by Lori Foster
"Everything will work out as it should in the end." He smoothed the hair from her forehead, kissed her brow. "Now tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Yesterday we didn't exactly get around to talking all that much. I think we should get to know each other a little better, don't you?"
Josie blushed. Yesterday, words hadn't seemed all that important. "Do you really think it's necessary? I mean, for the purposes of a fling, do we need to know personal stuff?"
His expression darkened. "I don't like that word – fling." She started to reply to that, but he raised a hand. "Come on, Josie. Fair's fair. I confided in you."
She supposed he was right. But her story differed so much from his, she hesitated to tell it. She started slowly, trying to keep the focus on Susan's generosity, rather than her own grief. "After my parents died, Susan wouldn't even consider me getting a job. She sold our house so we'd have enough money for me to continue my education. It was a big, old-fashioned place with pillars in the front. It used to be our great-aunt's before she died and left it to my mother when we were just kids. We both still miss it, though Susan won't admit it. She doesn't want me to know how much it meant to her, or how hard it was for her to let it go."
With a thoughtful expression, Nick nodded his approval. "Susan did what any good big sister would do."
And Josie thought, I had Susan. But who did you have? Rather than say it, she touched his cheek and smiled. "Do you ever see your family now?"
He pretended a preoccupation with her fingertips, kissing each one. "Not often. Mother is always busy, which is a blessing since she's not an easy person to be around. And Myra still despises me, which makes it difficult for my father and me to get together." He sucked the tip of one finger between his teeth.
Feeling her stomach flutter, Josie wondered if she'd ever get used to all the erotic touching and kissing. She hoped not. "I imagine you must resent her a lot."
"Not really. If it hadn't been for Myra, I might never have hooked up with Bob, and he's great as both a friend and a partner. He's the one who suggested we go into business together. In fact, he's the one who got things started."
He deliberately lightened the mood, so Josie did the same. "Ah. So Bob really is the brains of the operation?"
He bit the tip of her finger, making her jump and pull away. Josie glared at him.
He grinned. "Sorry. But I hear enough of that derision from your sister."
"No doubt you'll hear a lot more of it from her when she finds out we're seeing each other."
He made a sour face. "Couldn't we skip telling her that, too?"
"You must not know my sister very well if you think I could keep it from her. She's like a mother hen, always checking up on me."
"Well, as I said, I'm stoic. I can put up with anything if the end result is rewarding enough." His thumb smoothed over her lips. "And you're definitely enough. Now, can you find any spare time this week to go to the boat with me?"
When Josie thought of all the women he must have taken there over the years, she couldn't quite stifle a touch of jealousy. She looked away, wondering how many women had observed the stars from the deck, the moisture rising from the water.
"Josie." As if he'd read her thoughts, he hugged her close again. His hand cuddled her breast possessively, and rather than meet her curious gaze, he stayed focused on the movement of his fingers over her body.
"Do you remember me telling you on the boat that I never take women there?"
"You took me there."
"And you're the only one. That wasn't a lie."
She wanted to believe him, but it seemed so unlikely.
Before she could decide what to say, Nick shook his head and continued. "I'm not claiming to have been a monk – far from it. I've always used the boat when I wanted to be alone. There's something peaceful about water, something calming, and I never wanted to share that with anyone, especially not a woman. With all the fighting that damn boat caused between my parents, it has a lot of memories attached to it, and most of them aren't very pleasant. I've never found it particularly conducive to romance." He made the admission reluctantly, his voice sounding a bit strained. He raised his eyes until he could look at her and that look started her heart racing. "Until I met you. Now I don't think I'll be able to see it any other way."
Emotion swelled, threatening to burst. Susan was wrong. Nick wasn't a self-centered womanizer. He wasn't a man without a care who would tromp on people's feelings. The special fondness he felt for his grandfather was easy to hear when Nick spoke of him. And his dedication to Bob went above and beyond the call of duty to a partner, to the point of silently accepting Susan's contempt. She'd accused him of having no talent; he was the talent. Nick had even agreed to work out an ad campaign for Mrs. Wiley, despite his reservations about her business. Though his adolescence had obviously been bereft of love and guidance, he was still a kind and generous man.
It would be all too easy to care about him. "What are you thinking?" Nick smoothed the frown from her forehead.
"I'm thinking that you're a most remarkable man, Nick Harris."
He made a scoffing sound and started to kiss her, but Josie was familiar with that tactic now. Whenever he wanted to avoid a subject, he distracted her physically.
Teasing, he said, "I'm a scoundrel and a man of few principles. Just ask your sister."
"But Susan doesn't really know you, does she?" His gaze swept up to lock with hers. Josie lifted a hand to sift through his hair. "She's given me all these dire predictions, but I don't think you're nearly as reckless and wild as she'd like to think."
His expression froze for a heartbeat, then hardened. Before Josie could decipher his mood, he had her T-shirt pulled over her head and caught at her elbows, pinning her arms together, leaving her helpless. He studied her breasts with heated, deliberate intensity. When he spoke, his words were barely above a whisper.
"Don't, Josie. Don't think that because I had a few family problems, I'm this overly sensitive guy waiting to be saved by the right woman." His hand flattened on her belly and she trembled. "I want all the same things you want, honey. Fun, freedom, a little excitement. With no ties and no commitments. It'll be the perfect relationship between us, I promise you that. You won't be disappointed."
She wanted to yell that she was already disappointed. No, she hadn't ever considered a lasting relationship. But then, she hadn't met Nick. All by himself he was more excitement than most women could handle. And despite what she'd claimed, she wanted more out of life than a few thrills. So much more. But Nick had read her thoughts, and corrected them without hesitation. She'd dug a hole for herself with her own lies and deceptions, and she wasn't quite sure how to get out of it. She couldn't press him without chasing him away – and that was the very last thing she wanted to do.
Nick bent, treating one sensitive nipple to the hot, moist pressure of his mouth, and she decided any decisions could wait until later. He seemed determined now to show her all the ways he could enjoy her without the need for precautions, and at the moment, she didn't have the will to tell him no.
Minutes later, she didn't have the strength, either.
NICK WHISTLED as he entered the offices. He hadn't felt this good in a long time, though he wasn't sure exactly why he felt so content, and wasn't inclined to worry about it. Right now, he had better things to occupy his mind – like the coming night and the fact that he'd be alone with Josie again. His entire body tightened in anticipation of what he'd do with her and her sensual acceptance of him. It had been too long.
She hadn't been able to see him Tuesday, as he'd expected, because that, too, was a late night for her, and the needs of her patients came first – a fact that nettled since he wasn't used to playing second fiddle. So even though he'd had other plans for the night, he'd canceled them. Again. Josie didn't know he'd changed his plans for her, and he didn't intend to tell her. She might get it into her head that she could call all the s
hots, and he liked things better just the way they were.
Josie wanted to use him for sex, wanted him to be a sizzling male fantasy come to life, and if that wasn't worth a little compromise, he didn't know what was. It sure beat the hell out of anything he could think of.
Besides, she had given him a request, and it was to assist her in exploring the depths of herself as a woman, not to skim the surface with mere quickies. He could be patient until her time was freed up. He wanted to sleep with her again, to hold her small soft body close to his all night, to wake her up with warm wet kisses and the gentle slide of his body into hers. He shuddered at his own mental image.
As he entered the building, the sound of arguing interrupted his erotic thoughts. It was coming from Bob's office, and he started in that direction but drew up short in the doorway when he recognized Susan's virulent tones.
Since he enjoyed pricking her temper, and had from the moment he met her, he asked pleasantly, "Am I interrupting?"
Two pairs of eyes swung in his direction. "Nick," was said in relief at the same time "You!" was muttered with huge accusation.
Ignoring Bob for the moment, he directed his attention to Susan. "Miss Jackson. How are you today?"
"How am I?" She advanced on him and Bob rushed around his desk to keep pace with her. Nick had the feeling Bob intended to protect him. The idea almost made him smile.
"I was fine, that is until Bob confessed the rotten trick you played on my sister."
Turning his consideration to Bob, who looked slightly ill, Nick asked, "Had a baring of the soul, did you?"
"Actually," Susan said, staring up at him with a frown, "he did his best to cover for you after I forced him to confirm that you're seeing Josie. He's been explaining to me that you're a reformed womanizer, that you truly care for my sister. Not that I'm believing it." She pointed a rigid finger at his chest. "I know your kind. You're still a diehard bachelor just out for some fun, and that's not what Josie needs in her life right now."
"You make fun sound like a dirty word," Nick muttered, but there was no heat in his comment. He was too distracted for heat. Did Bob really see him as reformed? The idea was totally repellent. For most of his life, certainly since Bob had known him, he'd avoided any attempts at serious relationships. Not because he was still troubled over his parents' divorce, or his father's remarriage. And not because his psyche had been damaged by his mother's rejection. Mostly he'd avoided attachments because he hadn't met a woman yet who didn't want to change everything about him. They'd profess unconditional love, then go about trying to get him to alter his life. His stepmother had been the queen of control, but at least she hadn't ever tried to hide her inclinations behind false caring.
No, he'd had enough of controlling females, and his life was as he wanted it to be. He didn't intend to change it for anyone. But he did want Josie, and he'd have her – on his terms, not Susan's.
Not about to explain himself to the sister, he halfheartedly addressed Susan's sputtering outrage, going on the offense. "You don't really understand Josie at all, do you?"
"She's my sister!"
"Yeah, but you would have hooked her up with Bob." He warmed to the subject, seeing Susan's face go red while Bob blustered in the background. He'd been coaching Bob for the better part of a week, getting him to send cards, to make phone calls late at night. To whisper the little romantic things women liked to hear. Susan appeared to be melting faster than an iceberg in the tropics. Though she hadn't as yet admitted it. According to Bob, all her considerable focus was still aimed at getting Josie settled. Damn irritating female. Josie didn't want to settle, and that suited Nick to perfection.
He grinned, feeling smug over the way both Susan and Bob glanced at each other. "I'm sure you realize now what a mistake that might have been, for both Josie and Bob."
Susan thrust her chin into the air. "So she and Bob wouldn't have worked out. That doesn't mean I want her seeing you."
Softly he said, "But that's what Josie wants."
Susan bristled. "Josie is just going through a phase."
Damn right, he thought. A sensational stage of discovering her own sexuality, and he'd been lucky enough to be there when she'd decided to expand her horizons. He kept his expression serious. "She's discussed that with me, Miss Jackson. Josie and I understand each other, so you have no reason to worry." Nick not only understood, he encouraged her.
Agitated, Susan paced away. When she faced Nick again, her look was more serious than aggressive. "You think you understand, but you can't know what Josie's been through. When our parents died, everything changed. We lost our house, our car. There was never enough money for her to do the things most girls her age were doing. She didn't shop with her friends for trendy clothes, attend dances or school parties or date. At first she just became withdrawn. It scared me something fierce. But then she started college, and she put everything she had not just into succeeding but excelling. She's worked very hard at shutting out life, and now that she's ready to live again, she deserves the best."
"And to you, that means someone other than me?"
"Josie needs someone sensitive, someone who's stable and reliable."
His chest felt tight and his temples pounded. Susan was determined to replace him, but he wouldn't let her. For now, Josie wanted him, and that was all that mattered. "I won't hurt her. I promise."
"Coming from you, I am not reassured!"
Surely he wasn't bad for Josie, he thought with a frown. He was an experienced man, capable of giving her everything she wanted, and right now that meant freedom and excitement and fun, not love everlasting. He wasn't prudish and he wasn't selfish; he hadn't lied when he said he enjoyed giving her pleasure.
Susan assumed she knew what Josie needed, but Josie claimed the opposite. She'd made it clear she didn't want attachments, so he'd assured her there would be none. That had been her stipulation, but he'd gone along with the idea, even emphasized it, to keep her from backing out. Josie wanted a walk on the wild side, and he was more than prepared to indulge her. Especially if it kept her from seeking out other men, a notion he couldn't tolerate.
Susan was still glaring at him, and he sighed. "I'm really not so bad, Miss Jackson. Just ask Bob."
Bob nodded vigorously, but Susan ignored him. "Bob is sincere in what he does. His intentions are always honorable. But I'm finding he can be rather biased where you're concerned."
At that particular moment, Nick wanted nothing more than to escape Susan's scrutiny. But he had no intention of walking out on Josie now, so gaining her sister's approval might not be a bad thing. He sifted through all the readily available remarks to Susan's statement, none of them overly ingratiating, then settled on saying, "Bob is the most ethical and straightforward man I know."
Susan made the attempt, but couldn't come up with a response other than a suspicious nod of agreement.
"And yet he keeps me as his partner and his closest friend. Can you imagine that? Surely it says something for my character that Bob trusts me? Or is it that you think Bob is an idiot?" He waited while Susan narrowed her eyes – eyes just like Josie's, only at the moment they were filled with rancor rather than good humor. Bob sputtered in the background.
Through clenched teeth, Susan replied, "It might show that Bob is too trusting for his own good."
Nick almost laughed. Susan wasn't a woman to give up a bone once she got her sharp little teeth into it. Finally she sighed. "Though I don't think you're at all right for Josie, I'll concede the possibility that you might have a few redeeming qualities, Mr. Harris."
He gave her a wry nod. "I'm overwhelmed by your praise." Truth was, Susan had him worried. If she decided to harp on his shortcomings, would Josie think twice about seeing him? And if Susan kept marching marriage-minded men in front of Josie, would she one day surrender? He knew Susan had some influence on her – after all, Josie had been a twenty-five-year-old virgin!
He was distracted from his thoughts of being replaced, which enraged h
im, when Susan cleared her throat.
"Before I leave, Mr. Harris, I do have one last question for you."
He noted that Bob had begun to tug at his collar. Nick raised a brow, then flinched when Susan produced the damn catalog Josie's neighbor had given him.
She held it out by two fingers, as if reluctant to even touch it, and thrust it at his face. Her foot tapped the floor and she stared down her nose at him. "If you're truly as reformed as you claim, why do you have this floating around the office?"
She looked triumphant, as if she'd caught him with a girly magazine. Obviously she hadn't looked at the catalog or she'd have realized how innocent it was.
For a single heartbeat, Nick thought he would laugh. But he glanced at Bob and saw how red his face had turned. He grinned. "Bob's birthday is next month, you know. I was trying to find him something special. If you need any ideas on what to get him, feel free to look through the thing. I believe he might have dog-eared a few pages."
Susan stared at the catalog, stared at Bob, then amazingly, she flipped to the first bent page. Nick knew what she would find. After all, he was the one who had cornered the pages while searching for a hook on an ad campaign.
There was nothing even slightly offensive displayed on the pages, but Susan's eyes widened and she dropped the catalog on Bob's desk. "I...uh, hmm."
"Find anything interesting?" Nick asked with false curiosity.
Susan made a small humming sound. "Ah...possibly." With a weak smile and a hasty goodbye, she made an unsteady exit.
"I'm going to kill you."
Nick slapped Bob on the shoulder. "Did you see her face? Sheer excitement, Bud. Take my word for it. She'll think about that damn catalog, and your romantic tendencies all night. It'll drive her wild."
Bob picked up the catalog and peered at the page Susan had turned to. He groaned. "Leopard print silk boxers?"
Nick raised his eyebrows, chuckling. "Real silk by the way. I was thinking of buying a pair." He turned to go into his own office. "But they'll look much cuter on you."