Always--
Who'd have thought old man Prescott's granddaughter would be
so attractive? Cole couldn't suppress the curl of his mouth
as he opened the oversize menu.
She sat across the table, her peach dinner dress clinging to
her delectable curves. The just-above-the-knee-length was
perfectly respectable; nevertheless, Cole had caught a
groin-tightening flash of white thigh as he handed her into
the limo earlier this evening. There was no way she could
know how good she looked or she wouldn't have let him come
anywhere near her.
Elinor Prescott watched him like a mouse watches a cat.
Somehow she'd decided his interest was predatory, and she
wasn't making any sudden moves. Cole hoped he could reassure
her. It would make their eventual coming together much more
satisfying.
That they would come together was a foregone conclusion. A
ripple of heat had seared Cole's gut the moment he'd laid
eyes on Ms. Prescott. And although she'd shut¬tered her
expression quickly, Cole had seen an answering flare of
desire in her face.
Cole focused on the Le Monde's menu. He had brought her here
deliberately, but she had done no more than glance at the
elegant decor of the most exclusive restau¬rant in the
parish, leaving Cole to wonder if she dined here frequently.
Le Monde was a rare haven of gleaming cutlery and heavy
linen table covers, perfectly suited for the heiress of
Oakleigh.
He frowned briefly. It seemed odd that he'd never heard of
Elinor's existence until today. Never, in all the years his
father had labored futilely to maintain the huge house, had
old man Prescott mentioned the existence of a
grand¬daughter. Or any grandchildren, for that matter.
Cole knew he couldn't question her too closely about this
curious circumstance. Elinor Prescott didn't know of his
connection to Oakleigh, and he preferred to keep it that way.
He'd gone through a broker to make his offer on the house
just a month before, and taken great pains that his identity
not leak out.
It was a challenge of sorts, to buy the plantation house out
from under Daniel Prescott. Sure, Cole could have waited a
few more years. Prescott was already old when Cole had been
a grubby little kid roaming Oakleigh's over¬grown grounds.
He couldn't live much longer.
But the memories rankled. How many times had Cole watched as
Daniel Prescott belittled his father, deriding John
Whittier's decision not to seek work on the off-shore
drilling rigs?
Elinor glanced up over her menu and met his eyes. Cole
smiled reassuringly. Regardless of what had happened
be¬tween her grandfather and him, Cole wanted this woman.
That she was the granddaughter of a man he despised added
only the slightest spice to it. She wasn't what he would
have expected from the Prescotts. Worshipping the trappings
of wealth clearly wasn't her style. Her scornful glance at
his limo had made that plain.
Cole knew he was facing a tough sale, tougher perhaps than
anyone in Bayville. The woman wasn't wooed by the money he
could bring to the town. And whenever he ap¬proached her,
she prickled like a hedgehog. But the fact didn't faze him.
She reacted to him, and that was a start.
A waiter materialized at Cole's side and took their orders.
"So tell me about your work," Cole invited, when the man had
gone.
"I work out of my home, do accounting for a number of small
businesses," Elinor responded, her face serene as her
fingers fiddled with her napkin. "Routine stuff, usually."
"It's the routine stuff that sinks most small businesses,"
Cole observed. "I bet your clients don't even realize how
important you are to them."
She flushed ever so faintly, struggling, he knew, with the
urge to demur that trembled on her tongue. He'd have to step
lightly in his campaign to win her over. Modest women took a
certain amount of finesse.
If he came right out and said that he found her power¬fully,
gloriously seductive, she'd be so aghast, she'd turn tail
and run.
"I'm not so sure about that," Elinor said finally, after a
large swallow of water from her glass. "But I've man¬aged to
keep most of them from death-by-audit."
Cole laughed then. "Good grief, woman, you can do that? I've
needed someone like you for years. The IRS seems to gobble
up my tax attorneys and spit them out."
"You are in a slightly different bracket from my clientele,"
she observed, her voice cool. "I'm sure I wouldn't be of any
help to you."
"Don't sell yourself short," Cole suggested softly. "Haven't
you heard that good help is hard to find?"
"I have heard something of the sort," she agreed dryly, "but
I don't have much personal experience with that particular
problem since I haven't tried hiring servants recently."
"I'm not too interested in servants," Cole said with a touch
of compassion, knowing it must be difficult for her to
accept the financial ruin of the great Prescotts of
Oakleigh. "But I am determined to get the very best
personnel for the Whittier plant in Bayville. And I think
you're excellent executive material."
Dangling the carrot, Elinor thought. "No, I don't think so,
thank you. I'm happy with my own business." She despised the
ways of politics and big business, the subtle exchange of
favors.
At that moment, their waiter appeared with their meal. When
he was gone, they began eating in silence. Elinor wished the
evening were over. Despite his moneyed confidence, Cole
Whittier packed enough charm to knock the socks off a nun.
Cole's eyes rested on her speculatively as he ate.
Obviously, he hadn't expected her to turn him down that flatly.
Elinor paused between bites, toying with her fork. "About
the reason for this dinner tonight? You were right. I do
have some serious concerns about the factory."
Cole sat back in his chair. "Of course you do. It's an¬other
indication of your intelligence. Although you're wrong in
assuming that's the only reason for my wanting to see you
tonight."
"It's my reason for being here," Elinor stated firmly.
"Are you aware that the Lanier property contains some of the
most beautiful land along the river?"
"Yes," Cole answered. "I grew up here, remember? But the
factory would bring a greater prosperity to this area."
She glanced down. "I suppose that would be your response. As
if there's always some other place for people to enjoy the
land."
Cole leaned forward, his blue eyes glinting with sudden
suspicion. "You have a special place you love? On the Lanier
site?"
She dropped her napkin into her lap, not meeting his gaze.
"Yes, I do. It's a wonderful, quiet place I discovered when
I moved here two years ago. I'd hate to see it turned into a
toxic dump."
"So would I, Elinor," he retorted, an edge of anger seeping
into his tone. "None of my plants create the kind of
problems you're talking about. And if they did, I wouldn't
be likely to do that to my own hometown."
"I'd hope not," she muttered.
They finished the elegant meal, Elinor declining any
dessert. Cole obviously wasn't in the mood to linger over
coffee. He signaled the waiter, who swiftly and discreetly
attended to the business of the check.
Elinor shivered as Cole's hand rested on the small of her
back, guiding her down the steps to the car. The limousine
sat at the curb as they walked out of the restaurant.
She wasn't sure who'd won this evening's skirmish, but she
felt a shade tattered by the battle. Cole Whittier's money
didn't interest her, but his sensuality and the hot interest
that flared in his eyes scared the heck out of her. It took
everything she had not to succumb to the answering warmth
that welled up inside her.
She slid into the limo, with the same sense of distaste
she'd felt toward it from the first moment. In a way, she
was glad he'd used the car tonight. Its opulence and
decadent excess helped remind her of just why Cole Whittier
wasn't a man she could trust.
He climbed in next to her, leaning forward to speak quietly
to the driver before pressing the button that shut the
window between seats.
Elinor sat back against the cool leather seat, nervously
aware of Cole's presence beside her. He sat negligently
turned, the stark white of his custom dress shirt bright in
the dimness of the car's interior. She could smell his warm
muskiness, a heady drift of something elemental.
He was at least six inches away, not encroaching on her
space. Yet, she felt his presence like a warm bath of
sensation, liquid and potent.
"I noticed earlier that you've done wonders with the
cottage," he complimented. "That place was a ruin twenty
years ago."
"It was pretty wrecked when I moved in two years ago,"
Elinor said, resisting the urge to shift away from the
magnetic spell of his closeness.
"Do you know," Cole murmured, "rumor has it that the
plantation owner long ago built the cottage for his lady
love? She was supposedly a captivating slave woman he kept
tucked away for his own carnal pleasures."
The embers simmering low in Elinor's body flared to life at
the softness of his voice. She pushed the sensation aside.
It was easy to imagine him as a slave owner, powerful and
supremely confident. Any woman he kept tucked away would
probably have been exhausted by his passion.
"The story goes," he continued, "that she bore him ten
children. And when he freed them all, he kept the woman,
still tied to him by passion, forever."
"I don't imagine it was forever," Elinor demurred dryly as
the car pulled up in her driveway. "After ten children, he
probably tired of her and sent her out to the fields to
work. That's what many of the plantation owners did."
Cole chuckled as the driver opened Elinor's door. “You’re
such a romantic, Ms. Prescott."
All the way up the pathway to the cottage steps, Elinor
rehearsed. Handshake, polite smile, chaste passivity if he
tried to kiss her. But with his powerful body close beside
hers as they walked up the dark path, she had her doubts.
She had a hard time sitting next to him passively. How would
she be able to resist responding if he actually held her in
his arms?
Their steps echoed on the wooden steps as Elinor retrieved
her key from her tiny evening purse. She briskly inserted
the key and opened the door, turning around to him with her
hand outstretched.
"Goodnight, Mr. Whittier." Her smile felt pasted on. "Thank
you for the lovely meal."
His hand enveloped hers, warm and steady. Elinor's thoughts
zipped back to their first handshake and how surprised she
felt at his strength. Weren't wealthy men supposed to be
soft from sitting behind desks?
Again, he held her hand, his face unreadable in the dark.
"Thank you for a lovely evening, Elinor," he drawled. "I've
enjoyed your company immensely."
"Oh, how nice," she uttered disjointedly, feeling stupidly
disappointed as he released her hand. "Well..." She fum¬bled
with the door behind her. "Goodnight again."
"Elinor!" he called to her softly, drawing her glance back
over her shoulder.
"Yes?" she hesitated, half-turned on the threshold, her
heart throbbing in breathless anticipation. He loomed,
powerful and heady in the darkness, so close she could
barely think.
He leaned to her, his warm breath brushing her cheek. "You
really ought to get a light on this porch. For your own safety."