GRATIFICATION (Desire Never Dies)

by Clara Grace Walker

  Glancing down at his caller ID, however, quickly told him that was not the case. Feeling disappointed, he picked up the phone on his bedside table. “Good-morning, babe. What’s up?”

  “Rod, sweetie, suppose you start explaining to me why I was not informed about Preston and Maggie’s bid for Ty-Ken, and had to read about it in this morning’s paper.”

  “Hey, is that any way to greet the man you’re about to marry?” He’d been expecting her call, and he was already prepared for it. “Naturally, I meant to get a hold of you first thing this morning. I just overslept.”

  “Sure you did, you liar. We had a deal, remember? You were supposed to let me know every move Preston was up to. Especially if you still expect to marry me.”

  Actually, he didn’t want to marry her. She might have money. She might even have a great bod and give good head, but he’d about had it with her temper tantrums and accusations. He’d never be able to carry on any type of private life with her around. Besides, he hadn’t forgotten about the distinct probability of a “prenuptial agreement.” Those two words alone took the point out of any marriage to her he might consider. Still, he wasn’t quite ready to make an enemy of her yet. Until his fortune was certain, he might still need to use her for something.

  “Come on, babe, don’t be upset with me. You know I want to marry you. There isn’t another woman in the entire universe as hot as you are.”

  She sighed. “I swear to God I don’t know why I listen to your smooth, flattering, forked tongue, Rod Skinner.”

  “Because you know what I can do with my smooth, flattering forked tongue, babe, and because you know I worship the ground you walk on.”

  “Oh really? Then why didn’t you tell me about Preston and Maggie’s bid? Why did I have to hear my father nearly choke on his oatmeal this morning when he read about it in the paper?”

  He began spitting out the story he’d already formulated in his head. “Why do you think I wanted to call you? I only found out about this last night. Apparently, this is something Maggie had her lawyer working on behind everyone’s back. Preston didn’t even know about it until yesterday.”

  “Well.” She sounded indignant. “That would be just like her. I’m surprised Preston wasn’t upset about her doing something like that behind his back.”

  “Why would Preston care? As long as he thinks it might help him keep the company, he’s going to be completely on board.”

  “I see.”

  Rod didn’t miss the pouty quality of her voice. A fact that irritated him. “Forget about Preston, would you, babe? I’m the man in your life now.”

  “Rod, do I detect some jealousy?”

  “You’re damn right you do. I don’t want my woman thinking about any man but me.”

  Taralynn giggled. “Don’t worry, sweetie. When it comes to sex, you are the only man I think about.”

  Just sex, he noted. She was a lying, scheming bitch. “Now you’re talking, baby doll.”

  “Okay then, so what are we going to do about this bid Preston and Maggie are making for the company.”

  “Don’t worry about it, babe. I’ve got it covered. I’ve convinced Preston to appoint me to the committee to consider the bids for the company.”

  “Rod! Honey, you are a genius. I can’t wait to see the look on Preston’s face when the person he hand-picked to represent his interests votes for me instead.”

  Damn bitch certainly had turned giddy all of the sudden. She’d have a cow if she knew that, as Preston’s lawyer, he couldn’t serve on the committee, let alone vote for her. Amazing how she’d managed to inherit none of her father’s business acumen. Which meant, of course, he had to cross his fingers she didn’t go to daddy with the “good news” anytime before he was done with her. “You see, babe.” He talked to her soothingly. “Everything’s going to be just fine. Now, don’t you have something you’d like to say to me?”

  “Like what?”

  Christ! She had nothing but air between her ears. “Like maybe apologizing for calling me a liar.”

  “Yes. Of course, sweetie. I’m sorry I called you a liar.”

  He still needed to control her. And a perfect idea for doing just that had occurred to him. He hadn’t yet filmed himself having sex with Taralynn. His camera equipment had been malfunctioning the last time he had her over. Maybe it was time she became a star. And he was willing to bet she’d cough up an interesting sum of money to keep the movie under wraps. And do him a favor or two. “That’s a good girl,” he said. “Now, when can I see you again? I miss the wild way you have sex with me.”

  She laughed, sounding as delighted as a child at the circus. “I can be there in an hour if the need’s that intense.”

  Rod chuckled. “Trust me, babe. It’s more intense than you could possibly imagine.”

  “I swear I’m getting wet just talking to you, Rod. I’ll see you soon.”

  Rod hung up the phone immensely pleased with himself. Mission accomplished.

  Chapter 58

  Jane Kingsley had waited patiently outside Rod’s house while he busied himself with Taralynn Clarke. Yes, she knew all too well who the blonde bimbo heiress was. Watching from a distance, she had kept her emotions in check, pushing back the jealousy, anger and resentment she still felt over his brutal usage and subsequent dumping of her. She’d stayed focused on her singular mission. Revenge.

  After one hour and forty-six minutes – she’d timed it – Rod escorted Taralynn out of his house, and she left. Thirty-four minutes later, he got into his car and left also. Jane had then waited three minutes more, just to make sure Rod wasn’t coming back for anything, before making her move.

  She’d found it shockingly easy to break into his house. She’d merely climbed over the brick fence and found his back door unlocked. Pretty careless for someone hiding as many secrets as he was.

  Her first intention had been only to steal the movie he had of her, but the movie of Taralynn had been clearly labeled and left sitting on the middle of a table in a room in Rod’s basement.

  It was all too perfect. Now she could have revenge on Taralynn as well. This would teach the man-eating bitch to steal another woman’s guy. At any rate, the opportunity had presented itself, and Jane had taken Taralynn’s tape along with her own.

  All of which brought her, just a few hours later, to the office of Nicholas Beck, publisher of The Tattletale. His secretary had shown her to his office within minutes of relaying Jane’s message that her business with him concerned Taralynn Clarke and Rod Skinner.

  “Nicholas Beck.” He stood to greet her as soon as she entered the room and offered his hand. “I understand you may have some information of interest to me.”

  “I sure hope so.” Jane shook his hand and pulled the DVD from her purse, hands shaking, and handed it to him. Man, but he was good-looking. “It’s a film of the two of them.”

  “Is that right?”

  Taking the disc from her, he slipped it into a DVD player stowed in the corner of the room and turned on the TV. “You’re lucky I had time to see you today. I’ve been busy with a few big stories lately.”

  She nodded as the image of Taralynn undressing flickered onto the screen. Moments later, Rod joined her in the movie, doing all the same things to her, Jane thought wistfully, that they’d done together only last week.

  Nick played the movie only a few seconds longer before shutting it off. “Mmmm.” He sorted of grunted, saying nothing else at first, just looking at the disc he’d taken out of the DVD player, then swiveled his chair back around to face her. He raised an eyebrow at Jane. “Where did you get this?”

  She grinned. “From the vaults of its owner. Rod Skinner has a collection of films spanning eight years.” She knew. She’d read the dates on all of the filing cabinets.

  “Do I even want to know how you managed to get into Rod Skinner’s vaults?”

  “All you need to know, Mr. Beck, is that Rod Skinner and I are intimately acquainted, and that anything else connect
ed with this movie, you’re better off pleading ignorance to.”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty much what I figured.” He stood and picked back up the DVD, but continued to hang onto it. “Obviously, I’m interested in purchasing this, Miss Kingsley.”

  “Please,” she interrupted. “Call me Jane.”

  “All right, Jane. Fortunately for me, Taralynn Clarke is considered a public personality, and therefore, fair game. Rod Skinner, however, is not, and I have a hunch he’s not going to willing give up his legal claim to privacy. At least, not under these circumstances.”

  “So what does that mean?” She was starting to get nervous. It hadn’t occurred to her that a tabloid publisher would do anything other than jump at the chance to print pictures like the ones on the movie.

  He sat back down and started tapping a pencil on his desk. “What it means, I guess, is that I’ll have to darken his face out of the pictures I print so no one can tell for sure what man Taralynn is with. Is that going to be all right with you?”

  Jane had never felt so clever in her whole life. “I’m sure you’re right about that, Mr. Beck. And I’m also sure sexually explicit photographs of Taralynn Clarke will probably boost your circulation worldwide by millions. So what price are you willing to pay me?”

  Chapter 59

  Nick had been considering that very issue himself for the last several minutes.

  He regarded the woman seated in front of him. Jane Kingsley. Head of the ABT. That explained how Rod had been able to get Maggie’s bar back open without so much as a single Court filing.

  Jane wasn’t a great beauty, but she had huge tits, long legs and a flat stomach. There was a time not so long ago when he would have fucked her himself, but not anymore. As long as Janelle was back in his life, no matter for how long, his heart was all hers.

  “I’ll pay you one hundred thousand dollars for the movie,” he finally said. “Direct wire transfer of funds into the bank account of your choice.”

  Jane smiled and squealed all at the same time. “Wonderful! I’ve set up an account with a bank in the Caymans. You can wire the money there.”

  She wrote down the name of her bank and an account number, and rushed off, leaving the tape with Nick. Trusting soul for someone who’d just bartered stolen property. Must be new at the game. Luckily for her, he was basically honest. She’d get her hundred grand.

  The more Nick thought about printing the pictures, however, the more he wanted to know how Janelle would react. That was a change for him. Before, he’d always insisted the only person who had any input in the running of his paper was him. In retrospect, that had probably been a mistake. Janelle might not have gotten so bored with their marriage if he’d let her help with the paper. Acting impulsively on the thought, he picked the phone up from his desk and dialed her number.

  “Hello.” She answer his called in her husky-sounding voice.

  “Hi. It’s Nick. How are you?”

  “Well, I’m doing just fine. But now that you’ve called, I can think of how I might be doing better.”

  “Janelle, you are a temptress.”

  “Does that mean you’re on your way over?”

  He looked at the stack of phone messages on his desk, and the To-Do items only half-checked off his calendar. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be right there. But first, I wanted to ask your opinion on something.”

  “Well sure.” She sounded surprised. “About what?”

  “I, uh, obtained a movie today showing Taralynn Clarke very explicitly enjoying a roll in the hay with a certain gentleman who, because he’s not a public personality, and because he’s very likely to sue me if he winds up on the front page of my paper, shall remain nameless. Do you think I should go ahead and print some pictures from the movie in my paper?”

  Janelle laughed long and hard. “Oh my God! Taralynn Clarke the porn star. No kidding? You’ll have to tell me all about it when you get here.”

  “I’ll bring the DVD along with me if you want. I’ll even bring some popcorn. But do you think I should print the pictures?”

  “Yes, of course you should print the pictures.” Janelle was still laughing. “I can’t think of anything I‘d enjoy more.”

  “Thanks, hon. Your support means a lot to me.”

  “Anytime, Nick. The fact that you find my opinion worth asking means a lot to me.”

  “Good. I’ll see you soon.”

  Chapter 60

  Maggie was still in shock over the special edition of Nick’s newspaper. She had never seen such explicit photos in a tabloid before, even with the black bars strategically placed over Taralynn. And she could only imagine how Andy Clarke must be choking right now at seeing his daughter put on display in such intimate poses.

  She heard Preston step out of the shower, his second at her house in as many days, and put the paper down on the table before going to the bedroom to greet him. She’d gotten up almost an hour ago, and had already showered, dressed and picked up the paper from the corner newsstand.

  He emerged from the adjoining bath wearing only a towel draped around his waist. A towel that dropped to the floor as soon as he saw her. He winked. “Morning, gorgeous.”

  Her thighs warmed at the sight of him. Welcomed the polished ripples of his muscles, his hair-covered body and his readiness to take her all over again. “You must have discovered the fountain of youth in that shower,” she quipped. “Because you’re certainly invigorated every time you step out of it.”

  He responded with a slow, seductive grin and closed the gap between them in a couple of steps. “Maybe you’d like to find out how invigorated I am.”

  He held her in his embrace, and she felt his skin, still damp, yet warm to her touch. He smelled like soap and aftershave. She ran her fingers through his wet hair, getting close enough to feel his breath on her cheek and his organ throb against the inner part of her thigh. She parted her legs slightly, as a sudden ache stirred her blood. She would never get enough of the intense pleasure he could bring. His lips swept over her neck in a series of kisses that culminated at the peak of her breast. She sighed, willing him to take her right on the floor. Which he might have done if the doorbell hadn’t rang.

  The sound cooled her passion like a bucket of ice water. “I hate to be the one to interrupt this interlude,” she said. “But that might be important.”

  “Even more important than this?”

  He slid his hand beneath her skirt, slipping a finger inside her. Maggie purred in enjoyment. And the doorbell rang again.

  “Darn,” she muttered, and tossed him a robe.

  Preston growled like a dog denied food. “Whoever that is, tell them they’ve got lousy timing.”

  Maggie ignored him and answered the door. Tracy stood on her porch, with Henry’s rental car parked out in the driveway. Maggie grinned. “Come on in. It looks like things are going pretty well between you and Henry.”

  Tracy flushed until her cheeks were ruddy with color. “Yeah. I guess you could say that. And he is just so great with the girls.”

  “Good.” Maggie felt an enormous satisfaction in seeing her friend so happy after the terrible childhood and first marriage she’d endured. She gave Tracy a quick hug. “The two of you are so perfect for each other.”

  “Thank you. I feel like I’ve been on cloud nine since our first date.”

  As Maggie led Tracy to the living room, she noticed her friend’s feet barely seemed to touch the ground. And she had on a bright pink pantsuit that matched her cheery mood.

  “Personally,” Tracy went on. “I think you might try a little romance yourself. It might chip away a little bit at your cynical nature.”

  “Yes, well…” Maggie didn’t have to respond any further, as Preston joined them in the living room, now dressed, but still obviously fresh from the shower.

  Tracy slanted a bemused smirk at her friend. “Never mind. I can see you’ve taken care of that already.”

  Preston arched a brow in Maggie’s direction, as if waiting for h
er to confirm her friend’s observation. Between the two of them she was blushing like a freshly deflowered virgin. “Tracy, can I get you anything?” she asked, changing the subject.

  Tracy shook her head. “Thank you, no. I just came by to see if I could get a week off after we finish with the charity ball. Henry wants to take the girls and me to Orlando. Do the whole tourist thing. Disney. Universal. Discovery Cove.”

  “Really? Well, sure. That sounds wonderful. And I’m sure the girls will love it.”

  “Yeah. They’re real excited.”

  Maggie couldn’t stop herself from glancing over at Preston, checking to see if there were any signs of disapproval on his face. He caught her gaze and frowned, as if reading her mind.

  She looked away from him and back to Tracy. “I take it this means you’ve turned down Rod’s proposal?”

  Tracy rolled her eyes, laughing. “As if I ever even considered it. And, I don’t know what Rod thinks, but I don’t feel required to clear my love life with him. If he’d have stood on my porch for even a second longer, he would have heard me tell him to drop dead just as soon as I finished being shocked.”

  “Poor Rod,” Preston said with a mocking tone. “After bedding and dumping countless females, the first one he asks to marry him says no.”

  “Yeah,” Maggie agreed. “My heart bleeds for him.” When she glanced back at Tracy, she saw her gaping, wide-eyed, at Nick’s special edition newspaper. “Oh yes,” she said, still a bit shocked herself at how graphic the pictures were. “Nick got real gutsy with that story.”

  Preston slipped an arm around Maggie’s waist. “What story?”

  “Nick somehow got his hands on some very explicit photographs of Taralynn Clarke having sex with some guy.”

  “What guy?”

  Maggie pulled away from him. “You can’t tell. His face has been darkened out.” But don’t worry, she felt like adding, judging from his body, it’s not you.