Terms of Surrender

by Shirley Rogers

  "Well, yes, I did, but—"

  "What better way is there for me to learn about soybean farming than to go to this meeting with you and hear what the farmers have to say?"

  His argument made more sense than she wanted to admit. The problem was, she was already vulnerable to David. After their kiss last night, she knew she'd have a hard time keeping her feelings for him under control if they spent much time in each other's company. She straightened her shoulders, determined to protect her heart. "The best way for you to learn is to be here at the start of the planting season and to follow it through to harvest."

  "Thanks to my father, I will be," he retorted, unsmiling. He paused, then after a moment said, "But this is November, and planting season isn't until after the beginning of the year. I'd like to go to this meeting. Consider me your moral support."

  Still trying to dissuade him, Tanya continued to resist. "I'll have plenty of moral support. Charlie Pryor, James Dickson and Maggie Bates will be there," she told him, naming a few of the farmers that she knew would be attending.

  "Great. I've been away a long time. It'll give me a chance to get to know the other soybean farm owners in the region, hear what they think."

  If you go with me, I won't be able to stop thinking about kissing you.

  Compressing her lips, she tried to think of another reason, something logical and not insane. "I'm sure you're busy with your business," she finally said.

  "I'm capable of multitasking."

  "But this meeting has been planned for months." Desperate, she blurted out another argument in an attempt to discourage him. "You probably won't even be able to get a flight."

  David was beginning to get the impression that she didn't want him to go. He wondered why. "I'll take the company's plane."

  "Your company has its own plane?" she asked, momentarily sidetracked. Apparently she had no idea of the extent of David's wealth. She'd known he was the president of his own company. But his own plane? How big was his company, anyway?

  Glancing at his watch, David gave her an amused smile. "A jet. With a phone call, I can have it at the Savannah airport in a few hours. You can cancel your flight and go with me."

  Flabbergasted, Tanya blinked. "I can't do that." She took a step back, placing some distance between them. This was getting way out of hand.

  "Sure you can." With one step, he closed the distance she'd put between them. "We can drive to Savannah and fly together. You were going to have to drive to Savannah anyway, right?"

  "Yes."

  "All right then. It makes sense that we should travel together. Believe me, flying on my plane will be a lot more comfortable than being on a commercial airliner."

  Tanya wet her lips. "I've never been on an airplane," she admitted. "At least, I don't think I have." Not since she'd come here to live. And considering that the authorities had described her as a street kid, she doubted she'd ever been near an airport before.

  "Never?" he asked incredulously. "My father never took you anywhere?"

  She looked away, then met his gaze again. "I've been to a few places, but only by car. Your father often asked me to go on business trips with him, but I never wanted to." Taking this trip would be hard for her, but she had to do it for Edward.

  "Why not?" he asked, his expression curious.

  "I didn't want anything to happen to me," she admitted quietly. So she'd stayed at Cottonwood, where she felt safe.

  David touched her arm, then ran his palm over her shoulder to her neck, stroking her skin until she looked at him. "I'm going, Tanya." His tone made it clear that she didn't have a choice. "And I promise, nothing will happen to you." He'd never dreamed she was afraid to leave the plantation. But considering what she'd been through, he understood it.

  Lifting her chin a notch, she met his gaze, not ready to give him his way. "I can do this by myself."

  "I don't doubt that, but I'm still going."

  She wanted to be angry with him for insinuating himself into her business, but then understood what he wasn't saying. The farm was his business, not hers. Another reminder, however subtle, that he didn't want her here.

  And though she knew it would be better to keep him at a distance, the idea of being with him made her heart skip a beat. His palm felt so good against her skin that she felt her resolve weakening. "It's your decision, of course." As soon as she'd said the words, her heart began to pound.

  "Good. Then it's settled." He ran his thumb across her chin, then suggested, "Why don't we go this afternoon, instead? By the time we pack and make the drive to Savannah, the plane can be waiting for us."

  Caught off-guard by his suggestion, she stared at him. "I don't know," she hedged, a tingle of pleasure running down her spine where he'd touched her. She could feel herself beginning to give in.

  "C'mon. We'll spend the night in D.C. Have a nice dinner. You'll be more refreshed in the morning if we're already there."

  The idea was tempting. Tanya dreaded the thought of getting up while it was still dark to drive to Savannah to catch her plane. And the opportunity to spend time away from Cottonwood with David, away from everything that stood between them, was hard to resist. "All right," she finally agreed.

  He touched her hair, wrapping a strand of it around his finger for a moment before letting it go. "I'll make the call."

  "Wait!" David had turned away, but he quickly recovered, his gaze meeting hers, his eyebrows raised. "The hotel will be booked. Where will you stay?"

  "Where are you staying?" She told him the name of one of the most elite hotels in the heart of the District of Columbia. Nodding, he said, "Most hotels set aside some rooms in case some dignitary or someone famous comes to town. Don't worry. I'll figure something out."

  Her heart pounding with anticipation, she watched him walk away.

  * * *

  Hours later, Tanya found out that when David made up his mind to do something, he moved at lightning speed. Sitting beside him as he slowly navigated the streets of the small town of Cotton Creek, on the way to Savannah, she marveled at the holiday decorations already going up on the lampposts and the arches above the streets.

  "I love this time of year," she remarked, her eyes bright with excitement. "Especially the Thanksgiving celebration that kicks off the holidays."

  David grinned at her enthusiasm and her wide smile. "Don't tell me they still have the annual Thanksgiving Day celebration?" Until he'd left, he'd attended the town's street celebration for as long as he could remember. A vision from his past flashed through his mind, and he saw himself as a child, standing with his mother, waiting with enthusiasm as she bought him a funnel cake. His chest tightened. Funny, he hadn't thought about that in years.

  Tanya nodded. "It's this coming Thursday night."

  "You're kidding." He could hardly believe it was coming up so soon. Still, his heart stirred at the idea of going with Tanya. "You know, I went every year until I left to go to college."

  She turned in her seat to face him. "To meet girls?" she asked with a grin.

  His gaze shifted to her, then back to the road. "Cotton Creek isn't all that big. With only one high school at the time, I already knew most of the girls."

  "Ah." She couldn't help but wonder how many of those girls he'd known intimately. Enjoying their conversation, she didn't want it to end. For the first time since he'd arrived, they were getting along. "Do you miss Atlanta?"

  "It's easier now that I have things set up and I'm able to communicate with my office. Justin West, who's vice president of Taylor Corp. is more than capable of running things in Atlanta without me watching over him. But it's been an adjustment," he admitted. He'd gotten used to a faster-paced life. He stretched his shoulders and noticed that the tension usually there was gone.

  There were some advantages to being here, he thought. And now that he was back, he noticed little things. Like how dark it was at night. And the quiet. No horns honking or cars racing by, no pollution in the air. That hadn't been hard to adjust to.
<
br />   Tanya bit her lip as she thought over his reply, sure that he still wasn't happy about being forced to live at Cottonwood.

  His life was in Atlanta. He was a handsome man, successful and confident, and sometimes, she admitted grudgingly in her mind, he was also quite charming. Certainly there had been someone special in his life during the years he'd lived there. She couldn't help asking, "Have you ever married?"

  David looked at her for a long moment, then replied in a flat tone, "No."

  Silence fell between them as Tanya digested that information. But she'd noticed the tightening of his jaw when he'd answered. "But there was someone special?" she prompted a few moments later.

  His cheek flinched again. "I thought so at one time." He thought about ending their conversation right then and there, but despite his reservations, he found himself talking about his broken relationship. "Melanie and I were engaged, but it didn't work out."

  "Do you still think about her?"

  He gave a harsh sigh. "Not if I can help it."

  "What happened?"

  He shrugged. "It seemed that she was more impressed by the money I made than by me."

  "Really?" Her eyes widened. "What made you think that?"

  "Justin. Melanie had been mouthing off to Justin's date when we went out one evening. Apparently she'd bragged about how easy it was to get what she wanted from me. When Justin heard about it, he brought it up when we were having drinks after work one night. I told him he was crazy. I guess I didn't want to believe it. But I trusted Justin, so I started paying more attention to Melanie's spending habits. I'd given her a credit card with no limit, so it was easy enough to check the bills."

  He blew out a breath. "That's when I discovered she'd quit her job months before. Her working wasn't a big deal to me, but I was disappointed she hadn't discussed it with me. I asked her why she'd quit, and she pretty much said because I could buy her anything she wanted and she never intended to work again. I thought again about what Justin had said, wondered how much truth there was to it. So I suggested she get a job and cut back on the spending. She became furious and we argued. Eventually she told me she could find another man to take care of her, one with a lot more than I had to give emotionally."

  His stomach muscles tightened. He'd learned a bitter lesson with Melanie that he hadn't forgotten. He wasn't good at relationships. He still believed that was true. After all, he hadn't even been able to repair his relationship with his own father.

  Later, he'd rationalized that Melanie's leaving had merely bruised his ego. His gaze shifted to the woman beside him. With Tanya, it would be another ball game. She had the ability to wound his heart. He didn't plan on that happening.

  "She must have been crazy," Tanya murmured, then gulped when she realized she'd spoken aloud.

  He gave her a surprised look. "I believe you just gave me a compliment." On impulse, he reached over and took her hand. Though he wasn't sure he wanted to know, he asked, "What about you?" He braced himself for her answer.

  Tanya's nerve endings came alive at his touch. "I've dated a few men, but no one special."

  "Not too many men to choose from around here?"

  Because it was true, she nodded. "Cotton Creek has such charm, though. I just can't imagine living anywhere else. I love it here."

  As he turned onto I-95, David's gaze narrowed on her profile. He sensed that she'd revealed something about herself without meaning to. She didn't know her past, nothing about her family or where she was from. So out of emotional desperation, she'd made Cotton Creek her home. Tanya had clung to it as if every breath she took depended on it. She'd said as much when she'd admitted that she rarely left. That's why she'd been so angry when he'd suggested that she leave Cottonwood.

  It was the only home she knew. He gritted his teeth. He'd almost taken it from her.

  He swore beneath his breath. What had he been thinking when he'd suggested sending her away? He'd been so caught up in his own grief and pain that he hadn't thought about how Tanya would be hurt in the end.

  Less than an hour later, they took the exit for the airport, and he asked, "Have you been to Savannah before?"

  "Only for a brief day trip. You?"

  "This is where I came looking for girls." She gave a soft laugh, and when she smiled, if it were possible, she was even more beautiful. "Wanna take a quick look around? I'll give you the cheap tour on the way to the airport."

  Her eyes lit up. "Is there time?"

  He glanced at his watch. "We've got a few minutes." Taking the next turn, he headed to the Historic District.

  They drove past a magnificent house, a mansion of red brick and black wrought iron with a shaded balcony. Tanya stared at the manicured lawn and the bountiful flowers adorning the driveway. "These homes are just beautiful," she murmured as she looked around.

  He agreed, pointing out a house on her side of the street with distinct Regency architecture. Seeing how interested she was, he asked, "Would you like to come back for a visit, maybe tour River Street

  ?" He wanted to be the one to show her the city.

  Nodding, she said, "I'd love to." They were getting along well, and she was enjoying his company. Too much. For the first time since he'd returned, she felt that their relationship was changing, and despite her reservations about being hurt, she wanted to be with him. A street sign caught her eye, and she turned in her seat to look out, her brows wrinkling as she stared at the tree-lined street.

  David drove down a few more streets. He had turned onto Park Street

  when he heard her gasp. "Are you all right?" His gaze searched hers.

  "Yes." Despite her words, she put a hand to her temple.

  "What is it?"

  "It's silly. I just got this really strange feeling of déjà vu."

  "Really?"

  "It's nothing," she told him, already regretting mentioning it. "People get those weird sensations all the time. Haven't you ever had one?"

  "Yeah." But he'd never reacted to it the way she had, with something close to anxiety.

  He laid his arm across the back of the seat as he drove, his hand caressing her shoulder. "You're sure you're okay?"

  She nodded and pointed to the clock on the dash. "We'd better go. We don't want to be late." But as she said the words, she twisted in her seat to look at the view outside her window. A sprawling park rolled past them as they drove down Bull Street

  .

  "That's Forsyth Park," he told her when he noticed her interest.

  Tanya's brows wrinkled. "Forsyth Park," she repeated quietly.

  He nodded. The curious expression on her face made him ask, "Have you heard of it before?"

  Her brows wrinkled. "I don't think so." But already she was turning to look at what she could see of the park out the back window.

  She didn't know why, but the park had seemed familiar to her in some way. She glanced at David and found him watching her. "I'm okay," she assured him, not mentioning that something about the park had unnerved her. She was having an off day, she thought, because her imagination was really getting carried away.

  David turned the car down another street, then another. "One of these streets leads to the airport."

  "It's that way." Tanya motioned for him to turn at the next street.

  He took the turn, then shifted his gaze to her. "How did you know that?"

  "What?" She shrugged. "I don't know. I must have seen a sign back there or something."

  He frowned, but kept on driving. Tanya sat back in her seat.

  In her heart, she knew she hadn't seen a sign at all.

  * * *

  As promised, David's company jet was waiting for them when they arrived at Savannah's airport. Tanya eyed the small jet with trepidation, but with his assurance that it was safe, she took her seat. When the plane's engines roared to life, her hands tightened on the armrests. She looked at David.

  "Don't worry," he told her, then he took her hand in his. "I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to y
ou. Just relax."

  Relax? How could she relax with him holding her hand? she wondered. It seemed to her that David was touching her a lot more lately, and truth be known, she was enjoying it way too much. Last night she'd thought that he was going to be angry with her. This morning she'd been shocked when he'd apologized to her. Every time she thought she had him figured out, he surprised her, and she was beginning to like him. Too much.

  Instead of worrying about flying, Tanya thought about how good it felt to be with him. The panic of her first flight in a plane was nothing compared to the panic she was feeling about where their relationship might be going. She'd told herself only this morning that he probably regretted their kiss last night. But it seemed that he was finding all kinds of ways to touch her.

  "What do you think?" Her look of wonder as the plane lifted off the ground made him glad he'd talked her into going with him. He wanted to see that same look of wonder when he made love to her. For now, he satisfied himself by just gazing at her.

  "This is amazing," she breathed. "Just amazing."

  "Look," David said, pointing to a mass of water beneath them. Tanya leaned over, straining to see what he was pointing at. Her breast grazed his chest, then settled itself against him. His breath got trapped in his lungs.

  "It's beautiful."

  "You're beautiful."

  Tanya turned her head and looked at him. His eyes darkened to a deep blue, and his gaze locked with hers. At that moment, she couldn't even breathe. As his hand slid behind her neck to the base of her skull, she felt a tingling sensation all over. Her gaze drifted to his mouth, and she licked her lips. She knew he was going to kiss her, and she gave herself to the moment.

  His lips touched hers gently, then his mouth settled firmly on hers, teasing, tempting, achingly gentle in exploration. She gave a soft sigh of pleasure when he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, dueling with hers, then disappearing, leaving her aching for more.

  When his hand slid up her ribs to her breast, the pleasure was so intense, so sweet, that she tried to move more fully against him. Desire coursed through her. Somewhere deep in her womanhood she felt the embers of a fire beginning. She realized that she was still restricted by her seat belt and the hand rest sandwiched between them. Breaking away, she blinked, then stared at him.