by Lori Foster
Josie didn’t correct him. But the truth was, she hadn’t wanted to return because she hadn’t wanted to see his disappointment when he realized what a domestic homebody she really was. She’d talked her way around that, but the risk was still there, because she knew from Susan’s dire predictions that no man would tolerate her demanding schedule for long—certainly not a man used to female adoration, like Nick. Hopefully, before he grew tired of her harried schedule, she’d be able to glut herself on his unique charms and be sated. For a while.
Nick brought her out of her reverie with a gentle nudge. “Have you ever bought anything from her?”
“A few things.”
His eyes glittered at her. “Show me.”
“No.”
He laughed at her cowardice. “Before we’re through, I’ll get you over your shyness.” His taunting voice was low and sensual, and then he kissed her deeply.
Before we’re through… Josie wondered how much or how little time she’d actually have with Nick. When he lifted his mouth from hers, it took her several moments to get her eyes to open. When she finally succeeded, he smiled.
“Sometime, if it’s okay, I’d like to go with you to visit your friends.”
That took her by surprise. In a way, his interest pleased her, but it wouldn’t be a good idea to introduce him to too many people. The more he invaded her life, the harder it would be when he left, which would be sooner than later. Sounding as noncommittal as possible, she murmured, “We’ll see.”
He nodded. “Good. Now, what about the rest of the week? When will you be free?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“We could go back to the boat, and this time I promise to show you the river at night. It’s beautiful to look at all the lights on the water, to smell the moisture in the air and hear the sounds.” He put his mouth to her ear and spoke in a rough whisper. “We could make love on the deck, Josie, under the stars. Mist rises off the river and everything gets covered in dew. Your skin would be slippery and…”
She shivered before she could stop herself, then remembered how he’d told her his parents were dead. Annoyance came back, but not quite as strong this time. Not with him so close. “Is it your boat?”
“I’m making love to you and you want to know who the damn boat belongs to?”
His feigned affront didn’t deter her. “I’m just trying to figure out what’s true and what you made up.”
With an expression that showed his annoyance, Nick gave the shortest possible explanation. “It still legally belongs to my father. But when my parents divorced, it more or less became mine to use.”
The sarcasm couldn’t be missed, and Josie felt stung. Nick didn’t want her to delve into his past, into his personal life. Their time together would center only on the physical. It was what she’d claimed to want, but now she felt uncomfortable. She started to rise, but before she could move an inch, Nick’s arms tightened around her.
“Damn it, Josie, do we really need to discuss this?”
She blinked, surprised by his outburst. “Of course not. I didn’t mean to pry.”
He reached for her hand and held it. “You’re not prying. It’s just… Your parents died when you were fifteen, and mine divorced. The effects were damn similar. They fought for years over everything material, and eventually, the boat was bestowed on me for lack of a better solution. Mother didn’t want my father to have it, because then he might have shared it with Myra, the woman he married three months after the divorce became final. And my father didn’t want my mother to have it because he was still too angry over her foisting me off on him.”
“What…what do you mean?”
Nick sighed, then leaned his head back, his eyes closed. Josie realized he was shutting her out to some extent, but still he answered her question. “My mother thought it would be a cute trick to saddle my dad with me while he was trying to start a new life with his new wife. He saw through her, knew what she was doing and pretty much resented us both. He tried to send me home, but Mom wouldn’t let him.”
Josie stared, speechless. She couldn’t imagine him being treated like an unwelcome intruder by the very people who should have loved him most. For her, it had been just the opposite, and she suddenly wanted to tell Susan again how much she appreciated all she’d done. Careful to hide her sympathy, she asked, “That must have been pretty rough.”
He shrugged, still not looking at her. “Naw. The only really tough part was putting up with Myra. For the most part, my mom and dad ignored me once everything was settled. But for some ridiculous reason, Myra saw me as competition. And she hated everything about me. She tried to change my friends, my clothes, even the school I attended. And she tried to make certain I stayed too busy to visit my grandfather.”
“Why? What did it matter to her?”
“My grandfather had no use for her. And it bugged her. I used to spend two weeks every summer with him. But after Myra married my father, she convinced Dad that I needed some added responsibility and insisted I take on a summer job. It wasn’t that I minded working, only that I missed Granddad.”
“She sounds like a bitch.”
He laughed with real humor, then opened his eyes and smiled down at her. “Myra wasn’t unique. I haven’t met a woman yet who didn’t think she could improve me in one way or another.”
Josie stiffened. “I like you just the way you are.”
He didn’t look as though he believed her. “I fought with Myra a lot, and likely made her more miserable than she made me. Graduation didn’t come quick enough to suit either of us. The summer before my first year of college I moved out on my own. That’s when I met Bob and we roomed together to share expenses. He got a job as an assistant to an accountant, and I got a job with the college newspaper. I did the layout on all the ads.” He flashed her a grin, his pensive mood lifting. “And as your sister can attest, I’m damn good at what I do now.”
It took her a moment, and then the words sank in. “Susan said Bob was the talented one. That he’s solely responsible for making your business so successful.”
Rather than looking insulted, he grinned. “Yeah, well, Susan refused to work with me. If she’d known I was handling her file, she wouldn’t have given us her business.”
Josie gasped. “You’ve lied to her, too! Oh my God, when Susan finds out you did her ads, she’ll be furious. We’ll all be running for cover.”
Nick winced, though his grin was still in place. “Is it truly necessary to tell her, do you think? I mean, right now, she likes Bob, and he likes her. I wouldn’t want to cause them any trouble.”
Josie gave him a knowing look. “You just don’t want Susan biting your face off. You’re not fooling me.”
“Your sister is enough to instill fright in even the stoutest of men.” He kissed her, but it was a tickling kiss because he couldn’t stop smiling. “She already despises me, Josie. If she knows I talked Bob into tricking her, she’ll run me out of town. Is that what you want?”
As he asked it, his large hot hand smoothed over her abdomen and Josie inhaled. “No.”
“Good. Then let’s make a pact. We’ll do all we can to get your sister and Bob together—before we drop any truthful bombshells on her. Okay?”
Since he was still stroking her, she nodded her agreement. Besides, if Susan knew the full truth, she would do her best to talk Josie out of spending time with Nick. That decided her more than anything else. “I don’t suppose it will hurt to wait. As long as you eventually come clean. But Nick, you have to know, when she finds out Bob isn’t all that’s perfection, she won’t be happy.”
“Why don’t we let Bob worry about that? Besides, he may not be perfect, but he is perfect for her. At least that’s what he keeps assuring me.”
“I hope he’s right, because I don’t want to see her hurt.”
“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.”
“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 shots, 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 die-hard bachelor just out for some fun, and that’s not what Josie needs in her life right now.”