His Secret Temptation

by Cat Schield

  No one had ever told him that before. “I do not.”

  Even, white teeth flashed. “No you don’t. I was just trying to figure out why you’ve been avoiding sleeping in the same bed with me.”

  “Wasn’t what happened between us last night a good enough reason?”

  “What, to avoid me? If you recall I had to seduce you.”

  If that’s what had happened, why couldn’t he shake the worry that with their vastly different experience levels, he should have acted more responsibly? “Yes, well, about that. I told my mother you’d had too much to drink.” He paused and searched her expression. “Did you?”

  “Did I have too much to drink?” She arched her eyebrows at him. One bare arm slipped free of the covers. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t want to think I took advantage of you.”

  “Then you didn’t.”

  That was a lawyer’s non-answer if he’d ever heard one. “But did I?”

  “Does it matter? What’s done is done.”

  Her offhandedness annoyed him. It wasn’t done, not by a long shot. He gritted his teeth. “Need I remind you I was the first man you’d ever been with?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I wanted you, and I thought you wanted me.” Her cheeks grew pink as his gaze continued to bore into hers. “Something tells me you don’t grill all your women friends this way.”

  “None of my women friends have been virgins.” He exhaled harshly and tempered his tone. “Why did you do it, Caroline? Why did you make me your first?”

  She rotated on the mattress, putting her back to him, avoiding the question. She tossed her reply at him over her shoulder. “Why do you keep asking me?”

  Simon slid a hand over the warm silk nightgown she wore and flattened his palm against her stomach, pulling her back against his body. She held her shoulders stiff, but bent her legs and allowed him to spoon their bodies. Once he had her backside snug against his aroused groin, he lifted his hand to the side of her neck and moved aside her hair so he could kiss his way along her shoulder. Despite her continued annoyance with him, she tipped her head to give him better access to her skin.

  “I keep asking you because I haven’t received an answer that satisfies me. You avoid men for nine or ten years, then give it up to someone you’ve known less than a week. It’s a big deal, Caroline.”

  “Please don’t make too much out of this.” She caught his hand and laced her fingers through his, returning their clasped grip to her stomach.

  “Caroline,” he protested on a sigh.

  “Just shut up and hold me.”

  He wanted to do more than that, but circumstances prevented him making love to her again. He would rectify that situation later this morning. For now he would simply enjoy her and savor the pleasure of a leisurely morning in bed.

  A brisk knock sounded on their door before he could let out the long, contented breath he’d gathered. His sister’s voice called from the hall.

  “Get up, you lazybones. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve and Mom’s on her usual pre-party tear. We need to get out of the house and stay clear of the chaos. We’re all going out for coffee, and then I promised Caroline a carriage ride through the Historic District. Shame on you, Simon, for not doing that before this.”

  He groaned at having yet another day’s plans made without his consent. “When have we had time?”

  “After that we’re having lunch and if we’re lucky we won’t get back here until everything’s ready for tomorrow’s party.”

  Caroline slipped from his grasp before he could stop her and went to let his sister into the room. He watched the black silk gown cling to her curves as she walked and thought of the black dress she had worn last night. Simon pushed himself into a sitting position and hoped he could keep his sister from insisting he get out of bed immediately.

  “You are still in bed,” Hannah accused when she spied him relaxing back against the headboard. “Mom said you two like to get up early. What’s different today?”

  “I’m afraid it’s my fault,” Caroline said. “I drank a little too much punch last night and Simon let me sleep late.”

  Hannah rounded on Simon, her hands on her hips. “Simon, how could you not have warned her about the punch?”

  He held his hands up defensively. “Mom already flayed my hide.”

  Caroline watched the exchange in amused silence. She had mixed feelings about Hannah’s interruption. She knew if they had lingered in bed much longer she might have moved Simon’s hand up to her breast or down to that incredibly sensitive spot he had roused so profoundly last night. On the other hand, her newly awakened sexuality had woven through it some rather powerful emotions as well. She was awfully close to being in love with this man and wasn’t sure that was a safe path to tread.

  “Shoo, Hannah,” Caroline said. “We’ll get dressed and be down shortly.”

  She shut the door on Simon’s sister and put her back against it. He looked so gorgeously disheveled she was tempted to return to the bed and ravish him.

  “Hannah’s right,” she told him, avoiding the come-hither look in his bright blue eyes and the proof of his continuing arousal. “You are a lazybones. I’m going to get dressed and go for a carriage ride. Want to come?”

  “Why not, since there’s obviously nothing else to do.”

  Hannah seemed to have inherited her mother’s love of planning. She gathered Sarah, Caroline and Simon in the foyer and marched them out into the crisp Savannah morning. Hannah insisted they hike the mile to what she claimed was her favorite coffee shop on Congress. Simon wanted to take the car, but relented when his sister whipped out her you-have-to-do-what-the-pregnant-woman-wants card.

  As they headed down the driveway, a taxi drove through the decorative gate. When it stopped, Dane got out and paid the driver.

  “Are you just getting home?” Simon demanded, sounding every inch a perturbed parent.

  Dane frowned. “Yes, Mom, not that it’s any of your business.”

  “Have you been with Jasmine this whole time?” Hannah chimed in, greedy for gossip. “Can I be the one to tell Francine?”

  “Shut up, Hanny Bananny,” Dane said. “I wasn’t cheating on my fiancée if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I think,” she retorted. “It’s what conclusion Francine will jump to that I’m interested in.” She rubbed her hands together. “Maybe we can get rid of her once and for all.”

  “Hannah,” Sarah exclaimed, hooking her arm and leading the pregnant blonde away. “Don’t pay any attention to her, Dane. She hasn’t had her morning coffee yet so she’s extra cranky.”

  “Yes, we all love Francine,” Simon added in dry tones, drawing Caroline after the retreating pair.

  Laughter filled the air as the two couples strolled along, admiring the way the morning sunlight filtered through the live oaks.

  “I love it here,” Caroline commented. “It’s like stepping back in time. I’m glad General Sherman spared the city. It’s just too pretty to burn.”

  Hannah laughed merrily. “Don’t look now, Simon, but Mom might have another ally in her campaign to get you to move back to Savannah.”

  Caroline glanced at Simon. He was lost in thought, and she wondered if he’d even heard his sister.

  “What about you?” she asked Hannah. “Is she lobbying for you to return as well?”

  “Are you kidding, with her first grandchild on the way? Both Sarah and I have had job offers coming our way weekly for the last six months.” Hannah caught her partner’s hand. “We’ve been talking about it.”

  “I’m not quite ready to quit my job,” Sarah explained. “I’m a software engineer and really like the company I work for.”

  “Plus Sarah’s family is in Charlotte.” Hannah shrugged. “We’ll have to see what the future brings. For now I think Mom accepts that we’ve got good reasons for not moving. So she’s turned her attention to Simon, and since he owns his own company and has the flexibility to
live wherever he wants, he has to be a little more creative with his excuses, don’t you, brother dear?”

  “A simple ‘no’ has been working well for me so far,” he said.

  Again Hannah laughed. “Oh yes, that tactic succeeds very well with our mother. Don’t kid yourself, Simon. The more she appears to be thwarted, the more likely it is that she’s plotting something elegantly devious.”

  “Dane has no problem saying no to her and having it stick.”

  “Dane isn’t her favorite.”

  Simon snorted derisively. “He is too. She’s so proud of him, always boasting about his accomplishments. Dad, too.”

  “You never got over being Dane Holcroft’s little brother, did you, Simon?” Hannah asked, her tone breezy, but a bit sad. “Sure, our big brother is talented and smart, but it comes so easy to him and sometimes he’s an arrogant jerk about it. You were such a scamp. It drove Mom crazy, but she’s always been one who loves a challenge and you provided it. Remember that prank you and your buddies pulled on Coach Durham?”

  “What prank?” Simon questioned, his expression too bland.

  “The one where you put his fishing boat in his classroom, trailer and all?”

  “It was never proven that I had anything to do with that.”

  “Well, it also wasn’t something that Dane would have ever done. Mom got called into the principal’s office about it, and she told him in no uncertain terms that her son wouldn’t have pulled such a prank. She knew you did it, Simon. I heard her and Dad talking about it later. They laughed their heads off. I’m telling you, Simon. She may be bust-a-gut proud of Dane, but you were, and always will be, Mom’s favorite.”

  Caroline watched the play of emotion on Simon’s face and pressed herself against his side as they walked, wanting to lend her support in whatever way she could. He glanced down and gave her a crooked smile.

  “When did you get so smart, Hannah?” he asked wryly.

  She rubbed her stomach and grinned. “Since becoming a mother myself. I think it has something to do with the hormones.”

  They walked on in companionable silence until they reached the coffee shop. While Hannah and Sarah argued whether caffeine was acceptable for a pregnant woman to have, Simon wrapped his arms around Caroline and hugged the air from her lungs.

  “What was that for?” she asked him when he let her breathe again.

  “It’s the strangest thing. I’ve always felt as if my brother cast a huge shadow and I was always in it.” He rested his chin on her head, his torso solid but relaxed beneath her cheek. “Now suddenly I can see that I was competing for my parents’ approval without needing to. I had it all the time.”

  “Of course you did, Simon. After meeting your parents, I can’t imagine why you would think otherwise.”

  “Sometimes I’m a little stubborn.”

  Caroline chuckled. “You don’t say.”

  After coffee, Caroline got her promised carriage ride. Snuggled against Simon’s side, she watched the stately Victorian homes go by. She’d never grow tired of Savannah. Around every corner was something new and amazing to see. The town’s history fascinated her and the citizens’ cordiality warmed her heart.

  She returned to the Holcroft house bathed in a warm glow of contentment. Each day with Simon seemed better than the last. She understood more about him with each passing hour and felt their connection grow stronger.

  That night, as Simon made achingly slow, profoundly moving love to her, Caroline realized she had gone over the edge of reason and plunged headfirst in love with him.

  Meshing their fingers, he captured her gaze. As he thrust into her, a perfect mating of body and soul, he must have seen something crystallize in her eyes because he leaned down and kissed her long and deep, drawing her heart into his keeping forever.

  The next morning, after an exhausting night where she and Simon talked for hours and made love until dawn, Caroline dozed off when Simon got up to shower. By the time she woke, it was midmorning. Embarrassed to be seen as a lazy do-nothing in a house that buzzed with activity, she descended to the first floor and spied Elizabeth directing streams of people carrying trays of food and enormous flower arrangements.

  In search of coffee, she headed toward the kitchen. The party preparations had chased Simon, Dane, Sarah and Hannah into the morning sunshine on the terrace beyond the French door. Their good-natured arguing filling the warm, still air as Caroline stepped onto the brick.

  Simon spied her first and pulled her into his arms for a long, rousing kiss. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” he murmured in her ear, arousing all sorts of intoxicating tingles.

  Gripped by shyness that was ridiculous considering how well she’d come to know him in the last few hours, she echoed his greeting. Sarah poured her a cup of coffee, and Caroline sat on the empty chair beside Dane to pick at a cheese Danish and soak up all the family affection.

  “Simon tells me your pool game has improved since last year,” Sarah said to Dane, winking at Caroline. “Do you have time for a game or two before you head to the airport to pick up Francine?”

  “I have all the time in the world to take your money,” Dane responded with a wolfish grin. “Francine isn’t coming for Christmas this year.”

  Caroline’s heart, filled to the brim with seasonal good cheer and love, suddenly stopped beating. An odd buzzing filled her ears.

  “How come?” Hannah quizzed.

  “Her dad suffered a mild heart attack on Thursday, so she decided to spend Christmas with them.”

  Hannah grinned, obviously pleased to avoid any unpleasantness with Francine. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “I told Simon. I figured he’d let you know.”

  “You couldn’t pick up the phone and call me yourself?”

  While Hannah criticized her brothers on their poor communication skills, Caroline reeled beneath the weight of what she’d just learned.

  “Are you okay?” Sarah put her hand over Caroline’s. “You’re awfully pale.”

  No, she wasn’t okay. Why had Simon lied to her? “I think I have a headache coming on. I’m going to grab some aspirin.”

  Blinded by misery, she made an awkward exit into the kitchen. She stumbled against the breakfast table and almost collided with the caterer. Even with all the obstacles in her path, Simon didn’t catch her before she reached the back stairs.

  “Caroline!”

  She didn’t slow as Simon called after her, but his legs were longer than hers and before she’d taken five steps, he was on her, hand catching her arm, large frame crowding her against the banister.

  “What’s going on?”

  The narrow back stairs gave her little room for maneuvering so she glared at him. “What’s going on?” she echoed, keeping her voice low despite her anger at his betrayal. “What’s going on is that you lied to me.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “I didn’t lie to you.” His confident tone told her he was completely without remorse.

  “How can you say that? You knew Francine wasn’t coming to Savannah. You had no pressing reason to bring home a fake fiancée and you brought me anyway.”

  “If you’d known, you wouldn’t have come.”

  He was right about that, but then she’d have missed so much. Alone in Atlanta, she’d never have gotten to experience Savannah through Simon’s eyes. She wouldn’t have fallen in love with his family. Caroline shuddered. She and Simon would have never made love.

  “When did you find out?” She could barely get the words past the lump in her throat.

  “Dane called me Thursday night after I’d dropped you off.”

  She recalled that kiss Friday morning. He’d known then. There would have been no reason for them to playact. To kiss beneath the mistletoe. Her entire body flushed with mortification. What an idiot she’d been to make love with him. She’d trusted him. He’d lied to her. Would she ever learn? “You should have told me.”

  “You’d already made arrangements to take the time
off. I figured the vacation would do you good.” Just like with his family, he’d made decisions for her, believing he knew what was best.

  “And it’s been fun, hasn’t it?” he prompted when the silence stretched between them.

  “I’ve spent the last three days lying to your family for no reason. That isn’t my idea of fun.” She’d loved being embraced by his parents and his siblings. Leaving that behind would be so hard.

  Plus, she was indebted to him for her tuition for no reason. She should have listened to the little voice that warned her not to take the easy way out of her troubles. Things like that always backfired.

  “We specifically discussed roses when I placed the order.” Elizabeth’s voice preceded her down the back stairs. She rounded the corner from the front parlor, her tone betraying her frustration with the person on the other end of the line. “Imagine my surprise to find carnations in my arrangements instead.”

  She stopped when she spied Caroline and Simon and frowned. Caroline wasn’t sure if she picked up on the tense scene she’d stumbled into or if she was reacting to something the florist said. Either way, Caroline needed to escape Simon and figured this was the perfect opportunity, but when she made to slide past Elizabeth and escape upstairs, Simon’s mother held up her finger, and then made a shooing gesture at Simon.

  “Of course you’re going to come out and fix it. When I pay for roses, I expect roses.” With a snort of disgust, Elizabeth disconnected and turned her attention on Caroline. “I need your opinion on something.”

  “Me?” As much as she longed to vanish and sort through the tornado of thoughts and emotions whirling through her, she’d always found that busy hands kept the demons of doubt away. “Sure, whatever you need.”

  For the next two hours, Elizabeth kept her occupied with organizing the buffet table and supervising the arrangement of the tables and chairs in the ballroom. The task provided the perfect distraction, but all too soon she’d smoothed out the last detail and it was time for lunch.

  As she stood beside the door that led from the kitchen to the terrace, balancing a plate of chicken salad, Caroline realized what a good actress she’d become. No one had any idea her heart had been broken that morning. She laughed and teased right along with the rest of the family, but as soon as she could, she escaped out the front door for a long walk and to put everything in perspective.