Читать книгу The Highest Bidder - Maureen Child - Страница 17

In the kitchen twenty minutes later, Vance rustled up some cold Chardonnay, crackers and some cheese. As he took down two wineglasses, he paused for a moment and thought about the woman waiting for him in his bedroom.

Slapping both hands to the granite counter, he let himself remember the incredible feeling of being deep inside Charlie’s body and how he’d had the momentary thought that he’d like to stay that way forever. Almost instantly, he’d instinctively pulled back from that word.

He didn’t do forever. What he did was weeks. Maybe months, tops. Forever was for people too dumb to know that lust wasn’t love. Desire wasn’t lasting and passion cooled off just as fast as it burned.

Reluctantly, he scraped both hands across his face, then pushed them through his hair. He glanced across the room at the view through his windows and told himself to get a grip. What he had with Charlie was damn good, but that’s all it was.

All this self-exploration only went to prove that he’d waited too long between women. It had been more than three months since he’d stopped seeing Sharon—Karen—something.

Scowling now, he realized he not only couldn’t remember her name, he couldn’t remember anything else about her, either. While Charlie, on the other hand, was indelibly etched into his mind. If he never saw her again, he’d still recall everything about her. Never see her again. Okay, he didn’t like that thought, either. But that was only natural, he assured himself. At the beginning of an affair, which this most certainly was going to be, everything was brighter, hotter, better than anything that had come before.

Wasn’t it?

A silent voice inside him argued that Charlie was different from any woman he’d been with. What he’d just shared with her had shaken him right down to his bones and he didn’t even want to try to figure out what that might mean.

Instead, he grabbed the tray of snacks and the glasses in one hand and the bottle of wine with the other and headed back to the bedroom. Just outside the doorway, he muttered, “Keep it simple, stupid.”

Charlie was sitting up in the bed, waiting for him, and everything in Vance stilled for a long second or two. The woman was stunning and just looking at her made him want her all over again. Scowling, he told himself it meant nothing. But a voice in the back of his mind whispered something else entirely.

“Are you arguing with yourself?”

He blinked, looked at her and asked, “What?”

“You had this look on your face, like you were having a silent battle.”

“Well, I’m not,” he lied, disconcerted to discover he was so easy for her to read. Hell, his opponents in business had long told him that he had the best poker face in the world. That nothing he didn’t want to reveal showed up on his expression. But Charlie took one look at him and knew what he was thinking.

Yeah. Disconcerting.

He walked naked across the room, set the tray of crackers and cheese on the bedside table, then poured each of them a glass of wine. Just like in his fantasies, her long, blond hair was spread across the dark blue duvet like spun gold and he couldn’t resist touching it. It was smooth and soft and smelled, he thought, of peaches. The woman was edible, head to toe.

She took a sip of her wine and said, “That’s good, thank you.”

He gulped at his own wine, hoping to ease the knot of need that was now lodged in his throat. Everything about her called to him. The way she licked a drop of wine from her lips. The way she shook her hair back over her shoulder. The way she reached one hand out to cup his cheek, sending lines of heat shooting through his body.

“I’m suddenly not very thirsty,” he admitted. “You?”

“Not very,” she agreed, handing him her glass so he could set both of them down on the table beside the bed.

Her fingers caressed his cheek and he caught her hand in his. “Think you can read my thoughts?” he asked quietly. “What am I thinking now?”

“If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking,” she murmured, “I’m thinking it, too.”

“Good to know,” he said and dropped his head to claim a kiss. The first taste of her exploded in his mouth and rocketed through him. Just like the first time he had kissed her, in the shade of a willow tree, he felt that pitch and roll in his stomach and a weird sort of ache in his chest. But he didn’t want to consider what any of it might mean.

For now, all he wanted, needed, was Charlie. The feel of her, the hot silk of her body surrounding him when he entered her. Everything else in the damn world could just wait its turn.

He loved the feel of her soft hands sliding over his skin, the heat of her touch, kindling the fire inside him into something wild and uncontrollable. He caressed her, she responded, she ran her fingernails along his back and he shivered.

This woman got to him on levels he hadn’t even known he possessed. She invaded his body, his soul, his mind and, he suspected, his heart. And that was something that no one had ever managed to do.

He shook his head, deliberately dismissing his own thoughts. He wanted nothing interfering with this moment. He was hard and tight and ready for her again and couldn’t wait to get back inside her. Where he belonged, a voice inside whispered. Where he most wanted to be. He grabbed another condom and sheathed himself quickly.

Shifting, he sat up, and dragged her with him. She came willingly and when his back was braced against the headboard, he lifted her up to straddle him.

She whipped her long hair back from her face, but it slid forward again, lying in blond ribbons across her full, truly amazing breasts. Her nipples peeked through the golden strands like hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.

With her hands on his shoulders, she went up on her knees, and slowly took him inside, inch by glorious inch. His hands at her hips, he guided her down as his eyes locked with hers. He saw the flash of wonder, of want burning in those pale blue depths, and lost himself there. In the heat they built together. In the need that had them both by the throat.

Why was that need even more desperate now? Shouldn’t it have been assuaged by their first joining? Shouldn’t he be feeling satisfied instead of hungrier for her than ever?

“You’re killing me,” he muttered when she was fully seated on him and his body was locked within hers.

“I was thinking the same thing about you,” she admitted and ground her hips against him, dragging a groan from each of them.

“I wanted to take this time slow,” Vance told her after a long minute when he fought for control. “But I don’t think so.”

“Who needs slow?” she asked, then let out a “Whoop!” when he moved fast and tossed her onto her back, keeping his body joined with hers.

“There’s lots of time for slow,” he told her, voice low and scratchy. “Later.”

“Right. Later.” She lifted her legs, hooked them around his hips and pulled him in deeper, higher. “Right now, I just need. Need …”

“Me, too.” He buried his face in the curve of her neck, shut down his racing mind and gave himself up to instinct. The raw, pure hunger roaring through him demanding to be sated.

His hips moved like pistons. He took her fast, hard and completely. He heard her sighs and they fed his desire. He felt her body shiver as her climax jolted through her. She screamed his name as her body trembled and, moments later, he shouted victoriously as his body exploded into the heat of her, leaving him locked in her arms—and he didn’t let her go.

“Weird afternoon,” Charlie whispered to herself an hour later as she sat at her desk, going over Vance’s mail.

She’d been in his bed. Held his body in hers. And now they were back at Waverly’s as if nothing had happened.

But it had, she reminded herself with an inner smile. She just didn’t know what that meant for either of them.

One corner of her mind asked if it really had to mean something. Wasn’t it enough for now to simply enjoy what she had while she had it? And though that was good advice, she would never be able to follow it. Charlie never had been the girl to accept “for now.”

She’d always been more the home-and-hearth type rather than the use-’em-and-lose-’em kind of girl. So where did that leave her, exactly?

Living with her boss. Sleeping with him.

And worrying about what happened next.

For whatever reason, Vance was being kind and very protective of her and her son, and Charlie was grateful. But she knew that soon enough, he was bound to move on to one of the empty-headed beauties he usually dated. And that was just depressing.

Her desk phone buzzed and she picked up. “Yes?”

Vance’s voice came across loud and clear, “Come in here, Charlie. I’ve got an idea.”

She walked into his office and paused for a second to enjoy the view. He sat behind his desk like a king. Power emanated from him and when he smiled, everything inside her drew up into tight knots.

Oh, God. It had happened. She’d gone and done it.

She was in love with Vance Waverly.

And doomed to misery because he would never return that feeling. How could he? He knew the whole sordid truth about her now. Where she was from, what kind of family she had had. They were night and day, light and dark, power and powerlessness.

Heart aching, she forced a smile onto her face and prayed he couldn’t see what it was costing her. If all she had left was her pride, then she was going to cling to it.

“What kind of idea?” she asked, taking one of the chairs in front of his desk.

He leaned back in his chair and looked at her. “I want you to email that bastard who’s been hounding you and tell him you want to meet.”

“What?” Fear closed her throat as she stared at him. “Why?”

“Because I want to find out who he is. That way we’ll know who’s behind all this.” He stood up, came around the desk and took the chair next to hers.

Charlie stared into his eyes and saw the gleam of anticipation there. “I don’t know.”

“I do. You can do this, Charlie.” He reached over and picked up her hands from her lap. Holding them in his, he met her gaze and reminded her, “We already figured out this isn’t a coincidence. Your first threatening note arriving the same day as the article on Ann and Dalton showing up in the paper? No way. Whoever’s behind the threats to you has to be involved in whatever’s being planned for Waverly’s.”

“But, Vance …”

“I’ll be there. Well,” he hedged, “not with you, but close by. I swear I’ll never you out of my sight. You’ll be safe, Charlie, but I think this is our best chance of stopping this guy.”

She didn’t like any of it. The thought of meeting someone who had been threatening her was terrifying, and she wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Charlie understood why Vance wanted to do this, but her son was at risk. “What if he sees you? What if he makes good on his threats and tries to take Jake from me?” Shaking her head, she tried to pull her hands free of his, but he held on even tighter.

“That won’t happen.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

“No,” he agreed.

Charlie bit her lip. “Why can’t we just call the police?”

“Because the press would be alerted. I’m sorry, Charlie. Waverly’s can’t risk that.”

“No, of course not. I don’t want this in the papers, either,” she said with a shudder.

“But I can arrange for a member of Waverly’s security staff to be in the area. I’ll be there, too. You won’t be in any danger, Charlie. And I promise you that you won’t lose Jake. If it came to it, I’d hire the best attorney in the city to fight for you. You won’t lose your son, Charlie. You just have to trust me. Can you do that?”

Everything in her wanted to hide in a dark hole and pull the hole in after her. She thought of Jake, safe in the playroom downstairs, and her heart shivered at the thought of losing that little boy. But if she didn’t do this, if she didn’t find the courage to try to stop the threats, then she’d always be hiding. Always be afraid. And she didn’t want to live like that.

“Okay,” she said, before she could change her mind. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

He let go of her hands, reached for her and cupped the back of her head. Pulling her in close, he kissed her, hard and fast, sending jolts of white-hot sensation shooting through the chill in her blood. “Atta girl. It’ll work. You’ll see. Now, he wanted you to contact him by five tomorrow, right?”

“Yes.” There was that tight ball of dread in the pit of her stomach again. Was it wrong that she was starting to get used to it?

“Then we’ll wait until 4:45. You’ll email him telling him you want to meet.” Vance squeezed her hands again when she chewed at her bottom lip. “You’ll say that you’re not going to give him anything until you’ve talked in person.”

“What if he refuses?” She was pretty sure her mystery blackmailer was going to do just that.

“He won’t. He can’t afford to. If you call his bluff, he’ll have to bend,” Vance assured her. “You’re his only access to Waverly’s files as far as we know. So he’s going to have to do it your way or get nothing.”

“Maybe.”

“Charlie,” Vance insisted, his gaze locked with hers, “the only reason his threats have worked at all is because he knows he scared you. Now you’re not scared anymore.”

“I’m not?”

“Why would you be?” he countered. “You’ve got me now.”

Did she? She looked into his eyes and wondered if she did have him, how long would that last? Until this threat was over? Until Waverly’s was secure?

Until he got tired of her in bed?

“I hope you’re right,” she said, still unconvinced.

“I’m always right, remember?” He gave her a wide smile and her heartbeat fluttered in response.

Oh, God, she was an idiot. A first-class idiot. How could she have fallen in love? Hadn’t she sworn off the elusive feeling when Jake’s father disappeared? Hadn’t she told herself never to trust another man? Never to risk the kind of pain she’d felt when she’d first discovered she’d been had?

But this was different, she told herself. Vance was real. He hadn’t lied to her. Hadn’t tried to seduce her purposely for his own reasons. Falling in love was her mistake and she would pay for it, no doubt. Because what she felt for Vance was as real as he was.

And now she knew that what she had thought was love before, hadn’t been. What she had experienced with Jake’s father wasn’t even a shadow of what she felt now. This was real love. This was what she had dreamed of all her life.

And losing it was going to kill her.

Maybe it was the sex.

Maybe it was having Charlie in his house. Vance couldn’t be sure, but whatever the reason, his legendary impatience had roared to the surface. He didn’t like the idea of a threat hanging over Charlie’s head. He didn’t like her being scared, and he’d be damned if he was going to stand for it. That’s when he’d come up with his brilliant plan to face the blackmailer down.

He knew it was the right thing to do. He also knew that Charlie was worried about it.

She was on edge. One glance at her moving around his kitchen told him that. Vance already knew her well enough to notice the tightness in her shoulders, the deliberate squaring of her jaw. As if she were willing herself to hold it together.

He admired strength, and Charlie had plenty of it. She’d had a bad situation growing up, but she’d fought through that, too, and built a life for herself. She loved her son and her determination to protect him touched something in Vance. In fact, he was spending way too much time thinking warm thoughts about Charlie Potter.

Looking across the great room to the galley-style kitchen, he watched as Charlie made dinner. Chicken parmesan, she had said, and he had to admit, it smelled great. Usually, he ordered something from a nearby restaurant or nuked something frozen.

It was … odd, having her and Jake in the house, but it also wasn’t making him nuts. And that worried him.

He’d never brought a woman here before.

His home was his place. He didn’t share. When he was with a woman, they went to her place or an upscale hotel. This condo overlooking the river had been inviolate.

Until Charlie.

Hell, he mused, there was a lot going on lately that he could say “until Charlie” about. Going to a diner, taking walks with a baby, leaving work early, having wild, crazy-making sex in the middle of the day. All that was under the heading “until Charlie.”

“Babababa!”

Vance’s thoughts stopped when the baby pounded little fists against his leg to get his attention.

“What’s a ‘ba’?” he asked, throwing a glance at the woman across the room from him.

“Ball,” Charlie answered, then added, “I brought his favorite. It’s in his room.”

“Babababa!”

The baby’s eyes were wide and his bottom lip was trembling. A couple of weeks ago, Vance would have hit the front door running. He couldn’t imagine why. Now, he scooped up the baby, then carried him down the hall to his temporary room.

The crib had arrived and was already standing ready for the baby to sleep in. The dresser was filled with baby clothes and a box of diapers stood on a low table.

“Babababa!” Jake laid his head down on Vance’s shoulder and patted one small hand against his chest.

“Almost got it, little man,” Vance told him, giving him a pat on the back in reassurance. He found the bright red ball on the closet floor. Setting the baby down, he rolled him the ball and Vance smiled when the baby chortled with glee. Lifting the rubber ball, he swung his left arm wide and flung it back at Vance.

“What a throw!” Vance said with a grin. “And a southpaw. You’re going to be in demand on a Little League team, kid. A left-handed pitcher can name his own terms.”

“Bababa!”

Still smiling, Vance rolled him the ball and Jake tossed it again, happy with the game. Vance looked into those dark blue eyes and felt something clutch at his heart. This baby had gotten to him as easily as the boy’s mother had. Between the two of them, Vance didn’t know up from down. All he knew for sure was that, for the first time in his life, he wasn’t looking for the nearest exit.

In fact, weirdly enough, he was enjoying this. The baby. Charlie. The sounds of life and laughter in his normally quiet home.

He frowned and told himself he should probably be worried.

Vance didn’t have to hear Charlie’s approach. He actually felt her watching him. He turned his gaze to the open doorway where she stood, one shoulder leaning against the doorjamb. Her hair was in one long, thick braid hanging over her right shoulder. She was barefoot and her scarlet-painted toes peeked out from beneath the hem of faded jeans that hugged her legs like a familiar lover. Over the jeans, she wore a T-shirt that read Skip the Movie, Read a Book.

“Did I tell you I like your shirt?” He especially liked the way the clingy red fabric outlined her breasts.

She looked down and laughed shortly. “Thanks.”

Then he realized her eyes looked shadowed. “Is there a problem?”

“I got an email.”

Everything in him went on red alert. The baby tossed his ball and it rolled right past Vance unheeded. “What’d he say?”

“You were right,” Charlie reluctantly told him. “He’s agreed to meet with me.”

“Excellent. Did you tell him where?”

“Yes. He’ll be at the Coffee Spot tomorrow at four.”

Nodding, Vance said, “It’s almost over, Charlie.”

“Is it?”

Jake crawled up onto Vance’s lap and he automatically wrapped one arm around the tiny boy’s middle. Holding on to the sturdy weight of her son on his lap, Vance looked into Charlie’s eyes and thought about what he’d just said. Almost over. When they had this wrapped up and the blackmailer stopped, Charlie would be leaving. She and Jake would go back to their lives and he would be here, in the quiet.

That’s when it occurred to Vance that things might just be sliding out of his control.