Identity Crisis(7)

The smile she offered him had no humor in it at all. In fact, the curl at the edge of her luscious lips was downright dangerous. ‘Oh, I’m very cooperative with my clients. I promise you Tess Delaney will be very happy my work, and you know why that is, Thorne? It’s because I keep my nose out of other people’s business and do my job, something you wouldn’t know anything about, would you?’

He felt her words like a slap, and yet, even as he was regretting it, he still couldn’t keep his fucking mouth shut. ‘So what are you going to do for Tess Delaney, huh? Slap her around? Throw your drink at her?’

The words were barely out of his mouth before she gave him a hard shove. He waved his arms wildly, teetering on the edge of the dock, then, just before he went over, he grabbed her around the waist, and they both went off the end, hitting the mirror-bright water of the lake with a huge splash while Ellis and Dee and all the rest of the guests looked on.





Chapter Three

Jessie grabbed Amanda by the wrist and practically dragged her away from the party.

‘What’re you doing? What the on earth’s the matter with you?’ she half whispered, half hissed as he force-marched her through the open French doors and out onto the dock of the summerhouse. ‘Let me go.’

But he held on to her with a bruising grip. He held on to her until they both stood in the fresh air under the full moon reflected off the mirrored surface of the water. He held on to her until they were away from the scent of expensive perfume and wealth, away from the clink of champagne flutes. He held onto her until they were away from James Dennison.

‘I said let me go.’ She pushed both of her hands flat against his chest, against the crisp white shirt of his tux, but he held her.

‘Dennison –’ he forced the words out like he’d eaten hot coals ‘– James Dennison, what’s going on between the two of you?’

‘What?’

‘I saw the way he looked at you, like he wanted to eat you up, like he wanted to, to …’ He caught his breath.

‘He asked me to dance, that’s all. Not that it’s any of your damn business who I dance with. I didn’t realize that you were keeping me under lock and key. What, have you put out an edict that no one is to look at me?’

He pulled her to him hard and kissed her hard, and she struggled against him. He felt the anger tremble through her, rising up to meet his own, and God in heaven, he wanted her. His rage battled with his desire for her, and he pulled away, chest heaving. ‘Damn it, Amanda, you’re mine. I won’t share you with Dennison, or with anyone else, do you understand?’ He shook her none too gently. ‘Do you?’

Her eyes flashed like fire in the bright moonlight, and she drew a sharp breath. ‘I don’t belong to you, Jessie Pennington, nor anyone else, and I don’t appreciate being treated like your possession.’

All it took was a little shove, just a small one with the flat of her hand, to unbalance him and send him, tux, bowtie and all, off the end of the dock, but not before he grabbed her around the waist and took her with him.

Damn, he couldn’t believe he’d actually grabbed Kendra around the waist and pulled her into the lake with him. Garrett pushed away from the laptop, breathing like he’d just finished a marathon, and sonovabitch if he didn’t have a hard-on he could hang a boat anchor from. It made no sense. The woman was a total bitch. She was a banshee from hell. How could someone as nice as Dee Henning end up with someone like Kendra Davis for a best friend?

But God, the woman was hot. He’d wanted to rip her clothes off and taker her right there in the lake in front of everybody. Of course, she probably would have killed him and ripped out his still-beating heart long before he ever got any satisfaction. At least she’d been gracious enough to laugh it off in front of the onlookers and lie, something about a game the two of them were playing and they got too close to the edge of the dock. He was pretty sure Dee and Ellis and probably Harris and Stacie knew it was a lie, but at least she’d tried. When Harris showed them to separate bathrooms to dry off, Garrett was pretty sure she’d growled and bared teeth at him.

And he … Well, he’d had to take care of some very pressing business before he could be decent enough to rejoin the party. He hadn’t been that turned on since … Well, he couldn’t remember ever being that turned on. How could that be? Afterwards she’d kept her distance. And with everyone else she was completely charming, and God, he wanted her.

‘She’s a bitch,’ he reminded himself out loud, trying to ignore the bulge in his jeans. ‘Kendra Davis is a total bitch. I can’t stay far enough away from her.’