“There is no going forward.” She had made a grave tactical error with him, and she knew it. He had taken control from the first moment, and he wasn’t letting it go. “I’ve decided enough is enough. It’s more than obvious I can’t handle you, let alone both of you.” She waved her hand toward the silent, amused Chase.
Amusement glittered in his eyes. “You already have.”
Jaci stared back at him in disbelief, and she had to admit to the temptation rushing through her at the amused passion, the arrogance in his eyes.
“You couldn’t handle it seven years ago. You were too young then, and I knew it. You’re not too young to understand it now, Jaci.”
“No. Now, I’m old enough to know a disaster walking when I see it,” she said, her voice scathing. “And that’s what you and Chase are to any woman’s heart, Cameron Falladay. A disaster walking.”
He chuckled, the deep rumble of amusement stroking across her senses, despite her determination to remain resolute.
He leaned closer, and rather than retreating, she felt frozen before him, staring back at him, mesmerized by the fire in those light green eyes.
“So much pleasure,” he whispered. “Remember how good it was last night, Jaci. How hot and sweet, and so good you thought you were going to die from it.”
She could feel the sizzle in her womb, the need for that pleasure further dampening the flesh between her thighs. Dangerous. The potential for destruction was rising daily.
“You have to leave, remember?” She forced herself back from him, but she couldn’t force back the images raging through her mind, or the fire it built low in her belly.
Just the thought of last night. The thought of being wanton, sexual, of taking all the pleasure she had ever dreamed of and knowing she was safe within it, was a temptation she found hard to deny, now that she had experienced it.
“We’ll see,” he murmured, stepping back to return to the living room.
“You’ll see,” she informed him, rather pleased by the strength in her voice. She didn’t sound as though she were ready to submit and lay prone before the Falladay brothers, as they covered her in nothing but lust.
He smiled at her declaration. That sexy smile. The way his slightly fuller lower lip tempted her to taste it, and the way his eyes encouraged her to be bad, was a potent combination.
“I’ll see you in the morning.” He turned on his heel and headed for the door. “I’ll pick you up on my way into the office and take you home tomorrow evening. If you need anything or need to go into town at any time, Chase or I will take you.”
“Why?” Stunned, she followed after him. “I can rent a car.” She would rent a car. She didn’t need to spend any more time with the Falladay twins than she absolutely had to. That was a recipe guaranteed to wear away at her resistance.
“Why rent a car? I pass by here daily on my way into Ian’s home office. The hotel charges an outrageous price for parking, and it would be inconvenient.”
“Then I’ll get a cab.”
He was silent for long moments, just watching her, those eyes piercing inside her.
“Don’t push me,” he finally said softly. “I’m walking away now because I understand that pushing you too fast right now isn’t a good idea. But I won’t give up the few chances I’ll have to get to know you again. And I won’t let you throw them away.”
“You would have to invest yourself first, Cam, and we both know you can’t do that,” she accused, hearing the roughness in her own voice, the fear in it.
She was weak, too weak to spend any more time in his company than she absolutely had to.
“However you want to see it.” Powerful shoulders lifted in a careless shrug. “But you don’t want to fight me too hard right now. My self-control isn’t at its best when you’re around. It never has been. And if push comes to shove, we both know, the lust is going to win. So let’s not tempt that beast today.”
For a second, the savagery of his determination held her speechless. And it wasn’t fear that caused it. It was the incredible need to do just as he had warned her not to. To tempt the lust raging in his expression.
“I’ll see you at nine in the morning.” His fingers grazed her cheek, the incredible gentleness in that touch at odds with the battle she saw raging in his eyes. Because he wanted to tempt it as well. He wanted to push it and see how hot they would both burn, and she knew it.
Unfortunately, the fallout was going to be destructive.
Before she could argue, he unlocked the door and jerked it open, and as she stood there watching, he and Chase left the suite, closing the door behind them and blocking the sight of the worst temptation she had ever known in her life.
Cameron Falladay had the power to make her forget who she was and the lessons she had learned over the years. That was dangerous. He was dangerous to her heart and to her soul, and she had to force herself to remember that.
Nine o’clock the next morning came way too soon, as far as Jaci was concerned. The night before had been spent tossing and turning, visions of Cam and Chase moving through her dreams. Both twins filled with hunger, touching her, easing her into an embrace that sent fear roiling through her—because behind them, she could sense Richard and Annalee watching, waiting.
Not that she gave a damn what the two knew, she told herself repeatedly after she awoke. Unfortunately for them, a promiscuous reputation wouldn’t destroy her career. It could hamper it mildly at this point, because she was finally establishing herself. She didn’t give a damn about gossip; she had learned early not to. But they were a threat.
She could feel it in her dreams. They were waiting, watching, determined to destroy her. She had no idea how a relationship with Cam and Chase could affect the congressman and his wife. According to Courtney, Ian detested the congressman, though he had a mildly friendly relationship with Richard’s father-in-law, the senator.
Dreams were just that, she finally told herself, as she put the last touches to her makeup and hair before finishing the last cup of coffee from the pot she had ordered from room service along with her breakfast.
At nine o’clock on the dot a knock sounded on the door to her hotel suite.
She breathed in quickly, ran her fingers through her loose hair, pushed it back from her face, then strode to the door and checked to be certain it was Cam before opening it.