The Barons of Texas: Jill (5 page)

“Being a woman?” he supplied helpfully.

She shrugged. “I’ve always been a quick study. How hard can it be?” She eyed him, something, perhaps an idea, tickling at the back of her mind. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“That’s because I can’t.” He smiled. “I’ve never been a woman.”

She almost laughed at the thought. He was one of the most masculine men she’d ever known. Why hadn’t she noticed it before? As soon as the question formed in her mind, the answer followed: she wore
blinders that kept her from seeing anything but business. If she hadn’t been born with them—and she wasn’t entirely certain that she hadn’t been—then her father had strapped them on her shortly thereafter. “But you’re certainly around a lot of women. I mean, you seem to…
attract
women.”

“What’s your point?”

“I don’t know.” Her answer was an honest one, but she kept prodding at her mind, trying to figure it out. Whenever she was uncertain about a decision she needed to make, she usually made a list of what she knew for a fact, so that was what she did now. “You seem to know a lot about Des. And you certainly know a lot about women.”

“Where did you get that second idea?”

She drew her brows together, annoyed that he’d interrupted her fragile train of thought. “I’ve talked to quite a few of your castoffs.”

“I don’t cast off women.”

“They seem to think you do.”

“Think about what you just said, Jill.” His tone was surprisingly gentle, but his expression was uncompromising. “That can’t be true.”

She threw the gold pen on the desk. “Okay, okay—they’re usually just disappointed that you don’t get serious about them and normally don’t ask them out again beyond the first or second date.”

“I don’t lead women on, Jill.”

She sighed, sorry she had even brought up the subject. “Look, what you do with women is your business, okay?”

He stared at her with an expression that clearly said he wasn’t going to let her get away with anything.

“Don’t look at me like that. You
know
women only
have to look at you to start drooling over you. And if you happen to smile at them and they see that damned dimple of yours, they’re suddenly planning their wedding.”

“Once again, I think you’re exaggerating.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “No, actually, I’m right on that one. You seem to only want to be friends with most of them, and from what they say, you make a great friend. But that doesn’t keep them from being extremely disappointed, or hoping that one day you’ll look at them in a more romantic way. At any rate, why are we talking about
your
relationships with women when we started out talking about
Des
and what he thinks about me?”

“I believe you brought up the subject of my, as you put it, relationships with women.”

“I did?” She frowned. It was what she privately termed the day-after-a-migraine syndrome. She often had trouble keeping her mind on a subject. And after last night with Colin…
Damn
.

“What’s bothering you, Jill?”

She attempted to erase all thought from her mind and tried again. “Des. Des…” The idea that had been tickling at the back of her mind suddenly came to the front, fully formed.

He shook his head. “Sorry, but you don’t have a chance with him.”

“So you say.” She eyed him warily. “Can I trust you?”

He seemed to relax, and with a smile, he sat down on the corner of her desk. “You slept in my arms last night. If you can’t trust me, who
can
you trust?”

She almost groaned. “Will you please just
forget
about that?”

He chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”

Everything in her was tensed as she walked around the desk and stopped in front of him. Even though he was sitting and she was standing, their eyes were almost even. “I’m simply trying to find out if I can confide in you without you running off to Des and telling him everything I say to you.”

“I would never betray you.”

She got the impression his words had a deeper meaning, but perhaps it was her imagination. But there was another problem that had nothing to do with her imagination. She was standing so close to him that she could smell him, could smell the scent she had awoken to just hours before. As unobtrusively as possible, she moved a couple of feet away.

But it didn’t do her any good. Last night was indelibly etched in her brain, which was odd, since half of it had been spent in severe pain and the other half in sleep. When she had time, she needed to figure that one out.

“Okay, then, see what you think about this idea. You know Des. You know women. Would you consider teaching me how to attract Des and become a—” she swallowed against a hard lump in her throat and prayed he wouldn’t laugh at her “—femme fatale?”

She paced farther away from him, then turned and came back to him, unsure what she would see on his face. But to her surprise, he was eyeing her thoughtfully.

“Say I did. What would be in it for me?”

The idea was so new she hadn’t considered that part, but it made sense that he would want some form
of compensation. “I don’t know. What would you want? Money?”

“I’ve got plenty of money.”

“Then what?”

“Something that wouldn’t cost you a dime.”

“And that would be?”

“Your agreement that we work together in developing our land.”

She hadn’t even seen it coming. “Damn you, Colin. You know—”

“I
do
know,” he said, cutting her off. “Family custom. So you’re going to have to decide which is more important to you—the teachings of a father who is long dead or getting Des.”

With a sound of anger, she whirled away and began pacing the conference area of her office. Comfortable chairs surrounded a long meeting table. Couches flanked a fireplace. A refreshment center was in a corner. But she barely noticed any of it. It seemed her brain would only hold Colin, and to think clearly, she had to get away from him, away from his smell that was still in her sheets at home, away from his smile that kept diverting her.

The funny thing was that she wasn’t a pacer. The new habit seemed to have started since last night. Damn, she had done it again. Even the two words—last night—had the power to bring memories flooding back. As firmly as she could, she pushed those thoughts aside and tried to train her mind on the problem at hand.

Thinking rationally and adding up everything she knew to be true, she could come to no other conclusion. Colin would be an enormous help to her in her
effort to gain not only Des’s attention but, more importantly, his agreement to marriage.

What was more, without even looking at his ideas, she knew he was right. If they developed their properties together, they stood to make more money. It made sense. Everything he had said made sense. She would make millions
and
gain the skills to achieve her greatest goal.

So why did she feel there was something she hadn’t thought of in this bargain to which she was about to agree? But even if there was, the positives far outweighed any possible negatives. With Des’s wedding band on her finger, she would at last control Baron International, something she had wanted for as long as she could remember.

She stopped and looked across the office at Colin. “Okay, it’s a deal.”

He slowly smiled. “Good decision.”

“When do we start?”

“On you, or on our two pieces of land?”

Impatiently she closed the distance between them. “I’ll look over your ideas and come up with some of my own. Then we can make another appointment to discuss the land. But for now, I’d like our focus to be on turning me into whatever you think I need to be in order to attract Des.”

He came off the desk. “Great. Would tonight be too soon to start?”

She hesitated. Why? she wondered. He was only trying to set into motion what she’d just told him she wanted. “No, tonight would be fine.”

“Then I’ll be at your house at eight.”

“Why?”

“We’re going out to dinner, but before we do, I
need to go through your closet and pick out what you should wear.”

“For heaven’s sake, why? I go out to dinner at least four times a week.”

“Maybe, but your dinners are always about one of two things—business or one of the charity committees you work on.”

She thought about it and decided that, once again, he was right. “Okay, so how will this be different?”

“Tonight is going to be a
date
.” His brown eyes held a golden-colored twinkle that for some reason made her feel warm
and
uneasy inside. “Tell me something, Jill. Can you even remember the last time you went out with a man that had nothing to do with work or charity?”

She tried to recall such an occasion and couldn’t. “No, but how hard can a date be?”

“That’s what we’ll find out tonight. Okay?”

She nodded, once again feeling as though there was something more to this deal than she was seeing. But how could that be? She’d agreed to what Colin wanted, and in turn, he was going to teach her what she needed to know. Quid pro quo. So why was she concerned?

Apparently he read her mind. “Don’t worry, Jill. I’ll do my best to make sure that, in the end, you get exactly what you want.”

“I
was right.” Colin exited her vast walk-in closet. “You don’t have anything appropriate to wear for tonight.”

Tapping her foot, Jill stood in the middle of her bedroom, dressed in an ivory silk bathrobe, beneath which she wore neutral-colored bra and panties. Her hair and makeup were already done. She was just waiting for Colin to find something for her to wear of which he approved, and her patience was almost gone. “First of all, what do you mean, you were right?”

“I didn’t think I’d find anything for you to wear tonight.”

“And how could you possibly know that?” Her irritable tone matched her mood.

“I see you often enough to know what type of clothes you wear. Plus, I was in your closet last night,
looking for something warm to put on you, and even though I was in and out pretty fast, I didn’t remember seeing anything that would be appropriate for our purposes.”

She inwardly sighed.
Last night
. The more she tried to forget what had happened between the two of them the night before, the more she was reminded. “Somewhere in that closet there
has
to be something appropriate for our purposes, whatever that means.”

He grinned, and suddenly she remembered how easily that same grin could make a woman melt at his feet.

“Why, Jill, I can’t believe you’ve forgotten. Something that will be appropriate for our purposes means something that will attract Des’s attention.”

She blinked. Heaven help her, she
had
forgotten. Ever since this morning, when she had awoken with Colin in bed beside her and discovered he’d held her all night long, she had been focused almost totally on him. That had to stop. “There must be something in there,” she said, gesturing toward her closet. “The contents would stock a clothing store.”

“I agree with that. And by the way, I’m not knocking your taste. It’s impeccable.”

She threw out her arms. “Then what is it?”

“There’s no color in your wardrobe. You always wear neutrals. Men like color. Plus, you dress in a very tailored style, which is fine. But every once in a while men enjoy something less tailored, something that shifts and flows and, at the same time, fits closer to your body and perhaps shows a little more than you like to show.”

She crossed her arms and sent him a suspicious look. “Shows a little more
what?
”

“Flesh, honey. Flesh. I’ve never seen you look anything less than ladylike, even though I have to admit that sometimes you come up with something that strikes me as discreetly sexy. For our purposes, however, that’s not good enough.”

Honey?
She’d thought she had remembered everything from the night before, but now she recalled that he had called her “honey” several times. She couldn’t decide whether she was in the middle of her worst nightmare, or if she was merely taking advantage of a gift from the gods. She was trying to convince herself it was the latter.

After Colin had left her office this afternoon, she had gone over every phrase of their conversation, turning his offer to help her attract Des inside out and upside down, and had still come to the same conclusion. He represented her best chance to get Des. But there was only so much she could let him get away with. “For your information, I’ve never suffered from a lack of men who’ve been interested in me.”

His brows rose. “Have any of those men been Des?”

Damn. He had her there. She chewed on her bottom lip.

“Exactly my point. We’ll go shopping tomorrow, but for tonight, I bought something for you to wear.” He disappeared into the hall, then reappeared with a glossy honey-colored dress box tied with a matching satin ribbon. She recognized the name on the box. It was from a very exclusive dress shop that carried only the best. She was relieved. At least the dress wouldn’t be a piece of trashy lingerie labeled as outerwear.

He handed her the box. “Go try it on. I’m pretty sure it’ll fit. There are shoes in there, too.”

She wasn’t even going to ask how he had known what dress and shoe size she wore. He was entirely too experienced with women for her peace of mind. She took the box from him and went into her gold-and-cream bathroom. With the door closed behind her, she stared at herself in the mirror, bewildered over her last thought. Why should she care how much experience Colin had with women? She shouldn’t. She
didn’t
.

With that firmly settled in her mind, she untied the bow, pulled off the lid, parted the honey-hued tissue paper and lifted out a handful of material. It was a deep hot pink and created out of some sort of silky blend. When she put it on over her head, it floated down around her, light as gossamer.

She stood at the full-length mirror, assessing herself, turning this way and that, all the while wondering why she felt so uncomfortable in the dress. There was nothing lewd or vulgar about it, and its designer was world-famous. Deservedly so.

The dress was almost a piece of art, ingeniously constructed so that it took nearly all its shape from her body. Clinging to her in an uninhibited manner, the material crisscrossed her breasts in free-form pleats to a plunging V neckline, then curved inward at her waist. From there, the light-as-air material followed the line of her hips to fall without restraint and end at midcalf. The back had the same plunging V.

The weightless material of the dress, combined with its cut, left her feeling as if she wasn’t wearing anything at all.

“How does it look?” Colin called.

“I’m not sure,” she muttered. “I’ll be out in a minute,” she said, more loudly. Or not, she thought.
She couldn’t find a single fault with the dress, not the design, the fit or the fabric. But she felt…
exposed
.

She returned to the box and the shoes, which turned out to be the same color as the dress, with three-inch heels that were held to her feet with nothing but straps. Taking a few experimental steps, she found that the shoes felt surprisingly stable
and
, drat it, just her size. As for the size of the dress, it adhered to her body so well it was as if it had been made just for her.

She pulled the honey tissue paper from the box and gave it a good shake, hoping a cover-up of some sort might appear. Unfortunately, only a small pink purse fell out. She scooped it up and gave one last look at her image in the mirror; then, with dread and a strange, expectant flutter in her stomach, she returned to the bedroom.

Colin glanced up, saw her and froze. The expression on his face made her heart stop.
Pure, naked lust
. In all the time she’d known him, she had never seen him look at a woman the way he was looking at her now.

Excitement slammed into her; then her heart thudded. Between her legs, full-blown heat appeared and, embarrassingly, she began to moisten.

It all happened within a matter of seconds; then his naked desire disappeared as if it had never been. But her body still felt its impact, and she was left to try to cope.

“Turn around,” he said hoarsely.

Without argument, she did. It was as if he was a puppet master, pulling her strings, and she had no other recourse but to let him control her movements,
because she still couldn’t manage to get command of her feelings.

“Beautiful.” The word came out on a breath.

“Did the…” She chewed on her bottom lip for longer than she would ordinarily have allowed herself. Then she straightened. “Did the dress come with any undergarments?”

“No.” Slowly, methodically, his gaze touched her from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. “You need to take off the bra you have on. It shows both in the front and the back.”

“I know, and I’m sure I have another bra I can wear with it.”

“And now that I think about it, those panties need to go, too. Their line shows through the material.”

“I’ll find replacements.” She tossed the small pink purse onto the bed, managing to land it near the navy one she’d carried to work today, then hurried into her closet.

When Colin walked into the brightly lit closet, she was sorting through a large, shallow drawer filled with bras.

“That dress was never meant for a bra. Besides, you don’t need to wear one. You have beautiful breasts.”

Her face flushed hot. Her head snapped around. “How do you—”
Last night
. “Never mind. I’ll find something. Just get out.”

“Okay, but remember—you can’t wear anything that will show or ruin the line of the dress.”

“How very style-conscious of you.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“Get out, Colin.”

He tilted his head and looked at her. “Why is your jaw tensed?”

She gave a hollow laugh. “You’re kidding, right?” She straightened. “It’s this…this dress. It may be designed to attract a man, but I might as well be wearing nothing. And if I
don’t
wear a bra or panties, I really
will
be wearing nothing.”

“And wearing them would make you feel better?”

“Yes.”

Ruefully, he shook his head. “We’ve got much more work to do than I originally thought.”

“If you think for one minute that I’ll ever go out of this house without wearing—”

He held up his hand. “Never mind. We’ll get to that part later.”

“Later?” She almost sputtered.

His gaze lowered and his voice thickened. “As for now, panties with a different line are okay, but don’t put on a bra. In fact…” He reached behind her, unsnapped the bra, and before she knew what was happening, he had somehow managed to slide the bra straps down her arms, then with one last tug at the bra’s front, it was off and tossed over his shoulder. “There,” he murmured, his voice thick and filled with satisfaction. “The bodice looks amazing, clinging to your breasts the way it does.”

She fell weakly against the drawer, closing it. “That’s quite a party trick. No wonder you’re such a hit with women.”

He stretched a hand toward her, reaching as close to her as he could without actually touching her, and when he spoke, his hand moved around her breasts, demonstrating his words. “Your breasts are perfect—high…firm…just large enough…”

Heat filled her lungs. She felt as if she was suffocating. “Will you please just get the hell out of here?”

He dropped his hand to his side. “Keep your eye on the prize, honey. This is only the first lesson. I know you’re finding it hard, but when you get Des, it’ll all be worth it.” He paused, his eyes suddenly piercing. “Won’t it?”

“
Leave
. And don’t call me
honey!
”

He chuckled. “Sure. Anything you say.”

As soon as he left, she banged her forehead against a cabinet door several times. If this was only the first lesson, she didn’t know if she would survive the rest. This one was definitely baptism by fire.

Yet if she did survive, the rest would be a piece of cake. Plus, Colin had said
when
you get Des. Not
if
. That meant he felt he could teach her how to land Des. If she did, it would all be worth it. Wouldn’t it? She frowned to herself. Where had that doubt come from? Of
course
it would all be worth it.

She took a deep breath, slipped on a different pair of panties and positioned herself in front of the closet mirror. Automatically she brushed her hand down the dress, straightening it, then eyed herself critically. Colin had been right again. The dress
did
look better without a bra. Though it wasn’t obvious that she wasn’t wearing anything beneath it, her breasts filled the bodice perfectly.

She went still. Colin knew the shape and size of her breasts. Last night, the pain and medication had made her responses slow, and she hadn’t been able to think straight, yet she hadn’t been unconscious. He had undressed her, but he hadn’t caressed her. If he had, she would have remembered.

Her breasts began to ache as she thought of his hands closing around her, measuring, weighing. His hands were large, his fingers long. How would they feel around her? She groaned at her wayward thoughts.

“Everything all right?” Colin asked.

“Oh, just peachy keen.”

“Peachy, huh?”

She heard the amusement in his voice. Shaking her head at herself, she turned off the closet lights and closed the door behind her.

“You look…remarkable.” His arms were crossed over his chest, his expression objective, but she couldn’t miss the heat in his eyes.

“Thank you… I think.”

He chuckled. “Sorry you’re finding this so rough.”

She mentally chastised herself. She didn’t completely understand why, but she had obviously over-reacted to Colin’s efforts to help her. “Not rough. Just…different.” After the hard, regimented way her father had brought her up, wearing a different type of dress than she was accustomed to and without a bra couldn’t even compare.

“Then I hope you won’t mind me telling you that the color of your toenails is not right.”

“What’s wrong with them? They’re pink.”

“They’re too pale.”

She jerked up the navy purse and transferred what she would need for the evening to the smaller pink purse. “Be strong, Colin. You’ll get over it.”

“I’m sure you’re right, but there’s one more thing I need to do before you’re completely ready.”

“I can’t imagine what it could be. You’ve seen to every single detail.”

He stepped toward her. Instinctively she took a step backward.

He gently smiled. “What are you afraid of, Jill?”

Good question. Was she afraid she was going to enjoy herself? Or learn to like being around him too much? Impossible. “I’m not afraid of anything.”

“Good, then stand still for just a minute.” He reached out and pulled the hairpins from her head, letting them drop to the cream-colored carpet.

“What on earth are you—”

“Your hair,” he muttered. “It’s way too severe.
As usual
.” When every last pin was gone, he pushed his fingers through her hair and combed until the dark tresses fell loose and full to her shoulder blades. “Much better. Let’s go.”

“Oh, uh, wait. I need one more thing.” She darted into the closet and reappeared with an ivory, finely crocheted shawl wrapped around her. “The night air might be a little cool.” Her expression dared him to tell her differently.