The Tycoon's Tender Triumph Page 0,10

insight he had was through her father which, by its very nature, was tainted. The dark circles under her eyes and the miniscule apartment she lived in would add credence to Jim’s opinion, but who knew what was going on in Chloe’s mind? She was a beautiful woman with her soft brown hair his hands were aching to feel once again and that soft, peach like skin with a healthy glow. Her gorgeous complexion was noticeable now that her eyes were closed but when they were open, no one noticed anything but her stunning brown eyes with their cat-like slant.

When Chloe looked at him, it felt like he’d been punched in the gut and all he wanted to do was to kiss her so she was as crazy as he always felt around her.

He liked looking at her and with her eyes closed in sleep, he fed his hungry eyes on her soft, full lips, her perfect skin and unbelievably long lashes. He’d taken the pins out of her hair and the long, brown tresses were draped over her shoulder, curling around the full breast underneath the cream silk blouse.

He wanted her. Painfully. And after that explosive kiss in the parking lot, he knew that she wanted him as well. He’d have to work slowly though. Take it carefully. She seemed to be a little spitfire but he didn’t mind that at all. As long as all that passion and anger were directed at him.

He frowned, remembering the shorter man he’d found in her apartment earlier. As soon as he’d seen the man, Sam had wanted to smash his face in. Controlling the rage that someone was touching his Chloe, and he acknowledged to himself that that was the way he’d always thought of her ever since he’d seen her in college, he tamped down the jealousy. At eighteen, she’d been way too young for him. She’d needed to go out into the world, find out what she liked and disliked and then, when she was older, he’d try those waters again and see if she was still interested. He hadn’t been able to resist seeing her every few months though. He’d taken her out to dinner, watched her laughed and made sure she was okay.

He’d said it was for her father, to check in on her and report back to him but that had been an outright lie. He’d wanted to see for himself, to feast his eyes on her beauty and hear the excitement in her voice as she’d talked about her classes and the activities she’d been enjoying.

And then she’d stopped accepting his dinner invitations. At first, he’d thought perhaps she was too busy, but the past few years, he’d wondered if perhaps she’d found a man she could fall in love with. He’d tried to leave her alone, to find out for herself how life worked.

But when her father reported that she hadn’t been dating anyone consistently and she sounded so miserable in her job, Sam had decided that enough was enough. If her father’s accident hadn’t happened, he would have found some way to get her back to Texas.

And now she was grown up. She’d gone to college, she’d dated despite the fury that made him feel, and she’d experienced enough of life to be able to make an informed decision. He definitely wasn’t going to give up this opportunity with her. And he’d make sure to use every possible advantage he had. Eventually, she’d end up exactly where he wanted her. In his bed right next to him and letting tonight’s kind of kiss end in a more satisfactory manner.

Chloe heard the soothing sounds but ignored them. She didn’t want to wake up. Her body was still aching with the need for more sleep so she wiggled into the warmth, sighing with pleasure and let her mind drift back to the dream she’d been having moments earlier.

It was a lovely dream. She was racing across the Texas snow, her strong horse plowing through the cold and snow while Sam chased her on his horse. And since his stallion was more than anything she’d ever be able to outrun, he eventually caught her, pulled her off her saddle into his strong embrace and kissed her senseless.

Something niggled in her mind, but she was so warm, so content, she wouldn’t let herself wake up.

Sam sighed heavily, accepting that Chloe was too tired to actually wake up right at the moment. He grinned at the idea of