by Anne Ashby
She’d decided with the light behind her, her face would be in shadow. “I realise it is not within your job description but I’m confident you could carry it out without any onerous consequences.”
She was almost silenced by the quirk of his eyebrows. With a determined deep breath she continued, praying no panic edged into her voice. “I require an escort and you would do very well for the occasion.” Ignoring his astonished expression, she named the date set aside for the wedding.
“You’re kidding?” He almost laughed.
“If you knew me better, Jase, you’d know I don’t kid.”
“You’re ordering me to be your escort?”
Her lifted chin threatened to wobble, but she managed to control it. “Well, not ordering...exactly.”
“Like some fancy-boy gigolo?”
Her heart rate accelerated at his obvious distaste. Omigod! He’s going to refuse.
Her chin lifted. “It wouldn’t be such an arduous duty, surely? One day, one function.” Her eyes narrowed. “You will be well paid, of course.”
“How much?”
She had no idea. She hadn’t really expected him to be interested in money. She’d only offered it to reinforce the arrangement as a business deal.
Disappointment shrivelled the fervour she’d been feeling whenever he’d invaded her mind. It stung at her chest. She hadn’t expected him to refuse, either.
“Five thousand.” It had to be large enough to change his mind—to make him accept.
“Five thousand dollars!” He leapt to his feet. “You’re willing to pay me five thousand dollars?” He was so close she felt the brush of his minty breath on her face. “And how exactly do you expect me to earn this five thousand dollars?” The gaze travelling up and down her body left her in no doubt of his assumption.
“Not like that, you can be certain.” She jerked away from the fingers burning her cheek.
His head tipped to one side, his expression evocative. “I suppose I could consider servicing your needs.” His tongue running across his lips turned her legs to cotton wool. “I’d need some encouragement from you, though.”
With a shove against his chest she slipped past him and settled back at her desk, thankful her legs hadn’t collapsed during the three-step journey. “I need a partner to attend my brother’s wedding with me.” She glared ice. “Nothing more.”
Sitting behind the desk reasserted her control. She clenched her fists under its surface and waited while he settled himself back into his own seat.
Goaded by his sudden casualness as he stretched out his long legs and leaned back, Debra’s tension level rose tenfold. She had to disguise her impatience and get him out of her presence while she still maintained some semblance of authority.
“Are you willing to consider my request?” she demanded.
“You’re my boss. So it’s hardly a request, is it?” he drawled with distinct mockery.
“Oh, for God’s sake.” She jerked open a drawer and took out paper before slamming it shut. The sound echoed around the room as loud as a rifle shot at close quarters.
Silence filled the room as she scribbled a guarantee his job was not in jeopardy irrespective of his response. She threw the letter across the desk. He only just caught the page as it flew off the edge.
She glared while he scrutinized every word. Enamel soured her mouth. The tightness across her forehead had exploded into a thumping headache but she wasn’t resorting to the painkillers she kept close by. She daren’t show such weakness.
When his gaze travelled up, his intense look drilled her back against her chair. Their eyes remained locked as he folded up her letter and slipped it inside his jacket.
She forgot to breathe as Jase leaned across the desk. “Tell me why you’re willing to go to such lengths.” His expression appeared a mixture of derision and sympathy. “You must know heaps of blokes who’d jump at the chance to take you out. Why not ask one of them?”
“That wouldn’t work.” She’d considered every man she knew. Chloe and, especially, Paul would never be taken in by pretence she’d developed an undying passion for one of her acquaintances.
She sensed his frustration at her reply.
“Debbie?” Somehow the hated version of her name sounded soft and gentle on his lips. “I’m not agreeing to this unless you’re honest with me.”
He shook his head. “Why a beautiful, sexy woman like you would resort to paying a man...” Warmth invaded Debra, jostling aside the frustrated anger she’d been feeling. “So explain. You can start with, why choose me?”
“I need someone new, someone different, but with a certain”—she shrugged—“social standing, a soigné approach. I thought you could carry that off.”
“Well, thank you,” he mocked. “Now tell me why you have to pay someone to take you to your own brother’s wedding?”
“I just expect—”
“You can expect all you like but I’m not buying until I know what you’re selling.”
He leaned even further back in his seat, but Debra sensed a return of his earlier tension.
“You want me to do this,” he said. “You tell me why.”
Debra swallowed and glanced around. There seemed no other way but to admit her reasons to Jase. He didn’t appear likely to shift otherwise.
She cleared her throat and stared at the wall above his head. “Concern has been voiced in front of Chloe—concern about Paul’s over-commitment to his work. It appears some people believe I force Paul to work outrageous hours just because I do so.” Her face burned. “And that because of this, I will interfere in his marriage.”
She tensed, waiting for his laughter. When none came she glanced at him. He watched her. Her gaze dropped to her desk. “I like the girl my brother is marrying. She doesn’t deserve to have such worries on her wedding day.”
“If I turned up with someone irresis...” Her face scolded as she hastily substituted, “An attractive man—one I could pretend to be interested in—I’d show her, and Paul, that I have a life, too. Hopefully Chloe will think work, and interfering in Paul’s life, is the last thing on my mind.”
The silence in the room lengthened. Debra bit her lip. She couldn’t force Jase to do this, and now she’d given her reasons, what would she do if he refused? She gnawed at her lip.
“So what’s your plan?”
“Will you do it? Will you take me?” The timidity of Debra’s whisper grated on her nerves, but he held the upper hand for the moment. Once he agreed...
“Tell me what you intend to do.”
A little more confident, she shrugged. “Go to the wedding together, pretend to be a couple, let Chloe have the type of day every girl deserves.”
“And what about afterward? After the honeymoon?”
“Chloe will be more sure of herself once they’re married, and she’ll soon realise all the talk about how I control...h-how Paul and I live in each other’s pockets isn’t true.”
“Granted we do have the same interests. For heaven’s sake, we’re twins.” Debra bit her lip hard and blinked. “Now I know what a home-body she is...I’ll make sure he cuts down his hours and I won’t have too much to do with them. She won’t have any cause to be concerned.”
A frown gathered at Jase’s brow. The incessant tapping of his fingers on her desk caused her to jump up and return to the window. She kept her head high, staring out across the harbour, refusing to be alarmed by his continued non-compliance with her request.
Tension filled the room.
“Don’t you think this would work a little better if our public association lasted for longer than just one day?” He appeared at her side. “Let’s go to dinner tonight and we can plan this in a little more detail.”
She glanced up to see a quirky little smile teasing his lips.
“What are the most likely places where we might be seen?” he asked.
“Seen?”
“Yeah, you know, society pages, gossips...”
Befuddle
d, she named a couple of restaurants.
He grinned. “Okay, we’ll try one tonight, and the other tomorrow night. Then on Saturday we’ll set tongues wagging by spending the whole day together. Think of something you’d like to do.”
Before she knew what happened, he had scribbled her address and phone number on a piece of paper. “Go home and get into something slinky and sexy. I’ll pick you up at eight.” As he left her office, he said with a wicked wink, “And we’ll start operation cover-up.”
He disappeared into the lift, whistling. Not sure whether to be relieved or frightened by his acceptance, Debra flopped against the door jamb.
She should be glad he’d agreed. His presence would be far more valuable as a smokescreen than an escort’s. But an escort she could have handled. Could she handle Jase McEwan?
Chapter Twelve
Jase floated. Just a couple of hours after accepting Debra Laurie wasn’t going to give him the time of day he gets this unexpected opportunity. She practically ordered me to be her partner.
He threw back his head. He’d play this situation for all it was worth. If he couldn’t convince her the strength of emotion bubbling between them was worth pursuing by the time of her brother’s wedding, then he wasn’t worthy of her.
People probably thought he was crazy as he almost jogged back to his hotel, but he didn’t care.
He made their dinner reservation and poured himself a long, cool soft drink. A grin split his face. This opportunity needed some very serious planning. His whole life depended on those plans working.
****
Debra was a quivering mass of nerves by eight. Determined to wear anything but a “slinky and sexy” outfit, she’d chosen a favourite dark blue cocktail dress she’d worn often. But tonight it exposed too much cleavage. She tugged at the plunging neckline she’d never noticed before while flattening her breasts as much as possible.
She’d decided to change, but then the doorbell rang. Cursing under her breath she grabbed her purse and stalked to the door.
Her stomach squirmed at the sight of him. His attire was similar to what he’d worn earlier but his expression wasn’t. He was grinning like some stupid feline as he leant toward her. She jerked her head away to avoid any contact with those sensuous lips.
He chuckled as he tucked an arm around her and drew her close to his side. “You look wonderful. Blue is certainly your colour.”
His supercilious smile had her grinding her teeth. She tried to put some distance between them.
“Now, now,” he tsked. “If you want this to succeed you have to work at it.”
She shot him a killer glare.
“Next time, you mustn’t avoid my kiss.” He winked. “It would look peculiar if you’re not comfortable with public displays of affection. We need to watch that.”
Comfortable! The mere thought of his lips touching her already sent goose bumps all over her body. She stumbled, and he took advantage by drawing her even closer.
“We should practise plenty of PDA’s during this week so you don’t jump when I touch you. That would certainly not fool your sister-in-law.”
Could enamel grind off your teeth?
His minty breath mixed with her exasperation. His head leaned from one side to the other as he examined her. “Your hair looks very nice like that.” She’d done a French plait, but not because he’d once complimented that style.
She flinched when his fingers began tugging at the plait. Uncontrollable shivers raced up and down her body. Her stomach writhed at the intimacy of his touch finger-combing through the dark tresses.
She swallowed, hoping the movement would re-engage the saliva maker inside her mouth. Somehow robbed of the ability to speak, powerless to stop him, she stood passively in front of him.
“I bet you always wear your hair secured in some way,” he mused. “We need to change that when we’re together. You need to look wild and abandoned.” While he remained unaffected she quivered as he fluffed the curls down around her shoulders.
“Debra Laurie might always appear perfect and controlled but my Debbie knows how to tease a man with her hair.” His fingers caressed her scalp. “She knows I love to bury my face in its curls.” Actions matched his words and stole the bones from her legs. She clutched at his shoulders.
“She knows if she flicks her hair across my bare chest it drives me crazy...” His whisper was muffled. “She knows if she moves lower and—”
Somehow Debra propelled him aside and stumbled out into the street, dragging huge breaths into her collapsed lungs. The image he’d presented burned through her like a bush fire on a windy summer’s day—roaring, uncontrollable, insatiable. Her deep breaths were doing nothing to extinguish the flames.
Thank goodness he was content to let her slide to the very edge of the taxi seat on the way to the restaurant. The armrest dug into her thigh as shivers ran down her spine. She dragged her gaze away from the casual way he’d twisted to face her, his arm flung across the seat back. She struggled to regulate her breathing, to look calm and in control. She knew she was failing.
Her first task in the morning must be to get his bank details from accounting, pay his fee immediately, and re-enforce their strict business footing.
She fussed with the unfamiliar feel of her hair. Even relaxing alone at home she secured it in a pony tail at least. She hadn’t worn it loose for years, except in bed.
The image was back. She almost groaned as her body responded to the kaleidoscoping pictures. She glared out the taxi window, trying to recall figures from the latest project she was analyzing.
“Leave your damned hair alone.”
Debra’s hand dropped to her lap, startled by the snap in his voice. Her pulse slowed to an erratic tempo as she dared to look across at him.
The narrowed glance he threw her way was so fleeting she could have misread the blatant desire flashing from his eyes.
Omigod! Had playing with her hair turned him on? Renewed tension crammed the small taxi space to choking. Debra gulped, her mind in denial. She couldn’t turn on anyone, let alone a man like Jase.
A shiver travelled down her whole body. It was only part of the game he was playing. But she had to stop it; she couldn’t handle that sort of teasing. It would be too painful.
“I expect a certain amount of decorum, Jase,” she spoke through tight lips. “I’ve engaged you as an escort, not a potential bed partner.”
His stance changed. Lips held tight together closed more than his mouth. His whole face was closed, impassive, as if hiding a secret. Anger emanated from every pore as he glared at her through narrowed eyes. Debra sent up a prayer of thankfulness when the car stopped.
Entry into the restaurant and settling at the intimate table for two at the darkened back of the room was achieved without a word between them. As the serviette was fluffed across her knee by the attending waiter, she glanced around. Their arrival had drawn only the barest of attention amongst the other patrons.
“Stop worrying,” snapped the man opposite without lifting his gaze from the menu. “I’ll make sure you get your money’s worth before this is over.”
Debra bit her lip at her companion’s surly tone. Unwelcome heat burned her cheeks even as she snapped back at him. “I hope so. It’s not an exercise I’d want to embark on unless I was assured of success.”
The smile he flashed her might have fooled anyone watching, but anger filled his eyes. The grip of his hand as he clasped hers and lifted it to his lips was tight and unforgiving.
Instead of the kiss she expected she jumped when his teeth nipped at her skin. “Don’t goad me, Debbie. I’ve agreed to this hare-brained scheme, but we’ll be doing it my way. I refuse to be a toy for you to play with.”
Debra’s chin jutted out. “I’m paying you an exorbitant amount of money, McEwan. I expect you to do as you’re told.”
A derisive smile covered his face. “Or what, Debbie? You can’t fire me, remember?” The smile grew. “You can’t even raise your
voice or this scheme will fall apart before it’s even off the ground.”
Her mouth opened, but his narrow-eyed glare stilled the stinging words on her lips. He’s right. It’s already too late to back out.
“You can glare and spit as much as you want but that’s only working against you.” He glared right back. “I pledge to you on this wedding day everyone will know we’re a couple, they’ll know we’re so besotted with each other we can’t wait to tear off our clothes and—”
“I get the picture,” she grated. “You don’t have to go into graphic details.”
“Good. So don’t even think of telling me how to do this, boss lady. You do as I say.” His eyebrow quirked. “It might be a novel experience for you.”
Rage seethed through her. Rage she couldn’t express except through burning eyes which she prayed might scald him.
With a casual flick of his arm, Jase signalled the waiter. “Are you ready to order?”
No! she wanted to scream. Her churning stomach made her feel sick, not hungry. She blinked to focus on the blur inside the menu as she listened to him give his order.
“Steak.” She anticipated the waiter’s next question. “Blue. With salad.” Tearing at raw meat appealed right now. She tossed back her chair, grabbed her purse, mumbled a hasty “excuse me,” and headed for the restroom.
Relieved the place was empty she clasped the tiled edge of the sink units and let her chin flop onto her chest. What had she got herself into? It hadn’t even started and Jase had control.
His dictating plans to relieve Chloe’s concerns hadn’t even occurred to her. Any man ordering her around hadn’t occurred in years.
“Are you all right, dear?” A grey-haired lady touched her arm, concern evident on her face. Debra hadn’t even heard her enter the room.
Debra straightened and was shocked at the pale face reflected back from the mirror. No wonder the woman had enquired. She bit her lip and turned to the lady hovering beside her. “Yes, thank you. I’m okay.”
“Shall I call someone, a staff member? You look so pale.”
“No, no, I’m fine.” She injected some vigour into her shaky voice. “I’ve just had a bit of a shock, that’s all.” She pinched her cheeks to encourage some colour. “See? All good to go now. Thank you for your concern, though.” Her rush out the door prevented any further questions.