“I will. And good night.”
“Yes, goodbye,” Monica said, moving past him into the apartment, almost elbowing him aside. “Nice meeting you.”
“And you.” He could play the game as well as she could, he mused, watching her continue on to the living room. Her rigid back gave him an immense sense of satisfaction.
Danielle glanced over her shoulder, again reminding him she was uneasy with this woman in her home, and a protective instinct rose in him, which he firmly squashed. He had no doubt Danielle would continue to hold firm against the other woman. After all, Danielle could take care of herself. He had to remember that.
“I’d better go in.” Danielle started to close the door, then stopped briefly, awareness in her eyes shooting desire through every region of his body. “Thank you for returning my purse.”
He held her gaze for one long moment, angry she was who she was, but wanting her with every fiber of his being. “It was my pleasure,” he rasped, watching with satisfaction as a flush spread up her neck to her face just before she closed the door.
He stood there for a moment and inhaled her scent still clinging to him. Then he spun on his heels and headed toward the elevator. He was supposed to be going out tonight but the thought of talking to another woman, of being with another woman, of making love to a woman other than the woman he wanted, filled him with distaste.
Dammit, there was no way he could go on his date now. Not after what he’d just shared with Danielle. He only hoped that even this small sample of how pleasurable it could be with Danielle Ford hadn’t ruined his love life.
Forever.
Danielle shut the door, then let out a shaky sigh. She had been so close to disaster just now. If Flynn had mentioned the loan to spite her…If Monica had decided to use it to get the baby…
No, she wouldn’t let it happen to her.
Straightening her shoulders, she took a deep breath before turning into the living room to face Monica. Her mother-in-law was bound to say something about Flynn having been in the apartment.
“Here. Let me take those,” she said when she saw Monica with a pile of her personal papers in the other woman’s hands.
Monica spun around, a flash of guilt crossing her face. “Oh, you startled me. I was just moving them so I could sit down.”
Danielle was sure she’d been reading them, not moving them, but she let it pass. They were only some bills and the lease to the apartment, which she’d been meaning to put away, anyway. Thankfully there was nothing about the loan in among that lot, she thought with intense relief as she took the papers and put them in the bureau drawer, out of sight.
Monica sat down on the couch and stabbed her with her eyes. “Tell me, Danielle. How do you know Flynn Donovan?”
Danielle had already prepared herself for the question. “He was visiting my neighbor in the other penthouse,” she lied, hating it but knowing it had to be done. “My door was open and he came to tell me and we discovered the lock was faulty.”
“So you don’t know him personally?” she questioned further.
“No.” Something occurred to Danielle. “But obviously you knew who he was.”
Monica shrugged. “Only from what I’ve read in the newspapers.”
Surprisingly, Monica appeared to accept the explanation. Then her assessing gaze raked down Danielle’s bathrobe. “That’s new, isn’t it?”
Danielle suddenly felt exposed and vulnerable, even more than when she’d stood naked in front of Flynn, if that was possible.
“Yes, it is,” she said, trying not to get defensive. She’d bought the silk robe a couple of weeks ago when she’d needed something to cheer herself up and the price had been so cheap it had almost jumped off the rack at her.
Another look at Monica, and Danielle decided she’d be too uncomfortable to stay dressed like this another minute. “I’ll just go and change.”
“Hmm.” Monica weighed her with a critical squint. “I’m not sure Robbie would like it on you.”
That old feeling of being smothered returned and Danielle stiffened. She had to be strong and continue to dodge being snared by her mother-in-law’s need to control. “Really?”
“And, Danielle, dear, a bit of advice. You shouldn’t wear something like that in front of another man. It may give him ideas, especially one as rich and successful as Flynn Donovan.”
Danielle whirled around and started walking to her bedroom so Monica wouldn’t see her face turning red. “Not in my condition it wouldn’t.”
“You’d be surprised. Some men find pregnancy rather attractive,” Monica warned, her voice rising as Danielle continued walking.
“I’m sure you’re wrong,” Danielle said, then closed her bedroom door and leaned back against it.
Heat washed over her body and her legs trembled. From the moment Flynn had stepped into her bathroom, she’d been his for the taking. Oh, she’d fought herself all the way to the front door, but when she’d turned and seen the hot desire in his eyes, she had melted for him.
But it had been so long since she’d felt attraction for a man. So long since she’d made love to a man she desired. Flynn had made her come alive again, had recognized her needs and taken her beyond the edge of satisfaction. She’d never had such an experience before. He made her feel like a woman again. And he’d given back what had slowly diminished in her marriage to Robert. Her sense of feminine self.
For that she owed Flynn Donovan a lot.
Of course, that didn’t make him any less arrogant, nor the right man for her, she reminded herself. She needed to keep that in mind and fend off her attraction for him.
Just then, there was a light knock on the door. “Are you coming out, Danielle? I want to give you your birthday present.”
Danielle let out a slow breath and counted to ten. Monica always did this, stalking her until she felt smothered. Robert had been the same. And that was a timely reminder that the battle for independence had been too hard fought and won.
“I’ll be there in a minute, Monica. Why don’t you put the coffee on?”
A moment’s silence, then she said, “Fine.”
Danielle waited a moment more, then pushed herself away from the door with trembling hands. She was never going to let herself be dictated to again.
Never.
And that applied to Flynn Donovan.
No matter how wonderful he made her feel.
Five
A fter the function, Flynn dropped his date off at her apartment, drove home to his mansion in Cullen Bay, then spent the early hours of the morning sitting on the balcony of his master bedroom. An electrical storm had raged during the evening while he’d been at the dinner, and now his lushly landscaped garden was beautifully moonlit.
He’d realized one thing tonight. He’d rather spend an evening being antagonized by Danielle than being sweet talked by a bevy of beautiful women.
God, what was it about Danielle Ford he couldn’t shake? As much as a part of him didn’t want to see this woman who was far from an angel, he knew his body still hungered after her. It was a hunger that he wasn’t about to appease, so why was he putting himself through this? He couldn’t have her…shouldn’t have her…but he’d tormented himself anyway.
Yet every time he looked into her blue eyes it weakened his determination to stay away from her. And tonight…no, yesterday…he couldn’t stop thinking about the way she’d melted for him back there in her apartment.
And that baffled him. For a woman who would have used her body many times to get what she wanted, according to her former husband, she hadn’t been as experienced as he’d expected. Her slight hesitation and occasional lack of control…while thoroughly tantalizing…had told him otherwise.
Dammit, she just didn’t add up. She seemed to be a mixture of truth and lies. Of innocence and guilt. Independent yet reliant. Look at the way she’d left her door open for him…or not. The lock had been faulty, he admitted.
And she’d mentioned her job in the
stress of the moment. So it was a real job, after all, not a volunteer one as he’d suspected. It was time he actually got that report done on her. A personal one this time, not just a financial one. He wanted to know everything about her. Everything and more from the day she’d been born.
And dammit, yesterday had been her birthday and he hadn’t known until too late. It turned out that the car he’d given her had been an inadvertently well-timed gift, but spending the evening with a cold, unfeeling mother-in-law who obviously didn’t have an unselfish bone in her body wasn’t exactly a great way to celebrate.
Danielle deserved better.
She also deserved an Oscar, he forced himself to remember as he hopped in his Mercedes just after breakfast, intending to drive to her apartment before she went to work. He was determined to make sure she had dinner with him tonight.
Him and no other man.
He was just leaving his driveway, about to turn out onto the main road when a figure stepped in front of the car. He swore as he slammed on the brakes, stopping just short of hitting the person.
Then he saw who it was.
Monica Ford.
His jaw clenched as he got out of his car and walked toward her. She’d obviously been waiting for him to leave his house, though how she’d known where he lived made him uneasy. He didn’t like this woman.
And that hated look in her eyes said she was still remembering meeting him yesterday at Danielle’s apartment.
“Monica,” he said, inclining his head in greeting.
“It’s Mrs. Ford to you, Mr. Donovan,” she spat.
He paused for effect. “I see.”
“Do you?”
She was obviously spoiling for a fight.
“Why are you here?”
She glared at him. “I want you to stay away from Danielle. Or you’ll be sorry.”
He felt his anger rise in response. “I don’t take kindly to threats.”
“Danielle and the baby belong to Robert. I won’t let you have either of them.”
Sudden apprehension rolled over in his chest. “Is this some kind of joke?”
She pulled herself up straighter. “My son is no joke. Danielle loves him and he loves her.”
He mentally took a step back. “Your son is dead,” he pointed out, trying to judge if this woman was as mad as she made out to be.
“How dare you say that!”
He scowled. Whether she was mad or not, she was definitely mentally unbalanced. “Listen, I think you need help.”
She wagged a finger at him and hissed, “You just stay out of the picture. That’s all the help we want.”
We?
Giving him a hateful look, she said, “Whatever you think you’re going to get from Danielle won’t happen. I won’t let it.” Then she spun on her heels and hurried toward a car parked down the road.
Flynn waited until she’d driven off, a horrible feeling in his gut. She was definitely sick in the head, exactly how sick was the question. But he knew one thing. He preferred her coldness yesterday over the hate today.
He still felt uneasy on the way over to Danielle’s place, but more for her sake than his own. He could handle the likes of Monica, but the woman was unstable and he wasn’t sure Danielle knew that. He vowed to keep an eye on things though he suspected Monica wouldn’t hurt Danielle and the baby. If anything, it was him Monica would want to hurt.
When Danielle opened her front door, he pushed all that to the back of his mind.
Adrenaline surged through him at the sight of her. He hadn’t seen her since last evening…since she’d come apart in his hands.
She was as sexy as hell. Her coral halter-necked top doing marvelous things for her skin tone and denim shorts showing off those gorgeous legs of hers, down to her bare feet.
She lifted her chin in the air. “Flynn, we need to talk,” she said, not inviting him in, obviously ready to do battle. “I don’t want you getting the wrong idea about last night. About it leading anywhere or anything. I mean…” All at once she faltered a little in her speech. “We’re both adults and things got out of hand, that’s all.”
“In more ways than one,” he drawled, her reluctance to have anything to do with him stirring his senses and urging him to take her in his arms and force her to change her mind.
“Last night was a mistake. I’m not ready for an affair. I’m having a baby.”
His mouth flattened into a straight line as her words hit home. He may not be able to argue with the truth, but one thing was for certain. If she hadn’t been pregnant, she’d be in his bed right now and they wouldn’t be merely talking about making love. He’d be inside her warm body, knowing this woman intimately.
Just thinking about it aroused him more than he’d ever been before. And it had nothing to do with being celibate for a couple of months now. It was all to do with Danielle.
His jaw clenched. “Did you phone the landlord about getting your lock fixed?”
She blinked, took a moment to note the change of subject, then gave a nod. “Someone will be here Monday.”
Pleasure coursed through him that she had followed his instructions, in this at least. “Make sure you close your door properly until then,” he said, partly thinking of Monica.
Danielle held herself stiffly, a rush of heat coming into her cheeks. “Why are you here, Flynn?”
He had to think past how gorgeous she looked with that soft color tingeing her high cheekbones. “I didn’t get to say happy birthday to you last night.”
Her eyes widened in surprise, then mellowed with something that hinted at gratitude. But in the blink of an eye, they suddenly hardened. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch.”
“You could have sent flowers.”
“But then,” he drawled, “I wouldn’t have had the chance to blackmail you into having dinner with me tonight.”
Her hand slipped from the doorknob. “Wh-what?”
“I’ll pick you up at seven.” He started to walk away.
“Wait!”
Something in her tone made him stop and turn back to face her. A vulnerable look in her eyes made his chest tighten.
“Flynn, I—” she hesitated “—I don’t think we should.”
An unusual feeling of tenderness rose up inside him but he firmly squashed it. “Danielle, you owe me.”
Her chin angled higher. “I’ve told you. I’m paying back the money for the loan and the car.”
“I’m talking about the lock.”
She looked confused. “But you didn’t fix it.”
“No, but I came close,” he said, pleased at the double entendre.
Her cheeks reddened. “I know you’ve been more than generous but I think I’ll stay home tonight.”
“Alone?” he said sharply as jealousy slithered through him. And that was happening far too often for his liking. No other woman had ever made him feel that particular emotion before. He wasn’t going to let it get a stranglehold now.
“Yes.”
“Seven,” he ordered, turning toward the elevator so she couldn’t see his intense relief. “Be ready.”
He didn’t wait for her to answer. As if on cue, the doors opened for him and he stepped inside.
Danielle then spent the day warring between feeling angry with Flynn for his “Me Tarzan, you Jane” attitude, but suspecting he had a kind heart beneath all that arrogance. Certainly Robert had only ever taken her out to dinner once on her birthday and that had been when they were courting. After their marriage, he and Monica had mostly preferred to dine at home on special occasions.
It was this very reminder of the past that made Danielle change her mind about going out with Flynn tonight. She was a free woman and she would do as she liked and go out with whomever she liked. Just because it happened to be Flynn Donovan…
When her doorbell rang at seven, she nervously patted some wisps of blond hair back into her chignon, then smoothed the front of her short black dress. The soft silky material was com
plemented by a loose-fitting jacket of the same material.
She swung open the door and her breath caught in her throat. Flynn looked incredibly handsome in a black suit that emphasized the width of his shoulders and the length of his legs. A white shirt beneath his jacket only added to his compelling sense of presence.
“You are more beautiful each time I see you,” he murmured, his voice deep and husky, a light at the back of his eyes hinting that just looking at her switched on something inside him.
She wished she could have stayed angry with him. It would have given her the impetus to ignore the admiration he made no effort to hide. Instead, she dissolved like bubbles in a bath.
“Thank you,” she whispered, then cleared her throat, finding her mental balance. “I didn’t know how fancy this restaurant is, so I wasn’t sure what to wear.”
“You’re perfect.”
Her heart skipped a beat but didn’t settle to a nice easy pace. “Um…I’ll get my purse.” She turned and walked over to the sofa, breathing easier as she put some distance between them. But when she turned back, Flynn had entered the apartment, closing the door behind him.
“This is for you,” he said, holding a small gift-wrapped box in his hands she hadn’t noticed before.
“It is?” Silly delight skipped along her spine before she brought herself back down to earth. He’d already helped her too much. Okay, so he was wealthy and could afford it, but taking her to dinner was more than enough.
“I’m sorry. I can’t accept another present from you, Flynn. I hardly know you,” she said, reminding him they were nothing to each other, when all was said and done.
“But you do know me, Danielle. I was the man who made you crumble in my hands yesterday.” He jerked his hand behind him. “By that very door.”
The breath hitched in her throat but she managed one word. “Flynn.”
“Remember?”
How could she forget the way he’d made her feel? How his touch had scorched her body. How he’d taken her to the heights, then released her into a tide of passion.
“Yes, I remember.” She wet her suddenly dry lips. “Nevertheless, I—”
Tycoon's Blackmailed Mistress Page 6
