Choice Matters (Southern Heat Book 1) (12 page)

“Or intense, but I suppose you are the more intense one of
the two?”

“Yes, I am, but don’t go thinking I am the way I am because
of some hidden family secret. You know…about how I was secretly abused, and now
I’ve turned into this dominant, testosterone-charged man…because it ain’t
there.” He spoke in rapid-fire succession. Then, he instantly calmed and
continued, “Tell me—your father is back in his native Ireland. You were born
there. Why exactly did he return, and by himself? If it’s not too painful to
talk about.”

“No, not at all. It is what it is. He worked quite closely
with the government trying to bring American businesses to Ireland. As his
contract was winding down, one of the world’s largest software giant’s
approached him with a job offer. He would’ve been a fool to turn it down.”

“I suppose…”

“Anyway, my mother refused to return to Dublin. My brother
and I were both grown. I became an American citizen once I turned twenty-one
and never batted an eye.”

“When was the last time you saw your father?” He wiped his
hands on a paper towel from a roll strategically placed on every table.

“I saw him last summer. Spent three weeks in Ireland with
him. He seems content and at peace with his decision to return.”

“Perhaps we’ll make the time to go see him before long, if
you’d like.”

“Yes, I would. Very much so, thank you.”

“I may not be very good at relationships, the few that I’ve
had, but I do know how important family is.”

“Word of advice, Choice, before we change the subject? Break
my heart, and I’ll hunt you down like prey, rip out your cold, black heart, and
stomp on it. Or I’ll simply sic my mother on you. Either way, I don’t think the
end result would be pretty.”

He raised his empty bottle in a mock salute. “Point taken,
Ms. White. Now, if you’re finished, I think we should head back. This rain isn’t
letting up and the road on the property can get interesting to maneuver.”

“I’m ready whenever you are.” I set my drink down and
finished wiping my fingers before standing.

Apolo
reached across the table and
took one of my hands. “What you said just now, Caitlyn? I’d never intentionally
hurt you. Never. Not knowing I’d have to face your mother.” He laughed, helping
me from the table.

I knew he wasn’t playing with me. His personal relationships
were few and far between, so when he invested his being into them, he did so
one-hundred percent…but he still hadn’t shared what had happened to him. I knew
not to push him.

We headed back toward his fishing cabin, the rain still as
relentless as it had been all day. It was also causing the daylight to fade
faster than normal. He finally broke our comfortable silence. “We’ll be heading
to Washington on Wednesday. My handlers are trying to get a couple more
meetings set for Thursday. If they’re confirmed, we’ll leave Wednesday
afternoon.”

I nodded. “Handlers? I would have taken you for doing it all
on your own.”

“Not in Washington, Caitlyn. There are those, believe it or
not, who are more adept at how things work in the political arena than I.”

“Whatever is decided just let me know. I’ll be ready.”

“This is all very premature, right now. I’m merely feeling
folks out, testing the waters before any decisions are made.”

He maneuvered the SUV in front of the cabin once more. The
rain was never ending. I grabbed my purse and prepared to run as soon as he
opened my door. Luckily, there was enough of a covered stoop to allow us some
shelter as he unlocked the door.

Inside, we both removed our shoes, which were covered in mud
despite the gravel
Apolo
had recently had lain. I
pulled off my socks and headed to the bedroom to deposit them along with my
purse.

Returning to the comfortable living room, I noticed
Apolo
with a bottle of Grey Goose. He lifted it toward me. “Care
for a drink? A glass of wine, perhaps?”

“A glass of wine, if you don’t mind.”

“I forgot to bring brandy or scotch to restock the bar. I
believe I was distracted at the thought of bringing you here.”

“I’m glad you did. I’m going to hate having to go back
tomorrow.” I accepted the Cabernet from him and sat back in one of the
recliners.

He stood, leaning against the small cabinet that served as
his bar. “I’m going to have to drop you off at your place, you know. For more
than one reason.”

“It’s only for overnight.”

“You’ll be okay, then, going to work on your own, pretending
everything is the same? Once we go to Washington, everything will change,
Caitlyn. I know this is happening extremely fast, but I want you to understand
that.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll need to at least let
Izzie
know we’re coming out, as it were, so she isn’t hit like a deer in the
headlights. And so she can, of course, deal with my mother while we’re away.”

“I’ll have Jacob make sure she’s okay. I don’t want you to
worry.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about
Izzie
.
It’s Don who worries me. I don’t trust him,
Apolo
.
There’s something off about him. I haven’t been able to put my finger on it,
yet.”

“Don is the last person for you to worry about. I have him
handled, should he step out of line.”

I giggled. “What are you going to do—send him to Siberia or
something?”

“No, not Siberia, although that
is
a tempting idea. Don’t give him a second thought, Caitlyn. Come
in Monday and Tuesday and do your job as you usually do.”

“Enjoy the calm before the storm?”

“Exactly.”

He sauntered across the room and covered my mouth with his.

* * * *

Wednesday and our impending trip to Washington couldn’t
arrive quick enough. Don did his usual snooping, hearing through the rumor
mills that
Apolo
was headed to the nation’s capital
later in the week. He strolled into my office Tuesday afternoon as I was
powering my computer down and packing what items I would take with me to work
on while
Apolo
was in his meetings.

“Accompanying the boss to Washington?” he
snarked
.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, Don, I am.”

“I don’t know of any reason for him to take you along. You’re
supposed to be his second in command, which means you should be here running
his business while he’s in Washington. Unless, of course, he has other uses for
you.”

The man in question arrived on the scene. “Like the lady
said, Don, it’s none of your business. Word of warning, let me catch you
harassing my Executive Vice President in any way, and you’ll find yourself out
on the curb so fast, it’ll make your head spin! Now, you need to leave. Oh, and
by the way, just in case you have any questions while we’re out of town, Henry
Scott will be in charge.”

The two men glared at each other.
Apolo
was the obvious dominate, alpha male in this confrontation, and although
clearly angry, he never raised his voice. The only change I noted was his face
darkening and a twitch on one side. I could have sworn I caught a whiff of
testosterone in the air as the two men sized the other up.

Don knew better than to cross the line any further than he
already had. He turned on his heel without another word and walked out of my
office.

I sat on the edge of my desk, watching him leave.
Apolo
closed the door and stood by the frame for a moment.
I was sure he was trying to appraise the situation and what I was feeling.

“That man,” I announced, “is trouble. I don’t trust him any
farther than I can throw him.”

“I told you not to worry about him. Consider him handled. I
have a project I’m going to involve him in. One I know he’s been eyeing. He’ll
be so busy that he won’t have time to scheme and plot against you.”

And then he was in my space, standing right in front of me.
There was the faint smell of male muskiness about him. One of the things I enjoyed.
His hand rested on my shoulder lightly before he moved to my cheek, where he
tilted my face up to meet his as his mouth covered mine. The man could kiss,
well, that and more things than I could think of sitting here with his tongue
seducing me.

“Dinner tonight?” he asked, his mouth inches from mine.

“I, um, really should spend some time with
Izzie
. But if you wouldn’t mind eating some of our feeble
attempts at lasagna, I could be easily talked into you joining us.” I gently
touched my lips to his as I finished. A way to entice him. “Besides, I think we
owe her that much. Her life’s going to change too, you know, as soon as you
make it clear we’re a couple. She doesn’t deserve to read about it in the paper
or over the internet.”

“Point taken and agreed, Ms. White. What time should I be
there?”

“Will seven work?”

“Absolutely. It’ll also give us some time…”

“Don’t push it, bud. You’re going to have me all to yourself
in Washington, remember?”

He laughed that deep-throated, masculine laugh I’d come to
love. “Touché! And what about your mother—do you want to call her ahead of the
fact and warn her?”

“Hell, no! Let her find out like the rest of the world. On
the news or internet or plain old gossip. It’ll make things much more dramatic
for her that way.”

He laughed once again. “That’s what I love about you,
Caitlyn. You’re full of fire.”

“Well, like I told you, my mother is the drama queen. This
way will make it so much more fun for her.”

“Dinner at seven, then, with you and
Izzie
.
I look forward to it.”

“As do I, Mr. Choice. Just remember to be a good boy and
behave? Just this once?”

He chuckled as he turned and walked out the door.

* * * *

Promptly at seven,
Apolo
appeared
at my door. Dressed in jeans and a casual, short sleeve shirt he sauntered in
carrying a bottle of Chianti. His scent and whatever else he was wearing about
sent me spiraling toward orgasm as he passed in front of me. I shut the front
door and followed him into the living room.

“
Izzie’s
running a little late,
but she should be here shortly.” I said taking the wine from his strong,
masculine hands. He held onto it for just a second longer.

“Long enough for us to go in your bedroom…”

“Don’t even go there,
Apolo
. You
can play nice for a while. I’ve seen you do it,” I chided, leaning up and
kissing him on the cheek.

“But, Caitlyn, I need you. Especially after this afternoon.”

“Down boy. Would you like a glass of wine instead?”

He sighed, kissing me lightly on the lips, but not before copping
a feel of my ass. The man was incorrigible. “That would be nice since you’re
putting me in detention for the evening.”

“Thank you. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“I’ll remind you of that when we’re in our suite in
Washington.”

Apolo
followed like a love sick
puppy dog when I headed into the kitchen, shaking my head. Passing him back the
bottle and corkscrew, I pointed to three wine glasses already on the counter.
While he was tending to that task, I put the garlic bread in the oven to bake.

He passed me a glass and followed me back into the living
room. We were just about to sit down when
Izzie
came
through the door.
Apolo
immediately stood upon seeing
her. A gentleman, one of the things I loved about him. Well, in my top ten,
perhaps. He had manners a woman would be proud of.

The two acknowledged each other.

“Can I get you a glass of wine,
Izzie
?
Caitlyn and I just opened a bottle of Chianti.”

“I would love one.”

I passed her my fresh, untouched glass. “Here. No cooties. I
haven’t even taken a drink.”

“I certainly hope not. I’d hate to catch whatever it is the
two of you have,” she giggled, taking the glass and heading toward her bedroom.
“I’ll just grab a quick shower.” She winked my way and disappeared into the
darkened room.

Over dinner, I was reminded that
Izzie
was never one to hide her feelings or views. Not even
Apolo
Choice intimidated her. “So you’re taking my
bestie
up to Washington with you for…what? To conform to their beliefs?”

It drew a hearty laugh from
Apolo
,
who quickly responded. “The last thing I do is conform to other’s beliefs.
However, sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to win over the old
guard.”

“Always the politician, huh,
Apolo
?
You ought to do quite well up there.”

“
Izzie
, it’s more about public
relations.” I added, shaking my head as I picked up my wine glass and took a
long swallow.

“I know the way the world works if you want to get ahead in
it. Even in my job, it’s all about politics or positioning yourself. You never
have said what position you’re eyeing,
Apolo
. Must be
important if you haven’t even told Caitlyn.”

“I won’t tell anyone, including Caitlyn, until a few more
things fall into place. Seeing as they have…I suppose now’s the appropriate
time to let you both in on what it is.”

“And?” I eyed him and
Izzie
both.

“Do you remember the senate seat left vacant a month or so
ago by the passing of its occupant? Well, the governor has asked me to fill the
remaining two years of the term. After that, I either put my hat in the ring
for reelection, or come home to business as usual.”

“Oh, wow,” I heard myself blurt out. “ That’s a prime seat
if you’re into politics.”

“Why all the hush-hush, then,
Apolo
,
if the governor has already decided on you?”