Текст книги "Checkmate"

Автор книги: R. L. Mathewson

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

Chapter 16

"H-h-how many?" Amber, the hostess and a woman who'd graduated two years ahead of them in high school, asked as she noticeably struggled to tear her eyes away from the sight of Connor holding her hand. That was understandable because right now Rory was struggling with a nervous breakdown.

Connor O'Neil was holding her hand, in public, on purpose, and she liked it, a little too much, but sadly that wasn't the worst part. The most frightening? Yes, but not the worst part. No, the worst part was that every single person in the bar had stopped talking, eating, dancing, and drinking to stare at them. It was actually a little bit unnerving to be able to hear the jukebox playing Kelly Clarkson's Mr. Know It All, which she normally liked, but right now it was creeping her out as everyone stared at them as if they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing.

They were never going to be able to pull this off. Not that she really cared. She really didn't. Although, it would be nice to be able to go a day without someone pointing at her or being asked to leave a store or restaurant because Connor was already there and the damn establishment was one of fifty-seven that had the damn rule about not allowing both of them inside at the same time. It was really an inconvenient little rule and one that she wouldn't mind having lifted. Having the banned and no trespass orders lifted wouldn't exactly hurt either, but none of that was worth this little nightmare.

Unfortunately for her, Strawberry Manor was worth it. Otherwise she wouldn't be here at the moment. She'd probably be back at the site putting in a couple more hours before calling it a night. Not that she could do much with her arm broken, but it was still enough to bring them one step closer to their goal.

If they didn't meet the deadline not only would their reputations be marred, but they'd lose the bonus money and she wasn't about to let that happen. She'd worked her butt off for years building her reputation for running a dependable company and she wasn't about to let the project of her dreams change that. They would finish this project on time along with those suites and Shadow Construction's reputation would be set for life.

"How many?" Amber asked, shooting a nervous look over to Phil, the manager, who was acting as the backup bartender for the night.

Rory nearly sighed with relief. Phil ran a tight ship and had several strict rules when it came to them and thankfully this was one of the fifty-seven establishments that didn't allow them in at the same time. He was going to throw her out on her ass and she couldn't wait. So when Phil only shrugged a moment later she nearly stomped her foot in frustration. What the hell kind of manager was he that he couldn't even follow his own rules? Rules were made for a reason!

"Two," Connor said as he released her hand and before she could sigh with relief or make a run for it, he had his arm around her shoulders and was pulling her closer.

She felt her cheeks burn as every eye in the restaurant watched that move. Oh, she was never going to live this down. This moment of stupidity was never going to be forgotten. Years from now people were still going to talk about this. She couldn't do this. She couldn't go through with this farce. She couldn't-

A collective gasp sounded throughout the restaurant, but she couldn't really care about that, not with Connor kissing her. One thing she could say about the life ruining bastard, he sure knew how to kiss, and well, very well, she thought as he moved his lips against hers one more time before pulling away. He didn't go far before he leaned back in and pressed one last rather sweet kiss against her lips and then one to her cheek before he whispered in her ear, "Relax, Rory."

"This is so going on my Facebook page," someone said, drawing her attention away from Connor and his surprisingly soft lips. She looked past the shocked hostess in time to see several people put away their phones.

Great, her humiliation was about to go viral, she thought with a little whimper that had Connor chuckling as he once again took her hand in his and pressed a rather sweet kiss to the back of it. Damn, the man was good, she thought as she allowed him to lead her through the crowded restaurant towards a back booth where the waitress waited, looking a little more relaxed as she ran an appreciative eye over Connor.

Not that Rory could really blame the woman. The man did look especially yummy tonight, she decided as she was forced to walk behind him so that they could squeeze past a couple of tables full of gawkers. She used the opportunity to run an appreciative eye over the man.

She'd seen a lot of good looking men in her life, but none were as hot as Connor. Of course, her brothers and cousins would argue that since they were all arrogant bastards, especially her cousins, she thought with a fond smile, but she didn't care. Connor O'Neil was the first boy she'd noticed and he'd only gotten better with age, she decided as she ran her eyes up his long legs, over his firm behind perfectly encased in light brown pants, and up his well defined back, wide shoulders and perfectly combed honey blonde hair.

After she was done with her perusal, her eyes dropped back down to his backside while she fought back a groan of embarrassment. He was dressed up while she was wearing a tee shirt and jeans and for the first time in her life she wished she'd taken the time to find a pretty dress, shoes and done her makeup instead of just taking a shower, blow drying her hair and throwing on the first thing she found when she opened her bureau. She knew that she was beautiful and normally she didn't really care, but tonight she kind of wished that she'd played it up a bit.

Not that this was a real date. It wasn't, but that didn't mean that she wanted this to look like he was going out with her out of pity. If anything, people should be wondering why she was out with him, not the other way around.

"You look beautiful tonight," Connor said with a secret little smile as if he could read her mind and he probably could by this point, she thought as he pressed a kiss to her forehead before gesturing for her to slide into the small cozy booth.

She fought the battle to look over her shoulder and lost several times. Sure enough, everyone in the bar was now watching them with rapt attention. Several people were actually leaning forward, resting their chins on their fists as they watched her and Connor like they were the best thing on television. She was used to people watching them as they waited to see if they were going to kill each other, but this was ridiculous.

"Your waitress is, Susan," Amber said distractedly as she threw Connor a wistful look.

Well, that was kind of insulting. As far as everyone here knew they were on a date. Granted, it wasn't a real date, but they didn't know that. She'd bet a huge cup of cocoa that Amber was going to find a way to slip her number into Connor's hand before the night was over.

"I'm not interested," Connor said, dragging her attention back to him.

He leaned back in the bench across from her and nodded towards Amber's retreating back as if she'd asked or cared. She really didn't. He could kiss every woman in town and she wouldn't bat an eye. Nope, it wouldn't bother her at all, she thought absently as she considered kicking Connor beneath the table and wiping that knowing look off his face.

"So, you want to tell me why you're really doing this?" she asked, deciding that she'd had enough of his games over the past week. She knew that he really wasn't worried about how they were treated enough to force her to go through with this farce. She believed that it probably aggravated him as much as it did her and he'd probably be happy if it stopped, but she knew him well enough to know that wasn't his real intention. So, the question remained, what exactly was he up to?

"I told you why," he said, reaching out and taking her good hand into both of his and for the moment she allowed it.

For whatever reason, it was important to him that people believed that they were together and she really had no choice but to go along with it. Maybe if she figured out what he wanted, she could turn the tables on him and get her project free and clear.

"Fine. Don't tell me the real reason," she said with a bit more attitude than she'd meant to, but she couldn't help it. She was tired, her ribs and arm were still a little sore. She’d missed her nightly hot chocolate fix when she got home, and to make matters worse, the way Connor was looking at her, kissing her and couldn't seem to stop touching her was seriously screwing with her head.

Connor laced their fingers together as he gestured for Susan, a pleasant woman in her late forties, who used to teach the fourth grade until an unfortunate incident involving the two of them and a fire hose during a school assembly years ago ended her career. Rory had to admit that it was nice to see the woman smile again and the limp was barely noticeable these days. Not that she took the blame for the woman's injury. She didn't. To this day she still didn't know why the woman took off screaming when she spotted them.

At least the woman was able to put her past behind her and move on, Rory thought seconds before Susan noticed Connor gesturing her over. Her smile quickly disappeared as an expression of pure terror took its place. She shook her head in disbelief as she stumbled back, mumbling to herself before she blindly reached out for Amber as the other woman moved to walk past her. Rory watched as Susan whispered something to Amber as she gestured wildly in their direction. When Amber nodded, Susan tore off her apron and took off running through the crowded restaurant.

Rory really hated when that happened.

"Do you want to dance?" Connor asked, drawing her attention as she watched Susan shove a couple out of her way in her desperate attempt to get away from them.

"Dance?" she asked, shifting her eyes to the right to find everyone still watching them, but at least now they were trying to pretend that they weren't.

It really shouldn't bother her, but it did. She didn't like being on display and although she would have normally jumped at the chance to dance since she didn't get to do it often, probably because no one ever asked her, she didn't want to tonight. She wasn't a very good dancer, probably from lack of practice and she really didn't feel like giving half the town something else to talk about.

She was just about to tell him no when Phil walked up to their table and sighed heavily with obvious annoyance. "You have to leave."

"And why's that?" Connor asked casually as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Two of my waitresses just quit and the other six are refusing to come out of the kitchen until I swear on my balls that I won't make them serve you," he said with a shrug.

"See what I'm talking about?" Connor asked as he nodded and moved to stand, never releasing her hand as he did. It didn't surprise her that he didn't argue with Phil since it was pointless. They were being kicked out and nothing they said or did would change that.

"It's only because we're in here together. If I had come alone, I would already be on my second cup of cocoa and making fun of you with the waitresses," Rory felt obligated to point out.

Instead of glaring at her or getting pissed like he normally would have, Connor simply shot her a grin and a wink as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They followed after Phil, who was making damn sure that they left. He seemed relaxed and carefree and heaven help her, but she actually liked him this way, which of course only made her want to kick his ass even more.

He was up to something, something big and she wished he would just get it over with and stop screwing with her head. She didn't want to like him and with every touch and smile he was making that impossible to resist.

* * * *

"Please tell me that you're not actually following me," Rory said, abruptly stopping and almost causing him to crash into her since his eyes had been locked on her ass and not on the stone walkway.

He caught himself just in time and even managed to look up before Rory had the chance to turn around and catch him staring at her ass, again. It didn't help that the effort caused his eyes to roam over her chest and since they were there, they may have taken a moment to appreciate what Rory had to offer. What he wouldn't give to see Rory naked and have five minutes just to appreciate the woman. She was so beautiful and he had absolutely no doubts that her body was just as perfect. As his mind registered Rory cupping his face, he couldn't help but wonder if his fantasies over the years came close to the real thing.

"Care to explain why you're following me?" Rory asked once his eyes moved the rest of the way up her body and met her gorgeous eyes.

"To say goodnight," he said, frowning and wondering why she even had to ask.

"Uh huh," she said, returning his frown. "Didn't we say goodnight in the truck?"

"You mean when you climbed out of the truck, slammed the door shut, and walked off without a word?"

"Yes," she said, nodding.

"How exactly is that a proper goodbye for a date?" he had to ask.

"Because this isn't a real date," she said in an exasperated tone that he simply chose to ignore since he was too busy trying to hold back an annoyed sigh.

Why did she have to be so difficult?

"Of course it is," he said, taking her good hand into his and gave it a gentle tug as he headed for her front door where he planned on giving her a proper goodbye, for appearance sake of course. He was not looking forward to taking her into his arms.

Not at all.

He was only doing this for the neighbors hiding behind their curtains and blinds as they spied on the two of them and for the neighbors standing in their driveways and on the sidewalks, holding flashlights as they openly watched the two of them. Since they had to appear to be a couple in love, then he really had no choice in the matter, he thought with a smile. He had to kiss Rory James.

Poor him.

"No, it's not," Rory said, stepping up beside him in front of her door as she shot a nervous look towards their neighbors.

"Of course this is a date, Rory," he said, drawing her attention back to him where it should be.

This was his time with her and he'd be damned if he shared it with anyone else. He might need their neighbors and the rest of the people in town to spread word to her brothers that they were dating, but that didn't mean that he'd allow them to fuck up their time together. Rory James was his for five months and he fully planned on enjoying his time with her, especially since she'd probably never talk to him again after he stole her brothers from her and ran her out of business.

"How exactly was this a date, Connor?" she asked, shooting another glance towards their nosy neighbors, who were really starting to aggravate the hell out of him.

"I picked you up, took you out to dinner-"

"We didn't actually eat," she mumbled distractedly as she frowned at something behind him.

He looked over his shoulder and nearly groaned when he saw several of their neighbors and some people that didn't even live in their neighborhood, gathering in front of her house and holding cameras trained on the two of them. With a sigh, he shifted in front of her, giving them his back and effectively blocking their view and bringing Rory's attention right back to him.

"That's not my fault that I didn't get to take you out to dinner, Rory," he felt obligated to point out. He'd taken her to a restaurant, hadn't he? It wasn't his fault that they were asked to leave because of some bullshit rule that better get lifted and soon.

"How is that not your fault?" she demanded, yanking her hand free so that she could prop her hands on her hips as she glared at him. "You're the one that got us banned from that restaurant in the first place!"

"No, I wasn't," he said, mostly because he couldn't remember exactly why they'd been banned from O'Malley's, but he was sure that it was Rory that got them banned.

"You made my date have a nervous breakdown!" she snapped, but that didn't really help him since several of the guys that she dated had that unfortunate response when he got involved.

"How exactly would that get us banned?"

"They had to call a priest to come talk him off the roof!" she snapped.

He shook his head and with a shrug and said, "Still not seeing the problem."

With an eye roll and a muttered, "I give up," she turned to let herself into the house and end their date, but he wasn't about to let that happen. Whether she liked it or not, she was his date and he wouldn't be denied the best part of the evening.

The kiss goodnight.

Chapter 17

"What are you doing?" she mumbled nervously as Connor cupped her face in his warm hands and leaned in.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Rory?" he asked with that bad boy smile of his that did not make her stomach do funny things.

"I-I'm not really sure," she said in a daze as her mind registered that he was going to kiss her. Instead of getting pissed or at the very least, disgusted by the idea she was surprised to discover that she wanted to kiss him.

She wanted to kiss Connor O'Neil.

This was so wrong, she thought as his lips came in contact with hers. The contact was brief, sweet and not nearly enough. When she placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned into him, it was only because of their deal. For her project she had to kiss the hottest man in town. It was a hardship, but at the moment she decided that she'd just have to suck it up and deal with it.

As long as they kept it to kisses and perhaps a few touches then that was fine. She could handle that, but sex was definitely out of the question. She might be attracted to the man, more so lately, but that didn't mean that she planned on whoring herself out for a project.

Granted, most people were just going to assume that she slept with him, but she really didn't care what they thought. The only thing that mattered was that she knew that she wouldn't. There would be no sex with the bastard, she reminded her body even as she used her hold on Connor and pulled him closer until her breasts were plastered against his chest. He let out a sexy growl as he wrapped his arms around her and moved to deepen the kiss.

She'd been kissed by plenty of men in her life, but that hadn't prepared her for a kiss from Connor. The first sweep of his tongue had her panting and holding onto his shoulders for dear life and the second had her fighting against the urge to climb him then and there. What the hell was wrong with her? she wondered as she met him stroke for stroke.

Instead of enjoying this, she should have kept it simple with a quick peck on the cheek, gone inside, grabbed a mug of cocoa and tried to come up with a few ideas on how to get out of this deal and keep her project. She definitely should be doing that now. It wasn't too late, she absently thought as she suckled on Connor's tongue.

"Oh my God!" a woman whispered loudly. "They're going to do it on the front lawn!"

She felt Connor go still against her as mortification set in. During her little make out session with Connor she may have forgotten about their audience. She'd never been one for PDAs and here she was practically swallowing Connor's tongue. This was bad, this was very bad, she thought as they pulled apart.

"Goodnight," Connor said tightly and as much as she'd love to kick him for making her forget about their audience, she was still a little breathless from their kiss and mortified by the knowledge that everyone in town would probably know about this little slip in judgment by tomorrow morning. This was the last thing she needed right now.

With an absent nod, she turned around, opened her front door, barely aware of Bunny slipping past her, his growl or Connor's curse as she shut the door behind her and ran for her kitchen. Once she was in her kitchen, she didn't hesitate in making a double chocolate, extra large, extra creamy cup of cocoa. When it was done, she closed her eyes and sipped the hot tasty liquid until she'd consumed every last drop.

This was very bad, not the cocoa, that was really good, but the fact they'd been interrupted and she actually wanted to scream in frustration and drag Connor into her house, push him down on the couch and mount him while she went back to enjoying his kisses. She hated him, hated everything about him, she tried to remind herself as she reached out to grab the cocoa mix and make another mug of cocoa since the first one apparently hadn't done the trick.

Connor was a very bad man that she didn't want, who made her life a living hell and was a hell of a kisser, and blackmailed her into a situation where she had to suffer through the hottest kisses of her life and as long as she remembered all of that she would be-

A startled gasp escaped her as she suddenly found herself turned around and pressed back against the counter and in Connor's arms as he picked up right where they left off. It actually frightened her how fast her arms wrapped around his neck, her chest pressed tightly against his as she welcomed him. How could something so wrong feel so good, so right? It shouldn't. Heaven help her, but this felt too good to stop, but she knew that somehow she'd manage to do just that.

In a little while.

Right now she was too busy getting into character as Connor suggested. This was for the good of the project, her dream and now that Connor was gently suckling on her tongue she realized that this was an excellent idea. If they were going to pull this off then they needed to behave like a real couple. What better way to do that then to kiss and he damn well better keep kissing her, she decided as he grabbed her hips and picked her up, placing her onto the edge of the counter.

If she wasn't so focused on kissing him, she'd probably be horrified at how quickly her legs parted to welcome him and the way she sighed in pleasure as he took her up on her invitation. When he gripped her hips and dragged her the half inch or so until she was sitting on the edge of the counter she might have whimpered. When she felt him hard, heavy and pressed exactly where she needed him, she may have moaned and wrapped her legs around him.

"No sex," she said against his lips as she struggled against the urge to roll her hips against him. Kissing and enjoying the way it felt to be in his arms was fine, and as long as she remembered that this was only meant to help create the illusion of a relationship, then everything would be fine.

"No sex," Connor agreed against her lips as his hold around her tightened and he once again deepened the kiss. When he didn't push for anything else or try to argue, she felt herself relax.

Maybe this deal wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * * *

"We should get going," Rory said, pulling away only to come right back again and kiss him in a way that should be illegal.

"Yeah, we should," he said, placing his hands on her hips and helping her move until she was straddling his lap. When she settled herself on his lap he wanted to groan in pleasure at how good she felt and roar in frustration, because he knew that this was as close as he'd ever get to her.

It was enough, more than enough, he told himself as he did his best to ignore the little moans she made as she struggled not to move on his lap. When her breaths sped up and her grip on his shoulders tightened he had to stop himself from putting them both out of their misery by thrusting up against her. It was difficult, surprisingly even more difficult than it had been last night, but what a night that had been.

They made out in her kitchen, in her living room after they managed to pull apart and agreed that they'd practiced for long enough. Then he made the mistake of sitting down on her couch and boom, Rory was somehow back on his lap and they were making out like teenagers. Two hours later, Rory pulled away and they said goodnight, from a distance. He was willing to call it a night, but then he spotted Rory out on her patio and one thing led to another and he somehow found himself on her lounge chair and on top of her, kissing her.

When they finally managed to part, several hours later, they both agreed that they definitely had the kissing aspect of their relationship down and should probably just kiss only when it was necessary. The moment she stepped out of her house this morning he felt that it was very necessary, for appearance sake of course. It hadn't mattered that it was six in the morning and that no one else in their quiet neighborhood was around to witness the kiss, he had to kiss her.

Once they managed to break apart, ten minutes later, he stole her hot chocolate thermos and once again drove her to work. Well, at least halfway there before he had to pull to a stop at the stop light and just like that they were at it again. They'd probably still be at it at that intersection if Mr. Jenkins, the seventy year old crossing guard who used to blow his whistle anytime the man saw him and Rory walking on the same side of the street, hadn't blown that damn whistle right outside his door.

After they separated and went to their respective sides, he realized that he was starving and he decided to pick up some coffee and donuts. Once they placed their order-

"Um, excuse me?"

With a sigh, Connor pulled his mouth away from Rory's so that he could glare at the pimple faced bastard that interrupted them.

"Your order?" the kid said, shifting nervously as he held up two white bakery boxes.

Instead of freaking out or getting embarrassed about getting caught making out in the drive thru line, Rory grabbed the twenty he'd been holding in his hand and passed it over to the kid. She took the boxes of donuts and moved off his lap, their kiss forgotten as her attention turned to the chocolate dipped glazed donuts that she'd demanded he order. He ordered them, but only after she gave him a kiss.

He waved the change away as he threw the truck into drive and started to drive out of the parking lot when a parking spot near a copse of trees caught his eye. It was well away from the other cars, had decent shade and looked perfect for-

"Don't even think about it," Rory said, sounding amused as she nibbled on her donut.

"It's really not safe to eat while driving," Connor pointed out innocently as he headed for that well secluded spot.

"Then I guess it's a good thing that I'm not driving," she said, laughing as she broke off another piece of donut.

"Are you planning on drinking your hot cocoa?" he asked, nodding towards her still full canister of hot cocoa.

"Of course," she said with a snort as she tore off another piece of donut.

With a sigh, he drove over to the semi-secluded spot and parked. "Then I have no choice but to park here so that you don't spill any hot chocolate and burn yourself."

"I see," she said, trying to bite back a smile. "You're just trying to save me from a trip to the hospital, is that it?" she asked, dropping what was left of her donut on a napkin and placing it on the dashboard.

"That's exactly it, Rory," he said, reaching for her as she moved to climb back on his lap where she belonged.

"This is just to stay in character," Rory explained as she settled on his lap.

"Of course," he agreed as he wrapped his arms around her.

"We're not really dating," she said, leaning in and brushing her lips against his. "This is just for show."

"Exactly," he agreed even though he was pretty sure that no one would be able to see what they were doing, but he wasn't about to point that out.

"As long as you remember that I hate you," Rory mumbled against his lips.

"I'll remember," he promised.

"And you hate me," she reminded him as she continued to caress his lips with light, teasing kisses that had his arms tightening around her and his body trembling with the need to consume her.

"With a passion."

* * * *

"We're thinking of having you committed," Bryce announced as he tapped his finger on the clipboard where he needed her to sign.

"I see," Rory said absently as she looked through the paperwork describing all the lovely problems they were already encountering.

Thanks to her accident they'd lost two days of work. The day of her accident, all of their men had been ordered away from the manor as the rescue crews worked to get her out of the subbasement. After she was safely on a backboard and on her way to an ambulance, the fire inspector had apparently showed up and closed them down, something she was just finding out about now. The next day her brothers had worked their asses off to get the fire inspector to come back and allow them to return to work.

He had, but they'd lost most of the day. Her brothers and surprisingly a good majority of Connor's foremen did their best to keep the project going even though they were forbidden to set so much as a foot in the mansion. Instead of working on the roof, gutting the house or the few dozen major things that had to be done immediately, their men worked on clearing the land and tearing up the mile long private road that led up to the old mansion.

By the time the fire inspector showed up and cleared them to continue to work, it was already late and their men were exhausted. She wasn't happy about the lost time, but there wasn't anything that she could do about it now. She just wished that someone had told her. Starting off a project of this size and two days behind this early in the game was not a good sign. As she looked down at the paperwork authorizing overtime, she was tempted to authorize work on Sunday, something she'd never done before.

Sunday was supposed to be a day for rest. That was one of many rules that her father shoved down their throats over the years and one that she'd never been able to ignore. Her men worked hard, sometimes too hard. Working seven days a week would not only kill her budget, but it would also exhaust her men, make their work sloppy and increase the chance of accidents. So as much as she would love to make up for those two lost days immediately, she couldn't.