What woman didn’t want to be kissed this way? Tender. Yet strong, dominant, reassuring. That was the word she was trying to think of.
His touch held a wealth of reassurance. It told her I’ll never let anything touch you. I’ll take care of you. You’re mine.
When he pulled away, their gazes locked and he seemed content to simply stare at her. He touched her cheek with his finger and traced a gentle line over the contours of her face.
“You’re beautiful, Ren. You’ve always been beautiful but there is something mesmerizing about you now. Time has been very good to you. You look …content. Confident. And I can’t tell you how sexy I find confidence on a woman. You look like a woman with nothing to prove and it makes me want to possess you all the more.”
Her cheeks tightened with pleasure at the compliment but also at the sincerity that warmed his eyes. She self-consciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and he chuckled softly, tracing the path of her hand with his own.
“You always did do that when I complimented you. It’s still as adorable now as it was then.”
To cover the fact that she had no idea how to respond, she broke away and performed a sassy twirl and then held up her hands. “Do I look all right? Not going to embarrass you in front of your friends?”
He frowned and then caught her hand. “Never.”
He tucked her into his side and started for the front door. Parked outside was a steel gray Aston Martin. She lifted one eyebrow as he opened her door for her and she slid into the luxurious leather seat.
When Cole slid in next to her and started the engine, she quickly buckled herself but stared over as he pulled out of the drive.
“How did you make your fortune, Cole? Not that I ever doubted you wouldn’t become a success, but when we parted, you were still raising cash for your first business venture. At the time, no one wanted to deal with you because you were so young and you didn’t yet have a business degree. Did you ever finish school?”
Cole grinned, pulled out on the highway and gunned the engine. “Nope. You better than anyone knows that school frustrated me. I didn’t like the regimen, the discipline and above all the patience. I never subscribed to the whole do A and then B and eventually get a job doing C.”
She sighed. “Unlike me, who craved the routines and schedules and the comfort of knowing I’d be employable after graduation. Even if I did never end up using my degree. So you made it all on your own?”
“I bought into a partnership because I was never able to raise enough capital to go out on my own. After two years, I bought out my partners, spent another year streamlining the business until it was turning a healthy profit and then I sold it for a very nice sum of money. Enough to live on and begin a new venture.”
“And what do you like to venture in?” she asked.
“Damon and I partner on a lot of projects now. I have a keen interest in timber, chips and bio fuels.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It all sounds like Greek to me. You invest in potato chips?”
He laughed and reached over to tug at her hair. “No, smartass. Wood chips. To make paper out of. I supply paper mills with chips. I also own a sawmill and am partnered with Damon on another. But I also fund a lot of development and I turn over real estate.”
“So you’re in the business of making money,” she teased.
Cole snorted. “Aren’t we all?”
She shrugged. “I suppose. I guess you’re just particularly good at it.”
He nodded and didn’t offer any false modesty, which she found even more drool-worthy. She hated a man who didn’t own his success. Or made silly excuses or blamed luck. Cole knew he was good. He may not walk around bragging about it but he wasn’t about to not take credit for it either.
“So tell me something,” she said after clearing her throat. “About tonight.”
He turned to quickly glance at her, one eyebrow lifted. “You aren’t worried about tonight, are you? We don’t have to go. Just say the word. I’ll arrange for us to have a nice dinner together just you and I.”
She smiled, touched by his concern. “No, that isn’t what I mean. I’m just wondering how this is supposed to play out. I mean, am I going as your …” She formed the word carefully, not wanting to sound offended or like she thought he was being disrespectful to her. “…submissive. I mean, I know you said both Damon and Micah are like these big dominant males with women who are completely submissive to them, and I just wasn’t sure what my role is tonight. I just don’t want to embarrass you or do or say the wrong thing.”
To her utter shock, his expression went grim and then he swerved onto the shoulder before pulling to an abrupt halt. Then he turned in the seat to face her.
