one.”
“It seems not too many people did. I understand that he and his son had a falling-out years ago, and when he left for college the son never returned to these parts. He married and settled down in the South. He had one child, a girl.”
Derringer nodded and took a sip of his own beer. “So this granddaughter got the land and Hercules?”
“Yes. The only good thing is that I heard she’s a prissy miss from Savannah who probably won’t be moving here permanently. More than likely she’ll be open to selling everything, and I want to be ready to buy when she does.”
Jason then slid down to sit on the steps across from him, and Derringer looked out across his land. It was late afternoon and he still couldn’t get out of his mind what had happened earlier that day with Lucia. If she thought he was done with her then she should think again.
He glanced over at his cousin. “Have you ever met a woman that got in your blood, real good?”
Jason just stared at him for a long moment. It didn’t take much to see that Derringer’s question had caught his cousin off guard. But he knew Jason; he liked mulling things over—sometimes too damn long.
“No. I’m not sure that can happen. At least not with me. Any woman who gets in my blood will end up being the one I marry. I don’t have a problem with settling down and getting married one day, mind you. One day, when I’m ready, I want to start a family. I want to will everything I’ve built up to my wife and kids. You know what they say, ‘You can’t take it with you.’”
Jason then studied Derringer. “Why do you ask? Have you met a woman that’s gotten deep in your blood?”
Derringer glanced away for a moment and then returned his gaze to Jason. “Yes…Lucia.”
“Lucia Conyers?”
“Yeah.”
Jason stood, almost knocking over his beer bottle. “Damn, man, how do you figure that? You only had one date with her.”
Derringer smiled. “I’ve had two. We went skating last night.” He didn’t say anything and wanted to see what Jason had to say. Jason sat back down without opening his mouth.
“She’s different,” Derringer added after a moment.
Jason glanced over at him. “Of course she’s different. You’re not talking about one of your usual airheads or Derringer’s Pleasers. We’re discussing Lucia Conyers, for heaven’s sake. She used to be one of the smartest girls at her school. Remember when Dillon and Ramsey paid her to tutor Bailey that time so she wouldn’t be left back? Lucia was only seventeen then.”
Derringer smiled. He had almost forgotten about that time. And if he wanted to believe what she’d told him earlier, she had been in love with him even then. “Yes, I remember.”
“And remember the time Megan got her first A on a science project because she was smart enough to team up with Lucia?”
Derringer chuckled, recalling that time as well. “Yeah, I recall that time as well.” At least he did now.
“And you actually think someone that smart is destined to be your soul mate?”
“Soul mate?”
“Yes, if a woman is in your blood that much then it means she’s destined to be your soul mate. Someone you want to be with all the time. Think about it, Derringer. Like I said, Lucia is not some airhead, she’s pretty smart.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment as he studied his boots, grinning, thinking Jason’s question had to be a joke. Then he lifted his gaze to find a serious-looking Jason staring at him, still waiting for a response. So he gave him the only one he knew. “Yes, I’m not exactly a dumb ass, Jason, so what does her being so smart have to do with anything? And as far as being my soul mate if that means sharing a bed with her whenever I want, then I intend to do everything in my power to convince her that she is the one.”
Jason rolled his eyes and then rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he stared at Derringer. “So are you saying you’ve fallen in love with Lucia?”
Derringer looked taken aback. “Fallen in love with her? Are you crazy? I wouldn’t go that far.”
Jason appeared confused. “You have no problem wanting to claim her as your soul mate and sleep with her, but you aren’t in love with her?”
“Yes. That’s pretty much the shape and size of it.”
Jason shook his head, grinning. “I hate to tell you this, but I’m not sure that’s how it works.”
Derringer finished off his beer and said, “Too bad. That’s the way it’s going to work for me.”
* * *
On Monday morning, Lucia stood in the middle of her office refusing to let the huge arrangement of flowers get to her. They were simply gorgeous and she would be the first to admit Derringer had good taste. But she knew just what the flowers represented. He wanted her back in his bed and would try just about anything to get her there. She wished things could go back to how they used to be when he hadn’t had a clue about her feelings. But it was too late for that.
Six hours later, Lucia glanced over at the flowers and smiled. They were just as beautiful as they had been when they’d been delivered that morning. She glanced at her watch. She would leave in a couple of hours to go straight to class. Mondays were always her busiest days with meetings and satellite conference calls with the other Simply Irresistible offices around the country during the day and class at night.
Brenda Jackson The Westmoreland Series Books 16-20 Page 51
