The Jamison Sisters Series : His Erotic Obsession, Book #1
Marcus stared at the red haired beauty lying in the hospital bed. Delilah James, born Lila Jamison, the superstar recording artist was out. Exhaustion. Her body just couldn’t go at that brutal schedule any longer.
Rubbing a hand over his face, he paced the end of the bed, trying to think of what to do. His mind instantly made a list of all the things he would have to cancel. No way would he let her continue at this breakneck pace.
“Where is she?”
Marcus heard the nurses outside of the room and instantly knew what was happening. “It’s okay,” he said, his voice instantly commanding obedience. “It’s her sister.”
Kara Jamison nodded her thanks and Marcus held the door open for the woman who was just as stunning as her sister, although her hair was a darker red versus Lila’s copper locks. Pale skin, green eyes and a body that would put the pinup models to shame. Where Lila was thin and frail looking, Kara was curvy and sensuous with every movement.
Both women were gorgeous, strong, intelligent and ambitious but there was an added layer to both of them. In both women, there was a kindness, a gentleness of spirit, that came through in everything they did. It was one of the reasons Lila, a.k.a. Delilah James, and Kara, her sister, were resounding successes in their chosen fields. Both women had come from nothing and had clawed their way to success. He respected them both and knew they were good people.
But they both left him cold.
Thinking of the woman who made him burn, he pulled his cell phone out and typed a quick message. “I need you here, Becca. I’ll send the plane.”
Glancing at the clock, he realized that it was only three o’clock in the morning in Los Angeles where Becca was…
“I have a seat booked that leaves for Michigan at seven, fifty-two this morning. I’ll be there as soon as the plane lands.”
Marcus muttered a curse under his breath. Becca should be sleeping! What was she doing awake at three in the morning?! “Cancel that ticket and go to sleep, honey. My pilot will be there to pick you up.”
“Already purchased ticket,” came the reply and Marcus could picture her moving about her tiny house, gathering things up and grabbing the bag that she always kept packed because situations like this occurred often. And vacuuming. He chuckled because he knew that Becca liked to come home to a clean house. She was adorable! And hot, sexy, efficient, drove him nuts with her body and…yeah. All of the above, but double.
“Becca,” he groaned, then walked out of the hospital room. Texting her back, he replied, “Very soon, we’re going to have a serious discussion about you following orders.”
Very quickly, the sassy response came to his phone. “Yeah, not very good at that, am I?”
Marcus once again ran a hand over his face, but more to stop the laughter this time. No one could ease his stress like Becca. He had a client who was more of a friend, laying in a hospital bed and he was worried sick about her despite the doctor’s assurance that Lila would be okay.
And yet Becca, his saucy minx of an assistant made him laugh. Okay, she also made him hot. Made him burn! Her soft, brown hair and those gorgeous amber eyes…so innocent and yet filled with mischief most of the time. He loved talking with her, working with her…hell, he loved just being with her even as his body ached to make love to her. There had been many weekend afternoons he’d shown up at her place, just to be with her, talk with her and watch her garden.
She’d started off as a receptionist for his company. From the moment he’d walked into the building and saw her sweetness, those glowing, amber eyes, he’d been snagged. Completely and irrevocably. He’d tried to diminish the power she had over him, but she was such a breath of fresh air, such a staggering combination of innocence and intelligence, that his efforts had been pointless. When the majority of the woman in Los Angeles wore as little as possible, thinking that showing skin would get them that music contract, or just the next free drink at a bar, his Becca wore cardigans and long pants, shirts buttoned almost all the way up to her neck. It was as if she were the antithesis of everyone else walking around the city that thrived on sex and sensuality.
And it made him crazy trying to guess what was underneath those clothes!
He knew that his Becca had a knockout figure. That much he could determine. But the way she dressed along with those flashing eyes…damn, he could go from bored to rock hard just watching her walk into his office. Especially when he saw that special look in her eyes that warned him she was going to say something to make him laugh. Or groan and then laugh.
She’d moved from the receptionist desk to an administrative position quickly, and then had continued to take on more and more responsibility. She was outstanding with the clients, firm with the vendors and delicious when she was with him. So now she was his personal assistant, helping him in just about every aspect of his business.
And yet, as much as he loved talking with her, laughing with her and working with her, he knew that she was holding something back. His beautiful Becca was reserved and nervous about…? It was almost as if she were hiding something from him. But she was so open and fascinating. They worked long hours together and nothing was taboo during their conversations. She teased him about the women he dated and he teased her because she didn’t date. Not at all.
Damn! He wanted that woman! In so many ways!
He was trying to be respectful of her “stay away” signals, but it was getting harder and harder.
Rebecca hurried through her house, grabbing work, her computer, her already-packed “go” bag as Marcus referred to the small suitcase that was filled with everything she might need for the next couple of days, and finished a tepid cup of coffee just as a cab pulled up to the curb outside of her tiny house. Hoping she had everything she might need, she hurried out, locking up as she went.
Once at the airport, she rushed through security and stood in line at her gate. The whole time, she tried very hard to forget that silly excited thrill that had hit her body when she’d looked over and saw the message from Marcus. Just four little words and her whole day was brighter, happier. She’d abandoned the song she was working on and got herself ready to fly.
Trying to ignore that trembling excitement, she focused on work, on what he might need. He was in Michigan, she knew that much. But why? Oh yeah! Delilah Jamison! Ugh!
Rebecca really hated that woman.
Oh, she tried not to. She knew it was wrong to hate someone but…It was Delilah James, singer extraordinaire, woman that every man wanted…including Marcus. She was so stunningly gorgeous and everyone loved her! Not only that, but Delilah was NICE! It was one thing to be beautiful and talented, Rebecca thought. But those people shouldn’t be NICE. It was harder to hate them.
Of course, Rebecca had no trouble hating Delilah Jamison. It was wrong, but the jealousy just ate her up inside. It was all because Marcus jumped whenever Delilah called him.
Of course, he was her producer. It was his job to do that for his clients. And Marcus Benton hadn’t created his powerhouse music empire by ignoring his clients. If anyone wanted to get into the music industry, they had to go through Benton Industries.
That was the real reason she’d gone to work for Benton Industries herself. Yes, she was a good assistant to Marcus, but as a song writer, her real dream would be to hear her songs sung by someone for an audience. She didn’t care who heard them, just so long as someone did. She craved for people to hear her words.
Yes, she could sing herself, but she’d seen too many singers crash and burn, or get caught up in the hype, be hounded by the press so that their lives were no longer their own. She knew of several music singers who hid out in their house, afraid to leave for fear of being photographed by the press.
Rebecca would hate that! She loved being outdoors, planting things in her garden or walking through the mountain trails by her house, or simply running through the streets in the quiet of the morning so that her mind was mentally prepared for the day. Life was too glorious. She didn’t want to hide.
Of course, she had no idea if her songs were good enough to become hits! She secretly sent them to Marcus, but the big jerk still hadn’t hired someone to sing them! He said that he loves the lyrics, but….she wasn’t sure he was telling her the truth. If he loved them so much, why wouldn’t he hire someone to sing them? Singers bought music from songwriters all the time and belted them out for audiences all over the world. She didn’t care! She just wanted her songs to be heard!
Sighing, she heard the call over the airport intercom to board her flight. Becca waited until almost all of the passengers were on board before she moved towards the entrance. Smiling, she pulled up the e-ticket on her phone and the lady looked at the number. “Ma’am, you have been upgraded to first class,” she explained with a deferential smile. “Your new seat number is 1A.”
Becca sighed. “Marcus!” she grumbled, bristling at his high-handed interference. But then smiled to the startled woman. “Sorry. My boss is spending money on me that he didn’t need to.”
The woman still looked confused. It wasn’t often that someone reacted negatively to being told they were being upgraded to better seats. Rebecca walked along the connection pathway to the plane, still shaking her head, but there was a little smile of delight. Marcus was too generous, she thought as she sat down in the wide, leather seat.
Taking out her computer notebook, she tightened her seatbelt then focused all of her attention on skimming through the news, trying to see if there was anything going on in the world that might affect one of Marcus’ clients.
It was then that she came across the headlines about Delilah Jamison’s concert, and the fact that the woman had been rushed to the emergency room right after walking off-stage.
“Oh no!” she gasped, sitting up in her seat.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Freeman, but you’ll have to turn off electronic devices prior to takeoff.”
Rebecca tore her eyes away from her phone and looked up at the flight attendant, not really understanding the words. But as her eyes looked around, she realized that everyone was already seated and the airplane was actually taxing away from the gate. “Yes. Right. Of course,” she said and frantically tried to turn off her electronic notebook. But her mind was focused on Delilah, well, her real name was Lila. And if Rebecca weren’t so jealous of Marcus’ attention towards the gorgeous woman as well as the singer’s spectacular success, she suspected that they might be friends. It was just too hard, knowing how Marcus felt about her. The jealousy was too intense.
But then again, Rebecca’s feelings towards Marcus were too intense, too inappropriate for an employee to have towards her boss.
Unfortunately, the heart wants what the heart wants. She had tried to date other men. But none could measure up to Marcus. Even physically, it was hard to find a man as tall, commanding, gorgeous, funny, intelligent and overwhelmingly masculine as Marcus. He was several inches over six feet and liked to tease her about her own height of only five feet, five inches. She might be short, she’d retort, but what she lacked in height, she made up for stubbornness.
He liked to chuck her on the chin when she said the words. Rebecca should stop him from doing that, but the man really was a toucher, always guiding her with a strong hand at the small of her back, getting her attention with a touch to her shoulder and hugging! Goodness, she loved it when the man hugged her! Those strong arms, his whole body wrapped around her! It was…she sighed and rubbed her forehead. She liked his touches way too much.
He always had a hand on her back or arm when walking next to her. While discussing something, he would touch her shoulder or arm, sometimes even show his concern by touching her face. And Rebecca loved every one of his simple touches. At night, when she was alone in her cold, lonely bed, staring up at the ceiling, she imagined she could still feel his finger or his hand touching her, the area of her body that he’d touched still tingling, even hours after that touch.
With a sigh, she stared out the window of the plane, watching as the pilot sped down the runway. Moments later, the plane was lifting off, separating from the earth. Some people hated this part of the flight. But Rebecca loved it, thought it was her favorite part of the entire flight.
Sitting back, she thought about Marcus and about what she was going to do with her future, trying to figure out a way to get out from under his spell. On the one hand, she absolutely loved working for the man. He was overly generous, both in salary as well as bonuses not to mention how he seemed to always have a small present for her. He said they were just small spot bonuses, but she was suspicious. She knew she would never find another job that would pay as well.
But she also knew that she had to get away from him. She wanted kids, a husband, a home…a family. Marcus just wasn’t that kind of a man. He wasn’t the picket fences and diaper changing dad. He was the man who knew all of the hot spots to see and be seen around town. He was the man who knew how to outpace the competition, to find the next best thing almost effortlessly. He was…magical.
He was addictive.
She wasn’t going to find her happily ever after with Marcus so she needed to…goodness, her heart broke just thinking about not seeing him every day, of knowing someone else would be helping him, making his day run more smoothly.
That was what was going to have to happen though. Eventually. Okay, not yet. Yes, she was still young. She could work for him a while longer. Just a little while longer, she promised herself.
The next thing she knew, the plane was touching down and Rebecca was jarred awake. Looking around, she was startled to realize that she’d slept through the entire four and a half hour flight. Not surprising, since she hadn’t gotten to sleep before getting on the plane!
With a yawn, she gathered up her belongings and checked the time. She wasn’t even sure which time zone she was in, but she would figure it out once she got off the plane.
With exhaustion weighing her down, she stood up and, since she was in the first seat, she was the first off of the plane. It suddenly occurred to her that the flight had been full, but no one had been sitting in the seat next to her. She wouldn’t put it past Marcus to have bought both seats, just to ensure her comfort. He was such a sweet man, she thought with a slight smile on her features as she rolled her bag down the long hallway that connected the plane to the airport terminal.
As she walked out of the gates, she searched the overhead signs for directions to the cab line. She knew which hotel Marcus was staying in so it would be fastest to just take a…
She swung around when the weight of her computer was lifted off of her shoulder. She was just about to take a swing at her robber when Marcus’s strong arm pulled her against him and she heard his deep laugh. “Relax, slugger,” he said, his voice dangerously close to her ear. “It’s just me trying to help you out.”
She relaxed, but then felt his hard body against hers and stiffened in shock. “What are you doing here?”
Marcus held her like that for a long moment, his eyes searching her features. “You’re exhausted. Why were you up when I texted you at three in the morning?”
She didn’t want to tell him why and her lashes lowered, trying to hide her secret. “Why do you assume I was awake? Maybe I was sound asleep and your text woke me up.”
His free hand came up, the rough pad of his forefinger sliding against her cheek. “Why were you awake, Becca?” he asked again.
Goodness, she loved the way he shortened her name. It was like an endearment every time he said it like that. No one else dared to call her anything but Rebecca. Some shortened her name to Becky but she stopped that as soon as it happened. Why hadn’t she ever told him not to call her Becca?
Because she loved it. It made her feel special and all squishy inside.
She was also painfully aware of him holding her like this. It was almost as if they were lovers, standing in the middle of a busy airport and meeting after a long absence. Goodness, how her imagination could run away with her!
“I was working,” she finally admitted, banishing all of her unrealistic thoughts and dreams from her mind. No picket fences she told herself firmly.
Pulling away, she stepped back and reached for her roller case. But he took it from her first, leaving her with only her purse.
“Come on, honey. You need a nap and then some food before we get started.”
