Strictly Confidential Attraction

by Brenda Jackson

  “No, there’s nothing new,” Gavin said. “I showed the video around and no one seems to recognize the woman, so it’s still a mystery.” He glanced down at his watch. “That’s all I have to report tonight. I’m sure you’re all aware that word has gotten around that Jonathan was murdered by some sort of lethal injection and everyone has an idea of who did it.” He shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe how many people stopped me today with the list of their own suspects.”

  Mark lifted an eyebrow in amusement. “Any particular name that’s heading the list?”

  Gavin sighed. “Yeah, Nita Windcroft’s, but only because of the feud. But then everyone was quick to add that more than likely she didn’t do it because she would not have let poor Jonathan linger. If he had made her mad enough, she would have taken a gun and shot him on the spot.”

  Connor grinned. “She doesn’t sound like a woman I would want to tangle with.”

  Tom chuckled. “From what I’m hearing, no one would.”

  Gavin smiled. “Well, that ends tonight’s meeting. We’ll get together again next Wednesday. At that time, Mark, you can tell us what you’ve found out after talking with Nita.”

  “Sure thing,” Mark said.” When the men all stood, he asked, “Anyone interested in a game of poker tonight?”

  Jake smiled and shook his head. “Sorry, I have a lady waiting for my return.”

  “And so do I,” Logan said, grinning as he put back on his jacket. His gray-green eyes had the quiet, determined intent of a man who knew just where he was going and didn’t plan on wasting time getting there.

  Mark studied the two men who were rushing for the door. “Hmm, I can distinctively remember a time when there were no ladies in your lives.”

  Jake paused in the doorway and chuckled. “Well, you know how it is.” After studying Mark for a brief moment he said, “Then again, my friend, maybe you don’t. But I have a feeling that one day soon you will.” Then he was gone with Logan right on his heels.

  Mark frowned and turned to look at Tom, Connor and Gavin. “What the hell did he mean by that?”

  Gavin shrugged. “I’m through figuring out things for the night. I’ll leave that one for the three of you to ponder.” His brown eyes seemed to smile when he added, “I’m headed over to the diner for a cup of coffee.” And he rushed out the door as well.

  Mark, Connor and Tom shared a knowing look between them. They knew of Gavin’s fascination with a certain waitress at the Royal Diner.

  “The least he could have done was invite us to come along,” Connor said jokingly.

  “Yes, he very well could have. However, since he didn’t, we can only assume he felt that four was a crowd,” Tom replied laughing.

  Mark nodded, amused. “Maybe I better warn Gavin that he’s not the only one who has the hots for Valerie Raines. I’ve notice Malcolm Durmorr giving her a lusty eye more than once when I happened to be in there.”

  Connor sat and folded his arms over his chest, rolling his blue eyes heavenward. “Malcolm? That lowlife?” He glanced over at Tom. “Sorry. I forgot he’s a distant relative of yours.”

  Tom shook his head. “From what I understand, the Devlins try to forget that fact as well.”

  Connor seemed to understand. He then gave Mark a sly grin. “If I were you, I wouldn’t tell Gavin anything about Malcolm’s interest in Valerie Raines. Competition is good for the soul and it will keep our sheriff on his toes.”

  Mark smiled. “Maybe you’re right.” He glanced at his watch. It wasn’t nine o’clock and chances were Alli hadn’t gone to bed yet. He looked at Connor and Tom. “A game of poker anyone?”

  When the two men agreed, Mark’s smile widened. Good. He’d been saved by a poker game.

  Holding Erika in her arms, Alli walked over to the rocker-recliner and sat. She could not believe that it was almost nine o’clock and the little girl was still wide awake. She couldn’t help but smile down at the big, beautiful hazel eyes in that round little face that was staring up at her. Her dark curly hair framed her face and a little pink ribbon sat on top of her head.

  Alli smiled as she shook her head thinking that every time she’d seen Erika her hair had been fixed the same way, which was probably a convenient style for Mark. She decided that she was going to introduce Erika to some cute new hairdos and thought a mass of braids would look rather nice on her.

  “So, your uncle is short on affection and you still love him anyway, huh?” Alli said as she began rocking the chair. “Well, I know just how you feel, so welcome to the club.”

  When the baby gave her a grin that showed a few sprouting teeth, Alli returned the gesture. “I guess it’s going to take the two of us to give him a lesson in love, wouldn’t you say?”

  As Alli continued to rock, she thought that, affection or no affection, Mark was evidently doing something right for his niece to adore him so much. She had noted earlier while feeding Erika a snack that even the slightest sound had Erika glancing toward the kitchen door as if anxious to see her uncle walk through it. And a couple of times she had wandered around the living room chanting “Da-da” as if saying it would make Mark appear.

  Okay, so he didn’t go for all that kissy stuff, but he was bestowing affection on Erika in ways that Mark himself probably didn’t even realize.

  Like this rocker-recliner chair for instance.

  He had mentioned how he used to rock her in it. An affectionless person would not have bothered doing that.

  Alli sighed deeply. After what had almost happened between her and Mark in the bedroom, she had needed distance and a chance to escape. Spotting the stroller in Erika’s room, she had decided it would be a perfect time to go for a stroll around the Hartman property.

  She had never imagined the ranch consisted of that much land. It seemed she had walked endlessly, enjoying the beauty of the landscape and wondering how Mark had ever moved away since every tree, shrub and patch of grass was so beautiful. And Erika seemed to have enjoyed being outside, breathing in the rich Texas air and appreciating the warmth of a sunny September day.

  Alli glanced down at the little girl who was still fighting sleep, although it seemed she wasn’t winning as much as she had been earlier. “You have your uncle’s heart and he doesn’t even know it. He’s so slow. A typical man,” she whispered as she continued to rock.

  Moments later she glanced down and saw that Erika had fallen asleep, but Alli wasn’t ready to put her down yet. So she kept rocking and slowly her own eyes closed as thoughts of a very slow, typical man by the name of Mark Hartman filled her unconsciousness.

  It was close to eleven o’clock when Mark returned to the ranch. As habit, he went straight to Erika’s room to check on her and was surprised to find the light still on in her bedroom. He was further surprised to see Alli holding Erika in the rocker-recliner and they were both asleep.

  He had seen Erika sleeping many times but this was the first time he had ever seen his administrative assistant anything but wide awake and fully alert. For a moment he couldn’t move, too mesmerized by the beauty of her sitting there with her eyes closed. So he took the time to study her.

  His gaze first went to her hair—thick, shoulder-length and dark brown. A vision entered his mind of him running his fingers though the silky strands while he was kissing her. His gaze then shifted to her face and took in the creaminess of her brown skin, the perfection of her naturally shaped eyebrows and the faultless precision of her chin. But what his gaze zeroed in on was her mouth. Even from across the room it looked moist, tempting, inviting.

  He swallowed. His own lips suddenly felt hot, dry, parched and he was convinced that the only way to bring relief to them was to mate them with hers. Without questioning the wisdom of what he was about to do, he slowly crossed the room to her.

  He leaned over and softly whispered in Alli’s ear. “I’m putting Erika in her bed, Alli.”

  He watched as Alli’s eyes flew open the moment he scooped his niece out of her arms. “Mark, you’re
back,” she whispered and the low, throaty sound, as well as the sigh that followed, sent a riveting sensation all the way to his gut. And the sensuously seductive scent of her wasn’t helping matters.

  Holding Erika, he straightened and met Alli’s eyes. “Yes, I’m back. Let me put her in bed.”

  He turned quickly and crossed the room to lay his niece down. Covering her with the blanket, he watched her for a moment to make sure she was all right and checked the monitor that was attached to the crib before turning his attention back to Alli.

  She was standing and his throat tightened when he saw she was no longer wearing slacks but had changed into shorts. His desire was instantaneous and his gaze moved over her. Their eyes connected and he studied the darkness of her brown eyes and felt the same intense heat that he was feeling radiating from them. The same heat that was burning his insides with desire.

  “I had meant to put her down earlier but fell asleep rocking her,” she whispered.

  “Did you?” he asked softly.

  “Yes.”

  He slowly began walking over toward her.

  Alli’s pulse raced. He was looking at her that way again. The way he had earlier, which was the way he always looked at her in her dreams, especially the one he had awakened her from moments earlier. She knew she should be happy, thrilled and elated that after two years he was finally noticing her, but a part of her questioned the wisdom of becoming involved with Mark, although she was hopelessly in love with him.

  When he came to a stop in front of her, his eyes leveled on hers. He reached out and lifted her chin with his finger. “You are a very beautiful woman, Alli.”

  She blinked, startled. She hadn’t expected him to say such a thing. At first she didn’t know what to say, then she decided to say something flippant, although being flip wasn’t the norm for her. But it seemed that tonight neither she nor Mark was acting normally.

  She smiled and tilted her head to the side. “So, it took you two years to notice, Mark?” she asked jokingly.

  His eyes seemed to darken when he said, “No. I noticed the first day I met you, which is the reason I came pretty damn close to not hiring you.”

  His words wiped that glib look off her face. She then nibbled nervously on her lower lip. “I didn’t think you noticed me.”

  He tilted her chin up more. “Oh, trust me, you’ve been a distraction, Alli. In fact, for two years I’ve been fighting my attraction to you. And that night at the Anniversary Ball was the hardest, I think. You looked so damn beautiful in that gown and more than once I started to ask you to dance but stopped myself. The last thing I wanted when I returned to Royal was to become seriously involved with anyone, especially an employee.”

  Alli nodded. She hadn’t known he had paid her any attention at the ball and knowing that he had filled her with happiness. “And now?” she asked quietly.

  “And now I want to kiss you so bad I ache.”

  “Oh.”

  That was the only word he gave her time to say before he embraced her as his mouth descended on hers, stealing her next breath. At the same time, he swept his tongue into her mouth. And she accepted it with the same ease that he gave it to her.

  Alli had never been kissed this way. If the truth were known, at twenty-five she had never really been kissed at all and was puzzled by how effortless it was to follow Mark’s lead. Taking care of Kara had been a full-time job and left no time for dating. But she’d figured she had not missed out on anything…until now. She seriously doubted that anyone would have been able to blow her away with a kiss the way Mark was doing. He had the ability to turn on all her buttons and was sending new sensations zinging all through her. She wondered if he knew how much of a novice she was at this.

  He did.

  Mark had detected it the moment his tongue had entered Alli’s mouth and he had felt her body go tense at the invasion, as if she hadn’t been expecting such intimacy. He had kissed a lot of women, some more experienced than others. He wouldn’t go so far to say that Alli had never been kissed before, but evidently the other men hadn’t done it right.

  Not only did he intend to do it right, but he also planned on taking it to another level. He pulled back slightly and whispered against her moist lips. “Wrap your arms around my neck, Alli.”

  She did as he asked and, the moment she complied with his request, he captured her mouth again and deepened the kiss while one of his hands stroked through her hair and the other wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer to the fit of him. He heard her moan softly and felt the way her heart was racing with her chest pressed so tightly to his. He also felt the firm tips of her breasts, which made his pulse quicken.

  He knew the moment she became aware of his erection and, when she deliberately rocked into him, he released a low groan and automatically thrust his hips against hers. He had asked her to place her arms around his neck but now she was clutching his shoulders, kneading her fingers deep into the muscles as if to keep her balance. The way she was returning his kiss was robbing him of any control he might have had. He lowered his arms from her waist to mold her curvy buttocks more intimately against him.

  The sound of Erika whimpering in her sleep made Mark withdraw his mouth and inhale deeply. It also brought about a semblance of self-control. He took a step back and stared at Alli’s swollen mouth, thinking this woman was all fire and danger. At the moment he didn’t want to tangle with either. Kissing her had definitely been a mistake. Not only she was an affectionate person, but she was a passionate one as well. And it had been obvious from their kiss that her sensuality hadn’t been tapped yet.

  He dragged in another deep breath and with it came a whiff of her perfume. Seductive. Alluring. A total turn-on. Needing to put distance between them, he crossed the room to Erika’s crib to check on her.

  “Mark, we—”

  “Made a mistake,” he said briskly, finishing what he knew she was about to say. “Go on to bed, Alli. I’ll see you in the morning,” he all but snapped.

  Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw how Alli’s spine stiffened. He was tempted to go to her and start the kissing all over again. But he knew he couldn’t do that.

  Mark didn’t turn around until he heard the sound of the door closing. It was then that he sat in the rocker-recliner and dropped his head into his hands, thinking that he finally had given into temptation. And as a result, he definitely had made a mess of things.

  Four

  He owed Alli an apology.

  Mark awakened with that thought and quickly glanced at the clock on the nightstand beside his bed. It was still early, barely five in the morning. Chances were she was still sleep so, for the time being, there was nothing he could do.

  He rubbed his hand down his face when the memory of kissing her seeped into his mind. Damn, she hadn’t been in his house for a full night and he had acted like a stallion in heat. That had been unfair to her.

  She was here to take care of his niece, something he appreciated her doing. But he had shown his gratitude by pouncing on her the first chance he’d gotten and would have continued kissing her if they hadn’t been interrupted by the sounds Erika had made in her sleep.

  Although he didn’t want to, he found himself again thinking about the kiss they had shared. He had wanted to taste Alli, and had gotten more than he’d bargained for. Her lips had fit perfectly to his, as if they had been made just for him, and they had felt soft and had had such a seductive flavor. And when he had deepened the kiss, he had wanted more than anything to pick her up, take her into his bedroom, place her on his bed, undress her and then slide inside of her, between her long shapely legs…

  Mark muttered a curse as he threw back the covers to sit on the side of the bed. Since it seemed that going back to sleep was out of the question, he decided to get up. Although it was early, there were a number of things he could do before leaving for the studio. And no matter how many appointments he had on his calendar, he intended to give Nita Windcroft a call to determine the
best time he could drive over to the Windcroft horse farm to talk to her.

  But first thing this morning, as soon as he saw Alli, he intended to apologize for his actions last night.

  Sitting on the accent bench in her bedroom, Alli closed her eyes when she found herself still shivering from the sensations that had gripped her the night before. She barely had been able to sleep, so instead she had decided to get up and think. However, she found that all she could do was mentally replay every single detail of being in Mark’s arms.

  An undefined ache still throbbed between her legs, and all during the night while trying to sleep she had shifted positions in an attempt to ease it. Whenever she had closed her eyes she had felt the pulsing heat from his erection pressed so intimately against her while he kissed her in a way that had melted her insides.

  “This isn’t good,” she said softly with a sigh as she leaned back on the bench. She loved Mark but she wasn’t sure she was ready for the degree of passion that he invoked.

  Like his toe-curling kiss, for instance.

  And although he had definitely left a lasting impression on her, she was convinced that she hadn’t left any on him except possibly the question why a twenty-five-year-old woman knew absolutely nothing about the pleasures that men and women shared. He had even gone so far to admit that kissing her had been a mistake. But she didn’t see things that way. What had been a mistake to him had been pure enjoyment to her.

  Did he also see her being here as a mistake? Did he feel there was no way she could stay on as Erika’s nanny since it was obvious that her presence was causing problems? What if he intended to take it further and ask her to quit her job as his assistant as well, since their employer-employee relationship had been breached? Panic tightened her throat. She couldn’t lose her job now when Kara was depending so much on her.

  Heaving a troubled sigh, she rose and walked back over to the bed. Feeling exhausted from lack of sleep, she decided to close her eyes and try to rest a while before Erika awakened for breakfast.