by Susan Napier;Kathryn Ross;Kelly Hunter;Sandra Marton;Katherine Garbera;Margaret Mayo
“Sounds like my kind of story,” Jayne said.
Adam could scarcely pay attention. For the first time a woman was taking precedence over business. For the first time Jayne wasn’t just his girl Friday, but a desirable woman. For the first time a woman was making more than his pulse beat faster, because he realized that Jayne used the same mechanisms he did to hide from real life. The job.
Knowing how important her work was to her, he was determined to make sure their stay didn’t become more than a charade. Because he could never keep Jayne on staff if he took her to his bed. It would compromise the standards he’d set in the workplace and the code he’d followed since his father had run off with his secretary years before.
Adam listened to Ray and Didi tell a tale of forbidden love and piracy. He’d read about it already in the resort’s literature, which the Angelinis had forwarded to him.
La Perla Negra, a strand of precious black pearls, had been stolen from a Franciscan abbey by the devious pirate Antonio Mantegna. Along with the pearls, Antonio stole Maria Boviar, the only daughter of a wealthy nobleman. Maria and Antonio were rumored to have been lost at sea.
But the Angelinis at La Perla Negra Resort and Spa claimed that Antonio and his beloved Maria had made their way to the small Caribbean island that was now home to the resort. And that the strand of black pearls Antonio stole was hidden somewhere in the resort.
“Wow, do you offer tours of the resort to try to find the pearls?” Jayne asked.
“We don’t have anything formalized, but there is a treasure map in every room,” Ray explained.
“The real treasure isn’t the pearls, Jayne,” Didi said.
“What is it then?”
“The treasure is said to be whatever you desire the most.”
“Sounds like fun, doesn’t it, honeybun?” Jayne put her hand on Adam’s arm.
He looked into those pretty blue eyes of hers and saw mischief sparkling in them. Well, at least she hadn’t called him stud muffin. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes narrowed and she sucked in a breath. She wasn’t immune to his touch. A swift rush of triumph swamped him. He knew it would be better for both their sakes if she wasn’t aware of him as a man, but he was primitive enough to like it.
“It does, chère. We’ll have to check it out.”
“See that, babe? I told you we’d found the right couple,” Ray said.
Adam smiled to himself. He wasn’t sure why Ray thought they were the right couple, but it sounded as if he wasn’t going to have any problems closing this deal. Unless he counted Jayne and the desire she’d stirred to life inside him.
La Perla Negra rose out of the lush tropical foliage like a queen from a more elegant time. The main building was constructed in California Mission style. Spanish tile roofs gleamed red in the sunlight. Fourteen cottages dotted the landscape around the main resort. The suite they were given had a private balcony overlooking the ocean. One of the other walls was entirely made of glass and looked out over a cove that housed the resort’s marina. Jayne slipped off the strappy sandals she wasn’t used to wearing and let the thick carpet soothe her tired feet.
As soon as the door closed behind the bellboy, she glanced over at Adam. He’d removed his jacket and loosened his tie. His hair was disheveled from running his fingers through it. This was Adam in work mode. He might look sexy but he’d be all about business, except there wasn’t really any work to be done here.
She glanced wistfully at the beach. She wanted to change out of this dress into something comfortable and go walk on the sand. She’d never been to the Caribbean before. She hadn’t planned on international travel until she’d completed her visits to all fifty states.
But this was nice and she vowed to enjoy her time here. Even though she was working she planned to enjoy the island. Could she convince Adam to go with her?
And where was the treasure map? She really wanted to search for it.
The silence once they were alone was charged with awareness. She stared at the man she’d wanted to be close to for so long, and couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
“Well, honeybun, what do you think?” she asked.
Adam raised one eyebrow. “That you had better stop calling me that.”
“Don’t like it?”
“Listen, Miss Sassy, I’m still your boss.”
“Are you saying you’ll fire me if I call you that again?” she asked him, knowing Adam well enough to be certain he wouldn’t.
“Would that make you stop?”
“No,” she said.
He threw his head back and laughed. She felt pleased deep inside when she made him laugh. Adam didn’t laugh often enough. Most times he was focused so intently on work that he rarely had time for any sort of fun.
Their suite was set up with a sitting area and desk in the main room. She hadn’t explored further but there was a doorway that she assumed led to the bedroom. Probably the standard issue double beds were inside. And while she wasn’t looking forward to being that close to temptation at night, at least she’d have her own bed.
“What’s first on the agenda?”
“I want to make some notes to send back to the office. Did you bring your computer?” he asked.
Clearly, the beach was out of the question right now. And this wasn’t a real vacation. “No.”
“You can use mine. I have a few ideas. Do you mind if I dictate them to you?”
“No problem, boss. Let me get things set up.”
She crossed to his computer bag and started setting up his mobile office, assembling the laptop, printer and fax machine on the large mahogany desk. Adam arranged the chairs and grabbed some snacks from the minibar. It looked as if this was going to take a long time.
“Tell me about yourself, Jayne.”
“Tell you what?”
“Something that I can use when we have dinner with the Angelinis tonight.”
“Like what?”
“Something only your lover would know,” he said. He sprawled back in his chair, long legs stretched out in front of him.
“Why don’t you give me an example?” she asked, balking at the intimate question. Her lovers—and it was barely a plural term—knew little about her. Jayne had learned early on to hide her real thoughts and feelings. Men who said anything about her usually remembered her intelligence and her humor.
“I’m generous,” Adam said after a few minutes had passed. Jayne realized she wasn’t the only one with barriers. But then, that was one of the first things she’d noticed about him.
“I already knew that.”
“How?” he asked, arching one brow in a devilish way.
“I’m usually the facilitator of your generosity.”
“Facilitator?”
“That’s the résumé spin on having to do your shopping.”
He gave her one of those half grins of his that made her forget to breathe. She turned back to the computer and opened a file to distract herself. She labeled it Perla Negra.
“It’s your turn.”
Something only her lovers would know? She really didn’t want Adam to know anything about her that was intimate or personal. She had a feeling that only by keeping a wall firmly between them was she going to survive these weeks together.
“Well, I think that was cheating, but I’ll go with it. I like to be outside,” she said at last. It wasn’t something she’d shared with Ben, whom she’d been engaged to, but Adam was different.
“Why?” he asked.
“I like the feel of the wind in my hair and the sun on my face. We spend so much time in air-conditioned buildings, but I like the heat of New Orleans in the summer. The way it seeps into my skin…I don’t know, it makes me feel like I’m really part of the city.”
Adam watched her with narrowed eyes and she blinked and looked away. She’d said too much. God, what had she been thinking? “What about you, honeybun?”
“The heat means something to me, too,
” he said after a moment. “It reminds me of my childhood.”
“I don’t know much about that time of your life,” she said at last. Very little was known about the man. He was a legend in the hotel business because he’d carved his success with his bare hands, buying a rundown old hotel with the money he’d earned drag racing in small towns in the South. He’d turned that hotel into a first-class resort and then used that to launch his international company.
He shrugged and looked away. “I don’t like to rehash the past.”
“Then why do you like the heat?” she asked. Okay, she didn’t really need to know this, but if she had an action plan to make Adam fall for her, number one would be to figure out what made him tick.
“I didn’t say I liked it.”
She thought about it for a minute. No, he hadn’t. “Why is it important, then?”
“It reminds me of the vow I made when I was fourteen.”
“What vow?”
“One secret, chère. That was our deal.”
“Is that the way your domestic arrangements usually work?”
“Why should you care about that?”
“You started this. If I’m pretending to be your mistress I should know the score.”
“You’re right. We should discuss the details of our arrangement. You’re different than other women I’ve known.”
He was watching her so intently she felt heat spread down her arms and over her body. “Smaller chest?” she suggested.
He gave her one of those vague half smiles. “I don’t think so.”
Her eyes widened when she realized he was really seeing her. It was as if he were peeling away the layers of clothing and revealing the body she’d always been too shy to put on display. Not too shy, she thought. Too afraid to put on display. She’d never wanted to be like her mother, who used her feminine form to open doors for herself and make life easier.
“How do your lovers treat you?” he asked her at last.
“They treat me like a friend and not an object.”
“I haven’t objectified you.”
“Every item of clothing in that suitcase will.”
“You usually dress in frumpy clothes, Jayne. Why?”
“Hey, don’t turn this around to me. We’re talking about you.”
“I like the female form,” he said with a shrug.
“I don’t like mine,” she said after long moments had passed.
“Women,” he growled.
“What’s that mean?” she asked.
“Just that your mouth has been driving me crazy for months and you’re worried about how you look in a dress that fits you.”
Her mouth. It was an ordinary one, one more plain thing on an average body. “What’s so special about my mouth?”
“It’s made for kissing,” he said.
She swallowed. He leaned forward, closing the gap between them. His breath was minty and she closed her eyes for a minute, remembering that moment on the plane when she’d been surrounded by his body heat. Was he going to kiss her?
Did she want him to? Deliberately she pulled back. She needed to get this back on track, focusing on work. Adam was more complex than she’d dreamed and their time together so far was too…intimate. She had to make a decision. Did she want to become Adam’s lover or keep her job?
He became all-business after that, giving her a much needed escape from the intense physical awareness. And in the imaginary box in her head, next to the item that said Adam, she put a big exclamation point and the word danger.
Adam congratulated himself for getting things back on a business focus with Jayne. That moment on the plane had been an aberration, and that instant when he’d confessed that her mouth drove him crazy had been simply a brief bit of craziness. He knew how to handle himself around the women he worked with.
Hell, he’d had a hard time keeping his eyes off her mouth. She bit her lower lip when she typed, which he’d never noticed before. Or, at least, never perceived it to be an arousing habit. But having mentioned his obsession with her mouth, he didn’t intend to let the subject drop. He wanted to know what she tasted like, and wouldn’t be able to rest until he had kissed her.
Jayne followed him into the bedroom and stopped abruptly when she noticed the bed. It was a sumptuous king-size one with a duvet in shades of deep blue. The same color as her eyes.
The rest of the room was done in the same hues. There was an overstuffed chair and ottoman near the window. The sheer curtains stirred in the breeze and a ceiling fan circled lazily.
Immediately, Adam felt the tension he’d brought with him from New Orleans start to dissipate. This was a room that begged the people in it to stop and stay for a while. To cast off worries and relax. Forget about rules and regulations and indulge. Jayne paused beside him and he knew exactly how he wanted to indulge.
He’d carry her to that big bed and lay her in the center of it. Then slowly peel away all the layers of clothing covering her luscious body until she was totally bare. Then he’d start with that mouth of hers that he’d been dying forever to taste and explore.
“Well, maybe we should talk about the sleeping arrangements, honeybun,” Jayne said.
She sassed him when she was nervous, he realized. She dropped into that shy, quiet mouse mode when he was getting too close to the truth, but when he was scaring her she got mouthy.
But he knew that Jayne wasn’t really his mistress, even though she played the part of one. And he was her boss, so he needed to walk a fine line here. Not only for the court of law but with his own conscience, because he’d always believed people who couldn’t keep their mind on business shouldn’t be in the workplace.
“I’ll take the couch,” he said gruffly, then was surprised at the scratchy sound of his own voice. Because what he really wanted to do was take her on the couch or any other surface. Damn, he shouldn’t be this horny for this woman.
She moved past him into the room. She opened the French doors and stepped out onto the balcony. Adam followed her. A rainstorm was moving over the ocean and a cool breeze blew across his face.
He tipped his head back, imagining that the real world had disappeared and he and Jayne were the only ones who existed.
For a minute, he stood on the threshold studying her. She stared at the horizon and he knew she was searching for answers, just as he was. In his quest to keep business first he’d made a serious miscalculation, one he was going to regret for a long time.
He’d erred on the side of familiarity and factored in the control he took for granted, never considering Jayne outside the office, in this tropical paradise. She called to him just as Eve had beckoned Adam, and he knew that—like his namesake—he was going to follow her on the path of temptation. But he didn’t want to lose his Eden.
And Adam had no doubt that his Eden was the world he’d carefully created for himself. The world he’d learned to take for granted because it was intentionally devoid of any of the emotions that made life sticky. Emotions like lust, desire and temptation.
All the things that Jayne called from him without even realizing it. Not things, he thought, emotions. Those damn feelings he’d never been able to control, despite his experience watching his mother’s heart break when his dad had left them. Despite his own experience when he’d been twenty and trusted the wrong woman. Despite all the couples he’d seen cheat on a spouse with a co-worker. He still wanted Jayne.
Damn the consequences, his hormones urged. But his mind knew that a price always had to be paid, and he hadn’t decided yet if the price for a few weeks with Jayne was too high.
“Chère?”
She turned toward him and he saw something in her eyes he didn’t understand. The wind blew her hair across her face. One silky strand caught on her lips. She reached up to brush it aside and it blew back again.
“We’re going to have to share the bed. Housekeeping will notice if we don’t,” she said at last.
He’d thought the same thing. But he knew that i
f Jayne was in his bed he’d be unable to sleep. Unable to breathe. Unable to do anything but pull her into his arms and kiss that mouth of hers that had been tormenting him for so long.
That strand of hair brushed her face again. This time he caught her hand before she could tuck the lock away. With his free hand, he reached up and swept it back behind her ear, then smoothed his thumb over her lower lip.
“I…”
He tapped his finger against her mouth, stopping the words he wasn’t sure she could find. “I’ve put us in an untenable situation.”
“Why untenable?” she asked, tipping her head back.
He leaned a little closer, desperate to taste her. Her breath caressed his face with each exhalation.
Wisdom be damned. “I want you, Jayne.”
Her pupils dilated and her breathing speeded up. She watched him with an intensity that made him want to measure up in her eyes. But deep inside, he realized he knew little of what standards she used to measure men.
He doubted he’d be able to meet her needs. Even his mistresses, women he’d chosen because of their materialistic natures, had eventually needed emotions that he’d been unwilling to give them.
Jayne pulled out of his arms. “I’d better go make sure that fax went through.”
He should just let her leave. That would be the wise choice, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know why, but she called to something deep inside him that he’d thought he’d forgotten long ago. “Jayne?”
She pivoted to face him. Her eyes were wide and questioning. Her skin was flushed with arousal and he felt an answering pull in his groin. Yes, his body said, take her now and end all this superficial double-talk.
“Have I misread the signals here?” he asked at last.
She shook her head.
She turned away and he let her go, still unsure that he should let anything develop between them. Not only because of the vulnerability he’d glimpsed in Jayne’s eyes, but because of the protectiveness it called from him.
Jayne tugged at the protectiveness he had hidden beneath his armor of cynicism and he wasn’t going to let her glimpse it.
