CaddyGirls (6 page)

Responding to him seemed like the natural thing to do. As he prolonged the kiss, probing with his tongue, she parted her lips, surrendering to his gentle invasion. He seized the opportunity and claimed her with a kiss so deep, so searing, that her legs felt an unfamiliar and delicious weakness. His lips devoured her, his tongue stroking deep as he pulled her even tighter against him. The soft, wet heat of his mouth contrasted with the rock-hardness of the chest and erection that pressed so enticingly against her breasts and belly. The feel of his cock jutting out so insistently against her body made her insides quiver with a wild desire.

Still, as much as her body shouted its willingness—no, its need—to give in to him, her mind flashed glaring red signals. She longed for Julian to drag her upstairs to his suite and cover her naked body with his. She knew it would be an unforgettable night of ravenous sex and passion. Maybe, if luck was on her side, it could even be three or even four unforgettable nights. But by the end of the week it would all be over. Julian and his friends would climb back aboard their jet and fly off to their world, leaving her behind in hers, no further ahead.

When she stacked the prospect of a night or two of glorious sex against the hope of a sponsorship and a chance to live out her dream, glorious sex didn’t stand a chance.

Even as her body melted against him, her mind fought through the erotic haze. The timing was all wrong. She couldn’t talk to him about sponsorship now—not with his mouth and hands heating her to the point of incineration. They’d barely even spoken about her goals. He’d have to be convinced of her ability, her passion for the game and her determination to make it to the pro tour. If she slept with him before they talked about all that, how could he help but think she’d had sex with him only to gain his financial support?

He’d shoo her away like an annoying gnat.

She broke the kiss and pushed herself out of his arms. “Julian, I have to go. I’ll see you at the course. Tomorrow’s a long day.”

Julian stared at her, for a moment looking both puzzled and frustrated as hell. But he recovered quickly, nodding curtly as he handed her into the limo.

As the driver sped away, Torrey kept telling herself that one night of passion wasn’t worth the risk that came with it.

Even if she wasn’t at all sure she believed that.

Jet was rocking by the time Julian joined the others. Brendan and Annie seemed relatively sober and soon after greeting him, went back into apparently serious private discussions. Michael and Julieta looked and sounded loaded, and she seemed completely entranced. Josh and Krista appeared to be missing.

After Torrey sped off in the limo, he’d stripped off his drenched clothes and taken a long, hot shower, trying to make some sense out of what had just happened. Until that crazy thunder and lightning show, he’d had no intention of soul-kissing the woman. Oh, he was attracted to her, all right. But when he really liked someone, he took his time. With Torrey, he’d intended to give her all the time she needed.

But then she’d freaked out and plastered her sweet, curvy body against him. And the way she clung to him, her arms inside his jacket, her fingers gripping his back, her hips thrust hard against his erect cock, it wasn’t just a comfort hug. She’d been afraid, but she’d been on fire too.

So he couldn’t really fault himself for kissing her like he did. And when she opened to him, he’d been ready to abandon his go-slow policy on the spot. But just as quickly as her fire had ignited, it had been extinguished, leaving him alone outside the hotel, wondering how he’d blown it.

Michael gave him a sly gaze. “All alone, boss? What happened to the lovely Miss Green?”

Julian flicked his hand to attract the server to their table. “Double Glenfiddich, neat, please.” He turned back to Michael. “We got caught in the rain and thoroughly soaked, so it was best for her to get home.”

“That’s a shame,” Brendan said in a serious tone that belied his obvious pleasure at the news.

“Are Josh and Krista dancing?” Julian asked Michael, ignoring Brendan.

“Who knows? The way they were going at it, they probably decided to slip out again for a few minutes.” Julieta seemed to find his remark hilarious, letting forth a stream of giggles from behind her wine glass.

With Torrey gone, Julian realized he was now the proverbial third wheel—or, in this case, seventh wheel. He downed the scotch in two swallows and had decided to say good-night when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to see a tall, willowy young woman smiling down at him.

She tilted her head and smiled seductively. “Would you care to dance with me?”

Yes, but no
, he thought. Another time, he’d have had no problem taking Miss Hottie up on her offer. Tonight though, there was only one woman on his mind, and he had no interest pursuing a consolation prize.

“Thank you, but as a matter of fact I have to leave in a minute or two. I’ve got business early tomorrow.”

“But it’s really not very late. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather postpone your bedtime a little?”

Man, this woman was on the hunt. Was he going to have to be rude to get rid of her?

Fortunately, Michael rode to his rescue. “Darling, could you excuse us now, please? Mr. Grant needs to talk to me before he leaves, and if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to do that now.” Michael flashed her the grin that never failed to melt the hearts of both sexes.

“Well, all right then,” she said with a moue. “I hope I see you again soon.”

As she moved away, Julian nodded to Michael. “Thanks, buddy. But now I really am going to head out soon. I just wanted to have a quick drink and touch base.”

After a few more minutes of enduring the ear-splitting rock music, Julian shook hands with his partners and kissed both Annie and Julieta on the cheek. As he skirted the crowded room on his way out, Josh came striding off the dance floor with Krista.

“We didn’t think you were going to make it,” Josh said, his eyes conveying delight at Julian’s unexpected return.

“Torrey needed to get home early,” he replied in a clipped voice. “I came over for a quick nightcap, but I’m heading back to the hotel now.”

Josh turned to Krista. “Honey, how about you go back to the table and order us another round? I need to talk to Julian for just a minute.”

“What’s up?” Julian asked as soon as Krista was out of range.

“Jules, you look bummed. So I figure I should help you get a better sleep tonight.” He pulled Julian further from the dance floor, where the music seemed marginally less intrusive. “Hey, I know it looks like I’ve hit the mother lode with Krista. But I know you and the other guys won’t exactly be heartbroken to hear it’s not happening tonight.”

Julian actually didn’t give a damn, but he knew Josh would expect him to be pleased so he smiled. “It sure looked like a done deal to me.”

“I thought so too. Right until that walk we took after Circo. I figured I’d get her up to my suite, but…well, to make a long story short, she seems to have an ironclad policy of foreplay only on the first day out. Imagine that, in this day and age. Who’d have believed it?” he asked in a mock-mournful voice.

“I guess the rest of us have a twenty-four-hour reprieve then.” Julian chuckled. “Maybe less than twenty-four hours, if I know you.”

“Don’t count on it. Brendan’s sitting pretty. Annie looks like she’s fallen into a tub of whipped butter.”

Julian gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “You can’t bitch about that, man. You drew first pick, and you took the hottest-looking caddy on the site.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s all good. Krista’s going to come around soon. So, what happened with Torrey anyway? Brendan said you looked like you were rounding first and sliding into second.”

“Nice analogy, but I’d say I’m still at bat with one ball and one strike. I’m still a long way from a base hit, much less a home run.”

“Like I said, seeing our bean-counter friend over there, neither of us has much time to lose,” Josh said. “Listen, why don’t you come back to the table and have another drink? Maybe we can spray some foam on that fire Brendan’s got going.”

Julian thought for a second. He really did have to look like he had his heart in this contest, or Josh would be bummed. Besides, it was always fun to watch his partner at work when he sank his teeth into a problem. “Okay,” he agreed. “Let’s make sure we get another day before we’re voted off the island.”

“Good morning, Torrey. Come in.”

Torrey looked up from
Cosmopolitan
to see Dr. Jenna Arthurs holding open the door to her inner office. Tall, slim and elegant in a tailored linen suit, Dr. Arthurs had to be at least fifty, based on the dates of the degrees lining one wall of her office. But she looked ten years younger and hadn’t seemed to age a day in the three years Torrey had been her patient.

Dr. Arthurs closed the door as Torrey installed herself in her usual position at one end of the soft, brown leather sofa.

“It’s good to see you again, Torrey.”

“I’m glad to see you again, too. Now that we’re down to once a month, it seems like such a long time between our sessions.”

“How have you been?” The therapist smoothed her skirt as she sat down on the blue fabric chair that fit her body perfectly.

“Okay. Really busy. Ever since I started caddying, I’ve been working my butt off. Maybe that’s a good thing, since my butt needed a little trimming.” She sighed.

Dr. Arthurs shook her head. “You’ve got nothing to worry about in that department. You look great. All that sun is doing you good.”

“Thanks. I’m going full out, every day, but it’s like I’m on a treadmill. I don’t move forward. I’m still no closer to landing a sponsor.”

Dr. Arthurs gave her an understanding nod. “Last time we talked you were trying to get a loan too, weren’t you?”

“I tried, but the bank knows I wouldn’t have any golf income coming in for months, and I’d have to keep scrambling if I wash out at Q-School. My aunt offered to help some, but I couldn’t let her, especially after all the money she’s spent to pay for my sessions here. It would have cleaned her out.”

“I’d imagine it would be a challenge to land a sponsor when you haven’t played competitively for such a long time.”

Torrey flinched at the reminder. “That’s an understatement. Most of the companies I’ve contacted haven’t even answered my messages. I really hoped I could convince a couple of marketing guys who were friends of my father to take a chance on me, but it didn’t work out with them either. To risk money and their company’s reputation on somebody who hadn’t done anything on the course for four years…well, they just couldn’t swallow that. I can’t really blame them.”

Dr. Arthurs leaned forward, looking intent. “I know it’s hard for you to talk about a future that doesn’t involve professional golf. But you have to remind yourself that achieving that dream is just one measure of success in life. There are so many others.”

Torrey didn’t totally accept that, but she knew she had to try. “I know. I’m just not ready to let go of a dream I’ve had my whole life. I have to succeed at golf. I owe it to Dad.”

“Your father would have been proud of you no matter what.”

“Not unless I fought with everything I had and got up every time they knocked me down.”

“Isn’t that exactly what you keep on doing?” her therapist asked in that gentle, reassuring voice that had so often been a needed source of strength. Dr. Arthurs had been hard on her in the early days of her therapy. But now she was always there for her, quick to offer a reminder of how far she’d come since her father’s tragic death.

“So you’re saying I’d better be prepared for another smackdown,” she said with resignation.

Dr. Arthurs sat back and shook her head, her gentle smile conveying reassurance. “Think about it this way, Torrey. You’re already prepared. All our hard work together has prepared you. You can face whatever life throws your way and still be fine. That’s the truth, not a platitude.”

“Thanks, Dr. Arthurs.” Torrey reached for the tissue dispenser she’d learned was standard issue in a psychologist’s office. Tears welled up at the empathy and confidence in her therapist’s voice. Torrey’s own confidence had been shattered for such a long time that it had taken all her strength, and a lot of patient help, to get this far. “It’s meant a lot to know that you believe in me.”

Crumpling the damp tissue in her fist, she decided to go ahead and say what had been on her mind since last night. “I’m afraid I’m in a bit of a pickle. I got myself into it, and I’m not sure how to get out.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, I’m caddying for a new client this week. He’s the president of a big electronic games company. As soon as he contacted me, I started to think his company might be a possible sponsor. I thought I could work on him over the four days we’d be together on the golf course and see if by the end of the week he’d be willing to go to bat for me and get a sponsorship from his company.”

“And it’s turned into a pickle, to use your word?”

“Unfortunately, yes—and after only one day. The problem is that for some reason he seems really interested in me. Sexually. Last night he…um, made a move.”

Dr. Arthurs’s eyebrows arched a fraction. “And how did you respond?”

“That’s just it. I kind of led him on and then ended up pushing him away. God, I’m embarrassed to even talk about it.” She groaned, rubbing her forehead. “When we said good night it was tense, and I think I probably offended him. I tossed and turned the rest of the night. One minute I was mad at him, the next minute I was kicking myself for how I acted. I’m worried about seeing him again this afternoon. It’s going to be awkward.”

“If he’s a gentleman, he’ll understand your reluctance to jump into bed with someone you just met.”

“I guess you’re right. Julian seems to genuinely like me. Sure, he could just be out for an easy one-nighter, but it didn’t feel like that. And he’s incredibly sexy. I’m sure he figured I was hot for him too.”

“And you weren’t?”

Torrey tucked her hands under her thighs as she hunched forward. “Oh, no. I mean yes. I was totally into him.”

“But then you pushed him away.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Because he was too aggressive?”

“No. I guess I stopped it because I don’t think it would be smart to sleep with him and then turn right around and ask him to sponsor me. That would just scream out that I was using him just to get what I want.”

“So, when he pressed the issue last night, it threw a monkey wrench into your plans.”

“Exactly. I had no idea he’d come on to me like that. Not so soon, anyway.” She shook her head, remembering the heat of Julian’s kiss. “Can you imagine how overwhelming it was for someone like me to be swept off her feet by a man like Julian Grant?”

Dr. Arthurs looked surprised. “Julian Grant? I read a story about him in
Vanity Fair
a few months ago. One of the country’s youngest Fortune 500 CEOs, if I remember correctly.”

She nodded. “I’d never heard of him before, though I was familiar with the company, of course. Everybody knows OverTheEdge Games.”

“Perhaps everyone your age, dear.” Her therapist gave her a wry smile.

Torrey responded with an apologetic grimace. She often forgot that despite her young appearance, Dr. Arthurs was older than her mother would have been if she’d still been alive. “Anyway, I’m going to see Julian in a couple of hours, and I don’t have a clue what I’m going to do.”

“It seems to me the solution should be quite clear.”

“Ask him as soon as possible?”

“Of course. Is there any other way?”

“No, I haven’t been able to come up with anything better. But it’s not like I can just walk up to him on the first tee and pop the question. I need him to get to know me, and see how passionate I am for the game. I can’t just give him a little speech and expect him to jump at the chance to sign up a nobody like me.”

“I understand. I’d just caution you not to let much more time go by before you talk frankly with him. You need to be honest, and hopefully he’ll return your honesty.”

Torrey took a deep breath, trying not to imagine all the things that could go wrong with that scenario. “I’ll try. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’ll try.”

Julian strode down the hall toward Colton Kerr’s twentieth-floor suite, his mood upbeat. Because he’d turned in early, his energy level was as high as his determination to hammer his one-time friend into finalizing the merger. He’d wanted to go over his plan of attack with his three partners at breakfast, but all three had looked like ten miles of bad road.