“You can’t mean that,” he said lightly.
“You don’t know me well,” she replied, intending to hold to what she was telling him. “My focus will be totally on Caroline.”
She could feel a clash of wills while they gazed into each other’s eyes until Will nodded. “I can’t argue with that one,” he said.
She looked away, drinking water and enjoying the pecan-crusted trout, rice, green beans and hot, flaky dinner rolls they were served.
“The next time we’re here, hopefully we’ll have enough time for me to show you some sights farther south along the coast.”
She didn’t point out to him she didn’t think she would ever be back. “It’s beautiful right here with the lights on shore sparkling on the water.”
“I haven’t looked. You’re all I can see tonight. You take my breath.”
She could say the same, but she didn’t want to tell him. Will needed no encouragement, and she suspected she had only temporarily caught his attention and in time he would lose interest. His cold, cynical attitude about commitment lingered, and she guessed all his romantic relationships were superficial.
“You look deep in thought, Ava,” he said.
“Thinking about you, the night, this summer.”
“Forget this summer. Tonight what we’ve discovered about each other is what’s important. C’mon. We’ll go to the rail’s edge,” he said. With an arm around her waist, they strolled to the rail where twinkling lights reflected in shifting streaks across black water. He turned to face her. “Here’s the best view of all.”
She smiled. “Ridiculous,” she said, yet warm pleasure filled her with his compliments and flirting. Torchlight flickered on his features and he looked handsome, more appealing than before they loved. She could step back into his arms and make love all over again.
“We should start home, Will.”
“A couple of last dances,” he said. He took her hand and they returned to dance slow numbers. Will wrapped her in his arms and moved slowly with her. In spite of her declarations to him, she would remember this night for a long time. It had been special for her. She didn’t want it to be, because it wasn’t for Will. She loved him senselessly and with no future when she hadn’t expected to ever fall in love again.
Dancing with him, relishing the moment, she caressed his neck. When the music ended, she placed her hand on his arm. “We should get back, Will. If we wait longer, the sun will be up and so will others.”
He nodded and pulled out his cell to give brief instructions to get the chopper ready for the return to shore. She picked up her purse and they left, stepping into the glass elevator. He pulled her into his arms to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him in return, her heart pounding with love, excitement, longing for more.
When the elevator stopped, she finally broke off the kisses. “This is hardly private, Will,” she said.
His brown gaze intensified, taking her breath. “I want to take you back to my cabin and make love, fast, now.”
She shook her head. “Let’s stick to the plan to leave.”
“You can’t tell me you don’t really want the same thing,” he said, picking up her wrist with his thumb on a vein.
“You feel my racing pulse. I don’t care. We’re adhering to our plans.”
He inhaled deeply and turned to go with her to the chopper, where he helped her climb inside.
In minutes they were in the air and the lights of the yacht sparkled below. She couldn’t keep from reaching over to take Will’s hand. Her life had changed—a minuscule change in a way, because she would go on with all her school plans. A monumental change in another because she was in love and that love had grown and solidified. She had given her body to Will along with her heart even though he knew nothing about it. And never would know. She didn’t want him to ever learn how she felt because there was no place in her future for him and he had no place in his for her.
Shortly, they were seated in his luxurious jet rushing back to Dallas. She glanced at her fancy new watch and saw they would probably get in at about four in the morning.
She wanted to look in on Caroline when she arrived, but Will would; it was his place to and not hers.
“Thinking about tonight, I hope?” he asked.
“Tonight, tomorrow, all that’s happened.”
“For a little while, just think about tonight and us. It was special, Ava. Really special. We’ll be back in our real worlds all too soon.” He took her hand, lacing his fingers in hers.
Her pulse speeded as it always did when they touched. Only now, the slightest contact was more of a fiery brand than ever. Memories were constant and vivid, making her want to be back in his arms. How difficult it was to remain cool, slightly distant while longing tormented her. With him, she felt alive, eager, wrapped in temptation that needed constant vigilance.
“I want you in my lap, but I know you’re safer buckled in your seat while we fly.”
“I’m definitely where I should be,” she answered. He leaned over to place his mouth on hers and in seconds her arms were around him.
As his fingers drifted down over her breast, she caught his hand in hers, holding him and ending the kiss. She was breathless, barely able to talk. “We have to go back where we were as employer and tutor, Will. This is crazy.”
“No, it’s not. And no, we can’t ever go back and forget what happened tonight. I don’t want to. I see it in your eyes, feel it in your pulse and know it in your kisses. You’re not going to forget what’s happened. Don’t even hint that you can.”
“One thing I can’t ever possibly forget—your stunning gifts to me. I still say the necklace and watch are breathtaking and you shouldn’t have done any such thing when you’re paying me a fortune to work for you. They’re beautiful, Will, just spectacular, both of them,” she said, looking at her watch and touching the necklace lightly.
“I will find another opera or take you to dinner again soon so you can show them off. By the way, I have a safe at home. If you want, I’ll put your necklace in there for you while you’re at my house.”
She smiled at him. “Yes, I’ve wondered about taking care of them.”
“I hope you’ll wear the watch.”
“Will, you’re generous. I’ve been doing what you hired me to do.”
“And succeeding where all others failed. That requires a big bonus. If you’ve freed Caroline from her grief, you’ve done the most wonderful thing possible for her and for me. I can’t even begin to convey my gratitude. I don’t know whether she’ll remember as she grows up—”
“She doesn’t need to remember. Let her forget. She’ll remember me because I hope to keep in touch with her, but she’s so young. Let her forget the hurt as much as she can. She can’t ever truly forget, but this world of silence she lived in, if she can forget that, let her.”
“Damn straight, I will. I hope you’re always in touch with her.”
Did he really mean that? In touch with Caroline meant in touch with Will. She suspected women he had made love to eventually went out of his life and he rarely gave them a thought once they were gone.
The pilot announced their approach to Dallas and soon they touched down in a smooth landing.
In a short time they climbed the stairs in his silent mansion. When they reached her door, he stepped inside and closed the door before drawing her into his embrace. The moment he kissed her, her heart thudded. Longing mushroomed while she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Why did his kisses