She Does Know Jack (4 page)

Brielle’s heart
clenched, and in that instant, she decided, no matter what, she’d see this job
through to the end. Despite Dodger’s presence. Despite her past job-related
mistake. This case would be solved, and she was going to solve it.

“Matthew.” She
squeezed his hand. “You’re my client, and I promise I’ll do whatever it takes
to flush her out.”

Tension eased
from his body, and he smiled. “Thank you. You don’t know how much I appreciate
it.” He patted her hand and brought them to their feet. “Don’t look now, but
we’re being watched.”

Brielle didn’t
have to look. A shadow in red had been spying on them for the past two minutes.
Too bad she couldn’t tell if the woman had brown hair or black. It was just her
luck two contestants wore red tonight.

“Please don’t
think I’m being forward, but to keep up appearances...” The groom tugged her
closer. “I need to kiss you.”

Before she could
form an opinion, he covered her lips with his own. His gentle, non-threatening
touch was easy to bear. It was nothing like the mind-numbing, sensory overload
of his brother’s kiss. Thank God. One tempting Anderson brother was enough to
handle.

She was about to
pull away when Matthew lifted his head.

“I’m sorry, but
I’ve kissed every contestant, and they’d find it odd if I hadn’t kissed you.”
He placed her hand through his and walked her toward the mansion.

“I understand,”
she reassured with a grin. “I’d hate for my cover to be blown before I even
started.”

“Me, too.” His
smile widened.

Glad to have
replaced his worry with amusement, she decided to add one more remark.
“Besides, I can’t leave until we have our hot tub scene, right?”

“Right. Heaven
forbid we don’t fit that in.” He was still chuckling when they reached the
patio door.

“How nice to see
you getting on so well, dear brother.”

Jack’s sarcastic
tone didn’t faze Matthew, and was far from lost on her. She bit her lip before
her tongue had a chance to give into the raspberry that threatened. Wow. What
had happened to her professionalism? Seemed to take a hike when Jack was
around. Dammit.

“Oh, Brielle’s a
keeper, Jack.” Matthew placed her hand in his brother’s, then winked before
Mandy walked out to greet him.

“He’s lost his
mind,” Jack muttered, dragging her past the contestants and into the study with
a cameraman tripping over his feet to keep up. She eye-rolled the other girls.
Their chuckles could be heard until Jack kicked the door shut with his foot.

Yanking her hand
free, she rounded on him. “What in the world’s the matter with you? I don’t see
you treating the others like this.” Jack’s behavior was certainly a lot
different than Dodger’s. She was used to him looking at her with warmth and
undisguised interest. Not annoyance.

Eyes narrowed,
he stopped before her. A musky ocean scent filled her nose as she fought her
body’s knee-weakening reaction. Damn. Okay. That hadn’t changed.

“I don’t treat
the others like that because they haven’t given me reason.” Hot breath lifted
the hair framing her face, while a cool, blue gaze dared her to speak.

She’d never
backed down from a dare.

Hands on hips,
she gave him the full extent of her stare, tipping her head back a little more
since her heels were only two inches, not the five she’d been forced to wear at
The Limelight. “What exactly have I done? You don’t even know me.”

Except, maybe in
the carnal sense
.

Crap. Was there
a way to shut off her inner voice?

“Look,
Ms
.
Bennett,” he spat her name like spoiled meat on a hot day. “I’m not interested
in what you have to say because I’m telling Matthew to send you home tonight.”

His blue eyes
flamed, but not in a good way. And they say women were confusing. As far as she
was concerned, Jack reigned supreme.

“Why are you so
mad? I haven’t done anything to warrant this behavior. I came on this show
hoping for the best.” She waited for his expression to cool before she moved
toward the wooden desk in the center of the cherry-paneled room. Resting on the
edge, she pretended her mauve fingernails were the most fascinating things in
the world.

He stepped in
front of her, his presence demanding she look at him. “Why exactly
did
you come on this show, Ms. Bennett?”

She shrugged and
tried to keep some truth in their conversation. “I wanted to meet your
brother.”

“What for?”

“To learn
origami.” Her hands shot in the air. “Why do you think?”

His gaze
narrowed. He wasn’t amused. Too bad. Her presence on this show wasn’t for his
amusement. But, she didn’t want to make his job harder, either.

She sighed.
“Look, I know I can make your brother happy. Isn’t that what matters?”

“How?”

“What do you
mean, how?”

He placed his
hands on either side of her on the desk and leaned in. Ah hell. She stilled as
déjà vu hit hard. His heat and strength seeped into her and she had to fight
the urge to press against his muscles, bury her face into his neck.

“I meant by
kissing him the minute you two were alone?”

She blinked.
“You saw that? Well, you’re not very observant for—” Brielle stopped before she
gave herself away. See? This wasn’t going to work. His nearness sucked the
cells from her brain. Cripes. By the end of this mission she was going to be
drooling and wearing a damn bib.

“Not observant for
what?” His finger traced her jaw. “A man? That’s right, Ms. Bennett. I am a
man. Maybe you’d like to kiss me, too?”

Been there. Done
that. Yes, please!

Swallowing, she
tried to hold down her desire and keep her mind on the job. A contestant here
for Matthew would not be pleased with Jack’s pass.

She placed her
palms on his impressive pecks and gave him a push so she could stand. “Look,
Jack, I’m not sure what you’re getting at, but I’m not interested.” A complete
lie of course, but a necessary one. With her pulse racing and body rigid, she
stepped past him, anxious to clear the fog from her mushy brain.

Warm breath
fanned her neck and back as strong fingers curled around her shoulder.

“Are you sure?”

She closed her
eyes against the sweet vibrations spiraling down her torso. Oh, she wanted to
kiss all right. But this was wrong. He shouldn’t be coming on to her. And why exactly
had he been at The Limelight last year? Had he been an investigator or a
patron? Her eyes flew open. One thing was certain, right here, right now. He
was being a jerk! The delicious sensations stopped mid-stream, then bubbled
into anger.

How dare he make
a pass at his brother’s would-be girlfriend?

Unable to stop
the scowl from curling her lips, she grasped his wrist, dropped to her knees
while grabbing high on his arm with her free hand and used momentum to flip him
over her shoulder. His
sexier-than-he-had-a-right-to-be
form hit the
floor with a thump, and air gushed from his lungs in a grunt.

“You have some
nerve, mister.” Straightening, she fixed her bodice, and glared down at his
sprawled body. “Does your brother know you’re making passes at the
contestants?”

Why do I always
attract the jerks?

She’d hoped
Dodger would be different. Wrong.

Disappointment
soured her mouth, and the snickering cameraman did nothing to alleviate her
mood.  All of her Dodger fantasies just spiraled down the drain, dulling the
brightness from their incredible liaison.

“Yes, he’s aware
of it,” Jack replied, sitting up. “It’s part of our strategy to find him a
loyal mate.”

She blinked.
“Oh.”

All right. Maybe
he wasn’t such a jerk. Maybe. She held out her hand and helped him to stand. Then
had to order her body not to remember how his strong grip had felt on other
parts of her flesh.

“I’m sorry if I
made you uncomfortable.” He smiled and released her to brush his clothes. “But
I had to put you to the test.”

Test? He’d made
her consider blowing her cover…over a test? She swallowed. “You’ve made a pass
at all the contestants?”

He nodded.

“I see.” She
suddenly wondered what the other women had done, then shook her head. None of
her business.

“As I said, I
hope it didn’t offend you.” He straightened his tie and stared.

Offended? No.
Ticked off—yes. She tried to keep her anger in check. Part of her understood
the reasoning, but the other part wanted to teach him a lesson.

“I’ll get over
it. But if you try that again, I won’t be responsible for the outcome.”

“Oh?” His smile
widened, and he folded his arms across his chest. “I suppose you know martial
arts?”

“As a matter of
fact, I hold two black belts. One in Tae Kwon Do and one in Kung Fu.”
Shoot
.
Stupid
Dodger-fogged
brain. She
shouldn’t have revealed that.

His arms dropped
to his sides. “Son-of-a—”

“Hey,” she cut
him off, holding up her hand. “You may regard yourself as the offspring of a
female dog, but don’t call your mother names in front of me. I won’t stand for
it,” she joked, deciding to try to keep him off balance by annoying him with
silliness.

He glanced up at
the ceiling and muttered.

She hid a smile.
It was working. Hands behind her back, she tipped her head and glanced up at
the ceiling, then turned to the camera and shrugged.

“Very funny, Ms.
Bennett,” Jack scoffed, intolerance claiming his expression.

Okay, annoying
Jack could actually prove to be fun.

“What’s with the
Ms. Bennett
? My name’s Brielle.” She pushed further. “I know you can say
it. All you have to do is pucker your lips. Oh, wait
—
” She hit her
knuckles off her head. “Maybe that’s too complicated for you.”

He rolled his
eyes. “You’re a regular comedienne. Do you have an act? You should be up
onstage, entertaining people.”

His choice of words
clogged the breath in her throat, and she began to cough.

“Are you all
right?”

She shook her
head and continued to choke.

“Here.” He swiped
an unopened bottle of water from his desk and thrust it into her hand.

Brielle uncapped
the lid and took a long drink. “Thanks,” she said when her voice returned.

“You’re
welcome.” He crossed his arms again, his brilliant blue gaze raking her up and
down. “Do you really hold two black belts?” He rubbed his chin when she nodded.
“I suppose it helps you with balance in your dancing?”

“That and when
some clod wants to do more than the tango.”

“I bet you get
that a lot, Ms. Benn—Brielle,” he corrected with a smile. “You are a very
beautiful woman.”

The rush of
pleasure from his compliment compelled her to annoy him. She couldn’t afford to
let a connection develop. Bad enough one was already there. Big time. She
winked at the cameraman. “At least he got my name right.”

“
He
is
right here.” Jack pointed to his chest.

“And so you are.
Apology accepted.”

He frowned.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t apologize.”

“True.” She
placed the bottle on the desk, then sat on the corner and crossed her arms. “Go
ahead. I’m waiting.”

“Waiting? Lady,
are you nuts?” He stopped in front of her, deep frown marring his brow.

“No.” She
smiled. “But I am crazy.”

This verbal
sparring was the most exhilarating exercise she’d had in years. His bewildered
gaze confirmed she had him off balance. Good. She couldn’t afford the alternative.

“I can see
that.”

“If you’re done,
we should go.” Ignoring his nearness, she glanced over his shoulder at the
mantle clock. “I don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression.”

“No, we don’t
want to do that,” he said, lifting a finger to brush away a curl stuck to her
lip.

Funny, when
Matthew had done that earlier, she’d found his touch to be innocent,
brotherly—sweet. Nothing like the spine heating, core liquefying,
take-you-to-the-edge
touch of his brother. Her breath caught as his gaze and finger lingered on her mouth.

I’m here to help
Matthew…I’m here to help Matthew,
she silently chanted, hoping to slow
her accelerated pulse. Too bad her body remembered Jack’s mind-blowing embrace.
Did his remember hers?

“Why did you
kiss my brother?”

She blinked.
“W-what?”

“Why did you
kiss Matthew?”

Trying to think
proved impossible with his caressing finger fogging her brain. Was he jealous?
That was ridiculous. She eyed his full lips and swallowed. She’d much rather
kiss him.