Читать книгу Against the Sun - Kat Martin - Страница 11

Five

The weekend arrived. Both days, Jake escorted Sage to the office, where only a few people were working in the building. There were just a few protestors out in front, and none of the chaos that had greeted them coming and going on Friday. These were kids. Most of them wanted their weekends off.

While Sage caught up on things at the office, Jake began the work he needed to do before the Saudis arrived. As the protests had grown, his job had expanded. Fortunately, Ian had given him the authority to arrange whatever additional security was needed during the visit.

Jake made a trip to the Four Seasons, walked the twentieth floor, checked the exits, checked the lobby, dining rooms and kitchen. The hotel was well run, and nothing unusual caught his eye. He spoke to hotel security, alerting them to the Saudis’ visit, advising them to treat the matter as a celebrity stay and keep the information quiet.

The staff assured him that wouldn’t be a problem. Oil-rich Texas was used to visitors from the Middle East. It was only the recent unrest that complicated the situation.

On Sunday afternoon, after Sage finished work, she and Jake drove out in the Jeep to the Dumont family ranch, south and a little west of Houston. The weather had turned slightly cooler. Jake hoped it stayed that way. The Saudis were certainly used to heat, but the humidity was something else.

He glanced over at Sage. She was dressed in jeans, sneakers and a white cotton blouse. The shirt was tied up in front, giving him a glimpse of bare skin. Though perfectly modest, it was driving him crazy. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders, the way she usually wore it, making him want to run his fingers through it.

His heart rate went up and yet again his groin tightened.

He thought of the brief exchange he’d had with Phillip Stanton in her office on Friday, recalled the evil little demon that had driven him to ruin Sage’s last night with her fiancé.

The protests in front of the building weren’t enough to keep her from dining out with the man she was going to marry. Jake could have escorted her home and checked things out, made sure everything was okay. They had planned to have dinner at River Oaks, and getting inside the exclusive country club was next to impossible.

Jake just couldn’t stand the thought of the guy in her bed.

Sage was staring out the window now, her mind somewhere else. Probably on business. “Why’d you do it?” he asked.

She glanced up at him. “Why’d I do what?”

“Let me push you into canceling your date with Phillip. You knew the protest wasn’t enough of a threat that I needed to be with you all evening. You also knew if you gave me any kind of resistance, I would have backed down.”

She didn’t deny it.

“So why didn’t you fight me?” he pressed.

A slow breath whispered out. “I don’t know.”

“I think you do.”

Sage shifted in her seat, to see him better. “What are you saying, Jake?”

“I don’t think you wanted to be with Phillip that night. I think you were glad I gave you an excuse. What I don’t get is why you’re marrying him.”

He figured she would launch into him, tell him it was none of his business—which it wasn’t.

Instead, she leaned back in the seat. “I met Phillip right after I started working for the company. He was already a vice president, not as important a job as he has now, but someone my grandfather had high hopes for. A few years later, we started dating.”

“So you’ve known him quite a while.”

“That’s right. We got along well from the start. Same interests, same goals. Phillip and I… We’re extremely well-suited.”

“How’s that?”

“We both love classical music and ballet. We’re interested in art and the theater.”

“That’s enough for you? That Phillip likes ballet?”

“Which I’m sure you don’t.”

He grinned. “Watching a bunch of men prancing around in tights? Not a chance.” In the mirror, he saw her lips curve in a smile.

“We share the same interests, as I said, and my grandfather and I talked about it. He thought it was time for me to think about my future. Marrying the right person is important to my career.”

Jake clicked on his turn signal and passed a few cars, then pulled back into the right lane. “Your grandfather raised you after your mother died. I saw that in an article on the internet.”

“He raised me from the time I was twelve. He’s the best man I’ve ever known.”

Jake frowned. “What about your father?”

She gazed down at her hands, then looked back through the windshield at the road. “My father died when I was twelve. It’s a long story. It’s enough to say that when he died, I hadn’t seen him in eight years.”

It was obviously a subject she didn’t want to discuss, and Jake didn’t press her. But his curiosity was piqued. There was something about Sage that didn’t add up. She just didn’t seem to be the self-centered heiress he’d expected. And he thought he had just uncovered the first clue to solving the puzzle.

They reached the impressive wrought-iron gate that marked the entrance to the property. A sign overhead read Double D Ranch. “Double D” for Sage and Ian Dumont? Or for Ian and his dead son, Louis?

Sage gave Jake the security code. He punched in the numbers and the automatic gate swung open. They drove till the highway was well out of sight and the Spanish-style ranch house appeared, huge and white, with a red-tile roof, several turrets and patios. Even the matching guesthouse was big.

Sage was right. The place could easily handle the Saudis and the entourage that was sure to be traveling with them.

There was also a large, tile-roofed stable, and an indoor arena surrounded by lush green pastures. Horses grazed and galloped across the countryside.

“Pretty place.”

“It’s a great getaway,” Sage said. “There was a time when Ian raised the finest cutting horses in Texas. Riding is kind of a passion of mine. My only real hobby, I guess you could say. Lately, I just haven’t had time.” She turned to Jake as he pulled up in front of the house. “Do you ride?”

“Not if I can help it.”

She looked disappointed. He tried to imagine Phillip Stanton on horseback, but the image wouldn’t come.

They parked the Jeep and headed into the main house. It was fully staffed, and decorated, too, in a Spanish style, with lots of old wood, bright serapes and heavy old-world antiques.

By the time Jake had surveyed the two houses, walked the stables and the grounds, he only had one comment.

“Your security here sucks. You want the Saudis to stay in this place, you’re going to have to do something about it.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I was afraid you’d say that. Nothing’s been done in years. I guess we just felt safe out here.”

There were vast open stretches of grassland. Lots of native trees and abundant wildlife. Horses roamed the pastures, deer grazed in the fields and the birdlife was spectacular. A hawk soared overhead as if to make the point.

“So what do you want to do?” he asked.

She glanced back at the house. “How fast can something be done?”

Jake pulled out his iPhone and punched in Trace’s home number. “Hey, buddy, I’ve got a problem.”

A low grumble preceded his friend’s soft Texas drawl. “It’s Sunday, you know. This is supposed to be my day off. I’m spendin’ time with my wife.”

Jake could hear the pride in his friend’s voice. Trace was married and in love. Jake had never seen him so happy.

“I’m out at the Dumont ranch. The place is huge, with lots of land, main house, guesthouse and stables. Some of the security cameras aren’t working and the alarms are years out-of-date. The whole system needs to be replaced. How long will it take you to upgrade?”

Trace muttered a word Jake couldn’t quite hear. “I’ll get on it. I can have someone out there today. We can do a perimeter installation, mount new cameras, put some temporary equipment in the house, guesthouse and stables, till we have time to do a permanent replacement.”

“There’s a housekeeper, foreman, some ranch hands. We’ll let them know your men are coming.”

“We…?”

“Sage is with me. Can you be finished by next weekend?”

“Enough for you to feel safe.”

“Good enough.”

Jake clicked off and shoved the phone back into the pocket of his jeans. “Trace is going to take care of it. He’ll have enough of the system up and running to keep people safe. Let’s talk to your foreman, let him know what’s going on.”

Sage nodded. “I can’t believe how complicated this is getting.”

“Three hundred million is a lot of money.”

“If I make this deal and we get hold of a platform and some used offshore equipment, it’ll be a huge savings to the company.”

“And that means a lot to you.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Then let’s get to it.” Setting a hand at her waist, he guided her toward the foreman’s house. Without her high heels, she seemed almost tiny to him. Jake felt a surge of protectiveness, and told himself it was all right to feel that way, since it was his job. He thought about how much softer she seemed out here, miles away from work.

He told himself not to think of how sexy she looked in the snug jeans, with that little bit of skin showing at her waist. Told his mind not to stray where it had no right to go.

He told himself to remember Sage was off-limits. But he couldn’t quite convince himself.

* * *

Riding the elevator up to her apartment on the tenth floor, Sage felt Jake’s hand at her back.

“You don’t have to come in,” she said, as the elevator doors slid open and he guided her out into the hall.

“That’s what I get paid for. I’ll just take a quick look around, make sure everything’s okay.” He walked past her as she opened the door and turned off the alarm, then watched him disappear down the hall. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. The security situation at the ranch was worse than she had expected. The system needed upgrading anyway, so doing it now wasn’t really a problem, except that the matter had become urgent.

She thought of the surprisingly comfortable day she had spent with Jake. He was easy to talk to and actually listened to what she had to say. She tried not to compare him to Phillip, whose mind always seemed to be somewhere else.

Things had gone well at first, but as the day progressed, the easy conversation had slipped away, replaced by a slowly building sexual tension.

The ride home had been silent, marked by a shared look now and then that seemed to scorch the air between them. She had never felt anything like it.

Thank God they were home and he was leaving.

She watched him return to the entry, thinking how much space he took up, even in her large, airy apartment. “Did you really expect to find someone lurking in here?”

“No. But don’t be surprised if trouble starts again tomorrow. Seems like once these things get rolling, they take on a life of their own.”

“I hope you’re wrong.”

“So do I. It would make my job a whole lot easier.”

She looked up at him, standing there in front of her. God, he was handsome, and so damned male.

“Is that all I am to you, Jake? A job?”

His blue eyes ran over her. Something shifted between them, and the air seemed to simmer and heat.

“That’s the way it started,” he said, his gaze on her face.

“And now?”

His nostrils flared. He was standing closer than she’d realized. So close she could see his chest rising and falling, each breath coming faster than the last. He was wearing a dark green T-shirt and jeans, and when she glanced down she saw there was a heavy bulge beneath his zipper. He took a step toward her, and instead of moving back, she rested her hand on his chest. She could feel the thick muscle, the bands of sinew that tightened beneath the soft cotton fabric.

Her heartbeat quickened. She stared at his mouth and wanted him to kiss her. It was insane. She was engaged to be married. She wasn’t the type of woman who betrayed her fiancé by kissing another man.

She tipped her head to look up at Jake’s face, saw the hunger in those blue, blue eyes, and her whole body went hot. One of his hands slid beneath her hair, tilting her mouth toward his. She felt the roughness of his palm against her scalp, the raw power he commanded. He bent his head, lightly brushed her lips, and heat and need poured through her.

She exhaled a breath and her eyes closed. She wanted this kiss…wanted it so badly.

His mouth hovered over hers, just a breath away. “What about Phillip?” he whispered.

“Phillip?” Her eyes fluttered, slowly opened. Then the name hit her like a splash of cold water and her stomach knotted. Sage jerked away. “Phillip. Oh, my God.”

Those fierce blue eyes bored into her. “I don’t share my women, Sage.”

Humiliation burned through her, and fury boiled in her blood. “Get out.” She pointed toward the door with a hand that trembled. “Get out of here right now.”

The edge of his mouth harshly curved. “I’m leaving. But I’ll be back in the morning. Seven o’clock.”

“Six!” she demanded, just to save a little pride. “I have work to do.” She wanted to throw something at him, wanted to tell him never to come near her again. He had humiliated her, shown her how susceptible she was to him.

Her eyes stung.

“Lock the door behind me,” he said a little more gently, and then he was gone.

Sage’s throat closed up. He had made a fool of her, preyed on the attraction she felt for him. Clearly, he believed he could have her anytime he wanted.

It wasn’t true. She wouldn’t do that to Phillip.

She leaned back against the wall and released a shaky breath. It was nothing, she told herself. A moment of weakness, nothing more.

It wouldn’t happen again. Sage ignored the little tremor of regret that whispered through her.