by Jo Leigh
She stuck the key in the ignition and the Lamborghini’s powerful engine rumbled to life. The leather seats wrapped around her. She reached over and snapped on the radio. Classical music poured from the stereo speakers. Mozart, she recognized. One of his more gallopy tunes.
“It’s a manual,” Liam said. “Six-speed. You know how to handle a stick?”
She lowered her lashes, slanted him a surreptitious look. “I know my way around a gearshift.”
A whiskey-laced smile languidly curled his lips. “What about a five-hundred-horsepower, ten-cylinder big block engine? Know how to handle one of those?”
“You tell me after the ride.”
“You know these babies go from zero to sixty in four seconds.”
Katie licked her lips. “That’s a lot of thrust.”
“It is.”
“Impressive,” she said. “But there is something to be said for a more leisurely ascent.”
“Top speed is a hundred-and-ninety-two miles an hour.” She could hear the smile in his tone.
“You’ve been holding out on me, James.”
“How’s that?”
“Pretending that you’re staid Mister Workaholic without an adventuresome bone in his body, but then you’re driving a work of art like this.” She patted the leather dashboard. “There’s danger lurking in your soul. You’ve been covering it up.”
“You think so?”
“I know so, and I intend on rocking your world.”
“You already have,” he said. “So don’t rock my car.”
She laughed and put the Lamborghini in Drive. Her nipples tightened, part excitement, part fear. She was glad he could only see her profile, glad the night was dark. But even as she told herself this, she couldn’t help turning her head for a better look at him.
His shoulders were angled toward her, his gaze beaded on her. The glow from the dashboard light threw shadows over his angular jaw. His scent heightened her awareness. Expensive whiskey, combined with woodsy cologne and the rich smell of leather. Her father used to have a similar fragrance-manly, grounded, trustworthy.
Liam was looking at her with a kind of wonder.
In the dimness, his face appeared craggier, more rugged than in light. His thick dark hair stood up slightly in the back, an errant lock refusing to stay down. The look in his eyes changed. And along with it the intensity of the tugging sensation in her belly increased. There was a flicker of something golden in his eyes, something wild and unexpected.
The form of his lips changed, his posture, the slant of his eyebrows. He was someone else entirely. Bachelor of the year no more, this man was darker. He’d seen things, dark things. She thought of his childhood brush with street gangs and her heart tweaked.
Katie was thankful for the console that kept their thighs from touching. Otherwise, she doubted she could have kept all four tires on the road.
Her fingers gripped the smooth ball of the gearshift head and slipped it into the next gear as they left the driveway and merged onto the street.
LIAM SAT beside Katie, his pulse pumping faster than the Lamborghini’s heated pistons. He didn’t like being in the passenger seat at the mercy of her driving skills, out of control of his own vehicle. He wished he could edge her aside and slip behind the wheel, but she was right. He’d had too much to drink and his reaction time wasn’t what it should be.
Neither were his cognitive skills, because he found himself thinking thoughts that were better left suppressed. Enticing, dangerous thoughts about what it would feel like to ride in the car beside her every day for the rest of his life.
“You wanna see how I handle big boys’ toys?” She challenged and, without waiting for his reply, hit the freeway doing seventy.
She tossed her head like a high-spirited filly. Her hair fell forward, the tips of the light blond strands grazing the top of her cleavage. She reached up to slide a lock of hair behind one pearl-studded ear.
Liam felt the rhythm of her movements rush straight through his stomach and into his groin. Something about the way she handled the quivering thrust of his V10 engine inflamed him. She was like a luxury sports car herself, with fine rounded curves and bosoms protruding like headlights.
Enveloped in their cocoon of precision machinery, she rushed him through time and space. Speed, wrapped inextricably with sexual need, gushed through his brain, his limbs and his entire body. She was fast and adventuresome and exciting. And he worshipped her in an orgy of pure velocity.
Liam was so busy filling up with testosterone that her next comment took him by surprise.
“You want to tell me what happened back there with the mayor?” Katie asked. “Or are you just going to let me believe you’re a total horse’s ass?”
“You picked up on that?”
Katie grinned. “Give me some credit, will you? A blind woman could have picked up on your animosity toward Delancy. Thing is, I get the distinct impression he has no idea that you hate him.”
“You’re very perceptive.”
“Don’t sound so amazed. Just because I like to keep to the lighter side of things doesn’t mean I’m clueless.”
“I never said you were clueless.”
“You thought it.”
“Never. Impetuous yes, clueless never,” he admitted.
“I also noticed that you didn’t answer my question,” she prodded.
“Which question was that?”
“Why do you hate Finn Delancy?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Guyspeak for you don’t want to talk about it.”
“Yeah.”
“Why not?”
“Why not what?”
She cocked her head and gave him a piercing glance before returning her attention to the road. “Why don’t you want to talk about it?”
“Because it’s none of your business.”
“It might not be any of my business, but you certainly look like you need to talk about it.”
“I don’t need to talk about it.”
“How long have you kept this-” she waved a hand “-complicated thing bottled up?”
“All my life,” he said, and then immediately regretted it.
“You’ve got a dark secret.”
“Not really. Just something I’m not particularly proud of.”
“You might feel better if you got it off your chest,” she ventured.
“I seriously doubt it.”
“The thing about secrets is,” she went on, ignoring his denial that he had a secret, “once you tell someone about them, they no longer hold any power over your life.”
“I don’t have any secrets. In fact,” he said, “I hate secrets and dishonest people.”
“So is Delancy the dishonest person with the secret?” she guessed. “Do you have something on him?”
“Sort of.”
“And you don’t approve of him.”
“I hate him.”
“If you dislike the man so much, how come you accepted his dinner invitation? How come you agreed to introduce him at the Habitat for Humanity event?”
“Can we not talk about Delancy?”
“Okay.” She surprised him by suddenly letting go of the conversation.
Silence fell. All they could hear were engine sounds and road noises.
From the time his mother had told him his father’s identity when he was sixteen, Liam had plotted and schemed and planned for his success. He’d studied hard in school, played every sport Fernwood Academy offered and did lots of volunteer work. He got straight A’s and won a merit scholarship to Harvard. He cut clippings of his achievements and made scrapbooks. He’d graduated cum laude from Harvard Business School, all the while buying run-down houses in South Boston and restoring them for resale.
Because of his achievements, women were crazy for him. And other than his glorious mistake with Arianna, th
ere hadn’t been room in his life for romance. He’d had a few girlfriends, yes. But somehow he’d managed to always keep things casual. It was easier that way. Nobody got hurt.
The truth was, he secretly longed for a family of his own while at the same time he feared it. What did he know about being a good father? He’d certainly had no role models. And what if he couldn’t stop his workaholic pace? His work had always defined him. If he wasn’t driven to succeed, then who was he?
And Liam had been keeping his relationships superficial for so long, he realized he didn’t know how to take things deeper with a woman. He didn’t know how to let go of his work and enjoy his life, mainly, because real estate was his life.
Liam watched her downshift around a corner. She almost ran a red light, the yellow slipping to crimson just as she made it through the intersection.
“Yellow means slow down, not go faster,” he said.
“Not in a Lamborghini it doesn’t.” She grinned wickedly.
His heart chugged. “You’re one sexy woman, Katie Winfield.”
“Oh, don’t start. You’re drunk and I’m pissed off at you for not trusting me with your dark secret.”
“I’m not that drunk.” He reached over to lightly finger a strand of hair curling at her shoulder. “And you’re not that pissed off.”
“I am,” she asserted.
“What will it take to get you unpissed?”
“Tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours. What’s your beef with Finn Delancy?”
Liam cocked his head and studied her for a long moment. Confess. Maybe this was what he needed to do in order to take things to a new level with her. “You really want to hear the whole sordid story?”
She nodded. “I do.”
“Promise you won’t pity me?”
“I promise.”
He took a deep breath. “Pull over.”
“I’m not letting you behind the wheel.”
“I don’t want to drive, just find a place to pull over. I need to get out and walk.”
“Are you sick?”
“I’m not sick. I just…I’ve never told this story to anyone and I need to get out of the car, clear my head, make sure I want to do this.”
She obeyed his command, slowing down, driving through a residential neighborhood until she found a community park. She pulled into the vacant lot near some swings and parked beneath a maple tree near a streetlamp. She cut the engine and leaned back in the seat.
“Let’s walk,” he said.
They got out. The air was nippy, but not uncomfortably so. He headed for the jogging trail, Katie at his side. They walked for several minutes without speaking.
“I’m a bastard.” Liam found himself saying in a calm, unemotional voice.
Katie clicked her tongue in sympathy. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. So you had a little too much to drink and looked a bit sketchy in front of the mayor and his guests. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I’m a bastard. For real.” He laughed harshly. “Although some people might argue I’m the other kind of bastard, as well.”
“You’re saying your mother wasn’t married to your father when you were born?”
“That’s right.”
“Big deal.”
“Big deal?”
“I read something like thirty percent of children are born out of wedlock these days. No one cares.”
“Spoken like someone who grew up in a loving, nuclear family.”
“Hey, my life hasn’t been a bed of roses. My father was strict military and a prominent member of Boston society. You have no idea the expectations that entails. Plus, I’ve lost both my parents within the past five years. Everyone has their cross to bear, Liam.”
KATIE BURROWED deeper into her coat and scurried to keep up with his long-legged stride. Liam had increased the pace. In the distance a dog barked and a porch light went on. He was clearly ambivalent about this subject. “You don’t have to tell me any more about it, Liam. Forget it. I don’t want to be the cause of you having to have therapy.”
“No, no.” He stopped walking and made an about-face to stare at her. “I want to tell you.”
“So tell me. I’m listening.”
He heaved in a breath. “Okay, my mother came to Boston from Ireland when she was only seventeen. A friend got her a job working in a factory that made parts for sailing ships. The owner of the factory was a Beacon Hill Brahmin with eyes for my mother. She didn’t know he was married when they started dating. He wined her, dined her, treated her like royalty. Told her the kind of lies that make a young girl’s heart light up. Then when she found out she was pregnant with his child, he threw three hundred dollars at her and told her to get an abortion.”
“It must have been awful for your mom.”
Liam was breathing hard. He had his fists clenched. The muscles in his neck were bunched so tightly Katie could feel his anger. “Yeah.”
She touched his arm. “And for you, too.”
He didn’t say anything for so long that she finally prompted, “So what did your mother do after that?”
“There wasn’t anywhere she could stay. There was a home for unwed mothers in Boston, but you had to give your child up for adoption if you stayed there. She refused to give me up. I was all she had. She’d lost all her family in Ireland. That’s why she’d come to America.”
“How did she get through it?”
“She had two jobs, worked in a different factory at night, pressed clothes in a dry-cleaning shop by day. Hard, backbreaking work, but the owners of the dry cleaner’s allowed her to bring me to work with her after I was born. On weekends, she took classes and earned both her U.S. citizenship and her GED. She raised me all on her own without one penny of assistance from my so-called father.”
Katie’s heart hurt. For Liam, for his mother, for the struggles they must have endured. “I think I understand you,” she said.
He stared at her with his sharp, intelligent eyes. The look unsettled her. “Have I scared you off because I’m so damaged?”
Katie raised her chin. “Everyone’s damaged in one way or an other. Besides, I don’t scare easily.”
He nodded, but he shrugged as if he didn’t believe her. Suddenly, she didn’t believe what she’d said, either.
Every impulse in her body was urging her to kiss him, but she didn’t want him to misunderstand it. Hell, she didn’t want to misunderstand it. She felt something for this man. Something too powerful to take lightly. He could hurt her. She could hurt him. They could hurt each other very badly if they weren’t very careful.
“I haven’t told you the biggest secret yet.”
“I’m listening.”
“Finn Delancy?”
“Yes?”
“You want to know why I hate him?”
She nodded, but she already knew what he was going to say. He merely confirmed it.
“He’s the guy. He’s my father.”
Katie concentrated on his features. It explained a lot, and now that he mentioned it, she could see a bit of physical resemblance between the two men. “But he doesn’t know who you are.”
He gave a harsh laugh. “No.”
“You resent people born into wealth and prominence, don’t you?”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Not admirable, but it’s the truth.”
Once he admitted it, a bleakness fell over her. He was with her because of her pedigree, who she was. That’s why he’d invited her to the dinner party, in effect, flaunting her. Making this subliminal statement: Hey, look at me. I’m from the streets and I’ve nailed me a woman who can trace her family tree back to the Mayflower.
Wretchedly, she closed her eyes, then opened them again to find him focused on her.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re using me.”
“What?”
“Yo
u’re using me to get what has always been out of your reach, no matter how hard you’ve worked. I’m your entrée into Boston society. You made the money on your own, but you can’t buy a pedigree.”
“No,” he vehemently denied. “I’m not.”
She was feeling sick to her stomach. “Really? First you date Brooke and when there is no love connection between the two of you, then you come after me.” She turned and walked back to the Lamborghini, but he caught her by the arm and spun her around to face him.
“That’s unfair. You seduced me at the Ladies League Ball.”
“You expect me to believe my last name doesn’t have anything to do with why I’m here with you?”
“Okay,” he said. “Maybe Brooke’s heritage was the reason I was initially attracted to her, but the minute I met you, all bets were off. You…me-” He pointed from her to him and back again. “This thing between us has nothing to do with our social standing or our past.”
“I wish I could believe you,” she said, not knowing what to think, unable to decipher what she was feeling.
He tilted her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “I won’t ever lie to you, Katie. All I ask in return is that you never lie to me.”
“If I was dead broke and named Katie Smith, you’d still be here with me.”
“Damn straight.”
LIAM WAS ALARMED to think she could believe he was using her for his own gain. He had to show Katie how much she meant to him. He pulled her to him, slid his hands up the back of her neck to cup her head in his palms.
Her hair was a soft and silky slide beneath his fingers. And the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest sent his own breath reeling. A heated awareness pricked his skin. Their mental connection was undeniable. He’d never felt so conscious of anything in his life.
She looked at him, her eyes shining bright and eager in the glow of light from the overhead vapor lamp. She made him feel unique, and yet he had no right to feel that way. Katie was an adventurous woman, no doubt about it. From her mischievous grin, to her rakish smile, she appreciated sex.
