Double Dealing (11 page)

A man of his quiet, plodding characteristics counted the
cost of everything, Gabriel thought grimly. And the cost of taking to bed a
woman for whom he felt only superficial desire was painfully steep. It made him
feel compromised in a way he couldn’t quite explain. He consoled’ himself with
the knowledge that at least the short, fleeting relationships were honest, if
unsatisfying and almost boring. But he always felt as though he had paid too
much and received too little in exchange.

Watching the woman on the darkened beach, however, Gabriel
realized what was so different about the attraction he felt toward Samantha.
This time he didn’t want to think about the cost. He wanted her. Period. No,
not quite period.

He wanted something more. He wanted her to surrender without
counting the cost, either.

He had fretted over his uncharacteristic behavior all afternoon,
analyzing it, dissecting it, trying to find a rational explanation for it. When
seven o’clock had come and gone and Samantha had not yet arrived, a strange kind
of panic had invaded his bloodstream only to be followed by an unreasonable
anger: anger at himself for having tried to set the trap and at the woman for
having evaded it. Then he’d heard the crunch of gravel under her car’s wheels
and had immediately gotten himself back under control.

Setting snares for women apparently wasn’t his forte, however.
Look at how he’d nearly ruined everything by trying to put things out in the
open over dinner. He’d blurted out the truth about his intentions, and she hadn’t
hesitated to put him firmly in his place.

Mentally he chastised himself for his own stupidity. How had
he expected her to react, for God’s sake? He was damn lucky she hadn’t walked
out then and there. He must have succeeded in allaying her immediate concerns,
though, because she had agreed willingly to spend the night in his spare
bedroom.

His eyes narrowed as he realized she didn’t appear to be
particularly wary of him in the physical sense.

That thought brought conflicting emotions. Look at her out there
walking along on the beach lost in her thoughts—as if no one of this world had
the slightest claim on her. Didn’t she sense he was standing here, imagining
various ways of pursuing her, dragging her down into the sand and claiming her
completely? She ought to be running as fast as she could, not ambling along the
waving line of surf.

“Damn!”

What was the matter with him? He didn’t want her to run. He
wanted to keep her under his roof and within reach as long as possible. “Face
it, Sinclair,” he growled under his breath. “She’s in no danger from you. You’ve
never forced yourself on a woman in your life, and you’re hardly likely to
start the practice now.” But he found himself wanting her to know that he hungered
for her. He wanted her to be aware of him on the most fundamental level. The
strangely possessive, uncomfortably predatory sensations he’d experienced earlier
in the evening were growing stronger.

At least she hadn’t laughed or teased him earlier this evening
when he’d confessed his true intentions. She hadn’t played games with him; she’d
simply told him to back off in no uncertain terms. Did that mean that she at
least took seriously the possibility of his desire?

He watched her adjust the collar of her leather jacket in
the pale light of the outside lamp. It was strange how the blatantly masculine
lines of her outfit only emphasized her femininity. She wasn’t a beautiful
woman, but she was a strong, intensely feminine one.

He wanted to curve his hand around the curve of her bottom,
find the outline of a nipple under her shirt, and prod it until it was hard
with desire. He wanted to jerk her off her feet and stretch her out beneath
him, taking her totally.

The palms of his hands were damp. He dried them awkwardly on
the billowing curtain. What was she doing out there alone on the beach at
night? This was a relatively safe part of the coast, but she was his
responsibility. And he always took care of his responsibilities.

Who was he kidding? Gabriel stopped trying to rationalize
his own actions as he yanked on a pair of jeans and reached for a dark blue
pullover sweater. He wanted to be down there on the beach with her.

Samantha didn’t hear him as he came toward her softly
through the sand. She could hear nothing above the muted roar of the surf, yet
something urged her to glance back toward the house, and when she did she saw
Gabriel’s dark figure advancing toward her with a purposeful stride that was
becoming familiar. Did the man ever do anything without a purpose? she wondered
fleetingly. He must have seen her leave the house and been worried about her
out here alone. Politely she stopped and waited for him to catch up with her.

“You couldn’t sleep?” he asked distantly as he came to a
halt in front of her. The wind feathered the dark mahogany of his hair. His
face was an unreadable mask to Samantha, who peered up at him questioningly.

“No. I had a lot on my mind, and I thought it might help to
walk it off.”

His mouth crooked. “Didn’t you get enough exercise today at
the spa?”

“Oh, my body is worn out. It’s my mind that’s all tied up in
knots.”

He fell into step beside her, not touching her as they continued
slowly along the beach. He forced himself to think about her real business with
him. “If all your facts are correct and you’ve got the guts to go up against Buchanan
when he turns nasty, there’s no real reason why your plan s-s-shouldn’t work, I
suppose,” he began hesitantly.

“With your help,” she amended pointedly, eyes straight
ahead. When he said nothing more, she clenched her teeth and absorbed the sense
of him striding along beside her. His close proximity out here on the lonely windswept
beach generated conflicting emotions deep within her. In one way he made her
feel secure. His solid presence made her feel protected, she realized. But in
another way, he ruffled some atavistic, feminine sense of wariness which she
didn’t understand.

A faint tingling warning came alive in her head. It was
ridiculous, of course. The man was no threat to her. Still, Samantha found
herself moving a little way from him as they walked. He was a little too close.

“Samantha?”

“Hmmm?”

“I think we s-s-should start back toward the house.” Damn it
to hell, Gabriel thought bitterly. Could she hear the extra hard way he was
stumbling over the “
sh
” sound tonight? He never had
been able to say it properly, but here on the beach it sounded worse than
usual. It was the tension. He would have to select his words carefully. Soon
she would be wondering why he was so damn hot and bothered.

“You can go back if you like,” she told him in a remote
tone, her gaze focusing on the blackness of the endless sea. “I think I’ll walk
a little longer. It was very kind of you to come out to keep me company.”

She had the notion he was gritting his teeth and counting
slowly to ten before he said in a very neutral voice, “I’ve already explained
that I am not a kind man.”

“Then why are you out here?”

He put out a hand, catching her wrist and pulling her around
to face him in a swift, striking movement that caught her unawares. It was
rather like hitting the end of a chain which was securely anchored at the other
end in rock, Samantha thought in a flash as she was halted immediately in her
tracks. He was so incredibly
solid
!

The hazel eyes blazed down at her with an intensity that
took away her breath. “You know why I followed you. You’re bright enough to
figure out something as elementary as that, Samantha Maitland. Please don’t play
games with me. The one thing I demand from you is honesty!”

“Is that really all you want from me?” What on earth was she
doing? Even she could hear the provoking challenge in her words. Stupid fool!

“No,” he muttered huskily, dragging her close. “It’s not all
I want from you, but it’s a start.”

Samantha knew an instant of sheer panic as she realized he
was going to take her mouth. He had been right. On some level at least she had
known why he had followed her down onto the beach. She should have run when she’d
seen him crossing the sand toward her.

Yes, she should have run. As far and as fast as she was
able. Samantha had never been so certain of anything before in her life. But it
was too late now. His mouth closed over hers.

It wasn’t at all like being pinned against a rock wall, Samantha
had time to realize in vague wonder as Gabriel gathered her close. It was more
as if she were being absorbed into the dense granite of him.

The unexpectedness of the sensation held her still for the
crucial moment it took for him to find her mouth with his own. Gabriel’s arms
wrapped around her waist and shoulders, and she could feel the hardness of his lower
body as he urged her into the heat there.

His need and desire were as blunt and forceful as the other
aspects of his character. The solid, uncompromisingly aroused feel of his body
sent a tremor through her limbs.

Honest
was another
word which applied, Samantha acknowledged. This man wasn’t playing any
tantalizing games. He wanted her and his undisguised, blatant desire was
strangely compelling.

Gabriel’s mouth moved across hers slowly, determinedly, thoroughly.
Refusing him admittance into the dark, warm chamber behind her lips would have
been like trying to refuse the sea entrance into a shoreline cave as the tide
rose. There was an inexorable quality about the whole procedure, and Samantha
again wondered if anything or anyone could stop this man once he had set
himself on a course of action. There were tactics which could be used against a
devil, but could anyone halt an angel?

The groan came from deep in Gabriel’s throat as his tongue
probed hungrily into the slowly yielding interior of her mouth. The husky sound
had a strange effect on Samantha. Her fingers sank into the material of his sweater,
finding the hard planes of his shoulders. Her body seemed to relax of its own
accord against him. Once inside the warm dampness behind her lips, Gabriel took
his time, exploring and claiming completely.

Half-expecting to find her senses stormed in a rush of masculine
aggression, Samantha experienced an enthralling confusion instead as she
submitted herself to the slow search-and-seizure operation. Gabriel was as
detailed and deliberate as her computer. No point was missed. His tongue swept
deeply, seeking out hers for a twisting, writhing little duel which she could
not avoid.

When the intimate battle was over and he, clearly the victor,
moved on to taste the hollows of the insides of her cheeks, Samantha decided
that the computer analogy only went so far. There was nothing mechanical about
the way this man was making her feel!

A shock of fierce satisfaction and excitement went through
Gabriel as he felt Samantha’s response. It fed the new daring, masculine
recklessness in him as nothing else could have done. The combined power of the sensations
was dazzling. He could feel the softness of her thigh against the hardness of
his own and wanted to strip the clothing from her body even as they stood there
on the beach. Fantasy and reality merged dangerously. In a few more minutes he
would not be able to tell them apart.

Samantha knew she had done far more than allow her body to
simply relax against his by the time Gabriel finally lifted his head with slow
reluctance and stared down into her face. She was literally leaning into him, using
his rocklike strength to support herself. Behind the lenses of her glasses she
tried to narrow her eyes with cool, amused detachment as she met his searching glance,
but it seemed as if she could only look up at him in dazed uncertainty.

“It’s all right, Samantha,” he whispered hoarsely. “Forget
about the business side of this. Tonight there is only you and me.”

“Gabriel,” she pleaded, her voice sounding awkward and
faintly bruised, “I… we can’t separate
the business from the rest. It’s all mixed up together, and I make it a policy
to never combine business and… and the
other.”

“So do I,” he confessed on a strangely unsettling note of
humor. “But it seems as though I don’t have much choice in this case. Samantha,
I want you. Tell me what I have to do to get you tonight.”

Her gaze fell to the level of his shoulder, her senses shaken
by the unvarnished demand. “It’s not a matter of doing something in order to
buy your way into my bed!” she gasped.

He closed his eyes in obvious pain at the mess he had made
of the question, opening them again to confront her deliberately. “I didn’t
mean that the way it sounded,” he began thickly, and then shook his head once
in exasperation. “Oh, hell, maybe I did. I’m a straightforward sort of man,
Samantha.”

Her eyes warmed. “Except when it comes to business?” she
dared to taunt. “You seem quite willing to keep me dangling on that score!”

“Leave business out of this,” he grated, not responding to
her poor attempt to lighten the situation. “We’ll worry about that part later.
Samantha, sweet witch, I’m trying to tell you that I need you tonight. I’ve
been wanting you all afternoon. I’m not used to feeling the way you make me
feel. It’s not like me to invade spas full of naked women. It’s not like me to
deliberately set out to seduce someone who doesn’t show any signs of wanting to
be seduced. And it’s not like me to find my hand shaking when I contemplate
taking a certain woman to bed! Damn it to hell, woman, I’m half out of my mind
with wanting you!”

He had such a way of putting her off guard, Samantha thought
desperately, even as she found herself deeply intrigued by his genuine
self-confusion. Why did he have to be so blunt about the whole matter? It was much
easier and far safer to play small games at a time like this. Games were a way
of dancing around the ultimate question if one didn’t wish to answer it. And she
didn’t want to answer it, not tonight, not with Gabriel. Or did she? God, she
was beginning to get thoroughly confused herself