by Tina Donahue
She was his equal in every way. She would really be amazing in bed.
Tell me something I don’t already know.
Josh smiled to her remembered words. She was so damned cocky, but he was no slouch, either. He would win her over, along with all of her friends, relatives, and neighbors, too, if necessary, no matter what it took. He wouldn’t rush her, he would wait for her to come to him, and she would definitely come.
There would be a night, sometime soon, when Tess would face him with all of the old barriers gone.
She wouldn’t be patient, because that just wasn’t her style. She would strip herself bare, and if he wasn’t keeping up, she would strip him, too, then crawl on top and give Josh what he most wanted.
A woman who celebrated his maleness, who adored his hard cock, and who was genuinely interested in him, not the money or status, making him feel like the most important person in her world.
It was a need Josh hadn’t noticed until now. He had been too busy with work to realize that he was actually lonely.
Not anymore. Not with Tess in his life.
Trouble was, she was still outside, when Josh wanted her in here. He had a slice of time before the conference and needed to relax. She could help him with that.
But only if she wanted to.
Josh lowered his fist before he knocked on the window to get her attention.
If he asked her to come inside to hold his hand, and a whole lot more, she’d be insulted because he was keeping her from doing her job. If he didn’t respect that, he’d lose whatever chance he had with her, not to mention pissing off Hank, Sammie, and Freddy.
As if he needed that. Already the unholy trio wanted to crush every bone in his body.
Sighing, Josh turned away from the window only to come face-to-face with one of the catering staff.
She was in her early twenties, heavily made up, and wearing a hungry expression that had nothing to do with the food she was supposed to be putting out.
“Mr. Wyatt,” she said, moving closer, “so nice to meet you.”
Josh had already backed away. Although her gaze and voice were probably meant to be seductive, he found them downright predatory. “Excuse me,” he said, then turned to leave.
She so easily stepped to the side, blocking him, it seemed almost an afterthought on her part. “We’ll be finished setting up in here in no time at all. Of course, if you have any special needs, I’d be happy to take care of them... just let me know what you want and—”
“Excuse me,” Josh said once more, then turned back to the window and pounded on it with the heel of his hand.
Tess’s cell was still to her ear as she looked over her shoulder, then turned completely around.
Josh gestured for her to get in here, now. If ever there was a moment when she should pretend they were romantically involved, this was it, and Josh wasn’t about to miss out on a chance to get her into his arms, again.
Tess frowned as if she didn’t quite get that, until she noticed the young woman behind him. Tess’s frown faded; she mouthed be right there.
You better be. Josh turned, then nearly collided with the young woman who had edged even closer. It was as if she wanted him to touch her in all the wrong places, in public no less.
And hadn’t Alan warned him about that?
If you so much as accidentally bump into one of these women while they’re after you, they’re going to see a golden opportunity to claim that you led them on, you got them in a compromising position, you couldn’t take “no” for an answer, and then—
Josh didn’t even want to consider the rest. “I said, excuse—”
“Not until you hear me out,” she interrupted, then smiled. “I can stay after the rest of the staff to—”
“No, thanks.” Josh went around her.
She followed, touching his sleeve. “But you haven’t heard what I was going to say. Now, I could—”
“Excuse me, Mr. Wyatt?”
Josh looked over his shoulder. A middle-aged man in a tropical shirt and cargos was frowning at the girl.
“Robyn, don’t you have work to do?” he asked.
“Well sure, but—”
“Then do it,” he said, his tone allowing no argument.
As she finally moved away, the older man spoke to Josh. “Sorry about that, Mr. Wyatt. She’s my sister’s second cousin, and she gets kind of stupid sometimes, but I’m sure she meant no—”
“You’re right. I’m sure she didn’t.” Josh patted the man’s shoulder, then looked past him to see Tess watching the exchange.
Josh went to her. He kept his voice low. “Where were you? Didn’t you see that girl practically wrestling me to the ground? I thought you were supposed to be protecting me. I thought you were supposed to be pretending to be romantically involved with me.”
She leaned close and whispered, “You never gave me the chance, Josh. In fact, you did so well yourself, I have to wonder if you need me at all.”
As she straightened, Josh looked at her. “You want to cancel the contract?”
She didn’t miss a beat. “Would you let me?”
He smiled. “Hell, no.”
Her expression was smug. “That’s what I thought.”
“Cocky, aren’t we?”
She returned his gaze for a long moment, then lowered it to his fly, as if she just couldn’t help herself. “You tell me,” she murmured.
Damn, this woman. “Just wait until we’re alone.”
Tess’s gaze finally lifted. Her cheeks, throat, and chest were flushed. “And when might that be?”
“Soon.”
“There you are,” Peg said.
His shoulders slumped. Please, go away.
She slipped her arm through his instead, then pulled him away.
Tess lifted her brows as Josh looked over his shoulder at her. Poor guy. Absolutely nothing was going the way he would have liked. Not only was Peg shaking Josh’s arm to get his attention, she was talking a mile a minute about some business problem that he just had to solve.
Josh finally said something that got Peg to shut up and to stop, without pissing her off.
Smart guy.
Tess’s brows lifted again as he looked over his shoulder at her.
“No matter what happens between now and eleven,” he called out, “I want you in this building, not outside.”
Oh, yeah? Tess crossed her arms over her chest.
“Please,” he added. “Be here, in this room, at eleven for my thing.”
The tone of his voice, the look in his eyes turned her resolve and brain to mush. “I’ll be here.”
Satisfied, Josh went his way, while Tess went hers.
She spoke with building security to make certain they kept an eye on the dock, just in case that paparazzo decided to return. She got today’s amended guest list from a member of Josh’s staff, and checked out everyone’s credentials. When more flowers and photos arrived from Josh’s fans, Tess refused those deliveries and made arrangements with the area florists to deliver all future gifts to retirement homes, instead.
“With the photos, too?” one of the male florists asked.
“I’ll leave that up to you,” Tess said, then continued with the rest of her business.
At ten minutes to eleven she returned to the meeting room. Members of the press were already inside along with the people who helped make this newest development happen.
To fit in with the rest of this crowd, Tess grabbed a press kit and a bottle of Perrier, then smiled blandly and kept milling about so no one would ask her any questions.
Like who she was, where she had come from, what she was doing here, and how long she had been romantically involved with Josh. Tess finished half that bottle of Perrier as she considered the answer, since that wasn’t something she and Josh had talked about. Instead, they had held hands, kissed, and chased each other around his car.
They really needed to get their act together.
“Hi. You’re new.”
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Tess lowered her bottle of Perrier and smiled blandly at the young man who had just said she was new and seemed to be waiting for a response.
“This is really something, isn’t it?” she asked, moving away from him to the model of the retail, residential, and commercial development Josh had succeeded in putting together. If the conversation circulating this room was true, he had succeeded where many of the other developers had failed, since the local politicians, citizens, and even the environmentalists had finally gone along.
Maybe they realized what Tess already knew in her heart—he was an honorable man, who instilled loyalty in his people. Peg might have given him a hard time, but she adored him, while the others treated Josh with genuine respect.
“Yeah, it is something,” the young man answered, since he had followed her to the model. “So, are you press or staff?”
Tess put up her forefinger as she faked a minor cough, took a prolonged sip of her designer water, then turned to the flurry of activity as Josh entered the room.
Despite the applause, maybe because of it, he seemed kind of embarrassed, and gestured for it to stop.
As it did, Tess saw his gaze searching this room. A lot of the young women flashed him welcoming smiles, though Josh didn’t seem to notice.
At last, his gaze saw what it wanted, his bodyguard.
Tess’s heart fluttered.
Josh winked.
It was more intimate than a caress, because it was meant for her alone, even though they were surrounded by a roomful of people.
Tess smiled. She put the press kit under her right arm and gave him a thumbs up.
He grinned, then turned to an older man who had just clamped him on the shoulder. As they exchanged a handshake and conversation that had them both laughing, that persistent young man asked, “So, you know Josh?”
Tess made her voice light even though she wanted to shoot this guy. “Doesn’t everyone?”
He seemed surprised by her evasive answer. “I guess. How do you know—”
“Hold that thought,” she interrupted, then pointed to the podium. “I think it’s starting.”
“Oh, yeah. So,” he persisted, “you’re a member of the—”
“Do you have a pen?”
He looked down at the one he was holding. “Only this one.”
“Could you get me one?” Tess asked. “And more water, too?” She stroked her throat. “I have this tickling, you know?”
The guy’s gaze followed Tess’s fingers to the base of her throat where she was drawing lazy circles. “Sure. Be right back.”
She smiled. “I’ll be here.” The moment his back was to her, Tess moved to another part of the room, glanced at her watch, then looked up at the microphone’s feedback.
Josh was finally at the podium. As the others moved closer, Tess retreated toward a wall, leaning against it as this thing finally got under way.
Josh first thanked everyone involved in this project, encouraging the crowd to applaud each individual. After detailing the stages of construction, which was accompanied by a video presentation, and offering a dizzying array of facts and figures, Josh finally wrapped things up and asked if there were any questions.
A young male voice from the back immediately called out, “Did those naked photos of you in Keys Confidential hurt your credibility with the investors?”
Tess swung her head to that guy. She frowned. How dare he ask such a thing.
Before Josh even had a chance to respond, a female reporter asked, “Were you behind those photos being published, in a misguided attempt to gain publicity for this project?”
On the heels of that was another question, “If this wasn’t a publicity stunt orchestrated by you, do you plan to sue the tabloid?”
After that, everyone seemed to be talking at once.
Tess looked from the crowd to Josh as he remained at the podium, saying nothing, his expression unreadable. Even so, she sensed his anger and his hurt.
After all he had done for the Keys, after all he had accomplished, these ghouls were only interested in those tabloid photos?
Well, to hell with that.
Moving quickly through this crowd, Tess went to his side. Before Josh could ask what she was doing, Tess leaned toward the microphone and said, “That’s enough!”
Her voice was loud and cop hard.
Some shut up; others did not.
Tess addressed them personally, asking if they were having trouble hearing or just didn’t understand English. “I can say it in Spanish if that’d help,” she said, then did.
That shut them up.
Tess seized the quiet to address everyone. “Josh was as surprised by those photos—no, he was more surprised—than the rest of you. It wasn’t your privacy that was breached—it was his. Do you have any idea how terrible that is? As to your question,” she said to the woman who asked if this was a misguided attempt to gain publicity, “didn’t you do your homework before coming here? Don’t you know what this man has done for the Keys and this state? Do you really believe he’d need a tabloid, of all things, to promote his projects?”
Before the woman could answer, Tess looked at the young man who asked that first, stupid question. “And you—do you really believe that with Josh’s track record, investors would question his credibility? Is anyone really that naïve? And you,” she said to another, taking him to task for his idiotic question.
Moving from him to the next and then to the next, Tess vented as she never had, until she had said it all.
In that moment, silence greeted her, along with more than a few raised brows.
Well, too bad. She wasn’t about to keep her mouth shut when they were attacking Josh. If they wanted a fight, then she’d give them one.
“Who are you?” a reporter finally called out.
Josh grabbed her wrist, as if warning her not to say anything else. Leaning toward the microphone, he said, “This press conference is over.”
As he tried to lead her away, Tess held back.
Josh gave her a hard stare, which she ignored.
“Tess Franklin,” she said into the microphone.
Josh hissed, “Tess.”
“It’s okay,” she said to him. She wasn’t going to tell these nitwits that she was his bodyguard, which would just bring everything right back to that tabloid stuff. She wouldn’t embarrass him that way. Turning to the crowd, she said, “Josh and I have been seeing each other for some time.”
He looked at her as if she was nuts, or as if he’d forgotten the pretend relationship was his idea.
“Where did you two meet?” a reporter called out.
“When?” another shouted.
Tess put up her finger, asking for a moment, as Josh pulled her away from that mike and whispered in her ear, “What are you doing?”
She turned into him and whispered, “Figuring out when we met.”
“Are you kidding?” he whispered. “This is a press conference. Those are reporters.”
“They’re ghouls,” she corrected, “and we both knew we’d be asked about our relationship.”
“Not at a press conference.”
“Let’s get it all out right here and now. Unless you’ve changed your mind and want me to just be your bodyguard in public.”
Straightening, Josh met her gaze, then moved toward the microphone. “We met a while back through Tess’s dad, Fred Franklin. He owns Privacy Dynamics. Fred’s company did all the security upgrades for my estate and will soon start on the security for this building and the others I own.”
Tess tried to hide her surprise. That wasn’t the history they had agreed upon.
Didn’t matter. During the following minutes, Josh raved about her dad’s business, giving the man publicity he couldn’t have hoped to get in several years.
At last, Josh scanned the crowd and said, “Peg, see to it that all of these good people get a copy of Privacy Dynamics’ brochure before they leave.”
“What’s next for you two?�
�� another reporter called out.
As the other reporters laughed and smiled, Tess considered that question.
No matter how much she enjoyed being with Josh, even at a stupid press conference, this couldn’t last forever. It was just a job. And even if he was promoting her dad’s business, even if he respected her and wanted her physically, that didn’t mean that he would ever love her.
Tess finally went to the microphone and said the only thing she could. “That’s between Josh and me.”
Chapter Seven
The moment those words were out of her mouth, Josh knew Tess had made a mistake. Not as big as disclosing their relationship to the freaking world, of course, but a definite no-no. If anything, the reporters now seemed determined to find out all that they could.
There were more questions about the romance, then ones about her age, where she had grown up, where she lived now, what she did for a living. It quickly dawned on Tess that their pretend relationship should have been assumed when they showed up at various functions, not spelled out at a media event. Even so, she dug in her heels, answering all of those questions with ones of her own, just like a former cop.
That only made the press more persistent.
Josh figured this couldn’t get any worse until he noticed Sammie and Hank in the back. They were staring at Tess, then frowning at him, rather than taking control of this crowd, especially that guy to the right. He had tabloid written all over him as he kept snapping pictures.
Sammie finally pulled out her cell, punched in a number, then talked until her face was red. Josh figured she was reporting this newest wrinkle to Freddy.
If that wasn’t bad enough, late in the day, Hank, not Tess, showed up to drive him home.
Josh wondered if she had been summoned to her dad’s or was still hiding out. After the press conference, Josh had seen her only once, and that was when she was talking to Peg. From what Josh could overhear of that conversation, Tess admitted to losing her cool, something she never did.
“I just had to protect him,” she said with absolutely no regret in her voice, which got quickly ballsy, “and I’d do it again in a second, so shoot me.”
