“He would’ve. He’s always hated me and couldn’t leave well enough alone. I know he’s your twin and you feel a need to protect him, but you don’t have to sugarcoat his actions.”
“I’m sorry, Anthony.”
“Why are you sorry? It’s not your fault.” Anthony reached out, covering her right hand with one of his. His eyes flashed with annoyance. “You’ve got to stop apologizing for him,” he insisted with returning impatience. “You’ve been doing it all your life. He is who he is.”
Thomasina took a deep breath, and then let it out. She patted his hand with her left one.
“I know we’ve never been close, but I still care about you.”
“Me, too. I appreciate it. I guess…I was more worried about Mariah than you. I mean, you’ve dealt with Thomas most of your life. After he told me what happened, I called to check on her. When she didn’t answer, I got worried. I thought she didn’t want to talk to me because of him.”
Anthony shook his head, a glint in his eyes. “Mariah wouldn’t blame you for what he did. Her disappearing act had nothing to do with him…or you. It was all me.”
#
Back at Wakefield Plantation, the older man watched Mariah. He had a thin mouth, an aquiline nose, and sharp blue eyes. Faint age lines fanned out from the edges. “Who are you?”
“I’m Allegra St. Cloud’s sister.” Mariah’s gaze traveled the length of him, from his pricey shoes to his cautious gaze. She gave him time to let the words sink in. Mariah’s eyes darted inside the house before catching his again. “And you’re the one who put flowers on her grave before slinking away. You’re Leland Chisholm, but Allegra called you Mr. Mystique.”
Leland closed the door and stepped outside, causing Mariah to move back. He threw her a narrow, glinting glance. “I read her obit. That’s how I found out where services were being held. What do you want? How did you find me?”
“Thank my neighbor. She saw your wife Cheryl confront Allegra before she died. Cheryl can’t seem to stay away,” Mariah added, “because she drove by the house again a few weeks ago, and this time my neighbor recognized her car and got the license plate number.”
“I loved her. Allegra.”
“Right.” Mariah surveyed him. He was just another middle-aged man seeking youth through younger women. “I hope the sex was worth it.”
Mariah was just about to get in her car when a dark-haired woman driving a silver Cadillac Rolls Royce pulled up behind her, parked and shut off the ignition. A chill settled in Mariah’s bones when Cheryl Chisholm approached, her satin-strapped Manolo Blahnik’s clicking on the pavement. She wore a contemporary floral design patterned, sophisticated sheath tied with a satiny ribbon belt that complimented her cream complexion. On her left shoulder was a beige Prada bag and a platinum wedding ring adorned with an enormous diamond graced her left ring finger.
She was beautiful, even if her features were a bit careworn and stern. Having a husband cheat on you – with a younger female, no less – could do that to a woman, no matter how stunning she was.
Hard, gray eyes, like glacial ice, impaled Mariah as she removed her Prada sunglasses. “Who are you?”
Mariah held the woman’s gaze. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to find a baby shower. I must’ve mixed up the address.” Mariah patted the small bag she held between her fingers. Thank goodness for her cover story.
But Cheryl wasn’t buying it. “My husband’s tastes are changing. Usually the whores he sleeps with know better than to come to my house. What’s your excuse?” Cheryl lunged, her slim hand snaking out with an iron grip on Mariah’s left wrist. Mariah gasped in pain as well-manicured nails dug into her skin…
Thirty minutes later, Mariah examined her wrist as she pulled into Allegra’s driveway. There were angry, red streaks where Cheryl had grabbed her. She couldn’t blame the woman for being furious. Mariah opened the door to find Anthony and Thomasina sitting on the couch. She blinked. “Thomasina…hi.”
The other woman stood up. “Hi, Mariah.”
Anthony’s wolf-like eyes took in how Mariah held her right arm. “What happened?” His voice was smooth, but insistent.
Mariah’s gaze darted in Thomasina’s direction. “Just a scrape.”
“Are you okay?” she asked her eyes wide with concern.
“I’m fine.” Mariah dismissed the injury with a wave of her hand. “I’ll just put some peroxide on it.”
Thomasina sensed that all wasn’t right with Mariah and prepared to leave. She looked around and adjusted her glasses. “I was going to invite you to dinner, but I can see this isn’t a good time.”
“I’m sorry, Thomasina.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take a rain check.”
After Thomasina departed, Anthony wasted no time questioning Mariah. “What happened?”
Mariah looked at Anthony’s reflection in the mirror, her eyes troubled. She wiped the gouges with a cotton ball saturated in hydrogen peroxide without looking, then let out a deep breath. “The license plate information Beth gave me, what I asked you to check out…it led straight to the mystery man at the grave. Leland Chisholm, aka Mr. Mystique.” Mariah arched a brow. “He’s older, at least fifty-five, and white.”
“What?”
Mariah dabbed at her wrist one more time before tossing the cotton ball in the small wastebasket next to the toilet while she explained. She finished with, “When Cheryl grabbed me like an eagle’s claw, Leland stepped in, told her I wasn’t his mistress and convinced her to let me go because the neighbors could be watching.”
Anthony found a box of band aids under the sink and put one on Mariah’s wrist. “You’re lucky she didn’t have you arrested for trespassing.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about me going back there,” Mariah reassured him.
That night, Mariah got the shock of her life when she and Anthony watched another DVD.
“I knew that when he got kicked out of the club, he wasn’t going to let it go that easily. He had too much to prove. I had a feeling he was following me, so I pulled into a nearby precinct and told a cop. I couldn’t see his face, but when he took off I recognized his car, a dark Oldsmobile Cutlass…”
Mariah gasped. “Oh, my God. It was Diablo. He’s the one who followed me.” They immediately went to the police station, gave the Records Department her report number and added his name to the file.
#
Anthony watched Mariah with keen eyes as she cleaned the kitchen counter for the third time. He’d learned over the past two days that she went overboard on housework whenever she was stressed. Between trying to get Allegra’s affairs in order and her fears about Diablo still running around, her nerves were shot. At least once a night she woke up in his arms, gasping in terror.
He couldn’t stand to see her like that anymore.
The following afternoon, Anthony and Mariah were on the road.
“There’s no time for this, Anthony,” Mariah complained. It was a perfect weather day, in the mid-eighties and dry with a bright sky, but she wasn’t enjoying it.
“We’re making time.”
Mariah sighed, the sound a blend of irritation and fatigue. “I’ve still got work to do.”
“We’ve still got work to do. You’re not alone, and it can wait.”
She glared at his profile as he drove north on US-1. “The longer it takes, the longer I’ll be away from my job.”
Anthony slid a glance out of the corner of his eye. “You’ve worked non-stop for six years. Think of this as a long-deserved mini-break. You need this. You’ll like it.”
She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in the passenger seat. “This would be easier to swallow if you told me where we were going.”
“Not a chance. Take a nap.”
“I’m fine, and just for the record, you’re being bossy again. I don’t like it.”
Anthony lightly shook her awake nearly three hours later. It was late afternoon. “Hey, we’re almost there.” H
e pulled into a 7-Eleven for gas. The tank was between the half and a quarter line, and he wanted it to be full when they reached their destination.
Squinting, Mariah rubbed her hands over her eyes and blinked away the last vestiges of sleep. Pulling her seat upright, she turned to see Anthony filling the tank. When he finished and slid behind the wheel, she asked, “Where are we?”
“Just wait.”
Mariah’s eyes nearly fell out of her head when they pulled up to a hotel several minutes later. “Okay,” she demanded as Anthony parked near the front entrance, “where are we?” “Williamsburg, Virginia.”
After they showered (together), Mariah donned a cornflower blue wrapper while Anthony pulled on pajama bottoms and ordered room service, which arrived in thirty minutes. After they ate, Mariah stretched out on the king-sized bed with a sigh of relaxation and looked around the suite. “This is nice.”
A flash of humor crossed Anthony’s face as he lay beside her, one hand supporting his head. “I said you’d like it.”
She nodded. “Yes, you did.”
“And you’re going to enjoy yourself. Now say, ‘thank you, Anthony.’”
A mischievous look came into her eyes. “Thank you, Anthony.” She rolled toward him, touching her lips to his.
Anthony’s hand cupped the back of her head and he kissed her like a man dying of thirst.
Mariah melted into the kiss, reveling in the delicious sensation that spiraled through her. Then something changed. Her right arm stole around his warm, bare shoulder. Caressing the back of his neck with her fingertips, she eased herself upward. Lifting her lips from his, she buried her face in his neck and breathed a kiss there, her senses spun by the scent of his showered skin. Her right hand seared a path across Anthony’s shoulder and down his pectoral, where his heart threatened to beat out his chest, and pushed.
She watched his eyes widen with surprise at first, then go molten as he realized her intent.
It was amazing that, with a change of scenery, a soothing shower, and a luscious meal, she felt as though her problems were miles away.
And they were. Mariah resolved to let this vacation revitalize her senses, and Anthony was going to reap the rewards.
As he reclined on the bed, Mariah’s confidence multiplied. She had never been the type of woman to initiate intimacy with a man−never felt secure enough to try−but Anthony, the most beautiful man she’d ever laid eyes on, awakened a new sense of power within her.
Anthony lay on the bed and put his hands behind his head, accentuating biceps the size of baseballs, while his long, powerful, well-muscled body stretched out like a delectable male offering that Mariah couldn’t wait to sample. His chest rose and fell as he breathed, and those gorgeous eyes glowed with unguarded, unquenched desire.
Lifting herself onto her knees, Mariah held his stare and turned until the outside of her right thigh pressed against his. She knelt next to him and his gazed dipped as she leaned over. The neck of her tied wrapper parted, giving Anthony a first-class view of both breasts.
His mouth watered at the sight.
The sweet fragrance of Mariah’s cocoa butter lotion tickled his nose and he inhaled deeply, tasting it. He wanted to taste her. Ocher-tinted eyes climbed back up to hers. He relished the way they darkened with excitement, the lighter one, and bit back a satisfied smile.
Mariah’s tongue peeked out, slid to the corner of her mouth, and stayed there while her right hand meandered down his chest to his rock-hard abdomen. His breath hitched and his arms tightened as her forefinger dipped into his belly button.
But his breath left his body when her small fingers continued their foray further down, and encircled him. Of their own volition, his eyes closed, his back arched, and a lustful groan started in his chest and worked its way into his throat.
An expression of profound satisfaction filled Mariah’s eyes at Anthony’s untethered response. Head thrown back, the strong cords of his throat stretched under his caramel skin. Mouth parted, eyes slammed shut, biceps bulging with restraint, Anthony Caine in the midst of extreme pleasure was something to behold.
A guttural moan pushed past his lips and his hips undulated in response to Mariah’s stimulating touch. She moved until both knees were on either side of his hips.
Anthony’s eyes flew open, the pupils fully dilated. He didn’t move his arms, even when Mariah untied her wrapper, slipped the garment off her shoulders, down her arms, and tossed it to the side, baring all.
He gave her body a raking gaze before meeting the challenge that hovered in her eyes.
The air-conditioner turned on at that moment, causing goosebumps to emerge on Mariah’s skin, but she couldn’t feel the cold air. The inferno within her was too strong. She braced her hands on both sides of Anthony’s head, and lowered herself until those lush lips were a hairbreadth away from his own, their breaths mingling. Giving in to an aching need for another kiss, Mariah captured his top lip between hers, the same way he did to her the first time they kissed in his kitchen. She nibbled it, tasted it with her tongue, before giving the bottom one equal attention.
She needed this, needed to prove something to him−that she could make him lose control−and to herself. Another deep moan rumbled in Anthony’s chest, and Mariah could feel the vibration against her own. Driven by his arousal and capitulation, Mariah released his bottom lip and then ran her tongue across both lips.
Mariah felt Anthony’s determination waver when his body shuddered beneath hers. She knew his hands itched to touch her, and a part of her wanted to drive him over the edge. She wanted to see how much he could endure before his willpower gave out, so she thrust her tongue into the warm cavern of his mouth.
But Anthony wouldn’t give up so easily. He unclasped his hands from behind his head and moved them to grab the underside of the headboard instead, the veins in his wrists popping against the skin. Mariah raised her lips, her mouth trailing kisses along his jaw to the underside of his chin. When he let out a hard puff of air, Mariah knew she’d found a weak spot. She flattened her breasts against the solid wall of his chest and pressed her lips to his chin again, feeling Anthony fidget beneath her. His eyes shot open and his hands, against his will, pulled free of the headboard and grasped her hips as his own levered upward.
Mariah lifted her head and moved her hands to his shoulders, her fingers digging into the corded muscles. She gasped and a spurt of hungry desire rocketed through her as her hips answered his query. She felt herself losing control and knew she had to get hold of the reins that Anthony had seduced from her. For once, despite the danger she’d faced and the secrets she’d uncovered, she wanted to let go, to feel like the woman she was meant to be, with Anthony.
Mariah battled back from the brink, taking Anthony’s hands in her own. She grasped his wrists and removed his hands from her hips to press them onto the bed beside his head. Her eyes lit up with purpose and a sensual inner fire as they ensnared his. His hands were half-closed, so Mariah opened them, interlocked their fingers, and rasped, “It’s my time now.” Her pulse accelerated when his fingers contracted against hers. Tawny eyes drank her up and his breathing became even more unsteady, like her own.
Anthony’s rough whisper broke the silence. “Yes, ma’am,” he acquiesced without a bit of protest. He was almost the image of male submission, if not for his burning eyes that never left hers.
Basking in the knowledge of her potency, Mariah untwined their fingers and reached over for a condom that lay on the nightstand, but not before she flashed Anthony a look that warned him not to move. He didn’t and kept his palms facing upward. Capturing Anthony’s gaze, Mariah brought the condom wrapper to her lips and tore it open with her teeth. Tossing the empty wrapper on the nightstand, she rolled the condom on him.
Anthony swallowed. His fingers shook and his abdomen contracted at the feel of her fingers. He didn’t offer any opposition when Mariah linked their fingers again and welcomed him into her body. A lusty groan that filled the quiet room
, accompanied by Mariah’s higher-pitched cry as their vigorous movement crashed the headboard against the wall in an unmistakable, age-old rhythm.
In the back of her mind, Mariah knew that anyone on the other side of the wall could hear what was going on, but she didn’t care. Her body was too busy exploding in a downpour of fiery sensations, and then she collapsed onto him.
Her chest heaved against his as she regained her senses. Anthony unlocked their fingers, and one of his muscular arms encompassed her waist. Anthony pushed himself up into a sitting position, shifting the angle of their joining, and it didn’t take long for her to realize that Anthony had yet to reach his peak.
Mariah’s eyes, still dreamy with pleasure, enlarged even as both her arms encircled his neck. With his free hand, Anthony explored her hips and thighs, then moved up to her stomach and breasts, the contact scorching her tingling skin. Mariah’s eyelids fluttered and she locked her ankles at the small of his back.
His eyes glittered as he rocked inside her. “My turn.” His free hand roamed to the back of her neck and hauled her lips to his while his hips began to move, slow and deliberate.
Caught off guard, a surprised gasp escaped Mariah, but Anthony’s mouth ensnared the sound. Mariah dragged her lips from his as pleasure radiated outward. As her mouth opened and her eyes closed, she tilted her neck back, giving Anthony access to the pulse beating at the base of her throat. Anthony bent his head and bathed it with his tongue.
Skin to skin, they were as one, their bodies moving in exquisite harmony with each another. Anthony’s lips consumed Mariah’s in a sizzling kiss, which she returned with equal ardor. Anthony raised his head, his warm breath fanning Mariah’s lips. Her body began to vibrate with liquid fire. Mariah’s head fell back again and this time a silent scream parted her lips. Then, two hot tears rolled down the sides of her Mariah’s face.
And Anthony thought they were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
With herculean effort, he held back the tide that raged inside him, biting his lip until it nearly bled, waiting for Mariah to raise her head and open her glistening eyes. Their gazes clung to each other and his tempo quickened, passion rising in him like the hottest volcano.
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