His to Possess (21 page)

Melanie bit her lip. “I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t jealous. But it’s clear
that he doesn’t want me, and,”—she gazed at Jessica—“when Rafe told me about the two
of you … when he looked at me with those gorgeous blue eyes of his while he talked
about what the two of you had … I could see he’s in love with you.” She sighed, her
green eyes turning misty. “I just want to see him happy.” She patted Jessica’s hand.
“You, too.”

Jessica squeezed Melanie’s fingers. “You’re a good friend, Melanie. To me, and to
Rafe. Thank you.”

Melanie nodded. “Sure. Now, tell me about the ring. Was it gorgeous?”

Jessica smiled. “I have to admit, it was stunning. It was the shape of a moth outlined
in diamonds.”

“Oh, my God, that man is so romantic.”

*   *   *

That evening, Jessica turned Rafe down when he asked her to join him for dinner, telling
him she needed a little space. She needed him not to rush her. Even when Melanie invited
her to go out with friends, she declined. A quiet Friday night at home was just what
she needed.

As she sat relaxing on the couch, watching an old sitcom on TV, the phone rang and
she picked it up.

“Jessica, it’s Dane. Can you meet me for a drink?”

Her heart thumped loudly. She knew he’d had meetings all day today in Chicago. He
must have just returned from the airport.

She didn’t want to deal with this right now, but how could she turn down her boss?

“Um … It’s getting late. By the time I get a cab and—”

“I’m downstairs in the limo.”

Damn.

“I’m not really dressed to go out.”

“I’m sure you look fine. Jessica, I really need to talk to you.”

She sighed. “Fine.”

But it just didn’t seem appropriate meeting a man who was in an expensive suit and
riding in a limo while she was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. He might call the shots
in the office, but this was her decision.

“But if I’m meeting you, then I’m changing first.”

“Fine. Whatever you want. I’ll wait.”

She hung up the phone and headed to her bedroom, marveling that a powerful man like
Mr. Dane Ranier had acquiesced to her demand, however small.

A few moments later, she rode the elevator downstairs, wearing a simple black dress
with high heels and a gold locket around her neck. She’d pulled on a light black sweater
for warmth, since the spring evenings were still cool.

As she walked out onto the street, the first thing she saw was the long black limousine
parked in front of her building. Dane stood beside it, looking devastatingly handsome
in his usual tailored suit, this one a light gray.

“Jessica. There you are.” He opened the door and she climbed into the car. He settled
in beside her.

The warmth of his body next to hers, and his strong, dominating presence, threw her
off balance. Even though she’d slept with his brother less than twenty-four hours
before, she could easily fall into Dane’s arms and have hot, sweaty sex with him right
now. Her attraction to the man was just that strong.

“How was your flight from Chicago?” she asked, hoping mundane conversation would keep
her urges at bay.

“Fine,” he said curtly.

She frowned, wondering if he was angry at her.

A dismal thought occurred to her. Could he be taking her out to fire her?

Certainly having her in the office under the current circumstances would make things
awkward, but … she really didn’t want to lose this job.

She could understand why he’d want to be rid of her, though. Her being around was
putting a strain on his relationship with his brother. And after the last night she
and Dane had spent together, things would be awkward between them, too.

“Are you going to fire me?” she asked, her fingers stroking the smooth stone in her
sweater pocket.

His eyebrows rose. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

She pursed her lips. “Well, you don’t seem very happy with me. You sent me home in
the middle of the business trip. And having me around now that your brother’s back
isn’t really conducive to a comfortable work environment.” Not only for Dane, but
for Rafe, and Melanie, too. “And,”—she stared at her hands—“you seemed pretty uncomfortable
around me after what happened between us in Chicago.”

“And what do you believe happened in Chicago?”

Her gaze darted to his. “You tell me.”

She believed he’d shown real feelings for her, and she definitely felt something deeper
for him. Maybe even … love. But she’d be damned if she’d admit that first.

But his stony gaze told her nothing.

The limo pulled up to the entrance of the Ritz-Carlton and stopped in front of the
door.

“Shall I leave the luggage with the concierge, Mr. Ranier?” asked the driver, “or
send it up now?”

“The concierge. I’ll call for it later.”

A doorman hurried forward and opened the car door for her. She stepped out of the
vehicle, followed by Dane.

“Good evening, Mr. Ranier,” the doorman said.

“Good evening, Andre.”

Andre opened the door for them and she stepped into a large lobby of glass and marble
with a large red carpet over a dark tile floor, tall plants and a sitting area with
off-white leather furniture. Dane led her to an elevator and they stepped inside.

“Why are you having your luggage sent in?” she asked. “Aren’t you going home?”

“This is home. The Ritz-Carlton offers private residences as well as hotel rooms.
I find it convenient.”

“I guess you don’t have to worry about hiring staff to cook and clean.”

“True,” he said as the elevator doors opened.

They walked down a hallway and he stopped at the first wooden door, then unlocked
it. She stepped into a large apartment, easily bigger than Rafe’s generously sized
place. She could see the lights of the city beyond the large, wall-to-wall windows.

“This way.” He gestured toward a couch and chairs overlooking the view.

She sat down in an easy chair, facing the couch.

“I called ahead to have a pitcher of white wine sangria sent up. If there’s something
else you’d rather have, I can call down for it.”

“No, that will be fine, thanks.”

He walked to a table along the wall where a frosty pitcher and two tall stemmed glasses
stood. He filled them both, then handed her one and sat down on the couch.

“We were talking about what happened in Chicago.” He sipped his drink then set it
on the oval glass coffee table in front of them.

“Yes, we were.” She sat, tight-lipped, waiting for his next move.

“Jessica, I’m sorry I sent you home early. As soon as I did it, I regretted it.”

Her eyebrows arched. “Why?”

“Because I missed you. Because I wanted you with me.” He sighed and locked gazes with
her. “Because something special did happen that night, and it scared the hell out
of me. Even if I hadn’t found out Rafe was the man you’d fallen in love with, it would
have been difficult. You’ve said all along that all you wanted was a physical relationship.
And I agreed to that. But with Rafe in the picture…” He shrugged. “I didn’t want a
woman to come between us again. So I sent you back, knowing I was sending you back
to Rafe.”

She gripped her glass tightly. She’d already figured all this out and she was sure
this wasn’t the only reason Dane had called her tonight, so where was this going?
Did he simply want to make it official that they would no longer be lovers?

“But after you left,” he continued, “I realized that as much as I value my brother’s
happiness…” He gazed at her, his expression solemn. “Mine is important, too.”

Her chest tightened.

“So I need to ask you a question.”

She stared at him, breath held.

“Are you in love with Rafe?”

She put down her drink and stood up, then paced across the room. “That’s not an easy
question to answer.”

“It should be.”

She glanced toward him. “I loved Storm.”

“Storm and Rafe are the same person.”

“That’s not exactly true. As Storm, he was this free-and-easy guitar player with tattoos
and a motorcycle, but now he wears a business suit and helps run a major corporation.
I feel like the man I was in love with didn’t actually exist, and I’m still struggling
to make sense of this new version of him and trying to make it fit with everything
I thought I knew.”

“I’m sure you’ll adjust to the change. He can still play the guitar, and I’m sure
his tattoos haven’t gone anywhere.” He stood up and stepped toward her. “You know,
you’re just kidding yourself if you think the difference in lifestyle makes him a
different person. Rafe has always been free and easy. At least, as much as our father
would allow. That’s why he broke away from all this.” He glanced around the room.
“In his heart, I’m certain that he’s the exact same person you came to know as Storm.
In fact, you probably got to know the real Rafe better than anyone ever has because
with you he was being who he truly wanted to be.”

“So you’re saying that if I don’t love him as Rafe, I never really loved him as Storm.”

He shrugged. “I can’t know that. Maybe you do love him, but you’re still running scared.
He walked out on you once, maybe he’ll do it again. You don’t want to be hurt. That’s
why you insisted things be only physical between us. I understood that.”

Oh, God. She didn’t know how she felt about Rafe, but if she told Dane that, he might
pursue her. A part of her was over the moon about that, but another part was scared
stiff. She didn’t know what she felt. For either man.

“Rafe proposed,” she blurted.

His gaze darted to her left hand. “Did you accept?”

She folded her hands together, conscious of her naked ring finger. “No.” At his smile,
she added quickly, “He sprang it on me too fast. I need time to get used to the idea.
I need time to—”

But he had closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. Her words
were stopped by his tongue sliding into her mouth. Then his arms tightened around
her and his lips moved on hers with passionate persuasion until she melted against
him.

At the sound of the door opening and closing, she jerked back, her gaze darting to
the intruder.

“Rafe, what the hell are you doing here?” Dane demanded.

Frowning, Rafe stepped toward them, his gaze shifting from her heated cheeks to Dane’s
intense gaze.

“I asked Andre to let me know when you arrived, because I wanted to come by and talk.
There are some things we need to sort out. When he told me there was a young woman
with you who matched the description of Jess, I decided I’d better rush right over.”

His accusing gaze fell on Jessica and her back stiffened.

“Did she tell you I proposed?” Rafe asked.

“Yes,” Dane responded. “She also told me she turned you down.”

Her stomach tightened as they talked about her as if she wasn’t even there.

“And did she tell you that afterward she spent the night?”

Dane’s gaze shot to her in surprise.

Anger burst through her and her hands balled into fists. “That’s right. I slept with
both of you. This is a very confusing and emotional situation for me and I’m dealing
with it as best I can. But I haven’t lied about anything I’ve done, and I haven’t
agreed to a commitment with either one of you.” She placed her hands on her hips.
“And maybe I like it that way. It’s not like you own me. Maybe I’ll keep on sleeping
with both of you.” She glared at them. “If either one of you wants to stop, just say
the word.”

At their open-mouthed stares, she spun on her heels and headed for the elevator. She
jabbed the Close button several times as they watched, stunned. Finally, the doors
closed and she slumped against the side of the elevator as it began its descent.

*   *   *

At the knock on the door, Jessica put down the magazine she’d been reading and stood
up. She’d been out late with Melanie yesterday and was now spending a quiet Sunday
afternoon at home while Melanie was out shopping.

She pulled open the door and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Rafe standing there.
He was the image of Storm, gut-wrenchingly handsome in his jeans and leather jacket.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. Thank heavens Melanie wasn’t here. That would
make this even more awkward.

“May I come in?” he asked.

“Um … yeah, sure.” She stepped aside to let him enter.

He shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the coat tree inside the door. His black
T-shirt hugged his broad chest snugly and tattoos flowed past his sleeves down his
biceps. Reluctantly, she tore her gaze from his big, masculine body.

“Can I get you anything? I have coffee on.”

“No, thanks.” He sat down on the couch, right where she’d been sitting.

She sat down in the armchair.

“After you left Dane’s place Friday night,” he said, “I thought you could use a little
time to cool off, so I waited until today to come by.”

She nodded. “I guess I went a little off the deep end.”

He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “It’s all right. You had a right
to be upset. Dane and I were acting like kids fighting over a toy.”

Her fingers curled tightly. “I don’t want to be the cause of dissension between you.
I know Dane missed you terribly when you were gone, and he’s tried to change things
in the company in ways that would make you proud. He’s developing green technologies,
he’s looking into programs to improve employee health benefits, and—”

“I know. I’ve been brought up-to-date on those things by Melanie. Dane has done some
outstanding things and I’m pleased to see it. That doesn’t change the problem between
the three of us, though.”

He reached out and took her hand. The feel of his fingers around hers sent sparks
dancing along her skin.

“Jess, I love you. And if your feelings for Dane interfere with that, there’s going
to be tension between him and me. There’s nothing we can do about that.”

“I guess. But I don’t want you to blame him. Not like with your prom date.”