CHAPTER TEN
JACK’S BODY HARDENED at the thought of Mallory’s soft hands on his straining erection. “And I know you were satisfied.”
“Typical man.” She laughed. “Come on. Let me have the oil. We can’t have you taking that body in the sun without adequate coverage.”
Coverage. He liked that thought. Jack passed the bottle toward her. “Careful, it’s slippery.”
“Oh, I think I can handle it.” Her fingers deliberately touched his before wrapping around the top of the bottle neck, in a provocative grip meant to show him she knew exactly how to handle a slippery appendage.
Then she crooked a finger his way.
He swallowed a groan. “You sure you want to continue this on the bed?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sleeping here, just fulfilling fantasies. Quit stalling, Jack.” She leaned back against the pillows and spread her legs wide, patting the space in between.
Though her skirt covered everything, his imagination and those memories she mentioned were vivid. As he slid into the welcoming vee of her legs, he recalled her warm moist heat around his hand and her soft sighs of satisfaction.
“Relax.” Her slick hands gripped his shoulders. “I’m just going to protect you from those harsh rays you talked about.”
But who would protect him from her potent allure?
He shut his eyes and let her work. Her coating of his back and shoulders went fine. He enjoyed her gentle ministrations and had just begun to relax as she requested…when her fingers slipped around his abdomen and lingered, palms splayed against his ribs and her fingers inches from his nipples.
His breath caught in his throat.
“What happened to relaxing?” Her soft voice blew in his ear, strengthening his arousal.
“You’re joking right? You want me to relax when a beautiful woman’s got me wrapped in her arms?”
Her hands stilled and her arms tightened around his chest. “You think I’m beautiful?”
The hesitancy in her voice touched him in a place precariously close to his heart. “How could you not know?”
She laughed and he sensed if he turned, he’d see more emotion than he could handle. He already knew he was drawn to her, but if he saw the vulnerability in her eyes and the sensitivity in her gaze, he’d be in deeper waters than he could comfortably tread.
“For one thing, you admitted it in the restaurant when you said you wouldn’t have expected to fall for me at first glance.”
He cringed. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I didn’t take it as an insult. You reacted to me exactly how I want people to react. I’m Mallory, the office ice queen. I get up in the morning and pull my hair into a bun. I splash cold water on my face, put on some moisturizer and I head out the door. In conservative suits and sensible shoes.”
“And I now know why. What I don’t know is why continue? You’re a smart, intelligent woman. Why play the part when you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone? And don’t tell me because that’s the real you, or start playing games about which Mallory is real, okay? Considering what we just did, you can answer that one question.”
He felt rather than saw her shift uneasily. “I have my reasons.”
“Not good enough.”
She started to push away, to withdraw.
“Don’t go.”
She paused, then relaxed behind him. He leaned back, letting skin touch skin. He wanted to feel her and he knew maintaining a physical connection was his only chance of getting an honest answer.
When she remained silent, he dove in with his best guess. “Because after years of dressing the part, you don’t know the real you either?”
He felt her slight nod. “Maybe.”
Her hair fell forward, brushing his shoulders. The sensation, soft and feathery light, caused him to shake with renewed desire. But he sensed her need for reassurance and maybe something more.
“There’s a part of me that loves what I do. Don’t think my life has been such a sacrifice. I’m not ready to throw a pity party so don’t you go getting maudlin on me either.”
He laughed. “There’s many things I feel for you, sweetheart. Pity isn’t one of them.”
She scooted forward until her breasts pushed insistently against his back.
“Play fair,” he warned her. “Your parents set you on this course so what’s your mother’s role in all this?” He reached back and squeezed her wrists, the only silent reassurance he could give.
“She loves my father. His disappointment was her disappointment. Do we have to talk about this when there’s so many other things we could do instead?” Her fingernails raked along his back in an overtly provocative move.
“You’re talking to someone who’s made not dealing with his parents an art form.” After her revelation, he felt he owed her that much truth.
And besides, he understood only too well what it felt like to have a painful childhood affect the present. Of course in Jack’s case at least he had one parent proud of his accomplishments. Hers underestimated a child they ought to be proud of, and created a woman who didn’t know her own worth.
“You’re beautiful.” He could give her an honest infusion of truth in return for the fantasies she’d created for him.
She let out a sigh of disbelief. “I’ve looked in a mirror, Jack.”
Those contradictions again. And the old question—which was the real Mallory.
“Don’t move.” He swung his legs off the bed and headed to the corner of the room where a large floor-length mirror with gilded wrought iron leaves stood. He pushed the mirror into the room and parked it at the foot of the bed.
She eyed the object warily. “What’s that for?”
“Before we get on with the beach theme, I wanted to get some things between us perfectly clear.”
After positioning the mirror, Jack moved behind her and gripping her shoulders, he turned her so she had no choice but to stare into the reflective glass.
“Take a look and memorize what you see. Because next time you doubt, I want you to glance into a mirror and see yourself through my eyes.”
Mallory glanced into the large glass and winced. As if she had a choice whether or not to look with the darn thing in her face.
“Because I see a well-satisfied woman.”
Mallory agreed. In her flushed face, she saw the aftereffects of her orgasm hadn’t diminished. Her cheeks were shaded a light pink, her eyes still bright and alive with sensual awareness.
He walked back to the mirror and turned so he stood with one hand slung over the top of the wrought iron. “But I also see a beautiful woman, inside as well as out.”
A grateful yet embarrassed grin lifted her lips. “You do have a way with words, counselor.”
He shook his head. “Truth is truth. No one’s ever gone so out of their way for me. You’ve done it. Twice.”
“Now that you’ve brought up the other women, there must be someone in your life who’d go out of their way to please you.” Not that she wanted to hear about them in detail, but if she wanted to get to know Jack better, his private life was important, too.
“None that count.”
From his solemn tone she realized their time together meant more to him than a one-night stand and the notion pleased her. “If I can make you smile, that’s enough for me.”
“Which is exactly what I mean. You’re beautiful inside and out. You just gave me proof of the first. And those incredible eyes of yours and well-kissed lips are proof of the second.”
She dipped her head, unable to process the thrill that infused her, enjoyment and gratitude that wasn’t merely sexual or egotistical in nature. “Thank you,” she said simply.
“The pleasure was mine. But not only mine, I hope.” He tilted his head in a cocky move she knew was meant to tease her.
She lifted a shaking hand to her mouth and his darkened gaze followed the movement. The man did know how to kiss. He also knew how to distract her from her plan and somehow this seduction had gotten away from her.
Despite all her preparation, she was the one being pleasured, and falling hard for Jack Latham, a caring man with whom she had no future. She rubbed a hand over her face as she accepted the long-term effects of this night.
She’d never see a beach again without thinking of Jack. Never inhale the warm fragrant scent of coconut oil without remembering how his hands gave her immense pleasure. And she’d never again glance in a mirror without remembering Jack and how he’d attempted to make up for every neglectful thing her parents had done by forcing her to view herself through his eyes.
He’d gone out of his way for her and she wanted to repay him. Besides, she needed to regain control. Of the situation, herself and her rampaging feelings.
“Did you really think I’d let you get away with only half your oil finished?” She reached for the bottle and waved it in the air. “It’s almost time to hit the water.” She gestured toward the sliding glass doors where the outside beckoned.
The sun had dipped well below the horizon and darkness had fallen. She knew from her prior night at the cabin that soon the beach would be completely deserted. They could share a moonlit walk uninterrupted. Or a nude swim, a wicked voice in her head taunted her.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Far be it for me to deny you the pleasure.”
She rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated groan. He was incorrigible.
Irresistible.
She crooked a finger his way. “Come here and learn all about that mirror you seem so fond of.”
He met her on the bed with a half jump, half dive, rolled onto his back, arms spread wide. “I’m all yours, sweetheart.”
She wished, she thought, and immediately stifled the sentiment. “On your stomach, head over here.” She patted the end of the bed and he stretched out in front of her. He was tanned and muscular and he beckoned to the feminine part of her she’d spent years hiding away. She swung her leg around and settled herself astride his lower back. She bracketed his waist and his warm body heat shot from her thigh straight to her core.
He let out a low groan. “Is this what they mean by exquisite torture?”
“I suppose it is.” With a laugh, she squeezed her legs tighter.
She’d meant to tease him but ended up tormenting herself instead as a wave of longing swept through her. Each time she and Jack were together was deeper and more intimate than the last. She wondered if the control she so longed for would return, or if it was gone forever, along with her easy acceptance of being the office ice queen.
And of being alone.
She pushed reality aside for the moment. Summoning her courage, she braced her hands on his shoulders and shifted her hips in a circular motion.
Jack clenched his fingers around the comforter beneath him. Feeling Mallory’s legs around his waist in a viselike grip was arousing him beyond belief. Her feminine heat, pressed hot and eager against his bare back, fed the desire. His erection pulsed into the mattress and his heart pounded hard in his chest.
He wanted to flip her over, lift her skirt, and bury himself in her hot, wet body. Problem was, he knew his emotions were too close to the surface and he’d be releasing far more than pent-up sexual energy.
From the moment he’d retied her bathing suit and glimpsed the sweet gratitude and desire in her face, something inside him softened and he didn’t know how to repackage himself and his emotions so he was the Terminator once more. A man who felt nothing and needed nothing from the women in his life.
Seeking a distraction from the intense sensations Mallory aroused, Jack glanced into the mirror. Far from finding the diversion he sought, he found paradise. Thanks to the glass in front of him, not only could he feel the tightening of her thighs and the slight shift forward of her hips, but he could watch it as well.
Her body glistened from the coconut oil. He moved his gaze upward. Dark hair spilled over her shoulders, one long strand stuck against her cheek, and her neck arched—but her eyes shone bright as she watched their movements in the mirror. Actually viewing the play of sexual pleasure cross her face as she rode astride him was carnal, arousing all his baser instincts. And when her gaze met his in the reflective glass, he was lost.
She reached for the bottle of oil and Jack knew he couldn’t handle another massage without embarrassing himself in the process.
“What do you say we go for that swim?” His voice sounded ragged to his ears.
“Sounds great.” She swung her legs to the side, seeming all too eager to scramble off him and escape.
* * *
JACK AWOKE with a groan. He stretched, yawned and hit the floor for sit-ups before heading downstairs. But not even the morning sun shining into the restaurant helped to awaken him. Once again, he’d walked Mallory to her door across the hall from his, having separated by mutual agreement after their walk on the beach. His control had hung by a thread and he’d wanted to be with her more than he’d ever wanted another woman.
He should have just ceded control and satisfied the craving only she inspired. After all, what red-blooded man didn’t attempt to go further with a woman he desired and one who responded in kind? A man who wanted the challenge to continue, that’s who. That was one theory Jack could buy into. It was the alternative that bugged him more.
Because the only other reason he would push her away was fear. Fear of getting in too deep—something he’d never worried about before. But he did now, with Mallory.
But not enough to stay away from her.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this.” He jumped as Mallory’s soft voice whispered in his ear, catching him off guard.
He glanced over his shoulder as she walked around him and took her usual seat across from him. “I couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk on the beach.”
He took in her tailored pants, rolled into cuffs at the bottom and her light lavender oxford shirt. “Dressed like that?”
She shook her head and laughed. “Don’t start.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Instead he leaned forward in his seat. “Did anyone ever tell you you look most sexy when you’re not trying?”
The more he saw her in conservative mode, the more he liked and appreciated her contradictions. Far from wanting her to leave the conventional clothing behind, he’d begun to look forward to her daytime façade—because he knew he’d be the one to undress her at night.
“You shouldn’t tease me in broad daylight.” Her words were chiding but her voice was soft.
Before he could respond, he felt a brush of heat against his calf.
“Sorry.”
“No problem.” He shifted in his seat and swung his legs over to the other side. If she was going to play prim and proper, he didn’t need mistaken touches beneath the table working to arouse him.
“So as long as I have appearances to keep up I would appreciate you not discussing it again.”
He nodded.
“I appreciate your being so accommodating.” She shut her mouth, pursed her lips in a look that reminded him of his grandmother and blew on the coffee before taking a sip.
He reached for his glass of water and downed half the contents. He suddenly felt another fleeting warmth stir against his leg. A second passed before it registered that her touch wasn’t an accident but a deliberate caress of her foot against his bare leg.
He glanced up and caught her perusing the menu, but her lips were curled upward in a grin she couldn’t contain.
She hooked one foot around his calf and pulled his legs apart, then settled her arch against his thigh. Her toes were dangerously close to hitting a bulls-eye and any semblance of control he’d mustered was almost gone.
“Mallory.” Even he heard the warning edging his tone.
“Hmm?” She glanced up from the menu, wide-eyed but nowhere near innocent.
“What about those appearances you were talking about?” He grasped for a reminder of daily reality, anything to distract her wandering feet and his raging libido. But apparently appearances were all that concerned her because beneath the table where no one could see, her naughtier side had taken over.
She lifted her shoulders. “Look around you, Jack. No one’s paying the least bit of attention to me. I’ve accomplished one of my goals.”
An unexpected smile lit her face. “And now I’m about to accomplish another one.” Her foot wiggled in a provocative movement designed to arouse and entice. And she did both well.
He couldn’t speak without embarrassing himself with a full-fledged groan, and he couldn’t shift positions without allowing her deeper, fuller access. So he settled for counting to himself and attempting to focus on anything but her tantalizing, stirring movements.
“Remember that tension you wouldn’t let me relieve last night?” she purred.
He knew it all right. The same tension had built up inside him again, ready to explode and the little minx knew it.
“Good morning.” Paul Lederman’s booming voice called out in the quiet dining room. “Mind if I join you?”
Jack couldn’t answer if his life depended on it.
“Our pleasure,” Mallory said, speaking for him. But she didn’t remove her damn foot from its perch.
Jack shifted in his seat, unsuccessfully ignoring the push of her arch against his groin and the shot of white heat that followed in its wake.
He cleared his throat. “I hope you had a successful trip.”
“The best kind.” Lederman chose the seat beside Mallory, across from Jack.
At least Jack didn’t have to worry about her leg hitting the wrong target, but he still needed breathing room or he’d detonate like a grenade.
“I’m looking into buying another resort. This one’s in Nantucket,” Lederman said.
Jack made a mental note to check with the firm’s corporate and real estate partners to see what, if anything, they knew of this supposed deal.
He narrowed his eyes and gave Mallory a look that promised retribution. She averted her gaze.
“Nantucket’s a beautiful location, or so I hear.” She sat up straighter in her seat, in what would have been her professional attorney mode—were it not for her strategically placed foot.
“It’s perfect,” Lederman agreed.
“Speaking of perfect, I checked out the gym here. That’s quite a setup you’ve got going.” With Mallory having the upper hand, or in this case, the upper foot, on the family jewels, Jack decided not to mention Eva at the moment.
The older man nodded. “People who come here are looking to get away from stress. What with cell phones and laptop computers, most bring stress with them. The least a resort can provide is a full-service gym and a doctor on call.”
Mallory fiddled with the spoon beside her empty plate before meeting their client’s gaze. “Speaking of doctors, how have you been feeling, Mr. Lederman?”
The older man sucked in his stomach at the obviously unexpected question. “Never better, why do you ask?” His tone grew wary yet defensive at the same time.
Tread lightly, Jack thought. But he surprised himself by not jumping in to smooth things over between Mallory and their client—a sure sign he trusted her. Trusted Mallory or trusted her abilities? Jack would be a fool not to recognize the distinction, even if he couldn’t accurately answer the question.
As quickly as she’d positioned herself, she eased her foot down and leaned forward in her seat. But Jack was quick enough to clamp his legs together and grab her by the ankle, leaving her at his mercy as she attempted to formulate a response.
In a move that surprised him, she took off her glasses, and propping her chin on her hand, she concentrated solely on Paul. “Please don’t think I’m prying, but one of your employees mentioned you’d had a short stay in the hospital last year.”
Surfer boy, Jack thought. He’d never gotten an answer about what she’d discovered the other night. How could he when he’d been too busy discovering her?
“Gossiping among the staff?” Lederman’s expression grew thunderous.
She shook her head quickly back and forth. “Actually, no. It was raving by the staff. I’d mentioned how wonderful I thought the gym was—especially the doctor on call—you see my father had a mild heart attack recently…”
She trembled as she spoke and without thought, Jack clamped his legs tighter around her foot in the only display of comfort and support he could offer under the circumstances. It wasn’t enough and for the first time, he wished he was free to express his feelings. And he realized he had some serious thinking to do when it came to Mallory Sinclair, colleague, and Mallory Sinclair, woman.
Her surprised gaze darted to his and in the blue depths he caught a glimmer of appreciation and a hint of calming. He took heart in knowing he’d been able to soothe her somehow.
Then she settled her gaze on Lederman who had begun patting her hand, and she went on. “So I thought your hotel would be a perfect getaway for my parents. They adore their time alone, but my mother would feel so much better knowing they could go on vacation where he could exercise under a doctor’s supervision and she wouldn’t have to watch over him.”
Lederman visibly relaxed, the strain around his mouth easing as Mallory’s story worked on him, no doubt as it was meant to.
Because Jack was already privy to her strained and unhappy relationship with her parents, he was not only sympathetic as Lederman was, but he needed to know more. Like how the heart attack—which he had no doubt was real—had affected Mallory’s feelings toward her already distant parent. If that was the reason she was afraid to chart her own destiny instead of the one she thought would finally please her father and make him proud.
There was definitely more to this story than she’d revealed to Paul Lederman. More even than she’d revealed to Jack so far.
She smiled at Paul, batting those eyelashes behind the thick glasses she’d repositioned on her nose. “So you see, your employee was explaining how you upgraded the gym last year after your own trauma. And I have to say I’m impressed you were savvy enough to turn what had to be a traumatic experience into something so incredible.”
Lederman, Jack had learned, was a sucker for compliments from younger women, and Mallory had obviously discovered the same thing. She was a pro at her job and played Lederman much the same way. Yet Jack sensed her sincerity, and it was the sincerity that calmed Lederman.
The older man beamed. “Young lady, you give your parents my name and I’ll see to it they have a first-class stay here.”
“Well thank you, Mr. Lederman.”
He shook his head. “Paul.”
“Thank you, Paul, but I wasn’t fishing for anything from you. Honestly, I was impressed with the facility and also concerned about your health.”
The older man turned to Jack. “You’ve got a special lady working for you.”
“I’ll be sure to pass your compliments along,” Jack said for Mallory’s sake, knowing how important client impressions were in her bid for partner. “And remember, Paul, you’d be fortunate to have her on your side.”
Mallory filled with warmth at Jack’s easily spoken words. Though a part of her recognized his statement as a ploy to reinforce Waldorf, Haynes as Lederman’s attorneys of choice, Jack’s penetrating gaze held a wealth of meaning for her alone.
“I’m feeling much better, thank you,” Lederman went on. “The gym’s a part of my renewed health plan, and knowing I’ll be free soon is another.”
“Free to do what? You know you can tell us,” she said, deliberately playful. Mallory wanted Lederman comfortable enough to reveal his secrets. The only reason she’d mentioned her father’s recent heart scare at all was to gain his trust with an open revelation of her own.
Though she’d never admitted it aloud, the incident had thrown her badly. Instead of reinforcing her need to make partner before her father suffered more severe health problems, Mallory had seen the importance of enjoying life. When she’d begun to realize that she wasn’t as fulfilled as she had thought she’d panicked and forced the issue from her mind, refusing to face her father’s mortality and her dissatisfaction with the life she’d chosen.
Until now.
With Jack now in the equation, the thought of returning to the empty life she led back home loomed ominously before her.
Lederman’s laughter boomed out in the quiet room. “See, I divulge my manly fantasies and she isn’t even listening. Should I be insulted?”
Mallory flushed, realizing she’d been so engrossed in an internal monologue, she’d forgotten to pay attention to the more important things going on around her.
Jack laughed along with him. “Not at all. Even if she’d heard, you could still face her in the morning. Mallory’s one of the boys.”
If not for the distinct regret she caught flickering across Jack’s face, she’d have reached across the table and strangled him in his seat. Mallory didn’t care if Jack’s statement had been made to solidify the bond and trust between the three of them.
No matter how good Jack’s reasons, his words stung, harsher than the frigid comments he’d made on day one. Because he hadn’t known her then, but he did now. More intimately than any other man ever had.
Or ever would again. She deliberately yanked her foot free from his hold, ignoring his icy glare.
“Ms. Sinclair?” The hostess stood by the edge of the table, portable phone in hand. “There’s a call for you. You can take it outside.” The young woman gestured to the balcony overlooking the water.
“Thank you.” Mallory accepted the phone. “I’ve been expecting this. It’s probably Rogers,” she said to Jack, without mentioning the words private investigator in front of Lederman.
She wanted to see what the P.I. had dug up on Mrs. Lederman first before they showed their hand to Paul. On a professional level Mallory agreed with Jack’s philosophy about never going into a case unprepared, yet her stomach cramped and she secretly hoped Rogers had come up empty. She hated the idea of digging for dirt on Mrs. Lederman, never mind how she’d feel if they actually found something useable.
At this moment, necessity didn’t make her job any more appealing. “If you gentleman will excuse me?” She rose from her seat and both men stood.
She’d catch up with Jack later and fill him in on the call. As to whether anything else transpired between them—well the next invitation was up to him.