Lori Foster Read online

  Damn, why hadn’t Lace given her a few basic instructions before taking off? She didn’t think there was any way she could wing it on her own.

  His eyes narrowed speculatively, and in a low voice, he asked, “Well, Annie? You want to tell me what this—” his hand swept the pile of books “—is really all about?”

  CHAPTER TWO

  NOT ON A BET, Annie thought, wary of the way Guy watched her now. She stiffened her shoulders and refused to look away from his probing gaze. He probably thought he was intimidating her.

  In truth, she was getting a little turned on.

  Having all of Guy’s undivided attention made her warm inside, and a little giddy.

  “What I do, and who I do it with,” she said with what she hoped was a decisive tone, “is my own business, Guy Donovan.”

  As she spoke, she began gathering up the books. He was right, there was enough reading material to keep her busy for a month.

  One thin book fell open to a particularly graphic image of a couple intimately, happily entwined. The woman, positioned mostly on the top, wore a lecherous grin and little else. Somehow Annie couldn’t quite picture herself propped up on Guy that way.

  But the lecherous grin, oh, she could easily give in to that right now!

  Annie quickly scooped the book into the stack. She peeked at Guy, and knew that he had seen the picture, too. A strained expression replaced his frown.

  Annie cleared her throat. “Why are you here?”

  Guy shook his head as if to clear it. “We can talk about that later.”

  “We can talk about it now. All other discussions are over.” Planning to be a seducer was difficult enough. Talking about it with the seducee would be impossible. She needed time to formulate her plans without Guy’s verbal assistance.

  Guy tilted his head, then closed his large hands over her shoulders as she started past. Her knees almost turned to pudding.

  He was so big her head barely reached his chin, but she loved every single inch of him. All her life, she’d known she was loved by her family. But her father had always either hidden away, too overcome with his grief from losing his wife, or too involved with his skiing equipment business, to pay much attention to his children.

  Daniel had filled in as best as he could, so he was as much a parent figure as a big brother, which gave him a double-whammy impact. But Daniel had always been studious and very serious about his education. He’d seemed a bit overwhelming to a little sister who made B’s with an effort and was shy to boot. And Max…well, her brother, who also happened to be the epitome of a middle child, was just plain difficult and always had been. She never doubted his love, but he was more likely to tease her than hug her. That’s when he was even around. Max was traveling more often than he was at home.

  Guy gently shook her out of her reverie. “Promise me something, honey. Before you actually decide to do anything, talk to me about it. Okay?”

  Since she suspected at least a little discussion would be necessary before she could seduce him, Annie nodded agreement. Anything to put this subject to an end. Then she remembered that Guy was supposedly marrying Melissa, and there wouldn’t be a chance for her to do any seducing at all.

  Her heart punched against her ribs with the heavy throb of panic. Damn him, why was he so blind and stubborn where she was concerned?

  Guy watched her with a concerned expression. “You okay, honey? You want to talk about it?”

  Guy was almost always there for her when she needed him—just not in the way she needed him now.

  “Sometimes talking doesn’t do any good.”

  He obviously didn’t like hearing that. “You know I’ll help you out any way I can.”

  “Really?” Maybe if she just told him she wanted to sate herself on his body…but no. She wanted so much more than that. She wanted sexual satisfaction, but she also wanted his love.

  She wanted everything.

  Sadly, she shook her head. Guy stepped forward and hugged her close and Annie found her nose pressed to the lower portion of his hard chest. She drew a deep breath and sighed. Man oh man, he smelled so good.

  “I have needs,” she said, her words muffled by his flannel.

  Guy froze. She could feel the accelerated thumping of his heartbeat. “Uh…money?” he asked hopefully. “Business advice? Because you know I’d gladly—”

  “Personal needs.” Then she said more boldly, “Intimate needs.”

  Guy turned her loose like she’d caught on fire. “What the hell do you mean, talking like that?”

  Innocently, she asked, “Like what?”

  His big hands flapping in the air, Guy said, “About…needs and all that.”

  Annie realized she was botching it in a big way, but darn it all, she was tired of pretending she wasn’t a woman. In the past, Guy had always just seemed to know when she felt alone or lonely or sad. Even before he’d come to live with them, he never appeared to mind when she hung around, which meant a great deal to a young girl who didn’t make friends easily.

  Being with Daniel Sawyers and Guy Donovan had given her instant popularity in school, especially with the girls who vied for the older boys’ attention. Both Daniel and Guy had always been well known in the community, and sought after as eligible bachelors from the time they’d graduated high school. But they each had planned their futures, so while they dated, they didn’t get serious with any one female. And they had always allowed her to tag along.

  Through it all, Annie had fallen hopelessly, irrevocably in love.

  This was the first instance that she could remember where Guy wanted distance between them. She hated it. Summoning up a skimpy smile, she asked, “Don’t we always discuss things, Guy?”

  His gaze moved over her face, as if searching, then he spoke very slowly. “Yeah. Most times we do. I wouldn’t have it any other way, Annie.”

  “Then you should know that, despite how you see me, I’m a woman. I’m not sexless.”

  His face colored and he sputtered, “I never said—”

  “And I do have fantasies.”

  “Good God!” He took the books from her hands and set them aside. “Listen to me—”

  “Do you want to hear my fantasies, Guy?”

  He swallowed hard. He cleared his throat. “Okay. Yeah. We can…uh, we can talk about that.” He led her to the couch and dragged her into a seat. “Now the thing is, fantasies are fine. I just don’t think you’re ready to actually seduce anyone. Definitely not that ass, Perry. See what I mean?”

  Annie’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t think I can do it.”

  “I never said that, dammit!”

  “You think I don’t have what it takes. You think I’m not sexy enough.”

  “I think you’re plenty sexy!”

  “Really?” Annie scooted a little closer to him, beyond pleased that he’d made such an admission. Progress, she thought, whether he realized it or not.

  Guy stared into her eyes, then at her mouth, before he growled and leaped away from the couch. He stalked around her small living room, grousing as he stepped over and around the variety of sex books, and finally stopped in front of her with his hands on his hips. Looking far too resigned and determined, he said, “Not to change the subject—”

  “Ha!”

  “But I came here to tell you something.”

  “This sounds serious.” She felt herself shaking inside, with dread and heartache.

  “I suppose it is. Not bad, really. But…well, I’m going to ask Melissa to marry me.”

  Even though she already knew it, Annie flinched. Hearing it from his own mouth was worse than when Daniel had said it. “Is that so?”

  “I know it’s kind of unexpected, but she’ll be the perfect wife for me. Even your father thinks so.”

  “Dad?” Now how did her father get into this? It was true he valued Guy very highly. After all, neither of his sons had followed in his footsteps to help run the prized family business. Only Guy had done that, and done i
t very well, so well that Dan Sawyers seldom set foot in the offices anymore.

  Guy had also taken over the family home, given that they’d each gotten apartments. Guy’s presence there had changed Annie’s memories of the house, and made them all pleasant. He’d insisted that their family home should be preserved, and if Annie ever wanted it, it would be waiting for her.

  She wanted to share it with Guy, but now he was talking about marriage to Melissa.

  Annie considered the possibility of hitting him over the head with one of the sex books, since that might be the only use the book got. But he was so much taller than her, that would be difficult.

  “Your father let me know,” Guy said, “in very blatant terms, that it was time I had a wife. He’s changed a lot since Daniel’s marriage. He looks at things differently now.”

  Her father had changed. Used to be, she seldom saw him at all. His grief had sealed him away to the point he avoided most reminders of the love he’d lost, including his family. His feelings for his wife had been so all encompassing, nothing else had mattered. Only very special events had warranted her father’s attention.

  When her mother died, Annie had only been two years old. She didn’t really remember her mother, but years later she’d overheard Daniel saying to Guy that he’d lost both parents on that awful day. Now that Annie was older, she realized what a godsend Guy had been for Daniel. Guy had been there for him as he tried to bear the brunt of the familial burdens.

  Guy interrupted her melancholy thoughts. “Your father suggested she be someone smart, savvy, independent, a woman who could make a man comfortable—”

  Standing to face him, Annie said, “There you go. He obviously wasn’t talking about Melissa.”

  He gave her a familiar chastising look. “Don’t be sarcastic, Annie. Melissa understands the business. And she’s the only woman I’ve been seeing lately, so of course that’s who Dan meant. I doubt he expected me to grab some stranger off the street.”

  She swallowed hard, trying to get the melon-sized lump out of her throat. “But Melissa?”

  Guy stifled a laugh and reached out to yank on her hair. “Listen up, brat. Just because you don’t like her doesn’t mean she’s bereft of qualities that appeal to a man.”

  No no no! Annie did not want to hear this. She slapped a hand over Guy’s mouth. He very gently pulled it away, then held on, rubbing her fingers between his own.

  “It’s not the end of the world, Annie, despite what your big brother thinks.”

  Annie chewed on her lips a moment, trying to gain composure. It wasn’t easy with Guy touching her. “And what does Daniel think?”

  “He says I’m allowing myself to be seduced by the idea of marriage, not by the bride. Marriage isn’t something to enter into lightly. There should, at the very least, be strong emotions involved.”

  Guy sounded just like Daniel as he said it, even to the point of mimicking Daniel’s somber voice.

  “Well, he’s right,” Annie said, quick to defend her brother. Especially since they seemed to be on the same side for a change. “Daniel should know, what with just getting married and everything.”

  “The way he floundered with Lace hardly makes him an expert. He almost lost her before he realized he was madly in love.”

  “Do you…that is…” Annie couldn’t quite force the words out of her mouth, not at all certain she wanted to know.

  “Are you trying to ask me if I love her?”

  Annie could have guessed, given the way he said those words, that Daniel had already been over this question many times, too. Though they had ended up in vastly different careers, Daniel and Guy were still very close.

  Annie looked up at him, and her heart squeezed painfully tight. “Do you, Guy?”

  He looked so incredibly, impossibly masculine standing there staring down at her with such intensity. It didn’t matter that Guy had originated the “grunge” look long before it became popular. It didn’t matter that his short hair was always going in odd directions, or that he often skipped shaving in the mornings, which left him with a faintly appealing beard shadow.

  Guy was kind and generous, strong and proud. He worked hard for her father, and had nearly doubled the company since assuming the position as the “heir to the throne.” He valued his friendships and was loyal to those he loved. He never tolerated injustice or bullies and he went out of his way to help others.

  He was tall. He was gorgeous.

  And he smelled so good.

  She loved him.

  Guy jerked off his coat and tossed it to the couch. His well-worn jeans hugged his thighs and his faded flannel shirt hung loose over a snug gray T-shirt that clung to his flat abdomen. His very large, booted feet were braced apart, and his frown was fierce enough to make most people quail in apprehension.

  People who didn’t know him well.

  “Do you?” Annie asked again.

  “No.” He sounded disgusted, with himself and with her for asking. “Not the romantic, mushy heartsick love that you’re talking about. But I suppose I respect her—”

  “You suppose?”

  “Dammit, Annie. You’re as stubborn as your brother.”

  And doubly motivated.

  “I think we’ll make a good marriage, all right? I’m almost thirty-five, and it’s time I started a family. The last thing I want to do is wait until I’m old, then end up with an only child, like my parents did.”

  Annie knew how much he had resented being alone all his life, and how much he had gravitated to her busy family. Guy’s father had been somewhat ill for a long time before he retired, and between work and the restrictions of his illness, he hadn’t been able to do the things with his son that most men did. Her father had filled a huge void in Guy’s life, at least some of the time.

  Annie softened. “That was difficult for you, wasn’t it?” She wanted to understand why a man like Guy would want to marry a woman he didn’t love.

  “It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Guy denied. Then he continued, “But it’s time I settled down, and since I haven’t found any one particular perfect woman, it might as well be Melissa. We get along well. And God knows, she fawns all over me.”

  “She fawns over the business.” Melissa had made no secret of the fact that she wanted to work with Guy.

  Guy grinned. “She’s not immune to my physique either, brat.”

  Annie considered hitting him.

  “But you’re right. Since she’s involved with her own company, I can talk to her about the business without confusing her. We have similar interests—”

  At that little bit of idiocy, Annie promptly choked. Everyone knew Melissa was a woman out to make the most of her life, be it fun, men, or money. Guy was just the opposite. He genuinely cared for people, and would give a man the shirt off his back if he needed it.

  Guy gave her a mocking glare. “I should think you would be happy for me.”

  “I should be happy that you’re planning to—” Marry the wrong woman. “—make the biggest mistake of your life?”

  “Actually, I’m trying to avoid a few mistakes.”

  Annie had no idea what that meant, and Guy didn’t look willing to explain. She drew a deep breath. “What you need, Guy, is some isolated, quiet time to think things over, to really decide what it is you want.”

  “That’s Daniel’s speed, Annie. Not mine. I’m the mover and shaker. Remember?”

  Annie tossed up her hands. “Those are Dad’s words, and you know how ridiculous they are. It’s insane that Dad’s still disappointed just because his son refused the family business and became a very respected doctor instead. Good grief, you’d think Daniel was a derelict the way Dad goes on.”

  Guy laughed. That was one of the things Annie loved most about him. He always had a ready smile or a friendly laugh, even when he was frustrated. “Dan’s as proud as any father could be, even of Max, and heaven knows that proves he’s a proud papa for certain since Max is a derelict.”

  Annie
shook her head, trying to conceal her own smile. “Max is just trying to find himself.” At least, that was what Lace had claimed.

  “In the wilds of Canada? All alone?”

  Annie shrugged. “So Max is a little different. That’s no reason for Dad to complain.”

  “Your dad enjoys complaining and you know it. That’s why he grumbled so much when you bought the bookstore and went into business for yourself. He likes to grouse.” Guy glanced around her newest selection of reading material and shook his head. “Heaven knows he’d have a conniption if he saw what you’ve gotten into now.”

  “Evidently,” Annie said, ignoring his reference to her seduction plans, “he enjoys playing matchmaker, too.”

  “He only made the suggestion, Annie. But he was right.”

  Annie was of the opinion he couldn’t be more wrong. She desperately needed to convince Guy of that. “You know my dad isn’t the most astute of men. That’s why you’re running his business for him.”

  Guy shrugged. “He needed help. Daniel wanted to be a doctor, you wanted to be independent of the family, and we’re still trying to figure out what the hell Max wants to be, other than a pain in the ass. Dan needed someone.”

  “So you felt obligated to be there for him?”

  “Not obligated,” Guy quickly denied, but Annie could see the lie in his expression. “Dan would never put pressure on me, you know that.”

  “He’s pressuring you to get married!”

  “No he’s not. He just…suggested it.”

  “And you feel obligated to do as he asks.”

  “Will you stop putting words in my mouth? The fact is, I respect Dan. A lot. He made it possible for my father to retire early. And he did take me in and treat me like one of the family.”

  Which, since Dan tended to hide from life, wasn’t really saying that much, at least in Annie’s opinion. She wished Guy’s mom and dad were here now. They were wonderful people who had worked for her father for years. They were friends as much as employees, and Annie knew her dad wanted only what was best for them.