by Cherry Adair
“Jessie, look at me.”
She raised her eyes and looked at him through a shimmering veil of tears.
“What’s this all about?” he asked gently, his thumb rubbing circles on her palm. She bit her lip helplessly. “The chips are no big deal—”
“I’m sorry.” Her voice was muffled by the napkin she had pressed to her mouth. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She peered at him over the damask. “It must be jet lag.” She glanced up just as the waiter brought their first course. “Saved by the food.” She injected a cheerful note into her voice.
Determined not to spoil an otherwise marvelous evening, Jessie got a firm grip on her emotions and picked up her fork.
Jess was sure the Boeuf Alexandra she had just eaten must have been delicious. She liked artichokes, and the truffles were interesting, but she could barely taste them. Damn it. She didn’t want to be dwelling on the end when she still had weeks and weeks left to enjoy with him.
For a split second she reconsidered her decision to use birth control. It was darn inconvenient and maybe...no. She’d made that decision and wouldn’t retract it.
She straightened her spine and tucked her arm through Joshua’s as they left the restaurant. “Where are we going now?”
“You sure you don’t want to play roulette a little more?”
Jessie gave a mock shiver. “Way too rich for my blood. In fact, here.” She handed him her small shell-shaped clutch. “Stick this in your pocket so I don’t have to worry about it. I’ll watch you play...whatever it was.”
“Chemin de fer. See those tables over there set on the raised dais?” Joshua led Jessie across the chandelier-lit room. He talked to a gentleman standing guard at the entrance. The man gave Joshua a deferential bow and ushered them into the exclusive area. Chemin de fer was a complicated high-stakes card game, Joshua explained quietly to Jessie, much like baccarat. As he took his seat, Jessie refrained from asking what these chips were worth. She didn’t want to know.
All the other seats were taken by spectators. This time it was Jessie who stood behind him.
She enjoyed the action. Even if she hadn’t a clue what the players were doing or how the betting worked, she was engrossed in watching. At one point she slipped off her high-heel sandals. The carpet felt luxuriously soft under her stockinged feet.
A waiter brought her a drink which she left beside Joshua’s on the table. Dinner settled uncomfortably in her stomach. She was thirsty but wanted water, not alcohol. She looked around for a waiter.
A wave of dizziness caused her knees to buckle. Saliva flooded her mouth. She swallowed convulsively as prickles of hot and cold washed over her skin. Her sandals slipped from her lax fingers to drop with a thud to the floor. Blindly she felt for the back of Joshua’s velvet-covered seat. “I n-need to sit dow—” The lights dimmed, and then went out completely.
“Jessie?” She heard alarm in Joshua’s voice, which came from far, far away... Something cool and damp moved gently over her face. “Open your eyes, sweet love.”
Not Joshua. He had never called her love in his life and he’d never sounded that panicky. Jessie drifted.
“Jessie, open your eyes. Now.” How typically Joshua to order her conscious.
His lips. Joshua’s lips. He kissed her hand. His fingers felt safe and hard around hers. Jessie’s eyelashes fluttered as she managed to drag her eyes open. Joshua was kneeling beside her where she lay on a sofa, his eyes narrowed on her face. “What the hell happened?” he demanded as soon as her eyes opened.
His mouth was white bracketed, his hair disheveled as though he’d run his fingers through the dark strands. There was even a pleat of worry between his aristocratic brows. His grip on her hand tightened as she stared up at him blankly. She winced and he relaxed his hold. Just a little.
Her stomach rolled once, twice and then seemed to settle. So much for the five-star dinner that cost as much as the national debt of a small country.
“Jessie?”
“What?”
“What happened, damn it?” He turned to a shadowy form behind him. “She must have a concussion. She doesn’t seem to—”
“I just fainted, Joshua.” Rolling her head so she could look directly at him, she managed a weak smile. “I don’t have brain damage—I’m fine.” She struggled to sit up, grateful when Joshua supported her with his arm. They were in an office. Two men stood discreetly across the room.
“I don’t think the rich food on top of all the excitement did my stomach any good. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”
“You didn’t,” Joshua said shortly, scanning her face. “God, you’re as white as a sheet.”
“That’s ’cause you just wiped my makeup off.” Jessie rested her head against his arm. She was feeling much better now and enjoyed Joshua’s worried look. “Please tell me my dress stayed in place, and I fell like a lady.”
“There were so many men vying to pick you up we almost forgot why you were lying on the floor,” Joshua said dryly as he smoothed back her hair from her face. Her skin felt clammy. His hands felt cool and dry.
“Before I embarrass myself anymore, can we go back to our room?”
“I’ll have the good doctor come up to check on you.”
“I don’t need a—”
Joshua gave the doctor instructions in rapid French before picking Jessie up. She felt as light as a feather, and as pale as a sheet. Her brown eyes were enormous in her pale face. He’d picked up the plastic combs she used to hold her hair up and stuffed them in his pocket.
“Make sure my bottom isn’t showing.” Jessie closed her eyes as he carried her through the casino to the elevator. Joshua hid his smile, making sure the short dress was tucked neatly against her legs with his arm.
“You’re quite decent,” he said gruffly, maneuvering her into the empty elevator.
“I feel ridiculous.” Jessie’s voice was muffled against his pleated shirtfront.
“Everyone thought you fainted very elegantly,” Joshua teased as he managed to open the door to the suite and get her inside.
“I know you’re not telling me the truth—that I fell flat on my nose in front of a million well-dressed gazillionaires and their diamond-studded wives. I bet everyone saw my underwear.” Her lower lip trembled. When she looked up at him there were tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you.”
He used his thumb to wipe away the steady stream trickling down her cheeks. “It’s only a big deal to you, Jessie. Nobody noticed, I promise. Seconds before you wilted, the prince and his entourage walked in. Everyone was looking at him, not you.”
“It’s going to get worse,” she suddenly said, her face draining of every vestige of color. “Don’t slow down until we reach the bathroom.”
Joshua set her down just in time before she was violently sick. He held her head as spasms wrenched her slender body. When he was sure she was done, he supported her as she washed her face and brushed her teeth, then he carried her back to bed.
“Don’t.” She moaned as he wiped her face with a cool damp cloth. He had never been more relieved than when the doctor knocked on the door some minutes later.
When the man had left, advising rest and simple foods for a few days, Joshua helped a very wilted Jessie undress and crawl back under the covers.
She looked up at him with those big brown eyes as he sat on the bed beside her, careful not to jiggle the mattress.
“Can I get you anything?”
“No, thanks. I feel like an idiot. Why don’t you go back to the casino? I’ll see you later.”
“I’m staying right here, with you.” Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he gently pulled her close to his side. “Close your eyes and try to sleep.”
* * *
JESSIE WOKE HIM the next morning, bright-eyed and ready
to start the day. She lay across his chest. He groaned. “You’re sick. Go back to sleep.”
“Nope.” She leaned harder, nudging him with warm sleek skin. “I feel fabulous, and you promised we’d go for a cruise today.”
“I’ll attest to the ‘feel fabulous’ part.” He slid his hand down her back to her bottom.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Jessie rolled over, then kicked off the blankets. She was like a jack-in-the-box as she shot out of bed.
Naked and glowing, she paused at the bathroom door.
“Come on, Joshua, get dressed, please?” She fluttered her eyelashes, managing to sidestep him as he backed her against the Louis Quatorze credenza. “I’m taking a quick shower, then I want to go somewhere lovely for breakfast.”
After her “lovely” breakfast, Joshua found the yacht and crew he’d hired the day before.
Dressed in brief white shorts that showed off her gorgeous legs and a cropped top that made his mouth water, Jessie sprawled in a deck chair beside him. Her ponytail, caught up in a hot-pink scarf that matched the stripes in her top was, as usual, quite crooked. She looked tanned, healthy and sexy as hell.
The crew discreetly kept their eyes on their business as they sailed lazily up the coast.
Joshua had stripped down to his black shorts earlier and settled back against the soft cushions with a sigh of pure pleasure. The hot Mediterranean sun baked his skin as the smell of the ocean and Jessie’s subtle fragrance lulled him into a light doze. He opened his eyes when he felt soft lips on his cheek sometime later.
“You’re sleeping away this beautiful day,” Jessie complained, running her warm hands up his bare chest. He saw his own sleepy face reflected in her sunglasses. Gulls glided above them in a painfully blue sky and the white sails snapped in a breeze he couldn’t feel.
“There’s a nice big stateroom downstairs,” he suggested, lazily running his hand around her back under the short top. She wore no bra. Her skin was hot, smooth and slightly sweaty.
She arched her back at his touch. “With a nice big bed, I suppose?”
“Probably.”
“How about lunch first?” She wriggled her eyebrows.
Trust Jessie. Laughing, he took her hand and allowed her to lead him belowdeck.
Chilled lobster and a dozen mouthwatering salads vied with fresh fruit and several dessert dishes, the fare spread out artistically on a long, linen-draped buffet table. The crew discreetly returned to their duties after closing the door.
He watched as Jessie helped herself to a bit of everything. Her plate was piled high by the time she brought it to the small table at the large window overlooking the bow.
“You’re going to be sick again if you eat all that,” he warned as she bit into a chunk of lobster. She had acquired more of a tan and her skin glowed with health and vitality.
It was hard to believe she was the same woman he’d helped into bed last night. He’d never experienced anything like the terror he had felt seeing Jessie on the floor of the casino. While she’d slept the night away in his arms, he had been wide-awake and waiting to see if he’d need to call the doctor.
“No, I won’t.” Jessie dribbled mayonnaise on the succulent white flesh before picking up another chunk with her fingers.
She was so damned stubborn. Joshua pushed her bangs out of her eyes then settled back to watch her eat.
There was not a morsel of food left on her plate when she finished. After rinsing her fingers in the finger bowl beside her plate she yawned. “I’m not taking a nap,” she warned as if she could read his mind. She dried her hands on the napkin he handed her. Hers was probably on the floor.
He looked at her coolly. “Who said anything about a nap?”
“You have that let’s-take-a-nap look about you.” She wore not a scrap of makeup and she looked so beautiful she took his breath away.
“I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night, Jess. Take pity.”
“You just want to do nasty things to my body.”
“That, too.”
* * *
IT WAS A darn good thing they’d taken a nap after they had made love after lunch. Joshua figured he had another long night ahead of him. Because by dusk when they got back to the hotel, Jessie was as sick as a dog again.
She came out of the bathroom, her face pasty. “Don’t you dare say ‘I told you so.’”
“Crawl into bed, Jess. I’ve called the doctor.” God, he hated this. He watched her, worried out of his mind, as she limply climbed under the covers and closed her eyes.
Joshua paced while the doctor examined her.
“It’s not fair. I didn’t understand a word either of you said,” Jessie complained after the doctor had presented his bill and left.
“He still thinks it’s some kind of food poisoning.” Some of her color had come back, but she still looked washed out and limp.
“Thank you for being so good to me, Joshua,” she said with a simplicity that made him certain that very few people in her life had been good to her. The thought infuriated him. He felt overwhelmed by a damned heart-wrenching emotion he’d never experienced before he’d met Jessie.
He traced the dark circles under her eyes. Was the doctor right? Could a touch of food poisoning and jet lag make her this sick? More than likely, she had caught that damn bug from him last month.
“I did this to you,” he said, feeling guiltier than he could ever remember feeling. He felt helpless in the face of her illness. There wasn’t anything he could do.
“You don’t make me sick.” She gave him one of her special smiles, one that pierced his heart, as she reached up to touch his face.
“I probably gave you my cold.” Joshua smoothed a thumb across one silky eyebrow and her eyes fluttered. “Close your eyes and rest.”
“I just want to go home. I’m too embarrassed to throw up in that fancy bathroom again,” she said in a woeful voice, which almost made him smile. “I want to be sick in my own toilet and sleep in my own bed.”
“Then home it is,” he said gruffly, as she looked up at him with the absolute trust of a puppy. “Close your eyes and rest while I make the arrangements.”
* * *
PERVERSELY, AS SOON as the plane took off she felt fine. “What are you doing?” she asked from the sofa where she had been made to lie down and take a nap.
“Paperwork. Why are you awake?”
“I’m lonely.”
“I’m only four feet away from you, Jess.” She tried to look pitiful. He smiled and held out his hand. “Want to sit in my lap?” he asked softly. She felt her heart smile.
“I have to go to the bathroom first.” She threw off the light blanket and picked up her purse.
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll be back before you’ve noticed I’m gone.”
Jessie made quick work of the birth control. She came out, snapped the door closed behind her, tossed her purse in the general direction of the sofa and padded over to his seat while he watched her with those pale eyes of his. His hair was smoothed back neatly, and he was wearing his yellow Tahoe shirt and jeans. She removed the papers from his lap and placed them carefully on the table beside his wide leather chair.
The engines hummed as she straddled his lap. He leaned back and settled her against his chest, her bottom nestled against him. She put one arm around his neck and the other around his waist, resting her head against his chest. She loved the way his arms enfolded her with gentle strength. “Make love to me,” she demanded softly, her hand running lightly down his midriff to the snap of his jeans.
“I don’t think that’s such a goo—”
She smiled up at him, then her lips came down on his, cutting off words and thought. She rubbed erotically against his instant erection as her mouth clung and seduced. He nibbled gently but Jes
sie was having none of that. She brought both hands up to hold his head in place as she aggressively deepened the kiss.
He widened his mouth, giving her only moments to be the aggressor before he took over.
“What if Joe comes in—?” she asked suddenly.
“He won’t. Don’t look away, Jessie. You started this. Finish it.”
“Is that a dare?” She ran her fingernail lightly down his now open shirt, and he shuddered. He smelled of soap and the brandy he’d been sipping.
Static electricity spun her hair into wild ripples and curls around her shoulders and down her back. She probably looked like a wild woman. “Make love with me. Now.”
The top button of his jeans came undone at her touch, and she slipped her hand inside. There, she encountered crisp hair and hard flesh. He dragged his mouth across hers in a brief searing kiss and then held her wrist firmly away from him.
“There’s nothing I want more right now than to make love to you, but let’s make it last.” Joshua drew her hand up his chest and kissed her palm, and she curled her fingers against his cheek. It felt rough—he needed a shave. Her skin tingled as the tip of his sharp teeth skimmed over the pad of her thumb.
He reached over and picked up the phone beside him on the wall. As he instructed the flight crew, he slowly pulled her T-shirt over her head. His breath felt warm on her bare skin. He put the phone gently back in the cradle. Lifting her with both hands on her hips, he set her on her feet. Methodically, he removed her jeans and underwear in one clever move. Jessie kicked them aside, her hands going to his jeans.
“Let me do it, darling.” He rose quickly to shuck off his jeans and shirt, then sat and pulled her onto his lap.
“Here?” Jessie looked over her shoulder. The door between cabin and cockpit was only a few dozen yards away.
“They can’t hear us.” His mouth found the sensitive spot beneath her ear.
Jessie wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he guided her hips down. The leather chair felt cold on the outside of her calves, his thighs hot. Her back arched as he filled her liquid heat. His hands held her still. “Don’t move,” he whispered against her mouth then nibbled at her lower lip.