Free Power Play by Dara Girard

quickly stopped herself. He wasn’t the man she’d imagined him to be. He wasn’t friendly and kind. Or at least she didn’t think so. He had a hidden agenda. She had to remember that. “No.”
    “So who is Mrs. McQueeth to you?”
    “An ex-nanny. She took care of my two brothers and me while we were growing up. Then I heard she’d fallen on hard times, and I was determined to look after her as she had looked after us.”
    “Why didn’t you get any money from your brothers?”
    “They knew I could handle everything.”
    “You probably didn’t ask them. I bet if you did, they would help.”
    She shrugged. “Maybe. Do you have siblings?”
    “Just one. A sister.”
    “Older or younger?”
    “Younger.” He changed the subject. “So you’re beholden to your ex-nanny. I hope she appreciates you.”
    “She does.” Mary paused, wishing he would move his arm. “Why do you do it?”
    “What?”
    “What you do. Why would you invest in a business like this? There must be other projects that are more exciting and more lucrative. You could invest in anything. Why this one?”
    Edmund leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “My sister and I were raised by our grandparents, and I saw a lot of their friends end up in nursing homes and facilities that didn’t care about them. Eventually, we had to put my grandfather in one and…” His words fell away and he shook his head, the pain of the memory evident in the tightness of his shoulders. Edmund took a deep breath and leaned back. “I vowed I’d come up with something better.”
    Mary didn’t know what to say. She’d expected him to admit how much money he’d hoped to make, that he liked investing in sure things, not this poignant story of how he was raised. She sighed. Every time she managed to build up a shield against him he was able to slip through her armor. She didn’t ask him what had happened to his parents or where his sister was now. All she said was, “Oh.”
    He turned to her. “Why do you say it like that?”
    “I thought you were just in it for the money. There are a lot of seniors around nowadays.”
    “I’m not completely mercenary.”
    “Only partly?” she teased.
    A grin spread on his face that made her heart do flip-flops. “Yes,” he said.
    “What’s the other part?”
    His gaze darkened to two smoldering pools. “Do you really want to know the answer?”
    Yes. She made a noncommittal sound.
    “Mary,” he said her name softly, but it called to something deep within her. And she didn’t want to answer the call. She leaped to her feet. The light was fading and the thought of being alone with him in the dark conjured up too many possibilities. “I’d better go tell Mrs. McQueeth the great news.”
    Edmund slowly stood. “About that date—”
    “Yes,” she said in a bright voice. “That reminds me. I have to buy a pair of earrings for my date with Derrick.”
    He reached out and toyed with one of her earrings, the knuckles of his fingers touching her cheek like a caress. “I like what you’re wearing right now.”
    Mary covered her ear, trying to ignore the electric sensation of his touch. “These are old. I bought them years ago.”
    “They’re still beautiful.” His large hand cupped the side of her face. “Do you know what else is beautiful?” His lips touched hers before she could respond, igniting all the delicious feelings he’d elicited before. She’d expected a kiss that overpowered her like a warrior claiming his battle prize, but his mouth claimed her with passionate mastery she felt powerless to resist. Her heart hammered in her chest as her mind told her to pull away. But her body sought comfort in the warm, solid body pressed against hers, the soft caress of his mouth, and she drew closer. Soon his arms were around her, and her own hands cascaded over the muscles of his back. Her breathing grew shallow as their kiss deepened into something infinitely more dangerous.
    Mary took a hasty step