Читать книгу The Dare Collection April 2019 - Christy McKellen, Nicola Marsh - Страница 22

‘AJAX?’ LEON’S VOICE sounded sharp on the voicemail message. ‘What the fuck is going on? There are rumours going around that you’ve done something with William White’s daughter. If so, you owe me a goddamn explanation.’ There was some muffled cursing in the background and I could hear Xander murmuring something. ‘Yes, I know that,’ Leon said curtly, obviously to Xander. ‘Call me, you bastard,’ he added to me, then cut the message abruptly.

I flung the phone down onto the coffee table in front of me, fighting irritation.

I’d let them know I was going to be out of commission for the next week and that I wasn’t to be disturbed, and yet here they were, disturbing me.

Did they really think I was going to call them up and explain myself? I never had before and I wasn’t going to start now, especially when I knew the pair of them would disagree with my methods.

What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them and the responsibility would remain with me, the way it always had.

Protecting them was what I did. After all, my brothers were the reason I’d taken my father down in the first place.

And they got hurt. You let them get hurt.

I’d had to. I hadn’t been able to go to Leon’s rescue when he’d been kidnapped and tortured, or tell Xander the financial games he was playing were real. I’d had to let all that shit happen, because I’d have blown my cover and taking Dad down had been more important and I’d known it would save more lives in the end.

Yeah, sure. Nothing to do with the fact that maybe you’re a monster just like him and always have been.

Ice twisted in my veins but I ignored it.

What if I was like Dad? What did it matter? My city was safe and so were my brothers. That was worth any price, wasn’t it?

My phone vibrated on the table where I’d flung it, announcing another voicemail from White about when to bring Imogen to see him. My silence on the subject was obviously annoying the shit out of him.

Good. He could stay annoyed a little longer. Considering Imogen’s response to the thought of meeting him, I wasn’t in any hurry to set it up quite yet.

At some point I would have to, though. I wanted him gone and with the least amount of fuss, which meant getting this proof of life nonsense out of the way.

I could have denied him his request to see Imogen, but then he’d make leaving Sydney a problem and I didn’t have either the time or the patience for pissing around with problems. In the kind of mood I was in, I’d likely do something I’d regret later, which wasn’t a good idea either.

Music drifted from outside, a driving, thumping beat.

Imogen must be in the pool again.

It had been a couple of days since I’d left her in my bed and since then I’d busied myself with monitoring the situation with her father and his various cronies, organising the fake doctor’s certificates that would confirm her virginity, checking with my contacts about White’s movements, and reviewing the security surrounding my brothers and their wives, not to mention keeping tabs on what was happening with King Enterprises.

I hadn’t had time to see her, but I’d made an effort to ensure she had plenty to do, instructing my housekeeper to organise a laptop for her so she could use the Net since apparently a home cinema, a gym and a library weren’t enough.

Though it seemed that what Imogen liked best to do was swim.

I turned automatically to the windows, the side of the pool visible from the lounge area where I stood.

She was standing on the diving board in a green bikini that she must have found in those clothes I’d got my housekeeper to leave for her.

Her pale skin gleamed like a pearl in the sunlight, her hair a gilded skein of silk down her back.

She was poised on the edge of the board like a dancer or a bird about to take flight, her small curvy body graceful and lithe.

I’d told myself that the few hours we’d had in bed was all we’d needed. She’d had her revenge on her father, losing her virginity to a man of her choice, while I’d got a little something for myself for once.

It hadn’t ended up being a big drama, not now the virginity issue was being handled by those fake certificates.

I didn’t need to go back for more.

Yet that didn’t stop my stupid cock from hardening at the mere thought of those few hours or at the idea of reliving them.

Repeatedly.

When she’d unleashed herself on me, her curiosity and passion had combined into a force that was as unstoppable as it was irresistible. It had blown my fucking mind.

I’d never thought that a virgin exploring a man’s body for the first time could be so erotic.

She’d started hesitantly then had gained confidence, becoming utterly fearless. Watching her bloom had been the hottest thing I’d ever seen. And knowing that I was a part of that had only made it hotter.

I stared out the windows, my goddamn cock getting harder at the sight of her and the memories that kept unreeling in my head.

I should go to a bar. Find a woman. Fuck away the need.

But the idea left me cold.

I didn’t want just any woman. I wanted her.

On the diving board Imogen leapt but, instead of a graceful dive, she drew her legs up under her and wrapped her arms around them, bombing into the pool like a teenager, water going everywhere.

Then she surfaced a moment later, grinning like she was having the time of her life.

I moved before I could think better of it, shoving the huge sliding glass door open so I could step outside, the sound of the music deafening.

She had her back to me, gripping the tiled edges of the pool then pulling herself out.

A wooden sun lounger sat nearby, the speaker and laptop she was using to stream the music sitting on it.

I bent and hit a button on the laptop, cutting off the sound.

Imogen, who was now standing on the side of the pool, water streaming down her lovely body, turned around. ‘Hey, who did—’ She broke off, blinking as she saw me.

Colour rushed into her face and a smile like the sun coming out turned up her mouth. Then just as quickly the smile vanished and she frowned. ‘You’ve been avoiding me.’

That fleeting smile, bright and instinctive, hit me in a place I wasn’t expecting, a place I hadn’t realised was vulnerable.

Fuck.

I scowled. ‘Why would I avoid you?’

She shrugged then raised her hands to her hair, squeezing the water from it. ‘I don’t know—you tell me.’

The movement lifted her breasts, the thin fabric of her bikini pulling tight, drawing attention to those sweet little nipples. They were hard, the wet material outlining them perfectly.

I’d tasted them, rolled them in my mouth, tugged on them with my teeth. She’d liked that. I could still hear her cries of delight in my ears...

Christ, I could not be thinking shit like that. There was no need for a repeat. I had other, more important things to do with my time.

‘I’ve been busy,’ I growled, irritated both with my stupid cock and the need I felt to explain myself to her.

‘Too busy to even say hi?’ Her arms dropped and she wandered over to where I stood, apparently not caring that her bikini was very small, very wet, and I was getting very hard. ‘That’s kind of a dick move, Ajax.’ Mercifully she folded her arms. ‘I mean, I’m not asking for flowers and chocolates and love songs. A “hi, how are you doing” would be fine.’ Her brows drew down. ‘Or is vanishing usual for guys after they’ve taken a girl’s virginity?’

She called you, asshole.

Yeah, and I did not like it. Not one fucking bit.

‘You’re my prisoner,’ I said flatly. ‘Prisoners are lucky to get food and water, let alone computers, libraries, pools and loud music.’

‘No need to be a bastard.’

‘I’m your kidnapper. What the fuck do you expect?’

She stared at me, her green eyes sharp. ‘I know why you’re angry. You’re annoyed because you wanted me to come and say hi to you, right?’

Caught off guard, I couldn’t think of a single response.

‘Because all you had to do was say,’ Imogen charged on, not waiting for me to speak anyway. ‘I was around. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.’

Holy shit. The bloody woman thought I’d been hanging around waiting for her to approach me?

She’s right though.

No. Why would I do that? If I wanted something and it didn’t interfere with my plans I went the hell out and got it. I didn’t wait.

But you wanted her and did nothing.

‘Like I said, I’ve been busy.’ I gave her a hard stare. ‘And I still am so turn your fucking music down so I can concentrate.’

She searched my face, her expression turning into something like...understanding. ‘It’s okay, I get it,’ she said, even though I had no idea what she was talking about. ‘But you told me not to hold back and I didn’t. So why are you doing the same thing now?’

‘Holding back?’ I shoved my hands into my pockets, the need to grab her needling at me like an itch I couldn’t scratch. ‘What the fuck are you talking about?’

She let out a sigh, like I was being particularly dense, then closed the distance between us, reaching out to brush her fingers over the fly of my jeans. ‘You’re hard, Ajax.’

I stilled, her touch electric, stealing my breath. It took every ounce of will I had not to take my hands out of my pockets and take her on the pool tiles.

You can’t. You can never have what you want.

‘I told you all I’d give you was a couple of hours,’ I forced out between gritted teeth, ignoring the voice in my head. ‘And I fucking meant it.’

‘I know. But...you still want me.’

I couldn’t deny it, not when the evidence was pressing hard against the front of my jeans. ‘I told you that what I want doesn’t matter.’

A crease appeared between her brows. ‘And I told you that it does. Seriously, Ajax. How does us having sex interfere with the safety of this city? My virginity is gone and you’re dealing with the medical proof. Dad’s never going to know. So what’s the problem?’

The problem was the catch, and there was always a catch. I’d learned that particular lesson in my time as my father’s heir and learned it well.

I’d wanted to protect my brothers, but doing so would have exposed me and then Dad would have taken me down instead of vice versa. More people would have got hurt. And he would have ruled Sydney unchecked.

Sacrifices had to be made and I was the one who’d make them.

There was no room for selfishness in my plans.

It’s great how noble you can make yourself sound.

My jaw tightened.

Imogen shrugged. ‘Oh, well, your loss.’ Reaching around behind herself, she tugged at the tie of her bikini top and I wasn’t sure what she was doing until the whole thing loosened. ‘But you know where I’ll be if you change your mind.’ Pulling the fabric free, she dropped the top on the ground, her perfect little tits bare. ‘I’ll be in the pool.’ Pushing her bikini bottoms down, she stepped out of them then straightened, giving me a look from underneath her lashes. ‘Naked.’

Then she strolled to the side of the pool and dived in.

Every muscle in my body tensed.

The gall of the woman. Stripping naked and swimming in my pool like she didn’t give a fuck. Like I wasn’t standing there aching to get my hands on her and hadn’t been aching for the past two days straight.

Like I hadn’t been using bullshit excuses to stay away from her, when all I really wanted was to take her to bed and keep her there for the next week straight.

You think a prick like you can ever have what he wants?

I shoved the thought from my head, stalking over to the pool, drawn relentlessly by the woman in it.

She was floating on her back with her arms out, her hair moving like silky golden kelp around her head. Her eyes were closed, her naked body the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Pale skin, golden hair, soft pink nipples...

Shit, if there was a catch, I couldn’t find it. And since when had I ever made sex into such a big deal?

Her arms moved lazily in the water and she hummed a song I didn’t recognise, oblivious to me standing on the side of the pool wrestling with my fucking conscience.

It was just sex. No big deal. Her virginity was gone and I was handling that. Taking her to bed wasn’t the start of that slippery slope, the one that led back to the violence of the days I’d left behind. Anyway, she wanted me and who was I to deny her what she wanted? What we both wanted?

I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

I took a moment to kick off my shoes, then I dived in after her.