by Sara Orwig
This was the moment to say no and go home. As she danced, held close against him, after a dream evening, she didn’t want to say goodbye. As if watching a puppet in a play, she nodded. “Very well, Jake. For a while. I still want to fly back to the ranch.”
“Whatever you want. All you have to do is tell me.”
When the number ended, he took her hand and they returned to their table where she retrieved her purse.
“Now I can show you where I live in Dallas. We’ll pass the office, too.”
She was familiar with Dallas and had a general idea where they were going. When they reached a suburban area, Jake pointed to a twenty-story building on a business campus with a complex of buildings. “There’s the Benton campus. We have a lot of diversification. I’m in the main building. Gabe is in the ten-story one next to the tallest building.”
“Will you lose anything concerned with the business if you don’t do what your dad wants in the coming year?”
“I’m risking all of this, although so far, Dad has simply threatened my inheritance and what he has in his will. I’m not worried. I’m setting up my own business. Dad can do what he wants.”
“I can’t believe you would give up such a fortune. You could marry and live the kind of life where you and your wife would never have to see each other.”
“No. The day I marry, I will be so in love I can’t think straight. I’m not ready for that. I haven’t ever had a serious relationship or considered marriage and I’m not about to get into a shallow relationship to please my father. He can have his money, his business and everything else. I’ll walk away still being my own person.”
“That’s amazing. You must have incredible willpower.”
“Incredible stubbornness is what he’ll call it. I don’t care. Here’s my condo,” Jake said, turning into a gated area. He punched a code and tall iron gates swung inward.
Helping her out of the car, Jake took her arm. “I’ll give you a brief tour,” he said, leading her into a kitchen that made her ranch kitchen look the age it was. Dark wood was softened by the lighting and splashes of color in plants, jars and copper-bottomed pots. An adjoining sitting room was inviting with plaid-covered furniture.
The central hall held a fountain and pool. The living area was another inviting room with leather furniture and walls of books. As Jake shed his coat and tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt, her mouth went dry and she forgot his condo.
He glanced at her, then focused more intently and she looked away, moving around the room to look at shelves holding books, vases and pictures. There were pictures of Jake with his brother and sister.
“Even though your father meddles in your life, you had a family with a brother and sister and that’s wonderful.”
“You at least had your grandmother.”
“That I did and I had more in Cecilia, Altheda and Kirby who were like family to me. No, I will always be grateful for my grandmother who gave me a wonderful life.”
“All evening I have wanted to do this,” he said, reaching up to take the clip out of her hair. While locks tumbled on her shoulders, he placed the clip on a shelf and ran his fingers through her hair. His gaze held hers and it was difficult to get her breath again.
“This is the way I like you best.”
Her heart drummed because he stood only inches from her. His gaze was on her mouth and his fingers still combed slowly through her hair. His arm circled her waist, drawing her closer and then he kissed her, his mouth covering hers while his tongue slipped into her mouth.
Her heart pounded. Unable to resist, she stood on tiptoe, put her arms around his neck to hug him as she kissed him in return. “This wasn’t going to happen to me,” she whispered, looking up at him and meeting blue eyes filled with desire.
“It’s happened and it’s fantastic,” he said. “Stop fighting me and yourself.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever fought you,” she whispered in return, lost in a spiral of yearning and hot kisses as she clung to him and returned his kisses.
Desire enveloped her, driving away all reason. She wanted only Jake, running her hands across his broad shoulders and feeling his warm skin beneath the fine cotton of his dress shirt. Then her fingers were at his buttons and she twisted them free to run her hands over his chest, tangling her fingers in his thick mat of chest hair.
He tightened his arm around her waist, kissing her hard while his other hand slipped down her back and over her bottom. She gasped as sensations bombarded her. He shifted while he tugged down the zipper of her dress.
Cool air brushed her heated skin, but she barely noticed, thinking about Jake and his kisses, his hard, muscled body pressed against hers, his sculpted chest.
She turned her head slightly. “Jake, I’m not going to complicate my life.”
“Not asking you to,” he replied while he kissed and caressed her. “Just kisses and touches, Caitlin.”
But it wasn’t just kisses and touches. He was more exciting, more intriguing. In addition to the attraction, she had gained respect for him from being with him and for his attitude toward his controlling father.
Each kiss was a link that strengthened her desire for him. The whisper of caution was gone as quickly as it had come.
She wanted to be in his arms, kissing him and being kissed by him. And if this was a way to get him to think about selling to her, so be it. She was not getting into an intimate relationship with him over the sale of land, but a few kisses—thoughts stopped plaguing her as she gave herself to the moment and kissed him with all her pent-up longing for him.
He lightly pushed her dress off her shoulders and it fell to her hips. While he kissed her, he unsnapped the wisp of lace that was her bra and his hand cupped her breast, his thumb caressing her.
She moaned with pleasure, wanting to caress him, to stir him as he stirred her. She tugged his shirt free and ran her hand over his rock-solid chest. Jake held her away to look at her, his gaze hot and hungry.
“So beautiful,” he whispered, cupping her breasts and bending down to circle a taut bud with his tongue. She clung to his shoulders, closing her eyes and relishing his loving, wanting all of him, wanting a night of love with him and knowing it was forbidden.
Minutes, seconds, she didn’t know. She groaned and stepped forward to embrace him, thrusting her hips against him, feeling his erection and knowing he was ready for love.
She clung to him tightly, kissing him long and hard, her tongue going deep and stroking his.
As he kissed her hungrily in return, his arm tightened around her. Her heart thudded against his and she could barely get her breath. She wanted all barriers between them gone.
Releasing her slightly, Jake pushed the dress off her hips and it fell to the floor around her ankles while his hand drifted down over her belly and lower between her thighs.
Moaning with pleasure and regret, she gripped his wrist and stopped him. “Jake,” she whispered, gasping for breath. “We have to stop. I can’t go into a night of love or anything casual and at this point, loving between us would be casual.”
“I want to make love to you all night long,” Jake whispered, caressing her and showering kisses on her throat and ear. “I want you in my arms in my bed.”
While her heartbeat raced, she scooped up her dress, pulling it in place as he straightened to watch her.
Her heart still pounded from wanting him. His hair was tousled; his chest was bare, appealing and muscled with a faint sheen of sweat on his shoulders. He was aroused, ready, his trousers bulging with evidence. She longed to step back into his embrace, but a lifetime of promises to herself kept her from doing so.
“I’m not ready for casual loving. You’re not ready for a commitment. I want you to take me home now.”
He gazed at her without saying a word and she wondered what ran through his mind. Finally he nodded, reaching out to take her shoulders and turn her around. He pulled up the zipper on her dress and brushed a light kiss on her nape before turning her back
around to face him.
“I’ll take you back if that’s what you absolutely want, but I’ve enjoyed being with you. You have tomorrow off and I have to be in Dallas tomorrow for two appointments. Let’s stay here tonight. I have plenty of extra bedrooms and you’ll have yours and I’ll have mine. We can be together and tomorrow I’ll make my appointments and then we’ll fly back to the ranch. How will that be? Stay here tonight.”
Six
One more time they would be thrown together in close contact, spending the night under the same roof. For her own well-being the answer should be no. Spending more time with him would make it harder to say no to his seduction. But it might make it more difficult for him to refuse to sell the land to her, so that meant a yes. The easiest answer.
She nodded. “I’d like that, actually.”
“Let’s go get something to drink and we can sit and talk where it’s comfortable.”
“Same as before, Jake, I don’t have anything else to wear. I brought nothing with me.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “Here, too, I’m prepared, although I could make a suggestion, but I don’t think you’d take it.”
“I can guess that suggestion,” she remarked dryly, uncertain, but suspecting he was teasing. “No thanks. I’ll take you up on what you have, which was very nice at the ranch.”
“Great. Let’s get something to drink. Cold or hot? Soft or otherwise?”
“I’ll take a cup of hot tea.”
“I’ll pass on that one and have a cold beer.”
She walked beside him down the hall, trying to get composed and ignore desire that was still white-hot and making her acutely aware of him, more sensitive than ever to the slightest physical contact with him. He had come so close to seduction—a few more minutes and she couldn’t have said no. If they were together often, she wouldn’t be able to continue to resist him.
“I have to be in Houston tomorrow night because I have an appointment early Tuesday morning.”
“I’ll get you back in time to go home. I have to be in Kansas City this week. I’ll be gone until Friday. Go out with me again next Friday.”
“Jake, what about the ranch? I thought we were going to talk tomorrow.”
“I’ll get an answer to you as soon as I can. I have people checking out the sale for me. Gabe brought information to me at the ranch. Just a little longer, Caitlin.”
She studied him, wondering about the delay. She suspected if he wanted to buy it and she had it for sale, there would be no such delay, study of the situation or long thinking about it. She still thought he was stalling for a reason. So far only one reason came to mind—seduction. Now he had asked her out Friday night. Perhaps that was what he had been waiting for.
“How about Friday?” he asked, his dark gaze steady.
“I’ll be in Houston, Jake. Not at the ranch.”
“I’ll pick you up in Houston and have something planned. Maybe a weekend in a tropical place. How’s that?”
She smiled. “Extreme. What about dinner in Houston?”
“Far too short a time with you and too ordinary. Let’s get away somewhere.”
“Sounds exciting,” she answered truthfully. “Very well. Let me know when you decide where, so I can let my friend Ginny know where I am. We keep track of each other because neither of us has a family any longer. Ginny’s family had the McCorkin drugstore in town. Another kid you don’t remember because you didn’t pay any attention to her.”
“Hey, you were little kids.”
“I know. Actually, Cecilia and I talk every day and she keeps track of me, too.”
“I’ll give you an itinerary. Tracie, my secretary, will send you a text.”
“I’ll look forward to Friday,” she said, knowing she would and at the same time, she would worry about his decision and wonder when she would hear. She didn’t expect to hear from him until after their weekend together because she still felt he was procrastinating while he hoped to seduce her.
“You’re quiet, Caitlin. What are you thinking?”
“I’m wondering how I’ll be able to resist you the next time.”
He turned to face her and desire still burned in his expression. “I hope to hell you can’t. I want you. I can’t sleep for thinking about you. You’re special, more exciting than any other woman I’ve known. I hope you feel that way about me.”
Her pulse jumped with his admission. At the same time, his words locked around her heart, tugging on her. He waited for an answer from her, staring intently at her.
“You know you excite me,” she whispered. “You came into my life like a whirlwind and you’ll go out like one. I want my heart in one piece when that happens.”
“I came into your life when I drove home. You were the storm waiting to break. I don’t know that I’ll be gone in a flash. Not since every minute with you gets more interesting. There are some times in life you have to take a chance.”
“This isn’t one of them. That’s what my mother did and the consequences were disastrous.”
“You don’t have to repeat what happened to your mother. We’re different people. I’m not Titus Santerre and you’re not your mother. Besides, it brought you and your grandmother together.”
“We’re arguing uselessly,” she said, waving her hand.
He turned to head for the kitchen again and she walked beside him. “It’ll set my parents back to know we’ve gone out together.”
“What about your feelings for your sister?” she asked.
“That was different and a terrible time for all of us. My mom detests Will and your dad. I doubt if she has strong feelings about you or your grandmother except they always snubbed each other in town.”
“I know that. I lived with Grandmother.”
“Crazy family feud,” he said. “Maybe we can end it.”
“You don’t really mean that.”
“Sure I do,” he said as he heated water for her tea, then got out his cold beer and snapped open the bottle. He got a cup and saucer and a small tray, placing everything on it.
“Let’s sit on the sofa. It’ll be more comfortable than at the table,” he said, motioning toward the adjoining sitting room. She sat and tucked her legs beneath her while he placed the teapot on a table near the sofa. He sipped his cold beer.
“What’s your friend Ginny do? I guess the McCorkins still run the drugstore.”
“Yes, they do. Her dad always says he’ll never retire. He has a big pharmacy and that’s what he mostly does. Ginny is a drug rep in Houston for a pharmaceutical company.”
“That’s easy to figure. She grew up knowing those people. She has the background.”
“She studied to be a pharmacist, but she likes sales.”
Jake nodded. “Where do you get your clients? I guess now, it’s easy, but at first, how did you get them?”
“It’s never been hard. People see my photographs and ask me about them and want me to take their pictures. I’ve been fortunate.”
“Plus a few other things. I know about being fortunate. Do you have many employees at your galleries and shop?”
“About eight run the galleries. I have an office staff, my secretary, my accountant, a sales manager—just a small staff of people.”
“I’ll have to go to Houston, see your office and your gallery there. How about showing me sometime soon? I can fly us there.”
“Of course. Whenever you want,” she answered, willing to do so, yet thinking it would probably never happen and he was just talking. Perhaps if he sold her the land, but she wouldn’t allow herself to speculate on what she would do if she got what she wanted from him. “I don’t think it will be so spectacular to you.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Did your grandmother see your success?”
“Yes, she saw the success I’ve had and she was pleased. I have some wonderful pictures of her because she was always happy to pose for me.”
“Sorry you lost her.”
She squeezed his hand in thanks.
“Did you go to work for your dad right out of college?”
“For one year. The next year I switched to a different company because I wanted experience that I wouldn’t get in our company. Two years later I was a vice president of that company and then I acquired a small company of my own. The year after that, Dad wanted me to come back. He was getting ready to retire and wanted me in the family empire and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Jake said. “I’ve been there since and I’ll stay.”
“You sound as if you’re happy with your work.”
“Very. Speaking of going to work—when I go in the morning, is there anything you need to do in Dallas?”
“There are things I can do,” she replied. “Catch up on my emails, my calls, go check out some photographic equipment here.”
“If you stay here, there’s a pool you can use. You can swim, spend a leisurely morning, work out in the exercise room. Do whatever you want to do. I have an appointment at the office and some papers to sign. I’m talking to our geologist about your ranch. Then I’ll be back and we can go to lunch.”
“Whatever you and your geologists and anyone else decide about oil, wind, water, gas—whatever on our land—that has nothing to do with what I want, Jake. You’ve met Cecilia and Kirby and Altheda. They’re hanging on your decision.”
“They may have to hang just a bit longer. I don’t want to rush this. Selling back the house isn’t what I planned.”
A chill slithered down her middle. She couldn’t contemplate that he wouldn’t capitulate and let her buy back some land. For the first time she realized he was taking his time and keeping her dangling. If and when he refused—in that minute, she would be out of his life. Was he stringing her along because he wanted seduction? The question still plagued her because that seemed the only possible answer.
“Don’t look at me as if I just became a two-headed monster.”
“You almost have,” she said. “I just can’t understand the delay in making this decision. You don’t run your businesses in this manner.”
“I don’t make snap decisions often,” he remarked dryly.
