Caught on Camera (27 page)

“It can’t,” she whispered.

His eyes flared. “I won’t accept that.”

“Can I ask you something?” She was pretty sure she already knew the answer, but hearing it would help keep her focused on ending it. “Did you only agree to the interview so you could sleep with me a few more days?”

JP’s eyes grew dark in the shadows of the car. A flash under a passing streetlight showed the hard angles of his face, and she couldn’t stop a shiver from echoing through her.

“You know it’s more than just sleeping together, Vega.”

“But did you? Is that the reason you agreed?”

A low growl filled the backseat of the car as he raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t like people invading my personal life. I’ve never hidden that fact.”

“So if I refuse to see you again?”

“You won’t refuse.”

She didn’t respond.

They rode in silence for several minutes, neither willing to acknowledge what was happening between them.

Vega watched storefronts flash by one after the other, and finally spoke as if talking to herself. “I love the city after dark.”

“Then you would love it from my place.” JP’s anger was only marginally controlled in his tight voice. “I’ll show it to you tomorrow night.”

“And if I say no?” She had to make him understand it was ending tonight. Right now. She couldn’t walk into his office tomorrow, spend hours watching him through an eyepiece, without having this decided. “If I refuse anything further, will you cancel the interview?”

“Dammit.” He slammed the side of his fist against the door. “No, of course I wouldn’t go back on my word. I promised to do it for you. I think you need this to see that you want more out of life than just being behind the camera. You need to be in front of it.” He turned to her and cupped her cheek, his gentleness surprising her. “You need to confront your fears, Vega. I want to help you do that.”

“I’m perfectly happy where I am. Who I am.”

His stormy eyes drilled into hers. “Is that right?”

She nodded.

“And that means you’re perfectly happy with a couple days and nothing more?”

“We knew that’s all we had going into this.”

“Unacceptable.” The word was hard and cold.

The limo stopped under the awning of the hotel, but she didn’t immediately move from his hand. She knew she needed to, but she’d lied. She was not ready for this to end. When she saw his intention to kiss her, she couldn’t resist meeting him halfway.

“JP,” she murmured, lifting her mouth to his.

His mouth slammed into hers, his heat engulfing her, and his tongue threatening to destroy her resolve to step out of the car and walk away. He closed the distance between their bodies. She arched forward, returning his passion, kiss for kiss, not caring that she wasn’t pulling in enough oxygen to remain cognizant. If this was it for them, she had to have one last kiss before walking away.

He palmed her rear and pulled her onto his lap, his fingers branding her as they flew over every inch of her body. Before she knew it, her shirt was open and his mouth was on her chest. Her head strained backward as she fought to get closer.

She sent her fingers on a journey of their own, sliding across his heated flesh, gripping the muscled back she’d so thoroughly explored only hours earlier, while he unfastened the front opening of her bra. She sprang into his hands, warmth and rightness gushing through her veins.

“JP…” Gripping his shoulders, she surged into his mouth.

“You can’t walk away from me, baby, not when we have this.” His hand lowered to her shorts and fumbled with the buckle long enough to allow a vestige of rational thought to enter her mind.

What were they doing? Her breaths panted out of her as she looked around, wide-eyed, at their surroundings. The driver had to know what was going on back here.

She pushed against his hand, pausing his movements. “Stop.”

The word was barely more than a whisper, and absolutely filled with uncertainty, but his movements ceased instantly. His ragged breathing matched hers, and she almost cried out in pain at the thought of climbing off his lap and out of his car.

With shaking hands, she reached to refasten her bra, but he shoved her hands out of the way. He closed the undergarment and smoothed her shirt over her without saying a word. All the while, a muscle ticked in his jaw.

When finished, he dropped his hands to the seat and glared. “We are not done. I’ll see you to your room tonight, but don’t plan on it happening again.”

She lifted off his lap and scooted to the edge of the seat, no longer able to look at him. “Please, stay in the car. I can see myself to my room.”

“Vega.” His hard voice pulled her gaze back to his. “Say it. It’s not over.”

She shook her head and whispered. “I can’t.” A tear slipped out the corner of one eye.

After exiting the car, her bag slung over her arm, she couldn’t keep from leaning down to look in one last time. Though he was still the man she’d played with in the sun the last two days, he now wore the air of the stoic businessman with the reputation for getting everything he went after.

“Thanks for everything.” Her voice was soft. Sad. “I’ll be at your office tomorrow morning at eight.”

“And tomorrow night you’ll be in my home.”

Vega bit the inside of her lip to control her emotions. “No. Tomorrow night I’ll come back here, exactly as I will every day this week.”

They stared at each other, both unwilling to give in.

Her smile shook as she lifted the corners of her mouth. “You’re a good man, JP.”

She stepped from the limo without another word and rushed into the building before she burst out in tears. The last thing she wanted was to end things, but what they’d had wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. They were purely chemistry and excitement.

And if she told herself that enough, she might eventually believe it.

J
P
STORMED INTO
his office the next morning, still fuming at Vega’s refusal to admit they weren’t over. He also had to acknowledge that part of his anger stemmed from the fact that no matter how he’d tried, she’d refused to budge on talking about what had happened in her past. He needed her to open up to him. They couldn’t move ahead if there wasn’t trust between them.

A niggling voice in the recesses of his mind questioned why he hadn’t yet told her of his own past. The dyslexia that had always been there, tainting everything he did. He consoled his guilt with the knowledge that he would show her the school this week, as well as tell her of his plans to fund similar programs across the country. No one should grow up ashamed of themselves.

But at the moment, his fury boiled from the fact he’d let her disturb his morning routine. Though he’d barely gotten any sleep, he’d risen at the normal early hour, and his frustrations had caused him to slam things a bit too much. The coffee cup breaking when he’d set it in the sink should have been his warning. He hadn’t heeded the message, however. When he’d stepped into his shower, he’d rung the glass door on its frame. It had promptly shattered, thousands of glass crumbles falling into a heap and water spraying over the room.

He was only fifteen minutes late, but he was never late.

Beverly looked up when he neared, a smirk on her face as if she already knew about his bad morning. “Something eating at you, boss?”

Her use of the less formal
boss
pulled him up short. “Why would you ask?”

She shrugged. “Just find it odd you’ve spent your life keeping the media out and yet there was someone here with video equipment when I arrived this morning, swearing you’d given her permission to follow you around the whole week.”

“She’s already here?” His gaze shot to his closed office door.

“Has been for thirty minutes. And quite a fetching young lady, I must add,” Beverly snickered. “Something tells me she’s the reason for your sour mood this morning.”

He growled. “She can be annoying.”

“Most sharp ones can.”

He pulled his gaze back from his office door and studied Beverly. “You typically have good instincts with people.”

“The best.”

“And I take it you like her?”

She gave a short nod. “I think she’s great. Possibly enough to bring you down to a human level.”

He wouldn’t have put it that way, but he thought Vega was good for him too. He just had to show her that as well. “Can you call my cleaning people and a repairman, please? The master bath needs cleaning and the shower door has to be replaced. Today.”

“I’ll get on it.”

“When’s my first appointment?” He moved toward his door.

“Nine o’clock.”

“Don’t disturb me until then.”

When he entered, the first thing he noticed was that Vega was wearing more new clothes. These fit as well as the ones they’d purchased on the islands. She turned when the door clicked softly behind him.

“JP,” she started, her voice holding a breathlessness he liked. She cleared her throat and began again. “Thank you again for this opportunity. I hope it’s okay that your assistant let me in so I could get set up. I wanted to get some shots of you starting your day.”

“Of course.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was gorgeous. Though her hair was once again clamped to the back of her head, she wore a glow from spending the last two days in the sun.

She inclined her head toward the camera positioned on the tripod. “All right if I start?”

“Certainly.”

“Okay, then.” She licked her lips before reaching up and hitting a button. A small red light came to life and glowed from the camera. “Go on about your business exactly as you normally would, please. Just pretend I’m not here.”

Like that was possible. He crossed the room and sat at his desk as if this was any other day, and he wasn’t simply waiting for the right time to prove they weren’t over. “I see you fit in time for shopping.”

A hint of pink touched her clear skin as she glanced at the trim-fitting dress. The top was a wraparound style with a single button at her waist, while the bottom hugged her curves and ended modestly above the knees. The orange was bright, but not overly so, and complemented her complexion perfectly.

“The hotel boutique was still open last night,” she explained. “This seemed more appropriate than cargos since I’ll be with you for appointments and site meetings.”

He flipped through the messages Beverly had left from the previous day. “You know there are things I won’t allow you to record, right? Some of my dealings are confidential.”

“Of course.” She fidgeted in place. “I appreciate this opportunity and will do whatever you say.”

He looked up at her, doing his best to control the desire to stride across the room and take her up against a wall. “Anything at all?”

She didn’t pause at the loaded question. “Anything concerning the interview.”

This wouldn’t be easy. Clearly she still had her mind wrapped around the thought that what they’d discovered over the last two days was over. He’d simply have to show her she was wrong.

Moving his mouse, he woke the computer and logged into his e-mail. Beverly had flagged the items he needed to attend to, and had also sent an e-mail marked “Personal.” He opened it to find a link to a tabloid site. Those links rarely produced anything he enjoyed seeing.

Glancing over at the camera, he found Vega chewing on her bottom lip as she watched the flipped-down screen. Though she could no doubt see him, she wasn’t looking directly at him, and that annoyed him. He wanted her as aware of him as he was of her.

With a quick click of the mouse, the link brought up the shot they’d been waiting for. He and Vega making out in the alley, her bikini top down around her waist.

Luckily, her head was at an angle making it difficult to determine who she was, but there was no doubt it was him enjoying a naked breast. This was not a good way to start off a political career.

On the other hand…damn, she had nice breasts. Ones he’d personally like to see again as soon as possible.

“You might want to take a look at this.” He motioned to his monitor.

Vega’s gaze zoomed to his. “I don’t want to get on camera. If I do I’ll just have to edit it out.”

“Then turn it off.”

Tension crackled as he watched her trying to decide whether to do as he said or not. She was no idiot. He was pretty sure she could figure out that whatever it was very likely had to do with her. She didn’t turn off the camera, but she did finally slide out from behind the tripod and head his direction.

He waited until she stepped behind his desk then rolled back to give her space.

She leaned in, fire flitting through her eyes before it smoldered and they turned a dull brown. “I told you this would happen. Being together was such a bad idea.”

“Nothing about you and me is a bad idea.” He pointed to the picture, where, thankfully, her exposed side was mostly covered with his hand. “Even that wasn’t a bad
idea
, just wish we’d thought it out a bit more so we didn’t get caught. I’ll no doubt be hearing from my mother soon.”

Before he could finish his sentence, his phone rang. He shot a glare at the closed door, wishing Beverly had followed his orders and not bothered him. He couldn’t seem to get anyone to do what he wanted anymore.