"Thanks. I think I will." Kristen's concern sounded genuine, but maybe that was only because she didn't consider Theresa a real threat to her plans for Kyle. After all, Theresa was just a "phase." As soon as Kristen could make him see the error of his ways, her brother would settle down with her and her family on the ranch and everything would be peachy keen.
It was enough to make Theresa gag. "Damn right, I don't belong here," she muttered as she stripped off her clothes in the guest bath. "If Kyle does decide to one day settle down here on the lone prairie, it's a good thing I didn't start planning a future with him."
She lowered herself into the steaming water and closed her eyes, trying to shut out memories of that interlude in the hayloft, when she'd been so sure Kyle was the man for her.
But as soon as she'd chased away those thoughts, other images flashed in her mind--Kyle laughing with her at the tattoo shop, Kyle seated across from her on the riverboat, Kyle doing an exaggerated bump and grind, wearing only chaps and his Stetson.
She sank lower in the water and sighed. She might not fit into his world here at the ranch, but he'd sure looked at home in her world back in Austin.
Still, his heart was obviously here. Otherwise he would have worked harder to convince Kristen he didn't want to be a partner with her and Ken in running the place. And after all, this was his family home, a place he was linked to by all those ranching ancestors. Even someone like her, who'd never had any kind of real home, could imagine how powerful that pull was. For all her annoying bossiness, Kristen was probably right--when Kyle matured more and got over the wanderlust that plagued him, he'd come back to his roots and his upbringing.
When she'd soaked so long the water was cool and her fingers and toes were as wrinkled as unironed cotton, she dried off and went into her bedroom and searched through her suitcase for something to wear.
She was pawing through the folded jeans and shirts when her hand brushed the plastic covering over the white eyelet-trimmed dress she'd packed at the bottom of the case. She'd never worn the dress. It was entirely too frilly and romantic for her wardrobe, and she'd only bought it on a dare when she and Zach's girlfriend, Jen, had been out shopping one day. She couldn't imagine what had possessed her to bring it on this trip, except that obviously silly thoughts of love and romance had clouded her thinking. She moved a pair of jeans over to hide the dress once more, and her eyes landed on the red satin bustier. She'd put that in, along with red satin tap pants and a pair of strappy red heels, with the idea of playing dress up for Kyle when they were alone one evening.
Fat chance of that happening now. She fingered the bustier and smiled at the positively evil idea that popped into her head. Why not wear the bustier tonight--to dinner? She'd clear up any doubts anyone had about her being anything more than another one of Kyle's wild phases and she'd tease him a little with the knowledge of all he was missing as long as Kristen choreographed the weekend.
"And was she? Almost ready I mean?"
"I guess so." He frowned. "She wouldn't open the door, but she sounded fine." In fact she'd sounded a lot more cheerful than she had earlier. He could tell she hadn't had much fun on their ride this afternoon and he blamed himself. He'd been so intent on getting Ken alone to talk about an idea he'd had about the ranch that he hadn't really noticed Theresa falling behind until it was too late. By the time he went back for her, she would hardly speak to him. And before he could apologize, Kristen had joined them, irritatingly cheerful and looking like the former barrel racer she was; perfectly at ease on a horse, while Theresa had looked decidedly uncomfortable.
He checked his watch. At least twenty minutes had passed since he'd stopped by Theresa's room. The fried chicken Kristen had made was getting cold. Maybe something was wrong.
He pushed back his chair, intending to go upstairs and check on her, when he heard her call from the next room. "I'm sorry I kept everyone waiting. Everything took longer than I expected."
He turned in time to watch her come through the doorway, and choked back a gasp.
"Damn!"
It wasn't Kyle who'd uttered the word but Ken, whose eyes looked two sizes larger as he stared at Theresa.
The disheveled, limping woman who'd staggered up the stairs two hours before had transformed herself into a red-hot femme fatale in red stiletto heels, skintight black leather pants and the red satin top she'd worn the night they'd had dinner on the riverboat--a top that revealed more than it covered. Kyle's gaze fixed on the swell of her breasts above the satin and he found himself wondering how far she'd have to lean over before she popped right out of there.
He began to feel dizzy and thought it might be because all the blood in his body had rushed straight to his groin, and then he realized he'd been holding his breath. He let it out in a rush as Theresa stopped beside his chair.
Just in time, he stood and pulled her chair out for her, aware of every eye in the room on them.
"Wow, you look amazing!" Kelly was the first to put thoughts into words. The compliment earned him a dazzling smile from Theresa.
"Thank you," she said as she spread her napkin into her lap. "After playing cowgirl all afternoon, I felt like dressing up."
She swept her hair back over her shoulder, a half dozen silver bracelets jangling as she moved. Kyle caught a whiff of her perfume, spicy and erotic, and was glad of the napkin spread over his lap that hid his reaction.
Kristen was the only one not staring at Theresa. "Ken, why don't you go ahead and say grace?"
Somehow Kyle managed to hold it together, even when Ken thanked the Lord for "all this bounty at our table."
He tried to concentrate on his plate, though every sense was fully aware of the woman beside him. Ken continued to grin at Theresa, while Kristen made attempts at conversation, asking the girls and Kelly about their day at camp and commenting at length on the hot, dry weather.
"This dinner is delicious," Theresa said. "I don't know when I've eaten anything so good." When she delicately licked chicken grease from her fingers, Kyle stifled a groan. Ken began coughing and reached for his tea.
Kristen smiled weakly. "Thank you. I like to cook. I guess when you enjoy something, it's easy to be good at it."
"I couldn't agree more." She sent Kyle a smoldering look, which made him think of things Theresa enjoyed--things she was very good at.
He fixed his gaze on his plate, but the food couldn't satisfy the particular appetite Theresa had awakened.
"Before y'all make any plans for tomorrow, I wanted to let you know we've got a few people coming over."
Kristen spoke matter-of-factly, but Kyle could see nothing innocent in this announcement. "I thought I told you not to schedule anything else for us," he said.
"I didn't plan this. Not exactly." She wiped her fingers on her napkin. "When I mentioned you were coming to visit, a few people said they wanted to stop by and say hello. Then I guess word got around and a few more people called." She dropped the crumpled napkin beside her plate. "The next thing I knew, we were having a barbecue."
He groaned and glanced at Theresa. She looked wary. "Will there be a lot of people here?" she asked.
"Oh, just a few neighbors and friends. Not more than thirty or so."
Great. Thirty local yokels to stare at crazy Kyle Cameron and his tattooed girlfriend. He could hear the gossip mill shifting into overdrive already. "We'll leave early if it gets too hectic," he said. He meant the words as reassurance for Theresa--and as a warning for Kristen.
He'd about had it with his sister always running the show. She wasn't going to like it one bit when he started doing things his way, but that was too bad.
At last the meal was over and he saw his chance.
"Why don't we play games in the family room," Kristen said as Kim and Kelly cleared the table. She nudged Kyle. "I might even let you win a game of Clue."
"I don't think so." He grabbed Theresa's hand. "Theresa and I are going to take a walk."
"We are?" Theresa looked down at her sexy high heels. "I'm not really dressed for hiking."
"Don't worry, we won't go far." He tugged her toward the door.
"What a good idea," Kristen said. "We could all use the exercise, and it's a nice night."
Ken put his arm around his wife's shoulders. "I think he means he and Theresa are going for a walk
alone.
" He grinned at Kyle. "Y'all have a good time. We'll stay here and hold down the fort."
They escaped the house at last. Kyle took Theresa's hand and led the way down the drive, away from the house. The moon was almost full and the white caliche drive was bright as a runway.
When they'd rounded the first bend in the drive, out of sight of the ranch house, Theresa stopped. "You're going to have to walk slower or I'll twist an ankle in these shoes."
He looked her up and down. "So what's with the sexpot getup?"
She adjusted the thin shoulder strap of her top. "Maybe I just felt like dressing up."
"If you're trying to shock my sister, I'd say you've succeeded."
"I wasn't trying to shock her." She shrugged. "Not much, anyway."
"Then why the outfit?"
Her expression turned sultry. "Don't you like it?"
In answer, he pulled her tight against his chest and covered her lips in a searing kiss. By the time he raised his head, they were both out of breath. "What do you think?"
She smoothed her hands across his chest, up to his shoulders, and ground her pelvis against his. "I think you like it."
"I have some good memories of this outfit." He put his hands at her waist, holding her still. "Don't distract me. Answer my question."
The seductive expression vanished, and she took a step away from him. "I dressed this way because this is the real me." She put her hands on her hips, as if daring him to disagree with her. "I like sexy clothes. I like showing off my body. I'm not a cowgirl and never will be."
He nodded. "I think everyone here realizes that."
"Do they? Do you?"
"Hell, yes, I do." He took a step toward her, but she moved back, keeping him at arm's length. "That's one of the reasons I like you."
"Right." She turned and walked away, little puffs of caliche rising each time her heels struck the ground.
In three long strides, he caught up with her and grabbed her by the arm, whirling her around to face him. "What is with you?" he demanded. "Why are you acting all pissed off at me?"
Some of the stiffness went out of her shoulders. "I'm not pissed off at you. I'm just feeling, I don't know, a little out of place." Her eyes met his, the confusion in them in sharp contrast to her in-your-face attire. "I needed to remind myself--and everyone else--what I'm really like."
He smoothed his hand down her arm, straining to understand what this conversation was really about. "If this has anything to do with the horseback riding this afternoon, I'm sorry about that. I know you didn't have a good time."
She shrugged. "Everyone else did. No reason for me to spoil y'all's fun."
"I should have put my foot down and told Kristen we wouldn't go. I should have gone off somewhere with you, the way I've wanted to all weekend."
She looked away. "I know it's hard for you to say no to her. And I know she's your only relative and--"
"No." He squeezed her shoulder, interrupting her. "I've been thinking about what you said earlier--about how I'm too quick to give in to her, to go along."
She shook her head. "It wasn't any of my bus--"
"No. You were right. I've been lazy. But that's going to change. From now on I'm going to do what I want, even if other people don't like it."
"What do you want?" She faced him and looked into his eyes, trapping him.
He forced himself not to look away--didn't think he could if he tried. She had the most amazing eyes, dark and expressive, full of sadness and sympathy and a thousand other emotions he didn't even understand yet. He could fall into those eyes and forget everything else. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but all those words could wait for later. Right now, he wanted to speak without words, to show her what he was feeling instead of trying to tell her.
"I want this."
His kiss was gentle, a soft brush of his lips that silently asked permission for more. She responded by slipping her arms around him and pulling him closer, her mouth parting slightly, her tongue slipping between his teeth.
Her body was warm and yielding against his, her soft curves conforming to him as he pressed his palm against the small of her back and urged her closer still. He'd been hot for her off and on all day, ever since their interrupted make-out session in the loft. He didn't want to wait any longer.
He broke the kiss and stared down into her eyes. Her slightly glazed look testified to her own arousal. "Wanna go skinny-dipping?" he asked.
She blinked. "Now? Where?"
"I know the perfect place." He took her hand and tugged her off the drive, toward the shortcut through the woods to a spot they jokingly referred to as the "family swimming pool." They'd taken only a few steps when she stumbled, muttering curses.
"Hold on." He put his arm around her to steady her, then bent and tugged the shoe off first one foot, then the other. Then he tossed them into the darkness.
"Kyle! Those sandals cost over a hundred dollars!"
"They'll still be there in the morning. It's not like anybody's going to come out here and carry them off."
"If they're not, you owe me a pair of shoes."
"It'll be worth it to get you to that creek before we both have a meltdown."
Barefoot, she was able to move faster, and a few minutes later they emerged from the cut in the woods onto the creek bank. A bend in the watercourse had thrown up a natural sandy beach, and hundred-year-old live oaks extended massive limbs to shade the water and provide the perfect place for rope swings and diving platforms.
"It's really dark," she said softly, lowering her voice to match their hushed surroundings.
"Uh-huh." He drew her close once more and nipped at the corner of her mouth. "Dark and private. This time of year the water's warm, too." He squeezed her breast.
She glanced toward the creek. "Aren't there snakes?"
"No snakes." He kissed her neck. Her skin was soft and she tasted both sweet and salty.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. The bobcats keep them away."
"Bobcats!" Her voice rose.
He laughed. "Don't worry. They live around here but they're shy. They won't come around people."
"Maybe they wouldn't like us being here." She tugged his head up, forcing him to pay attention. "I'm a city girl. I'm not used to wild animals."
"Darlin', the only wild animal you need to be worried about right now is me." He stripped off his cast, then found the hooks that fastened her top and began to release them one by one. In the dimness, he could barely make out the shape of her breasts, the nipples dark circles in the shadows. He shaped his hands to her, feeling the weight and roundness of her, his erection beginning to throb. He'd better slow things down or they'd get out of hand in a hurry.
"Still nervous?" he asked.
She nodded. "A little. But...turned on, too." She reached for his belt buckle.
He grinned. "How about if we both get naked and I carry you into the water? That way you'll be safe."
"Safe from everything but you!"
"That's the idea, isn't it?" He lowered the zipper of her pants and slipped his hand beneath the silk of her underwear.
Laughing, she darted away and quickly stripped out of the rest of her clothes. He did the same, draping his shirt and pants over nearby bushes. When they were kids, clothes draped on those bushes had served as a warning for girls to keep out, though as he'd gotten older, the secret fantasy had always been for the girls to come and spy on him and his friends. But if any ever had, they'd kept quiet about it.