by M. Malone
His eyes locked onto hers. “I did. That was why I had to stay away. I didn’t trust myself then. Hell, I don’t trust myself with you now.”
“You should. I’ve never felt the way I do with you. That’s probably the thing I’ll regret the most once this all sinks in. If things had been different, my first time could have been with you and none of this would have happened.”
Immediately, she clamped her lips shut. Her blabbermouth was always getting her into trouble. This was supposed to be a fun, casual encounter and she was here vomiting up all her fears and regrets. Jamie hadn’t been planning on leaving but he probably would want to soon if she didn’t shut up. But when she looked up, he didn’t look upset by her outburst at all.
“Georgie, you don’t need to have any regrets. Alex may have been your first but there’s no special talent to being first. Whatever man wins your heart will be last. And that’s all that matters.”
Moved more than she could express, Georgie pulled him closer and kissed him. What started out as a tender expression of her feelings soon spiraled out of control as she climbed on top of him, grinding against his lap.
Jamie groaned suddenly. “I really hate to be a buzzkill but we have to stop.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I wasn’t exactly planning on this when I came over. So I didn’t bring enough protection, just the two that were in my wallet.”
Grinning, Georgie climbed down and rushed over to her suitcase. “Lucky for us, I’m a packrat.” She unzipped the case and rested it gently on its side. Then reached beneath the neatly layered clothes for the box of condoms she’d packed.
Jamie shook his head at her. “Prepared for anything. One of the things I love about you.”
Her head snapped up and she fought to keep the surprise off her face. It was a casual comment and the kind of thing he probably said to women all the time without realizing its effect. She wasn’t silly enough to think he actually meant it.
But there was no denying the little burst of pleasure she’d felt hearing those words from him. Which was something she had to cut off right then and there.
After tonight, Jamie would go back to his place and she’d go back to her room at her parents’ house. This was a sexy, secret moment hidden in time that would never be spoken of and never repeated. The only thing that could ruin it was if she started attaching emotions to it.
So she’d do what she promised and indulge in a wicked sex marathon before going back to her prim and proper life.
What happened in that hotel room would stay in that hotel room.
Life was short and she was living in the moment. And there was no one she’d rather do that with than Jamie.
As long as she remembered their deal.
Revenge sex only.
Emotions. Never.
“Yeah, I’m prepared but this box has six in here so we won’t need all of these.”
When she got close to the bed, Jamie reached out and tugged her down. “Hell yes, we will. But don’t worry if we run out. There’s a few other things I can show you.”
Chapter 8
It was the middle of the night and Georgie was cuddled up to his side. He should’ve been sleeping. But all he could do was watch her. They had so little time left together and he knew this would have to be enough.
She murmured in her sleep and he couldn’t resist trailing a finger over her soft cheek.
It felt so right. The last time he’d felt this safe was when he was a child before his father left for the first time. Back then, he’d known his parents were unhappy and fought a lot. However it had never occurred to him that he’d wake up one morning and his father would be gone. They were a family and families belonged together. That was what his mother always said.
It wasn’t until he was older that he understood she was saying it to convince herself as much as anyone else. Sometimes he still wondered how it had all gone so wrong.
His father hadn’t come from a wealthy family but his grandparents had done pretty well later in life. His grandfather had been a mechanic who owned his own garage. His grandmother had run the front office for years. Together they worked hard to maintain a solid upper middle class life and tried to help their son.
His father, Jim Junior, didn’t appreciate the help. Instead he spent all the money he earned working at the garage on card games, determined that his lucky break was just around the corner. When his career as a card shark didn’t pan out, he’d started buying real estate courses from ads he saw on television.
By this time, Jamie was almost a teenager and his bullshit meter had been finely honed even then. He’d hoped that his mother would be the voice of reason, but Helen Hamilton was firmly in his dad’s corner. No matter what crazy scheme his father came up with, his mother was right there cheering him on.
Shockingly, his father hadn’t become a millionaire from investing in real estate either. The only thing Jim Junior had a talent for was wasting money and making Jamie’s mother cry.
When his grandparents passed away, they’d left the bulk of their estate in a trust for Jamie that could only be accessed after he married. Then they’d left a small amount to his parents.
His parents’ inheritance had been gone within a year.
Jamie was lucky the money for his education had been put into a separate special trust for him. If his parents had been able to access it, they would have spent that, too.
It was a sobering thing to realize your parents weren’t who you thought they were. But as he’d gotten older and more successful it had become clear they only cared about two things.
Their ongoing feud.
And money.
Now that Jamie had money of his own, they were interested in him. Or at least, they were interested only as long as it took for him to write them another check. Then they were off doing whatever new scheme they’d cooked up. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so sad.
It didn’t bother him the way it used to. He’d long ago accepted them for who they were. They could no more change their stripes than a lion could change into a lamb.
But that didn’t mean it had no effect on him. Maybe that was why he’d bonded with King so hard and fast.
They’d met in college and had so much in common. But it was the way King had talked about his family that drew him in. It was everything Jamie had always wanted and been denied. Two parents who loved and respected each other. Siblings who actually cared if he came home for holidays and summer break.
Somehow King had known what Jamie needed and insisted that he come home with him whenever possible. In many ways, their friendship had saved him. King was the first person who saw who he really was and liked him anyway.
Georgie was the first person who made him want to be better.
“I wish I could be the guy for you, Princess. But I don’t know how to be what you need. My parents have been together off and on for thirty years and all they do is fight. Break up and then make up. That’s not what I want for you.”
But he could pretend for one night. Here in the darkness, he could close his eyes and imagine a world where Georgie was his and he was the lucky man who’d earned her love. Every morning he’d wake up excited to see her and every night he’d be reluctant to go to sleep because he wanted more time.
For a few glimmering moments, he believed it could actually happen. He’d stop working sixteen-hour days. King would kick his ass once and then they’d shake on it and be brothers legally as well as in spirit. And he’d have Georgie, smiling at him in that way only she could. The one that made him believe he was worthy.
But like all dreams, it only made sense in the dark. In the light of day, Georgie wouldn’t want a workaholic playboy with feuding spendthrift parents. He had nothing to offer her but problems. She was just out of one bad situation. She deserved a chance to shine.
“One day you’ll find the guy. The one who’ll be your last and I’ll smile and pretend like I’m happy for you. But inside I’ll be wishing i
t could be me.”
Georgie sighed in her sleep and he waited to see if she would wake. When her breathing evened out, he curled up closer and put his arm around her. Just like every other time he touched her, she moved closer, seeking his touch. Even asleep she trusted him.
It wasn’t the dream but it was enough.
It would have to be.
For the second time, Georgie woke to blinding sunlight in her face. She’d forgotten to close the curtains again. But this time, she just smiled.
Then rolled over and looked at Jamie.
He was on his back with one arm thrown over his head. Immediately, she remembered his whispered confessions the night before. She wished she could reach out and brush a hand over the dirty blond hair flopping on his forehead but that would wake him up and she wasn’t ready for that yet. He didn’t know that she’d been awake and she wasn’t sure if he would react negatively knowing she’d heard all that.
It was a shock to her that his family life was so rough. It was something that she’d never have guessed since King had never mentioned it and Jamie always seemed like he had everything together.
It made her like him even more, knowing that he’d achieved so much despite an unhappy home life. And it made her wish for things she had no right to. Like that she could be the woman who showed him what unconditional love was.
Only that wasn’t their agreement. That wasn’t what Jamie wanted.
But until he woke up, their night together wasn’t over yet. And she wouldn’t have to face the reality that one night with Jamie hadn’t been nearly enough.
“I can feel you staring at me,” he grumbled, before opening one eye.
“Sorry. The sun woke me up.” Georgie sat up and self-consciously ran her fingers through her hair trying to arrange it in some semblance of normalcy. The memory of how she’d looked yesterday morning had her climbing out of bed and going straight to the bathroom. Luckily she didn’t look bad today. Even though her hair was wild, her cheeks had a rosy hue and her skin had a certain glow.
She looked like a woman who’d spent all night having spectacular sex.
“Morning. Why’d you run off?” Jamie appeared in the mirror behind her before burying his face in the crook of her neck.
“I didn’t want to kiss you with morning breath.”
He scoffed. “Who cares about that?”
When his arms tightened around her waist, Georgie grabbed her toothbrush from the sink and stuck it in her mouth.
Jamie cracked up. “You think that’ll stop me?”
She nodded. “I hope so.”
“You’re such a goof. Go ahead. I’ll brush too. Then we can be minty fresh together.”
He opened one of the complimentary toothbrushes provided by the hotel and then reached for the toothpaste. She held out her brush and he put some paste on hers first and then his. They stood at the mirror brushing their teeth until she started giggling.
“This is weird,” she said around a mouthful of paste.
He spat in the sink and rinsed his mouth out, waiting for her to do the same. “What’s so weird about it?”
She shrugged. “I’m so used to seeing you in suits. Always perfect. Always businesslike. Now everything is different.”
He picked her up and then set her on the counter. “It is. Now you know my secret. I’m not perfect. I have morning breath and I always wake up horny.” He kissed her lightly.
She laughed against his mouth.
“But seriously, I’m glad I got to see this other side of you. Last night, it was about more than just revenge sex for me. You’re pretty amazing, you know that?”
He looked bashful. “I do all right.”
“I’m being serious. I really want to thank you.”
Now he just looked annoyed. “You don’t have to thank me, Georgie. It wasn’t exactly hard work on my part.”
She winked. “Well, it felt pretty hard to me.”
“Nice. Now I have you making dirty jokes. My work here is done.”
“I wasn’t thanking you for the orgasms, by the way. I was talking about the part that came before the sex. Now I know what I was missing.”
Suddenly he looked uncomfortable. “I was just doing what any guy should do. You are a beautiful, strong, sweet woman. You should be fucking worshipped.”
He didn’t say anything else and Georgie suddenly had the urge to cry. Especially after what she’d overheard the prior night, she understood what he wasn’t saying. He truly believed she deserved to be treated like a queen.
But he wasn’t the guy who would do that.
Their time was up.
“Thank you, Jamie. For everything.”
She ignored his questioning look. Even though she understood where he was coming from and why, it was still going to be hard to accept that this was as far as he was willing to go. He could talk about all the things she deserved but he couldn’t give them to her. It was fair but it still sucked.
“At least now I know what to look for in the next guy. The right guy.” She hopped down from the counter, avoiding his eyes.
“Yeah, the right guy,” Jamie repeated.
They cleaned up the suite together, Jamie watching her pack her suitcase without comment. So many times Georgie wanted to stop and yell at him or even throw one of the black thongs he’d complained about at his head.
But in the end, he was doing the sensible thing. The right thing. And she couldn’t hate him for that.
He called for a bellboy to come get her suitcase and then they walked together to the elevator.
“I’ll go down first just in case there are any photographers who have figured out you’re here. King said the staff here is loyal but I figure it’s worth checking.”
Georgie clutched at the strap of her handbag. Was this really how they were going to leave things? With a polite goodbye in the hotel hallway?
He must have read the hurt in her expression because he whispered, “Princess.” The amount of emotion in that one word almost made her bawl her eyes out.
“I’m fine. I will be fine. We had a damn good time and now I have to go back and deal with my life. This time next week, it’ll be like this never happened.”
When he didn’t look convinced, Georgie stuck out her hand. He ignored it and pulled her into a hug and she took a final moment to memorize his scent and the feel of his arms around her. Because the only way she could uphold her promise to keep things casual was to avoid him completely. So this was the last hit of the Jamie drug that she’d be getting for a long time.
Finally she pulled back and plastered on a big, fake grin. “See, I told you we could go back to normal. You go back to acting like a robot and I’ll insult you every chance I get. Ok, asshole?”
It took a long time but he finally smiled. “Back to normal.”
Chapter 9
The next week was busy and Jamie was grateful for the distraction. When Georgie had promised they’d go back to hating each other, he’d thought she was kidding.
But every time he saw her now, she was just as sarcastic and dismissive as she’d ever been. Instead of looking up at him with those sparkling blue eyes, she looked through him like he wasn’t even there. There were no more hugs or opportunities to touch her, not even in the most casual of ways. She stayed on the opposite side of the room like he was a stranger.
Like he was an enemy.
When they’d agreed to go back to hating each other, he hadn’t thought she’d meant to treat him like a stranger. Where were his sweet smiles? The little glances he’d gotten used to but hadn’t missed until they were gone?
He never thought he’d say he regretted a night of hot sex but part of him wondered if that night hadn’t ruined things between them. Because the little bit of Georgie he’d been getting before was better than this barren wasteland.
“Don’t forget the Europe trip is coming up soon. I assume you’re going to put in for it again this year?” King asked, before taking another sip of his drink.
/> They were at Les Printemps, a fancy French restaurant in D.C. It was one of the main spots Kingsley International used to wine and dine clients. They’d just finished up a client meeting.
“I already did. Unless you want it this year?”
King gave him an incredulous look. “Six weeks away from home? No, thank you.”
Jamie smirked. “Quite a change from a year ago. I thought I would have to fight you for that assignment last year.”
King shrugged. “I didn’t have any reason to stay home last year.”
The words hit home. Jamie loved going to Europe. Usually he did, anyway. It was an opportunity to take a company-paid vacation and all he had to do was woo clients and potential investors in a few different countries. It was an opportunity only offered to senior executives but lately more of them had declined due to family obligations. Jamie had always thought it was a win for him and for King, who also loved to travel.
Now it looked like he would have prime pick of all travel opportunities. Why did that make him feel so lonely?
“Well, I’ll be sure to enjoy the trip on your behalf.”
King grinned. “It’ll be fun. Maybe Olivia and I will meet you in Paris while you’re there. I haven’t taken her on a vacation yet.”
“I’m sure she would love that.” Jamie paused with his drink at his lips. At a table behind them a group of women were laughing loudly. One of the laughs was incredibly familiar. Then the woman turned her head toward him. “Is that Georgie?”
King turned in his seat. “Hey, I think it is. We should go say hello.”
“No, I’m sure she’s busy. It looks like she’s with friends.”
“Probably. That asshole Alex apparently didn’t like her to go out with her friends so she mentioned wanting to make up for lost time.” King held up a finger and their waiter appeared a few moments later.
While his friend paid the bill, Jamie’s eyes kept going back to Georgie. She looked happy. Her dark hair was twisted up into some kind of complicated knot and she was wearing a pink sweater that made her eyes look even bluer. As they approached her table, the huge smile on her face disappeared.