Читать книгу Formula for Passion - Yahrah St. John - Страница 13

Chapter 3

The next morning, Courtney was startled to find herself naked in a king-size bed with a muscled arm across her naked body. Whose room was this?

The last thing she remembered was drinking shots of Patrón, dancing all night long and making love with Jasper in the gazebo outside. What had gotten into her? She’d thought she’d stopped being so reckless after her two-day marriage to Chaise. Sure, she liked her freedom and this had been wonderful, but it had also been utterly stupid. Anyone could have seen her out there and taken photos and sent them to the press! She was supposed to be the image of Adams Cosmetics. She’d come down here on business, so how would her family feel if she’d been caught in flagrante delicto?

Well, what was done was done, and she had to move forward. Somehow she had to extricate herself from the situation as gently as possible. Courtney tried to rise from the bed, but that only prompted Jasper to stir beside her.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Jasper said as Courtney turned over to face him.

“Morning,” she replied, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. “I assume you carried me back here?”

Jasper nodded. “I believe I wore you out last night,” he said as he stretched. When he moved, the sheets moved with him and revealed a long expanse of hairless, muscled chest. A vivid memory of running her hands across it came to mind.

“Likewise, it was a very enjoyable evening.” And she had the sore muscles to prove it. “But how can you afford this place?” She motioned around the room as she sat up, clutching the sheet to her bosom.

Jasper shrugged, watching her feeble attempt to cover herself up. He’d seen, tasted and touched everything she had. “I know a few people at the resort that owe me some favors.” He kind of liked the fact that Courtney thought him some poor slob who couldn’t afford an expensive room like this. Perhaps he would get a chance to see the real Courtney.

“Well, aren’t you the man?” Courtney said, smiling as she threw the covers back. “I have a busy day ahead, so I’m going to get going.” She made a move to leave, but Jasper pulled her down until she was flat on her back. He didn’t allow her to utter another word. Instead, his large hands took her face and held it gently. He stared at her for several long moments before he planted a tantalizing kiss on her, coaxing a response from her. She kissed him back, lingering and savoring each moment.

When he finally lifted his head, Courtney was out of breath. “Wow” was all she could mutter. Her memory of last night was somewhat fuzzy, thanks to the liquor, but she was fully awake and alert now, and Jasper was an excellent kisser.

“Did you think I would let you go that easily?” Jasper asked, moving from her lips to nibble and lick on her ear. He’d been immediately attracted to her spunk and her vitality and wasn’t ready for that to end. Courtney wiggled underneath him, trying to move away, but Jasper pulled her into his arms until she was above him. He circled one hand around her neck and pulled those rosy lips of hers back on his.

“That was not supposed to happen,” Courtney said afterward, falling back on the pillows. She couldn’t move because she was completely depleted. Jasper wasn’t just an excellent kisser; he was also a good lover. He was very giving and ensured that she was thoroughly satisfied before his own needs were fulfilled. He’d immediately squelched her feeble protests of leaving with one kiss. Then he’d made love to her until she had no thoughts of leaving his bed.

“You thought you’d make a quick exit and take the walk of shame back to your room, didn’t you?” he asked, turning around to face her with his head resting on his chin.

Courtney couldn’t resist laughing at Jasper’s bluntness. “Uh...something like that.”

“Well, I’m not going to make it that easy for you, Courtney,” Jasper said evenly. “I think you and I both know how combustible our union was just now and how hard that is to come by.”

Jasper was right. Courtney couldn’t recall her climaxes being quite that explosive before, and if the shout that Jasper gave as he came was any indication, it had been the same for him. But so what? What else did they have in common outside the bedroom?

“I can read what’s going on in your mind,” Jasper said, interrupting her thoughts.

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? And what was I thinking?”

“You were thinking that we have nothing in common other than great sex. So I’m going to offer you a proposition. Stay with me on Punta Cana and find out. No strings attached. And at the end of your trip, we both go our separate ways.” It had been a long time since someone had intrigued him like Courtney, and he wasn’t ready for that to end just yet.

“You want me to stay here in a no-strings-attached fling?” Courtney asked. “Wow, you do think highly of yourself.”

“Don’t act like it’s just me,” Jasper said. “I know you felt it too. We have a connection of sorts, and I’m just saying we should enjoy it for as long as you’re here. Why should we deprive ourselves?” He dazzled her with his perfect white smile.

Courtney stared at Jasper. Here was her fantasy man live in the flesh. Should she go for it? Then her mind came back to Ethan’s comment that she was there for work. But then again, she had said she would have fun on this trip, and Jasper was offering her exactly what she said she wanted.

“I need to think about it.” Courtney slid off the bed and headed toward the bathroom but stopped in her tracks. “Of course, if you want to join me in the shower to try and convince me otherwise, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

“Absolutely!” Jasper hopped off the bed and followed her into the bathroom.

Hours later, once Courtney had returned to her hotel room, she decided to call her best friend, Tea. They’d met seven years ago when Adams Cosmetics had hired Tea’s public-relations firm for one of Courtney’s earlier campaigns for Adams Cosmetics. The two women had hit it off instantly and been friends ever since. Because Tea was a couple of years older than Courtney, she helped keep Courtney grounded whenever she got the itch to do something crazy.

Courtney had always wondered where she got her wanderlusting free spirit from. Her father and Kayla were hotheaded workaholics devoted to Adams Cosmetics, while Shane and her mother were more cerebral and creative. Shane had been developing products for AC since he was twenty-five, and their mother was a talented artist. Some of her artwork had been featured in AC campaigns.

Although Courtney loved her family and shared a bond with each of her siblings, she always considered herself somewhat of a rebel. She hated to conform, but that was exactly what had happened when she’d agreed to be AC’s spokesmodel ten years ago. Little did she know how much freedom she would be giving up, but now Jasper was offering her a taste of living on the edge. It secretly thrilled Courtney, but she needed some advice. What better person than her BFF, Tea?

Courtney glanced at her watch from her hotel-room terrace, and then used her iPhone to dial Tea’s work number in Atlanta.

“Tea Santiago.”

“Tea, it’s Courtney.” Courtney slid open the glass doors and sat on one of the terrace lounge chairs, facing the Atlantic. The day was warm, and Courtney was soaking in some of the fresh air and cool ocean breeze.

“Hey, girlfriend, how’s DR treating you?” Tea asked.

“Tea...DR is treating a sista real good.”

“Oh yeah? Did you get yourself some last night? I know you said you were long overdue.”

How was it that Tea could read her so well if they were an ocean apart? “The sex was spectacular!”

“Wow! Spectacular, huh? I’ve had good sex before, even great, but never spectacular.”

“My point exactly,” Courtney said. “Which is why I’m considering having myself an island fling with a construction worker. Jasper is his name. Doesn’t his name just sound sexy? Anyway, he propositioned me to prolong our one-night stand into a fling for the duration of my trip.”

“I thought you only needed to stay for a few days for the campaign.”

“True, but I’m long overdue for a vacation, so perhaps I’ll extend my trip and stay awhile.”

“This Jasper must have done some number on you,” Tea said, “because you have never stuck around long enough with any man for him to make an impact.”

“Ouch.”

“I don’t mean it harshly, Courtney. You know I love you. But you don’t do commitments. You never have. In your personal life, you’re all about fun and freedom. I think it’s because you don’t have that flexibility in your career.”

Courtney was silent on the other end. She knew Tea was right, but to hear her private thoughts out there in the open, to have her best friend shine a light on them, was disconcerting.

“Are you still there?” Tea asked. “Did I say too much?”

“No,” Courtney finally said. “You’re not saying anything I haven’t thought before. But it does make me wonder if I’m capable of something more.”

“Professionally or personally?”

“Both. I mentioned to Kayla before I left that I wanted a larger role in Adams Cosmetics, other than being the face of the company.”

“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” Tea said. She’d been waiting for her friend to speak up and step out of her older sister and brother’s shadow at AC. “You’re capable of a lot more, Courtney. I think your family still thinks of you as the baby and the free spirit. In the meantime, enjoy this Jasper. Get him out of your system and then come back to Atlanta and show your family what you’re made of.”

Even though they were a thousand miles apart, Courtney smiled at her best friend. “That’s why I love you, Tea, because you always give me sound advice. So I’m going to have my fun with Jasper now. You know, love ’em and leave ’em. Then come back ready for bear.”

“Have fun and be safe,” Tea said. “And please do everything I wouldn’t do.”

“Count on it.”

* * *

“So, where have you been?” Mark asked Jasper, when he returned to the office the following afternoon. He’d been shocked when the morning passed and Jasper hadn’t come to work. It was now 1:00 p.m.

“Getting myself hired at Dorchester’s construction company,” Jasper replied.

“So he fell for the bait?”

“Yeah, that old pickup truck really did the trick.”

“So what now?”

“Well, I’ll work there for a few weeks and see exactly what his operations are and find out how he’s constructing my hotel.”

“You’re actually going to do manual labor?”

Jasper laughed. He didn’t take Mark’s comment as an insult. It had been a while since he’d been hands-on. “I’m not above manual labor. How else do you think I started Sea Breeze Resorts? I had to get my hands dirty.”

“I know, but you don’t like to talk about your past much.” Not many people knew his true identity. That Jasper Jackson was the son of millionaire Andrew Jackson. He’d always kept a low profile, staying out of the public eye to ensure no one made the connection. He never did interviews and was considered somewhat of a recluse. Jasper had confided in Mark, his right-hand man, years ago, but he’d sworn him to secrecy. So Mark had never told another soul.

“That’s because there’s not much to speak of.”

Mark regarded him questioningly. “I know there’s more to the story, but I’m going to leave you be. I have a conference call to get to. Let me know how your investigation goes and if you need my help.”

“Will do,” Jasper said as Mark left his office. When he was gone, Jasper rose from his chair and gazed out the window.

Mark was right that he didn’t like talking about his past. Jasper had made a point of distancing himself from his immoral, ruthless father and never looked back. Andrew Jackson was a calculating bastard who cared more about his money than his family. When he’d met Jasper’s mother, Abigail, she was a country girl from Marietta, Georgia. She had no idea about the likes of a slick, city boy like Andrew. One night, she made the fateful mistake of meeting Andrew after he’d learned that his true love, Elizabeth, was marrying Byron Adams. He’d seduced Abigail that night as a consolation prize. Unfortunately for Andrew, his mother had ended up pregnant.

Jasper doubted he would have married his mother back then if she hadn’t been carrying a son, an heir to the Jackson family fortune. He married Abigail to ensure that his son was legitimate, but he didn’t love her and his mother knew it. She hated every minute of life at the Jackson Manor. Initially, she’d tried to be a good wife in the hopes that Andrew would fall in love with her, but that had never happened. She’d even tried to have more children, but two miscarriages later, the doctor had told her to stop trying. That’s when she knew her marriage was over and went running back to her family farm. She’d tried to take Jasper with her, but Andrew had steadfastly refused. “My son will stay with me,” he’d insisted, vowing to fight her in court if she dared try to keep him away from his son.

And so Jasper had stayed in that cold mausoleum of a house at seven years of age, missing his mother, whom he was only able to see on the odd day Andrew was in a good mood and allowed a visit. Andrew had retained full custody with minimal visitation rights to his mother because he’d bought the bank that held the mortgage to his grandfather’s farm, which was in debt at the time. He’d threatened to foreclose on the farm if Abigail didn’t give Andrew full custody. So she didn’t fight for custody, and in return, Andrew paid off the mortgage on Jasper’s grandfather’s farm. But as soon as Jasper had turned fifteen, he’d petitioned the court to become an emancipated minor.

Andrew had been livid and had intended to fight Jasper every way until Jasper indicated he knew a lot more about the company’s business practices than Andrew wanted the world to know. He’d blackmailed his own father, but it had freed him to move in with his mother at the farm. She was overjoyed, since she always blamed herself that she hadn’t been able to keep him. Jasper had understood. Andrew had all the Jackson money behind him.

Jasper had loved living on the Cartwright farm with his mother, grandfather and uncle Duke and his family. His grandfather had shown him everything about farming while his uncle Duke had taught him construction from the ground up. After college, when Jasper was ready to strike out on his own, he’d changed his name. He wanted no relation to Andrew. He’d received a small business loan, and the rest was history.

For thirty-three years old, he’d accomplished a lot. He already had a small chain of boutique hotels, with one in Florida and now his second in the Dominican Republic. He was proud of his accomplishments and that he’d done it all without a dime from Andrew. He’d never been able to call the man his father because he’d despised him for keeping his mother from him. He hadn’t spoken a word to him since he’d walked out at fifteen.

Jasper heard Andrew had eventually remarried—a woman named Blythe who had a daughter named Monica. Rumor had it that his stepdaughter was a chip off the old block and had Andrew’s killer instinct. More power to her, because I want no part of Andrew Jackson’s legacy.

Jasper was happy when his cell phone rang, knocking him out of his reverie. He didn’t like strolling down memory lane. It always left a bad taste in his mouth. He smiled when he heard the voice on the other end. It was Courtney.

“Hello, gorgeous. Have you given any more thought to my proposition?”

“I have.”

“And? Don’t leave me in suspense.” Please say yes, please say yes. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun, talking and dancing and making love. He was clearly working too hard, and Courtney Adams was just the medicine he needed to cure him of being a workaholic.

“I say yes,” Courtney replied. “What are you doing this evening?”

“Spending time with you.” He was excited about another night in the seductive temptress’s arms.

“Should I come to you this time?” Courtney asked.

“Oh, no,” Jasper replied, a little too quickly for his liking. “I can come to the resort.”

“Are you sure? This pampered princess doesn’t have a problem slumming it,” she joked, using the nickname he’d given her.

“It’s no problem. I wouldn’t dream of taking you away from your creature comforts.” He was one to talk, considering he was in a lavish custom-designed office. Yet he wasn’t ready to reveal himself to Courtney just yet. He was finally having some long-overdue and much-needed fun. There was no reason that Courtney should find out he was related to Andrew, especially since they’d both agreed to use first names only. Plus, he’d had no connection with the man in nearly twenty years.

“All right, I’ll meet you at sunset, Room 4410,” Courtney added. “And be ready to show me Punta Cana’s nightlife.”

“I’ll see you then.” Jasper hung up. He was sure Courtney was used to dating rich playboys all the time and was probably bored to tears of the same ol’ same ol’. It was probably a refreshing surprise to have some fun with a hardworking chap like him. He told himself this charade was all for her benefit, but it was partly for him too. He’d been engrossed in work for far too long and needed to start enjoying life while he was still in his prime. Courtney Adams was just the outlet.

Yes, he knew who she was, heiress and spokesmodel for Adams Cosmetics. Yet she knew nothing about him and for now he was fine with keeping up the pretense. After they’d had their fun, Courtney would tire of him and be back on a plane to the U.S.