JanesPrize by Margrett Dawson Page B

about what might happen when he saw all the gorgeous women
out there. He’d been hungry for sex and she’d been right at hand, willing and
more than ready for him. Sexual mores had certainly changed over the last
century. A good-looking wealthy guy would have to fight them off with a
baseball bat. Where would that leave her? Why hadn’t she thought of that?
Because she’d been dazzled by his charm and by his obvious desire. But that
desire might fade as soon as he realized she wasn’t the only one available to
him.
    “Penny for your thoughts,” Pierce said.
    She shot him a quick smile. “Nothing. Just
thinking about where we should go first.” She picked up the last bag of garbage
and the pack with the video camera. “Got it all mapped out,” she said
cheerfully. “Let’s go.”
     
    Jane steered the car back toward town.
She’d arrived at the house late Tuesday afternoon and spent two nights filming
as she’d been instructed. Motherly Abigail had told her the offices closed at
noon on Friday so she had to return the camera on Friday morning. The shots
were all digital, timed and dated, so they had only the rest of Thursday to get
their story straight.
    Jane glanced at Pierce in the passenger
seat beside her. His window was down and the breeze ruffled his hair. He still
wore his tweed suit but he’d left off the starched collar and the tie. She
stole a peek at the smooth skin on his throat and her hand gave an involuntary
movement on the wheel as if drawn to touch it. She moistened her lips. His skin
would be like brown silk under her fingers and lower down, his abs would be
rock hard…
    A car horn blasted her out of her fantasy
and Pierce yelped in alarm. She jerked the wheel to restore the vehicle to the
correct lane and let out a deep breath. A small sports car scudded past her,
driven by an elegant woman who made a rude gesture, obviously furious that they
had almost drifted into her lane. “Sorry about that.”
    She felt Pierce’s hand on the nape of her
neck. He massaged the tender spot at the top of her spine and she shivered.
“You’re too tense,” he said. “Just relax.”
    “On the contrary, I was too relaxed. Not
paying attention to the road.”
    His eyes were on the cars around them as
the traffic thickened. “Extraordinary,” he murmured. “Would I be able to buy
one of these?”
    “I don’t see why not, once you have a bank
account and can get a license.” The mention of the everyday necessities brought
her back to the stomach-churning problem of how to pass him off as a
contemporary man.
    It was almost lunchtime on a warm day and
the girls were out in their skimpy dresses, enjoying the sun. Jane shot Pierce
a sideways glance. His eyes wandered everywhere, never stopping on one person
for more than a few seconds.
    He shifted in his seat, his hand still warm
and comforting on her shoulder. “The skirts are very short, aren’t they?”
    “Right.” She didn’t want to pursue that.
    “Some of them are bare at the waist.”
    “Belly buttons are fashionable, especially
with a ring.”
    “You mean, right in the—” He pointed to
roughly where his navel would be.
    “You got it.”
    “Extraordinary,” he said again. Then he
looked at her. “You don’t have a ring in your belly button.”
    “No, I’m not into those kinds of fashion.
I’ve never even considered it.”
    “It might be interesting.”
    At that moment she signaled to slide into
the lane to make a left turn and braked at the stop sign. “Where would you like
to go first?”
    “Somewhere with a bed.” His fingers played
under her hair and another frisson snaked down to her belly.
    “I could find you a motel.”
    “Us.”
    “What?”
    “Find us a motel, whatever that is.”
    The light turned green and she pretended to
concentrate on her driving. Her heart rate had notched up again. Damn, she was
conditioned to respond to every suggestion he made and she’d only known him for
two days. What did that make