The Ryders: Jared, Royce and Stephanie

Given the woman’s exaggerated spy-versus-spy room check, Melissa sincerely doubted that.

“I’ll chat you up a bit,” Stephanie continued. “You are gorgeous, and I can—”

“Jared is not, I repeat, not interested in me. You’ll only embarrass us both if you try to match us up.”

Stephanie took another sip of her coffee, a dreamy faraway expression in her eyes. “I promise, Melissa. I won’t do a single thing to embarrass you.”

Five

Melissa had waited all morning for a chance to privately warn Jared about Stephanie’s matchmaking plans. She could hardly walk up to the front door of Stephanie’s house and knock. And Jared, as far as she could tell, hadn’t come out of the house.

Standing over a tub of water in the tack room, she had a decent view of the front porch. Her hands were red and slippery from the glycerin soap, but at least the job was straightforward: wash the tack, dry the tack, polish the tack. She’d worked her way through a decent-size pile of leather.

When lunchtime came along without a sign of Jared, she started to worry. If Stephanie was already matchmaking, he was probably plotting his escape from the equestrian center. If she didn’t do something soon, there was every possibility that he’d leave before she got anything more for her story.

She had to find a way to get hold of him.

She clicked through the possibilities in her brain until finally she came up with a viable plan. If she could somehow get her hands on his cell number, she could talk to him without Stephanie knowing.

She pulled her hands from the warm water, shook them off and dried them on a towel. Her cell phone was in her taupe canvas tote bag, and it didn’t take her long to get directory assistance and the Chicago number for Ryder International. The receptionist put her through to Jared’s assistant.

“Jared Ryder’s office,” said a friendly female voice.

“I need to speak to Jared Ryder,” Melissa opened, hoping the office would give her his cell phone number.

“I’m afraid Mr. Ryder is not in the office today.” The voice remained friendly and professional. “Can I help you with something?”

“Do you happen to have his cell phone number?” Melissa mentally crossed her fingers that the woman would be willing to give it out.

“I’m afraid I can’t provide that information. Is there someone else who can—”

“Would you be able to get a message to him?” Melissa moved to plan B.

Some of the patience leached out of the woman’s voice. “Can I get your name, please?”

“So you can get him a message?” Melissa’s hope rose.

“He may not get it until next week.”

“I need him to get it today. Right away if possible.”

“If I could just have your name.”

“It’s Melissa. Melissa Webster.” She used the alias she’d used on her résumé.

“And what is the message regarding?”

Good question. Melissa racked her brain. She sure couldn’t say she was a reporter, but if the subject didn’t seem important, the secretary might not send it to Jared right away. “Saxena Electronics,” she offered impulsively.

“You’re from Saxena?” The skepticism was clear.

Melissa could only assume most Saxena employees had East Indian accents. “I’m affiliated with them,” she lied. “The message is that Melissa Webster needs to talk about Saxena right away. In private,” she added, ending with her cell phone number.

“I’m not sure—”

“Please believe me that it’s important,” Melissa put in quickly.

The woman hesitated on the other end of the line.

“There’s no risk,” Melissa pointed out. “If it’s not important, he’ll just ignore it, right?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Maybe a quick text or an e-mail?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” The voice had turned stony.

It was definitely time to back off. “Thank you,” said Melissa with as much gratitude as she could muster. “I really do appreciate this.”

The professionalism and the formality came back. “Thank you for calling Ryder International.”

“Thanks for your help,” Melissa offered once more before hanging up.

Then she plunked her phone back in her bag, readjusted the clip that was holding her hair back and pulled her damp tank top away from her chest. She hated to go to lunch looking like this, but it was a long walk back to her cottage, and there was no way she could skip the meal.

As the days went by, her respect for cowboys and stable hands had risen. They worked extremely hard. A salad or a protein shake might cut it in an office, but out here, calories were essential.

She dried the last of the washed tack, laying it out on the bench to be polished later. Then she slung her canvas bag over her shoulder and headed for the cookhouse while she waited to see if Jared would call.

A couple of steps out the stable door, Jared startled her, blocking her way. She stopped short.

“What the hell?” he demanded.

She glanced around. “Is Stephanie with you?”

“What was this about seeing me in private?”

She didn’t see Stephanie anywhere. “I’ll explain in a minute. Is there somewhere we can talk?”

Jared hesitated. Then he nodded at the stable. “There’s an office up those stairs.”

“Great.” Melissa turned, and he followed her in.

They tapped their way, single file, up the narrow staircase. It opened to a short hallway with three doors.

“Far end,” Jared rumbled. “And this better be good. My secretary was scrambling the Saxena team for damage control. She thought you were warning me of a hostile takeover.”

Melissa cringed. “Sorry. Did you call them off?”

“Of course I called them off.” His boots were heavy on the wood floor behind her. “This better not be some flirting thing.”

“It’s not flirting.” Melissa stopped at the closed door.

Jared reached around her and pushed it open to reveal a small desk, a couple of filing cabinets. Three open, curtained windows showed a cloud-laden sky, and a comfortably furnished corner with armchairs, low tables and lamps. Through the window, Melissa could see a crowd of people at the arena. She assumed it was a jumping class and that Stephanie was there.

“Take a seat.” Jared gestured to a worn, brown leather armchair.

Melissa sat down, and he took the chair next to it. They were separated by a polished pine table, decorated with three small, framed horse portraits.

He leaned back, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee and folding his arms over his chest. “What’s going on?” he asked directly.

Melissa took a deep breath, giving herself a second to compose her message. “It’s Stephanie.”

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“She lost patience with you? Fired you?”

“No.” Melissa sat forward. “Will you let me finish?”

He waited.

“Your sister, for some reason, has decided I’m … well, a good match for you.”

Jared planted his feet and sat forward. “What did you say to her?”

“Nothing. This is about her, not me. I was minding my own business. She saw you helping me yesterday. Apparently the first time you saw me you said I was pretty.”

“I never—”

“Well, Stephanie thinks you did. And she’s a determined and romantic young lady, and she thinks she can subtly throw us together without you noticing. I was guessing you’d catch on, and I thought you’d appreciate a heads-up.”

Jared’s mouth thinned into a grim line. His hands moved to the arms of the chair, and he gave his head a subtle shake. “It’s worse than I thought.”

Melissa waited for him to elaborate.

He fixed his gaze on her. “If she’s targeting you, things are really getting out of hand.”

“Excuse me?” Melissa couldn’t help the defensive tone in her voice. “I’m the bottom of the barrel?”

“No, you’re not the bottom of the barrel.” He paused. “But you’re definitely from the unlikely half of the barrel.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“The last person she targeted was a lawyer.”

Melissa nodded. “She told me.”

“Just how long was this conversation?”

“Not long.” Melissa shifted back in her chair. “For the record, I tried to talk her out of it.”

Jared’s expression turned thoughtful, and he glanced toward the window and out to the arena. “Did she seem.upset?”

Melissa shook her head. Stephanie hadn’t seemed remotely upset. “I’d call it enthusiastic, even excited.”

He stood up and walked toward the closest window, looking through the opening to the crowd in the distance. “It’s about Sunday.”

Melissa stood with him. The clouds were thickening in the sky and the wind was picking up.

“It’s got to be,” he continued.

“What about Sunday?” she dared to ask.

Jared kept his gaze glued outside. “The twentieth anniversary of our parents’ deaths. And the first time my grandfather won’t be here to commemorate it with us.”

Melissa took a few steps toward him. “Your grandfather died?”

Jared nodded. “In April. It hit Stephanie pretty hard.”

“I can imagine,” Melissa said softly, her sympathy going out to the whole family.

“Look at her jump.” Jared nodded toward the arena, and Melissa shifted closer to where she could watch Stephanie on her big gray horse.

“Perfect form,” he continued as the two sailed over a high, white jump rail. “She’s talented, driven, unbelievably hardworking. Only twenty-two, and she’ll be a champion before we know it.”

“Then she was only two when your parents died?” Melissa ventured.

“Only two,” Jared confirmed with a nod, and his voice turned introspective. “And despite her success, all these years all she ever wanted was a mother.”

Melissa didn’t know what to say to that. Her own parents had moved to Florida only a couple of years ago. She saw them every few months, but she still missed her mother.

“I don’t blame her,” she offered.

“I understand the desire,” Jared allowed. “But ever since she was old enough to understand, she’s pestered the three of us to get married. Poor Gramps. And poor Royce. He was afraid to bring a date home in high school for fear of how Stephanie would embarrass him. She goes into matchmaking mode at the drop of a hat.”

“You could get married, you know,” Melissa offered reasonably, only half joking. “You’re what, early thirties?”

“Thirty-five.”

“So what’s the holdup? I bet you meet eligible women every day of the week.”

Jared frowned at her. “I’m not getting married for the sake of my sister.”

“Get married for yourself. Hey, if you get proactive, you’ll have your choice of women. If Stephanie gets her way, you’re stuck with me.”

It obviously took Jared a stunned minute to realize Melissa was joking. But then he visibly relaxed.

“What about you?” he asked. “Would you get married to keep your siblings happy?”

Melissa coughed out a laugh. “I have five older brothers. Trust me, no husband in the world will be good enough.”

“Would they scare a guy off?”

Melissa smiled at that. “They range from six-one to six-four. All tough as nails. Adam’s a roofer, Ben and Caleb are framers, Dan’s an electrician and Eddy’s a pipe fitter.”

A calculating look came into Jared’s eyes. “You think they’d be interested in jobs with Ryder International?”

“I’m afraid they’re all gainfully employed.”

His eyes squinted down as he stared at her, and she braced herself for sarcasm about her own dismal career status. It was going to be hard not to defend herself from his criticism.

“Might be worth marrying you for the union connections alone.”

The words surprised a laugh out of her. She played along. “Plus, Stephanie would have a mother.” She played along. “Well, more like a sister, really. I’m only four or five years older than she is, you know.”

“Not a bad plan.” Jared nodded and pretended to give it serious consideration. “Stephanie’s pretty convinced the family would benefit from a few more females in the mix.”

“Smart girl,” said Melissa.

“Can’t argue with the logic,” Jared agreed. “It’s her methods that cause the trouble.”

As they spoke, Stephanie sailed over her final jump, completing a clean round.

“She really is good,” said Melissa.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Jared turned from the window.

He paused, and they came face-to-face, closer than she’d realized. Sunlight streamed in, highlighting his gorgeous eyes, his strong chin, his straight nose and the short shock of brown hair that curled across his forehead.

The force of his raw magnetism drew her in, arousing and frightening her at the same time. He was all man. He had power, looks and intelligence, and she suddenly felt inadequate. She wasn’t ready to work at his ranch or write an article about him. The phrase out of my league planted itself firmly in her brain.

For a second she let herself fear his reaction to the article. But then she banished the fear. It was her job to get the story, and she’d be far away from Montana by the time it ran in the Bizz.

The world outside darkened, and his eyes turned to midnight, sensuality radiating from their depths. The humidity jumped up, only to be overtaken by a freshening breeze.

There were shouts from outside as the wind swirled and a storm threatened. Doors banged, horses whinnied, and plastic tarps rattled against their ropes.

Meanwhile, gazes locked, Jared and Melissa didn’t move.

The wild clamor outside matched the cacophony inside her head. This attraction felt so right, but it was so incredibly wrong. Jared was her article subject, her employer, one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in Chicago. She had absolutely no business being attracted to him.

He reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from her temple. His touch was electric, arousing, light as a feather but shocking as a lightning bolt.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the first fat raindrops clattered on the roof.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he told her.

She drew a breath. “You think that’s a good idea?”

He moved slightly closer. “It’s not the smartest thing I’ve ever done.” He stroked his thumb along her jaw, tipped her chin. “But probably not the stupidest, either. Might not even make the top three.”

“What were they?” she asked.

“The stupidest things?”

She gave a slight nod.

“I don’t think I’ll be telling you that right now.”

“Maybe later?”

“I doubt it.” Done talking, he leaned in and pressed his warm lips to hers.

It was a gentle kiss, a tentative kiss. There was a wealth of respect and more than a couple of questions contained in the kiss.

She answered by softening her lips. One of her hands went to his shoulder, steadying herself, she lied. Truth was, she wanted to hang on, press closer, turn his inquiry into a genuine kiss.

He easily complied, stepping forward, parting his lips, one hand going to the small of her back, the other tunneling into the hair behind her ear. He tipped his head, deepened the kiss; she plastered herself flush against him, feeling the hard heat of his body, counterpoint to the wind and rain that rushed in through the open window.

Warning sirens clanged inside her head.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

She was supposed to maintain a journalistic detachment. Plus, hadn’t she come up here to warn him about Stephanie? Not to flirt. Or worse, seduce. What on earth was she thinking?

He broke the kiss, but moved instantly into another. Melissa didn’t have time to decide if she was relieved or upset before she was dragged away on another tidal wave of desire.

The world disappeared—the horses, the people, the wind and rain. Nothing existed except Jared’s kiss, the rough texture of his hands, the heat of his hard body and the fresh, earthy, male scent that surrounded her and drew her into an alternative universe.

His thumb found the strip of skin between her tank top and blue jeans. He stroked up her spine, sending shivers of reaction skittering both ways. His hand slipped under her shirt, warm palm caressing the sensitized skin, working higher, closing in on the scrap of her bra.

His tongue touched hers, tentatively at first, but then bolder as she responded, opening to him, tipping her head to give him better access to her mouth. His hand caressed the back of her head. Her arms tightened around his neck. She went up on her toes, struggling to get closer.

A clap of thunder boomed through the sky, rumbling the building, lightning dancing in the clouds rapidly engulfed the ranch. The rain grew steady, blurring the world, cooling the air and clattering like a freight train against the cedar shakes above them.

Jared pulled her tighter still, leaving her in no doubt about the effect the kiss was having on him. It was having the same effect on her. It was wild, untamed, sexy and all but unstoppable.

He shifted, moving her away from the open window and the driving rain that was dampening their clothes. He backed her into the wall, and his leg slipped between hers. The friction sent a shot of desire through her body, and a moan found its way past her mouth.

Jared whispered her name, his kisses moving from her mouth to her cheek, her temple and neck. He moved aside the strap of her tank top, the thinner strap of her bra, kissing his way to her shoulder, where his warm tongue lingered, laving the sensitive skin.

Her legs grew weak, and she braced herself against the wall, clinging to Jared’s strong shoulders, even as she kissed his chest through the damp cotton of his shirt. He’d crooked his knee, and she rested the core of her body against his strong thigh. A pulse throbbed through her veins, and there was no mistaking where she wanted this to lead.

“We have to stop,” she forced herself to gasp.

His lips paused mid-kiss on her bare shoulder. “I’m not sure why,” he breathed. He straightened, bracing his hands against the wall, arms on either side of her, gazing down with passion-clouded eyes.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

She was all but shaking with reaction, afraid to move for fear she’d throw caution to the wind and lose herself in his arms. “This is nuts,” she told him, struggling to bring her voice back to normal, forcing herself to drag her hands from his shoulders.

His thigh was still braced between hers, still pressed intimately against her body, still drawing a completely inappropriate reaction from her.

“Why?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she nearly wailed. What had happened? Why had they combusted like that? They barely knew each other.

“I mean, why is it nuts?”

“Because …” She struggled over the question, not finding a satisfactory answer. At least, not one that she could share with him. “It’s you, and it’s me. And we’re …” She couldn’t find the words.

“Attracted to each other?” he finished for her.

“Apparently,” she responded dryly.

He let his thigh fall away, and she nearly groaned with the sensation.

“Stephanie would be pleased,” he pointed out.

Melissa’s gaze darted to the window, suddenly wondering who had seen what before they moved away. What if Stephanie had seen them?

“Nobody saw a thing,” said Jared, guessing her concern. “They were too busy running from the storm.”

The rain had turned to a steady drum, while thunder and lightning punctuated the darkened sky. The yard was empty, everyone having taken shelter in one of the buildings. Horses were huddled in small groups, most of them under run-in shelters, some in the larger pens moving into the shelter of the trees. Tarps still billowed, cracking and snapping in the wind.

Jared gently stroked his thumb across her swollen bottom lip, making her desire flare all over again. “Our secret is safe.”

She gazed into his eyes, unable to hide her renewed longing. And try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to walk away.

His eyes darkened further and his voice went husky. “You want to make it an even bigger secret?”

Six

Before Melissa could even open her mouth, Jared knew to retract the question.

“I’m sorry,” he quickly told her. “That was way out of line.”

He was her boss. Just yesterday he’d threatened to fire her, more than once, if memory served. He had absolutely no business propositioning her. It was unprincipled, immoral, probably illegal in most states.

“It wasn’t—”

“It was.” He forced himself back, hands tightening by his sides as he put some distance between them. The torrential rain was still dripping through the open windows, and he slammed one window shut, then the next and finally the third, taking some of his frustration out on the inanimate objects. He’d never felt this way before, never desired a woman so quickly and thoroughly. Yet he was wrong to feel this way, and he had to make it stop.

“Jared?” Her voice was tentative, and he felt like a complete jerk.

He latched the final window, then turned back to face her. Her hair was wet, messy from his hands. The damp blue tank top clung to her breasts, highlighting her nipples. Her eyes were round, sea-foam green and confused.

“I’m mad at myself,” he assured her. “Not at you.”

She took a step forward. “It was my fault, too. How about we forget it happened?”

“Can you forget it happened?” He’d give it a shot, but he wasn’t holding out much hope.

“Sure.” She nodded, offering a small smile. “Easy.”

She seemed sincere, and he tried not to be offended. Maybe he’d imagined their explosive passion. Maybe to her it had been a simple ordinary kiss. He gave himself a split second to ponder exactly who the hell else she’d been kissing like that, but then he acknowledged that it was none of his business.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. “Sure,” he forced out, adjusting his damp shirt and raking his fingers through his hair. “We’ll just forget it ever happened.”

Melissa glanced down and plucked at her own wet shirt. Then she quickly folded her arms across her breasts. Just as well, Jared told himself. Her clinging clothes were turning him on. So were her swollen lips and messy hair.

“You have a comb?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It’s in my bag downstairs.”

He realized they couldn’t risk leaving the room with her looking like this, so he steeled himself against the inevitable reaction and moved toward her.

Her arms stayed protectively crossed over her breasts, so he reached for the hair clip. “I’ll just …” He raked spread fingers through the mess, straightening out the worst of it, wondering how he’d ever manage to get the clip back in.

A voice called from the hallway. “Jared?” The door burst open, and Stephanie instantly appeared.

He and Melissa both jumped guiltily back, her covering her breasts, him holding her hair clip.

Stephanie stopped abruptly. “I’m sorry.” But she didn’t look sorry in the least. A broad grin grew on her face and her eyes sparkled in delight.

Barry Salmon and Hal Norris halted behind her. All three of them stared at the incriminating scene.

Jared inwardly groaned. Why the hell hadn’t he kept his hands to himself? Melissa’s reputation was about to tumble over the falls and be washed down the Windy River. Why the hell hadn’t he kept his hands to himself?

She was the first to speak. “It’s not what you—”

But he cut her off. “I was inviting Melissa to join us for dinner,” he told Stephanie, giving the two cowboys a warning glare.

“I knew it!” Stephanie beamed.

“The rain blew right in the windows,” he went on, to explain their appearance. Then he handed Melissa the hair clip. “Thanks for your help.”

She gave him a puzzled expression. “There’s no need—”

He stopped her with a stare. There was every need to protect her reputation, not to mention his own. She’d be gone in a week. In the meantime, he’d rather have the ranch staff think they were dating than carrying on a clandestine affair in the stable office.