Only You

by Francis Ray

  Blade wasn’t a patient man. He’d wanted to talk to Sierra directly but hadn’t wanted to take the chance that she wouldn’t listen. Sending another person in his place was usual for business, but not in personal matters.

  He paced to the window in his penthouse on the top floor of Navarone Place and looked at the sprawl of buildings going up in Victory Park. Perhaps he should let her go. Perhaps he was as ruthless as some people thought.

  He had good reason to be.

  When he’d lost Mary, he had lost a part of himself. He’d met her while building her parents’ retirement home. She was sweet, kind, and generous to a fault. In short, nothing like him. He had few friends and liked it that way.

  Her adoring parents accepted him because she had. Six months after they met they were married in her parents’ new home. It hadn’t mattered to her that as a kindergarten schoolteacher she had cleared more money than he had. She never stopped encouraging him, believing in him. His fledgling construction business took almost every cent he made. Although he couldn’t take her to the places she deserved, she happily kept their small house and took care of him. She always told him he’d succeed and then they could go wherever the mood struck.

  They’d never gotten to do those things. When his business finally took off, he was too busy. Then she was gone and it was too late. The grief of losing her had nearly driven him insane. His salvation was in knowing she would have hated that. He’d moved from Oklahoma to Tucson and thrown himself into building their dream. People thought him arrogant for using his name, but it had been her dream to see his name on properties around the world. He’d succeeded, but she hadn’t been there to see.

  His heart clenched. His eyes shut. When they opened, he saw a woman with long black hair swirling around her shoulders come out of the W. His hands fisted when he saw the luggage cart. He’d lost. No, he wouldn’t accept defeat. Somehow he’d talk her into staying.

  He was about to turn to the door when he saw Sierra continue toward his building. Was she coming to tell him off before she left? He finally understood why she continued when two other women went to the taxi where the luggage was being loaded.

  Relief swept through him. There was still a chance. For exactly what he wasn’t sure. He pulled his cell phone from his coat pocket. “Shane, I want to leave for Navarone Riviera Maya within the hour. Have the car waiting for me. I’ll be right down.” Disconnecting the call, he headed out of the office.

  The only way he could keep his mind off the competition in Dallas was work. He could certainly do that at his other project on the famed Mexican Caribbean coastline. The exotic setting was unlike any other.

  In the hallway, he started for his private elevator, then veered away. If he saw her, he saw her. He didn’t like to leave with her remembering his anger. Stepping on, he pushed 1, then watched as the floors clicked off. When it reached 3 he was tempted to push 2, the floor with the sales office. He put his hands in his pockets instead.

  It stopped on 2. Steel and chrome glass doors slid open smoothly. The woman he couldn’t get out of his mind stood in front of him, a notebook clasped under her arm, with the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. Then it was gone, and he knew he had to talk fast.

  “A car is waiting downstairs to take me to the airport.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, a moment when he was almost afraid to breathe, she stepped on, bringing with her an intoxicating sent of jasmine and oranges. The door closed. He only had moments, seconds.

  He nodded toward the notebook. “Does that mean you’re staying?”

  She finally looked at him. “I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to see you smile.”

  He didn’t know what to say. She touched him in places he’d thought long dead. The door opened on 1 before he could find the words. She started to step off. He jabbed the “door close” button. She angled her head at him as the elevator doors shut.

  “Is it all right if I kiss you good-bye?”

  “If you do it right.”

  The corners of his mouth curved slightly upward. Was there ever another woman like her? “Only you.” He pulled her into his arms. “I’ll do my best.”

  His lips found hers. His body sighed, then sizzled with remembered heat. The shape, the feel, of her mouth on his, her body straining against him, was pleasure unceasing.

  Knowing the elevator doors might open any second, he reluctantly set her away from him. Almost immediately the doors slid apart. Taking her arm, he stepped off, then released her. “I’ll be back on Friday. Win, lose, draw. This isn’t the end.”

  Sierra watched Blade stride across the lobby. She knew she wore a wide grin on her face and didn’t care. She’d gotten the kiss she wanted. She’d get that smile as well.

  She’d been right to stay. If things went as planned, she’d be here longer than a week. Clutching the notebook tighter, she headed for her room, sparing only a longing glance at Blade’s limo pulling away.

  Once in her room, she began the long, laborious process of contacting old clients, delicately asking for leads. Hours later, she was still hard at it when her headset rang.

  “Sierra Grayson.”

  “Working hard, I’ll bet,” came the cheerful voice.

  Sierra smiled on hearing her cousin Dominique Falcon-Masters’s voice. “You know it. Daniel is coming tomorrow to look at the estates.”

  “Great. He’s always welcome at our home, but I’d love for him to have a residence here. In the meantime, I’m at the Belo Mansion, not far from you. When I mentioned your coup in San Francisco and that you were one of the brokers for Navarone Place, several ladies wanted to meet you. So dress to impress, bring lots of business cards, and get over here as quickly as possible.”

  “I’m on my way. Thanks.” Sierra quickly changed into a black Dior suit with bag and shoes to match, then rushed downstairs to grab a cab. Once she was there, her eyes actually gleamed on seeing the two hundred–plus well-heeled women in attendance.

  Thanks to Dominique, not only had the story of the San Francisco auction circulated, but who her famous sisters-in-law were as well. Since Sierra was well acquainted with “who you knew was often more important than what you knew,” she played the game. It only took one woman, the wife of the president of a bank, to ask to see the property for others to request the same thing.

  Sierra grinned at Dominique, and her cousin grinned back as they both passed out business cards. Women, bless their hearts, loved to gossip, and many of them loved even more being able to say they had met a famous person. Money was one thing, fame quite another.

  Sierra’s chance of winning had just gotten even better.

  Hands on his hips, Blade surveyed the bulldozer cutting through the rich earth of the Maya peninsula to build a canal that would link the lagoon estates on the Navarone Riviera Maya properties. When completed, there would be roughly twenty miles of freshwater canals to take the place of streets. Each property would sit either on the canal, inland, or on the breathtaking Caribbean coastline. The exotic setting would be like no other.

  “We’re six weeks ahead of schedule,” Sam Crane, the construction foreman, said proudly. He was a tall man with a thin, serious face and an eye for detail. “We should be finished with your residence in a month.”

  It had been Blade’s practice to have a place on-site to oversee construction, but also to see if there were any flaws in design. “As always, you and your crew have done an excellent job.”

  “We have a good incentive.” Sam chuckled. “Can’t have Dave’s crew in Dallas get the best of us.”

  Blade didn’t need any reminder about Dallas. As hard as he worked, thoughts of Sierra still managed to show up. The week was up. Tonight the winner would be announced. He hadn’t been able to think of anything else. “I’ll tell your brother that when I return this afternoon.”

  “Do that. And don’t forget to tell him, while he’ll be sweltering soon, I’ll be on the beach.” Sam shook his head. “Sure glad I won that coin toss.�
��

  “I’ll tell him.” Blade extended his hand. “See you soon.”

  The handshake was firm. “Safe travel.”

  Hands in his pockets, Blade went to the car waiting to take him to the airport for the two-and-a-half-hour flight to Dallas. He just wished he knew what he was going to do after the winner was announced.

  Sierra was nervous. She knew she’d sold well, but so had Ted and Erma, the Realtors from San Francisco.

  Blade, tall, dark, and self-assured, entered the private dining room. Sierra’s pulse raced. Her nervousness increased. Shane and the other man she’d seen with them at the hotel in San Francisco were a step behind.

  “Oh my,” Willie Jackson, the Tucson Realtor, whispered, and sat up straighter. “I hope my heart can take this. I wonder if the men with Mr. Navarone are available.”

  It wasn’t lost on Sierra that the woman thought Blade unobtainable. Apparently there were few women in his life, which suited Sierra. Willie could drool over Shane and the other man all she wanted. Sierra understood their appeal. Women would be drawn to their dark, dangerous looks.

  Whereas Shane’s hair was closely cropped, the man with him had thick curly black hair that brushed his razor-sharp cheekbones. His forehead was broad, his nose slightly bent as if it had been broken, but it gave him a rakish appearance. His eyes were hard, with an unblinking stare.

  The woman wouldn’t know if she wanted to run to him or away. Yet even as the thought formed, she knew instinctively that before she took one step away, he’d catch her. Once she was caught, he’d make her scream for mercy or beg for pleasure.

  Although Shane didn’t look as foreboding, there was something lethal about him. He could be merciless.

  Both were broad-shouldered, both gorgeous. Neither held the appeal, the magnetic pull, Blade held for Sierra. Other men simply didn’t exist when he was in the room.

  Blade went directly to the head of the rectangular table. The two men with him positioned themselves on either side of him. John gave him an envelope, then stepped back.

  “Good evening,” Blade said. “I want to thank each of you for your hard work. Of course, each of you will receive a check for your commission. As you were informed previously, the decision is final.” He opened the envelope and unfolded a sheaf of paper. His head lifted, his face expressionless. “The winner, with three sales, is Sierra Grayson.”

  Sierra didn’t know what she expected … yes, she did. She thought Blade would be happy. He wasn’t. Her chin jutted.

  “Congratulations, Sierra.” Ted hugged her. “If I’d had another day, things might have been different. I had two.”

  “I was way behind with one,” Erma, the other Realtor from San Francisco, said. “I knew it was over when you had all those ladies in for tea in one of the models. Wish I had thought to do that.”

  Congratulations continued from others in the room, but not from Blade. He remained apart. He and the two men with him stood like sentries or guards, unsmiling, alert. Shane, Blade’s shadow, looked bored. You couldn’t tell what the other man thought.

  “Let’s toast the winner,” John suggested, and lifted his glass.

  Sierra dutifully lifted her glass. If Blade wanted to forget what had happened, hoped that she might forget, so be it. If he could ignore her, she could return the favor.

  “Sierra Grayson. Congratulations and continued success as the newest Navarone employee,” John said.

  Sierra touched her glass with those around her. John Perry might have welcomed her, but Blade apparently didn’t.

  Telling everyone she wanted to call her family, Sierra was the first to leave the private dinner. She was tired of trying to keep from looking at Blade. In her room, she called her mother, did three-ways until she’d talked to all her family. Next she’d called Daniel and then Dominique. Sierra had just hung up from speaking with her cousin when there was a knock on her door.

  Her skin prickled. Blade. She didn’t have a doubt in the world. Tossing her hair back behind her shoulder in an unconscious challenge, she went to answer the door.

  “Hello, Blade. Was there something else?” she asked, pleased that her voice was steady, although shivers raced through her. Was there ever any man more magnificent or alluring or dangerous to a woman’s peace of mind, not to mention other parts of her body?

  “You’re a hard woman to forget.” Stepping across the threshold, he closed the door behind him.

  “Having me around is not going to make it any easier,” she replied evenly, although she was doing handsprings in her mind. She didn’t think much worried Blade, though he looked worried now.

  Blade wasn’t surprised she had figured out that he was the one behind her being here. “I gave John your name, but you could have lost.”

  Sierra shot him a look of disbelief and tsked. “I’ve lost few things in my life that I have gone after.”

  His fingers trailed down the flawless skin on her cheek. He felt her tremble. “Does that include me?”

  She angled her head in a familiar thoughtful gesture. “I’m still weighing the cost.”

  Smart and outspoken. So was he. “Me, too. Whatever happens between us won’t be easy,” he said.

  Her eyes watching him didn’t falter. He’d been right: she was a strong, fearless woman, and that could present a problem. He’d just have to make sure she remained safe. He wouldn’t be caught off guard again. “I don’t imagine it will be,” she finally told him.

  As he took her slim hand in his, Blade’s thumb glided over the erratic pulse in her wrist, while he thought of putting his lips there, and on the tempting swell of her breasts over the V of the jeweled gown. “Tomorrow you will be moved to Navarone Place. I will be there as well.”

  Her pulse leaped under his thumb. Her black eyes widened. Fear or anticipation, he couldn’t tell.

  “You’ll move into one of the furnished units on the fourth floor. You don’t have to worry about packing or unpacking. A maid will do it for you and be at your disposal during your entire stay,” he continued smoothly, making it sound simple when both knew it wasn’t. “Would you have breakfast with me in the morning? If you accept, Martin will be beside himself.”

  “Good bribe, but I think you’ve forgotten something,” she said, watching his brow knit. “The bet. Pay up.”

  “Sierra—”

  “You can give it willingly or else I’ll be forced to resort to underhanded techniques,” she said, interrupting him.

  He looked at her with suspicion. “What?”

  She walked around him, enjoying the way he had tensed. He wasn’t quite sure what to expect from her. Good. She felt the same way about him. “Pay up or suffer the consequences.”

  “Sierra, I can’t smile on demand,” he said, a bit annoyed.

  She walked around his incredible sexy body again. This time he turned with her. “Then why did you put it in your note?”

  “Because—”

  She stopped and looked up at him. Clearly he was wrestling with telling her his reason. “Because …” Her voice trailed off, encouraging him.

  His hand raked through his unbound hair. “Because I wanted you to stay and it was the only thing that you had asked for. Even then, you wanted it for me.”

  Her heart trembled. Who or what had hurt him so badly? She wanted to comfort him, take the pain away, but instinctively knew he wouldn’t accept her attempt to help. Instead, she swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “Since I’m a reasonable woman and since I’m on your payroll, I’ll take a rain check for now.”

  He saw the tears glistening in her eyes and his gut twisted. His hands cupped her face, then slid into her. hair. “Don’t. Please don’t.”

  “Can’t a woman be a little misty if she’s just landed the dream job of a lifetime and is about to move into a million-dollar estate rent-free?”

  What kind of woman gave so effortlessly and asked nothing in return? What she wanted he couldn’t give. Too many demons haunted him … but for her, he’d try. Th
e corners of his mouth curved slightly upward. It was probably a pitiful attempt at a smile, but it was the best he could do with his stomach churning. “I’ll see you at breakfast.”

  Her hands covered his. “Please tell Martin I love French toast.”

  The corner of his mouth kicked up farther. Only Sierra. “I’ll tell him.” Leaning over, he brushed his lips softly against hers. “Good night and welcome aboard.”

  “Good night.” Sierra wrapped her arms around herself as the door closed. She wondered if Blade realized he’d smiled.

  SIX

  A half past eight the next morning Sierra stood on the street in front of Navarone Place. There was already a beehive of activity as construction workers in hard hats and steel-toed boots worked to finish the interior of the Italian-style marble structure that reached twenty-two impressive stories into the clear Dallas sky. Because of the unique architectural design, each estate had a private terrace.

  She felt a strong sense of pride. She’d done it, earned the right to be the exclusive broker. She would help shape the building as well, just in a different way.

  She lifted her gaze to the top of the estates. Blade was up there in the penthouse suite. Perhaps he was looking out on all that he had accomplished, planning his next project or planning on how to get her in his bed.

  She knew that, yet she still planned to meet him for breakfast. He fascinated her. No man had ever done that before. There was a distinct possibility that she might have gotten in over her head.

  She’d never run from a challenge or a fight. As she came from a strong-willed family, it wasn’t in her to do so. Blade would be both.

  “Pretty.”

  Sierra glanced over her shoulder to see who had spoken. A man in a hard hat, with shoulders a yard wide, squatted in front of a yellow wildflower that had somehow managed to push itself up through the hard, baked dirt just off the sidewalk.

  “Yes, it is,” she said.