by Joss Wood
“That’s sad.”
He had no idea.
“Why are you driving and not your staff?” Brin asked, wanting to change the subject.
Radd changed gears as he navigated a sharp, upward turn to the left. He took his time answering and, for a moment, Brin didn’t think he would. Eventually, he sighed and shrugged. “As a rule, I like to drive myself. And I’ve been driving these roads since I was ten years old. I love it here.”
Brin frowned, not understanding. “More than you love your magnificent flat in Camps Bay or your vineyard in Stellenbosch?”
“Have you been researching me, Miss Riddell?” he asked in a silky voice.
“You wish.” Brin snorted. “I know about your properties because your rooftop garden at your flat and the garden at your vineyard were both featured in a gardening magazine I subscribe to.”
“Oh, right. I remember my landscaper asking me for permission to take the magazine photographer to both properties.”
Brin thought Radd would be hard-pressed to describe either property, and was starting to suspect that Radd had tunnel vision and didn’t see or care for much outside of work. If she had gardens like his, she’d never leave them.
* * *
Radd’s hand tightened on the wheel and he opened his mouth to tell Brin those other properties were just assets he owned, but that he considered Kagiso his home, a place of freedom and peace.
His memories of this land were only happy ones...
The smell of grandfather’s pipe, camping underneath the stars or in caves containing rock art done by the San people, running wild with Jack and Digby and the children of the staff working the ranch. Swimming in the concrete water reservoir on hot days, falling asleep to the sound of jackals barking at night. The three brothers making plans for the rest of their lives, plans that didn’t include their parents...
Radd shook off his thoughts and when he turned his head to look at Brin, he saw the hulking shadow moving slowly in the distance. He braked, stopped and touched Brin’s shoulder, pointing to a space between the trees.
“There’s a black rhino at eleven o’clock. Highly endangered, completely awe-inspiring,” Radd whispered.
Brin’s hand landed on his thigh and Radd sucked in a deep breath as her fingertips burned through the fabric of his pants into his skin. Desire roared through him, as turbulent and as fierce as an African thunderstorm. He stared at her exquisite profile, reluctantly admitting he’d wanted her from the first moment he saw her standing near her worn-out Beetle earlier.
He. Wanted. Her.
More than he ever expected, more than he could believe. But this was just—this had to be!—a normal reaction of a man to a sexy woman; it didn’t mean anything beyond a need to work off excess sexual energy.
He hadn’t had sex for a while and he was past due. Right, when he used his brain, his attraction to Brinley was simple and easily explained.
The rhino moved deeper into the bush and Brinley sighed, a sweet, soft sound. His blood plummeted south as he wondered whether she sounded like that when she fell apart in a man’s arms. Specifically, his arms.
Then she turned to look at him, her mouth now just a couple of inches from his own. In the sinking light, her eyes were the color of a mermaid’s, now a silver-aqua shade and fully able to rip his breath away. Through her light makeup, he could see the hints of her freckles, and he wanted to pull her dress off her body and discover where else those sweet dots appeared. Her eyes locked on his and, in them, he saw awareness, desire and yearning: everything he was feeling.
He wanted to taste her, no, he needed to taste her. Just once so he could stop obsessing about whether her mouth was as sweet as he imagined.
Radd touched his lips to hers, aiming to keep his kiss light, chaste if he could. But a few seconds after their lips connected, she opened her lips and he couldn’t resist, he had to go on in. His tongue pushed past her teeth to slide against hers and she arched her back in that feminine, age-old silent way of asking for more.
But instead of waiting for him to give her what she wanted, Brin, surprising the hell out of him and without breaking contact with his mouth, turned in her seat. Moving gracefully, she lifted her skirt and straddled him, bent knees on either side of his thighs. She reached for his shirt and bunched the fabric in her hands as she deepened the kiss, asking, no, demanding, more.
Thoughts of resistance flew out of his brain. His hands found the bottom of her dress and he pulled it up so his hands could stroke the back of her smooth thighs, roam over her gorgeous backside covered in cool cotton. He explored the valley of her lower back, the curve of her slim hip, her luscious butt. Pulling away from her mouth, he kissed his way up her jaw, down her neck, but Brin moved her hand from his chest back to his face, tipping his head so she could feast on his mouth again.
And feast she did. So much passion rested under her surfer-girl exterior and he wanted more, he wanted all of her. He wanted her tongue in his mouth, but also wanted it on his neck. He wanted her hands on his chest, in his pants. He wanted to explore all her valleys and dips, the knobs of her spine, the ball of her shoulder, discover the color of her nipples, taste the sweetness between her legs.
He didn’t think he’d ever wanted anyone as much, or as fast, as he wanted Brinley Riddell. And for the first time in, well, forever, his reaction terrified him. Women never knocked him sideways, he refused to give them that much power. That Brin could was...
Bizarre. Unsettling.
And yes, completely unacceptable.
The low rumble of a vehicle pierced the night sounds of the bush and Radd quickly reacted. In one smooth movement, he lifted Brinley off his lap and deposited her back in her seat and. a few seconds later, he cranked the engine and pulled away as the lights of the other vehicle appeared behind him.
Brin whipped around to look at the second vehicle before slumping back in her seat. “Wow. Close call.”
“I’m their boss and the owner. If they caught us naked, they’d turn a blind eye,” Radd replied, his tone brusque.
Brin didn’t reply, but Radd felt her eyes on his profile and wondered if her heart, like his, was about to jump out of her chest, whether she wanted him to stop the vehicle and resume where they left off.
He very much did.
Radd stared at the dirt ahead, easily navigating around a chameleon in the middle of the road. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her chest rising and falling quickly, the small tremor in her fingers resting on her slim thigh.
Yeah, she was equally affected.
The chemistry between them could not be denied; it was a living, breathing entity. Could it be bigger and bolder than what he normally experienced because he’d gone without sex for too long? Radd did some mental arithmetic and realized the last time he’d gotten laid was four, and a bit, months ago... No wonder he felt like a pressure cooker about to blow.
But honesty compelled him to reluctantly admit that, while he felt frustrated by his lack of bed-based activity, it wasn’t the longest period he’d gone without sex and he’d never felt this off-balance before. Forty percent might be sexual frustration, the rest was his unexpected and unwelcome need to kiss Brinley from tip to toe, to discover her secrets, to hear what noises she made when she came, whether she was as tight and warm and fabulous as he imagined her to be.
Brinley was sexy and smart but, under her natural passion, he could tell that she was inexperienced, a little unsure. While he preferred women who were more skilled, who could keep up with him in the bedroom, he rather liked the idea of teaching Brin a little of what he knew...
Radd slapped his hand against the back of his neck and welcomed the slight sting in his hand. She was his employee, she’d be out of his life tomorrow night, and he wasn’t the type to seduce innocents. And, despite being in her late twenties, if she wasn’t innocent, then she was definitely inexperie
nced.
And, no matter how sweet her kisses or how deep her passion ran, he wasn’t anyone’s teacher. Except for being Digby’s brother, he wasn’t anyone’s anything.
Besides, he’d watched the crap show that was his parents’ marriage and had front row seats to how love made people irrational, how it made them lose control. Every relationship, good, bad and dysfunctional, required work and involvement and emotion, and he didn’t have the time or inclination. He kept his relationships at surface level. If you didn’t allow anyone behind the armor, no one could do any damage. If one didn’t engage, actions and words couldn’t be misconstrued.
It was a simple concept that served him well. And Brinley Riddell—free-spirited, gorgeous, inexperienced and intriguing—would not be the first to find his chinks.
And to ensure that didn’t happen—it wouldn’t, but Radd never took chances—he’d keep his distance. He’d drop her off at the lodge and retreat to his private villa at the end of the property. He had his laptop and enough work to keep him occupied and, if the gods were smiling on him, Brinley would complete her flower arranging in record time and he could whip her back to Cape Town, pay her and put her out of his mind.
That was the plan, because the other plan fighting for his attention—to keep her, naked, in his bed for the next twenty-four hours—was not only a nonstarter, but stupid.
He was reserved, implacable, emotionally detached and occasionally difficult, but stupid he was not.
CHAPTER FOUR
SHE’D KISSED RADD TEMPEST-VANE, the man who held her future in his admittedly exceptionally skilled hands.
Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.
Brin licked her lips, thinking she could still taste him—fresh, gorgeous, comprehensively, powerfully male—on her lips, on her tongue. She hadn’t had much time to explore his body, but she knew his thighs were strong, his stomach ridged with muscle, his chest wide. His hands were big, broad and capable, and his arms powerful.
One touch of his lips to hers and she’d turned into a wild woman, devoid of sense and thought. Oh, she’d like to be able to say that she would’ve retreated had he pushed for more, but she didn’t know if that was the truth.
His hands on her legs and butt had felt so amazing and, had she been able to form the words or pull her mouth from his, she’d would’ve begged him to touch her breasts, to slide a big hand between her thighs.
She wanted him. More than she’d ever wanted anyone or anything before.
She was so screwed.
One kiss, a mild grope and it was like she hadn’t spent most of the past half day telling herself why hooking up with Radd was a comprehensively bad, bad, terrible idea. Maybe she should just record a voice note and push play every time she forgot the hundred reasons why she shouldn’t kiss/touch/sleep with Radd Tempest-Vane.
Shall we list them again? For the hundredth and sixtieth time?
She was in the process of finding her authentic self, working on her insecurities, her dark thoughts. She did not need to complicate the process with unwanted attraction.
And it was unwanted, because Radd was who and what she didn’t need. Having just rid herself of two bossy people, she did not want another super confident, autocratic, overbearing person in her life.
No matter how gorgeous, sexy, hot and rich he was....
And man, he was stupidly rich.
Brin sighed. While she’d been exposed to her sister’s rich-ish existence, it was nothing compared to Radd’s billionaire lifestyle, and she didn’t know how to operate in such a rarified world. Few, she imagined, would. Nor did she want to, money wasn’t what drove her. Being accepted, feeling like she belonged, did. Radd’s universe—rich, opulent and excessive—wasn’t what she was looking for.
It wasn’t where she belonged. It would gobble her up and spit her, and her battered and bruised heart, out. It was a scenario she’d prefer to avoid, thank you very much.
Oh, and she was kind of...sort of...keeping a secret from him. But, since it wouldn’t impact their deal, she could live not telling him about Kerry’s and Naledi’s stupid feud.
Hands off him, Brinley Riddell, no matter how much you want to touch. Just do your job, get paid and slide out of his life. Brin glanced at her watch, squinting at the dial in the ultra-low light. You have to be here for another twenty or so hours, surely you can control your heart and your mind and your hands for that long?
And her mouth! For someone who’d always had a problem talking back, her mouth was working at supersonic speed. What was up with that?
Brin caught the glimpse of lights between the trees and, as Radd steered the vehicle up a steep hill, the lights became brighter and bolder. He turned to the left and there, on the edge of a cliff, sat an impressive building that looked like part of the landscape. Brin looked beyond the building to the plain, stretching out for many miles below. Her breath caught and, taking in the exceptional view, all thoughts of seeing Radd naked faded away.
Radd stopped the car and they took in the vista as the blood-red sun dipped below the horizon. She could see animals moving slowly across the plain but, because they were too far away, couldn’t identify the creatures.
This was Africa: wild, vast and incomprehensively beautiful.
Far too soon, Radd accelerated away and parked the vehicle closer to the entrance of the lodge. He half turned in his seat to face her. “My manager, Mari, will meet you inside and, after getting you settled into your room, she’ll show you what you have to do and where you can work. The lodge is empty at the moment, you will be the only guest tonight. The chef has prepared supper for you and Mari will be on hand to bring you anything you require—food, snacks, tools, wire, whatever you need.”
“Oh, um... I thought you’d be staying here, too,” Brin said. Not sure whether to be pleased or disappointed, Brin nibbled the inside of her cheek. Being alone would give her some time to shore up her defenses, to get her head on straight.
But being alone would mean not being with Radd. Her body very much wanted to be near Radd, stupid thing.
“There are guest rooms within the lodge and a handful of suites. My personal suite, we call them villas, is at the far end of the property.” Radd ran his hands through his hair in an impatient gesture. “Let’s clear the air, Brin,”
Brin wrinkled her nose. Ack, a conversation starting with those words rarely went well.
Radd rested his forearms on the steering wheel and stared past the hood of the vehicle to the dark shadows beyond. Brin followed his gaze and saw him looking at an expansive deck. Brin saw dark water and realized the entertainment area ended in a large infinity pool, its water seeming to tumble off the side of the cliff.
Oh, wow, she couldn’t wait to see Kagiso Lodge in daylight. It would, she was sure, live up to all her expectations.
“For some strange, inexplicable reason, you seem to be forgetting you are here to work, Miss Riddell. I am paying you an extraordinary amount of money to arrange flowers. You are here to do a job.”
Brin’s eyes slammed into his and the deep navy, almost black, eyes were harder than she’d ever seen them. His lips were now thin slashes in his face and a deep frown pulled her attention to his hard-as-granite eyes.
He was acting as if she were the only one who’d enjoyed their kiss, like she’d thrown herself at him, like she was at fault. Seriously?
“Are you reminding yourself or me?” Brin demanded, once again surprised at her fast response and lack of deference. She really didn’t recognize this mouthy person!
Radd just stared at her, his expression inscrutable. She’d known him for just a few hours, but she didn’t like him hiding behind that enigmatic expression.
Don’t rock the boat, Brin, just swallow the hot words in your throat. Just exit the vehicle and walk away.
But that was what she always did, and this time she wanted a reaction. She refused to slink in
to the shadows, happy to accept the blame for something that wasn’t her fault. Maybe she’d grown a spine since leaving Johannesburg.
“Might I remind you that you kissed me, that your hands were on my butt, your fingers slid under the band of my panties? I was not alone in the madness. I know why I am here, Mr. Tempest-Vane. I haven’t forgotten, not for a minute. But don’t you dare pretend, oh-so-suddenly, that the attraction is all on my side.”
Radd released an irritated sigh, his broad shoulders lifting and falling. “Fine, our kiss got out of hand, I’ll admit you are right, I am attracted to you. But I’m damned if I’m going to do anything about it.” Radd muttered. “You’re not my type, you’re too...”
Oh, this should be good. “I’m too... What?”
She heard the whoosh of his breath, what might have been a hot curse followed by the word “dangerous.” He thought she was dangerous? That couldn’t be right. What threat could she pose to Radd Tempest-Vane?
“Go on in, Brinley,” Radd said. “Mari is inside, she’ll sort you out.”
He sounded exhausted, like he was all out of patience with her and the situation. Brinley, no longer prepared to hang around when she wasn’t wanted, picked her bag up off the floor and reached for the handle of the door.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Brin told him, determined to hold on to her manners. One of them should.
Holding her bag strap, Brin walked up the steps leading into what she presumed was the lobby of the hotel. There was no reception desk, just two expensive, stone-colored modern couches facing each other and, above them, two massive abstract paintings reflecting the colors of the rapidly fading sunset.
Turning left, Brin walked into an open plan lounge and instantly realized why all the travel magazines rated this one of the most luxurious lodges in the world. The furniture was obviously expensive but looked incredibly comfortable, deep cushions and gleaming wooden side tables and footstools in greens and golds and browns, all the colors of the African bush.