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“I hope I didn’t startle you,” he stated. “I . . . wanted to make sure that you were alone.”
Though her smile was fragile, her round eyes never wavered. “Why are you here, Trevor?” she asked, finding her voice. “Why now?” All of Claud’s warnings caused a painful wrenching of her heart.
The small light of defiance in her gaze bothered him. He felt the need to apologize but ignored it. He had planned this night for nearly two weeks and had never once considered that he might feel compelled to explain himself to her. His lips thinned as he reminded himself that she was the one who had to account for what was happening to him. His blue eyes held her transfixed.
“I got your message at the hospital.”
“But you didn’t call.”
“I wanted to see you in person—”
“I came by the hospital.”
“—alone.”
Ashley’s heart missed a beat but she forced herself to appear calm. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—let Trevor use her again. If he was here, it was for a reason, and she couldn’t delude herself into thinking that it was just to be with her once more.
Trevor frowned at his own admission. “I thought it would be better for everyone concerned if we talked in private.” He seemed sincere. But then, he had once before. She
felt the old bitterness return.
“Are you sure that would be wise, Senator? What if your constituents found out that you were talking to the owner of Stephens Timber Corporation? Wouldn’t that ruin your credibility?”
For a breathless instant anger sparked in his eyes. “We can start this by going for each other’s throats, Ashley, but I don’t think that would accomplish much, do you?”
“I suppose not.” She walked past him and flipped the switch on a brass table lamp. The room was instantly illuminated in a bath of dim light. Ashley’s smile trembled as she looked at him. Trevor appeared to have aged five years in the past month. Yet he was still the most intriguing man she had ever met. His cold blue eyes were just as enigmatic as she remembered.
It took a few moments for the shock of seeing him again to wear off. “I’m having a little trouble understanding why you’re here,” she stated, still trying to hold on to her shattered poise. It was obvious that he had been sitting in the leather chair near the fire. Ashley took a seat on the edge of an overstuffed couch and tucked one foot beneath her. The fabric of her jeans stretched over her leg muscles, and Trevor was forced to shift his gaze back to the concerned expression on her elegant face.
It was still unlined, a perfect oval of alabaster skin with large, even features, lofty cheekbones and a sparkle of innocence that danced in her eyes when she laughed. Tonight her eyes were sober and suspicious. Her skin was flushed slightly from the cold, and her dark, finely arched brows drew downward in concentration as she tried to understand the man who was silently regarding her.
“Okay, Trevor, I’m sitting down and I think I’m about as calm as I’m going to get,” she said.
“Good.” His gaze was stony and cold.
Ashley had always had a powerful effect on him in the past and time hadn’t made Trevor immune to the seductive curve of her chin or the trace of sadness in her wistful smile. Trevor had to force himself to remember the reason for coming to the lonely cabin in the remote stretch of mountains. It would be damnably easy to forget the rest of the world tonight. All too easily Ashley could entrance him and he would fall victim to the subtle allure of her slow smile.
Ashley shook her dark curls, as if to clear her mind. Dear God, what was Trevor doing here? “This is quite a shock, you know. I thought that . . .”
“You thought that I was recuperating from an accident.”
“Yes.”
“I was,” he admitted in a rough whisper. Though he sat away from the light, Ashley could see his sharply defined features. His strong face no longer held the warmth she remembered, and deep lines of worry webbed from the corners of his eyes.
“And now that you feel up to it, you decided to break into my cabin. Right? That’s against the law, Senator.”
“I’ve been charged with worse.” There was a viciousness in his words that she didn’t understand until she remembered the bribery charges. She studied his face. His chin was still bold and square, but his cheeks had hollowed, probably because of the accident. A tiny scar, still an angry red line, cut across his jaw. Beneath his eyes were dark shadows, evidence of too many sleepless nights. When he stared at her she saw no trace of emotion on the rugged contours of his face, but she read something in the chill of his gaze. He looked haunted. “Trevor . . . what’s going on?”
“I want to know just how desperate Stephens Timber is to get me out of the senatorial race.”
“I have nothing against your politics, you know that.”
A disdainful black brow cocked. “What I know is that for all practical purposes, you own Stephens Timber, right?”
The brutal glare in his eyes forced the truth from her lips. “Except for a few shares—”
“But your cousin, Claud, he’s the general manager—the guy who’s responsible for the day-to-day operations?”
