Because Of The Ring

Still holding her hand, he cupped her elbow with his free hand and led her over to a leather chair that was angled toward the front of his desk.

“There now,” he said as she sank onto the cushion. “Why don’t you go ahead and tell me what it is you wanted to see me about. It’s pretty obvious you’re not here to contract a roustabout crew.”

She tried to swallow, but her throat was so dry it refused to work. “No. I don’t dabble in oil or gas wells, Mr. Bedford. I’m here because—I’m looking for a man.”

Surprise flickered across his face. Then folding his arms across his chest, he shot her an amused smile. “There aren’t any available men where you come from, Ms. Westfield?”

Claudia was so rattled it took her a moment to digest his meaning. When it did finally register, her spine stiffened to a prim line. Her chin jutted forward. “Fort Worth has plenty of men. I’m looking for one certain one.”

Still amused, he said, “Hmm. I’m intrigued that your search brought you here. I wasn’t aware that I’d made any bachelor lists.”

Somehow his arrogance angered her enough to get her shocked juices going again. Color blossomed in her face and her eyes darkened. “I’m not aware of it, either, Mr. Bedford,” she said in a clipped tone. “In fact, I know nothing about your marital status. I found you because of a number. Or maybe I should say, a number on a boat.”

A puzzled frown pulled his dark brows together and Claudia realized that, as the man in her vision, this man was by no means handsome, yet there was a rough masculinity about his craggy face and sinewy body that made his appearance totally unforgettable.

“I’ve got to admit I’ve had some odd encounters with women over the years. But I’ve never had one go to this length to meet me.”

She silently groaned with impatience. “I’m not here to meet you, Mr. Bedford!”

“You’re not here to hire roustabout services and you’re not here to meet me. If that’s the case, then it looks as though you’re taking up my valuable time, Ms. Westfield.”

She bolted to her feet. “And frankly, Mr. Bedford, your assumptions are downright insulting! For your information, I’m not on the prowl for a sugar daddy!”

He shot her a wry look. “I’m not old enough to be your sugar daddy.”

Claudia’s nostrils flared as she breathed deeply and tried to clamp a hold on her rising temper. Which in itself was a new task for her. She wasn’t a woman who let herself get angry about anything. Until now.

“I don’t care how old you are, mister!” She pushed the words through gritted teeth. “The only—and let me repeat—the only reason I’m here is because your name and address matches the number on the boat registration.”

Her outburst seemed to get through to him and his eyes narrowed as he studied her with new regard. “What boat are you talking about?”

She slashed a hand through the air. “I’m not sure what kind of boat it is. Except that it has sails and I think the name written on the bow was something like Stardust or Skydust.”

“Stardust,” he informed her. “And what has my boat got to do with you? She’s not for sale.”

Claudia met his cool blue gaze and tried not to shiver from the contact. “I’m not interested in buying your boat. It just happened to be the only clue I had to start with.”

His expression suddenly wary, he stepped toward her. “Start what? Digging into my personal affairs? Are you with some insurance company? Because if you are, I’ll personally toss your little butt right out of here.”

To her horror, her hand was suddenly itching to slap his face. She, a person who wouldn’t even step on a spider, wanted to inflict bodily pain on another human being! This man was doing something to her and whatever it was had to be bad.

“I am not with any sort of insurance company. I’m a high school science teacher and I’m here because—” She sucked in a fierce breath, then heaved out the next words. “Because you’re the man I—I can’t get out of my mind!”

Chapter Two

The man had the nerve to laugh.

“Oh, honey, come on, you got some mixed signals somewhere. I never did think I was God’s gift to women. And you shouldn’t, either. In fact, the opposite sex seems to want to take me in small doses. You probably will, too.”

“I can certainly see why,” Claudia intoned, then stomped toward the door.

Suddenly he was blocking her path and she teetered back on her heels to keep from plowing into him.

“Where are you going?”

Her jaw rigid, she folded her arms across her breasts. “Goodbye, Mr. Bedford. I can’t really say it’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

His head swung back and forth in a menacing way and Claudia found her gaze sliding from his thick shoulders and wide chest to his long, muscular legs. She’d been around strong, athletic men before, but this man was different. There was something blatantly masculine about him. Something that made her think of procreation rather than recreation.

Dear heaven, it was time she got out of here, Claudia thought. The last thing she needed was to add sexual fantasies to her visions of the man.

“No,” he corrected in a voice too smooth to be nice. “You’re not going anywhere just yet. We haven’t gotten this matter straightened out.”

She arched a haughty brow at him. “There is no matter. I—I found what I was looking for. And that’s the end to it.”

Wrinkles furrowed his forehead. “You wanted to find me and now that you have, that’s it? You’re going to leave?”

“That’s about the size of it.”

“Just a minute,” he muttered, then opening the door, he said to his secretary, “Hold all my calls, Lottie, and radio Vince to let him know I’ll be late getting out to the site.”

Claudia stood her ground and tried to gather herself together as she waited for him to shut the door. When he finally turned back to her, she said, “I think it’s you who are wasting my time now, Mr. Bedford. I have no intentions of discussing anything else with you! You’re arrogant and assuming and—”

His features tight, he took her by the arm and this time led her to a long leather couch positioned against one wall of the office.

“You’re the one who made an appointment to see me,” he reminded her as she sat. “And you’re the one who barged in here and started spouting nonsense.”

“‘Nonsense’!” she echoed with outrage, then jumped to her feet.

Immediately, he caught her by the shoulder and pushed her back down to the couch.

“Stay put!”

Claudia bounced right back up in his face. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m leaving! Now step out of my way!”

Ruefully he shook his head. “I didn’t want to have to do this,” he told her. “But it looks like I don’t have any other choice.”

Air whooshed from her lungs as she suddenly found herself flattened against his hard chest.

“What—”

The question was literally smothered beneath his lips. Unprepared for such an intimate onslaught, she stood paralyzed. Then her mind began to spin and she felt herself going hot and cold, then hot again.

Her hands formed two fists and she raised them to whack at his shoulders, but they never reached their destinations. Before she could fight back, he pulled his mouth away from hers and grinned down at her.

“Feel better now?”

He needed his foot stomped, but she realized she just didn’t have the strength to do it. Kissing this man had left her weak and quivering.