Solid Gold Seduction (The Drakes of California)

by Zuri Day

  She observed all this in a matter of seconds before saying, “What do you need to see me about, Drake? As I said on the phone, I don’t have much time.” She looked at her watch for emphasis.

  Warren leaned back against the plush black swivel chair in which he sat. “Are you going to act defensive every time you see me, even after the other day?”

  “I’m not defensive,” she stated, very defensively.

  “Ha! What would you call it?”

  “I’d call it direct, to the point. Which, if you don’t get to it...” She turned slightly.

  “Slow your roll, Charli. Close the door and have a seat.” She looked skeptically at the door, then back at him.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t bite you.” She began shutting the door. “At least not without your permission.” She stopped. He laughed. “Please.”

  She offered her style of smile, a smirk, really, before she closed the door, walked over to one of two black leather chairs facing Warren’s desk and sat down.

  “You remember the digging I told you about, how we might have to extend it onto your property?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that’s no longer a possibility, but a definite.”

  She frowned. “You had to see me for that? I already told you that as long as you repaired what you tore up, it was okay.”

  “That’s not all. It’s not only that we’re digging up your land, it’s now why.”

  “You found a sinkhole?”

  “No, Charli. We’ve found gold.”

  “Gold?”

  “Yes.”

  “Here, on our land?”

  “Yes.” He stood, walked over to one of the bookshelves and reached for a small, covered porcelain bowl, then walked over and handed it to Charli. “Take a look,” he said, walking back to his chair and sitting down.

  She took off the lid, set it on the smoky glass table between the two chairs, then spilled the collection of rocks into her hand. “These are rocks.”

  “At first glance that’s what anyone would think. But those are gold nuggets, darling. And according to my expert grandfather, there is plenty more where that came from—some of which is on your property.”

  Charli studied the rocks more carefully. “This is gold?”

  “Yep.”

  “How much do you think there is? I mean, could there be enough to...”

  “End your financial worries? We don’t know. But there is enough to warrant us digging deeper and finding out. That’s why I needed to see you. I know the bad blood that has existed between our families and want everything about this joint venture to be legal and aboveboard. I also want us to split any profits fifty-fifty.”

  “With you handling time, labor and all up-front expenses, how can we do that?”

  “We can do it because it’s the only arrangement I’ll accept.”

  She shook her head. “No can do, Drake. If this is a joint venture, then my say counts, too. And I’d say that with your gifting the cows you’ve already done too much. For this to feel right, I’ve got to share some of the financial burden of the excavation.”

  Tension whipped around in the silence like errant particles of dust across Warren’s glass desk. “If you insist,” Warren finally answered with a shrug.

  “I do. And I need to run any paperwork past Griff and our own set of lawyers.”

  “Of course.” Warren fully intended to pay for everything concerning the excavation, a point he felt was best kept to himself until he could persuade her to his way of thinking. “Anything else?”

  “Not that I can think of at the moment.”

  “I’ll have my attorneys get right on this and send over something as soon as possible, perhaps as early as tomorrow morning.”

  “Okay.”

  Warren stood and walked toward her. Charli stood, too. “Now,” he said, his voice low and husky as he stood in front of her. “Was what I just shared worth your time in coming over?”

  Kicking herself for licking her lips after eyeing his succulent ones, she answered, “Yes.”

  “One more question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Can I bite you?” She shyly shook her head. “No?”

  “No,” she said softly. “No biting.”

  “Then may I have a kiss?”

  “Yes.”

  “Two?”

  “Don’t push it.”

  Warren had no intention of pushing it, or of continuing the conversation at all. One more look at her luscious lips and he knew that there were much better ways that they could be spending this time alone.

  Chapter 25

  A week after Warren’s conversation with his grandfather and the subsequent conversation with Charli, a lot had happened. So much so that Warren felt he needed to get away from everything and everybody just to sort it all out. And he wanted Charli to go with him. That’s why he’d called her last night and asked her out to dinner. He’d said nothing more than to wear slacks and bring a jacket. And that’s why she now stood on a wide expanse of land about ten miles out of town with the sound of helicopter blades whirring around them and a look of surprise on her face.

  “I’ve never been in a helicopter before,” she shouted over the humming propellers.

  “I’ve only been up a few times myself,” Warren admitted. He looked across the strip at the pilot, who nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. Warren took Charli’s arm. “Let’s go!”

  They entered the helicopter and within minutes had been outfitted with the devices through which they could communicate and be heard over the roar.

  “This is crazy!” Charli said, her eyes bright, excited. “When you asked me out to dinner I was thinking either Acquired Taste or Bucks!”

  Bucks was the second most popular eatery in Paradise Cove. As down-home as Acquired Taste was upscale, the establishment boasted barbecued ribs, succulent fried chicken and the best burgers in town.

  “I didn’t want anyone to see us!” Immediately realizing how that must have sounded, he touched her arm and added, “Wait, that didn’t come out right. I’d love for people to know I’m with the prettiest girl in Paradise Cove. I just don’t want people even more in our business than they are already!”

  “Thanks for being kind. But we both know that you’re talking about Griff.”

  “I have to give it to the old man. When it comes to you, he’s very protective. Though I’m hoping that after your lawyers have reviewed and approved the contract, he’ll stop being suspicious.”

  Charli laughed. “He’ll stop being suspicious of you when you stop being a Drake.”

  “Unfortunately, you’re probably right. Wish he’d had that same kind of suspicion when his friend showed up before asking for the man’s opinion—” Warren made air quotes “—in confidence.”

  It was true. Upon hearing about the gold and the proposed Drake/Reed joint venture, a highly wary Griff had asked the advice of a longtime friend who’d just happened to drop by their farm the same day that Charli had shared the news. One thing led to another and Griff’s friend told his wife, who then shared it with her beautician at one of the town’s hair salons. That had been the beginning of the end of their secret gold find. Now what was happening on the Drake and Reed properties was the talk of Paradise Cove.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “San Francisco, baby.”

  “Oh, really? Cool! I’ve only been back a few times since graduating Berkeley.”

  Casual conversation continued during the thirty-minute ride to a San Francisco airstrip. Once there, a town car awaited to whisk them into the heart of the city and to the chic restaurant Jackson had told Warren about. There was one stop before that, however. It was to a chic downtown boutique, close to the city’s financial district. It wasn’t until they were comfortably seated at the private booth that they both felt they could truly catch their breaths.

  Charli picked up her glass of lemon water. “Wow, that helicopter ride was exciting.”

  “It was
pretty nice. And may I say, you look lovely.”

  Charli eased a hand over the silky, formfitting dress that both the saleswoman and Warren had talked her into letting him buy. “It is as if both the color and design were made for you,” the woman had vowed in heavily accented English. She was right. The one-shoulder number that boasted a subtle butterfly print against a primarily coral background emphasized her neck and toned arms, while the cut highlighted her ample breasts, slender waist and long legs. The dress stopped a couple inches above her knees. Its color complemented her deeply tanned skin perfectly, a coppery tone further enhanced by the bronzer brush of the makeup artist whose shop was next door to the boutique. Finally, a dainty pair of strappy, jeweled heels, along with teardrop earrings and a bracelet of Swarovski crystals and a light shawl completed her ensemble. There was no denying it: when Charli left the shop she’d felt like Cinderella.

  She still did.

  “If you were trying to make an impression...mission accomplished.” This statement was accompanied by the almost smile that Warren now expected.

  “Believe it or not, woman, I’m just trying to have some peace!”

  “Ha! Well, for the record, you clean up pretty well yourself.”

  Warren smiled. “Thank you.”

  He wasn’t the cocky sort but had been told more than once how he blessed a pair of slacks or jeans. He’d kept his attire simple: black suit, stark white shirt, pinstriped tie of black, gray and coral. He’d visited his barber first thing that morning and knew his close-cropped curls looked just right. Never one for much flash, he limited his accessories to an understated Cartier watch and monogrammed platinum cuff links.

  “Seriously, I’m glad for this time with just the two of us. This situation is getting crazy. Various family members have suddenly becoming mining experts, my parents are now the most popular guests on the dinner circuit and the final straw? A call from a reporter at the Cove Chronicle, wanting a quote.”

  “She called you, too?”

  Warren nodded. “If I’d known it was going to get like this, I might have kept that little nugget in my pocket and never called Grandpa.”

  “All this hoopla on the mere chance that there might be serious gold down there.” She shook her head, her eyes wistful. “I never in a million years would have thought that gold existed under my cattle’s hooves. Like you, I’ve grown up with the stories. Except mine were tinged with my grandfather’s intense...dislike for your grandfather.”

  Warren sighed. “I think that unfortunately there was some mutual dislike going on.”

  “You told me that you asked him about what happened between them. But you never shared what he said.”

  Charli had been curious when she’d heard that the Walter Drake, the man she’d heard so much about from her grandfather, was back in town. “You don’t have to. It’s...”

  “Not important,” Warren finished.

  They paused while the waiter came out, freshened their waters and took drink and food orders. When he left, Warren continued. “The fact of the matter is what happened between those two men is in the past and has nothing to do with us. I believe that even if my grandfather did have a problem with Charles Reed, it was his problem. I don’t have to make it mine. After talking with my grandfather, that’s what I decided.”

  Charli was quiet for a moment, looking at Warren with an unreadable expression. “I never looked at it quite that way.”

  Warren gave her a crooked smile, making him appear boyish and unassuming. “I got that feeling.”

  “Stop it!” She slapped his wrist, and for the first time since they’d met, gave him a genuine smile.

  “You should do that more often.”

  “What?”

  “Smile.” Taking a huge chance, he reached for her hand, held it between his two large ones before exposing her palm and running a strong, thick forefinger down her lifeline. Taking an even bigger chance...he kissed her.

  It was a definable moment when their lips touched, when he applied the merest pressure before pulling back, looking into her eyes and then kissing her once more.

  She didn’t back away. Somehow he knew she wouldn’t. It was as if being in a different place, away from all that was familiar and those who knew them oh so well, allowed a different side of each of them to be explored. Allowed them to enjoy the attraction that Charli tried so hard to deny.

  For him, it was a side that pushed away worries about ulterior motives or rejection, two issues that had dogged past relationships.

  For her, it was a side that embraced the concept of trust, in a man, but even more importantly, in herself.

  “That was nice,” he finally said.

  “Yes,” she said, dipping her head in a moment of shyness. “It was.”

  For a brief snatch of time they just sat there in a companionable silence, each dealing with their own thoughts, feelings and reactions. In the end, the look they gave each other said that there would be no going back to whatever they had before. They’d just gone to another level. And both were happy about that.

  The waiter brought their salads and soon gushing comments about the deliciousness of their meal vied with personal bits and pieces that allowed Warren and Charli to know each other more. There were more smiles and laughter than they’d ever previously shared. By the time the entrées arrived, a new understanding had been reached.

  “I’m so glad the legalities regarding the Drake/Reed excavation are behind us. Although I wish you’d stop fighting it and let my company absorb the expenses. I was putting in an in-ground pool, remember? So an excavation would have occurred at any rate.”

  In a rare show of flirtation, Charli leaned forward. She used her newly manicured fingernail to graze the back of Warren’s hand. While looking up into his eyes, she purred, “I thought you brought me all the way up here so we could stop talking about the gold rush.”

  Warren’s eyes went from looking at hers to observing her lips, licking his own as he remembered the kiss. “I know what I’d like to do.” Warren’s phone rang. “Hold that thought.” He pulled it from his pocket. “The pilot,” he mouthed to Charli as he took the call. “Hello?” He nodded, then frowned. “Seriously?” He muted the phone. “A problem with the helicopter I rented. They’re trying to find another one to take us home.” He returned to the call. “Yes, I’m here. Uh-huh. We just finished dinner and are about to have dessert.” He listened for another minute and then asked Charli an unexpected question. Perhaps it had something to do with his growing courage and her emboldened flirtations.

  “By the time they either fix or replace the helicopter, it will be midnight or later. Do you want to just spend the night here, in San Francisco?”

  Charli’s answer was even more unexpected, for both of them. “Yes.”

  Chapter 26

  They were in the heart of San Francisco, in the Civic Center Plaza, near Market Street and San Francisco’s widest thoroughfare, Van Ness. Warren spoke with the waiter, who brought over the maître d’, who suggested a hotel very near their establishment. An hour later, after enjoying decadent desserts and after-dinner drinks, they arrived at a beautiful suite bearing a rather ironic name considering where Warren’s parents lived: the Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s Golden Gate suite.

  “This is stunning,” Charli said as she entered the large, elegantly appointed set of rooms with large windows that offered stunning, unobstructed views of San Francisco’s twinkling skyline and a bird’s-eye view of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge. She turned to Warren, her eyes bright and shiny, like those of a child with a new toy. “I’ve never been in a place so beautiful before.”

  “I’m just sorry about the circumstances that put us here,” Warren said. “My family has used that helicopter company for several years and nothing has ever happened like this. I’m really sorry.”

  “Drake, quit apologizing.” She walked over and stood directly in front of him. “It’s okay.”

  He tried not to react to the look in her eyes, to t
hat mixture of wonder, gratitude and...absolute trust? It made his heart flip-flop and caused stirrings below. In this moment he realized the impossibility and danger of this situation: one very soft, very big bed; no luggage, meaning no night clothes; a romantic setting and one of the most beautiful women he’d ever met. In that moment Warren knew that if this scenario didn’t end with his making slow, sweet love to her...it was going to be a very long night.

  He took a step. “May I kiss you again?”

  She nodded.

  It began with just their lips touching: soft, tender, reserved. But when Warren reached out and pulled her flush against him and Charli gasped, the experience quickly turned hot. Warren darted his tongue into her open mouth, which still tasted of chocolate and berried wine. She groaned and it set him on fire, bringing out all of the longing from his months without sex, from feelings that had been hidden, for a date with destiny that wouldn’t be denied. He shifted his head to go even deeper, to taste more of her—cheek, temple, nose, ear—but it was still not enough.

  Obviously the feeling was mutual because Charli reached up and put her arms around his neck, going up on tiptoe to deepen their exchange. Their bodies began to rub against each other. His hand moved down the length of her back, enjoying the satiny fabric of her fancy dress before touching the perfectly shaped, firm butt that had driven him crazy on more than one occasion. He grabbed and squeezed and she moaned aloud. The sound sent blood gushing to the tip of his shaft, his tool like a raging python straining for relief from its cage. If something wasn’t done soon, he would burst.

  He knew what could tame the python, what could soothe the beast. He was holding her in his arms.

  “Charli,” he whispered against her mouth. They stopped, forehead to forehead, both panting for breath and a return from a moment when they’d both lost track of reality, had both become lost in the pleasure of a simple kiss. Except that was just it—because it had happened between Warren and Charli, nothing about it was simple. The kiss seemed to weave a web around them, draw them together in a way that was inexplicable yet undeniable.