by Laina Kenney
He thought for a moment that she would drive away and leave him without a backward glance, but she turned back and waved before leaving the small gravel lot.
Jack was a man who rarely made mistakes, but when he did they tended to be significant. He had really screwed up with Corinne, but he wasn’t going to let that error destroy his whole life. He hadn’t understood that she had that kind of power over his future happiness until she was already out of his house and gone.
His eyes narrowed as he watched her car disappear in the distance. The heavy feeling in his gut was nothing compared to the feeling he had experienced on entering his home after clinching the biggest deal of his life. He had carried a champagne bottle in one hand and her favorite Chinese takeout in the other, only to find the place empty. Silent as a tomb.
He had called her name, searched the house from attic to foundation, but his instincts had known the moment he walked in. Corinne was gone.
She was such a tender little morsel, giving in to his dominance so beautifully that he had never suspected she had a backbone of steel behind those soft blue eyes. After she left she had refused to even take his calls. She had even gone so far as to change her cell number.
It didn’t help that it had taken him two days after she left to get home and find out that she was gone. Those two days would be nails in his coffin, as far as Corinne was concerned, and he damned well knew it.
Four grueling days of constant travel and meetings that lasted well into the night had derailed his perfect plan for the future. He had come out the clear winner in the business dealings, it was true. But he had paid a heavier price than he knew at the time. He had taken the best thing in his life for granted, and now he needed to make it right.
But how the hell was a man supposed to make his woman understand if he couldn’t even get her to listen? She still wouldn’t listen. It seemed she didn’t want to hear or accept his apology.
Well, he was a determined man. If she had any idea how much her unexpected sass aroused him, she wouldn’t be so complacent. His cock was hard as a rock from her first moment of defiance. The damned thing was still relentlessly hard watching her drive away.
Watching her sweet little ass twitch as she walked away had made him want to bend her over his knee and spank the firm globes until she squirmed and begged him for satisfaction. Some of the best nights of his life had begun just that way.
To think that she was forever out of his reach was impossible. His life would be empty. He squared his shoulders as if he were preparing for a fight.
Negotiating with a woman like Corinne would be as difficult as anything he had ever done in a boardroom, but the payoff would be lifelong. Once he had her back, he was never letting her go again.
Her words had been hard when she denied him, but her tender lips had quivered, and her body had trembled against his. He could read her body well, even when her thoughts were a mystery. He was a man who used whatever tools were available to him to turn the world to his advantage. The evidence that she was still vulnerable to him on some level was the only thing that gave him some hope.
Chapter 3
Corinne turned the sign and unlocked the door. The muffins and scones were baked and the first pot of coffee was brewing. Everything was ready for another day at the coffee shop, and the first regulars should be along in about ten minutes.
If anyone mentioned her red-rimmed eyes, they would have to pour their own coffee. She had cried half the night after seeing Jack again.
She had come in to the shop nearly an hour early just because she couldn’t sit in her apartment one minute longer staring at the walls and mourning the death of something that had never existed except in her naive dreams. She had spent enough time grieving in the first weeks after she left Jack.
People started to come in by ones and twos. This early, Corinne could handle the shop alone, but in another hour, Shelly and Rob would be in to help. Corinne was off at noon on the days she opened alone and she usually looked forward to the afternoon and evening.
Today she would probably skip her usual walk and just go to bed. She knew she’d be exhausted by then after her long night.
Her mind on other things, she poured Mrs. Carlton a large coffee instead of a tea, and handed her son a cold muffin instead of a warm scone. When they just looked at her kindly, she almost couldn’t get the words out to apologize around the huge lump in her throat.
She felt like crying as she fixed their normal order. After last night, she was sure there were no tears left in her, until she looked up and the next customer in line was Jack. She bit the inside of her cheek hard.
He was dressed in faded blue jeans and a navy polo shirt with sneakers on his feet. She had seen the man naked, but she had never seen him dressed so casually. Her face heated at the thought.
“Good morning, what can I get for you?” came out in a squeaky rush.
“Large coffee, black.” He looked into the display case with interest. He tapped the glass once with his rolled-up newspaper. “How fresh are those scones?”
Corinne’s back straightened. She glanced at the clock.
“I took them out of the oven about twenty minutes ago,” she said stiffly.
His gorgeous eyes swept over her face and his lips relaxed into a smile. Her heart thumped.
“I’ll have two, warmed with butter.”
She didn’t really need him to say it. She knew how much he loved fresh scones for breakfast. It was why she had prepared so many of them this morning, her hands working on auto pilot in the back kitchen.
Her scones always did well, but not enough to justify six dozen on a weekday morning. The muffins sold better, but her stubborn heart had insisted Jack would be back in spite of last night’s rejection.
He took his cup and plate with obvious pleasure and made his way to one of the tiny tables near Mrs. Carlton and her son.
“You’re in for a treat,” Mrs. Carlton said to Jack. “That girl bakes the fluffiest scones I’ve tasted since my mother passed. She’s a treasure.”
Corinne cringed internally, but Jack favored the old woman with his famous smile. The corporate raider wasn’t anywhere in sight as he started up a pleasant conversation.
When she looked up after the next spate of customers had left, Jack was at the table with the Carltons, leaning back in his chair and laughing as if he didn’t have a care in the world. His head tipped back and the strong, tanned column of his throat drew her avid gaze.
Corinne thought of all the businessmen around the globe who would be shocked or perhaps just deeply uneasy to see any kind of a smile on Jack Carder’s face, and she had to shake her head.
The man was a puzzle, no doubt about it. Just when she thought she had him figured out, he turned on the charm for a little old lady in a dingy coffee shop. And he seemed to be enjoying himself.
The bell over the door chimed, and more customers came in. By the time the second rush was over, the Carltons were gone, and Jack sat alone reading his newspaper.
By eleven, Corinne was frazzled. Rob had called in sick, and Shelly arrived late as usual. Their old espresso machine died a loud, gurgling death, and the muffins sold out for the first time ever because she hadn’t baked enough. They had dozens of scones left, though. She still had another two hours to go before the end of her shift.
And Jack was still there.
When he walked up to the counter, Corinne wanted to hide in the back room.
“What can I get for you, Jack?” she asked through her teeth.
His eyebrows rose at her tone, but he only said, “One large coffee to go.”
Corinne almost sagged with relief. He was leaving. She smiled for the first time in an hour.
“One coffee, coming right up.”
She almost whistled at the thought of Jack leaving. Maybe then her stupid hormones would settle down instead of clamoring for attention every time she caught a glimpse of his perfect male form. She knew he was gorgeous, damn it. She didn’t need that kin
d of constant aggravation.
He paid and took the coffee, brushing his fingers along the back of her hand and watching her telltale quiver.
“I’ll be back to take you out for lunch,” he said. “I believe Shelly said you’re off at one?”
“Stop this, Jack. You’ve got to stop.”
“Have lunch with me, Corinne.”
She rolled her eyes. “Is that the only way to get you to stop?”
He winced.
“The kitten has grown some claws.”
Corinne saw the flash of pain in his eyes and knew this was her chance. If she kept pushing him away he would leave and not come back…but then neither one of them would heal. She damned herself for a fool even as she responded in the only way she could.
“That little Italian bistro in the south end?” she asked hesitantly.
His shoulders relaxed fractionally and his sensual mouth curved.
“I was thinking the same,” he said, his voice impossibly deep.
Corinne shivered and resisted the urge to lick her lips. The man was lethal. How was any woman supposed to stand firm against that kind of masculine appeal?
He kissed his fingertip and brushed that finger over her lips in a gentle caress. Her treacherous heart melted.
“One o’clock,” he said, and she nodded.
She watched his taut butt flex as he walked away. The floor creaked as Shelly came up to stand beside her. Shelly sighed and fanned herself.
Corinne nudged her friend.
“I know you. You’re looking at his butt, aren’t you?” Corinne whispered.
“Oh yeah.”
“Well, don’t look.”
Shelly snorted. “Ask me for something possible,” she said. “You’re looking, too, you can’t deny it. And I’ve never seen anything like that in real life. He’s eye candy in the best sense of the term. And he’s rich.”
“Shelly.”
“I know he messed up, but I just can’t believe you left him. What were you thinking?”
“Shelly!”
“Well, any fool can see he still has a thing for you. He sat in here all morning watching you. He obviously knows he screwed up. Even smart, rich men can be dumb sometimes. I think he’d apologize if you gave him half a chance. If the man looked at me like that I’d be all over him.” She sighed.
Shelly’s tone implied that there was something seriously wrong with Corinne. Corinne’s neglected pussy clenched in agreement. She might have doubts, but her traitorous body was certain Jack was the best thing ever, and it wanted him back.
“I’m having lunch with him later,” she admitted.
“Good girl,” Shelly said admiringly. “There’s hope for you yet. Just in case you’re wondering, if it were me, I’d make it a long lunch. Like until breakfast.”
Shelly winked and scooted away before Corinne could swat her with the towel.
She was having lunch with Jack. They would enjoy the food, and he would grill her for more information about why she had left. Corinne was sure she was the only woman stupid enough to have ever left Jack Carder, so no wonder the man couldn’t figure out the reasons.
He had everything a woman could want. He was physically perfect, muscular, good-looking, smart, funny, and rich. He was dominant and skillful in the bedroom. But what he needed was a woman who could keep things light between them and not get her heart entangled and start wishing for more than he was offering.
Corinne just wasn’t that woman. She had fallen in love with Jack, knowing that for him it wasn’t ever going to be love. And even as she had hoped he would wake up one day and love her in return, the evidence that he didn’t care as much as she did was unmistakable.
He spent more time with his corporation than he did with her. He had left on a long business trip without giving her any information, including when he might be back, and had truly expected that she would be waiting when he arrived home.
For a smart man, he could be pretty stupid.
Corinne began to prepare the sandwich counter, but while her hands were working, her head was swimming in the same crazy circles Jack always inspired.
By the time he came to pick her up for lunch, she was breathless. Her pussy was melting, her shoulders were tense, and every time Shelly looked at her she blushed at her own inappropriate thoughts.
Chapter 4
Sliding into Jack’s car to rest against the butter-soft leather seats once again, Corinne marveled at the bizarre twist her life had taken.
She was seated in a car that cost more than the average house, still wearing her black pants, simple white blouse and sturdy high-tops from the coffee shop. When she had been in his car before, it was always in the beautiful clothes he had bought for her. She had left them all at his house.
As hard as it was to read Jack most of the time, just now he seemed pleased. And when Shelly and a couple of the lunch regulars waved out the front window, for all the world as if she was a princess being carried off in a golden carriage rather than a waitress in a black sports car, Jack smiled and saluted them.
The Bistro Italiano had always been their favorite lunch place. Small, family-owned and perpetually crowded, it seethed with good-natured arguments in two languages and the smell of good, wholesome food. They ordered their favorites from a passing waitress and sat down to wait.
Corinne studied the familiar interior, looking for any small changes three months might have made, but she couldn’t spot anything. It all looked the same as the last time she and Jack had eaten there.
Jack’s hand over hers drew her eyes to his.
“Can we talk about it?”
She looked down at the tablecloth, suddenly bothered by the cheery red and white.
“What is it you want to talk about, Jack?”
She was stalling. She knew what he wanted to talk about. He was tenacious when he wanted an answer. The man didn’t know the meaning of the word quit.
“You didn’t leave me for someone else. You left me to be alone,” he said.
It seemed to be a tough concept for him, but she couldn’t hold him responsible for that. It was a normal part of his world that women wanted to be with him. The man was generous, talented with his hands, and he had been good to her. Maybe it wasn’t his fault that she needed more.
She nodded.
“That means you were unhappy when you were with me.”
“Well, no,” she protested then wished she had kept her mouth shut when his lips twitched. If he laughed, she was out of there.
“Then what? You couldn’t have been happy, or you would have been there when I got home with the champagne. We would have celebrated together. Instead, I ate sweet and sour pork and downed half a bottle of whiskey alone while calling every emergency room and ambulance dispatch in the county.”
Corinne felt a pang of remorse. Then she glared at him and leaned forward on her elbows.
“Don’t you dare try to make me feel guilty for leaving when you abandoned me first. I waited for you as long as I could without losing every shred of self-respect.”
She looked around, but no one was paying them any attention. Good. She sat back in her chair.
“I did not abandon you,” Jack spoke through his teeth. “You make it sound like I ditched you for another woman. There was no one else, Corinne. Every moment we were apart was for business reasons only.”
“You left on business with barely a word to me, and you were gone for days. If you had cared about me at all, you would have let me know that you were leaving the country and when you might be getting back.”
“Time was short. I was running against the clock. I left with my briefcase and the clothes on my back.”
“You let Angela know all the details.”
Jack’s hand curled into a fist.
“Corinne, I sent her a text from the airport.”
“You could have sent me a text from the airport as well.” She was getting annoyed. Was communicating really such a foreign idea?
Jack
ran a hand through his hair.
“She had to run the office while I was away, deal with all the day-to-day problems and that’s not an easy job. You were safe at home. You can’t be jealous of Angela. She’s fifty years old if she’s a day.”
Corinne unclenched her hands and tried to smile at the waitress who brought their food. He could be so dense. Sometimes, she just wanted to scream.
“You’re not getting it, Jack. Let’s just let the past go. We can enjoy our lunch and not give ourselves indigestion arguing about a situation that can’t be changed,” she said.
Jack frowned and looked as if he would continue, but then a young family sat down at the table directly beside them. He shrugged and shook out his napkin.
“Bon appétit,” was all he said.
After a delicious lunch with conversation on such deliberately neutral topics as the weather and the latest baseball scores, Corinne found herself relaxing with him, even teasing a little about the pitiful batting stats of his favorite team.
When Jack offered her a ride home, his words were framed as a question, but the look on his face made it a statement. He would drive her home or follow her home. It was her choice within the parameters he set.
They were falling back into their former pattern, and she was powerless to stop the sweet thrill from consuming her. Spending time with Jack was better than anything else she had ever done.
She felt flushed and knew her cheeks were pink, but she didn’t know how to turn off the feelings he inspired. She was still very vulnerable to him. In spite of everything, she was more alive in his presence than she had been for the last three months without him.
Back in his car, Corinne’s appetite for food was satisfied, but sitting beside Jack created a hunger of a different kind. The afternoon sun was warm on her thighs and she rubbed them together absently. It did nothing to ease the aching emptiness of her pussy.
Jack’s hand fell heavily on her knee and she couldn’t conceal her shudder of delight. He stroked up the inside of her thigh, and her legs parted naturally to make room for him.
