He frowned. “That idiot would be me.”
She shoved another paper at him, full of numbers she’d scribbled. He regretted ever revealing his lack of smarts to her. She seemed to be trying to make him feel as stupid as possible.
“Let me explain it to you,” she said.
After she walked him through the figures, he was more confused than ever.
“According to my calculations, you should be paying this amount per bushel.”
He grabbed the pencil from her and circled it. “Okay. I’m all set now.”
“Until the market changes.”
“But the market changes constantly,” he argued.
“Do your best.” She yawned. “Have a safe trip home.”
When she motioned to push back her chair, he pinned her wrist to the table.
“Sadie, we still have some unfinished matters…between us.”
“I don’t believe we do.”
Excitement tingled through his fingers when she yanked her wrist away and stood.
“I apologized for what I did to you,” he hissed. “What more do you want?”
Warning flashed in her eyes. “To keep your distance.”
“I have been, but that doesn’t seem to please you, either.”
She drummed her fingers on the back of the chair. “My job is to please you, not the other way around.”
He wished he were smarter so he’d know how to handle her. Why couldn’t he go home like he should? Now that their business was transacted, he could go on with his life. His company was better off. Best of all, Caleb would be pleased because he could focus on being a father.
The memory of losing control against her beautiful hips would help Henry get through the dreary days ahead.
“Tell me why you’re angry. Please.”
When she turned her head away, he grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him.
“Tell me,” he demanded. “That’s an order.”
Her breasts rose and fell with a large breath. “What you did to me made me feel used. Not that I’d care unless—”
“Unless what?”
“When a man really desires a woman, he gazes into her eyes constantly. Kisses her, over and over.”
His heart thundered in his chest. She wanted him.
“I did kiss you,” he protested.
“Only once. And not during…that.”
“I would have, but I was too excited to stop.” The memory of spilling himself on her delivered a familiar ache to his balls. “I was afraid you’d end it any moment.”
Because a chair stood between them, he was tempted to walk behind her. Press himself against her curvy hips. But that’s how he’d gotten into this mess.
“We can rectify things right now.” He covered her hands. “Let go of the chair so I can face you.”
Her fingers trembled against his. He could hardly believe such a vulnerable woman hid behind the tough exterior. Apparently, he
was
an idiot. He was worse at reading women than deciphering figures.
He kissed her slowly, tasting every curve of her lush lips. Should have done this a long time ago. Her mouth stayed closed, so he worked the seam of her lips with the point of his tongue. From one corner to the other, he probed, showing her exactly how much he ached to be inside her.
When she finally released, giving him access to the sweet, hot cavern of her mouth, he was sweating from the effort. The woman was harder to pry open than an oyster. Her fingers drifted to his shoulders. The sensation of her nails digging into his shoulders made his member even harder. He pictured her under him, scratching his waist raw. Assuming he could pry her legs apart. She’d probably close them tighter than her mouth.
Pulling back, he gripped both sides of her face. “You’re so beautiful, Sadie.”
The coldness returned to her eyes, but after she blinked, they glistened.
“Do you really mean it?” she whispered.
He gripped her cheeks. “Oh, Sadie. Did you ever doubt it?”
“But I’m not pretty,” she protested. “Everyone has told me so.”
“Pretty is boring.” He gripped harder. “You’re beautiful. Your face, your body, your mind, and even your bad temper.”
“What if I don’t believe you?”
“Then I guess I’ll have to prove it to you.”
They stood for a long time, kissing. He tasted her jaw, the lobe of her ear, and the tender skin of her neck. Even her hair. Her soft moans excited him so much, he almost forgot where they were.
“Hush,” he whispered, nipping her ear. “We don’t want your mother to hear.”
“Right.”
When she arched her neck, submitting to him, a violent flood roared through him. Although she was smarter than he was, she made him feel like a man. The only man on Earth.
The urge to bend her over the table again clawed holes in him. And this time he’d penetrate her. Deep. Instead, he spread a palm over her lower back and then the curve of each buttock. Pressing her and molding her to his groin, which burned for her. He also skimmed his fingers down the side of her breasts, telling her how beautiful he thought she was with each stroke.
But he was careful not to go too far.
Finally, he stopped kissing her and simply held her. Except for her mother’s snoring in the next room, the night was silent. Her head nestled against his shoulder. For the moment, anyway, the lioness had turned into a kitten.
“I want you,” he whispered in her ear.
“How?”
“In every way. By my side. In my bed. Mine.”
“If only we could.” She gazed at him with such bittersweet sadness, it clenched his chest. “But it’s enough to know you desire me.”
He bowed his head. At least she realized there could be nothing between them. If the Klan saw them in each other’s arms, it would crucify them and their families. The best thing they could do was stay out of each other’s paths as much as possible.
She’d shuck oysters, and he’d struggle to manage the company. Both of them would be miserable. Even more so than before because they’d gotten a taste of what could have been.
“I need you at Rockfield’s to help me make decisions. It’ll have to be done in secret, of course. And only if you want to.”
“Won’t it be dangerous?” she asked.
“We’ll have to be very careful. It’ll be safer than courting, though.”
The dreaminess left her eyes, leaving her usual practicality. “You must really trust me.”
“I do.” He caught her fingers in his. “At least it’ll allow me to be close to you. Will you do it?”
She nodded. “I’m too excited by the business work to turn my back on it. Will you kiss me once more?”
He gripped the back of her head and drank from her as if it were the last time. When he pulled away, her eyes were wet with tears.
“Don’t cry, Sadie. You know there can’t be anything between us.” He hated to admit it to himself, much less her, but it had to be done. “I-I’m in the Klan.”
“I know.”
She knew and yet she’d still trusted him. Why did this incredible woman have to be forbidden?
“Knowing the obstacles doesn’t make them any easier to accept. I wish—” She turned her head away before she finished.
“You wish what?”
“I wish you’d never told me how you felt about me.” She wiped her eyes. “It was easier to assume you didn’t want me.”
He gathered the papers into his waterproof sack, barely noticing how many pages he bent in the process.
“I’ll find a desk for you tomorrow.”
He turned and opened the door before his knees collapsed. Because he wished he could give away Rockfield’s and just about anything else, to have her.
* * *
At Rockfield’s the next day, Sadie sat in the lunchroom with Mama and Jimmy Clark. They occupied the end of a long, communal table near a window. She’d worked all morning in a small storeroom upstairs near Henry’s office. If anyone asked, she was supposed to be cleaning it up and organizing it. In reality, she was continuing to review the business paperwork and recent decisions.
Not that she could concentrate much today. Seeing Henry in this setting after last night’s endless kissing was harder than she’d expected. The numbers on his papers swam before her eyes in a jumble because she kept imagining his tongue pressing against her lips. Begging her to let him inside. And when she finally had, her panties had flooded faster than high tide.
But lust wasn’t the half of it. He’d pried open her heart, too, pushing aside every defense. There was no going back. The expression in his eyes when he’d told her she was beautiful would remain etched in her mind forever. No matter what happened.
If only he hadn’t told her his true feelings. Never in her life had she felt so much despair and joy in one moment. What was the point in meeting the man who truly wanted her if she couldn’t have him?
“How do you like your new job, Sadie?” Jimmy asked.
With his big, kind eyes and reddish-dark skin, he was as handsome as ever. The plant’s fastest shucker, he was still quite a catch. After being in Henry’s arms, though, he didn’t interest her any more than the apple in her hand. She could hardly believe she’d once batted her eyelashes at him, trying to lure him away from Pearl. But Pearl had broken her engagement to him because she preferred a white Rockfield. And so did she…
“It’s better than shucking,” she said.
But seeing the man I can’t have all day is killing me.
“It pays more, too,” Mama bragged.
She gripped her mother’s thin arm. “Keep your voice down.”
The less attention her new job received, the better. Because even though spending so much time around Henry was hard, it was better than not seeing him at all.
Mama turned her attention to Jimmy. Sadie didn’t like the shrewd expression in her eyes. The same way she’d looked at her daughter this morning and said she’d heard some strange noises during the night.
“You still ain’t married, are you?” Mama asked.
“Not yet, Mrs. Johnson,” he replied.
“Sadie here could use a new husband. You’d never believe what I caught her doing to herself one night.”
The night she’d rubbed her breasts after her first meeting with Henry danced through her mind. She sank lower on the hard bench, wishing she could hide under the table.
“Mama!” She seized her apple, ready to shove it into the woman’s mouth to quiet her. “I have no plans to remarry. Once was enough.”
Jimmy’s gaze dropped to his sandwich. “Er, that’s good to know. I mean—”
“It’s all right.”
Sadie shoved her lunch away, having lost the rest of her appetite. Why couldn’t she and Henry be a couple so Mama would stop playing matchmaker? If she couldn’t have the man she wanted, she didn’t want anyone.
“Well, if you ain’t interested in her, what kind of woman
are
you looking for?” Mama demanded.
Outside the window, Jonathan Carter walked by with his sister. Sadie shivered at the sight of his pale-gray eyes. The tonic on his brown hair made his skin even paler and his features even sharper.
Mary’s blonde tresses bounced with each step. Her brother clutched her around the elbow as if daring anyone to get too close to her. Given what she’d suffered last year, Sadie understood his protectiveness. She wished they’d take their promenade somewhere else. The last thing she and Henry needed was the Klan sniffing close to her new office.
At least he was smart enough to know they could never have a relationship. Pearl’s warning about playing with fire came to mind. She’d worked and lived with Caleb under the guise of being his housekeeper. When their feelings became known to the town, the Klan had burned this plant—almost to the ground.
Jimmy’s gaze was glued to the window. To Mary Carter.
Oh, Jimmy. You’re even worse off than me.
Mama must have noticed the adoration in his eyes, too.
“If she’s the one you hanker for, you’d better pick out the tree you’d like to hang from. Because that’s what the mayor’s son will do to you if you lay a hand on that girl.”
“I know better than to do that.” He scooped up the remains of his lunch. “Time to get back to work.”
“They’re coming inside.” Mama craned her neck, seemingly oblivious to Jimmy’s longing. “Wonder what they want?”
Whatever it was couldn’t be good.
Mama stood and glanced at her. “Ain’t you coming? Or do our hours not apply to you and your fancy new job?”
Sadie rolled her eyes. Leave it to Mama to be jealous of her promotion and grateful for the extra money at the same time.
“That’s right. I get to eat at my leisure.”
Long enough for Jonathan Carter to get the heck out of here before she returned to her
office
.
* * *
Sadie watched the sun set from her office. The stacked boxes and cleaning supplies said it used to be a storeroom, but now it was all hers. She even had her own desk and a small window, which had a view of the street out front.
When Henry finally arrived and locked the door behind him, her pulse accelerated. With his shirttails hanging outside his suspenders, he looked tired and tousled enough to drop into bed. She was tired enough to sink into one with him. Why couldn’t they? After working together all day, she wanted to spend the night with him, too.
“Thanks for looking at the purchase records,” he said.
“You’re welcome.” She fingered her pen to keep her mind on business. “We’ll—I mean, you’ll—be able to save money by keeping your costs more consistent.”
“Excellent.” He nodded. “You’re a real life preserver.”
“What did the mayor’s son want?”
“I’m not sure.” Henry smoothed his matted hair. “He questioned me and several of the white employees. He seems to be fishing for something.”
Her hand shook as she slammed the pen down. “That’s the last thing we need.”
Don’t take my job away! I can’t bear to go back to shucking. Away from Henry.
“Take it easy. Nothing happened. All the same, I’m glad you weren’t up here at the time.”
“I lingered in the lunchroom when I saw him coming.” She stood. “Well, good night, Mr. Rockfield.”
But when she passed him, he caught her arm, holding her as possessively as Jon had his sister. As if he’d never let her out of his sight for as long as he lived. With her eyes, she asked him what he needed.
And his answered.
“Henry…” she whispered as his mouth glided toward hers like a boat on the tide.