Читать книгу The Garrisons: Cassie, Adam & Brooke: Stranded with the Tempting Stranger - Brenda Jackson - Страница 13

There was a long silence as Brandon and Cassie stood there, staring at each other. Tension in the room was thick, almost suffocating. Brandon inhaled deeply, wishing like hell that he’d told her the truth last night as he had intended and not have her find out on her own. Apparently, she had listened to his phone conversation long enough to know the caller had been Parker.

“I asked you a question, Brandon. How do you know Parker?”

Her sharp tone cut into his thoughts and he could tell from her expression that she was beginning to form her own opinions about things. He didn’t want that. He took another deep breath before saying, “He’s a client.”

She turned her face from him with the speed of someone who had been slapped and the motion made his heart turn over in his chest. He had hurt her. He could actually feel it. The thought that he had done that to her appalled him and at that moment he felt lower than low. “Cassie, I—”

“No,” she snapped, turning back to him.

She reached up as if to smooth a strand of hair back from her face, but he actually saw her quickly swipe back a tear. Brandon winced.

“And just what do you do for Parker, Brandon? Are you his hit man? Since I’m not being cooperative did he decide to do away with me all together?”

“I’m his attorney, Cassie,” he asserted, his brows drawing together in a deep frown, not liking what she’d said.

“His attorney?” she whispered, her eyes widening in disbelief.

His stomach tightened when he saw the color drain from her face. “Yes,” he said softly. “I represent Garrison, Inc.”

She didn’t say anything for a few moments but the shocked eyes staring at him appeared as jagged glass. Then they appeared to turn into fire. “Is Brandon Jarrett even your real name?” she blurted.

He exhaled a long breath before answering. “Yes, but not my full name. It’s Brandon Jarrett Washington.”

Cassie frowned. She recalled seeing the name of Washington and Associates law firm on a letterhead sent to her on Parker’s behalf a few months ago when she had refused to acknowledge any more of his phone calls. “I should have known,” she said with anger in her voice. “Anything that’s too good to be true usually isn’t true. So what sort of bonus did Parker offer you to make me change my mind about the buyout? He evidently told you to succeed by using any means necessary. You wasted your time in law school since you would make a pretty good gigolo.”

“Don’t say that, Cassie.”

“Don’t say it?” she repeated as intense anger radiated from every part of her. “How dare you tell me not to. You came here pretending to be someone you are not, to get next to me, to sleep with me to change my mind because Parker paid you to do it?”

“That’s not the way it was.”

“Oh? Then what way was it, Brandon? Are you saying you didn’t come here with me as your target, and our meeting had nothing to do with Parker wanting me to give up my controlling share of the company?”

Brandon felt the floor beneath him start to cave in, but he refused to lie. “Yes, but that changed once I got to know you.”

That wasn’t good enough for Cassie. She shook her head and began backing away from him. She felt both hurt and anger when she thought of all the time they had spent together, all the things they had done. And all of it had been nothing more than calculated moves on his part.

That realization filled her with humiliation. “You bastard! How dare you use me that way! I want you out of here. Out of my hotel,” she all but screamed. “And you can go back and tell Parker that your mission wasn’t accomplished. Hell will freeze two times over before I give him anything!”

It only took her a minute to snatch her boots off the floor and then she stormed past him and went to the sofa to grab her jacket and purse. Brandon was right on her heels.

“Listen, Cassie, please let me explain. I told Parker just now that I was going to tell you the truth.”

She whirled on him. “You’re lying!”

“No, I’m not lying, Cassie. I tried telling you the truth last night.”

“It doesn’t matter. You lied to me, Brandon, and I won’t forget it. And I meant what I said. I want you out of my hotel or I will order that my staff put you out.”

With that said and without taking the time to put on her boots, a barefoot Cassie opened the door and raced out of the suite.

Brandon studied the roadway as he drove toward Cassie’s home, barely able to see due to the intense rain pouring down. By the time he had made it out of the suite after Cassie, she had gotten into her car and driven off. He had gone back inside and done as she’d demanded by packing, and within the hour he had checked out.

He had called his pilot to cancel his flight off the island. He refused to leave the Bahamas until he had a chance to talk to her again, to clear himself. Nothing mattered other than getting her to believe that although his intentions might not have been honorable when he’d arrived on the island, after getting to know her, he had known he could not go through with it. And he had tried telling her the truth last night.

But deep down he knew that none of that excused his behavior in her eyes. He also knew that she had a right to be angry and upset. He owed her an apology, which he intended to give her, and nothing would stop him from doing so. Not even the threat that Hurricane Melissa now posed since she had decided to head in this direction.

The hotel had been in chaos with people rushing to check out. No one wanted to remain on an island that was in the hurricane’s path. But even with all the commotion, Cassie’s staff had everything under control and was doing an outstanding job of keeping everyone calm and getting them checked out in a timely manner. For Cassie to be at home and not at the hotel was a strong indication of how upset she was and just how badly he had hurt her.

He inhaled a deep sigh of relief when he pulled into Cassie’s driveway and saw her car was there. He hoped she had no intentions of going back out in this weather. From the report he’d heard on the car’s radio, the authorities were saying it wasn’t safe to travel and were asking people to stay off the roads since there had been a number of major auto accidents.

He glanced at her house when he brought the car to a stop. Judging the distance from where he was to her front door, chances were he would be soaked to the skin by the time he made it, but that was the least of his concerns. He needed to clear things up between them and he refused to entertain the thought that she wouldn’t agree to listen to what he had to say.

He opened the car door and made a quick dash for the door. The forecasters still weren’t certain if Hurricane Melissa would actually hit the island or just come close to crossing over it. Regardless of whether it was a hit or a miss, this island was definitely experiencing some of the effects of her fury. He was totally drenched by the time he knocked on Cassie’s door. He had changed into a pair of jeans and the wet denim material seemed to cling to his body, almost squeezing him.

The door was snatched open and he could tell from Cassie’s expression that she was both shocked and angry to see him. “I can’t believe you have the nerve to come here.”

“I’m here because you and I need to talk.”

“Wrong, I have nothing to say to you and I would advise you to leave,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“We have a lot to say and I can’t leave.”

She glared at him. “And why not?”

“The weather. The police asked drivers to get off the road. If I go back out in that I risk the chance of having an accident.”

Her glare hardened. “And you think I care?”

“Yes, because if there’s one thing I’ve discovered about you over the past few days, it’s that you are a caring person, Cassie, and no matter what kind of asshole you undoubtedly think I am, you would not send me to my death.”

She leaned closer and got right in his face. “Want to bet?”

From the look in her eyes, the answer was no. At that particular moment he didn’t want to bet, but he would take a chance. “Yes.”

She glared at him some more. “I suggest that you go sit in your car until the weather improves for you to leave. You’re not welcome in my home.”

“If I do that then I run the risk of catching pneumonia in these wet clothes.”

Evidently fed up with what she considered nonsense, she was about to slam the door in his face when he blocked it with his hand. “Look, Cassie, I’m not leaving until you hear me out, nor will I leave the island until you do. If you refuse to do so here today then whenever you go back to the hotel I’ll make a nuisance of myself until you do agree to see me.”

“Try it and I’ll call the police,” she snapped.

“Yes, you could do that, but imagine the bad publicity it will give the hotel. I’d think the last thing you’ll want for the Garrison Grand-Bahamas is that.” He knew what he’d said had hit a nerve. That would be the last thing she would want.

Except for the force of the rain falling, there was long silence as she stonily stared at him before angrily stepping aside. “Say what you have to say and leave.”

When he walked across the threshold he glanced around and saw what she’d been doing before she’d come to answer the door. She had been rolling the hurricane shutters down to cover the windows. “Where’s your staff?”

She glared at him. “Not that it’s any of your business but I sent them home before the weather broke. I didn’t want them caught out in it.”

“But you have no qualms sending me back out in it,” he said, meeting her gaze.

“No, I don’t, so what does that tell you?” she stormed.

He crossed his arms across his chest and gave her a glare of his own. “It tells me that we really do need to talk. But first I’ll help you get the shutters in place.”

Cassie blinked. Was he crazy? She had no intention of him helping her do anything. “Excuse me. I don’t recall asking for your help,” she said sharply.

“No, but I intend to help anyway,” he said, heading toward the window in the living room.

She raced after him. “I only let you in to talk, Brandon.”

“I know,” he agreed smoothly, over his shoulder. “But we can talk later. A hurricane might be headed this way and John would roll over in his grave if he thought I’d leave his daughter defenseless,” he said, taking hold of the lever to work the shutter into place.

A puzzled frown crossed Cassie’s brow and she stopped in her tracks. “You knew my father?”

He glanced over at her, knowing he would be completely honest with her from here on out and would tell her anything she wanted to know, provided it wasn’t privileged information between attorney and client. “Yes, I knew John. I’ve known him all my life. He and my father, Stan Washington, were close friends, and had been since college.”

He saw the surprised look in her eyes seconds before she asked, “Stan Washington was your father?”

“Yes. You’d met him?” he asked, moving to another window.

“I’ve known him all my life, as well,” she said. “But I never knew anything personal about him other than he and Dad were close friends. He was the person Mom knew to contact if an emergency ever came up and she needed to reach Dad.”

Brandon nodded. He figured his father had been. As close a friendship as the two men shared, Brandon had been certain his father had known about John’s affair with Ava. Besides that, Stan had been the one who’d drawn up John’s will and who had handled any legal matters dealing with the Garrison Grand-Bahamas exclusively. Once Cassie had taken ownership of the hotel she had retained her own attorneys.

“What about all the other windows?” he asked, after securing the shutters in place.

“I had my housekeeping staff help me with them before they left.”

“Good,” he murmured as he glanced over at her. She was still barefoot but had changed into a pair of capri pants and a blouse. And like everything else he’d ever seen on her body, she looked good. But then she looked rather good naked, too.

“Now you can have your say and leave.”

His eyes moved from her body to her face. He had been caught staring and she wasn’t happy about it, probably because she had an idea what thoughts had passed through his mind.

“I’d think my help just now has earned me a chance to get out of these clothes.”

Her back became ramrod straight. “You can think again!”

He suddenly realized how that might have sounded. “Calm down, Cassie,” he said, running his hand down his face. “That’s not what I meant. I was suggesting it would be nice to get out of these wet things so you can dry them for me. Otherwise, I might catch pneumonia.”

Cassie bit down on her lip to keep from telling him that when and if he caught pneumonia she hoped he died a slow, agonizing death, but then dished the thought from her mind. She wasn’t a heartless or cruel person, although he was the last human being on earth who deserved even a drop of her kindness.

“Fine,” she snapped. “The laundry room is this way,” she said, walking out of the room knowing he had to walk briskly to keep up with her. “And I suggest you stay in that room until your clothes are dry.”

“Why? Don’t you have a towel I could use while they’re drying?”

She shot a look at him that said he was skating on thin ice and it was getting thinner every minute. “I have plenty of towels but I prefer not seeing you parade around in one.”

“Okay.”

She abruptly stopped walking and turned to face him. “Look, Brandon. Apparently everything you’ve done in the last three days was nothing but a joke to you but I hope you don’t see me laughing. You don’t even see me smiling.”

The humor that had been in Brandon’s eyes immediately faded. When he spoke again his voice was barely audible. “No, I don’t think the last three days were a joke, Cassie. In fact I think they were the most precious I’ve ever spent in my entire life. The only thing I regret is coming to this island thinking you were someone you are not and because of it, I screwed up something awful. The only thing I can do is be honest with you now.”

She refused to let his words affect her in any way. There was no way she could trust him again. “It really doesn’t matter what you say when we talk, Brandon. I won’t be able to get beyond the fact that you deliberately deceived me.”

“Not all of it was based on deceit, Cassie. When I made love to you it was based on complete sincerity. Please don’t ever think that it wasn’t.”

“You used me,” she flung out with intense anger in her voice.

He reached out and gently touched the cleft in her chin and said in a low voice, “No, I made love to you, Cassie. I gave you more of myself than I’ve ever given another woman, freely, unselfishly and completely.”

Knowing if she didn’t take a step back from him she would weaken, she said, “The laundry room is straight ahead and on your right. And since you’re so terrified of catching pneumonia, there’s a linen closet with towels in that room. But I’m warning you to stay put until your clothes dry. I have enough to do with my time than worry about a half-naked man parading through my house. I need to fill all the bathtubs with water in case I lose electricity.”

“And if you do lose electricity, the thought of being here in the dark won’t bother you?”

“For your information, I won’t be here. As soon as your clothes dry and you have your say, I’m going to the hotel to help out there.”

“You’re going out in that weather?” he asked in a disbelieving tone.

“I believe that’s what I said,” she said smartly.

“Weren’t you listening when I said the authorities are asking people to stay off the streets?” he asked incredulously, refusing to believe anyone could be so pigheaded and stubborn.

She lifted her chin. “Yes, I was listening with as much concentration as you were when I was telling you to leave.” She narrowed her eyes and then said, “Now if you will excuse me, I have things to do. When your clothes are dry and you’re fully dressed again, you should be able to find me in the living room.”

Narrowing his eyes, Brandon watched as she turned and walked away.

Cassie kept walking on shaky legs, refusing to give in to temptation and glance over her shoulder to look at Brandon once again. The man was unsettling in the worst possible way and the last thing she needed was having him here under her roof, especially when the two of them were completely alone.

She shook her head. At least he was taking off those wet jeans. She hadn’t missed seeing how they had fit his body like a second layer of skin. She was glad he hadn’t caught her staring at him when he had been putting the shutters up to the windows. Every time he had moved his body her eyes had moved with it. Not only had his wet jeans hugged his muscular thighs but they had shown what a nice tush he had, as well as a flat, firm stomach.

She sighed deeply, disgusted with herself. How could she still find the man desirable after what he had done? And she’d had no intention of accepting his help with the shutters but he hadn’t given her a choice in the matter. He did just whatever he wanted. Even now his behavior and actions were totally unacceptable to her.

After filling up all the bathtubs and making sure there were candles in appropriate places and extra batteries had been placed beside her radio, she called the hotel. Simon had assured her that he had everything under control and for her to stay put and not try to come out in the weather. The majority of the people who had wanted to leave had checked out of the hotel without a hitch. The ones that had remained would ride the weather out at the Garrison Grand-Bahamas. If the authorities called for a complete evacuation of the hotel, then they would use the hotel’s vans to provide transportation to the closest shelters that had been set up. Simon had insisted that she promise that if needed, she would leave her home and go to the nearest shelter, as well.

Satisfied her staff had everything under control, she walked into the living room, over to the French doors and glanced out. The ocean appeared fierce and angry, and the most recent forecast she’d heard—at least the most positive one—said that Melissa would weaken before passing over the Bahamas. But Cassie had lived on the island long enough to know there was also a chance the hurricane would intensify once it reached land as well.

She glanced up at the sky. Although it was mid-afternoon the sky had darkened to a velvet black and the clouds were thickening. Huge droplets of rain were drenching the earth and strong, gusty winds had trees swaying back and forth. She rubbed her arms, feeling a slight chill in the air. Even if Melissa did become a category four, Cassie wasn’t afraid of losing her home. Her father had built this house to withstand just about anything.

Except pain.

It seemed those words filtered through her mind on a whisper. And she hung her head as more pain engulfed her, disturbed by the emotions that were scurrying through her. She drew in a deep breath, thinking she hadn’t shed a single tear for what Jason had done to her, yet earlier today she had cried for the pain Brandon had caused her. Inwardly her heart was still crying.

Cassie lifted her head. She smelled Brandon’s scent even before she actually heard him. She knew he was there and had known the exact moment he had entered the room. However, she wasn’t ready to turn around yet, at least not until she had her full coat of armor in place. For a reason she was yet to understand, Brandon Jarrett Washington had gotten under her skin and even with all the anger she felt toward him, he was still embedded there.

“Cassie?”

She stiffened when the sound of his voice reached her. She tried ignoring the huskiness of his tone and the goose bumps that pricked her skin. Saying a silent prayer for strength, as well as the retention of her common sense, she slowly turned around. Because all the windows were protected by shutters, the room appeared slightly dark, yet she was able to make him out clearly. He stood rigid in the doorway and thankfully, fully dressed. He took a step into the room and heat coursed through her, and to her way of thinking she might have been thankful way too soon.

Although she didn’t want to admit it, even in dry jeans and a shirt, Brandon looked the picture of a well-developed man. And she was reacting to his presence in a way she didn’t want to and that realization was very disconcerting. The silence shrouding them within the room was a stark contradiction to the fury of the storm that was raging outside.

She tightened her hands into fists at her side when he slowly crossed the room to her. His gaze continued to touch hers when he reached out his hand to her and said in a soft voice, “Come, Cassie, let’s sit on the sofa and talk.”