Chapter 13

“Fess up, have you kissed him again?”

It was Friday afternoon, and even though she was at the far end of the house, and there was no way either Dean or Liz could hear Britt’s voice coming through the cell phone pressed to her ear, Gina glanced toward the open door of the guest room.

Had she kissed Dean again?

Oh, she’d come close. So damn close the other night. Twice.

But the Wednesday morning after their dinner, she’d sent him a text and avoided the house for the day. Instead, she’d done some planning for the great room, then focused on picking out paint colors to go with the design themes for the guest bedrooms, finished packing up her office, and shopped for more beds and accessories in the afternoon. Other than a late morning return text from him to make sure her night had been uneventful, she hadn’t heard from him.

Yesterday, about the time she’d convinced herself that was a good thing, he’d popped in while she was painting in the first bedroom on the main floor. He’d handed her the debit card for the house account, and all it took was a brief brush of his fingers and his sexy grin to make her wish she’d taken the opportunity to accept his dare when it was in the palm of her hand.

As he’d left the room, her gaze had devoured every inch of him, from his mussed brown hair all the way to his bare feet. Well, truthfully, she hadn’t gotten much further than the ass of his jeans, but figured the bare feet were a pretty safe assumption. She had yet to see him wearing shoes in his house.

“No, I did not kiss him again,” she answered Britt. Technically, the denial was a lie because she hadn’t told her friend about the second kiss the night of the art show. “Why would I?”

“Um, because he’s damn hot and you both seemed to really enjoy the last one?”

“Who’s hot?” Joel’s indignant voice demanded in the background.

“Dean Daley.”

“Why are you looking at another guy?”

Gina smiled as her friend’s laugh came over the line. “Oh, settle down. I still go to bed with you every night, don’t I?”

This time her husband’s response was low and muffled. She heard a brief, hushed exchange, then her friend’s laughingly whispered, “Go away.”

Then Britt spoke to her in a normal voice again. “Seriously, the guy chased you out of the bar. Then he showed up at the gallery for less than ten minutes, just to talk to you, and you’ve been avoiding my calls. You can’t tell me something didn’t happen that night.”

“Your husband’s investigative skills are wearing off on you.”

“I knew it! Tell me.”

“He accused me of working with Jackson to try to steal programming ideas.”

“What?” Affronted disbelief rang in Britt’s voice.

“Yeah.”

“And you still took the job?”

Gina sighed, all humor gone as she sank down onto the end of the bed delivered just that morning. “I need the money, Britt. Grace kinda screwed me over, and most of my clients were from Jackson’s circle.”

“Why didn’t you say something?

“I’m dealing with it.”

“Did you call your parents? Because if you don’t want to open that can of worms, we can help.”

“I appreciate it, but really, I’m working through it.” She forced a laugh. “Literally.”

“Well, then, how is the job going? He doesn’t still think you have any connection to Jackson, does he? I’m guessing not, otherwise he wouldn’t have hired you.”

Ha, right. “I’ve only seen him once in the past three days, so I’m not sure if he’s changed his mind or not. Anyway, he can think whatever he wants to think. I know what’s true, and that’s all that matters.”

Not really, but she wasn’t ready to admit that out loud yet, even to her best friend. She did tell her about the office break-in, but left out Dean’s presence, then spent the next couple minutes convincing her she wasn’t in any danger. After the ordeal Britt and Joel had gone though almost two years ago, Gina understood her concern.

Her own unease had been high at first, but it was diminishing a little more each day. She still didn’t have a clue why her office had been the only one, and hadn’t heard anything more from the police. A thorough check of her computer at home didn’t find anything suspicious, either. She’d followed the officer’s advice to change her passwords and ordered new credit cards, though at this point, she suspected it’d been a random act of vandalism—and a petty one at that.

As her friend ended their conversation, she reminded, “You said in your text you wanted to ask me something.”

“Forget it. It’s nothing.”

“Britt, don’t give me that. What?”

“I was going to ask you to babysit tomorrow night, but with all you’ve got going on, I don’t want to bother you.”

“Are you kidding? I’d love to watch that sweet little guy of yours.”

“You’re sure? I know it’s last minute, and a Saturday night…”

“Positive. I’d planned on working, so it’ll give me a break from my life. What time?”

After agreeing to be at their place by six p.m., Gina hung up and slipped her phone back into her purse.

“Looks nice.”

She spun around at the sound of Liz’s voice from the doorway. “Thanks. There are a few more things I want to do, but it’s almost done.” After one final glance around the room, she scooped up her purse and the light jacket she’d needed that morning. “As for me, I am done for the day, so I’m going to head out. Um, by chance is Dean in his office?”

Liz shook her head as they walked down the hall. “He left a little while ago for a meeting in Boulder.”

“Oh.”

No, she didn’t care that he hadn’t even taken a moment to say bye before leaving. And so what if he’d been shut in his office when she’d arrived so she hadn’t gotten a chance to say good morning, either. She was better off keeping her distance.

“I guess I’ll see him on Monday, then.” Maybe.

“I’ll let him know.”

“Thanks.”

The redhead had been a lot friendlier ever since that initial meeting when Gina had assumed she was Dean’s jealous girlfriend. The little interaction she’d seen between the two had been more like a brother-sister relationship, so maybe she’d read her wrong that night.

“Any exciting plans for the weekend?” Liz asked as they came to a stop at the front door.

“Babysitting for a friend, and working.” She laughed at the other woman’s raised eyebrows. “Hey, right now, that’s all the excitement I need in my life.”

She couldn’t help a glance through the kitchen, toward Dean’s study. Realizing the direction of her thoughts, she quickly pulled her gaze back. “How about you?”

“Nothing tonight, but tomorrow I’m going with the guys to a client dinner party. I don’t get to dress up much, and I found this great outfit the other day, so it should be fun.”

“Do you have a boyfriend to go with you?” Gina asked before she could help herself.

The redhead’s gaze shifted away as she shrugged. “The guy I’m seeing can’t make it, so I’m acting as Dean’s date.”

She kept her smile in place. She shouldn’t care one bit, and hadn’t she just thought that Liz and Dean treated each other like siblings? “Have a good time. I’ll see you on Monday, too.”

On her way to her car, she couldn’t help but think with a frown, Now who’s jealous?

* * *

Gina gathered the packages out of the trunk of her car after shopping on her way home. Not that she’d have admitted it to Dean, but at night there were times she didn’t feel entirely safe in her new neighborhood. And she certainly didn’t trust purchases made with his money to be left in her car all weekend.

At the top of the second set of stairs, her step faltered at the sight of Jackson lounging against the wall next to her door. In his tailored suit and polished exterior, he looked completely out of place amidst the dim light and peeling paint.

What the heck is he doing here? She hadn’t given him her new address.

He straightened when he saw her, even smiled as he lowered his hand to slip his phone in his pocket.

Taking a deep breath, she started forward again. “What do you want?”

“I stopped by to see how you’re doing.”

He offered another smile. Probably going for charming, but now that her eyes were wide open where he was concerned, she saw it contained a strange combination of smarmy and condescending. Made her want to knee him in the balls. Even when she knew Dean had ulterior motives, he pulled off the charm ten times better.

“I’m great. Now you can go.”

“Wow. You could be a little nicer.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Come on, Gina. We’re both adults here. There’s no reason we can’t be friends. Even you toasted to new beginnings.”

“So the drink in your face didn’t clue you in to my sarcasm? I thought you were smarter than that.” His features tightened at her continued rudeness, but she didn’t care. “What do you want?” she repeated.

He shifted his gaze toward her door. “Can we go inside and talk?”

Like she wanted him to see her luxury apartment. “Here’s just fine.”

A frown wrinkled his tanned forehead. She eyed his perfectly styled hair and considered that there was a time she thought he was so good-looking. Now she saw past the faces he presented to the world to the spoiled, manipulative man whose sense of entitlement completely overshadowed a conscience she wasn’t even sure existed.

As she stood her ground without opening the door, something flickered in his blue eyes. His lashes lowered too fast for her to identify the emotion, and when he lifted his gaze back to hers, it was full of regret.

“I wanted to apologize for the way everything ended between us. I can see it hasn’t been easy for you.”

Her initial surprise from the first sentence evaporated with his subtly worded jab in the second. She held up the purchases in her hands, even though the only thing that belonged to her was the sub sandwich she’d stuffed in her bag. “I’m doing just fine, thank you.”

His dark eyebrows rose as he dipped his chin, conveying sympathy for her sorry plight. She didn’t believe his act for a second.

“Look, Jackson. I don’t want to do this right now.” Not at all, truthfully. “I’m tired and I’m hungry, so just go. Please.”

His expression softened even more. “Why don’t you put your things away, and I’ll take you out for dinner. We can go to Palace Arms in Denver.”

He didn’t really think her favorite restaurant was all it would take, did he? Her best efforts couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Now I know you’re joking. After everything you’ve done, you couldn’t pay me to go anywhere with you.”

“Gina, come on. I just told you I was sorry. You know how hard it is for me to admit when I’m wrong, but if you want the truth, Grace was a mistake. I see that now.”

“Oh, I agree, but that’s not my problem.”

The flicker she’d seen earlier returned, only this time he didn’t look away to hide the sharp glint of determination. Uneasiness started a slow increase of her pulse. She tightened her grip on the bags in her hands and wished he’d just leave so she could go inside, bolt her door, and jam the chair under the handle.

Until then, she’d have to bluster it out.

“You’ve changed,” he murmured.

“Not really.” She lifted her chin to emphasize her next words and let him know she wasn’t buying one word of his bullshit. “I just finally remembered who I am.”

“Doesn’t look like much to me.”

The comment was more outright belittling than usual, but she was still able to shake it off. He was no longer welcome to mess with her head. “Good thing I don’t care if you’re looking anymore.”

His eyes narrowed and he took a step closer. “You should.”

He towered over her, making her heart beat even faster. She forced herself to keep her chin up and stand her ground while meeting his cold gaze. “You should go. Now.”

“I’ll leave when I’m good and ready. And I won’t be ready until you tell me what you and Dean Daley are up to.”

She swallowed hard at the cutting edge to his voice. This was a side of him he hadn’t showed before. Fear of the unknown shortened her breath. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play stupid,” he sneered. “You made damn sure I saw you at the club last week. Now I hear you’re working for the fucker, and I’ve got some asshole following me around sticking his nose into my business. What’s going on?”

“How would I know?”

He reached out and grabbed hold of her upper arms. She let out a surprised gasp, then bit back a cry as he slammed her back against the wall, his fingers digging into her flesh. “I want to know what the fuck you told him.”

“Nothing. I’m just decorating his house.” She dropped her bags, but when she tried to move, his hold tightened, and his weight pinned her in place. Tears welled in her eyes. “Jackson, please, you’re hurting me.”

His face moved so close she could feel his hot breath on her skin. Her stomach bottomed out as his gaze bore into hers. “I don’t know if I can believe you. Maybe you were screwing the bastard all along.”

“No—we only met last week! I was just trying to get back at you at the club because of Grace, that’s all. I didn’t even know who he was.”

Her choked voice and the moisture blurring her gaze seemed to convince him she was telling the truth. She sucked a shallow breath into her tight lungs.

“Well, now that you do, you better keep your damn mouth shut. To him or anyone else that comes asking.”

“Why would I say anything now?” she asked bitterly. “I can’t prove any of those ideas were mine.”

His hand rose to grip her jaw, holding her head still. His ice-blue gaze drilled into hers. “Don’t you forget that, either. It’ll be your word against mine, and I’ve got a lot more people on my side.”

“I just want to move on with my life. I don’t care what happened anymore.” She swallowed hard. “Please, Jackson.”

The ice in his gaze melted somewhat and his grip eased. Relief began to flow as she managed a decent breath, until he slid his hand into her hair and fisted his fingers. She froze in place as he leaned forward and nuzzled his face against her cheek. After a deep inhale, he spoke against her ear.

“Mmm. Remember when you used to say those words to me in bed?”

The low taunt froze the blood in her veins. The thought of ever being with him again made her nauseous. “That’s over now,” she whispered.

“Seeing as how you have no problem giving it to Daley, how about one more time, for old time’s sake?”

Alarm exploded when a press of his hips revealed the hard ridge of his arousal. Oh, God, he wouldn’t—would he?

“No.” The word barely reached her own ears, and she forced her voice past the fear clogging her throat. “Jackson, stop.”

He ignored the denial and slid his mouth across to hers. Panic jerked her hands up between them. She tried to shove him away, but he easily overpowered her.

“Come on, baby, it’ll be even better than before.”

His fingers tightened in her hair and his mouth crushed down hers, grinding her lips against her teeth until she tasted blood.

Gina wrenched her head to the side and screamed as much from the pain in her scalp as the terror of how far he would actually go. She brought her knee up as hard as she could and connected with his groin close enough to make him double over. His guttural moan sounded through the hall.

“I said no,” she rasped.

He surged upward with a hoarse shout and his backhand swing snapped her head to the side. Pain exploded in her face. Stars danced on the edge of her vision as she reached up to cover her throbbing cheek. Blinking through the involuntary tears, her whole body trembling, somewhere she found the strength to not cower before him.

“I didn’t make a case about the computer stuff, but don’t think I’d keep my mouth shut if you raped me.”

“You bitch,” he growled.

Just when he reached for her again, a door opened at the end of the hall. Jackson jerked back, stumbling as he hurried toward the stairs. “Forget it. You’re not worth the trouble.”

The moment he was out of sight, her knees refused to support her. As a neighbor she’d never met hurried down the hall toward her, she sank down against the wall with a hand fisted in her mouth to stifle her sob.