Resisting the Tycoon's Seduction Page 0,2

her older sister’s beautiful, expressive eyes and her slender figure draped in a white silk shirt and blue wool slacks. She even had a simple pearl necklace around her neck and pearl stud earrings. Marissa was the epitome of class and sophistication which generally intimidated most of the men they encountered.

Of course, most of the men who socialized with her father thought that the thickest gold chain was the gateway to a promotion. That, or whoever came up with the most creative criminal enterprise. Her father seemed to respect both aspects of their culture, an issue which continued to confound both sisters.

Marissa punched the pillow into a more comfortable shape before pushing it behind her back. “This man was simply horrible! I was just shopping by myself and he came right up to me, talking to me as if he…” she wasn’t sure how to describe what the man had done. Especially since she didn’t really understand it herself. Sierra didn’t have any experience with men and Marissa wanted to help keep her innocent for as long as possible. Marissa was almost twenty-five and she didn’t want to expose Sierra’s sweetness to something so vile as what that man had said to her. “He just said some inappropriate things.”

At Sierra’s widened eyes, Marissa knew she’d said something her sister could pounce on with relish. Sierra loved romantic novels, was excited about the idea of being swept away by some magnificent, heroic male who would carry her off to an exotic destination where they would love each other continuously and make babies together. That wasn’t the real world and, at some point, Sierra was going to have to face reality. But Marissa didn’t want that to happen today. Not for a long time, if possible.

Unfortunately, her little sister understood enough to know that her older sister’s experience was more exciting than she was letting on. “Oh, please tell me what happened? Was he handsome? Did he have soft, curling hair? Did he touch you and both of you fell instantly in love?” Sierra fell onto the bed, her head next to Marissa’s as she sighed with the fantasy she was whirling around in her mind.

Marissa made an inelegant sound and Sierra giggled. “Not even close.” She thought back to the man’s rugged, dangerous looking face, thinking that he’d probably broken that nose several times over the years. And his cheekbones were high, but they didn’t come across as a pretty boy. They were just….tough. Everything about that man told her that he was strong and…wicked. She shivered at the memory of his callused fingers against her cheek. She wasn’t feeling excitement, she told herself. It was simply fear. Fear of what the man might do to her if he ever caught her alone. She didn’t want that to happen. She’d lived in fear of her father’s violence all her life and she was thoroughly sick of it. She wanted a kind man in her life. One who didn’t try and intimidate her for no reason!

Thinking about the man certainly wasn’t going to push his memory out of her mind. “What did you do today?” she asked her sister, changing the subject and sitting up against one of the posts on her canopy bed.

“School,” Sierra replied with a bored sigh. “I just wish Dad would have let me take calculus this term. It would be so much more fascinating than taking yet another literature class. I hate reading. What’s the point?”

Marissa laughed softly, knowing her sister’s math abilities were nothing short of brilliant. “What was on the agenda today?” she asked.

“Voltaire,” Sierra said, shivering with revulsion.

“Voltaire isn’t so bad,” Marissa came back, smiling at the memory of how much she’d loved reading Candide so many years ago. “He’s actually funny occasionally.”

Sierra’s response was only a roll of her eyes. “Calculus doesn’t need to be funny to be interesting,” she claimed. They talked about their plans for the future, how Sierra wasn’t sure what she wanted to do but she definitely wanted to study something math related. Marissa had her own business, but it wasn’t something she could share with anyone but her sister. They’d kept many secrets from their father over the years and would continue to do so as they figured out how to get away from their father’s iron control. The only reason Marissa was still living in her father’s house was to protect Sierra. Marissa didn’t want to consider what their father might do to Sierra if Marissa were