“Do you still feel bitter toward your father?”

“No. About six months into this project my resentment faded, and I realized he was right. We had become spoiled brats — of no use to society at all. I will deny that if you repeat it, though,” he said.

“My lips are sealed.”

“Well, the task was to take a failing business and make it a success.” She waited for him to go on, but he picked up his glass and took a sip of wine.

“How did you end up with the resort and your sister get landed with a ranch?”

“My father set down five folders and told us to fight among ourselves over which failing business we would take. My sister was horrified, and she refused to even look at the various operations. By the time she came around and decided a life of poverty wasn’t for her, the ranch was all that was left. Let’s just say that she threw a fit, and tried to bribe, cajole, and blackmail each of us to trade. No one would. So, long story short, she was stuck with the ranch.”

“And how does she feel now?” Haley thought she’d get along really well with Crew’s father. He sounded like a good man.

“She won’t admit it to our father, but she loves it. Her first week there, she called me ten times a day in tears, telling me nothing was worth what she was going through, but after a few months, the calls started coming in less often. I had my doubts that she would see it through, but I am very proud of her now. She’s grown more than the rest of us, I believe.”

“She sounds like a good woman.”

“She is now. Without a doubt, she was once a self-centered little witch, but this lesson has changed all of us for the better, and probably Brielle the most. My siblings and I are closer than we have been since we were small kids, and this last Christmas was the first time we all got together because we wanted to, and not because we were obligated to. It has changed us, and I am grateful to my father for giving us a swift kick in the derrière,” Crew said with a small smile.

This man before her was strong as solid steel, both with his love of his family and his complete focus on helping a stranger. He was also kind and gentle when he needed to be, loyal and compassionate. How could Haley help but fall for him? She knew it was a deadly error. But she didn’t know how to pull back, how to lock down emotions that she’d never felt before. Somehow, she must try. Could she just focus on Walker?...Who? She couldn’t even seem to picture the face of the man who was the reason she’d begun this entire process.

A peaceful silence surrounded them as they continued eating, both of them lost in their own thoughts. She just hoped Crew never became a mind reader, because she didn’t want to reveal so much about herself.

When they’d taken their last bite, Crew led her to a couple of lounge chairs placed side by side, with a fire burning in a pit off to the side, keeping a dim glow of light around them. Haley slipped off her shoes, and the sand felt soft and cool as it slid between her toes. As she looked around, she realized they were completely alone. This must be his own personal area.

Haley lay back on one of the chairs, enjoying the soft breeze blowing over her, and she felt Crew’s hand move gently across her stomach, sending butterflies fluttering from the pit of her stomach to her toes and back.

“Seduce me, Haley,” he whispered.

She turned her head, her eyes suddenly heavy as she looked at him.

“I don’t know how. You’re supposed to teach me,” she murmured.

“Seduce me,” he repeated, heat flaring between them.

“I can’t…” she trailed off.

“Seduce me.”

Something inside her came alive and her body moved. She didn’t know what she was doing, but somehow nature took over and it became all about quenching the fire within her.

Chapter Fourteen

Crew watched the flare in her eyes as she made her decision. There was passion in those green depths, but there was also grit and determination. She was done being a wallflower and was ready to explore what was locked within the deepest realms of her being.

As difficult as it was for him to keep his hands to himself, he lay back and waited. She needed to break free, and for her to do that, she had to escape from her shell. He wouldn’t let it go too far, not far enough that she’d have regrets. He would just let her see what effect she had on him.

After their last course, he’d dismissed his waitstaff, to eliminate the chance of interruption. He could now give her a hands-on lesson of what a woman could do to a man. Damn but he was attracted to her, and that was a problem for his noble plan. He never would have believed that this was the same woman who’d stepped into his life on a sidewalk and offered him money.

She’d already grown, and now it was time for him to show her exactly how much.

Lifting the fabric of her skirt above her knees, Haley moved over, straddling his lap and positioning her luscious round behind right against his rapidly growing erection. A groan escaped from his throat, and she smiled in victory.

Watching her expressions as she tentatively moved her hips in a slow circle was about the sexiest damned thing he’d ever witnessed in his life. He was certain he wouldn’t survive her exploration.

“What do I do?” she asked as her hands rested on his chest. He wouldn’t tell her. She had to listen to what her body was demanding of her. She needed to let go of her inhibitions and dance to the beat of her heart.

“You need to seduce me. Make me think of no woman other than you,” he whispered.

She tensed as if unsure of the next step, then slowly bent forward. He almost breathed out in relief as her lips neared his. He wanted to taste her flavor, devour her mouth. But she kissed only the corner of his lips before moving on to his chin.

When her mouth trailed delicate kisses along his jaw, and then her tongue smoothed its way along his neck, his erection jumped painfully as it tried to escape the confines of his slacks. She could obviously feel his excitement, because she pushed her hips harder against him as the two of them played a very dangerous game.

No longer able to refrain from touching her, Crew lifted his hands and ran them through the strands of her soft blond hair. Pulling out the clips and band holding it captive, he sighed as her hair cascaded down, creating a glowing curtain between her face and his body.

Haley leaned up, and he wanted to protest as her mouth left his skin, but then her shaking fingers moved to the top button of his shirt, and his heart stopped for a moment before it resumed with a pounding intensity.

One by one, she undid his buttons until the material fell to his sides. Then her fingernails scraped along the light brushing of hair on his chest and she drew patterns on his skin, then circled his hard nipples.

When she bent down and ran her tongue over the tanned skin of his chest, his back arched off the lounge chair.

She was learning quickly. He was going to have to end this soon — before he couldn’t.

Just as he was getting ready to tell her, Good job, you’ve succeeded in seducing me, her lips traveled lower and the hot breath from her mouth was now on his stomach. No words could possibly escape his tight throat.

When he thought she’d stop, her hand drifted lower, running across the hardness begging to be set free. She glided her skillful fingers across the head of his clothes-covered arousal and he could feel himself losing control. When she took care of his button and zipper, his sanity flew out the window.

He knew he should stop this — knew this wasn’t part of the deal — but he was human, after all. Thank heavens, he always had protection on him, whether he planned on sex or not. It was just something instilled in him — the old Boy Scout motto. Before he lost his mind altogether — along with his pants — he grabbed the foil packet from his pocket and clutched it tightly within his palm.

The first tentative swipe of her tongue along the tip of his arousal was the last of his undoing. His mind went blank as she worked her innocent magic. When she sucked him into the warm recesses of her mouth, he saw stars.

Mission accomplished.

He enjoyed the unbelievable pleasure of her mouth fully around his head for a few more moments before he couldn’t take any more without embarrassing himself.

“My turn,” he gasped, then sat up and grabbed her by the hips, quickly pulling her up his body so she was sitting on his lap.

“You taste salty and sweet, silky…yet so hard. I want to do that some more.”

Her enthusiasm had him throbbing to the point of madness.

“Baby, you can do it plenty more later, but right now, I need to taste you,” he said before pulling her to him and finally closing his mouth over hers. As his tongue slipped inside her warm mouth, he knew he just couldn’t get enough. Nothing was enough.

Not deep enough.

Not long enough.

Not fast enough.

Not slow enough.

Not enough of her open to his touch.

His hands found the clasp behind her neck and he quickly undid it before sliding her straps down her naked back and finding the zipper to undo the skirt of her dress. Within seconds, her bare breasts pressed against his naked chest.

As her hard nipples rubbed against his skin, she groaned into his mouth, and rubbed her hips against him. Lifting her dress, he quickly pulled it up over her head and tossed it aside, then raised his hips and thrust down his pants. The only thing keeping him from entering her was an incredibly small piece of black lace.

As his erection throbbed against her — so hot! — he decided he’d better change positions fast before he plunged in and satisfied only himself. She’d done her job of seducing him; now it was his turn to seduce her.

Haley gasped to find herself on her back, looking up at Crew whose frame was enveloped in the black night sky with speckled brilliant stars surrounding him like an aura. Crew smiled down at her, excitement shuddering through him. Kissing her again, he lay on top of her, enjoying the way her soft curves held him just right.

As she pushed her hips up toward him, her body telling him exactly what she desired, he moved his mouth down her throat, taking a moment to feel her excited pulse against his tongue as her blood raced.

His first taste of her dusky nipples was magical, and he sucked her deep within his mouth as she groaned her approval. Lavishing her breasts with nips, kisses, flicks of his tongue and the stroke of his fingers while her hands fisted in his hair, Crew felt on the verge of breaking.

But only when he had made her come would he take his own pleasure. As he continued fondling her generous breasts with one hand, he moved the other one downward, easily ripping away her panties, then slipping a finger inside her wet heat.

When his thumb began stroking her swollen womanhood, she bucked against his hand, her breathing shallow, panting. He bit down gently on her nipple as he flicked his thumb across her tender flesh below, and then moved up just in time to capture her scream with his lips as her body released, his fingers saturated with her orgasm.

Before she was finished, Crew barely managed to sheath himself before he opened her legs wide and positioned himself.

“Open your eyes,” he demanded, barely recognizing his own strained voice.

When Haley could open them just enough for him to see how she was feeling, he plunged fully inside her, nearly exploding as her tight skin closed around him.