Dating the Enemy Read online

  “Was that a manly way of asking if we could go back to shore, or something?”

  “Or something.”

  She giggled and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go, then.”

  Hand in hand, they splashed through the water back to dry land, the wet sand sucking at their toes. When they reached their clothes she rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Thank you for coming with me, Nick.”

  “Thank you for inviting me. This place really is paradise.”

  “Ouch. That hurts. What the hell …?”

  Jessie looked down and saw that a little yellow crab was pinching her with everything he had.

  “Peace, little guy,” she said, trying to shake him off. But he wouldn’t let go.

  Finally Nick reached down and pried his claws off. The crab skittered off and Jessie sat down in the sand to check her toe, which was red and bleeding.

  “Damn, that hurts,” Jessie hissed.

  “You probably shouldn’t walk on that. Let me carry you.”

  Suddenly exhausted, Jessie decided not to argue. Instead, she just held out her arms. He scooped her up and kissed her forehead.

  “I guess even paradise has its monsters.”

  “Yes, it does. But they’re a whole lot easier to deal with when you’re not alone,” she mumbled sleepily.

  “Jessie?”

  “Hmm?”

  “How do we get in the house?”

  “There’s a keypad. The code is 530178. The bedroom is right at the top of the stairs.”

  “All right. I got you, princess. You can relax now.”

  Feeling safer than she had since her mom died, Jessie snuggled deeper into his arms and let herself fall asleep.

  The smell of pancakes and frying meat filled the air. Nick yawned and stretched, feeling marvelously relaxed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept as well as he had last night.

  Deciding to skip a shower, he dragged a pair of swim trunks out of the duffel bag Bob had packed for him and headed out to the kitchen—only to stop dead.

  Jessie twirled and shimmied her way around the bright red room, dancing to the beat of whatever music was piping through her earbuds. Her neon green string bikini shifted as she swayed, each corner of the bottom slowly creeping up over her softly rounded butt until it seemed the fabric would meet in the middle. She grabbed the spatula she was using to flip the pancakes and held it to her mouth.

  “Searching the world for a hero,” she belted out, throwing her head back like a pop star. “Hoping he can save me from myself. Yeah, I’m searching for my hero …”

  Nick grinned and padded over to where she stood. When she didn’t seem to see him, he tapped her on the shoulder.

  She shrieked, jumping straight into the air. When she saw it was him she pulled the headphones from her ears.

  “Where did you come from?”

  “I’m from the hero home delivery service. You call—we answer. Twenty-four hours a day.”

  She blinked, then grinned. “Wow, that was fast. Okay, hero, can you grab some plates for me, please? They’re in that cupboard over there.”

  Nick got some blue flowered plates down and set them on the counter.

  “My hero,” she said, before piling a stack of pancakes and thick slices of bacon on each plate. “Let’s go eat these in the lanai.”

  Nick opened the sliding door that separated the screened-in deck from the kitchen.

  “Ladies first.”

  She breezed past him and sat, a wide smile spreading across her face as she took in the view. “Better than New York in March, huh?”

  “Definitely,” he said, pausing to appreciate the gorgeous turquoise water and sun-kissed sand that lay below them. But he couldn’t stop thinking about her singing. “What did you want to do when you were a kid?”

  “Cause trouble?”

  “No, for a living? When you grew up?”

  “Sing,” she said without hesitation. “I wanted to be on Broadway.”

  He nodded, not surprised. “I thought so. Every time I turn around you’re singing and dancing. Why didn’t you?”

  “Become a singer?”

  He nodded again.

  She shrugged. “I just realized I wasn’t talented enough, I guess.”

  “I don’t believe that for a second.”

  She raised her eyebrow. “And why not?”

  He blinked. It seemed so obvious. How could she not see it?

  “You were made for the stage, Jessie. You’re gorgeous, you’re vibrant … everything about you is bigger than life. And your voice is spectacular.”

  “You’re a talent agent now?”

  “No, but I’ve cast enough commercials to know talent when I see it.”

  And he knew more than a few talent agents who would pay dearly to have someone like her on their roster.

  “Life just didn’t work out that way,” she said, then stuffed her mouth full of pancake.

  Clearly, it wasn’t a topic she cared to discuss.

  She ate in silence for a few minutes, long enough for Nick to start to worry that he’d seriously annoyed her. He racked his brain, trying to think of something to say that would make it better, but came up blank. Redheads certainly were volatile creatures.

  “I just don’t talk about it,” she said finally.

  “You don’t have to. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “No, it’s okay. I want to tell you.” She reached over and squeezed his hand. “It’s a good weekend to vanquish ghosts.”

  He wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he stayed quiet.

  She looked down at her plate, playing with her fork while she talked. “I was serious about my singing. Went to voice lessons and the whole ball of wax. The summer I was sixteen I won a part in a regional tour of The Sound of Music. I was going to be Liesl. I was over the moon—my parents even agreed to let me travel by myself. But then, three weeks before we were supposed to leave, my mom got her cancer diagnosis. They said she only had eight weeks to live. I dropped out, of course, and she died six weeks later.”

  He tried to imagine what that must have been like, but couldn’t. “Oh, my God, Jessie. I didn’t realize it was so sudden.”

  She grimaced. “Yeah. It was awful. After she died my dad shut down. It was up to me to take care of Gloria and keep the house running. Looking back, I can see that he was depressed—but at the time I just thought he was being a jerk.”

  “Understandably so.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Anyway, I kept that up for about six months. Just when I was at the end of my rope my choir teacher suggested I audition for Julliard’s summer program. I did … and I got in. But when I told my dad he was furious.”

  Her face crumpled, and Nick could see she was fighting back tears.

  “He told me I couldn’t go—and that I was terribly selfish for even wanting to. He said I had to stay and take care of my sister. I was livid. And I told him … I told him that I hated him. And that he was so useless as a father we’d be better off without him.”

  She stopped and took a deep breath.

  “That night he had a heart attack and died. I found him the next morning.”

  For the first time since she started her story, she looked at him and the anguish in her eyes was almost unbearable.

  “I blamed myself, of course. I gave up singing as a kind of penance. I didn’t mean for it to be forever, but then I found a second love in advertising and here we are, fourteen years later. Life happens, you know?”

  He got up and knelt down in front of her chair. “You know it wasn’t your fault, right?”

  She nodded, tears still leaking down her face.

  “I’m sure your dad wouldn’t have wanted you to blame yourself.”

  “No, he wouldn’t have.”

  “Will you let me hold you?”

  She nodded again and crawled into his lap, burying her head against his chest. He stroked her hair gently as her hot tears tracked down his stomach. A wave of overwhelming tend
erness swamped him. Try though he might, he couldn’t deny that this woman was something special. He knew he’d do anything to keep her from getting hurt again—even if it meant he had to give up on the Goddess account. He’d find another way to save Thornton.

  She pulled back a little so she could wipe her tears and gave him a watery smile.

  “I’ve been an excellent weekend date so far, haven’t I? This is the second time I’ve cried on you. I’ll bet you’re ready to go home.”

  “Not at all. I’m happy you feel safe enough to talk with me. But,” he said, getting to his feet while still holding her, “I think you’ve shed enough tears in Paradise. Fortunately, I happen to have a foolproof way to distract you.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “I’ll have to take you into the bedroom to show you.”

  “Then what are you waiting for? To the bedroom!”

  Nick set her down on the red hibiscus-printed comforter and straddled her hips. “You look like some sort of exotic tropical bird lying there.”

  “And you look a hawk, ready to swoop down and eat me up.”

  His eyes glittered. “In that case I’ll start by pecking off this bikini top.”

  His hands reached for the tie at the back of her neck.

  She slapped his hands away. “No!”

  He backed off, looking wounded. “What’s wrong?”

  Jessie sighed. How could she explain without telling him about the biopsy?

  “I fell yesterday and managed to bang up my right side. My breast is pretty bruised today.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “And how did you do that?”

  Good question. “Well, my sister was doing laundry and didn’t realize she’d left a bra lying in the middle of the hallway. I slipped on it and, well … down I went. I landed on a stiletto.”

  There. That sounded plausible—didn’t it?

  “Huh.” He didn’t look as if he believed her. “So what you’re saying is I should be very careful with your breasts today?”

  “Or you could just leave them alone entirely.”

  That seemed like the better option to her. The less he touched them, the less she would be reminded of what might be lurking inside.

  “Nah. I think I’d rather kiss it better.”

  Once again, Nick reached for her halter tie.

  “Nick …”

  He put a finger on her lips. “Shush. Trust me. I know what you need to feel better.”

  She really didn’t want him to look at the rainbow-hued mess that was her right breast. “But, Nick …”

  Nick gently grabbed her arms. “Do I have to tie you up to get you to accept your medicine?”

  Her blood buzzed at the thought. “No, that won’t be necessary. I just …”

  He shook his head at her and pulled her hands over her head. “Grab the headboard.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Just do it.”

  Her heart beat wildly in her chest. She was torn between panic and extreme desire. She wasn’t used to being so submissive. Wasn’t sure she could give up control so completely.

  “Keep them there or I really will tie you up.”

  She nodded silently, not trusting herself to speak.

  Slowly, surely, Nick untied her bikini top. She tensed, ready for him to say something unflattering. But he didn’t.

  “Poor baby, you really did get beat up. It’s going to take some time to kiss this all better.”

  He settled down on top of her, resting his weight on his arms, and began kissing a slow circuit around her breast. She tensed when he reached the bandage covering the needle marks, but his lips skated across it as if it was just another piece of her skin.

  When he grazed the sensitive skin of her aureole, her hands started to drift down of her own accord. He stopped her with a look. “Do I need to go find some rope?”

  She hastily grabbed the headboard again.

  “Good girl.”

  Jessie closed her eyes and willed herself to let go.

  Nick worshipped each breast equally, circling them with his kisses and sucking her nipples. She began to relax as her body tuned into what was being done to it and had the predictable reaction.

  Heat exploded in her breasts, sending delicious sensations spiraling into every part of her and she whimpered.

  “Oh, you like that, do you? I told you you would.” Nick looked up at her, his eyes glinting with desire. “Tell me what you want next.”

  She shook her head. Now that she had let him have control, she didn’t want to take it back.

  “Oh, so that’s how you want to play it?” Nick took one hand and slid it between her wet folds. “I guess I’ll have to do things my way, then.”

  She nodded again.

  He dived, and soon his fingers had been replaced by his tongue. He licked and nibbled and sucked in a random pattern that kept her from finding a satisfying rhythm. Need swelled until it became almost painful.

  She grabbed Nick’s head. “Nick—please!”

  He stopped and looked up at her. “What did I say about those hands?”

  Slowly she reached up to grab the headboard again.

  “Oh, that was much too slow. Just for that I’m not going to let you come this way.”

  She couldn’t stop the growl that rose through her throat. She didn’t think she could stand it any longer.

  “Oh, don’t worry. You’ll still get there. It’s just going to take a little longer.

  He rose up and thrust into her, all in one movement. She gasped as she adjusted to the feeling of fullness.

  “Oh, you feel perfect. Don’t move.” He pinned her wrists with one big hand and smiled down at her.

  “I won’t,” she managed to say.

  “Good girl.”

  He slammed into her again and again, until she felt the orgasm sparkling at the corners of her eyes.

  He saw her body arching and smiled. “Come for me, baby.”

  That was one request she was happy to oblige. She felt the fireworks explode in her veins. Seconds later she heard him yell as his release found him.

  When they had both stopped panting he kissed her, long and slow. “It’s a good thing we both know this is temporary,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “Because sex like that could quickly become addictive.”

  She laughed, but said nothing. She had a bad feeling she might already be hooked.

  The sun was much higher in the sky the next time Jessie got out of bed.

  “How do you feel about snorkeling?” she asked as she grabbed her bikini bottom from where it had landed on the ceiling fan.

  “Fine, I guess …” Nick answered, frowning as he looked at his phone.

  “Would you like to go? All the equipment’s here, and there’s an excellent reef not too terribly far away.”

  “Sure. But I need to call my father first. Apparently there’s some sort of crisis there.”

  She nodded. “Got it. I’ll just be out in the kitchen, getting a cooler together.”

  He grunted, already punching the number into his phone.

  She puttered about in the kitchen, stashing a couple of bottles of beer, some sandwich stuff, and a container of chocolate cookies she found on the counter in the cooler. Then she gathered up beach towels and retrieved the snorkeling equipment from the closet on the ground floor and took it all down to the golf cart.

  When he still hadn’t appeared by the time she’d finished, she decided to check and see if he’d changed his mind. If he had, she’d just go by herself. She padded through the house in her bare feet and was about to knock on the bedroom door when she heard Nick yelling.

  “Dad, I’m doing the best I can! You have to give me some time. We’ll have more work than we know what to do with by the end of the year.”

  His father’s voice crackled through the speaker on Nick’s cell phone. “Well, Media Incorporated isn’t going to leave their offer on the table forever. The shareholders are asking me for a decision
by the end of the month.”

  Nick sighed. “Please say no. We don’t need their money.”

  “I wish I could trust you, Nick. But you don’t seem very dedicated. I’m here in the office right now. Where are you?”

  “I had to leave town for the weekend.”

  “Great. Just great. Meanwhile, that lion woman of yours is running around the city stealing all of our clients.”

  “No, she’s not. Trust me on that one.”

  “How do you know? Unless she’s there with you. I told you I didn’t want you seeing her.”

  Nick didn’t say anything.

  “She is, isn’t she? Listen, Nick. If you want me to turn down this offer I’m going to need to see more loyalty from you. Give her a good screw this weekend, then forget about her.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “Then I’ll sell the agency and move to Boca before the month is out. I don’t care what happens to this place. You’re the one that’s all worried about upholding a dead man’s wishes.”

  “You’re a bastard.”

  “Damn straight. I expect to see you here bright and early Monday morning, ready to screw Roar over—not screw Roar’s owner.”

  Nick growled and hung up.

  Jessie scurried away from the door, hoping he wouldn’t realize that she’d heard every word.

  She was pouring a glass of water from the sink by the time he emerged from the bedroom.

  “Ready?” she asked with forced enthusiasm, her back to him.

  “Sure am!”

  She heard the same note of falseness in his voice.

  “Great. Everything’s already in the golf cart.”

  “Cool.”

  A painful awkwardness hung in the air for the entire two-mile drive. The longer the silence held, the angrier she got. Was he just going to pretend that everything was fine? Was he wishing he could get in the car and leave now? And, if that was the case, why didn’t he? She didn’t need him to enjoy this place. In fact, it would probably be better without him.

  When they got to the snorkeling cove she slammed the golf cart into “park” and stomped away into the sand. Why didn’t he say something? Was he just going to sit like a lump until their plane left tomorrow?

  “Jessie?” said a cautious voice behind her.

  “What?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Jessie turned to glare at him. “What’s wrong? What’s not wrong? I heard you talking to your father. I heard him tell you to screw me, then screw me over. And I didn’t hear you refuse to do so. So what am I supposed to do? Snuggle up to you and pretend nothing’s wrong? Take you into my bed, knowing you’re going to try and put me out of business on Monday? What do you want me to do?”