Bride of Fortune Read online

  “She’s not leaving tomorrow. It will probably be in a few months.”

  Lisa’s face brightened. “Then I’ve got plenty of time to give it to her, and when she goes back to Minnesota and looks at her bracelet, she can think of me.” She paused. “Do you think she would wear it?”

  Jason thought of how Adele would respond to the small gift. “Yeah, I think she would.” He brushed his lips over her small cheek, and she reached up to squeeze his neck.

  His mind busy, he softly closed the door behind him and walked toward the den. His mother sat on the leather couch reading a book. She glanced up.

  “Where’s Dad?” Jason asked.

  She cocked her head toward the outdoor patio. “Outside,” she said with a soft smile. “You know how he loves the rain.”

  Jason stepped through the sliding door and watched the proud outline of his father as he stood in the backyard in the rain. His father was an intriguing mix of Papago and Fortune. He’d graduated near the top of his class in college, yet there’d always been a spiritual quality to him. His father had often said Jason had inherited that same quality, but Jason didn’t see it in himself.

  He thought of the many times throughout his growing-up years when he’d followed his father out into the rain and learned to enjoy the rare moisture. It had been a while, but tonight was no different from many other times. He walked toward his father and felt the cool rain on his skin.

  “Feels good,” Devlin said.

  “A little chilly,” Jason said wryly. “It’s February.”

  Devlin gave a slight grin. “You’re bothered.”

  Jason knew it was useless to deny it. “About several things.”

  Devlin sighed. “The accident. Everyone at Fortune is bothered about it. But you’re bothered about the woman.”

  Jason noticed he didn’t say a woman. He said the woman, as if it were a foregone conclusion he was speaking of Adele. “Lisa is growing attached to her too quickly. She’ll be hurt when Adele leaves.”

  “Probably,” Devlin said.

  Jason waited for his father to expound, but he didn’t. “So?” he prompted.

  “So, like the rain, good people and bad people come and go in our lives. Would you give up the benefit you receive from a rain shower because it might be a long time before the rain returns?”

  His father’s wisdom was simple and right, as usual. Jason turned his head up to the sky and reveled in the sensation of the cool rain on his face. “When did you get to be so smart?”

  “When you turned twenty-five,” Devlin said with a hint of humor in his voice. “All children believe their fathers are ignorant until they grow out of their teen years.”

  Adele saw very little of Jason on Wednesday. Between new contracts and keeping a close eye on the progressing investigation, his plate was full. She struggled with how much she missed him. It had only been a day, she told herself. How silly, she thought. It wasn’t as if he were oxygen and she needed him to breathe.

  Adele repeated that to herself throughout the day and evening, but when she fell asleep, she dreamed of Jason. She awakened to the sound of her doorbell ringing. Adele squinted at her alarm clock. Just after 6 a.m. Who!

  Dragging herself out of bed, she shoved her arms through the sleeves of her robe and looked through the peephole. Jason. Her heart jumped.

  She opened the door. “What in the world—”

  “Quick,” he said, carrying a small box. “Name your favorite childhood movie.”

  Her brain still in bed, Adele shrugged. “Uh, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

  Jason shook his head in pity. “Try again.”

  “Uh, Snow White.”

  He sighed. “One more. A classic.”

  She closed her eyes to concentrate, but the faint teasing scent of his aftershave distracted her. “Wizard of Oz,” she said.

  “You win,” he said, and gave her the box.

  “What is it?” she asked, confused, but filled with a crazy delight.

  “Open it and find out,” he told her, and reached out to touch her hair. “I love your hair like this.”

  Adele shuddered at her mental image. “Oh, God, I can imagine what it looks like. Think Wicked Witch.”

  “Think Rapunzel or Goldilocks in red,” he said.

  Adele felt a soft spot expanding inside her. She could get used to hearing things like that, she warned herself, and turned her attention to the box. She pulled out a porcelain music box with a painted rainbow, a pot of gold and birds and flowers. She twisted it and listened to the familiar lovely tune. “‘Somewhere over the Rainbow.’ Why?” she asked, touched.

  “You’ve had a lot of rain in your life, but you live your life as if you are a rainbow.” He shoved his hands in his pockets as if he were uncomfortable. “Corny, but true.”

  Her heart felt as if it would burst. Adele’s eyes filled with tears, and she turned away to quickly swipe at them. “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but no one has ever called me a rainbow.” Taking a deep breath, she tried to collect herself. “Well,” she said brightly, turning back to face him. “Are you going to sing it for me?”

  Jason blinked. “What?”

  “The song,” she said, pointing to the music box.

  “Adele,” he said with a mock-serious expression on his face as he pulled her into his arms, “I never want to hurt you that way.”

  She laughed despite the fact that she was still so moved she almost didn’t know what to say. She buried her face against the fine cotton shirt that covered his chest. “Thank you for giving me a story.”

  Adele felt like a kid about that music box. She took it with her to work so she could look at it throughout the day. She resisted the urge to show everyone the music box by cherishing her secret story. She smiled every time she looked at it.

  It was a keeper, she thought, but that didn’t mean she was a keeper for Jason. Adele decided that insane whisper of possibility was the biggest danger, the most seductive lie she might fall into believing. Yes, she had fallen for him, but she must never ever lose sight of the fact that this was temporary. She wasn’t Cinderella. She didn’t have a fairy godmother. And when it was all over, she didn’t want to turn into a pumpkin.

  “Hi, there, rainbow,” said the man who turned her brain to mush.

  Adele glanced up and smiled.

  “Something’s different,” he said with a teasing glint in his eye as he looked around the room. “I can’t put my finger on it.”

  Adele felt her smile grow. “Like heck you can’t!”

  “You brought it to the office?”

  She stood and lifted her shoulders. “It makes me feel good to look at it.”

  “Good,” he said, moving closer to her and capturing her gaze. “Tell me how to make you feel good by looking at me.”

  “You make me feel lots of things,” she said as he lowered his mouth and barely brushed his lips against hers. Her heart rate picked up.

  “What things?” he prompted, dragging his mouth over hers again, teasing her with the promise of more.

  “Hot,” she said, and saw her passion reflected in his eyes.

  “And?” He lowered his hands to her waist and drew her closer.

  “Excited, a little scared, very crazy, and—” She broke off, feeling self-conscious.

  “And what?” He searched her gaze, then nuzzled her cheek. “Tell me.”

  Adele closed her eyes. As if she could refuse him, she thought. “You make me feel soft,” she said in a low voice, “inside.”

  His arms tightened slightly around her, and Adele felt something rare and new to her: tenderness. She savored the surprise and wonder of it for a full moment. Safety, warmth, almost love. She gulped.

  “You also make me feel hungry,” she said.

  “Good, then you can join me at the Camel Corral for dinner tonight,” he said smoothly.

  The invitation jolted Adele. She pulled back slightly. “Did I say hungry? Maybe I meant another wor
d.”

  “You said hungry,” he assured her. “Best steak dinner in town.”

  “Did I ever tell you I was a vegetarian?”

  “No, because you’re not.”

  Damn, the man was too smart. “I could fix a nice—”

  “I want to take you out.” He put his thumb under her chin and nudged her gaze upward to meet his. “Why don’t you want to go out with me?”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to go out with you. I just don’t want to deal with the whispers or the comments. It’s so wonderful when it’s just you and me.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want to contaminate it.”

  “There will be no contamination,” he told her. “Quit stalling.”

  At Jason’s insistence, Adele traveled in his Jaguar to the popular steakhouse on Four Corners Crossing. She stepped across richly patterned, mosaic-tiled floors to a booth across from the nonworking fireplace. A chunky candle lit the darkly masculine table.

  “Very nice,” she said, “but I don’t think my music box would have fit in here.”

  He gave a sexy grin. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “I do,” she said. “What should I order for dinner?”

  “Steak or prime rib.” He glanced around.

  “Are you looking for something?”

  He shook his head. “I just remembered that Mike Dodd’s sister, Angelica, works here. There’s been a lot of talk about how Riley has been very diligent in his efforts to comfort Angelica.”

  “Is that something to worry about?”

  He rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. You know me and questions.”

  “You like them answered.”

  “Yes,” he said, and his gaze focused on her. “All of them. Any contamination?”

  “No,” she admitted. “And we won’t even have to worry about the dishes.”

  The waitress appeared, and they placed their orders. Adele relaxed and enjoyed their conversation. His appeal and undivided attention were habit forming. Something about the way he looked at her made her feel as if he was making love to her with his eyes, and she found it difficult to look away.

  “I want to make love to you,” he told her.

  “I know,” she said.

  His gaze darkened, and he swore under his breath. “If this were a hotel, I’d have you upstairs within seconds.”

  “I guess that’s the advantage of eating in.”

  He shook his head and chuckled at her.

  “Jason,” a woman’s voice broke in. “It’s been ages.”

  Adele tore her gaze from his and glanced up at the tall, cool blonde standing by the table. Adele immediately sensed that Jason’s relationship with this woman had been more than casual. Her stomach gave an involuntary twist. She felt Jason’s gaze on her as he stood.

  “This is Adele O’Neil,” he said, and nodded a bit stiffly. “Colleen Johnson.”

  Adele extended her hand and murmured. “So nice to meet you.”

  “And you,” Colleen said. “Are you new to town? I don’t recall seeing you before.”

  “I haven’t been in Pueblo very long. I’m working with Jason to set up some parameters for the Children’s Hospital.”

  “Oh,” she said, giving Adele an assessing glance. “The Children’s Hospital. I’ve told Jason it’s a wonderful thing his family is doing.” She turned to Jason and smiled. “I’ve missed you. Call me.”

  Then Colleen walked away, leaving a trail of perfume and an unpleasant taste in Adele’s mouth.

  Jason sat down and met Adele’s gaze. “It’s in the past,” he told her.

  He didn’t deny that he and Colleen had been lovers. Adele’s stomach twisted again. “She wishes it weren’t past.”

  “Probably,” he said with a shrug and a cynical lift to his lips. “She has a deep affection for my last name and what it means at the local bank.”

  Adele rolled her eyes. “You underestimate your appeal. If your last name were Smith or Jones, you would still be a strong, dynamic man who inspired interest, admiration and—” she leaned forward “—lust.”

  His eyes lit like twin flames, and he reached for her hand. “That kind of talk could get you into trouble,” he said.

  Adele’s heart flipped. “I think I’m safe in public. You’re a discreet man.”

  “Don’t push me.”

  And she suddenly wanted to do the exact opposite. She tugged their joined hands to her mouth. “Why, Mr. Smith, you wouldn’t be threatening me, would you?”

  “Not threatening. Warning,” he said, watching her carefully.

  “Sounds like a dare, Mr. Smith,” she said, and followed a dark little impulse. She skimmed her tongue over his finger.

  Jason stiffened. “I warned you,” he said in a quiet voice, then quickly stood and pulled her with him before she could blink.

  Her heart stuttered. He wore the same expression on his face as when he made love to her. “We haven’t paid the check.”

  “They can put it on my tab,” he told her, and led her to his car. As soon as he shut the door, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a French kiss that took her around the world and back.

  If she were the type to swoon, she would be swooning right now. Her head, however, only seemed to be moving in a circle, she told herself and took a deep breath. She just needed oxygen. Lots of it. Her lips buzzed, her breasts were swollen, she was shockingly aroused. “Does this mean I should stop calling you Mr. Smith?”

  Jason gave a rough chuckle and started the engine. “That won’t stop me.”

  He drove her home and reached for her as soon as he parked the car in the parking lot. “I can’t stay tonight,” he said regretfully. “I need to get home to Lisa.”

  A sense of urgency hung thickly in the air between them. “I want you,” he said in a voice that was nearly a growl. He consumed her mouth, and she could feel his hunger. His breath came fast and short like hers. The muscles of his arms flexed beneath her touch. She could drown in the taste of him. He made her feel as if she were on fire all over. Her breasts brushed against his chest, and she made a sound of frustration at her inability to get closer.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “You’re too far away,” she said.

  He groaned and pushed his seat all the way back, then pulled her onto his lap. She straddled him while he ate at her mouth. He loosened her hair and skimmed his hands down to her hips, rocking her against his hardness. It was a carnal, sensual move that made her weak with wanting.

  He slid his hands up her bare thighs. Adele trembled. “What are we doing?” The need in her voice took her by surprise.

  “I have protection,” he said, sliding his hands beneath her panties. He looked at her through hooded lids as if she were the most important woman in the world to him, and at that moment, Adele would have given him anything.

  She swallowed hard. “Why do you have protection?”

  “I always carry protection when I’m around you,” he said in a tone that was so darkly wry it was sexy. “I’ve thought about taking you on my desk too many times to count.”

  Excitement coursed through her. “We’re in a car,” she whispered.

  Jason touched her intimately and found her wet and swollen. He stroked and fondled her. “Have you ever done it in a car?”

  “No,” she said, trying not to shudder.

  “Have you ever wanted to?” he asked her, rubbing his open mouth against hers.

  Adele shuddered despite herself. “No.”

  His fingers continued their lazy, seductive trail of mass destruction on her nerve endings. “Do you want to now?”

  Adele knew he would stop if she asked. But she didn’t want him to. “Yes,” she whispered, and the next sound she heard was the rip of her panties.

  Ten

  Early the following morning, Adele awakened to a tapping sound at the back of her condo unit. She frowned and squinted her eyes. Promptly closing them when she saw it wasn’t quite dawn, she rubbed her face into her pill
ow.

  The tapping continued, louder.

  Adele groaned. “Woodpeckers in Arizona?” She covered her head with her pillow. She needed her sleep. After last night—Her face heated at the thought of it. She couldn’t believe her wantonness. In the car.

  After they had taken each other with a wildness she’d never even dreamed, he’d walked her to her door. His tenderness and reluctance to leave her had further weakened her knees and softened a heart that had already melted.

  Adele sighed, remembering. The tapping penetrated the delicious fog of her memory. Swearing, she tossed her pillow against the wall, snatched up her robe and punched her arms through the sleeves as she stomped downstairs. She jerked open the curtains to her patio door and found Jason staring back at her. Her heart bumped against her rib cage.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Open the door,” he mouthed.

  Confused, she did, and immediately heard the tinkling sound of her music box. “You left it in my car,” he said. “I’m going out of town for a few days, and I didn’t want you to be without it.”

  Adele felt torn—touched that he had brought the music box to her and upset that he was leaving. “Thank you,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself in the cool morning air as the sun rose over the horizon. “Where are you going?”

  “L.A. I’m meeting an international client there.” He pulled her against him. “Will you miss me?”

  She pressed her face into his chest and inhaled his scent. “I already do,” she confessed.

  “I’m not crazy about leaving right now, either,” he said, and wrapped one of his hands around her, then guided her into a slow semidance on the small patio.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Dancing with you before I leave. Wouldn’t want you to forget me,” he said with a slight grin, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to dance with her at dawn. As if it were possible for her to forget him.

  Fat chance.

  “Reserve Valentine’s evening for me. Kate is having a little gathering. My family will be there, including Lisa.”

  “Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to join you?” she asked, remembering his earlier reservations.