right. I’ll take half this week deposited into my account. I’ll take care of it from there. Then you can pay the remaining half in three months.”
He shook his head. “No. A third now, a third in three months and the final third after we’ve completed our bargain. That’s fair and you know it.”
She thought about it and nodded. A third of a million was still a lot of money, and she’d have it immediately. “Very well. I’ll accept it in thirds.”
He stood in silence, still weighing his options. She wondered how long it would take him to reach a decision. He raised his head and glared at her. “We have a deal. I’ll coach the damned kids! But I promise you that they’ll hate me and I’ll hate them.”
“Done!” she declared, her spirits soaring. She’d held out for a fantastic arrangement. “It’ll do you good to get out again into the real world.”
And she got one million dollars to use as she saw fit. She was no longer Jake’s wife except on paper. He would work with the high-school boys and help them. She hoped she banked her elation enough that he had no idea how happy she was about her victory.
She would get through the six months, take the money and get a divorce. She studied her handsome husband and regrets tugged at her. They could have had so much…
She shook that thought out of her head. Jake was who he was—a man after money and power. To add to the mix, he had political ambitions that would drive him even harder.
His eyes narrowed and his expression changed as his gaze raked blatantly over her, as if she was naked. Her heart thudded and her mouth went dry. She wondered what was running through his mind. She’d have thought he’d be irate with her and want to leave. But the scalding look he gave her didn’t say that he wanted to get away. It was filled with sizzling desire, transforming the clash between them into an entirely different tension.
She drew a deep breath and realized there was a chance Jake could seduce her if they were together often. Yet when she thought about his deception, her fury became an armor that would keep him at bay.
“Maybe I’ve never really seen you,” he said. “I sure as hell didn’t know this side of you.” His voice was low, speculative, hot. She had expected his anger to continue, never anticipating this abrupt switch to a different kind of heat. “You’ve made a bargain with me, Emily,” he said.
With deliberation he took off his coat and tossed it aside without ever taking his gaze from her.
Her pulse roared as he walked up to her and thrust his hands into her hair, tilting her head up abruptly. “What happened to the quiet cooperative secretary I married?” he asked, studying her with those piercing eyes.
“I’m not your secretary now, Jake,” she answered, desire igniting beneath his scalding perusal. She wanted to tell him to take his hands off her. They had an agreement and he was already violating it, but the words were locked in her throat.
“You just bested me, Emily. Something few men have ever done and no woman has. We agreed not to have sex, but I can’t recall any stipulations that I can never kiss you. This morning, you got your way and what you wanted. Now I’m going to take what I want,” he said.
Her heart drummed as she gazed up at him, wanting him and angry with him at the same time, unable to shake either response to him. She shook her head. “No, you’re not,” she whispered, knowing she wasn’t really putting up a fight at all.
“You want me to kiss you,” he said. “It shows in your eyes. Tell me to leave you alone, Emily.”
While he waited, his smoky eyes vanquishing her protest, his arm went around her waist. She wanted to shout at him to go away, but she couldn’t. Her heart hammered and her lips tingled and her toes curled in anticipation. She ached for him and wondered whether she’d really won at all. She’d get what he promised, but he’d take what he wanted and she would give it to him willingly. No matter how furious with him she was, how much she didn’t like or trust him, she couldn’t refuse him.
His gaze went to her mouth and he leaned closer. She was certain he could see her pulse raging.
“No, Jake,” she whispered.
“Everything in you is saying yes,” he said with satisfaction lighting his eyes. His mouth covered hers, his tongue thrusting deep as if he could bend her will to his own.
Her exhilaration over winning evaporated. Enraged with him for his deception, she wanted to shout no, to stand up to him, yet she couldn’t. Why was she letting him kiss her?
Thoughts spun away as his arm tightened and he leaned over her. She knew now she hadn’t really won this major part of their battle.
He leaned down until she lost her balance and she clung to him while he kissed her. Trying to resist, she stood as still as a statue. But desire scalded her and she had to return his kiss, to stroke his tongue with hers, to kiss him deeply and run her hands over him.
Finally, he released her and looked down at her with a satisfied expression.
“Don’t let it go to your head, Jake,” she whispered. “You know you can kiss me and I can’t resist, but I will say no to anything more. I’m not giving you a baby.”
“We’ve made our bargain,” he said, still leaning over her. His gaze was intense, hot with desire. He swung her up and kissed her hard again, wrapping his arms around her.
His arousal thrust against her and she burst into flame, her breath ragged. She hoped she could live up to her words. She wouldn’t let Jake get her pregnant. She knew he intended to seduce her, get her pregnant and inherit the money, but she wasn’t having his baby.
She kissed him back for a moment, returning it passionately. A part of her wanted to excite him, frustrate him as much as he frustrated her. She thrust her tongue deep in his mouth, stroking and teasing, nipping his lower lip lightly, rubbing against his hard erection.
She felt him inhale, heard a groan deep in his throat. He released her and both of them gasped for breath as they studied each other.
Contradicting the storm in his gray eyes, he placed his palm gently against her cheek. “You’re beautiful, Em. You absolutely take my breath away.”
“How many women have you said that to?” she asked. His jaw hardened and his eyes turned cold.
“Want me to take you to breakfast?” he asked, instead of replying to her question. “After all, you have to eat and it’ll save you money for your charities. We’ll be in public so there’ll be no more kisses. Get your purse and come with me. We don’t even have to talk.” Without waiting for her answer, he turned away to pick up his jacket and pull it on.
In consternation, she started to refuse. But she knew that everything Jake had just said was the truth, so why not let him buy her breakfast? Maybe she could torment him a little more.
In silence she picked up her purse, but paused when she noticed Jake had pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call my accountant. He’ll have your bank account number and can transfer the first payment to you this morning,” Jake said.
“Thank you,” she said. She made a mental note to open another account that Jake and his staff knew nothing about and move the money. She intended to spend a lot
