The following morning, Lori awakened to the sensation of Jackson ’s breath tickling the back of her neck. His chest curved protectively against her back. His arm rested over her waist, and she felt as if she were in a delicious, sexy cocoon. Inhaling deeply, she caught a hint of his masculine scent.
She swallowed a moan of satisfaction. This felt delicious. She could grow to like this. After marathon lovemaking, they’d fed each other a midnight snack of cheeseburgers and chocolate cake. Afterward, they’d taken a shower together and crashed.
She heard a muted humming sound from somewhere in the room and wondered what it was. She carefully moved her head to glance at the bedside table to see if anything on top of it was off balance, but she didn’t see anything. The sound stopped for a few seconds and she relaxed.
It started again and she frowned. What was it? Slowly lifting Jackson ’s hand from her waist, she wiggled away, not wanting to awaken him.
“Are you always this squirmy in the morning?” he asked and pulled her back against him.
She couldn’t help smiling at his question. “Good morning to you, too. No. I’m not usually this squirmy in the morning, but there’s some kind of humming noise. I don’t know where it is, and it’s driving me crazy.” She paused and was very quiet. “Do you hear it?”
“Cell phone,” he said. “It must be yours. I turned mine off.”
“Oh,” she said, not wanting anything or anyone to intrude on the short time they had together.
“You want to check it?”
“Not really,” she said, turning toward him and burying her face in his throat.
“What are you afraid of, Lori Jean?” he asked, sliding his hand down her back. “I can tell something’s wrong. Your body is tense.”
“I’m not really afraid,” she said and closed her eyes. “I just don’t want to answer any questions about-” She took a breath. “About us.”
He tilted her chin upward. “Are you wishing you’d married the duke?”
“Oh, no,” she said. “I just don’t want to deal with other people and their opinions right now.”
“Tell them to stuff it.”
“My sisters wouldn’t like that. And that’s probably not the best approach with the press.” She sighed against his throat. “The last two days have been so wonderful. Do we have to tell other people yet? Can we wait a little bit until we figure out how to announce it?”
“If that’s what you want,” he said, sliding his fingers through her hair. “If you don’t want a lot of attention, you’ll probably need to go back to the ranch.”
“That’s fine with me. Will you go, too?” she asked, searching his face.
“Yes, but I’ll need to resign from the firm soon and get started on the real-estate development I’m putting together.”
“That’s what you want to do with your husband money?” she said.
One side of his lips lifted in a dry smile. “Husband money,” he said and shrugged. “I guess that’s as good a description as any. But yes, I’m going to use the husband money to launch a midrange neighborhood development outside of Dallas, with pools, a park, shopping facilities, hopefully a school, and whatever else will draw in buyers.”
“Did I read somewhere that real estate is in bad shape now?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes, you did. But this would be for entry-level or second-time buyers. That’s the group who wants a chance at the American dream. I have contacts with mortgage companies and construction outfits. With this combination, I think I can give these people a chance at getting a shot at owning their own homes.”
He was so fervent, so positive. She admired his confidence and decisiveness and wished she had a fraction of it. “You sound like you have it all planned out.”
“A lot of it,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about this for years. I bought the property, and I’ve just been waiting for the opportunity to move ahead.” He met her gaze and gave a wry laugh. “I never dreamed I’d get the chance by marrying the hottest girl in Texas.”
Her stomach twisted and tumbled. It gave her a thrill to think that she could help make Jackson ’s dream come true. He was so strong, so independent that she couldn’t imagine him ever really needing her. “You would have found a different way to get your funding. I was just in the right place at the right time.”
“You have a lot of confidence in me,” he said, cupping her jaw with his hand.
“You’ve earned it,” she said and wondered if or when he would ever have the same confidence in her. If or when she would have the same confidence in herself.
Chapter Eighteen
“Almost every woman regrets getting married. Give it a little time. Hopefully you’ll get over it.”
– SUNNY COLLINS
Geoffrey read half of Huckleberry Finn; then Maria kicked him out of her room so she could sleep. Since he couldn’t sleep, he spent most of the night at the piano. The next morning, Maria woke up as her snappy kick-ass self and insisted on performing her regular duties despite Geoffrey’s protests.
After dinner, Geoffrey sulked for a bit, but since Maria just ignored him, he gave up on that and returned to the piano. Feeling the keys beneath his fingers and the vibration of sound throughout his body usually calmed him. But not tonight. He was so incredibly torn.
He wanted Maria with every cell in his being. How could he possibly marry Lori? His stepmother had called again today and left several threatening messages. What a bloody mess.
Raking his hand through his hair, he sighed and began to play the piece Maria had inspired. He played everything he knew of it so far but felt as if there was another line. The sensation was like having a word on the tip of his tongue that he couldn’t quite summon.
The door creaked open behind him, interrupting him. He knew before turning who it was. Maria. He began to play a different song, one someone else had written. One to which he knew the blasted ending, which was more than he could say for his own composition.
“Why did you stop playing my song?” she asked, sliding beside him on the piano bench.
“You were listening?” he asked, glancing at her, feeling his stomach dip, his chest tighten, and something else grow hard. “I thought you were ignoring me.”
Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she shot him a sideways glance. “That was because you were pouting.”
“Because you’re doing too much today. You should have rested more.”
“It’s my body,” she said. “I’m the best judge of that. So why did you stop playing my song?”
He decided not to look at her. The woman made him a mess. “I’m stuck. I don’t know what the ending is.”
“Ah,” she said.
“I know there’s something else, something more-” He frowned in concentration. “But I just can’t hear it. Yet.”
“Maybe I can help,” she offered.
“I thought you said you didn’t know much about music,” he said.
“I don’t play a musical instrument, but I know what I like.”
He nodded. “True, but how can that help?”
“There are other ways I could help,” she said.
“How?” he asked, still not wanting to look at her. She was too distracting. He wanted her too much. It was bad enough that her thigh was against his and he could almost feel the brush of her breast against his arm. She was one gigantic tease. From his peripheral vision, he saw her stand and straddle the piano bench so that she was facing him.
“Maybe I could inspire you?” she said and slid one of her hands over his thigh.
Geoffrey immediately felt his mental and emotional circuits crackle. His erection grew and his heart stopped. She lifted her head and rubbed her wicked mouth over his cheek, a caress that somehow managed to combine affection and seduction.
He couldn’t move a muscle, at least voluntarily.
“You’re not saying anything. You don’t like-”