True Love Page 9

  Her dislike for him intensified. Her mother had not been the only person he had hurt. How many other lives had he ruined? She wondered if he felt any remorse for any of the things he’d done.

  “Nick and Trent are headed this way,” Paul said, bringing her thoughts back into focus. She looked up to find Nicholas and Trent Jordache less than ten feet from where she and Paul were standing.

  Shayla inhaled deeply, silently asking God to give her the strength to handle the introductions she knew Nicholas was about to make.

  She was about to meet the brother she hadn’t known she had.

  Chapter 10

  “Uncle Paul, it’s good seeing you,” the man with Nicholas said to the man at Shayla’s side, shaking hands with him. He then turned his undivided attention to Shayla.

  “Shayla,” Nicholas was saying, “I’d like you to meet a good friend of mine. Trent Jordache, this is Shayla Kirkland.”

  Shayla accepted Trent’s hand in a warm handshake. A flutter of nerves rose up and twisted in the pit of her stomach. She was so tense her body felt like a piece of board. “It’s nice meeting you, Trent,” she somehow managed to say as she studied him. His black hair was cut low, and his handsome features, if studied closely, would possibly remind someone of a younger Paul. Trent had inherited some of his uncle’s features. They had the same straight nose, angular chin, and dimpled smile. His eyes were so dark they appeared black, and his lips, she noticed, were tilted in an outlandishly handsome grin so heartwarming that she couldn’t keep from returning it.

  “Ahh.” Trent sighed after releasing her hand. “If you don’t intend to marry her for real, Nick, then maybe I will.”

  Shayla blinked. Evidently Nicholas had told Trent the truth regarding their fake engagement, and he was flirting with her, not knowing they were related.

  “Word of warning, Trent,” Nicholas murmured softly. “Don’t even let that cross your mind.”

  Nicholas’s gold eyes met Trent’s dark ones in an open challenge. Wicked amusement danced across Trent’s handsome features. “So that’s the way it is?”

  Nicholas’s mouth twitched in a smile. He knew that his best friend was an incorrigible flirt. “Yeah, man. That’s the way it is.” He looked over at Shayla before meeting Trent’s gaze once more. “And that’s the way it’s staying.”

  Shayla looked up and met Nicholas’s gaze again. He was looking at her with an intensity that almost took her breath away. She inhaled deeply before turning her gaze back to Trent. She wanted to know everything she could about him.

  “Where are you from, Trent?”

  Trent smiled. “I was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but I attended private schools in New York. Now I’m what you might call in transit. Recently, I became part owner of a cruise ship that makes frequent trips to the Islands and Africa. So I guess you could say that for the last six months I’ve been living aboard my ship off and on. But I’m looking into purchasing a second home in the Chicago area.”

  Shayla’s heart rate kicked up. He would be living in Chicago! She took a deep breath to pull her thoughts together. “I have a friend who’s a Realtor. I’m sure she’ll be glad to assist you any way she can.”

  Trent gave her a smooth smile. “I’ll only deal with her if she’s as pretty as you are.”

  Shayla couldn’t help smiling again. Trent Jordache was quite a charmer. “Thanks. I know you and Tonya will get along just fine.”

  Trent grinned. He then answered Paul’s questions about the cruise business. A few moments later, when the Chinese musical group surprised everyone by playing an American piece, a slow number at that, many people began moving toward the dance floor.

  Nicholas moved closer to Shayla, his gaze holding hers intently. “Dance with me?” he requested in a deep husky voice.

  Shayla nodded, and Nicholas took her hand in his and led her out to the dance floor, leaving Paul and Trent alone. She swallowed hard as Nicholas pulled her into his arms and they moved to the slow music. Blood rushed to her head at the feel of his hard masculine body so close to hers. Everything about Nicholas oozed sensuality. His smile, his touch, his walk, his talk…and his kiss.

  Shayla felt her body tensing up again, and commanded it to relax in his arms. She felt his hands caress her bare back. One of his hands dropped to her waist, and his fingers placed light pressure there, bringing her closer to fit him.

  “You’re nervous again. Why?” He whispered the words low and deep in her ear.

  Heaven help me, I actually wish I could tell him, she thought as she pulled back and met his gaze. How could she form the words to say, I’m really not who I seem to be. In addition to pretending to be your fiancée, I’m also pretending to be your faithful and loyal employee. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’m also the half sister of your best friend, and the daughter of your company’s worst enemy.

  “Nicholas, I—I…” She couldn’t finish because she wasn’t even sure what she would say.

  “What is it, Shayla?” he asked as his gaze searched hers intently. “What’s bothering you tonight?”

  The deep concern in his voice was her undoing—almost. She knew that she could not be completely honest with him. She had a lot to think about, especially now that others had somehow entered the mix in her plot for revenge. She had a brother, for Pete’s sake! She needed a clear head to totally think things through, and there was no way that she could have a clear head around Nicholas.

  “Shayla?”

  Knowing she owed him some sort of an explanation, she came up with one that really wasn’t too far from the truth. “It’s nothing,” she said, smiling a little. “Other than tonight.”

  He continued to study her. “What about tonight?”

  She couldn’t handle his gaze, all intense, all serious. “Let’s just skip it. It’s nothing, really.” She leaned her head on his chest, and he continued to hold her close.

  “Tell me,” he whispered in her ear as his fingertips brushed her cheek. “Talk to me, Shayla. What’s bothering you?”

  Shayla shivered at his touch and lifted her gaze to his. “I feel like Cinderella at the ball. Right now everyone thinks I’m your fiancée, but when the clock strikes twelve—or better yet, when we get into the limo to return to the hotel—the fantasy is over. Then I go back to being Shayla Kirkland, your employee, and you’ll become Mr. Chenault, my boss. Things will become business as usual.” She took a deep breath. “I know it. I understand it. I accept it. But for right now, Nicholas, it’s all rather depressing.”

  All around them other couples swirled, lost in their own world as they danced. Suddenly Nicholas stopped dancing. Holding her hand firmly in his, he led her toward the huge double doors leading to the gardens. She didn’t say anything as they moved through the cluster of flowers and over the immaculately groomed and beautifully landscaped lawn.

  What she hadn’t told him was that at the moment her emotions were jumbled up. And there was nothing she could do about it, because she had done the one thing she should never have done. She had let her guard down.

  Suddenly they stopped walking. Shayla felt the heat of Nicholas’s gaze on her, but she didn’t dare look at him. Instead she looked across the lawn at the beautiful lake, and tried to place her concentration there. It didn’t work when he lifted her chin with his finger and forced her to lock her gaze with his.

  “I thought it would be true, but I had to see it for myself,” he whispered softly. “You’re even more beautiful out here in the moonlight.”

  A sigh broke from Shayla with his words—a defeated sigh. She shivered, not from the coolness of the night but from the intensity of Nicholas’s gaze and the passionate charges that were skittering through her bloodstream.

  Then, without another exchange of words between them, Nicholas pulled her into his arms and slowly lowered his mouth to hers. Shayla was profoundly thankful for the cluster of hedges that blocked them from anyone’s view. This, more than likely, would be their last kiss, and she wanted to sav
or every heartstopping moment of it.

  Shayla knew she was totally past gone the moment Nicholas’s lips touched hers like a whisper. At first his kiss was slow, thoughtful, and gentle as he moved his mouth over hers, devouring her completely. She tightened her hold on his shoulders when he put his tongue into action, deepening the kiss and tasting her in a very passionate way.

  Nicholas forced Shayla to experience the same divine ecstasy that he was experiencing as he stroked the insides of her mouth with all-consuming intensity. He wanted this. For some reason, he needed this, craved this. What he was sharing with her was potent. It was soul-stirring. It was what he’d been lacking in his life for a long time.

  It was Shayla.

  That thought totally filled his mind as he continued to kiss her with an intimacy that had his mouth burning and still wanting more. A groan of pleasure escaped his lips and mixed with the sound of the wind flowing through the trees. If she could bring him to this point of madness with just a kiss, he didn’t want to think of the outcome if he ever made love to her. The force of his climax just might kill him.

  But then, if he had to die that way it would be a very pleasurable death.

  Out of the necessity to breathe, the kiss ended—somewhat. He continued to shower kisses around her lips and along her jaw. His mouth grazed her earlobe, the tip of her nose, and then brushed against her brow. There wasn’t a place on her face that he didn’t want to kiss.

  “Nicholas.”

  His name flowed from Shayla’s lips in a breathless sigh. He felt a tightening in his groin just from the sensuous sound of it. He needed to hear his name, and only his name, from her lips. He had actually experienced jealousy tonight when she had smiled at Trent. That had never happened to him before with any woman. “Say my name again, Shayla,” he coaxed in a whisper, sweeping her lips with the moist tip of his tongue.

  A heated shiver ran up her spine, and a soft moan escaped her when she spoke. “Nicholas.”

  He pulled her closer as the seductive sound of her voice inflamed his desire and sent ripples of wanting through his entire body. “After tonight,” he whispered against the warmth of her lips, “it won’t be business as usual between us ever again.”

  Then he lowered his mouth to reclaim hers once more, with an ache he intended to ease. Moments later, when they heard conversation, they broke apart.

  Nicholas inhaled sharply. So did Shayla. It took them a few moments to catch their breaths.

  “Nicholas, I—”

  He placed a finger on her lips to silence her. He looked deeply into her eyes. “No. Let’s not try to analyze anything tonight.”

  Shayla took another deep breath and shivered when Nicholas’s hands covered hers. He was right. She didn’t want to think hard about anything tonight. Thinking would make her remember everything, and confuse her even more.

  “Come on,” he said softly. “Let’s find Paul and say good-night to Trent. I’m ready to leave and return to the hotel.”

  Shayla nodded. So was she.

  “Where’s Trent?”

  Paul eyed the couple speculatively before answering. “He’s over there talking to his old man. Why?”

  Nicholas’s face was calm and controlled when he said, “I wanted to let him know I’m leaving and going back to the hotel.”

  Paul made a conscious effort to keep his face expressionless when he said, “You’re leaving? So soon?”

  “We’ve stayed an appropriate length of time.”

  Shayla took a deep breath when Nicholas looked at her. The heat of his gaze flooded through her with a force that left her in total awe.

  Nicholas returned his gaze to Paul. “If you want to stay longer I can send the limo back for you.”

  Paul shifted his gaze from Nicholas to Shayla, then back to Nicholas again, assessing them, “Yeah, I think I will. That’ll give me the opportunity to visit some more with Trent tonight. And don’t worry about sending the limo back for me. I’ll just catch a ride back with Trent, since he’s also saying at the hotel.”

  “Won’t he be spending time with his father?” Nicholas asked.

  “No. Jordache has some sort of business meeting later.”

  Nicholas nodded and turned his attention to Shayla. “Ready to leave?”

  Shayla had to mentally shake herself from the spell Nicholas cast on her whenever he looked at her a certain way with his golden eyes. “Yes. Good night, Paul.”

  “Good night.”

  When Nicholas and Shayla turned to leave, Paul said casually, “Oh, Nick. You may want to tell the driver not to take the scenic route back. It’ll take longer if he does.”

  Shayla felt herself flush. Paul’s comment, followed by his dimpled smile, caught her off guard.

  After saying good-night to the Mings, Nicholas and Shayla were crossing the room to leave when she happened to glance sideways and see Thomas Jordache watching her with a sharp tilt of his head and a rather curious gaze. His look made her shoulders stiffen.

  Nicholas pulled her closer, and whispered low and deep in her ear, “You’re not having second thoughts about leaving, are you?”

  Shayla relaxed her shoulders when she felt Nicholas’s touch move down her arm and caress the center of her back. She smiled up at him, forcing her mind to dismiss Thomas Jordache. “No, I’m not. What about you?”

  He laughed, a small laugh that indicated her question had amused him. “Not on your life, sweetheart.”

  Chapter 11

  Although the limo driver avoided taking the scenic route as Nicholas had instructed, it seemed to be taking an enormous amount of time for them to return to the hotel. Unlike on the drive to dinner, Nicholas didn’t have to ask Shayla to sit close to him. She automatically did so once she had gotten settled in the limo. And this time she was not surprised when he placed his arms around her shoulders.

  Whenever she looked at him, he gave her a smile that seemed to come as automatically as a heartbeat. He was seducing her, not putting a whole lot of effort into it. He was just being himself. The one thing she had found out about Nicholas Chenault in the time she’d known him was that he never did things half-measure. Whatever he did, he went all the way. He was meticulous about whatever he was doing, and she had a feeling that that would include making love. There was no doubt in her mind that he was as exceptional a lover as he was a businessman.

  Shayla fought the warning signs that began to go off in her head. She knew they had only met two weeks ago, and had spent less than a week together since that time. But something was taking place between them that she was unable to stop. She had never in her twenty-six years wanted a man the way she wanted Nicholas. She hadn’t known that such desire and longing, such ardent craving, could exist.

  Was it momentary madness? Possibly. At that point she wouldn’t rule anything out. Whatever it was, she didn’t understand it, but tonight she would accept it. How could she not, when her senses were spinning with wanting him? His masculine scent was stirring her femininity in a way it had never been stirred before. No man had ever pushed as many of her buttons as Nicholas could push, seemingly without even trying.

  Shayla’s eyes fluttered closed when she felt Nicholas’s fingers graze the side of her face with a gentleness that almost robbed her of breath. He tilted her face to him to meet his gaze.

  “I want to make love to you,” he whispered in a low husky voice.

  His bold declaration made heat travel up Shayla’s legs, past her thighs, and settle in the very core of her. She knew that the sultry sigh that escaped her lips told him all that he needed to know. He smiled, and the look in his eyes held promises of a night she would never forget.

  She inhaled deeply when the limo pulled in front of the hotel. When it came to a stop, Nicholas got out and offered her his hand. Then they walked up the steps and into the lobby to catch the elevator.

  There were quite a number of people in the elevator. Nicholas stood very close to her, and it seemed to Shayla that his gaze was honing in on every
thing about her. He touched her, stroking her arms tenderly up and down, making her shiver with pleasure and calming her frazzled nerves. He leaned over closer to her and whispered seductively in her ear, “Which do you prefer, my room or yours?”

  For a long moment she didn’t answer. Did it matter which room they used? Then, for some reason, she decided that it did. She didn’t want to be just another woman he took to his bed, but she did want him to be the first man she took to hers.

  “Mine,” she replied softly.

  She felt his arms tighten around her waist when the elevator doors swooshed open. Once they reached her door she nervously inserted the key in the lock. Before she opened the door she turned to him, hesitating.

  Nicholas gazed down at her with a questioning glint in his golden eyes. “Is this where you tell me you’ve changed your mind, after all?” he asked in his deep husky voice.

  Shayla shook her head. “No. This is where I tell you that I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve never invited a man in after a date for the sole purpose of making love to me,” she said quietly, honestly, unashamedly.

  Golden eyes met her dark ones. The look in his was intense and thoughtful. “Do you want to tell me why you’re doing it now?”

  Shayla pursed her lips, wishing she knew. Maybe it was the impact of seeing her biological father for the first time, and the discovery that she had a brother. Maybe she felt the need to lose herself in passion instead of thinking about it. Then, maybe, it wasn’t anything as deep as either of those. There was a good chance, a darn good chance, that Nicholas had touched her in a way no other man ever had, although she’d never meant for it to happen. He had somehow found a way to mess with her heart. Now she understood her aunt’s warning.

  “Shayla?”

  He still waited for her response. “Because I want to,” she finally answered truthfully, meeting his gaze before opening the door.