Bidding on a Texan

by Barbara Dunlop

  His passion crackled like a storm cloud breaking open in the sky. He hooked his thumbs under her panties and drew them down the length of her legs. He reached for the bedside drawer, then settled between her legs, reveling in her hands as they kneaded his back, moving lower, drawing him to her.

  He pulled away to drink in her beauty, cradled her face in his hands, smiled at the flush of her cheeks and the swell of her bottom lip. He kissed her sweetness, drawing out the moment.

  Then her hips tilted, legs wrapping around him, and with the barest of movements, they were one. He held still for as long as he could, but then she shifted and arched, and he moved with her, filling his heart and his mind with mindless pleasure.

  Holding still was impossible. Slowing was impossible. A primal need drove his movements, sweat glistening on his skin, his lungs filling with oxygen, and his heart pumping furiously to keep up with his demands.

  Gina’s breath came in sweet puffs against his face. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders. And her legs held him locked tight as he moved to a new plane of life.

  “Rafe!” she cried out, and a shudder ran through her.

  He followed her over, hot and gasping, closing his eyes to drink in every last ounce of bliss. Then he held her close, kissed her hairline, her temple, her mouth.

  As his breathing steadied, he rolled, easing her over on top of him, worried his weight would be uncomfortable.

  She lifted her head, still breathless, and blinked down at him. “Hi.”

  He grinned. “Hi.”

  “So...” She looked uncertain.

  “Together, together,” he said. There was no question about it.

  “Good thing we have a cover story.”

  Rafe didn’t want a cover story. He wanted to shout it to the world. But he’d do whatever she wanted. So he smiled and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

  “Deal,” she whispered. A moment later she was sliding off to the side.

  He wanted to hold her, stop her from leaving, but it wasn’t his choice. He forced himself to keep his hands still.

  But she didn’t leave. Instead, she snuggled up next to him, tucking her head in the crook of his arm.

  He smiled in deep satisfaction and settled into the most amazing fantasy.

  Nine

  Gina was dozing off in Rafe’s arms when a sudden thought hit her.

  “Oh, no.” She sat straight up.

  Rafe sat up with her. “What?”

  “I forgot about the hotel.” She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “I need to extend Anastasia’s stay at the Bellamy.”

  Rafe’s forearm suddenly looped around her waist, holding her back.

  “Hey,” she protested.

  “Let Matias worry about the hotel.”

  Gina shook her head. “I made it sound like the airline had canceled the flight. That means the Edmond Organization is responsible for her delay.”

  “I don’t know how you figure that.” Rafe gave a tug and pulled her onto her back on the soft bed, her head landing on a plump pillow. “This is Matias’s master plan.”

  “But we’re his collaborators. That comes with a certain responsibility.”

  “Fair point.” His gaze seemed to drink her in. “But I really don’t want to let you go.”

  “I’ll come back. I will. I just need my phone.”

  He leaned slowly down, barely brushing his lips against hers.

  Her stomach contracted. The insubstantial touch seemed somehow sexier than the lovemaking. And she’d have bet there was nothing in the world sexier than Rafe’s lovemaking.

  “Promise?” His whisper was a vibration.

  “Promise.”

  “Okay.” He sat up, then stood.

  “You don’t have to come with me.” She wondered if she should put her dress on for the walk to the kitchen, but that seemed silly if she was coming straight back.

  “I’ll get your phone,” he said, starting for the bedroom door.

  “You will?” she asked, pleasantly surprised by his chivalry.

  He waved at her behind his back. “Lie back down.”

  “Are you that afraid I won’t come back?” she called in a teasing tone.

  “No. I’m a gentleman.” His voice echoed along the hall.

  Smiling to herself, she resettled herself on the bed, drawing the sheet up over herself and gazing around Rafe’s bedroom. The white leather headboard highlighted a rock feature wall bracketed by two windows. A pair of steel-blue leather armchairs shared an ottoman and sat on a cream, taupe and pale blue mottled rug. There was a large oil painting on an eggshell wall, a ranch scene, the Cortez-Williams Ranch—she recognized the old cabin and the windmill. In the opposite corner was a huge plant pot with several different species around a miniature palm.

  Rafe returned and tossed her phone to her on the comforter.

  “Did you decorate this yourself?” she asked as she picked it up.

  “Yeah.” He looked around. “Why? Do you like it?”

  “It’s nicely coordinated.”

  He climbed in next to her on the bed, pulling the sheet to his waist. “I don’t strike you as coordinated?”

  She took in the square-shaded wall lights on either side of the bed and the sleek-lined bedside tables. “This doesn’t strike me as a rancher’s design.”

  “What, you expected a set of longhorns over the bed?” He didn’t seem annoyed, merely curious.

  “Something like that.”

  “I bought it out of a showroom,” he said.

  She didn’t understand.

  “I went into Willenberg’s downtown, saw this setup in the showroom and said I’d take the whole thing. Except for the painting. I commissioned the painting.”

  “I recognize it.” She looked down at her phone, seeing a text message from Anastasia. “She doesn’t seem upset.”

  “Who?” Rafe was focused on his own phone now.

  “Anastasia. She’s taking the delay in stride.”

  “Lucky Matias.”

  Gina smiled to herself. She could easily imagine the strapping, handsome Matias had something to do with Anastasia’s blasé reaction.

  She pulled up the hotel website, entering the Edmond account and password. With a few taps she’d extended the reservation two more nights. Then she forwarded the information to Anastasia.

  When she set down her phone, Rafe was still working away. She watched him for a few minutes, the focus and concentration on his face. “Are you a workaholic?”

  He glanced to her. “You’re the one who insisted we get our phones.”

  “I’m done. You’re still working.”

  “I let JJ know I loved the baking. He’s excited to get started.”

  “That’s all?” She didn’t believe him.

  “A couple other things, too.”

  “Ha! Caught. Workaholic.”

  “You know you’re never really off the clock when you own your own business.”

  Gina didn’t know that. She probably should have known that. She wondered if her brothers felt that way. The oil business was definitely all-consuming for her father, that was for sure.

  “What are you thinking?” Rafe asked. He was looking at her now.

  “It makes sense,” she said. “That you’d never truly forget about work.”

  “Does that upset you?” He waved his phone like he was offering to put it down.

  “Oh, no. It’s not that.”

  “Then what?”

  “It makes me wonder, is all.” What it would be like to be needed at the office, to not have unlimited time for tennis dates or riding or lunching at the Cattleman’s Club.

  “About?”

  “My own job.”

  He set his phone on the bedside table and sli
d down in the bed. “Tell me about it.”

  She was embarrassed.

  “A vanity position?” he gently asked.

  She nodded. “I never really worried about it. I mean, who wouldn’t love a big office, an expense account and little responsibility? I can attend any meeting, read any report, I just—”

  “Can’t have any impact?”

  She shook her head. “Exactly.”

  “Then they’re wasting a valuable resource. I saw how you managed the auction. You could apply those skills to anything you wanted.”

  She wasn’t so sure she could apply herself to the Edmond Organization. “There’s already Rusty and Ross and Asher. They even listened to the things Billy had to say, but not me.”

  “Have you ever tried?”

  “A few times. When I first got back from college. I’d learned some things, you know. I had some opinions.”

  He leaned his shoulder against hers, touched the side of his head to hers. “Nobody listened.”

  “Nobody listened. Are you pitying me?”

  “I’m mocking you, Princess.”

  That wasn’t the answer she’d expected. “What? Why?”

  “Because it’s your own fault.”

  She picked up the nearest pillow and bopped him in the stomach.

  He laughed. “You’re a member of the family, every bit as much as Ross or Asher.”

  “I can’t force them to listen to me.”

  “You can try.”

  Gina put an exaggerated pout on her face.

  He kissed her.

  “Hey.”

  “That wasn’t more mocking. It was just for fun.”

  She couldn’t exactly argue with that. Kissing Rafe was a whole lot of fun.

  “What would you do?” he asked.

  “In the oil business?”

  “Yes.”

  She did have one idea. It was something she’d wanted to bring up to Rusty for a while now. “Methane.”

  Rafe’s brow went up.

  “There are whole new ways to capture the off-gas methane from oil wells and convert it to energy—heat, even electrical. It protects the environment and provides a reduced-cost source of energy for the oil field operation.”

  He looked surprised. “Have you ever suggested it?”

  She shook her head. “They won’t even listen to my marketing ideas, never mind something operational.”

  He seemed to ponder. “Tie the idea to marketing.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know. It’s environmentally friendly—corporate reputation, maybe.”

  Gina’s brain lit up with the suggestion. She came to her knees and faced him, ideas forming one after the other. She grinned. “I can do something with that.”

  “Good,” he said.

  “You’re smart.”

  “You’re sexy.”

  “You’re off topic.”

  “No.” He reached for her. “I’m exactly on topic.”

  His touch was distracting, his kisses more so, and it was only seconds before she was succumbing to the luxury of his embrace.

  * * *

  Rafe expected Gina to forget about her offer of help with Royal Chamber of Commerce contacts. She’d been excited about pressing her family on the methane technology, and he knew she was already busy with planning her mother’s wedding. But even without her, RCW was pressing forward on his own.

  They didn’t want to spend a lot of money on the bakery launch, since that would defeat the whole purpose. But the staff members had enthusiastically stepped up to help control costs.

  Janelle, one of the hostesses, was studying graphic art and had mocked up a logo, while Samuel’s father had a wholesale line on display baskets. JJ’s mother had taken a no-nonsense approach to sizing up the kitchen and planning supplies, while virtually everyone had volunteered to help package the sample baking baskets. All that was left to Rafe was to find the right contacts and deliver sample baskets in the hopes of getting them to agree to sell the baking products.

  He was about to call Lila when JJ rapped twice and opened the office door.

  “What’s up?” Rafe asked from behind his desk.

  “It’s Matias. He’s in the dining room.”

  “Is he looking for me?”

  JJ shook his head. “He’s with a gorgeous woman. So far, he’s looking for two April Rain martinis.”

  Rafe immediately rose, curious to meet the woman, who had to be Anastasia.

  “If you’re doing a recon, report back,” JJ said.

  “Will do,” Rafe said as he cut through the kitchen.

  The couple was at a round table in a corner of the main dining room, a mini hurricane lamp flickering in the center of the white tablecloth.

  Rafe smoothly approached, keeping his voice low and conversational. “Hi, Matias.”

  Matias didn’t seem surprised to see him. “Anastasia, this is my brother Rafe.”

  Rafe turned his attention to the woman, offering his hand.

  She was stunningly beautiful, with porcelain pale skin, bright blue eyes and long platinum blond hair. Her smile revealed perfect white teeth as she accepted his hand.

  “Hello, Rafe.” Her fingers were long and slender, with a delicate emerald ring on her right hand. It matched her stud earrings and a small pendant that hung above the neckline of her peach-toned dress. Everything about her said class and dignity, even her smooth, gentle voice. “Matias told me about you.”

  “Nothing bad, I hope.”

  “All good. He promised I’d love RCW, and I do.”

  Rafe looked at his brother, who gave him a beaming smile that clearly asked if Anastasia was not the most amazing woman on earth. Rafe had to respectfully disagree; beautiful as she was, Gina had her beat. But he could see why Matias had wanted to keep Anastasia around for a while longer.

  “You’re from Boston?” Rafe asked her, detecting only a slight accent.

  “Born and raised, in Brookline to be precise.”

  “And you bid on this mangy cowboy?” She struck Rafe as much too refined for the daylong horseback riding adventure Matias had offered up.

  “I’ve always been a rebel.”

  “Did you ride in Boston?”

  “Some, English style mostly, but it translates.”

  “It translates perfectly,” Matias said and reached across the table for her hand, his eyes glowing.

  The waitress arrived with their lime-garnished glasses and frosted martini shakers, and Rafe moved to get out of the way. “Enjoy your meal.”

  “Thank you,” Anastasia said.

  “Can you stop by later?” Matias asked.

  “Sure. No problem.” Rafe was a little surprised Matias would want another interruption in his evening.

  As he made his way through the dining room, he stopped at a few tables to welcome the guests and ask how they were enjoying their meals.

  Laughing with one family foursome, he glanced up to see Gina standing in the entry lobby. His heart lifted at the sight of her, and he quickly wrapped up the conversation.

  She watched as he rounded the last few tables, smiling as he approached.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Hi, yourself.” He was ridiculously glad to see her.

  “I made some calls,” she told him. “I got a contact list from the chamber and reached out to grocery retailers. They’re all excited about the new product line.”

  “You did all that?” He was stunned.

  Now she looked puzzled. “I said I would.”

  “I know, but that was only Monday, and you’ve got other things on the go.”

  “Other things?”

  “Your work for Edmond, your mother’s wedding.”

  “I can multitask. And you’ll be happy to know my brid
esmaid dress still fits even after all those baking samples.”

  He brought up the fond memory. “Well, that’s probably because we—” Rafe stopped himself before he could finish the sentence. He also had to stop himself from brushing back her hair, reminding himself they were standing in a crowd. “Come back to the office.”

  “Okay.”

  He wanted to take her hand, but instead he simply led the way, cutting through the corner of the kitchen to the quiet and privacy of his office.

  As he shut the door, her gaze went to his desk and lingered there for a second. He hoped she was remembering their lovemaking. He’d never forget the feel of her body around his that night.

  He gestured to the armchair grouping beside the window. “Can I get you anything to drink? A cocktail or perhaps a glass of wine?”

  “Glass of wine, sure.”

  She sat down and crossed her long legs beneath her tidy steel blue dress as he called the front desk and asked for a bottle of his favorite merlot and two glasses. Then he joined her, sitting across the low coffee table.

  “I’ve made a spreadsheet.” She set a couple of pages in front of him. “It’s got the business name, owner, manager and purchasing contact, phone number, email address, and a short description of their initial reaction to the pitch.”

  “You made a pitch?”

  “I just reworded some of the stuff you said while we were sampling, plus a few of my own impressions of the quality to personalize it.”

  Rafe gazed at the pages in disbelief. “You did all this? For me?”

  “I thought that was what we agreed?” She sounded worried, like maybe she’d done something wrong.

  “Yes, yes, it was. I’m just astounded that you did such a great job.”

  “Don’t start sounding like my family.” There was a thread of annoyance in her voice.

  He looked up at her. “What?”

  “Don’t act surprised that I can tie my shoes.”

  “Tie your shoes?”

  “Correctly complete rudimentary tasks.”

  “This isn’t a rudimentary task. It’s fantastic. It’s perfect. We’ve been working on sample baskets, a logo, and now you—” He gave his head a little shake, telling himself to stop rattling on and get to his point. “This is exactly what we needed. Thank you.” He rose to give her a kiss of appreciation.