Second Chance Proposal: A Man Without Mercy / Bring It On / Rancher to the Rescue

As much as Vivienne was tempted to say yes—it would solve the ‘where?’ problem—she could see that such an arrangement went against her highly independent nature. Not to mention her conscience. She didn’t want to feel Jack was paying her to have sex with him.

‘Like I said, Jack, I’m not that sort of girl. Look, I have an alternative suggestion which I think would work well for both of us.’

Jack smothered the sigh which threatened to escape his lungs.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Fire away.’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#ud8887f14-a148-5fbf-8088-29c9a3d45c2b)

‘THAT’S THE BEST news you could have told me,’ Marion said.

They were sitting having morning tea in Vivienne’s kitchen, Marion having dropped in to see how things had gone with Jack the previous day. Naturally Vivienne hadn’t told Marion the whole rather shocking truth, just that she had accepted Jack’s offer to redesign the interior of Francesco’s Folly, as well as her plan to live at the place whilst the job was being done. Though that wouldn’t be happening until contracts were exchanged in a couple of weeks.

Jack had seemed somewhat at odds with her live-in idea at first, until she’d pointed out that he could come visit her there every weekend, leaving him free during the week to concentrate on work. She’d boldly stated that she would be worth the wait, promising to be at his sexual beck and call for those two days. By the time Jack had dropped her back at her place late last night, he’d warmed to the idea, especially after having tested out what she meant by being at his sexual beck and call...

Vivienne, by then on the other hand, had been bombarded by a host of second thoughts. But she didn’t voice them out loud, her sated body not having had second thoughts at all. She’d slept like a log last night and had woken feeling marvellous, any lingering qualms easily pushed aside.

Already she was looking forward to seeing Jack again tonight. He’d promised to take her somewhere discreet, although he’d argued that their having dinner together could easily be explained away as a business dinner. She was, after all, going to be working for him.

And under him. And on top of him, he’d added wickedly.

Vivienne struggled to contain the heat which flooded her veins at the memory of all Jack had demanded of her yesterday. Positions which she supposed weren’t all that shocking, but which she’d never experienced before, let alone enjoyed. She was well aware of the woman being on top, but had never thought of it being done with the woman’s back to her lover. But, oh...she’d loved it that way. Loved riding him with her hands clasped around the rungs of the brass bed-end. Loved it that she could not see him watching her. That way, she’d been able to lose herself in her pleasure, uncaring of anything but the gathering of tension deep within her body. Had she screamed out loud when she’d come? Yes. Yes, she had. She was sure she had.

Oh God.

Vivienne swallowed.

‘Now I can go away next week without worrying about you,’ Marion was saying.

Vivienne blinked. ‘What was that? You’re going away?’ she asked a bit blankly.

Marion shook her head at her. ‘I thought you might have forgotten, what with everything that’s happened. I’m going to Europe for a holiday, remember? London first to visit some of my long-lost rellies, then over to Paris, and then I’m going for a cruise down the Rhine. Be gone nearly six weeks. You’ve no idea how much I’m looking forward to it. It’s been a long time since I had a decent holiday like that. But none of that for now. Tell me more about this house Jack bought. What’s its name again?’

‘Francesco’s Folly.’

‘Sounds rather romantic.’

Vivienne laughed. ‘It’s nothing of the kind,’ she said, thinking that she would never associate that house with romance. Just sex, along with lust and uncontrollable passion.

Vivienne suddenly frowned. How odd. They were not words which she’d ever associated with herself. She’d never fallen in lust before or suffered from uncontrollable passion. But she was definitely in lust with Jack Stone. And yes, when she was in his arms, she became uncontrollable with passion. She could hardly wait for tonight to come.

‘I have some photos of it, if you’d like to look at them,’ Vivienne offered. Perhaps unwisely, as it turned out. Because she couldn’t look at the various rooms without thinking of what they’d done in them, especially that spare bedroom with that old brass bed in it.

‘It’s going to be a big job,’ Marion said. ‘You’ll be away for weeks. Maybe even months!’

‘Possibly,’ Vivienne agreed, all the while thinking she didn’t care how long it would take.

Marion gave her one of her rather sharp looks. It was hard to put something over on Marion. She was very good at reading between the lines.

‘I was somewhat surprised by Jack Stone,’ she said. ‘He wasn’t nearly the ogre you’ve painted him out to be. I rather liked him.’

‘Yes, well, he can be quite nice when he wants something from you,’ she said drily. Which was very true.

‘He’s also better looking than I thought he’d be,’ Marion added.

‘He’s passable, I suppose,’ Vivienne said offhandedly as she sipped her coffee.

‘More than passable. But then, he’s my type. I’ve always liked manly men. My Bob was a manly man,’ Marion said in that wistful tone which warned Vivienne Marion was about to get maudlin over her long-dead husband. Normally, Vivienne didn’t mind listening to Marion’s memories of happier times, but not today. She didn’t want to hear about what true love felt like. And she didn’t want to think about lost loves.

Her phone ringing at that point was a blessed distraction until she picked it up and saw it was Jack calling. From the frying pan into the fire, she thought as her heart started racing and her head worried about Marion twigging what was going on between them.

‘Hello,’ she said, deliberately leaving out Jack’s name.

‘And hello back,’ he said. ‘Did you sleep well? I know I did.’

Vivienne could see Marion looking at her with curiosity in her eyes.

‘It’s Jack,’ she mouthed, as though it was nothing.

‘How nice of you to get back to me so quickly about the door,’ she said aloud to him.

Jack got the message straight away. ‘Ah...you have someone with you. Marion, I presume?’

‘Wow, that was quick,’ she said and he laughed. ‘So I can expect the man to come with the new door tomorrow,’ she went on in a matter-of-fact tone. ‘What time?’

‘Well, certainly not at seven in the morning,’ he said. ‘You’ll be too wrecked to get up that early after what I have in mind for you tonight.’

Vivienne swallowed convulsively as she struggled not to blush. But, oh, the heat which immediately flooded her body at his highly provocative words...

‘Noon will be fine,’ she said, amazed at how cool and calm she actually sounded. Who would have imagined she could be such a good actress? ‘Thank you, Jack. And thank you again for offering me such a wonderful job. I’m looking forward to it.’

He laughed again. ‘Not as much as I am, Miss Cool. Now, as much as I am enjoying this titillating conversation, I have to go now. Work calls. I’ll pick you up at seven tonight. And don’t wear anything too sexy, if you want to pass it off as a business dinner.’

Vivienne opened her mouth to reply but he’d already hung up. Which was just as well, with Marion listening avidly.

‘Fine,’ she said into the dead phone. ‘Thank you again. Goodbye.’

‘I think he likes you,’ Marion said straight away.

Vivienne put her phone back down on the table before answering.

‘What makes you say that?’

‘Feminine instinct. I mean, he could have employed any competent interior designer to do up this house of his, but he came looking specifically for you.’

As much as there was a part of Vivienne which was flattered by the truth in Marion’s statement, she wasn’t about to fall victim to thinking Jack had had anything but work in mind when he’d come in search of her the other day. What had happened between them was as unexpected to him as it was to her.

‘Yes, well, he knows my work, doesn’t he? He knows I’ll do a good job.’ And you’ll give him good head at the same time, came the truly wicked thought.