by Kwan, Coleen
“I saw him winking at you at dinner like he was ten again.” Nana Alice smiled indulgently. “I haven’t seen him do that in years. Yes, you’ve changed him, Jacinta, for the better.”
“I have?”
“Oh, sure. For starters, he’s brought you here to Mariposa. He’s never brought any of his girlfriends to meet me before.” Her blue eyes grew even brighter. “But more importantly he reconciled with you after you two broke up.”
Jacinta blinked in confusion. “Why is that so special?”
“You know Lex. So intractable. Everything is black or white. I can just imagine how he reacted when the two of you separated. He would have vowed never to speak to you again, and his pride would have made him stick to that promise. But in the end he didn’t. He came back to you, and that tells me all I need to know. He cares for you. He cares so much he set aside his pride, and for him that’s no small thing. Yes, I can see you and Lex have a wonderful future together.”
Jacinta felt herself grow redder and redder. Nana Alice was in a fantasy world because of the deception she and Lex were pulling off. How could she continue to delude this gentle old woman who so obviously only wanted the best for her grandson?
“Well, actually...” The coffee sloshed in her cup as her hands shook.
“What is it, dear?”
I’m a fraud. Lex and I are both deceiving you. The words burned on the tip of her tongue. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to tell Lex’s grandmother the truth? After all, it wasn’t as if Lex suspected her of industrial espionage.
“Um, as a matter of fact, there’s something I need to tell you about Lex and me.”
But the next second, her throat closed up. What an idiot she was. Of course she couldn’t tell Nana Alice the truth because then she’d know that Lex didn’t trust his uncle or cousins, the family members closest to him, the ones he ought to be able to rely on. Nana Alice would be hurt, bewildered, upset. She couldn’t do that to her. A light sweat broke out across her shoulders as she grappled for a way to backtrack while Nana Alice looked on expectantly.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.” She set down her cup carefully, her hands still unsteady.
“Oh dear. This looks serious.” Nana Alice gave her a sweet smile. “I know we’ve only met today but I have a feeling you and I are going to be great friends. Whatever you have on your mind, please, you can tell me.”
“Uh, actually I promised Lex I wouldn’t tell anyone. Not yet anyway.”
“Ah...it’s a big secret between you and Lex.”
Jacinta hesitated, then nodded.
“And you can’t say anything now because it’s my party, is that it?”
Jacinta shifted about. “Something like that.”
“I think I know what it is.” Nana Alice chuckled as she tapped the side of her nose and winked theatrically. “Don’t worry,” she said in a loud stage whisper. “Your secret’s safe with me. I won’t breathe a word of it to anyone. Promise.”
Oh, nuts. What exactly did Nana Alice think the secret was? Jacinta leaned forward, but before she could frame the question, they were interrupted by a couple of guests.
“Michael, Sarah!” Nana Alice waved them to take a seat. “Have I introduced you to Jacinta yet?”
Jacinta sighed silently as her opportunity to quiz Nana Alice slipped away. She forced herself to smile at the relatives and make small talk, all the while stewing over her odd conversation with Nana Alice. After she’d spent an appropriate amount of time chatting, she made her excuses and escaped.
An irrational urge to see Lex nagged at her, but he wasn’t in any of the rooms she searched, and eventually she went onto the terrace. A few people were out there, but not Lex, and she’d had her fill of polite conversation.
She slipped into the shadows and followed a path that meandered around the corner of the house. Here it was dark and quiet. Nearby the bushes rustled as something scampered away. A raccoon, she told herself. Nothing to be nervous about. She walked on. The bushes became thicker. A tall shadow detached itself from the darkness and moved toward her, and a small squeak rose to her lips.
“Who...?”
“It’s me, Lex.” He stepped out of the shadows and into a dim pool of light from the waning moon.
Her heart leaped again. She put a hand to her throat, felt her pulse skittering.
“Sorry,” he said. “Did I scare you?”
“A little. What are you doing out here?”
The outline of his shoulders lifted. “Same thing you’re doing, I’d guess. Looking for peace and quiet.”
Peace and quiet? She was pretty sure she wouldn’t get any of that with Lex around to raise her heartbeat. “Do you want me to leave, then...?”
“No.” His hand curled around her wrist. “Let’s sit on that bench over there.”
He led her to a wooden bench beneath a darkened window. On this side of the house only a few lights were on. The shrubbery around them grew in a profuse screen, enclosing them in a pocket of fragrant night air. For a while they sat in the dark without talking. It should have been relaxing, but Jacinta’s mind was churning.
“I’ve been chatting with your grandmother,” she said.
“She likes you. A lot. She’s been telling me that all day every time I bump into her.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. She thinks you’re sweet, intelligent, and very pretty.” His fingers brushed against her bare arm resting between them. “I told her I agreed a hundred percent. I think you’re very pretty too.”
His feathery touch sent sparkles across her skin. She schooled her muscles not to react, and didn’t quite succeed.
“Lex, I feel bad about deceiving her like this. When we were talking earlier, I almost blurted out the truth.”
His fingers tightened around her wrist. He pulled her toward him. “What exactly did you say?” All trace of laziness vanished from his tone.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell her anything, but it’s eating me up.” His nearness stirred her. His thigh pressed up against hers, heavy and insistent. She inhaled the night air. “She’s your grandmother. I can see how much she means to you. Doesn’t she deserve to know?”
His body was coiled like a spring. “It’s her ninetieth birthday. She has all her family and friends here. You really think this is the time or place?”
“When, then?”
“Later. When the time is right.”
“That’s very vague.” She lowered her head. Lex’s fingers softened around her wrist and began to stroke her skin with gentle, absentminded movements, as if he wasn’t even aware what he was doing. She bit her lip. The exquisite pleasure was almost too much to bear. “I just think—”
“You know what your problem is?”
“Oh boy. I’m sure you’re just dying to tell me what that is—”
Her words cut off as he curled his free hand around the back of her neck. “Your problem is,” he said huskily, “you worry too much.”
He leaned in and claimed her mouth with unhurried, deliberate intent. He held her and kissed her as if he had every right to do so, as if he expected nothing less than her full reciprocation. And she gave that to him. All thoughts fell from her head as she responded instinctively to his kiss, softening her lips around his, parting them, allowing his tongue to enter, licking him back in return. He slid his fingers through her hair, unraveling her hairdo as well as her control as he bent over her mouth. Blood thrummed in her ears, a primeval beat that drummed out her qualms as she drank in his kiss, his fire pouring into her mouth. She traced her fingers over his face, relishing the feel of his square jaw, the cords in his neck, the crispness of his hair. How she loved the exhilaration of losing herself in mindless pleasure with him.
He angled her body into the corner of the bench, the better to run his hands over her body, all the while continuing his greedy kissing. He explored the contours of her dress, following the drift of the silk as it flowed over her breasts and stomach and down to her hips and legs.
Oh God, this is so good...but maybe she should stop him—
She inhaled sharply as his fingers eddied around her breast. How could she stop him now?
He took his time, leisurely stroking the underside of her breast, teasing her while she shuddered. He swirled his fingers about the tip until her nipple grew hard, before his hand closed possessively around her, his rough palm grazing her sensitized peak until she was light-headed and almost panting.
She was helpless and burning with need. Desperate to touch him, she pushed open his jacket, fumbled at the buttons of his shirt, undid a couple, and slid her hand inside the soft material. His skin seared her as she caressed his sculpted pecs. She scraped her fingernails over him, relishing the crispness of his chest hairs. The air between them pulsated. Logic and restraint receded as it always did when Lex came near her.
When he tipped her head up to crush her mouth with his, she welcomed it. His boldness always excited her, released her. He freed her aching breast to run his hand over her hips and then under her dress. She arched into him, eager for more. Memories of the way he’d fondled her in the changing room of the boutique made her breathe harder. Lex was such an expert at the slow tease. Was he going to make her ask for it again? He gripped her thigh with surprising force, his handhold urgent. Fervent need swelled between her legs.
He wanted her, and God did she want him too.
“Lex...” She heard herself moaning. How hoarse and desperate she sounded. Desperate for him, for his hands to possess her, his hot skin sliding against hers, his body moving inside her in perfect unison. How had she ever imagined she could stay aloof from Lex? She didn’t care if this was a bad mistake. She didn’t care if there’d be regrets afterward. She didn’t care about anything except one thing.
He lifted his head a few inches. His pumping breath matched hers. In the darkness his eyes burned. His hand held her thigh as if he’d never let go.
“Jacinta...” he muttered, his breath fanning her cheeks. “I’m only flesh and blood. If you don’t want me to ravish you right here and now, you’d better do something. Fast.”
His searing gaze devoured her whole. She knew he wasn’t thinking straight either. They were both captive to the same overpowering need.
She pushed herself upright and stood. He blinked as she caught his hand and tugged him to his feet.
“Come on.” Excitement thickened her voice. “If we’re going to do some ravishing, that bed upstairs is way more comfortable than this old bench.”
In reply his eyes flared. His fingers crushed hers as he followed her into the house.
Chapter Nine
Hand in hand, they stole into the house like a couple of teenagers. Music spilled out of the library, but they tiptoed unnoticed up the staircase and slipped into their room away from the rest of the house. The excitement simmering in Jacinta’s veins came to a fast boil as Lex pushed her up against the shut door and pressed the full length of his body against hers.
“This is long overdue.” His voice condensed with urgency as his fingers danced through her hair, rousing every sense. “I’ve been wanting to do this since...forever.”
She stroked the side of his jaw, reveling in the prickle of his light stubble. “You know what they say. Anticipation is half the pleasure.”
“Anticipation be damned.”
His head dipped, and the moon-speckled room spun about as he kissed her voraciously. The vortex whirled around her, sucking away her breath as she clung even tighter to him. Her hands took on a life of their own and roamed feverishly over his back, his shoulders, his waist, his hips. As the breeze tickled the curtains and crickets chirped outside, he became something more to her, not just a man, but the phantom lover who had stalked her nights for so long and was now reality.
He continued to kiss her as he pulled off his dinner jacket. She broke off the kiss to push his shirt away from his shoulders. Gauzy light gilded the curve of his mouth, the cords in his neck, the bulk of his arms. His masculine beauty made her throat constrict, and she almost whimpered before lavishing kisses across his broad chest, her greedy fingers catching in the fine, dark hair swirling down toward his stomach.
“Jacy.” He cupped her face and made her look at him. “What is it about you? You’ve always known how to drive me crazy.”
Just as he had always been able to whip her into a frenzy. She’d tried to keep him at arm’s length, but it had been a losing battle, and maybe she’d known that from the moment he stepped back into her life. Now, all she knew was that she would die if she didn’t get complete skin-on-skin contact soon.
“Stop talking before I change my mind,” she panted, reaching for the zip of his trousers.
“I love your enthusiasm.” Grinning, he caught her hands before she could unzip him and bent them behind her back so that she arched her spine, bringing her breasts hard up against his chest. “But I like being in charge.”
Her breasts tingled against him, and then a wave of delicious heat rushed over her as he ran his tongue from her earlobe all the way down to the base of her neck where her pulse kicked like a bronco. Still imprisoning her hands behind her back, he pushed down one strap of her gown and then the other. Her chest rose and fell as he pulled the dress down to her waist before stopping to admire the view. Using a forefinger, he traced the outline of her collarbone, her waist, and her breasts encased in their lacy strapless bra.
“Gorgeous,” he murmured, his face dark with passion, before he unclipped her bra and feasted his eyes on her full, naked breasts.
The look on his face made the blood pound in her thighs. She could never get enough of that ravenous lust blazing in his eyes, the fervor in his hands lifting and caressing her breasts. Her hands were free now to sweep across his bare chest and arms, recalling every muscle, every bone, every inch of skin, delighting in the renewed memories.
He gripped her dress and shucked it off her hips. A moment later his fingers coiled into the lace of her panties. She heard a ripping sound, and suddenly the panties were gone and she was naked except for her red high-heels.
She must have gasped, because he muttered in her ear, “Sorry, I couldn’t stop myself.”
“I can’t either.”
Reaching for his trousers, she unzipped him. He got rid of the pants, underwear, shoes, and socks with lightning speed. Suddenly he was standing inches away from her in all his naked glory, and she had trouble breathing. His body was perfectly proportioned, exquisitely muscled, blessed with grace and confidence. When her gaze fixed on his erection, she almost sputtered in awe. How could she have forgotten how well-endowed he was? She hadn’t forgotten; she’d pushed the memories away to protect herself. But now it was right in front of her, hard and thick. Her mouth watered, her fingers twitched. She gulped and wiped the back of her hand across her lips, sure she was drooling like an idiot.
“Um, you really ought to have a ‘danger’ sign on that,” she blurted out.
“Or ‘handle with care’?” He grinned. At his words, her hand involuntarily reached toward him, but he was quicker and trapped her by the wrist. “No, sweetheart. I want you to stand there nice and quiet first.”
She should have known Lex would always want the upper hand. He was so alpha in everything he did that naturally in the bedroom he liked to be in charge. And she had to admit here his bossiness was a huge turn-on for her.
So she made herself stand motionless, her heart rate kicking up in anticipation. A few times he trailed his fingers over her for a brief moment—across her shoulders, over her hip, down her spine—and each time pleasure jolted through her only to be cut short. Finally, he stopped behind her and lifted up her hair so he could nuzzle her earlobe and then the side of her throat. Delight trembled through her, and the tremble grew stronger as he pressed the length of his naked body up against hers. His heat washed over her skin and then scrambled her brain as he grasped her by the hips to press the length of his erection into the crevice of her ass, burning flesh against burning flesh. Oh my God,
it’s even bigger now. Is that even possible?
She was still hyperventilating when he began licking her. His tongue wandered over her shoulders, down her back, then over her buttocks. She bit off a squeal when his teeth nipped at her flesh. He continued licking the back of her thighs. When he reached the back of her knees, she almost keeled over. Who would have thought that was such an erogenous area? The feel of his tongue whisking against that soft, vulnerable part sent her half crazy, and she would have buckled at the knees if he hadn’t braced her.
“What are you doing to me?” she gasped, too far gone to care about blurting out her feelings.
“Something nice, I hope.” His tongue trailed up the inside of her thigh.
Oh, he has no idea. She didn’t know if she could stand this amount of teasing for much longer. She was drenched with need, more than ready for him, and he hadn’t even gotten around to her front.
“It’s very nice,” she breathed, her hands opening and closing in mounting frustration. “But I’m ready for something naughty.”
He let out a laugh thick with arousal. Holding her by the shoulders, he moved her forward until she was standing in front of the dresser, the mirror reflecting her with him standing behind her.
“I want to see you come.” He murmured into her hair. “I’m going to finish what we started in that changing room, and you’re not allowed to move.”
She stared, transfixed, as he drifted his hands over the front of her body, touching, teasing, flirting. Her nipples were erect, and she desperately wanted his rough grip on them, but he tormented her by playing with them for only a brief second before meandering away. She clenched her teeth in frustrated excitement. God, she wanted to grab his hand and show him what she needed, but she schooled herself to remain still. Lex knew exactly what she wanted, knew that drawing out her need would heighten the pleasure. He trailed his fingers around her belly, tracing the contours of her body down to the V of her legs where he toyed with her dark curls. She shifted her legs restlessly, waiting, waiting...
