The Tycoon's Defiant Southern Belle (3 page)

As his arm pulled away from the back of her seat, she knew that he wouldn’t be too
far off on that assumption.  Her whole body was quivering with awareness as he quickly
maneuvered his powerful car down her own driveway and then back down his a few moments
later.  This way was substantially longer and she really was grateful that he’d been
thoughtful enough to pick her up.  But since she’d not planned on coming in the first
place, it all seemed rather….commanding. 

“We’re here,” he said as the engine shut off. 

The silence after the powerful engine died was strong, almost ringing in her ears. 
Her mind told her to open the car door and step out into the humid night, but her
legs didn’t move.  Her knees were pressed closely together but both of them were turned
in his direction.  Her hands were clenching on her lap and her heart was beating so
fast she thought she might just pass out. 

“Why are we here?” she asked, breaking the silence. 

He was leaning towards her, waiting for some sort of reaction.  “Since you’re trying
to convince yourself that this is going to be a business meeting, and I sincerely
do want to hire you to refurbish the house, I thought we could eat here.  You could
take me on a tour, tell me your thoughts and I’ll give you some ideas on what I want
done differently than what you will try and convince me to do.”

She flushed, knowing that he was probably correct in her wanting things done so that
the house was built as it had existed decades ago.  “I haven’t agreed to work for
you.”

He smiled slightly, his finger so close to the fly-away wisps of her hair that they
tickled his fingers.  “You will.”

She dared to look up at him.  “And what makes you so sure that I will?”

He chuckled at her challenge.  “Because if you don’t, I’ll just live here in the house
as it is now.  I have a feeling that every cell in your body will cringe at the idea
of someone living in this kind of neglect.”

“Why in the world would you do something like that?” she asked, horrified just at
the idea.  Which, in effect, confirmed his statement.  Damn him!

“And secondly,” he said, the backs of his fingers gently caressing her jaw almost
absently, but she knew it was completely intentional, “because you’re the only person
that you know will do the work properly.”

She clamped her mouth shut, refusing to confirm that second part.  She didn’t want
him to always be right.  But in this case, he was.  She knew the history of this house
better than anyone.  That’s why she was the only one who would dare to go inside as
a kid.  She knew that the ghosts that reputedly haunt the hallways and towers were
actually long, lost lovers and not angry people who died an untimely death.  In fact,
the legend say the ghostly lovers can only be free when a new love inhabits the house. 

“Is that all?” she asked, not daring to think about the myth of the lost lovers. 

“There’s a third reason, but I don’t think you want to hear about it.”

She sighed and pressed her lips together, bracing herself.  “Okay, let’s get it all
out there.  Give me the third reason you’re so sure I’m going to take on this project.”

“We’re going to be lovers.  And you won’t want to make love in that tiny bed you have
at your place.  Your room is beautiful, but you can’t see me in that bed with the
flowers all over it.  The contrasting rose pillow cases would unman me and you don’t
ever want that to happen.”

She sat there in stunned silence for about five seconds, then burst out laughing. 
She knew he was completely serious, but it was so deadpan, she couldn’t help but laugh. 

She pushed the door open, still chuckling at his teasing.  “Thank you,” she said softly,
coming around to the front of the car to meet him halfway.  “That was very funny. 
I needed something to break the tension.” 

Angelo got out of the car as well, then came around to her side and looked down at
the woman who affected him so powerfully.  He hadn’t been joking about the two of
them becoming lovers or the bed.  Hers was pretty small.  It was most likely perfectly
acceptable for her personal use, but when he got her into bed, he wanted a larger
space.  He knew that they would tear up the bed once he finally got her in it.  “Let’s
go eat,” was all he said, putting a hand to the small of her back and leading her
to the back of the house.  “We’ll eat first, then you can tell me about the house
and your ideas after dinner.  Will that work?”

“Sounds wonderful,” she replied, not sure what or how they could possibly eat in this
house.  The rooms were badly deteriorated and she knew that none of the appliances
in the kitchen worked any longer.  The stove was one that had been top of the line
more than sixty years ago, but she wasn’t even sure how to use the contraption, even
if it did work.  There wasn’t a fridge, just a small ice box in the kitchen as well
as a cool basement where food had been stored for parties and dry ice was brought
in to help keep things cold or frozen.  Other than that, there were broken cabinets
and rusty faucets, but nothing that could be used without serious health concerns. 

As they turned the corner to go out onto the lanai, she gasped in delight at the lovely
scene that was laid out.  Despite the chipped tiles, there was a beautiful, linen
covered table with pink roses in the center, candles on the table as well as several
places around the walls and in the old fashioned sconces.  Two chairs had been brought
in and filled up with cushions for comfort and somehow, the whole area felt cooler
than it should be after the heat of the afternoon. 

“This is amazing,” she said as she slowly approached the table.  “I can’t believe
you did all this.”

“I thought it would be appropriate,” he replied.

Jade smiled brightly, her eyes delighted.  “Because you wanted to see how beautiful
the house could be?” she asked, taking a seat in one of the pretty, white wicker chairs. 

“Something like that,” he said, holding one of the chairs out for her.  When she was
seated, he took the seat directly across from her and Jade fiddled with her napkin,
nervous about looking him in the eye. 

A waiter arrived out of one of the dark rooms, an open bottle of wine in his hand. 
He immediately poured both of them a glass of red wine and Jade sat back, trying to
relax while listening to the cicadas and tree frogs. 

Another waiter arrived and placed a beautifully prepared meal in front of her and
Jade relaxed as the delicious scents rose up to greet her.  The meal was delicious
and she had to admit that she actually enjoyed talking to Angelo once he stopped trying
to be so arrogant and obnoxious.  He was knowledgeable, funny, charming and able to
discuss just about any subject. 

When the waiter finally took away the last course, she sat back, suddenly feeling
awkward.  She’d had too many glasses of wine perhaps and Angelo was looking much more
handsome than he had earlier in the evening.  “Well, I guess I’d better leave.  I
can walk…”

“Let’s go through the house,” he interrupted.  “You can give me your ideas and discuss
which rooms you’ll start in first.”

Jade stood up automatically, setting down her wine glass.  “I haven’t agreed to take
on the project,” she replied, feeling saucy and daring now.  It was all the wine,
or maybe the way he was looking at her.  Several times during the meal, she had to
remind herself that she had a boyfriend, that she didn’t like this man, and he was
the town enemy that was going to destroy all the things she loved about her little
place on this earth.  It was hard to remember when she was laughing about whatever
he was telling her, or blushing with his obvious admiration. 

Now he was standing next to her and she could once again feel the heat as his incredibly
large body towered over her.  She wanted to step back, but discovered that the table
was behind her. 

He smiled down at her but didn’t say anything.  Instead, he took her arm and led her
back into the house.  When they stood in the great hall, he didn’t say a word, but
waited for Jade to begin, letting her wander around the room that was now lit with
very weak wall sconces. 

During the daylight, the room was filled with sunshine by the large windows but it
was dark now, making the area feel a bit depressing.  “This is a gorgeous room.  The
lighting needs to change primarily but…” and she continued to go around, pointing
out issues that need to be changed but also keeping the original style of the room
by repairing the damage caused by years of neglect and lack of climate control.  Interspersed,
she discussed the furniture that could be brought in to make the room feel livable
and comfortable.  The room was enormous which was both a challenge and a benefit. 

Angelo didn’t say anything as he followed her from room to room.  Jade’s imagination
was thrilled with all of the exciting things that could be done with the house but
she had no idea how much he wanted to spend refurbishing everything.  There were so
many details to the house, so many things that needed to be fixed or replaced.  All
of the bathrooms would need to be completely gutted and even some water lines repaired. 
And of course, the kitchen needed to be completely renovated as well. 

When they were back on the lanai, she stood awkwardly beside him, aware that she’d
chattered on about everything while he walked beside her silently. 

She only noticed that issue when she stopped talking.  The waiters had cleaned up
everything while they’d been walking through the house and seemed to have completely
disappeared.  The only sounds were the chirping of the grasshoppers and singing of
the cicadas and tree frogs and she stared at his chest, trying to figure out what
he was thinking. 

When she finally looked up at him, she realized that was exactly what he’d been waiting
for. 

“When can you start?” he asked, his hands in his pockets.  Angelo wanted the business
portion of their evening to finish quickly so he could get down to the personal side. 
He was going to kiss her.  She knew he was going to kiss her, was nervous about the
prospect and was even trying to step away from him so that it would be more difficult
to accomplish.  But her eyes kept drifting to his mouth and her tongue darted out
several times, wetting her own lips.  Sure indications that they were both on the
same mind track. 

“Um…” Jade glanced back at the house, wishing she could ignore the desire to fix this
gorgeous house.  Everything in her knew that being around Angelo would be dangerous. 
She had to be loyal to her boyfriend, Dave, and stay out of Angelo’s way.  He was
a tyrant, she suspected. 

And how would the rest of the town perceive her efforts to save this house?  Would
they be furious that she was assisting the enemy?  So many of them wanted this prime
spot to be bulldozed so new houses or even a resort could move in.  There was so much
land, so many lush trees.  She couldn’t let it all go away simply for tax revenue
and additional income for the shop owners. 

Besides, she told herself as she mentally debated the likely problems, if she didn’t
tackle the project, it sounded as if Angelo would simply hire someone else and they
probably wouldn’t do it right.  The man wanted his house to be fixed.  Why wouldn’t
he?  He’d just bought the place.  He needed the bathrooms to work and a usable kitchen. 

With a sigh, she nodded her head.  “I can start next week. I need to shift some things
around but I don’t have anything urgent on my calendar.”

“Perfect,” he replied softly.  And then he moved in. 

Stepping closer to her, his hand whipped out and wrapped around her waist, pulling
her close to him.  With his other hand, he reached out and cupped her head, holding
her still as his head slowly descended to hers.  When his lips touched hers, she gasped
and pulled back slightly, shocked by the heat that shot through her whole body.  Her
hands, already lightly touching his hard, muscular arms, were now gripping his muscles
in surprise. 

Angelo pulled back only for a moment, his eyes watching hers.  Yes, she was feeling
it too.  And then he kissed her again, not as gently.  Not as tentatively.  His mouth
demanded entry and when she opened hers, his tongue moved in, tasting and taunting
her to participate in the kiss.  When he felt her tongue mate with his, his hands
moved lower, pulling her flush against him, lifting her slightly higher so their bodies
matched more completely. 

Over and over again, his head tilted to taste more, to deepen the kiss and discover
her honey.  He wanted her.  Desperately.  But he knew she was still nervous.  She
was also still dating someone and as soon as that thought entered his mind, he pulled
back. 

Looking down at her still closed eyes and her swollen lips, he knew that he’d gotten
to her.  Just as she’d gotten to him if his hard body was any indication. 

“I’ll take you home,” he said softly but his voice was deeper than normal.  Huskier
and thick with the need to continue kissing her.  And so much more. 

“Yes,” Jade shuddered, her mind demanding her fingers to release their clutch on his
muscular arms.  One by one, her fingers relaxed until she could finally pull her hand
away.  With a deep breath, she stepped out of his arms, shaking her head at the crazy
impact of his kiss on her mind. 

Without a word, she walked through the house, painfully aware of him right behind
her.  She started to go towards the woods once again, just mindlessly trying to get
home so she could curl up in her big, cozy chair and figure out what had just happened. 
But he took her hand and directed her towards his car.  He didn’t say a word, nor
did she as she slipped into the amazingly soft leather seat and he closed the door
for her.  But she was already wringing her hands by the time he came around and got
into the driver’s seat beside her.