Her Secret, His Heir (The Diamond Club Book 11)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  “She’s right,” one whispered horrified. “We hate it when men do that to us. Just last week, some idiot whistled to me as I walked down the street beside that construction site over on Jefferson Street. I fumed about it for the next thirty minutes, wondering what I would do if that man had done it to Jessica,” she said, referring to her daughter.

  Another woman stepped forward, nodding in agreement. “Melanie, I’m sorry. We all know better and…well, it’s been done to us for so long, we don’t even realize how wrong it is when we do it back. You’re right.”

  The ladies dispersed, heading for the pile of lumber that someone had picked up at the hardware store and delivered. Two of the ladies grabbed hole diggers and started digging holes with renewed gusto.

  Melanie felt guilty. Yes, what she’d said had been a good, politically correct statement to make to the ladies because ogling was a problem. But…

  Unfortunately, she hadn’t done it to protect women’s right to not be ogled. She’d been jealous of the ladies staring at Jackson. She didn’t like the other women noticing his muscles or how good looking he was. Melanie was embarrassed by this previously unknown streak of jealousy.

  “Nicely done,” Jackson said.

  Melanie whipped around, startled to find him so close. “I’m sorry?” she gasped, pretending she didn’t know what he was talking about.

  He turned around, leaning against the fence as she was doing so they were shoulder to shoulder. Well…her shoulder was more against his arm because he was so much taller than she was, but still.

  “Your speech about obnoxious and demoralizing comments regarding men vs. woman. It was good. Well done,” he said, nodding to the ladies carrying the lumber over to the edges of the flattened land.

  “I was defending your right not to be treated like a piece of meat.”

  He laughed softly. “You were jealous. I could see it in your eyes.”

  She pushed away, frowning up at him. “You weren’t even looking at me.”

  He shook his head, with a chuckle. “Sure I was. I’m just better at hiding my ogling than you are,” he replied, and moved off to help carry the lumber over to the leveled area.

  By lunchtime, the tomato beds were ready for the plants. With impeccable timing, a pizza delivery car arrived. Actually, two of them. The delivery guys carried twenty pizzas and several bottles of sodas over to the workers, who cheered with appreciation and hunger.

  Melanie peeked at Jackson, who already had a cold soda in one hand and a slice of everything-pizza in his other. Their eyes locked and her heart did a funny little flip. He didn’t say a word, but Melanie knew with absolute certainty that he’d arranged to have the pizzas and sodas delivered. How he’d done that without her noticing, she wasn’t sure. And how he’d timed it so perfectly was another mystery.

  Turning to look up at him, she saw the closed expression in his eyes and knew he wouldn’t admit it, but something told her that he was responsible for the food. “You ordered the pizza.”

  “Prove it,” he challenged, leaning closer to her.

  Her eyes squinted as she looked up at him, surprised by the soft, melting sensation deep down in her middle. “You’re secretly a nice man, aren’t you?”

  His eyes hardened and he shook his head. “No, Melanie. I’m not a nice man. You should remember that. I’m not nice. I can’t be nice to make it in the business world. I’m hard and indifferent to a lot of things that you probably value very highly.”

  “Is this your way of making a pass at me?” she teased, not believing him at all.

  “No. That is my way of warning you. You can believe me or not, but I don’t want lies to muddy the waters between us.”

  A sobering comment, if ever she’d heard one. “Jackson…”

  “Are you thirsty?” he asked abruptly as he stepped over to the tub of drinks in an ice bucket. He even opened the soda for her, handing it to her.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he replied just as politely. “I’ll get you something better to drink for dinner.”

  There was a long, pregnant moment as she replayed his words in her mind. When she finally realized what he’d said, she shook her head. “We’re not having dinner,” she replied firmly, then took a long sip of the soda.

  “Keep telling yourself that. But we are.”

  “You’re not asking, I’m guessing?”

  “Not at all. You’ve avoided me for too long. It’s time to talk face to face.”

  Melanie shuffled her feet guiltily, looking down at the ground for a moment. “I’ve sent you reports about the projects updates and…”

  He turned so that his body blocked her from view. “You and I both know that it’s not about the damn project, Melanie. If you’re kidding yourself about that, then let me set the record straight. I’m interested in you. I think you’re a fascinating person who is intelligent and funny. I enjoy talking with you because you have opinions, but don’t shove them down the throats of others like so many do.”

  Wow! That sounded…really nice! “Is that it?” she asked, a bit breathless after what he’d just said.

  His grey eyes searched her features. “No. But I don’t think you’re ready to hear the rest.”

  She frowned at him, pretty sure he was right. “You’re not my type, Jackson.”

  “What’s your type?”

  She looked away, unable to hold his unwavering gaze. “I don’t know, actually. The men I’ve been out with recently have all been rather…” She stumbled, trying to think of the right word to use the men she’d dated in the past.

  “Tap water,” he filled in.

  Melanie laughed but…he was kind of right. “Okay, they’ve been a bit boring. But that doesn’t mean that you and I have a future together. And you know I don’t believe in casual relationships.”

  “Maybe not a long future,” he agreed. “But we can enjoy each other while it lasts.”

  She tilted her head. “Is that your dating philosophy? To just date one woman after another until you no longer enjoy the relationship? Then you move on?”

  He shrugged slightly, apparently seeing nothing wrong. “Yes. Is there a better way?”

  “Perhaps if you found someone that you want to spend the rest of your life with, you’d be happier.”

  He grinned slightly before he replied, “Who says I’m not happy?”

  She wasn’t sure why, but Melanie didn’t think that he was particularly happy. It might have been the way he held himself, perhaps because she suspected he was tense or hyper aware of her. “I don’t think you’re all that happy. So I’m saying you’re not happy.”

  “I’m happy. But I’ll be thrilled once I get you in bed and can make love to you properly.”

  She snorted at that. “Right. Like you want that.”

  He stared at her and she recognized the stunned look. “You think I don’t want you?” he demanded. Suddenly, he’d shifted once again, looking down at her with an intensity that knotted the muscles in her stomach.

  “Well, the last time we were out to dinner, you left me at my door without even a kiss goodbye.”

  He took her hands when Melanie tried to walk away, wanting to hide her hurt from him. But he didn’t let her hide. He pulled her right back to face him.

  “Melanie, you’d had too much wine. And yes, that was my intention because you needed to relax around me so that we could get to know one another. But when we have sex for the first time, I want you fully aware and making decisions with logic, not alcohol.”

  She glared at him. “You mean you dumped me on my doorstep because you thought I was drunk?”

  “Not drunk, but definitely not sober enough to make that kind of a decision.” He moved closer and Melanie realized that he smelled really good. Hot and sweaty, but not in a bad way. It was more of a manly scent.

  “Melanie, are you telling me that you would have said yes that night?” he growled.

  She shrugged and tried to step back, but something
was blocking her retreat. “Not yes. But…”

  “But not no,” he finished for her. Then he threw back his head, laughing. “So that’s why you’ve been avoiding me for the past two weeks. Because you thought I was rejecting you!”

  She didn’t like how that made her seem. It came across as insecure and she damn well wasn’t insecure! “No, I…I didn’t…you didn’t.”

  “Stop talking, Melanie,” he ordered with another chuckle. He turned and grabbed the last few shovels, tossing them into the back of the pickup truck that was returning the equipment to the gardening shed. “Come on,” he took her hand, pulling her relentlessly towards his car.

  “I can’t come with you!” she gasped, digging in her heels. He was like a bull racing towards red and she was the flag!

  “Of course you can.”

  “No. I’m in charge. I need to…” she looked around at the work site, but almost everyone was gone. All the supplies were packed up and there were only two people carrying pizza boxes to the dumpsters by the school cafeteria.

  “Everyone’s cleaned up and most of the crowd is gone. So yes, you can come with me.”

  He was right, which meant that she was scrambling for an excuse. “I have my own car.”

  “We’ll come back for it.”

  “I can’t just leave it here!” she yelped, grasping at straws.

  “Yes, you can. It will be fine. It’s in an elementary school parking lot. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I will!” she muttered mulishly.

  “Then I’ll just have to do something to distract you,” he said, as he opened the passenger door. But Melanie stood there, staring at him and shaking her head. “Melanie, get in the car.”

  “No. You’re scaring me and I’m not ready to make a decision about us tonight.”

  “Fine. I’ll just kiss you right here and get you to the point where you can make a decision about tonight.” He leaned in closer. “And I’ll keep kissing you until you’re no longer scared.”

  Melanie shook her head, her hands dropping to her sides, but her fingers curled into fists of frustration and…and desire. “Jackson, this is crazy. I didn’t mean to imply that we should have had sex two weeks ago.”

  He realized how nervous she was and moved closer. “Melanie, I promise everything will be okay. We’re not going to do anything that you don’t want to do.” He looked behind her and nodded to someone that must be walking towards the parking lot. “But I’d rather have this conversation in private rather than where the parents of your students can hear us.”

  She thought about that, glancing around. Sure enough, the last few parents were still cleaning up, but they glanced in their direction curiously. With a huff, she turned to glare up at Jackson again, accepting that he was right. At least about their public conversation. “Fine. But I’m taking my own car. I’ll drive to my place and shower. Then we can meet somewhere…”

  “Your place it is,” he said and slammed the passenger door closed. “I’ll follow you to your house.”

  And with that announcement, he led her over to her car and handed her into the driver’s seat.

  On the ten minute drive to her house, Melanie called herself twenty kinds of a fool. What in the world was she thinking? She couldn’t be with a man like Jackson! He would never fit in her life. He was too dynamic and she was a mouse. She liked staying home at night, watching murder mysteries on television, and was contemplating getting a cat for a companion. He probably went out to fabulously glamorous galas every night, talking with powerful, important people from around the world. The people who made the decisions that changed world history. She was a mouse and he was a lion of the world. And lions ate mice for breakfast!

  As soon as they arrived at her house, she jumped out of the car and stopped him, placing a hand on each arm to keep him from stepping up to her front door. “Jackson, let’s talk about this.”

  “We are definitely talking about this,” he agreed, moving up another step. Melanie backed up as well, keeping pace with him. “But we’re going to do it inside. Not out here on your front porch.” When she tried to stop him again, he simply picked her up and carried her to the porch, then braced his arms on opposite sides of her front door, looking down at her with a patient expression in his eyes. “Open the door, Melanie.”

  “No. We’re not going inside.”

  “Yes. We are.” He plucked her keys from her hand and unlocked the door himself. He wrapped an arm around her waist and carried her inside the door, kicking it shut behind them.

  “I’m going to shower.” And without another word, he pulled off his sweaty, dirty tee shirt and headed up the stairs.

  Melanie stared after him, stunned by the sight of all those muscles rippling along his back and arms. He was magnificent! He was so powerfully built, she couldn’t imagine wanting him to ever put a shirt on again. Wow! The man was hot!

  And he was in her shower!

  She stood there for a long moment, wondering what in the world she was going to do. The man was in her shower. He was rubbing her soap all over his amazing body. And yes, Melanie was actually jealous of the soap that got to feel his muscles. And…other things!

  “I’m not going there,” she whispered to herself, squeezing her eyes shut against the tempting picture. “I’m not picturing him naked. In my bathroom. And besides, he’s probably not naked. He’s probably….”

  “I’m definitely naked,” he announced, walking down the stairs with a towel wrapped around his waist. Very low around his waist. “Go take a shower and I’ll start dinner. You only ate half a piece of pizza. Not enough.” With that, he gave her a nudge toward the stairs. “I promise to stay down here while you shower. No peeking until we’ve talked.”

  Melanie’s jaw was very nearly on the floor. She couldn’t speak. He was in her house and he was naked. That towel was low enough that she could see all of his chest, his back, his arms, and his rock hard abs. Idly, she wondered how many sit-ups the man had to do to maintain those abs.

  “I’ll whip it off if you ask nicely,” he told her, grinning mischievously.

  Melanie’s eyes snapped upwards and she realized that she’d been staring. She scurried up the stairs, ignoring the soft, deep laughter behind her.

  Standing in the steamy bathroom, Melanie was stumped. Could she really get undressed with Jackson downstairs in her kitchen? But she was sweaty and filthy from digging all day. There wasn’t anything to do but take a shower.

  She was in and out in ten minutes, shampooing her hair and soaping her body as fast as she could. When she stepped out, she peeked around the doorway. Thankfully, she could hear Jackson downstairs, so she padded quickly into her bedroom and dried off, pulling on a pair of leggings and a big tee shirt.

  She didn’t bother to brush her wet hair, just pulled it all up on top of her head. Adding only a touch of mascara and lipstick for color, she stood at the top of the stairs and took several deep breaths. What the hell was she doing? She had a naked man cooking in her kitchen!

  “Come on down, Melanie. I’m not naked anymore, I had some extra clothes in the car.”

  Somehow, that was both good and bad. But she ventured down the stairs into the kitchen to find him wearing a clean pair of jeans and a tee shirt. No socks, which somehow seemed very intimate but also soothing in a strange way.

  “Why do you have clothes in your car?” she asked.

  “Because I travel a lot for work and keep a bag in the trunk for emergency trips when I don’t have time to run back to my place for clothes.” He turned and handed her a small glass of wine. “I won’t make the mistake of two weeks ago.”

  She was about to sip when he said that and she hesitated, not sure what he meant.

  He took the wine out of her hand, and set it on the countertop. “Let’s just get this out of the way before any more misunderstandings happen,” and he kissed her. Really kissed her! He wove his fingers into her hair, pulling her against him.

  Melanie leaned into him, surpris
ed by how much she’d wanted this kiss. When his mouth moved from hers to place soft, nuzzling kisses along her neck, she couldn’t stop the shudders that tore through her, intensifying every sensation.

  “Do you believe me now?” he asked harshly, his hands sliding out of her hair, down her back. When his hands gripped her hips, she gasped when he pulled her against him, feeling the hard evidence of his arousal against her stomach.

  “Yes!” she gasped. For a long moment, neither of them moved. They simply stared at each other, their breathing ragged as they absorbed the impact of the moment.

  No one had ever held her like this before. Then again, no one had ever taken her to this peak of need so quickly either. She was completely out of her element.

  Apparently, Jackson was not!

  “I’m going to make love to you tonight, Melanie. Any objections?”

  Did she want this? She thought about the heat pressing against her belly, his strong hands on her hips. Yes, she very much wanted to make love with Jackson. It might be the stupidest thing she’d ever wanted, and she’d probably regret her decision tomorrow, but at this moment, with a clear head and a clear objective, she wanted this.

  “Yes!” she whispered.

  That was all the response that Jackson needed. With a flourish, he lifted her into his arms, carrying her back up the stairs, kicking the door to her bedroom closed behind them. He laid her in the middle of the bed, then stood up and stripped his shirt off. Melanie watched, pushing up onto her elbows for a better view. Sure enough, all of those muscles she’d seen earlier, when he’d come downstairs after his brief shower, were still there.

  She wanted to touch him, to explore every line and angle on that chest. And when she pulled her eyes up to his, the heat she found there gave her confidence. So, instead of just leaning back and watching, wishing she could touch him, she pushed up onto her knees and reached for him. Tentatively at first, Melanie smoothed her fingers down his chest, tracing the ripples and muscles, exploring the indentations. She especially loved the dip right at the base of his sternum. “I don’t know why this is so fascinating, but I love this spot,” she whispered, lowering her head to press a kiss there. Tasting him with a flick of her tongue. When that wasn’t enough, Melanie moved to another spot, her mouth following her hands, touching and tasting every stop along that glorious chest. When she found his nipple, she was fascinated by her thumb moving back and forth over that spot. She heard him groan and touched her tongue to the place as well. Another groan. A shudder. This big, huge, strong man reacted that strongly to just her tongue on his nipple? Melanie explored more, moving over his chest, higher and higher. His shoulders rippled with muscles, but it still wasn’t enough. Higher, she teased his neck, his ears, pulling him lower so that she had better access.