The Ultimate Treasure

by Anne, Melody

  “I’m going to have to talk to Savs,” Lexie said with a clear threat in her tone.

  Lance laughed. “Don’t be too hard on her. She wanted this to be an amazing trip for you,” he said, defending the traitor.

  “She was complaining that I was going,” she said.

  “If she wouldn’t have done so, then you might have grown suspicious,” he pointed out.

  “Suspicious of what?” she asked.

  “That this might be a setup,” he told her with a wink.

  “Is this a setup?” she boldly asked.

  “Maybe,” he said, not even trying to hide his enthusiasm at it being just that.

  “Yeah, my sister and I are definitely having a talk,” she said.

  Lance laughed again before he stood and leaned over her. Lexie decided she would allow a single kiss. That wouldn’t hurt, she told herself. But he smiled again as if he could read her thoughts then reached over the side of her seat as he scooted back.

  Her chair reclined and a footstool came out. Lance backed away and reached into a cupboard, pulling out a thick down blanket. The disappointment filtering through her was a shock. She didn’t seem to know what it was she wanted.

  “The blanket is warm,” she said with appreciation as she pulled it around her.

  “It was sitting in a heated cupboard,” he told her.

  Oh, this was most certainly the way to fly.

  “You’ve spoiled me for ever flying in a regular plane again,” she said, but there was zero heat in her words. Between the food, alcohol, and warmth of her seat, she was already giving in to exhaustion.

  “That’s the plan,” she thought she heard him say, but she was already drifting off. Her last thought was that it was too bad he hadn’t tried for that kiss.

  Chapter Four

  The sun was slowly brightening the jet as fresh morning rays crept in through the window slats. Lance was leaning back in his chair while Lexie mumbled in her sleep, her head cradled against his chest as she shifted, her body seeking his in sleep. She’d been that way for the past couple hours, and Lance hadn’t wanted to stir an inch for fear she’d wake and realize what she was doing.

  She began growing more restless, and he knew she wouldn’t sleep much longer, but they’d soon begin their descent into Manila, and he knew she’d want some time to change and get ready.

  Unable to resist, he ran his hand across her high cheekbone and brushed her hair away from her face. She looked so peaceful in sleep. He hadn’t been allowed the opportunity to enjoy the feel of her in his arms the one night they’d spent together. He’d woken to find her gone.

  He’d often wondered if he’d been the first to wake, would things have worked out differently? Would they have made love again and then had a leisurely breakfast in bed before taking a walk together on the beach?

  Lance wasn’t normally one to think about what might have been, but when it came to Lexie he often wondered. He enjoyed her body, but he was also enthralled by her wit and charm. She was strong and stubborn and so damn beautiful. He couldn’t find a single flaw in her. Lance didn’t think it possible to find something that would make her less desirable in his eyes.

  That was something new for him as well. He was normally better at finding problems with a potential partner than positive attributes. He’d been picky most of his life, but that was why he’d been able to accept his father’s challenge so much easier than his siblings had been able to do. He had always liked a challenge. When he’d gotten over his initial anger, he’d gone with it fully and had surpassed his father’s expectations, and his own.

  Lance wanted this quiet piece of time with Lexie to last forever, but he knew the moment she was awake she would pull away from him and close up. For a few seconds she snuggled tighter against him, and he felt her body stir as she inhaled a deep breath. Then her body stiffened, and he ached as she pulled away.

  Putting his chair into a seated position, he watched as her eyes fluttered and opened and then he felt that sense of peace again as they gazed at one another. A physical pang rushed through him at the need to reach for her, pull her into his lap, and hold her close. And he might have been able to get away with it for a few minutes, but he also knew it wouldn’t last too long before she began easing away.

  It really was too bad, but he reminded himself they were only at the beginning of their journey. They had a long way to go before they were back in the States where it would be easier for her to run from him.

  “We’re landing in about an hour. You can change and have breakfast with me,” he suggested. He hadn’t used his voice all night and there was a low growl to it. He felt a bit of pride at the desire flashing in her eyes.

  Reaching up, he scratched his chin where stubble was poking through. He didn’t shave every day when he came to work at one of his non-profits. It was nice to put on a worn pair of jeans, feel dirt on his hands, and let himself go a little.

  “Thanks,” she mumbled. Then she jumped up and practically ran away. Lance didn’t mind the view of her exiting — not one bit, especially in yoga pants that hugged her curvy ass to perfection. Damn, he wanted to squeeze those fit cheeks of hers while she sat on him and they went for a ride together.

  Lance cleaned up in another bathroom and by the time he finished, Lexie was out of the master bedroom. He went in and changed, then returned to sit with her where she was quieter than normal as they shared breakfast.

  Lexie wouldn’t look at him as the plane began descending, and he wondered if he’d overestimated his appeal with the woman. Was she freaked because of how she’d awoken, or was she truly horrified at spending so much time with him? He would find out sooner rather than later — because the two of them would be sharing a residence once they arrived. He’d rather they shared a room, but he wasn’t going to push her that far — at least not yet.

  Their landing was smooth, and Lance led her from the plane to a waiting car. He took the keys as his staff loaded their bags, including the items he’d bought for her — especially those delicate panties he wanted her to put on so he could then turn around and rip them off.

  “Are you ready to see your home for the next thirty days?” Lance asked when they were alone in the small SUV.

  “Yes, of course. I can’t wait to dive into things,” she said.

  He hoped she still felt the same way when they arrived. The drive from the airport took about an hour, and though Lance had been to the place many times in the past few years, he still couldn’t get over the beauty of the country. It was Lexie’s first trip there, and her eyes were glued to her window as she tried to take it all in.

  When they pulled up to the modest house on the outskirts of the small village his company had put so much time and money into, Lexie smiled in delight. She turned to look at him, for once without her guard up.

  “Is this the place?” she asked.

  Lance looked at the house, trying to see it through her eyes. It was so much smaller than his house back home, but it was quaint: a two-bedroom place, only about a thousand square feet with a small attached garage. He had crew members year-round in the area, and they often used the residence. She looked at it as though it were a mansion.

  “I thought I’d be in a tent,” she said with a chuckle. “I was prepared for that, and didn’t mind at all. I am a bit of a baby when it comes to plumbing though,” she admitted.

  “Let me give you the grand tour,” he suggested.

  “Where are you staying?” she asked him as they stepped from the vehicle and walked up the short path to the front door. He decided to ignore her question for at least a few minutes. He would let her freak out about their living situation soon enough.

  He opened the door, and she forgot the question as she smiled at each little thing in the place. It was modestly furnished with no television, but he’d installed satellite Internet as he couldn’t go without it for
more than a day at most. Sometimes he wished he could, but he feared the world really would fall apart without him. Maybe that was a little bit of an ego stroke, but he liked to think that way.

  “You’ll be sleeping here,” he said as he opened the door to a small bedroom with a queen-size bed taking up most of the room. She smiled as if she’d won a lottery as she practically glided inside the room and sat on the bed, the mattress giving her a bit of a bounce. He hadn’t skimped on cheap sleeping arrangements. Lance had once been told the average person spent a third of their life in bed. To him, that made it worth the investment in high-quality bedding.

  “This is perfect, Lance, just perfect. I promised my sister I would only be gone a month, but this place is so much better than my apartment. I might never want to go back,” she said with a laugh. “I haven’t seen a real wood stove in what feels like a million years. I can’t wait to get a fire started.”

  “It’s a bit warm for fires,” he pointed out. Though back home it was cold and dreary, here it was in the seventies, and expected to get warmer before they left.

  “It’s never too warm for a fire,” she countered.

  He grinned at her, desperately wanting to walk over, push her down, and climb on top of her. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold himself back — especially after being with her night after night.

  “You really don’t have to stick around. You can just tell me where I’m supposed to be at what time, or leave me a schedule like the board told me I would get, and then you can get settled,” she said. “We both have to unpack.”

  “I don’t have far to go,” he told her, his voice a bit tight. He wished she’d either get off the damn bed she looked ready to make love to, or strip and let him in with her. His voice must have alerted her because her grin fell, and she gave him a wary glance.

  “Where exactly is not far?” she asked.

  He leaned in the doorjamb as he smiled at her.

  “About two feet,” he said, watching for her reaction. He had to give her credit because he might not have noticed how affected she was if he couldn’t read her eyes so damn well.

  “Like right next door?” she asked, with what sounded like hopefulness in her tone.

  “Next door to your room, yes,” he answered.

  She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, and then she shut it again. This happened several times before words actually came out.

  “You’re staying in the same house?” she squeaked.

  “Yep,” he told her. “I better unpack.”

  He didn’t give her time to respond to that little piece of information. He just turned and walked the couple of feet to his own bedroom, shut the door, and leaned on it. He was putting himself through hell for this woman. Yes, he’d stayed in this place before but never for more than a couple days, and certainly not with a beautiful woman who was completely unattainable — or so it seemed.

  The bedrooms didn’t even have their own bathrooms. He hadn’t wanted to make something lavish in the impoverished area, so he’d kept it simple. It was still nicer than a lot of the places large families lived in. He’d gone as small as possible without hitting his elbows and knees on the walls. The bathroom did have a large shower. He couldn’t give up that luxury, but at least there was no tub. There weren’t a lot of extras. Lance considered the place to be a camping adventure, making him realize he was a lot more spoiled than he had thought.

  Lexie was enthralled with the place, and he wanted to get out of it as quickly as possible. There was a nice hotel he stayed in about an hour away. But when he came into the village they were rebuilding, he always felt guilty about living a life of luxury while the children he’d gotten to know were so grateful for something as simple as fresh bread.

  Still, the house could be five thousand square feet and feel like a tin box as long as he was alone with Lexie but unable to touch her. He might have put himself into a situation he would forever regret.

  Lance had often been told a person should never regret a decision they’d made, that everything had a reason behind it, and even failures were there to make you a stronger person. He might be repeating that sentiment to himself a lot over the next few weeks. He certainly would as he took a shower every day, knowing Lexie had been in the same place — naked, soapy, and wet.

  With a groan, Lance threw himself down on the bed and closed his eyes, his body throbbing and fully aware that relief was only one door away. He hoped for both their sakes she didn’t resist him too long.

  If so, he might have to kidnap the woman and sex her into submission.

  Chapter Five

  One night down, twenty-nine to go, Lexie assured herself as she exited the shower and wrapped a towel around her freshly washed body. She’d been frustrated to find out she’d be sharing the same small house with Lance and felt she’d been set up. Then she felt guilty about having those thoughts.

  They were in an area that had been ravaged by storms. She couldn’t expect each of them to stay in big houses while islanders were sleeping in tents. How selfish could she actually be? She’d just have to suck it up. She’d had many roommates during college. It made living so much more affordable.

  Of course she hadn’t had an incredibly sexy roommate she wanted to be tied to a bed by before, but she would just have to get over those thoughts. Lexie stood with her ear pressed against the door for several moments as she waited to see if she could hear Lance. She hadn’t even thought about bringing her clothes into the bathroom; at home she always showered, then went to her room to dress. She didn’t have to worry about walking around with only a towel on. She often wore it into the kitchen while she put on a fresh pot of coffee.

  But if she wanted to keep things professional between her and Lance, she wouldn’t be able to do things like that. She didn’t want the man to think she was a tease, or something even worse. On the other hand, he had seen her fully naked, so a towel was a lot of covering, considering.

  She heard no sounds, so she creaked the door open and peeked out. He was nowhere to be found. Her heart pounding, she opened the door and made a mad dash to her bedroom, her heart not slowing until she was on the other side of the closed door, her towel still in place.

  What a way to start off the day. She wasn’t going to last a month like this. She was sure of it. But she couldn’t imagine the very spoiled Lance Storm surviving in what she assumed he’d think was a lesser place than he was used to.

  The house was ideal to her, more than she could have ever expected; her own apartment was so small she could practically reach her arms out and touch each wall. Maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but Lexie was used to living meagerly, and she didn’t mind it one bit. She had a strong work ethic, and paid her own way, and that said something about a person, she’d decided long ago. Maybe she had commitment issues, but everyone had to have at least a few skeletons in their secret closet.

  Getting dressed, Lexie made her way to the kitchen, thrilled when she found a fresh pot of coffee. She didn’t want to admit her disappointment in finding the kitchen empty. The last thing she needed was to grow attached to seeing Lance. They were doing a job together and that was all. She didn’t want, nor need, to see his face, especially first thing in the morning.

  Sitting down with a fresh cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese, she was startled when Lance joined her, turning a chair around and straddling it like she wouldn’t mind straddling him. Shaking her head, she pushed that thought right back into the gutter where it belonged.

  “Good morning. Are you looking forward to the day?” he asked as he sipped his coffee.

  “Yes. I didn’t find the schedule though, so I have no idea what we’re doing,” she pointed out. She’d lost her appetite but forced herself to eat anyway. She wasn’t sure when she’d get a chance for more fuel, and she planned on working hard so she’d definitely need the energy the food would provide.


  “I’ve got the schedule right here,” he said with a smile as he pointed to his head.

  “I would prefer it on paper,” she said, not amused.

  “What fun would that be? Waste not, want not,” he told her.

  “I’m here to do a job, Lance, not play games with you,” she huffed.

  “Why can’t we do both?” he asked with dripping innocence.

  “Can you at least tell me when we’re going?” she said, her own voice sugary sweet. Two could play that game, she decided.

  “As soon as you finish your meal,” he told her.

  Though the bagel now tasted like sawdust, Lexie washed it down with coffee. She normally wouldn’t mind another cup while she sat back and looked through her phone, but she feared she’d go a little insane if she stayed in the house with Lance for too long.

  “Ready,” she told him after she got up and rinsed her cup. “Are these clothes okay?”

  Lance took the opportunity to look at her from head to toe and she regretted her choice of words as his intense stare caused her to heat up in all the wrong places — okay, the right places, wrong man, she corrected.

  “You look perfect,” he said in a low purr.

  “This isn’t a fashion statement. I need to know what I’m doing so I can be prepared,” she told him.

  “Today, we’re going to the village to meet the kids,” he said. “Comfort is what you want to dress for. You’re going to be on your feet a lot, and we’ll be doing many different tasks.”

  Lexie really wished the man wouldn’t smile so much. It was so much harder to resist their chemistry when he looked at her like she was his next meal. And the open smile that said to the world he was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy was nearly her undoing.

  “Good because that’s the sort of clothes I brought,” she said. “I looked up the temps and knew it would be warmer here.”

  “I wouldn’t mind getting you a bikini or two if you want a day off at the beach,” he said with a waggle of his brows.