His By Any Means: The Black Sheep's Inheritance

In spite of everything, Colleen laughed. “It never crossed my mind to ask J.D. what Sage’s bank account looked like.”

“Well, it just doesn’t seem fair, does it?” Jenna turned the laptop so that Colleen could see the screen, where an image of Sage stared out at her. “A man should not be allowed to be that amazing-looking and rich to boot. Just seems selfish somehow.”

Colleen would have laughed, but she was staring at the image of Sage, drawn from some tabloid site. He looked impossibly handsome in a tux and was glaring at the camera even as the woman on his arm, last year’s Oscar winner, beamed at the photographer as she draped herself against Sage’s broad chest.

There it was, she told herself silently. Proof that whatever was between her and Sage wasn’t permanent. Wasn’t anything more than a temporary fantasy on her part, just a lot of chemistry that sizzled and flashed between them.

So, knowing it was all fleeting, what was she supposed to do? Stay home? Avoid Sage? Or should she accept the fact that this was all transitory and simply enjoy it for what it was? A swirl of expectation swam in her veins, side by side with a few slim threads of reality. It would be interesting to see which sensation finally won out.

“Anyway,” Jenna was saying as she slapped the laptop lid down, shattering the spell Colleen had been under. “I found a couple of cabins for sale. One has a lot of land with it—like thirty acres—the other’s close to a county road.”

“Sounds great.” She smiled appreciatively as Jenna handed over a piece of paper with the addresses. “I’ll see if Sage can take me to look at them.”

“We’re depending on Sage a lot lately, aren’t we?”

Colleen quirked a smile. “Is that the royal we?”

“It’s the you we,” Jenna said, leaning back against the headboard of Colleen’s bed and stretching out her legs to cross them at the ankle. “You’ve really been seeing a lot of him and now you’re off to stay with him at his place.”

“Not with him,” Colleen corrected, though her body hummed at the idea. “Just at his house.”

“Uh-huh.” Jenna just looked at her for a second or two, then she huffed out a breath. “It’s crazy, I know, but I’m worried he’s going to break your heart.”

“What?” Surprised, Colleen stared at her friend.

“Okay, sure, I was caught up in the whole billionaire-suddenly-wanting-to-date-my-friend thing, too. But honestly, now that he’s stuck around for a while, I’m just...uneasy.”

“Why?” Colleen knew why Jenna was uneasy, of course. Because she still couldn’t quite bring herself to believe that Sage was actually interested in her. But she’d like to hear her friend’s reasons.

“Because he’s too damn solitary,” Jenna blurted. “Anybody who’s alone that much? There’s probably a reason and I don’t want to see you get caught up in whatever his issues are.”

Colleen laughed shortly.

“What’s so funny?” Jenna demanded.

“Nothing.” Waving one hand, she said, “It’s just, I thought you were going to say what I’ve been telling myself. That I’m not the kind of woman he usually goes for. Not sophisticated enough or beautiful enough or rich enough for him.”

“Please.” Clearly offended, Jenna sat straight up. “He’d be lucky to have you. You’re plenty beautiful and way better than sophisticated or rich, you’re real. You have a warm and generous heart. Maybe sometimes too generous.”

Colleen reached over and hugged Jenna tight. When she let her go again, she said, “Thanks for that. But don’t worry, okay? I’m pretty sure that whatever this is, it’s short-lived. I’m not going to let my too-generous heart get all gooey and involved. Honestly.”

“You know the too generous thing was a compliment, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good.” Jenna nodded. “So...back to mystery mountain man.”

“He’s not a mystery,” Colleen insisted. “And this isn’t some romantic getaway. Sage is going to show me around the mountain and probably try to scare me out of the idea of living alone up there.”

“If only he could.”

“Thank you for your support,” Colleen said wryly.

“Oh, I support you, sweetie.” Jenna sat up, grabbed a T-shirt and folded it as she continued, “But you forget, I’ve lived in Wyoming all my life. I know how dangerous the mountains can be. Beautiful, yes, but also deadly if you’re not careful.”

Colleen started to talk, but her friend cut her off.

“I don’t like the idea of you living in the high country all on your own.” She waved one hand as if to dismiss the argument she didn’t give Colleen a chance to make. “Yeah, yeah, feminists, hear us roar, but just because you can do a thing doesn’t mean you should do it, you know?”

Colleen dropped onto the edge of the bed, pushed the suitcase out of the way and faced her friend. “Fine. I’m a little anxious about being alone up there, I admit it, but I’ll get used to it. And Jenna, I’m not helpless or stupid. I’ll take care and I’ll make sure to get help if I need it.”

“I know.” Jenna nodded and shrugged helplessly. “Maybe I just don’t want you to move away.”

Colleen leaned in and gave her friend another hug. “I’ll miss you, too. But we’ll still see each other.”

“Oh, you bet we will. You’re not going to get rid of me that easy.” Jenna handed her the folded shirt. “But do me a favor. When you see the cabins, even if you fall in love...don’t make a hasty decision. I don’t want you to rush into something that you won’t be able to get out of easily.”

That was good advice. And not just about the cabins. She was about to head off to stay at the home of a man who turned her knees to mush. Was she already in way too deep for her own good? Would she get out now if she could?

No.

Colleen thought about it while she finished packing and realized that if it would be smart to stay far, far away from Sage Lassiter...she’d rather be stupid.

* * *

It had only been a week.

But in that week, Sage had spent a lot of time with Colleen and when he wasn’t with her, she was filling his mind. He still wasn’t sure how she’d managed it, but whenever they were together, she actually got him to talk. He’d opened up to her about his ranch, his plans, his life—something he hadn’t done with anyone else. Not even Dylan or Angelica.

Colleen had slipped up on him. He hadn’t expected to actually like her. Hadn’t thought that he’d want her so badly that every night was a torture and every day was a lesson in self-control. Plus, he was no closer to finding out what he needed to know than he had been before this started.

Was this a deliberate maneuver on her part? Suck him in, distract him with her big blue eyes and then set the sexual tension bar so damn high that he couldn’t think straight?

If that was her plan, it was a damn good one.

Hell, he hadn’t even kissed her. How could he be this torn up and feel so out of control over a woman he hadn’t even kissed?

“And why haven’t you kissed her?” he asked himself in disgust. Because he knew that the moment he tasted her, took that luscious, amazing mouth with his, that there would be no stopping. He’d have to have all of her. And that had not been the plan. But then, he’d expected that he would have answers by now. Since this was going to take longer than he’d thought, the plan had to change.

As that thought settled into his mind, Sage took his first easy breath in a week. Talking to her wasn’t working, so he would seduce any secrets she held out of her. He’d use sex—crazed, hot, sweaty, incredible sex—to find out if she was withholding any information he might need to contest the will.

Then when he had what he needed, he would walk away.

She wasn’t the kind of woman to go for a one-night stand, and once she discovered that was all he was willing to offer her, she’d let him walk.

But first, he would have her. Under him. Over him. And then he’d finally be able to get her out of his mind.

He scrubbed both hands over his face, then adjusted the fit of his jeans, hoping to ease the ache that had locked around his groin for the past week. It didn’t help. Nothing would. The only way to ease that pain was to bury himself inside Colleen and thankfully, that was about to happen. He’d felt the chemistry between them. Knew that she was strung as tightly as he was. Seducing her wouldn’t be difficult.