by Sonya Weiss
She steepled her fingers, pretending to mull it over. “Lifestyles of the rich and want-to-get richer. You’re all work and no play, am I right?”
The second his lips curved into a wickedly knowing grin, Holly wanted to kick herself. “Did you not think I played enough?” He put his hand on her waist and moved his thumb back and forth.
Pretending not to grasp the husky suggestiveness of his words, but unable to prevent her cheeks from flushing, Holly marched ahead of him, her shoulders stiff. He was supposed to hate her. If he did, that would make it easier for her to do what she had to and then take the next train out of his life. What she was going to do for the money to replace the ruined tickets, she didn’t know. Without those tickets, her lifeline, she felt restless and vulnerable. She’d already found herself repeatedly searching her pockets for the missing ones, needing that assurance that she could get to safety on a moment’s notice.
Lost in thought, Holly was almost at the runway when she stepped on something hard. Letting out an involuntary yelp, she hopped up and down on one foot.
“Let me see,” Jake said.
Telling herself not to be a wimp, Holly braced a hand against a palm tree while his fingers skimmed the base of her toes to her heel.
“Must have been a rock,” she said, hardly able to believe her good luck that her voice was smooth and steady. For one stolen moment, she let herself imagine what it would be like if she and Jake were friends. If his concerned touch was because he truly cared. She’d never had anyone actually care about her.
He looked at her with eyes that made the night stand still and held her breath captive. “I forgot you didn’t have shoes.” Why did he have to have such a deep, rich voice that made her think about curling up beside him in front of a fireplace? Why couldn’t he have a high-pitched voice like one of those yip-yip dogs?
“I’m fine. No big deal.”
But he swept her up into his arms anyway. With one arm around her back and the other beneath her legs, he moved swiftly toward the waiting plane.
“You don’t have to help me,” she protested, her head spinning from contact with the broad expanse of his chest and the warmth of his arm beneath her.
He didn’t answer as he mounted the plane steps. If the waiting pilot thought it odd that his boss was carrying a woman on board, he didn’t react to it. Once on the plane, Jake slowly lowered Holly into a seat, then crouched in front of her. Putting his hand on the back of her calf, he lifted her foot and examined it in the light. “Nothing broke the skin. That’s good news.”
Her nerve endings sizzled, and she jerked away from his touch, tucking her feet against the front of the seat.
He stood, and out of all the empty seats, he took the one beside her. Of course. Every time he shifted, his arm brushed against hers, making her hyper aware of the contact. It was all Holly could do not to cry, “You win!” and move away from him. Trying to keep herself from dwelling on him, which would screw up her life even more if she wasn’t very, very careful, Holly said, “This is your plane?”
“One of them.”
“One?”
“I own two others.” He glanced at her, and Holly was struck by how tired he seemed. She wanted to smooth the hair away from his forehead and tell him to rest, but it wasn’t her place, and she was afraid he’d misconstrue her concern as some kind of ploy.
“If you’re wondering about my homes, I own several. Same with cars. If you try to steal one, don’t take the Veneno. It’s my favorite.”
“Lamborghini,” she murmured. She couldn’t imagine having that much money, but she didn’t feel envious. She felt sorry for Jake. He owned so many things but didn’t seem truly happy. He seemed…lost.
His lips twisted. “I’m surprised you know valuable cars. I’d imagine they’d be harder to fence. Especially the expensive ones.”
If you can’t pocket it, you don’t take it. “I don’t steal cars. I don’t know how to break the ignition,” Holly said, turning away from him to stare through the window, though the only thing she could see was her own pensive reflection. Sometimes when she looked at her face, she was reminded of the pain-filled eyes of the little girl she’d once been.
“Who taught you to steal?”
Jake’s abrupt question made her pause. She couldn’t give him that information.
“No one.” Lots of someones.
Her uncle’s best friend was a locksmith who’d taught her and Liam how to crack safes. One of his revolving girlfriends worked at an alarm company and instructed Holly how to work around them. Her uncle did the rest of the training. Evenings and weekends spent having to practice over and over again before she could eat or sleep had been the staple of her childhood.
That, and the threats. The threats no one ever believed. Her uncle was friends with the police chief and half the force, godfather to the mayor’s son, and had a stellar reputation. They all thought he’d retired and was traveling the country. No one except her and Liam knew the truth. Moving from place to place meant new marks. More money for his nest egg to fuel his plan to eventually live in luxury.
“No one? I doubt that,” he said with skepticism.
Facing Jake, she flashed what she hoped was a carefree smile. “Some of us are born thieves. We learn how to get better through trial and error.”
“Your parents must have loved bailing you out of trouble.”
Holly had often dreamed of how different her life might have been had she been raised by her parents instead of her uncle. She kept her smile firmly in place, not letting him see how much his words affected her. “I’ve never been caught before.”
“Lucky me,” Jake said with sarcasm.
Holly twined her fingers together. She’d give anything to be able to tell him the truth about herself. But she was afraid of what he might do if he knew about Liam. He’d go after her brother and she wasn’t going to chance that. The less Jake knew about her, the safer Liam would be.
The pilot announced the upcoming landing at a private airstrip near Charleston International Airport, and minutes later, the plane taxied to a stop. Once they were back on solid ground, Jake said, “Now we’ll take the jet to Chicago.”
Worn out by the events of the day and eager to get off the tiny plane, Holly asked, “How long will that take?”
“Couple of hours.”
She looked forward to showing Jake and his business partners the flaws in their security and then resuming her life. While on the island in the bedroom alone she’d called Mia to check on Liam and was relieved to know he was fine. He wasn’t going to be a happy camper once she convinced him they had to leave the city, but putting down roots weren’t for people like them.
As soon as they boarded the private jet, Jake said, “There’s a suite. Feel free to catch some sleep if you need to.”
She hesitated at first, then decided it would be better to stretch out on the bed rather than drift off in the seat and wake with a crick in her neck. The more rest she got, the better she’d have a clear head to be able to deal with whatever was thrown at her. “I think I will.” With a yawn, she made her way to the back of the plane.
When she stepped inside, she wasn’t surprised by the grandeur. The bed was wide and decked out in white linens that practically screamed comfort. Black throw pillows were strewn along the head of the bed. Holly pushed her palm against the mattress and nearly groaned at the softness. She could only imagine how it would feel to sleep in the lap of such luxury. The best money could buy, including the paintings lining the walls. She stifled a derisive snort. Those weren’t even reproductions. How rich people used their money was their business, but if she were ever in the same boat, she couldn’t imagine spending her wealth on things when there were so many hurting people in the world. Not that Jake didn’t seem attuned to the needs of people, given the way he’d offered to help Mona and her son find a home the night they had met.
Off to the side of the bed was a bathroom that was easily five times the size of the one in her
apartment.
Holly turned around to look for the switch to turn the lights off over the bed and pressed a button on the wall. A big screen TV in front of a long black couch flicked on and a sports announcer started talking about a great moment in history. She pressed the button again to shut it off.
Shaking her head, Holly debated for a second on whether or not to take off her pants and nap in her shirt. Comfort winning out over modesty, she stripped down and tossed the pants onto the back of the couch. Crawling into the bed, she stretched out beneath the coolness of the sheets and closed her eyes, doubting she’d be able to turn her mind off enough to sleep. The steps she needed to take ran through her mind in a to-do list. First, she’d go to Jake’s company, second, she’d point out the security glitches, and third, she and Liam would leave. She would have to go over the security issues with them quickly. Staying longer than a day or two was all she could afford to hang around Chicago now that Burt was back in the picture. Not to mention she didn’t want to live with Jake any longer than she had to. That was asking for trouble in more ways than one.
…
An hour and half later, Jake hung up the phone and glanced back toward the suite. As soon as Holly had left, he’d made some calls. Though his security team hadn’t managed to locate a Holly Campbell, they had found the death certificate for a Francine Campbell, a young woman who’d once lived in Butler Field, Texas and died almost twenty years ago. The coincidence, if the woman was related to Holly, wasn’t lost on him. The odds of her being from the same town as him were slim. Maybe there wasn’t even a connection between her and Francine.
He’d told his team to keep looking until they had something more concrete. Holly hadn’t given him a damn thing useful. Not a scrap of information. She didn’t have the hard look of a criminal, but she’d been stubborn.
Jake rubbed his jaw. Maybe he’d gone about this the wrong way. It was easier to catch more flies with honey.
If there was one thing he’d learned about building a successful business it was when one avenue didn’t work, try another. He’d try a new tactic with Holly. Turn on the charm. Spend time with her. Get to know her. Experience had taught him that the truth was something worth searching for and intuition told him that Holly was guarding something she didn’t want him to know. That something could put the company at risk, and he’d do whatever he had to do to find out what it was.
In a way, the company was a monument to his brother. He’d driven himself to be a success for all the successes Adam would never have. No one was taking that away from him.
Guessing that Holly would want a moment to freshen up before they landed, Jake stood and headed to the suite. He tapped lightly on the door, and when there was no sound, he entered, then froze in the doorway. Holly was across the top of the blanket wearing only the catering shirt. The material bunched up above her panty line, leaving her long legs and other assets on display. To squish the unwelcome surge of desire, he reminded himself of how Holly had played him. Exhaling, and wishing he could forget the sexy image searing into his mind, he crossed the room to the bed, intending to cover her up before waking her.
He grabbed the blanket and pulled it halfway up her legs when Holly jerked awake. With a noise that sounded like a moan, she shoved hard at his shoulder, knocking him off balance and driving him to the floor. Pinning him there with her legs on either side of his chest, she stared down at him, pupils dilated, then blinked slowly as awareness returned. Pressing a hand against his chest, she scrambled off. “I’m sorry. I was dreaming.”
Jake leveraged himself up to a sitting position. From his vantage point, her body looked as delectable as— He slammed the thought to the curb and stood. “Must have been some dream.”
She raked a hand through her unruly hair and let out a throaty laugh that made Jake think of better places he’d rather be with her besides on the floor beside the bed. Then he gave himself a mental shake. He needed to be careful he didn’t fall under her spell again. Once around the block and then parking at stupidity was enough for him.
“We’ll be landing soon. I thought you might want to freshen up.”
“Sure. Thanks.” She turned and leaned over to snag her pants from the back of the couch. He got an up close and personal view of her shapely ass as she reached.
Was she trying to kill him? Without saying another word, he stood and hurriedly left, heading back toward his seat like he had a fire to put out.
What kind of man lusted after a woman who’d only used him? A woman who might, even now, be planning something that could destroy his company? An idiot, that’s who. He settled in the seat and counted to ten in hopes of calming his raging body. When his phone rang, he picked it up immediately, glad to have something to take his mind off the beauty in the suite.
Cole got straight to the point. “Have you had any luck finding out more about Holly?”
She bites her lip and it makes me want to kiss her.
“Nothing, but I’m taking her back to my place. She can stay there while she works with us on the company’s security.”
As he’d expected, his words made Cole explode. “Are you insane? You want to give a thief access to the belly of the business?”
“She won’t be allowed to see sensitive information.”
“Then why keep her around at all?”
Jake looked over his shoulder to make sure Holly wasn’t nearby and lowered his voice. “Because she’s hiding something and I think it could be important. I’ll spend time with her, get to know her, and she’ll tell me what I want to know.”
“Now I know for sure that you’re insane. You’re not that charming. Or that good-looking.”
Jake laughed.
“How do you know she won’t bolt the second she gets to your place? You can’t force her to stay.”
While Jake was still angry over what she’d done, he wasn’t about to act high-handed, especially with a woman. “I’m not going to force her. She runs, we call the police and file a report. It’s that simple.”
“That simple, huh?” Cole asked, clearly agitated. “You really think she’s not going to say anything to our competition? What if she made a copy of the new software and plans to sell that? Or what if she’s working for a competitor?”
“Which is another reason I’m having her stay with me. I’ll find out what she’s done and who she’s working with. I will get to the truth, Cole. You and Mason just need to trust me on this.”
“Uh huh,” Cole said. “You won’t be the only one to lose it all if this goes south. Keep that in mind.”
“I can handle her.”
Cole made a noise that sounded like a sarcastic laugh. “Lock up your valuables, and don’t do anything stupid again.”
“Once was enough for me. I’m not even tempted.” Jake’s voice wavered on the lie, and he covered it with a cough.
“Make cold showers your new best friend if you have to,” Cole said.
“There’s no need. I’m immune.”
“Yeah. Right. See you in the morning.”
After Jake hung up, Holly joined him, taking the seat facing his rather than the one beside him.
She motioned to his shoulder. “I hope I didn’t hurt you.”
“I’ve had it rougher, though never in the bedroom.” He had the feeling she bit her tongue to keep from blurting out a snappy comeback. “The bubbly personality you displayed when we first met seems to have gone into hiding. Or was that an act?”
“Jake, it’s after midnight. I’m still a little groggy after the nap, I’m exhausted, and I’m hungry. Tomorrow, I’m sure I’ll be the sparkling elf you remember.”
As the plane began the descent to land, Jake felt like a heel. She’d barely touched the steak he’d given her on the island, and he hadn’t thought to offer her anything else. Thief or not, she was still a human being and it wasn’t like him to be thoughtless.
“You can get something to eat at my place,” he said gruffly.
“I can buy some grocer
ies while I’m there. Once I get my final paycheck.”
“Final paycheck?” His gaze sharpened.
“After my spectacular dive overboard, I doubt my boss would allow me to keep my job.”
“Did you take that job just to steal from me?”
“No, I swear,” she said earnestly, putting her hand over his.
Jake pulled his hand from beneath hers. “Of course you wouldn’t. You give your word, right?”
Holly sighed and tugged at her shirt. “Whatever. I’ll need a few changes of clothes.”
“We can swing by your place.” He arched an eyebrow. “Unless that’s a problem?”
“It is,” she said solemnly. “That’s where I hide the stolen goods.”
“Imagine that,” he murmured.
She sighed again. “It was a joke.”
“Really? Because you seem nervous.” And sad. And lonely. Jake had to look away. He didn’t want to feel anything for her except anger and it bothered him how easily she could make him feel things he didn’t want to.
“I’m not nervous,” she said.
“You are, and it’s because of what you’re thinking about me.”
Chapter Six
Holy hell, could he read her mind? Holly’s nerves were already stretched to the limit thanks to the R-rated dream she’d had starring her and Jake. His words knotted her insides, but she kept what she was feeling hidden, forcing herself not to squirm in the seat. This was why her policy was to avoid men the same way she avoided poison ivy. Scratch that itch, and there was trouble.
“Right this second you’re lying to yourself about how you can resist me,” Jake said, interrupting her thoughts.
“If you’re assuming a repeat of that night is inevitable, you don’t know me.”
Dear God, the way that sexy smile scrambled her brain was so not good.
“I know me, Holly, and I always get what I want.”
Holly pressed herself against her side of the plane and pretended to struggle to breathe. She gasped in air noisily.
“What is it?” Jake thumped her on the back.