Carolina Girl (27 page)

“The greedy pigs haven’t kept up with the
times,” Clay argued. “The rights will revert shortly unless
they’re willing to produce a new version, and you can pretty much
guarantee their marketing department has moved on to race cars and robots and
gore. It’s short term thinking out there. They’ll grab at our
offer. We’ll just need funding to produce a product the new game players
will accept. That requires a studio and technical assistance. I specialize in
3-D animation and graphics, but there are other aspects I can’t
cover.”

She still had difficulty grasping the extent of his genius.
She’d known there was more beneath his pretty hair and denim vest than an
immature gamer, but a software mogul?

A software mogul who played games and set her nights on
fire. Surrounded by family, they’d been forced to be circumspect all
weekend. She’d spent her lonely nights in bed reliving Clay’s
lovemaking. Sex, she reminded herself. There had been no love involved. Yet.

She was terrified of that tiny “yet.” She had
too soft a heart and needed to protect it before she destroyed everything
she’d worked so hard to accomplish.

“You’d better hope other investors are as sure
of this as you,” she said gloomily, giving up on classifying him or
anything else. “Venture capital went down the drain with the collapse of
the tech market. I can call the entrepreneurial angels I know, but the market
hurt them badly. You’ll have to be mighty convincing, or we’ll be
out of house and home with half a video game to show for it.”

“That won’t happen,” he said with such
sureness that Rory almost believed him. “I’ll borrow the money from
Jared if I have to. He’ll want to invest, too. Just call angels with
teenagers, and I’ll send them the latest PC version to test drive.
You’ve seen it. They’ll invest.”

She desperately wanted to believe him, but the events of the
past few days had shaken her normal optimism.

But the program was addictive. Even she wanted to play it
again.

“This could all be a waste of time if we can’t
stop the developers,” she warned him, just to keep her feet firmly on the
ground.

“One step at a time, my goddess,” he said,
sending her a warm smile that turned her into a pillar of sugar.

Resigned to this mad adventure, fearing she was in over her
head, but knowing she carried her family’s hopes and dreams with her, she
valiantly focused on watching road signs. “That’s the street there.
It’s number 1101. If I’d known I was looking for a corporate shark,
I would have found a different lawyer.”

“All he needs to see is the six zeroes after the one,
and he’ll find anyone you like.”

A million dollars. She might have a million-dollar bottle
cap in her pocket, and she was about to hand it over to a man who took wild
risks and made and lost fortunes. She wasn’t a gambler. She liked
security. She was out of her ever-lovin’ mind.

And terrified to the marrow.

o0o

Walking down the redbrick stairs of the attorney’s old
Charleston town house some hours later, Rory couldn’t tear her gaze away
from the fat manila envelope in her hand. “I exchanged a million dollars
for this?” she muttered as Clay steered her past jasmine-covered
wrought-iron fences to the parking lot. “I could have a fat stack of
green bills to take to the bank, and instead I took meaningless paper?”

They’d won a million dollars! It was real. It
didn’t seem real. She continued staring at the envelope in incredulity
with panic gnawing the lining of her stomach and ecstasy shaking her knees.
Money certainly hadn’t changed anything. Yet.

In the shade of a magnolia, Clay caught her arms and pulled
her around to face him. When she glanced up in surprise, he kissed her.

Rory shut her eyes and reveled in the beauty and passion of
his mouth plying hers. She tasted gratitude and excitement and a sexy
undercurrent of hunger held in check. The electricity of power surged through
her.

This was more than just lust. This was mutual excitement and
anticipation and joy in accomplishment. She could stand here like this forever,
feeling the heat steam between their bodies, surrounded by the exotic smell of
magnolias. If she could freeze a minute of time, this would be the one.

When she thought she would have to collapse against him and
surrender to her blistering need, Clay abruptly set her back, still holding her
arms but at a more sedate distance. The dazed expression on his face was priceless,
and Rory couldn’t resist stroking his chiseled jaw. He’d shaved for
the occasion.

“We either find a hotel and continue this, or pretend
we’re respectable and walk back to the car.” In his casual
California business attire of open shirt and linen trousers, he managed to look
not only respectable, but wealthy and influential.

She actually considered the first choice. She could imagine
celebrating her winnings in a charming old inn overlooking the harbor, the
breeze from an open window blowing lace curtains over a poster bed she and Clay
would share in amazing ways.

But the papers in her hand involved them far more than she
could manage as it was. Opting for caution, she shook her head, as much to
clear it as to say no. “This is not a good idea,” she said
decisively, breaking away and heading for the car. “Business partners
should never get involved outside the office. It’s a recipe for
disaster.”

“Who are you trying to convince, me or
yourself?” Clay kept up with her long strides, jerking open the truck door
before she could do it.

“Both. I’ve watched it happen. Give me some
credit for experience. I worked with small businesses for years. Nasty, nasty
stuff when families disagreed. Enough to explode a planet when lovers break up.
Those papers in there are a powder keg. Let’s not play with fire.”

Slamming the driver’s door and turning the key in the
ignition, he backed the truck out angrily. “Are you saying we just gave
up sex for money?”

“Why, were you planning on exchanging sex for
money?” Crossing her arms, Rory glared out the windshield.

“I didn’t even know you
had
money!”
In a fit of frustration, he hit the car horn at an SUV turning left from the
right hand lane.

“Well, I didn’t know you did either! I had sex
with a mechanical god who sits on courthouse roofs and woke up with some kind
of friggin’ industry guru. You think I want more surprises like that
while I’m scrabbling to save my family’s future?”

“Mechanical god?” he asked, slanting her a look
askance. Then, seeing her stubborn expression, he continued the argument.
“You can’t shove me into a little box, and it’s making you
mad. That’s not my fault.”

“Do you deny living in a sty on the beach with no
discernible source of income?” she asked incredulously. “I thought
you were a beach bum.”

“I was working! You knew I was working. I just
don’t do it in air-conditioned offices anymore.” He hesitated on a
corner, switched lanes, and turned toward the harbor.

“You turned the wrong way. The interstate is behind
us.”

“So sue me. You have my life in that damned envelope.
Rip it up and throw it out the window.”

“
Your
life? You’ve already had your
million dollars, buster, and now you have the only million I’ll ever see,
and we’re talking about
your
life?”

“No, now we’re talking nonsense.” He
slammed on the brake at a stoplight, glanced up and down a street of historic
mansions, and finding his direction, turned down an oak-and-Spanish-moss-lined
lane.

“Where the dickens are you going?” Taken by
surprise, she momentarily dropped the argument to gaze in awe at the towering,
elegant homes they passed. She’d always loved Charleston, but she’d
grown up in a trailer. These beautiful homes were about as real as a movie set
to her.

“I figure we’re already arguing about money, so
there’s no reason to deny ourselves the pleasurable side of it.” He
turned up a drive with a discreet B-and-B sign tucked among the azaleas.

“You what?” Stunned into near speechlessness,
Rory gaped at the vine-covered stone turrets and portico of the mansion as Clay
turned off the ignition and leaped out of the truck.

“Come on.” He opened her door, caught her elbow,
and tugged her out. “It’s after three. We can check in.”

She thought she ought to protest, but she was too busy
admiring the shady stone terrace with a bubbling fountain and roses spilling
across a sunny corner. Beneath the oaks, the day’s heat evaporated in
cool moistness. Towering philodendron-like plants protected tender hostas and
colorful caladiums. Huge live bouquets of mixed pink impatiens lit the shade
like sunshine. Wrought-iron tables and chairs adorned with comfortable cushions
in a subtle blend of greens and beiges were already set for some occasion.

She’d dreamed of places like this. Someday she’d
hoped to tour Europe and stay in quaint hotels, eat in neighborhood bistros,
and pretend she was a sophisticated traveler. Her heart ached at this glimpse
of what it might be like. Reluctant to leave paradise, but eager to see inside,
she slowly followed her new partner into the lobby.

He was opening up terrifying new worlds. She’d placed
her life in the hands of an ex-millionaire, and he had completely taken
control. She resented his presumption and wanted his support at the same time.
He had experience she could only dream about. She had thought she would learn
about the world on her own. She hated being confused.

Clay was already returning his wallet to his pants pocket as
Rory stepped into the ceiling fan-cooled interior.

A smiling hostess emerged from behind the desk. “If
you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your room. Do you have luggage?
I can have Morris park your car and carry up your bags.”

“I promised Aurora a shopping spree,” Clay lied.
“Just have him pull the truck out of the way.”

“How delightful! If you need suggestions for shopping
or directions, please check with Jane. She’ll be happy to tell you
anything you need to know.”

“Like how to kill incorrigible men,” Rory
muttered under her breath, but there wasn’t any anger in her words.
He’d gone against her wishes, brought her here for the purpose of sex,
and all she could do was stare in wonder at the surroundings.

The magnificent mahogany circular staircase had robbed her
of temper. The crystal chandelier lighting the way suspended all thought.
She’d always wondered what the inside of one of these homes looked like.
She wouldn’t ruin her chance to find out by pushing her domineering
partner over the banister.

The turret room overlooking the harbor melted her into a
puddle of love and lust and...

Refusing to be reduced to emotional tears, Rory touched the
eyelet curtains of the antique poster bed and watched a sailboat outside the
window reflect the sun in its billowing canvas.

She knew the instant they were alone even though she had her
back to the door. She was aware of Clay’s height as he stood at her
elbow, watching the sailboat with her. She knew how his arms would feel around
her, how his kisses would taste, and every cell of her body hummed in
anticipation. She resented the reaction, but she couldn’t fight it.

“How did you know?” she whispered.

“Know what?” With typical male cluelessness, he
began releasing her sophisticated upswept coiffeur from its pins.

“The house. It’s like a dream. You knew where to
go. You had
reservations
. You planned this all along.” She tried
to hang on to the defensive shield of her anger.

“How many times in this life are you going to win a
million dollars?” He filled his hands with her long hair, smoothed it
around to her front, and began massaging her back and shoulders with strong
fingers. “How many times do we have a chance to celebrate the formation
of a company that will support us for life and potentially make a lot of people
happy?”

“I just want to take care of my family,” she
murmured as the spell of his hands removed any lingering argument. “I
need security, and I need to make my family’s life easier. Gambling our
lives on empire building is not my style. If I can help my neighbors along with
my family, that’s a good thing, but—”

“Quit trying to manage the future, and enjoy the
present. The future is a series of moments like this, mixed with bad ones like
the fire. Some you can prevent, some you can’t.”

His mellow mood and the beauty of this place won out over
the stress of the past few days. She couldn’t even remember why they were
arguing. She’d never wanted to be with a man as much as she did this one.
Clay offered emotional stability when her world spun into chaos. He balanced
her flights of temper with logic, then countered her caution with recklessness.
She needed his down-to-earth solidity to buffer her fears even as his creative
impulses spun her head.

She needed his hands somewhere other than her shoulders.

“So now you’re a philosophical cynic?”
There was no rancor in her question.

“I’ve played in deep waters,” he said with
a certain amount of gruffness. “Give me credit for experience.” He
threw her words back at her.

“Can I credit one of your girlfriends for the massage
experience?” She hated herself for asking. He was a striking man. Women
would have flocked around him. She knew that. She shouldn’t compare
herself to the California beauties he must have known. But she was having
difficulty believing this was real.

“Nope. Took a course in college.” His hands slid
forward, finding the top button of her blouse. “I can surf and play
poker, too. Didn’t learn them from women either.”

She leaned back against his broad chest as his fingers
skillfully unfastened her blouse. “For a man’s man, you know a lot
about women.”

“Studied them for years. Read books. Read news-groups
on-line. Didn’t have much time to practice when I was starting out. I
learned pretty quick, though, after they found out I had money.”