Sapphire (Rare Gems Series) (9 page)

He knocked on the door twice. They were
there, he was sure of it, but not letting him come in. He knew that they’d gang
up on him, and he really didn’t know why, but that sort of hurt. Blair was walking
back to his car when he saw Annabelle in the garden in the back of the house.
He walked around to see if she’d speak to him.

“She’s pissed at you.” He stopped
walking and stood there while she continued hoeing. “I’ve never seen her so
upset with anyone in my life, and I’ve known her since she was a cub. You might
be better off just getting in the tiny little thing you call a car and getting
out before someone realizes you’re here and tries to kill you.”

“I screwed up badly with her. But I
don’t know what to do when she pisses me off, too.” He heard her laugh and
dropped his head in shame. “I’m an asshole, but I don’t mean to hurt her. I
have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing with her or for her because whenever
I get close enough to find out, I open my mouth and screw things up.”

“Yes, you do, but admitting you’re an
idiot is the first step of many to the road to recovery. You messed up as badly
as Jeffery, her old alpha did. But yours ran deeper.” She stopped hoeing and
turned to look at him. “She’s starting her own business. And she’ll make a go
of it too, without your help. You should learn something from this in the event
you get a second chance at having a mate again.”

“She’s not going to be my mate?” She
shrugged and went back to work. “I would like your help. I know I have no right
to ask this of you, but I’m going to try harder and not at pissing her off if I
can help it. I guess she’s going to give me a run for my money before I can even
think to make it work with her, isn’t she? I…my dad is a horrible flirt, and I
worked so hard at not being him that I’ve forgotten how to be human around
women.”

That statement startled him. He’d never
realized until just then how much he didn’t want to be like his father when he
was the greatest man he knew. Annabelle told him to get to work, and he bent to
pick up a hoe. Taking off his jacket and tie, he watched what she was doing so
as not to harm the little plants that seemed to be thriving despite her
vigorous work. He was going to be as careful with them as he planned to be with
Sapphire, because deep down he knew this was some sort of test from her.

“She’s not like her sisters. She seems
to have it in her head that she’s not as pretty as them or as smart. She is
more than they’ll ever be because she’s what she is.” He stopped and looked at Annabelle
to see if she was serious. “‘Course, no man ever treated her like she was, so
it’s no wonder that she doesn’t believe me when I tell her. You ever say that
to her?”

Had he? He doubted it. Blair worked a
little more before he took off his shirt and worked in his dress pants and tee-shirt.
He hadn’t done anything like this in a very long time, and had forgotten what
it felt like to work the earth. Even the sweat trickling down his back felt
good on him.

“My mother died when I was six.” He had
no idea why he said that, but it felt good. “I’ve been around men most of my
life. My dad and uncles were all I had growing up because my aunts were left
home to care for the children. I guess all my interaction with women was mostly
my dad flirting with them and making them gush and simper. I hated it. It…I was
embarrassed by him.”

“He is a flirt, but mostly he’s
harmless.” She moved to the next row and showed him what was planted there. “He
called me just before you showed up. Then he talked to Sapphire. Don’t know
what they said, but she was laughing when she hung up. It was good to hear
after all the crying last night and today.”

Blair nodded. He’d caused her to cry all
night and felt like a real shit because of it. He decided that he was going to
tell her there was no more crying, then decided that would more than likely get
his ass kicked. He knew these women were protective of him, and shit like that
spilling from his mouth would have them all on him in two heartbeats.

“I really hurt her. I don’t want to do
that again.” She nodded. “Annabelle, could you please help me? I want to make
this up to her. I want to…I need to have her in my life. She’ll be good for
me.”

“If she doesn’t kill you. Or one of her
sisters doesn’t first. They’re a mite pissed at you, too. Especially Emerald. That
girl was nearly raised by her sister, and she’s putting her through college,
her and Ruby. They’re going to be fine after they get out in a couple of years.
Ruby will graduate this year and be a nurse like Diamond before she goes back
and becomes a doctor. Emerald is gonna be a fine teacher. She loves children.”
She stopped working and looked up at the house, then back at him. “She’s in her
room. You know where it’s at.”

He nodded. “Does she have a gun?” When
she didn’t laugh, he told her he was sorry. “I don’t love her, but I’ve grown
to like her and her spirit.”

“She does have plenty of that.” She took
the hoe from him. “A good man would go in and tell her how stupid he was. A
great man would do it on his knees. A man who wants her to ever love him would
beg her to forgive him and keep his mouth shut when she starts to tell you she
doesn’t want you, then he’d take her to bed. What sort of man are you, Blair?”

“I don’t love her, as I’ve said. I don’t
know if I ever will, but I do want her in my life.” She nodded and turned back
to her garden. “Why are you doing this for me?”

“I’m not. I’m doing this for her.” She
turned her back to him, but not before he saw the tears. “You hurt her again,
Blair, and I’ll murder you long after I make you pay. I’m old, but I’m still as
mean as a wolf protecting her cubs.”

He believed her and walked over and
kissed her cheek. When she moved back to her hoeing, he went to the house. It
was time for him to grovel. And he was going to be the man she might love for a
long time if he had to promise her whatever she wanted to forgive him. The house
was silent when he made his way up the long staircase.

Chapter 9

Sapphire moaned when she felt the
muscles in her back being rubbed. No one had given her a massage before, and it
felt good, even if it was only a dream. When her feet were being rubbed, each
toe massaged until she felt as if it was jelly, she decided that whatever she’d
had before napping was going to be her choice of food from now on if it gave
her dreams like this one.

“You’re so tense.” Blair. His voice
seemed to pour over her, and she moaned again. “If you lay on your belly, I’ll
do your entire back.”

Moving the way her dream told her, she
frowned. This wasn’t right. She was pissed at him. Why was she dreaming of him?
Lifting her head, she looked back over her shoulder to see him straddling her
and working her muscles. She flipped over so fast he nearly fell off the bed,
mores the pity.

“What are you doing?” He moved to stand
next to the bed and stared at her chest. She yanked the cover over her nakedness
and glared at him. “I want you to leave.”

“I’d like to talk to you if you don’t
mind.” She snorted and moved to cover more of her as he sat down in her desk
chair. “Please.”

“I think you’ve said plenty. And I don’t
care for you right now. So if you wouldn’t mind leaving, I’ve got work to do.” He
looked at the door, then back at her, but didn’t move. “I mean it.”

“I’m a failure.” She didn’t know what to
say to that so didn’t say a word. “I not only failed you but my father, your
family, as well as anyone else that’s tried to help me figure out what I’m supposed
to do with you.”

“Do with me?” She nearly sat up to tear
into him and remembered at the last minute she was naked. “Get out.”

“I didn’t say that right.” He stood up
to pace and looked at her. “Are you completely naked under that blanket?”

“Yes. Not that it’s any of your
business.” He nodded and paced again. “Are you leaving?”

“Will you get up and throw me out if I
don’t?” She shook her head. “Then no. I sort of have you captive, and I need to
talk to you. It’s about what I did.”

“You’ll have to be more specific; you’ve
done a lot.” He nodded, seemingly distracted. “Blair, will you please either
sit down or get out. I’ve got a pounding head ache, and you’re not helping. Then
I have to get up and shower. I have a great deal to accomplish today, and you
being here is not going to get them finished. Either say what you have to say
or get the hell out.”

“I’m not in love with you,” he said when
he sat down. “I like you well enough. I’m even beginning to have a great deal
of…no, that’s not right. I very much respect you. You see something you want
and you simply go and get it. You don’t like something or someone, you just cut
them out of your life. I’m beginning to think I don’t want to be cut from your
life. I’d like for you to help me.”

She was sure he meant it as a compliment,
but for the life of her, she couldn’t see it. He seemed to be hard at work on a
problem, and she had the overwhelming urge to go over and comfort him. But that
was simply out of the question. When he looked at her, she could see that he’d
come to a monumental decision and she was going to hate it; she just knew it.

“I’d very much like to move in here with
you and try to…I don’t know…see if we can make it without killing each other.” She
knew it was going to have to do with sex and nearly told him no when he
continued. “I can sleep in another part of the house if you’d like. I would
love to sleep with you, but it’s not the main reason I want to move in. I’ve
been thinking of how little we see each other and we fight when we’re not
making love. I want to run with you too. In your back woods.”

He leaned back in the chair and looked
around the room. She wasn’t sure this was going to be a good idea. Him living
here with her sisters and grandmother would be bad. They’d kill him, and if
they didn’t, she most certainly would. Unless she asked them not to. Then he
might survive for a week before she did it anyway. When he didn’t speak for
some minutes, she did.

“I have my own business now.” He nodded
as if he knew. “I guess Bruce told you. I’ve told him I’d do freelance stuff
for him, but I’m not working for him. I think I’ll benefit more if I don’t work
for either of you. I need to be in control of myself, and you two are too
controlling. And if you say you’re not, I will get up and knock your lights out.”

“I wasn’t going to. As much as I hate to
admit it, I think you’re right. You’re brilliant as a marketer and amazing at
advertising as well. Bruce went on and on about how you’ve saved him countless
accounts and that you get the job finished quickly, too, and professionally. I’m
excited to see you at work.” He put his elbows on his knees and looked at her
as he continued. “But this thing between us, it’s not going to get any better,
is it?”

“I don’t think so. And I’m pretty sure
that the more we try to avoid it the worse it’s going to get.” She looked longingly
at the desk where her things were waiting for her to get started on. “I don’t
know what to do with you, either.”

Moving in was a big step. Major because
she still wanted to keep him away but knew that he was right. This thing
between them was going to drive them both crazy before it was finished. But
they’d either survive this or not. She thought they were both kidding each
other if they thought they could be mates.

“There are four extra rooms in this
house. I’ve taken the one next to this one as an office until I can find
something downtown. You can pick and move in if my family thinks it’ll be all
right.” She waited for him to say something, and when he only nodded, she
continued. “I don’t respect you, but it’s only because all I’ve seen is how you’ve
dealt with me and not others. Like with Bruce, I’ll work some freelance for you,
but you piss me off and I’ll cut you off at the throat.”

Blair stood up and looked down at her.
She was afraid he’d get into bed with her, but she was more terrified that she’d
not turn him away. When he put out his hand, she wasn’t sure what he wanted,
and then he smiled. She took his hand and shook it.

“I have to get back to work, but I would
very much like to come back and talk with your family with you. Can I come for
dinner? I want to try and convince them that I can be a nice guy, and you as
well.” She nodded and pulled at her hand, but he held it. “I won’t disappoint
you, Sapphire, or at least I’ll try not to. I’ll make this work. I’m not saying
I won’t piss you off, but I will work hard at making this work out.”

When he took her hand to his mouth and
kissed it, she felt her body respond. Before she could invite him in the bed or
tell him to let go, he stepped back. She watched as he adjusted his cock. When
he turned and left the room, she laid there for several minutes trying to get
her body to calm down. The fucking man was going to kill her. And she couldn’t
wait for dinner tonight.

~~~

Blair made it back to his office with
only having to pull over three times to take deep breaths. He kept thinking
this was going to work, but then he’d think about her being naked in her bed
while he was going to be living there with her. Knowing that she slept in the
raw was going to be hard on him and his poor abused body.

By the time he made it to his office,
he’d called his dad three times. He wanted him to go with him tonight. He
wasn’t sure if he’d be a help or not, but he wanted him there by his side. Plus,
it didn’t hurt that the women of the Erickson household liked his dad a great
deal more than they liked him. His phone was ringing as he was getting his
messages from Justine.

“So you’re going to face the lioness are
you? Are your insurance policies paid up?” He smiled at his dad’s greeting. “I
would say wear something you don’t care about, but I hope they tear up one of
your suits. Might make you seem more human if they were to see you in a pair of
jeans and not a suit and tie. I know it would me.”

“I’m sorry. More sorry than I’ve ever
been about anything in my life. I should have listened to you, and more
importantly, I shouldn’t have been such a grade-A fuck.” His dad laughed, and
since he didn’t hang up on him, Blair continued. “I have to go and convince the
others that I’m trying. And Sapphire has said if they approve, I can move into
one of the spare bedrooms and try to make this work.”

“You think sleeping down the hall from
your mate is going to work? I’m thinking you’re going to be at each other
quicker than I can say squat four times. What do you think is going to do for you
beside show her what a horny bastard you are?” He flushed. “But I can see where
it might help you. Being around women, especially around those women, will
either teach you to respect them or they’ll more than likely kill you and bury
you in the back woods. Those women are strong, son. Are you sure about this?”

“No. But I have to do something. I’m
afraid if I don’t at least try, then…well, I don’t want to go the whole rest of
my life wondering if I had something great and was too pig-headed to realize it.”
He leaned back in his chair. “I was wondering if you’d go with me. Not to endorse
me, but to sort of calm them a little if I say something stupid.”

Blair didn’t say he was afraid he’d say
something stupid again, thinking his dad would agree with him, and he didn’t
want to make him mad. His dad was an amazing man, he’d just come to realize, and
he wanted him beside him when he did this. He might even ignore the fact that
his dad was going to embarrass him by flirting with them, but he needed him.

“I’m not saying I’ll go, but what time
is this thing? I got myself a date tonight, and I don’t know if I want to
cancel it if you’re going to get us both killed.” He hoped so, too. He told him
what time he’d been told to be there.

“Thanks, Dad. One more thing…I want to
make a better impression. What would you propose I take with me?”

His dad’s laughter didn’t inspire him to
be confident in his answer, but when he calmed a little, his dad told him. Blair
wrote it all down, and after he hung up, he looked the list over.

Wear something less stiff.
He remembered
that he had a pair of jeans in his closet, but wasn’t sure if they were decent
or not. Then he realized it was probably better if they weren’t. And he knew
that somewhere in the back of one of his drawers was a tee-shirt he’d worn to
the gym when he had time to go, but nothing more than that. A dress shirt,
maybe untucked, was going to have to do.

Take a plant for Annabelle; a tree would
be great, apple.
Blair asked Justine for help on that one, and she laughed all the way to her
desk. He was working on his list at numbers three through five when she came
back.

“What on earth do you have to take her
this tree with? You can’t just shove a large plant like this in a limo, and
that little sports thing you drive can barely fit you, much less a good-sized
tree. You know what you need? You need a truck. Go out and do something manly and
purchase you a truck. You can drive one, can’t you?”

He’d always wanted a big truck but had
never thought them practical. But he was working on not being practical all the
time and thought this was a good beginning. Blair knew nothing about them and
decided that today he’d go look on his lunch hour, and added that to his list
of things to do. Besides, he would need it to move his few things to Sapphire’s
house.

He was just getting his list covered
when his dad came in to his office. He sat down as Blair was finishing up a
phone call with Bruce. His dad smiled.

“I just saw Sapphire down the street.
She was having a…I guess I’d call it a discussion with someone that you know. Peter
Slack, remember him?” Blair nodded and picked up his jacket to go and help her
out when he realized that would be just stupid on his part and sat back down. “Good
boy. You might just make this work. Anyway, I made a call, and she’s looking to
rent her an office space. He has one right around there, and I wonder if she’s
thinking of renting from him. You think he’ll cut her a square deal?”

“Slack would cheat his own mother if he
could make a profit. And I’m pretty sure he has on occasion, too. It’s why she
sued him a few years back.” He took a deep breath. “How do I get her to not
rent from him and still be a good guy to her? Christ, this is going to be hard
to stay out of her business.”

“Nah, it doesn’t have to be. Just ask
before you leap to take over. Justine said you were going out?” He nodded. “No
reason it won’t take you right by her, can it? She’s on the main drag last I
saw her. She’s probably there still. Go on out and be casual about it. Think
about how much you’d like her help if’n you were trying to find something to
rent. You can be subtle. I’ve seen you do it in meetings.”

“I think I’d rather face a room full of
angry clients than Sapphire on a good day. She, and no fault of hers, seems to
bring out the worst in me.” Blair picked up his jacket and then put it back. This
wasn’t a meeting he thought, but a happenchance.

Blair left the building with his dad,
and when he pointed toward the car dealership down the block, Blair had his
reason. He started walking and loosened his tie so that it hung askew and tried
to convince himself that no one but him really cared what the hell his tie
looked like. He saw her standing in front of another empty storefront that
Slack owned. She turned to look at him, and he knew she was pissed off. And for
once, not at him.