The Tycoon's Misunderstood Bride (15 page)

Jason chucked and shook his head.  “This library volunteer is a great idea.”  He slid the paper towards her.  “I notice things like travel and vacations aren’t listed.  Do you not enjoy traveling?”

That hadn’t even occurred to her.  “I hadn’t thought about it.  But yes.  I think I’d like to do something like that.  Maybe just learning the subway system here in London would be a good first step though.  I haven’t been many places without a
chauffeur
.”

“Don’t tell me.  Your father didn’t want you being out alone without a chaperone?”

Emma grinned and nodded, feeling very frisky as she took another sip of champagne. 

“So what would you like to do with your life, Emma?”

She shrugged her shoulders and sighed.  “Mentally, I’m stuck on finding my mother.  I also need to understand why she didn’t take me with her.  I can imagine that my father threatened her, probably with no money or something like that, but I’d like to hear that from her.  I want the trut
h.”

He nodded as she spoke, his eyes showing her his approval of her agenda. 
“I agree with you there.  I’d like to find my father and apparently Edward has proof of my father’s whereabouts and validity.”

“Do you trust him?”

He shrugged, trying to appear casual, but Emma could sense the sudden tension in his broad shoulders. 
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

That hurt, Emma thought and wanted to curl up to hide.  She wished that she might be a small part of the reason he was here, or more specifically, that he was helping her and married her, but she had to be realistic about
his motives
.  She hadn’t even me
t
the man until her father’s funeral.  And they’d shared one statement and a brief handshake.  She knew she wasn’t a raving beauty, so why was she so hurt to find out that Jason wouldn’t be attracted to her just because of herself and not because of what her father held in secret from him.

“So it sounds like we need to step into my father’s office and find out where he’s hidden our parents’ information.”

He glanced at his watch and shook his head.  “I think we should join the party for the moment.  I wouldn’t want you to waste that dress.”  He stood up and held out his hand to her.  “You really look lovely tonight.”

Emma’s heart
leapt
at his compliment, and then started racing with whirlwind speed
when he touched her hand.  “Thank you very much, sir,” she quipped.  “You look very handsome yourself,” she said, noting his elegant, black tuxedo. 

Attending a social function with Jason was a completely different experience than attending on her fa
ther’s arm.  Jason encouraged her
to dance with his friends and acquaintances, he showed her off and each time she walked back to him, he showed her with his eyes that he thought she was pretty.  It was a liberating experience and after a few hours, she would walk away, simply so she could come back to him and see the desire in his eyes a she approached.  She found herself moving in more subtle ways to entice him, swaying her hips slightly, glancing down and then up again as if flirting with him.  And he continued to respond.  She had no idea if he was just pretending for her sake, but it made her feel brave and desired. 

One other revelation she discovered.  When she danced with other men, she could talk with them, enjoy their company and laugh at their jokes, but she wasn’t even remotely attracted to them.  Several men would request a dance and she would always glance up at Jason to make sure it was okay, but as the men took her hand, there was no spark.  There wasn’t any desire to move closer to any of the men.  In fact, some of the men were a bit more forward than others and tried to eliminate the distance between their bodies and she simply pulled away, and sent them a silent message through her eyes that she wasn’t going to allow their tricks. 

And even better, when those men brought her back to Jason at the end of the dance, he glared at them.  He’d obviously been watching their interchange and blamed the men who had made a pass at her.  Jason didn’t glare at her or threaten to fire anyone.  He simply tucked her hand back in his arm, or wrapped his arm around her waist, all the while, telling those men
silently
that he wouldn’t forget their transgression. 

He occasionally danced with other women, but as Emma watched him with the females, she could see the same reactions she’d had to the
flirting
.  He simply wasn’t interested and told the women in the same manner. 

It filled her heart with excitement. And even that seemingly elusive kernel of hope
started simmering inside her heart once again
.  Could he feel the same about her that she did
for
him?  She considered him to be her husband. 
And she
was
his wife.  It definitely wasn’t a traditional, or even agreeable
marriage
, but it was theirs.  For her part, she’d make the most of their situation. 

When Jason pulled her into his arms for a dance, she shivered and stepped closer, smiling when he pulled her even closer to him.  As they danced, their legs almost tangled between each other, but somehow, they never missed a step.  She seemed to know exactly where Jason was going to step and could anticipate his next move, placing her feet in the correct place.  She felt like she was dancing on air and she looked up into his eyes, her heart never slowing down. 

“Let’s get out of here,” he growled and pulled her along behind him as he quickly made his way through the crowd to the door.  Apparently, the others in the crowd didn’t dare to stop him with the look on his face. 
She’d never before been so grateful for Jason’s powerhouse reputation. 

As soon as he exited the building, Tony was standing at the curb with the limousine door opened.  How did he do that, she wondered?  Jason must have sent him some sort of signal as he was pulling her out of the ballroom but when they ducked into the back seat and Jason pulled her onto his lap, she didn’t care how Tony knew they were leaving.  As Jason kissed her, his hands moving up her body, she shivered with
excitement
and anticipation. 

He didn’t stop kissing her until
T
ony pulled up in front of his house.  Emma didn’t know what was going on, only that she stepped out of the limousine and Jason swept her up into his arms.  Moments later, he was laying her down on the bed, his eyes traveling down her body and a look of something she could only define as triumph mixed with desire shining from his eyes. 

Emma swung her legs underneath her, then kneeled on the bed.  “I’ve wanted to do this all evening.  Do you mind?” she asked as her fingers touched his bow tie. 

“Be my guest,” he replied, his hands settling on her waist. 

She pulled the ends, her mind drifting back to a James Bond movie when one of the women did that.  It was so much sexier doing it to Jason. 

She didn’t stop there though.  Her fingers, curio
u
s despite her fears, opened up the black buttons, fascinated when she discovered his skin underneath.  “You’re a very handsome man,” she whispered, her eyes wide as her fingers explored the newly bared areas of his chest.  “I wanted to do this the last time I was here, but I was too afraid of what you might think of me.”

Jason bent down and bit her fingers, eliciting a gasp of surprise.  “Why did you do that?” she asked, but it hadn’t hurt and her fingers explored.

“I want you to remember that anything we do together isn’t bad or wrong.  Forget everything your father said about you.  You’re a beautiful woman with normal desires.  And I like the fact that you want me.”

She smiled and looked back down at his chest.  “He said my red hair was a sign of the devil.”

He chuckled and shook his head.  “Your red hair is a sign that you’re DNA comes from someone with a history of red hair.  That’s all.”

“My mother’s hair
was
red.  That’s why he hated it so much.”

“Let’s leave your father out of our bedroom,” he growled and bent to kiss her neck, his fingers releasing the clips
holding
her hair back as he slid through her soft tresses, holding her head so that he had better access to her neck and ear.  He repeated the process on the other side, then slid his hands to the zipper on her back.  “I think you’re currently over dressed for what I have in mind, Emma.”

She shivered when she felt the zipper come down her back.  And his fingers running along her spine increased that feeling.  She wanted to slide against him, to feel his hard chest against her breasts and test what his chest hair felt like.  Goodness, she wanted to do so much with this man.  And to him! 

Xxx

She heard the water from the shower cut off and, since that didn’t fit in with her normal morning routine, she opened her eyes to investigate.  The confusion she felt at waking up in a
strange
room, in a strange bed with sunlight streaming through the windows instead of the heavy velvet curtains blocking everything out, finished the job of waking her up.  But her mind was still fuzzy about where she was.

It wasn’t until Jason walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and water droplets still on his magnifice
nt chest and muscular arms, that
she remembered where she was and why she was here. 

“Good morning,” Jason said as he walked over to kiss her lingeringly.  “How did you sleep?”

She smiled and licked her lips, trying to taste his kiss even after he was walking away again.  “You mean during the times that you allowed me to sleep?”

He chuckled and nodded his head as he rubbed his hair with another towel.  “Yes, during those odd moments, were you comfortable?”

She pulled the sheet up higher on her chest, painfully aware that she was still naked.  Well, so was he, she supposed.  But that didn’t ease her awareness.  It was morning and things were completely different with so much sunlight shining in on them. 

“Yes.  I slept very well.  Thank you very much.”

He looked back at her, his glance threatening dire consequences.  “D
on’t start hiding on me again, Emma.  We’re way past that now.” 

Emma shifted on the bed, tucking her legs underneath her primly.  “I’ll try.”

He looked at her carefully, then nodded.  “Good.  Do you have any plans for today?”

She laughed at the idea.  “Since it’s Saturday, I generally stay away from the library.  So no, my plans are in limbo at the moment.”

He smiled at her quip and came back over to the bed.  His eyes looked down at her with determination and Emma knew she wasn’t going to like what was coming. 

“I’m going to suggest something, and I want you to think about it ve
ry carefully with an open mind.”

She swallowed and wished she were showered and dressed for this conversation.  She felt vulnerable being naked and felt odd after a night of passionate sex with this man.  “Okay.  I’ll try.”

“I don’t like being passive about finding our parents,” he explained, sitting down next to her and putting his hand on the other side of her hip.  “I’d like to go through your father’s office and look through his computer.  Maybe we can find something in his papers or files that would give us a clue that we can move forward with.  We shouldn’t have
to wait for you to conceive in order to gain
this information.”

Emma held her breath, considering the idea.  Her father was dead.  He’d left everything to her
child
with the understanding that she would marry this man and conceive a child.  So why should she be afraid of entering his office?  She should face the ghosts of that room, if nothing else.  And if they were to find something that would lead them closer to finding their parents, then all the better.

“Let’s do it,
”
she said and bit her lip in fear.