by Lori Ryan
He could see Mrs. Poole’s garlic bread already prepped on the counter, waiting to go into the oven. Perfect for sopping up the extra sauce and cheese.
“Maybe we can take a pan of it to your mom’s house this weekend.” He stayed close to her side, not wanting to put distance between them.
Kelly looked surprised that he was planning to go back to her parents’ house with her this weekend, but before she could say anything his Aunt Mabry walked into the kitchen.
“I’m surprised to see you home so early in the evening, Jack,” she said in her syrupy sweet voice that generally only came out when she was about to make a dig at someone. “I would’ve thought the CEO of a large company needs to work longer hours.”
Biting back a sigh, Jack smiled at her. “Oh, I’ll work a bit at home tonight, but I like to try to find a balance between work and home. That’s how Dad always did it with Mom and me, and that’s how I’ll be now that I have my own family.” He gave Kelly another squeeze around the waist as he said this, realizing he wished those words weren’t based on a lie.
Kelly laughed and pushed him back spilling some of the ricotta filling over the edge of the noodle she was working on.
Jack saw a flicker of anger in Mabry’s eyes, and he realized she probably hadn’t seen much of his Uncle Dan in the evenings. Dan had worked a lot and was less of a family man than Jack’s dad had been.
“Speaking of work, how long until dinner? I might as well go get some things done now,” he said, turning to Kelly and Mrs. Poole. If he could finish up some of the things he need to take care of now, he would be able to spend more time with Kelly that evening.
It was Mrs. Poole who answered. “About an hour, dear,” she said in her mothering tone.
The endearment earned a hard look from Aunt Mabry.
“Call me when it’s ready?” Jack grabbed an apple from the fruit basket on the counter and tossed it in the air as he walked out of the kitchen toward his home office.
Even with Mabry doing all she could to make their lives miserable, he was happier than he could remember being in a long time.
After dinner, Jack suggested they sit on the patio to watch the stars. Mrs. Poole went into the kitchen to clean up while Mabry, Jack, and Kelly went outside with a bottle of wine and three glasses.
Aunt Mabry and Jack sat in Adirondack chairs on the patio while Kelly poured the wine and lit the three squat candles sitting on a low glass table between the chairs. Jack took his glass from Kelly, looped an arm around her waist and pulled her down onto his lap.
She squawked at the move and he felt her tense briefly, but then she relaxed into him and he grinned.
He knew he was getting to her as much as she was getting to him. Jack worried for a minute that it might be cruel to tease her as much as he did, but he quickly dismissed the thought. It was fun and he loved making her blush and squirm. Reluctance from a woman wasn’t something he was used to, but damn, it was like an aphrodisiac.
Jack kept his arms around Kelly’s waist and his hands rested on her tummy, but as they drank their wine and made idle conversation with his aunt, he found one hand moving just high enough on her stomach to let him brush his thumb back and forth on the lower curve of her incredible, full breast.
He meant to do it to torment Kelly, but it backfired on him as he found himself burning with heat for her.
Fuck.
He wasn’t focusing on a word Mabry was saying and judging by the way Kelly’s breath caught, he didn’t think she was either. If Mabry noticed neither of them was talking to her, she didn’t show it.
Why the hell was his aunt out here with them anyway? He willed her to go back inside the house.
Or maybe he could convince Kelly to go inside with him? They could say they were tired and go up to their room. To their bed.
Damn the thought had him hard as a rock.
Jack took his other hand and brushed the hair back from her neck, pushing it to one side as he leaned over her shoulder to speak so that his words caused his breath to brush against her soft skin.
He didn’t get a word out before Kelly sprang from his lap.
“I, uh, I’m going to go for a run. Forgot to do my workout today,” she said, pulling the excuse out of thin air.
Jack was fairly sure she hadn’t gone for a run the whole time she’d lived there.
“I’ll, um, I’ll see you guys later,” she said as he grinned at her and stifled a laugh.
Mabry shook her head as she watched Kelly walk away.
“She’s an odd one, Jack,” Mabry said.
Jack grinned. “One of a kind Aunt Mabry. One of a kind.”
Chapter 31
Jack waited in his home office, keeping busy as he looked at projections and company profiles until he heard Kelly come in from her run and start the shower. He’d sent Mrs. Poole off to her apartment early and his aunt was out for the evening.
He climbed the stairs and headed for their bedroom, opening the French doors that led to the balcony and leaning on the railing while he waited for her to finish.
This was going to be fun, he thought. A lot of fun.
He heard the shower turn off and turned to wait for her to open the door.
If he thought he was prepared for what he saw, he was dead wrong.
Kelly stepped out moments later with her hair hanging wet over her shoulders, wearing nothing more than a towel wrapped around her. She’d tucked an end into the dip between her breasts to hold it up and the alluring picture that presented, as though she was there for him to unwrap, hit him hard.
He was actually stunned silent for a minute and stared as she crossed the room to the walk-in closet without realizing he was in the room watching her.
He had known Kelly was gorgeous and the slight touches they’d shared over the past weeks had teased him, but seeing her like this was so much more than he imagined. He felt a jolt straight down to his groin and swallowed as he watched her.
Creamy skin that looked so soft he was dying to nibble every inch of it taunted him. Her breasts were full and begged for his hands to hold them, his tongue to explore them. The towel fell just past luscious hips that curved and cried out to be held, explored, entered.
He damned near groaned out loud at the thought.
Her legs were smooth and bare and still had small droplets of water on them that shimmered against her skin. Jack could picture himself covering those legs from her ankles to thigh with slow, lazy kisses.
Kelly turned and saw Jack watching her from the balcony, and her small scream jolted him back to his senses. A slow smile spread across his face, but his eyes burned hot and intense as he watched her.
Kelly pulled the towel tighter around her curves as he walked slowly over to join her.
“Why are you avoiding me in the evenings, Kelly?” he asked her softly wanting an answer to his question now more than ever.
Kelly felt as if Jack’s low, gravelly voice were washing over her, caressing her. Her body tingled in anticipation.
“I-I….” She stumbled over her words and couldn’t come up with more to say as he slowly stalked toward her.
He moved in on her, and she had to back up against the wall to keep some distance between them. When she couldn’t go any further, Jack leaned down and kissed the curve between her neck and her shoulder, lingering as his breath tickled and teased her.
She felt her body go soft and warm for him, the apex of her legs seeming to heat in anticipation of his touch. Her breath caught in her chest and her heart fluttered wildly.
“You’re avoiding me, Kelly.” Jack pressed hot kisses down her shoulder. “What I can’t figure out is why you would do that because I know you’re as attracted to me as I am to you.”
Now he looked at her as she shook her head, causing him to grin in response. It was a feral grin. One that promised retribution for the lie.
“Kelly, it’s my job to know when people are bluffing,” he said as he ran the tips of his fingers lightly over her ar
ms, down to her wrists and back up again.
The touch set her on fire.
“You’re bluffing, Kel. You’re attracted to me. I feel it when I kiss you, when you press your body against mine, when your breath hitches as I whisper in your ear.”
Kelly’s head swam, and she could barely think straight as Jack attacked all of her senses. “No, I’m not. I mean, I’m….”
Frustrated, she felt the heat creep up her cheeks as she tried to explain why she had avoided this very scene. She needed to make him understand without humiliating herself.
“Jack, I’m not like the women you’ve been with. I’m not a supermodel. I’m just normal. Completely normal with a normal body and normal breasts, and I wear normal size clothes not Barbie Doll sizes like you’re used to.”
Once Kelly got started, she blurted it all out.
“I can’t compete with what you’re used to. I don’t want to compete with them.”
Jack stopped his seductive teasing and stood up and she would swear he was stunned. Now he leveled a look at her.
“You’re completely serious, aren’t you? You don’t think I’m attracted to you.” He didn’t back off an inch. He kept her pressed against the wall.
“It’s okay, Jack. I mean, I didn’t expect you to be when we started this, and I’m okay with that.” Kelly continued to babble on as he watched her in disbelief.
“Then, I’ll have to convince you.” He dipped a finger into the vee of Kelly’s towel at her breasts and tugged her gently toward him as he captured her mouth with his once again. When he broke from her lips, leaving her breathless, he looked her in the eyes again.
“I’m extremely attracted to you, Kelly. I love your body. I love your curves, the size of you, your softness, your full breasts—everything about you. All you have to do is enter the room and I’m ready for you. And soon, I’m going to convince you of that and get you into bed in the true sense instead of just sleeping next to me.”
As Jack spoke, he peppered her neck, shoulders, mouth, and jawline with searing kisses that had Kelly’s legs shaking and her body melting for him.
“And when I take you to bed, Kelly, you’ll be confident that I’m truly interested in being there with you—and nobody else. That I want to be there with you.”
He ravaged her mouth with one last deep kiss, drawing it out before he released her.
“Good night, sweetheart,” he said, and he smiled at her dazed expression as he slipped from the room.
Chapter 32
The following afternoon, Kelly received two dozen deep-red roses that were so incredibly beautiful they took her breath away. The card read: Like your lips—lush and full and sensual. Have a wonderful day, beautiful.
Mrs. Poole and Mabry read the card over her shoulder. Mrs. Poole sighed at the romance of the gesture; Mabry huffed and walked away.
The following day, Kelly came home to find a large bouquet of blush roses laced with baby’s breath. Mrs. Poole and Mabry waited for her in the front hall to read the card. The color of your cheeks when I make you blush only makes me want to do it more.
Mrs. Poole sighed and Mabry harrumphed and walked away again. Kelly blushed.
The next day, she couldn’t help but hurry home from the clinic to see if more flowers had arrived. She wasn’t disappointed. A dozen bright orange gerbera daisies sat in the front hall.
“Oh! I love gerbera daisies,” she exclaimed. “They always make me smile.”
“What did he do wrong?” Mabry asked.
Kelly ignored her as she opened the card and laughed at the message: This is what your smile does for me. It feels like sunshine and happiness and having a home after a long time without one.
The next day she came home to a stunning orchid with the most unique white and purple blooms on a tall stem. It wasn’t like any orchid she had seen before and the card read: A bloom that is rare and stunning with taunting curves that demand to be explored, just like you.
Kelly was sure she might have heard Mabry sigh. She definitely heard one from Mrs. Poole.
Friday was a vase of blue and yellow irises with a card that read: I tried to find a flower that was as beautiful as the stunning blue of your eyes, but there wasn’t anything that came close. You’re one of a kind.
Mrs. Poole had to dry a tear, and Kelly was sure this time she heard a small sigh escape from Aunt Mabry’s lips before she pressed them tightly closed and walked away.
Later that day, cream-colored roses arrived with a note that read: Dinner tonight? I’ll pick you up at six o’clock.
Jack knew the sentiments and notes were cheesy, each and every one of them, but he also knew Kelly would eat it up, and he smiled when he imagined her reaction to them.
And every night when he came home, she blushed and thanked him before he pulled her to him for a kiss.
Making Kelly blush was one of his favorite things, and he fully planned to make her blush in their bed soon, too.
Chapter 33
Jack and Kelly pulled up to the valet at a wine bar in downtown New Haven. Phase two of what Jack had dubbed Project Kelly was a night out with an intimate dinner followed by a show at the Yale Repertory Theater.
Jack thought she would like the cozy restaurant and the unassuming theater instead of the big flashy events they sometimes had to attend for his business. He wanted her to relax with him and feel comfortable so he could spend the night showing her how much he wanted her, how much she did for him by being there when he came home each night.
Jack watched as Kelly walked into the restaurant. There was nothing assuming or arrogant about her. Everywhere she went, eyes were on her, yet she seemed totally oblivious. She didn’t preen or even try to draw more attention to herself. There wasn’t anything conceited about her and that made her all the more appealing.
She wore a deep blue dress with thin straps that showed off her creamy soft shoulders. She’d pulled her hair up which he quickly discovered he loved because it let him see the delicate curve of her neck. He couldn’t help but fantasize about nibbling the smooth skin or trailing his lips over it and making her moan.
Jack was far from oblivious to the attention being paid to Kelly as she walked past other patrons. He wanted to rip the eyes out of every man there and save her all for himself. He pushed down that urge and satisfied himself with a few warning looks at the worst of the oglers, and placed a possessive hand at the small of her back as they followed the maitre d’ to their table.
The light contact of Jack’s hand on her back sent tingles down her spine all the way to her toes. After his announcement that he planned to prove how attracted he was to her, Kelly had been unable to stop thinking about the hungry way he had looked at her, the way he looked at her as if he were stalking his next meal.
Maybe it should have made her feel like a piece of meat, but it didn’t. It made her feel desirable, wanted in a way no other man had made her feel. She began to believe Jack when he said he wanted her.
As they sat down at the table, Kelly felt Jack’s eyes on her and realized he hadn’t picked up his menu. He just stared at her.
“You look amazing tonight,” he said, and she was glad she had swept up her hair and worn a spaghetti strap dress that showed off her shoulders.
She imagined what it would feel like to have Jack kiss her neck, her shoulders, even outline the thin straps of her dress with his tongue as he worked his way down to her breasts, searing her skin with each hot touch.
She blushed as her thoughts sent heat coursing through her body. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
Jack gave her a puzzled look. “You know something I like about you, Kelly?” he asked her quietly, but didn’t wait for an answer. “You honestly don’t seem to know how stunning you are or how much you affect me. It’s really not an act with you.” Jack shook his head.
Before she could get her voice back, the waiter was at the table and Jack turned to listen politely to the specials. Kelly tried to listen to the waiter, but all she could d
o was think about Jack and the effect his words had on her.
Kelly realized the waiter was asking her if she’d like a drink. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she ordered a glass of Pinot Noir and opened her menu. When the waiter came back with their drinks a few minutes later, they each ordered the beef tenderloin—and crab cakes to split as an appetizer.
“So, why law school?” Jack asked Kelly while they waited for their food.
“When I was in high school, my best friend’s dad was indicted on money-laundering charges. He decided to take a plea deal because the prosecution said they had some other charges they could bring if he didn’t agree to a deal, and he knew a trial would have been long and brutal on his family. He was innocent of the charges; we all knew it and believed in him, but he said he couldn’t risk going to jail longer than he would if he agreed with the plea bargain. He wouldn’t put his family through the ordeal of a trial or a longer sentence,” she explained and sipped her wine.
They both paused as the waiter put their appetizer down.
“What happened to him?” Jack asked, offering Kelly a crab cake.
“Well, when it came time to enter the plea bargain, Judge Thomas, the judge presiding over the case, said that he thought something wasn’t right with the case. He spent the whole week listening to the taped evidence the prosecution had based their case on. He scoured the tapes and poured through eyewitness reports and evidence that supposedly showed our friend’s guilt. He didn’t need to be that thorough, but he was.
“Based on what he discovered, he set aside all of the charges at the last minute instead of sentencing him to prison as the plea would have required. The judge said that there was no evidence to show any wrongdoing, and the evidence showed that the eyewitnesses were conspiring to frame him for the crimes because they had a personal vendetta against him and his family. It was this huge drama, and everyone was stunned when the judge announced it, but I remember sitting there and feeling in awe of this judge and the system and the way he stood up for this guy and made sure that the right thing happened.”
