Buch lesen: «Nine Months»

Prologue

The elevator doors swung open. Since it was after office hours on a Friday, Paige Summers had expected the elevator to be empty. But a lone man occupied the small space. Tall and lean, with an aura of masculine strength surrounding him, the stranger stared at Paige, inspecting her from head to toe. Forcing herself to ignore his interest, she quickly ran her gaze over the handsome cowboy.

His faded jeans fit like a glove, and with one more washing his plaid work shirt would need to go into a ragbag. A sweatband circled the base of his black Stetson.

Although he dressed like dozens of other men in Grand Springs, Colorado, one glimpse told Paige that this man was unlike any she’d ever met.

When she glanced back at his face, he smiled at her and her stomach did an evil flip-flop. He did possess a killer smile. A wide, sensuous mouth. Full, tempting lips. And beautiful, perfect teeth, sparkling white against the dark, suntanned skin of his face.

“If you’re worried about getting on an elevator with a stranger, I can assure you, you’ll be safe with me.”

The man spoke with a drawl. Oklahoma or Texas, maybe, she thought.

Paige forced a smile to her lips. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I didn’t expect anyone to be here still.” She stepped inside the elevator, but deliberately avoided eye contact. She was a quiet, private person, who didn’t normally find herself lusting after a stranger.

Lusting after? Good grief, Paige, how could you think such a thing? He’s attractive. That’s all. You’ve never lusted after a man in your life.

She glanced at the cowboy again, unable to stop herself. His dark brown hair brushed his collar. Strands of gray streaked his thick sideburns. He grinned and tipped his hat at her. Paige looked down at her feet. A guy with his looks and charm could be dangerous.

The elevator doors closed.

Jared Montgomery couldn’t remember the last time he’d been instantly attracted to a woman, and never this strongly attracted.

She was lovely, in a fresh, unspoiled sort of way. He liked that she was a good deal shorter than he, and that every inch of her five-and-a-half-foot body was filled out in lush, curvaceous proportions.

The elevator jolted to a sudden halt, shaking Jared instantly from his thoughts and tossing him sideways. Acting purely on instinct, he grabbed the young woman the moment he realized they were both falling. She clutched the front of his shirt, accidently ripping off two buttons. Quickly maneuvering her around, Jared took the brunt of the fall as they hit the floor. The black Stetson flew off his head and landed a few inches from his right shoulder. The impact of his big body sandwiched between the hard surface beneath and the woman on top momentarily knocked the breath out of him.

The red emergency lights came on, coating the interior of the elevator in a rosy pink glow. Paige realized she was lying on top of the stranger, her body intimately aligned with his. Her breasts crushed against his muscular chest. Their bellies pressed together. Their legs entwined.

A fluttering, quivering sensation began in the depths of her femininity. It quickly spread through her entire body, and she became embarrassingly aware that the man lying beneath her was aroused. His hardened sex pulsated against her.

She rolled off his chest and onto the floor beside him. “Are you all right?” she asked, her voice deceptively calm. She shook like a leaf in the wind.

Jared stared up into the woman’s big brown eyes, concern evident in her gaze as well as her voice. She hovered over him, her large, round breasts almost touching his chest. God, she was gorgeous.

“Fine.” He sat up too quickly and groaned.

“You’re hurt.”

“I said I’m fine. How about you?”

“Okay, I guess.” She wriggled against him. “What happened?”

“Well, I’d say the power went out.” He rubbed his forehead, then ran his hand across his stinging cheek. “Ouch.”

“What is it?” In an effort to see what was wrong with him, she leaned too close and her breasts brushed his arm.

His body tightened even harder. “I think I bruised my cheek when we fell. No big deal. Are you sure you’re all right?”

She scooted away from him. “I’m perfectly all right, thank you. Just…well, just a little unnerved.”

“Yeah, sure. Having an elevator go dead in mid-descent is enough to unnerve anybody.” Jared placed his Stetson on his head, then stood up slowly. Glancing down at the woman on the floor, he held out his hand.

Paige stared at his hand—an obvious offer of assistance—and hesitated.

“You are the most cautious woman I’ve ever met,” the man said. “Come on.” He wiggled his fingers back and forth. “I promise I won’t bite you.”

“I didn’t think you would.” Her cheeks flushed. Retrieving her purse off the floor with one hand, Paige reached up with the other. She allowed him to help her stand, then immediately took a careful step backward.

The stranger grinned. The bottom fell out of her stomach. Turning his back to her, he checked the telephone.

“No answer,” he told her.

They both checked their cell phones. No service.

“Isn’t there any other way to get help?” she asked. “How will anyone know we’re in here?”

Noting the slight panic in her voice, Jared tried to reassure her. “Hey, there’s nothing to worry about. The minute the power went out, the emergency generators kicked in to keep the lights and the ventilation working. The maintenance crew should have things going again pretty quickly.”

“But it’s Friday evening. Don’t you think everyone who works in this building has gone home?”

“No. There should be at least one maintenance man on duty twenty-four hours a day.”

“What if the outage isn’t just in the Wellman Building?”

“There’s no way to know,” he said. “But one way or another, we’ll get out of here, so stop worrying, honey.”

Jared stood quietly for a while, silently fidgeting and trying not to look at the woman. But when he glanced at her, he noticed her actions mimicked his.

“Are you sure the air is circulating in here?” She tugged on the collar of her suit jacket. “It feels awfully warm to me.”

“The air-conditioning probably isn’t on, if that’s what you mean,” Jared said. “But the air ventilation is working just fine. Relax, honey.”

“Would you please not call me honey.” The woman glared at him, her chin tilted defiantly, as if she were a schoolmarm scolding a naughty little boy.

“Sorry, but since I don’t know your name—”

“Paige. My name is Paige.”

“Hello, Paige.” He smiled and held out his hand. “I’m Jared.”

Paige stared at his hand, but this time she didn’t accept it. Instead she crossed her arms over her waist and tapped her fingers up and down on her elbows. Glancing around the elevator, she sought a means of escape. She couldn’t stay here any longer, trapped inside this tomb.

She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her suit jacket, clutched her throat and took a deep breath. She couldn’t fall apart. Not in front of this stranger. After all, they weren’t in any real danger. They had air and light, and sooner or later someone would rescue them. Sooner, she hoped. “Jared, please find a way to get us out of here!”

“I’ll do what I can, hon—Paige. Maybe I can open the doors.” Pressing his hands flat against the metal surface, he positioned his fingertips along the sealed edges and pushed. “We could be stopped right at floor level.”

“What if we aren’t?”

“Then we’ll either climb up or step down.”

“All right.” Forcing a smile, she nodded affirmatively. She’d suffered mild attacks of claustrophobia all her life, but she usually managed to avoid situations that might trigger her problem. Unfortunately, using elevators was a necessity. And if she hadn’t stopped to call and tell her mother about her new job, she wouldn’t be stuck in this elevator—with a rough and rugged cowboy!

“They’re opening!” Jared pried the doors apart, then cursed under his breath. “It appears we’re trapped between the mezzanine and the first floor. And if I remember correctly, the first floor is about forty feet high.”

Paige stared at the solid wall behind the open door. “Then we are trapped, aren’t we.” She rung her hands together.

“We aren’t trapped.”

“But you said—”

“Sorry. Poor choice of words. But there’s no reason to panic.” He took a couple of tentative steps toward her.

Paige backed away from him. “I think I should tell you something.”

Lifting his eyebrows, he looked quizzically at her. “Let me guess. You’re claustrophobic. Right?”

“Sort of. But I’m only slightly claustrophobic.”

“Oh, I see.” Hell, it was just his luck to get stuck in an elevator with a young, nervous and shy woman who was only slightly claustrophobic.

Paige couldn’t help but notice that Jared’s devastating smile had vanished and been replaced by an intimidating scowl. “I haven’t cried or screamed or anything foolish, but you’re angry with me, aren’t you?”

“I’m not angry.” He was not angry. He was frustrated. And he had to admit that the thought of dealing with a potentially hysterical woman unnerved him.

He tossed his Stetson to the floor and looked up. With his arms held straight above his head, he jumped toward the ceiling.

Paige let out an astonished cry. “What are you doing?”

He jumped again, then again. “I’m trying to reach the emergency hatch up there.” He pointed toward the sealed square in the roof. On his fourth attempt, he shoved open the vent.

“Damn!” He cursed loudly.

Paige’s gaze followed Jared’s line of vision. “Oh, no. I can’t climb up there. We must be at least twenty-five feet from the mezzanine level.”

Jared saw the panicked look in her eyes and realized he really was going to have a hysterical woman on his hands if he didn’t do something to distract her. And in his experience, there were only two ways to gain a woman’s complete attention. Either make love to her or make her fighting mad. He decided on the latter.

“I know it looks like a long way, honey, but I can boost you up to the opening, you can grab onto the—”

“Have you lost your mind?” She glared at him in disbelief.

“I know you’re claustrophobic—”

“Slightly claustrophobic!”

“But you don’t suffer from acrophobia, too, do you?”

“No, I am not afraid of heights!”

“Then what’s the problem?” Watching her face turn crimson and her brown eyes sparkle with dark fire, he grinned. “You must be afraid you’ll get your beige suit dirty. Is that it?”

“Despite the fact I’m a little upset right now, I am not some silly female who would worry about getting her suit dirty.”

“Oh, then you must have another reason for wanting to stay here with me. Could it be that you think if you play the helpless female, I’ll play your hero? Honey, if you want me, you don’t have to be coy. All you have to do is come and get me.”

“Oh!” Paige huffed loudly. “Of all the nerve. You must have a monumental ego to think—”

“My ego isn’t the only thing about me that’s monumental,” he announced. Paige gritted her teeth and Jared could tell that she was too mad to give a thought to being slightly claustrophobic. He’d rather have an angry woman on his hands than a hysterical one.

“Why, you egotistical, macho jerk!” Without giving a thought to what she was doing, Paige balled her hand into a tight fist and punched Jared in the stomach.

The blow was totally unexpected, and Jared doubled over from the instant pain.

“Why the hell did you do that?” He straightened up to his full six-foot height, poked his hand through the opening where two of his shirt buttons were missing and rubbed his stomach. His movements loosened his shirt from his jeans, revealing several inches of his washboard-lean belly covered with swirls of dark brown hair.

“You were being hateful and insulting,” Paige said, forcing her gaze away from his body and up to his face.

“I was trying to keep your mind off being trapped in this elevator,” he admitted. “But I had no idea you had such violent tendencies.”

“I do not have violent tendencies.” Her voice quivered ever so slightly. Then as the anger, frustration and sense of helplessness overwhelmed her, her eyes filled with tears that overflowed down her cheeks and ran into the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, hell, honey. Don’t do that!” Dammit, this was what Jared had been trying so desperately to avoid. Under normal circumstances, he would walk off and leave her. He didn’t tolerate any woman’s silly, emotional spells. But he was as trapped as she was. “There’s no cause for your acting this way.”

Paige glared at him through misty eyes. She hated him! Jared Whoever-he-was. She hated him! Why couldn’t he be more like her father and act like a gentleman?

Hugging herself as she continued breathing deeply, Paige closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. She would stop crying. She would regain control. And she wouldn’t say another word to Jared Whoever-he-was. No matter how long they were stuck in this hellhole together.

Jared didn’t know whether two minutes, twenty minutes or two hours had passed, but it seemed like two days to him. Paige stood on one side of the elevator, he on the other. Neither of them had spoken a word. But he could hear her ragged, sobbing little gulps for air. He glanced over at her and cursed himself for a fool.

What the hell! he told himself. What would it hurt to comfort her a little? Maybe if he put his arm around her and soothed her, she’d stop that noise. If necessary, he might even apologize. Anything to quiet her.

“Paige?” He took a few steps forward, stopping just short of touching her. When she looked at him with her dark chocolate eyes and bit down on her bottom lip, all soft and pink, he felt as if he’d been poleaxed again. He wanted this woman!

Paige sucked in a deep breath. Jared was looking at her as if… No, surely not, she thought. He couldn’t possibly want her. She was letting her imagination run wild. She tried to break visual contact, but it was as if she were hypnotized by his seductive stare.

Reaching out with both hands, he used his index fingers to wipe away the tears from her cheeks. Paige’s breath caught in her throat as Jared traced the planes of her face with his fingertips.

“Don’t cry anymore, honey.” He took her face in his hands, cupping her cheeks tenderly.

“Please…don’t.” She couldn’t bear the way he made her feel. Hot and cold at the same time, her stomach tightening into knots and her breathing quickening.

“Don’t what?” Jared whispered the question, his voice compellingly sensual. Touching her had been a big mistake. If she didn’t push him away, if she didn’t tell him no, he was going to make love to this woman. Here. Now. In the elevator.

“Don’t confuse me this way. I don’t know how to deal with a man like you,” she reluctantly admitted.

“What sort of man do you think I am?” He lowered his head and brushed his lips across hers.

She gasped. “You—you’re a master game player and I don’t know how to play games.”

“Then I’ll teach you.”

Before she could respond, he engulfed her in a passionately gentle kiss. Paige discovered herself succumbing totally to his tenderness. She dropped her purse to the floor and swayed toward him, her breasts pressing against his hard chest.

Oh, dear God, she felt as if she were drowning in the dark, swirling depths of her own desire. She opened her mouth, allowing his tongue entrance, then moaned when he threaded his fingers through her hair. The neat French twist fell apart under his marauding hand and her mahogany red hair tumbled down her back.

He eased his other hand down her waist and across her hips, pulling her close to him. She wrapped herself around him. Clinging to him. Wanting him. Lost to everything except the all-consuming longing coursing through her.

What was happening to her? Why couldn’t she stop…or ask him to stop? In the swirling confusion of her mind, one coherent thought made its way through—she didn’t want the incredible experience to end and she’d never felt like this. But how could she feel like this with a stranger—a stranger she didn’t even like?

Jared was fast losing control, and if he didn’t stop now, he was going to take Paige with all the wild desire raging inside him. He ran his fingers down her throat and deepened the kiss. Then he slipped his hand inside her suit jacket and covered her breast, his fingers seeking and finding her nipple. Opening her jacket fully to reveal her beige satin bra, he lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth, suckling her through the soft material. Paige grabbed at his shirt, quickly undoing the remaining buttons, then spread his shirt apart.

Lifting her up against the wall, he pressed her moist, warm body between him and the mirror behind her. While she clutched his shoulders and succumbed to the desire to place her mouth on his chest, he shoved her skirt upward, bunching it around her hips. She lifted her leg, fitting her calf around his thigh.

“I want you, honey,” Jared said, his voice deep and soft and dripping with desire. “Right here. Right now.”

“I—I—” She couldn’t seem to form her thoughts into words.

“If you don’t want this, too, Paige, stop me now.”

“No,” she whimpered. “No, don’t stop.”

Her words seemed to end any doubts on his part, sending him into a sexual frenzy. Within minutes, he’d divested her of her shoes and bikini panties, then unzipped his jeans and lifted her to straddle his hips. She clung to him as he braced her against the mirrored wall. While she returned his wild, wet kisses, he thrust into her.

Paige threw back her head and cried out from the sheer joy of having him inside her. The tension spiraled upward and outward, a hotter, wilder passion than any she’d ever known.

Jared whispered dark, erotic, almost incoherent words to her as he claimed her. He was lost in the moment, not thinking, only feeling. Paige cried out as fulfillment spread through her and her release triggered his. They clung to each other, straining to hold on to the ecstasy, shuddering as the last quivers shot through their bodies.

When Jared lifted her face to kiss her, he saw tears in her eyes. “Did I hurt you, honey?”

“No. It’s…it’s just that I’ve never…I mean it was never like that before.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” He kissed her, softly, sweetly. “I haven’t been that wild for a woman since I was eighteen.”

Her cheeks flushed. Bending her head, she looked down at where their bodies were still pressed together. She eased her legs down his and tried to stand. When she wobbled, he grabbed her by the waist, then he drew in a deep breath and stepped away from her. She looked like a woman who had been thoroughly loved, and the very sight of her aroused him anew.

Seeing her reflection in the mirror, Paige sucked in a deep breath. Suddenly embarrassed, she tugged down her skirt and buttoned her jacket.

“Are you on the Pill?” Jared asked as he reached down and picked up her panties.

“What?” She grabbed the lace bikinis out of his hand and stuffed them into her beige leather purse, which she picked up off the floor.

“I didn’t use anything,” he said. “I got so carried away, I didn’t even think about protection. I’m sorry, Paige, I don’t usually do something that stupid.”

“Oh. I…”

“If you’re protected against pregnancy, then everything else should be all right, shouldn’t it?” Hell, how could he have forgotten to use a condom? He never forgot. “What I mean is that I’m always careful.” Until tonight. “You are, too, aren’t you?”

“Yes. There’s nothing to worry about at all.” Oh, dear God, Paige thought, she had just had sex with a man—a stranger—and hadn’t given a thought to protecting herself. She was twenty-five years old and she should have known better.

She tried to smile, but the effort failed. “You certainly found a very effective way to get my mind off my claustrophobia.”

He reached out to touch her and she moved out of his reach. “Unfortunately, I’ve never made love with a stranger before and I find the situation rather awkward.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, this is a first for me, too.” He grinned, then explained. “I’ve never made love to a stranger in an elevator, either.”

Nodding her understanding, Paige smiled weakly. “I—I don’t suppose many people have.”

Jared tucked in his shirt and zipped up his jeans. Now what? he wondered. Despite how awkward things were between them, they were stuck with each other for the time being.

He picked up his Stetson and set it on his head. “I suppose you live here in Grand Springs, don’t you? I’m from Texas. Just got into town today and—”

“Stop it, will you?” Crossing her arms over her chest, Paige leaned against the back of the elevator. “I don’t want to talk to you. Do you understand? I want to pretend that what happened didn’t happen. We’re strangers who will never see each other again once we leave this elevator, so let’s keep it that way.”

“You’re right,” he said. “We’re both better off not knowing anything about each other. Just a couple of ships that passed in the night.”

Jared slumped down on the floor, leaned back his head and drew his Stetson down over his eyes. Paige rummaged in her purse, pulled out a paperback book and began to read.

They ignored each other for quite a while. After checking her watch for the dozenth time, Paige wondered if they were going to be trapped in the elevator all night. The power had gone off around seven o’clock, more than four hours ago.

A rather loud banging caught their attention. The elevator vibrated ever so slightly.

“Hey down there!” a masculine voice called out. “How many of you are there?”

Jared glanced up and saw a man at the mezzanine level of the shaft. “Only two of us. Are you maintenance?”

“No, sir. I’m Troy Dodd with the fire department. We’d have been here sooner, but we didn’t know anyone was still in the building when the power went out.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Jared asked as he stood.

“Well, the whole town’s in the dark. Seems the heavy rainstorms caused a mud slide that buried Grand Springs’s only source of electricity.”

“Will you stop talking and get us out of here!” Paige said impatiently.

“Is your name Paige?” Troy Dodd asked.

“Yes. Why?”

“Your parents called and told us that you were probably trapped in the Wellman Building.”

She glanced at Jared, who smiled at her. That devastating killer smile.

“I was supposed to have dinner with them tonight,” she explained.

“Hey, folks,” Troy Dodd said, “we’re going to send down a lift chair and bring you two up, one at a time.”

“Jared, about what happened,” Paige whispered as they waited for the chair, “I want you to know—”

“You don’t have to say it, honey. What happened was a mistake. We lost our heads and went a little crazy.”

“Yes, we did.”

“The best thing we can do is forget about it. Right? Pretend it never happened.”

“Yes, of course. You’re right. It never happened.”

Fifteen minutes later, Paige and Jared stood on the mezzanine level of the Wellman Building and shook hands with the firemen. After thanking them for coming to the rescue, Paige said goodbye to Jared. They stared at each other for one, long, sweet moment, then Paige walked downstairs and into her mother’s open arms.

* * *

After thirty-six hours without electricity, thanks to the massive rainstorm and mudslides that destroyed everything in its path, Grand Springs was a flurry of activity on Monday morning. Jared arrived at his new office in the Wellman Building before any of the office staff. He had planned to be in town for a week before he turned the entire Grand Springs operation over to his manager, Greg Addison. As this Colorado branch of Montgomery Real Estate and Land Development expanded, it would be necessary for Jared to make trips more frequently and stay longer, so he’d told Greg to hire a secretary for him, someone capable of doubling as his assistant.

But the thirty-six-hour blackout upon his arrival had set the tone for the entire weekend, and Jared had decided to cut his visit short. It had been one wild, unexpected event after another. He’d said his goodbyes to Paige, telling himself he’d forget all about her, and left the Wellman Building with the firemen who had rescued them. Discovering how desperately volunteers were needed during the local emergency, he had offered his services. He hadn’t gotten a bath or a hot meal until Sunday morning when electricity had been restored and he’d checked into a local motel.

And he had dreamed about Paige. About touching her. Making love to her. For the past two days, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind.

Since Grand Springs wasn’t a big town, the longer he stayed, the greater the odds were that he and Paige would run into each other. He didn’t want that, and he suspected neither did she. What had happened between them had been a chance happening, a one-night stand to end all one-night stands.

“Trying to make the rest of us look bad?” Tall, lanky Greg Addison sauntered into Jared’s private office and sat down on the side of his desk. “I didn’t expect you until later in the day.”

“Since I’m going to be here only a couple of days, I want to make the most of my stay,” Jared said. “I need to meet your assistant and break in my new administrative assistant. You did hire someone for me, didn’t you?”

“Never fear. I hired a highly recommended woman on Friday afternoon.” Scooting off the desk, Greg stood and pointed toward the outer office. “As a matter of fact, Ms. Summers has just arrived. She’s outside talking to Kay.”

“Kay?”

“My assistant, Kay Thompson.”

“Well, I might as well meet them now. I want to brief my assistant on her duties and—”

“What’s the hurry? I thought you planned to spend the week.”

“My plans have changed,” Jared said.

“Blonde, brunette or redhead?” Greg asked.

Jared caught himself before he blurted out “redhead.” “I left some loose ends back in Texas I need to tie up, and I have to run down to Florida. Besides, we all can’t be playboys like you.”

Greg laughed heartily. “Yeah, sure. Tell that to someone who doesn’t know you the way I do.”

“Introduce me to the people you’ve hired.” Jared quickly changed the subject. “I’m especially eager to meet my administrative assistant. We have a lot to do before I leave town.”

“Right this way.”

Greg swung open the door and the two men exited Jared’s private office.

“Well, here they are,” Greg said. “Ms. Thompson, my assistant, and Ms. Summers, your assistant.”

“Ms. Thompson.” Smiling at the tall, slender brunette, Jared shook her hand, then turned to the other woman. “And this must be—” He stared at the curvaceous redhead who looked at him as if he had suddenly sprung a second head. Dear God, it couldn’t be. His assistant was Paige. His Paige…from the elevator!