0373134266 (R)

by MELANIE MILBURNE

One of the models came over with a glass of champagne in one hand. ‘Hi, Jake, remember me? We met at a company party last year.’

  Jake gave one of his charming smiles. ‘Sure I do. How are you?’

  The young woman gave a little pout. ‘I was fine until I heard you got yourself engaged. No one saw that coming.’

  Jaz was getting a little tired of being ignored like she was a piece of furniture. ‘Hi,’ she said holding out her hand to the model. ‘I’m Jake’s fiancée, Jasmine Connolly. And you are...?’

  ‘Saskiaa with two “a”s,’ the girl said with a smile that lasted only as long as her handshake. ‘When’s the big day?’

  ‘December,’ Jaz said. ‘Boxing Day, actually.’ Why shouldn’t she make Jake squirm a bit while she had the chance? ‘We’re hoping for a white wedding in every sense of the word.’

  Jake waited until the model had moved on before he leaned down close to Jaz’s ear. ‘Boxing Day?’

  Jaz looked up at him with a winsome smile. ‘I quite fancy the idea of a Christmas wedding. The family will already be gathered so it would be awfully convenient for everyone, don’t you think?’

  He smiled but it got only as far as his mouth, and that was probably only for the benefit of others who were looking at them. ‘Don’t overplay it,’ he said in an undertone only she could hear.

  Jaz kept her smile in place. ‘You didn’t remember that girl, did you?’

  A frown pulled at his brow. ‘Why’s that an issue for you?’

  ‘It’s not,’ she said. ‘I don’t expect you even ask their name before you sleep with them.’

  ‘I ask their permission, which is far more important in my opinion.’

  Jaz held his look for as long as she dared. ‘I know it comes as naturally to you as breathing, but I would greatly appreciate it if you wouldn’t flirt with any of the women, in particular the models. Half of them look as if they should still be in school.’

  His mouth curved upward in a sardonic smile. ‘My parents would be enormously proud of you. You’re doing a perfect jealous fiancée impersonation.’

  She snatched a glass of champagne off a passing waiter for something to do with her hands. ‘Don’t screw this up for me, Jake,’ she said through tight lips in case anyone nearby could lip-read. ‘I need to secure the booking for next year’s expo. Once that’s in the bag, you can go back to your “single and loving it” life.’

  He trailed a lazy fingertip down her arm from the top of her bare shoulder to her wrist. ‘Just wait until I get you alone.’

  Jaz shivered as his eyes challenged hers in a sexy duel. His touch was like a match to her tinderbox senses. Every nerve was screaming for more. ‘Now who’s overplaying it?’

  He slipped a hand to the nape of her neck and drew her closer, bending down to press a lingering kiss on her lips. Even though Jaz’s eyes were closed in bliss she could see the bright flashes of cameras going off around them. After a moment he eased back and winked at her devilishly. ‘Did I tell you how gorgeous you look tonight?’

  Jaz knew he was probably only saying it for the benefit of others but a part of her wanted to believe it was true. She placed a hand on the lapel of his suit jacket, smoothing away an imaginary fleck of lint. ‘You’ve scrubbed up pretty well yourself,’ she said. ‘Even without a tie.’

  He screwed up his face. ‘I hate the things. They always feel like they’re choking me.’

  Typical Jake. Hating anything that confined or restrained him. ‘I suppose that’s why you got all those detentions for breaking the uniform code at that posh school you went to?’

  He grinned. ‘I still hold the record for the most detentions in one term. Apparently I’m considered a bit of a legend.’

  Jaz shook her head at him, following it up with a roll of her eyes. ‘Come on.’ She looped her arm through his. ‘I want to have a look at the displays.’

  * * *

  Oh, joy, Jake thought as Jaz led him to where the wedding finery was displayed in one of the staterooms. The sight of all those meringue-like wedding gowns and voluminous veils was enough to make him break out in hives. Or maybe it was the flowers. There were arrangements of every size and shape: centrepieces, towers of flowers, bouquets, bunches and buttonholes. There were displays of food, wine and French champagne, a honeymoon destination stand and a bespoke jeweller in situ. There were a few men there partnering their fiancées or girlfriends but they were pretty thin on the ground. Jake understood Jaz wanted to secure her signing for next year but he couldn’t help feeling she had insisted he accompany her as a punishment.

  But that was one of the things he secretly admired in her. She was feisty and stood her ground with him. She was the only woman he knew who didn’t simper at him or adapt to suit him. He felt the electric buzz of her will tussling with his every time she locked gazes with him. For years they had done their little stand-off thing. What would they do once they parted company? Would they go back to their old ways or find a new way of relating? With two family weddings coming up, it would be tasteless to be at loggerheads. There was enough of that going around with his parents’ carry-on. The dignified thing would be to be mature and civil about it and be friends.

  But would he ever be able to look at her as a friend without thinking of how she came apart in his arms? How it felt when he held her close? How her mouth tasted of heat, passion and sweetness mixed in a combustible cocktail that made his senses whirl out of control? Would he ever be able to stand beside her and not want to pull her into his arms?

  He’d slept with a lot of women but none of them had had that effect on him. He barely gave his lovers another thought once he moved on to the next. Was it because Jaz was someone who had always been on the periphery of his life? Sometimes even at the centre, at the very heart, of his family?

  Had that familiarity added something to their love-making?

  It wasn’t just physical sex with her. There were feelings there...feelings he couldn’t describe. He cared about her. But then everyone in his family cared about her.

  Every time he looked at her he felt the stirring in his groin. He couldn’t look at her mouth without thinking of how it felt fused to his own. How her tongue felt as it played with his, how her body felt as she pushed herself, as if she wanted to crawl into his skin and never leave. Even now with her arm looped through his he could feel the brush of her beautiful body against his side. He couldn’t wait to get her back to their suite and get her naked.

  They walked past a photographer’s stand but then Jaz suddenly swivelled and, pulling Jake by the hand, led him back to where the photographer had set up a romantic set with love-hearts, red roses and a velvet-covered sofa in the shape of a pair of lips. ‘Can you take our picture?’ she asked the photographer.

  ‘Sure,’ the photographer said. ‘Just sit together on the sofa there for a sec while I frame the shot.’

  Jake looked down at Jaz sitting snuggled up by his side as if butter wouldn’t melt in her hot little mouth. ‘I’m keeping a score,’ he said in an undertone. ‘Just thought I’d put that out there.’

  She gave him a sly smile. ‘So am I.’

  Jaz thought she might have overdone it with the champagne, or maybe it was being with Jake all evening. Being with him made her tipsy, giddy with excitement. He never left her side; his arm was either around her waist or he held hands with her as she worked the room. It was a torturously slow form of foreplay. Every look, every touch, every brush of his body against hers was a prelude to what was to come. She could see the intention in his dark-blue gaze. It was blatantly, spine-tinglingy sexual. It made every inch of her flesh shiver behind the shield of her clothes, every cell of her body contracting in feverish anticipation.

  ‘Time for bed?’ Jake said, his fingers warm and firm around hers.

  Jaz felt something in her belly slip sideways. When he touched her like that she couldn’t stop thinking of where else he was going to touch her when he got her alone. Her entire body tingled in anticipation. Even the hairs
on the nape of her neck shivered at the roots. ‘I wonder if we’ll win the “most loved-up couple” photo competition?’ she said. ‘Or the all-expenses-paid wedding and honeymoon package? That would be awesome.’

  His eyes sent her a teasing warning. ‘Don’t push it, baby girl.’

  She laughed as he led her to the lift. ‘I can’t remember a time when I’ve enjoyed myself more. You should have seen your face when that florist threw you that bouquet. You looked like you’d caught a detonated bomb.’

  The lift doors sprang open and Jake pulled her in, barely waiting long enough for the doors to close to bring his mouth down to hers in a scorching kiss. Jaz linked her arms around his neck, pressing as close to him as she could to feel the hardened length of him against her tingling pelvis. He put a hand on one of her thighs and hooked it over his hip, bringing her into closer contact with the heat and potency of him. She could see out of the corner of her eye their reflection in the mirrored walls. It was shockingly arousing to see the way their bodies strained to be together, the flush on both of their faces as desire rode hard and fast in their blood.

  Jake put his hand on the stop button and the lift came to a halt. Jaz looked at the erotic intent in his eyes and a wave of lust coursed through her so forcefully she thought she would come on the spot. He nudged her knickers to one side while she unzipped his trousers with fingers that shook with excitement. How he got a condom on so quickly was a testament to how adept he was at sex, she thought. He entered her with a slick, deep thrust that made her head bang against the wall of the elevator. He checked himself at her gasp, asking, ‘Are you okay?’

  Jaz was almost beyond speech, her breath coming out in fractured, pleading bursts. ‘Yes...oh, yes... Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.’

  He started moving again, each thrust making her wild with need. He put one of his hands on the wall beside her head to anchor himself as he drove into her with a frantic urgency that made the blood spin, sizzle and sing in her veins. He brought his hand down between their joined bodies, his fingers expertly caressing her until her senses exploded. She clung to him as the storm broke in her, through her, over her.

  He followed close behind, three or four hard pumps; a couple of deep, primal grunts and it was over.

  Jaz wriggled her knickers back in place and smoothed her dress down as the lift continued up to their floor. ‘I reckon you must hold some sort of record for getting a condom on,’ she said into the silence. ‘It’s like a sleight of hand thing. Amazing.’

  He gave her a glinting look as he zipped his trousers. ‘Always pays to be prepared.’

  A shiver danced its way down her spine as he escorted her out of the lift to their suite, his hand resting in the small of her back. Once they were inside their suite he closed the door and pulled her to him until she was in the circle of his arms. ‘Happy with how tonight went?’ he said.

  Was he talking about her business or their love-making? ‘I’ve got a meeting with the expo organisers next week,’ Jaz said. ‘It’s an exciting opportunity. I’m hoping it will lead to bigger events, maybe even internationally.’

  He smoothed a wisp of her hair back off her face. ‘Why did you choose to design wedding gear? Why not evening, or fashion in general?’

  Jaz slipped out of his hold, feeling a lecture coming on. Of course he would think weddings were a waste of time and money. He was a playboy. A wedding was the last thing on earth that would interest him. But to her they signified everything she had dreamed about as a child. Her parents hadn’t married. They hadn’t even made a formal commitment to each other. They had just hooked up one night and look how that had turned out. She had been passed between them like a parcel no one wanted until finally her mother had dumped her with her dad without even saying goodbye or ‘see you later’.

  ‘Jaz?’

  She turned to look at him, her mouth set. ‘Do you know what it’s like to grow up without a sense of family? To have to borrow someone else’s family in order to feel normal?’

  Jake frowned. ‘I’m not sure what that has to do with your choice of career but—’

  ‘It has everything to do with it,’ Jaz said. ‘For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be normal. To have normal parents, not one who’s off her face most of the time and the other who hadn’t wanted a kid in the first place. I didn’t have anything from either of my parents that made me feel a part of a unit. I was a mistake, an accident, an inconvenience.’ She folded her arms and continued. ‘But when a couple marries, it’s different. It’s a public declaration of love and commitment and mostly—not always, but mostly—one expressing a desire to have children.’

  Jaz looked at him as the silence swelled. Had she said too much? Revealed too much? What did it matter? She was tired of him criticising her choices. ‘A wedding dress is something most brides keep for the rest of their lives,’ she said. ‘It can be passed down from a mother to a daughter. General fashion isn’t the same. It’s seasonal, transient. Some pieces might be passed on but they don’t have the emotional resonance a wedding dress has. That’s why I design wedding gowns. Every woman deserves to be a princess for a day. I like being able to make that wish come true.’ Even if I can’t make it come true for myself.

  Jake gave a slow nod. ‘Sounds reasonable.’

  ‘But you think I’m crazy.’

  ‘I didn’t say that.’

  Jaz went to the drinks fridge and poured a glass of mineral water, taking a sip before she turned to face him again. He was looking at her with a contemplative look on his face, his brows drawn together, his mouth set in a serious line, his gaze centred on hers. ‘I’m sorry if tonight’s been absolute torture for you but this weekend’s really important to me.’

  His mouth tilted in a wry smile. ‘You’re not one bit sorry. You’ve enjoyed every minute, watching me squirm down there.’

  Jaz smiled back. ‘It was rather fun, I have to admit. I can’t wait to see what press photos show up. I wonder if they got the one of you with the bouquet. Or maybe I should text it or post it online?’

  He closed the distance between them and pulled her down to the bed in a tangle of limbs. ‘Cheeky minx,’ he said, eyes twinkling with amusement.

  Jaz stroked the sexy stubble on his face, her belly fluttering with excitement as his hard body pressed against hers. His hooded gaze went to her mouth, his thumb coming up to brush over her lower lip until it tingled, as if teased by electrodes. ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘You mean you can’t tell?’ he said with a wicked sparkle in his eyes.

  She snatched in a breath as his body moved against her, triggering a tide of want that flooded her body, pooling hotly in her core. ‘When you hook up with someone, how many times do you have sex with them in one night?’

  A frown creased his forehead. ‘Why do you want to know?’

  Jaz traced the trench of his frown with her finger. ‘Just wondering.’

  He caught her hand and pinned it on the bed beside her head, searching her gaze for a pulsing moment. ‘Wondering what?’

  ‘If you’ve done it more with me than with anyone else.’

  ‘And if I have?’

  She looked at his mouth. ‘Is it...different...? With me, I mean?’

  He nudged up her chin with a blunt fingertip, locking his gaze with hers. ‘Different in what way?’

  Jaz wasn’t sure why she was fishing so hard for compliments. He had made it clear how long their fling was going to last. Just because he had made love to her several times tonight didn’t mean anything other than he had a high sex drive. He was, after all, a man in his sexual prime. But their love-making was so different from anything she had experienced with other partners. It was more exciting, more satisfying, more addictive, which was a problem because she couldn’t afford to get too used to having him. ‘I don’t know...more intense?’

  He slid his hand along the side of her face to splay his fingers through her hair. It was an achingly tender hold that made Jaz’s heart squeeze as if
someone had crushed it in a vice. Could it be possible he was coming to care for her? Really care for her? Was that why their intimacy was so satisfying? Did their physical connection reflect a much deeper one that had been simmering in the background for years?

  But she didn’t love him.

  Not the slavish way she had as a teenager. She was an adult now. Her feelings for him were mature and sensible. She knew his faults and limitations. She didn’t whitewash his personality to make him out to be anything he was not. She was too sensible to hanker after a future with him because he wasn’t the future type. He was the ‘for now’ type.

  Falling in love with Jake Ravensdale once had been bad enough. To do it twice would be emotional suicide.

  ‘It is different,’ Jake said. ‘But that doesn’t mean I want it to continue longer than we agreed.’

  ‘I’m not asking for an extension,’ Jaz said. ‘I can’t afford to waste my time having a long-term fling with someone who doesn’t want the same things I want. I want to get on with my life and find my soul mate. I want to start a family before I’m thirty.’

  His frown hadn’t quite gone away but now it was deeper than ever. ‘You shouldn’t rush into your next relationship. Take your time getting to know them. And what’s the big rush on having kids? You’re only twenty-three. You’ve got heaps of time.’

  ‘I don’t want to miss out on having kids,’ Jaz said. ‘I know so many women who’ve left it too late or circumstances have worked against them. I can’t imagine not having a family. It’s what I’ve wanted since I was a little girl.’

  He moved away from her and got off the bed, scraping a hand through his hair before dropping it back by his side.

  Jaz chewed at her lower lip. ‘Did I just kill the mood?’

  He turned around with a smile that didn’t involve his eyes. ‘It’s been a long day. I’m going to have a shower and hit the sack. Don’t wait up.’

  * * *

  When Jake came out of the bathroom after his shower half an hour later, Jaz wasn’t in the bed. In fact, she wasn’t in the suite. He frowned as he searched the room, even going so far as to check under the bed. Where the hell was she? He glanced at her bag on the luggage rack. She obviously hadn’t checked out of the hotel as her things were still here. Although, come to think of it, he wouldn’t put it past her to flounce off, leaving him to pack her things. What was she up to? Their conversation earlier had cut a little close to the bone...for him, that was. Why did she have to carry on about marriage and kids all the time? She was a baby herself. Most twenty-three-year-olds were still out partying and having a good time.