by Tessa Radley
Georgia gasped at the tightness.
There was a moment when she thought it would be impossible. Then he slid a little deeper. The tightness expanded into a painful tautness. She tensed.
“Relax,” he whispered.
The sensual tickle of his tongue against the sweet groove beneath her ear caused her to shiver, then convulse into giggles. And the tension drained out of her.
When Jay moved again, her arms closed around him, pulling him deeper. She walked her fingers down his back, adoring the way his body stiffened, and dug her fingers into the mound of muscle on either side of his spine. He groaned. Her fingers crept lower...lower...
“Don’t touch,” he managed to say. “Or I will come.”
The threat—if that was what it was—caused her to raise her hips a couple of inches off the bed, arching against him, then sinking down onto the mattress again. It was Jay’s turn to gasp as the friction notched a turn tighter.
“Do. Not. Move.”
“Yes, Jay.”
She whispered the obedient words against the curl of his ear. Then her own tongue snuck out and she experimentally licked the edge. He hissed.
The friction of his body quickened against hers. Georgia felt the edge of tension rising. Hot and tight. Her feet came off the bedding, her knees hugging his hips, deepening the pleasure. Her eyes shut tight and she focused blindly on the driving desire. Then, unexpectedly, she came apart.
Georgia gasped.
Sheer delight rippled through her.
His body jerked. Once. Twice.
Then he fell forward, and buried his face in the crevice where her neck met her jaw. With a groan, he murmured, “Georgia, you are the most unforgettable joy of my life.”
Thirteen
Jay stared down at the woman asleep in the bed.
She lay on her side, knees bent, her cheek resting on her palmed hands. The diamond he’d placed on her fourth finger winked at him. Jay wanted nothing more than their engagement to be real. For the ring that Georgia said fit so perfectly to stay on her finger. Permanently. With another simpler gold band beside it.
And he was determined to make her happier than she’d ever been.
Dark eyelashes lay peacefully against cheeks flushed with sleep. Unable to resist, he bent down and brushed his lips across hers.
She opened her eyes, stretched languorously. Then her eyes widened.
“Jay?”
“Good morning.” He set two cups down on the nightstand. “I brought you some coffee.”
“You must’ve read my mind.”
He gave her a slow smile.
Leaning forward, he kissed her again. This time, she was fully awake and her lips parted beneath his. Placing his hands on either side of her, Jay braced himself against the onslaught of desire that rushed through him.
Lifting his head, he groaned. “We can’t afford to get distracted. It’s almost time for the party.”
Georgia wound her arms around his neck. “Thank you for my coffee.”
“Any time.”
The mood in the room was imbued with an intimacy and sense of promise, filling Jay with a surge of renewed hope. Yesterday, he’d come clean with Georgia. And last night had been incredible. Now he simply had to convince her they belonged together.
Forever.
Then her phone rang.
* * *
Where had she put her purse last night?
Catching a glimpse of it buried under Jay’s shirt on one of the chairs by the window, Georgia slung her legs out of bed, remembering too late that she was naked.
Flushing, not daring to look at Jay, she grabbed a throw off the bed and pulled it around herself. When she reached the chair by the window, she clutched at the throw and clumsily dug the now-silent phone out of her purse, glancing at the screen.
Roberta...
Panic instantly had her wide awake.
She frantically hit the redial button and stared blindly out over the private terrace to the mountains beyond, counting the rings and silently urging Roberta to answer.
When, at last, she heard her sister’s voice, she said, “Please tell me Kingston is okay.”
“He’s fine.” Roberta sounded loud and comfortingly familiar. “Breathe, sister. Be very grateful that you’re not here. He’s making everyone’s life miserable.”
“Oh.” Georgia shut her eyes as the waves of panic subsided. “I’m so glad.”
“Glad that we’re suffering?”
Georgia stifled a sob of laughter. “Glad that he’s back to his normal self. Glad he hasn’t had a relapse.”
“I’m still not sure there was much wrong with him to start with,” Roberta said tartly. “But the stock price at markets’ close on Friday? Now that’s a different story.”
Hunched over her cell phone, Georgia felt the familiar anxiety rise. “What do you mean?”
“Someone is buying up Kingdom stock.” Roberta’s voice took on a hard edge. “And that is enough to give our beloved father a real heart attack.”
Georgia’s grip on her phone tightened. “I’ll fly home immediately.”
“Don’t bother to reschedule.” Roberta’s sigh came loud and clear over the miles that separated them. “There’s nothing you can do—certainly not until Monday. But I called to tell you...” Roberta’s voice trailed away.
“What?”
There was a pause, then Roberta said, “I just wanted to remind you that I’m not in the office for the next few days. You’re flying back tonight, right?”
Georgia hadn’t gotten around to changing her flight to the morning. “At this stage, yes.”
“The sooner, the better. With the weather closing in, the airports may close.”
So it was done. There would be no second night with Jay. The disappointment was crushing.
Georgia ended the call and turned to find Jay watching her from the bed, his arms linked behind his head.
How would she react when he breezed into her office bearing cups of coffee after he finally returned from vacation? She froze. Would she ever forget how he’d kissed her, licked her, loved her last night?
Would they be adult and pretend it had never happened? Or would they revert to the snarky, energetic rivalry they’d shared before? Would they still be able to work together? Or would awkwardness take over?
Georgia faced the reality of loving Jay. She wasn’t dumb enough to pretend to herself that Jay felt the same about her. He wanted her. Sure. He liked her—she was pretty sure about that, too. They had their shared work ethic in common. She simply had to keep her emotions under control. It shouldn’t be difficult; she’d had enough practice.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
She slipped her phone back into her purse. “Kingston is giving everyone hell, the weather’s terrible in New York and Roberta reminded me that she won’t be in the office tomorrow.”
“Sounds like business as usual.”
About to tell him about Roberta’s concerns about the stock price, she hesitated. There was nothing Jay could do about it until tomorrow. For now, she was going to enjoy the rest of her escape with Jay. Tomorrow, she’d be back in New York—and back to reality.
She flashed a smile at him. “Time for us to party.”
* * *
The celebration was in full swing.
Tall stands of exquisite flowers and masses of colorful balloons filled the airy space. A quartet played, and there was a roaring fire in the fireplace.
Everyone had been so welcoming, so pleased to meet Jay’s fiancée. In addition to family friends, plenty of Aspen’s well-heeled crowd were present. Georgia had taken the opportunity to add several valuable contacts to her network.
Yet, with Jay’s arm hugging her to his side, the feeling of being a total fraud swamped Georgia.
“This is awful,” she whispered to him after the dozenth time his mom had excitedly dragged another of her friends over to introduce her only son’s fiancée. “Your family doesn’t deserve this, Jay.”
Jay tilted his head closer. “Let’s talk about this later—”
“That was your mom’s best friend—your mom told her I’m her new daughter. I can’t do this, Jay. We need to tell your parents the truth.”
“Okay. But after the party. I’m not going to ruin this occasion for my mother. There’s not long left, people will start leaving soon.”
“Sorry to interrupt you lovebirds.” Betty’s arch tone caused Georgia to start. “Jay, can you give me a hand moving some of the anniversary gifts into the den? They’re almost spilling out the front door.”
“Of course.” He shot Georgia a brooding look. “I won’t be long.”
He wound his way through the crowd with the housekeeper bustling behind him. Georgia watched him pause to respond to a greeting from a multimillionaire who’d made his fortune in retail. Then Jay turned to kiss a renowned actress on the cheek, before shaking hands with another couple. Georgia watched how the faces of men and women alike lit up. Jay was well-respected, and an easy authority radiated from him.
How had she ever missed that authority?
Shifting from one foot to another, casting little glances in the direction where Jay had disappeared, Georgia felt like a teenager in the throes of a crush, hyper-aware of Jay’s every move.
She slipped outside.
On the covered terrace that faced the majestic Rockies, the guests had broken up into groups. Some stood clutching tall glasses bubbling with the best champagne, and others congregated on built-in seating around the edges of the terrace, while waiters circulated with trays still piled high with food.
Jennifer was chatting with a group of beautifully dressed women.
As Georgia approached, Jay’s sister rose to her feet and came toward her. In a low voice she said, “That’s Suzie in the red dress.”
Georgia glanced past Jay’s sister. A jolt of shock caused her to catch her breath.
“But she’s—”
“Yes. And, in case you didn’t know, Suzie also worked with Jay and me at JJB Boots.” Jennifer bent her head closer and lowered her voice. “Mom had already consulted with a wedding planner. The caterers had been booked. The dress and the bridesmaid’s dresses had been ordered when Jay dumped her for you.”
“Jay jilted her?” Georgia knew she was gaping. How could Jay have done that to Suzie?
“You didn’t know?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Don’t feel sorry for Suzie—she’d hate it. I was so pleased they were getting married—my best friend and my big brother. Everyone was thrilled. We all knew it was only a matter of time before Dad retired and Jay stepped into his, uh, boots.”
Despite the joke, there was real anxiety in the other woman’s face. Jennifer honestly believed that Georgia had been the cause of her brother’s breakup with her best friend.
“Jay had never done anything unexpected in his life. Sure, he and Dad fought, but we all knew they’d hammer their differences out eventually. But then he met you and broke off his engagement to Suzie. He walked away from JJB Boots and he hasn’t been back since. Dad wants him in the business...but Mom and I would settle for having him come home from time to time. We hope you’ll persuade him to visit—even to spend Christmas.”
“You think Jay will do what I want?” breathed Georgia. The idea was so preposterous she almost laughed out loud. Only Jennifer’s set expression stopped her mirth from spilling over.
“My brother is so in love with you that if you asked him to mortgage his soul to buy Kingdom International for you, he would.”
In love with her?
Georgia nearly admitted that Jay didn’t love her at all, that this engagement was one big sham. But she came to her senses just in time. Of course, Jennifer believed Jay loved her—after all, they were engaged, and she had a great big glittering rock on her finger to prove it.
Georgia curled up a little more in shame at the charade she and Jay were perpetrating on his family. It needed to end. And she needed to leave. She didn’t belong here.
She itched to reassure Jennifer, to tell her that she was no threat, that she would never keep him from his family...that she didn’t have the power to break his heart. She wanted to tell her that she and Jay were only friends.
But that, too, had become a lie.
She realized Jennifer was still waiting for a response.
“I’ll talk to him,” she said lamely.
“You’d better come and meet Suzie—you’ll be seeing plenty of her when the two of you visit.”
There was no way out.
Suppressing her own discomfort, Georgia approached the pretty blonde in the red dress. An uncomfortable silence fell as they reached the group. After the introductions, Suzie gave her a sweet smile. Georgia could only admire her.
To break the ice, she smiled back. “I understand you work with Jennifer at JJB Boots.”
Suzie’s eyes lit up. For the next few minutes, Georgia forgot her discomfort and listened with interest to Jennifer and Suzie kidding around. When a break came in the conversation, Suzie glanced around and said easily, “Ladies, why don’t you give Georgia and me a chance to get acquainted?”
The women in the tight-knit group looked at each other and then rose to their feet in unison.
“Come, sit.” Suzie patted the cushion beside her.
Georgia sat, smoothing the skirt of her simple pink knit dress around her knees.
Suzie touched her hand. “Don’t worry. J.J. is not going to get his way. Jay finds working with him stifling—they fight like bears. J.J can be quite something and he’s never understood what makes Jay tick. But he’s never worried me. I love it here. By taking over JJB Boots and marrying me, Jay would’ve done what he considered his duty. But then he met you. If we’d gotten married, it would have ended in divorce at some stage. Jay did us both a favor.”
Georgia stared.
How could the other woman not have been in love with Jay?
But then relief surged through her. Under different circumstances, she would have liked to have been friends with Suzie. A pang stabbed her heart. Deep down, she knew that when this charade was over, she would never return to Colorado.
How on earth was she ever going to be able to face Jay every day at work?
“J.J. believes that the end always justifies the means. That’s why he’s blackmailing Jay.”
Suzie’s words jerked her back to the present. “Blackmailing Jay?”
“Manipulating is probably a better word. Jay hasn’t told you?”
Slowly, Georgia shook her head.
Suzie rolled her eyes. “Jay’s always been protective. J.J.’s not going to get anywhere, but Jay should have told you. You’re a big girl—and he can’t play the knight in shining armor forever. Honestly. Men!”
“I’m sure Jay will tell me,” Georgia defended Jay, despite an inner twinge of unease.
Suzie’s gaze moved to a point behind Georgia. “Speak of the devil.”
* * *
Jay guided Georgia down a set of steep stone stairs to the pool deck below. Inside the stone pool house, the distant chatter of the guests dimmed and all that could be heard was the tap of her heels.
“The water is heated—my parents swim most days,” he said, leading her to a pair of oversized wrought-iron chairs with plump overstuffed cushions set amidst a forest of greenery.
But Georgia didn’t take the time to study her surroundings—or to sit down. Instead, she impaled him with suspicious eyes. “Jennifer tells me you jilted Suzie practically at the altar.”
Jay winced.
“Is J.J. blackmailing you?”
“Who tol
d you that?” he demanded.
“Suzie.”
Jay drew a deep breath and sat down. “My father has been buying up stock in Kingdom—”
“J.J.’s behind the erratic stock prices?” Georgia interrupted him. “How long have you known?”
“I noticed the shifts in the stock a few months ago—”
“A few months?” She frowned down at him. “When did you plan to enlighten me?”
“At first, the movements were irregular...with no obvious pattern. It could have been a variety of factors. Last week, an earlier sequence of patterns was repeated. I confronted my father. He admitted he was responsible. I’ve dealt with him.” His father had miscalculated—and he would not be doing so again.
“You’ve dealt with him?” Georgia still hadn’t sat down. “You should’ve told me.”
“I only spoke to Dad last night, after dinner.” Jay knew he was on thin ice. He’d intended to tell her last night...but once he’d gotten to the bedroom and found Georgia in his bed, all good intentions had flown out the window. He’d abandoned his strategy of playful patience...and given in to desire.
“You’ve been keeping me in the dark. You’re supposed to be my—”
“What? Colleague?” He raised an eyebrow, suddenly tired of watchful caution. “Friend?”
“No! Yes. You’re both of those. But you’re more.” Her expression shifted.
Jay held his breath, waiting.
“You’re my lover.” At last, she answered his silent question.
Somewhere deep in Jay’s chest, a warm glow ignited.
“Georgia—” He reached forward and snagged her fingers between his. “I’d never let my father harm you. Believe that.”
She resisted. “I need to call Roberta—”
Jay tightened his grip on her fingers, restraining her. “Listen to me. I’ve sorted it out.”
He yanked her hand; she lost her balance, toppled over and landed sprawled across his lap. Her blue eyes blazed up at him. He pulled her close, securing her in his hold. However much he stood to lose, there would be no secrets between them. Never again. “Hear me out. My father has sold the stock he purchased to me.”