If he tried to smooth it over with words, she would see through them. He’d already learned that she wasn’t the type whose head was turned with flattery.
“In a way.”
His reply caught her off guard. Maybe she’d underestimated him. “I guess I should give you points for being honest.”
His eyes held hers. “Only if you want to.”
Her father had always favored a narrow approach to business, one that she found never worked for her. To him people were opponents. She preferred being friends with them. Maybe, if she could turn Sullivan into a friend, there would be no need to fear anything worse happening down the line. She didn’t have to be told how powerful the Travis family was.
It was worth a try.
She looked down at his plate. He hadn’t eaten any more than she had. The food was attractive to the eye but predominantly bland to the palate.
Marlene made up her mind. “I know this prime rib restaurant where the cuts are larger than most of the egos here.”
“That would have to be very large.” He laughed dryly. This was working out well, he thought. The more he knew about her, the easier it would be to find the right approach to use with her. “Sounds good to me. Is there anyone left you need to overwhelm with your charm?”
Marlene glanced around the large ballroom and did a quick mental roll call: McCarthy, Edwards, Winnow, Breckinridge, Andrews, Smith and Sakiota. She’d chatted with the heads of seven different companies, strengthening ties on old accounts and laying groundwork for possible new ones. Her father had always claimed that he conducted as much business at these functions as he did behind his desk. But she had talked about as much as she was going to tonight.
She winced slightly as she felt the baby kick. Marlene’s velvet skirt rippled as if it had been caught in an unexpected breeze.
“No, I’m done.”
He looked down in fascination as another ripple moved across her stomach. He couldn’t imagine what it felt like to know that there was another human being inside of you. He nodded absently to her comment, still watching for further movement. “Just how fancy is this restaurant?”
She shrugged. “Fair to middling. It’s a steak house, actually.”
His brow rose. She was dressed for a posh party, not for an evening meal. “Aren’t you afraid you’re overdressed for a steak house?”
There had been a time when she’d lived in fear of other people’s opinions. But although she was still very conscious of her professional appearance and reputation, she’d learned to be more relaxed when it came to her personal life.
Marlene smiled as she shook her head. “I am very rarely afraid these days. Besides, maybe everyone else is just underdressed.”
He had to admit he rather liked her moxie. “Okay, let’s find the Breckinridges and say our goodbyes.”
She led the way toward the tall, white-haired man talking to a small gathering of men who obviously worked for him. Heads were bobbing like apples in a tub of water at an old-fashioned Halloween party.
“Leaving already?” Breckinridge asked, obviously surprised.
“Marlene’s rather tired. I offered to see her home,” Sullivan said quickly. He felt Marlene’s eyes shift toward him in anger.
Breckinridge pointedly looked at Marlene’s stomach. “Can’t have anything going wrong at this stage of the game. You take care of yourself, young lady,” he ordered affectionately.
She returned his light, quick kiss, brushing her lips to his cheek. “Will do.”
She waited until they were out of earshot. “Why did you lie to him?”
The answer seemed pretty obvious to Sullivan. “What was I going to tell the man, that we were leaving his party to get something to eat?”
She wasn’t taking exception to that part. “You could have used another excuse besides me.”
“Next time.” He shouldered a path for them toward Cynthia, who was closer to the front door.
Marlene was beginning to think that it would be wiser if there wasn’t a next time.
“Leaving together?” Cynthia’s small, bright eyes darted from one face to the other like a humming bird undecided which flower to light upon first.
“It certainly looks that way, doesn’t it?” Marlene murmured, forcing a smile to her lips. She knew exactly what was going on in Cynthia’s mind.
Sullivan decided to cut the woman short. “We really have to be leaving, Cynthia. I—”
She patted his hand. “No excuses, I quite understand and I couldn’t be happier. You look out for her, Sullivan. She puts on a good show, but she needs a man in her life. Don’t you, dear?”
Marlene clenched her jaw so hard forcing a smile for Cynthia’s benefit, she thought it would crack. “Maybe later,” she murmured.
Coming to her rescue, Sullivan ushered Marlene out of the house. “So what makes Cynthia think you need a man in your life, other than the fact that you’re pregnant?”
She didn’t want to have this conversation. “My guess is an old-fashioned upbringing. I’d like to drop the subject if you don’t mind.”
He smiled to himself. He enjoyed teasing her, he discovered. “Fine with me.”
“Good.” She fairly bit off the word.
The valet approached them, waiting for instructions. Sullivan turned to Marlene. “The ’95 white 735 BMW.” She gave the man her key.
“Black ’94 Mercedes,” Sullivan added, handing the man his key, as well. Pocketing both, the valet hurried away.
The wind had picked up. Marlene hunched her shoulders slightly beneath her velvet jacket. Inside the house, she’d felt unbearably warm. Now she felt cold.
He was tempted to place his arm around her, but that would be taking this association to a plateau he had no intention of scaling. The situation was already more complicated than he wanted it. He slipped his hands into his pockets and watched the valet pick his way through the sea of metal that had arrived. Headlights suddenly turned on in the distance. The valet had found his car first.
He watched as the valet attempted to maneuver his way out of the tangle of cars. They were apparently the first to be leaving, and a great many cars had arrived after them.
Doubts about going out with Marlene began to surface. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good tactical move after all. “Maybe I’d better take a rain check on that restaurant,” he told her. “I’ve got an early meeting in the morning.”
Beside him, Marlene had begun to shiver. Hang propriety, he thought, slipping his arm around her and drawing her to him for warmth.
She was surprised by his action, but because she did feel cold, she rationalized that there was no harm in letting him leave his arm there. Marlene hoped the valet would hurry.
“Will the meeting go on without you?” she asked. Bringing Sullivan’s car up the driveway, the valet jumped out and went to retrieve the other car.
“Yes, but—”
“Then you can be late,” she stated.
He sighed, nodding. It was foolish to have this uneasy feeling. After all, this could only work to his benefit. “You’ll have to lead the way.”
“No problem.”
She led the way all right, he thought, pulling up into the parking lot behind her. At sixty or faster. Did the woman have a death wish? She probably had the word fast tattooed on her heart.
Sullivan got out of his car and crossed over to her. Marlene was already standing at the restaurant’s entrance. He thought of all the people she had touched base with tonight, all in a short period of time. “Do you do anything slowly?”
She shook her head in reply. There was always too much to do. She could never sit back and relax or take her time. When she had attended college, she had apprenticed at the agency, making do on five hours of sleep a night. When she graduated, she’d gone to work full-time. Full-time to her father meant working as many hours as a project needed, then going on to the next one.
“Doing things slowly usually doesn’t cut it.” It was something her father had continually hammered in
to her.
Sullivan had no idea what possessed him. He caught her arm at the door and very slowly ran the back of his hand along her cheek. He saw her eyes widen in surprise. And latent pleasure.
“Oh lady, you have no idea.”
She felt the earth sway beneath her. But the building directly in front of her remained stationary, so it couldn’t have been an earthquake. The quake she experienced had nothing whatsoever to do with shifting plates beneath the earth’s crust. And everything to do with the man in front of her.
She took a long, deep, cleansing breath the way she’d been instructed by her Lamaze tutor. Unable to make regular sessions and with no partner, she had hired a teacher to come by the house one late Saturday afternoon. Cleansing breaths might help in childbirth, but they were useless against Sullivan Travis.
“Maybe,” she heard herself answering. “C’mon, let’s go inside.” Not waiting for him to open the door, Marlene led the way in.
The restaurant was plain and dark, the booths small and intimate, and the food even better than Marlene had promised.
Sullivan’s life was so structured that he ate on the run and had little appetite when an island of time presented itself. Tonight, he allowed himself to unwind and savor the meal. And the company.
He enjoyed watching her eat. She did it with such contented pleasure. It occurred to him that she might make love the same way. Startled, Sullivan raised his hand for the check. It was time to go, he told himself.
Marlene was going to insist on paying for the meal, since she had brought him here, then thought better of it. Instead she sat back and looked at him. “Was it good?”
He smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
She grinned at him, feeling very pleased with herself. “Told you so.”
Yes, he thought, she had.
Sullivan walked with her to the parking lot and stopped beside her car. “So now what?”
She knew that there was a great deal more to his question than the simple way the words made it sound. But for now, she went with the simple. “So now you go to your house, and I go to mine.”
“And the baby?”
Her eyes narrowed as wariness entered them. “The baby has no choice. It comes with me.”
“You know what I mean. We haven’t discussed the situation yet.”
That was what had made the dinner enjoyable. Marlene took a step back. Any further retreat was hampered by the car. “There’s nothing to discuss. You and your father can have visitation rights if you want. I suppose it’s only fair.”
He knew that his father would never settle for that. “What would be fair is to raise him—”
“Or her,” she interjected.
She was just trying to irritate him by interrupting. “Or her,” he conceded, “as a Travis.”
“Why?”
“There are advantages.”
His answer was infuriatingly vague. She could see his point if she were an idiot, but she wasn’t and he knew it. “I doubt if they outweigh having a mother around.”
Marlene thought of her own life, a life without a mother, or a father for that matter. He had never been around while they were growing up, and even when James Bailey had been there, he really wasn’t. Not for his children. Not emotionally.
Sullivan sighed, feeling stymied. “How do I make you see reason?”
That was exactly the way she felt about him. Why couldn’t he see her side?
“In this case, reason is in the eye of the beholder.” She pressed her lips together. “It was a fairly decent evening, Sullivan. Don’t spoil it by threatening me.”
Was that what she thought? That he was his father’s henchman and he was threatening her? “I’m not threatening you. My God, I’ve never threatened anyone in my life.”
Maybe he didn’t hear himself. It certainly sounded like a threat from where she stood.
“Then don’t start now.” She paused for emphasis. “Or you may lose a great deal more than you can gain.”
He had no doubt that she fully intended to carry out her promise. The better part of negotiations was knowing when to retreat. For now, he changed the subject. “I enjoyed tonight, Marlene.”
That took her by surprise. What was he up to? She hesitated for a minute, attempting to analyze him. “Why did you say that?”
“Because it’s true. I did.”
Rather than say anything, she looked away and began digging through her purse for her car key.
Sullivan peered at her face, trying to see her expression. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that they enjoyed your company?”
She found the key and began to insert it into the lock. He took it from her. Marlene looked at him, her annoyance growing. “I don’t go out very much.”
He held on to the key for a moment. “Why?”
She blew out a breath. She shouldn’t even be answering this. “Because I’m busy. I’ve always been busy.”
There was busy and then there was hiding. “Always? All through high school? All through college?”
He sounded as if he didn’t believe her. It wasn’t his place to ask her anything. “That is none of your business, Travis.”
“Maybe.” He was getting in deeper, he thought. He inserted the key into the lock for her, then turned it.
And then he did something very impetuous. Or something very stupid, depending on the perspective. He knew he didn’t have any. His had temporarily left. The woman before him had made it disappear.
The crisp winter air seemed to solidify all around him as he slipped his hands into Marlene’s hair and lowered his mouth to hers.
Chapter Six
At the last possible moment, Marlene wedged her hand between them. Her heart was pounding. “You’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do, are you?”
His mouth was inches from hers, his breath on her lips as he answered. “What is it that you think I’m going to do?”
“Kiss me.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. Maybe, just this once, she was in deeper than she could handle. “Because if you are—”
“What?”
“It might be a mistake.”
“You’re probably right.” In fact, he knew she was. “But it’s a mistake I want to make. God only knows why.”
She certainly couldn’t claim that he had undone her with sugary, seductive words. But there was something else at play here, something nameless and demanding. She wanted to kiss him. To be kissed by him. “That’s hardly flattering.”
“I’m not trying to flatter you. I’m not even sure I know what I am doing.” Very slowly, Sullivan lowered his mouth to Marlene’s. He moved his lips over hers, sampling, tasting. Enjoying.
Despite her very obvious condition and the iciness she periodically used like a rapier, he’d been right in his assessment. Beneath it all, she was a very sensual woman.
He’d expected her to shove him away after a beat. He would have understood that. What he wasn’t prepared for was the wonder. There was a wonder in her kiss that took him completely by surprise. As did the degree of passion that shimmered just behind it.
Passion that aroused his own, sending it to the next plateau.
Common sense dictated that he end it, but common sense had taken a holiday. He played his lips softly along hers, a pianist coaxing a sweet, sensual melody from the keys, tapping an ability within himself he didn’t even suspect he had.
He was sorely tempted to deepen the kiss and see her reaction. To see his own reaction. But that would be going too far too fast. Sullivan struggled to hold back.
Kissing Marlene was like chasing after a ball that was rolling downhill. The increasing momentum was astonishing.
And damn exciting.
Struggling for control, Sullivan filled his hands with her hair again, framing her face, drawing her even closer to him. He tried to remind himself that he had no business doing this, that it would only complicate everything. He tried, but he didn’t get very far. She stirred something within him that had to be explored.
He heard an almost imperceptible moan, felt it traveling along her throat until it settled within his mouth.
Sullivan was accustomed to women of breeding who, when they kissed him, were busy thinking about his genes, his name, his background. He had come to expect that and knew how to handle it. But here was something else entirely. What he sampled, what he tasted on her lips, brought him back to the wonder he’d felt himself, eons ago, when he had kissed his first woman.
Then, as now, he found his breath completely stolen away.
My God, was she out of her mind? She shouldn’t be doing this, kissing a man she hardly knew. A man who had made it clear that he wanted to take her baby away. She needed to clear her head.
The words drummed through her mind over and over again, but she couldn’t seem to draw away from Sullivan. Away from his lips. It was as if she were sealed to them.
Sealed to the moment.
Her emotions ran wild. Like a newly uncaged animal, her feelings dashed in one direction, stopped abruptly, then dashed off in another. She wanted to attribute her reaction to mood swings, but knew that was a feeble attempt at rationalizing away her response.
The wind sent waves of cold swirling around her body. She didn’t feel it. Instead she felt hot, much hotter than she could ever remember feeling.
Her fingers wound into his hair as she lost herself in the heat of his mouth.
In the heat of her feelings. For one isolated, shimmering moment, she felt as if she could touch the sky. She felt…
Desirable.
And certifiably crazy.
Self-control was something he prided himself on. He never overindulged. Never. But he felt as if he were doing just that. Losing himself in something he had no place experiencing. She was carrying his brother’s child! In biblical times, he would have been stoned. Maybe he still should be.
Sliding his hands down to her shoulders, Sullivan drew back and looked into her eyes. “Wow,” was all he managed to say. He realized, only after a beat, that he had used one of Derek’s favorite exclamations. For a moment the word hung in the air between them as if it had depth and breadth.
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