Claiming Her Billion-Dollar Birthright (10 page)

And its name was Erica Prentice.

Hell, he couldn't even enjoy standing alongside the river anymore. Because he saw her here, now. She was everydamnwhere in Aspen, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get away from her.

“Well,” a too familiar voice said from behind him, “you look furious.”

He turned around to watch Erica approach him. The sunlight was fading as twilight edged closer. She wore a short, lemon-yellow skirt that stopped midthigh and a pale green short-sleeved T-shirt that displayed her tanned, toned arms and clung to her narrow waist. Her hair was soft and shining in the last of the light and her eyes were locked on his.

“So,” she asked as she came nearer, “did you want to be alone with your fury or can you stand some company?”

“Alone,” he ground out, because he knew if she came any closer, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from reaching for her.

“That's a shame, because I prefer company,” she said. She whipped her hair back from her face and continued down the slope, passing within inches of him as she walked to the water's edge.

“What're you doing here, Erica?”

She glanced back at him and shrugged. “I came to look at the river.”

“And you could only see the river from here. This one spot. On the whole resort.”

She smiled slowly. “I like this spot.”

His hands fisted at his sides and he deliberately relaxed them, taking a long, deep breath into his lungs at the same time. Unfortunately, that only brought him a whiff of her scent, which made his insides tighten into knots. She smelled like peaches and flowers and all things soft and beautiful.

“Fine,” he said. “Enjoy the view. I'll go.”

“Okay, so will I.” She turned and headed back toward him.

“What are you playing at?” he demanded when she stood right in front of him.

She shook her head and looked up into his eyes. “I'm done playing, Christian. No more games. No more teasing. I'm here because I want you and you want me.”

His teeth ground together and he hissed in a breath, hoping to find some equilibrium. He didn't.

She lifted both hands to his shirt front and smoothed her palms over his chest.

His body went from hard to aching in under a second. He caught her hands in his and stilled them. Then he stared into her eyes and whispered, “Why are you doing this?”

“Because you won't,” she said and went up on her toes to slant her mouth over his. Once, twice, a soft brush of her lips to his and Christian felt the heat of her rush through him.

He knew he was a dead man. He had to have her.
Couldn't have turned away now if someone had a gun to his head. She was everything he wanted, needed. She was all he could think about. All he cared about. It didn't matter if he would regret this later or not. Or, if being with her would only make the situation between them harder.

For now, he was lost.

He grabbed her then, as if half-afraid she might disappear on him if he didn't hold on to her tightly. Pulling her up close to him, he took her mouth with a desperation he'd felt clawing at him for days. Again and again, his tongue delved deep, claiming her in a mimicry of what his body wanted to be doing to hers. In and out, he dazzled, he took, he gave, his heartbeat racing, his blood pumping, he gave himself over to the demands of his body, clamoring to meet her demands.

As a soft summer wind caressed them both, Christian took the hem of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head. She threw her head back and laughed in delight as the air touched her heated skin. In that moment, Erica looked more beautiful to him than she ever had before. He unhooked her bra and spilled her breasts out into the palms of his hands.

She sucked in a breath as he cupped her, rolling her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. She sighed, arching into him, offering herself to him as the sun's last golden rays played across her skin.

Her eager response fed the fires within him and Christian groaned, bent his head and took first one nipple and then the other into his mouth. Her skin was
soft and smooth and smelled of peaches. His lips and tongue and teeth nibbled and suckled at her, drawing sighs and moans from deep in her throat. Her fingers slid through his hair, holding his head to her, as if worried that he would stop, that he would suddenly pull away and tell her no, they weren't going to do this.

But that wasn't even a glimmer in his brain.

They'd passed that line and there was no going back.

If he didn't have her
now,
he knew he'd die of the want.

With one last, lingering draw on her nipple, Christian straightened, caught her hand in his and said, “Come over here.”

“What? What?” Dazed and unsteady, Erica followed him, her hand tucked into his. “Where?”

“Right here,” he said, picking a blanket up off the ground and spreading it out beneath the trees.

She laughed a little, surprised. “You came prepared?”

He grinned, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. “Sometimes I sleep out here on warm nights. Good to have a blanket handy.”

“It is,” she agreed and went to him eagerly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on, kissing him deeply, slowly. Until finally, Christian growled, pulled his head back and lay her down on the blanket.

“Let's get you out of those clothes.”

“You, too,” she urged and immediately wiggled out
of her skirt and pushed her panties down and off. She kicked out of her sandals and lay across the pale blue quilt like an offering from the gods.

Christian took seconds to strip and join her on the blanket, going up on one elbow to kiss her while his left hand stroked up and down the line of her body. He defined her curves, explored every valley and took the time to tease her rigid nipples until she moaned into his mouth.

Her hand moved over his back, sliding across his shoulders and down the length of his spine. Every touch inflamed him until his body was so hard and tight, he could hardly think beyond the need hammering at his mind, his heart.

He slid his hand down over her belly and past the nest of curls to find her center. She gasped and lifted her hips for his touch. He obliged, sliding his fingertips across those heated folds, finding her damp warmth and realizing that she was as ready for him as he was for her. He dipped one finger inside her and stroked those inner muscles until she whispered his name with a hunger that matched his own.

“Christian, don't wait. Take me now, be inside me now. I need this. I need
you.
”

“No more waiting,” he promised and shifted to cover her body with his. He knelt between her thighs and parted them wider, opening her up to his gaze.

She twisted beneath him. “Christian,” she said, licking her lips, “please. Now.”

“Now.” He pushed his body into hers with one long
stroke and instantly experienced the wild rush of being a part of the only woman who mattered to him.

She was tight and hot and caressed his length every time he withdrew only to surge forward again. Her legs came up, wrapped around his middle and took him deeper on every stroke. She curled her fists into the blanket beneath her and lifted her hips, rocking into him, following the rhythm he set and matching him move for move.

“Open your eyes,” he ordered, staring down into her face as he took her. Her eyes flew open and met his. He read his own desire reflected back at him and saw in those amber depths the passion he'd waited too long to see.

She released the blanket so she could touch him, scraped her palms up and down his chest, up and over his back and dug her fingernails into his shoulders as he increased their pace. Hips pistoning, he took her higher, faster than either of them had ever been before.

Together, they raced toward a completion that had been waiting for them for weeks and together, they crashed over the edge and fell.

E
rica was spent.

Every cell in her body was whimpering with release and pure pleasure. Her legs were trembling and her arms felt as if they weighed a ton. Christian was sprawled on top of her and though he was heavy, she didn't want him to move. Didn't want to lose this connection they had. She wanted to keep his body joined to hers for as long as possible.

Staring up through the thick branches overhead, she spotted small slices of a deep purple sky. The sun was down and the first stars were coming out. Beside them, the river rushed on, and here, on this blanket, the world was standing still.

“I want to roll off of you,” he muttered, his voice
muffled against her skin. “But I don't think I can move.”

She smiled, delighted that she'd brought such a man to his knees, so to speak. Christian was more than she'd thought when she first met him. Then he'd seemed so locked away, so suit and tie and cool distance. Now she knew what he kept hidden beneath that very businesslike exterior. And she didn't ever want to lose him.

“I don't want you to move anyway. I love the feel of you against me. In me.” Love.

Erica's breath caught in her chest and she smiled to herself as she realized it was true. She did love him. Why hadn't she realized it before? It all seemed so simple now. So clear. It didn't matter how fast it had all happened. It was as if she'd been heading here. To Colorado, to
him,
her whole life. Days, weeks, time had nothing to do with it. When it was right, it was right, she told herself firmly and gently stroked her hands up and down his broad, muscular back.

He groaned and lifted himself up onto his elbows. Looking down into her eyes, he rolled his hips against hers and she sucked in a gulp of air. His body stirred inside her, thickening, hardening. She sighed at the sensation and suddenly she was more than ready for him.

“You touch me and I can't think,” he admitted, moving again, slowly, pushing deeply into her.

But in a heartbeat he went perfectly still and stared
down into her eyes. “Can't think.
Didn't
think. Erica, we didn't use any protection.”

She gasped, stunned that the thought had never even occurred to her. She'd never done anything so irresponsible in her life.

“I'm sorry. I should have— Damn it.”

“Stop,” she said quickly, reaching up to cup his face with her palm. “It was my mistake as well as yours. But as long as we're both healthy, it should be all right.”

“I am, I swear,” he said, concern etched on his face. “But are you sure you won't get—”

“Pregnant?” she finished for him. “I can't be absolutely positive, of course, but it's the wrong time of the month, so…”

“Good. That's good.”

But he didn't sound relieved, she thought. He sounded almost…sorry.

“But we shouldn't risk it again.”

“Probably not,” she admitted, “but if you pull out of me now, I'll have to kill you.”

He grinned, lowered his head and kissed her. “I'll risk it if you will.”

“Oh, yes,” she said, sliding her hands up and down his back, over his shoulders and down the front of his chest. “Thinking's overrated anyway.”

“Right,” he murmured, dipping his head for a kiss. “Just feel. Just experience.”

“Experience is good,” she agreed, already feeling the fires burning, building within.

“New experience is even better,” he said and leaned back, wrapping his arms around her, drawing her up
with him, keeping their bodies joined. He sat back on his heels, with Erica on his lap.

She gasped and threw her head back, loving the feel of him impaling her so deeply. Instinctively, she twisted her hips, grinding her body against his, increasing the friction between them until he groaned her name and clamped both hands at her hips, holding her still.

In the soft light of the early evening, Erica looked down at him. Cupping his face in her palms, she took a kiss and then one more before sliding her hands down his neck to his shoulders. Then she moved on him, easing herself up and down in a slow, lazy rhythm, driving them both relentlessly onward. His hands at her hips, he kept his gaze locked with hers as she moved, taking him deep, releasing him, only to reclaim him again.

Over and over, as tension built, as need spiraled inside her, she moved, rocking, swaying, twisting her hips at their joining. Her hands at his shoulders, she felt it when he neared completion and surrendered to her own climax. As the first, electric ripples of pleasure dazzled through her, she heard him shout her name just before he let go and gave himself completely to her.

It was perfect.

 

What could have been hours passed before Christian said, “Are you cold?”

A chill swept along her spine, but it had nothing to do with the cold. It was his deep whisper resonating in her ear that affected her so. “No. Not cold.”

“Still…” Christian reached across her, grabbed the edge of the blanket and drew it up over her.

Erica snuggled into his side and laid her head on his chest. Running one hand across his warm skin, she tangled her fingers through the soft dark hair until he laughed and the rumble sounded loud in his chest. “Touch me like that and we're not going to ever go back to the Manor. I'll have to keep you here all night.”

“Not a very good threat,” she admitted with a smile. “It actually sounds fabulous.” She tipped her face up to look into his eyes. “I don't think I could ever have enough of you.”

He lifted his head, gave her a quick, hard kiss, then lay back down again, one arm tightening around her, holding her close. “I don't know what to say to you.”

“Say you don't regret it.”

“I'd be a damn fool if I did,” he muttered.

She smiled to herself and sighed a little, enjoying the moment. The soft wind rustling through the trees, the grumbling river just a few feet away and the soft summer night close around them. It was all perfect. Her life finally felt…right.

“Not that I'm complaining,” he said, “but how did you know to find me here?”

“Hmm? Oh, Melissa suggested it. She said you came out here a lot on clear nights.”

His hand on her arm stilled and Erica sensed that something had changed, though he hadn't said a word. Silent tension spilled out between them and though he was still beside her, Erica knew that he was already pulling away. “Christian?”

He scrubbed one hand across his face, released her and sat up to stare out at the river. “Melissa? Melissa knows you were going to come to me?”

“She knows I was looking for you, sure.” Now she was cold. Despite the warmth of the evening air she felt as though ice crystals were settling on her skin. She tugged the edge of the blanket around her and stretched out one hand to touch his back.

He flinched at the contact.

“Great. That's just great.” He stood up, grabbed his jeans and tugged them on. Then he snatched up her clothes from where they'd fallen and tossed them to her. “Get dressed.”

Hurt and feeling at a complete loss, she only stared at him. “What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?”

“Unbelievable.” He muttered something else under his breath, but she couldn't catch it.

Erica grabbed the clothing he'd tossed her. She slipped her bra on, then tugged her T-shirt on over her head. When she stood up to pull on her panties and skirt, she turned her head to look at him. He was searching for his shirt and finally found it hanging from a tree limb where he must have thrown it earlier.

Disgusted, he snatched it down and Erica was more confused than ever, so she blurted, “What is going on?”

He pulled his shirt on then ran his fingers through his hair. Glaring at her he said, “I told you, I couldn't be with you. I work for the Jarrod resort.
You're
a Jarrod.
Word of this gets out, I'll lose everything. And what do you do? You tell your sister.”

Erica inhaled sharply, feeling as though he'd slapped her. This was what had him so tense? Knowing that she'd spoken to Melissa? Was he really that worried that someone might know they were together? Was his job really that important?

Stung to her soul, she snapped, “Your reputation's safe, Christian. Melissa didn't know why I wanted to see you. It's not like I advertised or printed a pamphlet alerting the residents of Jarrod Ridge that I was going to try to seduce a man who's been trying to keep me at arm's length!”

“Damn it, Erica…”

“Relax,” she told him hotly. “You don't want people to know you were with me? Rest easy then, because I'm in no hurry for anyone to find out about this moment.”

He faced her and though his teeth were gritted, he still managed to say, “It's not that I don't want them to know. I can't
let
them know.”

“Oh.” She nodded and gave him a wry smile. “Big difference. Thanks for clearing that up.”

“You don't get it, do you?” He stood, legs far apart, arms folded across his chest as if he were trying to hold himself in place. “I've worked my whole damn life for what I've got here. I won't risk it. Won't lose it. You can't understand because you've always had this…” He threw his arms wide as if taking in all of Jarrod Ridge. “With either the Prentice family or the
Jarrods, you're one of them. I don't have that. I
made
my way on my own.”

“And I haven't?” She snorted in disgust. “You saw my office in San Francisco. Bottom of the food chain. You know why? Because my father never wanted me involved in the Prentice family business. So what I had I made. On my own. And coming here didn't change that.”

“Erica—”

“No, you had your say. Now it's my turn. I told you what it was like where I grew up. Never accepted. Never let into the inner circle. It's only here that I've begun to find my way and even then, I wasn't exactly met by a ticker tape parade.”

He shook his head and sighed. “That's different. Whether the Jarrods were happy about it or not, you were one of them. You belonged. Like I said, you don't get it.”

“I'm not one of them. I might be. One day. I hope so. But if that happens it'll be because I
made
it happen,” she countered. “I wasn't handed anything. You think it was easy to come here? It wasn't. I walked out on the only family I knew. I gave up my job, my home, my
life
to try for something new. Something better.”

“I'm not going to argue with you,” he told her quietly.

“Of course not,” Erica muttered. “You might lose.”

“I'm doing what I have to do and you'll never understand it.”

“Oh, I get it,” she said softly. “Finally I get it. You're a coward.”

He took the two steps separating them and grabbed hold of her upper arms. His hands were strong, each of his fingers digging into her skin as he dragged her up on her toes, so they could be eye to eye. “I'm no coward and you don't know what you're talking about.”

“Yes, I do,” she said. Erica wasn't afraid of him. Even with his eyes nearly glowing with fury, he wouldn't hurt her. It wasn't in him. He was a closed-up man hiding a passionate nature, but that passion didn't include brute force. “I can see it in your eyes. You're already pulling away from me, from what we found, planning on how you can avoid me in the future.”

He let her go instantly and backed up, muttering under his breath. Then he said, “When we're around others, nothing has to change. We just won't be doing…this again.”

“Oh, is that all?”

God, how was she breathing? Everything inside her was still and cold. Her lungs, her heart. Even the blood running through her veins felt icy.

Erica grabbed her sandals and hopped on one foot then the other to tug them on. Once she was dressed completely, she threw her hair back from her face and stared daggers at him. “After what we just experienced you can actually stand there and say to me that you don't want us to be together? That you'll walk away from this? From what we might have?”

 

No, Christian thought wildly, he didn't want to say that. Didn't want to think it. With Erica, he'd found more peace, more excitement than he'd thought possible. When he held her, she was the world. He couldn't imagine never having her with him again. Couldn't even see his life without her in it.

These last few hours had been more precious than anything he'd ever known before. From the moment she'd approached him, it was as if they'd stepped into some dream world where they were the only two beings in existence. He'd forgotten his hard and fast rules. He'd turned his back on what he'd made of himself over the years and lost the essence of who and what he was in her. The magic of her.

But magic wasn't real.

And eventually, dreamers woke up.

He wanted her desperately. But if he acted on what he wanted, then he stood to lose everything he'd ever worked for. Everything that had made him what he was. How could he turn his back on his life? On the man he'd become? If he did, what would he have left?

Who would he be?

“You're going to do it, aren't you?” she whispered. “Even after everything that happened tonight, you're going to be the good corporate drone and go back to your cubicle.”

He sighed. What the hell could he say to her? He couldn't even explain it to himself. “Erica…”

“No, don't bother.” Her voice was low, almost lost in the roar of the river. But somehow he heard every word
and felt the power of them hit home as if each one was a blade.

“You're going to regret tossing me aside,” she said.

He stared into her eyes and couldn't quite bring himself to tell her that he already
did
regret it. Standing here, so close and yet so far away from her, he felt as if all the life was draining out of his body. But he couldn't say what she wanted—needed—to hear.