Ambushed (2 page)

Tex Westley watched covertly as Alexandria

walked through the library, making sure everyone had

left before closing. It was easy to avoid her otherwise

eagle eye since she took the same route every night.

The sexy little librarian walked down the aisles

ensuring all was right and tight, beginning in the

nonfiction section then working her way slowly to the

children’s department in the back. He hid in the

romance section, making sure to pull out all the books

she had checked out over and over again back when

they were in high school ten years ago. He then snuck

back to the section she had already checked and

waited. He had about fifteen minutes to go before she

would do her final sweep and turn down the lights.

Then she would settle in her tiny office to do her own

writing for at least two hours before heading home.

He wondered if anyone in Lauréa knew that

sweet little ole Alexandria Lourdes was actually Siren

Cox, erotic author extraordinaire. Her conservative

parents would probably pass out if they knew. Tex had

known the first time he’d picked up a book in a

bookstore all the way in Montana, where he had

moved after high school. His father had seven boys,

and being the youngest, he hadn’t seen much point in

sticking around the tiny ranch where he wasn't

needed. So he’d struck out on his own, hoping to save

up a little money to buy his own land one day. It had

killed him to leave Lauréa; he loved everything about

the picturesque Texas town. The people were

neighborly, and there was no real crime to speak of

besides the occasional drag racing or drunk and

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disorderly conduct. It was perfect place to raise a

family.

Five of his older brothers had moved away a few

years after he did, leaving the place to be run alone by

his dad and his eldest brother. When Dad had suffered

a heart attack earlier in the year, Cam, his eldest

brother, had begged him to come back and help him

with the place. All of his other brothers couldn’t come

for one reason or another, and Tex had been no closer

to realizing his dream, so he’d come home.

Surprisingly, Dad and Cam had managed to buy more

land and expand the place quite a bit, making it more

profitable than it had ever been when Tex was a kid.

Cam had even signed over half the ranch to Tex,

making sure he stayed right here, which was just fine

and dandy with him. He’d never really wanted to leave

anyway. He definitely had never wanted to leave
her
.

Back in high school Tex and Alexandria had

been more than a little tight. The tiny spitfire had been

his best friend. It wasn't until after he’d left that he

had realized she’d actually meant a hell of lot more to

him than he’d ever comprehended. Those melting

chocolate eyes framed by thick curling lashes haunted

him at night. Those rosebud lips seemed to whisper to

him in the breeze while he was out on the range,

yearning for home. He missed the smell of her light

golden skin, missed the texture of the yards of shiny,

inky black curls he used to love to tug on to tease her.

How was it he’d never realized what a precious

find she was before? Had he been that blind as a

young buck not to see how sexy she was behind those

oversized sweaters and ankle-length skirts? They used

to spend many a lazy summer day in this very library;

Alex would read the romances she so dearly loved and

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sigh, while he was usually researching new ways to

break a horse or breeding techniques. There weren’t

many cowboys who willingly admitted a love of

reading, but Alex had never made fun of him for it.

She’d encouraged it and even shown him some of her

fledgling writing.

After high school Alex had gone off to Austin to

college, and Tex was left with a hard choice. He could

stay on the ranch, demanding a tiny piece of what had

been a tiny operation, or he could strike out on his

own. He’d chosen to strike out, promising to write his

onetime best friend, but he never seemed to get

around to it.

Then he’d picked up the book, smiling at the

premise on the back. It had sounded eerily familiar.

He’d bought it on a whim, thinking of Alex the entire

time. Late that night in the bunkhouse, he’d begun to

read and he’d known with certainty Alex had written

it. It was a revised version of one of the romantic

cowboy tales she’d written in high school, and man

had she added the spice. The cowboy had tied the

heroine up seven ways to Sunday, done her in every

position possible and even some he’d never even heard

of before, and all without losing that sweet edge that

was so Alex.

Although his dreams of her had started long

before he’d ever seen that damn book, reading it had

made it worse. He had become a walking, talking

erection that nothing could appease but her. He didn’t

have a clue when it was he’d fallen head over heels for

her, but he was good and gone. It had gotten so bad he

couldn’t even look at another woman. It didn’t feel

right.

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Since he’d returned a month ago, Tex had kept a

low profile. He only came into town late in the

afternoon and usually only here to the library. He

watched and waited for the perfect opportunity to

announce his return. First, he’d had to make sure she

wasn't attached. He wasn't quite sure what he would

have done in that case. Homicide wasn't something

he’d considered until he’d seen her again.

Time had been more than kind to Alexandria; it

had seasoned her just right. She had always been a

short, soft little thing. Now she was well rounded,

feminine and full. She had the kind of hips that invited

a nice, long, hard ride. Her skin seemed to gleam

tannish gold, deeper than what he remembered. He

hadn’t gotten close enough to smell her yet, but he

could imagine she smelled like wildflowers and honey.

Her hair now hung freely down her back in riotous

curls. No longer jet black, it seemed kissed with

browns and golds here and there. She used to always

gather it up in a ponytail. He had stroked himself to

completion many a night imagining grasping hold of

the tail and hanging on for the ride. No more. Now he

wanted to bury his face in it. He wanted the strands to

whip across his chest and belly while she rode him like

the wildcat he knew her to be underneath all that quiet

reserve. He wanted those apple cheeks heated, flushed

with passion, those laughing brown eyes blazing with

pure need just for him—only for him.

He had waited long enough. Hopefully tonight

he would see all those things and more. Tonight was

the night he was claiming his woman.

Waiting until she disappeared around the corner

of bookshelves, Tex eased back to the section where he

had hidden a picnic basket full of Alexandria’s favorite