She opened the trunk.
“Boy, you’ve got a lot of space in here,” he said.
“Yes. That’s the main reason I bought this car. I’m a pharmaceutical rep and I usually have a lot of stuff to haul around,” she said, leaning over to shift a few items around in the trunk to make it easier for him to get to the spare tire.
Those were the last words she said. The Samaritan hit her on the head with a wrench, knocking her out cold before shoving her into the trunk and quickly slamming down the hood before any cars passed by.
He smiled as the adrenaline surged through his veins. Tonight was going to be his night.
Chapter 13
R
eese tossed his jacket across a chair once he settled into his hotel room. He and Kenna hadn’t had a chance to talk like they’d planned, since his twenty-year-old cousin Victoria rode back to the hotel with them.
He glanced at his watch and saw it was almost two in the morning. When he and Kenna had left the party, there were still plenty of family members at Luke’s place partying the night away. Even his parents had taken to the dance floor.
He unbuttoned his shirt, thinking how proud he was of his older brother. For a long time everyone assumed the rodeo circuit was going to be Luke’s life, but now it was plain to see that Mac was. Luke had discovered he could have the best of both worlds—being married to Mac, operating the rodeo school and competing on the circuit. Luke was happy, and Reese was happy for him.
Now, Reese thought, if he could only find some of that happiness for himself. He plopped down in the chair and stretched
his legs out. He thought about the question Mac had posed earlier that night. It definitely had made him think, and the answer he finally came up with hadn’t really surprised him. He wasn’t sure how Kenna was going to feel about it, but he no longer wanted her as his best friend. He definitely wanted more, especially after he’d reached the conclusion that his sudden attraction to Kenna hadn’t been so sudden after all.
If he was honest with himself, he would have to admit that he’d always been conscious of her beauty. And the only reason he’d never acted on his attraction was because whenever he was free, she wasn’t, and vice versa. Now, they were both unattached.
By nature he was pretty easygoing unless he was provoked. But seeing all those cowboys salivating over Kenna tonight had made him angry. He’d never been the jealous type where women were concerned, but he had been tonight—and at Alyson’s party.
His phone rang and he wondered if it was Kenna. Their rooms were across the hall from each other, but she had seemed exhausted. And for that reason when he’d walked her to her room, he hadn’t suggested that they talk.
“Hello?”
“You okay?”
Hearing Clayton’s familiar voice, Reese glanced out the window at Oklahoma City’s skyline. Down the street was where Madaris Construction was erecting the Mosley Building, and from the designs he’d seen, it was going to be a beautiful skyscraper—another landmark.
“Reese?”
A wry smile touched the corners of Reese’s lips. “Yes, Clayton, I’m fine.”
Reese remembered growing up that their older cousins— Justin, Dex and Clayton—had been their idols. Whenever the three brothers were home from college they would take their younger cousins to the movies, on cookouts or just to have fun
on their uncle Jake’s ranch. All the Madaris kids knew that if they ever needed to talk to one of them about anything, there was always an open door.
Of the three, Clayton was the most fun, since he was the most laid-back. He could relate to them despite being older. His philosophy was, there was nothing wrong with being naughty if you were nice every once in a while. Justin, who was the oldest of the three, always gave good advice. Dex was the serious one, and extremely loyal when it came to family.
At fourteen, Reese, Lee and Nolan saw their first
Playboy
centerfold browsing through some magazines they’d found in Clayton’s apartment. Instead of getting angry, Clayton sat them down and gave them his version of the facts of life. Needless to say, Clayton Madaris’s rendition had been far more interesting than the one their parents had told them. Of course all of them had known about the case of condoms Clayton kept in his closet. And they appreciated that he never kept an accurate count or else he would have noticed that they had swiped a few from time to time.
“Maybe I need to rephrase that question and ask is everything okay with you and Kenna?” Clayton said, breaking into Reese’s thoughts. “Seems to me the two of you were avoiding each other most of the night.”
“I’m not sure if everything is okay,” he said truthfully. He paused again, unsure how to proceed. “I need to ask you a question, and your answer might help me figure something out.”
“Okay, what do you want to know?” Clayton said.
“I’ve heard the story a number of times about how you and Syneda were nothing more than friends who decided to go on vacation together to Florida, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. She was stressed at work, and since I had planned to go on vacation alone I figured I’d invite her to go along with me—enjoy the beach and loosen up a bit.”
“So you’re saying that before the trip you never noticed how attractive she was?” Reese asked.
He heard Clayton chuckle. “Hey, we’re talking about Syneda. Of course I noticed how good she looked. I had eyes. I definitely wasn’t blind. But I also knew she was off-limits.”
“Why? Because she was your friend?”
“No, because she was Lorren’s best friend. And at the time everyone knew my reputation. So the last thing Lorren would have wanted was for me to hook up with her best friend.”
Lorren and Syneda had been best friends since childhood. And since Lorren was Justin’s wife, she was family.
“But you got together anyway,” Reese said.
“Yes. While we were on vacation together I began seeing Syneda in a whole new light. Funny what being under the same roof for a while will do. I became more aware of her than ever and felt an attraction that I couldn’t ignore.”
Reese nodded. “Did the two of you talk about it?”
Clayton chuckled. “Talk about it? There was nothing to talk about. Some things you don’t waste time discussing. You act on it. Talking would have gotten us nowhere. Syneda would have tried to convince me that we would be ruining a perfectly good friendship if we got involved. I was determined to show her the benefits of a different kind of relationship.”
Clayton paused. “Women are
show me
creatures, Reese. They prefer action to words. Talk is cheap. But to a woman, actions mean much more.”
There was no sense in asking Clayton if he was sure of what he was talking about. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and Kenna,” Clayton continued. “Although I think I have a pretty good idea. Now you realize that you just might want more than friendship out of your relationship, and you’re not sure how it will affect the two of you.”
“Yes, I’ve started seeing her in a whole new light as well. At
first I felt guilty. And then I thought I would be crazy to risk losing her friendship.”
“Hey, chill for a moment. There’s nothing wrong with making the move from friends to lovers, Reese, trust me. But Kenna has to want to make the same move. Women can be difficult. They like to do things their way and in their own good time. Men have to be a step ahead, so you may have to use romantic persuasion to bring her around to your way of thinking.”
Reese lifted a brow.
Romantic persuasion? Wasn’t that just another term for seduction?
It had been years since he’d had to seduce a woman. Usually women would come on to him.
After Reese ended the call with Clayton he walked over to the window and looked out. Something was urging him to find out if the attraction between him and Kenna was one-sided. For some reason he didn’t think so. In fact, every time he replayed their kiss in his mind and remembered the intensity of it, he was convinced that it wasn’t. But he needed to know for certain. What if she had been fighting her attraction to him the same way he’d been fighting his desire for her all these years?
He was very well aware that finding out the truth was risky. What if she wasn’t attracted to him and was repulsed by his advances? That would put an even bigger strain on their relationship, and possibly end it. He froze at the thought of losing the only woman who meant the world to him—the only woman who knew him better than he knew himself. Kenna was also the only woman he’d truly ever loved.
He leaned back against the windowsill as the alternative gripped him. He and Kenna had shared years of friendship, trust and respect. They knew how to laugh together, talk and even share their pain. He had been the one who’d held her when she’d learned of her grandmother’s death. He was the one to sit beside her at the funeral, the one to stand beside her when the only family she had was lowered into the ground.
Likewise, she had been there waiting with his family at the
hospital after Clayton had been struck by a car. She had prayed with his family when Christy’s husband, Alex, had been fighting for his life, and in happier times at many Madaris weddings.
He drew in a deep breath. Mac was right. He didn’t want his best friend back. But there was something else she deserved, and that was to know there was a man who adored her in a way Terrence, Lamont or Curtis never had.
He felt a shudder that coursed through every muscle in his body. He would take things slow. He would be thorough. And LaKenna James wouldn’t know what hit her until it was too late.
He smiled. He was going to enjoy using
romantic persuasion
to bring her around to his way of thinking. They had an early flight back to Houston, since Kenna had to start work on Monday morning.
It was time for her to realize that their kiss was just the beginning.
“So I would have wasted my time and yours trying to convince you that we would be ruining a perfectly good friendship?” Syneda said, leaning against the doorway of the bathroom in their hotel suite.
Clayton smiled as he turned toward his wife. His breath caught in his throat when he looked at her. She had some of the sexiest poses, especially standing there wearing a very short, seductive sheer negligee that sent heat sizzling through his veins. She gently rubbed her hand across her slightly protruding belly, evidence of
his
romantic persuasion.
“Oh, yes. I also can’t forget how women can be difficult and like to do things their way and in their own good time,” she added, “and that men have to be a step ahead and use romantic persuasion to sway a woman to your way of thinking.”
He held out his arms. “Come here and let me kiss that pout off your lips.”
She narrowed her gaze. “I’m not sure I want you to do that,
Madaris. You know how difficult we women can be, and how we enjoy doing things in our own good time.”
“Is that a hint that I’ll be suffering for a while?” he asked, his gaze roaming over her body before settling on her face, something that still took his breath away.
“What do you think?”
“I think I need to explain,” he said, deciding it would be worth his while to get back in her good graces. “I was merely using us as an example—a very good one—to show how good friends can become lovers.”
She crossed the room and stood in front of him. “And did you also tell him that friends make the best lovers?”
“We didn’t get that far. Besides, there are some things Reese and Kenna will have to figure out on their own.”
“That’s true.”
He reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. “How’s my son doing?”
Syneda smiled. “He’s misbehaving like his old man does every once in a while. It’s after two in the morning and he hasn’t settled down yet. Sound familiar?”
Clayton beamed proudly. “I can see he’s going to be a party animal.”
“Whatever.” A slight frown settled on her face. “I just hope Reese realizes he cares for Kenna. Men can be so slow.”
“I was never slow,” Clayton responded.
Syneda smiled. “No, you were too fast for your own good. But I guess I shouldn’t complain, should I?” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Umm, how about a little of that romantic persuasion you seem to know so much about?”
He pulled her closer into his arms and smiled. “Ready when you are.”
He let himself into his apartment, closed the door and locked it behind him. His face split into a huge grin. What a night. He
threw the bag he was carrying on the table and a single shoe fell out. It was a nice one—a round-toe black pump with a three-inch heel. He was too tired to pick it up now and would wait until morning to add it to his collection.
He headed for the bathroom to take a shower and to administer first aid. She’d had the nerve to try and fight him once she came to. In a way, he liked that, and had even let her think that she was getting the best of him for a while. When he’d gotten tired of playing games, he’d taught her a lesson. She learned the hard way never to forget the proverbial parental warning: never talk to strangers.
Chapter 14
“H
ere, let me take care of that,” Reese said, leaning over Kenna after she slid into the leather seat of his truck.
“There’s no need, Reese, I can buckle my own seat belt.” He either didn’t hear her or was pretending he hadn’t. Too late, the friction she felt whenever he was near coursed through her body in reaction to his masculine scent.
They had caught an early-morning flight out of Oklahoma City and now they were back in Houston and it wasn’t eight o’clock yet. Reese had left his SUV at the airport, and it didn’t take long to locate it in the parking lot.
She watched as he walked around the truck to get in on the other side, remembering how difficult it had been to sit beside him on the small plane. He hadn’t had much to say, which had been fine with her. It had given her a chance to close her eyes and catch up on the sleep she hadn’t gotten the night before.