The Tycoon's Tender Triumph (2 page)

Chloe really didn’t want to talk about him.  “
As for his wealth, I think it’s a little bit crass to wonder about someone’s net worth, don’t you think?  Does he own half of Texas? 
Who knows?  Probably half of the country but I’m not interested in keeping track of him
or his material assets
.”

David w
asn’t relenting on the subject.  “H
ow can he be your father’s next door neighbor?  Doesn’t he run businesses all over the world?”

She couldn’t get him off the subject of the one person she hated talking about more than anyone else in the world.  “
David
, I have no idea what he does or why he does it.  Remember, I only lived in
Texas
during my summer breaks.  All the rest of the time, I lived with my mom in
Boston
. 
My mom and dad
never spoke after I was three years old, only communicating through lawyers.  So what is in those letters, I have no idea.  No
r will I ever know because I don’t need to
read them
.
  I’m not interested.
”

David
was obviously not convinced about the pointlessness of those letters.  “Yeah, but Chloe, he sent them personally.  I would think that one of the richest men in the world sending you something
like that
would arouse mild curiosity.”

She turned back from him to pull two cups out of the cabinet.  “Nope.  I don’t care about him.  I don’t trust him.”

David
choked on his response.  “Don’t trust him?” he parroted.  “How can you not trust him?  What on
earth could be untrustworthy about
the man?  He’s a financial genius.  He made billionaire status about ten years ago from nothing,” he explained, obviously in awe of the man.  “Newspapers describe him as some kind of
k
ing of the financial jungle.  He consults with governments before he moves his money because of the impact those kinds of changes could potentially make on their economies.”

“Again,” she said, becoming irritated with the subject, “what does this have to do with me?” she asked.

David
just looked at her as if she’d grown a second and third head.  He was so obviously horrified that she almost laughed.  Almost.  If it had been any other subject, she would have but Sam Marchant was not an amusing subject.  “
David
, can we get back to our evening?” she coaxed, pouring him a cup of coffee with cream, just the way he liked it.  “I don’t think anything in those letters is important enough to ruin our
night
together.”

She led him over to the loveseat, a sofa being too large to fit in her tiny apartment. 

He allowed her to seat him, then turned to face her.  “You’re right,” he said, a touch nervously. 
He took her coffee cup and placed it on the small table.  Taking her
hands in his, he put them on his
shoulders. 

Chloe watched with detached interest as
David
positioned her exactly as he wanted her.  His head
then slowly
ben
t towards hers, his lips touching
hers tentatively.  When she didn’t pull back, he increased the pressure, caressing her lips with
a practiced
touch. 

Nothing, she thought to herself.  She felt no excitement, no joy.  Nothing at all. 

Chloe opened her mouth, thinking that perhaps she just needed a more intensified version of his kiss.  Her tongue touched his gently and his reaction was instantaneous.  He groaned and pushed her backwards, his mouth pressing against hers, his tongue searching and exploring. 

She tried to get into the kiss.  She closed her eyes and desperately tried to get into the spirit of the moment.  But all she felt was a mild irritation that his tongue was inside her mouth.  In desperation, she increased the pressure, pushing her body against his and almost jerked back when she felt his erection against her body.  She wasn’t scared of it, she just didn’t want to encourage him in that way. 

But he noticed her reaction and pulled away slightly, moving his mouth to her neck.  “Don’t be afraid, Chloe,” he groaned against her skin while she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.  “
It’s
just natural.  We’ve been seeing each other for three months now and all you’ve allowed is a gentle kiss,” he said, laughing almost to himself.  “The fact that you’re letting me touch you now makes me feel as if you’re ready for the next step,” he said, his hand moving from her back to her stomach, then slightly higher.

Reach
ing up, she pulled his hand away from
its
obvious path towards her breast
, but didn’t stop his mouth.  Instead, she pressed harder, willing herself to feel something, to stop thinking and just let go. 

When the knock sounded on her door, she almost sighed with relief. 
David
sat up and looked around, dazed.  “Who would be coming for a visit at this time of night?” he asked, frustration obvious in his glare as he pulled himself up to a sitting position. 

Something about the impatient knock made Chloe wary.  It couldn’t possibly be….could it?  Scoffing at her own silliness, she stood up and started walking to the door to answer it.  It was just that they had been talking about Sam that he was on her mind.  He wasn’t standing beyond the door waiting for her, she
mentally chided
herself.  He wouldn’t fly all this way.  The man was known for living on his ranch and rarely leaving it, forcing the rest of the world to come to him. 

“
It’s
probably just Suzanne.  She had a hot date tonight and
probably
wants to share,” Chloe forced herself to laugh.  She was relieved to be out of his embrace
but didn’t want him to know that
.  Wishing it were so wouldn’t make it, she told herself.  If the past fifteen minutes had convinced her of anything, she accepted that she’d have to break up with
David
.  He was too nice to waste his time on her when she didn’t feel anything other than mild friendship toward him.  She had to be fair and let him go out and find someone that could make him happy and return his feelings.

“Well, get rid of her so we can get back to our hot date,” he teased as her hand settled on her door handle.  Chloe glanced back at him, wondering if he could really be
completely
unaware of her lack of response to his kisses.  When he wiggled his eyebrows at her, she knew that he
was
oblivious
. 
Astonishingly, h
e had no idea that she
felt nothing when he kissed her.

Her distraction over his comments made her forget to check through the peep hole before opening the door.  If she had, she would never have ope
ned it
.  As it was, she stood there, staring at the tall man blocking out the hallway lights with his enormous size. 

Sam Marchant was here?  In
New York
?  What on earth? 
She closed her eyes and opened them again, hoping he would simply disappear.  But he didn’t.  In fact, one dark eyebrow went up in amusement at her attempt and that’s when Chloe knew he was real. 

“Are you going to invite me in?” his deep voice asked.  Instead of waiting, he simply pushed his way through the door, making Chloe plaster herself against the wall as he passed by since there wasn’t enough space in the tiny hallway. 

“What are you doing here?” she breathed, following
behind
him
, her mind unable to figure out a way to circumvent his invasion into her precious sanctuary
. 
Her only thought was to karate chop him somehow that would knock him out, then she could drag him to the door and kick it shut, with him on the other side. 

The only problem with that little scenario was that, number one, she didn’t know karate.  And number two, if he fell onto the floor, he’d still be there when he woke up because the man was just too huge for her to drag.  The top of her head barely reach
ed
his shoulder and he had muscles everywhere, adding bulk to his height.  Not an ounce of fat, she noted silently.  The man definitely kept in shape. 

She arrived just in time for
David
to be rising from the loveseat, shock on his face as he registered who was now in front of him.  “Sam Marchant?”
David
said, his voice filled with awe and reverence. 

“Evenin’,” Sam said, his
Texas
drawl making the word come out more lyrical than normal.   He stuck out his hand.  “And you are?” Sam asked. 

Chloe was confused.  Was that hostility in Sam’s voice?  Impossible, she told herself as she snuck around to stand beside
David
, wanting to show Sam that she’d moved on and he had no business coming here. 

“Good grief,”
David
was saying, shaking Sam’s hand with embarrassing enthusiasm.  “Chloe and I were just talking about you earlier.”

Sam looked down at Chloe, his expression unreadable.  “Is that right?” he asked when she started squirming under his intense gaze.  “What was the conversation about?” he asked. 

“The letters,”
David
said
, pointing lamely towards the counter where they were now neatly stacked
.

“Nothing,” Chloe said at the same time, hoping to find out what Sam wanted and get him out of her apartment.  She’d always thought it was tiny but with Sam in it, his broad shoulders and enormous height seemed to take up all the remaining space.  He overwhelmed her with his presence and made her feel uncomfortable, irritated.  “Sam, what can I do for you?  I know you’re extremely busy and probably have to get back to
Texas
quickly, don’t you?”

“We have business to discuss.”  He glanced at
David
and continued, “Privately.”

Chloe hated the way his voice felt on her skin.  It was like liquid chocolate, melting and taking her breath away.  Shaking her head, she said, “Sam, I don’t know what it is, but
David
and I have no secrets from each other.”

Sam’s gaze slid away from hers and focused on
David
who quickly got the message.  “Um…Chloe,” he said, obviously nervous of Sam’s intimidating gaze, not to mention the seemingly threatening body language, “I’ll just call you tomorrow.”  He quickly picked up his coat from the chair where he’d thrown in earlier.  “You obviously have things to discuss and I’ll just be in the way.”  He bent down to peck her cheek, then hurried out the door.

As soon as the door closed, Sam pulled off his coat, then turned to face her, his arms crossed over his massive chest.  “You’ve been ignoring me, Chloe,” he said.  His voice was calm, soft even, but she heard the note of steel in his tone.  He was reprimanding her and she bristled at the implication. 

“Yes.  I have,” she said, and because she needed something to do with her hands, she picked up the two cups of barely touched coffee and carried them to the kitchen, dumping the contents down the sink. 

“Why?” he asked.

She shrugged, not willing to turn back to face him so she dumped the coffee from the pot down the drain as well, hoping he’d get the message that he wasn’t welcome here. 

“You didn’t read any of my letters,” he said and it was a statement, not a question.  Chloe then realized that
David
had probably left the letters on the counter
instead of tucked into her stack of papers she kept on the corner
.  Glancing behind her, sure enough,
Sam
had all of his unopened letters in his large, dark hand. 

Trying to feign indifference, she shrugged her shoulders.  “I haven’t gotten around to them yet.  Are they important?”

“And my phone calls?” he asked, pressing the button on her answering machine.  Instantly, his voice came through the speakers and Chloe almost groaned as she heard his voice explain that he’d be coming into town to talk with her.  If she’d only listened to his message, she could have been gone tonight.  And all the other times he tried to contact her.