Texas-Sized Temptation / Star of His Heart: Texas-Sized Temptation / Star of His Heart. Brenda Jackson

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ in the worst way. It was leverage to get something in return from her and money meant nothing. If it had been Will who wanted the property back, he would have delighted in saying no, but it wasn’t Will. This was an entirely different matter. It hinged on Gabe finding oil.

      Caitlin had not won him over beyond it being exciting to be with her.

      It was a small matter to sell a little piece of the ranch back to her, but he wasn’t ready to do so yet. He was certain when he did, he would see no more of Caitlin.

      What kind of evening would he have with her? He glanced at his watch. Only a few hours and he would find out.

      Caitlin studied herself in the mirror while her thoughts remained only half on her appearance. The prospect of an evening with Jake both excited and disturbed her. Reactions poles apart like all of her responses since she had first faced him. She wanted to get her property back and be done with him because he was an unwanted temptation in her life.

      Focusing on her reflection, she smoothed the deep blue long-sleeved dress over her hips. The dress had a draped neckline with a low-cut back. She stepped into silver high-heeled sandals. Her hair was piled on her head, held with a silver clip with a few strands escaping to frame her face. Blue-and-silver earrings dangled from her ears.

      A flight to Dallas to eat and then back, but it would be no surprise if he wanted her to stay the night in Dallas. At the thought, her already bubbling insides gave another jump.

      The front door knocker made a clang that she could hear upstairs in her bedroom. Grabbing up her clutch purse, she hurried downstairs. Cecilia had already greeted Jake and was in the front room talking to him.

      Caitlin heard their voices before she entered the room. Jake stood the minute she walked through the door. Her breathing altered as she looked at Jake in a charcoal suit with a red tie. Even when she was in high heels, he was still the taller. Wickedly handsome, he presented an enormous challenge: win him over about selling—resist seduction.

      Then she saw the perusal he was giving her with approval definitely in his warm gaze. “You’re beautiful, Caitlin. I can’t believe you’re the same little kid I remember.”

      “Thank you. The same little kid you ignored, is what you mean.”

      “Cecilia, it was nice to see you again, if only briefly.”

      “Take care tonight,” Cecilia said, following them to the door and telling them goodbye. The minute the door closed behind them, Jake took her arm.

      “Cecilia looks sweet, but I wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley. I think she would gladly do me in.”

      Caitlin laughed. “I have never heard such a description of her in my life. Next to my grandmother, she’s the sweetest person on earth.”

      “You can’t tell me I got approval after my visit this afternoon. That was a frosty few minutes before you arrived.”

      “Cecilia? I can’t believe it. She is always sweet to people. Even Will—she never trusted Will, but she was always kind about him because she knew Grandmother loved him.”

      “I’m not going to pin you down on Cecilia’s opinion of me, but I’d bet the ranch I’m on target.”

      “You might be,” she said, amused by his reaction to Cecilia. “Now if you sell the land back to us, she’ll change her opinion completely.”

      “Ah, that’s what her coldness is about. I was afraid it was about taking you out.”

      “Why would she worry about that?” Caitlin asked.

      Jake shot her a look before returning his attention to the ranch road. “Don’t make me sound like someone so run-of-the-mill.”

      She laughed. “You will never be ‘run-of-the-mill.’ Stop fishing for reassurance or compliments. If our relatives could see us now, they wouldn’t believe their eyes. A Benton and a Santerre together for an evening.”

      “All I can see is a man and a gorgeous woman. That feud melted away when you appeared on my porch.”

      She smiled as she watched him drive. She had caught a whiff of his woodsy aftershave. All she could remember when she was a kid was an unfriendly older boy who was a Benton and someone to avoid. Not the breathtaking dream sitting only feet away from her and spending the evening with her.

      “A penny for your thoughts,” he said.

      “No amount of money would wring my thoughts out of me right now,” she replied, smiling and received another swift glance.

      “Now I have to know. Your thoughts must be personal, must involve me and must include tonight.”

      “You’re enough on target that I think we will change the subject. Do you work all the time in Dallas?”

      “A large part, but I travel, too. And you’re not getting off the hook that easily. Thoughts that concern us and you won’t tell me. That’s intriguing. Something you don’t want to admit.”

      “Stop it, Jake,” she said with a laugh.

      “Not when a beautiful woman admits to thoughts about us that she can’t confess. That conjures up all sorts of images—”

      “You can stop now. You win—I was merely thinking how handsome you are and that we’re headed for an exciting evening. There—very ordinary thoughts that could be expected.”

      “You’re not fooling me. You don’t want to admit what you’re really thinking—more along the lines of speculation about what it would be like to make passionate love,” he said, his voice lowering a notch.

      She tingled all over. “You won’t believe me if I deny that and of course, now you have me thinking about it.”

      His hand tightened on the steering wheel. Otherwise, she saw no visible sign of reaction to what she’d just said. “Now I wish I had started this conversation when I wasn’t driving.”

      “You brought this on yourself. Perhaps you should take my suggestion and we change the subject.”

      “Flirting is infinitely more fun with you than an ordinary conversation,” he said.

      “More dangerous, Jake. You and I were never destined for any kind of future together. We can ignore the feud for a time, but never completely, and it means some things will never take place between us.”

      “Not necessarily. A kiss can diminish family histories like lightning striking a tree. I’ll show you when we return to this conversation when I’m no longer driving.”

      His words wrapped around her, making her warm. He wouldn’t forget what he just said. Kisses awaited, heightening her bubbling excitement.

      “I hope you’ve thought about Grandmother’s house. It is so wonderful, Jake. It’s filled with memories. I just can’t bear to lose it.”

      “It is a fine old home, Caitlin. There’s no argument about that.”

      They reached his ranch and drove to park in front of an open hangar. Nearby a dazzling white jet waited, a larger craft than she had СКАЧАТЬ