Make-Believe Mistress

by Katherine Garbera

  She blushed at the thought of what he’d done to work up an appetite. She knew it was silly and she wished she didn’t react that way but this was all too new to her.

  He kissed her again and this time it was tender and almost sweet. When he lifted his head, she stared at his moist lips.

  “I knew it,” she said, trying desperately to marshal her thoughts back in order.

  “I’m not picky. What do you usually eat?”

  “A cereal bar,” she said, nibbling on her lower lip. There was nothing in the refrigerator except a six-pack of fat-free yogurt that might have expired. She searched past the take-out containers for something that might feed Adam.

  He made a face. “That’s not breakfast.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m searching my fridge.”

  He pulled her away from the appliance and shut the door. He lifted her up on the countertop and stood between her legs. She wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him to her. Resting her head on his shoulder, she closed her eyes, happy for this moment just to savor being with him.

  He held her for a long time, his hands moving on her back, his head resting on the top of hers. Then his stomach growled and she pulled back.

  “We’ve got to find you something to eat,” she said.

  He looked chagrined by his growling stomach. “Do you like omelets?”

  “Yes, but I don’t even have a carton of Egg Beaters,” she said, deciding that she’d have to go grocery shopping and keep some real food in her fridge before he came back again.

  “Egg Beaters? Woman, they aren’t even real eggs. I’ll run out and get everything we need and make you breakfast.”

  She frowned at him. “I wanted to do it.”

  “Gracie, it’s clear you’re not a cook.” There was a teasing note in his voice that she’d never heard before. She suspected Adam felt like she did. That this moment was a respite from their realities. A chance to drop their guards and be themselves. She knew it couldn’t last. That sooner or later reality would intrude and they’d be forced back into the roles they both knew so well.

  “That obvious?” she asked, tipping her head to the side.

  “Well, your fridge is full of take-out containers and expired food. I’ll make us breakfast.”

  She didn’t like it and knew why. She wanted to take care of him. To give him something here, in her home, that he wouldn’t find anywhere else. It was part of her fantasy to cook for him, but he was right—she wasn’t a cook.

  “I want to do this. I like taking care of you.”

  Those words had a profound impact on her deep inside. She knew that he meant cooking for her, but it felt somehow like more.

  “I could go to the store with you,” she suggested. She enjoyed being with him and she didn’t want to be apart. Actually that made her feel a little weak but it wasn’t because she couldn’t function without him. It was because she wanted to spend as much time together as they could before he left.

  “Okay.”

  Her phone rang. Adam reached over to grab the cordless unit and handed it to her. She glanced down at the caller ID and saw that it was Sue-Ellen Hanshaw. Reality, intruding big-time.

  She answered the call. “Good morning, Sue-Ellen.”

  “Not really a good one, Grace.”

  Her stomach sank. “What’s up?”

  “Our school is in the paper again and it’s not good. The headline calls us a hotbed of sexy encounters.”

  “Who is it this time?”

  “You. You and Adam.”

  Ten

  He growled deep in his throat and lowered his head to hers again. This time there was no gentle seduction but a full out taking of her mouth. He didn’t mask what he wanted—he took. And she let him.

  One of his hands left her waist and cupped her butt, pulling her closer until her mound rested against his hardness.

  Grace threw her head back and moaned. His other hand slid up her leg, not stopping until he reached the center of her. She moaned again as his fingers skimmed the pulsating center of her desire.

  Excerpt from “Adam’s Mistress” by Stephanie Grace

  Adam wrapped his arm around Grace’s shoulder and pulled her close to his side. All of the color had left her face and he knew Sue-Ellen had delivered bad news.

  “What’s going on?” he asked her.

  “Hold on, Sue-Ellen,” she said, putting her hand over the mouthpiece. “There’s a story about us in The Dallas Morning News.”

  Crap. The last thing he needed was press, but he should have anticipated it. The society column gossips loved to talk about him. He could guess what the article said about the two of them, but he didn’t want to. He needed to see the article. Find out exactly what they were up against.

  “Do you get the paper delivered?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell Sue-Ellen we’ll call her back once we know what the article said.”

  He left the kitchen and walked outside, finding the paper under the tree in her front yard. There were cheery yellow and blue daffodils planted around the base of the tree.

  It underscored what he knew about Grace. That she’d put down roots here. That the closing of the school wasn’t just about losing a job. It was about changing the life she’d worked hard to carve out for herself here.

  He went back into her house, vowing to himself that he’d do whatever he had to keep her safe. To make this latest hiccup go away.

  He went back inside, hesitating in the doorway of the kitchen when he saw her leaning against the counter staring out the back window. Her arms were wrapped around her waist and she seemed so alone. It was an almost palpable feeling.

  Dammit, how could a morning that had been going so perfectly have turned into this? He cleared his throat so he didn’t startle her, but she didn’t even turn toward him.

  Hell, this wasn’t good. She was breaking his heart. Because he could tell from the way she was focused so deep inside that she’d experienced this kind of wrenching, world-wrecking situation before. Whereas he always rolled on down the road when it happened, she hunkered down and shored up her defenses.

  He wondered how many times she’d faced this kind of situation. He hoped that this time he could be there for her. But he’d never stayed. Could he this time?

  “Gracie.”

  She lifted her head, her eyes filled with fatigue and weariness and something else he couldn’t define.

  “Did you get the paper?”

  He held it up, shaking it out of the plastic bag. He set the bag on the counter and walked toward her. He drew her onto the bench seat in her breakfast nook.

  “Whatever is in here, we’ll face it together.”

  She gave him a sad smile that made him angry. She expected him to leave her. To let her face whatever was in the paper by herself. He couldn’t battle the ghosts of her past any more than she could take on his. But together they had to face what was happening now.

  “Don’t do this,” he said, getting a little angry that she was giving up on him before she’d even let him fail. The hard part was, he expected to disappoint her. He’d been doing that steadily to people since his parents had died.

  “Don’t do what?” she asked, in that school-administrator voice of hers, making him feel like a senior who’d been caught pulling a prank.

  But he was a grown man and he knew how to handle these kinds of situations. He dealt with temperamental artists and negative media all the time. “Act like I’m just saying words that I don’t mean. I don’t know who let you down in the past, but it wasn’t me. Let me fail on my own before you look at me with disappointment.”

  She bit her lower lip and then touched his face with those long cold fingers of hers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was disappointed in you. I’m not.”

  He wanted to crush her to him and give her the promises she needed. The ones that would clear the clouds from her eyes and make her stop trembling.

  “Then why do you look like y
ou’re about to cry?” he asked.

  She shook her head. Pushing against his chest she moved away from him. Put a few inches of space between them but the gap felt bigger. And he knew that crossing it was going to be a trial. Suddenly he wondered if it was worth it. Was she worth it?

  He was fighting to save a school he didn’t care about so that he could get to know this woman better. And what he’d found was incredible, a woman who had touched him in ways no one else ever had.

  “It’ll sound really stupid if I have to say it out loud,” she said.

  And he had his answer. Of course Grace was worth the effort.

  “Then whisper it to me,” he said, putting his arm around and tucking her up against his side. He liked the feeling of her there. He didn’t question it, only knew that he wanted her by his side.

  “I’m so tired of struggling for everything. I wanted our relationship and the school’s future to just go smoothly, but we’ve been sneaking around and I should have expected this to happen.”

  He cupped her jaw and tipped her head back. He sipped at her lips, kissing her languidly like there wasn’t an urgent matter waiting for them. Like time had stood still and their morning was still ideal. Like he could give her what she wished for.

  “You’re right. Sneaking around was a mistake.”

  The worst part was, he knew that her fantasy man would be able to do those things for her. But this was real life and it ticked him off that he wasn’t going to measure up to what she needed from a man. Even though her other man was a romanticized version of himself.

  Grace didn’t want to read the article. The headline said it all: How Far Will She Go to Save the School? Once she saw the picture of her andAdam in the hallway outside the Platinum Club at the American Airlines Center, the photograph seemed cheap and tawdry.

  The photographer had captured them after Sue-Ellen had left, when Adam had caged her between his big body and the wall. She was staring up at him with her heart in her eyes. She’d had no idea her emotions were so transparent when she looked at him.

  It was impossible to see Adam’s expression from the angle of the photograph. But his body language was easy to read. His hips were canted toward her. His head was lowered, their mouths a breath apart.

  It was worse than she’d anticipated. Everyone was going to know immediately that they were involved in a relationship. Analytically she knew that the photo wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the one that had been taken of Dawn O’Shea and her lover. But it wasn’t good, and the article accompanying it was downright salacious. Malcolm was going to be all over this.

  “It’s not as bad as I feared.”

  “It’s bad enough,” she said.

  “Don’t be like that. I’ll call Malcolm and then the newspaper.”

  “What are you going to tell the newspaper?”

  “That we’re dating and have been for a while. I have a great spin doctor who will come up with an angle to help promote the school.”

  She didn’t like this side of Adam, but knew she should be thankful he was going to step in and take care of the problem this photo had generated. The thing was—she didn’t want him to. As adverse as it seemed, she didn’t want him to take on the problems of the school and solve them the way he described.

  “What about truth?”

  “I’m not going to lie, Grace. We’ve known each other for three years.”

  She didn’t know why it bothered her, but it did. A big part of her was saying to just shut up but she couldn’t. “You barely knew I was there for three years.”

  “And your point is?”

  “Nothing. I don’t have a point, except that you said the truth was important to you and what you’re proposing is a gross exaggeration of the truth.”

  He put the paper down. “What’s really going on here?”

  She shook her head. How could she explain to him what she didn’t understand herself? She knew it wasn’t fair, but she’d expected Adam to live up to the pedestal she’d put him on. And seeing that he had feet of clay, that he was human and made mistakes just like her…. Well, it was a little too much like real life.

  She didn’t like that about herself. That she’d expected him to act the way her fantasy man would.

  “Sorry. I’m not sure how to handle this. I was starting to believe that we were going to save the school.”

  He took her hand in his. She looked up at him, knowing now that she had little chance of keeping him from seeing the hope and anticipation in her eyes.

  “Don’t give up yet. This isn’t anything other than a minor setback. And we’ve done nothing wrong or immoral.”

  “I don’t think Malcolm will see it that way.”

  “I’ll handle Malcolm.”

  “Thanks, but I’m the one who’s responsible for the school’s reputation.”

  He sat back in his seat. “You don’t want me to fight your battles for you.”

  “No, I don’t.” He was too attuned to her. She’d let down her guard last night and now she regretted it. In the middle of the night it had been comforting to realize that he was with her, but this morning…This morning she saw the danger in having a man such as Adam around. He would take over every corner of her life. Until he moved on.

  “Why not?” he asked. She could tell he wanted the conversation done so he could take action. Call Sue-Ellen, call Malcolm, bend them both to his will with charm or threats or however he operated. She didn’t know what he’d use for the two of them because she was realizing that he changed his way depending on the person he dealt with. He had a gift for seeing into a person’s soul.

  She shook her head at him. There was no way she was going to tell him why she didn’t want him fighting her battles. If she started talking about that she’d probably end up confessing that she was afraid that she’d become too dependent on him. Which was bound to freak him out.

  She had to stop thinking like a woman who’d been caught with her lover, a man in a position to make decisions about her own job. She had to be the administrator. The professional woman who knew how to handle a crisis.

  “Let’s not go into that. I better call Sue-Ellen back and then call Malcolm.” She scooted around the bench to get out.

  Adam shackled her wrist in his big hand, holding her still. She glanced back at him, trying to figure out what he was doing.

  “You’re not calling anyone until you answer me.”

  “I don’t answer to you, Adam.” She tugged on her wrist but she couldn’t budge it. “Let me go.”

  “Not yet.”

  Not yet. She knew he meant right this instant, but a part of her felt like those words summed up their relationship.

  And she knew why she was so upset. Because when they’d been dating quietly, only the two of them had witnessed it. Now the world knew. Her world knew that she’d gone out with superstud Adam Bowen and if their relationship ended badly she’d have to spend the rest of her life dealing with pitying glances.

  And she didn’t want that. She’d left that behind in West Texas when she’d left the preacher and his sanctimonious ways.

  She started struggling in a totally undignified way, needing to get away from him. Wanting to escape before she did something really stupid and begged him to not spin this situation. To just ignore it, even if it meant closing the school—anything that would leave her pride intact. But she didn’t like what that said about her.

  “Please, Adam. I need a minute to myself.”

  He held her for another second and then dropped her hand. “I’ll be here, waiting for you.”

  Adam let her go because he knew he had no choice and he wasn’t sure how to make her stay. He heard the shower come on and went into her bedroom, finding his BlackBerry on the floor near her bed.

  Malcolm had called him twice. No matter that Grace wanted to handle the newspaper article, which was salacious and full of innuendo, he knew that he was responsible for this. The article added complications that he and Grace didn’t need. But he wa
sn’t really surprised by it. He should have anticipated that sooner or later a gossip columnist would find out he’d been spending time with Grace. And he planned to spend a lot more time with her.

  He could get them to print a retraction and hope that would be enough to make things better for Grace. Only Adam knew that it wouldn’t. He wanted to fill her life with all she’d missed. To somehow be her benefactor because it would insulate him from what he felt right now. From the pain of disappointing her.

  He called Malcolm and got his voicemail. “It’s Adam. We need to talk. Call me back.”

  He sat down on the bed to wait for her. Picked up the book she had lying on her nightstand and flipped through it. It was a romance novel. A business one in which the hero had come into the heroine’s life for revenge but fell in love with her instead.

  This was what Grace thought romance should be. He wanted to give it to her. He wanted to be her white knight, her hero. And a man who let his woman fight her own battles wasn’t a hero.

  She came out dressed in a large terrycloth robe, her hair wrapped in a towel. Her eyes were damp and he knew she’d been crying. He swallowed a curse.

  He didn’t know how to handle this. Should he keep the topic all business? Hell, he should just pull her into his arms and make love to her. Then the distance put between them by one phone call and one photo would disappear.

  “I left a message for Malcolm. I’ll take care of him. You can handle the parents since I don’t have much contact with them.”

  She walked over to her dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out matching panties and bra in a light blue color. She held them in her hand. And he totally forgot what they were talking about.

  All he could think of was how she’d look wearing only those small scraps of fabric. How the light blue would look against her creamy skin.

  “That sounds like a good plan. The more I think about this, the more I think a clean break between the two of us will be the right solution,” she said. Her words drew his mind away from his erotic daydream.

  “I’m not ready for a break, Grace. I’m still getting to know you.” He was still trying to unravel the many mysteries that were Grace. He hoped that she hadn’t figured him out in such a short time. But he knew he wasn’t that complicated. That he had no hidden depths for her to plumb. Just one secret that he kept to himself because he didn’t know how to verbalize it.