The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress (19 page)

“No, Elana.  Don’t do this to us.  I messed up and I’m sorry.  But there’s no way I’m letting you go.  You love me,” he said firmly.  “Come with me and let’s talk about this,” he said.  He didn’t wait for a reply but put a hand under her arm and led her over to the bank of elevators.  He stepped into one of them and moved to the back, letting the others who were rushing to their work stations fill up the remaining space.  She tried to pull away, but there were too many people trying to get on board the elevator.  When Gaston put his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, she gasped, but there wasn’t anything she could do.  If she made a scene, everyone in the elevator would turn around and look at them.

Even though she was as quiet as possible, she still had a hard time keeping her expression blank.  That was due entirely to Gaston because his hands were not still on her body.  To the casual observer, they were just two people standing in the elevator waiting for their floor.  But she felt his hands around her, his thumb rubbing against her ribs, resting just underneath her breast causing her nipples to harden.  She worried that anyone who glanced at her would know what he was doing, or would at least guess since the effect was so obvious to anyone who bothered to look. 

She was pretty sure her face was red with embarrassment as well.  But she tried to maintain her serene expression despite his covert caress.  She wouldn’t give him the pleasure of showing him what he was doing to her.  She could feign boredom as well as the next gal. 

Or so she thought.

By the time they finally reached a floor where the last of the staff stepped off of the elevator, Elana was shivering with need and her knees were about to buckle underneath her.  She wanted to turn around and touch him, but instead, she stepped out of his arms and moved across the elevator, glaring at him until they reached the executive floor. 

He didn’t mind her glaring though.  In fact, he actually chuckled at her mutinous expression.  He’d felt her body shiver against his so she couldn’t fool him that she was entirely angry with him.  Oh, he didn’t deny that she was furious, hurt and feeling things he couldn’t even begin to understand.  But she was also feeling desire and he fanned that need as best he could.

When the elevator doors opened once again, he couldn’t resist putting a hand to the small of her back and leading her down the hallway to his office.  “Cancel my morning meetings,” he said to his assistant who immediately nodded her head efficiently, keeping the curiosity out of her eyes as she simply lifted the phone to follow Gaston’s instructions. 

When the door closed behind the two of them, he leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his massive chest, waiting. 

After moving into the room, she stood in front of one of the long windows to glare back at him, ignoring her curiosity to explore the environment in which Gaston worked.  At first glance, it looked just as sterile as his home, so it was probably just as horrible.  But after placing a large chair in between them, she turned to face him.  Her chin went up defiantly when she took in his stance, knowing that he wouldn’t let her out of his office until he’d had his say. 

“Okay, I’m here.  Tell me what you want to say and then let me clear my materials out of your laboratory.”

That stunned him.  He’d pictured her ignoring him and fighting him every step of the way, but he’d never imagined her abandoning her work.  He knew she’d had too much trouble gaining funding for her idea.  So why was she throwing in the towel now?  He wasn’t sure how to handle her in this mood.  He preferred the fighting, angry Elana over the sad and defeated woman standing in front of him. 

It didn’t matter, he told himself resolutely.  He wasn’t going to let her get away from him.  Not again. 

“I’m sorry, Elana.  What I did seven years ago was stupid and pointless.  And I hurt you more than I realized, not to mention making both of us miserable in the process.  I’m asking you to forgive me for my stupidity.”

She blinked, completely taken aback by his abject apology.  She crossed her arms over her stomach protectively.  “Why should I accept your apology?” she asked, but her determination was faltering.  She’d pictured him demanding she put the past behind them but never in her wildest imaginings had she thought he’d completely accept blame for their breakup.  This was unheard of.  Gaston was strong and powerful. He never admitted defeat.

Okay, so he wasn’t admitting defeat.  In fact, he wouldn’t even let her admit defeat.  But this wasn’t what she was expecting. 

“You’re not playing fair, Gaston.”

He chuckled softly, a deep, sexy sound that make her stomach muscles tighten.  “When have I ever played fair?” he asked, moving forward after pushing away from the door.  “I want you.  I want you in my life forever.  I want all of those things we talked about seven years ago and I’m willing to admit that everything was my fault and I was an idiot.”

Her chin trembled with his words. 

“But don’t let us suffer any longer.”  His heart ached to see her tears spring back into those lovely brown eyes.  “Don’t put us through any more torture for something I stupidly did all those years ago.  I admit I was wrong, honey.  What do I need to do to get us past this?”

She shook her head and couldn’t stop the tears from falling once again.  “Why did you do it?” she asked, her voice cracking with the pain of what they’d both endured. 
“And why all those women, Gaston?”

He sighed and stopped when he was less than a foot away from her. 
“Because I was so furious at the idea of another man touching you.  I couldn’t stand it.”

“
Why did you believe the picture?  And who gave it to you?”

Gaston thought about telling her that her father had sent him the picture, but why push the pain deeper
?  “Does it matter who gave me the picture?  I’m at fault.  I should have ignored the picture.  I should have believed in what we had together.  I didn’t then, but I’m fighting for us now.  I know what we have together is special.  Don’t throw it away again.”  He paused, watching her brown eyes.  “Please.”

Elana was silent for a long moment, looking down at the floor.  She wasn’t sure what to think anymore.  Gaston was still too arrogant, too confident and she wasn’t sure if she could trust him.  But something about him, the way he was standing and the unusual silence was telling her something.  It hinted at
a vulnerability that she’d never seen in him before. 

When she realized that, her heart stopped,
then sped up with a frantic pace, her eyes looking up at his once again.  “If I told you that I’d spent the night with another man last night, what would you say?”

Gaston
jerked, feeling like someone punched him in the gut but then he looked down into her pretty brown eyes.  He almost laughed as his muscles unclenched and he took several steps towards her.  “I would demand that you prove it.”

Well THAT definitely wasn’t what she’d been expecting.  She straightened her shoulders defiantly, her chin lifting somewhat in disbelief.  “I could have!” she snapped back at him.

Gaston actually did laugh this time.  Moving even closer, wanting to pick up the chair that stood between them and toss it to the side.  He understood that she needed the barrier, so he stopped right in front of it.  “You didn’t.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared back at him.  “I think you’re a bit too confident for my peace of mind.”

He leaned forward, his hands sliding into his pockets to keep his hands from reaching out and pulling her into his arms.  “You like my confidence.”

She huffed at that, but silently admitted that he was right.  There was definitely something about his arrogance, that part of him that had absolute control and authority for everything around
him, that she liked.  She stiffened and tilted her head slightly.  “You don’t control me.”

His eyes lit at that challenge and he leaned down even further.  “I could,” he said very softly, very seductively.  “Want me to prove it?” he suggested, his eyes slipping downward, looking at her lips…then lower.  His grin widened when he noticed her breasts, the indentation of her nipples through the soft, pink sweater she was wearing.  When his eyes moved back to look down at hers, she knew he’d seen the evidence of her arousal.  “I think I just did.”

Elana wanted to contradict him, but her body was responding too quickly to his words, and the thoughts she could easily see in his eyes when he looked at her.  “I might have…” she started to say but he simply shook his head, his eyes daring her to lie to him again.  She stopped in mid-sentence, knowing that she couldn’t lie to him very well.  “I just don’t want you to take me for granted,” she explained softly, her body language changing, becoming more welcoming even if she didn’t realize it.  “I want to know that…” she stammered at how to explain her needs.

“That I love you?”
he finished for her.

Her eyes snapped back up to his.  “Yes,” she whispered. 

“And that I’ll never leave you?” 

She started shivering, terrified of asking him for that assurance. 

“Yes,” she finally said, barely audible. 

She wasn’t sure how he accomplished it, but the chair was no longer between them.  His hands simply reached out for her and she willingly stepped into his arms, more than willing to feel as well as hear his assurance.  “I love you, Elana.  And I promise to spend the next fifty years trying to make up to you my stupidity for believing a picture I should have known wasn’t giving me the whole story,” he said, his hands holding her so tightly she could barely breathe.

Elana didn’t care about breathing though.  All she wanted was to feel him, to revel in his strength and know that he was hers and hers alone.  “Why did you do that to us?” she demanded, her cheek against his chest as he held her close. 

“I was an idiot,” was all he said, pulling her up against him.  “But don’t let me do this to us again,” he commanded, lifting her up so that he could kiss her.  “Marry me, Elana!” he growled before his mouth covered hers. 

Since she couldn’t answer him, she just kissed him back, reveling in his power and the extraordinary way he could make her feel. 

When he lifted his head and gave her a moment to breathe, he lowered her feet to the floor and pulled a ring out of his pocket.  He didn’t ask this time but instead, slid the ring onto her finger, then looked down at her, daring her to
take it off.

Elana looked at the beautiful ring and a tear slipped from her lashes.  “It’s beautiful,” she said, her voice shaky with emotion. 

Gaston watched with fascination as she rubbed a long, elegant finger over the diamond.  “When will you marry me?” he asked.

She laughed and shook her head.  “The last time we were together, we talked about a big, church wedding.”

He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands over her arms.  “Is that what you want?”  All he wanted was to get her into a church so he could marry her and know that she was his.  He didn’t care who was there or any of the extraneous things that went along with an elaborate wedding but if she wanted one with all the bells and whistles, she’d have it. 

Placing her hand in the middle of his chest, she looked at the lovely ring and smiled through her tears of happiness.  “I want you.  I don’t care how we go about getting there.”

He laughed, delighted with her response and pulled her closer.  With a swift movement, he lifted her up into his arms, swinging her legs over his arm as he carried her over to his desk. 

Elana laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on while she tried to figure out what he was going to do.  When he simply sat down in his large, black leather chair, settling her on his lap while he picked up his phone, she was even more confused. 
“Gaston?  What are you doing?” she asked, laughing when he tickled her while he pulled her closer. 

He wouldn’t respond, but instead, dialed a number then waited for someone to pick up the phone.  He looked at her as he said, “Deborah, I need to have an elaborate, dream wedding accomplished in one week.  I’m marrying Elana Catelano.  My secretary and her father will give you the guest list.  You’ll need to have wedding dresses sent to my lake house in two days so Elana can choose which one she wants to wear.  Send samples for the possible menu choices to the lake house as well and we’ll e-mail you our choices.”  He didn’t wait for a response but put the phone to his chest.  “What kind of cake do you want?”

Elana’s mind was whirling with everything he was saying and she shrugged her shoulders, not really sure what to say.  “Lemon?” she suggested.

Gaston nodded his head and put the phone back to his ear.  “Lemon wedding cake and make it
look original and colorful but not tacky.” 

With that, he ended the call and called out to his assistant who immediately walked into his office.  Elana tried to slide off of his lap, but Gaston was having nothing of that.  He held her right where she was with a strong hand on her legs.  Since Elana didn’t really want to get up, she didn’t fight him, but her face was burning as the efficient looking woman approached. 

“You’ll need to cancel all of my meetings for the next three weeks,” he said, ignoring the horrified look on the woman’s face.  “I’ll be at my lake house for the next week, and then off on my honeymoon for the following two weeks.  If there’s anything that can’t wait and can’t be delegated, send it to me there.”  With that, he stood up, setting Elana on her feet before he took her hand and pulled her behind him out of the office.  “Make sure I’m not bothered though.”