by Susan Napier;Kathryn Ross;Kelly Hunter;Sandra Marton;Katherine Garbera;Margaret Mayo
Jayne wasn’t a particularly tall woman, but she carried herself like an Amazon. Some of the hotel industries’ toughest figures backed down when Jayne negotiated with them. Hiring her had been a stroke of genius, and Adam secretly feared someday she’d get tired of working for him and move on.
“I only asked you to get a phone number one time,” he said.
That had been a big mistake. Jayne had almost quit over the matter, and he’d had to do some fancy talking to convince her to stay. Jayne had a strong core of morality and integrity, and she’d do just about anything he asked her to as long as it didn’t compromise her own values.
“Once was too many times as far as I’m concerned, ” she retorted tartly.
Jayne was the best personal assistant he’d ever had. She’d been with him longer than any of her predecessors—almost eight months now.
He studied her as he signed the papers she put before him. Her short cap of brown hair was tucked behind her ears, framing her heart-shaped face. Her eyes were a cool blue, radiating both intelligence and humor most of the time. Her mouth, strictly speaking, was too large for her face. She should have had thin lips, but instead had a lush mouth that made men think of kissing her.
Since Adam had a zero-tolerance policy toward fraternization in the workplace, he tried to avoid looking at her mouth. But he wasn’t very successful.
“Why are you staring at me?” Jayne asked.
“I’m not staring at you,” he said, signing the last of the papers.
He’d have to cancel the trip and stay home. There were other resorts in the Caribbean. None as elegant as La Perla Negra, but he’d find another property to buy.
“Listen, Jayne, I’m going to have to cancel your vacation. Without Isabella, Angelini won’t talk to me.”
Jayne’s eyes narrowed again. “I haven’t had more than a day off since I started working for you.”
“You can have time off in a week. I need you here to help me handle this. I’ll make it worth your while.”
“How?”
“Name your price,” Adam said. Early on in life he’d realized everyone had a price. Especially for things they didn’t want to do.
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s handle it now. Get out your little black book and call another one of your lady friends.”
“I don’t have a black book. That’s a cliché and women don’t like it.”
“You used to have one, right?”
“No,” he said. He’d never had a black book. He’d never had any problem remembering phone numbers. Strictly speaking, Jayne was right. He could probably make a few calls and find another woman, but he didn’t want to. He was tired of the whole thing. And he’d been hoping that Isabella would prove to be different. That perhaps she’d fill that hole that had always been empty inside him.
None of them would be the right fit for this trip to the Caribbean, anyway. Angelini had to be handled carefully, and Adam didn’t want to risk anything else going wrong. He needed someone who understood what was at stake. The perfect solution would be for Jayne to go with him.
“Jayne?”
“Yes?” She shoved the papers he’d just returned to her into her bag. Her hair fell forward over one eye and she shifted the tote impatiently to her left hand, tucking her hair behind her ear again.
“Want to come with me and be my mistress?”
A flush spread up her neck. Her mouth opened the slightest bit and for the first time he noticed how creamy her skin was.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?” Aside from the phone number incident this was the first time Jayne had said no to him.
“I can’t be your mistress—what about Powell International’s policy toward fraternization?”
“You wouldn’t really be my mistress. We’d act like we were involved. We’re not really fraternizing. It would be business.”
“That won’t work. I don’t like to pretend to be something I’m not. I have to take these papers back to the office now, and I booked a nonrefundable airline ticket to Little Rock.”
“I’ll reimburse your airfare and book you a first-class ticket for the week we return,” Adam said.
“I don’t know…” She bit her lip and dug in her purse, pulling out a pair of sunglasses and putting them on. “No, Adam, I’m sorry, but I can’t postpone my trip to Arkansas.”
“Jayne, you’re my last hope,” Adam pleaded. “I’ve waited five years to talk to Angelini.”
Two hours later, Jayne didn’t want to analyze the reasons why she was sitting next to Adam on his jet, bound for the Caribbean. He had said they’d work out the details when they arrived at the resort, which she didn’t like. She was a planner. She liked every detail set in stone before she took any action. That way there were no surprises and she could better manage her own experiences.
She’d been determined to say no to Adam’s request, but in the end she’d been unable to. So here she was, eating caviar, which she hated, and drinking Moët with the Angelinis. She’d been on Adam’s corporate jet twice before, both times to make sure that his every comfort was seen to. In fact, she’d been there this afternoon, arranging for Isabella’s luggage to be stowed in the bedroom at the back.
The Angelinis were a very odd couple. Didi was slim and wore a slightly baggy dress in a shade that didn’t really flatter her. Ray was short, a little pudgy and balding, but smiled with an effortless charm that immediately put Jayne at ease. They’d invited her and Adam to call them by their first names.
Ray and Didi had flown to New Orleans to see Adam’s operation firsthand. Jayne had given them a tour around the city and taken Didi shopping while Adam worked his magic, convincing Ray of all the advantages of joining Powell International. Jayne had a bad feeling that she may have made the biggest mistake of her life in agreeing to come with Adam. She’d been falling in love with her boss since the first week she’d started working for him.
It wasn’t his Cajun good looks that drew her, though his thick black, curly hair made her fingers tingle to touch it. Or his wealth, because she’d grown up in a world where money was the only factor in happiness. Or his intelligence, because she’d graduated summa cum laude from Harvard Business School and counted some of the smartest people in the world among her friends.
No, what drew her to Adam Powell was the way he held himself apart from everyone. In her heart she recognized the lonely soul that mirrored her own. But she’d been content to not do anything about it, just secretly dream of her boss and continue working for him.
This trip changed everything. She should have said no. She would have said no if any man but Adam had asked her. She’d be on her way to Arkansas right now. She would have accomplished a week’s stay in another of the fifty states and be well on her way to achieving her current travel goal to see all of them.
The Angelinis were talking quietly together. Adam put his arm around her, drawing her close to him. He pressed a kiss against the top of her head and she froze. She wasn’t going to survive two weeks of this. Her hand shook and a drop of champagne spilled from her glass.
“Relax,” Adam whispered against her temple.
She tried, but she couldn’t. He took the champagne flute from her and put it on the table next to his chair.
Then he lifted her hand to his mouth and licked the spilled liquid from her skin. Shivers of white-hot desire spread throughout her body. Adam watched her with those crystal-gray eyes of his.
She saw something there that told her the lust she felt wasn’t totally one-sided. Did that mean he had deeper emotions where she was concerned? Was she willing to risk her heart to find out?
She wasn’t sure. She’d never been much of a risk taker. She liked to plan and slowly, methodically, move toward her goals.
But she was edging nearer to thirty, and marriage, which had always seemed not important, was becoming more and more a focus for her. She’d tried to make it to the altar once and fallen short. Adam was here now and she knew she m
ight regret it later, but she was going to use the time they had together to explore her fantasies and maybe come out a winner. There wasn’t a goal she’d set for herself that she hadn’t achieved without planning and hard work.
Decision made, she rested her head on his shoulder. She wasn’t sure how to handle Adam. He wasn’t like the other men she’d dated. Those relationships had been based on common interests and some really good sex, but none of those relationships had an eighth of the intensity she’d just experienced with Adam’s mouth on the back of her hand.
He held her loosely and she closed her eyes, pretending to rest. But closing her eyes was a huge a mistake. She was overwhelmed by Adam. His warm hard body cradled hers. His fingers made idle patterns on her shoulder. And his scent—that spicy, woodsy, masculine scent—surrounded her.
Jayne opened her eyes and stood up. There wasn’t an action plan big enough, safe enough, for her to put Adam in it. She wasn’t going to be able to do this. Despite the fanciful dreams she’d harbored, she knew that if she and Adam had any kind of personal relationship it would end eventually and she’d be out of a job. Jayne looked around the plane and felt the walls closing in on her. Didi and Ray sat across from her, smiling warmly. Suddenly Jayne stood up.
He raised one eyebrow in question, and she said, “I have to—”
“Change? Yes, you do.” Turning to Ray and Didi, he said, “I hope you’ll excuse us. Jayne hasn’t had a chance to change from her day at the office.”
“Of course,” Ray said with a smile.
Jayne wondered what exactly she was going to change into. Isabella had about three inches in height on her and at least six inches in bustline. None of her clothes were going to fit.
Adam used his hand on her waist to guide her toward the back of the plane. Once they were inside the bedroom, he let her go and ran a hand through his hair.
“God, this is a mess. I don’t think they’re buying us as a couple.”
“It’s not going to help when I come out wearing this outfit.”
“Don’t worry about the clothing. I had a wardrobe delivered while you ran back to the office to drop off the papers.”
She glanced at the bed for the first time and realized it was covered in boxes. She was touched. She knew it was the same thing he did for every one of his mistresses, and it shouldn’t matter. But no man had ever bought her clothing before. Adam had an eye for women’s bodies and had mentioned to Jayne that nine times out of ten he was right on the mark. He’d guessed her size to prove it.
“You can use Isabella’s suitcases for your clothes. I’ll leave you to change.”
“Adam?”
“Yes?”
“I’ll do my best to make this work.”
“I know you will, chère.”
“Chère?” Her heart beat too fast when he called her that in that throaty, masculine way of his.
“It’s an endearment.”
“I know. Why are you using it on me?”
“We’re supposed to be lovers.”
She tried not to let it bother her—“supposed” to be lovers. This is a big game of pretend, Jayne, don’t forget it, she told herself. “Can I call you stud muffin?”
“If you want me to spank you,” he said.
“That’s a little kinky, Adam.”
He closed the gap between them. Once again she was surrounded by his body heat and his scent. He leaned closer to her and his breath brushed her lips. She grabbed his shoulders for balance as the plane hit an air pocket, jostling them together.
Adam wrapped her in his arms and held her steady until the plane settled down. Jayne was cushioned against his hard chest, and his arms around her were so strong. He held her in a way that promised he’d be able to help her with any burdens she carried. And for a minute she was tempted to let the line between fantasy and reality blur. She leaned her cheek against his chest and listened to the heavy beating of his heart.
“Okay, chère?” he asked.
She nodded, unable to speak. He framed her face with his hands and looked deep into her eyes, making her feel as if all her secrets were laid bare before him. She blinked and tried to focus on the present. Fantasy, she reminded herself. This was all one big fantasy.
He cupped her face in his big hands and tilted her head back. She stared up into his dark eyes, every sense on hyperalert. Every feminine instinct screamed for her to reach up and touch him. To bury her hands in his thick black hair and pull his face closer to hers. To bring that mouth of his down to hers and then take the kiss that she’d been craving since the first day she’d walked into his office.
“I never said thanks,” he said, his voice a husky growl.
She swallowed and licked her suddenly dry lips. His eyes narrowed and she felt tension move through him. “Are you saying it now?”
He nodded.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
He lowered his head even more and his breath brushed over her cheek. Oh, God, was he going to kiss her? She shifted to her tiptoes so that only a breath separated them, and she heard Adam groan.
Abruptly he dropped his hands and walked out of the bedroom. Jayne turned toward the boxes of clothing, telling herself that her heart was beating faster because of the charade and not because of the sexual arousal pumping through her veins.
Chapter Two
Adam paused outside the doorway. After months of ignoring that made-for-love mouth of hers it was damn near impossible to resist tasting her. And he knew it was only a matter of hours before he gave in and took the kiss he’d been dreaming of since the first day they’d met.
Adam cursed himself for forgetting his own rule. Every time he forgot it he had to relearn painful lessons. Lessons he’d vowed to never forget. And dammit, Jayne Montrose wasn’t going to make him compromise.
He’d almost kissed her. And with the bed right there he wouldn’t have stopped until he was buried deep inside her curvy little body. That mouth, which had tempted him for so long, had been so close, and only at the last minute had sanity intruded on the moment, forcing him to pull away.
Jayne was his assistant. She took care of everything for him. His office wouldn’t function smoothly without her and he wasn’t about to let his body screw that up now. He’d already proved time and again that he didn’t think well when his hormones were involved.
He wouldn’t have believed that Isabella thought they were heading toward something more permanent. But in the end he’d been wrong again. This thing with Jayne was going to have to work because he needed the acquisition of this resort as much to distract himself from the mess his personal life had become as he did to become more successful.
When Adam emerged into the jet cabin the Angelinis were arguing, so he held back until Ray glanced up and gave him a look that seemed to say women! Adam agreed.
“Jayne will be out in a moment.” Adam returned to his seat, trying to banish from his head the images of Jayne changing.
“Why are you interested in La Perla Negra?” Ray inquired.
Adam’s reasons were deeply personal and he wouldn’t share them with anyone. Especially not the owner of the resort.
He planned to gut the entire resort area and turn it into the most commercial tourist destination he could come up with. His reasoning was sound from a financial perspective, but from a personal one it would finally, Adam hoped, lay to rest the demons that had haunted him for a long time. Perla Negra had been the place where his father had fallen in love with his secretary and then left Adam and his mother.
“I’m looking to expand our presence in the Caribbean,” he said at last.
“We enjoyed our stay at your Rouge Mansion in the French Quarter.”
“I’m pleased. The Rouge was my first hotel.”
The door opened behind them and Adam glanced over his shoulder and sucked in his breath. He’d asked Jean-Pierre to send the usual wardrobe over, never thinking of the impact. He told himself it was only because he was used to seeing Jayne in shap
eless suits and sedate heels that she looked so damn sexy now.
The floral print dress was slim fitting and cut to a respectable length, but the scooped neckline revealed the ample curves of her breasts. He clenched his hands into fists to keep from reaching for her. This was Jayne, dammit, not some femme fatale.
She cleared her throat and awkwardly crossed her arms over her chest. There was an unexpected vulnerability in her eyes that made him want to stand up and protect her. To vow to always shelter her. A vow he knew better than to make because only fools or weak men made promises to women. And Adam wasn’t weak.
She didn’t look ready for a vacation, she looked ready for his bed. Her hair was tousled and she’d applied some sort of shiny lip gloss on her mouth. It took all of his control not to go to her and plunder those lips. She didn’t need any makeup to enhance that feature.
To prove to himself that she had no impact on him, he deliberately turned away.
“Ah, now you look like you’re ready for a vacation,” Ray announced.
Jayne dropped into the chair next to him. “I feel ready for one, Ray. I haven’t had time to read the file on Perla Negra. I think that means Black Pearl, right?”
What was that fragrance she was wearing? It didn’t smell like Chanel or any of the other perfumes he was familiar with. Against his best judgment Adam leaned closer to her, inhaling the scent.
“It does. There’s also a legend around the black pearl. Want to hear it?” Ray asked.
“Yes,” Jayne said.
Adam closed his eyes and turned away. She was his employee. He wasn’t going to act on any feelings he had toward her. He faced the Angelinis, trying to focus on whatever conversation they were having, but it was nearly impossible. Hell, he and Jayne were play-acting. He’d done enough pretending over the years that this should be a walk in the park.
From this angle he could see the curve of Jayne’s breast, and when she tilted her head to listen more closely to Didi, he smelled the fragrance of her shampoo.
Didi’s eyes lit up as she leaned forward in her seat, as well. “It involves a pirate, a maiden and a fortune lost at sea.”