by Lyric James
“Ummm…rich,” he said and nibbled a line from one side of her neck to the other. His mouth found the underside of her jaw. “God, you taste sweet.” Then the corner of her lips. “Your flavor is hard to define, but I know I want more of it.” And he delved his tongue inside her mouth. He took. He explored. It was passionate, delicious. Her nipples hardened against the thin material of her dress and knew if anyone looked down, they would know she was aroused.
And she was. Thoroughly, erotically aroused. His erection pulsed against her, and God help her she wanted him to strip off her clothing and take her right then and there. Her hands found the lapels of his jacket and pulled and pulled until she heard the soft swish of the material as it hit the floor.
Her teeth found the center of his throat and nipped before she dipped lower and found the first button and then the next. She raised her leg and wrapped her ankle around his calf, pulling him closer.
Rhys caressed her inner thigh and found the ridge of her panties. She almost cried out when one digit slipped under the elastic and grazed her lips. Her hips jerked forward in an attempt to suck his finger inside her pussy. But he only played with her, teased her, gliding his finger over her lips, up to gently pinch her clit and make her moan, make her beg.
When he pulled back, she gasped. “What…why did you stop?”
He had a hungry look on his face, and his pupils had turned a dark, charcoal gray, reminding her of a storm cloud brewing over the horizon. Then she heard laughing voices, the sound of soft heeled shoes and clacking heals.
Oh my God.
“We’ll have to finish this somewhere else.”
What the hell am I doing?
Jade un-wrapped herself from him and yanked her dress back in place, stumbling when her foot hit the floor.
I practically let him fuck me right in the middle of the damn lobby?
“Let’s finish this at my place.”
“No,” she hissed and pulled out of his embrace. When she began to walk away, he grabbed her arm and gave her a slow, disbelieving shake of his head
The expression on his face made her want to comfort, sooth, but she couldn’t. She broke eye contact and stared at the floor. “That was a mistake and can’t happen again.”
He got close enough for her to smell the minty flavor on his breath. “Your mouth didn’t taste like a mistake.”
“We cannot repeat what happened two months ago,” she said, trying to pry her arm away from him and run as far away as she could. He looked stricken but quickly masked it. She had to leave. Now. By herself. There was no way she could sit next to him in a car. How could she have let this happen? She knew taking this case was a bad idea.
She continued to try to pull away, but he held firm.
“What we shared wasn’t a mistake. Not tonight. Not two months ago.”
“Stop it,” she ordered. “Don’t say things like that.”
Yanking her back against the wall, he said, “Why, because every time you get near me the only thing on your mind is how bad you want my dick inside you? Tell me you don’t think about that night. Tell me you don’t dream about it.”
She shook her head and mouthed the words, “No, I don’t. Let go.”
“You’re lying. From the first moment you saw me you wanted me inside you. Right now you wish nothing more than for me to take you upstairs like I did that night and fuck you until you can’t think.”
He was right. God help her, he was right. She ached to have him. Even now, after she almost exposed herself in public. She closed her eyes tight. “Let me go.”
“No, not until you admit it.”
With all her strength, she yanked away and sped out of the alcove, tripping over her own feet. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him standing there, his feet spread wide, eyes blazing the same passion that simmered in her body.
Thank goodness the lobby had emptied and no one saw them. She stopped beside a marble statue and used it for support as she bent over and slipped off her shoes. She had to get out of here. Away from him.
Outside, she rushed over to the attendant standing at the curb, her shoes dangling at her side. The moon was a bright beacon in the clear sky. In the distance she heard cars whizzing by, horns sound, leaves rustling with the light breeze. “I need a cab, please. Right now.”
“No, she doesn’t. You can call for my limo instead.”
Her spine stiffened. Of course he’d follow her. Rhys wasn’t used to being rebuffed. Not that she did. Allowing him to kiss her then running away only proved she was a chicken. “Rhys, no. I’d like to find my own way home.”
The young guy attendant looked back and forth between them, unsure of whose orders to follow.
“The limo,” Rhys said again with an edge to his voice.
“Yes, sir,” he complied and hurried away, eager to remove himself from the situation.
He pulled her to the side. “You came with me, you’ll leave with me.”
“Who in the hell do you think you are?”
“Your boss.”
“Oh, now you’re my boss. A few minutes ago you wanted to fuck me.”
He turned to her and said in no uncertain terms, “And I still do. If we weren’t standing here right now, I’d rip that dress off your body, toss you on a bed and push my cock so far inside you, so hard, it’d make you scream my name.”
Tingles of desire slid all over her body. It almost knocked her off her feet. She wanted to be mad. Truly, she did. But every time he opened his mouth and said things like that to her, she wanted to lie back and spread her legs for him.
No.
This had to stop. She couldn’t work for him like this. The limo arrived, and he ushered her inside. Jade slid all the way to the other door, her arm practically glued to the leather. Having him so near was detrimental to her equilibrium, even sitting down.
After the driver pulled off, Rhys closed the partition. Thankfully, he allowed her the space she’d put between them and didn’t move closer. “Look, I want you. I think that’s clearly evident. But the only way this is going to work—”
“It’s not going to work. I was hired to do a job for you. To find out who’s sending you threatening letters about someone you’re obviously trying to hide. Shit, you won’t even tell me the truth, and you expect me to just wash that under the table and get involved with you? Well, think again. I’m not stupid. I’m not a math whiz, but I can subtract.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Her age. What is she, about eighteen or nineteen years old? Born when you were around fifteen or sixteen.”
Jade was about to step over the line, but she didn’t care. She needed some distance. She needed him to leave her alone. She needed him to see her as a private investigator doing a job, not a woman. She needed him to forget about what happened between them. “What happened? Your parents didn’t want to ruin their reputation or your promising career?”
When his eyes narrowed, Jade knew she’d pushed the right button. She had to keep pushing. She wanted to make him angry enough to talk about anything that would keep her mind off of the erotic thoughts careening around inside her head. She needed him to back off. She wanted to force him to admit what was happening between them wouldn’t work. Because if he didn’t, she feared she’d make a fool of herself by falling all over him, falling in love with him. All evident by the way she behaved not ten minutes ago in that damn hotel lobby.
“Was she a girl from the wrong side of the tracks? She didn’t fit into your lily-white world?”
His lips were pressed together in a tight grimace. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And you won’t explain it either, will you?”
He turned away from her and placed his elbow on the door rest, tucked his fist under his chin and looked out the window.
Jade pulled in a breath then slowly released it. “That’s what I thought. You can’t keep secrets and turn around and expect me to fall in your arms. It doesn’t wor
k that way.”
He cared about her enough to want to have sex with her, but not tell her the truth.
When the limo pulled up in front of her apartment, Jade waited for the driver to come around and open the door for her. The last fifteen minutes of the drive had been excruciatingly quiet.
Why won’t he tell me?
Because you’re not important enough.
The door opened, and she hesitated. “What time would you like me to be there in morning?” She kept her voice flat, emotionless, refused to turn around and look at him.
“Between eight-thirty and nine is fine,” he told her.
Without another word, she exited and didn’t look back.
When her head hit her pillow that night, a tear escaped. Not because of what she said…or what he didn’t say, but because there was a real possibility that she just let something magical slip away.
Chapter Six
Rhys heard Jade come in the next morning and resisted the urge to walk into her office. Last night flooded into his mind, not that it was far away from his thoughts anyway. After she asked about Maya and he didn’t answer, she’d turned and faced the other direction, staring out the window.
There were at an impasse.
Why couldn’t she understand he couldn’t tell her? This secret, so deeply buried in his family, could never come out. The secret had become a part of him.
He heard a soft knock before Jade came into his office, carrying the day planner his executive assistant always used to help him keep up with his schedule. Lust, swift and fast, punched him in the groin.
What the hell was it about this woman that did it for him?
“You have a meeting with the Secretary of State at nine, and you’re needed on the Senate floor today.”
It seemed her plan was to pretend like nothing happened last night. No. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. Rhys knew he affected her. Even now, as he stood and approached her, he saw the noticeable hitch in her throat.
“You also have a lunch meeting with the governor at noon.”
One day, he’d tell her the truth. One day soon, he’d tell her everything. When they were closer and she understood how much she meant to him. He was pretty close to her now, could smell hints of coconut and lime on her skin.
Jade’s gaze swung up to his as her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip. She stroked her throat. “You…you also have back-to-back meetings this afternoon with the Legislative Education Board and the Tennessee Higher Education Compact.
“Sounds like I’ll be busy all day.”
Wordlessly, she nodded her head.
Before he hired her, he thought he’d worked this entire situation out so cleverly. After he received the second letter and decided not to go to the police, hiring a private investigator seemed like the logical thing to do.
Now, he wasn’t so sure. The first time he saw Jade at his best friend’s engagement party, he knew he had to have her. Then after their night together he found out she worked for Karyn’s P.I. firm and it seemed like the perfect solution. She could help him find out who was sending the notes, and it would provide a way for him to get closer to her.
At first, he thought it was just sex.
Not anymore. It went much deeper, and somehow he had to find a way to make her understand that. Then he could tell her his torrid family history.
“Any new developments with the mysterious letter writer?” he asked.
“Oh…um…no.” She backed away from him and fumbled inside a folder tucked between the pages of the calendar. “Last night I jotted down all my thoughts about who could be sending you the letters.”
Rhys would bet money she stayed up late thinking about the same thing he’d been torturing himself about. He still didn’t know what came over him and made him shove her into that alcove and kiss her. It had taken everything in him to pull back. “Couldn’t sleep?”
Ignoring his question, she continued. “The three possibilities I came up with so far…” She hesitated. “An old lover seeking revenge, someone from your past holding a grudge, or someone from your childhood who knew you when the mother was pregnant, maybe even a relative of the mother of the child.” She tapped her pen to her bottom lip. “It also could have something to do with your work here.”
“What baffles me is they haven’t asked for any money. I’ve received two letters, a threat, but no request for money to keep their mouth shut. There’s something strange about that. They have a hidden agenda. They wouldn’t be sending the letters if they didn’t want some kind of payment in return. I just can’t figure out what it is.”
Whatever they wanted from him was going to be something he wouldn’t be able to deliver.
She closed the folder and strode toward the door to her office. “Who knows why people do the things they do. I’m going to start gathering some more clues today while you’re out of the office.”
“What are your plans?”
Before Jade could answer him, she heard a voice coming from her office. Being the dutiful executive assistant, she pasted a smile on her face and opened the door. But she stopped in her tracks when she crossed over the threshold and saw who it was.
The blonde from the newspaper.
The woman dressed professionally in a navy blue pinstriped pantsuit with a long jacket that stopped at her knees. Her white shirt peeked from beneath the lapels and Jade could see her black lace bra underneath.
Something flashed inside Jade before she tamped it down. This was bound to happen. Hadn’t she reminded Rhys she was ‘just the flavor of the night?’ Even though she’d known the truth, seeing it so close and fresh…and so soon…didn’t make her stomach squeeze any less.
The woman smiled. “You must be Jade.” She approached, her hand offered up in introduction.
Jade shook it and gritted her teeth in a smile. “Yes, I am. How are you?”
She flung her hair over her shoulder, looked around her to Rhys. “Wonderful. Your boss invited me to breakfast tomorrow. He knows how much I love it.”
I bet he does.
“I’m Jackie, by the way,” she said as she breezed by Jade and enveloped Rhys into a hug and kissed him on the lips.
“That’s nice.” The pain in Jade’s jaw threatened to dislocate her teeth. “Would you, or your guest, like some coffee?”
“No, I can get it myself. Thank you,” he said quietly.
“Well, if you need me, I’ll be in my office.”
He nodded his head but didn’t say anything, so she turned and fled into her office, shutting them out. She didn’t want to hear any professions of love, or how wonderful their night had been together. God. Since she hadn’t welcomed him into her bed last night, he’d quickly found someone to replace her. Tears prickled behind her eyelids. The jerk.
At eight fifty-five, the secretary of state walked into her office.
“Well, well, well. The pretty lady from last night. Jade, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Good morning, sir. How are you?”
He sat on the edge of Jade’s desk, and she scooted back just a bit. She wasn’t going to dare give him easy access or an opportunity to look down her shirt.
“So, how long are you going to be with us?”
“For about six weeks. Until his regular assistant gets back from maternity leave.”
He rose and walked toward her small inset. “You mind if I get a cup of coffee?” Before she could even answer, he was already pouring himself a cup. “Thanks.” He took a sip and strode back in front of her desk and sat down. “So, you ever work in a state office before?”
“No, I haven’t.”
His eyes didn’t move from the center of her chest. “Well, you be sure to let me know if you need anything. Behind Rhys, I’m next in command.”
That got her attention. “Really?”
“Yes. Of course, there’s the governor, then the lieutenant governor. Then me, the secretary of state.”
Maybe he was sending Rhys the threatening letters. Did
he want Rhys’ job? Is that the reason he hadn’t asked for money. He just wanted Rhys out of the way. She made a mental note to check out the hierarchy of the governor’s office a little more closely.
“I guess that means you have a pretty important job around here then?”
“You bet it does, sugar.”
Ice slithered through her veins. She didn’t want to be in this man’s company any longer. “I’ll see if the lieutenant governor is ready for you now.” She rose and walked to the door she’d closed earlier. Even though she didn’t have eyes in the back of her head, she had no doubt his gaze zeroed in on her butt. She quietly knocked on the door and opened it after she heard Rhys say, “Come on in, Jade. Look, about last night.”
She shook her head and stopped him. “The secretary of state is here for your meeting.”
A muscle clenched along his jaw line as he glanced down at his watch. “Already. Well, this is a first. He’s never on time. Send him on in.”
“Okay.”
Just as she imagined, she saw that his eyes never rose above breast level when she turned back into her office. “He’ll see you now.”
“Thank you, sugar.”
God, if he called her sugar one more time, she was going to puke.
As she was sitting down, a young auburn haired woman rushed into her office. “Crap, I missed him.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry. “ She walked toward Jade’s desk and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Cecily.” She nodded in the direction of the closed door. “I’m the secretary’s administrative assistant. He forgot his notes for the meeting. As usual.”
Jade motioned that way. “Oh, they just started. I’m sure you can go on in.”
She sat in one of the guest chairs. “Oh, that’s okay. If he needs them, believe me, he’ll call. I don’t know why he needs them anyway. The man has a photographic memory. He doesn’t forget anything.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes. It’s amazing really. He can memorize a speech or the details of a legislative recommendation after one read.”
