Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set (6 page)

“
I might have told her about Rocky.”

Jimmy smiled and took a long drink.
“I loved that horse.”

“
Me, too. But now I have to figure out what to do about Jackie.”

“
You know where she’s staying. What’s stopping you from showing up at her room in the morning? Bring her to the shop, I’ll hook you up with moped rentals for the day.”

“
Think that’s a smart idea?”

“
Already told you that you look relaxed for once.”

They had talked half the night and Mitchell had lain awake the other half, watching the clock.

Now in the lobby, the clock ticked off ten minutes since he first tried to make the upholstered chair bend to his will. He vaguely noticed the tropical-style Christmas songs playing in the lobby and the colorful bulbs on small trees placed tactfully around the seating area. His eyes were trained on the elevator door. He watched an elevator start on the fourteenth floor and make its way down, stopping several times. He stood up. This was the one.

Chapter Eight

Jackie clutched the small bag she packed just in case. It was only one meal, right? She felt a little stab of guilt when she remembered what she put in the bag. She told her friends it was breakfast and goodbye so they’d get off her case and they could get on with their last day in paradise before boarding their flight to Chicago tomorrow morning, bright and early.

She really did have good intentions. She was just a little weak. Weak in the knees when Mitchell handed her the rose and brushed her fingers. Weak everywhere when he commanded her presence at breakfast, assuring she wouldn
’t stand him up with a short but powerful kiss. Most of all, weak in resolve.

There was something, okay everything, about him that she found hard to resist.

So the sunscreen, sunglasses, and red dotted Swiss two-piece bathing suit were rolled up in the corner of her bag. Just in case she had to sacrifice her whole day to save her friends from getting canned by the boss. They were small items, but she felt a little guilty tucking them in. Her cell phone was in the bag, too, and she promised to call Teri and Leah so they’d know what she was up to and where they could meet up with her later.

With each floor she descended, her nerves increased. Sure, she was operating on an empty stomach, a cup of coffee, no sleep, and a giddy rush whenever she even dared to review last night. But she was trying to look cool and play it cool.

The door opened, she tightened her grip on the bag over her shoulder, and she strode out of the elevator in her red sling-back sandals and knee length red sundress.

Mitchell stood next to a chair which looked much too small to contain him. He was a commanding six foot two and she felt a thrill race through her empty stomach when she remembered how he had mastered her body last night. He looked like he was ready to do the same thing this morning. Despite his casual clothes, he still looked like he could be presiding over an international business meeting.

He was waiting only a few yards from the elevators, and he closed the distance as soon as her door opened. Like a tiger ready to pounce.

“
Hungry?” he asked.

“
Starving.”

He stepped behind her, reached an arm across her and rested his large warm hand on her cool shoulder. Her sundress was perfect for the hot day promised by the weather forecast, but the cool lobby and the touch of his hand made her shiver. She knew he had to notice it.

“Maybe you’d like to eat outside? I can get us a table in the sun.”

“
I’d love it.”

Mitchell spoke quietly to the hostess at the little stand on the patio. The restaurant overlooked the Gulf of Mexico and the morning light shimmered over the water. Their table had a prime view of the water because it was by itself on a small upper deck, its own island. There were no tables near them, but they could see the whole restaurant. Last night, Jackie had seen Mitchell put a fifty dollar bill on the bar for the waitress. How many of those bills did he have on him? She imagined the hostess would be having a fun day of shopping when she got off work.

She forgot she was staring at him instead of her menu until he spoke without even glancing up.

“
I’m flattered that you’re considering having me for breakfast, and I’ll admit I like the idea, but you might want to pick something out before our waiter comes back.”

Jackie felt a slow flush creep over her neck and make her ears feel hot. Eating him for breakfast. Hmmm, tempting. But she had to keep her game face on and figure out what she was going to do about this infatuation before it could lead to disaster. A graceful exit after a congenial meal. It was the only way.

“Do you, um, have any recommendations? I’m guessing you’ve been here before?”

Mitchell looked her over.
“I like it all,” he said.

Jackie managed to focus on the menu. Keep it simple, she thought. Choose something to eat, fill the tank, and you
’ll be able to think better. Fortify with some protein, and you’ll be able to resist and get back to being the sensible girl you usually are. The girl who does not meet men in bars, fall into their arms, and then stay awake all night thinking about them. The girl who does
not
accidentally sleep with her boss and jeopardize her career and all her friends’ jobs. The girl who could reasonably think of a way out of this mess. The girl who hadn’t had this much fun in a while…

She managed to order and speak rationally to the waiter while trying not to look at Mitchell
’s lips and eyes and hands as he chatted with the waiter and ordered his food. She wrenched her eyes from the temptation across the table and looked out at the blue, sparkling water.

She should be out there with Leah and Teri lying on the beach, complaining about their jobs, their love lives, their mothers…all the things they usually talked about. They should be making their plans for Shelly
’s wedding and maybe even doing some good-spirited complaining about the bridesmaid dresses they were all enduring. It was a Christmas season wedding and Shelly had chosen black dresses with a sash made of a Christmas plaid done up in shiny taffeta. The black dress? Gorgeous. The plaid sash? Glitzy like a clearance prom dress. The flower girls were going to look cute. The big girls, well…they loved their friend enough to wear that awful sash. Cheerfully.

“
You’re smiling,” Mitchell said. “You told me last night that you love the water.”

Jackie nodded. Let him think it was the water putting the little smile on her face. Sure, it was beautiful, but it was only one piece of the puzzle this morning.

“I think I could get used to living here.” She turned her blue eyes on him and said, “You live here, don’t you?” She wondered how he would answer. Would he openly lie to continue the charade?

Mitchell hesitated a fraction of a second and then nodded.

“I own a business on the island.”

He didn
’t seem inclined to offer more details, and she knew very well why. He may have a house and a business on the island, but he owned businesses all over the country and had multiple houses. If he wanted to pretend to be a local, though, she’d let him. This was their last date anyway.

“
Have you seen much of the island?” he asked.

“
Hardly any. I’m just here for the weekend.”

Mitchell looked puzzled.
“And you haven’t been here before? Cruise ships dock here all the time. I guess I thought you might be a regular here.”

A regular. Didn
’t sound like much of a compliment at all. Like a regular bar wench, a regular one-night stand, a regular dancer who danced her way into men’s beds for the weekend. She concentrated hard on the plate of eggs and toast the waiter laid in front of her. She knew Mitchell was waiting for a reply, but instead she carefully unrolled her silverware from its napkin and spread the napkin neatly on her lap.

Suddenly, her hunger was replaced by a cool helping of reality. Mitchell
’s reputation for being a bastard in business had been earned somehow. He probably was glad she worked on a cruise ship, so she’d sail off and he wouldn’t be saddled with her. She took a bite of toast. Fuel up, and say goodbye.

“
I’d like to show you the island from a local’s perspective,” he said.

What was with this guy? Maybe he needed some entertainment for the weekend and decided she was it. She wished he was easier to refuse. Sitting close to him with their knees brushing under the table, she experienced a taste of the flames that devoured them last night when they cast restraint to the trade winds and explored every part of each other
’s body. Jackie tried to squelch the image and those sensations. Her plan was to say goodbye.

“
That’s a nice offer, but my friends are counting on me to go sightseeing with them.”

“
About your friends,” Mitchell said. Suddenly he looked very serious, almost worried.
Oh, god, he knows who they are
. He didn’t recognize her because she had only worked for his company for six months and he had seldom, if ever, been in the Chicago office during that time. Her friends, though, had been there for several years.
He knew
. Maybe he’d take it easy on them. He could choose to let it go. So what if they called in sick, shut down the accounting floor, and took off for the weekend? He was here, too, right? Of course, he did
own
the company. A minor difference.

“
I have to confess something,” he continued.

Oh, God. He
’d already fired them and they were packing their bags in tears upstairs and wondering where she was and what they were going to do.

“
I wanted you all to myself.”

Jackie looked curiously at him.
What?

“
What do you mean?” She tried to sound as neutral as possible.

“
While I was waiting for you in the lobby, I sent them tickets for a sightseeing charter boat. The tickets should have been delivered about twenty minutes ago. I’m hoping they’re heading downstairs to the dock right now.”

Jackie was stunned. He deliberately separated her from her friends and bought them off with free tickets. She knew her mouth was open a little, but she didn
’t care. How dare he be so manipulative? How dare he
buy
her time for the day? No wonder people thought he was such a jerk. No wonder he had millions of dollars. He didn’t care how he got it.

“
You bought my friends off?”

“
It’s a first-class tour. It lasts all day. They’ll have lots of fun.”

“
You tricked me.”

Mitchell
’s lips quirked up just a little and a few fine lines appeared outside his eyes. He was enjoying this, she thought. He was having so much fun he was even trying hard not to laugh.

“
It comes with a beach barbeque and all the alcohol they can drink. I know the man who owns the company. Trust me, they’ll never forget it.”

He was still smiling just a little and looking pleased with himself. Jackie tried to remember she was angry. Damn him for having a smile that started with his eyes and spread over his handsome face until it softened his square jaw just a little.

Just right.

Damn him for giving her friends a way nicer day than they could ever afford on their own because they didn
’t exactly make a fortune working for
his
company. Damn him for being the largest temptation ever thrown in her path in all her twenty-five years.

Jackie struggled with herself. He wanted her all to himself for the day. He liked what he experienced last night and wanted at least one more day of it. He conspired to remove any obstacles like friendship and loyalty so he could get what he wanted. He was deceitful. He was hiding something. He had not been honest about anything so far. The jerk probably wasn
’t even a Taurus.

A little trickle of guilt lapped at her feelings of outrage. She hadn
’t exactly been honest with him about anything, either. About the only thing in the open between them so far was her real first name. He had used his real first name, too. But she also knew his last name and quite a few more things.

A boat horn just below them at the docks interrupted her thoughts. It sounded twice.

“That’s probably them leaving right now,” Mitchell said.

Jackie jumped up and went over to the railing and the view of the docks and the water. She was furious. Trapped. She
thought
she might just
recognize
those two girls waiting in line with a handful of other people to board a beautiful sailboat. It was a long green sailboat with colorful graphics on the side advertising its sightseeing service and phone number. Deckhands in matching uniforms of white shirts and green shorts were helping guests board and already offering trays of drinks and food.

“
Hey,” she yelled, waving furiously at the familiar sundress on the one girl and shorts and t-shirt on the other.

The two girls looked up and waved back. Even from a distance, Jackie could see they looked ecstatic. They were leaving her like rats leaving a sinking ship. Her two best friends were taking free tickets from their jerk of a boss and leaving her to fend off temptation all by herself. Jackie waved back, helpless. She couldn
’t stop them now, but she felt betrayed and angry. How dare they look so happy?

Her back was to the table where Mitchell sat. She knew he was watching her. She could feel his eyes poring over the back of her shoulders and all down the rest of her. Her hands gripped the rail. Her friends were pretty much telling her to just go with it and have fun with Mitchell all day. Accepting his tickets was some pretty shortsighted thinking on their part.

One of her main goals for agreeing to see him this morning was to, ironically, protect her friends’ identity. Now they were off thinking only of having fun and getting what they could out of the weekend. Hmmm. Have fun on his dime all day and take
him
for a ride. If he intended to use her for the day, maybe two could play this game.