by Ellen March
“No, bet you weren’t sleeping, because you were too busy fucking!” she screamed.
“I wasn’t. Will you listen …?”
A twirling coil roared in the base of her stomach and she fought down the nausea. Savannah turned on him. “I’ll never listen to another word that comes out of your lying mouth. Now get out. Go! I want you out of my sight.”
Micah crossed to her and reached for her hand, linking his fingers briefly with hers, but she snatched them away. “Don’t you dare touch me!” she yelled.
Micah swallowed, terrified that he was losing her. “Anna, please let me explain.”
“What, more lies?”
“I love you!” he yelled. Not quite how he’d intended telling her. Carefully he gauged her reaction. “I love you, Anna,” he repeated quietly.
Rio raised a shocked brow, unashamedly watching the scene. And he thought he had woman trouble ….
Savannah stared at Micah. How she’d longed to hear those words! Then, slowly, she shook her head. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not, Anna. You’ve got to believe me, to trust me.”
She gave a short, sharp laugh. “Never again will I believe a single word you say. Now get the hell away and stay out of my life.”
“Anna, I’m not leaving you.”
“Then I’ll take out an injunction and force you.” Her glare burned over him.
Micah didn’t know what to say. He knew she meant it, that he didn’t have a choice. “I’ll go for now, but I’ll be back.”
“Don’t bother. Take some other mug in, lie to them.”
Rio sucked in a breath at his friend’s devastation. With a short shake of his head he tactfully left the room. He didn’t want to witness anymore.
Micah stood, unsure, wanting her with an acute pain. He’d decimated anyone stupid enough to go up against him in business—took without asking—and now she had reduced him to a quivering wreck of fearful energy.
Savannah spun away from him. “Just get out and leave me alone. I never want to see you again.”
He paused and stared at her back. He raised an arm then dropped it before he turned around and left, his movements slow and dejected.
The door closed with a gentle click. Only then did the tears flood unchecked down Savannah’s cheeks.
Slowly she crumpled to the floor, curling into a ball of misery. Her chest heaved in racking sobs for her loss.
For the bastard she loved.
Chapter Nineteen
Savannah sat in the chair, staring out over the grounds. It had been over a month since Micah had saved her from Jack and Charu. She hadn’t seen him since.
To begin with, Micah had rung every day. She refused to answer, eventually smashing the mobile in a fit of temper. She still couldn’t come to grips with his deceit, especially his lies about helping out a pregnant sister.
It was ironic, because that was the state she found herself in. The test had confirmed it. She’d had her wish, keeping a part of him forever. As another tear silently traced a well-worn path down her cheek, she sighed heavily, wishing she didn’t love him so much. She remembered his words but couldn’t believe them.
It was all a lie. Even the last time they’d visited Cato, he’d continued with the deceit. Briefly she wondered where he’d actually gone that day, then dismissed the thought. It no longer mattered.
She checked the time. Cato would be arriving soon for his visit. She hoped he wouldn’t go on about Micah, because they were apparently keeping in contact. Freaking great. She refused to hear a word about him, had finally threatened to stop him from visiting if he spoke about him. Cato had reluctantly complied.
She thought back to the police interview and was thankful that Micah had given his statement the previous day. Jack and Charu were awaiting their court date for sentencing. Savannah had closed the club and put it up for sale. It held too many memories she couldn’t cope with.
Memories of Micah.
He was everywhere, and she missed him like hell.
Again, she pulled out the photos and the letters from Kitty. She’d read and re-read them again and again. The words gave her a sense of peace. Of knowing. It appeared her mother and Kitty had been friends since school. However, Kitty’s wanderlust had taken her away for several years. She’d only returned for good shortly before the accident that had claimed her parents.
Yet the communication between them had continued. Her mother’s letters, full of awe at Kitty’s revelations of life whilst travelling, made Savannah smile. Kitty had been ecstatic when asked to be godmother. It was during one of her periodic visits that she’d sworn her vow. Savannah swallowed down a lump of emotion and peered at one of several photos: Kitty beaming proudly at the camera as she held Savannah in a pink christening blanket with her name embroidered along with the date in silver thread.
Tears came to her eyes as she read letters from several people Kitty had contacted trying to find out where she was. God bless her, she’d tried. Savannah wished she’d have met the woman who appeared to have been wild and vivacious, with a zest for life—a life that had been taken too soon.
Savannah picked up the pink blanket, faded now but clearly saying her name. All this time, Kitty had kept it, along with a yellowed newspaper cutting of the details of her parents’ death.
Finally Kitty could rest in peace.
In the distance she spotted the flash of Cato’s red car trundling down the road. Rising, she sucked in a breath and ambled listlessly into the lobby, flinging open the door.
***
Cato pulled up and exited his car, turning his attention to his sister. Deciding she looked dreadful—even worse than usual—he gave her a short wave. “Hi, Sis, how are you keeping?” He closed his eyes when she started howling. Cato carried a couple of magazines with him. Today he’d have none of her nonsense. He was telling her some home truths.
Cato draped an arm around her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s put the kettle on and have a cuppa.”
Savannah’s mouth quivered with a hint of a smile and she leaned into him.
Sitting at the kitchen table brought back a memory of Slade and she shivered. Then an image of Micah and his absolute fury, his possessive need to take care of her came to mind. But it was all an act to get in her knickers. He was a liar—end of.
Cato noticed. “Cold?” he asked, tossing the bait on the table—a magazine with a picture of Micah on the front. He remembered his words: Micah didn’t do photos. He kept to himself. Yet this last week he’d been in every paper and magazine around. It was as if he was reminding Savannah what she’d thrown away.
Opening the cupboard, he spied her out of the corner of his eye, then did a double take. It was cluttered with row upon row of crisps and ginger biscuits. “What the hell’s going on?”
“It’s all I can eat,” she muttered. Her gaze had dropped to Micah’s face. She stared hungrily at it, feasting on every lush inch. He was leaning against a silver sports car. He looked hot and sexy, yet somehow sad. The glint was missing from his eyes. Plus, he’d lost weight.
Slowly she picked the magazine up, studying every part of him, every bit of skin that at some point she’d loved and kissed.
“What do you mean that’s all you can eat?”
“I keep throwing up.”
He slowly turned. “Why? You’re not ill, are you?”
“No, I’m pregnant.” She slapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to tell Cato yet.
The mug he held dropped to the tiled floor and shattered. “What?”
“I’m having Micah’s baby. I’m about five or six weeks along, I guess.” Her gaze remained hooked on his photo. “I caught a taxi to the chemist and bought a pregnancy testing kit.”
“Does Micah know?” Cato asked, although he already knew the answer.
“No, and it stays that way. Once I sell this place I’ll be solvent.” She picked another magazine up and flicked through the pages. Then she slammed it shut. In one photograph, a stunn
ing redhead was draped over him. “Bastard,” she swore aloud.
A mind-numbing fury rode her; he was hers. Or at least had been.
“Didn’t you use precautions?” Somehow he couldn’t see Micah taking risks.
“No, never, I said I was on the pill.”
He cricked a brow. “So you lied to him?”
“No, I embellished the truth—stretched it a bit. I was on the pill, sort of. I just kept forgetting to take it.”
“A bit?” he yelled. “That’s one hell of a stretch.” Cato slouched into the opposite chair. “But why didn’t you tell him that you’re an idiot when it comes to taking anything regularly?”
“Well, at the time we, er, got carried away. I knew he’d be leaving so I thought I’d keep something.”
“Anna, we’re talking about a baby, not a holiday souvenir.” He shook his head. “I really don’t believe you at times. How could you be so stupid?”
“Just shut the hell up,” she yelled back, placing her hands across her stomach. Already it was slightly swollen. She wasn’t sure if it was the baby or the amount of crap she’d been eating. Most likely the latter.
“Well, you’re going to have to tell him.”
“No way. That lying bastard pretended to have no money and a sister.”
“He was going to tell you.”
She turned, looking at him suspiciously. “And how would you know?”
“Because he told me all about it. The last time you visited.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” she screeched. Jumping to her feet, she slapped her hands on the table and pinned him with a glare.
“He asked me not to, said he was going to explain once he’d discovered who was trying to hurt you.”
“Yeah, I bet. And you believed the lying twat?”
“He also said he loved you and he was going to buy you something.”
“What?” She paled, the nerves bundling in her stomach.
“That’s where he’d been that day he hadn’t been to the bank.” Cato watched as she clutched her throat, absorbing what he’d said.
“He actually said he loves me?” She uttered the words quietly, unable to believe them. She recalled all the times he’d rung. He’d not given up. But ever since trashing her phone, she’d condemned herself to lonely silence.
Again she picked up the magazine and stared into his beautiful blue eyes. And the tears fell, dripping onto his image.
***
Micah paced the room, the mobile stuck to his ear, and rattled out orders. He was in a foul mood and had been since Savannah had walked out of his life. Or to be exact, told him to piss off and not come back.
He’d paid Rio for round-the-clock security to watch over her unobtrusively, at a distance. Remembering Slade, he wasn’t leaving her unguarded.
Because somehow she was coming back to him. He’d beg for forgiveness if he had to, because he missed her like hell. Every scruffy inch of her. With each passing second, he thought about her, monitored her every action. He’d been relieved that she’d shut the club. And then, this week, she’d put it up on the market.
In the beginning he’d continued his phone campaign, even though she didn’t answer. And then it had gone dead, and he guessed she’d trashed it in a fit of temper. That she was still furious with him. Which was why he’d sat back, giving her time to cool down.
He’d even broken his own rules and allowed a photo shoot. He knew she read magazines and had hedged his bets, appearing in as many as he could. By reaching out, he meant to remind her what she could have. Because he was certain she loved him, and if not, she would love him, eventually.
He smiled, thinking of the model in the shoot and how she’d come on to him. The way her face looked when he’d casually told her he was spoken for. He’d never gone so long without sex, but for the first time in his life, only one woman would satisfy him.
And that was his Anna.
His grin grew wider as he thought of Rio still chasing after his neighbour. He hadn’t seen much of him lately and guessed that maybe he’d at last succeeded.
***
Savannah picked up the receiver.
The magazine she carried was a mess. Since Cato had left, she’d eaten, cried, and sobbed over it. All she wanted was Micah. He’d said he loved her to her brother and too late she realized he must have meant it. But she had sent him away and turned his love to hate. Because he hadn’t come after her.
He didn’t care.
She rubbed her hand over her baby bump. At least she’d have his child. She was so glad she’d forgotten to take the pill, she thought, conveniently putting her own double standards aside.
She smiled—a rare sight—when she heard the voice of the estate agent. She was having her first viewing.
“Yes, this afternoon is fine.” Savannah suppressed a shriek of delight. Fingers crossed, it would be sold, and she could move on. Then she swallowed down the bleak despair that assailed her at the thought of Micah. What she wanted was him. Still, she refused to back down and ring him.
He’d lied to her and she couldn’t forgive him. Could she? Because, hadn’t she lied by omission by assuring him she was taking the pill?
***
Savannah was munching on a ginger biscuit and a packet of crisps when she heard tyres crunch on the gravel. A low purr of an engine reached her ears through the silence. Moving to the door, she stared at the flash motor. Whoever owned that had to be one seriously rich bastard.
She was no expert, but even she could tell that it was a seriously expensive piece of metal. The door opened and a dark-haired man stood to the side. He turned and pushed his dark glasses up onto his head. Then he stared at her for the briefest of seconds before crossing in a loping, ass-shaking stride. His blue eyes anxiously scanned her. “Anna?”
That was all she heard.
Her chest seized, her lungs stopped pumping, and she couldn’t drink in enough oxygen.
Slowly she crumpled to the ground.
Micah managed to catch her before she hit the floor. Panic gripped him as he carried her limp body inside. Hell, he’d wanted a reaction. Surprise, yes, but not to shock her into fainting.
He keyed in the number on the door, kicking it open, and headed upstairs. Laying her on the bed, he watched in alarm as her head lolled to one side. He raced to the bathroom and dampened a cloth, which he used to dab at her pale face. Those dark smudges beneath her eyes hadn’t been there before. For a moment he drank in her oh-so-dear face.
She groaned. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared up at a very worried Micah.
He stroked her hair back off her forehead. “Anna? Are you okay?”
She stared around the room. “What happened?”
“You fainted.”
“But I never faint.”
Micah continued stroking her, his concern evident.
She blinked, unsure if she was dreaming. “What are you doing here?”
“I pretended I wanted to view the property,” he said with a naughty smile. “I had to see you, baby.”
“You lied to me.” Even to her own ears, her voice didn’t sound harsh anymore. It came out as more of a whimper.
He nodded. “And I was going to tell you the truth. But Anna, I never lied about loving you.”
“So why haven’t you come to me before? You’ve left me alone for a month.”
He took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles, relieved when she didn’t pull back. “I was giving you time to calm down. I guessed you were still mad after you trashed the phone.”
“How did you know that?””
“Because I know you. Sharp-tempered and impulsive.” His gaze was troubled, but he did manage a smile of sorts. “You’ve never been alone. I wouldn’t allow it.”
At her questioning glance, he added, “I’ve had you under surveillance twenty-four/seven. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
Recalling the magazine, she said, “Yeah, I bet. What about the redhead in your arms? Were you makin
g sure she was safe?”
“It was a picture, nothing more. Anna, I haven’t had sex since the last time we made love.”
She peeked up at him. “You haven’t?”
She took in his evident arousal. He was perched beside her, sitting on the bed.
“No, I haven’t.” His voice hoarse, he kissed the inside of her wrist, which trembled beneath his lips. “Because I don’t want anyone else. Only you.”
She swallowed. His electric gaze was doing strange things to her. Her stomach flipped and somersaulted. But she stubbornly held on to her argument. She was still angry at how he’d fooled her—at how easily the lies had spilled from his lips.
“Okay, explain why you lied to such an extent you even dreamed up a sister.” She watched him carefully, knowing this was the moment of truth.
“It was a crazy bet with Rio. He said I couldn’t cope without money and working as a bouncer. We shook on it.” He pulled a face. “But he’s a sneaky bastard. It was only then he told me I had to pretend to be gay.”
Micah leaned forward and swept his tongue over her throat. When he felt her fingers curl into his palm, he whispered, “And then I met you and you knocked me for six, honey. I had to make love to you.”
He dared a butterfly-soft kiss across her lips. He breathed a sigh when she didn’t nip at him like a rabid dog. “From the first time I saw you, I was horny.” He paused. “And I didn’t say anything because I fully intended to leave at the end of four weeks.”
He cursed himself as her hand tugged free.
“The only reason I made up a sister was your first threat to sack me. I appealed to your sweet nature. I didn’t give a toss about the bet. I couldn’t leave you. That’s why I lied.” Micah paused and gave her a roguish glance. “What I didn’t expect was to fall in love. And then I was afraid to say anything because I knew you’d go off it.” He took her hand again, linking his fingers through hers. “I wanted the business of who tried to kill you out of the way first before telling you the truth.”
Her burning-hot, chocolate gaze blistered and scalded him.
“Am I forgiven?”
She nibbled on her lip as she looked up at him, towering over her.
