Texas Two Steps Four-Pack Bundle (7 page)

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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

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Texas Two Steps: Melanie and Blake

A Short Story

Blake Chambers waited in the lobby of the Coyote Dam Resort Hotel in Stone Creek, Texas. He glanced at his watch then looked around the busy hotel lobby for the woman he was supposed to meet. The Meeting/Event Manager had been extremely punctual over the last six weeks while she helped him plan the annual Lone Star Cattle Ranchers' Christmas Ball.

He'd been lucky as hell he'd had Ms. Melanie Woods to help him with the preparations or else he'd have been totally at a loss about what to do. This was only the second time the Christmas Ball had been held at the new hotel and old Jervis Mason had organized it last year. Unfortunately, he'd passed away and left no notes or instructions. So Blake was pretty much operating from scratch.

He'd been hogtied and hornswoggled into running for president of the Lone Star Cattle Ranchers Association last election, and so he was stuck putting on the Christmas Ball scheduled for tonight. Sure, there'd been a committee, but he was ultimately responsible, so
thank God for Melanie
.

"Blake. Sorry, I'm late." The young woman crossed the foyer, high heels clicking on the shiny Spanish tile, hand outstretched in greeting. "I had a meeting that ran over. Have you seen the banquet room yet? It looks great, but maybe I'm biased."

Blake took the slender-fingered hand in his and as always, a jolt of electricity shot up his arm . . . and down to his groin. With all the headaches of organizing the holiday dance, he couldn't really complain. The meetings with Melanie had been totally worth it. When everything was over, he planned to ask her out. Until then . . .

"No, I haven't seen it," he said, setting aside his lusty thoughts. "I was waiting for you."

"Then let me show you. It's like a winter wonderland." Melanie smiled and slid her hand from his grasp, making a fist as if holding in the tingle of that jolt. Blake was fairly certain the sensual feelings weren't all one-sided. She adjusted her clipboard and tablet in the crook of her arm. "Come on. I'm dying for you to see."

"Lead on." Blake followed the lovely lady across the lobby to the row of elevators. He stayed a step behind so he could admire the trim figure and those impossibly long legs accentuated by those spiked heels. Her long brown hair brushed the tops of her shoulders, bouncing with every step. He longed to bury his fingers in all that silkiness. He wanted to bury something else in her, too. Oh yeah, Melanie Woods was one gorgeous sexy woman.

The elevator doors swished open and they waited for an older couple to get off before stepping inside. Melanie pushed the button for the fourth floor and they stood beside one another in companionable silence. Working together for as long as they had, they'd developed a comfortable rapport. Comfortable on the
outside
, Blake silently corrected himself. He was anything but comfortable on the inside. He was hyperaware of Melanie. Her subtle fragrance surrounded him, the strawberry scent seducing him in the small confines of the elevator.

Melanie suddenly turned toward him. "I chose the Lancaster Room for the ball. It's large, but not too large. There's a wall of windows overlooking the lake, and the view at night is awesome." She lowered her lashes over her green eyes and cleared her throat. "You know, I've really enjoyed helping with this. I do a lot of events, but organizing this ball has been . . . oh, I don't know . . . somehow it's been sort of magical."

Their eyes snagged and Melanie blushed and turned quickly away. The doors swooshed open and she walked out into the carpeted hall. "This way."

Blake took a deep breath before exiting the elevator. Yeah, he agreed that it had been somehow magical, too.

Melanie waited near the door to the Lancaster Room for Blake to catch up. He'd lagged behind at the elevator, and she hadn't realized how far down the hall she'd advanced before noticing he wasn't walking with her.

Not for the first time since they'd been working together had the atmosphere between them grown hot and sizzling. She hadn't been able to step out of the elevator fast enough. Working beside the rugged rancher was the main reason organizing the Christmas Ball had turned magical.

Blake Chambers was one good-looking man. He was big and tall and muscular. Melanie was tall herself. It had bothered her when she'd been a teenager, but her teen years were long behind her now. After graduating from Tech with a degree in Hotel Management, she'd been lucky to land the job at the new hotel here in Stone Creek several years ago.

And she'd been super lucky to land the job of helping Blake Chambers organize his Christmas Ball. She'd developed a major case of the hots for the man ever since he'd walked into her office six weeks ago. Oh no. Her height didn't bother her anymore. There were plenty of tall, dark and handsome Texans to go around.

As he came up to the doorway, Melanie gripped the knob tightly. He had eyes as blue as the West Texas sky, but they could turn hot as a sunset in July. His hair was a dark sable brown, his skin tanned from his days out on the range. He looked just what he was: a hard-working, hard-riding rancher. A cowboy in every sense of the word.

He was certainly dressed the part. His western shirt stretched taut across his broad chest; his crisply ironed Wrangler jeans hugged his narrow hips and his muscular thighs bulged against the seams. His boots were polished and gleamed just as bright as his shiny belt buckle.

All that was missing was his Stetson. Melanie supposed he'd left it in his truck. If she'd learned one thing about this man during their time together, it was this: Blake Chambers was a gentleman through and through. He never wore his Stetson indoors. If he did, he was quick to remove it. He had lovely manners; his mother should be proud.

"Here, let me get that door for you," he said, putting action to her thoughts. It was all she could do not to sigh like a lovesick fool.

He reached for the knob and caught hold of her hand instead. As always, his touch set off a small series of wild fires along her nerve endings. Melanie stepped out of the way, taking her scorched hand with her. "Thanks." She gathered her scattered wits.
Good lord! What that man did to her!

Quickly pulling herself together, she summoned a bright professional smile. "Now, close your eyes and I promise you a big surprise." So much for professionalism. She was a lost cause when it came to the man standing before her.

Those intense eyes lasered in on hers, holding Melanie captive. She watched in fascination as the blue eyes turned molten. Blake stepped closer. "Oh, really? What kind of surprise?" His low husky voice let loose a flurry of butterflies in Melanie's stomach.

She swallowed. "Forget it. I shouldn't have said it. I just want you to get the full impact of the moment."

Blake's gaze fell to her lips. "Believe me, I'm getting the impact. Fully and totally."

Melanie tried to speak, but could only nod.
Oh dear God. So was she.
Was it because their time together was coming to an end that the feelings they'd so carefully suppressed were suddenly exploding? That must be it. That had to be it.

"I guess I'm just nervous," she said. "I want you to like it."

"I like." He was still looking at her lips, but his eyes slowly moved to hers again, staring deeply as if fathoming her secrets.
Like she had any.
He bent forward and Melanie felt the brush of his lips against hers. She felt the heat of his big body as he loomed over her. She felt the vibration of his cell phone the instant before the music of his ringtone blasted the quiet stillness of the deserted hallway.

"Damn." Blake backed away and retrieved the phone from the pocket of his shirt. He looked at the number. "I'd better take this. Excuse me. You go on in and I'll be there in a minute." He turned away and took the call.

Melanie straightened her skirt and escaped into the banquet room. Lingering close to the door, she could see Blake listening intently to the caller. She touched a hand to her hot cheek, willing her overheated body to cool down. Had Blake actually kissed her? Or tried to kiss her? That was certainly a first. He'd seemed to be at pains to keep their relationship on a professional level, ignoring the strong sexual chemistry constantly flowing between them.

Of course, Melanie had done the same. Or tried to. Not only was she attracted to Blake, she also liked him. A lot. He was easy to get along with and commanded her respect.

But always in the back of her mind, she'd wondered about kissing him. And if she were honest with herself, she'd wondered about a whole lot more than just kissing. What would it feel like to have those strong arms wrapped around her holding her close? To feel his hands exploring every inch of her, touching, teasing, pleasing . . .
whoa!
She needed to rein in her rampaging hormones and fast.

Taking a deep calming breath, Melanie glanced around the banquet room. With the help of Blake's decorating committee, she'd created an exquisite setting for the Christmas dance. Twenty-five large round tables dominated the room. Each table was dressed in a red or green floor-length tablecloth. Sitting in the center of each table, gold candles stood in clusters of Christmas greenery. The tables provided color in the otherwise neutral room.

A tall tree decorated with white lights and golden balls towered in one corner opposite the dance floor. Buffet tables were set up on one side of the room with an open bar and dessert table on the other. Strings of tiny white lights twinkled on the walls with festoons of large wreaths with red bows hanging at intervals along the way.

"Sorry about that," Blake said, coming to stand beside her. He looked around the room, turning around slowly, taking it all in. He did a complete three-sixty before stopping and facing her.

Melanie held her breath. She'd worked hard to make it special for him.

He smiled and the corners of his eyes crinkled. "Wow. It
is
a winter wonderland. Very festive. The members are going to love it. I love it. Thank you."

"I'm glad." She checked her clipboard holding her tablet. "Now, as we decided for the menu, we're serving beef, naturally. Chateaubriand and standing rib roasts. Garlic herbed potatoes and asparagus for sides, just as you ordered. Salads, of course. And for dessert, various cakes, sliced fruits and pecan pie."

"
A la mode
?" Blake asked, still gazing around the room admiring the decorations.

"Of course." She scanned her notes. "Oh, the ice-sculpture arrived this morning. It's in the freezer in the kitchen. It'll sit in the place of honor on the dessert table. Your decorating committee did a great job with the centerpieces and name cards on the tables. You're sitting way up front, by the way. Well, I guess that's it. Everything's set for tonight." Melanie held out her hand. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Blake. I hope that I've . . . what's wrong? Why are you frowning?"

He hadn't taken her outstretched hand, but just stood there staring down at her, his dark brows slanted in a scowl.

"What's wrong?" Melanie asked again. "If something's not right . . . if I've left something undone, there's still time to fix it."

Blake clasped her hand in his and squeezed gently. "Nothing's wrong with your arrangements. You've done an excellent job. I can't thank you enough. I'd have been lost without you."

Melanie tried to withdraw her hand, but he held on tight. "Then what is it?" she asked, searching the handsome face. "I thought everything was set to go."

"I thought so, too," Blake said, still holding her hand. Tingles of awareness shimmied up Melanie's arm. "That was Sue Ellen on the phone. She has the flu."

"Sue Ellen?" Melanie couldn't remember anyone on the committee named Sue Ellen. "I'm sorry she's sick, but what does she have to do with the Christmas Ball?"

Blake started rubbing his thumb in a slow circle against the palm of her hand, shooting spirals of heat straight down to her toes. "She
was
going to be my date, but she's caught the bug that's going around and had to cancel."

Melanie swallowed. She was having a difficult time concentrating on what he was saying due to his burning touch. "Well, you'll just have to go stag, won't you?"

Blake tightened his grip on her hand, pulling her toward him. "I don't want to go stag. What are you doing tonight?"

"Me?" Her voice squeaked in surprise. "Oh no. I couldn't. Besides, what about your girlfriend? Wouldn't she be upset if you took someone in her place?"

Blake chuckled. He'd pulled her so close, Melanie felt the rumble in his chest. "Sue Ellen's not my girlfriend. We've known each other since we were kids. She was doing me a favor by going tonight. I'm not dating anyone at the moment . . .
Are you
?"