“It can be like that every day. We’ll make sure of it.”
Sarah, wearing a pretty dotted Swiss eyelet dress, looking like the embodiment of a simple country girl and not the flashy, sequined, studded star she usually portrayed, appeared happy. “A girl could get spoiled.”
“You haven’t seen nothin’ yet,” Julia teased. They entered her suite and took a seat in the parlor, chatting about the Dream Foundation and what they’d both planned on accomplishing next for the charity during the upcoming holidays.
“I’ve got a concert series planned in New Orleans with all proceeds going to the foundation. We’re going to make some dreams come true for Katrina victims. Many children and their families still are displaced.”
When a knock sounded at her door, Julia rose and took a deep breath, preparing to see Trent for the first time since their exchange hours ago. “That’ll be Trent Tyler, the mastermind of Tempest West. And he’s bringing along the head of security. I hope you don’t mind. Trent and I felt you should meet. We think it’s necessary for your added safety.”
Sarah rose from her seat. “That’s fine, Julia. I don’t want my presence here to upset the order of things. Unfortunately, I’m used to extra security.”
When Trent and Cody Landon entered, Julia faced them both graciously, but when she turned around to give the introductions, Sarah took one look at Cody and her expression crumbled. It appeared it took all of her courage to keep from stumbling back into her seat.
“Hello, Sarah,” Landon said, without introduction.
“Code,” she offered, their gazes locked.
It was as if Julia and Trent weren’t in the room. After a brief awkward silence, Sarah composed herself with poise and explained that she and Cody Landon had been childhood friends back in Texas. They hadn’t seen each other in ten years. Friends being an understatement, Julia assessed, but neither one of them elaborated about their relationship.
Sarah kept her composure throughout dinner, even though Code never took his eyes off her. After coffee and dessert, Code offered to walk Sarah Rose back to her cottage suite and Sarah agreed.
“I didn’t know they knew each other,” Trent said after they’d left.
“Obviously, he didn’t want us to know. Must be a good reason. I’ll talk to Sarah tomorrow and make sure she’s okay with it.”
“Good idea,” he said, walking over to the balcony window and looking out, his hands thrust in the pockets of his trousers. The room fell silent. Then he turned around, meeting her gaze, his dark eyes intent on hers. “I also didn’t know offering you a bonus would upset you, darlin’. I’m proud of you and wanted to show it.”
Trent’s abundant charm could sway a rattlesnake and right now, Julia felt enough like a reptile to want to crawl away on her belly. She’d behaved like a shrew earlier when Trent only wanted to thank her for her hard work. He was her boss, after all.
The tall, lean sexy cowboy wore a sincere expression and her heart did a little flip. Julia remembered Laney’s words—to fight for Trent and go after what she wanted. She shrugged and cast aside her stubborn pride to offer up the truth. “I guess I wanted more from you, Trent.”
Trent stepped away from the window to face her, his eyes dark with question. “For weeks, you’ve been pushing me away. I haven’t looked at another woman since we met and you know I want you.” He put a finger to her cheek, sliding his finger down along the line of her face in a caressing way that made her bones melt.
“You and me, we can set fire to that bed in there, darlin’.” He slid his finger down her throat, then outlined her bare shoulder. “We can have a great time together.”
He hooked his finger under the strap of her dress and lowered it down. “You’re beautiful, Julia. And smart.”
He kissed her shoulder, his lips lingering. Julia’s throat went dry.
“I’ve got nothing but admiration for you.”
He kissed her again, pressing his lips a little lower, near the V of her neckline. “I want you every way a man can want a woman.”
He lowered the neckline, releasing material to bare the upper part of her breast. Then he kissed her there and Julia’s resistance disintegrated. “And then ten times more.”
“Trent,” she whispered, “I don’t know if I can trust you.”
Slowly, he lowered the straps off her shoulders and her dress flowed down to her waist. Cool night air caressed her breasts. “I’m asking that you do.” With that, he lifted her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. She roped her arms automatically around his neck. Their eyes met, his heavy-lidded and ablaze with desire. Her heart pounded. Fast and strong, it thumped inside her chest.
Gently, he laid her down on the bed, her dress flowing in folds around her hips. He stood over her, his jaw tight, his gaze intent and his body erect. “Tell me what you want, honey.”
Oh, God. Julia knew what she wanted, but short of ordering him to love her, she couldn’t voice her heartfelt desires. She wanted this man beside her for life. She wanted to bear his children and grow old with him.
She wanted to trust him.
The debate in her mind lasted for half a second. She couldn’t turn Trent away. She ached for his kiss. She needed his hands on her, making her feel beautiful and desired. She wanted him inside her, the thought of him making love to her too powerful to deny.
She rolled onto her side and pointed. “Take off your shirt.”
Trent’s brows rose provocatively and his lips quirked up. He undid his shirt slowly, each button he unfastened allowing her a heady show of his tanned, broad chest. Once done, he dropped the shirt to the ground and stared at her.
“Now, the boots, cowboy.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and removed his snakeskin boots. He lined them up neatly and the vision those boots made standing tall by the side of her four-poster bed touched a deep sentimental chord within her.
Still sitting on the bed, he faced her. “I don’t strip down to my skivvies on command for just anyone, Julia.”
“Meaning, you use discretion?”
“Meaning,” he said, “I’d only do it for you.”
Julia grinned and her heart skipped a beat. “Really? I wouldn’t have guessed.”
But Julia knew Trent wasn’t a player or a flirt. He didn’t seem to have a long list of women in his past. She believed him when he said he used discretion and that was one trait she found extremely endearing about him.
He grabbed her legs just above the ankles and gently pulled her toward him, bedsheets and all. “Now you know,” he said, bending down to plant a heart-stopping kiss on her mouth. She craved the familiar taste of him and as she breathed in his powerful earthy scent a little gasp of pleasure escaped her throat. Trent smiled. “You’re important to me, darlin’.”
Looking up, Julia stared into sincere dark incredible eyes. “Make love to me, Trent.”
“You won’t have to ask twice.”
He removed her dress, helping as she wiggled her hips and shimmied out of it. Next he slipped a finger under her black satin thong and removed it, leaving her completely naked. He looked as though he’d devour her. Instead of taking her in another earth-shattering kiss, he lifted her hips, situated her legs on his shoulders, centering his hot mouth between her thighs, and brought her quick and complete satisfaction with the stroking of his tongue. Her orgasm shattered her and left her breathing hard, desperately clutching his shoulders.
“Oh…Trent,” she breathed out.
He rose and removed his pants, then came to her again, kissing her thoroughly, caressing her breasts and suckling on each supple tip until she wanted to scream out her pleasure.
He touched every inch of her, his hands roaming and staking their claim. Her skin heated. Her body trembled. Every cell in her body craved him and ached for more.
Laying her flat under him on the bed, he rose over her and thrust inside her, his silken erection thick and hard. He moved slowly, a torturous thrust that brought fevered anticipat
ion and pure lust. He thrust farther and she wrapped herself around him, each second escalating with fiery expectation.
Heavy-lidded, Trent watched her, his jaw tight, the strength and breadth of him being tested by sheer will. He was so powerful, so strong and so incredibly beautiful to Julia she wanted to cry.
He rasped, “We’re gonna catch fire, now, honey. Ready?”
Julia swallowed and nodded.
Then Trent did what he did best.
And they exploded into flames.
Nine
J ulia woke up the next morning from a blissful sleep. She knew instinctively that Trent would be gone from her bed. Sunshine poured into her window. It was well past dawn and he was probably hard at work in his office by now.
Her body sated from two incredible bouts of lovemaking last night, she really shouldn’t complain, but just once she wished she could wake up with Trent beside her. She’d inflicted a self-imposed rule of secrecy. It wouldn’t do her any good for the employees to know that she was sleeping with the boss.
Julia hugged her pillow to her chest wishing it were Trent. Then she glanced at the empty half of the bed and saw a small envelope with the Tempest West logo on it on the other pillow, her name written across the center.
She smiled, recognizing Trent’s handwriting. Sitting up, she opened the envelope and read the card silently.
You destroyed me last night. We’re good together. Sleep in. I’ll see you later.
Trent
Julia folded the note back into the envelope and got out of bed. Setting the note in her dresser drawer, she let out a deep sigh. They were hardly the words of love she’d wanted to hear, but she considered the note progress since Trent had never left her one before.
Julia stepped into the shower and lingered, enjoying the warm spray of water raining down. She shampooed and conditioned her hair then used the loofah on her body. She lathered herself with delicate gardenia-scented soap and rinsed, feeling revitalized and refreshed.
Trent hadn’t been the only one destroyed. A night in bed with Trent meant a vigorous workout and Julia wished she could sleep away the day, reliving the intense sensations he elicited in her. But duty called. Julia had work to do and she’d already wasted away part of the morning.
Feeling carefree, she dressed in a floral skirt in hues of lavender and rose and donned a solid matching knit sweater. She put on her favorite jewelry—a drop necklace and small diamond earrings. After ten minutes with the curling iron, her hair fell in soft curls around her face and she had the look she wanted to face the day.
She didn’t know where her relationship with Trent was going, but today, she wouldn’t worry about it. She’d pretty much decided to live in the moment and leave her concerns behind.
Ten minutes later, she knocked on Sarah Rose’s door, ready to give her a tour of Tempest West as promised. Sarah opened the door dressed in ivory silk pajamas, her auburn hair disheveled and looking as if she’d just gotten out of bed.
“Good morning,” Julia said, keeping her questions to herself for now.
“Is it?”
Sarah’s cryptic remark had Julia raising an eyebrow. “If this is a bad time, I can come back later.” Then she amended, “Or we don’t have to do this at all today.”
Sarah opened the door wider. “Come in, Julia. I’m sorry. I’m a little out of sorts. I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Were you uncomfortable? Is there anything here that doesn’t meet with your approval?”
Sarah waved her off with a smile. “Don’t be silly. I’m not a diva. The accommodations here are just as perfect as can be. I couldn’t approve more. Of them.”
Then she plopped onto the butter-yellow leather sofa and shrugged. “Other things kept me awake last night.”
Julia had a feeling she knew where this was going. “Uh-oh. Was it Cody Landon? Let me say no one was more surprised than Trent and I that you two knew each other. I hope he didn’t upset you…We can make other arrange—”
Sarah put her hand up. “Julia. Wait. Don’t make assumptions on my behalf. I’m doing just fine. I knew I might run into him one day. Please don’t feel you need to go making other arrangements,” she said softly, her southern twang coming through. “Seeing him here just caught me by surprise.”
“I saw your reaction to him, Sarah.” Julia sat down beside her and turned to face her directly. Sarah had nearly crumpled for a second when she’d first laid eyes on Code. Not that he wasn’t extremely handsome, dressed in devastating black from head to toe, his face covered in day-old scruff with those incredible deep sea-blue eyes landing on Sarah and staying there all during dinner.
Sarah closed her eyes briefly. “Code and I…well, we knew each other a long time ago.”
“I’m here to listen, if you need someone. But don’t feel you have to say anything at all.”
Sarah smiled warmly. “Thank you. But it doesn’t matter anymore, Julia. It’s old news and not very exciting at that,” she offered on a deep sigh. “If you give me twenty minutes, I’ll be ready for the tour of the grounds.” She dismissed the subject that easily, but Julia knew there was much more going on than Sarah wanted to admit.
“Why don’t you stay and have something to eat while I shower and dress?”
Julia looked over at the granite counter filled with goodies. “Thank you. I’ll have some strawberries and coffee and wait for you outside on the deck.”
Twenty minutes later, Julia took a camouflaged Sarah Rose, dressed in dark sunglasses and a ponytail covered with a Dallas Cowboys ball cap, out on an hour tour of the grounds. Proudly, she showed Trent’s hotel off and drove the perimeter in the Jeep, making their last stop at Destiny Lake.
“This is it,” she said to Sarah. “We’ll set you up on the dock and put our guests in seats just a few feet away, no more than three hundred seats in all. There’ll be no hoopla, no flashing lights, no backup singers. Just an intimate evening with you and your fans.”
Sarah took off her sunglasses to take it all in, her gaze lingering on the glistening lake. “I can barely recall singing to a small audience. I miss it. I like the dock idea.”
“Afterward, if you don’t mind, maybe you can shake a few hands, sign some autographs in a little postshow party at the hotel. You’ll have the utmost in security the entire time.”
“That’s fine with me. I won’t tell my manager though. He’d be on the first plane out here. I trust you, Julia. And I’m looking forward to this.”
“Thank you. We won’t let you down. We want this to be a pleasant experience for you as well as our guests.”
“I think it will be,” she acknowledged, but her voice was laced with trepidation and Julia believed it all had to do with Code Landon.
When Julia walked into his office, Trent was knee-deep in work, his head down as he concentrated on hotel projections. “Kim, can you bring me last month’s reports?”
“It’s not Kim,” Julia said, closing the door and walking toward his desk.
Trent abandoned his work long enough to glance up. Her heart tumbled when he lost his all-business expression to smile at her. “Wow.” He rose from his seat and approached her. “You look prettier than sunshine.” He took her hand, pulled her up close and kissed her. “Taste sweet as sugar, too.”
“Flattery, Mr. Tyler?”
“Just plain fact.”
Julia stroked his jaw, enjoying the freedom to touch him now. She’d resisted him for weeks and now she couldn’t get enough. She lifted up on her toes and kissed him back.
“Glad you got your facts straight.”
He grinned then glanced at the files behind him on his desk. “I got a pile of work to do today. Appreciate you interrupting, though. It’s good to see you.” Then he nuzzled her neck. “You okay, after last night?”
The reminder of their hot night of sex stalled her breath. She whispered, “Don’t I look okay?”
Trent skimmed his hands down her back, tugged up the h
em of her skirt and cupped her derriere. Fiery signals went off in her body.
“Hell, Julia. I’ve got a meeting in half an hour and I’m not nearly ready or I’d show you how okay you look right now.”
Caught up in Trent’s caresses, she fumbled with her next thought. “Sorry, but…I, uh…came in here for a reason. It’s business, but it can wait. I’ll leave you to get your work done.”
With reluctance, she pulled away from him, only to have him catch her and draw her back with his hands firmly on her backside. “Trent,” she breathed out.
He stared deep into her eyes. “Meet me tonight. Come out to my house. I want you there with me.”
Julia swallowed and nodded slowly, looking at him as she backed out of his reach.
“Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.”
Julia walked out of his office, her mind giddy, her legs weak and her heart joyfully thrumming.
There was no point being coy with Trent. Julia knew what he liked and she was darn sure going to please him tonight. She put on her striking fuchsia Zac Posen dress, something she kept for special occasions, slipped her feet into black two-inch heels and accented her outfit with thin black pearls, teardrop earrings and about a dozen narrow bangle bracelets.
She put her hair up in a sophisticated do, securing the tresses with an onyx-beaded comb. Glancing in the mirror, she gave a quick nod of approval at the image reflecting back. Picking up her handbag, she exited her suite.
She’d made plans for Kim and Sarah to have a light supper together, so that Kim could go over some “details” about her performances. Julia smiled as Kim’s stunned expression flashed in her mind.
“You want me to have dinner with Sarah? Just the two of us?” Kim had asked.
“Yes, I think she’d enjoy meeting you. And you’d be doing me a big favor,” she’d said.
Not that Julia had planned on babysitting Sarah for her entire stay at Tempest West, but after their conversation today she thought Sarah might like a few hours of distraction. And Julia would sleep better knowing she wouldn’t have to worry about Sarah’s activities tonight.
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