by Law, Kim
“Would you come in here?” His tone still commanded, but she could see he was trying.
She so didn’t want to go in there. She couldn’t fully escape him—they did have to film the activities scheduled for the day—but the thought of being near him at the moment wasn’t a pleasant one. In fact, it was darn near torturous.
She glanced at the outer door, wondering if he’d refuse to continue or renege on the whole thing altogether, if she just left.
“Please.”
Damn. That did it. She still couldn’t say no to the man, no matter what, and certainly not when he said please.
With a great show of reluctance, she grabbed her remaining items and slunk into his office. He stood at the entrance and let her pass, then followed her in, closing the door behind him, this time more gently.
Once they were alone, she stood in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped protectively around her stuff, and waited.
“Sit down, Vega.” His deep voice came from behind her a second before his hands reached around and lifted the camera and her backpack from her arms. He pressed his fingertips to her shoulder, nudging her toward a chair. “Sit.”
With a drawn-out sigh, she finally did as asked. He circled his desk and sat facing her, and she found herself unable to look him in the eye. Knowing he’d been with Greta the night before hurt way more than it should have.
She tried the view out his window, but that just reminded her of what the two of them had done up against that pane a couple days ago. Finally, she settled her gaze on the shelves lining the wall to his left.
“Why did you run out like that last night?” The underlying anger in his voice was enough to swivel her head back in his direction.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked. “We’d just gotten caught being photographed again…while you were on a date with another woman, and you think I should have sat back down with her for round two?”
“You could have let me know you were leaving. I was worried.”
Right. Greta had mentioned he’d checked on her before he’d done who knew what to the other woman. She supposed she was supposed to be thankful for that small bit of worry. She stared at the shelves again and snorted her disgust.
“What does that mean?” he asked, the tension in his voice slightly subdued. “You don’t think I would worry about you?”
“I don’t think it was the topmost subject on your mind, no.”
“What is wrong with you this morning?” He slammed a hand on his desk, making her jump but getting her attention back on him. “I’m the one who should be pissed here. I had no idea you’d run out.”
“You should be pissed?”
“I had to make up an explanation to Greta.”
“You think you’re the one who has a right to be angry?”
“Then I had to call in all kinds of favors to get the hotel staff to make sure you’d gotten back safely. And all the while—”
She stood and leaned over the desk, putting her face in his. “Since when have I become incapable of seeing myself back to my own hotel?”
He rose to mimic her pose. “Since I can’t stand not knowing what you’re doing every single minute of the day.”
“That’s a load of crap.”
“That’s the reality, lady.”
They were standing nose-to-nose, screaming at each other, and hadn’t heard Beverly come in. She cleared her throat during the brief silence, and they both whipped their heads around to the door.
“I’m sorry.” She looked at the floor as she spoke. “The governor is on line one, Mr. Davenport. He’s insisting he speak with you.”
The door closed behind her before JP could utter a response.
He turned back to Vega, their heated breaths mingling, and locked his gaze with hers. She didn’t know what was going on here, but she was sure she didn’t like the look in his eyes. Moving away from the tension, she settled back down in a chair, wishing he’d do the same. Instead, he continued hovering over his desk.
“What is it that’s really bugging you, JP?” she asked. “Of course I left last night. I was more than embarrassed when Greta brought up that picture of us, then we got caught again in the back room, and if that wasn’t enough, the entire evening had already been uncomfortable. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Why not?” Childlike belligerence was the closest she could come to describing his tone.
She glanced away, not wanting to show him her pain, but then decided it might be the only way to get him to back off. Lifting her chin, she faced him. “I know I don’t have the right to care, but I find it incredibly difficult to sit with you and another woman on a date.”
“But you knew it wasn’t a real date.”
“I knew it wasn’t likely to go past last night, yes. But that doesn’t mean…” She hated herself for being jealous. She took a deep breath and licked her lips before continuing. “That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t see to it that Greta got her money’s worth.”
Confusion marred his brow. “What do you mean? A good date? Of course I’d show her a good time. I took her to the finest restaurant in Buckhead, then to every club I could think of. I made sure we were seen together all over the damn town, just so we could be splashed in every tabloid that exists. That’s what she wanted, after all.”
Vega shook her head. “That’s not all she wanted. And I’m smart enough to know a man like you would have a hard time turning that down. If I were guessing, I’d say it would be darn near impossible.”
Emptiness permeated every molecule of her being. She couldn’t be with JP, and she’d just admitted she didn’t want him to be with anyone else either. How stupid was she?
He pushed off his desk and came around to stand directly in front of her. He held out his hand. “Will you stand, please?”
She shook her head, not looking at him.
“Vega?” The word was gentle, but she still resisted.
“Don’t say anything,” she begged. “I knew you’d sleep with other women. That’s who you are. I just…” She shook her head and rubbed the spot on her chest that ached. “I didn’t know it would bother me so much.”
JP squatted in front of her. She let him turn her face to his, but she refused to make eye contact.
“Baby?”
One lone tear slipped out of the corner of her eye. “Stop.”
He kissed the tear away, which only released another in its place.
When she shoved against him with her fists, he merely wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She buried her face in her arms, now crumpled between them.
“I’m sorry I was mad this morning,” he said. “I just wanted you with me last night instead of her.”
She nodded, drowning in humiliation.
“And I’m sorry I made you go through that. I shouldn’t have insisted you come.”
Her tears dried, but she kept her forehead pressed to the hardness of his chest. She didn’t want to walk away from him and never look back.
“And I’m sorry I didn’t realize what you were thinking.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant, so she glanced up.
He pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth, clinging for several seconds before letting go. “There is no way I would ever sleep with Greta, baby. None. And I made that clear when I dropped her off at her house last night.” He gave her a half-smile. “But, man, it’s good to see the jealousy in your eyes.”
She tried to hide in his chest again, but he wouldn’t let her.
“It means you care, you know?” he whispered.
“Mr. Davenport,” the phone crackled.
His arms tensed around her.
“It means I’m an idiot,” she muttered.
“No, baby.” JP brushed loose strands of hair back from her face and closed his mouth on hers one more time.
He held there, firm pressure but closed lips, letting her know the choice was hers. She wanted to resist. So very badly. Yet her mouth opened, inviting him in.
&nb
sp; With a groan, his tongue stroked hers, and he pulled out every trick in the book. Within seconds, he had her pliable and ready for surrender.
“Mr. Davenport.” Beverly stood inside the room again, and Vega jerked out of JP’s arms.
“I need to go.” She stood, more confused now than she’d ever been. “I’ll be…back…later.”
JP watched her from his squatted position, his gaze telling her something she refused to hear, then rose to take the call.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The buzz of the city faded as the SUV left Peachtree and headed northeast. Vega watched the passing sights in silence, while JP kept his hands on ten and two and didn’t take his eyes from the road. It all seemed perfectly normal and polite, only she couldn’t get their morning argument out of her mind. She suspected he was dwelling on the same thing himself.
Whatever had been going on in that room had left her utterly drained. His frustration over her leaving the night before, as well as her jealousy—thank goodness he hadn’t slept with Greta, after all—had all been a mask covering something else. Something more intense. Something that had caused panic in her midsection every time he’d stared into her eyes.
Taking a quick peek across the car, she studied him. This was the first time she’d seen him during business hours in something other than a suit, and she wondered what was so special about the school they were heading to that would bring out the difference. His khakis and navy polo were nice, and certainly looked just as terrific on him as three-piece suits. But different.
Then she wondered if he really was different with her, as Beverly had suggested. She wouldn’t have seriously considered it before, but pictures didn’t lie. After she’d escaped his office, she’d pulled out her phone and looked up every tabloid shot of him she’d been able to locate. He was never photographed doing so much as holding hands with any of them. Occasionally he’d lean in close to hear or speak, putting a hand to the woman’s back, but still, nothing personal.
The car turned off the road into a school entrance, and JP headed toward the back of the building. She peeked behind them and saw that the photographers who had been on their trail continued straight, stopped from following by a security guard at the school entrance. JP made a left turn and slipped in under the building via the service ramp.
“Do you always park underneath the building?”
Once parked in a marked-off spot, he turned the car off. “Yep.”
Their conversation had been about that deep since they’d left the office.
He reached for his door handle, but she stopped him with a hand to his arm.
“Can I ask you something about this morning first?” Her question was spoken softly. She wanted to know what that had been. The panic flaring through her had made her want to run, yet at the same time, something good had been filtering in as well.
His jaw twitched before he shifted to face her. One thigh hitched up on the seat between them, and his body visibly relaxed, almost as if he’d been waiting to talk about this very subject. The warmer hue in his eyes suddenly sent her into retreat mode once again.
Maybe she needed to rethink this before bringing it up. Or not bring it up at all.
But she had to say something now that she’d started. She reached for the only other thing that came to mind. “What was the call from Governor Chandler about?”
The glow in his gaze shut down. “That’s what you want to talk about?”
She nodded, swallowing the fib. “Was he upset?”
“You are a master at avoidance, aren’t you, woman?” JP laughed, a short, harsh sound. “Okay, fine. We’ll talk about the governor, for now. Yes.” He gave a single, decisive nod. “He was upset.”
Her chest deflated. “I was afraid so. Was it because of the pictures of Greta, or…”
He leaned the side of his head against the headrest and watched her, his blue eyes steady. “Or?”
She shrugged. What was she supposed to say? She was worried the governor had read too much into the picture of him and her. “Was he upset over the other one? The one of you and me talking.”
“The other one.”
She held her breath. “How upset?”
He picked up her hand and held it in his. “He ranted for a minute or two. Pointed out how inappropriate it was to be seen having a moment with one woman when I was already out with another one, no matter that the first one was obviously not a real date.”
“Surely you told him it wasn’t a moment. We were just talk—”
He leaned forward and seared her with a fast, hot kiss. When he pulled back, his voice was deeper. “It was a moment. And everyone who sees it will know that.”
She licked her lips, tasting him. She really had to quit letting him kiss her like that. “We’ve got to go into repair mode. We’ve damaged your reputation enough. What can I do to help?”
Without warning, he leaned over and laid another fevered kiss on her, exploring her mouth until she could no longer pull in breath.
“Just keep giving me reasons to have moments, and I’ll be fine.” His voice was gravely.
“You’ve got to be serious, JP. Governor Chandler might pull his support if we get caught again.” She motioned toward the opening of the parking garage. “They follow us everywhere.”
He nodded. “Chandler and I are okay. He’ll still be there tonight to make it official on camera. But yeah, he’s getting frustrated. We’ll be more careful.”
“So we’re in agreement. We have to stop…” She waved her hand back and forth between them. At his quirked brow, she sighed and let her hand drop. Who was she kidding? They couldn’t just stop whatever this was. Not when they had to be around each other every day anyway. “We just have to be more careful in public. I won’t be the cause of your downfall.”
“That sounds fair.” He reached up to caress a finger over one cheek. “All I have to do is figure out a way to keep my hands to myself.”
“You’re already failing,” she whispered. The soft laugh that followed changed the mood inside the car, and suddenly all she could think about was the fact that they weren’t exactly in public at the moment. And she wanted one more kiss.
Without giving herself time to think, she shifted on the seat and went to him. She closed her mouth over his and kissed him with everything she could muster. A strange power came to life inside her when he didn’t take over, instead letting her lead the way.
Bringing her hands up to cradle his face, she rose up on her knees and poured her soul into the kiss. She may not be able to be with him fully the way she wanted, but she hoped this showed, in some small way, how much she cared.
When the kiss ended, she moved back to her side and suggested they should go inside the building. She was terrified he’d want to dissect that kiss if they didn’t get out of there.
Without words, JP stepped from the car.
She followed, but when she reached for the back door, it was locked. “I need my camera.”
“You can’t record in here.” He spoke low, his steady gaze burning a hole in her.
“Why not?” She tugged on the locked door. “Everyone knows you make occasional appearances here.”
“Have you ever seen those appearances on the news? Anywhere?”
“As a matter of fact,” she said, ready to prove him wrong, but then realized that no, as a matter of fact, she had not. “Then why show up if not for publicity?”
They crossed the garage to the elevator, and once inside, he jabbed a button to take them to the first floor. “It’s not for publicity. Additionally, you can’t use anything you see or learn here in your segment.”
“Then why let me come in the first place?”
He cut his eyes to her, and she couldn’t tell whether it was annoyance or disgust peering back at her. A ding announced their arrival, and JP motioned for her to exit before him.
“Mr. Davenport.” An older woman rushed from behind the desk when they entered the front office. “Thank you so much fo
r rearranging your schedule. The kids would have been terribly disappointed had our mix-up caused you to be unable to make it.”
“Ms. Halloway, you know I’ll do everything I can to be here each week.” JP turned on the charm and had every woman in the office giggling within minutes.
He came here weekly? Interesting that no one had ever caught on to that fact. That was why he parked underground, to hide from view.
“Ms. Halloway.” JP lost a bit of the charm as he turned toward Vega. “This is my friend Vega. She’s doing a special report on me, so she’s following me around with a video camera this week.”
The principal’s eyes widened.
“However, she will not be filming anywhere in the school.”
Gray-blue eyes shifted from Vega to JP, then suddenly twinkled from behind small wire-rimmed glasses. “Your friend, you say?”
JP looked properly caught. “My friend. Will you please make her welcome?”
She gushed. “Absolutely.”
Vega was beyond confused. What was going on here that was so secretive? She followed him to a classroom in which sat a group of kids, all probably under the age of ten, who were twittering with excitement. When she entered behind him, it was clear they wanted to bombard her with questions, but their respect for the man who made it a point to come see them weekly won out, keeping them on their best behavior. Vega settled into a child-sized seat in the back of the room, her knees up to her neck, to watch. Good thing she’d worn slacks instead of a skirt.
As she got comfortable, the same redhead Vega had caught hugging JP in his office earlier in the week stepped into the room with a dark-haired boy and took a direct path to JP. Both she and the child appeared nervous as the woman dragged the boy along behind her.
Vega glanced at JP in time to watch him catch sight of the newcomers. He took a shocked step back, his eyes going wide along with his stance. In the next instant, his entire body tensed, but he stooped down to speak to the boy. A fake smile mapped his lips across his jaw as he held out his hand to shake the youngster’s. Vega studied the pair as they talked. Something was off.
When JP straightened, he snuck a quick glance Vega’s direction then looked away just as abruptly. That had been guilt splashed across his face.