Authors: Nadia Lee
Natalie kept her voice cool. “I don’t imagine you came all the way out here to call me a bitch or compare notes on what we have or don’t have. What do you want?”
“How could you?”
“Just what I wanted to ask you,” Natalie said. “How could you bring Marcus and his wife to me? That was cruel.”
Belle’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe you’re blaming me for that. They just happened to be there.”
“Naturally.”
“Don’t you try to turn this around. This isn’t about me. It’s about you.” Belle punctuated her last statement by pointing a manicured nail at Natalie’s chest.
“Belle. What you do
want?”
“You hired a private investigator to find out about your past, didn’t you?” Belle said.
“What?”
Belle sneezed. “Do you still have that damn cat?”
“Yes. And you’re lucky he didn’t pee on your sandals. Now, what are you talking about? What PI?”
“Whatever you’re doing is going to hurt Dad.”
That made Natalie pause, but she quickly recovered. It was just like Belle to exaggerate and blame everything from crappy weather to world hunger on her. Natalie had no idea what this private investigation stuff was about, but obviously the only way to find out was going to be to play along. “And you know this…how?”
“I overheard him talking on the phone in his study.”
“You heard one side of a conversation, and you know it was my fault?”
“He specifically mentioned your name. Don’t think I’m stupid. I know you. Always acting like you’re better than all of us.” Belle fluttered her eyelashes and her voice turned falsetto. “I have the highest grade in all my classes, and I didn’t even have to study that hard. And this guy I dated in Europe is
soooooo
interesting. And his family is
soooooo
nice and rich. Very classy and traditional. Do you know his father is an Italian count?” Belle would probably have continued with her impression, but she sneezed.
“I never called you stupid or bragged about my grades or boyfriends.”
“Might as well have.” Belle dug into her purse, pulled out a tissue, and blew her nose. “The thing is, if it weren’t for Mom and Dad adopting you, you’d be nothing!”
“So we’re back to that again?” Natalie compressed her lips. The guilt-trip and the demand for gratitude had been going on ever since she could remember.
“Because you act like you don’t
get it
!”
“Careful, Belle. If anyone hears you scream like that, it could damage Brian’s reputation.”
“You’re the one who’s going to ruin Dad! Stop your investigation before it turns into something more serious.”
“For your information, I didn’t hire anyone. So if someone’s snooping for dirt, it’s not my fault. I don’t even talk to reporters.” Natalie threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t know why everyone wants to blame me for everything, but I’m not the cause of this particular problem. If you want to help Brian, you can start by not barging into my place and making groundless accusations.”
Belle took a single step toward Natalie, giving her a look that was equal parts disdain and disgust. “Just. Call. It. Off.” Then she turned on her heel and left, slamming the door after her.
Natalie took a deep, calming breath and went to the kitchen to put a kettle of water on the stove. The purple flower prints on the cream wall sat like dark shadows.
Now that you know, call off your hounds.
Louise’s comment the day before made more sense now—she also apparently thought Natalie was to blame for the problem and had probably decided to send Belle to make sure she got the message loud and clear. Paranoid, all of them. She hadn’t hired anyone.
The doorbell rang again, and Natalie glanced upward in mute appeal. She briefly debated ignoring it, but Belle would just keep ringing.
She yanked the door open. “
What?
”
“No need to be hostile.” Alex stood in the entryway, with a black shirt covering his V-shaped torso and a pair of dark blue jeans hugging his lean hips. He held up both hands, palms toward her. “I’m not here to make you work.”
Heat rose from Natalie’s neck and spread to her cheeks. “Sorry. I thought you were someone else.” She smoothed her hair and realized that it wasn’t bound. And she didn’t have any makeup on. Great. She stared down at her pink manicured toes. “Umm… What are you doing here?”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by… Is there something on the floor?”
She raised her head. “No, nothing.”
“Okay.” He stood there for a moment. “Are we going to talk out here?”
“Oh, sorry. Come in.”
Matto came out from wherever he had hidden and trotted toward Alex. She shut the door before the cat decided to explore the neighborhood on his own. But he sniffed Alex once and walked away, tail held regally high.
“I was just making tea. Want some?”
“Do you have any coffee? Otherwise, no thanks.”
“Sorry, I don’t.”
On cue, the kettle whistled. She went to the stove, poured herself a mug of green tea, then took it into the living room where she sat on the Turkish rug in front of the coffee table. Alex was examining a set of jade figures on the rosewood shelves. There was something erotically disconcerting about such a dark, masculine figure in her bright, feminine living room.
He pointed at them. “May I?”
She nodded.
His finger skimmed over the scales of the coiled dragon. Two delicate stag antlers grew out of its head, and a red pearl glowed between its teeth. Then he explored the smooth contours of the piece next to it—its tortoise back, snake neck and stag’s hindquarters.
“What’s this called?”
“A
fènhuáng.
I think Americans call it a Chinese phoenix, although it’s nothing like the western version. A dragon and
fènhuáng
set represents a harmonious relationship between a man and a woman.”
“Where did you get it?”
“Hong Kong.”
He smiled. “Kind of whimsical.”
“Maybe.” Natalie sipped her tea. “I thought I would give the dragon to a man I lov—a worthy man.”
Alex picked up the dragon and glanced at her, his expression unreadable. “But you still have it.”
“Yeah. I thought I’d found one, but I was mistaken.”
Marcus had returned it when they’d broken up.
I…well, I never knew what you wanted me to do with it. It doesn’t go very well with my apartment. I guess it’s good that it’s going back to you.
Natalie stared at Alex. The dragon seemed to fit well in his hands, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to give it to anyone now.
His lips curved into a slight smile. “What?”
She hid behind the mug. “Nothing. I was just thinking… Well, it’s just interesting to have the CEO of my company in my living room on a Sunday.” She fidgeted and smoothed her hair. She really wished she’d put on makeup.
“Is that all you see when you look at me?” He came closer and leaned forward. “Your CEO? When I look at you, I see a smart, beautiful, passionate woman.”
Natalie looked at him. She wasn’t particularly embarrassed by what had happened in her adoptive parents’ backyard. Alex was an attractive man. But what if she was doing this on the rebound, or as a selfish act of salvaging her pride after Louise’s vicious words at the party? She didn’t want to be a user.
“Alex…”
“Shh…” He moved closer and placed his index finger in her lips. She closed her mouth. “I could’ve strangled your sister yesterday.”
Oh, I wish you had.
“And Rodale for sneaking you away.”
“Sorry—”
“What’s up between the two of you? Dating or something?” His tone was casual, though his gaze was probing, sharp.
Had Louise said something? Talk about giving the wrong impression. “No, just friends. We’ve known each other for years.”
“I see.”
Natalie relaxed a little bit. Of course he wasn’t going to be like Louise, who insisted on being right no matter what.
“Come on, pack whatever you need for a day and let’s go,” he said.
“Go?”
“Since we can’t seem to do anything without your family interrupting us, I want to take you somewhere private. A small cabin by the place we went yesterday. And no cell phones.”
He held her hand and caressed her palm with the calloused tip of his thumb. She shivered. Amazing that her palm could be so sensitive.
As tempting as his suggestion was, she hesitated.
But the feeling of being desired so intensely…
As if sensing the cause of her indecision, he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll behave.” Then his eyes crinkled slightly. “At least, as much as you want me to.”
“You should let go if you want me to pack,” she managed to say, despite the sudden dryness in her mouth.
He released her, triumph glittering in his eyes, and watched her go to her bedroom.
She didn’t have enough time for full makeup so she settled for powder and lipstick. Moving quickly from bedroom to bathroom to closet, she threw her toiletries, tubes and jars of cosmetics, a change of underwear and a couple of tops and bottoms into a small black duffel bag and returned to the living room.
Matto lay on Alex’s lap while Alex scratched him gently. The cat’s eyes were closed, and he was purring. The sight softened her heart so quickly and so absurdly, she paused there and soaked in the peacefulness, the odd sense of domestic harmony.
It was such a cliché for a woman to fall in love with a man who loved her pet. Of course, she was far too practical to fall for Alex just because he scratched Matto’s ears, but this felt like something faintly ominous—a crack in the wall surrounding her heart. Thunder off on the horizon.
Alex looked up. “I think he likes me.”
“Seems that way,” she said through a small lump in her throat.
He looked at the duffel bag in her hand. “Is that all?”
She nodded.
“Light packer. A woman after my own heart.” He took the bag from her. “After you.”
THE CABIN WAS surprisingly rustic, not at all like the slick modern cottage the Halls owned in British Columbia. It was surrounded by maple and oak trees and had a nice view of the lake.
Alex closed the Mercedes trunk with a soft thud. Natalie turned away from the water and looked at him. Somehow, she was glad he hadn’t driven his Lamborghini. The sun seeped through the gaps between the leaves and dappled his tall figure. He held a bag in each hand, one hers, one his. She couldn’t see his eyes through the dark sunglasses he wore.
The woods were full of small chirps and chitters as they went up to the cabin door. Alex unlocked it and shouldered his way inside. Natalie followed him, her sandals making light tocking sounds as she walked across the wooden floor. The scents of beeswax and pine swirled in the living room as a bit of the outside breeze came in with them. Sunlight poured in like honey through a wide skylight in the sloped roof.
Alex walked to a bedroom on the right and dropped the bags in there. “If you’re hungry, feel free to raid the fridge.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Natalie poked around the place. The living room and the kitchen were surprisingly spacious, with only a rectangular marble-topped island separating them. There wasn’t any formal dining area, although the backyard had a small picnic table and a fairly large herb garden with basil, sage, and rosemary.
Through the gaps in the trees, the lake sparkled like sapphires. She’d thought she would see people around—it was a beautiful place—but only a doe came by to drink, disappearing into the woods after having her fill.
The faint sound of water running in the bathroom sink made her aware of what was to come. Suddenly nervous, she rubbed her palms against the soft fabric of her jeans. A small part of her cautioned against what she was about to do. It wasn’t like her to fall into bed with a man she’d met only a few days ago. Yet no man had been able to break down her defenses so quickly. Alex had been the only one to make her feel truly desirable. Wanted.
And no one before him had stood up for her. Her old boyfriends had been too busy trying to impress her important family.
As she stood leaning against the doorjamb and gazing out at the lake, warm arms came around her from behind. “What are you thinking?” His soft breath tickled her ear, as close and intimate as her own heartbeat.
She tilted her head back until she could look up into his eyes. Gray-blue in this light, they seemed to hold the essence of the man. There was desire, yes, and steel but also something forthright that said he wasn’t making pretty but empty promises—the passion he was offering was all that she was getting.
And it was up to her now. Take it or leave it.
Natalie turned in his embrace until she faced him and tiptoed so she could brush her lips against his. She felt him smile as they kissed. Then his mouth was moving leisurely over hers, his moist, hot tongue licking and tasting.
Impressions came in waves. Overwhelming masculinity. Tightly controlled, raw sexuality. Her hands traveled the vast, hard plane of his back. His tongue probed, penetrated her mouth. Her fingers dug into him.
His big hands skimmed her shoulders, her sides, under her breasts. They branded her through the cotton baby tee she wore. Her nipples hardened, aching for a direct touch.
His fingers circled around her breasts, climbed up the delicate skin, then ran down the length of her spine. She shivered and broke off the kiss.
“Alex.”
Natalie didn’t recognize her own voice. She fought for control as her body remembered yesterday and demanded satisfaction.
He paused.
“Don’t…” Her fingers buried themselves in his hair and pulled his head toward her roughly. “Don’t you dare stop.”
She fused her mouth to his. This time, he didn’t hold back. Maintaining the kiss, he lifted her and carried her back into the cabin’s main room. It seemed about as difficult for him as carrying Matto would have been.
The power in his body stunned her. It was as if she were made of papier-mâché and he of oak. She liked her men strong, but this was almost frightening.
His hands were everywhere, fueling an inextinguishable fire in her. Despite the breeze stirring the air, a thin film of sweat covered her body. He pulled her shirt up and unclasped her bra. His mouth took her nipple, the touch she’d been aching for, and she cried out.