Never had he imagined he would experience this much jealousy over the girl he’d always planned to have for himself falling in love with his brother.
God, he still couldn’t believe this was true.
Still, he was trying very hard to screw his head back on and focus on enjoying the parts of the evening he knew would bring him pleasure.
Like showing off his new “girlfriend” to his family. “Mother, have you met Molly?” he could ask while the unspoken words that floated between them would be, The woman you warned me never to touch? I’m tumbling her all night now, and she loves it. We both do. Hey, will you excuse us for a moment? We’re going to go ahead and have sex out by the bushes….
But sadly, not even that thought brought him comfort as he handed his keys over to the valet and strode over to help Molly out of the car.
Her scent dizzied him as she stood up from the low seat.
Creamy legs…silken red hair…the sexy-as-hell curve of her neck just begging to be bitten…
He wasn’t going to think about that now. In silence, he focused on how warm and calm the night breeze was as he led her up the staircase, her hand unsteady in his.
“Molls?”
“Mmm?”
He wanted to tell her she had never looked more beautiful to him. Instead, he lifted her hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it, tipping her chin encouragingly with his other hand. “We’ve got this,” he murmured, and her instant smile wrapped around his heart.
Hand in hand, they entered the gleaming foyer of the two-story mansion, where a harpist welcomed them with a slow, haunting tune. The gathering consisted of a small group of friends and family and of course Landon’s enormous mastiffs, who were plopped on the rug at the far end of the living room.
Molly had told Julian earlier that Kate and Beth’s business, Catering, Canapés and Curry, was handling tonight’s party.
So at least the food would be good.
As soon as Julian and Molly were spotted, they were split apart. Kate and Beth sequestered Molly for interrogation while his mother, in an evening dress and a pair of bed slippers, flew over to Julian before he could even find a server with a wine selection. “My dear son! My dear, dear son!” she called from afar, crossing the room toward him. “What’s this I hear about you and Molly, JJ?”
“Mother, why did you give me two names if you did not plan to use them?” he said, exasperated.
“All right then, Julian John—answer me now and don’t test me. My nerves are frazzled as it is without any help from you these days!”
A fond smile played on his lips as his mother stopped an arm’s length away, regal and elegant even in slippers and panting for her breath—something only a matron like Eleanor Gage could pull off.
Julian could already taste the satisfaction of watching the “news” affect and disgruntle his overprotective mother. She, who had sent him to Spain, France, Russia and Africa to separate him from his best friend. She, who had warned him if he ever touched the only girl he’d ever truly cared for, he might as well not consider himself a part of the Gage family anymore.
Yeah, it gave him pleasure, perverse pleasure, to see if she would make good on her threats. A part of him savored the fight with her even though he loved her. It had hurt him, incredibly, to be judged and condemned by his entire family for a sin he hadn’t yet committed.
He’d been punished since he was just an adolescent, and he’d been suffering ever since.
Yes. It felt good to rebel against them. To give them the exact thing they were afraid of. Because soon they would see how wrong they’d been about him. Dead. Wrong.
So now that she was narrow-eyed and thrusting her chin out in warning, Julian ducked his head to her height and kissed her cheek smoothly, unperturbed by her bravado. “If you heard that Molly is with me, then you heard the truth, Mother. Now you can finally make good on your threat and disown me.”
Eleanor drew back with a shocked little breath, genuinely traumatized by his suggestion.
Julian wanted to assure her he didn’t need the trust his father had left anymore. He could live lavishly with his savings alone, plus he already had a promising business ready to launch, with several billion-dollar companies lined up as clients for his PR services. Instead, he smiled at her to defuse the tension and tucked a wisp of ebony hair behind her ear.
“You knew this would happen, Mother,” he said softly. “Just as I knew someday I’d have to prove to you how much I want her and how far I’m willing to go.”
Her eyes, the only ones in the family that were green like his own, flared wide with accusation. Julian waited for her comeback, but words seemed to be failing her at the moment.
He really wished that if his mother was staring at him as if he were a monster, it was because sweet, lovely Molly was crazy about him, couldn’t keep her hands off him and was letting him have his way with her in bed, in the shower, in the car, in the kitchen and in every place he could think of. And not because of this idiotic little lie.
He needed her to be his.
He didn’t know how much longer he could wait, or what it would take for her to realize she and Garrett weren’t compatible in any single way that she and Julian were.
“If you think I’m going to let you use that girl like all those Janes you go out with, you’re sorely mistaken, Julian John. I’m like that girl’s mother.”
He nodded in agreement. He had definitely understood the position his mother had been placed in two decades ago when the Devaneys had been brought to the house. She had been a recent widow with three young sons, feeling responsible for the death of an employee who left two young daughters orphaned. His mother, always stern but nonetheless a loving woman, had taken them in, but hardened her position with her sons in the process.
It was too much on her nerves to ever think the boys would harm the girls in any way; after all, they owed them their father. And yet nobody had ever understood that Julian did not want to hurt Molly. Just as he did not want to hurt his mother now. It just was what it was.
He wanted Molly. And no one was going to stop him from having her anymore.
In feigned aloofness, he grasped one of her jeweled hands and indolently patted it between both of his. “Why don’t you have a little more faith in me as well, Mother? And let us be happy together, for once.” Before he left to greet Landon and his wife, he grumbled, “I’d never hurt Molly. Ever. And it hurts me that you even think I would.”
* * *
Molly stood at the other end of the living room with Kate and Beth, who was being brought up to speed on all the excitement.
“I can’t believe this. Landon and I leave for two months, we come back and you and Julian are dating?”
Molly waved a hand excitedly. “We’re actually way past that, Beth. I’ve moved in already.” She nodded proudly, then added, “But you know, that’s exactly how shocked I felt when I emerged from a long creative streak in my studio to find out Landon had remarried. I didn’t even have a clue he’d met someone. Julian should’ve kept me up-to-date all those nights he brought Chinese food!”
Looking past Beth, Molly spotted Landon, another gorgeous Gage specimen. He kept glancing in their direction as he addressed Julian, and although Landon was not a man easily perturbed, even he appeared slightly confused as he spoke to his youngest brother this evening. Garrett joined them within seconds, and Molly could just sigh at the sight of his broad back. She could imagine their next kiss and already knew it would be as hot as the first….
With a wistful smile, she watched the three men, all of whom she adored. The chandelier lights caught on Julian’s streaked golden hair, which sharply contrasted with both of his older brothers’ dark coloring, and she melted with tenderness for him. Just to think Julian might be taking crap from his brothers because he was supposedly dating her
only endeared him to her more. Would Garrett do something like this for her?
While Julian lounged around effortlessly, seemingly careless to everything they said, Garrett stood sterner, more tense and, hopefully, already jealous. Landon, however, had never looked so utterly relaxed. Like a man completely satisfied with the state of his life and thoroughly in love, as was evident from the frequent looks he stole in Beth’s direction.
“Landon said he always knew this would happen,” Bethany offered in a private whisper, oblivious to her husband’s attention across the room as she leaned closer to Molly. “When our plane landed, he called his office and heard about you two from Garrett. He wasn’t even surprised about it. He said it was inevitable.”
“He did?”
It was a shock to Molly.
Because who on earth would ever think Julian and Molly could be more than friends?
It was ridiculous. Molly didn’t even like to date. And Julian was a playboy.
Plus, the Gage family still viewed her as a child, except for Garrett, who seemed to be the only one who’d realized she was now a full-grown woman. A kissable grown woman.
Still reeling at the idea, she looked back at the group of men, intending to admire Garrett from afar and remind herself why she was so in love with him, but her gaze snagged on Julian as he calmly explained something to his brothers.
Already having disposed of both his black jacket and his silver tie, Jules exuded powerful masculinity and self-assurance as he stood there, the cuffs of his shirt rolled up to his elbows to expose his tanned, thick forearms. His stance was so wide and confident, it seemed to say, Yeah, baby, I own me, I own this and I own you.
Before Molly could force her gaze back to the man she loved, Julian seemed to sense her scrutiny, for suddenly, his head turned. The smile he wore gradually vanished. With the glittering lights overhead, his eyes, those eyes that changed from gray-green to gold-green in a moment, right now looked as green as Colombian emeralds. And they blazed at her from across the room—almost proprietarily, as if he also thought he owned the little black dress she wore and the pair of black panties underneath.
Molly! You did not just think of your panties!
Mortified, she jerked her gaze away, her stomach clenching, and then she had to look back at Julian. Because…surely she had hallucinated that he was giving her the Wolf vs. Red Riding Hood stare?
He said something to Garrett and started in her direction, and before Molly could understand why her insides spun in turmoil, she realized he must be putting on a show. A show so that Garrett could see that she was desirable to him. And he would get terribly jealous and feel forced to tear them apart and stake his claim on Molly once and for all.
Yes, of course. It was all part of the plan. And it was brilliant.
But as Julian walked toward her with that slow tiger prowl-walk and his stare held her captive, her legs liquefied. She hadn’t felt this desirable since the night Garrett had kissed her. The way he stared at her made her feel…wanted. Womanly. So, so, womanly.
Wow, this guy was so good at this.
And he was hot.
And tonight, everyone in this room thought he was hers.
“Get over here and dance with me,” he prodded as he reached for her with a strong, long-fingered hand.
Molly grinned. “There’s no dance floor, you dope.”
“Come on, Mo-Mo. There’s music and that’s all we need.”
She smiled and took his hand, and a surprising bolt of electricity shot through her as he clasped her fingers. He spun her into his arms and yanked her effortlessly against him, almost dizzying her with his strength.
She swallowed a small curse, unprepared to feel his powerful body aligning so perfectly with hers. And suddenly Julian had erased all the distance between them. And Molly had seen him in his briefs. And he was so close.
His body warmth enveloped her, causing her muscles to relax while at the same time an odd hyperawareness built inside her midsection. It…disconcerted her.
“You’re so good at this, it’s almost annoying,” she told him with a smile.
And she hardly believed how good he was as she wrapped her arms around his strong nape, trying not to think of how utterly helpless she would feel if Julian was to turn on the charm with her like he did with all of his flings. Not that it would ever happen, or even that it would work. Because there could only be one man for her, and he’d better be watching them.
“Is Garrett looking?” she whispered, desperate to get this fake-lover charade over with. It was becoming dangerous…playing house with Julian. It was too fun and too easy. “Is he looking this way, Jules?”
“I don’t know, Molls, I’m looking at you.”
It was the tone he used, deep and husky as a country love song, that made her insides move in a way that made her supremely uncomfortable. Or maybe the sensation was due to the fact that Garrett must be watching them dance. It had to be. For it felt as if the Earth had stopped and not only Garrett, but the entire world, was watching them dance—or at least sway to the harp tune in the middle of Landon’s living room.
“I’m pretty sure he’s watching,” she whispered, moving closer to Julian’s ear. There, she leaned against his chest and whispered, “I’m thinking we could just stroll off somewhere and return a little disheveled, you know. Or go lock ourselves in a closet for fifteen minutes and let his imagination run wild.”
She could feel the coiled tension in the muscles underneath his shirt as he dropped his head to whisper back into her ear, his lips grazing the lobe. “As you wish.”
Fireflies exploded in her stomach, the words were so unexpected, as unexpected as the caressing bump of his lips against her earlobe. Molly drew back with a start, trying to calm her racing heart, telling herself he couldn’t possibly know what those words did to her. Or how deeply they spoke to her. “Really?” she whispered, shaking her reaction aside. “It’s a good idea?”
He arrested her gaze with tender, heavy-lidded eyes that threatened her equilibrium. All she knew was that in her favorite movie of all time, Westley looked at Buttercup in just this manner.
And this was just the way Garrett had to look at her by the end of the evening.
“Yeah.” Julian lightly chucked her chin, then with painstakingly slowness, smoothed his calloused thumb across her lower lip in a way that made her shiver. “I’ve always enjoyed a little closet fun. Let’s get lost.”
Molly didn’t remember moving so fast in her entire life—even though she had to stop several times because she was laughing so hard—than when Julian dragged her down the long hallway. She felt intoxicated with an incredible sense of freedom and mischief and fun—and when she caught a glimpse of Julian’s sexy, curvy smile, she wanted to fling herself into his arms and kiss him from the excitement alone.
Within seconds he came to an abrupt stop and efficiently shoved her inside a small downstairs office.
The instant the door closed after him, Molly’s heart stopped.
Darkness enveloped them. Silence and seclusion spread between them, around them, like a cloak of velvet. But in this closed space, nearly entirely occupied by a big mahogany desk, Julian’s scent suddenly stormed around her like a tornado, and it made her lungs burn. He smelled clean and of spices and within seconds Molly couldn’t seem to stand still. Her mouth watered, and she swallowed.
“Do you have lipstick in your purse?” he asked in a voice roughened with exertion.
Her eyes adjusted to the shadows, and she realized with a start that Julian was undoing the top buttons of his white shirt. Molly could barely organize her thoughts at the sight of his tanned throat being exposed, then the hollow between his collarbones, then a part of his pectorals.
She licked her lips and, without even thinking, she lunged at him.
Going straight fo
r the dirty business, she coiled her arms firmly around his neck and kissed his square jaw, pressing her body against his marble-hard one. Next she trailed her lips down the length of his throat. She’d surprised him, she supposed. For he stood utterly still, maybe not even alive.
Oh, no, but he was definitely alive, very much so. His warmth seeped through his clothes and spread heat all the way to her bone marrow. Intoxicated by the incredible feel of his taut, warm skin under her roaming lips, Molly trailed a path of kisses down to his collarbone, where she crazily wondered if she should just go ahead and trace it with her tongue.
“Molly?”
Julian’s voice was a thick rasp.
“Mmm,” she answered, placing a gentle kiss in that hollow at the base of his throat.
“You could’ve used your lipstick straight on me, baby. You didn’t have to kiss me.”
It took a moment for that guttural whisper to register. She had been happily—maybe too happily—dragging her lips along the thick tendons of his throat so that they ended up smeared peach and no one doubted, not even Julian and especially not Garrett, that Molly had kissed him.
She stopped abruptly and backed off in sudden confusion, all of her body heat concentrating on her cheeks. “What do you mean…? I don’t even remember where I left my purse, I think Beth has it.”
He must have heard the utter embarrassment in her voice, for he gathered her back against him, his voice even thicker and rougher than before. “Shh. Go on then. This works, too.”
But she hesitated, her cheeks now scalding. As though encouraging her, Julian undid another button of his shirt, so leisurely that as she watched she began to focus on details she had never thought of before. How gracefully his fingers moved. How both their breaths ricocheted off the walls of the small space.
How she could feel his eyes burn like lasers through the top of her head as she watched him undo another button.
How a hot little tingle spread across every inch of her skin.
And how this would all be so easy to dismiss if she hadn’t seen him almost naked…