Between the CEO's Sheets / House Calls: Between the CEO's Sheets / House Calls

Gina nodded, recalling Wade’s determination to break the wild stallion his uncle Lee had captured in the mountains. After several bronc-busters had tried, his uncle Lee had just about given up and had been ready to turn the stallion loose. But Wade had been more stubborn than the stallion and had finally tamed the beast. “I remember that you had trouble walking the next day.” Then it dawned on her. Slightly panicked, she tried to rise up. “You’re not saying I’m going to feel like that?”

Wade placed a calming hand to her shoulder. “Hold still, honey.”

In one grand sweeping movement, Gina was lifted up into Wade’s arms. She automatically roped her arms around his neck. He carried her to the shade of an ancient oak.

He felt solid and warm and, when he peered down at her, she couldn’t miss the concern in his beautiful green eyes.

“You’re not as tough as you let on,” she whispered near his ear. “Sometimes, I see the man you were in El Paso, Wade.”

“I don’t think he exists anymore, Gina.” Wade pitched his Stetson and Gina watched the hat land near her mare’s hooves. It was so telling, so obvious what that toss of the hat meant. Wade didn’t want to go back. He’d moved into the role of a high-powered executive and was comfortable there.

She let out a quiet sigh. “A girl can hope, can’t she?”

Wade stared into her eyes for a long moment and nodded then lowered down to sit against the base of the oak, keeping Gina firmly in his arms and on his lap. “Are you hurt? Do you feel dizzy?”

She shook her head, “I’m not hurt at all. My head’s fine. You can let me up now.”

“I can’t,” he said.

Her brows lifted. “Can’t?”

“Don’t want to, won’t.”

He smiled, right before his lips touched hers. The brush of his mouth over hers sent warm comforting shivers throughout her body.

She wound her arms tighter about his neck and he deepened the sweet kiss, coaxing her mouth open. From there, Wade took complete control, mating their tongues in a slow fiery seduction while his hand stroked her face then her throat. Gentle fingers traveled lower, unfastening the top buttons of her blouse.

Wade had her in his arms, at his mercy. Gina couldn’t fight her desire any longer. She was where she wanted to be. The Wade she’d known was still there, inside, somewhere in the soft caress of his eyes, in the caring way he held her and in the coaxing brush of his lips. She wanted Wade Beaumont to return. She wanted the man she’d once loved. She’d do anything to bring him back to her.

He slipped his hand inside her blouse. She moaned when he touched her breasts, remembering those fingers, gentle yet rough against her skin. She strained against him. He took more, easing her bra down, cupping her, flicking her nipple until she moaned louder, feeling the pulse of his erection against her thigh.

When he broke off the kiss, they looked deeply into each other’s eyes. “Definitely feeling dizzy now,” she whispered softly.

Wade smiled again and spoke in a low, raspy voice. “You want me.”

It wasn’t a question but a statement of fact. One she couldn’t deny. “Yes.”

Wade kissed her again and palmed her breast until spiraling heat curled up from her belly.

“This is a long time coming, Gina.”

He pressed her down lower on his lap and, leaning over her, he slipped his hand under the waistband of her jeans, his fingers trekking slowly, teasing, tempting, until finally he reached her.

Gina welcomed him. His touch, the stroking of his fingers as they kissed, brought damp moist heat and an ecstasy she’d only known in his arms.

Suddenly, Wade froze, his head shooting up and he muttered a foul curse.

“What is it?” Gina asked, stunned by his quick abandonment.

“Security jeep. Coming from down the road. They must have seen the gate unlocked.”

He lifted her off him and together they stood facing each other, Gina’s clothes as disheveled as her mind.

“Get dressed,” he said. “I’ll go meet them. Explain who we are.”

No words came. She could only nod.

Wade plucked his hat from the ground, yanked it onto his head and strode over to his horse. Before mounting, he turned to her with deep regret in his eyes, as he watched her button her blouse. “One of these days I’m going to make love to you in a damn bed.”

Wade escorted Gina back to town, leaving her in front of the hotel. She’d been quiet on the ride back to the stables and then, as they walked back to the hotel, she hadn’t said more than a few sentences. Wade wasn’t in the mood for talking either. He’d had a few choice words for the security guards who needed convincing that he wasn’t a trespasser. Their interruption had cost him. His desire for Gina had gone unsatisfied and that made him want her all the more.

It irritated the hell out of him how much he wanted her. She couldn’t be trusted and he’d never forgive her for her betrayal, so why wasn’t he satisfied with all the other women he’d had in his life?

“Take a few hours to rest. We have a late lunch meeting. I’ll go to the boat and do some work. I’ll be back later to pick you up.”

Gina nodded, but kept her eyes from meeting his. “Okay.”

Wade cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. “Are you up for it?”

She shot him a look of defiance. “I came here to work, Wade.” She backed away, releasing his hold on her. “So yes, I’m up for it. But back there, that was a mistake. We’ve both changed. We’re not the same people we were when we knew each other in El Paso. You’re paying me to be your personal assistant. I don’t believe sleeping with the boss is in my job description.”

Wade tamped down rising anger. “That had nothing to do with business or the fact that I’m your boss. As I recall, you said yes and couldn’t wait for me to get into your pants.”

Gina’s dark eyes went wide. She lifted her hand and Wade warned her with a searing glance not to even try it. When she lowered her hand, she spoke with quiet calm, her words more potent than any slap to the face. “I thought I saw an inkling of the man you once were, Wade. The man I wanted above all else, the man who was kind and generous and caring. But I was mistaken, you’re nothing like him.”

Wade jammed his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, watching her spin around and walk into the hotel lobby. Her words stung but he wouldn’t be played for a fool ever again.

No matter how much he wanted her.

* * *

Wade poured himself a whiskey on the rocks, something that always soothed his bad temper, and took a seat at his desk. He let the mellow rocking of the boat and the fresh sea breeze calm him for several minutes before opening his e-mail account. He punched in his password and viewed more than a dozen messages forwarded to him from Triple B.

As he went through half of them, all having to do with the Catalina project, Wade came upon one message he hadn’t expected, from Sarah Buckley.

He hadn’t spoken with Sarah in over six months. They’d always remained friends, but ever since that episode with Gina years ago, their relationship hadn’t been quite the same. He’d left El Paso shortly after that tumultuous summer to work at Triple B with his father. Maybe his imagination was in overdrive, but whenever he had visited his uncle and aunt in El Paso, he’d also made a stop in to see the Buckleys and, oddly, they’d been slightly distant, polite but not as friendly as he remembered. And Sarah, too, had seemed more cautious with him.

He punched in and opened the e-mail.

Wade, I know you’re out of town, but it’s important that you call me when you return. We need to talk.

Always,

Your friend,

Sarah

Wade sipped his drink, staring at the message for a moment, making a mental note to call Sarah once he returned to Los Angeles. Right now, he had enough to deal with, Gina being right up there on his list.