A Billionaire's Redemption - By Cindy Dees Page 0,45
to set it aside?”
“I’d love nothing better than to do that.” She sighed. “But I don’t know how.”
“You just need a distraction to take your mind off things.”
“Like what?”
Lord, she asked that so innocently. Like she truly didn’t know what he meant. An urge to be the one to show her what was possible between a man and a woman surged through him. “Dance with me.”
“What? Here?”
“I never got to dance with you at the ball. I owe you one.”
Smiling, she set her glass down and rose to her feet. He relished her slenderness as he drew her into his arms in front of the fireplace.
“Shouldn’t there be some music?” she asked. “Can’t you just tell the house to turn something on?”
He smiled down at her. “No computers here. This is my anti-technology hideaway.”
“This house is so different from your penthouse. And yet, it fits you as well as that place does. It’s like each one reflects a side of your personality.” She swayed lightly in his arms and he imagined what she would feel like wrapped around him.
“So, tell me, Gabe. Do you have any other houses that reflect some other part of you?”
“I have a beach house in Northern California. It’s all glass and stone. It’s about the ocean and the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks.”
“What part of you does it reflect?”
He gazed down at her candidly. “My wild and primal side that connects with nature.”
“I think I might like to see that place.”
Her face was turned up to his, and her lips glistened softly. She so wanted to be kissed. But did he dare? Once he started kissing her, he doubted his ability to stop. Thing was, he had no idea how traumatized she was nor how to proceed with finding out.
“Say the word, and I’ll take you there,” he murmured.
Her eyes widened, and he belatedly realized the double entendre implicit in his comment. “I’m sorry, Will. I don’t mean to come on so strong. I know you’re scared, and God knows I don’t want to make it worse. You’re going to have to tell me what you want and don’t want.”
“What are you talking about?” She was looking up at him like he’d grown a second head.
“The attack, of course. You flinch every time a man touches you, and every now and then you get this rabbit-about-to-get-eaten look in your eyes.”
She huffed in what sounded like displeasure. “But I’ve already told you, I’m not scared of you.”
Chagrin tore through him, hot and acid. Right. He was some old guy who posed no threat to her. A favorite uncle. Damn it. His arms fell away from her and she took an alarmed step forward and grabbed his lapels.
“What’s wrong? What did I say?” she cried out softly. “Crud. I’m so bad at this. I always mess this up. They always go away and never call again. I’m such a klutz—”
He cut her off. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Men. I’m no good at relationships. I’m a complete freak—”
“Stop.” He stared down at her in shock. “Willa. You’re so beautiful it hurts to look at you. You’re intelligent. Sweet. Interesting to talk to. And sexy. God, woman. You’re so hot I can barely think straight around you. If men are running away from you, it’s because they’re so intimidated by you. They don’t think they’re good enough for you. Hell, I don’t think I’m good enough for you.”
She stared at him blankly. Like she hadn’t heard a word he said. Or maybe like she heard but didn’t believe a word of it.
“I’m serious, Willa. You’re extraordinary. You keep saying I’m out of your league, but honey, it’s the other way around. I’m a cynical, selfish, forty-year-old oil man with enough money to buy sex, but with no real friends. I’m a hard-ass businessman most of the time, and a workaholic to boot.”
“Anything else?” she asked.
He glared at her obvious skepticism. “I’m serious.”
“Okay. But if you’ll forgive me for saying so, you left a few qualities off your list.”
“Like what?”
“You’re a gentleman at heart. You’ve rescued me more times than I can count. You’ve been decent to me when my family has been nothing but rotten to you over the years. You run a retirement home for elephants, for goodness’ sake. How many men can say that?”
Elephants? She was bringing those up now?
Her palms slid slowly up his lapels to grasp the ends of his bow tie. She tugged him close and he yielded reluctantly