Текст книги "Reclaim Me"
Автор книги: Ann Marie Walker
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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 17 страниц)
Chapter Four
Allie was sure she’d heard him wrong. Julian couldn’t have possibly been serious. After everything that had transpired between them, there was no way he could have deluded himself into thinking she would actually marry him.
“I want what was promised me,” he said, leaning forward in his chair. “What I’m owed. It would have all been mine, everything: the cable network, the newspapers, the magazines. Merged with my Asian and European holdings, Ingram would have been a global leader.”
“There are other media conglomerates, Julian.”
He shook his head. “Not like Ingram. Their assets are unique.” His bloodshot eyes roamed over her. Even in the dim afternoon light she could see his pupils dilate. “And while it’s hardly a pedigree, the Ingram name is as close to royalty as Americans get.”
“I don’t love you, Julian. And you’ve made it clear you don’t love me either.”
“Love is for fairy tales, Alessandra. It has no place in the real world. I would have thought your mother taught you that by example if nothing else.”
Allie stiffened. “I’m nothing like my mother.”
Julian’s head fell back on a harsh laugh. “Are you really so blind as to not see it? You’re exactly like your mother. And I’m not referring to your looks, although I guess I should be grateful the trophy glitters.” He ran a hand through his light brown hair, which fell perfectly back into place. “If it helps you sleep at night, consider our marriage a chance for you to carry on her legacy.”
“This isn’t the Dark Ages. You can’t force me to marry you.”
“That is correct.” He stroked his lip with his index finger. “The decision is ultimately yours. Although if you defy me, that video will find its way to the proper authorities.”
So this had been his plan all along. The race to return his ring was just the excuse to get her there so he could reveal his true end game.
Twisted amusement lit his eyes. “Don’t look so shocked, Alessandra. You didn’t really think I’d give up so easily, did you?”
“You don’t have to do this,” she said as if there were some way to reason with him.
“That is where you’re wrong, ma cherie. You left me with no other option.”
“Me?” The high pitch of her voice betrayed the raw emotions she struggled to control.
“Oui.” His gaze turned impassive. “After all, you are to blame for the deal falling apart in the first place. All of this—” he waved his hand through the air “—is your fault. You brought it on yourself when you broke our engagement.”
Allie looked down at her hands, balled into fists in her lap. “You attacked me.”
Julian snorted. “How did you think I would react when I discovered my fiancée had been whoring her way through the city in my absence? You should have been grateful I was willing to look past your indiscretions, but instead you chose a man who quite literally had been your servant. Another lesson your dear mother should have imparted: the staff is for fucking in the shadows, Alessandra, not parading through the lobby of the symphony.” He rattled the cubes inside the empty crystal tumbler. “Shame, really. If you had just left well enough alone, none of this unpleasantness would have been necessary. You’d be living here as the new Marquise Laurent, quite literally the queen of the castle; your precious Mr. Chase and his deadbeat brother wouldn’t be on the proverbial chopping block; and your parents would still be alive.”
Allie’s head snapped up. “What does my parents’ death have to do with any of this?”
“Your parents wanted Ingram to remain in the family. Your father would have withdrawn his support once you called off the wedding, and without the blessing of the almighty Richard Sinclair, I didn’t stand a chance at convincing the rest of the board.” He leaned back in the leather chair and crossed his ankle over the opposite knee. “I needed someone in power who was a bit easier to control.”
A cold sweat misted Allie’s skin. “What did you do?” she whispered.
Julian leveled his beady stare. “Whatever it took.”
No, no, no . . .
“Once I ensured the Ingram-Sinclair holdings would be transferred to their sole heir, I simply turned to the seemingly illustrious Mr. Chase for a bit of leverage. I didn’t even need to dig too far. Covering up a murder?” The corner of Julian’s mouth twisted in a hideous grin. “It’s as if he handed you over on a silver platter.”
Allie struggled to catch her breath while Julian gloated about orchestrating her parents’ murder as if it was a victory in a polo match. “Everything fell into place so easily it was almost boring, really. Other than the imbecile taking your mother’s ring as a souvenir.” He tsked. “As a professional, he should have known I couldn’t leave that type of loose end. Then again, having the ring in his possession when his body was discovered did a nice job of setting him up to take the fall. From what I hear, the police have all but closed the case.”
The taste of bile rose in Allie’s throat, and for a moment she thought she might be sick.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like that drink now, Alessandra? You look a little pale.”
Her mind spun as she struggled to process everything she’d learned, but one thing was certain: Julian had killed her parents in cold blood. Threatening to incriminate Hudson in a murder was only the tip of the iceberg. There was no telling the lengths he would go to force her to do his bidding. She was willing to do whatever it took to keep Hudson safe, but it wasn’t in her power to give Julian what he wanted. “The shares from the estate aren’t enough to give you control of the company,” she told him. “Hudson owns a considerable amount.”
“I’m well aware of his holdings. And I’m also aware of his weakness for you. You’re his Achilles heel, Alessandra. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to get him to sign over his interest in the company.”
“How exactly do you expect me to do that?’
“By ending your relationship.”
“He won’t believe me.” There was no way Hudson would believe she was leaving him, that she didn’t love him. Or would he? She’d been so horrible to him when she’d discovered he was the one secretly buying up shares of Ingram Media in a hostile takeover attempt. And now if he thought she had left the country without him . . .
“Convince him. Tell him you’ve had a change of heart, that you can’t forgive him after all, or that you’ve simply grown tired of him. I don’t care. But end it.”
“He’ll fight for me.”
Julian sneered. “I’m counting on that. Let him grovel like he did before, then you can give him the ultimatum. Make him prove his love by signing the stock over to you. It’s the decent thing to do seeing as how you’re Jonathan Ingram’s only surviving heir. Then, of course, you’ll deliver the final blow to his ego by joining my side in wedded bliss.” His words were a direct contrast to the bitter contempt in his tone. “And since you’ve already proven you can’t control yourself around the dog, let me make one thing perfectly clear. Manipulate him, Alessandra, but don’t fuck him. That’s a service reserved for your future husband.”
“If you think I’ll sleep with you, you’re crazy.”
“Contrary to what that mongrel may have told you, you’re not the lay of the century. Far from it, in fact. I have plenty of resources at my disposal to better meet those needs. You’ll sleep in my bed by invitation. The frequency will depend on how fertile you are.” He smirked. “And my mood, of course.”
Allie gaped at him. “You expect me to have your child?”
He rose from his chair. “Two. An heir and a spare, as the Brits love to say.”
Allie shrank back as he rounded the desk. “Relax,” he said, his laugh mocking her fear. “No one shall call a Laurent a bastard. I won’t be taking you again until after the wedding.” He strolled past her to the row of crystal decanters and refilled his glass with a hefty pour. “Which brings me to the time frame. The annual shareholder’s meeting is in April, and my sources tell me the board is set to vote on a permanent CEO when they convene in March.”
His sources? Allie barely had time to consider who at Ingram was funneling high-level information to Julian when he dropped another bomb on her.
“We’ll need the ceremony to take place well before that meeting. Mid-February at the latest.” He cocked an eyebrow. “St. Valentine’s Day? Perhaps more fitting for the massacre than a diaper-wearing cherub, but apropos nonetheless.”
“You want to get married next month?” she asked. Her voice was hoarse.
“Oui. The arrangements won’t be a problem given that the plans were already in place. Most of them can be adjusted to the February date. At least enough to capitalize on the PR . . . I’m thinking something along the lines of ‘Dashing Prince Rescues Orphaned Heiress.’ Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
Clearly he had lost his mind. But she had to play along. It was the only hope she had of buying the time she needed to figure a way out of this mess. “Why so fast . . . I mean, we have our whole lives, what’s the rush?”
“We need to allow adequate time for the blushing bride to realize how much the company has suffered at the hands of a corporate raider and replace him with her new husband.”
“The co-CEO idea was just for the interim, Julian. I don’t think anyone expects it to continue permanently, regardless of whom is sitting in that chair.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I have no intention of working alongside you.” He took a sip from the crystal glass. “Once we return from our honeymoon, you will have a change of heart, decide you have no place in the boardroom after all, and use your considerable stock percentage to vote your new husband into the position.”
“And what am I supposed to do?”
He shrugged. “Fill your days with charity work and tennis matches like your mother did.”
“So after everything I’ve done, I’m just supposed to suddenly change my mind about running my grandfather’s company and hand it all over to you?” Allie straightened in her chair. She was proud of the work she’d been doing at Ingram. Her victories in the boardroom might have been small, but she was slowly earning their respect. Walking away at this point wouldn’t make any sense. “No one will believe that.”
“How you sell the story isn’t my concern, Alessandra. But I suggest you work on your poker face.” He closed the distance between them until he was standing beside her chair. “I’ll expect you to play the loving wife when we’re in public.”
His fingers traced the wildly pulsing vein in her neck. Allie squeezed her eyes closed, fighting the urge to jerk away from his touch. “I’m not that good of an actor.”
“I felt the same way, but if I can pull it off, so can you. With enough practice you’ll get it right, and if not, I will be happy to introduce certain methods of motivation.” His hand tightened around her neck. “A training of sorts could be quite interesting.”
“That won’t be necessary,” she murmured, trying to control her fear.
“Convince me.” He pulled her cell phone out of his hip pocket and tossed it on the desk in front of her. “I believe there is a heart in need of crushing.”
“You want me to do it now?”
“No time like the present. Consider it a good faith gesture on your part. Although now that I think about it, extra incentive never hurts.” Julian drained the rest of the vodka from his glass as he moved to the other side of his desk. “My sources at Chicago PD are very thorough.” He reached into the top drawer and pulled out a manila envelope. Allie knew what it contained even before he opened it. She tried to steel herself against the onslaught of emotion that welled inside her, but nothing could prepare her for what she was about to see. “Visual aides are always so helpful. Wouldn’t you agree, Alessandra?”
With a flourish Julian fanned the eight by ten glossies out across his desk. Picture after picture, each one more gruesome than the next. Her father slumped over his desk, blood pooling around him on the leather top. Her mother on the dining room floor, her vacant stare reflected in the shattered mirrors that dangled from the wall. In that moment Allie realized this was no longer just a matter of protecting Hudson and Nick from possible prosecution. It was a matter of life and death. She hadn’t been able to protect her parents, but she could keep the man she loved safe from the fate displayed in graphic detail in front of her.
“Enough.” She reached for the phone and powered it on. Almost immediately it began to ping and vibrate with incoming texts, missed calls, and voice mails. As she watched them light up the screen, her vision began to blur. Damn it. She hated that she was crying in front of Julian, hated knowing the satisfaction it brought him. But the realization of what had happened to her parents combined with the reality of what she was about to do was too much, and tears streamed unbidden down her cheeks.
“Second thoughts already? Perhaps I need to come up with a more effective motivation.”
“No,” she snapped. “I’ve got this.” It would kill her to end her relationship with Hudson, but she had no choice. She had to go along with Julian’s charade, at least for the time being. It was the only way to ensure Hudson’s safety.
She wiped her face with the back of her hand and pressed the speed dial for Hudson’s cell phone. He answered on the first ring.
“Allie.” The desperation in his voice broke her heart. “Where are you?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him rather than answer his question.
“Why the hell did you agree to meet that asshole?”
He knew about Julian. But how?
“Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”
“Absolutely not,” she blurted out. She hadn’t meant the words to come out so harshly, but she needed to keep Hudson safe, and to do that she had to keep him as far away from Julian as possible. “I mean, that’s not necessary. I’m flying back to Chicago tonight. Alone.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
She took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her nerves. “I thought I could look past everything that happened, but I can’t. It guess it took getting away to realize that.” Pain lanced her heart as she prepared to deliver the final blow. “It’s over.”
“The hell it is.” His frustration was palpable, but she knew beneath the anger he was hurting.
“Please don’t make this harder than it has to be, Hudson.”
“You expect me to accept this bullshit without a fight? You know me better than that. I’ll trace your phone if I have to,” he threatened. “Now tell me where you are.”
Fuck. She needed to end the call and power off her cell.
“Let me talk to her,” a woman said.
“Is Harper there?”
“Yes, she’s with me. Were you just going to leave her here too?”
How the hell had he found Harper? “Put her on the phone, please.”
Hudson blew out an exasperated breath, but a moment later Harper was on the line, asking one question after another.
“What’s going on? Where have you been all day? Why haven’t you been answering your cell? Did that French sleazebag threaten you?” If Harper only knew how on-target she was.
“No, I just needed some time to think this afternoon, that’s all.”
“And this is what you came up with?”
“I don’t want to get into it right now.”
“Look, I don’t know what the hell is going through that head of yours, but you two need to work this out.” Harper wasn’t just Allie’s best friend, she was practically a sister. Convincing her that she’d had a change of heart was going to be almost as difficult as convincing Hudson.
“There’s nothing to discuss. I’m flying home.”
There was a long pause. Allie could picture the two of them, Harper chewing on her bottom lip, Hudson running a frustrated hand through his hair. “Fine,” she finally said. “I’ll meet you at the airport.”
“No, stay. Enjoy Paris; you just got here.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m flying home with you. Text me the flight info when we hang up.”
The look of smug satisfaction on Julian’s face when Allie ended the call was almost more than she could bear. Somehow Allie had to find a way out of this mess. And she only had a few weeks to do it.
Chapter Five
Allie settled into the leather seat and pulled the shade closed on the small window. She couldn’t wait to get out of France. The sooner she put some distance between her and Julian, the better. If she was honest, the same applied to Hudson Chase as well. Clearly he wasn’t buying what she’d told him on the phone. And if history was any indication, it was only a matter of time before he cornered her, demanding answers. After everything she’d been through already that day, she was nowhere near ready for a face-to-face confrontation with the man who knew her like no other.
“Would you like something to drink before takeoff?” the flight attendant asked. “A glass of champagne, perhaps?” A preflight cocktail was no doubt one of the many perks of traveling first class, but Allie didn’t feel much like celebrating. At the moment she should have been dancing with Hudson aboard a yacht on the River Thames, not flying home without him after being forced to break his heart.
“No, thank you. But a blanket and pillow would be nice.” With any luck she could manage to sleep the whole flight home, postponing the inevitable Harper Hayes inquisition until she’d had some time to get her story straight.
And speaking of her best friend, where the hell was she? The cabin was filling quickly and yet the seat next to her remained unoccupied. She glanced at her watch. Only a few more minutes until the flight was due to depart. Was Harper stuck in traffic? Or maybe customs?
Allie reached for her phone. If Harper was going to miss the flight, maybe she could at least help her rebook before they began to taxi. The call went straight to voice mail. She was about to leave her a message when a disembodied voice came over the plane’s PA system.
“Ladies and gentleman, welcome aboard flight two twelve with nonstop service to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. At this time please be sure your seat backs are in their full and upright positions and that your seat belt is securely fastened. All laptops must be stowed and all personal electronic devices should be switched to airplane mode.”
Shit. She didn’t even have time to fire off a quick text before the flight attendant reappeared.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to turn off your cell phone,” she said as she handed Allie a neatly folded blanket with a small pillow perched on top. “We’re about to push back from the gate.”
There was a commotion at the front of the plane just as the next announcement began. This time it was the pilot’s voice over the loudspeaker. “Flight attendants, prepare for departure. Doors on automatic. Cross check and report.”
Allie bent to tuck her phone into the carry-on stowed beneath the seat in front of her. A shiver of awareness swept over her skin and she stilled. Hudson. She felt his presence just as surely as if he’d touched her. But despite the brief moment she took to prepare herself, the sight of him still took her breath away. He was standing in the aisle, the muscles of his chest and arms flexing as he shrugged out of his wool coat and handed it to the flight attendant. His hair was damp, no doubt from the snow falling outside, and when he reached up to run his hand through the unruly mane, his sweater rode up, affording her a glimpse of his honed washboard abs and the trail of dark hair that disappeared beneath his belt.
He glanced down and caught her staring. “See something you like?”
She ignored his obvious innuendo, choosing instead to address the much bigger issue. “What are you doing here?”
“Going after what’s mine.” He slid into the seat beside her. His eyes never left hers as he efficiently fastened his seat belt. The intensity of his stare was overwhelming and she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from blurting out everything that had happened over the past two days. The urge to throw herself into his arms was almost more than she could bear. What she wouldn’t give to have him hold her, to feel his hands stroking her hair, to hear his voice whispering in her ear, telling her they could face anything as long as they were together. But Julian had insured that was no longer an option, and in order to keep Hudson safe she had to do as she’d been instructed. So instead of telling him how relieved she was to see him, she laid into him for poaching her friend’s ticket.
“Where is Harper?” she asked as the plane pushed back from the gate.
“I imagine right about now she’s somewhere over the Atlantic, enjoying a lovely meal on a leather sofa, which is more than I can say for our current accommodations.”
Thinking the best defense was a good offense, she shot back, “No one asked you to take this flight.”
“Did you expect that I would return to Chicago without finding out what the hell is going on? You know me better than that, Alessandra.”
“I told you on the phone—”
“Save it. You didn’t tell me shit on the phone.”
“I told you it’s over, Hudson.” Her throat tightened as she forced out the words. “And I mean it this time.”
“Everything was going fine, better than fine.” He paused and a muscle in his jaw flexed. “Until that asshole called.”
The plane surged forward, hurtling down the runway. Allie’s stomach sank as the wheels lifted from the ground, but the sensation had little to do with gravity and everything to do with the pained expression on Hudson’s face.
“In fact, I can pin down the day and time that he did. Because that was the moment I felt you start to slip through my fingers.”
Of course he had sensed the change. And he was right. Everything had been absolutely perfect until the morning Julian texted her that grainy black-and-white photo. Somehow she had to convince Hudson there was no connection. “Julian only called because he wanted his ring back.”
“Yes, Harper filled me in on the details that brought her to Paris. But it wasn’t about a goddamn ring, was it?”
“Two separate issues, Hudson. My decision to end things is based on us. It has nothing to do with Julian.”
“Bullshit,” he practically shouted.
Allie glanced around. The lights in the cabin had been dimmed in dereference to the passengers sleeping or watching in-flight movies on the monitors installed in the seat backs in front of them. A few were engrossed in e-readers or magazines and the woman across the aisle was playing solitaire on her tablet. Yet nearly all of them looked up at the sound of Hudson’s outburst. “Keep your voice down, please,” she whispered.
Hudson rested his elbow on the console between their two seats and leaned closer. When he spoke his voice was low and rough, and held the hard edge of unmistakable determination. “Julian is a man who is always working the sidelines. And I know there are no circumstances under which you would take that fucker’s call, much less agree to meet with him, unless your hand was forced. What stings the most is that you lied to me. You didn’t even give me the opportunity to help you handle the matter. So cut the shit and tell me what in the hell is going on.”
He held her gaze but she held her ground. With a heavy exhale he sat back against the leather seat. “Fine. I’ll wait. We have nine hours until we land in Chicago, so at some point you’re going to start talking. And Allie, there’s not an ‘if’ anywhere in that damn sentence.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, our pilot has turned off the fasten seat belts sign. You are free to move about the cabin.”
Thank God. Allie unbuckled her seat belt and bolted for the cluster of bathrooms in the middle of the plane. But when she tried to close the door an arm shot out to block it. Hudson stepped into the small lavatory, locking the door behind him. The space was tight and cramped, with barely a few inches between them.
“You can’t come in here.”
He smirked. “I believe I just did.”
“What if someone saw you?”
“Half the plane heard us arguing, Alessandra. They’ll assume we’re seeking privacy to have the requisite makeup sex.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
“No, it’s not.” He loomed over her in the tight quarters, enveloping her in his rich, masculine scent. She could feel the heat radiating off his body, see the dark desire that burned in his blue eyes.
Allie stepped back, bumping against the small sink. There was nowhere to go. No escape from the man who at the moment was both her temptation and torment. “Excuse me?”
“It’s not what the people out there are thinking that has you worried. It’s what you’re thinking that has your pulse racing.” His voice lowered to a husky drawl. “Because despite all the bullshit you’re attempting to feed me, right now you’d like nothing more than to have my cock buried deep inside you.”
His crude words had her sucking in a sharp breath but there was no denying their effect. Heat pulsed through her core and her nipples tightened against the rough lace of her bra. “Don’t.”
“A poker face was never your strong suit.” His eyes roamed over her. “I can read you like an open book, Alessandra, and right now you’ve got that fuck-me look. Say it. Tell me you want my cock claiming you.”
“Hudson . . .”
His lips hovered inches from hers. “Let me have you, Allie. Tell me you want me.”
“Yes,” she breathed.
In a heartbeat his mouth slanted over hers. The feel of his lips moving strong and insistent against hers was all it took to break through her last defense. In a rush of dizzying relief she moaned her surrender. He took full advantage, deepening their kiss with lush sweeps of his tongue.
“Are you ready for me? Because I can’t wait. I have to feel you around my cock. Now.”
His untamed need sent a surge of pure lust coursing through her veins. She reached between them and began unbuckling his belt. “People might hear us,” she panted, her protest lacking the conviction of her frantic fingers.
“There is no one else, Allie. Just us.”
And in that moment, it was true. There weren’t hundreds of people just outside the door or even threats looming over their heads. Nothing existed but the two of them and a driving hunger to be joined on the most intimate level.
His hands skimmed down her hips to the hem of her skirt, pushing the fabric up as his palms glided over her skin. In one swift move he lifted her onto the edge of the small sink, positioning her at the perfect angle. He spread her legs, his hands smoothing along the inside of her thighs, until his fingertips found the soaked satin of her panties. His breath hissed and his grip tightened around the edge of the delicate fabric. Allie felt a sharp tug as his fingers shredded the material and then a rush of cool air against her core.
She reached for him, pushing his pants just low enough to free him from his boxer briefs. He groaned as he fell hot and heavy into her hand then he closed the distance between them, grinding his mouth against hers and wrapping her legs around his hips. “Put me inside you.”
She guided him to where she was wet and aching, and with a hard, deep thrust he buried himself to the hilt. Her head fell back against the mirror, and though she knew they needed to be quiet, she couldn’t help the low moan that escaped her lips. He pulled back and thrust again, quickly finding the rhythm they both craved as he moved inside her with slick, relentless drives.
The hum of the engines seemed to grow louder as Hudson’s thrusts grew sharper and more desperate. “We’ll never be over,” he growled, his ragged breath warm against her skin. “Never.” One hand slipped between their bodies to where they were joined, stroking her in that knowing way that never failed to make her come.
Allie’s fingers raked into his hair, clutching him tight as a white-hot rush consumed her. The plane dipped into an air pocket and the momentary sense of weightlessness only added to the sensation that she was falling, spiraling over the edge into a mind shattering release. Hudson drove high and hard one last time, then stilled, his body shuddering as he came inside her.
Once the tremors subsided, Hudson lowered her carefully back to her feet. His arm banded around her waist and his hand slipped under her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. The haunted look she saw reflected in his eyes broke her heart. It was too much. The emotion of the past two days came crashing down around her and she choked on a strangled sob.
“What happened? What did he threaten you with?”
“I can’t.”
“Don’t start that again.”
She shook her head. “I mean not here. When we get home.” There was no sense in fighting the inevitable. She was crazy to think she could push him away, even if it was for his own protection. Their bond was too strong.
Hudson gave a tight nod. “Fine. But I want you to tell me everything.” His expression was somber, but his touch was gentle as he brushed the pad of his thumb over her swollen lips. “Whatever it is, I can protect you.”
She looked up at him through tear-filled eyes. “No, you don’t understand. I’m the one who’s protecting you.”
