Devil in a Dark Blue Suit

by Robyn Grady

  Yes, yes and yes.

  And something more. Something that gnawed at him whenever he woke and wondered in the still dead of night.

  The remnants of a need to tame her?

  He claimed his jacket from the brunette at the counter, threw it over a shoulder and headed out.

  No, submission wasn’t the prize. He’d never had the desire to tame any woman—only enjoy them. Spoil them. In his younger day the world had seemed full of alluring possibilities. Then his offshore oil and gas support company had taken off and he’d met Eden—a woman who possessed the contradictory seeds of both natural innocence and darkest temptation…a curious and, as it’d turned out, addictive combination.

  Yesterday, when his secretary had said Eden Foley was on the line, his palm was damp by the time he’d picked up. He’d accepted Eden’s invitation and had spent a restless night anticipating their coming encounter. When he’d jumped out of that cab earlier, God help him, he’d wanted to shirk civic duty and bypass that whacko hitting a home run on some poor bastard’s car. Her husband’s car, so that officer had said.

  Stepping outside, Devlin sucked in a cleansing breath while thunder grumbled overhead.

  Marriage. What a racket.

  He spied Eden on the footpath, raised on the balls of her sexy black heels, flagging another cab. He scrubbed his jaw and scrubbed it again.

  Time to face facts. The memory of that woman still had him by the horns and that was far from acceptable. But there was a remedy, one simple answer to one simple question. When he had that, he could put that nameless ghost to bed and Eden Foley out of his mind for good.

  He stopped beside her and, hands in his pockets, perused the steady stream of traffic as a cooling breeze on a muggy day combed through his hair. ‘It’s busy for a Saturday.’

  She stiffened at his voice but didn’t meet his eyes. ‘Less busy than earlier. I see they’ve towed your car away.’

  He did a double take. ‘You mean the crippled BMW?’ He shook his head. ‘Nice automobile, but not mine.’

  She slumped on a weary sigh. ‘Devlin, I saw the woman pummel the bonnet, saw you swing around the back and lift the bat right out of her hands. Of course it was your car.’

  Guess it could’ve looked that way, but, ‘I happened to be in the right place at the wrong time. There were kids on the path. Someone had to stop her. I only wish I’d known a police car was cruising by. Would’ve saved me a pile of trouble.’

  Her expression changed, from annoyed disinterest to stilted comprehension. ‘Y-you didn’t know her?’

  ‘You think I have some crazy cousin in the family?’

  ‘Not a cousin…’

  The penny dropped along with his jaw. ‘Oh, Eden, no. You didn’t think that woman and I were an item?’

  ‘All the pieces seemed to fit.’ The confusion in her eyes cleared. ‘I should’ve guessed the other explanation.’

  As her words trailed, a cold splash landed on his nose at the same time the earthy scent of rain hitting hot cement rose off the pavement. He shot a glance at the churning grey sky. A heartbeat later, the heavens opened up.

  Eden yelped, hunching over as icy needles pelted down. Thinking for them both, he gathered her close, threw his jacket over their heads for protection and scooted towards a shallow alcove set in the building’s façade. Tight but room enough for two.

  As he shook out his jacket she let go a sorrowful wail. ‘I’m soaked!’

  ‘It’s not fatal. You’ll dry.’

  ‘Not before this outfit is ready for the trash. It’s new-season fine wool blend. Strictly dry-clean only. It was going in my window Monday morning. Hundreds of dollars, and orders besides, down the drain.’

  He’d known she owned a boutique in town. Given the snippets he’d gleaned from ladies at recent black-tie functions, Temptations had built a reputation for its classy inventory. And that dress was a knockout, soaked through or not. Tasteful yet sexy, a far cry from the hip-riding jeans she’d worn—and he’d loved—when they’d first met.

  Beside him, she trembled, hugged herself, and his arm instinctively went out to warm her. ‘You’re cold.’

  She shied away. ‘I shake when I’m mad.’

  He relaxed and hid a grin. He remembered. She shook at other times too.

  ‘Things could be worse.’

  Pressing herself to the wall, she recrossed her arms and thinned her lips.

  He laughed. ‘Oh, come on. When did you become such a sourpuss?’

  ‘Since your brother began dating my sister. And before you start, you’ve made your stand on that subject very clear. I’d rather not go there again.’

  She was right. There was nothing more to discuss on that issue. Nate could work out his own affairs. However, confined as they were because of this downpour, now seemed an ideal time to touch on that other long overdue matter.

  Devlin propped his shoulders against the wall, jacket draped over his crossed arms, and gazed casually out at the veil of teeming rain.

  ‘Eden, why didn’t you return my calls?’

  ‘You called back yesterday?’

  He turned his head to stare down her Miss Innocent look. ‘I mean three years ago.’

  Her green eyes cooled and she shook her head slowly. ‘I shouldn’t be surprised.’

  He cocked a brow. ‘That’s not much of an answer.’

  ‘Here’s the rest. I shouldn’t be surprised by your unwillingness to take responsibility.’

  Her grave tone was meant to bite. Instead her indignation shot a searing arrow straight to his groin. Damn, she was cute when she was mad. Didn’t mean he had a clue what she was on about.

  ‘So I’m irresponsible now?’

  ‘I know it’ll come as a shock,’ she stated, ‘but not all women are prepared to hang around to watch the final curtain fall.’

  He pushed off the wall.

  Okay. He had a slippery handle on this now. He enunciated each word carefully so no one got confused. ‘You’re saying you dumped me before I could dump you?’

  ‘You left for the UK that last morning without saying goodbye.’

  Correct. ‘You were asleep. I didn’t want to wake you.’

  ‘You didn’t call when you landed.’

  His brow lowered. ‘I didn’t realise I had to check in.’

  ‘You took another flight and boarded a ship that capsized in the freezing waters of the North Sea.’

  He held off from rolling his eyes.

  Here it comes.

  Before he and Eden had even met, he’d organised with an industry colleague to check out their operations west of the Shetland Islands. The vessel—an anchor-handling tug—had been commissioned to recover and relocate the eighteen-tonne anchors of an oil drilling rig. A manoeuvre, preparing for a hard turn to starboard to increase stability, had resulted in the winch chain snapping across the deck and around to the port side. The tug had been pulled over. Human, technical or design error…the investigation into the accident had come back inconclusive.

  He rubbed the corner of one eye. ‘Look, I understand you were worried. I spoke with you as soon as I could.’

  Her stony mask broke. ‘Devlin, the accident was on the news! I couldn’t get hold of anyone who knew anything. I was worried out of my mind. And when I finally spoke to you, you as good as told me I was overreacting.’

  Her heart was there, shining from the depths of her eyes and, irrespective of the fact he’d done nothing wrong, his chest squeezed around a fist full of guilt.

  ‘Nobody died,’ he reminded her, recalling the blaze of cameras when he’d finally got to shore after the accident. ‘I was fine.’

  ‘Just like you’re fine when you fly your ultra-light planes?’

  His nostrils flared. ‘It’s a hobby I enjoy.’

  ‘Just like you’ll be fine when you finally climb Eiger’s deadly North Face?’

  ‘I was kidding about that.’ Until he had more Alps experience, anyway.

  ‘Like you’re fine when
you, you—’ she flung a frustrated arm towards the rain ‘—when you wrestle with maniacs in the street.’

  His groan was half growl. ‘Eden, please—’

  ‘You don’t shy away from danger, risk, adventure,’ she went on. ‘While I, on the other hand, am a big fan of silly things like safety, security, predictability. It was nice while it lasted, Devlin. Really nice. But let’s face it…’ Her green eyes glistened and her voice lowered. ‘I wasn’t exciting enough for you. We’d drifted apart even before you left for Scotland that day.’

  The pain and regret in her eyes faded before resignation dropped like a mask over her face once again. She dragged in a breath and, as if they’d been discussing the weather, inspected the sky. ‘I think the rain’s easing off.’

  His arms knotted over his wet thumping chest.

  Not so quick.

  ‘We’re not finished.’

  ‘We were finished three years ago.’

  He measured her with his eyes. She appeared reconciled, but he saw the way her chest rose and fell beneath that designer dress, the way she bit her lip as she angled her face away.

  Five days a week he sat behind a desk, organising specialist crews to tackle hands-on tasks associated with offshore rigs. So what was wrong with getting outdoors and amongst it himself when he could? He wanted to live life, damn it, not stand back and watch the world go by.

  Why couldn’t Eden get that about him? They’d always been so in tune in other ways. They’d laughed at the same things, liked the same food, enjoyed the same music. They were explosive in the bedroom. And, as far as being distant before he’d left was concerned…

  He ground his back teeth and rearranged his feet.

  There was that one episode…the morning when she’d sat parked at the end of his kitchen counter, dressed in his Raiders tee, pink fluffy slippers on her feet, flipping through a jewellery catalogue. She’d looked up, wound some golden hair behind an ear and murmured, ‘Hey, babe, whatchoo doing?’ Then she’d sent over an angelic wanna-take-me-back-to-bed smile. If she’d been checking out necklaces or earrings in that catalogue, broaches or bracelets or charms—

  But diamond rings…?

  He winced at the same time a phone buzzed. Eden collected her cell, then the BlackBerry on his belt sounded.

  While he listened to his voicemail, Eden read a text then carefully put her phone away. Her dazed look must have matched his own.

  ‘That text was from Sabrina,’ she murmured. ‘She wants me to meet her.’

  ‘Mine was from Nate. He said the same.’

  She hunted down his gaze. ‘To meet him at a city hotel?’

  She named the place and he nodded. ‘Nate said he had some important news to share.’

  She visibly paled. ‘You don’t think they’ve done something foolish?’

  ‘Like get married?’

  ‘Like get pregnant.’

  Devlin’s surroundings seemed to darken, tunnel, then caved in.

  Given the brothers’ family history, a quickie wedding didn’t seem likely. Marriage certainly didn’t feature anywhere near the top of Devlin’s personal agenda. However, if Nate had exchanged vows after six short weeks, the move was far from fatal. If sweet turned to sour, there was always divorce, an option his parents should’ve considered before pushing ahead and having two kids.

  But if Nate had got this girl pregnant—if Sabrina was carrying Nate’s baby—that was sacrosanct. As far as responsibility and duty went, there was no middle ground where a child was concerned. A man had to be there for his own flesh and blood. Nate would appreciate that fact.

  Again employing his jacket as a makeshift umbrella, Devlin dashed out into the lashing rain and lunged off the pavement to stop a slow-moving cab. As the yellow pulled up, he signalled Eden over. She bolted towards him, kicking up water as her heels smacked the puddles.

  But when he opened the passenger door, she hesitated, her hair glued to her scalp, lashes heavy with rain, that dress shrinking before his appreciative eyes.

  ‘Maybe I should get the next one,’ he heard her say over the torrent.

  Now they were out of that cubbyhole they’d sheltered in, she didn’t want to be close to him? She didn’t trust him. Or was it that Eden didn’t trust herself?

  Done with the tippy-toe show, he flung his jacket into the back of the cab then stood tall, hands low on hips, legs braced apart. ‘I have a better idea. Why don’t we just get this over with?’

  Her brow furrowed as rain sped down her cheeks and curled around her chin. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

  ‘I think you do.’

  She scoffed. ‘You think you know everything.’

  ‘Let’s say I’m working on it.’

  He stepped into the space separating them, drew her against his chest and, before she could object, he kissed her—deeply, passionately and without a hint of mercy. And, at long last, he had his answer.

  Because Eden stiffened, shivered.

  Then she kissed him back.

  CHAPTER TWO

  THE heady sensation of Devlin’s mouth moving over hers had the same effect as a defibrillator igniting a stalled heartbeat.

  Electric. Life-giving.

  Essential for survival.

  Somewhere in the back of her whirling mind, Eden knew they stood on a pavement, in the middle of a downpour, smack-dab in the centre of Sydney. But, like a billowing mist, the memory of everything that had come before grew hazy. All she knew—all she wanted to know—was the natural high humming through her blood, the jet of flames leaping from his body directly to hers.

  As his big hot hands wove along her shoulders to cup her wet face, her mind’s eye saw his broad shoulders looming over her. Helpless to fight against the tide, she gripped his soaked shirt as burgeoning desire thickened and ached in her throat.

  His palm scooped around her nape and gently tugged her hair until her mouth opened more. He kissed deeper, stepped closer. When the solid ridge trapped inside his trousers pressed against her belly, her pelvic floor pulsed with burning want. Three years without his caress…all those nights spent alone…

  Way too good.

  Way too long.

  His touch slid down to settle firmly on the small of her back as the edge of his tongue swept around hers and Eden melted more. But when a satisfied growl rumbled in his chest, a sliver of doubt feathered up her spine and a single word whispered through the fog. She didn’t want to listen, but she heard it anyway.

  Danger…

  Her fingers dug into his hard chest one last time before she groaned and wrenched herself free. Once she’d been in love with Devlin, but at least she’d walked away with her dignity intact.

  Where was her dignity now?

  Out of breath, she dragged the drenched hair off her face and glanced around. Most people were either dashing from the downpour or had already found shelter. No one seemed concerned with the demonstrative couple kissing in the rain. That didn’t mean Eden wasn’t horrified, at herself more so than Devlin.

  He didn’t want to own up to the fact that he’d become restless of her company three years ago. He certainly wouldn’t acknowledge why he’d kissed her now. This very public embrace was no more than a display. By subduing her here, he got to reclaim a portion of the power he’d lost when she’d ended the affair.

  Devlin abhorred losing, even someone he’d grown tired of.

  ‘I’ll take this cab with you,’ she said in a breathy voice. ‘But if you touch me again—even one finger—’

  His smiling eyes simmered more. ‘Yes, Eden?’

  ‘When I meet your brother, I’ll do what I wanted to do from the start.’ Her throat convulsed and she paused to swallow. ‘Tell him exactly what I think.’

  Devlin’s penetrating gaze didn’t change. He wasn’t listening. Was it imagination that he’d moved close again?

  With her body still burning for him, she bunched a hand by her side.

  Damn it, he needed to back off—now!

&n
bsp; She grabbed at the only weapon that flew to mind. ‘Devlin, if you try to kiss me again I swear I’ll not only tell your brother he’s a pleasure-seeking brat, a two-bit playboy turned cradle snatcher, but I’ll do it in front of as many cameras as I can. If I’m loud enough, it might even stir up a few paternity suits.’

  Devlin’s head kicked back. His dark lashes, clumped with water, blinked twice. ‘You’d purposely bring reporters into their relationship? You’d hurt your sister like that?’

  ‘You have it wrong. I don’t want to see anyone hurt, least of all my sister.’

  Swinging around him, she scooted inside the cab, finally out of the rain. Following, he closed the door with a heavy smack. He grumbled the address to the driver, a friendly man, who chatted about the shocking weather and the monsoon season in India, while she and Devlin each glared out of their respective windows.

  She didn’t argue when Devlin settled the fare; rather she marched ahead into the hotel’s opulent soaring foyer. He caught up and when they reached the marble-and-gold-rimmed reception desk, soaked to the bone, she let Devlin do the talking. She was still shaking like a half-formed jelly inside.

  Although she was less than proud of herself, thank God her bluff had worked. While she doubted Nathan Stone worried a jot over his bad-boy image, Devlin loathed the press. Couple that dislike with his highly protective streak and threatening Nathan’s interests had seemed the only surefire way to have Devlin back off.

  On a basic level, Eden couldn’t cheapen Devlin’s commitment to his brother. She, too, was fiercely protective of those she loved. There wasn’t a thing she wouldn’t do to keep Sabrina safe.

  At the reception counter, Devlin drove that hand through his slick pitch-black hair as a young woman sped up.

  The ponytailed blonde in a crisp olive-green uniform seemed eager to please. ‘How can I help, sir?’

  ‘Put me through to Nathan Stone’s room.’

  Miss Ponytail’s hazel eyes rounded. ‘Are you Devlin Stone?’ When he nodded, she handed over a key card. ‘The other Mr Stone asked that I give you access to his penthouse suite.’

  Inspecting the card, he muttered a curt thanks and Eden followed his long purposeful strides to the lifts. Riding to the top floor, Devlin broke their suffocating silence.