by Kaylea Cross
After a week of falling comfortably into their newfound life together, Kelly happened to get up earlier than usual and entered the kitchen as he stood behind the center island in the kitchen, eating yogurt while he waited for his coffee to brew. He was still wearing his running shorts and t-shirt from his morning run and he knew he was probably still sweaty and rumpled.
Jack smiled at the unexpected sight of her. “Morning, Kel. What are you doing up so early?”
“I’m going job hunting today. I want to see if I can find something other than temp work before school starts.” Kelly took an orange from the refrigerator and started to peel it. She held the garbage can open with one foot and tossed the peels in then climbed onto one of the bar stools at the kitchen island.
Jack’s smile turned to a frown. “Kelly, I really will pay all of your expenses during law school. I’ll even give you spending money. You’re going to be working hard enough at school as it is. You should relax for the summer and then focus on studying when you start school. I’ll take care of everything else.”
He couldn’t believe Kelly wanted to work when she was being handed a free ride. She really had no idea the magnitude of the favor she was doing him by giving up a year of her life to save his ass. And it wasn’t the first time Jack realized she was nothing like the women he knew and dated in the past. Hell, they would have taken what he offered and started running up tabs for clothes, jewelry and trips to the spa…. Instead, here she was getting up early to look for work.
Kelly shrugged noncommittally. “I don’t really want to take advantage, Jack. We had a deal for law school, but you don’t need to do more than we bargained.”
“Kelly,” Jack tried to figure out if she was for real. “You’re doing me a huge favor with this deal. I don’t mind making sure that you don’t have to work while you’re in school. I mean it, Kelly. Let me do this for you.”
Jack knew how to read people and right now Kelly looked like she was scrambling for some way to change the subject. She glanced down at Jack’s leg at the small Celtic sun tattoo on his left calf. “You have a tattoo?” Kelly said with a distinct tone of surprise in her voice.
Jack laughed as he let her switch topics, at least for the time being. “Yup. A bunch of us got them together our senior year. Kind of stupid, but what did we know back then?”
He grinned almost sheepishly at her, and Kelly found that she was shocked by the real Jack Sutton once again. When they were in private, he was nothing like she had pictured before they got married. Sure, he was still sexy and hot, but there was also a very sweet side to the corporate CEO that she never expected.
“What about you?” Jack continued. “Any hidden tattoos I should know about? I mean, in case someone quizzes me on ‘all things Kelly.’”
His grin faded and his mouth fell open when Kelly casually hopped down off her bar stool and tugged the edge of her sweatpants down to reveal a tiny daisy over her right hip bone. It was no more than the size of a quarter and the strip of skin she was showing was only two inches wide but Jack was suddenly very grateful that he was standing behind the island. He stepped in closer to hide the effect her little reveal was having on him and managed to choke out some kind of response before Kelly went outside to grab the newspaper.
Jack watched Kelly leave the kitchen and realized that he couldn’t live with this woman for a year and treat her like a housemate. Jack wanted her and he usually got what he wanted. And where Kelly was concerned, Jack decided to make damn sure he convinced her that their temporary marriage should include all the benefits of marriage while it lasted.
* * *
After she grabbed the newspaper from the driveway, Kelly went inside and climbed the stairs to her room. Kelly was relieved she and Jack coexisted as housemates more than as husband and wife since she wasn’t looking for anything more. She only wished she would stop fantasizing about the man every time she saw him – and, for that matter, when he wasn’t around. She tried to ignore her physical reaction to him and figured it would go away eventually, but for now the attraction was powerful and it wasn’t easy to put aside.
When she had seen Jack in his running clothes in the kitchen, with his hair damp and sweaty from his morning run and those damp curls of hair edging their way to his collar, it was a lot more than she could handle. His t-shirt looked soft and comfortable like it had been washed hundreds of times and had well-worn, threadbare, see-through spots that gave a hint of the skin underneath it. It had still been slightly damp from his workout so it clung to his abs, showing off the cut of each muscle on his stomach.
She felt like an idiot the second she pulled down the waistband of her sweats to show him her tattoo. He probably thought she was trying to throw herself at him in some lame attempt to flirt.
Kelly wasn’t an idiot. She knew that Jack dated super models and had even dated a famous actress a few years earlier. Although Kelly was confident about her looks and knew she was attractive, she wasn’t that attractive. She saw herself as girl-next-door attractive – attractive in a sweet way, not in a hot, sexy, leggy-blond-model sort of way, so Jack wouldn’t be interested in her. Besides, Kelly reminded herself again, she didn’t want a relationship.
As she tried to forget the image of Jack and the way his shirt clung to his abs, Kelly opened the newspaper and began to scan the want ads for something to keep her busy over the summer.
Chapter Thirteen
The following Monday, Jack sat in his office getting ready for a meeting when his Aunt Mabry showed up unannounced. His new temp secretary showed her in and Jack forced a smile to his face as he greeted her.
“To what do I owe the pleasure, Aunt Mabry?” There was a time when Jack would have said those words and meant them. He used to love his Aunt Mabry but something changed her over recent years and he couldn’t connect with her anymore. She had become obsessed with seeing her only son, Chad, as CEO of the company. Jack knew the intent was to hurt him but he and Chad had agreed not to let her come between them.
“Jack, darling…” She breezed into the room. “I’ve decided to redo my kitchen and the downstairs floor of my townhouse. Chad has a friend staying with him right now so I need to stay at your place for a few weeks until my kitchen is completed.”
Jack had to work to keep from rolling his eyes. He knew perfectly well what Aunt Mabry was doing. She wanted to spy on him and Kelly. There was no way she’d be redoing her kitchen if she didn’t want an excuse to stay with him. And she would normally stay at the Omni downtown or at a spa by the water instead of with him. She had never stayed at his house before, not for a day in his life, even when his mother was alive.
She was spying. He was sure of it. His mind filtered through the excuses he could give her but when he quickly weighed all of the factors, he decided it was best to let her move in for a bit to get her off their backs. Besides, if his aunt were around he and Kelly would have to pretend to be husband and wife a lot more often, and he liked pretending that where Kelly was concerned.
With unexpected enthusiasm, Jack smiled and said, “Sure thing, Aunt Mabry. You’re welcome anytime. When do you need to move in?”
“Right now,” she said with a Cheshire Cat grin. “I’ll head over there right now.”
With that announcement, she walked out of the office as breezily as she had waltzed in. Jack stared after her for a minute when suddenly it dawned on him. Kelly and he didn’t share a room. Oh, hell. His aunt wouldn’t buy the happily-ever-after marriage if she found out he and Kelly didn’t share a room. He grabbed the phone to try to catch Kelly or Mrs. Poole in time to warn them.
* * *
Kelly whipped through the house and up the stairs, calling out for Mrs. Poole as she ran. “Mrs. Poole, come quickly! We have to move. We have to move.” Kelly continued yelling as she ran into her room and grabbed drawers full of clothes and piled hangers with slacks and dresses on them.
Mrs. Poole came up the stairs with a puzzled look on her face. “What on earth are you hollering about, Kelly?�
� she said as she tried to enter the room. She had to jump out of the way as Kelly made a mad dash to Jack’s room.
“We have to move all of my stuff into Jack’s room,” Kelly said, out of breath from her packing and running. “Jack’s Aunt Mabry is on her way here and she’s staying with us for a couple of weeks,” Kelly blurted out as she ran back down the hall to gather more of her belongings.
“Oh Lord,” Mrs. Poole rolled her eyes and followed after Kelly. She quickly grabbed clothes and toiletries and rushed down the hall to Jack’s room. She and Kelly repeated the trip half a dozen more times as they transferred everything and set it into place. Mrs. Poole cleared out half of Jack’s dresser and closet and made room for Kelly’s things while Kelly folded and put her clothing away to make it appear as though the two had been living in holy matrimony since day one.
Kelly put away the last of her things and took a deep breath. She turned to survey the masculine-looking room. There was a dark mahogany dresser and matching armoire against the deep green walls. Large windows looked out on the same beautiful waterfront view that her guest room windows had shared. She stopped suddenly and held her breath when her eyes landed on the king-sized bed in the center. Until that moment, it hadn’t occurred to her that she and Jack would now have to share a bed. Kelly’s smile fell away as she realized that keeping her attraction hidden from Jack just became a lot more difficult.
Chapter Fourteen
Kelly stood with Mrs. Poole and Aunt Mabry in the kitchen when Jack came in from work that evening. Kelly had poured a glass of wine for herself and Aunt Mabry and turned to ask Mrs. Poole if she wanted one. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aunt Mabry’s eyebrows shoot up but chose to ignore the look. Apparently, in Aunt Mabry’s world, Mrs. Poole was paid help, and one didn’t ask the help if they want a glass of wine. Wait until she sees Mrs. Poole sit down to dinner with us. Kelly smiled.
Jack walked into the room and said ‘hello’ to Mrs. Poole and planted a peck on Aunt Mabry’s cheek before turning to take Kelly into his arms. “Hello, beautiful,” he said before he ducked his head to kiss her. It was a warm, gentle kiss but Kelly could feel the arousal bubbling just under the surface and knew that if either one of them moved to deepen the kiss, the passion would rise to the surface quickly. Damn, I’m going to make a fool of myself if he keeps kissing me like this!
As Mrs. Poole set dinner out on the table in the dining room, Jack asked his aunt how she was settling in and made small talk about things at the office. But Kelly’s attention was only half on the conversation. Her mind and her eyes kept wandering to Jack and the strong cut of his jaw, the short growth of stubble that had grown over the course of the day. She didn’t think she would ever get tired of watching him.
Kelly raised her fingers to touch her lips where Jack’s lips had been a moment before and marveled that she could still feel them burning in response to his touch. When Jack was near, her whole body seemed to vibrate as if pulled by some invisible force.
Kelly was drawn out of her thoughts as they sat down to eat and she took note of the raised eyebrow on Aunt Mabry’s face when Mrs. Poole joined them for dinner. Kelly didn’t care. She wasn’t used to being waited on and she enjoyed Mrs. Poole’s company so Kelly was going to make sure Aunt Mabry didn’t have a chance to change the way things happened around the house. She turned to Mrs. Poole and included her in the conversation. The two were chatting about new recipes to try when Aunt Mabry cut in.
“I was thinking that we should host a party to celebrate your marriage. The reception you never got to have. Something out on the lawn by the water would be lovely. A summer cocktail party, perhaps?”
“That’s a great idea,” Jack said, surprising Kelly. “How about three weeks from now? Is that enough time to plan things, Mrs. Poole?”
Jack didn’t know why Aunt Mabry made the suggestion or what she had up her sleeve but he figured that the more they went along with Aunt Mabry, the faster they’d convince her to back off and leave them alone.
“Sure,” Mrs. Poole said. “We’ll need to get invitations out ASAP, but if Kelly can work on that, I can coordinate with caterers and take care of renting tents and lighting. An early evening party would be lovely, with tents and lights all over the lawn as the evening comes on. Kelly and I can do a tasting with the caterers this week and decide on a menu.” Mrs. Poole quickly rattled off details while Jack turned to Kelly.
“This will give you an excuse to go shopping and buy yourself some new things. You’ll need a cocktail dress. You have my card?” Jack turned to his aunt and continued.
“Aunt Mabry, maybe you can take Kelly into New York this week and help her find a dress?” Jack wasn’t really sure why he pushed for Kelly to go shopping with his aunt. He knew Kelly wouldn’t use his credit card on her own and he was beginning to like buying her things and seeing a smile on her face. With his aunt watching, he knew Kelly wouldn’t have any choice but to use his card and buy herself something nice.
* * *
After dinner, Aunt Mabry, Kelly, and Jack decided to watch a movie. Jack pulled Kelly down next to him and wrapped his arms around her waist snuggling her into him. She tensed for a moment but as the movie began, Jack felt her relax and she eventually even rested her head back on his shoulders.
Jack was struck by the irony of his fake life with Kelly. No woman had ever come close to inspiring the kind of feelings in Jack that his father and mother had shared. With, Kelly, he found that he really liked his fake life with her and wanted more of it. It was just his luck that the first time he was feeling anything more than base sexual attraction was with a woman he was paying to be his temporary wife.
Jack had known it would feel good to have Kelly in his arms but he had no idea how good. He was actually glad to have his aunt in the house; to have an excuse to wrap himself around Kelly, to kiss her and touch her as he would if she were really his wife. The smell of her shampoo was enticing; a mixture of Jasmine and something else he couldn’t identify. It made him think of summer nights and he found himself wanting to bury his head in the scent of her and nuzzle her neck. With her curvy figure fitting perfectly against him, he had difficulty focusing on the movie. Instead, Jack’s mind was assaulted with images of her in his bed, entwined in his arms, under him, over him, looking down from on top of him with her beautiful curly waves of hair framing her face above him. He felt like he was under attack and he seemed to be defenseless against this woman.
Jack could feel Kelly’s breathing speed up and knew she was feeling the same things he was. He stifled a laugh when Kelly hopped off the couch half an hour into the movie and yawned.
“I’m more tired than I thought I was. I think I’ll head up to bed early. Good night, Aunt Mabry. Good night, Jack,” Kelly said as she slipped from the room.
“Good night, sweetheart,” Jack barely managed to get out before she was gone.
* * *
Kelly sprinted up the stairs and tried to clear her head of the images of her and Jack together, wrapped around each other on the couch, but when she slid in between the sheets after getting ready for bed, she groaned. She had forgotten that she was getting into Jack’s bed and now she was once again surrounded by his scent.
As Kelly had sank into Jack’s arms when they sat on the couch watching the movie, she fought to remind herself that this wasn’t real, that Jack was only putting on a show for his aunt. The hard part was dealing with how incredibly aroused she was as she leaned against Jack’s hard chest. She had smelled his aftershave, a slightly spicy but clean smell that wasn’t overpowering. Kelly’s brain began to feel like scrambled eggs when Jack absentmindedly started to rub his thumb in small circles on her arm. She began to wonder what his hands would feel like on the rest of her body – what those small circles would do if applied to the right place. Kelly had a feeling Jack would know just where to touch her, just how to touch her, to make her melt. If she didn’t do something about this soon, she’d be crawling all over him.
; Kelly had fought to focus on the movie and ignore his scent, his presence, the hard feel of his strong body underneath her. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t stop the flood of arousal between her legs, the tingling need in her breasts as she ached to feel his hands on her without her clothes on and without someone else in the room. In the end, she had to flee the room or risk letting him know what a fool she was, how attracted to him she was. She didn’t want Jack to know that she didn’t have it in her to fake it around his aunt, or that she was falling for real and didn’t know how much longer she could control herself.
Chapter Fifteen
The morning after her first night in Jack’s bed, Kelly woke to find that Jack had already left their bed. She had heard him come into the room the night before and held her breath as she listened to him get ready for bed. She feigned sleep as he brushed his teeth and slipped out of his clothes. When he slipped between the sheets in nothing but boxer shorts, Kelly thought she would burst but she focused on keeping her breath steady so she wouldn’t have to face Jack.
With a sigh, Kelly slipped from the bed and showered and dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast. She found Jack, Aunt Mabry, and Mrs. Poole in the kitchen.
“Good morning, dear,” Mrs. Poole called out cheerfully, making Kelly smile. Jack and Aunt Mabry looked up and Kelly wished for a moment that the smile that came to Jack’s face as he looked at her was genuine and not for Aunt Mabry’s sake.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Jack said as Kelly joined them at the breakfast nook with her coffee.
“Morning,” Kelly smiled shyly at Jack across the table. She smiled and nodded at Mrs. Poole as she put a plate of eggs and toast in front of Kelly.
Kelly’s eyes dropped to the stack of newspapers Jack read every morning. There was one from their local area, two from New York, and several European papers. One of the New York newspapers sat on the table with the word “No Ransom Calls, Families Hopeless” above a string of photos showing five smiling and seemingly carefree women. Kelly pulled the paper closer to read the article.
