Wonders Never Cease (Harlequin Super Romance) Page 12

  “No.”

  She looked startled, and a bit hurt.

  He pulled her closer and kissed a pulse point in her neck. He could still smell her intoxicating perfume. “You are desirable. Sexy. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever been with, and I can’t believe you need me to make you feel that way.”

  She melted in his arms, framing his face in her hands. “There’s some big-time attraction going on here, isn’t there? I’ve been feeling it all night. In the car…at the party… But it’s probably not very smart to act on it, right?”

  He agreed but still asked, “Why?”

  She kissed his eyes, the bridge of his nose, his cheekbones. “Oh, the usual reasons. We barely know each other, our jobs aren’t compatible. I have a cat, you have a dog…”

  Ben’s brain didn’t want to talk; his body demanded action. “Those sound more like excuses than reasons,” he argued.

  Her knees were demurely folded to one side, her hip resting more on his thigh than pelvis. Ben needed contact of a more intimate nature even if it killed him. He put his hands on her hips and pushed her backward so her body floated in the bubbling jets.

  She linked her fingers behind his neck and smiled, like a mermaid tempting her mortal lover. “I guess there’s only one reason that counts,” she said.

  Ben let his fingers spread wide to explore her belly. She sucked in a breath when his fingers touched her navel. “What?”

  “Rule Number One, of course. Never let a first date get beyond second base.” The mischief in her eyes made him grin. “Or was it never let a second date get to first base? Do you have a phone around here? I could call Mattie and ask.”

  Ben snickered as he guided her hips toward him—helping her onto his lap. Two very thin scraps of material were all that separated them.

  “No phone. Sorry. But there’s a cop on duty if you need help.”

  Jill’s throaty, sexy chuckle made him ache with desire. He shifted his hips to feel her perfect fit against his straining body.

  “Wouldn’t you call that a conflict of interest?” she asked, wiggling with an obvious need of her own.

  “I meant Czar,” he croaked.

  “We’re not a danger to ourselves or others, are we?” she asked, her tongue outlining the rim of his ear. “We’re above the age of consent.”

  When he didn’t answer right away, she sighed and said, “I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to get involved with me. I come with a matched set of emotional baggage, courtesy of my ex-husband and his new wife.”

  An out. So simple. So generous. At any other time he might have heeded it. Instead, he kissed her then said, “My sister says I have enough pieces to start my own travel company.”

  She threw back her head and laughed. “Here we are in the middle of this serious discussion and you make a joke. You, who almost never smile.” She put one hand on his chest, her thumb moving in sensual little circles above his heart. “I like you, Ben Jacobs. A lot.”

  Ben couldn’t wait any longer. He hugged her fiercely and kissed her with neither finesse nor patience. He wanted her, desired her. Hell, he might even love her. At the moment, all he knew was that he couldn’t live without making love to her.

  She returned his kisses with an uninhibited yearning that seemed equal to his. He slipped his hand between their bodies. His fingers grazed the elasticized border of her swimsuit then dipped into the nest of curls. She cocked her head to flick her tongue against the roof of his mouth in matching exploration.

  Think man, think. You need a condom. You need to hold off long enough to get her inside.

  But his mind was focused on a different inside all together. He wanted to know Jill from the inside out.

  A sudden bark triggered a conditioned response. Ben jumped to his feet, pushing Jill behind him.

  The scrambling sound of Czar’s toenails against the deck rattled like incoming machine-gun fire. Ben crouched, one hand on Jill’s bare shoulder. “Get down,” he whispered.

  Czar lit out of the protected gazebo and charged across the yard. Ben stared into the blackness to see who or what he was up against. Slowly, like single frames on a video—complete with sound effects—the picture came together: the misty haze from the spa, the twinkling stars above the roof, his partner—his dog—barking like a fool at the neighbor’s cat, which had bolted up the plum tree.

  “Goddammit, Czar,” Ben snarled, sinking into the frothy water.

  His fingers tingled from excess adrenaline. His heart was nearly back to normal when he looked at Jill who was sitting across from him—knees to her chest—a look of mirth on her face.

  “This isn’t funny,” he said, trying not to laugh.

  “Not if you’re the cat,” she said, breaking into chortles of pure delight. She could barely catch her breath for the laughter.

  She used a knuckle to wipe the tears from her eyes then took a deep breath. “Mattie says there’s no such thing as coincidence. I have to assume that interruption came for a reason.”

  I was afraid you might think that.

  “Dammit, Czar, shut up,” Ben yelled.

  Czar continued barking.

  “Czar, honey, leave the cat alone. Cats are friends, too,” Jill called—the humor in her tone making the order less than forceful.

  To Ben’s surprise, Czar stopped barking and trotted back to the spa. He went straight to Jill’s side. “Good boy.” She patted his head in return for a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

  “I like cats,” she said, “but if I had to choose, I’d rather be a dog.”

  Ben’s tone was disgruntled when he asked, “Why? Cats get away with murder.”

  “But dogs get more respect.”

  She moved to Ben’s side, snuggling comfortably against him. She rested her head on his shoulder. He caught a scent of her shampoo above the smell of chlorine and wondered what it would be like to wake up each morning with that smell on the pillow beside his.

  “As much as I hate to say this, I think we’d better get out of here before we do something we’ll both regret in the morning.”

  Reasonable words. Smart, even. Then why do they hurt so much?

  Ben rose, reached behind him and snagged her towel. He held it open for her, then helped her step out of the spa.

  “Thanks,” she said. She stopped to pick up the bikini top.

  Czar followed her—not even glancing Ben’s way. Muttering under his breath, Ben grabbed his own towel and hurried after them.

  “Do you want to shower?” he asked—trying for normal. No use sounding as desperately bereft as he felt. “There’s shampoo and stuff in the spare bath.”

  She waited just inside the door, keeping to the rug so no drips would mar his floor. “No, thank you,” she said with a sigh. “I feel just right.”

  Just right?

  As if hearing his unspoken sarcasm, she winked. “Well, not just right, but I feel good. Whole. Better than I have in a long, long time.”

  Ben relaxed. He understood. There would be other times.

  “I’ll get dressed and take you home.”

  She started to leave but stopped. She looked back a moment then held open her arms to him. Slim, feminine and welcoming arms. It wasn’t in his power to resist. They hugged in a way that was both healing and full of promise. Not sexy or lustful, but hopeful and tender. When she let him go, Ben felt just right, too.

  “NICE PLACE,” Ben said, pulling into the driveway of her two-story townhouse.

  Jill looked at the hulking monstrosity illuminated by the silvery moonlight. Why wasn’t her front light glowing? She always left it on when she planned to be out late.

  Or had she forgotten? She’d had a lot on her mind when she’d left the house that afternoon.

  “It lacks soul, don’t you think? I want to sell it and find something smaller as soon as the market turns around.”

  Ben had retreated into his quiet, serious shell ever since their hot-tub incident. Jill was still shocked at her uninhibited respon
se to Ben’s lovemaking. Where was the repressed, sexually dormant ice cube Peter had accused her of being?

  “Wouldn’t that happen sooner if the new development went in? More growth, more opportunities?” he asked.

  Jill released her lap belt and shifted to look at him. “In order for Bullion to experience new growth—real, solid, positive growth, you need to have some small, clean industries come in,” she said, trying not to sound preachy. “Something that will put money in the pockets of those who live here, not in the pockets of people who live in Florida or New York or wherever the Land Barons’s execs live.”

  “Won’t the county benefit from increased property taxes?”

  “Eventually, but the initial profit goes to people with no loyalty to the land, no sense of community.” She reached out to pet Czar’s nose. His body was behind the partition but his head filled the space between her and Ben. “The people who live in this area chose it for a reason—quality of life. Why did you move here?”

  “My job.”

  “Wrong answer. I did my research. You’re very marketable. You could have gotten a job in half a dozen cities. Heck, make that half a dozen states. But you chose dinky little Bullion. With its rednecks and old hippies. Why?”

  Ben took his time answering. “I wanted to get away from big-city problems—crime, noise, apathy, bloodletting, decay. I wanted to see the color of the sky more than five or six times a year. And sit in my yard without worrying about drive-by shootings.”

  She nodded. The warm glow from the dashboard cast soft shadows over his features; the candid look in his eyes made her heart turn over. I wonder if love at first sight really is possible. “That’s it exactly,” she told him. “And very eloquently put, I might add. But that quality of living is bound to change if Excelsior Estates goes in—its very size almost guarantees it.”

  “I can’t help but admire your conviction, but don’t the people moving into those new houses deserve a chance at that dream? Won’t their money benefit the community with better schools, more parks?”

  Jill smiled. It was fun to argue with someone who fought fairly. Respectfully. “The first lots—the showy ones with the killer views and golf-course access—will go to people who can afford to jet in and out at will. Those people may buy a few necessities from the local grocery store but they buy their clothes at Saks Fifth Avenue.”

  “But the big ticket homes still help the tax base, don’t they?”

  “That depends on what they cost in the long run,” she said, thinking about the cleanup costs in places like the Love Canal.

  “You’re referring to the water issue.”

  Jill sighed. How could she make him see this wasn’t a personal vendetta? In order to explain in detail, she’d be giving up information she planned to use in her story. But some things were common knowledge. “In Sutter Creek, houses were built on mine tailings. When kids started getting sick, they tested the water and found high levels of arsenic.

  “The feds kicked in something like three million dollars for the cleanup, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The people who built homes were left holding the bag. They’d spent their life savings to build their dream homes only to find they couldn’t sell and didn’t dare let their children live there. It makes for an infamous scandal that hurts the whole area.”

  Ben sat forward, his arms resting on the steering wheel. He seemed to ponder her points carefully before he said, “So, all you’re saying is test the water before they start building. That makes sense.”

  “Unless,” she argued, “you’re an out-of-state developer who has already sunk big bucks into the project, via payoffs and bribes. At that point, you can only redeem your investment by selling lots.

  “And if you have a city council that’s gone out on a limb to build a jet-friendly runway at the municipal airport, your politicians are going to be more concerned about their jobs than the water.”

  Ben turned his chin to face her. In the light from the police radio, his expression looked serious. “Didn’t you say Land Barons is multinational? Would such a high-profile company risk that kind of negative publicity?”

  Jill threw up her hands. “Maybe they don’t know about it because the person behind the project failed to tell them.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Your ex-husband.”

  She turned her head to look out the window. “I don’t know. I used to trust people. I used to believe everything Peter told me. I used to think Land Barons was a classy operation. But that was before I bought one of their homes.” She squinted at a spot near the garage door where the cracked stucco was pulling away from the trim. “All the homes in this subdivision show shortcuts in building and substandard materials. Land Barons is big on image, but image isn’t everything.”

  Ben said nothing. The silence was broken by Czar who made an unhappy sound in his throat.

  Jill patted his nose. “When this proposal first came before the city council there was talk of a new school—that carrot got a lot of people behind it. The Sentinel backed the project big time. Voters passed Measure C—a municipal bond to raise money for civic improvements, including a school. Did you see a school anywhere in the model we saw tonight?”

  Ben frowned.

  “No, because there wasn’t one. Empty promises. I can tell you all you’d ever want to know about those.”

  “Why’d you stay with him?”

  Jill knew that question didn’t come easy. Ben wasn’t the kind of man who pried into other people’s lives for the fun of it. A small, self-deprecating chuckle rumbled through her hollowly. “I’ve thought a lot about that and all I can say is Peter undermined my self-confidence to the point where I believed I couldn’t make it on my own.”

  She sighed, then added, “I know you have your doubts about me, my job. But I’m truly not doing this for revenge, Ben. If the water in that area is safe, then I promise you I’ll back off. And I’ll wish Peter and Clarice every happiness, and go about my merry way.”

  She took his hand, which had fallen to the seat between them, and brought it to her cheek. “Do you think our being together in the spa had something to do with my newfound maturity?”

  His fingers uncurled and cupped her jaw. “I probably shouldn’t mention this, but Clarice told me she was hoping I was involved with you so you’d be too distracted to give them a hard time about the new development.”

  Jill bounced back, but she didn’t let go of his hand. “That woman has enough gall to choke a rhino. What did you tell her?”

  Ben smiled. “That you were only going out with me for my body.”

  It took her a minute to realize he was kidding. This playful side was so disarming she almost jumped into his lap and begged him to take her inside. She looked at the house’s black, uninviting windows and seriously considered asking him in—until she remembered the mess she’d left behind. Five changes of clothes thrown every which way.

  “You’re dangerous,” she said. “You make me want things I have no business wanting. Not yet, anyway. Not until we’ve had time to get to know each other, to fill in the blanks.”

  His sigh matched hers. “I know just what you mean.” He opened his door. “I’ll walk you in. You should leave the porch light on.”

  “I thought I did.”

  BEN WATCHED as she picked up her satin bag and silky shawl, which was bunched into a pudgy roll. The fancy bag looked incongruous with her sloppy sweats and scuffed tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled back in a limp ponytail. Damp spirals dangled at her neckline. He saw her try to suppress a shiver.

  If it were up to him, he’d carry her upstairs, tuck her in bed then crawl in beside her. Maybe if she was there beside him, he’d be able to sleep without dreaming about her.

  “Hey, sweetie,” she called, kneeling to peer into the rear compartment. “Come tell me goodbye.”

  Ben was still confounded by Czar’s attachment to Jill. He’d barely left her side the whole time she was at the house. He’d even followed her to the bathroom
and waited outside the door.

  Czar’s head poked through the opening.

  She looped her arms around his neck and squeezed. “G’night, big guy. You’re a good dog, even if you do have bad manners where cats are concerned.”

  It dawned on Ben that maybe he could trust Czar’s judgment where Jill was concerned. Czar hadn’t cared for Janine in the least—in fact, he’d shredded a pair of her expensive shoes one night when she’d stayed over. Czar hadn’t responded like this to any of his dates. Maybe his partner knew something Ben didn’t.

  He gave the dog a quick pat on the head then got out, taking the keys with him.

  He paused and looked up. Above him, the sky was awash with stars.

  “I swear it’s colder here than it was in Yosemite,” Jill said, joining him, her bundled shawl clutched to her chest.

  Despite his heavy Bullion P.D. sweatshirt, Ben shivered. “Maybe it’s just the letdown after being in the spa.”

  Jill chuckled softly. “There’s letdown, then there’s letdown. I don’t think the God of Passion and Desire is ever going to forgive me for that one.”

  “There’s a God of Passion and Desire?” he asked, joking.

  She nodded. “Oh my, yes. He sits on my mantel. You can’t miss him.” Her lips pursed mischievously. “I used to hang my keys on him, if you get my drift, but Penny said that was sacrilegious.”

  Ben hooted, picturing the image all too clearly. He had to admit that despite his unappeased sexual frustration, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed this much.

  Czar barked, a serious request for attention. Ben felt a fleeting stab of guilt at having ignored his friend all evening. “I’ll be right back, boy. We’ll stop for a run in the park on the way home,” he promised, closing the door.

  Czar’s bark rattled the windows, but for the first time, Ben didn’t give his friend the attention he deserved. Ben’s mind was on the beautiful woman beside him. Could he really be falling in love with Jill Martin?

  “Quiet,” he ordered sternly. In German.