“Make no mistake, Dee. I want you. Am I surprised by how much? Damn straight.”
Dee gave him points for honesty.
“About today. The emails are real. My team does think we need to determine if the sender is harmless, or…”
“Kathy Bates in Misery crazy?”
“Well, hell. You conjure quite an image.” A shudder traveled across Linc’s shoulders.
“Doesn’t help to sugarcoat potential danger,” Dee pointed out.
“Mm.” He didn’t look convinced. “Truth is, I do need an investigator. You are the only one I know. However, I did have an ulterior motive.”
“To come across as a jackass?”
“The jackass part was a bonus,” he chuckled.
When Linc laughed at himself, Dee almost caved—she was only human. Holding strong, she waited for him to finish.
“I thought if we had a chance to get to know each other, you might soften toward me.”
“You bent the situation to your advantage?”
“Bent is a harsh word.” Linc’s lips quirked into a half smile. “But close enough. I apologize.”
Linc had a sense of humor about himself and could admit when he made a mistake? Dee wanted to take him right there on his big, sturdy desk. Rather than get ahead of herself—no matter how tempting—she tamped down the impulse.
“Once you hire me, sex is a no-no.”
“I admire your ethics,” Linc said.
Dee expected him to argue, or at least appear disappointed. Then, the blue of his eyes intensified as his gaze seemed to reach down to her very center. She didn’t need an interpreter to know where his mind had wandered.
“I could fire you.”
“You could,” Dee agreed. “But don’t you want the best?”
“Always.” Linc’s voice took on a gravelly quality. He leaned toward her, reducing the gap between them to mere inches. “You haven’t signed the contract. Gives us a window of opportunity.”
Dee’s blood raced as the beats of her heart seemed to say, yes, yes, yes. She wanted him. Now. However, enough of her ingrained caution remained to keep her rooted in her chair.
“We might be lousy together.”
Though Dee didn’t believe her words for a second. Neither did Linc.
“Only one way to find out.”
“Without hiccups, the job shouldn’t take long.” Long enough for Dee to catch her breath.
“How long?”
Linc placed his hands on the arms of the chair. Dee could slip out of his trap at any time. But did she want to?
“The final report will be done by Wednesday. Thursday at the latest.”
“I’ll be at a tennis exhibition in Dubai for the next two weeks.”
Was she relieved or disappointed? A little of both, Dee decided.
“I’ll be here when you get back.”
“You could come with me.” Linc didn’t touch, but he was close enough for the warmth of his breath to lightly caress her cheek. “I could be in danger, after all. Wouldn’t hurt to bring my own private investigator along for protection.”
“A bodyguard isn’t a bad idea.” Dee knew of several she trusted to keep Linc safe. “I’ll send you a list of candidates.”
“Not you?” He breathed in her scent. “Come as my guest.”
Before now, if a man sniffed her, she would have kicked his creepy ass. Seemed, at least where Linc was concerned, she was willing to make an exception. He turned what should have been weird and awkward into an erotic experience.
No wonder Dee had to catch herself before she said yes.
“Can’t.” She had to struggle not to sigh with regret.
“Can’t, or won’t?”
“Both. I have a business to run, remember? Clients pay me for results, not to run off and watch you play.”
“Guess we’ll have to wait until we can test our sexual chemistry.”
The regret and need in Linc’s eyes tugged at an answering chord inside Dee. They needed something to tide them over. A preview of things to come.
“What about a kiss?” she asked before he could straighten.
Linc stayed right where he was.
“Go on,” he prompted.
“I think we should try. As an experiment in compatibility. Unless you’re married to the whole first kiss at midnight idea.” Dee referenced their New Year’s Eve exchange.
“Nothing was written in stone.” Linc’s gaze dropped to her lips. “I’ve spent hours wondering about the way you taste.”
“Nothing special,” Dee assured him.
“Let me be the judge.”
Holding her breath, Dee waited. To her, a kiss was a wild and needy prelude, not the main event. She quickly discovered Linc had other ideas.
“What are you doing?” she asked when he brushed his lips across one cheek, then the other, lingering on the bruise she carefully concealed with makeup.
Linc held his body away from hers. Only his lips made contact as he kissed her on the forehead, each temple, and one just below her ear.
“I want you to think of me when you’re alone,” he whispered. “Remember me. Need me. Crave me.”
As Dee’s nails dug into the chair, her fingers brushed Linc’s hands. She felt the tension in his body, how tightly he gripped the leather. Without conscious thought, her head fell back, baring her neck.
“Sweet,” Linc rasped, savoring her tender skin with a heated swipe of his tongue.
Dee gasped, her lips parting. A second later, Linc’s mouth covered hers, and the world stopped. Nothing existed but the two of them, nothing mattered but their first, heart-stopping, soul-wrenching kiss.
Linc took his time, yet nothing about the touch of his lips was tentative. If he wanted to give her a memory she would never forget, mission accomplished.
On and on, the kiss deepened to a new, uncharted level. Linc took, at the same time, he gave back a hundred times over.
She wanted more, so much more. But now wasn’t the time to get greedy. If all she could have was a never-ending kiss, Linc’s kiss, she wouldn’t complain.
“Coffee, honey, and…” Linc kissed her again. “Peppermint.”
“What?” Reluctantly, her eyes fluttered open. She was rewarded with the sight of Linc’s impossibly blue eyes.
“How you taste.” With the tip of his tongue, he traced her lower lip. “Better than I imagined.”
“Your coffee and some toothpaste,” she chuckled. “You imagined the honey.”
“Nope,” Linc shook his head. “I’m right.”
For the first time, Linc raised his hand. Gently, he smoothed the hair from her brow before helping her from the chair.
“Let me drive you home.”
Dee shook her head.
“Traffic’s a bear this time of day.”
“I could insist.”
“You could,” Dee agreed. “If you want to piss me off.”
“And harsh my mellow? Not on your life.” Linc picked up her coat. A look of surprise flitted across his face. “Heavy.”
“Even the lightest gun carries some heft,” she informed him.
“Seems your pocket isn’t the safest place to carry a loaded weapon.”
“Only when absolutely necessary.” Dee opened the left side of the coat. “Andi designed a built-in holster.”
Linc examined the reinforced pocket sewn cleverly into the silk lining.
“The woman’s a genius.”
Dee wouldn’t argue. Andi Benedict had a generous heart. Plus, she loved a challenge. After a few misses, her final design turned out fashionable as well as functional.
“Well, goodbye.” Why did she suddenly feel awkward? “Have a good trip.”
As if Linc could sense how she felt, he slowly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Dee wasn’t the touchy-feely type. However, once she relaxed, she allowed herself to sink into the embrace.
Their fir
st kiss followed by their first hug. Next time Dee and Linc met, who could tell what firsts they might enjoy?
“Be safe.” Linc’s arms tightened before he let her go. “And, Dee?”
“Yes?”
“Cashmere and silk, or denim and leather, both suit you. You’re beautiful, whatever you wear. Inside and out.”
CHAPTER NINE
~~~~
“LINC THINKS YOU’RE beautiful, inside and out?” Bryce sighed. “So romantic.”
“Romance?” Dee scoffed as she frowned into her wine. “Give me good old-fashioned lust any day.”
“Who said you can’t have both wrapped up in one gorgeous package?” Calder popped a cheese-covered cracker into her mouth. “Never deny yourself something yummy.”
As she contemplated Calder’s advice, Dee took a drink from her glass of crisp Chablis. They sat in Andi’s office, drinking, eating, and talking. The Benedict sisters had changed her life in so many ways. Girls night was one of them.
Sometimes they went to a club, dancing until the doors closed behind them. Other times, they took in a Broadway show or settled on a quiet dinner out. Tonight, except for Destry who, with her man, was off on one of her adventures, they were circled around a table in Andi’s home office.
The topic, unfortunately, had settled on Dee. Her fault. The sisters were her friends, and she needed some simple advice. How could she forget? Where the Benedict family was concerned, nothing was simple.
“I’m too cynical for hearts and flowers,” Dee insisted. “All I want is—”
“Linc?” Bryce asked.
“Sex,” Dee corrected. “Despite what you think, I’m certain Linc feels the same.”
“How can such a smart woman not see what’s right in front of her face?” Bryce shook her head, amazement in her voice and bright gray eyes. “Lincoln James is pitching woo right at you, soft and sweet, right down the middle of the plate.”
Dee burst out laughing and felt better. She needed an outlet for her roiling emotions, and Bryce’s unique ability to turn a phrase was just the ticket.
“The last time anyone pitched woo,” she told her friend, “women wore bustles and high-button shoes.”
“Don’t forget the whalebone corsets,” Calder added. “Bad for the women and the whales.”
“Exactly.” Dee topped off her wine from the open bottle. “Even if Linc knew the definition of wooing—and what twentieth-century man does—he wouldn’t be interested. Not with me.”
“Because…?” Bryce asked with a raised brow.
“I admit, he’s interested in something fun and fast. As am I. Long term, we wouldn’t suit.”
“My instincts say you’re wrong.” Bryce held up a hand when Dee would have argued. “Time will tell. For now, what’s the latest on Linc’s creepy emailer?”
“I gave Noah the information. The rest is up to him.”
Andi’s fiancé was a computer genius. His specialty was security, but since he moved back to New York, he’d become Dee’s go-to technical wizard.
"I left Noah hunched over his laptop. He took a short break to wash my back.” Anyone who looked at Andi’s glowing face knew more than soap and water passed between the lovers. “When I left, he was hard at work again.”
“We spoke when I arrived,” Dee said. “Noah’s close. If you keep your hands off him for five minutes, he might finish tonight.”
“Noah’s the handsy one.” Andi’s lips twitched. “To be fair, I may have tempted him, just a little.”
“Just a little is all he needs to rise to the occasion,” Calder snickered at her own joke.
“Thanks to the four of you and your men, the Benedict mansion has become a house of sex,” Dee teased. “Lord knows how you get anything done.”
“Multitasking and excellent time management,” Bryce said with a straight face, but a lively twinkle lit her silver gaze. “The woman behind the emails—”
“Or man,” Calder chimed in.
“Do you think she, or he,” Bryce injected before her twin could interrupt, “might be a real danger to Linc?”
Dee spent the last four nights tossing and turning as she asked herself the same question. Mush-brained from Linc’s kiss, the possible implications of the situation hadn’t sunk in until much later when she was alone and regained the ability to think straight.
Kicking herself for dropping the ball, she compiled a list of top-flight bodyguards plus precautionary measures his team should take. Along with the work contract, Dee sent the information to Linc’s manager.
“You’re worried about him.” Bryce lay a sympathetic hand on hers.
“I’d be less concerned if the hardheaded jerk took my advice,” Dee grumbled. “His coach emailed some follow-up questions. Claims Linc blew off the idea of extra protection.”
“Let me guess.” Calder handed Dee a plate filled with tiny crustless chicken sandwiches. “You didn’t call Linc.”
“What would be the point? Linc likes to text. Probably never answers his phone.”
“Bet he would for you. You should—”
“Bryce. Stop badgering Dee and get up here.” Hands on hips, Andi waited in the makeshift fitting area. “The silver lace is a one-of-a-kind work of art. I won’t cut out the pattern until I know my measurements are precise down to the last centimeter.”
“Nag, nag, nag. And, I don’t badger, I suggest, with love,” Bryce argued. However, she followed her sister’s orders without hesitation.
“No, you don’t,” Andi warned when Bryce reached for an apple. “Dribble one drop of juice on your future wedding dress, and I will have your ass in a sling.”
“Take a chill pill,” Bryce grumbled. Empty handed, she joined her sister. “I’m hungry.”
“You and your bottomless pit of a stomach can survive for five minutes.”
Andi referenced Bryce’s infamous never-ending appetite. Somehow, she could, and did, eat anything, and never gained an ounce.
Happy to have someone else the center of attention, Dee watched as Andi measured Bryce’s curvy figure. The lace was handmade by a Parisian woman who lived as a virtual recluse.
An artisan of the highest order, the old lady was selective about who owned her masterpieces. After a momentous meeting, Andi walked away with four precious lengths of cloth in four different colors. One specially selected for each sister.
“What about Destry’s lace?”
Though the youngest Benedict sister was forever committed to the love of her life, she didn’t plan to marry—ever. She and Liam were in perfect accord on the subject. They didn’t need a piece of paper to be blissfully happy with their life of excitement and adventure.
“Someday, Destry wants children.” Andi jotted down Bryce’s measurements. “If she has a daughter, the lace will go to her.”
“Passed down like a family heirloom.” To Dee, the solution made perfect sense.
“Done.” Andi gave her sister a hug. “The dress will be perfect.”
“Sure,” Bryce sighed. “If I don’t balloon up between now and the first week of April.”
“Exactly why I changed the style from fitted to an Empire silhouette.”
Dee was surprised by the exchange.
“Since when do you worry about your weight?” she asked. “April? I didn’t think you were in a hurry to get married.”
“Well…” Bryce exchanged glances with Calder, then Andi. “We weren’t sure how to tell you.”
“Are you ill?” The idea was ludicrous. Bryce never suffered so much as a case of the sniffles.
“Healthy as the proverbial horse. As for the April wedding.” Bryce’s hands moved to her stomach. “Seems I’m more traditional than I realized.”
“You’re pregnant?” Dee was shocked, though she couldn’t say why. Bryce and Zach were young, in love, and acted accordingly. “Were you trying?”
“No. Accidents happen to even the most diligent birth control users. But we cou
ldn’t be happier.”
“When are you due?”
“August. Zach doesn’t care about a big wedding. Neither do I. We decided to have a simple ceremony here. Fingers crossed, on the first day of the month, spring flowers will be in bloom. If not, we’ll truck in a whole nursery’s worth to make up the difference.”
“An April Fool’s Day ceremony,” Calder smirked.
“Zach makes movies. I write psychological thrillers. Plus, we have a baby on the way. Only makes sense for our wedding to be out of the ordinary.”
Bryce was radiant, proof the expectant mother glow was more than a myth.
“Did you think I wouldn’t be happy for you?” Dee asked.
“Of course not. But…” Bryce took a shaky breath. “I didn’t know how you would feel.”
“What happened, happened.” Dee sent Bryce a small but genuine smile. “Besides, babies were never high on my list of priorities.”
“Every woman should have the choice.” Anger filled Calder’s dark eyes. “Yours was taken from you.”
“I’m still standing.” Dee’s ultimate victory. “The world can be a crappy place. We need all the good news we can get. Believe me, I can’t wait to hold your bundle of joy for the first time and many times to come. Are we clear?”
“As crystal.”
Bryce laughed when Calder tossed her an apple. Beaming, she took a bite and, as Andi predicted, juice ran down her chin, staining her blouse.
Dee sipped her wine, willing away the sudden, unexpected twinge of regret. While she enjoyed other people’s children, she didn’t long for one of her own. Still, now and then, she let herself wonder what might have been.
As the four of them settled in, chatting about nothing and everything, a question popped into Dee’s head.
“What if the baby’s a boy?”
“He’ll be one rich little man,” Bryce said with a philosophical shrug.
Each female child born into the Benedict clan received a very generous trust fund when she turned thirty. Financially, they were set for life.
By the terms of their grandfather Thomas Benedict’s will, they could live in the Park Avenue mansion forever. However, thanks to good-old Gramps, only a male heir could inherit the house and the bulk of the family fortune
SIX DAYS Page 10
