Lilac Temptress

Chapter 7

Drake sat down on the other end of the bed. Every muscle in his body tensed as he watched her.

The motion of her arms above her head and his glimpse of her ample left breast as she'd looped her hair in circles, nearly made him lose all willpower. He wanted her. She hadn't even noticed her brief exposure. Was she teasing him??

She must have known how beautiful she was. What she'd done with her hair showcased the lovely length of her neck that he wanted to string kisses along.

"I've lived in this town all my life. I barely recall my parents. My father left when I was almost two years old before my brother, Kyle, was born. My mother died of yellow fever a few months after his birth," Sierra said.?

"I'm sorry to hear that." Drake's expression was empathetic and thoughtful. Her candidness was unexpected but refreshing.

"You shouldn't be." She shrugged half-heartedly. "As I said, I didn't know my parents well. I know very little about them. Most of what I know I've heard from the townsfolk." Sierra examined Drake sitting on her bed listening intently, his face showing sympathy mixed with curiosity.

Looking at him too long wasn't wise, so she'd keep talking. As long as she kept talking, she wouldn't want to lean into him and glide her hands, over his muscular physique, under his fine clothing.

"Wil knew my parents. Whenever I ask him about them, he refuses to give me answers. Adrienne knew my parents as well, but when I turn to her for answers, she stays equally tight-lipped. I'm often frustrated with her - "

"I can imagine - You must be desperate for answers," Drake replied.

"I am sometimes. I even asked the town midwife, who had delivered me about my parents, but she hadn't known much about them.

"When Wil found out that I had been questioning townsfolk, he told me to leave the past dead and buried."?

Sierra looked down at the little doll on her lap. She didn't know what she hated most about William, his ruling her life, or his keeping her ignorant about her parents. She relaxed her posture; there was no need to get worked up about Wil.

"Where is your brother now?" Drake inquired.

"My brother, Kyle - he's around. He works as a bartender at Wil's bar. He would have been there tonight mixing drinks with Leon, the other bartender. But he disappeared with a married tart almost as soon as she stepped foot into the place."

Drake heard the tinge of anger in Sierra's voice and something more - perhaps melancholy.

"Now that you've learned all about me, how long do you intend to stay inside my bedroom? Isn't it time you take your leave?" Sierra crossed her arms lightly over her chest.

"Are you involved with someone?" Drake asked, trying to elicit more information. "Is that why you're offended by my presence?"

"I don't belong to any man."

"What is William to you besides your employer?" he pressed.

"Wil was my father's confidant and best friend. He's cared for Kyle and me since my mother's death. I owe him our lives."

Drake frowned, lines creasing his forehead. "You believe you're his possession?"

"You wouldn't understand." Sierra had difficulty responding to his question.

Drake's heart welled with unexpected emotion. "I want to understand. I want to convince you that no one could ever possess you or Kyle. I want to know about the sadness hidden behind your eyes. And because I know that I don't have a remote chance in hell of you accepting me for anything more than conversation, I'd like you to go on. I wouldn't mind hearing you speak about anything as long as I get to stay with you for a bit."

Sierra let out soft laughter. "Well - you do seem very interested in what I have to say. Men in Jadesville don't care to hear women speak. Especially if the woman can read, write, and come across as smarter than her counterpart. But here you are listening to every word I say. And you're even wondering about my debt to Wil."

"I'm speculating," Drake said. "When you speak of William, your voice hardens. You speak his name, reluctantly. You are more rigid now while speaking of him than you were when you found me standing at your bedroom door. I wonder if you resent him."

"You're reading more into this than I would like to share," she whispered.

"It's written on your face that you don't like living in this small town. Why don't you leave this place and start over elsewhere?"?

"I've saved a little money. I suppose I could leave, but never without Kyle. Kyle is all I've got, and he's here, content with sitting around sketching pictures of the Teche or riding Shadowcaster all day long, Wil's horse that Kyle took for his."

"Is he any good at sketching?" Drake prodded a bit more.

"Maybe good enough to earn a living off it," Sierra said proudly. She twirled a fallen strand of her hair around her finger and tucked it behind her ear.

"If you keep doing that thing with your hair - " Drake stopped mid-sentence.?

Sierra turned her gaze away from him. She didn't want to give in to him - do what he might ask. It would be foolish of her to throw away her virginity, as Adrienne had suggested, for one night with this man that she hardly knew and would likely never see again afterward. But how long could she carry on the gutsy girl act?

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. Can you tell me more about yourself?" Drake muttered a 'please' under his breath.

Sierra smiled. "You remind me of a man that I used to know. He made me a promise. He told me that he was going to take me far away from here." She lowered her head while remembering.

"Like you, he was traveling through town when I met him. I stupidly fell in love with him at first sight, and when he left town without me, without saying goodbye, I decided I'd never trust in love again."

"I'm guessing that you are no more than nineteen years old. Have you already learned to reject love at first sight?" Drake raised his brow.

Sierra laughed. "Twenty-one, Mr. McCalister, and based on your visible disapproval, do you think love, at first sight, is what we're experiencing now?"

"Perhaps - " Drake's mouth curved into a smile.

"I'm not so naive anymore to think such a thing exists," Sierra returned.

"Someone so young couldn't have experienced life long enough to reach such conclusions," Drake argued.

"And what do you know of love, Mr. McCalister?"

"Please, call me Drake."?

"Calling you Mr. McCalister suits me just fine. I don't want you to think that we are becoming acquainted intimately."

"Would it be terrible, Sierra, to know each other better?"?

"All right - Drake." Sierra decided to humor him. Although, her heart fluttered at the mention of his name on her lips. "Tell me, what do you know of love?"

"Honestly, I'm incapable of falling in love - for various reasons."?

Sierra marveled. "You've never met your match?"

"No - and the subject doesn't interest me much," Drake replied.?

"Of course not. We both know why you're here, but if our conversation ends, then your visit must end with it," Sierra countered, surprised by her resolve.

She pensively watched Drake. Maybe she should ask him to leave, but it wasn't often that she conversed with a man who made her palms moist - and deep down, she wanted to keep feeling the excitement he stirred within her.

"Will, you and your friend, leave town tomorrow morning?" she asked quietly.

Drake nodded, uneasy with the less-than-ideal situation of William refusing to sell.

"Wil usually advises travelers not to overstay their welcome. But if he runs visitors away too often, Adrienne will have a lot fewer customers."?

Drake laughed inwardly, wondering how Adrienne ever retained patrons if any of the other women under her supervision were as hard to bed as Sierra.

"Do you think you could tell me something of New Orleans now? I might never get a chance to go there." Sierra attempted to change the subject.

Drake observed the intensity in her eyes, the way she leaned in toward him when he spoke. Her flushed skin revealed her desire. She wanted him; her body spoke a language her words did not. So, why did she deny him?

"Looks like I have little choice. I'll tell you something about my home if it means I get to stay a while longer. Do you mind if I make myself more comfortable? I promise I'm a gentleman."

"Please, do." She waved her hand across her bed, deciding to trust him.