The Billionaire's Challenging Beauty (Bold, Alaskan Men Book 2) (5 page)

With that plan in place, he felt as if a steel band had been released from around his chest.  Tyla would be his, he thought with relish.  All his!  He could picture her now, all that blond hair spread out on his bed, her breasts heaving, waiting for his touch…

Calling up Kevin, the bartender on the schedule to work tonight, he told him he could have the night off.  Saeger would take his shift at the bar tonight. 

Settling down behind his desk, he smiled now that he had a plan.  Ah, the little woman would be in his arms by nightfall.

Tyla stared at the huge man behind the bar as anger, fear, lust, and a whole range of other emotions almost choked her.  “What the hell are you doing here!” she practically screamed after walking in for her shift that night.

Saeger set the box of beer down on the counter and leaned his elbow against it while he looked over at Tyla, his eyes moving up and down her delectable figure.  “Kevin needed the night off.  I’m covering for him.”

Tyla blinked, her mind working frantically to figure out how to handle being so close to Saeger after that kiss yesterday.  And her crying fit yesterday afternoon.  And her sleepless night last night.  And her vow to get over her feelings for the man! 

No.  This wasn’t happening!  Saeger couldn’t be here.  She couldn’t be around him.  Not so soon.  It would play havoc with the mind games she’d been playing today.  She’d been trying to convince herself that Saeger wasn’t as big and handsome as she’d remembered, that he was just a big, fat, lazy slug and she should find another man to lust after. 

But with him standing there, looking so… male!  Her mind games weren’t going to work!  She couldn’t have the overly muscular Adonis smiling down at her with… wait!  Why was he smiling at her?  Saeger never smiled at her!  He growled and grumbled, snapped orders, and glared at her with his sexy eyes that just made her want to….

She shook her head, trying to stop her mind from thinking of all the things she wanted to do to Saeger while he watched her with those eyes. 

No more romance novels, she vowed!  Too many wonderful, lustful, and interesting ideas. 

“Go home!  I’ll tend the bar and Sarah can cover my tables tonight.” 

Saeger almost laughed.  She looked adorable and sexy in that red sweater.  Much better than the flannel shirt he’d spied her in the other night.  “You giving me orders now, darlin’?” he teased, winking in her direction. 

Oh, she had more than a few orders she’d like to give the big brute!  Tyla stomped over to the bar and dumped her backpack down onto one of the bar stools.  “Why are you even here?  Why do you work in this place?  You are one of the owners!”

He leaned closer, getting a slight whiff of the strawberry shampoo she used.  Damn, she smelled good!  “Exactly.  I’m one of the owners.  So I need to be here to manage things, make sure things are running smoothly.”

She rolled her eyes, not believing it for a moment.  “You run a multi-billion dollar company with a presence in over forty countries.  You don’t need to be in any of those areas to make sure they run smoothly.  What’s so great about The Rotten Apple?”

She had a good point.  Time to ‘fess up, he thought.  Rubbing his jaw, he leaned his arms against the bar, looking down into her pretty, blue eyes.  “The bar keeps us human,” he told her, being completely honest.  “We spend our days dealing with people who would stab us in the backs if it meant they’d make more money or win a business competition.  In business, there’s a barrenness of humanity, compassion, and trust among competitors.  We need that challenge though.  At least, I do.  I need the mental stimulation of winning, of getting the next best thing to market and beating the competition,” he explained, and felt her pretty blue gaze all the way to his soul. 

Tyla blinked after that explanation.  And darn it!  Her heart melted even more for the man.  He looked so tough and strong and yet… no, she couldn’t really say that there was a vulnerability to him.  There was just a… need… in those eyes.  “You mean, you wouldn’t come down off of your mountain if it weren’t for The Rotten Apple?” she asked him, her voice softening as the human side of him was revealed. 

“Probably not.  All four of us need this place, we need an atmosphere to unwind from the work in our homes and to be around other people.  People who don’t work for us, where we don’t control someone’s livelihood.  People who are just… good.  And good for no ulterior motive.”

Tyla swallowed back the tears of sadness at his words.  It was like he’d revealed a secret, just to her.  She wanted to wrap her arms around him, as if that might somehow soothe the beast inside of him.  “Is it that hard running such a large empire?” she asked, leaning against the wood and trying to understand this complex man. 

“Running the businesses?” he asked, then shook his head.  “No.  That’s not hard at all.  We’re each in industries that we enjoy.”

She waited but he’d stopped.  “So what’s so hard?  Why do you need this place?”  She wasn’t yelling any longer.  And all of the pain and embarrassment she’d felt after that intense kiss and his apology the previous afternoon was gone, replaced by a surge of compassion for a part of this man she’d never seen before. 

He looked at her and she thought he might just blow off the question.  Her muscles tensed, her eyes searching his. 

“We need to know that there are good, hardworking people in the world.  People who aren’t going to stab us in the backs if we’re not watching, always on alert.”  That was the truth and he’d never thought to admit it to anyone. 

Tyla looked up into his navy eyes and saw the sincerity, her heart once again melting for him.  “I see,” she said quietly, wishing she had the right to move into his arms and hug him, show him that she’d never betray him.  He was such a good person and the four of them had done so much for this rural community.  Now he was telling her that he needed this group of people more than they needed him.  It was a startling revelation. 

The door to the bar swung open and a group of kids surged in, laughing and joking, pushing each other as they headed to the back towards the game room. 

The moment was broken and she took a deep breath, feeling strangely… strange with his revelation. 

“I’m going to go put my stuff in the locker now,” she said softly, not sure what to say.  Her heart ached for him and the other guys and she felt ashamed at her vehemence when she’d walked in a few minutes ago. 

“About time,” he winked at her.  “You’re late.”  And he turned around to grab the other bottles, unaware of the surge of tenderness in her eyes. 

Tyla stood up and pushed away, feeling like her world had just gone topsy turvy.  She still didn’t want to work tonight with Saeger so close, but at least… well, she’d gotten a small glimpse into who he was. 

Unfortunately, that glimpse only caused her more confusion.  As the bar started to fill up, she wondered if he’d apologized for the kiss yesterday because he’d regretted kissing her or because of something she’d done.  Had she made him feel uncomfortable?  Had his refuge here in Winthrop gone sour because of their kiss? 

The thoughts and possibilities swirling around in her head didn’t make any sense and she didn’t have answers.  But at least he wasn’t snapping at her tonight. 

In fact, every time she turned around, he was looking at her but not with… not with regret! 

And that only made her more confused.  Nothing made sense! 

Tyla realized that she was just a simple country girl at heart.  She liked to get up in the morning, see her friends, and work on her website, build up her portfolio of clients.  Maybe someday, she’d be a famous graphic artist who was called upon by all of the biggest, baddest companies.  Probably not, she thought with amusement as she set another round of beers down at one of the back tables. 

Nope.  First of all, she didn’t think that one particular graphic artist could be that much in demand… and she was okay with that.  She had a slowly growing list of clients that were requesting her assistance now.  And secondly, she knew that she wasn’t really the globetrotting kind of woman.  She’d realized that when she’d joined the Peace Corps.  Yes, she’d helped restore a village and met some amazing people.  Yes, she’d gotten to see more of the world than she’d thought possible. 

But the whole time, all she wanted to do was come home and be with her friends.  That’s how she’d come to understand that she could volunteer and help out here in Winthrop.  She could help people here and still soothe her soul by being where she belonged. 

Her eyes looked up and caught Saeger watching her once again.  Saeger traveled all over the world.  He had businesses in so many countries and so many states within the U.S. 

And that thought struck her hard.  She wasn’t the kind of woman who could travel the world and Saeger was the kind that loved it.  He probably needed to travel all over to ensure that his businesses were running properly. 

With a sigh, she looked down at the floor, not sure what to do or where to go. 

Darn it, the night had started off badly and only gotten worse. 

Hmmm… maybe not worse.  Perhaps the evening had just gotten more confusing.  Life had become more confusing. 

She kept her eyes away from Saeger since there were too many questions in her mind and thinking about him, seeing him, only brought up additional questions.  Maybe he’d been right.  Maybe their kiss, this silly attraction between the two of them was a mistake. 

Tyla had never been more grateful for the last customer to leave the bar that night.  She was exhausted, not having slept well the night before, and confused because of too many questions. 

All she wanted to do was get out of the bar and run home, hide away from Saeger and the looks he’d been tossing her way all night.  Nothing good could come of their attraction.  He was right.  They should just ignore it and go on with their lives. 

“You’re ignoring me,” Saeger said when she went to the locker room to grab her bag.

Tyla swung around, clasping her bag in front of her like a shield.  “I’m not,” she finally blurted out. 

“Yes you are,” he said and moved closer to her. 

Tyla glanced behind him, wondering where the others had gone. 

“We’re alone,” he told her, his voice trying to soothe her nervousness.  He acknowledged now that he’d messed up yesterday and he wasn’t exactly sure how to make it up to her. 

“Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?” he finally asked. 

Looking down at her, Saeger instantly knew that she was going to say no.  “You don’t have to work tomorrow.  Why not just have a relaxing dinner with me?”

She started to shake her head but he reached out and touched her arm, stopping all the words that might have formed in her mind.  “Don’t say no, Tyla.  I think we need to talk.”

Talk?  He wanted to talk?  She could barely grunt! 

“I can pick you up at six tomorrow, and we’ll drive to Appleton.  Violet told me about this restaurant over there that serves great burgers.”

Tyla sighed with relief.  Burgers she could do!  Burgers didn’t sound like an actual “date” date.  It sounded like two people grabbing dinner together.  Not a date. 

“A burger sounds like a good idea,” she finally told him. 

He smiled and her stomach flipped over.  “Great!  It’s a date!”

She pulled back and shook her head.  “Not a date!” she gasped.

He’d been about to walk out of the locker room when she said that, but he stopped and turned back, looking down at her with a strange look in his eyes.  “Not a date?” he asked, with a slight smile to those handsome, mind-mush-inducing lips. 

She shook her head, trying to stop her eyes from looking down at his mouth.  She wasn’t thinking about him kissing her.  No way!  That would completely be against her new No-Lusting-After-Saeger policy. 

“Not a date.  It can’t be a date,” she told him.

He moved even closer, and her eyes moved once again to his mouth, wondering if yesterday had truly been a mistake.  It hadn’t felt like a mistake while it was happening, he thought.  “Why can’t it be a date?” he asked her softly. 

Saeger saw the confusion in her eyes.  His body hardened even more when her cute tongue darted out and licked her lips.  Damn, but if she did that again, he wasn’t sure he could hold off on kissing her again until tomorrow.

His hands pulled the backpack out of her arms and flipped it over his shoulder.  Oh, goodness, those shoulders!  She remembered touching those massive shoulders yesterday.  Her mind might have been mush, but those broad, delectable shoulders with all of those yummy muscles got through her consciousness.  Oh yeah! 

Oh no!  No, no, no!  She would not think about him in that way!  He’d apologized! 

Sure, he was sending out strange messages now.  But she’d misinterpreted his messages before.  She was most likely doing it again. 

Just stop thinking about him kissing you, she told herself firmly.  Don’t even look at his lips. 

“A date might mean…” she shrugged, her eyes moving from his shoulders to his mouth again.  Was he moving closer to her?  Or was she moving closer to him.  Tyla took a step backwards, just in case.  She cleared her throat and started again.  “A date might mean that you’ll apologize again.  We might do something stupid and wrong.”

“What would be stupid and wrong?” he asked, eliminating the space between them. 

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and laid a hand over her stomach, trying to slow the butterflies down.  “Kissing.”

His eyebrows shot up with that word.  “Kissing would be stupid and wrong?”

She nodded her head and moved back again.  Her shoulders felt the metal of the lockers and she knew she was trapped.  What was a woman supposed to do when she wanted so badly to be kissed, but kissing would be wrong?