CHAPTER TWELVE
MALLORY LAY on her bed staring into space. When she’d pleased Jack today, she’d done so knowing she loved him. When she made love with him tonight, she’d know the same. And with each step, she’d find it harder to walk away.
What had started as a game was now an important part of her life—memories she would store and treasure for always. The fun they’d shared and the feeling of having him inside her. And, she thought, recalling the scarf she’d grabbed from her drawer earlier in the day, she wanted to create those same memories for him as well.
She didn’t want him to ever forget Mallory Sinclair. Because she knew for certain she’d never forget him.
She had only a few hours to prepare her room and herself. A tremor of excitement shimmied through her as she undressed, removing the clothing she’d worn for their trip today. A hot shower, a quick dinner and some last-minute arrangements and she’d be ready for Jack.
A hard knock on the door startled her. “Coming.” She slipped into her robe then glanced into the peephole.
“Jack?” Something had to be wrong, she thought, as she unlatched the chain.
She hadn’t planned on seeing him until tonight.
She opened the door quickly. “What’s wrong?”
His jaw was pulled tight with obvious tension and unease. “I need to make a quick trip back to the city,” he said.
“Is everything okay?” She gestured with a sweep of her arm and he followed her inside. The door slammed shut behind them, enclosing them in the small entry to the room.
“Family emergency.” He leaned back against the beige wall and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. His steely eyes were as cool as his voice.
Icy tentacles of unease swept through her. Mallory knew better than to take his change in attitude personally but his aloof demeanor hurt just the same. She curled her fingers into a fist to prevent herself from acting on impulse and smoothing the crease in his forehead or massaging the tension from his tight muscles.
He didn’t seem as if he’d be receptive to any intimate gesture right now and considering how hard her heart was pounding in her chest, she doubted she could handle an outright rejection.
Not when she wanted desperately to ease his distress. So much for professionalism and remaining detached, she thought wryly. Falling in love had a way of shattering that kind of objectivity.
She clenched the lapels of her robe tighter in her hand. “I appreciate you letting me know.”
“I didn’t want to just disappear on you without an explanation.”
Somewhere in the depths of his eyes, she sensed a softening of emotion and hoped she wasn’t just imagining things she wanted to see. Though disappointment flowed heavy through her veins, so did concern. Whatever this family emergency was, it had changed his mood and affected him deeply.
She wondered if the urgency had to do with his parents but thought better of asking. If he wanted to confide in her he would. “When do you need to go?”
He glanced at his watch. “A car’s picking me up in fifteen minutes.”
Uncertain of what to say next, she clenched and unclenched her fingers around her robe. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked, finally.
He shook his head. “Just keep an ear out around here.”
“I expect to hear from Rogers soon.”
He nodded. “I’ll check in with you when I get back.”
She sensed he was too distracted to concentrate on business. “When do you think that will be?”
“I’m hoping to catch the last plane back tonight.” He turned and placed one hand on the doorknob.
She didn’t know why this felt like such a final goodbye but the possibility freed her to act on impulse. Mallory reached out and touched his shoulder. “Jack, wait.”
He paused.
“I’ll be here when you get back.” She didn’t feel the need to elaborate.
They’d been too close for him to misunderstand her meaning.
He turned. His hand covered hers, easing her clenched fist loose until her arm dropped to her side. “It’s been my experience that women always want something.”
She stiffened at his words, but forced herself to see his side. Watching constant infidelity had jaded him, she thought sadly, as she realized exactly why he held himself back from relationships and trust.
“I wonder what’s on your agenda?” he asked.
Though she’d steeled herself for the verbal barb it stung anyway. Since she’d approached him with the first invitation, and since she had an overt agenda where work was concerned, she could see why he’d be searching for an ulterior motive now.
Yet the heart she’d lost to this man wished he could see inside her and not have to ask. She’d shared enough to give him twenty-twenty vision—if he cared to see.
She held herself upright and looked him straight in the eye. “Not a thing. Especially not partnership if that’s what you’re thinking. I could have gotten your support with less risk if I hadn’t issued that first invitation.”
She forced a smile to curve her lips, wanting to soften his mood and convince him that she cared only for his feelings, no other agenda in mind.
It worked. The painful distance in his gaze lessened, replaced by a surprising warmth instead. A fluttering heat rose in her belly, accompanied by a deeper more intense wash of feeling.
“True.” His thumb brushed over her bottom lip.
Despite the earlier tension, a moist dewiness settled between her legs, a testament to the yearning he made her feel.
His gaze never left hers. “So what do you want, Mallory?” Curiosity melded with desire in his smoky depths.
“You,” she said truthfully. Honestly. With more candor than she’d ever intended to provide. “I want you and I want your trust.”
His hand cupped her chin, tipping her head upward. “I can promise you the first.” Desire remained potent and strong, hovering between them. “No one gets my trust.”
And from the determined look in his eyes, Mallory knew he wanted to believe his words. But she also knew how fast and hot the emotions poured between them.
If he needed her on his return, he knew where to find her. But if he showed up on her doorstep, he best be prepared. She thrived on a challenge and Jack had just thrown down a gauntlet she couldn’t resist.
Not with the man she loved.
* * *
MALLORY MADE her way to the dining room, a paperback in her shoulder bag. She planned to eat a light dinner but she had an ulterior motive as well. With Jack gone, she had a prime opportunity to listen carefully for information on Lederman and poke around if she got the chance.
She’d finished her turkey wrap and soda and was about to call it a night when she caught sight of Alicia Lederman walking into the restaurant. Though Mallory kept her book open, she made eye contact and hoped Alicia approached her first.
There was no way Mallory could instigate a sit-down meeting with Lederman’s wife for a chat, but she certainly wouldn’t be rude enough to walk away if the other woman sought her out first.
As the older woman made her way into the room, she glanced around, taking in her surroundings, and Mallory guessed, assessing the restaurant’s customers and the staff’s preparations for the evening. She had a hunch her client’s wife had a hand in running things and the settlement wouldn’t be as simple as Mr. Lederman hoped.
Alicia’s gaze lit on Mallory. Instead of breaking eye contact, Mallory held Alicia’s stare until the other woman had no choice but to look away…or walk over to the table.
She chose the latter. “I trust you enjoyed your meal?” Alicia asked.
Mallory nodded. “Excellent. You have a very diverse menu.”
“I worked with the chef myself.” The other woman paused a beat. “Would you mind if I joined you?”
Without showing her pleasure, Mallory shook her head. “Not at all. But you were advised to deal with your own attorneys.” She’d begun to care for the older woman and so she felt an obligation to see that Alicia looked out for her own interests.
“When the time is right I will.” Alicia pulled out a chair and seated herself across from Mallory. “Coffee?” She gestured to a waitress.
Mallory nodded. “Thank you.”
“Did you know my daughter’s in law school?” The older woman tucked a strand of short brown hair behind her ear.
“No, I didn’t. Does she enjoy it?”
She smiled. “She’s not sure yet.”
“Then it sounds like she’s got a level head on her shoulders.” Mallory laughed. “Make sure you tell her law school was memorable but not an indicator of real life.”
“True.” Alicia nodded as she toyed with a silver spoon. “But then, what is?”
Mallory read the meaning behind the words and knew they were talking about more than life in general. “I can’t imagine you’re having an easy time.” She felt compelled to acknowledge the other woman’s anguish.
Pain darkened Alicia’s brown eyes to a deeper, sadder shade. “I’m sure you can’t imagine. And I mean no insult. But I’m talking about nearly twenty-five years of marriage. Of partnership. I never dreamed it would end on a whim.” She clutched at a menu lying on the table with both hands, turning her knuckles white.
Her gestures communicated more clearly than her words, and Mallory made yet another mental note of Alicia’s sincere anguish regarding her marriage.
“You feel you had a solid partnership?” Mallory felt compelled to ask.
Alicia shook her head. “Make no mistake, I knew my husband’s faults as well as my own, but I did believe we could overcome anything. In fact I thought we once had.”
Mallory looked into the older and wiser woman’s eyes. Despite her obvious pain, Alicia maintained that strength of character and resolve Mallory admired. “You still believe that, don’t you?”
“If you love someone, you want to trust them. You want them to trust you.”
Mallory immediately thought of Jack. How could she not when the last few days with him revolved around that very word. Trust.
“And,” Alicia continued, oblivious to Mallory’s inner thoughts, “you want to believe that if you trust in each other you can get through anything and be together forever.”
She bowed her head and her shoulders dropped.
“But no matter how much I want to believe, I’ve got my eyes open. I’ll look out for me if it comes to that. But I know what we shared was solid even if Paul has changed.” Alicia leaned back in her seat. “Have you ever been in love?”
“No. No time.” Mallory answered quickly before she could reveal her heart to this kind woman. And before she could let her mind wrap around the twin concepts Alicia had linked together. Love. Trust. And forever.
“Then you’re missing out on life’s greatest pleasure. I can tell you that with no regrets, even if I do end up divorced. You’re too young and pretty to waste your life on the practice of law at the expense of everything else.” The woman’s eyes shone with certainty—the knowledge of a woman who’d loved and been loved.
Though Mallory ought to think of Alicia as her adversary, she’d been unable to sever the emotional connection she felt toward her. The woman had a warm, caring nature that Mallory was drawn to. But she wasn’t surprised. With her own mother a parent in name only, it was hardly surprising that Mallory connected with a mature older woman who both sought and gave confidences and understanding.
Only after Alicia had patted her hand and walked away did Mallory realize she’d blown her chance at questioning their client’s wife—in favor of a motherly chat and a lesson in love.
* * *
JACK RUBBED his eyes and inhaled deeply. His family emergency wasn’t over yet, but he’d managed to calm his father down and convince him to let Jack drive him to his sister’s house in Connecticut. Leave it to Jack’s mother to show up to pack her things with current boyfriend in tow.
Jack leaned his head against the seat in the car he’d hired to take him back to the hotel.
His parents’ marriage fell into the category he’d once described to Mallory. Two people who had stayed together out of convenience. His father couldn’t imagine not being married to the woman he thought he loved, though Jack had a difficult time believing anything remained of the love the older man had once felt for his wife. His father just didn’t have what it took to stand up for himself. His mother found it equally as convenient to sleep around without relinquishing the financial benefits and security the marriage provided.
Just growing up in their home, watching the two of them coexist while living their separate lives had aged Jack before his time and made him cynical. After all he’d seen and heard in his youth and later in his career, he couldn’t share Mallory’s optimistic view of marriage or even relationships. She might not think she wanted those things for herself, but he admired her for hanging on to her starry views.
More than likely some man would come along and sweep her off her feet. Jack only hoped she’d be able to maintain the faith, and that same man wouldn’t disappoint her and shatter her illusions.
He hoped like hell he wouldn’t be that man.
Because as much as his brain told him to head straight to his hotel room and get some sleep, as the car came to a stop outside the luxury hotel, he knew without a doubt he wouldn’t be sleeping alone.
He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out Mallory’s black scarf, a reminder of what awaited him when he got through this latest family trauma.
Mallory. She hadn’t asked too many questions, but in a calm voice filled with understanding she had said she’d be there when he got back. Jack, a man who didn’t believe in trust, took her at her word. He had no choice. Need had been building inside him all day. Not just desire, but an escalating need for one woman.
For her.
Given all he’d just witnessed between his parents, he should be more alarmed by the realization. He told himself it was because he knew there’d be no long-term fallout from their liaison. She knew the facts as well as he.
So why was he finding it harder and harder to believe the mantra he’d lived by his entire adult life?
Jack signed the car receipt and entered the quiet hotel lobby. He passed the closed shops and the bored desk clerk and headed up the elevator. The trip to the fifth floor took mere seconds but the ride stretched long like the coiled band of desire wracking his body.
He raised his fist, surprised to see his hand shaking. His frenzied state had less to do with worry over whether she’d turn him away than it did with pure unadulterated desire.
Jack leaned against the doorframe and waited. His heart pounded so loudly inside his chest he felt certain Mallory could hear it in her room. In the past when he’d overheard arguments between his parents or watched with silent frustration as his father accepted more than any man should, Jack had no outlet for the emotions pouring through him.
He had that outlet now. His gut told him Mallory wouldn’t turn him away.
Drawing a deep breath he knocked on the door.
* * *
MALLORY KNEW without looking who stood on the other side of the closed door. And once she pulled the door open wide, she realized he wasn’t here in response to her invitation as much as he was here because he needed to be.
The blankness she’d seen in his eyes earlier had been replaced by an emotion she’d never seen there before, a need so strong and intense it caused her entire body to shake in reaction.
“Hi.” He leaned against the doorframe, outwardly composed. And he waited.
“Hi, yourself.” She extended her hand, reaching out for him.
His fingers wound tightly around hers and she led him into the room and shut the door. When she turned back to face him, he held her silk scarf in his hand.
So perhaps he was here in response to her invitation after all. She reminded herself to take things light and easy. And she would have laughed at her foolish longings if not for the pain twisting and strangling her heart.
Mallory forcibly shrugged it off. Once she was away from this plush resort and Jack’s compelling intensity, she’d immerse herself in work and put this interlude behind her. But in the meantime, if she was going to have the fantasies she might as well indulge them.
She stepped backward into the room. Jack followed until her knees hit the bed and she fell onto her back. She licked at her dry lips. “Did you make out okay at home?”
His gaze dropped to the rise and fall of her chest, the swell of her breasts visible above one of the silk teddies she favored for sleeping.
His pupils dilated with obvious desire. “We can talk about it later.” It wasn’t a suggestion.
He loomed over her, large and feral, masculine and demanding and she had no wish to deny him anything he wanted. His hands bracketed her head and his lower body cradled hers, pushing her into the mattress. The hard ridge of his erection thrusting through heavy denim nestled between her legs, against the soft silk barrier of her panties.
He stretched her arms out over her head, the scarf still held in one hand. “What did you plan on doing with this?”
She treated him to a sexy grin. “We can talk about it later.” She shimmied her hips upward in blatant invitation.
“How is it you know exactly what I need?” Another question he obviously didn’t want answered because before she could respond, he covered her mouth with his.
His lips were hot, his hands even hotter as he kissed her for all he was worth and explored her body, leaving a branding sensation wherever he touched. Little finesse was involved as he grabbed for the strap on her teddy and pulled it off her shoulders, following a scorching path with his lips and tongue.
All the while she fumbled, trying to free her hands from his grasp so she could reach for the snap on his pants but he held on tight, obviously needing to control and dominate. And though she’d spent most of her career trying not to be submissive to any man, this was personal.
This was Jack and she didn’t mind yielding right now. Not when what awaited her was certain to be worth it.
He released her arms and slid down her body until his lips reached her breasts. He latched onto one nipple through the lacy silk covering, pulling the rigid peak into his mouth. Soft suckling alternated with teasing flickers of his tongue and ended with a soft scraping of his teeth against her sensitive flesh.
She let out a cry of surprise as sensation traveled a direct path from her breast to the moist place between her thighs—the place she needed him most, but he hadn’t chosen that route.
Yet.
Instead he soothed the places he’d nipped with erotic laps of his tongue that were so exquisitely painful she saw white starbursts behind her closed eyelids.
“Better?” he asked.
“Mmm.” Speaking was beyond her. Her body was on fire, an empty, aching raging inferno of need.
He levered himself up on his elbows and met her gaze. “I should slow down.” But from the heat in his eyes and the dark flush on his cheeks, slow was the last thing he wanted.
“Not for my sake I hope.” She let out a strangled laugh. “Any slower and I might die first.”
“Me, too.” He brushed her dark hair off her flushed cheek. “So, far be it for me to deny you.”