“It wasn’t a criticism.”
“No?”
“Tough is good. I admire your resolve. I might not like it, but I respect it.”
Tears stung her eyes, and she fought them back.
“And I like the way you take the beating you ask for.”
“Now you’re not playing fair.” She recalled his tactic to get rid of Morgan.
“Never do. Especially when I want something.”
The success of Operation Fuck Ella Senseless at the Party was proof of that. “Am I the first person to tell you no?”
“And the last.”
“If you’ll excuse me?” She straightened her spine and retreated behind her business façade. “Safe travels.”
“I can’t change your mind?”
“Please don’t try.”
He stepped back and she dashed past him. Though, with his superfast reflexes, she knew he’d allowed her to.
She pushed the start button and the engine kicked into life.
He took three steps away, and she glanced in her mirrors, even though she knew there was no traffic. She eased onto the dirt road.
Pierce didn’t budge. He was still there when she rounded the corner. Within seconds, the house faded from sight.
At the next stop sign, she dropped her forehead to the steering wheel and gave in to the tears.
He might believe she had untapped strength. She didn’t. The truth was, she was a coward. But he had been one hundred percent correct when he’d guessed that her fear of being hurt was worse than her fear of taking a chance.
The trouble was, even though they’d only been together a short amount of time, she hadn’t escaped unscathed.
Chapter Seven
Pierce remained in place, watching until Ella’s tail lights faded from sight. Then, instead of moving, he stared into the night and listened to the distant rumble of the car.
How in the hell had their evening gone so wrong?
The backseat car sex had been smoking. Afterward, they’d been intimate, laughing, enjoying each other’s company. Operation Fuck Ella Senseless at the Party had been a success. He was confident she’d enjoyed it as much as he had. Then all of a sudden, when he’d let her know how much she mattered to him, it was as if she’d embraced her inner ice princess to push him away.
He knew one thing for sure. Ella had run because she wanted him. That wasn’t ego. It was an observation of the emotion expressed in her eyes, the ferocity with which she’d held on to him when they’d been making love.
He’d spent his entire life secure, confident, never questioning a decision. He decided what he wanted and pursued it.
And now? He didn’t know what the hell to do.
He refused to tell her that he was considering taking a job with Logan. There were still too many uncertainties, and he didn’t want her to expect something until he was certain it would happen. He wasn’t sure he could live with her disappointment.
He wished he had words that would to encourage her to stay, let him pursue her, give them a chance.
Fuck. Even if he did take the job with Logan, Pierce wasn’t convinced she’d want him, anyway. She thought she wanted someone solid and stable—an accountant, maybe? Or a salesman with regular hours? Not an EMT or firefighter or even an IT guy, though. They worked hours that might not mesh with her imagined, perfect schedule.
If she got what she wanted, he suspected she’d be restless.
Ella Gibson was an intriguing mixture of innocence and defiance. All of her emotions danced in her eyes. He could read her secrets. She had a wild side, loved having her ass spanked and her limits pushed. Even though she might not admit it, she was willing to take risks.
No doubt she’d been burned by her ex. But that didn’t mean all military guys—or any man who worked more than nine-to-five with two weeks of vacation a year—were unreliable, a cheater or worse.
So how the hell was he going to convince her to take a chance on him? On them? Because he could never be the man she thought she wanted.
He massaged the back of his neck.
When it was obvious she wasn’t returning, despite the ridiculous hope he harbored, he walked to his car.
Mindful of appearances and not wanting to behave in a way that would risk Ella’s reputation, he tucked in his shirt, shrugged into his suit jacket then replaced his tie. His belt reminded him of her. He held it, allowing himself to remember the way he’d used it on her flawless skin and the way she’d responded.
Pierce fantasized now about laying it across her flawless skin while she writhed and begged for more even as he secured a promise from her that she’d never walk away from him again.
With that satisfying image in mind, he fed the leather through the loops then fastened the buckle that had warmed from his touch.
He returned to the party as the band was packing up. The bartender was loading bottles into a container. A few people were seated at the remaining tables, talking, in no hurry to leave. His mother and father were huddled with another couple near the patio. Farrah, Bon Bon and Walter snoozed on a patch of grass near the empty tent.
Fifi trotted over and followed him to the waterfall. The bottle he’d left there earlier was still perched on a rock, and he picked it up.
He heard the click of heels on stone as someone approached, and he glanced up a second before Morgan waltzed into view. She was heading his way.
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
“About?”
“Ella.”
“Ella who?”
“You’re not as smart as you think you are.”
“Oh?”
“Earlier this afternoon, I knew Mom didn’t want me. So that was a ploy for you to be alone with Ella. I want to know what happened last night after I left the bar.”
“Why would you assume anything did?”
“Oh, for crying out loud.” She rolled her eyes. “I saw you looking at her.”
“I was looking at plenty of women.”
“Not like that. And you stayed at the Neon Moon even after I left. I don’t need to be a mathematician to know that two plus two equals four. Start talking.”
“Morgan, don’t you have someone else to bother? Aren’t you supposed to be a hostess or something?”
“My duties are all but over. So I have time for you.”
“Let me be a little more precise. There’s nothing to know, nothing to discuss. We can change the subject or you can scram.”
“Oh, my God.” She grabbed for her necklace.
“What?”
“You…you’ve got a thing for Ella.”
He remained silent.
Her mouth formed a perfect, stunned O. “My best friend. And my brother? This is not happening. This is so not happening. Tell, me, Pierce. Tell me this isn’t really happening.”
“Okay. This is not happening.”
With a scowl, she said, “You can’t even look me in the eye.”
He finished his water then twisted the cap back on before giving her his full attention.
“Aha.”
“Aha, what?”
“You’re lying.”
“And?” He took aim with the bottle, lobbed it at a recycle can and scored on a bank shot. “What do you want me to say?”
“How serious is it?”
“Darling, annoying, persistent sister, I wish you still had pigtails for me to pull. You’re getting nothing out of me. My private life is private.”
“Oh, Pierce. You do know she’s looking for something serious. A relationship with someone who isn’t in the military.”
“So I’ve learned.”
“Oh, my God. You’re in love with her.” She placed her fingers on his sleeve. “What are you going to do?” she asked.
“Have you always been so nosy?”
“Isn’t that what little sisters are good for?”
“Go bother someone else. I think Mom—”
“I’m not falling for it twice. Nice try.” Neve
rtheless, she dropped her hand. “Are you heading back home?”
“Yeah.”
“To drink hemlock?”
Or formulate a new action plan. “You can come visit me in North Carolina.”
“Have you washed that pile of dishes yet?”
That had been a unique experience. He’d been deployed without warning, so fast that he hadn’t cleaned the kitchen, made the bed, emptied the refrigerator. The trash, thank God, he’d remembered. But she’d shown up before he’d arrived home, and he’d spent the first twenty-four hours of her visit asleep in his clothes and shoes. “I’ll hire a housekeeping service.”
“Then I’ll definitely consider it.”
“Let me know when.”
“Can I bring a guest?”
“Quit meddling.”
She smiled wide, bright, as if she were an angel.
“Call if you need anything. Do me a favor? Keep an eye on Dad. Let me know if you think anything is odd.”
“Come on, Pierce. There’s always something odd about Dad.”
He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Maybe ask Mom.” Though he doubted she’d say anything. Despite the fact she didn’t like him half the time, she never said anything negative about him to other people.
“And let me know if I can do anything for you…with Ella.”
“Who?”
“You really are an asshole.”
But that didn’t stop her from falling into his arms for a hug.
“I’m going to miss you.”
“My welcome mat is always out for you.”
She pulled away and he saw a telltale sheen of tears in her eyes, so like his own. “I’m warning you.”
“No one cries over jerks, Pierce.” She swiped the back of her hand across her eyes.
“Call or text.” He knew she would. Before he made it home, if his guess was right. Now if Ella would do the same…
But she’d made it clear that any contact had to come from him. Even then, she might not respond.
He started to walk away then stopped, turned back, met his little sister’s gaze. “Stay out of it.”
“Stay out of what?” she returned, her voice full of sass.
The couple who had been talking to his parents said their goodnights and went into the house. Since he needed to get to the airport, Pierce shook his head and pulled back his shoulders.
He joined his parents and gave his mother an air kiss. Fifi trotted over for a pet so that she wouldn’t be left out. Walter cracked one eyelid and remained where he was.
“Your bedroom is always ready for you,” Laurel said. “Please come home again.”
He shook his father’s hand. Throughout the night, he’d glanced over at Gerard. While Laurel had smiled and laughed as the belle of the ball, Gerard had been reserved. Pierce realized he might be suspicious because he was an untrusting soul, but he’d also been puzzled by Harold’s behavior. The VP of Accounting at his father’s headquarters had sat with him and Ella for almost an hour, dominating the conversation. If Pierce hadn’t cut a getaway, they might still be there. “If you need anything, you have my number.”
“Oh, no!” Laurel headed for the bar and Walter jumped up to chase her. “I need a wine before you close up.”
“Of course, Mrs. Holden. Red or white?”
“A chardonnay, please.”
Once they were out of earshot, Pierce leveled a look at his father. “I mean it.”
“There’s nothing for you to concern yourself with.”
Gerard gave a tight nod. But he had no intention of ignoring his father’s secretive behavior. Pierce might have to be the one to initiate phone calls and establish some sort of relationship. “I have a plane to catch.”
“Goodnight.” Without any further response, Gerard strode away.
Pierce took out his keys as he left the house. Another successful visit home. It had gone about as well as he’d expected. The highlight had been Ella.
How was it possible she had gotten to him so fast? He would have insisted that no woman had enough power to make him consider changing the course of his life. But now, he was obsessed with thoughts…about her, a potential future, how to get what he wanted.
Morgan was more right than she realized. He’d fallen in love with Ella.
Fuck.
His mind reeled, knocked sideways by a blow he’d never seen coming.
So now what?
Pierce opened the car door then slid behind the driver’s seat.
He smelled sex and remembered being deep inside Ella, making to love to her, claiming her.
He refused to let her go.
She had been honest with him from the beginning, but part of him hadn’t wanted to believe she wouldn’t yield. To him, the course of action was obvious. She should move to North Carolina. Having her to come home to would be mind-blowing. It would give him focus, ground him, get him through.
Hell, he’d have even compromised and let her stay in Colorado while he worked out his future. He’d make damn sure they spent plenty of time together. Flights weren’t cheap, but that wasn’t insurmountable, since it was a short-term problem.
But she’d refused to yield to him.
Pierce was left with only with one mission and one outcome. Pursuit and capture. Good thing his training had left him competent at both. Operation Fuck Ella Senseless at the Party had morphed into Operation Woo Ella and Keep Her Forever.
* * * *
Ella swirled a piece of pasta in cream sauce, twirling the fork around and around, staring at the pattern it left behind.
“Who is he?”
Jolted, she looked up and across the restaurant table at her mother. The question shouldn’t have surprised her. Her mother knew everything about her, always had.
Despite the fact it was a Sunday, Ella had thrown back the covers and crawled out of bed at four-thirty, disoriented and shaking. She’d had horrible nightmares of her father and Pierce, of loss and grief. Images of the two of them had intertwined, their features blending until they had been indistinguishable.
Desperate to touch them, to hold on, she’d reached a hand toward their blurred images. They’d morphed into grotesque smiles. She’d screamed as they’d vanished.
She’d returned to reality with a start, shaking and drenched in a cold sweat.
Unable to breathe, she’d climbed from bed and brewed a pot of coffee. When the first strong cup hadn’t cleared the cobweb-like remnants of the dream from her psyche, she’d gone for a brisk walk around the neighborhood. Even that hadn’t helped.
No matter how great the sex had been or how much she’d enjoyed his kisses and being in his arms for a dance, she was glad she’d refused to continue seeing him. There was little doubt in her mind that brutal dreams would be commonplace whenever he was deployed.
Around six a.m., he’d sent her a text message.
Since they didn’t have a relationship, she’d ignored it. But she’d exhaled in relief, and she hated that she was grateful he’d thought of her.
At home, she’d drunk more coffee and watched endless episodes of television on a home improvement channel. Her gaze had been drawn to the picture of her and her father. Today, more than any time in the last twenty years, his absence tormented her.
With a sigh, she’d turned off the TV and decided to grab the vacuum and clean. As she’d walked around the house, straightening the coffee table, pushing in the barstools, making the bed, memories of Pierce had become more vibrant…and painful.
At eight, she’d texted her mom to see if she was available for lunch. Driving to Colorado Springs would take forty-five minutes to an hour and keep her from reaching for the phone.
Rather than soothing her, though, the journey had given her too much time to think. Turning up the radio hadn’t worked.
“Ella?”
“How do you know the problem is a man?”
“You order carbs with a side of carbs and a glass of white wine when you have career or man trouble.”
<
br /> “Do I?” She looked at the food in front of her. Fettuccini alfredo and a second loaf of bread. Her water was untouched, but she had finished half of her glass of chardonnay.
“Last time we were here, you had a salad and a mineral water. If it was something to do with your job, you would have spilled it right away. So that makes me think you’re having man trouble.”
“Pierce Holden.”
“Morgan’s older brother? Didn’t he bring you home one night when you were in high school and had been drinking at a party?”
“To be fair, we didn’t know someone had put rum in the punch. But, yes.” Even back then, he’d been a hero of sorts. Knowing her mother wouldn’t judge her, she gave a complete synopsis of the weekend, except for the juiciest details.
“So what are you going to do?” Shirley took a sip of wine and sat back.
“Mope. Sulk. What else is there to do?”
“Move to North Carolina. Find out for yourself. Perhaps it won’t work.” She lifted one shoulder. “But then again, maybe it will. There’s one way to find out.”
Ella dropped her fork. She stared at her mother in open-mouthed shock. “I’m beginning to think the whole world has gone mad.”
“Oh?”
“I don’t know him.”
“You know what kind of person he is. If he thinks enough of you to invite you to move in, there’s a connection there.” Shirley took one more sip. “The fact you’re sitting here tells me that you’re in agony. If you didn’t care about him, you wouldn’t be talking to me.”
“I have a job.”
“There are jobs in North Carolina.”
“Mom. I have a house.”
“Sell it. Rent it out. Or keep making the payments and keep it as an escape route in case you’re right.”
She blew out a breath that made a stray lock of hair flutter. “It’s not that easy.”
“Then go for a visit. Gather some more information before you make a decision.”
With her fingertip, Ella made tiny circles on the tablecloth.
“What else is bothering you?”
“He’s in the military.”
“And?”
“It’s some sort of super-secret, doesn’t-exist-on-paper kind of thing. He lets most people think he’s an admin geek. But he’s not.”
Enticement (Master Class Book 2) Page 14