“Who said Boothe was part of the Alpha Brotherhood?” And yes, he noticed she’d aptly insinuated they were all working for Salvatore as well, something he didn’t intend to confirm.
“Just a guess.” She glanced at him, her perceptive blue eyes making it clear she hadn’t missed the nuance. “By the way, you are absolutely the Sean Connery Bond.”
“I think you’re paying me a compliment.” He glanced over and found her staring at him with a familiar sensual glint.
He went hard at just a look from her—and the promise in her eyes.
“You’re sexy, brooding, arrogant and too damn mesmerizing for your own good. It’s not fair, you know.”
“I’m not sure where you’re going with this.”
“Just that I can’t resist you. Even now, I’m sitting here fighting the urge to jump you right here in the middle of nowhere. I’m trying to play it cool and logical because I don’t want either of us to get hurt again.”
“Can we go back to the Sean Connery discussion?” He hooked an arm around her and tugged her to his side.
She adjusted her seat belt and leaned against him. “I wonder sometimes if we were drawn to each other because of feeling like orphans.”
He forced himself not to tense as she neatly shifted the conversation again. “We had parents.”
“Don’t be so literal.”
“Don’t be such a girl.”
“Um, hello? I have breasts.”
“Believe me.” His hand slid along the generous curve. “I noticed.”
“You’re not paying attention.” She linked fingers with him, stopping his caress.
He squeezed her hand, driving with the other hand down the deserted private road leading back to his house. “You have my complete and undivided attention.”
“Good, because there will be a quiz afterward,” she said smartly.
He nuzzled her hair, and wondered when just sitting beside her, holding her hand had become such an incredible turn on. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.” Her head fell to rest on his shoulder. “That’s what I was getting at. You have your brotherhood, but you lead these separate lives with just periodic high octane reunion s. Day by day, neither of us has a family.”
He laughed darkly. “Dysfunctional is drawn to dysfunctional, I guess.”
“Not exactly how I would have phrased it, but that works well enough.” Her hand fell to rest on his knee, stroking lightly.
To arouse or soothe?
“Jayne, your dad’s a loser just like mine was.” Anger simmered in his gut over how her father had hurt her. “End of story. We overcame it.”
“Did we?” She drew circles on his jeans, her touch heating him through the denim. “Or are we still letting them control our lives?”
His hand clenched around the steering wheel. He wanted to be with her, but damn it, she needed to leave discussions of his father in the past. He’d said all he cared to say about the old man who didn’t warrant his time. This whole twenty questions game was officially over.
“If I wanted therapy I would pay a shrink.” He turned off the road, hitting the remote for the gate, which also triggered a timed release for the other layers of security along with a facial recognition program.
“Wow, Conrad,” she said, sliding back to her side of the vehicle, “that was rude.”
He reined his temper in even as sweat beaded his brow. “You’re right.” He stopped the car beside the house. “Of course.”
“If you don’t agree,” she snapped, throwing her door open wide, “then just say so.”
“I disagree, and I’m rude.” He threw his arms wide as he circled to the front of the car. “I agree, and you tell me not to?”
“I just meant disagree politely.” She crossed her arms over her chest, plumping her breasts in the simple white T-shirt.
His hard-on throbbed in his jeans, aching as much as the pain behind his eyes.
“I just want to get a shower and some lunch.” He yanked his sticky polo shirt off and pitched it on the porch. To hell with this. He stalked toward the outside shower stall along the side of the house. “Not pick a fight.”
“Who’s picking a fight?” Her voice rose and she all but stomped a foot. “Not me. I’m just trying to have an honest discussion with you.”
“Honest?” He barely kept his voice under control. That shower was sounding better and better by the second. Maybe it would cool down his temper. “You want to talk honest then let’s talk about why you want to rewrite history so I’m some pathetic sap who blames the world for all his problems.”
She stalked closer to him one step at a time until she stopped an inch shy of her breasts skimming his bare chest. “Conrad? Shut up and take me to the shower.”
Ten
As much as Jayne ached to find answers that would give them a path to reconciliation, clearly Conrad didn’t want to talk anymore. And to be honest with herself, the trip to the clinic had left her more than a little vulnerable. She’d seen a side to her husband she hadn’t known existed. Beyond just funding a building, he was obviously hands-on at the place, well-known and liked. The way he’d played with the kids still tugged at her heart until she could barely breathe.
She definitely needed to give them both time and space. She was a patient woman, and right now she could think of the perfect way to pass that time.
Making love to her husband.
And if she was using sex to delay the inevitable? Then so be it. She couldn’t leave the protection of this place so she might as well make the most of this time.
She linked fingers with Conrad and tugged him toward the side of the house.
“Jayne, the front door’s that way.”
“And the exterior shower is this way.” She walked backward, pulling him with her. “Unless there’s some reason we should stay inside? I figured since we walked around the grounds earlier, the security system outside is as good as inside.”
“You are correct. I wouldn’t have built an outdoor shower if it wasn’t safe to use it. No one can get within a mile of this place without my knowing about it.” He reassured her with a fierce protectiveness in his voice and eyes.
The magnitude of that comforted her and unsettled her at the same time. She was a dentist’s kid from Miami. Prior to meeting Conrad, the extent of her security knowledge included memorizing the pin code for the security box on the garage leading into her condo.
She shoved aside distracting thoughts and focused on the now. Seducing Conrad. She pulled a condom from her purse and tucked it into his hand. “And that takes care of our last concern.”
He flipped the packet between his fingers. “You were planning this all day?”
“Actually—” she tossed aside her purse “—I intended to get you to pull over on a deserted side road—since this whole place is essentially deserted that wouldn’t have been tough—and I would seduce you in the car. Since the Land Cruiser is conveniently roomy, we would finish off the fantasy we started in the Jaguar in Monte Carlo.”
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Do you want to go back to the car?”
“I want you. In the shower. Now.”
He hooked his thumbs in her jeans. “Happy to accommodate.”
She grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and peeled it over her head, baring her white lacy bra. Late afternoon rays heated her skin almost as much as his eyes as she toed off her canvas loafers. The gritty earth was warm beneath her feet, pebbles digging into her toes.
Her hands fell to her belt buckle, and she unfastened her jeans, never taking her eyes from his sun-burnished face. She wriggled denim down her hips, enjoying the way his gaze stroked along each patch of revealed flesh. One last shimmy and she kicked aside her jeans, grateful she’d invested in new satin and lace lingerie before this trip.
That panty set forced her to admit she’d been hoping for just this when she’d come to Monte Carlo to deliver her five-carat ring and divorce papers. Deep in her heart, she’d hoped he would tear up the papers and slide the ring back on her hand.
Life was never that clear-cut. Today’s answers had shown her more than ever how far more complex the situation—and her husband were.
But one thing was crystal clear. She had amazing lingerie and her husband’s interest. And she intended to enjoy the hell out of their afternoon together.
She teased the front clasp open and tossed her bra aside. The extravagant scrap of satin and lace landed on top of her jeans. After they’d met in Miami, he’d rented a yacht to live on while he concocted business reasons to stay in town. Even though she’d been tempted to sleep with him from the first date, she’d held back, overwhelmed by his wealth, concerned about his past. But two months into the relationship, she couldn’t ignore her heart any longer. She’d fallen irrevocably in love with him.