by Cherry Adair
“How much can you take?” He used his thumb to stroke the slick inner surface of her lower lip, his gaze scorching her face.
The toast popped up behind her. “You just got out of a sick bed.” She tried to be reasonable.
“Come back to it with me.” He swung her up in his arms and strode out of the kitchen, across the wide entry hall and started up the stairs.
“I don’t think you should be carrying me, Rhett. You’ve been flat on your back for a week.” She held on tighter as he picked up speed the closer he got to the bedroom.
He kicked the door shut behind him. “Didn’t I tell you yesterday I wouldn’t always be weak and lying flat on my back?” He settled her carefully on the freshly made bed. “Now, my pretty, what do you have to say about that!”
He leaned over her, the purple shirt doing wonderful things to his pale eyes. He was teasing her but his eyes were hot.
“I say, fine.” Jessie started unbuttoning the cotton shirt. Her throat felt dry and her pulse had sped up. She wanted to consume him in large bites. “Hurry.” She couldn’t believe that throaty voice was hers.
She had no idea what happened to their clothing. Or who removed what. The moment her naked skin touched his, he went wild, carrying Jessie along on a tidal wave of sensation so intense she lost all sense of reason.
Her climax was so explosive, so prolonged she almost lost consciousness. After a while she managed to slowly open her eyes. Sunlight streamed through the open window. Blankets and sheets were mounded on the floor. Jessie could feel a pencil under her right hip. She couldn’t move a muscle and she struggled to draw an even breath.
She’d forgotten the detour.
Joshua leaned over her. His face had lost its pallor. His hair was sweaty and their skin was sticking together everywhere they touched. In a moment she would be able to speak. For now all she could gather the energy to do was gaze into his eyes. They held some emotion impossible for her to read. She felt the deep breath he took through her breast and down to the juncture of her thighs.
“I’m sorry.”
For a moment she was so lost in the sensual haze she didn’t comprehend his words. “What?”
“I’m sorry,” he said stiffly. “I lost control. Did I hurt you?” A dark frown pinched his eyebrows together.
“No!” She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down. “I love what we did. I love knowing I can make you forget you’re The Glacier when you’re with me.”
Jessie felt the brief suspension of his heartbeat under her hand. It took her a moment to realize that whatever he had felt in that shattering moment, he’d caught himself and brought his emotions back under control. Damn. She’d just have to try harder. She glanced at him under her lashes. A telltale pulse pounded in his temple. So, he wasn’t as immune as he liked to appear.
“There’s nothing you have ever done to hurt me. In bed or out. I promise.” He lost some of the concern in his eyes. “I’m starving. Can we go down for breakfast soo—”
The phone rang and she groaned. Joshua’s business calls had stopped while he’d been ill. No doubt he’d called his secretary this morning and told her he was up and about. He was definitely up—and about to be cut off. Her fingers walked deliberately down his chest.
Joshua stuffed a pillow behind his head. “What the hell do you mean you can’t find...?” He glanced briefly at Jessie. “The principal party?”
She loved his crinkly chest hair, but didn’t waste too much time there. He had been gone for ten days, then sick for a week. He had a lot of catching up to do. Her fingers closed around him.
She jumped when Joshua said loudly into the phone, “Then damn well hire detectives. I want her found.” There was a short pause. “As death and taxes. Keep me informed Felix.”
“Bad news?” She crossed her arms on his chest and tried to read the expression on his face.
“Just someone I need to contact to get some papers signed.”
She made tantalizing swirls around his left nipple. “Another merger?”
“A contract dissolution. Felix will take care of it.”
He looked pointedly at her hands folded on his chest. “Wasn’t this hand somewhere else?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
JESSIE EMERGED FROM the dressing room in the hotel room, her arms raised as she struggled with a recalcitrant earring. The flame-red Isaac Mizrahi she wore was one of a dozen designer gowns Joshua had surprised her with for this trip to Monaco.
She’d felt like a kid in a candy store when she’d seen the gowns the hotel maid had unpacked earlier. Each gown was a brilliant, vibrant color, each more tempting than the last. The red chiffon had a short, frothy skirt, no back and a deceptively modest front—until movement revealed the throat-to-waist slit and a tantalizing glimpse of small firm, lightly tanned breasts.
“Why aren’t you dressed?” she asked, seeing Joshua sprawled on the bed, his arms folded under his head. Half the bedcovers were on the enormous bed, the other half on the floor. He was gloriously naked.
Jessie met his bold look and his eyes darkened. “Don’t you have jet lag?” he asked in a seductive drawl. “Perhaps you should come back to bed and take a little nap.”
“Oh, no, you don’t, Joshua Falcon. That’s what you said three hours ago.” Jessie’s pulse quickened under the heat of his smoldering gaze. “We’ve been in Monte Carlo for four hours and already made love twice.” She dropped her hand when the earring back slipped home. “I thought you brought me here to gamble.”
“I did,” Joshua said, rising and coming toward her like a panther, all sinewy grace and rippling muscles, arousal blatant and unashamed. “And to see you dressed like you are now. God, you look incredible.” He ran the backs of his fingers inside the narrow opening of her bodice to touch bare skin; Jessie couldn’t help arching her back as his hand slipped inside the opening. “You turn me on whether you’re clothed or naked. I love the way your lush little breasts play hide-and-seek in this dress.”
She licked her shiny red lips, watching as Joshua’s eyes smoldered. “Don’t get me all jazzed up,” she warned, fearing it was already too late. She stood her ground as his fingers played against her sensitized skin.
“I want to see the casino,” she said with a laugh, her fingers small around the thickness of his wrist, as she halfheartedly tried to restrain him. He could rip these five ounces of chiffon off her and have her on the bed in a heartbeat.
A tremor rippled across her skin. He saw it and smiled. The backs of his fingers slid from the pulse in her throat to her waist and back again. Her nipples were excruciatingly hard and blatantly outlined beneath the soft fabric of the expensive dress.
Jessie closed her eyes, waiting for Joshua to cup her breasts, to taste her nipples as he had done just before she’d called it quits and run into the lavish bathroom for a shower not forty minutes ago. She’d locked the door, hearing his mocking laughter as she shot home the bolt.
“You love being a woman, don’t you?” Just the backs of his knuckles rode the edge of fabric over her midriff. Jessie arched an eyebrow, a trick she had learned from him. He seemed impervious to what he was doing to her as he continued in that soft, silky voice. “I love watching you get ready to go out.” His touch moved a little higher. Jessie shivered.
“I’m always fascinated by the way you primp and fuss with your hair when you know it won’t stay where you put it. And no matter what, it always looks sexy, as though I’ve just run my fingers through it.” With two fingers, he touched the pulse at her throat, and smiled down into her eyes. Her breath hitched.
“And I’m fascinated by your concentration when you apply makeup. Every move you make is graceful, feminine. You love the textures and scents and ceremony that go with being female.”
Jessie felt hypnotized by the sensual timbre of his voice and th
e rhythmic stroking of his fingertips. She took a step back to clear her head. “Goodness. What brought this on?”
Joshua shrugged. “I’ve never known anyone who enjoys being in their own skin the way you do.” He reached over to pick up a toweling robe, then shrugged it on. He looked back at her with a small frown. “Given the way you were brought up, I don’t know how you acquired your amazing sense of self-worth.”
Embarrassed and flattered Jessie didn’t quite know what to say. A lot of her self-confidence was a protective device she’d perfected growing up. “I somehow managed to teach myself. I realized, even as a child, that my mother’s life wasn’t mine, and I did everything in my power to make sure I knew who and what I was.”
Joshua cupped her cheek. “I admire the hell out of who you are, Jessica Adams.” He dropped a light, yet somehow intense, kiss on her mouth, and then strolled into the bathroom.
Jessie flopped down on the bed and stared at the closed door.
* * *
THE MAIN FLOOR of the casino was an opulent mix of gilt and mahogany, the very old with some modern concessions. It retained the same air of genteel elegance and lavish style it had when it was built in the early 1860s. Jessie was entranced. “It’s not fair the locals aren’t allowed in the casino.” She was afraid to blink—she wanted to see everything. “They’re missing a wonderful part of their heritage.”
“A small price to pay, considering they don’t pay any taxes in Monaco,” Joshua said dryly.
“It’s their heritage—” Jessie gazed around her “—not the money that matters.”
“Tell that to the man trying to feed his family. Hardly anyone leaves a casino with more money in his pocket, Jess. They’re doing the locals a favor.”
“Cynic. I still don’t think it’s fair,” she said without heat, distracted by the sights and sounds of the casino. Elegantly gowned women and handsome men wearing tuxedos strolled through the vast saloons, their voices an exotic blend of accents and pitch. Her eyes lit up as they wandered through a room with dozens of roulette tables.
“It’s only the gaming rooms they’re forbidden to enter, little Miss Bleeding Heart,” Joshua said, amused. He toyed with the loose strands of her hair at her nape. “Everyone can come to the Grand Theater to see the ballet or opera.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. Her lids drifted closed and she whispered for him to stop. He tasted her knuckles and her skin flushed, but she didn’t pull away.
Jessie felt the ripple in his thigh muscles as he brushed against her; she carefully moved away a few inches, brushing her palm up the back of her upswept hair feeling for those loose strands as his gaze remained fixed on her face. She had known she was playing with fire when she put on the dress, but now, as his X-ray eyes touched her naked breasts, she realized she hadn’t meant to start a forest fire.
She closed her eyes briefly. If she gave in to this insatiable craving, they would be upstairs naked before she could say strip.
“Behave,” she warned, then drew in a shaky breath.
He smiled, then tucked her arm through his. “You are a hard woman.”
“Shh, I’m absorbing.” The smell of wealth discreetly perfumed the air. The aroma of power and money mixed with the fragrance of the fresh flowers overflowing the priceless vases in lighted alcoves along the walls.
Jessie’s gold heels sank into luxurious royal-blue-and-deep-black Axminster carpet. The murmur of refined voices wove between the dulcet notes of a small orchestra screened behind a fringe of luxurious potted palms nearly reaching the intricate gold plaster ceiling soaring above their heads.
Joshua’s hand rested lightly on the small of her back as they strolled across the enormous casino, his caress absentminded. Jessie didn’t think he realized how much easier it was for him to touch her in public now. The familiar contact in a crowded room meant more to Jessie than she’d ever thought possible.
“Now, why are you smiling as if you just ate a canary?” Joshua asked, leading her into the next room.
She looked up at him with sparkling eyes. “I’m happy.”
He touched her face with his fingertips, as if he couldn’t help himself. “This has all been here for more than a hundred years, Jess. We don’t have to run.”
“Someone might take my lucky seat.” She slowed and looked about her as nonchalantly as she could.
“Find a table. I’ll get you some chips.”
She caught her lower lip in her teeth and looked up at him with a delicious mixture of terrified anticipation and unholy glee. “Not too many,” she warned. “I just want to play at playing for an hour or so.”
Joshua returned moments later and Jessie dropped the stack of chips into her purse, turning in a little pirouette as she perused the tables before picking the one she wanted.
“I’ve died and gone to heaven.” She grinned, opening her small Chanel clutch and taking out a handful of black and gold chips. “Come and play with me.”
Joshua leaned forward, his lips brushing her ear. “I wanted to play with you upstairs.” He pulled out one of the elegant brocade chairs for her.
“Patience has its rewards,” she whispered, setting her chips in neat piles on the green baize table. She could feel Joshua behind her as she concentrated on placing her bet.
Actually, she had no idea how to play roulette. She only placed bets on red or black and on the double zero. It was the adrenaline rush she relished as her chips were scraped off the table or returned to her.
With several more chips than she had started with, Jessie’d had enough. Joshua had stood behind her, his hand possessively on her shoulder and without comment for an hour.
“I’m starving.” Jessie swung her legs off the high chair. Joshua laughed as he helped her scoop up her chips.
“You’re so predictable.” He aimed her toward the five-star restaurant with a view of the bay. “Always hungry. Come on. I’ll feed you, and then you can bring me some luck.”
After being seated, Jessie took a handful of chips, turning them around between her fingers. “You know, these are so pretty I think I’ll just take them home and frame them so I can remember this fabulous trip.”
Joshua almost choked on his wine. Jessie’s eyebrows rose at his expression. “What?”
“Do you have any idea what those chips are worth, Jessie?” Joshua dabbed at the corner of his mouth with his napkin.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Five dollars?”
“Each chip is worth the equivalent of ten thousand dollars.”
“What!” Jessie squeaked, her hand at her throat. “You’re kidding. There must be...oh, my God, Joshua. There’re at least thirty-five chips here. What happened to the dollar table?”
“That’s Reno. This is the big time. The sheik sitting on your right was playing with hundred-thousand-dollar chips.”
“Lord.” Jessie stuffed the chips into her purse and laid it carefully in front of her on the table. “If I’d known that, I would never have played.”
“You were enjoying yourself. What difference does it make how much the chips are worth? It’s only money.”
“What if I’d lost?” Jessie felt sick to her stomach. She closed her eyes before looking back at him. He was still smiling.
“It’s only money, Jess.”
“Yours, Joshua. Not mine. It would have taken me forever to pay you back if I’d lost.”
“You didn’t.” His smile disappeared and a strange look came over his features. He handed her the enormous tasseled menu. “Decide what you want to eat and don’t think about it.”
Jessie hid behind the menu, her appetite gone. She’d had no idea. She felt so stupid. In such opulent surroundings with Joshua’s casual wealth, she should have guessed they wouldn’t have dollar chips, for heaven’s sake!
She felt like a fraud. Sitti
ng here on the patio of one of the most famous casinos in the world, wearing a designer original. Who did she think she was?
Just Jessie Adams, daughter of a prostitute from Bakersfield.
She’d done the unthinkable. She had complacently believed she wouldn’t fall in love with him. She’d thought that it was impossible. That she’d been inoculated and would be immune. As if love were something she had control over!
I love him.
She mentally tested the words, tasting them bittersweet on her tongue.
Oh, my God. How could this have happened? It had been so insidious she hadn’t even noticed.
It didn’t matter how much she now wanted things to be different. There was no happy ending. She was welfare housing: he was penthouse. He might care for her, but he’d never fall in love with a woman like her in a million years. He’d pick someone from his own social circle.
Not only was she never going to have his baby—hell, no—she had neatly compounded her loss. On December 23 she’d leave without Joshua as well.
The sparkle went out of the evening.
She asked Joshua to order for her. The entire menu was in French, and she didn’t understand it anyway. He ordered their meal in his impeccable French before leaning forward and taking her hand. “What’s the matter?” His voice was husky, his pale eyes intent as he scanned her face. She wondered what he was seeing there. “Jet lag getting to you at last?”
“I don’t belong here, Joshua.” Jessie’s eyes felt scratchy, her mouth trembly. God, she hoped she wouldn’t cry. Not now, not here, in front of Joshua and all these fancy people who belonged.
“You are the most beautiful woman here tonight, Jessie. Of course you belong.” He picked up her hand, and Jessie realized too late she’d forgotten to put on the red nail polish she’d brought with her. Her nails were short and unpolished. She curled her fingers in his hand. Even her hands didn’t belong. Her throat closed up. She was going to cry, damn it.