Mistress Minded by Katherine Garbera Page B

said. He tried to imagine what kind of upbringing that would be for a child. Especially one as sensitive as Jayne.
    Adam stood and seated himself behind her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her back against his chest. “What about your dad?”
    â€œI don’t know him.”
    Her neck was tempting him once again. It was long and slim and very elegant, and she tasted sweeter there than anywhere else. Did she really? he wondered. Deciding to test his theory, he bent and nibbled at her shoulder.
    â€œDoes he know about you?” Adam asked. It was one of his fears, and why he was also so careful when he slept with a woman. The thought of having a child out there he didn’t know about made his gut clench.
    He didn’t particularly want kids, which was why he had short-term affairs. He knew that children needed a father who’d love and protect them, a dad who would dedicate himself to his family. Adam had dedicated himself to business and a quest for vengeance against a man who was no longer alive.
    â€œMy mother left him before I was born. I saw him only once.”
    She shuddered in his arms and Adam tightened his grip around her, wanting to protect her from painful memories. “What was that like?”
    â€œYou don’t want to know.”
    â€œOf course I do,” he said. He didn’t understand it, but he needed to know everything about her.
    â€œI…I hid in my closet. And he tried to talk to me but I wouldn’t come out.” She rubbed her arms,because she couldn’t seem to stop shaking all of a sudden.
    â€œI’m sorry.”
    â€œDon’t be. I was a mistake neither he nor my mother had anticipated.”
    â€œSomeone called you a mistake?”
    â€œNot in so many words. But I felt like it.”
    He lowered them both to the blanket. Curling himself around her, he carefully made love to her, trying to erase the memories of her childhood with his body. He knew in his heart that any kind of relationship that he might propose would be intolerable to Jayne. She needed a man who could commit himself to her and brand her with his name and his ring.
    Adam refused to acknowledge the desperation in his actions as he brought Jayne to one shattering climax after another. He found he was sated himself only when she was covered with sweat and calling his name in a hoarse voice.
    And after his own orgasm ripped through him, leaving him shattered and weak, he cradled her close to his body and prayed for something he couldn’t put into words.

Nine
    A dam docked the boat smoothly that afternoon. Ray waited for them in the marina lounge. The rotund little man smiled when he saw them and offered Adam a cigar.
    â€œGo ahead, Adam. I want to try my hand at the treasure map, now,” Jayne told him.
    â€œI’ll go with you.”
    â€œAre you sure?” she asked. The Adam she’d come to know as her boss would never pass up an opportunity to meet with a prospective buyer.
    â€œYes,” he said, and there was a conviction in his expression that warmed her heart.
    Ray waved them off, and Adam took her hand. Heled her up the path toward a cave in the hills where the treasure of La Perla Negra supposedly resided.
    â€œWhy are you doing this? I know you don’t care about the treasure,” Jayne stated.
    â€œMaybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
    â€œThat’s doubtful. After all, I’ve been overseeing your office for almost a year now. I think I know the kind of man you are.”
    â€œWhat kind am I?”
    She wanted to keep things light, but every action that Adam had taken today had been something out of a dream. No, not a dream—her secret desires. The romantic picnic and their lovemaking had made her feel as if there was hope. That her love for Adam wasn’t necessarily one-sided and that the future might hold more for them than she’d ever dared imagine.
    â€œYou like the finer