Marrying Cade(22)

Cade pushed his hair back with an impatient hand. He wasn't used to  waiting. Wasn't used to putting someone else first, but Melo had been  under such strain he couldn't push it. When they were in bed together,  all the issues between them disappeared, and his body ached for her in a  way it had never done for another.

Her chestnut hair brushed against her cheek, and the soft curve of her  mouth tempted. In the close confines of the plane, he breathed in her  distinctive flowery perfume and bit back a groan.

"Why did you decide to build this hotel?" He could only just hear Melo  over the engine noise so he leaned forward. To his relief she didn't  shrink away, just stared into his eyes.

Cade rejected his usual stock responses. He could say it was because  Hidden Lake was one of the most beautiful locations on the planet, and  one in need of exploitation. That it was a sound business decision. "I  love it here," he murmured. "It's magical, unspoiled. I wanted somewhere  I could come to."

"Somewhere you could come to?" Melo's eyes widened. "I thought you lived in New York."

"I don't really live anywhere," Cade stated flatly. "I have penthouse suites in all my hotels, and I live between them."

Melo's mouth breathed open, "What do you mean-surely you have an apartment, a house?"

"No."

It was a bone of contention with his mother and his sisters. Something  he hadn't felt the need to explain to anyone. Buying a house and filling  it with all his possessions felt too much like permanence. He'd  invested all his emotion in a future that hadn't happened. Had dreamed  of one day living in the ranch, and when it had all fallen apart had  made a vow he wouldn't ever invest so much emotion in one place ever  again. But Melo was waiting for an answer, so for the first time in  years he tried to put his feelings into words.

"Living in my hotels gives me the best of both worlds. The penthouses  are reserved for my use whenever I need them, and I have clothes and  personal effects in all of them. I don't have any need for anything else  more permanent."

"But … " Melo struggled for words, "don't you want to have somewhere to  see your family? Somewhere to kick back with your friends?"

"My mother visits the penthouse of my London hotel when I'm in England.  My friends are perfectly happy to join me there. Food is always  available at a much better standard than I could cook it myself, and all  my hotels cater to the guest's every need. I really don't need to have a  place that is exclusively mine."

He glanced out of the window. She probably couldn't understand. After  all, Melo had always been a home bird, with her roots firmly in the soil  of Isola dei Fiori. This was her first international trip, wasn't it?  To someone who felt one little piece of the earth was home, his  wandering lifestyle must be an anathema.

Cade pulled in a deep breath and pointed out of the window. "Look." The  sunlight sparkled in the snowy tops of the mountains as the plane  banked. They were close enough to see the stands of pine clustered on  the mountainside, and in a moment they would be landing. "The lake is  coming up." Cade reached for her hand, and to his relief she let her  hand rest in his. "There."                       
       
           



       

The mirrored surface of the lake could only truly be appreciated from  the air, yet so many times making this flight Cade had let the moment  escape, reading through contracts or studying spec sheets as the pilot  brought the plane in to land. When he first saw Hidden Lake, he fell in  love with its spectacular beauty, and somehow after time, he'd forgotten  his real reason for building the hotel in the first place. With Melo's  hand in his and the delight shining in her eyes as she peered out of the  window, he saw it all through new eyes.

"It's so beautiful." She turned, and her smile knocked every thought  clean out of his head. Apart from one. The urge to kiss her.

Her eyes darkened and she edged her chin upwards. Her lips parted. Damn it all, not kissing her was tying him in knots.

Cade gave in and slanted his lips over hers.

With a tiny sigh Melo kissed him back, sliding a hand up into his hair  and stroking his scalp. When she pulled away her breathing was fast and  as uneven as his.

She felt it too, this passion that blazed between them. And later, they'd be alone.

****

Melo's heart thumped in an irregular rhythm, and she touched her lips  with shaking fingers as Cade stood and gathered their coats from the  overhead rack. She hadn't meant to kiss him, but when he leaned closer  and looked at her as if he needed to kiss her like a starving man needs  food, a wave of longing had overwhelmed her, and she'd been unable to  deny herself the pleasure.

She stood and brushed nervous fingers down her jeans. For the next week  they would be spending every moment together. The thought made her  stomach clench with nerves as she considered the very real possibility  she was out of her depth with this man who seemed to still have the  ability to force reason from her mind with just a smile or a look that  turned her insides to water.

She'd decided to make the trip for a variety of reasons. The first was  she needed to get away from her father's disapproving presence while the  lawyer, Aldo Renda, assessed her claim. She wasn't giving up without a  fight, but as she'd already informed her clients she'd be taking time  away from the office, heading back to Florence had seemed a fruitless  exercise. The second reason she'd decided to join Cade in Canada was  curiosity. The Cade of old was a boy full of impenetrable secrets. He'd  opened up to her more than he had to anyone, but so much about his  childhood was a mystery.

When he revealed he preferred to live in his hotels rather than build a  home for himself, she hadn't been able to understand it. Her apartment  in Florence was rented, but it was still home. A place to retreat to  when the world got too much. A safe haven where she could kick back and  do whatever she wanted without the unwelcome attentions of strangers.  The thought of not being able to cook herself dinner, or invite her  friends over for a night drinking wine and sharing confidences was an  alien one. No luxury could compare with that. Even twenty-four hour room  service.

Cade reached for her hand.

The heat of his fingers curling around hers was echoed by fingers of  warmth curling around her heart. Her fascination with Cade was  dangerous. And for the first time she wondered if coming here with him  was the right decision.

After a short car ride, they arrived at the hotel.

"We'll say hello, and then I'll take you up to the penthouse." Cade's  deep voice near her ear sent a flurry of shivers through her, and she  breathed in deeply to steady herself. Her legs felt shaky as they pushed  open the door into the hotel and walked across the smooth wooden floor  to the reception desk.

"Mr. West, welcome back." The receptionist's face lit up at the sight of Cade.

Jealousy stabbed at Melo's chest. The other woman was small and pretty  and looking at Cade as though he was a birthday present she was dying to  unwrap.

Cade's hand tightened in hers.

"Hello, Bette. Good to see you." Cade tugged Melo's hand under his  elbow, wrapped her fingers around his bicep and gripped down, making  sure she couldn't pull away. "This is my friend, Melo Bellucci; sign us  in, will you?"

"I'll call the manager," Bette reached for the phone, but Cade stopped her.

"Not now, Bette. I want to take Melo up to the suite-we've had a hell of  a trip. I'll check in with Ben in an hour, after I've had a shower and  unpacked. You could let him know I've arrived and I'll meet him in the  office for a rundown then."

"Yes, sir." Bette nodded, "Your suite is all ready for you, would you like me to send up some coffee?"

Cade slanted a glance at Melo. "Yes, coffee for me. Would you prefer tea?"                       
       
           



       

If she drank any more coffee she'd start hallucinating. "Tea would be good," Melo replied.

"Anything to eat?" Belle jotted the details on a notepad.

"We'll be down for dinner, so nothing right now, thanks." With a smile  Cade effectively terminated their conversation and steered Melo toward  the lift.

Cade punched in a code, then pushed open the door to the suite. Melo's  breath caught in surprise. The large room had long picture windows  showcasing a heartbreakingly beautiful view of the lake with the  snow-capped mountains beyond. A pair of cream leather sofas faced each  other in front of a wide fireplace where a fire made from heavy logs  blazed and crackled. Between the sofas was a simple rug in shades of red  and teal, and across the backs of each sofa were throws of rust red and  mustard yellow. The entire effect was warm and welcoming, not like a  hotel room at all.