CHAPTER TEN
THE WEAK LIGHT of dawn bounced off her, turning her flying hair to silver as she rocked above him. He took a second to enjoy the sight of her riding him, the intense bite of pleasure from her tight warmth gripping him.
Then he rolled her without slipping from the warm clasp of her body, linking his fingers with hers as he pressed her hands into the mattress beside her head. She glowed. Her green eyes hypnotic, boring into his until he was forced to bite his tongue from fear of spilling his guts, confessing feelings—too much, too soon.
Fuck if he even knew where they came from, but they arrived, undeniably insistent. This was no longer a game for him, his motives way beyond revenge sex. But labelling this scared the shit out of him. And if he was to confess anything, shouldn’t it be that he’d used her attraction to him, at least in the beginning?
Damn, he wasn’t ready to go there. He focussed on her body under his, covering her bobbing nipple with his mouth, drawing the flesh inside until she clenched around him. So tight he growled. So close. Two more thrusts and she flew, milking him, calling his name and breaking the intense eye contact she gave him as the pleasure overwhelmed her.
He followed, pumping all he had into her while he clamped his lips against her shoulder to stop the feelings he was too terrified to name aloud spilling free.
After a quick trip to her en-suite bathroom, he returned to the bed, drawing her onto him until her body covered his, the sprawl of her hair over his face, the strands clinging to his morning scruff. Her scent cloaked his skin. He never wanted to move.
She snuggled closer. ‘I need to get up.’
He nodded. He had an eight a.m. meeting, himself. Fortunately, he’d gone straight from JFK to her store last night after returning from Paris, so his luggage had been in the trunk. Right now, he couldn’t think of leaving this bed, her nakedness pressed to him, ever again.
Harley’s heartbeat slowed against his. She lifted sleepy eyes to his, hair wild around her face. Breathtaking. He cupped her cheeks. Pushing the curtains of silk behind her ears.
Her eyes flicked between his and then dipped.
‘Can I ask you a favour?’
Fuck, he’d give her anything. Couldn’t she see that? He nodded. Too unsure of what would come out of his mouth to speak.
She smiled, the almost giddy, girlish smile he remembered, climbed from the bed and padded out of the room naked, her glorious ass swaying. Jack groaned inwardly, his cock twitching anew.
He stretched out his hands behind his head, sated but his skin tight with new realisations. She returned moments later with a folder tucked under one arm and two steaming mugs of coffee.
Jack shelved his restlessness for now, content with her hesitant smile and her request for help. And naked coffee deliveries? A man could get used to that kind of wake-up.
Used to it...? There was a permanency to that that squeezed his lungs.
‘I wondered if you’d show these to Isabel.’ She handed him the folder and perched on the edge of the bed, sipping her coffee. ‘Since our shopping spree the other day, I’ve been thinking about a maternity and infant range. There are so many gorgeous fabrics out there.’ She fingered some swatches next to the designs.
He studied the drawings, respect for her swelling inside, choking him. She looked away, her teeth gnawing at her lip. He wanted to kiss her and never stop until she saw the talented and beautiful woman he saw.
She still struggled with her dyslexia—her self-esteem seemed thin at best despite the accomplished and poised exterior she presented. She’d hinted at her social isolation growing up, how difficult things had been at home with her parental expectations and comparing herself to her siblings. What he wouldn’t give to see her fully embrace her authenticity. Believe in herself.
But the trust issue, still a barrier between them, made him likely the last person she’d believe. And did he have any right to suggest improvements when he himself battled substantial transformations he wasn’t ready to admit?
He kept his eyes down, his voice soft. ‘Do you want my opinion?’
She shrugged, her eyes heartbreakingly wary. Then offered a small nod.
‘These are really good.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘They’re just drawings.’ She snorted. ‘I remember the first time I told Hal I wanted to be a designer. I was fifteen. He called my sketches scribbles. I think that was the last time I actively sought his advice.’
He gripped her free hand, his blood boiling. ‘Hal’s an asshole.’ He smiled, coaxing a reluctant giggle from her. ‘These are more than drawings. They’re your passion, your talent, your heart on a page.’ His voice almost cracked. ‘I...love...that you would show me these.’
Jack forced his muscles to relax. If he ever got his hands on Hal Jacob, he’d punch him. He swallowed bile, forcing a smile for her sake. She placed her coffee next to his on the nightstand and curled her arms around his neck, kissing him so vigorously he had to scramble the drawings aside so she didn’t crush them.
She pulled back, eyes glowing.
‘I thought we could use organic cotton for the baby wear, merino wool from New Zealand, and we can link the profits to a charity that provides infant vaccines in Africa.’
He couldn’t resist her, a no doubt goofy, indulgent grin splitting his face.
Her phone pinged and she leaned over him to retrieve it. Her breasts hung before his face. Just one taste; rude not to.
He’d just formed his lips around one tasty bud when her body turned rigid above him. ‘Bastards.’
He sobered, releasing her and sitting up. ‘What is it?’
She held out the phone, showing him the headline.
Real Estate Heiress finds New Beau.
Harley stood abruptly and slipped on a white silk robe, a garment designed for modesty that did nothing to douse his hard need for her as it draped over every contour and his photographic memory of her body filled in the blanks. She paced the room, fingers tapping her thigh.
He didn’t enjoy seeing his own face on the gossip column, but her reaction seemed out of sync with what was essentially a photo of them leaving the restaurant last night and a few lines speculating on their relationship status.
‘Don’t worry about it. Who cares?’ He tossed the phone, capturing her hand on her next pass.
She gnawed at her lip. ‘Everything I do. It’s never enough. If I support a charity I’m a spoiled brat.’ She made air quotes. ‘If I go out with friends I’m squandering my trust fund. If I—’
He squeezed her hand, bringing her back to him.
‘Harley. What’s the real issue here?’ He tugged her down to sit beside him on the bed. ‘Are you worried about your family’s reaction?’ His insides shrivelled.
She evaded his eyes, toying with a loose thread. ‘Aren’t you? I’m a Jacob, remember. Don’t tell me you need the hassle this will bring.’ She pointed at the phone.
He shrugged, slotting his fingers between hers. ‘It’s not anyone else’s business but ours.’ He lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing each knuckle in turn.
Her eyes darted away and his gut churned. Was she still worried what her family thought? Still keen to keep him a sordid secret?
‘I... I need to tell you something.’ She wouldn’t look at him, her eyes flitting anywhere else. Her lip took another punishment from her teeth and Jack released her hand to cup her face. He sucked in a breath, wishing for a do-over on the morning.
When she did look up, he stopped breathing.
‘Remember that last holiday in Aspen?’ Barely a whisper.
His mind scrambled to keep up but he offered a curt nod. Why was she going there? He needed to relive that year of his life like he needed root canal. And now, with his brain already trying to make sense of what had changed in him...
‘I...’
‘Harley...’ She was ending this. Again. Just when his feelings had emerged from hiding.
She shook her head, determined. ‘I hurt you, but I want to explain why.’
He squeezed her fingers.
‘That’s ancient history.’ He’d been a naïve kid—all hormones, wearing his heart on his sleeve. He clenched his jaw. He didn’t need the reminder.
She nodded, expression sombre. ‘But the press has a way of...unearthing things. And I... I don’t want to keep secrets from you any more.’
Hairs on the back of his neck stood to attention. He released her hand and climbed from the bed, his limbs impatient for activity.
Secrets? He jerked on his pants and shirt. Whatever she had to tell him, he needed some armour. The weight of her confused stare, guilty and hurt, dragged at his shoulders.
‘Tell me, then.’ He faced her, his skin crawling as if he were trying to climb out of his own body.
Her eyes filled with a sheen of moisture. ‘Your mother and my father had an affair. I saw them together. In Aspen.’
What. The. Fuck.
He speared his hair with his fingers, gripping tight while he paced the room, too restless to stand still. Too shocked to stop his thoughts spinning.
‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ Memories bounced around inside his skull with dizzying speed, churning his stomach.
She shook her head, her gaze dipping to the comforter.
An affair? All these years he’d assumed it was the financial impact of the bad business decisions, which began with the aborted deal with Jacob Holdings, that had put a strain on his parents’ marriage. But on top of everything else, he’d been lied to, deceived.
His fists curled until the bones of his hands ached. Anger, white hot, pounded him. At Harley. At Hal. At his parents. And the lion’s share for himself. Fuck...so stupid. She’d kept this from him. Then and now.
He’d been a stupid kid nine years ago; a trusting besotted fool. And now? He’d convinced himself he was safe from the kind of pain he’d witnessed diminishing the man his father had been to the broken version who’d almost lost everything. But, like an idiot, he’d slipped up, lowered his guard, developed...feelings for Harley.
‘You knew? All this time? And you said nothing.’ Too much energy pounded through him. His voice scraped his throat raw, emerging eerily calm. She’d played him. He’d confided in her his concerns for Isabel, told her the origin—his parents’ marital implosion. And all the time she’d known a major contributing factor in that divorce.
She pulled the front of the robe tighter across her chest, her hands clutching the opening.
‘I was a kid. Shocked, horrified by what I’d seen, confused. I was too ashamed, too scared to tell anyone, to make trouble.’ She snorted. ‘I’d been in enough trouble with Hal back then.’
Fuck Hal...couldn’t she see she’d never get his approval until she stopped seeking it and believed in herself?
‘So you said nothing? You kept Hal’s secret. And you’re still keeping it?’ He sat on the foot of the bed, shoving his feet into socks and shoes, unable to look at her.
‘Jack...’
He turned on her, frustration spilling free, his control reaching breaking point. ‘All these weeks, all the time we’ve spent together—you couldn’t have told me?’
‘What good would it have done?’ Her stare searched his beseechingly. ‘I didn’t want to hurt you. Didn’t want to damage your relationship with your mother.’
‘So why today?’
She pinned him with her stare and for a second his chest, which had been encased in concrete, expanded.
‘I... I’m done with hiding Hal’s actions. Why should I, we, carry the legacy of our parents’ choices?’
Her words filtered through the fog in his mind, making sense. But the rock in the pit of his stomach left a bad taste behind. Too little too late? He scrubbed his face. He needed time to think.
He retrieved his jacket from the chair and reached for her phone, tossing it onto the bed before her.
‘You hate Hal’s choices so much? Careful you don’t become just like him, chérie.’
Her stunned expression and shocked silence escorted him from the room but the emotion snapping at his heels... That smacked of fear.