Winds of Heaven

by Karen Toller Whittenburg

  Nick ran restless fingers through his hair. He must be out of his mind! She didn’t need any man’s protection, especially not his. She’d resent any attempt to step between her and her fierce independence, and he had little doubt she’d tell him so, too, without a minute’s hesitation.

  Gazing thoughtfully at the house, he made a decision that had been forming in his mind since she had calmly and defiantly challenged him in the restaurant. Kylie was going to be his, no matter how assertive she was. He’d bide his time, but he would master that streak of defiance in her. Even if he had to give her the extra three weeks for her ridiculous seminar.

  * * * *

  Stifling a yawn, Kylie tried to concentrate on the scribbled notes in her hand. It was impossible to decipher the last few lines, she decided with a surreptitious glance at Nick. He wasn’t watching her, and she took a minute to notice how the blue of his polo shirt changed the color of his eyes. His lashes were dark and thick, but utterly masculine. But, then, everything about Nick was forcefully male. Even the lazy way he was sitting. With his arms stretched along the back of the sofa and his feet propped on the coffee table, he looked disgustingly at ease.

  Kylie flexed her legs cautiously and tried to find a more comfortable position on the carpeted floor. Her fingers ached from taking down the pages of notes Nick had dictated, information he was certain she’d need.

  If he hadn’t been so polite ever since they’d come inside the house, she might have called it a day more than an hour ago. But as long as he stopped every now and then to ask her in a patient and considerate tone whether she needed him to repeat something, she was determined to match him in endurance if nothing else.

  With a concerted effort she forced the pen across the paper but knew she was too far behind to catch up. There was nothing to do now except to admit defeat gracefully and retreat to her room for the night. Nick would be understanding. In fact, she fully expected him to tell her that she looked as if she needed the rest and he would have stopped dictating a long time before if he’d known she was tired,

  Kylie tightened her lips to a narrow line, knowing she was being unreasonably annoyed by Nick’s charm, but unable to conquer the feeling. At the moment, she would far prefer a down-to-earth argument over this walking-on-eggs type of treatment.

  What was he trying to do to her, anyway? Wear down her resistance with soft looks and smiles? Alex wasn’t the only one who could turn on the charisma, she thought. And, as in everything else, Nick seemed to do it so much better.

  Kylie began drawing flowers on her note pad and let Nick’s voice provide the accompaniment to her thoughts. She wondered idly if Nick was like his cousin in any other ways. As far as she knew, Nick could have a live-in blonde waiting back in San Francisco. Somehow she didn’t think so, but she supposed it was possible. He might be simply looking for a diversion to pass the time while he was in New Mexico.

  She wrote the name Nick on the pad, then scratched through it and printed Alex. At the thought of Alex, her gaze shifted to the bouquet of yellow roses on the coffee table before her. Two dozen roses made an exquisite centerpiece, she decided. Noticing that one rose looked slightly droopy, she reached for it.

  “I’m ready to quit any time you are,” Nick said, cutting into her thoughts with droll humor.

  A thorn stabbed her finger, and she jerked back to frown intently at him.

  His smile was easy and amused. “You should always be very careful with floral offerings from secret admirers. When a man sends an excess of roses, you can be pretty sure he’s up to no good.”

  Kylie widened her eyes in pretended innocence. “Is that right? Tell me, Nick, when you send roses, are you up to no good?”

  “Every single time.”

  Fighting a smile, she tilted her head to one side. “Well, I believe I can handle your cousin without too much trouble.”

  “Alex?” Nick asked, a sharp edge fraying his smooth voice. “Alex sent these? Why would he send you flowers?”

  Her brows arched upward in a haughty angle. “For the usual reasons, of course. He’s obviously up to no good.”

  Nick paused, wondering how he could get his foot out of his mouth this time. The thought of Alex and Kylie together made him uncomfortable, but he knew he was simply imagining things. Alex had probably sent the roses because ... Nick couldn’t think of a single platonic reason for such extravagance and finally gave himself a mental shake. He was imagining things. Kylie would never be fooled by Alex’s effusive tactics.

  Nick tried a disarming grin. “You’re not planning to change your hair color, are you?”

  “What makes you think I’d have to do that, Nick? Alex might think he prefers blondes, but it wouldn’t take much effort to change his mind if I wanted to.”

  “But you don’t want to,” Nick stated confidently.

  Kylie carefully pulled the droopy rose from the vase and held it in her hand. “I didn’t say that. It might be quite a challenge. Would you like to make a small wager that by the end of this seminar Alex won’t be wondering what he ever saw in his succession of mindless blondes?”

  Nick looked suddenly as if he wanted to jerk the rose from her fingers, but when he spoke, his tone was casual. “I can’t accept your wager, Kylie. That would be taking unfair advantage of you. Believe me, you won’t change his mind, and it wouldn’t be worth the trouble to try, just to win a bet.”

  Nick was right about that, Kylie thought as she studied the velvety petals of the rose. Alex wouldn’t be worth the trouble. “Well, we’ll just have to see what happens, won’t we?” she said absently. “I think I’ll call it a night. Good night, Nick.” She walked to the doorway, already anticipating the release of the evening’s tension in a hot bath.

  Nick’s gaze fell from the doorway directly onto the note pad and the sight of his name marked through a half dozen times. He circled the coffee table to examine the pad more carefully. But there was no mistake. Kylie had written his name and then boldly slashed through it—not once but several times.

  Alex’s name wasn’t marked that way, he noticed. In fact, Alex’s name was encircled by a wreath of flowers. A flash of unreasonable jealousy raced through Nick as he turned a suspicious eye on the bouquet of roses. If Kylie thought for one minute that she and Alex ...

  Before he quite knew his intention, Nick was standing outside her bedroom door. With a peremptory knock he opened the door and stepped inside.

  Startled, Kylie whirled to face him, making an inadequate attempt to cover her breasts with one hand as she grabbed frantically with the other for the blouse she’d just discarded.

  “Nick! What are you doing?” Her groping fingers fastened on the soft material, and she jerked it up to cover herself, realizing too late that she’d pulled the coverlet from the bed. Angry embarrassment flooded her cheeks with hot color as she tried to adjust the bulky satin spread around her. When she focused her attention on Nick, though, the embarrassment gave way to a different type of heat.

  The smoldering appraisal in his eyes took her breath away, and for a pulsebeat her fingers relaxed their grip. But as the satiny material began to ease down the curve of her breasts, Kylie recognized the danger and clutched the makeshift wrapper to stop its willful descent. With as much dignity and poise as she could manage, Kylie squared her shoulders and tipped her chin.

  “You’d better have a good reason for barging in here like this,” she stated, trying to recapture her initial angry response.

  “I did, but I completely forgot what it was.” His gaze slid slowly upward, lingering at the base of her throat and caressing her bare shoulders before singeing her lips with its intensity. “You look great in a bedspread.”

  Her lips pursed in a line of irritation. “Thank you. It’s the latest style for those times when a man walks uninvited into your bedroom.”

  “What’s the style when he’s invited?”

  Hitching the coverlet higher, she glared at him, vacillating between annoyance and sensual awareness. �
�If you don’t know the answer to that question, Nick,” she challenged, “maybe you should ask Alex for some pointers.”

  Immediately Nick’s expression grew stern, and he scanned the room with ill-concealed impatience. Kylie watched, mystified, as he walked to the dresser, lifted the rose she’d placed there, and turned to face her.

  “This is the reason I barged uninvited into your room.” His voice was low but unmistakably determined as he dropped the yellow rose into the trash receptacle. “You may as well understand right now, Kylie, that nothing is going to happen between you and my cousin. No wager, no relationship—nothing is going to happen with Alex. Do you hear me?”

  “Loud and clear,” she snapped. “And now I’d like to hear why you feel this chauvinistic display of authority is necessary. Are you afraid that with my help Alex might gain a little authority of his own? Maybe even pose a threat to your job?”

  “Job?” Nick asked with a puzzled lift of his brows. “What does my job have to do with this?”

  “Alex said enough about the situation for me to know that the two of you are involved in some executive power struggle. But if you think for one minute that I’m—”

  “Kylie, this has nothing to do with my job or Alex’s. I want to be sure you have no plans to change his mind about women in general and blondes in particular.” Nick’s gaze held hers with unyielding strength. “I won’t allow it.”

  Her own determination rose to meet his. Nick might as well understand right now that she had no intention of following this or any other order from him. “If that’s what I want to do, Nick, then you won’t stop me from doing it.”

  He drew in his breath sharply. “Kylie, we are going to be lovers, and once that happens, you won’t have the time or inclination to think about Alex or any other man.”

  Kylie grappled with his words. “We?” she whispered hoarsely. “As in you and me?”

  “We,” Nick clarified. “As in you and I. We are going to be lovers.”

  Her lips parted on a stunned gasp. “You must be out of your mind,” But her thoughts reeled in dizzy circles, already considering the idea. Nick as her lover? One part of her rejected his statement as nonsense, as an attempt to dominate her. But another part of her trembled with the knowledge that he wanted her, for whatever reason. “You are out of your mind,” she repeated.

  “We’ll just have to see what happens, won’t we?” His lips curved in a confident smile. “I think I’d better leave before it becomes necessary to prove to you that I’m quite sane.” He walked to the door, then turned. “On second thought, this has all happened rather suddenly. Maybe we both need some proof.” He advanced toward her, purpose in every movement.

  Kylie took one step back and hugged the coverlet to her like a security blanket. But it offered little protection when Nick placed his hands on her bare shoulders and pulled her into his arms.

  She struggled with the shivers of anticipation that cascaded down her spine. This is a time for resistance, she told herself sternly as his lips brushed hers and lingered with irresistible softness. With a will of its own her mouth moved beneath his, accepting his touch and denying her caution. Kylie wondered vaguely why she didn’t break free of his hold, but somehow that seemed the wrong way to meet this new and unexpected challenge.

  His hand traced caressing circlets across her back as he reluctantly raised his head. “Soon, Kylie,” he murmured. “Soon.”

  By the time he reached the doorway a second time, she had rediscovered her voice and a subdued measure of irritation. “I’m not impressed by these—these caveman tactics, Nick.”

  His dark eyebrows arched in skeptical amusement. “I guess I’ll have to try a different approach then, won’t I? Good night, Kylie. Try not to dream of me.” With a soft click the door closed behind him.

  His words echoed through her thoughts like a tantalizing melody. An irritatingly persistent melody that wouldn’t go away. Try not to dream of me. Not a chance now that she wouldn’t.

  Over and over, as she undressed and ran a bath, his words came back to her. We’re going to be lovers.

  Lovers.

  Her mind conjured up images of Nick’s virile strength possessing her body. Her fingers curled into her palms as she wondered how his bare skin would feel against hers. Smooth, she thought, but with a texture that would excite and stimulate her senses. His lips would explore her, discover her in a thousand sensual ways. Nick would be a tender, sensitive lover, and she would be—

  Kylie began to hum tunelessly to dispel the images. She must be out of her mind to consider it at all. No matter how attracted she was to Nick, she had to remember the dangers he presented. He was used to being in control of situations and of people. If she let herself get involved with him, he’d try to mold her to his will, take charge of her life, all the things that she’d promised herself would never happen to her again.

  It had taken too long to achieve the confidence and self-assurance she now had; she wouldn’t let Nick threaten her newfound independence. Not that she had any idea how she’d manage to resist his appealing lopsided smile, but she’d find a way. And somehow, even if she had to stay awake all night, she wouldn’t dream of him either.

  Closing her eyes, she sank up to her chin in the warm water of the bath. It promised to be a very long night.

  Chapter Four

  In the days that followed, Kylie told herself that the scene in her bedroom had been an absurd dream, a ridiculous flight of imagination. For a week and a half, Nick did nothing to discredit her theory. In fact, she often thought he couldn’t possibly have been more charming.

  During the training sessions and over dinner Nick was courteous, attentive, and friendly. He was businesslike and professional during the evenings, giving her information on the plant and employees. But always the evenings ended as the grandfather clock in the hall chimed eleven, ended with a cordial good-night that would have restored the faith of the most anxious mother. In every way Nick proved himself a perfect gentleman, and Kylie vacillated between feelings of confused relief and irrational pique.

  It wasn’t fair, she decided on Thursday morning as she listened to the expectant hum of voices in the cafeteria-turned-auditorium. She should be concentrating on the morning’s lecture or any number of other important things, but her thoughts centered increasingly on Nick.

  Day and night he was a tiny paper cut in her mind, an annoying ache that simply wouldn’t leave her alone.

  “Here’s the data sheet you wanted.” Stephanie extended the page for Kylie’s inspection.

  Blinking aside thoughts of Nick, Kylie scanned the list and nodded. “Can we have copies for everyone by tomorrow—early?”

  “No problem.” Stephanie looked over the crowded room, her blue eyes seeking and hopeful. “He’ll be here today, Kylie. I made a point to remind him this morning.”

  Kylie knew there was only one “he” who rated that wistful note in Stephanie’s voice. Alex had a perfect record of absence at the sessions, but his secretary seemed certain that would change at any moment.

  It wasn’t fair. Kylie returned to her original conclusion as she gathered together her notes and approached the podium. Stephanie wanted Alex here, and Kylie wished Nick was anywhere else. Placing her notes on the stand, she looked to the back of the room.

  He was there, of course, in the same chair, in the same corner of the room that he occupied during each and every session, impeccably dressed and looking impossibly handsome. In the artificial light his hair glinted like the patina of polished wood. His dark brows were a shadowy emphasis over eyes of indeterminate expression. Distance made the contours of his face indefinite, but she knew the chiseled lines by memory, knew how they firmed with determination and gentled with laughter. He caught her glance and smiled.

  You and I are going to be lovers, Kylie.

  Right on cue his words were in her mind again. Just as they always were when he smiled at her or touched her hand in a casual way that somehow didn’t seem casual at
all.

  She focused her attention on the assembled employees. “Good morning. It’s time to begin.”

  As an interested hush fell over the room Kylie shoved Nick to the far corners of her mind and paused to let her confidence build. Here at least she knew she was in charge. Despite Nick, despite Alex, despite numerous little problems the seminar was going beautifully, and that fact alone was sweet satisfaction.

  “Today I’m going to present some suggestions on setting realistic goals and the positive steps you can take toward achieving them. Then we’ll divide into discussion groups. Any questions? Good, let’s get started.”

  The morning sped to a hurried lunch, consisting of salad, a soft drink, and a perusal of the afternoon training material. It was past three o’clock before Kylie, with Stephanie at her side, opened the door of her tiny office and sank into the only chair.

  “Sorry I can’t offer you a place to sit.” Kylie kicked off her navy leather pumps and wearily massaged her feet. “My request for another chair must have gotten hijacked on its way to your office.”

  “It’s probably buried somewhere on Alex’s desk. I’ll check before I leave, even though I don’t look forward to seeing the paper work that’s accumulated since this morning.” Stephanie wrinkled her pert nose. “It’s nice to feel needed, but sometimes I think he really couldn’t manage without me. In the office, anyway.”