Maid for a Magnate(23)

Catalina sighed. That was long ago; they were different people now and  the past couldn't be redone...and all those other stupid sayings that  really didn't help in the grand scheme of things.

And it was because she was still so tied up in knots over this man that  she needed to escape Alma, fulfill her own dreams and forget her life  here. She was damn good at designing and she couldn't wait to burn her  uniforms and sensible shoes, roast a marshmallow over them and move on.

"We're not going anywhere for a while."

Catalina jerked her head around. Will was standing on the bottom step,  his hands braced above him on the doorframe. The muscles in his biceps  flexed, drawing her attention to his raw masculinity. No matter how much  the inner turmoil was caused by their rocky relationship, Catalina  couldn't deny that the sight of his body turned her on like no other man  had ever been able to do.

"There's some major damage to the starboard side. I thought maybe I  could get it moving, but the mechanics are fried. I can only assume the  boat was hit by lightning as well as banging into the dock repeatedly."

Catalina gripped the plush comforter beneath her palms. "How long will we be stuck here?"

"I have no clue."

He stepped farther into the room and raked a hand over his messy hair.  Will always had perfectly placed hair, but something about that rumpled  state made her hotter for him.

"The radio isn't working, either," he added as he sank down on the edge  of the bed, facing her. "Are you ready for some pain medicine since  we're going to be here awhile?"

She was going to need something a lot stronger if she was going to be  forced to stick this out with him for too long. Hours? Days? How long  would she have to keep her willpower on high alert?

"I probably better," she admitted. "My ankle's throbbing pretty good now."

Will went to the bathroom. She heard him rummaging around in a cabinet,  then the faucet. When he strode back across the open room, Catalina  couldn't keep her eyes off his bare chest. Why did he have to be so  beautiful and enticing? She wanted to be over her attraction for this  man. Anything beyond what happened in that cabin would only lead to more  heartache because Will would never choose anyone over his father and  Rowling Energy and she sure as hell wasn't staying in Alma to clean  toilets the rest of her life waiting to gain his attention.

Catalina took the pills and the small paper cup of water he offered.  Hoping the medicine kicked in soon, she swallowed it as Will eased back  down beside her on the bed.

"Dammit," he muttered, placing his hand on the shin of her good leg. "If we hadn't been arguing-"

"We've argued for weeks," she told him with a half smile. "It was an  accident. If anyone is to blame it's me for not watching where I was  going and for trying to stomp off in a fit."

"Were you throwing a fit?" he asked. "I don't remember."

Catalina lifted an eyebrow. "You're mocking me now."

Shaking his head, he slid his hand up and down her shin. "Not at all. I  just remember thinking how sexy you looked when you were angry. You  have this red tint to your cheeks. Or it could've been the great sex.  Either way, you looked hot."

"Was that before or after I was sprawled face first in the sand?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"You can't kill sexy, Cat, even if you're eating sand."

The slight grin he offered her eased her worry. Maybe they could spend  the day here and actually be civil without worrying about the sexual  tension consuming them. Maybe they had taken the edge off and could move  on.

Well, they could obviously move on, but would this feeling of want ever  go away? Because if anything, since they'd been intimate, Catalina  craved him even more.

So now what could she do? There was nowhere to hide and definitely nowhere to run in her current state.

As she looked into Will's mesmerizing eyes, her worry spiked once again  because he stared back at her like a man starved...and she was the main  course.





      Thirteen

Thankfully the kitchen was fully stocked and the electricity that fed  the appliances hadn't been fried because right now Will needed to  concentrate on something other than how perfect Cat looked in his bed.

He'd come to the kitchen a while ago to figure out what they should do  for dinner. Apparently the pain pills had kicked in because Cat was  resting peacefully, even letting out soft moans every now and then as  she slept.                       
       
           



       

It was those damn moans that had his shorts growing tighter and his  teeth grinding as he attempted to control himself. He'd heard those  groans earlier, up close and personal in his ear as she'd wrapped her  body around his.

The experience was one he would never forget.

Will put together the chicken and rice casserole that his mother used  to make. Yes, they'd had a chef when he was a child, but James and Will  had always loved this dish and every now and then, Will threw it  together just to remember his mother. He still missed her, but it was  the little things that would remind him of her and make him smile.

Setting the timer on the oven, Will glanced back to the sleeping beauty  in his bed. His mother would have loved Cat. She wouldn't have cared if  she was the maid or-

What the hell? How did that thought sneak right in without his  realizing the path his mind was taking? It didn't matter what his mother  would have thought of Cat. He wasn't getting down on one knee and  asking her into the family.

He needed to get a grip because his hormones and his mind were jumbling  up all together and he was damn confused. Sleeping with Cat should have  satisfied this urge to claim her, but instead of passing, the longing  only grew.

With the casserole baking for a good bit, Will opted to grab a shower.  He smelled like sex, sand and sweat. Maybe a cold shower would help wake  him up to the reality that he'd let Cat go once. Just because they  slept together didn't mean she was ready to give this a go again. And  was that what he wanted? In all honesty did he want to try for this once  more and risk hurting her, hurting himself, further?

He was making a damn casserole for pity's sake. What type of man had he  become? He'd turned into some warped version of a homemaker and, even  worse, he was perfectly okay with this feeling.

Before he went to the shower, he wanted to try the radio one more time.  There had to be a way to communicate back to the mainland.  Unfortunately, no matter which knobs he turned, which buttons he hit,  nothing sparked to life. Resigned to the fact they were indeed stuck,  Will went to his master suite bathroom.

As he stripped from his shorts and stepped into the spacious, open  shower, he wondered if maybe being stranded with Cat wasn't some type of  sign. Maybe they were supposed to be together with no outside forces  hindering their feelings or judgment.

And honestly, Will wanted to see what happened with Cat. He wanted to  give this another chance because they were completely different people  than they were before and he was in total control of his life. She was  that sliver of happiness that kept him smiling and their verbal sparring  never failed to get him worked up.

No other woman matched him the way she did and he was going to take  this opportunity of being stranded and use every minute to his  advantage. He'd prove to her he was different because just telling her  he was really wouldn't convince her. He needed to show her, to let her  see for herself that he valued her, that he wanted her. He'd never  stopped wanting her.

While he may want to use this private time to seduce the hell out of  her, Will knew those hormones were going to have to take a back seat  because Cat was worth more and they were long overdue for some relaxing,  laid back time. And then maybe they could discuss just what the hell  was happening between them.

* * *

Whatever that smell was, Catalina really hoped she wasn't just dreaming  about it. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was greeted with a  beautiful orange glow across the horizon. The sun was setting, and lying  in this bed, Will's bed, watching such beauty was a moment she wanted  to lock in her mind forever.

She rolled over, wincing as the pain in her ankle reminded her she was  injured. The ice bag had melted and slid off the pillow she'd propped it  on. As soon as she sat up, she examined her injury, pleased to see the  swelling had gone down some.

"Oh, good. Dinner is almost ready."

Catalina smoothed her hair away from her face and smiled as Will scooped up something from a glass pan.

"I tried the radio again," he told her. "It didn't work. The whole system is fried."

Catalina sighed. As much as she wanted to get back home, she couldn't  deny the pleasure she'd experienced here, despite the injury. She had a  feeling she was seeing the true Will, the man who wasn't all business  and power trips, but a man who cared for her whether he was ready to  admit it or not.