Once Upon a Dream (16 page)

“Want to come out from under there and tell me what you’re doing, Summer?”

Jon. She wilted in relief and crawled out on her hands and knees. “You terrified me. I thought it was Ryan coming in.”

He hauled her to her feet and held on to her. “It could have been. Do you know how dangerous it would have been if he’d followed you instead of me? Not to mention that you could have blown this case for me.”

“There is no case. I’m trying to prove that to you.”

Jon hauled her closer and lowered his voice. “What you’re proving to me is that you’re a thorn in my side.”

Don’t inhale, she commanded herself, because every time she inhaled his scent she threw herself at him. “Why is this ‘case’ so important to you?”

His gaze went flat. “All my cases are important.”

That was his tell. He was hiding something. She shook her head. “There’s something about this that’s driving you beyond what seems like a normal obsession. You care too much. Why?”

“How can you tell?” he asked carefully.

She shrugged. “I told you. You have a tell.”

He was silent for so long that she thought he wasn’t going to reply. Then he said, “It’s my last case. I have a debt to pay to my friend, and when I help him prove that Huber is stealing, I can retire.”

Retire? “What are you going to do then?”

“Nothing.”

She waited for more. When it was apparent that was all he was going to say, she repeated, “Nothing?”

He gazed at her steadily. “I have a place on an island in Thailand. I’m moving there.”

A lot of men who moved to Asia seemed to go there to find wives and settle down off the grid. “Are you getting married?”

He looked at her like she asked if he ate brains for breakfast. “Who said anything about marriage? I’m going to my private villa to sit in the sun and read and drink frothy rum drinks.”

“So you aren’t interested in getting married?”

“Are you proposing?” he asked with a cocked brow.

“Don’t be daft.” Although the image of lying in the sun next to him, his chest bare and tanned, wasn’t an awful one.

She lowered her gaze, shifting her weight. “So you plan on leaving directly after you finish this case?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, not liking that answer at all. “You’d finish this faster if I helped you.”

“No.”

In her first year of law school, one of her professors had told her that “No” was just the launching point of a negotiation. “I’ll be discreet, and with me helping you’ll cover more ground.”

“I—”

“You’ll also be able to keep an eye on me,” she continued calmly. “Keep me close, and you won’t have to worry about what I’ll do and say.”

He studied her, his gaze narrow and focused. “You’ll do what I say?”

“Probably.” She shrugged.

“That’s likely the best answer I’m going to get, isn’t it?”

She smiled. She liked winning. “Likely.”

He glared at her. “What did you find in the desk?”

“Nothing, but I didn’t expect to despite what Portia said.” At his questioning look, she added, “My sister had ideas about where to look.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “You told your sister about this?”

“Of course not.” She wondered what the stubble would feel like. “I just asked where she’d hide something she didn’t want found. Portia has hidden depths. Only I disagree a little with her. I wouldn’t hide it in plain sight, but I’d probably want someone to know what I’d done, so I wouldn’t make the hiding place too secret.”

His gaze sharpened on her, and he pulled her closer. “What did you say?”

“What good is committing a crime if no one knows about it? Unless you purely want the thrill, but then you live under the radar and not own a country estate that rivals Buckingham Palace.” At his incredulous look, she rolled her eyes and turned to look around the room. “You know what I mean?”

“And I’m not sure whether that baffles me or terrifies me,” he murmured.

Ignoring him, she went to the mantle and began running her hands all over. “I wonder if there’s a secret room or passage in here. Portia said these old houses always have hidden passages. In the movies, it’s always around the fireplace.”

“You’re mad.”

“At least I’m doing something and not just standing idle.” Her hand touched something strange, and she stilled. She ran her fingers over groove again. “What is this?”

He was behind her in an instant. His hand joined hers, feeling the spot she’d found.

Her mouth went dry at the raspy feel of his fingers around hers. She tried not to imagine them trailing up her arm, and down—

A section of the wall opened.

She gaped, pulling her hand to hold behind her back, out of temptation’s way. “I didn’t really believe there’d be one.”

“Neither did I.” He stepped into the dark hallway it revealed.

She hurried after him. “Where do you think it goes?”

He shushed her and, withdrawing his phone, lit the path with his mobile flashlight.

If only they had a torch, she thought, following him quietly. That would have been perfect.

They climbed narrow stairs and finally reached the end. Jon stood in front of the wall, seemingly listening to an internal debate.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” she whispered.

He put a finger to his lips. Then he carefully twisted the knob.

She leaned over his shoulder to get a better look. It was a bedroom, and it took a moment for her to realize there were people in the bed. A man and a woman. She leaned closer, squinting into the darkness—it was Ryan and, likely his girlfriend.

Ryan wore pajama tops.

Summer wrinkled her nose. She bet Jon slept naked.

Jon took her arm and motioned with his finger to turn around, and they went back where they came from, all the way to the study. “What do you think you were doing?” he whispered harshly at her as the secret panel closed.

“I—”

Someone rattled the room’s door.

She gasped, but before she could do much else, Jon had her pressed against the wall with his mouth on hers and his hand up her skirt.

She froze, unable to breathe, not because of fear but because of the heat of his palm gripping her bottom. She looked at him.

His eyes were telling her to play along. As if for extra encouragement, he slipped his fingers inside her knickers, the tips brushing the lips of her sex the way his tongue brushed the lips of her mouth.

All thought stopped and she opened to him—both her mouth and her legs. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around him and gave herself over. She had no choice.

He moaned, his free hand anchoring her close as he hiked her up around his waist. She locked her legs around him, letting him carry her to the couch.

He sat down with her on his lap still clinging to him. His hand ran over her hip and down her thigh. He paused and then slid his thumb under her underwear to rest at the very top of her feminine crease.

She broke the kiss, dizzy. She felt him there, a light pressure, wishing he’d rub or press harder—or anything. “I think whoever it was is gone.”

“Good.” He shifted his thumb lower, resting it over the right spot.

She sat back, offering herself. “Who do you think it was?”

“It doesn’t matter. Whoever it was obviously believes we’re having a tryst.” He watched her, his finger still.

He had barely touched her and she was wet—embarrassingly so. Her underwear was soaked, and he knew it. She couldn’t keep from pressing herself into his finger. “I’m not supposed to want you.”

“This is a bad idea,” he agreed.

“A very bad idea.” She lifted herself a little, kneeling, and lowered herself again, rubbing herself on him. “I should get up and leave.”

“You should.” He stayed still, letting her use him for her pleasure.

“Right now.” She closed her eyes. Good heavens, she couldn’t help it. Up and down, she rubbed herself on him, small movements that made his thumb rasped over the most sensitive part of her.

“Definitely, right now.” He gripped her collar and pulled it down along with her bra.

She looked down at her chest, seeing her nipple hard and red right before he took it in his mouth.

It was too much—the sight, the sensation, the excitement being with him. She clutched his shoulders, holding on as her body flew apart.

She’d barely stopped shaking when Jon set her down next to him and stood. He paced back and forth for several long, silent seconds before he pointed at her and said, “You’re a menace.”

She nodded weakly, though she could claim him to be just as much a menace. She closed her eyes, knowing she needed to cover herself up, only she couldn’t move a muscle yet. It was like her body liquefied under his touch. She was a puddle of pleasure.

He cursed. When she heard the door close, she almost called him back.

Chapter Seventeen

Jon paced in his room. The morning had burned him. He couldn’t get the image of Summer out of his head. He should have been continuing his search in the house, but every thing he looked at reminded him of her kneeling on his lap, working herself to climax against his hand.

Every time he caught a bit of her scent, he lost all train of thought.

He’d consciously avoided her all day. He couldn’t trust himself to be able to keep from carrying her off to his room and consuming her.

It was a big problem. It was Sunday evening and tomorrow afternoon they’d be leaving.

There was one room he really needed to check: Huber’s bedroom.

It wouldn’t be hard. During dinner, he’d sneak off to the study, go up to the room, and take a quick look around. He’d be back quickly, no one the wiser.

He straightened his bow tie and slipped into the tux jacket. He decided for this persona, a regular tux was fine, but his cummerbund and bow tie had a beer can print. His cuff links had the Nascar logo.

Arriving early for cocktail hour before dinner, he searched for Summer almost unwillingly. She wasn’t there, but Huber was. Reminding himself why he was there, Jon asked the bartender for a Jack and Coke and ambled over to the crook.

Huber leered knowingly at him. “Did you have a good walk with Summer yesterday?”

Jon took a sip of his drink to keep from hitting the man. “It was enjoyable. Your estate is nice. You must love coming here.”

“Especially when I have the right company. Like Summer.” Ryan smiled oily. “She looks prim and proper, but I bet she runs hot underneath.”

Jon promptly set his glass down on a passing tray so he wouldn’t break it over the idiot’s head. “Summer’s a nice lady.”

“I bet she’s really nice.” He winked and lifted his head. His eyes widened. “Good God.”

Jon looked up, too, going still as Summer walked into the room. Instead of black, she wore a silky bright blue dress that hugged her like a glove. It dipped low in the front and when she stepped forward, her entire leg up to the top of her thigh showed. The fabric clung to her curves, making it obvious that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it.

He had the urge to throw his coat on her to block her from everyone’s view.

Huber clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a lucky guy. How do you feel about sharing?”

He faced the man.

Huber paled and backed off a step, hands up. “I was only joking. I meant nothing by it.”

Jon reinforced the look with another and then strode to Summer.

She watched him approach warily. “What’s wrong?” she asked when he reached her.

“What’s wrong?” He took her arm and angled her away from the room. “Where are your clothes?”

She frowned down at her dress. “You don’t like this?”

“I like it too much.” That was the problem. “So does Huber.”

“Really.” She blinked in surprise. “Hmm.”

“No.” He took hold of her chin and looked her in the eye. “You promised to stay away from him.”

“No I didn’t.” She angled her head. “What’s gotten into you? Maybe you need a drink to relax.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t think he could relax after a week in bed with her. Not that he was going to think about that.

She leaned in. “Did you find anything this afternoon?”

“No.” He’d been too wrapped up in her.

“Have you searched his room?”

“Not yet.”

“I can help.”

He glared at her. “No, you can’t.”

“You know, you should practice saying yes more often. You might find that it’ll change your world.”

In the past week, his world had changed too much as it was. “How have you made it this far in life without someone strangling you?”

She shrugged her delicious bare shoulder. “I probably have angels surrounding me.”

The butler announced dinner, and everyone began filing out. Jon turned to look for Summer.

Huber had her arm and was escorting her away.

Jon began to follow when he saw the back of her dress—or rather the lack of a back. He stared at the expanse of creamy skin and almost bit his tongue. He could imagine too well sliding his hand inside, down the small of her back …

“You look hungry,” a delicate voice said next to him.

He looked down and saw Huber’s girlfriend, Sondra. She’d been surprisingly demure and behind the scenes the entire weekend. It almost surprised him that she was speaking to him,

“You just don’t look hungry for food.” She smiled as she looped her arm through his. “She’s quite lovely. Ryan says you two are involved.”

“Yes, but I’m not sure what we’re involved in.” He flashed her his Jon Lincoln grin and patted her hand. “You look tasty yourself.”

She laughed softly. “Don’t worry about me. He’s a good man despite his posturing.”

Jon had the urge to warn her to get away from Huber, but he couldn’t, instead letting her make small talk as she led him into the dining hall.

Eating was impossible. The light from the chandeliers seemed to catch on Summer. Every time she laughed, he got distracted from what he was saying to the person next to him.

It was ridiculous. He excused himself to pull himself together. He paced in the hallway.

What was he doing? He needed to focus.

Now was the time to explore the secret passageway, since everyone was at dinner and would be for at least an hour. He went into the study, closed the door behind him, and headed directly to the bookcase.