“It’s such a good idea, I would have risked more to be a part of it,” he said levelly. Despite his assurance, Elise couldn’t help but feel that he was doing this as a very special favor to her . . . giving her the priceless gift not only of the unique, excellent location and opportunity, but of his vast experience. No other entrepreneur would ever offer her a tenth of what Lucien proposed. His belief in her was like a charm stored safe away in her heart, a talisman that was forever within her reach.
His belief in her had magically segued into a belief in herself.
After a light lunch, they rode on the grounds, Elise enjoying the physical activity and glorying in spending exclusive time with the man with whom she’d fallen in love.
It seemed pointless at this juncture to keep denying it.
They dismounted at a wooded lake and tethered the horses. She sat next to Lucien on a nearly horizontal branch of a low-lying oak tree, leaning back against his strong thigh. He put his arm around her, opening his hand below her waist, and they stared out at the peaceful surface of the mirrored lake.
“Lucien?” she asked after a moment. “Have you spoken to your father at all since he’s been in prison?”
“No,” he replied, moving his chin idly in her hair.
“Are you angry with him? For what he did?”
“Yes. Not as much as I used to be, but still . . .” He paused and kissed the top of her head. “He took advantage of a lot of people because of his own greed. The company that he stole the industrial patents from was publicly owned. His actions could have potentially driven the stock down to nothing. Thousands of people would have lost their investment savings and jobs.”
She sighed, sensing his bitterness over the blind depravity of his adopted father’s greed. “And then he embroiled you in it all,” she murmured. “The police questioned you. He was sent to prison, leaving you his tainted empire. No wonder you never wanted to touch any of it.”
His hand moved below her belly, stroking her, creating a heavy, pleasant feeling at her core. “I’m going to have to stop running from his legacy, no matter how tainted it is. It’s my responsibility.”
She turned to gaze into his sober face. “You’re going to accept your inheritance?”
“Not the money, no. But I can’t keep ignoring the responsibilities my father left me. I would be no better than him if I kept ignoring all the people that rely on the businesses my father created.”
“The embezzled funds at the Three Kings made that clear to you, didn’t it?”
He nodded.
“Do you . . . do you plan to return to Europe?” she asked. Her pulse had begun to throb at her throat and a sick feeling swept through her stomach.
“No,” he said, sunlight reflecting in his eyes as he studied her. “I can manage things from here as well as anywhere. But I will have to dig in for the short run and make sure I hire people I trust in Europe. It will require more travel than I’ve been doing as of late.”
She nodded, relief sweeping through her at hearing he had no immediate plans of leaving permanently. His gaze sharpened on her and he cradled her jaw.
“Did you think I was planning on leaving you?” he asked.
“No, of course not,” she said too quickly. When he raised his eyebrows in a sardonic gesture, she blushed and lowered her head, a feeling of shame seeping into her awareness. He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his stare.
“Why are you always convinced you will be rejected?”
His words cut to the quick. She twisted her chin out of his gentle grasp and stared blindly at the still lake, unwanted tears filling her eyes. What could she say without sounding melodramatic and foolish? Because every time I feel close to someone, they end up leaving me? Because no matter how hard I tried to please the people in my life, they would rather I wasn’t around?
Never. She’d never say those stupid, weak things.
She couldn’t stop a tear from spilling down her cheek, however. Lucien leaned down and caught it with his lips. He made a rough soothing sound. Suddenly, his arms were around her, and he was lifting . . . urging her onto his thighs. He turned her, so that they were face-to-face, and her legs straddled his hips and fell over the tree branch. His arms closed around her until her breasts were crushed against his chest. He held her there, heartbeat to heartbeat, his hand massaging her back in that deft, knowing manner.
Elise pressed her chin between his shoulder and neck, shielding herself. She cried silent tears, warmed by dappled sunlight, filled by Lucien’s embrace.
“Because your parents didn’t prize you doesn’t mean that you’re not a precious, priceless jewel,” he said gruffly near her ear minutes later. “It only means that you have to learn to prize yourself. And you are, ma fifille. Aren’t you?”
She swallowed thickly and inhaled for courage. She leaned back and let him see her damp cheeks.
“I am,” she whispered.
His eyes glinted between narrowed lids as he looked upon the gaping weaknesses and uncertainties she’d run from her entire life . . .
. . . and she’d never felt so whole.
She kissed his mouth softly, and he plucked at her parted lips with his own. For several golden, sunlit moments she melted in the cocoon of Lucien’s acceptance. Her flesh grew torpid, her sex damp. She felt him harden against her and knew he shared in her arousal. But it was more than just a sexual embrace.
It was so much more.
She wasn’t sure how long they remained like that, but eventually Lucien cradled her face with both hands and waited for her to open her eyelids sluggishly.