by Lori Ryan
“Our families used to be so close. Chad and I were both only children, so he and I grew up more as brothers than cousins. We went on family vacations together, saw each other all the time. In those days, Aunt Mabry was so much fun. She was like a second mom to me. Then, one day, my uncle left her. He left, and we hardly see him. Even Chad hardly hears from him. He didn’t leave for another woman or anything like that. Chad said she felt like she wasn’t good enough, that he thought being alone was better than being with her. I thought he was a selfish prick, but what do I know?”
Jack shrugged. “First she was sad all the time, but over time she seemed to be angry with everyone around her. A lot of it was focused on my mom and dad. I think she couldn’t stand to be around them.
“Luckily, by the time she focused on me, Chad and I were adults so it didn’t affect our friendship or working relationship. She comes off as this obnoxious, mean person now, but she really isn’t. She’s just hurting.”
“I like that family is more important to you than anything else,” Kelly said. “Besides, your Aunt Mabry is the reason you’re putting me through law school if you think about it, so I’m okay with her craziness.” She grinned, and Jack let out a laugh and held her closer.
He could get used to this. Hell, forget getting used to it. He could come to crave it. Need it.
He closed his eyes and focused on what they had together. The here and now.
Chapter 39
The man in the black sedan watched Kelly as she parked her car and entered the legal aid clinic. So far, she hadn’t spotted him. Just like all the other women he’d been sent to sit on, she seemed oblivious to everything around her. Fucking clueless.
As the door closed behind her, he hit the speed dial on his phone and waited, listening to the ringing sound in the earpiece. He knew they’d pick up quickly. They were eager to get this one done.
“It’s me,” he said when the call connected.
“Have you found a pattern yet?” asked the voice on the other end of the phone.
He spoke again. “She doesn’t seem to have many regular routines other than coming to the clinic on East Street. No regular job, no schedule for shopping or working out that I can see. She’s often with her husband or one of her friends, but she comes to the clinic every morning, and she’s alone then. That’s her only steady commitment.”
“We’ll grab her there, then,” the voice said, cold, calculated, without feeling. There was a reason this asshole was in charge. He didn’t give a fuck. Not a scrap of remorse in him.
“There’s another problem. They’ve put security on her. They don’t stay right on her, but they’re nearby at all times.” The man hesitated watching the tail the woman had on her a block up the way. He didn’t have a good feeling about this. “I think we should ditch her. Find a replacement.”
There was silence on the line and he knew he’d stepped in it, but fuck, it was gonna be his ass on the line if this shit went sideways. No one else would get hauled in with him. And he wouldn’t talk. He wasn’t a fucking rat.
“I just mean, uh,” he said, trying to back himself out of it. “I just thought we should be sure. There are other brunettes who fit the look.”
“No,” came the response from the other end, an edge to it that made him shift in his seat. “She’s the one. I’ve already sent a preview to our buyers. Send someone into the clinic so we have a friendly face close to her. We’ll get her away from her security and lure her out.”
Kelly’s days were starting to fill up. She went to the legal aid clinic routinely every morning and stayed until noon. She helped people fill out the necessary paperwork and matched them with the right attorney for their problem. The process gave her a chance to see a pretty wide range of legal issues and get an idea of what types of problems people faced.
She was also getting to meet a lot of the attorneys around New Haven because the clinic pulled volunteers from the major firms around town who were looking for a way to fulfill their law firms’ pro bono requirements.
Once or twice when she left the clinic, Kelly was fairly sure she saw the all-too-familiar dark sedan turn a corner or sit idling a block away. She knew Mabry’s investigator wasn’t going to find any dirt on her, though, so she ignored the car and its driver pretending she hadn’t seen them.
Now that she was spending time in New Haven at the clinic, she met Jack for lunch whenever he could get away from work. They decided to try to work their way through every New Haven restaurant they could, and one day Jack even surprised her by having Mrs. Poole pack a picnic lunch to eat out on the green. She laughed when he tried to take credit for preparing the meal himself, knowing full well that he had never lifted a cooking utensil in his life.
On Friday, she and Mabry took the train into the city and found a cocktail dress for the party Jack and Kelly were hosting. The designer’s name meant nothing to her, but Mabry was impressed by it. More importantly, Kelly liked the dress. It was silky midnight black with an A-line skirt that flared around her thighs. Swarovski crystals sprinkled like raindrops from waist to hem, and the spaghetti straps were also dotted with tiny, sparkling crystals.
The saleswoman was right; it did show off Kelly’s hourglass figure and generous curves, and she ended up feeling very sexy when they paired it with silver strappy heels and smoky charcoal-gray undergarments edged with raspberry red lace.
Kelly tried to see signs of the Aunt Mabry that Jack had told her about, but all she could see was her pinched face and scheming mind. She felt sad for Mabry, really.
Not sad because her husband had left her, but sad that she couldn’t let it go—that it still affected her so badly. She didn’t get the sense it was because Mabry had loved her husband.
It seemed as though the woman’s pride was hurt, and she couldn’t get past the anger of that. Kelly wondered what it would be like to hold on to anger for that long.
Still, as much as she felt for the woman, she couldn’t say she enjoyed the end-of-week shopping trip at all.
On Saturday evening, Jack said he had a surprise for her. He told her he was sure she was going to love it and he was right. They enjoyed a five-star dinner served on a private boat out on the sound prepared by a five-star chef.
As the water rocked them and they looked up at the stars, Kelly couldn’t imagine anything more romantic. She was once again hit with a sharp pain when she remembered that their life together was based on a contract and nothing more. That this was a temporary deal. A temporary deal with a very definite and looming expiration.
Chapter 40
On Sunday morning, Jack walked into the kitchen to find Kelly cooking breakfast. It was Mrs. Poole’s day off, and Aunt Mabry was still in bed. He stifled a groan as he watched Kelly bend over to dig for a pan in the cabinet under the stove.
She was wearing an old pair of boxers and a T-shirt, but she couldn’t be sexier…and the way the boxers stretched tight over her bottom when she bent over made him want to skip breakfast and find out how sturdy his kitchen table was.
He stood enjoying the curve of her calves; imagining his hands on her thighs, pressing his fingers into her hips as he pulled her tight to him. Within seconds, his own pants were tight, and he was very happy that Mrs. Poole took Sundays off.
The longer he stood there, the more he realized he didn’t want this to end any time soon. He liked having Kelly around the house. He liked spending time with her and making her smile and laugh. He liked spoiling her with presents, and he liked finding new ways to make her scream out his name in bed.
Maybe he could ask her to stay through law school. It wouldn’t hurt her to have a home to live in and Mrs. Poole to take care of her while she got her degree. And then there was the bar exam to study for and maybe a clerkship to get through….
Before he knew it, Jack was wondering if he could convince Kelly to continue their arrangement for another five years or so. What could he offer her to convince her to stay?
He’d have to make it wort
h her while, but the thought of offering her money made his stomach churn. He knew he couldn’t buy Kelly. Before he could fully realize what was bubbling up to the surface in his head, she stood up and Jack forced his thoughts to the side, not wanting her to read the thoughts racing through his mind.
Kelly found the pot she wanted and stood up before she noticed Jack watching her. He stared at her with an intensity that made her tingle, and she found she couldn’t come up with a single word to say.
In her head, she knew “good morning” might be appropriate, but her mouth had apparently stopped functioning.
Jack silently walked to her and took the pan from her hands, setting it aside on the stove. She had about two seconds to realize she was about to be treated to another of his incredible kisses, but this time, he didn’t just kiss her. He devoured her.
With his mouth still on hers, Jack walked them backward until they hit the island in the center of the room. He lifted her onto the cool granite countertop and settled himself between her legs.
This wasn’t a gentle exploration of her lips. There was no feeling her out to see if she wanted him to kiss her. There was only heat and passion, so hard and strong, it made her zip to life from her belly down to her toes and stole her breath from her body.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and grabbed handfuls of his hair, fisting the dark curls as she leaned her body into his and answered his passion with her own. She didn’t hold anything back with him. She couldn’t. Some part of her knew he’d never take less than all of her.
Jack’s hands slid down her sides and brushed the curves of Kelly’s breasts, causing her nipples to tighten and peak with anticipation. As he moved lower, skimming down her hips, he pulled her more tightly to his body fitting her to him like two pieces of a puzzle.
Kelly was about to tell Jack to skip breakfast and carry her upstairs. Hell, she wasn’t just going to tell him, she was going to beg, but Mabry’s shrill voice cut through the kitchen.
“Well, this is cozy!”
He quickly broke away from Kelly. She blushed and buried her head in his chest as he turned to his aunt.
“Good morning, Aunt Mabry. I was helping Kelly make breakfast. It’s Mrs. Poole’s day off today.”
Kelly looked up to find Jack wore a wide grin as he greeted his aunt.
“That’s an interesting cooking style you have there, dear,” Mabry said to Kelly, and for a minute with her joking smile and casual manner, she sounded like the Aunt Mabry Jack had described from long ago.
Unfortunately, the moment flashed past as her face resumed its pinched state and she stared in reproach as he slid Kelly off the counter and let her get back to work on breakfast.
Kelly nearly sighed as Jack went to the fridge where he pulled out eggs, bread, sausages, and fruit and placed them on the counter for her. She grinned at him as she started to crack eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisked them together.
“Scrambled eggs with sausage on the side, French toast with sausage on the side, or an omelet with cheese and sausage inside?” Kelly asked. She was sure there was a sausage joke in there somewhere but Mabry probably wouldn’t appreciate that.
“Anything works for me, beautiful,” Jack said and looked expectantly at his aunt.
Mabry scowled. “Scrambled is fine. No need to be fancy.” She turned to Jack. “I saw a picture of that actress you used to date in today’s newspaper. That one with the stunning black hair and the green eyes. What was her name? She was nominated for an Oscar. Kelly, you should see some of the women your Jack dated before he found you.” Aunt Mabry smiled her nasty sneer as she continued.
“There were so many models, weren’t there, Jack? You seem to be partial to models.” She continued on.
Kelly saw Jack go still, ever so briefly, before he brushed off his aunt’s words and took the bread from the counter.
Kelly knew her smile was tight as she began to pour the eggs into the heated pan and scramble them as they set. She took out another pan for the sausage while Jack popped several pieces of toast in the toaster, but she found herself blinking her eyes to hold back tears as Mabry’s words sank in.
Jack turned to his aunt and then smiled at Kelly. “Until I found Kelly, I was bored to tears, Aunt Mabry. I’ve got the best of both worlds now. A wife who could be a model but she’s funny and kind and I’m not bored to tears talking to her.”
Kelly pressed her lips together and Jack met her eyes. She could almost let herself believe his words were more than a show for his aunt.
Almost.
Chapter 41
As Kelly and Jack walked into her mother’s kitchen for Sunday dinner, Jack had the odd sensation of utter belonging and acceptance, as if he had always been a member of this family.
Kelly’s brother Liam was pulling a beer out of the fridge when they entered the room. Without missing a beat, he tossed one to Jack before he cracked his own beer open. Kelly’s mother kissed and hugged Kelly then turned immediately to Jack and pulled him into her embrace for kisses and hugs as if he were one of her own.
He was surprised to find himself hugging her back. Life with Kelly was starting to be one big revelation after another. When he told Mabry he had been bored by every woman he had dated before her, he immediately realized the truth of that. His life with Kelly, despite its fake beginning, was never boring. He didn’t have that usual let-down feeling when he realized there was nothing under the surface of a particular woman. With Kelly, the surface was—well, it was only the beginning, just like it should be.
As Kelly and her mother finished the dinner prep, Jack and her brothers set out plates and silverware while her dad sat at the table and joked with everyone. Kelly’s sister Jesse came in shortly after they arrived, and Jack found that he was happy to see her also.
The room buzzed with the easygoing chatter of the family catching up on the week’s events. They all laughed easily when Kelly’s mom told Jack that she looked up his company on “the Google” and was very impressed by all that he had done.
It struck him that he had always wanted this, this feeling of family. Even though he had loved his parents more than anything, and he always had Chad around growing up, he always wished he had siblings.
As he looked around, he saw the room was awash with warmth and familiarity and caring, and he wanted to spend Sunday dinners here forever.
He wouldn’t. He would only spend a year as a member of this family and then things were scheduled to end. Like all this had an expiration date. And then his new siblings, new parents, would likely hate him.
They’d have to assume he’d done something wrong for Kelly to leave and all this would disappear. She would disappear.
Once again, Jack found himself wanting more with Kelly. Wanting to somehow erase the expiration date that mocked him every time he thought of it.
This visit to her parents’ provided one surprise after another for Jack as he realized that the temporary nature of his marriage was beginning to leave a very bad taste in his mouth. He couldn’t imagine resuming the life he’d had before Kelly.
Jack walked into the bedroom that evening well after nine o’clock. He had been down in his office working later than usual, but Kelly was still up reading a book in bed with the pillows propped behind her back.
He slid in beside her and laced his fingers through the soft hair at the back of her head, before leaning closer to the warm skin of her neck to trace a pattern of kisses to her jawline.
Kelly’s thoughts weren’t on the book for long as she turned to nuzzle against Jack and open herself to him. It never ceased to amaze her how quickly he brought her body to a frenzied state with a kiss or a touch.
Jack reached over and closed her book, putting it on the end table on her side of the bed. Slowly, he stripped her body of the tank top and pajama pants she wore.
He traced a pattern with his mouth and tongue from Kelly’s shoulders to her stomach, down her legs and back up again, before giving in to her pleas. Jack quickly
grabbed a condom and sheathed himself before he entered her, making her cry out his name over and over.
“God, Kelly, how do you do this to me?” He thought he would lose his mind inside her. She felt like no other woman ever had. Like she was made for him, made to fit him like a glove. He couldn’t get close enough, deep enough.
With Kelly’s soft pants and moans in his ear, Jack buried his face against her soft neck and plunged deep into her soft folds, rocking his hips over and over until they both cried out together and climaxed on an endless wave of pleasure and heat.
Chapter 42
Kelly lay in Jack’s arms after they made love and thought about how content she was with the new status of their relationship. She didn’t know where this was going, but she was happy for now, and for once she was just going to focus on being happy in the moment and not worry about what might happen down the road.
Jack pulled the covers up over them and wrapped her in his arms and legs, snuggling closer to her as they lay together in bed.
“How are things at the clinic?” he asked as she relaxed in his arms.
“Good. I like the people a lot, and I’m seeing a range of different legal issues. There’s a new volunteer who’s really nice. Denise. She’s thinking of applying to law schools so she wanted to volunteer to get some experience to put on her applications. We’re going to lunch so I can give her some tips on the LSAT and what she might want to think about when she puts in her applications.”
“I thought law school students were supposed to be cutthroat competitors, hiding books from the other students in the stacks and vying for the best study groups.”
Kelly laughed. “Well, I’m not there yet. Besides, the LSAT was kind of intimidating. I wish someone had taken the time to describe it to me before I walked in there. I would’ve felt better, I think.”
