Sweet Fortune

surged forward one last time, his gritty shout of satisfaction muffled against her mouth. And then he collapsed against her, his body damp and heavy and satiated.

    Hatch stirred and opened his eyes when he realized Jessie was starting to wriggle beneath him. “Can't you lie still?” he muttered.
    “You're getting heavy.”
    She was probably right. She was so soft and delicate compared to him, and he was no doubt crushing her into the faded cushions. But, damn, it felt good just to lie here on top of her, breathing in the scents of her moist body and of their recent lovemaking. A deep awareness of the intimacy of the moment flowed through him, making him loath to move.
    He looked down at her and thought he saw the same cautious awareness in her cat-green eyes. He also saw uncertainty and wariness mirrored there. From now on she would take him very seriously. Hatch smiled slightly.
    “I didn't think we'd go nuclear quite so fast,” he said, not without satisfaction.
    “But you were prepared for any eventuality, weren't you?” Tears appeared at the edges of her beautiful eyes.
    Hatch was startled. He reminded himself that Jessie was an emotional creature. He framed her face gently between his palms. “I've wanted you from the beginning. You knew it. The tension was always there between us. It was just a matter of time.”
    “I suppose you think this changes everything.” She blinked back the tears, clearly struggling for an air of cool challenge. She failed miserably.
    “I suppose I do.” He brushed his mouth across hers. “I'll take care of Saturday, Jessie.”
    She scowled. “What are you talking about?”
    “Like I said, I'll take care of it. You can call Constance and tell her that Vincent will be escorting Elizabeth to the science fair.”
    Jessie's eyes widened. “Just how do you plan to make that happen?”
    He shrugged. “I'm the CEO of Benedict Fasteners, remember?”
    “Yes, but my father is president. And nobody gives my father orders.”
    “I can handle Vincent.” Hatch sat up reluctantly, unable to tear his gaze away from the slender, naked length of her. He watched her blush beneath his scrutiny, and he smiled again. Her breasts shifted enticingly as she leaned over the edge of the sofa and groped for her clothing.
    “Why?” she demanded in a small, tight little voice as she held her shirt up like a shield in front of her breasts.
    “Why what?” Deprived of the sight of her breasts, he stared lingeringly at the moist hair between her legs.
    “You know what I'm talking about.” She waved a hand helplessly in the air.
    He raised his eyes to meet hers. “That's a dumb question. We were bound to wind up in bed sooner or later. I was planning on later, but you couldn't resist pushing me, could you? And for some crazy reason, I let you push me right over the edge tonight. This wasn't the way I had planned things, honey. I wanted to do it right. Flowers and champagne. The whole works.”
    “I wasn't talking about…about what just happened. I meant why are you suddenly offering to get Dad to the science fair?”
    “Oh, that.” Hatch shrugged. “Maybe I want you to learn something about me. Something more than what you seem to think you already know.”
    “I see.” She clutched the shirt more tightly to her throat and stared up at him. Her catlike eyes were narrowed with ill-concealed anxiety. “It's not because I let you do what you just did, is it? Is this your notion of compensating me for a toss in the hay? Because if it is, you can just bloody well forget it.”
    “I think it's safe to say that you don't have one single shred of psychic ability, Jessie. If you did, you'd have known better than to make an asinine statement like that. Put your clothes on. We'll go out and get something to eat.” Hatch knew that earlier, before she had emptied him of the sexual tension that had been gnawing at him for weeks, he probably would have been enraged by the accusation. Now, however, he was feeling too lazy and satisfied to take any real offense.
    “I'm not hungry.”
    “I am. Starving, in fact.” He grinned slowly down at her, aware of a happy, exuberant sensation that he had not felt in a long time. “Trust me. You'll feel much better after you've had something to eat and a chance to get back into fighting form. You're just temporarily dazed, that's all.”
    He was right, just as he had known he would be. By the time they had dressed and he had walked her down the street to a