by Marin Thomas
Sara swallowed too quickly. The food lodged in her throat, cutting off her airway.
“Allow me.” The gentleman snatched a champagne flute from the tray of a passing waiter.
She downed the drink in one gulp, then gasped, “Thank you.”
His gaze roamed unapologetically over her body. “I don’t imagine a beautiful woman such as you is here without a date.”
Was the coot hitting on her? He was at least sixty-five—handsome yes, but old enough to be her father. “I came with Travis Cartwright. Dominick’s—”
“Ah, yes. The black sheep of the family.” He sipped his drink. “We were all shocked to learn Charlotte had kept Travis from his rightful place in the Cartwright empire.”
Empire—oh, brother. “I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name.”
“Allow me to introduce myself.” He held out his hand. “Benjamin Reynolds.” Sara offered her hand and the geezer boldly kissed it.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Reynolds.”
“Benjamin. Please.”
“Benjamin. I’m Sara Sanders. I teach second grade in Tulapoint in addition to being Dominick’s arch enemy and royal pain in his arse.”
“Well, it’s a relief to discover I’m not the only thorn in Dominick’s backside.”
“Really? What have you done to get on his bad side?”
“I outbid him on a well a few years back and it turned out to be quite profitable.”
“Well, that wasn’t very nice.”
He chuckled. “And you?”
“Dominick wants the oil on my family’s ranch and is threatening me and my brothers with a bogus lawsuit.”
“Doesn’t sound like Dominick.”
“What doesn’t sound like me?” Dominick joined them, and Sara held her breath, wondering if she was about to be tossed out of the soiree on her head.
“Had I known you invited such visions of loveliness to your annual ball, I would have shown up at the event before now.” Benjamin winked at Sara.
“This vision—” Dominick nodded to Sara “—happens to be my neighbor.”
“Yes, I know. What’s this I hear about you harassing her with a lawsuit?”
“I’m bidding top dollar for their property.” Dominick’s eyes narrowed.
Sara snatched a second flute of champagne from a waiter. She’d need a few drinks before the night was over. “What Mr. Cartwright refuses to acknowledge is that I made a promise to my father and—”
“You’re father’s dead.” Dominick glared.
Sara gasped. “How dare—”
“No, young lady. How dare your father.”
Stunned, Sara watched Dominick walk off and join a group of conversing men. What in the world did Dominick have against her father?
Benjamin nodded toward the dance floor. “Shall we?”
“We shall.” Sara allowed Benjamin to twirl her around, but after two songs the codger became bold and slid his hand over her fanny. “Oh, no,” she said, placing his fingers against the small of her back.
Benjamin threw his head back and laughed. “Can’t blame an old man for trying.”
“You’re very charming, Benjamin. Why aren’t you married?”
“I’ve made the infamous trip down the aisle four times.”
“And none of your marriages has worked out?”
“Bit of a problem with infidelity.” He shrugged. “I bore easily.”
The song ended, but Benjamin tightened his hold on her waist and continued dancing. “Have you retained a lawyer to protect you from Dominick’s threats?”
“My brothers and I can’t afford a lawyer,” Sara answered honestly. “Even if I allow Cartwright Oil to drill on our property, I don’t trust Dominick not to keep harassing us until he owns our ranch lock, stock and barrel.”
A gentleman tapped Benjamin’s shoulder. “May I cut in?”
“Good evening, Howard.” Benjamin bowed. “May I present Sara Sanders. Sara, Howard Barker. He owns Tulsa Savings and Loan.”
“And five other banks.” Howard bowed. She could get used to old-fashioned gallantry.
“Pleasure to meet you, Howard.”
Benjamin transferred Sara’s hand to her new dance partner’s, then warned, “Mind your manners, Howard. Sara’s a schoolteacher.”
“Schoolteacher?” Howard’s eyes rounded. “I thought you were a…a…”
Sara smiled. “A what?”
Howard leaned in and whispered, “An escort, my dear.”
A hooker?
“I recognized your dress. Viola wore that for me. It was a favorite of mine.”
Howard had known Viola when she’d been a madam. “Didn’t Viola eventually retire from the business?”
“Yes, but she continued to entertain a few select clients until shortly before she succumbed to a heart attack.”
“How old are you, Howard?”
“Eighty-two.” His expression turned dreamy. “Viola initiated me into manhood on my eighteenth birthday.” Sara blushed.
“I must say, you do the gown justice, dear.”
“I promise you, I’m a schoolteacher. There was a problem with the original dress I bought for the ball and Beulah—” Sara waved a hand in the air. “Never mind.”
“I’m not the only gentleman here who recognized Viola’s dress.”
Oh, dear. “Dominick isn’t one of them, is he?”
“No. Dominick was a child when Viola bought the old Victorian and had it painted that awful pink.” Howard motioned to Travis and the ever-growing circle of females surrounding him. “Are you and Travis…”
“Friends. His daughter is a student in my class.”
“Friends you say?” Howard pulled her closer. “Let’s see if we can make him jealous.”
Sara didn’t know whether to stomp on the old man’s foot or laugh. “Are you married, Howard?”
“I’m a widower.” He dipped Sara low—so low her breasts threatened to spill from the gown.
“Here he comes. Now, play along, dear.” Howard pulled Sara upright.
“Pardon me.” Travis’s voice carried over Sara’s shoulder.
Howard swung her the opposite way. Travis followed them across the floor. “May I cut in?”
“Not now, son. Can’t an old man live out his fantasy?”
Travis continued to stalk them. “You’ve had my date as your dance partner for the past three songs.”
“Keeping count, are we, young man?”
Sara swallowed a giggle.
“Damn right, I’m keeping count. Now, give her back before—”
“Before what? Are you challenging me to a fistfight?”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Travis grumbled.
“All right, you two. Enough is enough.” Sara pulled away from Howard. “Travis, this is Howard—”
“I know, the man who owns all the banks.” Travis scowled. “My father told me to be nice to you.”
Howard hooted. “Dominick has his hands full with you.” Howard nodded to Sara. “Don’t let her get away. She’s a gem.”
Travis crushed Sara against him, forcing the air from her lungs.
My, oh my. She could get used men fighting over her.
TRAVIS TWIRLED SARA through the throng of dancers. He yearned to take her somewhere—preferably a hotel room—where he could ditch his tux and gentlemanly manners. “Are you ready to blow this party?”
“What will your father say if we cut out early?”
“Nothing. I’ve met all the important people on his list, so the rest of the evening is mine to do with as I please.”
Sara’s wistful expression as she looked around reminded Travis that his date had few chances to attend fancy balls. “Unless you want to stay,” he added. For Sara, he’d suffer through another few hours of socializing with the rich, famous and annoying.
Her brown eyes darkened and the corner of her mouth tilted in a come-hither smile. “I’m ready to leave.”
His pulse accelerated, pumping blood through h
is veins at breakneck speed. “Good. Your evening gown has endeared you to every man in this room.” He softly nipped her neck, and she shivered. “But I’m the lucky guy who gets to take you home.”
When the song ended, Travis led Sara off the dance floor, but Dominick thwarted their escape. “You’re not leaving, are you?”
“Sara and I are heading back to Tulapoint,” Travis said.
Dominick motioned to the women gathered near the buffet table. “Your sister and Wade arrived over an hour ago and she’s been waiting for a chance to speak with you.”
Travis hadn’t noticed Samantha or her husband—he’d been too busy keeping track of Sara and her lecherous fan club. Right then, his sister waved. Travis made a gesture with his hand that he’d phone her later.
“I hope to hear from you soon, Sara.” Dominick’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ll need an official offer before I agree to discuss anything with you.”
“You’ll have the paperwork within twenty-four hours.”
“This isn’t the time or place.” Travis leveled his best back-off glare at his father. He respected Dominick’s business acumen, work ethic and general devotion to family, but his father didn’t know when to quit pushing his agenda.
After a strained silence, Dominick said, “I trust you both enjoyed yourselves tonight.”
“Very much, thank you,” Sara said.
“Drive safely.” Dominick walked off to join the men at the bar.
As soon as Travis and Sara stepped outside the theater, the valet attendant brought the truck around to the front. Travis helped Sara into the cab, then sped off. He’d driven three blocks when Sara exhaled loudly. Worried his father had ruined his chances of prolonging their evening together, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I loved every minute of tonight.”
“So you enjoy being accosted by old men and receiving evil-eyed glares from their prudish wives?”
Smiling, she closed her eyes. “Tonight was just about perfect.”
Tonight wasn’t over. He stopped at a red light, leaned across the seat and kissed Sara.
“Mmm…” Her throaty sound encouraged him and he nibbled a path down her neck.
A horn honked behind them. “Light’s green,” she whispered.
Travis hit the gas too hard and the truck lurched forward. “Sorry.” He grasped her hand and pressed her fingers against his thigh. He left downtown Tulsa behind and merged onto the highway. Even though she’d dressed like a siren for the ball, Travis guessed Sara was anything but experienced with men. He was glad and worried at the same time.
Sara fidgeted in her seat.
“What’s wrong?” Travis asked.
“Nothing, it’s just that…I’m not sure what you’re expecting from me once we reach my house.”
Sara was thinking along the same lines he’d been thinking all night—sex.
Her fingers dug into his thigh muscle. “You’re going over the speed limit.” The speedometer needle edged toward eighty.
He eased up on the accelerator. All this thinking about sex distracted him. He and Julie had never discussed having sex the first time they’d slept together—it had just happened.
Sara’s not Julie.
Even though Travis’s attraction to Sara was more than physical, they hadn’t known each other long. “No matter what happens or doesn’t happen between us tonight—” he kissed her fingertips “—I want you to know that I’m crazy about you.”
“Crazy?”
“You’re fun to be with. You’re smart. Loyal. Nice.” He grinned. “Sexy.”
“It’s the dress.”
“No. It’s you.” Travis gripped the steering wheel tighter. “You have no idea how badly I want to pull over and take that dress off you.”
Sara’s breath rushed from her mouth. “As interesting as roadside sex sounds, I’d hate to ruin Viola’s gown.”
“Who’s Viola?”
“Beulah’s mother.”
He eyed Sara’s cleavage. “Beulah’s mother must be a hell of a knockout if she still wears dresses like that.”
“Beulah’s mother passed away years ago, but in her glory days she was a madam.”
“You don’t say?”
“Those lecherous men you accused me of teasing tonight…”
“What about them?” he asked.
“They recognized the dress.”
“Brought back fond memories for the geezers, eh?” Travis chuckled.
Sara worried her lower lip. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea to…”
“Sleep together,” he said.
“Until your father and I resolve our differences.”
“Our relationship has nothing to do with my father,” Travis insisted. And he meant it. Yes, Travis wanted to win his father’s approval by helping to negotiate a business deal between him and Sara, but if that didn’t pan out, Travis still intended to continue seeing Sara.
“Dominick brought up the past tonight, but as usual he neglected to say what my father did that was so unforgivable.”
“Was your dad one of the few men in Oklahoma who refused to sell out to Dominick?”
“I don’t think that’s it. You should have seen the expression in your father’s eyes. It was hurt, not anger.” She shifted toward Travis. “I’m beginning to suspect Dominick’s obsession with owning the Bar T has nothing at all to do with oil.”
“Don’t allow my father to get inside your head.” Travis took the exit ramp off the interstate. They were ten minutes from Tulapoint, and damned if he wasn’t going to give it his best shot to reclaim the romantic mood.
“Our being together might adversely affect Charlie. She’s still adjusting to the loss of her grandmother, a new home, a new family and school. She doesn’t need any additional strife in her life.”
“Charlie’s doing great—because of you. Any time I spend with you is a positive thing.” He didn’t want to scare Sara off by telling her about earlier this evening when Charlie had declared that she was ready for a new mother.
“I worry Charlie will get her hopes up that something will come of us seeing each other,” Sara said.
“My daughter’s a tough little girl.”
“What if our relationship affects how your father treats Charlie? She adores Dominick and talks about him all the time at school. I don’t want to come between the two of them.”
“That won’t happen, promise.” Travis got the feeling Sara was using Dominick and Charlie as excuses and wished he understood the real reason she hesitated taking their relationship to the next level.
He slowed the truck when they reached the town limits. A block later, he parked in front of Sara’s Victorian. At one in the morning, the streetlamp cast an eerie glow across the sidewalk.
“Ask me to stay,” he said.
Her smile sent a jolt through his body. “Stay,” she whispered.
“You won’t be sorry.” He leaned across the seat and kissed her—slow and easy. She threaded her fingers through his hair, convincing him with her mouth that she wanted him—at least for tonight.
“Mmm.” He drew his thumb across her lower lip. “Where does a schoolteacher learn to kiss like that?”
“She doesn’t. You bring out the wild side in me.”
“If it’s wild you want, it’s wild you’ll get, sweetheart.” He hurried to the other side of the truck and helped her out. They climbed the porch steps, stopping three times to kiss before entering the house. Travis backed Sara toward the stairs, but she put on the brakes.
I must be crazy. Sara stared at her and Travis’s reflection in the hall mirror. Viola’s dress made her feel beautiful and desirable—but would she feel that way once the dress came off? Or would Travis see the country girl everyone in town saw.
Her gaze collided with Travis’s in the mirror and the heat in his eyes reassured her.
He slid a finger beneath her dress strap and moved it aside, then kissed her shoulder. She shivered at the feel of his l
ips on her skin, dreaming of all the places his mouth would explore before the evening ended.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked.
“Nothing.” Everything. She pressed herself against him. Women like her didn’t go to bed with men like Travis. He was out of her league—at least, in the bedroom. Her sexual experience was limited—how on earth would she satisfy him? She didn’t even know where to begin.
He brushed aside a strand of hair clinging to her cheek. “Fess up, Sara Sanders, because when I get you upstairs, there’s not going to be any room in that bed for doubts.” Travis backed her across the foyer one step at a time, stopping every other second to kiss her.
At the top of the stairs, she trailed her fingertip across his lower lip. Just once, take what you want and to heck with the consequences. If this is all you and Travis ever have, then grab it and run.
Sara was a grown woman—mature enough to handle a one-night stand or two or three before Travis came to his senses and figured out she wasn’t his type.
Before she lost her courage, she grasped his hand and led him into her bedroom.
Chapter Ten
Travis lay on his side, spooning Sara in her queen-size bed. Twice hadn’t been enough—he wanted her again. He cupped her warm breast and buried his face in her sweet-smelling hair. Making love to Sara had been incredible. More than he’d imagined. More than he’d dared dream. They’d connected—not just their bodies, but their souls. And hearts.
His caresses stirred Sara awake. Eyes closed, she stretched on her back, one side of her mouth curving into a lazy smile. The light from the full moon spilled across the bed, casting a warm glow over her face. His loving had left her lips swollen, hair mussed and eyeliner smudged. She looked wanton and witchy—not the least bit like a teacher.
Discovering their compatibility in the bedroom forced Travis to acknowledge that friendship with Sara was out of the question. No one was more surprised than him that his goal of getting to know Sara in order to win points with his father would turn into something bigger than he could have imagined. Sara rocked his world with her gentle touches, passionate kisses and whispered words of encouragement. Shy and hesitant, then bold and sassy, she’d tied his heartstrings into one giant knot.
“I know you’re awake.” He nibbled her ear.