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He then looked over at her. “I see Dare’s been pretty much keeping you informed.”
She shrugged. She detected a smile in his voice, although she didn’t see one in his face. “Yes. Do you resent knowing Dare and I keep in touch?”
“No, not at all,” he said, his tone making it seem as if such a notion was ridiculous. “Dare knew you for a lot longer than I did. You used to be his deputy and the two of you were close. I didn’t expect you to end your relationship with him just because things didn’t work out between us, Brooke. The Westmorelands don’t operate that way.”
Moments later he added, “And I also know that you’ve kept in touch with other family members.” He shook his head, grinning. “Or should I say they kept up with you. Delaney let me know in no uncertain terms that our breakup had no bearing on your friendship.”
“Did she?” Brooke asked, attempting to conjure an air of nonchalance she was far from feeling. She and Delaney had remained friends, and a few years ago when Delaney had accompanied her husband to an important international summit in Washington, the two of them had spent the day shopping, going to a movie and sharing dinner.
“Here we are.”
They stopped walking, and Brooke’s breath caught. Now this was paradise. Ian’s enclosed pool was huge, including a cascading waterfall and several tropical plants, and connecting to his own personal fitness center and games room.
“You like it?”
“Oh, Ian, it’s wonderful, and you’re right—it’s better than the one by the villas.”
He reached behind her and handed her a couple of towels off a stack. “Here you are, and I meant to ask earlier, how’s your mom?”
Brooke smiled. “Mom’s doing fine. Marriage agrees with her. While Dad was living—even though he was incarcerated—she refused to get involved with anyone. She was intent on honoring her wedding vows to him although she’d always deserved better. She refused to divorce him.”
Ian nodded. “I heard about your father. I’m sorry.”
Brooke shrugged. “He was a couple of years from being up for parole and what does he do?” she asked angrily. “He causes a prison riot that not only cost him his own life but the lives of four other inmates, as well.”
“And how are your brothers?”
“Bud and Sam are okay. Mom stays in contact with them more than their biological mother,” she said of her father’s first wife. When her mother had married Nelson Chamberlain, her brothers were already in their teens.
“I write them all the time and have taken Mom to see them on occasion. I think they’ve finally learned their lessons and will be ready for parole when the time comes,” she said.
Brooke appreciated Ian asking about her family. She had loved her dad and her brothers even though they had chosen lives of crime. And she simply adored her mother for having had the strength to leave her husband to provide her daughter with a better environment.
She was about to remove her wrap when she nervously glanced over at Ian. “Will you be taking a swim, too?”
He smiled, shaking his head. “No, not tonight. The pool will be all yours. There are a couple of calls I need to make, so I’m going to leave you alone for a while. Do you mind?”
“No, and I appreciate you letting me use your pool.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“And I enjoyed our chat, Ian.”
“So did I.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll be back in around an hour to walk you to your villa.”
“All right.”
After Ian left, Brooke licked her suddenly dry lips, remembering how quickly he had exited the room. Was she imagining things? Had the thought of her undressing in front of him—doing something of as little significance as removing the wrap of her bathing suit—sent Ian running? Um. Maybe that ironclad control he used to have wasn’t as strong as she’d thought.
The possibility that the attraction they’d once shared was just as deep as before sent a warm feeling flowing through her. And suddenly feeling giddy, she removed her wrap, walked over to the deep end of the pool and dived in.
Ian’s hand trembled as he poured wine into his glass. Talk about needing a drink. It had taken everything within him not to pull Brooke into his arms at several points during their conversation. And even worse, he had picked up on that vibe, the same one she always emitted whenever she wanted him to make love to her.
It had been awkward to stand beside her and know what her body wanted and not oblige her the way he would have done in the past. Angrily he slammed down the glass on his coffee table. This is not the past, this is the present and don’t even think about going back there, Westmoreland. The only thing you and Brooke can ever be is friends, and even that is really pushing it.
He muttered a curse, and at the same time the phone rang. It was his private line. “Yes?”
“Hey, you’re okay?”
Hearing his cousin Storm’s voice, Ian shook his head and smiled. It had always been the weirdest thing. His brother Quade was his fraternal twin like Chase was Storm’s. But when it came to that special bond he’d heard that twins shared, it had always been he and Storm and Quade and Chase.
Quade worked for the Secret Service, and half the time none of the family knew what he doing or where he was. But they could depend on Chase to know if Quade was ever in trouble with that special link they shared. Likewise, Ian knew that only Storm could detect when something was bothering him, even thousands of miles away.
“And what makes you think something is wrong?” Ian asked, sitting down on a leather sofa. This spot gave him a view of Brooke whenever she swam in the shallow end of his pool.
Storm chuckled. “Hey, I feel you, man. The one night I should be getting a good night’s sleep, now that the girls are sleeping through the night, I’m worried about you.”
Ian lifted a brow. “Worried about me?”
“Yes. What’s going on, Ian? What has you so uptight that I can sense it?”
Ian’s attention was momentarily pulled away from his phone conversation when Brooke swam to the shallow end of the pool. He shifted slightly on the sofa to get a better view and knew from where he sat that he could see her but she couldn’t see him.
He watched as she stood up, emerging from the water like a sex goddess as she tossed her wet hair back from her face. But it wasn’t her hair that was holding his attention. Have mercy! She had a body that made men drool, curves in all the right places—and he was familiar with those curves, every delectable inch. And that bikini, wet and clinging to her, looked good on her. Too good. He could only imagine the reaction she would have gotten from other men. But just the thought that he had once touched her all over, licked her all over, made love to that body in more ways than he could count, sent blood surging through his veins. “Damn.”
“Hey, man. Talk to me. What’s going on?”
Storm’s words reminded Ian he was still holding the phone in his hand, and it was taking every ounce of strength he had to continue to do so. He suddenly felt weak, physically drained.
“Brooke,” he finally said, whispering her name softly, drawing out the sound deep from within his throat on a husky sigh. “She’s here.”
“What do you mean she’s there?”
Ian rolled his eyes upward. “Just what I said, Storm. She checked into the Rolling Cascade for two weeks for some R and R. But at this moment she happens to be in my penthouse, using my pool. We’re trying to put the past behind us.”
“Brilliant. That’s just brilliant, Ian,” Storm chuckled. “Don’t tell me, let me guess. You and Brooke are trying to put the past behind you and become friends. Come on, Ian. Think about it. Do you actually believe you can be just friends with the only woman who’s ever had your heart?”
Ian frowned. “Yes, since the key word here is had. I stopped loving Brooke years ago.”
“So you say.”
“So I mean. Good night, Storm.”
Three
Ian stood and walked across the room to the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling window that gave a breathtaking view of Lake Tahoe.
When he had reopened the casino after extensive remodeling, he’d given it more than just a new name and a new face. He had given the place a new attitude. He had painstakingly combined the charm of the Nevada landscape with the grandeur of a world-class casino, then added an upscale nightlife whose unique ambiance appealed to a sophisticated clientele.
His penthouse had the best view of the lake. Strategically set on the west side of the casino and covering portions of both the eighth and ninth floors, his domain was away from the villas, the various shops and restaurants, the golf courses with cascading waterfalls and the tennis courts. He considered his personal quarters as his very own private hot spot, although between the hours he’d spent making sure things were perfect for the grand opening nine months ago, his time had been too consumed in business matters to pursue any intimate pleasures, and he had not yet invited a woman up to his lair, other than members of his family and now Brooke.
Brooke.
He cocked his head, and a smile touched his lips when he heard the sound of her splashing around in the pool. For some reason, he liked knowing she was there, and regardless of what Storm thought, he and Brooke held no emotional ties. The most they could ever be again was friends.
Brooke swam back and forth through the calming water as she did another lap around Ian’s pool. After several more laps she pulled herself up on the ledge thinking that she’d had a wonderful workout. She felt rejuvenated in one sense and exhausted in another. Beside the pool was a long padded bench that looked absolutely inviting, and she decided to rest a while.
She lay flat on her back and stared up at the ceiling. All she could think about was Ian’s dark eyes and the way they had looked at her moments before he’d left her alone. Swim or no swim, she’d been fantasizing about him ever since. She was trying to keep a part of herself distanced; especially knowing how quickly she could be consumed by desire for him. Though she hadn’t been completely honest with him about the real reason she was there, she couldn’t control her attraction to him. Basic urges were exactly what they were. Basic. And she knew firsthand how skilled Ian was in taking care of anything that ailed her.
She flipped onto her stomach and studied a nearby plant. Anything to get Ian off her mind. But it wasn’t working. As her eyes closed, her mind shifted back to a time when he had moved his mouth all over her breasts, sucking and lapping at her nipples while his fingers skimmed just beneath her panties….
Ian wasn’t sure how long he stood at the window looking out, idly sipping his wine while seeing various yachts, sailboats and schooners cruising the lake, resembling fireflies below as they went by. Tomorrow was another busy day. He had meetings with Nolen McIntosh, his casino manager, Vance on security matters and Danielle on PR. Then of course there was that discussion with his event planner regarding the final details for Delaney’s surprise birthday party.
It took Ian only a minute to notice something was different. There was no sound coming from the pool. He set his wineglass on a nearby table, moved away from the window and headed toward the room where he’d left Brooke almost an hour earlier.
The pool was empty, so he glanced around the room and then saw her. She lay flat on her stomach on the padded leather bench, asleep. The intensity of the emotions he felt at that moment hit him from every angle. When was the last time Brooke had slept at his place? It had been years. Their angry parting words—mostly from him—still burned fervently in his veins. She had tried to explain; tried presenting her side of things. But he hadn’t wanted to listen. He hadn’t wanted to ever see or talk to her again.
So what was happening here? Why was he talking to her, seeing her again? Why had he allowed her to invade his space, the only place free of his memories of her?
She moaned in her sleep, and hearing the sound he stepped closer, allowing his gaze to rake over her shapely body, feeling a rush of adrenaline. A deep swallow made its way down his throat as his gaze moved to the tie that held the top part of her bikini in place, the smooth curve of her back, the flare of her hips beneath the thin scrap of material that was supposed to be a bikini bottom. Her skin looked soft, inviting and warm to the touch. He wanted his hands all over her thighs, and he would do anything to cup her delicious bottom. And he didn’t want to think about how he wanted to use his mouth on her breasts.
He sighed deeply. Considering their history, it was only natural that he would feel this heated lust, this mind-searing desire. There was a time when, if he’d found her like this, he could have awakened her by making love to her, gently flipping her on her back and using his hands and his mouth to show her what real moans were all about. His stomach begin trembling at the memories, and hot liquid fire filled his body at the very thought. But he knew things were different. They no longer had that kind of relationship, and he doubted they ever would again. She was no longer his to touch at will.
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