Hot Westmoreland Nights (7 page)

His gaze roamed over her. “It would be me and me alone who would leave a satisfied smile on your lips, Chloe.”

Chloe felt a tightening in her stomach as his gaze slowly swept over her, lingering in certain places and bestowing a visual caress in others. And his deep seductive voice was stirring all kinds of sensations to life inside her.

“How long were you with this guy?”

She wondered why he wanted to know. “A year.”

“And how long have the two of you been apart?”

Chloe wasn’t sure why he wanted to know that, either. Why she’d even shared anything with him about Daren in the first place was a mystery to her. But she had and evidently he was curious. “Two years. Now if you will excuse me I’m about to tackle the dishes.”

Ramsey watched her walk off over to the sink and, since she was doing her best to ignore him, he dug into his meal. Not surprisingly, everything was delicious and for the first time in a long while, he was enjoying his food. He was also enjoying watching Chloe while he ate. If she only knew all the things that were running through his mind while chewing on a piece of bacon and swallowing his toast.

She refused to look over at him which was probably a good thing. Instead she was trying to keep busy and continued to ignore him in the process. By the time he had finished breakfast and drained the last of his coffee, she had stacked all the dishes on the counter to load into the huge dishwasher. She wiped down the countertops until they gleamed.

Getting up from the table he crossed the kitchen to the sink to place his plate and cup in the sudsy water. And when he turned toward her she made a quick move to get out of his way. She wasn’t fast enough and he reached out and took hold of her hand.

A shiver immediately rushed down Chloe’s spine and she sucked in a sharp breath the instant Ramsey touched her.
She tilted her head and looked up at him. He was standing in front of her and his gaze, she noticed, was intense as ever and centered directly on her lips. Then his eyes moved slowly up her face to her eyes. He smiled and then slid his gaze back down to her lips again.

She knew at that moment he was about to make good on his threat to kiss her. Heat began formulating at the center of her thighs, and the way he was staring at her lips made her hot. Wet. Then something within her began to ache. It was a hollowed emptiness she just realized was there. He moved a step closer and his scent inflamed everything within her, pulling her into the depths of his masculinity, swirling her about and drawing her under into his sensual spell.

She studied him, became enmeshed in the starkly strong features of his face. He was a very handsome man, so much so that her senses were betraying her, refusing to let her do the right thing and demand he remove his hand from hers. Instead she felt herself easing toward him at the same time he shifted his body even closer to hers.

Chloe found herself pinned between him and the counter, felt the hardness of his erection come to rest between her thighs like it had every right to be there. For the first time in her life she felt totally in sync with a man, fully aware of who he was and what he could do. And the thought of what he could do, what he
would
do sent an intense shiver up her spine. It made her anxious to the point where she felt her nerves beginning to quiver. She swallowed deeply and when that didn’t help her she took her tongue and swiped it across her lower lip.

Not a good move
.

She looked into his face and saw the effect doing such a thing had on him. By no means was she trying to encourage
him and when she saw heat flare in his eyes, she knew something elementally male was taking place and he had no intention of fighting it.

He leaned forward and before she could catch her next breath, he bent his head and captured her lips.

R
amsey had told Chloe this wasn’t madness, but at that moment he knew that quite possibly it was worse. There was no way to explain why the moment his lips touched hers he’d felt something he couldn’t name or define slid up his spine. And her taste—rich, honeyed and sweet—drove him to stroke his tongue all over her mouth, sample her everywhere, taste her, and with a greed that made him groan. And when he released his hold on her wrist to place his hands at the center of her back, he shifted positions as fire spread through him.

Energy he didn’t think he had, especially after a sleepless night, raced through him, gripped him hard, made his erection swell that much more. He wanted to think this was ludicrous, but he knew this was as sexual as it could get, as he took her mouth in a hot and urgent kind of way. He was determined to make her feel all the things he was feeling at that moment. And when she took hold of his tongue, he knew he’d succeeded.

The hands at her back became possessive, they lowered to cup her backside and she moaned at the same time she moved against him. They were chest to breast, hip to thigh, with mouths locked tight and tongues mingling wildly. He’d said he was sexually hungry and he was proving just how famished he was.

And the way his hands were now moving over her, as if outlining the shape of her bottom, was driving him insane. He was becoming acquainted with her curves and all her soft yielding flesh. There was no doubt in his mind that while he took her mouth with a passion, she could feel his aroused body part pressing deeply into the juncture of her legs as if that was where it belonged.

He heard the moans coming from her throat and every time one escaped he deepened the kiss that much more. He was tempted to spread her out on the kitchen table at that very moment and have his way with her. Take her with a passion until he was too weak to stand.

“We could always leave and come back later.”

The heavy voice made them jump apart like kids who’d gotten caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Filled with both anger and protectiveness Ramsey moved in front of Chloe while glaring at his brothers, Zane and Derringer, and his cousin Jason.

“What the hell are the three of you doing here?”

Derringer smiled. “We had a meeting. You told us to be here at seven. Sharp. Threatened us with dire straits if we were late. Did you forget?”

He had.

“We can understand if you did forget,” Zane said. He was two years younger than Ramsey and known as a smart-mouth.

“It’s no big deal, Ram,” Jason said. Jason was the easygoing cousin and his trademark smile was genuine. “It would be nice if you introduced us,” Jason added.

“Yeah,” Zane said grinning. “Any reason you’re hiding her behind your back?”

Cursing quietly, Ramsey realized he was doing that very thing. He stepped aside and the moment his brothers’ eyes lit on Chloe, all three gave her an appreciative male perusal. He loved every member of his family, but at that moment thoughts of doing these three in actually made him want to smile.

“Chloe, I want you to meet my brothers, Zane and Derringer, and my cousin Jason.” And then to his brothers and cousin, he said. “Guys, this is Chloe Burton, my new cook.”

Chloe had never been so embarrassed in her entire life and actually felt the color stain her already-dark skin. From the way the three were staring at her she could only assume that they’d never walked in on Ramsey kissing a woman before.

She extended her hand to them. “How do you do?”

Their handshakes were firm and as she locked eyes with each of them she saw a friendliness in their dark depths. And there was no doubt in her mind that when placed in the same room with a crowd anyone could easily guess they were related. They all had the same chiseled jaw, dark brown eyes, dimpled smile and creamy brown skin. They were extremely handsome men. Her gaze was momentarily drawn back to Derringer, the man who had her best friend’s heart and he didn’t even know it.

“Okay, so much for introductions,” Ramsey broke into her thoughts and said aloud. “Let’s have that meeting.”

Zane, she noticed, was still holding on to her hand. He smiled, glanced over at Ramsey and said, “The three of you
can have a meeting. I prefer staying here with Chloe. I hear she can whip up the best scrambled eggs this side of the Rockies.”

She watched Ramsey tip his head back and sigh. He then fixed his brother a leveled stare. “Don’t push things with me, Zane.”

Zane drew his gaze from Ramsey and glanced down at Chloe. She thought the smile that tugged at his lips was devilish. “What about a rain check, Chloe? Tomorrow perhaps?”

She could only nod and then watched the three men follow Ramsey from the room.

“That pretty much sums things up,” Jason was saying. “I talked to Durango and McKinnon yesterday and they are excited at the prospect of expanding their operation to Colorado.”

Ramsey nodded. Durango Westmoreland and McKinnon Quinn were cousins of theirs, Durango by blood and McKinnon by marriage. The two lived in Montana and owned M&D, a very successful horse breeding and training operation. A few years ago they had invited another cousin, Clint Westmoreland, who lived in Texas, to join their million-dollar business. And now they were making the same offer to Zane, Derringer and Jason. The three had traveled to Bozeman and spent three weeks with Durango and McKinnon and their families, learning more about the operation and to determine if it was a business venture they wanted to become a part of. As all three were fine horsemen, Ramsey couldn’t imagine their turning down the offer.

“So the three of you are really thinking about doing it?” he asked as he looked over the report. Everything was in order and M&D was doing extremely well; especially after Prince
Charming, a horse they had trained for Sheikh Jamal Yasir—another cousin by marriage—had placed in the Kentucky Derby.

“Yes, and we figured since our three properties are adjacent to each other,” Jason was saying, “we can share acreage for grazing land and for future expansions. But what we don’t want to do is to reduce the land you need for your sheep.”

Ramsey nodded, appreciating their concern. Sheep required a lot of land and his siblings and cousins had been very generous in letting him use some of theirs for grazing purposes. At present he was satisfied with the number of sheep he owned, and other than the lambs due to be born at the end of the month, he didn’t intend to increase his herd anytime soon.

“With what Dillon and I own together, there will be plenty enough,” he said to the three. “And before Bane took off for the Navy he gave Dillon permission for me to use his land if there was a need. A few days ago I received a letter notifying me that the federal government has approved my use of land at Diamond Ridge, so I’ll start taking part of the herd there later this year for grazing.”

Ramsey glanced back down at the report. “Although I have my hands full here with the sheep, I’ll be interested in becoming a silent partner with the M&D Colorado-based operation once it gets started. I think it’s time that I consider diversifying. It’s not good to have all your eggs in one basket.”

“True,” Zane nodded, casting his brother a smile. “We would love to have you on board. And speaking of eggs, you kind of got uptight when I invited myself to breakfast.”

Ramsey snorted as he leaned back in his chair. “What is
it with you and Callum with your crazy games? Chloe is off limits.”

Derringer, who was slouched down on the love seat, glanced over at Ramsey and asked in a belligerent tone. “Says who?”

Ramsey frowned. Derringer was younger than him by three years and enjoyed being argumentative. “Says me, Derringer. Evidently you either didn’t get it or you didn’t understand the message I gave Zane in the kitchen.”

“So, you’re saying Chloe is more than just your cook?” Jason asked, as if for clarification.

Ramsey hauled in a deep breath, irritated at the thought of having to explain anything to his relatives. But knowing them the way he did, he knew he’d better do so. There was no doubt in his mind that there would be more explaining to do to the others when word got around that these three had walked in on him kissing Chloe. Zane was probably just itching to tell everyone, especially because it had been eons since Ramsey had been involved with a woman.

“Chloe is nothing more than my cook,” he said.

Now it was Zane who snorted. “I don’t recall you ever kissing Nellie.”

Ramsey rolled his eyes. “Nellie is a married woman.”

Derringer straightened in his seat and lifted a brow. “Are you saying if she wasn’t married you’d be kissing her?”

Before he could respond Zane burst out laughing while slapping his thigh. “Damn, Ramsey, we didn’t know you had it in you. And all this time we figured you were living a dull and sexually inactive life.”

Ramsey took a deep, calming breath. His brothers were trying to get a rise out of him and he refused to fall prey to their tactics any more than he had to Callum’s earlier. He
tossed the document he was holding on his desk. “Let me get something straight. The kiss the three of you walked in on was something that just happened. Chloe is my cook and nothing more. She’ll be living here for two weeks until Nellie returns.”

He then leaned forward to make sure they heard his next words clearly. “However, since I know how two of the three of you operate, I want to make it clear here and now that she is
not
open game. You’re all welcome to breakfast, lunch or dinner at any time, as always. But that’s all you’re welcome to.”

“Um, that sounds kind of territorial, Ram,” Zane said, eyeing his brother.

Ramsey shrugged. “Think whatever you like, just make sure you heed my warning.”

Later that evening Chloe went into Ramsey’s living room and sat on the sofa with a glass of wine in her hand. She curled her feet beneath her as she took a sip. It felt good to relax after a tiring day.

Although she enjoyed being in the kitchen, spending her time cooking for a group of men was not how she had envisioned her month-long vacation. Especially one that had started off in the Bahamas.

But she would have to admit that just seeing the satisfied grins on Ramsey’s men’s faces when they had eaten breakfast that morning and lunch at noon had been worth all the time she had spent over a stove.

The men asked her to make more homemade biscuits in the morning, and they liked having a choice of bacon and sausage. She would surprise them tomorrow by going a step further and making omelets.

She had checked with her office in Florida and had spoken
briefly to her editor-in-chief. Everything was going fine, which Chloe wasn’t surprised about. She had an efficient team who ran things whether she was in the office, and that’s the way she wanted it. Her father had told her time and time again that to be successful as CEO of your own company, you needed a good team working for you who could handle just about anything in your absence. She had built
Simply Irresistible
to the magazine it was and was using her time expanding the market area.

Her thoughts shifted from the magazine to Ramsey and the kiss they had shared earlier that day. It was the kiss that three members of his family had witnessed. She could just imagine how Ramsey felt about it, which was probably the reason he had avoided her most of the day. He hadn’t dined with his men at lunch and he hadn’t returned to the ranch since she had noticed his leaving early that afternoon.

She couldn’t help wondering if the kiss had worked and she was out of his system. She might be out of his, but now he was deeply embedded into hers. Never had she been kissed so thoroughly before. Never had a man explored her mouth the way he had, in such a blatantly carnal way. There had not been anything traditional about his kiss. He had delivered it with an expertise that had left her panting for hours. She had been both affected and infected by his kiss. Even now her lips were still tingling.

She would be the first to admit things were not going as she planned with him. She had been attracted to him from the first, so there was no surprise at that. But what had been a surprise, totally unexpected, was the degree of hot tension that surrounded them whenever they were in the same room. Or her to be thinking about jumping his bones whenever she saw him. In her line of business, she met plenty of good-looking
men. But none had ever sparked her interest, or stimulated a deep attraction the way Ramsey had.

How was she supposed to live under his roof, breathe the same air, when sexual thoughts constantly flowed through her mind? And unfortunately that kiss had been the icing on the cake. There was no doubt in her mind that she was now addicted to his taste as well as to his masculine scent.

Chloe’s thoughts shifted back to what Ramsey had said about never sharing her with anyone. There had been something about it that had touched her. She drew in a deep breath at the realization that something about Ramsey was getting to her. And she knew at that moment that he was a man in a way that Daren could never be. Ramsey was someone who could and would take care of his own. That was evident by the way he had taken on the responsibility of raising his siblings. Although he could be brusque at times, she believed he didn’t have a selfish bone in his body.

And knowing that was what was endearing him to her.

She felt panic in her chest at the thought that anything about Ramsey was endearing to her, but as much as she wanted to deny it she knew it was true. There were so many things about him that reminded him of her father—especially his sense of what was right. She’d seen it in the way he treated his men and his family.

She took another sip of wine. Later she would call Lucia to let her know she’d met Derringer and thought he was definitely a cutie. Although Ramsey had given his brothers and cousin a hard time, she could easily pick up on the love and mutual respect between the four men. And all four were extremely handsome.

But still in her book, Ramsey was her choice. There was something about him that made her heart pound in her chest
each and every time she saw him. Maybe the best thing would be to abandon the idea of his posing for the cover of her magazine. She should go ahead and tell him the truth tonight and be packed and ready to leave. But if she did that, it would leave him in a bind. His men were counting on her to provide them with a delicious breakfast in the morning and a tasty meal at lunch. Besides, she was not a quitter, so no matter how tough things got she would not throw in the towel.