"Not now. She was hurt and shook up. I'll bring her by to talk to them later."

"But I'm fine," she insisted.

He ignored her protests and grabbed her hand.

"We're going home." He wanted, no needed, to see for himself how fine she was.

ANNABELLE HAD NEVER seen Vaughn in such an intense, dark mood before. And though she won the argument and they gave their statements to the police before leaving the lodge, she let him take charge afterward. Despite that she was more than okay, he insisted on leaving his car and driving hers back to his house for her. If she didn't know better she'd think the incident with Roy had shaken him up more than it had her.

They drove home in silence and Annabelle assumed he was contemplating the unexpected resolution to his problems. A man he'd trusted had turned on him.

But at least now he was free to finish the job at the lodge without worrying about sabotage or delays- and without the need for further crisis management from her. Beyond a statement that they'd succeeded in catching the culprit as they'd anticipated they would all along, Annabelle's job here was complete. If Vaughn wanted basic PR for the lodge, she'd be happy to continue working on his behalf but she didn't need to do that from here. Her heart squeezed tight as she accepted the fact that it was time to go home.

They walked into the house and Vaughn kicked the door closed behind them. Because things had wrapped up so quickly, she hadn't had time to run a few more ideas by him and she wanted him to know there was so much more he could do to make his dream for the needy kids a success.

He'd been so quiet, so withdrawn, she hadn't looked at him straight on since they'd arrived here and was almost afraid to do so now.

"Listen, I had one more idea I'd like you to let me implement," she said, talking fast and not turning to see his face. "Since I doubt the college will release the names of its students for a mailing, I've put together a letter and a brochure suggesting your hotel for their lodging needs during the school year. You can ask the college to send it out with their welcome package to the families."

When he didn't answer, she forced herself to turn and face him, possibly one last time. He stood leaning against the wall, studying her in silence. He still had that dark, brooding look and she couldn't see past the mask he'd put in place or read the emotions deep inside.

Her heart pounded fast and furious and her chesthurt at his lack of expression. Was he pulling back because their work and time together was over and he didn't know how to tell her to leave?

Without any clue from him, she grasped on to her business proposition. "If you don't like the college letter idea, we can just call it a day-"

With a low growl from deep in his throat, he stepped forward and, shocking her, he pulled her into his arms.

Once again Annabelle didn't argue with the man. After all, these were probably the last moments with him that she'd have. So when his lips came down hard on hers, Annabelle shut her eyes and gave herself up to sensation. She wanted to feel everything he did to her and imprint it on her memory, to last her for years to come.

He brushed his lips back and forth over hers, tantalizing and arousing her with each seductive caress, but the teasing wasn't enough. She thread her fingers through his hair, tugging his scalp and pulling him closer until he backed her up against the wall. His body flush with hers, her breasts pressed hard against his chest while his solid erection thrust between her legs.

She sucked in a breath and rolled her hips from side to side so his hard member created friction that built, waves of desire rocking her body. He thrust his tongue inside her mouth, mimicking the action they both so desperately desired while his hands wreaked havoc with her breasts. Over her shirt, beneath her shirt, she couldn't keep track of all the sensations buffeting her body.

She wanted him now and began to tug on his jeans in an effort to free him so he could push inside her and fill her the way she wanted. Needed.

"Slow down, baby," he murmured as his lips slid over the sensitized skin of her cheek.

She shook her head. "The hell with slow." She reached between them and pulled her T-shirt over her head and tossed it onto the floor.

His heavy lidded gaze met hers before traveling lower. As he took in the lace covering her breasts and taut nipples, his pupils dilated and his eyes glazed over. She had him now and while he watched, she reached up and released the front clasp of her bra, then slowly, teasingly parted the cups, revealing her full, aching breasts for him to see.

"You think you can tempt me into moving at your pace?" he asked in a voice gruff with desire.

She straightened her shoulders, thrusting her breasts toward him. "I don't know. Can I tempt you?"

He cupped her breasts in his hands, his warm flesh palming her heavy mounds and then he lowered his mouth, encircling one nipple with his tongue. His touch reverberated between her thighs, the emptiness more engulfing than ever before.

With deliberate care, he teased her with his teeth, then with his silken tongue slowly lapped at the same place he'd grazed. Different textures, different feelings, but one thing never changed. He took his time, until her hips bucked and she writhed with the need to have him fill her hard and fast.

"You made your point," she gasped. "You have way more control than I do."

He raised his head, his dark gaze meeting hers. "That wasn't the point I had in mind."

She leaned her head against the wall, trying not to weep or beg. "Then what was it?"

"That I can't resist you. All of you." He picked her up in his arms and carried her down the hall to his bedroom.

After laying her on the bed, he pulled off first one boot, then the other. Next he slid his hands beneath her short skirt, letting his palms skim her thighs as he hooked his fingers in her panties and pulled them down and off her legs.

"I'm really not into slow, either." He stood beside the bed and undressed quickly before rejoining her on the mattress where she'd propped herself against the pillows. Then as if to prove his words, he moved between her thighs and lifted her, unveiling her to his heated stare.

Her own gaze was just as hot as she took in his erection. Long and hard, the head of his penis was poised at her moist entrance. She pulsed there, dewy and empty, her desire for him surpassing the physical. She was in love with him. But she feared if she said the words aloud, she'd scare him away for good.

She was an open, honest person, as she'd told him from the beginning, and she didn't plan to leave without making her feelings known. But she wasn't about to frighten him off before she’d expressed those feelings in the ultimate act one more time.

His hands pushed her skirt up higher. His palms then encircled her thighs, his deep stare never leaving hers at the same time he thrust deep, giving her absolutely everything she physically needed.

Emotionally she wondered if she was always destined to lose.

Buried deep in Annabelle's body, looking down at her beautiful face, Vaughn understood that he'd never made love before. Not like this. The distinction between that and sex had never been so great. But he knew he couldn't handle that emotion at the moment when the rest of his life was in pure upheaval.

He pulsed inside her, feeling her slick walls around him. He needed her now and she was here, alive, unharmed and all his. Lacing his fingers through hers, he raised her arms above her head and eased himself out of her body, then in. Out and in. Until they picked up the rhythm that was all their own and he lost himself in everything that was uniquely Annabelle.

Afterward they slept, woke and ordered in dinner, and made love once more. To Vaughn's relief, not once did Annabelle look for any sort of deep discussion or insist they dissect their feelings.

As she slept beside him, he felt the clock ticking away. Now that Roy had been arrested, there was no need for Annabelle to remain in Greenlawn. Though he'd need her expertise to get the lodge up and running, there was no unknown crisis to contemplate dealing with the next morning. She could treat him like any other client and return to work from her Manhattan office. The thought caused his stomach to twist in tight knots.

If he'd read the emotion in her eyes correctly, there was every possibility that with one word from him, the right word, Annabelle would stay by his side. But he needed to have the courage to believe. Believe someone like Annabelle could invest in him for the long haul and not be disappointed in the end. Obviously much of his past still haunted him but Annabelle wasn't just anyone and his heart told him to trust in her. He just didn't know if he could believe that deeply in himself.

ANNABELLE DRESSED and stood beside a sleeping Vaughn. Her bags were packed and loaded in her car. The animals, including the cat who loved to sleep on Vaughn's pillow, waited for her to start the long drive back to Manhattan.

Her heart pounded hard in her chest as she leaned down and brushed a kiss on his forehead. A deep sleeper, he rolled over but didn't wake up. She smiled and studied his profile for the last time.

He was such a good man. He'd even bared his greatest embarrassment to Roy in an effort to make the man understand why Todd would bond with Vaughn more than his father. He'd done it to save Annabelle's life. She'd loved him before and she loved him even more now.

Unlike the other relationships where she'd invested emotion but gotten nothing back in return, Annabelle couldn't regret a minute of her time with Brandon Vaughn.But during their brief relationship she'd learned much about herself, not the least of which was that no matter how much she loved, she wasn't going to follow in Lola's footsteps. She wasn't about to spend her life pining for a commitment from someone who felt too unsure to provide one.

She reached out and stroked his cheek. "I love you."

She thought he smiled or maybe she just wished he had. Either way Annabelle had enough self-respect to walk away now with her head held high.

She could survive without Vaughn, even if she wished she didn't have to.


CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


VAUGHN AWOKE and discovered Annabelle was gone, leaving him alone in his large bed and even bigger house. He couldn't think of a day that had started worse. The words I love you rang in his ears, but he didn't know if they were real, a figment of his imagination, or part of a foolish dream.

He stormed through the house in a foul mood. He checked her room only to find she'd packed and taken everything that belonged to her. Natasha the rabbit was gone as was the cat who'd begun to curl up on top of Vaughn's pillow whenever he was around. A quick phone call told him Annabelle had even stopped by Mara's to collect Q-Tip, a sure sign she didn't plan on coming back.

He ought to be pleased that his life was back to normal. He had a truckload of work ahead of him if he wanted to step up the construction schedule. He'd never make up the time lost caused by the fire but at least he wasn't waiting for the next incident of sabotage. And he no longer had Annabelle here as a tempting distraction.

Vaughn's head pounded and he slung back two aspirin, then called Nick for a ride to the lodge where he'd left his truck. Half an hour later, the doorbell rang and though Nick was early, Vaughn went to let him inside.:

Instead he had a shock waiting for him when he opened the door. Estelle stood on his front step with a bag from Cozy Cups in her hand.

His headache increased. "Hello, Mother. What brings you by?" Because Estelle's visits were few and far between. To come bearing food was even more unusual.

"I heard about the awful incident at the lodge. That dreadful man pulling a knife on poor Annabelle. She must be so shaken up. I came to see how she was doing. And I brought both of you breakfast." She offered him the bag, shifting from foot to foot, clearly as uncomfortable as he was with this surprising visit.

"Annabelle's gone." Certain Estelle hadn't planned to stay long, especially now that she knew he was the only one home, he didn't ask her to come in.

"Oh my, she went to work already? She's certainly made of strong stuff."

"Annabelle's gone back to New York." He ran a hand through his hair. He was exhausted and his mother was the last person he wanted to deal with at the moment. "Look, I don't know what your angle is or what you want with Annabelle, but she isn't here, so you can turn around and go home."