The Tycoon's Defiant Southern Belle (14 page)

“He just doesn’t think he’s lovable,” she realized, stopping in the middle of the
street.  A car honked at her and she snapped her head to the left.  “Oh!” she gasped
and realized that she was now blocking traffic.  She hurried across the street and
stood on the sidewalk.  Her mind whizzing through the ideas.  He really didn’t think
that she could ever love him.  The idea was so tragic, especially since she’d just
discovered how deeply she truly did love him.  Her whole heart was bursting with the
way she was feeling for the exasperating, wonderful, sweet, kind, gentle and terrifying
man. 

But did he love her? 

She suspected that he did.  She thought about all the sweet things he did for her
like taking care of her animals, making sure she didn’t trip while they were walking,
sweetly pouring wine for her and making her laugh while they sipped that wine. 

The man might not know it, but he was in love with her!  She laughed and practically
skipped down the block. 

She made it all the way down the street, her eyes barely seeing where she was going
and her mind not really sure where she was until she showed up at Angelo’s house,
standing on the newly renovated patio.  The pool water was sparkling in the sunshine
and she couldn’t believe how wonderful everything looked.  She wished she could find
a better gardener though.  The plants that had been put in place were fine, but there
wasn’t anything spectacular about them.  They didn’t have any personality and this
house was too full of personality for it to be lacking on the lawn. 

She sighed and rounded the corner and just about ran into Angelo as he was standing
beside one of the columns.  “Oh!” she said and stopped short, her hands reaching out
and grabbing hold of him even though he was already steadying her with his hands. 

“First of all, where the hell have you been” he demanded angrily.  “I’ve been calling
and walking over to your house, knocking on your door ever since you ran out on me
three days ago.”  He didn’t give her a chance to answer that question before he snapped
out, “And secondly, what were you thinking about?” he asked.  “I’ve been watching
you for the past ten minutes and you keep staring into space.”  He impatiently took
her heavy laptop case as well as her purse and set them by one of the patio chairs
that had been delivered earlier today. 

She smiled brightly up into his eyes, her newfound feelings for him sinking through
her happy expression, completely confusing Angelo in the process.  “I was thinking
that I need to get you a new gardener.”

Angelo was startled by her comment and looked down into her eyes.  He didn’t believe
her for a moment.  “Why would I need a new gardener?” he asked, trying to catch up,
but not sure what she might say next. 

“Because the shrubs don’t have pizzazz,” she stated emphatically.  She was suddenly
thrilled that she was in love with this man.  And he was in love with her, she just
knew it! 

The plan she’d been forming in her mind solidified and she moved closer, kissing him
on the chin.  “You look very handsome today,” she said with a smile.   She stood up
on her toes and kissed him on the bottom of his chin, the only place she could reach
unless he was going to help her.

Angelo looked at her, his body already reacting to her smile.  But when she kissed
him, voluntarily and not just because he’d teased her into letting herself react,
he couldn’t stop the intense lust that surged through him.  “What was that for?” he
asked, but pulled her closer before she could answer him.

Jade wrapped her arms around his hard waist, enjoying the feeling of his muscles underneath
her fingers.  “I’m going to talk to Betty Sue.  She’ll know what to do about the gardens.” 
She sighed happily when his own arms wrapped around her as well.  “Oh, and just so
you know, we’re under budget and ahead of schedule.  I just ran the numbers.  I’ve
saved you about two hundred thousand dollars.”

His eyebrows went up with that revelation.  “How did you do that?” he asked, feeling
better than he had in….well, Jade was in his arms and she wasn’t pulling away or giving
him excuses as to why she had to run home.   So he could honestly say that he’d never
felt better than he did at this moment. 

“I’m brilliant,” she laughed.   “Okay, so not as brilliant as you, but still, I can
wheel and deal almost as well as you can.”

He laughed and rolled his eyes.  “Jade, what’s going on?” he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and pulled back to look up at him.  “I was talking to Dave
at the coffee shop a few minutes ago,” she explained, preferring to be completely
honest with him. 

Angelo’s body stiffened.  “You’re not going back to him, Jade.  You’re mine!  And
you know it as well.  You’d never be happy with him.  Not after what we’ve shared.”

She laughed and hugged him tighter.  “You’re right.”  And then her eyes dropped to
his mouth, her body shifting slightly as memories surged through her.  “Why don’t
you show me again?” she suggested, her voice telling him what she really wanted to
convey. 

Angelo’s body hardened even more.  He took a deep breath, his mind trying to figure
out what had come over her, but then her hands moved from his back to his chest, her
fingers sliding up along the ridges of his stomach and he couldn’t think any longer. 

“I have no idea what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours, but I’m not going
to look a gift horse in the mouth,” he said and lifted her up into his arms.  “If
you’re offering yourself to me, I’m going to take it,’ he said with a ragged voice. 
“So help me Jade, if this is a trick, I don’t think I can take it.”

He lifted her up into his arms and strode quickly through the house and up the stairs. 
He didn’t stop until he was standing beside his bed.  Letting her legs down, he continued
to hold her against his length, his eyes never leaving hers.  “Are you sure about
this Jade?” he asked softly with his gruff voice.  “You won’t run away from me again,
will you?”

“I’m very sure,” she said and kissed his chest, his jaw, her hands moving slowly down
his arms.  “And if you don’t do something to show me that you’re sure as well, I’m
going to think that you don’t want me anymore and I’ll just go feed Rufus and Jasper.”

Angelo growled and pulled her tightly against him.  “Never think that,” he said through
clenched teeth.  But there was no more talking after that.  Jade thought that perhaps
he was showing her that she wouldn’t regret her decision to make love to him, to give
in to him so completely.  He was relentless in his lovemaking this time, his hands
and mouth everywhere.  It was almost as if he couldn’t get enough of her, like she
might disappear so he had to memorize every inch of her body for future reference. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he said as he tossed her shirt behind him, her bra following
quickly as his deft fingers moved over her, discarding clothing as quickly as his
nimble fingers could go.  He worshiped her, kissing and teasing every inch of skin
revealed, not allowing her to touch him back but holding her hands out to her side
whenever she tried.

“Not tonight,” he said when she started to complain.

“Yes tonight,” she countered right back but he wouldn’t let her hands go and his mouth
became even more demanding.  She screamed out when his mouth covered her right nipple
which was already hard and ready for him.  She arched into his mouth, her hands forming
fists as she tried to assimilate the passion that was taking over her body.  She couldn’t
control it, she could only allow the waves to crash over her again and again as his
mouth moved over her.  He even spun her over, his mouth exploring her back and he
found several more erogenous zones right below her shoulder blades.  She couldn’t
believe it when his mouth teased that spot, causing her to writhe underneath him,
her hips shifting, desperate now to have him fill her up. 

When he rolled her back over, he looked down at her with triumph and apology, his
body sliding into hers.  “I’m sorry, Jade.  I can’t hold back any longer.”

“I love you!” she cried out as she arched into his embrace, her body shifting to accommodate
his size and invasion that she craved so desperately.  “Don’t stop,” she commanded
when he slowed down. 

“No chance of that,” he almost laughed and buried himself fully inside of her.  “You’re
so perfect,” he said, gasping for breath and the ability to think, to make this incredible
for her.  But as her body tightened around him, he couldn’t stop or slow down.  He
needed her so completely, every fiber of his being was clamoring for release.  But
he had to help her.  She looked up at him and said those words again.  “I love you,”
she said and his mind just about exploded with pleasure.

He moved slowly, filling her up, creating friction that he knew would help her take
her to where he already was. 

“I love you!” she screamed out again, her hands jerking free of his hold as her legs
wrapped around him and her arms reached up to embrace his shoulders, her entire body
hugging him as they plummeted over the cliff together. 

Jade sighed with happiness as Angelo’s fingers ran through her hair over and over
again.  She rested her cheek against his chest, her body draped over his and she thought
about moving, but everything felt so perfect, and she just didn’t want to break any
of the contact with him. 

“You didn’t have to say that, Jade,” he finally bit out.  He’d loved the words, but
he knew she didn’t mean them.  “I know you care for me, but you don’t have to say…what
you said earlier.”

She laughed and nibbled lightly on his chest.  “I love you,” she said, then kissed
the spot to soothe her nip.  “I love you with all of my heart.”

He looked down at her and shook his head.  “Jade, sex is okay between two people. 
You don’t have to pretend to be in love with me just to enjoy it.”

Her smile widened.  She knew that was only his insecurities talking.  She’d felt the
trembling in his body when she’d said those words earlier, and her hand was covering
his heart, feeling the accelerated beating now.  She could feel how her words impacted
him and she didn’t care what he said.  He felt it too. 

“What are you going to do tomorrow?” she asked.  “There’s only cleanup here for the
next few days.  Everyone else has pretty much finished.  It’s just a matter of waiting
for the rest of your furniture to arrive.”

Angelo stared up at the ceiling, his mind not sure what to think or feel right now. 
He knew that this woman made him feel things that weren’t right.  He didn’t deserve
her.  “I have to go to New York tomorrow,” he said, making the last minute decision. 
He needed to talk to Dominic.  He needed to hear his friend tell him to get a grip. 
It would be better if Zayn were in town as well, but he’d settle for Dominic’s advice
on how to extricate himself from this situation. 

Or maybe he would fly out to Tusain and talk to Zayn as well. 

Jade lifted up on her elbows, the hurt shining through in her eyes and Angelo felt
like an ass for saying those things.  He wished he could take them back, but he also
knew that it was for the best.  He’d never meant for Jade to fall in love with him. 
He’d wanted to keep things casual. 

Okay, so that was a lie.  He wanted to figure out how to keep her here, in his house
and in his bed for the rest of his life, but he couldn’t do that.  She’d eventually
figure things out and he couldn’t hurt her in the meantime. 

“When will you be back?” she asked, fighting back the tears.  It would take time,
she told herself.  Angelo had been alone for too long and she’d have to teach him
that things were okay, that he wasn’t the bad person he’d thought all his life.  
And that he could accept her love. 

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone,” he replied, calculating in his mind how long
it would take to reach New York, talk with Dominic and then fly across the globe to
Zayn.  “Maybe a week,” he finally said.

“A week?” she parroted in a small voice.  “How am I…” she stopped and dropped back
down.  Baby steps, she told herself.  She’d run from Angelo the first time they’d
had sex.  She remembered how terrified she’d been by the things she’d felt, at everything
she’d still been feeling the following morning. 

That meant she couldn’t blame Angelo now that their roles were reversed.  She’d run,
tried to hide from him.  Now he was running, trying to escape from the things she
made him feel.  She’d give him time, but in the end, she wouldn’t let him get away. 
She’d pursue him with the same zeal he’d done to her over the past several weeks. 
She wasn’t going to let him get away, she thought silently. 

Snuggling up to him, she smiled dreamily.  “That’s fine.  When you get back, everything
will be in place and you can move in without any more disturbances.”

Angelo could feel his entire body brace as he thought about what he wanted to know. 
What he wanted to ask her.  He told himself he was all kinds of a fool to ask, knowing
that she was going to turn him down flat but he had to get the question out there. 
If he didn’t ask it, and hear her rejection, he’d always wonder.  When he was eighty
years old and sitting in front of that damn fireplace downstairs, he’d wonder about
his question and her answer. 

Even though he knew with absolute certainty what her response would be, he said, “Will
you be here when I get back?” he asked.

She laughed and pulled herself higher.  “Of course I will be,” she said and stretched
to kiss his lips gently.  “I love you.  I’m not going anywhere.”

He still didn’t believe it, but the words were nice to hear.  And since this was the
last time he’d see her, because she’d regret what she’d just said as soon as the dawn
broke over the horizon, he rolled over, tucking her luscious body underneath him and
kissed her again, deeply, his hands moving up and cupping her bottom. 

Jade smiled, her heart crying out for him but her body responding instantly.  He might
not say the words verbally, but his hands and his body were repeating those words
back to her loud and clear. 

She’d take it one step at a time, she thought as she kissed him back with all the
love she felt in her heart.