The Tycoon's Resistant Lover (6 page)

He watched her carefully as he handed her a plate filled with chicken and potato salad. “Why do I get the feeling that there’s more to that statement than you’re letting on?”

Julianna laughed and accepted the plate, her nose getting a whiff of the fragrant chicken and spicy potato salad. “Oh goodness, this smells delicious,” she said and took the fork as well. “How did they make this?” she mused.

“I made it,” he clarified.

Her fork stopped just short of her mouth and she stared at him. “You made this?” she asked, not believing him for a moment.

“Yep. I know how to cook.”

She laughed and savored the potato salad. “What’s in this? And how did you learn to cook so well? I know lots of people who can cook. But none of them are this good.”

He chuckled at her disbelief. “My mom was always cooking. She had to because all of my brothers and my father are big like me so we were always hungry. By the time we were ten or eleven, she made us start to help out in the kitchen because she just couldn’t keep up with our appetites. So she taught us to cook. She grew her own herb garden and put fresh spices in when possible.” He looked over at her and winked. “We had to tend the garden as well. It was a nightmare when our friends saw us weeding out the basil and thyme.”

She couldn’t help the laughter that erupted at that groaning statement. She loved the image of him and his siblings bent over to weed, probably throwing the weeds at each other once they were out of the ground. But the idea of him having to defend his manhood because of that activity was just a wonderful image. “Poor little boy,” she said without a hint of compassion. “So you’re an avid gardener, eh?”

“Don’t even mention gardening to me, little lady,” he said with a roll of his eyes and a shudder for effect. “I hate weeding and I hate gardening. I will gladly pay someone to do all the gardening just so I never have to dig up another weed in my life!”

She admired his manliness despite the tragedy of his gardening chores. While sitting in the evening sunshine that warmed them with the early autumn heat, they ate and talked about the house, the rooms and what he could do with some of them versus other options.

When the meal was over, she leaned back against the tree under which they were sitting and smiled up at the dappled, autumn sunshine. “This really is a lovely house, James. I wouldn’t have thought a man like you would want to live in a place like this.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, pulling a leaf off of the bush next to him and twirling it with his thumb and forefinger. “What kind of house do you think I should live in?”

She shrugged and surveyed his large body. “Something airy and big to fit those huge shoulders of yours. Where you can relax in an easy chair in front of a flat screen television with a beer in one hand and a remote in the other.” She looked back at the ancient brick house that had protected numerous generations of families as they grew up within its walls. “Not something historic and almost falling apart. You’re a good man to take on a project this large just for a home.”

“What would you say if I told you I thought it was a good investment?” he suggested.

She looked into his eyes carefully, then shook her head. “I wouldn’t believe you.” She smiled and leaned back against the trunk of the tree behind her. “You look all mean and tough but I suspect that, inside where people can’t see the real James Cavanaugh, you’re just a big softy.” She grinned before she said, “Sort of like a giant teddy bear.”

He leaned over and tickled her and was delighted when she squealed and tried to get away from him. He wouldn’t let her, of course but he continued to tickle her, loving the way she laughed as well as the way she tried so valiantly to avoid his hands. “Don’t tell anyone anything like that or you’ll ruin my reputation as a hard core boss, lady.”

“Wait! Wait!” she called out, trying desperately to declare a time out or just to avoid his hands.

He halted and looked down at her, waiting for whatever it was she might say while his hands twitched by her side, ready to continue at the least provocation.

She shook her head, holding her hands out in front of her defensively while she tried hard to stop laughing. “You can’t do this to me until you’ve fed me chocolate!” she gasped, still laughing at his eager expression.

She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her when he rolled his eyes. “Of all the things I would have expected to hear, that was so far down the list.”

“Never deny a woman her chocolate!” she admonished and pushed at his shoulders. When he fell away, she dove into the basket in search of the promised treat, coming back victorious when she found the box of different kinds of chocolate truffles.

“Oh, these are fabulous,” she said as she savored a dark chocolate truffle with key lime filling.

He watched her eat the truffle, his body already hardening at the way she closed her eyes, her lips pouting as she tasted the delicious tastes of the chocolate and the key lime ganache.  Just to distract himself, he pulled on her ankle to get her attention. “Are you going to pass them along and share?” he queried.

She contemplated the chocolates, looked over her shoulder at the man sprawled out on the blanket, then shook her head and wiggled more to the opposite side. “Not a chance. You tickled me.”

He was so surprised by her response that it took him several moments before he actually believed what she’d just said. It was so contrary to her ultra polite manners that it took him a moment to react. Thankfully, he’d always been a quick thinker, able to turn issues around to his favor and in this instance, he wasn’t going to let Julianna get away with such a challenge. “Well, if you’re not going to let me occupy my hands by giving me dessert, then I guess I’ll just have to find other ways to put my hands to good use,” he said with a great deal of anticipation.

Julianna’s head snapped around, her eyes wide with trepidation. She didn’t believe he’d actually do anything, but she was wrong once again. With a swift movement, he had her flat on her back with him looming over her, his strong arms on either side of her head while he held himself above her. “Are you going to relinquish some of the chocolates?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

Julianna looked down at the box, counted out the chocolates, then looked back up at him. She knew she was playing with fire, but for some reason, she wanted to get burned tonight. With a slow smile, she pulled her hand out from his grip and shook her head while she covered the box with her hand, but not before popping another one into her mouth.

James laughed, thrilled that she still wanted to play. He never would have expected a playful side to her. “In that case, I think I’ll just have to figure out a way to get some myself.” With that, he bent his head low and nibbled at her fingers, tickling her in that way while she giggled and tried to scoot away. He wouldn’t let her have that escape though, keeping her firmly underneath him while he pushed her hands out of his way with his nose, enjoying her laughter while he ‘accidentally’ tickled her more often than actually gaining a treat.

“Okay! Okay! I give in,” she gasped, out of breath from his treatment. She immediately offered him one of the chocolates. She was expecting him to take it with his fingers, but he surprised and shocked her when he lowered his head and took it in his mouth from her own fingers. The lightning bolt of desire that shot through her body with the texture of his tongue on her fingers was frightening. Her mouth fell open and she stared at his mouth as he bit into the milk chocolate. She glanced up at his eyes and realized that he was feeling the exact same thing. She should move away, should tell him to give her some space. But somehow, neither of those things came out. She was transfixed by this desire, this need that kept her immobile, waiting for whatever might happen next.

James watched her face, going as slowly as he could because she looked like a startled rabbit ready to bolt at the slightest movement. He knew she was scared but he would take care of her. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lowered his head and gently took her lips with his, not doing anything other than slightly kissing her, nibbling a moment then pulling back to make sure she was still with him.

When she didn’t pull back or look upset, just laid there expectantly, he lowered his head once again and deepened the caress. When he felt her lips move under his, he knew that he’d won a very small victory. He waited for her to make the next move and he wasn’t disappointed. Her hands shifted, placing the box of chocolates to the side and then her fingers moved up to touch his hair, tangling and gently tugging, urging him to reciprocate.

James tried hard to give her the lead, but it simply wasn’t in his nature and he took control, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her closer, his body already throbbing as his hand moved down her back and pressed her hips against his.

He moved his mouth across her face to her cheek, nibbling on her ear lobe and loving the way she gasped, her hips rocking against his in an obvious effort to get closer, to feel him against her core. He groaned as the heat rushed through him with her movements. His hand slipped under her cashmere sweater and her soft, perfect skin was even more incredible than the soft wool. As his fingers moved higher, he was disappointed to find that she was wearing a bra today, but he felt the lace, the embroidery with his fingertips as he skimmed across the pert globe of her breast.

She whimpered with his touch and he increased the pressure, allowing his thumb to rub against the hardened peak. Hearing her gasp of pleasure was like music and he moved his other hand higher, giving the same treatment to her other breast. The sexy sounds she was making were growing louder and he wanted to rip that sweater off, tossing it to the side so he could see her almost naked. For a moment, he hesitated. He had a plan and he had to stick to it.

James pulled back and looked down at her, almost groaning out loud as he noted the desire in her eyes, the invitation to continue. For a split second, he thought about taking her up on the unspoken temptation, but that wasn’t enough with Julianna. Any other woman, that would be fine but not with her. He wanted more. He wanted her so crazed with desire that she was willing to let loose that control that he knew was inside of her. He didn’t want any half measures with this woman.

“We need to go,” he said, his voice gruff with the pain of need that was still riding him hard.

Julianna was confused. He was stopping? Why would he be doing that?

“What’s wrong?” she asked, automatically accepting his hand as he stood so he could help her up as well. As his strong arms pulled her upright, she almost fell into his chest, only keeping herself straight by putting her hand on the tree instead of him to balance herself. She was having a hard time coming off of the desire he’d created within her and understanding why he was stopping.

He moved closer, his hand reaching up and touching her soft cheek. “Nothing is wrong. It’s late and you told me you have an early morning tomorrow so you need to be at the gallery earlier than normal. I’m guessing you didn’t sleep any better than I did last night, so I’m trying to help you get your beauty rest.”

Julianna was startled, looking around. When had the night descended? It was actually cold now and she shivered since the autumn sunshine had disappeared over the horizon. “You’re right, of course,” she said stiffly, ashamed that she’d so lost track of the time that she hadn’t even realized what time it was.

Actually, she was ashamed because James had been the one to stop their lovemaking and she’d been completely unaware of the increasing intensity. No, that’s not true, she reprimanded herself as she lifted the items from the blanket to store them back into the basket. She’d been aware and had even helped increase that intensity.

He watched her flustered movements and knew exactly where her mind was going and he was not going to let her go there. She was ashamed of kissing him back with all of that incredible passion and he wanted her to know that it was okay. “Will you be back at the store tomorrow evening?” he asked, not wanting to let her go tonight until he had some sort of plan to see her again tomorrow. She was quickly becoming a drug in his mind and he was happy to feast in his addiction.

She busied herself by meticulously folding the blanket from their picnic and storing it in the basket, her hands shaking as the reality of what they’d been doing hit her full force. “Of course. I’ll have my staff move some items that might be appropriate for your house so you can view them.” She couldn’t look at him but kept her eyes down at his feet, her feet, the tree, the basket…anything but looking up at him. She didn’t really like him, did she? And she was practically engaged to Edward. So why was it that every time this man came close to her, she lost control and just fell into his arms, behaving so wantonly? This was not the man for her! She wanted someone who….was more courteous and well mannered, someone who was like-minded. James completely disagreed with following the rules. He flaunted the rules. His whole business model was based on doing things others didn’t think was possible so surely he lived that as well in his personal life.

She liked rules. She lived by them and embraced them. Her business world was based on old rules and strict guidelines. Her reputation as a business woman relied upon her knowledge and adherence to those rules. Rules made her feel as if life was ordered and sane. James was the antithesis of orderliness and sanity. He dared what others refused to even consider.

Okay, well, there was the point that he had made an extremely good living based off of that philosophy. But that only meant that he could be happy flaunting those rules. She couldn’t live with that kind of insecurity. She knew she couldn’t so why was she so tempted by James?

He took a step closer to her knowing that she was distracted by something in her head. He could almost hear the argument and he needed to stop her recriminations from driving her crazy. Getting her attention by stepping into her personal space was his only option. It helped that he liked her soft perfume and the strawberry smell of her shampoo. “And will you personally show me the items? Or are you going to brush that off to one of your assistants?” he teased as she folded the blanket from their meal. He knew that she was planning to do just that by the guilty look on her face.