Page 9 of One Wild Texas Night
She laughed. “So, this is your fishing cabin in the woods, huh? I don’t believe we’re going to exactly rough it out here.”
He smiled at her, his heart jumping as her eyes sparkled with laughter.
“I figured I might as well have something I like,” he said.
“It’s a fine place, and so pretty on the creek,” she exclaimed. “A wonderful home.”
“Thanks. I enjoy it out here.”
As he parked on the drive near his back door, he turned to her. “I’ll put the dog and her pups on the enclosed back porch. What’s her name?”
“I don’t know, actually. I called her Queenie. I’ve never seen her before. I just happened on to her having her pups today.”
“No kidding?” he exclaimed, glad she’d stopped to help the dog and pups, because if she hadn’t, most likely they would have perished in the fire. “That’s great,” he said and was rewarded with another smile that made his pulse jump and made him think about kissing her again.
“The fire may have driven her from her home. I don’t recall seeing her before. She doesn’t have a tag. For a while there, I thought she was yours.”
“If she doesn’t have a tag, then I have the right people here for her—my neighbors the Andersons.”
“I know the Andersons.”
“Charley Anderson has three teenage daughters. The girls love dogs and cats. Any time we have animals wander onto the ranch, I call them. They come get them and they either reunite them with their owner or give them a home—with them or with friends. Are you willing for me to turn Queenie and her pups over to them?”
“Yes. It sounds like a good deal for all concerned, especially Queenie.”
He took out of his phone and began typing. “I’ll text them right now, and Queenie and her pups will soon be on their way back to their owner or to a good home.”
“Great,” she said. “That’s a big relief.” When he was done, he walked around the truck to climb into the back. She followed him to the side of the bed, and he picked up two puppies to hand to her.
“You take these, and I’ll carry her and the other pups to the porch for now until the girls come,” Jake said.
They had just settled the dogs and the pups when his phone buzzed with an incoming text. He looked at it. “The girls will be over soon to get Queenie and her pups.” He sent an answer and looked up, smiling at Claire. “They’ll be good to these pups, don’t you worry.”
“Thanks again. I’m sure it’ll all work out.”
As they walked to the door, he wanted to take her arm, to touch her again. But if he touched her again, there was a chance he might kiss her again, and that was something he had to resist. Something he had to stop thinking about.
What was it about her that had him constantly wanting her, constantly aware of her? She wasn’t doing one deliberate thing to cause his response. He needed to remember who she was. Remember that Reeds and Blakes didn’t mix and keep his distance.
He didn’t like her family, and she was part of them. Even if she wasn’t one degree like her bully brothers, she was still related to them. They had the same bloodlines, same parents, same home life, and somewhere that had to come out.
And her family wouldn’t like her going out with him at all. If he did go out with her, he knew he’d have to watch his back, because those two older brothers would jump him some night if he let his guard down.
Jake couldn’t figure out why he was so attracted to her. He knew a lot of good-looking, fun women who didn’t come with problems and dreadful relatives who hated him. Definitely no one else whose family had fought with his well into a second century.
Why did she take his breath away, make his heart pound and stir all sorts of longings? Even now he wanted to stop, take her into his arms and carry her into his bedroom and spend the rest of the day and night there with her.
That acknowledgment shocked him, and he stopped and turned to look at her. She noticed and paused, her brows arching as she got a quizzical look. “What? Food in my teeth? Ink on my face? You’re staring at me as if there’s something.”
“There’s something, all right.” His voice was thick with desire.
She blinked and held her hand up, palm out as if motioning him to stop. “Never mind that I asked. I don’t want to know.”
“No, you don’t, but I’ll tell you anyway, because I’m puzzled. I don’t understand why our kisses are so—” he paused and narrowed his eyes as he thought “—so intense, unforgettable...so damn sexy. We’ve barely spoken until today, and we don’t even know each other.”
“Oh, we know a lot of things we don’t like about each other, but we know very little we do like—that’s the part where we’re strangers,” she answered. A second passed before she added the dagger. “But all we need to know is that I’m a Blake and you’re a Reed. So, I think we should forget our kisses and get on safe subjects and keep a little distance between us.”
“You’re right. Kiss forgotten,” he lied. “We’ll talk about safe subjects. Ahh, here come the girls,” he said as a large pickup pulled up. A man and three teenage girls stepped out.
