Favorite Places (A TroubleMaker Novel, #2) (2 page)

He watched the whole
tongue-sneaking-out-for-a-peek, then reached up, gently covered the hand she was
holding over his, and curled his fingers around it. The warm connection turned all
those overwhelming sensations she’d felt into a searing liquid. And the heat of
it soared between her thighs. The wetness nearly soothed the soreness of the
previous pinches he’d caused down there.
God! I seriously need to take care
of my deprived hormones!

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” he huskily said, dragging her hand
away. His fingers slithered from hers as veiled eyes raked over every inch of
her body. “It was my fault. Really, I didn’t mean to hassle you like that.” He
sighed, and shoved his fingers through his hair again. “I just need to be sure
that’s not my suitcase. There are some very important papers in mine.”

She watched him
carefully as he spoke. He appeared uncomfortable about the apology, yet sincere.
She turned, bent down, unzipped her bag, and reached in. She felt something
soft and pulled it out, praying it wasn’t her cotton granny panties. She cursed
Shelby when she saw the red silk nightie in her hand. She took a deep breath
and held it up higher. “I don’t think
this
would be in your suitcase, do
you?”

His eyes went
from the scrap of red, lacey silk to the trolley that was starting to drive
away. Without another word, the man turned on his heels and started to chase
it.

Jessina glanced
down at the ground. Aunt Lulu’s ashes were nearly gone. The light breeze had
blown them away. Although the
McCarron International Airport
was
not where she wanted to put her favorite aunt, Jessina had to laugh at the
crazy predicament.

Knowing her
aunt, she shook her head, and then looked up to the sky. “I bet you’re getting
a real good laugh out of all of this too. Aren’t you, Aunt Lulu?”  

The real-life Barbie
doll who evidently wielded all the power at the front desk of Lennox Financial Corporation
sternly informed Jessina, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but Mr. Lennox does not see anyone
without an appointment.”

“You tell Mr.
Lennox Jessina Landi is here in regard to his luggage, and when he
is
ready to see me, I’ll be waiting right over there.” She pointed to the row of
leather chairs adjacent from Barbie’s desk. Jessina hadn’t come this far, only
to be turned away. She hadn’t sat on a bus for the past three hours to be
refused by anyone, not even Chase Lennox, the proprietor himself. Jessina
waltzed over and sat down in the surprisingly comfortable chair, crossed her
arms over her chest, and waited.

An hour later, a
brunette version of Barbie, wearing a prim but welcoming smile, walked over to
her. She stopped and clasped her hands together. “Hello, Ms. Landi. My name is
Katie. Mr. Lennox would like to apologize for your wait, and he can see you
now. Please follow me,” she said with a slight wave of the hand.

Obviously, not
only did Mr. Lennox have people to buy his luggage for him, but he also had
people to apologize on his behalf too. Jessina picked up her bag and followed Katie
to the elevators. In awkward silence, they rode up to the tenth floor. Katie
ushered her to a door and, after two quick knocks, opened it.

A rush of that
familiar aroma invaded her nostrils.

The vessel of
the arousing scent sat behind a huge mahogany desk. His dark hair a tad longer
than the last time she’d seen him. The top button of his shirt was undone, revealing
a sneak peak just below his throat. Well, at least he wasn’t all business the
skin beneath the stylish tie obviously had been touched by the sun. His sleeves
were rolled up, exposing his tan forearms, with muscles that flexed with each
stroke of the pen. Without taking his eyes from the papers he was signing, Chase
Lennox dismissed the Barbie-like escort with a polite “Thank you,” and as the
door clicked close, Jessina found herself standing alone in the office with her
husband
.

The pen paused,
and long, dark lashes lifted. Those electric-blue eyes settled on her, and
after a slow, long look of those electrifying orbs melting away every stitch of
clothing from her body, Chase Lennox spoke. “Jessina Landi?” He set the pen
down and sank back into a plush leather executive chair. “It’s a nice name. It
suits you.” He nudged his head. “Have a seat.”

“Thank you,” she
mumbled, unsure if she’d just thanked him for the bizarre name compliment or
for the offer of a seat. She ran her hands over her shirt, and then her jeans
to be sure they were still on, that those heated orbs hadn’t truly melted them
away. His eyes stayed on her as she moved and settled into another comfy chair.
After the uncomfortable bus ride, her ass was grateful for the pampering.

“I’m not sure
why you’re here Mrs.—”

“It’s Ms.,” she
corrected, just as she normally did. However, at that very moment, Jessina wasn’t
a Ms. anything.

“Pardon me.” A
small smile smoothed over those touchable lips, “
Ms
. Landi, I’m not sure
why you’re here, but I do appreciate the opportunity to offer you my apologies
for the way I acted, and—”

She shook her
head and waved a hand to stop him. “There’s no need for that. It was just a
misunderstanding. In fact, a misunderstanding is what brought me here today.”
She reached over, picked up her bag, and pulled out the documents, ready to get
it all over quick. “I assume when we met, your suitcase really had been stolen?”

“Yes. That is
correct,” he confirmed, watching her with calculated eyes.

“Well, you had
every right to question me. I would have if it had been mine that was missing.
I think our luggage was identical, so much so that even I got them confused.
See, when I got home from my trip, I couldn’t find my wallet. The last time I
recalled having it was while I was on the trolley. I think I put my wallet in
your bag instead of mine.”

“You don’t say,”
he badgered with a sexy, blithe smile.

“I
do
say,”
she tartly replied, “but that brings me to our dilemma—”

His eyebrows rose.
“We have a dilemma, Ms. Landi?”

“Oh, we have a
huge dilemma, Mr. Lennox.” She stood up, walked over, and placed one of the
documents on the desk. “It seems that in the eyes of the law and according to
the state of Nevada, the two of us—you and I—are married.”

He hadn’t looked
down at the proof, the copy of the marriage certificate she’d placed in front
of him. Nor did his eyes widen with shock, confusion, or doubt. The man didn’t
even blink. He just tilted his head to the side as he had on the trolley six
months earlier and smiled that crooked selling smile and huskily said, “You don’t
say?”

Her hands
clenched. “I’m serious!”

Still he stared,
as though amused. If he believed her, it was difficult to tell.

“Did you have
any identification in your suitcase?”

“My military
I.D.,” he said, his eyes impassive. “I reported it stolen.”

“My driver’s
license was in my wallet. I reported it stolen, too, but my lawyer discovered
we were married when he…” She paused, realizing that offering him any information
about herself wasn’t warranted. They were married in the eyes of the court, but
the illegal piece of paper didn’t give him the right to know anything about her
personal life. “Wait. You were in the military?”

He gave a little
nod with his already tilted head. Of course, his military background allowed
him to contain his reaction well. Although he appeared unaffected by the news, there
was no way it hadn’t caught him by surprise. Jessina had nearly fainted when
Jon had told her in his office three days earlier.

“Hmm…”
The
military, huh?
She nibbled her bottom lip. She knew so little about the man
she was married to. Sure, when she’d first met him, she’d assumed he came from
money like her ex, but while Chase Lennox was a player like Lance, Chase had a
lot more money. He owned a multimillion-dollar investment company, and, prior
to their illegal marriage, he was one of the most sought-after bachelors in Las
Vegas, Nevada. He had a different woman on his arm in every image that popped
up on Google, but with that killer smile and those intense blue eyes, she
wouldn’t have expected anything less from the man. Even she’d fallen victim to
his lure, on a five-minute trolley ride.

“According to
the documents, we were married the day after we met. The only thing I can think
of is that a couple of kids stole your suitcase, and when they found both of our
I.D.s, they thought it would be fun to fake a marriage at the Get Hitched
Chapel, a drive-thru.”

His eyebrows
dipped together. “Really? There are wedding drive-thrus?”

What?
He questioned the means but not the madness itself.
Unbelievable!
She let out a chuckle and shook her head. To be fair, she’d asked the same
thing when Jon had told her. “Apparently so.”

Shoving the tips
of her fingers into the back pocket of her jeans, she gave the room a quick glance.
Her smile tapered when she flashed her eyes back at him. The way he was looking
at her made her insides go crazy. The pinch was back with a vengeance, and her
thighs clenched from it.

“Anyway…” She
shook her head again, blinked her eyes, and tried to concentrate. The man was drop-dead
gorgeous, and that overpowering stare of his just wouldn’t let her go. She had
to do something so she placed the other document on the desk. “My lawyer has
prepared all the paperwork for an annulment. I’ll need a copy of the police
report from when your luggage was stolen, and you’ll need to sign this
affidavit that states we never actually got married and that you’re in
agreement to the annulment.” She pointed to her own signature. “Right here.
Just sign right here.” She shifted to the blank line under her name and lifted
her eyes to his, only to discover that he was still intently watching her. Her
insides tightened. “Then…”
Damn
! It was difficult for her to focus when
he was staring at her like he already owned her, as if that damn marriage
license was real or something. She needed to get away from this guy. Jessina
squared her shoulders and reclaimed her body. “Then we just have to have it
notarized, and my lawyer can file everything.”

Chase Lennox
hadn’t been astounded in quite some time, and no one had ever literally taken
his breath away before. But Jessina Landi was absolutely breathtaking. And she
had succeeded in shocking the living hell out of him in just one day’s time—in
just a matter of minutes really.

Six months ago,
when he’d first seen the woman, Chase had been enamored by her beauty. It was
raw and engaging. There was no turning away from it. He could get lost in her
tawny eyes. Those long lashes and the way they swept with every blink, bashful
yet so fucking seductive. It kick-started his libido, something else that hadn’t
happened in a while.

He’d tried to
convince himself not to be enticed. In Chase’s experience, most women only
wanted two things from him. Sex and money. He was through being used and
assaulted, and he wasn’t about to share his money with anyone, not ever.

And sure, he would’ve
liked to blame his unexpected guest for his stolen luggage and for losing the
most important deal of his life, but he was the one who’d allowed himself to
get sucked into the vortex of her beauty on the trolley. He’d let his guard
down, another thing he hadn’t done in years. His immature response to the woman
blinded him from noticing that someone had stolen his suitcase right out from
under his nose.

In a way, he
couldn’t help wanting to fault her and her magnetic pull for the mess they were
in, the crazy mess she’d just presented to him.
Married! What the fuck?
The
situation made him laugh on the inside. A stolen identity and an illegal,
invalid marriage was about the only way Chase Lennox would ever be shackled to
any woman. Getting married, it was written nowhere in his life plan.

When he finally managed
to pull his eyes away from hers, he checked out the papers she’d placed in
front of him. Everything looked legit.

“Do you have a
notary public here?” When he glanced up at her, she gazed back at him for a
moment. “Of course you do,” she sarcastically answered her own question. “You
have people who buy your luggage and apologize for you, why wouldn’t you have your
own personal notary too?”

“Indeed I do.” Chase
smiled at her derision. He’d preferred a woman with some moxie. “He goes by the
name of Jack Pearson. He’s also my lawyer, so I’ll have him look these over
before I slap my John Hancock on there, if that’s all right with you.”  

“I can assure
you that everything’s in order.”

“I appreciate
that, Ms. Landi, but I’m not a man who trusts easily. I didn’t get this far in
life by doing so. There’s quite a bit of risk involved here, and if we are
indeed married, you can rest assure that I’ll be just as anxious as you are for
an annulment. But I’m not signing anything until my attorney looks it over.”

“Fine.” Her lips
puckered into a little pout. It was adorable in an innocent yet carnal way.

Chase imagined
rubbing the tip of his cock over the pale pink flesh, and the thought made him
swell against his pants. He could have called Jack in to his office to go over
the documents right then, but Chase and his eager cock, weren’t ready to set
the beauty free.