The Best Man (12 page)

A
thief who would leave no fingerprints.

A
man with nothing to lose—and only pleasure to gain.

Christine
loved the difference in his touch. His kiss was wild and sexy and forbidden
this way. Dangerous. Delicious. Irresistible.

She
kissed him back with hunger, pushing her tongue between his teeth and sliding
her hands around his neck. She loved the feel of his hands on her, the leather
gloves gliding over her skin. He felt powerful and seductive both, and when he
groaned at her abandon, she knew they both were loving the game.

He
caught her up in his arms and carried her across the room, pillaging her mouth
with his as he went. Christine surrendered to the moment, kissing him with an
abandon she hadn’t known she possessed. He cast her on to the bed, then spun
her around before she could catch her breath. She was kneeling in front of him,
her butt against his erection, and she rolled her hips to rub against him. He
chuckled and wrapped one arm around her waist, trapping her arms against her
body. He closed his other hand over her mouth, silencing her beneath his
leather-clad palm.

It
was thrilling to be his captive, especially as Christine knew he would never
hurt her. She was so wet she was nearly dripping. He pushed her legs apart with
one knee, then lifted her against him, easing his shaft between the lips of her
labia. He was so hard and so thick. Christine moaned at the thought of him
being inside her and writhed against him. His arms could have been steel bands
locked around her, and the fact that he held her so tightly meant that she
could completely let go.

She
did. She struggled and tried to shake off his grip. She screamed, but made no
sound.

“Mine,”
he said with an intensity that drove her wild. “
Mon seul désir.
”

My
one desire. My only desire.

Christine
moaned in submission. He rocked his hips, moving his hardness against her but
not taking her, making her yearn and burn but not satisfying her. Christine
thought she would go crazy. She was on fire for him. She wrapped her legs
around the outside of his thighs and rubbed her butt against him, demanding
that he take her.

He
kissed the side of her neck and fondled one breast, still keeping those arms locked
around her. “I shall take you when I want,” he whispered. “Whenever I want. As
often as I want.”

Christine
moaned, because she wanted that, too. She arched her back hard and he moved
inside her, driving deep and filling her with his thickness. She felt faint at
the size of him, overwhelmed by his possessive touch. She shuddered and he
released her arms, grabbing her wrists and bracing her hands against the
mattress. He straightened behind her, sliding his hands down her body to lock them
around her waist. His grip was firm and strong, and he drove even deeper.
Christine spread her knees wide and dropped her weight to her elbows, welcoming
him inside her.

“Deeper,”
she said. “Faster and harder.” She pumped her hips against him and he drove
into her repeatedly. “Fill me. Stretch me. Claim me.”

“You
are my possession,” he said, his voice rasping.

“I
am yours to claim.” She heard his breath coming more quickly and thought she
could hear the thunder of his heart. Jake was losing control, losing it over
her, and Christine knew there could be no better aphrodisiac. She rocked
against him, trying to drive him over the edge.

He
took her hard, as if he couldn’t do anything else, then just before she thought
he would explode, he caught her against him once again. Those leather clad
fingers landed on her aching clitoris and he pressed his fingertips hard
against it, sending Christine to the moon. The orgasm exploded through her body
with such force that she thought sparks would erupt from her fingertips.

“Jake!”
she cried, unable to stop herself.

“Christine!”
he shouted, before he wrapped himself around her and emptied his heat into her.
He came and came, long after she had dissolved into sweet languor.

Then
he leaned his forehead on the back of her shoulders and exhaled heavily. She
could feel him shaking. She let her knees slid down so that she was lying on
the bed, crushed beneath his weight.

He
kissed her nape again, then tugged off the gloves and cast them aside. He ran
his fingers through her hair, easing it aside from her shoulders and kissed her
beneath the ear.

Christine
reached up and pushed off his mask.

Jake
grinned crookedly at her. “Disappointed?”

“No,”
she said vehemently, then kissed him hard. “You were trying to fake me out,
though,” she accused.

“You
said your fantasy lover would disguise himself,” Jake replied, his fingers in
her hair again. She had the sense that he couldn’t resist touching her, and
that was just fine. He kissed her temple. “You can’t blame me for wanting to
make your fantasy come true, can you?”

Wait.
What about the woman he was going to marry? Was this just about sex? Christine
had time to wonder how she was going to ask about his intentions when she heard
a key in the door.

Two
seconds later, Fiona started to laugh. “So, now we know who’s really won the
bet,” she said. “Wait until I tell the guys.”

“No!”
Jake shouted but Fiona was gone.

She
was gone then, slamming the door behind herself, and Christine sat up in
dismay. “What bet? There’s a bet?”

“There’s
been a mistake.”

“What?”

He
grimaced. “It’s not what you think...”

“Jake!
What bet?”

His
lips tightened to a thin line. “The guys made a bet at the stag. Whoever got
lucky first at the resort was supposed to win the money.” He shoved a hand
through his hair. “But Mark said...”

Christine
was on her feet, more furious than she’d ever been in her life. “That’s what
this was all about? Some stupid bet?”

Jake’s
eyes flashed. “No, Christine, I can explain...”

But
Christine wasn’t listening. She was humiliated. They would all be talking about
how easy she was, how Jake had seduced her. She was embarrassed and fearful
that people had used her weakness—her adoration of Jake—against
her.

She
was heartbroken that he might have done as much.

“Get
out!” she cried, feeling her tears start to rise. “I knew that if I told you
anything, you’d use it against me.”

Jake
held up his hands. “Christine, just listen for two minutes...” To her surprise,
he looked furious.

She
didn’t dare listen to him. He could convince her that the sky was pink with purple
polka dots.

“No!
Out!”

When
he didn’t move—and didn’t look like he would—Christine ran into the
bathroom and locked the door, throwing her weight against it as her tears began
to fall.

Jake
jiggled the knob. “Christine,” he said quietly. “This isn’t over.”

“Yes,
it is.”

“No,
you’re angry and I don’t blame you, but you will hear my side of the story?
Please?”

“Why
should I? You tricked me...”

“I
tried to make your fantasy come true,” he corrected, his tone firm. “And I did
it because I love you. I have always wanted to be your fantasy, because you’ve
always been mine.”

Christine
blinked. She turned and stared at the door, her heart leaping with hope.

Did
she dare to believe him?

She
decided she had to. She knew the kind of man Jake was. He wouldn’t have taken
advantage of anyone just to win a bet. It was true that she’d been surprised
and hurt, but she knew Jake.

But
when Christine unlocked the door, the room was empty. The candles still
flickered and the sliding glass door was open.

And
Jake was gone.

* * *

Jake
had never been in a worse mood in his life. That scheming bitch Fiona would
ruin everything, just because she could, and for all he knew, Mark would play
along with her for the entertainment value. Everything was on the line, but
Christine wouldn’t listen to him.

He
wasn’t sure she ever would.

He
should have talked to Kade. He should have confirmed that the bet was won
before he acted upon it. He should have known that Fiona could have talked Mark
into playing some stupid-ass trick on him, just to embarrass Christine.

Jake
was feeling murderous. That he could lose Christine over some dumb prank just
made him want to deck somebody.

He
got his stowed shorts out of the bushes and tugged them on, then headed for the
bar. He found Mark easily enough, that man hooting at the sight of him.

“There,
he is!” Mark cried. “The lucky winner!”

Jake
seized Mark by the collar and lifted him off the stool, backing him into the
wall. “You told me Kade had won.”

The
other man shrugged. “Yeah, well, it was a small exaggeration.”

“It
was a major exaggeration,” Fiona snapped with surprising hostility. Kade, Jake
noticed, stood back and watched, his expression grim.

“Was
it?” Jake asked of Kade.

The
other man averted his gaze.

“It
was a lie!” Fiona declared. “A filthy opportunistic lie.” Kade gave her a hot
look, then turned away, marching into the darkness.

What
was going on?

Fiona
wagged a finger at Jake. “But you and Christine. That was no lie. I saw it
all.”

“You
saw nothing that was any of your business,” Jake retorted, but Fiona just waved
off his protest.

“I
can’t believe you thawed the ice queen.” Then she gestured to the others. “Pony
it up, boys. You’ve all got to pay Jake as the big winner.”

The
other guys grumbled, but reached into their pockets. Jake was astonished by how
much cash they were carrying. His emotions were jumbled and he felt turned
inside out. It shouldn’t be legal for a man to have the best sex of his life,
with the woman he loved to the exclusion of all others, then have everything
ripped away from him in fourteen seconds.

He
should go back to Christine, and argue his case.

But
what would he say?

It
just killed him that her feelings were so hurt, but he couldn’t think of a way
to fix it. He was too angry to think straight, especially after everything he’d
always wanted had seemed to be his.

Meanwhile
the cash was piling up in front of him, a surreal situation.

Mark
poked him in the shoulder. “So, hey, now that you’ve popped her, I guess it
won’t bother you if I have a go at her.”

“Over
my dead body,” Jake growled. When Mark put up his fists as if to mock-fight,
Jake couldn’t resist temptation.

He
decked the other guy, took his cash, and left Mark bleeding all over the bar.

* * *

If
Christine had thought she could talk to Jake in the morning, she was wrong.

She’d
called his room repeatedly, all during the night, but he hadn’t answered the
phone. He hadn’t returned her message either. And he hadn’t answered his cell
phone. It was raining in the morning, the gentle steady rain of the islands,
but she got an umbrella from the concierge. She walked down to Jake’s cottage
in the morning and knocked on the door, but either he wasn’t there or he wasn’t
going to answer the door.

She
supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that he was insulted by her
reaction. He was a man with integrity but her first reaction had been to assume
otherwise. She was surprised that he wasn’t giving her a chance to apologize
but Christine wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

Jake
wasn’t at breakfast either.

Where
could he be?

“Good
morning,” Arlene said and Christine jumped to find Jess’s mother right beside
her.

“Is
it?” Christine asked, unable to force herself to sound happy.

Arlene
glanced her way. “So, Jess told you already?”

“Told
me what?”

“She’s
cancelled the wedding.” Arlene sighed. “I suppose it’s for the best, but I do
feel badly that so many people have spent the money to come her for her big
day.”

“And
there isn’t going to be one.” Christine grimaced. “It’s better that they don’t
get married if they aren’t going to make each other happy.”

“Oh,
I know. I just wish Jess could have made this choice earlier.” Arlene visibly
forced a smile and changed the subject. “So, you did buy those pearls. I’m so
glad, dear. They suit you perfectly.”

Christine
raised one hand to the string of pearls. “I didn’t buy them, actually. Jake
did.”

Arlene
straightened and gave Christine a hard look. “I hope he isn’t toying with your
affections, Christine.”

“What
do you mean?”

“I
know that you’ve always been sweet on Jake, but he has no idea how much his
attention affects you.” Arlene stirred sugar into her coffee. “That’s why I
refused to let you two pretend to be dating. I knew that you would just get
hurt.” Her lips thinned as Jake appeared at the end of the restaurant closest
to the beach. Christine found her heart was fluttering at the sight of him.
“I’m going to have to talk to him about those pearls, I’m afraid. I don’t
approve of him leading you on.”