He held Juliet’s eyes. “I’m not carrying a torch for her.”
Juliet was the one who broke the eye contact, but because this was Jules, she remade the contact a second later. “I had to ask. I won’t settle for being second best, not even to my best friend. Neither will I settle for a surface fling.”
He hadn’t expected such bluntness, but he smiled slowly at the implication. “So we’re doing this?”
“Five days,” she said, her tone stern and no returning smile on her face. “Five days to see if we can be friends as well as lovers, if we can spend time together like civilized human beings instead of a lion and a wolf circling each other.”
He wanted to kiss her, promised himself a hundred kisses once they were away from prying eyes. “Which one of us is the lion?”
“Jacob.”
“Deal,” he murmured. “Five days.”
“Or we walk away.” A huskiness to her voice now. “There’s too much risk if it’s not about more than the”—a quick glance around to ensure they wouldn’t be overheard before she said—“phenomenal, circuit-blowing sex. I can’t be linked to you if it’s only for a short time. The media will savage me afterward.”
Protective anger rolled through Jake in a tidal wave. “Five days,” he said, even as determination settled into his bones. He hated the idea of Juliet having to face the cameras and the questions on her own, hated the idea of her out in the world without the shield of his name and the support of his presence.
Hated it.
Jacob Esera looked after his own. And Juliet was his.
Part of him had known it from the moment she first made him come alive with her prickles and her generosity and her sensuality. It had just taken the rest of him time to catch up. But now that he had… Well, Jake was known on the rugby field for being a cool head under pressure.
Juliet was about to find out exactly how strategically Jacob Esera could think and plan.
24
Jacob Esera’s Steps to a Stealth Courtship
As always, New York was beautiful chaos. This wasn’t Jake’s first time in the city, but he’d only been twice before, both times while in transit to somewhere else. At least their time at the airport had gone smoothly—though not one but two camera crews associated with New Zealand stations had been waiting for their arrival.
It turned out Everett’s marketing department had released a sneak peek of the ad by way of a “making of” video, and it had gone viral while they were in the air. Given the subject matter, however, the media questions had been softballs, and since he’d spotted the cameras early, he’d been able to ask Juliet to spirit Esme out of shot.
He’d worried the viral nature of the clip would nix his anonymity here, but then Juliet had pulled up the stats for the video and he’d realized New York had far more people than were represented in the figures. It was also highly unlikely anyone would recognize him from a short clip—especially since he now had all his clothes on.
“So many people, Daddy!” Esme declared when he took her for a walk in Times Square after checking into the hotel.
With it being early afternoon here, there was no way she’d wanted to stay inside the hotel. Neither did he, not after being cooped up in the plane for so many hours. But he’d given her a bath since she’d admitted to feeling “goopy” after the long flight, then had a shower himself.
During his shower, Esme had happily amused herself watching the wild world outside their hotel window—all while wrapped up in a giant hotel bathrobe. When he’d asked her if she wanted to try it, she’d jumped up and down and grinned. So he’d put her in it, rolled up the sleeves, and she’d trailed the robe behind her like a queen as she walked.
Now, in the summer sunshine on this side of the world, Esme wore a colorful little faux jumpsuit her grandmother had made for her. It was faux because while it looked like the “big girl” jumpsuits Esme had coveted, the pants could be pulled down if she needed to use the bathroom. A bright yellow with white daisies all over it, the fabric suited his sunny, happy daughter.
Her shoes were her favorite light-up princess sneakers, and he’d put two sparkly white barrettes in her damp hair to keep it out of her way.
Jake was far less colorful in his faded blue jeans and white T-shirt paired with his old black Doc Martens.
His daughter stared agog at the color and music all around them.
“Where’s Jules?” she asked at one point.
“She had to work.” Jake wasn’t sure if that was true or if Juliet was using it as a convenient excuse—she’d turned wary after that honest exchange in the lounge. Or maybe she’d caught the hunting glint in his eye and realized he was playing for keeps.
“Ask her if she finished her work,” Esme insisted even as he was plotting how to lure Juliet out into the open. “She’s gonna miss the fun.”
Lips curving in a surely wicked smile, Jake reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. But, after making the call, he handed the phone to Esme. “Here, you ask.” No one had ever said Jacob Esera was stupid.
“It’s me, Esme!” Esme cried cheerfully into the phone. “Did you finish your work?” A pause as she listened. Then, “I got my picture with a wizard!” Another pause. “Uh-huh. Are you gonna come out? Please.”
Yeah, that please was going to do it, Jake thought smugly. Esme wasn’t yet aware of how sweet and adorable she sounded when she said it just that way, but Jake was already girding himself for when she got older.
“Daddy, can I borrow the car? Please?”
“Daddy, can my friend”—insert some idiot boy’s name—“come study with me in my room? Please?”
“Daddy, can I go to this party? Please?”
He was going to have to grow fucking titanium armor to have any hope of resisting her.
“Yeah!” Esme bounced against his arm. “Um, we’re by the…” She looked around. “There’s a statue. He’s all gold. He’s actually a person—I saw him move,” she whispered into the phone. “But don’t tell. It’ll hurt his feelings.”
Jake bit the inside of his lip and waited.
“Uh-huh. Okay, see you!” Esme handed over the phone.
“Juliet’s coming?” he asked as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Yup.”
He held out his hand, palm up. Grinning, his daughter gave him a high five.
And not long afterward, there was Jules, her hair damp and her luscious body clad in jeans and a navy T-shirt with a black design down one side, gold hoops in her ears. Except for the hoops and her watch, she wore no jewelry and hadn’t bothered with makeup. But she’d tucked the T-shirt in, and on her feet was a pair of black heels.
Jake’s entire body pulsed; he wanted to see her in nothing but those skyscraper heels. Or better yet, have her long, long legs wrapped around him, heels on her feet as he pounded into her deep and hard.
“Love the outfit,” she said, talking to Esme in that way she had of doing—as if Esme was a grown-up—and his sexual interest softened into something gentler, more tender.