The Billionaire Playboy (8 page)

The feel of his
lips against hers was even better than the memory and at his gentle prodding
she parted her lips to give him entry. As their tongues met, she wrapped her
arms around his neck letting herself get swept away by the unfamiliar emotions
his simple kiss awakened.

Gently she felt
him work her hair free of its bun and his hands dug themselves into her hair
anchoring her to him as he teased her tongue with his. Then without warning she
felt his hands drop to her waist and she willingly went when he tugged her onto
his lap.

Charlie allowed
herself to fall under the spell of his kiss for a few seconds before pulling
back. The minute her lips left Jake's she regretted her decision though. Yet
she didn't try to kiss him again. Instead she analyzed and waited. The
smoldering flame she saw in his eyes told her Jake was affected just as much by
their kiss as she was. Briefly, she wondered if she mirrored his look.

“What are your
plans for tomorrow?” Jake traced a finger up and down her arm leaving a trail
of goose bumps on her bare skin.

“Not sure. I
thought I'd see who needed help in the morning.”

As he let his
hand roam over her shoulder, he seemed to focus on the pulse in her neck and
Charlie wondered if he could see how rapid it beat.

“I'm driving to
Boston to meet with the Governor for lunch. Come with me. Afterward we can get
dinner.”

Was he asking
her on a date? It sounded like it. She hadn't been on a date in months and it
would provide a nice break from the work she'd been doing since the storm.

“Won't Governor
Wentworth mind? If he wants to meet with you, it must be important.”

Jake shrugged
and she couldn't help but notice how broad his shoulders were under her hands.

“He said he
wanted to thank me for all the aid the foundation has provided. Honestly I
think he's hoping a little ass kissing will help his cause. He wants my
father's support in the upcoming election,” he explained with a bored tone. “So
I really don't care if he minds or not.”

“When?” she
asked stalling to give herself more time. Normally she didn't have a problem
making decisions. It was a trait that came in handy as a doctor. Yet sitting on
his lap in the darkened kitchen with his hands on her bare skin, she wavered
back and forth.

“I'm meeting him
around noon.”

It's a couple of meals, no big deal.
Charlie tried
to ignore his gentle caress up and down her arm. “OK.”

A slow sensual
smile spread across Jake's face causing red hot desire to shoot through her
body. Right then she wanted nothing more than to invite him back up to her room
to see what Prince Charming looked like without his clothes on. She had an
excellent imagination, but there was no substitute for the real thing.

Bad idea, Charlie
. Very bad idea. Though it took
every ounce of will power she possessed, Charlie slid off Jake's lap and
cleared the empty plates off the table. She needed something to do otherwise
she risked jumping back into his arms.

She put the
paper dishes in the trash and turned back toward him. “I think I'll head back
up now. I'm finally tired.”

What looked to
be disappointment swept across Jake's face but he didn't try to stop her as she
headed towards the swinging kitchen door. “See you in the morning, Charlie.”

Chapter
4

Jake rubbed the
back of his neck and wished he had a couple Motrin on hand as he exited the
Governor's mansion the following afternoon. As he'd expected Governor Wentworth
had asked him to meet more because he wanted his father's support than because
he appreciated the foundation's aid. The Governor would be running for a second
term in the next election and figured the backing of a popular President would
help his cause. The entire two hours had been miserable. In fact it would've
been unbearable if not for Charlie's company. She kept rather quiet during the
conversation. Actually, he got the impression that politics wasn't her thing
either, but the little she did contribute was insightful. And just her presence
there lifted his spirits because he knew once they left he had her all to
himself for the rest of the day.

Opening the
passenger door for Charlie, he briefly wondered if they should head back to
town. Plenty of recovery work still needed to be done. Was it fair of them to
skip town for the afternoon? Part of him said no. The more people working, the
faster the town would return to normal. The devil in him said the town would
survive without them for a few hours. It wasn't like they were skipping town
for a week. Besides who knew how much longer he'd be in North Salem. He might
not get another chance like this one.

By the time Jake
walked around to the driver's door and climbed in his SUV, his mind was made up.
Despite whatever misgivings he had, he just couldn't pass up spending time with
this woman. Somehow he knew if they went back to work now, he would be kicking
himself later.

Neither of them
said a word as he drove towards the heart of Boston. Other than making dinner
plans, he hadn't mapped out an itinerary for them.

“Any favorite
spots you'd like to visit? Faneuil Hall, the North End, Newbury Street? We have
some time before dinner.” Jake figured anyone could treat her to dinner at a
restaurant; he wanted her to remember their time together. So instead of making
a reservation at one of Boston's top notch restaurants, he'd arranged for a
private dinner aboard a friend's yacht in the harbor. By sheer dumb luck the
yacht had been in dry dock until two days earlier so it hadn't sustained any
damage during the hurricane. Not that Boston Harbor had been damaged much
anyway.

“Not really. I've
never spent much time in Boston. Never had a real reason to, so whatever is
fine.”

The yacht's
captain didn't expect them until five o'clock but if they arrived early he knew
the man wouldn't complain. “In that case let’s head over to the marina”

“The marina? Why
are we going there?”

“You're just
going to have to wait and see,” Jake said as he headed in the direction of
Boston Yacht Haven one of the city's most exclusive marinas.

I definitely owe Christopher one
. Jake looked
around as he followed Charlie through the yacht and onto the port side deck. His
friend had made sure no detail was overlooked. The scent of several dozen
flowers placed around the yacht filled the air. A romantic table for two stood
prepared on the deck and a bottle of fine French wine sat on ice waiting for
them. Since no other detail seemed overlooked he guessed his friend had also
made sure the main sleeping cabin was prepared just in case Jake needed it.

Whatever favor
Christopher called in later, it'd be worth it.

“When you said
dinner I thought you meant at a restaurant downtown,” Charlie said, her hazel
eyes wide with astonishment as she took in her surroundings.

Jake pulled out
Charlie's chair. “You can do that anytime. How often do you get to cruise
around Boston Harbor at night and watch the sunset?”

“You've got me
there,” she admitted looking up at him, her lips turned up in a smile. “Is this
your yacht?”

“No. It belongs
to a friend of mine.”

“He must be some
friend.”

“Christopher and
I were roommates in college. We've been good friends ever since.”

He couldn't keep
himself from bending down and pressing his mouth against hers for what he
intended to be a brief kiss. Soon the kiss turned hotter as she wrapped her
arms around his neck and their tongues met.

Behind him Jake
heard someone clear their throat. Pulling back, Jake stared down at Charlie,
her eyes were closed and her lips were rosy from their kiss. Turning he looked
at the woman who had interrupted them.

“The chef wants
to know when you would like dinner served.”

“Tell him we're
ready whenever he is.” Once they were alone again, he turned his attention back
to Charlie. “I hope you are hungry. Christopher's chef is amazing.” He let his
hand linger on her shoulder. The skin beneath his hand was soft and he loathed
the idea of losing the physical connection he had with her.

When her eyes
fluttered open they locked onto his. The desire he saw in them matched his own.
“I'm starved.” She sounded breathless, and the cave man in him surged with
pride because he knew he'd caused her current state of arousal.

“Did you always
want to join the Navy?” The dinner plates were gone and they sat watching the
final rays of sunshine disappear. The more they talked the more Jake wanted to
know about Charlie. He'd been physically attracted to her from the first moment
he saw her, but the more time he spent with her the more emotionally drawn to
her he became. He found being around her intoxicating and hoped they could see
each other after they both left Massachusetts.

Charlie shook
her head without any hesitation. “I always wanted to be a doctor. Never even
considered the Navy till I realized how expensive college and medical school
were. A Navy recruiter came to my high school junior year and I knew that was
the only way it would happen,” she said, her voice a mixture of anger and
sadness. “Even with scholarships I wouldn't have been able to swing it without
a ridiculous amount of debt waiting for me at the end.”

Jake could
understand her reason. Even though he'd never worried about it, he knew
education was expensive.
 
“Do you ever
regret your decision?”

“Nope. I got
what I wanted and I'm serving my country. But that doesn't mean I want to be in
the Navy forever,” she said without pausing to consider her answer. “I keep
going back and forth about staying. I finished filling out the paperwork, but
it's still sitting in my room.

Must be nice not to have any regrets.
He wouldn't
mind trading places with her for a day or two. Although if he told her that,
she’d probably fall off her chair laughing. Everyone thought he lived such a
charmed life. No one ever stopped to think about how much a pain in the ass it
could be with the media waiting for you to make a mistake.

“What about you?
Did you always want to work for your family's company?”

“It wasn't
anywhere on my radar.” Jake heard the bitterness in his voice but he couldn't
keep it from creeping in. Although the foundation wasn't related to the hotel
business, it was still tied to Sherbrooke Enterprises.

Charlie leaned
forward, her interest obviously captured. “Really? What did you want to do?”

The last rays of
sunshine danced across her hair and her astute gaze flickered over his face as
if she could learn the answer on her own. And for some reason he sensed that
perhaps she would truly understand; unlike anyone else he'd ever told.

“If you laugh I
swear I'll toss you overboard,” he threatened.

“I'm in the
Navy, remember? I can swim.”

Jake threw her a
dirty look. “If that's the way you're going to be, forget it.”

“All right. No
laughing. Promise.”

“I made up my
mind when I was about twelve to go to the Naval Academy and be a SEAL. But it
didn't happen.”

Charlie's jaw
dropped open and her eyebrows shot up. “You didn't get in?” Her voice rang with
astonishment.

At least she didn't laugh.
The last person
he'd told laughed his ass off. “I didn't apply. My parents had other plans for
me, and eventually I realized people would always wonder if I'd gotten in
thanks to the family name.”

The resentment
he felt toward his parents whenever he thought about this crept through him. He
loved them both and knew they loved him but their disappointment in the
decisions he made cut him deep.

“They had it all
figured out. My parents sent me to boarding school when I was fourteen. They
wanted me to go to either Yale like my grandfather or Harvard like my father
for undergrad and then Harvard for my MBA. After that I would join Sherbrooke
Enterprises. And then eventually I'd transition into politics. That's been the
basic life map for every Sherbrooke male for the past hundred years.” Jake
found the truth just spilled out as he spoke to Charlie. Unlike so many people
he spent time with, he didn't feel as though he needed to omit details to
protect himself.

The corners of
her pale pink lips turned downward in a frown. “You went to boarding school at
fourteen?”

“Choate Rosemary
Hall in Connecticut. My father and grandfather went there too. My mom wanted me
to go to Eton in England like Dylan but my father refused. I still remember the
arguments they had over it.”

“So which did
you choose, Yale or Harvard?” Charlie reached across the table and took his
hand.

“Neither. Went
to Cal Tech. About as far away from an East Coast Ivy League school as I could
get. Got my undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering. Worked for an
engineering firm out in LA for a few years before moving to Virginia.”