Ache For Me_Romantic Suspense

by Hayden Braeburn

  “No one is going to kill you, Lark.”

  “I can go with you,” Tiffany offered. “I don't have anything better to do, and it can be officially part of the investigation.” She smirked at the detective. “Right?”

  He gave her a shrug. “Why not?”

  Camryn focused on calming herself as Carter and Tiffany exchanged information about tomorrow's meeting. She'd come home when the drama in her life was bigger than the drama on stage, yet had found a shit ton more drama in her life and no stage in sight. Maybe Chris had been onto something when he told her to write a play. There was no way anyone would believe her life was anything but fiction.

  Chapter Ten

  “I want to take you somewhere to make you stop thinking,” Carter whispered in Camryn's ear when they were settled into his car. He couldn't stand the stricken look on her face when she'd realized the very real possibility Simon had murdered his own brother. Truthfully, he was certain the police had already had the man under surveillance. As much as he loved Cam, he knew she wasn't as worldly as she thought, and the idea that a nightclub was only a place to drink and watch live music was naive at best.

  “Where?” she asked, her voice small, breaking his heart.

  “A movie is just what you need. Musclebound heroes saving the universe.”

  She smiled. “A true nerd. C'mon, who's your all-time favorite hero?”

  “Captain America, who else?” he replied. “And don't even get me started on the stupid controversial 'twist' in the books. Cap is the moral compass of Marvel, he's not some terrorist,” he said with a little more vehemence than he should have over a fictional character.

  “You're not defending him in court, counselor,” she said with a laugh. “Onward to the theater, I'm ready to see some heroes.”

  The movie, while not featuring Captain America, was another in a long line of hits by the producing studio, mixing action, emotion, and humor in a way only they had perfected. With it, he accomplished exactly what he'd set out to do, and after a leisurely dinner, it was time to head home. “I want you to move in. Permanently.”

  She gave him a wide-eyed look. “Already?”

  “I want you with me, whether or not you're in danger.” He paused. “Someone keeps reminding me we've wasted a bunch of time, so I'd rather have a short engagement.” He stopped himself before he just asked her to head to the courthouse the next day. “Maybe not Mason and Kat short, but short.”

  “I'm good with that,” she answered. “I'm not okay with you planning a surprise wedding anyway. Mason is the one man on the planet who could pull that off.”

  He agreed. Mason had done everything ass backward with his relationship with Katerina Nemecek, yet had managed to marry her and remain blissfully happy. He wanted that with Cam, and he knew it was within their grasp. “No surprise weddings, I promise.”

  She flashed a grin. “I like when you give me promises.”

  “You have forever to ask for them.” He kissed her softly. “Now, are we going inside or are we staying in the garage all night?”

  “I have always wanted to have sex in a car,” she said with a wink.

  “Have you now?”

  She moved to straddle him as best she could. “Think you might be able to help me?”

  ~*~

  “Believe it or not, I've never had sex in a car either,” he answered before capturing her lips in a kiss, causing her to wiggle in his lap. Her leg was bent at a weird angle against the door, but she was determined to see this through. They were steps from the house, inside the garage, but the illicit thought of frantic fucking in a car made her hot.

  She ground against him again. Glad she'd worn a dress, she snaked her hands between them to unbuckle and unfasten his pants, finding him hard and ready for her. “Fast and dirty,” she told him when she pushed her panties aside and slid down his shaft.

  “Good lord, woman,” Carter swore on an exhale. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Love me forever, and fuck me right now?” she teased. Riding him as best she could, she joined their mouths again, sure she was leaving finger sized bruises on his shoulders from her grip.

  He reached down to slide the seat back as far as it would go, giving them a little more room. “That I can do,” he promised, the pressure from his hands on her hips increasing at nearly the same rate the pressure in her core was tightening. She bore down on him and sped up, forcing an explosive climax from them both.

  She laid her head on his shoulder as she waited for her breathing to calm. Suddenly self-conscious, she squeezed her eyes shut. “Um...” she couldn't continue because she had no idea what she was going to say.

  “You can jump me anytime you want, Lark,” he promised with a soft kiss. “But I may need to stretch first next time,” he continued with a chuckle.

  “You better not be calling yourself old,” she chided.

  “Never.” He kissed her again. “Now, how do we extricate ourselves from this sticky situation?”

  She had to laugh. “Carefully.”

  ~*~

  The following morning, Cam woke warm and comfortable against Carter, but the ball of dread in her stomach was still there. Today they were meeting with the lawyer for Theo's estate and coming face to face with Simon. Until yesterday, she'd never thought he could be responsible for his brother's death. If he wanted the club and killed to get it, how would he react to her?

  “Everything will be okay,” Carter murmured in reply to her unspoken question.

  “You're going to have to teach me how you read minds one day,” she said. “Guess we have to get up. Might as well start your lessons anyway.”

  “Lessons?” he asked, voice stronger but full of gravel.

  She nodded against the pillow of his arm. “Coffee lessons. I'm going to need some jet fuel before this meeting.”

  “We'll start slow. Just grinding beans and brewing in the French press.”

  She bit back a laugh at his excitement. Her wonderful attorney was obsessed with coffee. “And I will like it?”

  “If you don't, you're allowed to add your cream and sugar.” He paused to roll out of the bed. “If you have to.”

  “What about vanilla?” she asked, partly from curiosity and partly to push his buttons.

  He made a great show of sighing, something that would have been funny if he hadn't been naked. “Lark.”

  “You'd better get dressed, or we won't be making coffee anytime soon,” she said, a grin on her face. It was a complete win-win.

  ~*~

  “This time we're using locally roasted beans grown in Costa Rica,” Carter explained as he measured them into the grinder. “We only need enough for one press full at a time,” he continued before turning the machine on. “And it needs to be a relatively coarse grind, so it blooms correctly.”

  “Coffee blooms?” she asked, her smile just short of a grin as she tried not to laugh.

  He shook his head, his exasperation evident. “Yes, Lark, we have to let it bloom, or it won't achieve its full flavor profile.”

  She couldn't help herself. “Its ‘full flavor profile’?” She laughed in earnest. “You might be too obsessed with this for me.”

  He dropped a kiss on her nose. “You like when I get obsessed.” He kissed her lips then, long and hungry. “It's worth it, I promise.”

  He didn't take his promises lightly, so she nipped at his jaw. “I'm with you, Carter.”

  After blooming, adding additional water, and finally steeping, he poured her a mug of dark coffee. She took an exploratory sip and immediately made a face. “It's still way too bitter for me, even when it's perfect.”

  “I love you anyway.” He made a show of sighing as he stuck out his hand. She gave him her mug, watching him load it up with four sugars and enough cream to turn the dark brew to a medium tan. “It pains me to do this,” he said as he slid the mug back into her hands, “but I love you enough to overlook this minor shortcoming.”

  “Do you now?” she asked afte
r taking a sip of her perfect melted ice cream concoction. “I'm sure you're not perfect, either, counselor.”

  “Really?” he asked, before bringing his unaltered coffee to his lips. “That wasn't what you said earlier.” He grinned over his mug and downed the rest of his perfect black coffee quickly. “Sadly, we have to get our asses to Massey's office, or I'd follow up that line of questioning with physical evidence.”

  She drank her coffee and ate a banana while she contemplated what was about to happen. She didn't know, of course, but if what Massey had said was true, she was about to find herself the owner of a club she was eighty percent sure she didn't want. The other twenty percent was playing with possibilities. She hadn't yet voiced any of those thoughts to Carter, keeping them to herself to avoid the inevitable argument. She slowly chewed her banana as she thought about turning the club into a cabaret or even a dinner theatre. The thought was a nice one, and if she were to keep Bleu, she'd be more likely to revamp the place than leave it as-is. She rinsed her mug and popped it in the dishwasher. No matter what happened today at the attorney's office, she was worried about Simon. What if he wasn't the loving brother she expected him to be, and how would he react to her ownership of the club?

  ~*~

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Simon stood up so fast his chair toppled over, reaction just as Carter had expected. “He's leaving her the club and all the money? All the fucking money?”

  “Please return to your seat, Mr. Richardson,” Ben Massey said, his voice calm, but his eyes hard. “Another outburst like that will send you out the door.”

  “You just told me my brother cut me out of his will.”

  “He felt Miss Everett would be better suited to the club. He thought she may even change the format, help it flourish.”

  “That's the line of bullshit he told you?” Simon spat. “That place was never a haven of culture.”

  Carter pulled Camryn closer to his body as the two men verbally sparred. The last thing he wanted to do was jump in the middle, and he was impressed with Benjamin Massey's level head in spite of the outbursts from the other man.

  “Am I allowed to sell it to Simon?” Cam asked from his side.

  “Not for the first two years,” Massey replied. “Mr. Richardson was explicit in that clause.”

  “So, I have to keep the club for two years, but I can do whatever I'd like with it in the meantime and after the two years are up?”

  “Yes.” He turned to address Simon again. “You were not cut out of the will entirely, Mr. Richardson. He did leave you his home and all his belongings.”

  “His house? I get his house, while a woman who is richer than God gets the club?”

  Carter had always wondered about that phrase. God had no need for money, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

  “You could contest the will, but we all know there was no coercion as Camryn had no idea this change was even possible,” Massey said.

  “Asshole had to get himself murdered after making a dumbass decision like this,” Simon muttered. “You all know I can't contest it, and even if I did, I would probably lose.”

  “Do I have to run the club?” Camryn asked. “I've never run a business before.”

  Simon snorted at that. “Of course, you haven't.”

  She shuddered slightly against him, but went on, “Simon, you were the business manager, were you not?”

  “You say was like I no longer have a job,” Simon's voice held a sharp edge and Carter braced himself for a fight.

  “The opposite, in fact,” Camryn replied, tone even. “I need your expertise. I would like to implement some changes, but I need you by my side. I'm sure we can work out an increase in compensation as well.”

  It was obvious the man wanted to grumble but chose to grimace instead. “I've got nowhere else to go.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I ain't doing it for you, chickie.”

  No kidding. “You keep your end of the bargain, and she'll keep hers,” Carter found himself saying. “She didn't ask for this any more than you did.”

  “Carter.”

  “I know she didn't, and that's why I’m not pissed at her. She's a pretty thing with a nice set of pipes, but what does she know about making money? Her daddy made it all.” He turned his dark gaze to Camryn. “No offense, sweetheart.”

  She rolled her eyes. “How could I possibly take offense to that?” she asked, her voice dripping with sweetness. “There's just no way I could have supported myself in Manhattan for years on just my actor's wages, leaving my trust fund to gather compound interest in the bank. Nor could I have taken any business courses while obtaining a BFA, right?”

  He gave her an oily smile, his gaze raking over her and making Carter want to deck him. “You're a seriously gorgeous girl, Miss Everett, but you're still a girl.”

  She opened her mouth, but Massey cut her off before she could rip into the older man. “Enough. It appears you two have worked out your differences, at least in regard to ownership and management, and I have another appointment in a few minutes. Please feel free to call or email if there are questions, but I don't expect many.”

  He shouldn't. The will was very straight-forward, and Camryn's ownership was clear. The management side less so, but she'd never turn Simon out on his ear, no matter his misogynist views. She was too softhearted to cut him loose, and if she ever did, it would be with a hefty severance package. He made a mental note to have her talk to the firm's HR specialist later in the week. With a club full of employees, she would need all the help she could get. He mentally sighed. He foresaw a lot of late nights in his future.

  ~*~

  “Are you certain?” he asked the following day.

  “It's what I want,” she replied, hazel eyes flashing. “I think we can make a go of dinner theatre here in Tyler and Aylesford, at least a few times a month.” She tapped a rhythm on her thigh before continuing, “If I own the place, I need to own the place.”

  He couldn't disagree, but the churning in his stomach wasn't listening. There was the possibility Simon had killed Theo for the very club she was talking about owning. “A man was murdered there, Lark.”

  “I am very aware.” Hair flying behind her, she strode across the room, stopping less than a foot away. She peered up into his face, the perfection of her nearly blinding him for a second. “I have to try. I can't run away every time it gets hard.”

  “You don't—”

  She cut him off. “Yes, I do. I ran from you when I was eighteen, I ran from New York a few months ago. I'm not running away from this club, no matter that I didn't ask for it.”

  He wanted to reiterate that she hadn't run away from him but chose to bite his tongue. They'd be having the same argument for the rest of their lives, and while he wasn't looking forward to that, he was adept at choosing his battles. “We're calling Dylan, and we're getting top of the line personnel, equipment, whatever you need.” He cupped her jaw with his right hand, stroked his thumb over her cheekbone. “I'm helping you however I can.” He kissed her then, savoring her sweet taste, and had to stop himself before getting lost in her. “And you're going to let me.”

  She nipped at his lip. “I love you, Carter.”

  “I love you too, Lark, but that's not the agreement I was looking for.”

  She grinned. “You can help.”

  “Promise?”

  “Absolutely. But first,” she slid her arms around his neck, bringing her body flush with his, “I want to stop thinking and just feel.” She pulled his mouth to hers, plying his lips open with her tongue to tease him, and although the discussion was far from finished, he let her take over.

  She dropped to her knees, a wicked smile on her face. “How's this for feeling?” she asked as she released him from his slacks, taking him deep into her mouth. Swirling her tongue around the tip like he was a frozen treat, she pulled a groan from the back of his throat at the same time she swallowed him down her own. He pulled his cock free before he released in
her mouth. “I need to fuck you, Lark.” His voice didn't sound like his, but she didn't care, gracefully bending over the back of the nearest chair. It took him no time at all to flip her skirt over her ass, move her panties and thrust into her. God, she was perfection. Their joining was frenetic but full of love. She said she didn't want to think, and had wiped his ability to think as soon as she'd kneeled at his feet.

  Much later, he was on the phone with his office. He'd given explicit directions but was forced to go in to handle a client who was determined to stage a sit-in until he showed up to review her case. He didn't want to leave Camryn but had little choice. After making her promise to stay put with the alarm set on home mode, he made his way to his office and the biggest mess of his career.

  ~*~

  Not fifteen minutes after Carter left, a frantic email came through on Cam's phone since her texts and calls had gone unanswered. Tabi had an audition at Shenandoah Conservatory in a few weeks and was freaking out about the opportunity for a scholarship and looking forward to working stock. She had another year before she graduated, but this wasn't uncommon with music and theatre departments, especially with scholarships on the line. Camryn let out a sigh. After her amazing afternoon with Carter, she wasn't looking forward to a high-strung teen, but she'd promised to help. Justifying herself with the fact she was headed straight to Dance With Me, she sent a quick text to Carter to let him know where she'd be before jumping in her little Saab and heading toward Tyler.

  Kat was teaching a private class when she arrived, so she hurried into the office her sister-in-law had set aside for her once she'd agreed to teach tap and jazz classes. She laughed. Not long ago she'd been lamenting about not having a job or something to keep her busy, and now she'd promised to teach dance classes, do one-on-one coaching with a student, and try to change the nightclub she now owned into a dinner theatre. She forced herself to breathe despite her rapidly beating heart. Had she bitten off more than she could chew? She pulled in a deep breath, blew it out and repeated the action three times. She could do anything, and Carter would help. Right? Her panic attack was halted by knocking on her door.