Texas Wild (5 page)

Dillon and Ramsey had assured her that they would keep the
family together and take care of everyone, although the youngest—Bane and
Bailey—were both under nine at the time. On that day, Ramsey had asked her to
stay strong and in control. As the oldest girl in the Denver Westmoreland
family, they had depended on her to help Gemma and Bailey through their grief.
That didn’t mean she’d needed to put her own grief aside, but it had meant that
in spite of her grief, she’d had to be strong for the others. And she had. When
the younger ones would come to her crying, she was the one who would comfort
them, regardless of the circumstances or her emotions.

The ability to become emotionally detached, to stay in control,
was how she’d known being an anesthesiologist was her calling. She went into
surgery knowing some patients wouldn’t make it through. Although she assured the
patient of her skill in putting them to sleep, she never promised they would
pull through. That decision was out of her hands. Some of the surgeons had lost
patients and, in a way, she felt she’d lost them, as well. But no matter what,
she remained in control.

Drawing in a deep breath, she eyed Rico. “You might have a
problem with control, but I don’t. I admit I find you desirable, but I can
regulate my emotions. I can turn them on and off when I need to, Rico. Don’t
worry that I’ll lose control one day and jump your bones, because it won’t
happen. There’s not that much desire in the world.”

Rico shook his head. “You honestly believe that, don’t
you?”

She placed her coffee cup on the counter. “Honestly believe
what?”

“That you can control a desire as intense as ours.”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I?”

“I agree that certain desires can be controlled, Megan. But I’m
trying to tell you, what you refuse to acknowledge or accept—desire as intense
as ours can’t always be controlled. What we have isn’t normal.”

She bunched her forehead. “Not normal? That’s
preposterous.”

Rico knew then that she really didn’t have a clue. This was no
act. He could stand here until he was blue in the face and she still wouldn’t
understand. “What I’m trying to say, Megan,” he said slowly, trying not to let
frustration get the best of him, “is that I feel a degree of desire for you that
I’ve never felt for any woman before.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “Should
I get excited or feel flattered about it?”

He gritted his teeth. “Look, Megan…”

“No,
you
look, Rico,” she said,
crossing the room to stand in front of him. “I don’t know what to tell you.
Honestly, I don’t. I admitted that I’m attracted to you, as well. Okay, I’ll
admit it again. But on that same note, I’m also telling you I won’t lose control
over it. For crying out loud, there’re more important things in life than sexual
attraction, desire and passion. It’s not about all of that.”

“Isn’t it?” He paused a moment, trying to keep his vexation in
check. And it wasn’t helping matters that she was there, standing right in front
of him, with a stubborn expression on her face and looking as beautiful as any
woman could. And he picked up her scent, which made him fight to keep a grip on
his lust. The woman was driving him mad in so many ways.

“Let me ask you something, Megan,” he said in a voice he was
fighting to keep calm. “When was the last time you were with a man you
desired?”

Rico’s question surprised Megan, and she didn’t say anything.
Hell, she’d never been with a man she truly desired because she’d never been
with a man period. She had dated guys in high school, college, and even doctors
at the hospital. Unfortunately, they’d all had one thing in common. They had
reminded her too much of her player-card-toting brothers and cousins, even
hitting on her using some of the same lines she’d heard her family use. And a
few bold ones had even had the nerve to issue ultimatums. She had retaliated by
dropping those men like hot potatoes, just to show she really didn’t give a
royal damn. They said she was cold and couldn’t be thawed and that’s when they’d
started calling her Iceberg Megan. Didn’t bother her any because none of those
men had gotten beyond the first boring kiss. She was who she was and no
man—coming or going—would change it.

“I’m waiting on an answer,” Rico said, interrupting her
thoughts.

She gazed up at him and frowned. “Wait on. I don’t intend to
give you an answer because it’s none of your business.”

He nodded. “All right. You claim you can control the passion
between us, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I want to see how you control this.”

The next thing Megan knew, Rico had reached out, pulled her
into his embrace and swooped his mouth down onto hers.

* * *

Desire that had been lingering on the edges was now
producing talons that were digging deep into Megan’s skin and sending heated
lust all through her veins—and making her act totally out of control. He parted
her lips with his tongue and instead of immediately going after her tongue, he
rolled the tip around, as if on a tasting expedition. Then he gradually tasted
more of it until he had captured it all. And when she became greedy, he pulled
back and gave her just the tip again. Then they played the tongue game over and
over again.

She felt something stir within her that had never stirred
before while kissing a man. But then no man had ever kissed her like this. Or
played mouth games with her this way.

He was electrifying her cells, muddling her brain as even more
desire skittered up her spine. She tried steadying her emotions, regaining
control when she felt heat flooding between her thighs, but she couldn’t help
but release a staggering moan.

Instead of unlocking their mouths, he intensified the kiss, as
his tongue, holding hers in a dominant grip, began exploring every part of her
mouth with strokes so sensual her stomach began doing somersaults. She felt her
senses tossed in a number of wild spins, and surprised herself when she wrapped
her arms around his neck and began running her fingers through the softness of
his hair, absently curling a strand around her finger.

She could taste the hunger in his kiss, the passion and the
desire. Her emotions were smoldering, and blocking every single thought from her
already chaotic mind. The man was lapping up her mouth, and each stroke was
getting hotter and hotter, filling her with emotions she had pushed aside for
years. Was he ever going to let go of her mouth? Apparently no time soon.

This kiss was making her want to do things she’d never done
before. Touch a man, run her hands all over him, check out that huge erection
pressing against her belly.

She felt his hands rest on her backside, urging her closer to
his front. And she shifted her hips to accommodate what he wanted. She felt the
nipples of her breasts harden and knew her robe was no barrier against the heat
coming from his body.

No telling how long they would have stood in the middle of her
kitchen engaged in one hell of a feverish kiss if his cell phone hadn’t gone
off. They broke apart, and she drew in a much needed breath and watched him get
his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans.

She took note of the angry look on his face while he talked and
heard him say to the caller, “I don’t want you calling me.” He then clicked off
the line without giving the person a chance to respond.

She tensed at the thought that the person he’d just given the
brush-off was a woman. Megan lifted her chin. “Maybe you should have taken that
call.”

He glanced over at her while stuffing his phone back into the
pocket of his jeans. She watched as his hazel eyes became a frosty green. “I
will never take
that
call.”

She released a slow, steady breath, feeling his anger as if it
were a personal thing. She was glad it wasn’t directed at her. She wondered what
the woman had done to deserve such animosity from him. At the moment, Megan
didn’t care because she had her own problems. Rico Claiborne had made her lose
control. He had kissed her, and she had kissed him back.

And rather enjoyed it.

Dread had her belly quaking and her throat tightening when she
realized she wasn’t an iceberg after all. Rico had effectively thawed her.

She drew in a deep breath, furious with herself for letting
things get out of hand when she’d boasted and bragged about the control she had.
All it had taken was one blazing kiss to make a liar out of her. It was a fluke,
it had to be. He had caught her off guard. She didn’t enjoy kissing him as much
as she wanted to think she did.

Then why was she licking her lips and liking the taste he’d
left behind? She glanced over and saw he’d been watching her and was following
the movement of her tongue. Her fingers knotted into a fist at her side, and she
narrowed her gaze. “I think you need to leave.”

“No problem, now that I’ve proven my point. You’re as
passionate as you are beautiful, Megan. Nothing’s changed. I still want you, and
now that I’ve gotten a taste, I want you even more. So take my warning, don’t
come to Texas.”

A part of Megan knew that if she was smart, she would take his
warning. But the stubborn part of her refused to do so. “I’m going to Texas,
Rico.”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, just stood there and
held her gaze. Finally, he said, “Then I guess I’ll be seeing you at some point
while you’re there. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Rico strode away and, before opening the door to leave, he
grabbed his jacket off the coatrack. He turned, smiled at her, winked and then
opened the door and walked out.

Megan took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She had a
feeling that her life, as she’d always known it, would never, ever be the same.
Heaven help her, she had tasted passion and already she was craving more.

Four

U
pon arriving at Megan’s place early Friday
morning, Ramsey glanced down at the two overpacked traveling bags that sat in
the middle of her living room. “Hey, you’re planning on coming back, aren’t
you?” he asked, chuckling.

Megan smiled and tapped a finger to her chin. “Umm, I guess I
will eventually. And those bags aren’t
that
bad.”

“They aren’t? I bet I’ll strain my back carrying them out to
the truck. And how much you want to bet they’re both overweight and you’ll pay
plenty when you check them in at the airport.”

“Probably, but that’s fine. A lot of it is baby stuff I bought
for Alyssa. She’s having a girl and you know how I like buying all that frilly
stuff.” He would know since his two-year-old daughter, Susan, had been the first
female born to the Denver Westmorelands since Bailey. Megan simply adored her
niece and would miss her while away in Texas.

She looked up at Ramsey, her oldest brother, the one she most
admired along with her cousin Dillon. “Ram?”

He looked over at her after taking a sip of the coffee she’d
handed him as soon he had walked through the door. “Yes?”

“I was a good kid while growing up, wasn’t I? I didn’t give you
and Dillon any trouble, right?”

He grinned, reached out and pulled one of her curls. “No,
sport, you didn’t give us any trouble. You were easier to handle than Bailey,
the twins and Bane. But everyone was easier than those four.”

He paused a moment and added, “And unlike a lot of men with
sisters, I never once had to worry about guys getting their way with the three
of you. You, Gemma and Bail did a good job of keeping the men in line
yourselves. If a guy became a nuisance, you three would make them haul ass the
other way. Dillon and I got a chuckle out of it, each and every time. Especially
you. I think you enjoyed giving the guys a hard time.”

She playfully jabbed him in the ribs. “I did not.”

He laughed. “Could have fooled us.” He grabbed her close for a
brotherly hug. “At one time we thought you were sweet on Charlie Bristol when
you were a senior in high school. We knew for a fact he was sweet on you. But
according to Riley, he was too scared to ask you out.”

Megan smiled over at him as she led him to the kitchen. She
remembered Charlie Bristol. He used to spend the summers with one of his aunts
who lived nearby. “He was nice, and cute.”

“But you wouldn’t give him the time of day,” he said, sitting
down at the table.

Ramsey was right, she hadn’t. She recalled having a crush on
Charlie for a quick second but she’d been too busy helping out with Gemma and
Bailey to think about boys.

“I’m going to miss you, sport,” Ramsey said, breaking into her
thoughts.

Megan smiled over at him as she joined him at the table. “And
I’m going to miss you, as well. Other than being with Gemma during the time she
was giving birth to CJ, and visiting Delaney those two weeks in Tehran, this is
the first real vacation I’ve taken, and the longest. I’ll be away from the
hospital for a full month.”

“How will they make it without you? Ramsey teased.

“I’m sure they’ll find a way.” Even while attending college,
she had stayed pretty close to home, not wanting to go too far away. For some
reason, she’d felt she was needed. But then, she’d also felt helpless during
Bailey’s years of defiance. She had tried talking to her baby sister, but it
hadn’t done any good. She’d known that Bailey’s, the twins’ and Bane’s acts of
rebellion were their way of handling the grief of losing their parents. But
still, at the time, she’d wished she could do more.

“Ram, can I ask you something?”

He chuckled. “Another question?” He faked a look of pain before
saying, “Okay, I guess one more wouldn’t hurt.”

“Do you think having control of your emotions is a bad thing?”
She swallowed tightly as she waited for his answer.

He smiled at her. “Having too much self-control isn’t healthy,
and it can lead to stress. Everyone needs to know how to let loose, release
steam and let their hair down every once in a while.”

Megan nodded. Releasing steam wasn’t what she was dealing with.
Letting go of a buildup of sexual energy was the problem. And that kiss the
other day hadn’t helped matters any.

She hadn’t seen Rico since then, and she knew he’d already left
for Texas. She’d been able to get that much out of Riley when he’d dropped by
yesterday. “So it’s okay to…”

“Get a little wild every once in a while?” He chuckled. “Yes, I
think it is, as long as you’re not hurting anyone.”

He paused a second and then asked, “You’re planning to enjoy
yourself while you’re in Texas, right?”

“Yes. But as you know, it won’t be all fun, Ram.” Ramsey and
Dillon were the only ones she’d told the real reason why she was going to Texas.
They also knew she had asked Rico to take her with him, and he’d refused. Of
course, she hadn’t told them what he’d told her as the reason behind his
refusal. She’d only told them Rico claimed he preferred working alone and didn’t
need her help in the investigation. Neither Dillon nor Ramsey had given their
opinions about anything, because she hadn’t asked for them. The “don’t ask—don’t
tell” rule was one Dillon and Ramsey implemented for the Westmorelands who were
independent adults.

“You can do me a favor, though, sport,” he said in a serious
tone.

She lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

“Don’t be too hard on Rico for not wanting to take you along.
You’re paying him to do a job, and he wants to do it.”

Megan rolled her eyes. “And he will. But I want to be there. I
could help.”

“Evidently he doesn’t want your help.”

Yes, but he does want something
else,
Megan thought. She could just imagine what her brother would
think if he knew the real reason Rico didn’t want her in Texas. But then, Ramsey
was so laid-back it probably wouldn’t faze him. He’d known for years how Callum
had felt about Gemma. But he’d also known his sisters could handle their
business without any interference from their big brother unless it became
absolutely necessary.

“But what if there are other Westmorelands somewhere?” she
implored. “I told you what Rico said about Clarice having a baby.”

“Then Rico will find out information and give it to you to
bring to us, Megan. Let him do his job. And another thing.”

“Yes?”

“Rico is a good guy. I like him. So do the rest of the
Westmorelands. I judge a man by a lot of things and one is how he treats his
family. He evidently is doing something right because Jessica and Savannah think
the world of their brother.”

Megan leaned back in her chair and frowned. “Is there a reason
you’re telling me that?”

Ramsey was silent for a moment as he stared at her. Then a slow
smile touched his lips. “I’ll let you figure that one out, Megan.”

She nodded and returned his smile. “Fair enough. And about that
self-control we were discussing earlier?”

“Yes, what about it?” he asked.

“It
is
essential at times,” she
said.

“I agree, it is. At times.”

“But I’m finding out I might not have as much as I thought.
That’s not a bad thing, right, Ram?”

Ramsey chuckled. “No, sport, it’s just a part of being
human.”

* * *

Rico had just finished eating his dinner at one of the
restaurants in Forbes when his cell phone vibrated. Standing, he pulled it out
of his back pocket. “This is Rico.”

“Our father called me.”

Rico tensed when he heard Savannah’s voice. He sat back down
and leaned back in his chair. “He called me as well, but I didn’t give him a
chance to say anything,” he said, trying to keep his anger in check.

“Same here. I wonder what he wants, and I hope he doesn’t try
contacting Jessica. How long has it been now? Close to eighteen years?”

“Just about. I couldn’t reach Jessica today, but I did talk to
Chase. He said Jess hadn’t mentioned anything about getting a call from Jeff
Claiborne, and I think if she had, she would have told him,” said Rico.

“Well, I don’t want him upsetting her. She’s pregnant.”

“And you have a lot on your hands with a new baby,” he reminded
her.

“Yes, but I can handle the likes of Jeff regardless. But, I’m
not sure Jessica can, though. It wasn’t our mother who committed suicide because
of him.”

“I agree.”

“Where are you?” Savannah asked him.

“Forbes, Texas. Nice town.”

“Are you on a work assignment?”

“Yes, for Megan,” he replied, taking a sip of his beer.

“Is she there with you?”

Rico’s eyebrows shot up. “No. Should she be?”

“Just asking. Well, I’ll be talking with—”

“Savannah?” he said in that particular tone when he knew she
was up to something. “Why would you think Megan was here with me? I don’t work
that way.”

“Yes, but I know the two of you are attracted to each
other.”

He took another sip of his beer. “Are we?”

“Yes. I noticed at Micah’s wedding. I think everyone did.”

“Did they?”

“Yes, Rico, and you’re being evasive.”

He laughed. “And you’re being nosy. Where’s Durango?” he asked,
changing the subject.

“Outside giving Sarah her riding lessons.”

“Tell him I said hello and give my niece a hug.”

“I will…and Rico?”

“Yes?”

“I like Megan. Jess does, too.”

Rico didn’t say anything for a long moment. He took another sip
of his beer as he remembered the kiss they’d shared a couple of days ago. “Good
to hear because I like her, too. Now, goodbye.”

He clicked off the phone before his sister could grill him.
Glancing around the restaurant, he saw it had gotten crowded. The hotel had
recommended this place, and he was glad they had. They had served good Southern
food, the tastiest. But nothing he ate, no matter how spicy, could eradicate
Megan’s taste from his tongue. And personally, he had no problem with that
because what he’d said to Savannah was true. He liked Megan. A capricious smile
touched his lips. Probably, too damn much.

He was about to signal the waitress for his check when his
phone rang. He hoped it wasn’t Savannah calling back being nosy. He sighed in
relief when he saw it was Martin Felder, a friend who’d once worked with the FBI
years ago but was now doing freelance detective work. He was an ace when it came
to internet research. “Sorry, I meant to call you earlier, Rico, but I needed to
sing Anna to sleep.”

Rico nodded, understanding. Martin had become a single father
last year when his wife, Marcia, had died from pancreatic cancer. He had pretty
much taken early retirement from the Bureau to work from home. He had been the
one to discover information about Clarice’s pregnancy.

“No problem, and I can’t tell you enough about what a great job
you’re doing with Anna.”

“Thanks, Rico. I needed to hear that. She celebrated her third
birthday last week, and I wished Marcia could have been here to see what a
beautiful little girl we made together. She looks more and more like her mom
every day.”

Martin paused a minute and then said, “I was on the internet
earlier today and picked up this story of a woman celebrating her one-hundredth
birthday in Forbes. They were saying how sharp her memory was for someone her
age.”

“What’s her name?” Rico asked, sitting up straight in his
chair.

“Fanny Banks. She’s someone you might want to talk to while in
town to see if she remembers anything about Clarice Riggins. I’ll send the info
over to you.”

“That’s a good idea. Thanks.” Rico hung up the phone and
signaled for the waitress.

A few moments later, back in his rental car, he was reviewing
the information Martin had sent to his iPhone. The woman’s family was giving her
a birthday party tomorrow so the earliest he would be able to talk to her would
be Saturday.

His thoughts shifted to Megan and the look in her eyes when
she’d tried explaining why it was so important for her to be there when he found
out information on Raphel. Maybe he
was
being
hard-nosed about not letting her help him. And he had given her fair warning
about how much he wanted her. They’d kissed, and if she hadn’t realized the
intensity of their attraction before, that kiss should have cinched it and
definitely opened her eyes.

It had definitely opened his, but that’s not all it had done.
If he’d thought he wanted her before then he was doubly certain of it now. He
hadn’t slept worth a damn since that kiss and sometimes he could swear her scent
was in the air even when she wasn’t around. He had this intense physical desire
for her that he just couldn’t kick. Now he had begun to crave her and that
wasn’t good. But it was something he just couldn’t help. The woman was a
full-blown addiction to his libido.

He put his phone away, thinking Megan should have arrived at
Clint’s place by now. It was too late to make a trip to Austin tonight, but he’d
head that way early tomorrow…unless he could talk himself out of it
overnight.

And he doubted that would happen.