Chapter Two

Jessica descended the wide staircase, admiring the spectacular golden railing with its ornate Italian Renaissance design. A mixture of feelings ran through her, taking turns with her attention. She hated parties that masqueraded as fundraisers; she was delighted, however, to be home again. She’d missed the rainy freshness of the Northwest. This last trip had kept her away for an entire year, but it had been worth it.

The adventure had helped her grow in ways she hadn’t known were possible. She was stronger, more confident, refusing now to be the shy wallflower she’d been for so many years, refusing to back down and avoid conflict at all costs.

When she’d first approached her father about volunteering in Kenya, East Africa, his answer had been an emphatic no! Her relentlessness had paid off: he’d eventually caved in to her pleas. He was a giving man and wanted her to be happy, and he loved to help others as much as she did. But he was also a worried father.

She could have told him she was going no matter what he thought, but she had too much respect for both her parents to take off for such an extended amount of time without their blessing. Sometimes she laughed at how old-fashioned she was, what a throwback she was to an earlier age.

So off she’d gone, to live in a small village in a remote area of Africa. She’d met so many people, and she knew she’d stay in contact with quite a few of them. She’d fallen in love with the locals and befriended a few other volunteers from the States.

The experience had certainly been both humbling and eye-opening. The things she thought were wrong with her own life were from another universe when compared with the heartache of so many people around the world.

She hoped to do a lot more volunteering in the near future. She’d also be more active in fundraising, the reason she was in the beautiful Seattle hotel that evening.

It helped that she loved the hotel the Andersons had chosen for the event. It was steeped in history, with so many areas to explore. The room she’d rented had a spectacular view of the gardens and was decorated to look more like a guest room in a distinguished home than a cold and sterile room for hire.

She’d walked into the suite to the sweet fragrance of fresh-cut flowers and an overflowing bowl of colorful fruit. On the small table had been a bottle of champagne, chilling in a bucket of ice. The bed was beautifully made; a note from the staff welcoming her to the hotel and offering any assistance, should she need it, sat there on her pillow.

Jessica was used to the red-carpet treatment, and she knew it wasn’t always the blessing people seemed to believe it to be. When your father was a multimillionaire, you never knew who liked you for you, or who liked you for what they could get out of your father — especially in her case, since she was his only heir. Every place she went people would do all they could to accommodate her, but it was usually a double-edged sword.

After her last tragic breakup, she’d decided to forgo relationships altogether. That bit of heartbreak was enough, thank you very much. Her former boyfriend, Mike, had seemed like the perfect man. Oh, she so wished she could stop thinking about it all, but pain had its uses.

He’d ridden into her life like a knight in shining armor — it was a cliché from the get-go — and she’d fallen for him hard and fast. He said all the right things without the usual fawning or flattery. He’d also romanced her unlike any other man she’d known. He could be fun and playful, but he was also a master at seeming smitten but not sappy. His wealth was also a big plus. Not in itself, of course, but because she didn’t think that he could be after what she had, not what she was. He and his love seemed so genuine. Yeah, right.

He courted her because his company was going under from the millions of dollars he’d gambled away. She’d found out later. If he snatched her up, he’d figured, he could go into business with her father and save himself. His plan would probably have worked, too.

She would have remained blind if she hadn’t showed up at his house early one day and discovered him with the maid.

When she walked into his gazebo to pick up a plant he’d promised her and saw the two of them wrapped in each other’s arms, Jessica hadn’t even blinked, almost expecting the betrayal from anyone she was with. She’d just quickly shut the door and walked from the house.

This wasn’t the first time a man had tried to get to her money. It was just the first time she’d truly believed he wanted her for her. With the other men, at least she’d been aware of who and what they were. Greedy. Her wealth was quite beautiful to them.

She’d imagined that her ex had respected and loved her enough to wait to have sex until their wedding night, but he’d never desired her in the first place. The waiting had fallen in perfectly with his plans, because the “maid” he’d hired was really his long-time girlfriend.

Jessica snapped back to the present and walked into the Spanish Ballroom. She wasn’t easily impressed, but every time she’d been here, the room had made her breath stall. Every detail was exquisite, starting with its twenty-foot ceilings. There were several chandeliers hanging at least three feet down and almost equally as wide. The crystals dripping from them fired off prisms of light in every direction.

The linen-covered tables held only the finest dinnerware, and the candles gave off a romantic glow. The room had the added appeal of strategically placed tall shrubs, offering privacy if a couple chose to steal a kiss.

Jessica began feeling more positive about the evening ahead. It was a beautiful night, and the organization she often donated to, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, was going to receive a substantial amount of money. She would enjoy herself even if it killed her.

Remember, you’re not allowed to be a wallflower, she lectured herself as she joined the other guests. Breaking that habit had taken a world of concentration. But her time in the villages in Africa had shown her that it didn’t matter what other people thought of you; it only mattered what you thought of yourself.

If the world wanted to judge, let it. Just turn your head the other way and walk away proudly.

Jessica sat at one of the tables, and before she knew it, dinner was over; she’d had a delightful time talking with her companions during the meal. When an older gentleman asked her to dance, she gladly accepted.

They hadn’t been on the dance floor for long when they were interrupted.

“May I cut in?”

Even though the words came out as a question, Jessica had no doubt they were a command. The gentleman she was dancing with heard it as well and stepped aside without a word of protest.

Jessica wasn’t fond of men who felt they deserved anything that caught their fancy, but she wouldn’t cause a scene. Was being “ladylike” still considered a virtue? If not, common civility would forbid her to refuse the dance. At least the song was halfway finished, so she wouldn’t have to endure being in such an arrogant man’s company for long.

As she looked up at him, there was something familiar, something she couldn’t quite place; intrigued, she allowed him to pull her into his arms.

As she placed one of her hands in his and the other on his shoulder, she could feel the raw power of his hold. He had the most piercing and beautiful blue eyes she’d ever seen. They were the kind of eyes that could easily penetrate straight into your soul. She’d have to be on guard with this man. Who was he?

Suddenly, it clicked — Alex Anderson.

Their fathers had been doing business together since she was a child, though it had been years since she’d last seen him. In fact, not since she was a teenage girl. This man, with the entrancing eyes, kissable mouth, and sexy body, was also a playboy unlike any other.

He was known to be uncatchable, as the single women often put it. He dated many women but made it clear he wouldn’t settle down. He was serious only in business. His grin had graced a number of magazine covers, making women, both young and old, lose a bit of sleep at night.

He was also the boy who had awakened her desires at the tender age of sixteen.

He’d aged well from the boy she’d once known into the man now trying to seduce her.

Her heart was racing as they played a twist on the game of cat and mouse. He kept attempting to pull her body intimately against his, while she was concentrating on keeping the proper amount of distance between them.

If she hadn’t been on a self-imposed leave from men, she could have easily considered a night of flirting with him — possibly even another electrifying kiss like the one they’d shared on one cold, dark night.

She shook her head to clear it and decided to get through the dance so she could move on as quickly as possible before her flash of memory from the past overrode her good sense in favor of the five less rational ones.

His smoldering blue eyes flashed into hers as his perfectly sculpted lips turned up in a sexy-as-sin smile. He knew he was hard to resist, and he seemed to be treating her to his full arsenal of charms without even uttering a word.

He slowly brought her fingers to his mouth and ran his lips across her knuckles. She felt a shudder ripple through her. He then flicked his tongue across the same spot, and desire pooled deep inside her core.

“I’m Alex Anderson, and you’re intriguing,” he whispered.

“Jessica Sanders, but you already knew that,” she retorted. She had to keep her wits about her. Without her notice, the song ended, and a new began. Her escape was forgotten momentarily as she continued this dangerous game with a man she knew better than to play with.

The look in his eyes said he wasn’t willing to give up on his quest — whatever it was. She didn’t understand why he pretended they were meeting for the first time. What advantage did it give him?

With sudden horror, she realized he actually might not know who she was.

She knew the kiss they’d shared had a far greater impact on her than on him. But if she’d been completely forgotten? That would be a serious blow to her ego, especially considering the months, years even, that she’d dreamt of him, waking in a cold sweat as her body hungered for something she couldn’t even describe.

As he dipped her low to the ground, then pulled her back to him, letting her body slide across his, she felt her resolve crumbling. She’d been with him for all of three minutes and she was ready to sneak behind one of those strategically placed plants and allow him to devour her.

Surely it was just the setting. The place was magical, and even though the hotel was, as always, everything she could have imagined, it dimmed in comparison with the man holding her. While she was in his arms, the rest of the people — and even the room itself — seemed to disappear.

She knew how very dangerous he was, and she also knew she was playing a game she couldn’t possibly win. But for some reason, she wasn’t able to pull away. She was locked to him for at least the moment.

There could be only one explanation for Alex Anderson — supernatural powers! As he spun her across the softly lit dance floor, her feet feeling as if they weren’t even touching the ground, she was sinking further under his spell. She could feel his solid muscles beneath her fingertips — and his scent mesmerized her. It was the combination of his masculinity, enhanced by the barest hint of citrus, herbs and sandalwood. Probably brewed in a witch’s cauldron.

“I haven’t had someone cut in on a dance since I was in high school. Don’t you see that as a little overzealous?” she asked, raising her eyebrow, wishing to express her displeasure. “Perhaps I didn’t wish to dance with you.”

“Not at all,” he answered.

Jessica raised her eyebrows, questioningly — and waited for him to go on. Not at all wasn’t an explanation.

“I don’t think it was at all presumptuous to cut in. Your previous partner was so boring that you could barely keep your eyes open. In the middle of a dance floor. So, you see, I should be thanked for saving you from a mind-numbingly tedious evening,” Alex said with a grin that left her speechless.

And he moved with dazzling grace. If he hadn’t been undressing her with his eyes the entire time she was locked in his arms, she might have given up and let the seduction continue, but she simply couldn’t allow him this much leverage over her. She knew he was the type of man to take ten miles when given an inch. And then another twenty, fast.

She was trying to work up the will to end their dance, but everything about him was too compelling for her to pull herself away. Besides, she argued silently, they were in a room full of people — safe, or so she thought. Really, though, what could possibly happen?

She decided to enjoy the flirtation for a moment, going with the flow of her new motto of not being a wallflower, of now following a “ladylike” assertiveness. This was the man who’d haunted the best of her teenage years, after all, and to have him so obviously want her gave her a slight sense of power.

“You’re unbelievably stunning. I can barely concentrate on mere words while my body touches yours. Why don’t we leave the dance now and head up to my suite?” he offered with the confidence of a man used to getting the answer he wanted.

She laughed nervously — his words were actually pretty funny — before replying. “I don’t think so.” Why wasn’t she even thinking of slapping him?

He rubbed his hand from the center of her back, dangerously low, and then back up again, causing a rush of heat to flash through her center. He was challenging her to take a chance, from the brush of his hands — to the look in his eyes. She was surprised at how badly she wanted to take him up on his offer.

If nothing else, she was actually enjoying the sexual play — the desire swimming through her, proving to herself that she was indeed a woman, capable of feeling strong emotions.

She’d been told too often she was cold, an ice maiden, incapable of thawing long enough to warm a man’s body. She closed her eyes as she fought down the pain of those thoughts. She had told herself it didn’t matter, but having Alex’s arms around her as he whispered sensual promises in her ear made her realize, all the more, how much she wanted a man to make her come alive.

It couldn’t be Alex, though — any man but him. She feared one night in his embrace would leave her scarred and empty the rest of her life. She knew he wouldn’t be someone she’d easily walk away from and forget.

“I think we have danced enough,” she said breathlessly. She didn’t know how much more she could take before surrendering.

“But our song hasn’t ended,” he said, not mentioning it was their second song, as he pushed against the small of her back, bringing her hips into contact with the hard evidence of his arousal. Before she could stop him — and she was beginning to worry that she didn’t think she had the will to stop anything — he bent his head down to the exposed skin of her neck.

His tongue slipped from his parted lips as he began running kisses across her pounding pulse, stopping every few inches to lightly nip her skin, each bite making her fight the need to grind against him.

If he hadn’t been holding her so closely, her knees would have buckled, and she’d have melted into a pool at his feet. No man had ever made her feel so breathless — certainly not her weasel of an ex-boyfriend… Ah! Salvation. That’s why she insisted on remembering the jerk. She could call a halt right now.

“Alex, it’s been very pleasant to see you again —”

Alex moved his mouth over her ear and whispered, “And quite soon it will be more than pleasant. Again and again. When you’re lying beneath me, I’ll have you trembling under my hands and mouth as they turn your body into liquid fire. You’ll be calling out my name, begging me to finish this.”

Jessica gasped as his words both horrified her and made her insides quiver uncontrollably. She’d never been seduced like this before, certainly not in a crowded room. And it was bizarre. If they had been alone, she’d have been begging him to take her right there, saying a fond but quick farewell to her self-imposed celibacy.

She tried to gather her wits, looking away from his lethal eyes at the crowded room. It helped, but only a little.

“Have you ever been told how arrogant you are?” She tried to make her voice stern, But the fact that it was choked with arousal called her a liar.

“No, just how good I am.”

The comment brought her a little closer to reality. “You need to stop this now. People are beginning to stare,” she whispered.

“Let them stare. They’re only wishing they could trade places with me,” he replied while running his lips back up her neck and across her cheek to the corner of her mouth where he gently trailed his tongue out along her bottom lip. “Or you.”

She allowed herself to run her fingers through his hair and down his neck and shoulders, and then she took a step back. “Thank you for the dance, Mr. Anderson,” she said politely, as if they hadn’t almost been making love in front of a crowded room.

“The pleasure was all mine, Jessica, and after what we just shared, don’t you think it’s a little formal to be calling me by my last name?” he answered with mockery.

“Mr. Anderson,” she emphasized, “there are plenty of women here who’d be more than willing to play a game or two with you tonight. I’m not one of them.”

Jessica turned and walked away, though it took all her willpower not to glance back over her shoulder just to drink him in one last time. It had been well over ten years since she’s seen him last, and heaven knew how long it might be again.