Loving Evangeline Read online

  And yet, for all the intensity of his desire, he was oddly content to wait. He would have her. For now he was caught in the enchantment of her slow smile, in the luminous sheen of her skin, in her warm, female scent that no perfume could match. Simply to sit beside her was to be seduced, and he was more than willing.

  Having removed his shoes, he rolled up the legs of his khaki pants and stuck his feet into the water. The water was tepid, but refreshing in contrast to the heat of his skin. It made him feel almost comfortable.

  “It isn’t seven o’clock yet,” she pointed out, but she was smiling.

  “I wanted to make sure you hadn’t chickened out.”

  “Not yet. Give me a couple of hours.”

  Despite the teasing, he was certain she wouldn’t have stood him up. She might be nervous, even a little reluctant, but she had agreed, and she would keep her word. Her lack of enthusiasm in going out with him might have been insulting if he hadn’t known how potent her physical reaction to him was. Whatever reasons she had for being wary of him, her body was oblivious to them.

  She lazily moved her feet back and forth, watching the water swirl around her ankles. After a minute of wondering about the advisability of bringing up the subject that had been bothering her so much, she decided to do so, anyway. “Robert, have you ever let anyone really get close to you? Has anyone ever truly known you?”

  She felt his stillness, just for a split second. Then he said in a light tone, “I’ve been trying to get close to you from the moment I first saw you.”

  She turned her head and found him watching her, his ice-green eyes cool and unreadable. “That was a nice evasion, but you just demonstrated what I meant.”

  “I did? What was that?” he murmured indulgently, leaning forward to press his lips to her bare shoulder.

  She didn’t let that burning little caress distract her. “How you deflect personal questions without answering them. How you keep everyone at arm’s length. How you watch and manipulate and never give away anything of your real thoughts or feelings.”

  He looked amused. “You’re accusing me of being difficult to get to know, when you’re as open as the Sphinx?”

  “We both have our defenses,” she admitted readily.

  “Suppose I turn your questions around?” he said, watching her intently. “Have you ever let anyone get close to you and really get to know you?”

  A pang went through her. “Of course. My family…and Matt.”

  She lapsed into silence then, and Robert saw the sadness move over her face, like a cloud passing over the sun. Matt again! What had been so special about an eighteen-year-old boy that twelve years later just the mention of his name could make her grieve? He didn’t like himself for the way he felt, violently jealous and resentful of a dead boy. But at least Matt’s memory had diverted Evie from her uncomfortable line of questioning.

  She seemed content to sit in silence now, dabbling her feet in the water and watching the sunlight change patterns as it moved lower in the sky. Robert left her to her thoughts, suddenly preoccupied with his own.

  Her perception was disturbing. She had, unfortunately, been dead on the money. He had always felt it necessary to keep a large part of himself private; the persona he presented to the world, that of a wealthy, urbane businessman, was not false. It was merely a small part of the whole, the part that he chose to display. It worked very well; it was perfect for doing business, for courting and seducing the women he wanted, and was an entrée into those parts of the world where his business was not quite what it seemed.

  None of his closest associates suspected that he was anything other than the cool, controlled executive. They didn’t know about his taste for adventure, or the way he relished danger. They didn’t know about the extremely risky favors he had done, out of sheer patriotism, for various government departments and agencies. They didn’t know about all the ongoing, specialized training he did to keep himself in shape and his skills sharp. They didn’t know about his volcanic temper, because he kept it under ruthless control. Robert knew himself well, knew his own lethal capabilities. It had always seemed better to keep the intense aspects of his personality to himself, to never unleash the sheer battering force of which he was capable. If that meant no one ever really knew him, he was content with that. There was a certain safety in it.

  No woman had ever reached the seething core of his emotions, had ever made him lose control. He never wanted to truly love a woman in the romantic sense, to find himself open to her, vulnerable to her. He planned to marry someday, and his wife would be supremely happy. He would treat her with every care and consideration, pleasing her in bed and cosseting her out of it. She would never want for anything. He would be a tender, affectionate husband and father. And she would never know that she had never truly reached him, that his heart remained whole, in his isolated core.

  Madelyn, of course, knew that there were fiercely guarded depths to him, but she had never probed. She had known herself to be loved, and that was enough for her. His sister was a formidable person in her own right, her lazy manner masking an almost frightening determination, as her husband had discovered to his great surprise.

  But how could Evie, on such short acquaintance, so clearly see what others never did? It made him feel exposed, and he didn’t like it one damn bit. He would have to be more careful around her.

  The sun was shining full on his back now, and his spine was prickling with sweat. Deciding that the silence had gone on long enough, he asked in an idle tone, “Where’s your truck?”

  “I’m having a new motor put in it,” she replied. “I might have it back by tomorrow afternoon, but until then I’m using the boat to get to the marina and back.”

  He waited, but there was no additional explanation. Surprised, he realized that she wasn’t going to tell him about the motor blowing, wasn’t going to broadcast her troubles in any way. He was accustomed to people bringing their problems to him for deft handling. He had also thought it possible that Evie would ask him for a loan to cover the repairs. They hadn’t discussed his financial status, but she had seen the new boat, the new Jeep, the house on the waterfront, and she was far from stupid; she had to know he had money. He wouldn’t have given her a loan, of course, because that would have defeated his subtle maneuvering to put financial pressure on her, but still, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d asked. Instead, she hadn’t even planned to tell him that her truck had broken down.

  “If you need to go anywhere, call me,” he finally offered.

  “Thanks, but I don’t have any errands that can’t be put off until I get the truck back.”

  “There’s no need to put them off,” he insisted gently. “Just call me.”

  She smiled and let the subject drop, but he knew she wouldn’t call. Even if he installed himself at the marina until her truck was repaired, she wouldn’t tell him if she needed anything.

  He took her hand and gently stroked her fingers. “You haven’t asked me where we’re going tonight.”

  She gave him a surprised look. “I hadn’t thought about it.” That was the truth. Where they went was inconsequential; the fact that she would be with him was what had occupied her mind.

  “That isn’t very flattering,” he said with a faint smile.

  “I didn’t say I hadn’t thought about going out with you. It’s just that the where never entered my mind.”

  The sophisticated socialites he normally squired about New York and the world’s other major cities would never have made such an artless confession. Or rather, if they had, it would have been in an intimately flirtatious manner. Evie wasn’t flirting. She had simply stated the truth and let him take it as he would. He wanted to kiss her for it but refrained for now. She would be more relaxed if she didn’t have to deal with a seduction attempt every time she saw him.

  Then she turned to him, brown eyes grave and steady. “I answered your question,” she said. “Now answer mine.”

  “Ah.” So she had be