With a little sob, she was in his arms.
Gage kissed her mouth, her eyes, her temples. He felt like a drowning man clutching a bit of driftwood. If he held on too loosely, she might slip from his grasp; too tightly, and he might overwhelm her.
Natalie solved the problem for him. She moaned, lifted herself to him, dug her hands into his hair and crushed his mouth to hers.
âBaby.â His voice caught and broke; he clasped her face in his hands and kissed her, deep and hard. âOh, my sweet baby.â
Her hands swept under his jacket. She felt the race of his heart, knew it matched the galloping beat of her own.
âYes,â she said, âoh, yes, please. Pleaseâ¦.â
GAGE BARON was not in the best of moods.
Heâd put in a long day, riding herd on a contractor and construction crew that seemed to have forgotten the idea was to build a new wing onto Baronâs Windsong Resort, not to demolish it.
Now he was about to put in an even tougher night, though given a choice, Gage thought wryly, heâd trade the company of the elite gathering at the Holcombsâs cocktail party for the earthy reality of the construction bunch anytime.
But he had given his word heâd attend, which meant he had to go to the silly thing, like it or not.
âDamn fool thing to have done, Baron,â he muttered to his reflection in the bathroom mirror. âBut you did it, and youâre stuck with it.â
Gage scraped the sharp edge of his razor across his jaw. Bad enough a man had to shave every morning but to have to do it all over again at six in the evening seemed unconscionable.
He glanced at the gold Rolex that lay on the edge of the sink. Not six. Seven-fifteen. He was late, on top of everything elseâ¦although, now that he thought about it, being late wasnât so bad. Thereâd be one less hour of standing around the Holcomb patio, pretending he was having a good time when only an idiot would have a good time at a stupid cocktail party for Liz Holcombâs latest pet charity.
And who did he have to blame? Gage scowled at his reflection as he rinsed the lather from his face. Himself, that was who. Himself, and nobody else.
Heâd let Natalie talk him into it. âIâll skip the party and send a check,â heâd said, when sheâd shown him the invitation. âYou just tell me how big the check should be.â But Natalie had given him that look, the one heâd seen on her lovely face more and more the past few months.
âYouâre free to do that, if you wish,â sheâd said in that cool and elegant voice of hers, âbut I worked on the committee with Liz.â
âMeaning?â Gage had countered, and Natalie had smiled politely and said meaning, of course, that sheâd be attending the cocktail party even if he didnât.
Her reply had surprised him. Things had gotten off track between them lately but still, they were a couple. Werenât they? For one long moment, heâd almost asked her that but heâd thought better of it and said, okay, if it meant so much to her, heâd go.
âThank you,â Natalie had said, her tone as polite as her smile, and that had thrown him off balance again, made him so damned furious heâd wanted to haul her into his arms, kiss her until she turned back into the woman he remembered.
The breath hissed from between Gageâs teeth. He tossed aside the towel, strapped on his watch and strode, naked, into his bedroom.
But sex was supposed to be a two-way street. And in life, just as in business, you never went into a situation unless you were pretty damn sure you knew the outcomeâ¦and who knew what would have happened if heâd tried to melt Natalieâs icy politeness with sex?
It might not have worked. And that was a possibility he wasnât ready to face just yet.
On the other hand, heâd figured that maybe it was time to push for some answers. Gage paused at the door to his closet, his jaw tightening. Maybe it was time to find out if it was only his ego that wanted Natalie warm and responsive in his arms, and not his heart.