Defying Desire Read online

  Trent frowned as he watched his brother’s hand find Camille’s shoulder. Camille looked up at him and smiled. Their gazes locked as if they hadn’t seen each other in weeks. This was just the type of sappy crap he didn’t have time for.

  “Tia St. Claire,” Camille answered.

  “You’re still after her? It’s been months since the show. If you haven’t hooked up with her yet it might be time to let it go.”

  Linc came up from behind Trent clapping him on his shoulder before he could respond to Adam’s remark. “What’s the matter? You losing your touch, bro?”

  Trent gave them both a scowl. “Hell no, I’m not losing my touch. I called her a couple of times and when she called back she was a royal—”

  “Don’t you dare call her out of her name,” Camille admonished.

  She was small and a little on the shy side, but man, she could reprimand him with a tongue-lashing as swift as his mother. That was only one of the things Trent liked about her.

  “She was not a nice lady,” he corrected and looked to Camille with a smirk for her approval. She smiled in return.

  “I haven’t talked to her since then,” he finished.

  “That’s probably because it sounds like she doesn’t want to have anything to do with you,” Linc’s wife, Jade, smirked, happily munching on a bowl of grapes as she sat, feet propped up, on the chaise lounge.

  Trent didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking. His brothers accusing him of losing his touch and his sisters-in-law claiming a victory for womankind. “Look, nothing happened between us which was probably for the best. It’s over.”

  “Well, she’s still pissed,” Camille said.

  Trent shrugged. “That’s her problem.” He went to the bar to fix himself a drink.

  “It doesn’t matter. Trent’s been all the way to the East Coast breaking hearts. He can’t possibly have time to worry about the ones he left here.” Linc chuckled as he sat next to his wife, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

  “Oh my, tell me it’s not so.” Camille sighed. “You were supposed to be working in Connecticut, not screwing.”

  At her last words everyone in the room looked in her direction. Camille Davis did not talk like that. Adam must really be rubbing off on her.

  “I wasn’t ‘screwing’ as you put it. I was helping a friend with a case.”

  “Right. Sam’s case?” Adam said. “I remember him from last year when he came to visit you. Mom told me that’s where you went.”

  “Sam’s sister was the one Trent got with,” Linc offered happily.

  Trent tossed him a heated glare. “Her name was Lynn.”

  “And did you sleep with this Lynn?” Jade asked.

  Jade was a pretty woman and now that she was pregnant her beauty had magnified. Her hazel eyes beamed while auburn curls hung just past her shoulders. And she made his brother Linc happier than Trent had ever seen him.

  “I don’t have to tell you people all the details of my sex life. Just know that Lynn and I are both adults. Whatever went down with us was absolutely consensual.”

  “He screwed her,” Adam said looking across the room at Trent with a huge grin.

  “You guys really need to get a life,” Trent said before downing his drink.

  Camille had asked Tia to meet her in her office after they’d gone over the proofs of last week’s pictures, and as badly as Tia had wanted to beg off, she now found herself front and center with Camille, standing near one of the curtainless windows.

  Tia now searched for a good enough reason to turn her boss and new friend down. For as much as she liked Camille, liked working for her, as well as spending time with her, she did not want to go to a party at the house she and Adam Donovan shared.

  No Donovan party, anywhere.

  It was too close to all the things that rubbed her the wrong way. All the little memories of the life she almost had were just too much to bear. It wasn’t Camille’s fault she’d found a great man to love her. And it wasn’t Jade’s fault that she and Linc had found each other after all those years, had gotten married and were now expecting twins. Just like it wasn’t her fault that Jake and Jessica had died.

  Blame was a useless emotion. She’d learned that well after the accident. But grief, it stayed with you no matter what. Weighing like a rope of bricks wrapped securely around her neck. And no matter how many assignments she took to keep her mind off it, grief held her down at every opportunity.

  “It’s a big night for both of us, Tia. I need you to be there,” Camille continued pleading her case.

  Dana, Camille’s best friend and business partner, was sitting at her desk, trying not to gloat over all the orders that had come in, but offered her two cents readily. “In the last three months you’ve become the face of CK Davis Designs. We’re opening our very first store so it’s only logical—and expected—that you would be there.”

  “Ganging up on me is not going to work,” Tia hissed.

  “You’re right,” Dana agreed. “Oh, did I mention that if you don’t show you’re fired?”

  Camille grinned. “Yep. It’s part of your contract.”

  “That’s a lie,” Tia quipped. “Look, there’s a really a good reason why I don’t want to go.”

  “You don’t want to run into Trent Donovan. We already know you despise him. Besides, he probably won’t even be there,” Dana said.

  “I do not despise him,” Tia argued.

  “At any rate, Dana’s right, he probably won’t be there.”

  Probably? “I thought you said a while back he was out of town?” Tia said before she could stop herself.

  Dana smiled sweetly. “Keeping tabs on him, are we?”

  “No. Of course not. My reasons for not coming to the party don’t have anything to do with Trent. It’s something personal.”

  Camille touched Tia’s hand. “Okay. I can respect that. But I’d really like you to be there. Just for a little while. Then you can go back to your lonely little apartment.”

  Tia hated when Camille referred to her home as a lonely little apartment. The fact that her assessment wasn’t far off the mark could be the reason. With the money she was making she could afford to buy herself a house. But that said permanency, it said planting roots and family…and all the things she’d had and lost.

  “All right, I’ll come. But I’m not staying long.”

  “Great!” Camille got up from her seat hugging Tia enthusiastically.

  Tia could do nothing but hug her back. Besides she didn’t get hugs often and this one felt genuine, like there was someone finally there for her.

  Shaking her head she dismissed that notion. She didn’t have close friends because she didn’t want the connection. The more people in her life that she loved, the harder it would be if she lost them. Her only family, her parents, were still alive and living in Phoenix. That was enough anticipated heartache for her to carry.

  Still, she couldn’t help but like Camille. Just like she couldn’t help but see the way Camille always looked at her, as if they shared a deep, dark secret. But that was impossible. Camille had no way of knowing what had happened to her two years ago and Tia had no intention of ever telling her.

  “Do me a favor,” Camille said finally releasing her. “Wear the black sheath. I have a great choker to go with it. Don’t worry about driving, I’ll send a car for you so you can get to the house a little early. I want the necklace on you before the paparazzi arrives.”

  “Sure. Why not? I have nothing else to do,” she said dismally then mustered up a smile when Camille gave her another sympathetic look.

  Before Camille could say another word Tia bent down, scooped up her purse and headed for the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  Tia was out the door and on the elevator before she released the breath she held. Slipups like that would only make things worse. She wasn’t depressed and she didn’t need anybody’s pity, despite what her mother thought. She was coping with her loss in her own w
ay and it was working just fine.

  “What is up with her?” Dana asked when Tia had closed the door behind her.

  Camille continued to stare at the spot where Tia St. Claire had stood. She was a beautiful woman, tall, thin and oozing sex appeal. All attributes most women would die for, yet she wore them more like a burden then a badge.

  Tia was a fantastic model, whether runway or in print. She enhanced CK Davis Design’s couture line and added a simple flair to the casual, ready-to-wear line. She was easy to work with and a pleasure to be around. But, Camille thought with a pang in her chest, Tia was the saddest person she’d ever met.

  “I don’t know. But I’ve got a feeling it’s only a matter of time before it comes out.”

  “You think she’s hiding something?”

  “I know she is.”

  Dana sat back in her chair and finally turned to Camille.

  “Do you think it’s something that will hurt the company? Because if so we should probably cut our losses now.”

  Leave it to Dana to be concerned with business first. That’s why they were partners, Dana dealt with all the unsavory stuff while Camille worked her personable magic as frequently as possible.

  Where Tia was concerned, Camille was almost positive Dana’s way of thinking wasn’t necessary.

  She shook her head negatively. “Whatever it is, it’s hurting her more than it could possibly hurt anyone else. Just leave her to me. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Suit yourself,” Dana quipped. “But if it starts to go bad, I’m axing her. We’ve worked too hard to have a model’s baggage bring us down.”

  “Tia will be fine. I’ve got a sinking feeling we’re going to end up helping her much more than she’s helping us.”

  Chapter 3

  Trent couldn’t believe it. After three months away and being with other women, Tia still had his blood pumping when she entered a room.

  Sipping on a rum and coke, he watched Tia St. Claire walk into Adam and Camille’s home like a lion eyeing his prey. Earlier today he’d had a fleeting thought that she might show up tonight. CK Davis Designs new store would definitely open more doors for her as their top model, so of course she would come.

  For him, it was once again about family. He was as proud of Camille and her company as if she were his blood sister. And he knew what it meant for Adam to see his fiancée finally happy with herself and her accomplishments. So he was here to show his support.

  But with every step Tia took, every time her long honey-toned leg slipped through that sinful split up the left side of her dress, his hunger for Tia St. Claire grew.

  Her hair was braided this time. It had been loose and curled when he’d last seen her. But the array of tiny braids in a mixture of gold and brownish tint pulled up into a neat bun showcasing her long, sensuous neckline was just as alluring. Somebody spoke to her and she smiled. Trent’s chest constricted.

  Her eyes, the color of warm honey, cased the room as she moved slowly, tentatively through the crowd. Her dress, the wicked creation he knew had to be one of Camille’s designs, was black and held up by two tiny straps at the cap of her shoulders. Her breasts were high and looked full enough to fit his hands just perfectly. The seductive way she was walking had to be a crime in at least ten states. He was getting hard just looking at her move.

  Usually his attraction to a woman was a slow simmer, edging him along until he was finally in her bed. But each time he saw Tia, his need for her burned instantly, intensely.

  Camille entered and moved quickly to Tia. Tia turned giving Trent a full view of the back of the deadly dress, or should he say the lack of dress. In about two seconds he took in the fact that those small straps at her shoulders draped down the sides of her back, leaving what looked like miles and miles of titillating bronze skin open for all to see. The black material met again in a gentle gathering at the base of her back.

  Trent almost groaned out loud. Instead, he emptied his glass and was turning to head straight to the bar for a refill when he bumped into Adam.

  “She looks great, doesn’t she?” his younger brother said with a grin on his face as broad as a Cheshire cat’s.

  Trent cleared his throat and took a step back. “Yeah. Camille’s as pretty as a picture. I’m proud of your good taste, little bro.”

  He circled around Adam making a beeline for the bar. Unfortunately, Adam had decided to follow him.

  “I wasn’t talking about Camille. But thanks anyway.”

  Trent shook his head. He was not about to get into this with Adam. He knew exactly where his brother’s joking tone was leading. “The boutique’s going to be a big hit,” Trent said when they’d made it to the bar and he’d given his glass to the bartender with a nod for a refill.

  “Yeah,” Adam agreed.

  “Is that all you’re going to say tonight?” Trent asked with agitation.

  Adam simply chuckled. “She’s doing one amazing number on you.”

  “What? Who?” Even to Trent’s own ears the feigned innocence was unbelievable.

  “You know who. Why don’t you just go and talk to her?”

  Trent shook his head. “No. The last thing I want for Camille tonight is a shouting match between me and her top model.”

  “Then don’t shout at her.”

  “Me?” he asked touching a hand to his chest as if offended. “She’s the one that called, cursing me out.”

  “You were being pushy and presumptuous with her. You should probably apologize.”

  “‘Pushy and presumptuous’? If that doesn’t sound like some female crap. You’ve been talking to Camille way too much.”

  “Nah,” Adam said taking a glass of champagne from the tray one of the hostesses was carrying around. “I just see what she was saying. You come on to women really strong, Trent. And Tia strikes me as being different from the females you usually try to push up on.”

  “How? She’s attractive and available just like the others,” Trent quipped.

  Adam chuckled. “For one, she’s not falling all over you. I know you, you’re used to women dying to meet the great Trent Donovan.”

  “Man, you know I don’t even fall for that act. It’s not me they’re trying to meet, more like my wallet they’re trying to get hold of.”

  “But you still like the attention. And she’s the first woman to put you in your place right off the bat. She’s got guts and intelligence. Not normally two traits you look for in a woman.”

  Trent thought about rebutting that statement but could only ask, “Whose side are you on? I mean, I know you’re in love and about to get married and all that, but you were once where I am. When you saw something you wanted, you just went after it. We’re Donovans, that’s what we do.”

  “Until the right woman comes along and makes you rethink what we do,” Adam said simply, his gaze crossing the room to where Camille stood.

  Trent took a quick gulp of the drink the bartender had just given him. “See, I’m not even looking for that commitment you and Linc seem so happy to jump into these days. I was just trying for a good time with Tia. But if Miss Supermodel isn’t interested then so be it.”

  Adam shook his head and began to walk away. Then he stopped and turned back to Trent. “I’ll bet you five dollars you can’t stay away from her all night.”

  “I don’t gamble,” Trent said seriously.

  “No. You don’t give up.” With that said Adam went to stand by Camille, kissing her on her cheek as he glanced back across the room issuing a silent challenge to Trent.

  She’d seen him and her stomach had done an immediate somersault. Yet Tia had refused to cower. His eyes were on her, hot and persistent, searing into every exposed inch of her skin. But she held her smile in place, moving and talking with people as if he weren’t even in the room.

  Which proved to be totally unsuccessful.

  Even now Camille was saying something, the ever handsome and charming Adam right by her side, and Tia had no idea what she was talking about.
Her back was to Trent but he was still watching her. She could feel it in every pore of her body.

  “That choker is exquisite with the dress, Tia. Now, since this is just the preamble to the big launch party I’ve only invited a few top reporters. There’s maybe one or two photographers moving about. So if you could make the rounds I’m sure they’ll see you.”

  Tia’s hand shook as she reached for a glass of champagne. She prayed nobody saw it; however, the hostess, who was about two inches shorter than her, smiled knowingly. Suddenly very thirsty, Tia lifted the glass to her lips and emptied the contents, the champagne leaving a tingling trail of chilliness down her throat.

  “Hey? You okay?” Camille asked touching a hand to her wrist as she brought the empty glass away from her lips.

  “I’m fine,” Tia said trying to clear her head. If she thought of tonight as work she could probably make it through. If she didn’t let herself remember that in just a couple of hours the anniversary date and time of the worst moment of her life would be upon her, she would be all right.

  But then she heard his voice.

  “She certainly is fine.”

  Oh God. Who am I fooling? I’m not going to make it. Trent Donovan was not going to let her get through this night unscathed. She could hear it in his voice even before she turned to look at him.

  “Trent, I’m sure you remember my top model, Tia St. Claire,” Camille said in a tight voice that dared Trent to misbehave.

  That left Tia to wonder if she had recently been the topic of conversation in the Donovan household.

  “How could I ever forget her?” He reached for her then, surprising her when he only took the empty glass out of her hand.

  To her dismay, another hostess miraculously appeared and he disposed of the glass. Turning back to her, Trent took her hand in his. It was a move that looked practiced and smooth as hell all at the same time. Damn, she hated this man.

  “How have you been, Tia?”

  Okay, first he needed to stop touching her. Even the gentle feel of her hand in his and the thumb he caressed over her long, tapering fingers, was too much for her already quivering insides to take.