Texas-Sized Temptation / Star of His Heart: Texas-Sized Temptation / Star of His Heart

“We’d retain all mineral, wind and water rights.”

“And she would agree to that and still want to buy back part of it?”

“Yep. She wants it for sentimental reasons and to take care of the elderly crew who have worked there.”

“Sentimental reasons? You believe that? A sentimental Santerre?”

“This isn’t Will. I’ve found a Santerre who is not like Will at all. I always heard the Grandmother wasn’t like her son or grandson. Let’s go to the study where we can be comfortable.”

“Sure,” Gabe said, holding the door and following Jake inside.

“Actually, Will sold it without telling her. They’ve never gotten along.”

“Caitlin Santerre is Titus Santerre’s daughter. I’ve always heard her mother was a Santerre maid.”

“That’s right. When the maid had the baby Titus didn’t want any part of either mother or baby and paid the maid to go away. When she planned to put the baby up for adoption, the grandmother, Madeline Santerre, Titus’s mother, adopted her. Thus Caitlin became a Santerre and was raised by Grandmother Santerre. She’s told me that Will was never kind to her.”

“That can’t surprise you.”

“Nope. Will is mean through and through. Caitlin is not one bit like Will. She’s worrying about the people who worked for Madeline. As far as I can tell, she doesn’t have any meanness or selfishness in her.”

“Caitlin Santerre. All I remember is a little kid,” Gabe said as they entered the study and Jake sat in a leather chair.

“Not so little. I’m taking her to dinner tonight.”

“Caitlin? How old is she? I think of her as twelve at the most.”

“When you were having birthdays, Caitlin was having birthdays. She’s twenty-eight.”

“Damn. Twenty-eight? I don’t remember seeing her around these parts since she was little.” Gabe hooked one knee over the arm of the chair and let his booted foot dangle while he studied Jake. “Why are you taking her to dinner? Why didn’t you just tell her no and be on your way?”

“She’s beautiful. I want the evening with her.”

Gabe’s eyebrows arched. “You’ve hated the Santerres, particularly since Brittany’s death. What’s the deal here—a little revenge by seducing a Santerre?”

“No. Will doesn’t care a thing about her. No revenge there. I just want the evening with her.”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed as he stared at his brother. “That one I can’t figure. You know plenty of beautiful women. You hate the Santerres with a passion. Is there anything you’re not telling me?”

“Not a thing. If you could see her, you’d know why I want to go out with her.”

Gabe shook his head. “You’re not convincing me. I’ve seen you fight with Will. I’ve seen you try to beat him in sports. I’ve heard you call him names and complain about him. You don’t like any of them. There’s something else.”

“Nope.”

Gabe became silent and Jake waited patiently for his answers to soak in with his brother.

“Tell her no you won’t sell and get on with your life,” Gabe said finally. “You’re not going to go out often with the woman or have a relationship with her.”

“I’ll tell her no soon. Probably this week at the office, but tonight, I’m taking her out. If it goes well tonight, I might put her off for a week and go out with her next weekend.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Gabe said. “You’re sure she isn’t going to talk you into selling back to her?”

“Fairly positive.”

“Then why the maps and descriptions and pictures?”

“If you must know, she’s gaining some of my sympathy. I started out avoiding a definite rejection because I wanted to go out with her. She’s gorgeous.”

“So you said,” Gabe remarked dryly.

“Now, I’m listening to her. If you don’t find oil, it doesn’t seem such a big deal to sell a patch of land and the old house to her if we retain rights. If you find oil, that house and everyone living in it will be in the way.”

“The more you get to know her, the more likely you are to do what she wants.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t intend to sell if you find oil.”

“That’s good because that house of hers may be in the middle of a very lucrative field. I think it is. Before too many more days, we’ll know if I’m right.”

“I hope you are,” Jake said.

“If I am, you won’t want her owning any part of the ranch. We’ll want to drill where we can get oil. We have to have trucks able to get in and out. I’m puzzled, but okay. I know you’re not going all soft over a Santerre. No way is that happening.”

“I’m just thinking about it and waiting to hear something decisive from you,” Jake said and Gabe smiled.

“I hope I have news for you soon,” Gabe remarked. He stood. “I’ve got to run. I’m flying back to Fort Worth to meet some guys for dinner.”

Jake walked to the porch with Gabe. “See you in Dallas.”

When his brother was gone, Jake returned to the study to look at the papers Gabe had delivered to him. He hated Will with a passion, disliked Will’s father. Why bother selling to Caitlin? He wasn’t ready to get her out of his life yet. Erotic images of Caitlin in his bed set his heart drumming.

He had asked to see the house and property because he was stalling to hear from Gabe about oil before he was forced to give her an answer, yet she had wanted to show him the house and everything else, playing on his sympathy.

She had tried to familiarize him with the house and property so it would not seem impersonal and easy to dispose of. He had allowed her to because the more he was with her, the more he wanted to be with her and to seduce her.

As she had led the way from room to room, he had watched the gentle sway of her hips. He wanted her in his arms in his bed. His blood heated at the thought of tonight. Seduce her, spend time with her and then tell her no.

Would she trade sleeping with him for an agreement from him to sell the house back to her? Or become his mistress for a limited time? The possibility was erotic, tempting. She wanted the house and part of the property in the worst way. It was leverage to get something in return from her and money meant nothing. If it had been Will who wanted the property back, he would have delighted in saying no, but it wasn’t Will. This was an entirely different matter. It hinged on Gabe finding oil.

Caitlin had not won him over beyond it being exciting to be with her.

It was a small matter to sell a little piece of the ranch back to her, but he wasn’t ready to do so yet. He was certain when he did, he would see no more of Caitlin.

What kind of evening would he have with her? He glanced at his watch. Only a few hours and he would find out.

Caitlin studied herself in the mirror while her thoughts remained only half on her appearance. The prospect of an evening with Jake both excited and disturbed her. Reactions poles apart like all of her responses since she had first faced him. She wanted to get her property back and be done with him because he was an unwanted temptation in her life.

Focusing on her reflection, she smoothed the deep blue long-sleeved dress over her hips. The dress had a draped neckline with a low-cut back. She stepped into silver high-heeled sandals. Her hair was piled on her head, held with a silver clip with a few strands escaping to frame her face. Blue-and-silver earrings dangled from her ears.

A flight to Dallas to eat and then back, but it would be no surprise if he wanted her to stay the night in Dallas. At the thought, her already bubbling insides gave another jump.

The front door knocker made a clang that she could hear upstairs in her bedroom. Grabbing up her clutch purse, she hurried downstairs. Cecilia had already greeted Jake and was in the front room talking to him.

Caitlin heard their voices before she entered the room. Jake stood the minute she walked through the door. Her breathing altered as she looked at Jake in a charcoal suit with a red tie. Even when she was in high heels, he was still the taller. Wickedly handsome, he presented an enormous challenge: win him over about selling—resist seduction.

Then she saw the perusal he was giving her with approval definitely in his warm gaze. “You’re beautiful, Caitlin. I can’t believe you’re the same little kid I remember.”

“Thank you. The same little kid you ignored, is what you mean.”

“Cecilia, it was nice to see you again, if only briefly.”

“Take care tonight,” Cecilia said, following them to the door and telling them goodbye. The minute the door closed behind them, Jake took her arm.

“Cecilia looks sweet, but I wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley. I think she would gladly do me in.”

Caitlin laughed. “I have never heard such a description of her in my life. Next to my grandmother, she’s the sweetest person on earth.”

“You can’t tell me I got approval after my visit this afternoon. That was a frosty few minutes before you arrived.”

“Cecilia? I can’t believe it. She is always sweet to people. Even Will—she never trusted Will, but she was always kind about him because she knew Grandmother loved him.”

“I’m not going to pin you down on Cecilia’s opinion of me, but I’d bet the ranch I’m on target.”

“You might be,” she said, amused by his reaction to Cecilia. “Now if you sell the land back to us, she’ll change her opinion completely.”

“Ah, that’s what her coldness is about. I was afraid it was about taking you out.”

“Why would she worry about that?” Caitlin asked.

Jake shot her a look before returning his attention to the ranch road. “Don’t make me sound like someone so run-of-the-mill.”

She laughed. “You will never be ‘run-of-the-mill.’ Stop fishing for reassurance or compliments. If our relatives could see us now, they wouldn’t believe their eyes. A Benton and a Santerre together for an evening.”

“All I can see is a man and a gorgeous woman. That feud melted away when you appeared on my porch.”

She smiled as she watched him drive. She had caught a whiff of his woodsy aftershave. All she could remember when she was a kid was an unfriendly older boy who was a Benton and someone to avoid. Not the breathtaking dream sitting only feet away from her and spending the evening with her.

“A penny for your thoughts,” he said.

“No amount of money would wring my thoughts out of me right now,” she replied, smiling and received another swift glance.

“Now I have to know. Your thoughts must be personal, must involve me and must include tonight.”

“You’re enough on target that I think we will change the subject. Do you work all the time in Dallas?”

“A large part, but I travel, too. And you’re not getting off the hook that easily. Thoughts that concern us and you won’t tell me. That’s intriguing. Something you don’t want to admit.”

“Stop it, Jake,” she said with a laugh.

“Not when a beautiful woman admits to thoughts about us that she can’t confess. That conjures up all sorts of images—”

“You can stop now. You win—I was merely thinking how handsome you are and that we’re headed for an exciting evening. There—very ordinary thoughts that could be expected.”

“You’re not fooling me. You don’t want to admit what you’re really thinking—more along the lines of speculation about what it would be like to make passionate love,” he said, his voice lowering a notch.

She tingled all over. “You won’t believe me if I deny that and of course, now you have me thinking about it.”

His hand tightened on the steering wheel. Otherwise, she saw no visible sign of reaction to what she’d just said. “Now I wish I had started this conversation when I wasn’t driving.”

“You brought this on yourself. Perhaps you should take my suggestion and we change the subject.”

“Flirting is infinitely more fun with you than an ordinary conversation,” he said.

“More dangerous, Jake. You and I were never destined for any kind of future together. We can ignore the feud for a time, but never completely, and it means some things will never take place between us.”

“Not necessarily. A kiss can diminish family histories like lightning striking a tree. I’ll show you when we return to this conversation when I’m no longer driving.”

His words wrapped around her, making her warm. He wouldn’t forget what he just said. Kisses awaited, heightening her bubbling excitement.

“I hope you’ve thought about Grandmother’s house. It is so wonderful, Jake. It’s filled with memories. I just can’t bear to lose it.”

“It is a fine old home, Caitlin. There’s no argument about that.”

They reached his ranch and drove to park in front of an open hangar. Nearby a dazzling white jet waited, a larger craft than she had expected. The moment she stepped inside, she saw it was a luxury jet that held plush seats, tables, a bar, a screen for films, electronic equipment and phones. “This is an elegant plane, Jake.”

“It’s comfortable and equipped for me to work while I fly. Or be entertained, whichever I want.”

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