Читать книгу Rising Stars & It Started With… Collections - Кейт Хьюит - Страница 79

RAJ had just climbed into the car that would take him back to the airport when his phone buzzed. Dread settled in his stomach like a lead ball as he listened to the man on the other end.

Then he was yelling at the driver to stop and shoving open the car door at the same time.

If something happened to Veronica, he would never forgive himself.

His staff was already making their way to her office, he knew, but he broke into a run anyway. When he reached the ornate office, it was empty. Worse, the outer office where her secretary sat was also empty.

He made a hard dash to her private residence. Two of his men were already there, knocking on the door.

Raj pushed past them and into the interior of Veronica’s apartment. The gaudy living area was quiet. Just then, a muffled thump and a cry came from the direction of the bedroom. Raj sprinted, drawing the concealed weapon he carried, and kicked open the double doors.

Veronica was naked in the center of the room, a gun hanging limply from her hand. She swayed on her feet, her eyes wide. Another woman lay on the floor, curled in a ball, sobbing. Veronica looked up at him with glassy eyes.

He went and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She was trembling. He took the gun from her fingers and unloaded it with one hand before tossing it onto the bed. Belatedly, he remembered her state of undress. He retrieved the towel lying on the floor, draped it around her. It was damp and cool, but it was all he had.

His men came to lift up Martine and take her away.

“Don’t hurt her,” Veronica said as Martine screamed.

“They won’t, I promise you.”

The room was quiet once Martine and the bodyguards were gone. Veronica lifted her head. Her eyes were red-rimmed. It tore him apart. She reached out as if to touch his face, let her hand drop when she thought better of it.

Despair tore into his gut. He’d done that to her. He’d made her wary of him, and he hated it.

“I’m sorry, Veronica,” he said.

She sucked in a shaky breath. Clung to him.

As much as he knew he should set her away, should put distance between them, he couldn’t do it. He loved the feel of her in his arms. He wanted to hold her for as long as he could.

His arms tightened around her. He’d almost lost her.

“Martine’s mother …” she said.

“I know. I just found out.”

“Madame Brun was behind it all,” she said. “She probably talked the police chief into doing what he did.”

“Some people don’t deal well with the loss of power.” In this case, it was the wife rather than the husband, who, though disappointed in the outcome of the election, was a true politician.

“She threatened to take away Martine’s mother’s pension if Martine didn’t do what she wanted. Martine spied on me, Raj. She told Madame Brun about the baby, and she pasted together the letter and put the doll in my bed.”

“I know. I just got the report. Her mother worked for the Bruns for many years, and lives in an old-age home paid for by the pension she earned from them. If it were taken away, she’d be homeless. Or worse, with the economic situation in Aliz.”

Veronica looked fierce for a moment. “I wouldn’t have allowed that to happen if she’d only come to me! I’d have taken her mother in, paid the pension, whatever it took. Martine was my secretary for two years! I thought she knew me better than that.”

“I imagine she was just scared. And I doubt she ever believed Madame Brun would ask her to …” He looked at the gun lying on the bed, so dark and deadly and gleaming blue in the light. He couldn’t speak the words he was thinking. To kill you. “How did you get the gun?”

“All I had was the towel,” Veronica said. “I reacted without thinking. I threw it at her.”

Ice formed in his veins. She’d thrown a towel at an armed woman.

“You were lucky.”

She nodded, her arms tightening around his waist. “I couldn’t let it end like this. Not after everything.”

My God, she was brave. And incredible. In another life, he’d have probably hired her to work for him. With training, she’d have made a hell of a security professional. Except that he couldn’t bear the thought of her in danger.

Raj tipped her head back so he could see into her eyes. She was frightened, but not to the point of shock. Not yet anyway.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth. And, damn, but he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her. Softly, sweetly. He needed to know she was real, that she was still here and still capable of responding. That he wasn’t imagining it. That he hadn’t actually walked in on something much worse and started to hallucinate that she was unharmed.

Her mouth opened, her tongue tangling with his as she moaned softly. And then she was arching her body into his and he was pulling her closer, pressing her against the evidence of his need for her.

She broke the kiss first, her body stiffening in his embrace. He could tell the moment everything changed, and he let her go. His heart, his body, cried out in protest, but he loosened his grip and she stepped out of it.

Brave, brave Veronica.

She held the edges of her damp towel, her dignity not damaged in the least, and gazed up at him. “It’s no good, Raj,” she said. “We could fall into bed together now, but you’d still walk out in the end. I’m not putting myself through that again.”

“I do want you,” he said in despair. “I want to be with you.” He shoved a hand through his hair, blew out a harsh breath. He felt tight inside, coiled, as if he had to do something or explode. Maybe they could work it out. He could try. For her, he would try.

“I’ll come to Aliz when I can. You’ll be traveling, too—we’ll meet in different places, take it a day at a time.”

She shook her head sadly. Her hair was starting to dry, curling over her shoulders and down her back. She was as wild and untamed as Goa, as beautiful as the sea. He wanted to possess her, ached to possess her.

Frustration arced through him. He knew she wasn’t going to accept what he was trying to offer. What was he offering, really?

“It’s not enough, Raj,” she said. “I want more. I’m not going to settle for half a life with you.”

“It’s all I can give you,” he said, aching for her. He wanted to give her exactly what she desired. But he was afraid he would fail if he tried to take it that far. He had to start small.

She smiled sadly. “I know. But it’s not enough for me. Some women might accept whatever sort of life they could get with the man they love, but I won’t. I can’t. I’ve already lost something precious to me, and survived the experience. I’ll survive you, too.”

Love? She loved him?

He was stunned into silence. He couldn’t think of a thing to say. He didn’t need to.

She did it for him.

“Goodbye, Raj.”

The days turned into a week, and then two weeks, three weeks, and still the pain of losing Raj was as raw as it had been that day in her bedroom when he’d held her close and tried to give her what he thought she wanted.

It still made her angry. And so very frustrated.

Veronica steepled her hands on her desk and rested her chin on the point. She’d been busy these past weeks. She’d worked hard to see her vision for Aliz come to fruition. There’d been endless meetings, phone calls, interviews and a speech to the nation.

Aliz wasn’t out of the woods yet, but things were looking better. The economy was stabilizing, and foreign investment was beginning to trickle in again. People were getting fed and things were getting built.

She couldn’t ask for more.

Her gaze strayed to the evergreen garland decked with red and gold ribbon that draped over the fireplace in her office. It was almost Christmas, but she hadn’t taken time to do anything to prepare. There was no one to shop for, no one to bake cookies for, no one to sit before the tree and enjoy the lights with. She wouldn’t even have a tree if it weren’t for the fact she had a housekeeping staff who had put one up for her because they’d always put one up for the Bruns.

It stood in her residence, decorated with silver and red and gold, the white lights always on whenever she walked in at the end of the day. There were no presents beneath it. She thought of her baby with a pang. He would have been almost eight months old. He wouldn’t have understood what the glitter and presents were about, but he would have likely relished the bright colors and enjoyed tearing the paper.

Veronica didn’t bother trying to sniff back the tears that happened whenever she thought of moments like this. It hurt, but she no longer felt as if she was solely responsible for her loss.

She had Raj to thank for that.

Her private cell phone rang and she jumped. It was not Raj’s name on the display. She hadn’t expected it would be, yet she always seemed to hope it might. But why? There was nothing but heartache in going down that road.

And she’d had enough heartache to last a lifetime.

“Hello, Brady,” she said as she answered the call.

“Angel,” he replied. “How are you? It’s been a few days and I wanted to check.”

“I’m fine,” she said, resting her forehead in one hand. “How about you? Any celebrity gossip for me?”

Brady chuckled. “I’ve heard some juicy things about a certain new heartthrob and a Hollywood icon,” he said. Then he spent the next fifteen minutes giving her every salacious detail of a May-December affair currently delighting the Rodeo Drive set.

“So what are you doing for Christmas?” he asked when he’d finished the tale.

“Nothing much. I have a country to run, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Surely you can spare a few hours for fun. Come to the Hotel Lefevre tomorrow night. I’m throwing a party.”

Veronica blinked. “The Hotel Lefevre? In Aliz City?” It was the oldest and best hotel on the island. Understated and elegant, it had suffered through the economic crisis like everywhere else. That it was still open was a miracle, though the owners had had to sell off many of the treasured paintings that had once adorned the walls, including one that van Gogh had painted for the original owners when he’d spent time on the island before going to France.

“Yes. I’ve decided I want to go somewhere nice, and I want my friends to come, too. Aliz is a charming island. I hear it’s making a comeback.”

Her heart swelled with gratitude and love for her friend. “Brady, I …” She didn’t know what to say. “Are you here now?”

“We just arrived this morning.”

“We?”

“Me and Susan. I really want you to meet her.”

“Susan?” She was beginning to feel like a parrot.

Brady sighed. “The woman I plan to spend the rest of my life with.”

Veronica’s mouth dropped open. “Brady, when I saw you in London, there was no one in your life. What happened? And why didn’t you tell me this first? It’s the most important thing you’ve said so far!”

“It’s crazy,” he said, his voice filled with laughter. “I know that. But sometimes you just know when you’ve found that special person.”

A twinge of pain throbbed in her heart, but she listened delightedly as Brady talked about Susan—who wasn’t an actress or a celebrity or a gold-digging wannabe who worked as a cocktail waitress while waiting for her big break. No, Susan was a veterinarian he’d met when they’d both stopped to help an injured dog on the freeway.

“So will you come?” he finally said.

“Of course I’ll come! I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

She got off the phone feeling happier than she had in weeks. So her own life was a mess, but her friend was happy and he’d come all this way to show his support for her and her country. On Christmas.

Her eyes filled with tears again, but they were happy tears. Though seeing Brady would make her think of Raj, she would survive it. Besides, how could she be upset about being loved and wanted by her friends?

The next day was Christmas Eve. Veronica didn’t have to work, but she went into her office and made some calls anyway. She’d already given her staff the day off, so the administrative wing was mostly silent. Afterward, she spent most of the day watching Christmas movies on television, then prepared for Brady’s party. He’d sent over a formal invitation, and she knew there would be television cameras when she arrived.

It was part of the process, something that would delight people, and she dressed with care for the appearance. She donned a long red dress, strapless, that shimmered as she walked. The fabric was iridescent, gathered at the waist, and fell into a full skirt that was given shape by a tulle slip beneath. She wrapped a silver shawl around her shoulders and carried a small silver clutch. Silver-jeweled strappy high heels rounded out the look.

A bodyguard in a tuxedo opened the limo door for her as she emerged from her private entrance. He was Alizean, tall and handsome, but there was no spark of desire as she gazed at him in his black coat and tie. He climbed in beside her and they were on their way.

The media was camped out in front of the Hotel Lefrevre, and Veronica did her best to look glamorous and happy. She waved as the cameras flashed, then turned and posed—an old habit—before entering the hotel. Brady was waiting for her, a petite, smiling woman at his side. Veronica hugged them both as Brady introduced Susan. She was truly happy for them, and yet she was jealous, too.

If only her own love life had gone so smoothly. But Susan was a delightful woman, and Veronica found that she really liked talking with Brady’s new love. Susan was down-to-earth, no-nonsense. She was pretty, but not gorgeous in that fake way that Hollywood encouraged.

They moved toward the old ballroom, and Veronica stopped in the entry, her head tilting back as she took it all in. The grand room was decorated beautifully, with candles, greenery and shiny lights and bows reflecting from the mirrored surfaces along the walls. The plaster was chipped in places, the paint faded, but it wouldn’t remain that way for long if they had many more parties like this one. The room was filled with food and people, and Veronica’s heart felt full.

“Thank you, Brady,” she said, squeezing his arm when he came over and handed her a glass of champagne.

“For what?”

“For this. For doing this here. It means so much.”

He smiled back, his gaze flickering to a point over her shoulder before coming to rest on her face again. “You might not thank me when you see what I’ve brought along with me.”

She looked at her friend for a full moment—and then the hairs on her neck prickled as if an electrical current had zapped through the air. She knew who she would see the moment she turned.

He was, as always, achingly handsome. Her heart twisted in her chest. Looking at him hurt. And it made her happy, too.

“Damn it, Brady,” she said to the man at her side. “You’re always interfering.”

He shrugged. “It’s my nature.” Then he kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t say I never gave you anything.”

She started to tell him he was an ass, but he’d disappeared. Raj smiled at her, and her insides melted. She had to work hard to keep the frown on her face.

“Hello, Veronica.”

“Why are you here?”

His laugh was so rich, so beautiful to her ears. God, she’d missed him. And she didn’t want to do this. Because she would have to miss him again when it was over.

“I’ve missed that directness of yours,” he said. “You have no idea how refreshing it can be.”

Her heart was thundering. “If you’re about to tell me how other women are just not a challenge after me, save your breath. I don’t want to hear it.”

He looked puzzled. “I wasn’t planning to say anything of the sort.”

Looking at him made her ache. It brought all the loneliness of her life crashing down on her. “I really don’t want to stand here and talk to you like everything is normal, Raj, so you’ll have to excuse me.”

She had to escape, right now, before she fell apart in front of everyone. Before she ranted and railed and told him what a miserable bastard he was for not loving her back. Before she revealed how pitiful she was because she still loved him, and a part of her was almost willing to take whatever crumbs he might bestow if only she could have another night, another day, another moment in time where they laughed and talked and made love as if they cared about each other.

Blindly, she turned and fled. When she reached the hall, she hesitated only a moment before she headed for the ladies’ room, shoving open the door and going over to the small sink to press her hands on either side and breathe. Her face in the mirror looked perfectly normal, but she didn’t feel normal.

The door swung open again and then Raj was there, looming in the mirror behind her. She heard the twist of the lock in the door and she spun to face him.

“Get out.”

“It’s like déjà vu,” he said, his sensual mouth curving into a smile. “You, me, a ladies’ room.”

It was a much smaller ladies’ room, with only this sink and mirror, the delicately papered walls and another door that led into the single toilet. There was no space, and she couldn’t breathe with him so close. He filled her senses, made her ache with longing.

“It’s a nightmare,” she said. “I had no idea you hated me so much.”

His brows drew together, two hard slashes over his golden eyes. “Hate you? My God, Veronica, I’m here because I can’t forget you. Because I need you. Hate is the furthest thing from my mind.”

She swallowed, shook her head, prayed the tears wouldn’t fall. Because it was Christmas Eve and she was feeling vulnerable. Because she missed her baby, missed him. Because she was alone in this world and feeling very, very sorry for herself right now.

“Need isn’t enough, is it? I need food to live, but I don’t need chocolate cake. You need sex, but it doesn’t have to be me.”

He was beginning to look angry. “Sex? You think I’m here for sex?”

“What else? You’ve already told me it can be nothing more.”

He blew out a breath. “I was wrong.” Because he’d tried to move on with his life, tried to forget about the few days he’d shared with Veronica, the days where he’d felt more alive than he ever had before. He’d gone back to London, and then on to New York. When New York didn’t work, when he still felt so restless he wanted to howl, he’d gone to Los Angeles.

In the past, when he wanted to escape, when he wanted peace, he’d gone to the house in Goa. But he couldn’t go there anymore. Because he couldn’t imagine himself there without her.

“You’ve ruined it for me,” he said, watching the way her lip trembled so slightly, the way she was determined not to break in front of him.

She was so strong, so beautiful. She took his breath away. And he’d realized during the long, lonely few weeks without her that he didn’t want to live like that anymore. He’d been denying himself because he’d thought he was doing the best thing for her. But the truth was that he’d been cheating them both.

“Ruined what?” she asked.

“Being alone.”

She sucked in a breath, hugged her arms around herself. Bit her lip. An arrow of pure lust shot through him. That was his lip to bite.

“I’m the President of Aliz,” she said softly. “I have a two-year term. This is my home. I can’t go with you to Goa, or to London, just to keep you from being lonely. Nor do I want to.”

“Do you still love me?” he said, his heart careening in his chest. He didn’t think she’d stopped in three weeks time, but he wouldn’t put anything past Veronica St. Germaine. The woman was a force to be reckoned with. If she wanted to stop loving him, she could. She was a woman who didn’t shrink from challenges.

She turned her head away, but he could still see her face in the mirror. Two red spots bloomed on her cheeks. Her nostrils flared. Her mouth was a flat line as she compressed her lips. “Does it matter?” she finally said.

“It matters to me.”

Her head snapped around, her eyes flashing angrily. “Why? So you can congratulate yourself yet again on your amazing skills?”

“Skills?”

“Those in which you deny yourself any chance at happiness simply to prove what a strong man you are.”

He’d hurt her deeply, more deeply than he’d realized. And he wasn’t proud of himself for it. “I have no wish to deny anything.” He clenched his fists as his side, frustration hammering through him. “I’m here because I can’t deny it.”

She lifted her chin. “I need more from you, Raj. Telling me you want me isn’t enough.”

He swore. “I know.” And then he resolved to lay it all out there. If she rejected him, it was nothing less than he deserved. But he had to take the chance. “I love you, Veronica. I can’t live without you. I don’t want to.”

She slumped against the sink, her red dress shimmering in the low light of the small room. “Did you just say …?”

He closed the distance between them, gripped her shoulders and put a finger under her chin. Lifted it so she had to look at him. Her eyes were liquid, beautiful blue pools in which he wanted to drown.

“I’ve spent my life running away, because it’s all I knew. Because my mother was a drug addict and we were homeless more than we weren’t. Because my father let us go and never bothered to find us again. Running is what I know, Veronica. Staying is much harder.” He sucked in a breath. It felt like razor blades in his throat. “I’m afraid of unpacking the suitcase. Afraid that I’ll have to move again tomorrow. Much easier to stay in motion. But you’re in Aliz, and my heart is with you. You’re the strongest, bravest person I know. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. You are my home.”

She gripped his sleeves then, her fingers twisting into the fabric. “I’m mad at you,” she said, though her eyes were shining. “I really should make you sweat it out. I should make you wonder if you’ve ruined this irreparably.”

“Have I?”

She gave her head a tiny shake, and then he was kissing her with all the pent-up passion and love that he could no longer deny. That he no longer wanted to deny. Her arms slipped around his neck, her body melding to his as if it had been made to do so.

“I love you, Raj,” she said when he finally let her breathe again. “But I’m still mad at you.”

He laughed against her throat, his lips nuzzling the sweet skin of her neck. “I’ll look forward to letting you take your revenge against me. I’ll even let you tie me up if it pleases you.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Veronica awoke sleepily, the church bells in the Aliz City cathedral chiming 4:00 a.m. on Christmas Day. It was still dark out, and her body was languid, lazy. She stretched, a pleasurable ache between her thighs. The bed was empty except for her. She sat up, smiling at the long length of her robe sash that was still knotted to one bedpost. She’d tied him up all right. Tied him up and tortured him until he’d begged her to put him out of his misery.

Until she’d taken him in her mouth and sent him to heaven.

Oh, yes, she’d gotten her revenge. A very pleasurable revenge indeed.

She slipped from the bed and found her robe. It took her a minute to untie the sash, but she did, slipping it around her waist and knotting it loosely. Then she went in search of Raj, knowing instinctively that he hadn’t left her in the night.

She found him in the living room, sitting on the couch in the glow of the tree. He looked up when she approached, smiled that sexy smile she loved so much.

“I don’t think I’ve ever sat and just watched the lights before,” he said.

She knew he’d never really had an opportunity to do so in the past, and her heart hurt for the little boy he’d been. Moving from shelter to shelter and home to home. She sank beside him and curled up against his warm body. He slipped an arm around her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything,” she said, mesmerized by the twinkling lights. “But I didn’t know you’d be here.”

He laughed softly. “You gave me all I wanted,” he said. Then he kissed the top of her head. A small package appeared in front of her nose.

“What’s this?”

“I came prepared.”

“Now I really feel bad,” she said.

“Don’t.”

She sighed and untied the gold ribbon. Inside the red box was another box, nestled in tissue paper. A velvet box.

Her gaze flew to his. “Earrings,” she said. “You’ve bought me earrings. I’ll always treasure them.”

He laughed. “Open it, Veronica. Stop guessing.”

She did, her heart in her throat. It wasn’t a pair of earrings. Her eyes filled until the large, emerald-cut diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds was nothing more than a blur.

“You can say no,” he said. “I’d understand. Or you can say yes, and we’ll have a long engagement.”

She arched an eyebrow, sniffling. “Is the long engagement a condition?”

“No. I’m simply trying to give you a way out.”

She shook her head. “I knew you were far too pretty to be smart. Men can’t be gorgeous and brainy at the same time, you know.”

She felt the tension coiling in his body. “Are you saying yes?”

A single tear spilled down her cheek. “Is this what you really want?”

“Do you think I’d ask if it weren’t?”

“You didn’t ask,” she pointed out.

He smiled, and her heart squeezed with love. Then he slipped from the couch and got onto one knee. “I’m doing this right,” he said, “because I don’t ever want you to believe I didn’t want this. Veronica, will you marry me?”

Her heart filled to bursting. Home. This was home—this moment, this feeling. This man. “Yes,” she said simply.

Raj slipped the ring onto her finger. And then he made love to her on the Persian carpet in front of the Christmas tree.

There would never be, with the exception of their third child born on December 25 a few years hence, a more perfect gift than the one they shared on this particular Christmas.