A Wife for a Westmoreland (3 page)

“Aren’t you curious as to why I want to know?”

“Yes, I’m curious, but not enough to ask. I figure you have your reasons and I don’t want to come close to thinking what they might be.”

Derringer nodded, understanding why Jason felt that way. His cousin knew his history with women. And what Jason said was true. He had his reasons, all right.

“So what do you plan to do today now that you’ve returned to the world of the living? I heard the E.R. doc tell you to take it easy for at least a week or so to recuperate, so you’re still under restrictions,” Jason reminded him.

“Yes, but I’m not restricted from driving. I’m going to hang around here and take it easy for a few more days before venturing out anywhere.”

“I’m glad you’re following the doc’s advice. Although things could have been worse, that was still a nasty fall you took. And as far as your question regarding women’s undergarments, I suggest you talk to Zane when he gets back from Boulder.” Jason chuckled and then added, “And be prepared to take notes.”

Two days later Derringer left home for the first time since his accident and drove to Zane’s Hideout. He was glad to see his brother’s truck parked in the yard, which meant he was back. Jason was right. He should have been prepared to take notes. Zane, who was only fourteen months older but a heck of a lot wiser where women were concerned, had no qualms about telling him what he wanted to know.

According to Zane, the color and style of a woman’s panties said a lot about her. Sexually liberated women
wore thongs or barely-there panties, all colors except white, and they rarely wore pastel colors. Most of them preferred black.

Zane further went on to say that women who liked to tease men wore black lace. Women who preferred lace to any other design were women who liked to look and feel pretty. And bikini panties weren’t as popular these days as thongs and hipsters, so a woman still wearing bikini panties weren’t as sexually liberated as others.

Derringer smiled when Zane, with a serious look on his face, advised him to steer clear of women who wore granny panties. Zane furthermore claimed that women who wore red panties gave the best blow jobs. Those with yellow panties the majority of the time weren’t afraid to try anything and were pretty good with a pair of handcuffs. Blue panties–wearing women were loyal to a fault—although they had a tendency to get possessive sometimes, and those who preferred wearing green were only after your money, so the use of double condoms was in order.

It had taken his brother almost an hour to make it to pink panties and, according to the Laws of Zane, women who wear pink panties were the ones you needed to stay away from because they had the word
marriage
written all over them, blasting like neon lights. They were a cross between innocent and a woman with an inner hunger for getting laid. But in the end she would still want a wedding ring on her finger.

“Okay, now that you’ve taken up more than an hour of my time, how about telling me why you’re so interested in a woman’s panties,” Zane said, eyeing him curiously.

For a moment Derringer considered not telling his brother anything, but then thought better of it. He, his five brothers and all his cousins were close, but there was a special bond between him, Zane and Jason. Besides, it was evident that Zane knew a lot more about women than he did, so maybe his brother could give him some sound advice about how to handle what had occurred that night, just in case he had been set up.

“Some woman came over to my place the night I was injured and let herself in. I can’t remember who she was, but I do remember making love to her.”

Zane stared at him intently for a moment. “Are you absolutely sure you made love to her and didn’t imagine the whole thing? When we took you home from the hospital—right before I had to take off for the airport—you were pretty high on those pain meds. Megan figured that you would probably sleep through most of the night, although she set out more medicine for you to take later.”

Derringer shook his head. “Yeah, I was pretty drugged up, but I remember making love to her, Zane. And to prove I didn’t dream the whole thing, I found her panties in bed with me the next morning.” What he decided not to say was that as far as he was concerned, it had been the best lovemaking he’d ever experienced with a woman.

Zane drew in a deep breath and then said on a heavy sigh. “You better hope it wasn’t Ashira. Hell, man, if you didn’t use a condom she would love to claim you’re her new baby’s daddy.”

Derringer rubbed the ache that had suddenly crept into his temples at the thought. “It wasn’t Ashira, trust
me. This woman left one hell of an impression. I’ve never experienced lovemaking like it before. It was off the charts. Besides, Ashira called a few days after hearing about the accident. She left town to go visit her sick grandmother in Dakota the day before the accident and won’t be back for a few weeks.”

“You do know there’s a way for you to find out the identity of your uninvited visitor, don’t you?” Zane asked.

Derringer glanced over at him. “How?”

“Did you forget about the video cameras we had installed on your property to protect the horses, the week before your fall? Anyone pulling into your yard would be captured on film if they got as far as your front porch.”

Derringer blinked when he remembered the video camera and wondered why he hadn’t recalled it sooner. He got up from Zane’s table and swiftly strode to the door. “I need to get home and check out that tape,” he said without looking back.

“What happens when you find out who she is?” Zane called out.

He slowed to a stop and glanced over his shoulder. “Whoever she is, she will be sorry.” He then turned and continued walking.

He meant what he said. Thanks to Zane, the mystery might have been solved. But once Derringer discovered the woman’s identity, her nightmare for what she’d done would just be beginning, he thought, getting into his truck and driving away. He had a feeling
his
nightmare would continue until he found her—their night together had been so good, it haunted his dreams.

He made it back to Derringer’s Dungeon in record time, and once inside his house he immediately went to his office to log on to his computer. The technician who had installed the video camera had told him he had access to the film from any computer anywhere with his IP address. This would be the first time he had reason to view the footage since the cameras had been installed.

A year ago his Westmoreland cousins from Montana had expanded their very successful horse-breeding and training business and had invited him, Jason and Zane to join as partners. Since all three were fine horsemen—although you couldn’t prove how good he was, considering what had happened on Monday—they had jumped at the chance to be included. In anticipation of the horses that would be arriving, they had decided to install cameras on all three of their properties to make sure horse thieves, which were known to pop up every so often in these parts, didn’t get any ideas about stealing from a Westmoreland.

Derringer hauled in a deep breath when the computer came to life and he typed in the code to get him to the video-camera channel and almost held his breath as he searched for the date he wanted. He then sat there, with his gaze glued to the computer screen, and waited with bated breath for something to show up.

It seemed it took forever before the lights of a vehicle came into view. The time indicated it wasn’t early afternoon, not quite dark, but there had been a thunderstorm brewing. He then recalled it had been raining something awful with thunder and lightning
flashing all around. At one point the intensity of it had awakened him.

He squinted at the image, trying to make out the truck that turned into his yard in the torrential rain. It seemed the weather worsened and rain started to pour down on the earth the moment the vehicle pulled into his yard.

It took only a second to recall whose SUV was in focus and he could only lean back in his chair, not believing what he was seeing. The woman who got out of her truck, battling the weather before tackling the huge box on his porch by dragging it inside his place was none other than Lucia Conyers.

He shook his head trying to make heads or tails of what he was seeing. Okay, he had it now. He figured, for whatever reason, Lucia had come by—probably as a favor to Chloe—to check on him and had been kind enough to bring the box inside the house, out of the rain.

He sat there watching the computer screen, expecting her to come back out at any minute and then get in her truck and pull off. He figured once she left, another vehicle would drive up, and the occupant of that car would be the woman he’d slept with. But as he sat there for another twenty minutes or so viewing the screen, Lucia never came back out.

Lucia Conyers was his Puddin’ Tame?

Derringer shook his head, thinking that there was no way. He then decided to fast-forward the tape to five o’clock the next morning. His eyes narrowed suspiciously when a few minutes later he watched his front door open and Lucia ease out of it as if she was
sneaking away from the scene of some crime. And she was wearing the same clothes she had on when she’d first arrived the night before. It was obvious she had dressed hurriedly and was moving rather quickly toward her SUV.

Damn. He couldn’t believe it. He wouldn’t believe it if he wasn’t seeing it for himself. She was the one woman he would never have suspected, not in a million years. But from the evidence he’d gotten off his video camera, Lucia was the woman he had slept with. Lucia, his sister-in-law’s best friend. Lucia was innocent—at least his assumption of that had been right. His mystery lover had been Lucia, the woman who would shy away from him and act skittish whenever he came around her.

Last month he recalled hearing Chloe and his sisters tease her about this being the last year of her twenties and challenge her to write a list of everything she wanted to do before hitting the big three-oh. He couldn’t help wondering if she had added something outlandish like getting pregnant before her biological clock stopped ticking or ridding herself of her virginity.

Anger filled him, seeped through every pore in his body. Lucia Conyers had a hell of a lot of explaining to do. She better have a good reason for getting into bed with him that night two weeks ago.

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched in the number to his sister-in-law’s magazine. “
Simply Irresistible,
may I help you?”

“Yes, I’d like to speak to Lucia Conyers, please,” he said, trying to control his anger.

“Sorry, but Ms. Conyers just stepped out for lunch.”

“Did she say where she was going?” he asked.

The receptionist paused and then asked. “Who may I ask is calling?”

“This is Mr. Westmoreland.”

“Oh, Mr. Westmoreland, how are you? Your wife and baby were here a couple of days ago, and your daughter looks just like you.”

Derringer shook his head. Evidently the woman thought he was Ramsey, which was okay with him if he could get the information he wanted out of her.

“I take that as a compliment. Did Lucia say where she was going for lunch?”

“Yes, sir. She’s dining at McKay’s today.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, sir.”

Derringer hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair as an idea formed in his mind. He wouldn’t let her know he had found out the truth about her visit. He would let her assume that she had gotten away with it and that he didn’t have a clue that she was the woman who’d taken advantage of him that night.

And then when she least expected it, he would play his hand.

S
omething, Lucia wasn’t sure exactly what, made her glance over her menu and look straight into the eyes of Derringer Westmoreland. She went completely still as he moved in fluid precision toward her, with an unreadable expression on his face.

Staring at him, taking him all in, all six-three of him, while broad shoulders flexed beneath a blue Western shirt, and a pair of jeans clung to him like a second layer of skin and showed the iron muscles in his thighs. And then there was his face, too handsome for words, with his medium-brown skin tone, dark coffee-colored eyes and firm and luscious-looking lips.

For the moment she couldn’t move; she was trans-fixed. A part of her wanted to get up quickly and run in another direction, but she felt glued to the chair. But that didn’t stop liquid heat from pooling between her thighs
when her gaze locked onto his face and she looked at the same features she had seen almost two weeks ago in his bed.

Why was he here and approaching her table? Had he found her panties and figured out she was the woman who had left them behind? She swallowed, thinking there was no way he could have discovered her identity, but then she asked herself why else would he seek her out?

He finally came to a stop at her table and she nervously moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. She could swear his gaze was following her every movement. She swallowed again, thinking she had to be imagining things, and opened her mouth to speak. “Derringer? What are you doing here? Chloe mentioned you had taken a nasty fall a couple of weeks ago.”

“Yes, but a man has to eat sometime. I was told McKay’s serves the best potpie on Thursdays for lunch and there’s always a huge crowd. I saw you sitting over here alone and thought the least we can do is help the place out,” he said.

She was trying hard to follow him and not focus on the way his Adam’s apple moved with every word he said, as if it was on some sensuous beat. She lifted a brow. “Help the place out in what way?”

He gave her a smooth smile. “Freeing up a table by us sharing one.”

Lucia was trying really hard not to show any emotion—especially utter astonishment and disbelief—as well as not to let the menu she was holding fall to the floor. Had he just suggested that they share a table during lunch? Breathe the same air?

She was tempted to pick up the glass filled with ice water and drink the whole thing in one gulp. Instead, she drew in a deep breath to stop her heart from pounding so hard in her chest. How could spending only one night in his bed cause her to want to let go of her sensibilities and play out these newfound urges at the sight of him?

Of course, there was no way she would do something like that. In fact, a part of her was shaking inside at the thought he wanted to join her for lunch. She quickly wondered how Chloe would handle the situation if she was in her place. The answer came easy, but then she wasn’t Chloe. However, she had to keep her cool and respond with the confidence Chloe possessed. The confidence that she lacked.

Lucia forced a smile to her lips. “I think that’s a good idea, Derringer.”

His lips eased into a smile right before her eyes. “Glad you agree,” he said, taking the chair across from her.

She forced herself to breathe and belatedly realized just what she’d done. She had agreed to let him sit at her table. What on earth would they have to talk about? What if she let something slip and said something really stupid like,
“Oh, by the way, when can I drop by and get the panties I left behind the other night?”

She sighed heavily. For all she knew, he might have figured things out already. Seriously, why else would he give a royal flip whether or not McKay’s was crowded for lunch? That in itself was suspect because he’d never sought out her attention before.

She glanced over at him and he smiled at her, flash
ing those same dimples that he’d flashed that night she almost melted in her chair. He looked the same, only thing was that his eyes no longer had a hungover look. Today his gaze was as clear as glass.

The waitress saved them from talking when she walked up to take both their lunch orders. When she left, Lucia wished she had a mirror to see how she looked. She would die if she didn’t at least look halfway decent. Absently, she ran a finger through her hair and pressed her lips together. She was grateful to feel her lipstick still in place, although she was tempted to get the tube of lipstick from her purse and apply a fresh coat.

“I understand you’re back in school.”

She was watching his mouth and his lips moved. She realized he’d said something. “Excuse me?”

He smiled again. “I said I heard you were back in school.”

“Yes, I am. How did you know?”

“Chloe mentioned it.”

“Oh.” She wondered why Chloe would mention such a thing unless he’d asked about her. Had he? She shook her head, finding the idea unlikely. Her name must have popped up for conversational purposes and nothing more than that. If there had been anything more, Chloe definitely would have told her.

“Yes, I’m back at school taking night classes to get my master’s degree in mass communications.” Then, without missing a beat, she said, “You seem to be doing well from your fall.” No sooner had the words left her mouth than she wished she could take them back.
Why on earth would she bring up anything relating to that day?

“Yes, but I’m doing better now. I’ve been taking it easy for the past week or so and sleeping most of the time. It helped. I feel in pretty good shape now.”

She didn’t know how to tell him that as far as she was concerned, he’d been in pretty good shape that night as well. His movements hadn’t been hindered in any way. The thought of all he’d done to her sent heat soaring all through her body.

“So, what else have you been up to lately?”

Lucia felt her heart give a loud thump in her chest and wondered if he’d heard it. Dragging her gaze from her silverware, she thought that she could remember in vivid detail just what she’d been up to lately with him. Sitting across from her was the man who’d taken her virginity. The man who’d introduced her to the kind of pleasure she’d only read about in romance novels, and the man whom she’d loved forever. And knowing he probably had no idea of any of those things was the epitome of insane. But somehow she would fake it and come off looking like the most poised person that ever existed.

“Not a whole lot,” she heard herself saying. “School and the magazine keep me pretty busy, but because I enjoy doing both I won’t complain. What about you?” His gaze seemed to linger on her lips.

He chuckled. “Other than making a fool of myself with Sugar Foot, I haven’t been up to a whole lot either.”

She inclined her head. “What on earth would entice
you to ride that horse? I think everyone has heard how mean he is.”

He chuckled and the sound was a low, sexy rumble that made goose bumps form on her arms. “Ego. I figured if Casey could do it then so could I.”

She knew his cousin Casey and her husband, along with his cousin Durango and his wife, Savannah, had come visiting a few weekends ago. She’d heard everyone had been amazed at the ease with which Casey had gotten on Sugar Foot’s back and held on even when the horse had been determined to get her off.

“I’m a pretty good horseman,” Derringer said, breaking into her thoughts. “Although I’d be the first to admit I wasn’t personally trained by the renowned and legendary Sid Roberts like Casey and her brothers while growing up.”

Lucia nodded. His cousins Casey, Cole and Clint were triplets, and she had heard that they had lived with Roberts, their maternal uncle, while growing up. “We can all learn from the mistakes we make,” she said, taking a sip of her water to cool off.

“Yes, we sure can.”

Deciding she needed to escape, if only for a short moment, Lucia stood. “Would you excuse me for a moment? I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

“Sure, no problem,” he said, standing.

Lucia drew in a deep breath, wishing she was walking out the restaurant door with no intention of returning and not just escaping to the ladies’ room. And as she continued walking, she could actually feel Derringer staring at her back.

Derringer watched Lucia leave, thinking she looked downright sexy in her below-the-knee skirt and light blue pullover sweater. And then he couldn’t help but admire her small waistline and the flare of her hips in the skirt as she walked. Standing about five-seven, she had a pair of nice-looking black leather boots on her feet, but he could recall just what a nice pair of legs she had and remembered how those legs had felt wrapped around him the night they’d made love.

He would be the first to admit that he’d always thought Lucia was pretty, with her smooth brown skin and lustrous shoulder-length black hair that she usually wore pulled back in a ponytail. Then there were her hazel eyes, high cheekbones, cute chin and slim nose. And he couldn’t forget her luscious-looking mouth, one that could probably do a lot of wicked things to a man.

He leaned back in his chair remembering how years ago when she’d been about eighteen—about to leave home for college—and he had been in the process of moving back home from university, she had caught his eye. In memory of his parents and his aunt and uncle, who’d died together in a plane crash while he was in high school, the Westmorelands held a charity ball every year to raise money for the Westmoreland Foundation, which had been founded to aid various community causes. Lucia had attended the ball that year with her parents.

He had been standing by the punch bowl when she had arrived, and the sight of her in the dress she’d been wearing that night had rendered him breathless. He
hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her all evening. Evidently others had noticed his interest, and one of those had been her father, Dusty Conyers.

Later that same night the older man had pulled him aside and warned him away from his daughter. He let Derringer know in no uncertain terms that he would not tolerate a Westmoreland sniffing behind his daughter, creating the kind of trouble that Carl Newsome was having with Derringer’s cousin Bane.

Bane had had the hots for Crystal Newsome since junior high school, and since Bane had a penchant for getting into trouble, Newsome hadn’t wanted him anywhere near his daughter. Unfortunately, Crystal had other ideas and had been just as hot for Bane as he’d been for her, and Crystal and Bane managed to get into all kinds of naughty trouble together. Once, they’d even tried their hand at eloping before Carl Newsome had found his daughter and shipped her off to heaven knows where. A brokenhearted Bane had decided to take charge of his life by going into the Navy.

Derringer knew that although he didn’t have Bane’s badass reputation, he was still a Westmoreland, and a lot of mamas and daddies were dead set on protecting their daughters from what they thought was a Westmoreland heartbreak just waiting to happen. A part of him couldn’t fault Dusty Conyers for being one of them; especially since Derringer had made it known far and wide that he had no plans to settle down with any one woman. A wife was the last thing on his mind then as well as now. Making a success of the horse-training business he’d just started was his top priority.

“I’m back.”

He glanced up and stood for her to sit and thought that Lucia was even more beautiful up close. She had a nervous habit of licking her lips with her tongue. He would do just about anything to replace her tongue with his the next time she did it. And he also liked the sound of her voice. She spoke in a quiet yet sexy tone that did things to his insides, and he decided to keep her talking every chance he got.

“Tell me about the classes you’re taking at the university and why you decided to go back and get your master’s degree.”

She lifted a brow and then her lips curved into one of her smiles again. Evidently, he’d hit on a subject she liked talking about. “Although Chloe hasn’t made any announcements about anything, I can see her spending less and less time with
Simply Irresistible.
Whenever she does come into the office she has the baby with her, and it’s obvious that she prefers being home with Susan and Ramsey.”

He nodded, thinking he’d had that same impression as well. Whenever he paid Ramsey and Chloe a visit, they appeared to be a content and very happy couple who thoroughly enjoyed being parents. He’d heard from his other brothers that already Ramsey and Chloe were thinking about having another child.

“And I want to be prepared if she decides to take a leave of absence for a while,” Lucia continued. “She and I talked about it, and because my bachelor’s degree was in business, we thought it would be a good idea for me to get a degree in communications as well.”

The waitress chose that moment to return with their
food, and once the plates had been placed in front of them, she left.

“I understand Gemma is adjusting to life in Australia.”

He couldn’t help but smile. Although he missed his sister, it seemed from all the phone calls they got that she
was
adjusting to life in Australia. He’d known Callum, the man who used to be the manager of Ramsey’s sheep farm, had loved Gemma for a while, even if his sister had been clueless. He’d always known Callum’s feelings for Gemma had been the real thing and not for the sole purpose of getting her into bed. He’d wholeheartedly approved of Gemma and Callum’s relationship.

“Yes, I talked to her a few days ago. She and Callum are planning to come home for the Westmoreland Charity Ball at the end of the month.” He wondered if she planned to go and if so, if she already had a date.

“Are you dating anyone seriously?” he decided to ask and set his plan into motion.

She looked over at him after popping a strawberry into her luscious mouth, chewed on it a moment, and then she swallowed it before replying. “The only dates I have these days are with my schoolbooks.”

“Um, what a pity, that doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. How about a movie this weekend?”

She cocked a surprised eyebrow. “A movie?”

He could tell his suggestion had surprised her. “Yes, a movie. Evidently, you’re not spending enough time having fun, and everyone needs to let loose now and
then. There’s a new Tyler Perry movie coming out this weekend that I want to see. Would you like to go with me?”