Drive Me Crazy (21 page)

Gathering his thoughts, he slid from the car and met Jaime to cross the street. He reached for her hand, but she pulled away. She ordered their cones, handed him a chocolate-covered mountain of swirling vanilla, and started to walk.

Without a word, they kept going, past where the sidewalk turned into a paved trail and then into a dirt path. The rich aroma of earth and freshly cut grass hung in the air, the creek tinkling in the distance. Their cones were gone, and so were the sprinkling of people they’d passed on the way.

“J’aime? What’s wrong?”

She kicked a stone with her flip-flop, pausing on the deserted trail. “Reality is just hitting me. I planned on having more time to get things organized. There is so much to do and the enormity of it is crashing down.”

“What would help?”

She ticked the items on her fingers. “A job, a place to live, a car, knowing which town I’ll be living in.”

He reached in his pocket for the keys to the convertible and handed them to her. “One down. Nothing you can do about the others until next week when you have your interviews.”

“You can’t give me a car.” She thrust the keys back at him.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his shorts. “I can as long as you put my name on whatever wedding gift you got for Trent and Allison.”

“Getting you to town was my wedding gift.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll write them a check then.”

“I can’t accept a car. It’s like making plans for next summer. In my head it will keep us in a relationship that’s going to be over in about an hour.”

“What is so wrong with staying in touch, J’aime?”

“My baby sister is getting married and wants to have a baby right away. I may not want that today, but I do someday.” Her dark eyes turned glassy and she started up the path again.

She had him there. Marriage and children weren’t on his foreseeable horizon. He needed to make sure the transition went smoothly when his father handed over the reins of Marie-Chloe, and give Natalie some more time to feel confident in her position as lead designer. Natalie ran off every woman he ever dated, thinking they wanted to usurp her. Though, to be fair, many women pursued him with just that hope.

They’d all tried to manipulate him, just as Jaime was doing now. Sad really, he hadn’t expected this from her. Things had been going so well. He caught up with her in a few long strides.

“You are expecting me to propose marriage here, right? Throw off my career, my family and my country to state my undying love for you?”

She spun on her heel. “Excuse me?”

“That’s what your little performance is about.” He stepped to her, needing to look into her eyes, the warm brown so deep and kaleidoscopic he didn’t know how to read her.

She took a step back. “You seem to be the one that is confused, inviting me on trips, giving me a car. I’m trying for a clean break.”

“So you are upset I expect us to be friends?” He closed the distance between them. “You’d rather I discard you like garbage? I won’t do that.”

His mouth came down to claim hers once more. Silencing whatever argument she might try. The faint smell of cinnamon that always enveloped her rose on the warm air. He thought she might resist, but she opened willingly for him, her fingernails scratching at his scalp as she pushed a hand over his cropped hair.

Wrapping her up in his arms, he kissed her with every unnamed emotion he felt. Whatever was between them couldn’t be all she wanted, but he couldn’t let it be over.

He pulled back but didn’t release her. “You asked me to teach you how to do this. There is no reason to end things before we have to.”

A charming smile curved her lips. “It’s not that I want to, believe me. But I’m the one left here to deal with my family, and they’ll chalk this up as another mistake I’ve made. I don’t want us to be a mistake in anyone’s eyes.”

“There is no need to avoid one another. I come to New York a few times a year. You could
–
”

She silenced him with a finger on his lips. “No, I couldn’t. I want to be in a relationship that is going somewhere, and visiting you would get in the way of that. I understand that you can do that, carry on more than one affair or
–
”

“I never carry on more than one affair, but I understand what you are saying.” He took her hand in his and pulled her flush against him, her belly a soft cradle for his erection, her full breasts teasing his chest. “I can’t give you more, so you see no point in continuing our friendship.”

“You really think we can be in the same room and not have people realize we’ve been together? At the last two hotels they signed me in as Mrs. Moreau. It’s obvious.”

Had they? He hadn’t noticed. Though, usually at check in he was more concerned with getting her horizontal than anything a desk clerk had to say.

“Let’s head back. I want to take a shower before dinner tonight.” She moved to go, but he held her firm.

“No one will know. We’re amazing at bickering. No one will suspect we even get along, let alone more.”

“That is a big risk for me, not for you. I’m the one who looks like a fool when you leave.”

“Do you feel like a fool, J’aime?” He lowered his face to hers, trying to comprehend why he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He’d never bothered to pursue a woman before, and yet now he couldn’t stop. He was playing with fire, and one of them was going to end up burned. Odd how he knew that, and yet he still lit the flame.

A swift current of passion rushed at him, creating a blinding sense of urgency. He’d learned her body so well in the short time they shared together he was able to convince her to step off the path and deeper into seclusion without a word.

Her mouth was so generous, so lush and soft he might have kissed her all day. Except they had a timeline now, and every kiss, every touch held the threat of being their last. Jaime must have felt it too. Her hands were already beneath his shirt, fingers grazing over his ribs.

The thoughts clouding his mind drifted on the breeze, and he only felt. Felt all the tension leave his body, felt his blood heat at her nearness, and felt something deeper stirring that had nothing to do with his erection on the rise. Every heartbeat insisted that he was male and she was female and the entire universe demanded they join. He’d never felt so masculine or virile as he did with her, and he always took what he wanted.

The trees rustling overhead and the possibility of being discovered by someone out for a hike set his awareness on high. He had to have her now, quickly and silently. And that was unacceptable as their final time together.

He drizzled the kiss off her mouth, his lips dripping kisses along her jaw and down her neck. He teased his way across her collarbone, pulling her dress aside to free one of her breasts.

Jaime’s fingers dug into his shoulders. “I’m not
–
”

“I’m not waiting.” He pulled her nipple into his mouth, his tongue dancing over the tip.

“Hurry.” She shifted and he caught her tugging her panties off her hips. He crouched down to help her step out of them and tucked the sensible cotton in the pocket of his cargo shorts. She was the first woman he’d ever been with who wore white cotton underpants. Nothing would ever compare.

He ran his hands back up her legs, enjoying the silky feel of her soft skin. Her body crackled with sensual power, and every time he touched her he absorbed the energy. His cock pulsed for attention, but he knew prolonging his release would increase his arousal, and remind Jaime why this couldn’t end a second before it had to.

“Step wider.” His hands on the front of her thighs, he brushed his thumbs on the sparse hair hiding her sex.

“We can’t. I won’t be able to stand.” Despite her protest, she widened her legs and he dove beneath the loose skirt of her dress.

With his thumbs, he pulled back her outer lips, exposing her womanly flesh, the telltale scent giving away her desire. He leaned closer, teasing her with hot puffs of breath and pointed flicks of his tongue before moving in to feast on her.

Soft gasps blew through the trees as Jaime gripped his head with her hands. He didn’t know if it was to hold him there or steady herself, so he nestled his mouth between her thighs, freeing his hands to grip her buttocks. She started to tremble, her body quaking around him.

Not waiting for her to finish, he stood quickly and pulled her to him when she started to swoon. He’d never forget her expression in that moment, eyelashes feathering over her cheeks, her lips swollen from his kisses parted and whispering delight in her rapturous haze.

His heart pumped double time and he knew this was more than lust, more than enjoying a vacation. He never knew that he was capable of letting someone in, of taking that kind of risk, and now it seemed he’d gambled on something that was doomed to fail.

Unless he could think of a solution where everyone was happy. He was good at negotiating, compromising, getting exactly what he wanted, which right now was to be deep inside Jaime.

He freed his diamond-hard erection from his shorts. Lifting her by her bare buttocks, he entered her with a swift, driving thrust. Her gasp in his ear tore the breath from his lungs, her arms twining around his neck and her legs locking behind his back.

Not a position that would set records for stamina, but he wasn’t going to last long anyway. Her lips nipped at his ear, her hums of pleasure at his every movement drove him harder. She felt so submissive in his arms this way, so completely his he couldn’t fathom why she’d give this up willingly, why she expected him to.

Her kisses over his face and neck tore at his last shred of self-control. He chased his own release in the depths of her body, only to be blessed with the sweet pain of her inner muscles gripping him fiercely as her teeth sank into his shoulder.

The orgasm he’d been holding at bay barreled out of him, his hands pulling her closer while his hips pushed deeper. He nearly fell at the power of it, taking two steps back to lean against a tree for support. Jaime dropped one leg to help steady them.

He rested his head on her shoulder, breathless from the effort. He wrapped his arms around her body, keeping her close. Sunshine caressed his cheek, reminding him where they were.

“You are amazing.” He straightened up, a whisper of regret filling him as he pulled free of her body and tucked himself away. He rolled his shoulders and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Are you all right? That was pretty intense. You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

He smiled, dipping his head for another teasing kiss. “I’m fine. Better than fine, actually.”

The blush still present from her orgasm deepened. “You make me do the craziest things. We could have been caught.”

“You didn’t seem to care about that at Mt. Rushmore, or two minutes ago.”

“I wasn’t thinking either time.” She looked down, smoothing her hands over her white dress. She was a vision of innocence, nothing out of place in spite of what had transpired.

“I’m glad I can keep you from thinking.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved her panties. “Missing something?”

She grabbed for them, but he held them higher. “Allow me.”

She stepped back. “Oh no, that’s how this started in the first place.”

He knelt in front of her. “Either I put them on, or you go without. As much as I’d love for you never to wear panties again, I’m betting you can’t walk into your mothers’ house and act like nothing is happening between us without them.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Are you upset?”

At the sound of her mother’s voice, Jaime turned her head, her hands still in the soapy dishwater. “I’m not upset.”

“Are you sure? You’ve been quiet all night, and as soon as dessert was over you ducked in here.” Linda joined her at the sink. “I wish you’d had more time to get used to things before the wedding.”

That would have been nice, not having the shock of knowing the person she’d relocated across the country to be closer to was moving. Her mother and stepfather were retiring to Arizona, which was great for them.

Her mother pulled a dishtowel from a drawer and began drying the china Jaime had set in the rack. “Should I have told you before you left? I thought it would be better in person. It’s not that far away.”

“Honestly, I wasn’t planning on staying in Medford. I have interviews lined up in Portland and Seattle.” Finished with the plates, she started in on the silver. Her grandmother’s silver, which an hour ago her mother said she was giving to Allison. She squeezed her eyes shut at the ugly thought.

She’d never been jealous of Allison in their entire lives. Alli was eight years younger, and after two brothers she’d wanted a sister so desperately she’d indulged Allison most of her life. But having to watch their mother give Allison everything
–
from china to silver to their great-great grandmother’s Shabbat candlesticks
–t
urned her insides puke green.

It was touching, loving, absolutely beautiful, except there was nothing left for her if she ever got married. Nothing with a history, a memory attached to it. Every egg was in Allison’s basket.

“Nick is in Arizona.”

Jaime’s hands froze beneath the warm water. She’d barely given a thought to Nick since she left DC. “Nick is engaged, Mom.”