She blinked, disbelieving what was right in front of her eyes. “It can’t be.”
She picked up the item and held it in the air. Sure enough, it was a flash drive.
“That son of a bitch!” He’d known she kept the baby stuff all along. He must have known she never opened that box, the memories too painful, so he’d stashed Bernardi’s information where nobody would ever think to look. A place that was sacred to Maxie… but why would Keith care about her feelings at all? He’d put on such a big show about her getting rid of everything related to the baby, she’d never, ever think he knew about this box or go into it if he had.
But his death had left her holding the proverbial ball, and in his arrogance, he’d never planned for that eventuality at all. The selfish bastard. She packed up the box of items, planning to donate them to Goodwill. And with the drive in hand, she waited for Lucas to come home.
* * *
Lucas walked into the restaurant where he was due to meet with Julian. Before the settlement meetings over Blink, Lucas hadn’t seen the man in years. Even when he was involved in the early stages of development, Julian had begun to move in groups that partied far more heavily than Kade and Derek’s friends.
He caught sight of Julian waiting at the bar, and he gestured as he walked past the hostess stand.
He and Julian exchanged formal hellos, and Lucas settled into a seat next to him.
Julian looked healthy. His dark hair was cut short, his eyes clear. No sign of any drug use as far as Lucas could tell. Not that he was an expert.
“I’ve been clean for years,” Julian said as if reading Lucas’ mind.
He didn’t have any reason to doubt him. “Glad to hear it.”
“So what can I do for you?” Julian asked. “You called this meeting.”
The bartender strode over and placed a napkin in front of each of them. “Can I get you anything?” he asked.
“No thank you,” Lucas said. He wanted to get this conversation over with. A drink was the last thing on his mind.
Julian shook his head. “Nothing for me either, thanks.”
Once the bartender made his way to another set of customers, Lucas leaned an arm on the bar and got down to business.
“You need to stay away from Kendall,” he said to Julian. “Don’t ask about her, and for God’s sake, don’t make contact with her.”
Julian narrowed his gaze. “Kade needs you to talk for him now?” he asked, his face turning an angry red.
“No. I’m here on my own, because if I let Kade do the talking, he’ll do it with his fists.” Lucas leaned closer. “Look, Julian, you used that girl. Worse, she’s got her own issues, and you didn’t give a shit.”
Julian flinched and Lucas knew he’d taken a direct hit.
“I own what I did to Kendall, and I’m fucking sorry for it. I didn’t know about her problems though.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “And that makes it okay?”
“No. I just said as much.” Julian frowned. “You don’t like me and that’s fine. But we both know I was entitled to the settlement I received from Blink. You guys were going to throw everything you could at me to cut me out. I did what I had to do. For many reasons, none of which I plan to explain to you.”
Great. So where did they stand? Lucas wondered. “So what do you want? What was that visit about the other day?”
Julian set his jaw, his tension obvious.
“I regret hurting Kendall, and I want to know that she’s okay. I need to know.”
Lucas recognized Julian’s expression and uttered a silent, resounding curse in his head. He saw that look on Kade’s face when he talked about Lexie. He’d probably see it in his own gaze when he looked at Maxie. Which meant that unless Julian agreed to leave Kendall alone, none of them were finished with Julian in their lives.
Lucas straightened his shoulders and tried again to make his point. “The best thing for everyone is if you live your own life. Far away from any of us. Including and especially Kendall.”
Julian winced and Lucas wondered if he’d actually hurt the man’s feelings.
“Kendall is doing well,” Lucas heard himself saying, the words unplanned. He hadn’t intended to give Julian any information on the woman he’d used for financial gain.
Julian let out a long, relieved breath. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. That’s all you’re getting from me. Not another piece of information, so don’t ask. Don’t snoop around. And for the love of God, don’t provoke Kade.”
“You guys are lucky to have held on to your friendship all these years,” Julian said.
Lucas merely nodded. The other man obviously had more than his share of regrets. Anything Lucas said would only rub salt in a still very open wound. And despite the lawsuit and their rocky past, it wasn’t in Lucas’ nature to want to hurt the man on purpose.
He wrapped things up with Julian, uncomfortable that he couldn’t tell Kade the man was out of his or Kendall’s life.
He headed home, satisfied he’d at least put Julian on notice. It was all he could do.
He hoped Maxie would be up waiting for him, but at the very least, he knew she’d be in his bed. More than progress, he thought. The beginning of a life together.
He walked into the apartment, surprised when Maxie practically greeted him at the door. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Mostly better. But forget about that. I thought you’d never get home, and I didn’t want to call and ask you to leave your meeting with Julian.” She bounced up and down in obvious excitement.
“What’s going on?” He tossed his keys aside and kicked off his shoes.
“This!” She held out a tiny blue drive. “Look what I found!”
“Holy shit, is that Bernardi’s?”
“Well, I didn’t check it because I don’t have the right computer, but what else would the bastard have hidden in the arm of my baby mobile?” She raised an eyebrow as if daring him to doubt her conclusion.
He plucked the drive from her hand. “I’m sure you’re right. But let’s find out for certain.” Heart pounding with the possibility that the nightmare could be over, he headed to his office and turned on his computer.
He inserted a card reader and put the USB drive in. He clicked a few buttons and brought up the information on the drive. Names and numbers came up on the screen.
“It’s a string of symbols and numbers,” Lucas said and ejected the drive. “That’s all we need to know. No confessions here that we need to feel guilty about. The bastard can have his drive and get out of our lives.”
“Thank God,” she murmured.
“Considering he’s been hanging around, it shouldn’t be too hard for me to do a handoff tomorrow.” Lucas palmed the small item in his hand.
She cleared her throat, and he looked up, meeting her gaze. “For who to do a handoff tomorrow?” she pointedly asked, her gaze serious and intent on his.
He caught on to her meaning immediately. And though he didn’t like the idea of bringing her with him to meet with Bernardi, he understood. She had the biggest stake in this situation. Bernardi had come to her directly. And she had a right to handle things in her own life.
So as much as he’d rather be the big bad protector, he pushed back those caveman instincts. “We will do the hand-off,” he amended.
A bright smile took hold of her face.
“How the hell did you find it?” he asked.
She drew in a deep breath. “I was thinking about where I am in life, and how I was feeling… and I decided it was time to get rid of the box of baby things.”
He’d seen her reaction to the box and knew how much the items inside meant to her, what they represented, both in terms of pain and lost hope. He admired her bravery and didn’t want to push for answers as to why. It was enough for him that she was ready to move on.
“I wanted to look through them one more time. And when I picked up the mobile, the arm fell off and the drive fell out. It was ju
st that simple. Keith must have figured I’d never open the box or look inside. Can you imagine how unfeeling and callous he had to be to hide something in a box of precious things?” She shook her head, her disbelief as strong as his.
“I don’t think we’ll ever understand anything my brother did.”
She nodded. “I think if the day came when I did, I’d scare myself.”
He laughed. “Well, tomorrow we can send Bernardi on his way. Tonight, we celebrate.”
* * *
Maxie thought celebrating was a fine idea. All she had to do was look at Lucas and her body softened, desire sweeping through her. From the heated look in his eyes, he wanted her too, and she was on board.
He plunged his hand into her hair and pulled her against him, his lips coming down on hers.
She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, the kiss one of mutual need and growing hunger. He nipped at her bottom lip, then slid his tongue inside, tangling with hers. He dominated her with his big hand in her hair, and she clung to him, her breasts pressed against his chest, desire pulsing through her core. Her heart beat out a rapid rhythm as she lost sense of time and place. Nothing existed but Lucas and the depth of need he both pulled from inside her and also exhibited with this one kiss.
With a low growl, he broke the kiss, picked her up, and carried her to his bedroom. “This caveman side of you turns me on,” she said, rubbing her cheek against his roughened one.
“Good to know.” He deposited her on the bed and stripped off his clothes. She wriggled out of her pajamas and leaned back against the mattress and pillows, waiting.
He grabbed a condom and tossed it onto the bed. Then his gaze locked on hers, sliding from her face, down her naked body, his gaze darkening with pure need.
Feeling emboldened by the look in his eyes, she bent one knee, exposing herself to his view.
He wrapped a hand around his cock, pumping from base to tip and back again. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
Her body was already on fire, and her heart melted at his words. “Come here,” she whispered.
He slid onto the bed beside her, his erection gliding over her hip, the tip dampening her skin. He pressed a soft kiss to her collarbone, licking her flesh, working his way lower, until he reached her full breasts.
He cupped one in his hand and pulled her nipple into his mouth, suckling on the sensitive tip until her hips rose on the bed, an aching emptiness between her thighs.
He braced one hand on her lower belly, holding her down, and continued teasing the tight bud, first one nipple, then the other, until she was writhing and moaning with unrestrained need.
“You aren’t playing fair,” she said on a shaky breath.
“Just taking my time and enjoying.” He kissed the tip of one breast, then the other, then moved lower, his lips trailing a moist path directly to her sex.
“Lucas,” she groaned.
“Taking my time,” he reminded her, his mouth coming down directly on her sex, his tongue sliding over her outer lips.
“Oh God.”
He chuckled, his warm breath continuing his deliberately playful arousal. And he didn’t pause in his ministrations. He licked, teased, nipped, and soothed his way around her pussy. He speared her body with his tongue, and she arched her hips in a futile attempt to pull him deeper inside her.
She grasped his hair and held his face down, unable to stop herself as she ground herself against his mouth. And he continued to devour her without stopping, until her climax hit hard, taking her up and over the peak. Wave after wave of pleasure swept through her, and his mouth latched on to her clit as she came, the orgasm seeming to go on forever.
She finally collapsed against the bed in a spent heap. Until she heard the sound of the condom wrapper crinkling, and her body came alive once more.
She opened her eyes just as Lucas came over her, his large body dwarfing hers, his huge erection poised at her entrance.
“I dream about you, open for me just like this.”
Her cheeks flushed at his frank talk. “Lucas.”
“Yes, beautiful. It’s me.” And as he spoke, he thrust deep, his solid erection taking her, owning her as he pulsed inside her.
His gaze met hers, warm and full of emotion, as he slid out slowly, her inner walls feeling every hard ridge and solid inch of his erection, before pushing back inside her completely.
“How is it you’re so fucking tight every time? You feel so good, so perfect for me.”
Her heart quivered, and emotion lodged in her throat, his words as potent and heartfelt as the feel of his body inside hers.
Instead of picking up the pace and taking her hard, he opted for a slow, rocking motion inside her, his stare hot and serious on hers.
With every roll of his hips against hers, a delicious quaking began to overtake her body. “Oh God, Lucas,” she cried out, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
“I feel it too,” he assured her, his hands braced on the mattress, his hips in charge of her pleasure… and his, if the low groan from his chest and the tight pull of his lips were any indication.
His hips began a steady thrusting that sent her spiraling higher and higher until her orgasm hit, her body soaring outside itself, pleasure all she knew.
He let go then, a steady series of thrusts continuing the bliss that had overtaken her until he came with a groan, pumping into her over and over until he collapsed on top of her, his cheek nestled against hers, his breath rough and hard in her ear.
“I love you, Maxie.”
Her heart squeezed in her chest, and she couldn’t have stopped the words that followed if she wanted to. “I love you too, Lucas.”
“Thank fuck.”
Somehow she laughed, even as she shoved at his shoulders. “I can’t breathe.”
He pushed himself up and off her, rolling to the side, facing her. “You can’t take it back.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “Who says I want to?” she asked.
But she couldn’t stop the feeling of panic filling her chest, practically suffocating her. Because the last time she’d given herself up to this feeling of happiness, she’d been pregnant, and it had been cruelly taken away from her. And no matter how much love she felt for this man, she didn’t trust the feeling. Not for an instant.
Chapter Ten
Maxie woke up queasy again, but today she ignored the nausea as best she could, focusing instead on the plan to get rid of the flash drive. She and Lucas hoped Vincent Bernardi would be waiting outside as he had been most mornings. With luck, this was the last time they’d see the man again. She gathered her courage as she dressed for work, admitting that the bulk of her bravery stemmed from the fact that she wouldn’t be alone when she faced Bernardi. Lucas would be by her side.
And to his credit, he didn’t try and convince her to let him handle the handoff on his own despite his feelings on the matter. Her respect for him multiplied each time he allowed her the space to grow and to be herself. Each time he proved how different he was from his brother.
She couldn’t deny she loved the man. Considering the depth of her feelings for him for years, she hadn’t had a long way to fall. Trusting the feelings was another story, but all she could do was take things one day at a time and hope nothing happened to cause a seismic shift in the happiness she was currently experiencing.
“Ready?” Lucas asked as they met up at the front door.
“As I’ll ever be.” She held out the USB drive.
He eyed it warily but didn’t ask for her to hand it over to him. Hands linked, they took the elevator downstairs and stepped out into the bright sunshine of the cool November day. The man Lucas had hired as security stood in his dark glasses by the revolving door to the building.
Maxie shaded her eyes and looked down the street while Lucas glanced in the opposite direction.
“Figures. No sign of Bernardi,” she muttered.
“There’s always this afternoon,” Lucas said, sounding as fru
strated as she felt.
He pulled his car keys from his pocket. “Let’s go back inside and get my car.” They’d need to take the elevator down to the parking garage below street level.
Lucas nodded to the security guard, and he turned to follow them inside.
Maxie took one last look down the street as Vincent Bernardi strode out of the market on the corner. “Lucas, wait. There he is.” She pointed directly at the big man, her stomach turning over as he met her gaze and started walking toward them.
Lucas put up a hand, indicating the security guard shouldn’t step in.
“Are you looking for me?” Bernardi said as he walked up to them, coffee in hand.
“Possibly. First I want to know what your plan is once you have what you came for,” Lucas said.
Maxie was only too happy to let him lead the exchange. She wanted to be here in person. She didn’t care if she ever spoke to the man again.
Bernardi frowned. “None of your damned business. I’m assuming from the way you were looking around for me that you have my property?” He glanced at Maxie.
She straightened her shoulders and nodded. “I found the flash drive.”
He extended his arm palm up. “Hand it over.”
Lucas stepped forward, pushing Maxie away from him. “First I want your word we’ll never see you again.”
Bernardi let out a chilling laugh. “That’s your issue? Man, hand it over and I’m out of your life for good.”
She shoved her hand into her pants pocket and pulled out the drive, smacking it into his beefy hand. He accepted the drive and walked away. Out of their lives for good.
* * *
A week had passed since Maxie had turned the flash drive over to Vincent Bernardi. She couldn’t help but keep a lookout, check all the usual corners and places he’d been lurking. But no one was around, no tail, no big man making his presence known. He had kept his promise and disappeared.
Still, Lucas had kept the security detail on Maxie and his family through last night, until he finally felt comfortable letting them go, and she appreciated him being extra cautious. But she could finally breathe easily on that score, at least.
Going Down Fast (Billionaire Bad Boys Book 2) Page 13
