Jennifer Morey - The Marine's Temptation

“Mr. Adair!” She caught up to him at the elevator. In jeans and a long-sleeved Henley, he dressed casually for a man in his position at AdAir Corp. Short-cropped, light brown hair gave him a clean-cut, disciplined look, and those blue eyes dazzled, especially when he’d entered the conference room and seen her. He hadn’t just seen her, he’d touched her with his gaze, lingering on her breasts that were hidden behind the layers of her shirt and tailored jacket. Only she would know the tingle that had chased through her when he’d done that.

He held the door for her, surprise rendering him silent.

She stepped into the elevator. “You can’t involve Ruby in your new investigation of Jackson’s disappearance.”

He dropped his hand from the elevator door. “Involve her? Jackson is her son. She hasn’t seen him since he was an infant. And the investigation isn’t new. My father started it. Ruby is happy that we’re going to search for him. Why aren’t you?”

“She’s suffered such loss with the kidnapping. I’ve seen what it did to her. She’ll only be hurt more when you fail to find him.”

He cocked his head as the elevator doors slid closed. “You’re that certain I’ll fail?”

“No one else has succeeded in thirty-seven years. What makes you so special?”

He looked at her without reaction. Some men would be insulted, but not him. “My own mother is the prime suspect in my father’s murder.”

That gave Georgia pause. She looked up at the numbers as they rode the elevator to the parking garage level. He had justifiable motivation for trying to find the kidnapper. She couldn’t argue that.

“I will find Jackson. It’s only a question of when.”

“Do you think your father’s death is linked to Jackson’s kidnapping?” If Reginald had been investigating and discovered something, the kidnapper would have cause to kill.

“It’s possible. But not if my mother killed him.”

Ruby was an irrational woman. She could have any number of reasons for killing her husband.

She faced him, imploring with her eyes. “My stepmother is so vulnerable when it comes to losing Jackson. She lost a lot more than a son when he was taken.” Her entire life had been torn apart.

Carson’s eyes blinked in sympathy and understanding. He turned as she had, and now they faced each other in the elevator.

“It isn’t my intent to upset you or Ruby,” he said. “I want to help you both, not hurt you. Reginald was my father. Jackson is a half brother I never knew I had. So you see, helping you helps me and my family, too. My intentions are for the good of all of us.”

And hadn’t he proved that today? He defused her. He removed any argument she had.

When he noticed, his blue eyes took on that playful look again, just as she’d seen them do in the conference room. He’d enjoyed being her champion, taking that lawyer to another room and coming back with a prompt signature.

The elevator doors opened to the parking garage. Neither of them moved. She fell into the long moment, daring to toy with the temptation of believing he was different from his father.

The elevator doors began to slide closed. He reached out and stopped them.

She stepped out ahead of him, not ready to go back up to the conference room and get her stepmother.

“What did you say to that lawyer up there, anyway?”

“I reasoned with him,” Carson said.

“Reasoned?” He had to give her more than that.

“I helped him see that Patsy isn’t of sound mind right now.”

She had run before she could be arrested in connection to the attempted murder of Whit’s wife, and suspicion had turned to her over her husband’s death. Who wouldn’t agree that she was crazy? He must be some negotiator if he could maneuver a haughty lawyer like that.

“Well...I feel like I should thank you,” she said.

“My pleasure.” He gave her a slight bow of his head.

She warmed to him and the instinct to resist quickly followed. His chivalry didn’t change who he was—an Adair. A wealthy man. He represented everything she didn’t respect.

She had to stop herself from fantasizing about tracing her finger along that strong, square jaw with unruly stubble sprouting before noon. Maybe he’d foregone shaving this morning. He had a fun-loving side to him. That went against the rich-man, better-than-everyone-else persona she had assumed he had.

“Why did you do it?” she asked. “Why did you help Ruby?”

“It was the right thing to do,” he said.

“That’s it?” He’d only wanted to do what was right? “What about your mother?”

He grunted. “First of all, I was never close to my mother. And she severed all ties when she went after my brother’s wife. I have no loyalty to her, but regardless of the kind of person she turned out to be, I’d have made sure Ruby got what my dad wanted her to have.”

His integrity confused her. “But...Ruby isn’t part of your family.”

“That doesn’t matter. She was married to my dad and they had a child together.” He studied her awhile. “What’s all of this really about, Georgia? Why are you so against my family?”

“I’m not against you.” She searched for the right words. “I...I’ve just seen what being part of your family did to my stepmother. The kidnapping. Reginald leaving her. The blame. It destroyed her.” She regained her purpose in chasing after him. “I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone make her suffer like that again.”

“Maybe I can understand your concern, but none of us—my brother, my sister or I—would harm Ruby. What happened in the past isn’t going to stop me from trying to find Jackson.”

“Fine. Look for him, just don’t involve Ruby.”

“I’ll protect her as much as I can.” He watched her awhile. “I know what it’s like to want to protect your family. I felt estranged from my parents, but I love my brother and sister. I would do anything for Whit and Landry.”

She smiled, believing he would. Carson didn’t strike her as the type to abandon those close to him. He was a doer.

But what would she do about him searching for Jackson and dragging Ruby through that hell all over again? She’d never find closure. She would have to relive that nightmare.

“What makes you think you’ll find Jackson any easier than your father?” she asked.

“I don’t know if I can. But I have to try. I’m sorry, but I do.”

“What if you don’t find him? What then? I’ll have to take Ruby back to Florida and pick up the pieces you shattered.”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “You care about Ruby a great deal. I can see that. My father suffered, too. No one knew how much until it was too late. Try to see this from my point of view. I need to finish what my father started. He started his own investigation. I’m going to finish it.”

He was so sincere. And she did understand. She couldn’t fault him for trying to find Jackson. She just hoped Ruby could cope with another disappointment if he didn’t succeed.

Realizing he’d put both hands on her shoulders and that she was looking into his earnest eyes, Georgia averted her head and stepped back. He was so handsome, a perfect specimen of hotness in a gentleman package. Not her vision of what had ripped Ruby’s heart out. And not a man she’d expected to encounter.

“What’s this really about?” he asked again softly.

What did he mean? This was about Ruby suffering. Didn’t he see that?

“You tried to convince Ruby not to take the inheritance,” he said. “Why? Why would anyone refuse that kind of money?”

“It’s the money that destroyed her to begin with,” she said. “Jackson’s kidnapping only made everything worse.”