Cherish Hard
Page 46

Sailor’s chuckle was a warm caress, the glance he shot her just as caressing.
Scared and happy and breathless, Ísa settled back to enjoy the early-morning drive, shoving thoughts of the future out of her mind. Those thoughts, those fears, would still be waiting in the shadows when she was ready to face them again. Ísa wasn’t willing to give in to them and ruin this gorgeous morning.
The direction of her thoughts had her frowning and realizing that Nayna hadn’t messaged her the previous night. Her best friend always gave Ísa the lowdown on her marriage dates, and given her panic over this latest one, Ísa would’ve reached out herself if she hadn’t been so stressed out over Catie. Either something had gone wrong, or Nayna hadn’t been able to find privacy to make the call until it was too late.
Ísa made a mental note to touch base with her friend once she was back in Auckland.
It was a half hour of comfortable silence later that Sailor nodded at a sign for an upcoming rest stop that had one of those little full-service cafés. “You want to fill up on coffee?” he asked. “It’s been at least an hour since our last one.”
Ísa laughed, wanting desperately to kiss him. “I didn’t know you were a coffee hound.”
* * *
SAILOR DECIDED HE COULD VERY easily come to live for that laugh. First, however, he’d have to convince her that he planned to cherish her as she deserved. It was dead clear to him that his redhead was used to giving and giving.
Sailor planned to care for her in turn, so she’d smile, so she’d laugh, so she’d play with him. But he knew it wouldn’t be easy. Not with the demons that howled at him to achieve his ambitions, be something better than the man who’d sired him had ever been. Those demons threatened to possess him body and soul.
No, he vowed. That bastard doesn’t get to steal Ísa from me.
“Coffee is nectar from the gods,” he said on the heels of that mental promise. “I try to keep it to two cups a day, but sometimes I crack under the pressure of its siren call.”
Ísa laughed again. “In that case, we’d better pull in.”
Jumping out at the coffee stop before he could, she said, “You’re driving, so I’ll be the assistant. What kind of coffee do you want?”
“Plain black.” Sailor took in the delight in those pretty gray-green eyes and barely resisted the urge to tug her back into the vehicle and into his lap. “I like coffee that puts hair on my chest—though I prefer yours hairless, just in case you were getting ideas.”
She blew him a kiss before turning to walk to the café, the scarlet of her hair brilliant in the morning light and the smile she threw him over her shoulder a sucker punch to the gut.
Ísa Rain was perilously closer to owning his heart.
Now all he had to do was figure out how to convince her that he could be trusted with hers.
26
A Little Industrial Espionage to Spice Things Up
AUCKLAND’S URBAN SPRAWL APPEARED FAR too soon, the highway splitting off into many more lanes, the traffic intense, the bridges that arched over the roads steel constructions that shone in the sunlight.
Usually Ísa loved her city, but today she wished it was a little farther away.
At least she and Sailor had managed to finalize the financial changes to the Fast Organic project during the drive. It was important to her that Sailor not be hamstrung in what he could achieve because of her own family crisis.
Sailor took her to his place so she could pick up her car; she’d called Jacqueline from the his truck and updated her on what was happening. As usual when it came to her youngest daughter, the Dragon hadn’t said much, but Ísa knew Jacqueline wouldn’t breathe fire at Ísa about being late.
“Hey.” Sailor’s hands on her hips, his body pinning her to the side of the truck. “Were you going to run off without a kiss?”
Last night was already beginning to feel like a dream, a sensual, astonishing dream. But when Ísa rose on tiptoe and touched her mouth to his, the dream became hot, raw reality. Fisting one hand in her hair, Sailor cupped her face with his other as he kissed her, and Ísa felt both utterly cherished… and totally devoured.
Her fingers curled into his chest, her breasts aching. “What kind of kiss was that?” she said severely when they broke for a breath. “I’m meant to be in a state to go to work.”
A wicked grin, the hard wall of his chest crushing her against the warm metal of the truck. “Just so you don’t forget me.” He took another kiss, sucking on her lower lip before releasing her. “I don’t want you to think of me as just a one-night stand.”
Though his tone was light, she caught the seriousness in his eyes and realized suddenly that she held the power to hurt him. “I don’t do one-night stands,” she said, because the idea of hurting this man who treated her as if she was a beautiful, perfect, precious creature was simply not something she could do.
Sailor Bishop would soon break her heart into a million pieces, but he wouldn’t hurt her in the interim. And she couldn’t hurt him.
“I’ll call you.”
A heavy scowl on his features. “Oh, you mean how you were going to call me about our cookie-bar date?”
She poked at his chest. “That was one time!”
Snorting, he kissed her again, the hard warmth of him so delicious that she could stay in his arms forever. “I’ll be waiting to hear from you,” he said, his tone dark. “And in case you lose my number, I know where you work.” He began to twirl an invisible mustache like some B-movie villain.
Ísa laughed, pushed at his chest, once again feeling younger than she had in forever. “Shoo, you demon.” She got into her car. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Bring cookies,” he ordered.
* * *
AFTER DRIVING HOME, SHE DID a rapid change into a full-skirted dress in a vivid yellow that picked up the golden threads in her hair, that hair twisted up into a neat bun, before sliding her feet into black kitten heels with a thin ankle strap. A simple turquoise necklace finished off the outfit.
She felt as sunshiny as her dress as she caught the elevator down.
Once in her car, she activated the hands-free phone system. It was one Harlow had found on sale a couple of years back; her brother had even hooked it up for her.
Calling Nayna as she drove out of the garage, she said, “Can you talk?”
“Let me shut my office door.” Nayna was back on the line a few seconds later. “I know, I know. I should’ve called you, but I was—still am—kind of weirded out.”
Ísa frowned at her best friend’s discombobulated tone. “Why?” she asked. “Was the guy that awful?” She couldn’t imagine Mr. and Mrs. Sharma choosing someone truly unsuitable for their girl.
“He wasn’t an accountant,” Nayna said. “He wasn’t a doctor. Or a lawyer. Not an engineer. Not an IT guy. Not a CEO or COO or any fricking O!”
Diverted from her own problems, Ísa only just stopped herself from driving straight to Nayna’s office so they could dish in person. “Unemployed?” she asked, stunned.
“No.” The single word came out a moan. “It was him.”
“Who?” Ísa asked before her eyes widened. “Nooooo. Not the hunky guy from the party? What was his name? Raj?”