Under His Spell (14 page)

When was the last time she’d made out in the front seat of a car? Never! And yet…it was good. It was great!

“This is nuts,” she whispered to the fogged windows. She didn’t even have the strength to roll her head to look at him.

“Yeah, but if this is a loony bin, I don’t feel like leaving.”

“Me, neither,” she returned. “Tomorrow morning is going to suck.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m conference calling with NY at eight a.m.”

“I have to figure out which four hundred employees to lay off.”

He jerked. She felt it even though she wasn’t looking at him. “Seriously? Four hundred?”

She bit her lip. “I wasn’t, um, supposed to say that. Because our company isn’t in bad financial straits at all,” she lied.

“Of course not,” he said, obviously understanding the message underneath.

“But, hypothetically, if we did have to lay off people, it would be my job to figure out how to make it the least painful. It started out as close to a thousand. I’ve worked
the numbers down to about four hundred. That’s what I was doing all weekend.”

“I didn’t realize…” He shook his head. “No wonder you’ve been about to explode.”

Even in the darkness, she could see that his brow was furrowed with thought. “Yeah, that’s me. Corporate hatchet woman.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t realize how high up in the corporate structure you are. You said middle management.”

“I am—”

“Not if you’re making layoff reports.”

She liked that he understood the responsibilities she had. Her title in no way reflected what she did every day. “Put it this way. My boss makes the actual decision. But he does it off the reports I give him.”

“That puts a lot of pressure on you.”

She lifted her head off the leather seat. He was saying something here. He was having a lightbulb moment, but she hadn’t a clue what he’d figured out. “What?” she pressed.

“Nothing,” he hedged, but at her look, he continued. “I just wonder if this sex fest is you blowing off steam, that’s all. Are you going to disappear once the job pressure eases?”

She laughed. “No worries there. My job pressure never eases.” And with that, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips. She wanted to deepen it. She wanted to have him drive her right back to his place where they would play for another twenty years. But she forced herself away.

“G’night,” she said. Then she blew him a kiss and shut the car door. But her mind wouldn’t leave him. By the time she made it up to her condo, she had the beginnings
of three different fantasy scenarios. By the time she got into bed, she was humming with anticipation.

Tomorrow day was going to suck. Tomorrow night, on the other hand, was going to make it all worthwhile.

J
IM COULDN’T STOP THINKING
. His mind churned all through the drive home and then well into the night. He shouldn’t have bothered going to bed at all. He tossed and turned until his bed was a twisted mass of sheets and tortured thoughts.

He was just sex relief for her. Their whole relationship was based on hypnotized hot and horny. Great, but after an evening spent talking to her, he already knew he wanted more.

She was bright, funny, hardworking and drop-dead gorgeous. Jeez, she’d been homeless, but had worked herself right out of debt. She obviously thought she wasn’t very smart. That she had to work herself to death because she wasn’t brilliant enough to see the better way out. But he knew that hard work trumped brains any day. Take him, for example—his great idea was only one tiny fraction of what it had taken to build his company. Success came in working out the details, and that required sweat and discipline. And that, obviously, she possessed in spades.

She was everything he wanted in a woman. Everything he wanted in the mother of his children, too—and that thought had him sitting bolt upright in a cold sweat.

They’d reconnected only a few days ago. He couldn’t possibly be thinking the whole package with her. Except, he was. Marriage, children, the whole shebang. With
Nicky. A woman who had to be hypnotized into having sex with him.

Oh my God, he was depraved. He wanted to marry a woman who was into bondage and who knew what else. He wanted to father children with a woman who thought of him as a super-duper sex toy. One who came with a Corvette and a magic sex room.

What was wrong with him? And yet, how could he stop?

Okay, he thought as he finally pushed out of bed. Time for a logic tree or at least a pro/con list. Pro: Nicky was the full package. He wanted her the way he wanted his next breath. Con: She only viewed him as a sex toy. Pro: She was into exploring every sexual fantasy he had. And many he hadn’t even thought of. Con: He was just her sex toy. And she had to be hypnotized into that. Pro: He was getting laid multiple times a night. Con: He very much feared that was all he was going to get from her.

In short, they related great on the sexual level. But if he wanted a relationship with her—and he did—then they needed to move out of his magic room and into a different arena. Family. Friends. A relationship. But how?

It took him another ten minutes, but he finally had an idea. He turned on his laptop and shot off a quick e-mail to his brother.

“Y
OU INVITED YOUR MOTHER
to dinner?” Nicky asked as they walked toward a large table. Nicky was wearing a black leather bustier and matching thong beneath blousy piratelike pants. She was hoping for a
Pirates of the Caribbean
fantasy, though she’d also been thinking about dog collars and whips. Not sure yet if she wanted to go there, but she’d spent her entire seventeen minutes of lunch surfing through Web sites that made her blush. She’d managed to swing by the Leather and Stud shop on the way home to buy her current attire. Fortunately, she had a blouse and jacket on to cover the sex-kitten corset, but she was excruciatingly aware of it.

And now she was walking through a quaint Italian restaurant to a dinner with his mother? The mental whiplash was too much too process. And it got worse the minute she saw the other dinner guests.

“You invited
my
family, too?” she gasped. She’d been thinking kinky, and he’d given her Sunday after church.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said, an apology in every word. “I swear I didn’t. I just talked to my brother, Rick, this
morning and mentioned pizza. He said great, and then before I knew it my mother called to say she’d join us. I tried to call you, but it kept going to voice mail—”

“I had to turn it off.” Nicky’s hands started clenching, putting creases in her black pants. Good lord, she was wearing a thong! “My mother is here!” she said with a hiss. “You didn’t call my mother, did you?”

“God, no! But, um, weird thing that. Rick, um, knows your sister Tammy. And she—”

“Tammy’s coming? Do you see what I’m wearing?” Hysteria was creeping into her voice.

“I know. I know, but…I mean, I
didn’t
know this would happen. Rick called Tammy who called—”

“Everybody! That’s what Tammy does. She calls
everybody!
” Nicky was already turning around. There was still time to duck away. Nobody had seen her yet. At a minimum, she could rush home and change before—

“There you are, Nicky! You didn’t tell me you were dating anyone!” It was her sister Susan, complete with husband Brian and baby Emily. “Come give your godchild a kiss before she spits up and ruins the mood.”

Nicky turned back to the group, her cheeks heating to inferno level. She managed to shoot Jim a glare, but then pasted on a tight smile. “Hi, Susan. I didn’t realize you were coming.”

“Yeah, well, you would have if you’d read my e-mail—”

“I was working!” she ground out. She hadn’t had time to look at her e-mail. She’d spent her entire day either in meetings or running numbers. Then there was the quick stop by the shop with barely enough time to change before driving here. She bent over to kiss Emily’s forehead, inhaling the sweet scent of baby and talcum.
She didn’t dare take the child. She’d squeeze the poor kid to death. “Hey, sweetie,” she murmured.

“Quite the new look,” her sister drawled while Nicky was still bent over.

Nicky straightened so fast she nearly lost her footing. “I didn’t realize anyone else was coming!”

“Uh, Nicky,” interrupted Jim with an awkward cough. “I’d, uh, like to introduce you to my mother.”

“Hello, Mrs. Ray. Pleased to meet you.” Nicky smiled and wished she could sink into the floor. That or whip one of the checked tablecloths off the table and wrap it around herself like a toga.

“I hope you don’t mind me horning in like this, but I get out so little that I tend to seize the opportunity when I can. And it’s been so long since I saw your family.”

“Over ten years,” Nicky said as she forced a smile. “We’ve got quite the group here. Hello, Mom. Do you like to garden, Mrs. Ray? My mom is always doing stuff with her plants. What was that rare flower you’re cultivating—”

“That was last year, dear,” her mother said as she dropped a kiss on her cheek. “This year’s experiment is with bushes. I’m trying to see if I can hide that ugly air conditioner with—”

“Squee! Look at my sister out of a business suit! Wow, do you look hot!”

Nicky turned around to give a pained look at her sister Tammy. “Did you have to invite
everyone?
” she bit out as they hugged.

“To meet your new boyfriend? Hell, yes. This is the event of the century!” Tammy shot back, completely unrepentant.

Fortunately for Tammy, Nicky didn’t have the chance to strangle her. Rick showed up, and then the baby
started crying. Food had to be ordered next, and then the wine came. Thank God for the wine. And on it continued through salad and pizza.

Jim’s mom did indeed like to garden, though she wasn’t as avid about it as Nicky’s mom. Rick and Tammy had some strange chemistry going. They were apparently old friends, but most of their bickering centered on a girl named Corine. And Susan was obviously happy as an exhausted mom. Nicky was halfway to jealous of her sister’s baby, loving husband and the whole happily-ever-after thing until Jim chose that moment to help her off with her jacket. Not a big deal, but he was close enough to see the bustier beneath the demure peach silk blouse.

His eyes shot wide, and his face heated to blistering. Hers, too, for that matter.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured as he eased her jacket off her arms.

“It’s fine,” she finally said, though it took a moment for her to get the words out. “These things happen. Usually to Tammy, but I suppose it was my turn.”

“Nicky—” he began, but she cut him off. There would be plenty of time for explanations later. Right then, they had to get through this meal.

“So, Mom,” she said, turning away from Jim. “Is Dad enjoying his trip?”

“Oh, you know these academic conferences. Always in someplace fun, but I couldn’t go because…”

“I’
M SO SORRY
,” Jim repeated for the thousandth time as he opened the Corvette’s door for her. “I just thought it’d be fun for you to meet Rick. He’s laid back and really cool. I just didn’t think—”

“It wasn’t time for relatives,” she said as she settled into the leather seats of his car. She’d taken a cab to the restaurant, since she hadn’t wanted to be separated from him even in the short drive to his home. “I know—”

“It wasn’t even time for your brother. No relatives. Not yet.” Nicky wasn’t exactly sure why she was holding on to her anger so fiercely. In truth, he hadn’t done anything but have a family meal get out of hand. And when
hadn’t
that happened with her family? But she was angry and panicking. Why?

Rather than answer that, she turned abruptly toward him. He’d barely sat down in the car when she grabbed his arm and spoke in a rush. “Hypnotize me. Right now.”

He frowned, his eyes narrowing rather than widening as they did when he wanted to put her under. She tightened her grip, but he shook his head. “Nicky, we have to talk,” he began, but it was interrupted by his brother’s rap on the trunk. He whipped around to glare at Rick, but then had to roll down the window when his brother didn’t move from the car door.

“What?”

“Sorry, bro. Didn’t mean to make it such a nut-fest.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Rick looked directly at Nicky. “Don’t blame him. It was all my fault.”

She nodded, but her eyes were on Jim. His hands were clenched on the steering wheel and his shoulders were tensed up to his ears. She sighed and turned to Rick. “Don’t worry about it. I think the problem runs deeper than family nut-fest.”

Rick arched a dark eyebrow. He looked as if he
wanted to say something, but in the end he just shrugged. “I guess I’ll be moving on, then. Night.”

“Night,” she and Jim answered together.

They stared out at the parking lot as one after another of their family members pulled away. Susan and family went first in their minivan. Tammy had her little Prius, then the moms departed in classic sedans. Finally Rick peeled out in a Mazda, which left her and Jim still sitting in the parking lot.

“They’re gone,” she said when he still didn’t turn to her. “You can do it now.”

“Hypnotize you?” he asked, still not looking at her.

She caught the tight note in his voice and his hands still hadn’t unclenched on the wheel. The tightness in her chest racheted up another notch. “Or you could tell me what’s really going on. Please.”

“I want more,” he said, rushing his words. Then he turned to look directly at her. “I know it’s fast. It’s freaking me out how fast. But I want more of you than just hypnotized sex.”

“So you invited the whole clan along on a date? Because…why?” She already knew the answer. It was obvious now that he was looking for family—a wife, children, probably the whole shebang. But the very idea was preposterous. She could barely fit in time for a date, much less…more.

He sighed. “I didn’t mean it to be that many people.”

“I had a whole schedule worked out,” she said softly. Then for proof, she pulled a list out of her purse. It was the fantasies she wanted to try. One for each night except for Thursday. She had a big meeting on Friday and figured she’d really need her sleep by then.

He looked at the page, his eyes shooting wide. And
then he choked. “You really wanted to try this on Saturday?”

“Only as part of this scenario I got off the Internet. I just thought…you know, why not see if we like it?”

“So tonight’s
Pirates of the Caribbean
was just a warm-up to next week?”

She flushed scarlet, reaching out to pull the page out of his hand. He didn’t give it up. In fact, he folded it away into his jeans pocket, and she wasn’t going to fight to get it back. Not right now. Though she could tell by the thickening bulge in his pants that he was interested. It didn’t matter. By introducing his family, everything had gotten really complicated, really fast.

She turned away. “I’m not ready for anything else. I’ve got a career, and babies spit up on designer suits. They pee on things, too, and don’t sleep through the night.” She said the words, but inside, her heart ached. She did want babies sometime. And the thought of Jim’s babies wasn’t so very bad. In fact, it was kind of a lovely thought. They’d probably be wickedly smart. She’d teach them not to be so shy, and if they had a laugh like his—all sexy, deep and throaty—then there was nothing those kids couldn’t do.

“I didn’t say anything about babies, Nicky.” His voice was soft, but it seemed to throb in her head. “I just wanted to know if we could relate on a different level. On one that didn’t include—”

“Pirates? Leather thongs?”

His eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “You’re wearing a leather thong?”

“Yes. While I was sitting across from your mother talking tulips.”

He swallowed. She heard it distinctly. “That is so hot. That…that is so hot it’s short-circuiting my brain.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not hot. It’s…sick. I’m not mixing leather and your mother. Not ever.”

“Oh, yuck. Oh god, no.”

“Exactly.” She took a deep breath and turned her face away from him to stare out at another massive family group disgorging from the restaurant. Papa Georgio’s Pizzeria apparently did quite the business in family get-togethers.

“I think I need to go home, Jim.”

“Nicky…” he began, but he didn’t finish. He just looked at her in mute appeal.

“I can’t reconcile the two. What we do together—what we did—and…” She gestured weakly to a family of five climbing out of another minivan. Mom, Dad and three chattering school-aged kids. “They don’t go together in my brain. You have to hypnotize it out. It’s the only way.”

“Why?”

She looked at him, saw the challenge in his eyes, and immediately lost the ability to breathe. Her chest constricted that far.

“You’re afraid,” he said. “I get that. But you know you’re—”

He almost said the words. She felt them, hovering in the air. He was about to say that she was safe with him, but he stopped before uttering her trigger words. If only he just said the words, then she would go under. She knew it. But he didn’t, and the lack of that reassurance cut deep. It wasn’t rational, but she couldn’t stop the question. Was she safe with him?

She sighed and turned to stare out the window. “Take me home, please. I’m tired and I have a lot—”

“Of work to do,” he finished for her. “Yeah. What a shock.”