Chapter 34
Everything inside him tightened. “Are you still here?”
“I’m not going away just because you ignore me, Noah.”
Anger and bitterness fought for supremacy in his gut. “I really wish you would get the message. I wish you’d disappear off the face of the earth. That’s how very badly I don’t want to see you.” He took his keys and pressed the unlock button.
“Taylor died.”
Noah stiffened, one hand braced on the hood of his car.
He closed his eyes against the lance of grief that flared in his chest. “My condolences. He was a great guy. But I don’t think you flew down from New York and stuck around for five days just to tell me your twin brother died.
So nice try, but whatever your angle is, the answer is still no. ”
“One hour, Noah. That’s all I need.”
He faced her. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?
You want something, so you try and soften me up with your brother’s death.
Well, here’s a newsflash—I’m over your mind games and your manipulative ways, Ashley.
So leave with a little bit of the dignity you denied me two years ago.
Or I will bring you to your fucking knees.
We both know how much you hate that position, don’t we? ”
“It’s her, isn’t it? She’s got you so twisted around her little pixie finger you can’t see straight.”
He looked at her and tried to recall what it was about her he’d found so captivating four years ago.
She was very well put together, not a hair out of place or smudged lipstick in sight.
Her body was well toned—the result of a fanatic gym regime.
She was beautiful in a cool and classy way that turned heads when she walked into a room.
But all that was just surface gloss. He knew firsthand what lay underneath.
“My first warning was free, Ash.” He used the nickname she hated. “The second one won’t be.”
He yanked the handle and dropped into the bucket seat. Stabbing the key in the ignition, he barely gave the engine time to tick over before he stomped on the gas.
Noah got fleeting satisfaction from seeing her jump back from the fumes of burning rubber before his thoughts veered like a divining stick toward Leia.
It had been less than ten minutes since she’d left, and already he felt a gaping desolation. The idea of her out there, under Snyder’s dubious protection, stuck in his craw.
Gritting his teeth, he hit the phone button dial on the steering wheel and scrolled through to the number he wanted. “Any luck locating Willoughby?” he asked as soon as the call was answered.
“We have a lead but nothing concrete. We should have something for you by tonight.”
Noah paused. “I have another brief for you.”
“Yes?”
“Get me everything you can on Warren Snyder, La Carezza, Inc.”
“Okay. I’m on it.”
He hung up feeling marginally better. He ditched the idea of going to his condo and drove to his office instead. Maddie was headed out to an early lunch when he walked in.
“Mr. King! I wasn’t expecting you in till Monday.” She seemed nervous.
“I’m not stopping for long.” He paused on his way to his office. “Ashley Maitland met me at the airport. You know anything about that?”
Her eyes rounded behind her boxy glasses. “I’m so sorry. She’s been calling here all week. I refused to give her any information but this morning she said it was a matter of life and death. I know it’s stupid, but?—”
“She guilted you into it. I’ll let it slide this once. Don’t let it happen again.”
Relief poured over her face. “Thank you.”
“Enjoy your lunch. When you get back, call Tagliani’s. Have them deliver the chef’s special for two to my place at seven.” He intended to see Leia long before then, but he reckoned they’d need food before they went to bed.
“Yes, sir.”
He ploughed through two mountains of paperwork and numerous phone calls before he let himself glance at the clock.
2 p.m.
He speared a hand through his hair and checked his phone. He missed Leia. The emptiness inside him terrified and thrilled him. A part of him rejoiced that when Ashley had him carted off in handcuffs two years ago, she hadn’t succeeded in killing off every emotion that made him human.
To know he was capable of sustaining the connection he’d found with Leia made his heart race as he located her number and dialed it.
She’s got you so twisted around her little finger you can’t see straight.
Hell, yeah. And he wasn’t ashamed to admit it?—
The number you have dialed cannot be reached at the moment.
He rose from his desk and strolled to the window.
He’d stood here less than a week ago contemplating the barrenness of his life, and the depths of his cloying hunger. In a few short days, Leia had changed that desolate landscape. She filled him with hope and possibilities that made him reel.
He knew a good investment when he saw one. He intended to hang on to her with everything he had.
Six hours later, Noah was pacing in front of another window, the vice around his chest tightening with each call that went unanswered. The food had long cooled on the dining table in his condo, and his appetite was non-existent.
Where the hell was she?
He scrolled through to the number he’d dialed earlier on in the day. He was about to dial it when the intercom buzzed.
Turning off the phone, he grabbed the handset. “Yes?”
“Sir, there’s a Miss Michaels here?—”
“Send her up.” He stalked out the door to the elevator, wishing for the first time that he didn’t live in the penthouse suite of a twenty-story building. He nearly tore open the doors with his bare hands when the car stopped.
“Where the fuck have you been?”
“Don’t yell at me, Noah. It’s been a rough day.” She wore the same clothes from this morning and weariness bruised her beautiful eyes.
He dialed his voice down a notch. “Okay. No yelling. Why is your phone off?”
“I didn’t get done until half an hour ago. And my phone was off because I was in meetings all day. The board wants me to take over as CEO now or hand over the full reins to Warren?—”
He frowned. “You just stepped off a plane. You’re exhausted. They couldn’t wait a day to hit you with this?”
“Everything sort of snowballed into each other.”
He sliced his fingers through his hair. “Leia, I’ve been going out of my mind worrying about you.”
“I’m sorry.” Exhaustion lined her voice and face, and he swallowed his frantic worry that had consumed him.
The elevator doors started to shut. He slammed it back. “Come inside. Dinner is cold, but I’m sure I can—” He stopped when she shook her head.
“I’m not coming in. My car’s waiting downstairs.”
“What the hell for?”
“I just think this is a bad idea. You said we could withstand the baggage. But your ex turned up the moment we landed?—”
“And you left with a guy who looks at you like you’re his private possession,” he snapped.
She recoiled. “No, he doesn’t.”
He stalked in and caught her up against him. “I know you’re not that blind so let’s talk about something more relevant. What happened today?”
She pushed against his chest. “Nothing. Let me go, Noah.”
Panic surged. He strode into his condo and kicked the door shut. “When I left you this morning you were okay. Now you’re dumping me? I think I deserve some answers, don’t you?”
“I need a little distance. That’s all. Maybe we can pick this back up when?—”
He slammed her against the wall. She moaned and her pupils dilated. His rough treatment turned her on. Just as much as it turned him on.
For them, the rougher the better. The thought that she wanted to take this from him, from them , nearly sent him into orbit. When her tongue flicked against the corner of her mouth and her eyes devoured him, he forgot his own name.
“Noah, what are you doing?”
“I should be asking you that.” His thumbs caressed the sides of her breasts, and her breath grew shallow and fractured.
“Make me understand. You haven’t stopped wanting me in the space of eight hours.
I sure as hell haven’t stopped craving you.
So what happened?” he whispered. “I know something did. Baby, please tell me.” He didn’t care that he was pleading.
Her eyes stayed planted on his mouth but she didn’t speak, only shook her head. She inserted one leg between his, slowly sliding her naked thigh upward. The friction, the soft heat of her, made his brain scramble. When the top of her knee scraped the seam of his jeans, he swallowed hard.
“Remember what we agreed? I like the action but I need to hear the words, baby. Vocalize.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Noah.”
He widened his stance and she immediately raised her knee. He allowed himself to rock his balls against her, let a dizzying wave of pleasure drown him before he trapped her leg.
Bracing his arms around hers so she couldn’t escape, he caught both nipples between his fingers and squeezed hard.
Her scream echoed down his hallway.
He removed his touch and stepped back.
“No! Please…”
“I won’t seduce the information out of you, Leia. You have to tell me of your own accord.”
Despair wove through the weariness in her eyes before she squeezed them shut.
He refused to let her deny him. “Open your eyes, Leia. Don’t be afraid.”
She tensed, and her eyes snapped open. “I’m not afraid.”
“You are. You’re afraid to trust me, even a little. I don’t want you hiding yourself from me. Or hiding what’s really going on here. I won’t be dismissed from your life as easily as you think. And I sure as hell will not let you run because you’re too afraid to believe in our future.”
“How fucking dare you! If I intended to run I wouldn’t be here!”
His smile felt tight and grim. “Good. Then fight me. Fight with me. For this! For all the nights and days we can have together. Tell me what happened today. I can’t help you fix it if you push me away.”
She deflated before his eyes. “I can’t,” she whispered.
Fear clutched his soul. “Give us a chance, baby. Or we’re sunk before we’ve even begun.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t have begun at all.”
Icy fingers clamped his nape. He dropped his hands and stepped away from her. “Fine.” He dragged the door open. “Then leave. Run back to your little cozy hideout.”
Her eyes widened in shock, then a flash of anger lit her eyes. “Don’t be an asshole, Noah.”
“You’re ripping my guts out, and you accuse me of being an asshole? Tell. Me. What. Happened,” he yelled.
“My stepfather happened!”
The jagged pain in his chest took a backseat to his fear for her. “ What? ” He tugged her back and slammed the door shut. “Did he hurt you?”
She dropped her purse on the floor and speared her hands through her hair. It tore him apart to see them tremble. “No, I didn’t see him. He called.”
“He called you?”
“No, he spoke to Warren.”
“What did he want?”
A nauseous grimace rolled across her face. “He wants fifty million dollars in the next seven days.”
“That’s ridiculous, unless… Is he blackmailing you?” he growled, but the tingle along his nape didn’t bode well for hoping it was something else.
“He made a copy of secret recordings… including the one of him…” Her voice broke and her hand flew to her mouth. “Noah, I think I’m going to be sick.”
He picked her up and rushed her to the bathroom. He held her head as she dry-heaved, his insides twisting with every hoarse sound. When she exhausted herself, he set her down on the vanity and grabbed a new toothbrush from the cabinet.
“Have you eaten at all today?” he asked.
Bruised, beautiful grey eyes met his in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. “Half a frozen yogurt at lunchtime.”
He waited until she’d rinsed her mouth and handed her a face towel. “Think you can handle any food if I rustle something up?”
“You don’t have to?—”
“You need to eat.” He stood behind her and traced his fingers through her hair. “Let me take care of you, baby. Stay here tonight. Please.”
Their eyes locked. Held.
“Yes, Noah.”
Relief rushed through him and his fingers tightened in her hair.
“This isn’t something we brush away as inconvenient or walk away from when the going gets tough.
You’re mine. Even when I threaten to kick your ass, you’ll still be mine.
Mine to take care of.” He bit her nape lightly and traced the hurt with his tongue.
“Mine to fuck. Mine to cherish.” She trembled beneath his touch and gripped the sink.
“Walking away shouldn’t be the first option when things get tough. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“And Leia?”
“Yes?”
“I’ll find Willoughby, and I’ll make the bastard pay. Trust that too.”
He didn’t demand an answer because her eyes filled with tears. He caught her to him and just held her tight through her silent weeping.
When it trailed off to hiccups, he kissed the top of her head. “Shower?”
She nodded.
He led her upstairs to his suite and pointed to the door at the far end. “Dressing room through there when you’re done. Find something to wear and come find me.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
He left her in the middle of the room and walked out before he could voice the words tumbling through his head. Words he wasn’t sure he understood completely.
They’d survived their first day back in reality.
Noah was prepared to take that as a win.