Texas Wild

by Brenda Jackson

  She shifted her body closer, settling as intimately as a woman still wearing clothes could get, at the juncture of his legs. The moment she felt his hard erection pressing against her, she shifted her stance to cradle his engorged shaft between her thighs.

  If he didn’t slow her down, he would be hauling her off to that blanket she’d spread on the ground. Thoughts of making love to her here, in such a beautiful spot and under such a stunning blue sky, were going through his mind. But he knew she wasn’t ready for that. She especially wasn’t ready to take it to the level he wanted to take it.

  His thoughts were interrupted when he felt her hand touch the sides of his belt, trying to ease his shirt out of his pants. She wanted to touch some skin, and he had no problems letting her do so. He shifted again, a deliberate move on his part to give her better access to what she wanted, although what she wanted to do was way too dangerous to his peace of mind. It wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge.

  When he felt her tugging at his shirt, pulling it out of his jeans, he deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue farther into her mouth and then flicking it around with masterful strokes. He wasn’t a man who took advantage of women, but then he was never one who took them too seriously, either, even while maintaining a level of respect for any female he was involved with.

  But with Megan that respect went up more than a notch. She was a Westmoreland. So were his sisters. That was definitely a game changer. Although he wanted Megan and intended to have her, he needed to be careful how he handled her. He had to do things decently and in the right order. As much as he could.

  But doing anything decently and in the right order was not on his mind as he continued to kiss her, as his tongue explored inside her mouth with a hunger that had his erection throbbing.

  And when she inched her hand beneath his shirt to touch his skin, he snatched his mouth from hers to draw in a deep breath. He held her gaze, staring down at her as the silence between them extended. Her touch had nearly scorched him it had been so hot. He hadn’t been prepared for it. Nor had he expected such a reaction to it.

  He might have reeled in his senses and moved away from her if she hadn’t swiped her tongue across her lips. That movement was his downfall, and he felt fire roaring through his veins. He leaned in closer and began licking her mouth from corner to corner. And when she let out a breathless moan, he slid his tongue back inside to savor her some more.

  Their tongues tangled and dueled and he held on to her, needing the taste as intense desire tore through him. He knew he had to end the kiss or it could go on forever. And when her hips began moving against him, rotating against his huge arousal, he knew where things might lead if he didn’t end the kiss here and now.

  He slowly pulled back and let out a breath as his gaze seized her moistened lips. He watched the eyes staring back at him darken to a degree that would have grown hair on his chest, if he didn’t have any already.

  “Rico?”

  Heat was still simmering in his veins, and it didn’t help him calm down when she said his name like that. “Yes?”

  “You did it again.”

  He lifted a brow. “What did I do?”

  “You kissed me.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, and you kissed me back.”

  She nodded and didn’t deny it. “We’re going to have to come to some kind of understanding. About what we can or cannot do when we’re alone.”

  His smile deepened. That would be interesting. “Okay, you make out that list, and we can discuss it.”

  She tilted her head back to look at him. “I’m serious.”

  “So am I, and make sure it’s a pretty detailed list because if something’s not on there, I’ll be tempted to try it.”

  When she didn’t say anything, he chuckled and told her she was being too serious. “You’ll feel better after getting dinner. You missed lunch.”

  She shook her head as he led her over to the horses. “I wasn’t hungry.”

  He licked his mouth, smiled and said, “Mmm, baby, you could have fooled me.”

  Six

  Once they had gotten back to the ranch and dismounted, Rico told the ranch hand who’d come to handle the horses not to bother, that he would take care of them.

  “You’re from Philadelphia, but you act as if you’ve been around horses all your life,” she said, watching him remove the saddles from the animals’ back.

  He smiled over at her across the back of the horse she’d been riding. “In a way, I have. My maternal grandparents own horses, and they made sure Savannah and I took riding lessons and that we knew how to care for one.”

  She nodded. “What about Jessica?”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute and then said, “Jessica, Savannah and I share the same father. We didn’t know about Jess until I was in college.”

  “Oh.” Megan didn’t know the full story, but it was obvious from Rico and Savannah’s interracial features that the three siblings shared the same father and not the same mother. She had met Rico and Savannah’s mother at one of Jessica’s baby showers and thought she was beautiful as well as kind. But then Megan had seen the interaction between the three siblings and could tell their relationship was a close one.

  “You, Jessica and Savannah are close, I can tell. It’s also obvious the three of you get along well.”

  He smiled. “Yes, we do, especially since I’m no longer trying to boss them around. Now I gladly leave them in the hands of Chase and Durango and have to admit your cousins seem to be doing a good job of keeping my sisters happy.”

  Megan would have to agree. But then she would say that all the Westmorelands had selected mates that complemented them, and they all seemed so happy together, so well connected. Even Gemma and Callum. She had visited her sister around the time Gemma’s baby was due to be born and Megan had easily felt the love radiating between Gemma and her husband. And Megan knew Callum Junior, or CJ as everyone called him, was an extension of that love.

  “We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning, Megan.”

  She glanced back over at Rico, remembering what he’d said when he’d first arrived. He had come for her. “And just where are we supposed to be going?”

  She couldn’t help noticing how a beam of light that was shining in through the open barn door was hitting him at an angle that seemed to highlight his entire body. And as weird as it sounded, it seemed like there was a halo over his head. She knew it was a figment of her imagination because the man was no angel.

  “I’m taking you back to Forbes with me,” he said, leading both horses to their stalls. “You did say you wanted to be included when I uncover information about Clarice.”

  She felt a sudden tingling of excitement in her stomach. Her face lit up. “Yes,” she said, following him. “You found out something?”

  “Nothing more than what I told you before. However, my man who’s doing internet research came across a recent news article. There’s a woman living in Forbes who’ll be celebrating her one-hundredth birthday today. And she’s lived in the same house for more than seventy of those years. Her address just happens to be within ten miles of the last known address we have for Clarice. We’re hoping she might remember her.”

  Megan nodded. “But the key word is remember. How well do you think a one-hundred-year-old person will be able to remember?”

  Rico smiled. “According to the article, she credits home remedies for her good health. I understand
she still has a sharp memory.”

  “Then I can’t wait for us to talk to her.”

  Rico closed the gate behind the horses and turned to face her. “Although I’m taking you along, Megan, I’m still the one handling this investigation.”

  “Of course,” she said, looking away, trying her best not to get rattled by his insistence on being in charge. But upon remembering what Ramsey had said about letting Rico do his job without any interference from her, she decided not to make a big deal of it. The important thing was that Rico was including her.

  He began walking toward the ranch house, and she fell in step beside him. “What made you change your mind about including me?” she asked as she tilted her head up.

  He looked over at her. “You would have shown up in Forbes eventually, and I decided I’m going to like having you around.”

  Megan stopped walking and frowned up at him. “It’s not going to be that kind of party, Rico.”

  She watched how his lips curved in a smile so sensuous that she had to remind herself to breathe. Her gaze was drawn to the muscular expanse of his chest and how the shirt looked covering it. She bet he would look even better shirtless.

  Her frown deepened. She should not be thinking about Rico without a shirt. It was bad enough that she had shared two heated kisses with him.

  “What kind of party do you think I’m having, Megan?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

  He chuckled. “That’s easy because I’m not having a party. You’ll get your own hotel room, and I’ll have mine. I said I wanted you. I also said eventually I’d have you if you came with me. But I’ll let you decide when.”

  “It won’t happen. Just because we shared two enjoyable kisses and—”

  “So you did enjoy them, huh?”

  She wished she could swipe that smirk off his face. She shrugged. “They were okay.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Just okay? Then I guess I better improve my technique the next time.”

  She nibbled on her bottom lip, thinking if he got any better she would be in big trouble.

  “Don’t do that.”

  She raised a brow. “Don’t do what?”

  “Nibble on your lip that way. Or else I’m tempted to improve my technique right here and now.”

  Megan swallowed, and as she stood there and stared up at him, she was reminded of how his kisses could send electrical currents racing through her with just a flick of his tongue.

  “I like it when you do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Blush. I guess guys didn’t ever talk to you that way, telling you what they wanted to do to you.”

  She figured she might as well be honest with him. “No.”

  “Then may I make a suggestion, Megan?”

  She liked hearing the sound of her name from his lips. “What?”

  “Get used to it.”

  * * *

  Rico sat on a bar stool in the kitchen while talking to Clint. However, he was keeping Megan in his peripheral vision. When they’d gotten back to the house, Clint had been eager to show Rico a beauty of a new stallion he was about to send to his sister Casey to train, and Alyssa wanted to show Megan how she’d finished decorating the baby’s room that morning.

  Cain was awake, and, like most three-year-olds, he wanted to be the life of the party and hold everyone’s attention. He was doing so without any problems. He spoke well for a child his age and was already riding a horse like a pro.

  Rico had admired the time Clint had spent with his son and could see the bond between them. He thought about all the times he had wished his father could have been home more and hadn’t been. Luckily, his grandfather had been there to fill the void when his father had been living a double life.

  Megan had gone upstairs to take a nap, and by the time he’d seen her again it had been time for dinner. She had showered and changed, and the moment she had come down the stairs it had taken everything he had to keep from staring at her. She was dressed in a printed flowing skirt and a blouse that showed what a nice pair of shoulders she had. He thought she looked refreshed and simply breathtaking. And his reaction upon seeing her reminded him of how it had been the first time he’d seen her, that day three months ago.

  “Rico?” Clint said, snapping his fingers in front of his face.

  Rico blinked. “Sorry. My mind wandered there for a minute.”

  “Evidently,” Clint said, grinning. “How about if we go outside where we can talk without your mind wandering so much?”

  Rico chuckled, knowing Clint knew full well where his concentration had been. “Fine,” he said, grabbing his beer off the counter.

  Moments later, while sitting in rocking chairs on the wraparound porch, Clint had brought Rico up to date on the horse breeding and training business. Several of the horses would be running in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in the coming year.

  “So how are things going with the investigation?” Clint asked when there was a lull in conversation. “Megan mentioned to Alyssa something about an old lady in Forbes who might have known Clarice.”

  “Yes, I’m making plans to interview her in a few days, and Megan wants to be there when I do.” Rico spent the next few minutes telling Clint what the news article had said about the woman.

  “Well, I hope things work out,” Clint said. “I know how it is when you discover you have family you never knew about, and I guess Megan is feeling the same way. If it hadn’t been for my mother’s deathbed confession, Cole, Casey and I would not have known that our father was alive. Even now, I regret the years I missed by not knowing.”

  Clint stood and stretched. “Well, I’m off to bed now. Will you and Megan at least stay for breakfast before taking off tomorrow?”

  Rico stood, as well. “Yes. Nothing like getting on the road with a full stomach, and I’m sure Chester is going to make certain we have that.”

  Clint chuckled. “Yes, I’m certain, as well. Good night.”

  By the time they went back into the house, it was quiet and dark, which meant Alyssa and Megan had gone to bed. Rico hadn’t been aware that he and Clint had talked for so long. It was close to midnight.

  Clint’s ranch house was huge. What Rico liked most about it was that it had four wings jutting off from the living room—north, south, east and west. He noted that he and Megan had been given their own private wing—the west wing—and he couldn’t help wondering if that had been intentional.

  He slowed his pace when he walked past the guest room Megan was using. The door was closed but he could see light filtering out from the bottom, which meant she was still up. He stopped and started to knock and then decided against it. It was late, and he had no reason to want to seek her out at this hour.

  “Of course I can think of several reasons,” he muttered, smiling as he entered the guest room he was using. He wasn’t feeling tired or sleepy so he decided to work awhile on his laptop.

  Rico wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting at the desk, going through several online sites, piecing together more information about Fanny Banks, when he heard the opening and closing of the door across the hall, in the room Megan was using. He figured she had gotten up to get a cup of milk or tea. But when moments passed and he didn’t hear her return to her room, he decided to find out where she’d gone and what she was doing.

  Deciding not to turn on any lights, he walked down the hall in darkness. When he
reached the living room, he glanced around before heading for the kitchen. There, he found her standing in the dark and looking out the window. From the moonlight coming in through the glass, he could tell she was wearing a bathrobe.

  Deciding he didn’t want to startle her, he made his presence known. “Couldn’t you sleep?”

  She swung around. “What are you doing up?”

  He leaned in the doorway with his shoulder propped against a wall. “I was basically asking you the same thing.”

  She paused a moment and didn’t say anything and then said, “I tried sleeping but couldn’t. I kept thinking about my dad.”

  His brows furrowed. “Your dad?”

  “Yes. This Saturday would have been his birthday. And I’m proud to say I was a daddy’s girl,” she said, smiling.

  “Were you?”

  She grinned. “Yes. Big-time. I remember our last conversation. It was right before he and Mom got ready to leave for the airport. As usual, the plan was for Mrs. Jones to stay at the house and keep us until my parents returned. He asked that I make sure to help take care of Gemma, Bailey and the twins. Ramsey was away at college, Zane was about to leave for college and Derringer was in high school. I was twelve.”

  She moved away from the window to sit at the table. “The only thing was, they never returned, and I didn’t do a good job of taking care of Bailey and the twins. Gemma was no problem.”

  Rico nodded. Since getting to know the Denver Westmorelands, he had heard the stories about what bad-asses Bailey, the twins and Bane were. And each time he heard those stories, his respect and admiration for Dillon and Ramsey went up a notch. He knew it could not have been easy to keep the family together the way they had. “I hope you’re not blaming yourself for all that stupid stuff they did back then.”

  She shook her head. “No, but a part of me wishes I could have done more to help Ramsey with the younger ones.”