Blind Attraction (14 page)

“But, back to my point,”
Victoria squeezed James’s hand, which had remained on her stomach the entire time, warming her all the way to the marrow. “I was an ‘oops’ baby, too, only my mom didn’t know until I already had daddy wrapped around my little finger and they didn’t have the heart to tell me until I was sixteen.”

“Well, since my parents had me for you then it’s only fair that your parents had you for me,” James murmured, bringing her hand to his mouth and kissing her palm. “It was necessary for your mom to have an affair to bring you into my life.”

“Aw, James, that’s just about the sweetest thing anyone has ever told me,” she murmured, framing his face in her hands and bending forward to kiss him. With a soft laugh, she sat back and shrugged, “Tell me more about you.”

“I went to boarding school in England….”

“Mises Prep Academy,” she murmured. Seeing his bewildered expression that she would know that, she smiled, “Philip told me at the company party that the two of you went there.”

His expression relaxed and a smile curved his lips, “I hadn’t wanted to go but then my father offered to pay for Philip’s tuition as well.”

He talked about his years at the Academy, making her laugh with some of the situations the group of young men had gotten into, from the time they took the dean’s toupee and put it on the mascot to the times they snuck alcohol into the dorm rooms to their more daring escapades. There was a note of wistfulness in his voice as he talked about missing his family and the excitement of going home for the holidays, how his mother insisted on having traditional family get-togethers, putting an end to working on Christmas Eve and other holidays, and making his father slow down to appreciate the world he had worked so hard to create for most of his life.

“What is your mom like?” Victoria asked, impressed by the woman she had never met but who had been able to remind a tycoon of his humanity and raise an amazing son.

“Well, she is very beautiful and is nearly twenty years younger than dad but I think that it keeps dad honest; they love each other very much.” His smile was warm and sincere, “He would do anything to make her happy; luckily for him all she needs to be happy is him.”

“
That is very sweet,” Victoria murmured, mesmerized by James’s expression, the openness of his features. Maybe the eyes weren’t the window to the soul because she could see everything in his handsome face. Bending her head, she softly kissed the tip of his nose. Keeping her face so close to his, she whispered, “You love your family very much; I can see it when you talk about them. It’s so beautiful.”

James
swallowed hard against the lump in his throat as her sweet, champagne-scented breath fanned out over his face. Sliding his hand behind her head, he pulled her down and kissed her mouth. In this position, he had easy access to her throat and he took advantage of that, kissing a line along her jaw to her neck.

Victoria
’s eyes closed as James’s lips moved over her skin, sending shards of pleasure throughout her body. Even though her position was uncomfortable, she didn’t want to shift and risk losing the feel of his mouth on her neck, his fingers in her hair. His other hand moved against her waist, sliding under her shirt and touching her bare stomach. Heat pooled around his palm as he moved it across her flesh and her body responded eagerly to his touch.

Keeping his lips on hers, James flipped over and came to his knees, wanting more of her sweet kisses. Burying his fingers in her hair he was momentarily surprised by the thickness of it; he had thought her
pale blond hair wouldn’t be so lush. It was a very pleasant surprise that got delegated to the back of his head as he deepened the kiss, her soft moans fueling his already rampant desire. Despite his promise to take things slow, he was eager to get her into his bed. This passion between them would surely set the sheets on fire.

A not-so-discreet clearing of the throat behind them interrupted their kiss. Reluctantly, James stopped kissing Victoria and sat back on his haunches. With a perturbed sigh, he grumbled, “Hello, Catherine.”

Victoria’s eyes shot open and she saw James’s assistant a few feet away, an amused expression on her face. Victoria gasped, “How long have you been there?”

As she stood there, Catherine looked at her watch and shook her head, “I’ve been watching the two of you for at least three minutes.”

Color exploded across Victoria’s face as she abruptly stood up, wobbling only slightly on the heels she had forgotten she was wearing. Grabbing the empty plates, she began putting things back into the picnic basket, “I’m so sorry; I guess we lost track of time.”

Quite a bit slower, James pushed himself to his feet
as well. Leaning into Victoria, he whispered, “Fifteen, I swear to God.”

The corners of
Victoria’s lips tilted upwards as she continued to put things away. James had blindly grabbed the blanket and was attempting to fold it, but it looked as if he had never actually folded a blanket before. With an impatient sigh, Catherine joined them, helping to clean up. The older woman was so efficient it kind of intimidated Victoria; plus, Catherine had once shared James’s bed….

The
feel of his mouth possessing hers and the awareness that there were no lingering romantic feelings between the two of them sent any remaining doubts away. 

“Are we all set here?” Catherine
asked, the perfectly folded blanket across her arm.

“Yes,” James murmured, wrapping his hand around
Victoria’s, the picnic basket in his other hand.

“Unfortunately, I am going to have to bring your date to an end,
no lingering over goodnight kisses or cups of coffee,” Catherine said as they climbed into the SUV. Looking over her shoulder at Victoria and James, she smiled sympathetically, “I have to get home and Jimmy is dependent on me to drive him around.”

“I’m not the one who insists that you be my driver,” James reminded her. “In fact, I think I’ve told you on numerous occasions that I have a perfectly good driver….”

“That allowed you to be in that awful crash,” Catherine interrupted, fastening her seat belt and starting the car as if that was the end of the conversation.

“I take it you were pretty affected by James’s accident,”
Victoria murmured kindly, inadvertently startling Catherine in the process. “I would be pretty shaken up, too, if I had been in his life at the time.”

Catherine raised her eyes and once again met V
ictoria’s eyes in the mirror, seeing the sincerity in their depths; the girl was a strange one. Clearing her throat, she nodded her head in acknowledgement before pulling out of her parking spot. “Yeah, well, he’s my Jimmy.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s mine,”
Victoria teased.

James smiled at the heartening words spoken by Cate and
Victoria. Entwining his fingers with Victoria’s, he brushed his lips against her ear, “I
am
yours.”

Turning her head slightly,
Victoria felt the faint brush of James’s lips against her cheek. “I’ve never told anyone other than Taylor about my dad before.”

“I’m honored,” he said softly,
sincerely, bending his head slightly and breathing in the delicate fragrance of her neck.

“What about your father?” Catherine asked from the front seat.

“Um, I don’t know my father,” Victoria murmured, a blush stealing across her face. James tightened his grip on her hand in a comforting manner.

“Would you like to?” Catherine
asked, an undertone of excitement in her voice. “I can find out for you.”

Victoria
’s face warmed even more and she understood why people were intimidated by Catherine; the things she knew…. Her sources must be pretty impressive for her to be able to get that kind of information. Before she declined, James spoke sternly, “Enough, Cate.”

Catherine’s offered a half-smile, acknowledging the fact that she was stepping over the line and that she didn’t give a damn. “Sorry,
Vi; I’m just terribly inquisitive.”

“It’s all right,”
Victoria murmured, wondering exactly how much Catherine knew, just how much she was going to uncover. Narrowing her eyes, she watched Catherine’s expression in the rear-view mirror. “And in case you’re wondering, I’ve never asked about him because I already have a dad.”

“I apologize for my assistant,” James
said in a stage whisper. “She performs background checks and has an eerie ability for finding out information some would prefer to remain hidden. She also has an uncanny ability for determining a person’s reliability; it’s almost scary.”

“It’s okay,”
Victoria murmured. Watching Catherine, Victoria saw the other woman’s slight smile, the knowing gleam in her eyes; she definitely knew something. Could Catherine actually know who her father was? Did Victoria even want to know?

James laughed softly, trying to ease the tension Cate
had created, “I don’t know what I’d do if Cate figured out she could make a fortune working for the tabloids.”

“Ah, Jimmy,” Catherine grinned. “You know I would never leave you.”

James shook his head but smiled indulgently, “No one else would have you, Cate. They’re all afraid of you and the dirty secrets you always manage discover.”

“You’re just lucky I love my job,” Catherine laughed. Meeting
Victoria’s eyes in the mirror once more, she smirked, “By the way, Vi; I like you – so don’t worry. If I didn’t approve of you, I wouldn’t be driving you around.”

“We should have taken my car,”
Victoria grumbled, making James laugh.

“If I didn’t like you I would have warned James away and there’d be no more dates,” Catherine shot back with a wicked grin.

“Does she really have that much power over you?” Victoria asked James in a theatrical whisper, her own eyes sparkling with amusement.

James made a slightly strangled sound and grimaced, “No.”

Catherine exploded with mirthful laughter, “Jimmy, tell the truth. You know that when I don’t like a girl you date you always break up with her.”

“That has nothing to do with whether or not you like her,” James countered. “Besides,
Victoria is the only one you’ve ever even remotely endorsed.”

“I think I should be flattered,”
Victoria muttered.

Both Catherine and James laughed; despite seven years difference in age, they shared a slightly twisted sense of humor and despite a previous physical relationship, they acted more like… brother and sister. That was kind of disturbing.

“Jimmy, I don’t know why you try to think for yourself when it comes to the women you date,” Catherine continued to tease. “You’d save yourself a lot of time and effort if you’d just listen to me from the start.”

“Cate has absolutely no ego what-so-ever,” James dead-panned.

“So I’ve noticed,”
Victoria grinned. Liking Catherine required an equal amount of respect and fear. “I don’t ever want to be on her bad side.”

“Let’s hope you never are,” James murmured, pressing a soft kiss to
Victoria’s cheek. If they had further to travel, he could have ignored Cate’s presence and gotten back to kissing Victoria at the very least. But the car was slowing to a stop and he wasn’t going to find out how perfectly they fit together that night.

“Well, we’re here,”
Victoria murmured, looking out the car window towards her darkened shop, not anxious to depart James’s company.

“So, are you
gonna invite me up?” James asked softly, his voice husky.

“
Ny-uh, no way,” Catherine answered from the front, turning around in her seat and glaring at James. “I’m not coming back for you in a couple of hours, Jimmy; I do have my own family to deal with.”

Victoria
was relieved and disappointed; as much as she wanted to spend time with James, she wasn’t prepared to invite him upstairs to her teeny-tiny apartment. Cupping James’s cheek, she softly kissed the corner of his mouth, wishing to linger but very aware of Catherine’s presence. “Another time, James.”

He closed his eyes as her soft scent floated around him
even as she denied him. Instead of turning him off, he wanted her more than ever; and not just for sex. He wanted to learn everything about her, from her upbringing to how she came to own a store selling romance and fantasy. Putting his hand over hers, holding her a little while longer, he lowered his voice, “Stop by the office tomorrow for lunch.”

“If
Marnie comes in I will,” she offered; it was the best she could do. She still had a business to run and no matter how much she wanted to spend time with James, she had to work. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow morning.”

“Fine,” he sighed dramatically but ruined it when he smiled, forcing the wind from
Victoria’s lungs. Damn, but he had a powerful smile. His entire expression sparkled as he bent his head and kissed her. As soon as his lips touched hers, she was lost. Warmth moved throughout her body and she had no choice but to return his kiss. Sliding her hand to the back of his neck, she pulled him closer as his mouth moved over hers.

James felt
her response the moment she melted, almost as soon as his lips touched hers. He couldn’t take much pleasure in the fact that she was putty in his hands because the vice versa was also true – she could ask for anything from him and he would give it. The kiss was just a sample of how perfect they were together. He was sure they made a striking looking couple, and it had little to do with vanity. James was aware of his sinfully appealing looks; adding her golden goddess beauty to the equation and the two of them would be a force to be reckoned with.