The Billionaire's Challenging Beauty (Bold, Alaskan Men Book 2) (6 page)

“Yes.  Because you didn’t like it yesterday.  I didn’t do something right or I said something wrong.”

Saeger was stunned and furious with himself for letting her think that.  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Tyla.”

Huh?  “Oh.”  Her mind tried to figure things out, but nothing was coming to mind.  “Did you?”

He laughed even as he dropped her backpack onto the floor.  “Yes.  I did something wrong.”

Okay!  Now they were getting somewhere.  “Are you going to tell me what you did wrong?”

He shook his head.  “But I’m about to do it again,” he told her.

Normally, Tyla would have a snappy, sarcastic comeback right on the tip of her tongue with a comment like that.  But Saeger didn’t give her a chance.  His mouth covered hers and she was lost. 

His kiss was softer this time, gentler.  It was like he was making love to her mouth and she was so lost, so desperate for more.  Moving closer to him, her hands reached up and grabbed onto those amazing shoulders again.  She would love a stepladder because he was so tall, but instead, she reached up and grabbed his head, pulling him down to her level. 

And then the kiss deepened.  She moaned as his tongue invaded her mouth and she wanted more.  So much more. 

Over and over again, he slanted his mouth against hers, kissing her as if he had all the time in the world.  But he didn’t!  She didn’t!  She wanted him now!  She wanted more. 

His hand came up, his palm curving against her cheek and jaw even as his other hand moved around her waist, bringing her closer.  She loved this!  It was incredible to feel him, so strong and hard against her softer body.  But he was going too slowly.  Her hand slid from his shoulders down across his chest, feeling all of the incredible muscles.  She felt his hard, male nipple under the soft fabric of his sweater and she rubbed, fascinated by this new discovery. 

And that was the end of his gentleness.  Gone was the tender, leisurely kiss and he was finally kissing her like she wanted to be kissed.  With everything!  Voraciously!  Once again, she was backed up against the lockers, her shoulders pressing against the metal while his hands wrapped around her waist, then lower, cupping her bottom.  A moment later, she heard him groan and she was lifted up, his legs between hers and his hard body pressing against her heat. 

“Yes!” she gasped, feeling her hips press against that hardness, needing something, some relief but not exactly sure how to get it.

And then it was gone!  He was setting her back down on the floor, both of them panting, trying to get their breath back.  He wasn’t touching her again, and she was so confused. 

“What…?”

“I’m sorry Tyla!”  He ran a hand through his dark hair and she flinched, hearing those horrible words again. 

She stood there for a stunned moment, pain and humiliation tearing through her.  Reaction was fast and furious.  “Sorry?!” she yelled at him. 

Her hands were shaking and her body still vibrating with need, but she grabbed her backpack up off the floor and slung it over her shoulder.  “Sorry, Saeger?  Again you’re sorry!”  She huffed a bit and pushed her hair out of her eyes.  He was apologizing again?  She was so mad, so frustrated and… something deep down inside of her raged out of control.  She wanted to hit him!  She wanted to pound her fists against his massive chest and hurt him! 

Keeping her hands fisted and close to her body, she clenched the strap of her backpack as if it were a lifesaver.  “Don’t be sorry!  Just don’t touch me!”

A moment later, she was running out of the bar, ignoring his call for her to stop.  She didn’t stop.  She continued to run, racing across the parking lot.  She didn’t stop until she was in her house, behind a locked door.  She tensed up, bracing herself for him to pound on her door.  She could just imagine him coming to her door and apologizing for apologizing! 

Damn him!  She was so torn up she wasn’t sure what was going on!  Dumping her backpack, she walked into her bedroom, peeling her clothes off as she went, just dropping them onto the carpet as she made a beeline for the bathroom.  She needed a shower.  She needed to scrub his touch off of her body and try to come down off of the intense emotions he could make her feel.  She was so angry with him, she wanted to scream! 

But she only stepped into the shower, trying to calm down. 

She was in the shower for so long, the hot water ran out and she sighed when she turned off the water.  Stepping out, she grabbed a towel and wished him to purgatory. 

No, she thought, she didn’t want him to be hurt.  She just wanted to stop hurting herself!  The man definitely knew how to kiss, how to touch.  She suspected he would be the most incredible lover. 

Unfortunately, she’d never know.  Because she wasn’t going to let him touch her ever again!  No way! 

She heard her phone ring but ignored it, crawling under the covers and hiding even her head.  The phone stopped ringing, but started up again almost immediately. 

She knew that it was Saeger and she should probably answer it, but after the past two days, she didn’t feel like being a grown-up.  When the phone stopped ringing again, she snuggled down deeper, pretending like she was just angry and not confused or hurt. 

He’d apologized again!  How could he keep doing that?  What was she doing wrong?  He’d said she hadn’t done anything wrong.  So had he?  And if so, what had he done wrong? It had all felt too good and wonderful to her! 

Darn it, she was too new to this to understand.  If she’d had relationships in the past, if she’d had the emotional turmoil of dating, having a boyfriend, she might understand a bit better.

Of course, she’d dated in the past.  She’d been a cheerleader and it had been a lot of fun.  But none of the guys she’d gone out with had truly interested her.  Her heart had never become involved. 

Not like this! 

Then again, maybe males and females in relationships never really understood.  Maybe that was nature’s way of keeping the human race from populating too quickly. 

Or maybe the confusion was nature’s way of ensuring the human population! 

She didn’t care!  She was finished!  She was not going to deal with Saeger’s apologies any longer! 

Ugh!  That man was the most irritating, horrible, disturbing, and… handsome, charming, diabolical jerk around! 

Saeger stood in front of Tyla’s apartment door the following evening, his hands braced on her doorframe as he contemplated how to explain why he’d apologized last night.  He was pretty sure that she was livid with him.  And he wouldn’t be surprised if she wasn’t even here.  Tyla wasn’t the kind of woman to wait around for anything.  She had too much energy and too much…everything…to wait. 

Hell, he wouldn’t blame her.  She’d agreed to go out with him tonight, but then things had gotten out of control.  Again.

What was it about Tyla that made him so crazy for her?  Why couldn’t he control this lust?  That first afternoon, she’d kissed him back.  Then last night… she’d touched him.  Oh damn, she’d touched him and all of his good intentions to go slowly, to take his time with her went out the window.  Her soft hands, her long, slender fingers had rubbed over his chest and he’d just… lost control. 

It had taken every ounce of willpower in him to pull back and not make love to her against the lockers last night. 

He rubbed his hand over his face and shook his head.  Tyla.  She was so beautiful, so hot and sexy and… oh hell, what if she wears jeans again tonight?  He would be sitting across the table from her… that would help.  He could just… keep his hands away from her butt, he vowed.  No roaming hands.  No roaming eyes.  No out of control kissing allowed!

He could do this!  He could keep control.  He would keep control!  Tyla deserved better than a lust-filled caveman.  She deserved reverence and a slow seduction.  She deserved to be courted properly, like a gentleman would do. 

He had to do this, because the idea of Tyla in another man’s arms made him crazy.  He couldn’t let that happen. 

With that pep talk out of the way, he lifted his hand to knock on the door.  But before his knuckles could make contact, the door was pulled open and Tyla stood there, a surprised expression in her beautiful features, her blue eyes wide and looking up at him with that strange sense of wonder and longing that never failed to make his body harden with desire. 

“You’re early,” she said softly, her full lips looking more red than usual tonight.

He looked at her backpack and her boots.

Her high-heeled boots!

Oh hell no!  Not boots!  Boots and jeans, her hair looking all soft and fluffy, like someone had just made love to her. 

“Ah hell,” he groaned.  Pushing away from the doorframe, he rubbed a hand over his freshly shaved jaw.  With a sigh of resignation, knowing he would be hard as a rock all evening, he accepted this as his punishment for all of his lustful thoughts. 

“Come on,” he said and took her hand, pulling her out of her apartment.  He couldn’t believe she was wearing boots!  Jeans were bad enough, but leather boots combined with jeans, combined with Tyla… the combination was lethal!

“Wait!” she called back.

He didn’t wait.  There was no way he could wait.  They were too close to her bedroom and he had to get out of this building before he gave in to his baser urges and pushed her all the way into her apartment, into her bedroom and made love to her until neither of them could speak enough to apologize. 

“No waiting,” he growled out and lifted her up, carrying her out of the building and placing her on the passenger seat of his SUV before slamming the door and walking over to the driver’s side. 

Tyla watched Saeger, her mind still spinning with confusion and shock.  He didn’t like her boots?  She loved these boots!  In fact, she’d bought these boots specifically with him in mind, although she’d never worn them around him.  And she wouldn’t be tonight either if the big jerk hadn’t come to pick her up early.  She’d meant to slip away and go do something on her own. 

But when he slid in next to her, that muscled thigh so close to her own, she once again lost the ability to think clearly. 

She glared at him, not understanding why he seemed so angry with her.  And why had he rushed her out like that?  He was always so kind and gentle with the other people in the town.  The man had the patience of Job, but not when she was around! 

It was almost insulting how rude he was to her sometimes.  Like right now!  “I was trying to get out before you arrived.”

Saeger looked into those blue eyes and almost laughed.  “I know,” he told her, and started the engine. 

She huffed slightly with that acknowledgement.  “So why did you drag me out of there?  Why didn’t you just let me go along my merry way?”

He turned left, directly out of her parking lot.  He couldn’t look at her.  Not when she was wearing jeans and boots.  His mind immediately jumped to thinking about peeling those jeans off of her.  And maybe putting those boots back on!  Just the image… Ah hell!

“Because we’re going to have dinner together.  We’re going out on a date, and we’re going to talk, and we’re not going to touch for any reason.  Got that?”

Her eyes narrowed, but he couldn’t see that since he wasn’t looking at her. 

“And do I have any say in the plan for the night?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring up at him. 

He considered her options, then shook his head.  “You can decide what you want to eat for dinner.  But I’ve already made the decision that we’re not touching.”

She considered his words for a long moment as they drove down the dark highway towards Appleton.  Her mind was coming up with some intriguing ideas. 

Looking at the way his strong fingers were gripping the steering wheel, she decided that yes, she was going to figure out how to be naughty tonight.  Or she was going to figure out why he was being so… mean.  “And what happens if I decide that we’re going to touch each other?  Are you going to apologize again?”

He shook his head.  “No.  No touching.  Not going to happen, Tyla.  You’ll sit on one side of the table.  I’ll sit on the other side.  We’re not even going to hold hands tonight.”

She huffed a bit, but looked out the other window.  “Fine.  I wasn’t planning on even being here tonight, so not holding hands and not touching are perfectly fine by me.”

He almost growled out, trying to restrain himself because of her challenge.  Was she daring him to break the rules he’d just laid out? 

Didn’t she understand what he was trying to do here? 

He sighed and tried to relax, flexing his shoulders slightly as he drove down the isolated streets towards the next town.  “Listen, Tyla.  I made a promise to your brother before he left.  I promised to take care of you, to watch out for you!  I already feel like a complete ass for betraying Matt like this.  So there’s no way that we’re going to have a physical relationship.  Understand?”

Tyla heard his words, and a bit of wonder eased into her mind.  “So that’s what this is all about?  You won’t kiss me because…?”

His gripped tightened once more on the steering wheel.  “Because I’m betraying Matt’s trust in me!” he told her, exasperated because he felt like she should already understand what he was saying. 

Tyla stared at him for a long moment as understanding hit her.  “That’s why you’ve been apologizing?!”

Finally, she was getting it!  “Yes!”

Tyla was silent for a long moment as she flung those words around in her mind.  But in the end, she couldn’t hold back the laughter.  It was just too funny!  As the laughter kept going, she was holding her sides, her stomach aching as her laughter continued. 

When it finally calmed down into occasional chuckles, he glanced over at her.  “Care to explain the joke?”  He couldn’t look at her fully, needing to keep his eyes not just on the road but on the edges of the forest as well.  Too many animals were coming out of hibernation, looking for food.  Deer, elk, and moose could run into the road without much notice.  Those beasts were huge up here in Alaska and could not only destroy a car, but could destroy life as well. 

She snickered again and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.  “Saeger, Matt was only asking you to help me get back into small town life!  He wasn’t saying that you needed to protect my virtue!”  She huffed for a moment. “I can do that all on my own.”

“No, he asked me to protect you, Tyla.  And I’m not doing that by…” he waved his hand around and she felt warm and gooey when his eyes glanced down at her breasts, carefully hidden underneath a red sweater.  “Well, we’re not going to do that anyway, so it isn’t an issue.”

She chuckled and turned slightly towards him, feeling hugely better now that the puzzle pieces were clearer.  “Okay, big guy.  I think I understand.”

He glanced back at her warily, noticing the way her pretty, blue eyes sparkled.  That wasn’t good, he thought.  Not good at all.  “You do?”

She shrugged, enchanted once again by his admission.  Saeger Rollins really was a charming man and he looked invincible.  But the more they talked, the more she started to understand him.  He was brilliant when it came to technical stuff.  He understood things that she couldn’t even grasp.  He was also strong, big, and confident about all things.  But deep down inside, she suspected he was just a big, gushy softy.  A man who felt more deeply than he cared to. 

They arrived at the restaurant, and Tyla even waited until he came around to her side of the SUV and helped her out.  She wanted to hold his hand, but as soon as her feet were on the ground, he moved his hands away from her waist and stepped back, clearly reinforcing his plan that they were not going to touch. 

Then he messed up that signal as she started walking towards the restaurant when he put his large, warm hand on the small of her back, leading her towards the doors.  And she liked that.

As she sat across the table from him, a plan formed in her mind.  Saeger was her man.  In that moment, as his sharp eyes moved over the menu, she decided that he was going to be her lover.  She wasn’t sure how or when, but she was going to seduce him.  Now that she understood his apologies, and had heard about his ‘no-touching’ policy, her Get-Over-Saeger plan was gone. 

Leaning forward, her fingers wrapping around the glass of iced tea, she looked into his dark blue eyes, fascinated with the man even more than she had been before.  “Tell me about your other businesses,” she said, prompting him on a subject that she knew he was comfortable talking about.  And while she listened, not really hearing whatever he was talking about, she worked on her new plan.  Yep, seduction was the only option.  And she’d have to get to know him better to truly understand how to accomplish her goal.  Maybe even get a few tips from Violet.  Her friend would be more than happy to give her ideas on how to overcome Saeger’s ‘no-touching’ policy.  Tyla almost laughed out loud at how exciting this was going to be! 

Their burgers arrived and she ate with relish, feeling better than she had all week.  Saeger’s days where he enforced the ‘no-touching’ policy were numbered, she told herself. 

“Have you had enough to eat?” Saeger asked, glancing down at her plate.  She’d eaten all of her burger but none of her fries.  As he watched her, his mind tried to figure out what was going on inside her pretty head.  Something wasn’t right.  He wasn’t sure what it was, but…

She was smiling at him.  She might be sitting across the table from him but seeing that smile… it wasn’t good.  He didn’t need to see her butt in her jeans and those legs ending in those high-heeled, leather boots when she smiled up at him like that.  The effect was the same and he almost groaned out loud. 

“I’m full,” she told him.  “Violet was right, these burgers are great!  Good call on the restaurant.” 

He looked around and shrugged.  “Not much on the ambiance aspect but still good food.  Are you ready to go?”

Tyla’s eyes widened slightly, but she nodded.  “Sure.  If you are.”

He tossed some money on the table and Tyla was fairly certain that it was double the amount of the check, but he didn’t wait for the waitress to come by with change.  He grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the restaurant, right back into his SUV. 

On the drive back home, it was awkwardly silent and Tyla had no idea what to discuss.  When they were working at the bar, they chatted about everything and anything, teasing each other, laughing about the local gossip that was rarely correct.  Or he was yelling at her, snapping at her to hurry up with her orders, glaring at her when she did something he didn’t like which, okay, she liked to poke the bear so she’d given him plenty of reasons to snap at her. 

But now… it was strange and tense. 

She was also eager to get back to her apartment because once there, he would kiss her goodnight!  She wiggled in her seat when that thought reached her, and she almost bounced with excitement and anticipation. 

“What just popped into your head?” he demanded, as he turned left onto the highway that would take them back into Winthrop. 

She looked over at him, not able to make out the details of his features in the dim lighting, but she still felt almost giddy.  “Oh, nothing in particular.”

Saeger didn’t buy it.  Not for a moment.  “Tell me,” he urged.  “One moment, you’re sitting over there looking like you’re ready to punch me and the next moment, you’re about to bounce out of your seat.”

Tyla laughed.  “You make me sound like a toddler, Saeger.”  She tilted her head towards him slightly.  “Is that how you see me?”

She heard his slight groan.  “Hell no.  You’re no toddler, Tyla.”