Читать книгу The Tycoon's Blackmailed Mistress - Maxine Sullivan - Страница 7

The next day Danielle had just bent to pick up some broken glass when the doorbell rang, making her cut herself on one of the pieces. Sucking in a sharp breath, she quickly drew back her hand, relieved to see the cut was only small. She already had a lump on her head where the heavy gold picture frame had toppled onto her as she’d been adjusting it.

But all that was forgotten when she opened the door and found the stunningly virile Flynn Donovan standing there, dressed in a dark business suit that fit his body as if it were a labor of love.

“I heard breaking glass,” he said without preamble, his gaze taking in her orange-burst silk tunic over white pants, down to her white sandals, as if looking for injury. There was more in that look than necessary and she fought not to react. But her skin quivered anyway. That look was too seductive…too physical….

And then she remembered who this man was and what he wanted from her. At the very least he wanted money.

At the worst…

She forced aside her apprehension and shot him a cold look. “How did you get in the building? We have a security code, you know. It’s supposed to keep out unwanted guests.”

“I have my ways,” he said, dismissively, with all the arrogance of someone rich enough to get anything he wanted. “The broken glass?” he reminded her.

She raised one slim shoulder. “A picture frame fell off the wall.”

His eyes sharpened with a concern that was at odds with the forbidding set of his jaw. “Are you hurt?”

For a moment she was tempted to lie. “A small cut, that’s all.” Nonchalantly she lifted her finger to show him, but when she saw how much blood covered the tissue, she gasped.

He swore. “Danielle, that is no small cut,” he muttered, reaching for her hand, his touch scorching her. She tried to pull back…tried not to welcome the feel of his skin against hers…but he held firm.

To counteract the effect, she glared at him. “I wouldn’t have cut it at all if you hadn’t rang the doorbell just as I was picking up the glass.”

“Next time I’ll leave you to bleed to death,” he said brusquely, undoing the tissue to reveal the injured finger. He scowled as he examined it. “There’s a lot of blood, but I think you’ll get away without stitches.” He raised his head, his dark eyes stabbing her. “Any other injuries I should know about?”

Tell him no.

But the truth slipped out. “Only a bump on the head.”

“Show me.”

She winced where she felt the lump. “It’s nothing, really. It’s—”

“Bleeding,” he growled, moving in closer, touching her head.

She swallowed convulsively. “I’ll be fine.”

“Where’s your first-aid kit?”

“In the kitchen, but—”

“Right.” He cupped her elbow and started her forward with him. “Let’s take a proper look at it.”

Her skin continued to scorch where he touched. “Mr. Donovan, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than play doctor with me,” she said as they sidestepped the broken glass.

He shot her a masculine look that coiled tension inside her. His thoughts didn’t need to be said out loud to fill the silence between them.

As soon as she reached the kitchen, she quickly moved away from him and took the small box out of a cupboard to place on the bench. He followed her, then began searching through the contents. Taking advantage of the moment, she stepped back, grateful the kitchen was large and airy and far less intimate than two people standing in a doorway.

“Move that stool over there and sit under the light,” he ordered. “I’ll be able to see better.”

That was what she was afraid of. But, her heart thudding against her ribs, she did what he said anyway. Better to get it over and done with so he’d leave sooner rather than later.

He came toward her, the ball of cotton in his hand contrasting with the tan of his skin. And then he stood behind her, bringing a very male scent with him. She’d noticed it when he’d walked in but now the scent intensified like a potent wine, ready to lull her into blissful surrender.

She jumped when he brushed a lock of her blond hair aside and began dabbing at the cut. His touch was gentle yet probing, the way a man’s touch should be. Would he be the same in bed? Oh, yes, he’d know how to turn a woman on.

“Mr. Donovan—”

“Flynn,” he suddenly said in a rough voice.

She ignored that. “Mr. Donovan, I think—”

“How long will it take you to pack?”

That pulled her thoughts up short. “Pack?”

“For Tahiti. I have to go there for business. My jet’s on standby. We can leave within the hour.”

“Tahiti?” She spun to face him, barely wincing as his fingers brushed her scalp. Dear God, what was he saying?

His dark eyes watched her with a knowing look in them. “I have a house there. Our privacy will be assured.”

It fell into place then. He expected her to go away with him as payment for the loan. God, did he really think she would do such a thing?

“I don’t need any privacy,” she choked, strangely hurt. “I don’t intend to go away with you.” A burst of anger hit her. “Anyway, just who do you think you are? You snap your fingers and I’m to drop everything? Sorry. Your women friends may do that but I have a mind of my own.”

His eyes hardened. “Oh, come now, Danielle. Who are you trying to fool?”

She straightened her shoulders. “The only fool around here is you.”

His face tightened, making her aware of the firm thrust of his jaw and the broad plane of his forehead. “Don’t underestimate me.”

A frisson of fear slipped down her spine. This man had wealth, power and the right connections and he believed she’d done him an injustice. As much as she wanted to deny he could make life uncomfortable for her, she knew he would do it if pushed. She couldn’t afford that. There wasn’t only herself to think about now.

She moistened her mouth and tried to be conciliatory. “Mr. Donovan, please…I don’t sleep with men I barely know.”

“That isn’t what your late husband told me.”

She felt the blood drain from her face.

“I see you don’t like being caught out,” he mocked, seeming to watch her more closely.

Pain squeezed her heart. Robert…her husband…the man she’d been married to for three years…had told Flynn Donovan such lies about her? Why?

“Um…” She cleared her throat. “What exactly did Robert say?”

“That you married him for his money. And that you slept around and spent it all,” he said bluntly.

It was just as well she was sitting on the stool or she may well have fallen. How could Robert have said those things about her? She’d thought she’d loved Robert when she married him. And she never, ever slept around and she’d never wasted his money. Never.

Then she looked at Flynn Donovan. At that moment she hated Robert for his lies, but she hated Flynn more for his lack of compunction over her feelings. “I see. You obviously believed him.”

His lips twisted. “When he explained the reason for defaulting on the loan, I wasn’t actually concerned with character references.”

“Yet you lent the money to us based on character,” she said, her voice remarkably calm considering the turmoil inside her.

His eyes narrowed. “No, we based it on the fact that he was coming into money and would pay us back as soon as he received it. He seemed a good risk at the time. We didn’t take into account that you had the money spent before he could even get to it.”

Danielle remembered Robert mentioning something about coming into an inheritance from one of his aunts, but she hadn’t realized it was a large enough amount to serve as collateral for a loan. For him to have then spent that amount plus the two hundred thousand he’d borrowed from Flynn Donovan spoke of sheer irresponsibility.

And Monica? Had she known? Danielle didn’t think so. Her mother-in-law was well-off in her own right but had never discussed money and, in any case, she knew Monica had never suspected her son had a problem with money.

She certainly hadn’t suspected any problems, Danielle mused as she realized Flynn had walked over to the first-aid kit and was rummaging around in it. One thing was clear. No one would believe her if she chose to refute Robert’s claims.

“Why deny it?” Flynn said coldly over his shoulder, confirming her fears. “Your car alone cost fifty thousand dollars, not to mention your frequent European holidays and shopping sprees. Your credit cards were maxed to the limit, too.”

Credit cards? European holidays? Shopping sprees? She fought to take it all in. Had someone stolen her identity? It certainly hadn’t been her doing all those things. Robert had been the one to…

Oh, God. Is that what Robert had been doing on his frequent business trips? The ones where he’d wanted her to stay home as company for his mother?

As for the car, she’d had no idea of its cost. Robert had always seemed to have plenty of money and as far as she’d known, the car had been in his name only. He definitely hadn’t insured it. Or himself. If only he had, she could at least have paid back some of the money now.

And then something occurred to her. The holidays, the shopping, didn’t sound like something one did alone. Had Robert been unfaithful to her? Looking back, she knew he was selfish enough to want his cake and eat it, too. What sort of double life had he been living? And why didn’t that thought hurt as much as it should?

Suddenly she realized Flynn was in front of her, bringing her into the present with a rush. In that moment they were right back to one man, one woman.

Her heart gave a sudden lurch when he picked up her finger and covered it with the antiseptic cream before placing a plaster around it. The gentleness of his touch confused her. How could he be tender in one aspect and so hardhearted in another?

But she wasn’t about to show him her uncertainty. He would take advantage of it. “Mr. Donovan, you think I want you for your money, yet you’re willing to take me away with you? That doesn’t make sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” he murmured, his throaty tone faint but potent. “We were meant to spend time together.”

“Of all the…” She almost jumped to her feet but that would have brought her closer to him and at the last millisecond she stopped herself. His eyes darkened at how close she’d come to being in his arms.

She leveled him a look. “Don’t let me keep you,” she said, but cursed her husky voice and refused to allow the tip of her tongue to moisten her suddenly dry lips.

He cupped her chin with his warm fingers, holding her head still, as if he wanted to wet her lips for her. “You won’t,” he said huskily, his eyes intent on her mouth.

His head began to lower. She lifted her face up to him…ready…ready to become his.

And then he moved imperceptibly closer, and the movement broke through the fog of desire that seemed to swirl around them.

His? Dear God, what was she thinking? She never wanted to belong to another man again.

And definitely not Flynn Donovan.

She pulled her head back. “There is no way I’m going away with you,” she murmured, shaken at how close she’d come to kissing him.

Something flickered far back in those dark eyes before they flashed a now-familiar display of arrogance. “Is that so?” To prove his point, he lifted some strands of her hair from her cheek and tugged her toward him.

She held her head still, refusing to wince at the slight pain, unwilling to let him force her into submission. She wasn’t going to become his plaything. She couldn’t, despite the desire coursing through her.

“Do you think you could leave now?” she said coolly, determined not to let him see his effect on her. “I’m expecting a…” She paused deliberately. “Friend.”

He let her strands of hair drop back into place and drawled mockingly, “You have no…friend.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Perhaps I’ve been checking up on you?” He smiled in satisfaction when she jumped. “But that’s not how I know. A man just knows these things. You tremble when I touch you….” He touched her cheek. “See.”

She jerked her head away. “With revulsion.”

He gave a hard laugh. “That’s a new one. No woman has ever told me that before.”

“Then you’d better get used to it.”

“Why? Do you expect I’ll touch you a lot?” he mocked but his voice had a raw edge. His eyes raked over her. “No, you had better get used to the trembling. I intend to make you…tremble…often.”

She inwardly trembled now. “Stop playing games.”

“Oh, but the games have only just begun,” he said silkily. “You owe me money and I will collect.”

“Wh-what? Now?”

He seemed to take inventory of each feature on her face. “No. I’d rather wait and savor you in my own time, at my own pace.”

She felt as if her breath was cut off. “I’m not a delicacy to be enjoyed.”

“Really? I think you’d be very good in small bites.”

She snorted. “I would give you food poisoning.”

“Aah, but I’d enjoy myself first.” A sardonic gleam of amusement entered his eyes. “Just like you. Spend now, pay later. That’s your motto, isn’t it?” Without warning, one brow lifted with cynicism. “I wonder how many other people you’ve tried to cheat?”

She went rigid. She’d never tried to cheat anyone in her life. She’d always considered herself dependable and loyal. Even with Robert, she’d stayed with him because she’d believed in her marriage vows.

Of course, she hadn’t known Robert had taken his vows less than seriously in return.

“Nothing to say?”

These allegations had gone on long enough. She had to make him see sense. Yesterday she’d been shocked by his accusations and hadn’t really believed he intended to make her his lover.

But now…today…with him coming here…with his jet ready for Tahiti…she couldn’t let this sham go on.

Yet, dare she tell him? Would it make him even angrier with her when he knew he couldn’t have her? Why he couldn’t have her? Would he get spiteful, the way Robert used to when he didn’t get his own way?

She drew herself up without actually getting off the stool. “Mr. Donovan—”

“Flynn.”

“Flynn,” she said, conceding just this once. “I’m sorry, but there is no way I can share your bed.”

“You can’t, eh? And why would that be?” Thankfully he moved back to lean against the sink, but the sheer insolence in his stance made her heart dip. It was obvious he thought she was just being difficult for the sake of it.

Still, she had to try. She slipped off the stool, automatically arching her spine, her silky top a river of orange as it flowed into place over her white slacks. Her back was aching a little lower down but she hoped that was to be expected.

Then she heard him suck in a breath. “My God! Are you pregnant?”

Danielle straightened, shocked that he’d guessed the truth even though she wasn’t showing. And suddenly she was aware that her actions had spoken louder than words. Perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. Hopefully for him to see that she was going to be a mother would be more effective than all the words in the world.

He raised his eyes to her face and there was a terrible pain in them that tugged at her heartstrings. She wasn’t sure why, but her hands went to her stomach, protectively. “Um…that’s what I wanted to tell you.”

He stood there for a long moment. Staring…And then he pushed himself upright and away from the sink, his body rigid, his mouth curling with contempt. “Now I see what this is all about,” he rasped. “No wonder you wouldn’t fall into bed with me. You wanted more, just like your husband said you did with him.”

She blinked. “More?”

“A marriage license to be exact.”

Shock ran through her. “You’re crazy,” she managed to say, if a little unsteadily. She wouldn’t be thinking about marriage again. Not for a long time.

“You’ve gone through one husband’s money—” the words hit her like bullets “—and now you’re trying to tie yourself to another. What better way to get sympathy than to play the grieving but pregnant widow without a penny to her name? Poor, beautiful Danielle,” he sniped at her in a harsh voice. “Most men would give up their freedom to possess you, and being pregnant makes you even more attractive to some. There’s something dignified about having a wife with child.” His angry gaze swept over her. “Is it even your husband’s baby?”

She felt sick with the horror of it all. “I resent you asking, but, yes, it’s my husband’s baby.” His mocking words echoed in her mind. “Or should I say my late husband’s baby.”

“Did he know?”

It wasn’t any of Flynn’s business but she inclined her head anyway. Robert had been ecstatic, for which she was grateful, no matter what she was finding out about him now. She hadn’t wanted a child until things had improved between them, but somehow she must have missed taking her contraceptive pill one time and she’d fallen pregnant.

Naturally she’d been fearful at first, not because the child would go unloved, but because Monica and Robert loved in a smothering way. But she knew she was strong enough to keep that in check and she had even begun to welcome her pregnancy. Her baby would bring some happiness back into their lives.

And it still would, she told herself, feeling Flynn’s eyes burning into her.

Ignoring the pain of insult, she raised her chin. “Mr. Donovan, let me make one thing clear to you. I have no intention of looking for a surrogate father for my baby.” She paused for effect. “And even if I was, I’d never pick someone like you. My baby deserves more than someone with a checkbook for a heart.”

He walked toward her, his dark eyes without a glimmer of kindness. “Don’t presume to know me, lady. If that was my child growing in your belly you wouldn’t have a choice.” With those words, he stormed past her and out of the apartment.

Eyes misting over, Danielle just stood there as the door slammed behind him, a terrible ache in her breast, her thoughts in turmoil. Never in a million years would she have believed all this could be happening to her.

Yesterday morning she hadn’t even met Flynn Donovan. She’d assumed his letter about the money was a mistake. Now she’d been accused not only of cheating on her husband and abusing his money, but of being a calculating schemer who wanted nothing but a rich man to play father to her child. It was clear he had far from a high opinion of her.

Well, she didn’t have one of him, either. He may be one of the richest men in Australia but as far as she was concerned he could keep his money and his private jet and…and…

She swiped at her tears. What did it matter now, anyway? The way Flynn had stormed out of here left her in no doubt he wouldn’t be back. No, he’d be putting the debt collectors onto her now. They’d be hounding her like a pack of dogs after a bone.

She took a shaky breath. He needn’t bother. She’d find a way to pay the money back. How could she enjoy her independence knowing that her late husband had “stolen” the money, not just from Flynn but from Donovan Enterprises, as well?

And she had too much to lose if she didn’t.

Oh, God. Suddenly it hit her that the debt collectors would go talk to Monica. And if the older woman became aware of the loan, she would use it to get custody of the baby. Oh, dear God, she would. Danielle was never more certain of anything in her life. Her mother-in-law wanted…no, needed someone to replace her son…and who better than Robert’s unborn child?

And if Flynn Donovan believed she’d defaulted on the money, then Monica would, too, and could make a case for Danielle being an unfit mother, and probably with Flynn’s help. After all, how did she prove that it hadn’t been her signature? Her mother-in-law only needed a sympathetic judge…or a corrupt one.

Danielle’s heart squeezed so tightly with pain it felt as if it had wedged under her rib cage. She couldn’t take the risk of losing her child, no matter how slender.