by Loyd, Sandy
Claire shook her head. Jason wasn’t sure the glimpse of pain was real or imagined, yet he wasn’t about to let it keep him from getting what he came for—answers.
“I appreciate all your help in this, but I don’t want it,” she stated abruptly. Her movements became clipped, and irritation flitted over her face. “Your services are no longer required. I thought I’d made myself perfectly clear the other night. Just send me a bill.”
She continued loading the cooler. When it was full, she picked it up and added while walking past him, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.”
Jason stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her path. She stopped and set the cooler down.
“What about us?”
“Us?” She snorted. “Jason, there is no us.”
“You’re going to tell me Tuesday evening didn’t mean anything?”
“That was a mistake. One that won’t be happening again.”
“A mistake?” He wiped his face with his hand, letting his fingers settle on the back of his neck. He met her gaze, refusing to believe what she was saying.
“Jason, I—”
“Don’t,” he threatened in a growl. “Don’t demean it by pretending you didn’t feel anything. I was there.” As he held her gaze, something flickered in her eyes before her expression closed again. He shook his head in disgust and said in a louder voice, “You didn’t think to tell me you’d decided to divorce him?”
“You couldn’t figure that out on your own? Didn’t your friend’s report give you a clear idea of what a lowlife Carl is? You think I’d be so stupid to stay with him after what he put me through?” she shouted, matching him in volume. “I wish he had died. It would save me the trouble of divorcing him. Now, please move,” she demanded, and bent over to pick up the cooler. “I’ve got a bloody boat to clean.”
Of all the words he was expecting to come out of her mouth, those were a mile from them. He planted a foot on the cooler, effectively keeping her from lifting it.
“I deserve the courtesy of an explanation,” he said, his voice just above a whisper.
Again she eyed him, chewing on her bottom lip as indecision wavered in those beautiful eyes.
“I owe you nothing but money,” she said a moment later. She pushed his leg aside and picked up the cooler. “Like I said, bill me and you’ll get paid.”
“Bullshit. There’s more going on here, and I’m going to find out what it is.”
“Will you please get out of my way?”
She tried to shove past him but he stopped her, putting his hands over hers to take the heavy cooler. “I’m going with you.”
She glared at him as a battle of wills ensued. Finally, she let go and maneuvered around him.
“Suit yourself.” Hefting her packed bag and cleaning supplies, she led him toward the garage.
He could tell from her resolute expression she wasn’t about to give him any easy answers. Fine. If Claire Carter thought she could dismiss him so readily, she was in for an epiphany.
When she flicked her keyless entry, the trunk lid shot up. He dropped the cooler inside and turned around, taking her bag with one hand and snatching her keys with the other.
“I’ll drive.” He shut the trunk and opened the passenger door. He waited for her to climb inside, having no doubts about being a dead man if the daggers of annoyance she sent him were actual darts.
Staring into those deep, dark pools of green now, they reminded him of evergreens on a cloudy day. He sighed, holding on to his anger to keep from saying something he’d regret. He slammed the door once she was seated and went around to the other side before getting into the Lexus SUV. He then started the engine, pushed the button to the garage door, and backed out after it opened.
Minutes later, they were headed south on I-95 toward Miami and Key Largo, where Claire docked Solitude.
Chapter 15
“Do I get the silent treatment the entire drive?” he asked.
Claire aimed a wary glance in Jason’s direction and noticed the way his mouth curved down at the edges. She could still feel anger pouring out in his stiff posture.
“What’s there to say?” she asked, shrugging. “Seems you know it all.”
“How about letting me in on what’s been going on?”
His intense sapphire gaze snared hers for the briefest moment, flashing something she didn’t expect. That couldn’t be hurt she spotted before he banked the look and turned away. She certainly hadn’t thought his feelings could be bruised so easily.
“Nothing’s going on.” She leaned back against the headrest before closing her eyes and sighing, unsure of what to do next.
Jason seemed upset because she hadn’t confided in him. Yet how could she? She hadn’t felt comfortable confiding in anyone about how stupid she’d been. Believing Carl’s lies. Finding out where he was staying, as well as being confronted with a few facts of more infidelity was more than enough fuel to add to her anger, and certainly not something she could share with Jason. The man already knew too much about her.
“You might as well tell me, Claire, because I’m not going away,” he said moments later, drawing her attention back to him. “I’m on your side, remember?”
Sincerity spilled out of his searching, compelling gaze, triggering tears. “Why do you care?” she asked, blinking them back and refocusing on the passing scenery.
“Do I have to spell it out for you?”
She inhaled deeply. Warmth infused her at his heartfelt words while his gentle tone eased some of the pain from being taken in by Carl Carter one more time.
She remained silent, thinking. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she eventually said, the sound of her soft voice breaking the quiet.
“I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.”
“All talking will do is remind me how stupid I was.”
He hesitated, and his expression changed to one of concern. “You aren’t responsible for his actions.”
“Maybe not. I’ve known for a long time Carl wasn’t the perfect husband. I can handle imperfection. It’s the lies and cheating that have taken their toll.”
When a look of surprise touched his eyes, she smiled. “I suspected, but I never had proof.”
In all honesty, she’d never wanted proof, didn’t want to face proof, so she’d wrapped herself in work and pretended things were better than they really were. Except, she couldn’t admit that to Jason.
“Carl always had an excuse, and I wanted to believe him. He’d always charm his way out until I started doubting myself.”
She sighed, thinking of all those things Carl had done in the past few months to charm and cajole her into believing he’d changed. As the memories played, she shut her eyes tightly to block out the pain of her stupidity. How could she have been so gullible? Why had she put up with him for so long?
She opened her eyes and turned to Jason, offering a rueful smile. “I was too trusting.”
Jason’s gaze raked over her face in a scrutinizing manner. She detected only understanding in those softening features, which gave her enough encouragement to continue.
“I didn’t know until a few days ago that his lying was much more extensive than I’d imagined. Of course, drugging me and leaving me on the boat with all that blood didn’t endear him to me.”
Neither had trying to abscond with the loan money or all their investments, she thought, not mentioning that fact out loud. Apparently, it wasn’t enough to take half of what she’d built while waiting for his parents to die. The lying low-life thought he deserved it all.
“I found some charge card receipts bunched into a drawer, and after a little research, I figured out where he was staying. Seems he’d been frequenting the same place for quite a while, using a company card. I’m sure your investigator found the same information. On Wednesday morning, I drove to the hotel. Imagine my surprise when the clerk gave me a key to his room without much hassle. I knew Crystal was involved then, but I only smil
ed, pretending to be her, and acted as if I’d been there before. It was all so easy. Then I confronted the bastard.”
She stopped talking and stared out the window. Listening to her own story as it came out made her feel pretty miserable. She couldn’t believe she’d actually been taken in one last time.
“It’s not your fault.” Jason’s tone held sincerity and warmth.
She looked at him. His eyes were on the road ahead, but there was something else in his voice, empathy maybe, as if he understood exactly how she felt.
“Don’t feel bad about wanting to believe in your spouse,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”
“I feel so stupid.”
“You trusted him. Marriage needs trust or it can’t survive.”
“It also needs fidelity, which I never had.” She sighed. “I’ve been thinking about what you said the other night.”
Glancing at her, Jason quirked an eyebrow and waited.
Claire smiled. “I think you were right about Crystal.” Her smile died, and her gaze returned to the window while she stared at nothing in particular for several minutes. She sighed. “He probably did know it was her. I was such a fool to believe him over my twin.”
She leaned against the headrest again and closed her eyes. More pain shot through her system. Her marriage had been a sham from the first day. He’d barely waited a few hours before hitting on her sister.
“Maybe not,” he said. “There’s definitely something going on between them now. So I could be wrong.”
“You aren’t wrong. You’re looking at it objectively. That incident cost me my sister. I believed Carl over her, and now I realize it was my actions, not Crystal’s, that put the final wedge between us.”
Claire heaved another heavy sigh and slanted a glance at Jason, who still focused on the road. For three years she’d defended the bastard. Well, no more.
“Crystal came to me a few months ago and asked me if I’d had enough.”
When she said no more, he threw her a questioning look. “And?” he prompted.
Claire snorted. “Said she was going to help me get out of my marriage and keep my company intact at the same time. I declined her kind offer and tried to work things out with Carl.”
She then spent a few minutes telling him about the document she’d signed, sealing her fate.
“I hate knowing that part of my not wanting to make waves was because I didn’t want a divorce to affect the company. Now I see I was settling.”
Claire couldn’t stomach the idea that her company, the one she’d babied from infancy, would no longer be hers. Her sweat, her blood, and her tears had built the business, now worth tens of millions.
Carl Carter wanted full ownership. That had always been his price for divorce. After all, he’d put up the money for the major growth, so he felt entitled. He’d overlooked that he’d spent more than ten times the amount he’d provided on his toys and women over the last three years without adding anything else, and also overlooked her role in the success of that growth.
She shook her head and looked down at her hands, studying her fingernails for a moment before whispering, “Isn’t that sad,” referring to how she’d settled.
It was more than sad. She’d let Carl manipulate her. Perception was everything to her husband, as he was so fond of telling her. Being perceived as a successful businessman with a beautiful wife was something money couldn’t buy. Why should he settle for half, when he had it all? And she’d given it to him without requiring anything in return.
Claire sighed, wondering why she’d divulged so much information, and also wondering how her life had gotten so screwed up. And now she was fighting an attraction to Jason. An attraction she had no intention of acting on because she had no idea of where she was going. Getting involved with him wouldn’t solve any problems, but could only make things worse. Although, at this point she didn’t see how her life could get any worse.
Everything had bottomed out two days ago when she told Carl she changed the locks on the house and to let her know where she could send his belongings.
She smiled wanly and sneaked another peek at Jason. He stared straight ahead, no longer allowing her to read anything in his expression. Inhaling a deep breath, Claire leaned deeper into the seat cushion. Maybe there was something to be said for confession being good for the soul, as at that moment her problems seemed lighter.
“It’s been a long week,” she said. “I don’t want to think about Carl or my situation any longer. Let’s talk about something else.”
“You okay?” Jason shot her a concerned look. “Have you eaten anything today?”
Claire laughed. For the first time in days, she felt almost giddy. She pushed out the thought of how the last time she’d felt this way, she’d been with Jason. She should keep her distance from the man, especially since she liked being with him, too much. Yet she couldn’t help herself. She was tired of feeling sad, tired of thinking about how messed up her life was, and most of all, she was tired of dwelling on Carl.
What would Crystal do in this situation? She mentally snorted. That wasn’t hard to figure out. Her twin would probably push for a night of meaningless sex. The thought brought her up short. Maybe that was just what she needed.
She eyed Jason speculatively. The idea certainly had possibilities. In fact, the more she thought about it, the better she liked it, because she was really tired of being the nice twin.
“This time I’ll feed you.” Her smile broadened. “I packed food in the cooler.”
Chapter 16
After parking in the marina lot, Jason quickly unloaded the car, handing Claire her bag and the cleaning supplies. Then he grabbed the cooler and followed her to the boat slip.
As Claire went about the task of filling buckets with soap and water, he noted her mood had improved. Unanswered questions filled his brain. The lady was hardly forthcoming, yet he understood she was walking a tightrope over a field of emotions right now. He could wait to satisfy his curiosity.
He took the bucket she handed him and got busy. He sprayed the dried substance from the deck with running water from the nozzle before scrubbing it, while she went below to clean the polished teak floor.
“That didn’t take as long as I thought it would,” Claire said as she put away the supplies. “Want to take her out?”
Jason looked at his watch. Two thirty.
“If you have time.”
“Let me make a call to find out.” He stepped to the bow out of Claire’s earshot. Elise was dropping off the girls around six for his week.
“Okay, we’re on,” he said thirty seconds later as he tucked his phone into his pocket and walked toward her. “I can spare a few hours. Elise agreed to keep the girls longer.” God, she was gorgeous, he thought as he noted the warmth sweep over her face over his favorable answer. He grinned. “It’s my week.”
“Then a quick sail and early dinner. How’s that? I promised to feed you, remember?”
“Fine,” he murmured.
He loved seeing the way sunlight played off Claire’s hair. Under the rays, the lush tresses came alive with color, ranging from cinnamon to dark brown and everything in between. She’d tied it back. But uncooperative, unruly curls sprang free, framing her face with a few tendrils of auburn. He opened his hand and closed it, stilling an urge to run his fingers through the thick hair while he wondered what that coppery mane would look like draped over a pillow after making love.
A surge of raw lust shot through to his gut at the smile she flashed. He pushed the X-rated thoughts away and concentrated on helping her ready the boat. Sex wasn’t a good idea.
But his mind wouldn’t cooperate. Too many times over the course of their sail, his focus landed on her mouth. All he could do at that point was remember. Remember how he’d tasted those lips. And he was dying to taste them again.
Claire appeared to be doing everything in her power to incite his senses, he realized once she set a plate of food down and smiled. That provocati
ve smile was what finally clued him in, set him back, and made him question her motives. Her smile definitely held the promise of something. Though leery of it, he couldn’t ignore it.
Still, she seemed unsure of herself. This strange dichotomy intrigued him the most. He eyed her warily and waited. What the hell was going on in her mind?
Watching her bite into a burger and lick at a dab of ketchup near her lips, desire flared. Blood surged through his veins and heat engulfed his groin. All five senses went on sexual alert. He tamped down an urge to ignore his brain’s warning as he struggled to eat his meal, not tasting anything but what he remembered of her lips. He was on edge, excited, on the verge of jumping off a precipice.
Jason could barely breathe. Not with her so near. And when he did manage to inhale, a delicate floral scent filled his nostrils, sending even more signals to his groin.
He worked to hide his thoughts behind the act of eating and shoved lust away, finishing the burger and salad in slow, easy bites.
All too soon, they came about, tacking back to the marina because the wind blew from the opposite direction.
When Claire reached to take his paper plate, his hand shot out, grabbing hold of her arm.
She looked up with astonishment, causing a smile to spread across his face as he pulled her onto his lap and nuzzled her neck.
“Leave it. It’s not going anywhere,” he murmured softly, nibbling on her ear and shoving hands through that thick, lush hair. “I can think of better ways to spend the next few minutes than cleaning up.”
She surprised him by throwing her arms around him and doing some nuzzling of her own. The effect was like lighting a match to tinder as heat flared between them.
His groin hardened into a firm erection. His lips sought hers and weren’t gentle as they plummeted moist depths. Jason wanted her with a passion he hadn’t felt in over a decade, and he couldn’t slow down. For too long, simmering emotion had sat waiting to boil, and now burst out of his soul.
