“Why would you deliberately involve yourself with that scumbag’s sister? Of all the women in this town, it doesn’t make any sense.”
“I can’t argue with that,” Collier replied, his voice strained.
“Does Lana know you’re screwing around on her?” Mason hammered brutally.
Collier knew he deserved every verbal bullet fired at him. Still, it hurt to see his family turn against him without due process. But hadn’t he lambasted himself for the same thing? How could he fault them? He’d pulled some crazy stunts in his thirty-eight years, but his liaison with Brittany topped the list.
“I want an explanation, dammit!”
“Dad, give it a rest,” Jackson said in a low but steady tone. “This can all be sorted out, I’m sure, if we don’t let our emotions and our tempers get the best of us.”
Mason turned on his elder son and spat, “Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“I didn’t know we were taking sides,” Jackson responded, his voice strained.
“Look,” Collier put in, “I realize what a blow this has been to you both, and I’m sorry, sorry as hell. First, I never intended for it to happen, and second, I never intended for either of you to find out.”
“Did you really think you could keep something like that a secret?” Mason snorted. “Especially in this town, where the rumor mill rivals D.C.’s.”
“She’s a fine person, Dad. Just because her brother—”
“Don’t you dare sing her praise!”
Collier clamped his lips together, never having seen Mason so livid, so out of control. His concern heightened, forcing him to scramble for something that would diffuse the situation. “Do you want me to say I’m sorry? Is that what you want?”
“What I want is for you to get your head back on straight and focus your time and attention on what’s important. Getting that appointment, for starters. Surely you know this kind of irrational behavior could cost you dearly.” Mason paused and rubbed his forehead. “Has that occurred to you?”
“I’m kind of wondering that myself, little brother,” Jackson put in.
Collier blew out his breath, continuing to hedge, because his own emotions were in such turmoil. “Of course it has,” he finally snapped.
“Combined with that damn case you’re trying,” Mason added, “this kind of scandal could muddy the waters past the point of no return. The senator and the committee will judge you harshly. Count on it.”
“I agree with Dad,” Jackson said.
Feeling as though he was being treated like the despised stepson who could do no right, Collier’s resentment suddenly flared. Dammit, he was a grown man who didn’t need others dictating how he should live his life, even if those others were his dad and brother.
Mason spoke again. “As it is, Travis Wainwright’s at the top of the list, right along with you.”
“And may get the nod regardless of anything I say or do,” Collier pointed out.
“By the way, Rupert Holt’s the one who told me.”
Collier gave Mason an incredulous stare. “How did—”
“I didn’t bother to ask. What I did do was accuse him of lying and warned him if he spread that garbage any further, I’d have his hide.” Mason laughed bitterly. “Seems I’m the one who didn’t know his ass from his elbow. My own son played me for a fool.”
Collier’s face was suffused with color. “You know better than that.”
“I do?” Mason’s eyes speared his.
“I’ll talk to Senator Riley,” Collier said.
Mason shook his head. “No, don’t say anything to anyone, not until you’re forced to.”
“Just how badly do you want this job?” Jackson asked, his gaze back on Collier.
“It’s what I’ve worked long and hard for.”
“Then maybe it’s not too late for damage control,” Mason put in, his relief obvious. “Especially if you stay away from her. Promise me—us—you’ll do that.”
“I’ll do what I feel is best,” Collier responded as calmly as he could, though he realized his words would probably ignite another explosion.
“Is that a yes or a no?” Jackson asked, his gaze narrowing.
A muscle twitched in Collier’s jaw. “I can’t answer that question.”
“The hell you can’t!” Mason shot back.
“What about Lana?” Jackson asked. “Where does she fit into the equation?”
Collier’s eyes darted between his dad and his brother. “She doesn’t, not anymore.”
Another thunderous silence filled the room.
“You mean you’re not going to marry her?” Mason’s voice reached the high-tenor range again, his face re-heating.
“No, and I told her that.”
“God,” Mason muttered, lifting his head toward the ceiling as though searching for divine help.
“So where does that leave things?” Jackson asked, his gaze piercing.
“I don’t know,” Collier admitted in a tired tone. He wished he could reassure them that it was over between him and Brittany, if only to wipe the sick expressions off their faces, but he couldn’t.
He wouldn’t lie to them, not anymore. Nor would he share his feelings for her.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Mason said in a dull, hopeless tone.
“Me, too,” Collier responded with regret. “Me, too.”
The day was cold and crisp, the sun so bright it was blinding as it bounced off the bare window in Haley’s apartment. Jackson squinted against the glare.
“Too bad,” Haley said.
He swung around to face her, something he’d avoided doing ever since he’d arrived, which had been at least fifteen minutes ago. His eyes had touched on everything in the room except her.
“What’s too bad?” he asked, letting his confusion show.
She angled her head and grinned. “That you can’t leave.”
“What makes you think I want to?” he asked in a blustering tone, feeling heat invade his face. He’d forgotten her uncanny ability to read his thoughts. He would have to be more careful or she’d be peering into the depths of his soul and memorizing it.
Her grin intensified. “It’s obvious you’d like to be anywhere but here.”
“Dammit, Haley,” Jackson said fiercely, only to stop short.
She was exactly right. He couldn’t believe he was actually sitting in her living room, after Harry had driven him to her apartment. But after that fiasco with his dad and brother, he’d felt more on edge, more like a caged lion, than ever. Without weighing the consequences, he’d picked up the phone and called Haley.
While her shock at hearing his voice had been evident, she hadn’t let that stop her from asking to see him, insisting he come to her place. At first he’d told her no; then, when she wouldn’t give up, he finally consented, much to his chagrin.
“Dammit, Haley, what?” she mimicked in a teasing tone, drawing him back to her.
She was having a field day at his expense. If she’d been anyone else that would have set him off, but he couldn’t get upset with Haley, not when she looked so delightful dressed in a black pair of slim-fitting pants and a lime-green sweater that stressed the luscious curve of her breasts, breasts that had once been his for the taking.
Feeling his lower half respond, Jackson swallowed hard, then once again shifted his gaze. But he couldn’t keep from looking back at her, especially the way her hair blazed as if it were on fire and her eyes twinkled. God, she was lovely, down to the last freckle sprinkled across her pert nose.
“You’re enjoying the hell out of this, aren’t you?”
“Yep,” she replied, easing out her tongue and sweeping it across her lower lip. Did she know how much that gesture could turn him on? Accidentally or on purpose, it did. When she chose, she could be a little temptress.
“I hate to admit it,” he said, collecting his thoughts, “but I’m glad I came.”
“We’ll make a habit of it.”
He let
that slide, knowing he was teetering on a slippery slope as it was, just by coming here.
“I am curious, though, as to what pushed you into calling me. I’d like to think—” She stopped suddenly and bit down on the same lip she’d licked earlier. “Never mind.”
“For one thing,” Jackson said, filling the silence, “I needed to talk to someone outside the family.”
She smiled, though it lacked the same luster as before. He sensed that she wanted more from him, but what, he didn’t know. In order to find out the answer, he would have to put his heart on the chopping block. Right now, he wasn’t willing to do that, especially since he might be reading her all wrong. Friendship was probably all she was looking for, nothing else. In fact, he was sure of it.
“What’s going on?”
He told her about the mess Collier had gotten himself into and Mason’s violent reaction.
“How do you feel about the situation? After all, you’re the one who’s really involved.”
“I’m not sure I even knew Rogers had a sister.”
“So you’re not as bent out of shape about all this as your dad?”
“Let’s just say I’m more concerned about my brother and his state of mind than myself. I—” He suddenly broke off as a grin spread across Haley’s face. His darkened. “Don’t you say it.”
Her grin widened. “Say what?” she asked innocently.
“That you’re shocked I’m thinking about someone other than myself for a change.”
“Well?”
“Okay, so it’s about time. But Collier’s in bad shape.”
“All the more reason why you should take your rightful place back in the firm.”
“What does that have to do with any of this?”
“Everything. It sounds like your brother’s about to mess things up good and proper, which means Mason and the firm are going to need your expertise now more than ever.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
Her eyes drilled him. “Why not?”
“Look, I didn’t come here to fight with you. I did enough of that earlier with my family.”
“We’re not fighting, sweetie, we’re discussing.”
Jackson found it impossible to stay angry at her. “I want Collier to get it back together, but he seems to have a thing for this woman. I’ve never seen him like this.”
“And you really don’t see that as a betrayal?”
“Would you?”
Haley was quiet for a moment, then said softly, “She’s not to blame for what her brother did.”
“Collier said the same thing, but if word gets out, it’ll definitely hurt his chances for the bench.”
“That’s a choice he has to make.”
“Dad’s got his heart set on that appointment. If it doesn’t come through, I don’t think he’ll be able to take it.”
“Sure he will. He’ll do what he has to.”
“I’m not so sure.” Jackson frowned. “It still boggles my mind that something like this could happen. Let’s face it, Collier and Rogers’ sister meeting and having an affair is too bizarre for words.”
“Chalk it up to one of life’s quirks.”
“Not only is she Rogers’ sister, she’s dirt-poor and works as a waitress, to boot.”
“Are you saying she’s playing Collier for a fool?”
“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility,” Jackson declared grimly. “Although I may be way off base. She might be crazy about him for himself.”
A short silence ensued, then Haley said, “Which is all the more reason why you should return to the courtroom.”
“I’ve already told you that’s not going to happen.”
“Your legs are paralyzed, not your mind, for heaven’s sake.” Suddenly Haley closed the distance between them, placed her hands on the arms of his chair and leaned over.
Jackson sucked in his breath and held it.
“Don’t you think you’ve wallowed in bitterness and self-pity long enough?”
Jackson almost choked on the fury those words incited. “That’s a low blow,” he said, clenching his jaw so hard the nerves quivered.
She didn’t back down. “It’s deserved, though.”
“The hell it—”
Her mouth landed on his with unerring accuracy. At first Jackson was so stunned he froze. But when the moist tip of her tongue nudged his lips apart, he jerked her to him at the same time she placed a hand on his crotch.
Moments later, she pulled away and stared at him wide-eyed. “Jackson…”
Her voice was filled with awe.
“Haley—”
“Let’s get married.”
“God, Haley,” he rasped, “have you lost your mind?”
Thirty
Brittany opened the door immediately, then stepped aside for him to enter, giving him a tenuous smile. “I was beginning to give up on you.”
“Don’t ever do that,” Collier responded on a husky note. She looked and smelled good. It was all he could do not to grab her, haul her off to the bedroom and lose himself inside her.
Once he’d shed his coat, Collier turned and faced her, feeling as though his heart was in his eyes.
Wordlessly she crossed to him, reached up and brushed aside an errant piece of hair. “You look beat,” she whispered.
“I am. Mentally and physically.”
“I’m sorry,” she said gently, moistening her lower lip before moving her hand to a stubbled cheek and caressing it.
Collier groaned, then trapped her hand, turning her palm to his lips. Without taking his eyes off her, he laved it with his tongue. He felt a quiver go through her at the same time she sucked in her breath and held it.
Then she was in his arms, clutching him tightly, as though she felt his pain and wanted to absorb it. Moments later, he pushed her back. “God help me, but I can’t stay away from you.”
“I don’t want you to,” she said, running a finger across his lower lip. He groaned again, this time trapping her finger and sucking on it.
“Make love to me.” She didn’t bother to mask the desperate note in her voice. “Now.”
Sweeping her up in his arms, he carried her into the bedroom, where she stepped out of her robe while he discarded his clothes. Once he’d joined her on the sheets, he bent over her and sank his lips onto hers, losing himself in their sweetness.
It was in that moment he felt her warm hand surround his erection. He moaned as a bolt of lust struck him so hard, so fast, he almost couldn’t contain himself. “Oh, Brittany, yes,” he rasped against her lips.
Without answering, she spread her legs, then guided the moist tip of his erection into her. “I can’t wait, either.”
One thrust and he was inside her. Instinctively she lifted her legs and tightened them around his buttocks. With her breasts crushed into his chest and his head buried against the side of her neck, he drove higher and harder. Seconds later, his seed was inside her and they were both spent.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked bleakly once she was beside him and he was peering into her lovely eyes. Their coming together had been hotter and rawer than ever before.
“No. Never.”
He sighed and brushed back a strand of her hair, so like silk, like her body. “I didn’t mean to come here and—” He broke off, cursing silently.
“Jump my bones,” she finished for him, a sliver of humor in her tone.
His face paled. “Yeah, I guess that was what I was trying to say.”
“It’s okay, Collier. I wanted you just as much.”
“I don’t want to stop touching you,” he said in a low, tormented voice. “I think about you and how I feel when I’m inside you twenty-four hours a day.”
“Oh, Collier,” she said softly, tears appearing in her eyes.
“But I don’t want you ever to feel like I’m using you.”
“Are you?”
Though her question was softly spoken, it packed a punch. “God, no. Don’t ever think that. I’
m just trying to take you…us…one day at a time and savor every moment of it.”
“I can accept that.”
“When it comes to you, I’m out of control. The fact that I haven’t used any protection should tell you that.”
“So far I’m not pregnant,” she said softly, touching his face again.
He didn’t have to ask if she was on the Pill. Her words had just told him she wasn’t. “You know we’re pushing our luck with such insanity. It’s just that when I see you, touch you, all rationality leaves me.”
She smiled. Then it faded, and she looked away. “When you make…love to her, do you use—”
He placed a finger against her lips, silencing her. “The word is made. I told you, I haven’t touched her or any other woman since I met you. But the answer to your question is yes. I always used protection.”
Brittany pulled his head down and kissed him. “Are you feeling better now?” she asked after they could breathe normally again.
He knew she was referring to his state of mind when he’d arrived. “I no longer want to take someone’s block off.”
She grinned. “That’s a definite improvement.”
He didn’t respond, suddenly feeling weighted down again, as if a chunk of lead was sitting on his chest. Instead of heading here, he should have gone straight to Senator Riley’s house and knocked on his door, but he hadn’t. First off, it had been too late, and second, it would have been too crass of him.
More importantly, at that moment he hadn’t given a damn about the senator or the appointment. His beleaguered mind had needed the sweet, soothing comfort he could find only in Brittany’s arms. He hadn’t been disappointed. The second he had seen her, the tension inside him had been diffused. Nothing had seemed as impossible or traumatic as it had before.
Unfortunately he couldn’t stay hidden away. He had his job and responsibilities, and he had to make peace with his dad and brother. But he had no intention of going into all that with her. It would only hurt her and accomplish nothing.
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