A Very Tempting Texan (Texas Cattleman’s Club: The Missing Mogul) (4 page)

She sat up, holding the sheet to her breasts. “Then you have to go,” she said calmly. “I understand. This is why you came back to Royal.”

“No,” he said through clenched teeth, sitting up beside her and curling a hand behind her neck to drag her in for a deep, hard kiss. “
This
is why I came back. The meeting was incidental.”

Knowing that at least a part of their future hung in the balance, he released her reluctantly and scrambled to his feet, dressing rapidly. “I’ve done things all wrong,” he groused. “I never meant for this to happen when I came out here today.”

* * *

Shannon went from drowsy and sated to hurt and embarrassed in a heartbeat. “Well, nobody asked you to follow me,” she said, glaring at his back as he bent to shove his feet into his boots.

He straightened and ran a hand through his hair, his demeanor harried. “There’s a dance at the club tonight. I’ll send a car for you at six. Wear that same dress. We have some things to discuss.”

“Since when do you get to boss me around?”

He seemed irritated by her vehemence. “Don’t make this difficult, Shannon.” His scowl was the antithesis of the way he had regarded her only moments before. “I know I haven’t handled things well, but I think we can come to an understanding.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” What was he planning to offer? A ridiculous amount far more than her land was worth? Or maybe a scheduled list of times when she should be available to him between campaign stops if he let her continue living at the Bar None after he owned it...

She stood up, wrapping the sheet around her. “You’d better go,” she said flatly. She handed him his phone, taking care to make sure that their fingers didn’t touch. “They’ll be waiting for you.”

For one harrowing second he stared at her, his gaze conflicted. Then with a muttered curse, he stormed out of the room. She heard his boots tromp on the landing as he retrieved his belongings, and then the unmistakable noise as he ran down the stairs.

When she heard the front door slam, silly tears leaked from her eyes. She dashed them away in frustration. This was the end. No way in heck was she going to dress up, spend the evening with him and let him break her heart again.

They had nothing in common, no point of contact at all. He was a big-city politician. She was a ranch woman with manure in the cleats of her boots. Even one more minute with him was dangerous to her mental health. No matter how he dressed it up, any offer to buy the ranch had to do with him and his goals, not her well-being.

Much like the time she gave up candy bars, it was better to go cold turkey. Seeing him for a final
auld
lang
syne
at the club was only going to make things worse.

Moody and emotional, she took a shower...a long, hot one meant to wash away the feel of his big warm hands on her skin. But no matter how hard she scrubbed, he was everywhere. In her mind, in her heart, in the very cells of her flesh.

Wretched and morose, she ripped the sheets from her bed and dumped them in the hall to take to the laundry room later. Feeling the need to torture herself further, she wandered into the room where she had sent Rory to change clothes earlier in the day.

Foolishly, she picked up a towel in the bathroom, holding it to her face and inhaling the scent of Rory Fentress. The faint pleasing aroma of his aftershave clung to the fabric along with the intrinsic smell of him, a man...just a man.

Realizing with some chagrin that she had burned several hours of valuable time, she forced herself to change back into a clean set of work clothes. Though no one would presume to bother her when she was at home, they must be wondering why she had gone missing when there was so much work to be done. Rory’s appearance had been a pleasant blip on the radar. Now it was time to get back to the real world.

* * *

What was left of the afternoon was long and hot. At four-thirty she dragged herself back to the house to make a few phone calls and set up a routine visit from the vet. The herd of new calves was doing well, but she had learned not to take chances.

Though it hadn’t been intentional, she had not taken her phone with her out to the barn where she had been working. When she picked it up off the kitchen table, she had half a dozen unanswered texts.
Confirmed
:
car
coming
at
6
.
Where
r
u
?
Still
in
meeting
.
Don’t
make
me
come
out
there
...

That last one made her smile despite her fatigue and her mental turmoil. Why did he have to be so appealing, so sexy, so impossible to resist?

Knowing in her heart that she didn’t have the willpower to stay away, she once again showered and then stretched out on the bed for a quick restorative nap. But her heart had a different agenda. Her pulse raced. Her skin heated. And her stomach flip-flopped with the advent of a million unsettling butterflies every time she remembered Rory. Naked. In her arms. Smiling rakishly as he staked his claim.

She
was
in
quicksand
and
sinking
fast
....

What was there to talk about, after all? They were in the midst of a mutual infatuation. The realities of their separate lives would snuff out the fire soon enough. When she said an unequivocal
no
, Rory would find another place to buy and their affair would crash to an end.

But even that knowledge wasn’t enough to prevent her from following her lover’s demands. Rummaging in the back of her closet for the dress he’d told her to wear, she slipped it on and found the black heels that matched. Small rhinestone earrings, a spritz of perfume and a tiny black purse completed her ensemble.

To shore up her courage, she opened a bottle of wine and poured herself half a glass. Taking the crystal goblet out onto the back porch, she sank onto the cushioned swing and rocked slowly. As far as she could see, the Bar None lay somnolent in the late afternoon sun. The ranch hands who worked the early morning shift had for the most part headed home, though there were a few old-timers who lived in the bunkhouse as they had in the old days when her dad was alive.

The wine soothed her nerves but not the restless sense of anticipation. Though Rory had made love to her only hours before, she couldn’t wait to be in his arms again, even if that meant dancing in a room full of people. She had lived in Royal her whole life. And she had tried to be discreet each time she and Rory were together, particularly the last time.

No one had seen Rory and Shannon leave the TCC and slip out into the night, making their way to Rory’s suite at the hotel. No one had heard the door lock, seen the drapes draw shut. No one had felt the trembling sense of urgency that propelled a man and a woman into bed and kept them there for three long, erotically charged days.

Tonight, someone was bound to notice Rory...and possibly remember that he had been seen with Shannon from time to time. Perhaps they would speculate. She was single and free to be with whomever she pleased. But Rory would soon be heading out on the campaign trail, and she didn’t want to be the subject of gossip or pity. Texas law said he had to be a legal resident for a year in order to run from this district, and the election was only fourteen months away. Rory was running out of time to make decisions.

She was still sitting on the porch when the car arrived at six on the dot. Though Royal boasted a wealthier-than-average population, most people didn’t flaunt their money. Instead of a limo, Rory had sent a dark SUV with tinted windows. It was black and shiny and looked as if it had recently been driven off the new-car lot.

An older man in uniform, surely nearing retirement by the look of him, stepped out and greeted her. “Mr. Fentress had planned to come along, but his meeting ran late. He asked me to extend his apologies and to tell you he’ll be ready when you arrive at the club.”

“Thank you. Let me get my purse and wrap and I’ll be right with you.”

The trip to town was far too brief. By now, she should have come up with a plan to handle Rory, but so far, nothing came to mind. At least nothing that was not X-rated.

When the driver dropped her off, she thanked him and stepped out onto the drive in front of the clubhouse. The Texas Cattleman’s Club, a large, rambling single-story building, was an old-world-style facility that had been built around 1910. The facade of dark stone and wood, topped with a tall slate roof, was designed to impress, a place for good old Texas boys to meet behind closed doors as they enjoyed exclusive benefits.

If the hunting trophies hanging on the mahogany walls could talk, they would tell tales of billion-dollar deals and secret alliances. Shannon felt a genuine sense of pride in knowing that she was now a legitimate member. There might have been difficult days when she wanted to sell the Bar None and hightail it out of town. But she hadn’t. She had persevered. She had hung tough, and as her reward, she had saved her family’s legacy. Ranching in Texas was a time-honored tradition. She was doing her part to keep the Bar None alive and well.

As she stepped through the front door, she inhaled the familiar smells of old leather furniture and pipe tobacco. The decor was unashamedly masculine. With dark floors and high ceilings, as well as all sorts of artifacts adorning the walls, the ambiance communicated history and timelessness.

Her eyes were still adjusting to the dim lighting after the bright sunshine outside when a hand touched her shoulder. “Shannon! I hoped you’d be here.”

She whirled around to find her good friend, Lila Hacket, smiling at her. They hugged. “Lila...I didn’t even know you were in town.”

“A flying visit, that’s all. Dad hasn’t been feeling well.” Lila’s dark auburn hair framed a lovely face that was perhaps a shade too thin. “How are things coming along with the child care center campaign?”

Shannon shrugged with a grin. She and Lila were part of a small group of women lobbying to drag the club into the twenty-first century. There was plenty of room onsite to accommodate care for members’ children, but the idea had drawn some fierce opposition. “It’s like chipping away at a granite mountain, but I like to think we’re making progress.”

“And Rory?”

Shannon put a hand over Lila’s mouth, glancing around to see if anyone had overheard. “Hush. He’s meeting me here.”

“That sounds promising.”

“I told you I broke up with him,” she whispered, feeling her face heat. Lila knew her better than most anyone.

“And yet here you are.” Lila’s sly smile said she knew exactly what was going on inside Shannon’s head.

“It’s complicated.”

Lila sobered. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

Shannon’s throat tightened. “I can’t be. We’re all wrong together. I need someone who puts me first. Rory wants to buy my ranch. I don’t think he really cares about me.”

“Rory can buy any place he wants. Just because your ex-fiancé was a jerk doesn’t mean that Rory is.”

“I can’t talk about this here. Go wow some poor innocent man. I’ve got to visit the ladies’ room.”

Lila brushed Shannon’s shoulder with an affectionate squeeze. “Keep me posted. I’m hoping at least one of us is due for a happy ending.”

Shannon ducked through the door marked Women and examined her face in the mirror. Her cheeks were pink, but outwardly she appeared composed. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her hair and walked back to the lobby. Across the room, Rory stood quietly, one hand in his pocket, a crooked smile on his face. He was wearing the same tux he’d had on when they met. The fact that he could segue so seamlessly from cowboy to corporate persona told her a lot about his gift for adapting to his circumstances.

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.