The Tycoon's Tender Triumph (4 page)

She should have known better.  He took up the dare and walked into her
bathroom
.  Instead of trying to figure out what she needed, he simply started throwing each of her toiletries into the suitcase.  One after the other, she saw the missiles fly from her bathroom to the suitcase, not a single one missing the target.  Shampoo, conditioner, mascara, ten different colors of lipstick – she really liked having
lots of
colors
to choose from -
hair brush, comb, hair spray… one after another, they all landed with a soft thump on top of her clothes.  When her bathroom was empty, he walked out and zipped it shut. 

Then he
straightened
and walked over to where she was fuming.  He stopped less than an inch from her, looking down into her furious face. 
“If you need anything else, you’d better get it now because we won’t be back for a while.”

She couldn’t help taking a step backwards but the wall of her bedroom stopped further retreat. 
“Sam, you’re not going to kidnap me.  Just get out of my apartment right now!”
Why she kept making that command was beyond her since he
repeatedly
ignored her, but she kept thinking eventually he’d get the message.

In response, he shook his head and tossed her over his shoulder.  With a squeak, she realized that her head was leaning against his back and he had one hand on her bottom to steady her.  Fire roared through her system at his touch and she could barely speak as he pocketed her keys that had been left on the counter, then grabbed her suitcase
and purse, before
walking
down the hallway. 

Three minutes later, he dumped
her in the passenger seat of a powerful black car
and
stored her suitcase in the back of the trunk.  Seeing her chance, she stepped out of the car and got back up onto the sidewalk.  “Sam Marchant, you give me my keys right now or I’m going to call the police!”

In response, he slowly walked over to her, standing less than an inch from her, trapping her between the car and his large, masculine body.  “Chloe, you’re pretty stubborn but I’ve got news for you, darlin’,” he replied as one of his
calloused
fingers caressed her cheek gently, “I’m worse.  If you’d just relax, we could get this business out of the way and be done with it.  Stop fighting me and everything will be fine.”

She could barely think with him this close but she wasn’t going to let him know that.  But she
was completely flustered and trying to hide it. 
She could only react and she hated the way her body burned when he touched her.  She
resented
the power he had over her. 
Especially since she knew that other women, women who were much more beautiful and confident than her, were probably sharing his bed.  She couldn’t compete with them and didn’t want him to think she even wanted to. 

“Sam, don’t do this to me,” she whispered, her eyes looking away
but since he was so huge, so muscular, she had to strain to look to the right or left.  Instead, she looked straight ahead, which meant she was looking directly at the button on the middle of his jacket
.  “I’ll catch a flight down this weekend.  I’ll see wh
at’s going on with my father and his
ranch and you don’t have to worry about this at all.”
  She accidentally looked up at his face when she finished speaking, hoping, praying that her words would make a difference and she’d be released. 

Unfortunately, looking up at his face was a bad mistake. 
His smile made her heart flutter frantically.  “Worry?  I’d hardly call what I’m feeling right now worrying but that’s beside the point.  Regardless, there’s no need to wait for this weekend.  I have my plane standing by at the ai
r
port, you’re packed and we’re leaving.  Now what do I have to do to get you into that car?”

“You can’t…” she started to say but then his mouth covered hers and she couldn’t think anymore much less speak. 

And damn him!  This kiss was nothing like the one she’d shared with
David
earlier in the eve
n
ing.  This was fire and ice and everything in between.  His lips were hot, demanding, not asking for permission but forcing her mouth open so his tongue could mate with hers.  And unlike earlier with
David
, she didn’t have to pretend.  She was melting, literally unable to pull her body away from his.  It was like he was a magnet and her whole body was
molten
steel and she couldn’t deny the physical force that was pulling her body against his.  She felt his hands settle against her, one on her back, the other holding the back of her head, angling it so he could deepen the kiss. 

When he was sure she wouldn’t pull away, the hand holding her head moved downward and suddenly, she was lifted against the car, her hips cradling him as he wedged his knee between her legs. 

Her whole body was trembling and her arms were no longer passive.  They were in his hair, gripping the soft, black strands as if letting go might loosen the intensity of the kiss.  Each time he lifted his head to angle another way, nibble on her lip, then come back for more, she inhaled deeply, her body desperate for air but unwilling to pull away herself and get it. 

Her hips, moving of their own accord, lifted, cradling him more intimately, feeling the pressure of his erection.  If Chloe had been able to move, her head would have fallen backwards against the hood of the truck.  Such was the intensity of the feelings his body was having against hers.  She’d kissed and made out with boys in the past, but none had even come close to comparing to the way Sam could make her feel.  She couldn’t think, couldn’t move except to shift restlessly against him, needing something she didn’t really understand. 

And then he was gone.  Just as suddenly as he kissed her, he pulled free, letting her slide down to the ground again.  His hands on her back pulled her close, but only so he could open the car door and settle her kiss drugged body into the passenger seat
, strapping the seat belt across her for safety
. 

In a daze she watched him walk around the hood of the car, then settle his large frame next to hers.  And he was driving off before she could react, before she even realized she should be jumping out of the car, screaming and hiding in some place safe, where he couldn’t get to her anymore. 

He didn’t pause until they reached the airport and Chloe gritted her teeth in frustration when several security guards simply waved his car through the gates.  She realized that basically no one could stop this man, especially not her. 

When they parked on the tarmac, he turned off the engine and turned to face her.  “Am I going to have as much trouble getting you on that plane as I did getting you into this car?” he asked softly, the lights from the airport shining through. 

Chloe refused to look at him, she was sti
ll so angry and embarrassed.  “L
eave me alone, Sam,” she said and yanked open the passenger seat door.  She stepped out, more furious when she heard his deep chuckle come across the soft leather seats. 

“Pity,” was all he said as he got out of the car himself and followed her onto the plane. 

Chloe stomped up the metal stairs, irritated beyond anything she’d ever felt in her life.  She tried to smile at the stewardess who greeted her, but she was afraid her response was more of a growl than a polite reply. 

Sitting down in one of the luxurious leather seats, she stared out the window, refusing to even speak to Sam as he boarded and nodded politely to the flight attendant.  The woman practically gushed at him as he took his seat opposite her.  He declined the offer of refreshment and simply told her that they could take off immediately. 

Chloe wished she could tell him that they had to wait in line like the rest of the world, but apparently that wasn’t the case.  She heard the pilot call on the radio to the air traffic controllers who immediately gave the plane containing the great Sam Marchant right of way.  They were airborne literally minutes after
he boarded.  And moments after that, his phone was ringing and he was busy working on some sort of multi million dollar deal, spouting numbers that were incomprehensible to her mind. 

Since it was already late to begin with, and adding into the mix her overwrought emotions, it was no wonder that Chloe’s eyes started to droop.  She fought her exhaustion for only a few minutes before giving in to the lure of sleeplessness.  She didn’t feel the back of her chair being lowered, or the bottom of her chair being raised so it was more of a bed than a chair.  And when the soft blanket was draped over her, she could only snuggle closer to the welcome warmth. 

A lon
g time later, Sam turned off his
cell phone and leaned back in the leather chair, content to simply stare at Chloe and consider the evening.  She was here, but damn if his body wasn’t protesting the lack of her body snuggled against his.  His erection had started the moment he’d walked into her apartment and had only intensified with that kiss.  He remembered
that kiss by the car
and almost cursed. 

She was his responsibility.  He’d promised her father that he’d take care of her, get her out of that horrible job and get her back to
Texas
where he thought she belonged.  Chloe’s father, Jim, had his plan all worked out. 
What Jim hadn’t anticipated was the independent pride and stubbornness
his daughter had inherited. 

Sam had to agree that
, from the letters she’d written over the past few years,
Chloe sounded miserable working for the advertising agency in
New York
.  But all the insight he had was through her father which, by its very nature, was tainted.  The dark circles under her eyes and the miniscule apartment she lived in would add credence to Jim’s opinion, but who knew what was going on in Chloe’s mind? 
She was a beautiful woman with her soft brown hair his hands were aching to feel once again and that soft, peach like skin with a healthy glow.  Her gorgeous complexion was noticeable now that her eyes were closed but when they were open, no one noticed
anything but her stunning brown
eyes with their cat-like slant. 

When Chloe looked at him, it felt like he’d been punched in the gut and all he wanted to do was to kiss her so she was as crazy as he always felt around her. 

He liked looking at her and with her eyes closed in sleep, he fed his hungry eyes on her soft, full lips, her perfect skin and unbelievably long lashes.  He’d taken the pins out of her hair and the long, brown tresses were draped over her shoulder, curling around the full breast underneath the cream silk blouse. 

He wanted her.  Painfully.  And after that explosive kiss in the parking lot, he knew that she wanted him as well.  He’d have to work slowly though.  Take it carefully.  She seemed to be a little spitfire but he didn’t mind that at all.  As long as all that passion and anger were directed at him. 

He frowned, remembering the shorter man he’d found in her apartment earlier.  As soon as he’d seen the man, Sam had wanted to smash his face in.  Controlling the rage that someone was touching his Chloe, and he acknowledged to himself that that was the way he’d always thought of her
ever since he’d seen her in college
, he tamped down the jealousy.  At
eighteen
, she’d been way too young for him.  She’d needed to go out into the world, find out what she liked and disliked and then, when she was older, he’d try those waters again and see if she was still interested.
He hadn’t been able to resist seeing her every few months though.  He’d taken her out to dinner, watched her laughed and made sure she was okay. 

He’d said it was for her father, to check in on her and report back to him but that had been an outright lie.  He’d wanted to see for himself, to feast his eyes on her beauty and hear the excitement in her voice as she’d talked about her classes and the activities she’d been enjoying. 

And then she’d stopped accepting his dinner invitations.  At first, he’d thought perhaps she was too busy, but the past few years, he’d wondered if perhaps she’d found a man she could fall in love with.  He’d tried to leave her alone, to find out for herself how life worked. 

But when her father reported that she hadn’t been dating anyone consistently and she sounded so miserable in her job, Sam had decided that enough was enough.  If her father’s accident hadn’t happened, he would have found some way to get her back to Texas.