Ambushed (3 page)

15

finger foods, champagne, a blanket, rose petals and a

couple of large pillows. He wasn’t leaving here tonight

until she was his, totally and completely. He didn’t

reckon he could take another night without her by his

side, his woman through and through. After reading

every one of the books she’d written, he had a pretty

good idea of his woman’s fantasies, at least the ones

she couldn’t help but reflect in her writings.

She wanted romance, to be swept of her feet. She

wanted to be overwhelmed with heated passion. That

was exactly what Tex aimed to give her, and not only

for tonight either. He sprinkled the delicate crimson

and eggshell colored petals in a line leading from the

last section Alexandria would check back to the

romance section, where he spread out the blanket and

set out the food and two crystal flutes of champagne,

setting the pillows up closely side by side. He’d

decided against candles. Wouldn’t want to burn the

place down and ruin a perfectly good seduction.

Besides, he planned on getting her good and wild; the

chances of knocking small flames over was a liability

neither one of them needed.

Satisfied everything was just right, Tex sprawled

out on one of the pillows, removing both his shirt and

his boots. He wasn’t a vain man, but he knew she

loved the sight of a well-developed chest. Years of hard

ranch work had sculptured his upper body in a way

women apparently liked, and he was damn well going

to use everything at his disposal to push past

Alexandria’s natural shyness.

Now if she would just hurry along, they could get

started on the rest of their lives.

Alexandria hummed to herself as she made her

way along rows and rows of books, making sure

everything was in its proper place. She loved

everything about the library. If she could live her

whole life in a book she would be happy. Books were

so much better than real life. Her reality in particular

was boring and staid, with no real prospects of

excitement in the future. She understood that by

staying in Lauréa, chances were good she would end

up alone. Even though she held out stubborn hope

some mysterious cowboy would ride into town, or

drive in with his horse trailer hitched to his truck, and

sweep her off her feet, she knew the dream was not

likely to happen.

Shaking her head at her senseless thoughts, she

tried concentrating on her job. Wishing wasn’t going

to bring some lover to her bed. Besides, she doubted

she could ever really be intimate with anyone, not

when her heart still belonged to Tex Westley. It was

pathetic, but Alexandria had lost her heart to her best

friend sometime during her sophomore year in high

school, and no one had ever managed to take his place.

Oh she’d tried dating other men, especially when she

went away to college. She’d even had one long-term

relationship. Too bad it had been doomed to failure

even prior to the first kiss. Anthony had been nice

enough, respectful, a generous, considerate lover, but

he wasn’t Tex. She compared everything he did to the

boy from high school with whom she’d never shared

more than a hug and a peck on the cheek, and just like

17

every other man she’d ever known, Anthony came up

short. No other man’s body could stand against the tall,

whipcord hard, lean body Tex had been blessed with.

No other lips looked as sensuous, as infinitely kissable.

No other eyes sparkled bright green like emeralds

reflecting a wicked sense of humor. No voice could

send shivers all up her spine with a slow, lazy Texas

drawl that was so much a part of the man. She’d spent

so many nights dreaming of his arms, so many days

burning with jealousy at every girl he threw that

naughty smirk at. She’d told herself what they had was

far more special—she was his friend, she knew all his

secrets and desires—but it hadn’t been enough.

In a way, Alexandria was relieved when Tex had

moved away after high school. It was better than

watching him strut around town with girls prettier,

thinner and far more carefree than she could ever be.

She doubted she would’ve been able to hide her crush

much longer, and revealing how she felt would spell

the end to their friendship. She didn’t think she

could’ve handled that. Tex was her rock, her pillar of

strength, her secret heart of heart’s desire. She was

destined to spend the rest of her life alone pining for a

love that had never been, and would never be.

Cursing herself once again for being a fool,

Alexandria bent down to retrieve a picture book to

place back on the smaller shelves of the children’s

section when spots of red and white caught the corner

of her eye. Spinning while still in a crouched position,

she damn near fell over as the vision of a rose trail

appeared seemingly from nowhere. It hadn’t been

there when she’d locked the doors and begun her

rounds. She would’ve seen it. What was worse, she had

18

written a similar scene in one of her first books as

Siren Cox.
Love in Surprising Places
had centered on

an introverted heroine who’d been seduced at work by

her boss. The hero had left a trail of roses to an

intimate picnic in the office.

But no one in Lauréa knew she was really the