****
Montana in May was a sight to behold, Brooke decided as the four-wheel drive roared down the road towards yet another Harding estate. Everywhere was either wet or white with flecks of melting snow. The landscape was just as beautiful as she remembered with beautiful white-capped mountains rising proudly to kiss the skies. Roiling fields of greenery disappeared into deep valleys on either side of the winding road making the passing landscape breath-taking and absolutely beautiful.
She stole a glance at her companion from beneath her lashes and was pleased to note that he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the landscape either. As though sensing her scrutiny, he turned his head and held her gaze with his. Unbidden, a flicker of awareness skittered down her spine and Brooke unconsciously licked her lips as she tried to hold back a surprised gasp. It had been like this since she arrived yesterday and the attraction which she had chalked up to a temporary aberration hadn't eased; if anything, it had heightened. Her stomach had been all aflutter with butterflies since yesterday and she was quickly losing patience with herself. What was wrong with her, she wondered churlishly. No man had ever affected her like this; one glance and she could barely keep her nipples from beading into hard points beneath her blouse. His eyes dipped to her red lips and she saw him swallow even as his gaze darkened perceptibly.
Desire sizzled, hot and potent in the air and every nerve-ending in Brooke’s body went on high alert. His eyes locked with hers, drawing her in inexorably and making her lose all sense of time and place as though hypnotized.
Without being aware of moving, Brooke was in his arms. Urgency ripped through her as Tyler immediately lowered his head to hers, his hard lips slanting across hers, seeking, searching. Brooke leaned back in his arms and opened her mouth to apologize but Tyler didn’t give her a chance; his tongue delved into her mouth and he grabbed her close to him as he deepened the kiss.
His hands tightened about her, as his large, slightly callused palm drifted boldly to her chest and cupped one firm round breast. All the breath whooshed out of her in startled surprise and Tyler immediately released her.
“I’m sorry,” he said gruffly. “Sometimes I move from zero to one hundred in a nanosecond.”
“Um...it’s alright,” she assured him, moving back to her side of the seat in the limo.
Gawd that was some kiss! How did he manage to get her so hot and bothered in less than a few seconds? She felt a red flush steal up her neck as her eyes stole a look at his large, masculine hands.
Even now, she could feel wetness pooling between her thighs just remembering how those large palms had tenderly cupped her breast.
Brooke forced herself to look away, turning her gaze once more to the passing landscape; she had never been this unprofessional in her entire life before. What would Collins have to say about that? She could just picture his frown of displeasure coupled with a smug grin as he whipped out a pink slip. The man seemed to have one about him all the time.
Anger coursed through her as she remembered her boss and deliberately, she looked at her watch, “Are we there yet?”
He chuckled, “Almost, Dorothy.”
She grinned back, relaxing as she leaned back against the soft, plush leather seat of the limo. She could get used to this kind of luxury, she thought, wriggling her behind and settling it deeper into the soft-as-butter leather.
Tyler grinned anew as he watched her obvious and unpretentious enjoyment of the luxurious interior.
“First time?”
“What gave it away?” she purred unconcerned, shutting her eyes as she caressed the soft leather with her hands.
Too soon, the limo drew to a smart stop in front of the mansion and the chauffeur opened the door.
Tyler dimpled at her, “Time to meet the welcome wagon.”
Since there was no ‘welcome wagon’ at the front door, Brooke looked at him askance.
“Oh my mother would never stoop to leave her exalted position in the drawing room where she holds court,” he said bitingly. “We go to her.”
It occurred to Brooke that this was no way to speak of one’s mother. But she said nothing.
Tyler led the way down a long corridor lined with stern unsmiling pictures of a long line of Harding ancestors and then they entered what had to be the drawing room. A woman dressed in a gown fit for a princess in the Victorian ages was sitting ramrod straight in one chair facing the doorway as she tried valiantly to look as though she wasn’t expecting anyone. The scene both amused and touched Brooke. Why would she feel the need to pretend about being glad to see her son come home? Wasn’t it natural for a mother to be excited by her son's return?
“Mother,” Tyler murmured as he leaned down to press a brief kiss onto her cheek.
The woman’s eyes shone like twin jewels as she smiled at her son, then her face went back to its glacial formality when she focused on Brooke.
“The reporter,” she murmured, managing to put enough inflection in the words to make Brooke feel like she just crawled out from beneath a stone. “Welcome, my dear. Show her to her room, Tyler,” she added dismissively.
Tyler turned to wink at Brooke and she understood that they had just been dismissed.
“Who built this...mansion?”
He shrugged, “My grandfather, about twelve generations back.”
Her eyes took in the modern decorations, the plush surroundings; she shook her head, “No, this is way too modern.”
“Okay, so I renovated and redecorated a bit three years ago,” he conceded.
Brooke stared at the back of his head. There were just too many undercurrents with the Hardings. What on earth was going on?
She opened her mouth to ask yet another question but he forestalled her with his announcement, “This is where we'll put you: the cream room."
He swept the door open to reveal a bedroom that looked as though it was straight out of a magazine. The theme was cream alright, from the bedcovers to the curtains to just about every visible surface was cream and gold. The room was breath-taking!
Brooke was so enthralled, she spun around in a circle taking it all in.
Tyler’s jaw tightened as he watched her. He had been right to pick this room for her; with her pale coloring, the room accentuated her features, made her appear almost ethereal and so damn sexy he could actually feel his blood roaring through his veins in reaction.
His hands tightened into fists at his side as he strove for control. He walked towards the windows to pull the curtains to the side and then turned back around to beat a hasty retreat from the room; he almost mowed Brooke down. She was standing right behind him. It was a measure of how distracted he was that he hadn’t heard her come up behind him.
Brooke grinned up at him saucily, “The view is to die for. I think I can understand why your mother never wants to leave here.”
His gaze went unerringly to her soft red, lips. Yeah the view was to die for.
Without a second thought, he lowered his head to hers and urgently took her lips in a hard, passionate kiss. Kissing her felt like coming home, he thought dimly as his hands wrapped around her soft waist and pulled her flush against him.
Brooke gasped as his lips melded with hers, but instead of pushing him away, her traitorous hands wrapped about his neck. Her fingers hesitantly delved into the thick black hair at his nape and he groaned as he kissed her. Brooke stroked her hand down the thick column of his neck and then his hard, wide chest. He was pure male and absolutely delicious; she would never be able to get enough of him, she mused.
As though reading her thoughts, Tyler murmured against her lips, “I just can’t get enough of you. This is crazy; I've never felt like this.”
Before she could respond, his tongue plunged deeper into her mouth, engaging hers in an intimate dance that made every last one of her toes curl in pleasure.
His hands cupped her breast through the sheer material of her blouse, and in mere seconds, he had tumbled them both onto the bed, shoving her blouse up to reveal her lace bra. Brooke moaned and arched her back, almost falling off the bed as Tyler’s lips closed over one taut, erect nipple. He gently nipped at her breast through the thin material of her bra, his hands caressing every inch of silky skin he could touch. Electricity bolted through her nerve endings as he kissed her and Brooke went wild in his arms, clutching and twisting and caressing right back.
“I want you,” Tyler murmured, his dark eyes boring into hers.
Staring up at him, Brooke understood immediately that he was asking permission to go further.
Without giving herself time to think about it, she reached up and pulled him back down, effectively giving him her answer.
His kisses were scorching as he trailed his lips down her chest and then her stomach. His hands slipped down, caressing her soft thighs under her skirt.
“Please,” Brooke sighed, not even knowing what she was begging for.
Tyler was not proof against that soft, breathless, whisper. He bent his dark head to the juncture of her thighs and tenderly opened his lips over the soft folds of her wet, willing pussy.
Brooke’s eyes shot open in alarm; this was moving way too fast for her!
"Tyler—” she began.
“Hush. Let me take care of you. I’ve wanted to do this since the first time you jumped clear across the stable and into my arms. Don’t make me stop now, baby,” he murmured as he slowly laved his tongue through her pussy.
His tongue was softly probing and gently exploring as he licked her pussy, sending spasms of pleasure coursing through her body. Brooke cried out helplessly, her hands pressing to his head as he licked her hot and slow.
A vibrating sensation near her thigh jerked Brooke back to reality and she looked up in confusion, her green gaze clashing with Tyler’s dark eyes.
“My phone,” he growled, apparently intent on ignoring it.
But the ringing sound had been about as effective as a dash of cold water in her face and desire fled as though it had never been. This was crazy. What was she doing? And with an interview subject?
Hastily, she shoved at his shoulders, “Stop! Stop! Stop!”
He raised his head, staring up at her blearily. “You want me to stop?”
“Just stop! And get out! Get out!”
To his credit, Tyler immediately lifted away from her and then without another word, he quietly left the room, leaving Brooke with a frown between her eyes.