I’m not going, Tyler.”
“We’ll pick you up at eight. And if you’re not out of bed, I’ll come in and drag you out.”
“I’m not going, Tyler.”
“You sound like a broken record.”
Indeed, she did. All week she had been repeating the words and all week he had been dismissing them. Ever since he had first mentioned the trip to Fontana Lake in North Carolina, she had been telling him that she wasn’t going. Excuse after excuse had been offered, but he had negated them all with the glad-heartedness with which he was doing everything these days.
The last week of Serendipity’s season was a hectic one for each employee. Adding to the general chaos, Tyler was a visible force in the park. He showed up at the oddest times, in the most unusual places, making supervisors nervous and anxiety-ridden. However, he seemed pleased with the park’s operation. One evening over dinner he confided to Hailey that he and Faith had come to the park many times.
“Until we ran into an ornery bee, I was treated like any other guest. Since everything seemed to be running well, I didn’t interfere with Sanders’s management. However”—his eyes shone with devilish glee—“it never hurts for the boss to make his presence known.”
Hailey was busy taking questionnaires and computing the results. The comments were generally favorable at this time of the year, for the crowds had thinned out considerably, and each guest could enjoy the park at a more relaxed pace.
During the winter, she would compile a thorough report from the questionnaires taken throughout the summer and submit it to Harmon Sanders. From this official report, each department could analyze its performance and concentrate on the trouble spots.
She was grateful for the work she had to do that week in conjunction with the park’s closing. Were it not for that to occupy her mind, she would have had to deal with her conflicting feelings concerning Tyler Scott.
He spoke with her several times a day on the telephone, and it alarmed her to realize that she began to look forward to those intrusions. He was continually popping into her office on one pretext or another. Hailey hoped that his attention wasn’t being noticed, but apparently it was. She was barraged by questions.
“What’s Mr. Scott going to do about enlarging the parking lot?”
“What’s Mr. Scott going to put in that area they’re clearing out?”
She always knew the answers, too, and that in itself was a clue as to how interwoven their lives had become. He often used her as a sounding board for his ideas. Her opinion was valued. He asked for her suggestions and weighed them carefully.
She had dinner with him and Faith every night. It had almost become a matter of form. One night, after an especially arduous day, they treated themselves to a swim in the pool at the Glenstone. One evening they cooked hamburgers on Hailey’s outdoor grill. Another night they stayed in the park until it closed and, under duress, Hailey rode the Sidewinder for the first time.
Much to Hailey’s relief, Tyler wasn’t as overt in his sexual pursuit as he had been. Or was she relieved? Each time she caught him watching her, the flame of desire in his eyes was all too evident and never failed to kindle a response in her.
Yet he treated her like a friendly companion. He touched her often and openly, but courteously, not sensuously. She denied the vague disappointment she felt each evening when he kissed her good night with brotherly fondness and nothing more.
Only once during the week did he let her know that, far from cooling, his desire was simmering dangerously close to the surface.
He had called her office early one morning and asked her to meet him at the Cave. “Hurry, before the park opens. I want to tell you about an idea I have.”
She rushed through the employees’ compound and within minutes was at the turnstile of the popular ride. Round wooden tubs took a water route through a man-made cave in which animated characters cavorted, frightening and entertaining spectators. The Cave was well-frequented during the summertime because it provided a respite from the heat. And it was especially popular with teenagers because its cool interior was dark and conducive to romance.
Tyler was waiting for her at the entrance of the ride, chatting amiably with the young woman who was operating it. “Good morning, Miss Ashton,” he said, tongue-in-cheek, when she approached.
“Good morning, Mr. Scott,” she replied. “What did you want to see me about?”
“I have an idea that needs your sound judgment. I’ve told Linda not to let anyone in until we come out.” Instead of getting into one of the tubs that were towed by underwater cables through the shallow canal, he opened a camouflaged door to let them into the interior workings of the ride. He switched on a flashlight as he pulled Hailey through the door.
“Do you know where you’re going and what you’re doing?” she asked warily as he led her into the stygian darkness.
“Sure. I checked it out yesterday. Just stay on the path. Oh, and be sure to watch for spiders.”
“Spiders!” she shrieked.
He laughed as he squeezed her hand. “Only kidding. The kids who work in this place traipse through here like it was nothing. But do watch your head. Some of the overhead beams are low.” They walked around the motorized miniature men who were eerily still now. “The word around the compound is that this is a terrific place to take your coffee break.”
“You’re kidding,” Hailey said. “Why would anyone want to come in here unless it was absolutely necessary?”
“To watch lovers making out. You’d be surprised what two innovative people can do in those tubs. The ride takes seven minutes. A lot of frustration can be worked off in seven minutes.”
Hailey was laughing in spite of herself. “I don’t believe any of this. Who told you?”
“Well, they didn’t actually tell me. I overheard two of the boys talking in the wardrobe room the other day. I came in here yesterday to see for myself, and they were right. It’s quite a sideshow!”
He stopped to face her now. The flashlight was held down at his side, giving them a dim circle of illumination. “So let me guess your great idea,” she said saucily. “You want to sell tickets to lecherous old men to come in here and watch teenagers neck.”
He snapped his fingers loudly. “That’s even better than the one I had.” He laughed then and embraced her in a bear hug. “Actually, I was thinking of something to cool people off rather than to warm them up.”
“It’s already cool in here.”
“But I want to make it cooler.”
“How?”
“I was in a shopping center in Dallas last year at Christmas. Every hour on the hour, for about five minutes, it snowed!”
“Snowed? You mean—”
“Yes. No matter what the weather was like, great big flakes of snow would fall on the whole mall area. They had this machine that made the snow and blew it out. So here’s my idea. I’d like to revamp this ride. Take out the stuff that’s been in here for several years and put in a snowscape. Have our merry little men building snowmen, skiing, etc., and—”
“Have one of the machines snowing on the people as they ride through!”
“You’re always three steps ahead of me,” he said. “What do you think?”
“I love it.”
“Really? You wouldn’t just say that because you know it’s what I want to hear?”
“No. I think it’ll be something different. People will talk about it and everyone will want to come see it. You’re a genius, Mr. Scott.”
“That’s true, but I try to stay humble.” He got an elbow in the ribs as he propelled her back toward the door. “Ouch! It’s expected of me to carry on the family tradition. My father was an extremely astute businessman.”
“Was? He’s dead?”
“No, very much alive. I just meant ‘was’ in the sense that he’s retired. On my thirtieth birthday, he turned the whole kit and caboodle over to me. He and Mom live in Atlanta.”
“You really are a business whiz kid, though, aren’t you?”
He didn’t answer for a while and she could almost feel his shrug in the darkness. “I’ve been lucky on some gambles that paid off.” It was obvious by his tone that he didn’t want to talk about his financial success, so she didn’t press the issue.
“Mom and Dad would like you. I want you to meet them soon. Have I ever told you that whenever I look at your legs I get turned on?”
She stumbled in the dark. “You can’t even see them.”
“Yes I can. I’m holding the light on them.”
“Well you ought to be watching where you’re going.”
Just as the words were out of her mouth, she heard the sickening crack of bone against wood. Tyler cursed loudly and dropped the flashlight, which rolled in a half-circle before coming to rest against his shoe.
“Oh, Tyler,” she moaned, covering her mouth with her hand. “What did you do?”
He made a grating sound. “I ran into one of those damn low beams I warned you about. Dammit. That hurts.”
“Let me see,” she said gently, coming up on her toes and easing his hand away from his forehead. Because of the darkness, she gingerly felt along his brow until she found the hard lump forming on his temple. “I’m so sorry,” she said in a crooning, soothing voice. With delicate fingers, she examined the injury. “I think it’ll be all right. It’s swelling and that’s a good sign. It’s when it doesn’t swell that it can be dangerous.”
“Never mind about that now,” he said in a low growl as he pulled her against him. He sought her mouth.
“Tyler, your head—”
“Hurts like hell. Kiss me and take my mind off it.”
He kissed her with such urgency that for a moment she was too stunned to respond. His tongue was a sweet invader, a plunderer in her mouth that gave more than it took. His hands were those of a sculptor, molding her malleable body to his. With a suggestion of desperation, his hips rubbed against her.
Whether it was their discussion about the clandestine loving that went on in the Cave, or the darkness that enveloped them, or his touch that she had missed, something prompted her to answer his provocative movement with one of her own.
“Oh God, Hailey.” With a shuddering effort, he imposed restraint on his body. His lips blazed across her cheek to her ear. “You’re sweet medicine. But I’ve only exchanged one dull ache for another. This one will surely kill me.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She wanted to sound contrite, but he heard the smile behind her words.
“Um. I’ll bet you are. I think you derive a perverse delight from torturing me like this.” He captured her earlobe with his teeth and worried it gently. “Your time’s coming, Miss Ashton. You’ll be panting for my lovemaking, and I’ll make you purr with contentment.”
Embarrassed because she knew he was probably right, she knelt down to pick up the flashlight. The tunnel was suddenly ablaze with light.
“Wha—” She stared in stupefaction at Tyler’s hand near a wall light switch. Her green eyes narrowed to suspicious slits as she turned to glare at his sly expression. “You knew there were lights in here all along. Why didn’t you turn them on when we first came in?”
He grinned wolfishly. “Now why do you think? There’s something to be learned from the younger generation.”
“Oh,” she fumed. She spun away from him and, with the advantage of light, easily made her way back to the secret door. He was chuckling in satisfaction as he followed her.
At the exit, he murmured only loud enough for her to hear, “You’re on borrowed time, Hailey. You’ll be in my bed before we get back from Fontana.”
“I’m not going, Tyler,” she had said then. He had only laughed.
And he was laughing now three days later, as he carelessly leaned against the railing around her deck. “You’re going. I’ve had someone in to clean the cabin, stock the pantry and refrigerator, and spruce up the place just for you. You’re going.”
“We closed the park to the public today, but there’s still so much I have to do.”
“Am I going to have to fire you to get you away from there?”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“You’re right. But you’re going with Faith and me tomorrow. That’s why I insisted you come home early tonight. Pack, get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll pick you up at eight.” He kissed her soundly and left confident that she was going with them.
And of course she was.
Arguing with herself the whole while she was packing, she tried to talk herself out of going. He had promised that he would complete his seduction while they were away. Why, then, was she going with him? She waltzed around the answer to that until she could deny it no longer. She wanted to be seduced.
The risks involved in having such an affair were too numerous to count. No man had ever been worth those risks before. Until Tyler. She had been attracted to him from the moment she saw him. He had changed her. She wasn’t the same person she had been before meeting him. Her life was different. No matter what the stakes, she wanted to savor the magic he had brought into her world for as long as it lasted.
What joy had she known before him? He had barreled into her life with the impetus of a steamroller and hadn’t let up for one moment. And though she had fought him in self-defense, she had secretly relished the excitement he had introduced into her staid, stale existence.
On the one hand, she had resented his overbearing manner, and on the other, she had welcomed it. Competence and self-reliance were admirable traits, but they were also tiresome. Tyler had showed her that vulnerability had its merits, too. Privately, she confessed to loving the way his hands and mouth reduced her to womanhood in its purest form. She wanted to be a woman for Tyler Scott.
He had treated her to more affection than she had ever had. He had brought her to a higher plane of emotional response than she could ever have guessed she was capable of. She wanted to lie submissively in Tyler’s bed and know the culmination of all his seductive promises.
She had only a moment’s trepidation before she fell asleep. Was she doing the right thing? Did it matter if it was right? All her life she had done as she was expected to, striving not to disappoint anyone. She had performed as others dictated that she should. Where had circumspection gotten her?
Her parents had died weeping because Ellen wasn’t with them. Her sister “loved” her only when she needed her. One can only win so many silver medals for good conduct before they tarnish and become worthless. For once Hailey Ashton was going to do what she wanted, right or wrong, and damn the consequences.
“I’ve never had a picnic in a river before,” Hailey said, biting the crunchy crust off a piece of fried chicken. They had stopped at a carry-out restaurant to pick up their lunch before leaving Gatlinburg.
“I think we’re real pioneers,” Tyler said as he leaned back on his elbows. Surrounding them was the swirling white water of the Little Pigeon River. They had taken the winding two-lane highway through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park toward the North Carolina state line. When they became hungry and began looking for a picnic spot, Tyler had pulled the car into one of the scenic rest areas along the highway.
Rather than settle for the mundane, he had suggested that they eat their lunch in the river on one of the large, flat rocks that littered the riverbed. Brushing aside their cautious protests, he had led Hailey and Faith from one rock to another until they reached the largest and most level. As usual, he had gotten his way. And, as usual, he had been right. It was delightful.
“I’ve never been on any kind of picnic before,” Faith said, munching on her drumstick.
Hailey and Tyler stared at the girl in dismay, looked at each other, and then back at Faith. “Of course you must have, Faith,” Tyler said gently.
“I don’t think so,” she said, matter-of-factly. “Unless it was before I can remember. Mommy never took me on one. She didn’t even like to eat on the patio because she said it was a lot of trouble and she didn’t like bugs. Once my Brownie troop went on an all day camp-out, but I had the chicken pox and couldn’t go. No, I think this is my first picnic.” She seemed totally unaffected by this deficiency in her childhood, and that made it all the more pathetic.
“Well, this is certainly not the last,” Tyler said and tugged on her pigtail. “From now on, we’ll have all the picnics you can stand.”
“Can Hailey come on all of them?” Faith asked.
Tyler turned laughing eyes on Hailey and struck a pose of deep concentration. “I don’t know,” he said, slowly stroking his chin. “Do you think we ought to ask her?”
Caught up in the game, Faith giggled. “It might hurt her feelings if we don’t.”
“Well then, I guess we will.” He sat up and pulled an embarrassed Hailey between his raised knees, drawing her back against his chest. He nuzzled her ear with his nose. The display of familiarity in front of Faith surprised Hailey, but it felt right, comfortable.
“Oh, Daddy, gross,” Faith said in exasperation.
“You think this is gross, huh? Watch this.” He tilted Hailey’s head back and kissed her with comical passion, grinding his mouth over hers.
Faith was overcome by giggles. “That’s just the way they kiss on TV.”
Tyler was laughing with his daughter. Hailey was smiling as she leaned against him. “Just what have you been watching on TV, young lady? We’ll have to monitor that from now on,” Tyler said to Hailey. We. It sounded so permanent She snuggled closer.
“I’m never going to let anyone kiss me like that!” Faith said firmly. “No one will want to, but I wouldn’t let him anyway.”
“Oh yes, you will, and I’ll want to shoot the first boy brave enough to try it,” Tyler said.
“Why?” Faith asked.
“Why? Because you’re my girl, that’s why.”
She blushed prettily and looked down at her sneakers. “Well, no boys will want to kiss me, so you won’t have to worry.”
“Plenty of boys will want to. You’re the prettiest girl around.”
She jerked her head up to stare at her father. “Do you really think so?”
“Of course I do. You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. I’ve always thought so, ever since I picked you out at the hospital.”
“Daddy, I know you didn’t pick me out. I know where babies come from.” She spoke in a disparaging voice, but Hailey knew the girl was glowing with happiness under Tyler’s flattery.
Hailey wanted to turn around and hug him. Faith’s self-esteem had improved in the past few weeks. Hailey thought she might have contributed to that in a small measure, but the credit really went to Tyler. He spoke to the girl differently, no longer dismissing her as a child, but treating her like a person. The result of his attention was readily apparent. Faith had opened up like a flower who had been waiting a long time for spring.
“Why don’t you pick up the remains of our picnic?” he asked of his daughter. “That may earn you a dollar or two.”
“Okay,” she said eagerly.
As she went about the task, Hailey laid her head against his shoulder and looked up at him. He was bending so close over her that his breath was a warm vapor against her face. She could distinguish each eyelash. The dark centers of his eyes mirrored the invitation in hers. Answering that beckoning expression, his mouth came down to cover her lips.
This kiss wasn’t for anyone’s amusement. It was entirely selfish and shared only by them. It wasn’t passionate. Neither of them was an exhibitionist; neither felt it was proper to give way to passion before Faith’s impressionable eyes.
But it was a puissant kiss, rife with longing, unquenched desire, and quiet understanding. Sweetly, his tongue nudged the tip of hers, yet he could have been touching her in a much more intimate place for the impact the gesture had. That secret core deep inside her exploded and showered her body with sparks of sensation. What appeared chaste on the outside was most wanton within.
He raised his head and Hailey saw the desire burning in his eyes, a desire matching the smoldering coal of her own need. He helped her stand. Weakened by the onslaught of passion he had aroused, she swayed against him. His arms came around her protectively. He knew, understood, and shared her weakness. For precious long moments, they clung together.
When at last they released each other, Faith was eyeing them keenly. Her braces were fully revealed by her wide grin, and in her gray eyes, so like her father’s, a newfound happiness was dancing.
They arrived at Fontana Lake late in the afternoon, having taken their time driving through the National Park and enjoying the sights along the way. The forested mountains, with the gray blue mist—that gave them their name—shrouding their peaks, were tinted with the vivid hues of autumn.
Faith had complained about her restricted view, until Tyler relented and allowed her to sit in the front seat with him and Hailey. As it turned out, everyone enjoyed the arrangement. Faith, because she could see more through the wide front windshield. And Tyler and Hailey because they were forced to sit touching from knee to shoulder.
It seemed that Tyler’s right arm was inordinately busy as he drove, never remaining still for long. It finally occurred to Hailey that every time he moved it, it brushed across her left breast, keeping her in a state of constant agitation. When she turned her head to look at him accusingly, he grinned down at her mischievously and laughed. His wink congratulated her on finally catching on to his cleverness. Justice was served when she punished him by placing her hand high on his thigh.
His “cabin” turned out to be a three-bedroom, three-bath dwelling larger than most houses. The living room opened onto a view of the lake, while each bedroom had a vista of the mountains. It was thoroughly and tastefully furnished and equipped with all the amenities.
After showering and changing their clothes, they drove to a nearby lodge for dinner. Returning to the house, Faith informed them by quoting from the TV Guide that “the most terrifying motion picture ever filmed” was on that night.
“We can’t miss that, can we?” Tyler teased.
Faith put on a nightgown with Snoopy and Woodstock on its front and stretched out on the floor in front of the television screen to await the movie. She soon became engrossed in a musical special featuring one of her favorite rock stars.
“Let’s get comfortable, too,” Tyler said to Hailey, going toward his bedroom and peeling his sweater over his head as he walked.
Hailey closed the door to the bedroom that had been designated as hers, a room that was decorated in myriad shades of yellow and gold. She took off the skirt and blouse she had worn to dinner and hung them in the closet. Stripping down to her panties, she put on a long satin robe. It had been an extravagant birthday present from Ellen that she had never had an occasion to wear before. Its rich, dark green fabric highlighted the color of her hair and contributed to the brilliance of her eyes. An invisible zipper closed the garment from her neck to her knees, and the sleeves belled in a wide hem just below her elbows.
She was searching her suitcase for her slippers when there was a discreet knock on her door. “Who is it?” she asked breathlessly, quickly dousing herself with perfume.
“A naked savage bent on satisfying his lust.”
She was laughing as she pulled open the door. “You liar. You’re not naked at all.”
“Give me five seconds,” he said, backing her into the room. He had on a pair of gray warm-up pants and an Atlanta Falcons sweat shirt.
“You’re crazy.”
“And getting crazier,” he murmured as he tried to capture her mouth. “You’re driving me crazy.” He succeeded in trapping her lips against his. He parted them agilely and kissed her with the savagery he had intimated. His tongue sank into her mouth, instinctively finding the most sensitive places and playing havoc with her senses.
“Tyler—”
“Want has become need, Hailey. I need you.”
Pushing away from him, she sobbed softly, “We can’t.” Then as she ducked her head and stared at her bare feet she said hoarsely, “I can’t.”
“I know.”
She had thought he would curse, beg, shout, but never concur. This quiet agreement was the most surprising of a long list of astonishing statements. “You … you know?” She could barely mouth the words.
“Faith.”
Her features softened with emotion. He was coming to know how she felt about things. She nodded, touching his face with hands that told him how much his understanding was appreciated.
“We’re adults, Hailey. We know what it’s about, but she doesn’t. I can’t preach to her about morality if—”
“I understand, Tyler. I do. I was hoping you would.”
His index finger came up to trace her bottom lip. “You understand everything.” He spoke so softly the words were almost indistinct, yet she heard him. “But do you understand what it’s like for a man to want a woman as much as I want you? I’ve put you in every conceivable erotic fantasy. I ache, Hailey.”
“So do I.”
Her words stunned him. In disbelieving wonder, he stared at her as her fingers closed around the tassle on the zipper of her robe. Their eyes remained locked as the zipper rasped through the rustling fabric. The sound was amplified a thousand times over in the still room. Tyler didn’t move, didn’t breathe.
When the robe was opened, she reached for his hand, brought it to her mouth, and kissed his palm. Knowing she might never have the courage again, she drew his hand to the top curve of her breast and pressed it against her soft flesh. Her palm caressed the back of his hand, his knuckles, his strong, tapering fingers.
“Hailey,” he said in a voice rough with emotion. His eyes dropped from hers to fall on what seemed to come to life under the tender manipulation of his fingers. They combed down the roundness of her breast to the dusky center. His fingers marveled over her and he watched in awe as she responded. His eyes were lifted to hers once more before he lowered his head to cherish with his mouth what his hand had prepared for him.
His tongue laved her nipples with long, circling, sensuous strokes. Lips firm and moist closed around them. Ever so gently, he suckled her. She whispered his name and slipped her hands beneath his sweatshirt to caress the furred skin of his chest.
Tyler was seized by a surging desire that he forced down by a sheer act of will. He encompassed her with possessive arms. His hard, hot cheek nestled against the softness of her breasts. “It will be so good, Hailey,” he vowed in a harsh whisper. “It will be so good.”
He kissed her, not allowing them to touch anywhere except on the lips that molded together as though by design. They smiled at each other with new tenderness when they reluctantly pulled apart. They had just restored their clothing when Faith called from the living room. “Daddy, Hailey, the movie’s starting.”
By the second commercial, Faith was curled up beside Tyler on the deep sofa, burying her face in his shoulder during each gory scene. He kept an arm firmly around Hailey, and each time he looked at her, his eyes echoed the promise he had made.