A Very Tempting Texan (Texas Cattleman’s Club: The Missing Mogul) by Janice Maynard Page B

bimbo. Come to think of it, if she had been, he would never have been interested in her to start with. Though he’d been less discriminating as a horny college kid, along the way since then he had learned that a woman’s brain was as fascinating as her soft skin and seductive curves.
    Today, Shannon’s stylish chin-length bob was half hidden beneath a baseball cap. Not even the battered hat could detract from her innate sexuality. Her utilitarian work clothes merely drew attention to the radiant glow of her skin and the feminine strength of her slender arms and legs.
    She ignored his intense perusal. “I have to go,” she said. “Please move your arm.”
    “Let me buy you a drink.”
    “It’s not even noon. I don’t know what you and your cohorts up in Austin are used to, but here in Royal we don’t break out the booze until after five.”
    He wasn’t imagining the tilt to her chin. Or the barely veiled antagonism. Deliberately reaching a few inches farther into the cab of the truck, he trailed a finger down her arm. “I was talking about a Coke...or some sweet tea. But you’re still mad at me. I get it. Though I don’t know why.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” she whispered. The words were forced from a clench-jawed, incredibly sexy mouth. Her eyes darted from side to side to see if anyone was observing their exchange. “I’m not mad. I’m merely busy. Very busy. And if you don’t mind, Rory, I’d like to get on with my day.”
    “I love the way you say my name.” It was true. Every time he left Royal to go back to Austin, he thought about her constantly. Her ample rounded breasts. The way her throat flushed pink when he embarrassed her. The honeyed drawl of her words that made him feel at home, even in a town where he had started out his adult life by burning bridges. In the beginning he had fought the attraction, because it threatened to divert focus from his political plans. But more recently he had conceded, at least to himself, that he wanted somehow to fit Shannon into his list of life goals. “Let me take you to lunch at the diner. I know you’re not much of a breakfast eater. But we could grab a burger.”
    “Absolutely not.”
    His jaw tightened at her look of horror. The local eatery served coffee that was hot and strong but had a gossipy grapevine that could spread secrets faster than a brushfire in August. Clearly Shannon didn’t want to be seen with him. Though her response wasn’t unexpected, it had a surprising sting.
    He threw down the gauntlet. “I thought I’d drive out to the ranch later. I never did get a chance to see it.” Mainly because he and Shannon had been more interested in getting to know each other over intimate dinners and during moonlit drives around the countryside. Most recently, that interest had translated into being alone in his hotel room. A hot shiver of remembrance snaked down his spine and hardened his sex.
    “Are you threatening me?” Her eyebrows jumped to her hairline.
    “You and I have unfinished business.”
    Her beautiful pale blue eyes narrowed. “If you think I’m available for some kind of booty call whenever you happen to come back to town, you can forget it. And I’m not selling.”
    “You made both of those points abundantly clear. But you also jumped to conclusions. I was simply trying to solve two problems at once. I see how you work yourself to death. You told me you’d love to be able to travel. I need to buy some property. My offer was designed to relieve some of your burden.”
    “My problems are my business. Move that finger or lose it.”
    Her glare would have discouraged a lesser man. He stepped back, letting her think she had won this round. “We had something special.”
    “Put it in a Hallmark card.” She slammed her gearshift into reverse, shot backward, then pulled out onto the road with a screech and hurtled away from him, just a hairbreadth under the speed limit.
    * * *
    Stupid , stupid , stupid . Shannon berated