Crossing the Line Read online

  Caite shook her head. “I didn’t—”

  “I did,” Jamison said.

  Chapter Ten

  They were gorgeous. The most beautiful piece of jewelry Caite had ever owned. The most expensive, too. She’d made no protest at the banquet when Jamison had slipped them around her throat, but here in his apartment, standing in front of him, she couldn’t stop herself from being honest.

  “You didn’t have to do this, Jamison.”

  “I wanted to,” he said, turning with a glass of whiskey in his hand, the bottle in the other.

  “You can’t...buy me,” Caite said.

  For a moment, he only stared at her. Then he put the glass down. The bottle. He crossed to her in three long strides and took her by the arms, hard enough to hurt. Her heart lodged in her throat, pounding, and only half in fear.

  “Is that what you think I’m trying to do?”

  “I don’t know what you’re trying to do,” she told him. “I don’t have any idea about you. Who you are. What you want. I thought I did, but I was wrong.”

  “You weren’t wrong,” Jamison said, and went silent.

  Caite waited for him to speak, but when he didn’t, she sighed and briefly pressed her fingertips to the inside corners of her eyes. For a moment, her shoulders slumped as she fought to find the words she wanted—no, needed—to say. She looked up at him at last, desperate to see something in his face that would let her know what he was thinking, what he wanted from her. For them. But all she saw was a faintly neutral expression. Maybe he was waiting, too.

  But there was nothing much she could say other than the truth. “I’ll be tendering my resignation on Monday. I’ve been offered the chance to represent Tommy’s foundation on a permanent basis. Media campaign planning. That sort of thing. It’s not in violation of my noncompete agreement. I checked with Elise already.”

  She’d been expecting a few different reactions but not this one. Jamison growled. Then came at her like...well, like a wolf running down a deer. Except that Caite wasn’t running. She stood her ground when he grabbed her. Didn’t even tremble when he crushed his lips to hers.

  “No,” he said against her mouth. “You’re too damn good at the business. Wolfe and Baron can’t afford to lose you, Caite.”

  Everything inside her wanted to explode, but she kept herself very, very still. Jamison buried his face against her neck. Holding her. The embrace softened, and finally, she put her arms around him.

  “No,” he said again.

  She pushed him gently until she could look at his face. “Sit.”

  He did, in the oversize leather armchair in front of the fireplace, but pulled her onto his lap. She didn’t protest. She snuggled against him for a moment, listening to the sound of his breathing.

  “Elise isn’t coming back to work,” Jamison said. “She’s decided to stay home, do some consulting for us on a part-time basis. But mostly stay home after the baby’s born.”

  “She didn’t say anything about that when I talked to her,” Caite began, but Jamison cut in.

  “I talked to her. And we agreed that we wanted to ask you to join the company as a partner. Wolfe, Baron and Fox. We were going to talk to you about it together, but...”

  Caite laughed without much humor. “I told you, Jamison. You can’t buy me.”

  “This isn’t about buying you!” he shouted, then softened his tone immediately. “I’m sorry, Caite, I didn’t mean to shout. Please. Listen to me. I don’t want you to quit. I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want you to leave me.”

  Hope, the most dangerous of emotions.

  “I want to believe you. But I don’t know you,” she said finally. “I thought I did, but I don’t. At least, you don’t seem to want what I can give you.”

  Jamison shifted her on his lap. “What I want is you. Hell. Quit the business, don’t take a partnership. I don’t care. Just give me another chance.”

  She laughed at that and made to get up, but he held on to her just hard enough to change her mind. “You’re ashamed of us, Jamison. Of what we do together. And part of me understands that, because it was all new to me, too. But the other part of me doesn’t get it, because when I was with you, I never felt like I was crossing a line. I just felt...good. Happy.”

  “I did, too. What can I do to make you believe me?”

  As she looked into his eyes, believing him was all she wanted to do. “I don’t know.”

  Jamison frowned. They sat together that way for another minute or so, until at last she cuddled against him, tucking her head into the curve of his shoulder. They breathed together, in and out, in perfect sync. She put her hand on his chest to feel the thumping of his heart.

  “I was wrong,” Jamison said finally. “I was proud and wrong, and, yes, I was ashamed. It’s hard, you know. To let go. And to have someone see it... I was embarrassed.”

  “I know.” She nuzzled his throat, letting her tongue taste him for a second or so. Underneath her, she felt him stir, and it made her smile despite herself.

  He sat back to look at her face. “Can you forgive me?”

  “You’re not a man who’s used to apologizing.” She thought on that for a second. “Thank you. And yes. Of course I can forgive you.”

  “Can you forget, though?” He smiled a little.

  “No.” Caite shook her head. “I can’t do that. But I can look past it. I can let it be unimportant.”

  Jamison nodded. “If that’s the best I can hope for, I’ll take it.”

  “That’s not negotiation,” Caite said sternly. “You can do better than that.”

  Then they were laughing together, slow rolling giggles that surged up and out of them both until the air rang with them. And then they were kissing, over and over again. Hands roaming. He was hard and she was straddling him, cupping his face in her hands. How could she ever have thought she wouldn’t give him a second chance?

  “I want more than four nights a week with you,” Jamison said. “In return, I offer breakfast every morning.”

  “Done. But you have to give me half the closet space,” she told him. “And never, ever use my toothpaste. And I will not use your razor for my legs, even if I don’t have one.”

  “Agreed. So...we have a deal?” he asked, giving her a wicked grin. “Do we sign the contract?”

  Slowly, Caite rocked against his hardness until his fingers tightened on her hips and his lips parted. He got that look in his eyes. And then she said, “Let’s just say the negotiations have begun.”

  Jamison let out a small groan at the press of her against him. “Is this going to be a complicated negotiation?”

  “I don’t think so,” Caite breathed. “I think it’s going to be very simple. You do your best to make me happy, and I’ll do the same for you.”

  “I love you,” he said. “And I can’t promise you I’ll always know what to do, but I can promise you I’m always going to give you everything I can.”

  “I love you, too,” Caite said. “And I’ll take it.”

  * * * * *

  About the Author

  Megan Hart is an award-winning and multipublished author of more than thirty novels, novellas and short stories. Her work has been published in almost every genre, including contemporary women’s fiction, historical romance, romantic suspense and erotica. Megan lives in the deep, dark woods of Pennsylvania with her husband and children, and is currently working on her next novel for Harlequin MIRA. You can contact Megan through her website at www.meganhart.com.

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