Unlikely Love: A Hot, Romantic Suspense Series: Book 1 (The Carlisle Sisters) (4 page)

Beth wore dark sunglasses so he couldn’t see her expressive green eyes.  But he knew they were full of emotion; emotions from the past and emotions for what the future could bring.

“You handled the staff meeting well on Monday.  I’ve heard only positive remarks about you,” he said.  “I have to admit that I had concerns about you speaking to the staff.  But you did very well.”

“Thank you.  I meant every word that I said.  My sisters and I will work hard to maintain the superb reputation of the resort and to take it to even higher heights.  I have no intentions of just sitting on my laurels,” she said fervently.

He chuckled.

“I believe you.  I can’t believe that I’m saying that but it’s true.  I believe in you, Bethany Carlisle—and your sisters.  Although I’m still undecided about Jennifer,” he smiled.

Beth grimaced.

“So am I,” she sighed.  “I guess time will tell.”

He stood up.

“Come with me.  I want to show you something,” he said.

He extended his hand to her.  She hesitated.  His hand was large and she felt a little intimidated.  Then she brushed the feeling away.  Of course he had a big hand; he was a big man.  It was actually one of the things that attracted her to him.

She placed her palm in his hand and he clasped it warmly.  She felt secure and safe; a feeling that no man had been able to foster in her until now.  It was a nice feeling.

“Where are we going?” she asked as she swallowed the last of her ice cream cone.

“You’ll see,” he smiled at her.

The top of Beth’s head reach his shoulder.  She was the perfect height for him.  He was finding that there were a lot of things that he liked about her.

He admired her tenacity and her resolve.  She didn’t allow things to discourage or overwhelm her.  If she didn’t understand something, she would ask.  And she was a fast learner.

He noticed the same thing about Tracy.  She seldom was disheartened and she was determined to do something until she got it right.

But he wasn’t sure about Jennifer.  He suspected that, should she apply herself, she would be good at anything she chose to do.  It was just a matter of her
wanting
it enough.

He led Beth down the dirt path that she had traveled along on her own earlier then turned into the woods.  Beth didn’t ask again where they were going.  She knew that he wouldn’t tell her until he was ready.  So she remained silent.

They’d walked about a mile when the trees opened to reveal a small lake with a waterfall at one end of it.  Beth caught her breath and ran to the water’s edge.

“It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed.

“I thought you would like it,” he grinned.

“Like it?  I love it.  It’s magical,” she said as she flung her arms wide and twirled around.

“You don’t remember this place?”  he asked.

She frowned as she tried to remember.  It did seem familiar but the memory was vague.  She looked toward the woods and saw a cottage.

“Buddy Long’s place,” she announced.

“Correct,” he smiled.

“We used to come here to swim until Jonas forbade it.  He and Buddy became mortal enemies over a poker game; a game in which Jonas won a large portion of Buddy’s land,” she recalled.  “Buddy accused Jonas of cheating.  And Jonas probably had been but Buddy hadn’t been able to prove it.  Is Buddy still here?”

“No.  He died a year before Jonas.  But I know the whole story of the poker game, believe me.  And before Buddy died, Jonas wanted to purchase what was left of his land, as well, so he could expand The Sea View even further.  But that’s the last thing Buddy wanted.  He still loathed Jonas for cheating him out of the rest of his property all those years earlier and wasn’t willing to give him anymore of it.  He wanted it to be preserved,” he said.  “As it happens, Buddy left a will citing
me
as his beneficiary.  He knew that I loved this place and would never sell it to Jonas or develop it myself.”

“I bet that made Jonas madder than a bobcat caught in piss fire,” she laughed.

He laughed.

“You may have left Texas, girl, but Texas has not left you,” he grinned.

She laughed too.

“The Texas phrase just fit,” she chuckled.  “So you own this land?”

“Yes.  I fell in love with the property the first time I saw it.  I stumbled onto it while out for a walk one day and Buddy and I just hit it off.  We’d talk for hours about hiking and fishing and, of course, about protecting the property,” he said.  “He knew I loved it as much as he did and that I would safeguard it.”

“I’m glad you will not develop it. It should remain the beautiful, unspoiled land that it is,” Beth said.

He caught her hand.

“Come.  I want to show you the cottage.  I’ve had it remodeled,” he said.

They stepped onto the newly repaired wooden porch and he slipped his key into the lock.  He pushed the door open and ushered her in.  Beth looked around in wonder.  She remembered a shabby, dark interior that was sparsely furnished when Buddy was alive.  But that was hardly the case now.

She walked around the place in awe.  The walls had been painted a cream color and there was brown crown molding in every room.  The wall of the small, confining kitchen had been blown out to create an open concept.  There was now a dining room and three bedrooms with a small bathroom attached to each.  The kitchen opened out to a small terrace with a view of the trees and valley beyond.  It was the perfect cottage and Beth loved it.  She turned to face Grey.

“This is fabulous.  I would love to—

She stopped speaking abruptly.  She did not want him to think that she was angling to stay there.

“Live here?”  he finished her sentence.

She moved back to the living room to put space between them.

“I was not trying to suggest anything.  I just think this is a lovely cottage and you should be proud of it,” she explained.

“I am proud of it.  And I’m willing to let you live here if you need a place to stay.  Do you?”  he asked.

Beth
did
want to move out of the hotel but she had promised Tracy that she would try to get along with Jen.  And staying with her sisters promoted that effort.  But she was beginning to feel stifled and Jen really was getting on her last nerve with her whining.  To be able to live there would be heavenly.

“Beth?”  Grey prompted.  He had followed her into the living room but kept his distance.

She turned to look at his gorgeous face.  He really was handsome and she couldn’t deny her attraction to him.  She had never been drawn to a man the way she was to him.

She had dated a few men and even slept with one of them.  But that relationship had ended abruptly and Beth could not say that she was sorry.  Adam Slater had wanted more than she could give.  She couldn’t reveal her inner thoughts to him and he’d become frustrated with her.  Eventually his rash actions had destroyed them.  But with Grey she felt that she could tell him anything.  Well, almost anything.

“I would like to get my own place.  Living in the hotel is not my thing.  But…”

She stalled.

“But moving out would not be conducive to repairing your relationship with your sisters,” he said, perceptively.

“Yes!  That’s exactly it.  Tracy would think I wasn’t trying to get closer with them.  And Jen would think that I just couldn’t stand living with her,” she said miserably.

“Why don’t you talk to them and see how they really feel.  They may surprise you,” he suggested.

“You think they may not mind it if I moved out?”  she asked.

He shrugged.

“You will never know unless you ask,” he said.  Then spreading his arms he added, “And this place could end up being yours after all.”

“And you would rent it to me after all that has happened?” she queried.

He nodded.

“I don’t hold grudges,” he said dryly.

She looked at him doubtfully.

“I’m not sure I believe that,” she replied skeptically.

He slowly moved toward her.

“I’m realistic.  You had every right to accept The Sea View and I can’t change that.  So I would rather make the best of it and move forward,” he concluded.

“And moving forward means offering your cottage to me?”  she asked.

He chuckled.

“You are very suspicious, Beth.  Relax.  I have no ulterior motives.  Accept my offer for what it is,” he murmured.

“And what is it?”

“An olive branch,” he said softly.

He was standing directly in front of her.  He clasped her shoulders and looked deeply into her sparkling green eyes.

“You are so beautiful.  But I’m sure millions of men have told you that,” he said.

Men hadn’t flattered her; not even Adam.  Maybe because she usually kept to herself.  She seldom went out when she wasn’t working.  But saying so to Grey might only make him think that she was seeking compliments.  So she remained silent.

“No response?  Your silence is telling.  Just how blind are the men in Denver not to see your beauty?”  he murmured.

“I don’t see myself as beautiful because I’m not.  That distinction goes to Jennifer and Tracy,” Beth responded.

“Then you don’t see yourself as I do; and any other man who’s not wearing blinders.  You are indeed lovely, Beth.  Too lovely for me to stay away from,” he said softly.

Grey bent his head and outlined her mouth with his tongue.  She didn’t pull back and he deepened the kiss by pushing through to the sanctity of her mouth.  She looped her arms about his neck and leaned into him.

That was all Grey needed to walk her to the sofa and push her onto it.  She initially gasped at his surprising treatment but opened her arms to him when he descended upon her.  Beth wasn’t fragile and didn’t want to be treated like precious China.  Instinctively Grey realized that.

She ran her fingers through his thick blond hair and wrapped her legs around his waist.  Beth found herself being bold with him; something she never thought she would do.  But he brought out her primal nature that no man had ever uncovered.

He began to grind against her and Beth responded.  She squirmed and writhed under him wanting more.  She plunged her tongue into his mouth and their tongues performed an erotic dance of desire.  She was lost in a world of want and need; it was a situation that she had never experienced.  Adam had certainly never made her feel this way.

“Oh, Beth!”  Grey rasped.

He unclasped her jeans and slid the zipper down.  When he began to slide her jeans over her slim hips a bell rung in her head.  She opened her eyes wide.

“Grey. No!”  she cried.  He stilled and looked at her in disbelief.

“What’s wrong?”  he questioned.

“I can’t.  It’s not….I mean….I just can’t,” she whispered.  With unexpected strength she pushed him off of her.

Grey rolled to the floor in surprise.  He stared at her with uncertainty while she leapt from the sofa and quickly fastened her jeans.

She recalled the last time she had been with Adam.  She couldn’t keep the hateful memories at bay.  They flooded her mind as if it had only happened yesterday. 

He had been so mad with her.  She had tried to reason with him but he’d been irrational and refused to listen.  When he started to approach her she had run for the door.  But he’d been faster and caught her and threw her to the floor of her apartment.

She could still see him unsnapping her pants and ripping them off of her.  She’d spun away from him but he’d caught her ankles and dragged her back to him.  She screamed, kicked and pounded her fists into him but he wouldn’t stop.  He spread her bare legs and rammed into her.  She tried to fight him but wasn’t strong enough to stop his sexual assault.

He used her then slammed out of the apartment and out of her life.  The act of violence still tormented her to this day.  Tears slipped from her eyes and she brushed them away hastily.  But not before Grey saw them.

Grey saw the haunted look in her eyes and knew there was more to this than her not wanting to have sex with him.  Something had happened to her and anger filled his breast at the thought of what it was.  He stood and moved to stand behind her.  He laid his hands on her shoulders and she shrugged them from her.

“Beth, what is it?  It’s obvious that something has happened to you.  You can tell me,” he said gently.

“I should be getting back.  I have work to do,” she said curtly.

She crossed the room to the door and left the cottage.  Grey hurried to the door and saw her running down the dirt path.

“What happened to you, Beth?”  he said softly aloud.  “Who hurt you?”

Rage churned in his belly at the thought of someone hurting her.  He swore he would find out what had happened to her and make the piece of scum pay.

Chapter 3

T
racy walked through the gate of the amusement park and smiled as she listened to the screams and laughter of the patrons; young and old.  Everyone was having a good time as they rode the thrilling rides in the park.  She thought it was such a great idea to have implemented the park into the resort.  It made the resort a place for couples with children as well the mature adults without kids.

Tracy saw a bench in a shady area and decided to set up her easel there.  She had been working non-stop at the hotel and decided to take a break and give her art some attention.  She missed painting and was yearning to put her fingers on a paint brush again.

She arrived at the secluded bench and set her paints on it then erected her easel.  Placing her blank canvas in position on the easel, she sat and studied her surroundings.  She saw the Free Fall tower ride in the distance and a roller coaster to the left of it.  She could hear the screams of the riders from where she sat and decided to paint that image.

She selected black paint to draw the outline of the rides.  Tracy was very meticulous and it took her some time to get the image just as she wanted it.  She then selected a red paint to fill in some of the outline.

As she was dabbing the paint onto the canvas, something caught her peripheral vision.  She turned her head to the left to see what it was.  There was a man scurrying to the control room of the Ferris Wheel, looking around suspiciously as he did so.  He was holding a canister in one hand and a small box in the other.  She had just spoken to Lenny Wilcox, the man who operated the Ferris Wheel, yesterday and it clearly wasn’t him.