Forces of Nature (13 page)

“Are you saying I can't stop this?”

Waylon shook his head. “That's what it looks like, son. Dena thinks that I was using her because of her close relationship with Erin and Joel and hates me to this day, but I stopped your father back then.”

“How?”

Waylon rose to his feet and started for the door. “Remember when I took off for a few years?”

Douglas stood as well and nodded. “Yeah, that's when I got to see that Welco was all Dad cared about firsthand.”

“Well, that was my exile so that I couldn't explain to Dena what I'd done and ask her to marry me. I loved that woman and wanted a life with her. Your dad wasn't going to allow that to happen. He took great pleasure in spinning a yarn about why I left. If he couldn't be happy, no one else was going to be happy either.”

“And you didn't feel the need to tell me this? Is that why you wanted me to come back and take over this damn company? So I wouldn't be happy either?”

“No. You know I don't operate like that. I wanted you here because your father was dying. Part of me hoped he'd come clean and make peace with you about everything. And I also knew that Welco wouldn't be the same without a Wellington running things. As much as you hated the corporate world, I knew you could do this.”

“You also knew I didn't want to do this,” Douglas shouted, then grabbed his godfather's arm. “I found something else. Dad kept a diary and it's gone too. How much trouble would Welco be in if that gets out?”

Waylon looked down at Douglas's hand and shook his head. “I'm not sure what the contents of Douglas's diary are, but knowing your father, it's nothing good. He had a lot of animosity toward many people in town. If he recorded that and it falls into the wrong hands, the results could be devastating for the company.”

Douglas dropped his hand and sighed. He wondered if the diary's contents would hurt Crystal as well. Douglas was a bit surprised that he cared more about Crystal's feelings than Welco's stock prices or the reaction of the board. This was not how things were supposed to go.

Crystal paced back and forth in her living room, still reeling from the things her father said about Douglas's dad. He'd wanted the land out of spite, so was Douglas really carrying out his father's plan for vengeance? What about the time they'd spent together? Was he like his godfather, who according to Dena would use a woman's heart to get what he wanted? Had she been a big fool and now needed Mommy and Daddy to save her?

“This is nuts,” she mumbled. “I don't even know how to bring this up to him. Should I?” Crystal chewed her bottom lip and continued to pace. As she was about to walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water, the doorbell rang, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. She was happy she didn't break another glass.

Crossing over to the door, she wasn't entirely pleased to see Douglas there. “Hi,” he said. “Hope you're ready for dessert.”

Crystal tried to smile, but her heart wasn't in it. “We need to have a serious discussion.”

“I know,” he said as he stepped inside. “With or without chocolate?”

“I think we're going to need all the chocolate in that cake and some wine,” she said as she took the box from his hand and headed into the kitchen. Crystal set the cake on the counter and crossed over to the cabinet to grab a bottle of Chardonnay.

“Got anything stronger?” he asked as she handed him the bottle and corkscrew.

“We don't need anything stronger,” she said. “Douglas, what are we actually doing?”

“I don't know,” he replied honestly, the conversation he had with Waylon replaying in his mind.

“You're the CEO, the boss, just kill the deal,” Crystal pleaded, silently adding,
And prove my dad wrong about you.

“I wish it were that simple,” he moaned.

“What happens now?” she asked. “We have a court date tomorrow and one of us is going to be unhappy about the outcome.”

Douglas sighed and took a sip of the wine. “That's true. Are we going to be able to separate business and pleasure or are we going to be like Batman and Catwoman?”

“Catwoman?”

He set his wineglass down and tilted his head to the side. “I'd love to see you in leather with a whip.”

Crystal raised her eyebrow at him. “You're disgusting,” she said, then broke out in laughter.

Douglas wished things could remain that way between them. She was going to hate him when the court case played out because he couldn't back away from the site now, not until he got to the bottom of why his father wanted Hughes Farm so badly. He needed to find that diary. If for no other reason than to show the board that this had been a bad idea because of his father's inane hatred for the Hughes family.

“Are you going to cut the cake or stand here and look at it?” she asked after catching his gaze.

“Let's take it outside. You were supposed to show me some mythical place here on the farm,” he said.

“All right,” she said, licking her lips and making Douglas's teeth chatter with longing. “I'll get a blanket and you cut two big slices of cake.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said, offering her a mock salute.

When Crystal dashed down the hall, Douglas couldn't take his eyes off her shapely backside, couldn't stop staring at her long legs. She was exquisite.

“Ready?” she asked when she returned to the kitchen with a blanket. “And you might want to leave those loafers here.”

Douglas looked down at his shoes and then caught a glimpse of Crystal's bare feet. The red polish on her toes made him think of cherries and he wanted nothing more than to lick and suck her perfect toes.

When she noticed that he wasn't taking his shoes off, Crystal shrugged her shoulders. “Suit yourself, but it's going to be really hard to get that dirt and mud off your thousand-dollar shoes.”

“And how do you know they were a thousand dollars?” he asked as he kicked them off.

“Because anything less would be so unlike you.”

“Is that so?” he said as he placed the shoes in the corner.

“You are the picture of a silver spoon boy,” Crystal retorted as she opened the back door. She stopped short and Douglas's hot body pressed against her and she gasped when he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I guess it's a good thing I forgot the cake on the counter or I'd have to lick chocolate from your neck and back.”

She turned around quickly, poised to say something, but Douglas took advantage of having her in his arms and kissed her—slow, deep, passionate. Crystal held him tightly as she sucked his sweet tongue and moaned. This, she told herself, would be the last time she would be able to kiss him like this. The last time they could give in to passion without thinking about consequences.

Douglas broke the kiss and stared deep into her eyes. “Crystal,” he intoned. “We'd better get out of here before I turn around and take you back to your bedroom and never let you go.”

Turning her head away from him, she said, “Get the cake.” Crystal wished she could allow him to take her into her bedroom and hide away from the court case, the personal vendettas, and her parents. Her parents! They couldn't find Douglas on the farm. Not after what her dad told her. The last thing she'd be able to explain to them was how she fell in love with the enemy.

But was he really her enemy? Maybe Douglas was simply doing the same thing she was doing—carrying on a family legacy. But why did the two things their families wanted mean they couldn't have each other?

Douglas opened the door and grabbed the cake while Crystal chewed her bottom lip and stared off into the woods. “Are you all right?” he asked, putting an arm around her shoulder.

“Douglas, we're fighting a losing battle. I can't fall in love with you at night and fight you in court during the day,” she said as they walked slowly.

“So, what are you saying?”

“This is the end,” she said. “This weekend was a wonderful distraction, but I can't let you stop me from saving my family's land.”

“I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to stop you. But the truth of the matter is, I don't want to lose you either.”

“Then stop this madness. You can't have me and my land,” she said. “Stop right here.”

Douglas glanced around the rose garden, inhaling the fragrant perfume of the flowers and smiling. “I guess a man should never send you roses to impress you.”

“If a man wants to impress me, all he has to do is understand my love for this land.”

Douglas sighed. “Can we simply eat the cake? Nothing can change today. Trust me, I've tried.”

Crystal, against her better judgment, unfurled the blanket and sat down. Douglas joined her and reached over and pulled a rose from a bush.

“Cutting roses is prohibited in the garden,” she said when she took it from his hand.

“Is that why you have a vase full every morning?” he asked, grinning.

God, why did he have to have such amazing dimples? Crystal turned away from him and grabbed the cake slices. “I can do that,” she said as she broke off a piece of the cake. Douglas leaned in and sucked the cake from her fingers.

“Hey!” she exclaimed as he licked the chocolate icing from her finger. “Ooh, you shouldn't do that.”

“The icing is the best part,” he said, then reached for a piece of cake and brushed it across her lips. “Now, let me get a taste of that.” He leaned into her and slowly licked the chocolate from her lips. Then he nibbled her bottom lip, causing her to moan and forget about eating the cake. Douglas leaned her back on the plush blanket, breaking the kiss and stroking her cheek.

“If this is the end for us, then shouldn't we make it count?” he asked as he nimbly unbuttoned her blouse.

Before Crystal could protest or push away his hand, Douglas's hot mouth covered her breast. She silently chided herself for not wearing a bra and that lasted about thirty seconds before she gave in to the pleasure of his tongue. Douglas eased his hand between her thighs, touching her femininity through her wet panties. She screamed his name and arched her hips into his touch. He pushed the crotch of her panties to the side and slipped his finger between her wet folds of flesh until he found her throbbing pearl. Leaning into her, he replaced his finger with his tongue, licking, sucking, and kissing her passionately until she howled in delight.

Grasping the back of his head, Crystal expelled a satisfied sigh as she exploded from the inside. “Don't stop,” she cried.

“I'm just getting started,” he said as he took a brief break from tasting her sweetness. “Lift your hips.” Crystal followed his command and Douglas slipped her panties off, stashing them in his pocket. Then he quickly shrugged out of his slacks and wrapped her legs around his waist. The moment he felt her wetness against the tip of his erection, Douglas wanted to bury himself deep inside her and forget the court case, forget the business park, and forget everything but the woman in his arms.

“I need you,” she moaned. “Want you.”

Douglas responded with a hot kiss, covering her mouth with his and drawing her tongue into his mouth. She pressed her body against his and he forgot about protection. He spread her thighs and pressed into her. Reveling in the hot wetness between her thighs, drowning deep in the flesh to flesh contact. Her moans punctuated the air as Douglas pumped in and out. She matched his strokes, adding a twist or grind to make him scream out her name. Crystal wowed him, thrilled him, and made his toes curl. And as much as he knew he needed to pull back, needed to pull out, he couldn't and wouldn't. He reached his climax inside her, unprotected. Douglas had never been so reckless, so careless, and so calm. He even thought about seeing Crystal's belly swelled with his son or daughter. He'd never had those thoughts about a woman—ever.

Crystal, on the other hand, was mortified. Had she really just had unprotected sex with Douglas? With a man who she was sure had his share of women all over the county and possibly the country? “Why didn't you protect us?” she demanded as she punched him in the center of his chest.

“Look,” he exclaimed as he grabbed her wrist when she went to slug him again. “I just had an insurance physical a month ago and I have a clean bill of health.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don't imagine you were told that you're sterile.”

Douglas shook his head and chuckled softly. “What about you? Healthy and sterile?”

“I'm healthy, but that's not the point. I don't want to have your baby,” she exclaimed as she pushed him off her and rose to her feet quickly. For a moment, she'd forgotten that she was naked. “This is not good.”