Unbelievable (4 page)

Brandi’s heart thudded against her ribs. He’d just given
her incredible insight into his character, showing her his morals and his priorities. It was amazing, but she suddenly trusted him. This man was a protector, a man of honor.

And he’d offered to let her be the boss. It was such an intriguing notion—one that worked nicely with her plan to take charge of her life and move forward. She knew now, without a single doubt, he’d abide by her rules.

She hadn’t figured out exactly what her rules would be yet, but she had time to worry about that. With a burst of unusual confidence, she decided to take the chance. She thrust her hand toward him and waited.

He looked at her, then at her hand. One glossy black eyebrow lifted, and there was amusement in his green eyes. He took her hand. “What are we shaking on?”

“I’ll go to the resort with you.”

“Ah.” His grin was wide, putting deep dimples into his lean cheeks. “It was the lulling sound of my voice that brought you around, wasn’t it? The practiced way I repeat a story? No? Then you were convinced by the way I sprawl so elegantly in a seat?”

She gave him her own grin, feeling somewhat smug. “Actually, Mr. Sinclair, I understand now that you can be trusted to stick to your word. You said I’d be the boss, and that for all intents and purposes, I own you for the next five days. I realized I couldn’t possibly pass up such an opportunity. But I won’t let you forget,
I’m
the one in charge.”

His dark lashes lowered until she couldn’t see his eyes, but his grin was still in place. “Believe me, honey. I won’t be able to forget.”

T
HINGS WERE MOVING
too quickly. The plane wasn’t at all crowded, especially in first class where Shay had put them, but the emptiness only added to Brandi’s growing anxiety. Looking out the window, Brandi could see a light rain falling. She hated flying at night. She hated flying, period, but at least this was a rational fear shared by millions.

Which offered her not one bit of comfort.

Flexing her shoulders, she tried to relieve some of the tension, but that only caused her to bump into Sebastian. The man took up too much space with his large frame and even larger masculinity. When he was there, he was…
there,
and it simply wasn’t possible to ignore his presence.

Shay hadn’t given them much time to prepare for the trip, presumably because she thought Brandi might chicken out. Not that she would have. She was determined to see things through. But Shay wasn’t taking any chances. She’d seen to every single detail—and she’d gone overboard in the luxury department.

She’d sent a retainer back to Brandi’s house to pack her bags and bring them to the hotel where the auction had been held. The flight had been scheduled only a few
hours after Brandi agreed to go. A limo had taken them to the airport, and a limo would await them when they landed, to whisk them off to the resort. There would be a rental car at their disposal.

Sebastian had planned on leaving the auction with a woman, so he’d brought his luggage with him. Before they’d left, he’d changed into a pair of khaki slacks and a black polo shirt. Brandi had been too flustered at the rush to pay much attention to his new attire at first. But now, with nothing to distract her from the impending flight, she looked him over.

His biceps were massive, stretching the short sleeves of the shirt. The dark color caused his green eyes to look even greener and the fit emphasized his broad muscled chest. The pants, stretched taut by his sprawl, emphasized…

Brandi jerked her gaze upward. A black-banded watch circled his thick wrist, and the shadow of his beard was now more pronounced. She jumped when he said her name.

“What?”

He opened his hand palm up on the elbow rest. “Nervous?”

She didn’t accept his gesture. She couldn’t. To do so would have been admitting to a weakness. And she’d gotten too good at denying her fears to admit to one of them now—not even a small one. “About what?”

“I don’t know.” His voice was quiet, calming, his expression very intent. She had the feeling he knew exactly how to soothe a person; his movements were too practiced and perfect. “Everything—me, the trip, the flight.”

Twisting in her seat she looked at him more fully. Many of the other passengers were napping and had turned out their lights. His face was shadowed, exaggerating the sharp cut of his jaw, the high bridge of his straight nose. The deep awareness in his green eyes.

There was absolutely no chance of Brandi falling asleep.

She frowned in suspicion. “Shay told you how I feel about flying, didn’t she?”

“Yeah.” He stared down at her. “It’s no big deal. I have my own store of phobias. Maybe some day I’ll tell you about them.”

This hulking mass of muscle was admitting to fears? The mountain had phobias? Brandi couldn’t quite believe it. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.” He wiggled his fingers. “Now give me your hand. It helps, I swear.”

The plane began taxiing toward the runway and Brandi hastily slipped her hand into his. His skin felt incredibly hot against her chilled fingers. She looked down in surprise.

Sebastian smiled. “Your fingers are like ice.”

“It’s cold in here.” Dumb, to sound so defensive about such a ridiculous thing. But his heat was seeping into her, making her tingle, making her breathless. She tried to moderate herself and take a more reasonable tone. “I can’t believe you’re so…hot.”

Oh, great going, Brandi.
Now she’d amused him. She could tell by his slight smile and the teasing glint in his eyes. Still, he didn’t provoke her. When he spoke, his words were soft and even. “Most men naturally have a higher body temperature than women. Probably has
something to do with muscle density.” He flexed his hand, turning it over so that his was on top. “I’ve always loved a woman’s hands. They’re small and delicate, but usually pretty damn strong.” He squeezed her hand gently. “Yours is nice.”

Brandi stared at him. That low rough voice of his could be lethal, and she suspected he knew it. He examined her hand as if he’d never seen one before. All that attention was making her stomach jumpy again, although now, the feeling was somewhat pleasant. “What are you up to?”

He chuckled. “You think I’m trying to seduce you?”

She blanched. He could fluster her with a look, but the things he said… Feeling like a fool, she shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not…used to this sort of thing.”

He smiled. “Actually, I was only trying to distract you while the damn plane got off the ground. And it worked, didn’t it?”

Stunned, she turned to look out the window, and found only endless black sky. She drew a deep breath and faced him again. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Good.” He turned to look at her more fully, unhooking his seat belt with one hand and glancing around to make certain no one could hear them. Since most everyone was sleeping, they had some measure of privacy. Brandi released him to undo her own belt, all the while watching the way he moved, the way his shoulders flexed, how his straight dark hair brushed his collar and fell over his brow. She’d never been so intrigued by a man, by his smallest movement or gesture.

She wanted to hold his hand again. In fact, there were other places she wanted to touch him besides his hands. But it could be so risky….

“Now, about seducing you…”

Good lord, it wasn’t a topic to discuss.
“Sebastian, really, there’s absolutely no need…”

“Yes, there is. I want you to understand that I won’t pressure you in any way. I know this vacation is set up to be romantic, but it doesn’t have to be if that’s not what you want. We can do whatever you like. Take walks, play chess, hell, you can tell me to leave you completely alone if that’s what you want. But if you decide you want anything from me—”

“I won’t!” The protest sounded panicked even to her own ears.

“You’ll have to tell me. What we’re doing now, talking and getting to know each other, that isn’t about sex, okay? It’s about getting comfortable with each other. I know you didn’t want to come on this trip, but I’m glad you did. So if I do anything or say anything that in any way makes you uneasy, I want you to tell me. Agreed?”

Again, she chewed her lip, then nodded. He was touching on a topic she hadn’t expected to have to face. Especially not this soon. Now that he’d brought it up, though, she couldn’t help thinking, wondering what
he’d
think if he knew precisely why she’d been so resistant to the vacation.

He wanted her to tell him if she wanted anything? She’d never have the nerve. But now she really wished she did.

S
EBASTIAN’S ARM WAS NUMB
, but he didn’t mind. He liked having her sleep against his side. The limo rode smoothly, the air was quiet and he liked seeing her this
way—relaxed, without those impenetrable mental shields to protect her.

He looked down at her, carefully tucked a wayward curl behind her ear, then touched her smooth warm cheek. Being asleep, she didn’t jump away or show her displeasure over his touch.

Having her this close was playing havoc with his libido. She had one leg tucked beneath her, so her dress had hiked up, her knees were peeking out at him and he could see a bit of pale thigh. The sight held his attention for a long moment. One of her shoes had fallen off and he pondered how tiny that foot looked next to his own size fourteens. Her foot was slim, high arched…Good grief, he could hardly believe such a thing could arouse him, but there was no denying the stirring of desire.

He was in bad shape when a woman’s foot turned him on.

Warm breath bathed his throat as she sighed deeply in her sleep. Her nose touched just below his jaw, her unruly hair tickled his cheek and one small plump breast pressed into his ribs.

The stirring grew until he had a devil of a time ignoring the reactions of his own body. But she was tuckered out, poor little thing, probably as much emotionally as physically, and he had no intention of waking her. The plane ride had been difficult enough; she didn’t need to know how much he wanted her. Especially since the feeling didn’t appear to be mutual.

They’d only been in the limo for a little over fifteen minutes when she’d passed out. She didn’t fade out gradually like most people did. No, when Brandi went to
sleep it was like watching someone faint dead away. One minute she’d been sitting stiff at his side and staring out the window at the moon-shadowed scenery, the next she had slumped into him, giving him all of her slight weight.

He wanted to pull her into his lap, to cuddle her…to kiss her. She was by far the most intrinsically sensual woman he’d ever known. And when she suddenly wakened, stretching along his side like a cat and yawning hugely, he couldn’t stop himself from giving her a light hug.

Her eyes snapped open and she jerked away from him. Well, he’d expected as much. She was sexy, but she wasn’t interested in him.

Sebastian forced a smile. “I hope the nap helped.”

“How long have I been sleeping?”

Her eyes were huge, wary, almost accusing. “About forty minutes. We should be at the lodge soon.”

She fussed beside him, smoothing down her hair, tugging at the hem of her dress, rubbing her hands together. Watching her made him want her, so he looked away.

“Are you okay?”

The hesitant question had him turning toward her again. “I’m fine. Why?”

“I don’t know. You seem…tense.”

Tense and aroused and…almost needy. She’d tied him into more knots tonight than he’d ever experienced while growing up dirt-poor. He’d suffered plenty of rejections as a child and he’d grown accustomed to them. But as an adult, he hadn’t allowed anyone to make him feel this way. He
gave
assistance, he didn’t
need
it.

But now he wanted a woman who didn’t want him
back. The idea didn’t sit well with his adult pride. So he gave her only a partial truth.

“I’m not comfortable with all this luxury. The first-class tickets, the limo. The money could have been better spent elsewhere.”

For once her expression softened and the look she gave him had him struggling for breath. He had to swallow back a groan. The driver of the limo was silent behind his privacy window, set on his course. The shadowy darkness of the car and the quiet of the night only added to the intimacy of the whole enterprise. And if she didn’t quit looking at him like that, he’d lose control.

Brandi didn’t appear to notice his trouble. “I’m sure our vacation plan is more extravagant than anyone else’s. But then that’s Shay—extravagant to a fault, especially with the people she loves. I knew the minute she decided to involve me in the trip, she’d take a personal interest. I wouldn’t be surprised if everything was top-of-the-line.” Then she tilted her head. “Does it really bother you so much? Most people would love to be pampered with a limo and such.”

Undecided on how much to tell her, Sebastian hesitated. It was a rather personal topic, and not the easiest thing for him to talk about. But then Brandi touched his wrist and when he looked at her, his entire body tightened.

“It’s all right, Sebastian. I didn’t mean to pry.”

He went down without a whimper. He wanted to talk to her, to gain her trust. And this was as good a place to start as any. Leaning his head back against the soft leather upholstery of the seat, he said, “I grew up poor.”

“I see.”

He chuckled. “No, you don’t. I’m not saying we couldn’t afford a new car, I’m saying we barely afforded food. Half the time the electricity was turned off. Back then, hot water was a luxury, and in our neighborhood a peek at a limo would have been considered prime entertainment.”

Brandi watched him, comprehension in her wide eyes. “So, wasting money still bothers you?”

“Bothers me? Yeah, it bothers me. I guess I learned to be especially thrifty—I had to, in order to make the food last. Now, even though money isn’t an issue with me anymore, squandering it, even if it isn’t mine…Well, it makes my stomach cramp. The only thing I’ve ever been extravagant with is my house. It gives me a kind of security I can’t get anywhere else.”

He waited for her reaction. He’d never before trusted a woman enough to share those personal thoughts. Admitting to such a weakness might have detracted from the image women had of him, and could have disillusioned anyone.

But Brandi didn’t pull away. Instead, she took his hand, entwining her fingers with his. That one small gesture was so full of understanding, so full of giving that he was prompted to go on, knowing that
she
wouldn’t be disillusioned by him or his truths. He wasn’t certain why he knew that, but he did.

“My mother was incredible, trying so hard to make everything work. But she’d come home so exhausted from the extra hours at below minimum wage that she wouldn’t even think of food. I tried to make certain she ate, but there were times when she was just too tired. There were also times when I couldn’t find food to offer her.”

“What about your father?”

He made a rude sound and Brandi squeezed his fingers. She was a tiny woman, half his size, but she had one hell of a grip—he felt it all the way to his heart.

“My father was a drunken, abusive bastard who only drank up what money my mother did make.” He smiled, but it wasn’t a nice smile. “He was the same type of man who keeps the women’s shelters crowded. He wouldn’t work to better his life. Hell, with the way he drank, he couldn’t have kept a job even if he’d wanted to. So he was miserable. And rather than work toward fixing things, he’d turn around and…take out his anger on my mother.”

“He hit her?” Brandi sounded appalled, but Sebastian had been pulled into his own memories, so he just shrugged. “I can’t even count the number of times I got woke up with my father cursing my mother and her crying. It would last for hours.”