Texas Wild (11 page)

Megan’s eyes widened. “Your sister?”

“Yes. Roselyn said she could accept me as being interracial
since it wasn’t quite as obvious, but there was no way she could accept Jessica
as my sister.”

Megan felt her anger boiling. “Boy, she had some nerve.”

“Yes, she did. I had just met Jessica for the first time a
month before and she felt that since Jessica and I didn’t have a bond yet, she
could make such an ultimatum. But she failed to realize something.”

“What?”

“Jessica was my sister, whether Roselyn liked it or not, and I
was not going to turn my back on Jessica or deny her just because Roselyn had a
problem with it. So I broke things off.”

Good for you,
Megan thought. “How
did your grandparents feel about you ending things?”

“They weren’t happy about it, at least until I told them why.
They weren’t willing to make the same mistake twice. They were pretty damn vocal
against my mother marrying my father, and they almost lost her when Mom stopped
speaking to them for nearly two years. There was no way they would risk losing
me with that same foolishness.”

“You’re close to your grandparents?”

“Yes, very close.”

“And your father? I take it the two of you are no longer
close.”

She saw how his jaw tightened and knew the answer before he
spoke a single word. “That’s right. What he did was unforgivable, and neither
Jess, Savannah or I have seen him in almost eighteen years.”

“That’s sad.”

“Yes, it is,” he said quietly.

Megan wondered if the separation had been his father’s decision
or his but decided not to pry. However, there was another question—a very
pressing one—that she needed answered right away. “Uh, do you plan to stop again
anytime soon?” She recalled he’d said he had stopped for gas while she was
asleep. Now she was awake, and she had needs to take care of.

He chuckled. “You have to go to the little girl’s room, do
you?”

She grinned. “Yes, you can say that.”

“No problem, I’ll get off at the next exit.”

“Thanks.”

He smiled over at her, and she immediately felt her pulse thud
and the area between her thighs clench. The man was too irresistible, too darn
sexy, for his own good. Maybe she should have taken heed of his warning and not
come to Texas. She had a feeling things were going to get pretty darn wild now
that they were alone together. Real wild.

Ten

R
ico stopped in front of Megan and handed
her the key. “This is for your room. Mine is right next door if you need me for
anything. No matter how late it is, just knock on the connecting door. Anytime
you want.”

She grinned at his not-so-subtle, seductive-as-sin hint as she
took the key from him. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

She glanced around. Forbes, Texas, wasn’t what she’d imagined.
It was really a nice place. Upon arriving to town, Rico had taken her to one of
the restaurants for lunch. It was owned by a Mexican family. In fact, most of
the townspeople were Mexican, descended from the settlers who had founded the
town back in the early 1800s. She had been tempted to throw Raphel’s name out
there to see if any of them had ever heard of him but had decided not to. She
had promised Rico she would let him handle the investigation, and she intended
to keep her word.

“You can rest up while I make a few calls. I want to contact
Fanny Banks’s family to see if we can visit in a day or so.”

“That would be nice,” she said as they stepped on the elevator
together. The lady at the front desk had told them the original interior of the
hotel had caught fire ten years ago and had been rebuilt, which was why
everything inside was pretty modern, including the elevator. From the outside,
it looked like a historical hotel.

They were the only ones on the elevator, and Rico stood against
the panel wall and stared over at her. “Hey, come over here for a minute.”

She swallowed, and her nipples pressed hard against her shirt.
“Why?”

“Come over here and find out.”

He looked good standing over there, and the slow, lazy smile
curving his mouth had her feeling hot all over. “Come here, Megan. I promise I
won’t bite.”

She wasn’t worried about him taking a bite out of her, but
there were other things he could do that were just as lethal and they both knew
it. She decided two could play his game. “No, you come over here.”

“No problem.”

When he made a move toward her, she retreated and stopped when
her back touched the wall. “I was just kidding.”

“But I kid you not,” he said, reaching her and caging her with
hands braced against the wall on either side of her. “Open up for me.”

“B-but, what if this elevator stops to let more people on?
We’ll be on our floor any minute.”

He reached out and pushed the elevator stop button. “Now we
won’t.” Then he leaned in and plied her mouth with a deep and possessively
passionate kiss.

She did as he’d asked. She opened up for him, letting him slide
his tongue inside her mouth. He settled the middle of himself against her, in a
way that let her feel his solid erection right in the juncture of her thighs.
The sensations that swamped her were unreal, and she returned his kiss with just
as much hunger as he was showing.

Then, just as quickly as he’d begun, he pulled his mouth away.
Drawing in a deep breath, she angled her head back to gaze up at him. “What was
that for?”

“No reason other than I want you.”

“You told me. Several times,” she murmured, trying to get her
heart to stop racing and her body to cease tingling. She glanced up at him—the
elevator wasn’t that big and he was filling it, looking tall, dark and handsome
as ever. He was looking her up and down, letting his gaze stroke over her as if
it wouldn’t take much to strip her naked then and there.

“And I intend to tell you several more times. I plan to keep
reminding you every chance I get.”

“Why?” Was it some power game he wanted to play? She was
certain he had figured out that her experience with men was limited. She had all
but told him it was, so what was he trying to prove? Was this just one of the
ways he intended to carry out his fact-finding mission? If that was the case,
then she might have to come up with a few techniques of her own.

He pushed the button to restart the elevator, and she couldn’t
help wondering just where her self-control was when she needed it.

* * *

Rico entered his hotel room alone and tossed his keys on
the desk. Never before had he mixed business with pleasure, but he was doing so
now without much thought. He shook his head. No, that wasn’t true, because he
was giving it a lot of thought. And still none of it made much sense.

He was about to pull off his jacket when his phone rang. He
pulled his cell out of his jeans pocket and frowned when he recognized the
number. Jeff Claiborne. Couldn’t the man understand plain English? He started to
let the call go to voice mail but impulsively decided not to.

Rico clicked on the phone. “What part of
do not call me back
did you not understand?”

“I need your help, Ricardo.”

Rico gritted his teeth. “My help? The last thing you’ll get
from me is my help.”

“But if I don’t get it, I could die. They’ve threatened to kill
me.”

Rico heard the desperation in his father’s voice. “Who are
they?”

“A guy I owe a gambling debt. Morris Cotton.”

Rico released an expletive. His grandfather had told Rico a few
years ago that he’d heard Jeff Claiborne was into some pretty shady stuff.
“Sounds like you have a problem. And I give a damn, why? And please don’t say
because you’re my father.”

There was a pause. “Because I’m a human being who needs
help.”

Rico tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling. “You
say you’re in trouble? Your life is threatened?”

“Yes.”

“Then go to the police.”

“Don’t you understand? I can’t go to the police. They will kill
me unless…”

“Unless what?”

“I come up with one hundred thousand dollars.”

Rico’s blood boiled with rage. “And you thought you could call
the son and daughter you hadn’t talked to in close to eighteen years to bail you
out? Trust me, there’s no love lost here.”

“You can’t say I wasn’t a good father!”

“You honestly think that I can’t? You were an imposter, living
two lives, and in the end an innocent woman took her life because of you.”

“I didn’t force her to take those pills.”

Rico couldn’t believe that even after all this time his father
was still making excuses and refusing to take ownership of his actions. “Let me
say this once again. You won’t get a penny out of me, Jessica or Savannah. We
don’t owe you a penny. You need money, work for it.”

“Work? How am I supposed to work for that much money?”

“You used to be a salesman, so I’m sure you’ll think of
something.”

“I’ll call your mother. I heard she remarried, and the man is
loaded. Maybe she—”

“I wouldn’t advise you to do that,” Rico interrupted to warn
him. “She’s not the woman you made a fool of years ago.”

“She was my only wife.”

“Yes, but what about Jessica’s mother and the lies you told to
her? What about how she ended her life because of you?”

There was a pause and then… “I loved them both.”

Not for the first time, Rico thought his father was truly
pitiful. “No, you were greedy as hell and used them both. They were good women,
and they suffered because of you.”

There was another pause. “Think about helping me, Ricardo.”

“There’s nothing to think about. Don’t call me back.” Rico
clicked off the phone and released a deep breath. He then called a friend who
happened to be a high-ranking detective in the NYPD.

“Stuart Dunn.”

“Stuart, this is Rico. I want you to check out something for
me.”

A short while later Rico had showered and re-dressed, putting
on khakis instead of jeans and a Western-style shirt he had picked up during his
first day in Forbes. He knew one surefire way to get information from shop
owners was to be a buying customer. Most of the people he’d talked to in town
had been too young to remember Clarice. But he had gone over to the
Forbes Daily Times
to do a little research, since the
town hadn’t yet digitally archived their oldest records.

Unfortunately, the day he’d gone to the paper’s office, he’d
been told he would have to get the permission of the paper’s owner before he
could view any documents from the year he wanted. He’d found that odd, but
hadn’t put up an argument. His mind had been too centered on heading to Austin
to get Megan.

Now that he had her—and right next door—he could think of a
number of things he wanted to do with her, and, as far as he was concerned,
every one of them was fair game. But would acting on those things be a smart
move? After all, she was cousin-in-law to his sisters. But he
had
warned her, not once but several times. However,
just to clear his mind of any guilt, he would try rattling her to the point
where she might decide to leave. He would give her one last chance.

And if that didn’t work, he would have no regrets, no guilty
conscience and no being a nice, keep-your-hands-to-yourself kind of guy. He
would look forward to putting his hands—his mouth, tongue, whatever he
desired—all over her. And he desired plenty. He would mix work with pleasure in
a way it had never been done before.

Suddenly, his nostrils flared as he picked up her scent.
Seconds later, there was a knock at his hotel room door. Amazing that he had
actually smelled her through that hard oak. He’d discovered that Megan had an
incredible scent that was exclusively hers.

He crossed the room and opened the door. There she was, looking
so beautiful he felt the reaction in his groin. She had showered and changed
clothes, as well. Now she was wearing a pair of jeans and a pullover sweater.
She looked spectacular.

“I’m ready to go snooping.”

He lifted a brow. “Snooping?”

“Yes, I’m anxious to find out about Raphel, and you mentioned
you were going back to the town’s newspaper office.”

Yes, he had said that in way of conversation during their
drive. He figured they had needed to switch their topic back to business or else
he would have been tempted to pull to the side of the road and tear away at her
mouth again.

“I’m ready,” he said, stepping out into the hall and closing
his hotel room door behind him. “I thought you would be taking a nap while I
checked out things myself.”

“I’m too excited to rest. Besides, I slept a lot in the car.
Now I’m raring to go.”

He saw she was. Her eyes were bright, and he could see
excitement written all over her face. “Just keep in mind that this is my
investigation. If I come across something I think is of interest I might mention
it or I might not.”

She frowned up at him as they made their way toward the
elevator. “Why wouldn’t you share anything you find with me?”

Yes, why wouldn’t he? There was still that article Martin
Felder had come across. Rico had been barely able to read it from the scan
Martin had found on the internet, but what he’d read had made Rico come to
Forbes himself to check out things.

“That’s just the way I work, Megan. Take it or leave it. I
don’t have to explain the way I operate to you as long as the results are what
you paid me to get.”

“I know, but—”

“No buts.” He stopped walking, causing her to stop, as well. He
placed a stern look on his face. “We either do things my way or you can stay
here until I get back.” He could tell by the fire that lit her eyes at that
moment that he’d succeeded in rattling her.

She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head back to
glare up at him. “Fine, but your final report better be good.”

He bent slowly and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Haven’t you
figured out yet that everything about me is good?” he whispered huskily.

“Arrogant ass.”

He chuckled as he continued brushing kisses across her lips.
“Hmm, I like it when you have a foul mouth.”

She angrily pushed him away. “I think I’ll take the
stairs.”

He smiled. “And I think I’ll take you. Later.”

She stormed off toward the door that led to the stairwell. He
stared after her. “You’re really going to take the stairs?”

“Watch me.” She threw the words over her shoulder.

“I am watching you, and I’m rather enjoying the sight of that
cute backside of yours right now.”

She turned and stalked back over to him. The indignant look on
her face indicated he might have pushed her too far. She came to a stop right in
front of him and placed her hands on her hips. “You think you’re the only one
who can do this?”

He intentionally looked innocent. “Do what?”

“Annoy the hell out of someone. Trust me, Rico. You don’t want
to be around me when I am truly annoyed.”

He had a feeling that he really wouldn’t. “Why are you getting
annoyed about anything? I meant what I said about making love to you later.”

She looked up at the ceiling and slowly counted to ten before
returning her gaze back to him. “And you think that decision is all yours to
make?”

“No, it will be ours. By the time I finish with you, you’ll
want it as much as I do. I guarantee it.”

She shook her head, held up her hand and looked as if she was
about to say something that would probably blister his ears. But she seemed to
think better of wasting her time doing so, because she tightened her lips
together and slowly backed up as if she was trying to retain her control. “I’ll
meet you downstairs.” She’d all but snarled out the words.

He watched her leave, taking the stairs.

Rico rubbed his hand over his jaw. Megan had had a particular
look in her eyes that set him on edge. She had every reason to be ticked off
with him since he had intentionally pushed her buttons. And now he had a feeling
she would make him pay.

* * *

The nerve of the man,
Megan
thought as she took the stairs down to the lobby. When she had decided to take
this route she had forgotten that they were on the eighth floor. If she needed
to blow off steam, this was certainly one way to do it.