Hot Stuff

CHAPTER SEVEN

VAUGHN FELT SOMETHING warm and soft lying beside him. Slow, even breathing comforted him. He rolled over, opened his eyes, saw green eyes peering at him and yelled at the top of his lungs. "Annabelle, get the hell in here!"

His loud voice scared what he thought was a cat, causing the animal to dive onto the floor and probably crawl beneath the bed.

Annabelle barged into the room. "What's wrong?" she asked, coming to a skidding halt.

"I woke up with a cat staring me in the face." Vaughn pushed himself back against the pillows and folded his arms across his chest.

"You did, huh?" She lowered her gaze and her stare landed on his chest. "Uh, Vaughn? Are you naked beneath that sheet?" As if picking up where they'd left off last night, a slow, deliberate, sexy smile tilted her lips.

"Don't change the subject." If she didn't notice his body's reaction to her, he wasn't about to point it out.

"Then answer the question," she said, licking her lips, slowly, a woman with an obvious agenda. "What are you wearing beneath that sheet?"

He let out a groan. Why did it seem she was always in charge? And why did he enjoy it so damn much? "Same thing I always wear to bed. Nothing," he replied.

She blinked and her stare lingered on his bare chest. "So you're talking to me now and you're naked?"

"The cat?" he reminded her through gritted teeth. "I woke up with a strange cat in my bed."

"Better than a strange woman, I suppose."

He rolled his eyes. "Look, you came here with a dog and a rabbit and now we've added a cat. How, when and for God's sake, why?"

No way would he continue to discuss his state of undress. He already had a morning hard-on and that only grew when he looked at his houseguest. Her hair was disheveled from sleep and her face lacked any makeup or artifice. On her luscious body, she wore a short sleeve T-shirt and matching Jockey shorts. She had more coverage than a bikini would provide and yet the morning-after look was so much more provocative. Sexier in a subtle, leave-it-to-your-imagination kind of way.

Without another word, she crossed the room and sat on the end of the bed with a huff, not at all uncomfortable being closer to him, confirming his hunch of an agenda that had nothing to do with sex. The talk of him being naked was a deliberate distraction. His being buck beneath the sheets wasn't an issue for her. His catching her with another animal in his house was.

"Well?" he asked, striving for focus when all he wanted to do was give in to the intense urge to tangle naked between the sheets with her.

She sighed. "I found the cat while walking Boris last night. She didn't have a collar, was purring and obviously hungry so I brought her back here, gave her some tuna and put her in my room. Obviously I forgot to shut the door tight after I walked them this morning so she joined you."

"Well, she can't stay."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Until I find her owners, yes she can."

Her determined tone brooked no room for argument. Yet once again, instead of inciting his anger, she made him laugh. "Anyone ever tell you that you're a stubborn little thing?"

"Not in those words, no. But Uncle Yank always said that as the oldest, I like to assert my control." A soft smile surfaced on her face.

Vaughn stared at her intently. "I think it's more than that." And he intended to analyze her the same way she'd scrutinized him last night. At least then he'd know they were back on even footing.

"What do you mean?" she asked, eyebrows raised, her curiosity evident.

"I think your control issues are a reaction that goes way back to your childhood. You said yourself you were afraid you and your sisters would be separated. You were determined to never let that happen. To do that, you needed to be in control at all times."

She remained silent.

Since she was being unusually quiet, he took advantage and continued. "I think that saving animals is yet another means for you to have control. It lets you to accomplish exactly what you feared you couldn't do for your sisters."

She shivered, not spitting or hissing back at him, confirming his theory. He'd nailed her insecurities the same way she'd nailed his.

Funny though. Evening the score didn't feel as satisfying as he'd thought it would. Instead his stomach churned with the knowledge he'd brought back painful memories for her. Yet he couldn't deny he liked knowing he could read her as well as she could read him.

Annabelle rose and walked to Vaughn's side of the bed. He'd hit the mark, she thought, shocked at how well he understood her and even more stunned he'd bothered to try.

She seated herself by his side and tried to look nonchalant, hard as it was with the heavy weight of the emotions he'd brought to the surface. And then there were those damn pheromones flying around them-the attraction and desire that grew as they got to know one another better, even as they fought against it.

She licked her lips. "Whether or not you're right and I'm not saying you are, the cat has nowhere to go"

"I know." A smug look pulled at those sexy lips.

"Vaughn, you can't possibly turn it out on the street or bring it to a shelter where they might have to put it down."

"I know that, too." He sounded resigned.

She wondered if she dared to hope. "It's only for a short time. I'll try to keep her out of your way. And your bed," she promised.

Which reminded her. The lucky stray had woken up in bed with a naked Brandon Vaughn. Annabelle had tried without success to keep her gaze averted from that nude body barely hidden by a low-slung sheet. Now she fought to keep her mind from the fact that she was sitting on his bed, so close to all that heated masculinity.

His gaze dilated and a look of pure, seductive need crossed his face, until he, too, moved forward. Their lips were inches apart and only one thing separated them, Annabelle thought.

"The cat?" she asked.

"Stays."

"Thank you!" She knew he'd given in for her and her only. Grateful, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her mouth deliberately grazed his. Tingling excitement rushed through her and she remained there, waiting.

"This is a mistake," he said, not pulling back an inch.

"Probably a big one," she agreed.

But he didn't seem any more inclined to stop than she did. And she'd already decided to push forward with seducing Brandon Vaughn.

Their gazes held and her heart pounded so loud in her chest she thought even he could hear. And then finally, blessedly, he was kissing her. That well-defined, full mouth was hard on hers, taking possession.

He set her aflame and a burning heat rose inside her. His tongue darted into her mouth and the rest of her body responded. Her nipples tightened into hardened peaks. A wave of arousal washed over her and she felt a delicious pulling sensation from her breasts to the fullness pulsing between her legs.

She shivered, trembling with desire and the need to feel his hardened body and warm skin touching hers. She placed her hands on his bare shoulders. His heat and breadth were overwhelming and she was grateful when he took control and rolled her onto her back.

She was in Vaughn's bed, tangled sheets around them and his hard, sexy body aligned with hers. Excitement and anticipation built to a frenzied peak.

"This is heaven," she murmured.

Vaughn had to agree. Her voice had affected him on a gut level and just looking at her made him hard. But touching her silken skin and feeling her stretched out beneath him, soft, supple and willing… Well, he'd never experienced anything this close to perfection.

Glancing down, he brushed her tangled hair off her cheek. She thought she'd seen heaven? "You ain't seen nothing yet, baby."

A low, seductive purr rumbled in her chest and reverberated through him. He trailed kisses over her cheek, inhaling her feminine scent, and as he breathed in deep, the weight of her chest pressed hard and enticingly against his. He needed to touch her. Needed to feel those hot, heavy mounds in his hands.

"Touch me," she said, reading his mind. And in case he wasn't sure what she meant, she grabbed his hand and placed his palm firmly against her breast.

He liked her aggressive nature, appreciated that she wasn't afraid to take what she wanted. Unfortunately the jersey prevented him from really caressing her breasts the way he wanted to. He pulled the oversize shirt up and over her head, then tossed it onto the floor.

He took a moment to savor the sight. She was straight out of his fantasies. Her breasts were large and full, her dusky nipples tight and begging for his attention. Attention he was all too willing to give and he put his hand back on her breast, cupping the full mound completely.

At the first touch of bare skin, she moaned, the sound getting lost in his own low groan of satisfaction. She was a perfect fit, her nipple pressing insistently into the' center of his palm, her malleable flesh ready and willing. And if that weren't enough, his groin nestled in the moist, damp vee of her legs as her hips swiveled beneath his. Maintaining focus and taking it slow had never been more difficult, yet somehow he managed.

He cupped her in one hand until he'd branded her skin everywhere, then held her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling gently. Her hands tangled in his hair and she arched her back, seeking more.

The sound of the telephone ringing penetrated his consciousness and he muttered a low curse.

"Don't answer it," Annabelle whispered. At the same time, her lips trailed over his neck, punctuated with enticing licks of her tongue until he trembled above her.

The need to take a woman had never been stronger. The desire to possess her nearly consumed him. The phone rang again and he jerked up in bed.

His bed.

With a half naked Annabelle beside him.

"I have to get it." With the problems at the lodge, he had no choice and reached for the phone. "Vaughn here."

The answering machine picked up at the same time and he had to wait until his voice recording finished before he could talk and hear the person on the other end.

"It's Mara. We have another problem, boss."

He broke into a sweat that had nothing to do with Annabelle. "What the hell happened now?"

"What's wrong?" Annabelle placed a comforting hand on his arm.

He held up one finger and she nodded in understanding.

He listened to the rest of Mara's story in stunned silence. "I'll be right there," he said and hung up.

"Vaughn?"

He blinked, trying to focus on Annabelle's question. "Someone broke into the lodge last night and spliced the electrical wiring in strategic places around the site."

"Preventing you from passing the inspection today." Annabelle caught on to the issues at hand immediately. She grabbed for her jersey and pulled it over her head. "Give me ten minutes to get ready and I'll go with you." Though all business, compassion flickered in her gaze.

He had no choice but to focus on his lodge, but he was shocked she'd thought to do the same. He was impressed with her professionalism considering how they'd been interrupted.

But as much as he cursed whoever was sabotaging his dream of having sex with Annabelle, he should probably thank them for forcing him to come to his senses in time.

BY THE TIME ANNABELLE and Vaughn walked into the office at the lodge, Vaughn had withdrawn into himself. If Annabelle hadn't experienced their intimacy first hand, she'd think she'd imagined the whole thing.

But she hadn't. He'd been as hot with wanting her as she'd been for him. Try as he might to ignore those feelings now, she refused to be a partner to his denial. Work would come first, but she wasn't finished with Brandon Vaughn. She would see to it that they completed what they'd started. And he'd enjoy every seductive moment.

But right now, the problems and delays were an issue they could no longer ignore. So while Vaughn went to round up employees and talk with the police, Annabelle made notes on how to publicize the situation at the lodge in a preemptive strike.

Mara walked back into the office and flung her body into her chair with a weary sigh. Her brown hair, cut in an updated shag, gave her a sexy, with-it appearance that would make a splash in a New York bar. Add to that, she seemed to be genuinely nice, hadn't held the picnic against Annabelle-though she was giving Nick the cold shoulder-and was smart enough to run things in Vaughn's absence. Annabelle's instincts told her to trust Mara.

"Boy, I wouldn't want to be the guys on duty last night. Vaughn and Nick are ripping them to shreds." Mara shook her head and tossed a pencil across the desk, her frustration obvious.

"Who? The security guards?"

"Mmm-hmm. We hired a private firm with a stellar reputation. But apparently, the guard out front didn't see anything and the guy in the back perimeter slipped out to go to the bathroom without letting his partner know."

Annabelle winced. "I wonder if he'd done it before. If someone had been watching his routine, they could have counted on him disappearing."

"Well, regardless, the inspection's put off until the wires can be fixed," Vaughn said, joining them. Gone was any version of the man she'd been with earlier. Tension radiated from him in waves and anger vibrated just beneath his skin.

Nick followed him inside, looking just as pissed off.

"Who would want to prevent this place from opening?" Annabelle asked, glancing at Nick.

"Beats me." Vaughn shrugged. "I just gave the police a list of anyone and everyone in my life. Let's see what they come up with."

"Speaking of people in your life, you got a phone call," Mara said.

"Who?"

"Laura." Mara glanced at Annabelle. "His ex-wife," she said by way of explanation.

Vaughn visibly stiffened. "What the hell did she want?"

Mara shrugged. "How would I know? I'm merely hired help. She wanted to speak to you and seemed completely pissed that I wouldn't interrupt whatever you were doing."

"Nothing's more important than what Laura wants, when Laura wants it," Vaughn muttered.

Annabelle raised an interested eyebrow.

"I'll get back to her whenever." He grabbed the paper from Mara's hand and shoved it into his pocket. "I've got more important things to deal with."

Annabelle nodded. "You sure do. While the police are handling the detective work, we need to focus on damage control. I've put in a call to the local television affiliate and a reporter's on his way over."

Vaughn's glare turned icy. "Why would you want to broadcast problems?" he bit out, all his frustration and anger spewing at her.

Nick and Mara looked at Vaughn and Annabelle with interested stares.

"Would you like to take this somewhere private?" she asked Vaughn.

He waved away her offer. "What I'd like is for you to explain."

She shrugged. "You're someone used to being in the spotlight, so you ought to realize the police blotter will have spread this news in no time. Wouldn't you rather we put out our story first and in as positive a light as we can manage?"

Nick cleared his throat. "She's got a point, Vaughn."

"Kiss ass," Mara muttered under her breath. But not low enough to be ignored.

Since now wasn't the time to make love not war between these two, Annabelle continued before anyone else could comment. "What I'd like to do is focus on your commitment to kids and education in a summer camp environment. Acknowledge that, yes, we've had some difficulties and delays, but we'll do everything in our power to open on schedule. After all, it's for the children, which ought to appeal to the viewers' emotions and make them think twice about canceling."

While she thought, she bit down on the cap of her pen. "I could use a quote from you in there," she said, addressing Vaughn. "Something about why these kids mean so much to you. We'll give the public a positive to focus on."

"This whole thing isn't about me or my reasons for what I do."

She sighed, exasperated. She'd come here two days ago and accomplished nothing professionally during that time because Vaughn refused to take her advice.

She'd give it one more try and then she'd have no choice but to leave him to sink his own ship. Or in this case, his lodge. "Look, you're a celebrity. And if you want people to care about this place and stick with you, they can't think you're in it for purely selfish or monetary reasons. Otherwise they'll pull their reservations from here and head up to Killington or the Poconos or someplace else where they don't have to worry about whether or not their reservations will fall through. So it's up to you," she said, hands on her hip. "Do we do this my way or do I leave you on your own and head back to the city tonight?"

Silence reigned. Annabelle knew he was fighting within himself.

"Isn't it enough that I'm helping children? Do we have to get into why?" he asked in a more neutral tone than he'd used with her so far, obviously biding his time.

"I need a media hook."

"Then tell them I remember what it's like to be a kid," he said in a near growl and stormed out the office door.

"Whatever that means." She raised her hands in the air. "Unbelievable."

Wisely Mara and Nick chose not to comment.

Annabelle then drummed her fingernails on the desk in pure frustration. He'd left her with nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada.

And if that's all the wisdom and insight Vaughn chose to offer, she'd have no choice but to come to her own conclusions and put the best spin she possibly could on his vague words.

His reaction be damned.

In the silence that ensued, a walkie-talkie went off on Mara's belt and she spoke to the person on the other end. "Be right there." Mara glanced at Nick. "Rocco needs me to sign for something. Don't mess up my desk while I'm gone," she said to annoy Nick, if Annabelle had to guess.

He merely treated her to a quick salute and with a growl of frustration at not having gotten to him, she stormed out the door.

Alone, Annabelle turned to Nick. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on with these two. "Any reason you don't give her a break?" She pointed toward the exit Mara had just taken. "She's pretty, smart, and she's obviously got it bad for you."

Nick began to pile up papers on the desk, an obvious pretense of being busy. "She'll get over it."

"Why should she have to?" Annabelle shot back.

He frowned and shifted from foot to foot, appearing extremely uncomfortable with the subject of Mara, so much so that his normally friendly, fun demeanor had disappeared. "I have my reasons."

Annabelle glanced at her watch. She had an idea to implement and only a short time left in which to do it, but first, she needed to talk to Nick. "Look, we're running out of time, but would you care to share those reasons with a new friend?"

He didn't smile, merely met her gaze. "You want it? You got it. As close as Vaughn and I are, I'm tired of following in his perfect footsteps. Don't get me wrong. I love the guy like a brother and I'm grateful he let me invest in the lodge at a time when I needed a distraction from losing my announcing gig. Honest to God it never bothered me that he ended up the Heisman and Superbowl hero. I had a decent career and solid advertising endorsements. I invested wisely and I'm fine."

"Then what's the problem?" Annabelle asked.

He began pacing the vinyl office flooring. "Sometimes you reach a point when enough is enough. And sloppy seconds are more than even I can stand."

His stunning admission took Annabelle off guard. She'd spent all this time trying to decide if there was any festering jealousy on Nick's part, and here he was admitting it. In such an honest, straightforward way, she really couldn't bring herself to believe that

Nick would ever hurt Vaughn intentionally. In fact, the more Annabelle got to know Nick, the worse she felt about doubting his intentions.

But why would he bring this up now? "What does Mara have to do with you and Vaughn?"

Nick let out a loud laugh. "They used to be an item."

Annabelle blinked. "Vaughn and Mara?" she asked, stunned. When he'd insinuated as much before, Annabelle had chosen to ignore the obvious. For obvious reasons.

Nick slowly nodded.

Her stomach churned as she digested the information. "Good God, is there a woman in this town the man hasn't been with?"

Nick walked over, wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her his trademark grin. "You're probably it," he said, jokingly.

She forced a laugh. With Nick's insecurities between them, it probably wasn't the time to tell Nick she intended to rectify her status soon. "I had no idea about Mara and Vaughn. I mean they act completely professional."

Nick shrugged. "They are. Vaughn's a straight-shooter. Any woman who gets involved with him knows going in there's no ring in her future. They part on good terms." He shrugged as if that were that.

But his words served to reinforce Annabelle's determination to keep her emotions firmly locked uptight in her relationship with Vaughn.

Nick's situation was another story entirely. "Mara has nothing to do with Vaughn now. Surely you can see that."

"What I see is a guy who's always accepted second best. If I want to settle down, I want someone who wants me and doesn't jump into the game because they already lost their first choice."

"Then why live in this town and subject yourself to something you hate?" she asked the second man in as many days, her frustration with the male brain and its way of thinking completely overwhelming her. "Oh, I know. Because this is home."

He nodded. "It is."

"Then you need to get over it," she said, bluntly.

He stepped back and seated himself on the corner of the desk. "And maybe I would if everyone didn't jump to the same damn conclusion. That I never quite measured up to my best friend and that it still bothers me."

"Oh, come on. People don't think that." Annabelle waved a hand dismissively.

"You did."

She sucked in a startled breath. "That stinking rat," she muttered. "Vaughn told you that?"

Nick grinned, once again taking her off guard by laughing. "No, but when you asked who had a motive to prevent this place from opening, you glanced at me. And I've heard the jealousy factor so many times, I'm used to it. You just confirmed my hunch."

"Nick-"

He shook his head. "Forget it. You're doing your job, helping out Vaughn and the lodge, and V m doing mine. I understand where your head is." He pinned her with his steady gaze. "So it shouldn't be too big a leap for you to see why I don't want to date a woman who's already been dumped by Vaughn."

Annabelle saw, but on a logical level, it made little sense. "But she's interested in you."

"Only because Vaughn is out of reach." He shook his head. "End of discussion, okay?"

She frowned. "Okay." She agreed, yet she intended to talk to Mara and help the other woman overcome Nick's insecurities, which she feared she'd just helped contribute to.

With a sigh, she glanced at the clock on the wall, ticking too close to early afternoon.

"What's our next step now that Vaughn's disappeared on us?" Nick asked, changing the subject back to business.

Annabelle smiled, grateful he didn't hold her thoughts against her. "Would you keep the reporter busy? Give him a tour and avoid the problem areas, okay?"

He nodded. "My pleasure."

"Meanwhile can I borrow your car?"

He narrowed his gaze. "Where are you going?"

"Just out to do a few errands." Following her gut, she had a few people from Vaughn's past she wanted to talk to before speaking with the reporter and giving their spin on things.

"Can you drive a stick?" Nick asked.

She nodded.

He reached into his pocket and tossed her his keys. "Don't hit anything, will you?"

"If I promise to take care of your car do you promise to think about giving Mara a chance?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'll do anything for my Corvette."

She laughed. "Typical man." With a wave, she headed off to speak to one of Vaughn's old teachers. They were her only hope of finding out enough about the man to put his reasons for creating the camp in a positive light.