by Melody Anne
After three months, he’d decided to do something about the situation. If she was still on his mind, he’d told himself, he had to see this through to the end. And that’s what was happening now.
“She and I will marry, Tyler. It’s not as if that has to lock us together for life. But if I marry her, she’ll easily get custody of her brother, and she’ll be tied to me for as long as I see fit.” Blake spoke with just enough arrogance to piss his brother off all over again.
But just when he thought Tyler was going to come unglued, his brother amazed him by cracking a smile.
“You’re nothing but show right now — do you know that?” Tyler said, and laughed.
That laugh got underneath Blake’s skin far more than the lecture his brother had been giving him.
“What in the hell are you talking about now, Tyler?”
“You know you actually care about this woman; you care about her far more than you’ll admit. Are you afraid of telling me how you feel, or are you afraid to tell her?”
“I’m afraid of no one,” Blake thundered. Fear wasn’t an emotion he ever felt.
“Why not just date the woman properly, then, instead of continually buying her and making her feel cheap?”
Sheesh. Now his brother was channeling Max. “Jewell’s the one who put herself into the situation she’s in,” Blake pointed out. “She chose to join an escort service.”
“No she didn’t. You know perfectly well that she had no choice. She’d do anything for her brother, just as I’d do anything it took for you or Byron.”
“And I’ll do anything to be with her.” Blake didn’t realize how much that revealed to his savvy brother.
“What does that mean?” Tyler asked him “You’ll do anything to have sex with her?”
“I shouldn’t say this even to you, but the sex is incredible. It’s more than sex. It’s something so powerful you couldn’t possibly comprehend it, little brother.”
“Just because it’s great sex and more doesn’t mean you have the right to take it when it’s not offered freely.”
“Believe me when I say that our sex life is no hardship on her,” Blake said smugly.
“You’re demanding marriage, Blake. Great sex will fade, and then you’ll find yourself living with a woman who resents you.”
“I don’t think so. I’ve been with a lot of women in my lifetime and I’ve never had a connection like the one I share with Jewell. She knows this, too — she’s just fighting against her feelings.
“Do you really believe this?” Tyler asked.
“I believe that we’re meant to be together.” Blake wanted to show that he wasn’t trying to hurt Jewell, that he did feel something, even if he was unsure of exactly what that was. But he wasn’t sure how.
“I’ll be watching you, Blake,” Tyler informed him.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Blake said, and he stood up.
Tyler rose as well and Blake walked around his desk. “Don’t screw this up,” Tyler said.
“We’ve always trusted each other, Tyler. Don’t lose your faith in me now.” Blake shook his brother’s hand.
Tyler stepped back and looked at Blake again, making him feel as if he were beneath a microscope, and then, without another word, Tyler left the office and Blake sat back down and turned his chair away from his open door.
Closing his eyes, he thought about the previous night with Jewell. It was perfect, as usual, but it wasn’t enough, even though they’d made love for hours on end. With her it was never enough.
Groaning, he shifted in his seat as his body hardened. He could practically smell her, taste her on his tongue. Only this woman had ever been able to make him hard at just a single thought. That wasn’t something to let go of.
But what if Jewell really was afraid of him? No, that wasn’t possible. He was demanding, to be sure, and he expected a certain amount of respect from her, but he was also willing to offer her everything she could ever possibly desire. They had something, and she knew it. She didn’t fear him — that was impossible. She just wanted to establish her independence.
He’d give Jewell a couple of days to think about what she truly wanted. That would do her some good. And he would once again be back on top. He wouldn’t let this visit with Tyler sway him. Jewell was his — and only his.
Chapter Fourteen
Dammit!”
Jewell looked down at the blood dripping from her finger and scurried over to the kitchen sink, where she washed the shallow wound before grabbing some paper towels and wrapping it so she could get to her bathroom without dripping blood through the apartment.
Her mood was less than perfect. It had been three days since Tyler had been to her apartment, three long days and longer nights without a single word from him about what was going to happen. This was her freaking life Blake was playing with.
Blake had told her he would give her a couple of days to think, and those couple of days had turned in to three. What the heck was going on? Had Tyler spoken to him? Was he going to back off? Was he giving up on her?
All it would take to find was a simple phone call, but as many times as she picked up her phone, she still hadn’t managed to dial his number. What if the pot was on a low simmer, and she set it to boiling?
She’d certainly made phone calls over the past three days, but they hadn’t been to Blake, and they’d gotten her nowhere. She felt she was on a first-name basis with the court clerks now. The children’s services division hadn’t been any help so far, and she was desperate to at least visit with Justin. But she needed permission and so far she wasn’t getting it.
Maybe Blake knew all of this was happening, knew that if he waited her out, she’d cave and he’d get what he wanted. Of course he would. Tyler hadn’t been able to help her as much as he’d probably hoped to, and now she wasn’t even that afraid of marrying Blake. It wasn’t on her bucket list, but her fear of losing Justin was greater than her fear of falling in love with a man who could never love her.
When Jewell couldn’t stand being in the apartment a single minute longer without flipping out completely, she grabbed her coat and headed off to the elevator. To get away from phones would help her not make a call she was sure to regret.
Jewell found herself at a corner bar not far from her place, and she didn’t hesitate to take up residence at one of the barstools.
“What can I get for you?”
“Something sweet and strong,” she answered.
“Ah, you’re having one of those days, huh?” asked the woman behind the bar.
“I’m having one of those weeks…or months…or maybe years,” Jewell replied as the woman mixed her drink.
“You know it’s a bad day when the drinking starts at two in the afternoon,” the woman replied, not unkindly. “Here ya go, sweetie. The first one is on the house.”
Strangely, the bartender’s kindness nearly undid Jewell. “Thank you,” she said as she accepted the tall, fruity drink and took a long swallow. “Oh, this is exactly what I needed. What’s it called?”
“You probably don’t want to know. But yeah, I think it has magical powers. Or maybe if you just drink enough of them, your head gets so fuzzy, it just feels like they have magical powers. I’m Tina, by the way,” she said, and held out her hand.
“I’m Jewell,” she responded, and the two women shook hands happily.
A group of young men came in, and the bartender was then busy for the next few minutes as she checked their IDs and got their drinks. One of the kids, who couldn’t be more than a few months over twenty-one, came and sat by her.
“Can I buy your next drink?” he asked with a hopeful smile.
“Trust me, you’re going to be much better off buying it for one of the young ladies over there,” Jewell said with a smile as she pointed to a group of what looked like college girls in the corner.
“Nah, the girls my age are too shallow,” he said with a wink as he motioned for Tina to come over to them. “Can I get
another drink for the lady?”
Tina smiled as she looked at Jewell, who shrugged her shoulders. She was surprised to see her first drink was finished. Then another was being set in front of her, and when that one was gone, she found herself laughing with the whole group of boys, who she learned were attending the University of Washington.
She stopped her drinks after the third one, knowing she didn’t want to end up doing something foolish, but when three hours passed and she felt immeasurably better, she thanked the boys and Tina, and then decided it was time to go home. She would much rather eat food at her own place than deep-fried bar food.
Her companions lodged protests, but they didn’t hassle her too much when she left and made her way back down the streets in a much better mood than she’d been when she first set out on this minor adventure. That good mood immediately vanished when she walked in her front door and heard laughter coming from the sitting room.
Her stomach clenched when a male voice piped in. Her part-time housekeeper wasn’t alone, and though Jewell could pretend the person with Elsa was anyone other than Blake, she knew beyond a doubt he was there. Of course he could disappear for days on end and then show up whenever he felt like it. It was his apartment, after all; he seemed to own everything and everyone.
When she stopped in the doorway and saw Blake with a smile on his normally stern face, laughing at something Elsa had said, she felt an odd surge of jealousy. That was ridiculous. If he wanted to run off with her housekeeper, a woman he’d hired, that would save her a lot of hassle. She should leave them to their fun, just walk away in relief.
That isn’t what she did, of course. Instead, she took another step forward.
Jewell’s eyes were drawn to the laugh lines next to his eyes as his face opened up, making him so much more human. He was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged his thighs to perfection, and a shirt that seemed molded to his sculpted chest.
Her stomach clenched with raw need, and her head started to spin a bit. When she tried to take another step, she found herself gripping the doorjamb and holding on for dear life.
She was glad that neither Blake nor Elsa had noticed her yet, because it gave her a moment to compose her features, to pull herself together. She was really regretting her drinks, even if she was no longer feeling their full effect.
When Blake’s shoulders tensed and he turned his head only an inch in her direction, she knew he’d become aware of her presence. Maybe he had been the whole time. Maybe the flirting and the laughter had all been for her benefit. It seemed that everything Blake did was calculated, so why wouldn’t this be as well?
There was no use hiding now, so she finally let go of the doorjamb and moved into the room, hoping her voice would sound normal when she was expected to speak.
“You’re home sooner than I expected, Ms. Weston. I haven’t begun dinner yet,” Elsa said, and she stood up.
“It’s fine, Elsa. I’m not very hungry,” Jewell replied.
“Oh, pish posh. I’m sure you’re starving after being out all afternoon. Time just got away from me. Mr. Knight is very entertaining company,” Elsa said as she started to leave the room.
Jewell gritted her teeth at the “company” comment. It had looked like Elsa and Blake were enjoying each other’s company a little too well, she thought snidely, but she was proud of herself for not speaking those thoughts aloud. It was also stupid to let it affect her. Hadn’t she told him to give her Justin and find another woman to help close his big business deal? Maybe he was doing just that.
“I’m sorry for keeping you, Elsa, but I appreciate that you didn’t leave me to sit here all alone,” Blake told her, his voice positively dripping honey and making Jewell grind her teeth together.
“Don’t let me interrupt you guys,” Jewell said. “I really need to go take a shower anyway.”
“I’ll have dinner ready in half an hour,” Elsa said. The housekeeper was obviously beginning to feel the tension in the room, and desperately eager to escape — which was exactly what Jewell wanted to do herself. “You’ll be staying, won’t you, Mr. Knight?”
“Yes, I’d love to have dinner here, Elsa.”
And with that, Elsa scampered away, leaving Jewell standing there. And just her luck — Blake caught her eyes and held on with that powerful gaze of his. She didn’t know what to do or say first. There was so much on her mind, so many unanswered questions.
Had Tyler really spoken to him? Was Blake going to give up on this crazy notion that they should get married? If he was going to give up on that, was he also done with the affair? And what about Justin?
Instead of acting on her urges to ask him anything, Jewell quickly hightailed it. She rushed to her bedroom, then shut and locked the door, and leaned against it. After catching her breath, she went into the bathroom and took an extra-long shower.
So what if she spritzed herself with superexpensive scented body oil? She was only continuing the routine she’d started since finding the stuff in the room. There was no thought of pleasing Blake, she assured herself. That was the last thing she was interested in doing this evening.
Finally emerging from the bathroom, she followed the sound of laughter once again and found Blake and Elsa in the kitchen preparing dinner together. And once again, the sight stopped her in her tracks. Blake wasn’t normally so helpful. Maybe something really was going on between him and the housekeeper. Did Elsa keep house for him too? She was here only a couple of times a week…
“Do you need me to do anything?” Jewell asked as she joined them.
“It’s actually almost ready. Mr. Knight was a terrific help. He prepared the beef medallions while I worked on the vegetables and dessert,” Elsa said as she checked the oven. Whatever they’d made smelled terrific, and Jewell’s stomach gave a quiet growl of appreciation.
A few minutes later, the meal was complete and Elsa insisted that Jewell sit. When Blake chose to sit not across from Jewell but beside her at the end of the table, she squirmed slightly at his close presence.
Elsa put the plates down on the table, and Jewell’s first taste was an explosion of flavors on her tongue. When she turned to thank Elsa, she discovered that the woman was already gone. So Jewell turned her attention back to her food. As she nibbled away, and the silence began to grow oppressive, she couldn’t help but think of other meals she’d shared with Blake back at his apartment. More than one had ended with her on the table as dessert for Blake.
The sad part was that she wouldn’t mind reenacting a few of those moments here and now. The thought killed her appetite. Hoping that Blake wouldn’t notice and maybe guess why she was so rattled, she moved food around on her plate.
He noticed. “You’ve lost weight, Jewell. Please don’t let my presence stop you from eating. You obviously need the calories.”
When she didn’t look up, she heard movement and then his fingers were beneath her chin, tilting it up to force their eyes to meet.
“I think I may have a bug or something,” she said. It was the only excuse she could think of on the spur of the moment.
“Do lies roll so easily off your tongue that you don’t even notice it when you tell them now?” he asked her.
“I think that was very rude,” she replied.
“I think you get offended far too easily, Jewell.”
“Maybe because I just don’t know what to expect next from you.” That was about as honest as it got for her.
“I’ve laid my cards out on the table, Jewell. If I haven’t told you that I want something, I’m not expecting it.”
“Did you talk to Tyler?” she blurted out. She couldn’t take the waiting anymore.
Blake said nothing for a few heartbeats, showed no expression, and then he got up from the table and she wondered if he was going to simply leave without saying a word. She didn’t know what she would do if that happened.
He grabbed dessert from the sideboard and sat back down with a smile. “I can think of other more tasty desserts,” he sa
id.
“Is that what you want, Blake — me on the table?”
“I always want you, Jewell,” he said, but he didn’t lean forward, didn’t capture her lips, didn’t follow through on his words.
“Don’t you own me, Blake? Isn’t that what you paid for?” Damn. Her voice was just a little too breathless to carry off the sarcasm she hoped to infuse into her words.
“There’s plenty of time for me to sample your body, Jewell,” he said as he released her gaze and then set one piece of pie on her plate and one on his own. He started digging in, leaving her mouth hanging open.
She’d given him the green light and he hadn’t taken it. Why?
“Please just tell me if you spoke with your brother,” she said.
“I don’t want to have that discussion right now,” he replied calmly.
“Why? Is this just another way for you to assert your control?”
“Maybe,” he replied before sighing. “Look, I’m not demanding answers from you tonight, am I? I asked you to marry me, and I’m not quizzing you on that, so you can show me the same respect and not quiz me.”
“Who are you and what have you done with Blake Knight?”
“You know who I am — who I’ve always been. I’m the man who wants you.” Blake rose and looked down at her with one of his patented unreadable expressions. “Elsa’s dinner was wonderful, Jewell. Your company was even better.” And he headed toward the front door.
She had no idea what to think now. Was this a bluff? Did he want her to beg him to stay? The front door opened, and before she could think, let alone talk, he was out the door and it was closing behind him.
She stood next to the table stunned. He hadn’t tried to kiss her; hell, he’d barely touched her. He also hadn’t answered a single question she’d thrown at him. What did it all mean? After disappearing for three days, he’d showed up unexpectedly, talked about trivial things, and walked away again.
And she still had no answers.
