Sparring Partners (5 page)

"That's a great name. If it were mine, I
wouldn't be shy about using it." She said, saying his name aloud,
letting it roll off her tongue like a caress.

"
Jordon
. I like it. Does it have any
significance beyond the fact that it sounds great and it seems to
suit you?"

"It does. Have significance I mean. At least
it does for me."
And I'd like to hear you say it again.
Naked.

Reed grinned, obviously oblivious to what he
was imagining, and bowed her head dramatically toward him. "Care to
enlighten me o' secretive one?"

She was cute when she flirted, Jordon
thought, reaching across the table to slowly trail one finger the
length of her beer bottle. Watching as the pulse beating at the
hollow of her throat became more erratic. His gaze captured her
startled eyes, watching closely as they bled from soft blue-gray to
black. Her lips parted and those soft eyes flared as Jordon dropped
his gaze to her mouth.

Jordon rubbed his dampened finger lightly
over her exposed collar bone. So fragile. So feminine. He wanted to
bury his face there. He wanted to inhale deeply and lick her skin
where it moved with her heartbeat. He wanted to sink into her more
than he wanted any woman in a very long time. Her eyes closed at
his touch, and a tiny sound she couldn't stifle escaped her
slightly parted lips. Not quite a moan, but close enough to give
him hope for something more.

Jordon pulled back and waited for her to
open those glorious eyes before he licked the remaining moisture
from his finger, tasting the salt from her skin. She flushed
beautifully from her chest to her temples.

"Give me a kiss and I'll tell you." He
said.

"Do you bargain for everything?"

Absolutely
.

Her voice deepened, and Jordon knew he was
getting to her. Reed wanted him to touch her, but instead of giving
in, she kept asking questions. Interesting. He wasn't dealing with
a woman who wanted him for his money or his body. Not solely,
anyway. She seemed to be interested in who he was underneath all of
that.

"If you won't kiss me, yet, come closer. Let
me see if your skin smells as good as it tastes."

Her quick intake of air and the look of
surprise on her transparent face had Jordon wondering if he'd taken
his flirtation too far and then, just as he as about to back away
and answer her questions, she rallied. Giving him a long narrowed
eyed look followed by what he could only describe as a
don't-push-your-luck-too-far-smirk, she inched her chair close
enough for him to touch her when he wanted.

"So the answer to my question is, yes. You
do bargain all the time. My guess is that you do it for a living,
and you usually win. Am I right?" Reed said, sure of herself and
her opinions.

Now that she was closer, not quite close
enough to name her perfume, but close enough to touch the way he
wanted to, Jordon ran the back of his hand lightly down her arm.
When Reed didn't pull away he captured her hand in his, brought it
to lips, and blew softly on her knuckles. He didn't touch his lips
to her skin, she wasn't ready for that yet, but Jordon promised
himself that she would be, soon.

Lowering their hands to his thigh, Jordon
ran his fingers over her palm before entwining his fingers with her
much smaller ones. Again, Reed didn't pull away, but her breathing
was shallower than before. Her pulse beat strongly, rhythmically,
at the base of her throat, no longer erratic but noticeably faster
than it had been when they sat down.

"One question at a time. We've got all
night." Jordon said.

If he had anything to say about it they'd
have more than just tonight, they'd have at least thirty-one days
beyond that. He needed his life back. The thought of William
stripping away everything that mattered to him steeled Jordon's
resolve. He'd do what ever it took to get back to work at B.H.
again. He loved his work, it defined him. The board already
approved him as William's successor on the condition that William
vouch for him.

This whole wife thing was just another one
of William's tests; just the latest in a long line of seemingly
impossible tasks to groom Jordon for B.H.'s top spot. Jordon was
getting sick of the crap, but he wasn't about to fail now. Not when
he was so close. He'd pass William's test, it was just a question
of how much it was going to cost him to do it. Any other result was
unthinkable.

Reed gently squeezed his hand, bringing
Jordon back to reality.

"Okay." She said, drawing his full
attention. Jordon was more than willing to allow thoughts of
William to evaporate into the night. "Let's start with your name.
How did your parents come up with it?"

"I'm named after my grandmothers. Both of
them were extraordinary women, and I loved them very much."

"They're dead?" Reed asked, a slight frown
marring her brow.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry." The sincerity in her voice said
she meant it.

"Don't be. I spent my childhood being doted
upon by both of them. Nothing to be sorry about. Nothing at all. I
was well loved and totally spoiled. Not much of a story there. Just
an average Joe with a weird name."

"What were your grandmother's names?"

"Jo and Don. That's what they insisted on
being called. My father's mother was Johanna and my mother's mother
was Donna. My parents didn't think Jodon sounded quite right so
they came up with Jordon instead. The grands, short for the
grand-dames, had a fit when my parents named me. They wanted me to
be named "John" or "Kennedy", they didn't care which, after JFK."
Jordon smiled, remembering.

Reed moved their commingled hands under her
chin. Jordon didn't think she did it consciously, but he hardened
anyway at the intimacy.

"They wanted me to be president. They even
drafted a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and argued
for it in front of both of Wyoming's sitting senators. They
insisted that the age to serve as president should be lowered to
twenty especially for me. They wanted me in office before they
died."

"How did they die?" Reed asked, then she
flushed and lowered her eyes, seeming to sense she'd gone too deep,
but she hadn't. Thoughts of his grands only brought lightness, not
sorrow.

"They jumped off a mountain." He said,
laughing as her head jerked back in surprise.

"The official story is they fell while
hiking Mount Moran. There's no way those two fell. Not on accident.
The grands were far too agile for that." Jordon nodded his head to
the side. "Taking a running leap, now that would be more in
character."

"What do you think happened to them?"

"They were both eighty-five and strong. They
walked five miles every morning together. Then, Donna found out she
had pancreatic cancer. It had already progressed past the point of
treatment. Two days later, the grands went out hiking and didn't
come back. They both knew Mount Moran, they'd climbed her since
they were kids. They knew where to climb and where not to." Jordon
took a sip of his water, wetting a throat suddenly gone dry.

"They didn't fall. I'm sure of that. They'd
spent their whole lives fighting, trusting and loving each other.
They went out the way they wanted to."

"You're okay with that?" She asked, sounding
more intrigued than surprised.

"Personally, I'd have chosen white-water
rafting or hang-gliding, but jumping off a mountain is as good a
way as any to go out, I suppose. If I know the grands, they
ingested more than a little Jack Daniels before they jumped. I
doubt they were ever in any pain. We were told they died instantly.
They were still holding hands when the rescue team found them."

Reed's gaze softened, and she seemed to look
into him instead of just at him. The feeling was a little
disconcerting. Most people Jordon met stopped at the surface. This
woman plunged into the depths. Everything about her was intense.
Maybe that's why she didn't go on too many second or third dates,
if Henry's report was accurate. And Henry was always accurate.

"You respect their decision?" It was more of
a statement than a question.

Jordon shrugged. "They lived well. They died
on their terms. Together. What's not to respect?" Jordon flagged
down the waitress and ordered another beer for Reed. "Now let's
talk about you."

"I'd rather not."

Jordon narrowed his eyes. "Then kiss me.
Tit-for-tat Darlin. I told you what you wanted to know." The brief
flash of fear in her eyes surprised Jordon. Reed didn't seem the
type to scare this easily. He wondered what she was thinking. Was
she that private of a person? The flash of uncertainty left her
lightly freckled face as quickly as it appeared, a small closed lip
smile crinkling the corners of her lovely blue-gray eyes taking its
place.

"Okay. What do you want to know?" She
asked.

"When was the last time you had sex?"

"With a man? Or with a woman?"

Jordon choked. Reed disengaged their hands
to pound on his chest. His hand covered hers on the second smack.
For a little thing she sure packed a wallop. He was too intrigued
now to let it drop. Henry didn't mention anything in his report
about Reed dating women.

"Either." He said, clearing his throat.
"Make that both."

"Never with a woman. Although I thought
about it once or twice." Jordon quirked a brow wondering if she
really had thought about it, or if she was just teasing him. The
grin she shot him made him think it was the latter, but he wasn't
quite sure.

"You know this is a completely inappropriate
conversation given the fact that I still don't know your last
name."

"Now who's bargaining? My name's Bennett.
Now answer the question, woman." Jordon already knew the answer to
how long it had been since she'd slept with a man. Henry's report
on the matter was quite thorough. He was more interested in finding
out whether or not she'd lie about it.

Reed seemed to think about it a second,
holding his gaze the entire time. "Twenty-seven months. Ten
days..." She looked at her watch. "...and four hours. Give or
take."

Within hours of Henry's estimate. So she
wasn't a liar. Not a casual one anyway. Not even when the subject
made her blush. An unusual reaction for someone past thirty, at
least in the circles Jordon usually traveled in.

"Don't you miss it?" He asked,
intrigued.

"Yes."

"Care to expound on how much."

"No." Her rapid fire answer told him it was
time to change the subject.

"You were married. You have a son. Tell me
about that."

"Then it's your turn." She smiled evilly at
him. "Tit-for-tat. Remember?"

Jordon let go of her hand and leaned into
her. He ran his hand through the short curls at the back of her
neck and down her nape, relishing the shiver she couldn't control,
and the goose bumps beginning to pebble her skin from his
touch.

"There's nothing you can ask I won't answer.
There's nothing you can ask me for that I won't give you. Come at
me with both guns blazing little elf. Please. Give me your best
shot. I'll tell you everything you want to know." He meant it, all
she had to do was ask, but it was a limited time offer. His clock
was ticking.

"Can we get the food to go?" She asked,
surprising and pleasing him.

"Most definitely." Jordon answered, feeling
hopeful, hard, and more than pleased with himself and her.

He summoned their server before Reed could
change her mind.

...

"
There is nothing I won't give
you
..."

Those words and the rest of Jordon's dinner
declaration flowed through Reed's blood like warm honey through
freshly brewed green tea. A perfect blend of exactly what she
needed, almost too perfect to be consumed. But, oh, how she wanted
to consume him. She'd been celibate way too long. Funny, that
didn't bother her until tonight.

There was something about Jordon Bennett
that made Reed take him at his word, something that screamed
confidence in his ability to give her whatever she wanted. He was
the kind of man who kept a promise once he made it, Reed could feel
it. She was equally sure he didn't make promises often or lightly.
Why she was so certain about him, Reed couldn't articulate, she
just knew down deep in her soul she was right. Jordon could be
trusted to deliver on his promises.

Riding in his car, up I-94 toward Jordon's
loft in downtown Milwaukee, Reed felt anxious and alive, more so
than she'd felt the last time she chose to spend the night with a
man. Even though that was more that two years ago, the memory
wasn't so far gone Reed couldn't retrieve it. She'd been nervous
then too, but not this nervous. She'd also been sure then that sex
and human connection was what she wanted. She was more sure now.
Everything about Jordon screamed more to Reed, more of everything
that made her feel like she could jump over the moon. More
potential for landing battered and broken after the fall. Pushing
thoughts away that wouldn't change the outcome of what she wanted
to happen tonight, Reed asked what she really wanted to know.

"Have you ever been married, Jordon?"

"Yes." He answered without taking his eyes
from the freeway. He was a good driver, confident, aggressive,
moving gracefully through traffic slightly faster than everyone
else. She didn't think he was going to elaborate, but he did.
"Once. I was seventeen, she was nineteen. It didn't last a month. I
filed for divorce on my eighteenth birthday. Left home the same
day."

His tone was light, but Reed didn't push for
more since the subject seemed to sadden him.

"Have you thought of marrying again?"

"Yes."

There was something in the way his eyes
measured her, willing her to look deeper into his soul, in the
millisecond he glanced at her before he concentrated on traffic
again, that stopped Reed from exploring the topic of marriage any
further. She felt like a moth drawn to flame, serendipitously being
blown away by the breeze before the heat scorched her wings,
deciding not to turn around and go back for a closer look.