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Chapter 12
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Taken by Surprise Chapter 13
"I think it should be bigger," Alton said, looking up at the outside of the restaurant."I think it's just the right size," Diane told him. "Bigger isn't always better.""What do you think, Jessie?" He looked over to where she stood on her crutches next to Jack who had his arm around her.Jessie couldn't take her eyes off it. This was an important day in her life, and the sign was the milestone marker. "I think it should go a little to the left. What about you, Bob?"Bob looked down from where he stood on a ladder. "I think it's the right size and it looks damn fine right here."The crowd gathered on the sidewalk burst out laughing. A number of people had gathered to watch Bob take down the Delfina's Diner sign and now they were waiting for the new one to be hung. Jessie could feel the excitement and expectation and it made her feel good. These people had become her friends as well as customers."Then we're good to go," she told him, grinning. "Put it in place."This new sign w
Taken by Surprise Chapter 14
Part Two: TemptedShea Prescott tugged on her short jacket-power red, of course-to straighten nonexistent wrinkles and brushed imaginary lint from her black skirt. Glancing around her office yet another time she assured herself that everything was in place, the client chairs properly placed, her pad for note-taking centered on her desk with freshly sharpened pencils and her computer set to produce her standard Power Point slide show with the touch of a button.It wasn't as if this was her very first appointment ever. No, Shea Randolph Prescott had acquired quite an impressive list of clients, not just in San Antonio but throughout Texas. Still, it wasn't every day a man worth millions and known as much for his sexual prowess as his business acumen walked into her office.Miguel Cruz Castillo was definitely a legend. Descended from Castilian Spaniards who had come to the New World six generations before, he had grown up in wealth and privilege. Yet once he'd gotten his college degr
Taken by Surprise Chapter 15
Shea folded her hands in front of her, as much to still their trembling as to give herself some measure of control. Cruz Castillo made her very nervous with his blatant sexuality and his confident manner."At a first meeting I usually like to talk my clients through what they have in mind." She pulled the yellow pad of paper and a pencil toward her. "Let's start with some basic questions.""I'd rather show you," he said in his warm drawl.Shea put her pencil down slowly. "Site inspection usually comes later, Mr....Cruz. After I get some idea of what you're looking for and agree to take the job. Also, I'd better warn you, I don't come cheap."Cruz uncrossed his legs again and leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. "I told you before, price is not a problem. And whatever I'm doing, I always go for the gold. The best. As to the site inspection, I'd prefer to do that first, so you can get a real idea of exactly what I'm looking for. As a matter of fact, I'm giving a party there thi
Taken by Surprise Chapter 16
Shea took off her jacket, hung it over the back of her chair and seated herself on the tall stool at her drafting table. Usually no matter what was crowding her mind she could lose herself in creating a design. Today it just didn't seem to work. After an hour of trying to concentrate she gave up and put everything away."I'm sneaking out early," she told Marta. "If anyone calls tell them I had an appointment out of the office.""Going home to start getting ready for the weekend?" Marta teased."Ha ha ha," she said in a slightly sarcastic tone. "See you tomorrow."Despite her good intentions, she couldn't seem to get Cruz Castillo out of her mind. What was he like as a lover? Was he bold and demanding? Kind and considerate? Somehow she was sure he was all of that and more. Talk about being tempted. She had no business even entertaining thoughts like that, however. He was way out of her league in every way she could think of.Still, images of him danced in her brain all the way home
Taken by Surprise Chapter 17
Shea changed clothes five times Friday morning before she was satisfied with her outfit. Casual meant a lot of different things to different people. They were going to a ranch, so she finally settled on jeans, a soft cotton blouse and sandals. Rather than pin her hair into its usual twist, she pulled it into a high ponytail and, in a touch of whimsy, tied it with a ribbon matching her blouse. Too frivolous, she wondered?She'd been just as indecisive in choosing what to pack. Her bedroom looked as if the clothes fairy had thrown up all over it. At last she just threw in what she thought would be appropriate and hoped she'd made the right choices. She'd even dug into the back of the spare closet and found a pair of western boots she'd worn to a fundraiser. Hopefully they'd be as good for riding as they were for showing.At least a dozen times she'd picked up the phone to call Cruz and tell him she'd changed her mind. She had this unshakeable feeling that she and Cruz Castillo would en
Taken by Surprise Chapter 18
After a time they left the Interstate for a two-lane country road."All of this is ranchland," Cruz told her.With one hand he indicated the vast acres of pasture rolling away from the road. Much of it was dotted with trees. And while some stretches of land had no livestock visible, others were filled with cattle ambling slowly along, stopping now and then to graze. Here and there Shea saw tall metal cylinders that she knew were stock tanks that held water for the herds.When they made another turn onto a graveled road, Shea caught her breath in wonder. On either side of the gravel, lined up like sentinels, were live oaks, sweetgum and mimosa trees. It was obvious they'd been there before someone cut through to make the driveway. Through the trees she could see pastures, dotted with more trees and cattle. It was like a scene from a western novel.But then the house came into view and she wanted to weep at its elegance. It was old, probably hadn't been well-maintained but the gracef
Taken by Surprise Chapter 19
Shea's hands were shaking as she stripped off her clothes and tugged on the unfamiliar bathing suit. It was a one piece and should have been modes but it was cut so high at the thighs, so low in the back and front she felt as if she were wearing nothing. No matter how much she tugged at it, a large amount of skin was still exposed."Sissy," she chided herself. "You wouldn't be doing this if you didn't want to."And it wasn't just the tempting thought of the hot, bubbling water after the hours on horseback that made her agree to this. No, it was the image of Miguel Cruz Castillo half naked, waiting for her. She couldn't put this all on him. From the moment he'd walked into her office she and her libido had been waging a battle royal. If she weren't drawn by his blatant sexuality, by the erotic promise in his eyes, by the way her body reacted to him again and again, she wouldn't be here at all.With a sigh and still striving for some semblance of decorum, she wrapped one of the big to
Taken by Surprise Chapter 20
Cruz cupped her cheeks in his hands, studying her face for the longest time before bending to touch his mouth to hers. This was no brief kiss, no glancing touch. This was a full-blown predatory taking of her mouth. He shifted her head this way and that to find the best angle. When his tongue probed then slipped inside she opened for him, welcoming the feel of him. His tongue was a flame, lighting nerves wherever it touched, sending messages to other nerves in her body.He drank from her like a man dying of thirst and she gave him back as good as she got. Somehow she'd known kissing this man would be an almost mystical experience, lifting her entire body to another plane. When his lips slipped from her mouth to slide down the column of her neck, she tilted her head back to give him better access. He nibbled, nipped and licked until he reached the hollow of her throat where he placed a hard, open-mouthed kiss. The tip of his tongue pressed against the erratic pulse beating there.Shea
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