VAUGHN'S HOME TURNED OUT to be a huge, modern monstrosity built in the midst of traditional suburbia, Annabelle thought. If he was seeking to make a statement, something to say I've arrived, he'd done it in a grand way.
She didn't have a problem with the house itself, but the lack of shrubs, trees, plants and flowers gave the white stucco an austere, unwelcoming look. The best thing Annabelle could say about the place was that she'd be guaranteed breathing room and space away from the hot-blooded athlete to whom she was so attracted.
Though how she could be hot for a guy who didn't want to want her in return was beyond her. Damn her hormones anyway. She'd chosen to confront the sexual currents head-on by acknowledging them and, with any luck, neutralizing their power. Hah. If anything, she thought as she watched him unload her suitcases from the back of the truck, muscles flexing beneath his shirt, he intrigued her even more.
As she followed him up the stone steps, she focused on the reason for this trip. Damage control for the lodge, which Vaughn intended to use as a summer place for underprivileged kids. She shook her head, still unable to reconcile that altruistic part of the man with the gruff guy who disliked animals. She wondered if the charity bit was for show and she pursed her lips in thought.
Somehow she had to get a handle on the man and assess this situation and its players. Otherwise she had no way of handling his crisis. So far Vaughn wasn't cooperating. Since she had yet to meet his friends or family, or get a sense of who he was and what image he wanted to convey for the lodge, she had only this house to go by.
The large and lonely dwelling didn't bode well for her vision of a PR damage control plan. Neither did his notion of keeping her in the background for too long. She could lay low for a while, but to fix this situation, she very much intended to make her mark.
"I love your house," she said with forced enthusiasm.
"Really? I hate it." He paused at the door and dug into his pocket for the keys.
Now there was a comment worth exploring. "Then why live here?"
"Because I wanted to move back to my hometown and this was the only place that fit my needs." He flung open the front door and lugged her belongings inside. Her laptop hung from one shoulder, a large suitcase trailed behind him from one hand and he hefted her toiletry bag in the other.
He'd left the animals up to her and she held Boris and Natasha in each hand as she stepped inside. "And what needs were those?" she asked, picking up their conversation.
"Peace, quiet and space."
She nodded as if she understood. She didn't, of course. She'd lived life afraid of being separated from her loved ones. Even now, as an adult, she lived across the hall from Sophie and Micki, needing to hear their voices and feel them close by. She even filled her apartment with things, breathing and otherwise, so she'd never really feel alone.
"So which wing is mine?" she asked, only half joking.
"The house is huge, but I only reopened one part," he explained. "I didn't need the rest and didn't see the need to have it cleaned out or fixed up."
Odd for a man who'd just claimed he needed space, Annabelle thought.
He walked her through the hallway, which had been painted white, and pointed directly in front of her. "That's the kitchen," he said, showing her a state-of-the-art room with stainless steel appliances, white cabinets and white walls.
Then he started down a long hallway and halted halfway. "This room has a double bed for friends who come by. My room's that one there." He gestured to a closed door and a room with which hers shared an adjoining wall. "You have your own bathroom, so you should be fine," he added.
She choked back a laugh. A bed in a sterile white room, and a bathroom with shower. "All the comforts of home." Or a prison cell.
"I thought so."
"What's up the center stairs?" she asked of the grandiose circular staircase she'd seen when she'd walked in.
He shrugged. "More rooms I don't need."
Upstairs probably held a huge master bedroom and a variety of other larger rooms, while he chose to stay downstairs, in an area originally designated for staff. Strange and stranger, she thought. Looking at the bright side, this area was small and cozy, or would be if it had been decorated at all.
"Down the stairs behind the kitchen, there's a gym in the basement, and a hot tub and sauna. Make yourself at home," he said, turning away.
She glanced at her watch. "It's almost dinnertime and I still haven't seen the lodge."
"Hang on." He disappeared into his room and returned with a stack of files in his hand. "I thought you could go through notes on the problems we've been having. Tomorrow you can see things for yourself." He handed her the large pile of papers. "I'll go get your luggage.”
She narrowed her gaze at his retreating back. "Is it my imagination or is he being deliberately distant and businesslike?" she asked, unzipping the dog bag so Boris could pop his head up and lick her cheek. The rabbit could take care of business in the crate, but the dog needed a walk.
She hooked him on to his leash and headed back into the hall just as her host was returning, suitcases in hand. No room on either side, she attempted to slide past him, her back flat against the wall. Her maneuver forced Vaughn to do the same and their bodies brushed evocatively against one another.
Chest against chest, thigh against thigh. Nothing could disguise the instant heat they generated. Even the impassive look on his face disappeared, warmth replacing his steely resolve. His sexy blue gaze deepened, darkening to sapphire pools she wanted to dive into.
Annabelle inhaled, trying to fight the pull, but his potent masculine scent that had surrounded her for two and a half hours in the truck suddenly enveloped her again. And this time she was face-to-face with temptation.
His full lips beckoned to her and her entire body waited for the touch of his mouth on hers. She darted her tongue out, moistening her lips. Waiting, hoping…
Until the dog barked loudly, shattering the silken silence surrounding them and startling Annabelle out of the ridiculous spell holding her captive. She let the dog, who weighed less than twelve pounds, pull her away from Brandon Vaughn.
As she headed outdoors for fresh air and sanity, she wished she could have left the burning desire behind as well.
CHAPTER FOUR
"SHE's HOT STUFF, Vaughn. Are you sure you aren't doing her?" Nick Gregory, Vaughn's lifelong friend, asked.
Nick was also an investor in the lodge with as much at stake as Vaughn. Nick had been recently laid off from his job at CNT Sports Network and had wanted in on the project. Vaughn hadn't needed the money but he'd agreed anyway because there was no one he felt closer to than Nick.
Vaughn and Nick had grown up together in Greenlawn, New York. They'd rebel-roused throughout high school varsity football and as a result, the people in town remembered them as a collective pain in the ass, even if both had returned as hometown heroes, Nick from his stint for Detroit and Vaughn for Dallas.
"Earth to Vaughn. I asked if you were doing the lovely Miss Jordan "
It was Nick's best friend status that kept Vaughn from strangling him now.
Vaughn paused from lifting free weights, and with Nick spotting, put the 380 pounds back in their holder. "Hell yeah I'm sure." Not that it stopped him from wanting to bury himself inside all that lush femininity. "I wouldn't need to release all this pent-up energy if I were."
He vividly recalled the moment in the hall when he'd almost pinned her against his rock-hard body, lifted her tiny skirt and taken her right there against the wall. Vaughn sat up and let the blood rush out of his head. It had already permanently settled in another body part and would remain there as long as Annabelle stayed in his home.
He shot Nick a warning glance. "You'd better not be thinking of touching her, either, or her uncle will come after you with a shotgun." Reminding Nick that Yank would be pissed served as an important reminder to himself. Screwing Yank's niece would put him back in the doghouse he'd just crawled out of.
> "Considering she's way over eighteen, I don't mink Yank Morgan would be all that upset. You on the other hand-" Nick barked out his trademark laugh.
Vaughn merely frowned. "We have enough busi7 ness problems without adding a woman to the mix. Let's just try to get things sorted out and back on schedule."
"Good by me. I'm outta here. I'll meet you at the site tomorrow 10:00 a.m.?" Nick asked.
"Yeah."
"You coming upstairs?"
Vaughn eyed the treadmill. Though his knee prevented him from playing ball, he still kept in shape. "I'm going to run a mile or so first."
"No problem. I think I'll stop and say goodbye to your houseguest on my way out," Nick said, a wicked grin crossing his face.
Vaughn scowled, pushed the safety key into the treadmill and joined Nick as he headed up the stairs.
ANNABELLE SAT ON THE BED in the guest room, paperwork, laptop and documents around her. "Micki, are you still there?" She adjusted her cell phone so she could hear her sister's voice more clearly.
She and Micki often hashed out problems and potential solutions. She was bringing her sister up-to-date on what she'd read so far in Vaughn's files so she could figure out a methodical plan.
"I'm here. I'm just thinking. You mentioned there've been missed deliveries on materials. From the same company?" Micki asked.
Annabelle curled her legs beneath her. "No, that's what's so strange. Different companies, different times, nothing consistent here to go on. But it seems beyond the usual construction and work delays. Then there's the occasional subcontractor who suddenly doesn't show up and messes with the schedule. Add the heavy rains in May and June, rumors that make no sense, and things are backlogged and screwed up like crazy."
"Bad PR," Micki murmured.
"If they don't open by Thanksgiving or, the latest, Christmas, they'll lose an entire season's worth of bookings, which are intended to help fund the camp Vaughn is planning. Another thing he never mentioned to me. I read it in the paperwork." She exhaled hard.
"He's a real mystery man, huh?" Micki asked.
"A contradiction is more like it. On the one hand, he's an athlete and you know how they thrive on attention. On the other, he keeps his secrets buried deep." She shook her head. "You'd think he'd be proud of the camp and want to publicize it all over. But who knows what goes on in that thick skull of his."
Micki chuckled.
"Anyway, people already know there are problems and Vaughn's been stalling cancellations with promises he may not be able to keep." Annabelle tapped a pen against the clipboard.
"What's your preliminary plan?" her sister asked.
"Counter the bad publicity with good, of course. Make sure anyone who's booked knows that there are problems due to reasons they can relate to or misunderstandings that will be cleared up. And assure them that the resort will be even better in the end."
"What do you think is really going on up there?" Micki asked.
"Either someone is deliberately sabotaging the lodge or someone's a huge idiot. Either way, we have to make the resort and Vaughn look good."
"I take it that's not an issue?" Micki asked.
"Heck, no. The man always looks good," Annabelle said, laughing. "And to do the same for the lodge, I was thinking of offering premiums to already confirmed customers. If the opening is stalled and they have to be rebooked later in the year, we'd have to give them something tangible in return anyway."
"Maybe you could promise them one free night?"
"Sounds like a possibility." Annabelle smiled and jotted down Micki's suggestion. "More importantly, though, I need to publicize Vaughn's contribution to the community. The camp is one thing that will undoubtedly play well to the public. I need an angle to hook people in and keep them trusting in Vaughn and this project while he works out the kinks. And I'd like to find out why he's doing this. I might be able to use that information in the campaign."
"Sounds like you need to do some digging," Micki murmured.
"Especially since he's been so closemouthed about himself," Annabelle agreed. "I need to see the lodge, meet the workers and get a genuine feeling for the people in town."
"Gauge their reaction to the place being built," Micki said.
"Better yet, I need to gauge their reaction to Vaughn."
"What's your reaction to the man?" her sister asked.
Annabelle had always been closest to Micki, not only because they understood each other so well but because with their parents' deaths, Annabelle had seen it as her duty to always be by her littlest sister's side and make sure she felt loved and cared for. The fact that Annabelle desperately needed those emotions in return always made her feel a bit guilty, as if she were using Micki to fill her own needs. But then what were sisters for? All three sisters had their strengths and weaknesses that made the business and the family work.
She didn't hesitate to confide in Micki now. "He's incredible, Mick. So innately sensual, and sexy as hell."
"He sounds delicious," Micki said, dreamily.
She laughed at her sister's description, a pathetic attempt to cover the all over, tingling warmth that made her feel like Vaughn was in the room with her right now. "Well I've learned my lesson and I'm staying clear of the man. How's your baseball player?" she asked Micki.
"He isn't mine and he's fine. I'm about finished here and ready to come home. Oops," Micki said, obviously catching her slip.
Annabelle laughed. "Like I didn't know you and Sophie were setting me up when you claimed to be too busy to take on Vaughn as your new client?" She piled the folders and papers and moved them to the nightstand. "I'm over Randy, the jerk. And, thanks for the thought, but I don't need a man to help me forget about him, especially another self-absorbed guy who's got a history of bedding jock bunnies. And since I've just described Brandon Vaughn, rest assured I can handle him just fine. From a nice, long distance."
A slow round of applause startled her and she jerked her gaze toward the door. Vaughn stood there with a man she'd seen while she was walking the dog earlier.
A hot, embarrassed flush rose to her cheeks. "Gotta go now. Bye." She snapped her cell phone shut and glared at the two intruders. "Ever hear of knocking to announce your presence?"
Vaughn grinned and began a lazy, deliberate knock-knock-knock on the door.
"Too late." She jumped up from her seat on the bed to meet them on even footing. The dog followed, hopping up and down on his hind legs to get their attention.
"Hey Q-Tip, heel," Vaughn said to the dog.
Annabelle scowled at him, which did nothing to distract her or alter his effect on her. Both men's sheer size, strength, power and masculinity overwhelmed her but only Vaughn's did so in a blatantly sexual way. That damned attraction again.
The other man, a blonde whom many women would find good looking, stepped forward, hand extended. "Nick Gregory," he said. "Vaughn's partner."
"I've been reading up on you. Especially since Vaughn never told me he had a partner in this venture." And she'd wondered why a man with business problems had failed to mention his partner.
Nick laughed, apparently finding the omission amusing. Annabelle didn't. How could she help if Vaughn left out information? She made a mental note to dig deeper into Nick and Vaughn's relationship.
"That's Vaughn's ego for you. Can't ever admit he needs anyone."
"I don't need anyone but myself," Vaughn said.
A warning Annabelle knew she ought to heed. "Now that we've established that, anyone care to tell me what you're both doing here?"
"Just came to say good-night, babe." Nick winked at her.
"I'm nobody's babe." She caught Vaughn's smirk and wondered what the man was thinking.
She glanced at both men as she deliberately shifted her long jersey that covered her shorts, drawing both men's attention to her bare legs. She wasn't surprised when their gazes traveled up to her low-cut vee-neck top.
"Sweet dreams, fellas," she said, hoping they tossed and turned all nig
ht long. It would serve them right for eavesdropping.
Especially Vaughn, whom she knew would star in her erotic dreams, all night long.
THE NEXT MORNING, with an hour to spare before they were to leave for the lodge, Annabelle took Boris for a long walk. Summer had already hit the upstate town and the heat and humidity were in full swing. The heaviness in the air did nothing to help her wake up after her sleepless night.
Vaughn's house was on the outskirts of the small town and everything was within walking distance. She paused at the window of Cozy Cups, a quaint storefront decorated with pinups and children's drawings. The aroma of brewed coffee assaulted her senses and her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn't had her daily dose of caffeine. Besides a good PR person never passed up an opportunity to learn the lay of the land and the slant of the people who inhabited it.
Decision made, she bent, picked up Boris and headed inside. The shop was a countrified Starbucks and a comfortable warmth settle around her. She got a renewed jolt of much-needed energy just by inhaling.
A pretty brunette who appeared to be about Annabelle's age stood behind the counter. "Hi. Welcome to Cozy Cups. What can I get for you?" she asked with a large smile.
"That's more of a welcome than I ever get at my regular place in the city and I've been going there for the last two years," Annabelle said, laughing. "I guess there really is a difference between the city and the country mouse."
The woman grinned. "I didn't think you were from around here. I know most people who walk into this place. I'm Joanne Walsh."
"Annabelle Jordan. Nice to meet you." Since the woman had a genuine smile, Annabelle decided she'd reach out. Not just because she was on a fishing expedition but because she was naturally drawn to her warmth. "I'm visiting a friend," Annabelle offered by way of information.
"First tell me what I can get for you, then tell me this fella's name," she said, petting a squirming Boris who was obviously dying to sample all the delicious aromas for himself. "And then, you can fill me in on who you're visiting."
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