Page 13 of Separate Lives

“And you love it,” he finished for her. Tracy closed her eyes, knowing that at any moment his sensual lips were going to take full possession of her quivering mouth.

“Shit,” he swore instead, shattering the mood.

Tracy snapped out of her sensual haze, disappointed. “What?” she asked with an unsteady voice, before following the direction his eyes had taken.

“Hi Reece. How did you like the Four Seasons?” Jess asked icily. She was standing two feet away from him, at the opposite end of the wet bar, holding an empty glass. Not trusting herself to throw it at him, she meticulously set the glass down on the flat surface. Jealousy sliced through her body while she looked at his date. The cod. The low-down sneaky worm. The beast. He’d certainly had guts to have a tryst with her in a hotel room, while dating another woman. No, correction, averygood looking,youngwoman.

“Great concerto, don’t you think?” he rebuked, snapping her attention away from Tracy and back to him. “I particularly enjoyed the climatic moments during the summer thunderstorm and the horse hooves during the fall hunt. Didn’t you?”

“Indeed I did,” she challenged.

“And this is…?” he inquired, noticing for the first time that she wasn’t alone. Her escort had a possessive arm around her hips. His eyes were full of lust for her.

Something fierce sprang to life inside Reece, making his blood simmer. He fought the impulse to take off his jacket, and cover Jessica to conceal the sensuous contours of her breasts, swelling invitingly under the deep pointed cleavage of the mid-thigh black dress she wore, from the greedy eyes of the blond god standing beside her. Felt the urge to swat off this stranger’s arm and cover her round, sensitive hips with a shawl. Wanted to shout at Jess to go back home and change into another less revealing dress. One that wouldn’t outline her shapely legs, emphasized even more by the elegant thinly-strapped high-heel sandals she wore. One that didn’t make him as horny as hell. But Reece did none of these things. Pride prevented him from making a fool of himself in front of a roomful of people. Jessica wasn’t his woman anymore. Now there was Tracy at his side, and sweet, naïve Tracy didn’t deserve to be publicly embarrassed.

“Reece Hilton, this isRobertParr,” she introduced, putting a lot of emphasis on his first name, and giving Reece a meaningful glance.

A double-meaning he didn’t miss. She was telling him she’d gone to the lake-view suite at the Four Seasons thinking to meet Robert, because he’d signed the note with an ‘R’. Chances were, Jess would’ve never joined him otherwise.

The two men shook hands assessing each other, then Reece introduced his date. “And this is Tracy Briant.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jessica Wright.” Wearing a strained smile, the two women shook hands. While Tracy and Rob got acquainted, Jess went on addressing Reece. “I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”

“Apparently nor did Johnny and LeeHanne. They were just as surprised.” He now understood why they’d looked so ill-at-ease when he’d arrived with Tracy.

“Well, we’ll let you go back to your things. It has been nice meeting you again so soon. After only two weeks, if I recall?” Jess never broke eye contact with Reece, not caring about their dates, or about the explanations she’d have to give to Rob later.

“Yes,” he answered with an eloquent onceover that made her body quiver.

“Reece, I’m thirsty. Do you mind getting me some wine, please?” Tracy’s request brought his attention back to her while Jess and Rob made their way towards the garden.

Watching the couple walk away from them, Tracy could not help but wonder what kind of relationship there was between Reece, and the beautiful woman that had confronted him. She was acting like a jealous, scorned lover, and Reece seemed to be no less affected by her. His jaw had hardened when he’d noticed the man at her side. She’d felt his body tense, and disturbing thoughts were mining her self-confidence where his feelings for her were concerned.

Rob, on the other hand, was trying to remember where Vivaldi’s Four Seasons had been played. As far as he knew, there wasn’t a place in town hosting the violin concerto right now. He loved classical music, and was always well informed of each event held in Chicago. So where was it that Jess, and the broad shouldered man, had seen it? And most important of all, who was he to Jess? Why had she never talked about him before? They seemed to be familiar with each other. Too familiar for his peace of mind.

Luckily, Tracy and Rob could not guess the level of intimacy Jess and Reece had shared ever so recently, or there would be tears. Nor could they grasp how significant it was what they’d left unsaid during their brief exchange, or drama would enfold. Jess had not only informed Reece she’d gone to his room because she’d mistaken him for Rob, but had silently told him what she thought of his moral conduct. He’d betrayed nice Tracy, confirming her low opinion of him.

To that, Reece had answered back in tone, and proven to Jess that he’d not forgotten a single instant of that afternoon in the hotel suite, including her response to his intimate touch. What he had not liked, though, was the assumption she’d made about his moral standings. Tracy was already on the scene by then, but they’d gotten serious with each other only scant days ago, and that just involved necking and some heavy breathing, not sex. Not mind-blowing sex. Not the kind of hardcore, X-rated sex he and Jess had always shared.

But thinking about double-standards, where was that leaving her? She was no better than him, the hypocrite. She was screwing another man, but had done nothing –absolutely nothing to resist him, actually enjoying his hands on her.No, hold on. Recalling the face of her beau in detail, Reece knew he’d never known her as intimately as he. No man who had been to bed with Jess would watch her with that sappy look on his face. She could wear a man out between the sheets, and pride was more than likely to shine in the eyes of the man who was giving it to her regularly. She was staving the dope off, and Reece could only see one reason for that. Whether she liked it or not, she was still craving him. Blast the woman!

Damn the jerk, because he’d made her life a miserable wreck, Jess thought minutes later, sitting on a chair outside, in Johnny and LeeHanne’s enclosed back garden. She’d sent Rob to the wet bar to get her a glass of water, to give herself some time to collect her thoughts in private. Damn him. Damn Reece Hilton because every other man paled compared to him. Damn him because he could easily go on with his life, find another woman, and cheerfully forget about her. Damn him, because she wanted him in her life, yearned for his touch, felt vibrant only with him, but knew all too well he’d never respect, let alone love her, like she deserved. But before going crazy dealing with her feelings for him, she had to kill LeeHanne, the conniving liar.

“You said he wouldn’t be here tonight. He was working. You were positive about that. Tell me then, how come I met him and dear Tracy a few moments ago?” Jess demanded of LeeHanne. She’d managed to corner her host and hostess in their study, closing the door to the noise and distraction of the party going on in the rest of the house. She demanded sound explanations for why Reece was there, and demanded them pronto.

“What’s the meaning of all this?” Reece thundered, banging open the door of the study, only to find himself face to face with his scheming friends and the object of his distress. Entering the room he closed the door firmly behind his back.

“Just what I wanted to know,” Jess interjected without turning to look at him, but facing Johnny and LeeHanne with her hands on her hips and her feet solidly planted on the carpeted floor.

The Jenkins looked positively uncomfortable. A bow-tense silence fell over them while two very angry people waited for explanations. On their own accord, but acting out on the same thought, Jess and Reece had momentarily excused themselves from their relative partners, expressing the need to talk privately with their hosts about some business. Neither Rob nor Tracy had found the request unusual, or if they had, had refrained from showing it, keeping their questions and doubts to themselves.

So now, Reece and Jess were standing side by side, pursuing a common goal for the first time in months. Johnny was impressed by the unyielding fierceness burning in their eyes. Their set jaws and taut bodies clearly stated their intentions. A chill ran through his bones. Johnny knew the only way out of this mess was the truth, though he felt that it wouldn’t be enough. No umbrella could protect him from the storm that was about to break out. He opened his mouth to speak, but his wife beat him to it.

“Listen, guys, tonight we invited you, Jess, because we knew Reece was supposed to be working. When his client decided to spend the night in, and Reece showed up at our front door, we couldn’t possibly refuse him. We couldn’t just tell one of our best friends that he was not welcome, because you were already here.”

“Well, if you didn’t feel like telling him I was here, you could’ve toldme,” Jess rebuked.

“And then what?” LeeHanne asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

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