Texas Wild
A brand-new Westmoreland family novel from
New York Times
bestselling author Brenda Jackson
Megan Westmoreland needs answers about her family’s past. And
Rico Claiborne is the man to find them. But when the truth comes out, Rico
offers her a shoulder to lean on…and much, much more. Megan has heard that
passions burn hotter in Texas. Now she’s ready to find out….
Praise for
New York Times
and
USA TODAY
bestselling author Brenda
Jackson
“Brenda Jackson writes romance that sizzles
and characters you fall in love with.”
â
New
York Times
and
USA TODAY
bestselling author Lori
Foster
“Jackson's trademark ability to weave
multiple characters and side stories together makes shocking truths all the
more exciting.”
â
Publishers
Weekly
“There is no getting away from the sex
appeal and charm of Jackson's Westmoreland family.”
â
RT Book Reviews
on
Feeling the Heat
“Jackson's characters are wonderful,
strong, colorful and hot enough to burn the pages.”
â
RT Book Reviews
on
Westmoreland's Way
“The kind of sizzling, heart-tugging story
Brenda Jackson is famous for.”
â
RT Book
Reviews
on
Spencer's
Forbidden Passion
“This is entertainment at its
best.”
â
RT Book Reviews
on
Star of His Heart
Dear Readers,
I introduced Rico Claiborne in my seventh Westmoreland novel,
The Chase is On,
as the brother to my heroine,
Jessica Claiborne. And you met him again in
A Durango
Affair
as the brother of Savannah Claiborne, the heroine in that
novel. Your emails began pouring in requesting that I write Rico’s story. I put
him on my “To Do” list until I thought I had the perfect heroine. Someone who
was worthy of his heart.
I found her in Megan Westmoreland.
Texas Wild
is Megan and Rico’s
story as they join forces in search of information about the patriarch of the
Denver Westmorelands, Raphel. Their journey takes them from the mountains of
Denver to the plains of Texas where the heat they encounter is blazing and
wild—and is mainly for each other.
It’s time to get to know Rico, up close and personal, in a
love story that will leave you breathless and tempt you to get wild.
Happy reading!
Brenda Jackson
Texas Wild
Selected Books by Brenda
Jackson
Harlequin Desire
*
A Wife for a Westmoreland
#2077
*
The Proposal
#2089
*
Feeling the Heat
#2149
*
Texas
Wild
#2185
Silhouette Desire
*
Delaney’s Desert
Sheikh
#1473
*
A Little Dare
#1533
*
Thorn’s Challenge
#1552
*
Stone Cold Surrender
#1601
*
Riding the Storm
#1625
*
Jared’s Counterfeit Fiancée
#1654
*
The Chase Is On
#1690
*
The Durango Affair
#1727
*
Ian’s Ultimate Gamble
#1745
*
Seduction, Westmoreland Style
#1778
*
Spencer’s Forbidden Passion
#1838
*
Taming Clint Westmoreland
#1850
*
Cole’s Red-Hot Pursuit
#1874
*
Quade’s Babies
#1911
*
Tall, Dark…Westmoreland!
#1928
*
Westmoreland’s Way
#1975
*
Hot Westmoreland Nights
#2000
*
What a Westmoreland Wants
#2035
Kimani Arabesque
†Whispered Promises
†Eternally
Yours
†One Special Moment
†Fire and Desire
†Secret
Love
†True Love
†Surrender
†Sensual
Confessions
†Inseparable
Kimani Romance
**
Solid Soul
#1
**
Night Heat
#9
**
Beyond Temptation
#25
**
Risky Pleasures
#37
**
Irresistible Forces
#89
**
Intimate Seduction
#145
**
Hidden Pleasures
#189
**
A
Steele for Christmas
#253
**
Private Arrangements
#269
*The
Westmorelands
†Madaris Family Saga
**
Steele Family titles
Other titles by this author are available in ebook
format.
BRENDA JACKSON
is a die “heart” romantic who married her childhood
sweetheart and still proudly wears the “going steady” ring he gave her when she
was fifteen. Because she believes in the power of love, Brenda’s stories always
have happy endings. In her real-life love story, Brenda and her husband of forty
years live in Jacksonville, Florida, and have two sons.
A
New York Times
bestselling
author of more than seventy-five romance titles, Brenda is a recent retiree who
now divides her time between family, writing and traveling with Gerald. You may
write Brenda at P.O. Box 28267, Jacksonville, Florida 32226, by email at
[email protected]
or visit her
website,
www.brendajackson.net
.
Prologue
A beautiful June day
“O
MG, who's the latecomer to the
wedding?”
“Don't know, but I'm glad he made it to the reception.”
“Look at that body.”
“Look at that walk.”
“He should come with a warning sign that says Extremely
Hot.”
Several ladies in the wedding party whispered among themselves,
and all eyes were trained on the tall, ultrahandsome man who'd approached the
group of Westmoreland male cousins across the room. The reception for Micah
Westmoreland's wedding to Kalina Daniels was in full swing on the grounds of
Micah Manor, but every female in attendance was looking at one particular
male.
The man who'd just arrived.
“For crying out loud, will someone please tell me who he is?”
Vickie Morrow, a good friend of Kalina's, pleaded in a low voice. She looked
over at Megan Westmoreland. “Most of the good-looking men here are related to
you in some way, so tell us. Is he another Westmoreland cousin?”
Megan was checking out the man just as thoroughly as all the
other women were. “No, he's no kin of mine. I've never seen him before,” she
said. She hadn't seen the full view yet, either, just his profile, but even that
was impressiveâhe had handsome features, a deep tan and silky straight hair that
brushed against the collar of his suit. He was both well dressed and
good-looking.
“Yes, he definitely is one fine specimen of a man and is
probably some Hollywood friend of my cousins, since he seems to know them.”
“Well, I want to be around when the introductions are made,”
Marla Ford, another friend of Kalina's, leaned over and whispered in Megan's
ear. “Make that happen.”
Megan laughed. “I'll see what I can do.”
“Hey, don't look now, ladies, but he's turned this way and is
looking over here,” Marla said. “In fact, Megan, your brother Zane is pointing
out one of us to himâ¦and I hope it's me.” Seconds later, Marla said in a
disappointed voice, “It's
you,
Megan.”
Marla had to be mistaken. Why would Zane point her out to that
man?
“Yeah, look how the hottie is checking you out,” Vickie
whispered to Megan. “It's like the rest of us don't even exist.
Lordy, I do declare
. I wish some man would look at me
that way.”
Megan met the stranger's gaze. Everyone was right. He was
concentrated solely on her. And the moment their eyes connected, something
happened. It was as if heat transmitted from his look was burning her skin,
flaming her blood, scorching her all over. She'd never felt anything so powerful
in her life.
Instant attraction
.
Her heart pounded like crazy, and she shivered as everything
and everyone around her seemed to fade into the backgroundâ¦everything except for
the sound of the soft music from the orchestra that pulled her and this stranger
into a cocoon. It was as if no one existed but the two of them.
Her hand, which was holding a glass of wine, suddenly felt
moist, and something fired up within her that had never been lit before. Desire.
As potent as it could get. How could a stranger affect her this way? For the
first time in her adult life, at the age of twenty-seven, Megan knew what it
meant to be attracted to someone in a way that affected all her vital signs.
And, as an anesthesiologist, she knew all about the workings of
the human body. But up until now she'd never given much thought to her own body
or how it would react to a man. At least, not to how it would react to this
particular manâ¦whomever he was. She found her own reaction as interesting as she
found it disconcerting.
“That guy's hot for you, Megan.”
Vickie's words reminded Megan that she had an audience.
Breaking eye contact with the stranger, she glanced over at Vickie, swallowing
deeply. “No, he's not. He doesn't know me, and I don't know him.”
“Doesn't matter who knows who. What just happened between you
two is called instant sexual attraction. I felt it. We all did. You would have
to be dead not to have felt it. That was some kind of heat emitting between the
two of you just now.”
Megan drew in a deep breath when the other women around her
nodded and agreed with what Vickie had said. She glanced back over at the
stranger. He was still staring and held her gaze until her cousin Riley tapped
him on the shoulder to claim his attention. And when Savannah and Jessica, who
were married to Megan's cousins Durango and Chase, respectively, walked up to
him, she saw how his face split in a smile before he pulled both women into his
arms for a huge hug.
That's when it hit her just who the stranger was. He was
Jessica and Savannah's brother, the private investigator who lived in
Philadelphia, Rico Claiborne. The man Megan had hired a few months ago to probe
into her great-grandfather's past.
* * *
Rico Claiborne was glad to see his sisters, but the
woman Zane had pointed out to him, the same one who had hired him over the phone
a few months ago, was still holding his attention, although he was pretending
otherwise.
Dr. Megan Westmoreland.
She had gone back to talking to her friends, not looking his
way. That was fine for now since he needed to get his bearings. What in the hell
had that been all about? What had made him concentrate solely on her as if all
those other women standing with her didn't exist? There was something about her
that made her stand out, even before Zane had told him the one in the pastel
pink was his sister Megan.
The woman was hot, and when she had looked at him, every cell
in his body had responded to that look. It wasn't one of those
I'm-interested-in-you-too kind of looks. It was one of those looks that
questioned the power of what was going on between them. It was quite obvious she
was just as confused as he was. Never had he reacted so fiercely to a woman
before. And the fact that she was the one who had hired him to research Raphel
Westmoreland made things even more complicated.
That had been two months ago. He'd agreed to take the case, but
had explained he couldn't begin until he'd wrapped up the other cases he was
working on. She'd understood. Today, he'd figured he could kill two birds with
one stone. He'd attend Micah's wedding and finally get to meet Micah's cousin
Megan. But he hadn't counted on feeling such a strong attraction to her, one
that still had heat thrumming all through him.
His sisters' husbands, as well as the newlyweds, walked up to
join him. And as Rico listened to the conversations swirling around him, he
couldn't help but steal glances over at Megan. He should have known it would be
just a matter of time before one of his sisters noticed where his attention had
strayed.
“You've met Megan, right? I know she hired you to investigate
Raphel's history,” Savannah said with a curious gleam in her eyes. He knew that
look. If given the chance she would stick that pretty nose of hers where it
didn't belong.
“No, Megan and I haven't officially met, although we've talked
on the phone a number of times,” he said, grabbing a drink off the tray of a
passing waiter. He needed it to cool off. Megan Westmoreland was so freaking hot
he could feel his toes beginning to burn. “But I know which one she is. Zane
pointed her out to me a few minutes ago,” he added, hoping that would appease
his sister's curiosity.
He saw it didn't when she smiled and said, “Then let me
introduce you.”
Rico took a quick sip of his drink. He started to tell Savannah
that he would rather be introduced to Megan later, but then decided he might as
well get it over with. “All right.”
As his sister led him over to where the group of women stood,
all staring at him with interest in their eyes, his gaze was locked on just one.
And he knew she felt the strong attraction flowing between them as much as he
did. There was no way she could not.
It was a good thing they wouldn't be working together closely.
His job was just to make sure she received periodic updates on how the
investigation was going, which was simple enough.
Yes, he decided, as he got closer to her, with the way his
entire body was reacting to her, the more distance he put between himself and
Megan the better.