Impulse

by E. B. Walters

  “Uh, I have no idea what you’re talking about Chris. If this is about the party—”

  “No, it’s not. Margo is a child with an oversized ego, but she won’t start another malicious rumor or misbehave in public again. Any public misconduct and her contract would be canceled.”

  Lex had made good on his promise. The man was scary powerful. “Then I don’t understand. I’ve been honest with you about every… Oh. The money.”

  “Three hundred and fifty thousand of it.”

  Jillian dropped into the nearest chair and sighed. “I guess I wanted it to go away. I thought if I paid it off, everything would go back to normal.”

  He frowned. “Is this, uh, money you owe someone? You know you could have come to me. Greg and I would have loaned you the money.”

  “Oh. Thank you,” she said. “But it’s not my debt. I don’t owe anyone money. Dad does.”

  Chris shook his head, furrows appearing on his forehead. “Your father?”

  Jillian explained what she’d overheard. “I was so hurt, and then Greg called, saying he had a potential client. I assumed it was a weekend thing, a week at most. I figured I’d make the three-fifty and pay off the debt without Dad knowing.”

  Chris came to where she sat, perched his ass on the edge of the table, and crossed his arms. “You haven’t changed. You still charge in solo instead of asking for help. There’s always safety in numbers. We’ll think up a way to deal with this. Together.”

  Her throat tightened with gratitude, Jillian jumped up and hugged him. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. I was thinking of going to the club and scouting the place, then—” She leaned back when he shuddered.

  “No solo acts, missy. Where’s the money now? I don’t think I’ve ever seen half a million in real cash before.”

  Neither had she. The money they used in movies was usually fake. “Three hundred and fifty thousand,” she corrected him. “Douglas, Lex’s man, is supposed to drop it off this evening. I wasn’t comfortable having it in my house so I left it with him.”

  Chris frowned. “That’s understandable. Can you ask him to hold off dropping it off until we have a plan?”

  Jillian was more than happy to comply. She made the call. Douglas didn’t seem bothered by her decision. “Is Lex still coming home on Friday?” she asked Douglas.

  “He’ll be arriving tonight, Ms. Jillian. He mentioned ten, but it might be later.”

  A thought came out of nowhere and she ran with it. “Can you pick me up before you head to the airport? I want to surprise him.”

  Douglas chuckled. “Of course. And may I say that he’ll like the surprise?”

  CHAPTER 9

  Lex’s jet had just left Dallas, after refueling, when Douglas called. He braced himself for bad news. “Just a second.”

  As he left the main cabin for the stateroom, he could almost hear the sigh of relief from his employees. They’d been subdued while watching a game on the big screen TV because of his presence. It didn’t matter how long they’d worked for him; there was an invisible barrier between him and them that they refused to cross.

  That fact in itself didn’t bother Lex. He often stayed in the stateroom unless they were catching up on a project or contract and needed his input. He didn’t mind the solitude. In fact, he craved it. His creative juices tended to flow better when he wasn’t distracted.

  Closing the door, he brought the phone to his ear. “Is she okay, Douglas?”

  “She sounded fine when we spoke, sir,” Douglas said. “But she canceled the drop off.”

  Lex frowned, even as relief coursed through him. “Why?”

  “She didn’t say, sir.”

  Why had she asked for the money when she didn’t need it? Knowing her, she was probably testing him. He didn’t care about what she did with the money as long as it wasn’t illegal and she was safe. Though the notes weren’t marked, the serial numbers could be traced if she was in trouble, like being blackmailed.

  “I’ll talk to her when I get home. We should be arriving around ten.”

  “I’ll be there with the car, sir.”

  Lex frowned. “Are you okay? You sound, uh, different.”

  “Just the sniffles. Nothing serious.”

  “If you need to rest, I can hitch a ride home with Mathews.”

  “That’s not necessary, sir.” Douglas sounded insulted by Lex’s suggestions. “I’ll be at the airport before ten.”

  Lex debated whether to call Jillian after he disconnected the call. Asking her personal questions this early in their relationship could ease his mind. Or it could be disastrous. She was prickly and unpredictable. He threw the phone on the bed, and hit the showers.

  The stateroom had a queen-sized bed and a private bathroom large enough for two. Jillian flashed in his head. He’d also spared no expense equipping the jet with every comfort imaginable. From the couches and wide leather seats to entertainment units—high-speed internet and unparalleled TV reception feeding a big screen and smaller, personal ones for those with discerning viewing tastes. The galley had a microwave, conventional oven, and a fully stocked fridge and bar. The Boeing 737 was his home away from home.

  He’d missed a call, he noticed when he came out of the bathroom, but it wasn’t from Jillian. He recognized Sloan Noelle’s private number and hit redial.

  “Will you be in town by Friday?” his former college buddy asked.

  “I’m flying back right now. What’s going on?”

  “Great. I’m throwing a party on Saturday afternoon, and I want you here.”

  Lex hadn’t been to one of Sloan’s parties in months. Sloan threw two-day private parties every month on his private island off the coast of Santa Barbara. The guests were usually the same. At least the men were, all of them former members of his fraternity. The women changed.

  “I can’t promise anything, my friend,” Lex said.

  “Come on, man. We haven’t seen you since Jocelyn left, and from the looks of things, you have a new lady friend. The boys want to meet her.”

  “The boys” were men with names on the letterheads of multimillion-dollar corporations they either owned or ran. They’d all made their fortunes during the dot-com bubble and had since diversified. Almost all were single and changed girlfriends often. The few married ones left their children behind for these weekends of decadence. Jocelyn, his ex-girlfriend, had loved Sloan’s parties. Lex wasn’t sure he was ready to take Jillian to one of them yet.

  “Are you hiding her from us?” Sloan asked. “I hope not, because my yacht’s reputation is on the line and I’d hate to have Cade stink it up with his call girls.”

  Lex chuckled. Cade Padwick was a computer genius with a popular social network company. He’d gone public six months ago and made a killing. For whatever reason, he preferred women with questionable reputations. Sloan, on the other hand, was a picky dater.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow with an answer, Sloan. And stop using your yacht every time Cade comes up with some half-baked bet.” He hung up and finished changing, then pinged the flight attendant for a drink. Once she’d served him and left, Lex settled on the bed and turned on the TV to ESPN.

  After a while, he switched to news, but restlessness had settled on him. Maybe it was the plan to stop at Jillian’s that had him wired, or the fact that she hadn’t returned his call. He’d never had to worry about a woman returning his calls. He called and they came. He’d had his share of girlfriends, none long-lasting like Jocelyn, a Brit whose beauty was only matched by her sharp mind and ambitions. They both had family business to take care of and a list of relatives depending on them, so work always came first. So when Jocelyn had packed up and left for London to be the head of her father’s conglomerate, he’d understood. That was a year ago. Twice now, she’d flown to the US for meetings and they’d gotten together, but nothing would have come out of their sporadic sexual encounters.

  The jet was close to landing when his phone went off. Once again, he thoug
ht it was Jillian, until he saw the number on the screen. He brought the phone to his ear. “Mom?”

  “You will not believe who I had lunch with today,” she said.

  Lex smiled and waited.

  “Jillian.”

  Lex tensed. “Why?”

  His mother laughed. “What kind of question is that? I went to talk to Barbs, and one thing led to another. I had a fun time with Jillian before that odious actress, Margo, interrupted us. The girl has no manners whatsoever and is impossible to work with. If only Barbs could replace her.”

  “What did you and Jillian talk about?”

  “This and that,” Estelle said evasively.

  “You went fishing for information about her? Mom, I will not have you harass Jillian with senseless questions.”

  “Now why would you think I’d do something so tasteless? Is it because you refused to tell me anything about her?” She sighed. “If you must know, we discussed things we have in common.”

  “You talked about me?”

  His mother chuckled. “No, dear. The world does not always revolve around you. We talked about movies and the industry. Your name didn’t even come up. But I was hoping you’d have her meet everyone. Maybe on Sunday?”

  They had Sunday brunch once every other month. The last one had been two Sundays ago. “Not yet. Maybe the Sunday after. Jillian mentioned filming in Vancouver on Monday, so she might be leaving over the weekend.”

  “You can fly her out there after she meets everyone.”

  “No, Mother. She’ll meet the family when she’s ready.” The pilot announced that they were approaching Van Nuys Airport, where Lex usually kept the jet in a private hangar. “I have to go, Mom. We’re about to land. I’ll stop by the house tomorrow.”

  “Land where? I thought you were coming home on Friday.”

  “We flew back early, but I’ll stay in the city tonight.”

  “Oh. Do you and Jillian have plans for tomorrow? We could have family dinner on Friday.”

  He heard the loneliness in her voice. Since she’d retired, she’d been involved in one charity work after another, but she didn’t find them challenging. His mother was smart and driven, and at sixty-two, too young to have retired. He’d thought getting involved with Barb’s new production might keep her busy and had invested in it. It wasn’t enough to keep her occupied.

  “I don’t know if Jillian will make it, but I’ll check with her. Do you want to have dinner tomorrow night?”

  “Oh, that would be lovely.”

  “Good. I need help with something I’m working on and could use your expertise.”

  There was silence, then a laugh. “Of course, dear. I’ll have Mrs. Sandoval make some of your favorite dishes.”

  Now he had to find a project for her to work on. Something real or she’d see through his machinations. His mother started Valdez Realtors before she married his father, and continued to run it until Lex took it over and changed the direction of the company. She’d mainly bought and sold existing listings, he preferred to buy, develop, then lease or sell them. He made one more call just as the plane started to descend.

  Usually, Lex was the last to leave the jet. Tonight, he was on his feet and heading out the door by the time the jet stopped inside the hanger. He left the stateroom with the briefcase in one hand and his trench coat in the other, his mind on Jillian.

  The others peered out the window and grinned. The scene outside was familiar—spouses, girlfriends, or boyfriends waiting to pick up their loved ones. Whether they arrived in the dead of the night or during the day, it was always the same. Often they stood in groups talking. Douglas tended to keep to himself, only stepping out of the car after he saw Lex.

  The pilot lowered the airstairs, and Lex was halfway down when the front door of the Rolls opened. Instead of the familiar graying hair, a blonde head appeared.

  Lex froze as Jillian straightened, turned, saw him, and waved. Her smile hit him like a punch, sucking the breath out of his chest. Douglas must have decided to let her drive.

  Lex took the remaining steps without realizing it and hurried toward her, a vision in white skinny pants and a floral shirt under a black jacket. She somehow managed to look like a siren and the girl next door simultaneously. Lex opened his arms, not doubting for one second that she would step into them.

  She did, slipping her arms around him. He didn’t care that he was paying her to pretend to be his girlfriend or that the hug was for their audience—his employees. She was in his arms. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled.

  He leaned back, noted the empty front passenger seat, and cocked an eyebrow. “What did you do with Douglas?”

  “The poor guy lost a bet. He should know better than to bet against me. I only go for sure wins, so here I am, your designated driver and all-around whip girl.” A tinkle of laughter escaped her, the sound echoing into the night, sending heat straight to his groin. He had to capture the sound.

  Her eyes widened when he lowered his head, but she didn’t shy away from the kiss. She met him, the enthusiasm of her response blindsiding him.

  A thud told him his briefcase had slipped from his hand and landed on the ground. He sunk his fingers into her hair, anchoring her head in place as he indulged himself. His body pressed into hers, trapping her against the body of the car.

  This was coming home. He nudged her legs and settled between them, one hand palming her thigh and lifting it around his hip.

  When he broke off the kiss, her lips were puffy and her eyes glazed. Her legs straddled his hips. The position was so intimate he wished they were alone so he could relieve the ache in his gut. He’d never wanted a woman like he wanted Jillian.

  He was aware of the others staring and whispering as they walked toward their cars. There was a first for everything, and Jillian couldn’t have chosen a better moment to pick him up. After the Sunday article about his mysterious date, this should feed the grapevine at his company.

  “You’re a ruthless bastard, you know that?” she whispered, sounding both annoyed and aroused.

  “When I know what I want, I go after it.” He planted another kiss on her lush lips. “What’s this about a bet?” Did this mean the three-fifty was a gambling debt?

  Instead of answering him, she wiggled, silently asking him to let her go, but he wasn’t ready to do that yet. He liked the position. Besides, he had a massive erection, and even though he didn’t mind her knowing about it, he didn’t want his employees observing his lack of control. Her wiggling didn’t help.

  “You keep up that seductive rub and I’ll carry you over my shoulder to the nearest bed, which just so happens to be inside the jet.”

  She went still, a gleam entering her eyes. She glanced at the others, nodding at a few. They were starting to drive off. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “You’re pushing it, pal.”

  “I don’t think I have anything to do with it,” he teased. “That’s all you.”

  She groaned in exasperation, her warm breath fanning his ear and stroking his senses. Then she did something totally unexpected. She bit him. Trapped his earlobe between her teeth and bore down hard.

  The sting was nothing compared with the surge of pure lust that shot through him. He groaned, his erection jerking in response. She went still, let go of his ear, and stared at him with round eyes as though surprised he hadn’t yelped or pushed her away.

  “Do it again,” he challenged.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re a freak.”

  “Depends on what you consider a freak.” He lowered her down and picked up his briefcase and coat. Jillian avoided his eyes and nodded at his last employee, who was getting into his car, his wife openly staring at them. Lex waved briefly to them.

  “Where exactly did you leave Douglas?”

  “Sick in bed.” Her eyes met his. She had recovered from their kiss. Too bad. Arousal looked good on her. “Don’t be mad at him. He looked like hell when he came to pick me up. I knew he was sick, but he kept de
nying it.” She rolled her eyes. “So I made a bet with him. If he had a fever, he was going straight to bed.”

  Lex was more than relieved. Some gambler she was. He opened the back door and threw his suitcase and coat in the back seat.

  “What is it with men and being sick?” Jillian asked. “I had to force him to take medication, to eat some soup, and to get in bed before I left. And do you know what he kept doing? Calling me every five minutes to make sure I was on my way. He even insisted I call him when the plane touched down. I have a feeling he wants to apologize for not personally picking you up.” She scoffed at the idea. “Like being sick is his fault. Oh, and part of our bet was no calls warning you that I was picking you up. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

  Douglas’ quarters were attached to Lex’s penthouse, so keeping an eye on him wouldn’t be a problem. He’d done it before. The poor guy didn’t have anyone except an ex-wife, who was now remarried, and a teenage daughter, who lived with her mother.

  “Let’s go,” he said, opening the car door. “I’ll check on him when I get home.”

  “Oh. That’s sweet.”

  Lex grimaced. “I depend on him for everything.”

  She laughed. “Right. I know about how you’ve been there for him. He told me everything you’ve done for him and his family. Don’t you have luggage?”

  Lex stopped, glanced at the plane, and frowned. He was so used to Douglas taking care of his personal things he’d completely forgotten. The flight attendant, pilot, and copilot were still inside the plane. “It’s back in there.”

  “Oh. Someone will bring it out for you,” Jillian said.

  Lex heard her teasing and shot her a glance. “Not tonight. Douglas isn’t here. I told you he does everything.”

  “Well, don’t look at me. I’m driving, not carrying and fetching.”

  He fought a smile. “No, sweetheart. You drove here, but you’re not driving us home. Not if I want to get there in one piece. You treat the road like your personal playground,” he added and walked past her, knowing she’d follow. Jillian, he was quickly learning, liked to have the last word.