She was so much like her mother, Whitney thought, and the longing in her heart to see her Maxine again made it ache terribly.
“Good. Now that it’s that settled, we have a very busy day ahead of us. Let’s get started.” Liam rose from the table and walked out of the room.
Whitney had no clue where to take the kids or what to expect next.
“Let me show you to the ballroom,” Darcy said, and Whitney gave her maid a grateful smile. Whitney didn’t disagree. She would enjoy watching her beautiful little girl swirl around on the dance floor.
She hadn’t seen the ballroom before, and when they went in, she couldn’t help the delight that flowed through her. The room was large enough to hold at least a thousand people in it — okay, maybe that was an exaggeration — and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were so sparkly that she wondered if there were diamonds mixed in with the crystals. It was a room she would love to dance around, but instead she sat in a chair off to one corner. She was trying her best to be a quiet observer, but as Ally went on in the lesson, Whitney had to struggle not to clap with pride at how quickly her talented niece picked up on what the dancing master was teaching her.
Whitney wanted to learn the dance herself, so she finally rose and began imitating the steps she saw. Though she lacked a partner, she felt that she wasn’t doing too badly.
“May I cut in?” Liam asked.
She blushed instantly. She’d been caught, darn it all.
“I don’t want to take you away from whatever you were doing before,” Whitney told him. Touching him again would most certainly hurt her health.
“There’s nothing I would rather do right now than dance with you.”
And she found herself accepting the hand he was holding out. “I guess I could use some help.”
“I consider dancing an important art. It teaches many valuable lessons for journeys you will take throughout your life.”
She knew there was a double meaning there, but she didn’t know how to address it, so she tried to make a joke instead. “I’m going to warn you that I’ve never danced in such a formal fashion before, and I can’t be responsible for your toes.”
“I appreciate the warning, but I have the feeling you’ll do just fine. Now put this hand on my shoulder and take my other hand like this,” he said.
The usual tremors racked her body. She tried to ignore them — unsuccessfully.
“I’m really not a musical kind of person.”
“Upbringing plays a big part in that, I believe. I took lessons in playing several instruments. My favorite was probably the violin.”
“You play the violin?” she asked, and her resistance faded a bit more as he swept her across the floor, his eyes focused on her, his body pressed lightly to hers.
“I’m hardly an expert, but…yes,” he said with a slight growl as he pulled her tightly against him for just a moment before pushing back and turning her in a slow spin. “Now focus a little more so my toes will survive.”
They circled the dance floor for the next hour, and Whitney was surprised to find herself making fewer and fewer mistakes as she learned first a simple dance and a more complicated one, and without any harm to his toes.
“A lot has been different around here since your arrival,” Liam said.
Did he consider this good or bad? She had to wonder.
“I hope I haven’t been causing too much trouble,” she finally murmured.
“Trouble is exactly what you’re causing,” he said before stopping and looking into her eyes. “I’m thinking that we might never let you leave.” He spun her in a fast circle, taking her breath away.
“I don’t think you’d be allowed to lock me away,” she said once her head also stopped spinning
“Don’t be too hasty. You know what ‘they’ say about assumptions.”
“I wouldn’t do well locked away from the rest of the world. How would I ever be able to dance then, especially since I’m getting so good at it?” she said. Their banter was making her down her guard even further.
“That would be a true tragedy — you’re obviously so good at dancing around things.”
“You’re a very good teacher,” she told him.
He pulled her a bit closer, and those butterflies in her stomach went off in an uproar.
“I couldn’t teach someone who was unwilling to learn,” he finally said, and it took her a moment to remember what they were talking about.
But the music stopped playing, and it was time for Ally to have her piano lesson. Whitney’s moment with Liam was broken, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she gave him a look that had him gazing back at her suspiciously. “What are you up to, Ms. Steele?” he asked warily.
“How about I teach you a few of my dance moves?”
“I suspect that’s not something I want to learn.”
“Oh, my goodness, let down your hair for a few moments and allow yourself to have some fun.” Whitney walked over to the MP3, and switched the music to one of her nephew’s hip-hop songs She turned back toward Liam and chuckled quietly to herself over the horrified look on his face.
“You can do this. It’s very easy, really. You just move your hips to the beat,” she told him, and she started swaying her body in a way that had a new light shining in his eyes.
He looked at her for a moment longer, and then grabbed his shirt, untucking it, and he joined her in what wouldn’t count as the greatest attempt at hip-hop dancing known to man, or woman.
A few songs later, though, they were both laughing and sweaty, and she was having more fun than she had experienced since the moment she’d lost her sister. Then he grabbed her hands and swung her under his arm, and they did a blend of waltz and hip-hop, neither of them aware of the rest of the world.
When he dropped to the floor and attempted a hip thrust Whitney couldn’t keep the laughter from spilling out. Snooty Liam Felton was filled with surprises, and she was really beginning to fall under his spell.
As the song ended, they both turned to find Alexandra, that starchy blue-blood Whitney had met several days ago, standing next to the door with a look of horror on her face.
“What is going on in here?”
“That is none of your concern,” Liam said. He stood up, and ice filled in his eyes as he began tucking his shirt back in.
“Considering that you have kept me waiting, I believe it is my concern,” she snapped, sending a fiery look Whitney’s way.
“You will leave now, Alexandra,” Liam told her in a voice Whitney had never heard him use before. It made her decide right then and there, she never wanted to be on his bad side.
With a final outraged glance sent Whitney’s way, Alexandria turned and swept out of the room, grace in every step she took. Sophisticated women like her never did any stomping.
“I apologize for that,” Liam said to Whitney. “I allowed the time to get away from me,” He left the gigantic ballroom, following Alexandra.
For just a small moment in time Whitney had forgotten that she had decisions to make, forgotten that she shouldn’t flirt with this man — particularly with this man, a man like this — and that she shouldn’t enjoy his company, that it was selfish to feel anything but than concern for her sister’s children.
She couldn’t allow that to happen again, or she might become so lost that she wouldn’t know how to find herself.
Chapter Twelve
“I would like it if you accompanied me on a walk,” Liam said to Whitney.
She jumped and her cheeks colored. What would make her so nervous? His curiosity was piqued.
“What did you say?”
The heightened color that was spreading across her face made him think of things — conceive of them? No; he didn’t want to go there — things he’d much prefer to do.
“What I’d like to do is get out of this house.”
As she quickly closed her book and tucked it beside her in the chair, Liam decided he’d really like to kn
ow what had her so hot and bothered. Or at least bothered. Hot wasn’t in his usual vocabulary, but it was starting to show up.
“That sounds pleasant. Let me run upstairs. I’m not dressed for this chilly weather.” She almost scurried from the room.
Liam walked over and picked up her forgotten book. He opened the pages to the one she had marked and began reading. He quickly felt his body tighten at the words on the page and suddenly understood her flushed cheeks.
He closed the book and put it back down. It wouldn’t do him any good to read about sex in some cheesy paperback right before spending time alone with this compelling woman. He already wanted Whitney far too much, even though he knew the situation was impossible.
He couldn’t be with a woman like her, not for long, at least. She was too naïve, too innocent, not to mention the aunt of the children that he and his father had decided were much better off being raised by someone other than her. With them the kids would have unlimited opportunities for advancement. For him to even consider a fling with a woman of her sort was ridiculous. And yet he still found himself wanting her with a passion that bordered on obsession.
He flicked the book away and, after striding purposefully over to the bar, poured himself a shot of scotch. That was better. The burning liquid traveled down his throat and helped to ease the tension in his stomach. At least it softened the longing until Whitney came back into the room.
“Sorry I took so long. I had a hard time finding my boots,” Whitney said as she came to stand beside him.
“You took hardly any time at all,” he told her. If she’d taken any longer, he might have gotten his libido under control, dammit.
“So what is this all about? Is it about the children?” she asked as they stepped through the doors, into the cool afternoon air. A few snow flurries were falling around them, but not enough to keep them inside.
He didn’t answer. He’d never felt so bad before about doing what he knew to be right. The best for everyone concerned, of course. So why in the world would he be feeling any guilt at all right now? It wasn’t as if this woman could make him think he might be a better person.
No. That was ridiculous. He was powerful, determined, and successful in all he attempted. Should he change who he was or what he was about? Absurd. Absurd in the extreme.
Whitney seemed to stiffen as she walked beside him. Perhaps she knew what was to come. But instead of pressing him, she backed away and changed the subject. “It’s so beautiful today. Every time I look out the windows here or step through the front doors I’m reminded of a ‘Winter Wonderland.’ We get snow in Oregon, but it’s nothing like this, not this pure beauty or this refreshing cool air.”
“Being with you and the children is an entirely new experience for my father and me. I hate to say it, but we rarely notice the beauty around us anymore."
She smiled up at him, light shining in her eyes, and he couldn’t help but touch her. He placed her arm through his and took her on a path that led them to a cave, one he’d always enjoyed playing in as a child. Well, to be honest, a cave he’d enjoyed playing in until he’d realized that playtime was unproductive.
The two of them walked in silence while he thought about his life, thought about what was to come. There was so much he needed to say to this woman, and yet he was reluctant to do anything right then except hold on to her arm and attempt to see things through her eyes.
When Whitney gasped a few minutes later as a herd of deer passed by, his cold heart leapt a bit in his chest.
“Surely you see deer in Oregon,” he said with a laugh.
“Oh, yes, of course I do. But these bucks are huge and so close.” And she also laughed as the deer looked at them fearlessly.
“There’s no hunting allowed in this area,” Liam told her. “The animals aren’t afraid of humans.”
“I’m not against hunting, but I just couldn’t be the one to pull the trigger,” Whitney said with a smile. “Deer are just too majestic, and then, of course, there’s Bambi.”
“We should have brought some hay in our pockets. They most likely would have wandered over and taken it from you,” Liam told her.
“Wow. That would have been amazing.”
“Next time we’ll remember.”
“I don’t know if there will be a next time. I’m leaving soon,” she said, and gave a sad sigh.
Those words didn’t make Liam happy at all, but why should he care?
With a bit more force than necessary, Liam tugged on her arm. He wanted to show her the cave now more than ever before.
“I’m taking you to a place that has very special meaning to me,” he said as they reached the end of the trail.
“Oh, Liam, this is spectacular,” she said as she gazed at what seemed like a giant cavern.
“Beware,” he said.
“Why?”
“My great-great-grandfather blocked this off at one time. The cave is rumored to have magical powers and was always a favorite place for all the Felton children to hide out or play in.”
“Magical powers?”
“I’m just telling you the story. I don’t in any way believe in magic,” he made sure to inform her.
And yet he was finding it difficult not to believe in magic. A break in the clouds let the sun shine directly down upon her, causing her hair to glow and her eyes to light up even more.
“I’m relieved to hear you say that. The order of the world might change if superbusinessman Liam Felton believed in something so silly as magic.”
Though she was joking with him, her words stung just a bit. No, he didn’t believe in things that weren’t there, but her words made him want to examine himself. No. He couldn’t do that. So he decided to carry on with his story.
“Here’s the family tragedy. My great-great-grandfather’s oldest son came out here the night before his eighteenth birthday. He was to be made a partner in the company the next day. But he was never seen again.”
“How do you know he didn’t just run away?”
“About half a mile inside the cave, blood was found, along with his jacket and the satchel he carried his art supplies in. He loved painting more than anything else, or so I’ve been told.”
“Maybe that was all a setup. Maybe he just didn’t know how to tell his father what he really wanted out of life and he went on to be an artist.”
“No. That’s ridiculous. It couldn’t have happened that way,” he told her, though his mind was reeling.
“I think the story is far more romantic that way.”
“This is the way we know the story. He was taken into another world but his spirit still resides here, to protect future generations of children from dying as tragically as he did.”
“That makes quite a romantic ending to the story too, but I like my version better,” she told him as she stepped inside the cave.
Liam felt mesmerized by this woman and her odd perspective on things. What if she were right and his great-uncle had decided to run away and start over? Was there any way to find out? Suddenly his words poured out.
“Vince and I never wanted this life. We never wanted to work seven days a week and turn into the man our father used to be. We would come to this cave and plan on running away, living on the land, maybe even becoming cowboys. Anything seemed better than this.”
“I’m so sorry, Liam, for all the responsibility placed on your shoulders,” Whitney told him.
“I don’t need sympathy. That was just a foolish thought from when we were younger.”
“It obviously matters to you if you’re telling me this now.”
“Just learning of my brother’s death is probably playing with the way I see things. I’m sure I’ll be back to my normal self in no time,” he told her.
“I kind of like this guy who’s not so normal.”
She shivered.
“I’m sorry for keeping you out here for so long in this weather.”
“I’m okay, really. I want to enjoy this peace and quiet for a
few more moments,” she told him.
He looked down at her red nose and open expression, and he couldn’t help himself. He had to taste her lips again.
So he wrapped his arms around her waist and watched as awareness flashed through her eyes. He bent forward and finally their lips connected. He’d meant it to be short and sweet, just a simple touch, just something to ease the ache. But as soon as his mouth met hers, he lost control.
Her tongue was soft and wet against his lips. She darted it out, more like a question than a demand. He answered her in the only way he knew how, and oh how he enjoyed the contours of her mouth. He wished these thick layers of clothing weren’t between them because he wanted to feel and taste her skin, all of it. She clung to his shoulders as he cupped her backside and drew her against him.
He deepened the kiss, sliding farther inside the warm recesses of her mouth and moving his fingers desperately through the silky strands of her hair. He’d only wanted one simple taste of her, to prove he was in control. He was being proven wrong.
She seemed to pull herself together much more quickly than he could have, and started resisting. He didn’t get the message at first, as their mouths remained locked together. But Whitney finally pulled free.
“Let go of me,” she said breathlessly.
He looked into her flushed face, and he groaned. Her eyes were dilated in passion and she was breathing heavily. It would be so easy to seduce her into continuing, but he wasn’t about to force her. Still, he had to say something in his frustration.
“I don’t know why we keep stopping.”
“Because this can’t go anywhere. That shouldn’t have happened again,” she told him. She turned and once again ran away from him.
He wanted to chase her, but she was right. This couldn’t possibly go anywhere. It was best if he forgot about her, forgot about this feeling inside of him, and simply carried out his plans.
Chapter Thirteen
Liam put his head in his hands, and a deep sigh escaped.
“Is everything all right, son?” Frederick asked as he walked into the room.
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