Caught on Camera (28 page)

But since she’d sent a call straight through, that meant it was either his mother or an emergency.

He glanced at the call number and picked up the receiver. “Hello, Mother.”

“Have you seen the Internet this morning, Jackson?”

Ignoring her for the moment, he studied Vega, who looked at the photo one second longer then quietly moved away. Her shoulders drooped as if the world had sat down on them.

“All of the Internet, or something in particular?”

“Don’t be a smart-ass.” His no-nonsense mother was in full force this morning. “Have you seen it or not?”

“Looking at it as we speak.”

“Do you know what this looks like?”

He chuckled. “It looks like I had a really good weekend.”

She went dead silent and he waited. He may be doing what she wanted with his life, but that didn’t mean he was playing her games.

A long sigh finally filled the void. “That’s all you’ve got? You had a good time?”

“I did have a good time. Excellent, in fact.” He snuck a quick glance at Vega, who was now looking out the window over the heart of the city. She was using one finger to trace a pattern against the glass. It looked as if she were outlining the other buildings.

“There isn’t a name tied to this one yet, but clearly you went away with Vega. I assume it’s her?”

Since Vega had been identified in the beach shot, as well as the clip he’d caught on the news that morning of the two of them exiting his plane, it would look even worse if this were with a different woman. Might as well come clean. “Yes, mother. It was Vega.”

Vega’s shoulders stiffened.

“And you’re letting her do the interview now.” It wasn’t a question. Probably she’d gotten the information out of Beverly.

“We actually just started filming, so if you don’t mind—”

“Wait.” His mother’s voice was tight. “I’m glad you’re doing the interview, Jackson. Really. I think it could be excellent coverage for you.” She paused before continuing. “You get final approval?”

“Of course.”

“Then I think it’s an excellent idea…”

“But?”

“Well…” It wasn’t like his mother to beat about the bush.

“What is it, Mother? I’m busy and I have a meeting in less than an hour I need to prepare for.”

“You’re sleeping with your interviewer, Jackson. That will look bad as well.”

He didn’t comment. He knew she was right, but there was nothing he could do to change the fact. “Anything else?”

“I just think that…well, Vega seems nice enough, but maybe she isn’t the right one to be hanging around with…that way.”

“That way?” He could not believe just because he was letting his mother talk him into office, she now thought she could dictate who he did and did not see. He may never have lived up to her expectations since he hadn’t been able to read in his youth, but she did not get a say in his choice of women. “You mean you don’t think I should sleep with her, or you don’t think I should bring her home for dinner?”

At the question, Vega spun around. Eyes wide, she shot him a hard look.

He winked at her.

“There’s no need to get snippy, Jackson. You know I’m only looking out for you, same as always. I only want what’s best for you.”

“Yeah?” What
she
thought was best, she meant. “Well, staying out of my love life would be best for me, Mom. Anything else you wanted?”

He heard the soft release of air as she opened her mouth to respond, then clearly thought twice about whatever she’d been intending to say.

“Fine,” she said. “It’s your life and I can’t tell you how to live it. I have no problem with young men having good times, but you’ve got to think about
where
you’re having these good times these days. This picture of you and her out in public like that…it doesn’t look good, Jackson. Imagine what people will think. Imagine what Governor Chandler will think.”

“Beverly has already called our lawyer to get it taken down.” He would make sure of that, but given how well Beverly did her job, he was confident it had already been handled. But he had no idea how to make this better in the governor’s eyes. “Anything else?”

“Just be careful. This is what you’ve wanted for so long. Don’t damage it before you even get started.”

He stared at the receiver, amazed as always that she actually thought this was his dream. But he couldn’t disappoint her by telling her the truth. He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I’ll call the governor. Any chance this will affect his decision?” He shook his head because he knew better than to think it wouldn’t matter. “Do you think it’s
already
affected his decision?”

“I’ll talk to him,” she said. “I’ll run a little cleanup, but he believes in us, he has for years. Surely this won’t be enough to pull his support. But you have to be more careful in the future, Jackson. He can’t let too many situations like this go.”

JP nodded, resignation filling him at the big mistake sitting in front of him he needed to correct. “I’ll go over, get an appointment with him. I’ll make sure he understands it won’t happen again.”

His mother got off the phone, and he turned to Vega, who still stood gaping at him.

“You were talking about me?”

He waggled his eyes, trying to force himself into a better mood. “Who else have I been caught in public fondling the breasts of lately?” Actually, ever. He was normally very careful about such things.

“But you told your
mother
it was me. Couldn’t you at least have kept that part a secret?”

He shrugged and stood. “It’s not like it won’t be confirmed soon enough anyway, probably already is.”

“I don’t get why you aren’t mortified.” She flapped her arms in the direction of his computer. “You have my naked breast in your hand!”

“Not at the moment.” He stood, but when she stiffened, he changed his course and moved to her camera instead of her. Leaning down, he glanced through the eyepiece and repositioned the lens until Vega filled the center of the shot. “Though I wouldn’t mind putting it there again.”

“Stop it.” She glanced back at his desk, gnawing on her bottom lip once again. “What do we do to clean this up? Will your lawyer really get it taken down?”

He zoomed in on her face. She was even hotter when riled up. “Probably within the hour. But you know it’ll pop up somewhere else.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her mouth. “And even with the X-rated version taken down, someone will still have a cleaned-up shot out there.”

She paced to the desk and back to the window, and he followed her with the camera.

“You look awesome, you know. Did I mention that?”

Vega glanced over at his words and pursed her lips. “Quit messing around, JP. I had that perfectly lined up where I wanted it.”

“I like recording you.”

“Well, the point of the recording is to capture footage for the interview.”

“And I told you, you should be a part of the interview.” He peeked out over the top. “You should watch this later. You glow on camera.”

For a second, she stared directly into the lens, her brown eyes deep and intense as thoughts ran back and forth through her mind. He would have paid big money to know what she was thinking. She then dismissed her thoughts as easily as she did him, and turned back to the window. “I told you how this was going to play out. It’s all about you. Not me.”

“And I asked you to consider doing the live portion yourself.”

“I already considered it.”

“I don’t believe you.”

She sighed, a long, frustrated sound. “It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. I considered it. Case closed.”

He flipped the switch and turned the camera off, then moved to the window to stand behind her. He reached one arm around her and rested it on the glass, putting his body within inches of hers. “Okay,” he whispered. “Case closed.” He nudged his nose against the back of her neck. “For now.”

“What are you doing?” She stiffened. Her tone said outrage, but he also caught the slight tilt of her neck.

“I’m going to point out some of the sights to you.” He lifted a finger to one of the more popular attractions of the city, his forearm brushing against her. She caught her breath but followed the direction of his finger.

“That’s the Bank of America Plaza. And those two structures there,” he continued, using his other arm to circle the other side of her and inhale her tropical scent. “Those buildings are mine. Fifty floors, condominiums on top, offices and retail on the lower levels.”

“I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work.”

He ignored her, not stopping his train of thought. “The buildings are public knowledge, though. Probably not something you want to explore too much in your program.”

She nodded, unspeaking. A curl slipped loose and swayed with her movement.

He wrapped the tendril around one finger. “You didn’t torture your hair as much today.”

“I felt like a bit of a change.” One hand lifted to the back of her head. The loose updo was attractive, but nothing like seeing all of it haloing her as she rode him, her head thrown back in passion.

He trailed a finger down her neck. “I like it.”

“JP.” Her voice shook, as did her body. “Seriously, I’m here to work. Stop messing around.”

His finger dipped under her collar and teased along the base of her neck. They were so not over. “I’m not messing around. I love touching you.”

She took a step to her right, putting space between them, and shot him a short glance. “I meant what I said. We had a great time the last couple of days, but it’s over. Let’s not pretend it could be more.”

She sucked at pretending she wasn’t affected by him, but her insistence on doing it suddenly riled. “Then you won’t mind that I’m going out with Greta tomorrow night?”

Her shoulders tensed, but her voice remained unaltered. She crossed her arms over her chest and studied the buildings outside his window even harder. “Of course not. She did buy you, after all.” Her eyes cut to him. “That’s what you’re talking about, right? The date she purchased?”

He studied her. He would be completely furious if she were going out with another man. For any reason. “So you’re still not jealous? You don’t care if I’m going out with her?”

“Of course not,” she murmured, not quite as confident as she’d sounded a second ago, and turned back to the view.

He once again moved into her space. “Then you’ll have no problem recording it.”

She stilled. “Why would I record your date?”

“Seems that’s a behind-the-scenes sort of thing you might want.”

“Oh.” She gulped. “That is a good idea.” Only the expression on her face didn’t seem to be saying the same thing at all.

Heat from the late-morning sun warmed the windows, drawing him forward as easily as Vega did. He wanted to strip her bare and lay her out in the sunshine, then feast on her until they both passed out from exhaustion. “It’s a date, then.”

She nodded. “It’s a date for you and Greta. I’ll just be a bystander.”

“And you won’t be jealous.”

She shook her head.

“Liar,” he whispered. He leaned in and nuzzled her ear. “You’ll be watching us through your camera. Like a voyeur. You sure it won’t bother you at all?”

The corners of her mouth tightened, and he couldn’t help but smile. She was definitely jealous.

“Can we just get back to work now?”

“Sure.” Only he didn’t move away. He lowered his lips and nipped at the side of her neck. “As soon as you admit you’re jealous.”

“Seriously, JP.” Her eyes closed. “We have a lot to do today.”

“Okay.” He grasped her chin, tilting her head in a way that gave him clear access to the delectable slope of her neck. “But before we work, I need to show you something.”

As he skimmed over her skin, tasting her light flavor, she moaned. “What do you need to show me?”

“This.” He closed his arms around her and she melted back against him. “We’re good for each other, Vega.” His mouth swept over her ear, nipping at the lobe. “There’s no need to deny it.”

“We shouldn’t.” Her moans mixed with his as he slid his flattened hand down the front of her, in search of the hem of her skirt. His palm crossed her mound and her head lolled against his shoulder. When he reached the bottom edge, his fingers crawled underneath, then shot upward for her panties. Though he couldn’t see them, he’d learned what she liked. They would be lacy, mostly transparent, and tiny. When he landed on the miniscule scrap of material, he knew he was right.

“You’re so wet, baby.” He feasted along her jawline as she angled her head for him. “So hot. You know you want me as bad as I want you.”

“Uh-huh.”

His other hand opened the top of her dress and the front clasp of her bra in one fluid motion. He pulled one rounded breast out, lifting it in his hand, and exposing her for the world to see—if anyone were to look through the upper-floor window.

“I want to make love to you right here. With the sun streaming in on you.” He flicked her nipple and she ground back into him, her hips rocking against his erection. “You’re so beautiful in my hands.”

“Your assistant,” she breathed. “She might catch us.”

He bit down on the tender skin at the base of her neck and drove his fingers under the damp material of her panties at the same time. “She wouldn’t dream of opening that door.” He wiggled his thumb across her core.

“JP.” She gasped. Her hands lifted, reaching behind her to grab either side of his head. She curled into him like a satisfied cat. “You should stop. You’re not proving anything with this behavior.”

He slipped a finger inside her. “I’m proving that you’re mine.”

“Only…” Her head rolled against his shoulder once again as if unable to bear its own weight, and she shuddered in his arms. “Only that our attraction is strong.”

“Strong is a ridiculous word for this.” He tugged at her underwear, fighting the urge to rip it from her body and take her up against the window. “I’m proving that you drive me as insane as I drive you, Vega. I’m desperate for you.”

To show her what he meant, he dragged her skirt up to her waist and gripped both hips. He pressed into her, his erection aching for release, and knew she felt it when he throbbed between her cheeks.