by Sara Orwig
“How did you ever get to be friends with Cade if you grew up without associating with him—or am I asking too many questions?”
“No, you’re not,” he answered, his voice remote and casual. “I think I mentioned we both played football in high school so we were thrown together a lot. We got to be friends, and he introduced me to his brothers. All of us played ball. Our parents were out of the picture a lot at that age, and we all became friends. When we got to know each other, none of them had any hostile feelings toward me, and I didn’t have any toward them.”
“That’s great, Blake,” she said, glad that he’d found those relationships even though his father hadn’t acknowledged him. “I think your father made a huge mistake when he cut you out of his life.”
“I certainly thought he did,” Blake said lightly, smiling at her. “Enough about the dad I don’t even know. So who’s the guy in your life, Sierra? Do you have anything serious?”
“Nothing serious, and there’s really no guy right now. Since I moved back and started working with the nonprofit, I’m so busy. I have a few friends who go out together on Saturday nights, but most of my time is spent with family. There’s no one special. There sort of isn’t time right now.”
“I can understand that,” he said, stretching out his long legs. “Ditto for my life. I have friends, but I’m busy and I travel for work. I figure someday that will all change, but right now, I’m deeply involved in my business. These are the years to build a career.”
She smiled. “I think that last is a bit of advice directed at me in particular.”
“I try not to lecture, but yes, it is. I’ll never understand the choices you’ve made. You could have invested your time, energy and money in a business that would grow and hold value. Instead, you’ve invested in people—you’ll never know if they’ve done the right thing with what you’ve given them. They may not even be grateful.”
“I don’t feel that way about my work. I guess you don’t understand mine and I don’t understand yours,” she said lightly, but meaning every word. “So you have the biggest and best chain of luxury hotels. Will they keep you happy when you’re not working? Will they entertain you? No family, no love, no companions, no laughter and fun. All you have are hotels and money. Makes no sense to me.”
“I told you—this won’t go on forever. I’m young, energetic and ambitious, and I want to build my chain of hotels now. There’s time for love and laughter later when I have a fortune. I have moments when I enjoy myself and the others in my life. I know how to have a good time. Let’s take last night for instance—”
“Never mind,” she interrupted hastily and shook her head, smiling. “I remember last night without you bringing it up again. No matter how much we talk about our views, I doubt we’ll ever understand each other.”
“Maybe not,” he stated, leaning closer and lowering his voice. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a great time together or become friends. There are times when I enjoy life to the fullest, and I suspect you do also.”
Tingles raced through her as she saw the hot desire blazing in his brown eyes.
“I’m amazed you took tonight off from work and social appearances,” she said, knowing he had a very active social life that was chronicled in papers and Texas magazines.
“I can forget completely about work when I want to,” he said quietly, his voice dropping another note. He stood and closed the distance between them, grasping her wrist lightly to pull her to her feet.
Startled, she gazed up at him as his arm circled her waist and he leaned close to kiss away what she had been about to say.
Her heart thudded the instant his mouth covered hers. For a fleeting moment she started to push against him and step away, but then she was lost in sensation, spiraling away in a kiss that made her heart race.
Hot kisses made her want more as she ran her hands across his strong shoulders. When his palm drifted lightly over her breast, she gasped with pleasure and strained for his touch.
She didn’t know how long they kissed. She was lost in him, his hands moving over her until she felt his fingers tugging at her blouse. Holding his wrist, she looked up at him. “Let’s back up,” she whispered, trying to catch her breath while she stepped out of his embrace. “This isn’t why I’m here.”
“You’re the one who told me I’m missing out. That I need to learn how to really enjoy life. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy it.”
She walked away from him, straightening her clothes. Then, with space between them, she turned to face him. “Let’s enjoy the conversation tonight. We can get to know each other.”
“You’re ending some of the sexiest kisses I’ve ever experienced. Or maybe you don’t find them so sexy.”
“I’m not answering that because you’re pushing me into more kisses.”
“It was just a statement—nothing more.”
“Do we sit and talk, or do we say good-night and I go to my suite?” she asked.
“We sit and talk,” he answered, taking a deep breath. “As a matter of fact, let’s get a cold drink. What would you like?”
“I’ll have iced tea,” she said, and watched him move to a bar and fix her drink. She crossed to perch on a barstool as he worked. She felt as if they both needed a moment to get away from the past few minutes. “So tell me more about who you see staying in these rooms in this new wing?”
He smiled, and she knew he guessed her efforts to shift their attention back to business. “I see myself staying there. It could become easy to see you staying if you wanted. Would you like that?”
She laughed softly. “I will not be staying in your new wing and you know it. If you don’t want to talk about that, tell me about your newest hotel.”
“A twenty-story tower in Orlando,” he said, opening a beer for himself and walking around to motion to her. “Let’s go sit where it’s comfortable. C’mon, we’ll go inside now. It’s chilly this evening.”
When she sat in a tall, brown leather chair, he pulled another closer to her. They had a small table between them. He took a sip of his beer. She drank some tea, and then turned slightly toward him.
“The hotel in New York that I was hired to do was close to one of your father’s hotels. I’m surprised to hear you don’t see or talk to him, because your hotels are so close. I figured you worked together, or even each owned a share of the other one’s chain. That must not be the case.”
“No, it definitely isn’t,” he said so quietly that a chill went down her spine. A subtle change came over him, giving him a hard, cold look.
“Your father’s hotel was older, so it was built first,” she said.
“Yes, it was.” As he gazed at her, she realized he had built near his father’s hotel on purpose.
“Do you have any other hotels close to your father’s?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. And yes, I’ve built by his hotels on purpose.”
Shocked, she stared at him. “That sounds as if you are competing. Is this a battle between the two of you? Does he ever build close to a hotel you already have?”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“So, it’s only you building where you will give him competition,” she said, looking at him intently. “He’s so successful—aren’t you making it more difficult for yourself? Competition goes both ways.”
“I hope I’ve done a better job than he has, and frankly, I hope I’ve made a dent in his hotel business. My hotels are bigger, newer, have more amenities and are more luxurious, so I’m sure you’ve got the picture—I intend to put my father out of the hotel business,” Blake said quietly. “I’m building an empire that I want to make larger than my father’s. It is a competition I intend to win.”
She stared at him. “You’re doing this because of the past—because he left you when you were a baby,” she said, unable to imagine that life mission. “You’re out for revenge.” He intended to get even with his father for old wrongs. The idea was so removed from her way of life, she could only stare a
t him as if she had never seen anyone like him.
“You’re bent on revenge—the absolute opposite of all that I hope to accomplish,” she whispered without realizing she had spoken aloud. “You’ll ruin your life, Blake.”
FOUR
“Nonsense,” Blake answered easily. “My father has billions. I won’t hurt him, because he has other endeavors and a fortune that I can’t possibly diminish significantly. Nor do I want to.”
“Then what’s the purpose? Why would you spend millions, your time and your energy in pursuit of something destructive that can’t possibly help you or him?” They viewed the world so differently. She realized again that she would never understand Blake.
“I want him to know that he has a son who exists, who is a good businessman and who can do a better job at some things than he can. Hotels are only one part of his fortune. My chain isn’t a big deal to him, though they are good business for me.”
“That makes it seem even more futile and a waste of your time.”
“No. My hotels are making a tidy sum for me. My hotels will pay your salary.”
“I’m glad there’s something besides revenge as a motivation,” she said, still shocked to discover his purpose.
Her gaze swept over his thick black hair, straight nose, penetrating eyes, firm jaw and wide mouth. Her heart skipped a beat as she recalled their kisses last night. He was so handsome, so appealing, yet so very wrong in seeking revenge.
She knew that no matter what was happening between them, after this job, she would tell him goodbye, go back to her routine and never see him again. They had no common ground, no part of their lives they could share. Sexy appeal and hot kisses were not the foundation of solid relationships.
Though her body might try to convince her differently, this was a man she did not want in her life. As she studied him, he leaned closer, moving his chair until their arms touched. Blake brushed her cheek lightly with his warm fingers. She shivered, momentarily forgetting their differences, responding to the feathery contact.
“See what I can do,” he said softly. He placed his fingers lightly on her throat and raised his eyebrows. “This between us goes beyond our differences. When we touch, the world and our differences don’t even matter.”
“Yes, they do. Maybe for a short time we can forget them, but they’re real and stronger than thrills from kissing.” She took a deep breath, trying to recall why she needed to pull back from him. “I thought you said you’re close to your half brothers. You’ll hurt them if you hurt your father.”
Blake smiled at her. “No, I won’t. They know what I’m doing and they know I will never do any real damage to my father. It’s a point of pride. And, frankly, my hotels are making money for me. Our father has ignored all his sons to some degree. They all know what I’m doing, and they don’t care. He’s hurt them, maybe more than he’s hurt me, because he gave them more hope that he would be in their lives.”
“Is he close with their mother?”
“They’re friendly. They speak. My mom and dad are definitely not friendly. He cut her out of his life abruptly when he cut me out. She hasn’t spoken to him since I was three or four years old,” he said, taking a pin out of Sierra’s hair.
“He has remained in Cade’s life, and in the lives of his other sons and sees them once or twice a year, but he was never much of a father. Financially, he provided for them, but they all went to boarding schools and got little of his attention or time.”
“That’s entirely different from my family or how I grew up,” she said, catching his hand where it was wrapped in her hair. “You probably shouldn’t do that,” she whispered, aware of his fingers and the slight tugs on her scalp, of his dark gaze on her.
“Be thankful you didn’t grow up the way we did,” Blake said in a cynical tone. “All his sons—all of us—are wealthy in our own right, and my half brothers will inherit more wealth from him. I’m not taking any of that away from them. What I’m doing is like a flea bite on a dog—annoying, yet meaningless to my father. It only means something to me.”
“Perhaps, but you’re aiming all your energy at revenge,” she said, horrified by the current goal in his life, and how readily he admitted it. “We’re total opposites,” she said, thinking about what he was telling her while at the same time aware of his fingers moving in her hair, taking it down, letting her locks tumble over her shoulders.
“I suppose we are, and I guess that’s why it’s so difficult for me to understand why you gave up your interior design career. You have a master’s degree. How can you toss that aside? That took you years, and a lot of work, to achieve. You could make a fortune, make a name for yourself—why throw that away?”
“Because what I’m doing now is more important to me. There are people in the world who just need a little help. There are animals that are abandoned and hurt. That’s what’s important to me.”
“I think you’ll have regrets.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m just amazed at the choices you’ve made. Maybe someday you’ll rethink what you’re doing.”
He leaned close. “Maybe I will, or perhaps you can convince me to do so,” he said in a sexy, coaxing voice that made her think about hot kisses and forget all about careers and revenge. “Want to take a shot at reforming me?” he whispered, brushing his lips over her ear, fanning her desire.
“I can’t convince you to do anything,” she whispered.
“You’d be surprised how easily you can convince me to do some things,” he whispered back, leaning a fraction closer while his gaze dropped to her mouth. She could barely get her breath.
“Blake, stick to business.” Could he tell her heart was pounding? She should move away from him, but she was immobile, held by light kisses and feathery caresses. “Blake…”
His mouth covered hers, and his fingers combed into her hair, pulling her closer as he kissed her—a hot, passionate kiss that drove everything from her thoughts except desire. She wound her arms around his neck, forgot her resolutions to keep her distance, no longer cared if he sought revenge on the father who abandoned him. For the moment, heat poured into her and she wanted his arms holding her tightly against him.
Blake picked her up, placing her in his lap. He leaned over her, shifting to cradle her against his shoulder while he continued to kiss her senseless.
Her fingers played over him, running across his broad shoulders, down his thick biceps, across his broad chest. How could he turn her world topsy-turvy, making her forget reason and toss aside caution, causing her to risk her heart when he could so easily break it to pieces? She knew she should stop him. But it was long past the time to say no.
Instead, she held him tightly, kissing him wildly, pouring herself into kisses and caresses while she trembled with the need that he built as he caressed her in turn.
As he tugged at her buttons, she wriggled away and stood, gasping for breath. He came to his feet. His shirt was undone, open to reveal his sculpted chest.
“We should say good-night, Blake.”
“I’ll go with you to your room,” he said.
“No. I have some reading to do, and I want to get my notes in order.”
He leaned close to whisper in her ear. “You’re scared to stay down here with me for another hour tonight. You won’t work on your notes.”
She laughed softly. “You might be right. You’re a physically appealing man, Blake Callahan—something I didn’t consider when I took this job.”
“Physically appealing,” he repeated. “That may keep me up all night, as well as the thought of more kisses.”
“It’s been an interesting day and evening, and the dinner was grand. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’m enjoying having you here.”
“I’m enjoying being here. You have a beautiful home.”
“It’s going to be even more in line with what I want when this wing is finished. I’m ready for a change.”
“Have you thought about a chan
ge that might go deeper than rooms and furniture? Perhaps turning your energy and focus in another direction?”
“I do believe you are trying to reform me,” he said, looking amused as he ran his fingers lightly over her shoulder and smiled.
She couldn’t resist, and smiled back. “Doesn’t hurt to try. Have you ever thought about just calling your father and trying to make peace? You’re a grown man now. He might be happy to meet you and talk to you. Have you spoken to him since you became an adult?”
Blake tugged a lock of her long hair gently and then curled it in his fingers. “You’re trying to reconcile me and my dad. That won’t happen at this point in my life. I’ve tried to talk to him only once. I was three or four, and he had to talk to my mother. A limo waited, and when he came out, I tried to get his attention. My mother stepped out, carried me back into the house and closed the door. He never said a word to me that I remember.”
“Blake, that’s dreadful. He missed out on so much that he can never get back.”
“That isn’t how he saw it, I’m sure. The court left my mother financially well off, so I had a good education, but my father was never any part of my life. What’s worse, he was only a small part of his other sons’ lives, even though he definitely played dad to them. I told you, I knew where I stood. They didn’t. They kept hoping for more from him. By the time I was five, I knew better than to expect even a hello.”
“That’s sad,” she said, thinking again about her father and how much a part of his children’s lives he had always been, and now how good he was with his grandchildren. “Your father cut so much joy out of his life.”
Blake smiled at her. “You live in a rosy world, Sierra.”
“No, I don’t. I see people every day who are hurting and have needs—health, income, relationships—their situation isn’t rosy. Children adapt, so all of you accepted not seeing him as part of your lives, but he cut himself off from love from all of you.”
“How did we get back on the subject of my dad? Damn. There are better things to talk about. And a lot better things to do,” he said in a thicker voice as his gaze lowered to her mouth.
