“You can’t have it both ways, Jaron. You are either interested or you aren’t.”

“You’re my sister-in-law’s kid sister,” he said stubbornly. “I’m just watching out for you.”

“Oh, good grief! Get over it, Jaron.” Mariah rested her hands on her sexy hips. “In case you haven’t noticed lately, I’m no longer a naive eighteen-year-old girl. I’ve grown up. I’m twenty-five and perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

Jaron took a deep breath. Oh, he’d noticed that Mariah wasn’t the teenager he had met when his foster brother, Sam Rafferty, married Bria Stanton. Back then Mariah had a crush on him, and although he had found her attractive, he knew that a nine-year age difference made him too old for her. But over the years, he would have had to be as blind as a bat not to notice that she had grown into a beautiful, sexy woman.

And that was the problem.

Interested didn’t even begin to cover how he felt for Mariah.

* * *

Tempted by the Texan is part of The Good, the Bad and the Texan series—Running with these billionaires will be one wild ride

Tempted by the Texan

Kathie DeNosky

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Table of Contents

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

KATHIE DENOSKY lives in her native southern Illinois on the land her family settled in 1839. She writes highly sensual stories with a generous amount of humor. Her books have appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list and received numerous awards, including two National Readers’ Choice Awards. Kathie enjoys going to rodeos, traveling to research settings for her books and listening to country music. Readers may contact her by emailing kathie@kathiedenosky.com. They can also visit her website www.kathiedenosky.com or find her on Facebook.

This book is dedicated to my family, Bryan and Nicole DeNosky, David DeNosky, and Heath and Angie Blumenstock.

You fill my heart with love. It’s a joy and my privilege to be your mother.

One

After working all day on the ranch he’d bought a few months back, Jaron Lambert sauntered into the Broken Spoke looking for three things—a steak dinner; a cold beer; and a warm, willing woman for a night of no-strings-attached fun. But as he sat down at one of the tables and surveyed the dimly lit roadhouse, he knew he would be settling on the steak and beer, then heading back to his place—alone.

It wasn’t that there weren’t any women in the bar or that they hadn’t paid attention to him when he entered. There were a couple playing pool and a few more sitting at two tables shoved together, looking as if they might be having a girls’ night out. One of them had even smiled at him with a come-hither expression on her pretty face. But none of them piqued his interest enough for more than a passing glance. Maybe all the hard work to get his ranch in shape was catching up with him. More than likely it was because none of the women were a certain leggy brunette with the greenest eyes he’d ever seen.

Disgusted with himself for wanting a woman he knew damned good and well he could never have, he decided that he’d have been better off calling a couple of his five brothers to see if they wanted to join him for supper. If he had, at least he would have had someone to talk to while he ate. But they all had wives and kids now, and he could appreciate them wanting to spend the time with their families.

“What can I get for you, handsome?” a young, gum-snapping waitress asked, walking up to his table.

“I’ll just have a bottle of Lone Star,” he answered, deciding to forego the steak and just have a beer. As soon as he finished draining the bottle, he’d head back home to heat up a pizza and spend the rest of the evening in front of the television.

“One beer coming right up,” she said, giving him a bright smile. After a minute, she returned, plunked down a napkin on the worn Formica tabletop and set the bottle on top of it. “You’re Jaron Lambert, aren’t you?” Her smile widened into a flirty grin when he nodded. “You won the World All-Around Championship at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas just before Christmas, didn’t you?”

“Yup.” When she continued to stand there expectantly, he gave in and asked what he figured she was waiting on. “So you were there?”

“Oh, no,” she said, shaking her head. “I couldn’t afford a trip to Vegas on what I make here. I watched it on satellite TV.” She gave him an enticing smile. “You sure looked sexy when they awarded you that buckle.”

He could tell by the look on her face that she was interested in more than just talking about his big win in Las Vegas. Unfortunately for her, he wasn’t. He had dodged more than his fair share of buckle bunnies—young women who flirted and hoped to sleep with a cowboy in possession of a championship belt buckle—over the years, and he was glad that part of his life was behind him. Hopefully with his retirement from rodeo after the finals a couple of months ago, that type of woman would lose interest in him and move on to another cowboy who didn’t care if he became nothing more than a notch on a groupie’s bedpost.

When he didn’t respond to her comment and expectant expression, she shrugged one shoulder. “Well, if you need anything else—anything at all—just let me know.”

“Thanks,” Jaron said, taking a swig of his beer as he watched the waitress move over to another table where three men sat. It was clear one of them was going to get lucky and be invited to join her for a night of fun after she got off work.

After downing his beer, he got several dollars out of his wallet and tossed them on top of the table. There was no sense sitting there paying for more beer when he had a cold twelve-pack in his refrigerator at home.

But just as he started to get up, he noticed a woman walk through the door and up to the bar. He uttered a word under his breath that he reserved for smashed thumbs and card games with his brothers as he settled back down in his chair. What the hell was she doing here?

She was wearing a red dress that fit her body like a glove, and there was very little left to the imagination about the size of her breasts or the curve of her slender hips. He swallowed back another curse as his gaze drifted lower. That little red number she wore ended about midthigh and gave him more than a fair idea of how long and shapely her legs were. But it was the shiny black high heels she had on that caused him to grind his teeth. Those four-inch spikes were the kind a man looked at and knew the woman wearing them was just asking for him to take her home and pleasure her throughout the night.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only guy in the room to notice. As Jaron watched, a seedy-looking cowboy with a Skoal ring on the hip pocket of his jeans and a leering grin walked up beside her. She glanced at the man, shook her head and turned back to speak to the bartender. It was crystal clear she wasn’t buying what the good old boy was selling.

Jaron decided he wasn’t going anywhere. At least not while Mariah Stanton was standing there looking for all the world like every man’s midnight fantasy.

But as he watched the cowboy try to get her to pay attention to him, Jaron could tell from the look on the man’s face that there was going to be trouble. The guy wanted her, and she didn’t want any part of him. Unfortunately, the son of a bitch was either too drunk, too stupid or too determined to take no for an answer.

When the jerk reached out and took hold of her upper arm, Mariah recoiled, and that was when Jaron came up out of his chair to cross the room like a bull out of the bucking chute. Without a moment’s hesitation, he planted his right fist along the man’s jaw and watched the bastard hit the floor in an undignified heap.

“Jaron?” Mariah sounded startled when she looked over her shoulder at him. “What are you doing?”

“Saving your pretty little ass from getting into more trouble than you can handle,” he retorted angrily.

“You knocked out Roy Lee!” one of the man’s friends shouted, taking a step toward Jaron.

“Do we have a problem?” Jaron growled through clenched teeth as he quickly moved Mariah behind him out of harm’s way.

A good six inches shorter than Jaron’s six-foot-two-inch height, the man stared at him a moment then hastily shook his head. “I ain’t got no quarrel with you, dude,” he said, hastily taking a couple of steps in the opposite direction.

“Then, I strongly suggest you pick Roy Lee up off the floor and leave me and the lady alone,” Jaron ordered.

As Roy Lee’s friends hauled him to his feet, Jaron turned and, putting his arm around Mariah’s waist, ushered her out of the place. She tried to pull away from him, but he tightened his arm around her and didn’t stop as he guided her out the exit and toward her car in the parking lot.

“Jaron, have you lost your mind?” she asked as he hurried her along.

“What the hell do you think you were doing walking into a cowboy bar looking for all the world as if you’re advertising for a roll in the hay, Mariah?” he demanded when they reached her compact sedan.

“I don’t look like I’m advertising for any such thing,” she said, jerking away from him. “And what’s wrong with the way I’m dressed? I think I look just fine.”

Jaron folded his arms across his chest and let his gaze slide from the top of her dark brown hair to the soles of her impossibly high heels. That was the problem. She did look fine. Too fine.

He ignored her question and asked one of his own. “What in the name of Sam Hill did you think you were doing stopping by the Broken Spoke alone?”

“Not that it’s any of your concern, but I had a dinner meeting in Fort Worth and on my way back home my car started making an odd noise. I managed to get it into this parking lot just before it died completely, and after I discovered that my cell phone needed recharging, I went inside to call a tow truck.”

He watched her emerald eyes narrow as she glared at him. “And even if I had been there for other reasons, it’s none of your business. I can handle situations like what happened in there all by myself.”

“Oh, yeah? Is that why old Roy Lee put his filthy hands on you?” Jaron asked, doing his best to hold on to his temper. “The minute that bastard grabbed hold of your arm he made it my business.”

When he’d seen the man touch her, Jaron had damned near come unglued. Aside from the fact that he took exception to any man forcing his attention on a woman when it was clear she didn’t want it, the woman in question had been Mariah. As long as he had a single breath left in his body, nobody was going to treat her with anything but complete respect.

“Really? It’s your business? You’ve made it perfectly clear all these years that you have absolutely no interest in anything I do.” She shook her head. “You can’t have it both ways, Jaron. Either you are interested or you aren’t.”

“You’re my sister-in-law’s kid sister,” he said stubbornly. “I’m just watching out for you.”

“Oh, good grief! Get over it, Jaron.” She rested her hands on her sexy hips. “In case you haven’t noticed lately, I’m no longer a naive eighteen-year-old girl. I’ve grown up. I’m twenty-five and perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

Jaron took a deep breath. Oh, he’d noticed several years ago that Mariah wasn’t the teenager he had met when his foster brother Sam Rafferty had married Bria Stanton. Back then Mariah had had a crush on him, and although he had found her attractive, he knew that a nine-year age difference made him too old for her. But over the years, he would have had to be as blind as a bat not to notice that she had grown into a beautiful, sexy woman. And that was the problem.

Interested didn’t even begin to cover what he felt for Mariah. He wouldn’t call it love. Hell, he’d have to believe in the emotion before he could say that was what it was. But he did find himself thinking about her a lot, and whenever the family got together for birthdays dinners or holidays, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her.

“I don’t care how old you are. There’s no sense in putting yourself into a dangerous situation,” he insisted.

“Dangerous?” She laughed and the sound sent a shock wave of heat straight through him. She pointed toward the entrance to the bar. “Sam brings Bria here for dinner all the time. For that matter, the rest of your brothers bring their wives here, as well. We both know they wouldn’t dream of doing that if they thought they were placing the women in jeopardy.”

It was Jaron’s turn to laugh. “Do you honestly think that some dust-covered cowboy would have the guts to try putting the moves on one of my sisters-in-law with my brothers right there to knock them flat?”

Continuing to glare at him, she shook her head. “I’m not going to get into a debate with you about your antiquated idea that women need a man’s protection whenever they go out.” She started to brush past him to go back into the bar. “I’ve had a trying day, I’m tired and I need to make that phone call.”

“Not in there you’re not,” Jaron said, placing his hands on her slender shoulders to stop her.

“Jaron Lambert, I swear if you don’t—”

Before he could stop himself, he pulled her close and brought his mouth down on hers to silence her. But the moment he tasted her perfect coral lips, he lost every ounce of sense he’d ever possessed and gave in to years of temptation and denial.

Wrapping his arms around her, Jaron settled Mariah against him, and the feel of her breasts crushed to his chest, her body touching his from their shoulders to their knees, set a fire in his belly that he thought just might burn him to a crisp. Without a thought to the consequences, he traced the seam of her mouth with his tongue to coax her to open for him. When she did, he slipped inside to explore her inner recesses.

As he stroked and teased her, she grabbed the front of his jeans jacket with both hands for support as she sagged against him. That fueled the fire in his belly to a fever pitch, and his erection was not only inevitable—it caused him to feel light-headed from its intensity. Tightening his arms around her, he held her to him and he knew the second she felt the evidence of his need when she shivered and pressed herself even closer.

His heart stalled as another wave of heat flowed through his veins. He had wanted her for so damned long, if he didn’t put some distance between them, and real quick, he wasn’t sure he would be able to. But when he tried to ease away from the kiss, Mariah’s lips clung to his and he knew it was going to take every ounce of strength he could muster to move away from her.

Forcing himself to take a step back before she made him forget he was a gentleman, he took a deep breath. “What seems to be wrong with your car?”

“I...uh, I’m not sure,” she said, sounding as winded as he felt. “I heard a noise and a few minutes later I noticed the lights were dimming. By the time I parked it here, they went out completely and the engine died. When I turned the key to restart it, all it did was make a clicking sound.”

“It sounds as if you might have a bad battery or the alternator went out,” he said, thankful to focus on something besides the enticing woman standing next to him. It appeared that neither wanted to mention the kiss, and that was just fine with him. The less said about his lapse of judgment, the better.

“Is that expensive?” she asked, nibbling on her lower lip. She wasn’t trying to be provocative, but it was all he could do to keep from kissing her again.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll have my men come and get your car in the morning and see what they can do. I’ve got a hired hand who can fix just about anything with four tires and a motor.”

“That’s great, but how am I supposed to get home tonight?” she asked, rubbing her temple with her fingertips as if she might be developing a headache. A sudden rumble of thunder followed by a flash of lightning in the distance caused her to groan. “Great! Just great. I still have ninety miles to drive before I get home, my car won’t run and now it’s going to start raining. Could this day get any better?”

“It’s been a rough one?” he asked, noticing the defeated expression on her pretty face.

She looked at him as though he might be one of the simplest souls she’d ever met. “Let me put it to you this way—I’ve definitely had a lot better.”

As he stood there staring at her, he waged an internal battle with himself. It was getting late and there weren’t a lot of choices. He was worn-out from working all day and she sounded as though she was exhausted from whatever had ruined hers. He could drive her down to Shady Grove, but he really wasn’t looking forward to making the hour-and-a-half drive back as tired as he was—not when he had a very comfortable, fully furnished six-bedroom ranch house ten miles away.

“Don’t worry about how you’re going to get home,” he said, glancing at his watch. “You can stay at my place tonight and drive back to Shady Grove in the morning after my men get your car fixed.”

“I don’t want to impose.” A sudden gust of wind had her impatiently brushing her long dark brown hair away from her face as she shivered from the February cold. “Could you drive me over to Sam and Bria’s?”

It would be the best for all concerned if he could take her to her sister and his brother’s ranch. Unfortunately, that option wasn’t on the table. “Sam and Bria left this morning to go down to Houston for a stock show.”

She looked uncertain for several seconds and he could tell she was trying to think of something—anything—else she could do. When her shoulders sagged in defeat, he knew she’d reached the same conclusion he had.

She sighed heavily. “It doesn’t look as though I have a choice, does it?”

He shook his head. “I’ve got five spare bedrooms and you can take your pick.”

“All right,” she finally agreed, opening her car door. She retrieved a short black leather jacket from the passenger seat and pulled it on, then used her remote to lock the car.

Neither spoke as they walked the short distance to his truck and he helped her into the passenger side of the cab. What could they say? He had let his guard down and given in to the temptation of kissing her. But it couldn’t happen again. Now that she was going to have to spend the night at his place because her car had broken down, another kiss like the one he’d given her a few minutes ago could very easily push him over the edge and cause him to lose what little sense he had left.

When Jaron walked around the front of the truck to slide into the driver’s seat, he stared straight ahead as he started the powerful engine. He still wanted her and he could only hope that he’d cool off on the ten-mile drive to the Wild Maverick Ranch, at least enough to get some sleep.

But as he steered the truck out of the parking lot and headed toward his ranch, he knew as surely as the sun would rise in the east tomorrow morning that wasn’t going to happen. Now that he had tasted her sweet lips and held her soft body against his, he wanted a whole lot more. And that was something he knew for certain he could never have.

Mariah deserved a man who could offer her a future free of the emotional and physical scars of the past. Unfortunately, he had both.

* * *

When Jaron drove his truck beneath the arched entrance sign of the Wild Maverick Ranch, Mariah’s heart skipped a beat. She still couldn’t believe that he’d kissed her, let alone that she was going to spend the night at his new ranch.

When she was eighteen, she’d had a crush on him and dreamed of nothing more than having him feel as enamored with her as she was with him. He’d known about the infatuation, and instead of teasing her about it as some men might have done, he had been a perfect gentleman. He hadn’t encouraged her in order to stroke his ego, nor had he discouraged her. He had simply ignored it and treated her the same as the rest of his brothers. She’d known he thought he was too old for her back then, and he’d been right. She hadn’t been mature enough to handle a relationship with a man in his late twenties.

As the years went by and they saw each other at the family gatherings her sister held for the six foster brothers, she’d seen Jaron watch her and known he found her attractive. But to her disappointment, he hadn’t asked her out or treated her any different than he had when she was a teenager.

Then as the brothers married and started their families, her relationship with Jaron had turned into a rivalry of sorts. Whenever one of the sisters-in-law became pregnant, Jaron insisted the baby would be a boy, while she just knew it would be a girl. But even as they argued about it, there had been an undertone of tension that had recently become so thick it was impossible to deny.

Mariah glanced at Jaron. But tonight something had changed between them. She’d known it the moment he punched the cowboy at the Broken Spoke. Although any of his brothers would have taken exception to the man grabbing her by the arm, Jaron had been absolutely furious. And if his reaction hadn’t given her a hint that things were different between them, the kiss he had given her certainly had.

She had been kissed many times before, and although they’d been pleasant, none of them had been like the kiss Jaron had given her. There had been so much passion in the caress that it had been overwhelming. And what she couldn’t get over was the fact that they had both ignored it, as if it hadn’t even happened. They had started talking about her car problems and where she was going to stay for the night instead of addressing the fact that after all these years he had finally acted on their mutual attraction.

“Unbelievable.”

“What’s unbelievable?” he asked as he parked his truck in the four-car garage and pushed the remote on the visor to lower the door.

Unaware that she’d spoken her thoughts aloud, Mariah shrugged. “I was just thinking about my day,” she lied.

“Some days are like that,” he said, getting out of the truck. “Maybe tomorrow will be better.”

“It has to be. I doubt it could get any worse,” she said, opening the passenger door. Before she could figure out how to get out of the truck without breaking one of her high heels, or for that matter one of her ankles, Jaron was there to lift her down from the seat. His large hands wrapped around her waist caused her to feel warm all over. “Th-thank you.”

“Would you like something to eat?” he asked as they walked through the door to the mudroom. “I’ve got a couple of frozen pizzas I can toss in the oven.”

“No, thank you.” She shrugged. “I had dinner after my meeting.” She didn’t add that she hadn’t been able to eat due to the fact that during the meeting she had learned she was out of a job—effective immediately. “If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to go on to bed.”

“Of course not.” He led the way down the hall to the stairs. “Bria and the other sisters-in-law made up all the rooms when they decorated the place, so you can have your pick.”

“They did a fantastic job,” she said, noticing the original paintings by a popular Western artist hanging on the wall as they climbed the steps. The decor reflected the Wild Maverick’s new owner and his cowboy lifestyle.

“They did a better job than I would have done, that’s for sure,” he commented. When they reached the top floor, he opened the first door they came to and flipped on the light switch to turn on the bedside lamps. “If you don’t like this room, there are four more to choose from.”

“This will be fine,” she said, looking around. Decorated in a cool shade of green and cream, the colors complemented the Native American artwork on the walls and the handwoven area rugs on the hardwood floor. “Bria and the others should consider going into interior decorating.”

“I was going to leave the bedrooms empty, but Bria pointed out that I needed to furnish them in case I had guests.” He shrugged. “I doubt that I’ll ever have that many, since all of my brothers live close by.”

“If you don’t think you’ll need the rooms, why did you buy such a big house?” she asked, unable to see the logic in him paying for something he didn’t intend to use.

“I wanted the land,” he admitted. “It’s close enough to all of my brothers’ ranches that we can help each other out when needed and not have to drive more than an hour or so to get there.” He gave her a half smile. “The house just came with it.”

She wasn’t surprised Jaron wanted to live close to his foster brothers. From what her sister had told her, all six of them had been in trouble with the law when they were teenagers and the foster-care system had given up on them as lost causes. They’d been sent to the Last Chance Ranch, and thanks to a special man named Hank Calvert and his unique way of using ranch work and rodeo to teach them life lessons, all of the boys had worked through their troubles and turned their lives around. They had all become honest, productive adults, and because of their similar problems when they were boys and having no families to return to once they were of age, they had bonded into a very close family of their own.

“I wish I could live closer to Bria and Sam,” Mariah said wistfully. Living a couple of hours away, she didn’t get to see her only sibling nearly as much as she would have liked.

Jaron surprised her, and if his expression was any indication, he might have stunned himself when he stepped closer and brushed a wayward strand of her hair from her cheek. “Maybe one day that real estate place you work for will open a branch office somewhere around here and you’ll be able to live closer to your sister.”

She knew he meant the gesture as comforting, but his gentle touch and the knowledge that she no longer had a job with the company caused her to blink back tears. “I doubt...that will ever happen.”

“What’s wrong, Mariah?” His deep baritone was filled with gentle concern.

“Nothing,” she lied. “It’s been a really tough day. And one that I would just as soon forget.”

She didn’t want to go into the dismal turn her life had taken. She’d lost a boyfriend, a roommate and her job in less than twenty-four hours, and when she’d left Fort Worth after her meeting, she’d planned on having a good cry once she got home. The boyfriend hadn’t really bothered her because they hadn’t been seeing each other more than a couple of weeks and their relationship hadn’t been serious. In fact, it never would have been. They both knew that one day they’d stop seeing each other and she hadn’t even bothered mentioning that she was seeing him to her sister. But the loss of her roommate and her job had been devastating. Her roommate had left without notice, and she was going to have to find a way to pay both halves of the rent. Without her job, she had no way of doing that. But since her car broke down and she couldn’t be alone for that cleansing cry, she’d just have to keep her tears at bay for a while longer.

Jaron seemed to hesitate a moment before he wrapped his arms around her and drew her to his broad chest for a supportive hug. “I’m sure you’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep.”

“I doubt it, but thanks for the encouragement.” She knew he was only trying to set her mind at ease, but the feel of his strong arms around her was absolutely wonderful, and without thinking she snuggled closer into his reassuring embrace.

She felt him go perfectly still. “Mariah...I think I’d better let you get some sleep.”

She nodded but couldn’t bring herself to pull away from him. “That would probably be for the best,” she agreed.

When neither of them moved, Jaron used his index finger to lift her chin until their gazes met. “Tell me to get the hell away from you and leave you alone, Mariah.”

Staring up at him, she knew she should do as he commanded. But without hesitation, she slowly shook her head. “I can’t do that, Jaron.”

“What I’m feeling right now is wrong,” he warned, his expression testament to his inner turmoil. “I’m no good for you.”

“That’s your opinion,” she said softly. “It isn’t mine and never has been.”

He stared at her a moment before he shook his head. “Don’t say that, Mariah.”

“I’m just being honest, Jaron,” she answered quietly.

He closed his eyes a moment, as if struggling with himself, before opening them to capture her gaze with his. Slowly lowering his head, he kissed her so tenderly it sent shivers of anticipation up her spine. But instead of him releasing her and taking a step back as she thought he would do, his mouth settled more fully over hers for a deeper caress.

When his tongue touched hers, the heat that she’d felt the first time he kissed her came rushing back and caused her knees to give way. As he caught her to him, he stroked and teased her with precise care and Mariah felt the growing evidence of his need against her lower belly. An answering desire caused an empty ache deep in the most feminine part of her. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized where things were going. She knew without question that if she asked him to call a halt to things, he would do it no matter how difficult it was for him. But that wasn’t what she wanted. She had waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to hold her like this and now that he was, she never wanted it to end.

Feeling as if her head was spinning from the intense longing coursing through her, she was vaguely aware that he tightened his arms around her a moment before he lifted his head to stare down at her. “Mariah, kissing is one thing. But it’s going to go way beyond that if we don’t stop this right now.”

“Jaron, I don’t care how far this goes,” she said honestly. She raised her arms to circle his neck and tangled her fingers in his thick dark brown hair brushing the collar of his shirt. “I’ve wanted you to hold me like this since the moment we met.”

“Don’t say that.” When he closed his eyes, a muscle twitched along his lean jaw and she knew he was struggling to do what he thought was right. “I’m not the kind of man you need, Mariah.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, cowboy,” she whispered, cupping his cheek with her palm. “You’re exactly what I’ve always needed.”

Two

Jaron felt as if he’d been struck by a bolt of lightning when Mariah touched his face with her delicate hand. He might have had a chance to harden his resolve and not let things go too far between them if she hadn’t admitted that she had always needed him. But her softly spoken words and the feel of her touch sent a flash fire streaking through his veins and made thinking clearly all but impossible. He’d wanted her for years, and not allowing himself to hold her, kiss her, had been his own personal hell.

He knew it was wrong—that he should walk away and leave her alone. But when he looked down at the woman in his arms, he knew in his heart that wasn’t going to happen. He needed Mariah more than he needed his next breath, needed to lose himself in her softness and forget for one night that she could never be his.

When she pressed a kiss to the exposed skin at the open collar of his shirt, then looked up at him, the desire in her brilliant green eyes robbed him of breath. She for damned sure wasn’t helping him win the battle over the hormones racing through his veins at the speed of light.

“Jaron, I know you need me just as much as I need you.”

There was no sense in denying it. Hell, he was certain she could feel the evidence pressed against her. But he had to give her one last chance to save them both from doing something he knew as surely as he knew his own name they would both end up regretting with the morning light.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked. “Once that line is crossed, there’s no going back, Mariah.”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life,” she said without hesitation. “I don’t like the way things have been between us recently, and I don’t think you do, either.”

“I’m not promising anything beyond tonight,” he warned her.

She shook her head. “I’m not asking for more.”

She might not be asking, but he knew Mariah well enough to know she wasn’t a one-night stand kind of woman. If she slept with a man, she would expect it to be the start of a relationship. Unfortunately, he had wanted her for longer than he cared to remember and turning back now just wasn’t an option.

Groaning, he buried his face in her silky dark brown hair and tried to remind himself of all the reasons making love to Mariah would be a bad idea. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember a single one. A man had his limits, and Jaron knew that he had reached the end of the line with his.

For the past several years he’d fought against giving in to the attraction between them. But now that he’d finally held her soft body to his and tasted her sweetness, he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Maybe it was due to the years of denial or more likely the loneliness that had settled in when he watched his brothers with their families—knowing that due to the fear he had of turning out to be like his father he would never allow himself to have a family of his own. He wasn’t entirely sure what the reason was, and it really didn’t matter. He’d deal with the guilt and regret in the morning. Tonight he was going to forget about the problems making love to her would cause and love Mariah as if there was no tomorrow.

“Let’s go to my room,” he suggested, taking her hand in his to lead her down the hall.

As they entered the master suite, Jaron flipped the light switch to turn on the bedside lamps, casting a soft glow over the king-size bed. Closing the door behind them, he immediately took Mariah in his arms and lowered his head to rain kisses along her cheek, down the column of her neck to her collarbone.

“Are you protected, Mariah?” he asked, removing her black leather jacket, then kissing the satiny skin exposed by the dropped shoulder of her slinky red dress.

“I... Um, no,” she said, sounding delightfully breathless.

“Don’t worry.” He continued to nip and taste her. “I’ll take care of it.”

When he raised his head, the desire clouding her pretty green eyes rendered him speechless. She was without a doubt the most beautiful, exciting woman he had ever known, and unless he missed his guess, she didn’t have a clue how hot and sexy she was.

“There’s probably...something you should...know,” she said, sounding a little unsure.

“Have you changed your mind?” he asked, torn between knowing it would be in the best interest of both of them if she had and at the same time dreading her response.

“No, I haven’t changed my mind.” There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation in her answer and, God help him, he was thankful.

“Whatever it is, it can wait until later,” he said, bending to remove his boots.

“But I think it’s something you’ll probably want to know,” she said, sounding a little uncertain.

Straightening, he gave her a quick kiss. “Do you want to make love with me, Mariah?” When she nodded, he shook his head. “That’s all I need to know.”

He didn’t want to hear confessions about other men she’d been with. All he wanted to do was focus on bringing her the most pleasure she had ever experienced in any man’s arms.

As he kissed his way across her collarbone, she reached up to push her dress down her arms. Stopping her, he shook his head as he lightly skimmed his hands across her bare shoulders then down her arms, taking the stretchy fabric as he went. “I’ve been thinking about peeling this little number off you since I watched you walk into the Broken Spoke.”

When he lowered the knit dress to her waist, then slid it over her shapely hips and down her long legs to lie in a pool around her shiny black high heels, his heart stuttered at the sight of her. Her strapless black lacy bra and matching panties barely covered her feminine secrets and sent his blood pressure up into stroke range. Put a pair of those fancy wings on her back and Mariah could easily model for that famous lingerie company every man with a pulse found so fascinating.

“You’re gorgeous,” he said, feeling as if all of the oxygen had been sucked from the room as he squatted down to remove her shoes.

“Thank you.” When he straightened, she stepped forward to reach for the snaps on his chambray shirt. “But you’re a little overdressed for this, don’t you think, cowboy?”

As he watched, Mariah unfastened his shirt, pushed it from his shoulders and tossed it aside to place her hands on his bare chest. His pulse sped up and it felt as though he’d been branded where her soft palms rested. How many times had he speculated how her delicate hands would feel when she touched him like this? Nothing he could have imagined came close to the excitement racing through his veins at that moment.

“I knew your body would be beautiful,” she said as she traced the valley between his pectoral muscles with her index finger.

“Looks can be deceiving,” he said, thankful that she couldn’t see the ugly imperfections he’d spent most of his life trying to hide.

Before she could ask him what he meant, Jaron unbuckled his belt, released the snap at the top of his jeans, then gingerly eased the zipper down over his persistent erection. Shoving his jeans and boxer briefs to his ankles, he quickly stepped out of them and kicked them to the side.

He silently watched as Mariah’s gaze traveled the length of his body. He could tell she was trying not to be conspicuous. But when she noticed his arousal, her eyes widened a moment before she lifted them to meet his.

“I’m just a man, darlin’,” he said, reaching behind her to unfasten her bra. “You aren’t afraid of me, are you?”

“N-no,” she murmured. “Being afraid of you has never crossed my mind.”

“Good.” Tossing the scrap of black lace to the pile of clothes on the floor, he kissed her deeply before cupping her breasts in his palms as he stared into her pretty eyes. “I promise we’ll be perfect together, Mariah.”

“I—I know,” she said, shivering when he kissed each one of the taut peaks, then moved his hands to slip his thumbs into the waistband of her panties.

He slowly lowered them over her slender hips and down her thighs, and when he tossed them aside he stepped back to appreciate her gorgeous body. Everything about her was perfect, and he felt humbled at the knowledge that a woman as stunning as Mariah would want to be with him.

“You’re amazing,” he said, his voice sounding a lot like a rusty hinge.

When he took her in his arms, the feel of her soft, feminine body pressed to his much harder one sent a shock wave the entire length of him. He had never allowed himself to speculate what it would be like to hold her nude body to his—to have their bare skin touching. But he knew for certain that he never could have imagined anything as erotic or sensual as what he was experiencing at that moment.

When she sagged against him, Jaron swung her up into his arms and carried her over to place her in the middle of his king-size bed. Her long dark brown hair spread across his pillow and her lithe body lying on the black satin sheets was an image he knew he would never forget.

Opening the bedside table’s drawer, he removed a small foil packet and, tucking it under his pillow, stretched out beside her to take her in his arms. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Not as beautiful as you are,” she said, raising her arms to his shoulders. From the look on her face, he knew the moment she felt the scars on his shoulder that he normally kept covered. “Are these from participating in the rough stock events for so many years?”

He didn’t want to lie to her, but he didn’t want to explain, either. “Everyone who competes in rodeo has a few,” he said, making sure he kept his answer vague. He did have a couple of scars from riding the rough stock, just not the ones under her fingertips.

To distract her from asking more about them, he fused his mouth with hers and kissed her with all of the need he had denied for almost as long as he had known her. Sweet and soft, when her lips melded with his, Jaron forgot about anything but the woman in his arms and the heat inside him that had built to a fever pitch. He had wanted Mariah for years and he found it damned near impossible to think about anything but burying himself so deep inside her that they lost sight of where he ended and she began.

Unable to wait any longer, he kissed his way down to her collarbone as he moved his hand along her side to her hip and beyond. Caressing her satin skin, he parted her to stroke the soft folds with tender care. The fire inside him threatened to burn out of control at her readiness for him. She needed him as much as he needed her.

“Mariah, I promise next time we’ll go slower,” he said, reaching for the packet under his pillow. “But right now, I need to be inside you.”

“I need that...too,” she said, her tone breathless.

He quickly arranged their protection and nudged her knees apart to rise over her. When she raised her arms to his shoulders and closed her eyes, he leaned down for a brief kiss.

“Open your eyes, Mariah,” he commanded.

When she did, he captured her gaze with his as he guided himself to her. The desire and the depth of emotion he saw in her rapt expression were humbling, and unable to wait any longer, he slowly, gently moved forward.

The mind-blowing tightness as he carefully entered her robbed him of breath. It felt as if she had never...

He immediately froze. “Mariah...are you a virgin?” he asked hesitantly. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that she’d never been with a man. But he was for damned sure thinking about it now.

“Y-yes,” she answered.

Jaron closed his eyes as he waged the biggest battle he’d ever fought in his entire life. The logical part of his brain advised him to get out of bed, send her back to the guest room, then go downstairs to his game room and drink himself into a useless stupor. But his body was urging him to complete the act of loving her—to make her his and damn the inevitable consequences.

She must have sensed the conflict within him because, wrapping her long legs around him, she captured his face with her soft hands. “Jaron, I want this. I want you.”

He might have been able to win his inner struggle if he hadn’t seen the desire coloring her smooth cheeks or heard the urgency in her sweet voice. But the combination of her heartfelt declaration and the feel of her tight body surrounding his was more than he could resist.

“Forgive me, darlin’,” he said, pushing himself forward to breach the thin barrier blocking his way. Her eyes widened and a soft moan passed her parted lips when he sank himself completely inside her.

Holding his lower body perfectly still, Jaron kissed away the lone tear slowly trickling down her cheek. He hated that in order to love Mariah this first time he had to cause her pain. But as he felt her body relax around him, he knew that she was adjusting to his presence and, easing himself back and then forward, he set a pace he hoped would cause her the least amount of discomfort. He knew she probably wouldn’t derive much pleasure from their lovemaking, but that wasn’t going to keep him from trying to give her whatever pleasure he possibly could.

As the driving force of the tension holding them captive increased, Jaron held himself in check until he felt Mariah begin to respond to his gentle movement. Only then did he increase the depth and strength of his strokes.

When he felt her tiny feminine muscles begin to tighten around him, he knew she was close to realizing the satisfaction they both sought and, reaching between them, he touched her in a way he knew would send her over the edge. Her fulfillment triggered his own and, gathering her close, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t pass out from the extraordinary sensations of his release.

Collapsing on top of her, Jaron buried his face in her silky hair and tried to catch his breath as he slowly drifted back to reality. He had never experienced anything as intense or as meaningful as being one with Mariah.

As his strength returned, he eased himself to her side and pulled her into his arms. “Are you all right?”

With her head pillowed on his shoulder, she nodded as she rested her hand on his chest. “I’m fine.” She yawned. “That was amazing.”

He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was drowsy and, remembering that she’d mentioned having a rough day, he kissed the top of her head and reached over to turn off the bedside lamp. “Get some rest, darlin’.”

He’d barely finished making the suggestion before he could tell that Mariah had dozed off. Long after he was sure she was sound asleep, he continued to hold her close as he stared up at the ceiling. What the hell had he done?

No matter how much he would like to go back to the way things had been between them in the past, it would never be the same again. He’d not only crossed the line with her, he had taken something that she could give to only one man.

He closed his eyes as he fought the need building inside him once again. He wanted her, and just the thought that he had been the first man to touch her like this sent heat streaking throughout his body with lightning speed.

It hadn’t even crossed his mind that she might still be a virgin. Hell, Mariah was twenty-five years old and he knew for certain that over the years she’d dated several men. So why him? Why had he been the one she chose to be the first man she made love with?

Unable to think clearly with Mariah in his arms, Jaron contented himself with simply holding her while she slept until sometime around dawn, when he reluctantly eased away from her and got out of bed to pick up their clothes. Folding hers, he placed them on the bench at the end of the bed, then took a quick shower and got dressed.

As he started to leave the room, he turned to gaze at the beautiful woman sleeping peacefully in his bed. How had he let things get so out of hand with her? Why had he ignored that voice of reason in his head, telling him to walk away before he did something he was sure to regret? And how was he going to be with her at family gatherings without losing his mind from wanting her and not allowing himself to touch her?

Guilt and regret so strong it threatened to choke him settled in his gut and, shaking his head, Jaron headed downstairs for a stiff drink. He needed to shore up his resolve and do what he knew was right and would be the best for Mariah. As soon as his men repaired her car, he was going to send her on her way and hope like hell one day he could forget the most incredible night of his entire life.

* * *

When Mariah awoke the following morning to sunlight peeping through a part in the drapes, two things were immediately apparent—she was in Jaron’s bed and he wasn’t with her. She was a little disappointed, but not really surprised. Bria had told her that ranchers usually started their days before dawn and sometimes worked until well past sundown. Now that Jaron owned the Wild Maverick Ranch, it stood to reason that he would keep those hours, as well.

Lying there surrounded by his clean masculine scent on the black satin sheets, Mariah’s heart skipped a beat as she thought about the shift in the direction of their relationship. After all these years, Jaron had finally recognized she was no longer an eighteen-year-old girl with stars in her eyes. He had finally seen her as the woman she had become, albeit almost grudgingly. But she was certain that even he would have to admit that what they had shared was beautiful.

As she thought about his hesitancy, she frowned. Why had Jaron kissed her, made love to her, if he had been so reluctant? She might not be as experienced as a lot of women her age, but she knew beyond a shadow of doubt that it wasn’t because he hadn’t desired her. In fact, it had been as if needing her was the last thing he wanted. But he hadn’t been able to stop himself.

Confused by his reaction, she got up and collected her clothes from the bench at the end of the bed, then she went into the master bathroom for a shower. They needed to talk, and his usual brooding silence wasn’t going to cut it this time. She wanted answers and she wasn’t going anywhere until she got them. What they had shared last night had been too meaningful to be dismissed. Nor was she going to allow him to ignore their lovemaking as if it never happened the way he’d ignored their first kiss.

Twenty minutes later as Mariah pulled on the clothes she’d worn the night before, she made the bed, then opted to carry her shoes instead of trying to navigate the circular staircase in four-inch heels. As much as she liked the boost the shoes added to her five-foot-five-inch height, she wasn’t willing to take the chance of breaking her neck before she confronted Jaron and got the answers she wanted.

Picking up her jacket and purse, she left the master suite to go downstairs in search of Jaron. She was a bit surprised to find him seated at the table in the breakfast nook, drinking a cup of coffee. She had fully expected him to be somewhere outside with his ranch hands, doing whatever ranchers did.

“Good morning,” she said, walking over to set her things on one of the chairs.

He gave her a silent, stoic nod as he got up to take a mug from the cabinet above the coffeemaker. “You like cream in your coffee, don’t you?”

“I’m surprised you know that,” she said, pulling a chair from the table to sit down.

“I’ve watched you drink coffee with dessert at our family dinners for years. You and Lane’s wife, Taylor, are the only ones who don’t drink it black.” He shrugged one broad shoulder as he reached into the refrigerator to take out a dairy carton. “Will milk be okay? It’s the closest thing I have to cream.”

“That’s fine.” She’d known he watched her whenever they were together, but she hadn’t taken into consideration that he might have actually paid attention to mundane things like how she took her coffee.

“Would you like something to eat?” he asked as he set the cup in front of her. “I can make you some toast, but that’s about it. I haven’t hired a housekeeper and I’m not much of a cook.”

“No, thank you. I don’t usually eat breakfast.” She stared at him as he sat back down at the table. There was no easy way to bring up what he was trying to sidestep. And knowing him the way she did, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he would try to avoid discussing the shift in their relationship if he could. “We need to talk about last night,” she finally stated.

He eyed her warily for a moment before he asked, “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said, frowning. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Until last night, you had never made love.” His dark blue gaze caught and held hers for several seconds before he added, “I know I hurt you. I’m sorry.”

“That’s it?” she asked incredulously. “You gave me the most incredible experience of my life and all you can say is you’re sorry?”

“What do you want me to say, Mariah?” His even tone and calm demeanor infuriated her.

So angry she found it impossible to sit still, Mariah rose from the chair to pace the length of the kitchen. “How about admitting that our lovemaking meant as much to you as it did to me?” She stopped to glare at him. “And don’t you dare give me the excuse of being too old for me, because we both know it would be a total lie.”

A fleeting shadow in his dark blue eyes was the only indication that he wasn’t as removed from the situation as he would like her to believe. “Last night shouldn’t have happened,” he said, his stubborn calm irritating her as little else could. “I took something from you that I had no right to take, Mariah.”

“My virginity.” When he nodded, she shook her head. “You didn’t take anything,” she stated flatly. “It was my call to make. I chose to give that to you.”

“Last night was a mistake,” he insisted.

“No, it wasn’t. A mistake is taking it for granted that your roommate isn’t going to move out without telling you and leave you owing the entire month’s rent. Or believing that you have job security and then suddenly finding yourself out of work,” she shot back. “And we won’t even go into how big a mistake it is to believe that your car is reliable when it’s ten years old and makes more odd noises than you can count.” Mariah shook her head. “Last night was the only good thing that happened to me yesterday, and I’m not going to let you dismiss it as if it meant nothing.”

Jaron frowned as he got up and walked over to stand in front of her. “You lost your job?”

“Yes, but that’s not the issue here.” She refused to allow him to divert the conversation. “We’re not talking about my work situation. We’re discussing what happened between us.”

“There is no us, Mariah,” he said quietly as he rested his hands on her shoulders. The heat from his palms felt absolutely wonderful, but she did her best to ignore it. “I told you I wasn’t promising anything past last night,” he continued. He shook his head. “That hasn’t changed, darlin’.”

Staring up at him, she could see the determination in his eyes and the stubborn set of his jaw. She would have about as much luck convincing elephants to roost in trees as she would getting him to admit that what they’d shared was special. It simply wasn’t going to happen.

Resigned, she walked over to slip on her high heels and gather her jacket and purse. “I don’t suppose your men had a chance to see about my car?”

He dug into the front pocket of his jeans and, producing the keys to her car, handed them to her. “All you needed was a new battery.”

When he placed the keys in her hand, his fingers brushed her palm and a streak of electricity zinged straight up her arm. She could tell by the slight tightening of his jaw that he felt it, as well.

“I’ll pay you for the repair as soon as I get a new job,” she said, walking toward the door.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, following her. “It didn’t cost that much.”

“I most certainly will pay you back for the battery. I may be out of a job right now, but I do have my pride,” Mariah said, turning back to glare at him. “I’m not a charity case.”

“I never thought you were,” he said, looking a little bewildered. “I’m just trying to help you out.”

“I don’t need your help,” she said pointedly. “The only thing I need from you is an explanation of what changed between us and why you’re wanting to go back to the way things were. But you refuse to talk to me about it.”

She knew she was probably overreacting to the situation. But she was frustrated beyond reason and besides, if she didn’t vent in some way, she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t bop him on top of his stubborn head with her purse.

“Do you have any prospects of finding another job?” Jaron asked, following her out the door. “Do you need help making the rent since your roommate moved out? I could loan you—”

“Don’t you dare offer me money,” she warned, her anger rising to the boiling point. “After last night, you would be the last person I—”

“I’d like to do something to help,” he interrupted, reaching up to run his hand through his dark brown hair as if he was trying to think of a way to help her out. He hesitated for a moment before he offered, “I still need a housekeeper who cooks. And the job comes with free room and board. You could work here until something better comes along.” He didn’t sound all that encouraging, and she knew it was nothing more than a token gesture. He didn’t want her to take the job and had only offered it to her because he felt guilty.

“You’re offering me a job and a place to live?” she asked incredulously. She didn’t know whether to laugh out loud at his erroneous assumption that she could cook or be highly insulted that he thought she was so desperate she would accept his offer.

“The job is yours if you want it,” he said, looking less than enthusiastic about having her around all the time. She had no doubt he expected her to turn it down and that was exactly what she intended to do.

“No, thank you,” Mariah answered as she carefully descended the steps. If her mother hadn’t taught her to be a lady, she’d gladly tell him what he could do with that job.

As she navigated her way across the yard to the driveway, hoping that she could keep from breaking an ankle or at the very least one of the expensive four-inch heels, she thought about the opportunity Jaron had inadvertently handed her. It would be poetic justice if she did accept the job. By living under the same roof with him, he certainly wouldn’t be able to avoid her, nor would she let him forget the special night they had shared. And as for making his meals, it would serve him right if he had to eat her cooking.

But the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. She needed a job, and he owed her an explanation that she was determined to eventually get from him. What better way to do that than by seeing him every day?

The only drawback she could see about taking the job was the possibility of losing what was left of her sanity from dealing with a man who made a habit of closing himself off. And then there was the problem of her sister accusing her of being impulsive again when Bria learned Mariah was living at the ranch with Jaron. But if she could find out the reason behind his insistence that he was no good for her, it would be worth it.

When she got into her car, she glanced up at the house to see Jaron still standing on the porch, watching her. His arms were folded across his broad chest and he was leaning one shoulder against a support post. He looked so darned good to her it took her breath away.

Mariah worried her lower lip as she weighed her options. If she drove away, she might never get the answers she wanted from Jaron. And if she stayed, she might get an explanation that she didn’t want to hear. Unfortunately, she would never know unless she took the chance.

Taking a deep breath, she reached for the door handle. She might be setting herself up for a huge fall, but she just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to settle things with Jaron Lambert once and for all.

* * *

Jaron frowned when he watched Mariah open the car door. What was she doing? She had rejected his guilt-induced job offer outright, and he had been greatly relieved. Why wasn’t she leaving and getting on with her life, so he could try to get on with his? He had made it perfectly clear there was nothing to talk over and that they’d never be more than good friends.

Or could she be having more car trouble? That had to be it, he decided. Her car was older and had so many miles on it that he’d been surprised it had only taken a battery to get it going that morning.

By the time she made her way back to the porch in those ridiculously high heels, he was reaching for the cell phone to call Billy Ray to come up from the barn to see about her car again. But when she climbed the steps to stand in front of him, the defiant look on her pretty face stopped him cold.

“I changed my mind. I’m taking the job you offered me until I can find an office management position. I expect you to be in Shady Grove first thing Saturday morning with your truck to help me move,” she stated flatly. Turning, she added as she descended the steps to go back to her car, “And don’t be late. I want to get settled in before I have to start the job on Monday morning.”

Shocked all the way down to his size-twelve Tony Lamas, all Jaron could do was stand there staring as he watched her march back down the steps and out to her car. As she drove away, he couldn’t help but wonder what the hell had just happened. He’d only offered her the job of housekeeper and cook as a token gesture because he’d been sure she would turn it down. And she had. So why had she changed her mind?

Rubbing at the sudden tension building at the back of his neck, Jaron watched her car disappear down the lane leading to the main road before he turned and walked back into the house. What was he going to do now? He couldn’t rescind the job offer. He’d brought it up and Mariah had accepted it. As far as he was concerned, that was as good as a written contract.

But what was he going to do about living in the same house with her? How was he going to keep from going completely insane from the temptation she posed day in and day out? And why was there a part of him that wasn’t the least bit sorry that she had taken the job?

Three

Late Saturday afternoon, Jaron carried the last of Mariah’s things into the Wild Maverick ranch house and wondered how one woman could possibly need so much stuff. She had two huge boxes alone that had been marked “shoes.” Why did she need so many? All he had were his dress boots, a couple of pairs of work boots and a pair of athletic shoes he wore when he worked out.

For reasons he didn’t want to delve into, he had decided to move her into the room he’d shown her the night he brought her home with him from the Broken Spoke, instead of the housekeeper’s quarters off the kitchen. And it was just as well that he had. The closet down there was way too small and would have never held all of her clothes and shoes.

“Is that the last of the boxes from my car?” Mariah asked, sticking her head out of the walk-in closet when he entered the bedroom.

He nodded. “That’s the last of it.”

“Just be glad I donated a lot of clothes and household items to the crisis center,” she said, laughing as she walked out of the closet to get one of the containers of shoes. “If I hadn’t, you’d probably be carrying in boxes until well after midnight.”

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