Tycoon's Blackmailed Mistress

by Maxine Sullivan

  “But someone should keep an eye on her.”

  “Don’t get involved, Connie.”

  “But—”

  “Say one more thing about Danielle Ford and I’ll fire you myself.” And he’d meant it.

  She’d given him a look that said it wasn’t over, but she’d done what he’d ordered and bought a car.

  So now he would return the purse, then go home and dress for his date and he’d make damn sure he enjoyed himself tonight, he decided, as he strode down the hallway toward Danielle’s penthouse door. He had a date with an ex-lover and he fully intended to make the most of his night and the last thing he needed was a glimpse of Danielle Ford to remind him what he couldn’t have with her.

  His eyes narrowed when he saw her door standing open. Bloody hell, was she expecting him? Had she deliberately left the purse on his desk? Of course she must have.

  Anger filled him as he strode forward, the sound of the television meeting his ears as he got closer to the open doorway. “Danielle?” he called out in a sharp tone.

  No answer.

  He stepped into the living room and called louder, “Danielle?”

  Still no answer.

  He looked around the room and over to the kitchen. Why didn’t she answer?

  A muffled sound came from the other direction and a frisson of fear rolled down his spine. Despite it, he strode forward, a knot growing in his gut with each step he took. If she’d hurt herself…

  He pushed the door open. And there she was, wrapping her hair up in a towel, having just stepped out of the shower. She looked up at the doorway and screamed.

  Then she let out a shaky breath. “Oh, Flynn. It’s only you.”

  Only him.

  His eyes dropped from her face to her breasts, over her still-flat stomach to the blond triangle of hair at the junction of her thighs. His body hardened in the hot, steamy room. This woman would turn up any man’s blood pressure. She was a seductress. A sexy witch. And he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted a woman before.

  “Flynn?”

  The soft sound of his name on her lips made him want to take her in his arms. To press her breasts against his chest. To ease the ache between her thighs, their thighs, with the sweetest possession of all.

  His gaze roved back up to her face, and her eyes told him what he already knew. Danielle Ford wanted him as much as he wanted her.

  “You’re beautiful,” he rasped and saw her eyes deepen to a smoky blue.

  “I’m—” Apprehension flicked across her face. Suddenly she made a grab for the short robe resting on the towel rack. “Pregnant,” she said unsteadily, sliding her arms into the material and pulling it close. “I think you’ve forgotten that.”

  “You’re still sexy, Danielle. Incredibly so.”

  “Don’t,” she whispered.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Come in here and seduce me.”

  He noted the way the soft, sky-blue material of her robe clung to her damp breasts. “That’s funny. I thought you were the one doing the seducing.”

  Color flooded her face. “How? By stepping out of my own shower?”

  He straightened. “Your door was open,” he reminded her, then held up the purse. “And you left this in my office today.”

  Recognition flickered in her eyes. “Oh. Yes, I know. I was going to come by and get it tomorrow.”

  He sent her a mocking look.

  Her eyes widened. “You think I left it there deliberately?”

  “You mean you didn’t?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, her forehead crinkling. “Wait a minute. What do you mean my door was open? It was closed. I’m sure it was. I always close it.”

  “Perhaps the lock’s faulty?” he said, sneering, knowing she’d set him up well and truly.

  She stiffened. “Perhaps it is. The Realtor said they’d changed the locks.” She jerkily pulled the towel from her head and combed her fingers through her hair, then stopped to look at him. “Anyway, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave.”

  He wasn’t used to being dismissed, certainly not by the woman he wanted. “Found another willing male to help you out?” he said cynically.

  She bristled with indignation. “I resent that remark. I’ve never once asked for your help. You forced the car on me. I didn’t want to take it, remember?”

  “You needed help for your baby.”

  “We would have survived without it.”

  “No doubt.” This woman was a survivor of the worst kind. She survived on other people’s money.

  “You don’t seem to understand that my independence is important to me,” she said, the proud tilt of her head at odds with what he knew about her.

  “Don’t I?”

  She drew herself up as she tightened her robe. “In the future I’ll thank you to stay away from me. I accepted the car but that doesn’t give you the right to walk into my apartment anytime you like.”

  His mouth pressed into a grim line. “That isn’t why I’m here,” he pointed out.

  “Sure it isn’t,” she mocked, trying to turn the tables on him, looking so darn beautiful that she grabbed his breath away. If he didn’t get out of here soon he was going to march up to her, pull her into his arms and kiss her until she surrendered to him completely.

  Drawing a sharp breath, he twisted on his heels and headed toward the front door. The woman was a danger to herself and to every man she smiled at. Even the ones she didn’t smile at would succumb to her beauty. All men were suckers for a beautiful lady with charisma.

  “I’d better check that lock,” he said roughly, not believing that it was faulty but needing to make sure.

  “There’s no need,” she said quickly, coming up behind him. “The landlord will fix it if there’s a problem.”

  He stopped dead, and so did she. “I thought you’d want to fix it yourself,” he scoffed. “Seeing you’re so independent and all.”

  Her enticing lips tightened. “You’re taking that out of context.”

  He didn’t think so. “Anyway, if it is faulty—” and his tone said he very much doubted it “—you won’t get the landlord to look at it before Monday. And I don’t want to get up tomorrow morning and find your murder front-page news.”

  “Don’t be silly,” she scoffed, but all at once her voice sounded uncertain as she touched her stomach.

  A shiver went down his spine again. “I’m checking the lock whether you like it or not.” He strode to the door.

  Unfortunately it didn’t take him long to spot a problem with the catch. He swore, not liking the sudden feeling of guilt. And not liking that perhaps he had been wrong about her.

  This time.

  “What is it?” she said behind him.

  “Looks like I owe you an apology.”

  She expelled a little sigh. “See. I told you I was telling the truth.” She moved closer. “What’s wrong with it?”

  The exotic fragrance she’d rubbed all over her body was suddenly blinding him to all the reasons he should step back and leave this apartment before it was too late. “It isn’t catching properly.”

  “Where?” she said, moving even closer.

  And that was it.

  All at once the air hummed with electricity. As if she felt it, she turned to face him. Their eyes met and she gave a soft gasp, and in that heartbeat, Flynn knew he had to kiss her or regret it for the rest of his life.

  “Don’t stop me, Danielle,” he growled and didn’t give her time to argue. He lowered his head, his eyes homing in on her mouth. For a moment she held out against him and he knew she was fighting herself rather than him. Then her lips quivered and opened on the smallest sigh of surrender.

  Adrenaline pumped into him and his tongue slipped inside her to taste the moist, dark warmth of her. She tasted superb. Just as he’d expected. Just as he’d imagined since the first time he’d seen her.

  Without warning, her arms inched up and slid around his neck, pulling him clos
er. He could feel her against him, arousing him, and suddenly everything was getting out of control. His control. She was pregnant, for God’s sake. He had to stop.

  He broke off the kiss and swore, “Hell.”

  “Flynn?” she whispered, her eyes darkened with that smoky hue again.

  Heat engulfed him and he groaned. “Just one more kiss,” he muttered, pulling her to him.

  A goodbye kiss.

  A farewell kiss.

  A kiss to end all kisses.

  Only, when their lips met for a second time, it suddenly didn’t matter that she was pregnant. Nor that she was a woman out to get all that she could. Nothing mattered except the delicious taste of her, the glorious scent of her, the explosive feel of her in his arms, rubbing up against him, turning him on.

  Shuddering, he let his mouth slide along her cheek to her ear, catching her delicate earlobe between his lips, then his teeth, laving it with his tongue.

  “Flynn, we have to stop.” She moaned with pleasure, inflaming him further.

  He pushed some wet strands of her hair aside with his lips and trailed kisses down the column of her throat, pressing his mouth against her wildly beating pulse. “Must we?” He just needed to touch her some more. Maybe then he’d get enough of her.

  “We…have to.” Her husky tones told him she had her eyes closed, savoring each precious moment. He did the same as he inhaled against her collarbone. Her scent was driving him wild.

  “Let me love you just a little,” he murmured, deciding to damn the consequences just for a moment more and moved back to push the silky robe off her shoulders, exposing the tips of her nipples. He looked down at her full breasts and sucked in air. “Beautiful. They’re made for a man’s hands. My hands.”

  She lifted heavy eyelids. “Yes.”

  “And for my tongue.”

  “Oh, yes!”

  He slid the material off her shoulders, fully exposing her in a way that highlighted each golden globe. An aching need hit him right in the gut, then lower to where his erection strained against his trousers.

  He ran a finger from one nipple to the other, her silky soft skin puckering to his touch as she rested her head back against the wall, giving short little puffs of breath. He repeated the action.

  Then he ran his thumbs across each brown peak, before squeezing those little pebbles between his fingers. She moaned and her eyes feathered shut, and something deep inside him abated, filling him with a sense of rightness. He was meant to be here, with her in his arms. Right now, in this moment of time.

  Groaning, he bent his head and took a nipple in his mouth, flicking it with his tongue.

  “Flynn,” she sobbed in a guttural sound that seemed to come from deep within her.

  He did it again, then began to suck, harder and harder, wanting to give her more and more. He could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears, telling him to give her everything she needed. That only he could give it to her.

  She moved restlessly and a picture of those blond womanly curls came to mind, making his fingers itch to touch her there. Lord knew he wanted to find out what she felt like.

  He kissed her again and slowly slid his palm over her stomach, then down to the essence of the woman. God, she was wet and warm against his fingers.

  He kissed her deeply, moving his fingers against her soft nub, stroking once, stroking twice. He wanted to give her pleasure. No, he wanted to give her a pleasure like she’d never known before.

  “Let yourself go,” he murmured against the corner of her mouth and touched her some more.

  At first there was a slight ripple through her body, then her legs began to quiver. She gripped his shoulders, panting heavily, head flung back, eyes closed.

  “That’s it, sweetheart.” He relished the expressive emotions flittering across her face as she reached closer to fulfillment.

  And then the tremors of arousal began and she cried out his name as she went up in flames. She shattered as his fingers slicked back and forth. If he’d been inside her, he would have felt her grip and release as she rode the waves of ecstasy. It was almost enough to send a man over the edge.

  He held her until the turbulence inside her slowed to a halt. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder while she caught her breath.

  Finally she looked up at him and in her eyes was pure embarrassment. She looked more than beautiful. Stunning. Intense male possessiveness ripped through him, even as he wondered about her self-consciousness.

  “Flynn, I—”

  “Don’t say anything.” He gathered the sides of her robe together and tied it with the sash.

  She licked her slightly swollen lips. “But you haven’t…You didn’t…”

  “No, and I don’t need to,” he rasped.

  “But—”

  “No buts, Danielle.” He gazed at her, forcing himself to concentrate on the moment. “I enjoyed watching you.”

  She gave a soft gasp and he bent his head, quickly taking advantage of her open mouth. He parted her lips with his tongue, then spent a long moment absorbing the heady taste of her. It was a taste flavored by a new sensuousness between them.

  Then suddenly there was a knock on the door.

  Danielle broke off the kiss, pushed at his chest. “Oh, God!” she gasped.

  He frowned as the outside world intruded. “What’s the matter?”

  “It’s Monica,” she whispered, her eyes darting down the hallway as if looking for an escape.

  “Monica?”

  She glanced back at him. “Um…my mother-in-law,” she said, then looked away nervously, giving him the impression she didn’t want him to know too much about the other woman.

  His jaw clenched at the reminder that Danielle had been married. That she’d belonged to another man. Robert would have touched her, loving her in many ways, making her his own. Flynn was suddenly jealous of the other man. Of every second Robert Ford had spent with her.

  “Don’t answer,” he said roughly, keeping his voice low.

  Her eyes clouded over. “I have to. She’s coming for dinner. It’s my birthday.”

  Something odd kicked inside him. “Your birthday?”

  “Yes,” she said almost absentmindedly, then bit her lip nervously. “If I don’t answer the door, she’ll think I’m still at work and…”

  He jolted. So she did have a regular job and didn’t just volunteer at the hospital as he’d imagined.

  “Then if I don’t come home, she’s likely to call the police.”

  “Did you say she was your mother-in-law, or your mother?” he mocked, not liking the sound of this Monica.

  “Mother-in-law,” she mumbled, missing his sarcasm.

  “Then just open the door and act as if nothing happened.”

  And that would be the biggest lie ever.

  She moistened her lips, her eyes darting past his shoulder, looking everywhere but at him. “I can’t. She wouldn’t understand.”

  The muscles at the back of his neck tightened. “Are you scared of her?”

  Her eyes swung back to him. “Of course not,” she said, but there was a hollow ring to her words, and he knew she was definitely scared of something. “She’s just…” She winced. “Well, she’s Robert’s mother. I don’t want her to find us like this.”

  “Like what? I was only checking your lock,” he drawled.

  She blushed, her gaze dropping to his chest. “Flynn, I don’t think—”

  Another knock at the door cut across her words, making her jump. Flynn swore softly. This was a ridiculous situation.

  She brushed back her damp hair, then tightened the collar of her robe. She swallowed. “I have to face her.”

  He suddenly felt proud of her, so he dropped a light kiss on her lips, tempted to linger. He wanted to say to hell with this Monica, but if he did that, then he’d have to sweep Danielle up in his arms and carry her to the bedroom for a night of hot pleasure.

  And then what?

  He shuddered. It was as
well this Monica would call the police. It was the wake-up call he needed. From this point he would back off and leave Danielle to get on with her life. In about six months time she would become a mother, for God’s sake. And he’d never seen anyone sexier.

  “Flynn, I’m ready.”

  He gave a nod, then pulled the door open, making the well-dressed woman on the other side almost leap out of her skin.

  “Monica,” Danielle exclaimed, pretending surprise, though Flynn didn’t think she did a good job of it, considering she was such an accomplished liar at times. “I didn’t realize you were there.”

  The mother-in-law’s gaze traveled from one to the other, then up and down, her obsidian eyes turning colder by degrees. “So I see.”

  “This is Flynn.” Danielle gave a smile but he saw the uneasiness beneath. “He’s been checking the lock on my door.”

  “Really?” Monica said haughtily, then dismissed him by smiling coolly. “You should have called, dear. I know a locksmith.”

  He’d bet a thousand dollars she didn’t, Flynn thought, taking an instant dislike to Danielle’s mother-in-law, noticing how her smile didn’t reach her eyes. She was too cold. And calculating.

  “Yes, well,” Danielle said. “The landlord will have to fix it now. Flynn hasn’t got the right equipment.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” he drawled, and was pleased when two spots of color appeared on Danielle’s cheeks.

  Monica looked at Flynn. “If only my Robbie were here. He was good at fixing things.”

  “I’m sure he was,” Flynn said, emphasizing the last word. If Monica thought she was warning him off Danielle, then she could think again. He’d already made the decision to stay away and it had nothing to do with her mother-in-law.

  Monica’s narrowed eyes told him she got the message, and right at that moment, Flynn could see how much Robert Ford had been like his mother. From the moment he’d met the other man he’d disliked him intensely.

  As if Danielle sensed something going on between the two of them, she turned toward him, her eyes agitated. “Well, thanks again, Flynn,” she said, almost pushing him out the door. “I appreciate your help.”

  He was tempted to stay just to annoy this Monica. Instead he stepped through the doorway and into the hall. “Make sure you get the lock fixed as soon as possible.”