The Best Man (10 page)

* * *

Fast
and hard from behind.

Jake
had never expected that Christine would be so passionate, or that she’d have
such fantasies. He was more than willing to deliver on every one of them—if
he didn’t split his wet suit first. He hoped that one of the guys had won the
bet or would do so soon—or he’d be taking Christine fast and hard from
behind, to hell with the consequences.

Staking
a claim, like a thief in the night.

Who
had guessed that sweet, ladylike Christine was so wild? He’d been crazy about
her when he’d thought that only he had sexual fantasies about them together.
Now, she was blowing his mind.

Jake
reminded himself that he was playing for the long term, and that he didn’t want
Christine to have any doubts about his motivation—not today or tomorrow.
He had to be sure he didn’t win the bet.

Even
if it killed him.

He
thought it might when he went down for dinner. Christine was radiant when she strolled
toward the restaurant, so gorgeous and happy that he couldn’t imagine being
with anyone else.

Jake
recognized her white dress from other summer parties. It was a favorite of
hers, the skirt full and swirling. She’d told him once that she felt like a
movie star when she wore it, and he’d teased her that she could give Marilyn
Monroe a run for her money. The truth was that she did look both beautiful and
seductive in the dress, and Jake thought the halter top was incredibly
feminine. He couldn’t help but watch as the dress’s hem lifted in the breeze,
revealing the sleek strength of her legs. Seeing the curve of her back, her
smooth skin inviting his touch, had distracted him more than once when he
should have been paying attention.

He
wondered whether she’d chosen it on purpose—maybe because he’d once
complimented her on it—and felt his body harden in anticipation.

She
was also wearing the string of pearls.

Christine
halted before him, her expression knowing and her eyes sparkling. Jake could
have stared at her forever. Apparently, afternoon orgasms suited her. Or maybe
it was having a fantasy come true. It wasn’t as if he could ask. He heard Mark
give a wolf whistle from the bar, though, and noticed how startled she was.

“I
can’t blame him. You do look good enough to eat,” he teased, not realizing his
double entendre until he’d said it. Christine blushed a little and he felt his
own reaction to the idea of repeating the afternoon’s adventure. “Did you have
a good day?”

“Yes.”
She smiled secretly, that coy look doing hard and thick things to Jake. “I
worked on my tan.”

“Good.”

“And
Jess’s suitcase arrived late this afternoon. So that’s solved.”

“Is
she in a better mood?”

Christine
winced and shrugged.

“Well,
let’s celebrate the arrival of the dress. Want to try something different
tonight?”

Her
eyes widened at his question. “Like what?”

Jake
had a feeling she was talking about something else, like a different sexual
position. He remembered every single thing she’d said and couldn’t think
straight for a moment. She smiled at him, her eyes glinting, and he told
himself to get his mind out of the gutter. “There’s another restaurant, at the
other end of the resort. If we went down there, we could be on our own.”

“No
wolves?”

“Not
there.” He jerked his head toward the other guys. “I don’t think they can walk
that far tonight.”

Christine
laughed and put her hand in his elbow. “What a wonderful idea.” Her breast
brushed against his arm and her perfume surrounded him. Jake was sure he was in
heaven.

The
path he chose was lush with greenery and quiet. It wound its way between the
various buildings and the air was heady with the smell of flowers. A light
breeze caressed them and he could hear the waves on the beach.

Christine
smiled at him, toying with her pearls. “How was your scuba diving today?”

He’d
been doing a different kind of diving, but Jake wasn’t going to admit as much.
“It was awesome,” he said, and that part was true. The next part was not true,
intended to make Christine believe her lover really was a stranger. That was
key to her fantasy, after all. “They took us out to this reef for the day. You
can’t even see it from here, but wow, you should have come. The fish were
amazing.”

She
was visibly startled. “It was far?”

“Oh
yeah. We left right after breakfast and the boat just got back half an hour
ago. A long day and a lot of diving, but it was great.” He kept talking, enjoying
her confusion. “You know, if you want to go one day, I’d be glad to go again.”

Christine
was visibly startled.

Jake
might have teased her more, but they reached the other restaurant. This one
catered to couples and was unabashedly romantic, built to jut over the sea and
lit only with candles. He was glad he’d found it earlier. On this night, he’d
focus on Christine herself, not just her fantasies, and romance her mind.

“Oh,
it’s beautiful!” Christine stepped ahead of him, admiring the view.

Jake
was distracted all over again by the sight of her bare back. He could have
happily run his fingers down her spine, or slid his hands around her to cup her
breasts in his palms. The loose tendril of hair invited his kiss upon her neck.

He
wanted to see her wearing nothing but those pearls.

And
a smile of invitation.

Instead,
he gritted his teeth and placed his hand on the back of her waist. Her skin was
like silk. He felt her jump at his touch and his own pulse leapt at the same
time. Before he could forget himself again, he tugged a card from his pocket
and slid it into the open top of her purse while she was admiring the view.

Even
better, he managed it without her suspecting a thing.

“Their
specialty is local seafood,” he said, keeping his tone casual. “I hope it’s
good. I’m starving.”

* * *

There
were moments when Christine was certain that Jake was deliberately trying to
drive her crazy with his touch, and others when she was convinced that he was
completely oblivious to his effect upon her. It became clear that he had made a
reservation at this restaurant for them, so he’d checked it out and planned for
the two of them to come here. That could only be construed as a date—unless
he was trying to make it look like a date, to defend her from the other guys.

And
without his mom knowing what they were doing. That wasn’t the most optimistic
conclusion possible. Christine preferred to think that her fantasy lover wanted
her all to himself.

Their
table looked over the ocean and was in a private corner, a table just for two.
The moon was shining over the ocean, the western sky still streaked with color
from the sunset, and the restaurant was lit by candlelight. Christine could
smell the flowers set on the white tablecloths and was sure she’d never been
anywhere so romantic in her life.

That
she was with Jake made it perfect. He held her chair when she sat down, always
a perfect gentleman, and his fingertips slid across her back lightly before he
moved to his own chair. His touch left her shivering, but she couldn’t tell
from his expression whether he’d done it on purpose or not. He smiled at her as
he took his own seat. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

“It’s
wonderful. Very romantic.” She smiled back at him. “A perfect place for a
date.”

“I
thought you’d like it.” Jake checked the wine list and they agreed to share a
bottle. “White with the seafood?” he asked and she nodded. When the sommelier
came, he pointed at a wine in the listing, completely mangling the French name
of it when he tried to say it aloud. The sommelier visibly winced at Jake’s
pronunciation, but followed Jake’s fingertip, nodded, smiled and hastened away.

Christine
could only remember the smooth sexy French of her mystery lover.

“I
thought you spoke French,” she said when they were alone again.

“Me?”
Jake laughed. “No way. I have no gift for languages. I point when the wine list
is in French and hope for the best.” He opened the menu and rolled his eyes in
dismay. “Wow, this is
all
in
French. You speak French, don’t you? Help me out?”

“Can’t
you at least read it?”

Jake
shook his head, unabashed. “No clue.” He started to sound out the name of the
first appetizer and Christine couldn’t stand it.

“Stop!”
she said, holding up her hands to tease him. “You could get arrested for
speaking French that badly.”

Jake
chuckled. “Well, then, I’ll just have to throw myself at your mercy.”

Christine’s
heart thumped at the heat in his eyes. “Do you have anything particular in
mind? It’s a huge menu.”

“Tell
me the specials. That’s usually a good place to start.”

It
was easy to be with Jake, easy but exciting as well. They joked together and
teased each other over the menu choices, toasted each other when the wine came.
The conversation flowed easily, both effortless and electric. They talked about
their respective projects at work—her complete renovation and
redecoration of a client’s downtown home, his design and construction of a
suite of small office buildings. He asked good questions about her work, not
superficial ones, and seemed to be interested. She was fascinated by his
concerns over public space and the environment, and how that affected his
overall design.

It
had always been this way between them, but on this night, Christine felt as if
there was a hum of sexual tension beneath their banter. She couldn’t help but
think of her lover touching her on the beach the night before, then tying her
down and eating her in the cabana. Had it really been Jake? Was he teasing her
by pretending to have been away all day? Was he her secret lover?

She
caught him looking at her once or twice, his gaze simmering with a heat that
made her mouth go dry. Then he’d make a joke, or remind her of some incident in
their shared past, and make her laugh all over again. Every moment she spent
with him just reinforced her idea that he was the only one for her. She thought
of how he’d been disconcerted by her fantasies and wondered how she would tell
him that seeing him lose control over her would be the ultimate thrill.

“So,
no boyfriend to bring on this vacation?” he asked, his eyes twinkling. “Or were
you afraid to scare him off?”

“What
do you mean?”

“Only
dedicated couples would go to a one-week wedding together.”

“True.
But I’m not seeing anyone right now.”

“Good
thing,” Jake said, his words making Christine’s heart skip. “That jerk Tom
should have scared you off men forever.”

“Tom?”
Christine was surprised by his reference to a guy she’d dated briefly years
before. “He was all right.”

“He
was a loser,” Jake said, his voice hard. “I couldn’t believe how he treated you
when you brought him up to the lake.”

Christine
had been surprised, as well, by the change in Tom’s manner once they’d had sex,
but she wasn’t going to tell Jake that. “Jess said he looked like you.”

Jake
gave her an incredulous look. “Please, I’m eating. I don’t want to have
anything in common with a guy like that.”

“You
really didn’t like him?”

“Christine,
he treated you like a bimbo and a maid.” Jake frowned into his dinner as if
troubled by a thought. “Is that it, then? You only like the bad boys? The ones
who treat you like staff”

“Tom
wasn’t that bad. He was worse at the cottage, maybe because he felt threatened
by all of you.”

“I
nearly killed him,” Jake said grimly, stabbing his fork into his dinner. “But
then I remembered that a personal experience with jail was not a good
credential for an architect trying to make partner.”

Christine
laughed. “You’re kidding me.”

“No.”
Jake’s look was hot enough to make her sizzle. “You deserve better, Christine.”

“I
dumped him after that weekend.”

“Good.”

Christine
toyed with her dinner. “I haven’t dated much since then. He kind of put me off
the whole thing, actually.” She opened her eyes wide to look at Jake, who was
listening avidly. “Any suggestions?”

He
opened his mouth, shut it again, then took a drink of wine, his intent gaze
locked on her. He set the glass down with deliberation and leaned across the
table. “Maybe you should look in your circle of friends for candidates, instead
of imagining secret lovers in the dark.”

Christine
wasn’t sure what to make of that. It sounded like a warning.

“So,
why didn’t you bring a date to this wedding?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Are
you kidding? Trap some unsuspecting woman in captivity with my relatives, while
my sister is going crazy? I don’t think so.” He finished his dinner and smiled
at her. “At least not if I was really interested in her.”