Silver Bella (2 page)

His lips twitched. “You must be thirsty.”

“I am.”

“Maybe I should have gotten you a glass of water instead.”

“Actually that wouldn’t be a bad idea.” For more reasons than that she normally stuck to fruit juice, or other equally innocuous beverages, at the after-show soirees. She had a feeling she needed all her wits about her because this man could turn her brain to mush with a look. “It’s hard to stay hydrated during a trunk show.”

“You look hydrated to me.” His green gaze slid down her body with tactile pleasure and the tone of his voice was enough to make her insides liquefy.

“It’s the clothes,” she said automatically. “Lexi’s Creations always make me look my best.”

He pulled one side of his jacket away from her body to reveal the clothes beneath it and took his time looking them over. “I don’t remember that outfit from the show,” he said finally, releasing his suit coat.

“It’s from the daywear line.”

The short skirt and button-up, man-style shirt worn loose with a hip chain belt were a lot less revealing than the eveningwear or lingerie she’d modeled during the show, but the outfit was still signature sexy.

“That explains it.”

“What?”

“You weren’t wearing it.”

“You mean you weren’t watching the other models?”

He shook his head. “There was only one who could hold my interest.”

“The
clothes
are supposed to hold your interest.”

“They did. When you were wearing them.” He reached out to touch her cheek. “Feels real enough to me.”

“What do you mean?” She’d lost the thread of the conversation somewhere along the way.

“You said it was the clothes and I don’t agree. No outfit, no matter how appealing, can give a woman such a flawless complexion or petal-soft skin.”

She couldn’t believe the urge she had to turn her face into his big hand, to inhale the scent from
his
skin, to taste him.

“The right food and exercise,” she choked out.

His hand dropped away and he smiled. “Maybe, but I think you were probably born with some of it.”

“I guess.” She shrugged, trying for an air of nonchalance she did not begin to feel. “Did you see anything you liked in the show?”

It was a stock question she’d asked on numerous occasions after a show, but this time she felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment at the possible double entendre.

He moved closer, hemming her in until the rest of the patrons and models ceased to exist. “Oh, I’d say so.”

His eyes left no doubt that he wasn’t talking about one of Lexi’s creations, the dark-blond hair on his head cut in a conservative, modern style at odds with the primitive and almost wild cast to his features.

She laughed nervously. “There’s nothing subtle about you, is there?”

“I don’t play games.”

“That’s nice to know.” But she couldn’t say the same. Her whole approach to the male species was based on a game of pretend that had come crashing down around her ears when Curt walked away from her and sold his story as her ex-boyfriend to the tabloids.

And when this man saw the headlines and heard the new rumors about her, the burning look of passion in his eyes would grow as cold as she was purported to be in bed.

“Darling, you’ll have to introduce me to your delicious escort.” Lexi’s accented voice shattered the sense of intimacy surrounding Bella and the man.

She turned to face the flamboyant designer. “He’s not my escort. He attended the trunk show.”

Lexi’s mouth pursed and her brows rose suggestively. “But that suit coat, it is not one of my creations and much too large for you, darling.”

The man put his hand out. “Jake Barton. I was just complimenting Ms. Jackson on how well she shows your styles.”

“Ah, it is a match made in heaven, no?
Magnifique!
” Lexi kissed the tips of her fingers in an Old World gesture of approval. “She is perfect for my clothes, and they are perfect for her.”

“You won’t get any arguments from me, ma’am.”

Lexi smiled. “Ah, the Texas drawl. It is so charming. I look forward to the time we will spend here.”

His eyes narrowed on something over Lexi’s shoulder and then he looked at Bella. “I’ve got to go. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

She shrugged his jacket off and handed it to him, feeling bereft and disbelieving all at once.

He was going to leave? Just like that?

Apparently he was, because he took the coat, put it back on and turned to go.

“Good bye.”

He stopped and looked back at her. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.”

She didn’t see how, but she merely inclined her head.

He’d said he didn’t play games, but he’d implied interest in her and then walked away without following up on it.

And she didn’t know just how she felt about that.

“If you had dated such a man, not this boring accountant with an unknown penchant for sensationalism, your name would not now be synonymous with
goody-two-shoes
in the gossip press.
Monsieur
Barton would not have gone to the media with stories of your supposed lack of sexual warmth.”

Bella shrugged. There wasn’t a lot she could do about it now, but she hated knowing she’d made such a drastic mistake in trusting Curt.

Lexi’s eyes narrowed though her smile did not falter. “This is a problem for Lexi’s Creations, you realize?”

“In what way?”

Had Curt been right? Could the fact she’d been labeled an ice queen hurt her career? She supposed it made sense. If one false reputation could aid it an equally false one in the opposite direction could do some serious damage.

“My designs, they are known for their sensuality, yes?”

“Undeniably.”

“Yet my cover model has now been labeled a sexless mannequin by her most recent lover. This is not good.” Lexi’s matter-of-fact voice held no anger, but her words cut through Bella like a knife.

“Are you
firing
me?”

“Not yet, but something must be done.”

Bella didn’t know what, and while she hadn’t minded paying the price of having a certain reputation in order to further her career, Lexi’s implication that the reputation was as important as the model didn’t sit well.

“What do you expect me to do? I’m not about to have sex on a tabletop in a semipublic place to assuage the public’s disappointment, or yours in my image, for that matter.”

“Ah, is this what the stupid accountant wanted you to do?” Lexi clicked her tongue and shook her head. “That one, he has no imagination.”

For the second time that night, Bella felt her cheeks heat. “That’s not the issue.”

“No, it is not,” her boss agreed. “Your image and therefore the image of the line you represent are in question and I am not happy about this.”

Bella’s patience was wearing thin. If Lexi really thought she was any more displeased about the tabloid stories than Bella, she was off her rocker. “I repeat, what do you want me to do about it?”

It was Lexi’s turn to shrug. “Perhaps you should cultivate a friendship with a man like
Monsieur
Barton.”

And maybe she could rack up frequent flyer miles on a pig. The man had walked away without a backward glance.

Chapter Two

Bella peeked out from behind the stage curtain, obsessively preoccupied with the need to know if Jake Barton had shown up again.

The last two weeks had been the most frustrating of her life. Between Lexi’s heavy hints laced with subtle pressure that Bella needed to do something to shore up her sexy bad-girl image and Jake Barton’s inexplicable behavior, she was ready to quit her modeling career and take up Christmas tree farming.

And she was allergic to pine needles.

Oh, yes, he was there again, sitting in the front row.

Her entire body tightened in anticipation and her nipples went hard in a Pavlovian response to his presence they’d learned at that very first show.

She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the ache, all the while drinking in his appearance with the enthusiasm of a woman lost in the desert who happened upon an oasis. Which was all out of proportion because the man deserved to be ignored, or maybe pummeled, but definitely not lusted over.

He was driving her stark, staring crazy.

At the last show, he’d been near the back, behind a woman whose hair had looked like it was competing to play in the Cotton Bowl. It didn’t matter how far from the stage he sat, Bella became aware of him on a wholly primal level from the moment she stepped onto the stage.

She could
feel
him.

And it frustrated her.

Because, although they’d spoken twice more and he’d flirted with her in a possessive, primitive manner that implied an interest as deep as her own, Mr. I-don’t-play-games hadn’t made a single move to ask her out.

He remained infuriatingly out of reach, there in the audience, sometimes coming to the after-show parties, more often disappearing as if he were a phantom of her imagination.

Why did he come? And what was she going to do about it?

He’d never bought anything. Sometimes he didn’t even stay for the whole presentation and he didn’t personally know anyone else in the show. She’d asked around.

Yet, today was the fifth Lexi’s Creations trunk show he’d attended in two weeks. He’d been at the two events in Houston, and the one following in Austin, but he hadn’t made the one in San Antonio. She’d been depressed for two days after.

They’d returned north to Fort Worth and here he was again.

One of the other models, a former West Texan, had told her that Jake Barton wasn’t married, owned a huge ranch about an hour from Austin and was well known for his extensive oil holdings.

None of which explained the fascination he held for her or the feeling of connection she experienced when their eyes met, nor did anything in his background account for his attendance at one fashion show after another.

Which was the tiny kernel of hope in her burnt-popcorn existence at the moment.

Maybe, an insidious little voice inside her insisted, he had come to see her and was working up to asking her out.

Only he didn’t seem like the type of man to be hindered by reticence when it came to going after something he wanted.

Which was one of the reasons she hadn’t made the first move. She didn’t want to approach him, only to be rejected.

On the other hand, the faint heart never won the fair maiden, or something like that. He wasn’t a maiden, but she’d like very much to win him. She was seriously considering showing up on his ranch during her Christmas hiatus and going for what
she
wanted.

Jake waited for Bella to come out onto the stage, allowing the anticipation to zing through him.

He had the whole program memorized and it was time for her to wear the black dress again.

The first time he’d seen it, he’d thought it was more modest than the other designs by Lexi, but as Bella got closer, he’d realized that she wasn’t wearing anything under the lace bodice and her nipples were only partially hidden behind the rose pattern on the lace.

As she walked down the stage, his blood heated with satisfaction as he got his first glimpse of the sweet valley between her luscious curves.

Captivated, he watched as she met his eyes like she had every single time she’d walked out onto the stage since the first time. It was like she had a radar to pick him out in the audience. He liked that.

She tried unsuccessfully to look away. He could feel her effort and her eyes begged him to release hers.

He was more than willing to show her mercy and let his own gaze wander.

Down her body.

The dress moved flirtatiously around her legs with each step, and she picked up one side and fanned it out to show the audience the fullness of the skirt. His gaze slid up to her bodice and he sucked in air at the sight of her hardened nipples behind the revealing lace.

A corresponding reaction occurred below his waist. Was she growing wet as well? He’d bet his prize bull she was.

Amazing that he could affect her like this, just by watching her do her job. Even more incredible was that that kind of stimulation could have such a powerful effect on him. It was the most exciting foreplay he’d ever indulged in.

When they finally got into bed together, they were going to set the sheets on fire.

He wondered if she was getting as much of a kick out of prolonging the anticipation as he was. He’d been tempted more than once to put them both out of their misery. He wanted more than a quick roll in the hay with her though. Until the trunk show was over, she wouldn’t be able to indulge in anything like what it would take to sate his senses.

Or hers either, if he was reading her right.

His sister had told him that the models got a month of vacation after the last show before choreography would start for the next season’s designs. Several of them filled their time with freelance work, but he was going to convince Bella to spend some time on his ranch. Maybe she would even stay around for Christmas.