Paul sidestepped the small unit scurrying around. “In case of bad weather, Elaine has arranged games beneath the pavilion. We can clean up and join them. I’ll see you out there.”
Without delay, Marc stepped upon the escalator. The unexpected weather had messed up his plans to sneak away with Gina and talk, really talk. Maybe the rain wouldn’t last long.
At the top of the stairs, he headed for the bedroom assigned to him and Gina. Without pausing, he entered the bathroom and turned the shower on before toeing his shoes off and stripping out of his soaked clothing.
The warm water felt soothing flowing down his body. The only thing missing was Gina. The thought of her made his cock harden. He closed his eyes, imagining her there with him. Their bodies pressed together, her lips on his. His soapy hand smoothed down his abdomen until he cupped himself.
Damn. He was missing her.
He opened his eyes and quickly washed and rinsed before grabbing a towel and drying off. In no time he was dressed in a pair of black pants, a thin sweater and dress shoes. The bedroom door closed quietly behind him as he stepped into the hall and made his way down the stairs.
A maid met him at the living room door with an umbrella. “You’ll need this, Mr. Charleston.” She held the door wide.
“Thank you.” He pushed a button and the umbrella unfolded.
As he neared the tent, he heard streams of laughter. It appeared the weather had not dampened everyone’s fun. On his approach, the door swung wide and he strolled in.
“Charleston.”
Marc turned and his heart fell to his feet.
He looked eye to eye with Chad Struma, retired president of Struma’s National Bank and, more importantly, Gina’s grandfather.
Marc shook the man’s hand. “It’s been a while.” His stomach knotted.
“Too long,” the shrewd man said, taking Marc’s measure. “How are your brothers?”
Marc fought not to search the crowd for Gina. “They are well, sir. And you?” Maybe she wouldn’t see him speaking with her grandsire. Wishful thinking, but that was all he had to hold on to.
“A small case of bronchitis.” He coughed and then cleared his throat. “Not bad otherwise. Retirement is agreeing with me. Elaine tells me your business is doing well.”
Elaine?
Of course, the new president of Struma’s National bank had probably performed a complete workup on him and his financials and family. The knowledge should have aggravated him, but he couldn’t blame Gina’s family for looking out for her interest. Too many people were willing to take advantage of her. At least her family wouldn’t believe he was after her money.
“The Institute is doing very well. We have just released the new models.”
“Good. Glad to hear that. Let’s take a seat.” As they began to walk toward an open table, the elderly man narrowed his sight on Marc. “I hear you escorted my granddaughter here.”
Marc should have known this was coming. Struma was never good at beating around the bush. “Yes sir, I did.”
Struma stopped before his chair. His expression was blank, unreadable. “And?”
Marc swallowed hard. In reality there was no reason to lie. If things worked out to his liking, then he planned on marrying Gina, if she was receptive to his offer. “Truthfully, I am enamored of your granddaughter.”
With a shaky hand, Struma pulled out a chair and nearly collapsed into the seat. “Does she share your feelings?”
Did she? Yes, if last night was any measure, but after she discovered his betrayal it was anyone’s guess.
Marc sat across from Gina’s grandfather. “I believe she will need to answer that question for herself.”
“What question?”
A shiver slid down Marc’s spine. He hesitated before glancing around to find Gina standing behind him. She drifted between them and Marc took a moment to study her.
Her backbone was rigid. Not a good sign.
He mentally squirmed beneath the heat in her eyes. Then she turned and her fury dissolved as she faced her grandfather. Without a doubt, Gina was giving the performance of a lifetime.
Warmth spread across the old man’s face. “Come sit by me, baby girl.”
Before she took her seat, she gifted her grandfather with a kiss on the cheek. “So you both know each other?” She avoided eye contact with Marc.
“Charleston and I go way back. As I said earlier, I knew his parents. They were patrons of our bank. Charleston and his brothers have remained with us throughout the years.”
“Isn’t that lovely?” Not a note of sarcasm rang in her words, but Marc wasn’t a fool. He had been caught in flagrante delicto, red-handed.
Gina knew the truth.
“Now, missy, Charleston was sharing with me his feelings toward a particular granddaughter of mine. I was wondering if that granddaughter shared his sentiment.”
She chuckled lightly. “Grandpa, you know I would never kiss and tell.” A spark ignited in her eyes when she turned her icy glare onto Marc. “Tell me more about your relationship with my grandfather. It seems there is a lot about you I don’t know.”
It took everything Gia had not to scream until her lungs burst into flames. Once again a man had betrayed her.
For a woman who thought herself intelligent, she had been so very stupid. All the signs were there. For one thing he snored, not badly, but snored all the same. A perfect man would not snore. He ate, drank and used the facilities regularly. Duh! Where had her head been except up her ass?
And then there were his tender expressions, both caring and cherishing. The way he held her, kissed her, made love to her—all lies. She’d lay a bet that the jealousy he had shown when Doug had arrived the day before was false as well.
Hell. The man was a better actor then she was.
Humiliation made her tremble like a leaf thrown about by the wind, but on the outside she remained calm, even a little detached, sitting between Marc and her grandfather at a table beneath the large tent. No one else seemed to notice how thick the air had become or that the temperature beneath the canopy had climbed as her family continued to play charades, sonic twister and electronic card games.
Except Marc, who was beginning to perspire. Small beads of sweat dampened his forehead. His troubled expression was one of dread, like a man who had been caught with his pants around his ankles.
Satisfaction crept in to join her anger.
He reached for her hands, which were folded atop the table before her. Subtly, she turned to her grandfather, dragging her hands away before Marc could touch her, knowing that she would crumble if he did. Her composure was brittle at best.
“Grandpa, you look exhausted.”
And he did. Not only was he pale, but his breathing was labored. He also appeared to be cognizant that something wasn’t right between her and Marc. Forehead furrowed, he looked suspiciously between the two of them.
“Would you like me to escort you to your room?”
“Thank you, baby girl. Perhaps lying down for a while would be best.”
Gina stood, as did Marc. Purposely she presented him with her back and busied herself with assisting her grandfather to his feet. He leaned on her as she put an arm around his waist. His comforting cologne wrapped around her and for a moment she was a little girl again. Safe. At home. Then reality stole the sensation away.
Without looking back, she grumbled, “I’ll be back.” Just enough heat entered her words to stop Marc from following them. Still she could feel his gaze burn down her back.
As they approached the exit, a servant provided them with an umbrella and the door swung wide. Misty rain still fell, but it wasn’t the torrent it had been earlier. Gia felt thankful for their good fortune, because her grandfather’s steps were feeble, a mere shuffle, unsteady.
For a moment, her own problems dissolved. “Grandpa, are you all right?”
His weak smile didn’t comfort her and he seemed to know it. “Just under the weather, baby girl. I’ll be fi
ne in no time.” He paused. “What about you?”
“I’m okay—”
He shot her one of his quelling looks that said she had better not be lying to him. “Charleston didn’t tell you that he was acquainted with your family?”
Damn her grandfather for being so insightful, but he would literally have apoplexy if he knew the whole truth.
“No. He didn’t.” At least her answer would cease further questions for now.
“Does it really matter? Gina, he’s a fine man.”
No. That part of his deceit hadn’t moved her as much as knowing that she had confided so much, even revealing to Marc her darkest fantasies, her fears and her desires.
She barely withheld the harrumph that built and dissipated within. To make it even worse, she had admitted to loving him. Tears threatened, but with help from the rain she managed to conceal them, barely.
How could he do this to her? He knew how Doug and Mary’s betrayal had affected her. She trusted him. Loved him.
Frantically, she tried to pull herself together. “No, Grandpa. Not really. I just don’t like secrets.” Or lies.
What a fool she had been.
Anger spiked again when she thought of how Marc must have had a great laugh at her expense, not to mention the suave salesman who sold her M.A.C.’s creator instead of one of his androids. Well, she sure as hell hoped they enjoyed themselves, because when she got home she was contacting her attorney.
Oh God.
“What’s wrong, Gina?”
Crap. Her anxiety must have shown.
“Nothing, Grandpa.”
Except that Marc Charleston could ruin her with the knowledge he had. He must have realized that his secret was safe. No way could Gia go to an attorney without condemning herself.
If word got out that she secretively attended a BDSM club, or that he had duped her into thinking he was an android, or a million other little things she had never shared with anyone else, she would never live down the embarrassment, the shame. Not to mention the notoriety of it all might even hurt her chances of securing the leading role in Starlight.
Her career. Her life. Both could be ruined. The chance to work for a director who was a legend and to experience the role of a lifetime would be gone. The emotion and depth of character in this movie was something she had never before attempted. She wanted it so badly she could taste it.
And then there was her heart, or more appropriately the void that now lingered in her chest.
Assisting her grandfather into the house and to a room that was on the bottom floor, she ensured he was tucked in bed before she exited. Numbness consumed her. Closing her eyes, she leaned against the door.
How could she have been so blind? No wonder it was so easy to believe he was real, because he was. The memory of the chauffer’s recognition of Marc that day when they had arrived at her mansion popped into her mind. Even her mother and grandfather’s knowledge and acceptance of him made Gia feel that much more a fool. Hell. Her family thought he was great. Then again, they didn’t know the truth.
“Can we talk?” Marc’s deep voice forced her eyes open.
Gia nervously licked her lips. “We have nothing to talk about.” Her heart pounded so hard against her chest she thought it would explode.
He reached for her but she jerked away, skirting past the door and him so that they would not disturb her grandfather. She couldn’t bear for him to touch her.
“Please, Gina.”
“Please? Ha ha,” she muttered, feeling bile crawling and burning up her throat. The bitterness seemed apropos to how she felt staring at the man who had deceived her and then stolen her heart. She swallowed the hard knot of self-disgust. “The laugh…” Her lips pinched together. By a mere thread she held on to the tears that begged to fall. “Is on me.” A mocking smile appeared. “This should make interesting conversation in the future for you.”
“Don’t belittle what we have.”
“What we have?” Her words came out breathlessly.
Gia closed her eyes again, refusing to look back over the days they’d spent together. Still the memories of his kiss, the way he held her—made love to her, rose. Her head began to shake back and forth as if she could vanquish those tender thoughts.
Lies. Nothing but lies.
Eyelids rising, she squared her shoulders and whipped past him, then pivoted on her toes, coming face-to-face with him.
“W-what did you hope to gain from this ruse? The right to say that you slept with Gia Easton? Or that you could bring me to my knees now that you know every one of my dirty little secrets?”
“No! How can you think that after all we have shared?” His voice softened. “Gina, can’t you see I want you? Love you.”
Gia shook her head in disbelief. Love? What the hell was it anyway?
“Please, Gina, listen to me. That day you came into the showroom I was mesmerized.”
“Starstruck?” Contempt poured from her mouth.
“Yes.” His shoulders drooped. “Starstruck if you want to call it that, but there was so much more.”
His eyes brightened with emotion she couldn’t allow to affect her.
“You baited me.”
“Me?” Disbelief washed away some of her anger. “Now it’s my fault?”
“Yes.” He shook his head. “No. It was your comment that day.”
“My comment?” What was he talking about?
“He’ll do.” He hesitated, but only briefly. “My pride sometimes gets in the way. You were so nonchalant, so unimpressed, that I felt my androids required more consideration. I deserved more consideration.”
The weight in her chest thickened. “Just like a man.”
“Yes. A man.” He took a step toward her. She fought not to step back, to hold her ground as he continued. “Not an android. Not a machine.” Another step closer. Her pulse jumped, raced. “Me, Gina. The man who fell in love with you. The one whom you fell in love with.”
Blinking back tears, she clenched her hands. Damn him. She could never trust him.
Gia inhaled, releasing the breath slowly. “I want you to leave. Now.”
That was the last thing Marc wanted to hear as he stood before Gina in the middle of the vacant living room. Weariness pulled at the corners of her lips. He had put the pain radiating in her eyes there. The realization cut him like a knife.
He had fucked up, big-time.
Without a doubt, he should have told her sooner, never deceived her in the first place, but it was too late.
“I’m sorry.” Marc spoke his regret aloud as if that would make a difference. He held his breath, hoping that there was a chance that she could forgive him, give him one more opportunity to prove himself worthy.
The condemning expression in her misty eyes was her response. Silently, she turned toward the door leading outside. He hung his head, hearing the door, swollen from the weather, pop open and then close with a bang that rang goodbye.
He couldn’t move—couldn’t think. The only woman he’d ever loved had just walked out of his life and it was his fault. He had created this misunderstanding, this mess.
When his mind finally kicked in, started working again, he whispered, “No.”
It couldn’t end here—like this. Moving hastily to the door, he jerked it open.
Dammit.
Through the soft falling rain, Gina ran toward the woods, her father following her along with two of Marc’s security personnel in pursuit. Finger and thumb pinched together, he placed them between his lips and released a shrill whistle that made the guards pause. They turned around. Marc beckoned Norton with a wave of his hand. The man said something to the other guard before he headed toward Marc, the other traipsing after Gina and Paul.
As Norton neared, he must have sensed something was wrong because his footsteps hastened. “You wished to speak with me?”
“I’m leaving Oregon today.” It nearly broke Marc’s heart to say the words. “I want you and your men to stay and ensure Mis
s Easton’s safety. I’ll send the helio-sphere back tonight for your departure tomorrow.”
Norton nodded. “Yes sir.”
Marc inhaled, releasing the air from his lungs with a heavy sigh. “Make sure she arrives home without difficulty.”
A frown rose on the guard’s face. “Boss, is everything okay?”
“No.” Marc didn’t even attempt to hide his sorrow. He knew his eyes were bright with emotion, because a dark emptiness overtook him. Gina was gone. “Just make sure she’s safe.”
Before Norton could ask another question, Marc stepped back into the house. The door closed behind him as he headed for the escalator.
Standing in the bedroom he had shared with Gina, regret struck him like a blow to his gut. She was everywhere, her essence a ghost threatening to haunt him forever. The worst was her scent, which hung lightly in the air.
Emotion rose so quickly, he pinched the bridge of his nose to keep it at bay. Would she ever forgive him? Would time heal the damage between them? Or would their different lives pull them even further apart?
As he reached for his suitcase, someone stirred behind him. Hope rose, dying quickly when he glanced over a shoulder to find Gia’s mother watching him.
“Going somewhere?” Elaine asked.
Laying the bag on the bed, he steeled himself. “I’m leaving.” He walked over to the dresser and started pulling out his clothes.
A moment of silence lingered.
“Is something wrong?” He could hear concern in her tight tone.
“I’ve hurt her.” He swung around, ready to receive the woman’s scorn, but she only looked at him in that motherly way. “She’ll need you,” he said, throwing the clothes into the suitcase before reaching for his garment bag.
“Where is she?”
“The woods. Maybe by the creek.” His feet pounded across the room toward the closet. “Paul is with her now.” Or that is what he assumed. Disappearing inside, he gathered his pants, shirts, suits and ties, hoping that Elaine would be gone by the time he moved back into the room, but it wasn’t to be.
MaleAndroidCompanion Page 17