Claimed by a Cowboy

by Tanya Michaels

  Sam brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “It’s not exactly what I imagined, either.”

  Meaning that their kiss was better than what he’d envisioned, or that he never would have thought anything like this could happen between them?

  “We should get off the floor,” Sam said. “We’re a traffic hazard.”

  She followed him through the crowd and back to the bar. When she attempted to settle their tab, he objected. The bartender laughingly sided with Sam. “I realize, ma’am, that in this day and age, women should be able to pay, but we’re just not that enlightened here.”

  Maybe some feminist part of her should be annoyed, but how irritated could she be with a man who’d just kissed her senseless and wanted to buy her dinner? They made it to the exit without running into Barbara again, which suited Lorelei just fine. Though she’d taken an unexpectedly naughty joy in tweaking the woman earlier, right now she didn’t want to be reminded that Babs had been the impetus for that soul-shaking kiss. Besides, Lorelei’s brain was currently liquefied. If she got into a verbal sparring match with her former nemesis, she’d be at a loss for a single timely comeback. High school all over again.

  Sam held open the door for her and she saw that the storm had grown worse while they’d been inside. Small hailstones littered the front walkway. The parking lot was one big mudslide.

  “We could stay here,” Sam mused, “but we’re under tornado watches later tonight and I’d just as soon get on the road before anyone with a few beers under their belt heads home.”

  “I’m game.” The inn was only ten minutes away under normal conditions.

  “Hang on tight,” was all the warning Sam gave before swooping her up into his arms. Hurrying, he carried her through the rain toward the pickup truck.

  Though Lorelei tried to maintain some discipline about diet and exercise, at five-eight she was never going to be a delicate armful. It was impossible not to be impressed with the way he cradled her. But he had to set her down to unlock the door. Holding her against the side of the truck, he let her slide down against his body. Her body tingled at the contrast between cold rain sluicing over them and the heat of him surrounding her. If they hadn’t been standing in a public parking lot and lightning weren’t flashing all around, she’d be tempted to brace herself against the truck and wrap her legs around his waist.

  “There you go.” He popped open the door. “You okay?” he asked when she didn’t immediately jump in the dry shelter of the cab.

  She swallowed. “Dandy.” Except that she was losing her mind.

  What was she doing, fantasizing about jumping a man she’d known for a week outside a bar? That scenario offered health risks, emotional risks and legal risks. While she wasn’t one hundred percent up to date on Texas public indecency laws, she was pretty sure sex while standing in a parking lot was against code. Still, the picture of what making love to Sam might be like flashed through her mind again, and she shivered.

  “You chilled?” Sam asked solicitously. “I’ve got the heater on, but it’ll take a minute to be effective.”

  “Actually, I’m not as cold as you’d expect.”

  He half turned to her as though about to respond, but then simply shook his head and focused on peering through the windshield. There was some debris on the roads, mostly in the form of small tree branches. The silence that fell between them felt natural at first, more an attempt to concentrate on careful driving than awkwardness over his kissing her. Yet, the longer they were in the car and the more time Lorelei had to dwell on her ardent response, the more difficult it became not to say anything.

  A few minutes ago, she’d been thinking about how good it would feel to have Sam inside her. And here they were on their way to a hotel where they’d be alone together all night. Did he think that when they reached the inn, they might continue where they’d left off? Mild panic fluttered in her chest. Definitely panic. Not excitement, you hussy.

  She waited until he’d safely crossed a path of road covered in standing water before she broached the subject. “What I said earlier, about you kissing like a god? I meant it. That was—” Hotter than a Lone Star Fourth of July “—nice. And you know I was happy to help out with your stalker.”

  “But it was an isolated incident,” Sam recited as if he were a student spouting memorized facts. “You’re not the type of woman to be ruled by your passions, making impulsive mistakes that you’ll regret when you’re in a more rational mood.”

  “Uh, yeah.” Pretty much in a nutshell. Lorelei didn’t know whether to be impressed that he understood her so well or vaguely insulted. The way he described her, she sounded dull and inflexible.

  “Agreed. One-time deal.”

  Well, that was easy. She blinked. “So you weren’t planning to try and kiss me later?” At all?

  He kept his eyes on the partially flooded road, but his mouth curved into a devilish grin. “Disappointed, darlin’?”

  “Wh— No. I’m relieved we worked through it logically. Thank you for being so considerate of my point of view.” She slumped down in her seat, proud that she and Sam, despite their brief history of hostile miscommunications, had reached such a sensible accord. Yep, she was pleased. And not at all despondent at the thought of his mouth never again taking hers.

  BY THE TIME SAM PULLED his truck behind the inn, the lightning had died down. But an eerie wind howled over them. Lorelei knew that tomorrow morning, the small buds that had started to blossom on flowering trees would be floating in mud puddles like soggy confetti. She just hoped the destruction would be limited to flora and fauna, not people’s roofs and fences.

  She and Sam filed into the kitchen and she paused at the door to the laundry room, shrugging out of the borrowed denim jacket. “I’ll wash and dry this and have it back to you by tomorrow.” For now, she planned to wash and dry herself. “I think I’m gonna sink into a hot bath for a little while.” All of the guest rooms contained private bathrooms with shower stalls, two of which were specially equipped for handicapped visitors, but the only tub in the place was in the master suite that had been her mother’s. Right now, the huge square tub sounded like heaven.

  Sam nodded. “See you in the morning. And Lorelei? Thank you.”

  For tracking him down this afternoon to apologize? For running interference with Babs? For telling him he kissed like a god? Lorelei thought it best not to ask, since she was striving to forget just how addictive his kisses were.

  She went to her room and grabbed her most comfortable nightgown, a pale yellow dress that fell to midthigh from wide shirred straps. It was her favorite because of the ultrasoft fabric, but when she’d packed it, she hadn’t known she’d be sharing the inn with someone else. The sweetheart neckline and high hem were a bit more revealing than she was comfortable with Sam seeing, so she also pulled the guest robe out of the closet. She’d just finished tossing a couple of toiletry items into a duffel bag when her cell phone jangled.

  “Hello?” Holding the phone between her ear and shoulder, she gathered up her stuff and padded barefoot into the hall.

  “It’s Ava, dear. Please tell me you’re in safe for the night and not out in this humdinger of a storm?”

  Lorelei smiled into the receiver, touched by the woman’s maternal concern. “Yeah, Sam and I are both—”

  “And what is all this I hear about the two of you making out on the dance floor?”

  The abrupt interrogation surprised Lorelei so much she nearly tripped over her own feet. “Uh…” Word travels fast.

  She hurried down the stairs, hoping she was out of earshot of his room. It would be humiliating to get caught discussing him on the phone like some teenager dishing to a girlfriend. “He said Barbara Biggins has been stalking him, and he’s had a tough time convincing her he’s not interested. It was an act for her benefit.” And also the most
stirring kiss Lorelei had experienced in her adult life, but that wasn’t relevant.

  “Just an act?” There was a flat note in Ava’s tone. Skepticism or disappointment?

  Lorelei pushed open the door to her mother’s room—she couldn’t think of the suite as anything else, even after days of packing away Wanda’s belongings. “He’s an attractive man and a good kisser, I grant you. But it’s not as if we have much in common. Including the states we live in, remember?”

  “All right. Just checking. I didn’t want to step on your toes when I introduce him to my niece this weekend.”

  Lorelei blinked. “Your niece?”

  “Emily. She’s a paralegal who lives in San Marcos.” The city Ava mentioned was right here in the Hill Country, famed for its river and springs. “She’s coming to town for the festival. Emily broke up with her fiancé last year. I didn’t want to push her while she was recovering but I think she’s lonely. And she’s such a nice girl! You know, your mother and I always used to say Sam needed a good woman in his life.”

  Lorelei felt a wholly irrational twinge. Wanda had wanted to set him up with someone but had never once mentioned him to her single daughter? Of course, logically the idea of Lorelei and Sam together wouldn’t have made a lick of sense, but normally that wouldn’t have stopped Wanda.

  In the bathroom, she found a jar of lavender-scented foaming bath salts that claimed on the label to “soothe away stress.” Lorelei dumped a ton of it into the running water.

  “Hello? Lorelei?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Oh. Thought maybe the call had dropped for a second there.”

  She sat on the edge of the tub, sticking out her hand to check the temperature. “Ava, does Sam know you plan to shove an available woman into his path? Because he was just saying the other night that he doesn’t want a relationship.”

  Undeterred, Ava made a dismissive pfffft noise. “Honey, every man says that until he meets the woman who changes his mind. He can’t discount Emily if he’s never even met her.”

  Lorelei frowned, trying to follow that reasoning.

  “I am more than capable of handling Sam,” Ava continued confidently. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it.”

  “Sure. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? Hope it all works out for those crazy kids. Look, Ava, I appreciate you checking on me, but I was just getting ready to sink into a bubble bath, so…”

  “Talk to you tomorrow, then.”

  Lorelei set the phone on the linen shelf and undressed, wondering absently who’d tattled to Ava about the kiss. After being gone from town so long, Lorelei couldn’t imagine anyone here caring what she did. No, she suspected Sam was the primary person of interest in any gossip that got passed along. Just because Barbara was his most aggressive admirer didn’t mean dozens of other aspiring women weren’t also keeping tabs on him. Brace yourself, ladies. They were about to have another rival for Sam’s affections in kind-hearted but lonely Emily.

  She clipped her hair up into a haphazard knot. Tendrils of steam beckoned from the bubble-filled tub and Lorelei sank into the water with a contented sigh. Her body had been thrumming with electric tension ever since Sam put his arms around her on the dance floor. Now, her muscles finally started to loosen. She closed her eyes, only to have them pop open again when she heard a sound at the door.

  “Hello?” She cocked her head and realized that the noise was scratching. A paw batted from beneath the door, insistently demanding entrance. Lorelei recalled her mom saying that when she brushed her teeth in the mornings and evenings, Oberon liked to follow her into the bathroom and sit on the vanity, mewing conversationally as if he were telling her about his plans or recapping his day.

  Should’ve closed the outer door. Though she’d locked the bathroom door, she’d been preoccupied by her conversation with Ava and hadn’t closed the door between the bedroom and the rest of the house.

  “Sorry, Obie,” she muttered. “I bathe alone.”

  The scratching became more frantic, and she flicked a handful of water at floor level, hoping that if his paw got wet, he’d retreat. Instead, as if she’d declared war, he retaliated with a shrill battle cry that made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Lorelei found herself wondering if Lonely Emily might like a cat for company.

  “Go away,” she insisted.

  She wanted to believe she could simply ignore him, but Oberon did not accept defeat. Any minute now, he’d launch into a peace-shattering caterwaul. Not willing to cede her serenity to a freaking feline, she stood. She grabbed her towel off the brass hook and wrapped it around her. She planned to boot his fuzzy butt from the room and shut the master suite door. Let him yowl out in the hallway—she’d turn on some music before resuming her bath.

  When she opened the bathroom door, Oberon took off like a shot. But she didn’t doubt he’d try to return. Time to shut the door and flip on the radio. Lorelei had only taken two more steps toward the door when the entire inn was plunged into blackness. There was also a jolting silence as appliances and ceiling fans stopped functioning. She stood still, waiting for her eyes to adjust before she tried to find a candle or matches. Blundering around in the darkness could lead to her stubbing a toe on a piece of furniture or tripping over the cat.

  But before she’d had a chance to reorient herself, a beam of light flashed down the hall and Sam rounded the corner, stopping short at the sight of her in a towel. She blinked against the brightness.

  His voice was hoarse. “Power…” He coughed into his fist, tried again. “The power went out.”

  “I noticed.” She shifted her weight, careful not to drop the towel, hyperaware of the suds dripping along her collarbone and the fact that her topknot was flopping limply to the side of her head.

  Sam took a step closer, flipping the flashlight away so it wasn’t shining directly at her. “Here. You might need this.”

  “Thanks.” Tightening her grip on the towel with one hand, she reached out the other one, grateful but perplexed. “How’d you get here so fast with a light?” It was as if he’d just been hanging out in the hallway, waiting for them to lose electricity.

  “I was on the way already and grabbed the emergency flashlight out of the outlet where it was charging. I thought I heard you shriek. I was afraid you might have hurt yourself or seen a critter.” He gestured to the towel she wore. “I would’ve knocked before I came in.”

  The image that sprang to Lorelei’s mind was in direct contrast to his words. She could too easily picture herself reclining in the bubbly water when suddenly the door opened…

  She swallowed. “You came to save me from a potential critter? I live alone in Philly,” she reminded him, unused to anyone riding to her rescue. “I’ve had to deal with critters on my own.”

  “Yeah.” His lips twitched. “But everything’s bigger in Texas.”

  Unbidden, her gaze slid down his body. When she caught herself, she yanked her eyes back up, hoping it was too dark for him to have noticed. But he was staring so intently she doubted she could hide anything from him. He reached out a hand as if in slow motion and brushed away a line of frothy soap that had been winding toward the towel and the crevice between her breasts. Lorelei’s breath caught. Why hadn’t she tried harder to talk Ava out of any misbegotten matchmaking attempts? Maybe I should warn him. As his friend.

  But she couldn’t quite dredge up the nerve to discuss Sam’s love life while she stood there wearing no clothes. “That noise you heard wasn’t me. Oberon was throwing a tantrum because he was locked out. He wanted to keep me company while I was in the tub.”

  Sam smirked. “Then he—”

  Click, whir. Light poured through the room. Lorelei gasped, her towel slipping a couple of centimeters before she caught the top of it. Sam’s expression was so deliciously predatory that
she was torn between fleeing and letting the towel hit the hardwood.

  Backing away, she stammered, “I—I should finish rinsing off now.”

  He nodded. “Maybe I’ll go take a shower, too.” As he turned the corner, she heard him mumble, “A very cold one.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The kickoff day for the festival, Saturday, also happened to be St. Patrick’s Day. Irish or not, luck was definitely with the town. The day dawned clear and bright, all of the week’s previous storms having rolled through. The sky was a brilliant blue and although the early morning hours were cool enough to warrant a sweater, temperatures were forecast to reach the high seventies by noon. After spending much of Friday indoors with bankers and real estate agents, Lorelei looked forward to being outside today.

  Tess Fitzpatrick, who had generously come over last night to help fill giveaway bags with calming incense and potpourri, promised to stop by the booth during downtimes when she wasn’t organizing pint-size dancers for their next show. From her spot on the spacious public lawn, Lorelei watched dancers from the high school stretch and a group of musicians set up their instruments and sheet music. Lorelei was situated between a trio of women selling handmade jewelry and a middle-aged couple who were unpacking boxes of jars. Closer inspection revealed the jars were full of marinade, including one made with red wine from a local vineyard and another that was intriguingly labeled “madman moonshine marinade.”

  Lorelei knew her version of the Haunted Hill Country booth wasn’t quite what her mother would have done, yet she felt Wanda would approve. To honor her mother’s lifelong faith in pig figures as lucky talismans, Ava and Lorelei had found a novelty tablecloth—probably meant for BBQ events—that was covered in smiling pigs. Lorelei had also put together a scrapbook celebrating the inn and surrounded it with pamphlets on some of the area’s other B and Bs, spotlighting those her mom had liked the best. And Lorelei had printed and folded the brochures saved on her mom’s PC that offered advice on dealing with Hill Country spirits.