Faking It (7 page)

E
RIN GLANCED AT HER
clock, her stomach jumping. Jack would be here at any moment. She turned to her reflection in the mirror.

Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, and though she’d gone through half her closet and her dresser, she hadn’t been able to find just the right outfit—the one that said she was a professional and not there to play around but that didn’t totally disregard the fact that she was a woman, should he want to take note for future reference. Her gaze swept over the clingy slip she wore. If he showed up to find her in this, they’d never make it out the door.

Her phone rang and she jumped, her heart racing. It rang three more times while she dug through the pile of discarded clothes on her bed before she found the receiver, then another ring before she fumbled the thing to her ear. “Hello?”

“Hi.” Jack’s cool baritone sent butterflies scurrying inside her.

She clasped a handful of clothes to her chest. “Jack, hi.”

“I think I’ve made a wrong turn.”

“Where are you?”

He gave her a location just blocks away. He was practically at her door. She gave him directions. “But no hurry. Just take your time. I’m not ready yet.”

She hung up and tossed the phone aside as she dashed to the closet. What was she going to wear?

A beige suit hung toward the back. She grabbed it and threw it on, tugging the hem of the skirt down as far as it would go. The thing still seemed shorter than she remembered. She ran to the mirror and gasped at the expanse of leg the skirt exposed.

Tess.

Her sister had borrowed the outfit last month and damn if she hadn’t had the length altered. This would never do. With her heart thudding, Erin wriggled out of the skirt and top, then dug again into the closet. She pulled out a green dress she’d bought years ago. The fabric was soft but of good quality, and the cut classic, though the neckline scooped a little lower than she thought wise.

The ringing of her doorbell sounded and she tossed the dress over her head, then struggled to pull it down over her body without destroying her hair. Had it been this clingy the last time she’d worn it?
The fabric conformed to her breasts, then skimmed down over her stomach to flare gently at her hips.

She grabbed her shoes before stopping again in front of the mirror to stare at her refection in alarm. Pink colored her cheeks and the green of the dress brought out the green of her eyes. She combed her fingers through her hair but couldn’t tame the wild look of it.

And the dress… Well, he’d certainly realize she was all woman. The bell rang again and she grabbed her purse. No time to change. It would be up to her to convey the professional attitude she needed for this discussion with Jack.

“Y
OU LOOK BEAUTIFUL
tonight.” Jack shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from touching Erin. They walked along the tropical garden outside the restaurant where they’d just eaten.

He wanted to take time to get to know her better and let her get to know him, but the woman looked so good it was all he could do to keep from jumping her. Had he been so remiss in his love life lately that all he could think about was how it had felt to hold her and bury himself deep inside her?

Her cheeks colored, a sight that sent his pulse speeding as memories of her, flushed and panting, in his bed flowed over him. She smoothed her hand over her hair. “I feel a little thrown together.”

“It’s a good look for you.”

“Thank you,” she said. “You look nice, too.”

She had refused his offer of wine earlier, so he had abstained also. He hadn’t wanted to push the romantic angle. They’d have time for that later. It was enough that she had let him take her out tonight.

He smiled at how her eyes had widened at the portions when their meal was served. She had dug into her roasted chicken, her face lit with pure pleasure. She was a sight as she savored each bite.

“Erin, thank you for agreeing to go out with me tonight. I know you were reluctant, but it was important to me that we have an official date.”

She stopped, her eyebrows raised. Then she carefully started walking again. “That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

He moved closer to her and couldn’t resist taking her hand. Warmth shot through him. “I understand this is all happening rather unexpectedly, but that doesn’t make it wrong.”

Her gaze softened and, to his relief, she kept her hand nestled in his. “I’m not denying there’s chemistry between us, Jack.”

“Good, because I want to explore this chemistry. Don’t you?”

She hesitated a long moment. “Yes, I do, but the timing is wrong. You see that, don’t you?”

“No.”

“It’s a conflict of interest.”

“How? I want you. You want me. Sounds like we’re both interested in the same thing.”

“You want me now. I want you later—after I finish the redesign of your home.”

He traced circles over the inside of her wrist with his thumb. Her pulse throbbed steady and strong beneath his touch. “You want me now.”

With a groan, she slid her hand from his. “It doesn’t matter. I have a serious work ethic. Metro Miami may be a fairly big place, but the design community is a close-knit group. The networking that goes on there can make or break a career. I’ve been on the fringes for a long time and recently I seem to be making some headway. I can’t be seen as anything but professional with this group if I want to get somewhere.”

He crossed his arms. “And this group, they’re people your family would approve of?”

“My family? What do they have to do with it?”

“Family is everything.”

She glanced away. “My family is an open-minded bunch. It isn’t usually a question of them accepting other people. It’s more whether other people will accept them.”

“So tell me about them. What about them might make them hard to accept?”

“My mother and sisters are all quite beautiful. You’d be as enamored of them as any male. It’s the rest of the population that tends to take issue.”

“You mean the female population?”

She shrugged. “What does it matter?”

“It matters because they’re who you are, where you come from. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without my family.” Or what theirs would be like without him.

“I’m sure you have a nice, normal family.”

He shook his head. Too many of his relatives tended to live short, sweet lives. How normal was that? “I don’t know that there’s any such thing. Mine comes as close as any I suppose. We still have our issues, as everyone does. You just deal with them.”

“Well, I’m dealing with mine.”

“How?”

She stared at him, unblinking, for a long moment. “I’ve made a conscious choice to build my own life.”

“Away from your family?”

“More or less. Both of my sisters had moved out of the apartment we used to share and the lease was up. I didn’t need such a big place all to myself. It made sense to move.”

“So how far away did you move?”

“What does that matter?”

“You’ve run away.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What is wrong with wanting to walk my own path? I see them. I talk to them. In fact, I’m having lunch with my sister and my mother tomorrow afternoon. We’re planning my oldest sister’s bridal shower.”

“That’s great. I’m happy to hear that.” He pursed his lips. Though he preferred not to discuss his own family, he couldn’t resist the urge to get her to talk some more about hers. “Tell me about them—your mother and sisters and anyone else.”

“I’m not sure what you want to hear,” she said. “My oldest sister, Nikki, is a veterinarian. She has her own practice. My other sister, Tess, owns a nursery. And my mother…well, she’s an artist, though she…may be retiring soon. She’s spent a lot of her time traveling all over the world.”

“They don’t sound so unusual.” Except that she’d failed to mention their not-so-normal sexual-healing capabilities. Did that mean that was at the root of her discontent?

“I guess they’re not.” She shook her head. “Except… Well, they have some unusual beliefs. They’re into the whole metaphysical scene.”

He straightened. “And you’re not?”

“I fail to see what all this new-age-woo-woo fuss is about.”

He should tell her. He should admit right now that
he’d heard all about the McClellan women and their magic touch. “Erin, I—”

“I mean, they actually believe they heal men by sleeping with them. Can you imagine that? How nuts can you get?” She raised her hands in surrender. “There you have it. The dark secret of my family. They’re crazy. Stark raving lunatics.”

“Why do you say that? I’ve been looking into the metaphysical scene and I find a lot of it quite interesting.”

Her shoulders heaved and she looked suddenly tired. “To each his own. I just don’t need to be around all that craziness. I need a more…normal grounded-in-reality kind of life. I’m tired of people looking at me askance because I’m one of
them.
I could never…do what they do—that whole sexual-healing thing. That isn’t what I want in a relationship.”

Guilt filled him. “There are worse things to build a relationship on.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Do you know that men still seek out my sister, Tess? She’s settled with Mason. They seem to be living that elusive happily ever after. She’s not looking for a new relationship, yet men still seem to come out of the woodwork to woo her. Maybe not as many as before, but she still gets the occasional guy.”

She shuddered. “It’s creepy. They hear about her
from a friend of a friend—Tess has more
friends
than you can shake a stick at—then they approach her all hopeful and expectant. I think I would truly lose it if that happened to me. Thank God nobody knows me. I’m the younger sister, the forgotten one. Believe me, in my family I’m a bit of an aberration, like the redheaded stepchild, only I’m the blonde.

“I get that from my father, whom I’ve seen pictures of but have never met. We each have different fathers, you know—my sisters and me. Maggie, our mother, never stayed with one lover for more than a few months at a time. Somewhere along the way she decided to have the three of us, or so she insists. I’m thinking at least one of us had to be an accident, possibly all three, though she would never admit it—just moved us along from lover to lover, house to house. Nikki hated it every bit as much as I did, but Tess is so much like her—”

She stopped, her eyes round. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know where all that came from. I tend to talk when I get nervous.”

“No problem.”

“The point is that I am nothing like them, especially Tess and Maggie. Nikki wasn’t so crazy about the “gift” until she met Dylan and now she’s fine with it—with him. Me…” She took a deep breath. “I just can’t condone the whole sexual-healing thing. If ever a man came to me wanting me to sleep with him and
heal him, I guess I’d have to laugh. The whole thing is really crazy. Don’t you think so, Jack?”

He stared at her for one speechless moment. How the hell was he supposed to answer that?

“You were okay last night, weren’t you? I mean after we…you know?” Her gaze pierced his, seeking, searching for whatever truth he might hide.

Why would she ask that? Should he tell her he’d been ill? It didn’t seem to matter. He’d woken up this morning with more energy than he’d had in months. Judging by the way she’d attacked her food, she hadn’t suffered any ill effects.

“Jack? You okay?”

“Fine. I woke up today feeling like I could conquer the world. Haven’t felt that good in I don’t know how long.”

“Really?” Her gaze darkened in that way that melted his insides. “That’s wonderful. I’m so happy to hear that. I slept like a rock myself.”

He tamped down on the little voice that whispered he was lying by omission. His illness last night didn’t have anything to do with Erin. Besides, what if it had something to do with his heart? He’d have to check with his doctor, but for now he wasn’t ready to tell her about his condition.

A cool breeze brushed over them. He faced her. “You seemed upset when you left.”

“That wasn’t like me at all last night. I can’t imagine what you must think of me. I swear that I have never come on to anyone like that, especially not a client.”

“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a very long time. I want you to do my condo, but if the whole client thing is an issue, then we can always delay this job. Or I can find someone else.”

“That’s entirely up to you. I won’t hold you to that contract and I’ll return your deposit if that’s what you want.”

“No, that isn’t what I want. But I want you to be comfortable working with me and…” He took her hand again. “I want to be with you.”

“Jack—”

“We’ll be discreet. I don’t know anyone in the design circles except for you. I want to get to know you, Erin. I want more nights like last night and I don’t see why we have to wait until you’re finished with the redesign on my house.

“That’s much less important. If you can tell me that’s what you truly want, then I’ll do my best to leave you alone, but you have to tell me honestly that you don’t want me. Can you do that?” he asked.

Her gaze again met his and a sense of well-being settled over him. A small smile played across her lips. “No, Jack, I can’t.”

His smile matched hers and his body hummed with anticipation. “So does that mean I get a good-night kiss when I take you home tonight?”

The curve of her throat captured his gaze. He imagined kissing her there, his mouth watering for the taste of her.

She stopped and turned to him. “Why don’t you take me home and find out?”

H
EAT COURSED THROUGH
Erin as Jack pressed her to the wall and kissed her neck. How they’d made it back to her apartment was a blur. One minute they’d been walking after sharing a civilized meal and the next they’d been falling through her door on top of each other.

She should stick to her guns, revive her plan to give up men. But Jack wasn’t just any man, and all her well-thought-out intentions flew out the window when he was near.

His mouth skimmed over her collarbone, then up her neck, sending awareness shimmering through her. Hell, she’d known in the restaurant she wouldn’t be able to protest. He hadn’t been ill last night. The thought sent happiness and desire flowing through her.

Had she found the one man she could be with?

She tugged his already unbuttoned shirt from his pants, then slid her hands up his abdomen, over his chest, her fingertips alive with the feel of warm, hard muscle beneath them.

“I want you, Erin,” he said, his voice rough with desire.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body so close to his, his heart thudded against her breast. His mouth found hers and his tongue greeted her with hungry strokes. For long moments she stood mesmerized by his kiss, her body drinking in the feel of him so near, his scent wrapped around her and his hands stroking her, holding her close.

Then he traced his mouth down her throat to the neckline of her dress, where he kissed the slight swell of each breast visible there while he caressed her through her clothes. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands to the wall behind her.

He drew back, his eyes dark as he slipped his hand under her dress, pushing the hem up her thigh. “You’re so beautiful.”

She reached for him, tugging him close for another kiss as he cupped her bottom, cradling her in his palm. She kissed him long and hard and deep, savoring the feel of his tongue, his teeth, his lips on her while he continued to touch her, his fingers tracing along her thigh to the edge of her panties, then beyond, until he stroked the folds of her femininity, coaxing the wetness from her. Her heart thrummed in her ears and her sex pulsed.

Moaning, she shifted and he slipped two fingers
deep inside her. He stroked her with a restraint he hadn’t had before, and she moved against him, silently pleading with him to not hold back. He broke the kiss to whisper in her ear. “Baby, come for me. I’ll give you whatever you want, just let me love you.”

“Yes, Jack.” She gripped his arms as he thrust his fingers repeatedly into her.

Heat coiled through her, and her clit throbbed as she moved her hips in sync. “Oh…Jack.”

“You feel so good.” With his free hand he reached up under her dress to cup her breast. He kneaded her, then tugged aside her bra. With every thrust of his fingers, he circled her nipple with his thumb, working it into a hard point.

Sounds of pleasure tore from her as the heat swallowed her. Then his mouth was on her throat and the first ripples of orgasm washed over her. Gasping, she strained against him, then gripped his shoulders and let the sensations take her. She came in one long wave.

He withdrew his fingers to spread her wetness over her clit, working her tender flesh until she writhed against him. The tension coiled through her. He took his time, fondling her with devoted attention to her every gasp and whimper. When she caught her rhythm again and ground into him, he took her cue, increasing his efforts. She came again, the pleasure so intense she cried out with it.

He dropped to his knees before her, stripped off her panties, then shoved her dress up. He draped her leg across his shoulder, then laved her with gentle strokes of his tongue.

She inhaled a sharp breath and tried to move away from him, the sensations too intense. “Oh, no…wait.”

But he held her fast and licked along her folds before delving his tongue into her heat. When she moaned, he withdrew to circle her clit. The fire again burned through her. She pressed her hands to the wall once more as the tension reached an almost unbearable level. Gasping with need, she rocked against him as she climaxed for a third time.

He moved up her body and she welcomed his lips on her as he kissed her with hungry desperation. His desire coursed strong and wild through him, energizing her in a way she couldn’t have been otherwise. She unzipped his pants, then slipped her hand around his hard cock. The pleasure flowing from him stole her breath as she stroked him, his heat and silky hardness an enticing mixture.

A boldness she’d never known gripped her and she pressed him to the wall and met his gaze. “It’s my turn. I’m going to eat you up.”

A stifled moan was her only answer as she pulled him free of his confining briefs and knelt before him. He buried his fingers in her hair as she went down
on him, savoring the exquisite feel of him. Never had she enjoyed pleasuring a man like this.

His excitement caught her up and held her captivated as she explored every delectable inch of him. When she took him into her mouth, his pleasure was so intense it shot through her to her own sex, making her wet and swollen and needy all over again. She loved him with her mouth and he moved against her, the sounds straining from him urging her on, increasing her desire.

“Erin…ah, sweet…oh, Erin.” He moaned her name over and over as she savored the taste of him, his scent heavy in her nostrils.

Her own need grew with his. She rose and the heat in his eyes nearly consumed her. With one movement she pulled her dress over her head, then dropped it on the floor. He took her mouth, kissing her with a force that left her senseless or so full of sensation she couldn’t tell the difference.

She pressed against him. And he pulled the straps of her slip over her arms until the silky garment floated into a puddle around her feet. She yanked off his shirt and he stepped out of his pants.

“Come with me,” she said, smiling at her double meaning, and took his hand to pull him into her bedroom.

He hit the mattress beside her and they divested each other of their remaining clothes between kisses
and strokes and sighs of pleasure. She pulled back to admire him as he lay naked before her, his torso sculpted, his stomach cut, his erection full and his gaze heavy with desire. He opened his arms and she went to him, kissing him again as the same sweet longing filled her.

Then he stilled and she pushed back to look at him. “Jack?”

“I wasn’t thinking we’d end up doing this again. I meant to take things slow, give you a chance to get to know me.”

“You don’t want to do this?” She stared at him, frowning. Of course he wanted her. His urgency curled around her.

“I have never wanted anyone or anything the way I want you now.”

“Good.” She shifted so his cock rested against her clit. She moved sensuously. “I want you, too.”

“Wait.”

“It feels so good, Jack.”

“Wait.” He gripped her shoulders. “Do you have protection?”

She rolled off him. “Damn.”

A sound of torment ripped from him. She reached over to pat him. “It’s okay. Look in that box on the nightstand.” She dropped her head into her hands. “I just can’t believe I forgot.”

“I nearly did, too.” A rustling sounded as he dug in the box.

A moment later his warmth covered her back and his hands cupped her breasts. He pulled her against him and she closed her eyes as he teased her nipples into hard peaks. When she could wait no longer, she turned to him and pushed him down onto the pillows. “No more playing around. It’s time we got serious here.”

“No argument from me.” His gaze darkened and his fingers found her swollen sex. He parted her and then he slipped inside her.

She sighed with relief as he filled and stretched her, his hardness stroking her clit as he moved inside her. Then she was on her back beneath him and he was thrusting with an abandon that had her moaning and holding on as the sensations swept through her, his pleasure and her own coiling through her.

Deep, then deeper he drove into her, and still she urged him on, encouraging him with her body and her words, until the heat claimed her and she lost herself to the collage of feelings sweeping over her. Her sex throbbed, her clit burned and a feeling of wonder filled her as again her climax took her and she cried out with the intensity of it, barely aware he continued to stroke into her. Then he gripped her close and shuddered. The power of his orgasm
crashed over her until she lay stunned, with him collapsed on top of her.

She closed her eyes and floated. His heart beating so close to hers, it seemed they beat in sync. Suddenly he pushed away from her. “Which way to the bathroom?”

“There.” She pointed, frowning as he swerved into the adjoining bathroom.

She stared up at the ceiling, unease filling her.
Please don’t let him be getting ill.
She calmed her rising panic, forcing herself to take long breaths and count. For endless moments it seemed she lay there, losing track, then starting over again.

Twenty-four…twenty-five…twenty-six…

After a while she gave up and padded to the door. The shower splashed on and she hesitated. Did that mean he was all right? Still, he’d left so abruptly.

Something was wrong.

She turned to leave and the door opened. Jack stood in the opening, steam swirling around him. “Hi. I was just coming to get you.”

His warmth and desire again reached out to her as he pulled her toward the pulsing water. “I was worried about you,” she said. “You left so quickly. Is everything okay?”

Light shone in his eyes. He moved her under the warm spray. “Everything is absolutely fine.” He
wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her ear. “What could I possibly complain about when I have you?”

His body pressed into hers and the steam and the heat enfolded them. She brushed aside her worries as his mouth took hers in a kiss that started them again on that journey to bliss.

For now, all that mattered was being with Jack.

C
LASSICAL MUSIC SOUNDED
from a hidden speaker as green-aproned servers skirted among the crowded tables. Erin sipped her iced tea and tamped down on her impatience. She’d hardly arrived and she couldn’t wait for this lunch to be over.

She needed to get to Jack’s.

Besides promising him she’d come by his condo with some of the design workups she’d put together for him, she had to figure out what was wrong between them. Not that the goodbye kiss he’d given her left any doubt that he’d been thrilled with their lovemaking and couldn’t wait to have her back in his arms and in his bed.

She had a feeling that something was wrong. She’d questioned him again about his abrupt departure from bed, but he’d insisted he’d been fine. He’d certainly seemed more than fine when he’d made love to her for over an hour in the shower.

“What are you going to have?” Tess drew Erin’s attention to the present. Tess glanced over the menu, her eyes sparkling. “They have a new salad. I think I’ll have that.”

“And?” Maggie looked questioningly at her, her eyelids slightly drooping.

Erin had been distressed to see the physical evidence of Maggie’s decline, but she kept her expression light so as not to spoil their lunch.

“And sweet tea with lemon.” Smiling, Tess set aside her menu.

“That’s it?” Erin stared at her sister in disbelief as her own stomach growled.

“That’s it.” Tess’s fingers tapped over the slick cover of the menu.

“Are you dieting?” Maggie asked.

“Don’t feel like ordering more. Shall we start with the guest list?”

Maggie blinked, staring at her a moment, then she looked to Erin and shrugged. “Okay, but I’m starved. How about you, Erin?”

“I’m pretty hungry,” Erin said. She’d been eating like a horse the past few days, but her stomach rumbled again and her mouth watered as she glanced over the assortment of entrées. “I’m not sure. I can’t decide between the blackened snapper or the roast beef and garlic potatoes.”

Maggie smiled. “Get them both. You can always take some home for later.”

Both? She never double ordered off the menu. That was Tess’s thing. Yet she couldn’t seem to fill her belly lately. It seemed no matter what she ate she was hungry again in a few short hours. “Maybe I will order them both, so I can snack on one later.”

“That’s the spirit.” Maggie patted her leg. “I’m with you.” She turned to Tess. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay, dear?”

“I’m feeling just fine,” Tess said.

“But you’re not eating.”

“Yes I am. I’m eating salad.”

“Since when is salad food? I’m going to have to speak with Mason about this. Is the man starving you?” Maggie frowned.

“Salad
is
food and this doesn’t have anything to do with Mason. In fact, that man has learned how to order large in a big way. He doesn’t always take to-go boxes either.”

That seemed to satisfy Maggie to some extent. Their waitress arrived shortly and took their order. After she’d gone, Tess pulled out a pen and pad of paper. “Let’s start with the guest list.”

“Let’s keep it small,” Maggie said. “Nikki made me promise we wouldn’t go overboard.”

“Here’s what I have so far.” Tess turned the note
book toward their mother, who leaned over the page with her.

Erin folded her arms. It was nice that Tess had wanted to include her, but Tess and Maggie could pull this together without her help. From their long, wavy red hair to their fiery tempers the two were a matched pair.

As usual, Erin felt the odd man out.

Their food came and for a short while she lost herself in the fresh vegetables, spicy fish and tender beef. Her taste buds came alive with each bite. When had food tasted so good?

“Sweetie, do you want dessert?” Maggie asked. “You seem to have a healthy appetite today.”

Erin’s gaze swung from her nearly empty plate to her mother and her sister. A feeling of unease crept over her. “I just—”

“Who is he?” Tess asked.

“Don’t press her.” With a frown Maggie shooed Tess back.

A buzzing sounded in Erin’s ears. “What do you mean? Who is who?”

“Who is
he?
” Tess asked again, her gaze dropping to the remains of both of Erin’s entrées.