FORBIDDEN LOVE

by LAURA HARNER

  “The idea of rebirth began to grow on me. I founded Resurgence, Incorporated, as a way to fund troubled businesses worthy of a second chance. I began to disentangle myself from Father’s businesses, although I needed to finish tying up a few loose ends in Europe for Charbonnet Enterprises. I started buying real estate in Généreux, including a lot of property near the troubled end of the waterfront district. I had an idea that what worked for businesses in terms of a second chance could work for communities, too.

  “My brother Peter was raised here and I lived in London, so coming to Généreux was a way for us to connect. We had only just started to get to know each other when he was killed. That’s why I built the Renaissance Tower down here, rather than in the better-developed area of Généreux. I’ve made my pitch to the mayor and a couple of his trusted advisors. In exchange for expedited permits, I’ve agreed to make extensive community improvements in the area.

  “Up until now, my involvement has been kept secret, by design. I didn’t want Father finding out my plans until I could be certain everything was going to work out as planned. Renaissance Tower passed its final inspection today. You saw the brochures, tomorrow my executive assistant will arrive, and we start hiring. My name and company will be out in front of it all.”

  “So no more secrets from Julian,” Danielle said.

  “Well, I wouldn’t go that far.” He laughed. “Let’s just say he’ll know that he needs a new lawyer. Even if I’m focused more on technology and development, now, Father will perceive me as competition. My becoming the competition will be the ultimate insult to him. He’ll come after me. I’ll need to watch my back, but I have a few of his secrets locked away. I can control him.

  “So that leads me to Agent Espinoza and your assignment, Danielle. As much as I like the idea of you…How did he put that? Oh, yes, of you fucking me for information”—he grinned—“I really won’t be privy to much in Charbonnet Enterprises after tomorrow.

  “Espinoza can try to keep planting illegal bugs, but he won’t be able to get in anywhere on the top two floors of this building, and my security and computer people will screen all incoming and outgoing transmissions for intercepts. I’m very confident of their ability to keep Espinoza, or for that matter, my father, from getting access to me.

  “Having said that, however, if you want to keep up the charade, I think I might have an intriguing offer for you. For both of you. You’ll need to consider it carefully because if you accept, your names will be linked to a Charbonnet, and I am not unaware of how big a cloud that will put over your heads. The offer is made independently to each of you.”

  Danielle cocked her head, the wariness suddenly back in her eyes. Tolley glanced at his friend then back at Hawk. Both waited without asking questions.

  “You’ve seen how big the penthouse is, and you’ve only seen part of it. I have more space than I know what to do with.” He watched Tolley’s eyes go wide with anticipation at the same time Danielle’s narrowed in suspicion.

  “No, I’m not inviting you to move in with me. At least, not exactly. I know you’re both in need of a new apartment, and you talked a bit about sharing. On the other side of the penthouse is a much smaller guest unit. I had some vague idea of putting up visiting executives there, but I have no real plans of using it. If either or both of you would like it, you may have it.”

  Danielle started to shake her head, but Tolley stopped her. “Hang on, Dani. Hawk, that’s obviously ridiculously generous, but tell us the rest.”

  “Certainly. It’s two bedrooms plus a living room, a kitchen and dining combination, and an office. It’s much smaller than this place and no view of the river, except at odd angles. Whatever the rent Danielle is paying for her current place is sufficient to keep from muddying the waters about accepting bribes—”

  “Don’t be stupid, Hawk!” Dani interrupted. “That’s way too low, and Tolley and I can’t afford the real rent.”

  “Danielle, I never intend to rent that apartment. It will sit empty otherwise, so any amount of money can be shown to be reasonable. I would also claim the benefit of having two of Généreux’s finest walking through my lobby at all hours. It adds a layer of perceived safety and respectability.

  “In the short term, you’ve been asked to get close to me. Espinoza and others will think this is part of your effort. Having Tolley with you will seem smart. Your lease is expiring, Tolley is living in a hotel, and I’m staying at Father’s.

  “Tonight, I’m declaring this as my new place and inviting the two of you to have your own share of it. We’ll draw an agreement, for however long you like, up to a period of two years. After that, should either or both of you still be here, we can renegotiate. It has a private entrance, and there are no strings attached.

  “What do you say? Will you at least go look at it?”

  Danielle met Tolley’s gaze. Hawk suspected he wanted to say yes but would wait for her. It would be both of them accepting or neither of them accepting. Dani nodded, “We’ll go look.”

  “Go back through the elevator. I programmed both doors to open for now, but once you get your own key, only the door to your unit will open.”

  “Cocky little bastard, aren’t you?” Tolley said with a smile.

  “Yes, well, a hopeful bastard, at any rate. You two go ahead. I’ll wait here.”

  As they turned to leave, he grabbed Danielle’s arm and pulled her into a kiss that made his own knees weak.

  “Yes, well,” she breathed, repeating his own words when he released her. When she took Tolley’s arm to leave the apartment, Hawk wondered if her legs were as unsteady as his.

  Chapter Ten

  “What do you think?” Tolley asked, his dark blue eyes full of hope.

  Dani wasn’t sure she could think, at least not straight. And not just because of that kiss Hawk had laid on her. The place was too spectacular for words. Hawk had called it a small apartment, but by her estimate, it was over twenty-five hundred square feet. The same as a good-sized house. She was sure the view would be spectacular in the daytime, but at night, it was magical. The lights of Généreux blanketed the landscape below.

  “Are you sure about this, Tolley?”

  “Look, Dani. Let’s not make more of this than it is. We both need a place to live, but we want to protect ourselves, so we ask for a lease. We make it for a year, but with no penalty to us for breaking it early. Hawk seems to be willing to do what it takes to get you here. I know it’s not about my glorious pecs.

  “Having me here is smart from both perspectives. It gives you a sense of familiarity, some security. It also means that you can fall back on me to back up the story that this is about the case, so no one questions either of us too hard about the ethics involved.

  “Let’s give it a try and see how it goes. Whatever you do, don’t get caught up in thinking that living here means you have to sleep with him or that you owe him any kind of loyalty that you’re not willing to give freely. You asked for my opinion, and you’re going to get it. That man is seriously on his way to loving you, girl, but that doesn’t mean if we take this place that you owe him anything.”

  Dani sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. Nodding, she paced through the spacious apartment once again and tried to imagine calling it home.

  ****

  Hawk paced. What were they saying? What was she thinking? Why hadn’t he gone over there with them? He turned, suddenly no longer able to wait, determined to go find out their answer.

  Danielle stood in the doorway, quite alone. Her long blonde hair spilled in waves around her face and shoulders, her eyes were dark pools in the shadows. He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

  “Yes. With stipulations,” she said.

  Hawk’s breath left him in a whoosh, and he waited for her to continue.

  “Mostly, we want a lease that either side can terminate without penalty with thirty days’ notice. And it has to say that no legal favor is granted or implied. Sorry, Hawk, but given the history o
f Julian in this town, I think Tolley and I could be in big trouble without that.”

  “No worries, Danielle. I will draw it up in the morning, and you may take it to any attorney in town to review before you sign. Anything else?” he asked, his heart hammering a beat.

  She shook her head, but walked slowly toward him. Danielle clearly had something on her mind. When she reached him, she circled, trailing her fingers down his chest, around his waist and up his back, before coming back to face him.

  “Tolley’s gone,” she said, then added huskily, “Still want me to stay the night?”

  He started to move, to take her in his arms, but she stopped him with a gesture. “Not yet, Hawk. Just yes or no. Do you want me?”

  “Yes,” he managed to choke out.

  Danielle stroked his cock through the denim. “Yes, I believe you do.” She quickly scanned the room, her eyes settling on the pool table. She pushed him backward until his ass bumped against the padded edge.

  She pulled at his shirt and he swiftly followed her lead, yanking it over his head.

  Danielle slipped between his thighs and pulled him into a kiss, her lips rubbing over his mouth, a gentle heat drugging his mind, pulling him in. Her tongue darted between his parted lips and explored every crevice, teased and tangled. Then she pulled his tongue into her mouth and suckled, making clear her plans for other parts of his body. He was lost in the pleasure of lips, teeth, and tongue.

  His control was slipping, and it was intoxicating. Never, not ever…did he give up a shred of the steely control he wrapped around himself like a shield. Always so sure, always on guard. Somehow this absurdly complex woman had slipped past his barricades and was waging her own takeover of his heart.

  Danielle pushed against his chest with one hand, and he let himself fall back onto the pool table. He savored the look of her as she crawled up his body with the grace of a jungle cat. She was the hunter and he was the prey, and there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

  Her mouth devoured him, hot kisses moving to his jaw, his neck, his shoulder. When she wasn’t kissing she was biting or licking. His stomach flexed with each new sensation. She hadn’t touched his cock again, yet he strained with a white-hot desire, holding back his climax by a threadbare determination as his pleasure fought to escape in a rush.

  Fingers raked through the covering of hair on his chest and when she pinched his nipple, the guttural moan that escaped him let her know just how far gone he was. Still he let her take him, his superior strength and size defenseless against the magic of her mouth. When her nimble fingers unfastened his jeans and freed his cock, he raised his hips so she could pull his pants down. She quickly disposed of her clothing as well, and he could do nothing but stare at the goddess between his legs. He was coming undone.

  ****

  Dani had Hawk just the way she wanted: naked, hot, and strung oh-so-tight. Now she would take him over the edge. She intended to make the unflappable Hawk Charbonnet beg before she was done with him. She straddled his hips and lightly brushed her pussy along his pulsing dick while she licked her way across his chest. She’d not missed the moan when she pinched a nipple, so she let her mouth do a more thorough job. She licked one coppery nub and then scraped lightly with her teeth. Hawk bucked underneath her then tried to pull her up as he pressed his erection against her wetness.

  She made a small laugh deep in her throat and moved away as she continued her downward progress. Her heavy breasts grazed his chest, his light fur scratching against her sensitive skin. The ridges and cut of his muscled stomach made a girl want to weep her thanks to the gods. She tasted the rich, spicy honey of his golden skin, rubbed her cheek against his silky hair, breathed in the musky scent that was uniquely Hawk. His moan of frustration inspired her.

  She nipped at the soft skin between his hip and thigh, and then moved lower. She trailed her fingers through the nest of curls surrounding his cock, careful not to give any comfort to his straining shaft. That belonged to her mouth.

  Danielle resumed her assault on his senses, and she kissed and licked his thighs, the backs of his knees, along his calves. She slowly made her way back up his legs, prolonging the moment she would take him in her mouth. She pushed his thighs further apart and watched his chest rise and fall more rapidly now, his breath coming in soft pants, interspersed with small murmurs of desire. She knew he was anticipating her next move, waiting for the feel of her mouth on his cock.

  Not quite yet, she thought with a satisfied little smile. She bit his inner thigh hard enough to leave a mark, and saw his shoulders rise from the table in shock and a shot of pain. Before he could do anything else, she slicked her tongue over the smooth skin behind his balls, and then took his sac in her mouth.

  “Oh, God! Oh, fuck,” he gasped, his breath coming hard and fast.

  Gently she licked and sucked, feeling his balls begin to draw up as she lavished attention on them. Leaving them with a kiss, she moved to his other thigh and bit again, even higher, harder, and little longer than the first bite. When his hand twisted in her hair, she licked her lips and slid her mouth home.

  She swallowed his cock halfway before easing back to focus on the crown. He tasted earthy and primal, and it uncaged her desire for him. This was what she wanted, what she’d needed to do ever since they’d been interrupted this morning. She craved the taste of Hawk and wondered if she would ever get enough.

  He was magnificent. His hands had flung out to grab the sides of the table the minute she’d taken him in her mouth. His head pressed back against the surface of the table while his back arched. She’d kept his hips relatively still up to this point, but she knew he was getting close. She savored the flavor of him, tasting the pre-cum, working his slit. She flicked her tongue over the ridge and swirled around the tip, watching him squirm and moan.

  Dani could tell he was holding on to his steely control by a frazzled thread and she wanted it broken. She wanted him as raw and crazed with desire as he made her.

  She centered his cock and gripped his hips. She dug her nails into the tender flesh of his ass, driving him into her mouth and down her throat. She hummed around him as he fucked her mouth, pounding, driving. He was huge, but she didn’t care. She opened and took him deeper with each thrust of his hips. Hawk moaned when she stopped his movement with her hands on his hips. Sliding him as deep into her throat as he would go, she swallowed around his shaft, letting him feel as if she would devour him whole.

  “Christ, Danielle!” he yelled. “Fuck!”

  His legs trembled beneath her. He was so close. She pulled back, letting him slip from her mouth. Again, she moved to his sac. She ran her tongue over the now taut skin; he was drawn up tight, ready to explode. She lightly kissed the already bruising skin where she’d bit him, reminding him of the pleasure and pain.

  “Danielle,” he choked. “Please, sugar. I can’t wait anymore,” he begged, desperation evident. “I need you.”

  That was what she’d been waiting for. She took his cock back in her mouth, giving him long, deep strokes that pushed him down her throat. She moved to work the tip, sucking hard, her rhythm fast. When his ass muscles hardened to stone beneath her fingers, she shifted back to the longer, deeper thrusts. When he came, she swallowed every pulsing shot of cum that hit the back of her throat.

  ****

  Hawk lay sprawled on his pool table listening to the absolute silence of an empty house. Damn, he was sore. He knew he’d nearly blacked out from the force of his orgasm. He’d seen stars, heard the blood pounding in his ears, lost his bearings. Then Danielle had crawled up to lay beside him and he’d wanted to hold her but had to struggle against the weight of his shaking arms.

  “Shh, Hawk. Just rest. It’s okay. I have you,” she’d whispered. It was the last thing he remembered until he’d woken up, alone.

  He struggled to sit up and started to inventory what hurt, but decided that was pretty much everything. He brushed his fingers lightly over the bite marks that bruised his thighs. So,
Danielle liked giving a little pain, did she? Perhaps he would see how she felt about receiving a little pain of her own. With a smile at that thought, he climbed from the pool table and headed to his room and the mattress on the floor.

  Tomorrow he would have the place furnished. Although the pool table would forever hold a special place in his memories, he intended to have Danielle in his bed for a full night of loving. Then he would wake next to her and start the loving all over again.

  She’d been a rather take-charge kind of woman tonight. He would see how she took to having the tables turned.

  Chapter Eleven

  Dani was frustrated. There wasn’t one goddamn thing in the ME’s report she could use. Just the facts: Tommy “Beaker” Downing, age thirty-seven. Tattoos on his forearms covered old needle tracks, but his system had been clean when he died. Last meal: a fast-food taco. Cause of death: someone bashed the back of his head in. That was it.

  Tolley had personally run the evidence from Crease Martin’s murder, confirmed the handkerchief was a match for Hawk’s tie, no surprise there. The murder weapon was confirmed as part of the rare set of knives Hawk had purchased at auction. There were no fingerprints on the handle. Why would a man use a knife that could be tied directly to him and then wipe the fingerprints clean? Same reason a man would wipe the fingerprints from his own bedroom. In other words, he wouldn’t.

  Which left her looking for someone who wanted Beaker dead and could kill a witness using knives from a private collection. Someone who knew about Hawk and the auction or the knives. Someone with access to his private rooms at the Charbonnet mansion. It could easily be Julian. But why would he want Beaker dead and why try to pin it on his own son? Did he already know about Hawk’s planned defection?

  She started with the auction and a warrant.

  “This is Detective Danielle Delacroiux, Généreux Police Department. I need to speak with the person in charge of the Scottish Artifacts auction last month.”