She was glad he’d admitted that, but she still had reservations over how thoroughly fooled he’d had her.
He opened the café door for her and she was relieved to see it was busy here, too. He was making a real effort. The old Drake was coming out and working hard to earn her forgiveness. But there was something...off.
She walked inside and followed a hostess to a table near the front window. Sitting across from Drake, she listened as he reminisced on old times, not feeling the same as she had back then. Now she saw him as he really was, a man with a troubled past that made him more apathetic than she’d have ever imagined.
He watched her, looking at her mouth and into her eyes with a sorrowful kind of yearning.
Her uneasiness intensified. She hadn’t felt totally relaxed since she saw him.
“Part of the reason I was the way I was with you is that I fell so hard for you, Georgia. I didn’t expect to. I lost control.”
He must have felt that way about her long before they’d decided to try dating.
“You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met,” he said. “No one compares to you. It would be worth it to me to change so I could have you. Marry you, maybe. We could be so happy. We could.”
What?
Coldness spread through her. Was he insane? Was she for coming here?
“Don’t decide now,” he said when he saw her revulsion. “Let’s take it slow. I love you, Georgia. I think I’ve loved you ever since college.”
Loved her?
Georgia fought back her nausea. “I don’t love you, Drake. I told you that night was a mistake.” A terrible, terrible mistake. She stood up. It was time to be stern with him. “I want you to leave me alone.”
He obviously would never be able to look at her as a friend again. She shouldn’t have come here. She should have known that he was too different from her. He wasn’t going to let her go and she couldn’t shake this feeling that he wasn’t going to take it well.
At his crumbling face looking up at her from where he sat, she said, “I’m sorry I met you today. I don’t mean to hurt you, but I don’t think it’s wise to talk to you anymore. Please don’t call me or try to come and see me. It’s over between us. We can’t be friends anymore. I want to part ways amicably. That’s why I came here. But if you can’t do that...”
“Georgia.” He stood with her.
“No, Drake. I’ve been patient with you until now. You haven’t listened to me. Just leave me alone.” She knew Drake wasn’t the one for her. Especially after meeting a man like Carson. She deserved someone like him, minus the money. Or did that matter anymore? Thinking of Carson, none of that seemed important. Which kind of frightened her.
“So this is it? You’re not even going to give me a chance?”
“A chance for what?” He’d had his chance. He’d blown it.
“To make amends. To give us a real try, Georgia. We’re good together.”
Georgia rolled her eyes. “I have to go.” What a disappointment. She’d mourn the loss of her college friend all over again, but it was not healthy to subject herself to him anymore. She started for the door.
Outside, he took her arm and swung her around. “I know all about the Adairs, Georgia. You told me, remember?”
What was he talking about? Why was he suddenly bringing up the Adairs?
“I also know Carson Adair is back from the Marines and quite available. You’ve always said you would never be with anyone like Reginald, rich and cruel. You saw what it did to Ruby.”
“Yes, that’s all true.” She jerked her arm free. She couldn’t argue that, but even as she said it, something in her rebelled. It didn’t feel true anymore. Not the wealth part. Reginald, yes, but some wealthy people were good.
“I came here to stop you from making a mistake.”
Like the one she made with him? And was he saying he’d lied to her? All that bull about only wanting to be friends had been a lie. He wanted her for more than that and it made her sick to her stomach.
“How did you know I was in danger of making a mistake, as you call it?” She marched down the street toward the hotel and the limo.
He walked beside her. “It was a hunch at first. Then I saw you with him.”
“Carson?” She was taken aback. Stopping, she faced him. “When did you see us together?”
“Outside his company.” He breathed in exasperation. “You and I are meant for each other, Georgia. I know I was too aggressive with you. I’ve been wanting intimacy with you for so long I guess the degree of my desire got away from me and I got careless.”
Did he think he had to plan how he treated her? With bile rising in her throat, she walked as fast as she could toward the hotel.
Why had he gone to AdAir Corp? He must have gone there when he’d arrived in San Diego, determined to talk to her in person. To make amends.
“Georgia.” He caught up to her.
“I’m going to call the police if you don’t leave me alone!” she said without stopping.
“What?” He took ahold of her arm again.
“Hey.” She protested against his grip.
Easing up, he pulled her gently to a stop. She was forced to look into his eyes, which were sincere. Or was he putting on a mask?
“It’s me,” he said.
She searched his face, not seeing the man she used to know, the one who’d been such a good friend. Now he was just desperate. She could think of no other word to describe him. Had he hidden that from her all these years?
“Who are you?” She didn’t know anymore.
He blinked with a stab that delivered, and she felt him tighten his hand on her arm.
“I won’t let you do this to us,” he said.
“You won’t let me?” she scoffed. “Let me do what?”
“Ruin us by letting that bastard take you from me.”
“You can’t make decisions for me. This is my life and you don’t control it.” She pulled her arm, but he wouldn’t release his grip, which became painful. “You’re hurting me.” She pulled harder.
When he hauled her toward an alley, she saw a car parked there and began to panic.
“Drake, let me go.” With her free hand she dug into her purse for her phone. She took it out as Drake opened the passenger door. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you home.”
Georgia yanked hard and freed her arm. She began to call for help, when he knocked the phone from her grasp. It clattered to the ground.
“You’re crazy.”
Then she saw a man approach behind him, an uneven gait that she recognized. Carson.
Carson clamped a hand on Drake’s shoulder and swung him around. Then he punched him with his other, square in the face. Drake grunted and stumbled backward, but then he charged forward.
Carson easily ducked a punch and then swung his leg around in a side kick that connected with Drake’s head, sending him falling onto the pavement. From there, Drake stared up at him, disbelieving that Carson could fight so well. He was a trained soldier. A human weapon.
How could she be attracted to him at a time like this? Scared. Ready to run for her life.
Standing over Drake, Carson pointed his finger down at him. “Stay away from her.”
With a trembling hand, Georgia knelt to pick up her phone. Drake wiped blood from his lip as he watched her.
“I’m going to get a restraining order,” she told him.
“Georgia.” He started to stand. Carson planted his foot against his sternum and kicked him back down.
“Leave her alone or you’ll have more than a restraining order to worry about,” Carson said. Then he reached for Georgia, sliding his hand to the small of her back and guiding her down the alley.
Georgia glanced back to see Drake still on the ground, sitting up and watching them go, his brow low. She felt his anger.
It was several moments before Georgia could calm her nerves. That’s when it struck her as odd that Carson was there.
&nb
sp; “How did you know where I was?” And to come after her?
His limo pulled up alongside the curb.
“With everything going on, I asked the driver to tell me if you went anywhere. He called me when he dropped you off. I was worried so I had someone drive me here.”
He’d known she was safe at the ranch, but if she left, Stephen could go after her. He hadn’t anticipated an ex-boyfriend would be the one to threaten her.
“Why did you meet him?” Carson asked. “He’s the guy you were with in Florida right?”
“I thought he wanted to make amends,” she said. “I was wrong.”
Really wrong.
* * *
Carson waited until he had Georgia home and comfortably sipping a fruity cocktail in a sunroom that had views of the ranch land before bringing up Drake. He had a lot of questions and he hadn’t pressed her in the limo because she was still so shaken up.
She’d changed into dark tan leggings and a silky taupe shirt that fell below her waist, a taupe belt with dark tan buckle hanging loosely and leather riding boots. It was a cloudless day and the sun beamed low in the sky. He sat on the chair beside her and put his feet up the way she had hers, amused over how she basked in the sight of horses grazing in the setting sun.
“It’s so beautiful here,” she said.
“All that money can buy,” he teased, grinning when she turned a scolding look his way, one that was tempered with twitching corners of her mouth. “You like it. Admit it.”
“It is nice. But it isn’t all there is to life.”
Of course not. He’d break her of that if it killed him. In time she’d get to know him enough to realize that. In time...
More and more he was thinking that way with her. As if she’d be around indefinitely. Did he want that? With everything else going on, it might get complicated. The idea of seeing her romantically wasn’t disagreeable. Only the timing was. And her bias over rich people. She was too judgmental. That he didn’t like. He had fun with her over it, but deep down, he didn’t think highly of her poorly informed opinion.
“Why did you meet Drake, Georgia?”
She looked at him unappreciatively.
“You were friends. I get that. And his background checks out. But you must have known there was something wrong with him. Why did you risk it?”
Her brow furrowed. “Background check.”
Whoops. He’d let that slip. “I asked Whit to run one on him.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I got the impression you were a little afraid of him.”
When her brow smoothed and she looked out across the pasture, he knew he was right. She was afraid. And something had caused that fear. After they were friends. Long after, like maybe when they had become intimate.
“What changed after you slept with him?” he asked.
She looked over at him for a while, turmoil storming in her eyes. Standing, she walked out of the sunroom.
Why was she so upset over it?
Carson followed her. She left the ranch house and walked toward some outbuildings. Carson caught up to her and led her to the stable, where he asked one of the workers there to saddle up a couple of horses.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said.
She’d walked aimlessly from the sunroom and he’d guided her here. The way she’d looked at the horses gave him this idea. If he could get her comfortable enough with him, maybe she’d tell him about Drake. His need to know disturbed him a little. He cared too much. Or did he? He wished he was clearer on where his future was headed. He felt as though he were on a runaway train. Would he end up wrecking or stopping right where he was meant to be?
The stable hand gave him the reins of a docile quarter horse. “Have you ever ridden one of these?”
“Uh...yes. A few times.” She took the reins.
“Then let me show you something.” Taking the reins of a bigger horse, he climbed onto its back and rode out of the stable.
Glancing back, he saw Georgia following.
When she caught up to him, he sped up the pace into a smooth canter.
“What are you going to show me?’ she asked with a loud enough voice for him to hear.
“You’ll see.”
“Where are we going?”
“Not far.”
They reached some trees, and he slowed his horse to a walk. Moments later, he spotted what he was looking for. He pointed for Georgia.
“See that?”
She looked to where he indicated and, impressed, drew in a breath. It was a sizable tree house, one with lots of amenities. Suspended by support hardware in four large trees, there was a wraparound deck and a Jacuzzi underneath. A spiral stairway wound its way up one side of the tree house.
He got off his horse and Georgia got off hers.
“Wow,” she said. “This is incredible!”
“It was featured on a home-and-garden show a few years ago. Not just for kids.”
He led her over the drawbridge that took them from the top of a hill to the deck of the tree house. She was awed in a magical way. He held back a chuckle. She sure liked what money could buy.
He opened the door to the tree house and let her in. Although simply furnished, there was everything a person would need, including a queen bed, seating area and kitchenette. It was decorated like a cottage, white and color giving it a pow.
Georgia went over to the bench seat in a window with a view of the rolling landscape and sat.
He went there and sat next to her, on an angle like her.
“This is so beautiful. Did you play here?”
“It wasn’t made for kids. But, yes, I’ve played here.”
She looked at him and smiled.
“What did Drake do to you?” he asked, regretting that it swept her smile away.
“It’s too personal, Carson.”
“I’m worried that it has something to do with why he’s here and why he came after you.”
“He had a business meeting in San Diego. He comes here a lot.”
“All right, but he planned to meet with you, too. Please, Georgia, tell me what happened.”
After several seconds, she relented. “We started to have a serious relationship. His...tastes were too...shocking for me. And afterward, he showed a side of him that made me nervous.”
“For good reason. Did he force himself on you?”
“No. I was willing. But not for the...you know...things he did.”
“Did you tell him to stop?”
“Yes, and he did, but then he convinced me to continue.” She averted her head in shame.
“He was always such a smooth talker.”
She hadn’t felt right about it and yet she’d done it. Her eyes misted. The experience had scared her.
“Why did you let him?”
Slowly, she turned her head back to him, wiping a tear. “I trusted him. And I couldn’t believe he was someone so different than the man I’d known for so many years.”
“But he was.”
She nodded her head, lowering it. “He was my friend up until then. My best friend.”
Carson felt himself fall for her even more. For such a strong woman, she had a soft, sensitive side that required tender care.
“He didn’t understand when I broke up with him,” she said.
“That’s because there’s something wrong with him.” There had to be. She hadn’t accepted it until today. She’d lost a friend and couldn’t come to terms with the discovery that he wasn’t who she thought he was.
She lifted her head, no longer about to cry. “I know that now.”
Carson cupped her face and used his thumb to catch the tear. “You’re safe now.”
She looked into his eyes and blinked warmly, as though those words were the most welcome sweetness he could give her right now. He made her feel more than safe.
He ran his thumb over her soft skin.
The glow of their untamable, unpredictable attraction intensified. Cupping
her face with both hands, he leaned forward to kiss her.
She breathed in with the instant ignition of passion they generated together. It awed him, how much he felt when he kissed her.
“Forget about him,” he whispered.
“Keep kissing me and I will.”
Sliding one hand behind her head and the other down to her waist, he angled his head and pressed for a deeper taste. Then, cradling her, he lifted her onto his lap. She wrapped her arm around his neck and put her other hand on his face.
The feel of her lips on his roused him to do more. Standing with her, he took her to the bed. They’d gotten this far before, but he felt her need and it was different than on the jet. This time he’d take it slow with her, excruciatingly slow.
First he sat with her on the bed, still cradling her. She looked up at him uncertainly and he kissed her back into a dreamland. When her eyes were hooded with pure desire, he kissed her once more. She wasn’t ready for the bed.
“Let’s go in the hot tub,” he said.
He watched her realize they’d have to go naked. Not sure she’d do it, a rush of lust swamped him as she stood from his lap and went into the bathroom. He removed his shirt, shoes and socks as he waited for her to emerge.
When she did, she held one towel wrapped around her and held another in her hand that she extended to him. He stepped forward to take it but made no fuss over taking off his jeans. Her gaze lowered as he stepped out of them and his underwear and then wrapped the towel around his waist.
He was slightly bigger than average. Nothing ridiculous. Nothing so big that it would be painful, but big enough to be noticeable...and feel good. He was going to make her feel really good. If she let him go that far.
He descended the spiral stairway after her. At the bottom, his feet touched the cool concrete around the hot tub. He removed the cover and turned on the bubbles. Then he watched as Georgia removed her towel, revealing her curvy body. Carson couldn’t help staring. Her breasts were large, high and firm. Those slender legs stepped into the hot tub and bubbles concealed her.
Now she watched him.
He released the towel from around his waist and stepped in, going to sit beside her. She had trouble meeting his eyes. She was uncomfortable. Was she thinking about Drake?
He reached for her. “Come here.”
The Marine's Temptation Page 17
