me?” It had entered his thoughts this afternoon that she was an odd ambassador with her request. It was occurring to him tonight that her father might be entirely unaware that she’d even made one. What sort of father let a lovely daughter come to a tavern to meet a stranger? Either one who didn’t care or one who didn’t know. He was beginning to suspect the latter.
She was silent for a moment, her green eyes weighing her options. If she was going to lie, it would be right now. “I won’t stand for any dishonesty, Jenna.” he prompted softly. “I will have the truth or nothing, I can’t help you otherwise.”
She faced him squarely, confirming his suspicions. “My father knows little if anything of this current situation. He’s been ill since October. He’s been to the mill perhaps twice. It would kill him to know he’s suspected of being involved in whatever is going on. My father is an honest man.”
“And his daughter?” Hayden eyed her carefully. “May I assume you’ve been running the place?” It certainly seemed so but he wanted her to verify it. Assumptions often led to trouble as he knew all too well.
“Yes.” She answered tersely. The question had put her on the defensive. He could guess why. She was waiting for him to demean the idea a woman could run a mill as well as a man.
“What about the day to day operations? Who oversees the place when you cannot be there?” Hayden went smoothly forward, not stooping to take the bait. He had no quarrel with gender equality to a large degree. In his experience, it made for better bed sport. If she wanted to run a bobbin mill, he had no problem with that either.
“My foreman. He’s competent but relatively new. My father hired him in October before he fell ill.”
Hayden chuckled. She didn’t like the foreman; that much was evident. She’d made it clear with her begrudging use of the word ‘competent’ the man had not been her choice. That would be interesting to look into. Disliking one’s foreman could lead to tension. What sort of tension? Tension purely over business or did it stem from a more personal, sexual attraction? Either way, it was bound to be uncomfortable. He couldn’t imagine a man working easily for her. One couldn’t be in Jenna Priess’s presence and not entertain thoughts of a certain caliber Goodness knew he was having some of those thoughts right now — thoughts he shouldn’t have, couldn’t have. Jenna Priess was not Miss Last Night, which meant she wasn’t his type at all.
Hayden crossed a leg over his knee and forged ahead with business. “Perhaps I’ll visit tomorrow and speak with the foreman. There might be something he can tell me that will offer some clues about your disappearing workers.”
Jenna shook her head, her tone brisk. “It will be a wasted effort. I’ve spoken with him several times. He recalls nothing new.”
“Still, new ears may pick up new insights.” Hayden insisted with a smile. Male ears. The foreman might not have told her everything simply because she was female.
She bristled at the implication, leveling shrewd eyes at him over the rim of her tea cup. “Do you doubt my ability to sift through information?”
“Not at all,” Hayden winked. “I’m doubting his.” In an unguarded moment with another male, without a woman present as a constant reminder of discretion, who knew what the foreman would let slip in the throes of an unexpected visit with no time to prepare himself. Hayden would make sure of it. He was not without his own persuasive tools.
“Very well then.” Jenna set down her empty tea cup and rose. She stuck out her hand for him to shake. “I’m glad that’s settled. Thank you again for taking the case.”
It wasn’t really a case, not yet anyway. He didn’t bother to correct her. He took her hand. She was prepared for a handshake but he had something better in mind. Hayden tugged her to him, drawing her close in surprise.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, the hint of breathlessness in her tone ruining the attempt at chagrin. It confirmed his suspicions.
“I am sealing our bargain with something better than a handshake.”
“I am not that girl from the crowd.” Jenna warned. “Someone whom you can kiss at will simply because you’re popular.”
For a moment he didn’t follow. Who? He’d been so intent on Jenna, all other thoughts had fled. “Oh, Miss Last Night.” He murmured as an afterthought, more to himself than to her.
She took umbrage with the comment. “Whoever she was, I’m not Miss Tonight, not by any stretch of your imagination.” She tried to pull away but he held her fast. He could see she was fighting the attraction. She should just admit to it as he had. Life was simpler when one admitted to such impulses.
Hayden grinned, thoroughly enjoying the chase. “I don’t know about that, my imagination can stretch pretty far and you haven’t exactly said no. Admit it, Jenna. You’re not arguing with me, you’re arguing with yourself.” Hayden had recognized the dilemma immediately. She didn’t really want to resist, she just thought she should. He solved the dilemma for her.
His mouth slid over hers before Jenna could even think to utter another protest over his latest audacity. They fitted together effortlessly as if he’d done this a thousand times, which, a remote part of her brain noted, he most likely had. The rest of her simply didn’t care. Unorthodox or not, the feel of his lips, the touch of his hand against her cheek, the caress of his fingers as they cupped her jaw, were positively electrifying against her skin, her lips.
It was quite unlike any deal she’d ever sealed before. This was no chaste peck of polite acknowledgment. It was bold, hot, assertive; very much like the man himself, and it struck at the core of her, invoking a fiery response that was part passion and part anger. She could not help but respond to the expertise of his touch, his kiss. Her body answered his. Her tongue engaged his when it teased her mouth, her body pressed against his where he had dragged her to him, drinking in the muscled planes of his masculinity.
That was the passion reacting. She was experienced enough to recognize it for it was. She was also experienced enough to know that Hayden Islington was getting precisely the response he’d anticipated. That angered her as much as the kiss itself inspired her. She’d taken the bait.
Jenna broke the kiss, her anger and her pride overpowering the passion, although not easily. Kisses of that magnitude didn’t happen every day and were not to be squandered. She took a step back. “I am not one of your women who can be bought with kisses and cheap flattery.”
The accusation did not have the effect she was intending. His gaze raked her. “No, you most certainly are not.” He was amused, damn him. It was etched in the brackets of his smile, the crinkling of his blue eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest, a gesture that stretched the seams of his jacket enough to remind her how well-made he’d felt against her curves only moments ago as he fixed her with laughing eyes. “But that doesn’t mean you didn’t think about it. Tell me the truth, just for a moment you wanted to be her.”
“You’re quite possibly the most conceited man I’ve ever encountered.” Jenna replied drily, but something else came to mind. Maybe the word she was looking for wasn’t conceited at all, but intelligent, an admission she would make to herself only as part of calculating his character. She had felt a twinge of awe and envy for the woman he’d pulled from the crowd and kissed so hard, so thoroughly, Jenna had felt the power of that kiss even at a distance. She suspected every other woman there had too.
It was what he’d wanted, Jenna realized. He’d orchestrated that, perhaps even down to the type of woman he had chosen. It wasn’t envy she felt now for the girl. The girl had been blonde and dressed in a bright blue outfit that had stood out against the white of the snow and the darkness of Islington’s own attire. They’d made a striking couple to the onlookers and Islington had known it.
“You are a consummate showman, it would seem. Everything arranged precisely to the maximum effect. I will not tolerate being used in such a manner. I must remind you again that I am not that sort of woman.”