Wild Lust [Werewolves of Forever, Texas 6] Read online

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t wait up.”

  Reese’s scowl deepened. Blane turned and headed down the drive. As he grew closer, he couldn’t help but whistle a happy tune.

  The Richmand rental house was old with peeling paint. The once-white paint had grayed under the harsh Texas weather, and the lack of upkeep gave the small house a dilapidated appearance. Too bad she hadn’t found another rental, maybe one like the Carr brothers owned. But he was fairly certain she’d rented the house because of its location partway between Shatland and Forever. That and the fact that the house was close enough to the main road leading away from Forever to make a quick getaway.

  “No one’s going anywhere tonight.” Since his hands were full carrying the groceries, he bumped his rear against the front door then stood up straight. He couldn’t wait to see her again. He could hardly blame Reese for giving in to temptation. Still, he’d never admit that to his brother.

  When she didn’t answer, he set the bag on the front porch and rapped on the door. The house wasn’t big enough for her not to hear him. After waiting a couple of minutes, he decided to check around back.

  He turned the corner of the house and came to a dead stop. Charlie was even more beautiful than he remembered. Dressed in a flowing sundress with spaghetti straps, her tanned skin glowed in the setting sun. Her long hair hung loose without the ball cap he’d seen her wearing since she’d arrived in Forever. Highlights of red and gold colored the dark tresses, and he could already feel their silky texture as her hair brushed over his skin. The sundress was thin, and he could see the outline of her long, shapely legs. He squinted. Was she bare under the dress?

  Her nipples stood out like ripe raspberries against the pale flowers decorating the dress and, when a breeze came, the sundress whipped between her legs, outlining her crotch.

  He dragged in a slow breath and reminded himself that he couldn’t pull a Reese and take her to bed. He wanted to make her realize how special she was before he got her between the sheets.

  She bent over to place a bucket of water in front of the horse. The front of her dress dipped lower, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of the swell of her breasts. She stood and stroked the horse’s neck, her mouth moving as she spoke softly to Ripcord. Reaching behind her, she took one of the apples out of a basket and held it out for the horse.

  “I wish I knew your name.” Her bright smile put the sun to shame.

  “His name’s Ripcord.”

  She whirled toward him, her luscious mouth opened in an O shape. How long would he have to wait to have her make an O with her mouth and put it around his cock? Not long, he hoped.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Although her question was spoken with a challenging tone, he couldn’t find any trace of anger or suspicion on her face. Her cheeks were bright from a day in the sun, but he guessed the pink coloring her skin came from another source.

  “You know, people around here used to hang horse thieves. Some still do.” He sauntered over to her, taking his time so he wouldn’t startle either her or Ripcord.

  “And what do they do to spies?”

  Shit. He’d hoped she wouldn’t bring up that issue quite so fast. “Point taken.”

  Her gaze scanned him as though she could see through his clothes. Did she know he could see through hers? His cock twitched to life, and he resisted the urge to reposition it. “Tell you what. I’ll forget about you stealing my horse if you’ll forget about us watching you.”

  “Hmm. I don’t know that I’d call it watching or spying. The word stalking comes to mind.”

  He flattened his hand over his heart. “Ouch. Miss, I am no stalker.” Girls tended to like his imitation of a Southern gentleman, and he was pleased to see that she was no exception.

  “I asked you why you’re here.” Her cocoa-colored eyes narrowed. “Aside from getting your horse back.”

  “Rupert, the man who works for us, will come around and get Ripcord home. Dutch, the best mechanic around these parts, is going to deliver your pickup later on. But I came to give you a peace offering. Let me cook you dinner to make up for getting off on the wrong foot.” He took a step closer and was happy when she didn’t move back from him.

  “You’re going to make me dinner?” She ducked under Ripcord’s neck, putting the horse between them.

  He gave her his best I’m a good guy smile and hooked his thumb in the direction of the house. “That’s the plan. I left a bag of groceries by the front door. Groceries which I hope you’ll let me use to make you dinner.”

  “I don’t know. After what happened with your brother—” She closed her mouth fast, as though she’d just realized what she was about to say.

  Blane patted Ripcord then scratched the horse behind the ear. “Charlie, Reese and I are identical twins, but our appearance is about all that’s identical. We’re two very different people.”

  She cast down her eyes. “Did he, uh, tell you about…”

  “About what happened before you hopped on Ripcord?” He leaned to the side, catching her eye even as she tried to avoid making contact. “Yeah. But I won’t hold it against you.”

  She blinked then let a smile slip out. “I appreciate that.”

  He let her take her time getting used to the idea. Horses and women weren’t so different in that respect. All he had to do was to give her some slack in the reins and let her think she was the one in control. Soon enough he’d be riding her.

  “So why Ripcord?”

  Her change of subject told him she’d crossed over the bridge from irritation and suspicion into curiosity. “We named him Ripcord because the first time Reese got on him to break him, old Ripcord sent him flying so high that Reese should’ve had a ripcord to use on a parachute. My brother hit the ground hard, and I have to admit, I about bust a gut laughing.”

  “And this is Ripcord? Why didn’t he buck me off?”

  “He didn’t buck you off because he’s trained now. In fact, once we got him to understand who’s boss, old Ripcord turned into a big old teddy bear. A baby could ride him now. But you might be more careful next time you hop on an unfamiliar horse. You never know what might happen.”

  She grimaced. “I didn’t even think. Don’t worry. I plan on sticking to motorized vehicles from now on.”

  “That’s a shame. I hear you looked really good on top.” He almost danced for joy at the shy smile she gave him. “So what do you say, Charlie? How about letting me cook you dinner?”

  * * * *

  Charlie checked herself before giving her answer. She wanted to take Blane up on his offer, but should she? She still didn’t know why they’d kept watch on her. Plus, she had to wonder. Did he really know what had happened with Reese? If he did, it didn’t seem to bother him. Then why should she let what happened hold her back from getting to know the friendlier brother? After she found out why they’d spied on her, of course.

  He’d taken care of her broken-down pickup and had even arranged for someone to take Ripcord back home. She did kind of owe him for those two things, even if his brother deserved everything she’d done. Besides, she was so hungry she could eat a horse. She glanced at Ripcord, thankful that the horse couldn’t read her mind.

  She gnawed on her lower lip and saw him watch her. She nodded then started toward the house. “Okay, I accept on one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You can fix me dinner, but you have to tell me why you and your brother were watching me.”

  “Deal.”

  Hmm. That was easy enough.

  He fell into step beside her. The sexual tension between them rippled through the air and made the hair on her arms stand up. What was it about Reese and Blane that made her want to rip off her clothes and shout, “Come and get me!”?

  “I hope you’re a good cook.” Maybe if she kept the conversation light, she could ignore the wetness growing between her legs.

  “I am. I know most of the men around here would rather eat b
ugs off a dead bird than cook, but I find it relaxing. And if I can cook for a beautiful woman, then that’s a major plus in my book.”

  He strode ahead of her and scooped up the bag sitting next to the front door. “I hope you like spaghetti.”

  She could already feel the carbs sticking to her hips. “I like it too much. You don’t want to leave me alone with the pot. If you do, don’t expect to find any leftovers.”

  “I have no intention of leaving you alone.” His blue eyes, just a hint darker than his brother’s, yet still flecked with amber, unnerved her but in a good way.

  Her hand was on the doorknob, yet she suddenly found she couldn’t twist it open. Was he talking about leaving her alone with the spaghetti? Or something more? Her mind betrayed her vow to keep things light by sending her a mental picture of Blane tying her hands to the bedpost while Reese secured her ankles to the foot of the bed.

  “Charlie? Are we going inside, or are we just going to stand out here all night?”

  “Oh. Sorry.” She came back to reality, opened the door, and led him inside. The house was nothing like her home back in Boston, but she liked it anyway. She felt more at ease, relaxed in the small house than she’d ever felt in her spacious Boston apartment. Part of it was that her mother’s decorator had taken over furnishing the huge apartment and none of the items he’d bought had really fit her taste. But she hadn’t cared. She’d never thought of her apartment as a home but as a place where she put her things and laid her head after a grueling ten-hour workday.

  “Um, the kitchen isn’t much.”

  He forged ahead of her into the tiny galley-style kitchen. “As long as you have a range, I’ll be fine.”

  She tried to see the kitchen through his eyes. Although tiny, it still had all the necessary items like an oven, range top and refrigerator along with a counter microwave. Since she’d eaten mostly sandwiches and frozen dinners off paper plates, she hadn’t cared that the kitchen didn’t have a dishwasher.

  She slid onto one of the two barstools and watched him pull the ingredients out of the bag and set them on the countertop. He busied himself, searching through drawers and cabinets for the tools he needed to cook with, then placed a big pot on top of the stove.

  “I’m totally clueless when it comes to cooking, but I feel like I should still offer to help.”

  He bent over to retrieve a colander from under the stove. She leaned to the side, her mouth puckering into a soundless whistle. If she was an artist, she’d make a bronze tribute to the man’s butt. He filled the jeans as though they were made for him, showing just enough ass to tease her libido. His incredible butt led the way up to a lean waist and a back that made her bite her lower lip to keep from sighing. Broad wasn’t the right word to describe the expanse covered by a simple white T-shirt.

  She jumped, jerked her gaze upward, and plastered on an I’m not doing anything wrong smile as he turned to face her. Had he said something? His smile made her believe he’d known she was checking out his butt. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  “I said not to worry about helping. I prefer to do it myself. But you can, if you want, find your corkscrew and open a bottle of wine.”

  “Sure.” She eased off the stool as he dropped his attention to the food on the counter and started opening the carton of pasta. Did she have a wine corkscrew? She pushed by him, grazing her breasts against his back. A flash of heat radiated off him and into her. She drew in a quick breath as he went still. Holding her breath, she waited for him to spin around and crush his mouth to hers as Reese had done. Disappointment twisted her gut when he didn’t.

  Did that mean he didn’t want her? Had she gotten her signals mixed up? She frowned and opened a drawer on the far side of the kitchen. Rummaging around, she found a corkscrew and held it up. “Voilà. I found it.”

  Damn, how she liked his smile. A woman could get lost in the brightness.

  “Great. I don’t suppose you have a couple of wine goblets? And a couple of plates? I found the utensils.”

  “I don’t remember seeing any goblets, but I’ll look. I know there are a couple of plates, although I’ve been using paper plates for just me.”

  She checked the cabinets and found two glasses. One was the Scooby-Doo glass she’d been using, and the other was the same type of tall children’s glass but with the image of Wolverine on the side. “Will these do?”

  “Only if I get Wolverine. Wolverine and I are simpatico.”

  Simpatico how? But she kept her question to herself. “That works for me.”

  She pushed by him again, prepared for the sizzle, and again was mystified when he acted like he hadn’t felt anything. Taking one of the bottles out of the bag, she lifted it up and had to laugh. “Red Blooded? That’s an odd name for a wine.”

  He kept working, his back turned to her as he stirred the spaghetti. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. If I’d had more time, I would’ve hit my neighbor Aiden Carr up for a quick trip through his wine cellar. He brings in really fine wine and will let a few people sponge off him for a special occasion. But most people around here run over to Shatland to pick up a decent bottle of wine. They have a connection to a winery in California that’s run by a cousin of one of their residents.”

  “But the name is so…dark. Almost ominous sounding.” She frowned and squinted at the bottle’s label. “It says the winery’s name is Villa Diablo. Home of the Devil?”

  “Yeah, the name’s strange, but the wine’s fairly decent. Once every six months or so I make a run into Dallas for friends like Aiden and others to fulfill special orders. At one time, I tried to keep a stock of good vintages at my bar, but beer’s the main drink around here, so it wasn’t cost efficient to keep much of a wine stock. I could make a run over to the bar and grab a better wine if you like. I should’ve done that in the first place, but, like I said, I kind of wanted to get here before you ate.”

  “You own a bar?” She searched her memory for the one bar she’d seen around town. “Is it The Moonstone Bar?”

  “You know it?” He cast an inquisitive glance. “I know I haven’t seen you in there.”

  “I drove by it one day. Tell me. Why does everything around here have the word “moon” in the name? I’ve seen The Moonstone Bar, Moonbeam Ranch, and Moonlight Ranch. Does everyone have a fascination with the moon?”

  He stopped stirring the spaghetti and started cutting the bread into pieces. “I guess I never really noticed before. Maybe it’s just because the moon looks so nice out here. You know. Away from the bright lights and smog of cities like Dallas.”

  “Okay. I guess that makes sense.” Did he know about the werewolves her sister was living with? Should she broach the subject?

  “By the way, I’m a part owner of the bar. That way my partner and I can take turns running it and it gives us both time to do other things like run cattle and such.” He stopped what he was doing and shot her a piercing look. “I think you know him.”

  She uncorked the bottle and poured the dark-red liquid into the Wolverine glass then some wine into hers. “I doubt that. I’ve met hardly anyone.”

  “Well, I assumed you’d know him since your last name is Newman. Your sister’s Shannon, right? My partner is Anderson Holms, one of the Holms cousins.”

  Chapter Five

  Charlie didn’t want to believe her ears. “Anderson Holms is your partner?”

  Blane turned off the gas under the pot of pasta. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”

  Shaken, she knocked the bottle over, spilling some of the remaining wine. “And you know my sister lives with him? With him and his cousin Daniel?”

  He snatched up the sponge lying next to the sink and wiped up the spill. “This is a small town. People know a lot about their neighbors. What’s the problem? Are you all right? You went a little pale.”

  “Do you know much about them? The Holms cousins, I mean?”

  He handed her glass of wine then took a sip from his. “As much as I need to know. I see them and yo
ur sister around town, and they drop into the bar like most everyone around here does.”

  “Do you know what they are?” She took a sip, hoping to steady her nerves.

  “I’m not sure what you mean. I know they’re good, honest guys. Daniel sometimes free-lances with architectural gigs, leaving Anderson to handle a lot of the ranch’s business along with his part in the bar.”

  “That’s all?”

  “What more is there?” He turned back to the pot on the stove and drained the water by pouring the pasta into a colander. After running hot water over the noodles, he grabbed two forks and piled the food onto the plates she’d found.

  “Nothing. It’s just that it happened so fast. One day she’s single, and a couple of days later, she’s living with not just one but both men.”

  “Is that the problem? That she’s living with two men?”

  “No, it’s not that. Shannon and I have had threesomes. Not relationships with three people, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. If the right people are involved.”

  He turned, his gaze glittering with curiosity. “Yeah?”

  She wasn’t the type to blush, but the warmth spread through her cheeks anyway. “Okay, I didn’t mean to say all that, and I’m not going to say anything more except to clarify that we were never together in any threesome.”

  “Damn. Way to break a man’s fantasy to hell and back.”

  She took a sip to cover her smile.

  He poured the sauce into a bowl then set it into the microwave to heat up. “I have to say that every time I’ve seen her she seems happy.” Bringing the warm sauce back to the counter, he pulled up the other barstool and sat next to her.

  “Go on. Chow down. I promise next time I’ll plan a better dinner for you. One made from scratch, like it should be done.”

  She nodded, unsure how to continue the conversation. Should she ask him straight out if he knew the Holms cousins were werewolves? But her nerve failed her. Instead, she twirled the spaghetti around her fork and took a bite.