Romance in Dallas - Tycoon! (3 page)

He looked down at her incredulously. "Of
course not. I do my own lifting."

"You shouldn't," she said quickly, "you could
very easily pull a muscle or ligament in your back."

She thought he was trying to hold back a
smile then, as he said, "I'll take my chances." He picked the case
up easily, and strode out the front door, to the waiting taxi,
leaving her to follow behind.

When he told the taxi to step on it, the man
careened through the state highways, then finally to the North
Corporate Entrance at the International Airport.

Ram held her door open, and his eyes closed
for seconds as he inhaled her light fragrance. It had wrapped
around his senses in the taxi, making it hard to concentrate on the
proposal he'd tried to study. In the end, he'd read the thing three
times and still couldn't relay the contents of it to anyone.

They passed the security hand-held wands
quickly, and as they walked swiftly to the waiting plane, his mind
went back to their conversation yesterday, with her trying to pin
him down on how long they'd spend in Hawaii. And he wondered if
bringing another person with him was such a great idea. That's why
he never took Susan with him; he was hard to keep up with.

As his hand came down gently on her lower
back, guiding her, he wondered idly whether she ever wore her hair
down. He looked over at her briefly, and realized the hair would
probably reach her waist. He'd always been partial to long hair on
a woman.

When they reached the tarmac, and she climbed
up the stairs in front of him, he had a really nice view of her
very fit backside. And, he thought, having her with him may prove
to be quite a challenge.

She'd been silent, with his hand on her back,
leading her gently to the plane.

But once inside the cozy jet, she gasped.
"How lovely," she said, turning to look up at him.

He smiled. "Glad you like it. Here, sit."
Gesturing to a waiting captain's swivel chair, he opened the small
refrigerator and brought out a bottle of water, took a pill and
swigged it down. "I'm sorry," he said, "would you like some
water?"

"No. Thank you." Watching him, she asked,
"What are you taking?"

"The strongest painkiller they can give me
without knocking me out," he replied.

The pilot came back then, told them to fasten
seatbelts.

He watched her looking around, fascinated,
and he realized he was used to luxury. To him, it was second
nature.

Jace peered here and there, while she
fastened her seatbelt. She and Ram sat facing each other on
reclining chairs, which were situated around a glass table with
free standing artwork. When she looked in back of her, there was a
big screen TV, with three smaller TV's to the right of it.

Eight porthole windows on either side of the
jet let lots of light inside, and a dining room could seat four
people, again, around a large, square, glass table.

A long cushioned couch beckoned from beyond
the dining room, beige, with silver and gold throw pillows. She saw
a bathroom and bedroom beyond, but she couldn't see all the way
into them.

As if to read her mind, he said, "Take you on
a tour later, Jacine."

Her eyes came back to his, and she realized
with a start, what she'd forgotten completely to tell him.

Starting to panic now, she fiddled with her
seatbelt, almost ready to bolt.

His brow furrowed, and his gaze captured
hers, as he held two fingers towards her eyes, then back to his own
eyes. "Problems?"

She couldn't believe how stupid she'd been to
even do this job. And she realized she was in deep now. "I get
airsick," she moaned, "and I forgot my pills."

He sat back and laughed as he lounged in his
seat. "Got plenty on board, darlin.' You'd be surprised how many
big executives get sick on airplanes."

"It's just the take offs and landings," she
murmured, terribly embarrassed now.

As they took off, the plane swooshing down
the runway, then gaining altitude swiftly, he thought she was
absolutely green around the gills. As soon as it was possible
safely, he got up carefully, as the pain pill was beginning to
work, and grabbed a few anti-airsickness pills out of the drawer in
the kitchen.

But when he brought them back to give to her,
she gulped down two.

"Um, sweet pea, I don't think you're supposed
to take but one of those," he told her when he sat back down.

Finally able to talk, she replied, "Oh, I'm
sure I'll be fine. Really I will."

She looked anything but fine to Ram. "Would
you like to lie down for a while? The pills might make you
sleepy."

Nodding, she stood up, holding her
stomach.

"This way," he said, indicating the
bedroom.

"Oh, I couldn't. That's your bed. I'll just
lie on the couch here."

He lightly put his hands around her upper
arm, and led her to the bedroom. "I sleep a lot sittin' up these
days. I just might have to come in there and do my internet thing,
though, later on."

"Well," she said reluctantly, "if you think
it's all right."

His grip strengthened as he realized she was
already getting sleepy from the pills. "Have any breakfast?" he
asked.

"No. Not yet." Now, he thought, she really
looked confused, as he gently lowered her to the king bed. She
half-dropped on her side, and he found himself smiling as she lay
down.

He loosened the clip in her hair, and the
auburn curls fell silkily into his hands. Unable to resist, he ran
a hand along the soft mass, lifted it and let it fall bit by bit
onto the pillow. "Jesus H, what have I gotten myself into this
time?" he whispered.

He couldn't quite bring himself to leave her,
but instead he pulled down the window shades in the small bedroom
area, collected his discs and began to work on the computer. He'd
read for a while, re-read, then look over at her sleeping form.
From the start, in the morning, she'd thrown off his schedule
totally. And, he was definitely a scheduled man.

The air felt cold coming out of the vents,
and he called up to the pilot to check it for him. Searching the
drawers in the room, he came up with a soft blanket, which he
draped over her.

Finally, he gave up and just sat in the chair
daydreaming.

A jolt sent him back to reality. A second one
sent him to sit on the bed beside her, with his hand hovering above
her.

But, suddenly, the plane seemed to shudder
violently, back and forth, and they were both airborne a foot off
the bed.

Cursing under his breath, he tried to break
her fall, but she woke up as they slammed back on the bed.

"What's happening?" she asked in a voice
husky with sleep.

"Shhh, it's okay," he whispered.

He realized his face was next to hers, with
his arms underneath her body. He was moved, in ways he really
didn't want right now, but the feelings were there and he couldn't
deny it.

Her skin was warm from the blanket, and the
heady perfume scent rose from her neck. He groaned, and moved his
face against her hair, relishing the feel and softness of it.

But they needed to get back to the chairs in
the other room and put their seatbelts on before they hit another
rough patch.

Although his back was very bad, he still
picked her up easily, and carried her to the chair, set her down
and buckled her up.

He went to talk to his captain, who told him
the patch was probably an isolated incident, although he said it
would probably be best if they kept the belts fastened for at least
fifteen minutes.

Jace woke up, and looked around her. The
first thing she saw when her eyes opened was Ram staring at her
with his turquoise eyes. And something in their depths registered
raw heat, sexuality, and sensual feelings flooded her like she'd
never experienced before. "How did I get here?" she asked
finally.

"We hit a rough patch," he said softly, still
watching her. "I couldn't leave you in the room. It was pretty
bad."

He couldn't stop gazing at her, like a
schoolboy crush he thought. She just looked so frail yet sensual,
huddled with the blanket around her shoulders, shining auburn hair
fanning out from her face then down her breasts, her feet bare,
lips ruby, and cheeks pink from sleep, eyes half open now.

What a picture she made, he thought.
Beautiful, so very beautiful.

And she still met his gaze directly on, not
looking away.‎‎ "Captain says a few more minutes. Then you can go
back and sleep. Those pills really did a number on you."

Smiling wanly, she replied, "Sorry about
that. How did I get here? You didn't tell me."

"I carried you. Didn't want to wake you."

"Oh, my God, that must have set you back. I'm
so very sorry. I feel so stupid."

Smiling at her, with his eyes still glued to
her face, he said, "Don't beat yourself up. I'm always doing things
I shouldn't. I have a tendency to push myself."

Shrugging off the blanket, she shook her head
as if to wake up. "Why?"

"I don't know, really. I guess I tend to
think I do everything better than everyone else."

She settled in the chair. "Can't delegate. I
can see that in you somewhat, although I can't say I've seen it
all."

A smile quirked his lips. "No one has,
darlin.'"

Chapter 3

"Now, can I get you something to drink? Maybe
some champagne or a soft drink, mixed drink?" he asked.

"I'll get it."

He realized as he watched her move to the
kitchen, this was one sexy woman. The way she'd looked over at him
just now, and the way her tight little backside moved. Also, when
she brought back a cola, he noticed she was well-endowed. His eyes
flitted up and down her slim form, appreciating the sight.

The look wasn't lost on Jace. "I forgot to
ask you what you would like?"

"You can get me an aspirin if you like; I
have a headache. First drawer. But, you're not my slave. I don't
want you to feel that way, either. If it wasn't for my back, you
probably wouldn't even be here."

"Well," she said, getting the aspirins for
him and sitting down again, buckling her belt, "guess I've been
told."

"Didn't mean it that way," he drawled. "Lots
of things have changed in my life since...well, a while ago, the
back injury. Not all of them have been bad, though."

She nodded, but he noticed her eyes were
still half closed. He looked at his watch, before checking with the
pilot, who assured him it should be smooth flying from there on
out.

He eased back into the chair. "Why don't you
lie down again? It's going to be a while before we get to
Honolulu."

"Okay," she whispered.

"You need help?" he asked.

"No, thank you. I can manage. Don't want to
add myself to your responsibilities."

He sent a text to Warren, after she'd gone
into the room. 'I'm blowing it, my man.'

A minute later, his friend sent an answer.
'Go with your gut.'

Ram smiled at that. If he went with his gut,
he'd be kissing her lips right now, followed by her neck, while he
smelled her sweet perfume then kissing her breasts, each one, down
her stomach...

But, he stopped his train of thought. "It's
been too long," he muttered to himself. And, most of the rest of
the way to Hawaii, he was either pretending to work on his computer
in the bedroom with her, or lounging in the bedroom doorway just
watching her sleep.

Jace felt someone shaking her shoulder.
"What?"

"We're going to land, peaches," he said,
"need your seatbelt on. Good time to take a restroom break if you
need it."

Rubbing her eyes sleepily, yawning, she
managed to find her way to the bathroom. It was luxurious along
with the rest of the plane, with gold sink, fixtures, and a marble
counter top. It even had a shower, she noticed absently.

After she'd thrown some water on her face,
and dried herself, she sighed and went to join him.

She was always extremely nervous on landings,
and just kept picturing planes exploding and crashing.

Clutching the seat arms, she could feel his
gaze on her again. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked
irritably.

He smiled then tried to cover it up as he
rested his elbow on the seat arm and hid his mouth with one hand.
"Not staring, really," he said, "just making sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. I have no problems."

But as she looked out the window, the plane
lurched to the left suddenly, leaving butterflies in her
stomach.

"And on your right," he joked, unable to
suppress it anymore, "I give you Honolulu."

"I think you're loopy on pain pills," she
told him dryly.

The landing was smooth after that, and they
took a taxi to his hotel whizzing through the busy Honolulu streets
to the beach area.

Jace received a call from Natalie, as she and
Ram sat in the back seat.

"How are you?" Nat asked her.

"Better than I was a few hours ago. I'll fill
you in later."

"Are you with him right now?"

"Yes, we're headed for..." she paused.

"Manor House," Ram filled in.

She heard Natalie laugh. "You forgot the name
of his hotel. And after all my coaching!"

"Well," she sighed, "guess I'll talk to you
later, then."

"Just one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Is he a babe in person then?"

"No comment."

"I'll take that as a yes."

The Honolulu Manor House was right next to
the beach, and Jace loved the room he'd assigned to her, next to
his. She walked on the balcony and reveled in the panoramic ocean
view, palm trees swaying in the breeze and the ocean's calm surf,
while the porter brought her bag.