by Mel Teshco
He was totally, irrevocably in love with Claire. And he realized now that such a powerful emotion would keep even a hint of darkness at bay.
He glanced at his watch once again. His meetings would be concluded in record time.
*
Claire took one last look around the spotlessly clean house. It’d been ten days since she’d quit the VIP Desire Agency. Ten days alone to quietly grieve for the man she’d loved and lost, while deciding where her life was headed.
Her vision blurred and she blinked back the tears she’d been holding in. She wouldn’t cry now! She was strong, smart, and more than capable of living without a man in her life. Any man in her life. She just had to reprogram herself to envision such a future.
She’d known the moment Mackenzie had walked out her front door that she couldn’t return to work as a call girl. Her heart was no longer in it. Mackenzie was the one and only man she’d ever want. In her bed and out.
Cleaning her house and putting it on the market had been her next step toward her new life. It was time to move on. Start a new life. A new beginning. Maybe even find some small measure of happiness.
Now she just had to break the news to her sisters.
The doorbell chimed. She frowned. Danni and Tina should still be at their lectures. In fact, it’d be another half-an-hour at least before they arrived.
She dropped her dusty cleaning rag into the bin and headed to the front entrance. She peered through the thin strip of glazed glass on the side before she opened the door to a delivery man.
“Claire Davis?” the whiskered delivery man asked in a cheery voice.
She nodded. “Yes. That’s me.”
“This is for you.” Claire signed a delivery slip before he handed her a long, elegant white box that was surprisingly heavy. Thanking him, she carried the box inside and put it on the table, before untying the huge ribbon holding the lid in place.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat as she pulled out a dozen dresses. They were the exact same style as the one Mackenzie had torn off her in a fit of lust, and had promised to replace. But only one of them was lilac colored. White, black, crimson, peach, canary-yellow and burnt orange were just some of the colors he’d ordered.
But it wasn’t until she held up a rainbow-colored gown that emotions fizzed and sparked inside her. God she missed him. Missed his tender smile, his skilled touch and passionate kiss. His husky voice and his big body. His generosity and—
She mentally shook away the thoughts, even as she riffled through the dresses. There was no note, nothing to tell her if this extravagant gift was his way of saying goodbye, or even if it was his way of asking for forgiveness. She dropped the dresses back into the box, deliberately hardening her heart.
Mackenzie walking away from her had made her take a good, long look at her life. She refused to be her mother all over again. She’d handed Mackenzie her heart and he’d trampled all over it on his way to the door and out of her life. All she wanted now was to go someplace to heal, and gain some perspective on her future.
Bradley—and probably half the neighborhood—learning about her profession was just an added incentive to get away and start all over again. She only hoped and prayed the gossip hadn’t reached her sisters’ ears … never reached them.
She was still mulling over things when she heard her sisters’ sedan pull into the driveway, right on time. She smiled from the doorway as Tina and Danni climbed out of their shiny car and clattered on their heels toward her, dark hair flying and laughs filling the air.
Tina was the first to air her concern the moment they were inside and Claire told them her plans.
“Wow. What brought on this sudden decision?”
Claire shrugged. “I just feel like it’s time for a change. Especially now that you girls can take care of yourselves.”
Danni grimaced. “We know how much you’ve sacrificed for us since Mom died. And honestly, I think you’re making the right decision.” She swung out a hand. “Much as we all love this place, it’s time to let another family make their memories here.”
Claire smiled, feeling a little choked up. “Thanks, Danni.” She looked around. “I can’t believe this is the last time we’ll all be together in this house before it goes up for auction tomorrow.”
Tina sighed. “I think Mom would understand, be happy even, that we’re moving on.”
Claire hugged her sisters, trying not to cry and blubber like she was the younger sister, instead of the mature, older sister who was supposed to hold it together. She pulled back. “And just so you know the proceeds of the house will be split evenly between you both.”
Tina frowned, her dark eyes assessing. “You paid for the house on your own, why would you give it all to us?”
Claire managed another smile that felt all too wobbly. “I have enough saved to keep me going for a while. And I want the financial security this house will give you girls. I’m sure Mom would want that too.”
“But where will you go?” asked Danni. “What about your work?”
“I’ve told my boss I’m leaving. She understands.”
That wasn’t exactly the truth. Maisey had been livid, but had still managed to stay politely professional. The madam had even wished her well in her future endeavors.
Claire lifted a brow. “As for where I’m going … I’m thinking I might start with an island hop around the Great Barrier Reef. Enjoy a bit of snorkelling, sip some margaritas. Chill out for a few weeks.”
“Have sex with a few random guys?” Danni prompted.
Claire smiled. If only her sisters knew! Sex was the very last thing she’d be having. In fact, it felt kind of liberating knowing it wasn’t even on the agenda. Not when sex with anyone but Mackenzie would feel stale and all kinds of wrong. But Danni and Tina didn’t need to know that. “Who knows, maybe I will,” she said vaguely.
“Claire … what’s going on? Are you leaving?”
She turned with a gasp at the one voice she never thought she’d hear again. But the man standing in the open doorway wasn’t an apparition. “Mack … what are you doing here?”
“I had to see you,” he said starkly, his face tight and his eyes glinting.
She blinked, yearning stretching like a fragile bubble within. She shook her head, anger overriding all else. He couldn’t just waltz back into her life! She was leaving. She’d already made up her mind. There was no room in her life for Mackenzie. For any man. She refused to get hurt again.
“Claire, is he the reason you’re leaving?” Danni asked.
Mackenzie’s eyes narrowed, his attention staying on Claire. “Please tell me that’s not true,” he said quietly. When she didn’t immediately answer, he dragged his stare from her and stepped inside toward her sisters. “Hi, Tina, is it?” he asked, voice warm and his hand encompassing Danni’s.
“No. Actually, I’m Danni,” she said, thawing just a little as she looked Mackenzie up and down, and evidently finding nothing but positives.
“Nice to finally meet you,” he murmured, before turning to the other twin. “And you too, Tina,” he greeted.
Tina visibly melted. “Likewise. And don’t worry, everyone gets us mixed up. You’ll probably forget who is who the next time you see us.”
Claire stood silent as Mackenzie and her sisters chatted. And despite herself, she feasted her eyes on the man constantly in her thoughts. He wore a suit like no-one else, like he was born and bred for designer clothes even as his whole demeanor screamed he’d been raised on the wrong side of the tracks.
“So how long have you two known each other?” Tina asked him.
“And where did you meet?” Danni added, her question somehow loaded with innuendo.
Mackenzie turned to Claire, and her every cell froze at his perceptive look. He knew not to tell her sisters anything about her profession—didn’t he?
He turned back to the twins. “I first met Claire over eighteen months ago.” His smile revealed a passion and warmth that couldn�
��t be feigned. “I remember it like it was only yesterday. There was instant connection and chemistry—”
Claire cleared her throat. “Mack, I really don’t think—”
“Don’t stop now!” Danni and Tina interrupted at exactly the same time, before turning to one another with a conspiratorial giggle.
Mackenzie slid Claire another look, as if letting her know her secret was safe. Tension leached out of her just a little as he said, “It was a sweltering hot afternoon, with a storm forecast for later that night. I’d left work early to enjoy a cold beer at the bar a block from my office.”
Claire didn’t want to think about the day Scarlet had been ready to meet her new client. A pity Mackenzie’s words sent her straight back in time. To the shivers of sensation of first making eye contact with him. The fluttering of excitement deep in her belly, her womb, at knowing she’d soon be underneath such a powerful, superb man.
Mackenzie paused a beat, as though savoring the memory right along with her. “Claire wore the most beautiful dress, sexy and seductive but elegant all at the same time. It was emerald green, her hair like a flame in contrast.” He smiled. “All I could think about was taking her in my arms and pushing my fingers through her hair.”
She swallowed. He’d done that and a whole lot more. He’d taken her to his hotel room and given her so much pleasure. She’d had one orgasm after another, until she’d been too weak to move, and too sated to care.
“Wow.” Tina sent Claire an approving look. “Why haven’t we heard about this man before now?”
Danni nodded and said drily, “Apparently she doesn’t have time to date men.”
Claire swallowed. Tina was by far the more romantic of the twins, she gushed over all things lovey-dovey while Danni preferred the cold hard facts. It was Danni she’d have to convince. Danni whose eyebrows pinched in the middle while Tina beamed at them both.
Claire cleared her throat. “I wasn’t sure exactly where our … relationship was going.”
Mackenzie turned to her. “Weren’t you?” He stepped toward her. “What if I said I’ve regretted leaving you every minute since walking out the door? What if I said I can’t live without you in my life for another minute?” His voice softened. “What if I asked you to stay?”
She frowned, biting her bottom lip and only half-aware of her sisters’ wide-eyed stares watching her every reaction. “Please don’t,” she whispered, focused on the man who already had too much power over her.
He’d break her if she let him. Crush what was left of her heart and destroy her soul in the process. No. She had to protect herself, had to cut the binds that tied her to him. Leave him before he had the opportunity in the future to leave her. “I’m going, Mack. And nothing’s going to change my mind.”
His eyes darkened as he took the final step to close the gap between them. His hands clasped hers. “What if I told you I really do love you?”
Her heart missed a beat even as she slowly shook her head. “Don’t do this. Not now. You walked out on me. You don’t get to have the final say.”
His hands tightened and he closed his eyes for a second, shuttering his thoughts. Then he nodded and released her hands, taking a step back. “I can’t force you to love me again. But I can’t let you go … not like this.”
Her chest squeezed at his heartfelt words. She sucked in a steadying breath. She wouldn’t give in, wouldn’t allow herself to be blinded to reality. Even if he never again walked out on her, he’d always see her as a call girl.
And trust was a two-way street.
She lifted her chin. Starting again meant leaving this old life behind, and as much as it killed her, that meant leaving Mackenzie behind too. “Sorry, Mack, but you don’t have a choice.”
His eyes glowed with emotion. “Claire—”
“No, Mack. I’m not yours. I never have been.”
Chapter Thirteen
‡
Claire sipped on her mojito and stared out over Chandon Island’s pristine white beach and the turquoise ocean gently lapping against the shoreline. If that wasn’t spectacular enough, in an hour or so there’d be another breathtaking sunset. Beauty all around her, and yet it didn’t really touch her inside.
She was living a dream life, but everything felt so damn empty.
At least she didn’t have to worry about her sisters now. She hadn’t wanted someone else to tell them she was a call girl, so she’d finally told them the truth. Tina and Danni had been shocked at first, and then outraged, before guilt had set in.
Acceptance had only come after she’d told them she no longer needed to work in the sex industry. Not with the sale of the house exceeding even the most hopeful outcome.
The money would set Tina and Danni up for years to come. They could now focus on their studies and hopefully not too much on what their older sister had done to pay the bills. And if study didn’t distract them, she had no doubt all the men they effortlessly attracted would.
Not that they were alone in that regard.
She smiled politely at the good-looking man with tattooed sleeves a few stools down the beach-hut bar. He’d been trying to catch her eye half the afternoon. She sighed. Maybe she should have covered her white bikini with more than the colorful sarong she’d wrapped around her waist. Except she was so used to wearing little to nothing it’d been second nature to slip into yet another flimsy swimsuit.
Besides, there was no point in dressing in anything else when she did little more than swim in the freshwater pool, or snorkel in the ocean to admire the gorgeous reef and fish. And it wasn’t as if any of the tropical island’s five restaurants with their first-class menus interested her. Unlike the plentiful beverages she’d been busy sampling.
A pretty brunette arrived and sat on the barstool next to the tattooed man. He turned a subdued inked shoulder Claire’s way to focus on the other woman. Claire sighed again. Did all men want what they couldn’t have? Was the one woman in their grasp always the one they wanted the least?
Or maybe she really was jaded, thanks to the profession she’d left behind a little over three weeks ago. She took another mouthful of her refreshing but rather strong mojito. She mightn’t be so insightful about other people’s relationships if only her thoughts didn’t constantly stray to what she’d had with Mackenzie.
He’d said he loved her and she’d discarded his words as though they’d meant nothing. But it was those same words that scared her more than anything else in the world. If he’d hurt her in the past, then imagining a future with a man she trusted, a man she lived and breathed for, gave her chills.
She didn’t even want to think about the pain she’d endure when he finally walked away. She wouldn’t—couldn’t—put herself out there like that.
“Can I get you anything else, ma’am?” the bartender asked.
She glanced down at her empty drink. Shit. She’d guzzled it down fast. She nodded at the bartender, yet another man who’d been making unsubtle eyes at her. But with his blond, surfer good looks, she imagined he was a born flirt. “I might try another of your whiskey sours.”
She’d sampled more than a couple of them these last few weeks.
He grinned, as though charmed by her praise of his bar skills. “Coming right up.”
She downed another two before she thanked him and headed to the nearby pool on surprisingly wobbly legs. She really should eat solid food instead of the liquid lunch and dinners she’d been tossing back.
She hiccuped and giggled, before unknotting her sarong and sliding into the blissfully cool water. Ignoring a whistle of appreciation from a knot of young men at another open bar close to the pool, she forced her suddenly uncoordinated limbs to pull her through the water.
Twenty minutes later, her muscles aching and her breath rasping, she dragged herself out of the water. She should be tired and ready to sleep off her overindulgence of alcohol. Instead she was restless and self-aware, her nipples beading and her belly clenching.
She slung the saron
g over a shoulder and headed back to the beach-hut bar. If she had to slurp back a dozen more drinks to forget about Mackenzie, she’d do precisely that. This new start was meant to help her forget about him, not keep her in a highly aroused state of yearning.
“Back again,” the barman said with a pleased smile. “What’s your fancy this round?”
She waved a careless hand. “Surprise me.”
“Now that I can do.”
He poured her some kind of creamy cocktail, and her taste buds danced in shock at the potent mix. She swallowed with a gasp. “Are you trying to make me drunk?”
He shrugged. “It looks to me like you’re aiming to forget a certain someone. I’m in the business of doing exactly that.”
She stifled a giggle. Oh, if only this young man knew the real her. The woman who’d probably had more sex than he’d poured drinks. The woman who’d heard every come-on line and then some. She sighed. He wouldn’t understand. Not like Mackenzie.
Mack hadn’t just been the only man to make her feel special, he’d been the only one who knew her better than anyone else. The only man who’d put her above his own needs, both physically and mentally.
“Hey, are you okay?”
The barman’s voice jerked her out of her melancholic mood and back to the present. “Sorry, I’m fine, really.” She managed a semblance of a smile, the late afternoon air now chilling her skin. The nights had been pleasantly cool compared to the hot days, and a bikini was no longer adequate for the drop in temperature. “Clearly I’ve had too much to drink.” She stood, even as her surroundings did a slow twirl. “Time to sleep it off.”
The barman frowned. “You don’t look too good. My shift ends in a few minutes. Let me make sure you get home in one piece.”
She was in no state to argue, and in fact was grateful for his strong forearm as she stumbled in the direction of her ground-floor apartment. She turned to him at the door. “Thanks for bringing me home. You’re a great escort.” She giggled, shook her head and repeated “Escort. You have no idea how funny that is!”
