by Wendy Byrne
Luke lounged against the wall and folded his arms over his chest. Intimidation never did work with him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I thought you looked familiar when I saw you with my daughter. I’ve seen you in this building before, and I’ve already traced LRM to attorney Salvatore Gilman. You’re dating my daughter to get to me, aren’t you?”
“I’m dating your daughter because she’s smart and funny and sweet and beautiful.” The words were out of his mouth, validating everything he knew to be true about Grace. “Not everything’s about you.”
Cyrus glared at him as the elevator came to a halt. “If I find so much as a whiff that you’ve involved in any of this bullshit, I’ll not only tell Grace how you used her, but the whole world will know, and any accounting bullshit practice you have will be shot to hell by the time I’ve finished.”
“Dream on, asshole,” Luke called as Cyrus entered the turnstile on his way outside.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Maybe it was time to talk to Grace.
For the life of him, he couldn’t think of a way to approach her about what he knew without implicating himself. He’d pored over the paperwork—Cyrus had dismantled the mixed income from the proposal. Instead, he’d been skimming money into Prentiss Enterprises. Grace needed to know. Figuring out how to break it to her would be the hardest part.
He stopped to pick up some flowers on the way to her house along with a bottle of wine to make things go a little more smoothly. But what if she disputed his allegation? What if she chose her father over him?
When he knocked on the door at six, it took her more time than usual to answer. For a few moments he worried Cyrus had gotten to her, which made his knees go weak.
“Hey there, handsome.” Wearing a pair of designer sweats and a long-sleeve T-shirt, Grace looked incredibly sexy. He thought that about her no matter what she wore. She yanked him inside by the shirt and kissed him like she’d missed him, even though he’d only been gone a few hours.
The smell of food wafted in the air. And he sniffed trying to identify what she had cooking.
“Lasagna.” She held up her hand. “Before you get worried about my cooking skills, I got the take home and warm up in the oven version. But I put together a salad with these two little hands.”
“You could have lied. I never would have known.” He slinked an arm over her shoulders and walked her to the table.
“I hate being lied to. Even though it would be a little white lie, I wouldn’t do that. I’ve had enough experience that I never trust a liar.”
If he didn’t feel like an ass before, he sure did now. “Do you still want me to look over those accounting statements of your dad’s? I could explain them to you or answer questions you might have.” Maybe that would be the way to expose her father’s deception, and she’d never know he’d been snooping on her.
She shook her head. “He came over right after you left this morning determined to shake up the whole Manhattan real estate market until he finds the person behind LRM Real Estate Development. He won’t stop until he figures out who the guy is.” She brought her well-manicured finger to her lips and smiled. “But I don’t want to spoil my evening. Dinner or accounting first?”
“Can’t we do both at the same time? That way when we get through, we’ll be free to engage in other more interesting activities. What do you think?” This might be the way to expose her father and encourage her to distance herself from him. Luke couldn’t let her get caught in the crossfire of what was about to go down.
She reached across the table and kissed him. “I like the way you think.” She shrugged. “I printed these off two emails sent from my dad and the accompanying excel sheets. Maybe I’m reading into it or misinterpreting the data.” She glanced at the sheets as if reluctant to share. “Or maybe it’s some top secret accounting trick that I’m not aware of.”
“Did you ask your dad about it?” He gulped back a whopping case of guilt that didn’t seem to want to go away no matter how hard he tried. It was unlike him to get caught up in emotions, but he cared about Grace and needed to protect her from the blast.
“He’s already freaking out. I couldn’t ask him to explain the whole thing.” She took a bite of the lasagna. “Now that I think about it, it’s kind of weird that he sent me this stuff to begin with. Normally, he sends it to his chief accountant, Greg— Oh my God, I wonder if he typed in the ‘G’ and it auto-populated with my address instead of Greg’s. It would explain why he’d sent me the data twice. But why would it be different unless”—her hand tightened around the fork—“he’s no different than any other man. Only wanting me for what I can do for them…”
Her voice trailed off. The look in her eye told him she’d transitioned from hope to disappointment. Before she even spoke the words, he knew what she was going to say and it cut through him. Everything about her was good and pure. She was a saint and Luke was devil, no different from her father.
How could he ever right this wrong? This wasn’t about the building anymore. The damn thing meant nothing to him. If he could only release her from having to endure the pain of his betrayal coupled with her father’s deceit.
“He didn’t want me to see this second set. Because it’s the real one. He never intended to do a mixed-income project— Oh hell no. That would cut into his bottom line.” Her eyes welled. “By the time the building was finished it would be…too late.” The words whispered through her lips. “He thinks I’m too stupid to notice.” Anger surged through her. “Sometimes I feel like window dressing to him. Sure, he likes to introduce me as his Harvard-educated daughter, but this proves he has two sets of books.”
“He uses you?” Even though he’d suspected it, the idea cut through him like a knife. Only wanting me for what I can do for them, she’d said. Even if things between them had changed, that’s what Luke had done, too.
She shook her head as tears pooled in her eyes. “It’s worse than that. He thinks I’m a worthless piece of eye candy for show. He never asks my input unless he has no one else to turn to. It’s like I keep wanting him to accept me, but that never seems to come. I was hoping I was making inroads with him. That maybe he was finally changing his outlook a little.” She wiped an errant tear from her cheek and forced a smile. “I guess I have daddy issues.”
The whole case had turned one-eighty on him. Her father was using her and she was stuck in the middle with no hope of finding a way out without a nuclear meltdown.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“If you ask me, I think it’s your daddy who has issues.” He slid his arm around her and kissed her hair.
“You’re sweet.” She leaned close and pressed her lips to his.
How could he protect her, keep her in his life, and still win the prize? There had to be a way.
“Why don’t you look at it and tell me if I’m reading this wrong.” She handed him the paperwork and he did a once over for show, since he’d already committed the facts and figures to memory. Several million dollars separated the bottom line of the two spreadsheets. She opened her computer and clicked on an email. “This is the email he sent to me instead of his accountant. What’s the right one? And why would he have two sets of books on this project except for obvious reasons?”
How could he explain?
For the first time in his life he was a chicken. Despite the asshole father he’d had, and winding up in more scrapes than he could count, he’d never been afraid. But when he looked at her, his heart started to tremble. Nothing felt right unless she was there with him. And what if she wasn’t? That scared the shit out of him.
Instead of calling her father a jackass like he should have, Luke tempered his words. “Maybe you need to talk to him about the discrepancies and the missing data on the subsidized units, and ask him about this Prentiss Enterprise place. Then ask him why that entry is missing from the first sheet he sent you.”
She gave him a tight smile as if trying to explain away what she s
aw. “My father is all bluster and bravado and tries to intimidate. I get that, but he’s a good person deep down inside there somewhere.”
“Do you think he might have wanted the property so bad that he cut corners when the final numbers came in and eliminated the subsidized units?”
“I think my father would have done everything in his power to stamp out the competition. Once he sets his mind on something, everything is fair game. It’s the part of him I absolutely despise, but it’s part of the real estate development business.”
“But are you fair game as well?” Based on the expression on her face, she was surprised by his question.
“I’m not sure what you mean?”
“Do you think he manipulated you to get this project?” He planted the seed of doubt, but he’d have to look at his own duplicity as well. It made him feel like shit.
It took her several minutes, but she finally shook her head. “No. I think he might leave out some of the details, but I don’t think he intentionally misled me about this or any other project he’s been involved in with me.”
“Your name is on the project, too?” He knew her signature was there. But if she’d partnered up with him, aware of the circumstances or not, that put a whole other spin. She’d go down with Cyrus regardless of her innocence. Separating her from her father would be impossible if there was intermixing of the money.
Crap. This was going to get a whole lot worse than he’d originally thought.
“My maternal grandparents were wealthy. They left me a trust of over ten million dollars. I invested in the Hudson River property because it was a combination of his expertise and my convictions. He wouldn’t misappropriate my money or my trust. He knows how much those units meant to me. There has to be another explanation.”
That meant her name was on all the documents filed with the city. Her father had made her complicit. How could he change the trajectory of what he’d begun? When he’d gone after her father, he’d trapped her as well.
He’d started that whole ball rolling and it was gaining momentum and running downhill at breakneck speed.
Sooner or later he’d have to make a choice—continue his fight to take down Cyrus by providing the DA with proof or save Grace.
His whole life he’d been driven by money and what that symbolized for him—a twisted sense that if he accumulated enough, he could expunge the memory of the kid who’d never be good enough. But her revelation about part ownership put a different perspective on this. Could he somehow straddle that delicate balance of besting Cyrus, but protect her from any potential ramifications even if she was a partner in the development?
It was on the tip of his tongue to confess everything to her. But he needed time to talk to Sal and develop a plan of action to protect her and still get what he wanted.
“I’m done talking about Cyrus. I need a little stress relief, and you’re just the man to give it to me.” She gave him one of those kisses that shut everything out of his mind but her. Just what they needed—he’d show her how much he cared.
Chapter Nineteen
“Come with me.” Grace grabbed his hand, led him upstairs, and turned on the water in the tub, then lit candles and started the music. “This might be the end of our bathing together.”
“What do you say that?” Luke looked confused.
“I’m thinking of selling this place.” She kissed him and undid the buttons on his shirt as he reciprocated by pulling off her sweatpants. He rubbed her butt with a reverence like he’d never felt a woman’s behind before.
How could she want him so much? Because it was about the little things he did that made her feel special. Cherished. Dare she think about love? Or was it too soon? This feeling bursting inside her chest told her otherwise.
“I thought you said your dad was against the idea?” He’d taken off his pants and her sweatshirt, leaving them both nearly naked. He hooked his finger under the rim of her thong, trailing the elastic along her body until it pooled at her feet and she kicked them to the side. After doing the same for him, he got into the tub and assisted her to position between his legs.
He ran his fingers inside her bent legs while she laid her head against his chest. “He is, but I decided some time this morning when he came barreling inside, having a two-year-old-style temper tantrum, that I needed to make some changes. And the idea he might have deceived…” She shook her head. “Maybe you can go loft shopping with me. I’d love to find a place in a neighborhood like yours.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
When he grabbed the loofah sponge and teased her breasts by brushing it along her nipples, she sighed and closed her eyes. The man had mastered the art of tactile stimulation. “Where did you learn to be so intuitive?”
His loofah exploration stalled. “What do you mean?”
She wound her fingers through his. “It’s like you’ve studied up on me, what I like, what I don’t. How do you know me so well when we’ve known each other a little more than a month?”
He trailed the sponge over her torso and back up to her breasts. “I pay attention to what’s important. Besides, everything you feel is written on your face. You’d make a really bad poker player.”
She laughed. “I wish I had control over that, but that’s impossible when you take advantage of my vulnerable position like now…”
“Ah I see where you’re headed with this. You want to be in charge, huh?” He shifted her around so that she was facing him. “I’ve got to admit I do enjoy looking at those breasts of yours.” He ran the sponge across them until her nipples ached. Pleasure rocked through her when he captured a nipple within his mouth.
She straddled his hips as best she could while his penis bobbed outside her. “You never told me about this scar on your chest.” Kissing the jagged white line near his nipple, she gazed into his eyes.
He scrutinized her. “My dad was a drunk with an abusive streak. He liked to beat up on my mom. One time, he went after her with a broken beer bottle. Rafe and I got in the middle of things. I ended up with the worst of it.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “I’m so sorry.” All the time she’d complained about her father felt petty and insignificant.
“Not your fault my dad’s an asshole. My mother still isn’t strong enough to leave him. That’s why Rafe and I cut our losses a long time ago and never looked back. We’re survivors because we had to be.”
“I had no idea things were that bad at your house. I can’t imagine what that was like growing up.”
“It sucked. I’d like to say there were some good times, but to be honest I can’t think of any.” He brushed his hands down her shoulders. “No use wallowing in self-pity. I’ve done all right despite where I came from.”
She wove her fingers through his hair and kissed him. She wanted to convey all that she felt in that gesture. He wrapped one arm under her butt to shift her higher, while the other came around in front to explore between her thighs, confirming he no longer wanted to talk about it. Words seem to fail her when he eased a finger inside her. She pulled away from him and smiled. How could he be so darn gorgeous from both a room away as well as up close and personal? “I see where you’re going with this and I don’t think we can have sex in this tub.”
“But I bet I can make you come. Are you up for that?” His words sent pinpricks down her spine.
She couldn’t imagine ever refusing him. “I’m pretty much up for anything.”
“I have a pretty vivid imagination. You shouldn’t give me such free reign.”
A tickle of excitement skittered down her spine. “Sounds interesting. What are you thinking?”
In response, he pressed another finger inside her while he teased her clit with his thumb. “I’ll never get tired of touching, tasting, or being inside you. It’s a high that’s all about pleasure between us. Even when I come, it’s not enough. I keep wanting more. Each and every time.”
When his finger crooked inside and found the spot that made her weak,
her body shook with pre-orgasmic pleasure. Her heart galloped. This was so much more than sex between them. She reached down to wrap her hand around his penis, but her rhythm was off as he brought her close then backed off. It was as if he knew her body better than she did, the way he played with her until she’d pretty much do anything he asked of her.
“Luke, finish me off.” Her voice didn’t sound like her as she climbed higher to the elusive spiral he’d set for her. “Please…I…”
Instead of responding to her pleas, he stilled, withdrawing his fingers from inside her, his thumb from manipulating her. “Not yet. I’ve got something else in store for you.” He helped her out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her then wrapped one around his waist. “I’ll be right back.”
Shocked, she stood in the middle of the bathroom as she listened to his footsteps travel down the stairs. Her body felt like a giant nerve ending teetering on the edge of release. Tempted to finish herself off, she resisted, knowing he could do the job so much better.
A few moments later he returned with something in his hand. “What do you have?”
“Do you trust me?” When she nodded, he continued, “Close your eyes.”
She did as told. He yanked off her towel and led her toward the bed until she sat. When he grabbed her hand and laid her down, something soft and warm surrounded her wrist and she couldn’t help but smile. “You’ve been shopping?”
“Despite the fact I felt like a damn fool going back into that place, I couldn’t resist.” The other arm clicked into place onto her brass headboard. “All you have to do to break out is touch this button with your thumb. But I’d prefer if you’d wait until I’ve made you come a couple of times.”
Her body shimmied. He explored the length of her leg until she pulled the links against the posts of her bed. While part of her wanted to touch him, this exploration of his fingers and mouth gave new life to every cell in her body. “And to think…ah…I…almost finished myself off waiting…for you…”
He chuckled as he licked her clit then explored her core with his tongue. “Sounds pretty hot. Maybe you can show me later.”
