Her Texan Temptation (7 page)

He could feel her breasts pressed against him, and his hand moved to cup one, finding her nipple hardened to a rigid peak. He caressed her with his fingers, and she pressed her hips against the cradle of his pelvis, against the hard bulge in his jeans, driving him close to the edge of insanity.

Deke tore his mouth from hers. This was wrong. If he didn’t stop things between them now, he wouldn’t be able to walk away from her. His breathing was rough, his chest heaving as he sucked in air. He tightened his arms around her for a brief moment, then let her go, stepping quickly away from her while he still could.

He had to leave. Now. Mary Beth wasn’t the type of woman for a quick tumble. And a quickie with her wouldn’t come close to satisfying this overwhelming need he had for her.

His gaze, heavy-lidded with desire, swept slowly over her. Her eyes were glistening, her lips swollen from his kiss.

Go,
he ordered himself. Forcing himself to move, he turned and made his way to his truck, immune to the pelting rain and mighty roar of thunder.

Her heart pounding, Mary Beth stared after Deke, watched him walk out of her life.

Just like two years ago.

No, not exactly. This time she hadn’t slept with him.

You wanted to.

Oh, yeah, she did. But his leaving was best. She knew it was. Somehow, he’d begun to tear down her defenses, to make her want him again. She’d made the mistake of trusting her heart to Deke before. Watching him leave hurt her, but the pain was far less than it would have been if she let herself fall in love with him.

Again.

I
n the quiet of the early morning, Mary Beth lay in her bed and stared at the ceiling, the empty house closing in on her. Sunlight began peeking through her drab beige curtains as silence enveloped her. The isolation, the complete aloneness, was almost too much to bear.

It’s only your birthday. You should be used to spending the day alone.

Though she’d made casual friends while living and working in San Antonio, none of them had been close enough to even know the date of her birthday, let alone take time out of their busy schedule to celebrate it with her.

She sniffed and touched a finger to her face where a single tear trickled down her cheek. She really had to shake these blues. It was a waste of time feeling sorry for herself.

Is it company you miss? Or Deke?

Deke.

She didn’t miss Deke McCall, but even as she denied the thought, his handsome face drifted through her mind. He’d only been gone five days. Five days! She balled her fists and closed her eyes. Why was she lying here thinking about Deke?

She didn’t need a man in her life, didn’t
want
a man in her life. Hadn’t she learned the hard way that men couldn’t be trusted, couldn’t be depended on? Her father had been a prime example. Hank Adams had never been around when she and her mother had needed him. Instead of supporting them both during her mother’s illness, her father had run off chasing another of his foolish schemes to get rich quick.

She didn’t need a man.

Especially a man like Deke McCall, whose ambition in life was to win some stupid rodeo title.

He’s already proved to you that he couldn’t be depended on.

“You should be thanking your lucky stars that he’s gone,” she chided herself as she opened her eyes and forced herself to get out of bed, “instead of pining for him like some silly teenager.” She’d be a fool to let him close enough to hurt her again. And the best way to make sure that didn’t happen was to stop thinking about him.

Easier said than done, when all she thought about was the way she’d felt in his arms. And how much, against every sane thought, she’d wanted to kiss him again.

Fatigued from a rough night’s sleep and from doing all of the daily ranch chores alone, she trudged to the bathroom, every muscle in her body begging for a massage. Her days were long and hard, and she’d pushed herself to the point of exhaustion just trying to keep up. Each day it was getting more difficult to get everything done.

Even she had been forced to admit to herself that there
was no way she could continue running the ranch without help. So, two days ago, she’d placed an advertisement in the paper for a ranch hand. But it was a foolish waste of time. She could only pay minimum wage. Who in their right mind would work for that small amount of money? Though she silently prayed someone would, if she never received one phone call, she wouldn’t be surprised.

She blew out a breath. If she could just hang on, keep things going until she sold her herd, she’d be able to make the mortgage. That would give her a bit of breathing space. Not much, but some.

After a quick shower she brushed her teeth and dressed, then headed for the kitchen. A couple of cups of hot coffee and a bowl of oatmeal later, she stepped out of the house onto the front porch. The ground was finally drying from three straight days of rain. Her boots left slight imprints in soft dirt as she drudged across the yard.

Entering the barn, she came to an abrupt halt. Every time she saw the hay stacked high against the wall in the barn, she thought of Deke. No wonder she couldn’t get the man off her mind! When he’d bargained with her for dinner, she’d had no idea of how much hay and feed he’d purchased. She’d intended on sending him a check immediately, but at the end of each day, she’d been too darn tired to make the effort. Today she’d take care of it!

She fed the horses, turned them into the corral, then began cleaning their stalls. She was just about done when she heard the distant sound of a truck approaching.

Her eyebrows dipping, she put down her rake and pulled off her gloves. As she walked out of the barn, she shaded her eyes from the glare of the sun. Looking in the direction of the driveway as she headed toward the front of her house, she blinked, then suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Deke! Heavens, she’d just been thinking about him! Par
alyzed, Mary Beth watched as his truck rolled into the yard and parked near the front of the house.

He got out of the truck and called her name.

What was he doing here? Her heartbeat accelerated at the sight of him. It nearly tripled its rate as he came around the truck in that slow, deliberate pace she was coming to recognize.

Sexy. Oh, yeah.

Trouble to her heart.

Definitely.

Trying to recapture her composure, she stuffed her shaking hands into the pockets of her jeans, unwilling to let him see how excited she was to see him.

Then she saw them. Two black-and-white blurs of energy bounding out of his truck, barking with excitement as they raced toward her. She grinned. Kneeling down, she greeted the spirited dogs.

“Hey, there!” The two animals competed with each other for her attention. She patted both dogs on their heads, then ran her hands lovingly over their glossy coats. “Oh, you’re so sweet.”

“If I got a greeting like that when I came to see you, I think I’d have to come by more often,” Deke remarked. He stopped in front of Mary Beth, his grin wide enough to show his straight, white teeth.

“Oh, yeah?” she answered, looking up at him, her eyebrows raised. “I guess I’ll have to work on my greeting skills, huh?” Her spine tingled as his gaze dropped to her mouth. Though he was teasing her, the thought of greeting him with a kiss was awfully tempting.

“You can start now if you want.” He spread his arms wide, as if offering himself as a sacrifice.

She couldn’t help but smile. “I didn’t say I’d practice on
you,
” she replied sweetly. Deke frowned, and she was
a little pleased with herself for not giving in to his flirting. She didn’t know why he was here, but there was one thing she knew for sure. He wasn’t staying.

Still patting the dogs, she looked up at him. “What are you doing here?” she asked, changing the subject before it moved to dangerous ground. “And who are your friends?”

Deke crouched beside her. One of the dogs immediately came to him, eager for more attention. “They’re great, aren’t they?” he remarked.

He hadn’t expected to come back to see Mary Beth at all, but he hadn’t been able to get her off his mind. Though he hadn’t come in first at the rodeo, he’d scored well enough to stay in the lead in total points. His last night there, he’d spotted a young couple outside the arena, with three small kids and two dogs. The kids had been holding a sign, offering the herding dogs free to a good home.

Curious, Deke had struck up a conversation with them and had learned they were moving and couldn’t take the animals along. Deke had immediately thought of Mary Beth’s situation, and before he could stop himself, he’d offered to take the dogs. His mission to bring the dogs to her had been altruistic. It bothered him that she was alone and had to work so hard.

But the moment he’d seen her crossing the yard and coming toward him, his libido had kicked into high gear. All he could think about was what was hidden beneath those tight jeans and that baggy T-shirt. She looked even better than he remembered. And the huge smile on her face made him feel that the trip was worth the time it took out of his schedule.

“They sure are.” She wrinkled her nose when one long, pink tongue licked her cheek.

Deke looked the dog in the eye. “Sit.” Both dogs sat
in unison, their mouths open, their eyes alert. “This one is Lightning,” he told Mary Beth. “See, he has a white lightning streak on his head.” He nodded toward the other dog. “And that’s Lady.”

Both dogs were mostly black, with white patches of fur. They also had white fur on their feet, and their tails had a white tip. “They’re border collies, aren’t they?” She looked at Deke for confirmation and found him watching her. “They’re absolutely gorgeous. But I thought border collies had long hair.” The coats of Lightning and Lady were soft and much shorter than she’d seen on other dogs of the same breed.

“They’re smooth border collies so their hair isn’t as long or thick,” he explained.

“Oh.” She watched the dogs a minute. Both of their tails were wagging, making semicircles in the dirt as they dragged the ground.

Deke gave her a grin and winked. “I was hoping you’d like them.”

Mary Beth’s eyes locked with his. “You were?”

He nodded and stood, then waited for her to do the same. Once upright, she turned toward him, her expression curious.

“Happy Birthday.”

“What?” She stared at him, and her mouth dropped open.

“Today is your birthday,” he reminded her. “You didn’t forget, did you?”

Forget? Stunned, Mary Beth very slowly shook her head. Deke was there because he’d remembered her birthday? “No, but—”

“Well, I didn’t, either.” Deke explained about how he met the dogs’ owners at the rodeo. “They didn’t want
to leave them behind, but felt since they been raised on a ranch, they wouldn’t be happy in the city.”

She frowned, still trying to comprehend what he was saying. “Oh, how sad.”

“I felt bad for them, but they were relieved when I told him I’d make sure they were taken care of. The kids seemed especially happy to know they were going to a good home.”

“It must’ve been really hard for them.”

“It was, but I assured them that the dogs were perfect for you.”

Still reeling from the shock of Deke making a special trip there for her birthday, she shook her head. “You came all the way back to bring them to me? For my birthday?” Tears filled her eyes. It had been years since her birthday meant more than going through the motions of the day, then coming home to spend it alone.

He cleared his throat. “Well, yeah.” That and he couldn’t stay away, couldn’t get her out of his mind. And now that he was here, he wanted to do a whole lot more than just look at her.

Mary Beth suppressed the desire to cry and focused on the dogs. Worry creased a line between her eyes. “It was a very sweet thing to do, Deke. Really, I appreciate it. But, I can’t take these dogs in right now.” It broke her heart just thinking about letting them go. “I have my hands full keeping this place up.”

She looked at the two dogs, who were still sitting side by side, eagerly looking at her with chocolate-brown eyes, begging for attention. The aching feeling in her chest accelerated. Her funds were already low. How could she afford to care for two dogs, as well?

Deke could see that she was already half in love with the dogs. “Do you know anything about border collies?”

“Not a lot,” she admitted. “I know they’re smart. I heard somewhere that they’re the whiz kids of dog breeds.”

Deke grabbed her hand and started tugging her toward the corral. “Lightning, Lady!” The dogs were already at their heels before he’d finished speaking.

“Where are we going?” She tried to pull her hand free. His touch was doing crazy things to her insides. But he didn’t let her go until they were at the fence.

“Watch,” he said, then he left her and led the two dogs inside the corral with the horses. “I’m gonna show you how much you’re gonna love these two.”

Mary Beth knew that wouldn’t take much. She was already falling for the darling creatures and could just imagine how much company they’d be for her. But even without the monetary aspect, she really didn’t have the time or energy the two dogs would require, no matter how tempting they were to keep.

As Deke entered the corral with the dogs, she stood at the fence, her eyes glued to the three of them. The horses began moving about from the sudden disruption. Deke called out to the dogs, who began moving about inside the corral. Within minutes Mary Beth was fascinated by watching the animals work.

Using a series of spoken commands and hand signals, Lightning and Lady started working, herding the horses, bringing them together in the center of the corral. They took their job seriously, darting back and forth until the horses were herded together in short order. Then, at another command, they crouched low and guarded their prey.

“They’re working dogs,” Deke called to Mary Beth. “They’ll herd just about anything, and they’re gonna help you herd your cattle.”

Mary Beth was speechless. She’d heard of the ability of
herding dogs before, but she’d never seen one of them at work. Finding her voice, she said, “Oh, my! I can’t believe they can do that.” They were so smart. And absolutely adorable. And Deke was sweet to have brought them to her. She’d have to spend money on their food, but they’d be worth it ten times over by helping to herd the cattle.

And would be a lot more dependable than a man.

“You’ll have to be careful that they don’t work too hard,” Deke warned, looking at the sun, then back at her. “C’mon guys,” he called to the dogs, and slapped his hand against his thigh. Moving at what seemed like warp speed, they shot toward him, anxiously prancing around his legs. He gave both dogs a caress. “They love what they do, and sometimes they don’t know when to quit.”

Deke exited the corral with the dogs and shut the gate. “The commands they know are easy enough to learn. I’ll teach you. They already know what their job is, so you won’t even have to tell them most of the time. You just need to know when and how to call them to you so they’ll learn that you’re in charge.” He looked expectantly at Mary Beth. “So, what do you think?”

“I don’t know what to say. I mean, I can’t believe you did this.” Overwhelmed by his kindness, her throat tightened as she came up to him. She reached her hand out to touch him, then stopped herself, unwilling to trust her emotions.

It had been a long time since anyone had shown her such kindness. She was torn between laughing and crying.

He shrugged. “They needed a home on a ranch, and you needed some help. It seemed like a perfect match. They’ll be company for you, as well,” he added, as if to convince her. “You’re pretty isolated out here.”