by BETH KERY
“Why are you acting so strangely tonight?” she demanded, her irritation with him undisguised.
“I’m sorry for upsetting you before the performance began,” he said quietly. “But I think you know as well as I do that the Noble Enterprises of today is not the same company as it was yesterday.”
“You’re right,” Lin said coolly. “It’s more diverse and financially vibrant than it’s ever been.”
“Thanks to you, in large part,” Jason said, rubbing his hands up and down her bare arms. “And what have you got to show for it, Lin?”
“Jason, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—hopefully for the last time. I’m flattered by the offer, but I’m not interested in working for Klinf. Now that’s settled. Answer my question. Why are you being intentionally rude to Kam?”
His grip on her arm tightened. “Because of the two assets presented to me here tonight—Kam’s admittedly brilliant invention, which I probably can’t afford, in the endgame—and your beauty, talent, and expertise, I’d rather have you. Besides, if I play my cards right,” he murmured, “I might be able to have both.”
“What are you talking about?” she demanded, trying to step away from him. He pulled her toward him again, his grip unrelenting.
“You’ve been learning a lot about Reardon’s device, haven’t you? All that valuable firsthand experience? That’s an asset all on its own.”
Her disbelief at his audacity made her stop struggling for a moment. “You’re deluding yourself if you think I can comprehend Kam’s genius. Even if I could, I’d never divulge inside information to you.”
“Does Ian allow you to hold private shares in Noble Enterprises?” Jason asked, switching tracks smoothly. “Don’t bother to answer. I know he doesn’t. He refuses to give anyone a single share of his hoard, not even to you, despite his professed loyalty to you and his supposed inability to do business without you.”
“Noble is privately held,” Lin hissed. “I’ve never asked Ian to buy shares.”
“Because you know he wouldn’t give you the opportunity.” Lin flinched like he’d slapped her in the face, his blunt statement taking her off guard.
“Now that he has a wife and a child on the way,” Jason continued relentlessly, “he’s even less likely to release his tight grip on Noble. It’s a lost cause, Lin. All the time and sweat and tears you’ve put into that company, all your brilliance is being used by Noble to build an empire for his future family dynasty, and you’ll be even more of an outsider,” Jason murmured sadly. “If you come with me, I’ll offer you not only a salary worthy of your talents, but I’ll give you stock in Klinf. Up to ten percent, if you want it. We’ll be true partners, not some hollow partnership like Noble is tossing out like leftover scraps to you. You’ll epitomize the elegance and glamour of Klinf. The company will be stronger and more viable than ever with you by my side. I will be,” he whispered hoarsely, his dark eyes glistening with a hard edge.
Lin saw it coming, but she still cringed when he leaned down to kiss her. She swung her chin aside, avoiding his descending mouth. Could this evening be any more of a disaster? She tried to break loose and stumbled in her high heels.
“Jason, let go of me,” she insisted firmly. His mouth moved on her clamped jaw. She wrenched her arms from his hold, making a frustrated sound when he grabbed her again. He squeezed her arms painfully.
“I mean it. You’re hurting me, damn it,” she grated out.
She was seriously considering a particularly powerful form of the word no she’d learned in a Kung Fu class she’d taken. Something caught her attention first. From the corner of her eye, she saw a large hand tap Jason’s shoulder twice. Jason lifted his head, an annoyed expression on his face.
“What the—” He loosened his hold on Lin to twist around when he was tapped again, harder. Lin’s eyes sprung wide when she saw the thunderous expression on Kam’s face. She instinctively stepped back, knowing a storm was about to break. Kam’s fist struck Jason’s jaw like a jet-fueled hammer. Jason’s spin on his planted feet struck her dazed brain as bizarrely comical. He still had a slightly surprised look on his face when he crumpled to the floor.
Lin hurried over to him, kneeling to touch his temple. “Jason?” He was out cold. “Oh my god,” she whispered, shock vibrating her bones. She checked his pulse in rising panic.
“He’ll be fine,” Kam said from above her, his tone derisive. “I punched him, I didn’t kill him. Are you all right?”
She stared up at him. That thundercloud expression still tightened his features, but his gray eyes looked worried.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. “I don’t know what’s come over Jason tonight.”
Kam rolled his eyes. “I have a wild idea. I thought you said he wasn’t interested? That guy is randy as a goat for you.”
“I said I wasn’t that interested. Besides, he just wants me for Klinf. He’s just trying to seduce me so I’ll work for him.”
“I know, I heard,” Kam said grimly. “But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want you for his bed, too.”
Jason started to regain consciousness, rolling his head and mumbling something in French she couldn’t understand. Kam grabbed her hand and raised her so that she stood close to his tall form. He lightly brushed his hands across her upper arms, inspecting her. His gaze narrowed dangerously. Lin glanced down to see where he looked. Her skin was abraded and red from Jason’s hard grip. Scowling, Kam used the toe of his shoe to prod Jason’s shoulder. Jason opened his eyes and stared up at Kam woozily.
“Tu as mérite pire. Si tu mets encore la main sur elle, tu ne t’en sortira pas,” Kam told him succinctly. Lin thought she understood, even with her rudimentary French. You deserved worse. If you touch her again, you won’t get off so easy.
Jason looked understandably cowed even through his befuddlement. Kam started to pull her away.
“Wait,” Lin said, catching up to his long-legged stride, her red gown streaming out behind her. “We can’t just leave him there, can we?”
“He’ll be up in a minute. If he’s not, the janitors will pick him up with the rest of the trash after the performance,” Kam muttered, his disdainful tone clearly signifying that any further discussion of Jason Klinf wasn’t worthy of his time.
Lin considered what he’d said as they walked, and decided not to protest. Jason didn’t deserve compassion. He’d been forcing himself on her and holding her despite her protests. Besides, her Kung Fu move on his open, unguarded stance would have definitely disabled him briefly as well.
Neither of them said anything else as Kam whisked her through the mostly empty mezzanine lobby, and then the completely abandoned grand foyer. The intermission was over. Not that Lin was vaguely interested in returning to their seats. Kam clearly agreed. She was breathless from their single-minded flight by the time Kam hailed a cab and they settled in the backseat.
“My place or yours?” he asked without preamble.
“Yours. Angus,” she replied breathlessly without pause, reminding him of his newly arrived dog.
It had been one of the most complicated, confusing days she could remember. Her mind was a maelstrom. Answering Kam’s loaded question was the simplest, surest decision she’d made in her life. She saw his grim expression soften slightly as he pinned her with his stare. He leaned forward to give the cabdriver the address. Lin could tell he’d liked her quick answer. She could tell he’d liked it a lot.
Chapter Thirteen
Angus treated them to an enthusiastic greeting, although she followed Kam’s sharp order not to jump on Lin’s evening gown.
“I should take her out,” Kam said. “It won’t take but a few minutes.”
“Of course,” Lin agreed.
Despite his proposed mission, he didn’t move. “If you’re worried about Ian’s reaction to what happened with Klinf tonight, don’t be. I’ll explain
. When he hears about how that moron was manhandling you, he’ll understand.”
“That’s all right,” Lin said quietly. “I’ll tell him.”
“One of us will tell him. Ian has a right to know what the man’s really like if he does regular business with him.”
“I agree.”
She felt him studying her and examined her purse. “Will you tell him that Jason asked you to work for him?” Kam prodded.
Lin nodded, not looking up. “I didn’t tell him when Jason asked me before, but I will this time.”
“Why didn’t you mention it to Ian before?”
Lin shrugged. She didn’t want to tell Kam that Jason had asked her to work for him soon after Ian asked Francesca to marry him. Despite Richard St. Claire’s accusation that she hadn’t even considered Jason’s offer, Lin had thought about it. A change in scenery would have helped her cope after seeing Ian so completely in love with another woman. She was glad now she’d never considered the offer too seriously. What a nightmare it would have been if she’d agreed to work with Jason.
“A lot of Ian’s business associates try to . . .” She waved her hand in vague embarrassment.
“Poach you from him?” Kam prodded. “They know an asset when they see it.” She glanced up in time to see his silvery-gray-eyed stare lowering over her. She repressed a shiver.
“I didn’t want Ian to worry about it when he didn’t need to,” she said.
“Ian doesn’t need to worry about you leaving Noble Enterprises because you never would?” Kam prompted.
She moved restlessly in her high heels, uncomfortable at the topic. How could she answer him when she wasn’t sure of the answer herself? Jason’s attempts at convincing her tonight had bothered her in part because there was some truth to what he’d said. Ian’s life and priorities had changed since he’d met Francesca, and so would his business as a result. She’d changed. She wasn’t sure where she belonged anymore.
“I didn’t say that. Who knows what the future may bring?” she replied uneasily.
“Indeed.”
“Why are you so curious?” Lin wondered suddenly.
“Curiosity is one of the palest of my emotions when it comes to you.”
She felt her cheeks heating. Had he really just said that? He started to get Angus’s leash but paused. “Speaking of bolder emotions,” he said dryly, “I bought something for you today at this . . . unusual little boutique I found while I was walking Angus.”
“You did? Unusual, you say?” Lin asked, the tension brought on by their former topic of conversation breaking. She smiled.
“Maybe it’s not unusual. I haven’t lived in a city for years, so what do I know? It was a nice surprise, though. At least it was for me. Maybe you won’t think so.”
“You have to show it to me now,” she prodded softly. “I’m dying of curiosity.”
His nostrils flared slightly as he regarded her, coming to a decision. “Okay.”
He disappeared down the hallway. When he returned a moment later he carried a good-sized shopping bag. Her eyes widened when she saw the single black letter on the bag. It was a new boutique that had opened downtown. She’d read about it in Chicago magazine, but hadn’t yet been there. The boutique specialized in luxurious lingerie, tasteful sex toys, and specially designed jewelry, some of it for everyday glamour, some of it with light bondage or other sexual practices in mind. The boutique might have a racy edge to it, but it carried the highest-quality merchandise and catered to an affluent clientele. Every time the owner was interviewed, he teasingly gave a different word from where the E was derived. So far, Lin had read envy, exquisite, and erotic. It had been a genius marketing ploy, because of course the mind automatically searched for other possible meanings.
She stared at Kam wide-eyed. “You just strolled into E while you were on a walk with Angus this afternoon, did you?” she asked, a smile pulling at her lips.
He arched his dark eyebrows in a droll expression. “You think that’s odd?”
She shook her head and laughed softly. “I’m growing used to you. I’m beginning to think there’s nothing you either haven’t done or wouldn’t, once you decided you wanted to. The way you told off Jason tonight when he was being so uppity about the opera. Your strolling into the hottest, most risqué boutique in the city; those and a thousand other things, will serve as my lessons to never be too cocky about getting you, Kam Reardon.”
He gave her a one-sided grin and stepped toward her, holding out the bag. “I insinuated I didn’t like opening night, which is true. Too crowded. But I actually do like the opera. I used to go in London pretty regularly.”
“I figured. Did you used to go with Diana?” she asked, holding his gaze as she accepted the bag.
He nodded. “I think she was thrilled when she found something that I actually liked that suited her lifestyle.”
“But you were just being honest about a discovered passion, weren’t you?” Lin asked, studying his face. He shrugged. She smiled, loving his insouciance, his laconism . . . the fact that he was the most fascinating man she knew and yet hardly ever talked about himself. She loved him period.
“What’s wrong?” Kam asked, his gaze narrowing on her.
Lin willed herself to recover from her automatic, incendiary thought. She hadn’t meant she loved him loved him. Just that she adored his character. His honesty. His rugged good looks. And the way he made her scream in a frenzy of need in bed . . .
She cleared her throat and held up the bag.
“May I?”
“Please do,” he replied.
She set the bag on an end table. The first thing she drew out was an exquisite black silk, short gown with lace at the breast. “Oh, it’s gorgeous, thank you,” she whispered, running her fingertips over the detailed lacework and held up the fluid, soft silk against her cheek. She glanced at Kam. He said nothing, but the look in his eyes and the small smile he wore made her heart beat faster.
She withdrew two packages tightly wrapped in tissue. “Just open the smaller one for now,” Kam said gruffly. “The other one is just the hardware.”
Her brows lifted at that. She fleetly unwrapped the package. “Oh,” she murmured when she saw the four black leather straps with sturdy platinum buckles and small hoops and hooks attached. The cuffs were finely made and sturdy. Despite their obvious sexual intent, the bands were attractive—almost like edgy jewelry. She looked at Kam, her mouth hanging open, her pulse beginning to throb at her throat.
“They reminded me of when you were wearing those black leather high heels the other day,” he explained quietly. She stared at him in blank incomprehension. “The ones with the thick leather strap that buckled around your ankles? In Ian’s office? I was getting hard just looking at them. I was trying to figure out why the sight turned me on so much. It was something about the contrast. Thick leather against silk. You’re so delicate, and your skin is flawless. I wouldn’t have thought ‘leather’ for you, but there you have it,” he finished a little sheepishly. “The boutique has a really talented artist—Jarvis Cooper—who hand makes all the jewelry, including the watches. I talked to him for a while and he showed me his workshop. When he showed me these, I thought of you.”
She fingered one of the restraints, holding his gaze. He was telling her that for whatever reason, the thought of her in the leather restraints did it for him. “One for each of my ankles and wrists?” she asked.
He shrugged slightly. “We can just use the wrist cuffs until you’re ready for the others—”
“I’m ready now,” she whispered.
His mouth snapped closed. She saw his throat convulse as he swallowed.
She set down the cuffs and reached into the bag again. “You really went to town, didn’t you?” she teased, lifting out another tissue-wrapped package.
“It was sort of one-stop shopping, especially fo
r a visitor like me who wasn’t planning for something like . . .”
She glanced over at him as she unwrapped what felt like a small box.
“. . . you,” Kam finished.
She tore her gaze off his face to look at what rested in the palm of her hand. This, she recognized. A small bullet vibrator. She owned a similar one. The thought of Kam using it on her, of watching what had formerly been a solitary, autoerotic experience, caused both her cheeks and sex to flush with heat. “You really were stocking up on the essentials, weren’t you?” she said to hide her embarrassed excitement.
If her cheeks had warmed when she saw the vibrator, they flamed when she unwrapped a flogger with dozens of supple suede tails and a tightly wrapped leather handle.
“Don’t be nervous,” Kam said, his voice a quiet, arousing rasp near her ear. She hadn’t realized he’d moved. He smoothed her hair behind her ears, his fingertips lowering to brush against her neck. She shivered. “I’m not ever going to hurt you. I’ll awaken your nerves. I’ll make you sting at worst, and the pleasure will trump it, every time. But anytime you tell me to stop, I will. Do you understand?”
She nodded and his lips brushed against her cheeks as if to absorb the heat.
“There’s wine in the kitchen. Ian and Francesca sent some over,” he said. “Why don’t you go and pour yourself a glass while I take Angus out? That way, she won’t bother us all night.”
“Okay,” she said, turning her face toward him. He leaned down and kissed her mouth.
She remained frozen to the spot for several seconds after the door closed with Kam and Angus on the other side of it. Finally she roused herself. In the kitchen, she decided against the wine and instead chose a bottle of water. She chugged down a third of it in seconds. Something about opening those intimate gifts in front of Kam, and then his melting kiss, had left her parched and . . .
. . . thirsty for sensation.
• • •
When Kam returned to the condo with Angus in tow, Lin was nowhere to be seen. A ripple of anxiety went through him. Had he scared her off with his purchase? He certainly hadn’t thought so as he closely watched her reaction as she opened the packages, but maybe he’d been kidding himself.
