He plucked her off the bedpost then, careful not to let his hands stray from her face. Well, okay, he could grasp her shoulders or hold her by her arms, but that was it. “Look, I love you, you know that, don’t you?”
She nodded, but worry lines puckered her forehead.
“If it was just me, I’d be naked by now—trust me on that—but sweetheart, I don’t bail on anybody I love. I won’t bail on my family, and I certainly won’t ever bail on you. But my folks worked their whole lives to get where they are. They’ve risked it all for me. Let’s face it, financial solvency lasts a lifetime. Sex lasts five minutes.”
She grinned then.
So did he. “Yeah, I know, but that’s all I’d be able to give you right now.”
“Maybe that’s all I need.”
“Sweetheart”—he laughed gently—”that’s never been all you need.”
He kissed her deeply, thoroughly, until he knew her knees were mush because she was getting shorter—either that, or aiming for the bed. He tore himself away, one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do.
“Go get dressed. I’ll throw some of your clothes in my bag, you won’t need much.”
“But… but there might not be an open seat on the plane.”
“Then you’ll be on the next one.” He gave her a gentle push toward the hall, noticing little dots of moisture on her upper lip that he wanted to suck off. Later. “Let’s go, we’re wasting time. The sooner we get there, the sooner you get laid.”
Lilly flashed him a saucy wink and took off running ahead of him. She was in dark jeans and a red T-shirt in seconds, but due to the long layover scheduled in Phoenix, he’d be thinking about her in that teddy for the next six hours and thirty-seven minutes. Longer if he counted driving time.
No way, wasn’t possible to survive that.
Mile High Club, here I come. He wouldn’t mind becoming a member.
“If you’re gonna zap me over the price of a ticket, do it now,” she muttered.
“I’m not—Oh, them.”
She glanced upward. “Good, glad we got that straight.”
Was he prepared to live the rest of his life with this peculiarity of hers?
Lilly slipped into strappy red heels—his favorites, the ones that raised her ass several inches to a much handier level.
Yeah, guess I am.
“Is it getting hot in here?” She brushed her hair back off her face.
“Nope, you’re just burning up for me, babe.”
Surprisingly, she didn’t have a comeback for that corny line. Hopefully she’d be struck just as mute when he mentioned his plans for club membership. Could they get into the same bathroom without attracting attention?
He grabbed panties and bras out of her drawer, and what was that flash of red? Tights? He grabbed those, too. Adding a couple T-shirts, he flew back across the hall to stow it all in his suitcase, shouting instructions as he went.
“If you need anything out of the bathroom besides your toothbrush, go get it.”
“Oh my God—no.” Lilly charged down the hall, screaming.
Man, if she’d just gotten her period, she wasn’t going to be the only one.
He zipped the suitcase, ran downstairs, threw it into the car, and ran back inside to hurry things along. He found Lilly bent over at the kitchen sink, moaning, crying, her face under the faucet.
“What’s the matter?”
“Ibburns,” she burbled under the flow of water.
“This isn’t one of those angel moments, is it?”
When she tilted her head and glanced up at him, his heart seized. Her eyes were red and watery. Her face was splotchy beneath the sheen of water running off her chin. Her lips—
“Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod—”
“What—” He peered closer. “What’d you do to your lips?”
Swollen, they appeared tight and uncomfortable. An allergic reaction to her lipstick?
Geez, why now?
She stuck her face back under the cold water. But she also held out a small, familiar bottle.
“You didn’t.”
Her nod consisted of tight little jerks, and Jake saw his meeting slipping away from him.
“Not water,” he said, pulling her away from the flow. “That makes it worse.”
“Can’t.”
When he let go to fetch a better remedy, she ducked back under the faucet and he had to pull her away again.
“I know it burns,” he crooned, trying to sound comforting, but from the copious amount of tears streaming down her face, he wasn’t having that effect. Dabbing at her cheeks with a towel, he grasped her chin and held it so she’d have to focus on him, so she wouldn’t go back to the water, which just spread that stuff everywhere no one wanted it to go. He tore off a piece of bread and held it in front of her mouth. “Eat this.”
“I need ice!”
There, he had it in. “No ice. Chew.” He stuffed in another chunk. “Keep chewing. Swallow. Here’s more. Better yet?”
“No. It’s hot, I need water.”
“Trust me, you need bread. Geez, I can’t believe you used that stuff.”
“I did it for you.”
“Yeah, think how well that’d be going right now.” As if chewing would’ve helped him.
“More bread.”
He knew she was recovering when she snickered. “What?” he asked.
“Just picturing you with a hot dog bun wrapped around—”
“I doubt it works that way. It hurts just thinking about it. And if you still think it’s funny, just imagine where the burning might have spread to.”
She clenched her thighs tightly. “Eww.”
“Exactly.” He tossed the bottle into the trash and risked a hug. “From now on, let’s vote on everything we try before we try it, okay?”
“Sure,” she said, leaning back and puckering up.
“Forget that.”
“Aw, c’mon, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Want a glass of water?”
“Mm, maybe I’ll wait.”
“Yeah, maybe I will, too.”
“Can we still make the flight?”
He checked the wall clock. “It’ll be close.”
Twenty minutes later, they were caught in highway traffic as it slowed to a crawl.
“It might be an accident.” It was Lilly’s fault, they both knew it, but Jake was kind enough not to say so.
“Might be everyone rubbernecking a flat tire, too. Either way, we’re not going to make it.”
Moments later, all lanes were blocked. Jake slumped against his door, undoubtedly feeling the weight of the world on him at this moment. His parents. His uncle. Maybe others; things like this always had repercussions that trickled down.
“It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”
He started to argue, but she forestalled him by raising her hand. “I’m the one who used the spray. I’m the one who took extra minutes. If we’d left when you were ready, maybe we could’ve been in front of this.”
If he hadn’t come to her rescue with the bread, patiently feeding her morsels until the fire in her mouth was extinguished, he’d be miles ahead. Boy, she’d never try anything like that again. If she’d gotten her tongue as far as him, he wouldn’t be walking, much less driving.
“How can they sell something like that?”
“Trust me, most people don’t have that reaction. You must be really sensitive.”
Yeah, thanks a lot, Elizabeth. “What if I’d gotten it in my eyes?”
“Then we’d be on our way to the hospital.”
She squeezed his hand, aiming to comfort him. “Hey, there’s no reason for you to miss your meeting over this. What time was your arrival?”
“Twelve-thirty.” The look she tossed him must have said Then what’s the rush? because he shrugged and said, “Hey, all I could get was a connection through Phoenix.”
“Piece of cake.” She speed dialed the hangar and made arrangements to use her own plane.
“I thought you sold it.”
“Not yet. It’s ours for three days. If you need more time than that, I’ll have to fly it back alone.”
“All right.” When the cell phone rang, he amended that to, “Don’t answer it. They’re calling back to change their minds.”
“It’s your phone.” She handed it to him.
After a minute of conversation, all he said was an ominous, quiet, “Shit,” that gave her the shivers.
He flipped the phone shut and said nothing. He didn’t have to. His lips were tight with anger. The pulse in his neck jumped at an alarming rate.
“What?” she asked, watching him work the inside of his cheek. She had to know.
Finally, he spoke, his voice terse and low. “Marquettes strike again. My dad just received a notice of foreclosure.”
“The house?” The home he’d been reared in, decorated and tended lovingly by his mother.
He nodded, twice, then shook his head with thoughts left unsaid.
“But your dad built it.” The home his sisters and their families filled on holidays and birthdays.
“And my grandfather. My uncles. Some of my cousins.”
Jake called the bank and confirmed that the check had been sent automatically, as it was every month.
“Then there’s a record of it,” she said.
“But no proof they ever received it, of course.”
“That does it,” Lilly snapped. “Take the next exit.”
He waved a hand around uselessly. “We’re not moving.”
“There’s a shoulder.”
“I can’t—”
“For heaven’s sake, it’s not as if you’re going to lose your taxi license. We’re in a Mercedes. No cop racing to an accident is going to pull you over for driving on the shoulder.”
He muttered something under his breath, then nosed the car to the right. Crossing the shoulder altogether, he headed down the hill to the access road. “Pray there’re no bottles hidden in the grass.”
“You want me to pray!”
“Hey, you seem to think you’ve got connections.”
“I wouldn’t count on them for this. Go right.”
“The airport—”
“Can wait. We’re going to pay a little visit to the Marquettes.”
“We’re going to leave it to my dad’s attorney.”
“Maybe. After I have my say.”
“Yeah, like that’ll make them change their minds.”
“Look, if we don’t handle this before you get to California, are you going to be able to concentrate on what you have to do there?”
“It’s my problem, not yours.”
Lilly held up her cell phone. “Either drive me over to Donna’s, or I’ll call a taxi and get there myself. If I have to, I’ll jump out of this car,”
The tiniest grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Wait’ll I get to the bottom.”
When he didn’t turn right away, Lilly sighed with purpose, holding the back of her hand up to her forehead as if checking her temperature. “Darn, I think that spray has residual effects. I shouldn’t fly today, I might be under the influence.”
“Damn, you’re pigheaded.” He rolled his eyes, but he turned right onto the access road.
“Yeah, you love that about me.”
His grin widened. “Yeah, I do. I can’t wait to see you give Donna a piece of your mind.”
“It’s time.”
Unaccustomed to John’s upbeat tone, Elizabeth frowned and cautiously said, “What?”
“It’s time to set Lilly free.”
Elizabeth bubbled with joy and confidence. “You mean—”
“No more help. No more shocks. It’s time to see if our little bird can fly on her own.”
“She’ll do just fine, I know it. Oh, John, you’ll be so proud of her.”
“I didn’t approve of your bracelet idea when I first saw it, but now I believe it might have merit. If this works, if Lilly’s finally learned her lesson, how would you like to try it on a few more people?”
“Oh yes! I could help so many souls.”
“But if Lilly fails—”
She cringed inwardly. “She won’t, you’ll see. I hardly ever zap her anymore.”
“See that you don’t, not under any circumstances. From here on, the bracelet will be a lifeline only. Let’s see if she’s truly learned anything.”
21
Jake trotted up the broad, brick-edged steps of the Marquette mansion a half step behind Lilly.
She was hell-bent on reading the riot act to her former mother-in-law. Jake favored the attorney route himself, but he’d enjoy watching Lilly throw her weight around. He always enjoyed watching Lilly do anything, but if it involved one-upping a Marquette, all the better.
In fact, he was looking forward to it so much that he almost missed appreciating the determined sway of her hips as she ascended all ten steps. Almost, but not quite. And since he knew she had on a slinky red teddy under her jeans, he was eager to get this over with quickly.
But when no one answered the doorbell after two rings, he grew restless about missing his meeting in Silicon Valley. “Let’s go, she’s not here.”
“Oh yes she is.” Lilly stabbed the bell again. “The investment club meets here every other Friday for lunch, and I guarantee Donna’s inside making sure everything’s perfect. We couldn’t pick a better day, actually.” She grinned. “Don’t be surprised if I have to mess up some stuff to force her hand.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Oh, whatever I can get my hands on.”
“You don’t throw china, do you?”
Lilly’s grin blossomed into a full smile, lighting up her face with impish determination. “If you’re squeamish, you’d better wait out here.”
He chuckled that thought aside. “Wouldn’t miss it. But look, we’re the last people she’s going to open the door for.”
“The last thing you need is this nagging at you while you’re trying to create new technology.”
She plucked a key from her purse, much to his surprise.
“Do they know you have that?”
“Well, they did.”
“Geez, if I were Donna and drugged somebody, I would’ve at least had my locks changed.”
“Lucky for us, she’s not as smart as you.” Once inside, Lilly swung the door wide, then hauled back and slammed it. “That ought to bring someone. If not”—she raised her voice—”I’ll start in on more fragile stuff.”
“Uh, when you’re breaking china, keep in mind that today’s not a good day to get arrested, okay?”
“Is that a numerology thing?”
He snorted. “Please. Or hey, how about that lamp on the table? It’s simple, but it’ll still make quite a racket.”
“It’s a Galle. Don’t let Donna hear you call it simple.”
He took a second look at the squatty red-and-amber table lamp, which looked ridiculously small, almost lost, in the huge foyer. “Old? Or expensive?”
“Yes, and yes.”
“So you don’t really know.”
“Are you kidding? I touched the table once and got the full lecture. It’s over a hundred years old. She paid sixty grand for it.”
He choked at the thought. In fact, it pissed him off. How many more people could Lilly help with that amount of money? He was about to say just that when he noticed her circling the foyer, idly fondling the trunks of the two soaring palm trees as if they were her lost children.
“Hey, Jake, you know anybody with room for these?”
He glanced up to their full height, closing in on the second-story ceiling. “Are you kidding? Even if I did— No, you wouldn’t actually break in here some night.”
“It’s not breaking in if I have a key.”
“Still.”
She grinned wickedly, and he could practically see the wheels turning to a plan that he wanted no part of.
“Stop that. I’m not going to help you.” He res
isted an impulse to kiss her grin away, but just barely.
“Well, she owes me.”
“That’s beside the point. We’re not breaking or stealing anything.”
“Let’s call it repossession.”
“She’s probably listening to you and calling the police.”
“Then I guess I’d better move this along.” Lilly punched the intercom button and said, “Donna, I know you’re here. I’m in the foyer and I want to talk.”
That sounded like a war declaration. Jake braced himself, feet slightly apart, arms crossed over his chest. He strove to appear formidable, the better to dissuade Donna from throwing the first punch at Lilly. Taking time to put the bitch in her place would slow him down too much.
Then, utilizing CATS’s latest feature, which he’d developed for just this sort of occasion, he activated the software remotely with the key word. “I sure as hell hope you brought an angel with you.”
“If that’s your way of sweet-talking me, it won’t work.”
“How about throwing you over my shoulder?”
“Ooh”—she winked up at him—”later.”
He didn’t get to throw out a sexy retort that’d put Lilly’s body on full alert, because Donna strode into the foyer from the back of the house, nothing tentative in her step, nothing soft about her all-black garb. She faked surprise and pleasure to see Lilly. Him, she ignored.
“Why, Lilly dear, when did you get here? I must have been in the greenhouse arranging the centerpieces for lunch—today’s the meeting, you know—and I guess I didn’t hear the bell.”
“Then how did you know I rang it?”
Way to go, Lilly!
Donna’s smile faded. To make a point, she checked her watch. “I haven’t much time.”
“That’s fine, I only have a minute. I’d like you to drop the foreclosure on Mr. Murdoch’s house.”
“Why certainly, let me get the papers. I’ll just be a minute.” Stiff-backed, she disappeared into the study.
Stunned, Lilly whispered, “Well, that was easy,” to Jake.
“Careful, it doesn’t take long to dial 9-1-1.”
Donna returned with a typewritten statement, which she handed to Lilly. “Just sign at the bottom. Then I’ll call Frank with the good news, and we’ll take care of all of your accounts.”
Lilly barely glanced at it with disbelief before crumpling it into a ball. “A power of attorney?”
A Date on Cloud Nine Page 26
