Give Me All Of You (2 page)

And soon she would be his.

He let his gaze slide insolently down the long length of her golden thighs, exposed in white linen shorts, they left miles of satiny flesh to glisten tantalizingly in the sun. He took his time, then traveled back up to her small furious face with its high cheekbones, thick lashes and a bulk of curly ebony tresses.

Then he m
et her icy glare. Her eyes were narrowed, and they glittered with malice.

He
cracked a toothy grin. “Good to see you Mina.” He meant it. Too bad the feelings still weren’t reciprocated.

Her eyes became stonier,
then she turned and looked past him, shading her eyes from the glare of the afternoon sun.

He followed her gaze towards
the foundation being dug directly behind him.

His smile faltered, his lips thinned.
It was all she or her father cared about. The thought sent a chill through him. Perhaps he shouldn’t have agreed to Hermile’s desperate bargain but it was done. He couldn’t see himself backpedalling, because he’d have to relinquish his claim to Mina, and that he would never do.

“How are things going?” Her tone was brisk, efficient
, her eyes avoided his. “I hope you’ve been working instead of hanging out,” she snapped rudely, not waiting for a response she stared pointedly towards the sea which glistened in the afternoon sunshine.

He reminded himself to be patient, she was just letting off steam for some reason
. He was used to her wasp’s tongue.

But he couldn’t help but bristle at the condemnation in her tone.
He’d bet ten to one that she’d just driven from the perfectly calibrated, air conditioned comfort of her mansion office.

He yanked
a measuring tape from the back pocket of his jeans. “Perhaps you’d like to climb down into the foundation and calculate the level of cement we’ve poured today.” Her eyes flared as hurriedly hushed snickers came from the men. “I’m sure from that comfy vantage point you’ll be able to do the math, figure out how long it took us to dig the hole, mix the cement and pour it,” he raised his eyebrows in innocent expectation.

Her cheeks flam
ed and her soft lips unlocked. He forced himself to look away from her mouth and turned to his men. He’d had enough of an audience.

Joseph
, one of his foremen stood off to the side of the group. He had a round face but there was no cheer in it, only a closed unfriendly expression. Hunter didn’t particularly like him but he was competent and more to the point, Hermile had hired him.

“
Joseph, take the men to the next foundation. Start prepping it.”

He watched until the men turned the corner and
was out of site before facing her again. There were a few things he needed to clarify with Mina Bronswort.

“
Need I remind you that I’m still working for free?”

Her breath hissed in, her e
yes widened with consternation. “That was my father’s idea,” she responded acidly.

She meant to say more but he
held up a hand, halting the all too familiar litany he was growing tired of.

He
pinned her with unflinching eyes. “You keep saying that. Why don’t I believe you? You and your father are desperate to save your crumbling company and you expect me to buy your cock-n-bull story that offering me your hand in marriage as payment for my architectural expertise was
solely
his idea.”

She
stuttered and took several steps back as though he’d attacked her. Which he supposed he had, in a way.

But h
e was having none of that. He was tall and strongly built, and as an added bonus he was also very agile, courtesy of good genetics and constant manual labor.

He advanced on her with slow, deliberately powerful steps
, she fell back. It was about time somebody put the little miss in her place.

He
raised an impudent brow. “Are you running away from me?” He taunted softly.

She
froze in her tracks, and drew herself up to her insignificant height which only brushed the top of his shoulders. Defiance bled from every pore of her rigid, delectable frame.

H
er hazel eyes flashed an arrogant warning.  “Why would I be afraid of one of my employees?” she challenged.

She tipped back to stare into his eyes.
“No matter what agreement you reached with my father to save my company, I’m in charge now, and you will never share my bed.”

Hunter
flinched inwardly from the stinging cut of her words but that didn’t deter him a bit.

She was making promises he could not let her keep. And to top it off, s
he thought talking down to him would put him in his place, like a lowly servant who’d leapt too high.

The little princess was sadly mistaken.
He had not come this far because he was faint hearted or foolish.

He
towered directly over her. He was so close that if he dared he could reach out and trace the individual lines of her long, sooty lashes.

She must’ve read the longing in his eyes, bec
ause she cringed back from him.

His mouth flattened.
She hated the thought of his touch. How would she tolerate being in his bed where he had much more than touching planned?

The picture made him see red.

He gritted his teeth and forced a careless laugh, it came out sounding dry. He eyed her with cynical amusement, “Is that what you think, that I’m slaving away for the chance to share your bed?”

“Isn’t that what you
’ve demanded?” She burst out hotly, her voice high and indignant.

Her uncontrolled ou
tburst went like a bolt to his groin. He closed his eyes for a few seconds to hide the raw need which burned inside them. She would probably run screaming if she knew that her show of anger was only unmasking the passion he’d always sensed beneath her surface.

It only made him want her more
.

He tried to focus on something else. H
er outburst had also contained an edge of fear, pain, the same emotions he’d glimpsed in her eyes when she’d first arrived.

Was
she, under all her bravado, afraid of him? Terrified of the practical implications of the pact that he’d made with her father?

Good
. He reared back, and allowed a low chuckle to rumble in his chest.

She jumped
at the sound but didn’t retreat another step.

That was even better.

She was his perfect match. With lightning speed he reached out and caught her shoulders in a gentle but firm grip.

She recoiled, lashing out at his exposed arms, tea
ring at his skin with pristine and unfortunately sharp nails.

She left a trail of burn
marks along his arms.

He
ignored the minor sting but shook her lightly, “Stop behaving like a selfish child Mina.”

Her head snapped back and s
he glared murder up at him.

He held her fur
ious eyes in a relentless grip, but loosened his fingers on her shoulders. He fought against the urge to smooth the callused pads of his fingers over her silky skin.

He bored into her eyes. “You didn’t have to go along with this. Yo
u’re strong, fierce. You wouldn’t have stood by and let Hermile trade you to me without some small part of you wanting it.” He had to believe that.

D
eep inside he’d caught the faint pull of her body’s awareness to him. He needed to believe that it was longing which could lead to … desire. The thought tantalized as much as it drove him on.

Her eyes welled up with turbulence
, the greens and browns luminescent with fractured emotions. He ached for the chance to settle her mind, to show her there was nothing to fear in a marriage between them.

Frustrated, h
e groaned, it came out low and hungry, hinting at the possibility that he was about to lose control with her.

She sensed it.
Fear widened her eyes. A soft, despairing cry squeaked from between her lips which had fallen open. The pink tip of her tongue peaked shyly out at him from the soft lushness of her mouth.

H
is nostrils flared as he devoured the tempting sight. A tremor went through him as he battled against the urge to reach out and taste her. Suck her pink tongue into his mouth, and pull every drop of sweetness from her body into his.

A cry of refusal tore from her lips.
Her body trembled in his grasp and without warning she ripped herself from his hold.

He
let her go. What he really wanted to do was to grind her to him, instead he took a step back and allowed her to skitter away like a frightened foal scenting danger.

S
he placed several feet of distance between them.

She flung a
furious look at him. Her chest heaved. “I want your resignation,” her voice carried a violent edge like someone on the verge of falling apart emotionally, “and don’t ever touch me again,” she hissed.

He
’d had enough of her for one afternoon. He turned abruptly on the balls of his feet and began to walk away. He stopped a few paces out. Looked back over his shoulder.

She was still
staring angrily after him, her luscious mouth tight, her dark curls billowing out around her in a sudden gust of wind.

She looked like an infuriated witch.

Which wasn’t far from the truth.

From the moment he’
d met her face to face months ago in her father’s study, she’d made him feel things that he’d almost given up hope he could experience again.

His breath went dry
in his throat at the primal beauty she possessed even in the midst of her anger.

Did she know what she did to him, to everyman within sight?

He guessed not, the unaffected lines of her neck and the tilt of her slender body thrust aggressively towards him said anger not malicious vanity was controlling her now.

Strang
ely he took a small comfort from that.

H
e lifted his shoulders in a gesture of helplessness. “I can’t promise I’ll never touch you again, you are after all my fiancé. And I’ll have to take a pass on that resignation request but I’m having dinner with you and your father tonight. We can talk about it then if you prefer.”

He
continued in the direction of his men but not before he’d caught a glimpse of her confused face.

It was a fair bet that s
he hadn’t known about tonight’s dinner.

J
ust who was the true CEO of Bronswort hotel and resorts, Mina or her father? His mouth turned down at the corners. His money was on the latter. Still he couldn’t trust either of them.

W
hat the hell had he gotten himself involved in?

The cobbled pathway snaked towards the genteel one story house tucked within the bosom of numerous trees and flowering plants. The cornucopia of plants shielded both the home and its owner from the curious glances of outsiders.

Mina
grimaced with discomfort. Her throat prickled with apprehension as she neared the secluded front entrance.

N
o pretty flowers could erase the turmoil which the woman beyond this door caused her. And today was her birthday.

She sucke
d in a harsh breath and raised clenched knuckles.

The door swung open
before her knuckles could connect. Fresh daylight raced inward and illuminated the pretty scatter of pastel furniture in blues and soft pinks.

Josephine’s
eerily composed face smashed into her consciousness.

Involuntarily
Mina felt her mouth tighten painfully as the polite greeting she’d rehearsed countless times died on her lips.

She heaved a breath but she couldn’t escape her
mother’s mysterious, compelling stare.

Joseph
ine was both Indian and black, but everything except the rich bulk of her raven black braid twisted into a thick knot down her back decried her mixed blood.

He
r skin was the color of midnight, face a perfect moon, and dark, glossy eyes that were all the more startling for their forthrightness.

She was stunning.

“Hello Mina,” Josephine voice was a gravelly rasp, as sensuous and exotic as she was.

Mina swallowed hard, forced the tighten muscles in her throat into compliance
. “Happy birthday,” the words were flat, without the warmth that should’ve been expected from such a greeting.