Smiling to herself, Lausanne tossed a washcloth into the tub and laid the towels on the back of the commode.
Dom thought she was gorgeous. She supposed she’d always been pretty, even as a little girl. Her mother had always told her she was, but had reminded her that “pretty is as pretty does.” She’d gone through a plump stage that began at ten and she’d finally outgrown it around age fourteen, but not before her stepmother had done everything in her power to ruin Lausanne’s self-confidence. Renee had been horribly jealous of Lausanne and the memory of Lausanne’s mother. She had despised her husband’s deceased wife and his only child with a hatred that bordered on madness.
Then later on, when Lausanne met Brad, he’d told her she was too skinny, her boobs not big enough and her freckles were ugly. But those unflattering comments had been made after he’d taken her virginity and gotten her pregnant.
Suffering from really low self-esteem, years later she’d hooked up with Clay, who’d actually told her she was pretty. Pretty and dumb, he’d said. Just the way I like my women. He hadn’t been too far wrong about the dumb part, but in retrospect, Lausanne realized she hadn’t been so much dumb as naive.
When the tub filled halfway to the rim, she turned off the faucets, striped off her underwear and stepped into the warm water. Sliding down so that her head rested on the back of the tub, she submerged herself in the liquid blanket and sighed. It wouldn’t take much for her to fall asleep in here. Usually she just jumped in the shower every morning to save time, so a tub bath seemed like a real luxury.
Oh, how easily a person could become accustomed to luxury. For the ten days she had impersonated Audrey Perkins, Lausanne had wallowed in the kind of luxury most people only dream of; but that dream had ended all too soon for her and apparently would cost her dearly. Try not to think about it, at least for tonight. What’s done is done.
Lausanne allowed herself several minutes to savor the warmth, the comfort, the sweet solitude. Then she removed the bar of soap from the holder, lathered the wash cloth and washed her face. Next she shampooed and conditioned her hair with the expensive products she’d purchased at a trendy little spa in Palm Beach. Now, she wished she’d bought other items, bubble bath, scented powder and body wash. But each hotel where she’d stayed had provided gift baskets filled with all that stuff because she’d rented only deluxe suites when she’d traveled as Audrey Perkins.
If only she’d had sense enough to have turned down that woman’s offer to impersonate her boss’s elder daughter. She’d told herself at the time that the deal was too good to be true, that there had to be a catch. But she’d allowed that fifty thousand dollars—in cash—to blind her to the obvious. There are no free rides in this life. There’s always a price to be paid. How many times did she have to learn that bitter lesson before it took?
For one night, couldn’t she just forget the past and all her stupid mistakes? Couldn’t she pretend it was possible to wipe the slate clean and start all over again? If only she could go back and change things. But where would she start? Even if she could go back, she didn’t have the power to prevent her mother from dying or stop her father from marrying a crazy woman.
Brad and Clay were two huge mistakes that she wouldn’t make again. Not even if it meant never being pregnant, never giving birth? Out there somewhere was a ten-year-old little girl, loved and adored, the center of her parents’ universe. And Lausanne had given that little girl life. Would she, if she could, erase her daughter’s very existence?
No. No, she wouldn’t.
But you don’t know that she’s loved and adored, that she is the center of her parents’universe.
That’s why the fifty thousand that Audrey had offered her—no, not Audrey, Megan Reynolds—was so important. That money could enable her to search and find her child, to make certain her daughter had the life she deserved. Once Lausanne knew her baby girl was well and happy and secure, she could move forward with her own life.
But she couldn’t do anything—neither search for her child nor move on with her life—until the mystery surrounding Audrey Perkins’s disappearance was solved.
Lausanne finished bathing quickly, got out, dried off and yanked her silk robe from the hook on the back of the door. After putting on the robe, she towel-dried her hair, then fingered through it to untangle the curls.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since lunch today and then she’d been too preoccupied with other things to eat more than a few bites. All she had in the fridge were a couple of microwave dinners, milk, mayo, mustard and fat-free bologna.
Tightening the robe’s silk belt, she braced herself to face a second night alone in her apartment with Dom. How long would she be able to resist temptation? Every time he looked at her, she went weak in the knees. When he smiled at her, butterflies danced in her belly. And when he touched her, she melted.
Her bedroom was semi-dark, only a single bedside lamp emitted a forty-watt glimmer. As she neared the open door leading into the living room, she noticed the lights had been turned off out there. What was going on? What was Dom up to? Why had he turned off all the lights? The minute she emerged from her bedroom, she gasped.
In the center of the dark room, atop the coffee table, half a dozen fat candles flickered brightly, casting a mellow radiance over the area. Two plates filled with food and two glasses of wine graced either side of the coffee table. A single peach rose in a bud vase between the plates blushed prettily in the candlelight.
Dom Shea stood by the sofa and held out his hand to her. “Dinner is served.”
“How…? When…? This is such a surprise.”
“A pleasant surprise, I hope,” he said.
“How did you manage all this?” she asked.
“I bought the wine, the glasses, the food and the rose before I picked you up from work. Everything was in the back seat.”
Tears threatened to choke her. She would not cry. She didn’t dare. It had been such a long time since she’d cried that she was afraid if she started, she wouldn’t be able to stop.
He wiggled his fingers at her. She smiled and walked toward him. He took her hand and eased her down on the floor atop one of the two pillows he’d taken from her bed. Once she was seated, he maneuvered his big body down onto the floor atop the other pillow, then crossed his legs and got comfortable.
“It’s nothing fancy,” Dom said. “Just gourmet sandwiches from the deli, along with potato salad and chocolate pecan pie for dessert.”
“Do you have any idea how hungry I am?” Realizing her comment could be taken more than one way, she glanced over at him.
He winked at her. “No matter how hungry you are, you’re going to have to eat first. I went to a lot of trouble to put together this romantic meal.”
It took her a full second to realize he was teasing her. She laughed. He laughed. Then he lifted his glass.
“A toast,” he said.
She picked up her glass.
“Here’s to us. To being one step closer in getting to know each other better and learning to completely trust each other.”
“Here’s to us,” Lausanne said. Oh, Dom, is there really an us?
“THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE in plans,” the familiar voice over the telephone said.
“I’m listening.”
“This is your last chance. If you screw this up—”
“No more screws up. I promise. You want the Raney woman dead, she’s as good as dead right now.” He was blowing hot air and he knew it. He’d tried to make contact with the guy known only as Corbin, but it wasn’t all that easy getting in touch with one of the top assassins in the country.
“There’s a more important job that needs to be done first.”
For the past fifteen years, he’d been in the business of procuring services of every kind for those rich enough to pay the price for whatever they wanted. He had worked for this particular person on various other occasions and had never disappointed the client. However, he was re
latively new to providing hired assassins because, at heart, he wasn’t a ruthless man, just a greedy one.
“You name it, you got it,” he said. “For the right price, of course.”
“Do you have any contacts in South America? In Argentina to be specific?”
“Uh…yeah, sure.” He didn’t, but for enough money, he’d find somebody either there or willing to go there.”
“I’ll overnight you the particulars. The person I want eliminated, her name, description and location. The cost is unimportant. Whatever it takes.”
“This is another woman, someone besides Ms. Raney?”
“That’s correct. Megan Reynolds. I want her taken care of first. Then once she’s eliminated, I’ll want Lausanne Raney taken out immediately afterward, so put two men on the job.”
“Right. Two men on the job. Can do.”
“If my wishes aren’t followed to the letter this time, your services will no longer be required in the future. Not for anything. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly clear.” He had to arrange for two women to die, otherwise the gravy train he’d been riding for years, thanks to the business this special client sent his way, was going to derail.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LAUSANNE SIGHED SLEEPILY. She’d had a warm bath, a nice supper and lots of special attention from a wonderful man. So now the questions was: would Dom expect payment for having gone out of his way to take such good care of her? Still sitting on the floor, she leaned her back against the sofa and closed her eyes.
“I guess I’m disappointing you by practically falling asleep after dessert.” Lausanne glanced at him and smiled, an unspoken question foremost on her mind.
Dom returned her smile. “You’re tired, honey. You should go to bed.”
Here it comes, she thought. Let’s hop in the sack. It’s payback time.
Before she could form a reply, he stood, came around the end of the coffee table and swooped her up into his arms.
“This is becoming a habit with you,” she said.
With her firmly in his arms, he reached down and picked up her pillow. “Are you complaining?”
She didn’t reply.
He carried her into the bedroom and set her at the foot of the bed, then pulled down the spread, blanket and sheet and laid her pillow at the head. While she watched him, waiting for him to make his move, he maneuvered her around on the bed, then pulled the covers over her. When she didn’t lie down, he gently pressed her shoulders until she eased back and rested her head against the pillow. Looking up at him, she waited for him to climb into the bed with her. But he didn’t. Instead he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“Sleep tight, honey.”
He turned around and headed for the door.
“Dom?”
“Huh?” He glanced back at her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He closed the door, leaving the bedroom in semidarkness. Lausanne reached over and turned off the bedside lamp, then curled up into a fetal ball and closed her eyes.
Domingo Shea puzzled her. She’d never known a man like him. She knew he wanted her, yet he wasn’t pushing her to have sex, wasn’t rushing her to do something she wasn’t ready to do. Was he too good to be true or what? Usually the answer to that question was yes, but she was beginning to think Dom really was a good guy and if she gave herself to him, he wouldn’t turn out to be just another terrible mistake.
Yawning, Lausanne snuggled into the warmth of her bed. Her feet and legs ached from her having been up and running at the restaurant for so many hours.
Her mind drifted off into that half-awake/half-asleep state. Dom filled her thoughts, banishing everything else. Sweet thoughts. No worries, no past, no future. Just Dom.
She was naked. Her body tingled with sexual need. Her nipples peaked, her feminine core throbbed.
“I want you. Oh, Dom, please make love to me.”
He hovered over her, big, naked and aroused. She circled his hard sex and stroked him, loving the feel of him in her hand and the growling sound he made deep in his throat. Without saying a word, he put his knee between her legs and parted her thighs, then lifted her hips. As her femininity clenched and unclenched in preparation, gushing with moisture, he lowered his head and suckled at first one breast and then the other. She keened softly, wild with need.
“Now, Dom. Please, now.”
He thrust into her with one hard, deep lunge. She cried out with pleasure. He rode her hard, in a frenzy of need, and within minutes they came together, unraveling with fulfillment.
Perspiring and breathless, Lausanne clung to Dom, loving him, needing him, wanting to hold on to him forever.
But as suddenly as he had appeared, he disappeared. He was no longer in her arms. He was gone. Evaporated like a morning mist.
“Dom,” she screamed. “Dom, where are you?”
Lausanne woke with a start, her heart hammering like mad.
Oh, God, it was a dream. Just a dream. But it had seemed so real.
Her body had come apart when she’d climaxed. She could still feel the aftershocks of her orgasm tingling through her.
The bedroom door flew open. Wearing only his black briefs, Dom Shea stood in the shadows. “Honey, are you all right? I heard you crying my name, calling for me.”
She crawled out of bed, and unsteady on her feet, rushed toward him. He met her halfway and when she threw herself into his arms, he encompassed her in a protective embrace.
“I had a bad dream,” she said, then corrected herself. “No, it wasn’t a bad dream. It was a wonderful dream. It just ended all wrong.”
Holding her close, he stroked her back and nuzzled her cheek. “Everything’s okay. You’re safe. I’m here.”
Yes, her heart cried. I am safe, safe in your arms. As long as I have you, nothing can hurt me.
“Want to tell me about the dream?” he asked.
Lord, no, she couldn’t tell him that she’d had an erotic dream about him and had actually climaxed. What would he think of her? Damn it, Lausanne, it’s not as if he thinks you’re pure as the driven snow.
She shook her head. “No, it’s not important.”
“Are you sure? Sometimes it helps to talk about a frightening dream and dispel its power.”
She clung to him, appreciating the comfort she found in his strong arms, loving the feel of his muscular chest beneath her fingertips. Suddenly she realized that Dom was practically naked and so was she. She still wore only her loosely belted silk robe, which was now gaping from mid-thigh to calf-length hem, separated just enough to reveal the inner curve of her breasts. If Dom was wearing only his briefs, that meant he had already stripped off and bedded down for another night on her sofa.
“What time is it?” She lifted her head from his chest.
“I’m not sure.” He glanced at the digital lighted clock on her bedside table. “It’s two-fifteen.”
“Oh. I thought I’d just fallen asleep. I had no idea I’d been sleeping for nearly two hours.” She looked directly at him. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
He caressed her shoulders, then wrapped his hands around her upper arms. “Can I get you something? A glass of water? Some decaf cola?”
Keeping her gaze connected with his, she shook her head.
“Want me to sing you a lullaby or tell you a bedtime story?”
She laughed. “You’re so sweet, Dom. So absolutely, wonderfully sweet.” She laid her hand flat in the middle of his chest, her palm partially resting over his heart. “Are you for real or did I just dream you up?”
His eyes darkened from deep brown to inky black as he stared at her, his heartbeat quickening and his pulse racing. When she became aware of the tension in his hard body, she felt an irresistible urge to tell him everything.
“Your dream, it was about me, wasn’t it? About us?” he asked, his voice whisper soft.
“Yes.” That single word came out on a hushed sigh.
He yanked her to him, then lowered his head. With his lips almost touching hers, he whispered, “Were we making love?”
Her bones melted. Her blood ran hot.
“Do you want to make that dream come true?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered and accepted that whatever happened, it had been her choice. Whatever the outcome, she couldn’t blame Dom.
CARA WAS GLAD that Grayson had decided to stay here at the family home on Lookout Mountain, at least until Audrey had been found. She had hoped that their living under the same roof would give her the opportunity to see more of him, but so far, that hadn’t been the case. She saw him at breakfast and at dinner, but he spent his days at Bedell, Inc. headquarters and his evenings alone in Audrey’s old room upstairs.
She so desperately wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, to make him forget Audrey.
As Cara passed by her father’s study on her way to the kitchen for a cup of herbal tea, he caught a glimpse of her and called out her name.
“Cara?”
She paused outside the door and glanced at him. “Yes, Daddy?”
“Come in here and talk to me,” Edward said.
She moved to just inside the study, but didn’t approach him where he sat in his favorite old leather chair in front of the fireplace. “Yes, sir, what do you want to talk to me about?”
“About Audrey.” His gaze connected with Cara’s and she noticed that he’d been crying. Again. Odd, to see him cry. In her entire life, she’d seldom seen him shed a tear. But then again, he’d never been afraid that his precious Audrey might be as dead as her lover was.
“What about Audrey?”
“Come in and sit with me.”
“It’s late, Daddy, nearly two-thirty, and I was just on my way to the kitchen for some herbal tea.”
“Damn it, girl, sit down. Can’t you spare your father a few minutes of your time?”
“Yes, sir. Of course.”
When she walked over to her father, intending to take the chair opposite him, he reached up, grabbed her hand and pulled her down so that they were face to face. Instantly, she smelled liquor on his breath and realized he was probably soused.
Dangerous Deception Page 16
