Silk on the Skin: A Loveswept Classic Romance (15 page)

“Dammit, Dallas!” she muttered, struggling to break his hold. He tightened his embrace and began stringing kisses along her throat. “We can’t do this now!”

“Why?” He nibbled at her shoulder.

“Because you’re supposed to be helping me rearrange the stockroom before the merchandise comes.”

Lifting his head, he said, “Party pooper.”

“Maniac,” she countered, finally pulling out of his embrace.

“Let’s really be maniacs and go crabbing,” he suggested, grinning at her.

“You are crazy,” she said, wiping away the perspiration already forming on her upper lip. “It’s too damn hot even for the crabs.”

“Then let’s spend the day on the beach. I’ve been here nearly two weeks and haven’t even been to the beach yet.” He leered at her. “In the daytime.”

She shook her head and giggled. “Tempting as that is, I have a store full of workmen. Now, why are you out here, acting like a nut?”

“Because I have to know what you’re going to do about your voting proxy,” he finally said. “The board meeting is almost here, Cass.”

The fire instantly went out of her eyes. “Dallas, I … please. I can’t.”

“Cass, just come to the meeting. You have every right to do that.” Silently he admitted he was riding too many hopes on her inherited instincts taking over once he got her there. Still, if they did …

“But you don’t want me just to attend. You want me to take back a long-established trust.”

“I’m asking you to fight for what rightfully belongs to you, sweetheart.”

“I am fighting for what rightfully belongs to me. WinterLand. I’ve made my life here.”

“I’m not asking you to give up your life. You have a right to two things, Cass. WinterLand and Marks & Lindley.” He hated himself for pushing her, but it didn’t stop him from continuing. “We had an agreement, Cass. I was to work in your store until it was time for the board meeting, then you would come to New York with me.”

She smiled sweetly. “You were supposed to outsell my other employees. You haven’t done that.”

“How can I, with the store closed?” he asked in growing frustration. “Before this happened, you know I was doing damn well. Maybe not as well as Jean, but certainly as well as Mary and Joe—”

She broke in. “But you didn’t fulfill the terms of the agreement.”

“The agreement is over,” he stated. “Besides, I was fulfilling my part of it, Cass, until WinterLand was broken into. Now it’s time to decide if you’re going to fulfill your end of the bargain.”

She just stared at him.

He tried another tactic to get an answer from her. “Your grandfather entrusted those shares to you. Only you. Not your father, or your stepsister, or any other relative. I think he knew that once Ned got his hands on the company there would be trouble. I think he knew you would be the only one who would fight him when the time came. The time is now.”

“No. The shares were only his way of giving me a nest egg. He knew I could sell them at any time and reinvest the proceeds.” He could easily read the unhappiness in her gaze. “Dallas, what can I go in there and say? That my dividends haven’t dropped and that’s got to be all wrong? I’ve never bothered about the company before—”

Dallas’s fragile hold on his temper finally snapped. “Dammit, Cass! Why the hell won’t you admit the truth? You know you care about the company. That’s why you always kept the shares. M & L itself is really your legacy. Maybe you were never ready to accept that, but you have to accept it now. In a week’s time M & L will be in deep trouble, and it will be too late. Too late for everything.”

She turned away from him, but not before he saw her stricken look. Cursing fervently, he realized she thought he was threatening their relationship. He reached for her just as she opened the back door. She instantly stilled all movement.

“Excuse me, Dallas,” she said quietly. “But I have to put a store back together again.”

His hand dropped away from her arm. “Cass, I didn’t mean—”

She gazed over her shoulder at him, sadness in her green eyes. “Yes, you did. It’s okay. Nothing more than I expected, really. Good-bye, Dallas.”

The door clanged shut behind her.

He swore foully at the brown-painted steel.

A second numbing shock awaited Cass the moment she entered the main part of the store. There, amid the fresh walls, stripped floors, and workmen taking a lunch break, stood Ned Marks.

Her feet and her heart stopped at the same instant. She stood stock-still and stared at him. Her stomach churned. Her hands were suddenly cold and clammy, and she could feel the blood draining from her face. She cursed herself, knowing none of this would have happened if she had simply sold off her shares long ago. She’d gladly give them away now. If her grandfather had really foreseen this mess, then he must have been a miserable old devil to leave the damn things to her. The very last thing she wanted to do, though, was see Ned. Hoping he hadn’t seen her yet, she forced her feet to move and began to back slowly toward the storeroom entry.

Ned instantly spotted her and waved his hand. “Cassandra!”

Muttering under her breath in frustration, Cass halted her escape and managed a smile as he gingerly made his way around table saws and piles of wood. She decided the horrible scene with Dallas had produced one bright spot. At least Ned wouldn’t see him. Dallas was probably long gone by now. Her whole body shook at the sudden realization of what she’d lost.

“What a terrible mess. What happened to your store?” Ned asked when he finally reached her.

“It needed some repairs,” she said, pulling herself together. She waved a hand in dismissal, in no mood to tell him about the vandalism. “I’m very surprised to see you here, Ned.”

“I have an opportunity to buy a condominium in Ocean City, so I thought I’d stop by on my way to see it,” he said.

His attempt at a smooth smile grated on her
already frayed nerves. So did his words. She’d heard a similar variation from another M & L executive. Instantly every one of her senses was on the alert. She noted the custom-made gray pinstripe suit, which didn’t quite hide Ned’s growing bulk. His sandy hair had thinned considerably since she’d last seen him, and his face was puffy, making his eyes seem to bulge outward. Though the opposite of Dallas, he also looked like a man used to being obeyed. Somehow, though, Dallas had commanded respect. Oddly, Ned lacked that quality.

“How nice for you,” she finally said in a neutral tone.

His smile seemed even more forced, almost painful, in fact. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you, Cassandra. I must say you’re looking very well.”

Hoping to ease the tension inside her, she smiled back and said, “That’s very nice of you to say.”

He looked around the store, his gaze finally focusing on the workmen at the other end. Cass noticed the men were uninterested in them.

Turning back and loudly clearing his throat, he said, “This remodeling must be costing you a pretty penny.”

“I’ll get by,” she said.

“Yes. Well. It must be draining your resources. Actually, that’s another reason I stopped by. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for some time about selling your shares.”

“Selling my shares?” she echoed, every nerve in her body suddenly taut.

“Yes.” He cleared his throat again, his gaze seeming
to just avoid hers. She found it irritating. “I’m quite prepared to offer you full value for them. In cash.”

“Cash?” she repeated dumbly.

He nodded. “I know that your dividend checks haven’t been as healthy as you’ve been expecting them to be. I imagine that’s been disappointing to you. The truth is, at this time the company can’t afford to really pay out.” He chortled. “I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but the shares themselves haven’t devaluated. The way it works is very involved. However, if you reinvested the monies received from the sale into blue-chip stock, your dividends would be much bigger than what you’re receiving now. I’m sure you would find that a welcome relief, especially when you need income for your little store, here. And you do deserve a better return for your investment than what M & L can offer. I will be quite frank with you, too. It would be an advantage for me to own the shares, so I can maximize their potential. Having only a proxy vote when you’re absent makes them a bit of an albatross for me.”

Here it was, she thought. The perfect opportunity to get rid of the shares. Hadn’t she been ready to give the damn things away ten minutes ago? And Ned really was the perfect person to have them. After all, he’d had their voting power for several years now. Certainly he deserved to buy them, if he wanted to. And he obviously did want to. With one word, all this mess with the shares would be over.

But Ned’s whole attitude irritated her. Her “little store,” she thought angrily, and “too involved
to explain.” Dallas had said Ned thought she was an idiot, and now she had the proof of that. Something else about Ned’s visit niggled at her, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“No, thank you, Ned,” she said, not at all surprised by her answer. “I … they were a gift from my grandfather,” she finished lamely.

He frowned at her. “Really, Cassandra. You’re being very silly.”

Before she could get out a sharp retort, a familiar voice came from behind her.

“I doubt that.”

Cass closed her eyes, feeling as if she were suddenly caught in a grinder. Dammit, she thought. Why hadn’t she realized that Dallas might not leave? The mess in the store was nothing, compared to the one she had on her hands now. She opened her eyes to find Ned’s reaction not quite the one she’d been dreading.

Although his eyes were wide, he wasn’t staring in open-mouthed shock. Instead he was glaring at Dallas.

“You seem to have lost your way, Carter,” Ned began in stiff, outraged tones. “You are supposed to be in Europe, negotiating new business for the company. I do believe that’s what you were hired for.”

Cass finally glanced at Dallas, who was standing in the storeroom doorway.

“You should know, Ned,” he replied with an easy smile. “You were the one who hired me.”

“I’m beginning to think your reputation is vastly overrated,” Ned said, positively glowering.

Dallas chuckled and leaned his shoulder against
the doorjamb in a totally comfortable pose. His eyes were hard, giving Cass the distinct impression that he was deliberately being nonchalant to aggravate Ned.

“Oh, I don’t know, Ned,” he replied. “Rumor has it that reputations are earned. I try very hard to earn mine. Very hard.”

The stony expression on Ned’s face never once changed as he glanced first at her, then at Dallas. Cass suddenly felt like a traitor. Despite her anger with the man a few minutes earlier, he didn’t deserve this. She knew, though, that nothing could innocently explain Dallas’s being here with her. She stared down at the floor.

The terrible silence continued for one full minute; then Ned whirled on his heel and stalked away. Looking up, Cass winced when she saw him trip over the edge of a two-by-four, tearing a hole in his elegant trousers and completely shredding his dignified leave-taking. He kicked impotently at the wood before continuing past the workmen and out the front door. He slammed it with such force that one of the panes shattered.

Oblivious to the others in the room, Cass furiously jerked around to Dallas. “Where the hell did you come from?”

He raised his eyebrows. “From the back, where else?”

“That wasn’t what I meant!” she exclaimed. “How dare you come in like that? Lord only knows what poor Ned thinks now!”

“ ‘Poor’ Ned damn well better be thinking what he’s supposed to be thinking,” Dallas said in a low, stiff voice.

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” she demanded, stalking over to him.

He gazed down at her and smiled. “That your shares are not for sale.”

The fight suddenly went out of her, and she rubbed her temples. “You heard that part.”

“I heard everything.”

“That doesn’t mean what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking it means you’re fighting for what’s yours.” He laughed. “Hell, you were as business-bland as they come. You didn’t give away a thing.”

“There was nothing to give away, so don’t act so pleased with yourself,” she muttered. “I just wasn’t interested in selling the shares, that’s all.”

“It was enough.” He took her arm. “I’m sorry about what happened outside, Cass. You’re under pressure, and I had no right to add to it.”

She glared at him. “Of course you apologize now,
after
you heard everything with Ned.”

“Cass, dammit!” He was nearly shouting. “My apologizing has nothing to do with Ned! I love you, and I acted like a complete jerk out there, and I’m damn sorry I did!”

The words instantly dispelled her anger. She stared at him … then uttered a barnyard curse.

Dallas made a face. “Not exactly the emotional response I was hoping for.”

“You certainly know how to complicate matters,” she said, blinking back tears of joy and despair.

“It’s my specialty.” He paused for a moment and brushed her hair back behind her ear with a gentle hand. “Would you prefer to forget I said it?”

“I … no.” She sagged against him, and he
wrapped his arms around her. “What am I going to do with you?”

“I could make several suggestions.”

She cleared her throat. “Would you be upset if I weren’t up to any of them? Right now I’m feeling confused and rotten. I just want to wallow in my misery.”

He chuckled. “I think you’ve had enough for one day. I’ll take you home, and you can wallow in a nice hot tub at the same time.”

“I can’t,” she said, raising her head. “The workmen have to be supervised—”

“Cass, you’ve been getting in their way for the past few days. Why don’t you cut them a break.”

“But the store—”

“—will be fine,” he finished. “And Jean will be back from Hammonton with those new display stands in a while. She can handle things here.”

She was too drained of energy to argue, and had enough sense to know she’d lose anyway.

Dallas cursed silently and thoroughly as he drove a quiet Cass home.

He could think of a thousand romantic ways for a man to tell a woman he loved her. Unfortunately, yelling in fury wasn’t on the list.