Brutally Beautiful

by Lynne Connolly

  “Days,” Jim said. He leaned back. “He’s good. But not that good. I’m downloading everything. You said he was away today, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “When was he last in the office?”

  “Yesterday. He’s spent most of this week in court, but he’s dropped by the office to keep an eye on things.”

  Jim humphed. “Anything to do with you?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll backdate the access to yesterday, then,” Jim said. “Any of this any use?”

  “Fuck, yes. Stop. Stop now.”

  Jim glanced up at him. “Stop the download?”

  “No. Backtrack about three forms. Yes, that’s it.” That was really it. He read the name, which meant nothing to him, but the photograph? “That’s the man the papers called Anderson, the man who tried to poison Gen’s drink.” His latest victim, and the one he had least sympathy for. “He got the stuff from the laboratory where he worked. But his name isn’t Anderson there, is it?”

  “Nope.” Jim enlarged the image. “Raoul Rubinero.”

  “That’ll be his real name.”

  Jim turned to the laptop on his left and tapped a few keys. “This is the official system. He’s not there.”

  A mixture of elation and depression filled Nick in a weird combination. Elation won. “We’ve got it. Anderson is dead, but there’ll be others. He’s taking the vulnerable ones and selling them the papers they need. And I bet he was looking at me for that too. Getting Mick O’Donnell on a string would really help him, but even when he only knew me as Nick Taylor, I was a good bet. I don’t have relatives, or at least Nick Taylor doesn’t, nobody close enough to miss him. He must have realized I bought my way into the country. He could sell me legitimate documents, or papers that come from the right place. That’s how he used Anderson and the man who tried to run Gen down.”

  They looked through the other documents in silence until Lawrence said, “Why does he want to get rid of Gen?”

  “Because she knows too much,” Nick said. “He won’t do it while he thinks she’s bringing me in. She’s told him I’m out of town for a few days, and I’ve rung into the university sick. Someone as ambitious and paranoid as Bennick, it wouldn’t take much to turn him to the dark side.” He paused. “I’ve met men like him before. Fuck, I was a man like him once.”

  Lawrence turned a look of astonishment on him. “You were never like that. You didn’t use civilians, innocents—you used people who were up for it.”

  He curled his lip. “I used whoever I needed to get what I wanted.”

  Lawrence scoffed but said nothing.

  Nick realized this was it. He had the evidence he needed to show the authorities. But what authorities? With Jim’s help, he could send the documents privately to any number of people, including the media. “Who gets this?” he said. “Media are last, because they’ll link Anderson, or Rubinero, to the club and to Gen. I don’t want that. He could be linked to someone else. Personally I doubt it, but you never know. USCIS is part of Homeland Security.”

  “That’s your best bet, then,” Jim said. “An internal leak. Want me to arrange it for you?”

  Nick sighed. “Yes. But don’t do anything without my say-so.” He straightened and met Lawrence’s perceptive gaze. “Give my best to Yolanda.”

  “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

  “This’ll blow me wide open. I can’t hide. I’m involved up to my neck, and someone will say so.”

  Lawrence threw his hands in the air in a gesture of despair. “Look at you! And you think you’re like that bastard? No way, Mick. Face it. Wait and see what happens. No doubt this man needs to go down, but you don’t have to go with him.”

  Nick knew better. They’d look at his records and find all the holes in them, just like Bennick had. “My DNA, my fingerprints, they’re all on record. How long do you think it’ll take before they realize they got the wrong man back in London?”

  Jim spoke without his attention leaving the screen. “You could confuse them a bit.”

  Nick shook his head.

  Out of the blue, Lawrence said, “It’s the woman, isn’t it?”

  Nick met his gaze, his eyes glazing over. “What are you talking about?”

  “I want to meet her. Come to dinner tonight.”

  “Where?” No, he couldn’t.

  “Do it. Yolanda’s only not here because the pregnancy is taking it out of her and she’s lying down. She rests every afternoon, but she’s fine, and she’d be mad if she didn’t get to see you.” He grinned. “And I want to meet this woman, the one who’s got you by the short and curlies.”

  “We can’t.”

  “We can. Another hotel, another suite. My treat this time. Not the Normal, somewhere else. Do it, Mick. I’ll even call you Nick.”

  He could never resist that pleading expression in his brother’s eyes. Right from when they were kids and Larry wanted to stay up another half hour, he always got him. He sighed, giving in. “Okay.”

  “You told her about me?”

  “I told her I had a brother.” He paused. “Thanks.”

  Chapter Eleven

  When she got home from work, Gen threw down her briefcase, kicked off her shoes, and headed for the shower. She knew as soon as the elevator doors opened that Nick wasn’t home. His presence didn’t vibrate here; she didn’t sense him. Either she was so attuned to his presence that she could just tell, or he had such a vital personality that everyone around him knew.

  She was coming out of the shower, towel bundled around her hair, when she heard the elevator doors open and his, “Honey, I’m home!”

  It sounded great in that English accent. Hardly cheesy at all. He came straight to her and took her in his arms, claiming his kiss that was anything but chaste. By the time he’d finished, the towel that had been wrapped around her was on the floor, and both were panting heavily. He touched her breasts, his eyelids sliding half shut in a sensuous invitation. One she wanted to take. He let her unbutton his crisp white shirt and slide her hands inside to caress him before he blinked. He kissed her as if he couldn’t stop himself. “I’m taking you out to dinner.”

  “Really?” They hadn’t been out since the problem turned into a crisis. “Is it over, then?”

  “Just about. I met with Jim today, my computer friend. He made it look easy.”

  She tweaked his nipple, and he sucked in a breath. “Careful, or we won’t make it until dessert. He broke into the system, and the part that Bennick has ring-fenced, and found what we needed. Anderson’s real name and the fact that he doesn’t feature on the official list. We’ve got him.”

  Staring up into his face, she saw only truth there. “What happens now?” She fought with the confusion threatening to overwhelm her, together with a sense of relief so profound it took away her faculty for reason.

  “We’ll send the information to the department above you and, just to make sure, to a few other people. The bosses. With Jim’s help, we’re hitting every mailbox at the same time. They’re ready to go. When does Bennick get back?”

  “He called this afternoon. The case is over. He’s coming back in full-time next week.”

  Why did an expression of relief cross his grim features? And why was he looking grim at all? This was the end, the time for them to celebrate.

  Suddenly she knew. “No.” She gripped the edges of his shirt as if he would walk away from her now. “No, you can’t. Stay with me.”

  He cupped her cheek. “I’m too used to running. Maybe I won’t run this time.” He bent his head to her again, and she didn’t want to think about it anymore, even though she didn’t believe him for a minute. He was just saying that to placate her. She had the weekend to convince him. She’d better make good use of it.

  Her meeting his brother would help her, she was sure. The first time in nearly five years, surely he wouldn’t walk away from that again? If his brother loved him, he wouldn’t want to let Nick walk away either. She needed to meet Larr
y, and Jim as well. She’d need all the help she could get. Because her badass boyfriend was a secret knight in disguise. Under all those dragon scales lay a suit of armor. Tarnished, but there.

  His passion was carrying her away, and fuck, it was working. She could only try to persuade him, and right now she’d do anything. Giving herself to his kiss, she sank into passion, something he could effortlessly invoke in her. This wasn’t just skill; it was a true enthusiasm for sex, and the drive to make it as good as possible, the passion that had pushed him to succeed. He could have stopped, earned money working for another gang boss, kept under the radar, but he had to become the most successful. That was why the university wanted him. He set out to be the best at whatever he did, and she’d bet his gig as poetry professor would be no different.

  She could only be deeply thankful that went for her too. He seemed intent on making her his, and she was only too glad to comply. She breathed in, savored his unique scent, the one she’d woken up to every morning for a week and wanted to wake up to forever. That was worth fighting for.

  He needed her to take control here. She could feel it in every masterful brush of his hand over her willing body. He touched her almost languidly, but everywhere he touched, he left trails of fire. “I’m addicted to you,” she said, when he drew his lips away from hers.

  “No more than I want you. I’ve avoided heroin, crack, crystal meth, booze, but not you. You got me.”

  His voice sent a rumble of awareness through her, and she knew what she wanted to do. She broke away and entered the large room at a clip. She didn’t pause until she got to the glass room. A couple of sliding kicks sent the rug skidding over the floor outside the viewing area until there she was, naked, the panorama of New York behind her, above and below her, only a padded bench to keep her company.

  That didn’t last long. He strode across the floor to her, dragging the bench out of the way but not entering the open space. “Look down.”

  Without pause, she did. Her initial dizziness dissipated quickly, as she’d braced herself for the sight this time. Now she could see right down to the ground ten stories below, people moving, none of them aware of her soaring above them. She had a disturbing thought. “Is it privacy glass all the time? Or is it the kind you switch off and on?”

  He folded his arms and chuckled. “You tell me.”

  Well, she’d done it now, so what did it matter? After exposing herself to twenty complete strangers, what was this but a further step into a more adventurous life? That was what she’d always wanted, after all. It took a little courage. She could do it, and Nick had empowered her, shown her the way.

  She stood in the center of the glass space, feet apart, and beckoned to him, crooking one finger, smiling. “Come and get it.”

  He stripped where he stood, pausing only to locate the condom in his wallet. His clothes dropped to the floor, piled in an untidy heap that demonstrated his eagerness to get inside her. He watched her the whole time, sheathed his cock with one hand, dropped the wrapper on top of his discarded garments, and took the two strides that brought him to her with a determination that made her shudder with desire. He stopped within touching distance and scanned her body, stopping at the top of her thighs. “Your legs are wet. That means your pussy is working its magic. For me.”

  She gave him a shrug and spread her hands. “I don’t see anybody else here.”

  He came to her laughing, pulled her into his arms. “You saw the state of my dick. If I don’t get inside you soon, I’ll burst.”

  Those words shouldn’t have sounded romantic, but they did. Maybe it was the way he looked at her and not the view, or maybe the strength that lifted her off the floor. He forced his thigh between hers and slid her down, her juice soaking him, his muscles providing much-needed relief to her sensitized, swollen pussy. The caress didn’t last long. Their mouths meshed; he ate voraciously at hers before separating them with a determination she felt in every pore of her skin. Then he lifted her again as if she were a doll weighing nothing at all. Holding her with one hand and his cock with the other, he brought them together.

  Turning, he pushed her against the nearest wall. She got a flash of scenery, the sky darkening toward twilight, the river swirling below, and then she turned all her attention back to his face. She held on, gripped his butt, and lifted her legs to cling to his hips as he began to pump in and out of her. The sound of their coupling, soft and wet, pushed her arousal up further, her body flushing hot when she imagined…

  “Would you like everybody to watch us?” He snatched a kiss as if he couldn’t stop himself, before continuing. “I’m too selfish to want that. While you’re with me, you’re mine and I’m yours. I want to fuck you rigid, until you can’t walk. Look down, look out. All those people out there, millions of them. If they could see us, I’ll tell you what they’d think. They’d be jealous, because I have you and they don’t.” He crooned to her while he fucked her as savagely as any man had ever taken her before. “You have the most beautiful body. Skin like living silk. A mouth made for kissing, and a cunt created just for me.”

  She loved that chuckle he made, low in his throat, something that threatened to turn into a menacing growl but never did.

  “Have you fucked other women here?” She had difficulty getting the words out, and she wasn’t sure if the answer would turn her on or not.

  “Not here.” His mouth flattened. “Other places. Sorry.”

  Of course he had. He’d been living here five years. “But you’re here with me now, nobody else.”

  “You’re the last.”

  Fuck, that was something. Or it would be if he planned to stay. Before she could think about it, the words had escaped her lips. “I know you mean to go. Take me with you.”

  He rammed his cock deep inside her, passion infusing his features, making his eyes almost black. “If I stay, they’ll arrest me, so one way or another, I won’t be here. You want to see me in prison?”

  Tears sprang to her eyes. Her body responded to his relentless fucking, her arousal rising as he did what he did so well. “Then I’ll come with you.”

  “We’ll see.”

  A concession, although not much of one. After that, she gave up, hooked her arms around his neck, and let him do to her whatever he wanted. If he didn’t take her, she’d follow him. He’d taught her how to defy authority and how to use it. She’d do everything she could to keep this wonderful man in her life. No behaving properly this time.

  She let her head fall back against the cool glass and stared up into his face. He took her with a fierce intensity and showed her everything, fearlessly opening himself to her. And for once she showed him how she felt in return. Because although she’d barely known him two weeks, she loved him more than anyone else in her life. It could be infatuation or glamour, but she didn’t care, because this was too good to lose. She wanted to ride this out as far as it would go, and nobody would stop her.

  Least of all the man giving her the ride of her life. She smiled and wet her lips as her arousal rose and crested the peak, hanging there for that dangerous moment before she headed down the other side, free-fall, trusting him to catch her.

  He joined her, his big body shuddering against hers with the intensity of his orgasm, and they slid down the window to the equally cold floor under their feet.

  This time when she opened her eyes, she didn’t flinch but smiled down at the people walking underneath them. At this height, they’d be able to see everything had the floor been two-way. Higher up and the view wouldn’t have been as clear. She could see their heads, the way they passed below. Not too many because this was a residential area, but enough to engage her interest while her body readjusted to not having Nick inside her.

  She rolled over and found him lying behind her, his hands tucked under his head. He gave her a carefree smile. “I take it the view doesn’t freak you out anymore?”

  “No.” She climbed onto him, but he sat up, holding her, and delivered a sweet, sensuous kiss
to her breasts, then to her mouth. “If we’re going to make our dinner date, we’d better hurry up. A shared shower is the only way.”

  “But I love it when we fuck in the shower. Especially your shower.”

  “No time.” He mitigated his decree by kissing her again. That made it feel a bit better. “I’ll make it up to you later.”

  They were showered and out in three quarters of an hour, but they needed to be, because they had fifteen minutes to make it across the river and to the hotel address Jim had texted Nick. Another of the busy, high-end tourist hotels. They were ten minutes late. Not bad, considering only an hour had passed since they’d stood on that glass precipice.

  He looked gorgeous, but he did that without trying. Big, bad, beautiful, and all hers. She knew that now, and she gave without measure. As long as he wanted her, she was his, because he’d given her the greatest gift—his trust and confidence.

  * * * *

  After getting over the shock of meeting someone as gorgeous, black-haired, and blue-eyed as Nick, well, nearly, Gen decided she liked Nick’s brother. She saw the love in their eyes when they did the forearm-shake thing that men did, and watched the dark gaze of the other man at the table. Jim Goddard did that watching thing real well, not drawing attention to himself. When he got out a pair of spectacles to study something on the wine menu, she knew he’d be a heartbreaker—if he wasn’t one already.

  Lawrence and Yolanda had hired a suite in the hotel, so they had the space all to themselves, and after an excellent meal, Nick excused himself briefly to visit the bathroom.

  “He means to leave again,” Lawrence said, pitching his voice low.

  “I know,” Gen said glumly. “I’m going to try to persuade him not to.”

  Lawrence’s mouth tightened, drawing her attention to the lines at each side, so like Nick’s when he did that. “I don’t want to lose him again. I gave him these five years because he needed them, and because I wouldn’t put Yolanda in danger.”

  His wife covered his hand with hers, hiding none of the love that shone from her eyes whenever she looked at her handsome husband. “That doesn’t matter.”