The Tycoon's Tender Triumph Page 0,9

her head would have fallen backwards against the hood of the truck. Such was the intensity of the feelings his body was having against hers. She’d kissed and made out with boys in the past, but none had even come close to comparing to the way Sam could make her feel. She couldn’t think, couldn’t move except to shift restlessly against him, needing something she didn’t really understand.

And then he was gone. Just as suddenly as he kissed her, he pulled free, letting her slide down to the ground again. His hands on her back pulled her close, but only so he could open the car door and settle her kiss drugged body into the passenger seat, strapping the seat belt across her for safety.

In a daze she watched him walk around the hood of the car, then settle his large frame next to hers. And he was driving off before she could react, before she even realized she should be jumping out of the car, screaming and hiding in some place safe, where he couldn’t get to her anymore.

He didn’t pause until they reached the airport and Chloe gritted her teeth in frustration when several security guards simply waved his car through the gates. She realized that basically no one could stop this man, especially not her.

When they parked on the tarmac, he turned off the engine and turned to face her. “Am I going to have as much trouble getting you on that plane as I did getting you into this car?” he asked softly, the lights from the airport shining through.

Chloe refused to look at him, she was still so angry and embarrassed. “Leave me alone, Sam,” she said and yanked open the passenger seat door. She stepped out, more furious when she heard his deep chuckle come across the soft leather seats.

“Pity,” was all he said as he got out of the car himself and followed her onto the plane.

Chloe stomped up the metal stairs, irritated beyond anything she’d ever felt in her life. She tried to smile at the stewardess who greeted her, but she was afraid her response was more of a growl than a polite reply.

Sitting down in one of the luxurious leather seats, she stared out the window, refusing to even speak to Sam as he boarded and nodded politely to the flight attendant. The woman practically gushed at him as he took his seat opposite her. He declined the offer of refreshment and simply told her that they could take off immediately.

Chloe wished she could tell him that they had to wait in line like the rest of the world, but apparently that wasn’t the case. She heard the pilot call on the radio to the air traffic controllers who immediately gave the plane containing the great Sam Marchant right of way. They were airborne literally minutes after he boarded. And moments after that, his phone was ringing and he was busy working on some sort of multi million dollar deal, spouting numbers that were incomprehensible to her mind.

Since it was already late to begin with, and adding into the mix her overwrought emotions, it was no wonder that Chloe’s eyes started to droop. She fought her exhaustion for only a few minutes before giving in to the lure of sleeplessness. She didn’t feel the back of her chair being lowered, or the bottom of her chair being raised so it was more of a bed than a chair. And when the soft blanket was draped over her, she could only snuggle closer to the welcome warmth.

A long time later, Sam turned off his cell phone and leaned back in the leather chair, content to simply stare at Chloe and consider the evening. She was here, but damn if his body wasn’t protesting the lack of her body snuggled against his. His erection had started the moment he’d walked into her apartment and had only intensified with that kiss. He remembered that kiss by the car and almost cursed.

She was his responsibility. He’d promised her father that he’d take care of her, get her out of that horrible job and get her back to Texas where he thought she belonged. Chloe’s father, Jim, had his plan all worked out. What Jim hadn’t anticipated was the independent pride and stubbornness his daughter had inherited.

Sam had to agree that, from the letters she’d written over the past few years, Chloe sounded miserable working for the advertising agency in New York. But all the