Rico moved to join her at the table, figuring the best thing to do was to keep the conversation going. Otherwise, he would be tempted to pull her out of that chair and kiss her again. Electricity had begun popping the moment their gazes had connected. “You were only twelve, and you did what you could, I’m sure,” he said, responding to what she’d said. “Everybody did. But people grieve in different ways. I couldn’t imagine losing a parent that young.”
“It wasn’t easy.”
“I bet, and then to lose an aunt and uncle at the same time. I have to admire all of you for being strong during that time, considering what all of you were going through.”
“Yes, but think of how much easier it would have been had we known the Atlanta, Montana and Texas Westmorelands back then. There would have been others, and Dillon and Ramsey wouldn’t have had to do it alone. Oh, they would have still fought to keep us together, but they would have had some kind of support system. You know what they say…it takes a village to raise a child.”
Yes, he’d heard that.
“That’s one of the reasons family is important to me, Rico. You never know when you will need the closeness and support a family gives to each other.” Silence lingered between them for a minute and then she asked, “What about you? Were you close to your parents…your father…while growing up?”
He didn’t say anything for a while. Instead, he got up and walked over to the refrigerator. To answer her question, he needed a beer. He opened the refrigerator and glanced over his shoulder. “I’m having a beer. Want one?”
“No, but I’ll take a soda.”
He nodded and grabbed a soda and a beer out of the refrigerator and then closed the door. Returning to the table, he turned the chair around and straddled it. “Yes. Although my father traveled a lot as a salesman, we were close, and I thought the world of him.”
He popped the top on his beer, took a huge swig and then added, “But that was before I found out what a two-bit, lying con artist he was. He was married to my mother, who was living in Philly, while he was involved with another woman out in California, stringing both of them along and lying through his teeth. Making promises he knew he couldn’t keep.”
Rico took another swig of his beer. “Jessica’s grandfather found out Jeff Claiborne was an imposter and told Jessica’s mother and my mother. Hurt and humiliated that she’d given fifteen years to a man who’d lied to her, Jessica’s mother committed suicide. My mother filed for a divorce. I was in my first year of college. He came to see me, tried to make me think it was all Mom’s fault and said, as males, he and I needed to stick together, and that Mom wouldn’t divorce him if I put in a good word for him.”
Rico stared into his beer bottle, remembering that time, but more importantly, remembering that day. He glanced back at her. “That day he stopped being my hero and the man I admired most. It was bad enough that he’d done wrong and wouldn’t admit to it, but to involve me and try to pit me against Mom was unacceptable.”
Rico took another swig of his beer. A long one this time. He rarely talked about that time in his life. Most people who knew his family knew the story, and chances were that Megan knew it already since she was friends with both of his sisters.
She reached out and took his hand in hers, and he felt a deep stirring in his groin as they stared at each other, while the air surrounding them became charged with a sexual current that sent sparks of desire through his body. He knew she felt it, as well.
“I know that must have been a bad time for you, but that just goes to show how a bad situation can turn into a good one. That’s what happened for you, Savannah and Jessica once the three of you found out about each other, right?”
Yes, that part of the situation had turned out well, because he couldn’t imagine not having Jessica and Savannah in his life. But still, whenever he thought of how Jessica had lost her mother, he would get angry all over again. Yet he said, “Yes, you’re right.”
She smiled and released his hand. “I’ve been known to be right a few times.”
For some reason, he felt at ease with her, more at ease than he’d felt with any other woman. Why they were sitting here in the dark he wasn’t sure. In addition to the sexual current in the room, there was also a degree of intimacy to this conversation that was ramping up his libido, reminding him of how long it had been since he’d slept with a woman. And when she had reached out and touched his hand that hadn’t helped matters.
He studied her while she sipped on her soda. Even with the sliver of light shining through the window from the outside, he could see the smooth skin of her face, a beautiful shade of mocha.
She glanced over at him, caught him staring, and he felt thrumming need escalate all through him. He’d kissed her twice now and could kiss her a dozen more times and be just as satisfied. But at some point he would want more. He intended to get more. She had been warned, and she hadn’t heeded his warning. The attraction between them was too great.
He wouldn’t make love to her here. But they would make love, that was a given.
However, he would take another kiss. One that would let her know what was to come.
She stood. “I think I’ll go back to bed and try to sleep. You did say we were leaving early, right?” she asked, walking over to the garbage with her soda can.
“Yes, right after breakfast.” He didn’t say anything but his gaze couldn’t help latching on to her backside. Even with her bathrobe on, he could tell her behind was a shapely one. He’d admired it in jeans earlier that day.
On impulse, he asked, “Do you want to go for a ride?”
She turned around. “A ride?”
“Yes. It’s a beautiful night outside.”
A frown tugged at her brow. “A ride where?”
“The south ridge. There’s a full moon, and the last time I went there at night with Clint while rounding up horses under a full moon, the view of the canyon was breathtaking.”
“And you want us to saddle horses and—”
“No,” he chuckled. “We’ll take my truck.”
She stared at him like he couldn’t be thinking clearly. “Do you know what time it is?”
He nodded slowly as he held her gaze. “Yes, a time when everyone else is sleeping, and we’re probably the only two people still awake.”
She tilted her head and her gaze narrowed. “Why do you want me to take a ride with you at this hour, Rico?”
He decided to be honest. “Because I want to take you someplace where I can kiss you all over.”
Seven
The lower part of Megan’s stomach quivered, and she released a slow breath. What he was asking her, and pretty darn blatantly, was to go riding with him to the south ridge where they could park and make out. They were too old for that sort of thing, weren’t they? Evidently he didn’t think so, and he was a lot older than she was.
And what had he said about kissing her all over? Did he truly know what he was asking of her? She needed to be sure. “Do you know what you’re asking me when you ask me to go riding with you?”
A smile that was so sexy it could be patented touched his lips. “Yeah.”
Well, she had gotten her answer. He had kissed her twice, and now wanted to move to the next level. What had she really expected from a man who’d told her he wanted her and intended to have her? In that case, she had news for him: two kisses didn’t mean a thing. She had let her guard down and released a little of her emotional control, but that didn’t mean she wou
ld release any more. Whenever he kissed her, she couldn’t think straight, and she considered doing things that weren’t like her.
She stood there and watched his hazel eyes travel all over her, roaming up and down. When his gaze moved upward and snagged hers, the very air between them crackled with an electrical charge that had certain parts of her tingling.
“Are you afraid of me, Megan?” he asked softly.
Their gazes held for one searing moment. No, she wasn’t afraid of him per se, but she was afraid of the things he had the ability to make her feel, afraid of the desires he could stir in her, afraid of how she could lose control around him. How could she make him understand that being in control was a part of her that she wasn’t ready to let go of yet?
She shook her head. “No, I’m not afraid of you, Rico. But you say things and do things I’m not used to. You once insinuated that my brothers and cousins might have sheltered me from the realities of life, and I didn’t agree with you. I still don’t, but I will say that I, of my own choosing, decided not to take part in a lot of things other girls were probably into. I like being my own person and not following the crowd.”
He nodded, and she could tell he was trying to follow her so she wasn’t surprised when he asked, “And?”
“And I’ve never gone parking with a guy before.” There, she’d said it. Now he knew what he was up against. But when she saw the unmistakable look of deep hunger in his eyes, her heart began pounding, fast and furious.
Then he asked, “Are you saying no guy has ever taken you to lover’s lane?”
Why did his question have to sound so seductive, and why did she feel like her nerve endings were being scorched? “Yes, that’s what I’m saying, and it was my decision and not theirs.”
He smiled. “I can believe that.”
“I saw it as a waste of time.” She broke eye contact with him to look at his feet. They were bare. She’d seen men’s feet before, plenty of times. With as many cousins and brothers as she had she couldn’t miss seeing them. But Rico’s were different. They were beautiful but manly.
“Did you?”
She glanced back up at him. “Yes, it was a waste of time because I wasn’t into that sort of thing.”
“You weren’t?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m too in control of my emotions.”
“Yet you let go a little when we kissed,” he reminded her.
And she wished she hadn’t. “Yes, but I can’t do that too often.”
He got up from the table, and she swallowed deeply while watching him cross the floor and walk over to her on those beautiful but manly bare feet. He came to a stop in front of her, reached out and took her hand. She immediately felt that same sexual charge she’d felt when she’d taken his hand earlier.
“Yet you did let go with me.”
Yes, and that’s what worried her. Why with him and only him? Why not with Dr. Thad Miller, Dr. Otis Wells or any of the other doctors who’d been trying for years to engage her in serious—or not so serious—affairs?
“Megan?”
“Yes?”
“Would you believe me if I were to say I would never intentionally hurt you?”
“Yes.” She could believe that.
“And would it help matters if I let you set the pace?” he asked huskily in a voice that stirred things inside of her.
“What do you mean?”
“You stay in control, and I’ll only do what you allow me to do and nothing more.”
She suddenly felt a bit disoriented. What he evidently didn’t quite yet understand was that he was a threat to her self-imposed control. But then, hadn’t Ramsey said that she should let loose, be wild, release steam and let her hair down every once in a while? But did that necessarily mean being reckless?
“Megan?”
She stared up at him, studying his well-defined features. Handsome, masculine. Refined. Strong. Controlled. But was he really controlled? His features were solid, unmovable. The idea that perhaps he shared something in common with her was a lot to think about. In the meantime…
Taking a ride with him couldn’t hurt anything. She couldn’t sleep, and perhaps getting out and letting the wind hit her face would do her some good. He did say he would let her be in control, and she believed him. Although he had a tendency to speak his mind, he didn’t come across as the type of man who would force himself on any woman. Besides, he knew her brothers and cousins, and was friends with them. His sisters were married to Westmorelands, and he wouldn’t dare do anything to jeopardize those relationships.
“Okay, I’ll go riding with you, Rico. Give me a minute to change clothes.”
* * *
Rico smiled the moment he and Megan stepped outside. He hadn’t lied. It was a beautiful night. He’d always said if he ever relocated from Philadelphia, he would consider moving to Texas. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold, most of the time. He had fallen in love with the Lone Star state that first time he’d gone hunting and fishing with his grandfather. His grandparents had never approved of his mother’s marriage, but that hadn’t stopped them from forging a relationship with their grandchildren.
“There’s a full moon tonight,” Megan said when he opened the SUV’s door for her.
“Yes, and you know what they say about a full moon, don’t you?”
She rolled her eyes. “If you’re trying to scare me, please don’t. I’ve been known to watch scary movies and then be too afraid to stay at my own place. I’ve crashed over at Ramsey’s or Dillon’s at times because I was afraid to go home.”
He wanted to tell her that if she got scared tonight, she could knock on his bedroom door and join him there at any time, but he bit back the words. “Well, then I won’t scare you,” he said, grinning as he leaned over to buckle her seat belt. She had changed into a pretty dress that buttoned up the front. There were a lot of buttons, and his fingers itched to tackle every last one of them.
And he thought she smelled good. Something sweet and sensual with an allure that had him wanting to do more than buckle her seat belt. He pulled back. “Is that too tight?”
“No, it’s fine.”
He heard the throatiness in her voice and wondered if she was trying to downplay the very thing he was trying to highlight. “All right.” He closed the door and then moved around the front of the truck to get in the driver’s side.
“If it wasn’t for that full moon it would be pitch-black out here.”
He smiled. “Yes, you won’t be able to see much, but what I’m going to show you is beautiful. That’s why Clint had that cabin built near there. It’s a stunning view of the canyon at night, and whenever there’s a full moon the glow reflects off certain boulders, which makes the canyon appear to light up.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
And I can’t wait to taste you again, he thought, as he kept his hand firmly on the steering wheel or else he’d be tempted to reach across, lift the hem of her dress and stroke her thigh. When it came to women, his manners were usually impeccable. However, around Megan he was tempted to touch, feel and savor.
He glanced over at her when he steered the truck around a bend. She was gnawing on her bottom lip, which meant she was nervous. This was a good time to get her talking, about anything. So he decided to let the conversation be about work. Hers.
“So you think they can do without you for thirty days?”
She glanced over at him and smiled. “That’s
the same thing Ramsey asked. No one is irreplaceable, you know.”
“What about all those doctors who’re pining for you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Evidently you didn’t believe me when I said I don’t date much. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but they call me Iceberg Megan behind my back.”
He jerked his eyes from the road to glance over at her. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Not really. They prefer a willing woman in their beds, and I’m not willing and their beds are the last places I’d want to be. I don’t hesitate to let them know it.”
“Ouch.”
“Whatever,” she said, waving her hand in the air. “I don’t intend to get in any man’s bed anytime soon.”
He wondered if she was issuing a warning, and he decided to stay away from that topic. “Why did you decide to become an anesthesiologist?”
She leaned back in the seat, getting comfortable. He liked that. “When I got my tonsils out, this man came around to talk to me, saying he would be the one putting me to sleep. He told me all about the wonderful dreams I would have.”
“And did you?”
She looked confused. “Did I what?”
“Have wonderful dreams?”
“Yes, if you consider dreaming about a promised trip to Disney World a wonderful dream.”
He started to chuckle and then he felt the rumble in his stomach when he laughed. She was priceless. Wonderful company. Fun to have around. “Did you get that trip to Disney World?”
“Yes!” she said with excitement in her voice. “It was the best ever, and the first of many trips our family took together. There was the time…”
He continued driving, paying attention to both the rugged roads and to her. He liked the sound of her voice, and he noticed that more than anything else, she liked talking about her family. She had adored her parents, her uncle and aunt. And she thought the world of her brothers, cousins and sisters. There were already a lot of Westmorelands. Yet she was hoping there were still more.
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