Secret Fantasy

CHAPTER EIGHT

“MY NAME is Juliette Stanton.” She said the name as if it ought to mean something to him.

Tread the fine line of truth, Doug thought. “Senator Stanton’s daughter.”

She inclined her head. “He’s quite a public figure, isn’t he?”

Doug heard the love and caring in her voice. “He’s one of the few politicians who can claim a good political and moral record. I can see a lot of you in him,” he said softly.

“That’s a nice compliment.” She smiled. “You haven’t made the connection yet. Could it be the news hasn’t reached Michigan?”

Another lie coming back to bite him. “You’re Chicago’s infamous Runaway Bride. I made the connection, I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t recognize me then?” He couldn’t mistake the hope in her tone.

He grasped on to his first day on Secret Fantasy and fingered one spiral curl with his finger. “The hair’s different than the pictures.”

She glanced down. “Everyone thinks I bolted because I got cold feet. Or I had a lover on the side. Did you know local radio stations in Chicago are holding contests? It was ridiculous. I couldn’t leave my house without being followed. Don’t people have anything better to do than focus on my life? I’m not even a celebrity.” She shook her head in disgust.

“You never know what’s going to strike people’s interest.”

She lifted her head and met his gaze. “You haven’t asked me why I ran.”

“If you want me to know, you’ll tell me.” When she looked back on this conversation he wanted her to be able to remember she’d revealed without being pushed or prodded. That he hadn’t forced or directed the conversation in any way.

Because when she found out the truth, not only didn’t he want her hurt, but he wanted her to be able to forgive him.

“I do want to tell you. I just don’t know where to begin.”

Her pain was palpable and Doug had no desire to prolong the revelation any longer than necessary. “I know about the newspaper articles fingering your ex’s business partner in a money-laundering scheme.”

She winced. “Then you know the article was retracted due to lack of proof.”

He merely nodded.

“I believed Stuart was innocent. I believed his partner, Congressman Haywood, was innocent.”

“So the retraction must have been a blessing.”

“At the time it only confirmed what I already knew. But later…”

Doug held his breath. Here it was, the answer to his story. The one that would put him back on top, ease his father’s emotional unrest and fix the damage he’d done to the Tribune’s reputation. That damned guilt warred with anticipation deep inside him.

Juliette stared off into the distance. “We’d gotten to the church early to do that last-minute family thing. But I was getting claustrophobic and I left my mother and sister in the back chamber because I needed air. The church wasn’t filled yet but I didn’t want to run into anyone, so I went out the back to a place Stuart, Gillian and I used to hang out when we were kids. That’s where I saw them.”

Adrenalin rushed through his veins. “Saw who?”

“Stuart, Congressman Haywood and Paul Costa.” She clenched and unclenched her fists. “The article in the paper alluded to Mob connections and money laundering but it didn’t mention anyone by name. But Costa is an alleged boss and there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize him. And then there was the snippet of conversation I overheard. Something about the retraction being taken care of and the reporter silenced.” She shivered. “There was no question what Stuart was involved in.”

Doug listened to her in disbelief. His gut had told him she knew something to link Barnes and Haywood to illegal dealings. He’d never once thought she’d been an actual eyewitness.

“Did they see you?” At the thought, his stomach began to churn.

“Would you miss a bride in her fluffy white wedding dress?” she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Actually Stuart caught sight of me and excused himself. I’d already ducked back inside and he grabbed my arm and led me to someplace private. We had a huge argument. I called off the wedding and he…” She inhaled deep.

“He what?” Doug grasped her hands, warming them inside his. He had his story. Now he needed to take care of Juliette. And later he’d figure out how to tell her the truth without ripping her heart and trust to shreds. “Did he threaten you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think I’d be as torn or confused about what to do if I’d been his target. He said if he went down, he’d make sure he took my father with him. An implicit threat to keep my mouth shut.”

And knowing Juliette’s strong feelings for her parent, something Stuart Barnes had to have known, he’d easily guaranteed her silence.

Doug squeezed her hands tighter. “Forgive me for asking this, but is your father involved in anyway?”

“No. But if Senator Stanton’s handpicked protégé is arrested, it’ll taint my father’s record and any good he’s accomplished in his term. He might be innocent, but he’ll go down in history as leaving office surrounded by scandal and suspicion.”

Doug let out a slow groan. Her admission had just called a glaring halt to his plan to expose Barnes and his Congressman partner at all costs. A blunt article with Juliette as his witness would destroy her father. And anything that hurt Senator Stanton would kill Juliette. Something Doug would never do. The tough-guy reporter he’d been before meeting this woman was long gone. Doug had to accept that truth-one a long time in coming. As long as he’d been on this island.

Damned if he had a plan right now, but he had to come up with one and soon. Although he had all his personal excuses for wanting to nail Barnes and Haywood, a more pressing reason remained-he couldn’t let their illegal activities go unchecked. And he had to expose them before Barnes was elected senator. A good possibility considering his being jilted at the altar would garner him the sympathy vote and, as of now, Senator Stanton was still in his corner. He had to halt the senator-elect, without hurting either Juliette or her family.

“You’re quiet. I’ve shocked you.”

He shook his head. “I always knew you were special. But the lengths you went to to protect your father, the flak you took from the media…”

“He’d do it for me in a heartbeat. That’s why I need to figure a way out. I can’t let Stuart become senator, knowing what I do. And I can’t hurt my father. I need your help and input. Together we could come up with an idea.” She hesitated. “But I was also hoping we could do something else together first.” Her voice had dropped a husky octave and the atmosphere shifted.

The room temperature inched up a heated notch and sexual vibrations surrounded them. Doug went from concerned to aroused in seconds flat. Apparently Juliette felt the same because she inched up onto her knees and moved near, bracing her hands on his shoulders and placing her lips close to his ear.

“Can you see the enormity of this secret? That I wouldn’t share it with just anybody?”

If she only knew who she’d just trusted. The guilt was enormous, though he tried to console himself with the fact that he was on her side. “Juliette…”

“Doug…” She parroted in a low murmur. “You’ve made me feel like I can trust you with anything. That has to mean something in the scheme of your fantasy.”

It meant she believed she could trust him and though he knew that was true, he was still deceiving her, something she’d never understand. “Fantasies are complicated,” he said.

“They don’t have to be.” She nuzzled the sensitive place behind his ear with her lips and he let out a slow groan.

Irony was at work again. She’d revealed all in order to bring them closer and though he needed time and space to sort out what he’d learned and figure out the best and safest way to use the information, if he walked out on her, he’d hurt her as badly as his secrets would. Secrets he couldn’t reveal until he’d figured out a way to help her, save her father’s reputation and secure them as a couple.

“Doug, if your fantasy is really about putting a woman’s needs first…make love to me.”

All the restraint he’d exercised vanished in that instant. She’d freed him mentally and emotionally and he refused to look back. He would figure a way out-after he did as she asked and made love to her.

Grasping her hips, he took control, toppling her onto her back on the bed. “You’ve been testing and teasing me for two days now.” Now it was his turn.

Excitement danced in her eyes. “Oh yeah? I know I’ve tried. I was thinking I didn’t have much success.”

“Sure you did.” He swung his legs over her waist, pinning her to the mattress. “It’s just that I’ve got what’s called discipline.”

A smile worked at her lips. “Looks to me like it’s gone.”

She had no idea.

Her pelvis rose, her feminine mound pressed intimately against his hard erection and she let out an appreciative moan. “It feels that way too,” she practically purred.

Maybe she had a better idea than he’d originally thought. “You’re wearing too many clothes,” he muttered. Silk skirt and top, both soft and feminine, but a barrier just the same.

“Then take them off me.”

A provocative suggestion if he’d ever heard one. She spread her arms out at her sides, treating him to an even more provocative pose. Her button-down blouse revealed a lace garment beneath. Soft webbing that reminded him of sexy lingerie and hot nights in bed.

And this night was about to get much hotter.

Juliette stared into Doug’s deep blue eyes, unable to believe how close they now were. How intimate they were about to become. She’d confided her most private secrets and she had no doubt he’d help her figure out her next step. Just as she’d obviously helped him figure out his.

Fantasy accomplished, she thought with pride-both his and hers. Yet she was still here-breathless, nearly panting with her heart galloping fast in her chest and her mind playing out erotic fantasies at Doug’s hands. And those hands now dipped enticingly beneath her blouse, pausing when he encountered the lace camisole. Tingling awareness shot through her as he chartered covered territory.

With nimble fingers he explored until he found her breast, full and aching for his touch. “No bra?” he asked.

“Not necessary with so many layers.” Her lack of undergarments had been a conscious, planned decision, because when she’d decided to trust him with her secrets, she wanted to trust him with her body as well. In a way she’d entrusted herself to no man before. She was exposed to him in every way that counted.

He glanced down and nodded in approval. “Easier access for me.”

Her body heated with his innuendo. “That was the plan,” she said, feeling a burning blush rise to her face.

Doug took her off guard by pressing a gentle kiss to her heat-flooded cheeks. Then he leaned back, aligning their bodies as close as possible, despite the barrier of clothes. Heavy and full, his erection teased her empty body with tempting possibilities.

“How would you like it, Juliette? Slow or fast?” His voice came out a low growl that both excited and aroused.

And here she’d thought she was already on the edge and at her most sensitive. “I think we’ve already taken things slow enough, don’t you?”

In response, he grabbed the ends of her shirt and yanked hard. Buttons scattered and material ripped beneath his strong hands and the sound tore through her much the way desire clawed inside her.

He grinned. “I aim to please. After all, I’m here to make your wishes come true.”

She licked at her dry lips. “Did you know there’s a saying? That every woman has a caveman fantasy buried deep inside.”

“Then, by all means, let’s fulfill yours.” He spread her shirt wide, revealing her breasts to his gaze and the cool air.

She’d looked in the mirror earlier, seen her nipples, dark and erect beneath the lace material. From the tight pull of his jaw, he saw too-and he liked it.

“What would your caveman do after he dragged you back to his lair?”

“He’d kiss me.” Desire, stronger than she’d ever known, pulsed in rapid cadence, begging for release. Liquid moisture wouldn’t be denied and trickled between her legs.

“Kiss you where?” Doug asked. “He can’t satisfy you if he doesn’t know what you like.” He watched her intently. And he waited. All the while he drew slow circles around one darkened nipple. Teasing. Arousing. Waiting.

Her body bucked and she trembled. Juliette swallowed hard. “I thought we agreed on fast.”

“You tell me what you’d like and I promise you fast and hard and deep.”

At his words a soft cry escaped her lips and his blue eyes darkened to a stormy hue. “Where would he kiss you?” he asked again.

Could she really admit her deepest longings aloud? She questioned, yet she’d already trusted him with far more. How could she deny him or herself now? “He’d kiss my breasts,” she murmured.

True to his word, Doug pressed a light kiss against one distended peak, followed by wide laps of his tongue, and after he’d thoroughly laved her nipple, he began a harder, flickering motion. One that caused a quickening in her stomach and an intense, direct pull between her legs and had her squirming beneath him.

He gave her “fast.” He gave her “hard.”

Juliette knew “deep” would come.

She hadn’t realized she’d shut her eyes until she felt her camisole being pulled up, and when she raised her back off the mattress, he slid it over her head. Goose bumps prickled at her bare skin.

“You are so beautiful.” His husky voice nestled deep in her chest, perilously close to her heart.

Embarrassed, she averted her gaze. He took her chin in his hand and turned her to face him. “I am not your ex. I don’t want you for your father’s senate seat or any other reason. I want you.”

She didn’t question the link he’d made. She’d given him enough information to connect the dots and draw the not-so-pretty picture. But his words made up for all the pain and ugliness in her past.

“When I look at you I see the woman I…admire.” He splayed his hands over both breasts, pressing her nipples into his palms and cupping her completely. “The woman I care about.”

The woman he loved? The word popped into Juliette’s mind without warning. Without thought. But then when did an onslaught of emotion pause to announce its presence? She had the unsettling hunch it was her own feelings she was thinking about though. If she was really thinking at all. She couldn’t tell, not when her body seemed to all but take over her mind.

And her body demanded so much more. She reached for the waistband of her silk skirt. Taking the hint, Doug rose off her, long enough to shuck his jeans as she did the same with her elastic-waist skirt.

He turned back to face her and sucked in a startled breath. “No panties.”

“Easier access, like I said.” She shrugged, trying desperately not to appear as self-conscious as she was feeling. She bit down on her lower lip. “I notice you’re not wearing underwear either.”

In fact he was gloriously naked and completely male. Juliette discovered he was all hard muscle and erect steel. She tried to swallow but found the lump in her throat was too great.

“Difference is, I was wearing some.” A wry smile twisted his lips as he stepped toward the bed.

Her heartbeat tripled. “But you aren’t now.”

She blinked and found herself covered by his naked body, his warm skin and his even hotter, rigid flesh. Her body molded to accept his harder shape and contours and she absorbed his raw, masculine scent. He bracketed her head in his hands and his lips met hers in a dizzying kiss. He held nothing back as his tongue delved into the recesses of her mouth. Her body recognized the prelude of what was to come, filling with need, bursting with desire.

He eased his hands between her legs and his fingers did a slippery glide into her feminine heat. His earthy groan reverberated through her. “I promised you hard, fast and deep,” he murmured.

She raised her hips, letting him know she was ready.

His sexy smile was devastating. “And I always keep my word.” After reaching for protection, he reared back. His eyes darkened as he spread her thighs wide and entered her with one demanding thrust.

Juliette shut her eyes and intense sensations took over. She felt him-thick and hard inside her, pausing to let her adjust and shifting so she could take him farther into her. Her heart seemed connected to her body as fantasy and reality meshed and melded into one.

She nearly peaked then and if the guttural sound that ripped from his throat was any indication, he was close too. But her emotional reaction was far more potent than the physical sensations rocking her body. Because joining with Doug rocked her world.

She wasn’t a virgin but she might as well have been, so new and enlightening were the feelings and emotions clogging her throat.

Love.

There was that word again. But she had no time to process the meaning. He raised himself up, slowly, allowing her to feel the exquisite sensation of his enlarged member gliding out of her, and giving her body time to moisten and stretch farther to accommodate his size, length and intentions.

Instinctively she bent her legs to keep him inside her. Keep him a part of her. “Doug.” She whispered his name as he drove himself home-hard, fast and deep, just as he’d promised.

“Is this what you had in mind?” He slid out again only to return with more force than before.

“Yes.” She’d been waiting so long for this moment, for this man, that climax wasn’t far off. The waves crested, higher and faster, washing over her entire being until she was beyond thought, beyond reason.

He found the perfect rhythm, but this time he raised himself above her, bracketing her head and holding his weight with his hands, so all she felt was him, moving inside her, hard and hot, thick and firm…

Her hips jerked up to meet each incredible thrust. She forced her heavy eyelids open. The emotion she saw in his eyes and the taut expression on his face matched the emotions rioting through her.

“Doug, please.” She wasn’t even sure what more she could want.

“Deeper?” he asked, his deep voice barely controlled.

“Oh, yes.”

“Then help me out, sweetheart.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing her femininity into him, so each consecutive lunge buried him more fully within her. “Faster.” She spoke the last on a gasp for air.

He complied, moving faster and harder, taking her up, up, up and over, into a burst of blinding light and waves of unending ecstasy. He let out a loud groan, her climax triggering his. Or maybe he’d been waiting for her, but they came in unison, his hot breath on her cheek and her name on his lips.

Minutes later, cocooned in Doug’s arms, her heartbeat slowly returned to normal. But Juliette knew without a doubt that everything else had changed.

After Stuart’s betrayal, love had been the last thing she’d believed she’d wanted or thought she’d ever find. Her fantasy-once she realized she had one-was to get past the hurt and know she was desirable, not because of her family or political connections, but for just being her. But she had fallen in love instead. Fallen fast, deep and hard.

And now that she had, she refused to take a wait-and-see attitude with her life and her future. Perhaps her newfound determination to take charge had something to do with Stuart’s demand that she keep silent, and his absolute belief that she would comply. Or perhaps it had more to do with loving a special man who she refused to lose after this vacation was over. At least not for lack of trying.

So although she’d keep silent about Stuart, at least for now, she had every intention of telling Doug she loved him. With a little luck he felt the same and happily ever after wouldn’t be a farfetched notion for Juliette Stanton, Senator Stanton’s daughter.

DOUG LAY AWAKE long after Juliette had dozed off. He inhaled, taking in the fragrant scent of her hair and the musky reminder of all they’d shared. They’d skipped dinner out and called in for room service, then made love one more time. Although his body was temporarily sated, his heart wasn’t even close. How could it be when too much was uncertain?

He needed to know they had a future and the only way that could happen would be for him to come clean and hope she could find a way to understand and forgive. Considering she’d been hurt recently by a man who’d used her, Doug had his doubts. But he refused to lump himself in the same category as Stuart Barnes because Doug loved Juliette and had never set out to hurt her. He stifled a wry laugh. He was a master at using people for professional ends and if he lost his greatest desire now, it was probably no more than he deserved. Because, initially, he had set out to use her-no matter what his reasons or how good his intentions seemed at the time-just like her ex-fiancé.

She sighed, stirring in his arms. He brushed her tangled hair off her face and let her curl more snugly against him. He might not know what she ate for breakfast when she was late for work or how easily her living habits would gel with his, but he had no doubt they could make a long-term commitment work. And he was certain he wanted not just to have an affair or to live together but a till-death-do-us-part commitment like his parents shared.

His certainty was born of his past. He’d never experienced anything as all-encompassing or strong as what he felt for Juliette. And he couldn’t mistake the difference in his feelings for his past lovers and his current love.

Careful not to wake her, he eased himself out of bed. She shifted and resettled, snuggling against the pillow. And he pulled a resort pad out of the desk and began jotting down notes. Ways to protect Juliette, the eyewitness, from harm and ideas for his current story.

He wrapped things up, tucked his notes into his suitcase and crawled back into bed. To his delight, Juliette immediately rolled back into his arms. Minutes later, her breathing evened out. Slow and easy, he knew she was asleep.

“I love you,” he whispered, knowing he had the freedom and wanting to test the words out loud for the first time. They felt right and certainty filled him once more. He shut his eyes and let himself relax, his body slowly matching her rhythm.

Morning would come soon enough and with the break of dawn, his truths. And Juliette’s reaction.

But he woke up alone with a note propped against the clock, covering the digital numbers. At least she’d attempted to make sure he wouldn’t miss her message. He stretched, reaching for the white paper.

It’s my understanding most men don’t like a woman to spend the night.

Wanted to avoid an awkward morning after, so I went back to my room to shower and change.

Breakfast at my place? Door’s open.

Juliette.

P.S. Last night was incredible.

Incredible didn’t begin to describe it. Doug crumpled the paper in his hand.

He wasn’t most men. Not when it came to one specific woman, anyway. He’d not only wanted to wake up next to Juliette, he’d wanted to be the one to do the waking. In a sexy, sensual, arousing way meant to show her exactly how he felt-before he lay his truths and life in her hands.

But breakfast had its advantages, too and, being a writer, Doug was an inventive man. He could come up with all sorts of erotic ways to enjoy a meal that would leave Juliette with no doubt about his feelings. After a quick shower, he headed out the terrace door and around the back, to the path leading to a congregation of secluded cottages.

Doug had been a reporter for longer than he could remember. Ever since meeting Ted Houston, digging for a story had become a part of him. Watching people. Listening carefully for hidden meaning and innuendo. He knew how to follow at a discreet distance and because there were often other reporters on the same trail, Doug knew when he had company.

And that same uneasy feeling pricked at him now. Here on Merrilee’s secluded island, Doug wasn’t alone and he wasn’t talking about other guests of the resort. They wouldn’t be in hiding. He glanced around but already knew he’d see nothing out of the ordinary. He also knew the rustle of bushes he’d just heard wasn’t a bird or animal.

Instead of going directly to Juliette’s, Doug decided to test his theory. He circled back toward the pool, choosing a rarely used path that was overgrown with vines and greenery. Not a trail someone following him could take without being heard and, sure enough, when he’d made it halfway, the rustling noise began, then stopped suddenly, repeated itself and then silence descended. Whoever was behind him had begun to follow and stopped when the person realized Doug was on to him. A rank amateur to be sure.

Doug darted back to see if he could catch the interloper, but whoever it was had obviously anticipated Doug’s move and was nowhere to be found, giving him cause to rethink the amateur label. Whoever had followed him might have made more noise than a bull in a china shop, but had been quick enough to avoid capture. Silence now surrounded him, unbroken but for the chirping of birds and an occasional laugh from someone walking by.

But Doug never discounted gut instinct and if he needed proof, hadn’t Merrilee said she’d fit some people in at the end of the week who’d seemed more desperate than most? He hadn’t a clue who’d come down here, but he knew one thing for sure. All candidates led to Juliette. And none would appreciate finding her with the reporter who’d broken the original story and who had the potential to destroy them now. He needed to narrow down the list and fast.

Another journalist was his first thought. Not likely. If the person had managed to get the story, he was talented enough to remain out of sight and hearing. And besides he’d be watching Juliette more than Doug.

It could be Congressman Haywood if Stuart had blabbed to his business partner about what Juliette had seen and heard in the church. Not a likely candidate either. He’d send Barnes, Juliette’s ex, to exert influence if she was wavering.

Which led him to Stuart Barnes checking up on his errant ex-fiancée. More likely. And as a squeaky clean senator-to-be, one dumb enough to get involved with the Mob, he wouldn’t be smart enough to let other people do his dirty work. And once he put the pieces together he’d be more interested in Juliette than Doug.

The Mob. Damn. Doug hadn’t any idea if they knew about Juliette or not but he wasn’t taking chances and took off at a run. He had to get to Juliette and make sure she was safe. Then he had to reveal his own truths-not just because he loved her but because she needed the knowledge to protect herself from all converging outside forces.

Including Doug. But with the word Mob echoing in his brain, at this moment he’d settle for just seeing she was safe.