Riding Red (3 page)

“You know what I mean.” BJ frowned. “You’re a beautiful, intelligent, vibrant woman who has had plenty of offers from men, and yet you refuse them all.”

“And you know the reason why, so I don’t see the point in hashing this out again—”

“No, I don’t know why,” BJ shot back at the stubborn defiance in Teresa’s voice. “That son-of-a-bitch ex-husband of yours is just that—a son-of-a-bitch. No matter what he told you, you have so much to offer a man and you deserve someone who will love and cherish you just as you are. I know that man is out there, Teresa.”

And his name is Jeff Downing
.

Teresa continued to stare out of the window, mostly because she didn’t want her best friend to catch sight of the tears, which threatened to spill over her lids. Knowing BJ, she would immediately stop the car and make a big deal out of it, and before they knew it, they would both be in tears.

The funny thing was, she wasn’t even sad, so she couldn’t say why it was she was close to tears. What she
could
say, however, was, having been best friends since the age of five, she and BJ were as tight as sisters, and that explained why her friend loved her so fiercely, why she wanted nothing but the best for her, why she still hoped Teresa would find love again.

But Teresa was never going to find love again.

The thought stiffened her spine, and she understood then why the tears hovering in her eyes remained there.

No wonder BJ constantly worried for her. It was a sad existence to never want to know love again, but that was exactly how she felt. Despite what BJ said, men would never want her if they knew the truth.

She just wasn’t strong enough to risk her heart again, not after what she’d endured with Derek. After her divorce, she’d accepted that she would spend the rest of her life alone, but she’d never mourned the loss of her dreams to have a family. She’d stubbornly refused to talk about it, let alone
think
about it.

Teresa had never had to confront the bleak future that promised to be her life…until Jeff Downing had started poking around, offering her something she knew she could never have, and had convinced herself long ago she didn’t even want.

“You know Jeff is going to chase you until he finally catches you. That’s just the Downing way, but if you ask me, I say it’s about time you finally got caught.”

BJ’s words finally snared Teresa’s hard gaze. “Well, no one asked you, BJ. Besides, Jeff Downing is not a man to tread the dating waters with. If anything, you should be warning me away from him.”

“And I would have, had this been a year ago, but I know the man beneath the façade, and he is a good one. Just as I know his feelings for you are genuine.”

Teresa snorted. The only thing genuine about Jeff Downing was his custom leather belt and that he
genuinely
wanted to fuck her six ways to September. But as for his feelings? She couldn’t help but snort again. If his feelings were somehow packaged in his nine inch cock, then yes, he had real
feelings
for her all right. But she knew the score—Jeff Downing only wanted one thing.

Teresa started to tell BJ just that, but before she could, they pulled to a stop in front of her home. What was the point in telling BJ anything anyway, she decided? BJ knew how Jeff was, and yet she still defended that man, and her next words proved she was determined to defend him to the very end.

“With me and Jackson gone for the week, I say you take advantage of the time you and Jeff will have alone together. Once you get to know him, I think you’ll see there is a lot more to him than you realise.”

Teresa didn’t argue but she didn’t concede either as she hugged BJ goodbye and piled out of the truck. When it came to Jeff Downing, Teresa had had pegged him from day one—the third eldest of the infamous Downing clan was nothing but trouble. And for one week she was going to have to figure out a way to stay out of his sight so that she could remain out of his mind, and more importantly, out of his bed, which was where she knew he would have her if she wasn’t careful.

Yes, Jeff Downing was
nothing
but trouble, and had been from day one.

* * * *

Jeff was silent as he followed Jackson into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. He still wasn’t pleased that Teresa had taken off with BJ, but he consoled himself with the knowledge that soon he would have Teresa all to himself.

Well, mostly
, he corrected, as he glanced over at his younger brother, who was casually leaning against the doorjamb.

“I know that look,” Jackson remarked in the midst of preparing dinner.

“What look?”

“That look that tells me you two intend to seduce Teresa while we’re gone.”

There was no point in denying it, so Jeff didn’t as he hitched his lips into a small grin. “Well that
is
the plan, but when it comes to Teresa, one can never really plan, now can they?”

Jason shrugged. “That’s
Jeff’s
plan. I’m just tagging along for the ride.”

A wry chortle rumbled out of Jackson as he shook his head. “If there were ever two men to do it, I would bet on the two of you, but you’re going to have your work cut out for you.” Jackson sobered. “I just caution you…”

Jeff sat up straighter when his older brother’s gaze bullseyed on him.

“You especially, Jeff, ‘cause I know how you feel about her. I won’t betray her confidence or that of my wife, but after what her ex did to her, she’s still very skittish around men.”

“I know that,” Jeff said, a little sharper than was necessary, only because he’d been cautioned and warned more times than he could count. “I know her ex hurt her real bad. And BJ has threatened to kill me and then chase me all the way to hell just to do it again if I don’t tread carefully with Teresa, but she knows just as well as you that I would never hurt that woman.”

“
I
know that, but Teresa
doesn’t
.” Jackson held up his hands then as if surrendering. “And hey, don’t shoot the messenger, bro. I’m just trying to watch out for you too, only because I know Teresa won’t be so quick or easy to come around to your charms.” Jackson smirked. “As I’m sure you’ve already discovered.”

Jeff glowered at his brother, who still thought it was funny that Teresa had thwarted his advances for almost a year now. His pent-up desires didn’t find anything amusing about his current predicament.

“Well, you know me well enough to know that I never did like nothing easy anyway,” Jeff shot back, a cocky smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. “Just as you know when I play, I play for keeps. So no matter what you say, or what Teresa thinks, it still doesn’t change that
s
he’s been mine for a while now, and its ‘bout time for her to finally acknowledge this.”

Jeff glimpsed the intensity of his brother’s probing gaze—and the reason for it—which was why he held his older brother’s unflinching stare until Jackson was forced to blink.

The look that passed between the two men was clear. Jeff was tired of being brushed aside by Teresa West. This week her tactics of evasion were about to come to an end.

“I must admit you seem awfully sure of yourself,” Jackson eventually said on a weathered sigh. “Which is why I am going to wish you luck.” His brother’s lips quirked into a small smile. “‘Cause, God help us, you’re going to need it with that one.”

“I know,” Jeff agreed as he leant back in his chair to fold his hands behind his head, his every gesture smug and confident. “That’s why I brought Jason along.”

The two youngest Downing brothers had long been known as the wickedest, wildest of them all, and it was a reputation well-earned.

Teresa didn’t stand a chance against the
both
of them.

Chapter Two

With the back of her hand, Teresa swiped away the sweat pearling along her forehead. Mucking out the horses’ stables was never an easy—or glamorous—task, but it had to be done, and despite the protests of Blake Richards, her foreman, Teresa was up for the job.

She’d hired Blake almost seven years ago—right after she’d taken over the ranch from her retiring parents—and over the course of their acquaintance, she and Blake had developed a steady friendship born out of a deep respect for one another. So that’s why it annoyed her at times when Blake got his boxers all twisted in a bunch because she sometimes took to doing the more difficult tasks that
had
to be done on the ranch.

Teresa West was no diva, but she accepted why Blake liked to think she was. From her soft curves, to her stylish designer clothes, Teresa was well aware of the blatant femininity she exuded, and despite her gentle brush-offs, her foreman had also taken notice. But what Blake, and many others, didn’t fully understand was that while she was definitely
all
woman, she was used to hard labour. She actually lived for it, because hands down, it beat poring over a dull ledger all day. That was why when guests dropped by expecting her to be holed up in her office, they often found her out and about, working alongside the men in her employ.

Today, however, she’d wanted to be alone, which was why she’d chosen the stalls, because it was a job no one ever wanted. The quiet reprieve of the stables, interrupted every so often by the sounds of the horses, allowed her to tackle her mounting problem—the
only
problem that had been a constant in her life for the past year.

Jeff Downing.

It had been two days since Jackson and BJ had left for their anniversary trip—two days of Teresa ducking and dodging the one man her body screamed at her to stop running and hiding from. But Teresa couldn’t, even though Jeff seemed more determined than ever before.

She stopped to wipe away the droplets of moisture trickling between her breasts, which had less to do with her exertion and the heat, and more to do with her own inner fear.

Without Jackson and BJ to serve as a buffer between them, Jeff had redoubled his efforts of pursuit. So far, she’d been able to avoid and evade him, but she knew his patience would only hold for so long.

Teresa was surprised he’d even lasted forty-eight hours as the image of his handsome face flickered before her. Stubborn eyes, the unyielding line of his jaw, his imperious brow—Jeff Downing was used to getting what he wanted,
when
he wanted, and he’d made it very clear that he wanted
her.

And you don’t want him, too? Girl, please.
Her inner voice mocked her, just as surely as it silently called her a fool for baldly denying the obvious, and actually having the gumption to believe it.

But that was just it, she didn’t believe the lies she told herself, not anymore. She wanted Jeff Downing, and had for some time. The problem now was she was starting to wonder what would be so bad about finally giving into her desires for the man.

That she’d even considered what used to be an unthinkable thought was what had promptly driven her from her bed before the butt crack of dawn and made her march straight to the stables, where she’d been knee deep in horse shit for almost four hours now.

She stopped to take a quick break and rested her back against one of the stalls. With a soft sigh, she let her eyes drift closed for only a second, but it was long enough for her imagination to conjure the vivid images that had haunted her throughout the night. The hard, tanned, muscled length of Jeff’s naked body covering hers, her hands clinging to his broad back as she wrapped her legs around his lean hips, her ankles clasped against his firm, tight ass as he pushed inside her, until his cock was buried to the hilt in her sheath.

Unbidden, a moan escaped her, and the faint sound was desperate to her ears as sensual embers of lust scorched through her.

He stalked her, all of her. Every guarded corner of her mind, Jeff invaded. The stirrings of her body, he ignited. Not even her dreams were safe from him. Jeff Downing stalked her just as efficiently as a wild mountain lion scenting its prey.

The heavy, purposeful thud of footsteps brought a screeching end to her fantasy and Teresa opened her eyes and stood up straight. She stared into the distance as a shadowed figure entered the stables, the glare of the sunlight making it impossible for her to make out the face of the advancing person.

She didn’t need to see his face. She could have even closed her eyes again. The tingling awareness creeping down her spine, the chill bumps now dotting her flesh had alerted her the moment he’d sauntered into the stables. Yet, even if she’d mistaken the tell-tale signs, the arrogant gait and confident swagger were more than hint enough.

Jeff Downing had finally caught up to her, and like the skittish prey she was, her gaze darted about, desperately searching for an escape, but there wasn’t one. She was cornered there, alone with him, and as he marched closer, Teresa finally resigned herself to the fact that she was trapped.

His long-legged frame came to a halt before her. Her breath hovered somewhere in her lungs, confined there as she struggled to breathe. His nearness, the heat of his body, the distinct masculine scent of him blending with his cologne, wafted off him to tickle her nose. Teresa wanted to close her eyes and savour the rich, heady smell of him. She bit back a groan, doing her darnedest to keep her expression neutral, but it was a challenge, especially with him towering over her, his dimpled grin knotting her belly as his blazing gaze nearly set her aflame.

Her nipples tightened to taut peaks and her breasts grew heavy, the space between her thighs now damp with her arousal. As if he could smell the scent of her desire, Jeff’s nostrils flared, and his eyes darkened.

Teresa had never felt so cornered in her entire life, but she could not escape, not when he inched closer. Setting aside the rake she’d been using to clear hay from the stalls, she folded her arms across her chest, trying to put a measure of space between them, even as she held her ground, despite the urge to retreat.

“What are you doing here, Jeff?” she asked coolly, breaking the stilted silence between them, hoping the sooner she got to the point with him, the sooner she could get him to leave before she embarrassed herself…or worse—before she succumbed to the desires churning inside her and finally surrendered to him.