by Sara Orwig
“Spencer was no snake,” Walker snarled, visibly bristling as his face flushed. “You saw the hundreds of friends gathered for his funeral. Your grandfather left everything to Spencer because he wanted Spencer to have it all. Not your mother but Spencer,” Walker reminded him.
Eli turned to stride away, knowing if he didn’t get distance between them, he would resort to blows. He took two steps and faced Trace Ashton who had been talking to one of his sisters. Trace’s green eyes were cold and his jaw set as he faced Eli.
“You need to get off this property,” Trace said. “You weren’t welcome here when Spencer was alive, and that hasn’t changed now that he’s gone. If he were here, he’d throw you off himself because your presence upsets my mother.”
Eli clenched his fists again. “It’s your property, but you know Spencer stole it from my mother. At one time this was all my grandfather’s.”
“My father didn’t steal anything. It was given to him by your grandfather. Go back to your little vineyard.”
“It’s a damn fine vineyard whether it’s small or not. We beat your wines in any competition.”
“Get the hell out of here, Eli, before I throw you out.”
“Don’t worry. I was on my way. I can’t get away from here fast enough.” Eli ground out the words and brushed past Trace. Burning with rage, he fought the urge to take a swing at the younger Ashton.
Taking his hands from his pockets, Eli strode through the door, leaving the library and heading for the front entrance. At the top of the four steps into the lower foyer, he glanced back over his shoulder, half expecting Trace Ashton to follow him to see if he was leaving and half hoping Trace would. Eli would like to vent his pent-up anger and take a swing at Trace, but he wasn’t going to be the one to throw the first punch.
When he looked back over his shoulder, he was immobilized. Was it his imagination playing tricks on him, or had he just seen Lara disappearing through an open door off the foyer?
Eli turned and strode back. The woman had been in a maid’s uniform. Then he remembered the first time she had spoken to him on the veranda at the funeral reception. She had asked if she could get anything for him. He should have guessed, except she hadn’t been in a maid’s uniform then.
His pulse sped up as he stopped in the open door of a formal dining room. He barely saw the long, polished table and side chairs, the sparkling crystal chandelier, the breakfront with priceless antiques. The only thing he really saw was Lara.
She stood across the room from him, setting a silver tea service on a credenza. She wore a black uniform with a white apron tied around her waist. Her thick hair was fastened in a bun behind her head. Even with the plain uniform, hairdo and black oxfords, she made his pulse race and stirred erotic images.
He stepped inside the dining room and closed the door.
Five
W hen Lara heard the door close, she turned around. Her heart missed a beat as she met Eli Ashton’s stormy gaze. “What are you doing here?”
“Finding you,” he said. His eyes glinted with fire when he crossed the room, stalking her like a panther. “Although you made it clear you didn’t want to see me again.”
Trying to ignore her racing pulse, she raised her chin. He was as handsome and appealing as she had remembered. “I mean, why are you at this house?” she asked.
“They had the reading of the will,” he said, his voice fierce with rage.
“Oh, of course!” she exclaimed, feeling ridiculous. Yet she had never thought about Eli being included in Spencer’s will. While Eli closed the distance between them, her mouth went dry and heat coiled in her, memories of his lovemaking assailing her.
Even angry, he still set her heart pounding. A few more feet closer, and he would hear it for himself.
When he stopped inches away, she could detect his familiar aftershave. In a navy suit, he was devastating, and it was impossible to keep her gaze from skimming over his features.
“You ran out on me.”
“I found out you were an Ashton,” she snapped back. “That’s enough reason to run.” She hated her intense reaction to seeing him again, but she couldn’t control herself. “You’re Spencer’s son.”
“Don’t ever lump me with him! I’m not anything like that bastard,” Eli retorted, a muscle working in his jaw, and she realized he was furious with Lilah’s family.
“You’re his son. You look like him. You act—”
“Don’t say it,” he ordered. His hand closed on her shoulder, and the glacial chill in his eyes stopped her. “I’m not like him. I hope to heaven I don’t look like him.”
“It’s your green eyes. Those green eyes are a dominant trait,” she said. “All the Ashtons have green eyes. It doesn’t matter. I’m glad he’s gone. I don’t want any part of the Ashtons,” she said, momentarily remembering Spencer and his roaming hands.
“It looks like to me you already have a large part of this family daily since you work here and you live here. It’s a free world. There are a lot of other jobs, but you chose this one.”
“I grew up here because my mother is the head housekeeper. I’ve stayed because of her.”
“I looked for you,” Eli said, pushing open his coat and jamming his hand on his hip. His stance was almost intimidating, except he was too magnetic. She had no intention of allowing him to get emotionally close to her again. “I never would have thought to look here. You know I’m Eli Ashton. I want to know who you are. What’s your last name?”
“Hunter,” she replied, fighting to avoid letting her gaze drift down over him.
“Well, Lara Hunter, I plan to get to know you a whole lot better.”
“Why would you want to? We’re like fire and ice. One will destroy the other.”
“A better comparison would be fire and dynamite,” he said, lowering his voice to a cajoling tone. A muscle still worked in his jaw, and his color was heightened, but his voice had changed and the wrath had gone from the depths of his eyes. “The chemistry we had was spectacular,” he added.
“You’re talking about sex.”
“Damn straight. Making love with you was fantastic.”
“And so you want a repeat of that night? No, thanks,” she replied in what she hoped was a haughty tone that would bring him down a notch. “And I’ve told you why. Besides, it’s impossible for me to go anywhere with you,” she said, raising her chin.
“Of course it’s possible,” he said, moving closer and studying her intently. “That night, there wasn’t all this antagonism between us.”
“That’s because I didn’t dream I was with an Ashton.”
“Look, I’m not like Spencer,” he repeated tightly with a tone of steel returning to his voice. “Lucas Sheppard is the man who raised me and the man I claim as my father. My whole family is not like this bunch of Ashtons.”
“I find that difficult to believe,” she said, her fury surging over his resolve to get her to do what he wanted. “You have Spencer’s blood in your veins, and you’re as strong willed as he was. This conversation is proof.”
“You’re strong willed yourself, but that doesn’t mean you take after Spencer,” he shot back at her. He reached out, smoothing her already flat collar. Tingles diffused from his warm fingers brushing against her collarbone and throat. Still torn between fury and attraction, she tried to ignore the reaction she was having to him.
“Spencer remembered you in his will,” she remarked. “You wouldn’t be here otherwise,” she said, to steer the conversation away from her.
He dropped his hands to his sides and clenched his fists, clamping his jaw closed and gazing beyond her. “He gave me the same he gave my mother and my siblings—exactly one dollar to each of us.”
“A dollar!” she exclaimed, momentarily forgetting her ire and seeing why Eli was so incensed. She realized that along with his anger, he had to be hurting.
“I want to see you again because I know what you were like before you connected me with Spencer. Go to dinne
r with me tonight.”
She thought of Spencer’s groping hands and his open threats to fire her mother if Lara rejected his advances. Loathing curled in her at the mere thought of Spencer, and as long as she thought about the father, she knew she would be able to deal with his son.
“I’m not getting to know you or any other Ashton better. And even if I wanted to go out with you—which I don’t—I can’t because of my job.”
“Why on earth not?” he asked. “This family doesn’t own your soul.”
“What I do can jeopardize my mother’s job as well as mine.”
“That’s a joke! Because of Spencer’s infamous transgressions, Lilah Ashton’s family is steeped in scandal and ours hasn’t gone untouched, either. We thought we were Spencer’s first family, but we aren’t. There was a wife in Nebraska whom he didn’t divorce, so he committed bigamy with my mother. How the media gloried in that scandal! Spencer’s affairs were common knowledge. Now it’s come out that he had an illegitimate child. In the next few days, maybe even tonight, the media will make public the will and that my family once again was snubbed by Spencer. Spencer’s been murdered and they don’t know who did it. The list goes on and on. Who knows what new scandal will break tomorrow! This family can’t fault you for dating one of the outcast Ashtons,” he said, and she realized his bitterness and hurt ran deep. She knew Eli had to have been just a little boy when Spencer walked out on him and his family. It had to have left permanent scars.
A straight lock of brown hair fell on his forehead, and Lara fought the temptation to push it back in place. Her reaction to him heightened her annoyance.
“I can’t believe they would fire their head housekeeper because her daughter went out with one of the other Ashtons,” he continued. “Besides, how will they even know? We can go farther afield than Napa. It’s a short drive to San Francisco and we can eat dinner there tonight.”
“Are you listening to me?” she said, her indignation rising. “This is how you’re exactly like your father!” she exclaimed, the sympathy she had briefly felt evaporating.
“Just stop right there,” he demanded with a flash of fire in his eyes. “I know what I want and I go after it, but I’ll say it again and again until I don’t have to—I’m not like Spencer Ashton.”
“We’re at an impasse!” she exclaimed. She had raised her voice and leaned toward him. She had spent a lifetime exerting emotional control, but from the start, Eli could provoke her into losing that reserve. He leaned closer to her. Both of them were breathing hard, with mere inches separating them. Their gazes were locked, and the proximity was volatile. In spite of all the wrath bound up inside her, she longed to be in his arms and she wanted to kiss him. Anger morphed into desire that was spontaneous combustion.
As Eli hauled her against him, his mouth came down on hers, demanding and possessive. Her insides clenched. She stood on tiptoe, wound her arms around his neck and let her fury and desire pour out in a passionate kiss.
As craving banished fury, she thrust her hips against him.
Memories of their night of lust assailed her. She had vowed never to kiss him again or go out with him or even talk to him, but here she was, doing as he ordered and kissing him blindly—and savoring every moment of it.
Dimly, in the back of her mind, she realized she should stop. If Trace Ashton walked in on them, he would probably fire her on the spot because of the bad feeling between the two families. The knowledge hovered in her thoughts like fog, but she continued to kiss Eli, winding her fingers in his hair.
She finally pushed against him. “No!” she said, stepping out of his arms. “We can’t kiss here.”
“I agree this isn’t the best of spots,” Eli said, and his voice was husky, all the rage in his gaze had transformed to such scalding hunger that her pulse drummed.
“Even if you aren’t exactly like Spencer and even if Lilah doesn’t object, it won’t work for us to see each other for another reason,” Lara stated, trying to keep her wits about her. “Your world is vastly different from mine,” she reminded him. “People like you don’t socialize with people like me.”
“To hell with that. You make this sound feudal.” He draped his hand on her shoulder. “Lara, I want to see you again. I want to take you to dinner where we can talk. If Trace Ashton finds me in here, there may be a fistfight, but I’m not budging until you accept my invitation.”
“No. It’s just unthinkable,” she said. “Eli, it won’t work, and I’m not—”
“Shh. I’ll pick you up here about seven.” He leaned closer. “I can be persistent.” He placed his hand on her throat. His fingers were warm, and she could see satisfaction light his eyes. “Your pulse is racing, so your hesitation isn’t because you don’t like me or find me obnoxious. That’s not it, is it?”
“You know it’s not!” she exclaimed in exasperation. “I’ve been giving you my reasons for avoiding you since you walked into this room.”
“None of which are valid,” he said with that maddening perseverance that indicated he was going to continue until he got his way.
She bristled, yet in fairness, she knew that beneath that rough exterior, the man she had spent a passionate night with had also been considerate. She knew he was hurting over Spencer’s dealings, and she hadn’t helped his feelings by accusing him of being like his father. He was too fine a person for that. She gave a shake of her head, knowing she had come around.
“If you insist, let me meet you somewhere,” she said as she capitulated.
“Fine. How about seven o’clock tonight? Same restaurant as last week.”
“This is against my better judgment,” she stated darkly.
“Your heart gives me a different answer. Want to see if my pulse is racing, too?”
“No, I don’t!” she snapped, and saw amusement light his eyes.
“I can promise you that it is.” He was only inches away, and then he leaned closer and his mouth covered hers again.
One more time he had caught her off guard. Her hands flew to grasp his upper arms as he leaned over her. She intended to push against him, horrified that he would continue to risk kissing her here in the Ashton mansion. Instead, her only conscious thought was that she desperately wanted to return his passionate kiss.
As his tongue thrust deep, her pulse thundered. Slowly he explored her mouth, demanding a response, making her his in too many ways. This strong-willed male would be her undoing. With desire kindling low in her, she returned his kiss.
He released her, running his fingers along her throat in a feathery caress.
“Thank heaven I found you,” he said in a raspy voice.
“It may be disastrous,” she whispered, wanting to step right back into his arms.
“Until tonight, Lara,” he said, and turned to leave the room. At the door he looked back at her, and she realized she hadn’t moved. She clamped her lips closed, lips that still tingled from his kiss, aware that her racing pulse hadn’t slowed.
As soon as he left the room, she inhaled deeply and followed him out. When the front door closed behind him, she hurried to a window. A tough man, Eli Ashton stormed through life getting what he wanted. Except for Spencer—he’d never gotten his father’s love. Momentarily she wondered about the murderer. Eli had enough rage and was strong enough, but his basic goodness had shone through that first night. Today he had been hurting and he was steeped in resentment, yet she knew he was a worthy person. And now she had agreed to go out with him again. Anticipation overrode her caution, and she wondered what she would wear. A few more hours with Eli, she thought, eager and wary at the same time.
Eli’s long-legged stride covered the ground easily, and he slid into his black sports car. She watched as he spun the car around and sped down the drive.
Feeling dazed, she touched her lips. He was a forceful man. A small inner voice corrected her—he was sexy and irresistible. She turned around to face her mother, who was gazing at her with a quizzical look.
Instan
tly Lara became aware of her disheveled appearance. Strands of hair had tumbled loose around her face. Her uniform was wrinkled and she guessed that her mouth was red from Eli’s kisses. Her cheeks flamed from embarrassment.
“Who was that man?” Irena’s blue eyes were filled with curiosity.
“Eli Ashton.”
“One of the other Ashtons?” Irena persisted.
“Yes,” Lara replied, heading back toward the dining room.
“Lara, do you know him?”
“Yes, I do,” she answered, tucking stray strands back into her bun. “I’m going to dinner with him tonight.”
“Criminy! My daughter and one of the Ashtons! Imagine that one!” Irena exclaimed loudly, clapping her hands together to Lara’s horror.
“Mom! Shhh! It’s a one-time deal. It’s nothing.”
“Nothing my foot! Is he taking you to dinner?”
“Yes, but after tonight I won’t see him again,” she said, trying to smooth her uniform. “I need to get back to the dining room to pick up the silver.”
Her mother laughed with glee, heading for the kitchen, and Lara suspected her mother would share this tidbit with the entire staff at the estate.
Lara returned to the dining room to pick up a sterling samovar and take it to the kitchen, where she met the gaze of her friend Franci. Her brown eyes were filled with curiosity, and Lara could guess why.
Franci had a jar of silver polish and a sponge and was shining one of the large sterling trays. Lara set the samovar down to start polishing it. The gleeful look in Franci’s eyes confirmed her suspicions.
“When are you going to dinner with Eli Ashton?” Franci asked.
“How do you know that I’m having dinner with him?”
“Your mother told all of us,” Franci replied, waving her hand, and although Franci and Lara were the only two in the kitchen, Lara knew that her mother had informed all the servants she could find.
“Mom’s irrepressible.”
“Your mom is exuberant She’s so quiet around the Ashtons. I doubt if any of them have any idea how full of life she is. Even after all these years of working here.”
