SARA ORWIG lives in Oklahoma. She has a patient husband, who will take her on research trips anywhere from big cities to old forts. She is an avid collector of Western history books. With a master’s degree in English, Sara has written historical romance, mainstream fiction and contemporary romance. Books are beloved treasures that take Sara to magical worlds, and she loves both reading and writing them.

The Wedding Wager

Sara Orwig

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Table of Contents

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Dakota Daddy

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

Montana Mistress

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

Wyoming Wedding

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Epilogue

Copyright

Dakota Daddy

Sara Orwig

With love to Hannah, Rachel, Ellen, Elisabeth, Colin, Cameron and Maureen

Prologue

“May the best man win!” Jared Dalton declared as the three cousins stepped out of a limousine into the bright Houston sunshine. Waiting on the tarmac were three sleek jets with each man’s logo proclaiming ownership.

“One year from today, whoever’s net worth increases the most wins our bet.” Chase Bennett said, rehashing their agreement.

“Yes, the deadline for our bet is the first Friday next May,” Matt Rome confirmed. “We each put five million in the pot, so whoever wins gets a fifteen-million-dollar prize.”

“Right,” Jared nodded. “On top of poker winnings, Chase.”

Chase grinned. “I was lucky this year. Guys, it’s been great to be together again.”

“Still best friends, still bachelors—maybe forever bachelors. This weekend together is necessity,” Matt said.

All three shook hands. “So long, my two best cuz,” Jared said, grinning.

“If nothing else, we’ll see each other next at the family Christmas get-together,” Jared added. “Stay cool.” He boarded a white plane and sat by a window, watching his cousins’ planes taxi, one Houston-based cousin heading off to Paris, the other returning home to Wyoming. With mothers who were sisters, they had grown up close, even competing in football in college. All were wealthy and owner-CEOs of vast enterprises.

Jared intended to win the bet Matt had dreamed up. It would add some spice to work, akin to the thrill of success when he’d started out. Waiting until they were airborne, Jared withdrew his BlackBerry to send out messages that would start his staff searching for possibilities for solid moneymaking deals. He mulled over current projects and realized the bet gave him an opportunity for payback.

Excitement gripped him. He’d offer to buy the Sorenson ranch in Dakota. If Edlund Sorenson would sell, Jared could make money. Whether or not Edlund would sell, Jared knew he would have the satisfaction of letting an old enemy know he could buy him out. Making money was great. But best of all was revenge.

One

June

That old saying about a woman scorned was too damn true, Jared Dalton thought.

He thought back to when he’d first learned that old man Sorenson had died and that Megan had no apparent interest in keeping the family ranch. Jared assumed he could buy it easily. To his surprise, the minute Megan had learned who intended to buy the ranch, she’d withdrawn it from the market. Now he was here to get her to sell.

With a disturbing skip in his heartbeat that overrode a simmering anger, he saw Megan emerge from the Sorenson barn, carrying a saddle to the corral. She was too far away for him to see if her looks had changed. Her red shirt was as noticeable as her long-legged, sexy walk, which still revealed the years she had studied dance before she’d left for college. Her black hair was in a thick braid that lay on her back. Setting the saddle and blanket on the fence, she turned to the approaching horses to give each a treat. Within minutes she had saddled and mounted a sorrel.

The sight of her brought back too many hurtful memories. Vengeance was sweet. He just wished her father had lived to be part of the intended payback.

Jared intended to encounter her out on the ranch, where she would have to talk to him. He’d spent the night in a comfortable log guesthouse on her ranch without her knowledge in order to watch for her this morning. Before dawn he had dressed in jeans, a blue Western shirt and a wide-brimmed black Stetson.

Now he went to the barn to saddle a bay to follow her without haste.

The vast, grassy land made it easy to see in all directions except along the river, where trees could hide a rider from view. He knew he could catch her when she stopped at the river to let her horse drink. Until then, he didn’t want to alert her that he was trailing behind. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and a glance at gathering clouds told him rain seemed imminent.

As soon as she reached the line of trees, she vanished from view. Watching, he could remember meeting her at the river—and their steamy kisses. Since their split, he rarely thought of her without bitter feelings surfacing.

Unwanted memories enveloped him. He had known her all his life. Even as their dads battled over water, he’d paid no attention to her because she had been six years younger—the skinny little kid on the neighboring ranch. The first time he’d ever noticed her was when he was getting his master’s degree and she’d entered his same university in Chicago.

Too clearly he could recall that initial encounter. Her black hair had cascaded in a cloud over her shoulders and her startling turquoise eyes sped his pulse. She filled out a white cotton blouse that tucked into the narrow waistband of a tan skirt. When she’d smiled broadly at him and said hello, he’d thought he was looking at a stranger. If a beautiful woman greeted him, however, he had no intention of not responding.

“You don’t know me, do you, Jared?”

Surprised, he’d stared at her and frowned, trying to recollect. “Did you go to UT?” he asked, referring to the University of Texas, where he’d gotten his undergraduate degree.

She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him and he sucked in his breath. All her pink tongue had done was make him think about kissing her. He was getting turned on and he didn’t have a clue how he knew her.

“Jared, for heaven’s sake!” she said. He shook his head, touching a lock of her soft hair.

“Okay, I give. I can’t believe I don’t remember a gorgeous woman. Where have we known each other?”

“I’m Megan Sorenson,” she’d said, laughing at him. He stared in astonishment, seeing it now in the turquoise eyes. But that was all. Gone was the skinny little kid, replaced by a luscious, curvaceous woman.

“You grew up,” he said, and that sparked a fresh burst of laughter.

“I didn’t know you’re going to school here,” she said. “I thought I’d heard you’d graduated.”

“MBA,” he said slowly. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

She tilted her head to study him. “You know how our dads fight. You and I should keep a distance.”

“C’mon, Megan. Their fight isn’t our fight. I’ve never in my life had anything against you.”

“Oh, liar, liar!” she accused with amusement again dancing in her eyes. “You thought I was a pest. You wouldn’t even say hello if you saw me.”

He felt his face flush. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise to give you my full, undivided attention,” he said, and saw a flicker in her eyes. The moment between them sizzled and his heart raced.

“Dinner it is,” she said breathlessly.

“About seven,” he’d replied. And from that moment on, he’d thought he was in love. He’d hoped to marry her. They’d talked about it and planned on it, and then that summer after her freshman year, when Megan had gone to Sioux Falls to stay with her aunt and uncle, Olga and Thomas Sorenson, her dad sent one of his hands to summon Jared.

The old man had run him off by threatening harm to Jared’s dad. He’d always wondered how much Megan had known about what her father was doing. For over a year he’d hurt, pain turning to anger that had grown when she wouldn’t answer his letters. It pleased him enormously to buy her ranch. This payback was long overdue, and again he wished he’d offered to buy the ranch when Edlund Sorenson had still been alive, just to watch the old man’s face.

Most obstacles weren’t insurmountable, he’d discovered. Not with the wealth he had accumulated. He didn’t expect this one to be, either.

He heard her horse before he rode into a clearing at the river’s edge, and then he saw her. His insides clenched. Longing, hot and intense, rocked him. He rarely spent time on regrets but briefly, the thought that he never should have left her tore at him. Surprised, he shook aside his uncharacteristic reaction as she whirled around.

Color drained from her face. Her eyes widened until they were enormous and she swayed, making him wonder if she were about to faint. “Jared!” she exclaimed, as if he were an apparition.

“Megan, I didn’t intend to startle you.” He dismounted, dropping to the ground.

She drew herself up. As abruptly as she had looked on the verge of fainting, she pulled herself together.

Jared’s heartbeat quickened at the sight of her. “You’re more beautiful than ever,” he said, and cursed himself with his next breath. Anger flashed in her turquoise eyes, those crystal-clear blue-green eyes that were astonishing when he first looked at her.

“Why are you trespassing?” she asked, her composure obvious. He’d surely imagined her terrified reaction to the first sight of him. “This isn’t your ranch, nor will it be. You get off my land.”

“Whoa, give me a chance,” he replied in amusement, reassessing changes in her. “Seven years was a long time ago.”

“Not long enough. Your people were told this ranch is no longer on the market. I’m not selling. You’ll never own this land.” While thunder rumbled overhead, she withdrew a cell phone. “I don’t know how you got one of my horses, but leave it where you found it and go. You’re trespassing, and if you don’t get off this ranch, I’m calling the sheriff.”

“Don’t be so emotional,” Jared said, wishing he could unfasten her thick braid. “At least listen. You have nothing to lose.”

Thunder boomed again, and she glanced skyward.

“I think, unless you don’t mind getting soaked, you’ll have to ride back to the barn with me,” he added.

Without saying a word, she glared at him and then turned to mount her horse. Observing her tight jeans that pulled across an enticing bottom, Jared swung into the saddle as well, and waited for her to lead the way through the trees.

As the first large drops hit leaves overhead, they rode into the clearing. A jagged bolt of lightning flashed, and Jared knew they should get out of the open field and back to shelter.

He urged the bay he’d chosen, Jester, hoping she could keep up. Drops were coming faster by the time the barn loomed in sight.

As they galloped into the barn, the heavens opened. Jared dismounted, dropping to the ground while both horses shook their heads, sending drops flying.

To the accompaniment of the steady hiss of rain, they unsaddled and rubbed down the horses. Once the animals were in stalls, Megan strode to the open door and watched the rain.

“Probably a summer shower. It’ll move on,” Jared said, standing close enough to catch the scent of an exotic perfume, not the rose perfume she once wore. “Why don’t you listen to my proposition? I know you don’t intend to retire to the ranch.”

“You don’t know that,” she said, glancing up at him with hostility simmering.

“So you are?” he probed, and saw another flash of anger, knowing he had been correct.

“I am not selling my ranch to you,” she said slowly and clearly. He looked at her mouth, remembering their kisses. She’d been eighteen years old then. What would it be like to kiss her now? “Why do you even want it? There are other ranches.”

“I have a bet with my cousins, Chase and Matt, to see which one of us can increase his net worth the most during the coming year.”

“My ranch is to help you win a bet?” she asked, glowering at him.

“That shouldn’t make any difference to you.”

“One more thing that you want for your own purposes,” she said in a clipped tone.

“Whoever buys the place will purchase it for his own purposes,” Jared said.

“I don’t see how acquiring my ranch can put you over the top,” she observed.

“That alone won’t. It’ll be one of several projects,” he answered easily.

“How’d you get here and where did you get my horse?” she asked.

“If I had called you, I didn’t think you’d take an appointment to talk to me about the ranch, so I sent one of my lawyers, Trent Colgin,” Jared answered, and she compressed her lips.

“I should have known,” she said. She rushed to yank up a horse blanket. “I’m going to the house. It could rain all day, and I don’t intend to stay here. You get off the ranch however you got on it. Don’t spend another night here, or I truly will call the sheriff.”

“You’re going to get soaked.”

“That’s better than staying here with you,” she said and turned to dash for the sprawling ranch house. Jared ran easily beside her, not caring if he got wet as long as he could try to convince her to listen to him. They rushed up the back steps and across the wrap-around porch. While she draped the dripping blanket over a rocking chair, he pushed his hat to the back of his head.

In spite of the blanket, her jacket was soaked in the front and she shed it to hang it on another chair. Her damp shirt clung, revealing lush breasts that stirred erotic memories of kissing her as he caressed her breasts.

As she started to turn away, he looked into her eyes and suspected she guessed what he was thinking. His gaze trailed leisurely over her. Her quick breaths made her breasts thrust out more. When he looked up again, sparks flashed between them.

Raising her chin defiantly, she placed her hands on her hips. “I’m not inviting you inside.”

“Megan, listen to what I have to offer. You may be losing a huge fortune. One you could make easily by getting rid of something you don’t want anyway. You’re letting emotion get in your way.”

“I know what I want,” she said with a frown.

“Try to keep an open mind. Come to dinner at my house tonight and let’s discuss the sale.”

“In this weather? I think not, thanks,” she said, shaking her head.

“According to the paper, this rain is supposed to stop before noon and it won’t rain again until tomorrow afternoon. Now quit spiting yourself and come have dinner with me. Why don’t we discuss a deal? You have nothing to lose.”

“I won’t sell to you at any price,” she snapped as she yanked a key out of her pocket and put it into the door.

“Scared to eat with me?” he asked softly in a taunting voice.

Her head came up and she faced him with anger blazing in her eyes, making them look more green than blue. “I’m not the least bit afraid of you,” she replied in a haughty tone. “All right. I’ll come to dinner, but you should know you won’t change my mind.”

“How’s seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

“You know the way,” he said, and her cheeks turned a deeper pink. “See you then.” He left for his cabin, fighting the urge to glance to see if she stood watching him. He hadn’t heard any door slam, but then in the rain, he probably wouldn’t have.

She was coming for dinner, so there was hope. When hadn’t he been able to talk a woman into something he wanted? She was beautiful, more poised than she’d been as a teen. Then, she had been friendly and warm as a kitten. Now she was a hellcat. Despite her anger, her self-confidence showed. She was not the naive, starry-eyed eighteen-year-old he had fallen in love with years ago.

Anticipation bubbled in him. How long before he could seduce her? he wondered. He planned to keep a clear sight on his goal of acquiring her ranch, but this new Megan was an unbearable temptation.

He packed his few things and drove back to his ranch to make arrangements for dinner. As if nature were cooperating, the rain ended by noon and sunshine broke out with a magnificent rainbow arching in the sky.

When he caught some news on the television, he went to his office to make a phone call to his cousin.

The minute Chase Bennett answered, Jared could picture his green eyes and easy smile. “Hi, Jared here. Just caught you on the news about oil you’ve found in Montana.”

“Hope to find,” Chase corrected. “If it pans out like I expect, it’s going to be a tidy discovery.”

“A bonus that it’s in your home state,” Jared remarked dryly.

“Yeah, but I don’t spend much time back on the ranch,” Chase replied.

“I’ll wager you think you’re going to win our bet,” Jared joked, rubbing his finger on his knee as he talked.

“I hope to. You guys are going to have to get busy.”

“I’m working on an interesting project. Remember Megan Sorenson? I plan to buy her ranch.”

“Nice! That’ll crush her dad. It will be satisfying to let him know you can buy him out.”

“I wish I’d done this sooner. The old man died. As soon as Megan discovered I’m the buyer, she pulled the ranch off the market.”

“Too bad. Making the offer should give you a bit of satisfaction. That would be a good purchase, a prime pheasant-hunting ranch, even though it won’t help you win.”

“Wait and see,” Jared replied, chuckling, unwilling to reveal his plans to Chase. “Better go. Just called to offer congrats and tell you I still intend to collect.”

“Dream on,” Chase replied in a good-natured tone.

“I will,” Jared said, and broke the connection, trying to be the one to get in the last word, a habit of the cousins since childhood. Jared gazed out the window. What to do about the Sorensen ranch …

The day seemed an eternity long, but eventually Jared showered, shaved and dressed with care in a tan knit shirt, chinos and hand-tooled leather Western boots that added to his six-foot-six height.

Promptly upon her arrival at seven, Jared met her on the porch. Watching her get out of her SUV and walk toward him, her slim column of a navy dress swirling around her shapely calves, he sucked in his breath. A large bow held the dress on her left shoulder, leaving the other shoulder bare. The material split as it fell from her shoulder, revealing her long legs as she walked. Her hair was rolled and fastened at the back of her head, giving her a sophisticated, self-possessed appearance. Had they gone out in public, she would have turned heads anywhere—the men in appreciation and speculation, women in envy and admiration.

Jared’s pulse skipped, and he wondered if that bow on her shoulder released the front and back of her dress. He desired her with an intensity that shocked him. She was gorgeous, and momentarily he forgot the ranch, his purpose, old hurts, even anger. He saw a ravishing beauty whom he intended to seduce.

“Evening, Jared,” she said. Her greeting brought him back to reality.

“You’re stunning,” he said in a deep, raspy tone, gazing into the cool, thickly-lashed turquoise eyes. “Welcome to my ranch,” he added. “Come inside.”

Without a word, she swept up the steps past him. When she passed, he caught that same exotic scent, a perfume he couldn’t identify. Watching the slight sway of her hips, he followed her through the flagstone-covered entry into the wide front hall with its polished plank floor. She took his breath away with her beauty. He was reminded again that the open, outgoing warmth of the eighteen-year-old had deepened into the fieriness of a beautiful woman.

“I’m grilling steaks. Let’s go to the patio,” he suggested as he caught up to walk beside her.

She strolled in silence beside him outside to the patio, where smoke came from a large state-of-the-art stainless steel cooker. “You have all you need to live out here,” she said, glancing around.

“Can I get you a glass of wine, tea, a soft drink? What’s your preference?”

“White wine, please.” She followed him to the bar, and he turned to hand a glass of pale wine to her. Even though their fingers brushed lightly, the contact was electrifying. He could feel the sparks, as close as he stood to her.

She tilted her head to study him. “You’ll be returning to Texas soon, won’t you?”

“It depends on what happens with you. I’m not in a hurry to go after seeing you again.”

“Stop flirting, Jared. Or is that impossible?”

“Not impossible, but infinitely more interesting when you provoke it. How can I be with you and remain all business?”

“You might as well. The personal touch will get you nowhere.”

He gave her a mocking smile. “Watch out, I might prove you wrong.” He saw her gazing up at gray clouds streaking across the sky.

“When I crossed your river, the water was almost up to the bridge.”

“Scared you’ll get stranded with me?” he asked in amusement.

She whipped around to give him a level look. “No. I’ll leave before I let that happen,” she remarked.

“Here’s to the future and forgetting the past,” he said, ignoring her remark and raising his drink in a toast, even though he doubted he would ever lose all his bitterness toward her.

“This is pointless, Jared,” she said, sipping her drink.

“Megan, we both did things that hurt. I left here and you married someone else two months later,” he said, hoping he kept his tone casual enough to hide the stab that memory always brought.

“I’m sure you know my marriage didn’t last much more than a month before we filed for a divorce,” she replied with anger in her voice.

He recalled his fury and pain when his parents told him about a reception her father had for her and her new husband shortly after the marriage, and then the next thing he’d heard was that she was divorced, which gave him a degree of satisfaction.

“Where’s your son from that marriage?” he asked, wondering about her child.

“With my aunt and uncle in Sioux Falls,” she replied. A shuttered look had come over her features and he could feel a wall of coldness between them. She looked half angry, half afraid. He tried to curb his emotions and not let his bitter feelings interfere with his goals.

“At the time I couldn’t stay to tell you why I was doing what I was doing,” he said. “I never meant to hurt you like I did,” he admitted quietly, refusing to get into it now, knowing she wouldn’t listen to the truth about her father.

Twisting her shoulders out of his grasp, she strolled farther around the patio while he walked with her. “Jared, let’s not rehash the past. As you said, it’s done. Let go of it.”

“I will if you will. But I know this is why you backed out of the deal we had for the ranch. Admit it, you were ready and willing until you discovered that I was the buyer.”

“I’m not arguing with you about it. My dad would have despised selling to you. I’ll not do it—I promise you,” she said, her eyes wide and almost green again.

“Wait and let me talk to you about it, and what I’m willing to pay,” he said, fully confident he would win her over.

“I agreed to tonight only. In the next hour over dinner you can make your offer and then I’m out of your life.” Her gaze slid away from his, as if there were more she wasn’t saying. She’d hardly been reticent before. He had a suspicious feeling there was something he was missing, but he didn’t know what.

“As far as leaving you alone—I don’t know about that. There’s unfinished business between us.”

“I can promise you, we won’t renew it,” she said with such force he was taken aback. She walked on and he stared after her. Again, he had been mystified by the venom in her quiet tone. Why would she be that bitter now? They had planned to marry, but he hadn’t left her at the altar. He’d never gotten that far—they’d talked about marriage and getting engaged, and he was looking for a ring for her when her father ruined their plans. Her reactions were still strong enough for it all to have happened last week instead of seven years ago.

“I’ll check on dinner,” he said, and went to the cooker.

Jared turned the steaks, watching her between glances at his cooking. He wondered whether she was truly interested in her surroundings or simply trying to avoid him.

After turning the meat, he went into the house to get things ready. Because of the threat of rain, they would eat inside. If they had a real downpour, his bridge would be underwater and the ranch cut off.

Jared hoped to avoid any threat that would send her home early before he could convince her to sell. Revenge was his goal. He didn’t want to return to Texas empty-handed, so he planned the kind of offer she couldn’t turn down. This was a battle he wanted to win. And he hoped to have her in his arms tonight.

As he returned outside to get the steaks, she continued to circle the expansive patio. He observed her for a moment, aware how easy it was to watch her, letting his gaze drift slowly over her, recalling her passion and fire the night he had taken her virginity.

Pushing aside memories, he plated the steaks and joined her. “Dinner is served. I thought we’d eat inside—it’s cozier.”

“Fine,” she said, smiling. “Although, ‘cozy’ isn’t necessary to discuss business.”

“You haven’t smiled much. I like it.”

“A smile changes nothing,” she said, falling into step beside him.

He caught her arm and turned her to face him, holding both arms lightly. It was on the tip of his tongue to blurt out the truth to her about her father. Instead, Jared held back, knowing it might be a misguided sense of honor. Or not wanting to sound like he was making excuses. “Megan,” he said solemnly, “admit it, all your hostility is a grudge because I walked out seven years ago. If that weren’t between us, your father’s fight with my father would no longer matter. It’s solely about us. Right?”

Two

As Megan looked up at him, her heart drummed. “Yes, I hate you for that, Jared,” she admitted reluctantly, hoping to get him out of her life with a desperation that was making a wreck of her nerves. This morning had shocked her beyond belief. She had almost fainted. She hated the light-headedness and queasy stomach the sight of him caused.

Even worse, she loathed the jump in her heartbeat, the unwelcome reaction he could still evoke effortlessly. He was more handsome and appealing than she remembered, and that cleft in his chin was even more noticeable to her now. Tall, dynamic, sexy—too many qualities that she couldn’t ignore.

“I’m astonished you’re even here. You have your chain of successful restaurants and you have high-rise condos. I’m sure you have investments galore, plenty to keep you busy.”

“I’m interested in your ranch, and now in you. I’m amazed you haven’t married again,” he said.

“Not so surprising,” she replied carefully, her palms growing sweaty with nervousness that she prayed she hid. “I’m a divorced single mom. I’m young—six years younger than you, if you recall. I haven’t met the right person. I’ve pursued a career.”

“Why do I think you haven’t touched on the real cause,” he broke in, and her pulse accelerated.

“I’ve given you all the explanations you’ll ever hear,” she said. In a taut moment, she was lost in his dark gaze. When his gaze lowered to her mouth, her lips parted. She hated the reaction she had to him, but she saw the faint, mocking smile on his face. He knew what he could do to her.

He ran his finger slowly along her jaw. “You know, we could go at this a completely different way. We can renew an old, solid friendship.”

“Solid until you walked out without a word!” she said, and yanked her head away, stepping back. “There’s nothing between us now. Jared, I—” she began, tempted to get into her SUV and go.

“Let’s eat,” he interrupted, as if he guessed she was on the verge of leaving. He walked away in long strides. Distraught, with her heart pounding and her insides churning, she watched him. Why was the past being flung back in her face, when she had found some peace and thought she was safe from having to deal with Jared? If only he would leave. She couldn’t wait to get through dinner. The minute it was over she was going home, and, hopefully, he would go back to Texas forever.

In minutes, they were seated inside at a table, where thick, juicy steaks, steaming potatoes and crisp green salads awaited.

“Tell me about your life in Santa Fe. You have gallery now.”

She smiled and sipped her water. “I suspect you already know a great deal about my life at home. I’d guess you have staff check on all pertinent details. Admit it, you could write a dossier on me. And you know what my home looks like, what my income is, what I drive. And you’ve seen pictures of my gallery.”

“Actually, no,” he replied, as she had his full, undivided attention. “Only pertinent facts. You’re a potter living in Santa Fe with your son. You’re single. You have your own gallery.”

“That’s about it,” she said quietly, sipping ice water. “Santa Fe is an artists’ colony, actually. It’s a peaceful, thriving place, where someone can have a degree of privacy while maintaining an artist’s public lifestyle. I prefer to keep it that way, Jared. You don’t have to know about my life. Of course, you’re in papers and magazines and the news often enough for any six people.”

“That means nothing,” he said.

“In the meantime, you’ve built a fortune on delicious dinners, with your exclusive Dalton’s steak houses.”

“I’ve been lucky. That first restaurant in Dallas was a far bigger success than I ever dreamed. You have to make reservations a month ahead at a Dalton’s.”

“Sounds impressive. You’ve had a spectacular rise.”

He shrugged. “My dad bankrolled me with a huge sum of money, telling my brothers he would do the same for them when the time arrived. That hasn’t been necessary. I made enough of a fortune that I brought my brothers into the business and we’ve never looked back.”

“So what about your life and your offices and homes?”

He looked amused by her refusal to discuss herself. In spite of the polite conversation, they were sparring. She could feel the tension in the undercurrent, with his constant, unwanted appeal. So much about him was agonizingly familiar that it tore at her. Guilt, anger, desire pulling at her with increasing force. Dinner was eons long already, and they hadn’t even gotten to the true purpose. She had lived with a secret for over six years now. Was she staying silent and committing a sin beyond measure?

She tried to focus on what he was saying about himself.

“I’m not anywhere half as interesting,” he said. “I work and I play. The usual way. Mostly, I’m at my headquarters in Dallas, in meetings or on the phone. Depending on what’s happening, I go out in the evening. Nothing exciting. I travel a lot, have no serious love life. Any men in your life right now?”

She wished she could answer yes and put another wall between them, but if he’d had staff check into her lifestyle, even minimally, Jared already knew the answer to his question. She shook her head. “No. I lead a busy life and my days are dedicated to my son first and my pottery second. They fill my hours.”

“You’re a beautiful, desirable woman,” Jared remarked, his words slowing and his voice growing husky. “I find it difficult to think there’s no one. It has to be your choice.”

“Thank you,” she replied, intending to answer briskly and move on, but her words came out breathless, far too revealing. “I suppose it’s my choice, but my hours are taken. As it is, there aren’t enough hours in the day.”

Even though the steak was delicious, she had little appetite. Each bite was an effort. She was aware the evening had darkened early given the thunder, but she sat with her back to the windows.

“Tell me about Ethan,” Jared said, startling her to hear him say her son’s name.

“What’s to say? He’s a normal six-year-old. He plays soccer and T-ball. He has a mind for numbers, even at this age. He’s tall and has my black hair.”

“Where is he tonight?”

“In Sioux Falls with Aunt Olga and Uncle Thomas. Every summer when school is out, he stays with them for several weeks. You must know my parents died, but Uncle Thomas and Aunt Olga are like grandparents to him.”

“Do you have joint custody?” he asked, startling her. She shook her head quickly.

“No. Mike wanted out of our marriage as much as I did. When he learned about a baby on the way, we were already divorced. He gave me full custody. He had no interest in Ethan. Ethan doesn’t even know him.”

“I can’t imagine a man not wanting to know his own son. Sorry,” Jared said. “At least Ethan was too young to know what happened.”

Thunder growled, rattling the windows and she glanced back. “I’d like to head home while it’s not raining.” She turned to look into Jared’s dark eyes. “Let’s get this over with. We might as well get to the main topic. My ranch is not for sale.”

“Look at options,” he said easily, leaning back in his chair. “You plan to stay in New Mexico, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do, but as long as my aunt and uncle are alive, I have Dakota ties. They’re close to Ethan, as I am with them.”

“If you sell the place at the price I’m offering, you can afford your own plane and pilot, or charter a plane whenever you’d like to see them. That’s not any reason to hang on to something that will be a burden. Your place will go to ruin if you don’t care for it constantly.”

“I’m aware of the problems,” she said.

“Your uncle and aunt won’t move out here?”

She shook her head. “No. They’re city people and they have no interest in the ranch. I said I’d pay them to run it and give them a share in it, but they prefer to stay in Sioux Falls. Uncle Thomas and Dad never got along, and I don’t think Uncle Thomas wants any part of the ranch. Their only son, Ralph, lives in D.C., and his wife’s family is from Virginia, so he’ll never come back here.”

“So, why spend your money maintaining the ranch?” Jared asked. “Surely not out of spite. That’s expensive and impractical.”

“Our ranch is a profitable place, as you know. Which is exactly why you’d like it.”

He shook his head. “It’s profitable if it’s run right. But you know your dad invested hours and money into it and made it what it is. You can’t work in Santa Fe and maintain the ranch the way your dad did.”

She knew Jared was right, but she wasn’t going to admit it. She couldn’t keep from feeling that if she refused him, he would go on to other things, and she could quietly find a buyer later in the year and sell without Jared knowing until it was a done deal.

“Are you willing to close your gallery and move back here?” Jared asked. He sounded as if he were asking a casual question. His quiet voice and easygoing manner were deceptive. Even though she hadn’t been around Jared in years, she knew better. He had to care, and with his wealth, she suspected he was unaccustomed to rejection.

“I don’t think I’ll have to,” she answered, with the same lightness of tone that he maintained. “If it turns out more of my time is required, I’ll hire someone to run my gallery.”

They both had stopped eating and she could feel the tension increase. She also realized the thunder was more frequent. “Jared, I have to get across your bridge.”

“You have time,” he said dismissively, and with as much certainty as if he controlled the weather, which, under other circumstances, would have amused her. “Here’s what I’ll do,” he said. “I’ll pay you one million more than your asking price of thirty million,” he said flatly. “That has to be a figure that you have to consider.”

Stunned, she stared at him. One million more was huge. On top of her asking price, it was fantastic. “That’s impressive,” she said, studying him. “Why would you possibly want the Sorenson ranch that badly?”

He nodded. “Plus, I’d like the water rights.”

“The river runs through the Dakotas, far north of us. You can’t control all of it.”

He smiled as if they were discussing the weather. She knew he expected her to jump at his spectacular offer. “No, I can’t, but I’ll feel better about it if I control more water than I do now. That’s what our dads fought over. Plus, you have a thriving ranch. I would fully expect to make back my investment, or I wouldn’t want it. There would be no point.

“I’ve made you a damn fine offer, Megan, and you know it. Think about it. Whatever you do about the ranch, I don’t think you’re going to spend a lot of your time in South Dakota.”

“That’s not the only consideration.”

“You’re hanging on out of anger, not because of a business decision. I know you don’t run your gallery this way.”

“I’ve never been emotionally involved with anyone the way I was with you, so it’s difficult to view objectively,” she admitted, hating to reveal the depth of her hurt. His eyes widened as if in disbelief, and she wondered what he was thinking about. Just being with him was opening doors to more problems and hurt. Thunder boomed again, as if a reminder to terminate the evening.

Staring at his supreme self-assurance in consternation, she knew he was right, but she wasn’t going to let him win. “You’re a ruthless man, Jared,” she said flatly.

“No, I’m not. At least not in this case, and you know it. That’s a fabulous bid, more than you’ll get from anyone else. More than the place is worth. You’ve admitted that yourself. There’s nothing ruthless about it. Most people wouldn’t even be discussing the matter.” He reached out to touch her hand, startling her and causing an unwelcome jump in her heartbeat. “But then, you’re not ‘most people,’ and you never have been,” he added in a husky voice that made her draw a deep breath. His gaze lowered to her mouth and her lips tingled. “You think about it,” he suggested quietly, continuing to hold her hand. His hand slipped down to her wrist lightly, finding her racing pulse.

Satisfaction flared in his eyes, and she knew he could tell that she still had a strong physical reaction to him. The moment became taut, as his dark eyes probed hers. She should look away, move, speak—anything to end this electricity that intensified with each second; but she was held by his mesmerizing gaze. Memories rose to haunt her, tormenting moments of the past and their lovemaking. She could remember his kisses in exact detail, recollections she’d tried to shake.

“Stick to business,” she said, the words bubbling up in anger even as her soft tone sheathed the steel in her voice.

She became aware of rain, wondering when it had begun, because she had been engrossed by their conversation. To her chagrin, she discovered it was a downpour, barely heard inside while sheets of water beat against the windows. She stood abruptly. “I’m going. I’ve stayed until it’s pouring and I didn’t intend to.”

“Sit and wait it out,” he suggested. “We can be civilized with each other. If you prefer, we can stay off the topic of business.”

“The only thing I have to talk to you about, Jared, is business,” she said, praying that was all she had to discuss with him and that he never learned the truth of why she was so unhappy to see him. The whole day and evening had turned into a nightmare, and she tried to hide her nervousness over seeing him again.

“You’ll have a rough drive home. Let me take you and you can send a couple of your hands for your SUV tomorrow.”

“No,” she said, going to get her purse. Jared strolled behind her, his long legs eating up the distance with ease.

“Do you have a raincoat or umbrella?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“I didn’t think about it. I have an umbrella in the SUV.”

“I’ve got an extra. Wait a moment and I’ll get it for you.”

She watched him walk away, her gaze drifting over his long legs and through the memories of their bare strength against hers. Annoyed, she turned to the darkened window, watching rain beat against it. She wanted out of his house. Clearly, she recalled the muddy, rushing river nearly brushing Jared’s bridge. She had to be able to get through. She couldn’t stay the night with him.

To her relief, he reappeared with an umbrella and raincoat.

“Take both. I have others.”

“Thanks. Where are you going?” she asked, as she watched him yank on a second raincoat.

“I’ll follow you and see that you get across the bridge. I intended to have it replaced, but I forget about it in the dry spells. We can go years without it being underwater.”

“I can manage by myself. Thanks for dinner, Jared. I’ll consider the offer and get back to you,” she said over her shoulder, but he caught up with her, reaching ahead of her to open the door. His car was nowhere in sight, and she knew he would have to go back through the house or make a run for a garage. She didn’t care what he did. Her focus was on crossing the river.

As she started the SUV and drove away, she peered through the watery windshield that couldn’t be completely cleared by the wipers, even set on the highest speed.

Each flash of lightning increased her concern. Brilliant light illuminated fields that were turning into ponds, water running in the bar ditch. Occasionally, thin streams crossed low spots in the graveled road, and she knew the saturated ground was not soaking up the rain.

She couldn’t be cut off. Not here and not now. Why had she let him goad her into this dinner? He would have made his pitch whether she showed up to eat with him or not.

Rounding a bend, she topped a rise when lightning flashed. She gasped as the streak of light revealed a river ahead. The instant display vanished, leaving driving rain and darkness, but the image was indelible in her mind. There was no bridge in sight because it was underwater.

She glanced in the rearview mirror and received another surprise. Headlights were a quarter of a mile behind and gaining on her. It had to be Jared. How fast was he driving in this storm?

She forgot about him as the next bolt lit up her surroundings, and again she saw the river with only the top of the bridge rails showing.

With a sinking disappointment, she knew crossing it would impossible. Jared pulled close behind, honked his horn and stopped. He climbed out of his black pickup, dashing to the passenger side of her SUV. Reluctantly, she unlocked the door to let him in out of the storm.

“You can’t cross the bridge. Sorry, Meg,” he said as he slid in, slamming the door.

“Megan!” she corrected. It was the first time he’d called her Meg since he’d walked out on her.

“You’ll have to come back to the house. I’ve got plenty of room.”

In another flash of lightning, she looked at the river that spread out of its banks.

“I promise you this night will pass and be only a memory,” he said quietly, and she turned to find him watching her. “If you’d like, I’ll turn your SUV around for you.”

“Of course not, but thanks,” she answered. “I’ve gotten along on my own,” she said, unable to keep her resentment from showing.

Her cell phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket and answered, only to hear her son’s voice. She glanced at Jared, fear and guilt returning as she said hello to Ethan.

Jared waved at her and climbed out of the car. Relieved to have him go, she let out her breath. A tense evening was now turning into a grim night. She talked briefly, promised she would call again when she was out of the storm. Then she turned her SUV around in water that lapped over new ground.

Still, the rain came in thick sheets, drumming on the SUV and shutting the world from view except what was caught in her twin headlights. Jared’s pickup had faded from view quickly in the rain. The thought of being under the same roof with Jared through a stormy night frazzled her nerves. She didn’t care how large his house was—it could never be big enough, being thrown together through the night and morning until the rain stopped.

She wasn’t going to worry about tomorrow. Just get through tonight and resist his dark eyes. Their midnight depths held blazing desire, a continual hot-blooded look that made her tingle from head to toe. There was nothing circumspect, businesslike or remote about what she saw smoldering in his appreciative gaze.

When he was younger, he went after what he wanted with a single-mindedness that was fierce. She knew that intensity was focused on acquiring her ranch, but she didn’t care to have it turned on seduction.

Squaring her shoulders, she promised herself to keep barriers between them and try to get him out of her life before he discovered what she never wanted him to know. The SUV slid on the wet road and she turned her full attention to driving.

As she expected, when she reached his house he was waiting on the lighted porch. He stood by the railing, one booted foot propped on the rail. If he weren’t so handsome and sexy, it would be far easier to remain cool toward him. Too many shared moments that, at the time, she had thought the best of her life, made it impossible to deal with him objectively. She cut the motor and sat a minute. The wind was blowing, a thorough storm lashing the earth as if a mirror of her emotions. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out with the umbrella and dashed to the porch and into the house, where she kicked off her impractical pumps. She left her umbrella on the flagstone entryway. “I’ll leave them so I don’t track water,” she added, walking along the wide hall with him, trying to block memories of being in this house years ago. Her simmering anger crushed conversation and she walked in silence.

“Remember any of this?” he asked.

“Of course,” she answered in clipped tones, and he glanced at her with his head tilted and one eyebrow raised in a questioning glance that made her heart thud. She knew that look only too well.

“You haven’t changed much here, if my memory is correct,” she said, looking at potted palms and gilt-framed seascapes.

“Not in this part of the house. I’ve left this part alone. Otherwise, I had an addition built to the kitchen, as well as a new bedroom for me. I’ll show you later. How’s this room?” he asked, switching on a light and entering a room with a king-size four-poster bed and maple furniture that stood on a polished oak floor.

“Fine,” she said, following him into the room and seeing the adjoining bathroom.

“Let’s go back to the kitchen for something warm to drink. What would you like—hot chocolate, hot tea or something cold?” he asked while they walked down the hall again.

“If you have some, I’d prefer hot tea,” she answered. “I told my son I’d call him back. If you’ll excuse me,” she said, getting her cell phone from a pocket in her skirt. She went to the living area to stand at one of the floor-to-ceiling glass walls and watch the rain while she called Ethan. She missed him and just wanted to wrap her arms around him. Reassuring herself he was safe and happy with her relatives, she tried to quell her anxiety. Next she talked to her aunt to tell her she was marooned at Jared’s ranch.

With each jagged streak of lightning, she saw that the drenching rain hadn’t let up. The puddles had spread, increasing her concerns that she might be stranded in the morning.

Assuring her aunt she was fine, Megan put away her phone and rejoined Jared in the kitchen. Asking about his work, she perched on a bar stool and watched him set yellow china mugs on a large tray. Her gaze traveled over his features, so familiar to her. If he ever saw Ethan …

Her heart did a flip at the thought. With brown eyes and black hair, Ethan looked as much like his dad as a child could, even down to the cleft in his chin.

Another clap of thunder boomed and lights dimmed. Jared glanced toward the windows. “I’ll get candles, in case,” he said, crossing to disappear into a walk-in pantry.

“All I need,” she mumbled softly, hoping she didn’t spend the evening in candlelight with him. He had too many things going for him already.

Still focusing conversation on his work, she followed him into the living area, where she curled up in a chair. Lights were low and Jared had switched on soft music, while rain still drummed outside and poured off the porch roof. He took the nearby sofa and placed a tray with their steaming cups of tea and coffee on the glass table in front of both of them. Usually, such surroundings would lend a cozy intimacy to the evening, but she planned to have her drink and get back to the bedroom and close the door on Jared for the night.

As he answered her inquiries about his Dallas and Paris offices, his traveling and his houses, she wondered if she had made the mistake of her life. Should she have revealed to Jared long ago that he was the father of her son?

Had she erred by never contacting Jared through the intervening years? The minute the question came, she knew if she had to do it all over again, she would do the same. Jared had walked out on her without a word, never contacting her until their encounter this morning.

The simmering resentment boiled momentarily as she remembered her joy and his declarations of love, the wild passion between them and then … desertion. He didn’t contact her, give her any indication that anything was wrong—he left, and when she began to look for him, she discovered from his parents that he’d gone to Texas, where he’d taken a new job. They gave her his phone number, but she had no intention of calling him. The hurt had been monumental, compounded when she’d learned she was pregnant.

To forgive and forget was impossible. Tonight, he wanted something from her, and therefore was flirting and charming once again; but there was a solid, lasting bedrock of pain that he’d caused.

Still, guilt nagged and worry plagued her. Had she cut her son out of a relationship that would have enriched his life? Yet, how could a man who left like that have been that role model? He might not have paid any attention to him, which would have multiplied hurts.

Again, she hated the painful memories—agonizing ones of Jared, hurtful moments with her father, who was enraged when he discovered her pregnancy. Jared had been gone two months by the time her father learned the truth, and from the first moment when the doctor had given her the news, she’d known that she would be alone when she had her baby.

It hadn’t turned out that way, thanks to her aunt and uncle in Sioux Falls, who stood by her through Ethan’s birth.

Jared tilted his head to give her another one of those quizzical looks that was so familiar. How often had she seen the same look from her son?

“I think I’m talking far too much about my life. Tell me about yours,” Jared said. He sat back with one foot on his knee. A brilliant flash was followed by a window-rattling clap of thunder, and the lights dimmed and then went out.

“Sit tight,” Jared said in the darkness. “We’re ready for the emergency.”

With the next flash of lightning, she saw him standing, holding a candle. He began to light candles and place them in holders on the table.

The hiss of rain could be heard clearly, since music no longer played. Candlelight flickered and bathed Jared in a golden glow, highlighting his prominent cheekbones, his thickly-lashed eyes, the cleft in his chin and the sheen in his well-trimmed black hair. Unbidden thoughts came, of running her hands through that thick hair which had a tendency to curl, particularly in damp weather. Most of the time, Jared fought the curls and kept them combed out as much as he could, taming them into slight waves. He sat again, closer to the end of the sofa and her chair. “You look gorgeous, especially in candlelight.”

“Thank you,” she answered, hating the stab of pleasure his compliment gave her. “In candlelight everyone looks appealing. And on another topic—do you work more in the U.S. or abroad?”

He looked amused as he answered. “A safer topic, as you wish. Far less interesting,” he said. “I’m in the U.S. the majority of the time. Did you move to Santa Fe when you started making pottery?”

“Not right away,” she answered. She couldn’t imagine that he really cared what she’d done. “I worked for a decorator in Sioux Falls as well as on my own,” she continued. “I marketed through a Web site, and through the decorator. I thought it would be good to work in Santa Fe, so I moved and eventually went out on my own.”

“I doubt if your dad liked you leaving here.”

“No, he didn’t, but he decided it would be a good experience for me. I think he thought I’d fail and come home, despite the fact I’d even bought a house,” she replied, remembering how frightening it had been to move and go on her own with a small son. She had worried about Ethan and if the change would hurt him. The early years she’d lived with constant worry.

“Did he ever recognize your talent?”

She smiled. “Once I began to make sufficient money, my dad’s attitude changed.”

“It usually does,” Jared said. “Nothing succeeds like success. It’s difficult to imagine you working in clay, though,” he said, taking her hands in his warm ones. “These hands don’t look like you’re a potter.”

He turned her hands in his, intensifying a smoldering desire that she couldn’t extinguish with either anger or logic. Drawing a deep breath, she pulled her hands away.

“I liked holding your hands,” Jared said in a husky voice.

“It’s the storm and candlelight—and wine you had with dinner. I suspect you like holding the hand of almost any woman you spend the evening with.”

He ran his finger along her cheek and studied her with a somber, intent look as he shook his head. “Perhaps, but this is different. I didn’t know when I came back here and saw you that it would be this way.”

Her heart drummed along with her annoyance at him. She had no intention of letting him rekindle an unwanted physical attraction. To her dismay, he still held appeal, but her emotions battled it.

Beyond her physical response to him, there was not only her smoldering rage over the hurt he’d inflicted by leaving but also icy fear over what he might discover about her now. To be in close proximity to him set her nerves on edge.

“Jared, this isn’t a special moment, other than we may be having the rain of the year. Don’t pour on the compliments because I have something you want. You have a captive audience tonight, but don’t overdo it,” she said, thankful she could sound detached. Anything to keep an emotional distance between them. Yet her heart raced and his words weren’t going to be easily forgotten.

He gave her a crooked smile. “That wasn’t the reason for the compliments, I promise you. Buying your ranch was the last thing on my mind,” he added, in that same husky voice that was a caress in itself.

She finished her tea and stood. “I’ll turn in. I rise early.”

He stood. “It’s early to turn in, Megan.”

“Times change, Jared. We’re different people. I’ll take a candle.” When she reached to pick up her dishes, his hand closed around her wrist. The touch was light and casual, but the outcome was an unwanted skip of her heartbeat. Warmth suffused her beyond anything the hot tea had accomplished. Startled, she glanced up.

“You know that’s not true. Leave the dishes,” he said, his husky voice revealing his reaction to the contact. She was bending over the table and he had leaned close to take her wrist. Now they were only inches apart, closer than before. Candlelight flickered with pinpoints of light reflected in his brown eyes.

Once again she was captive, as she’d been beneath his volatile kisses—those kisses that had always set her ablaze.

“Megan,” he said softly.

“No,” she answered with little force. A pang of yearning tore her, instantly followed by anger that he could still have such an impact on her. Worse, she knew he was on the verge of a kiss she very much wanted. “No,” she repeated more firmly. She straightened and he dropped his hand, still watching her with searing fire in the depths of his eyes.

“We could declare a truce,” he suggested softly. “That was long ago, Megan.”

Holding back a seething retort, she glared at him. “This is a useless discussion,” she said, hating that she couldn’t appear more poised. Appear as if what he’d done years ago no longer mattered. She reached to light another candle, but he steadied her hand and they lit a candle together.

Once more, he was holding her wrist. His slight touch increased her awareness of him more. And he was taking his own sweet time getting the candle burning. She was tempted to yank away from his grasp, but she’d already been foolish enough to reveal how much she reacted to the past. Over the flickering light, she looked up to meet his hot gaze trained on her mouth. She couldn’t get her breath. Her lips parted and she wanted him in spite of what was sensible.

“Light the candle, Jared,” she whispered.

His thumb moved back and forth slowly, a feathery touch on her wrist, until he paused and she knew he was fully aware that she always reacted to the slightest contact.

Desire magnified, pounding with each heartbeat. Setting aside the candle, he slid his hand behind her head.

“Jared,” she whispered, a protest that came out a breathless invitation.

He drew her the last few inches and his mouth covered hers.

His warm lips moved caressingly, his tongue touching hers and then sliding deep into her mouth. Longing, physical and emotional, tugged at her even as she returned his passion. His other arm went around her waist and he stepped around the corner of the table to pull her body against his.

Once again, she was in his arms. How often had she dreamed of this moment, only to wake and discover it had been a fantasy. That Jared had still broken her heart so ruthlessly. Amazingly, here she was, actually kissing him, held in his strong embrace, finding him even sexier than she’d remembered.

Heat became fire. She fought the urge to wind her arms around him and press closer against him. Half of her longed for him desperately and the other half screamed to step away, to prevent what was happening.

His kisses burned wisdom to ashes. She kissed him hungrily, aching for more, knowing she was tumbling to disaster. Each second compounded her years-old need. Finally, she pushed against his chest.

He released her slowly, opening his eyes to study her in a heated silence.

“We’re not going back there, Jared,” she declared with a gasp. “I didn’t want that to happen. Don’t make anything of it. It meant nothing, except I haven’t kissed a man in a long time.”

“Don’t be so angry, Meg. I like kissing you,” he said in a husky voice that held such warmth she tingled from head to toe. “No harm intended and no damage done,” he added in unruffled assurance.

“Don’t!” she cried. “I’m turning in,” she said, circling the table in the opposite direction from Jared.

“You don’t have to escort me to the bedroom door,” she said, when he started toward her.

“Good night, Jared,” she stated firmly.

“I wish I could take away your anger. We were young, Megan.” His dark shirt was open at the throat and locks of hair had fallen over his forehead. Because of the rain, the natural curl in his hair had tightened and black curls framed his face.

She shook her head. “Good night,” she repeated.

Emotionally exhausted, she entered her bedroom.

Her lips were still warm from his kisses and she was on fire with craving. The manner in which she had responded to him tore at her. He had opened Pandora’s Box for her. She blamed it on not dating, but she kept busy and didn’t miss having a man in her life. Between work and taking care of Ethan and his activities, her life was full, busy, so she fell exhausted into bed at night. But with a kiss, Jared had effortlessly demolished all her defenses. One touch, one kiss and she had been mush, melting and kissing him back. He’d made her yearn for his kisses and the feel of his warm, muscular body.

All yearnings she didn’t want.

Crossing the room, she tried to forget that Jared was close, that he was soon to be undressed and stretched in bed. He used to sleep in the nude and she suspected he still did. Images plagued her, driving any chance of sleep away.

Why couldn’t she have remained aloof and showed him that he couldn’t stir her? Instead, she had responded passionately. She couldn’t stop going over it, even though thinking about it made her hot. How could she have responded like that to a man whom she despised?

And his one million …

Sell him the ranch and she’d never see or hear from him again. Logic said to sell. She would get an incredible price, be rid of something she didn’t care for anyway, She would sever most ties with South Dakota and only run a risk of seeing Jared when she visited her aunt and uncle. She would narrow the chances of Jared discovering what she had done.

On the other hand, she couldn’t bear to deed the ranch to him. Fury over the hurts he’d inflicted tempted her to strike out at him in any way she could. Retribution was too enticing, something she had dreamed about for the first years after Jared’s disappearance.

Plus, her father would never sell Jared the ranch. Her dad had hated the Daltons, despising Jared’s father because of their continual fights over water. Each one had accused the other of taking too much. Water fights had always spilled over into every other contact. If a fence went down, each man blamed the other.

She knew, too, her father had viewed Jared’s dad’s simple background with disdain, as if he were a peasant. When Jared had walked out on her, her father had hated him for hurting her, even though he had been doing his best to talk her out of marrying Jared when Jared had vanished. Many issues fueled the family feud.

Both sides of her argument were strong. Money versus emotional satisfaction.

When her father’s health began to fail, he had deeded the ranch to her. Upon his death, that decision became a safety net for her. It saved her time and money to have the ranch already in her possession, and left her free to sell it.

Each time she thought about Jared walking out on her and now coming back to buy the ranch, she felt as if she couldn’t bear to sell—at any price.

Was she harming herself and Ethan by her refusal to let Jared buy the ranch? The money would be more than enough to provide for Ethan’s education and a comfortable lifestyle they could never have otherwise. If she refused Jared, she might not get anywhere near her asking price from other buyers.

She was certain she would sell, but it could take a while—time she really didn’t want to devote to the care of the ranch. It took money to keep it running smoothly, and with her father’s failing health the past year, there were areas that had been neglected. The sensible business and professional approach was to sell to Jared or counter for an even higher amount—something she suspected he would agree to, to get what he wanted.

She knew she would pore over the arguments all night long. So far, the only person interested in the ranch had been Jared. She curled up in a chair near the window, watching the rain and flashes of lightning. Hopefully, once the rain stopped, the river would drop rapidly.

She rubbed her temples. Sleep would likely elude her for hours. To sell or not to sell? Stop remembering his touch and being aggravated with herself for succumbing to his slightest touch.

She paced to the window to stare outside, blowing out the candle to depend on lightning flashes for illumination.

If she would agree to sell the ranch, it would be the quickest way to get Jared out of her life. She stood at the window watching rivulets of water zigzag their way along the glass. Flashes of lightning revealed small rivers running through the yard and large silver puddles. The river would be high and impossible to cross, and the rain hadn’t slacked off any.

She returned to a chair to stare outside while her thoughts churned over her predicament. Far into the night, she fell asleep in the chair.

Dawn was streaked with rays of the rising sun, lifting her spirits and giving her hope that she could leave soon.

She still struggled with her decision. Because of her fury at Jared, and her father’s memory, she didn’t want to sell. Keeping the ranch when Jared wanted it would give her immense satisfaction and a bit of revenge.

At the same time, the argument to sell couldn’t be dismissed lightly.

She fell asleep in the chair, and woke undecided in the morning. Gathering her things, she headed to the bathroom to shower and dress in what she had worn the evening before. After combing her hair, she went to the kitchen, where she found Jared with a cup of coffee on the table in front of him. Dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved, gray Western shirt and boots, he looked irresistible.

“Good morning,” he said easily, walking over to her, his gaze roaming over her appreciatively. “You’re gorgeous—as you were last night,” he said, curling a lock of her hair around his fingers. “This is the way I like your hair best.” Catching the scent of his masculine aftershave, she felt her pulse kick up.

“Thank you for your compliment,” she replied, wishing she had done something else with her hair. She didn’t care to wear it in the style he liked best. “I’m a little overdressed for breakfast, but so be it.”

“I could loan you my jeans,” he said, with a twinkle in his eyes.

“No, thanks,” she answered quickly.

“I didn’t think you’d accept, but they wouldn’t fit you anyway. I cooked breakfast—help yourself to whatever you like,” he said, waving his hand toward covered dishes and pans on a stove. “Fruit is on the table. Would you like orange juice or tomato juice, milk, coffee—you can have all if you’d like.”

“Orange juice and coffee please,” she said, picking up a plate and looking at the many dishes. She helped herself to scrambled eggs, slices of kiwi and a bowl of blackberries. She had lost her appetite. As she watched him serve her juice and coffee, she knew she couldn’t bear to sell him the ranch, no matter how much refusing him cost her. She would get a bit of satisfying retaliation here.

“This is a huge breakfast. Do you cook often?”

“Not unless there’s no alternative. This morning we’re cut off from my kitchen help.”

“Looks like I’m here longer.” She carried her plate to the table where he sat facing her.

“There are all sorts of things we could do to fill the day,” he stated, causing her to look up sharply. When he gave her a disarming smile, she shook her head, smiling in return.

“I think simple conversation is the most likely. Or if you have business you can transact, you go right ahead.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. If you don’t sell your ranch to me, we’ll be neighbors, so we might as well get reacquainted.”

“I see no point in that,” she said quickly.

“You surely don’t plan for us to go through the future fighting, the way our fathers did.”

“No … but reacquainted—I don’t think so.”

“So what’s it going to be? To sell or not to sell?” he asked.

Three

Jared’s pulse drummed as she faced him. Intuition hinted she would refuse him. Using logic, he couldn’t imagine her rejecting his money.

“You made me a generous offer. One that kept me up almost all night,” she said.

“A shame. I can think of other ways we could have spent the time,” he said, unable to avoid flirting in spite of the tension between them. She was breathtaking, and he wanted to reach for her. Sunlight spilled through the windows and highlighted strands in her cascade of black hair. Her eyelashes were a thick, dark fringe that were a startling contrast with the crystal turquoise of her eyes. He waited in silence until she shook her head, dismissing his remark.

“I won’t sell the Sorenson ranch to you,” she answered.

His insides knotted and he curbed the urge to swear, instead remaining impassive, smiling at her as he shrugged. “That’s what you want to do. You’re turning down an extra one million.”

“You received that well, Jared. Too well. I pulled the ranch off the market and decided to keep it.”

“Even with your son to consider?”

Her face flushed and something flickered in her eyes and he knew he’d hit a nerve. “Yes, Ethan and I will get along without your money. We have thus far.”

He was disappointed, but the world held countless opportunities. “Win some, lose some,” he repeated the old saying. “Maybe you’ll change your mind about selling after you spend a few years going back and forth and maintaining the ranch and your Santa Fe home.”

“I’ll manage, Jared.”

“Well, I’m disappointed, but if you’re not going to sell to me and go hurrying back to New Mexico,” he said, approaching, “there’s a bright side.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, sliding one hand under the large bow that fastened her dress over her shoulder. “We’ll be neighbors,” he said in a warm voice. Undeniably, he wanted her more than her ranch. “You’ll have to come home more often … I’ll certainly spend more time here.”

Drawing a deep breath, she frowned. “We’ll be neighbors, not seeing each other.”

“You opposed anything concerning me, Meg,” he said in a husky voice. “We’re bound to see each other, and why not? Why cling to the past? I told you I was sorry. Your refusal to sell guarantees I’ll be around,” he said.

“That wasn’t my intention,” she said. Her words were unfriendly but her tone wasn’t. Her protests were light, almost halting, and contradictory to what she was saying—an unspoken invitation to him. “Not at all, Jared.”

“Well, that’s the result you’ve achieved. You’ve put me back into your life. I’m looking forward to being your neighbor.”

“Go back to Texas, Jared. You know this is going nowhere.”

“If you really want me out of your life so badly, maybe you should think some more about this answer you’ve given me. I can’t help but feel that there’s some part of you that wants to keep me here.”

She twisted out of his grasp as his cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket. “Excuse me, Megan,” he said, answering his phone and talking briefly.

“That was one of the hands,” he said when he was finished. “The river is still as the bridge level—some water washing over, but you can get through.”

“Great!” she cried. “I’m going home.”

She was clearly combating the physical attraction with all her being, a battle he felt she would eventually lose. He knew how to be patient, and the bet had been the most exciting thing he had going. Until she came along.

“I’ll go first, Megan,” he said as they walked to the door. He took a wide-brimmed, black Stetson off a hat rack and put it on. They stepped out into warm sunshine and a day that was crisp and clear, with a deep blue sky. A vast difference from the stormy night.

At her SUV door, he paused. “Wait and let me go ahead. I’ll cross the bridge to make sure it’ll hold. After I get to the other side, you can cross.”

“I know I’m wasting my breath when I say you don’t have to accompany me.”

“Stop cutting off your nose to spite your pretty face, Megan.”

“I’ll try, Jared,” she said with sarcasm lacing her voice.

“Keep your SUV doors unlocked so you can get out or I can get in to help you. Let me clear the bridge before you follow. If it shifts or anything indicates it’s weakened, I won’t motion to you to proceed. Okay?”

“Yes, thanks. I’ll follow you.”

“Megan,” he said in a deep voice, “I’m glad you were here last night. It’s good to see you and be with you again. Better than ever,” he said, thinking about their kisses and her eager response. If she reacted that much in anger, what would it be like if he could melt those hurdles she kept between them?

“It was meaningless, Jared. The result of my not dating enough and a turbulent night. And you know you hold a certain charm for me, whether I like it or not.”

“I think there may have been a left-handed compliment somewhere in there. I certainly hope so,” he said.

She shook her head and he held the door, assessing her long, shapely legs as she climbed into the SUV. He closed her door and hurried to his pickup. As he got in he caught her watching him. Once again, he had the feeling that he was missing something with her and he couldn’t fathom what.

Passing her, he worried about the safety of the bridge.

He topped the rise and looked at the muddy, rushing water that was tumbling and flowing as rapidly as the night before, sending rivulets over the bridge. It was standing, but the force of the water could have taken a big toll on it. He slowed and saw she was only a short distance behind him. Stopping, she waited while he proceeded.

As soon as they had crossed, he stopped and walked over to talk to her through her open window. Leaning closer, he pushed his hat to the back of his head. “Would you like to go to dinner tonight?”

She shook her head. “No, Jared. Business between us is finished. There’s no reason for us to get together again. I meant no sale. And it’s good-bye.”

He slid his hand behind her head, leaned down and kissed her hard, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, aware of her soft hair tangled in his fingers and spilling over his hand.

He’d caught her by surprise, but she kissed him back, arousing him instantly. He was tempted to open the SUV door, slide inside and take things further, but he knew that would end the kiss.

She pulled away. She was breathless, her eyes filled with longing, her mouth red from his kiss. “Good-bye, Jared,” she whispered, but her inviting expression contradicted the farewell.

He stepped back. “Call if you change your mind. Otherwise, I’ll see you soon,” he said, knowing he was annoying her.

Without a word she drove away and he watched, standing in the road with his hands on his hips, until her beige SUV disappeared from sight.

She was more beautiful than when she’d been eighteen. More poised, infinitely more sexy. He wanted her and didn’t intend for her to go out of his life until he had seduced her.

He suspected that might take awhile, but he wasn’t a marrying man and he wasn’t the green twenty-four-year-old that he had been.

And he still expected to buy her ranch. It would be ridiculous to refuse to sell to him because of old hurts. He didn’t see how she could possibly mean no.

He climbed into his pickup to cross the river and drive back to the house, lost in thoughts about Megan, about making love to her when she’d been eighteen, naked and passionate. He stirred uncomfortably. He wanted her in his arms in his bed. With a groan he tried to get the erotic images out of mind.

If he could get past her smoldering anger, she could be seduced. Even as she burned with indignation, she hadn’t rejected his touch and his kisses. Attraction was still alive between them. It was only a matter of time, he felt certain, until seduction. Everything in her cried out to him.

The future didn’t hinge on Megan selling the ranch to him. He could move on to the next lucrative deal. This had looked like an easy one that could have been handled quickly, made him some easy money and cinched the bet.

A jingle interrupted his thoughts. He answered his cell phone again, to hear his cousin’s voice.

“Hey, Matt here. Chase said you’re in South Dakota. I wanted to see if you’ve been washed away. The rain is making national news.”

“Thanks for call,” Jared replied. “I’m fine. Bridge was underwater last night, but we have sunshine today and the water’s receded.”

“That’s good news. I hear you’re buying the Sorenson place—that’s sweet payback!”

“The old man died, but it’s still sweet payback with Megan,” Jared said, thinking about her refusal and feeling certain he’d get his way eventually.

“Good luck with it. It doesn’t matter, though, I still intend to win our bet.”

“Wishful thinking. Thanks for your call,” Jared said, smiling and remembering a pugnacious look Matt often had when he wanted something that was difficult to acquire. Beneath the curly black hair was a brain that clicked constantly.

“Go back to work. You’ll need to do all you can,” Matt teased, and was gone. Jared chuckled over the good-natured teasing and the competitiveness that had been present since as far back as he could remember. He glanced at his calendar, Matt’s call fading from his attention.

Monday morning, he was scheduled to see his attorney in Sioux Falls before he headed home to Dallas and now he had a lunch appointment with his real estate agent. As Megan invaded his thoughts again, he forgot about a schedule.

Monday, the eighth of June, he dressed in a charcoal suit and tie and drove himself, leaving behind his bodyguard and chauffeur, feeling secure in South Dakota.

In Sioux Falls, he drove downtown to his attorney’s office. It was another sunny June day.

As soon as lunch was finished, he parted with the real estate agent and headed to his car, his thoughts already turning from South Dakota, as he mentally ran through projects for the week. He paused to call his pilot to be certain his plane would be ready. As he talked, he glanced up the wide main street and saw an unmistakable dark head of hair.

His pulse speeded—it had to be Megan. She stood in front of a restaurant talking to two people with a boy beside her. He had his back to Jared and wore a ball cap.

Jared recognized her aunt and uncle and guessed that Megan had her son with her.

Impulsively, he crossed the street in long strides. Megan was dressed in red slacks and a red, short-sleeved cotton shirt and her back was to him. Her hair was caught up in a clip high on her head.

It had been years since he had seen Olga or Thomas Sorenson, the older half-brother of Megan’s father, Edlund.

“Hello, there, Megan,” he said cheerfully. They all turned to face him, and once again Megan’s face drained of color.

“It’s been years,” he said, extending a hand to Thomas Sorenson, who hesitated a few seconds and then reached out. In that first moment, her uncle and aunt had looked as shaken as Megan.

Under Thomas’s solemn, half-angry gaze, Jared realized something was amiss. Tall and graying, Thomas Sorenson gave him the barest possible handshake. Jared smiled at Olga Sorenson, Thomas’s diminutive blond wife, who merely nodded with tight lips. His sudden departure seven years ago resonated badly with all three adults even today. Jared turned to Megan who was frowning at him.

“Sorry, if I interrupted you folks, but I saw you and thought I’d say hello. I didn’t intend to intrude,” he said.

When his pleasant comment was met by awkward silence, his curiosity grew. He glanced at the boy, who was looking at a bright red toy rocket he held in his hands. “This must be your son, Ethan,” Jared said, holding out his hand in greeting. “Ethan, I’m Jared Dalton.”

The boy looked up and shook hands with Jared.

“I’m glad to—” Jared’s words died, as if he had been punched in the stomach. With midnight eyes, a cleft in his chin and black curls escaping from his cap, the boy staring back at him was his own image, a face that would match childhood pictures of Jared himself.

His own son!

Four

Jared glanced at Megan and her expression confirmed that Ethan Sorenson was his son. For an instant, he forgot the others as Megan’s terrified gaze captured his. Her wide-eyed mixture of fear and anger put all the reactions this past weekend in place for him.

The moment would become permanently etched in Jared’s memory—sun shining brightly, the three adults facing him with a mixture of unfriendliness and guilt in their expressions. And Ethan, who was looking at his rocket once more and unaware of the undercurrents.

The boy seemed not to have recognized Jared. All these years, Jared had had a son. The enormity of it overwhelmed him and for a moment he was at a loss. Megan had never told him. By all indications, she wasn’t going to tell him now, either. She had been planning to let him go back to Texas without ever knowing about his son.

Astounded over his discovery and her duplicity, his gaze shifted from Ethan to her.

“I need to see you,” he said to Megan. “We have to talk now.”

She nodded and turned to tell Ethan good-bye and hug him.

“It was nice to see you,” he said to the Sorensons. “Ethan, I’m glad to meet you,” he said.

His son! When would he grow accustomed to that? He longed to pull the child into his arms and just hold him for a minute. Instead, he smiled.

“How old are you, Ethan?” he asked.

“Six, sir,” Ethan answered politely, an unnecessary confirmation. Jared had left seven years ago and Ethan must have been born nine months later.

The Sorensons bade Ethan come with them and they strolled away.

Jared thought about where they could get some privacy as quickly as possible. He wasn’t waiting to drive out to her ranch or his own to talk. Questions spun, anger was like wildfire consuming him.

Why hadn’t his staff unearthed the parentage of her child? The marriage. A marriage on the rebound—or to give an excuse for the pregnancy?

“They know the truth, don’t they?” he asked Megan.

“Yes, they do. I’m close to them, closer than I was to my dad,” she said.

Jared placed his hand on her arm. “We can’t discuss this on the street. Let’s go to the hotel and I’ll get us a room where we can have privacy.”

“Hotel? We can go to the ranch.”

“No,” he said flatly. “I’m not waiting through a long drive. I have questions, Megan, and I want answers now.” In the taut silence, she gave him a stormy look; the clash of wills crackled between them.

As she clamped her mouth closed, he escorted to the tall, remodeled hotel.

She slanted him a look. “I thought you were leaving town today.”

“I had planned to fly out at one,” he said, and she turned away while he left her to step to the desk to get them a suite.

In silence they rode the elevator to the fifth floor, where they entered a large suite decorated in muted earth tones of umber and green and deep red. Sunshine poured through floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors, giving a sunny glow to the room and sharply contrasting Jared’s icy rage.

She crossed the sitting room, putting distance between them before she turned to glare at him defiantly. “You walked out, Jared. You have no claim. Absolutely none.”

“The hell I don’t!” he snapped, shedding his coat to drop it on a chair. “That’s my son. Why didn’t you call me?”

“Call you?” she raised her voice, her cheeks flushing a deep pink, shaking with anger. She leaned forward. “Why would I call you when it was obvious that you never wanted to see me again?”

He crossed the room to clasp her shoulders. “You should’ve let me know that I was going to be a father. You damn well know it,” he said, grinding out the words, shaking himself.

“Get your hands off me!” she ordered, jerking away from him. “You asked for whatever happened.”

“Is that why you married, or did you have some kind of rebound relationship?”

She looked away and bit her lip before turning back to him. “The marriage was solely because I was pregnant.”

“You were never in love?” he asked in surprise, feeling glad even through his rage. “You didn’t marry to get even? Wasn’t that guy furious when he discovered what you’d—”

“No, he wasn’t, because our marriage was a business arrangement. My father negotiated it to cover up the paternity of my baby!” She flung the words at him.

“Negotiated?” Jared asked in disbelief. “You went along with that?”

“Damn you, Jared! You crushed me and left me and I was pregnant. My control freak father was enraged. He said horrible things. Then he contracted for the marriage and it was all settled beforehand.”

His anger toward her father returned full force. How the bastard tried to govern everything. “Your meddling father—what did he do exactly?” Jared asked, unable to stop prying, yet knowing he was going to hate what he would hear.

“He arranged or, rather, bought my marriage,” she said, pronouncing the words slowly and distinctly as if Jared were unfamiliar with English.

“Where did he find the guy?” Jared asked while his hurt multiplied.

“Mike was the son of a Montana rancher. By then, he was an engineer, living in Phoenix. My father paid him to marry me.”

“And you went along with that?”

“What was I supposed to do? It was a paper marriage, a business arrangement to give the baby a father.”

“He wasn’t our baby’s father. Did you even live under the same roof?”

“For a little over a month. The marriage was never consummated. We had separate bedrooms and each of us went our own way. Mike had no interest in me. He only wanted the money to open his own firm. But under that guise of respectability, my father would pay for the baby and my care.”

“That bastard!” Jared exclaimed, rage eating at him. He had thought when he’d left South Dakota that the Sorensons could never hurt him again. How wrong he’d been! To discover she’d hidden the most important thing in his life from him—his son—cut to his soul.

“Who are you to say that?” she answered. “You walked out and left me pregnant! Damn you, Jared! I was uneducated, young and dependent on my dad.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to reveal her father’s duplicity, but he wasn’t going to get into that now, or hurling accusations would be all they would do. He wanted to know about Ethan.

“So go on—tell me what you did. You married Mike and moved to Arizona.”

“That’s right. Under the circumstances, I was less than pleasant. Mike was interested in his career and I think there was someone in his life, but he was kind enough to keep her out of our lives. We got a quiet divorce after seven weeks and I left.”

“You came home once for a reception, I heard.”

“Yes, so Dad could convince people that Ethan was Mike’s son.”

“How could anybody believe that lie after Ethan was born?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what gossip flew, nor did I care by then.”

“I got a degree of revenge on your father in Ethan, since he looks exactly like me. Your father had to be constantly reminded of me,” Jared said. No one who knew both him and Ethan could mistake the connection. “Do you ever see Mike?”

“No. We went our separate ways and I haven’t talked to him since,” she said, and Jared was surprised by the relief he experienced over her answer. “My dad used to tell me about him occasionally. I think he’d even hoped we’d stay married. Mike established his own firm and married. That’s the last I heard about him.”

“Damn it,” Jared said. All they had both gone through because of her father. “And in all that time, it didn’t occur to you to let the father of your baby know about his son’s existence?”

“Don’t, Jared! Don’t accuse me—”

He grasped her shoulders again, fighting the urge to shake her. “I’m the father, and in this day and age I have rights. Yes, I accuse you. You know damned well you should’ve let me know we were having a baby.”

“I never once when I was pregnant thought I should let you know,” she said, the words tumbling out in a rage.

“When I first spoke to you last Saturday, you went white as a sheet and looked as if you might faint.” His voice was low, and he leaned closer with anger white hot. “You were filled with guilt for keeping silent. Admit it, Megan! Admit that you know you should’ve told me about Ethan.”

Her eyes were wide and green with anger as she shook her head, adding to his fury. “No. You gave that right up when you walked out without a word. You cut all ties with me in the cruelest possible way.”

When he flinched because what she accused him of was true, he still couldn’t bring himself to reveal to her that it was her father, because it would sound weak, as if he were making excuses. “Maybe I deserved for you to keep me out of your life, but when Ethan was born, you know you should have informed me. If you’d told me you were expecting a baby, I would’ve come back here.”

“Oh, please, Jared! Don’t stretch credulity to that point! You know you wouldn’t have. You would have run all the more, if I’d called you and said you were about to become a father. Or you would’ve asked if I was sure it was your child.”

“That’s not true,” he said in a voice that was low and vehement. “I damn well would’ve come back.”

“You’ll never, ever convince me of that. It’s a moot point now,” she said, glaring at him and he noticed she was breathing as rapidly as he was.

“Even so, I can’t believe that in all these years you haven’t told me. I can’t understand why my own parents didn’t tell me, but they moved from here two years later.”

“I didn’t see your parents. I didn’t come home to live for a year and a half. People here met Mike at the reception, so they accepted the story that he was the father. Your parents moved shortly after I returned.”

“I still say you should have told me. You know you should have. When you moved back here, you could have faced dealing with letting me know. We’d put enough time between us—”

“Enough time between us that I no longer hurt from what you did?” she flung the words at him as he clamped his jaw closed while he clenched his fists.

“Even so—”

“All right,” she said, her voice suddenly sounding restrained. “When Ethan was one, I should’ve informed you. But I always thought I would when he got a little older, or if you came home and we crossed paths. Or if you tried to contact me, which of course, you didn’t until you wanted something I have. Whenever a year rolled by, I put off telling you again.” His anger was mirrored in the depths of her eyes. “What was I to do? Pick up the phone and call the man who walked out on me and say, ‘Oh, by the way, we had a baby’? You left without a word—that means you wanted to sever all ties with me. Why on earth would I call you?” she cried. “Can’t you get it?”

“I deserved to know, Megan, simply because I’m his father,” Jared said. “I guess you don’t know a parent’s rights, but I do have rights. Where was Ethan born?”

“In Chicago, where we had gone to college. It’s a large city and far from here.”

Jared’s pain over the past intensified. “You were alone in Chicago? Did you have any friends?”

“I’m sure you care!” she exclaimed bitterly. “Jared, this is all past.”

“I want to know what happened. Answer my damn questions.”

“If you must know, my aunt came to stay with me the last two weeks. My dad never came. After Ethan was six months old, he told me to come back home.”

“Well, I got some damned revenge there. Ethan looks like me. What a blow that must have been.”

“It was to all of us. I prayed he wouldn’t look like you—and that you’d never know,” she said, the coldness and anger clear in her voice.

“Damn it, Megan!”

“Damn it is right! I prayed my baby wouldn’t resemble you in any way and that you’d never know as long as you lived. How can you act like you care now?”

“It’s a shock to discover I have a child. I have questions. And frankly, Megan, I want to know my son.”

She looked as if he’d hit her. And then he could see her pull herself together in that manner she had. She stood taller, a coolness coming to her features.

“Was it difficult for you when you came back home? With one look at Ethan, I’d think anyone would’ve known who his father was.”

“How much gossip there was, I don’t know,” she admitted. “In the course of months, other scandalous things happened around this area, so interest shifted. It didn’t matter after we moved to Santa Fe and it never has again, I’m sure you and I were a major source of gossip until I married Mike. You couldn’t tell who Ethan’s dad was by looking, until after the boy got a full head of hair. While he was a baby, people thought that he was Mike’s child. Dad was smart enough to find a guy who bore a physical resemblance to you—black hair, dark brown eyes, tall. It was inevitable that Ethan would have black hair. No one would give that a thought.”

“I’ll bet my folks never laid eyes on him. One look at him, hair or no hair, and my mom would’ve known.”

“As a matter of fact, they didn’t.”

“Damn it, even if I did walk without telling you good-bye, you should’ve let me know about our baby. I know now, though,” he said coldly. “We’re going to have to work something out,” he said.

She walked away to stand by the floor-to-ceiling glass door before she turned back to face him. “You keep your distance. You forfeited all rights to Ethan when you walked out on me. You’re not coming into our lives now, Jared. Forget that one. I don’t see that you have any rights in the matter.”

“I damn well do. You’re not going to pack and go and take him away from me.”

“I’m going home. You know what happened after you left me, and this is getting us nowhere.”

“How the hell can you walk out of here and try and say good-bye? Understand me, Megan, I intend to get to know my son,” he declared, his temper rising. He clenched his fists and inhaled deeply.

He stood with his hands on his hips and they glared at each other, the clash fierce between them. In spite of all his fury, he wanted her. She was as beautiful and enticing as she was infuriating. Long strands of her black hair had come loose from the clip and fell around her face. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes wide, and she was enticing in spite of the struggle between them. He desired her and he wished she would cooperate with him—both impossibilities.

“All right, we’ll go back to the ranch and discuss it,” he said. “You come to my place or I’ll go to yours. The sun is shining, no rain is predicted and the river has lowered enough that the bridge is definitely above water.”

“I see no point in arguing further,” she said.

“Megan, I will get to know Ethan. That’s a fact, not a wish,” he stated, trying to control his temper, pushed to his limit. “We can discuss what we’re going to do in the future. Your ranch or mine will be more comfortable for both of us and this may take a while.”

She clamped her lips closed for a moment. “I know you’ve had a shock. The drive to the ranch will give you some time to adjust to your new status and to think about all that’s happened. Don’t tear up Ethan’s life. You think about it when you drive home. You’re being selfish again. I know you’re accustomed to thinking only of yourself, but you’ll hurt him if you come into his life. And you’ll raise a hundred questions.”

“You should have thought of those questions,” Jared said. “You should have known that this day would come.”

“It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t wanted to buy the ranch,” she said bitterly.

“You might have slipped by if you’d sold it to me. My attorneys would have handled the deal, and I doubt if you and I would have crossed paths except at the closing, and then you would have left for New Mexico and I would’ve gone on my way. Big error, Megan, if you’d really hoped to keep me from Ethan.”

Her face flushed and he knew he’d been correct in all he’d stated.

“Perhaps, but I couldn’t bear the thought of selling to you. You get what you want in life too easily.”

“Well, now you pay the price for that refusal.”

Frowning, she picked up her purse and hurried to the door. “If you insist, I’ll see you at my ranch. I’m not taking any chance of getting marooned at yours again.”

Grabbing his coat, he caught up to hold the door and walk out with her. “We’ll start another flurry of rumors by this little interlude in the hotel.”

“I can’t worry about that. I don’t plan to live here,” she said. “I don’t have many close friends here any longer. The few that I have are close enough to understand and to know that there will never be anything between you and me again.”

“You can’t foretell the future,” he said.

“I can predict that much with certainty. There’s too much bitterness on either side for it to vanish.”

He didn’t answer, his mind reeling with his discovery and what he’d learned from her. He escorted her to the street where she motioned with her hand. “My car is parked right there. I’ll see you at home.”

“All right. This will give you time to think, too.”

She nodded and walked quickly away. His gaze traveled over her, looking at the sway of her hips and her leggy stride while he thought about their future. He hurried to his car and in minutes he was out of town.

As he drove to the ranch, he pored over their conversation. His mind kept going back to that startling moment when Ethan looked up at him. Jared vowed that he wasn’t going to be out of Ethan’s life. Megan wasn’t thinking straight, and he knew he had rights. He’d heard too much about a birth father’s rights. He’d never let her cut him out of Ethan’s life now.

Damn her bastard father. Now Jared could understand her bitterness and anger. Why hadn’t she called and let him know? No undoing the past now—but he wasn’t leaving here without settling up when and how he could have Ethan with him and be talking to Ethan as his father.

Now he could understand her frightened and unhappy aunt and uncle’s reactions. Only Ethan was oblivious to the emotional tempest swirling around him.

Realizing how fast he was driving, Jared eased his foot and set cruise control while his mind was still on Ethan. All the years of Ethan’s life he had missed, babyhood, toddler—it hurt, and he vowed that this distance was going to end as soon as possible.

He tried to think of ways they could share Ethan’s life. They needed solutions, not accusations and anger. How could they work it out to share their child, when they had such disparate lives, and while she was so furious with him?

In front of Megan’s ranch house, he spotted her car outside her garage. As he crossed the porch, she opened the door. “Come in, Jared,” she said.

He entered a wide hallway that he hadn’t seen for the past seven years, recalling the last time he’d walked along the hall and out the front door. He’d been hurt, his life had changed and he wouldn’t see Megan again—until this year. All because of her father.

He followed her into a spacious living area that was just as he remembered, with a huge stone fireplace, animal head trophies on the walls, a large gilt-framed portrait of her father, Edlund, on one wall and a smaller picture of Megan beside it. Leather-covered furniture filled the room, along with a wide-screen television and ceiling fans that slowly turned overhead. The polished wood floor held Navajo rugs. Window shutters were open. Memories crowded him—some not good.

She turned to face him. “Let’s get this over with. I hope you’ve done some thinking and that you’ve calmed. Jared, your life is too busy to give much attention to a child.”

“Your life isn’t busy?” he asked with cynicism.

“Of course it is. But I don’t travel the world or have much social life or have any lifestyle like you do, and my kiln and studio are at home, and my gallery is attached to the house, so I can be with him when he’s home.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Oh, please!” she replied. “You have an interest in him because of the novelty of discovering you’re related to him.”

His anger climbed. “Megan, I want my son part of the time, and I’m going to have him. Now, what can we work out?”

Frowning, she shook her head. “I can’t think of any feasible plan. You live and have your headquarters in Dallas. You travel the world. I reside and work in New Mexico and here. That makes it impossible for him to see you often.”

Jared clamped his mouth shut and jammed his hands into his pockets, turning to walk to the window and gaze outside while he mulled over possibilities of what they could do.

“I don’t see any hope for this, and I worry that you’re going to upset his life,” she said.

Jared whirled around. “I’m his father! If you’d told me, I’d have been in his life from the day he was born. If I upset his life, it will be only initially. Kids adjust. I expect to win him over, Megan. Can’t you see that it will be good for him to have a father around?”

She turned away, but he’d seen her frown and her teeth catch her lower lip. He walked up behind her and tried to speak quietly. “It’ll be better for him to have a dad who’s interested in him. There are things I can do with him that you can’t. Stop depriving him of a father.”

“Don’t act like I’m hurting him by keeping you out of his life!” she snapped, whirling around to face him, tears in her eyes.

“Megan,” he said, grasping her shoulders gently.

She twisted free and walked away from him. “Don’t, Jared!”

“We were in love seven years ago,” he said quietly, following her to stand close behind her. “We both were present when Ethan was conceived. I was in that bedroom, too.”

She turned again to face him, green fire flashing in her eyes. “Next, you’ll be telling me you love me,” she said.

“No,” he admitted, placing his hands on her upper arms and rubbing them lightly. “But I know we can be compatible, we have been, and we have some kind of electricity between us. You can’t deny it. I think you and I can find a common ground once more,” he said, trailing his fingers lightly along her soft cheek. “Our lives became irrevocably bound with Ethan’s birth, so let’s put our heads together and see what solutions we can find.”

“That’s because you’re the one searching for the answer to your dilemma,” she said, glaring at him.

He was tempted to kiss away some of her stubborn refusal. Her passionate response earlier seemed to let all her barricades crumble. His gaze went to her mouth and he battled the urge to kiss her and stop the arguing.

As if she sensed his intentions, she walked farther from him.

“One way or another, Megan, we’re going to work this out,” he said.

She turned to perch on the edge of a leather wingback chair. He sat in another, facing her. “I thought of several things when I was driving here.”

“I can well imagine,” she remarked dryly.

Annoyed with her steady refusal to cooperate with him, he tried to hang on to his tattered patience. He was unaccustomed to people saying no to him, unaccustomed to a woman being so unyielding with him. Knowing he had to work this out with her, he sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. “A large percentage of problems have solutions if people pursue finding them,” he said. “And want to find them,” he added. Megan wanted him out of her life and that of his son, but that wasn’t going to happen. There was no way he would stay out of Ethan’s life now.

“Have you even tried to think what might work out?” he asked.

“Frankly, no, because nothing would.”

He considered the possibilities he’d mulled over in the car while driving to the ranch. “Fine. You have him during the school year. I get him for most of the summer.”

“No! He spends one month with my aunt and uncle, who are like grandparents to him.”

“He can do that, and I get him the other months and during spring break.”

“I won’t do it, Jared. Ethan’s been so close with me. The first years of his life, I was home with him constantly. It’s just the two of us. He won’t want to go off next summer for two months and live with you.” She crossed her long legs.

“Not next summer, this summer,” Jared corrected emphatically, and she shook her head.

“I don’t want to share Ethan with you.”

“You’re going to,” he said lightly, knowing he would never give up. He felt certain the law would be on his side. Her stubbornness was driving his anger, and he tried to calm down and think of what they could do that would be acceptable to both.

“Here’s another idea, Megan. See if this is palatable. A marriage of convenience.”

Five

“A marriage of convenience. You’ve already had one before,” Jared said, and Megan’s temper shot up.

“You’re only after Ethan to get my ranch,” she replied. “A marriage of convenience or any other kind would give you access to the ranch.” She shook her head. “Never!”

He stood and approached her, stopping only yards from her, his brown eyes harboring anger that buffeted her in waves. She raised her chin to meet his gaze.

“I’m not doing any of this to get your damned ranch!” he declared gruffly, and she knew he was fighting to hang on to his temper as much as she was. “I want my son!” he said. “Can’t you understand that?”

“Frankly, no! You don’t strike me as the daddy type. Not at all. You’re a well-known society playboy, a jetsetter, and I think you want Ethan to help get you access to my ranch, either because of the novelty of it or because you can’t stand to not control your world just like my father,” she said and his face flushed and she’d clearly pushed him to the edge.

“Don’t you ever lump me in with your father!” Jared ground out his words. “Megan, you’d better think about an answer to this.”

“I’ll fight you, Jared,” she declared, walking away before she turned to face him. All the old pain rushed back, memories of panicked days after he left. “I don’t care how much money you have! I’m Ethan’s mother. I’ve raised him. You walked out on us. You go ahead with your lawyers and your threats.”

They glared at each other and she knew they were locked in an impasse. In spite of anguish and anger and their battle over Ethan, Jared still made her heart race. She hated herself for wanting him, when he had hurt her so badly and was trying to do it again.

“No judge will take Ethan from me,” she declared, fighting her rising terror of a court battle with Jared over Ethan. “Your lifestyle will work against you, too.”

“A judge has to consider my rights. I can provide Ethan with far more opportunities than you can.” His words chilled her. She could never give Ethan what Jared could.

“If I walk out that door, Megan, I’m calling my attorney and I will get him started on my custody of Ethan. In the future, you’ll never be able to bargain with me to the degree you can right now, so you better rethink your refusal.”

“Go ahead, Jared. Bullying only makes me more certain.”

“Bullying? I think I’ve been damn cooperative. I’m trying to find something we can both live with. You’re not. You refuse to consider any arrangement.”

“None are feasible. All your suggestions will hurt Ethan.”

“A marriage of convenience wouldn’t,” Jared replied.

“I don’t want to be locked into a loveless marriage with you.”

Again, his face flushed and she knew his fury was increasing. “Then I know one solution. I’m calling my attorney and you’ll hear from one of us, probably tomorrow morning, and the court can determine how much time each of us gets Ethan.”

“Fine. I’ll call my attorney now, too,” she said, growing frightened and uncertain. “You’re a ruthless man, Jared. I learned that too late.”

“In this situation, you’re forcing me to be.”

“Go ahead and contact your attorney or your whole law staff. You’ll have to take me to court to get your son.”

“You check that out,” he repeated, and strode out, not waiting. He slammed the door behind him. She stepped to the front window to watch him, his long legs covering the distance to his car quickly. He climbed into his car and sat a moment without driving away. She could see he was on his cell phone and she turned to look up the phone number of Rolf Gustavsson, her family attorney, whom she had been seeing often lately because of her father’s demise.

Relieved to hear his pleasant hello, she related her problem. He said he would do some research and get back to her. Ethan’s tire swing moved back and forth under a black walnut tree. It caught her eye and she ended the call.

She rubbed her temple. She knew Jared had rights. Rolf might be a nice man who had always been helpful to her family in dealing with their legal matters, but Jared had access to the world’s best legal talent.

A marriage of convenience? That was impossible. Not one of his suggestions was workable. She put her head in her hands, hating that Jared had discovered Ethan.

As much as she loathed the thought of letting him have the ranch, that was better than losing Ethan to him. No way could she think of Ethan as their son. She had always thought of Ethan as her son only.

Now she regretted not selling the ranch to him quickly and putting as much distance as possible between them. If only—but it was too late now. The damage was done and she was going to have to live with it. She had made too many wrong decisions in her life. Was she making another one concerning Ethan?

Her head throbbed. Any joint custody she’d ever have to agree to would be ghastly to her. The fact that Jared had walked out on her had to count as a strong factor.

Halfway through the night, she decided she would offer to sell the ranch to Jared if he would forget about Ethan. It was her only hope and she hated the thought, but that would be infinitely better than having to share Ethan with him.

The rest of her sleepless night was filled with apprehension. At dawn she showered and dressed, but even sitting with a cup of coffee did nothing to shake her mood. It was too early.

When she received a call from Jared, vitality seemed to ooze from the phone.

“Good morning,” he said. “I thought you’d be awake. I’d like to talk to you in person.”

“Come over. I’ve been up for a couple of hours,” she answered, hoping she sounded as upbeat as he did. She wondered what he had on his mind.

“I’ll be there soon,” he replied.

All too soon she heard Jared’s car pull up. She went to the porch as he climbed out. Dressed in a long-sleeve, charcoal Western shirt, jeans and boots, he hurried toward the porch. Wind tangled locks of his black hair above his forehead and he looked refreshed, filled with energy, and eager—all dire implications. She smiled despite the inner turmoil that kept her stomach churning.

“Good morning,” he said solemnly, studying her.

“Come inside to talk, Jared.” She turned to lead the way. He closed the front door and caught up to walk with her to the family room. “Have a seat.”

He nodded and they sat facing each other. The blanket of silence did nothing to soothe her raw nerves. She could tell little from his expression.

“I’ve heard from my attorney. Have you heard from yours?”

She shook her head. “Not yet, but mine doesn’t have the resources or staff yours do, so I’m not surprised. Jared, if you’ll drop all this, I’ll sell the ranch to you and you can forget the bonus one million,” she said and held her breath.

He shook his head. “That wouldn’t begin to take the place of getting to know my son.”

Disappointment swept her and she locked her fingers together, knowing he had bad news that she didn’t want to hear.

She put her hands on her face as she tried to keep from making a sound, but she couldn’t prevent tears.

“Megan, don’t,” Jared said gently, his arms going around her. He pulled her close against him while she sobbed, letting go. “Stop crying. Plan with me and let’s get an arrangement we can both live with,” he said in the same gentle tone.

She knew, without waiting to hear from her lawyer, that she was going to have to do what Jared wanted.

Unable now to control her emotions after the worry of the past twenty-four hours and a sleepless night of anxiety, she sobbed and his arm around her waist tightened. He tilted her chin up and pulled out a clean handkerchief to wipe her eyes. “Stop crying,” he ordered in the same quiet, gentle tone. He brushed her tears away.

He tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. “Look, you’re off work anyway, and so am I. Ethan is with your relatives. Come fly with me to the Yucatán coast. I have a home there and we’ll get away from interruptions for a couple of days. We’re going to have to establish some kind of truce.”

While she couldn’t imagine spending a couple of days with him, she had to work something out or he would do as he warned. She knew Jared well enough to know that any threat he made he would carry out, if he had to.

On the other hand, they weren’t going to court. He wasn’t taking Ethan away. Or so he said. “I guess I don’t have any other choice,” she said.

“That’s better. I can have a plane ready in an hour. How long will it take you to wind things up here to leave for two or three days?”

“I’ve never been away from Ethan, except when he’s here with my relatives and I’m in Santa Fe.”

“He’s with them now and he’ll be fine.”

She nodded, becoming aware of standing in his arms. His look was heated, and under his deep focus she realized his concern was no longer about Ethan. Jared’s torrid gaze made her heart drum.

She pushed against his chest and distanced herself. “All right, Jared,” she said. “I can probably leave in an hour.”

“I’ll come pick you up. Do you have a pen? I’ll give you a phone number at my house where they can reach you.”

“I’ll have my cell phone.”

“Give me a pen. Your cell phone might fail. This way you’ll have two possibilities for contact.” She handed him a pen and watched him, looking at the familiar handwriting that she still could remember. When he handed a business card back to her, it had two numbers, his house and a cell phone. “Is your plane at the airport?”

“No, at the ranch,” he answered.

“Then I’ll drive to your place. It’ll be more convenient.”

He crossed the room to her, to slip his arms around her waist. “Stop worrying, Megan. We’ll work something out and I’ll do my damnedest to win his love and to get to know him. I want what’s best for Ethan, too.”

If he really wanted what was best for Ethan, he would stay out of Ethan’s life. But she knew she had to stop fighting Jared, because it was hopeless. The law was on his side. “I’ll work on it,” she whispered.

“No, you stop worrying,” he ordered, but his voice was gentle and quiet. “I promise, I’ll try if you will to find a viable solution.”

Unable to speak, afraid she would start crying again, she nodded. “I had better get ready.”

“Okay, but I wish you could smile.” He knelt slightly to be on eye level, smiling at her, and teased a halfhearted smile from her. “That’s better. I’m going to try to get a real smile out of you while we’re together.”

She didn’t want to go away with him. She wanted to tell him that she still thought he was ruthless and arrogant and had to have his way, but it was useless. She followed him outside, and the minute they parted she rushed back into the house to call Rolf.

“Rolf, thanks so much. I’ll deal with Jared. He is willing to work something out.”

She finally got off the phone to put her head into her hands and cry. She didn’t want any of this.

In minutes, she called her aunt to tell her what had happened and that she was going with Jared for a few days. She choked back the tears when she talked to Ethan, but he never noticed. He’d gotten a new electronic game and when she told him she was going away, he accepted it with barely a pause in his chatter about the game.

Knowing he was in good hands, she said good-bye and hurried to change and pack.

She dressed in brown slacks, a matching sleeveless top and wore high-heeled sandals. Brushing her hair, she clipped it high on the back of her head.

She was going away with Jared to one of his secluded homes. She could well imagine what he had in mind. Along with arranging custody plans was a plan for seduction.

She didn’t want to return after several days with him, not only losing rights to her son, but in love with Jared—twice in her life.

And Jared might be the sexiest, most charming man she’d ever known.

She would have to keep up her guard. So far, she had failed miserably in all dealings with him.

By a quarter past eleven, she was airborne, flying over Jared’s ranch and headed south. To avoid conversation with him, she gazed out the window, looking at his ranch spread below. She turned back to find him watching her. Dressed in chinos, a charcoal knit shirt and loafers, he looked commanding, as if satisfied with all facets of his world. And why wouldn’t he, she thought. He’d won the first part of their fight.

“This is a hopeful start, Megan,” he said, leaning close to touch a wispy lock of hair that had come free from her tie.

“You’re an incredible optimist,” she said.

“If we work something out, then there’s no problem.”

“I know you already have something in mind,” she said stiffly.

He shrugged. “Not necessarily. Let’s let it go for today and get back on better footing with each other,” he suggested.

“If we can,” she said, looking out the window while fighting the urge to scream that she hadn’t planned on a better relationship with him, but she knew she had to now. Getting concessions from him on the custody front could be impossible otherwise.

“Of course, we can,” he said, taking her hand. “I’ve got three days with a beautiful woman, who I intend to get to know.”

“You know me well enough,” she said, gazing into his dark eyes that hid his intentions and thoughts.

“No, I don’t. I knew an eighteen-year-old. You’ve changed. You’re far more poised, more self-assured and much more unattainable.”

“I suppose that comes with growing up, although, when I met you, you had all the confidence imaginable.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “Does that mean arrogance? That’s what it sounds like.”

She had to smile in return. “Definitely. But I’d like to stay on your good side as much as possible on this trip, so I’m trying to be polite.”

“Don’t be polite with me. But staying on my good side—that’s fine. What are your plans for the future, Megan? Do you intend to always keep your gallery in Santa Fe, even if you divide your days between there and the ranch?”

“Yes. Santa Fe is home and perfect for us,” she said, aware her hand was still in his, as he ran his thumb back and forth over her wrist. His touches added fuel to the lust she battled.

“I love Santa Fe,” she continued, “and I never want to move from there. I always hoped Ethan would grow up and stay nearby, but that isn’t realistic, I know. Now that he’ll have time with you, heaven knows what he’ll do when he’s grown.”

“That’s far away,” Jared said. “Do you like to swim?”

“Actually, I love to. I guess because there was little chance to when I was growing up, and then there aren’t many opportunities in Santa Fe. I don’t have a suit, though. There’s no need to keep one at the ranch.”

“We’ll stop and I’ll get you one.”

“I’ll buy my suit,” she said, laughing.

He smiled. “That’s better,” he said, touching the corner of her mouth and running his finger lightly along her lower lip, building a warmth in her. “I promise to get a real laugh out of you before the night is over.”

“Stick to why we’re here, Jared,” she said quietly. “This is an interlude to work out a plan for our future concerning Ethan. It’s not to get reacquainted all over again. Not at all.”

“What’s wrong with renewing a friendship?” he asked.

“It was more than a friendship, and I don’t want a broken heart twice,” she said, hoping she never hurt again as badly as she had the year he left.

“I promise, I don’t intend to hurt you,” he said.

“Then keep these few days relatively impersonal. I’m working at this, Jared. Don’t make it complicated and more difficult,” she instructed briskly.

“I wouldn’t think of it,” he said, once again leaning back in his chair. “So, tell me about a typical day in your life. What do you and Ethan do?”

“Through the school year, Ethan is in a private school and I spend most of the day in my studio. I have someone who runs the gallery for me, except on Wednesdays and Fridays, when I run it myself. I have three salespeople who work in the gallery for me at different hours, not all at the same time, but there are always two of us present. It’s easier that way.”

“I haven’t been to Santa Fe in years. Not since you moved there. What’s the name of your gallery?” he asked, locking his fingers behind his head and stretching out his long legs. Looking totally relaxed, he reminded her of a leopard or tiger, some large cat lazing and half asleep, yet able to pounce in a flash. Except Jared would never physically pounce. His methods were emotional and mental. “Wait, let me guess,” he said. “Sorenson Gallery.”

“Am I that unimaginative?” she asked, smiling at him. He smiled in return. “I toyed with some less ordinary names, but when I opened it, it was all new and exciting, and I was trying to get established and make a name for myself, so it became Sorenson Gallery. That was about the same year you opened your first restaurant in Dallas—Dalton’s, I believe.”

“I used my name for the same reason you did,” he said quietly. “You kept up, did you?”

She shrugged. “My aunt and uncle knew people who knew your family, so word got around. In some ways we’re in a small world.”

“One that got far more interesting when you came back into my life,” he added.

“Jared, is it possible for you to avoid flirting?”

“Not with you,” he replied with an enticing smile. He leaned forward. “You look elegant, but there’s one flaw.”

“Oh, what’s that?” she asked, trying not to care, yet aware how close he was again.

“You would look much better,” he said and reached up to remove the clip holding her hair, “without this.” Her thick curtain of black hair tumbled on her shoulders and back. “There, that’s perfect,” he said.

She smiled and shook her head to get her hair away from her face. “You may like it better, but it’s not as convenient.”

“I definitely like it better. Sacrifice convenience to please me. I’ll appreciate it.”

“How’s the weather where we’re headed?”

“It’s beautiful. Perfect, too.”

“Enough of that!” she retorted, his compliment pleasing her.

She settled back and listened, chatting with him, laughing at some of his stories. The day passed surprisingly fast, and she realized she was enjoying his company, even though each minute with him brought back memories of being together. Too often, she dreaded when they got to the point of this trip.

“We must be getting close.” The deep blue of the Gulf caught her eye. “Are you in town?”

“No. I have a villa on the coast. We’ll have total privacy.”

“I don’t think we’ll require total privacy, but it’ll be nice.”

It was a long trip, but eventually they landed and deplaned, and Jared escorted her to a limo where his chauffeur and bodyguard stood waiting.

Within minutes, Jared and Megan were driven into town to a small, exclusive shop to look for a swimsuit. While Jared stood near the front window and talked on his cell phone, she was shown a variety of suits. Selecting a half dozen, she tried them on without showing them to Jared. She made her selection and dressed again, emerging from the dressing room.

“I didn’t get to see you model the suits,” Jared said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“You’ll see me soon enough when you swim with me.”

“I’m counting the minutes,” he said, and she smiled.

“Always flirting, Jared. If we aren’t fighting,” she amended.

“I hope to be done with the latter,” he said, and there was a solemn note in his voice that made her feel he was sincere in wanting to work something out in cooperation. She remembered he was a master at convincing people to do what he wanted, and wondered if his words were shallow or really held meaning.

For a moment she gazed into his brown eyes and had a pang of longing for what could have been between them. Shaking off the wishful thinking, she started to open her purse.

Stopping her, Jared took the suit from her hand. “I’ll get this,” he said in a tone that ended her argument.

As she watched, Jared purchased two more identical ones.

She laughed. “Jared, I’m not in a swim contest. I only need one suit.”

“You never know. Always be prepared. Why not?”

“Because it’s a waste of your money,” she said, wondering about his extravagant lifestyle, and how much Ethan’s life was about to change. And perhaps her own.

“Then let me worry about it,” he said, smiling at her. She stopped protesting.

They drove out of town and thick trees and bushes crowded the narrow highway until they turned into iron gates and Jared waved at a man who returned the greeting.

“How often are you here?” Megan asked.

“A few weeks out of the year. He’s a gatekeeper, and I let him know we were coming. The staff is here now.”

Curious about Jared’s life, she wondered if he was showing her this home to prove that he could do more for Ethan than she could. Yet it didn’t feel like a jab. His pride in his home shone through. They drove through more thick vegetation and then through another set of gates that swung open at the limo’s approach. A high plaster wall glowed pale yellow, with patterns of shade from tall trees close by. Past the gates, the surroundings transformed into a garden paradise. Palms, other tropical trees and plants dotted the emerald grass.

Beautifully landscaped lawns led to a sprawling white villa with the brilliant blue water of the ocean as a backdrop. Blue trumpet-shaped blossoms of tall jacaranda trees were bright in the sunlight.

“Jared, it’s fantastic!” she said, awed. She was certain now that he wanted to impress her with how much more he could do for Ethan than she.

“I enjoy it. I hope you do, too. How about a swim first thing?”

“That sounds wonderful.” She conceded. “A swim after the long flight is exactly what I need.” In the flash of pleasure she released her hold on their problems momentarily.

“Swim it is,” he said. “Unpack later, or I can have Lupita do it for you.”

“I’ll unpack myself, thank you,” she replied in amusement. “I really can’t wait.”

“I can’t wait, either,” he said in a husky voice that registered with her, and she glanced at him.

“You don’t swim often?” she said, as if deliberately missing his meaning.

“I want to see you in your suit.”

“Oh, stop!” She turned back to look at the house and its porch, with pots of lavender orchids. Yellow and scarlet bougainvillea ran up the walls and onto the roof. “Jared, this is magical.” Feeling a pang when she thought about Jared bringing Ethan to see it.

“I’m glad you think so.”

As soon as they parked, a uniformed man emerged from the house. Jared introduced her to Adan, who took their bags. Inside, she met Lupita, who smiled broadly and listened to brief instructions from Jared.

As Megan walked through the front door, her breath caught. The entry was wide and open with columns. Extended beyond the entrance was a large living area she could see through open, floor-to-ceiling glass doors and bamboo furniture.

Beyond the room, through the open doors, was a veranda that extended to a sparkling, aqua pool with a fountain and waterfall. The deck over continued to a glistening white beach and on to the ocean.

“Jared, this is incredible.”

“I told you, I think so, too,” he said, walking up to her. “Get your suit and I’ll meet you outside.”

She looked up to meet his gaze, and the air between them crackled from the attraction. Her nerves were raw, her desire hot. Drawing a deep breath, she stepped away. “Where’s my room?”

He escorted her along a hallway and his fingers rested lightly on her arm.

He led her into another room that opened onto the veranda and had a view of the ocean. He paused. “How’s this?”

She looked at the rattan furniture, with its yellow-and-white-chintz cushions, and at a ceiling fan turning lazily overhead. “This is beautiful, Jared. It looks like a house staged for a movie.”

“Nope, it’s ready for living. I’ll meet you at the pool.” He traced his knuckles along her cheek. “This is good, Meg. We don’t have to be at odds with each other. I know we can find common ground and be friends.”

“That’s what you want,” she reminded him, her pulse racing from his touch. With a twist of longing, she wished she could drop her guard, trust him again and be friends.

He flashed her a smile and left, stepping outside through the open doors.

She looked at a king-size bed with a white spread, and then she explored a spacious bathroom with a sunken tub, potted palms and a wall of mirrors. She returned to the bedroom to open her sacks of purchases she’d made in town.

After she changed, she studied herself in the mirror with a critical eye. She’d known she would swim with Jared and she didn’t want anything skimpy. Without encouragement of any kind from her, he came on strong. He’d spent the day flirting, yet no matter how casual his touches, each contact sizzled.

She had bought a navy one-piece that covered her as much as possible and still looked nice, because she wouldn’t be wearing it with Jared after this week. Also, she’d bought a navy cover-up and flip-flops. When she was dressed, she went out through the open doors, stepping onto the veranda and heading toward the pool.

Watching Jared swim to one end of the pool, she kicked off her flip-flops and shed her cover-up. He paused to shake water off his face and rake his hair back with his fingers. As always when damp, his hair curled and short locks sprang back, curling on his forehead. As soon as he saw her, he swam across the pool, causing a big splash of water when he lifted himself out on the side of the pool.

Water glistened on his shoulders and chest and body. The thick mat of black curls on his chest was covered with drops of water. At the sight of his lean, muscled body, even more fit than when she’d known him in his twenties, her temperature climbed. His swimsuit was a narrow strip of black that covered little. Too well she remembered exactly how he had looked aroused and nude. She realized how she was looking at him and glanced up to see his gaze roaming slowly over her. And she knew she’d made another colossal miscalculation by traveling here with him.

Six

As he walked to her, her heart pounded.

“Jared,” she whispered. There was some dim protest echoing in her thoughts, but she paid no heed.

He walked up to take her into his arms and draw her to him. The scanty clothing they wore was nothing. She was pressed against his muscled body, his warm, wet chest, his strong thighs. Every inch she touched was hard and firm. When his gaze lowered to her mouth, her lips parted.

“Jared,” she repeated softly.

He leaned down and she raised her mouth to his, his lips covering hers and then his tongue slipped into her mouth as he kissed her. Her insides clenched while insistent need swept her, pooling low. She wound her arms around his neck and clung to him, kissing him hungrily, beyond caring about the danger to her feelings. He was temptation and excitement and sizzling sex.

As they kissed, she ran her fingers through his thick hair and along the strong column of his neck, savoring, exploring every inch of him.

His arm tightened around her, pressing her intimately to his firmness and her heart pounded.

Holding her, he caressed her nape before sliding his hand down to push away her suit and cup her breast. He rubbed his palm lightly in circles over her nipple.

Moaning with pleasure, she arched against him, tingling and wanting more. Running her hand along his smooth, bare back, she pressed her hips against him.

“Ah, Meg, so fine,” he whispered. Lowering the top of her suit fully, he held both breasts in his hands. His thumbs circled each taut peak and his hot gaze was as scalding as his touch. While she slid one hand to his waist, her other hand gripped his broad shoulder.

Desire was explosive. She knew what they could do to each other, and she wanted to rediscover him. When her hand skimmed along his thigh, drifting up over his hip and down his flat belly, she heard his intake of breath.

Stirring a shower of tingles, his hand played lightly on her stomach and between her legs, his fingers inching beneath the suit to touch her intimately.

“Jared! Yes!” she cried, thrusting against his touch, clinging to his upper arms as his fingers created a tantalizing friction.

She was lost, spiraling into a vortex of hunger and memory. She couldn’t stop. All her being cried out for him. Searing need burned like wildfire. He traced circles around her nipple with his tongue, as dazzling sensations showered her.

“Jared!” she cried, unaware she’d spoken.

Gasping for breath, she pushed away his suit, freeing him. Bending to take him into her mouth, her tongue circled the velvet tip of his manhood.

His fingers wound in her hair and he groaned. She hoped to make him as desperate for her as she was for him.

Stroking him with her tongue, she caressed his inner thighs, running her hands between his legs. He groaned again and then his hands went beneath her arms and he lifted her to her feet and plunged his gaze into hers, his broad chest expanding with his breath.

He scooped her into his arms and carried her to a chaise lounge to place her on it and sit beside her, tracing feathery kisses along her collarbone to her breasts, sucking and biting each nipple lightly, an exquisite torment for her.

“Oh! I want you. Heaven help me, how I want you!” she blurted.

His hand was between her legs, caressing her, rubbing her and starting to build tension all over again. Then he moved between her legs to place them over his shoulders and give himself access to her, his tongue retracing his fingers’ path.

She squeezed her eyes closed tightly, as she was bombarded by sensations. She was open for him, eager, intensity building with each stroke of his tongue.

“Love me,” she cried as he lowered her legs to the chaise.

“I’ll get protection,” he said, picking her up. He carried her with him through open doors and laid her gently on the bed.

She watched as he retrieved a condom from the bedside table. Caressing her inner thighs, he moved between her legs. Wanting him with increasing urgency, she stroked his strong legs.

While he opened the packet and put on the condom, she drank in the sight of him, storing the moment in memory, relishing looking at him and touching him. Virile, muscled, and bronze except for a pale strip across his groin, he was masculine perfection. Thick black curls spread on his chest, tapering in a narrow line to his waist. Short crisp hair curled on his thighs. Locks of black hair fell over his forehead. His body was marvelous.

As she looked up into his dark eyes, magnetism sparked between them from a mutual feeling of attraction and something deeper, a tenuous bond held for the moment, created by sheer physical longing.

In a silent welcoming, she held out her arms. While he kissed her, she wrapped her arms around him.

Jared was in her arms again, consuming her. Time didn’t exist. How she had hungered for this moment!

Driven, she pulled him toward her. When he entered her, she arched her hips to meet him. Making love with him enveloped her and smoothed over problems. She wrapped her long legs around him and ran her hands over his smooth back, and then his firm buttocks.

For this brief moment, their union seemed right, incredibly necessary for her. She held him tightly, running her hands over him again, relishing the feel of his body and that he was in her arms.

Moving her hips against him, she groaned with pleasure. He filled her slowly, withdrawing and then entering her again, in a sweet torment that heightened her need to a raging inferno.

His powerful body was spectacular. She clung to him, mindlessly raking his back with her fingers, moving faster beneath him.

“Jared!” she cried his name, unaware of anything except his loving. She moved frantically.

His control vanished and he moved rapidly, pumping deeply into her. They were locked together—rocking, intimate and close, and she sobbed because she wanted him with all her being.

“Meg, darlin’.” He ground out the words in a husky voice. His endearment made her heart leap, and she knew she was vulnerable in too many ways. His words were as seductive to her as his lovemaking. Physically and emotionally, she wanted him.

She climaxed in a shattering release. Lights exploded behind her closed eyelids while her heart pounded violently. Ecstasy enveloped her as spasms rocked her. He pumped faster, and then groaned, reaching his own finish, still pleasuring her.

He inhaled deeply and slowed and she could feel tension winding up once again. She tightened her arms and legs around him again.

“Jared,” she cried softly, “don’t stop loving me,” she whispered as he thrust slower, and as it commenced another building, sweet torment. Impaled on his thick rod, she moved her hips faster. And then another climax rocked her with rapture.

She hugged him, feeling the sheen of sweat on his back. They held each other tightly, returning to earth from a distant paradise.

Reality was a wolf at the door, and she didn’t want to face tomorrow’s problems.

He turned on his side, untangling his long legs from hers. She pressed tightly against him, her face against his throat with her head on his shoulder. Deliberately, she kept her mind blank, relishing the euphoria and lethargy after lovemaking.

He shifted, then tilted up her chin so he could look into her eyes. “Loving you is fantastic, Meg.”

“Shh.” She put her finger over his lips. “Don’t talk. Don’t do anything for a few minutes,” she urged. She agreed privately, but she wasn’t going to confess what she’d experienced.

He was quiet, gazing at her solemnly while she traced his jaw with her fingers, letting her hand caress his chest lightly. He sucked in a deep breath and gently combed her hair away from her face while he showered light kisses on her.

“You’re fabulous,” he said in a husky voice, shifting away again to brush his fingers across her bare breasts.

She caught his hand in hers, trailing kisses over his knuckles, still refusing to think about anything except the present moment.

Rolling onto his back, he drew her close in his embrace, remaining quiet, as she had asked. She tangled her fingers in his chest hair and then let her hand slide over him to his waist. His body was in peak condition, a marvel to her.

As she shifted, starting to sit up, his strong arms held her. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“To shower,” she said.

He sat up. “I’ll shower, too,” he said and she shook her head.

“Jared, we’ve—”

His arm circled her waist and his mouth covered hers, taking her words. He kissed her deeply, lowering her to the bed. Once again, she knew now was the moment to stop him, but she was already responding to him as if they hadn’t just made love.

When he raised his head, she opened her eyes to find him watching her. Standing to pick her up, he was hard again, ready for love. While he gazed into her eyes, he carried her into the shower and turned on warm water.

As he lowered her feet to the floor, he leaned forward to kiss her. Desiring him more than ever, she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into him. Their bodies were wet, warm, pressed against each other while her heart raced. Desire rekindled, quickly reaching a raging fire.

Jared’s arousal was hot against her belly. She moaned softly. It had been so long since she had been loved by him, and he was the only one, something she never intended for him to know. Worse, she couldn’t get enough, now that she had let go.

He picked her up, stepped back to brace himself against the glass wall of the shower and then lowered her onto himself.

She cried out with pleasure, throwing her head back, running one hand over his shoulder as she moved with him and he thrust fast, taking her quickly.

She squeezed her eyes closed, gasping for breath, holding his shoulders tightly now while he kissed her.

“Love, this is good,” he whispered, but she heard him as she had before.

“Love me,” she whispered, wanting him.

In ecstasy once more, she climaxed as he climaxed. She draped herself on his shoulders, kissing his neck and caressing him, running her hands lightly on his shoulders and back.

He would break her heart again. She knew that clearly. She couldn’t refuse to face the truth. Fighting all the tender feelings toward him that surged in her, she turned away.

“Meg, darlin’, this is fine. So fine,” he said in his deep voice. “You’re magic, pure seduction, beautiful.”

His words were golden, taking her heart as he had once before. She raised her head to meet his gaze. “Put me down, Jared.”

He set her on her feet and pulled her against him to kiss her until she responded fully. “You don’t know what you do to me,” he said.

She would lose any battle with him, she realized. Why had she ever thought she could successfully contend with him and win? She was consumed by his lovemaking—boneless and unable to think straight.

He showered light kisses on her shoulder, drawing his tongue over the curves of her ear. Still kissing her and holding his arm around her waist while he caressed her, he walked her backward beneath the spray of water. He smiled. “This is perfect.”

His smile softened his features, lending a warmth to his expression that had been missing too much since he’d come back into her life.

She smiled in return, a part of her responding, a part of her knowing she was flying into disaster at the speed of light.

“You’re a charming devil,” she said, shaking her head.

“And you’re a seductress. Pure temptation.” He took one step back and his hands rested on her waist while his gaze slowly traveled over her.

She couldn’t keep from studying him as thoroughly and intently as he was her. His body was magnificent, radiating vitality and energy.

“I know something better,” he said, switching off the water. He opened the door to grab thick, soft terry-cloth towels off a shelf. He handed her a blue towel and began to dry her with his towel. In turn, she dried him, running the towel over his broad shoulders, his muscled chest.

His strokes were light, a slow, sensual friction rubbing her nipples. Then he dried her belly and the insides of her thighs, then he ran the towel between her legs lightly.

She gasped, pausing in her task, grasping his arms. “Jared!” she whispered.

“I’m only drying you,” he said, continuing. “Come here.” He picked her up and carried her easily out of the shower and set her on her feet in front of the mirrored wall. He gazed over her head. “We look right together. You’re more beautiful than ever,” he whispered, standing close behind her and letting his hands play over her stomach and breasts. As he watched her in the mirror, he cupped her breasts and began to tease her nipples. Longing flared, and she wanted him again.

She started to kiss him, but he held her. “Wait,” he whispered. “Look at us. Look what I can do to you,” he added, cupping her breasts as he ran his thumbs in circles over her nipples.

“You can do too much to me,” she whispered. His hands were tan against her pale skin. His caresses were torment and she wanted him inside her again. She spread her legs, her heart pounding, while she tugged at his arm and hand, but he wouldn’t stop what he was doing.

He continued to caress her breast with one hand while his other drifted between her legs to touch her intimately. While she moved her hips, she reached behind her to touch him in any manner she could, knowing she was violating all her promises to herself.

“Jared, you have to …” she began, but he leaned closer, kissing her shoulder and ear, and her words ceased.

His hand between her thighs was torment. She spread her legs wider, giving him access to her as she moved her hips and as tension wound as tight as a spring.

“Wait!” she said, clutching his arms. “We can’t do this!”

“We’re doing it,” he whispered into her ear. “You’re setting me on fire, Meg,” he added in another harsh whisper.

She wanted him inside her now more than ever.

He kissed her, then picked her up and carried her to bed to love her slowly, tantalizing her until her climax was more dazzling than before.

Afterward, as they were locked in each other’s embrace, she was quiet until she started to ease away.

He held her tightly with one arm. “Where are you going?”

“To my room, Jared.”

“Stay here awhile,” he said. “I want to hold you close. I need you here, Meg,” he said.

She did as he asked and lay quietly while he turned on his side to look at her and brush her hair away from her face. “I want to look at you,” he whispered.

Unable to answer him, she ran her hand lightly across his chest. Regrets grew, threatening to overwhelm her. Finally she sat up and pulled a sheet up over her. “Jared, I’ve been too vulnerable.”

He lay on his back to study her. “Don’t regret what happened. It was fantastic, and no harm to either of us.”

She shook her head, looking away so she wouldn’t have to gaze into his dark brown eyes that seemed to see right into her thoughts. “Don’t say anything, Jared. It’s over. I haven’t been with a man in a long, long time. You’re incredibly seductive and I have a weakness where you’re concerned, which you know. Once we started, I wanted it as much as you did. I’m not blaming you for our lovemaking, but it’s done. Really ended. We’re going to have to work something out about Ethan, but we’re not going to become bed partners or marry for the convenience of it.”

“Why not? We’re good in bed, and you said it yourself—we enjoy each other. An understatement when it comes to the sex. It’s the best.”

She was struggling to get distance back between them, knowing too well how easily he could overcome her opposition. But she intended to declare her feelings and let him know what she wanted the most. And it wasn’t his lovemaking.

“I told you, I succumbed today, when I really didn’t intend for that to happen between us. It complicates life.”

“It simplifies it immeasurably, and it adds a spectacular dimension to living.”

She turned to look into his eyes. “Don’t you get it? You broke my heart—and I won’t go through that again. We made love today because I’ve never had another man in my life, only you!” She flung the words at him angrily and saw his eyes widen in surprise.

“There was never anyone who could measure up. Even when I planned to sleep with someone—I couldn’t go through with it. You know Mike and I never consummated our marriage, but there wasn’t anyone else, either. That’s why I was so damned vulnerable to your kisses today. It won’t happen again, so don’t plan on it. We’re here to work out something about Ethan. Nothing else, in spite of what’s happened today.”

Breathing erratically, she stood and yanked the sheet off the bed, wrapping it around her.

He got off the bed, but she shook her head and backed away. “Don’t touch me,” she said, and he stopped, frowning as he watched her.

“Megan, when I left, I hurt and I hated it.”

“Oh, you hurt, too?” she said, shaking her head. “Cry me a river. Let’s not dredge up even more anguish. I’ll shower and then I’m going for a swim.”

As she hurried out of the room, tears stung her eyes and she didn’t know whether she was crying out of frustration or anger.

Hopefully, now she no longer would, and she could deal with him on a more rational basis. She knew, in spite of her admonitions, he would continue to caress and flirt, because that was as natural to him as breathing. If only she could get this trip over with and something tolerable worked out!

As she went outside to retrieve her cover-up and her suit, she wondered where his staff was, but at the moment she barely cared. She’d never see them again after these few days.

She hurried to shower and in minutes jumped into the pool to swim laps, hoping to work off her emotional turmoil and restore her normal perspective.

Seven

“Let me help you out. We can swim in the ocean. It’s warm and buoyant, and if you see fish, they’re tropical and beautiful.” Lost in the rhythm of her laps, she’d missed Jared’s approach.

She gave him her hand and he pulled her up easily onto the side of the pool. He placed his hands on her waist. “Let me really look at this suit. It’s great, but it covers a lot.”

“Jared, we’re getting far away from working out our problems. They’re still present.”

“Lighten up, Megan,” he said easily. “It won’t hurt to drop them for tonight and get back on friendlier footing.”

“I can’s shut off my worries the way you can,” she replied swiftly, thinking about Ethan and the prospect of having him cut out of a big chunk of her life. “Kisses and moonlight swims don’t gain us anything.”

“Yes, they do,” he argued solemnly, stepping closer. “If we can get some kind of friendship and cooperation, it’ll help. We’re in this together, to some degree, for a long time to come. Tonight, let go of your worries. Ethan’s safe and happy. You won’t help him by staying aloof and worrying. C’mon. Try to be friends.”

“That’s a strange thing to say after making love to me,” she said, yet she realized he had a point, and her worrying tonight wasn’t going to solve her problems. “It’s just hard to let go when I’m filled with concern.”

He caressed her cheek. “I’m sure it is,” he said gently, making her want to plead her case again, but she knew that was pointless.

“You win for now. I’ll try, but I can’t let go of my anxiety.”

“I’ll try to help. Come on. A good swim will remove a little stress,” he said, leading her toward the beach.

“There’s someone’s yacht anchored not far out,” she noticed, looking at the sun splashing over a dazzling white boat.

“It’s mine, and right now no one’s on it. It’s wired with alarms, so it doesn’t have to have someone there constantly. That’s two things money can buy—security and privacy.”

“Race you to the floating dock,” he said, while he tossed their towels onto the warm sand.

She ran with him and knew he was keeping pace with her, because he could easily outrun her. He released her hand when they were in knee-deep water and she continued to splash on, surprised how far the shallow water extended. When it deepened, Jared jumped in to swim.

She followed, knowing he would easily reach the dock first. When he did, he gave her a hand and pulled her up beside him and she raked her wet hair back from her face.

“The water is perfect and so beautiful.”

“What’s beautiful is you,” he said, turning to place his hand behind her head.

“Jared—”

“Shh, Meg. One kiss isn’t catastrophic,” he said, his gaze lowering to her mouth. Her pulse drummed as he leaned down to cover her mouth with his.

“Not to you,” she whispered, before his lips covered hers. Then he kissed her and she wound her arm around his neck and kissed him in return. Finally she pushed away.

“Stop—and remember what I told you.”

With a hungry look that was filled with desire, he released her and sat beside her. She wrinkled her nose at him.

“Besides, I don’t want you to interfere with my swim.”

She expected one of his light remarks. Instead, he gave her a somber look, and she couldn’t imagine what he was thinking.

“Jared, today has been unique, a temporary truce and lull, and I love your home and I love swimming. But all this is simply postponing the inevitable.”

“I know, but I thought it would be best if we got on better footing with each other.”

“We’ve done that, all right,” she quipped.

“It’s better than arguing,” he said quietly. “Also, it gives each of us more of a chance to think things through.”

She knew she would remember this day the rest of her life. She’d remember Jared sitting beside her, drops of water glistening on his bronze shoulders and body, the warm sun shining and cool water lapping around them, the beach and house in sight—a dream that was real.

“After dinner, we’ll give it another go.”

She nodded, knowing this was an illusion of peace and compatibility. In spite of the past few hours, their relationship was stormier than ever.

“Well, I came planning to swim, so I’ll swim,” she said, turning to look at the yellow buoys bobbing several hundred yards farther out. “It’s safe to the buoys?” she asked.

“That’s right.”

She jumped in and swam, and in seconds he swam beside her, eventually swimming back to shore. She walked out and spread a towel to sit cross-legged in the sand, and he did the same.

“That was fantastic. The water is perfect. I may have to think about some kind of place like this for myself. It would be good for Ethan because he’s not much of a swimmer, but he likes the water.”

Jared stood and extended his hand. “If you’re ready to go in, we’ll dress and I’ll tell Lupita to put on dinner.”

“Where is Lupita? I haven’t seen anyone since we first arrived.”

“The staff knows how to stay out of sight. She’ll get dinner on and then go for the night. They have homes in this compound, but beyond the security walls. There’s nothing inside the walls except my house, its outbuildings and us.”

At the veranda, he paused. “I’ll go find Lupita and meet you here in half an hour and we can have a drink before dinner.”

She nodded and headed for her room.

Finally clad in a black knit shirt and black slacks, Jared looked dark, handsome and dangerous. He was a threat to her future and he wasn’t going to go away and let her live her life the way she had before.

Jared crossed the veranda to take her hands while his gaze drifted lazily over her. “You look beautiful. Far more tempting than dinner.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Thank you, Jared.”

“What would you like to drink?”

“A piña colada, please, if that’s possible.”

“Quite possible,” Jared replied, moving around behind a bar to get bottles of light and dark rum that he poured into a blender, adding other ingredients and mixing them with crushed ice. He poured the drink into a hurricane glass and handed it to her, getting a cold beer for himself. Taking her chilled glass, she moved to a chair to sit and gaze at the ocean. The sun was a huge fiery ball, low on the horizon.

“Will you bring Ethan here?” she asked.

“I’ll take him everywhere,” Jared said. She felt the hurt again.

“I always thought about taking him places, but I thought I should wait until he’s older. I suppose I waited too long.”

“Nonsense. You can still go where you want with him,” Jared said. “You can come with us, if you want to,” he said.

She turned to him. “Jared, today was lust. It was sexual, meaningless, nothing more. It didn’t bind us together in any manner except physically. My feelings toward you haven’t changed. And your feelings are no kinder toward me than mine are toward you.”

He set his drink on a table. “That’s not so. I think there was more to this afternoon than you’ll admit or recognize because you’re still angry with me. We can both come here and bring Ethan with us and have a wonderful escape,” he said.

She shook her head. “No. That won’t work, Jared. Not really. Today was no indicator of the future.”

He looked annoyed, and then he seemed to visibly relax. “You’re cutting yourself out of some good moments,” Jared said.

“I’ll manage.”

“Dinner is served,” Lupita announced, her voice cutting through the tense moment.

“Thanks, Lupita,” Jared said, standing to take Megan’s arm to stroll to another section of the veranda where it curved around a wing of the house. Tall palms lined their patio, and potted palms and banana trees gave the appearance of being in a garden by the sea.

With candles burning despite the daylight, the glass-and-iron table set with colorful china and sparkling crystal was ready for a photo shoot. On the table was an appetizer of escargot, while steaming, covered dishes waited next to it. Jared held her chair, his hand drifting lightly to her nape and then he sat himself across from her, smiling at her.

“I don’t know how you ever leave this and go back to Texas.”

“It’s too quiet except for a few days at a time. I’m too active and like to work. I imagine you’d feel the same if you were here for weeks. The first visit, I stayed a month. I haven’t lasted that long since.”

She could well imagine that he always brought a woman with him. Just as he had with her. Trying to avoid the subject burning inside her, she chatted with him over dinner of jambalaya, fluffy golden asiago biscuits and melons, mango and kiwi with Gorgonzola cheese. Dessert was thin slices of cheesecake flown in from Miami. Pale slices were drizzled with chocolate and raspberry sauce. Dinner was delectable, their conversation innocuous, but his gaze clearly conveyed smoldering desire.

“Dinner is delicious. Are you trying to soften me up in all possible ways?”

“You’re soft and warm now, each luscious inch,” he said, smiling at her.

“I walked into that one. Thank you, Jared. Those compliments come so easily to you, you must not even think about what you’re saying.”

“Not so, Meg,” he said, caressing her hand. “Being together is good. I see great hope for the future.”

As the sun vanished and darkness enveloped them, lanterns and outdoor lighting automatically came on over the veranda and along the beach. The flickering light highlighted the planes of Jared’s face, his straight nose and prominent cheekbones.

“Let’s move where it’s comfortable,” he suggested, and she nodded.

While she chatted with Jared, Lupita and Adan cleared and said good night.

“It’s difficult to imagine that you require a bodyguard.”

“I think I should hire one for you, and I know Ethan is going to have to have one.” Jared leaned forward. “His life is going to change and you can’t stop it. There are things that go along with my wealth. Paparazzi, the possibility of kidnapping.”

She flinched and looked away, hating everything that was happening to her life and to Ethan’s. “If only I had sold the ranch to you. You would never have known about Ethan,” she said bitterly.

“It’s too late for that now.”

“Jared, try to understand. I’ve told you before and I’ll say it again—you have an extravagant lifestyle that doesn’t make you good daddy material.”

“I won’t be that way with Ethan. Give me some credit here,” he replied with a stubborn just of his chin.

“You do wild things like mountain climbing. I know you used to do bronc riding in rodeos,” she said, eliciting a brief smile from him.

“I haven’t ridden in years. I gave that up when I graduated from college. And I won’t take him mountain climbing.”

“I don’t want him jet-setting all over the world with you.”

“I’ll be reasonable about travel, too, but there are places I’ll want to take him, like where I’m taking you now.”

“Some places I can get used to,” she said, locking her fingers together. “Jared, I’ve been so close with Ethan. I guess I hover, and I may be overprotective, but I love him with all my heart. Except for my pottery, he’s my whole world. And he comes first. It just hurts to think I have to share him. As much as I hate to admit it, I feel I’m losing him.”

Jared nodded. “I understand, Megan. That’s why I’ve suggested things like the marriage of convenience. And remember, you willingly shared him with your aunt and uncle.”

“That’s part of the problem. I share him with them, and now I’ll have to divide my time with you. I’ll lose being with him a lot.”

“Yes, you will, but let’s try to find the most workable way—and I’m not averse to having you around when I’m with him.”

“It’s just incredibly difficult to give up my child,” she said.

“You won’t have to give him up if you’ll work with me. There are some things that come with the territory, though, and I know you want to keep him safe. How you’ve managed to hide his paternity from the world all these years, I’ll never know. Whose name is on the birth certificate? It can’t be that ex-husband of yours, because he never adopted Ethan.”

“It is Mike’s name. My dad paid to get that taken care of by some doctor in Chicago. It may be illegal, but I have a birth certificate claiming Mike as Ethan’s father.”

“Well, we’ll get that straightened out, but the minute word gets out about his tie to me—and you become part of my life again, even if we’re not on the best of terms—you both will be vulnerable. You might as well have a chauffeur—”

She laughed in this first truly humorous moment since Jared came back into her life. “A chauffeur! In Santa Fe!”

He grinned. “I finally got a laugh out of you, and that’s great, Meg. It’s good to hear you laugh again.”

“I’ll become the town oddity.”

“No, you won’t. There are more people chauffeured around Santa Fe than you think. Famous and wealthy people live there. You don’t pay attention to things like that.”

“He’ll want to tell his best friend.”

“Tell away. His friends will meet the guy. Give a thought to schools, too. I can afford whatever you want.”

“I’m not sending my six-year-old away to school. He’s in private school now, and I do schoolwork with him.”

“I can afford tutors, too, if you want them. Same with lessons. I’ll pay for all that. As for the bodyguard, you’ll be on the ranch part of the year, so you’re incredibly vulnerable there because of the isolation. I’ll get someone who’ll be discreet. You should also have a guard on the premises.”

“You’re being generous,” she said. Every suggestion tore at her. Even if it was best for Ethan, it would change his life.

“Now, what can we work out about his visitation?” Jared asked.

She glanced at him. “What about if you get him Saturdays and Sundays and we alternate holidays,” she finally suggested, hating the thought of losing Ethan on weekends. “Though I don’t know how he can play on the soccer team or basketball or baseball or anything else if he goes out of state with you,” she added.

“Of course I don’t want to destroy Ethan getting to play soccer or any other sport. But he’s surely not into all those yet.”

“No, but he will be soon. He played soccer and T-ball this year.”

“You can give me schedules and we’ll work it out so he can play. But Saturdays and Sundays and alternate holidays won’t be enough time. That’s not sharing him equally.”

His words were quiet but held that same note of steel. She looked away again, thinking about how she could divide Ethan’s time to Jared’s satisfaction. “I don’t know. You move your headquarters to Santa Fe,” she suggested. “Then we can work this out much more easily.”

“I can’t do that,” he answered patiently. “It isn’t the air hub that Dallas is, or the oil center. Dallas is far more accessible. If either of us is going to move, it would be less of a hassle for you to move. Fort Worth is filled with museums and Dallas and Fort Worth both have art galleries. You could work in either place and be close at hand.”

She laced her fingers together and thought about her peaceful life in Santa Fe that had been simple in so many ways, and about how Jared was going to demolish all of it.

“Move to Dallas, live in a big city with all the traffic and hassle.”

“There are quiet housing sections, both inner-city and suburban, old and new, with their own shopping areas and galleries. I can look into the best locations, Megan. I can buy the house you want or build it for you,” he offered.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, tempted to cry out that she didn’t want his money or support or interference.

“I don’t know, Jared,” she replied finally. “Leaving Santa Fe and all I’ve established and have there seems monumental. What about Ethan’s friends?”

“Megan, he’s six years old,” Jared reminded her gently. “He’ll adjust to anything you do.”

Agitated, she stood and walked away from him, gazing at the flaming torches on the beach that shed bright circles of light on the white sand. She could see the tiny whitecaps washing on the shore’s edge, the vast dark ocean beyond. Could she bear to move? If she didn’t, she would have to pack Ethan up and send him off a great distance, whenever Jared saw his son.

If only she had sold Jared the ranch—what a bad decision she’d made!

Jared turned her to him. “If you move to Texas, it’ll be much easier for us to share him. You know that. And there’s no way I can move my headquarters and all my people to Santa Fe. Be realistic.”

“Realistic! Give him up and tear my heart out is what you mean!”

“No, it’s not,” Jared replied firmly in a quiet, patient voice. “I keep telling you to share him with me. Megan, I want what’s good for him, too. You act as if you’re sending him to some terrible fate.”

“I know,” she admitted. “I know you want what’s good and you want to get to know him, but moving to Dallas is an idea I have to adjust to.”

“That’s the most workable solution. He could still participate in all the activities and you and I’d both be there to see him.”

“What happens to him if you marry someone?” Megan asked. “She’ll want to have her own children with you. She’ll never love him like a mother.”

“I’m not marrying anyone. That’s not remotely on the horizon. Unless it’s you.”

“No. I’m not marrying without love. You’d be getting Ethan and convenient sex and I’d get my emotions too tangled up in a relationship.”

“Look, just take life as it is now. Let’s not take on additional problems.

“Stop fighting me, Megan. I can see it in your expression.” His hands squeezed her shoulders lightly, kneading and massaging. “You’re as tense as a spring that’s wound tightly.”

“There’s no way this is something I can take lightly,” she insisted. “Would a month in the summer work and maybe a week in the winter?”

“Not at all. Equal division. That’s what I want,” he replied and she took a deep breath, her mind running over possibilities and rejecting them as quickly as she thought of them.

“Let me consider it, Jared,” she said, twisting away from him and walking farther out onto the veranda. She stared out at the ocean and the silvery moon reflected in it while she pondered.

Jared’s hands closed on her arms. “Megan, you’re making this so damned difficult,” he whispered, leaning near to trace kisses across her neck.

She turned to protest and looked up into his eyes. “No,” she whispered.

“You don’t mean it,” he answered and leaned forward to silence any further protests with a kiss.

They died the minute his mouth covered hers. In spite of her intentions, all she could think was she wanted to make love once more with him.

She wound her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe and kissed him fervently. With a groan, his arm tightened around her waist and he shifted to stroke her back, twisting free the few buttons.

“Meg, darlin’, you’ll never know how I want you,” he whispered, pausing to frame her face with his hands and look at her. “With all my being,” he whispered and kissed her again.

Faint tugs at her back made her realize he was unfastening her top. He peeled it away and leaned back to pull it free and drop it. He unclasped her bra, taking it off, and then he cupped her breast and rubbed his thumb lightly over her nipple.

Desire was a storm, as impossible to refuse. He was enticement, forbidden dreams, a danger to her peace. But he’d already destroyed that. Her hips rubbed against him in invitation. Her kiss caused his groan. There was no stopping or going back. She was as helpless as a leaf carried on a rushing current.

His fingers touched her waist, and in seconds her skirt fell around her ankles. She stepped out of it and her shoes as he leaned back to look at her, his leisurely gaze made her tingle. Eagerly, she tugged off his shirt and unfastened his belt and slacks to let them fall. As soon as he’d kicked them off along with shoes, she peeled away his briefs to free him. He knelt to pull a packet from his trousers and then he picked her up.

“Jared, this is a dream,” she whispered, more to herself than him.

“It’s a dream come true, Meg.”

Clinging to him, she kissed him as he walked a few yards to place her on a chaise lounge. He moved between her legs and paused to put on the condom. Then he lowered his weight and she wrapped her arms and legs around him as he entered her slowly, driving her wild.

“Jared, love …” His kiss smothered her words and he kissed her as he eased out and then entered her slowly again, teasing and building need, until she arched against him and was writhing with urgency.

Perspiration beaded his shoulders and his forehead as he continued, and finally his control vanished and he thrust hard and fast. She crashed with a climax and rocked with him as he reached his, rapture enveloping her in a golden glow.

Sex was fantastic, but the wrong thing to happen in her life. She lay in his arms as he turned on his side and kept her with him. She caressed him, stroking his back, kissing his shoulder lightly.

“Meg, I want you here with me,” he whispered between the light kisses he showered on her temple and cheek. “Give us a chance and see what develops.”

In a tropical setting, it was more difficult to cling to logic and remain cool and remote. She knew she couldn’t trust him with her heart a second time. She had to go home.

He shifted, holding her close with one arm while he caressed her shoulder and brushed her hair away from her face. “You’re beautiful. And this is the best.”

She caressed his shoulder, kissing him lightly, momentarily enveloped in euphoria and wanting to stay that way a little longer. She wondered whether she would remember this moment all her life. Both of them nude, wrapped in each other’s embrace on the sandy beach. A faint breeze came off the water and she could hear the splash of breakers as they rolled into shore. Lantern light flickered over Jared’s face, illuminating his prominent cheekbones, leaving his eyes in shadows.

“We should shower,” she said.

“How about a quick, moonlight dip? Pool or ocean?”

“Ocean,” she replied and he stood to take her hand. They ran into the water, and when it was over their knees, both fell into it to swim. After minutes, he caught her and stopped, standing in waist-deep water to pull her to him and kiss her again. Their bodies were wet and warm, tantalizing to her. Her heart thudded and she was certain she had to go home to put distance between herself and Jared and get out of this magical dreamland setting where problems lost all reality.

Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him. He picked her up and waded out to the beach to carry her back into a bedroom.

They made love in bed, and afterward he held her close while he caressed her and murmured endearments that she barely heard. Her mind raced over what to tell him and when, deciding to let it go this night, and to deal with it in the light of day, which would restore a semblance of normalcy.

She wrapped her arms around him to hold him and kiss him again.

They loved through the night and finally slept in each other’s arms, as sunlight began to tint the world with pink. In his arms, she thought about the future, deciding she would go home, mortgage the ranch and hire the best lawyers possible to fight Jared. That would throw it into the courts where the best lawyer usually won.

She woke to an empty bed and left to shower and dress in blue slacks and shirt.

As soon as she was dressed and ready, she sat by the open door to gaze at his tropical flowers and the ocean while she called the family accountant to get him to look into the best rates to mortgage the ranch. After a brief argument, he acquiesced and made plans, saying he would be prepared when she returned home.

Next, she called her South Dakota bank to check on the savings left to her by her father. Then she called the Santa Fe bank to check on savings there, then talked with her stock broker about what she could get from stocks and bonds.

She would have to find new lawyers, the best she could hire. Jared would know the most competent, but she couldn’t ask him. There was that billionaire client—he’d bought her pottery. He could probably give her sound advice. When she was back at the ranch and knew how much she would have available for a court fight, she’d get in touch.

She would have to go home and tell Ethan about his father. There was no avoiding that, so it might as well happen her way.

And she wanted Jared to have a day or two of full responsibility for Ethan, because as a confirmed bachelor, Jared might discover he didn’t want to be burdened with a child after all, and all her problems would be solved. She couldn’t imagine him enjoying being tied down to his son to the extent that he talked about.

Finally, she brushed her hair and put it in a thick braid. She found Jared in the kitchen with breakfast waiting.

He wore khakis, a white knit shirt and deck shoes, and he paused to look at her thoroughly. “Good morning. Come join me,” he said, strolling to her.

She put up her hand and shook her head. “Last night was magic, Jared, but it’s daylight, and reason rules now. I want to go home as soon as possible.”

“Why? I thought we were gaining ground. We’ve talked about some options, developed a relationship, eliminated some possibilities—what’s the rush?”

“I never intended seduction and lovemaking.”

“You can’t say it’s been bad,” he remarked.

“Of course not. But it isn’t what I want and it isn’t doing my future any good. And I told you, I can’t separate it from my emotions the way you can. I don’t want to fall in love again.”

“If falling in love occurs, I’d think it would be the best possible development. It would solve our problems.”

“I don’t trust you. At home we’re in a regular setting, with a normal routine. Logic is not swept away by tropical breezes and magical nights. I want to be back where I can weigh the options for the future. And so far, I haven’t found any I like, even if you have. This may have to get settled in court, Jared,” she said.

His features hardened and a glacial look came to his dark eyes. She didn’t care if he didn’t like her answer. She hadn’t liked any of his.

“Megan, don’t make me take you to court. That could get really ugly and cause a world of hurt for all three of us,” he said in a tone of voice that she suspected had made more than one grown man quail.

She shook her head. “You don’t frighten me. I’ll tell you what I want to do first. I want to go home and tell Ethan that you’re his father. Then I want you to come stay a couple of days at my ranch and begin to get to know him. After that, if it looks feasible, and I approve, I want you to take him home with you and see how you like having responsibility for him all on your own,” she said.

Jared’s expression changed instantly. He came around the table and placed his hands on her waist. “Megan, absolutely fantastic! Now that’s more like it. I can get to know him and Ethan can get to know me and you can see us together. That’s a terrific suggestion!”

“I thought you’d like it,” she said, wondering if he thought he would win her over to doing things his way completely.

“Thank you, Megan. That’s grand. It will give us time to bond. I’ll call to get the plane ready and we can be on our way in about two hours. How’s that?”

“It’s fine with me, Jared.”

He smiled at her and her pulse raced. He looked so damned appealing and sexy, and in spite of all her anger with him, she wanted his arms around her and she longed to kiss him.

But she had the wisdom to not do anything personal. Yearning and anger conflicted; she wanted him to back off. She knew she was in love with him a second time.

“We’ll work this out to everyone’s satisfaction. You’ll see.”

“It would be miraculous if it happened. I just don’t see how.”

He moved away and got his cell phone out of his pocket to make calls. She left him to get ready for the trip home, carrying her bag to the front door and sitting on the veranda to wait.

“Tell me about Ethan, and remember, I want a picture. I’d like to see your scrapbooks about him,” Jared said as they flew home.

“Of course,” she said, “although most of the scrapbooks and that sort of thing are in Santa Fe, not South Dakota.”

“When I come to Santa Fe, I’ll see what you keep there.”

“Jared, you may find you don’t want the responsibility of a child,” she said, receiving a stormy glance and feeling their clash of wills that had returned full force.

“If you’re counting on that, you might as well forget it. I’m going to try my damnedest to get along with my son and be a father to him.”

“That’s different than being a chum.”

“I know that much. How soon will you get him home from your uncle’s house?”

“I’ll drive to Sioux Falls when we get back. I called while I was waiting for you,” she said. “I told them I would pick him up today and take him to the ranch. You can come tomorrow.”

“Did he mind the change in plans?”

“No. You said it yourself—kids adapt. He’s looking forward to seeing me, and I’ll be glad to see him. This has made me miss him twice as much.”

Jared nodded and reached over to take her hand. “Thanks for what you’re doing. I know you don’t want to, but it’s inevitable and much better this way, when you smooth the introduction. Anything we can do to make this transition easier will be better for Ethan, and I appreciate it.”

“I might as well try to do things the best way for him,” she responded, aware of her hand in Jared’s, his dark eyes resting on her.

“I still want you,” he said, sliding his hand behind her head and leaning forward to kiss her long and slowly.

She kept reminding herself to resist him, but she kissed him back instead. And each kiss forged a tighter bond, would be a bigger heartbreak and more of a struggle for her.

He raised his head. “Stop fighting me, Meg. You want this, too.”

“No, I don’t. I will contend with you as long as you kiss and flirt.” She withdrew her hand from his. He stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles.

“Tell me about Ethan,” he said.

They talked about Ethan over a light lunch, and then Jared tried to charm and entertain her the rest of the way home with stories from his life.

Finally, she told him good-bye and headed to the ranch, anxious to see Ethan. And she wished with all her heart she didn’t have to face her son and tell him that his real father wasn’t who he’d thought all these years, but another man—one he had met only recently and briefly.

That evening, she pulled her son onto her lap. He was big enough that his legs dangled almost to the floor, but not quite. “Ethan, I want to talk to you about something important.”

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