“Too bad I wasn’t stark naked instead, then,” she said lightly, trying to cheer him up. She gave him a wicked smile. “Just picture it, gorgeous me in my birthday suit sprawled out on your satin sheets. That would have really caught her eye.”
Oddly enough, that picture made King go hot all over. He suddenly realized he’d never really thought of Elissa as a woman before. She was so young, so naive, so trusting. She was like a little sister to him. But now, as his dark eyes wandered over her, he realized with a start that she was pretty sexy in that gown, and he wasn’t thinking brotherly thoughts at all. He blinked. Maybe he was getting old and his glands were going crazy. Either that or his confusion over Bess was getting to him. In an effort to ground himself in reality once more, he reached out and clasped her shoulders. It was a mistake—they were bare.
Elissa started. It was a rare thing for King to touch her, and she was amazed at the pleasure the feel of his hands on her bare skin gave her.
“I think this will do it,” he mused, even more confused yet relieved he could still find voice to respond to her joking remark. “Temporarily, at least. How about joining us for drinks, just for an hour or so? Just until Bobby gets here?”
He sounded almost desperate, and Elissa grinned. “Sure. What are friends for?” she said easily. She wondered how much he really cared for Bess and if his only motive in the charade was to ward off his sister-in-law. Perhaps he needed a barrier against his own impulses, too, to keep himself honest. Hard to tell; he could be such a poker face. At times she wondered if she really knew him at all. She searched his dark eyes, frowning slightly. “King, is she in love with you?”
“I don’t think she knows, Elissa,” he said, his voice quiet and tense. “She’s lonely and bored—maybe a bit afraid, as well. Bobby leaves her alone too much. I’m not sure if she’s really interested in me or just using me as a ploy to get Bobby’s attention.”
In fact, he was afraid to take a chance on Bess’s developing any real feelings for him, since he was having a hard enough time resisting her now. But he wasn’t admitting any of that to Elissa.
He’d always had a soft spot for his sister-in-law, he acknowledged. Few people in her current social circle knew how rough she’d had it, what with a father who drank and kept her mother pregnant all the time. Bess hadn’t even owned a decent dress when Bobby brought her home and announced that they were getting married. King had formed an immediate affection for the shy little blonde, and that tenderness had held on for the past ten years. Now it was hard to decide whether it was still brotherly affection or something more. Bess had never actively encouraged him before now.
Elissa caught the wistful look in King’s eyes. Her lips pursed. “Did you ever have something going with her, maybe before Bobby did?” she probed gently.
He shook his head. “She was just eighteen when they married. They were the same age, in fact.” He shrugged. “I was already eleven years her senior. Besides, Bobby saw her first.” He laughed, then instantly sobered. “They were close in those early days, when Bobby was working his way up in the business world. But now, with their years of living high on the hog and with the oil industry depressed, money’s gotten a little tight.” He frowned, studying her. “You know, I think maybe Bobby’s working himself like crazy because he’s afraid Bess won’t want him if he can’t support her in the style she’s gotten accustomed to. And because he’s ignoring her in his pursuit of new building contracts, she thinks he doesn’t care.”
“What a mess.” She sighed.
“You aren’t kidding. And guess who’s smack-dab in the middle of it?” he asked ruefully. “They’ve gotten along pretty well the past ten years, but then, there was always lots of money. Bess used to joke about leaving him if he ever lost his shirt. She said she never wanted to be poor again. I don’t think she really meant it about leaving him, but Bobby tends to take things literally, and they don’t seem to talk much anymore. Anyway, I helped Bobby make some real-estate contacts here in Jamaica, and two months ago