Unlawful Desire

by Raven Dark

  “Well, that was a waste.” Ella slumped into a chair in the hospital cafeteria a few minutes later. “Right back to where we started.”

  “Not necessarily.” Rock reached across the table and took her hand. “We did learn one thing.”

  “Which is?”

  “I don’t know how, but you were right. Trent was almost as scared as that other owner in Kranton. His illness is connected to Scalder somehow. We just have to prove it.”

  * ** * *

  Three days later on Friday morning, Ella carried her coffee into the bedroom with a yawn and a stretch. After another two days searching for some proof Bob Trent’s cancer was connected to Scalder’s buyout of Miller Road, they’d come up empty. Exhausted from a night of searching when she wouldn’t put the case aside, Rock pulled her into bed. His method of punishment for her single-mindedness left her with a delicious soreness between her legs. She stopped in the doorway leaning on the frame taking in the heavenly sight sprawled across the bed.

  Rock lay on his back, one arm over his head, silken white sheets tangled around his long, muscular limbs, hiding his best asset from view like a loincloth. His chest rose and fell with soft, even breaths.

  “You need a haircut,” she whispered as she came to sit on the bed beside him. She set the coffee down before running her hands up his chest. A fringe of charcoal hair lay over his forehead, thick and just long enough to fall into his eyes. His breathing hitched and he sighed but didn’t wake when she pushed the hair back.

  What had she done to deserve this Adonis? She considered straddling him, waking him with a slow, languid fuck, but she couldn’t without his permission. Damn.

  She lifted the sheet to look at him and put it back. Nope, if she looked at that huge cock, she’d want to suck him. She got up and walked across the hotel to the living room. Safer to find some work to do until he got up.

  Ella stopped by the coffee table glancing at the folded paper. The morning edition. She unfolded it. Rock must have awoken early and brought it inside.

  The front page of the Clayton-Moss Herald made her eyes widen. Rock’s face stared up at her, an old picture of him as a teenager taking up nearly half the page. A less than flattering shot of her took up the other side. The headline blared in large bold letters, “Head of Clayton Enterprises Involved with Violent Criminal.”

  Ella sank onto the couch clenching the paper. Anger with Scalder boiled her blood. “Jesus, Rock.”

  The article said nothing about his accomplishments as a lawyer, instead reporting every detail of the incident with Banks, with emphasis on the kid’s horrible injury and how he ended up in the infirmary. She raked a hand through her hair. Dad and Shayla had probably seen the news. Her stomach roiled.

  If she’d just given the company over… She twisted the paper in her fists. No. If she’d given into Scalder, she’d have sold half the city to a thug who would have torn it apart in months. Everything she and her father worked for would have been lost. Damn it, they needed to find something. Unfortunately, they also had to do damage control.

  Pulling her phone out of her robe pocket, Ella drew a deep breath, bracing for the slew of phone calls she’d likely be getting from investors and partners who read the article. She switched on the phone and checked messages.

  “Shit.” No less than twelve messages, all of them from major players.

  Ella sighed and began making calls. She’d have to call all the investors back, setting up a meeting with all of them at once for that afternoon. If she was lucky she could stem the flow of enraged protests and arguments. She called the Mosses, grateful for the support and encouragement that she was doing the right thing. If only the investors thought the same.

  She went and woke Rock.

  * * * * *

  An hour later, Ella tucked her silk white blouse into her skirt, thoughts spinning. Rock’s arms slid around her from behind and she turned in his embrace.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” He framed her face in his hands. “I’d understand if you chose to give Scalder what he wants.”

  She nodded. “I’m sure. I’m not letting this guy win. Besides, the city needs to know you’re a good man. I’m not letting Scalder ruin what you’ve worked for.”

  Adoration shone in his eyes. He kissed her long on the mouth squeezing her close. “Annabella, you’ll never know how much I—”

  The ring of Rock’s phone cut him off. He released her and answered it.

  “McCarthy.” A pause while the other person talked. Rock’s face turned sickly pale and his fist tightened.

  A rush of adrenaline filled Ella and she put her hand on his arm, brows furrowed in question. Rock clutched her arm and she swore he felt a little less steady on his feet while he listened to the caller without a word. She assumed it had something to do with the article in the paper.

  “Rock, are you okay?” she asked after he hung up.

  He dropped the phone on the floor with a thud, then turned and walked across the room scraping a through his hair. She thought he rasped a curse.

  Ella sat on his bed and when he walked back within reach she took his hand. “Rock, talk to me.”

  He shook himself and squeezed her hand. A measure of relief poured into her. At least he was with her again.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He lowered himself onto the bed but didn’t look at her for a long time. When he did, his eyes were large and too dark. A muscle in his jaw jumped.

  “Annabella, I have to go.”

  The urgency in his tone made her heart quicken. “Go where?”

  He visibly swallowed. “A…a criminal I helped put away has his parole hearing today.” He took her shoulders gently. “The last thing I want to do is leave you alone to deal with those investors when I know I’m the reason for this mess. But if I don’t go and stand up for his victims, a very dangerous man will be out on the streets.”

  Pride flooded her at his devotion to justice and his work. She would rather him be there with her, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous about facing the investors on her own, but she could see leaving her wasn’t something he would do if he had a choice. But the situation was more personal than he let on. She’d never seen him so shaken.

  Ella ran her hands over his chest, up and down his arms, trying to infuse him with her reassurance and support. “Rock, what’s happening here is not your fault. It’s Scalder’s. What you did is in the past. Let it go.” He looked away and she turned his face back to her. “Go.”

  “Are you sure? I feel like I’m bailing on you. You know how this is going to look. Like I fucked with your life and now I’m leaving you like a coward to deal with the fallout. I need to be here for you.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll handle it. You and I know you don’t have a choice. Go keep this criminal behind bars.”

  Rock let out a low rumble and seized her face in his hands, claiming her mouth in a long, bruising kiss. Love rushed through her like a high tide and she clung to him. He broke the kiss and held her close squeezing her tighter than he ever had.

  “I wish I could tell you about it. I will when I come back, but I just…” He nuzzled her cheek. “I need time to process. If I’m going to be at Sing Sing on time for the hearing I have to be on the next flight. This is not a conversation I want to start right before I have to leave you.”

  His words made her stomach tighten. Sing Sing. The penitentiary. Who was this man to Rock if he was afraid to drop the bomb on her and then leave? Ella kissed him again. “I understand. Go.” She took his hand as he got up. “Come back to me, okay?”

  “Always. Hey…Annabella.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I…” He pressed his lips together and then squeezed her hand with a gentle smile. “Good luck at the meeting. Knock those investors dead, sweetheart.”

  * * * * *

  Rock’s plane landed early in the afternoon and an hour later he was standing at the gate to Cell Block D, arms out while a guard ran a metal detector ov
er his front and back. His thoughts drifted to Annabella forced to face the jackals of her corporate world without the one man who should have been at her side. This had to be done and it couldn’t wait.

  “Any weapons or sharp objects?” the hard-faced guard snapped.

  “Nope.” He kept his expression neutral, professional. Doors to cells rolled and slammed shut, men shouted. The detector beeped when it passed over his wrist and he muttered an apology taking off the Rolex and handing it to another guard behind a grilled gate.

  He’s going to have himself a ball when he sees me. Rock shook off the nauseating awareness of the confrontation to come. He let the guards finish their pat down.

  “Be careful, Mr. McCarthy.” The guard nodded down the hall. “That murderer isn’t the kind you should get too close to.”

  “I know.” Rock looked at him. “Trust me, I know.” He stepped forward into the long, grey corridor and the gate rattled shut with a clang behind him. Memories threatened to overwhelm him. He put on the same game face he’d always worn when confronting scumbags like this.

  Ignoring the whoops and cat calls of the most violent offenders locked behind the cell doors, Rock made his way to the end of the hall and waited for the guard to open the last cell, briefcase in hand, mask of professionalism in place. The cell door banged and he walked toward the bed that sat against the back wall of the drab, eight by ten cell.

  Rock almost didn’t recognize the lone occupant. A once too large, muscled man in his prime, he’d grown flabby and sagging from too much time sitting. As soon as Rock entered, the man lifted his head and stared at him with a horrible, violent smile. An animal’s grin.

  “So you did come, boy.”

  Rock shoved down the urge to put his fist through the man’s face. “Hello, Dad.”

  * * * * *

  He’d succeeded.

  Rock let himself into his penthouse apartment and flopped onto the bed, face down into the pillow. Night had fallen before he’d arrived home and his stomach rumbled, neglected since that afternoon after the parole hearing.

  Part of him wanted to lay there, eyes closed, reveling in the knowledge his dad was never getting out, in the victory and justice that was his. No one would have to pay the price his mother had for getting mixed up with the animal Rock had to call father.

  The other part of him wanted to devour a huge porterhouse steak and then maybe another for good measure. He’d never been so relieved to hear someone was staying behind bars in his life.

  A soft beeping from his watch made him lift his head to look. Almost nine. Annabella. He got up and pulled his computer out of his satchel.

  How had the meeting gone? Had she won her own battle? Worry for her facing those angry investors squirmed in him. He’d find out in less than fifteen minutes when she signed into Skype for the online date they’d planned.

  Rock put in a quick call to a steakhouse ordering a porterhouse with fried mushrooms and onions, with a big glass of orange juice instead of wine. If only she was there to share it with him. To share his dinner, his victory and then his bed. Heat burned low in his belly as he signed into Skype.

  A few minutes later, dinner had arrived and he served himself. On his way back to the bedroom, he caught his reflection in the mirror.

  For a moment, he blinked at the man looking back at him. The angles of his face, the dark stubble shaping his jaw, his mouth; it unsettled him how much he looked like his father.

  Well, the way his father would have looked ten years ago when they lived in the trailer. It made it worse that he’d taken off his blazer and shirt, leaving only the white sleeveless muscle shirt to cover his chest.

  Shit. His father wore wife-beaters all the time. Rock looked at the orange juice in his fist where his father would have held a beer. Probably his tenth.

  I am not my father. I never will be. Fuck, Annabella, I wish you were here.

  He shook off the memories fighting for headspace, sat back across his bed and ate his steak while he waited for his woman’s call.

  A smile stretched across his face, a big one he knew made him look lovesick. Two more days, after the rest of his business in New York was completed, and he’d be with her again.

  He looked at his watch, then at the computer screen where her call would come in. One minute to nine. Damn it if part of him didn’t wish she was late. They’d reinstated protocol for their date and her being even a minute late would give him the perfect reason to toy with her.

  His stomach gave a funny jolt. Oh, the things he could do to her.

  The computer buzzed and the box for an incoming call popped up. Annabella came into view. A tiny twinge of disappointment mixed with his excitement. She was on time, just.

  He turned up the volume and answered the call. The screen lit up with the recognizable image of her living room, the oak furniture and marble fireplace. Annabella sat in the chair and her eyes lit up. Her hair encircled her face in that delectable halo of gold.

  “Hi, sweetheart.”

  “Hello, gorgeous. I mean, Sir.”

  He chuckled and drew the computer onto his lap leaning back on the bed. “How did the meeting with the investors go?”

  Triumph shone in her eyes. “It went surprisingly well.”

  Relief and pride flooded him. “Excellent. What did you tell them?”

  “I sat them all down and reminded them you’re no different than anyone else. What happened with Banks was self-defense, and they would have done the same thing in the same situation. It’s not fair to punish you for defending yourself.’

  ‘I pointed out how Scalder was making the incident sound like something it’s not. It worked. One of them picked up the slack for the one who backed out and others added more coin to the pot to ensure we won’t have money troubles again.”

  “Hey, that’s fantastic. I’m so proud of you. I wish I could have been there to see it. Annabella Clayton saves the day.”

  “Me too, Sir. And yeah, right. Dad still won’t talk to me and Shayla’s left a nasty message about how I almost ruined his life and how selfish can I be, being with you.”

  He ran his fingers over the screen, wishing it was her cheek. “I’m sorry.”

  “Meh, she’ll get over it.” But he could see the shadows of sadness in her eyes. If he knew Shayla, she wouldn’t anytime soon.

  “So.” She leaned forward. “Tell me about your case. Did you win? Is the man staying behind bars or did they let him out?” The genuine worry warmed his heart.

  Rock put his arms behind his head letting the victory settle over him, a warm secure feeling, like a good meal. “He’s stuck in an eight by ten cell for the rest of his miserable existence.”

  “Yes!” Annabella put her head back with a grin. “I knew you’d do it. Does this mean you’re coming home?”

  Home. The word sent a pleasant sensation all the way to his toes. She didn’t mean home, as in Clayton-Moss, she meant home, as in her.

  “Not yet, unfortunately. My boss wants me to help Holden wrap up another case here. It’ll take another day or two.” He glanced at the plane ticket he’d left on the side table, dated for the day after tomorrow. Maybe if he changed it now… He smiled. “I’ll be home before you know it, girl.”

  “I hope so. I wish I was there with you.”

  “Me too. This bed is too big without you.”

  Her smile was warm. “Mine too.”

  When they signed off a few minutes later, Rock looked at the plane ticket again. The day after tomorrow. Much too long. He got up and caught his reflection in the mirror again and for a moment, the man looking back wasn’t him.

  I’m not my father.

  He tightened his fist around the ticket that would take him back to his woman in two days.

  Rock picked up his phone and dialed the airport. “I’d like to change my flight.”

  * * * * *

  Unable to sleep, Ella tossed and turned in her bed. Tired from dealing with the scandal and getting things back to normal with
her father’s company, she’d retired uncommonly early for her, at almost midnight. She’d left the window open and the temperature had risen a little higher than she liked, but the heat had little to do with her restlessness.

  The doorbell echoed through the hall, startling her and she jerked up. Who could that be at this time of night? Both her sister and her father saw fit to pretend she didn’t exist, and even if they hadn’t been giving her the cold shoulder, they never showed up this late unannounced.

  Considering her problems with Scalder, nervousness bit into her as she drew on a robe and slippers. She shuffled down the stairs.

  At the front door, she glanced through the peephole. No one stood on the step. Brow scrunched, she opened the door and looked at the oblong white box lying on the marble floor of the vestibule. Picking it up, she inspected the package and looked out onto the surrounding property. No sign of a delivery guy.

  She closed the door and carried the box to the table, then pulled off the bow and lifted the lid.

  Ella gasped. Twelve long stemmed roses lay neatly layered in the box, arranged with fern and baby’s breath. She picked up the small letter in the box and opened it. The faint scent of almond drifted off the card.

  Her heart kicked up and she grinned.

  Longing filled her as she picked up one rose and inhaled the heady scent. The roses were lovely but she would far rather have had him. She read the card. It had only three words in his messy scrawl.

  Come outside.

  Rock.

  Ella’s heart exalted and she resisted the urge to race out of the house pathetically and leap into his arms like a love-addled schoolgirl. From one end of the street to the other, she had no idea who might see the future heir to the biggest company in the city leaping all over her boyfriend.

  Instead, she yanked the scrunchy out of her hair and let it tumble messily over her shoulders the way he liked. Then she walked, quite casually out the door, grinning like an idiot.

  She didn’t have to look for long to find him. Rock sat astride his beast of a bike, leather and all in the middle of her driveway. So hot. The smile twisting his mouth was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.