The Ryders: Jared, Royce and Stephanie. Barbara Dunlop

in her brain.

      For a second she let herself fear his reaction to the article. But then she banished the fear. It was her job to get the story, and she’d be far away from Montana by the time it ran in the Bizz.

      The world outside darkened, and his eyes turned to midnight, sensuality radiating from their depths. The humidity jumped up, only to be overtaken by a freshening breeze.

      There were shouts from outside as the wind swirled and a storm threatened. Doors banged, horses whinnied, and plastic tarps rattled against their ropes.

      Meanwhile, gazes locked, Jared and Melissa didn’t move.

      The wild clamor outside matched the cacophony inside her head. This attraction felt so right, but it was so incredibly wrong. Jared was her article subject, her employer, one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in Chicago. She had absolutely no business being attracted to him.

      He reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from her temple. His touch was electric, arousing, light as a feather but shocking as a lightning bolt.

      Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the first fat raindrops clattered on the roof.

      “I’m going to kiss you,” he told her.

      She drew a breath. “You think that’s a good idea?”

      He moved slightly closer. “It’s not the smartest thing I’ve ever done.” He stroked his thumb along her jaw, tipped her chin. “But probably not the stupidest, either. Might not even make the top three.”

      “What were they?” she asked.

      “The stupidest things?”

      She gave a slight nod.

      “I don’t think I’ll be telling you that right now.”

      “Maybe later?”

      “I doubt it.” Done talking, he leaned in and pressed his warm lips to hers.

      It was a gentle kiss, a tentative kiss. There was a wealth of respect and more than a couple of questions contained in the kiss.

      She answered by softening her lips. One of her hands went to his shoulder, steadying herself, she lied. Truth was, she wanted to hang on, press closer, turn his inquiry into a genuine kiss.

      He easily complied, stepping forward, parting his lips, one hand going to the small of her back, the other tunneling into the hair behind her ear. He tipped his head, deepened the kiss; she plastered herself flush against him, feeling the hard heat of his body, counterpoint to the wind and rain that rushed in through the open window.

      Warning sirens clanged inside her head.

      It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

      She was supposed to maintain a journalistic detachment. Plus, hadn’t she come up here to warn him about Stephanie? Not to flirt. Or worse, seduce. What on earth was she thinking?

      He broke the kiss, but moved instantly into another. Melissa didn’t have time to decide if she was relieved or upset before she was dragged away on another tidal wave of desire.

      The world disappeared—the horses, the people, the wind and rain. Nothing existed except Jared’s kiss, the rough texture of his hands, the heat of his hard body and the fresh, earthy, male scent that surrounded her and drew her into an alternative universe.

      His thumb found the strip of skin between her tank top and blue jeans. He stroked up her spine, sending shivers of reaction skittering both ways. His hand slipped under her shirt, warm palm caressing the sensitized skin, working higher, closing in on the scrap of her bra.

      His tongue touched hers, tentatively at first, but then bolder as she responded, opening to him, tipping her head to give him better access to her mouth. His hand caressed the back of her head. Her arms tightened around his neck. She went up on her toes, struggling to get closer.

      A clap of thunder boomed through the sky, rumbling the building, lightning dancing in the clouds rapidly engulfed the ranch. The rain grew steady, blurring the world, cooling the air and clattering like a freight train against the cedar shakes above them.

      Jared pulled her tighter still, leaving her in no doubt about the effect the kiss was having on him. It was having the same effect on her. It was wild, untamed, sexy and all but unstoppable.

      He shifted, moving her away from the open window and the driving rain that was dampening their clothes. He backed her into the wall, and his leg slipped between hers. The friction sent a shot of desire through her body, and a moan found its way past her mouth.

      Jared whispered her name, his kisses moving from her mouth to her cheek, her temple and neck. He moved aside the strap of her tank top, the thinner strap of her bra, kissing his way to her shoulder, where his warm tongue lingered, laving the sensitive skin.

      Her legs grew weak, and she braced herself against the wall, clinging to Jared’s strong shoulders, even as she kissed his chest through the damp cotton of his shirt. He’d crooked his knee, and she rested the core of her body against his strong thigh. A pulse throbbed through her veins, and there was no mistaking where she wanted this to lead.

      “We have to stop,” she forced herself to gasp.

      His lips paused mid-kiss on her bare shoulder. “I’m not sure why,” he breathed. He straightened, bracing his hands against the wall, arms on either side of her, gazing down with passion-clouded eyes.

      “Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

      She was all but shaking with reaction, afraid to move for fear she’d throw caution to the wind and lose herself in his arms. “This is nuts,” she told him, struggling to bring her voice back to normal, forcing herself to drag her hands from his shoulders.

      His thigh was still braced between hers, still pressed intimately against her body, still drawing a completely inappropriate reaction from her.

      “Why?” he asked.

      “I don’t know,” she nearly wailed. What had happened? Why had they combusted like that? They barely knew each other.

      “I mean, why is it nuts?”

      “Because …” She struggled over the question, not finding a satisfactory answer. At least, not one that she could share with him. “It’s you, and it’s me. And we’re …” She couldn’t find the words.

      “Attracted to each other?” he finished for her.

      “Apparently,” she responded dryly.

      He let his thigh fall away, and she nearly groaned with the sensation.

      “Stephanie would be pleased,” he pointed out.

      Melissa’s gaze darted to the window, suddenly wondering who had seen what before they moved away. What if Stephanie had seen them?

      “Nobody saw a thing,” said Jared, guessing her concern. “They were too busy running from the storm.”

      The rain had turned to a steady drum, while thunder and lightning punctuated the darkened sky. The yard was empty, everyone having taken shelter in one of the buildings. Horses were huddled in small groups, most of them under run-in shelters, some in the larger pens moving into the shelter of the trees. Tarps still billowed, cracking and snapping in the wind.

      Jared gently stroked his thumb across her swollen bottom lip, making her desire flare all over again. “Our secret is safe.”

      She gazed into his eyes, unable to hide her renewed longing. And try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to walk away.

      His eyes darkened further and his voice went husky. “You want to make it an even bigger secret?”

       Six

      Before Melissa could even open