Texas Heat

by Barbara Mccauley

  “A penny for your thoughts.”

  Startled, Savannah turned. It was Sam. “I was just enjoying the music,” she said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

  “Alone?” He leaned a shoulder on the trunk of the tree and faced her.

  She forced a smile. “I’m afraid my admirers left me in lieu of ice-cream sundaes.”

  “Not all your admirers,” he said, leaning closer.

  The bark of the tree scraped against Savannah’s back as she inched away. “You have a lovely home,” she said, ignoring Sam’s blatant come-on.

  “You never got a chance to accept my invitation to come out to the ranch one afternoon. We could go to dinner after.”

  After what? Savannah wanted to ask. “Uh...why don’t I call you?”

  He leaned away and looked at her for a long minute. “Maybe I’ve misunderstood your relationship with Jake,” he said carefully. “If I’m stepping in on his—”

  Savannah felt her cheeks flame. “You’re not stepping in on anything. I’m here as Emma’s aunt and guardian, nothing else.” She emphasized “else.”

  “I see.” Sam lifted one eyebrow and smiled. “Well, then, as Emma’s aunt and guardian, are you also handling her business affairs?”

  She didn’t like the word “affair” when Sam McCants was involved. “What business affairs?”

  “The land J.T. left Emma,” Sam said. “I’ve tried to talk to Jake about buying it, but he’s managed to avoid the subject every time I bring it up.”

  Avoidance is Jake’s specialty, Savannah thought. “What about the land?”

  “I could use some extra grazing land.” He leaned closer to her again. “Maybe we can work out a deal that will satisfy both of us.”

  “It’s not for sale.”

  Savannah jumped at the sound of Jake’s voice. He stood a few feet away, his thumbs shoved tightly in his belt loops, his gaze intense as he stared first at Sam, then at her. A wave of relief washed over her at his timely interruption, but for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why she also felt guilty.

  “Everything has a price, Jake.” Sam smiled and leaned back against the tree. “Name it. Emma could use college money more than grazing land.”

  “I’m touched you’re so concerned about my sister’s education,” Jake said dryly. “But I’ll manage to pay for her college when the time comes.”

  He’d pay for her college? Savannah started to object, but the men were too busy testing their testosterone levels to pay her any attention.

  Sam pushed away from the tree. “Dammit, Jake, if you weren’t so bullheaded, you just might see—”

  “The only thing I see—” Jake took a step closer to Sam “—is you butting in where you aren’t invited. You stick your nose in my business again and you’ll be breathing out the back of your head.”

  Savannah stared at the two men in disbelief. They stood nose to nose, their eyes narrowed and bodies tense. What was going on here? Even though she realized that wars were fought over land, these two looked as if they were ready to kill each other.

  She stepped beside Jake and laid a hand on his arm. “Jake,” she said tightly, “can we please talk about this later?”

  He stared down at her hand. “I’ll wait for you and Emma in the truck.” He looked back at Sam. “Some things don’t have a price tag, Sam. Not for any amount.”

  His body rigid, Jake turned and walked away. Savannah stared after him, unsure if she should follow and try to talk to him. Right now, though, it might be like trying to talk to a fence post. Clearing her throat, she turned back to Sam and smiled awkwardly. “I—I’m sorry. Emma’s land seems to be a sensitive subject with Jake.”

  Sam shook his head. “That wasn’t about Emma’s land, Savannah.” He leaned back against the tree again and looked at her curiously. “He wasn’t even this touchy with Carolyn, his ex.”

  Carolyn. Jake’s ex-wife. Savannah hadn’t even known her name. “You knew her?”

  He nodded grimly. “I knew her.”

  It was none of her business, she told herself. Still, a driving need to know more about the woman nagged at Savannah. “Were they married long?”

  Sam shrugged. “They probably felt as if they had been, but it was actually only a couple of years. She had a romantic notion of what ranch life was like and he wanted kids. Seems they both lost out.”

  Jake had said his wife left because of money, but Sam was implying it was more than that. Though tempted to question him further, Savannah knew she had no right. If Jake wanted her to know something, then he’d tell her himself.

  Yeah, sure, he would. Just like he’d told her about the land.

  She faced Sam and offered her hand. “Thank you for including Emma and me tonight, Sam. We had a nice time.”

  Sam wrapped his fingers around hers and grinned. “Don’t mention it. And if Jake can’t get his head out of a dark place, give me a call. I have the feeling it just might be worth Jake rearranging my nose.”

  He walked away, whistling, and Savannah stared thoughtfully after him. Something told her there was a lot more going on between Sam and Jake than either one of them had let on.

  “Aunt Savannah!”

  She turned sharply at the sound of Emma’s call. Her niece was running across the yard with her friend, Amy.

  “Aunt Savannah! Aunt Savannah!” Emma launched herself at Savannah and threw her arms around her waist. “Amy asked me to come to her birthday party tomorrow and Jessica says I can spend the night with her and she’ll take me to the party tomorrow. Can I please, please go?”

  Off balance, Savannah grabbed hold of her niece so they wouldn’t both fall. It took a moment to absorb the child’s words.

  “I don’t know, Pecan. We really can’t ask Jessica—”

  Jessica walked up then. “It’s no problem at all. I’d love for Emma to stay with me. We can shop in the morning for a present and I can bring her home after the party.”

  “Please, please,” both Emma and Amy echoed.

  Savannah looked down at the children’s pleading faces, then at Jessica. They all stared at her expectantly. How could she say no?

  She drew a slow breath and nodded. Emma and Amy screamed and hugged each other, then Emma kissed Savannah goodbye and the girls ran off.

  “She’ll be fine,” Jessica reassured Savannah with a hug, then followed the girls.

  Savannah swallowed down the tight feeling in her throat as she watched them walk away. It wasn’t Emma she was worried about, Savannah thought. It was herself.

  She and Jake were going to be alone.

  * * *

  Jake swung his pickup off the main road and headed for the ranch. Savannah sat beside him, her arms folded stiffly as she stared out the window. The silence between them had been as brittle as dried corn husks. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and floored the accelerator. How did women always do that? he thought angrily. Turn a situation around so the men were the bad guys. Did they learn that in school, or was there some secret ritual where they passed on every annoying habit that drove men crazy from one generation of females to the next?

  She grabbed hold of the armrest as he hit a ditch, but still refused to look at him. Good, he thought. If he was going to be annoyed, he wanted some company.

  He stopped the truck in front of the house and came around to open Savannah’s door, but she’d already slid out of the cab herself and brushed past him.

  She was also limping.

  “What’s wrong with you?” He followed her.

  She took another step, then winced. “My feet hurt.”

  A smart reply was on the tip of Jake’s tongue, but when Savannah bent over to pull off one of her boots, any intelligible word he might have uttered flew out the window. She obviously had no idea that the view she suddenly offered of her rounded derriere was like a white-hot kick in the gut.

  Jaw slack, he stood there, taking in the erotic sight of her. As she pulled off her second boot, her hair spilled ov
er her shoulder, reminding him of wheat fields under a midnight moon. Her long legs were bare, and he followed the slender curve all the way from her toes up to the edge of her short skirt, which skimmed the enticing flesh where thigh met buttocks.

  Boots in hand, Savannah straightened and wiggled her toes. She closed her eyes and the soft sigh of contentment that passed between her parted lips had Jake silently cursing. She had to be doing this to him on purpose. She couldn’t be so naive that she didn’t realize the effect she had on him.

  After Jake reminded himself to breathe, he dragged his gaze away from Savannah’s legs and moved past her. Teeth set, he held the front door open for her as she walked tentatively up the steps and into the house.

  Inside, moonlight washed the living room in pale silver. He watched as Savannah set her boots by the couch, then sank into the cushions with a small groan.

  “You should have warned me that Texans like to dance so much. I would have worn slippers, instead of new boots.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “I think I know what the term ‘bone tired’ really means.”

  He thought about turning on the light, but didn’t. Instead, he moved over to the couch and stared down at her. Her lashes were dark against her pale skin, her lips full. He watched the soft rise and fall of her breasts and knew he should leave. Now.

  He sat down beside her.

  Savannah felt the cushion beside her dip beneath Jake’s weight. Cautiously she opened her eyes and stared at him. Considering the mood he’d been in since he’d walked up to her and Sam, she’d expected him to storm off to his room the minute they got inside.

  The soft hum of the refrigerator filled the silence, and somewhere a clock was ticking. As she met his dark gaze, the anger drained away and her heart began to pound heavily.

  He was close. So incredibly, wonderfully close. The faint smell of sandalwood after-shave drifted to her, mixed with the intoxicating scent of Jake’s own masculinity. The combination was exciting, and the curling sensation in her stomach spread through her like warm honey.

  When he reached down and pulled her leg across his thigh, she pulled away.

  He tugged her gently back. “Relax.”

  “Jake, I don’t—”

  “Simon says, relax, Savannah.”

  A shiver whispered over her skin when he said her name. And she also realized he’d been watching her as she’d played games with the children. Her breath caught as his hand slid over her calf.

  This isn’t a good idea, she reminded herself, but when his hand moved down to her foot, tingles shot from the tips of her toes to the tips of her fingers. She laid her head back and sighed.

  “You danced a lot tonight,” he murmured.

  But not with you. “What did you do?”

  “I was around.”

  With that redhead? Savannah wondered. “Around where?”

  Jake was amazed at how smooth Savannah’s skin was. Like rose petals. He moved up to her ankle, then skimmed his palm over her calf. He knew he should stop. But he couldn’t. It wasn’t humanly possible. And he was feeling extremely and primitively human at the moment.

  He wanted to possess this woman. In every way. He wanted her body and her heart and even her soul. He wanted his name on her lips, her body writhing under his. The image of her in any other man’s arms, even his own brother’s, sent a wave of fury through him. He tightened his hold on her, shifting his weight on the couch, pressing her back against the cushions with his body. Her eyes flew open at the sudden movement.

  “I’ll tell you where I was, Savannah. I was at the bar, determined to forget about you. Determined that I wouldn’t touch you again or dream about you night after night. I thought I could drown the ache that rips me in two every time I look at you, but it didn’t take long to realize that nothing was going to ease that pain.”

  He stared down at her wide eyes, felt her tremble against him. “Nothing except this.”

  He caught her mouth with his, felt the protest as she surged upward. But when her lips opened to his and her arms came around his neck, he realized there was no protest, only acceptance.

  Her surrender aroused him fully, invoking a sense of power in him he’d never before experienced. The velvet stroke of her tongue against his own was as heady as any wine, as electrifying as a bolt of lightning. The small whimper that shuddered from her throat into his nearly sent him over the edge.

  He pulled his mouth from hers and dragged a hot trail of kisses down her throat. “Savannah,” he said roughly, “you’ve got to tell me now if you want me to stop. God help me, I won’t be able to in three seconds.”

  Savannah stilled, and the sound of her heart thundered in her head. Three seconds to make a decision that she knew would change the rest of her life. There could be no recriminations later, no excuses that she hadn’t been aware of what she was doing. Immediately her mind began to argue with her body. He’ll hurt you, Savannah. He’s made it clear he doesn’t want commitment. This is purely physical....

  But the feel of his mouth on her neck drove every rational thought from her mind. The time had come to trust her heart, not her head. She wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. There would be a price to pay, and that was something she would have to accept.

  Her hands moved sensuously down his chest toward his belt buckle. “Don’t stop,” she whispered.

  Relief swept over Jake, followed by a wave of desire so strong it frightened him. He hesitated at the thought. Sex had never frightened him before. Not even his first time when he was sixteen. So why now? Why was this different?

  Savannah felt Jake’s hesitation and she slowly opened her eyes. She saw the uncertainty in his gaze and knew he was wrestling with some inner demon. She also knew that he wanted her; the arousal pressing against her thigh proved that. And she wanted him. More than she ever would have dreamed possible. They would both have to deal with their own demons later, but for now, there was only this moment. No yesterday. No tomorrow. No land. No Emma.

  She drew him to her as if he were her next breath, her next heartbeat. “Make love to me, Jake,” she whispered against his mouth. “Please.”

  Savannah’s soft plea was Jake’s undoing. His control snapped and he went over the edge he’d been desperately clinging to. His lips covered hers again and again, making love to her mouth while his hands slipped down to cup her breasts. Her sharp intake of breath spurred him on and he quickly tugged her blouse from the waist of her skirt. His fingers slid over the warm skin of her stomach then deftly unsnapped the front clasp of her bra. He filled his hands with her soft firm flesh, massaging the hard peaks of her nipples with his thumbs. She moaned into his mouth.

  “Savannah,” he murmured, his voice raspy, “you’re making me crazy.”

  She wanted to tell him she was just as crazy, but it was impossible to think. And when she felt his lips move down her neck, then lower still, she gave up trying. Deftly he unbuttoned her blouse and pushed the fabric out of the way. Sensation after incredible sensation rippled through her as his mouth closed over the tip of one aching breast. His tongue was hot and moist and she cried out, arching toward him, raking her nails over his shoulders.

  He lavished the same attention on her other breast, until she thought her bones might melt from the sheer heat.

  Breathing heavily, he dragged himself away from her and stood, reaching down to take her hand. “In the bedroom,” he said raggedly. “I...have protection in there.”

  Protection? Her eyes widened as his meaning sank through the fog of pleasure surrounding her. Dear Lord, she thought, taking his hand, how could she have forgotten? Embarrassment heated her cheeks and neck. A moment of awkwardness came over her, but he pulled her to him and when his mouth covered hers, she knew this was right, that she was where she belonged.

  They moved toward the bedroom slowly, wrapped in each other’s arms. He kissed her deeply, again and again, shedding her blouse and bra along the way while she worked at the buttons of his shirt. Savannah
slid her hands over Jake’s chest and he moaned, stopping in the hallway to press her back against the wall while he slipped her skirt down. Except for her panties, she was naked. His hands cupped her bottom and he lifted her against him, pressing his arousal against the juncture of her thighs.

  Their gazes locked in the dim light, and as she slipped her fingers between them and unhooked the button of his jeans, a blaze of passion burst forth in Jake’s eyes. The soft rasp of his zipper and the heavy sound of their breathing filled the warm night air. Her fingers slid under the waistband of his jeans.

  Jake took hold of Savannah’s hand and stopped the path her fingers had taken. “We’ll never make it to the bedroom if you do that,” he said hoarsely, then lifted her. He stared into her eyes, his gaze narrowed and intense. “Wrap your legs around me.”

  She did and he moaned, pressing her back against the wall again as he moved his lips over hers. He pulled her tightly to him and carried her to the bedroom, letting her slide down his body as he released her.

  “Now, Savannah,” he said huskily.

  Her heart pounded with an urgency she’d never felt before. Spreading her fingers, she slid her hands down Jake’s hard chest, then slid his jeans and briefs downward. His hips were smooth and lean, muscled like a powerful sleek animal. His arousal was powerful, exciting, but she suddenly felt unsure of herself.

  Sensing her uncertainty, his hands closed over her wrists, guiding her to him. He whispered her name, encouraging her, and soon she felt the power of her own sexuality. She heard him moan and the response she elicited excited her beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Velvet steel, she thought.

  He turned away from her, reaching to the nightstand, and a moment later he wrapped his arms around her and they fell to the bed. His hand slid along the side of her body, over her hip, pulling her panties away.

  He entered her in one furious thrust.

  Savannah gasped, and a wave of intense pleasure burst inside of her. Closing her eyes, she instinctively lifted her hips. A sound, more animal than human, rumbled from deep in Jake’s throat.

  “Open your eyes,” he said roughly. “Look at me, Savannah.”