Slow Burn: Seducing Mr. RightTake Me

by Cherry Adair

“Guy works for me. I’ve never met Ginny.”

  “How long—” Jessie’s eyes widened as Joshua took two steps to close the space between them the moment the elevator doors closed on the parking garage.

  “There can’t be a yard of material in that dress.”

  She clasped her hand around his wrist in warning, glancing at the flashing numbers above the door. “Behave yourself.”

  “You look absolutely delectable in yellow, Miss Adams,” Joshua said huskily, surveying her from very close up. His hand went to the back of her neck. “What happens if I undo this little button right here?”

  Undoing the halter neck would get him a pair of naked breasts against his chest. Which was exactly his intention. Jessie’s fingers tightened around his wrist. He grinned wickedly, hesitated, then removed the threat of his hand.

  “You’re creasing me,” she admonished, grateful the party was in the penthouse, seventy-two stories up, and they were alone in the elevator. She wasn’t sure she would have stopped him.

  “Silk doesn’t crease,” he assured her, nuzzling her neck. Her short, sassy skirt rustled over net petticoats. Jessie trembled as he pressed her gently against the elevator wall, her breasts flattened against the hard plane of his chest. He’d been in New York for the last three days and arrived home barely in time to change and pick her up tonight.

  “We have about forty seconds before this elevator door opens. I’m just making the most of them,” he murmured, a breath away from her mouth.

  “I wish we’d stayed home.” Jessie fluttered her long eyelashes. “Why’d we have to come to this dumb old party anyway?”

  Joshua grinned. “For a bright brunette, you certainly do a great dumb blonde.”

  “Hey,” she said indignantly, leaning into him. “I was flirting.”

  “You were asking for trouble.”

  She smiled seductively. “Have I come to the right place for it?”

  Joshua made a sound deep in his throat as he lowered his head. Jessie tilted her chin, offering her mouth. He brushed his open mouth against hers, then stroked her lips with his tongue.

  She had a vague thought that she was playing with fire, but his mouth was so seductively sweet all thought of propriety fled. He exuded pheromones like a musky cologne and her body chemistry always responded.

  Jessie slid her hands beneath his jacket to stroke his back. He kissed her harder, tilting her head back so he could slant his mouth and deepen the kiss. She whimpered helplessly.

  He lifted his lips from hers a fraction of an inch, his breath warm on her face. “One more taste before the doors open.”

  “Living dangerously, Mr. Falcon?” She could feel how much he wanted her. His need was in the depth of his kiss, in the press of his body against hers, in the urgency of his hands. The rigid length of his arousal pressed hard against her.

  When the elevator jarred to a stop and the doors slid open, Joshua straightened the halter straps, used his thumb to remove her smudged lipstick from her mouth and then his own.

  A dozen laughing, talking people got into the elevator on the next floor of the garage. They were clearly going to the same party. The fragrance of expensive cosmetics and perfume filled the small space. Jessie moved closer to Joshua and he pressed her back into the corner, a wicked gleam in his pale eyes.

  “Hold the elevator!” a voice yelled.

  Joshua slid his hand up Jessie’s thigh. Under her skirt. Eyes opened wide she shot him a startled look. He gave her a sexy smile and kept on going.

  Jessie grabbed his wrist and tried to pull his hand away.

  “Thanks,” the guy said, ushering three more people into the already crowded car.

  What do you think you’re doing? Jessie’s eyes demanded as Joshua’s fingers slid inside the elastic leg of her panties. He gave her an innocent look back. He stroked a finger in the crease between leg and mound. Her knees went weak. “Stop it!” she mouthed.

  Everyone in the elevator was laughing and talking and watching the numbers above the door. Joshua was the only one turned her way. Still... His finger slid inside her.

  Jessie’s knees went weak. His foot came between hers, and gently spread her feet apart.

  Jessie licked her lower lip, then squeezed her eyes closed as he inserted a finger deep between her slick folds. Oh. My. God. Her petticoats rustled around his arm.

  All it needed was one person to turn around...one person to look...

  A second finger joined the first. She bit her tongue to prevent the moan from escaping, and leaned back into the corner. His thumb brushed her clit. Jessie shuddered. Brush harder. She felt the coils tighten. His fingers were deep inside her, and her muscles tightened and spasmed around them as he played her clitoris like a master. Her body throbbed, her nipples clearly, visibly aroused behind a thin layer of silk. She was beyond ready to come. How could so many people just be standing there, oblivious to what he was doing to her?

  His fingers slid in and out. Faster. Faster. Faster.

  Jessie came in a dizzying rush. Her back thumped against the wall, and she pressed her hand over her mouth so she didn’t shriek with pleasure.

  Everyone around them continued chatting and laughing.

  Jessie’s muscles tightened as Joshua removed his hand. She flashed a glance at the numbers over the door. Seventieth floor.

  His hand was back. No way. In a few seconds that door was going to open and everyone would spill out. She was not going to get caught with Joshua’s hand up her skirts and down her panties.

  Something cool rolled passed her clit...and again something. She felt a weight deep inside and her muscles automatically tightened in response. She met Joshua’s eyes. “What...?” she mouthed.

  He smiled.

  The door dinged, then slid open.

  Everyone poured out, leaving Joshua and Jessie behind.

  Joshua had his handkerchief in one hand. He offered her his other hand. Jessie took it, and stepped forward. Oh, my God.

  The benwa balls shifted and slid inside her. She stumbled, holding on to Joshua’s hand for dear life. Her vaginal muscles clamped down hard. She shot him a narrow-eyed look.

  “I’m operating these things without a license, and without instructions,” she said between her teeth. “I’m going to get you for this, Falcon.”

  They followed the noise to the open doors of the penthouse. He smiled, tucking his damp hankie back in his pocket. “All you need to know is muscle control. You can do it.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Jessie groused. “You’re not the one walking like a duck.”

  “I am walking with a limp, however. I haven’t seen you in seventy-two hours. God, I missed you.”

  The unexpected flash of a camera captured Jessie and she started to laugh. “Oh, no, the paparazzi are here.” She got the giggles. “Oh, Lord. What if these damn things fall out and roll across the floor?”

  “They won’t.” Joshua squeezed her hand against his body. “Everyone’s going to see that picture and want to have you.”

  “I’ll have to tell them I’m taken ’til December.” Jessie looked around for a familiar face, trying to concentrate on anything but what was happening to her body. Those benwa balls certainly produced an odd sensation. The more she walked, the more they slid around and the hornier she became.

  “Rat,” she grumbled under her breath as a nice little aftershock traveled up her spine and she pressed their clasped hands against her aching breast.

  He smiled. “Thank me later.”

  The balls did a slow shimmy. Jessie tightened her pc muscles. Oh, brother. Wasn’t this going to be an interesting evening?

  There were several of her clients and a few other people she recognized. She turned back to him. He had the strangest look on his face. His playful mood of moments ago evaporated. Once
again he was The Glacier. Now what?

  Raising her voice above the noise, she stepped closer to Joshua as people surged around them. The balls danced around a bit, then settled when she stood still. Good. Stay that way. “Which is the engaged couple?”

  “The joyous couple over by the ice sculpture.” Joshua indicated with a nod. He slid his arm around her waist, anchoring her to his side.

  “The blonde in the blue dress and the tall guy?” Jessie observed the newly engaged pair as they gestured angrily, oblivious to their guests. In the din, it was impossible to hear what they were saying, just observe how they were saying it.

  “That’s a photograph I’d put in the dictionary under divorce.”

  “They’re not married yet,” Jessie reminded him. He was in a strange mood.

  “Yeah, well, it won’t last if they already argue in public like that.”

  “Not all marriages end in divorce.”

  “Just more than fifty percent.”

  “That means almost fifty percent are happy.”

  Joshua touched her cheek. “The half-full glass theory?”

  “Works for me.”

  “Let’s agree to disagree.” Joshua’s hand lingered on her cheek. Jessie searched his face for a clue to his mood. “We’ll drink some of their, no doubt, excellent champagne then go home. How does that sound?”

  Every opportunity sounded promising to Jessie. “I’d rather have you in me than these million-year-old balls.”

  Joshua chuckled. “Me, too.”

  She looked wistfully at the elegantly draped tables groaning under elaborate canapés and soaring ice sculptures. “The food looks good.” She shot him a mischievous grin. “How about this, we grab something to eat before we push our way over there, say congratulations...or offer condolences, whichever is more appropriate, and then go home?”

  “Smart as well as beautiful. How unusual—damn.”

  Jessie followed his gaze and recognized the busty blonde making a beeline toward them. Her photograph had accompanied Joshua’s in the press for twelve months the previous year. “Stick by me. I’ll protect you,” she said dryly.

  Joshua looked as suave and debonair as a man could, caught between this year’s and last year’s models. “Perhaps we should save time. You go and congratulate Guy and Ginny, and I’ll tackle Megan.”

  Jessie shot him a reproving glance just as the other woman stepped closer. “Megan, hi.” Jessie gave her a cheerful smile, stepping a little in front of Joshua, which was a mistake because moving made her little friends dance happily inside her. “I’m Jessie Adams.”

  Joshua placed a hand firmly on her waist and eased her back to his side again. Out of clawing range, Jessie presumed. He kept a proprietorial arm around her.

  Megan Howell narrowed her baby blues as she glared up at Jessie. “Do I know you?”

  “No,” Jessie said gently, seeing the high emotion under the other woman’s flush. “I recognized you from that great photo of you in the Inquirer last December.” Jessie carefully removed her hand from Joshua’s. “I’m sure you want to talk privately with Joshua, so I’ll go over and—”

  “You might as well hear this.” Megan’s tone was pure hostility. Jessie moved closer to Joshua, her eyes narrowed on the blonde.

  The Glacier was back in full force as Joshua bit out icily, “Say what you have to say and leave Megan.”

  “I’m pregnant,” Megan said defiantly in a too loud voice as she crossed her arms over her plastic bosom. A very elegant tent dress effectively hid any hint of a baby.

  Jessie felt an immediate surge of anger. How dare this woman be carrying Joshua’s child! Jessie wanted to rip her lips off.

  She felt sick with jealousy and heartsore with disappointment. Megan was pregnant. Damn it, it wasn’t fair. A heavy lump in her throat made swallowing impossible. She looked up at Joshua. He had a very nasty smile on his face.

  “Congratulations. Who’s the father?”

  “You are, you bastard!” Flashlights popped. “What are you going to do about it?” the blonde demanded, not missing a beat.

  “Ask you to lower your voice, for a start,” Jessie cut in, for a moment hating them both, “unless you enjoy having your private life speculated about over breakfast. Guy and Ginny have invited every tabloid in the universe to their party. So smile nicely and behave like a lady.”

  Joshua looked at her as if she had sprouted another head. He turned back to his ex-mistress, his pale eyes frosty. “It’s taken you an inordinate amount of time to come up with this, Megan.” Joshua tsked. “You used to be much faster than this at cooking up money-making schemes.”

  “I’ve talked to your lawyers,” Megan snarled, her cheeks scarlet, eyes flashing him a grim warning.

  “Wise idea.” Joshua rested his hand on the small of Jessie’s back. “They no doubt told you about the mandatory DNA test?”

  “I refuse to harm my baby just because you don’t believe me,” she said caustically, glaring up at him.

  “DNA testing can be done at twenty weeks, Megan, without doing any harm to the fetus. I’m sure Felix gave you the facts.” Joshua rubbed his thumb on Jessie’s bare back.

  “This is obviously a private discussion,” Jessie inserted. “I’ll wait for you over by the bar,” she added to Joshua over her shoulder. She turned on her heel and walked away.

  As if the world hadn’t come crashing down around her.

  * * *

  HER LIGHTLY TANNED BACK was very straight when Joshua found her on the other side of the room minutes later. She was by herself, ostensibly looking at one of Guy’s nightmarish paintings. She made a spectacular picture herself in the barely there little number that showcased her gorgeous long legs and the sweet curve of her spine.

  “Let’s go.” Joshua came up behind her, resting his hand on her naked back. Her skin was silky smooth, shimmering with vitality.

  “Let’s say our goodbyes to our hosts first. I think they’re done with round nine.”

  He glanced down at her set expression. “Can you walk okay?”

  She shot him a look. “I took them out,” she said under her breath. “I had ninety-nine orgasms without you. I didn’t like it.”

  He didn’t talk all the way down in the elevator. The paparazzi had gotten off several dozen shots of the three of them, he knew, in just about every configuration. Jessie was going to have a million questions. Hell, if she wanted to know what he and Megan had discussed she only had to buy one of the tabloids in the morning.

  She rested her head on his stiff shoulder as Barlow drove. Of course, she wouldn’t pull away, Joshua thought bitterly, leaning back against pliant burgundy leather. She was his mistress. Another woman was threatening her cash cow. What the hell, she only had to put up with him another few months and she’d be free as a bird.

  They exited the parking garage, staring straight ahead before he said grimly, “She was lying—”

  He felt her exhale before she said calmly, “I know.”

  Joshua looked down at her. The passing streetlights dappled her face, making her expression hard to read. “Did you hear what I said?”

  Jessie yawned. “Mmm. The baby isn’t yours.”

  There was a heavy weight in his chest. “How do you know?” His voice almost cracked in the middle of the question. Far from being concerned, Jessie was almost asleep.

  She squeezed his waist, snuggling closer. “You just told me.”

  “You believe me?”

  “Of course,” she mumbled matter-of-factly, although her voice sounded thick. “You’re a man of your word. If you say the child isn’t yours, it isn’t.”

  He stared at her. There was no doubt in her voice, or on her even features. She believed him. No ifs, ands or buts. She just...believed him. Unequivocally. A wave of emotion swe
pt through him. Disbelief. Acceptance. And something else too powerful, too impossible, to believe.

  Jessie rubbed her cheek on his upper arm, sweetly drowsy as she settled her arm across his waist, eyes closed. “As a matter of curiosity, what would you do if she was pregnant?” she asked in a soft, casual voice.

  “Thank God that can be proven one way or another in this day and age—”

  “But what if—”

  “She just got greedy.”

  “She’s trying to blackmail you?” Jessie asked indignantly, sitting up straighter. “That little b—”

  “Felix will take care of her.” Joshua tucked her back against his side.

  “If he doesn’t, I will,” she said firmly, then snuggled against him again. Her hand stroked lazily up and down his side under his jacket.

  Jessie tucked her thumb under his belt as Barlow made a hard right at the corner. When Joshua looked down, her long lashes were casting shadows on her cheeks. He tightened his arm around her slender shoulders and held her close.

  “I wish—”

  “What do you wish, Jessie?”

  He felt her small shrug as she whispered dreamily, half asleep, “A little girl. I’d dress her in clean, pretty clothes and keep her safe. She’d never ever be hungry or afraid.” Jessie covered a yawn. “But most of all, I’d just love her.”

  Joshua felt the ache in his chest tighten a notch. Jessie seemed unaware of what she’d just revealed. He knew firsthand a mother’s neglect, but at least he’d had someone to care for his most basic needs. Housekeepers and nannies may not have provided anything more than necessities, but he had been clothed and fed and had never known cold, fear or hunger.

  As a child Jessie had known real hunger and very real fear. She seldom spoke about those years. She’d never known if or when her mother would come home. According to Felix, Jessie’s mother had been picked up for solicitation a dozen times or more. Where had Jessie gone when her mother was in jail? How had Jessie, who had never known security or trust as a child, grown into a woman who trusted so easily?

  He was basically a solitary man. He had a few men he called friends, but they were really just business associates he trusted. He had never had a woman trust him as much as Jessie did, understand him as Jessie did. It was a novel experience. Joshua savored it as Jessie’s body relaxed against his. He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek.