Текст книги "Big Bad Wolfe"

Автор книги: Danielle Doolittle

Соавторы: Elle Doolittle
сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 10 страниц)

He never should have let her get close. He should have kept her at the cold distance he kept every other woman, but there was something about her that had spoken to him. He wanted her to know him, his past. His deepest secrets, he wanted her to understand the man he had become. She was right when she said he had changed from the man she watched from afar nine years ago. For the first time, he wanted someone to understand the true motivation for those changes.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he glanced at the red glow of the clock. If he wasn’t going to sleep, he might as well get some work done. The sooner he could finish this job he never should have taken the sooner he could get out of Chicago. God, he should have never come back here.

Chapter Twelve

“What are you doing Sarah?”

“Uh-working. I thought that would be pretty obvious,” she answered without looking up from her computer monitor.

“That’s not what I meant.” Marcy moved further into the room. “So you’re just going to ignore it then?”

“Ignore what?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that Falon Wolfe walked out of here with Ginny Green attached to his arm like the blood sucking parasite she is.”

Sarah had forgotten Ginny was stopping by the agency that morning to meet with Marcy. They were to go over the new strategies Falon had devised, to reassure Ginny she didn’t need to hunt for new representation. The blond got one look and Falon and had been all over him. She tittered and teased her way into convincing him to join her for lunch. Sarah watched them slink out of the building, the ache in her chest growing with each step Falon took away from her.

“She’s your client, Marcy.” She moved her mouse around a bit, clicking on an empty space on the desktop. She wasn’t really working on anything. She was hiding. Hiding from the fact that Falon had broken a hole open in her chest she could still feel bleeding and from the fact that he didn’t seem to care.

When she walked into the office this morning, he was already there. She stood frozen a few feet from the glass that separated him, watching him work. He looked slightly rumpled and it gave her hope that he had spent the night regretting the way they left things. He must have sensed her eyes on him because he moved his gaze from his work to her. The frigid indifference there killed what little hope she had he regretted his words.

“Yes, she is my client.” Marcy broke through her pity party. “And as her agent I am the first person to know her character flaws. Trust me when I say Ginny Green is a predator. Once she sinks her claws into a man, he has no hope.”

She tried not to wince at the picture Marcy was painting. Confident the other woman didn’t know Falon as well as she did, Sarah couldn’t help thinking Marcy couldn’t be more wrong. When she said as much, Marcy snorted in disbelief.

“That girl has more man snaring skills than should be allowed. How are you so sure she won’t get her hooks into your man?”

“He’s too cold to let a woman get anywhere near any bit of him that matters,” Sarah answered in a small voice, remembering the words Falon threw at her the night before. She had thought they had connected on a level even he couldn’t deny. She thought there was something special growing between them, but his declaration of her just being a bonus of the job sent those dreams scattering in the wind. He left her standing alone to pick up the shattered pieced of her heart, just like he did nine years earlier. When would she ever learn?

“He made his choice. What do you expect me to be doing, sobbing to Olivia Newton-John singing Hopelessly Devoted To You while eating bonbons wishing he’d come back?”

“You know, that’s the problem with you. You never fight for what you want.”

Her eyes shot to her friend’s. “Are you saying I’m weak?”

“No, honey. It takes someone stronger than most people to let their dreams go without a fight.” Marcy sighed. “What I’m saying is you’re not selfish enough to hang on to what you want. You love him, right? Then be selfish. Go after him. Pester him until he gives in and hears you out. Don’t let him walk away from you. Fight dammit. Or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

There was a palpable pain in Marcy’s voice that had her wondering if the other woman was speaking from experience. She studied her friend for a minute. Her usual go-to attitude was dimmed by some past pain that made her both ache for her and curious to hear the story.

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Marcy. I really do, but there’s nothing to be done. I can’t force a man to love me who sees me as just another perk of the job.”

“Is that what you want? For him to love you?”

“Doesn’t every woman want the man they love to return the sentiment?”

She sat up straighter in her chair as panic overtook her. She hadn’t meant to confess her feelings for the man. Her fearful eyes met Marcy’s understanding gaze, begging her to forget what she just said.

“I see.” Marcy stood and looked down into Sarah’s desperate eyes. “I’m truly sorry for my role in this Sarah. You’ll never know how sorry I am for what was said and if I could take it all back I would. Just remember, we hurt the ones we love the most. When a man’s pride is wounded and his love rejected, he’ll try to pay that pain back.”

She sat, staring into the empty space her friend had just left. She didn’t blame Marcy, not really. Last night when everything was still fresh she had railed at the woman for opening her big mouth and saying too much. When she calmed down and began to see things clearly, she realized she should be thanking Marcy. She was building something with Falon based on a lie and that wasn’t the way to start a relationship, not if she wanted it to last. She was grateful for Marcy for being the catalyst that brought everything to an end before she got in any further and Falon walked away from her at the end of his time in the city with nothing more than a ‘nice to know you’ and a brush of lips on her cheek. She had felt cheap the night before, but the thought of him ending things that way made her cringe.

The truth was, Marcy opened her eyes to her own delusions. She had confused Falon’s lust for her with something lasting, something they could have built a life on. She had been kidding herself to think she could be strong enough to reach a man held under such tight control. The connection she felt was probably another tactic he used to get women into bed.

He admitted to using her, yet had the audacity to accuse her of playing games. Wasn’t he as much to blame for the way things turned out as she was? At least she had actually become emotionally invested. She had fallen for the man and he was just in it for the hot sex. She let her anger at the man build. Anything was better than the sinking feeling of letting go of the only love she’ll ever know.

***

Falon tried to relax as he sat across from Ginny. When the stunning woman approached him after their meeting, thinly veiled lust in her eyes, he tried to get his body to respond in the appropriate manner. Where normally he would take the lead, he found himself hesitating accepting the invitation to lunch. It wasn’t until he felt Sarah’s eyes on him that he agreed.

Determined to get his head in the right place, far more south than it currently was, Falon studied the woman across from him. Her blond hair was pulled over one shoulder draping down her chest to tease her very substantial cleavage. She was perfectly made up, her sultry eyes popped and her sensual lips painted a perfect shade of red. Everything about her look and her attitude screamed sex. He felt nothing. Couldn’t even inspire a twitch in his favorite appendage when he noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra under that skintight dress.

What kind of man was he? Ginny was beautiful. And willing. And … perky. And all he could think about was how she wasn’t Sarah.

Shit.

Shifting in his seat, he admitted to himself he was in the restaurant not because he was interested in what Ginny was obviously offering, but because he wanted to hurt Sarah. That thought grated almost painfully on his reemerged conscience. The damned thing hadn’t shut up since he threw his phone across his hotel room in the early hours of the morning. Sarah’s number flashing on the screen before it went dead.

“How long are you in Chicago?” Ginny’s overly sweet voice broke into his thoughts.

“I should be done here by the end of the week.”

“So soon?” Ginny practically purred. “I should have dropped by the agency a lot sooner.”

He felt her bare foot work up the inside of his leg. Clearing his throat, he shifted his body forcing her to drop her foot. Dear Lord, what was wrong with him? The woman was giving him the green light and all he could think about was how Sarah would feel if she found out about her advances.

No. What Sarah thought didn’t matter anymore. Never should have mattered at all.

Falon forced a wicked smile to his lips, hoping Ginny wouldn’t notice how strained the expression was. When an answering smirk slid into place and a calculating gleam entered her eyes he tried to relax, willing himself to get lost in the game of mutual seduction.

“You have any plans for your last few days in town?” He willed himself to stay still when he felt her foot dance back up his leg.

“Not anymore.”

“One woman’s loss is my gain.” That predatory light returned to her eyes.

The waiter’s reappearance saved Falon from having to respond to her obvious stake on his remaining time in Chicago. Why not spend it with the woman? She was stunning and obviously open for the kind of short-term relationship he was comfortable with. She wanted him, he was sure he would want her as soon as he recovered from the shock of last night. What red-blooded man wouldn’t want a woman like the one before him? So, why not?

“So it would seem.” Falon sealed his fate. He would let Ginny wipe his mind and body clean of the memory of Sarah. Maybe then he would be rid of the burning ache in his chest. Rubbing at the center of the pain, he willed his control into place. He couldn’t keep letting Sarah influence him.

He forced himself to follow the motions of his usual act. He was attentive through the meal. When they finished, he guided her out of the building with a hand at the small of her back. He even opened the car door for her. He knew she would interpret the actions as an acceptance to her proposition the moment he took his seat in the vehicle and her hand landed on his thigh.

The entire drive back to the office he was silent. Willing his body to relax while hoping a part of him would stiffen up a bit. It wasn’t for lack of effort on Ginny’s part. She had been drawing progressively larger circles on his leg for five blocks. Each pass getting closer to that part of him that was embarrassingly unaffected.

He had to bite back a sigh of relief when he pulled into the parking structure. Pulling into the first available spot he quickly turned off the car and made to get out. A hand on his lower stomach stopped him.

“What’s the hurry?” Ginny asked, setting her hand into motion again. This time exploring his stomach and chest.

“I have work to do.”

“But I thought you would make some time.” She leaned in and took the lobe of his ear in her mouth to give it a little nip. “To play with me.”

He pulled away and took her wandering hand in his. Bringing it to his lips, he was glad he mastered the art of covering his emotions long ago. Because the thought of playing with Ginny made him more nervous than he could ever remember being.

“I’m working on a deadline. I thought you understood that.” Falon looked over at the woman in his car, almost daring her to challenge him. The fact that he was willing to end this before it even got started spoke volumes of his state of mind.

Giving himself a mental shake, he gave her a cold smile and climbed out of the car. Not bothering to walk around it to open her door he waited for her to come to him. He didn’t want her to get too comfortable. Getting the hint, Ginny unfolded herself from the car and walked toward him, hips swinging, sex in her eyes. Falon nearly sighed.

She snaked her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his, shoulder to hip. “I had a great time.” She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth and stepped back, eyes drawn over his left shoulder. “Call me when you’re done here.”

When Ginny disappeared behind the elevator doors, he turned and was confronted by a wall of anger rolling off Marcy. His eyes bounced from her glare to the woman standing next to her. Sarah looked pale. Pale and unable to meet his eyes. For a moment he thought she was sick and his gut clenched. Then he remembered Ginny looked over his shoulder. She knew the women were there and whatever she had seen on their faces had her kicking things up a notch. He had to hand it to the woman. She played a good game.

Kicking himself for still being concerned about Sarah, he assumed his most condescending stance. Crossing his arms over his chest he looked down his nose at the women who brought his world crashing down. “Enjoy the show?”

He watched Sarah squeeze her eyes tightly shut before forcing herself to look at him. Well, not directly at him. Some point beyond his right shoulder. His heart tripped over itself when he noticed her red-rimmed eyes. Had she been crying? Clenching his fists, he fought the instinct yelling at him to close the distance between them and comfort her. She brought this upon herself. She had lied, played him like the sorry fool he was beginning to believe he was.

“Look here you son of a b—”

“Marcy. Enough.” Sarah’s wane voice cut her friend off.

“As much as I hate to agree, don’t you think you’ve done enough talking?” He sneered. If it weren’t for the woman, he would still be living in the blissful delusion that Sarah actually cared.

Marcy had the grace to look ashamed. For about half a second. Then her spine straightened and she opened her mouth to deliver what he was sure was a rather scathing remark.

“Marcy. Just leave it.” Sarah sounded so defeated.

“I’d listen to your friend.” Falon couldn’t keep his eyes from shooting to Sarah. “For all her faults she’s smart enough to recognize a lost cause when she sees one.”

He watched as Marcy looked at her friend. She winced and bit back whatever words were fighting to work past her lips.

As they walked past him, Sarah kept her distance like she feared getting too close. He felt his jaw clench as the thought of her being physically afraid of him toyed with his mind. She couldn’t think …

“You’re a real bastard, you know that,” Marcy called over the hood of her car.

Yeah. He knew.

Chapter Thirteen

If Sarah thought the scene in the parking garage was bad, she really should have taken sick days the rest of the week. Watching Ginny wiggle through the office every day to visit Falon was killing her. She felt physically ill every time she watched him place a talented hand on the small of her back and ushered her out the door.

The happy couple had just left for another lunch date. Her stomach turned as she realized they probably weren’t eating. Well, food anyway.

She lowered her head to rest on her crossed arms. She was lost. And she didn’t know what to do about it. A part of her wanted to rail at him until he listened. Understood that, yes, she did set out to get under his skin. But her intentions had been good. She only wanted him to remember what it was like to live with his heart. Instead, she had lost hers to the only man who had successfully frozen his.

Another part of her, the part more prone to roll over and play dead, told her that she could talk until she was blue in the face and it wouldn’t make any difference. He was probably looking for a way to get rid of her anyway, and her little slipup in the bathroom was just the exit he needed. Look how fast he attached himself to Ginny.

Sarah groaned. Maybe there was a nice hole somewhere she could go crawl in.

“Come now, it cannot possibly be that bad.” The deep accented voice pulled her head from its resting place. Standing just inside her door was an extremely well dressed older man. He appeared around her grandfather’s age. And like him, he stood tall in his custom-tailored suit. His rich dark hair, snow white at the temples and the lines on his tanned skin were the only clues to his true age.

“Can I help you?” She wondered if the man was an actor looking for Frank. She had never seen him before, but their prospective client list had picked up a little to the work Falon had done.

“Yes, my name is Armand Cortinovis, am looking for someone actually.” The man’s Italian accent and charming smile had her relaxing. He had a great smile. Almost familiar. Maybe she had seen him in the agency before.

“If you’re looking for Frank or Ralph, I believe they are out to lunch.” She found herself returning his smile, even if hers was a little sad. “Can I take a message?”

The man stood studying her for a moment and the comfort of the moments before fled. “You’re her aren’t you?”

She was startled. “Her who?”

“The woman that has my grandson tied up in knots.” She had to remember not to let her jaw hang open. That was why his smile looked so familiar. Falon had flashed her the same grin whenever he was up to something. Studying the man closer, she noticed they shared the same liquid brown eyes. Only where Falon’s were now full of icy disdain this man’s were a story of regret.

“I don’t think …”

“Mind if I have a seat? I think there are a few things you need to know.” Not waiting for her to tell him it wouldn’t be a good idea, that he couldn’t possibly be more wrong where she and his grandson were concerned, he swept further into the room and claimed a chair across from her.

“Don’t look so nervous. I promise what I have to say will help you to understand the man whose heart you hold.” He raised a staying hand when she made to argue that last fact. “Just listen and draw your own conclusions.”

She nodded. Wondering what had the concern flashing in his eyes.

“I’m sure Falon told you, or at least hinted at, his distaste for me. I cannot fault him for it as it is very well founded. You see, his mother fell in love with the son of my gardener. For a man such as myself, to have my only daughter choose a man who digs in the dirt, it was inconceivable to my ego.” He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I let my ego push my daughter from my life. She had a choice, that man or her legacy.”

“She chose love.” He looked deep into her eyes. “I can see that now, but then I was so lost in my own pride I cut them from my life. I acted as though they did not exist, lost track of them.” The regret filled those expressive eyes, the eyes so much like Falon’s. “I was in Italy when I heard about the accident. It had happened six months earlier and I knew nothing about having a grandson. Grief stricken, I didn’t return to America for another six months only to learn of Falon. He was lost in the system by then and there is only so much foreign money can buy.”

“He said you contacted him at Northwestern.”

His eyes lit up. “So he did open to you.”

The statement caused her to issue a very unladylike snort and the smile returned to his face. “I think you are underestimating your position with my grandson. Life has dealt him some blows. He feels he cannot rely on anyone. A part of that is my fault. A part of it is the people who the state trusted to care for him after his parent’s death.”

“What do you mean?”

“After I cut his mother off, their life was hard. They did not have money, but they were rich in other ways an old man is only now beginning to understand. They had love. When they died that love was ripped from Falon and he was thrust into a world he wasn’t prepared for.” He looked so guilty she fought the urge to comfort him. “One home he was in, they should have never been trusted with children. Falon came home early one day and found the man trying to rape one of the girls in the house. He reacted, putting the man in the hospital.”

“Oh my gosh.” Sarah raised a hand to her mouth. She knew Falon had pulled himself from poverty to become the success he was today, but she had no idea it was that bad.

“He won’t talk about that day.” He shook his head sadly. “I had to access the closed police file for what little details I know. But I believe that day was the last straw, he was only seventeen and had to witness what lack of self-control can do to a man. That, coupled with what I did to his mother, it changed him.”

“You can’t blame yourself.”

“I can, and I do.” He rose from his seat. “My grandson has connected with you in a way I had been praying for, for years. You are in his heart. The question is Sarah Maxwell, what are you going to do about it?”

She sat frozen watching him walk out of the room. At the door, he turned to study her once more. “There are many faults with the man he has become. He cannot see past his own resolve to see his life is to mean something more than the money that keeps him from the world he is running from. Money is never a replacement for love. This old man should know.”

Then he was gone and Sarah was left to make sense of what he had told her. There was no way he could possibly be right. Right? From her understanding, the man barely knew Falon. How would he know if he … if she … God, just the idea that he might be right made her heart leap into her throat.

A high-pitched tittering filled the outer office as the man in question stepped off the elevator, Ginny securely attached to his arm. His eyes clashed with her for only a moment before he focused on his companion. She wasn’t sure, but the look she saw in that second their eyes connected gave Sarah the confidence to enact one more mission.

***

Falon had listened to Ginny begging him to take her away for the weekend the entire hour they spent at lunch. She wanted his last days in Chicago to be spent in utter—naked—seclusion with her. She had been regaling him with her sexcapades schedule when they stepped off the elevator and his eyes tangled with liquid topaz. He forced his gaze back to Ginny before he crossed the room and took Sarah in his arms. Making a fool of himself telling her how much he missed her eyes, her laugh, how their bodies fit. Missed her.

Shaking off the sentiment, he smiled down at the woman on his arm. “I’ll call you.” He gave her a peck on the cheek and pulled his arm free. He let out a relieved sigh when the elevator doors slid shut.

“She’s not the one for you, figlio.”

Falon’s spine straightened. His grandfather was the last person he wanted to deal with today. “It’s none of your concern, Armand.” He turned to face the older man. “What are you doing here?”

He knew part of his defensiveness was because Armand was right. Ginny wasn’t for him at all. And that suited him just fine. He didn’t want a woman to feel right. To fit into his life so well that he wasn’t sleeping nights without her. He was afraid the only woman he would ever truly want was now out of his reach.

“I told you I would be in town this week.” The kind, knowing smile on his grandfather’s face made him bristle further. “Ralph and I have a tee time scheduled after lunch. I thought I would stop in early and see how you were.”

“Now you’ve seen me.” He held his hand out to his sides. “As you can see I’m doing just fine.”

“Planning a little vacation I hear?”

“Again, not of your business.”

Armand studied him for a moment before giving a slight nod. “Don’t make my mistakes. Your mother would not want you pushing away the ones you love.”

“Don’t you think you’re the last person who would know what my mother would have wanted?” He felt his hands curl into fists. Taking a deep breath, he willed himself to calm down. Just in time for the elevator’s ding and the arrival of Ralph and Frank. “Looks like your golf partner has arrived.”

The old man didn’t say anything more, just looked at him for a second, searching for something he wasn’t sure he would find before he went to greet his old friend. Breathing deeply, he had never been so glad it was a Friday in his life. At the end of the day, his job in this godforsaken city would be done and he could get on with his life. Shooting another glance through the glass at Sarah, he refused to acknowledge the emptiness of that life.

***

Falon sat on the edge of the bed watching the city lights through the curtains he forgot to close when he got in earlier that night. The sweat on his skin was now dry, but the erection that was making itself painfully known hadn’t gone anywhere. The dream that pulled him from his sleep was different this time and he was trying to make sense of it all.

It was still fully of erotic images and sensations he could still feel at the base of his spine. But this dream started differently. He had been lying in bed. He recognized the room he spent his senior year in, despites its best efforts to tilt off its axis. He remembered that night. It was the end of midterms and he had gotten amazingly drunk avoiding the decision to join his grandfather’s company or go out on his own.

Lost in those thoughts, his dream self didn’t register someone was in the room until the door clicked quietly shut.

“Jim?” Even his drunk, twenty-one-year-old self knew that voice. It was the girl Jim had pointed out to him when everyone had returned from break.

“Sarah?”

For a second nothing in the room moved. The suddenly she was at his side and he was reaching for her. Claiming her.

From there the dream took its usual route to pure bliss. Falon scrubbed a hand down his face. It didn’t make sense. Yes, she had been taking the lead role of his nightly fantasy but this was the first time it went beyond a roll in the sheets. Tonight’s dream made his scalp prickle as if he were missing a major piece of the puzzle.

A sharp knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts. Climbing naked from the bed he wondered who the hell would be stopping by at nearly two in the morning. The thought that it was Ginny stopped him in his tracks. Wouldn’t do to open the door in his current state. Doubling back he pulled on the gym shorts he kept by the bed for when room service delivered his breakfast.

“Look Ginny—” The words died in his throat. The woman on the other side of the door definitely wasn’t Ginny. And with the dream still fresh in his mind he did the only thing he could.

Moving too quickly for her to protest, he pulled Sarah to him by a hand at the base of her neck. He crushed his mouth to hers. Forced all of his frustration and anger into that kiss. At first she didn’t respond. She held herself rigidly, resisting his claim to her. Then finally, with a sigh, she slid her arms to his sides and returned the kiss nearly as brutal as his. He knew he was bruising her lips, but he didn’t care. She had to know how much he hated feeling this way. Hated feeling his world implode at her betrayal. Hated loving her so much that it mattered.

Pulling her the rest of the way into the room, he forced her against the wall. Not caring about her clothes, he ripped and tore at the garments until her naked flesh was the only thing beneath his questing hands. Removing his lips from hers, he trailed a series of bites and licks down her neck. Reveling in her crooning. Feeding off of her lusty sighs as his hands and teeth brought her close to the edge.

He took the breasts he dreamed about firmly in his hands. Weighing the flesh. When he drew one needy nipple between thumb and forefinger, she nearly bucked off the wall. Unable to resist, he took the other in his mouth. Suckling her in a rhythm that was driving them both higher. He knew the exact moment she began to fall over the edge. When she fell apart, he didn’t allow her to come back down. He was determined to show her everything.

Lifting her, he was surprised she had the state of mind to wrap her legs around him. She put her face in the hollow space where his shoulder met his neck. Her uneven breathing against his heated skin tempted him to take her there against the wall. But he had plans for her.

Palming her tempting ass, he walked them into the bathroom, straight to the shower he didn’t get to utilize the way he wanted the last time. She would pay for that. Turning on the spray with one hand, he never let her feet hit the floor. Once he was satisfied with the temperature, he shucked his shorts and walked them both into the spray.

The feel of her slick body rubbing against his skin threatened to put an end to his control. Unhooking her ankles, he lowered her to her feet in front of him. Looking into her traitorous face, her eyes closed against the feelings he was pulling from her, he almost forgot what she had done.

Releasing a low growl, he went to his knees and took her with his mouth without warning. Her startled scream and near instant climax only fueled him. He would make it so she could never be with another man without thinking of him. Holding him against Falon and finding him wanting. He wanted to ruin her for other men, just as she had ruined him for women.

Energized by his thoughts, he held nothing back. Taking her tiny bundle of nerves, now swollen and begging for attention, into his mouth and gave a little nip. The spicy, sweet scent of her arousal drove him on. She bucked against him, pulling at his hair, wordlessly begging him for more. Happily, he obliged. Sinking a finger deep into her channel, he was lost in her sweet heat. Her inner muscles milked his finger begging him for more. Adding another finger, he pumped them in time to the rhythm of his tongue pulling every reaction from her possible. This time when she called out, her climax nearly brought her tumbling to the ground. He was sure if he hadn’t been holding her upright she would be a puddle on the shower floor.

Bringing her back down slowly, he lapped up every drop of her release. Letting it explode on his tongue. She was the sweetest thing he ever tasted.

When he was sure she was able to support herself, he stood and turned her to face the wall. Grabbing a washcloth and soap, he created a rich lather. Running the suds down her slim back, he paid close attention to the globes of her ass, pulling yet another needy moan from her throat. Reaching around to her front he ran the soapy cloth up her flat stomach causing her to drop her head between the arms she braced on the shower wall.