Texas Gold (7 page)

“And say what? That I made you an offer you couldn’t refuse? I think that’s how you so eloquently put it. I‘m sure that would go far in endearing me to her.”

She knew he was right, but he didn’t have to make it sound like it was her fault. He was the one with the proposition.

“Did you plan on doing this without her ever knowing?”

“I didn’t really plan this at all. I saw you and knew what I wanted.”

Somehow the words didn’t sound nearly as enticing as they had before.

“So you’ve changed your mind?”

“After a kiss like that? You, Miss Baber, certainly know how to accept a deal. I haven’t changed my mind at all.”

The cold, hard glitter of business was back in his eyes. But this time it was flavored with worry for his daughter. She had to remember why she was here, and she had to regain control of the situation.

“I’ve opened an office downtown. Meet me there tomorrow at five.” He barely looked at her as he said the words.

“To work up an agreement?”

He looked up the stairs. “You could say that.”

This wasn’t going as planned at all. “I was hoping we could talk.”

He opened the door, practically throwing her out. “Tomorrow. Five. We’ll talk.”

She stood on his front porch and seethed. Problem was she wasn’t sure what she was more upset about. The fact that he’d tossed her out the door, ruining her plan, or the fact that once Nina called her niece, her interfering brother would ruin all chances of another kiss like that.

Tomorrow at five. Somehow she’d make it.

Brenton ran up the stairs to Nina’s room.

She didn’t answer his knock, and he thought about ignoring the whole thing. That would be easier.
 

When he opened the door, he knew he should have walked away.

“Nina...”

She held out her hand. “Just stop, Dad. If you want to kiss Coach Baber, that’s fine by me. But God, you were practically all over each other. That’s so gross.”

It hadn’t been gross to him. Not by a long shot. But Mallory was an important part of his daughter’s life. He didn’t want to ruin that.

She didn’t give him a chance to talk. “You can be so hypocritical. You worry about me and sex when you’re all over Coach like that and you haven’t even gone on a date or anything. I need to be worrying about you.”

He was blowing this completely. His daughter was going to end up in all sorts of trouble because he couldn’t control himself with Mallory Baber. What had he been thinking?
 

“I’m not going to discuss this with you, Nina. But I do want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Okay? Okay?” His daughter looked at him as if he’d lost all senses. “I’m fine. If you want to have some sleazy affair, go for it. I just wish you’d pick someone else to have it with. You won’t be good for her, and I’ll pay for it when you break her heart.”

He should have stayed downstairs. He couldn’t very well explain to his daughter that what she’d seen was more an exchange of resumes than passion. No matter what it had felt like.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

She turned away dismissing him the same way he’d dismissed Mallory only minutes before.

“I’ll be in the office the rest of the day. Why don’t you get some rest?”

He closed the door behind him not sure what to say.

He’d been fine at fatherhood until recently. Nina had been so excited at the move, had hated living in Dallas. Serendipity had been her idea of heaven. Now she was staying out all night. What was he supposed to do?
 

She was right. He was going to have an affair with her softball coach. But he wasn’t going to break her heart.

And there was a huge difference between two consenting adults engaging in a purely physical relationship and a not-even-sixteen-year-old staying out all night doing God only knows what.

Still, he’d have to do what ever it took to make sure Nina didn’t get hurt in the middle of all this.

Until tomorrow at five, he’d just have to wait and see exactly what all this was.

Mallory parked her car in front of Serendipity Mercantile. Five on the dot.

Brenton’s offices were next door. Right out in the open where the whole town could see. Three doors down from the coffee shop where her daddy spent much of his summers. Across the street from A Cut Above, where she’d had her first haircut and where her best friend Carolyn worked when she wasn’t taking summer cruises.

If she chose to get out of the car and go into Brenton’s office, everyone in the entire town would know about it in thirty minutes.

Sure, she hadn’t heard anything from Tim, so far. It didn’t matter. Nina would tell Jen eventually.

Still, this was the only way she knew how to infiltrate the enemy camp. That’s how she phrased it to herself when she wasn’t thinking about that kiss, which was just about never.

If she walked into his office, there’d be more kisses like that.
 

The ultimate paradox. She wanted to go in as much as she wanted to stay out.

She could easily forget the reasons she’d agreed to this insanity under the spell of his kisses. Maybe she needed to tattoo it to her forehead. He wants to have your daddy fired and he wants to ruin your town. Get over the kisses.

She grabbed her purse and opened the car door. She could do this. Had to.

But they'd work out some rules first, and that’s why she was here. She felt certain she could get him to agree to her terms. If he did, she’d win in the end. He just thought he wanted her.

Thinking the words left her knees week.

She walked up to his door and stepped inside.
 

The room was musty, old and barely lived in. A desk and couch were the only pieces of furniture inside. Dust had settled on the hard wood floors.
 

But there in the middle looking so damn sexy her toes curled, stood Brenton.

He’d been waiting for her, she could tell.

Like a forbidden fruit, he enticed her, and she found herself next to him in seconds.

“I was wondering if you’d show.” His deep voice rumbled through the room.

“Well, you know me. This is a challenge, and I do love a challenge.” She’d planned on being all business. Now that she was here, business barely entered her mind.

“I’d planned on waiting, but now that you’re here, I can’t.”

His words barely registered as his head descended and their kiss picked up where it had left off at his house.

God, he felt good. Her hands ran across his shoulders and down his back, the starch from his shirt scratching under her slightly calloused fingers.

His hands ventured lower, cupping her bottom and sending warning thrills through her entire body as he molded her closer to him.

His lips moved to her neck just under her ear. “I love the way you taste.” His whispered words sent her heart beat through the roof. How could he speak? She couldn’t form coherent words.

She moaned as his hands trailed down the front of her shirt, and then tugged it out of her jeans.

When his fingers splayed across her belly, she inhaled sharply at the almost burn that singed in their presence.

Slowly his hands worked their way upward until he was massaging her breasts through her bra.

She leaned her head back allowing him even more access as his fingers plucked her now hardened nipples.

God, he felt so good. She never wanted this to end, felt sure she’d expire from heat any second.

She flicked the buttons on his shirt open and let her own hands start walking. His nipples were as hard as hers and she couldn’t resist a taste.

Leaning to him, her mouth covered his nipple and she was rewarded with his hiss of breath. When her tongue darted out, his hands shot to her head, his fingers weaving through her hair.

He pulled her mouth back to his and pushed her against the desk. Her legs hit the wood at the same moment his cell phone rang bringing her back to her senses.

She pushed him away and tried to bring some semblance of order to her clothing as he finally moved away to answer the call.

Her lips were tender. She was sure they were scarred with the memory of his kiss. Her breath was uneven, her hands shaky.

Why couldn’t she control herself with him? Was it the
 

Lucifer syndrome? And why the hell was he so calm as if his pulse wasn’t racing ninety-to-nothing?

She heard him say something about new schools being part of the plan before he hung up the phone.

When he came back to her, he brushed her hair away from her face. “Sorry about that.”

She moved away. “Don’t be ridiculous. When business calls, it calls.”

He pulled her close. "I'd rather be doing business like this.” He bent his head to kiss her again, but she stopped him.

“I’d rather we come to an agreement first.”

 
He nodded, suddenly all business in a completely different kind of way.

“You’re right, of course. That’s why I wanted to meet you here. My main concern is Nina.”

Relief flooded through her when she realized he was willing to stop the seduction. Even if it was a little perturbing to know he could just turn off the practically visible passion that coursed through the room only seconds before, she knew she couldn’t resist another onslaught like the one he’d just performed.

“Of course.”

“I don’t want her hurt, and I’m worried this could easily hurt her.”

Perfect. She could use those feelings to her advantage.

“I understand completely.”

“So what agreement did you want to come to?”

He didn’t sound nearly as understanding as she did.

“I think it would be best if you and I get to know each other. I’ll show you around town. You take me to your future sites. You know just kind of hang out.”

She saw the way he mulled the idea over. Saw the way his hand rubbed his jaw as he pondered the pros and cons. Saw when he finally made his decision.

“Okay, we’ll do that. Just hang out. But in one week, I want you back here. And then we’ll see if we need to renegotiate.”

She’d won! Mallory could barely believe it. She nodded and moved to the door, but his hand stopped her.

“And Mallory, just to make sure we’re on the same page, after that kiss, I highly doubt there will be a need for renegotiations.”

Chapter Five

One week. Mallory scrambled out of her bed at the sound of her alarm with those words ringing through her brain. One week to convince him she was right.

Or one week to at least show him her side of the issue.

One week to convince him he didn’t really want all of her no matter how badly she wanted all of him.

There it was. Simplistic truth. As much as she despised Brenton’s business practices, there was something about him that made her act like a sex maniac.

She’d walked into his office determined to tell him sex wasn’t a part of the deal no matter how many times he said he wanted her.

Too bad. She wanted mocha fudge ice cream every day, but she didn’t indulge because it would be bad for her health. And Brenton was absolutely bad for her health. Disastrous even.

Proof was easy enough to find.

She’d walked into his office and eyed him like a carmel pecan double fudge sundae, and then she’d kissed him just the same.

And those kisses.

Damn.
 

No doubt about it. Brenton Alexander should have to walk around with a surgeon general warning taped to his shirt. Because he was definitely that kind of trouble for her.

Despite the fact that he was a heartless, money hungry, land grabbing millionaire, she was drawn to him.

Of course, she was only human and the man practically exuded sex in a simple handshake. Who was she to fight that?

Somehow, she had to.

Because she had one week to do her best to show him how great Serendipity was as is. And at the same time, she’d prove that her daddy belonged in his position as Athletic Director.

Before she’d left, he’d promised they would spend time together. Get to know one another.

And after the week was over, she just hoped he wouldn’t want to cash in. Because she honestly didn’t think she could go through with that part of the bargain.

Liar.

She slipped on her running shorts and one of her many Serendipity Lady Mustangs tee shirts ignoring her conscience as she did.
 

Brenton was meeting her this morning for the beginning of their getting-to-know-you stage. And she’d told him to dress comfortably.

Hopefully, he’d feel like jogging.

She tugged on her tennis shoes and grabbed a breakfast bar and water bottle at the same time she checked out the clock.

Eight already. If he didn’t hurry, it would start getting hot. She could only imagine how the town would react if he died of heat stroke brought on by her goading him into an impromptu race.

Stretches done, she wondered what was keeping him. Surely Brenton wasn’t having second thoughts. He was the most single minded person she knew. Once he had an idea in place, he pursued it indefinitely.
 

At least that’s what she thought she saw in him.

And he certainly had an idea in place about her. Maybe today would disabuse him of that notion.

Chill bumps still covered every inch of her body when she remembered him looking at her across the table at Charlie’s and saying, “I want you.”

He’d said the words the same way he’d ordered his soda. And she supposed she should be offended.
 

She wasn’t. Not any more than she’d been when he’d looked across his desk and said she had one week. Those words had left her trembling in her shoes, and not from fear.

His kisses might have been good. But the way he looked so completely determined when he said those words was sexier than hell, and as enticing as anything she’d ever heard in her life.

If he prettied it up with a bunch of poetry, she’d probably laugh in his face.

But the simplicity of the statement just about brought her to her knees.

God, she couldn’t think about it anymore. It was going to drive her stark raving lunatic.