by Francis Ray
“For those who will never have use for a helipad you’ll need to sway them another way to plunk down the million-plus you’re asking.” She sipped her drink and said nothing further, simply waited for him to take the bait.
He eyed her for a few minutes, much longer than expected. “It’s a possibility my staff has already thought of what you’re thinking.”
She smiled over the rim of her glass. Got you! “Yes, but you won’t be able to stop thinking about it. You want the best for your clients. In that, you, Brandon, and Faith are alike.” A sudden thought struck. “Faith took Casa de Serenidad from three stars to five. All of your properties are superb, with five-star ratings. Did you help her?”
“Faith deserves the credit.”
Sierra understood. You could tell people something a thousand times, but that didn’t mean they would take your advice. “Implementation.”
He braced his arms on the table. “We have a world-class fitness center with a personal trainer option. A pool surrounded by landscaped foliage and private cabanas, dry saunas, an on-site masseur and masseuse, and private garages within the building’s secure garage.”
“Naturally,” she said, enjoying teasing him.
“We’re the first in Texas to offer outdoor gas fireplaces on the terraces. We have European kitchens, and custom floor plans to allow flexibility in designing the residences.”
Sierra mimicked a bored yawn and watched Blade’s brow knit in concentration. She really had him going.
“Dessert. Raspberry tart,” announced Martin.
“Martin, it looks too pretty to eat.” She grinned up at him as he handed her a dessert fork.
“Please force yourself.”
She took a hefty bite, closed her eyes, then slowly opened them. “Heavenly.”
He kissed her hand. “As I’ve said, it is a pleasure to prepare food for such a discerning palate. I hope I have the opportunity again.”
“I’m going home in the morning, but I won’t forget this wonderful meal,” she told him. There was nothing about this night she’d forget.
“And I won’t forget you. Bonjour.”
“Good-bye,” she said, sadness creeping into her voice.
“What time are you leaving?” Blade asked.
“Around eleven, I guess.” She picked at her dessert. “We’re going back on the private jet provided by the head of Sabra’s movie company. The movie is wrapped, but the head honcho is trying to talk her into doing another one even before the first one is shown.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Sabra is torn between returning to Broadway, leaving Pierce, and staying in Santa Fe and doing another movie.” She finally forked up another bite of tart. “Neither wants to be separated from the other, even if it wasn’t a family tradition to sleep under the same roof at night.”
Something twisted inside him. “Family is important.” Before the unbearable past could invade his thoughts further, he said, “I give up.”
The smile she wore was brilliant. She was much too pleased with herself and not shy about enjoying her victory. She should be. She had done what few others had accomplished, made him second-guess himself … again.
He might be worried if she weren’t leaving in the morning. Even as the thought formed, he wanted her to stay. Her unpredictability made life interesting. He found himself unexpectedly wanting to return her smile.
“You’ll have new home owners, but you’ll also have those who’ll make Navarone Place their second, third home or simply buy it for investment purposes. In all my years as a realtor, I’ve met few people who have looked forward to moving. They dread packing, then unpacking. Even if they have someone do most of it for them, they worry that certain irreplaceable items will be lost or damaged.” She folded her hands.
“What if they didn’t have to move one item? What if you offered units that came completely furnished with everything from the latest espresso machine to flatware and towels? Of course, once that item/pattern is chosen it would not be shown to another resident. Each estate would be customized, with nothing duplicated.”
Interest gleamed in his eyes. “Yes, go on.”
Sierra almost lost her train of thought. The man was incredibly gorgeous. “The personal decorator you have on-staff would be there to help those in need. They could arrive with only their toothbrush, but if they forgot, the concierge would simply supply one. Just as if they’re hungry at two A.M. and don’t want to go out, you can offer the residents a small menu of beautifully prepared delicious meals between ten P.M. and six A.M.”
“All the conveniences of a hotel in the comfort of your own home,” he mused aloud.
“Exactly.” She folded her hands. “I know there’s nothing like working late at home and finding the refrigerator empty. The wealthy love to be pampered, their needs met with the least inconvenience. You’ll give that to them and more.”
He studied her a long moment. “You might have been wrong about my hiring competent people if your résumé was overlooked.”
She grinned across the table at him. “Does that mean you’ll consider it now?”
He had a question of his own: “Are you sure you want to work for me?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t I?” She hoped her expression was puzzled instead of hot and bothered.
Instead of answering, he asked, “Would you like anything else?”
A straight answer. “No.” Placing her napkin on the table, Sierra came to her feet and went to the steel railing a few feet away. By the full moon she could see the rushing waves crash against the shoreline. “It is beautiful here. It must be unbelievable waking up to this.”
What he imagined would be wonderful was waking up with Sierra … if they ever went to sleep. “I haven’t been here in a while.”
She leaned back on the railing and faced him as he joined her. “That’s right. You own a home or a private residence in every city where you have a resort.” She frowned. “I can’t decide if I’d enjoy that or not.”
He didn’t, but if he kept moving he was able to keep the past at bay. “You get used to it. Would you like to go down?”
“I’m not dressed for it,” she said, then grinned. “But what the heck. Turn around.”
He frowned. “What?”
“Sand and stockings don’t mix,” she explained.
He turned and listened to the rustle of taffeta, imagined her rolling the stockings down her long, sleek legs, trim ankles, his lips following. His hand clenched.
“Ready.”
He turned and reached for her hand. He liked touching her, perhaps too much. She stepped back. “Socks, shoes, jacket, and tie.”
He started to ask if she was kidding, then realized she wasn’t. He toed off his Italian loafers, stuck his socks inside, then placed his jacket on the back of his chair and stuck the tie in the pocket. “Do I need to take off anything else?”
The same naughty thought of seeing Blade shirtless popped into her head. “I think that’s enough.”
He found himself wanting to smile back again. He didn’t smile and tease with women he took out. They filled one basic need but left so many others cold and empty. “Come on.” Hand in hand, he and Sierra went down the winding steps to the beach.
“Wait.” She pulled her hand free, then removed the hairpins and jeweled comb from her hair coiled in a topknot. The straight black strands tumbled to her small waist. She shook them free, then combed her fingers through the heavy mass.
“I’ll take those.”
“Thank you.” She placed the hair ornament and pins in his hand.
As soon as he pocketed them he reached out and closed a fist around her hair. “Beautiful.”
“Th-Thank you.” Sierra was slightly alarmed at the huskiness in her voice, the urge to lean closer, press her lips against the sensual curve of Blade’s wicked mouth. Oddly at a loss for words, she glimpsed a falling star over his shoulder and grabbed for a chance to negate the charged atmosphere. “Look!”
Slowly, reluctan
tly, Blade turned in time to see the star before it vanished. “I haven’t seen one in a long time.”
Sierra briefly shut her eyes to make a wish that her foolish emotions wouldn’t get in the way of common sense. When she opened her eyes, Blade was staring down at her. Even in the half shadows she could feel the heat, the pull of his onyx eyes, feel the almost overwhelming urge of her body to sway closer.
Her wish might be too late.
Romance was the last thing she should be thinking about with a man like Blade Navarone. Heck. He wasn’t the romancing, “date” type.
Besides, he was obviously dealing with a deep emotional burden. While they were eating she’d again glimpsed the haunted shadows in his face, his eyes. Add to that, he was known to be almost nomadic in his travels to his various properties. She was possessive enough to want the man in her life within easy reach, not a continent away.
“What did you wish for?” Stepping closer, he blocked out everything except his almost overpowering masculinity. His strong fingers closed gently around her bare forearms. Her skin heated, tingled. Her body longed for something just out of reach.
She laughed, hoping it didn’t convey her nervousness. “Don’t you know, if you tell your wish it won’t come true.”
“You don’t impress me as the superstitious type.” His hand lifted to smooth a wayward lock of wind-tossed hair behind her ear. His fingertip slid down the curve of her neck and over her shoulder, stopping short of the swell of her breast.
“What did you wish for?” she asked in a breathless voice.
He felt the slight trembling of her body and realized his wasn’t any steadier. “Nothing. I make my own destiny.” Knowing he shouldn’t, he still dipped his head. Kissing her would be a mistake.
He didn’t care.
He longed to savor, to taste the heady richness of her mouth, anticipate the desire he knew would build. He needed that more than his next breath. His lips slowly, teasingly, brushed against hers. At the first tentative touch, she sighed. Her lashes fluttered closed.
A sweet surrender from a woman who didn’t know the meaning of the word.
The quickening of his blood was expected; the need to never let her go wasn’t. He gathered her possessively into his arms, then his lips settled fully on hers. She fit perfectly; the softness of her breasts pressing against his chest was as arousing as her mouth, her elegant body. She moaned deep in her throat. Her fingers clutched his shoulders.
Her mouth opened, allowing the lazy sweep of his tongue to pleasure them both. Heat consumed him. Desire rocked him. She moaned again, the sound tearing at his self-control.
Need built quickly. He had to stop, but the temptation of her lips, her alluring body, was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
They broke apart at the same time. Their rapid breathing was heavy and harsh in the night. Sierra could only stare. She’d been kissed before, but a kiss had never consumed her with such mindless passion. She’d felt the same almost desperate yearning in the way he held her, the greedy way his mouth possessed hers.
Even now her mouth craved for his on hers again, for their bodies to be fused. She knew if they did, it would go much further than she was ready for.
She’d been right: Blade was dangerous.
“I’ll take you back to the hotel.”
Embarrassed by her loss of control with practically a stranger, Sierra nodded and gathered her gown in her hands. Her discomfort wasn’t lessened by the fact that his voice was unsteady. Silently they returned to the house. She dreaded the moment she had to face him, but soon they were back on the terrace.
“The bathroom is through there if you wish to clean up before you put on your shoes.”
Her head came up at the casualness of his voice. His face was expressionless, but the fire she tasted in his kiss lingered in his eyes. She wondered what it would take to break that control. As if he were reading her mind his nostrils flared; his gaze narrowed. Turning abruptly, she went to clean up.
Tempting a man like Blade was begging for trouble.
The full bath was almost as large as her bedroom. With marble tile and a Roman tub big enough for three, the room was as elegant as the rest of the house. Taking a thick washcloth, she washed and dried her feet. Finished, she put on her hose and shoes, then opened the door to find Blade dressed and patiently waiting for her.
“Did you find everything you needed?”
The formality in his voice might have annoyed her if she hadn’t seen the desire in his eyes earlier. He wanted her, but he wasn’t going to let things go any further. “Yes, thank you.”
“The car is waiting.”
A good thing, too, she thought. She’d always believed her brothers worried too much when she went on dates. She’d been wrong. With the right man, you could get caught up in a maelstrom of need and passion and forget common sense, only the need of your body clamoring for release, for more of the endless passion.
Wordlessly, she headed for the front door. Blade walked beside her, but he didn’t touch her, which was probably for the best.
Outside, Blade opened the Rolls door for Sierra, then went around and got in on the other side. He was making sure he’d be a safe distance away. However, once inside, he wasn’t sure if there was such a thing.
Need clawed at him. He wanted her as he’d never wanted another woman. No kiss had ever swept through him like wildfire, tested his control. He could still taste the honeyed sweetness of her mouth, feel the thrust of her lush breasts against his chest, her shapely legs pressed against his.
If he hadn’t sensed that she wasn’t experienced, they would be in his bed now … if they would have made it that far. He looked at her profile. She was beautiful, hauntingly so. That a woman her apparent age hadn’t taken a lover or at least not an experienced one was inconceivable. Yet her soft sigh of surrender, her unmistakable moan of pleasure, had hardened his body almost to the point of pain. He’d wanted to thrust his hips against hers, pull more cries of passion from her lips, her body.
He couldn’t. Women he took to his bed knew that, for them, there would be no tomorrow. He had thought he accepted that … until he had held Sierra in his arms, tasted desire on her lips.
The car pulled up to the curb in front of the hotel. Blade got out almost immediately. Sierra squared her shoulders as her door opened. Blade helped her out. His hand tightened for a moment, then released her to escort her into the hotel lobby.
“I had a wonderful time. Thank you,” she said. Dignity must be maintained.
“My pleasure.”
Her breath quickened. His eyes narrowed. “Good night.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “Good-bye.”
Sierra watched his long-legged strides carry him back outside to the Rolls. The driver held the back door open. Blade almost dove inside. Closing the door, the chauffeur quickly rounded the car and drove off.
Good-bye, not good night. The choice of words had been deliberate. They wouldn’t see each other again. Turning, she went to the elevator and rode it up to her floor. Perhaps it was for the best. It might be explosive for them to be together, then what? She wanted forever with the man she gave herself to for the first time.
The elevator door opened. Stepping out, she continued down the hall to her room.
For the first time, a man had made her mind spin, her blood hot. It wasn’t just the sexual pull that called her, although that was extremely powerful; the unmistakable anguish in his black eyes touched her, made her wish she could take it away. She sensed his loneliness. She knew what being an outsider was like.
She’d started kindergarten late in the year due to a severe bronchial infection. By the time she arrived, all of the friendships had been forged. She was the new girl and the teacher made no attempt to encourage the other students to welcome her. Since she wasn’t invited to any of her classmates’ birthday parties or to play with them, her perceptive family had caught on quickly. Her older brothers became her playmates.
&n
bsp; Luke, who liked being outdoors, allowed her to tag along with him. Fastidious Morgan secretly helped her make mud pies for their tea parties. Brandon let her assist him with finding new recipes. Math whiz Pierce helped her with her homework.
She didn’t come into her own until she was in the third grade and learned to be as self-assured and as independent as everyone else in her family. Since then she’d made it a point to be genuinely friendly and warm to everyone she met, but especially those who were slighted by others or alone.
Letting herself into the suite, she saw the message light blinking on the telephone. Pierce or Brandon or possibly both, she thought. She retrieved the messages and found she was right. They wanted her to call the moment she returned.
Not feeling up to an interrogation, she phoned Pierce. Luckily, a laughing Sabra answered. “Hello.”
Sierra heard Pierce’s playful laughter in the background. Her thoughts went to Blade. He hadn’t laughed or smiled. How sad and tragic. What had caused him such pain that he couldn’t forget?
“Hello?” Sabra repeated.
Sierra shook her own melancholy away. “I’m back safe and sound. Please tell Pierce to call Brandon. I’m headed for the tub. Night.” Not giving Sabra a chance to ask questions or pass the phone to Pierce, Sierra hung up.
Passing through the bedroom suite, she saw her reflection in the mirror over the dresser. She paused. Her unbound hair hung around her shoulders and down her back. She vividly recalled Blade’s strong fingers pressed against her scalp as he possessed her mouth.
Her eyes shut at the remembered pleasure; then they flew open. Blade still had her diamond comb. Of course he’d return it and she—Her thoughts abruptly halted.
The momentary joy that he might drop by the hotel in the morning to return it was tempered by the growing certainty that he wouldn’t. He hadn’t liked the fierce attraction between them. While it had certainly puzzled her, it seemed to have displeased him.
If she ever saw him again, she wondered if she’d have the courage to ask him why.
Thank goodness for intuitive, loving sisters-in-law, Sierra thought the next day as her brothers tried to interrogate her. Faith and Sabra managed to divert the conversation each time Brandon and Pierce began to question Sierra. Of course the women noticed she was quieter, more pensive, than usual, but they respected her privacy—after Sierra assured them her “dinner date” hadn’t gotten out of line.
