She almost forgot about needing to have her photo snapped for the two papers. She had to bare her teeth and grin for the photographers. Would the images get her in even more trouble with whoever hired Dustin?
“Well, tell me about your business. I heard you were thinking of opening a third location in Charlotte. Is it true?” Ethan asked.
“I think I’m going to stick with New York and Boston, for now. I have my hands full with those locations, and I would probably be biting off more than I could chew by bringing my business to Charlotte.” Her eyes scanned the room, searching for Connor. When she saw him at the bar, she felt a little better.
“Do you like what you do?”
She was in no mood for this conversation, but she forced herself to play the role. Pretend everything was normal, and that she wasn’t scared of Dustin Scott. “Yeah, I think so. I didn’t have much of a choice, though. My stepmother needed me to help out. But, it’s probably the perfect job for me since I’m obsessed with planning things.” I didn’t plan to fall for Michael, though.
“Will you stick with it?”
“I think so.” If I survive.
“You could always come and join the finance world. It’s very riveting.”
You have a great smile, she decided. And he was good looking. He definitely had the angular features and soft eyes that she adored . . . even though he, and every man, seemed to pale in comparison to Michael Maddox. Still, she hoped he could distract her from the fear that was burning her insides. “For some reason, investments and acquisitions don’t exactly sound sexy to me.” She returned his smile. It was her first real smile of the evening.
When Ethan finished his sushi, he looked up at the approaching waiter. “You ready to order?”
“I’ll have the egg noodles and chicken.” She wondered if she’d be able to force herself to eat.
“Same for me.” Ethan handed their menus to the waiter and focused his attention on Kate. “I guess we have similar tastes.”
She could practically read his mind and almost felt sorry for him. He had no idea how little of a chance he had. It wasn’t fair.
“Thank you again for bidding on me. It’s for a good cause.”
“I would have asked you out, regardless.” He brought his glass to his lips, but his eyes never left hers.
She downed the rest of her wine and rolled her tongue over her front teeth. Where are you, Connor? Her nerves pushed to the forefront of her mind when she noticed Connor was MIA from the bar. Was everything okay?
“You’re beautiful. I can’t believe Michael didn’t snatch you up for himself.”
Ethan’s comment snapped her attention back front and center. If only you knew. “His loss,” she joked.
“Lucky for me.” She relaxed when she spotted Connor near the entrance of the restaurant. He didn’t look alarmed, so she shifted in her seat, hoping to seem casual.
After the meal ended and she carried her weight through the polite conversation portion of the evening, Kate proceeded with the rest of Jake’s instructions.
Ask Ethan to a club. Get out wide in the open.
She couldn’t believe she was purposefully becoming a target for a psychopath. But Ethan kept the drinks coming, and the alcohol soothed her, alleviating her nerves.
For a moment, she almost forgot that a murderous hitman for hire was stalking her—was possibly watching her at that very moment.
Tipsy became somewhat of an understatement, and she noticed Connor growing edgy at the bar. He had been against Jake’s plan from the beginning, but he’d agreed to it when Jake explained that, once they had Kate’s willing cooperation, they were under direct government orders to proceed. Jake had reported to the FBI that Dustin Scott was in Charlotte—and now her case was a federal one. No pressure . . .
“Come here,” Ethan said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the dance floor. They were at the nightclub where Kate had spilled her drink on Michael. That was the night her life had changed. No—her life changed the moment she received the phone call from Julia Maddox.
As much as she wanted to regret coming to Charlotte, she would never have discovered the truth about her mother, and she wouldn’t have met Michael. Of course, she wasn’t sure if meeting Michael was a good thing or not. The jury was still deliberating.
Kate attempted to focus as she danced with Ethan, but the alcohol was going to her head. His hands brushed over her bare shoulders before skimming down the sides of her pale yellow, sleeveless dress. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms snug around her waist when an Ellie Goulding song blared through the room. She shut her eyes as they moved around the floor, but she kept thinking of Michael.
When Ethan’s lips touched hers, she blinked her eyes open in surprise. She took a step back, breaking their kiss.
She wasn’t ready for the touch of another man’s lips—alcohol or not. “Sorry, I just . . .” She didn’t know what to say, and the music was so loud that it was probably pointless to speak, anyway.
“That’s okay. Sorry.”
She took a nervous breath and began to search for the beat once more.
Then terror struck her heart.
It wasn’t Dustin watching her.
She gulped at the sight of him. “Michael,” she whispered.
Michael stood a few feet away from the dance floor. His shirt sleeves were rolled to the elbows, and his hands were fisted at his sides.
Ethan followed her gaze and looked over his shoulder.
“Kate, it’s time go,” Michael demanded after he’d stalked toward them with purposeful strides.
Kate looked back at Ethan, unsure what to do or say. He was reaching for her hips, but his touch felt foreign and wrong. Especially in front of Michael.
“Kate,” Michael said with a strained voice, his eyes shrouded in rage. “Now.”
“I should go,” Kate said, pulling free from Ethan’s grasp. “Thank you for the date.”
Ethan looked to Michael. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why she had pulled away from his kiss now.
“Goodnight, Kate,” Ethan said. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
She gave him an apologetic glance and then allowed Michael to pull her away. He moved so fast that she almost lost her balance in her four-inch heels. Holding her by the wrist, Michael guided her toward the door of the club.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried as they stepped outside.
“Michael,” Connor shouted, jogging to catch up.
Michael spun around to face Connor. “What in the hell were you thinking? And what the fuck is going on?”
Connor held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m following orders.”
“Orders?” he bit out. “Whose orders?” he asked, leaning in toward Connor.
“Mine,” Kate shouted. “I insisted I keep my date with Ethan. I couldn’t stay cooped up any longer,” she lied.
Michael released his grip on her and edged back a few feet.
Tell him the truth. She rubbed her wrist as if he’d burned her. “I’m sorry. I wanted to find Dustin. To draw him out. I’m tired of hiding.”
Connor grimaced and shook his head at Kate, warning her with narrowed eyes. “Jake thinks you should take her somewhere else.”
“Where? Somewhere else that’s out in the open so Dustin can get to her . . .” Before Kate or Connor could respond, Michael reached for Kate’s hand. “Come on, I know where to take you.” He glared at Connor. “Tell Jake I’ll call him. Don’t have him waste his time calling me.”
Michael’s Audi was waiting near a valet by the curb, its engine still on, ready to go. “Kate,” he ordered, opening the door for her.
Not wanting to upset him any further, she slipped inside the car without protest.
After tipping the valet, Michael got in the car, shifted gears, and pulled out onto the road. He gripped the wheel, his knuckles whitening. “What were you thinking? Might I remind you that a killer is following your every Goddamn move?” He looked over at her.
“You lied to me.”
“How did you find me? You weren’t supposed to know . . .” She hoped she could distract him for a moment.
“I installed a tracking device on your phone.”
“What?” This time, she was the one seething with irritation. He hadn’t even blinked as he admitted the gross invasion of her privacy. She reached into her clutch and touched her phone self-consciously. “When? Why?”
“After the ball.”
He was out of line. She was too upset to talk, so she remained silent as they drove, and she was thankful he copied her.
“Where are we going?” she asked a little later when she realized they were leaving the city, heading north.
“To my place on Lake Norman,” he replied. His foot pressed a little harder on the pedal, accelerating the car to an almost dangerous speed.
“You have a place there?” That was the last place she wanted to go. Lake Norman was where her mother was murdered.
“Yes.” He continued to increase his speed.
“Be careful,” she warned, noticing the roads were slick from an earlier rain shower.
He sped up a little more, probably just to spite her.
After twenty-five minutes of driving (which should have taken thirty-five minutes), they pulled up in front of a wrought iron gate. He punched a few buttons on the electronic keypad by the gate, and it opened. They drove almost half a mile. Huge trees lined the property and the long driveway.
Kate drew in a deep breath when they reached the house. “You have a log cabin?” She tried not to betray the shock in her voice. She expected a mansion, not a one-bedroom cabin on the water. And that made her like him that much more. “It’s very . . . you.”
He parked in front of the house and got out of the car. Without waiting for her, he walked to the front door and unlocked it.
There was no way she would be able to walk to his house in her stiletto heels. She stared down at the rocky ground and contemplated her options. When she looked back up, Michael was in front of her. He must have realized her dilemma. He reached for her and scooped her into his arms.
She looked up at him as he held her and walked. “Did you like kissing him?”
His anger toward her was for more than one reason, she realized. “You’ve got to be kidding! Why the hell do you care?” she asked as her feet found the ground once inside.
He ran his hands through his thick hair, mussing it up. “Do you want him?” His voice was like hard steel.
He had no right to be acting like this—no right. Being angry for keeping her date a secret was one thing, but being jealous about it? Hell, no! “Why did you bring me here?” She crossed her arms, but before she could react, he was moving toward her, backing her up against a wall. He propped a hand on each side of her head, and she was imprisoned by his frame.
She looked at his tanned, muscular forearms, and her gaze traveled up to his shoulders, neck, and mouth. “Why am I here?” she repeated, her voice lower this time.
“You’re safer with me. Away from everyone. I don’t care what you think.” He cocked his head to the side. His face hovered a few inches from hers.
His lips were too close.
“I don’t feel particularly safe right now.”
“I’m going to ask you one more time. Did you like it when Ethan kissed you?”
Who the hell do you think you are? She pressed her hands against his solid chest and tried to push him away from her. “Get away,” she hissed.
But he wouldn’t budge—instead, his mouth covered hers. He kissed her for only a few seconds before she pulled away. She was too damn frustrated with him to have his lips anywhere near hers. “Why are you doing this to me? You’re hurting me more than any damned stalker could . . .”
“Shit. I’m sorry, Kate.” He dragged his hands down his face.
She tried to swallow her emotions, but they were running skin deep. “Do you want me or not? I’m so confused.” And what did she even want? Her mind was muddled, her feelings screwed up with everything that had happened to her in the last week.
He took a step back from her. “I can’t get you out of my head. Even with everything going on, I just can’t . . .”
She watched him for a moment, trying to anticipate his next move, and then she started to walk away from him. Through a long window on the other side of the room, she could see the lake, glinting in the moonlight.
He caught up with her. “I want you, Kate,” he said gruffly. He turned her to face him.
The pain in her eyes must have been obvious because he softened his grip and dropped his head. “Sex isn’t enough for me. It never will be.” She looked away from him and down at the oak floors.
He touched her face and tilted her chin up. “What if I want more?”
Could she believe him? “You don’t. You just don’t want to ‘share’ me with anyone else.”
“Of course, I don’t want you to be with anyone else! Seeing you with Ethan . . . slayed me. But I want you for more than that.”
She lowered her eyes, hating her body for trembling, betraying her emotion. She wanted to believe that he wasn’t speaking from some primal need to possess her.
Her breath hitched when he touched her mouth, rubbing his thumb over her lips.
Her fragile barrier was slipping. She tried to cling to it, but it was pointless.
She wanted him, too. To hell with her plans. She knew the moment they’d first kissed that she’d rather live an uncertain and unplanned life—if it meant having a heart full of love. She’d just been too afraid to admit it then.
She released a ragged breath, and then pressed up on her feet and found his lips.
He cupped her face with his hands and brought her closer to him, giving him better access to her mouth. He growled as her tongue slipped between his lips, searching for an even more profound connection.
She stumbled, but he held onto her. “Michael . . .”
He took a step back, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to the bedroom. He flipped on the light as they entered. He laid her on the bed and stared down at her.
She looked up at him in awe. He was the most incredible man she had ever encountered. She watched as he began to unbutton his black collared shirt. His hard body and gunshot wounds were exposed when he pulled his shirt off. His eyes never left hers as he maneuvered out of the rest of his clothing.
Naked, he moved toward Kate and took off her heels. He trailed kisses up her legs, and pushed her dress up, exposing her sheer white panties. She sat up so he could remove her dress. He slipped it off over her shoulders, revealing her strapless, white demi-bra.
He was taking his time—drinking her in and making her equally drunk with need. He brushed his mouth along her neck as he unhooked her bra and tossed it to the floor.
She murmured as he held his weight over her, pushing her back down, taking her breasts in his hands, massaging them—twisting and tugging on her nipples.
She gripped his back and arched her body when his mouth began to devour her breasts, teasing her with his tongue. His hand moved over her panties and dipped beneath the fabric, touching her sex with slow and deliberate movements. She was becoming almost painfully aroused. She reached for his cock and moved her hand over his long, hard length.
He groaned at her touch and released her nipple from his mouth. He captured her lips again as he pushed his fingers inside her. Her body tensed and shook with desire, needing more. He moved his mouth down her body and to her center. Her hips bucked as his tongue darted between her thighs.
Her nipples hardened, and she moved her hand over her own chest. She didn’t want to orgasm yet, but she couldn’t hold back. Her body exploded with the ecstasy his touch had built inside her after only a few minutes.
She motioned for Michael to flip to his back. She kissed his throat, and her mouth wandered over his pectoral muscles. Her lips moved down to find his happy trail and his hard erection. She kissed around the base and placed wet, sucking kisse
s on his inner thighs. She captured his hard on with her mouth, and he groaned.
She took almost all of him in one languorous swallow. He looked down at her as she tightened her mouth around him.
“I want you,” he said in a low, guttural voice a few minutes later.
And with one quick movement, she was on her back again, and he was braced over her. She hadn’t even seen him reach for the condom, he was so quick.
His eyes tore through her, making her feel so many emotions that she couldn’t think straight.
And then she felt him. He moved inside of her—slow at first, and then deeper and faster. He leaned down to kiss her as their bodies collided. His kiss rocked something free inside of her. She’d had her own walls up for so long that she hadn’t even realized they were there. She’d protected herself with lists and plans—never letting anyone in, but Michael had broken through, even if he hadn’t meant to.
And when their lips parted, he focused on her eyes, and she knew something was different about this time. The way he looked at her as they had sex—no, made love—it made her feel special, somehow.
Her body began to quiver and build again as he rubbed his hand over her wet center in rhythmic time with his thrusts. And then his head bowed as he found release.
She watched as the gorgeous man fell to pieces inside her.
“You’re amazing,” he whispered in her ear as their bodies parted.
She brushed the back of her hand over his cheek and shifted to her side to get a better look at him, her Man of Steel. “How did we end up here—again?”
He perched his head on his hand and ran his fingers through her long hair, pushing it off her face. “I guess I can’t stay away from you.”
Chapter Twenty
“How’d your date go?” Kate leaned against Michael on the porch swing with her legs crossed up over the edge as she eyed the lake. She brought the coffee mug to her lips and glanced over her shoulder, waiting for Michael to respond.
“Horrible. The whole time I was eating dinner, all I could think about was you. And when I went home, and you were gone . . .” He pushed against the ground, giving the swing a little more momentum.
The Hidden Truths Series Box Set Page 19