Tempting the Negotiator

by Zana Bell

  Where was the middle road between the people of ABORD who just wanted jobs, and those few fragile birds?

  Would Jake understand compromise? Of course he would. Then she pictured his stubborn mouth, his pugnacious jaw. No, he’d never forgive her. Next she thought of her company. “We’re counting on you, Sass.”

  Pressing her foot harder on the accelerator, she veered around a corner. Things were just moving far too fast and were far too complicated. Her treacherous mind flipped back to Jake. To the dancing, to the sex. How he’d outed her. She groaned and took another pull on the cigarette. Then she thought about how he’d even accepted her lack of orgasm. He accepted so much—her background; her bossiness; even, it seemed, her inability to be a real woman. The only thing he found hard to accept was her job. Which was her. She was her job.

  The thought crystallized as she ground out her cigarette in the ashtray with such force that it split open, spilling the last golden flakes of tobacco. She was here only because of the deal. That was her mission. People counted on her.

  She eased her foot off the accelerator.

  Jake Finlayson was a distraction—possibly even an infatuation—but nothing more. He, like the other men in her life, would disappear, and the gap left would spur her on to even greater success. It had been like that ever since her father had slammed out of their home for the final time, and she’d aced her exams the following week.

  In the end she could only remain true to herself. The answer was out there. She just had to find it.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  THE DRIVE HELPED SASS

  restore her calm, and as she drove back down the driveway into Aroha Bay, she saw Jake was just putting his board away. The wind had come up in the afternoon and he was wearing a short black wetsuit that gleamed in the sun. He sauntered over to her car. His hair, as always, was awry, his eyes brilliant with adrenaline. He opened her car door and as she stepped out, he pulled her into a wet embrace, his lips salty on hers. “Miss Pain-in-the, where’ve you been?”

  “Ugh, you’re soaking.” Sass struggled, but it felt too good having those solid arms around her hot back, that laughing face so close to hers. Surrendering, she leaned in to deepen the kiss. Oh, Lordy, he was such a great kisser.

  It was Jake who pulled back with a groan. “Man, a wetsuit is so not a thing to be wearing around a hot woman.” They both looked down and laughed. “I’ve got to go have a shower—a cold one.”

  They linked hands as they began walking to the house. Jake fairly fizzed with energy, and the constraint that had lain between them at the spit had, for the moment, disappeared.

  “Where did you go? You should have come out with us—though it was a bit big. You should have seen the waves. Brad got barreled several times. It was awesome. He’s looking great for the comps. Paul’s turns are really improving. And, oh, you should have seen the twins wipe out trying to learn to surf on one board.”

  Jake laughed and Sass joined him, loving this man who loved life.

  “But what about you? Where did you go?”

  They’d reached the steps of the deck and Jake dropped her hand so he could encircle her waist again. She leaned back against his arms, relishing their strength, and looked up into his face. “I went for a drive.”

  He grinned. “What? A drive? Just for the hell of it and time be damned? No way!”

  “Yes way,” she said primly. “I drove fast, too.”

  “I don’t believe it. Miss Pain-in-the letting her hair down. That’s so cool.”

  Leaning close, he kissed her again—a light, teasing kiss. When he pulled away, she made a small protest.

  “No, you’re just going to have to wait. I told you, this is hardly the outfit to seduce a beautiful woman.”

  “True,” she said, feigning disinterest. “Besides, you’ve had enough fun for one day, Jake Finlayson. You’ve got a book to finish.”

  “Madame Lash.” He did a credible imitation of the sound of a whip cracking. “That’s what I love about you.”

  He only said it as a joke, but Sass’s heart gave a little jolt. What would it be like if he said the words when he wasn’t teasing? Oh God, one night of sex and here she was, thoughts spiraling out of control as though she were fifteen again. Brisk. She must be brisk, and she broke out of the circle of his arms.

  “We’ll get onto it straight after dinner then,” she said.

  JAKE’S ENERGY AND HUMOR carried on through the meal. Was it the surfing or the sex? It galled her that she didn’t know. That she cared.

  Afterward, he brought out all his papers and dropped them with a bang onto the table next to her laptop.

  “Right, I gave the book some thought out on the waves,” Jake said. “If you can sort chapters four to eight, I’ll rewrite the first three.”

  Sass nodded. “Okay, though you seem very cheerful for someone throwing away hours and hours of work.”

  He handed her a wad of ill-sorted papers. “Actually, it really pisses me off, but bitching isn’t going to get the job done.”

  “No,” she said. “I guess it isn’t.”

  She was surprised, however, at just how quickly he immersed himself in work. Surfing must have cleared his mind. After a faltering first few minutes, he began tapping away at a phenomenal speed. She tried not to think how endearing it was that he only used his two index fingers. He seemed as oblivious of her as of the shouts and laughter of the boys, playing Xbox in the next room. Once the guy locked onto something, his concentration was fierce—the concentration of a winner, a champion. No wonder Sass felt so good when all that attention was trained on her.

  Her job tonight wasn’t demanding, and in a strange way it helped settle her. She always took pleasure in bringing order out of chaos, and the formatting and renaming of files, plus watching the book take digital shape under her fingers, was calming. The whole time, however, she was aware that another part of her brain was busy processing all the arguments, sifting the information. She deliberately steered her thoughts away from it. Time to let the subconscious take over. The solution was close; she could feel it. But when it did come, she’d follow it through no matter how difficult. As Jake said, no point bitching.

  Paul came in with cups of hot chocolate at ten o’clock, his middle ground between tea and coffee. The boys headed to bed soon after, and at midnight Jake’s fingers slowed into a two-step staccato finish. He stretched back in his chair, rolled his head, then rubbed his face.

  “Wow, what time is it? I’m exhausted.”

  Sass saved what she’d been working on and looked up. “I’m not surprised. You’ve been going at it for nearly three hours.”

  “So have you.”

  “Copying isn’t the same as creating.”

  “Same punishment on the back,” he said, getting out of his chair and wriggling his shoulders. “I’m not used to a desk job.”

  He came behind her and laid his hands either side of her neck. “How are you doing?” he asked, his massaging fingers exactly pinpointing tight areas in her muscles. With a groan of pleasure, she leaned back into his hands.

  “How come you’re so skilled at this?”

  His thumbs circled out to release other areas of tension. “I learned from a masseuse.”

  “Don’t tell me. A girlfriend?”

  He remained silent.

  “Well?”

  “You said not to tell you.”

  She laughed. “Okay, wise guy. But I’m not jealous, just grateful. Too bad other girlfriends didn’t teach you to cook or pay bills on time.”

  “Maybe that will be your legacy.”

  She laughed again, but this time she had to force it. One in a line of girls.

  His lips touched the nape of her neck, trailed up to her ear. “Can I come with you to the sleep-out?”

  Her heart stilled. “Sure.”

  Her excitement—and apprehension—welling, they made their way across the grass. She ached for him. No one had ever made her feel so good before. If he could only
be satisfied with that. She was.

  Inside the sleep-out, he pulled her to him. He caressed her neck, tracing her jawline with his thumbs. Then he fumbled at her bun.

  “How the hell is this secured?”

  She laughed, glad to break the almost unbearable sexual tension. “Ow, I’ll do it.”

  “No, show me how. This is my fantasy and you’ll spoil it if I can’t do it myself.”

  She guided his fingers to the hairpins, and though he was still a little clumsy, he pulled them out one by one, and her hair fell to her shoulders.

  “God, you are beautiful,” he whispered, and kissed her, softly at first, then growing in intensity. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to the bed, where he very slowly undressed her, taking his time between each garment to thoroughly appreciate and arouse her body. Then he stripped in swift movements, his own body outlined in moonlight, behind him, the dark sea sequined with silver. Sass had never craved a man like this and reached out to pull him to her even as she knew she shouldn’t—couldn’t—let him get too close.

  Although she’d never experienced an orgasm, she had had enough lovers to know how to set a man’s passion ablaze. Their coupling was incredible. Even better than the night before. She moaned in her pleasure and rode on the crest of his ardor all the way up. Almost to the end. She put on a superb When-Harry-Met-Sally orgasmic display, though.

  They both fell back, panting. She hoped this time he’d been fooled.

  His hand found hers, his fingers tightening.

  Don’t say it, don’t say it, she willed him.

  “You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever been with.”

  Relief flooded her. She’d fooled him. He was no different from other men, after all.

  “And the most complex.”

  Her fingers went limp in his as the air squeezed out her lungs. Just leave it at that. There were corners in her mind that even she never visited, and she sure as hell didn’t want some guy blundering in.

  Jake sighed deeply. “I hate that I can’t satisfy you. Yet at the same time, I can’t help feeling it’s all tied up somehow.”

  She couldn’t stop herself. “What?”

  “Your immaculate appearance. Your efficiency. Your need to win. Your undentable niceness. Even your smoking.”

  Well, she had asked, but that did it. Tears welled up, yet she was damned if she was going to snuffle. Untangling her fingers from his, Sass rolled over, her back to him.

  “It’s late, so skip the psychoanalysis, okay?”

  Jake didn’t take the hint and leave, of course, but neither did he take offense. Instead, he curled around her, one hand cupping a breast as he kissed her hair.

  “You are the most amazing lover. More than enough for me.” Then, sounding frustrated and baffled, he added, “I just wish I could be enough for you.”

  You are. I’m just not woman enough for me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING

  started off all wrong. Jake woke up feeling bad, to an empty bed. For the second night he’d failed Sass, despite his very best efforts. He loathed failure, and to be failing in this particular department…He closed his eyes tightly for a minute. Had his year’s celibacy lessened his performance? It wasn’t him, it was her, he assured himself. But even so…It just wasn’t the sort of thing a guy would ever confess to—I can’t satisfy the woman I love.

  Like. The woman I like.

  But it was stronger than that. He flipped over onto his back and studied the ceiling. He was, he decided, smitten. He liked the word. It conveyed a suitable amount of angst, but still had a temporary feel. He was smitten but he couldn’t satisfy her. It not only made him question his own performance, it made him feel that, in some strange way, she held all the control, all the power.

  If she cared about him the way he did about her, wouldn’t she have had an orgasm? Was it lack of trust? Lack of attraction? She was locked up and he didn’t have a key. He stretched out a hand to the empty sheets beside him and had the strongest presentiment she was slipping away from him.

  Jake got up, pulled on his shorts and walked out onto the deck, where he found her in the pale light of the dawn. She was sitting on the steps, laptop on knees, her fingers flying over the keyboard. She started when she heard his footstep behind her, and glanced up, her smile as bright as a shield. “Good morning.”

  It was like coming up against the Sass of one week ago. Bright, breezy—and beyond reach. She seemed to want to pretend nothing had happened last night—and face it, for her nothing had.

  He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Good morning. What are you doing?”

  It was an innocent question, but she’d tilted the lid slightly so he couldn’t see the screen.

  “An idea came to me in the night, that’s all.”

  “Oh, yeah? What?” Her eyes were bright and there was a new resolve about her that he mistrusted.

  “Nothing concrete yet. Going surfing?”

  He knew then she was up to something for sure.

  “Yeah, can you hear the waves? That’s a good sign. I’ll go wake the boys. See you for breakfast.”

  His smile was as fake as hers when he left. A surf was exactly what he needed to clear his thoughts.

  THE WAVES, HOWEVER, did not cooperate. The conditions were lumpy, with lots of close-outs. Useful for learning in one way, as concentration was required to catch the right wave for a decent ride. Brad, though, wasn’t trying at all. He kept taking any old wave, then trying to pull stupid stunts.

  “Stop playing silly buggers and focus,” Jake snapped.

  Brad gave him the pitying look only a teenager can bestow on a slightly imbecilic adult. “What’s your problem?”

  Jake couldn’t begin to explain what the real problem was.

  “My problem is that the nationals are nearly here and you’re just wasting your time and mine.”

  The kid shrugged. “Chill out, Jake.”

  That was all Jake needed. In crisp, no uncertain terms he ordered him off the waves and out of his sight.

  Brad’s expression tightened but he held on to his infuriating insouciance. “Sure, I’m happy to go. You need to lighten up, man.”

  “If you lighten up any more, a breeze will blow you away!” Jake yelled, but Brad had already gone.

  BREAKFAST PASSED in silence, with Jake and Brad both still simmering. Sass and the twins initially attempted easy conversation but they soon gave up, and it was a relief all around when the boys took off to catch the school bus.

  “What was all that about?” Sass asked as she cleaned her coffee machine. The faint scent of freshly ground coffee beans still lingered, and Jake realized how he’d come to like it. It was homey somehow. It didn’t help his mood, however, as he put away the peanut butter and Vegemite and shut the pantry door with a vengeance.

  “Brad’s behaving like a brat. I don’t get that kid at all.”

  Sass looked up at him for a second before saying, “He idolizes you. You do know that, don’t you?”

  Jake snorted. “Yeah, right. He doesn’t take a thing seriously.”

  “You mean, he doesn’t take surfing seriously.”

  “He’s got talent like you wouldn’t believe, but he’s just pissing around, wasting it.”

  “Now you sound like your father.”

  Jake closed the fridge door with more unnecessary force. “I’m nothing like my dad.”

  Sass remained calm as she rinsed bowls under the tap. “You’re exactly like him. That’s why you fight so much.”

  But Jake was not in the mood to hear more. He escaped from the house to sort out the garage.

  It was an hour later when Sass called, “Jake! Phone!”

  He came inside and saw she was dressed up. Clearly, she was on her way to the city, and that just riled him more. What the hell was she up to? He snatched up the receiver. “Finlayson here.”

  “It’s Miss Adderley, the principal’s secretary.” The woman’s voice was glacial.
“I’m phoning to tell you that Bradley hotwired the principal’s car and was picked up by the police, traveling one hundred and sixty kilometers an hour outside town. Mr. King would appreciate it if you would come pick Bradley up.”

  Jake’s hand fisted but he kept his voice level. “Thank you for letting me know. I’ll be right there.”

  He slammed down the phone and found Sass at his elbow.

  “What’s up?”

  He told her in a few terse sentences. She closed her eyes. “Oh, poor Brad.”

  “Poor Brad?” Jake was incredulous. “I’ll have his guts for garters, so help me God.”

  He started toward the door, but Sass stayed him with a hand on his arm. “Jake, don’t say anything you’ll regret. He’s just following in your footsteps.”

  For a second he didn’t understand what she meant. Then he got it. “Oh, no, no way! Don’t even begin to compare my situation with his. It’s not the same. I knew the risks when I took the dope to school. Brad’s just a loose bloody cannon courting disaster.”

  Sass smiled. “I’d have loved to hear what your dad said the day your principal phoned.”

  Jake stormed out of the house without another word.

  THE DRIVE IN GAVE JAKE the exact amount of time to recall every item on the long list of Brad’s failings. He’d be expelled and then what? As for the way he was flushing his talent down the toilet…Words failed Jake. Added to which, he’d have a dickens of a fight with Janet to be able to keep Brad. He really didn’t need this hassle right at this moment.

  Jake marched into the school, where he found Brad sitting in the foyer, wearing the smoldering, defiant expression all teenagers seemed to have perfected. When he saw Jake, he raised his jaw as though inviting a punch.