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JT took possession of her left hand and lifted it to eye level. His grandmother’s ring caught the overhead light and sparkled. He couldn
’t explain why he was so angry with her at this moment. Could it be the unrelenting desire rumbling through him? Going to bed alone and horny was not how he’d expected to spend his wedding night—or it wouldn’t have been if he’d ever considered getting married before now.
But the odd hollowness in his gut had begun the instant she’d dismissed the earth-moving kiss as no big deal. When he’d pulled her into his arms, he’d expected the urgent need to get her clothes off and have his way with her. It was the other sensation he’d experienced, the one not tied to anything corporeal, that would require privacy and time to sort out.
“I’m your business partner,” she retorted, snatching her hand back.
Damn. She was beautiful with her brown eyes shooting sparks and outrage painting her high cheekbones with rosy patches. As quickly as it had flared, his temper dissipated. She wasn’t someone he could afford to alienate even if it would make keeping his distance that much easier.
“And you’re doing me a huge favor.” He inclined his head. “I’m starting to understand why you took sex off the table. Things between us are a little too volatile, aren’t they?’
Violet nodded in obvious relief. “I think we will be fine as long as we stick to the plan.”
“A plan we can start to flesh out after a good night’s sleep.”
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
JT walked out the door and heard the click of the latch behind him. He strode down the hall to the master bedroom and without turning on a light, crossed the room to the double French doors that led out onto the terrace. Throwing them open, he stepped into the night. His nerves were a tangle, too raw to allow him to enjoy the desert air or the crescent moon that hung low in the clear sky.
Did Violet have any idea how close she’d come to being ravished tonight? First she’d shown up for their wedding in that romantic lace dress. Then she’d flirted with him over a glass of champagne. The final straw was complaining that he hadn’t given her a proper kiss at their wedding. Was she trying to drive him mad or did she honestly not have a clue what she did to him?
It was the latter, JT suspected, gripping the terrace railing hard. And where she was concerned, he was his own worst enemy. When she’d stared at him with her big soulful eyes all soft and earnest, the consequent firing of all his nerve endings had short-circuited his self-preservation.
So now what was he supposed to do with all this pent-up hunger for her?
It had been one thing when he sat in her bar night after night, driving himself crazy with lurid fantasies he’d never act on. He could enjoy tangling with her verbally, knowing that her open, sunny nature would eventually grow tired of his talent for closing himself off. She’d said it herself. She knew nothing about him. He hadn’t let her in. He never let anyone in.
And yet, she knew things about his past few others did. His uncle had told her about his mother’s addiction so Violet had some idea how miserable his childhood had been. She would want to talk about all the things that had happened when he was young. He would resent her questions. Withdraw even further. When it came to intimacy and love, he lacked the skills to find happiness.
She wouldn’t want to be with him until she’d solved all his problems. Made him see the silver lining in everything that had happened in his past. She’d expect him to come around to her positive way of thinking and would grow frustrated when he didn’t.
A splash from the pool below drew his attention. Violet swam through the turquoise water, her stroke powerful and elegant. JT watched her as she came up for air at the far end of the pool. Once again she dove under. She used her feet and legs to push away from the wall with great power. When she surfaced, she headed for the opposite wall in a strong freestyle.
He watched her lap the pool for fifteen minutes. Her focus and determination amazed him. It was how she approached everything, he decided. Once she set her mind to something, she wasn’t going to be deterred.
At long last her energy seemed to burn itself out. She lazed in the middle of the pool and her stillness roused JT to the uncomfortable realization that she was naked. Cursing, he pushed away from the railing and headed for the stairs that led down from his terrace to the pool house and lounge area.
He enjoyed throwing parties and often his guests forgot to bring a suit along so he kept a stock of bathing suits in the pool house for their use. By the time he found a bikini he thought might fit Violet, she had gotten out of the pool and had wrapped herself in a towel. She looked up in surprise as he approached.
“Next time you decide to go swimming,” he began, holding up the bikini he’d selected, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t skinny-dip.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, taking the bathing suit from him. Water streamed from her long dark hair, dampening the towel. “I didn’t realize you’d still be up.”
It eased his irritation a little that she looked so utterly mortified to have been caught. “Like you, I’m often still working at this hour.”
“Thanks for the suit. I won’t bother you any further tonight.”
Was she kidding? He’d never get to sleep with the tantalizing glimpses he’d had of her naked body parading through his thoughts. JT ground his teeth as she retreated toward the house. Only when her towel-clad form had disappeared from view did he return to the master suite.
At least one positive thing about this marriage in name only was that they didn’t have to live under the same roof. After less than an hour alone in his house with her, he was a finger snap away from tossing her over his shoulder and spiriting her off to his bed.
Thank goodness he wasn’t going to share his living space with her day and night. His control would snap like a dry twig if he had to put up with her sassy humor and artless sensuality. Before she could remind him of their agreement, he’d have her in his bed, her beautiful body writhing in pleasure.
Making love to her would only be the beginning. Soon she’d be ferreting out all his ugly childhood secrets and he’d be living in fear that something she discovered would be so awful she’d cut him out of her life.
And then he’d be alone again, turned inside out, his raw emotions exposed for all the world to see. No. That was something that could never happen. And if he kept her at arms’ length, it wouldn’t.
