The Trouble With Coco Monroe

by CC MacKenzie

  Just who the hell did her father and Rafe think they were?

  They’d known exactly what emotional buttons to press.

  On one hand she had to admire the way they’d managed her.

  It had been a thing of beauty.

  Oh, yeah, they’d thought it all out. But they hadn’t thought it all the way through, had they?

  Just how did they think were they going to survive her retribution?

  First, she’d deal with Rafael.

  Picking up the pace, Coco’s eyes narrowed as she rolled her tongue over her top teeth.

  Oh yeah, come to mama you conniving, controlling, sneaky bastard.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Janine’s ancient Ford shook, rattled and rolled its way over potholes on the driveway to The Grange.

  She’d called Joshua Erichsen’s office to make an appointment to see him and been told he was packing up his mobile office at The Grange. The girl on the phone had been cool, her voice clipped, which had only wound the horrible knot of nerves in Janine’s stomach even tighter. After being married to Connor, these days confrontation of any kind always made her feel physically sick.

  Boo was being looked after by a member of staff at Sweet Sensation. And she hoped this meeting wouldn’t take long because Bronte was unwell and attending a doctor’s appointment this morning.

  As she turned into the gravelled parking area to her home she spotted a single car, a dust covered Land Rover Defender, and saw Josh leaning his shoulder against the door of the mobile office watching her. He was dressed in ancient jeans tucked into leather work boots and drinking from a mug. Since he was wearing Raybans she couldn’t see his eyes, but by the way his mouth went into a tight line he was still royally pissed off with her.

  Great.

  Heart drumming against her ribs, she got out and stood next to her car.

  Josh slid his glasses down his nose. Vivid blue eyes peered at her over the top, and he didn’t move a muscle.

  She swallowed.

  He wasn’t going to make it easy for her.

  Okay.

  She could do this.

  Ignoring the bats fluttering in her gut Janine stepped forward.

  This time he removed his glasses, tucked them into the breast pocket of a cotton shirt the exact colour of his eyes.

  And at the moment those eyes were like chips of solid ice.

  She had to tip her head back to look up at him.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Sure.”

  He turned his back on her and moved into the office, sat his bulk behind a small desk.

  It was a basic workspace with a couple of desks, notice boards holding a plan of the house and grounds, computer, phone, coffee machine and mugs and a tiny sink with cupboards underneath. And it was immaculate.

  Since she preferred to visit when no one was around she’d never been inside the office, and could see Josh liked everything in its place. The place was organised to within an inch of its life. Impressive.

  He nudged his chin towards a black plastic chair.

  “Have a seat. What can I do for you?”

  Placing her car keys, her cell phone on the desk between them, she sat and couldn’t help but rub sweaty palms over her jean-clad thighs.

  “I don’t want you to resign from the job. You’re the best, I’ve been told. And the house deserves the best.”

  Watching her through narrowed eyes, he sipped his drink.

  “Want a coffee?”

  She shook her head. “No. Thank you.”

  “Tea? Soda?”

  She didn’t want a damn drink, but Janine recognised the offer of an olive branch when she saw one.

  So she picked it up. “Water is fine, if you have it.”

  She hated, hated, the way her voice wobbled.

  He rose, and since he was a big man immediately the room shrunk and she had to force herself not to cringe as he walked past her. What was it about him that pressed every single emotion from terror to attraction? He opened a mini fridge, took out a small bottle of water, plucked a paper cup out of a tube on the wall and placed them on the table in front of her.

  When he returned to his chair behind the desk, she couldn’t help but blow out a very long, very relieved breath.

  While she tried to keep her hand steady as she twisted off the cap and poured water into the cup, she was aware of his unblinking eyes on her. And as more time passed without him speaking a single word, she was becoming more and more unnerved by the situation.

  She hated being put on the spot like this.

  It reminded her too much of how she used to feel every minute, every hour of every day of her marriage when Connor came home and subjected her to hours and hours of the silent treatment.

  “There are times when I’m really stupid. Why didn’t I see it? He did quite a number on you, darling. Didn’t he?” Josh asked in a gentle voice.

  As her eyes flew to his, her hand jerked spilling the water and she recognised the look of a man who’d just solved a problem. Her.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve spilled the water. I’m so sorry.”

  Plucking paper towels from a wall dispenser, Josh calmly handed them to her to mop up the mess. And all the while her hands trembled and her heart drummed against her ribs.

  “It’s only water, Janine. Nobody died.” Then his eyes narrowed as she flinched at his unfortunate choice of words. “Who hurt you? Was it your husband or someone else?”

  She opened her mouth to say she’d no idea what he was talking about.

  But the steady look in his eyes stopped her cold.

  “Husband,” she whispered.

  And then bit down so hard on her bottom lip she tasted blood.

  “Okay. Do other men make you nervous? Or is it just me?”

  His eyes held hers.

  No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t look away, all the time searching for the first sign of anger, for annoyance, for irritation.

  What she found was understanding, sympathy and something that looked like regret.

  “Not all men.”

  “I realise that by how you are with Jacob and I also realise that who you see is none of my business. But I make you nervous, afraid?”

  She nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  He waved the apology aside and all the while his eyes never left hers.

  “He abused you?”

  Again she nodded, then pressed back in her chair as he leaned forward, elbows on the desk.

  “Look at me.” She met his eyes. “I have never in my life forced myself, raised my hand or my voice to a woman. Why do I frighten you?”

  Heaving out a trembling breath, she shook her head and spoke the truth.

  “I don’t know. You look nothing like him. He was dark with black hair and black eyes.” And a black soul. “But he was big and you’re big. I don’t know why you...”

  Her voice tailed off as the blush that heated her face went radioactive and set fire to the tips of her ears.

  Josh was beginning to have a good idea why he was making her feel uncomfortable.

  However, now was not the time to explore their feelings.

  The woman was badly damaged, and he wondered now why he hadn’t seen what had been staring him right in the face for months. He’d need to take a big step back from her. But at the same time he recognised an almost overwhelming need inside him to protect her, to look after her.

  “Have you talked to anyone about it? Therapists? Your GP?”

  She cleared her throat as she shook her head.

  “Not yet.”

  And by that brave little tilt of her chin she wasn’t happy he was interfering in her life.

  Fair enough.

  “Are you sure you want me to work on the house?”

  Now her eyes met his and for the first time he didn’t see fear, but a determined courage that hurt the heart.

  Poor baby.

  “Yes. I need it finished on time and within budget. Then I can sell part of it
or rent it out. I haven’t decided yet. I need to secure Boo’s future.”

  At the mention of her baby, he couldn’t help but smile. The kid was gorgeous.

  “You’re doing a magnificent job with her, Jan. She’s happy, contented and thriving. You should be very proud.”

  She blinked when he called her Jan but for the first time she gave him a genuine smile in return.

  “She’s the love of my life. I’m blessed to have her.” Then her brow creased. “Will you consider staying on as my architect?”

  “As long as we keep it strictly business. Agreed?”

  He’d shocked her and was certain he saw a hint of regret as well as relief in those big blue eyes.

  But she held out her hand.

  He took it and felt the tremble and wondered what the hell he was doing.

  Why couldn’t he simply walk away?

  “Agreed,” she said.

  After she’d signed the drawings and he’d signed his copies, she left.

  As Josh watched her car rattle its way down the drive he made a promise to himself to move on from whatever it was he felt for her.

  She was damaged goods and wanted to be left alone.

  And that was okay.

  He was a big boy.

  He’d taken plenty of hard knocks before and bounced back.

  So he’d bounce back from this one.

  But as he picked up the phone to pass on the information to the project manager and the work crews that the plans had been approved and work could begin, he wondered if seeing her day in day out for the foreseeable future was the smartest thing he’d ever done or the most stupid.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Meanwhile, sitting on Coco’s bed Rafe read the note again and sipped the cup of black coffee he’d brought her as an icebreaker.

  She’d gone hiking?

  He’d put good money on it the only hiking she’d ever done was through the shoe shops in Bond Street or Rodeo Drive.

  From what he’d seen in her incredible closet, Coco had more pairs of shoes than the entire cast of Riverdance.

  Their cottage was at least three miles from Ludlow Hall.

  And as usual, Coco Monroe ignored the rules set down by him, Nico and Jacob.

  Although Kandinsky was a genuine threat she wasn’t in any immediate danger. She didn’t have access to the Internet or a cell phone, so he had no worries there.

  Still sipping, he scanned the room.

  Where would she have gone?

  With absolutely no conscience he searched through her suitcase and rummaged around her things. A couple of bikinis were tossed on the bed, so he could assume she’d taken swimwear. Temptation whispered in his ear to feel, to touch the silky fabric of her panties, her bra and he ordered himself to get a grip. And felt a quiet pride in himself that he’d avoided temptation as he rose and studied the room.

  No backpack.

  In the bathroom he found an empty suntan lotion box in the trash.

  No apple cores, so she must have taken the apples from last night with her. No empty water bottles either, which meant she’d planned this manoeuvre to avoid him.

  At least she had the common sense to take supplies. So where would a woman go with a swimsuit, suntan lotion, water and food? A woman who enjoyed the sun?

  The swimming pool at the back of the annexe.

  Rafe grinned as he shook his head, how predictable. The thought of seeing Coco in a swimsuit or if he was very lucky a bikini laid out on a lounger did wonderful things to his libido.

  But he couldn’t touch her, not until he’d confessed.

  And from what he’d heard this morning it looked as if the police were closing in on the Russian.

  Feeling better with himself he had no doubts at all that he could make Coco realise that he’d had her safety at heart. After all it had been for her own good. The girl simply couldn’t be trusted to look after herself.

  Rafe owed Charles Monroe and his late wife Maria, big time. If it hadn’t been for them and Ethan, Bruce and Wallace, he’d have had a very different life. His mother had died in a car accident when he’d been ten. And his devastated father had died broken hearted six years later. The Monroes, including little Coco, had welcomed him into their home. He owed them his life.

  After university he’d joined the military to find a sense of family, of belonging. He’d gone through Special Forces training, including water, desert, arctic and urban tactics.

  However, his real talent lay in communications and technology.

  When Charles Monroe had approached him with an offer he couldn’t refuse to join Monroe Industries, he’d leapt at the chance to give something back to the man who’d given him a safe haven when he’d needed it most.

  But buried deep in a place he refused to acknowledge Rafe still wondered when his bad genes would show up.

  His late mother had been a society darling, a party girl cast adrift by hedonistic parents. She’d had no business having a child in the first place since she’d absolutely no idea how to be a mother.

  His late father, God bless him, had been born into a family with a sense of entitlement. His parenting skills had been equally lax and he’d found solace from his wife’s affairs in the bottom of a bottle.

  In Rafe’s mind, Coco’s behaviour mirrored that of his mother, which was why he’d always given her such a hard time.

  And that had been unfair of him.

  He realised now just how much he’d misjudged her.

  Her attempt to seduce him on the night of her eighteenth birthday had scared the hell out of him.

  Christ, he’d nearly rammed himself into her, he’d wanted her so badly.

  The overwhelming attraction he felt for Coco was something he’d always regarded as toxic. Too strong and too addictive it made him weak at the knees. Just like his father’s love for his mother had weakened him, and that was totally unacceptable.

  Except this time he was mature enough to accept the situation and he’d make damned sure his feelings for Coco did not turn him into a pathetic pussy of a man.

  He tucked essentials into a pack of his own, including food, a bottle of wine and two wine glasses.

  He might need them to smooth the path to redemption.

  Since it was downhill all the way, it took less time on the return journey for Coco to arrive at the swimming pool deck outside their cabin.

  An icy calm settled over her as a rough plan came together in her mind.

  She’d need to wing it and rely on her wits, nothing new there then.

  A voice in the back of her mind reminded her that by not having sex with her Rafe had behaved honourably. That he’d been motivated to behave like a caveman by the need to protect her from the Russian, but she thrust it away.

  There was no excuse for his diabolical behaviour.

  Why couldn’t he speak to her as an equal?

  Why was she not allowed an opinion?

  What about her business?

  What about the desperate people who relied on her and Louise?

  None of it mattered to Rafael or to her dear father.

  She growled in her throat.

  When she thought of how devastated she’d been, of how she’d burrowed into Rafe, clung to him for support and affection, of how guilty she’d felt, fury spiked again.

  Don’t get angry.

  Do not get angry she chanted again.

  Get even.

  After she’d tucked the satellite phone between large rocks behind the cottage, she strolled through the gardens to the swimming pool.

  A hot wind tugged her hair as she spread out a towel on a vast lounger.

  Might as well make the most of the unexpected break.

  When was the last time she’d simply relaxed and sunbathed?

  She stripped, slipped on a tiny white bikini.

  Then slathered dry oil over the skin she could reach and lay down with a sigh.

  Basking in the hot rays soaking into her skin, into weary bones, Coco permitted
her mind to drift.

  Of course it was all about control.

  Her father and Rafe were cut from the same cloth.

  The only way to make her biddable, docile and obedient had been to hit her where it hurt.

  Then Rafe had got her all hot and bothered, unable to think clearly and he’d kept her off balance ever since.

  And for that he would surely pay.

  It would be interesting to see how the biter liked being bitten.

  On that happy thought Coco closed her eyes.

  It didn’t take Rafe long to track her down.

  She lay on her back, long legs spread apart, eyes closed.

  Her bikini, if he could call it that, made his heart stumble. It consisted of two white fragments of material fighting a losing battle to cover the bare necessities. He enjoyed himself for a moment admiring the small breasts and the long, lean figure. Her hipbones jutted out above the scrap of fabric. And her skin was smoothly oiled from top to toe.

  A fresh six-inch scar, red and livid, ran under the armpit of her left side.

  For a moment his breath caught in his throat.

  The scar was a salutary reminder of the night he thought he’d lost her for good.

  A night that had changed his life.

  Already she’d begun to tan.

  Although he noticed through his sunglasses she had a couple of spots turning pink.

  Irritation that she’d allowed herself to burn made him bite his lip even as a brutal arousal flooded his system.

  Rafe went with irritation, it was safer.

  “This doesn’t look like hiking to me.”

  She tipped her head back.

  And gave him a smile that nearly blinded him.

  Sitting, she almost lost the top of her bikini.

  A ruby nipple winked at him.

  “Oops,” she said.

  Oops?

  He took a breath as his mind caught up with seeing her virtually naked and not only that, she was neither shy nor embarrassed about it.

  His swelling erection stung as he shrugged out of his backpack and set it on the deck.

  Coco tied the skinny bikini straps around her neck.

  Wrapping slim arms around her drawn up knees, she eyed the parasol he dragged over, sent him a glorious smile.