He smiled when she approached him. “You came.”
“You didn’t give me much choice.” She gripped her small purse until her fingers ached. He looked so good it made her stomach curl. “Are we having dinner here?”
He nodded. “In the great hall. The dancing will start in an hour or so.”
As he ushered her to her seat, she was very conscious of the many sets of eyes tracking their progress. Rory held out her chair and then sat down across from her.
She laid her purse on the table and clasped her hands in her lap. She shouldn’t have come. Looking at his face made her chest hurt. “Did you take care of your business?” This sophisticated Rory was the man she had met and fallen in love with. There...she said it. She was in love with Rory Fentress.
He was oblivious to her moment of self-revelation. “I’m sorry I ran out on you so quickly this afternoon.”
She shrugged. “I wasn’t being snide. It was a genuine question.”
“Oh.” He leaned back in his chair, unbuttoning his jacket. “I did take care of my business. It went well. I think I’ll have the backing I need to make a serious run for office.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“Look, Shannon, I—”
Their waiter appeared at Rory’s elbow, and the moment was lost. After that, it was open season. At least half the people in the room stopped by to congratulate Rory on his upcoming plans. Gossip in Royal wasn’t limited to the retro diner. Here in the Cattleman’s Club, the grapevine was equally hardy.
By the time the dessert course arrived, Shannon knew she had made a mistake. Though Rory introduced her to the few people she didn’t already know, she felt awkward and conspicuous.
It was a relief when the interminable meal ended and the music began. Rory stood and held out his hand. “I think this is our song.”
She couldn’t help smiling at him, though he was making her life very difficult. “We don’t have a song.”
Rory pulled her close, his lips brushing the shell of her ear as he hummed softly along with the music. “Maybe we do now.” The tune was an old romantic classic about missed chances and lost love.
She laid her head on his shoulder, her arms linked around his neck. He was big and strong and warm. If she could stop time, she could live forever in this one perfect moment.
Someone had turned down the lights, and now the only illumination emanated from banks of candles in tiered holders that were decorated with spring flowers. A wave of melancholy washed over her. She nestled close to him, feeling the steady beat of his heart against her breast. “You said we had things to discuss.” She didn’t really want to spoil the mood, but if he was planning to pressure her about selling, she’d rather know sooner than later. The disappointment might shore up her pride and keep her from tumbling into his bed.
Rory slid a hand down her back, his fingers warm against her bare skin. His body tensed, whether from the topic or from arousal, she didn’t know. Clearing his throat, he waited until the next song began. She steeled herself to be strong. She had too much pride to be his on-again, off-again girlfriend or to sell the Morrison birthright for a moment’s pleasure.. No matter what he was about to suggest, she had to be strong and say no.
Though she hadn’t really noticed, he had been steering them toward the outer edge of the dance floor. The shadows were darker here. Rory pulled back, his hands moving to her upper arms to put a bit of distance between them. “I’ve mucked up things. I know that. And you don’t trust me. But this one thing is true. I’ve fallen in love with you, Shannon.”
Three
He could feel the shock that ricocheted through her slender frame. Her lips parted and her eyes widened. Was she really so surprised? Surely she didn’t think he roamed around the state having insanely wild sex with hordes of women. Shannon was one of a kind.
Her silence began to bother him. “Any kind of response would be appreciated,” he said drily.
She licked her lips. “We’ve haven’t known each other very long.”
“Not true.” He’d been expecting this argument, and he was prepared. “I realize that my visits to Royal have been sporadic, but when we’ve been together, especially the last time, it’s been intense. We’ve had months to test the truth of what’s happening between us. I have no doubts about how I feel.”
“Have you ever been in love before?’
Now that was one he hadn’t expected. “No. Never. Which is why I recognize it now.”
She wrapped her arms around her waist, her blond hair glowing in the candlelight. “Can we please get out of here?”
He had a nasty feeling he was about to get shot down. Shannon was no dummy. She knew his life was not in Royal. If elected, he’d be spending a lot of time in Austin, despite establishing a legal residence in Royal. It never would be, at least not as long as he was active in Texas politics. Yet he had fallen for a woman who was so grounded in this town that they’d broken with tradition and made her a member of the TCC. “You don’t want to dance anymore?”
“No.”
Suddenly they were interrupted by a loud booming voice. The enormous older man bearing down on them was Jerome, one of his campaign backers who had met with Rory only hours before.
He slung a beefy arm around Rory’s shoulders. “Well, boy...is this the little filly who’s going to put the final stamp on your campaign? Nothing makes a candidate more believable than an adoring wife at his side.”
Rory saw the color drain from Shannon’s face. “Wife?” She sounded sick.
Jerome gave her a sly grin. “Rory told us he was thinking about getting hitched. Now that I realize he’s got his eye on you, Shannon, it makes perfect sense. The Morrison lineage is impeccable in Texas ranching. And I think your dad even had a great-uncle who was a state representative way back when. It’s a match made in heaven.”
Rory felt a lick of desperation. “I appreciate your support, Jerome. But you’ll understand if Shannon and I want to spend some time alone.”
“Of course, of course.” Jerome patted Shannon’s shoulder. “You’re a good gal. I’m glad we let you into the membership.” He shook Rory’s hand and waggled his eyebrows. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
In the dead void of silence after Jerome departed, Rory found it hard to swallow the lump of dread in his throat.
Shannon backed away from him, her face paper white even in the dim lighting. “I’m going home,” she said.
He reached for her but let his hand drop when she flinched. “Not yet. Not like this. At least hear me out. Please.” He squeezed the last word from a tight throat.
Silence expanded exponentially. Finally, she spoke, the words barely a whisper. “Half an hour.” Her face was expressionless.
Neither of them spoke as they slipped out a side door and headed down the street. Shannon seemed as distant as the moon. Now that it was dark, the breeze was chilly. When she drew a thin shawl around her shoulders, he stopped, took off his tux jacket and wrapped it around her.
“Thank you.” The words were barely audible.
Not touching her was no longer an option. He was making himself nuts wondering what ideas were swirling in that beautiful head. Going with his instincts, he pulled her into his left arm and tucked her against his side. Again, he experienced it...an inexplicable mélange of sexual need and bone-deep contentment.
He didn’t know if Shannon was too upset to shove him away, or simply too dispirited. Even worse, perhaps she merely tolerated his touch because it was easier than fighting him.
The hotel lobby was deserted. It was early in the year for tourists, and any business types in town had probably been invited to the club for the evening. He and Shannon entered the elevator and rode up to the third floor. She stood silently as he inserted his key card and stepped back to let her precede him.
He had booked a suite, hoping that the two of them would have plenty of time to spend here. She looked around, her gaze noncommittal. “This is nice.”
&n
bsp; “I’m glad you like it.” He loosened his tie and poured himself a drink from the crystal decanter. Tonight was the first time he had ever said the L word to a woman, and so far, it wasn’t going well.
Shannon positioned his tux jacket carefully on the back of a chair. She ran both hands through her hair, ruffling the short, golden strands. Standing in the middle of the room, she grimaced. “I’d kill for a beer.”
“What’s making you so nervous?”
“I never said I was nervous.” The reply was quick but proved his point. Her voice quavered, and her throat flushed with hot color.
“If you plan to say no, just come out with it.”
“No.” Her reply was instant.
He reeled inwardly, shocked by the certainty in her voice. “That’s it then? Just no? Surely you didn’t let Jerome upset you.”
She frowned. “Jerome only confirmed what I suspected. Did I ever tell you I was engaged once upon a time?”
Something dark raked his chest. “No, you did not.” The thought of Shannon with another man was more than he could deal with at the moment. “What happened?”
“I found out, thankfully before it was too late, that he was more interested in acquiring a share of my dad’s ranch as a wedding gift than he was in actually being married to me.”
“You know I’m not after your money.”
Her smile held little humor. “I’m land-rich at the moment. But yeah, I’m pretty clear as to why you’re interested in me. I’m convenient. Adoring political wife and Royal ranch all in one package. I fit your requirements.”
“That’s unfair to both of us. I love you, Shannon.”
“And yet somehow, the good ol’ boys’ club knew about your plans to propose before I did.”
“That’s not how it happened. We were discussing general logistics about the campaign and I mentioned that I might be getting engaged.”
“Because you knew I wouldn’t say no. That I was infatuated with you and that I drop everything whenever you come to town. Lord, I’ve been a gullible fool.”
His hands fisted at his sides as he counted to ten. “You’re putting words in my mouth. I never made any assumptions at all. I was hoping you wanted me as much as I wanted you.”
“For sex.” She glared at him.
“Among other things. You can’t deny that we’re combustible between the sheets.”
“I won’t deny it. But there’s more to marriage than sex. I want a man who puts me at the top of the list. A man who would walk on water for me. A man who would give up everything in the world to make me happy.”
“How do you know I can’t make you happy?”
“What makes you think you can?”
Her eyes were dark pools of misery. She wasn’t angry or yelling. If anything, she seemed resigned.
He shrugged, gambling his entire future on one roll of the dice. “I’ll give up the campaign,” he said. “If that’s what it takes to make you believe I love you.” His stomach clenched with disappointment and regret, but the fleeting emotions were nothing compared to the thought of losing her.
She sank into a chair, her eyes huge. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m deadly serious. I need you, Shannon. Not to be a political spouse, but to be the other half of my heart. I’ve never had much of a family. But I’d like to build one with you. We can do that on the Bar None. Politics doesn’t interest me at all if it means losing you.”
He took her wrist and reeled her in. “I’m sorry Jerome spoiled our moment.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small velvet box and flipped the lid. “I love you. That’s the simple truth. Nothing else matters.”
Taking her hand in his, he slipped the platinum band with the huge flawless stone onto the third finger of her left hand.
Kissing her fingers one by one, he let her feel his need, silently begging her to understand all the things he was unable to articulate.
The seconds that elapsed as she ran her thumb around the ring, staring silently at it, might as well have been an eternity. When she finally lifted her head and smiled mistily, he was light-headed with relief. He didn’t know if the battle was won, but at least she hadn’t tossed his offering across the room.
Shannon stared at him, her eyes damp with tears. “Kiss me, Rory.”
Slowly, he lowered his head. Her lashes fluttered and settled at half-mast, shielding her emotions. When their lips touched, they both groaned. His erection swelled instantaneously, painfully so. Shannon strained on her tiptoes, her hands clenching his shoulders as they kissed with all the desperation of lovers on the Titanic.
“I’d like an answer,” he said gruffly.
He could feel every curve of her body beneath the thin fabric of her dress. Recklessly, he picked her up and strode toward the bed. To hell with talking. Sometimes actions spoke louder than words.
Shannon smiled up at him, utterly feminine, deliciously warm and appealing. “I never knew I could feel this way about anyone. I do love you, Rory.”
The relief he felt was astounding.
When he sat her carefully on the edge of the bed, she scrambled to her knees facing him. With grace and a naughty grin, she reached for the hem of her dress and peeled it over her head. “You’re wasting time.”
He shook his head, bemused by the passion he felt for this woman, this enchanting woman. Underneath her party dress she wore a pair of very tiny black bikini panties. The matching lace bra barely contained her lush, full breasts. “A thousand pardons, my sweet. Allow me to catch up.” He shed his clothes with less than his usual coordination. When he made it down to the last item, dark knit boxers, Shannon crooked a finger. “I’ll help with that.”
He stepped closer to the bed, breathing hard. “I didn’t know I needed help.”
“Oh, you do,” she whispered, cupping him in one hand and playing with him.
His jaw clenched and his eyes closed of their own accord. Trembling, the muscles in his neck and arms rigid, he stood silently as she hooked her fingers in the elastic at his hips and pushed the underwear down to his thighs.
Impatient, especially because she could reach no lower, he shoved the boxers the rest of the way to his ankles and kicked them aside. He choked and cursed when she gathered him in both hands this time, one set of fingers curled around his shaft. “Shannon...” He wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. He could barely form a coherent thought.
She coaxed him closer by the simple expedient of tugging his erection. Stumbling forward, he landed on top of her, both of them sprawled on the gold-and-green spread. In one weird part of his brain, he knew this would feel better on soft sheets, but with his body pressed to hers, chest to chest, thigh to thigh, he couldn’t move.
Shannon had a different idea. She wriggled free. “I want to be naked,” she said, the words a mere whisper of sound.
“I want that, too. I do...” He removed the two items of clothing she wore and leaned forward to bury his face in her cleavage. She smelled intoxicating.
Slowly, he spread her legs with his. At the last moment he remembered a condom. Thankfully, he had stashed some in the bedside table. But the effort to retrieve one and put it on seemed almost insurmountable. At last, his body braced above hers, he fit the head of his erection to her welcoming sex and pushed his way home.
If this afternoon had been fast and furious, tonight was gentle, slow, endlessly erotic. All of his senses were sharpened. He heard each catch of her breath, felt the damp warmth of her skin, saw the way her irises expanded when he took her close to the edge. And he tasted the sweetness of her kiss.
She cried out his name when she came. “Rory...oh, Rory.”
“I’m here, my love.” Her release triggered his. He moved in her again and again, wringing every last drop of pleasure from the denouement.
At last they found the will to climb beneath the sheets. The air-conditioning in the room was cool on their heated skin.
Shannon curled into his side. “That was nice.”
He laughed helplessly, captivated by her more each day. “I know how much the ranch means to you, honey. We’ll make it work. You don’t have to be afraid that marrying me will disrupt your life.”
She sat up, her lips tilted in a self-satisfied smile. “Marrying you? I haven’t even been asked.”
He yawned and stretched, stroking the nearest breast as he did so. “Sorry. I thought it was implied when I put that ring on your finger. But I’m asking now, Shannon Morrison. Will you marry me?”
“Yes. I believe I will.” That prompted another celebratory kiss. She was on top of him this time, draped across his chest in a highly satisfactory position.
“I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy,” he said, the words a solemn vow.
Shannon sighed, nuzzling up against him. “I love your sweet offer, Rory. And knowing that you love me enough to give up your dream fills my heart to overflowing. But I think you’ve misunderstood me this time. I haven’t kept running the ranch because it’s my dearest wish to do so. I was only preserving a heritage for my descendants. I’d love to live with you in Austin and in Royal. As soon as we get married, the ranch belongs to both of us. So if you can chip in for a trustworthy foreman, and if we can fly back here several times a month so I can keep tabs on things, you’re stuck with me. Besides, I have a perfectly good degree in communications going to waste. That might just come in handy for a politician’s wife.”
He curled an arm around her waist, holding her close in case she had any ideas about leaving the bed. Though he had never done anything to deserve the love of a woman like Shannon, he was damned grateful. And God willing, he’d never give her any cause to regret giving him her trust.
“Yes and yes. It’s a deal. This had been a really good day,” he said slowly, feeling exhaustion roll over him like a soft cloud.
Shannon settled into his embrace, her head pillowed on his shoulder. “Yes, it has, my love. And I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings....”
* * * * *
The Texas Cattleman’s Club is back!
A Very Tempting Texan (Texas Cattleman’s Club: The Missing Mogul) Page 4