“The gym doesn’t open until six,” she interrupted him. Was he lying to her? That was weird.
His face colored and she got more suspicious. “They, um, open it early for me.”
“Oh my goodness. You are so spoiled.” She pushed at his shoulder, relieved that he wasn’t lying.
“Would you like to come at five with me and have it to ourselves, or I could come later with you?”
“It’s only nine-thirty, so I could still get enough sleep if you take me to my room now. I think a gym to ourselves at five would be lovely.”
He smiled. “Lovely.” Standing, he extended his hand and she placed hers in it. A thrill rushed through her. Would she ever get used to how incredible it felt to touch him? It had felt incredible to touch Jesse too. She realized that she hadn’t hardly talked to her sister beyond some quick texts since the FaceTime in the cave on Monday. Priest had become her confidant at night and Joshua had consumed every other minute and she’d loved it. Maybe Teal would have some good advice for her.
They walked slowly to the staircase and up to the ninth floor. Jade paused outside her door and turned to him, luckily the hallway was quiet. Her heart was already beating fast. It could be from the climb up the stairs, it could be how badly she wanted to kiss him, and it could be … wowzers that look in his blue eyes was killing her.
“You realize you’re lethal with those things?” she asked, almost panting for air.
Joshua casually put his hand on the door behind her and leaned in. “What things?”
“I was going to say your eyes but I think I changed my mind. The entire …” She swirled her hand in front of him. “Everything. It’s lethal.”
He grinned. She had to kiss that dimple. She just had to. She heard herself ask, “If I kiss just your dimple will it mean I lose the bet?”
His blue eyes filled with such an appealing smolder that she leaned back against the door for support. “No,” he said in a deep voice. “You have to kiss my lips willingly to lose the bet.”
Oh she was willing. She was so very, very willing. Yet … Jesse. She needed to talk to Priest, and Teal first. Maybe tomorrow night she could willingly lose the bet. Maybe if they truly fell for each other she could still get her interview. Maybe she didn’t even care about the stupid interview. She still did care about the issues with the embezzlement and with trust, but she wanted to hang it all and just kiss him until the sun rose again tomorrow.
Instead, she arched up onto her toes as he leaned down closer. He smelled incredible and her heart was racing out of control, and … there was no dimple.
“You have to grin,” she admonished him. “So I can have that dimple.”
He chuckled. “Okay.” His full grin appeared.
Jade slid her arms around his neck and her mouth approached his. She couldn’t let herself. She just couldn’t. Detouring to his right side, she softly pressed her lips against his dimple. His cheek was warm and firm and his skin felt incredible under her lips.
His dimple disappeared completely. She glanced up at him and he was looking at her with such longing and desire. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her snug to him. She gasped for air. Still looking up, she asked quietly, “If I kiss your other cheek will I lose the bet?”
He smiled slightly but she could see the pulse racing in his neck and feel his heart beating against her chest. He was as affected by her as she was by him. She knew it.
“No,” he said.
Jade very carefully went past his lips, torturous as it was not to stop on them and show him exactly how much she wanted to be with him, and placed a kiss on his other cheek. She wanted more. Oh, so much more. Especially when he let out a soft groan.
“What about your … chin?” she squeaked out.
Joshua looked down at her very seriously, but there was a twinkle in his blue eyes. “Hmm. That’s getting very close to the lips.”
She let herself look at those lips. They were beautiful and she was so very tempted. She had to stay strong. Maybe tomorrow night. Probably tomorrow night. Jesse was so far back in her mind she couldn’t hardly remember what he was like, but she knew there had been a strong connection and she had to give him a chance. How bad of a betrayal would it be to simply kiss Joshua? Yet she knew simple and kiss and Joshua didn’t coexist. Kissing this man would change her life and she may never come up for air. How could she possibly get enough of those delectable lips?
“Your choice,” she quipped.
He gazed tenderly down at her. “Of course the answer is yes.”
Praying for self control, yet tempting it completely, she softly brushed past the edge of his lips. She heard his sharp intake of air and knew exactly what he was feeling. She was playing with fire. She trailed her lips below his and down to his chin.
Glancing up at him, she had the sense that this powerful man was completely in her control. It was exhilarating but she hoped she’d never misuse him. He was too amazing and too important to her.
“What about your neck?” she asked softly. She glanced down at the pulse point in his neck. It was throbbing quickly.
His grip on her tightened. “Yes,” he grunted out.
Jade trailed her lips along his jawline and down the side of his neck. He let out a groan and held her so tightly he lifted her off her feet. Jade kept going, kissing his neck in different spots and then ever so softly touching her tongue to his pulse point.
“Jade,” he groaned out. “You need to stop.”
He was right, but she didn’t want to. Luckily they were in the hall outside her room. If they were in her room, she wasn’t certain what might transpire.
“Or what?” she asked.
“Or I’m going to kiss you.” The fire in his eyes said he wasn’t lying.
She almost said, do it. She’d get her interview, but that didn’t matter much to her right now. Jesse still did. Though Jesse had been shoved far away he was still there. Joshua not trusting her still did. She needed to talk to Priest and Teal. She knew she did.
Releasing her grip on his neck, she pulled back slightly. He let her go. The absence of his arms around her was startling and depressing. She pulled her key card from her bra and his eyes widened slightly.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “No pockets.”
He simply gave her an indistinguishable grunt in response.
Sliding the card through the reader, she pushed the door open. Glancing back at him she wondered when her heart rate would return to normal.
He looked tortured and so handsome as he stood there. He was still leaning slightly toward her. His hair was rumpled, probably from her but possibly from him running his hand through it. His suit was a little rumpled as well. His blue eyes were still hungry on her face and she wanted to replay every moment of her kissing his cheeks, chin, and neck again, and then take it to the next level.
“Gym at five?” she asked, instead of attacking him right here in the hallway.
“I’ll come for you,” he said.
“Thanks.” She raised a hand to him and slipped inside. Would Priest already be there? Hurrying to the balcony she saw it was empty. She grabbed her phone and tried to call Teal. It rang four times then went to her message. She got a text back immediately. At a charity banquet with Stetson. Sorry, sis. Call you in a few hours?
Dang it. She was a couple of hours ahead, so it was only seven-thirty in Texas.
Sure, she typed back. No stress. It was a ton of stress. She needed advice. Now.
She slid her heels off, took off her jewelry and then headed for the balcony. Priest had come every night. Of course he’d be here for her tonight, when she needed him so badly.
Watching the water slide past the ship she bowed her head and prayed. Please help me know what to do.
Sadly, the heavens were as quiet as her next door neighbor and her cell phone.
Chapter Eleven
Joshua paced the small suite. What was he doing? What was Jade doing to him? He couldn’t get over the incredible f
eeling of her soft lips on his cheeks, his chin, his neck. He groaned and pushed a hand through his hair. When she’d touched her tongue to his pulse point, he’d about come unglued. It took every ounce of self-control he’d gained in his life to not pin her to that door and kiss her until somebody came by to embarrass them apart.
He wanted her. If he could admit it to himself, he loved her. Sadly, he had no answers to what to do about the embezzling. The investigators were all in agreement that everyone, besides Jade, was clean. Could that incredible woman be lying to him? He pushed a hand at his hair. His own lies were also piling up and she would probably never forgive him. He hated himself for not being able to trust Jade, and even more for lying to her. She’d told him about her blog. She wasn’t hiding it. He still didn’t like it, but what did he care about being exposed to the world if he could be with Jade.
He looked longingly to the deck. Would she be out there? Would she want his advice? Would she hate him when she found out he was Joshua, Jesse, and Priest? Probably. He pushed at his hair again. And strode determinedly to the balcony. Pushing the door open, the warm Caribbean air filtered into the air-conditioned suite.
He stepped out and immediately saw her beautiful shadow through the fogged glass. What if he climbed around that barrier, grabbed her, and kissed her? He might risk plunging to his death. He’d heard if the fall didn’t kill you, the ship’s engines would suck you under and finish the job. That was a morbid thought but he might risk it to be close to Jade. Yet as feisty as she was, all the truth he needed to reveal to her wouldn’t end well. Why hadn’t he simply told her the truth at the first of the week and dealt with it then? Maybe he should’ve but he’d had no reason to trust the woman everyone thought was embezzling who also had a celebrity blog. Yet now … He had no clue how to fix any of this.
“Hey, Priest,” she said before he even reached the railing.
“Hey,” he said gruffly. “How was your day?”
“Amazing … and confusing. You?”
“Kind of the same actually.” He’d enjoyed these conversations as her “priest” but now he was second-guessing everything he was doing. Why couldn’t he just tell her who he was? At the first of the week he hadn’t trusted her, had wanted to expose her as the thief, and if he’d told her he was Joshua Jewel she would’ve ripped his head off and never come out on her balcony. He really wanted to talk to her, to hear how she felt about Joshua and Jesse. To see if his dreams might come true tomorrow and she might finally kiss him. Could he tell her then? Otherwise Sunday as Jesse was going to be a fireworks show, and he might lose her forever.
“Do you want to tell me about it?” she asked.
He laughed shortly. “That’s not the way it works, remember. I’m the priest? You’re at confessional.”
She laughed so adorably. He was going out of his mind. Did she have any clue how appealing she was to him?
“So tell me all, my child,” he tried to keep up the façade.
“You know too much as it is.”
“Don’t worry. I’m under oath not to share.”
“Good point.” She laughed again but then she sobered and said, “I think I’m falling in love with Joshua.”
He wanted to punch a fist in the air and cheer but he refrained. “I wondered.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just the way you’ve been talking about him, and as much time as you spend together.”
“He’s amazing.”
His chest seemed to swell. He gripped the railing so he didn’t swing around to her balcony. It couldn’t be too hard to accomplish, could it? He looked down at the water swirling below them. The consequence of failure was pretty steep. He’d probably do better to just knock on her door. Instead of doing either he stayed planted where he was. If only he could get her to kiss him. He still wasn’t excited about sharing himself with the world on her blog, and he still had no clue who was stealing his money, but kissing her was at the top of his priority list right now.
“So you’re going to go for Joshua?” he asked, praying, hoping.
She hesitated and he felt like his future happiness rested on her answer. “I still can’t put Jesse completely from my mind. I feel like I’ve almost forgotten him but he was incredible too.”
Definitely not what he wanted to hear. His hopes sank, which was weird as he was Jesse. He cleared his throat and said, “A little odd though with the always wearing the hat and sunglasses.”
“True,” she admitted. “For a little while, I really thought Joshua and Jesse were the same person. Wouldn’t that be ideal?”
Joshua’s hopes ratcheted up again. Maybe she did want him, all of him. Maybe she would forgive him for the duplicity. He wouldn’t ever have to tell her that he was Priest. No. He had to tell her. Before this week he’d always thought he had integrity and was honest, even when it was tough in huge business deals. It seemed Jade could bring out the worst, and best in him. Should he tell her right now?
He had to ask first. “So you wouldn’t be annoyed with both of them, or I guess just him, if there’s some crazy way it is one dude, for hiding it from you?” He didn’t dare say “lie” and plant that seed.
“There is that. I think I’m a pretty forgiving person but my parents were pathological liars. I hate lying more than I hate the Raiders.”
His stomach dropped. She’d gone straight to lying. He was in trouble. Oh, he was in trouble. Maybe tonight was not his night to reveal the truth. Yet putting it off wasn’t doing him any favors. “Why do you hate the Raiders?” he asked, trying to deflect and give himself time to think.
“C’mon. I’m a Broncos fan, of course. And who in their right mind likes the Raiders?”
He laughed. “I can’t say I’m a huge fan but it’s always been the Bears for me.”
“The Bears?” she asked in a tone full of disbelief. “When was the last time the Bears were any good?”
“They had a winning season just last year. First in their division and went to the wild card playoff.”
“Ooh, the wild card playoff. Every NFL team’s ambition.”
He chuckled. Man he liked her. If only he wasn’t in such a mess.
“I’m waking up early to work out,” she said. “I’d better turn in.”
“Okay. Good to talk to you, and just for the record, as your priest I advise you to kiss Joshua and see how it goes.” Maybe he shouldn’t have gone there. He held his breath awaiting her answer.
“You would say that … men.” She made a disgruntled sound in her throat but he thought her voice sounded open to the idea.
“We have to stick together.”
“I’m sure,” she said drily.
He laughed but then couldn’t think what to say but, “Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Hey, I was going to tell you …”
“Yeah?” he prompted.
“If I didn’t have these two men making me nuts, I’d really like to see your face and get to know you for real. You’re a great person.”
Joshua smiled. “Thanks. I wish we did have that chance, but I think you’ve definitely got enough of a man for now.”
“Hopefully I have him for forever.”
“I hope so too,” he said so softly he wondered if she heard him.
“Good night.” Her door opened and closed, and she was gone.
Joshua stayed out on the deck for a long time, repeating over and over, “I hope so too.” As if that would make it happen. Forever with Jade. He couldn’t imagine anything he wanted more. If only he didn’t have to sweep a million dollars taken from his company under the rug to be with Jade. His shoulders sagged and he studied the water, begging anyone in heaven who would listen, Please let the investigators find who took the money. And please don’t let it be Jade.
Chapter Twelve
Jade woke at ten minutes to five and rushed to put on workout clothes, deodorant, and brush her teeth. She hadn’t slept well most of the night thinking about Joshua’s skin under her lips, and
wondering about more. There was a light tap on her door. She ran to open it, grinning up at Joshua.
“Heya, handsome,” she said.
He grinned back. Was it acceptable to kiss that dimple again? Her stomach heated just thinking of it. Priest had counseled her to kiss him. Teal had cussed her up one side and down the other when they finally connected last night. Her sister told her, in no explicit terms, that yes Joshua was a jerk to not instinctively know Jade couldn’t steal a candy bar, but he was obviously trying to figure it all out, he seemed like a “stud,” and she should give him a chance. It was obvious, to Teal at least, that Jesse had been fun and intriguing, but Joshua might be the one. Yet Jade had felt something incredible around Jesse. How could she just write him off completely?
“Heya, beautiful,” Joshua answered back. “You ready to work out?”
“My own private gym, eh? I’m excited.”
They walked up the three flights of stairs and then across the pool areas to the gym. The ship was mostly deserted at this time of day, just a few workers cleaning or doing maintenance.
The personal trainer met them at the gym entrance, shaking Joshua’s hand and asking if they wanted any help. Joshua inclined his head to Jade.
“No thank you,” Jade said. She might not have minded some pointers from a trainer but she wanted to be alone with Joshua. Could this be their last day together? If she chose Jesse it would be. She pushed that away as they both set into their workouts. They didn’t exercise together but it was fun to tease as they walked past to the cable machine or to grab free weights. Joshua kept catching her eye and giving her appealing looks, winks, grins, or even pulling funny faces. At times it was impossible to concentrate on even a simple lateral raise when she’d look over at Joshua and he’d be doing a bicep curl or triceps extension. Her mouth would go dry at the incredible display of muscle, and she’d completely forget what rep she was on.
She liked him. Far too much.
At six, a few people started filtering in. Joshua approached her with a chilled towel wrapped around his neck. He was sweaty, but he looked so tough in a nicely fitted T-shirt and shorts that she didn’t mind the sweat. “You ready to go?”
Do Marry Your Billionaire Boss (Jewel Family Romance Book 1) Page 12
