Winner Takes All (15 page)

Eva wasn’t sure exactly what from before he was offering an apology for, but she had enough wits about her to realize that the hallway probably wasn’t the best place for it. “Come in.” She didn’t know three-o’clock-in-the-morning hosting protocol, so she went into the living room and sat down. Ordinarily, she offered visitors a drink, since they were usually out of breath and thirsty by the time they finished climbing the stairs, but Cole wasn’t even breathing hard.

He followed her into the living room, and even though she indicated the space next to her on the couch, he chose to stand. Eva was relieved. Her couch was small.

When he didn’t say something right away, she racked her brain for an innocuous topic. “It was a lovely party. Your mother did a great job.”

“I don’t want to play games,” he said, his voice a low rumble.

“What?”

“I don’t want to play games, and I don’t want to wait until next week to see you again.”

Eva didn’t know what to say, primarily because she didn’t quite know what he was talking about. But she just sat there staring, determined not to make polite conversation to fill the awkward silence. That was his responsibility. After a moment, he spoke again, this time in a tone so conversational, she felt as if she were sitting across from him at a conference table. The difference in him amazed her.

“I’ve been sitting in my apartment for the last hour thinking about you and the way I handled things earlier. I was wrong. I should have apologized for lying to you about my identity,” he stated forthrightly. “I didn’t mean to mislead you. I assumed you’d recognize me the second you turned around. When you didn’t, I should have introduced myself. However, having failed to do that, I should have said I was sorry right away.”

More than a little surprised, Eva digested this information slowly. “And that’s what you came here at three o’clock in the morning to tell me?”

“Yes.”

“That you were sorry you lied?”

“Yes.”

“All right.”

He smiled and lost a bit of his business-meeting demeanor. Eva wondered suspiciously what else he wanted. Clearly there had to be more. Nobody stopped by at this hour just to apologize. “Was there something else?”

“I’d like you to tell me that you forgive me,” he announced.

Did she forgive him? Eva thought about it for a moment. It really wasn’t a matter of forgiveness. He was who he was, and there was nothing she could do about that. It wasn’t his fault that a man who didn’t exist had almost broken her heart. “Of course,” she said, hoping he’d leave now. Having him there in her apartment just made the fantasies she’d built around Reed seem all the more ridiculous. Cole Hammond looked painfully out of place in her tiny apartment.

At her words, he sat down next to her on the couch. Eva shifted awkwardly, moving closer to the arm. “And that you trust me not to do it again,” he stated.

Looking into his eyes, Eva felt herself being seduced by his intense sapphire gaze. “I believe you,” she said, looking away. There was no point to this conversation. Of course he would never lie to her again. He wouldn’t get a chance. Their relationship was business, strictly business.

He took her hand in his and waited patiently until she looked at him again. It wasn’t long. The warmth of his touch was too compelling to resist. “I want to see you,” he said, his voice suddenly husky, “a lot of you.”

Eva jumped to her feet, annoyed that she hadn’t seen through the sincerity of his apology to the agenda behind it. This visit was a booty call. She didn’t blame him for trying. No doubt hundreds of women—thousands, the entire population of New York—would jump at the offer, but she was tired and disappointed and oddly sad. “Thank you but no,” she said quietly. “I think you should leave now, Mr. Hammond.”

Truly, she hadn’t meant to provoke him by addressing him formally. She had merely been attempting to restore a little bit of professionalism into an entirely unprofessional situation. Cole, however, reacted as if she’d waved a red flag under his nose.

“Damn you, don’t start that again!” He ground out angrily, striding toward her and grasping her shoulders so she couldn’t run away—not that there was anywhere to run in her tiny apartment. “I told you I don’t want to play games. I could have stayed away. I could have waited until next week, until you were so ready for me you couldn’t help but fall into my arms. I know it and you know it. But I don’t want to play games and I don’t want to wait until next week. I want to see you now and tomorrow and as much as I can. Thoughts of you consume me.” His voice dipped lower as his hold on her loosened. “Do you think I wanted to come here like this? I couldn’t help myself. I’ve thought about nothing else for the last three hours except you in that stunning red dress. I even hoped you’d still have it on so I could take it off you.”

“This is insane,” she said, breathlessly, more as a reminder to herself than as an assertion to him. She broke free, unable to bear his touch a moment longer. She wouldn’t be able to resist if he continued to hold her.

“Why?” he asked evenly. “What’s insane about two consenting adults desiring each other? It makes perfect sense to me.”

Eva appreciated his calm tone. It helped clear her head and give her a chance to think. “It’s not only insane, it’s unethical. I represent an auction house that’s trying to get the Hammond collection sale.”

He smiled warmly. He’d been expecting this argument and welcomed the chance to get it out of the way. “I have nothing to do with that.”

Eva glared at him. “How can you say that? You’re a Hammond.”

“Choosing who sells the collection is entirely my mother’s responsibility.”

She rolled her eyes. “And with no input from you, I’m sure.” Her tone was sarcastic. “Let’s see”—she looked at the clock on the wall—“you went a whole five minutes without lying to me. Very good, Mr. Hammond.”

He felt himself getting angry again but refused to indulge his temper. Cole recognized a defense mechanism when he saw it. He just had to remember that she was as disconcerted by the attraction that sparked between them as he was. “That’s right. With absolutely no input from me,” he stated, only displaying amusement at her facetiousness. “I’m against the sale. I’ve been so from the very beginning.”

This was news to Eva. “Really?”

“Yes, so it’s a straw man. You’ll need to come up with another reason why this is insane. And since I’ve already apologized for misleading you about my identity, you’re going to have to be more creative.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I suppose because I’m not easily dissuaded from what I want. And I want you, Eva.”

Although this words deeply affected her—there was something so disarming about the way he stated it outright—she forced herself to stay focused on the topic. “No, I meant why are you against the sale?”

“I think my mother should hold on to those paintings. My father spent his whole life amassing that collection, and I’m afraid in a few years she’s going to regret her rashness. I don’t want that to happen.”

He said this with so much sincerity that Eva felt herself relax for the first time since opening the door. A man who loved his mother couldn’t be all bad. “I’m sure she knows what she’s doing. Besides, it’s a small thing to regret if the money helps find a cure for colon cancer in a few years.”

He laughed quietly. “That’s what she says. You know, I think my mother’s going to like you.”

Eva didn’t want to care if his mother liked her, but she felt a fissure of pleasure—and not because it meant she’d have a better chance at getting the commission. She would have been far less nervous if the two were related. “I look forward to getting to know her,” Eva countered quickly, to cover up her reaction
.
Loretta Hammond was not her future mother-in-law. “I understand she’s going to call me to set up a meeting sometime this week.”

“She’ll probably have Cassandra get in touch first thing Monday to set up a time,” he said. “You’ll like her. She isn’t a gatekeeper like Mrs. Hemingway.”

“Not an old family retainer?” she asked with a wry smile.

“Oh, she is that. She’s been with my mother since I was in my early teens, but she’s not very adept at keeping the riffraff out. She’ll let anyone with a good sob story in to see her,” he explained with a fond smile.

Once again Eva felt her resolve weakening. Why did he have to be so charming and personable? “That will be a refreshing change.”

He nodded and came to stand next to her. His hands were no longer clenched in fists at his side, and he ran a finger under her chin, where her skin was almost impossibly soft. “Good. Can we talk about us now?”

Eva took a deep breath and told herself not to panic. She would allow the conversation, explaining why anything between them was impossible, and then he would leave. It would all work out if she just stayed calm and didn’t provoke him. “All right,” she said, fighting the urge to pull away. She couldn’t think when he was touching her.

He waited for her to start listing objections but when she continued to stare at him with those tempting green eyes, he said, “Talk to me. Why is this insane?”

“You’re Cole Hammond,” she said softy, as if that explained everything. She half expected him to nod understandingly and walk out of her apartment and out of her life. He didn’t, of course. Instead, he led her to the couch and sat down beside her.

“I’ve already apologized for that.”

“It’s not that you lied about who you are. It’s that you are who you are,” she said, knowing that her attempt to clarify the situation only served to muddy the waters further. “It’s not the lie that matters.”

He laughed softly. “Either I’m not half as clever as I think I am or that statement makes no sense.”

Eva tried again, from a different angle. “I liked Reed. He was intimidating but attainable. But you…Cole Hammond…you’re pie in the sky.”

His lips twitched at the description. “Pie in the sky?”

“You know, an international playboy.”

“International?” he repeated, only more amused.

She recalled a photo she’d seen on
Popsugar
that morning. “The duchess of Liechtenstein.”

“That hardly counts. The country’s smaller than my family’s estate in Maine.”

Eva thought this scarcely recommended him. “Well, there you go.”

“There I go what?”

“Your family’s estate is larger than a small European kingdom.”

“It’s a principality.”

She rolled her eyes. “Regardless, it just goes to prove my point.”

“Which point?”

“That this is insane.”

“No,” he said, taking her hand, “all it proves is that the Germans should have annexed Liechtenstein in the late eighteen hundreds.”

Eva sighed and laid her head against the back of the couch. “Oh, God, why do you have to be like this?” The question was more complaint than query.

“Like what?”

“Like the way you are—handsome and funny and so easy to talk to.”

Cole considered her for a moment. In her ragged tee and torn jeans, she was obviously not dressed for visitors. Most of her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and every drop of makeup had been scrubbed off her face. There was not a hint of the alluring seductress of a few hours before, and yet she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this attracted to anyone,” he said, laying a soft kiss on her exposed neck. He felt Eva jump from the contact, but she didn’t move. He pressed his lips against her smooth skin once more and thrilled at her response. “I’ve never before felt compelled to get to know someone.”

Eva felt her throat go dry, but she didn’t know if it was from his kisses or his words. Without moving, without opening her eyes, she said, “You feel compelled?”

Her voice was a soft whisper, and Cole felt himself hardening in response. Nobody should be able to affect him like this. Nobody should but Eva did. It was an irrefutable fact and right now he didn’t feel like questioning it. He laid a gentle kiss against her ear, feeling her shudder. “From the moment you handed Mrs. Hemingway that felt-tipped pen, this has been inevitable,” he murmured into her ear, his tongue dipping lightly to learn its curves. “With that one act alone, you sealed your fate.”

Eva didn’t know what to say, but some part of her desire-drugged mind realized that words weren’t expected of her. While his tongue and lips created heavenly sensation, she only had to feel and wait. In a moment his lips would touch hers. He was just torturing her now, building anticipation to a fever pitch. He knew what he was doing. Of course he did. Cole Hammond knew exactly how to make a woman quiver from his touch. And because she couldn’t fight it any longer, because nothing inside her wanted to fight it any longer, she succumbed.

She didn’t have to wait long. First she felt his breath on her cheek, then his lips on her mouth. He was gentle and teasing, his lips moving over hers like a whisper of silk. Eva wrapped her arms around his neck, even though her joints felt like jelly, and tried to pull him closer.

But Cole resisted. He’d been fantasizing about this moment for almost a week and was determined to savor it. Even though the desire coursing through his body demanded satisfaction, he would take it slowly. He would relish the softness of her lips. He would delight in exploring the sweetness of her mouth. Eva moaned deeply, and for the first time ever, he felt his control slipping away. He wanted everything right then and there, to feel her moving around him and to hear her cries of pleasure. But he reined himself in. This was too important. Eva was too important.

Unable to resist touching her any longer, Cole ran a hand under her T-shirt along her warm stomach. Eva groaned in response and he deepened the kiss. He felt her arms tighten around his neck and this time he gave way. This time he leaned his body against hers and moved his hand upward, gently cupping her breast. He flicked a finger over one aroused nipple.

“Oh, God, Cole,” she said, her words scarcely more than a breath against his lips. It was all she was capable of.

Cole responded by cupping her other breast. God, she was so voluptuous, he thought, as his mouth pressed harder against her. He couldn’t get enough of her and some part of him, some unknown part in the deepest reaches of his mind, wanted to absorb her body completely into his.