Seducing an Heiress (3 page)

"I'll pick you up at five."

She blinked, snapping out of the spell he had almost woven around her. "No. You won't."

"We have unfinished business."

"I have work to do." 

He stroked his thumb over her knuckles. "Let me prove it to you."

The spell settled around her again, like a cottony haze. She stared at his mouth and the memory of kissing him flowed through her, tightening her core. 

Dakota pulled back in alarm. Good lord, he really was a magician. 

Jumping to her feet, she slipped her hand from beneath his. "I have to go."

"Running away, again?"

"I ran
to
something not away, and it's none of your business. Now trot back to your master and leave me alone. There's nothing for you here."

Trey stretched, his impressive chest expanding with a deep breath. "I think I'll hang around, see what's so appealing about this sleepy little town." 

He grinned up at her and dimples winked on and off on either side of his mouth. The butterflies in her stomach resurrected.

Great
. She was so in over her head.

Dakota turned to go. Trey stood and caught her hand, this time in a firm grip. Before she could protest, he tugged her against him.

His muscled forearm came around her waist and pressed into her back at the same time her palm flattened on the dense planes of his chest. "You haven't forgotten and neither have I."

Her libido shot off like a rocket on the Fourth of July. 

His soft lips brushed across hers and the rocket exploded, sending sparks shooting through her body. When he settled his mouth solidly, the sparks caught and fire leaped to life, warming her belly and making her nipples harden.

His tongue touched the seal of her lips and she parted them, swept away by the lust racing through her blood stream. He tasted sweet to her, heady, like a fine liqueur.

Her bones melted as his tongue stroked hers lightly. 

He broke the kiss and stepped back, running his hands up and down her arms before he released her completely. His eyes flashed with hunger.

"You haven't changed as much as you think," he said, his voice low and husky. 

"You're wrong." Dakota turned and walked away from him, her legs trembling with every step.

*  *  *

Trey watched her go, sorry he'd kissed her. And not. 

Sorry because she genuinely aroused him and he'd allowed himself to be tempted by it. He'd have to watch himself from now on. Move more toward a brotherly role.

Not sorry because it had been a long time since a woman stirred him up like she did. It felt good. Alive. Real.

Out of control.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and stared up at the red leaves dangling in the breeze. Pulling in another deep breath of the clean air that seemed to permeate Harts Creek, Trey tried to clear his mind. 

Losing control was dangerous when he had a part to play. Getting hard whenever he got within touching distance of Dakota wasn't going to get him what he wanted. Not ultimately.

He had to figure out what would.

Trey strolled out of the park, his mind running over possible ways to soften Dakota up to him. When he reached the street, he paused to study the small white-washed building across from him with "Hearth and Home" painted in bright blue letters over the door. 

Not overly impressive, but it had potential. As good a place to start as any. 

If one plan didn't work on Dakota, he'd try something else. If that didn't work, he'd try again. He only had two weeks left to succeed. The way he figured it, the only wrong move he could make was to give up. 

*  *  *

The next morning, Dakota still felt furious with herself--and more determined than ever to prove to Trey that he was wasting his time. About a lot of things. 

As she rolled out the dough for the cinnamon rolls she served every morning, her mind worked over how she might accomplish that. 

Men like Trey didn't give up easily, but neither did she. She'd made too many sacrifices to see everything destroyed just because her father decided he couldn't get along without her. Yeah right, on that score. One person made as good a pawn as another to her father.

The whole situation was very strange, she concluded. Why go to all the trouble to send one of his best people to find her? Something else was going on. Something she was sure she wanted no part of.

Amusement tickled up under her ribs. Her father had badly miscalculated if he thought Trey could convince her to come back. He was the one man capable of instantly bringing up all the reasons why she'd left the company in the first place. 

She put her rolling pin aside and started spreading cinnamon sugar glaze over the surface of the dough. A player like Trey held no interest for her. Watching her mother's heartache after the divorce had taught her the danger of relationships with that kind of man.

Insistent knocking at the front of the store jarred her from her musings. As she slid three trays of rolls into the oven she wondered who would be trying to see her at five in the morning. Only one person that she could think of.

A shimmer of excitement swept down her back.

Dakota chastised herself immediately. No interest, remember? Dread should be filling her, not anticipation. At the very least, annoyance.

Yes, she was annoyed. Very annoyed. The man had no business bothering her when she was trying to get food ready for the day.

Dakota stomped to the front of the store. Unlocking the door, she yanked it open. Trey smiled down at her, flashing his blasted dimples. Her stupid heart did a little flip. 

She glared at him. "Go away."

Before she could close the door, he stepped past her and strolled into the dining room. "Wow, it smells great in here." He breathed deeply, his eyes half closed. 

She ignored the satisfaction his words gave her and shut the door. He was disgustingly perky. "Do you know what time it is?"

"I'm an early riser. Always have been. Here." He held out a check to her.

She stared at it. "What's that?"

"An apology. You have every right to want your business to succeed. There's enough here to make that happen."

"I don't want your money."

"It's a gift from your father. No strings."

Dakota stared at him, not sure exactly what to say with so many emotions tumbling around inside her. Did he think she was a complete idiot?

"My father wouldn't part with a penny to help me with my restaurant. Especially without contingencies. This is from your expense account, isn't it?" she stated.

"I've also lined up five of the best restaurant promoters and managers in the country for you to interview."

She took the check from him and glanced at it. Anger plowed through her body like a sand storm. "One-hundred thousand. That's really something." Her gaze locked onto him. 

"I don't take hand outs." She ripped the check in half. "Your presumption that I can't succeed without Jamison money is insulting." She ripped the check into quarters. "I won't go back even if I do fail." She tore the check into tiny pieces and let them flutter to the floor.

Trey looked at the mess for a moment and then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He punched in a number and put the phone to his ear. "It's Trey. Cancel the interviews. Send something nice." He snapped the phone closed and gazed down at her. "Very dramatic."

"Sometimes that's what it takes to make a point."

"Sometimes." He scrutinized her face and she felt her cheeks heat. "I'll see you around."

"Have a nice flight back."

"I don't give up that easily." He walked out and quietly shut the door behind him.

Dakota stared at the bits of paper at her feet and wondered why she didn't feel angry that he wasn't leaving. She couldn't possibly be feeling a small sense of admiration because he wasn't admitting defeat.

No, she felt proud. Of herself. She'd refused the temptation of falling back on the easy way even with it staring her in the face. 

One-hundred thousand
.

Not so long ago, she would have dropped that kind of money on one dress. Now an amount like that had the power to change her whole life.

As she swept the destroyed check up, she tried not to feel like she'd made a big mistake. Instead, she clung to the possibility that she might win the contest. Even though the prize money was considerably less than Trey's offer, it was enough. Enough to keep her independent.

Enough to help her resist giving in to him and what he represented.  

CHAPTER FOUR

They won't buy without Dakota. Do whatever it takes get her back here willing and compliant
.

Trey stared into the earthy depths of his whisky, remembering Jamison's final orders. He knocked back the drink and signaled the bartender for another. 

If someone had handed him a hundred thousand dollar check he'd probably have said 'just tell me what you want me to do.'

But not Dakota. She'd thrown it in his face. 

Her hunger for independence ran deeper than he ever would have expected. He'd seen the temptation in her eyes when she'd looked at the check. And the moment she'd refused that temptation.

Trey sipped his second drink, feeling the alcohol's fire spread through his chest. He was starting to respect her and that was trouble. Respect turned to liking and liking turned to wanting more. 

A job should never become personal, he reminded himself. Dakota was only a means to an end. Once he figured out her weak spot, he could exploit it. Coerce her to his way of thinking. He'd finish this job and turn his back on people like Jamison forever.

Seeing her turn down the money still astonished him. Her restaurant was important to her, he'd seen that in her eyes, too. After watching the kind of business she got, he knew she couldn't be making much from it. Probably couldn't even pay herself, yet.

The place would have to be expanded before she'd see a profit. The check he'd given her would have made that easy. Why didn't she take it? 

He set the glass down and pushed it away from him.

There must be something else that she wanted more. Something she couldn't resist. 

She'd given up a lot when she'd disappeared. There had to be regrets. What if all she needed was a pleasant reminder of her old life. Done right and Harts Creek would lose its appeal faster than a three-legged dog. Another nudge and the fantasy of living on her own would collapse completely.  

What did Dakota miss most about being an heiress? What would any woman miss? 

He thought about her over-sized T-shirts and flour-covered jeans, her short hair and frumpy glasses. The quintessential Cinderella in the ashes.

A smile lifted the corner of his mouth as an idea sprouted to life in his mind. 

*  *  *

"You forgot your mail, yesterday, D!" Chelsea sang out from the front of the restaurant. "Want me to put it by the register?" 

Dakota wiped her hands on a clean towel as she pushed through the beaded curtain. She was almost done cleaning up for the day and looking forward to a quiet evening in her apartment with the mystery novel she'd just started. 

She hadn't seen Trey for two days and she told herself she was glad. He'd given up and was probably back on the East coast already. No more worry about her past being revealed, no more unwelcome excitement, no more...anything. Her life was peaceful again, just the way she liked it. 

"Thanks Chels," she said as she came around the counter. She leafed through the bills, wondering if she'd ever get news on the AENC contest. 

And then as if conjured up, there it was. She stopped on the embossed envelope, barely able to breathe. "It's here. Chelsea, it's here!" Her hand shook as she held it out to her friend. "I can't look. You read it."

If she weren't a finalist, she'd have to give up on her dream; close the restaurant before her money was all gone. If she were to win, though, she'd be one step closer to making her dream of total independence come true. 

Chelsea's blue eyes widened with shared excitement as she tore open the envelope. Behind them the bell on the front door chimed.

"We're closed," Dakota said absently, her attention on the letter. 

A blast of crisp autumn wind blew into the dining room carrying the scent of soap and the outdoors. A tingle ran up Dakota's back and she looked up. 

Trey stood just inside the room, wearing a perfectly tailored tux.

Her heart jumped into double time. He looked...delicious. 

"You're a finalist!" Chelsea screamed beside her.

"What?" Dakota swung her attention back to Chelsea, who jumped up and down waving the piece of paper like a flag.

"You're a finalist. Look!" She handed the letter to Dakota.

Dakota scanned the contents. Oh, no.

"Honey, what's wrong?" The sound of excitement in her friend's voice faded. "You just got white as a sheet."

A disaster. An unmitigated catastrophe.

Trey came up beside her. "You better sit down." His hand cupped her elbow gently and he eased her into one of the dining chairs. "What's going on?"

"She's a finalist in the AENC," blurted out Chelsea. "That's the Aspiring Entrepreneur National Competition. If she wins she can expand the restaurant."

"That sounds like a reason to celebrate," he said.

"They're sending an inspector." Dakota's thoughts raced over what that meant. What if he recognized her? What if he started snooping around? She'd been careful, but he was bound to find inconsistencies if he dug deep enough. It also gave Trey another way to ruin things for her. 

"So?" Chelsea drew herself up like a soldier preparing to defend the castle. "Your food is the best. He'll love it."

If only it were just the food and not the character check. Dakota sucked in a deep breath and pulled herself together. "There's going to be some stiff competition. I might not be the best up against the rest of the finalists."