Natural Born Daddy (21 page)

His expression sobered. “I want you to make this your home, to make whatever changes are necessary to make you and Dani comfortable here.”

Kelly kept silent about her intention to see that this was their home for as brief a time as possible. Instead she inquired, “Can I get rid of the white carpet?”

“Every boring inch of it,” he agreed readily.

His response, indicating his distaste for it, surprised her. “Exactly whose idea was that?”

He sighed. “Rexanne's.”

“I should have known. Obviously she wasn't the maternal type.”

“Do you really want to waste time discussing my former fiancée?”

“Did you have something else in mind?” she asked, even though she could see perfectly well by the gleam in his eyes exactly what he was thinking.

“Getting you back into this bed would be a start.”

Kelly pushed aside the memory of all of the angry exchanges earlier in the day. She deliberately squashed any thoughts of that terrible moment when she'd realized that Jordan's perception of their marriage hadn't changed drastically from the moment he'd first gotten the idea into his head and pursued her with single-minded determination.

In fact, she suspended thinking at all, clinging only to the promise that they could work out the details and make their marriage a real one.

She stripped quickly out of her clothes and moved into the waiting circle of his arms, into the heat emanating from his body. She lost herself to the gentle movement of the bed and the swell of anticipation in her heart as his hands caressed and stroked until every inch of her was on fire, burning with need.

She welcomed him into her, lifting her hips to meet him, opening her mouth to his tongue, then gasping with the sweet, sweet shock of coming apart in his embrace.

Worries and fears didn't vanish in that moment of surrender, but, for a time, they hardly seemed to matter at all. All that mattered was being close to Jordan, fulfilling the hunger that had been building
inside her since she'd first discovered the chemistry that was possible between a man and a woman.

The rest would still be there in the morning. She could tackle the problems then with a clearer head and a lighter heart. Or so she told herself as she drifted off to sleep, still resting her head against Jordan's chest, reassured by the steady rhythm of his heart and the unmistakable strength in the arms that held her tight.

* * *

Jordan thought the first night in their Houston home had gone rather well, all things considered. He had no doubt at all that the basic disagreement between them still existed, but when they were in each other's arms, little else seemed to matter.

That was what kept him from rolling out of bed at first light and heading to the office as he routinely would have done. He was reluctant to leave this haven they seemed to have found away from their differences.

Propped on an elbow beside her, he watched as Kelly slowly came awake. A soft smile came and went as she blinked, saw him, then closed her eyes again. A pleased, sensual expression remained on her face. He realized it was the first time he'd ever watched her wake up in the morning. She did it slowly, easing into the day in a way he found thoroughly fascinating.

“What time is it?” she murmured eventually, eyes still tightly shut.

“Six-thirty.”

“I should be up.”

“Why?”

“There's work…” she began, then let the sentence trail off.

“Nope,” he reminded her. “You're on vacation.”

She sat up, bringing the sheet with her and tucking it around her breasts. Jordan reached over and tugged it down. “Don't be shy with me,” he said. “Please.”

Though color climbed into her cheeks, she left the sheet where it had fallen, exposing her breasts to the chill air. The nipples puckered and hardened even as he watched. He swallowed hard against the tide of raw desire rolling through him. He couldn't resist, though, touching a finger to each sensitive peak. He was thrilled by the shudder that instantly swept through her.

“You are amazing,” he whispered hoarsely. “Your body is so responsive.”

“Jordan, don't you have to go to work?”

He couldn't tell from the ragged note in her voice if she was anxious for him to go or stay. “Sooner or later,” he murmured.

“Wasn't that the reason we came to Houston?” she asked.

He was too fascinated with the way the morning sun was casting highlights and shadows on her smooth skin to pay much attention to the note of determination in her voice. “Hmm?”

“I asked if the reason we are in Houston is so that you can go to your office,” she said.

This time it would have been impossible to miss the edge of exasperation in her voice. “Actually, we are in Houston because you made an issue of that damned compromise.”

As soon as he'd snapped out the retort, he realized his mistake. Up went the sheet…and the wall between
them. He sighed heavily and climbed out of the suddenly cold bed. This time he didn't intend to stick around to repair the damage.

“If you want me later, I'll be at the office,” he said stiffly. He took his clothes into the bathroom. “As you made clear, that is the only reason you agreed to come here.” With that, he slammed the door.

It appeared they were destined to have a far more volatile marriage than he'd ever anticipated, at least if he kept opening his mouth. Every time he did, he managed to put his foot squarely in it.

* * *

Kelly refused to linger in that huge waterbed all by herself, not with Jordan slamming things around in the bathroom and cursing a blue streak. She seemed to be testing his patience, which was just fine with her. Hers had snapped a long time ago.

Downstairs, she snatched up the phone and dialed his office. As she'd anticipated, Ginger was already at her desk.

“Hey, Kelly,” the secretary said at once. “How's it going?”

Kelly wasn't about to give her the earful that question deserved. “Fine.”

“If you're looking for Jordan, he's not in yet. In fact, I thought he was still over at your place trying to talk you into marrying him.”

“He won that battle,” Kelly said dryly. “We're into the full-scale war now.”

“Uh-oh,” Ginger murmured. “What can I do?”

“Are you free for lunch?”

“Why, sure. I'm getting sick of eating those little cartons of yogurt at my desk. You want to meet me here at noon?”

“I think we'd better meet at the restaurant.” She named one close to Jordan's office. It was the same one he had traditionally taken her to when they'd met to catch up on each other's lives in what now seemed a far simpler time in their relationship. “Is that okay?”

“Sure thing. See you there at noon.”

“Meanwhile, prepare yourself. My husband is in a snit.”

“Well, damn,” Ginger said. “I was hoping marriage to you would mellow him out.”

“Not so far,” Kelly admitted grimly.

She spent the next half hour staying out of Jordan's path. It wasn't all that difficult. He appeared to head straight from the bathroom out the front door without so much as a backward glance. It was an interesting route given that the more logical access to the garage was through the kitchen where she was seated drinking her coffee. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps she shouldn't have had this little meeting with Ginger
before
the wedding.

She sighed. Too late for second thoughts now. She just needed a refresher course in what made her husband tick. All those tips she'd stored away since childhood needed to be updated to deal with the grown-up idiosyncrasies.

A few hours later, after taking a taxi into town, she was seated in a booth across from the perky, sensible redhead who was Jordan's right arm at the office. Ginger was scrutinizing her with obvious fascination.

“Okay,” she said finally, “how'd he talk you into it?”

Kelly shrugged. “I wish I knew. One minute I was saying no, no, no, and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of a minister saying I do.”

Ginger nodded. “He has that effect on people. I can't tell you the deals that seemed on the verge of falling through, only to turn completely around at the last possible second. You've known him forever, though. You should be immune to his tactics.”

“He's never tried these particular tactics on me before.” She chuckled. “And frankly, I doubt he's used the same ones in business.”

“Ah,” Ginger said knowingly. “
Those
tactics.”

“Among others. He got Dani on his side, too, and that pretty much sealed the deal.”

“How's he taking to being a daddy?”

“Oddly enough, that seems to be the part of all this he has nailed. He's a natural. He and Dani are like co-conspirators, always making plans and whispering secrets.”

“Sounds as if you feel left out,” Ginger observed.

“Not at all. I'm thrilled they get along so well. I just wish he and I could communicate as easily.”

Ginger's face fell. “But you two were always able to talk. I envied you. DeVonne's not big on communication.” She grinned. “Not verbal communication, anyway. You and Jordan, though, could always talk about anything. He used to say that all the time.”

“I guess that must have been before the stakes got to be so high.”

“Meaning that marriage changes things,” Ginger concluded. “Maybe that's because it's almost impossible to lose a best friend, but people are getting divorced all the time. You've already been through
that, so you know it's a real possibility. That makes you start pulling your punches, being less honest than you ought to be, am I right?”

Kelly gave her a rueful grin. “I'm not sure Jordan would agree that I've been pulling any punches, but actually you're exactly right.”

“Seems to me like that's the perfect way to ruin the best thing you two had going for you.”

“It is, isn't it?” Kelly murmured thoughtfully. “Ginger, you're a genius.”

The young woman grinned back at her. “Well, of course I am.” She sighed. “Now if you could just convince Jordan to move our offices to west Texas.”

Kelly laughed. “You're reading my mind. That was the other thing I wanted to talk to you about today. Is that feasible?”

“Why, sure it is. He might have to fly here for meetings every so often, but half of what he does can be done by phone and fax. I've been telling him that for ages now, but he's too bullheaded to listen. If you ask me, he was just afraid if he moved back, he'd be under his daddy's thumb again.”

“Harlan's not even in the oil business,” Kelly protested, though she didn't doubt for a second that Ginger was exactly right.

“You know, I love that man, but Harlan does have his opinions. It doesn't seem to matter that he's not in oil. He still manages to offer Jordan unsolicited advice about a dozen times a week.”

“And what does Jordan do?”

“Sometimes he puts him on the speaker phone, mumbles an appropriate response when the occasion arises and gets on with his paperwork. Those are the good times. Then there are the times when he slams
the phone down so hard it breaks. I've taken to keeping a new stock of telephones in the supply closet. The phone company loves those calls. It's probably paying Harlan to make them.”

Kelly couldn't help chuckling at the image. It was vintage Jordan and Harlan. They'd always scrapped like willful, territorial puppies. She was still laughing when she heard a polite, masculine cough and looked up to find her husband's watchful, suspicious gaze focused straight on her.

“Something amusing?” he inquired.

Kelly swallowed hard. “Actually, yes.”

Ginger, the little traitor, bounced out of the booth as if she'd heard a fire alarm. “Thanks for lunch, Kelly. Congratulations, again!”

Kelly nodded distractedly, her gaze locked with her husband's as she tried to gauge his mood. “Thanks for…everything.”

Ginger scooted past Jordan. “‘Bye, boss.”

“Ginger,” he acknowledged coolly. He slid into the space his secretary had vacated. “You two catching up?”

“Yes.” Suddenly the booth felt very crowded. It wasn't just Jordan's size, but all those suspicions he clearly had.

“Or conspiring?” he asked.

“Now what on earth would we have to conspire about?”

He shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe moving the office to west Texas?”

Kelly groaned. “You heard.”

“Every word,” he confirmed. “And I do not break phones when I talk to Daddy.”

“Oh?”

“I break them after, when I throw them across the room.”

She chuckled. “You're not really furious at me for talking to Ginger, are you?”

He sighed. “Why would I be furious? You were asking a question, one that unfortunately plays right into Ginger's hands. She's been bugging me to make the same move for ages, so she can keep her job and her marriage.”

Kelly figured he hadn't exploded yet, so she might as well pursue the point. “So why haven't you considered it?”

“It never made sense. My life was here.”

“Your business life or just Rexanne and all of her predecessors?”

His mouth twisted into a wry smile. “Probably the latter more than anything.”

“But that's no longer true. Now your social life—your family life—is clear across the state.” She reached over and put her hand on top of his. “Please, won't you just think about it?”

He studied her intently. “Does it mean that much to you?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “It does.”

“Do you hate Houston so much? Is it because of Paul?”

She shook her head, not entirely willing to explain the whole truth of it. Her disastrous marriage was one element, but actually a very small one. Then she recalled what Ginger had said about pulling punches.