Stormy Challenge Read online

  “Court! Don’t!” Leya’s voice was muffled in the sheepskin. He paid her words no attention, sliding his hand smoothly under the yellow sweater and up to her breast. At the touch, her breath was suddenly blocked. When his fingers undid the front clasp of her bra and slid across to begin a rough teasing pattern on the nipple, she could only suck in air on a gasp.

  “Listen to your body, not your head, sweetheart,” Court ordered thickly as he held the prize of the hardened top of her rounded breast. “God knows mine is screaming loudly enough at me! I can’t believe yours isn’t clamoring just as madly. We want each other, little Leya. Why shouldn’t we satisfy that want?”

  “There are a few things missing from this relationship, damn you!” she rasped, knowing herself helpless to continue fighting the effect he had on her for long. It enveloped her, absorbed her, seduced her sense of touch in the same way that the isolated beach did. The heat of his body was a delicious counterpoint to the crisp, chilled breeze. The earthy, tantalizing scent of him filled her nostrils like the smell of the sea, and the feel of his hands was as alluring as the sight of a storm on the waves. He could not have chosen a more overwhelming setting than the beach to make overwhelming, mastering love to her, she acknowledged miserably.

  “What’s missing from our relationship, Leya?” he whispered beguilingly, his hand slipping down from her curving fullness to flatten appreciatively on the skin of her stomach. He must have sensed her reaction because in another moment he was letting his fingertips trespass inside the waistband of her jeans. Leya shivered violently. Desperately, she tried to pull her wandering senses together, too conscious of the new seduction in his lips as they explored the exposed nape of her neck.

  “Try love for starters!” she cried into his shoulder.

  “It will come in time,” he assured her in soft persuasion. “Give yourself a chance. You can fall in love with me…”

  “I’m not particularly interested in a one-sided situation!” she hissed.

  “You want me to fall in love with you?” Court gave a soft, knowing chuckle. “Even if I were to fall in love with you, I’d be a fool to admit it, wouldn’t I? Especially at this point! You’d use the information like a loaded gun!”

  Leya ground her teeth, hating the humor she felt in his chest. He was determined to make a joke of it!

  “We’ll worry about falling in love later,” he went on easily, sliding his hand along the edge of the jeans until he reached the small of her back. She could feel him playing with the tiny, fine golden hairs he found there, and her body throbbed in response. “There are other matters to settle between us first,” he concluded, sounding decisive.

  “Love isn’t the only thing I’d want out of a relationship,” she swore forcefully. “There are a lot of other things you’re equally incapable of giving!”

  “Such as?” He put out his tongue and touched the small bones of her shoulder with its tip.

  “Such as respect and equality, to name a couple!”

  “Now that’s an unfair accusation,” he muttered. “I have every intention of teaching you to respect me. It’s one of my highest priorities, in fact.”

  “That’s not what I meant, damn you!” she wailed, wishing she could move just enough to sink her teeth into him or pummel his ribs again. But he still held her caged.

  “Ah, you’re afraid I don’t respect you!”

  “It’s quite obvious you don’t!”

  “You’re wrong, Leya. I have a very healthy respect for your strength and your intelligence and your independence. The same sort of respect I have for a female lion. But a man has to tame wild things somewhat if he intends to enjoy them in some measure of safety. I wanted to try a gentling approach first. That’s why you got off so easily last night. But if that doesn’t work…”

  “I’m surprised you are willing to devote the energy it would take to control me,” Leya ground out bitterly. “I got the impression you enjoyed a leisurely approach to life!”

  “I do. It’s one of the things we have in common,” he grinned and she felt his teeth on her skin. “Don’t worry. This little flare-up between us is a temporary thing. Once the dust has settled, we’ll both be able to lapse happily back into our normal, serene lifestyles.” He sounded pleased at the prospect.

  Leya froze in sudden anguish. My God! she thought helplessly, he sees me as some sort of temporary toy to relieve a small stretch of boredom he’s passing through! It was either that or he was convinced she would undermine his influence with Keith. Those were the only two reasons Leya’s agile mind could come up with for Court’s apparent interest in her as a lover. She had been an idiot during the past two days to think he was genuinely attracted to her!

  And how typical of a man to think that the best way of controlling a woman, whether for one’s own pleasure or for business reasons, was to take her to bed!

  Four

  “If you’ve quite finished with the explanation you brought me down here for, do you mind letting me go back to the inn?” Leya managed to mumble into Court’s shoulder.

  She felt his alert silence and then he said carefully, “That depends. Are you going to accept the explanation?”

  “You actually want me to forgive you for your deceit?” she muttered disbelievingly.

  “I want you to understand why I did it and let us both start over again. Hell, Leya,” he went on wryly, “I know we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot because of that contract….”

  “Your perception is blinding!” she interrupted scathingly.

  “But I’m asking you to forget it and let us start fresh,” he persisted doggedly. “I want you so much, little Leya, and I know the feeling is mutual. You can’t hide it from me. In the past couple of days, we’ve gotten too close.”

  “And if I don’t agree to forgive and forget?”

  He sighed deep in his chest. “Then we’ll do things the hard way.”

  “Meaning?” she gritted, as his hand slid out from under the sweater. The loss of its warmth was unexpectedly depressing, and she could have kicked herself for the irrational reaction.

  “Honey, don’t push me,” he replied steadily. “Just give me a chance. Please?” Slowly, he loosened his grip, not setting her completely free, but allowing some distance between them.

  Leya watched him through resentful eyes, disgusted to find a tiny spark of humor flicker to life at the effort he was making to appear encouragingly repentant.

  “You don’t grovel very well,” she noted grimly.

  “Is that what you want me to do?” he rapped interestedly, tortoiseshell eyes flickering with an unreadable expression.

  “It would be a start, but don’t fret,” she added quickly, flinging up a hand. “I don’t expect it of you!”

  “Leya, from now on I guarantee that everything between us will be honest and straightforward,” he replied earnestly. His large hands moved to zip up the down jacket.

  “Or else they’ll be sneaky and underhanded. One of the two, right?” she retorted cheekily, rapidly regaining her nerve as she recognized that his impassioned anger of a few moments earlier was fading.

  “I’m trying to be patient…” he began forcefully.

  “Why? Because you’re hoping I’ll give in to your blandishments and therefore be much less taxing to handle?”

  The hint of a smile touched his mouth. “I’ll have to admit life would be simpler if you decided to be reasonable.”

  “Oh! You’re impossible!” Disgustedly, Leya thrust her hands into her pockets and stalked back up the beach toward the distant inn. She didn’t look up as he fell into step beside her, but she heard the questioning note in his voice.

  “Leya?” He was waiting for her ultimate answer, she realized, asking if she was going to make things difficult for him.

  And it struck her that Court was still wary of her. True, he had her signature on the contract, but she retained half-ownership of the firm. As long as she held fifty percent of the shares, she could still represent a
threat to his control. He himself had pointed out that all she would need to do was convince Keith they’d made a mistake…

  Something inside her despaired. She didn’t want to think Court was really so unscrupulous. She didn’t want to acknowledge the possibility that he was still scheming. With a small inner sigh, she realized why. She was attracted to the man. Attracted to him in a way she had never been attracted to anyone else. She simply didn’t want to believe the worst of him. In spite of the evidence!

  But she had to be realistic, she told herself fiercely. The only thing she could be sure of was that Court wasn’t completely confident of her. He was prepared to exert himself if she proved rebellious. He was equally prepared to accept her surrender immediately. But what would he do, she wondered acidly, if she didn’t give him the clearcut answer he wanted? It was a poor punishment for the humiliation he had put her through, but it was all she had.

  “I’ll have to think about it,” she told him coolly.

  “Think about it!” he exploded. “What do you mean, think about it? Either you’re going to accept the situation or you aren’t!”

  “Whatever you say, Court,” she replied demurely, trying to take some satisfaction from his obvious frustration. It was hard. She didn’t want the satisfaction of punishing him. She wanted the satisfaction of knowing he really wanted her!

  “What do you think you’re playing at, Leya Brandon?” he growled. “You were ready to commit murder when you opened the door this morning. A few minutes ago you were shivering in my arms. Make up your mind, damn it!”

  “I’ll try,” she promised mockingly. “But first I think I’ll have breakfast. There’s nothing like a brisk morning walk on the beach to stir up an appetite, don’t you agree?”

  She watched him out of the corner of her slanting green eyes and saw the look of wariness and confusion tautening his features.

  “Then what?” he prodded belligerently.

  “After breakfast? Why, then I think I’ll make arrangements to head back to Santa Rosa, of course. I’m sure you’ll understand when I say my vacation has been spoiled!”

  “There’s no need to turn tail and run.” He had apparently reached the conclusion that she was afraid of him.

  “I’m not running,” she assured him with forced serenity, “I’m flying. There’s a plane out of that little town up the coast that connects with a major airline. I’ll be home by noon.”

  There was a heavy silence.

  “I drove up,” Court said finally. “I’ll drive you back.”

  Leya was startled. “No thanks,” she managed. “It’s a full day’s trip by car and I don’t think I want to be cooped up with you for that long.”

  “Leya!”

  “Yes, Court?” she said with vast, insincere politeness.

  “I said I’ll drive you if you’re determined to go back to Santa Rosa today!”

  She sensed his uncertainty and impatience and wondered at it. A part of her longed to believe it stemmed from the fact that he was finding his victory hollow. But she knew better than that. The only reason Court was making an effort to maintain some relationship with her was because he was nervous about the power she still held over him. True, Keith practically idolized the older man now, but if his determined sister went to work on him, who was to say she might not be able to convince her brother they’d made a mistake? She still held a fifty-percent ownership in Brandon Security.

  But the thought of spending several more hours with Court was suddenly too tempting. Leya was honest enough to admit to herself that she was looking for excuses to put off a final break in their relationship. She didn’t want to say good-bye. Regardless of his reasoning, Court was offering her an excuse to stay close to him for a few more hours. And Leya, fearing she was a fool, found herself grasping at the straw.

  “All right, Court.”

  In the end, the trip back to Northern California proved to be the battleground of a very delicate, very careful war. Leya realized within the first hour that Court was determined to use the time to his advantage.

  He knows he hasn’t handled this well, she found herself thinking in surprise. He’s realized he needs more than my signature. He needs my cooperation. She realized a little grimly that he was going to try and ensure that cooperation by trading on the attraction between them. What frightened her was the possibility he might succeed in doing exactly that! She remembered their lovemaking the previous evening and on the beach that morning and shivered. She had never known such depths of passion with any other man. It was unique. Court Tremayne was unique. And telling herself she was a unique idiot didn’t seem to do much good.

  There were no outright confrontations. Court was obviously going out of his way to try and mend the fences he’d ripped apart. Leya caught his deceptively casual glances from time to time as he drove with an assurance that seemed second nature.

  Leya was careful to steer the conversation in relatively harmless directions, but Court was equally bent on making his case. The subtle battle raged back and forth.

  “Honey,” he began determinedly at one point, “when you’ve had a chance to think about it, you’re going to remember how much we were enjoying each other during the two days we just spent together. We learned a lot during that time and…”

  “Just look at those fantastic redwoods!” Leya interrupted in an awestruck tone. “Do you realize how old these trees are? The whole forest seems so…so primeval, doesn’t it? A piece of the earth lost in time.” As the magnificent coastal redwoods drifted past the car window, Leya focused her attention entirely upon them.

  “I’ve lined up an apartment in Santa Rosa,” Court tried again later. “I want you to see it…”

  “Oh, darn,” Leya muttered, her fingers going to one ear. “I’ve lost an earring. It must have fallen on the beach this morning and I just now noticed it.”

  She heard Court stifle a groan of dissatisfaction at her refusal to get involved in an intimate discussion. “Was it expensive?” he muttered.

  “Well, yes, considering the time I put into it,” Leya grumbled. That was no less than the truth, she thought. She really ought to go ahead and get her ears pierced.

  That succeeded in surprising him. “Time?” he asked with sudden interest, casting her an appraising glance. “Do you make jewelry?”

  She nodded.

  “Including that green thing you were wearing last night? I liked that. It was very unusual.” He sounded genuinely admiring.

  “I make all my own jewelry.” She shrugged, a little sorry she had brought up the topic by noticing her missing earring.

  “No kidding? You have a little workshop?”

  “Well, yes,” she returned distantly.

  “Do you sell your stuff?”

  “Oh, no. I only make things for myself or for friends. Just a hobby.”

  “I’m surprised you don’t have your ears pierced,” he remarked knowledgeably. “I’ve heard women say it’s a safer way to wear good earrings.”

  “I’m a born coward,” Leya confessed, smiling slightly in spite of herself.

  “Is that the reason you haven’t done it?” He grinned. “You amaze me. I wouldn’t have thought you would be afraid of a little thing like that!” He seemed, she thought in annoyance, delighted at the news of this fault in her character!

  “I don’t see many men rushing out to do themselves a physical injury for the sake of fashion!”

  He laughed. “I’m sure everyone, male and female, makes some sort of painful effort in the never-ending chore of trying to attract the opposite sex! I’ve got friends who jog miles and then lift weights. Painful in the extreme, I should think!”

  “And what sort of painful effort do you put forth, Court?” Leya demanded, eager to put him at least vaguely on the defensive.

  “My effort is that of acting with a semblance of civilized behavior when what I really want to do is reach out and drag you straight into bed,” he retorted immediately, eyes darkening with a sudden intensity
that was unnerving.

  Leya felt the blood rush into her face. She had walked right into that one.

  They stopped for dinner early in the evening, and it was dark before Court, following Leya’s terse directions, finally drew his very sleek foreign car to a halt in the quiet neighborhood.

  For a moment, he sat in silence surveying the old two-story structure with its encircling porch, graceful windows, and gingerbread trim. The new wooden siding was painted a rich butterscotch and the trim was in white. Her home dated from a warmer, more inviting era of house design, and Leya had taken loving care of it in the two years she had owned it.

  “You live here?” Court’s voice held something besides admiration, and Leya’s head swung around sharply. What could he possibly find to criticize about her beautiful home?

  “Yes,” she told him tartly.

  “Alone? In a big place like this?” His considering, dangerous glance told its own tale.

  “It’s a bit late to be worrying about who I might be living with, isn’t it?” she taunted.

  “It’s a bit late for you to be telling me about it,” he corrected in a hard, raw voice that alarmed her. “But better late than never, I suppose. Let’s get it over.” He shoved open the car door with a savage push.

  Leya saw the thin, brutal line of his mouth, the uncompromising set of his shoulders, and realized she was looking at a man who had psyched himself into a battle-ready frame of mind in about five seconds flat.

  “Court!” she yelped belatedly, realizing what she’d done. Hastily, she scrambled out of her side of the car and raced forward to catch his arm.

  “Court, there’s no one in there,” she said breathlessly, tugging at his sleeve. “Stop acting the demented lover! The neighbors might see you!”

  “If he’s not there, where is he?” Court ripped out, shooting her a look of smoldering rage. “When does he get home at night? Or have you two got some sort of modern relationship? One that lets you go off on vacation while he does the town? I warn you, it’s not going to be like that between us!”