The Tycoon's Tender Triumph (16 page)

Initially Chloe had been adamant that there would be no way she would display her pictures.  At least not yet.  But as
Joe
talked, and the way he looked at her pictures, she started to re-evaluate her position.  Isn’t this what she and Sam had been working on for the past week?  And if she displayed them here in the restaurant, she wouldn’t need the overhead expense of a private gallery.  She could give back most of what Sam had wanted to invest.  She could do this more on her own and be much more independent.  Same would never need to know what she was up to. 
Her only real investment would be some quirky picture frames to capture the patrons’ attention and maybe one or two of her photographs would sell. 

And even better, Sam
would never see her pictures.  No one would need to know that she was the artist.  She could come up with a pseudonym and hide her identity.  If anyone were to
criticize
her pictures, it would be much easier to shrug off their hurtful comments and go on about her business. 

If she could do this anonymously, failure would be much easier to swallow. 

But success would also be much sweeter, she thought. 

“I don’t know,” she said, carefully hiding her precious pictures back into the package.  “I’m not sure I’m ready.”

The waitress shook her head
, glancing down at the
pictures Joe
was still sorting through
. “Honey, you’re ready.”

Joe
chuckled. “How about this.  You let me hang your stuff up here for one month and if nothing sells, no one will know anything about it.  You don’t even have to use your real name if you want to remain anonymous.  Although, I can
guarantee
that these pictures will sell.”

Those were exactly the thoughts she’d just been sifting through in her mind. 
Chloe couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  Did she want others to see her photographs?  Was she ready for
that
kind of vulnerability?  

“Can I think about it?” 

Joe
smiled and patted her hand.  “Absolutely.  Why don’t you give me a call tomorrow and we’ll talk more.  Here’s my card,” he said and fished one out of his shirt pocket
, still overflowing with pens, more cards and even a teaspoon measurer
.  “I can tell this is a new idea for you.  Trust me, you’re ready.” 

With that, he shoved away from the table and walked away after winking at Chloe.  “Lunch is on the house,” he said and Debbie nodded her head in agreement.  “Incentive,” she whispered to Chloe. 

Chloe at
e
a
sandwich, but wasn’t sure what had been between the bread.  She was so overwhelmed at the idea of someone buying her pictures that her mind was completely focused on th
at.  She drove back to Sam’s
that
afternoon in a complete daze, and didn’t even mind when Sam brushed by her, telling her
they needed to talk
. 

She ig
nored him, of course, and went down the hallway
to visit with her father.  But after a thirty minute conversation, she walked out to feed the animals and had no idea what
she and her father had
discussed.  She walked to the
stable
, unknowing that she had a smile on her face and the color in her cheeks was higher than normal.  Sam noticed though.  He watched her as she went from stall to stall, putting feed into the water troughs and water into the oats buckets.  She cleaned out ten of the stalls before she realized that she’d done more than she needed to, then went back to nuzzle the horse’s muzzles, giving them the attention they were craving. 

When she saddled up
Cinnamon
, Sam wasn’t sure what he should do.  He was worried that she might fall off her horse while riding like this, so he quickly saddled up Damian and followed her.  He started to get angry when she didn’t even realize she was being followed.  What was going on in that pretty little head of hers?  Where had she gone this afternoon? 

The more he thought about it and followed her through the pathways, the more he thought that perhaps she’d met a guy in town.  Someone she really liked.  And he really didn’t like the idea of her finding another man.  Dammit!  She was suppo
s
ed to be here!  In his house and falling for him!  What the hell was she doing going after some other guy? 

He followed her all the way back to the
stable
, becoming more and more agitated with each step.  The fool woman was going to get herself killed, he thought as he followed her into the
stable
. 

He jumped off his horse and hurried over to her. 

“Where did you go this afternoon?” he demanded, grabbing the brush she’d been using to brush down Cinnamon.  He started working the horse for her, needing the outlet. 

Chloe almost fell onto the bale of hay as she watched in fascination as Sam’s strong hand stroked down the horse, soothing the muscles with one hand after the brush stroke. 
Half of her mind watched, wishing he could do that to her, while the other half was still sifting through her photographs, trying to figure
out which she should allow Joe
and Debbie to display. 

Sam finally turned around when
she didn’t respond to any of his
questions.  The look on her face was dreamy, almost as if she weren’t really here.  The smile was a bit like the Mona Lisa and Sam knew that she had some sort of secret she was hiding from him. 

“I have to go,” Chloe said and walked out of the stall, patting the other horses on the nose as she walked by each of them. 

Back at her father’s house, she tossed her coat over the back of the sofa and poured herself a glass of water.  She wasn’t even aware of Sam pulling up beside her truck and getting out as she looked through the pantry, trying to decide if she was hungry or not. 

“What the hell is going on, Chloe?” Sam demanded, not even bothering to knock as he walked into the house, slamming the door behind her.  “You race out of my house earlier today after dropping that bomb, then you show up this evening looking like you were smoking something funny.”

Chloe laughed.  “You know I wouldn’t ever do anything as stupid as drugs.”

He put his hand
s
on his hips and glared at her.  “Twenty-four hours ago, I would have agreed with you.  So you’d better explain what happened this afternoon and where you’ve been.”

She looked across the family room at him, so tall and strong, so confident it made her knees weak just to look at him.  “You’re very handsome, Sam,”
she replied, not bothering to tell him anything about her afternoon.  But she’d definitely changed.  Her discussion with
Joe
had done something to her and she really liked it. 

She had no idea if the feeling would last, or even if she would go through displaying her photographs in his restaurant, but it was a magical feeling to know that someone else liked her work. 

“Okay, what gives,” he said forcefully, walking towards her and running a hand through his hair.  “You’re driving me nuts, Chloe.”

In response, she reached up and touched his jaw gently, her fingers caressing him and taking her time touching him, experiencing what that scruffy cheek felt like and satisfying her curiosity. 

She was about to let her hand drop but Sam’s larger hand covered hers, keeping her hand in place.  “
I’m not really sure what’s going on here, Chloe.”

She smiled gently, then stood on tip toe and kissed his jaw, the only place she could reach. 

In response, his eyes flared and he took a deep, shuddering breath.  “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” he asked and pulled her closer.

“Yes.”  She didn’t smile but
kissed the middle of his chest, fascinated by the man standing so still.  He’d never been still before and she was taking advantage of the moment.  She moved from his chest to his arms, loving the way the muscles flexed, the way her fingers could make things happen underneath his rough shirt. 

“Chloe!” he growled and picked her up, lifting her so she was eye level with him and her feet were dangling a foot off the ground.  “God help you if you didn’t want this because I can’t stop after your touch,” he explained a moment before his mouth covered hers, ravaging her mouth. 

Chloe wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, clinging to him even as he held her in his strong arms, carrying
her
to her bedroom and laying her down on the bed.  He looked down at her but she wouldn’t let him change his mind.  Her own was made up and she kissed him with everything she had, encouraging him with her mouth, her hands and her body. 

When she felt his body’s reaction, she knew she’d won and there was a not so subtle change in their lovemaking.  Before, she’d been doing all the kissing while he’d participated, but was holding back.  With her body’s permission, he took charge, his body covering hers, pressing her back while his hands explored, pulling her clothes off while his fingers found secret places, smiling slightly when he got a reaction from her, a flinch, a gasp or a moan of pleasure.  He was relentless in his pursuit of her pleasure and when his fingers unbuttoned her jeans, sliding them down her legs, she was pushing them off right along with him, then
pulling him back into her arms. 

As his fingers explored her body, she tried to do the same to him but he was so merciless, she couldn’t focus enough to do anything more than grasp his shoulders as he played her body like a master, eliciting a mixture of gasps and sighs which she didn’t even try to control.  She reveled in the freedom she was feeling right now. 

Sam couldn’t believe what was happening.  Just this morning she’d rushed out of his house, terrified because she’d admitted he made her feel things other men hadn’t been able to make her feel.  Now she was giving him free reign over her beautiful body.  It was like he’d been given a glimpse of heaven and he was going to enjoy it while it lasted, getting answers later from this woman he’d wanted for so long. 

When his fingers slid between her legs, there was no hesitation, no embarrassment and he wondered slightly if he’d misunderstood what she’d told him this morning.  Her reactions were not that of a virgin, although he’d never had sex with one before so he wasn’t a good judge of what was right or wrong.  And more to the point, she was opening for him.  He had to reign in his need when his f
ingers found her warmth, finding
her hot and wet and more than ready for him.  He touched her, exploring her hidden folds while he watched her reactions.  When she closed her eyes and arched into his hand, he just about lost what little control he had.  A moment later, his thumb flicked against her and he had the enormous pleasure of watching this woman splinter apart, fee
ling her climax with his fingers
and seeing the pleasure wash over her face. 

And when the storm subsided, he stood up and tore off his jeans, his body clamoring to be back with her, to feel her against h
is skin but he knew he wouldn’t
last very long.  He’d wanted her for too long and she was more beautiful than he’d imagined. 

When he came back down to the bed, her legs opened for him, just as her arms wrapped around his shoulders.  He’d thought heaven was when he’d watched her a moment ago, but as he slowly slid into her warmth, feeling her close around him and watching her mouth open in surprise as he filled her up, he knew that this had to be the most incredible moment of his life. 

He tried to go slow.  He tried desperately hard to enter her carefully so he wouldn’t hurt her.  But she just felt too good and he couldn’t stop himself when
he moved past her barrier, then
stilled in only mild surprise that she really was a virgin.  His body ached but he forced himself to hold still, letting her own body accustom itself to his size and invasion. 

When he felt her relax, take him deeper by pressing her hips against his own, he knew she’d just given him the signal that she was okay.  He didn’t need anything else at this moment.  Just Chloe and her body wrapped around his.