“I want to show you what you mean to me. It’s easier for me than trying to find the words.”
He nodded his agreement. His Adam’s apple rose and fell with his hard swallow. She kissed him there and scraped her teeth along the column of his neck, relishing his low rumble of approval.
He gripped her shoulders. “I need you.”
“I need you, too, but let me torture you a bit first.” She took off her lingerie and finished undressing him, then led him to the bed and gently pushed him down on it. She lowered her body onto his. His hard chest rose and fell with the ragged cadence of his breath. Straddling his thighs, she massaged the muscles from his stomach to his chest and back again, loving the smooth hardness of his torso.
She lowered her head for a kiss, sucked on his lower lip to tease him a moment, and then satisfied them both by deepening it. He tasted like wine. She heard her own moan as his hands glided along her sides, took hold of her thighs, and brought her closer to him. She arched her back to take him inside her but wanted to make this moment last and pulled back instead.
She broke the kiss and slid her body down the length of his, teasing kisses along her way. When she took him in her mouth, his body tensed beneath hers.
“Jesus, I can’t take—” He let out a ragged breath. “Christ. That feels good.”
She savored this moment, his masculine taste overwhelming her and filling her with need so intense she shook with it. Suddenly he moved beneath her and hauled her up along the length of him.
“I won’t last much longer if you keep that up.” His voice sounded like sandpaper. “Let me show you what you do to me,” he pleaded.
She said nothing, only nodded and let him roll them over. Him pressing against her thighs into the soft sheets beneath her. He dipped his head to her breasts and took a taut nipple into his mouth, sucked. She bucked against him, and he kept up the gorgeous torture. The hot coil of need tightened in her.
He dragged his mouth to taste the very center of her desire, and she arched, overcome, until all she could do was feel his mouth and tongue bringing her to the edge.
“I need you inside me.”
He lifted his body over hers, his breaths ragged. She shifted to welcome him, and he kissed her hungrily as he thrust into her. His mouth captured her moans as they began a rhythm.
With the last bit of sanity she had left, she rolled them over so she was sitting astride him, mindless to anything but the feel of him deep inside her. She paused for a moment, looking into his eyes. She dropped down to whisper, “No one has made me feel the way you do.”
His eyes widened, but he said nothing as she set the pace of their rhythm, and he grabbed her hips for the ride.
“Beverly, now.”
She quickened the tempo. As their hands joined, she felt him shatter beneath her, pushing her into her own exquisite climax. Mindless to everything except their pleasure, until she heard his softly whispered “I love you” as she collapsed on top of him.
****
The damn cell phone would not stop ringing.
He tried to rouse himself but that was difficult, since her amazing body draped over his. She’d enchanted him, and he didn’t want to break the spell. All he wanted to do was roll over and slide into her warmth.
Instead, his phone chorused with hers, and he groaned. She muttered her annoyance in her sleep and rolled over.
He looked at his bedside clock. It was only ten P.M. They hadn’t been sleeping very long. He hoped she’d wake soon and would want to eat cold pizza. Then he intended to talk her back into his bed. He wanted to wake up with her in the morning.
By the time he had pulled on his jeans and walked out to his living room, both phones were vibrating again. He was about to pick up his when Beverly walked out wearing only his shirt which barely fell to the top of her long legs.
He’d never see the shirt the same way. He couldn’t help but stare. Her eyes were sleep heavy and her auburn fall of hair a mess. She couldn’t look any sexier. Seeing her in his shirt stirred a possessiveness he hadn’t experienced with any other woman. It was a cliché, but it worked.
He ignored his phone, walked to meet her in his living room, and claimed her mouth.
“Well, hello to you, too,” she said when he finished ravishing her mouth. “That kiss leads me to believe you’d like to go back to bed.”
“Bed, table, counter, against the hallway wall. Take your pick. I’m more than ready.”
“Then why are we up?”
“We made the monumental mistake of leaving our phones on, and I came out here to throw them in the street.”
She put her arms around his neck, and he groaned as both their phones began ringing again. She pushed against his chest. “You didn’t follow through, Counselor. Now I have to throw them out the window.” They both reached for their phones.
“Finn Callahan,” he answered. When he heard the news, his body shook with rage. “Let me know if you find anything else out.” He ended the call, resisted the urge to actually throw the phone.
“What happened? I have four missed calls from Tracy. Something must’ve happened.”
“It’s going to be fine.” He rubbed her shoulder. “We will get through this together.”
“What? Just tell me.”
“John Hamilton confessed to the murder of Ellen Frye, your grandfather’s nurse. Apparently, Ellen used the information she overheard in your grandfather’s home to make some side money. John paid her to get as much information about the will as she could. He also confessed to having her snoop around my offices. Tracy doesn’t think she got any more information from my office, though. She heard plenty during the weeks Reginald and I were drafting his will.” He pushed the heels of his hands against his eyes. “Jesus. Beverly, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize she was eavesdropping. She wasn’t even in the room. This is my fault. I should have been more careful.” He was disgusted with himself. “John Hamilton had an inside track on the will the entire time.”
“You can’t blame yourself. He would have found a way,” she said. “I can’t believe this, though; it really doesn’t seem like John.”
“I know. Tracy said they are all reeling in the regional office.”
“What else did she say? Did he confess to blowing up my offices? What about the attack on Joe?”
“All of it.” He dropped down on his couch. “John did it all. He wanted you to leave the money to your mother. He knew your mother wasn’t bound to run Winslow Holdings, and he could have it all if he stepped in and played the doting brother-in-law. The whole thing was a setup to scare you off and still come out on top.”
“So it’s over?” She sat next to him. “Are they taking him to jail?”
“God, no, they aren’t taking him to jail. I’m sorry. I should have said something first. He tried to kill himself. They’re taking him to the hospital.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“He tried to kill himself?” Bev trembled as she leaned into him. Her mind raced. She needed to speak to Ma. Make sure everyone was okay.
“He’s still alive, according to Tracy. He suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest, apparently self-inflicted. He left his confession in a note found next to him. Serena knew nothing about this. Tracy said he made that clear in the confession.”
“Where was he found?”
“Hotel room in Plymouth,” he said. “Housekeeping found him, and the FBI was outside, watching his movements related to your case. They were able to airlift him.”
“And the nurse?” The poor woman didn’t deserve to die, even if she had betrayed her grandfather’s trust.
“They haven’t found her body.” He stroked her back. She welcomed the warmth. “He left instructions on where to look.”
“God, that’s gruesome.” She shook her head, trying to get it out of her mind. “What else?”
“Nothing. I asked Tracy to call me when she knows John’s condition.”
She sighed. She needed to make calls. Check on Se
rena and the rest of the family was the first priority. Then she had to deal with the business. The stock price was going to take a hit, and she should get ahead of the press to stem the bleeding.
Finn interrupted her thoughts. “Do you want to make some calls?”
“Yeah, I’ll do that now.” She made her way to the bedroom. She put on clothes and called Megan, her ma, and Tracy. She had to leave Tracy a message and apologized for not answering when she’d first called. When she went back out to the living room, he was finishing a call of his own.
“Look, I called Liam Gallagher and gave him a heads-up after I spoke to Tracy. I asked him to start drafting his ideas on how to deal with any legal issues that might crop up because of this. The will is rock solid, but John’s shares in Winslow Holdings move to Serena if he dies. And I don’t know how she is going to play this. You’ll want to do damage control. I can suggest a PR agency if you aren’t confident your in-house people can handle the issue.”
“I have plenty of confidence in my staff.” She went into his bedroom and quickly grabbed her shoes.
He followed. “What are you doing?”
She tossed his shirt on the bed. “You just said I needed to do damage control.” She walked past him toward the kitchen, grabbed her phone from the island. She texted Len to come and get her.
“You need to eat something. Just let me get you some food. You don’t have to do anything tonight. I can make some calls, and then we can drive up to Maine. Tracy says this is going to wrap up the investigation as far as the FBI is concerned, but I still think you should keep up the security on your family until we decide what’s best.”
She slapped a hand on the counter. “That’s it.”
“What?”
“You don’t get to handle this for me.” The fact she knew he was trying to help mattered little. No one was taking over her life.
“I’m not trying to handle anything. I’m helping.”
“You contacted Liam Gallagher without my permission.”
“I thought you’d have enough to do, and I’m a lawyer, so I called another lawyer so you didn’t have to. It wasn’t a hardship.”
“You aren’t my lawyer, though.” Her pulse screamed in her ears. He was acting as if she was crazy. “You are not going to steamroll me into handling this your way. It’s my life, my decisions.”
“No one could steamroll you into any decision. I was simply trying to help someone I love get through a difficult time.”
“Without consulting me? Now who’s like my grandfather? Maybe you spent too much time with him, if this is how you help. I should have been told before you talked to my attorney and before you decided when I should drive to Maine. Oh, and how long exactly do you plan for me to keep my extra security, or were you planning on going over my head with Len as well? Do I get a vote?”
“You’re upset, and you’ve a right to be.”
“Don’t patronize me. You’re fixing a situation I can handle on my own.”
“And you’re comparing me to two men I have nothing in common with because you’re scared.”
She swallowed. “What the hell does that mean?”
“I am not Chuck Devon or Reginald Winslow. I am not taking over or forcing you into something you don’t want. You aren’t your mother. Stop blurring lines.” He never raised his voice. She admired his control but had to fight for her right to do things her way.
“I’m pointing out the situation here could have been handled better by you, and now you’re trying to psychoanalyze me. Blurring lines? That’s hysterical coming from someone who just called my attorney without my permission.” She searched for her purse. Her phone vibrated. Len must be waiting outside.
“I’ll apologize for not asking you first. That was wrong. Trying to resolve things quickly is my default.”
“My default is going it alone.”
“Noted. Which is why I am not apologizing for saying you are bringing your past into this simple misunderstanding.”
She found her bag, slung it over her shoulder. “First of all, my grandfather taking over my life is not an issue from the past; it started only three months ago. I’m dealing. Pretty damn well, given the circumstances.”
“I agree.”
“Chuck Devon? Sure, I’ll give you that one. I’ve got some knots there I’ve yet to loosen. But it doesn’t make me wrong and it doesn’t make this just a simple misunderstanding. There is nothing simple about what is going on between us. And right now, I need to keep things simple.” She walked out the door.
****
Monday afternoon brought dreary rain and unseasonable early-June cold to Boston. As she stared out of her office windows, she thought the weather matched her mood.
Since Saturday night when she’d left his apartment, things hadn’t gotten easier. She’d called Ms. Garrett first, knowing her assistant would round up the right people for the jobs she needed done. She then called Reggie. Her mother seemed fine, although she stubbornly refused to believe John would do this. Bev shook her head. Of course her mother would think the best of people who didn’t deserve it.
She spent Sunday in the temporary war room they had set up in one of the conference rooms at Winslow Holdings. The team hammered out the plan of attack to keep things calm for the employees and shareholders.
That morning, she suffered through another press conference. She almost wished they asked the invasive, personal questions she normally got from the press. Instead, the focus was on stock price and who would replace John Hamilton in the event of his death or if the allegations were true, and he was convicted. She and her team decided the best answer for questions like those was “Due to the nature of the ongoing investigation, I am unable to answer at this time.”
The truth was much harder. Serena would inherit John’s board seat whether he had tried to kill Bev or not. Unfortunately, there was nothing anyone could do about that. The intercom buzzed, interrupting her thoughts.
Mrs. Garrett’s voice came across the speaker. “Mr. Callahan is on the line. He says you aren’t answering your cell phone.”
“Put him through.” She picked up her office phone. “Hello.”
“Beverly, I know you’ve been avoiding me, and I want to apologize again.”
She played with the pen on her desk. “It’s been crazy here. I’m sorry for not picking up.”
“I saw the press conference. You looked so in command. I can’t imagine anyone is worried over there anymore.”
“Everyone seems calm except me. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“I hate to be the bearer of the dropping shoe, but Tracy just called me and said she told you they are launching an investigation into John’s business dealings to make sure they are on the up-and-up. That’s going to make things tricky for you for a while. I’m really sorry.”
She dropped her head to her blotter and almost laughed. Bad news traveled fast. “I know. She called me earlier and explained the process. That is an anchor I don’t need right now.”
“I figured. I just wanted to offer help—if you need it. You said once more heads are better.”
“Thanks. How is John? Did she say? When I spoke to Tracy earlier there was no change.”
“Still in a coma. When they know anything, she’s supposed to call us both.”
“I have twelve weeks to replace him, so that’s something. We can function without him on the board, but I’d like to get this resolved before then.”
“Of course. Is there anything I can do?”
“No. I appreciate it, though.” Why was this so awkward? He’d brought up their argument on Saturday and had apologized. Should she? She hated not knowing how to act.
“Please let me know. I want to help. Speaking of helping a little too much…I am sorry for the other night, and I don’t want to pressure you right now. But when you have time, I’d like to talk about it.”
“Finn, it’s fine. I’m sorry, too.” Tears stung her eyes, but she pushed them back. This had
to be done. She sucked in a breath. “I think things got a little out of hand between us anyway. This is a good time to take a break.” She willed her voice not to crack. She’d get over this. Her feelings would only deepen if she kept seeing him. She couldn’t allow it.
“I don’t understand.”
Her heart would not come out of this unscathed. “I just need time.”
“I don’t want to push you right now. You’ve been through enough, but I’m not giving up on us. Call me when you’re ready to see me. I love you.”
The phone clicked off. She dropped her head again and let the tears flow.
The intercom buzzed again, and she grabbed a tissue. She couldn’t do this right now. She had work to do, which was the reason she had broken it off with him in the first place. She got herself together and answered. “Yes, Ms. Garrett?”
“We just received a phone call from the union rep in Plymouth at the fishery Mr. Hamilton was buying. He said he’s pulling out of the deal unless he talks to you personally. He wants assurances his people are taken care of.”
Perfect. “When does he want to meet?”
“Today.”
“It’s four o’clock. Unless he’s here already, he’ll never get through Boston traffic.”
“No, he wants you to come to them.”
“Of course he does.” She rolled her eyes. “Did he mention where and when?”
“There is a meeting tonight in their headquarters in Plymouth at seven. If you leave now, you should just make it.”
“Call him back and tell him I’m on my way.”
“I’ll text your driver and let him know to be downstairs.”
“I’ll be down in ten minutes.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Finn paced his office. “I’m going over there.”
“No, you aren’t,” Jules said.
“Why not? I should have gone over there in the first place.”
“You aren’t going to her to have the same argument you just had over the phone. You’re both stubborn.” Jules sat on his couch. “Give it some time.”
He pushed the hair off his forehead. “I’m worried about her. I want to make sure she’s okay. I could have helped today, dammit.”
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