He turned to rake his gaze mockingly down her body. "You don't have to explain anything." He said. "Even sleeping with a complete stranger."
Heat burned her cheeks as a feeling of anguish and humiliation combined to make her feel nauseous. At the same time, this was crazy. He was "the stranger." She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand, trying to rub out this entire fucked up scenario.
"You should go now." She said quietly, trying to hold back the tears that had suddenly rushed to her eyes.
They glared at each other until he sighed, glancing away in frustration. "Sorry. That was uncalled for."
Autumn nodded because she couldn't talk. The tears pushed forward and were starting to stream down her cheeks. She turned away from him, but he was there, his arms around her and he was murmuring his apologies, kissing her temple.
They stood like that for several minutes until she pushed away.
"Please go, Magnus."
"Fuck." He whispered, shoving a hand through his hair. He looked at her, pain in his eyes and she almost backed down, but she wouldn't let him treat her like that.
"I blew it. I'm an asshole, okay?" He reached out to brush her hair back, searching her eyes. "Don't push me away." He said quietly, his blue eyes so dark and full of yearning, she couldn't push him away.
His lips came down on hers in desperation, searing and scorching, his hand at the back of her head, the other holding her against him. His tongue parted her lips.
She stiffened but instead of backing away, she melted against him, stepping closer, her arms going around his neck, her fingers sliding through his hair. She felt his hunger, his need for forgiveness, for understanding, which she couldn't give him, not fully, not yet.
But she allowed him to seek it, to find some refuge and redemption in their embrace.
Magnus buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply, and nuzzling her neck as she caressed him.
"Will I still see you tomorrow?" He asked. They had their usual meeting in the morning.
Autumn nodded. "Yes, of course."
He pulled back and held her gaze. He reached up and softly touched her cheek. "You're so beautiful." He wiped a tear on her cheek. "I didn't mean to make you cry, sweetheart. I wouldn't hurt you again for the world. You know that, don't you?"
She felt an ache in her heart and wanted to just hold him, but she couldn't. Not now.
She walked him to the door, saying good-bye as he lingered for a moment in the hall, and when he had gone, she took a deep breath and made a detour to the bathroom so no one could see her ravaged face.
"So was that the douche from Brooklyn?" Dylan griped when she came back into the living room and picked up her mug.
"That was the guy from Brooklyn." She replied, sitting down to watch Emma and ignoring the rest of Dylan's comment.
Her eyes were on the screen but her thoughts drifted to Magnus. Why had he come over? They hadn't gotten around to that. She sipped her drink. Depression settled over her. His kisses made her forget everything. She needed time to sort things out.
* * * * * *
Magnus leaned back, oblivious to the traffic and noise passing by.
He shouldn't have gone.
He'd seen that little asshole who'd kissed her in the elevator, and he'd reacted in a childish, stupid way.
He pulled away from the curb and shifted into traffic, moving slowly with the dense flow of cars as his thoughts drifted to Autumn's hurt face, the tears she tried to stop, her courage in the face of his assholeness. He was a fucker. He had already hurt her; he wouldn't do it again.
He glanced in his mirror and noticed a dark blue car practically tailing him. He frowned, quickly changing lanes. The car moved with him.
Who the fuck?
He changed lanes again and the other car did the same.
Shit.
Was it Moretti?
Autumn's brother hadn't bothered him for a while, despite her claims that he would. Magnus had already realized she'd said it to get back at him, and hadn't meant it.
So then who the fuck was this?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Manhattan Boys & Girls Club
Funders:
The Kaufmann Family
Ann and Gilbert Wyatt
Steele Industries
NYC Symphonies for Youth
Corporate Sponsors:
Sanderson & Lilith Bass
Steele Industries
The Muse
Friends:
William and Amy Marcus
The Gabrielli Family Foundation
Steele Industries
On and on it went. Non-profits in performing arts, shelters, food pantries, anti-bullying programs at the NYC public schools and several private schools. Magnus Steele, board member; Magnus Steele, founding member.
The Steele Industries was one of the most philanthropic organizations in New York City with hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual donations.
Magnus as an individual donated time and money, sat on boards and was a founding member of at least two charitable organizations. Did Matt know this? Magnus didn't seem like the crime boss that Matt and the FBI had made him out to be.
It had been weeks since Matt called off the investigation. After her first intern meeting with Magnus, she'd asked Matt how he'd stopped it. He'd said there was no evidence. He'd made a good argument that the FBI was wasting its resources on these petty offenses that should be left to the local cops.
He said he'd been coming to that conclusion anyway except the FBI had been pushed to continue with the investigation by some politician. Probably someone who had been blackmailed by Magnus and wanted him shut down.
With a good lawyer, which Magnus had, the blackmail tapes could be explained away, the word "blackmail" not being mentioned at all.
Autumn sighed and closed her laptop.
Could she blame Magnus for trying to protect himself? What would she have done if someone in a position of power had spitefully tried to shut down what she had spent her life building? What would Clay have done? If Clay had been in Magnus's shoes, how far would he have gone if some unscrupulous person had wanted to ruin him or wanted the winery?
Magnus wasn't a bad guy. He was a business man who had to make tough decisions. When she was with him, she felt his confidence, his charisma and strength; she never felt anything ugly or corrupt or criminal about him. Because he wasn't like that.
She slipped her laptop in the case, zipped it up and threw it across her shoulder, as her thoughts continued to assess the problematic man who she was thinking about in ways that would get her into trouble.
Autumn shuffled through the snow to the garage.
She wasn't sure why she was trying to find reasons to excuse what he did, but she was. Spending time with him these past weeks had given her a different picture of the man and his intentions.
Oh sure, he could still be an ass.
She'd been so angry about the video. Would he have done something with it if Matt hadn't backed down?
In Brooklyn, he hadn't been able to tell her one way or the other, but she was still the sister of an FBI agent who had recently been investigating him. Even if Magnus trusted her, there was a chance she could slip at some point. He wouldn't be able to reassure her, not yet.
He was trying to protect his business.
In her heart, she understood his reasons.
Blackmail had worked for him, had probably kept everyone off his back, and some of those people were probably corrupt and tried to harm him.
He did what was necessary.
The fact that Matt had been one of the people he felt needed to be warned off was nothing extraordinary for Magnus, only for her.
Obviously, when he'd gone forward with the plan to blackmail Matt, Magnus hadn't expected to see her again, hadn't even known her at the time.
He shouldn't have done it, shouldn't have involved her, but he'd known he'd made a mistake and he'd apologized for it.
What else did s
he want? He couldn't go back and change it.
She needed to read between the lines. She needed to listen to what he wasn't saying, what he couldn't put into words.
She needed to trust him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Magnus leaned back in his chair, his gaze dropping to his buzzing phone.
"Jamie. What's up?"
"Got some good news. MacDowall pulled his bid on the annex building."
Magnus smirked. "It's about fucking time. Have they accepted another bid?"
"No word yet, but unless there's something we're not seeing, you've got it."
"How about our application for the office building in lower?"
"They want you to meet with them next week. I'll check with Sheryl and make the appointment."
"Excellent" He said, tapping on his laptop. "Anything else?"
"Yeah." Jamie's voice was tense and Magnus stopped typing. "Taylor's asking for another loan."
Fuck. The kid was voracious for the shit.
He hesitated. The usual words didn't come to his lips. He couldn't say them. All he could hear was Autumn's voice and his own damning words from weeks ago.
...a monster like you.
...Little cuz strung out. Music to my ears.
Fuck.
"No loan." Magnus finally answered. "Bring him here. I'll see him in the conference room."
"Uh...right...I'll have him there in less than an hour."
Jamie understood the emotional reasons Magnus treated his cousins the same way his uncle had treated his mom, but he never embraced Magnus's treatment of them.
Jamie wasn't an asshole like him.
It had never bothered him that Jamie had a conscience. In fact, it seemed to balance things out, and since it usually came in the form of a question like, "Are you sure you want to do that?" and other similar phrases, Jamie's moral hang ups hadn't mattered. Magnus was always sure of his decisions, excluding one very recent one.
The knock brought him out of his thoughts. It was probably Autumn. Instead of calling out, he rose and strode to the door to let her in. She stood at the threshold. He studied her before stepping aside.
"Good morning." Autumn held his gaze then smiled as she moved past him, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor.
"Good morning." He greeted, hope finding its way to his chest with her smile. Had she forgiven him for the other night? Magnus swung the door closed and followed her, watching the gentle sway of her hips as she took a seat near the window.
"How was your day yesterday?" He asked, dropping into the companion chair.
"A typical day in the life of an NYU law student." She crossed her legs. "How was yours?"
Was that a brush off? "I spent it thinking of you." He said quietly.
Her smile disappeared and her expression became serious. She stood up, crossing her arms and going to the window. "I've been thinking...about things." She confessed, rubbing her arms.
Before she could elaborate, the intercom buzzed. "Mr. Steele, your appointment has been shown to the conference room."
Taylor. He blew out a breath. He wasn't even sure he wanted to hear what she had to say. "Look, I just need a few minutes with this appointment. Breakfast should be here soon. I shouldn't be more than five minutes."
Autumn hesitated then nodded. He wanted to tell her he'd make everything perfect for them. He'd been a total prick to her, and he wouldn't push her any further than he already had.
She seemed softer, less resentful.
Whatever she had to say, he needed to deal with Taylor then she'd have his full attention.
When he got to the conference room, Jamie stood outside the closed double doors.
"Any problems?" Magnus asked, his hand on the door latch.
"Not really. I think he's nervous. He's not used to seeing you. But it's hard to tell. He looks like shit, like he hasn't slept." He hesitated. "Magnus, think twice about what you're doing. Just think it through."
"I have thought it through." He said, putting a hand on Jamie's shoulder. "When I'm done in here, I need you to take him to rehab."
Jamie's head snapped up. "What?"
"Rehab. You know, that place addicts go to get off of drugs." Magnus smirked.
Jamie squinted, confused. "What am I missing?"
"Nothing."
A wide smile cracked Jamie's normally sedate expression. "What changed your mind?"
"A woman and a good look in the mirror." He shrugged, handing Jamie an envelope.
"All the information is in here. They know you're coming. Tell them I'll be by this afternoon."
Jamie nodded slowly. "They might have visiting restrictions. Rehab centers usually do."
"I called in a favor."
He pulled open one of the double doors and stood just inside, the door closing with a soft click behind him.
Taylor sat hunched in one of the chairs around the table. One hand rubbing his arm, his eyes darting around the room.
Magnus studied his cousin as he walked around the table to sit beside him. His cousin was pasty and sweating. What a fucking mess. Jesus.
He suddenly had a picture of Patrick strung out and the sharp stab of guilt he felt almost made him nauseous.
"Hey cuz." Taylor greeted. He tried to smile but couldn't get his lips to stay in place. He was twitching and distracted, his knee bouncing like a piston under the table. His eyes were heavily rimmed in purple and red shadows.
Magnus waited, the feeling of winning, of beating this pathetic man's family, turning to self-loathing.
"You've...done well...for yourself, Magnus." He attempted a chuckle, but it turned into a grimace. "But you...you and Patrick...you were always the lucky ones."
Magnus frowned. Lucky? The drugs had really fucked up his head if he thought that.
"You know dad hated your mom?" It was a random statement and Magnus didn't answer. "He said...Aunt Nina always took away grandpa's attention. He spoiled her, gave her everything." His face twisted as if in pain. "Did you know that, Magnus?"
Magnus shook his head. His uncle had been jealous of his mother? He was the one who'd had everything.
"Dad would get angry, you know...when he drank...he'd talk about you guys, he'd throw stuff. He pushed mom down the stairs once...she had to go to the hospital."
His face was contorted, tears filled his eyes. "She never said anything. We never...she told us never to say anything."
Magnus drew in a slow breath. "Taylor."
"I wanted to...run away. I...I almost did. I had a backpack ready...I told mom I was going to live with Aunt Nina and my cousins because...because they were a real family."
Magnus stared at him, the pain in his chest tightening.
"Taylor." He said louder to penetrate the other man's frantic haze. "No more drugs, buddy."
The younger man's gaze found his face and his brows furrowed. "No. You see...I need them, Magnus. I have to have them." He whimpered and began rocking.
"I understand you think you need them." Magnus's voice was calm and soothing. "but right now my good friend Jamie is going to take you to the rehab center and then I'll be by so we can talk some more."
He opened the door and nodded to Jamie, who took Taylor gently by the arm.
"I won't be going with you, Taylor, but I'll be there in a few hours. We can talk then." Magnus watched them until they had gone around the corner toward the elevator, then he returned to his office.
Autumn wanted to say something to him.
He would hear her out. She deserved that much.
He pulled open the door and strode in.
"Sorry, sweetheart. You've got my full attention now." He said looking toward the window where he'd left her. She wasn't there. He looked around the office.
She was gone.
What the fuck.
He pivoted and stormed back the way he had come, stalking to his assistant's desk. "Sheryl, did Miss Moretti..." He stopped as the golden-haired sprite, annoying sprite, sashayed her way down the hal
l toward his office.
"Where were you?" He snapped, making both ladies jump. Autumn recovered first.
"I went to the ladies' room, or am I not allowed to do that?" She brushed past him.
"Autumn." He growled, following her.
He was right behind her as they cleared the doorway and as soon as the door was shut, Magnus pushed her against the wall and caged her in.
"How would you feel if I went to prison?" He looked directly at her and waited.
The flash of horror in her eyes and the shimmer of emotion he saw there was all the answer he needed.
For a while, he'd had a suspicion that her comment in Brooklyn about Moretti continuing the investigation was just a way to hurt him.
She had also softened toward him over the last couple of weeks, as if they had called a truce.
"Magnus." She searched his face and cupped his cheek. He leaned into the soft warmth of her palm and breathed deeply, inhaling the sweet scent of her skin.
His eyes roamed her face and felt the swell of her breasts against his chest. He took her hand and kissed it, letting it drop back to her side as he let his arms fall.
"I'm not going to prison. I just wanted to know how you would feel if I did." He said it casually, almost as if he didn't care one way or the other what her opinion was, but he did care, a lot, and now he knew that she did too.
He turned away abruptly before she saw him grinning. She huffed behind him. "Why in the world would you do that to me?" She marched to the table stacked with documents and dropped into her chair, not looking at him.
He sat down and gazed at her, still smiling.
"What?" She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "What? Do I have omelet on my face?"
He laughed and picked up a document as he nonchalantly asked, "So, you going out this weekend?"
She frowned. "I-I'm not sure. Why?"
Magnus shrugged. "Just conversation, sweetheart."
"It's just not decided." She mumbled. "It's either pizza and pool, or dinner at Nina's."
He would help her decide on Nina's, and then he would show up there, and that's when he'd make his move.
Heart of Steele Page 14