Texas Temptation by Bárbara McCauley

“I don’t want you up on the rig.”
    One corner of her mouth tilted up. “Unless I absolutely need to be, I won’t.”
    â€œAnd you may be the money, but I call the shots.”
    The other side of her mouth tilted upward, as well. “Of course.”
    His grin came slowly. “Looks like we’ve got a deal, Miss Bailey.”
    â€œI’d say so, Mr. Stone.”
    He released her, intending to shake her hand, but then, with a laugh, she jumped up and circled his neck with her arms. Startled, he simply stood there, his hands in midair, not knowing what to do. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and he sure as hell knew what he wanted to do. And with that dress she was wearing, it would be so damn easy. He held back the groan deep in his throat.
    But he was only human, and it was impossible not to wrap his arms around her and draw her against him. Just this one time, he’d allow himself the pleasure of her closeness, of her enthusiasm. He pulled her tightly to him, breathing in the scent of her as he brushed his lips against her soft silky hair.
    He felt something inside himself shift and settle, a spark of life he’d thought had died long ago. It wasn’t sexual—though he was certainly feeling that. It was something else, something that scared the hell out of him, because it was something he could never permit himself to feel. Not for Annie.
    Because it should be Jonathan standing here with Annie. Jonathan with his arms around this beautiful vibrant woman.
    But Jonathan had been cheated out of that happiness, and there was no way Jared would ever allow himself to step in and take his brother’s place.
    â€œNow that we have that settled,” she said brightly, slipping out of his arms, “can we go eat? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
    She took his hand and he followed her back into the restaurant, afraid to tell her that he was indeed starving. More than she’d ever know.
    * * *
    One week later everything was set in place. The crew— three teams of six men each—was hired, the paperwork completed and the equipment primed and ready to go. Drilling was scheduled to start on Monday and Jared had gone into town to handle the transfer of money from Arloco’s bank to his.
    Annie leaned forward in the desk chair and stared at the map spread out in front of her. The lines blurred hopelessly together. She’d been here at the site since the crack of dawn, going over the mountains of logs and comparing the figures to the map for the tenth time. The real work hadn’t even begun yet, and she was already exhausted.
    With a small groan, she stretched and sat back in the chair. For the past week, she’d tossed and turned every night in her motel bed, and her lack of sleep was beginning to wear on her. She tried to tell herself that it was the emotional drain of coming back to Stone Creek, back to the rig where Jonathan had died. But in her heart she knew that wasn’t the reason. It had taken a long time, but she’d dealt with those ghosts and laid them to rest.
    It was Jared.
    Her pulse still skipped every time she remembered the night in the restaurant parking lot. It had been an impulsive act, she knew, throwing her arms around him the way she had. She’d just been so excited at the prospect of reopening the rig she hadn’t thought.
    But when he’d pulled her into his arms behind the restaurant, she’d known that the fierce beating of her heart had nothing to do with her excitement over the rig. It was a different excitement altogether. It was dark and wild and shimmered between them with the intensity of a live wire. They’d both felt it. They’d both understood. It didn’t matter that it was only for a moment. It was strong enough to stun, and frighten, both of them.
    He’s Jonathan brother, she told herself, then waited for the recriminations. But there were none. Only the lonely