by Rita Sable
Still hugging Moses close, she took another step inside. She looked behind her. The door stood open. Her car was near, the keys in her pocket. A clammy finger of fear inched up her spine and refused to go away.
Paul? No, he was still traveling on business. She’d left him a message but would he be able to get here so fast? Could it be one of the police detectives? No. They didn’t know about the cabin and wouldn’t have cared about her cat if they found him. So, who?
Trevor would be on a plane by now heading back to England. His job here was done. He’d forget about her in a few days if he hadn’t already done so.
“Hello?” she called out, trying to put some force into her voice. “Mr. Snyder? Is anyone here?”
Hearing nothing except for the popping of logs in the fire, Cynthia inched into the living room. From the corner of her eyes a shadow moved through the long, dark hallway. She stopped, heart crammed in her throat, hugging the cat so tightly that he meowed in protest.
“Sorry, baby,” she whispered to him. “Hello? Who’s there? Whoever you are, you’re trespassing on pri…”
He looked like a dream coming from the dark into the light. She held her breath. The tall, masculine figure walking toward her was instantly recognizable, as was the deep, sexy voice with the British accent.
“Hello, darling.”
Moses scrambled out of her arms from the death grip she unwittingly applied to him. Cynthia felt rooted to the floor, arms suddenly empty. “Trevor?”
“Yes. Were you expecting someone else?”
A part of her was elated to see him. Another part quaked in fear. “Trevor. I thought… How did…?” Breath gusted from her lips. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Ah, well then. Words aren’t necessary just yet.” He lifted a pair of handcuffs from one finger and dangled them in the air.
All the blood in her body dropped to her feet. Did he plan to arrest her? Panic stabbed inside her brain like a white-hot poker. She backed up. “Moses, come here, baby. We’re leaving.”
The cat meowed and wandered farther away. Cynthia spun around and ran for him. She intended to grab him and flee but the cat had other ideas. He zipped past her and ran to the kitchen, stopping right beside Trevor.
A gleam of triumph danced in Trevor’s eyes. “Good puss.”
Panic turned to anger. She had to leave or she’d explode from too many emotions boiling inside her. He followed with those handcuffs glinting in the light. On a spurt of alarm she ran through the living room.
Trevor gave chase, vaulting over the edge of the sofa. Only steps ahead of him, Cynthia leaped over the grocery bags she’d left on the floor and dashed out into the bright sunlight. Blinded for a moment, her boots skidded on the slick, compacted snow. She slid into the car. She scrambled upright and closed her fingers on the door latch. Trevor tackled her from behind, locking his arms tight around her body. Breath whooshed out of her lungs. Her feet left the ground. The world spun up and around like a carnival ride.
With his greater weight and strength Trevor took her down into the snow. She landed on top of him, buffered from the fall by the firm length of his body. Before she could catch her breath he rolled and pinned her on the bottom. Icy snow billowed around her head and inside her coat. The cold stuff clung to her face and throat.
He shackled her wrists with his large hands and straddled her thighs, kneeling in the snow. She tried to dislodge him, bucking and squirming fiercely but only ended up giving herself a pinching pain in her lower abdomen. His face loomed close, eyes dark, with a slightly crooked grin on his mouth that smacked of triumph.
“Let. Me. Up!” She struggled against him with each word.
“What’s this? No undying gratitude for bringing your cat to you?”
“Get off me!”
“Not until you calm down and stop trying to run away.”
She stopped fighting, panting heavily from the nearly toxic mix of adrenaline, fear, shock and anger pumping through her blood. All she had the power to do was glare at him. Being captured and half buried in the snow was a highly undignified position to be in.
“How’d you find me?”
Trevor’s blue-flame gaze burned into hers. Dark hair tousled over his forehead, nearly touching his eyebrows. His skin was slightly flushed and his lips curved up, as if he enjoyed her struggles. She knew then what it felt like be prey caught in the grip of a cunning predator. And amid the panic a tiny thrill of excitement sparked and flickered inside her.
“Cyn, Cyn.” He made a tsking noise. “You made two calls from my hotel room phone, remember? They were easy enough to trace.”
That hadn’t occurred to her at all. Her heart sank another notch. “Shit. My real estate agent told you where I’d be? I’ll fire her ass for this!”
“Now, now, darling—”
She braced against him, grunting from the exertion. “Don’t ‘darling’ me!”
He tightened his hold on her wrists. Cynthia winced and he softened his steely grip. “I didn’t speak with her, O’Rourke did. There’s no need to fire your real estate agent. After all, it’s not entirely her fault. O’Rourke charmed the socks off the unsuspecting woman. That’s one of his great skills as a support agent. She didn’t give him the address. That was easy enough to find on the internet from the basic information she did give.”
“Oh.” Chill seeped into her body from the bed of snow she lay in. She started to shiver. Despite the stiffening of her muscles, she felt a softening inside her heart toward Trevor. It was truly thrilling to see him again, especially when she’d thought she never would. And he’d rescued her cat, too. He had to get a few brownie points for that.
“Where’d you find Moses?”
His grin widened. He looked thoroughly pleased. “I met your lovely gray-haired neighbor, Mrs. Perkins. She found him the night of your break-in and has been taking care of him until your return.”
Cynthia stared, slack-mouthed. “Really? Well, that was nice of her. I didn’t even know she liked cats.”
“Apparently she does.” Trevor nodded, grinning. “As far as I can tell your kitty’s in good health.”
Her anger dissolved like the ice on a pond beneath a warm, spring sun. Slowly her mind began forming coherent thoughts again. “So, where’d you park? I didn’t see your car, or I would have driven right on out of here.”
“I know that.” His eyebrows dropped ominously. “That’s why I took great pains to hide the car. Now, let’s try these on for size, shall we?” Trevor brought her wrists together, held them with one hand and whipped out the handcuffs from his back pocket with the other. Before she could blink or realize what he intended, he locked them in place around her wrists.
“What are you doing?” she squeaked, eyes going wide.
“I’m not taking any chances you’ll run off again. Let’s get you up and warmed inside. Did you buy any coffee while you were shopping? Nice little cottage, by the way. Very cozy. But I couldn’t find a damned thing to eat or drink inside the place.”
“Coffee, yes, I bought some. The cabin’s been vacant for almost a year, that’s why there’s no food. I have several more bags in the car.” She threw her cuffed wrists in his face. “Now take these off!”
“Non, ma chéri.” His grin looked entirely too hungry for her liking at this point. “I’ve a few things in mind for you and those cuffs will work nicely with what I’ve got planned. Starting with this.”
He slanted his mouth down to hers, licking and nipping on the sensitive corners. When she opened her mouth to protest, his tongue danced past her lips in one hot slide. The kiss was full of passion, demanding at first before it became a slow seduction that left her sizzling and quaking. Her body responded like a match to dry timber, flickers of warmth quickly exploding into flames. Certainly she’d melted her way through the snow down to the dead winter grass. She’d never been kissed like this, so masterfully, so thoroughly until every corner of her brain and body yearned for more.
Trevor li
fted his mouth, breathing hard. He nuzzled her nose. “There. That ought to give you some clues for how I feel about you.”
Before she could protest or question his motives, he rose to his feet, grasped her forearms and pulled her upright until she stood in the snow. Her legs had turned to melted butter. Would she ever get used to that feeling whenever he was near? He started to brush snow off her backside, his hand lingering to smooth over the curve of her ass beneath her coat. Her traitorous body responded with an appreciative moan.
“So…does this mean everything is done? You found the diamond and those numbers?”
“Yes, I found them, right where you said they’d be.”
“I’m not being arrested?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “You haven’t committed a crime, darling. Come along. Any more questions will be answered inside. I’m starved and I know your kitty would really appreciate something to eat, too.”
Trevor wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pointed to the door. Relief made her agreeable. She went willingly but couldn’t help yanking on the handcuffs. When they were inside again she lifted them up. “Please, Trevor, take these off. I’m not going to run away.”
“Mmm, you’re beautiful when you beg, darling. I’m beginning to like the idea of you under lock and key. You’ll be begging for a lot more by the time I’m done with you. Now, over here. Sit.”
Trevor gave her a gentle push until she sat down on the sagging plaid sofa in front of the fireplace. He reached into his front jeans pocket, removed a tiny key and held aloft for her to see clearly. She sighed. He’d changed his mind and would be removing them after all. Smiling with relief, she raised her cuffed hands.
“You said you have more groceries in the back of your car?” He opened one handcuff.
“Yes. And some clothes and supplies that I—”
He clapped the loose handcuff closed around the wooden arm of the sofa.
“What are you doing?” She yanked. The cuff held firm. “I thought you were letting me go?”
“Not quite yet, darling. You relax, pet your kitty with your free hand while I carry your things in and fix us something to eat.”
Moses sat beside her feet as if he’d been summoned to keep her company. The cat looked so calm and accepting of everything, his eyes like slivers of emeralds against his silky, alabaster fur. He jumped onto her lap without waiting to be invited, tucked his paws under his body and curled his tail around to his chest. His purr started loud and content, sending soothing vibrations through her jeans and into her legs.
“Traitor,” she muttered at him softly. Cynthia smoothed her free hand over Mo’s gently arched spine. Being tied to the couch unnerved her but she doubted that Trevor had anything but pleasure in mind. Hadn’t she asked him to do this while they were in the shower at his hotel room? She darted a quick glance at him, desperately trying to suppress her smile. “Thanks for bringing him to me.”
“You’re welcome.” Trevor headed back out the door to the car.
Chapter Twenty-One
Cynthia made herself as comfortable as possible on the sofa, despite the inconvenience of being shackled by one hand to the armrest’s wooden spindle. Once Trevor left her alone she examined the locking mechanism on the gleaming stainless steel handcuff closely but she could find nothing to pick at it with. She tried compressing her fingers to see if she could wiggle out, only to chafe and scuff the skin on her wrist and hand with that useless attempt. After a frustrated huff, she just gave in.
She sniffed the air, her mouth watered at the delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen. He made plenty of noise by banging pots and rifling through drawers but never asked her where things were.
She relaxed, resigned to being his captive. Besides, after that kiss and his promise of more, did she really want to be freed? Confident that her captor had no devious, painful intentions, a wicked pleasure curled inside her belly. The hot rush of guilty anticipation tantalized her. She touched her fingers to her lips, reliving that amazing kiss he’d given her outside. Her blood still hummed with hope for more of that. Cynthia kicked off her boots, shrugged halfway out of her coat and let the bulky wool droop behind her back with one arm still encased inside the sleeve. She’d just have to wait for whatever he planned.
The mid-January sun slanted through the living room window, rapidly angling down to the horizon. Sunlight set the sky aflame with bold streaks of orange and red, casting the snow into pinks and violets. She tucked her legs under her and watched the fire in the hearth die down to glowing embers.
Moses returned from the kitchen. Trevor had called him for some sort of kitty meal and the traitor had immediately deserted her lap with his tail held high. What had he fed him? She hadn’t bought cat food. Moses hopped up onto the cushion beside the fireplace, hiked a hind leg into the air and began his after-dinner grooming ritual. His loud purr filled her with comfort. Her eyelids drooped. A jaw-cracking yawn escaped her mouth. She began to doze off.
“Dinner is served, my lady.”
Cynthia blinked awake. Trevor carried a large wooden tray her mother had always used to bring lunch down to the docks. He set it on the coffee table in front of the couch.
She gaped at the sumptuous meal. “Oh my God! You made all that?”
Chuckling softly, he set out two plates. “Linguine with red pepper clam sauce. Herbed parmesan cheese bread and a mixed vegetable salad. All from things I found in your grocery bags. Hardly a lot but adequate, I hope?”
“Are you kidding? It looks great. And it’s not even close to what I’d planned to make with those ingredients. Smells even better. Now uncuff me so I can eat.”
He shook his head and sat down beside her. The sofa cushions sagged between them. “Like I said, I like having you under lock and key. Here’s a fork, darling. You only need the one hand for this.”
She snatched the fork from him, incensed that he still wouldn’t release her. But she also had to admit she enjoyed being his captive. It had naughty appeal too.
Trevor poured wine into two glasses and placed everything within reach of her free hand. She couldn’t wait to wrap her fork around the pasta with creamy clam sauce.
After a few mouthfuls, her hunger eased and she chewed more slowly, grateful that Trevor reserved comment on her ravenous appetite. He seemed quite intent on finishing his own meal. She reached for her wine, swirled the lusty Merlot in her glass and sipped. There were questions she needed to have answered and he’d promised to do that once they finished eating.
Their eyes met. He swallowed and winked at her. “I can see your curiosity won’t be contained any longer. Go ahead. Ask anything you like.”
Cynthia took a deep breath. “Those numbers were correct?”
He nodded.
“And?” She gave him a pointed look. “Aren’t you going to tell me about it? Did the Steinbrunn family get what they wanted?”
“They did. And they thank you.”
“Oh, well, they’re welcome to it, whatever it was. What did those numbers represent?”
Trevor sipped his wine, made a smacking sound with his lips before looking at her. “You were correct, the number ‘9’ was the Cyrillic letter ‘g’. I wouldn’t have noticed it had I looked at the stone myself.”
Cynthia sat back, exasperated with his roundabout answer. “Okay, so? What did it represent?”
“Exactly one hundred and thirty-two million six hundred thousand and five euros.”
“Wha-what?”
“I should start at the beginning.” He bit into a thick slice of bread.
“Damn right, you should.” She put her empty plate aside and refilled their glasses with Merlot. “But go ahead and finish your dinner while I ponder that figure you just quoted. Holy cow,” she murmured and took a big swallow. “That’s a helluva a lot of money. I can’t even think in numbers that big.”
He finished eating, set his empty plate on top of hers and picked up his wineglass. He leaned back and draped his arm around her shoulders. Eve
n though she was still handcuffed, the warmth and weight of his arm comforted her. She let her head fall back, cushioned on his biceps.
“Feel free to spill your guts now, Agent.” She lifted her glass to him in a toast. “I’m all ears.”
Smiling, he whispered seductively, “And I find your ears so attractive.”
“Good.” She grinned. “Now why don’t you start by telling me who etched those numbers into that diamond?”
He snuggled her closer, clinked his glass to hers and began his tale.
“It begins with Josef Andrevsky, a master diamond cutter. He married the Steinbrunn’s only daughter, Elsa, whose family originally discovered and owned the Yakutia diamond mine. Josef and his younger brother, Mikhail, lived with their elder sister, Franjeska. She worked at the mine as a rough diamond sorter. Both Josef and his brother were expert craftsmen during a time when such a skill was rare and highly sought-after.”
“Sounds like a close-knit family.”
“Hmm,” he muttered. “As a master diamond cutter, Josef earned the respect of Elsa’s father but the elder Steinbrunn never considered him as anyone more than an employee. That is, until Josef began to woo Elsa. She was a very spoiled, headstrong woman. Despite her father’s opposition to such an arrangement, they married.”
Cynthia sat up higher. “He didn’t think Josef was good enough for his daughter?”
Trevor shook his head. “The Steinbrunns were Jewish and Josef Andrevsky was Russian Orthodox. To soothe her father Josef did accept Judaism as his faith.”
“That’s major. He must have loved her to change his religion.”
“Perhaps for a time, he did.” Trevor took another sip of wine. “The mine prospered. Their wealth grew until the Nazis invaded in 1941, which I told you about already.”
“Why did the Nazis target them?” she asked.
“Because of their religion. The Steinbrunns immigrated to Russia from Germany in the 1900s. Josef accepted Judaism as his religion when he married Elsa. A perfect reason for Hitler to take their wealth and property. Had they been Russian Orthodox or German Protestants, most likely none of this would have happened.”