Dynasties Collection

She tilted her head back and gazed up at him.

“How long do you think their respect will last once they know I’m living in your penthouse suite?”

“It won’t be like that.”

“It’s always like that. Everyone will think me a lucky little gold digger who landed a rich lover—exactly what you accused me of only a few days ago.”

His gaze fell before hers.

“I apologize, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you shouldn’t. Your apology is accepted. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m not moving in with you.”

There was a long pause. Avery tensed, waiting for an argument, for him to sweep her up in his arms, for something.

But he only said, “We need to work on the presentation we’re giving tomorrow.”

Back to work. The professional relationship that was all she could ever afford to share with him.

So why did she want to sag with disappointment that he’d accepted her decision? At least she knew she could deal with Guy on the work front.

Hurriedly she said, “Well, we might as well talk about both presentations.” The second presentation was next Wednesday, less than a week away. “Give me an hour, I’ll come up to your suite.” She made herself give him a cheeky smile. “Have dinner ready, but don’t think that you can change my mind about staying the night.”

Avery was true to her word.

The intercom buzzed exactly an hour later—and Guy activated the private elevator for her to come up, then opened the door to his suite.

She stepped into his living room, a tote slung over her shoulder and a bright smile on her face. She was wearing high-heel slides, a pair of her trademark white jeans and a strawberry-ice silk blouse that clung to her curves. She looked good enough to lick.

“Come in,” said Guy huskily.

“Oh, that looks good.”

Her attention had homed in on an array of mouthwatering tapas spread on the low square coffee table where two sofas sat beside the empty fireplace. “Funny how the sight of food always seems to remind me of how long it’s been since I last ate.”

“Room service,” he said laconically.

She slid him an amused look as she sat down on the nearest sofa. “And there I thought you’d been slaving in the kitchen preparing our meal. You still owe me a meal—you promised to make me one in New York, and you never did.”

Never again. He’d done that on the night of her birthday … and had been left cooling his heels while she entertained herself with Jeff.

“We’ve got a lot of work to get through,” he said tersely. “Let’s get started.”

She didn’t take the hint. “You know, while I stayed with you most of our food was take out from Baratin’s—”

“What’s wrong with that? Most women would kill to never have to cook.”

“I cooked.”

“Very occasionally—and then only breakfast.” He tipped his head to the side. “Now that I think back, it was toast and cereal most mornings.”

“Do you have any idea how intimidating it is to cook for a chef? Obviously not! Except you never cooked—I’m seriously beginning to wonder if you actually know how to cook, or whether you’re just a fraud.” She slanted him a teasing glance from under those fluttery eyelashes.

Despite the gloom that the memory of her birthday had cast over him, Guy found himself laughing. She’d always been able to charm a smile from him.

“Avery, that’s something I sometimes wonder myself. I employ chefs these days. I seem to spend more time doing paperwork and juggling numbers than cooking. The business courses Dad insisted I take are being used more than my chef credentials.”

“I’m always impressed when I watch food shows.” She leaned back on the couch, folding her hands behind her head. With her glinting eyes half closed, she was all temptress. “Those so efficient chefs, chopping onions without weeping, producing masterpieces in minutes. You’ll have to show me how it’s done.”

Guy suppressed the urge to rush to the kitchen, don an apron, anything to impress her. Been there, never again. “Maybe one day.”

But he had no intention of exposing himself that way again.

Avery kicked off her slides. Guy caught a glimpse of pink-tipped toes before she tucked her feet underneath her. From her tote, she drew out a black notebook and a pen.

“Okay, so where shall we start?”

Guy was still admiring the picture she made, the way her white jeans clung to her thighs, and fantasizing about feeding her strawberries that he’d flambéed to impress her then licking the flavour from her lips.

Caught off guard by her businesslike demeanor he found himself stuttering, “Uh … I have a PowerPoint presentation that will provide some material.”

She tipped her face toward the flat-screen television that dominated the wall across from where she sat, then looked expectantly back at him. “Let’s watch it.”

Hell, he hadn’t linked his laptop.

Guy rubbed the back of his neck. “When we’ve finished talking.”

She shifted, a little wriggle that had Guy clenching his teeth in frustration, before she settled again.

He barely knew what they talked about for the next twenty minutes, except that Avery seemed to take copious notes … and make numerous suggestions—none of which he was likely to retain.

Not when she was such a tempting distraction.

Finally, Avery closed her notebook with a snap and said, “Good, that should wrap it up.”

Guy was simply relieved that the torture was at an end. Until she reached for a toothpick and speared a piece of spicy chorizo with it. Popping it in her mouth, she chewed, head tilted to one side, then said, “That was very tasty. There’s a smoky flavor that would go well with an oaked and well-aged red made from tempranillo grapes.”

“That would be a great match.”

A frown furrowed her brow. “I detect a spice I can’t place.”

Guy tried to tell himself that this was still work. Matching food and wine. But his body refused to believe him. All he could do was stare at her mouth like a hungry hound after a meal.

“Have you eaten?”

He shook his head, not trusting his voice. “You should.”

With delicate grace she took a second toothpick out of the white porcelain holder and spiked a piece of chorizo then added a sun-dried tomato, and offered it to him.

His heart thumped.

He bent his head, took it from her fingers, aware of the unconscious eroticism of the gesture.

The sweetness of the tomato and the spicy sausage complemented one another.

“What do you think?” Her brow had crinkled. “Can you identify that elusive spice?”

“Pimentón,” he said huskily, watching her help herself to a shrimp cake. “Spanish paprika.”

She snapped her fingers. “You’re right.” Then she speared a fat, shiny black olive. “So,” she said, “what thoughts do you have about the menus for the restaurants?”

This was work, what Jarrod Ridge was paying her for. No doubt she’d be keeping track of every second to bill the resort. He forced himself to concentrate. “A total re-vamp.”

Another olive went the same way as the last. Guy almost growled. But he managed to feed himself and stanch some of the physical hunger. Too soon the platters on the table were empty.

“When are you going to put the PowerPoint on?” She had to be joking, right?

One glance revealed she wasn’t. The notebook was propped against her thigh, and a pencil twisted between her fingers. She expected them to work. Guy suppressed a sigh and hooked his laptop up to the flat screen. Then he settled down on the couch beside her. He put his hand on her leg.

“Hey.”

He took it off. This time he sighed loudly.

With no choice he focused on the screen, conscious of every move of her hand as she scribbled the occasional note.

The room grew darker. There were a couple of clips of interviews and Avery put her pad and pencil down on the coffee table.

“Seen enough?”

She shook her head. “I want to watch it all.”

Guy’s thoughts wandered. He’d seen parts of the presentation countless times. He was tempted to flick it forward, speed it up.

Dammit, he’d had enough of work.

He ached to kiss Avery. It had been too long. When her head brushed his shoulder, his pulse surged and he slung an arm around her. She rewarded him by snuggling up against him. Guy couldn’t wait for the program to finish.

Her breathing grew more regular. Guy peered down at her through the dim light, and suppressed a groan.

Avery had fallen asleep!

She looked so young, so innocent, with her dark lashes falling against smooth cheeks. Guy stroked the feathery bangs off her face with gentle fingers. She stirred, and he stilled, but instead of waking she only burrowed closer.

Emotion bolted through him, fierce and primitive and defying him to put a name to it.

With one hand he pressed the remote and the screen went black. Scooping Avery up into his arms, he rose and headed for his bedroom. Muted light spilled from the bedside lamp. There, surrounded by the burgundy and muted gold décor, he laid her down and gently arranged the covers over her, before shedding his shirt, dropping his jeans and lowering himself beside her.

Instantly she curled into him.

The spontaneity of the gesture pierced his heart. Guy gathered her close, and closed his eyes. Nuzzling at the soft fluff of her hair he was conscious of a welcome sense of contentment seeping through him.

This time he wasn’t going to let her go.

She woke in an unfamiliar room.

Avery blinked against the shaded glow of the bedside lamp. Shifting, she became aware of the warmth of a body in the bed beside her. Guy! They’d been in the sitting room of his suite, she’d felt replete and pleasantly tired. Then nothing.

They hadn’t made love. She would’ve remembered that.

Her body was curved into Guy’s spoon-fashion, her legs tangled with his. She suspected his were bare—unlike hers that were still clad in jeans.

At least he hadn’t undressed her.

He’d retained that much decency.

Nor had he made love to her.

Okay, so what did that prove? Only that Guy wasn’t a necrophiliac. She stifled a giggle and eased herself away from him. He groaned and rolled onto his back.

Avery slipped quickly out the king-size bed, her bare feet sinking into thick carpet. Guy’s arm was flung out above his head, his dark hair mussed. In sleep he looked younger, carefree, more like the Guy she’d met … what? … could it be only ten weeks ago now? She couldn’t remember what her life had been like before Guy.

A sigh escaped. Once the Food and Wine Gala ended, so would her time with Guy.

For a moment she contemplated diving back into the soft, welcoming bed and cozying up to him. They could make love. Add another treasured memory to the trove in her heart to take away with her when she left. Then she squared her shoulders.

She wasn’t going to spend the night with Guy … and have the world know about it. She wasn’t going to become his lover—at least not until he began to trust her. Really trust her.

Far better to sneak out like a thief in the night now than to face that humiliation in the morning when the staff came on duty.

Swinging about, Avery headed into the darkened sitting room to find her shoes, her notebook and her tote, before she risked her self-respect.

Guy stirred, and reached out an arm … only to discover an expanse of smooth sheet. An empty expanse. His eyes shot open, and he rolled over.

The bed was cool, no residue of body warmth lingered. The only signs that Avery had been there were the slight indent on the pillow beside him and the lingering scent of her perfume.

Despite Avery saying that she would not move into his suite, Guy had comfortably expected to be able to change her mind last night—once he got her there. He hadn’t banked on her falling asleep, but he’d certainly expected her to still be in his bed when he wakened. Hell, he’d been arrogantly sure that he could persuade her to stay.

Her absence was a significant shock.

He’d planned to convince her that her scruples were insignificant, to pull her into his arms and make love again … and again in the shower … as they had for those two passionate weeks in New York.

Not to awaken to this void of emptiness.

Nothing was going the way he’d planned. In the past two months his life had been turned upside down. What with Avery’s betrayal, Jeff’s weakness in the face of temptation, his father’s death, the discovery that he had a half sister he’d never known … his world had gone crazy.

For the first time in his life, he didn’t have the answers. He’d expected to hate Erica, to be able to forgive Jeff, to cope easily with his father’s loss—after all it had been years since they’d spent time together. Most of all he’d been certain of his ability to persuade Avery to resuscitate their smoldering affair, until he grew bored.

But Avery had changed….

And so had everything else around him.

Eight

Avery stood behind the presenter’s podium in the grand marquee waiting with some trepidation for Guy to join her. She took a sip of water and pretended to scan the notes she’d typed up on her laptop in the hours before dawn, when she should’ve been fast asleep.

It was not the prospect of facing a crowd that was responsible for her trepidation, only the thought of seeing one man. Guy. She’d sneaked out like a thief in the night. And paid the price by her inability to doze.

No doubt he’d slept like a baby.

When she caught sight of him coming her way, her heart did a somersault.

He was wearing dark trousers ironed to a knife-edge, and a white shirt that hung out giving him a rakish look. There was a faint line of stubble on his jaw that should have made him look untidy, but only made him more irresistible.

His gaze caught hers, and for a moment they both stilled, then he gave her a faint smile. It widened, full of charm and promises. Empty promises.

Avery glanced away as he wound toward her side, checking around to see if anyone else had noticed that moment of jolting awareness between them.

No one sitting in the rows of seats appeared remotely interested.

She relaxed a little.

“You ran out on me.”

The whisper as he placed a laptop on the podium beside her notes caused Avery to shudder.

“Hush!” She slanted him a frown. Then ruined it by adding, “You looked like a baby, all innocence and eyelashes.”

A flush stained his cheekbones. “I can assure you, I didn’t feel nearly as innocent as a baby when I woke up this morning….”

The loaded words caused a rush of heat. For a moment she half wished she’d given in to the reckless temptation to stay in his bed all night long. For sure she would’ve slept better in his arms than she had alone. She’d missed him from the moment she’d left.

Avery had a sinking feeling that she was about to cave to his demands. She reminded herself she simply wasn’t the kind of woman who could sleep with a man without an emotional connection. And tried to convince herself that her hurt and anger at Guy had broken the emotional connection that had bound her to him.

She could never do pleasure for pleasure’s sake.

Yet she knew she lied to herself. Because Guy still drew her like a moth to flame. God. How could she feel something so self-destructive about a man who felt nothing for her?

“.only to find that you’d gone.”

His murmur was so low she barely heard it, but it was enough to make her stiffen her spine. He might not love her, and she might feel a lot more for him than she wanted, but she couldn’t afford to forget that he only wanted her for sex—however much he wrapped it up in pretty words.

“Guy, stop it! This is my career, it’s important to me.”

She couldn’t afford to compromise her career, her own professionalism for a relationship that was headed nowhere. She had to make him understand that.

“Yes,” he said impatiently. “I accept that.”

“Good.”

But was this what she really wanted?

There would be no more nights of illicit passion. It would all be over. She would be well on her way to getting him out of her system—out of her life. She would never be the butt of a host of insinuations about a little gold digger sleeping with the boss.

It was all for the best.

She had to stick to her guns … and not cave in to his demands or her desires. Those would only cause her harm—even though the hold Guy had on her heart would make it all too easy to assent.

By contrast their second presentation five days later was all business.

Yet it belied the fact that Avery and Guy had fallen into a routine since the night she’d fallen asleep in his suite. Each day they would spend several hours going through recipes Guy wanted to add to the menus and seeking the perfect wine and beverage match. Avery also spent a couple of hours each day reviewing and training the restaurant and bar staff. In the evening, she and Guy would order in room service to Guy’s suite and analyze the day’s progress. There was a delicious domesticity about their relationship, and Avery stored up every memory.

After their speech, a trio of foodies came up to talk to Guy, and Louis, the French chef from Chagall’s, told Avery that they’d done a great job. Then Trevor and Gavin were both there adding to the crowd.

Trevor took her hand and shook it. “Good job. You had me wanting to visit some of those California vineyards you mentioned.”

“Thanks,” she smiled at him when he dropped her hand. “Start with El Dorado, it’s a winery I know very well—I grew up there.”

Erica arrived with Christian, and the talk quickly turned to the December wedding they were planning.

“I thought we could serve champagne cocktails to the guests as they arrive. What do you think, Avery?” Erica asked.

“You could add a hint of cassis.”

“Christian suggested I talk to you, Trevor, about where to hold the service since you live here.”

“Hey, I’m a freewheeling bachelor. What do I know about weddings?”

Everyone laughed at the expression of mock horror on Trevor’s face.

“But as president of marketing you’re the perfect person to ask,” Erica retorted. “Besides, apart from Christian, you’re the only one who actually lives in Aspen.”

Trevor spread his hands. “Of course I’ll help. Hmm, your wedding will be in December, why don’t you have Blake and Guy dress up as twin Santas?” Trevor suggested with a twinkle in his eye.

“I heard that,” said Guy from the other side of the trio he was talking to.

Erica laughed. “They’d both need big white fluffy beards. I’ve gotten to know a few of the local vendors, I’m sure Dorothy from the yarn shop could organize something.”

“Forget it,” ordered Guy. And everyone laughed again.

“On a serious note, Christian and I will be using as many locals as we possibly can to help us prepare.”

Guy had been watching Erica, but at this he broke in. “They’d like that. It’s a good idea to include them—and it will have the bonus of garnering a lot of goodwill for Jarrod Ridge. Although I know that’s not your primary motive for including the locals in the celebration.”

Erica beamed at him, and Avery’s heart turned to marshmallow. Any resentment that Guy might once have harbored toward his half sister had clearly been set to rest.

Discussion continued about the wedding for a few minutes more before Avery excused herself. As she walked away, she was aware of more than one pair of eyes on her retreating back.

“That woman is good-looking,” Louis commented as Avery sauntered away.

Guy groaned, attracting Christian’s sharp gaze. “You don’t think so, Guy? Or is it just that you’ve been too busy to notice?”

Hell. “How could I not notice?” he retorted in response to his future brother-in-law’s sly observation.

“Ah, so you have noticed.” Christian’s eyes crinkled with laughter. “What do you intend to do about it?”

Mentally Guy crossed his fingers. “Nothing.”

“Then you’re a fool,” Trevor entered the discussion. “A sommelier and a restaurateur has to be a match made in the industry heaven.”

“Now you’re starting to sound like Dad. Who said I want to always be talking work to my lover?” Guy protested.

“At least you’d be doing something you love—think of me stuck here, torn away from everything I’ve achieved over the past decade.” Gavin sounded utterly frustrated. “What was Dad thinking setting his will up in such a fashion? I feel like I’m being buried alive.”

“And think about how much you and Avery would have in common.” Erica added her weight to the argument after a short pause.

Guy felt under siege. He could hardly disclose the one thing that would stop his family from matchmaking him with Avery. Once they knew that she’d cheated on him, they’d close ranks against her. But he’d never admit what a fool he’d been. “Just as well Blake has gone back to New York, otherwise you’d be canvassing him for an opinion, too.”

“We can still ask Melissa,” Erica grinned at him, an infectious smile that had Guy wanting to smile back.

“I haven’t seen her all morning,” Guy said as he thought about his sister. In fact he’d barely seen much of her all week, and when he had she’d been much more quiet than usual.

“She’s probably run off her feet at the spa,” Erica said, ever practical.

“She wasn’t there when I went to the gym earlier,” said Christian.

“She’ll turn up.” Guy raised an eyebrow. “Then you can start matchmaking her with some man—so start looking for someone suitable.”

They all laughed, and to Guy’s great relief talk turned away from Avery and back to Erica and Christian’s Christmas wedding.

It was late afternoon before he caught up with Avery again.

“I wanted to talk to you more about the brief for the restaurants,” Guy said to her as they walked up the pathway lined with a profusion of colorful flowers on the way back to Jarrod Manor.

“We can talk later.”

He got the feeling she was about to disappear again. “Tonight. Come up when you’re done.”

“Let’s meet in the sky lounge,” she said quickly, “I’m still working on adding some more variety to the beer list for the Christmas season.”

Didn’t she know that anyone seeing him with her would be unable to miss the attraction she held for him? Even his family had noticed. “Maybe it would be a better idea to go check out some of the competition—we’ll go to town, hit the bars and restaurants.”

Avery’s eyes lit up. “That sounds like fun.”

Guy thought so too, and that way he wouldn’t have to be so on his guard against his family’s well-meant teasing. Nor would he have to disillusion them about what kind of person Avery really was. Although it was getting harder and harder for him to remember that himself.

She truly had bewitched him.

Avery decided she could easily fall in love with Aspen. Main Street was buzzing with activity. Pickups, Porsches and even a lovingly restored old Cadillac filled the lanes. And the stores—there was everything from Gucci to Macy’s and burgers to up-market restaurants that the rich and famous were known to frequent.

Guy parked the SUV and Avery emerged from the passenger door to stare around like a wide-eyed child in a candy store. Couples strolled along the sidewalk, people spilled out of restaurants, families bundled together. Guy came round to her side. Avery scarcely noticed when he threaded his fingers through hers.

He pointed to a sign ahead. “There’s the first bar where I thought we might conduct some covert espionage.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “Maybe I can get some business from them, too.” It was a thought. That way, if things were going well between Guy and her perhaps she could stay longer than the month they’d agreed….

God! What was she contemplating?

“Not until you’ve completed your contract with Jarrod Ridge.” He gave her a mock frown. “I’ll have to get that signed and sealed as soon as we get back.”