was the same problem he’d had last night. Due to his research, he’d thought he was fully prepared for her. But all it had taken was one look and he’d known he wasn’t prepared for her.
He hadn’t known that one look at her would transfix him. He hadn’t anticipated that each time she talked to a friend, her face would light up so entrancingly that it would take his breath away, nor how a fleeting, anxious expression would make him want to be by her side to ward off whatever or whoever was responsible for the look. He hadn’t known that when he took her into his arms he would feel a powerful punch in the gut and, lower, a hardening that made him want her to the point of pain.
He’d definitely been thrown off his stride.
Still, he never should have strung her along as he had. He should have told her right up front who he was and what he wanted.
But…her blue eyes had sparkled with such a delightful curiosity as she’d sparred with him that he hadn’t been able to resist. And as they’d danced, she’d moved against him with a beguiling, unconscious fluidity that had made him crave her with a strength that had been nearly impossible to ignore.
And her soft, full lips… They’d beckoned him to taste. Honey. They’d tasted like honey and whiskey—potent and unforgettable. Still, he never should have kissed her, because with one kiss, he’d known it wouldn’t be enough.
Except it had to be.
What he wanted from her was far too important for him to let his sexual urges get the best of him. No matter what happened this morning, he had to remember that.
He climbed the steps to the terrace.
“Good morning.”
She started at the quiet, deeply masculine voice. Slowly she pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and squinted up at Nick Trejo. Sunlight radiated around him like a brilliant nimbus. She pulled her sunglasses down to cover her eyes. “Good morning.” She straightened.
After last night, she should have known better than to arrange a meeting with him this early and outside. She should have known the sun would be more intense wherever he was. But, unwilling to dredge up the memories of why she hadn’t been thinking straight last night, she decided there was nothing to be done about her decision now. He was here, and she was just going to have to deal with it. With him. “Have a seat.”
He smiled at her, and she shut her eyes. She’d planned to look not only presentable for their meeting this morning but businesslike. Unfortunately, she’d barely managed to slip on a short cotton shift and sandals. And her hair… Normally she wore it up or secured in some way, but with some heavy metal rock band’s percussion section currently booming its merry way through her head, she’d barely been able to run a comb through it.
Opening her eyes and watching as Nick settled himself into the chair across from her, she considered whether or not she could blame him for her hangover. No, she decided. To be fair, she couldn’t.
After all, it wasn’t his fault that her reaction to him had unnerved her to the point that she’d ordered the bartender to keep her glass filled all night. Besides, she seemed to remember having a really great time.
“Help yourself to anything you like.”
“I’ll just have coffee.” He reached for the carafe, poured himself a cup, then glanced over the terrace and lawn. “You must have had a terrific cleanup crew. If I hadn’t been here last night, I wouldn’t have known there’d been a party.”
“Really?” She didn’t bother to conduct her own survey. The movement would have hurt. As he had the night before, Nick was holding all her attention. He was casually dressed in jeans, boots and a rosy beige open-necked shirt beneath a medium brown sport jacket. And his amber eyes were even more vivid in his tanned face than they had been last night.
It didn’t matter if it was night or day, she reflected ruefully. It didn’t matter if he was dressed up or down. His virile masculinity was enough to stop the heart of a healthy woman. Fortunately for her, she wasn’t at all well this morning. She reached for her cup and downed more coffee.
He studied her for several moments. “I gather your party lasted well into the night?”
“I must look even worse than I think I do,” she murmured, then watched as his lips curved ever so slightly upward into a half smile.
The sight of his lips brought back the weak, heated way she’d felt when he’d kissed her. Funny. She would have thought the impact of his smile and the sight of his lips would affect her less this morning. After all, everything in her body was hurting, right down to her toenails. Plus she was wearing sunglasses with the added precaution of ultraviolet protection. But…
“Actually, you look quite beautiful. And I like your hair loose.”
…he affected her more.
A flush rushed to her face, and self-consciously she raised a hand to her hair. Then she realized what she was doing and dropped her hand. “Thank you.” The sooner she got this meeting over with, the better. “Are you sure you don’t want anything other than coffee?”
Food. That reminded her. If the way her stomach felt was a color, it would be green. For all she knew, she was green. Maybe she would feel better if she tried to eat something. One thing was for sure, it couldn’t make her feel any worse. At least, she hoped it couldn’t.
“I’ve already had breakfast. The coffee is all I want.”
“Okay.” She glanced at her watch. A mistake. She couldn’t get the numbers to focus. Then again, he didn’t need to know that. “You have fifteen minutes before the world figures out that I’m awake and starts calling and or party stragglers come down in search of breakfast.” Cautiously she eyed a wheat roll, then tore a small part of the roll off and carefully ate it. If it stayed down, she would consider herself ahead of the game.
“I realize what an important woman you are, and believe me, I’m very grateful to you for working me into your packed schedule.”
He’d said it with a straight face, but a light in his eyes told her that he was mocking her. At any other time she would have called him on it, but not this morning. It would take more effort than she was willing to exert right now. Besides, in the next moment, his expression turned serious.
He leaned back in his chair and fixed his intense amber gaze on her. “There are two things you need to know about me. One, I’m a professor of archaeology at the University of Texas, though currently I’m on sabbatical.”
“Archaeology?” Clever cover for a sun god, she thought, and might have laughed at herself if she hadn’t been so convinced it would jar loose something in her throbbing head.
She had to get past that sun god analogy, that amazing kiss they’d shared last night and those amber eyes of his that even now were heating her skin. She had to consider him as she would any other business person who was coming to her with a request.
Simple.
She just wished she knew how to do it.
“The other thing you need to know is that in the 1880’s my great-grandfather discovered a rich vein of gold in the Sierra Madre mountains in Northern Mexico. It was an enormous find. He literally mined a fortune
