Millionaire's Last Stand

Cole’s voice crackled through a moment later. “Jamie?”

She was startled for a moment, then noticed the security camera mounted on the gate and realized he was probably in front of a screen looking right at her. She winced when a blast of wind blew rain through the open car window and soaked her face.

Before she could plead for him to let her in, the gate buzzed loudly, then parted.

As she drove through it, she saw a blur of motion from the corner of her eye as something dark and furry scurried through the open gate into Cole’s driveway. With the windshield wipers working furiously, it was hard to tell what it was, and then the animal darted behind a patch of trees, and she decided it was probably a squirrel. Shifting her gaze, she steered the car up the circular driveway in front of Cole’s house. As the wind rocked the car, she gritted her teeth, threw open the door, then ran toward the covered porch. While she waited by the door, she stared out at the incredible display of nature with wide eyes. She had never seen anything like it. Suddenly the entire sky was almost black, while the wind shrieked like police sirens.

The door swung open to reveal Cole, a look of concern on his handsome face. “What the hell are you doing here?” he yelled over the wind.

She decided to lie rather than admit the embarrassing truth. “I was coming back from Gideon’s and the storm just hit!”

She barely had a chance to finish her sentence before chaos broke out. The rain suddenly fell harder, accompanied by another crack of lightning. As the wind howled, the trees lining the driveway swayed wildly. Several branches crashed to the ground from the force of the wind, nearly falling onto her SUV.

Jamie turned around with a look of horror, and then she was being propelled backward into Cole by a forceful gust bringing with it rain that drenched them both. Cole caught her as she stumbled, planting his hand on her hip to steady her.

“Come inside,” he shouted over the din.

Another boom of thunder rolled through the sky, then a bolt of lightning that split one of the larger tree branches with a sickly crack. The heavy branch broke, crashing to the wet ground, directly behind Jamie’s car.

Cole curled his fingers over her waist and urged her toward the door. “Come on, we need to get inside.”

She quit gaping at the fallen tree branch and let him yank her into the hallway, where she dripped water all over the parquet floor. Her hair was stuck to her forehead and cheeks, making her look like a swamp monster. Just as she was about to comment on her wretched appearance, the lights began to flicker, then went out abruptly, shrouding the front hall in darkness.

“Well,” she started awkwardly. “I have some bad news.”

Cole handed Jamie a towel and tried nobly not to stare at her beaded nipples outlined by the thin cotton of the T-shirt he’d given her. They’d both been soaking wet when they’d come inside, and since he hadn’t been able to fix the generator, he couldn’t throw her clothes in the dryer. He’d given her a shirt and drawstring sweatpants to wear, and suddenly he regretted not covering her up in a parka or something.

The tight peaks of her nipples made his mouth go bone dry. He’d been trying to convince himself since yesterday that he wasn’t attracted to Jamie Crawford, that he’d simply enjoyed having someone so open-minded listen to his story, but at this moment, he couldn’t deny what he felt. With her damp hair falling down her back and curling at the ends, and those perky breasts beneath his shirt, she was undeniably beautiful.

And he was undeniably turned on.

He watched as she bent forward to towel-dry her hair, then cleared his throat. “I just made a pot of coffee before the power went out. Would you like a cup?”

“Yes,” she said gratefully.