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ADRIANKEPTHISEYEStrained on his laptop, with the distant hum of his private jet’s engines providing familiar and comforting background noise. Emails had piled up in his inbox over the last twenty-four hours—everything from a list of upcoming events from Calandra to an unsolicited horoscope whose subject line gleefully announced that he was about to find the love of his life if he’d just “click now” to read more.
His gaze flickered to the partition that separated the areas of the plane and provided a bit of privacy for the two couches in the back. He’d spent countless hours catching a quick nap there, in between trips to and from wineries and events. And now a golden-haired distraction slumbered peacefully on one of those same couches, unaware of the havoc she’d wreaked in his world over the past thirty-six hours.
When he’d gotten up to stretch his legs, he’d noticed that she’d fallen asleep on her side, her face turned away from him. That had left him with an all too enticing view of the curves of her hips and backside. His libido had conjured up images of her, of his hands gripping her waist as he claimed her body...
Maldición.
He shouldn’t have gone to the cellar last night. He’d stopped by the study to say goodnight to Richard and, before he’d been able to stop himself, had asked after Everleigh. Then his feet had moved of their own accord to the cellar door and carried him down the stairs right into the arms of temptation.
After their kiss he’d stood, feet rooted to the floor, and listened to Everleigh’s footsteps fade overheard. The desire to go after her, to finish what they’d started, had burned so hotly it had scared him.
The one and only time he’d allowed himself to go further than a few weeks of physical pleasure, disaster had ensued.
He’d enjoyed working with Nicole—had appreciated her insight into public relations. But when she’d sashayed by him on the beach at the company retreat, clad in a bright red bikini and flashing him a sweet smile tinged with seduction, she’d caught his interest.
He’d broken his rule about dating co-workers and bought her a drink.
She’d suggested dinner at a local restaurant.
One thing had led to another and he’d awoken the next morning after a rigorous night of sex to a note on her pillow.
Last night was fun. Find me if you want a repeat.
—Nicole
The thrill of doing the chasing, instead of being chased, and finding a woman who knew wine, enjoyed sex and talked withhiminstead of fawning over his money, had been a novelty. So much so that he’d helped her secure a job at a new company so they could continue to date.
The few women he’d been with before had been transparent in their greed and their interest in his fame, not him.
Nicole had seemed different.
At first.
But he hadn’t missed the sudden gleam in her eye when she’d first laid eyes on Casa de Cabrera. The razor-sharp comments she made behind her former co-workers’ backs when she’d stopped by his office. He’d ignored those early warning signs, swayed by the adoring way she looked at him, the chemistry between them in bed and, most of all, the temptation of caring about someone and having them care in return.
It was sickening to think of how he’d succumbed to his own weakness.
The cracks that had lurked beneath the surface of their seemingly idyllic relationship had widened into enormous fissures over time. He’d been in lust with theideaof Nicole, the possibility she had offered. Love had never been part of the equation, but there had been some affection...trust. Things that he could now admit he’d craved since his mother had shut him out of her life.
Nicole had taken the seed of faith he’d given her and ground it into dust under her too-tall leather heels.
Every relationship he’d had since then had been strategic—physically pleasurable, with an interesting companion, but no strings attached. The few times one of his partners had tried to initiate something more he’d ended it, swiftly and at times ruthlessly.
They knew the rules.
The same rules he’d bent by following Everleigh home.
The same rules he’d flat-out broken last night, when he’d succumbed not only to physical desire but to a need to comfort the woman who was making his life a living hell. The woman now sleeping as if theyhadn’tshared a kiss that threatened to unhinge him for the first time in years, with her delectable body, sun-kissed skin and violet eyes that seduced him with a single feisty glance.
But he would not succumb. The temptations Everleigh offered weren’t worth the risk. He would make use of her knowledge of the Fox brand and its marketing over the next few weeks. And then, after the celebration at Fox, announcing the sale and the expansion of Cabrera Wine into the United States, he’d jet off to Rome or Tokyo or even Sydney.
As far away from Everleigh Bradford as possible.
Everleigh woke with a start. She rolled onto her back, blinking the sleep from her eyes. A white leather couch, identical to the one she’d fallen asleep on, ran the length of the wall across the aisle from her. A low rumble trembled beneath her. Somewhere behind her a deep voice was firing off a string of words in Spanish.
That’s right.She was on Adrian Cabrera’s private plane, on her way to Granada, Spain.
As much as she hated having fallen asleep and placed herself in a vulnerable position, the nap had refreshed her. Thankfully, the nightmares that sometimes plagued her had held back.
