She’d charmed the staff and had settled into her new position as if she’d been born to it. And in a way, he supposed, she had. She was a Jarrod, after all. Which was the major problem for him.
If she weren’t a member of the Jarrod family, he wouldn’t be doing his best to ignore her.
Stopping by her office, he knocked, then walked inside to find her hunched over her keyboard, gaze fixed on the screen. Even here, he thought, when she was unaware that anyone was watching her, she looked…alluring. Her hair was tucked behind her ears and long, twisted shards of gold hung from her lobes. She was chewing at her bottom lip as her fingers flew over the keys and didn’t look away even when she reached out blindly for a cup of coffee on her desk.
She’d given herself up to this job. This place. She’d jumped in with both feet and, true to her word, was definitely making a place for herself.
He wished that place was with him. But damned if he could see a way to make that happen.
As if she sensed his presence, Erica looked up then. Backlit from the window behind her, her amber eyes were shadowed, but he could still see the trepidation on her features as she looked at him. “Hi. Was there something you needed?”
“Loaded question,” he muttered, then said more loudly, “Actually, yeah. There is. I wanted to know if you approved the design for the gala’s setup on the main lawn.”
“Yes, I did. I sent the papers over to Trevor this morning.”
“Fine. I’ll check with him again. He couldn’t find them earlier, but that’s not saying anything. He probably misfiled them.”
She smiled slightly. “That does sound like Trevor.”
“You like him,” Christian said.
“It’s impossible not to,” Erica told him as her smile slowly slipped away. “He’s got this flair for living that I really admire. He is who he is and makes no excuses for it. He simply lives and enjoys every minute of it.”
Christian stiffened a little at the inherent comparison between himself and the easygoing Trevor Jarrod. “Trying to tell me something?”
She glanced up at him and shook her head, her soft hair swinging in a gentle arc that made Christian want to reach out and bury his fingers in the softness. “No, Christian, I’m not. I think we’ve already said everything there was to say.”
“Impossible,” he told her, walking toward her desk. “We couldn’t have, because there’s still too much unsaid between us.”
“And it should probably stay that way,” she said.
“Maybe,” he agreed, reminding himself that it was he who’d put up the wall between them. He had been the one to take the first step back from what they might have found. And though it infuriated him to acknowledge even privately that she might have had a point when she accused him of being unwilling to face up to a dead man’s wishes…she hadn’t been far wrong.
If Don Jarrod were still alive, it would be different. He could go to the man, tell him how he felt about Erica. Make the old bastard see that she was right in saying that the fraternization clause was medieval. But with Don gone, the board of directors was in charge, and with the codicil in Don’s will insisting that the clause remain in effect, they wouldn’t be making changes anytime soon.
And how the hell could he go to the Jarrod siblings and insist that they change it? He couldn’t be sure that they wouldn’t side with their father.
Christian felt as if his hands were tied and his heart was being ripped in two. What he wanted was vying desperately with what he’d spent his life working for.
“Let’s not do this again, Christian,” she said quietly as she stood and came around her desk. “At the very least, we can stop torturing each other.”
He tucked his hands into his slacks pockets to keep from grabbing her. God, he missed the feel of her pressed against him. The taste of her. The scent of her. He was making himself crazy with wanting her.
Then she reached up and smoothed his hair back from his forehead and the soft slide of her fingertips against his skin sent flames rushing through him. He inhaled sharply, deeply, and she instantly let her hand drop to her side again.
“Sorry,” she said with a shrug she no doubt meant to look nonchalant. “As angry as I am at you, it seems I still have to remind myself not to touch you.”
“I know the feeling all too well,” he admitted, calling on every ounce of his will to keep from holding her and damn the rest of the world. Screw his job. Screw the Jarrod family. Screw Don Jarrod in particular for creating this hell for the two of them.
“I guess we’ll just have to work on it, won’t we?”
“Right.” He nodded, but it cost him. “I’ll just go check with Trevor about those papers.”
“I’ll go with you,” she said. Tugging her white, long-sleeved shirt down at the hem, she smoothed her denim skirt.
Her legs looked long and tanned and her feet were tucked into dark blue heels that made her legs look even longer. Hell, she didn’t even have to try to make him crazy.
Erica walked past him into the hall and he fell into step beside her. Blake and Gavin were standing near the elevator, locked in a conversation that was suddenly halted when they drew near.
“Hey, guys,” Christian said. “What’s going on?”
Blake shot Erica a wary look and said, “Nothing. Just talking. What’re you two up to?”
Erica said, “Just checking on some paperwork with Trevor.”
“Right. Well.” The elevator door opened and Blake stepped in. “We’ll see you later.”
As the doors whisked closed again, they both heard Gavin say, “For God’s sake, Blake, lighten up with Erica, will you? She’s not the enemy.”
“That went well,” Erica said wryly as they continued on to Trevor’s office.
“Blake will come around.” Christian took her arm and pulled her to a stop. “It’s a big change for everyone.”
She looked down at his hand on her arm until he released her. Then she shifted her gaze to his. “I don’t mind Blake’s feelings. At least he’s honest.”
Heading into Trevor’s office alone, Erica didn’t look back at him. So she didn’t see Christian’s dark scowl as he was left standing alone.
The main spa room at the Ridge was so opulent it was nearly decadent. Which made it perfect. A curve of aquamarine water followed the circumference of the room. Jets built into the walls of the pool produced frothy bubbles of pure relaxation and the only sounds were from the jets and the rhythmic splash of the overhead waterfalls spraying heated water down into the waiting pool.
Erica felt loose and limber and almost guilty for taking an entire day to do nothing but be pampered. Still, since it had been Melissa’s idea to have a quiet day of sisterly bonding, Erica thought she could let the guilt go just this once. Besides, after the long week she’d had, it felt good to just relax, away from the Manor, away from Christian.
“You’re seriously making us all look bad,” Melissa told her with a sigh. “I mean, really, you don’t have to be Jarrod Family Member of the Year right off the bat.”
Erica smiled and hid the hurt that seemed to be a constant companion. Yes, she was making great strides at her new job. Her brothers and sister were coming around—she’d even managed to talk to Blake without him glaring at her. And she’d had dozens of compliments on her plans for the splashy welcome she’d designed for the opening of the gala.
For the first time in her life, Erica felt as though she was being accepted for who and what she was. For what she could contribute. And it felt great.
Or would have, if there wasn’t a shadow clinging to her thoughts. Christian hardly spoke to her anymore. Not since that last kiss they’d shared in her office a week ago. She saw him at the Manor, of course. The offices were all too close together for them to completely avoid each other.
Though that might have been easier all the way around. How much harder was it to see him and not be able to touch him? Talk to him? But she refused to be the kind of woman who threw herself at a
man when he had already made it clear that there couldn’t be anything between them.
“Okay, what’s wrong?”
“Hmm? What?” Erica jolted as she realized her thoughts had wandered off while Melissa was talking to her. “Nothing. I’m just thinking about work.”
“Uh-huh.” Melissa shook her head and reached out to pat Erica’s shoulder.
The two of them had indulged in a luxury spa treatment. They’d already been through the facials, the massages and now, they were stretched out side by side in the narrow curve of the pool, relaxing. Or they were supposed to be.
“I know that look,” Melissa said. “And it’s not a ‘work’ look. It’s a ‘man’ look. So spill.”
She automatically shook her head. She’d never been one to share secrets with her girlfriends and there was simply no way she wanted her new sister to know that she was lusting after a man who wasn’t interested. “I really don’t think—”
Melissa gave her a dramatic pout. “What’s the point of having a sister if you can’t bare your soul and get free advice—or sarcasm, as the situation demands.”
In spite of everything, Erica smiled. It did feel good to have a sister. Even two weeks ago, she never would have believed that she’d be able to use the words “my sister” in a sentence. Yet here they were, and astonishingly enough, the two of them had actually formed a bond that Erica hoped would only get stronger with time.
Sister wasn’t just a word anymore. It was real. And it was good.
“Okay,” she said, and glanced around to make sure they were still alone.
“Relax. The place is ours for the afternoon. I run the spa, remember?”
“Right.” Erica lifted one arm and slid it through the water, letting the jetted bubbles pulse against her skin. “Okay, say there was a man I’m having a problem with.”
“Yes, let’s say that.” Melissa leaned back and floated, allowing more of the jets to beat against her body. “Now let’s say some more.”
“Okay, this man, he’s interested, but he’s not willing to get involved.”
“What’s his problem?”
“It’s a long story,” Erica said, not wanting to give Christian’s name or his reasons for pulling back from her. She wasn’t sure if they knew about the fraternization clause.
“One you don’t want to share.”
“Not exactly.”
“Is he married?”
“No! of course not!” Erica frowned at the other woman. “If he was, I wouldn’t be making myself nuts over him.”
“Okay, so do you want this man?”
“Yes, damn it.”
Melissa laughed. “So go get him. Or at least try.”
“What about dignity?” Erica countered. “Pride? Am I supposed to chase him down like a dog with him protesting the whole time?”
Straightening up, Melissa shook her wet hair back from her face and gave Erica a pitying look. “Little sister, men are simple creatures. He wants you. That’s the point here. He’s trying to stay away for whatever reason, but he doesn’t want to. So make it a little more difficult for him to ignore you. For heaven’s sake, why would you make it easier on him?”
“I don’t know…” Erica sighed and shifted in the water, letting the heated water push into her back, easing tension she hadn’t even really been aware of.
“Up to you of course,” Melissa told her. “But for me, if there was a guy I wanted, I’d go get him.”
Her words were said so forcefully Erica had to wonder if there was a particular man her sister was talking about. But an instant later, the timer for the jets shut off and silence dropped over them.
“I’ll think about it,” Erica said, climbing out of the water and reaching for a fluffy white towel.
“Less thinking, more kissing is probably the way you want to go,” Melissa advised, “but maybe that’s just me.”
Maybe Melissa was right, Erica thought as she and her sister toweled off and moved toward the locker room to get dressed. Because really, why was she making it easier for Christian to ignore her? Could be that what she should be doing was spending more time with him, not less. Talk to him. Lean into him. Keep him so close that he wouldn’t be able to pull away from her.
After all, ignoring him hadn’t hurt him and had been driving her insane. So, she’d turn the tables on him. Take Melissa’s advice and make him so miserable that he wouldn’t be able to avoid her. And, since she’d just spent the last three hours being buffed and polished and styled, today was the perfect day to set this new and much more interesting plan in motion.
Christian threw a rock into the river and watched it hit the water and sink. Just how he felt, he thought. He’d been carrying around a sinking feeling inside him for the last two weeks and it was only getting worse.
Being here at Jarrod Ridge had always given him a sense of satisfaction that he’d found nowhere else. He’d studied back east and had been eager to get back to Colorado. He’d traveled the world and never found another spot as beautiful as this one. But now…
There was an unsettled feeling inside him.
And its name was Erica Prentice.
Hell, he couldn’t even enjoy standing alongside the river anymore. Because he saw her here, now. She was everydamnwhere in Aspen, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get away from her.
“Well,” a too familiar voice said from behind him, “you look furious.”
He turned around to watch Erica approach him. The sunlight was fading as twilight edged closer. She wore a short, lemon-yellow skirt that stopped midthigh and a pale green short-sleeved T-shirt that displayed her tanned, toned arms and clung to her narrow waist. Her hair was soft and shining in the last of the light and her eyes were locked on his.
“So,” she asked as she came nearer, “did you want to be alone with your fury or can you stand some company?”
“Alone,” he ground out, because he knew if she came any closer, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from reaching for her.
“That’s a shame, because I prefer company,” she said. She whipped her hair back from her face and continued down the slope, passing within inches of him as she walked to the water’s edge.
“What’re you doing here, Erica?”
She glanced back at him and shrugged. “I came to look at the river.”
“And you could only see the river from here. This one spot. On the whole resort.”
She smiled slowly. “I like this spot.”
His hands fisted at his sides and he deliberately relaxed them, taking a long, deep breath into his lungs at the same time. Unfortunately, that only brought him a whiff of her scent, which made his insides tighten into knots. She smelled like peaches and flowers and all things soft and beautiful.
“Fine,” he said. “Enjoy the view. I’ll go.”
“Okay, so will I.” She turned and headed back toward him.
“What are you playing at?” he demanded when she stood right in front of him.
She shook her head and looked up into his eyes. “I’m done playing, Christian. No more games. No more teasing. I’m here because I want you and you want me.”
His teeth ground together and he hissed in a breath, hoping to find some equilibrium. He didn’t.
She lifted both hands to his shirt front and smoothed her palms over his chest.
His body went from hard to aching in under a second. He caught her hands in his and stilled them. Then he stared into her eyes and whispered, “Why are you doing this?”
“Because you won’t,” she said and went up on her toes to slant her mouth over his. Once, twice, a soft brush of her lips to his and Christian felt the heat of her rush through him.
He knew he was a dead man. He had to have her. Couldn’t have turned away now if someone had a gun to his head. She was everything he wanted, needed. She was all he could think about. All he cared about. It didn’t matter if he would regret this later or not. Or, if being with her would only make the situation between them
harder.
For now, he was lost.
He grabbed her then, as if half-afraid she might disappear on him if he didn’t hold on to her tightly. Pulling her up close to him, he took her mouth with a desperation he’d felt clawing at him for days. Again and again, his tongue delved deep, claiming her in a mimicry of what his body wanted to be doing to hers. In and out, he dazzled, he took, he gave, his heartbeat racing, his blood pumping, he gave himself over to the demands of his body, clamoring to meet her demands.
As a soft summer wind caressed them both, Christian took the hem of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head. She threw her head back and laughed in delight as the air touched her heated skin. In that moment, Erica looked more beautiful to him than she ever had before. He unhooked her bra and spilled her breasts out into the palms of his hands.
She sucked in a breath as he cupped her, rolling her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. She sighed, arching into him, offering herself to him as the sun’s last golden rays played across her skin.
Her eager response fed the fires within him and Christian groaned, bent his head and took first one nipple and then the other into his mouth. Her skin was soft and smooth and smelled of peaches. His lips and tongue and teeth nibbled and suckled at her, drawing sighs and moans from deep in her throat. Her fingers slid through his hair, holding his head to her, as if worried that he would stop, that he would suddenly pull away and tell her no, they weren’t going to do this.
But that wasn’t even a glimmer in his brain.
They’d passed that line and there was no going back.
If he didn’t have her now, he knew he’d die of the want.
With one last, lingering draw on her nipple, Christian straightened, caught her hand in his and said, “Come over here.”
“What? What?” Dazed and unsteady, Erica followed him, her hand tucked into his. “Where?”
“Right here,” he said, picking a blanket up off the ground and spreading it out beneath the trees.
She laughed a little, surprised. “You came prepared?”
He grinned, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. “Sometimes I sleep out here on warm nights. Good to have a blanket handy.”
Claiming Her Billion-Dollar Birthright Page 11