Chapter 6
“Supper at my place. I promise it will be just that unless you say otherwise. You mentioned you were into kickboxing, and it so happens that I am as well. You want to keep things light, so be it.”
She knew that refusing would force him to lose interest and she could not afford to. So, she had reluctantly agreed after giving him space for three days. She could not afford to drag her feet any longer.
Two more people had turned up dead, one of them a fifteen-year-old boy and that had officially pissed her off enough to want to push the issue. Having to tell a mother that her only son who had simply gone to a party at a friend’s house would no longer be coming home.
So, she was revved and ready to take on the world.
Hence her acceptance of the invitation. She would go to his place, pretend an interest, and try and lead the subject to his business ventures. She was going to have to find a way to get into his damn office.
A man like Merrick Pendergast would have everything pass coded, but she was hoping to see something lying around. She needed something. Her commander was onto her to get them some proof and she wanted it over and done with.
“Bring your best game. I have a feeling we are in for a very interesting night.”
“Hi.” He greeted her at the door after buzzing her up and she had to try her best not to goggle. The hallway was big with glossy wallpaper made of shimmering gold. An arched ceiling with muted lights shone dimly, giving the genuine hardwood floor an extra glow.
He led her through the hallway and into a dining area with several counters and a conversation area. A dining table took up space in the middle of the room and there was a grand piano in front of the floor to ceiling window.
From where she was standing, she could see an impressive gourmet kitchen with steel gray appliances and a semicircular counter.
“It’s not too cold, so I thought we could eat on the balcony.” He had taken her jacket and hung it up. She was happy she had settled for faded denims and a thin black sweater because he was wearing jeans and a sweater himself.
“Don’t tell me you did the cooking.”
He smiled as he led the way through a sliding glass door hidden behind a panel in the wall.
“No.” He stepped back and pulled out her chair, going around to his side of the table. The balcony was enclosed, the privacy shade half open to the spectacular view of the entire city.
“My housekeeper prepared the meal before she left.” He lifted off the silver domed covers to reveal thin succulent roast beef, an assorted number of grilled vegetables and wild rice.
“I’m surprised you don’t have live in help.”
He lifted his brow as he poured the wine. “Why would that surprise you?”
She shrugged and picked up her utensils. The smell alone was making her salivate. “You strike me as a man who would want his every need met.”
His intense gray eyes bored into hers and she forced herself not to squirm.
“I do, yes. But I am capable of taking care of myself. Besides, I like my own space. Part of the reasons why I moved out of the manor years ago.”
This was the opening she was waiting for, and she took it.
“You have a brother who’s married?” She murmured casually.
“Yes. And two grown nephews.”
“Are you close?”
He contemplated that while he handed her the glass of pale gold liquid. “I guess you could say we are. They are my family, and I happen to be big on family.” He shot her a glance.
What about you?”
“What about me?” She should have expected that information did not come cheap.
“Are you and your family close?”
“I only have a great aunt, and we get along.”
Her tone had him staring at her curiously and she could have cursed herself for revealing too much. “I was brought up in a home.” She blurted, surprising herself even more.
“I see.” He continued to stare at her as he sipped his wine. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“All right.” He did not press, and she felt the tension lessening around her chest. And had her saying.
“My mother was a junkie, and I have no idea who my father was.”
He felt something clutch at his heart. She passed it off as something that was not important, but her off hand comment did not fool him. It mattered to her.
“Where is she now?” He asked so quietly; it had her insides going warm.
“Dead.” Avoiding his piercing gray gaze, she busied herself digging into her meal.
“You looked for her.”
“No.” Lifting her head, she gave him a fierce look. “I was not interested. Her aunt was looking for me and found me when I was already out of the system and on my own.”
She had to be careful here, she thought with a sick feeling at the pit of her stomach. She was revealing too much. She had never said this much to anyone before, and it shocked her. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you.”
It was his damn voice. It was so deep and soothing that she wanted to dissolve in his arms and rest her head on his shoulder. Damn him!
“Life sucks and then we move on.”
He kept his gaze steady on her face until she looked away. And decided to file the information away for another time. He saw the hurt and pain there and was going to do his best to erase them. He had firsthand knowledge of those debilitating emotions and was going to make it his duty to see to it that she had some pleasure.
They both needed it. But for now, he would drop the subject.
“I don’t see you as a writer.” He cut into his roast beef with an economy of movement she admired. He had strong tanned hands with dustings of dark hairs and long fingers that had her thinking of something other than what he was doing. And because she was, she had to look away quickly, but not before feeling the sharp and unfamiliar tug of lust.
She should not have come to his place. Coming here, being here took the power away from her.
“Why not?” Because she was out of control, her voice was sharp.
He merely spared her a glance as he chewed the succulent beef. “You’re too practical.” His response was so unexpected; it caused her to laugh.
“What?”
A smile touched his stern lips and molded them into sensuously. She had to stop. Or she was heading into deep waters.
“You are earthy, which is sexy as hell. You do not believe in romance and the power of a love so encompassing it takes over everything else.”
“And you do?” She made her voice sound a tinge bored.
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you a little too old to believe in fairy tales?” This time, there was no pretense.
“You believe falling in love is just in stories?” He gave her an interested look, a slow sweep with his unfathomable gray eyes that had her going warm and soft at the core. The man was definitely lethal.
“I believe that people say the ‘l’ word to wield power over others.” She was unaware that she was proving his point. “Or to get laid. Or a combination of both.”
“Interesting.” He murmured. His fascination and desire for her was increasing every single moment and making itself felt, in parts of him that could not be hidden. It frustrated and intrigued him. “How are you going to write your romance if you don’t believe in the subject?”
“It’s called imagination for a reason,” she snapped it out.
“I take it you have never been in love.”
“No. And I’m all the better for it.”
He intended to teach her otherwise and felt a charge at the challenge facing him. Before long, he would have her writhing beneath him, even if he had to put everything he learned over his forty years of being with women. Without being vain or pompous, he knew his way around the female anatomy and what made them wet and wanting more.
With Margo Sullivan the need to feel her wet and panting for him was making him hot and shaky.
“Are you?” It took effort for him to remain seated and appeared unaffected when all he wanted to do was reach across the table and plunder her lips. It was not just the challenge of breaking down that cool facade, but the need to feel her, taste her was so ripe, he was almost bursting from it. He would have her in his bed very soon.
“Yes.” She sipped her wine and pretended that he was not affecting her. The surroundings, like nothing she had ever experienced before, because she was elemental. Her tastes ran to beer and burgers.
She was a cop and had never hankered for wealth. She loved what she did – the grittiness, the gore of delving into a murder investigation. She never considered herself beautiful or even female. Those at the precinct who made the mistake of trying to treat her like a damsel had been quickly disabused.
But right now, seated across from this very wealthy and powerful man – a man who was also very attractive and sexy and God! Was he sexy!
She felt like a female, with complicated feelings raging through her body. He was under investigation, and she was the cop who headed that investigation. She couldn’t afford for lines to blur, let alone be crossed – she had to keep them clear.
“How disappointing.” He continued to sip the wine as he gazed at her with that intense look that had her feeling as if he was stripping off every piece of clothing from her body. “What do you think?”
“What?” She blinked at him.
“The wine. What do you think of it?”
The change of subject caught her off guard and for a minute, she simply gaped at him. “You do that so well.”
“What?”
“Switch from the topic.”
“I had a feeling it was getting too personal for you. The wine.” He gestured towards her glass.
“I am not a wine buff or whatever the hell it’s called, but it does not taste like horse piss, so that’s something, I guess.”
Her bluntness, the lack of tact had him blinking and then laughing. Damn if he was not already falling in love with her. She was the most fascinating woman he had ever met, and he was now more than certain he wanted her in his life.
The quickness of the decision, the increasing development of feelings left him breathless and alive for the first time in too many years to count.
“So, I take it that you like the taste.”
“I do. Why?”
“It’s from my vineyard in Napa Valley.”
“A man who has everything.”
“Oh, not yet, But soon.” His eyes settled on her lips, now made moist by the wine, and felt a need so great; he could hardly breathe. “Very soon.”
She caught the expression on his face and went still as stone. His eyes lifted to hers and the meaning was clear. And because it was, she knew it was time to cut and run. She had never run from anything in her life, but it was time to regroup and decide what to do next.
Finishing the wine, she was about to put the glass down and make an excuse to leave, but he anticipated it and made his move.
“You mentioned you do some kick boxing,” he rose and came around to pull her chair out.
“Yes. I…”
“I want to show you something. It will not take long.” He promised, knowing that was a damn lie. He wanted to keep her here, persuade her to stay, kiss the wine off her sexy lips and suckle on her breasts.
He wanted to give her a taste and have her wanting more. The need to have her was so powerful, he was surprised he was still able to stand.
She allowed herself to be led away from the balcony through the dining room, along a winding hallway, past several doors before he stepped forward and pushed open a massive oak door and into a room that literally took her breath away.
He smiled secretly when she made a sound, he hoped would accompany her release when he brought her to the peak.
“Oh Lord!” She breathed as she turned into a tight circle and took in the wonder of it. She used the gym at the precinct often. And she had set up a little gym at home because she loved to workout. She had even gone to public gyms. Planet Fitness had all sorts of equipment, but nothing in what she had seen compared to this room.
There were weights, muscle training machines, strength training equipment, but what had her almost weeping was the boxing ring, the hefty punching bag, the wide mat on the floor for a quick sparring. There was everything here to get a good and honest workout without leaving the room.
“There are workout programs.” He called out a command and had the large screens coming to life with instructors, issuing out orders.
“Why?”
“I am regularly active. I sit in an office for most of the day and getting older means working harder to maintain muscles and strength. I intend to beat the odds. My nephew Michael comes over and we have competitions. He is like me and indulges the old man often. We box, spar and workout together.” He glanced at her comfortable boots.
“Want to give it a shot? See if you can take me down?”
She looked down at her jeans with regret.
“This is not appropriate…”
“I have clothes.” He intervened swiftly. “Michael is slim – not as slim as you are, but he has clothes here inside the locker.”
“Of course you have lockers” she murmured wryly, really tempted. “But I would not dream of wearing someone else clothing.”
“There are some new ones. Unless you really don’t think you are any match for me.” He said the magic word and almost laughed at the look that came over her lovely face. Christ, all those emotions flashing across her expressive face. He wanted to see passion there, passion for him, riding all over her.
“Let’s change that, shall we? Where do I change?”
Relief, sharp and sweet tumbled through his body like a flood and had him striding quickly towards the locker to grab clothing. “There is a bathroom through there. Another one to this end, I will take that one.”
“Prepared to get your ass kicked, Pendergast.” She was already in fight mode.
“We’ll see.” Excitement and anticipation coursed through him as they parted.
Inside the gray and green bathroom, he had to sit on the stool for a spell to get his rioting thoughts under control. He was aching for her. Leaning back against the wall, he pressed a hand over his throbbing cock, a shudder running through his body.
He would have her on the floor, sliding over her into her - he broke off abruptly, realizing he was heading into dangerous waters.
Hissing out a breath, he lunged to his feet and started to get ready.
“Where do we start first?” He asked briskly as she came back into the room. He had to force himself not to react at his first sight of her. She was wearing black skin shorts that did not quite reach her knees and as he suspected, had very strong tapered legs. The t-shirt was a bit loose, but he could see the outline of her sports bra and her nipples.
“The ring!” She bared her teeth as she headed for it.
“You need helmets and gloves.”
“Let’s go.” She climbed in and started circling like a professional, already marking her territory. She had put her hair up and was wearing a headband to keep it out of her eyes – eyes that were gleaming in anticipation.
“Here.” He handed her the helmet and watched as she strapped it on and pulled on boxing gloves.
“Let’s do this.” She ordered.
“I don’t want to hurt you, so the minute you feel like calling it quits, just…,” he did not get to complete that insulting statement, because her fist was slamming into his chest and had him staggering back.
“That wasn’t very sporting of you.”
“I had to shut you up!” She feinted when he came at her, and he had to admit that she was pretty light on her feet and extremely fast.
“Or you were being unfair.” They circled each other warily, looking for openings for weaknesses. He found one and punched out, holding back.
With his nephew, he could and had laid into him without doing so, but as tough as the woman in the ring was, she was still that – a woman and he really did not want to put bruises on a body he intended to make his.
But while he was thinking of it, while he was being careful, she used it against him and got in a few hard and swift punches that had him staggering.
With a feral growl, he decided to hell with it and came out fighting. Within a few minutes, he realized to his shocked surprise that they were well matched. What she lacked in strength, she made up in finesse and knew exactly what she was doing.
Her foot work was amazing, and he would have loved to just sit and watch her pommel an opponent into dust.
But that opponent was him and was having quite a time keeping up. And she was extremely competitive and did not know when to stop. Backing away, he held up a hand and called a halt.
Tugging off his helmet and boxing gloves, he dropped them to the floor and swiped a hand across the sweat rolling down his face.
“Well? “She had taken off her helmet as well and was grinning.
“Are we fighting as professionals?”
“I am one. I do not know about you.” She quipped. “Have I worn you out, Pendergast? Ready to call it quits?”
“Absolutely not. But being a gentleman and quite aware of your female inadequacies, I decide to be the better person and give us some time to recover, or rather you.” He grinned as her gaze turned to stone.
“Let’s get on the mat, shall we?”
The woman was magnificent, he thought in admiration and a warrior. Christ, he was enjoying himself immensely and had never felt this excited ever.
“Are you sure you would not like to lie down for a bit? I have some heating pads…”
“Screw you.” Slapping the ropes back, she climbed out and waited for him on the mat. “I’m waiting here.”
Grinning, he joined her and felt himself revved.
“The rules are…”
“Screw rules.” Her stance was combative, a gleam in her mahogany eyes that turned him on even more.
“Are you certain?”
In response, she moved in right and then feinted left, using her foot to slide in between his. He would have been taken down if he had not taken a firm stand and even then he staggered for a minute and had to regain his balance.
For the next half hour, they grappled and fought to get the upper hand. Sometimes it seems as if she had it, and then at the last minute, it reverted to him.
Margo felt her victory slipping away and for the first time in her life, she resorted to feminine wiles.
Dropping down, she pressed a hand to her chest and winced. And had him hunkering over her, a concerned look on his face. “Oh, Christ! I am so sorry. Where did I hurt you?”
He saw the glint in her eyes and anticipated the move. In a lightening move, he pinned her arms above her head and trapped her legs before she could do damage.
“You are good. I am better!” He told her smoothly.
“Let me up.” She hissed, furious at how easily he was able to thwart her.
“I would ask if you’re going to behave, but I don’t trust you.” The feel of her long, lean body pressed against his was too much. And this time, he was not going to be able to step away. He would not.
She saw his head descending and panic set in like a storm – one that had her bucking.
“No.”
“Yes.” He whispered as he moved in. Slowly stretching out on top of her, he heard the groan escaped from deep inside his throat as he seized her lips with his.