Kaleb (23 page)

Watching
as Travis moved the page before showing her another. This one was more her
style, and it nearly took her breath away. It looked like a computer design of
what they envisioned the resort to look like from the outside. It encompassed
their small Texas town by keeping to the rustic, natural theme. Not quite a log
cabin, but it resembled one on the exterior, yet it seemed remarkably quaint,
which Zoey thought was odd.

When
Travis removed that image, replacing it with several others, she saw the design
for the suites as well as some of the shopping and dining areas. Then, as she
looked on, he revealed the obvious draw for the entire resort.
Two massive, state of the art clubs.
Not just any club
either.

“Holy shit.”
She whispered
,
her mind overwhelmed with images of the
types of people this kind of place would draw to their innocent, unknowing
little town.

“Before
you freak out,” Sawyer
said,
his tone much sharper
than moments before, “have a seat, and we’ll give you some of the details. It
isn’t what you think it is.”

“I
have eyes, Sawyer,” Zoey retorted, “I know what that is.”

“But
you don’t know all of the details yet.” Kaleb chimed in, his posture no longer
reflecting the laid back cowboy she was familiar with. He was leaning forward,
his forearms resting on his desk and his eyes locked with hers.

With
a deep breath, Zoey plopped down in her chair.

“We’ve
acquired two hundred acres already, but I’m looking to have the entrance on the
south side, for two main purposes.” Travis began, his eyes lighting up for the
first time. “The south side will allow us to remain farther away from town, and
it also offers a measure of privacy we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“Privacy?”
Zoey didn’t understand. “This is a resort. Wouldn’t you want to blast its
existence to everyone so they can bring in the money?”

“That’s
where this resort differs.” Sawyer spoke up.

“We
have secured the investors needed to get this place off the ground, and along
with their financial backing, they will be assisting us in understanding how to
run an exclusive, invitation only resort.” Travis added. “We won’t be open to
the public, Zoey.
At least not to the general public.”

Baffled,
Zoey waited for him to continue.

“The
purpose of the resort is for entertainment purposes, of course. But our resort
will be discreet as well as secured.” Sawyer tacked on.

Zoey
glanced back and forth between the three men. She didn’t know what to think
about this, but the images of the clubs told her everything she needed to know
about why they wanted to be discreet about it. “Those are sex clubs.” She
stated the obvious.

No
one
spoke,
all three men just looked at her.

“Do
you even have approval to build that here?”

“We
do.” Kaleb assured her. “Everything is contingent upon securing your father’s
land.”

“My land.”

“What?”
Kaleb asked, looking confused.

“It’s
my land, Kaleb. My father signed it over to me. It’s no longer his decision.
It’s mine.”

♂♀

Kaleb
didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to think. And worst of all, he
didn’t know what Zoey was thinking. She wasn’t animated like she normally was.
In fact, she looked distraught. Ever since she had seen the images of the club
their resort would include, she’d been different.

And
now she was telling him that they had been talking to Carl Stranford for the
better part of six months only to find out the man wasn’t going to make a
decision at all. Now it was up to Zoey?

“What
are you saying, Zoey?” Travis asked, and it didn’t escape Kaleb that he didn’t
use the shortened version of her name that he had given her when she was
younger.

“I’m
saying my father no longer has a say in this matter.” She said smartly, sitting
the coffee cup on the desk.

“Does
that mean you’ve made a decision?” Travis was quickly losing his patience,
Kaleb noticed.

“No,
it doesn’t mean I’ve made a decision.” She said, standing. “But I will. I’m
going to request a little more information from you and you can expect my
answer in one week.”

“A fucking week?”
Travis stood, shoving his chair into the wall behind him. “I’ve been waiting
six fucking months for an answer, and now you’re putting me off the same way
your father did?”

Zoey
stunned Kaleb as she went toe to toe with Travis. Although the man was significantly
taller, she didn’t seem intimidated, even when Travis came closer. She placed
her hands on her hips and cocked her head back to look up at him.

“That’s
what I said. One week. You provide me with the information I request, and we’ll
meet again. One week from now.”

With
that, Zoey walked out the door, and she didn’t look back. It took a second for
Kaleb to realize she’d just walked out on him too. He stood abruptly and all
but chased her down in the parking lot.

“Zoey!”
He called after her, but she seemed determined to ignore him. “
Don’t
fucking do it.” He warned her. This was the second
time she’d walked away from him without looking back, and it pissed him the
fuck off.

By
the time he reached her truck, she was backing out, purposely avoiding his
gaze.

Bullshit.

Kaleb
fished his truck keys from his pocket and walked to his truck. He was down the
driveway and on the main road before her truck was out of his sight. Two
minutes later he was parking in front of her house beside her, but she once
again hurried out and ran inside.

Ran
.

Kaleb
couldn’t believe it. He took off and managed to stick his booted foot in the
door seconds before it would’ve been slammed in his face.

He
used force to push against the door, opening it until Zoey was backing into the
room; her eyes wide as saucers as she stared back at him. He slammed the door,
then
locked it.

“What
the hell are you doing?” Zoey screamed at him.

“What
am
I
doing?” Kaleb stalked her. “
Me?
What the hell are
you
doing? You storm out of my office and ignore me when I try to talk to you.”

“I
didn’t have anything to say to you.” She insisted, backing up until she met the
ungiving wall behind her. Kaleb didn’t stop moving toward her.

“No?”

“No.
I told you I’d get back to you in a week.”

“I
don’t give a fuck about that.” Kaleb couldn’t believe what she was saying. Did
she think that the only reason he was there was for her father’s – no, change
that...
her
– land?

He
stared down at her, invading her personal space when he put his palms flat
against the wall on each side of her head. He bent at the waist in order to
bring their faces level. “I consider myself a pretty tolerant man, Zoey,” he
began, “but there are some things I don’t do.”

She
didn’t question him with words, but her eyebrow cocked with interest.

“First
of all, I don’t mix business with pleasure.” It would never end well if he did,
and he knew it. “And two, I don’t tolerate being ignored.”

“I
didn’t ignore you.”

“You
walked away when I called your name. I know you heard me.”

Zoey
broke eye contact, looking down, but then back up at him. With an exasperated
sigh, she melted against the wall. “I don’t have the energy for this, Kaleb.”

What
the fuck?

“So,
this is how it is?” He knew he should shut his mouth because he was beyond
pissed, but he couldn’t. “Yesterday I had my cock buried in your pussy while my
best friend was fucking your mouth until we all three came. And today, you’re
treating me like the only interaction we have is related to business? That’s
bullshit, Zoey, and you know it.”

“What
do you want from me, Kaleb?” Zoey lifted her arms, her hands slapping down on
her thighs. “There is nothing I can do about this. Whatever this is that you
and I have, it can’t last. I know that.
Especially not after
my father gave me the land.
I know what you’re after, and I don’t have
the energy to pretend with you that it’s anything else.”

Kaleb
stood up straight, plunged his hands into his hair, but he didn’t move. And
Zoey didn’t either. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath,
then
opened them again. This time when he met her eyes, he made sure she saw
everything he was feeling.

“Honey,
if you think I’m only after the land, you’ve got another thing coming.” And he
would damn well prove it to her. Taking her hand, he reined in his temper and
pulled her along behind him. She was reluctant, but she wasn’t trying to pull
away.

“Where
are we going?” Zoey asked, sounding just as pissed as he felt.

How
they had gotten to this point, he had no clue. But, Kaleb was going to show her
exactly what happened when she made assumptions about what it was that he
wanted.

♀♂

Zoey
followed Kaleb into her bedroom because she didn’t know what else to do. He was
livid, she could feel his anger radiating off of him. Well, that was good and
fine. She was pissed too. She hadn’t been until it dawned on her that she was
now the key to what the Walker’s wanted, which meant what she and Kaleb had
would never be real. Not again at least.

He
had an end goal, and now she would be his means of getting what he wanted. She
refused to do it.

Once
inside her room, Kaleb abruptly stopped, turning to face her. She nearly ran in
to him, but she managed to stop herself just in time.

“Take
off your clothes.” Kaleb insisted, and there was a demand in his tone she
hadn’t heard before. As angry as she was, she couldn’t deny the way her pussy
flared to life, clenching in need at his tone.

“What?”
No, she wasn’t giving in that easily. No way.

“You
heard me.” Kaleb said
,
sliding his hand into her hair
and pulling her head back.
Hard.

There
was a bite of pain that rippled through her scalp and like
lightning,
it flashed downward, making direct contact with her clit.

“Take
off your clothes, Zoey. Or I’ll do it for you.” There wasn’t an ounce of humor
in his eyes, and his stern command made her pussy wet.
Wetter
than she thought possible.
What the hell was wrong with her? She was
supposed to be pissed at him, but she couldn’t seem to remember why.

“No.”
Maybe that was a mistake, but Zoey was going to push him the same way he felt
he could push her.

“No?”

Zoey
recognized the question in his eyes. She knew Kaleb.
Knew him
to his very core.
When a woman said no, it meant no. And he was
questioning her meaning. She decided to clarify, “I’m not taking off my
clothes. If you think they need to come off, you do it yourself.”

Her
mind whirled with the events that happened next. Kaleb gripped the hem of her
t-shirt and without anything resembling gentle, he proceeded to strip her
totally naked. She was breathing hard, and her nipples were pebbled by the time
he was through. Other than getting her clothes off of her, he didn’t touch her
in any other way, but heaven help her, she wanted him to.

“Turn
around.” He ordered, his tone
clipped,
his eyes hard.

Zoey
turned away from him, unsure of what he was going to do next. Kaleb took her
hands hanging down at her sides and lifted them while pressing his chest
against her back.
Although his chest wasn’t the only thing
pressing into her.
His erection nudged her bottom and Zoey squeezed her
thighs together. This was too much, and she had no idea what was going on to
even know what to expect.

First
she walked out. Then he was pissed. Then she was pissed. Then she was wet and so
damn horny she was shaking with it. Something was off in the chain of events,
at least in her opinion.

“Put
your hands flat against the wall and don’t move.”

Zoey
started to take a step closer, because from where she stood, if she had to
touch the wall she would be bending over.

“Uh
uh
.
Don’t move your feet. Just put your hands on the wall.”

She
did as Kaleb told her, feeling incredibly foolish as she bent over at the
waist, her butt sticking out. It was an odd position, but if he were naked, it
could be a position that might just get her what she very much needed.

Still
leaning over, she got a glimpse of Kaleb’s t-shirt as he pulled it off, tossing
it to the floor behind him. From between her legs, behind her, she could see
him taking off his jeans. Biting her lip, she kept her hands on the wall
feeling a sudden rush of embarrassment. What happened to her rage? How did she
end up standing naked before him with her hands on the wall like she was being
punished?