Luke slowed his pace down to a moderate jog as he took his eighth lap around the half-mile-long track at the Cooper Aerobics Center. His body hurt, and his muscles were beginning to burn from exhaustion. He’d been pushing his body harder than he needed to, and he was beginning to feel the stress. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the burn would rise to the brink of unbearable and he would want to quit. At some point his body would fail him if he didn’t just give in to it.
His thighs and calves had begun to quiver. His heart was starting to beat harshly against the walls of his chest, his lungs crying for a cool breeze of relief. But he refused to stop, adamant that he would not give in to the pain. As long as he ran he wouldn’t have to think about Joanne. Joanne, and the hurt in his heart. He refused to let that ache, or his discomfort, consume and control him.
Slowing down even more, his chest heaved up and down as he began to walk briskly. The hard run had pulled him into a comfortable euphoria, the runner’s high nicely replacing the anxiety and turmoil that had been consuming his heart and head since discovering Joanne wasn’t the woman he thought she was.
But then the questions returned. Who was Joanne Lake? Who had he fallen in love with? Who was that woman who’d made him feel like they’d been the king and queen sitting at the top of their own little world? Who was that divine creature who’d convinced him that no matter what the obstacles they could accomplish anything with each other? That without each other all was lost to them. Because he felt lost without her, and he wasn’t liking the feeling one bit.
He’d asked those questions in prayer that morning, down on his knees at the altar. His aunt Juanita had pointed him back in the direction of Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church, the house of worship he and his brothers had attended since they’d been little boys. “Pray,” she’d admonished, believing that prayer would give him the answers he was seeking.
He’d have preferred to keep his problem secreted away, but church had a way of exposing whether a person was doing well or not. Dressed in his Sunday best, prayer had provoked his tears to sneak past his lashes and down his face, and anyone who’d been watching had been able to tell that Luke Stallion wasn’t doing well.
He missed her, and he couldn’t deny it if he wanted to. He missed her laughter and the way she teased him when it was just the two of them alone. He missed their late-night conversations as they lay side by side in his bed cuddled close together. He would have given anything to hold her hand, her fingers entwined between his own. He loved her, and in that moment, all he could think of was how much he wanted Joanne to love him back.
“I think we should intervene,” Marah was saying to John, the two curled together on the rear patio of their home.
“No,” John responded emphatically, tightening his arms around his wife’s torso. He hugged her warmly. “No, Marah. They have to work through this on their own.”
“If our families hadn’t intervened when they did, we might not be together right now.”
John laughed. “We’d be together. It would just have taken your stubborn self longer to realize how much you loved me.”
“Me? I knew I loved you. I was the one who flew all the way to New York to find you, remember?”
John nuzzled his wife’s neck. “Yes, you did, and had I been in New York we would have made up sooner.”
“That’s why we need to intervene. You weren’t in New York, and if our family hadn’t helped we’d still be flying across the country trying to find each other.”
“Perhaps, but we still are not going to interfere with Luke and Joanne, and that’s final. The two of them will figure this out on their own.”
Marah said nothing, a wicked smile pulling at her mouth. “Okay, honey. Whatever you say.”
“I mean it, Marah Stallion. Leave Luke and Joanne alone.”
“I said okay, John!” She tilted her face to his and kissed him quickly. “Whatever you say, baby!”
John laughed again, the hearty chortle echoing through the late-night air. “I swear, Marah,” he said after catching his breath, “if you and your sisters even think about getting involved…”
Marah giggled, turning to kiss him again. Her smile was wide and full. She responded brightly. “Yes, dear, I understand perfectly.”
Joanne refused to answer her father’s telephone calls. Recognizing the number on the caller ID, she let out a frustrated sigh. The telephone rang six times before her answering machine finally picked up the call. After the message had played, Charles Lake’s booming voice flooded the room for attention.
“Joanne, there’s a package being delivered today. Sign the papers inside and then get them back to me please. This is important.
“And call me back, Joanne. I don’t know what is wrong with you, but this is not the time for one of your tantrums. Call me, Joanne, and I mean it.”
The phone clicked and a dial tone filled the room before the machine cut off. Joanne rolled her eyes, annoyance flooding her spirit. She fingered the large envelope sitting on her kitchen table. The deliveryman had knocked on her door just minutes before her father’s call had come. Tearing open the envelope’s sealed flap, she pulled a stack of legal documents from the inside. A yellow sticky note was affixed to the front, her father’s scrawly handwriting reiterating his instructions. “Joanne, sign and return. Dad”
Flipping through the documents, Joanne’s expression was suddenly contemplative. After reading through the contents, she jumped from her chair to reach for the silverware drawer. Grabbing the stack of envelopes inside, she tossed them onto the kitchen table and began to open each and every one.
What Joanne discovered was more than she had bargained for, and the knowledge was powerful. She couldn’t begin to imagine what her father had been thinking.
As if reading her mood, the weather outside suddenly turned. Wind swept leaves and debris in a whirlwind. It grew noticeably in force, gusting hard against her windows. When the rain started to fall, pouring out of the sky, Joanne’s tears fell with it, and then, just like that, both stopped, tears and rain finishing together.
Moving toward the back of the home, Joanne knew that somehow she needed to talk to Luke. She knew beyond any doubt that it wasn’t going to be easy to accomplish, but she knew where to go to try. There were only a few people who Luke respected enough to listen to. She would start there, she thought, as she formulated a plan.
An hour later, dressed to impress, Joanne pushed the stack of paperwork into her leather briefcase. Grabbing her keys and cell phone, she rushed out the door, determined to fix what she’d managed to break.
Chapter 20
The Stallion airplane sat fueled and ready on the airstrip. When Luke’s limousine pulled up, he was ready to take flight and Luke paused in the cockpit door to greet the pilot.
“We’ll be ready to depart in a few minutes, Mr. Stallion,” the man said.
“Thank you.”
Passing his suit jacket to the stewardess and loosening his tie, Luke made himself comfortable in a leather seat. He pulled a folder of paperwork from his leather satchel, readying himself to get some work accomplished on the flight.
He still didn’t understand why John had insisted he fly to their Atlanta offices to personally pick up documents that could just have easily been shipped via air express. But John had insisted, commanding Luke to honor the request.
Minutes later he gestured for the stewardess. “Is there a problem, Louise?” he queried, looking down to his watch. “We should have taken off by now.”
“There’s no problem, Mr. Stallion. We’re waiting for one more passenger.”
“One more? Who?”
“I’m not sure, sir. Your brother called and instructed us to wait for a second passenger. They should be here very shortly.”
Luke nodded his head, reaching for his cell phone. He assumed one of his brothers had decided to join him. Dialing the office, he wanted to check which one was causing the delay.
Before the call was c
onnected, Luke heard the stewardess greeting someone at the door. Turning about in his seat he was surprised to see Joanne coming into the cabin. He was even more surprised when she revised the flight itinerary, instructing the pilot with a new schedule.
“I don’t think so!” Luke exclaimed, jumping from his seat. “What are you doing here?”
Joanne nodded her head toward the pilot. Behind them the copilot was closing the cabin door.
“Pilot, this woman isn’t flying with us today.”
“Yes, I am,” Joanne stated firmly. “You really should sit down. We’ll be taking off soon,” she said as she eased past him, moving to the leather seat opposite the one he’d occupied.
Luke spun in the direction of the cockpit instead. “Pilot, shut this plane down now and escort this woman off the plane, please!” he exclaimed loudly.
The gray-haired man in the pristine uniform smiled politely. “I’m sorry, sir, but that’s not possible.”
“Excuse me?”
“We have explicit instructions from John Stallion, sir. I’m told the lady will explain.” The man gestured with his head to the back of the plane. “You’ll need to take your seat, Mr. Stallion. We’ve been cleared for departure.”
Luke shook his head as he moved back to his seat. The entire time Joanne’s gaze was locked on him. Avoiding her stare, Luke dropped down into his seat. He scanned the tabletop for the cell phone he’d dropped there. He lifted his folder, peering beneath it.
Reaching out her hand, Joanne pressed a warm palm against the back of his hand. She whispered his name. “Luke.”
Snatching his hand back as if he’d been burned, Luke glared at her. “Where’s my cell phone?”
Joanne smiled sweetly. “You’re not going to need it.”
“Excuse me?”
“Where we’re going, you’re not going to need it.”
Luke sat back, his arms folded harshly across his chest. He took a deep breath and held it, trying to contain the rise of emotion threatening to explode from him. “What’s this all about, Joanne? Why are you here?”
“We need to talk, Luke. This was the only way I could think to get you alone where you have to talk to me.”
“Have to? Woman, I don’t have to do anything. And the last thing I’m remotely interested in doing is talking to you.”
Joanne locked her gaze on him. Exasperation fueled her words. “You really are a stubborn ass, Luke Stallion.”
Luke bristled. He pointed his index finger at her, ire painted across his face like bad makeup. “When we get to wherever we’re going, you had better find your own way back to Dallas. I’m sure your father will be able to arrange something for you. Until then, don’t say one word to me. Not one word. Understand me?”
Joanne shook her head. “Don’t you even want to know where we’re going?”
The Gulfstream jet was sailing along at an altitude of 26,000 feet. They’d not been in the air for very long, and Joanne had already grown weary of Luke and his silent treatment. They only had another hour or so before they’d be landing, and he still refused to speak to her.
Luke had reclined his seat, lying on his side to face the window away from her. He’d dozed off to sleep or had pretended to. But what he wasn’t doing was trying to make things better between them. Joanne shook her head. If nothing else, he was determined. His brothers had said he would be.
Joanne’s morning conversation with John and Matthew Stallion had lasted almost three hours. It had taken her the first hour to tell them about herself and her father and to make them understand that nothing that had happened between her and Luke had anything to do with the takeover attempt.
She’d spent the second hour convincing them that she loved Luke more than anything else. She’d fought back tears trying not to let her emotions overtake the moment. There had been too much at stake. She’d been desperate for them to know that she had not lied. Everything important to her had depended on them believing that she had not betrayed Luke or the Stallion family.
The last hour had been spent planning. It had been her idea to steal Luke away for a little tête-à-tête. John had helped facilitate the finer details. Both brothers had hugged her warmly and wished her well. Now here she was trying to wear down the wall Luke had put between them.
Moving to the seat beside him, Joanne cradled her body around his frame. She wrapped her arms around his waist and gently caressed his arm, his side, his hip. She half expected him to pull away from her, and when he didn’t, she pressed herself in closer, brushing her breasts and pelvis against his backside.
Luke kept his eyes closed tight. The woman’s presence had knocked him off balance. Realizing his brother had helped her pull off this little transgression surprised him completely. And he was still angry, still confused, still searching for answers. But for the moment he was relishing the sensation of her hands, having missed her touch like he’d not missed anything before. So he didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t move at all, allowing himself to linger in the moment of her sweet caress and hold on to it for all it was worth.
“So, are you ready to talk yet?” Joanne asked softly, still drawing a path against his shirtsleeve.
Luke took a deep breath. He shifted his body against the seat, moving to lift himself up and turn himself around to face her. His anger had cooled substantially. Now he was simply curious, more questions spinning through his head than should have been allowed.
“Why did you lie to me?” he asked, finally meeting her stare. There was an edge to his voice, the wealth of it rapping at Joanne’s confidence.
“I didn’t lie…or at least, I didn’t mean to. I’m more guilty of omitting the truth. I never said much about myself or my family at all. You formed your own conclusions based on what folks from the center were telling you.”
“So, where did you grow up?”
“In Kessler Park.”
“With your parents?”
“Just my father. My biological mother lives in Paris. I spent one month out of the year there with her.”
“So you speak French?”
Joanne giggled as she nodded her head. “Oui, je parle français.”
“Who is Mrs. Brooks? And Marley?”
“She was our housekeeper but had more to do with raising me than anyone else. Marley is her daughter and my very best friend.”
“So why the deception?”
Joanne spent the next half hour trying to explain to Luke what growing up with Charles Lake had been like. She spared him no details about her life, even chastising him for assuming things about her based on what folks at the center had told him.
“They really don’t have a clue,” Joanne said with a quick shrug. “I didn’t want my wealth to be an issue for me with the clients.”
Luke nodded his head slowly. “So just how wealthy are you?”
A slow smile pulled at Joanne’s mouth. “When and if we ever need a prenuptial agreement, I’ll let you know.”
Luke laughed. “The girl’s got jokes!”
“I have a question for you,” Joanne said softly.
Luke eyed her curiously. “So ask it.”
“Why did you turn your back on me? Why wouldn’t you talk to me? We both said how important it is for us to communicate with each other. Why would you do that to us?”
Luke paused. “Because I was afraid that me letting my guard down had jeopardized what my brothers have built over the years. You have to understand, Joanne, they raised me. I’d have nothing if it wasn’t for Mark, Matthew and John. Especially John.
“And I let my guard down with you. I trusted you because I believed in us. I was afraid that I had made a horrible mistake and they were being made to pay the price, as well. It would have been one thing if you’d used me and I lost something. It’s something all together different if my whole family has to suffer.”
Joanne shifted her body from his, replaying everything he’d just said in her mind. Tears swelled full and hot against her eyelids. She brushed the sa
line away with the back of her hand. Luke drew a finger along her face, pausing to cup a palm beneath her chin. He lifted her face until her stare met his intense gaze.
Joanne fell deep into the loving look. The dark reservoirs were hypnotizing. A faint bead of perspiration beaded on Joanne’s top lip. Leaning toward her, Luke motioned as if he intended to place a kiss upon her lips, but he didn’t. Joanne gasped softly, her own mouth quivering with anticipation. But his lips never met hers, the pilot coming over the intercom to interrupt them.
“Ms. Lake, we’ve been cleared for landing, ma’am. If you and Mr. Stallion would please fasten your seatbelts. Thank you.”
Joanne pulled back slightly, her gazed still locked with Luke’s. The stewardess came to check on them both before returning to her own seat. Luke leaned his shoulder against Joanne’s. He moved his mouth next to her ear and whispered.
“So, just where have you kidnapped me to?”
Joanne allowed a wide grin to bloom across her face. “Kiawah Island.”
Chapter 21
Joanne had been enamored with Kiawah Island since she’d been a little girl. She’d been nine years old the first time she’d visited the South Carolina low country, one of few vacations she and her father had actually shared together. With its ten miles of pristine beach, sun-washed rivers and marsh and abundant wildlife and nature, it had become one of the best places for her to spend her time.
Joanne had loved Kiawah so much that on her eighteenth birthday her father had gifted her the multimillion-dollar property on Flyway Drive. The home was oversized, sitting on nearly two acres that boasted 180 feet of bulkhead along the expansive waterfront. The main house had an adjoining two-bedroom pool house and a 225-square-foot lighthouse-inspired watchtower. It was more house than Joanne would ever need for herself alone, but it was a welcome place to lay her head at night when she visited.
Lost in a Stallion's Arms (Kimani Romance) Page 16
