Between the CEO's Sheets / House Calls: Between the CEO's Sheets / House Calls

Nothing was further from the truth. Despite her need for job security, she couldn’t let Wade get away with this. “I’m sorry, Mr. Beaumont, but I must take some personal time today. I’ve suddenly developed a terrible headache.”

Blinding anger offered up the courage she needed to march out the front door of the restaurant and never look back.

* * *

Gina walked along the main streets of town until her feet ached, her anger ebbed and her heart had stopped racing like she’d just run a marathon. She peeked into shops but had no urge to stop. When tourists smiled at her she didn’t smile back. She felt trapped on this island. Trapped in a job she shouldn’t have taken—one she couldn’t afford to lose.

She’d been out for two hours, enough time to simmer her hot Irish-Italian temper. She headed back to the hotel, contemplating a quiet night with a good book. As soon as she entered her suite, she kicked off her shoes. One flipped up and back hitting the wall behind her, the other slid across the floor to meet with another pair of shoes—a pair of man’s shoes.

She looked up.

“Where the hell have you been?” Wade’s angry voice startled her. He glared at her, arms folded, his face as firm and set as his tone.

“What are you doing in here?” she asked, none too pleased to find her boss invading her private space. “How dare you show up in my room like this!”

“You’re on company time, Miss Grady. And this is a company suite.”

“Oh, no. No way, Wade. This is my room and while I’m on this island, you have no right entering it without my permission. You’re not paying me enough to…to—”

Wade stepped closer, until he was nearly in her face, his green eyes, holding hers, his voice menacing. “Sue me.”

Gina blinked. Anger she’d ebbed earlier rose up again with striking force. She turned her back on him, opened the front door and spoke with a quiet calm she didn’t know she possessed. “Get out.”

Wade strode to the door and, staring into her eyes, shoved it shut. “No one walks out on me, Gina. And no one dismisses me.”

“You’re so wrong. Maybe I can’t throw you out of here, but I’ve already dismissed you.” On shaky legs, she moved away from the door, away from him.

“What’s got you so riled up anyway?”

Gina twirled around. Was he serious? Didn’t he know how he had portrayed their relationship? “You deliberately let Robinique believe we were lovers, Wade. You staked your claim, though nothing’s further from the truth. But more than that, you had no right to make that decision for me.”

“Sleeping with Robinique would compromise the company.”

He was serious. He’d actually thought she would— Furious, Gina calmed herself and took a different approach. “Quite the contrary, Wade,” she began with a slow easy smile, “if I slept with him, the company would only benefit.”

Wade couldn’t really argue with that, though it galled him just thinking about Gina with James Robinique. Visions of making love to Gina, her soft pliant body meshed with his as they laid down on a soft cushion of hay, were never far from his mind. He remembered her, every inch of her, all too well. That night in El Paso had been magical. Though not experienced, Gina had pleased and pleasured him like no other woman had. “So, you’re willing to take one for the team, so to speak?”

Her dark espresso eyes turned black as ink. She stood barefooted, hands on hips, looking at him with defiance. Only the king bed separated them and Wade’s thoughts turned to it and how making love to her here would be on a soft mattress and silky sheets.

Gina’s voice was deceptively calm, but the fury in her eyes gave her away. “I came here to work with you. Whether you believe me or not, I can be trusted. And if you’d given me the chance, you’d have seen me refuse Mr. Robinique’s offer. I have no intention of sleeping with him or any other man. So no, I wouldn’t have taken one for the team, Wade. Not like that. Now, please, it’s been a long day. If there’s nothing else you need from me, I’d like you to leave.”

Wade stood his ground. He’d never trust Gina again, but he felt great satisfaction knowing that she would have refused Robinique. Though she’d been wrong on one account. She would sleep with one man while on this island. “Sorry, sweetheart, but you’re forgetting who’s the boss. And there is something else I need from you. I wasn’t lying to Robinique when I said we’d be working into the night.”

Gina’s ire seemed to vanish. “Oh?”

Wade headed for the door. “We have a dinner meeting in exactly two hours. Be ready when I pick you up.”

Gina stood there with a confused look on her face, her eyes softening, her rigid body relaxing. He glanced down at her red toenails and had never wanted a woman more.

Wade whipped the door open and exited.

Before he told her what he really needed from her.

The dinner meeting, held at a small eatery on Avalon’s main street boasting buffalo milk, ended after ten o’clock. Gina had eaten quickly and immediately returned to taking notes. Wade had set up this dinner with local shop owners and proprietors to gain their support and trust, to get to know them, to assure them that if Triple B won the bid, their workers would add to the economy and not cause any trouble. Gina learned from day one that Catalina island thrived on the tourist trade. It was essential that there be no unsavory incidents and no bad press on the island. Wade was smart enough to know that, to understand their concerns.

When all was said and done, Wade escorted her outside and, as they headed toward her hotel suite, he asked. “How do you think that went?”

“By their own admission, not one of the other builders had approached them. Your assurances went a long way. I’d say you scored points.”

Wade nodded. “I want to be on friendly terms when we win the bid. Our crews are the best, but get a bunch of men working in a confined area for too long and that might spell trouble. They needed to know I’d do everything in my power to keep things running smoothly.”

“I think you convinced them.” Wade wasn’t just blowing smoke. Gina really believed he meant what he said. Nine years ago, she would never have believed that the roughriding rancher with the sweet nature would become such an astute businessman. She never pictured him in that role. Yet here he was, talking the talk, making the deals. Gina shook her head.

Wade caught the slight movement. “What?”

“Nothing, really. It’s nothing.”

Wade was silent for a while, then before they reached her hotel, he stopped. “I could use a drink. There’s a nightclub up the street known for their tropical drinks. Care to join me?”

Gina hesitated. A nightcap sounded wonderful. She’d had a tumultuous day. She was physically exhausted but the idea of relaxing with a piña colada and some good music sounded great. “I bet the music’s real loud.”

“Probably,” Wade replied honestly.

Gina nibbled on her lower lip. “It’s probably crowded.”

“Without a doubt.”

“Am I on the clock?” she asked. Looking into Wade’s beautiful green eyes what she really wanted to know was if his request had been a demand of the job or a simple invitation.

Wade shook his head. “Not at all. I don’t like to drink alone, but if it’s not what you—”

“I could use a drink, too.”

“Great. Let’s go,” he said, with a pleased look on his face. They strolled up a slightly inclined street and, somewhere along the way, Wade twined his fingers with hers and they entered the nightclub hand in hand.

For Gina, it felt as natural as breathing.

Five

“I want to make love to you,” Wade whispered in her ear, his warm breath combined with those softly spoken words caused havoc to her nerves and brought tingles to her toes.

With her arms wrapped around his neck, their bodies brushing, swaying to the jazz band’s bluesy sensual ballad, Gina rested her head on his shoulder. After two piña coladas, her brain was fuzzy, but not fuzzy enough to disregard what was happening between them. She was fully aware of what Wade wanted. “It’s not in my job description,” she whispered back softly.

She felt Wade’s smile. It was difficult not to feel the same arousing sensations, not to succumb to his body heat or the pressing evidence of that desire. Gina wanted him, too.

“I told you before, you’re not on the clock, Gina.”

Wade dropped his hands down lower on her back, his fingers splaying across her derriere. He made soft caressing circles as he drew her closer. “Remember how it was between us, Gina? It can be that way again.”

She shouldn’t allow him such liberties. The fact remained that he was still her boss. They had a job to do here on the island. But the sensations swept through her with blinding force. His touch heated her, his words enticed her and his hard body stirred her softer one. She raised her head from his shoulder to look into his eyes.

It was a mistake.

Wade’s intense gaze blazed into hers, before his lips came down in a soul-searing kiss, right there on the crowded, smoky dance floor. They kissed. And kissed.

Gina’s body ignited, but dire warnings fanned the flames quickly. She couldn’t allow Wade in. Not again.

She shoved at his chest and pulled away from him, her body swamped with heat, defying her reasoning. “I didn’t come here for this,” she breathed out. “It’s not a good idea.”

Wade reacted immediately. “I can’t think of a better one.”

Rather than make a scene right there in the nightclub, Gina moved off the dance floor. She walked outside, letting the cool sea breezes clear her head. Wade was beside her instantly. “You’re still a liar, Gina.”

Gina scoffed and began walking down the street. “Your bedside manner needs improving, Wade.”

Wade kept pace, his hand placed possessively on her back. “There’s not a damn thing wrong with my bedside manner. And you’ll find that out as soon as you stop lying to yourself and admit what you really want.”

Gina heaved a big sigh, her head in as much turmoil as her quaking body. “What I want is to go to bed. Alone.”

Wade curled a hand around her neck, bringing her face close, as he came around to block her from walking past him. She was forced to look into those smoldering green eyes.

They stood under the moonlit night sky with twinkling stars overhead, right outside the entrance of her hotel. “Sorry, sweetheart, but what you want is for me to crawl up inside your sheets, strip you naked and rock your world.”

Gina’s mouth opened. Then closed.

“It’s going to happen, Gina. Bank on it.”

He left her standing on the front steps of the hotel, captivated by the steamy image swirling around in her head, more angry than she ever remembered being and wishing that, more than anything, Wade Beaumont had been wrong.

Wade dressed in a pair of Wranglers, faded not by the manufacturer, but by hard work and long wear, a plaid shirt and his Stetson. He put on his boots and left Total Command to pick up Gina this morning.

Although clothes didn’t make the man, Wade was comfortable in these, the old standbys, the worn leather of his boots and the soft cotton of his shirt reminding him of his time at Uncle Lee’s ranch in El Paso. He wasn’t that young man anymore. Time, with all the hardships, heartaches and headaches, had a way of changing a man.

His heart had hardened. And he knew it. He was relentless when he wanted something. Maybe that much of his old man had rubbed off on him. Wade wanted two things. He wanted to win the bid on the Catalina project and he wanted Gina.

Neither one would escape him. He would see to that.

He knocked on her door at precisely 8:00 a.m.

When she didn’t answer, he knocked again, harder.

“Are you looking for me?”

Wade whipped around in the hallway and caught Gina’s unfettered expression. She hadn’t recognized him, that much was obvious. And once she had that genuine look vanished.

“Oh,” she said, standing there, her breaths coming quickly, with sweat on her forehead, dressed in killer shorts and a white spandex top. “Wade, I didn’t—”

“Do you run?”

A quick smile curled her lips. “I try.”

They stood silent for a moment, gazing at each other, but Wade couldn’t miss Gina’s probing eyes and those few rapid blinks as she took in his appearance, as if trying to figure out which man he really was: the fast, hard businessman or the easy, kind cowboy she’d once known.

The confusion in her eyes bothered him, so he ignored her expression and swept his gaze instead to her long legs, and tanned smooth skin. More leg than she’d allowed him lately. And as his gaze traveled upward, he noted her breaths coming fast and the spandex top unable to confine the swell of her breasts and the damned enticing tips of her erect nipples.

Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked sweaty and hot and sexy enough to have for breakfast.

“I thought I had an hour before going to the stables,” she said, opening the door to her suite and entering.

Wade followed her inside. “You do, but we need to eat something first. I ordered room service. Breakfast will be here soon.”

In a single fluid move, Gina pulled the elastic band from her hair and chestnut strands flowed onto her shoulders, framing her face. “Let me guess, last night you didn’t want to drink alone and today you don’t want to eat alone.”

Wade shrugged off her comment as he tossed his hat onto her bed. “Doesn’t figure for me to eat alone when I have a beautiful assistant at my disposal.”

“I may be at your disposal in business, Wade, but that’s the extent of it.”

Again, he ignored her. “You look hot.”

Gina frowned. “I know. I’m hot and sweaty. I must look a mess.” She ran her hand through her hair in an unconscious move that had Wade approaching her.

“Not a mess.” He strode the rest of the distance separating them, facing her toe to toe. “Sexy as hell.”

Gina blinked then captured his gaze as well as his meaning. She backed up a step, her tone filled with warning as she shook her head slightly. “Wade.”

Wade reached for her waist, encircling his arms around her and pulled her close. A combination of female and salty scents drifted up as she looked at him with hesitation in her eyes.

“Don’t fight it, honey.” Wade swooped his mouth down and took her in a long, slow, deliberate kiss that had her molding her body to his. A little moan escaped her throat when Wade cupped her buttocks, pressing her to the juncture of his thighs.

She fit him perfectly. She always had. Immediate heat swamped him and his groin tightened envisioning her on the bed with him, just a few feet away. He’d wanted her, wanted that ever since she’d walked into his office a few days ago.

A knock at the door broke the moment.

Wade winced at the bad timing. And, as he tugged his mouth from hers, he whispered, “Room service.” Wade had a notion to send the waiter packing and finish this. Just as he began to utter those commands, Gina backed away.

“I—I need a shower.”

Wade glanced at her chest, the tempting swell of her breasts straining against her spandex top with her breathes coming hard again, only this time, he knew her fast breathing had nothing to do with the run she’d just taken. “So do I—a cold one.”

Gina’s gaze slipped down to his jeans, her eyes riveted below his waist.

Wade ground out a warning. “Don’t tempt me, Gina.”

“I never mean to.”

That was the problem. Gina, just being Gina, was enough of a temptation. Didn’t matter what she wore, how she looked, Wade found himself wanting her, no matter what. She was beautiful to him. That much hadn’t changed. From the moment he’d set eyes on her almost ten years ago, he’d wanted her. Had to have her.

The only difference between now and then was that now he knew he’d have her but he’d never keep her.

The knock came louder this time, announcing, “Room service!”

Wade let out a deep sigh, restraining his desire. “I’ll get the door. You get your shower.”

Gina nodded and, without a word, entered the bathroom. After a second, he heard the decided click of the bathroom door’s lock.

Gina mounted a bay mare, fitting herself as comfortably as she could on the saddle. It had been almost ten years since she’d ridden a horse. She’d been taught by the best; Mr. Buckley, Sarah and Wade all had a hand in teaching her how to ride. But she was rusty and uncertain.

“Don’t let her know you’re nervous,” Wade said, gripping the reins, holding the mare steady from the ground. Gina took a deep breath and nodded.

“You’d think a girl born and bred in Texas would know more about horses than how to hang onto the saddle horn.”

Wade grinned. “You were from Austin. That doesn’t count.”

“Austin was full of horses.” Gina tipped her chin up in defiance.

“Right. And you rode how many?”

Wade didn’t wait for an answer. He handed her the reins, then swung his long legs up and over his saddle, mounting a tall dappled-gray mare. “Follow my lead. Loosen up on the reins and use only slight motions to guide the mare. You’ll do fine.”

“I can’t take notes and ride. Why do you need me?”

“I need another pair of eyes.”

Gina doubted that. She knew for certain that scores of Triple B’s finest—from architects to financial accountants—had surveyed the property already.

“Ready?”

Gina squirmed once more in her saddle and adjusted the straw hat Wade had purchased in town for her. “Ready.”

Wade made a soft sound to his mare and with just the slightest click of his boot heels, the horse took off. Gina’s mare followed and they rode off the stable grounds and away from the road, heading further into the interior of the canyon.

Ten minutes later, Wade reined his horse to a stop. Saddle leather creaked when he turned around in his seat. “Take a look,” he said.

Gina’s gaze flowed in the direction he was pointing. They had steadily climbed and had come to a low rise that overlooked the entire town of Avalon and the crescent-shaped bay below. From this distance and under clear-blue skies, the ocean seemed less threatening with a throng of boats harbored in the stunning turquoise bay. “It’s remarkable.”

Wade agreed with a low grumble. “It’s hard to believe this place once was home to pirates and trappers.”

“Yes, but I can picture it, can’t you? The wildness here, the untouched land and those men coming here, some for honest work, others to do harm or hide out.”

Wade cast her a long thoughtful look, his eyes narrowing as if picturing it. “Yeah, I can see that,” he said, his lips quirking in a distant smile, before turning back around.

Once again he looked like the Wade she’d known in El Paso, only more mature, stronger, more capable, if that were even possible.

“Not much longer now,” Wade said, as they passed oaks and sage and tall limber stalks of sun-yellow and white poppies.

They met up with a road again and Gina saw the gates that led to a clearing. No Trespassing signs cordoned off the area.

Wade dismounted and used a key to unlock the chains on the gate before mounting his mare again. Gina followed him inside.

The clearing where the resort was to be built was anything but clear. Tall cottonwoods blocked the sun, natural formations jutted up from the earth and canyon walls provided the backdrop.

“The architects have done a great job in preserving most of what you see. We won’t down these trees. They’ll be a natural part of the landscape. Out there in the distance, a wildflower meadow allows just enough land to build the main hotel and facilities. About half a mile down the road there’s a secluded cove that we’ll utilize for special occasions and weddings. You name it. This is the first project I’ve been involved with where the land dictates the building, instead of the other way around. I think Robinique understands that.”

Wade spurred his mare on. “Come on. I need to see it all one more time and get your opinion.”

“I’ve seen the plans on paper, Wade. But it’s hard for me to picture it. Seems like this place needs to stay untouched.”

“Nothing stays untouched, Gina.” He cast her a narrow-eyed look from under the brim of his Stetson. “I learned that lesson a long time ago.”

“So as long as it’s going to be touched, you might as well be the one doing the touching?”

Wade stared deeply into her eyes, capturing her and making her flinch from his intensity. “That’s right.”

Heat crept up Gina’s neck. She wanted out of this conversation, knew she should let the comment go, but she couldn’t. Wade had twisted her words and suddenly they weren’t speaking about the land any longer. She fought her rising anger. “When did you become so ruthless?”

Wade’s voice held contempt. “You know the answer to that.”

Gina slumped in the saddle. Telling him the truth now wouldn’t do any good. Wade had changed. He was a man walking in the shadow of his father. He was just as driven, just as bitter. Getting involved with him again would be a big mistake. She’d already had a bad relationship with one unscrupulous man and she feared Wade Beaumont, too, would only use her then toss her aside.

Gina kept Sarah’s secret close to her heart. It wasn’t her secret to divulge anyway. If Sarah wanted Wade to know the truth, then she would tell him in her own time. Long-standing friendships were at stake here and Gina wanted no part in destroying Sarah’s relationship with Wade. Gina was the outsider and she would always remain so. “We’d be better off just sticking to business, Wade.”

Wade cocked his head and sent her a crooked smile. “That’s all I was talking about. Business.”

Gina’s temper rose with lightning speed. There was no stopping the rage within her. She silently cursed Wade and his infuriating hold on her. She needed to get away from him. She kicked her mare’s flanks just as a wild hawk swooped down from a cottonwood. The horse reared up in fright—nearly tossing Gina from the saddle—then her front hooves landed hard onto the ground and the mare took off running.

Startled, the reins dropped from Gina’s hands. She grabbed for the saddlehorn, bouncing on the seat as the mare raced across the meadowland. Her hat flew from her head as she hung on.

She heard Wade’s commands from behind, knew he was racing behind her, trying to catch up. Gina held on for dear life. Her shoes came out of the stirrups from the turbulent ride. She lost her balance in the saddle and her grip on the horn. Within seconds, she was tossed off the horse.

She hit the ground hard.

Dazed from the fall, she heard Wade’s footsteps fast approaching. And then he was leaning down beside her with fear in his eyes and a voice filled with gentle condemnation. “Damn it, Gina. You’re always running away.”

Six

With her head pounding, her body twisted and the air knocked out of her, Gina squinted into the morning sun. Wade moved to obstruct the light, his tone fierce but his hands gentle as he touched and surveyed her body for injuries. “Did you hit your head?”

She gazed into his eyes as his fingers searched for a bump. “I have a hard head.”

“Tell me about it,” he muttered, yet the softness in his eyes belied his tone. When he didn’t find a bump on her head, his hands traveled to her face, gently turning her right to left, searching for injury. “Can you untwist your body?”

Gina did exactly that. She straightened her form then winced. “I’m sore, but at least everything’s moving.”

He frowned and spoke quietly, “The fall won’t really hit you until tomorrow.”

Gina looked up into his eyes. She liked what she saw there. In an unguarded moment, Wade let down his defenses and she witnessed the depth of his compassion. “You mean I have aches and pains to look forward to?”

“Remember when I tried to break Rocket? That horse wouldn’t give in. He must have thrown me a dozen times.”