The waiter slipped in and took away her barely touched salad as he set down their next course, seared sea scallops with spring onion soubise. Though the smell was heavenly, she was too lost in Crew’s eyes to pay attention to the food.
“We’ll have more on this lesson after our meal, while we’re sitting by the fire. I’ve had my chef prepare this especially for you, and I want you to enjoy the entire experience,” Crew said and took a bite.
Finally freed from his gaze, Haley speared a scallop and slipped it inside her mouth, then purred in pleasure. It practically melted on her tongue. Crew kept the conversation more light as they finished their main course.
The last drop was drank from the exquisite bottle, the wine having helped Haley’s confidence to grow, and the waiter laid out their dessert and set a new bottle down at their table. Her first bite of beignets with coffee pots de crème was almost an out-of-body experience. But, still, it was hard to enjoy the meal, no matter how good, when she was in a constant state of arousal — something very new for her inexperienced body.
“So, tell me how your sister managed to end up on a ranch,” she asked between small bites. She wanted to prolong the bliss.
“I don’t want to bore you during our date,” he hedged.
“I promise that you won’t.”
“Well, don’t say that I didn’t warn you,” he said with a chuckle. “A couple of years ago, my siblings and I were…I guess the word would be spoiled.”
“You? Spoiled?” she gasped dramatically, then smiled. “I simply can’t imagine.”
“OK, yes, I was spoiled. This is about Brielle, not me, though,” he said with his twinkling eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Sorry. I will behave,” she said.
“Anyway, my father decided to teach us a lesson. We would lose our inheritance and trust funds if we didn’t play by his rules. That, of course, left us little choice but to do what he asked of us, but we were all resentful, thinking there was nothing that needed changing in our lives.”
“Do you still feel bitter toward your father?”
“No. About six months into this project my resentment faded, and I realized he was right. We had become spoiled brats — of no use to society at all. I will deny that if you repeat it, though,” he said.
“My lips are sealed.”
“Well, the task was to take a failing business and make it a success.” She waited for him to go on, but he picked up his glass and took a sip of wine.
“How did you end up with the resort and your sister get landed with a ranch?”
“My father set down five folders and told us to fight among ourselves over which failing business we would take. My sister was horrified, and she refused to even look at the various operations. By the time she came around and decided a life of poverty wasn’t for her, the ranch was all that was left. Let’s just say that she threw a fit, and tried to bribe, cajole, and blackmail each of us to trade. No one would. So, long story short, she was stuck with the ranch.”
“And how does she feel now?” Haley thought she’d get along really well with Crew’s father. He sounded like a good man.
“She won’t admit it to our father, but she loves it. Her first week there, she called me ten times a day in tears, telling me nothing was worth what she was going through, but after a few months, the calls started coming in less often. I had my doubts that she would see it through, but I am very proud of her now. She’s grown more than the rest of us, I believe.”
“She sounds like a good woman.”
“She is now. Without a doubt, she was once a self-centered little witch, but this lesson has changed all of us for the better, and probably Brielle the most. My siblings and I are closer than we have been since we were small kids, and this last Christmas was the first time we all got together because we wanted to, and not because we were obligated to. It has changed us, and I am grateful to my father for giving us a swift kick in the derrière,” Crew said with a small smile.
This man before her was strong as solid steel, both with his love of his family and his complete focus on helping a stranger. He was also kind and gentle when he needed to be, loyal and compassionate. How could Haley help but fall for him? She knew it was a deadly error. But she didn’t know how to pull back, how to lock down emotions that she’d never felt before. Somehow, she must try. Could she just focus on Walker?...Who? She couldn’t even seem to picture the face of the man who was the reason she’d begun this entire process.
A peaceful silence surrounded them as they continued eating, both of them lost in their own thoughts. She just hoped Crew never became a mind reader, because she didn’t want to reveal so much about herself.
When they’d taken their last bite, Crew led her to a couple of lounge chairs placed side by side, with a fire burning in a pit off to the side, keeping a dim glow of light around them. Haley slipped off her shoes, and the sand felt soft and cool as it slid between her toes. As she looked around, she realized they were completely alone. This must be his own personal area.
Haley lay back on one of the chairs, enjoying the soft breeze blowing over her, and she felt Crew’s hand move gently across her stomach, sending butterflies fluttering from the pit of her stomach to her toes and back.
“Seduce me, Haley,” he whispered.
She turned her head, her eyes suddenly heavy as she looked at him.
“I don’t know how. You’re supposed to teach me,” she murmured.
“Seduce me,” he repeated, heat flaring between them.
“I can’t…” she trailed off.
“Seduce me.”
Something inside her came alive and her body moved. She didn’t know what she was doing, but somehow nature took over and it became all about quenching the fire within her.
Chapter Fourteen
Crew watched the flare in her eyes as she made her decision. There was passion in those green depths, but there was also grit and determination. She was done being a wallflower and was ready to explore what was locked within the deepest realms of her being.
As difficult as it was for him to keep his hands to himself, he lay back and waited. She needed to break free, and for her to do that, she had to escape from her shell. He wouldn’t let it go too far, not far enough that she’d have regrets. He would just let her see what effect she had on him.
After their last course, he’d dismissed his waitstaff, to eliminate the chance of interruption. He could now give her a hands-on lesson of what a woman could do to a man. Damn but he was attracted to her, and that was a problem for his noble plan. He never would have believed that this was the same woman who’d stepped into his life on a sidewalk and offered him money.
She’d already grown, and now it was time for him to show her exactly how much.
Lifting the fabric of her skirt above her knees, Haley moved over, straddling his lap and positioning her luscious round behind right against his rapidly growing erection. A groan escaped from his throat, and she smiled in victory.
Watching her expressions as she tentatively moved her hips in a slow circle was about the sexiest damned thing he’d ever witnessed in his life. He was certain he wouldn’t survive her exploration.