Insatiable (4 page)

Yet now she couldn‟t get away from him fast enough. Oh, the irony.

God, how had everything gotten so screwed up?

She sighed and set aside the magazine. Her life was far from a shambles, and she couldn‟t pretend otherwise, even when firmly submerged in an early midlife crisis. She had a loving family, a secure job teaching music to excited kids eager to sponge up most—okay, a reasonable facsimile—of what she taught them. She had her health, friends, and plenty of money should she choose to use it, though she usually didn‟t.

And she had Shawn.

She pushed to her feet and paced a few feet across the terminal. She‟d made it to Chicago. In another hour, she‟d be in the air again. She was halfway there. Half a country away from the man who was following her in her mind, if not in reality.

At the vibration of her cell in her purse, she sighed again. What was she supposed to say to him?

Hi there. Never mind that smoking kiss you planted on me last night, what’s
new?

Uh-huh. That‟d work.

She almost wanted to talk to him, to give him an equally smoking piece of her mind. She‟d gone back to her original assessment of why he‟d kissed her, and if he thought he could get away with it, she‟d disabuse him of the notion quick.

But when she extracted her phone from her bag, she saw the caller wasn‟t Shawn, but her sister. Rachel sat down again and tried her damnedest not to sound as exhausted as she felt. “Hey, Mor.”

“Hey, yourself. You must be in Chi-town by now.”

“Sure looks like it. What‟s up?”

“Your guard dog‟s chasing after you.”

“My guard dog?” Her furrowed brow smoothed as she understood. So much for him only following her in her mind. “You‟ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Nope. He called here, hell-bent to find you. I don‟t think he‟s too pleased to have his place as the main man in your life usurped by your ex.”

“That‟s not it.” It wasn‟t. Just because 99.9% of their mutual friends and their respective families thought they were perfect for each other,
they’d
never put stock 16

Cari Quinn

in what everyone else believed. Sure, maybe one or the other had felt a stray niggle of attraction now and again during dry periods, but
come on.

“Oh no? What is it then, Rach? I‟m fascinated.”

“
I won’t wait forever, Rachel
.”

Her fingers tightened around her phone, and she stared hard at the magazine next to her hip. Her rationalizations worked fabulously until she brought back how he‟d sounded as he said those words.

Like a man at the end of his very short, very thin rope.

Obviously he‟d pulled out all the stops to save her from herself. Any other explanation just wasn‟t plausible, not when she took into account all the years he‟d had to make a move if that were truly what he wanted.

No, Shawn Griffin, esteemed architect, golden only son of one of Calvin Bay‟s first families, and persistent indulger of the female-flavor-of-the-month club, didn‟t do unrequited love. Or lust. Or any combination thereof.

“Rachel?”

“I‟m here.” She crossed her legs, both to relieve her restlessness and because she itched to get out of her traveling clothes. She preferred jeans and hoodies to swanky designer outfits, but she‟d been too well-groomed as a Cooper heiress to not dress the part in public. “He‟s just trying to make sure I don‟t make a fool of myself, Mor. Saves him the hassle of having to pick up the pieces later.”

Morgan laughed, loud enough that Rachel had to drag the phone from her ear.

“That‟s your explanation? Sorry, sis, that‟s weak.”

“It is
not
weak. He wants to protect me.”

“Yeah, right. What he wants is you. For himself.”

When her phone beeped, Rachel checked the caller ID. Her heart bumped.

Time to address this matter once and for all. “Mor, that‟s Shawn now. Let me get back to you.”

As soon as Morgan clicked off, she demanded, “Why did you kiss me?”

The dead silence on the other end vexed her for a moment, until his smooth chuckle reassured her the world had not turned on its axis and left Shawn speechless. “Why does a man usually kiss a woman, Rachel?”

“I‟m not just any woman.”

“No kidding. If you were, you‟d have opened your lips instead of behaving as if I were trying to molest you in the middle of Stacia Winter‟s party.”

Now it was her turn to slip into silence.

“Don‟t you want to say
how could you
again?”

“No.” Her gaze latched onto the copy of
Publishing Monthly
. She wouldn‟t be deterred now, not when an impulsive affair was within her reach. Especially when Shawn just wanted to be right, so
she
would be wrong. “You only kissed me because of Ryan. Don‟t deny it.”

Insatiable

17

When Shawn didn‟t answer immediately, she smiled in satisfaction.
Here it
comes.

But what came made her smile vanish.

“I kissed you because it needed to happen. Just so you have time to prepare yourself, it‟s going to happen again. Next time, you won‟t get away so easily.” He paused long enough for her to inhale a startled breath. “See you in New York, darlin‟.”

Then
he
hung up on
her.

* * *

With the head of mad she‟d exhibited earlier, she could‟ve bedded Ryan already for all he knew. Why wait for a masquerade ball when you could strike while the intention burned hot?

Which meant he needed to move fast.

The interminable flight had given him time to ferret out the location of her hotel. She‟d booked a single at the Conquistador in midtown, conveniently located several blocks away from the Zenith publishing gala being held twenty-four hours from now.

After renting the last Caddy—a far cry from his own convertible Porsche, affectionately nicknamed by Rachel the Hoochie Patrol—left on the rental car lot at La Guardia, Shawn used the car‟s GPS to help him learn the city. While he traversed the bottlenecked streets, he shamelessly used the Griffin name to secure a suite at the Barclay, two blocks from Rachel‟s own modest accommodations.

Why the woman never spent the money at her fingertips boggled his mind.

Yeah, he got that she wanted her own, even admired her for it. God knew he‟d worked at building his own name, but that didn‟t mean he wouldn‟t take advantage of the benefits being real estate magnate Dillon Griffin‟s son afforded him.

Especially when it came to indulging the stubborn, prickly, obtuse woman he loved. The woman he prayed to any and all deities he‟d convince to share his bed during this impromptu sojourn.

“Hey, watch it!” he yelled to an errant cabby who not only cut him off, but nearly removed the Cadillac‟s front bumper. The cabby flipped him the bird and careened down the congested street, aiming his black Towncar toward the center of the action, aka Times Square.

This
was where he‟d call home for the next ten days? God, he missed California already.

“Of all the places, Rachel,” Shawn muttered, finally checking his phone messages.

18

Cari Quinn

He had three. One from his father, asking if he‟d reconsidered his ill-advised two-week “vacation”; one from his mother, inquiring if he‟d remembered to pack enough underwear; and one from Rachel, simply “Call me.”

He would, but not yet. Not until he‟d settled into his room, unpacked his carry-on, and ditched his wrinkled shirt and slacks. A shower might be nice too. He needed to get the city grime off his skin.

Shawn stowed his rental in the Barclay‟s parking garage and fought his way up the clogged street to his hotel. To his mind, traveling was mostly a waste of time.

Unlike Rachel, he enjoyed his hometown and everything that came with it: the ocean breezes that made the scorching hot sunshine not only bearable but addictive, the palm trees, the curvaceous women wearing crop tops and cut-off shorts all year long.

He grinned, noticing a roller-blading redhead with an MP3 player seemingly surgically implanted to her head. She fit those specifications exactly. Maybe eye candy could be found everywhere, but Cali eye candy just tasted better.

And if Rachel heard his thoughts now, she‟d backhand him.

Not that he cared. She‟d chosen to chase her ex across the States, which entitled him to do a little harmless female watching.

Less than an hour later, the female he was watching was his own. And she was pissed.

She‟d called before he hopped in the shower to demand his location. After he‟d given it, she‟d hung up on him. He‟d grinned all the way through his shower. If he didn‟t think it would get him punched, he‟d be grinning now too.

She was so hot when she was mad.

“How dare you?” Rachel‟s fingers dug into her hips with such severity as she paced across his hotel room he figured she‟d leave bruises. “Do you honestly think you have any right to follow me around as if I‟m a child needing supervision?”

Slicking back his wet hair from the shower he‟d barely finished before she appeared, Shawn sauntered over to the king-size bed that dominated half his suite.

Though he wore only a towel, he didn‟t hesitate to sprawl among the navy blue silk pillows. If she saw more than she wanted to, too bad.

“I told you I intended to come last night.”

“And I told you to forget it.”

His lips slid into what passed for a smile. “Sorry, heiress. I don‟t take orders from you.”

“And I don‟t take ultimatums from
you
.” Rachel charged forward and skewered a burgundy nail into his damp chest. “You have no right to be here. It‟s practically friggin‟ stalking.”

“Is it?” He grabbed her finger, trapping it in his fist while his gaze nailed hers.

“I see it another way entirely.”

Insatiable

19

Her lower lip trembled, a sure sign she was struggling to keep hold of her temper. “Do tell.”

Even when he‟d said he intended to kiss her again, the phone and the thousands of miles between them had acted as a kind of impenetrable safety zone.

But now that she stood before him in her skintight black jeans with her oversize white shirt buttoned chastely all the way up to her neck, he couldn‟t find the words.

“You‟re not a stupid woman.” Shawn loosened his hold on her finger. No matter what he‟d indicated on the phone, it‟d be her choice whether she stayed or cut and run.

“No.” Clearly challenging him, she cocked her head. “And because I‟m not, excuse me if I find the timing of this sudden lust—”

When she fumbled, he gripped her wrist. “This
sudden
lust isn‟t sudden.

Maybe it proves I‟m a fool, but I kept hoping you‟d stop flitting from man to man long enough to see
me
.”

She jerked free, but she didn‟t retreat. “You‟re my closest friend. I never gave you any reason to believe I felt otherwise, so don‟t pull this crap on me now. You don‟t want me to see Ryan.”

“Damn straight I don‟t,” he agreed, swinging his legs off the bed so fast his gaping towel took another leap toward indecency. His move forced her back a step, then two as he rose and grasped her shoulders. “I‟ll do whatever it takes to keep you from making the biggest mistake of your life.”

“My life, my mistakes.” She tipped her head back until their gazes were level.

“I‟m leaving.”

“So go.” Shawn lifted his hands to her face. “In a minute.”

Rather than swooping in to ravage, he stretched his fingers over her cheeks, cradling them in his palms as his lips brushed hers. With that first taste, as wicked and dark as her wine red lipstick, heat coursed through his veins to gather in his groin.

It took all his will not to crush her against him as her fingers curled over his shoulders. But when her tongue slipped between his lips to war with his, he nearly lost his shaky grip on the torrent of need choke-chained inside him.

“Rach,” he whispered against her mouth, wanting her to know what this meant. Wanting her to understand. Instead, as she ripped her mouth away, the deep, dark pools of her eyes widened as if she couldn‟t believe what he‟d done.

What
she’d
done.

Without another word, she hurtled across the room and out the door. Away from him.

Again.

20

Cari Quinn

Chapter Three

Once Rachel left Shawn‟s hotel, she canceled her reservation at the Conquistador. She immediately called the other hotel she‟d been interested in, only to find they were booked solid through the weekend.

She weaved through the steady foot traffic, one sweaty hand clutching her forehead, the other clutching her phone. For the first time in her life, she had to put distance between her and Shawn. She
had
to get another room. Immediately.

Directory assistance gave her a list of places to try, and she started at the cheapest and steadily worked up to the most expensive. All were booked, except the Meridian—her last choice, as the rooms cost more than seven hundred a night.

Plus, the hotel was geared to couples. And romance. And lots of discreet, expensive sex.

“It‟s our last suite, madam. As you might be aware, Zenith Publishing is holding—”

“Yeah, yeah, I‟m aware.” She blew out a breath, considering her options as she came to a halt inches from the revolving door of the Conquistador. “Okay, I‟ll need the room at least until the weekend.”