Recipe for Satisfacton (17 page)

Chapter Twelve

Sterling attached the embellishment to a square of twelve-by-twelve card stock. Jack’s image smiled at her from the picture she’d glued to the middle of the page, his arm around his mother—he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Every day she spent with him that smile became more constant, a permanent feature she could definitely get used to.

She’d never seen him as animated as she had last night at the test kitchen. She could fall in love with a man on a mission—a man determined to make something of his life. Who was she kidding? She was already in love with him. But that love would be shoved to the back burner. She had to fix her family. Her time to be selfish was over.

Despite her exhaustion, and the fact that the heart-to-heart with her sisters had been emotionally draining, Sterling powered through the surprise she had planned for Jack and his brothers. They deserved more than just a box of pictures. Four boxes were spread on top of her kitchen table. She would have given everything to have a box of pictures from her childhood, but her parents weren’t the type of people who clung to memories. And considering the number of times they’d moved around the country, whatever pictures they did have were lost.

She flipped through the pages she’d already completed, the collages of Jack’s culinary certificates, a few culinary awards, and more pictures of him and his brothers, a little envious of his tangible memories.

A knock sounded on her front door. It was probably one or both of her sisters. When she left them this afternoon, after giving them money to hide away, she had told them to stop by any time.

She padded the ten feet to the door and looked through the peephole. Her breath caught. Jack’s magnified head stared back at her.

“Sterling?” His head leaned to the side. “I can see your feet under the door.”

Quickly, she smoothed her clothing, checking for any coffee stains or stray bits of paper, tucked her hair back, then opened the door.

“Hi,” she croaked. The sight of this man never ceased to drive her crazy with excitement, which always turned into overwhelming desire. “What…how do you know where I live?”

“Penn.”

Note to self: rip Penn a new one for giving him her address.

He rubbed his hand at the back of his neck. “Are you going to invite me in?”

“Come…”

Oh, crap. She couldn’t just let him in with his present spread out on the table. Not after she’d worked so hard. “Can you wait a minute?”

Without waiting for a reply, she raced inside and piled up her scrapbooking things, and threw her scissors, glue, and scrap paper into an empty box. She surveyed the table; her bank and credit card statements were laid out for anyone to see. She looked from left to right and decided to hide them in the tiny slot in the kitchen between the fridge and microwave. With her secrets out of sight, she returned to the door and let him in.

As soon as the door opened he barreled his way in and grabbed her up into his arms, hugging her tightly.

“We did it,” he said. He squeezed her tighter, then let go, dropping her to her feet. “Everything is set. I heard from the lawyers about an hour ago and as long as my brothers approve, the Vivian Madewood Foundation will be a reality.”

He pushed past her and walked the short distance to her green secondhand couch, which was situated between her secondhand oak end tables.

“That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”

It was good news. Jack had worked damn hard putting his idea together. He’d made at least one hundred phone calls and asked about a million questions, but it had paid off. And now all he had to do was present the information to his brothers.

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

She waved her hand on her way to closing the front door. “Are you kidding me? You did this all on your own. All I did was show you how to use Publisher.”

“You did more than that.”

His fingers fumbled along the back of the couch as he surveyed his surroundings.

“Nice place,” he said after finally making eye contact.

“It’s not really.” Her apartment was as big as the smallest guest bedroom at the mansion. Jack showing up at her bleak apartment was more embarrassing than her gold-medal performance in upchucking that night on the boat.

With an intoxicating smile on his face, he paced from her makeshift living room to her tiny, narrow kitchen, which housed a fridge and stove the same age as her. Finally, he stopped on the opposite side of her kitchen table, tracing his finger along the mustard-colored Formica tabletop. She tensed. He wouldn’t be nosy enough to open up the boxes, would he?

The awkward silence was killing her.

“I was just getting ready for bed,” she lied. She couldn’t exactly tell him she was making him a present.

“I’m sorry. I should go. I wasn’t thinking.” He made for the door.

“Hold it. I didn’t say you had to leave. But you should be out celebrating.”

“I…” He turned to face her. “I wanted to celebrate with you.”

Her heart skipped. When she’d gone on that yacht she never thought she’d fall so hard. Especially not with Jack Vaughn, the socialite’s bad-boy son. But he wasn’t a bad boy after all. The man was sweet, kind, generous, and driven. So much more than what she expected.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

She tensed. Did her eyes betray her emotion? Because she definitely couldn’t come out and tell him she’d fallen in love with him. But before she had a chance to answer, he rushed toward her and scooped her into his arms.

A squeak escaped her lips with the rough squeeze of his arms around her body. “Jack?”

He brushed his lips against hers. That excitement she felt rumble in her stomach quickly morphed into desire. And when he kissed her it wasn’t slow or sweet. It wasn’t gentle. No, this kiss rocked her very being. A tangling of tongues that left her weak.

He ripped his mouth away, shaking his head. They both panted from the intensity of their kiss.

“I should go.” Pressing his forehead against hers, he whispered, “I don’t know what to do.” He turned his head, but his forehead still clung to hers.

“About what, Jack?” What the hell was he talking about? “Talk to me.”

As he tried to step away, she jerked him back.
Like hell he was leaving.
This man had spent the last three weeks making sure every one of her desires was sated. The least she could do was reciprocate. He needed her strength, because for some reason he had gone from ecstatic to guilt-ridden in a matter of seconds.
It was probably your silly puppy-dog gawking. Way to turn off a man.

Grabbing both sides of his face, she brushed her thumbs against his cheeks. “You don’t have to tell me. Just don’t leave.”

Sterling wrapped her arms around him, snaking her hands up his back to rest on his shoulders. She dipped her head, pressing her lips against his, nipping, sucking, trying desperately to engage him. Flicking out her tongue, she traced the seam of his mouth and finally, he opened for her, allowed her the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

His hands were rough with her body, his lips hard and demanding. But for a second time he jerked away. One hand clasped the back of her neck and fisted her hair. “I want you so bad.”

There was no mistaking the desire in his eyes.

“I won’t be gentle.”

Rough sex? Dirty sex? Where did she sign up?

He stared her down, his lips thinned into a straight line, and his eyes pinned her in place as if daring her. “Do you want me to leave?”

That would be a hell, no.

“I want you to take me to bed.”

He looked deep into her eyes. So deep, his stare touched her soul.

But the intimacy was short-lived when he grabbed her bottom and lifted. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He didn’t need directions, he knew exactly where the bedroom was, and with a brisk pace he took them to the bed.

He let go and she bounced on the mattress. They both scrambled to strip her bare, her clothes like heat-seeking missiles with only one destination: the floor.

When she was completely naked, he positioned her in the middle of the bed and straddled her body. He made his way from her forehead to her toes, licking and kissing every inch of her skin, his five o’clock shadow rubbing her raw. He returned to her mouth, and when she lifted her head, their lips connected. His tongue swiped across just before he invaded her mouth, staking his claim.

A low growl filled the room as she gripped his head, her hands threading through his hair, guiding him down between her legs.

He licked up the inside of her thigh, stopping at the edge of her sex. His hand flattened against her mound, and he snaked his tongue across her clit. She gasped. The pleasure was so intense; she was only a few licks away from release.

“I love how wet you get for me. With barely even a touch.” His moans of appreciation vibrated against her, ramping up the pleasure, coiling tightly in her womb. He licked, more furiously this time, spreading her legs, giving himself better access to her core.

“You’ve ruined me,” she moaned, pushing his face harder against her body. He circled her clit with his tongue as his free hand found the folds of her sex. He penetrated with one finger, swiping up and down, then using the tip to rub against her clit.

Sterling grabbed her breasts, kneading the soft skin in her hands. Her pelvis bucked on its own accord. Seconds later, she came undone.

Before she recovered, he was already on top of her, his lips pressing against hers with urgency. The taste of her was heavy on his lips.

“I need you. I’ve never needed anyone…wanted anyone…like I want you.”

These were the things she’d always longed to hear. “Then take me.”

He left her on the bed. Coldness settled in with his absence. He quickly rid himself of his clothes and was back on the bed in less than ten seconds. He crawled up her body, prowling over her. He settled between her legs and thrust inside her in one smooth movement.

He plunged slowly, pumping his hips in a steady rhythm, every thrust pushing her closer to release. Their eyes locked. Great sex was great sex but with the connection of their bodies something shifted. Something that they both couldn’t deny. Something that might change the very relationship they’d agreed to keep casual.

She pushed her head back against the pillow and arched her body, not only giving her the edge she so desperately needed, but relenting to his dominion over her body. He pumped a little faster, but instead of the hard and fast sex she expected, he kept his cool, refusing to unleash his animalistic side, fucking her with a sweet, steady rhythm.

Their eyes connected. At that moment they weren’t fulfilling part of some deal. This was real. She knew right down to her soul.

“Sterling…” He buried his head in her neck and moaned, his body vibrating in her arms.

She rested her hand at the back of his head. “Come for me, Jack.”

He pumped twice and buried himself to the hilt, his body shaking against hers as his cock released inside her. The contractions sent her over the edge and she shuddered, accepting the waves of pleasure that rolled throughout her body.

The way they’d made love was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. They’d broken the rules of their relationship.

And there was no going back from here.

…

Jack played with the wisps of hair at the top of Sterling’s head. She had fallen asleep across his chest, the steady warmth of her breath tickled his skin, and he’d spent the last ten minutes contemplating their actions.

He showed up here expecting celebration sex—although sex wouldn’t be the word he used to describe what just went down with the beautiful woman asleep on top of him—until she leveled him with one look. It was the look he had been afraid of this entire time. The look of more. More than what he wanted. More than what he was willing to give. He had to leave.

He slipped out from Sterling’s embrace, quietly dressed, and made his way to the kitchen.

He’d been tending bar when he’d heard from the lawyers that the details concerning the charity had been ironed out. He left the restaurant wanting to celebrate. And there was only one person he wanted to celebrate with. Sterling.

The idea had come full circle and everything was falling into place. During his stay he’d managed to honor his mother by expanding the program, help out his brothers, and help Sterling have the time of her life. And soon he would be gone. Jetting back to his normal life.

He took a glass from her cupboard and filled it up with the bottled water from her fridge. Her apartment was sparse—not the type of place he expected her to live.

He sipped on his drink as he paced her living space. Old, minimal furniture filled the room, probably hand-me-downs bought from a used furniture store. Not that it mattered. He was fully aware that not everyone had the same privileges he did. And the fact that he knew just how bad things could get made him appreciate Vivian and the opportunities she had set before him even more.

He returned to the kitchen to refill his glass, and when he pulled open the fridge door a mess of papers fell to the floor. “Shit.”

He knelt to pick up his mess. He collected the papers haphazardly on top of each other but he couldn’t help from noticing they were invoices and statements with Sterling’s name on them.

His stomach flip-flopped. He looked toward the bedroom, hoping he hadn’t woken her up. She was still wrapped up in the comforter, fast asleep.

He didn’t mean to look at the contents of the papers but it was impossible to miss the red OVERDUE scrawled at the top of the bill. Formal letters from the bank demanded payment of a home—her home. Underneath that, there were several credit card statements totaling thousands of dollars. That would explain why she lived in this apartment. But how could she have possibly gotten herself into such a situation? Sterling was the most responsible, organized person he’d ever met. There’s no way she would fall behind on mortgage payments.

Maybe she’s responsible now. Maybe she hadn’t always been responsible.

“Jack?” Her soft voice carried from the doorway. “What are you doing?”