Billionaire Baby Dilemma

Nine

Devin had never given any thought to the practicality of owning a private jet. But when they’d made the decision to head for Texas, they hadn’t looked up schedules, they hadn’t called a travel agent, Lucas had simply contacted his pilot to let him know they were going to Dallas.

They’d taken a helicopter from the estate to the airport, leaving reporters at the front gate unaware of who had left the estate and who was still inside. Not that anyone expected a reporter to follow them from Seattle to Dallas. Still, it was nice to know their journey was all but untraceable.

On the downside, Lucas had remained aloof throughout the trip and throughout the evening after they’d arrived. Devin wasn’t sure what she’d expected. But after they’d made love a second time, and seemed to have come to a temporary truce, she hadn’t expected him to use every excuse in the book to keep from speaking with her.

And it proved easy for him to keep his distance. Byron’s homestead was more of a town that a house. Set on a grassy hillside a few hundred feet up from the picturesque Lake Hope, the complex consisted of a sprawling main house, with nearly a dozen other houses facing the lake. Two rows of smaller cottages sat farther up the hillside, and she was told they housed the ranch staff.

Teresa had come along to help with Amelia, while Devin assumed Lexi simply wanted to avoid the reporters who seemed likely to have staked out Devin’s house. The three women and Amelia were given rooms on the second floor of the main house, while Lucas had taken what he referred to as his usual house next door. Byron was in a massive master suite down the hall from the living room.

In true ranch style, the house was paneled in polished cedar, with hardwood floors, thick, patterned throw rugs and overstuffed leather furniture. The tables were pine, while the lamps bounced soft, yellow light to every corner of the rooms. The house’s oil paintings had one theme-horses. Byron had ridden in rodeos in his late teens and twenties, and he had an obvious admiration for the animals.

This morning, Lexi had declared a desire to learn to ride, and the two of them had headed for the barns. Teresa had taken Amelia to check out the duck pond, while Lucas had announced he had phone calls to make back at his house.

Devin was left alone with her anger and frustration. Now that they were out of harm’s way, she was furious with Steve. He’d thrown both her and Amelia to the wolves. They’d been defenseless against the press onslaught. Amelia’s face was undoubtedly plastered in the newspapers, while Devin and Lucas’s reputations would be dragged through the mud.

That wasn’t even counting the physical danger he’d put Amelia in. She could have been trampled in the rush. Thank goodness Lucas had been there to save her.

Devin knew she should be working on her book. She even took out her laptop, settling herself in a corner of the living room, in a big comfy chair, with a warm breeze blowing through the screened windows against her bare arms and legs. But there were too many things on her mind. She simply couldn’t focus on writing.

She wanted to rant about Steve. And she wanted to ask Lucas where he got off making sweet love to her one day, then pretending she wasn’t even alive the next.

It wasn’t as though they had nothing to discuss. They didn’t have a nanny. And they were supposed to be united in fighting Steve. Shouldn’t they be strategizing? Maybe investigating? Information gathering? Filling out forms?

After an hour’s frustration, Devin set aside her laptop and rose deliberately from the chair. She wasn’t about to spend any more time in here sitting on her hands.

She stuffed her feet into a pair of sandals and straightened the short denim skirt that she’d paired with a violet tank top for the scorching summer day. Then she left through the front door, crossed a long porch and followed the wooden walkway that led to Lucas’s house.

She knocked sharply, but there was no answer.

She waited, knocked again and finally decided to circle the house in search of him.

She followed a set of cement stepping stones that wound their way across the lawn. Once she cleared the building, she was rewarded. She heard Lucas’s voice and tracked it over a small knoll, where she spotted him at the duck pond.

Dressed in blue jeans and a plain gray T-shirt, he sat on the ground, knees up, with Amelia clinging to his shoulder as a duck waddled toward the two of them.

Teresa was nowhere in sight.

Lucas tossed some crumbs, and the duck came closer.

Amelia squealed in delight, causing the duck to scoot away in fear.

She speed-crawled a few feet after it, and Devin found her steps slowing down to take in the astonishing sight. Lucas was playing with Amelia. They were all alone. And the two of them looked happy.

Something squeezed her heart. But she wasn’t sure if it was joy or dismay. She’d have to admit Lucas would be the closest thing Amelia would ever have to a father. She shouldn’t be anything but happy to see that relationship develop. Still, from an emotional standpoint, she loved Amelia so dearly, she didn’t want to lose anything about her to Lucas.

While Devin watched, Amelia pushed herself to a wobbly standing position. Then she opened her hand and flung whatever she was holding at the duck. Devin couldn’t tell from this vantage point if Lucas had given her bread crumbs or not. Apparently, neither could the duck. It waddled closer to investigate, fanning its wings and shaking its glossy green head while it scoured the ground.

Amelia made another throwing motion, then she turned to grin at Lucas, obviously seeking his approval.

“Clever girl,” he cooed, with a deep threaded chuckle.

Amelia turned and took a step toward him, then another, and another. She walked until she was wrapped in Lucas’s arms, laughing with pride at her accomplishment.

Devin swallowed a thick, burning emotion.

Amelia’s first steps.

And they were to Lucas, not Devin.

Just then, he caught sight of her, and his expression sobered as he met her eyes.

Amelia wiggled out of his arms, and Devin pasted a bright smile on her face, crossing the remainder of the distance to the pair. Devin told herself there would be lots of steps in Amelia’s life, and plenty of other firsts, and she intended to be around for all of them. And it wasn’t as if she hadn’t witnessed the first steps. She’d simply seen it from a distance, was all.

“She seems to like the ducks,” Devin offered to break the silence.

Amelia crawled over and grabbed Devin’s leg. Devin sat down so Amelia could get into her lap. The physical contact made her feel better.

“Where’s Teresa?” she asked Lucas.

“She went riding.”

“With Lexi and Byron?”

Lucas gazed off in the distance, while the ducks bustled around, searching for every last crumb. Sarcasm put an edge in his voice. “I don’t think so.”

Devin wasn’t sure how to respond. The silence stretched.

Lucas finally spoke. “Byron and Lexi are on a date, and Teresa is checking out the cowboys more than she’s checking out the horses.”

“Byron’s attracted to Lexi?” Devin had to admit, Lexi seemed less frustrated with Byron the past few days, but a date? That was a stretch.

“Lexi’s a beautiful woman.” There was a definite rebuke in Lucas’s voice.

“I know that.” Devin hadn’t meant to imply she was surprised that Byron was attracted to Lexi. She loved Lexi, and Lucas was behaving like a jerk.

She watched the dozen ducks glide back out into the pond and decided it was best to change the subject.

“I came to ask you what’s next,” she told Lucas, helping Amelia to her feet as she held tight to her anger at Steve and her determination to support Amelia. She leaned back to balance on her arms, stretching her bare legs out in front. “Other than hiding out here, what do I do to help?”

He turned to gaze at her, anger coalescing in the pinpoints of his black pupils. “You can start by not reading my private emails.”

The breath whooshed out of Devin, and a chill prickled her skin.

He knew.

He knew.

How on earth could she explain? “I didn’t-”

“Didn’t what?” he sneered. “Didn’t break into my email account, or didn’t have sex with me to cover it up?”

A pounding echoed in Devin’s ears. Several of the ducks took flight, while Amelia tugged at a clump of grass.

“I have to admire your tenacity,” he continued conversationally. “A lesser woman might have confessed she was spying, or maybe faked a headache, or just plain said no to sex, but not you, Devin, you stepped right on up-”

“Stop it!” She couldn’t stand to hear him talking that way.

“Stop what? Stop telling the truth? Stop catching you in your little spy games?”

“I didn’t…” She hesitated. What could she tell him? That she’d wanted to sleep with him a second time? That she’d missed his touch? That the minute he’d kissed her, she’d forgotten all about the emails and everything else in the world? Or maybe that she’d lain awake at night, having fantasies about the two of them making long, drawn-out, sexy love?

He’d never believe her. And she wouldn’t want him to know. It would be beyond humiliating.

She straightened up, squared her shoulders and held her chin in the air. “Just tell me how I can help Amelia.”

He glared a moment longer, but she firmly held her ground.

“You can help Amelia by not fighting me,” he said.

“Fine,” she agreed shortly.

“I need a letter, from you to the judge who’s reviewing the will. I need you to support Amelia’s legitimacy as Granddad’s heir.”

“In other words, you need me to lie. To a judge.” She supposed it was always going to come down to this.

“No,” he barked. “I need you to stop convincing yourself Konrad was dishonest. Quit looking for evidence that doesn’t exist. He loved Amelia, and he loved Monica, and she broke his heart when she left him.”

Was Devin simply supposed to ignore reality? “What about the corporate shares?” she demanded. “What about that conversation? What about Konrad telling you that he’d thwarted Steve by having Amelia?”

“Monica misunderstood.”

“That’s your story?”

“Did Monica love Konrad?”

The question took Devin by surprise.

Lucas spoke again, his voice staccato. “Don’t lie to me, Devin. Did Monica love Konrad?”

“Yes,” Devin admitted. She believed her sister had loved Konrad with all her heart. That’s what made his betrayal so reprehensible.

Lucas’s voice softened. “And how do you know that?”

“Because I know my sister. I lived with her through the whole thing. I saw what he did to her.”

“And I know my brother. And I watched what it did to him. But that’s a moot point. You need to write that Monica loved Konrad. Tell the judge they had a baby because they wanted to become parents. And tell him you have absolutely no evidence-”

Devin opened her mouth to rebut, but Lucas spoke overtop of her. “No concrete evidence whatsoever, that Konrad ever had any intention of duping Monica.”

“What about the conversation?”

“Hearsay. You didn’t hear it yourself, and Monica heard it out of context.”

“That’s a stretch.”

“That’s the truth. When she overheard our conversation, Konrad was being ironic. He told me marrying Monica to get her pregnant would have been the perfect plan. Not that it had been the perfect plan. We were laughing at Steve, not at Monica. Write that down.”

“And then you’ll have it on record.”

Lucas’s exasperated sigh was his answer.

“And when I fight you for Amelia, you use my letter against me?” It was a rhetorical question, and she didn’t expect an answer.

“I can only solve one problem at a time,” he stated, tossing a rock into the duck pond.

“Seems to me you’re solving both of your problems in one fell swoop.”

Lucas’s gaze went to Amelia, who was now seated on the lawn, picking the heads off plump purple clover. “When she turns twenty-one, do you want to explain to her how we lost her inheritance?”

“No. But I also don’t want to have to introduce myself to her.”

Lucas rolled to his feet, jerking his hand in a gesture of frustration. “That is never going to happen. I won’t keep you away from her.”

Devin also came to her feet, straightening her skirt and brushing her backside. She wanted to believe him. She truly did. Her decision would be so much easier if she could trust Lucas.

“I’m supposed to believe you?” she challenged.

He took two paces toward her. “I’m not the one breaking into bedrooms and email accounts.”

“You’re also not the one taking a chance on my ethics. I’m taking a chance on yours.”

“Well, thank goodness for that. Your track record so far is dismal.”

Devin couldn’t defend herself. He was right on that score.

The fight went out of her body, and the power went out of her voice. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you.”

Lucas drew back. His brows knit together in obvious confusion.

“I didn’t come out here to fight,” she told him. “I know who the real bad guy is.” She pressed a hand against her forehead. “I came out here to ask you to annihilate Steve.”

“Are you actually falling for Byron?” Devin stared at Lexi’s sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks where she sat on the end of the bed in her ranch-house room. Lexi was fresh from a shower, wrapped in a thick white robe, drying her blond hair with a towel.

“It’s a party,” Lexi retorted. “He didn’t invite me to a wild weekend in St. Kitts.” Though her expression told Devin she’d probably consider a wild weekend in St. Kitts.

“You’re flying all the way to Houston for a party?”

Lexi grinned. “We’re flying all the way to Houston for a party. Byron wants all four of us to go.”

“I can’t go to Houston.” Devin straightened on her perch at the other end of the bed. She was here to take care of Amelia, not to go gallivanting around the state of Texas.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Lexi gave her a playful swat on the knee. “Teresa will take good care of Amelia. You need to do some research for your rich people book, and I need to take advantage of a date who owns his own jet plane.”

“You are a mercenary,” Devin playfully accused.

“He helped me get on my horse,” said Lexi, biting down for a second on her bottom lip. “Then he helped me get off. And his hands lingered on my hips. I don’t know why that seemed so incredibly sexy, but it did.” She pressed the small towel into her lap, squeezing it between her palms. “I haven’t kissed a man since Rick died. And we dated from the time I was fifteen, so I’ve never really kissed another man at all. I’ve certainly never made love to anyone else.”

Devin blinked. “You’re thinking about making love with Byron?”

Lexi’s cheeks flushed brighter. “Maybe.” She tossed the towel on the bed and finger-combed her long hair. “I don’t know. I’m thinking about kissing him, anyway. Maybe tomorrow night at the party.” She leaned forward, a pleading look in her eyes. “You have to come, Devin.”

Devin wasn’t crazy about the idea of flying to Houston. And she definitely wasn’t wild about attending a party with Lucas.

She made an excuse to Lexi. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

Lexi grinned. “We’ll go shopping.”

“But-”

Lexi waved off Devin’s protest. “Byron already told me I should go wild. We can stop in Dallas on the way, or we can make sure we get to Houston early. Come on, Devin. Designer dresses. Somebody else’s credit card.”

“Mercenary,” Devin repeated.

“It’ll be a blast.”

Devin found she didn’t have it in her to let Lexi down. It was the happiest she’d seen her friend since Rick had died. She’d buy a dress, make a little small talk and tough it out in Lucas’s company.

It wasn’t as though his opinion of her could get any worse. She groaned.

“What?” Lexi’s voice betrayed her concern.

“Nothing.” Devin shook her head. This was about Lexi. “I’ll come to Houston.”

“Is it Lucas?”

Devin’s throat thickened for a split second, but she swallowed it away. “Of course it’s Lucas. Everything is Lucas. My nemesis is Lucas.”

“Because you hate him?”

“I don’t hate him.” She didn’t. She hated the situation and the circumstances.

“Is it because you want him again, and you can’t have him?”

Devin coughed on a exclamation of denial. “I don’t want him.”

Lexi lapped the robe over her thigh. “Uh-huh,” she agreed sarcastically.

“And if I did,” Devin declared, “I could have him any old time I wanted.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. In fact, I already-” Devin stopped herself.

Lexi scooted eagerly up on her knees. “In fact, you already what?”

“Oh, hell.” What was the point of pretending. “I did it again.”

“Slept with Lucas?”

“Yes,” Devin admitted.

“And you didn’t tell me? When? Why? How?”

“How?”

“You know what I mean.” Lexi wriggled closer.

“He caught me. Well, almost caught me. Snooping in his emails. I was looking for messages from Konrad.”

Lexi gave an admiring nod. “Gutsy. I like it.”

“I was in his bedroom.” Devin couldn’t help thinking back. “I heard him coming down the hall. So I hopped on his bed and acted like I was there to proposition him.” She cringed at the memory.

“And he said yes?”

“Oh, yeah.” A touch of pride crept into Devin’s voice as she remembered Lucas’s enthusiasm.

Lexi gave a throaty chuckle.

“But then, later, I guess the next day. I’m not sure. He found the emails, and now he thinks… Well, he thinks I’m the kind of person who’d use sex as a tool for covert operations.”

“I think it’s admirable.”

Devin frowned. “That I’d use sex that way?”

“That you’d break into Lucas’s email account.”

Devin plucked at the quilt on the bed. “I couldn’t do it. I mean, I know I did it. But I realized I’d gone way over the line. I was about to shut it down when he showed up.”

She remembered the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she’d realized how badly she’d invaded Lucas’s privacy. She was mortified by her own behavior, and she could certainly understand Lucas’s disgust.

“I bet he would have done exactly the same thing,” Lexi staunchly defended.

“You think?” Not that it gave her an excuse, but Devin would prefer to think she wasn’t the only one whose ethics could be questionable.

“Don’t let him paint himself as an angel. You’re not perfect. Then again, neither am I. I’m thinking about sleeping with a man I only just met.”

“Kind of like I did?”

Lexi reached out and squeezed Devin’s hands. “We’re human. It’s not a flaw to be human.” She paused. “So, what do you say about Houston?”

Lucas realized he was unlikely to ever see any of these people again. But he couldn’t get past his discomfort at sitting in a pink armchair next to the lingerie section of Desmonde in downtown Houston, sipping a glass of white wine and pretending he cared about the fashion magazine the clerk had left open on his lap.

He tipped his body toward Byron and hissed. “We’re shopping for dresses.”

Byron leaned back in obvious self-satisfaction. “Do I know how to keep a little filly happy or what?”

“Can’t we leave? And come back later?” Maybe they could find a sporting goods store or a cigar bar, somewhere Lucas could regenerate his testosterone.

“You’ve never been married, have you, Lucas?” Byron knew that perfectly well. “Trust me on this, I know what I’m doing.”

“But I don’t want to keep the little filly happy.” Lucas plunked the magazine back down on the glass table in front of them.

He was willing to attend the party. It was a state board of trade event, so there were likely some good business contacts to be had. And Byron always supported Lucas, and Lucas understood Byron was interested in Lexi. But he didn’t see why they had to traipse around Houston like a couple of college girlfriends, oohing and ahhing while Devin and Lexi chose dresses.

“Take a look at that,” Byron cooed in a voice that carried across the room. “Isn’t she the prettiest thing?”

Exiting the dressing room area, Lexi did an exaggerated model walk across the raised floor. The dress she wore was a brilliant blue, tight on top, with a full, layered crinoline-type skirt that fell to her knees. A jewel-studded belt flashed at her waist.

Lucas had to admit, Lexi had amazing legs for a forty-year-old.

Byron gave a low whistle, and Lexi flashed him a grin.

“Those shoes are a must,” noted a salesclerk as she approached the dais.

Lexi turned her ankle to give them a better show of a pair of silver, high-heel sandals with wide ankle straps.

“You like the shoes, darlin’?” Byron asked.

“Love the shoes,” said Lexi.

“We’re taking the shoes,” Byron informed the salesclerk. “And the dress. I’m particularly partial to the dress.”

“It’s the first one I’ve tried on,” Lexi protested.

“Then try on some more,” said Byron with a wave of his large, work-roughened hand. He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial level as he addressed the salesclerk. “Never known a woman to have too many dresses.”

The salesclerk gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, obviously sensing a hefty commission. “Neither have I,” she readily agreed.

Devin appeared next, but Lucas barely got a glimpse of her black sheath of a cocktail dress before the salesclerk rushed to shoo her back into the change room.

Then the woman marched purposefully past Lucas to the lingerie, snagged a lacy black push-up bra and a scrap of a thong and whisked them toward the dressing rooms. “Nothing will ruin that Rue de Femme dress like panty lines,” she announced to anyone who happened to be within earshot.

Lucas glanced uneasily at Bryon.

“Too much information,” he finally responded.

“Way in the hell too much,” Byron agreed.

Lucas shifted in his chair.

After a few minutes, Devin reemerged. The black dress was simple enough, a square neckline showing a creamy hint of cleavage, three-inch-wide shoulders straps that emphasized her slender arms, a nipped-in waist, clingy over the hips, narrowing to a hemline just above the knees. The dress wouldn’t have normally stood out for Lucas. But Devin was wearing it, and all he could see was the image of that sexy underwear on what he knew to be a killer body.

The clerk stood back to consider. “That neckline simply cries out for diamonds,” she commented.

The observation obviously took Devin aback. Her hand rose to her bare throat.

But Byron slapped one hand on his knee. “I’m buyin’,” he announced in a hearty voice. “Bring on the diamonds.”

“Like hell you are,” Lucas retorted, while the clerk scurried off to the jewelry department.

“Nice shoes,” said Byron, gesturing to the black suede platform sandals that were going to haunt Lucas’s dreams.

“I’m not getting diamonds,” Devin told them both.

Lucas lowered his voice so only Byron could hear. “And you are not buying Devin’s underwear.”

Byron slanted Lucas a look. “One too many roosters in the henhouse?”

“You want to buy underwear, buy some for Lexi.”

The clerk hustled back to Devin, three velvet cases in her hands. She opened the first, and the jewels flashed under the store lights.

“This one is called aurora swirl,” she said. “Three-colored teardrop diamonds-blue, yellow and pink-with white square cuts in the chain-D flawless. And a total of seven carats in all.”

Devin seemed speechless as the woman speedily fastened the necklace around her neck.

Byron leaned across the table separating them. “I suppose you’ll insist on buying the diamonds, too?”

Lucas knew he should be annoyed at being backed into a corner, but he was too busy getting a kick out of the expression on Devin’s face. He had to admit, the necklace looked stunning. The clerk knew exactly how to accessorize the dress.

“Let me get a better look,” he said, motioning Devin forward.

The clerk smiled like a Cheshire cat, giving Devin a gentle little shove toward him.

Devin took a few halting tentative steps. Then she came down off the dais, her voice a low hiss. “Don’t you dare encourage her.”

“It looks good on you.” Lucas spent only a fraction of a second on the diamonds before catching a glimpse of the lace bra peeking out above the neckline of the dress.

“Well, I think it’s too garish,” Devin stated loud enough for all to hear.

The clerk’s expression faltered for a split second. “We have many other fine-”

“I think this is the one,” said Lucas. He boldly reached out to touch the stones, brushing his fingertips against the warm, soft skin of Devin’s chest. His voice went lower. “This is definitely the one.”

“No,” said Devin.

“Oh, yes,” said Lucas. He hadn’t thought about buying her jewelry. But suddenly he wanted Devin to look exactly like this at the party tonight. He wanted to watch her sinuous movements under the slinky dress, to see her smile, to hear her voice and to pretend it was a real date.

“You’re going to meet the Duke of Rothcliff,” he told her. “I’m expanding our manufacturing base in Europe, and I need to impress him.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s a time-honored tradition. I wear the same old tired suit, and you’re the billboard for my wealth.”

Devin’s jaw worked for a moment.

“Now that’s a ball gown,” Byron said in a hearty voice from the chair next to them.

Lucas looked up, and Devin turned her head.

“Too much?” asked Lexi as she did a twirl in a fuchsia satin strapless dress with miles of ruffled, bell-shaped skirt.

“I’m finding us a big ol’ ball to attend,” Byron responded. “Hell, I’d even strap myself into a tux to take you out in that, darlin’.”

Lexi’s grin was wide.

“No, to the necklace,” Devin told Lucas.

But Lucas had already reached in his pocket and deftly extracted a credit card. “Yes, to the necklace,” he told the clerk. “Yes to the dress. And yes to everything else she’s wearing.”

His credit card was out of his hand before Devin could mount another protest, and the clerk was swiftly heading across the store.

“I win,” he told Devin.

“What did you win?” she scoffed. “You just spent-” She faltered. “Lucas, you didn’t ask the price.”

“It’ll be on the bill,” he told her mildly.

“Are you showing off?” she challenged.

“Yeah. Because up until now, I didn’t think you knew I had money.”

“You’re impossible.”

“What was your first clue?”

She pointed in the direction the clerk had gone. “Go stop her.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Lucas.”

He lifted his eyebrows.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re shopping for dresses. Which, by the way, is a whole lot more fun than I expected.”

Byron chuckled beside them. “Take that one, too,” he called to Lexi. “And try on something else. Lucas is finally starting to have some fun here.”

“You go try on something else,” Lucas told Devin, enjoying the way her eyes flashed blue fire.

“And bankrupt the company?” she asked.

“We can afford it.”

“Is this the way you’re going to manage Amelia’s money?”

“Amelia’s too young for diamonds.”

“You know what I mean.”

“That was on my personal credit card, Devin. I don’t spend corporate money on a date.”

She smoothed the dress and then rubbed her bare arms. “Lucas, I am really uncomfortable about this.”

“You afraid I’ll expect you to put out?” he dared. He expected her to blush, or get flustered, or get angry.

Instead, she straightened, took a breath and looked him square in the eyes. “I already have.”

As she turned to flounce away, Lucas found himself under Byron’s accusing stare.

“What do you want from me?” Lucas asked him. “I bought the woman some diamonds.”

Byron didn’t pick up on the joke. “You don’t think you might be playing a bit of a dangerous game here?”

Lucas turned to face the older man head on, acknowledging to himself, as well as to Byron, the magnitude of the stakes. “You think I haven’t already thought of that?”

Devin had never thought of herself as particularly starstruck, but meeting a member of the royal family had put a cluster of butterflies firmly in her stomach. She found herself glad to be wearing a designer dress, and of the confidence boost from the diamond necklace.

“Do you do this kind of thing a lot?” she asked Lucas as they moved from the ballroom to the veranda of the Oak Point Country Club. The evening was sultry and warm. Little white lights decorated the railings and palm trees. The veranda overlooked a rolling lawn that sloped down to a narrow river. Pathways led across a footbridge to the lighted gardens beyond.

“Eat dinner or meet royalty?” Lucas stopped when the reached the rail.

“Hang out with the who’s who.” Even as she asked the question, she knew the answer. Lucas held an important position, in an important company. She might not be an economics expert, but she understood high tech was the future for well-paying jobs in the country. “Never mind,” she added.

“You look very beautiful,” he told her, eyes a soft pewter in subtle light.

“It’s the hair.”

“And the face.”

“It took three highly skilled professionals to get me looking like this.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Uncomfortable, she turned to face the rail, bracing her hands and gazing out across the grounds of the country club. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Absolutely.” He moved in behind her, his voice intimate behind her ear.

“Do you think that’s such a good idea?”

“I think it’s a terrible idea.” He stroked the backs of his fingers down her bare arm. “If we flirt, I figure there’s a better than even chance we’ll end up in bed.”

She started to call him on his bold assertion, but he kept right on talking.

“And, after we make love, there’s a better than even chance we’ll fight.” He drew a breath. “And I don’t like the way that pattern ends.”

A gust of wind flitted through the palm trees, rustling the leaves above them. Partygoers made their way up and down the stairs to the lawn below, talking and laughing while strains of the string quartet wafted out from the dining room.

Lucas was right. If anything, the sexual pull between them was growing stronger. She was dressed up in diamonds and great shoes, and she was at a snazzy party with exciting guests, and she was standing out here on a sultry evening with the sexiest man she’d ever met. She wanted nothing more than to throw caution to the wind and flirt the night away.

But first, she owned him some honesty.

She turned. “I’m really sorry, Lucas.”

He nodded, easing back a couple of inches. “Understood.”

“I should never have looked at Konrad’s emails,” she continued. “I was wrong. And I knew it at the time. And, please believe me, I was about to stop.” She closed her eyes for a brief second. “But, for a minute there, the end seemed to justify the means.”

“Are you asking me to take your word on that?”

She opened her eyes again. “Yes. I am.”

“Okay.”

“You will?”

“Yes.”

“Really?” Her heart lightened.

“I will. Now, will you take my word on something?”

She hesitated, bracing to see how he’d push his agenda. “What?”

“You are drop-dead gorgeous, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the dress, the diamonds or the shoes.”

Awareness prickled her skin in the thick, moist air, and she reached to touch the necklace that had warmed against her skin.

“Though, I admit, I am partial to your new underwear.”

“How do you know I’m wearing it?” she teased.

“No panty lines.” He glanced down at her neckline. “And I can see the lace from the bra.”

Devin sucked in a breath, as Lucas shifted closer, slipping a hand to the small of her back, lowering it ever so slowly to the curve of her buttocks. The lacey underwear suddenly felt sinfully delicious. She inhaled the scent of his skin, reveled in the vibration of his deep voice and struggled not to move under his feathery touch.

“I never would have slept with you,” she told him, “if I didn’t want to do it.”

“Glad to hear that.” His head tipped to one side, and his lips parted.

“Not here,” she whispered, cursing the fact they were in full view of the other guests.

“Afraid we’ll shock the royalty?”

“Afraid you have more in mind than a kiss.”

“I have way more in mind than a kiss.”

“That will have to wait until we get home.”

“Define home.”

“The ranch.”

Lucas’s hand tightened on her rear end, snuggling her up against his body. “Uh-uh. No way.” He jerked his head to one side. “See that big building over there? That’s the Gulf Port Grand Hotel.”

“We’re not staying in Houston.”

“Oh, yes we are. You don’t get to tease me like that, then expect me to make it all the way back to Dallas.”

“Tease you?”

“The underwear.”

“You bought the underwear.”

“You wore it.”

“It matched the dress.”

His gaze went to her neckline again. “You’ll be lucky if I make it to the hotel.”

“What about Lexi and Byron? It’s his airplane.”

“You don’t think I could get my own airplane down here? And Byron already has a reservation at the hotel.”

“He does not.” Devin refused to believe Byron intended to seduce Lexi. Not that she thought Lexi would object. But it sounded as though they hadn’t even kissed yet.

Lucas surreptitiously stroked the pad of his thumb along her collarbone. “He bought her three dresses and an emerald watch, you don’t think he’s hoping for a romantic ending to the night?”

Devin allowed herself a small shudder at the touch, but then she determinedly pushed his hand away. “You bought me a diamond necklace,” she accused.

He grunted. “And I expect you to put out.”

“Are you trying to pick a fight?”

“No. Absolutely not.” He twined their fingers together. “Why? Are you getting mad?”

“No,” she admitted. Then she reached out and straightened his silk charcoal tie and ran her palms down the front of his shirt. She curved her mouth into a sultry smile. “And, just so you know, I am going to put out.”

“Oh, man,” he breathed, his hand convulsing over hers. “Get me to the limo.”