The Tycoon Takes a Wife / His Royal Prize: The Tycoon Takes a Wife / His Royal Prize. Katherine Garbera
down the length of her hair until his hand cupped her hip. His hand rested warm and familiar and tempting against her until she could swear she felt his calluses through her dress. She struggled not to squirm—or sway closer.
She clasped his wrist and set his hand back on his knee.”File abandonment charges. Or I will. I don’t care as long as this is taken care of quickly and quietly. No one here knows about my, uh, impetuosity.”
“Don’t you want to discuss who gets the china and who gets the monogrammed towels?”
Argh! She tapped on the window.”Driver? Driver?” She kept rapping until the window parted.”Take me back now, please.”
The chauffeur glanced at Jonah who nodded curtly.
His autocratic demeanor made her want to scream out her frustration but she wouldn’t cause a scene. Why did this man alone have the power to make her blood boil? She was a master of calm. Everyone said so, from the stodgiest of library board members to her sixth grade track coach who never had managed to coax her to full speed.
She waited until the window closed before turning to him again.”You can have every last bit of the nothing I own if you’ll please just stop this madness now. Arguing isn’t going to solve anything. I’ll have my lawyer look into the divorce issue.”
That was as close as she would come to admitting he’d stumbled on the truth. She certainly couldn’t outright confirm it without seeing what proof he had and hopefully have time to take it to her attorney. Too many lives were at stake. There were still people out there tied to the group that tried to assassinate Enrique Medina, had in fact succeeded in killing his wife, the mother of his three legitimate heirs.
Enrique had been a widower when he met her mother in Florida, and still they hadn’t gotten married. Her mom vowed she hadn’t wanted any part of the royal lifestyle, but her jaw had always quivered when she said it. Right now Eloisa sympathized with her mother more than she could have ever imagined. Relationships were damn complicated—and painful.
Thank goodness the limo approached the paddleboat again because she didn’t know how much more of this she could take tonight. The car stopped smoothly alongside the dock.
“Jonah, if that’s all you have to say, I need to return to the party. My attorney will be in touch with you first thing next week.”
Eloisa reached for the door.
His hand fell to rest on top of hers, his body pressing intimately against her as he stretched past.
“Hold on a minute. Do you really think I’m letting you out of my sight again that easily? Last time I did that, you ditched before lunch. I’m not wasting another year looking for you if you decide to bolt.”
“I didn’t run. I came home to Pensacola.” She tried to inch free but he clasped her hands in his.”This is where you can find me.”
Where he could have found her anytime over the past twelve months if he’d cared at all. In the first few weeks she’d waited, hoped, then the panic set in as she’d wrestled with contacting him.
Now, they had no reason to talk.
“I’m here now.” His thumb stroked the inside of her wrist.”And we’re going to fix this mess face-to-face rather than trusting the system again.”
“No!” Already her skin tingled with awareness so much more intense than when he’d cupped her hip—and she’d been mighty aware.
Damn her traitorous body.
”Yes,” he said, reaching past and throwing open the door.
He was letting her go after all? But hadn’t he just said they were going to confront things face-to-face?
However, who was she to waste time questioning the reason he’d changed his mind? She rushed out of the limousine and turned at the last second to say goodbye to Jonah. Why was her gut clenching at the notion of never seeing him again?
She pivoted on her heel only to slam into his chest. Apparently he’d stepped out of the vehicle as well. Distant voices from her sister’s party drifted on the wind, something she could barely register since his sun-bronzed face lowered toward hers.
Before she could breathe, much less protest, his mouth covered hers. His eyes stayed open, which she realized must mean hers were open, too. Just like a year ago, she stared at his eyes, the kind of blue poets wrote about. His wild and fresh nature scent was the same sort evoked by a literary walk through Thoreau’s Walden.
And just that fast, her lashes fluttered closed. She savored the taste of him on her lips, her tongue again. Her hands slid up to splay on his chest, hard muscles rippling under her fingers.
Then unease niggled at the back of her brain, a sense of unrest. Something was off about this kiss. She remembered what it was like to be kissed by Jonah, and as nerve tingling as it felt to be pressed against him, to inhale the scent of him, this wasn’t right.
She tried to gather her thoughts enough to think rationally rather than just languish in sensation. His broad hand moved along her waist, lightly, rhythmically.
Totally in control.
Where everyone could see.
He was putting on a display for the partyers on the boat, damn him. Indignation, anger and a hint of hurt smoked through her veins, chasing away desire. She started to pull back then reconsidered. The damage was already done. Everyone at the party had seen them kiss. They would assume the worst. She might as well take advantage of the opportunity to surprise Jonah for a change. And yes, even to extract a little revenge for how he’d staged this whole encounter tonight to knock her off balance rather than simply notifying her through their attorneys.
Eloisa slid her arms around his waist, not that anyone could see behind him. But what she was about to do wasn’t for public viewing anyway.
It was all for Jonah.
Eloisa grabbed his butt.
Jonah blinked in surprise, her hand damn near searing through his pants. He started to pull away … then sensation steamrolled over him. This kiss wasn’t going the way he’d planned. He certainly hadn’t expected her to take control of the game he’d started.
Now that she had? Time to turn the tables again.
Gasps of surprise drifting on the wind from the boat, he cupped her neck and stroked his tongue along the seam of her lips, just once, but enough, if the hitch in her breathing was anything to judge by. Her body turned fluid as she pressed closer to him. Her hands skimmed up along his spine to his shoulders. Then she speared her fingers through his hair, sending his pulse spiking and placing his self-control on shaky ground.
Without question, he wanted to take this encounter further, but not here. Not in public. And he knew if they moved to the limo, reason would pull her away again. So with more than a little regret, he ended the kiss. He’d made his point anyway.
Jonah eased away from her, still keeping his hands looped behind her back in case she decided to bolt—or slap him.”We’ll finish this later, princess, when we don’t have an audience.”
When he could take this to the natural finish his body demanded. And when she was totally consenting rather than merely acting on impulse. The kiss may have started as a staged way to make her family aware of their connection, but halfway in, he’d realized his instincts were dead-on.
He couldn’t walk away without one last time in her bed.
Her lips pursed tight as if holding back a retort, but her hands shook as she slid them from behind him to rest on his chest. He watched over her shoulder as a small group left the boat and started toward them on the boardwalk. A trio led the pack. Thanks to photos from an investigator, Jonah IDed the three right away. Her stepfather, Harry Taylor. Her half sister, Audrey Taylor. And Audrey’s fiancé, Joey.
Eloisa leaned closer and whispered through tight teeth.”You are so going to pay for doing this.”