Sarah's Surrender (7 page)

Truthfully, he had no interest in Top Hill school district or any other school district for that matter. Education wasn't something he spent a lot of time thinking about. He wasn't a damn hero, and matters such as these were better left to people with political ambition. People with political ambition, or do-gooders who wanted to save the world.

He wasn't politically motivated and he damn sure wasn't a do-gooder. This was the exact kind of reason he needed a foundation. The millions she was talking about were considerable, but not unthinkable. He could afford it if he wanted too, he just didn't want to. But a project of this size might keep everyone else out of his hair for a while, and that could be a bonus.

But the main reason he found himself considering it was because of her. He had plans for her. Plans that involved the end of her engagement and her naked skin against his. And ultimately, Sarah, under his power. When had his intentions toward her changed exactly? Every time he saw her, the urge to have her became more powerful, much more intense. He seriously doubted it would go away after he'd slept with her. Just looking at her now was causing an obsessive need within his gut to touch her, to keep her close. He didn't like it, but damned if he was going to fight it.

First he needed time to debate his course of action. For that, he needed a few hours. But very obviously, he needed to corral her first with plans for another meeting between them. "I'll pick you up tonight and we'll go for supper and discuss it."

Sarah felt lightheaded. Why the change of mind? First he'd said 'no', and now he was willing to discuss it? She wasn't completely stupid. His initial reaction had been denial. Was this just a trap? It was definitely some form of torture. "Can't we discuss it now?"

"I don't have time, I've got work to do. Tonight."

"But--"

"I'll pick you up at five. Dress for comfort. We'll drive to San Antonio. There's no place decent to eat around here."

Sarah didn't know what to say.
Oh hell, no
, didn't seem appropriate considering she was asking him for millions of dollars. "I don't want to be any trouble. I can come back tomorrow, or when you have time."

"I have time tonight."

"Yes, but--"

"Sarah, you either want the goddamn money or you don't. I really don't care. Somebody else will come along within a week and want it for something else. So if you want me to listen to your spiel, it's tonight. Supper."

Sarah studied him suspiciously. She had a bad feeling about this. He was just so freakin' hot. But surely she could keep him within arms length for one night. Just long enough to find out if he really meant it. Would he give Top Hill the money? Or was he going to get her in a dark vehicle, miles from her house, and then just tell her she was out of luck? He wouldn't do that, would he?

She wouldn't put anything past him. He seemed to be on his best behavior now, putting out his cigarette, telling her he'd consider her plans, but she'd seen and heard him in action. She swallowed as the memory of her hands being pinned to the wall hit her in the stomach and caused a mad rush of butterflies.
You want to fuck me
. The man now leaning negligently against his desk had actually said those words to her. And he wanted her to agree to get in his vehicle, drive close to a hundred miles alone with him and then spend another few hours in his company?

How had this happened? Not even an hour ago, she thought she'd be meeting with an older man, someone in his sixties or seventies, someone who cared even more about philanthropy than she did. Why? Why was this happening to her?

She must have waited too long to answer because he started moving toward the door and talking at the same time. Why did his every movement make her feel as if she was being stalked? "I've got work to do. Leave the directions to your place with Beth. GPS won't cut it out here."

As he brushed past her toward the door, Sarah was horrified to find her hand reaching out and touching his arm to try and detain him. His flesh felt steely under her fingers; his muscles were corded and she felt the heat of his body temperature.

He stopped and stiffened beside her. His eyes locked to hers, questioning. She opened her mouth and her words, although spoken softly, rang in her ears. "You promise?"

"Promise what?" His nostrils flared and the question was rumbled from deep within his chest.

"Do you promise you'll truly listen to me? Do you promise that you'll really consider it?" Now that she had his attention, she lifted her hand from his arm. But the second she did, he reached out and caught it in his and she had the idea he was trying to preserve the connection between them.

"Have I lied to you yet?" He stood erect and the space between them became negligible. He towered over her as his fingers entwined with hers, and his thumb stroked the back of her hand. She wondered if he even realized he was doing it.

As she looked at the dark flecks in his eyes, her mind supplied her with all the harsh, outspoken things he'd said to her. None of them had been lies. "No, you haven't. But this can't be a date." She lifted her chin. She was resolute on that point. "I want you to know that. This is about the school. I'm not going out with you for any other reason."

"You seem pretty sure about that," he said as he came another few inches toward her.

As he stepped closer, she had to lift her chin even higher to maintain eye contact. "I'm engaged."

"For now." His words sounded like a challenge to her. Or a threat.

She sucked in a breath at his cocksureness. "No. I'm engaged until I get married."

John felt those words like a sucker-punch to the gut. His immediate reaction was to kiss her, strip her naked, and fuck her so hard and fast she wouldn't be able to think straight. But he caught his mouth from sinking over hers just in time before he started something that would only have her running from him in the end. He couldn't risk her running. He wanted more than just a quick lay. He wanted her body under his time and time again. He wanted the right to call her his, to have her body belong to him and him alone. Yeah, his motives had damn sure changed. The more she ran, the harder he chased. He knew one thing for damn straight. While she was his, he wouldn't share her. The thought of her sleeping with someone else while she was sleeping with him was unacceptable.

The thought of her sleeping with the unknown fiancé or anybody else brought a streak of outrage so strong he felt almost violent from it. For sure, it was good that he had no way of knowing who the other man was or where exactly he lived. It needed to stay that way.

But no question about it, this girl was in trouble. A strong feeling of pure possessiveness ran through him. It was only a matter of time.

He wanted her to be his lover, and he had to remember that and stay focused on his goal. There was no doubt in his mind that he could seduce her out of her mind for a short period of time. But that's not what he wanted.

He wanted her exclusively. He wanted the right to have her in his bed night after night and do whatever the hell he wanted with her body.
He needed her body
. And for that, he needed her to lose the asshole in Dallas. That was the first step. And he was ever the planner. Something that wasn't worth fighting for wasn't worth having. So he'd have to fight for her. He could do that. Beginning now. But he couldn't stop himself from touching her.

He held her immobile while he reached up and ran his fingers through the softness of her hair. He attempted to gentle his movements, and cupped her cheek with his hand. Her heard her quick intake of breath, and prepared to lie his ass off in order to calm her nerves. He wasn't crazy about the deceit he was going to use, but sometimes you had to do what you had to do.
And with her, he was finding he would do just about anything
. "You want my money, and I need another write-off. I'd like it to be a worthy write-off." He allowed his gaze to run over her trembling mouth before coming back to her eyes. "We'll call tonight business, okay?"

He felt her move her weight from one foot to the other, noting the slight tremor that went through her body. Anticipation lanced through his guts.
Patience, man
. He saw the determination in the tilt of her chin
and heard her voice shake slightly when she answered. "It
is
business."

Fuck no, it wasn't business
.
This didn't have a damn thing to do with business.
"Absolutely. Just business, okay?" He kept his voice even; he needed her agreement on this. He needed the opportunity to seduce her into his way of thinking. One step at a time.

"Okay."

The softly spoken consent sent anticipation and victory rushing through his veins but he was careful to keep his expression neutral. "Good. I'll pick you up at five."

****

Ten minutes later, John lingered in the yard close to the barn. He watched her pull out and head slowly down the road. He pulled out his phone and called Beth. "She leave the directions to her house?"

"Yes."

"Good. I won't need supper tonight." He ended the call and lit a cigarette. He might as well enjoy the tobacco while he could. He had a feeling he wouldn't be getting the pleasure of smoking for a while. She obviously hated it, and he'd been trying to quit anyway.

He stood under a shade tree and looked out over his manicured acres while he inhaled a few more times. After a few moments, he turned and put the cigarette out. He made his way back to the house, deep in thought. He needed to prepare for tonight. He needed some time on the Internet to learn a few basic things about what she was proposing and what it would take to actually have a retirement home built. Not that he was planning on doing it, but he at least needed to be able to convince her he was interested.

****

Sarah sat on the old swing on the front porch and waited for him to arrive. The tension she was feeling was forming knots in her stomach. Why was she so scared and why did she feel so damn guilty? The fear, she realized, was coming directly from the guilt she was feeling. Did that even make sense? She wasn't scared of him--well, not entirely. The trepidation he made her feel was another matter. What she was afraid of now was that she would do something morally wrong. She was afraid she would do something that a woman who was engaged to another man shouldn't do.

Every time she saw John Garrett, the man got sexier. Every time she heard that deep voice, his sensual aura wrapped around her and became stronger. And every time she thought about him, the temptation to give in to him crept stealthily up on her.

She shouldn't be having these feelings for him while she was engaged to Randall. If she really and truly loved Randall, she wouldn't feel these things for John.

And that's when she knew. The engagement was a mistake.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Randall was a successful lawyer; he cared for her and was completely laid-back. He wasn't like Greg had been, he wasn't selfish and he didn't try to control her. And she seriously doubted he'd be a cheater like her ex-husband had been.

That was all she'd thought of when she had agreed to his marriage proposal. That her heart would be safe from being broken again and that Randall would care for her and be trustworthy. They hadn't dated all that long before she'd left for the summer, and he'd seemed determined to get her agreement before she left.

But now she knew it was a mistake. She twirled the diamond around her finger and lifted it to catch the rays of the late afternoon sun.

John would be the kind of guy who would hurt her. He was so much larger than life than even Greg had been.

And he only wanted to sleep with her. He'd made no bones about it. And from their one kiss at the dance hall, she had a small inkling of what kind of lover he'd be.
Fantastic, but ruthless
. He'd sleep with her until he tired of her, then he'd move on. That's what men like him always did. They moved on. She certainly didn't have what it would take to hold him. To put it in a nutshell, he was way better looking than she was. She couldn't compete on his level, and that put her at a disadvantage.

John would want to have a quick, casual affair and there wouldn't be anything casual about it to her.

Why was it that men always believed that woman should be hard-wired the same as they were? Why did they believe that the act of sleeping together, sexual intercourse, could be casual? Maybe she was judging all men alike, grouping them together, not giving any of them the benefit of the doubt. That's the reason she'd said yes to Randall. He seemed different. Softer, kinder, somehow. But she didn't love him and didn't think she ever really would. She liked him and respected him, of course. But Jaime was right. A marriage needed to be firmly entrenched in sexual chemistry. And she didn't have that with Randall.

She had to call him and break it off with him, before this dragged on any longer. She needed to be as fair to him as possible. No matter what did or didn't happen with John, she wouldn't be unfair to Randall.

She took a deep breath and felt somewhat better. At least she'd made the decision in her head. That was a start.

****

John pulled his Cadillac Escalade SUV into her drive at precisely five o'clock and didn't bother to look around the yard. His eyes went to the house, and he spied her immediately, sitting on a porch swing. She'd been slowly swinging, but when she glanced around and saw his vehicle, her legs landed on the cement and stopped the motion of the swing. He remained in his vehicle and watched her as she slowly stood up.

She picked up a small bag from a wicker side table, and hung it across her shoulder and over her chest as if it would offer her some protection. She began moving toward him, and he sat behind the wheel and let the vehicle idle as she approached. He pushed the passenger door opened from the inside and she pulled it open the rest of the way and stood in the entrance. Her hand fiddled with the strap of her bag, and the diamond on her finger caught the sun and glistened brightly.

His ire grew to the boiling point and his patience all but disappeared. He'd have that fucking ring off her hand tonight. "Get in."