Well, Sean had decided that the least he could do for her while they were married was to wake her up. To make her live again. And no way could he do that when they weren’t even speaking.
So he put his own anger at being lied to aside and decided to use what he was best at. Charm. Hell, there wasn’t a woman alive Sean couldn’t get around when he turned on the charm. And once he got past Melinda’s defenses, she’d see that lust was a lot more substantial than “love.” Lust, at least, was honest.
“No,” he said finally when he realized she was still waiting for him to answer her question. “Well, I mean I’ve talked to them. Not talking to Rafe and Lucas about a job would be considered a felony in the King family.”
“Oh.” She turned her face away to look out at the ocean. He didn’t have to see her features to know what she was thinking though. Tension fairly radiated off her body. Even the line of her jaw was tight enough that he knew she had to be clenching her teeth.
“But, I haven’t told them anything about us.”
“Really?” Her eyes were hopeful but wary when she turned her head to him. “Why?”
“None of their business, is it?” He steered around a hairpin curve in the road. “They’re in California. We’re here. And what happens between us,” he added with a meaningful look at her, “stays with us…to borrow a phrase from the Vegas ad agency. Just relax, Melinda. It’s a great day. We’re at the beach. It’s all good.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “I can do that.”
He slid a glance at her and saw her ease back into her seat. Her features smoothed out and the tension around her mouth disappeared. Good, he thought. Already working. In no time at all, he’d have Melinda Stanford King eating out of his hand. Then he’d let her seduce him, and they could both enjoy this marriage as long as it lasted.
In a few more minutes, they were at the future hotel site and he was parking the convertible. Beside him, she still seemed a little tense. Well, he was going to take care of that.
“Come on,” he said, “let’s build a hotel.”
She smiled at him, and Sean felt a quick jolt of…something. He didn’t want to put a name to it. Didn’t even really want to admit to it. Ignoring that feeling wouldn’t make it go away but, for now anyway, he was going to give it a shot.
Clearing his mind of everything but the moment, he got out and waited while Melinda did the same. She came around the front of the car, giving him a great view. She looked amazing in a simple pair of white pants and a bright yellow T-shirt. Her sandals displayed toes painted a soft pink and when he lifted his gaze to hers, he smiled. He was glad when she smiled back.
He just naturally took her hand in his. That burst of heat he was almost getting used to happened again with that simple touch, but he paid no attention to that, either. Whatever it was that lay between them was only going to help him seduce her.
This was going to go Sean King’s way or no way.
Seven
Sean looked around, taking in the whole place in one long gaze. Had to hand it to Rico, he thought. The man knew his stuff. This was the perfect spot for a luxury hotel. The land was crescent-shaped, with a wide, perfect beach and two spits of land that jutted into a sea that was simply an impossible blue. Sean could imagine the private cottages Rico wanted, sitting out on those points—private spots perfect for honeymooners.
He hoped those future newlyweds had a better time than he was having at the moment. A glance at his wife sent another jolt of need shooting through him. He kept control, though it wasn’t pleasant. Sean wasn’t used to wanting a woman and then being denied. Until now, the only other woman who had ever given him any trouble at all had been his ex. Figured he’d only have problems with the women he married.
Maybe it was karma, he told himself. Payback for never letting women get too close. So the moment he did, it bit him in the ass.
Happy thoughts. He shut them down and turned his attention back to the moment at hand. Scanning the area, he looked from the beach to the land. It stretched out for acres, then sloped gently up into the knoll where he guessed Rico wanted his house built. There were banyan trees sprinkled across the property, with their weird root systems dropping down from heavy branches to support their weight. Thick stands of woods surrounded the area and flowering vines crept across the ground and over rocks.
The sun shone down on the whole scene like a blessing and Sean inhaled the flower-stained scent of the sea. In his mind’s eye, he could see the resort, spreading out across the ground, wood and glass and bright, tropical colors. It was going to be a beauty.
“It’s a great view,” Melinda said, bringing him out of his imagination. He looked to see her turning her head to where an insanely white beach drifted down to the ocean. The waves rumbled into shore with a relentless rhythm that sounded like the heartbeat of the world.
“I haven’t found a bad view on Tesoro yet,” he mused, then turned his head back around and imagined the sprawl of the exclusive resort that would soon be standing here. “Though I think this is one of the best ones around.”
“I do, too. Grandfather was going to build a house here for he and my grandmother.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as she stared out at the sweep of lush green. “But she was killed in the same accident that killed my parents.”
He frowned, thinking about the proud old man and how much he had lost in one fell swoop. No wonder he’d held on to this piece of land so staunchly. It meant something special to him. It was a place of dreams, Sean thought, looking at the land with a new eye.
For just a minute, he wondered what it must have been like for Walter Stanford, alone with a five-year-old granddaughter to raise. It wouldn’t have been easy. But as far as he could tell, Sean thought with another look at Melinda, the old guy had done a hell of a job. Except, of course, for that romantic streak Melinda carried around.
“I think he’ll enjoy seeing your hotel go up here,” she said, looking around as if seeing the land for the first time.
“Hope so.” Sean squeezed her hand as he started walking, tugging her along behind him. “It’s gonna be a hell of a place when we’re done.”
“When do you start work?”
“I’ve already talked to a couple of the guys at the local construction company…”
“Ah,” she interrupted, taking the grassy expanse at a run beside him, “then you’ve met Tomin.”