My Guilty Pleasure Read online

  Damn. So much for escaping unnoticed.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked, his voice thick from sleep.

  “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  He chuckled. “Sure you didn’t.” His thick hair was mussed and his smile went from lazy to cocky. The man looked way too sexy and far too tempting for a woman filled with morning-after regret.

  “Um…I have to water my plants.” The excuse was beyond lame, and from the skeptical light that entered those dark, bedroom eyes, they both knew it. But dammit, he seriously rocked her composure. What did he expect? A Rhodes scholar?

  She dropped onto the edge of the bed to slip on her socks. He shifted beside her and brought his body closer to hers. Warning bells went off in her head. Lordy, but the temptation to crawl beneath the covers with him again was tough to resist.

  He smoothed his hand down her back. She thought about the pleasure those hands could bring her and her resolve nearly crumbled.

  She stiffened her spine.

  “We have a problem, Joey.”

  “Great deduction, Watson.”

  He ignored her sass. “I want to see you again.”

  A different kind of regret filled her. In all honesty, she’d love nothing more than to spend more time with Sebastian, in and out of bed, but it was out of the question. Forget that he was technically her supervisor, he was smart, sexy and dangerous. The kind of guy that could easily break her heart. The kind she could easily fall for…hard.

  She shoved her foot into her boot and tugged. “Sorry,” she said with a shrug as she glanced down at him. “It’s pumpkin time, Cinderella.”

  He frowned. “It’s only Saturday.”

  “Can’t,” she said brusquely, then pulled on her other boot. “I’m busy.”

  She wasn’t. She had no plans whatsoever until tomorrow afternoon, but he didn’t need to know that. Although Molly would more than likely have worked herself into a feline snit by the time she did get home. Her persnickety cat didn’t appreciate being left to her own devices all night and half the day, but a treat and some cuddle time would smooth her leopardlike fur to some degree.

  She cast a quick glance in his direction. If his narrow-eyed stare was any indication, he wasn’t buying her line of BS. Too bad. She needed time to distance herself from him, to regain her composure before she faced him in the office Monday morning.

  Good luck. She let out a sigh and stood. “I think it’s best if we just pretend last night never happened.” She located her leather jacket near the bedroom door and shrugged into it.

  He swung his feet to the floor and came off the bed in one easy movement. Heaven help her, she stared. She just couldn’t help herself. In the light of day, Sebastian Stanhope was even more glorious.

  The erection he was sporting wasn’t half-bad, either.

  Heat rushed to her face and she lifted her gaze to his. “I had a lovely time,” she said in a nervous rush, “but I really do have to go home.” To take a cold shower.

  Her throat constricted when he crossed the room. Those pleasure-giving hands settled on her upper arms, sending tiny tremors of delight chasing over her skin.

  “Stay with me today.”

  She bit her lip. The man was temptation personified. And trouble, with a big fat T.

  She shook her head and looked away. “I can’t,” she said, hating that she had no choice but to deny him. Hating even more the regret so blatantly evident in her voice.

  He tucked his fingers under her chin and gently turned her to face him. “Another time, another place?”

  No truer words, she thought sadly. “Yeah,” she whispered in agreement. “Another time.”

  He dipped his head and kissed her. Deeply, tenderly. Fool that she was, she kissed him back, enjoying this last parting moment even though her heart suddenly ached. Because there’d be no more kisses for them? Ever? Or because she’d already started falling for him?

  She refused to even consider the answer. Regretfully, she ended the kiss. “Goodbye, Sebastian.”

  She spun on her heel and left. By the time she hit the pavement, her hopes that the next two days would be long enough for her to convince herself that making love to Sebastian hadn’t been a monumental and earth-shattering experience were practically nonexistent.

  * * *

  “Where have you been? I’ve been calling you all morning.”

  Joey didn’t appreciate the accusation in Brooke’s tone, but figured it was her guilty conscience making her feel mildly agitated. “I turned off my cell.”

  “Since when don’t you check for messages?”

  “Gee,” she said, standing back to let her older sister inside the small foyer of the carriage house, “nice to see you, too.”

  Brooke set a large shopping bag with the Worthington logo on the front on the antique bench. She worked at the department store as a window dresser. “These are for Reba,” she said, unwinding a wool scarf from her neck. “I thought she might like them.”

  Joey peered into the bag, but the clothing items were all carefully wrapped in delicate tissue paper. That was so Brooke, she thought. “Didn’t we go through all of Mom’s things a couple of months ago?”

  “We did.” Brooke hung her scarf on the hook by the door, then shrugged out of her wool coat. “I found those in the back of Mom’s closet.”

  “And you brought them here because…?”

  “Because you said you were taking Reba to lunch next week.”

  Since their mother’s passing, she, Brooke and Katie had taken to looking in on Reba, their mother’s oldest and closest friend. Joey managed a weak smile. “Ah, yes,” she murmured. She’d forgotten, primarily because her mind had been elsewhere. Like on Sebastian.

  “I was about to make some tea. Want some?”

  Brooke rubbed her hands over her upper arms. “Perfect. It’s freezing out there today.”

  “Amazing how that happens every January.” Joey flashed her sister a saucy grin, then took off for the kitchen. She had the kettle filled and on the stove by the time Brooke joined her.

  Joey reached into the cabinet for a teak serving tray, then carefully brought down a pair of delicate china cups and the matching teapot. “Are you coming to dinner next week?”

  Brooke shrugged and looked away. “I’m not sure.”

  Joey let out a sigh, although she understood her sister’s reluctance to walk inside the lion’s den. “The Admiral keeps asking about you.”

  Ever since Brooke had dropped the bomb on her grandparents that she wasn’t a Winfield by birth, her relationship with their grandmother had been strained at best. Joey suspected the tension in their relationship stemmed not so much because of Brooke’s parentage, but because of the scandalous photos of a topless Brooke and Boston’s bad boy, David Carrera, that had shown up in the tabloids. Heaven forbid a Winfield should cause tongues to wag.

  “I’ll think about it,” Brooke said, but Joey doubted the subject was usually far from Brooke’s mind. Familial duty had always been high on her elder sister’s list of priorities.

  Brooke crossed her arms and leaned back against the ceramic-tiled counter. “So, where were you?”

  It was Joey’s turn to shrug. “Nowhere important.” She aimed for nonchalance but ended up closer to high-pitched and guilt-ridden. What was she supposed to say? That she’d spent the night boffing her new boss’s brains out? And enjoying every glorious second of it?

  She added tea leaves to the strainer before sliding a quick glance in Brooke’s direction. Her sister gave her one of those looks, the kind only an older sister had the secret password to. The kind that said she knew Joey was full of crap.

  Brooke offered one of her more irritating smiles. “So? Who is he?”

  Joey concentrated on cutting into the leftover crumb coffee cake she’d pilfered from her grandmother’s cook. “It really doesn’t matter.”

  “Are you going to see him again?”

  “That all depends on how you might define ‘seeing him a
gain,’” Joey answered cryptically. Technically, she’d be spending a great deal of time with Sebastian, but not in the way Brooke meant.

  The teakettle started to whistle. “Saved by the whistle.”

  “Bell,” Brooke corrected.

  “Whatever. A distraction is a distraction as far as I’m concerned. I’ll take what I can get.”

  “You’re not getting off that easy,” Brooke said with a laugh as Joey poured the steaming water into the teapot. “Now I really want details. Who is this guy?”

  She refused to make a big deal out of her one-time-only, never-gonna-happen-again night of sexual bliss with Sebastian. What was the point?

  “Joey?”

  Joey popped the crumb cake slices into the microwave and pressed the reheat button. “You’re not going to let up until I tell you, are you?”

  Brooke’s irritating smile widened. “Nope.”

  The microwave dinged. Joey arranged the dessert plates on the tray along with the items for tea.

  “He’s my boss,” she said in a rush. She picked up the tray and hurried into the

  cozy living room, as if that would be the end of the conversation. With her sisters, not gonna happen.

  A fire burned in the stone fireplace. Molly lay curled on the arm of the chintz chair near the leaded glass window overlooking the winter dormant garden.

  Brooke joined her, concern evident in her soft brown eyes. “Define ‘boss.’”

  “Oh, no, not any of them.” Joey shuddered, knowing Brooke was thinking of one of the three middle-aged senior partners of the firm. “The new guy they hired to head up the litigation division.” Last night when she’d met her sisters for dinner, she’d mentioned the new guy the partners had recruited from a Miami firm, and how she’d been relegated to second chair in Gilson v. Pierce. One thing sleeping with Sebastian hadn’t changed—her disappointment and irritation over having the lead counsel position on the Gilson matter taken away from her.

  Joey shooed Molly from the chair, while Brooke poured tea. “My new boss,” she admitted, taking the teacup Brooke held out for her. “Sebastian Stanhope.”

  “Stanhope?” At Joey’s nod, Brooke asked, “Is he any relation to Emerson Stanhope?”

  The Stanhopes were one of Boston’s oldest and most prominent families. In fact she was fairly certain Emerson and her father had once had some sort of business dealings. “Uh…” Joey hedged, “I don’t know. That’s a subject that never came up.”

  Brooke set her cup on the table. “Joey—”

  “Don’t say it.” Joey dropped a sugar cube into her cup and stirred. “It was a one-time thing and trust me, one that won’t be happening again.”

  “Did you know who he was before you slept with him?” Brooke asked, adding a splash of cream to her Earl Grey.

  Joey scrunched up her nose and nodded. “Not one of my smarter decisions.” But one she wouldn’t apologize for, either. Regardless of the ethics involved, and no matter how plain stupid her choice had been, she simply could not regret making love to Sebastian. Not completely.

  “Joey, how did this happen?” There was no accusation or even judgment in

  Brooke’s tone, only concern.

  Joey leaned back and pulled her feet up onto the chair. She recounted how she’d gone to Rosalie’s last night and had been rendered temporarily insane by the instantaneous attraction between her and Sebastian. When she finished, she set her empty teacup on the rosewood side table and let out a sigh. “I plead hormones,” she said. “It’s a valid affirmative defense.”

  “I doubt that.” Brooke tapped her fingernail against the side of her cup. “So what happens now?”

  “Nothing,” Joey said adamantly. Molly hopped into her lap and rubbed her head against Joey’s hand, demanding affection. She smoothed her hand over the cat’s thick fur. “Monday morning I go into the office and pretend Friday night never happened.”

  “For your sake,” Brooke said, “I really do hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “I do,” Joey said firmly. She dropped her head against the back of the chair, hoping she was right.

  * * *

  “So how does it feel being back in the old neighborhood?” Hunter McAllister asked around a mouthful of pepperoni pizza.

  Sebastian twisted the cap off the bottle of beer and chucked it halfway across the living room into the cardboard box pulling temporary duty as a trash bin. “Cold,” he said to his childhood friend. “I’d forgotten how freaking cold it can get up here.”

  He didn’t bother to remind Hunter that the revitalized North End of Boston was hardly the rough South Boston neighborhood where they’d spent their youth. Even though Sebastian had decided to live in the North End, in his heart, they would always be Southies.

  Hunter balanced his beer bottle on his knee. “Why you’d give up year-round bathing beauties for Beacon Hill snobs is beyond me.”

  “Right,” Sebastian said. “If a woman has a pulse, you’re interested.”

  “Hey, is it my fault women have a thing for a man in uniform?”

  Sebastian seriously doubted Hunter’s Boston P.D. uniform had anything to do with it. His friend had been a chick magnet for as long as Sebastian could remember.

  “Personally,” Hunter said, swiping the last slice of pizza, “I don’t think mystery and that whole ‘more is less’ crap is what it’s cracked up to be. Gimme skin any day. And lots of it. And you willingly walk away from it to come back here? Dude, you need your head examined.”

  If Hunter knew how little time Sebastian had actually spent on the beaches of Miami or enjoying the bathing beauties, as his friend referred to the bikini-clad set, he’d be drummed out of the corps for life. Work hard and then work even harder. Truth be told, Friday night’s encounter with Joey was the most fun he’d had with the opposite sex in too damn long.

  Too bad that one night was all he’d have, even if it never should’ve happened. He was no stranger to one-night stands, not that he made a habit of them. But tangling the sheets with a woman he’d known upfront he’d be not only working with but supervising, had been a mistake of the first order. Yet even that knowledge did little to stop the pang of disappointment he’d felt yesterday morning when Joey had declined his offer to spend the day together.

  At least one of them had been thinking clearly, he thought. He’d been thinking, too, but not with the head above his shoulders.

  He’d made good use of the time alone and had kept busy, even if thoughts of Joey had derailed his concentration and good intentions several times throughout the day. Most of the shipping cartons had been unpacked and he’d managed to put his apartment in pretty good shape. And like a good son, he’d even taken the time last night to take his mom to dinner.

  Yet despite his good intentions and the distraction Hunter had provided today with pizza, beer and NFL wild card games on the tube, his thoughts continued to stray to Joey. The sparkling shade of blue her eyes turned when she was aroused. The way her hair brushed against his abdomen like a cloud of silk when she’d loved him with her mouth.

  He blew out a ragged stream of breath. He needed to get a grip. Or a life.

  “Mystery has it perks,” he said suddenly. Discovering a woman’s secrets—Joey’s in particular.

  “What?” Hunter asked, his attention back on the game.

  “Women.” Sebastian took a swig of beer. “The feminine mystique. It’s not so bad.”

  Hunter frowned and shot him a glance. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Sebastian shook his head. “Forget it.” He picked up the empty pizza box and walked into the kitchen, stopping midway to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback throw his second interception of the quarter.

  “Bench him,” Hunter bellowed at the television set. “That kid just can’t handle pressure. We’re gonna cream them next week, provided Pitt can pull this one out of their asses to even get there.”

  By “we,” Sebastian knew Hunter meant the New England Patriots. �
��He’s still young,” Sebastian said, defending the quarterback. “Cut him some slack.”

  The partners wouldn’t be cutting him any slack if they found out that he’d slept with one of their associates. There’d been no excuse for it. He’d known better, yet he’d ignored his instincts and charged full bore into the danger zone with a woman whose last name he didn’t even know. If anyone found out what he’d done, he’d be benched right out of a job.

  He supposed there was a bright side. Joey had made it clear she didn’t seem all that inclined to pursue a relationship outside of the office. For reasons he didn’t care to examine too carefully, that thought irritated the hell out of him.

  Chapter 5

  Unlike most of the associate attorneys at the firm who would’ve been in their offices no later than seven-thirty already racking up billable hours, Joey had been sitting impatiently in a courtroom waiting for Ginny Karnes to be arraigned. Under normal circumstances, she might have been antsy to get into the office herself. Except today was Sebastian’s first day at Samuel, Cyrus and Kane and she was grateful for the brief reprieve, glad to have a legitimate excuse to avoid “meeting” her new boss for as long as possible.

  Why, oh, why had she slept with him?

  The answer was painfully obvious—because she couldn’t help herself. She’d wanted him and she’d listened to her inner bad girl…again. There was something seriously tweaked with her DNA. All of her sisters possessed their mother’s minor rebellious streak, but she’d inherited more than her fair share—all the way to the nth degree.

  Cold air blasted her as she left the courthouse, so she burrowed deeper into her black wool coat. No one had to know she’d slept with Sebastian. All she had to do was play it cool and no one would ever guess she had a serious case of lust going for the firm’s newest hotshot. More importantly, no one would ever know she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the man all weekend long, either. Especially not him, the object of her obsession…er…thoughts.