by Lori Wilde
At that moment he heard the distinctive noise of CeeCee’s car engine pulling into the parking lot. Jerking open his front door, he hurried out to greet her.
“Hey, beautiful,” he called.
“Hi, handsome.” She breezed over, carrying a garment bag. How he wished he could bottle that smile to carry in his pocket whenever he was away from her!
She looked so gorgeous he couldn’t speak for a full sixty seconds. She gazed at him. The wind tossed her curls against the smooth curve of her cheek. Her green eyes held a hint of mischief.
“Here’s your tuxedo for the bachelor auction tomorrow.”
He just stared, taking her in and thinking, I’m going to give you all the love I have to give. I’m going to convince you that your life is charmed, not cursed. I’m going to help you see that you can have your heart’s desire.
“Zack?” She dangled the tux from its wooden hanger.
“Huh, oh, yeah.” He took the garment bag from her. “Are you coming over to fill me in on the details of the auction?”
“Sure. Just let me go change first.”
He jerked a thumb at his apartment. “You know I was about to throw a steak on the grill. Would you like to join me?”
Man, he was getting good at telling these white lies. He’d been marinating the steak, tossing a salad and baking potatoes for the last hour, waiting for her to show up.
“Sounds great. I’m starved.”
“You like your steak rare, right?”
“How did you know?”
He went silent a moment, realizing he’d slipped. Zack had no idea how CeeCee liked her steaks cooked. “Um, you just seem like a rare woman.”
“You’re pretty glib.” She laughed.
“A special talent of mine.” He gave her a little salute, one of Zack’s trademarks gestures.
“See you in a few,” she said and went to her apartment.
Lord, the woman had the most perfect tush in the entire universe, bar none. Tonight, he was going to kiss her again. Although there’d been a lot of caressing and deep eye gazing these past three weeks, he hadn’t kissed her since the night he’d come back from Mexico.
He had wanted to wait, but he’d reached the end of his rope. He couldn’t wait any longer. Tonight, he was going to kiss her silly and let nature take its course.
Slipping back into his apartment, he hung up the tux, and then hurried to the kitchen to grab the steaks from the fridge. He stepped out onto the thumbnail-size patio and slapped the tenderloins on the grill.
He felt keyed-up, twisted in knots. Perspiration beaded his brow; he swiped it away with a forearm. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.
Stop freaking out.
But his insides were syrup as he thought about kissing CeeCee again and what might come after the kissing. His gut tightened. Would tonight be the night they made love?
“Need any help?”
At the sound of CeeCee’s sexy voice, he jumped a foot and his eyes flew open. She lounged in the doorway between the kitchen and the patio, a vision of loveliness. Her hair, freshly brushed, cascaded over her shoulders like a red-hot lava flow. She wore a pair of well-worn, denim shorts, thin white sandals, and a blue cotton sleeveless blouse.
She sauntered out onto the patio smelling of the tropics—all pineapple and banana and coconut. She perched on the edge of the hip-high rock wall separating his pathetic patio from the apartment next door and gently swung her so-fabulous legs.
Jack strategically held the empty steak platter in front of his lower anatomy, desperately trying to camouflage his reaction.
Come on. Say something Zackish. Be bold. Take charge. Act!
But he could only stare, dumbstruck by her beauty. Before he could think of anything remotely interesting to say, his phone rang.
“Could you hand me my cell?” he asked from where he manned the grill, happy to have a distraction. His phone was on the small wrought iron bistro table situated between them.
“Sure.” CeeCee hopped off the half-wall and sauntered to the table as if she were wading through melted butter.
The charm bracelet at her wrist jangled as she picked up his phone on the second ring. She glanced down. “It’s from K102 radio.”
“Gimme.” With the tongs in one hand, he reached for his phone with the other.
She passed it over.
He pressed “accept” on the third ring and put it on speaker. “Hello?”
“Hello! Hello! Hello!” replied a rapid-fire, enthusiastic voice. “This is Ron Tipman from K102.”
“You won! You won!” CeeCee squealed and bounced around the patio like a pogo stick. “Oh my gosh, they called!”
Jack grinned. He’d entered the contest to win a trip to Hawaii for CeeCee. Her delight sent him straight over the moon. He couldn’t wait to see her face when they stepped off the plane in Maui. Volcanoes in the background, palm trees swaying in the foreground.
“If you can just tell me that your name is indeed Jack Travis of 198 River Run, you will have won an all-expense paid trip for two to Maui, Hawaii!”
“What?” His gut clenched.
“Sir,” the disc jockey said, “are you Jack Travis?”
“Uh, well...”
Was he Jack Travis? He looked from CeeCee to the phone and back again.
“Remember, sir,” the disc jockey prompted, “you must show valid identification to claim the prize. So if you lie, it’s going to work.”
CeeCee’s face fell like a fractured plate.
He could prove he was Jack Travis, but not now, not today. Oh hell, why had the radio station called when CeeCee just happened to be here with him stuck on speakerphone?
If he told a lie, he’d lose the trip.
If he told the truth, at least at this point, he would lose CeeCee.
And he couldn’t let that happen. Not when he was so close to winning her heart.
“Sir?”
“No,” Jack croaked at last; he could feel the heat of CeeCee’s gaze on his face. “I’m not Jack Travis.”
“That’s too bad, sir. I’m sorry.”
“But Jack’s my twin brother. I could contact him, have him call you.”
“I’m afraid not. The rules state he had to be home to get the qualifying call. But keep listening to K102,” the disc jockey said, then hung up.
“Rats!” CeeCee exclaimed. “Jack will be so disappointed he missed the call.”
He’s only disappointed because he couldn’t win the trip for you, CeeCee, don’t you realize that? Now he was thinking about himself in third person. Messed up.
“Sorry, I couldn’t fake it.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“You deserve to go first class to Hawaii.”
“Oh, Zack, that’s so nice of you, but deserve it too.”
“I’m not being nice,” he growled. “I’m thinking of you wearing a grass skirt and coconut shells for a bra and swinging those hips of yours in time to ‘Tiny Bubbles.’”
She boldly met his gaze. “Only if you wear those Tarzan swim trunks and swing from a Banyan tree.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal, Lucille.”
“Check the steaks.” She laughed, not taking him the least bit seriously. “They look done.”
His frustration over not winning the trip passed, but Jack still couldn’t shake his nagging conscience. He’d seriously begun questioning the wisdom of the masquerade, even though Zack’s Crock-Pot slow seduction had been progressing nicely with CeeCee. He felt pulled in two directions, and neither course was safe.
“The steaks were great,” CeeCee enthused as they sat at the patio table, surrounded by empty plates. “But you’re not fooling me. You didn’t just happen to have an extra filet mignon and baked potato lying around.”
“You got me,” he confessed. “I’d been wanting to do something nice for you, to say thanks for the physical therapy but I was afraid to ask you out on a date. I didn’t want to be too pushy.”
“I appr
eciate that.” She grinned. “But if you’d have asked, I wouldn’t have turned you down.”
“Oh really? Then how about tomorrow night? We could grab a bite to eat, head out to the speedboat races.”
“You can’t.”
“What?”
“Have you forgotten already? You’ll be in Galveston with your charity auction date.”
“Why don’t you bid on me?” He leaned closer and gave her Zack’s best grin.
“Well, first of all it’s against the rules for the coordinator to bid in the auction, but mostly you’re out of my price range.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Wait and see.” She winked in a way that sent a fissure of pure heaven sparking through him. “You’re a top draw. Advance ticket sales have skyrocketed since it was announced you were going on the auction block.”
“No kidding?”
“Face it. You’re hot stuff, Zack Travis.” She swung her leg back and forth under the table. She’d kicked off her sandals earlier and her foot grazed his shin. Her pupils widened at the contact.
Although he thought her touch had been accidental at first, it was no accident when she took those toes and ran them from his knee to his ankle.
“CeeCee.” He leaned in close and whispered softly into her ear. “What are you doing?”
“Who me?” She feigned an innocent expression.
“You’re fooling with fire, lady.”
“Am I?”
“You don’t want to get me started.”
“Why not?”
“I might have a hard time stopping.”
“Oh, yeah?” Her jaunty eyes glistened.
“Yeah.”
He tugged her from her chair and pulled her into his lap.
“Oh.” CeeCee inhaled deeply and stared into his face.
Her heart revved. She’d decided that three weeks was long enough. She was about to explode from the sexual chemistry seething between them. She’d come over here tonight hoping they would finally end up in bed together. Her choice of short shorts had been no accident. Nor had her cologne—Forbidden Sin— been a careless afterthought.
“You’re so bad,” she murmured.
She was ready for anything he could dish out. She’d gotten to know him well enough to realize they could indeed have a terrific time without either of them getting hurt.
He pressed his heated mouth to hers. His tongue—oh heavenly days—better than ambrosia and champagne and chocolate all rolled into one. He licked her lips with quick flicks of that incredible tongue, then traced the outline of her teeth. He drew her bottom lip between his teeth and sucked gently.
Greedily she kissed him back with an overwhelming, ravenous desire. The strength of her passion almost bowling her over so unbelievable was the aching need growing inside her.
She leaned into him and cocked her head slightly to grant him easier access to her mouth. She splayed her hands across his chest, thirstily drinking from his lips.
The tingling started in her breasts, but it swiftly spread, heating her skin, skipping along synapses, ending up a tight ball of electrical impulses many inches below her waist.
He pulled away a moment, her lips bereft at his parting. He looked deeply into her eyes and threaded his fingers through the loose tendrils of hair trailing along her shoulder.
She reached out to stroke the silk of his beard. Their gazes stayed locked. She heard her pulse beating in her ears.
There was no mistaking the degree of his desire for her. His hardness was both flattering and exciting. He spanned her waist with his hands, then kissed her again.
His muscled chest crushed her breasts, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Her nipples ached sweetly, rising up to press against him. When he shifted, his movements abraded her nipples through the thin material of her blouse, causing her to gasp out loud.
She inhaled him like oxygen. His tongue delved deeper. She moaned into his mouth, riding the crest of intoxicating sensation until CeeCee didn’t think she could stand one minute more not being merged with him.
His mouth was on her throat now, his tongue licking little swirls of heat that only served to send her over the edge, deeper and deeper into impending oblivion.
“Oh, Jack,” she moaned.
And everything stopped.
Zack stopped moving, stopped kissing her, stopped stroking her skin with his fingers. She could have bitten off her tongue when she realized she’d called him by his twin brother’s name.
“W-what?” he whispered. “What did you call me?”
CeeCee pulled back, expecting to see disappointment etched on his face, but oddly enough another emotion flickered in the depths of his chocolate-brown eyes.
Was that happy surprise?
She must be mistaken. Besides, the look was gone.
Gently he settled her back into her own chair, their sudden passion dissipating like a spent balloon.
“I’m sorry, Zack, so sorry. It was a simple slip of the tongue. I’m just so used to Jack being around that I accidentally called his name.”
“While you’re kissing me? Sure it wasn’t a Freudian slip?” Jack held his breath as he waited for her answer. “Would you rather be with my brother?”
“’Course not.” Her voice rose slightly on the denial.
“You’ve got sexual feelings for Jack?” He finally dared to speak the words.
“No.” She shook her head as if trying to convince herself as well as him.
“You’re certain?”
“Don’t worry, Zack.” She knotted a fist over his chest and sent rivers of heat shaking through him. “You’re the one I’m attracted to. Not your brother.”
Jack’s hopes dropped.
Kersplat!
That’s what he got for perpetuating this dangerous charade. This dungeon of his own construction. He was hearing the truth whether he liked it or not. But he and Zack were one and the same. If she loved one dimension of himself, she had to love the other.
Right?
“Zack...I really am sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for.” He forced cheerfulness into his voice and shrugged. “I’ve called out the wrong name at the wrong moment myself.”
“It would probably be better if I went home.” She started to rise to her feet.
“Wait.” He reached out and wrapped his hand around her slender wrist and came into contact with her charm bracelet.
The damn bracelet that reminded her why she would always have to pick guys like Zack over guys like him.
“Yes?”
Their eyes met again. He wanted him. No mistaking that sultry look.
“Take this with you,” he said, then kissed her within an inch of her life.
9
CeeCee tried not to stare but it was downright impossible what with Zack decked out in that black tuxedo, red tie, and matching cummerbund. Not to mention the blood-red rosebud tucked into his lapel.
He looked like someone straight off the set of The Bachelor.
They were standing in the hospital corridor that led to the auditorium where the bachelor auction was due to start in fifteen minutes. Zack looked completely different than he had for the past three weeks. Plus, his limp had almost vanished.
In this moment, except for that neatly trimmed beard, he looked exactly like Jack.
Her heart gave a strange hop. She asked herself, not for the first time, who she was really attracted to. Her wild fling-waiting-to-happen or his steady twin.
CeeCee forced her gaze off Zack and onto the clipboard in her hand. She stifled a yawn. She had slept poorly, thanks to what had not happened in Jack’s apartment the night before.
Each time she had dozed off she would jerk awake a few minutes later, soaked in perspiration and tingling all over from the vestiges of a steamy dream where Zack was the starring attraction.
At dawn, she’d given up trying to sleep and had instead proceeded to worry herself sick about the auction. It was her first time hosting
such an event, and she was desperate for things to go smoothly.
Of course with Zack as the headliner, what could possibly go wrong?
Women fainting in a fervor over him?
Men getting jealous and busting his chops?
Kids chasing after him for an autograph?
Okay, tons of things could go wrong.
“Um, you’ve got something poking out of your dress,” he said.
“What?” Distracted, she reached around to feel a price tag sticking up from her zipper.
“Hold on, sweetheart. I’ll deal with that pesky tag.”
And then his fingers were on her skin, burning a searing path straight to her groin.
Oh gosh, they were going to have to do something about this sexual tension. Before her panties spontaneously burst into flames. Before she melted into a puddle and evaporated. Before…
Never mind that, Adams. Head in the game.
The sooner they got their affair rolling, the sooner the sparks would sizzle then fizzle, and the sooner things could get back to normal. But she couldn’t have Zack until Sunday. He would belong to the lucky lady who outbid all the others for a date in Galveston with him.
In the meantime, she would have to put all sexy thoughts on hold.
“Got it.” Zack tucked the errant tag into his pocket, his grin so endearing, she almost absconded with him back to her apartment.
What the heck was the matter with her? Yesterday, when she could have made love to him, she had chickened out and run away.
Why?
And why did the thought of those man-starved single society women bidding on him at the charity auction make her blood run cold?
Sheesh, she was losing it.
She didn’t want him to strut his stuff before other women. She didn’t want to hear them ooh and aah over him. She didn’t want him to go off with anyone else.
But she couldn’t bid on him, and she couldn’t spirit him away from the event. The auction normally raised thousands of dollars in funds for health care programs to benefit inner-city kids. She couldn’t put her own desires above children.
She’d have to tough it out and pray Zack didn’t start a fling with the lady who paid big bucks for a date with him.