Girl's Guide to Hunting & Kissing. Joanne Rock

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СКАЧАТЬ the courtroom, stalking the witnesses on the stand with his deceptively casual stroll.

      “Not usually. But it just so happens your photo ends up in the paper on all the same days mine does so I’ve been sort of following the rumors surrounding you.” The media continually questioned his integrity when, in fact, it obviously had been his father who’d screwed up by accepting kickbacks from criminals in his long-ago position as an FBI director.

      Still, the local paper had been quick to put Jackson under a microscope, scrutinizing every facet of his personal and professional life. Which, now that she thought about it, was a definite strike against getting involved with this man. Summer’s funky clothes and penchant for wearing crystals to resonate with whatever energies she happened to need in her life at the moment would never bear up well under a microscope.

      Especially not when her mood crystals were paired with a straight-laced politician.

      “They’re not true.” At the moment, he had walked somewhere behind her, so she couldn’t gauge his expression. Instead, his voice rumbled through her from a few feet away, the low, quiet intensity of his words giving passion to the statement. “I’m trying to understand my father’s decisions but that doesn’t mean I’m doomed to make the same ones.”

      He seemed to loom closer as he spoke. Summer’s neck tingled all over again with that sensation of being watched. Studied. Assessed.

      Goose bumps rose on her arms, the sensation not entirely unpleasant. She fought to stay focused on their words instead of the peculiar physical dance taking place in the room. That chatty sixth sense of hers told her she was way out of her depth with this man.

      Curving her hands about her shoulders to warm the chill bumps away, Summer considered Jackson’s tenuous position in the public eye.

      “Believe me, I wouldn’t want to be judged by my parents’ actions.” She adored Willow and Phoenix Farnsworth, but their lifestyle was far from normal. “I don’t know how you handle so much inquiry into your business.”

      She’d hated that about the cults her parents had continually joined. There were too many bizarre rules, too much close contact with people who wanted to regulate your life. No, thank you. She would not “regulate” anything about herself again. Ever.

      Jackson shifted behind her. Moving closer?

      She waited, wondered what he might be doing back there until the soft fabric of the crocheted shawl she’d worn earlier fell around her goose-bump-covered shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Jackson’s hands on the garment for a fraction of a second before he released it, those long tanned fingers nearly grazing the back of the settee. Nearly grazing her. She sensed the heat of his body, could almost guess what those hands would feel like on her.

      And instead of chasing away a chill, her shawl only increased the cool quiver dancing along her skin.

      Tugging the ends of the shawl a little closer to wrap around her midsection, Summer watched as Jackson resumed his lazy prowl around the room.

      As if he hadn’t just sent a shock wave of latent desire through her system.

      He toyed with a framed photo on the writing desk, a gilt frame that she knew perfectly well contained turn-of-the-century erotica in the form of a naked woman playing piano.

      “I remember going to my first press conference riding on my dad’s shoulders. I guess it hasn’t bothered me in the past because I was used to it. It’s getting a little too intense for me now, though.” His gaze traveled from the photo to her. He studied her with those magnetic blue eyes, his relaxed posture totally at odds with the heat of that steady gaze. “I came to the club tonight to take my mind off the whole mess. The pressure has been…distracting.”

      Summer shifted in her seat, too aware of this man. The bustier that had felt so sexy an hour ago, now seemed to constrain her, provide too much friction against her breasts.

      In an effort to get her mind off her rising temperature, she redirected their conversation. “You know, you never answered my question about the legislature bid.”

      “You don’t miss a trick, do you?” He gave her a wicked grin before his attention shifted to the monstrous red-shrouded bed in the back of the room. “I couldn’t answer you on that because I honestly haven’t made up my mind yet.”

      Could he be serious? “No one joins an election in September.”

      His shrug wrinkled the perfect lines of his suit. Summer idly wondered what he would look like if she wrestled him to that big bed and messed up the rest of his tailored outfit. The Mistress of the Bordello would never let a man walk away without tousling him a bit, would she?

      “Confidence is a good thing in my business, Summer.” He eyed her as he smoothed a hand over the red satin duvet covering the mattress. And while she knew technically they were discussing politics, she had the distinct impression Jackson’s confidence extended to the bedroom, as well.

      No way could she delude herself that the man was the dry, buttoned-up type anymore. As of right now, she was toast where he was concerned. She wanted her one night with him. Badly.

      While she debated how to make that one night a reality, Jackson blithely went back to discussing politics.

      “Besides, I’ve got a solid track record in smaller elections. I’ve never lost yet.” His gaze strayed to the pile of lingerie on the coffee table. “Is it going to be my turn to ask the questions any time soon?”

      She smiled at that even as she wondered if confidence might be an aphrodisiac. If anyone else had boasted about never losing, Summer would have written it off as conceit. Yet Jackson seemed to be just relating facts, quietly sure of his ability.

      And she had to admit, there was something damn attractive about that. Not that she necessarily wanted to be turned on by a man so intrinsically wrong for her. She lived to create scandal while he worked diligently to avoid it.

      Still, she couldn’t deny she wanted him.

      Would it hurt to follow this attraction for just one night? How much trouble could one night cause to a girl’s heart?

      “Can I ask you one more nosy question and then I’ll let you off the hook?”

      “Ask away.” Tearing his gaze from the lingerie pile, he quirked a sandy eyebrow, waiting.

      She picked at the ragged hem of her silky handkerchief skirt, certain he wouldn’t be waiting patiently much longer. Her every feminine instinct told her he was ready to make a move, no matter how lazily he strolled the room right now.

      Soon, Summer would be enjoying that supreme male confidence of his in a much more physical way. She glanced up at him through her lashes, hoping she had her seductive moves in place. “How exactly did you plan to blow off steam tonight?”

      Jackson couldn’t remember any pointed press conference question that had put him more on the spot than this one. His glance tripped over her willowy form draped across the settee, his eyes lingering on the satin ties that she’d refastened on her strapless crimson top.

      By the time he managed to meet Summer’s not-so-innocent gray gaze he decided he owed her the truth, even while he extended their cat-and-mouse game a little longer.

      “After two weeks of mental СКАЧАТЬ