Pirate's Gold (20 page)

“Now that Holly is living with you,” she said, touching him on the forearm, “maybe things will be better.”

“This is only a temporary arrangement,” Kyle replied. “Rose was offered the lead in a movie about a country-western singer. It's being shot on location in Texas, and that's why Holly's here. Even though Holly had barely recovered from her last surgery, Rose took off for Texas the moment she was offered the part.” He let his forehead drop into his hand and rubbed his brow. “I've asked my attorneys to start proceedings for me to gain permanent custody of Holly.”

“Does Rose know that?”

“Not really, but she must suspect…she knows how I feel about that kid.”

Maren was hesitant. “And what about Holly. What does she want?”

“I don't know.”

“Have you asked her?”

“Not yet. I thought I'd wait until my attorney tells me how good my chances are of getting custody.” He placed a comforting arm over her shoulders and tried to relieve some of the genuine concern in her eyes. “Don't worry—somehow I'll make it work,” he promised, kissing the top of her head. “I believe that if you want something badly enough, you can get it.”

They walked back toward the steps. Above them, high on the cliff face stood the proud hacienda. Warm lights illuminated the windows and invited them back inside.

O
NLY A FEW INTERIOR
lights welcomed Maren into the dim rooms of the hacienda. Once in the hallway, Kyle wrapped his arms possessively around her waist and pulled her tightly against his lean frame. “Stay with me tonight,” he suggested huskily. “I want to make love to you until dawn and wake with you still in my arms.” His lips brushed her eyelids, and her blood began to race in her veins.

“But what about Holly…and Lydia?”

“Holly's already asleep, and Lydia's gone for the night. It's only you and me.”

“Kyle—”

“Stay with me.”

It was impossible to deny what she, too, needed so desperately. “How could I possibly refuse?”

“Would you want to?”

Seductive indigo eyes held him transfixed. “Never,” she whispered. His mouth captured hers hungrily, and his palms pressed urgently against her back, kneading the soft muscles until she moaned in expectation. The light fabric of her cotton blouse was a frail barrier to the warmth of his touch.

As if on cue, he lifted her from her feet. One arm supported her back, while the other captured the bend of her knees as he carried her upstairs. She twined her arms about his neck content to bury her head in his shoulder and hold him dearly. He smelled so tantalizingly masculine. The scent of him mingled with the tangy odor of the sea, awakening feminine urges deep within her.

He didn't hesitate, but carried her into the master suite. Softly kicking the door shut, he strode across the room and through another door to deposit Maren in a sunken tub made of gray marble and rimmed in blue tile. When she began to feebly protest, he shook his head and smiled, conveying to her how desperately he wanted to please her. After deftly unbuttoning her blouse, he slid it off her shoulders. Slowly he unfastened her bra and placed the flimsy garment atop the shed blouse.

Her nipples, ripe with desire, hardened under his watchful stare, and she had to suck in her breath when his fingers touched her abdomen and lightly brushed against the waistband of her jeans. Slowly, sensually, he slid the zipper down before lowering the pants over her hips and down the length of her legs. Her skin heated when his fingertips brushed against her, and she moaned in contentment when, at last, he removed all of her clothing. She lay naked in the tub, peering into his eyes as his gaze roved restlessly over the soft contours of her body.

He turned on the faucet, and the tub began to fill. The touch of his eyes was far hotter than the water in the tub. Without looking away from her elegant form, Kyle reached for the sponge and submerged it in the water. Maren shivered as the water crept slowly up her skin.

Gradually he squeezed the sponge over her breasts before lathering them with soap. His hands slid invitingly against her skin, teasing her nipples until the breasts became swollen with desire. Maren shifted in the water and closed her eyes with a soft sigh. She felt her breasts becoming engorged and the nipples becoming taut under the wet caress of his hands. A warm tide swirled in her bloodstream, starting in the deepest part of her and rushing upward through her body in ever-increasing fervor. She moaned his name.

Kyle slowly washed her hair and her back, letting his fingers graze the soft flesh of her buttocks. Her eyes were only half open, the indigo irises observing him through the veil of her thick black lashes. Her auburn hair clung to her face in wet ringlets, making her appear innocently seductive. Her rosy skin gleamed from the water. Long slender legs, high firm breasts and a face that was as vulnerable as it was strong enticed him.

She smiled lazily upward, and her blue eyes twinkled playfully.

“You're a witch,” he muttered, as he leaned over the tub and his lips found hers.

“And you love it,” she murmured, returning his heated embrace.

He stripped off his clothes and tossed them aside before wrapping his arms around her waist and dragging her from the bath. Water spilled over the sides of the tub as he pulled her upward and pressed her warm body against his.

His tongue probed her mouth, and he groaned with the savage need ripping through his loins. Gently he carried her to the bed and using the weight of his body, forced her against the cool coverlet. Her body moved against his fluidly. The dewy water acted as if it were oil, allowing his muscles to glide over hers. He couldn't wait. Capturing her eager lips with his, he ran his anxious fingers down the slippery hill of her breasts, past her abdomen, to gently part her legs.

He shifted until he was positioned over her, where he could stare into the blue intensity of her eyes in the moonlight. Moving his aroused body suggestively over hers, he touched her as intimately as had the bathwater.

Maren groaned in frustration, and her fingers dug into the lean muscles of his back. The bittersweet torture was driving her mad with desire. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest, and her breathing had become erratic. She sighed into his open mouth and thrilled when his tongue touched the soft recesses behind her teeth, plundering the sweetness therein. His fingers were as warm as the water had been, teasing her, toying with her, until at last his body covered hers and she felt the whirlpool within her turn molten.

As he came to her he whispered her name in the darkness. She joined him recklessly, allowing herself the luxury of his physical love. She needed to be touched by him, wanted all of him—for as long as possible. The love within her grew as he murmured her name.

“Love me,” she pleaded, praying that his desire for her was more than physical. But her cries were lost in the night as he blended into her, shuddering as his need was fulfilled. She tasted the salt on his skin as her teeth sank into the hard muscles of his shoulder.

When their heartbeats had quieted, and their breathing had slowed, Kyle propped himself on one elbow to gaze down on her. “What happened to you, Maren?” he asked softly. Noticing the confusion in her eyes, he repeated, “Your marriage—the man who hurt you. What happened?”

Her chest became constricted. She didn't like to think about Brandon. Especially not now, not after making love to Kyle.

“It was a long time ago,” she said, turning away from him.

His hand cupped her chin and forced her head back in his direction. Concern shadowed his eyes. “Tell me about it.”

“There's not much to tell.” When he didn't press her, she closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. “It's a part of my life that I'd rather not dwell on,” she admitted.

“Because you're still in love with him?”

“I don't think I ever did love him.”

“I find that hard to believe,” he said, a steely edge to his words.

“Why?”

“Look at you,” he replied gruffly. “Every time we get near the subject of your marriage, you clam up.” She shook her head as if to deny his accusations, but he wouldn't let it rest. He seemed obsessed with it. “I don't understand what's going on, Maren. For the most part, you seem like a pretty together lady—in your business, dealing with Holly, anything—but the minute the conversation gets too close to that marriage of yours, you put up these false walls to protect yourself.”

Maren started to protest, but Kyle placed a silencing finger to her lips. “There's no use denying it, Maren. Something in that marriage of yours isn't quite what you'd like me to believe.”

Angrily he sat up and then stalked across the room, grabbing a thick robe from his closet and throwing it over his shoulders. As if in explanation he said, “I think more clearly when I'm not touching you.” He sat on the corner of the bed and eyed her. “Damn it woman, I don't understand you, not at all.” Raking his fingers through his dark hair in impatience, he stared at her. His eyes were dark and condemning, his lips compressed into a determined line. “What are you doing here—playing me for a fool?”

Rage sparked in her blue eyes. “Of course not.”

“Then explain yourself. Doesn't sleeping with me mean anything to you?”

“It means a lot to me,” she whispered.

“But not enough to give me the truth?”

“I've never lied to you, Kyle,” she whispered defiantly.

‘Then why don't you tell me what it is you want from me.”

She took in a deep breath before sitting up and holding the sheet over her breasts. If only she could tell him how much she loved him…“I don't want any more than you're willing to give,” she said evenly, ignoring the pain twisting in her heart and pushing back the threat of burning tears. “But what about you? What do you want from me? My body? My undying affection?
Or my production company?
”

“I'm not going to be deterred by your accusations. I just want to know about that ex-husband of yours.”

“Why?”

“Because I think there's something you're not telling me, and I don't have the time to waste on another man's woman.”

She felt her hand snap backward, but before she could slap him, Kyle's hand took hold of her wrist. “Another man's woman?” she repeated incredulously. She let her eyelids fall shut and smiled grimly to herself. “Is that what you think?”

Releasing her arm, he shook his head. “Quite honestly, Maren, I don't know what to think.” His hand dropped slowly to his side. “You turn my head around…”

“And you don't like it,” she finished for him with a catch in her voice.

“I don't understand it. And what's more,” he continued, his temper flaring in his steely gaze, “I won't be played for a fool.”

She tilted her head defiantly upward. “You don't understand me at all.”

“Because you won't let me.”

Tossing back the covers, she reached for Kyle's shirt and slipped into it, then walked out of the room and onto the deck facing the sea. Kyle's deck lay above the deck off the living room, and the view of the dark Pacific was just as breathtaking. Maren hoped she would absorb some of the tranquility of the calm sea.

Taking deep breaths of the sea air, she attempted to clear her head and let her indignation dissipate. Why did it matter what Kyle thought of her? How had she let herself become so hopelessly in love with him when she was still irrevocably bound to Brandon? Dear God, how had she let her entire life be turned inside out by Kyle Sterling? She pounded her small fist on the railing and shook her head in desperation. A few weeks ago her most urgent problem had been a few unsigned contracts from Sterling Recording Company. Tonight the problems with the contracts seemed light-years distant. Even her concerns over the sale of Festival had vanished with the night.

Leaning against the railing, she stared down at the blackened sea. The night wind blew across the tranquil waters of the Pacific and touched her face with its cool breath before catching in the coppery strands of her hair and lifting them away from her face. Maren didn't notice. Her thoughts were too turbulent; her emotions too raw. Powerful floodlights secured to the cliffs cast their ghostly illumination on the water, exposing the waves as they crested over the craggy rocks near the shoreline and ran in frothy rivulets to the shadowed sand.

The bedroom door opened and closed. Bracing herself against the railing, Maren continued to stare at the sea. She felt the rugged strength of Kyle's arms encircle her abdomen. His warm breath whispered familiarly against her ear. “You know that you mean much more to me than just the beautiful owner of a company I'm hoping to acquire.” Maren's throat became dry, and her fingers tensed over the railing. Her heart fluttered as he kissed her softly on her neck and her cool skin quivered at his tender touch. Everything seemed so right with him. “From the first time I saw you, sipping champagne at Mitzi Danner's party, I knew that you were incredibly alluring. I was intrigued.” The admission was whispered quietly, as if he were talking to himself.

“So intrigued that it took you nearly a year to find me?” she threw back callously. His words were burning a hole in her heart.

“I didn't want a woman complicating my life—because of Holly.”

“So you ignored me?”

“You left the party early. I did look for you,” Kyle replied. Maren remembered his aloof stance at the party that night. She envisioned his quiet, understated manner, his brooding gray eyes and his rakish smile. She had been as wary of him as he had been of her.

“That was nearly a year ago,” she whispered, her long fingers clenching. “Don't expect me to believe that I captivated you then. Too much time has passed, and you've been in my office since…”

“As I said, I didn't need or want a woman complicating my life…” His voice was as persuasive as the clear California night. Maren had to fight the urge to turn around and let her arms twine around his neck. She wanted to cling to him and never let go, but she couldn't. Not yet. There was still Brandon to consider. She closed her eyes to erase the memory of him.

“And you do now—want a woman to complicate your life?”

“Not just any woman,” he replied into her hair. “Maren, I want you.” Maren felt the lump in her throat begin to swell uncomfortably. He sounded sincere. She pressed her eyelids more tightly together but couldn't stem the tears from pooling in her eyes.