A_Little_Harmless_Fascination (9 page)

Micah had told him it was a good place to boogie board, and
it was a cool, windy day.

"Oh, well, if I know her, she's still in bed."

If he had been downstairs, she would definitely be in
bed—beneath him.

Damn, he had to stop thinking about that. Just that little
kiss had him wanting more, wanting her every way he could think of. Right now,
he could imagine her on her hands and knees, that luscious ass of hers up in
the air as he smacked it until it was red.

Shit
. He was doing
it again. And he was on the phone with his sister. Conner knew it was
inappropriate, but even his silent admonitions didn’t seem to quell his desire.
He wanted her. Hell, even that was an understatement. He needed her in a way
that was starting to worry him. He hadn’t even touched her past that simple
kiss, and he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

“Conner?”

“Oh, sorry. What did you say?”

“I said that I bet she’s still in bed.”

“I heard her moving around a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, well, she might be stuck.”

“What do you mean stuck?”

“On writing. When she starts a new book, she tends to take
forever. Usually, she finds some kind of distraction. A guy. Hey, is that Mick
guy still there?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I always thought they would hook up.”

Just the thought had him fighting back a growl. As long as
he was there, that motorcycle-driving idiot wasn’t going to touch her. She was
his.

That thought stopped him cold. Dammit. There he went again.
The woman was driving him crazy. He had thought to keep his distance. He knew
that was impossible after last night. He had proven that by taking the step and
giving her an order. He would have never done that if he hadn’t made the
decision.

Conner didn’t play fast and loose with his sexuality. He
didn’t mind a good healthy flirting session, but when it came to taking that
next step, he never took it easily. It was probably one of the reason he hadn’t
had a long relationship in the last few years. He hadn’t trusted any woman
enough, or maybe he had sensed they didn’t trust him.
 

“Conner?”

He realized he’d drifted off again. It was embarrassing how
often he did that when it came to Jillian.

"I said I heard her moving around earlier."

"Not a good sign. Either she got more edits, which
means you want to stay away from her, or she had to deal with her family."

"Deal with her family?"

"I’m not sure just what goes on with them, but I do
know that about this time of the month, she gets a lot of phone calls."

He tucked that bit of information away to think about later.
He heard her outside talking to Mick, and he wanted to see her. He knew one way
to get his sister off the phone.

"So, what’s going on with that Demeter case?"

"Oh, no you don't. The doc said only if we needed some
kind of answer from you because of legal reasons. Otherwise, no dice."

"Okay. But, if you need me..."

"Forget it. I am not even in the mood to fight with
you. Go find Jillian, go to Bellows. Have fun."

After hanging up, he wandered to the window and looked down
on the scene beneath him. Mick was showing Jillian a tattoo, and from the looks
of it, it was new. She didn't look happy at all, but she was faking it. He
apparently asked her to go for a ride, but she shook her head. Conner could
tell something was wrong. Even if she wasn’t interested, Jillian was polite. Now
she wasn’t smiling, and there was an air of preoccupation about her.

She watched as Mick drove off, and then she started to walk
back to the house. Conner knew this was the only way he could look casual, so
he slipped out the door and down the stairs to the ground floor, catching her
before she could escape into her part of the house.

"Hey, I was thinking of going to Bellows today."

“Sounds good for you.”

Definitely not the attitude he was used to from Jillian.
Could it be she was irritated with him from last night? Embarrassed? That
didn’t fit Jillian’s personality. He couldn’t remember a woman who was as
straightforward about sex as she was. That was saying a lot considering he used
to train Dommes. Add in a sister who’d felt the need to share way too much
about her life when she was a teenager, and he was pretty accustomed to women
being too open with him.

Jillian didn’t hide anything. Or, in the short time he had
spent in Hawaii, he thought she didn’t hide things. She always seemed open and
willing to share. Until now. Now, though, she was closed off.

"Not in a good mood today?"

She slanted him a look. "I needed about four hours more
sleep."

He held his hands up. "You can't blame that on me. I
stayed upstairs and out of your way."

She shook her head. "Not really."

"What do you mean by that?” he asked.

"Never mind. It isn't important."

"No, I think it is," he said, irritated with her
now. She avoided looking at him, and it was really starting to bug him. "I
can't believe you're upset about a simple kiss."

He saw her lips curve before she turned to face him. It did
things to him he didn't want to think about. The idea that a woman's smile, no
matter how small, had his heart squeezing tight was not something he was used
to. Allowing a woman to have that much power over him was a dangerous
proposition.

She looked at him then, her eyes less troubled. He saw her
brow ease, and again, he felt that little squeeze. Damn. Definitely not a good
sign. Still, he couldn’t help it.

She shook her head again. "There was nothing simple
about that kiss, Agent Dillon."

"I'm not an agent," he said automatically.

She laughed. "Come on, let me have a little fantasy
about you and winning the bet."

"Bet?"

"Yeah. We not only were preoccupied with you in
college, but there was a bet going on about who would get the first kiss. Since
I am assuming you never kissed any of the other dorm occupants, I think I won
that bet last night."

Something loosened in his chest. He hadn’t realized how
worried he had been about her reaction to his kiss the night before.

“And the phone call after? Did you heed my instructions?”

The air stilled between them, the tension rising to another
level.

"Why don't you come to Bellows with me today? There's
some shade, right? You could settle there, take a nap while I play with my
boogie board?"

She snorted. "Are you allowed to do that in
public?"

He rolled his eyes. "Twenty minutes?"

Her cell phone went off, and her smile faded. "Give me
thirty."

He nodded as she answered her phone. "Yes, Charles, I
hear there's a problem."

He watched as she walked back to her front door. He couldn't
get much from her side of the conversation, but he was going to definitely find
out who Charles was and why he made her so fucking unhappy.

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

Jillian sighed with pleasure as she shifted on her towel.
Conner was right. Going out was a good idea, and here in Bellows, there was
spotty cell phone service, so she could ignore the phone calls. After her phone
call with her aunt, she was happy to ignore them all. Charles's information was
exactly what she’d expected. Yes, her cousins didn't know how to budget their
money, and that was one reason her bitch of a grandmother left her in charge.

She brushed that aside and mulled Brent’s problems. He had
gone over the edge now, and there wasn't much that could be done about it.
Charles had been blunt. His gambling problem had gotten out of hand. Worse, he
had borrowed money from his mother. Money she would never see again. Jillian
tried not to worry about that, knew that she had been saddled with the family
money for one reason. So that her grandmother could have the last laugh.

She shook away those worries and looked out on the water. It
wasn't that busy today because it was cool, with a little rain on and off, and
it was the middle of the week. But there was Conner boogie boarding.

She watched as he crested over one wave and tried to ignore
the way her body reacted. She had never been a woman who suppressed her
feelings. Not anymore. Not since that bitch of a grandmother called her a
nappy-headed loser. Still, there was something about Conner that warned her to
be cautious. She had always thought he was the Alpha Dog of any group of men,
but seeing him in the club last night—not to mention that kiss—she now knew
Conner Dillon was definitely a Dom she could not take lightly.

He rose out of the water, and she sucked in a breath. For a
man who just had a heart issue and was within spitting distance of forty, he
was in fantastic shape. Hell, he would be considered in fantastic shape for a man
in his twenties. Although, a man in his twenties wouldn't have that solid frame
an older man did.

She watched as he walked to her and tried very hard to look
away. She was gaping, she knew, and she didn't know why. There were gorgeous,
half-naked men aplenty in Hawaii. Mick and Adam were always half naked. Maybe
it was because she was accustomed to seeing him in suits.

Water sluiced down over his flesh, and she had to lick her lips.
His muscled chest had a smattering of hair that formed a line that traveled
down his stomach. It bisected a set of abs that would make a younger man look
amazing.

"Gonna get out on the water?" He asked as he bent
over to pick up his towel. The scent of the water was on him, the salt and
sweetness of the Pacific clinging to him.

She cleared her throat as she tried to clear her mind and
calm her libido.

"No, I'll just enjoy your attempts."

He dropped down beside her. "My attempts?"

"I'm sitting here wondering just how you know how to
boogie board so well."

One eyebrow rose. "I do live in Miami."

"And you work seventy hours a week."

He shot her a smile, and she felt her heart turn over. Shit.
He rarely smiled but when he did, he had full-on dimples. It almost made him
look too pretty, if he hadn’t broken his nose one too many times.

"I grew up in Florida too, remember. I did my fair
share of surfing and boogie boarding. I wasn’t that much into surfing. Like to
ski, too."

She heard the wistfulness in his voice, and it would be easy
to brush it away, but something told her to pursue it.

"You miss it."

He glanced at her then looked back out at the water. "A
bit. I thought moving to Miami would give me more time on the water. Then, I
got busy."

He didn't have to say with what. She knew as well as he did
that Maura became the focus of his world when their parents died. A lesser man
could have walked away. They had some distant relatives, but he didn't. And for
someone like Jillian, who lost her parents at a young age, that made him even
more appealing. She had spent her teenage years surrounded by men who spent
their lives avoiding reality and responsibility. This made Conner all that more
irresistible. Add in the dreamy body and those bedroom eyes, and she knew he
was going to be trouble for her.

"So, how is the opening in DC going?”

He shrugged, and she couldn’t help but watch the play of
muscles. There was nothing like a great set of shoulders.

“Okay. I have a lot of connections there still."

"Like Maria Callahan from last night?"

He nodded. "Although, before last night, I hadn’t heard
she’d left the agency."

She laughed. "You act like she should have cleared it
through you."

He gave her a glance then looked back out at the water.
"No. I was her mentor until I left, and we kept up with each other until a
couple of years ago. But, her father was Big John Callahan. It really is
amazing that she left. I thought she would make a career out of it."

"So you think she was suited to it, like you
were?"

He shook his head. "No, actually I was pretty sure that
she hated it. Her father pushed her into it a bit. I remember being on cases
and this teenager would be there hanging on his every word. She absorbed
everything. It wasn’t a normal childhood, and not once can I remember her ever
being happy."

"She went on cases with him?"

He nodded.

"That is so many ways wrong."

Conner sighed. "I agree. It was unhealthy to the
extreme. She learned that the only thing her father valued was catching a
killer. So, I guess she thought that was the only way she would at least gain
some satisfaction. She was a damned good agent, but I don’t know if she ever
liked it.” He shook his head. “I would have never done that to Maura."

Of course he wouldn't. Conner had always tried his best to
make sure Maura could live in a nurtured environment.

"Are you going to tell me what got you so upset this
morning?"

She grimaced, and it was her turn to look away.
"Family."

"I thought you didn't have much contact with
them."

"As little as possible. I learned a long time ago that
if I stayed out of their way, life was much easier. Of course, it would be
better if I had picked a pseudonym to write under. They are still pissed that I
use my real name."

"But you talked to someone this morning?"

She sighed as the memory of her conversations came back to
her. "My aunt. She was trying to remind me of my obligations. I hate the
word."

“Obligations?”

She nodded.

"Everyone has obligations."

Of course he would say that. He never shirked his duty, in
work or home. Jillian was pretty sure that was one of the reasons he had never
married. Conner was a man who stood by his word, and if he couldn’t give
himself to a woman one hundred percent, he wouldn’t marry her. Why that made
her sad she didn’t know.