Chapter Four
Four
Jesse had expected the kiss to be good. Esme was a sexy woman, after all.
He had not expected that his senses would be set on fire at the first brush of her lips against his. A connection he fully intended to deepen. And explore.
Sliding his arms around her, he drew Esme to his chest, angling his mouth over hers, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips until they parted and…
Thoughts fled until only sensation remained.
The soft give of her breasts against his chest. The glide of her hair through his fingers as he cupped the back of her head.
He could smell the scent of shampoo and wondered what perfume she chose.
What would be in her suitcase once the weather cleared enough to retrieve it.
He wanted to feel and learn more about her. More than just the kiss.
Although it was still one helluva kiss.
She tasted of coffee and mint and something innately her.
Music hummed softly in the background and rain came down in sheets outside, all almost drowned out by the hammering of his speeding pulse. A breathy sigh whispered from her and he groaned, surrendering to this moment with her.
He swept a hand behind her, brushing away the ornaments and paper, clearing a space to recline her back in the thick woven rug. Her arms twined around his neck and she arched closer, skimming her mouth over his neck up to nip his earlobe.
Irresistible.
Her breasts pressed against his chest in a sweet temptation, her foot stroking the back of his leg as her thighs parted ever so slightly.
He’d wanted her since the first time he saw her on the side of the road.
The fierce desire for her swept him away as surely as the storm sweeping over the landscape.
Until the power of it was ringing in his ears.
Except…
“Your phone,” she gasped softly, her breath warm against his skin. “I think that’s your phone ringing.”
And it was. The text message sound dinged a couple more times. Each successive ring called him back to reality. And each ring raised the level of surprise more and more of what had just occurred. The surprise of the heat that passed between their bodies.
Damn. How could he have lost control so fully? His focus narrowed sharply as he angled off her, swiping his cell off the coffee table. Multiple texts scrolled across the screen and he cursed under his breath.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, elbowing up, her cheeks flushed, her hair tousled from his hands.
She quickly straightened her clothes. The moment had passed. Even if he could stay. Which he couldn’t.
He pocketed his phone. “That was my foreman. He and the rest of my crew are cut off from the barn by the rain. I’ve got to get to the animals.” He paused, stroking a finger down her face lightly. “I’m sorry to leave abruptly.”
“It’s okay. You’re needed,” she assured him, smiling but inching back. She crossed her arms somewhat protectively around her stomach and chest, as if she were Alice in Wonderland shrinking before his eyes. “And it’s not like the kiss was anything more than an impulsive mistake for both of us.”
Ouch. That stung more than a little. Because as far as he was concerned, it was a steamy, soul-searing kiss that he wouldn’t mind repeating.
But she was right. He’d had no business losing control with her. “If you need anything, call me.” He pulled a card from his wallet and passed it over quickly. “All right? Promise?”
“Absolutely.” She eased to her feet, backing away. “I should call my sister and check in again anyway.” She turned from him, her sun-gold hair glistening.
He reached for her hand, stopping her, not sure what he planned to say until the words fell out of his mouth. “That kiss may have been a mistake, but I don’t regret it for a second.”
Hoping her distraction didn’t show, Angela Perry half listened to her sister Esme’s latest check-in call from Royal while staring out at the Houston skyline from her high-rise condominium.
At least they weren’t FaceTiming today, so any distraction wouldn’t be visible.
Esme was going on and on about decorating with Jesse, down to what his decorations looked like.
And yes, Angela was more than ready to embrace the Christmas season, all the way down to the tree behind her with freshly wrapped gifts.
She’d had one helluva tough year, caught in the middle of the feud between her father and Ryder Currin.
Maybe that was a part of why she was having trouble mustering too much enthusiasm for Esme’s call.
Their father’s latest ploy to become the president of the Houston branch of the Texas Cattleman’s Club was frustrating. Ryder certainly wasn’t using a PR expert to sway votes.
Worry gnawed at Angela over what might happen if her father lost. Would he withdraw his recently extended blessing over her dating Ryder again?
A roll of nausea rippled through her. Pain, recent and still tender, colored her memories. Breaking off the engagement had just about broken her heart—and his. Taking a risk on becoming a couple again had been scary.
Though she knew Ryder was her future, emotions still ran high. Angela chewed the inside of her lip, a habit she picked up as a child when nerves got the best of her during school competitions or when she needed an anchor back to the world. Not that this was the best way to cope.
But it was a way.
And she sure as hell needed something right now.
“Angela?” Her sister’s voice snapped her out of her reverie. “I’m rambling, aren’t I?”
“Not at all,” Angela lied, more than aware of how Esme sometimes felt excluded by her sisters.
Angela loved both of her sisters, but in her heart of hearts, she knew there was a difference with her twin bond to Melinda.
Not that she would ever admit as much to Esme.
“I appreciate your checking in and I’ll be sure to pass along the update to the rest of the family. ”
“Thank you. I hope I have something more concrete to share before long.”
Hearing Ryder stirring about in the kitchen, Angela figured she’d better cut this conversation short before her sister freaked out that something may have been overheard. “Stay safe and good luck with Jesse Stevens.”
She signed off just as Ryder stepped from the kitchen into the living room, carrying a wooden tray of meats, cheeses and olives. He was such a wonderful man. And sexy.
If she didn’t already know him, she would have never guessed he had three adult children. Like Brad Pitt, Ryder looked better and better with age.
Even in faded blue jeans and a chambray shirt, Ryder looked like he’d stepped off some movie set. Short, dark blond hair framed his tanned face. Blue eyes as bright as a Texas summer sky met her gaze, just as warm as a summer day, too.
As he yawned, his square, cut jawline moved. Even in these little gestures, he was handsome. He stretched, walking toward her in socks. His well-worn brown boots still took up residence by the fireplace.
Theirs had a been rocky relationship, made more than a little difficult since their families had been bitter rivals for years.
Ryder had been a lowly ranch hand on the ranch outside Houston where Sterling Perry—an old-money Houston heir—was briefly the foreman during his engagement to Harrington York’s daughter.
As part of a business and social alliance, Harrington had offered his daughter Tamara’s hand in marriage to Sterling Perry, as long as Sterling agreed to learn the ranch business from the inside and then live there after he married.
When Harrington had died, Sterling had seen Ryder comforting Tamara and assumed they were having an affair, even though Tamara was a decade older.
Discovering that Harrington had willed a key piece of oil-laden land to Ryder had only added fuel to fire, even though Sterling had inherited the bulk of the estate.
When over two decades later, Ryder and Angela became an item, Sterling had been enraged.
His fury had led to Angela and Ryder breaking up.
Finding their way back together had been a long, heartbreaking journey.
But here they were, trying again with the hope of the Christmas season urging them on.
“You’re so thoughtful.” She extended her legs, wriggling her toes in front of the fire. The rain was making even a Texas winter cold. “I’m starving.”
His gaze lingered on her legs for a second beyond casual interest before he set the tray on the end table and sat beside her, his jeans and chambray shirt covering those honed muscles of his. “How’s your sister doing?”
Thinking back to the drawn-out conversation with Esme, she tilted her head from side to side. “She’s still flooded in at Jesse Stevens’s place.”
She decided he didn’t need to hear all about the decorations.
“Well, I guess that’s convenient for your father.”
She struggled to hide a wince, concern firing anew. “Please don’t say you mean that in a negative way.”
He held up his hands, his blue eyes widening. “I get that your dad wants to be the president of the new Texas Cattleman’s Club chapter. And we all know that your father can be…determined when he sets his mind to something. Just look at how hard he pushed to break us up.”
Angela’s mouth tightened at the truth of his words.
However, it hadn’t helped that an executive at Ryder’s oil corporation had been the one spreading rumors about her father and a Ponzi scheme that had almost destroyed Perry Holdings.
Bringing that up wouldn’t be wise at the moment. So she settled on, “But my father relented about us.”
“You’re right.” Shifting his weight, he leaned toward her. “Then he promptly sent your sister to Royal to tip the scales in his favor,” he added, his face showing lines of stress and concern.
“It’s not like he sent her to seduce Jesse. She’s a highly qualified PR executive.”
“She’s a daddy’s girl,” he muttered. His jaw became rock solid. Tense.