Reckless Seduction, page 15
“I don’t think about that anymore, Mama.”
“Thank the Lord. Good night.” She closed the door and went to her room.
Jon knew an old tradition in his father’s family was the celebration of a family member’s thirty-fifth birth, and for his parents’ sake, he pretended to look forward to the occasion, though not without some remorse. After his party the next day, Haley and Gale would leave, and although he had avoided Haley ever since she’d seduced him in his room, he’d nevertheless gained some comfort from her nearness, from seeing her every day, knowing where she was and that she was all right. He didn’t want to think about the lonely days to come.
If he didn’t escort her to the party, he would be rude and she would be mortified. If he did, he’d have to touch her, smell her, look at her…and he’d want her. So what, he thought, was there a waking minute when he didn’t want her, didn’t need her? He used his cell phone and called Svend.
“Dr. Ecklund here.”
“Ecklund here,” he playfully corrected Svend. “Got a minute?”
“For you, anytime, big brother. What can I do for you?”
“May I count on you to escort Gale to the reception, or are you planning to bring someone?”
“Yes to number one and no to number two. Although, I had thought that you would prefer to bring both of those beauties yourself. You are planning to escort Haley, aren’t you?”
“I don’t have much choice.” It was out before he knew that he was going to say it. He remembered, almost regrettably, that in a moment of despair he’d told Svend something of his Saturday afternoon encounter with Haley.
“Jon, you know my feelings on the matter of you and Haley. But no matter what you say or why she did it, you sure as hell enjoyed having her take you. Don’t be so self-righteous, man. She’ll do it again, if she has any brain. And you will enjoy it again. I’ll tell you for the last time, go after that woman with everything you’ve got. She’s worth it.”
“That’s strong talk from the man who treats her as if she’s a deadly virus. Why is that, Svend?”
“Oh, I like her, but I believe she should fish or cut bait. I let her know it, and I don’t intend to let her forget it. If she thinks that I dislike her, it’s fine with me,” he said.
“I’ve always known you had my back, but if I haven’t said it recently, thanks, little brother,” Jon said and hung up.
Jon and Svend sat in their parents’ living room sipping brandy and awaiting their dates. They were both dressed in black tuxedos. Hearing the approach of women’s shoe heels, they both stood.
Gale preceded Haley into the room, a vision in a strapless gown of yellow sequins, her black hair in a fashionable French twist. Jon could hardly wait to see Haley. When she did appear, immediately behind her mother, he groaned audibly. She wore a fiery red twin to her mother’s dress, a strapless, sequined, hip-hugging sheath slit to mid-thigh. Her jet-black hair billowed softly around her shoulders. When she walked into the room, her glance found him and rested on him and him alone, unwavering, caressing him and telling him that she had eyes only for him.
She stared up at him as if hypnotized, and when she moistened her lips, he felt as if he was about to become unraveled. He couldn’t take his gaze from her and was unaware that he was slowly moving closer to her. She knocked the wind out of him, and he could feel the ache starting to grip his loins.
He took a deep breath and managed to recover his wits.
“Ladies, you both look beautiful tonight,” he said to the women. Taking each of them by the arm, he walked to the sofa.
Svend feigned offense. “Hold it, buddy. You’re over in my territory.” He took Gale by the arm and walked with her over to the ceiling-high window, where a full moon now lighted the sleeping gardens. “If you weren’t going to be grandmother of my nieces and nephews,” he proclaimed loudly, “I’d try to make some time with you. You are all that a man wants in a woman and some to spare,” Svend said as he winked at Gale.
Laughter spilled from Gale’s throat at his daring prediction and outrageous flirtation.
“Ah, Svend, you’re a darling, a scoundrel and a wonderful man, and you’ve probably just sent those two into a coma.” Then she added, “You look awfully good, too. In fact, I dare say that Haley and I will be the envy of every woman at the party.”
Had she looked at Haley and Jon, she would have seen her daughter’s furious blush and Jon’s stricken look of desperation. Just then, Inger and Erik entered the living room, interrupting their chatter. Jon looked around him, wishing for all his worth that this could be truly his family along with the children that Haley would give him.
At the first dance, Jon appeared at Haley’s side.
“Dance with me.”
Though she was surprised at his action, she didn’t hesitate. She went into his arms, moving her body close to his. She looked into his eyes and saw his want and his need, and she knew he felt the shudder that went through her. What was she going to do? She had to get out of there, away from him. She started to move away, but he held her.
“You owe me at least this one dance,” he ordered harshly.
She continued to dance with him in silence, and after a few steps she moved closer to him once again and laid her cheek upon his shoulder.
He glided them toward the gold anteroom, where he moved away from her and walked over to the window, facing it. He turned to look at her, and the expression of sadness that he saw on her face melted his heart.
Rather than strangling her as he’d wanted to do back there in the ballroom, he wanted to hold her, to comfort and protect her. Protect her from what? With that ammunition she carried around, somebody had better protect him. The thought cheered him. He walked over and draped his arm loosely around her shoulder.
“We’re a pair, aren’t we?” He’d said it sadly and so softly that she was unsure whether he expected a response. She longed for him to hold her, to love her. Too miserable for caution, she leaned against his shoulder. He hugged her gently and then put space between them as quickly as he could. “We’re killing each other, Haley.”
“Yes, I know. Is love always like this? Sometimes I wish I had stayed ignorant of what it’s like to care so deeply.”
“I agree,” he said out loud. But now was definitely not the moment for any confessions, true or otherwise, he thought to himself. “Listen, Haley, are you hungry? Let’s go find something to eat.”
She looked up at him, seemingly bewildered by his change in mood.
“Oh, and Haley…”
Her expression indicated that she anticipated the worse.
“Let’s keep some space between us.”
“That ought to be easy,” she said. “I’m flying to New York Monday morning.”
“You and Gale aren’t going to Denmark, Sweden and Finland?”
“I talked her out of it. I want to go home.”
Chapter 8
Svend and Gale watched them as they walked backed into the ballroom.
“One thing is certain—they weren’t kissing out there,” Svend muttered, needlessly. That was already obvious to Gale as well as to Jon’s parents. And the seemingly immovable barrier between the two lovers cast a pall over the group as they seated themselves at the head dinner table.
After a sumptuous meal, which none of them was able to enjoy, they drove home in silence. In the car, Erik Ecklund patted his elder son on the shoulder. “Happy birthday, son. You’re a fine man.”
His father’s compliment pleased him, but it didn’t ease his pain. As they entered the foyer of his parents’ house, he pulled Svend aside. “Can you see them to the airport?”
Svend raised one dark eyebrow and leaned against the pale green marble mantel. “Yeah. I’ll do it, but how will it look if you don’t go?”
“I’m beyond caring how anything looks. I’m only sorry that my actions might offend Gale.”
“Yeah. Well, just let me know what time they’re leaving. See you tomorrow.” After a long, hard look at his brother, Svend bade them all good-night and headed for the city.
Almost as soon as Haley entered her room and began to remove the shimmering red gown, Inger Ecklund knocked on the door. “There’s a call for you and Gale. Push the button marked three.”
She thanked Inger and paused, wondering who would call them at midnight.
“Hello,” she said, unaware that she interrupted her mother’s conversation with her brother.
“Hi, sis. How’s it going?”
“It isn’t,” Gale said. “She’s being stubborn and foolish.”
“Really? One of the women journalists in our office here wants a shot at Ecklund so badly that it’s embarrassing,” Sky said. “She sails into orbit at the mention of the guy’s name. She’s a great-looking gal, too. But you don’t care about that, do you, sis? When are you two leaving for Helsinki?”
“We aren’t,” Gale said. “Your sister is so miserable that she’s called that off.”
“Hmm. Can’t have it exactly the way you want it, eh, sis? I sure hope IISP can keep you warm during those cold, long winter nights back in New York City. Email me your flight number, and I’ll meet you. Bye.”
“He could learn to be subtle,” Haley said, “or keep his wisdom to himself.”
“You wouldn’t mind,” her mother replied, “if he wasn’t always right.”
Haley rarely shied away from decision making, and that was one reason why she so enjoyed her work at IISP. But on that day, a week after returning from Oslo, it shocked her to realize that she wanted no part of the place, and she stacked in the drawer the mail that awaited her signature. She wanted to go home, to be away from everyone. The truth was that she wanted to be with Jon, and the possibility of that seemed nil.
She remembered then that the day before she left Oslo, she raced around the city looking for a gift that she finally found and ordered for Jon. It was to have been delivered after the departure of their plane on the day that she and Gale left. Any man receiving such a gift from a woman would know that her heart was hanging on it, fragile and exposed. It had been one week already, and she didn’t know whether he had received it.
“Telephone on line two, Haley.”
“Take the message, Amy. I’m leaving for the day.”
“But it’s—”
She interrupted. “If it isn’t Jon, it can wait till tomorrow.” Amy lifted an eyebrow, signaling her awareness that for the past week she’d been seeing a different Haley. Haley knew she’d been acting in a way that would seem strange to anyone who knew her, but she was past caring.
“Call back, Mr. Andersen. She’s on her way out.”
Haley spun around. “Why didn’t you say it was Nels?”
Amy knew when to be quiet, so she merely put the call on hold until Haley could retrace her steps.
“My, but we’re unfriendly,” Nels said when Haley answered the phone. “Isn’t it too early for lunch? Where’re you off to?”
“Hello, Nels. You can beat anyone I know loading questions into a single sentence. I was on my way home. I wish I had a country hideaway that I could hang out in.”
“Bad as that, huh? Why don’t you call DuPree and get the key to Jon’s place in Saugerties, upstate. You can walk in the woods, swim, whatever. And all by yourself…provided that’s what you want. By the way, hello, Nels. How are you? How nice of you to call.”
She had to laugh. “Sorry I was rude. It’s just that this telephone has rung incessantly today, and I’m washed out. And another thing, Jon has never invited me to his place upstate.”
“Did he call?”
“No.”
“Now we’ve come to the core of the matter. I understand that he’s in Bangkok, trying to whip that bureau into line. Somehow, in my estimation at least, it doesn’t meet the standards of the other EIS bureaus. Sure you won’t join me for lunch?”
“Thanks, but no. Could I have a rain check on lunch? I really do want to get home.”
She didn’t feel like talking about Jon with anyone. And she didn’t want to discuss her feelings or their problem. Besides, Jon had put an end to it. He had said that he didn’t know how to crawl. That also meant that he wouldn’t respect anyone who did crawl. Furthermore, she didn’t know how to crawl, either, and wasn’t planning to learn.
“All right, love,” Nels said. “But you need to work out things with Jon. Don’t put it off.”
“I didn’t tell you that—”
“No, you didn’t tell me. But you’re in love with Jon. And if you’re not happy after spending a week with him and his parents in his family’s home, the reason has to lie with the state of your relationship with him. I’m leaving tonight for Berlin. See you in about ten days. Chin up. And don’t forget that you’re a prize for any man.”
She stared at the telephone before hanging up. Perhaps it was then that the truth began to penetrate her thoughts. Nels had said she was a prize. Where did men, people for that matter, put their prizes? They put them on shelves, in glass cases, in old trunks, in drawers, out of sight. Had she foolishly considered herself a prize? She ruminated about that as she made her way home. Perhaps not. But she considered IISP her prize, and she had placed it above everything. By the time she reached her apartment, she was wondering whether the price for keeping her prize might not be too high.
Several days later, Jon reached the door of his parents’ home, on his way to the company limousine that was waiting in front of the house to take him to the airport. As he opened the door, he almost collided with a delivery boy who, when he’d gathered his wits, asked whether Jon Ecklund lived there. “I’m Jon Ecklund,” he told him, impatiently.
“I have a package for you. It’s in my van.”
“Leave it with my mother. I’m in a hurry to catch a plane.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I have orders to give it only to you. And it’s real perishable.”
“All right, but get a move on. I don’t have a minute to spare.” The boy rushed back to his van and returned with a large carton that seemed to shake of its own accord. He opened the box and removed a basket, handing it to Jon.
“What the…?”
“Open it, sir. He’s a real beauty.”
“He?” Jon lifted the basket lid and a furry little golden retriever jumped into his arms. “There must be some mistake.”
“No, sir. Read the card, please.”
It was then that he noticed the tag around the puppy’s neck. He read, “I’m Midas. Haley wants me to look after you.”
He had rarely been so deeply touched. Why had she done it? So that he’d think of her every waking moment? He would have done that anyway. So that every time he caressed that little creature with the soulful brown eyes, he’d want to touch her, love her? He didn’t need prompting to want that. He looked down at the delivery boy, who was giving him a curiously questioning look. He needed a few minutes alone right now, minutes that he didn’t have. He dug into his pocket, found some crowns and gave them to the smiling boy. Then he turned around and went to the kitchen where he knew he’d find his mother.
“What is it, Jon? I thought you were halfway to the airport?”
“Look at this, will you? I met the delivery boy as I was leaving.” Seeing his lack of composure, she guessed the identity of the giver. Jon wasn’t easily flustered.
“I’ll take care of him while you’re in Bangkok. What are you planning to call him?” He pointed to the tag around the puppy’s neck and turned to leave. Then he stopped, reversed himself, gave his mother a light kiss of the cheek, took the puppy, gave it a hug and left.
Inger watched him go. Jon had never been fond of dogs, but she knew that he was going to love that one. “Why,” she mused, “is it so difficult for them to see that they belong together?” She thought, not for the first time, that Erik’s retirement had been extremely untimely.
Jon glanced around at the other passengers seated in first-class—five men and one woman—and wondered absently where they were going and why. Each one sat alone, in a window seat. Each was looking out of the window, discouraging conversation with any fellow passenger. He noted that they all looked tired, bored and not a little jaded. It occurred to him that he, too, might look exactly like that in a few years—a man for whom work was everything, not because he wanted it that way, but because any other options that he might have had had long since dissolved. He accepted a glass of white wine from the ever-smiling stewardess and a napkin from the one right behind her. There were six-other first-class passengers, but two of the four stewardesses seemed to think it their duty to serve him alone. Another one of life’s nasty little jokes, he thought, irritably. Why did so many women go for a man’s shell, his image, his visage, and not give a thought to what was going on inside of him? Both women had made it clear that they were ready to follow him off the plane. And why? They wouldn’t understand his needs nor give a damn about them if they did comprehend. One of them wore at least four different shades of eye shadow. He’d bet that Haley didn’t even own any. She sure as hell didn’t need makeup. He hadn’t seen many women who equaled her in natural beauty.
Haley. When she sent him that puppy, she might as well have sent an Australian boomerang after him. And she damned well knew it. He wondered if he’d have the strength to stay away from her. Whenever he got his hands on her, she was just like that puppy—sweet, cuddly, tender. Dear God, he couldn’t let himself think about what she was like when he was loving her. That last time…the feeling inside of her at the apex of her passion was something that he would never forget. She was like an earthquake, erupting with violent tremors all around him, clutching and squeezing him until she drained him of his very essence. And he knew that she wouldn’t forget it, either. She was out of herself, lost in him. He’d looked into her face as she came apart, every bit of reserve gone, and shook uncontrollably in his arms.
