Thorn's Challenge

by Brenda Jackson

  He then turned his full attention to Thorn. “And as far as Tara goes, I’ll bring her to Daytona when Shelly and I drive up.”

  “What!”

  Dare ignored the simultaneous exclamations from his brothers, as well as the cursing. Instead his gaze stayed glued to Thorn, who was visibly relieved.

  “Thanks, Dare,” Thorn said, and without giving his other brothers a parting glance, he turned and walked out of the house.

  It didn’t take long for the other three Westmoreland brothers to turn on Dare.

  “Sheriff or no sheriff, we ought to kick your ass, Dare,” Chase said angrily. “How can you even think about doing that to Tara? Thorn doesn’t mean her any good and she doesn’t deserve something like this. Thorn is planning on using her and—”

  “He loves her too much to use her,” Dare said softly, as he heard the roar of Thorn’s motorcycle pulling off.

  “Love? Dammit, Dare, weren’t you listening to anything Thorn said? He said he wasn’t in love with Tara,” Stone said angrily.

  Dare smiled. “Yes, I heard everything he said. But I believe differently. Take it from someone who’s been there, who’s still there. Thorn is so much in love with Tara that he can’t think straight. However, he needs total concentration for that race, which is why I’m glad he’s leaving for Daytona early. Thorn needs Tara at that race, but once the race is over there is no doubt in my mind he’ll begin seeing things clearly. It won’t take long for him to realize just how much he loves her.”

  Chase frowned. “We all know just what a stubborn cuss Thorn can be. What if he never realizes it? Where does that leave Tara?”

  Dare chuckled. “Right where she’s been for the past two years, deeply embedded in Thorn’s heart. But it’s my guess that Tara’s not going to settle for being any man’s bed partner and will force Thorn to face his feelings.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” Storm asked, still not convinced.

  A smile tilted the corners of Sheriff Dare Westmoreland’s lips. “Then we beat the crap out of him. One way or the other, he’s going to accept that Tara is no longer his challenge. She’s the woman he loves. But I don’t think we have to take things that far. Rumor has it that he’s sent Tara flowers for Valentine’s Day.

  Chase raised a shocked brow. “Flowers? Thorn?”

  Dare chuckled. “Yes, Thorn. You know Luanne Coleman can’t hold water, and word is out that Thorn went into her florist shop yesterday, ordered flowers for Tara and wrote out the card himself. I heard he even sealed it before nosey Luanne could take a peek at it.”

  “Damn,” Stone said, with disbelief on his face. He’d never known his brother to send flowers to any woman before, and that included Patrice. Everyone knew Thorn hadn’t really loved Patrice, but had merely considered her as his possession, and when it came to the things Thorn considered his, he had a tendency to get downright selfish and wasn’t into sharing. Being in love was a totally new avenue for Thorn, and Stone couldn’t help wondering how his brother would handle things once the discovery was made. Knowing Thorn, he would be a tough nut to crack, but he agreed with Dare; Tara was just the woman to set him straight. In Thorn’s case she might need a full-fledged nutcracker.

  “Hey, guys, I bet there will be a wedding in June,” Stone said to his brothers.

  “I think it will be before June. I doubt he’ll wait that long. I’ll say sometime in May, close to his birthday,” Chase threw in.

  Storm rolled his eyes. “Love or no love, Thorn is going to kick and scream all the way down the aisle. He’s going to be difficult, that’s just his nature, so I bet he won’t be tying the knot before September.”

  All three glanced at Dare to see what he had to say about it. “All of you know I’m not a betting man.” A smile touched his lips. “But if I were to bet, I’d have to agree with Chase. Thorn won’t last until June.”

  * * *

  Tara walked down the busy hospital corridor, glad she was finally able to take a break in her hectic schedule. It only took a few minutes to slip into the small chamber that led away from the crowded hallway lined with patients, as she made her way toward her office.

  Once inside she closed the door behind her, walked across the room and collapsed into the chair behind her desk. She had been at the hospital since six that morning and had agreed to make it a fourteen-hour day instead of a ten. One of her fellow doctors had asked her to cover for her while she treated her husband to a special dinner for Valentine’s Day. Since Tara hadn’t made any plans for the evening herself, she decided she could be flexible and help her co-worker out.

  She leaned back against her chair and closed her eyes and immediately remembered what had happened two nights ago when Thorn had come to see her to let her know of his change of plans.

  After days of little sleep, her body had needed the release he had given to it, and she had been sleeping like a baby since. But now she was feeling downright guilty at the thought that in a few weeks, after the race, she would be letting him down. He thought he would be getting an experienced woman in his bed, when in truth he would be getting the complete opposite.

  Twice she had thought of calling him before he left to tell him the truth, so he could make additional changes in his plans if he needed to make them. Chances were, after a two-year abstinence, he would want to share a bed with a woman who would know what she was doing. And the truth of the matter was that she didn’t know squat. At least not enough to handle a man like Thorn Westmoreland.

  He would be leaving sometime tomorrow for Daytona, so today was her last chance to come clean. Somehow she had to tell him that she’d never thought things would actually get this far. She’d assumed from the get-go that she would get him to the point where he would have to choose between her and celibacy.

  That day in her bedroom hadn’t even put a dent in the situation. He had merely given them a couple of days’ breathing space then he had called to take her out, but he’d made sure the two of them had never been completely alone in her house again. And except for the other night, they hadn’t been.

  Okay, so she’d been stupid to count on such a thing happening, but she had counted on it, and now she was in a real fix. Delaney would be just the person to talk to about her dilemma, and to help her look at things more objectively, but unfortunately, Jamal had whisked her friend off to Rome where Valentine’s Day was reputed to have originated. No doubt the prince intended to wine and dine his wife in style.

  Tara smiled, thinking how much in love the couple were, as were Dare and Shelly. Love always seemed to radiate between them, and she always felt strong affectionate emotions whenever she was around them. On Super Bowl Sunday at Chase’s restaurant it had been hard not to notice the intimate smiles the couples had exchanged, as well as the discreet touches.

  She often wondered whether, if things had gone according to plan, she and Derrick would have shared that kind of loving relationship. For some reason she believed they would eventually have become a divorce statistic. It was only after she had finally stopped wallowing in bitterness and self-pity that she had decided not marrying Derrick had really been for the best. Still, she could not let go of the fact that he had betrayed and humiliated her the way he had.

  Her thoughts shifted back to Thorn. When she had met him two years ago, her heart was recovering from being brutally battered. But still she knew, just as sure as she knew there were still a lot of patients yet to be seen, that she had fallen in love with Thorn that night they’d first met. It had been the same night she had stormed out of Delaney’s kitchen to give him a piece of her mind. Instead, he had gotten a piece of her heart, a pretty big chunk. She had known the exact moment it had happened. At that time she had fled to the safety of her apartment.

  Now she had nowhere to run to. The die was cast. A bargain made. He had kept his end of things and now she had to keep hers.

  She loved him.

  And the sad thing about it was that he had done nothing to encourage her emotional involvement. In
fact, he had been more than up-front with her by letting her know he only wanted a physical relationship. She had known from the very beginning that his attraction to her had been based on lust and not love, and although it had been her intentions never to fall in love with another man after Derrick, she had done so anyway.

  She opened her eyes at the sound of the knock on her office door. “Yes? Come in.”

  A fellow pediatrician, Dr. Pamela Wentworth, walked in carrying a huge vase of the most beautiful flowers Tara had ever seen. Tara smiled. “Wow, Pam, those are gorgeous. Aren’t you special?”

  Pam grinned. “No, in fact, you are, since these are for you.”

  Tara sat up straight in her chair. Her eyes instantly widened. “Excuse me. Did you say those were for me?”

  “Yes. They were just delivered at the nurses’ station, and I told Nurse Meadows that I would bring them to you myself,” she said, setting the huge container in the middle of Tara’s desk. “Hey, girlfriend, whatever you’re doing, you must be doing it right to get flowers like these.” She smiled brightly. “Well, I’ve got to get back. It’s like a zoo out there so enjoy your break while it lasts.”

  Pam breezed out of her office just as quickly as she had breezed in, leaving Tara to stare at the huge arrangement of flowers sitting in the middle of her desk.

  She frowned. “Who on earth would send these?” Tara wondered, leaning forward and pulling off the card that was attached. What man would remember her on Valentine’s Day by sending her something like this?

  She quickly opened the envelope and blinked at the message, then reread it again.

  Be mine, Thorn.

  * * *

  A knot formed in Tara’s throat. Be his what? His lover? His one-night stand? His bedmate for a week? His true love? His baby’s mommy? What?

  She sighed deeply. Only Thorn knew the answer to that question, and she intended to ask him when she saw him again.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Tara scanned all the activities through Dare’s SUV’s window as the vehicle rolled into the heart of Daytona Beach where Bike Week would be held. Squinting against the glare of the sun shining brightly through the window, she was amazed at what she saw billed as the World’s Largest Motorcycle Event. And to think that Thorn was a major part of it.

  It had been a little more than two weeks since she had seen him and she couldn’t forget the night he had shown up unexpectedly at her house. It had been the same night she had come to terms with her feelings for him. It had also been the same night he had given her a sample of what he had in store for her.

  But what had arrived two days after his visit still weighed more heavily on her mind—the flowers he had sent her for Valentine’s Day. The message on the card had been personal, and she still found herself wondering just what he’d meant.

  “Ready to get settled so we can do some shopping, Tara?”

  Shelly’s question got her attention. She had enjoyed the company of Dare and his wife during the seven-hour drive from Atlanta. Since school was still in session in Atlanta, their son AJ had not been able to make the trip. He was staying with Dare’s parents.

  “I’m always ready to shop,” Tara said, smiling. When she glanced out the window and saw the numerous vendors, she wondered if there was anything for sale other than bike wear and leather.

  “As soon as we get settled into our hotel rooms we can hit the malls,” Shelly said, turning around in her car seat to smile at Tara.

  Tara nodded her head in agreement. A few months ago, before Shelly’s wedding, she, Shelly and Delaney had flown to New York for a girls’ weekend and had enjoyed themselves immensely. The one thing the three of them discovered they had in common was their obsession with shopping.

  “I hope I see Thorn sometime today,” she said honestly, not caring what Shelly or Dare thought, although she did wonder whether they thought she was making a mistake even coming here to spend time with Thorn. However, if they thought such a thing, neither said so. Even Delaney hadn’t tried talking her out of coming, nor had Thorn’s other brothers.

  “It shouldn’t be too hard to find Thorn,” Dare said, meeting her gaze in the rear-view mirror. “He rode his bike from Atlanta, but his work crew arrived by eighteen-wheeler a few days ago to set up shop and put his Thorn-Byrds on display. You wouldn’t believe the number of people who’re here to buy bikes. But then, within a few days of the race, be prepared not to see Thorn for a while. He usually goes off by himself to train. Going more than 180 mph while tackling the high banks of Daytona International Speedway on two wheels is no joke. Thorn needs total concentration for what he’ll be doing, and I mean total concentration.”

  Tara nodded, understanding what Dare was saying. She had talked enough with the brothers over the past two weeks to know that what Thorn would be doing was risky. But she couldn’t allow her mind to think about that. She had to believe that he would be fine.

  She sighed deeply. From what Stone had told her, beside the races, the other activities lined up for the week included motorcycle shows and exhibits and concerts. There would be vendors at practically every corner who would try to sell anything they thought you needed, even a few things you didn’t need.

  When Dare pulled into the parking lot of their hotel, the only thing Tara could think about was Thorn and her need to see him before he went into seclusion.

  * * *

  Storm glanced down at his watch. “Dare, Shelly and Tara have probably arrived by now. Aren’t you going over to the hotel to see them?”

  Thorn was crouched down in front of one of his motorcycles and didn’t miss a beat as he continued to put a shine on the immaculate machine. “Not now. Maybe later.”

  Storm frowned, thinking Thorn was definitely not acting like the man Dare had painted him to be, a man deeply in love. In fact he hadn’t even mentioned Tara since Storm, Stone and Chase had arrived a few days ago.

  Storm decided to try something. “Maybe it’s just as well.”

  Thorn glanced up. “Why is that?”

  Storm shrugged. “There’s a chance Tara didn’t come,” he lied. “The last I heard she hadn’t made up her mind whether she was coming or not.”

  Thorn frowned and he immediately stopped what he was doing. “What do you mean she hadn’t made up her mind about coming? The last time I talked to her it was a sure thing.”

  “And how long ago was that, Thorn?”

  Thorn’s frown deepened as he tried to remember. Moments later he said, “A couple of days before I left town.”

  Storm shook his head. “Damn Thorn, that was over two weeks ago. You mean to say that you haven’t called or spoken to her since you left Atlanta?”

  “No.”

  Storm crossed his arms over his chest. “Then it would serve you right if she didn’t come. Even I know that women don’t like being ignored.”

  “I wasn’t ignoring her. I was giving both of us space.”

  “Space? Hell, there’s nothing wrong with space if you keep in touch and let them know you’re thinking about them. Women like to know they’re on your mind at least every once in a while. I hate to say it, man, but you may have blown it. What on earth were you thinking about?”

  Thorn stood and threw down the cloth in his hand. “How to keep my sanity.” He grabbed his helmet off the seat of his bike and quickly put it on. “I’ll be back later.”

  Storm chuckled as he watched his brother take off with the speed of lightning. He shook his head. Damn, Dare had been right. Thorn was in love and didn’t even know it yet.

  * * *

  Tara had taken a shower and changed into comfortable clothing. Dare and Shelly’s room was on the tenth floor and, like her hotel room, it had a beautiful ocean view. Stepping out on the balcony, she decided the sight was breathtaking. Down below, the boardwalk was filled with people having a good time.

  She and Shelly had decided to postpone their trip to the mall. It was quite obvious that Dare wanted to spend time with his wife alone for a while, an
d Tara couldn’t find fault with that. The two were still newlyweds. They wanted to put to good use their week without having to worry about AJ popping up unexpectedly.

  Stepping back inside her hotel room, Tara glanced at the clock, wondering why Thorn hadn’t at least called to make sure she had arrived. She knew he was probably busy and all, but still, she would have thought he’d have made time to see her, especially since they hadn’t talked to or seen each other in over two weeks. Evidently, she’d been wrong.

  She had to face the fact that as far as he was concerned, her sole purpose in being there took place after the race and not before. The hotel room she’d been given was in his name and he had seen to her every comfort by providing her with a suite, a suite he would eventually share with her. The bedroom was enormous and the bed was king-size. She could just imagine the two of them in that bed making love.

  She nervously licked her lips. She needed to talk to Thorn and let him know before things went too far that she was not the experienced woman he thought she was. Chances were when he found out she was a twenty-seven-year-old virgin, he would put a quick halt to his plans and run for cover. She had overheard enough conversations between the single male doctors to know that most men preferred experienced women. No man wanted to waste time teaching a woman how to please him in bed.

  Tara sighed. She’d intended to tell Thorn the truth when she saw him, but after hearing what Dare had said about Thorn needing total concentration, she’d decided not to tell him until after the race. That wouldn’t be the best time but there was nothing she could do about it.

  She glanced around when she heard a knock at the door. Thinking Shelly had changed her mind about going shopping, she quickly crossed the room to the door and glanced out the peephole.

  “Thorn!”

  She didn’t waste any time in opening the door, and he didn’t waste any time in stepping inside the room and closing the door behind him. Nor did he waste any time in pulling her into his arms and kissing her.