by C. C. Gibbs
‘You’re good at that, Nick. Telling women what they want to hear.’ A flash of a grin, an Australian accent, a glass lifted in salute.
‘I think that’s your department, Clive.’ Dominic smiled. ‘You’ll have to give me pointers.’
The handsome young man with a permanent Aussie tan, the neck of a weightlifter and hair so blond it was white offered up a look of fake surprise. ‘You talkin’ to me, mate?’
‘Yeah, you. Anyone who can escape their own wedding and leave the bride smiling is what I’d call fucking persuasive.’
‘We were friends. It helped.’ Clive shrugged. ‘That’s not your style, Nick.’ He gave Dominic a lopsided grin. ‘Not that your style doesn’t get results.’
‘Better results now,’ Dominic said, very, very softly. ‘Katherine’s a rare gift. I’m not sure I deserve her.’
An awkward silence fell. They’d never heard Dominic speak of a woman with such tenderness.
‘Do you think they’ll follow us?’ one of the men asked to break the disquieting hush.
Dominic looked blank for a moment, then he spoke in his normal, easy drawl that still held faint hints of California surfer. ‘Most of the mafia foot soldiers can’t make it through US customs. A few might, but not the entire roster that came into Singapore. Which reminds me.’ He turned to Leo. ‘Have you gotten in touch with Gora?’
‘An envoy’s en route from Sofia. I’ll know something in a day or so.’
‘I need a week before I meet with him.’
‘I guess I don’t have to ask why?’
Dominic gave him a cool stare. ‘I understand sooner is better, but it’s not going to happen. A week minimum. After that anywhere, anytime – I’m ready to parley.’
‘It’s going to cost you.’
‘We’ll see. Gora has a family that makes him vulnerable. Also a barely legal mistress in Rome he can’t stay away from for long. I’m thinking she’s our best chess piece.’
‘Can you trust him?’ Danny asked, holding his breath after a big drag from the bong.
Dominic shrugged. ‘Hard to say. He’s been reliable in the past, but regardless of his trustworthiness, Katherine is going to need security.’
‘What kind of security?’ Leo asked, his voice measured.
‘My kind.’
Eyebrows went up around the lounge, but no one voiced their thoughts. They’d all been with Dominic since he’d first met Max, Leo, Danny, et al. in a Cape Town bar where everyone had been drinking their breakfast before a day of surfing. As an employer Dominic paid premium wages, gave generous travel allowances, footed the bills for homes or apartments, allowed flexible schedules that offered time for families. Dominic was a decent guy all around. Any of them would take a bullet for him even if it wasn’t their job.
Leo’s face was expressionless. ‘How soon do you want Katherine’s security in place?’
‘Starting now. Make whatever adjustments you need. Bring in whoever you need. Do it quietly. Katherine’s not to know of the added surveillance. I won’t have her life disrupted by Gora or anyone else.’ Dominic suddenly grinned. ‘Don’t look so surprised. She’s an incredible woman. I’m not about to put her in jeopardy.’ He dipped his head. ‘For purely selfish reasons. Is that better? Less shocking?’
‘You have to admit, Nick,’ Danny said, flipping a dread-lock out of his eyes. ‘You with a woman for more than a few hours is shocking.’
‘Get used to it.’ Dominic grinned again. ‘And so will I.’
Dominic’s phone suddenly pinged. Pulling it out from his jacket pocket, he glanced at the display. Coming to his feet, he set his glass aside and said, ‘Get some sleep while you can. I’m not sure what our schedule will be in San Francisco. See you when we land.’ Moving away, he hit the answer bar. ‘Give me a minute to get to my office, Justin. How’s the family?’
CHAPTER 13
‘The family’s great,’ Justin said. ‘Mandy’s at her book club. The baby’s in bed – not that Adam will be the baby long with Mandy due in three months. I’m having a drink and watching Manchester United get creamed.’
‘How old is Adam?’
It took a fraction of a second to answer. The Nick he knew wasn’t interested in children. ‘Adam’s nineteen months – this coming Thursday, as a matter of fact.’
‘Is he blond like Mandy or dark like you?’
Justin wanted to say, What’re you smokin’? ‘He has my colouring. Needless to say, my parents were pleased.’
‘I imagine. Is it going to be a girl or boy this time?’
Seriously, Nick must be high. ‘A girl.’
‘And Mandy’s out buying frilly pink things, I suppose.’
‘Yeah, has been for months. I hope we’re not under surveillance,’ Justin said drolly. ‘Frilly pink things? Not in your usual vocabulary.’
‘My sister has six. I’ve seen it all.’
And never mentioned it before.‘So you’re an uncle.’
‘Yeah. They’re great kids. In fact, we’re on our way to San Francisco now for my sister’s birthday.’
‘We?’
‘Max said you called him,’ Dominic said. ‘So I’m guessing you know who we is.’
‘Just checking. Actually, that’s why I called you. Bill McCormick raved about Miss Hart’s white-hat – I’ll call it to be polite – hacker skills. He has another job for her but I thought I’d better check with you first. I figured you’d want to know.’
‘What’s the assignment?’
‘Something in London. Your lady’s a real hotshot tech-wise and apparently in great demand. Strictly in a business sense, OK? Cool down. I can smell the smoke coming out of your ears from here.’
Dominic frowned at the accuracy of Justin’s jibe, then asked in a deliberately neutral tone, ‘Do you have details?’
Justin explained what he knew of the project as described to him by Bill McCormick. Someone was doing proprietary trading on their own; not much yet, but CX Capital was concerned after the risky trading at JP Morgan in London cost the bank six billion. ‘Or that’s the amount JP Morgan acknowledged,’ Justin added, drily.
‘Or detected,’ Dominic drawled.
‘Which is why CX Capital is anxious to have your clever Miss Hart onboard. Although a word of warning: they’d like her for a six-month consult.’
‘Tell McCormick, it’s probably a go. I can’t speak for Katherine conclusively. She has a mind of her own. But either way, he has to wait a week. We’re on vacation.’
‘You’re kidding! You’re on vacation?’
‘I am,’ Dominic said coolly. ‘Any more questions?’
‘Nope.’ Not with that don’t-get-too-personal tone. ‘I’ll tell Bill to contact Miss Hart in a week.’
‘Have him text her a proposal now. That way I can get back to you once I know Katherine’s feelings on the subject. I’m guessing she’ll want the assignment. If that’s the case, I’d appreciate your help in buying a flat for her. Something near my house in Eaton Place. You can explain to her, should she accept, that you have a sublet available. Put the lease in the name of one of my fringe companies so it’s not recognizable. Talk to Roscoe. He’ll help you out. Clear?’
‘Any special price range?’
‘I don’t care. Something nice.’
‘Everything’s nice in that area.’
‘Why don’t you look for a two bedroom. Anything bigger, Katherine might get suspicious. Ask Mandy for her opinion. She has a good eye. And if she doesn’t mind or even has the inclination, I’d like her to furnish the place. I understand it’s asking a lot considering the limited time and her condition so I expect her to invoice me accordingly for her assistance. Tell Mandy to hire a decorator either to help with or do the work; I’ll set up an account in her name at your bank. At my end, I’ll see that Katherine understands there’s a possibility the flat’s for sale at a fire-sale price. Some low-ball number that might entice her. She’s making good money now.’
‘Not enough for a flat
in Belgravia.’
‘That’s where I come in,’ Dominic said with exquisite understatement.
‘To explain that a five-million dollar flat actually costs—’
‘Five hundred thousand because someone died in it and wasn’t discovered for two weeks. Also, I’m willing to be her banker. So don’t worry about the explanation. I’ll handle it.’
‘Don’t bite my head off now, but I gotta say, she must be something special. You’re the guy who sends his driver to pick up his dinner date. And nine times out of ten, gets to the restaurant an hour late. What am I missing?’
‘You’ll see if Katherine comes to London. She doesn’t fit into any of the normal boxes. She talks back to me all the fucking time. A precedent-setting event for which I have no reasonable explanation. So don’t ask.’
‘Now you’ve really intrigued the hell out of me.’
‘Keep your distance. She intrigued the hell out of me first.’
‘You don’t have to warn me off, Nick. I don’t even look at other women anymore. No joke. Who woulda thought?’
‘Certainly not me. But congratulations. Happiness is a rare thing.’
‘Sounds like you’re starting down that road.’
‘Maybe. It’s too early to tell. I’ll call you in two, three days with an update on Katherine’s decision.’
Dominic had just ended the phone call with Justin and turned on his computer when his brother-in-law called.
‘I didn’t forget.’ Dominic leaned back in his chair. ‘I’m on my way.’
‘Just checking,’ Matt said. ‘I know your schedule is tight.’
‘Never that tight.’
‘Melanie worries, that’s all. I’ll reassure her you’re alive and well and on your way home.’
‘Tell her I’m bringing a guest.’
The cheer in Dominic’s voice was startling. ‘Anyone she knows?’ Matt asked, curious as hell about the novel elation.
‘A girl … actually, a woman I hired as a consultant a month or so ago.’ Katherine’s size in contrast to his always left him with the counterfeit illusion she was younger than she was. ‘She worked for me for two weeks. I just bumped into her in Singapore. You’ll like her.’
‘Good. Looking forward to meeting her.’
‘Her name’s Katherine Hart.’
‘I’ll tell Melanie.’
‘Mother met her in Hong Kong. Tell Melanie that too.’
‘I think she might have already heard of her.’ When Dominic mentioned Letitia and Hong Kong, Matt suddenly recalled his mother-in-law’s vulgar comments about Kate’s position in Dominic’s life. His mother-in-law had scoffed at the notion that Dominic was interested in her forensic accounting skills.
‘No surprise there, I suppose. But Mother was so fucking rude in Hong Kong it still pisses me off.’
‘Just Hong Kong?’ Matt’s voice was amused.
‘Yeah, right. What was I thinking? By the way, I have that jade you wanted for Melanie,’ Dominic said, dismissing issues of his mother’s impossible behaviour as beyond lawful solution.
‘I was just going to ask.’
‘Sis’ll love it. Seventeenth century. One of those mountainslash-hermit pieces. The craftsmanship is unbelievable. I bought her the companion piece so she has a matching pair.’ His sister collected jade objets d’art. And Matt was rich enough to indulge her, his family construction firm one of the oldest and largest in the Bay Area. ‘So, eight tomorrow?’
‘Come earlier. We’re having a family celebration at six with just us and the kids.’
‘Tell the kids I brought some good stuff.’
‘You always bring good stuff.’
‘That’s why they like me,’ Dominic said lightly.
‘Not true, Nick. They like you ’cause you actually listen to them.’
‘I listen to them because they’re interesting. So we’ll see you at six.’
‘Sounds good. I’ll show you my new cruiser.’
‘Another one?’ Matt restored vintage Chris-Crafts.
‘This one’s a beauty. I’ve tons of before and after photos.’
‘Looking forward to it. Give Melanie a kiss from me.’
Dominic spent another hour dealing with his most pressing emails. He didn’t even want to think about the havoc a week’s vacation would cause. Roscoe was already freaking out because Max was also on leave.
Dominic called Roscoe in an effort to soothe his panic, and after patiently listening to his CFO complain about the impossibility of leaving all the decision-making to him for an entire week, Dominic politely acknowledged his concerns. ‘It’s a lot to ask, I know. Delegate more. It’s not as though we don’t have several tiers of qualified management. And you know damned well I’ve never taken a real vacation since we started this company. You could always reach me online or by phone. So I’m not apologizing for taking time off. I’ll still be available for emergencies. But only if they’re real emergencies. Everything else can wait.’
‘Everything’s a fucking emergency!’ Roscoe roared, as if Dominic hadn’t politely indicated his feelings on the subject. ‘You gotta answer your phone!’
Since Roscoe spoke at a full volume most of the time, Dominic was inured. And in this case indifferent to Roscoe’s sense of affront. ‘Not this week, Roscoe.’ Dominic’s voice was brusque. ‘There’s no such thing as an emergency unless I’m losing every penny I have. That’s my only red line, OK? Nothing else fucking qualifies. Not. One. Goddamn. Thing.’
‘Jesus Christ, who the hell ever thought you’d fall in love,’ Roscoe grumbled.
Dominic went silent for a moment. ‘That’s not germane, Roscoe. And it’s none of your business anyway.’
‘Sorry, Dominic.’ Roscoe’s chastened tone was only marginally lower than a bellow. ‘You’re handing me a real shit-load of work on short notice, that’s all.’
‘I apologize. But this is important to me.’
Roscoe sighed. Even after two divorces, he still didn’t totally discount the notion of love. And in Roscoe’s considered opinion, Dominic had never even come close before. His marriage had been a friends-with-benefits relationship, Julia a companion to Dominic’s pursuit of extreme sport, their bond deep and intimate, but in Roscoe’s estimation, curiously platonic. ‘OK, kid, I understand. Forget what I said. Everything’s under control. Have a nice vacation.’
‘Thanks, Roscoe.’ The warmth was back in Dominic’s voice. ‘I owe you.’
‘Damn right you do,’ Roscoe replied gruffly, thinking he’d call his son and tell him he loved him even if at fifteen Jamie probably didn’t want to hear it. But a kid should know his parents cared; Dominic’s encumbered psyche was a cautionary tale. He knew Dominic had left home at thirteen. He’d never heard the reasons why, but anyone who leaves home that young has issues. ‘One week, though? Can I count on you being up to speed after that? Just asking.’
‘Count on it,’ Dominic said, smiling at Roscoe’s soft-spoken query. ‘See you in a week.’
But Roscoe’s comment about love was doing a number on Dominic. He must have heard that from Max. Jesus, was that what Max thought? That this was about love? Fuck no. No! It was just pure, unadulterated lust.
Sex with Katherine was fantastic; she was fearless, eager, impatient.
And she only wanted him.
There was a concept.
He relaxed, felt the tension in his shoulders melt away.
Felt his old familiar world of sexual play restored.
No longer in the mood to work, he turned off his computer and pushed away from his desk.
But he stood outside the bedroom door for a long time before he finally went in. Then he stood by the bed watching Katherine sleep for minutes more, wondering if there was a chance in hell he knew what the fuck he was doing. Where this was going. If he even wanted it to go anywhere. If it might, just might, be more than sex.
Sensing his presence, Kate’s eyes fluttered open. ‘Come hold me,’ she murmured, her voice soft with sleep.
‘I’ll be right with you.’
She smiled at the familiar phrase, then pursed her lips in a reply that didn’t quite make it past her drowsy senses.
Dominic battled the magnetic pull of her soft pink lips. He wanted to grab a fistful of her hair, tip her head back, make use of her mouth, conquer her, possess her. Mark his territory.
He beat back the reckless, glaring folly, reminded himself she’d only just returned to him. Backing away from his violent urges as if from fire, he took a deep breath, then reached up, pulled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
By the time he climbed into bed and drew her close, she was deep in sleep once again. Her breath was a faint whiffle across his chest, her silken curls tickling his throat, the slow rhythm of her heart against his ribs oddly tranquillizing.
He felt strangely divorced from the desolation of his life: his unfortunate history and unforgiving memories, old resentments and older family drama. And the world around him shrank to this bed on this plane with this woman in his arms. The wasteland of his memories faded and he decided that if feeling a little unbalanced about love and intimacy was the price he had to pay for this sweet, invisible peace, he’d pay the fare without complaint.
And tip the mythical gods to boot.
He inhaled deeply. The flowery scent that rose from Katherine’s skin was weirdly therapeutic. Like aromatherapy, he decided with a smile. Calming.
Delicious.
He closed his eyes and slept.
CHAPTER 14
He thought he was dreaming. Then he realized he was inside her. He didn’t know how long the boundaries of dream and real life had merged, but his dick was rock hard, buried deep, and Katherine was softly purring as he lazily moved in a smooth, silken drift, in, out, in … oh fuck – that was so intense it made his jaw ache. Pulling her closer, he wrapped his arm around her waist as she lay curled against him, her back to his chest. Splaying his fingers over her stomach, he tugged her into his erection, drove in a fraction more and smiled as her sleepy purr turned into a breathy little gluttonous gasp.
