Page 7 of The Rancher's Secret Son

The moment his mouth touched hers, she felt the sparks she always had with Nick. His arm tightened around her waist and his mouth pressed against hers more firmly, opening her lips as he really kissed her, a deep, sexy kiss that for a few minutes stopped her worrying and fears, and shut off memories of their past and the big problem facing her.

Her heart pounding, she clung to Nick and kissed him in return, knowing it was folly, but unable to stop. She was swept back in time, into memories of Nick’s steamy, passionate kisses that had stolen her heart so quickly. She ignored the voice in her head that warned her she couldn’t let that happen again.

She clung to his broad shoulders, too aware of the hard, muscled body pressed against hers. Desire seemed to explode from his scalding kiss. It had been so long since she had been held by a man and kissed with such intensity.

When they moved apart, he was breathing as hard as she and he looked startled. His kiss had shaken her, igniting desire that burned through worry and made her stop thinking for a few minutes. But now, as she faced him again, she saw his blue eyes were filled with curiosity. Nick was an intelligent man and he had already picked up on something worrying her.

She couldn’t tell him. The words wouldn’t come to invite him in. She could take a few days to think about what she intended to do and to consult her family lawyer. She smiled at him, trying to pull herself together. “Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Nick. It was good to see you again. I am so sorry about your wife and baby.”

“You’re saying all the right things, Claire, but why do I have a feeling there is something else you want to say?” he asked, studying her as if he hadn’t ever seen her before.

“No, Nick. I’m just overworked at home.” Nervous, wanting to get away from him, swamped in guilt at the same time, she inserted her card into the door with such a shaky hand, she couldn’t get it to work.

Nick’s hand closed over hers and he opened the door for her. Even in her upset condition, she noticed the physical contact, the warmth of his fingers that sent an electric charge up her arm with his touch. “If you ever want to talk, I’m an old friend, Claire,” he said quietly.

She felt as if she had fallen into ice water. “Thank you. Good night, Nick,” she said, stepping inside and holding the door, turning to look at him. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He nodded, giving her one more searching look before walking to the elevator.

She started to close the door and guilt swamped her. Could she live with her conscience if she flew home to Houston and didn’t tell Nick?

Closing her eyes, she opened the door just as the elevator doors opened. Nick glanced over his shoulder, saw her watching him and frowned.

“Nick, can you come in for a little while?”

He turned, once again giving her one of his probing looks that filled her with dread. Nick could be formidable. He had power, wealth and a state-wide network of cronies with influence. What would he do when he found out about Cody?

“Claire, I’ll be happy to help with a problem,” he said in a gentle voice, but it did nothing to ease her fear.

“Come in and let’s get a drink,” she said, leading him into the living area of her suite, which overlooked the sparkling lights of the city from the twenty-fourth floor. She switched on one small lamp that gave a soft glow in the quiet room. “I’m trying to think things through before I start talking. Just give me a minute,” she said. “What would you like?”

“Let’s see if there’s any beer in that fridge you have,” he said. Looking in the small refrigerator, he held up a bottle of white wine. “Would you like this?”

“Yes, thank you,” she said.

“I’ll pour your wine. You go ahead and think so we can talk. I’m in no hurry, Claire.”

She nodded and he went to pour her wine, but as she watched him walk away, she knew she couldn’t think this through in just minutes. She got her phone out of her purse, still half wanting to tell him to forget it and talk to him later, by phone from Houston. Each time she had thoughts like that, guilt chased them away. She couldn’t fly home without telling Nick that he had a child.

Perching on the edge of an ottoman, she watched him stroll back into the room. She couldn’t have chosen better for the father of her child. Nick had so many good qualities. She hoped forgiveness was one of them.

He handed her a glass of white wine. When his fingers brushed hers, he frowned slightly. “You’re freezing,” he said, his hand covering hers. His hand was warm and in other circumstances would have been reassuring. But not now. He knelt in front of her. “What’s wrong? It can’t be money with the successful business you have. Are you not well?”

She shook her head, unable to say anything.

“How can I help?” he asked gently.

“I want to talk to you. Have a seat, Nick. This may take a while.”

His probing gaze searched hers again before he rose, pulled a straight-back chair close and sat. She sipped her wine and set the glass on an end table. When she did, he took her hand, holding it between his two warm hands.

“Do you want me to get you a blanket?”

“No, I’ll be all right.” They gazed at each other and she realized he was being quiet to give her a chance to think and to let her talk when she was ready.

“Nick, the night you proposed...we had a terrible fight and you said goodbye. You walked out and we didn’t see each other again. It wasn’t many months until you were engaged to someone else and headed for a political career. I’m sure you remember.”

“Of course I do. We couldn’t work things out.” He took a swallow of his beer, as if to wash away the memory of their breakup. “Karen and I had known each other for years and we’d dated in college and at one point had talked about marriage. When she came to work in DC she called me and I started seeing her. She was from Dallas, had no ties that would interfere with the two of us. My family pushed me to marry and start a family. You had already turned me down. That last time you and I were together...it was terrible. I imagine you were as hurt as I was. It was clear that it was over between us.”

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