Dreams of Forever: Seduction, Westmoreland StyleSpencer's Forbidden Passion Read online

  Casey nodded. She knew of the bond the two men shared.

  “Well, I’ve said enough,” Savannah said, getting up from the table. “Just promise me that if the time comes, you’ll remember what I said.”

  Casey sighed and met Savannah’s gaze. “I promise.”

  Chapter 8

  In the comfort of his office McKinnon tossed a report on his desk. The white stallion he had imported all the way from the Blue Mountains of Australia had arrived earlier that day. Crown Royal was a magnificent animal with stunning looks, exceptional athletic ability and temperament. After his capture, he had spent time with renowned horse trainer Marcello Keaston and was more than ready for the task intended for him to do, and the brood mare selected was of the highest quality and value. McKinnon had no doubt that Crown Royal’s first crop of foals would bring in a pretty penny at any auction.

  He stood and stretched, and automatically his gaze drifted across the room to the calendar on the wall. It had been four days since he’d interacted with Casey. He had made it a point to keep his distance and it seemed she was doing likewise. The woman had a way of pulling his emotions in a way he couldn’t afford to indulge.

  He glanced toward his office door when he heard a knock. “Come in.”

  He smiled when Durango walked in. “How are things going, Rango?”

  “Fine. I dropped Savannah off at a hair salon in town and thought I’d come here to kill some time. I just saw Crown Royal. Man, he’s a beauty.”

  McKinnon chuckled proudly as he sat back down. “Yes, he is and I intend for him to make us plenty of money over the next few years. I’ve gotten a call from Mike Farmer already.”

  Durango’s smile widened. “News travel fast.”

  McKinnon nodded. “Which is fine with me as long as it’s in our favor, and you know Mike. He wants to be the first in everything and has the money to make it happen. He’s hinted at acquiring the entire crop of Crown’s first foals, now that we’ve selected Courtship as the mare.” Courtship, a product of Thunder and a valuable Australian mare name Destiny, had already proven her worth as a magnificent piece of horseflesh and was known for her speed.

  “And I got a call from Jamal today, as well,” McKinnon said, smiling.

  “Did he want to know how Prince Charming was coming along?” Durango asked, leaning against the closed door.

  “Yes, and he wants me to meet with a couple of his associates who’ll be in D.C. this week. They’re interested in our breeding program.”

  Durango nodded. “Will Jamal be attending this meeting?”

  “No. Delaney’s condition is keeping him in Tehran for a while. They’ll attend Ian’s wedding next month but other than that, Delaney’s doctors don’t want her jet-setting all over the world.”

  Durango chuckled. “I can understand that since we have a lot of pregnant Westmorelands. So, will you be traveling to D.C.?”

  “Yes, I leave first thing in the morning and probably won’t be back until Saturday.”

  Durango nodded again. “Sounds like you’ll miss Casey’s party.”

  “There’s a pretty good chance that I will.” McKinnon didn’t want to add that perhaps that was a good thing. “Would you like something to drink?”

  Durango shook his head. “No, thanks. Savannah’s cooking tonight and I don’t want to spoil my appetite. You’re invited, by the way.”

  McKinnon thought on Durango’s invitation. If he was invited then chances were Casey had been invited, as well. He quickly decided to pass on the invitation. The last thing he wanted was to torture himself by looking across the table at her, knowing he couldn’t touch her. “Thanks for the invite but I have a lot of paperwork to do before taking off in the morning.”

  Before Durango could comment that his reason was a lame excuse, McKinnon quickly added, “While you’re here, Rango, can you look over the books? I’m sure you’ll find everything in order.”

  “Don’t I always?” Crossing the room, Durango took a seat at the extra desk.

  When they’d decided to enter the partnership they had known that horse breeding was a risky business, but the risks were now paying off. In just a few years, not only had M&D earned the respect of their colleagues in the horse breeding world, but it was showing more of a profit than either Durango or McKinnon had imagined.

  “So how is Casey working out?” Durango asked a few minutes later.

  “Good. She’s using a different approach that takes longer, but I have no doubt it will work. She knows what she’s doing, that’s for sure.” McKinnon decided not to mention how, on numerous occasions, he would often stand at the window in this office and watch her interact with the horses. But mainly he watched her. And each time he saw her he thought about the heated kisses they had shared.

  Damn it to hell, the need to feel her mouth beneath his again was almost overwhelming, although he’d been fighting the craving for days. Even now he could distinctively remember the warmth of her lips and how they would automatically part under his, the swift breath she’d take just seconds before his tongue mingled with hers and—

  “And how are you handling her being here on the ranch?”

  McKinnon gave Durango a look that grimly said he wasn’t handling it very well. “Your cousin is a beautiful woman who can be a distraction if I let her be one, Rango.”

  Durango nodded. “And for you that’s a bad thing, isn’t it?”

  McKinnon let out a deep sigh. “You of all people know that it could be if I were to let anything get out of hand. As long as we maintain an employer-employee relationship, we’re fine,” he said, knowing he hadn’t even been able to really do that. “I made a decision a few years ago that I knew would affect any future relationship I had with a woman. At the time I felt it was the right one to make. I still do.”

  “Yes,” Durango said, closing the accounting books. “I understand and like I told you then, I support your decision. But having that procedure done wasn’t the end of the world. Why don’t you want to consider your other options?”

  McKinnon didn’t answer. At least not immediately. When he did his voice was filled with the anguish he sometimes felt. “I have considered those options but I can’t expect every woman I meet to want to consider them, as well, Rango. Lynette didn’t. Trust me, it’s easier this way.”

  Durango leaned forward in his chair, his gaze fixed on his best friend’s features. “Choosing a life where you’ll spend the rest of your days alone isn’t the way, McKinnon. At one time we both thought living like that would work for us, but since having Savannah in my life, I’m glad things happened the way they did. I probably would have died a very lonely and miserable man. Besides, it can’t be as easy as you claim if I read correctly what I saw in your eyes whenever you looked at Casey that night at dinner. You want her in a bad way—that much was obvious, at least to me. But I think it might be a little deeper than that. I think you might be falling for her, McKinnon.”

  “No,” McKinnon growled, denying Durango’s allegations as he narrowed his gaze at him. “You’re dead wrong on that one.”

  Durango was silent for a moment and then he leaned back in his chair. “We’ll see.”

  “Damn it, there’s nothing to see.” Exasperated and angry that he’d allowed Durango’s false assumption to needle him, he pushed out of his chair. “I’m going out,” he said tersely.

  Durango lifted a brow. “Where?”

  “To ride Thunder.”

  He spun around on booted heels and before Durango could blink, an angry McKinnon had walked out of the room.

  * * *

  Casey squinted against the brightness of the May sun when she saw the horse and rider slowly approach. She held her breath when she recognized it was McKinnon. Beneath the Montana sky, his hair was loose and hung around his shoulders, touching his chambray shirt. His
jeans were worn and as far as she was concerned he looked perfect, all the way down to his boots, as he sat atop the huge horse with the rugged mountains as a backdrop. She swallowed and tried to downplay the fluttering that was going on in her chest. Seeing him reminded her of the heated kisses they’d shared, each one seemed to get bolder and more daring.

  “Hello, McKinnon,” she said when he stopped close to where she was standing with her horse beside the stream. She had finished with Prince Charming early and decided to do a little riding. At least today she wouldn’t be eating alone since Savannah had invited her to dinner.

  “Casey. You decided to go out riding, I see,” he said, eyeing her. His tone was cautiously polite.

  “Yes, and before you insinuate otherwise, I did give Prince Charming a good workout today.”

  “I wasn’t going to insinuate otherwise. From what I hear his speed yesterday was even better than what Jamal assumed, which means your way of doing things is working.”

  “I told you it would,” she said pointedly, crossing her arms over her chest.

  He nodded. “Yes, you did.” A few minutes later, after dragging in a deep breath, he said, “I’m leaving in the morning for D.C. and I probably won’t be back until sometime Saturday. If you need anything while I’m away see Henrietta or Norris.”

  The thought of him leaving, knowing he wouldn’t be around—although she knew he had been avoiding her again—made a part of her stomach dip, but she inhaled in swift denial. Why should it bother her if he was leaving town? He meant nothing to her and she meant nothing to him. “Thanks for letting me know,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Have a safe trip.”

  Tightening his hand on the reins, he turned Thunder to leave and as he did Durango’s words slammed into his ears. Even before his best friend had spoken them, McKinnon had come to suspect the allegations were true. His feelings for Casey had been growing since the day she set foot on the ranch, and that wasn’t good because nothing could ever come of it…of them. But still, there was no way he could get on a plane tomorrow without taking the memory of another kiss with him.

  He trotted a couple of feet before bringing Thunder to a stop and turning the horse around. The reason he had left to go riding was to escape the memory of her. But here she was. She stood there, meeting his gaze as an electrified silence stretched between them. With a will he couldn’t resist, he climbed off Thunder and slowly began walking toward her, eliminating the distance separating them.

  * * *

  Casey watched McKinnon. His handsome features were hard as granite in one sense, but filled with a sensuous longing in another. She had sworn after the last time they’d kissed and he’d made himself invisible afterward that he wouldn’t get near her again. But the closer he got, the more she suspected what she had begun feeling for McKinnon was too bone-deep to deny him anything.

  Casey’s gaze flicked to his features when he came to a stop directly in front of her. She could tell by the way his hands were balled into fists at his sides that he was fighting the urge to take her in his arms. So she decided to make it easy on him and take him into hers.

  She reached up, cupped his face with her hands and on tip-toe, leaned forward, intent on giving him something to think about while he was away. First she readied his lips with a couple of quick swipes of her tongue, ignoring his sharp intake of breath with each stroke.

  She decided this was her kiss and she would go slow, be gentle and savor every moment. Working more on instinct than experience, she brushed her fingertips against his jaw and on a deep sigh, his mouth opened and she inserted her tongue and began lapping him up like he was the tastiest morsel she’d ever devoured. And when his tongue joined hers, something that mirrored a quake caused her insides to rumble with a need she felt only while in his arms. She felt herself drowning and quickly grabbed hold of his shoulders to keep from falling.

  She released his mouth when she heard one of the horses, either his or hers, make a sound. She rested her forehead against McKinnon’s as they both tried to regain their breath.

  Moments later, McKinnon stepped back and she watched as he rubbed a hand across his eyes and down his face. Then he muttered something that sounded a lot like “damn” before waking away. She watched as he remounted Thunder and then rode off like the sheriff’s posse was after him.

  * * *

  “You okay, Casey?” Savannah asked later that afternoon while the two of them were sitting outside on the porch, enjoying the view of the mountains. Durango was inside watching a basketball game on television.

  Casey glanced over at Savannah who had cooked chicken and dumplings, a Westmoreland recipe she had weaseled from Chase Westmoreland, the cook in the family. Chase and his wife owned a soul-food restaurant in Atlanta. And it just so happened that Chase’s wife, Jessica, was Savannah’s sister. To say the least, the meal had been delicious.

  And speaking of delicious…her thoughts shifted to McKinnon. He was probably back at the ranch packing to leave in the morning. She wondered if he was still thinking about the kiss they’d shared earlier that day as she was.

  “Casey?”

  Casey sighed. “Yes, I’m okay. I was thinking about something.”

  Savannah glanced over at her and smiled. “Something or someone?”

  Casey smiled. It was definitely someone. McKinnon Quinn had a knack for kissing her crazy one minute, then putting distance between them the next. “I just don’t get it,” she said softly.

  “Get what?”

  Casey’s gaze flicked to Savannah. “Why would a man who acts like he enjoys kissing me one minute put distance between us the next? As if he regretted what he’s done?”

  Savannah chuckled. “Sounds like he’s afraid of getting in too deep. Do you have a problem with him kissing you?”

  “Yes. No. I—I don’t know,” Casey muttered, clearly frustrated. “But our kisses don’t mean anything.”

  “And what makes you think that?”

  Casey rolled her eyes. “Trust me, they’re just kisses. If they meant something, he wouldn’t regret doing it the next day.”

  Savannah nodded. “McKinnon evidently wants you but is working hard to apply the brakes. I’m wondering how long he can hold out on not having you.”

  Casey shrugged. “I can’t be worried about something like that.”

  Savannah gave a ladylike snort. “Casey Westmoreland, aren’t you the least bit interested to know why he’s afraid to get into a serious relationship?”

  “I’m not as naive as you might think, Savannah. I have two brothers, remember, so I know why some men prefer not getting into serious relationships. It’s called commitment phobia. McKinnon is full of testosterone with a capital T. And like Clint and Cole, I’m sure he accepts the concepts of sex and intimacy as a way of life. I used to watch how my brothers would operate, changing women as often as they changed their shirts. I was the one whose head was filled with romantic illusions of forever love and till death do you part.”

  “But still, if a man showed interest in me one day then tried acting like I didn’t exist the next, I’d like to know why,” Savannah said. “That way I’d know how to handle him.”

  * * *

  While driving home from Durango and Savannah’s home Casey inwardly admitted that Savannah had raised a pretty good question. Why was McKinnon putting brakes on anything developing between them?

  There was only so much kissing a couple could do before kissing turned into cuddling, stroking, getting naked…and then what? Did he think they could continue to kiss without ever wanting to take things further? Already whenever he took her into his arms she felt emotions she hadn’t experienced before. Her body would get hot and bothered like it had recognized it’s mate—as if that in itself wasn’t the craziest thing.

  Or was it?

  Her chest heaved at the possi
bility and heat was spreading to all parts of her body. Could McKinnon be her true mate? Her mother always claimed that a woman would know the man that was meant for her. And although her mother had filled her mind with lies about her and Corey, all Casey had to do was look around to know true love did exist for some people—like Durango and Savannah, her father and Abby, and McKinnon’s parents, to name a few. Then there were all those Westmorelands who were happily married.

  She was determined when she saw McKinnon again that she would get some answers. If he was playing a game with her then he would find that she was a worthy opponent. She wasn’t all that experienced when it came to man-woman stuff, but she was not a woman to take lightly.

  * * *

  McKinnon glanced out his bedroom window the moment he heard Casey returning. He took advantage of his position near the window to study her unobserved. It was dark, but the flood lights around his home provided enough lightning to clearly see her.

  She was wearing a pair of jeans with a V-neck green blouse. She had on what appeared to be a pair of sturdy boots and her short hair seemed tousled or windblown, giving one the impression she had just gotten out some man’s bed or had driven home with the car window down. He wanted to lay blame on the latter and not the former. The thought of her in any man’s bed beside his was a very disturbing one.

  When she went inside the cottage and closed the door, he moved away from the window, wondering how he could feel so possessive toward a woman that wasn’t even his and could never be. Any man who knew his situation would have the common sense and the decency to leave her alone. In fact, any man with a lick of sense would not have kissed her in the first place, let alone kiss her a few more times after that. He knew the score.

  He also knew he wanted her.

  There was no rhyme or reason as to why he felt the way he did considering everything. But he would give anything to take her into his arms one last time and brand her his, even if it was only for a minute, an hour…a night. He had found out the hard way that when it came to Casey, kissing her would not be enough. She was able to arouse a desire in him so strong and potent that it didn’t take much to make his body hard with one hell of a relentless throb.