“That’s the idea. The residences will be inland, on the lagoon or beachfront. Water canals will connect the lagoon properties. The amenities will be the most comprehensive anywhere.” He looked over at her. “Even more than those at Navarone Place. We plan effortless ownership.”
As they passed the construction workers, many of them looked up and waved. “They know you.”
He nodded. “When we were trying to get workers, I wanted Mayan carpenters and masons. They remember.”
“What is that?” She pointed to a platform in the trees.
“A treetop spa.” He shook his head. “There’s already a waiting list for when it opens.”
She sighed. “Imagine waking in your own luxurious lagoon or beachfront each morning and boating on the canal to the beach club or restaurants,” she mused.
“Or playing on a championship golf course,” he interjected. “All at pre-development pricing.”
She sat up, pulled the sunglasses from her eyes, and turned to him. Twin furrows marched across her forehead. “You’re selling already?”
He flexed his hands on the steering wheel, dreading the coming conversation. “It’s standard procedure. Just like for Navarone Place.”
“I see.” She slipped on the sunglasses, then the wide-brimmed floppy straw hat with a turquoise scarf around the band, and went back to watching the scenery.
He tried to see if she was upset and still keep his eyes on the paved road as it twisted through the development. With the sunglasses and hat shielding her eyes and her face, it was impossible. He didn’t think it was a coincidence that she had put the hat on. “There’s been an explosion of resort properties in this area. It was imperative that we let prospective buyers know about us and be competitive.”
“Where is the sales center?” she asked, staring out her window.
He pulled into the driveway of a finished residence and cut the motor. They might as well get this over with. “There’s no office. Everything is handled online on the Web site. Prospective buyers read, print, and sign an agreement to fax to us, and pay a refundable fifty-thousand-dollar deposit to be on the list when we’re ready to show.”
She removed the blue-tinted sunglasses and finally looked at him. Her steady gaze was more interested than hurt. He took that as a positive sign and explained further: “We plan to have an invitation-only party in about a month for those who have signed the agreement and paid the deposit.”
“About the time Navarone Place will be finished?”
“Yes,” he said, and waited.
“A large number will buy. You’ve given them choices and luxury in an exotic setting.” She glanced around. “Did we stop here for a reason?”
“I thought I might have to kiss you out of being upset with me.” He hoped it came out as teasing rather than frantic. No, “frantic” wasn’t the word. “Concerned,” yes, that was the right word.
“Why would I be upset?” she asked with a lift of one luxurious brow.
Since she didn’t back down from a fight or an argument, he might think he had been worried for nothing … but he didn’t think so. “You’re one of the best brokers I’ve ever worked with, yet I didn’t offer you the job to sell Riviera Maya,” he explained.
“Which obviously means I’ll be old news by then.”
She said it so matter-of-factly that he simply stared. It was as if she had already moved on. The knot easing in his stomach tightened. Honesty warred with desire. With Sierra, honesty would always win. “I can’t imagine a time when I don’t want you, but I can’t make any promises.”
“I’m not asking for any.” She turned more toward him, a small smile curving her lush lips upward. “It’s just my competitive spirit kicking in. Don’t mind me. What’s next?”
He wasn’t so sure she wasn’t upset. She was competitive and had mentioned when they were in San Francisco wanting to sell this property as well. He had reasons for not making her the exclusive Realtor, none of which he could tell her now. But he could do one thing to make her happy. “Luxury Avenue.”
L
uxury Avenue lived up to its name, with the finest and most expensive shops in the world. At any other time Sierra would have enjoyed the hunt for something new and exciting. Not today. Strolling beside Blade down the spacious air-conditioned corridor, she kept trying to come up with the reason he hadn’t asked her to be the exclusive broker.
The way he kept throwing worried, furtive glances at her made her reconsider her comment about her being old news. Blade wasn’t the type of man to worry about a fling. There were too many other women waiting for their chance.
“There’s the Escada store,” Blade pointed out. “That black and white suit in the window looks like something you might like.”
Sierra stopped because he did. That was another thing that blew her original theory. Most men were born with a genetic defect that made them hate shopping, especially with women. They’d rather have a tooth extracted without Novocain than follow a woman from store to store.
She’d watched Blade when they pulled up in the parking lot. He’d gripped the steering wheel as if he were about to face the demons of hell. He didn’t want to be here, yet he was because he thought she needed cheering up.
What she needed was answers. She refused to wait a minute longer to get them. Catching his hand, she pulled him out of the heavy flow of traffic into a little alcove. “Why didn’t you hire me for the job? I want the right answer the first time.”
“Sierra—” he began.
She held up her hand to cut him off. “That was too fast for the right answer. There has to be honesty between us. It’s the only way for me. You demand honesty as well, or was I wrong?”
He blew out a breath and jammed both hands into the pockets of his dress slacks. “I’m not sure you’re going to like the answer.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” she said, moving closer as a young couple ran by, laughing. “Besides, I’d probably like it better than the one I came up with in the Jeep.”
His expression hardened. “You were wrong.”
“So. What’s the right answer?”
“You wouldn’t just take my word that you were wrong and let it go, would you?”
“If our positions were reversed, would you?” she came back.
He studied her as if weighing his options, then pulled his hands out of his pockets. “You might have accepted my living at Navarone Place in Dallas, but not here. I didn’t want you to be that far away from me,” he finished, his voice soft, his eyes blazing with passion.
She kissed him. She couldn’t help it and didn’t try. Having his arms close around her was sheer heaven. Hearing a whistle, she lifted her head and drew her arms from around his neck, letting her hands cup his face. His heart beat erratically.
“Blade, I’m not so naive that I couldn’t come up with the reason you’re staying in Dallas. I did research on you. Remember? You’re almost a nomad.” Her fingers stroked his cheek. “I was flattered, but more than anything I was happy you were there, because we could get to know each other better. You were where I wanted you to be.”
He just shook his head. “You amaze me.”
“Being predictable is boring.” She chuckled, then grasped his hand. “I think you’re right about that Escada suit.”
His hand tightened slightly in hers. “Do you want the job as exclusive broker here?”
“Not if it keeps me from you,” she answered honestly, seeing the fire in his eyes turn into a blazing flame. “Now, come on, so I can make some salesperson happy.”
Blade allowed her to tug him into the boutique. He could call Shane or Rio to come. Blade could save himself from the ordeal.
He didn’t; somehow he couldn’t. As bad as it was, at least he could be with her and keep her safe. He wouldn’t fail this time.
To help him cope, he focused on Sierra as she breezed through the racks of clothes and accessories, chattering to him about Maya Riviera. He stilled himself for the moment she would want to try on the black and white couture knit suit, like the one in the window, but she simply gave it and a pink and brown one to the saleswoman to ring up.
“That was fast,” he said, trying not to sound too relieved.
“I’d seen the last one already, but they didn’t have it in my size. Since the cuts are true, I didn’t have to try on the other suit.” At the register, Sierra opened her purse and extracted a platinum credit card.
“I got it.” Blade pushed her hand away and reached into his back pocket for his wallet.
“Blade, if you pull out your credit card, I’m going to lose my happy mood, and I don’t think you want that,” she said sweetly.
He’d heard that tone before.
The cashier looked discreetly away. The female customer across from them gave Blade a come-hither look that said she’d let him pay for her purchases and reward him any way he liked. But there was only one woman he wanted to pamper.
He shoved his wallet back inside his pants and stepped to the side. “I like you happy.”
“Right answer.” Sierra gave the cashier her credit card.
B
lade should have remembered that Sierra never did the expected.
An hour after their talk, they were sitting at a seaside restaurant having lunch. She’d power shopped, as she called it, and managed to pick up a gift for everyone on her list, which must have been an extensive number of people, because the backseat of the Jeep was filled. There was no way all of her purchases would fit in her suitcase, but he had no intention of pointing that out. As far as he was concerned, whatever Sierra wanted, if it was in his power, she’d get it.
He just hoped he was on her list of wants.
During lunch he’d made the mistake of mentioning he’d never been to the Maya ruins. Thirty minutes later they were on the road to the site. Once there, he had to admit that the sight of what the ancient and brilliant civilization had accomplished had moved him, but not as much as what Sierra had said when they were finished with the tour and were walking back to the Jeep.
“You’ll leave your mark on the world, just as the Mayans did.”
It was the same thing that Mary had always told him, just worded differently. Her belief had been unshakable. He’d like to think Sierra’s was the same.
They arrived back at his house late that afternoon. The sun was a golden memory. He intended to make more memories before the night was over.
“If you need any of the packages, I’ll bring them in for you. Otherwise I’ll have someone pick them up and deliver them directly to the plane,” he said, walking Sierra to her cottage.
“Not a thing.” At her door she lifted her head from his shoulder. “Thanks for a beautiful day.”
He kissed her on the lips. “It’s not over. Change into your swimsuit and I’ll be back to pick you up in twenty minutes,” he told her, then paused at the bottom of the steps. “You can swim, can’t you?”
“Since I was five.”
“Should have known. See you in twenty.” Continuing to the house, he quickly showered, changed into brief black swim trunks, and grabbed a fresh shirt. He stuck his feet into leather slides and was out the door. Rounding the house, he saw Sierra coming down the steps.
His heart actually stopped. The golden light from the twin porch lanterns framed her. She wore some kind of black gossamer wrap that reached to her ankles and bared one shoulder. The bikini beneath—three triangular patches of white cloth outlined by black—got his heart and another part of his body going.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he told her, his voice husky.
“I thought that about you the first time I saw you,” she confessed.
His hands closed on her shoulders; she leaned against him. He felt the heat of her body, the pebble hardness of her nipples. He’d never wanted anyone or anything so desperately. “If I kiss you, we might never get to your surprise.”
Her fingertips grazed his lower lip. “Would that be such a bad thing?”
“Yes, so stop looking at me like that.” He caught her hand. “I thought women liked surprises.”
“Being in your arms wins hands down over anything else,” she said, following him along the lighted path.
He stopped abruptly, almost reached for her. “Behave.” He started walking again. “A lot of hard work went into this surprise.”
“All right. Care to hint?”
“We’re almost there. Just a few more feet.” He stopped. “Close your eyes.”
She laughed and closed her eyes. They abruptly flew open as he picked her up. “I won’t drop you.”
“I know,” she told him. “I was just startled.” She kissed him on the cheek, then closed her eyes again. “I always thought women overrated the giddy pleasure of being picked up by a man. You’re making me reassess my opinion.”
“Good or bad?”
“Definitely good.” She nuzzled his neck.
“Sierra,” he warned.
“Your fault. You taste good.”
He almost stumbled and was very thankful he had finally reached his destination. “Open your eyes.”
She did as he requested and gasped. Hundreds of votive candles were scattered around a waterfall that was pouring into a small pool. Orchids floated on top of the water. “Blade.” Her voice trembled.
“Do you like it?” he questioned.
She swallowed before she could speak. “It’s beautiful.” Her hands tenderly palmed his face. “Just when I think you couldn’t be any more considerate or caring, you do something that proves me wrong. Being with you has been the greatest adventure of my life.”
“You make it easy.” He placed her on her feet. “Sometimes.”
She playfully pushed against his wide chest. “I told you predictable is boring.”
He ran his finger down her nose, then pulled off his shirt. “Ready to swim?”
She just stared at the muscled hardness of his magnificent body. “I wondered what you’d look like with your shirt off.”
“I wondered the same thing about you,” he confessed.
She blinked, then laughed. Hand in hand they ran toward the pool. They dove in at the same time, surfacing together. “You’ve found paradise here.”
“I have now.” He couldn’t resist. He kissed her, reveling in the feel of her almost bare body against his. His tongue lapped the irresistible sweetness of her mouth. “I think I’d better swim or you might not get the dinner Martin prepared for you.” He pushed away and began doing backstrokes.
Sierra followed. “I thought he was off.”
“He overheard me setting this up, and, when he learned I had hired another chef, he was put out. It didn’t matter that I was trying to give him the time off.” He pushed away from the bank. “He takes his responsibility as my chef seriously. Then, too, he likes cooking for you.”
“I told you chefs can be temperamental and territorial.” She followed Blade stroke for lazy stroke.
“I’m finding that out.” They swam the length of the pond several times. Treading water with one hand, he picked up an orchid and put it behind her ear. It fell. He frowned at the flower.
She shook her head at his annoyed expression, then removed a clamp from the hair pinned on top of her head and pinned the flower in place. “When did you arrange all this?”
“When you went back to your place after breakfast to get your hat and purse,” he told her. “Ready to go see what’s on the menu?”
“Yes.”
Getting out of the water, he pulled her out. He frowned again. “We forgot the towels.”
“So we did. I guess we had other things on our minds,” she told him, the corner of her mouth tilting upward.
“Yeah.” He picked up their clothes, then swung her up in his arms and started back. “When we get back, you can call your family.”
“I told them last night I wouldn’t call until I got back Sunday afternoon,” she said softly.
They had the uninterrupted night ahead of them. Blade congratulated himself on walking and not running to his house.
S
ierra was nervous. She’d been all right while they were at the waterfall, but now, sitting on the back terrace and certain what would happen shortly, she couldn’t get her body to relax. Wearing one of Blade’s shirts on the pretense of being cold to make her feel less exposed hadn’t helped.
“You’re not eating,” Blade said.
“I guess I’m still full from lunch.” She offered the feeble excuse when they both knew she ate like a truck driver.
Blade’s own pan-seared swordfish was almost untouched. “You’ve had a busy day.”
“What time are we leaving tomorrow?” she asked, making conversation, then immediately realizing her question might sound as if she were anxious to leave. After her brazen behavior earlier, he probably didn’t know what to think.
“It’s open. Probably early afternoon.” He placed his fork on his plate. “If you’re finished and want to go pack, I understand.”
He was giving her a way out. She stood, not knowing what to say. She’d given him every indication that she was his for the taking, but—“Good night.”
“Good night.”
She practically ran from the room, leaving the shirt she had borrowed earlier on the sofa in the front room. She got as far as the top step on the veranda and couldn’t go any farther. Her arm circled the post. She leaned her head against the cool wood.
She was falling in love with him and wanted to make love with him. She had worn the provocative bikini and shawl to tempt him. Yet it terrified her that he’d walk away, that he’d never feel the same way about her. This step was irrevocable. She could only give herself once for the first time. She wanted it to be with the man who would be hers forever.
Was she strong enough to take the risk of Blade walking away? Her eyes shut as she wrestled with her emotions.
He did care. He’d let her set the pace, had been patient with her. That had to count for something. So why was she out here and he in his house?
Turning sharply, she went back inside and straight to the terrace. The table was exactly as she had left it except for one thing. Blade wasn’t there.
Peering over the railing at the beach below, she saw something white on the sand.
Blade’s shirt.
She raced down the back steps and along the sandy beach until she stood by his shirt. Water rushed in frothy waves to the shore. Her eyes strained in the darkness at the wide expanse of sea in front of her, but she couldn’t see him. “Blade!”
Her heart knocked crazily in her chest as she walked into the water. He was strong, muscular. He couldn’t have gotten into trouble. “Blade! Blade, answer me!”
She was knee-deep in the water when she saw him. Long, powerful strokes propelled him through the waves. Relief swept through her until he reached the shoreline and stood. Water slid off his body. He looked totally male, dangerous, sinfully delicious.
Doubts kept her from rushing to him as she desperately wanted. What if he was angry with her? He certainly had a right to be.
He was less than two feet away when she started talking. Fast. “I’m not sure what—”
That was as far as she got before he pulled her into his arms, his mouth crushing down on hers with power and passion. Arms like velvet bands closed around her. His mouth devoured her; his hands set her afire.
Much too soon, he lifted his head. “Is that what you were about to say?”
Her answer was to pull his head down for another searing kiss. His hand on her breasts sent shivers racing through her. Wrapping his arms around her, he walked until they were free of the water. “Inside. We have to get inside,” he rasped, his breathing harsh in the night air.
Sierra was on fire. She nipped his ear, then suckled.
He shuddered, then staggered up the beach with a woman burning in his arms. He was never so thankful to reach the steps. Somehow he got them inside and up the stairs to his room. He wanted his bed and her underneath him, but sand and bare bodies didn’t mix. “Shower.”
“I get to see you all over,” she whispered against his mouth.
“Same here.” Suddenly a shower didn’t seem so bad. Still holding her, he stepped into the arched marble enclosure. Reluctantly he placed her on her feet, then turned on the water. With his back to the tepid streams, he reached for her once again.
Unerringly his mouth found hers, his fingers going to the ties of the bikini top. Before the cloth hit the marble floor, his mouth closed around the hard peak of her nipple and suckled.
Her knees trembled. If he hadn’t been holding her, she wouldn’t have been able to stand. Pleasure swept through her, but so did the urgent need below her belly. Blade took the other nipple in his hot mouth as his hand slid down her stomach and touched the most intimate part of her.
She whimpered. Moaned. Enjoyed.
When she didn’t think she could stand another second, he turned the water off, then grabbed a fluffy towel and swiftly ran it over her sensitive skin, then himself. Discarding the towel, he swept her into his arms again. Hurrying to the adjoining room, he placed her on his bed and came down on top of her.
His trembling hands framed her face. “You still with me?”
Her fingertips brushed across his lower lip. “All the way.”
“My unpredictable, sweet Sierra.” His hot mouth started at the curve of her neck, then moved with maddening slowness down the slope of her neck, the swell of her breasts. He worshipped her, touching and tasting, until both were quivering with desire.
“Please.” Her voice was barely audible, but he heard.
Reaching under the pillow for the condom, he quickly sheathed himself. He looked into her eyes, dazed with passion, filled with trust, and eased into her moist heat. She clenched around him, welcoming him.
She’d expected pain, but there was only mounting pleasure as he filled her completely. His hands fastened beneath her hips, surging into her, measuring the hot velvet sheath that clamped around him like a tight glove. Their breathing ragged, she met each stroke. Her body was wild for him, wanting more. He gave it to her with deep thrusts that had her whimpering with ecstasy. Soon she felt the coiling of her body. Almost frightened, she tensed.