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Melissa and I might both be working against Dennis, but that didn’t mean I had to like her.
Cindy went back to her computer, and I headed to my office.
After I closed the door behind me, I took the seat and swiveled to face the ocean.
The man had scrambled my brain. Rational Jennifer knew he was dangerous, unpredictable, and exactly what I didn’t need. Emotional me, hormonal me, said he was exactly what I wanted—dangerous, predatory, the king of the jungle and all he surveyed. His kiss had been everything I hadn’t experienced before—sensual in a new and different way I couldn’t put a name to. Not a boy’s kiss, not even a man’s kiss, something more animal than that, primal even.
The ancient cavewoman genes in me had reacted to him as the caveman I instinctively craved—the biggest, baddest one around, the one who would keep me safe.
My tongue still tingled with the aftereffects. I closed my eyes, and a smile overcame me. Our brief touches while volunteering in the lunch line a few weeks ago had hinted at what the kiss had proven. Dennis was my kryptonite. There was no denying it. I’d melted in his arms, completely at his mercy.
I told myself I’d impulsively claimed to be his date to piss off his ex. If she was trouble for him, our goals were aligned, and I expected an angry Melissa would cause him extra-serious grief. But I don’t think that was the whole truth.
What the hell was wrong with me? Which was reality and which was illusion? Had I snuggled close to him and accepted the kiss merely to piss her off, or because of the magnetic attraction he held for me?
And for him, what part of it was play acting to piss her off? Any of it, or all of it?
He called me Angel.
I could live with that. In time, he would learn I was an avenging angel.
Chapter 16
Dennis
Melissa’s visithad come out of the blue, and claiming to have arranged to go to Dad’s museum fundraiser with Jennifer had gotten rid of her.
But that had undone a lot of work, on my part. I’d been careful to avoid any improper contact with Jennifer since our visit to Saint Helena’s.
She’d been temptingly close that day, and just brushing against her had almost stirred me to act on my fantasies. I’d considered asking her to join me for dinner more than once since then, but I’d pulled back each time. I couldn’t risk it.
Melissa’s motion to modify our divorce decree had been assigned to Judge White. My lawyer, Birkman, had been complaining about that turn of events ever since.
Judge White had married into money, and after her husband dumped her for a younger trophy wife, she’d become the most husband-unfriendly judge in the district.
Birkman had warned me that any hint I was involved with another woman, even now, would allow Melissa’s side to play to the judge’s prejudices and hurt me in the end. I would be painted as the rich guy trading the poor first wife in for a newer model, and the result could be very expensive.
As a result, I’d not even been on a date in a long while. I’d hooked up with a woman in Vegas, but that hardly counted as a date.
When Jennifer had claimed to be going to the gala with me, the shock had served its purpose of getting Melissa the hell out of my office. But what I hadn’t counted on was the reaction I got from Jennifer, or my reaction to her when I’d upped the ante with a kiss.
She’d more than played along. Her kiss had consumed me and taken me down a road not recently traveled. A road called desire, where logic didn’t register, where impulses took over, and I did what felt right. Kissing her felt right. The heat of her against me had made it difficult to avoid stripping her on the spot once Melissa stormed out.
It hadn’t been smart. It hadn’t been logical, but now that it was done, it felt natural. It felt right. Denying that it felt good—better than good,great—wouldn’t be honest. I still felt her as I ran a finger over my bottom lip. Her peach scent lingered with me.Greatmight not even be a strong enough word.
But now I had to deal with the consequences of being impulsive once again. If I called Melissa right away and apologized, I could probably avoid the court fallout of what I’d just done. I considered that for a moment. I would have to tell Jennifer I wasn’t taking her after allandendure the evening with Melissa.
How long would Melissa hold it over me? Probably forever.
Jennifer had already saved me a hundred and seventy-eight million on Talbot alone. And she was still doing great work.
Screw Melissa.
I was taking Jennifer to the fundraiser. If I was going to piss off Melissa, I was doing it right. The Talbot savings had already paid for it, but beyond that, it’s what I wanted. I was done letting Melissa ruin so much as one more day of my life.
A knock sounded at the door, and Larry popped his head in. “Got a sec?”
Larry didn’t often waste my time, so I motioned him in. “Sure.”
