by L. C. Giroux
Delia stayed in the robe, wrapping it tighter around her. She pulled out her laptop and when she did she heard the clink of metal against metal. She had almost forgotten that she'd brought her gun. Stupid in retrospect. She had the concealed carry permit and had dismantled it so it could get through security in her checked bags. If she had known she was going to be staring at monitors all day she wouldn't have bothered. She dragged out the pieces and the tube of grease along with her computer. She could multi-task: Skype with her mom, put her weapon back together, and watch over the damn man she had fallen in love with.
She laid out all of the gun supplies on a hotel towel. Gun grease was probably not the worst thing they ever saw in the laundry. She set up her computer between the monitors so she could do a sweep and see everything at once. She rang up her mother, figuring she wouldn't be online but it was worth a shot; she really needed to talk to someone right now.
"Hey hon, how's Paradise?"
"Right now, it kind of sucks."
"I figured or I wouldn't be hearing from you. What is going on?"
"How do you know when it's worth it to give your heart to a guy you are pretty sure is going to break it in little pieces?"
"Oh, that bad. I don't know if I'm the best one to ask. I actually married your father and while I wouldn't have traded having you for anything... That man was a son of a bitch and then some. I guess since I got you out of it, it was worth it. Still, I wouldn't want you to go through what I went through."
"Mom, Jonah would never abuse me, at least not physically. He wouldn't even emotionally if he stopped and thought about it for even half a second but he doesn't stop to think."
"Honey, most guys don't. They work on gut instinct. Why else would they go into burning buildings or brave bullets coming at them or take on bitter screaming women?"
"Wanna explain that last one?" Delia quirked her eyebrow at her mother but her mother just laughed back.
"Not a chance in hell! All I can tell you, kiddo, is whether you give your heart to him or not, how you feel about him isn't going to change one bit. If you love him, then love him. You may get your heart handed back to you and it will hurt like hell but not doing anything is gonna hurt like hell too."
"I hate when you get all mystical sage on my ass."
"Someone has to! Crap! I've got to get breakfast cleaned up and then get the stew started for lunch. If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, these cowboys have freakin' freeways leading to theirs. I had no idea anyone could eat so much. I better go. Call tonight if you need to."
"I will. I'll think about what you said. Bye!"
Delia shut down her laptop and flicked her attention between the monitors and the pistol she was putting back together. She had just finished and set the gun aside when something caught her eye on one of the monitors. Mr. Left, as opposed to Mr. Right, had reached down to scratch his calf. When he did his pant leg got caught up on something strapped to his leg. She zoomed in. Shit! Yes, that was indeed a gun with a silencer. Jonah, you big dumb... Why the hell didn't you ever carry a gun? She needed to get him out of there now! She jumped into her bikini that was still on the floor from this morning and then ran to the bedroom to get some ammo, which she carefully popped in the magazine. She covered the gun with the towel clean side out so that no one freaked on the crazy lady with the gun. As she was running out the door she grabbed her sunglasses. No need to let them see what she was thinking.
On the conference suite level she stopped momentarily. Shit, they all looked the same now. Jonah had told her the name of the suite but she was always better with numbers. She closed her eyes for half a second, swaying to her own compass, and then took off like a shot. When she got to what she thought was the right door, she pressed her ear to it. That is definitely Jonah's voice and things sound tense. Time for a little Delia diversion.
"Daddykins, there you are! Babygirl has been looking everywhere for you." Delia sucked in her stomach and pushed out her chest as she tiptoed in the door. She formed her lips in a pout to keep from laughing when Jonah almost dropped his cards. She dipped her glasses down and gave him a wink, and then turned her attention to the other men in the room.
"I mean really, he brings me all the way down here and then leaves me all alone." The little girl voice pushed it totally over the top but to add the zinger she leaned into Mr. Right, giving him a prime view of her cleavage while wiggling her ass for Mr. Left's "I've got a gun in my pants" amusement. Then she stood up and reversed their views.
"Would you leave me all alone?" she purred in her best sex kitten voice. Mr. Left turned several shades of red and she could feel him getting hotter by the minute. She stood up and popped her chest out a little more arching her back like a cat in heat.
"Daddy, you promised you would take me to the beach when I licked you all over." She ran her tongue over her lips to be sure as hell she had everyone's undivided attention now. She curled around to Jonah by way of Mr. Right, trailing her free hand all over the sap. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. When she was touching Mr. Right, Jonah jumped to his feet. He looked like he was going to blow a gasket.
When she got closer he grabbed her and pulled her against him. She fought to keep the gun in front of her so it ended up between them. It gave a whole new spin on that old "are you happy to see me" joke. His eyes got wide when he felt the press of the gun. Oh God, did he think she was there to shoot him? "Aren't you even gonna kiss me, Daddykins?" He narrowed his eyes and growled at her. "Uh oh, I think Daddy is angry. Does this mean I get a spanking?" Mr. Left groaned like a man in a porn theater and she knew she could get them out of here in one piece. She walked her fingers up Jonah's chest. "Am I gonna get tied to the bed again for being a naughty girl?"
"Sure as hell!" It was the first time any of the men had spoken and it sounded unnaturally loud in the still room. "I fold. I'll be back later, much later." Jonah hoisted her over his shoulder and marched out of the room.
When the door closed behind them, Delia started fighting to get Jonah to put her down. "Oh no, you wanted to be tied to the bed. You asked for a spanking, and you are gonna get it and more for that little stunt." Delia hit him with the butt of the pistol between his ribs and he almost dropped her but she managed to get off his shoulder and whisper in his ear.
"To paraphrase The Untouchables, you showed up for a gun fight with a knife, you big lummox. Now duck in here; things are gonna get interesting in a few minutes." She led him to the stairwell and up one flight. She kept the door propped open and they could hear what was going on in the hall below them surprisingly well.
"Where the hell is it then?"
"I don't know. I mean, I had it. It was in my shirt pocket. It must have fallen out at breakfast or maybe at the gift shop."
"Well, there must be another copy."
"No, that was it. Everything in those rooms is watched like hell. There is no way to make copies."
"I should just kill you."
"And cut off the gravy train? I don't think so. Check with your boss. Killing me is a big mistake." While Mr. Left presumably dialed his boss, Jonah pulled out his smart phone and started up a program to record all the phone numbers currently making calls in a designated area, picking up where they were coming from and what number they were going to. Jonah smiled at Delia like a cat full of canary and then realized he was still angry at her. Delia closed the door softly so they wouldn't hear downstairs. When she turned around she held up a small folded square of paper.
"Do you think this could be what they are looking for?"
"How the hell?"
"Before you go nuts, can we go back upstairs?"
"Oh, we are definitely taking this upstairs and you, young lady, still have a spanking coming." He held her elbow and steered her into the elevator.
"Jonah, I was trying to get you out of there. The bad guy had a gun, with a silencer so you know he meant business. I was trying to save you." His mouth was a thin hard line with the effort to control himself t
ill they got inside the suite. When he closed the door, he backed her up against it and kissed her like his life depended on it.
"What was that for?" she asked when he finally pulled away.
"That wasn't for any reason at all, except I am glad you are on my side. Oh, and I'll take that." He snatched the paper from her fingers and tucked it into his wallet. "I don't want to know where you learned to be a pickpocket either."
"Oh, Uncle Cam..."
"I don't want to know, wild child, and I mean it." He kissed her long and hard again. If he was going to keep doing that she was going to need to grow gills.
"What was that one for?"
"That was the start of your punishment for putting yourself in that kind of danger. I don't know what I would have done if you had gotten hurt. Just the thought..." Delia stared at her feet for a second and then looked up at him.
"You mean the sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you know you'll do anything so long as the person you love is okay? You mean where you kinda lose your mind thinking if something happens to that person that your life isn't really gonna be worth much anyway so why not hang it out over the edge. That feeling? Is that the one you are talking about?"
"Yeah, just like... Delia? What are you saying..."
"That the reason I was crying this morning wasn't because I was afraid I was pregnant. It was that I realized I wanted to be and it scared the hell out of me. Jonah, you don't know how to have a relationship, but then again, neither do I. So I don't know where that leaves us."
"Getting out of here fast. Go pack, now." He gave her one more breath-stealing kiss and left her to change and pack while he made the arrangements with the airline.
Twelve hours later, she was dropping her bags in her bedroom. The house seemed unnaturally quiet. She and Jonah had worked out some things on the plane back. He was willing to take her on as a partner and open a new branch in her area of expertise. Frankly it was a lot more than she had bargained for and she should have been thrilled. So why did she feel so deflated? They hadn't really even talked about any relationship stuff. If she tried to bring it up, he changed the subject; after a couple tries she got the hint. It wasn't like he'd said no to continuing the fling back here but he hadn't said yes either. She got into the shower and tried to wash the confusion from her brain. Hell, it was going to take a lot more than water. Cam must have something in the house. She went downstairs in her robe and found the Scotch and a glass. She was just about to pour when the doorbell rang. She opened it and stared dumbstruck at Jonah standing there with his bags in his hands.
"Hi hon. You'll make a perfect wife, greeting me at the door in a sexy little robe and a good bottle of scotch. Now, does it come with a kiss?" When she hesitated, he dropped his bags and wrapped his arms around her, not so much as kissing her as inhaling her.
"Wha... Jonah what are you doing here?"
"I thought about what you said and I decided. No."
"No, what?"
"No, you don't get a fling. I am not letting you get away. Now that I know you, the real wild child you, and not that lie you let everybody else think, I want this full-time. And that is why I am staying. Cam can kill me later. I figure the only way we can chuck the past and I can convince you I am here to stay is to stick so close to you that you hate the sight of me." She gulped. His eyes twinkled with laughter she knew was dying to get out.
"Jonah, there are a couple of rules. One, I'm not a kid. There will be no more stupid cute nicknames. I will not answer to Shortstuff, kiddo, Littlebit..."
"Not even in bed?"
"That is negotiable. Two, Cam isn't living here right now and won't for a while. The place is my responsibility till he moves back, so what I say goes."
"I've got a few rules too. You can make the rules in the rest of the house, but I'm still in charge in the bedroom, got it? And no more hiding in baggy clothes. You are gorgeous and I want to show you off. I may have to bust a few heads, but it is a small price to pay for the pleasure of seeing you walk into and, God help me, out of a room. You may have a head for business, sweet thing, but that body of yours is pure sin and I want more of it, lots more of it.
"Oh, and kids. I want them, but not right away. I understand you're still young and you want to develop your career but in five or so years, when you are tired of being the hottest investigator on the East Coast, I want to feel your body round with my child, curl up and hold you while it kicks. I am gonna be there when you give birth and hate me for the pain of it all and then you know what?"
She could barely breathe now. "What?" came out as a whisper.
"We are gonna do it all over again."
"Oh."
"And one last rule, missy. We're getting married, preferably quick but I plan on being around forever so if you want to wait, I'll work with that." He flipped open a box she had no idea he'd had in his hand. Inside sat the most stunning diamond she'd ever seen. It wasn't huge but the fire in it, even in this soft lighting, was spectacular. She swallowed hard.
"Jonah, you don't..."
"Do relationships? Guess that's not true anymore. Delia, I need to hear you say yes, sweetheart. I need you with me like I need my next breath. I know I'm older than you but let's face it, I've had a prolonged childhood and you are way more than some boy your age could handle."
"Jonah, you know I'm only wild with you. In everything else I'm... really kind of methodical."
He threw his head back and laughed hard. "Sweetheart, I'm counting on that!"
She yanked on his jacket to bring him down to her level and did the wildest thing she had ever done. "Yes," she whispered before she launched herself into his arms.
His Deception
Lovers and Other Strangers Book Three
Allyn Bellows was the picture of responsible respectability and worried he was growing old long before his time. The only woman he loves is the one woman he can never have.
Marie-Hélène Girard was the merry trickster of the family but she has kept a secret in her heart for far too long.
It all starts with a little deception, but the question is, who is deceived more.
Prologue
"Au secours! Aidez-moi! Merde!"
"Your mother would not be happy with your language, La Reine."
"Allain! Allain! Aidez-moi! S'il vous plaît!
"This is not one of your tricks is it?"
"Non, I climb too 'igh. Allain, I am scared!" He could hear the fear in her voice. The little pest had gotten herself up a tree, literally. He was a 24 year old man, spending the summer in the South of France and instead of chasing after women his age he had spent the better part of it extricating Violet's youngest tomboy cousin from one scrape after another. If he wasn't rescuing her he was trying to avoid her little tricks and traps.
"Je suis venue, I am coming up. So now you understand how the kitten feels."
"Allain, Dépêchez-vous! 'urry please." The poor thing must be scared if she resorted to saying please. Allyn started climbing, luckily she had chosen a tree with lots of thick branches. Maybe if he teased her while he climbed it would distract her from being so scared.
"Marie-Hélène, I will rescue you if you can say my name correctly." He was about half way to her already so it wouldn't take much of a distraction.
"Merde! You say your name wrong!"
"No, remember I am English not French. My mother named me after her father and he was called Allyn, A, L, L, Y, N, admittedly an odd spelling but I quite like it. Go ahead, say it."
"Non."
"Then maybe I will climb back down without you?" He was right across from her now.
"Non!, Oh, please don't leave me 'ere!" She nearly jumped into his arms but he had braced himself so he would be able to grab her anyway. She clutched at him as if her life depended on it. When he put one of his arms around her she started to sob.
"I wouldn't ever leave you pest. Ne pleure pas, sweet, don't cry." He managed to shift his weight so that he could sit on a branch and wrap both ar
ms around her to calm her. He stroked her hair and back as she cried herself out. He held her for a long while, soothing her. "Why did you climb so high?" She hiccuped a few times as her sobbing finally subsided. She glanced up at him and then ducked her head to hide behind her hair. He pushed it out of her face and tilted her chin up to him. Her eyes were rimmed with red from her crying but that didn't diminish their beauty. It always took him by surprise. His personal little pest had the eyes of an angel, not a fairytale version but more like those painted by the old masters, fierce, powerful, and knowing. They were like a forest canopy dotted with sunlight. "Hmm? You are almost twelve years old, you are too big to do things like this anymore." He wasn't really scolding her, nor did he expect that anything he said would stop his little demon from any of her antics.
"I was trying to see..." She chewed on her lower lip trying to figure out how much to say.
"Come on spit it out. What did you want to see?"
"I wanted to see if you kissed her." She ducked her head again and he started laughing.
"See if I kissed who?"
"Madame Ricard. Violet said you were going over to 'ave dejeuner avec elle."
"Yes, I had lunch with Madame Ricard but no, I did not kiss her. She is a little old for me, non?" The woman was probably thirty but already a widow with two children. Of course he was twenty-four and his fourteen year old sister's guardian so dating was an odd thing for him. Women that would accept Violet as part of their lives seemed too old for him and women his age certainly didn't want to start off with a teenager in the house.
"Oui, much too old and mean aussi, even if she is very pretty."
"Hmm, mean huh? So you thought to climb up here to spy on me and keep me from kissing her? How would you have stopped me if I had?"
"I would 'ave screamed."
"I only found you because you were screaming. I certainly never would have heard you all the way down there."
"It was not a very good plan, I think." She looked more embarrassed to have concocted a bad plan than she did to get caught spying on him. She glanced up at him again with a big smile on her face. "You don't have to kiss Madame Ricard. I could be your wife." He choked on his laughter but managed to get himself under control quickly.
