Romance in Dallas - Tycoon! (5 page)

"Ready when you are," she told him
cheerfully.

After he'd clicked off, he muttered, "You
have no idea, darlin.'"

After she opened the door for Ram, she showed
him the table she'd received that day, for his physical
therapy.

"Looks sturdy," he said, looking more at her
than the table.

She wore a blue mini-dress and matching
high-heeled sandals.

"You look gorgeous," he said politely.

Ignoring the comment, she asked him, "Where
are we going?"

"A retro disco place upstairs," he
replied.

"Upstairs?"

"Twentieth floor. You won't get sick on me
now, will you?"

His face was serious now, but she had the
feeling with a simple provocation, he would start laughing at any
minute.

"All right. Let's go. I think I can handle
it."

The place was very retro, she thought, as
they were led to a table by the dance floor. A disco ball spun and
twinkled in the very middle, creating a colorful atmosphere and the
1980's music blasted. The employees seemed to know Ram, and some
even called him by his first name as they stopped by the table.

"You're very well liked, it seems," she told
him, as their menus came.

"I'm sort of a people person," he said. "I
like them, they like me back." His look was bland, and she wondered
what was going on in his head.

She thought he looked sensational, in black
dress pants, a bright white shirt, opened a few buttons on the
chest, with his blond wavy hair combed back neatly from his
handsome, chiseled face. And more than one woman eyed her
enviously.

The heady scent of his aftershave wafted
around her.

"Oh, by the way," she said, digging in her
purse, "I'll hold these for you. The doctor called them in to the
pharmacy downstairs and I picked them up."

He watched her, eyebrows up.

"Muscle relaxer. Can't give them to you now,
though. Can't mix them with alcohol at all."

"That was very nice, sweetheart. I appreciate
it."

She was about to tell him to stop calling her
nicknames, but the way he did it was offhanded, and she had the
definite feeling he used the descriptors for other women too.

Nothing special for her, she thought. The
story of her life. Nothing special, nobody special. The train of
thought was depressing and she tried to put a smile on her face, as
they chatted about the menu and the music.

"Do you dance?" she asked him.

"Not since...no. Not anymore. Just slow
dances. I think I can still handle that."

"And how was your back today?"

His languid turquoise eyes searched her face.
"Better. You're doin' me good. I'd about given up hope."

Their burgers and fries came. "Cholesterol
special," she told him. "But, I still love them."

Watching the crazy, wild dancers now, she
barely suppressed a giggle.

"Watch that guy," she said, laughing between
bites now, gesturing towards the man, "he looks like he thinks he's
the best thing around, doesn't he?"

But, Ram wasn't watching the dancers. As much
as possible, he watched Jace's expressive face. He thought she
looked sensational, and the nude glimpse he'd had of her in the
room came back to him, every minute on the minute.

After they finished the meal, a slow tune
came on. He grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor.

Pulling her close with one hand on her back,
he enclosed her other hand with his own, held it close to his
chest.

His lips close to her ear now, he whispered,
"I'll be good. Promise..."

Jace felt his hard chest, and his hand almost
on her breast. With his whispers in her ear, she felt hazy, felt
herself move closer to him instinctively.

For some reason, his hand barely moved on her
back, but she wanted it to rove up and down, she wanted it on her
backside now. She couldn't make out what he was whispering in her
ear, but her body responded to the warm sensation. It betrayed her
words to him the night before. Heaviness settled between her legs,
and just grew worse when she felt his arousal against her.

Soon, too soon, the song ended. They stood
for a few seconds, wrapped together, feeling each other
intensely.

But, she noticed as they walked back to the
table he was limping.

Not sitting down, she said, "How about a
massage, boss? No funny stuff this time. On the table." She looked
up at him with a smile.

Suddenly, she saw a flash.

He cursed under his breath then said, "Let's
get out of here. We've got photographers following. It's a hazard
for me on a daily basis. Paparazzi. They track my every move."

Gathering up her purse, she wondered what on
earth would happen now.

However, hiding from view, Victoria thanked
the photographer, on his way out now, and unobtrusively slipped him
one hundred dollars. She'd tracked Ramsey from Hong Kong to the
Philippines and back to Dallas again. And she was so aware of how
much he hated publicity.

Now, here in Hawaii, suddenly he had a girl
tagging along. She sniffed her distain, as she watched the two of
them walking quickly towards the upper floor elevators, and
wondered if they were sleeping together.

Victoria met Ram at a fundraiser for the
children's ward at a hospital in Dallas a few years back. And to
say she fell hard for Ram was an understatement. Sometimes, she
just tracked his movements, so it was rare for him to see her. She
was not obvious in that way. Each time she saw him was a carefully
planned moment, almost to the second, like the man himself.

"I think we'll get a penthouse in Bermuda,"
he said as they rode up in the elevator, "do you mind?"

"Why would I mind?"

"It has two bedrooms. I thought it might be
more convenient for us," he said politely.

"All right," she laughed, "who are you and
what have you done with the real Ramsey?"

A smile quirked his lips. "The real Ramsey.
Hell, sweet pea, what you see is what you get."

She had to admit, as they walked in her room,
what she saw, she liked.

He immediately shucked off his shirt, showing
her his muscular back and shoulders.

Setting up the table, and making sure it was
secure, she patted it and he lay face down.

She began with his neck. It was knotted and
the muscles extremely tight. They seemed to loosen with her
massage, and she smiled.

His corded arms muscles were the same, and
she worked her way down to the forearms then his hands, each finger
and palm.

But his back muscles were tighter than all
the rest, and she worked on them a longer time.

"Need you to take off your pants," she told
him, "so I can get to the legs."

"Don't know if I can get off the table. I
feel like a wet noodle," he gasped.

But, he finally removed them, as she went to
get more lotion.

Nice, she thought, while she watched his legs
flex in response to her touch, kneading him, trying to get his body
to relax.

"Don't suppose you do a front massage?" he
asked lazily, his voice muffled now.

She laughed. "Not usually. I can reach
everything from here." Then realizing how that sounded, she said,
"The muscles, I mean." And that sounded just as bad, so she gave
up.

Ramsey's body was on fire from her touch, and
he thought he was tingling from head to foot, quite literally, as
she worked one of his feet, then the other.

Her cell phone rang, and she said, "I'm
sorry, Ramsey. I'll be right back. It might be Natalie; she still
doesn't have the time difference down."

Still lazy, he just rested on the table as
she answered.

"Hey babe," a voice said to her.

"What do you want Ralph?" What a time for her
ex-husband's phone call, Jace thought.

"Just thinking about you."

"Right. Tell me another one."

"It's true. You sure you want to go through
with this thing, then?"

"It's a done deal. You know that. Too little,
too late as the expression goes."

"And you're the ball buster."

She hung up on him, and turned the phone
off.

She approached Ram again, hesitated, and he
heard her sigh. "Everything okay, darlin?'" he asked.

"Yes, just a nightmare from my past.
Sorry."

He was silent for a minute, while she
finished the massage. When she was done, he sat up on the table and
watched her while she moved around the room, in her bare feet now,
arranging her things then sitting at her laptop.

As quickly as he could, he dressed in pants
and his shirt leaving it unbuttoned. "What's going on?" he asked as
he sat on one of the beds.

The call had definitely spooked her, he
thought, watching her now.

"It's nothing, really." She started typing
quickly. "I think we're done here, if you'd like to leave. I'm sure
you have lots of work to do."

"Nothing that can't wait. Can I assist with
this nightmare?"

"No. Thank you." And, totally ignoring him
now, she typed in her notes.

Two hours later, he couldn't sleep. His back
really felt pretty well, compared to usual, and the muscle relaxant
made him feel better, but her phone call was bothering him. He
wondered why she had to be so secretive. And so damn professional.
He turned on his bedside lamp, but before he did, he noticed her
light was on. He saw light coming under the adjoining door. So, she
must be up, he thought.

But when he called her cell phone, he was
forwarded to voice mail again. He found himself worrying about her.
She'd been so upset about the phone call.

Pacing back and forth, he knocked softly on
the adjoining door to her room. When she didn't answer, he wasn't
sure what to do.

He ran a hand through his hair, before he
opened it slightly. But he didn't see her, and he knocked
again.

Opening it all the way, and realizing he'd
just caused her to wake up, while she lay on the other bed, he was
stopped in his tracks.

She lay carelessly on the bed, knees to one
side, book resting on her stomach, and totally nude. Her eyes were
heavy with sleep, as they observed him, confused.

Neither one of them could say anything
temporarily, especially Ram. He was rooted in his tracks, but his
eyes wandered over her body hungrily, soaking up her sensuality,
her long legs, her large breasts with their generous nipples, the
edge of hair at her downy softness, and flat stomach, as his eyes
linked with hers.

He heard a gasp escape from her lips, before
he closed the door.

And, he thought, that picture of beauty would
stay with him for the rest of his life.

Chapter 5

Jace woke the next morning, and knew she was
in trouble. She didn't want to move, her throat was raw, and the
first thing she did was cough. Plus, she felt feverish and had a
headache.

Finally, she was able to get up and around.
Still naked, she walked into the bathroom, and realized as she
looked at her reflection that her cheeks were pink from the fever,
and her hair was wild and needed a brush.

But, she knew then she didn't really care.
Bed was the only place for her right now, she thought, as her
stomach roiled.

Finally turning on her phone as she got back
into bed, she saw not only Nat called her but she'd missed several
calls from Ramsey. Punching in Nat's number, she said, "Nat?"

"Jace? Is that you?"

Clearing her throat now, Jace said, "Yes. I
have a terrible cold or something."

"You sure it's a cold? I've heard there's a
flu going around, with high fever and sore throat."

Jace sighed. "I must have picked it up at the
airport. So much for making a good first impression."

"Well don't worry about that. Just stay put
today. When are you two supposed to leave Hawaii?"

"I don't know. I'll have to talk to Ram."

Nat chuckled. "Ram now, is it? Oh, by the
way, do you get a newspaper there?"

"I think there was one outside my door
yesterday morning. Why?"

"Check out the society page. Or the people
section. I think you'll be surprised."

They clicked off and Jace was too tired to
even go out and grab the paper. The phone jangled in her hand.
"Yes?"

"Jace? Is that you?"

"You're the second person to ask me that in
two minutes."

"You sound terrible. I'll be right in."

She realized she would have no time to put
clothes on or even a robe, so she just pulled the covers tighter up
against her chest.

A few seconds later, he strolled in the
adjoining door. "What's going on?" But when he looked at her, his
gaze turned soft. "Are you sick Jace?"

She nodded. "Flu, I think. When are we
scheduled to fly out? And what's our next stop?"

"I'm not worried about that. Do you need a
doctor?" He sat at the end of her bed.

"No. Nat says there is something going
around. I'm not sure how long it will last." But her voice grew
weaker and weaker, as her muscles started to ache.

"You didn't get a flu shot this year?"

She shook her head.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he
asked, as his turquoise eyes met hers.

"Maybe get me the newspaper."

He smiled. "Are you sure you want to go
there?"

"Why?"

"Who spilled the beans on that, your friend
Natalie?"

She frowned. "I don't understand. She just
told me to look at it. I don't know why."

He opened the door and retrieved the
newspaper, went section by section, and gave her the 'Life'
segment. On the front page, there was a large picture of her
looking up at Ram at the retro club.

"Oh, my," she said, as she reached for it.
"What do they say? What could they say, I wonder?"