A Bride for Jackson Powers (Desire, 1273) (8 page)

Fortunately the lights were still on. There was no smell of smoke yet, but the noise was terrifying.

Holding Sunny in one arm, Jax held the heavy metal door open, took the arm of an elderly woman and handed her over to a young man wearing a ponytail and a single earring, then grabbed Hetty’s hand and followed the crowd down the stairs. Not until they were halfway down the stairs did he take the
time to drape the spare blanket over Hetty’s shoulders.

She tucked the crib blanket around Sunny and asked, “What about you?” Her teeth were chattering, more from fear than from the cold.

“Warm-natured, remember?” He herded them down flight after flight. Once outside, he found a sheltered place out of the damp wind, away from the building, and held the two of them close. Through narrowed eyes he scanned the empty street beyond the huddled crowd for a sign of emergency traffic.

A taxi crawled past, and then a delivery van.

“What happened, does anyone know yet?” Other than a slight breathlessness, Hetty sounded as if this were no more than a fire drill. He hoped to God she was right, but he wasn’t about to take any chances.

There were perhaps two dozen people outside this particular exit, with a few more straggling out from time to time. The murmur of voices grew louder as curiosity and outrage began to replace shock and fear. Someone said it was probably a kitchen fire. “Nine times outta ten, that’s where they start. My son-in-law’s got this boarding house. Some nut’s always burning up popcorn in the microwave, setting off the smoke alarm.”

Someone else mentioned laundry rooms. “Lint traps, there’s your problem.”

Still another man said it was probably a false alarm. Jax was inclined to agree. Nevertheless, he held his two ladies close and murmured words meant to be
reassuring. “We’ll know something pretty soon. Meanwhile, be glad the rain’s let up for the moment.”

Still no fire engines. Nothing but the incessant clanging of the alarm, which sounded somewhat muffled from where they had gathered. A few stragglers emerged through the double doors to join the group knotted around the garbage bins.

“Did you remember to bring our room key?” Hetty asked. She was standing storklike on one foot, the other drawn up under the trailing blanket. He wished he’d taken time to grab a pair of shoes.

“Feel around inside Sunny’s sleeper. I didn’t have a pocket.”

“I would never have noticed,” she said dryly. They shared a quick gleam of amusement.

A solitary police car rolled up and came to a stop. Jax handed over the baby and said, “Back in a minute, stay put.” Then he jogged over to meet the officer.

From her sheltered location, Hetty watched the two men talk. The rain started up again, then stopped. It was cold. Jax was practically naked. There should be something ludicrous about a man wearing only rain-drenched briefs standing in the middle of the street, in the middle of the night.

Jax managed to looked heroic.

Once the shock of the emergency passed, he’d be frozen.

He could at least have grabbed a pair of shoes. She remembered how, back at the airport, he was forever slipping them off and then losing them in a space
barely big enough to lie down in. Gus used to misplace things, too. His keys. His glasses. She hadn’t thought anything of it. But with Jax’s steel-trap mind, it was so out of character she found it endearing.

She was beginning to find entirely too many things about the man endearing.

“What are you smiling about? This is your idea of entertainment?” He appeared at her side while she was watching the ponytailed boy trying to cover the old woman’s head with a newspaper.

“That’s not a smile, it’s a grimace. I’m freezing!”

“Next time, sleep in something warmer than that thing you’re wearing.”

“Look who’s talking,” she jeered, but when he drew her against his rain-drenched body she went willingly, wanting to share what little body heat she possessed.

Sunny started to bounce in her arms. “Oh, Lordy, she thinks it’s time to wake up and play.”

Jax lifted her into his own arms. “Great timing, kid. We’ll never get you to sleep after this.” He covered them as much as possible with the blanket.

Hetty asked what the officer had said, and Jax repeated the brief conversation. “He’s gone inside to check it out, but so far it looks like a false alarm. We should know something in a few minutes.”

“Before or after we turn into blocks of ice?” She tried to make light of it, but her feet had gone beyond hurting to numbness. Most of the people gathered outside were wearing robes and slippers. A few were
fully dressed. Several of the women carried jewelry cases, one a hair dryer.

Hetty had left the bathrobe in the bathroom, and her new shoes were somewhere under the bed. With so little else to lose, other than her life, she hadn’t taken time to grab anything. How many times could a woman lose everything she possessed?

She was still wondering when a man carrying a flashlight rounded the corner and hurried toward where the small group was huddled. He was wearing a doorman’s braid-trimmed topcoat over striped pajamas. “Sorry for the trouble, folks. New computerized security system. Either Y2K struck again or somebody hit the wrong button. Y’all can go back inside now. Manager said to tell you there’ll be an adjustment on your bills.”

Hetty looked to Jax for confirmation. “That’s it? All this excitement and we’re supposed to go back inside as if it had never happened?”

“You want to stand outside and argue?”

“Who, me? I’m too cold to argue.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, steering them back inside. The temperature was only in the forties, but the windchill was definitely a factor.

By the time he retrieved the room key from the foot of Sunny’s sleeper and let them inside the suite, Hetty’s teeth were chattering audibly. His own metabolism was such that he adjusted to the cold pretty well, and Sunny seemed none the worse for the exposure, if her two-tooth grin was any indication. The kid obviously thrived on excitement.

He felt her bottom like an old pro, then carried her to the crib. “Go run a tub of hot water and jump in,” he called over his shoulder.

“I’ve already used a week’s worth of hot water.”

“Use my tub, then. Or climb back in bed and cover up.”

“I’m too keyed-up to sleep. Maybe some hot chocolate? Is it too late for room service?”

“They’re probably about ready to start on breakfast. Sun’ll be up in a couple of hours.”

Arms wrapped around her, she was standing in her bedroom doorway, one bare foot covering the other, waiting to see if Sunny was going to settle. “I could make coffee.” She was shivering so hard the words were barely intelligible.

“Coffee won’t help you sleep.”

Jax tilted his head to listen, then crossed the room and pulled the bedroom door shut. “She’s down and out.”

“I can’t believe it. She seems to thrive on excitement.”

“You’re still cold, aren’t you?” Shaking his head, Jax opened his arms and said, “Take off that wet blanket, then come here and let me warm you up before you shake your joints loose.”

“I really shouldn’t,” she said. Then, letting the blanket fall to the floor, she walked into his warm embrace.

“Between us, we ought to be able to generate a little steam heat.”

She laughed softly, then tucked her cold hands un
der his arms. “May I? A lady doesn’t like to presume.”

“A lady ought to know better than to sleep in a thin T-shirt in this kind of weather. As soon as the stores open I want you to go buy yourself several pairs of flannel pajamas.”

“And some hunting socks. I used to sleep in Gus’s hunting socks when it got real cold. My feet are like blocks of ice.” She slid her toes up the calf of his leg, and he laughed, but it was a shaky effort.

“Come on, I’ll let you borrow my sweatshirt.”

They never even made it to the chair where he’d left his clothes. Somehow—afterward Hetty was never quite sure how it happened—they ended up in Jax’s bed with her cold feet clutched between his big warm ones, her cold body plastered against his heated flesh. “Better?” he murmured.

By that time she couldn’t have spoken if her life depended on it. The feelings that had started when her breasts had been crushed against his chest quickly turned into a pleasure so intense it was almost pain.

A need so deep it blinded her to all reason.

Hetty knew what was going to happen. They both knew. And because she wanted his kiss, wanted whatever he could give her, wanted so desperately to follow this fierce compulsion to its inevitable conclusion, she lifted her face eagerly when he came searching for her mouth.

His hands moved to cover her breasts, causing her nipples to harden and push against his palms. Low
ering his mouth, he suckled her there, drawing forth a soft cry from her lips.

She thought he whispered her name, but the words were lost as he began to roll up her damp knit shirt. Hetty tugged at his briefs, boldly, shamelessly taking the lead for the first time in her life. In the early days of her marriage she’d been tempted. She’d found herself wanting to experiment, but embarrassed to suggest trying something new. Gus had had his own routine when it came to sex. When it came to almost everything. He’d been a methodical man. A safe, dependable man. It was one of the things she’d loved about him.

There was nothing at all safe or routine about what was happening to her now. It was if a stranger had been hiding inside her all these years, a hungry, shameless creature who made demands, who followed instincts that Hetty had never dreamed she possessed, one who felt pleasure beyond her wildest imagination.

Even more surprising, she was no silent lover. Amazed, she heard herself repeating his name again and again, begging shamelessly for his touch, for his kisses in places where she ached to feel them.

Jax felt her hands moving over his body, lingering on his chest, her fingertips brushing over his flat nipples, causing them to harden instantly. He groaned as her lips took their place. “Is this all right?” she whispered.

“It’s all right.” His voice grated harshly in the silent room. He groaned again when her hands
skimmed down his body, following the trail of coarse dark hair that led to his throbbing sex.

She was incredible. For a woman who’d been married all those years, she was surprisingly awkward. Bold, yet oddly hesitant. “Sweetheart, I can’t hold back much longer.” His turgid flesh leaped as he felt the brush of her fingers, felt them close around him. “Ahh, Hetty, wait—let me—”

He wanted to make it last. To make it good for her. Better than good, unforgettable. But by the time he mounted her he was long past any semblance of control. The moment he felt her silken thighs close around his hips he plunged, withdrew slowly and plunged again. Holding his breath, he struggled to regain control, but it was too late. His head thrown back, eyes tightly closed, he shuddered, thrust quickly once more, then cried out his release.

Eons later, when he could find the strength, he lifted his head from her shoulder. “Ahh, Hetty, I’m sorry. You didn’t…did you?” He should’ve been able to tell, but it had taken him by surprise. The sheer power of it. No other woman had ever driven him so quickly, so completely, over the edge. He could only apologize.

“I’m not sure,” she said thoughtfully, her breath still coming in throbbing little gasps.

“Hetty?” He rolled over onto his side, carrying her with him. Sliding his hand between their damp bodies, he found her, heard the quick intake of her breath and knew beyond any doubt that she was still hovering on the edge of fulfillment.

A touch was all it took. A single caress, and she stiffened in his arms, gave one deep, shuddering gasp, then collapsed.

Some time later, when her breath and his had slowed to normal levels, he started to speak, realized he had no idea what to say, and thought that, all things considered, it might be better to say nothing.

Silently he thought about the possible consequences of one rash act. Only a few feet away, sleeping peacefully in the next room, was the consequence of another such a lapse in judgment.

He might be a fool. He was no coward.

“Hetty, if you—are you—that is, I didn’t use anything.”

“I know. I’m safe. That is, I’ve never—well, you know. Since Gus, I mean. Before him, either, for that matter. I guess it showed—that I’m not terribly experienced, I mean, and as for the other, I’ve always been regular, and I know they say it’s not foolproof, but in my case, it must be, because I never got pregnant. So you don’t have to…”

He tucked her face into his throat, wondering whether to laugh or cry. How many ways could a man mess up his life?

He was beginning to suspect that his own was deeply screwed up.

“I know all about—well, everything. I’ve read lots of articles, and you hear about it in the news all the time, and I can understand why you’re—”

“Hetty. You’re babbling again.”

“I know. I warned you I tend to do that whenever—”

“You feel nervous. Yeah, I remember.”

She took a deep breath and began to pull away. Jax held on, unwilling to let her go because she felt so good, so right in his bed, in his arms.

And because…

“Hetty,” he whispered against her ear.

That was all it took.

Jax opened his eyes a few hours later, sensing another body in the bed beside him. Orientation was not a problem. Instant recall was both a curse and a blessing. He lay there, arms crossed under his head, and thought about what had happened.

Happened not once, not twice, but three times!

It was damned near a miracle.

Reserved by nature, Jax was not a man to lose his head over sex. He’d always considered himself an adequate lover. Cautious, sensible, but generous.

With Hetty he’d become a raging stud.

Rolling over onto his side, he gazed down at the sleeping woman beside him. Her breathing was deep and steady, her eyelids not even quivering.

She was smiling.

I
t was Lina who moved Hetty and the baby into a small apartment. “It’s my niece’s place, but she’s out of the country for the next three weeks. By then Jax will have found something else.”

And someone else, Hetty thought, but didn’t say so.

“She won’t mind? Your niece?”

“Goodness, no. She’d do anything for Jax. Had a crush on him since the first time she met him, when she was still in high school.”

“Yes, well…we won’t touch anything.”

“Touch all you want. Another few weeks and you won’t be able to keep that baby out of mischief, though. I’d put things up out of her reach if I were you.”

Hetty did. She unpacked and set up the playpen and the crib she’d bought with Lina’s help. The stroller and carrier she placed by the door for convenience.

Jax seemed in no hurry to visit their new quarters. In fact, Hetty hadn’t heard from him since the night they had made love. He’d been gone when she’d woken up that morning. Evidently he was as embarrassed by the whole thing as she was, although she couldn’t think why. She was the one who had acted so shamelessly. She’d actually begged him to do it again and again.

She blew upward in an attempt to cool her flaming face. Even now she couldn’t believe she had done the things she had done, said the things she had said—actually begged him to—

Well. Enough about that. It was time to plant her feet firmly back on the earth, and the first thing she would do was to call Jeannie. If she didn’t get through, she would write. Surely Nicky wouldn’t hide her mail. He was spiteful, but it was mostly because he was immature and unsure of himself. Eighteen was pretty young to be a father, a husband and a homeowner.

She waited until after Sunny went down for her nap to place the call, hoping that Nicky would be out. Hoping he’d found a job by now.

“Jeannie? It’s me, Hetty. I just wanted to let you know—”

But before she could let her know anything, she had to listen while her stepdaughter complained about
the cost of baby-sitters and the cost of owning a home.

“Does having to fill out that thing that came from the tax office mean I have to pay house taxes?”

Hetty admitted that it meant just that. She said, “I know, honey, it’s tough at the moment, but if Nicky can find a good job—yes, I’m sure he has, but—well, of course he is—no, I can’t come home right away, I have a—”

Hetty’s shoulders sagged. “How’s Robert? Did you take him for his six-month checkup?”

And then she was forced to listen to a recital of how expensive taking care of a baby was, with diapers and pediatricians’s bills and baby food. That was followed by a few snide remarks about people who could afford to go off on cruises while other people had to stay home and work. “It was Daddy’s insurance money. I don’t see why you had to keep it all.”

Hetty didn’t bother to remind her that most of Gus’s small insurance settlement had gone to pay Sadie’s medical and burial expenses, the household living expenses, plus the bills Jeannie had run up before she’d run off. After that there had been Robert.

She said only, “I know babies can be expensive, honey, but they’re worth every penny and every minute you spend on them.”

Not until after she hung up did she realize that she had neither asked to come home nor promised to. Nor had she mentioned her own penniless state. Replacing the phone, she sat for several minutes, feeling a mixture of guilt and relief. At least she knew now that
Jeannie would welcome her back. She suspected even Nicky would be willing to put up with her as long as she agreed to pay room and board and take over Robert’s care while they both worked.

Although how he expected her to earn enough to pay room and board, and at the same time take care of Robert, was beyond her.

They would just have to learn the facts of life, Hetty told herself. She had done it. There was something to be said for the sink-or-swim method of gaining an education.

On the bright side, maybe things weren’t quite so hopeless as she’d thought. True, she had missed her cruise, which meant she had wasted an awful lot of money. On the other hand, she’d had herself an affair, which she would never have dreamed of doing back home, even if there’d been anyone she was faintly interested in.

She had seen places she had never expected to see. She had always dreamed of traveling, and now she had. There was nothing to keep her from going back home, settling down in her comfortable, familiar rut and taking care of Robert while his parents finished growing up.

Oddly enough, the prospect didn’t seem nearly as inviting as it would have only a few days ago.

Jax put it off as long as he could, two days, to be exact, but in the end he drove across town to the address Lina had given him, where Hetty and Sunny were staying.

He should have called first. They might not even be there. On a day like this, the first in nearly a week without the threat of rain, Hetty had probably cranked up the new stroller and gone out to explore.

He only hoped the place was in a decent neighborhood. Lina had vouched for it, and he trusted his secretary implicitly.

Which meant there were now two women he trusted. That was a record. He’d have to watch his step or risk losing his cynicism. For a man in his profession, that could be a real handicap.

The apartment was in one of the older homes near the college that had been turned into student housing. It was no worse than most, but no better. He needed to settle on a house as quickly as possible, and get them moved in.

The foyer smelled of stale pizza, cigarette smoke, incense and room freshener. Trying not to inhale too deeply, he climbed the stairs. By the time he reached the second floor and thumbed the buzzer, he was frowning. The stairs were both steep and narrow. To go out, Hetty would have to wrestle the stroller down to the first floor, then go back and get Sunny. Not an ideal situation.

“Jax! I—I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Those stairs are a hazard.”

“The stairs?”

“Maybe I should have called first, but— Are you busy?”

She was even more beautiful than he remembered, despite the wet towel tied around her waist and the
wriggling baby under her arm. He told himself to back off and start again before she slammed the door in his face.

So he did. “Hi, sweetheart,” he greeted his daughter, taking one small bare foot in his hand. “Hey, she’s smiling. You think she recognizes me?”

“Of course she recognizes you, you’re her father. Come in and let me close the door, we’re letting the heat out.”

Feeling awkward, he stood until she told him for heaven’s sake, to sit down. “You take up too much room, standing in the middle of the floor.”

The place was small, all right. The word
cramped
came to mind. There was the usual student furniture, including a plank-and-cement-block bookcase, a yard-sale sofa and chair and a mismatched dining set.

“So—I see you got settled in all right.” Go ahead, impress her with your conversational skills, why don’t you?

“Lina took care of everything, the hotel bill and all. She let me stop off at a supermarket, since eating out with a baby can be awkward.”

“What about takeout? Here, let me—” He reached for his wallet.

“No.” They’d argued over her salary, with Hetty insisting she didn’t want to be paid in advance, it was too much like being in debt. “Lina bought the groceries. She put them on your credit card, so everything’s all taken care of. There’s a two-burner surface unit and a tiny refrigerator, and we manage just fine, don’t we, sugar?”

Sunny responded by starting to fuss. “I’d better finish getting her dressed.”

Frustrated on several accounts, Jax watched her disappear into the bedroom. He wondered if she was as embarrassed as he was, and for the same reason. It was the first time they’d been together since the night they’d made love. He’d left before she’d woken up the next morning, telling himself he needed time to go home, shower and shave before going to the office. But the truth was, he’d awakened with some crazy notion of making an honest woman of her. It had scared the hell out of him, so he’d run.

Swearing silently, he crossed to the window, a matter of three paces across an ugly fake Oriental rug. Staring down at the passing traffic, he told himself that what he ought to do was follow her into the bedroom and settle this thing once and for all.

Only he would probably end up getting in even deeper. For a guy who was supposed to be reasonably intelligent, he was making one damn-fool mistake after another. Not only socially, but legally.

Technically Hetty was his employee. He didn’t think of her that way, but technically that’s exactly what she was. The only reason he hadn’t paid her a month’s salary in advance was that she refused to take it. For the sake of her prickly pride they’d settled on some sort of barter system. She looked after his daughter full-time, and he paid all her living expenses. She’d swallowed it, but not willingly.

But no matter how you sliced it, the woman was his employee, and he had seduced her. Which cast
what had happened into a totally different light. Being a lawyer, he could hardly ignore that aspect.

Abruptly he turned and was about to march into the bedroom with some notion of getting everything out into the open, when she slipped back through the door, pulling it almost shut behind her.

“There—she should play for a little while. I bought her some crib toys, I hope you don’t mind. When she gets tired of playing we’ll have milk and bananas and she’ll help me fix supper.”

It took the wind clean out of his sails. Jax stared at her, wondering how she could be so calm, when he was so damned conflicted. From wanting her, to exposing himself to harassment charges, back to wanting her in a way that was painfully obvious.

Hadn’t she even noticed? Could she possibly be all that indifferent? Was he the only one involved here?

Oh, hell. “I’d better go,” he said abruptly. “I just thought I’d come by and see Sunny, but since she’s asleep—”

“Jax—”

“I’ll be looking at houses again tomorrow, so I might not have time to—”

“Jax?”

“And interviewing. I’ll get Lina to set up some interviews with—”

“Jackson!”

“What!”

She shook her head slowly. “Listen to us, we’re yelling at each other. I can’t think of a single reason
why we should. I thought we’d parted friends, at least.”

He raked his fingers through his hair, then dropped down onto one of the red-enameled kitchen chairs. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I’m still off balance. This sort of thing is new to me.”

“Being a father? Buying a house?”

He glared at her. “You know what I’m talking about. Hetty, believe it or not, I’m not used to spending a night in a woman’s bed and then having to deal with her on another level. I’ve always kept my—my social life and my professional life in different compartments. What am I supposed to say? Do we talk about your work, or do we talk about—” he shrugged “—about other things?”

Hetty studied him for several moments, wondering how any man could look so arrogant and so vulnerable at the same time. It was part of his charm, she supposed—looking the way he did and being the way he was.

Which to her way of thinking was about as close to perfect as any man could be.

“We don’t have to talk at all if you’d rather not. Now that we’ve—well, we’ve got the personal matter out of our systems, we can—”

“Personal matter! Is that what you call it? And what do you mean, we’ve got it out of our systems?”

Her voice grew even quieter in contrast to his own belligerence. “I only meant now we can get on with the business of finding you someone to look after Sunny.” He started to interrupt her again, but she held
up a hand. “Jax, would you let me—that is, I’d like to help you interview nannies. Sometimes a woman’s point of view can be helpful.”

“A woman’s point of view? You mean like that book about martians?”

She knew exactly which book he meant, because the library had given in to popular demand and acquired the bestseller that had compared men to the planet Mars and women to the planet Venus.

She shrugged. “Whatever you want to call it, you have to admit that you don’t have much experience in dealing with babies.”

“And you do, I suppose. Got a degree in infant and child development.” He was being a jerk, and he knew it.

“No, but I’ve been a daughter, a stepmother, and a stepgrandmother. I kept Robert until he was almost Sunny’s age. That should count for something. I do know that Sunny will adjust better with someone who won’t try to force her into a strict schedule. Babies need structure, but she’ll set her own routine soon enough.”

So it was decided. Nothing else was. Jax left a few minutes later feeling more conflicted than ever. He’d wanted to haul her into his arms and kiss the living daylights out of her, then take her into that closet-size bedroom and make love to her until he lacked the strength to fall out of bed.

But he hadn’t. Thank God he wasn’t entirely brain dead yet.

The real estate saleswoman had left word that she had a couple of places she would like to show him and would he be available the following day?

Lina said, “You’re meeting her at this address tomorrow at two. I’ve postponed Henderson until Thursday. He was glad of the extra time, because it gives him a chance to get together with the liability people.”

“How about calling that temp place you were telling me about and seeing what you can set up for today. After five, preferably. You know what I’ll be needing.”

Lina gave him what he thought of as her drill sergeant look. “I know what you’re needing, all right, and it’s not another one of those antacid pills you keep chewing on. Those things might make your bones stronger, but your stomach’s not going to settle until you face up to certain facts.”

He didn’t ask what facts, because he didn’t want to know. Some facts were best avoided as long as possible.

“I made you an appointment with an ophthalmologist for next week. Men and their silly pride.” She shook her head. “You’re starting to get squint lines.”

He called Hetty and told her about the interviews Lina had set up. “We’re meeting in my office this afternoon after work. If it’s all right with you, I can pick you up at four-thirty.”