Runaway Temptation

by Maureen Child

  Her breath caught and she felt tears sting her eyes.

  “You sneaked up on me,” he said, his gaze moving over her face as if etching her features into his mind. “Before I knew it, I was loving you and trying not to.”

  “Great,” she murmured.

  He grinned, then sobered. “You’re right you know, the time we’ve spent together is as good as two years of dating. I know you, Shelby,” he said, his fingers gentling his hold on her but not letting go. “I know I can trust you. I know that. I was just...”

  “A big stoic cowboy?” she finished for him.

  “Yeah, I guess,” he admitted wryly. His hands slid up her arms to cup her face as his voice deepened and the fire in his eyes became a low, simmering burn. “The point is, I didn’t want another woman in my life. I was so mad at Meg and Mitch and never took the time to notice that she was right to do what she did. Just like you were.”

  “Oh, Caleb...” He couldn’t have said anything that would have touched her more.

  “Not finished,” he warned and gave her that half smile that never failed to tug at her heart. “I don’t want you to ever get over loving me, Shelby. I need you too badly.”

  “I didn’t want to get over you,” she said softly, as she sensed that all of her dreams were coming true. “I love you, Caleb. I always will.”

  “I’m counting on that darlin’.” He gave her another half smile. “I was an idiot. I didn’t want to risk love again. Thought it was just too dangerous to even try. Since you, though, I realized that losing you would be the real risk—to my heart and my sanity. How the hell could I live in a quiet house? I’d miss those rants of yours.”

  “I’m going to choose to be flattered,” she said, smiling up at him because her heart was racing and her hopes and dreams were about to come true, right there on the busy Main Street of Royal, Texas.

  “Good. That’s how I meant it.” Caleb shifted one hand to cup her face and he said, “I love you, Shelby. Don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying it. I know I’m not easy to live with—I tend to go all quiet and pensive—but I think you’re tough enough to pull it off.”

  “I really am,” she promised. “When you get too quiet, I’ll just follow you around, or ride a horse out to find you and I’ll stick to you until you talk to me again.”

  “You won’t have to follow me, Shelby,” he said, his gaze locked with hers. “We’re going to be side by side. And we’re going to have a hell of a good marriage and we’ll make a lot of babies, fill up all those empty rooms with laughter and love. Because that’s what you deserve. It’s what we both deserve.”

  “It sounds perfect,” Shelby said. “And I think we might have already started on those babies. Skipping a few days of pills probably wasn’t a good idea.”

  His eyes went wide and bright and his smile was one that lit up every corner of her heart. “Yeah? That’s great, because you know Meg’s pregnant again, so they’re three ahead of us.”

  “We’ll catch up,” Shelby said.

  “Damn straight we will.” Caleb leaned down and kissed her, hard and long. When he lifted his head, he said, “Let’s go.”

  “Where?” she asked, a laugh tickling her throat.

  “Down to the jewelers,” Caleb said firmly. “We’re picking out a ring. Biggest one he’s got, because I want everyone who sees it to know you’re mine and I’m yours.”

  “You don’t talk a lot,” Shelby said with a sigh, “but when you do, you say just the right thing.”

  “There’s just one more thing I have to say,” Caleb whispered.

  “What’s that?” What more was there? He’d already given her the dream. Home. Roots. Family. Love.

  “Shelby Arthur,” he said softly, “will you marry me tomorrow?”

  She sighed, filled with the love she’d always longed for and looked up into icy-blue eyes that would never look cold again. Then she grinned and asked, “Why not tonight?”

  Caleb picked her up, swung her around, then planted another kiss on her mouth. “That’s my girl.”

  * * * * *

  Will Gus and Rose succeed in keeping their

  grandchildren apart? Will the bachelor auction

  go off without a hitch?

  Find out in Most Eligible Texan by USA TODAY

  bestselling author Jules Bennett!

  Tycoon Matt Galloway’s going up on the bachelor auction block, but there’s only one woman he wants bidding on him—his best friend’s widow. Yet his plans to seduce the gorgeous single mom get really complicated when old secrets come to light...

  Don’t miss a single installment

  of the six-book

  Texas Cattleman’s Club: Bachelor Auction!

  Runaway Temptation

  by USA TODAY bestselling author Maureen Child

  Most Eligible Texan

  by USA TODAY bestselling author Jules Bennett

  Million Dollar Baby

  by USA TODAY bestselling author

  Janice Maynard

  His Until Midnight

  by Reese Ryan

  The Rancher’s Bargain

  by Joanne Rock

  Lone Star Reunion

  by Joss Wood

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Stranger in His Bed by Lauren Canan.

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  Stranger in His Bed

  by Lauren Canan

  One

  “I think she’s awake.”

  As her vision cleared, the most beautiful pair of eyes she’d ever seen came into focus. They were a vibrant brown with so many flecks of gold they appeared to gleam. Framed by dark lashes, they were strong, compelling, and she couldn’t look away. She didn’t want to look away. It was as though they offered a lifeline and she desperately held on.

  Her gaze widened to take in the rest of this man’s face. The sharp angles and high cheekbones. The full, sensuous lips, drawn into a straight line, surrounded by a dark bearded shadow. His thick, tobacco-brown hair gleamed golden where the fluorescent lights touched it.

  A second man in a white lab coat stepped into her field of vision on the opposite side of the bed.

  “I’m Dr. Meadows, your neurologist.” He spoke softly, clearly. Something she was grateful for.

  The glaring white lights overhead burned with the same intensity as the sun. The pounding in her head became more pronounced, almost overwhelming, throbbing in time w
ith her heartbeat.

  “You were involved in an automobile accident two days ago. You had some injuries. Most were minor, but you did sustain a fairly bad concussion.”

  The doctor withdrew a pencil-sized flashlight from the pocket of his lab coat and pointed the light quickly into one eye, then the other. She couldn’t help flinching as the beam touched her eyes. He returned the light to his pocket and flipped open a chart. After sifting through an array of pastel-colored pages, he made a notation on one of them before closing the folder.

  “Can you tell me your name?”

  “I’m... My name is...” She drew a blank. How can I not know my own name? How is it possible? Confusion added to her pain. “I don’t know,” she whispered almost to herself. A feeling of panic slowly crept in.

  “Do you know who that man is?” The doctor nodded toward the stranger.

  Once again she took in his features, the solemn face that was so full of character, the deep jaw and those eyes, so mesmerizing. But nothing about him was at all familiar.

  “No.” She slowly rolled her head against the pillow. “Should I?”

  “I’m Wade,” the man said, his deep voice conveying strength. “Wade Masters. I’m your husband.”

  Husband? She was married? The stunned disbelief must have shown in her eyes, because Wade Masters’s expression turned into a frown of serious contemplation, and his eyes snapped across to the doctor. No. That couldn’t be right. Could it? She raised a hand to her forehead. Frantically she searched her mind for any memory of a wedding. Of him. Of them. Of their life together.

  Nothing.

  “I don’t know you.” She heard the emotional quiver in her own voice. “I’m not married. How can you say that?”

  Alarm set in, adding to the pounding in her head. This was all wrong. They had the wrong person. They thought she was someone else. She had to get up. She had to leave. She had to go home. Grabbing the railing at the side of the bed, she tried to pull herself into a sitting position. Hands immediately pushed her gently back down onto the pillow. “No. Please. I need to go home. I need to call...” Who? Who was she going to call? She couldn’t think. Her head hurt. Everything hurt, and she had no memory of the person she was or the life she had known.

  She heard the doctor call for a nurse. “Try to relax, Mrs. Masters,” he said. “You’re going to be fine. Your home is waiting when you regain your strength. You took a pretty hard knock on the head. Try not to worry if you can’t remember people or names, including your own. With this type of injury, retrograde amnesia is not at all uncommon. I’m confident everything will come back to you in time.”

  “When?” She felt a tear slip down the side of her face. “When will it come back?”

  “Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing how any one individual will react. Occasionally a memory may come to you as a kind of flashback. Then you may start to remember everything all at once, or it may come back in small fragments, like random pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It could return tomorrow or months from now.”

  Months? No. She had to remember. There was something important she had to do. People were counting on her. She sensed a need to hurry. But the more she tried to recall the circumstances, the harder the hammer slammed into her head.

  “Your tests have come back and everything is looking very good.” The neurologist continued flipping through forms in her chart. “The cerebral swelling is all but gone. Your heart sounds good. Blood pressure is within a normal range. If no other concerns surface, we can talk about sending you home tomorrow.” He looked from the chart directly to her.

  A nurse bustled in. She injected medication into the intravenous tubing. “This should take effect in just a few minutes. I’ll be back to check on you, sweetie.” She nodded at the two men and left the room as quickly as she’d come in.

  As I mentioned to your husband,” the doctor said, “there is a good chance being in familiar surroundings will stimulate the return of your memory.”

  Her husband. She returned her gaze to the tall man with broad shoulders who stood to her left, watching her in silent consideration. He was dressed in a dark business suit, his blue-and-gold-striped tie loosened at the neck, the top button of his white dress shirt undone. Her gaze fell on his hands, which were resting on the metal bar of the bed. They looked strong and capable. A gold wedding band gleamed on the third finger of his left hand.

  She swallowed back the fear that something was terribly wrong.

  “We will get through this. You’re going to be okay.” The man leaned down, bringing his face closer to hers. His hand covered her own, and the warmth felt good. His voice was as deep and seductive as his eyes were mesmerizing. “If there is anything you need...”

  “Please tell me who I am.”

  “Your name is Victoria. Victoria Masters.”

  The man stood up straight, appearing relaxed and self-assured, and slipped his hands into the pockets of his trousers. She realized her initial impression that he was attractive had been an understatement.

  He was devastatingly attractive.

  She could smell his rich, enticing cologne. His white shirt set off his tan skin. The sharp lines of his face and the straight, proud nose were indicative of good breeding. His hair with its slight wave hung just past his collar and shadowed his forehead. The golden intensity of his eyes and the lack of a smile on those full, sensuous lips brought it all together: Wade Masters was the personification of danger. Not dangerous like a criminal, but dangerous like a man who was capable of stirring a woman’s passion with little to no effort. And he knew it. It was part of that confidence he emitted.

  And he was here to take her home.

  With his gaze trained on her, she felt a heated blush rush up her neck and over her face. The barest hint of a smile touched his lips as though he knew what she was thinking. She looked away, swallowing hard.

  The doctor interrupted her thoughts. “Right now, I don’t want you to worry about memory recall. Try to relax and give it some time.”

  She felt the drug the nurse had given start to take effect and her eyelids grew heavy. She fought to keep them open, wanting to know more about the man who claimed to be her husband.

  Dr. Meadows turned toward him. “I want to see her in two weeks. Have someone contact my office and set up an appointment. If she develops any dizziness, vomiting or severe headaches, bring her back to the ER immediately.” He looked at his patient. “Bed rest for a day, then you can move around, but go slowly. No hundred-meter hurdles for at least a week.” He winked at her, then smiled.

  “Okay.” She couldn’t help but return his smile.

  “You folks have a good day.” He handed Wade his card. “If you should have any questions, don’t hesitate to call.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Meadows,” she said as the good doctor disappeared out the door and down the hall. Her gaze returned to the other man. She felt a wave of anxiety shimmy down her spine. She was alone with this person, this man who claimed to be her husband. She still didn’t recognize anything about him. There was nothing in his voice or the way he moved that was remotely familiar. For all his sex appeal, he seemed cold, unfeeling. Would she have married a man like that? Apparently so. Surely there was something about him or about their situation that would register?

  There were so many questions she wanted to ask. She felt as though she was standing on the edge of a precipice, about to plunge down into the dark depths of the unknown. Could she do this? Evidently there was only one way to find out.

  He had not made any other move to touch her. No hug. No kiss—even on the cheek. In fact, she’d received more compassion from the doctor and nurse than from the man who said he was her husband. Maybe he was just holding back because he knew she had no recollection of him? If that was the case, she appreciated his thoughtfulness. If not, they obviously had a major problem within their marriage and one she could do noth
ing about until her memory returned. She hoped, yet again, that would happen soon. In the meantime, she had to speculate about what would be asked of her. What would her husband expect?

  The pain in her head and body began to fade, and before she could ask another question, she returned to the comfort of oblivion.

  * * *

  Wade Masters stood motionless as he watched Victoria fall back to sleep. She’d been monitored closely for the swelling in her brain and tested often to ensure no veins in her head ruptured from the building pressure. Today, when he’d received the call that she seemed to be regaining consciousness, he’d come to the hospital immediately. This, after having to cut short a business trip to London when he’d first heard of the accident.

  He hadn’t been prepared for the news of her amnesia. Or the fear he’d seen in her eyes, the way her gaze had held his as though his strength was the only thing holding her together. She’d looked at him with desperation and a silent cry for help, and he’d not been able to stop himself from wanting to make everything better. It had to be tough to wake up in a hospital and not remember your own name or what happened to put you there.

  He was equally surprised the snobbishness she normally wore like a shield was gone. She tended to walk a fine line between arrogant and outright rude. But instead of demanding answers from the doctor, she’d asked questions with true concern and a hint of anguish in her voice. Still, she might not have the strength to be demanding. Perhaps it was all the pain and medication. Whatever the cause, something had changed. It was more than the cracked ribs and head injury. He had come here anticipating the worst, expecting he would have to deal with her demanding behavior. Instead, he encountered a woman who was frightened and wasn’t afraid to let that anxiety show.

  And the way she appeared now, without a half ton of makeup covering her face and her hair in disarray, she looked amenable and, in a strange way, actually more attractive than usual. Despite the bruising from the accident, she was a very beautiful woman.