Heart Matters (7 page)

She observed herself critically in the
full-length mirror in her bedroom. At twenty-seven her figure was
near perfect with all the curves in the right places but she was
sure she could still lose a couple of inches here and there. She
chose an off white figure hugging sensation with a slit that
stopped just above her knee and a neckline that sagged into a deep
boat shape revealing a teasing glimpse of her cleavage. A simple
pearl string with matching earrings set off beautifully against her
dark hair that she tied up in a fashionable knot. Her makeup was
light with just a hint of blush on, eye shadow and an attractive
shade of lipstick. Her shoes had three-inch high heels to lend
height to her natural five foot six inches. She usually wore heels
only around Jeff or Adam for they were both six footers. It made
her feel ‘sizeable’ next to them and made it much easier to dance
on a slow number.

Adam took her to their favorite restaurant,
the Blue Diamond, well known for its large dance floor. The
restaurant’s name complemented the décor that was lit with a
mysterious mix of blue and silver lights for a perfect romantic
feel. They placed their orders before Adam called for a toast. He
held his champagne filled glass against hers and smiled seductively
over the rims. “To us.”

“To us,” she repeated, laughing softly over
the tinkle of their glasses before taking a small sip. She placed
the glass down and Adam’s large hand covered hers in an intimate
squeeze. “What’s the occasion?”

He carried her hand to his lips, kissing her
fingers leisurely. “We are. I thought we should be officially
engaged, don’t you?”

She drew a delighted breath, her eyes
dancing with excitement. “You’ve bought me a ring?”

His hand reached into his dinner jacket to
bring out a small velvet case. When the cover popped back, it
revealed three glittering diamonds set in a gold ring.

“Oh, Adam! It’s beautiful!”

“A beautiful woman needs a beautiful jewel.
Give me your hand.” He slipped it on her finger and leaned forward
to place a chaste kiss on her lips. “Come on, let’s dance.”

She rose readily, melting into the blissful
warmth of his arms as soon as they reached the dance floor. He
nuzzled at her neck laying small kisses that made her shiver.

“Oh, Jessi, you drive me wild!” he whispered
hoarsely and molded her more closely to make her feel his desire.
She sagged towards him, lifting her face to accept his kiss. It
didn’t matter who was looking, all that mattered was their
love.

A sudden, delighted squeal startled them
both and she felt a hand fall on her shoulder. “Ooh, Jessi! You
devil!”

Jessica turned in surprise, nearly groaning
out aloud at the sight of Nicola, alias Niki Stanford. Her cousin
on her mother’s side, Jessica was usually glad to see Niki, but
tonight was different. It was a special occasion for her and she
had wanted no interruptions. But here was Niki and that was
that.

“Niki, what a surprise!” she managed
cheerily, offering her cheek for a kiss.

“I’ll bet it was,” Niki giggled, grabbing
her arm. “You and Adam are really something you know that! Come on
let’s go to your table, we can’t talk here.” Before the couple
could protest she had dragged Jessica off with Adam following in
resignation.

When they were seated, she turned upon them
with the zeal of an interrogator. “So what’s the occasion?”

Jessica threw a questioning look at Adam and
he nodded slightly. Jessica raised her hand under Niki’s nose to
display the brightly gleaming ring. “We just got engaged.”

Niki gasped, grabbing her hand to examine
the ring. “Oh, wow! It’s beautiful! I’m so happy for you both.
Congratulations!” She turned to Adam. “Adam, you are so lucky you
know that? So when is the wedding?”

“We haven’t fixed a date yet,” Adam informed
her as he took Jessica’s hand in his.

“I expect to be the first to know,” Niki
rambled on unperturbed. “I haven’t seen you for
months
,
Jessi! I know you’re busy and all that but the least you can do is
call. We’re cousins after all but no, Jessi has no time. Adam you
must see to it that she gets away from work once in a while. Look
at her. She’s gone so thin…”

Jessica listened to her cousin absently,
throwing an apologetic smile at Adam. Once Niki started there was
no stopping her. She pitied Niki’s poor date and wondered who was
accompanying her. The thought made her look around to identify a
familiar face. She didn’t notice any one she knew but she did
notice the man who was seated a couple of tables away staring
directly at her.

Unnerved the smile left her face but her
eyes froze on him as though compelled by his mesmeric gaze. He
tilted his head ever so slightly giving her a better view of his
face that earlier been caught in shadows.

Her breath hitched. Her heart slammed hard
into her ribs then started a fanciful tempo that had her blood
pounding in her head. It should be a
crime
to be so
devastatingly handsome! Not to mention earth-shatteringly sexy and
hot!
So damn hot!
Jessica felt a wave of heat rush to her
face at her wicked thoughts. She wanted to look away but she found
herself staring back like a rabbit hypnotized by a snake.
Breathe. Breathe.
Her voice of reason told her as she felt a
slow electric charge of high voltage pass from him to her, heating
her very soul.
Wicked!

Her lips suddenly felt very dry and she
licked them on impulse while still staring at him. His sensual lips
cracked into a mocking smile at her, making her color visibly.
Good grief! Did he think she was licking her lips for him? Yes,
you idiot!
Jessica almost groaned out aloud.
This was so
embarrassing!
Her eyes dropped away briefly before his magnetic
pull brought them back to his face to continue their unabashed
observation.

He had a devilish quality about him that had
her shivering unconsciously. The restaurant lights bounced off his
handsome face, lighting the angles that were chiseled to perfection
with taut bronze skin stretched across it. His jaw line was firm
and his chin held the deceptive impression of a very slight but
attractive cleft abruptly lending softness to the otherwise harsh
disposition of his features. It gave him the look of a fallen angel
from a Renaissance painting. His physique was so over powering that
even though he was seated and dressed in a dinner jacket, she knew
he was very tall and built to perfection.

Then there was the matter of his lips.
Sensuous, full, hard.
Kissable
.
So totally kissable!
She wondered what it would feel to have him kissing her. The
unbidden thought brought a deep blush over her cheeks and she felt
her breath catch.
Jessica Cantrell, the frigid queen wanting to
kiss a stranger! How was that even possible?

Almost as though he could read her wild
thoughts, his smile widened ever so slightly and cynically that the
blush spread to the tip of her nose. She knew she had to look away
from him but her gawking eyes just couldn’t leave the object of
their appraisal. Or should that be
desire?
They took in his
hair that was the color of deep golden honey and cut in a
contemporary style. And somehow she was sure it would be soft and
not crisp like Adam’s. The color of his eyes was something she
couldn’t establish from the distance and she found herself
desperate to find out.

“Jessi, hey, you aren’t listening.” Niki’s
voice brought her back to reality and she turned her eyes but not
before her cousin had caught the direction of her gaze. “Oh, ho!
Admiring my company are you? Who wouldn’t? Gorgeous, isn’t he? Come
I’ll introduce you people. Poor dear, I almost forgot him.”

Forgot
him
? Jessica wondered, as she
willingly rose to follow Niki. Who in the world could forget
him
? She felt Adam’s hand at her elbow and lifted her eyes
to give him an absent smile. When her eyes left his face, she
wondered why his tan appeared so pale. One look at Niki’s date
answered the question. The bronze of the skin was much darker than
Adam’s.

He stood up as they approached and she saw
that he was at least two inches taller than Adam. His eyes had not
left her face and when she was close enough she felt a strange
weakness in the pit of her stomach. His eyes; they were a deep,
navy blue and they were baring her soul.

“Jessi,” Niki said, tucking her arm in his,
“I’d like you to meet Steven Hart. And Steve, this is my cousin
Jessica Cantrell and her fiancé Adam Warring.”

Jessica drew in a sharp breath of surprise.
Steven Hart? This man was
the
Steven Hart?

“Well,” the deep baritone of his voice
parted his sensuous lips and she noticed the fathomless blue of his
eyes burning into her face. “If it isn’t Jeff Cantrell’s baby
sister in person.” His lips parted in a mind blowing smile that
transformed the sardonic look on his face and made her go weak in
the knees. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Jessica.”

Jessica stood before him so completely awed
by his overwhelming presence that she didn’t take offence to being
called Jeff Cantrell’s baby sister. It was only when she felt
Adam’s sharp nudge on her elbow that she realized she was staring
impolitely. “Er..Mr. Hart, it’s ..nice to meet you too,” she
spluttered, offering her hand.

“Indeed,” his voice boomed covering her soft
hand in his large one. The sharp jolt that she received was so
unexpected that she backed away slightly, bumping into Adam. He
released her hand to shake hands with Adam but kept her eyes
captive with his. “It’s a pity we couldn’t meet this morning. And
please call me Steven.”

“Y..yes, I was.. caught up in traffic.” She
glanced at Adam remembering their encounter the previous night and
flushed uncomfortably.

“Ah!” was all Steven Hart uttered but it had
the sheer force to have her eyes flying back at him. His face once
again held a cynical look and it somehow irritated her. “Would you
two care to join us for dinner?”

“Of course they would!” Niki chipped in,
having remained quiet for longer than she was capable. “I don’t
expect your brother’s showing up anyway so we don’t have to wait
for him. And Jessi tells me they just got engaged.”

Jessica noticed the strange look that passed
fleetingly across Steven’s features but it left so abruptly that
she couldn’t discern it. Instead she could feel his intense gaze
once again piercing through her soul. “Well, I guess
congratulations are in order,” he said simply but Jessica sensed a
restrained note in his voice.

She pulled herself together and scolded
herself silently for behaving like a star-struck teenager. What was
the matter with her? Why had she let this man have such an earth
shattering effect on her? For heaven’s sake, Steven Hart was just a
man.
He’s also the hottest man you have ever met
, a sly
little voice told her and she felt her cheeks flush.
Stop
it!
she told herself sternly and deliberately turned to smile
affectionately at Adam.

His arm came possessively around her waist
in response and when they seated themselves, he took her hand and
placed it on his thigh. The intimate gesture embarrassed Jessica
making her wonder if their companions had noticed it. One look at
Steven’s mocking smile told her he had noticed it all right and she
unconsciously lifted her defiant chin. The blatant amusement in his
eyes made her bristle with irritation.

Damn him! As though it was any of his
business what she did with Adam! She drew in a deep breath
determined not to let him spoil her evening and succeeded quiet
pleasantly. She was well aware that she had succeeded because
he
had chosen to let her relax but she wasn’t ready to admit
it.

Throughout dinner, Jessica noticed he did
not speak much. He reserved himself to brief comments all the while
watching her with such a transparent look that she was sure
everyone had noticed it. She was sure Adam had because his arm came
around her shoulders possessively more than once.

That night when she slipped under the cool
sheets of her bed, Steven’s mocking face drifted before her eyes.
She had somehow never seen him before even in the social columns of
magazines and came to the conclusion that he was a very private
person. She knew nothing beyond the fact that Steven Hart, the
successful industrialist, was also a very fascinating man.

But she had to be objective. As far as she
was concerned he was her last hope for her company. Therefore she
was pleasantly surprised when he had given her an appointment later
in the week and agreed to grant her proposal a hearing. With her
fingers crossed she drifted into a fitful sleep where Adam’s
features seemed to converge into Mark’s and then Mark’s into
Steven’s with deep blue eyes threatening to drown her in them.

***

Steven Hart flicked off the lamp by his
bedside, a deep frown etching his handsome features. Jessica
Cantrell had thrown him off guard that evening. He had no idea
Jeff’s
baby
sister was such an attractive woman. He had seen
her photograph from Jeff’s wallet once when she was about fourteen
and had been fascinated by her dark hair and deep gray eyes. He had
been ashamed of his attraction for her then. He was twenty-two,
just two years younger than her brother and a good eight years
older than her. She was a child he had reminded himself and
forgotten about her. He had later seen her in a newspaper article
when she had won some award for her designs but the print had not
been clear and he had not given it a second look. He had never
again set his eyes on her until tonight.

When he first saw her dancing in the arms of
her lover, he felt he had been jolted out of his senses. A
primitive streak of desire so strong that he had felt a weakness in
his loins passed over him momentarily. His reaction to her
surprised him and he dismissed it as his desire for a very
attractive woman on pure sexual basis. He wanted to feel her soft
fragile body in his arms, to feel her smooth, cool skin against his
own heated one, to feel her arch in response to his love
making…