Seven Nights (9 page)

“What is this?” Both wariness and excitement tightened her chest.

“My room.” He pushed the door open and motioned her inside.

How could two little words, benign words at that, spark such a lusty burst of need in her? Sean had taken her to his private quarters, his personal space. She was going to get to see his life, his room… his bed.

A shiver worked through her as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dimmer light inside.

“Well, what do you think?” He motioned around the room with a smile.

Leah looked around. Sean’s villa was much different from her own. Instead of the feeling of a hotel, it was more like a classy apartment with a full kitchen she could see through an open door to her right and a large living area that had a small desk in the corner by the open veranda door.

But what drew her most was the door to her left. Sean’s bedroom. Unlike her villa, where the bedroom was done in bright island colors and stark white wicker, Sean had put his personality into the space. Dark, rich blue walls gave the room a sensual feel, as did the lighter blue coverlet on the bed that she could see if she turned her head just so.

“I picked the blue to combat the tiki feel in some of the other rooms here,” he explained as he slipped past her into the kitchen.

She heard a refrigerator door open and close in the background, but couldn’t seem to keep herself from continuing to stare into Sean’s bedroom. Or move a bit closer. Close enough that she was finally standing in the doorway, smelling in the faintest hint of sandalwood that wafted gently from his personal space.

“Beer?” he asked. She jumped when she found he’d slipped silently to her side and was holding out a bottle in her direction. “Unfortunately, the color makes the room a bit dark and warm.”

She took one last look before she turned back to Sean. “I don’t know about that, I think it’s perfect. What’s the use of living on an island if you don’t feel the heat?”

Sean’s smile faltered as he held out the beer in her direction. The slick, cold glass slid between her fingers as she took the bottle, never breaking the heated stare that hung between them, along with a healthy amount of sexual chemistry and desire.

He took a long step toward her, easily closing the distance that separated them. Leah couldn’t help the sharp breath his movement seem to suck from her lungs.

“Why are we here, Sean?” Her shaking fingers inched toward the soft cotton of his gray t-shirt, almost against her will.

Her question seemed to snap him out of the sensual spell between them. Just before her fingertips found their target, he stepped back.

“Yes, why we’re here.” He shook his head as if to gain some focus and walked past her into his bedroom.

While Leah struggled to shake off disappointment and a continued pounding in her blood, she watched Sean go to a large safe in the corner of his bedroom. With a few turns, the door opened to reveal her black roller suitcase.

Sean grasped the handle and turned back. With a sheepish grin, he held it out toward her. “Think of it as a peace offering.”

Leah entered the bedroom in a few slow strides. “You’re giving me my clothes back?”

“Yes.” Sean smiled. “Though I’d love it if you continued to wear the ones I chose for you.”

With a smile of her own, Leah took the suitcase. “Thank you, Sean. Now I should probably go before…” She trailed off with a guilty glance toward the sumptuous bed.

Sean tracked her stare with a wicked smile. “Hmmm, I see your point.”

Snorting out a laugh, Leah turned away, dragging her suitcase behind her. When she’d reached the villa door, Sean’s voice stopped her.

“Hey, Leah?”

She turned back, far too quickly for her own good. “Yeah?”

“I want-” Sean shifted, looking every inch a nervous schoolboy. It was a vision she hadn’t seen for a long time, definitely not since she’d been confronted by the cool businessman who ran this island. “Will you let me take you on a tour of my island this afternoon?”

The look in his eyes melted Leah’s heart. A tour of the island wasn’t about seduction or power, it was about pride. It was about wanting her approval of the things he had done, the place he’d built in their time apart.

She wanted nothing more than to share that with him. To learn what kind of man he’d become while he built a mini-empire and fought against those people who hadn’t understood him or his dream. Men like her father.

“Yes. Pick me up in an hour, ok?”

The relief was clear on Sean’s face, if only for a brief moment. “I’ll see you then.”

Chapter Six

“So what do you think?”

Leah drew in a long breath as she stared at the bubbling waterfall that cascaded down a sharp rock face to splash into a pool by a white sand beach.

“Oh, Sean,” she breathed, searching her writer’s mind for the right words to describe what she was seeing. When she could think of nothing that would do the scene justice, she merely smiled. “It’s perfect.”

“I’m glad you like it,” His grin was broad with pride. “This is one of my favorite locations on the island. We don’t talk about it much except to our favorite guests, so it’s rarely visited. I like the idea that it’s my little secret.”

She smiled at the excitement in his eyes. “Well, it’s a lovely secret. And I’m so glad you shared it with me.”

He didn’t answer, but instead offered her a hand to help her down the steep path that led to the waterside. He produced a blanket from his backpack and spread it out on the sand. Leah took a seat and watched as he put his things in order and sat down beside her.

“You know, you’ve really done wonders with this place,” she said softly as she watched the light play off the gray in his eyes.

Sean looked off toward the pool and his voice grew distant. “I dreamt of running a place like this for years. All through graduate school. And after you…”

He trailed off and the look on his face shifted so subtly that if Leah hadn’t been paying such close attention she wouldn’t have noticed the change. Though he maintained his smile, Sean’s eyes lost some of their glow.

“After you left, my drive to make this dream a reality only grew. I knew Will during my days at Penn State and thankfully he wanted in on my dream. And here we are, just a few years later.”

She swallowed. “It’s amazing. You’ve done so much in such a short time.”

“Well, we’ve had some great backers.” He plucked at a clump of seaweed that had twisted around the edge of their blanket. “Without their financial support, without the work of the staff, without Will acting as our front man, none of this would have worked out. It’s a cumulative effort, everyone has to do their part or it all falls to pieces.”

Leah nodded, though she couldn’t help but think back to the way things had been so many years before. Now Sean depended so much on strangers and friends. Yet, he’d never been able to depend on her.

It made her…
jealous
.

She cleared her throat and shook away the ridiculous emotion. “So when do I get to meet this Will Todd? I’m sure I’ll want to use quotes from him in my article.”

“Will is supposed to be back from the yacht tour late tonight. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to answer any question you have for him.” He leaned closer and Leah got a faint whiff of his smooth aftershave and soap. “And so am I.”

“I do have one question.”

Leah shivered as she considered all the questions she could ask Sean. Like why they’d separated, why hadn’t he tried to kiss her today, or if he ever intended to consummate this new attraction that seemed to crackle between them whenever they were within ten feet of each other.

All very dangerous questions.

“Anything,” he murmured, locking eyes with her.

“Um, did you bring any lunch? I’m starved.” Chicken, she turned her head away from his intense stare, from his heat and from her own desires.

He laughed as he grabbed for his backpack. “In fact, I did.”

Leah sighed with relief as Sean began to unload Tupperware containers and icepacks loaded with food and a bottle of wine. Her heart slowed to a more normal rate, though she was dismayed that she still felt the tug of longing even when she and Sean weren’t entangled in serious conversation or a passionate embrace.

“Oh, damn.”

Leah cocked her head. “What is it?”

“I brought forks and knives, but left them in the glove compartment of the jeep.”

Sean started to push off from the blanket, but Leah hopped to her feet first. Waving him back down, she said, “I’ll get them. You finish your picnic set-up here.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s a pretty steep hill.”

“I’ll be fine.” She gave him a brief smile. “With all that food you brought, it looks like I’m going to need a little extra exercise this afternoon. I’ll be back in a sec.”

As she started to head toward the steep path back up to Sean’s jeep, she felt the touch of his hand on her elbow. Turning back, she found he’d come to his feet and she was nearly in his arms.

“Hey, Leah?” he said, his voice soft and husky in the near-perfect silence of their waterfall escape.

“Yes?” she managed to squeak out, though she barely heard her own voice over the intense pounding of her heart.

Sean threaded his fingers through her hair and slowly tilted her head. Inch by inch, his lips descended until finally they brushed hers. Though the kiss was gentle, unlike the burning, hungry ones they’d shared the night before, it still affected Leah in ways so powerful that they frightened her.

This wasn’t the kiss of a man who wanted to claim her. It was the touch of a man who already knew she was his. Who had surrendered himself to her.

It was a kiss of pure and unafraid love.

Leah’s eyes flew open just as Sean pulled back from her. He smiled, completely oblivious to the tortured thoughts that wracked her brain.

“
Now
today is a good day. The silverware is in the glove compartment.”

Leah blinked as her mind cleared. Silverware. Yes. She had to get the silverware from Sean’s jeep and stop thinking ridiculous thoughts like that he was still in love with her.

Or worse, that she was still in love with him.

***

Pride was a bad thing in business. Sean knew that from years of experience. Pride could tear a project down. It could destroy plans and wreck partnerships.

But damn. Seeing that look of startled pleasure on Leah’s face when he kissed her would be cause for pride in any man. Especially since she still had the same dazed expression on her face ten minutes later as she picked her way back down the steep trail to the waterfall’s edge.

“Did you have any trouble finding the knives and forks?” he asked as innocently as he could muster. He had a sneaking suspicion she’d taken so long getting the utensils because she was still recovering from their stolen moment together.

“No.” She smiled, but it was an unnatural look. “Got them just fine.”

She sank down on her knees on the blanket as she spoke and placed a knife and fork beside each of their plastic plates. “Well, this looks great.”

He paused at her false tone, then said, “Thanks. We have a remarkable chef, stole him from Island’s Resort in St. Thomas.”

Leah’s eyes grew wide and for a moment her strangely distant attitude disappeared. “Really? You have Jean Carlos as your chef? Island’s had a fit when he left.”

“I get what I want.” Sean smiled as he poured her a glass of wine.

She frowned, but dished them each portions of food. He’d taken just a few bites before he noticed she wasn’t joining him in eating. Instead, she stared at him, watching his every move as if she were in some kind of trap.

“What is it, Leah?”

She sighed. “Um, well, I found a bit more in your glove compartment than just silverware.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out a thick stack of folded papers.

Sean’s heart lodged in his throat. “Damn, I forgot those were there.”

She winced as she placed the packet on the blanket between them. “There were more than just these. I couldn’t fit them all into my pocket. What’s this all about, Sean? Why do you have my clippings?”

Sean fingered the edge of the worn papers, some yellowed with time, others fresh. “Do you know what these are? How far they go back?”

“I only gave them a cursory glance.” She held herself stiffly. Gone was the woman who had let herself go just hours before. Now she was totally on guard.

“They aren’t
some
of your clippings, Leah.” Sean sighed as he tossed the napkin in a ball on the blanket. “It’s all of them. That file you found in the glove compartment contains every single piece you ever published, from the articles for the University Review to your short stories. Everything you’ve done for
Get-Aways
from your days as a staff writer to Senior Travel Editor.”