Did he really think Abby believed his calm routine? He knew he’d screwed up, and it was time for him to pay the piper.
“How long have you been investigating my mom?”
He looked at her as if he wanted to lie but reconsidered. Obviously, he decided the truth would work best. How many times in the past had he not come to that decision with her? Before she could delve deeper into that horrible thought, he said, “For eighteen months.”
Abby raised her hands in the air in frustration, and when she realized how crazy she looked, she dropped them to clasp the back of her head.
“A year and a half,” she said in disbelief.
“We’ve been watching Brody for three years. When he moved to Sand City, your brother was already there. Once your mom moved in and she met Brody, we had to investigate.”
“You set me up.” She rubbed her temples.
Why was it that when people became powerful, they couldn’t talk straight and tell people what they wanted them to do? Why manipulate them? Was The Circle’s influence so tainted from the past that the leaders thought deception was the only way to control every situation?
She sighed and then asked, “Why the elaborate hoax?” Crap. He was looking at her again, measuring, trying to decide if he wanted to tell the truth or not. “You know I think you and I have been friends for too long. Every time you give me that how-little-can-I-get-away-with-telling-her look, I want to bop you on the head.”
“You have to trust me on this.”
“In other words, you don’t want to argue anymore.”
“Touché.”
What was the use talking to the hardheaded man?
She rolled her eyes and headed toward Rex’s bedroom. It was too quiet in there. Considering how much noise Rex usually made while having fun, she doubted Nic had convinced him to give her a ride. No. She refused to even think of them doing the nasty.
A loud knocking at the door had Abby turning on her heels and heading to the entryway.
“I thought you said Liam and Charlie weren’t coming,” she said to Jack in a low voice as she stopped a few feet from the door.
“I did.”
“You didn’t order room service either, right?” Abby backed up from the door, and Jack grabbed the gun in the holster at the small of his back.
“Right.”
Rex came out of the bedroom with gun in hand, pointing slightly down, and Nic behind him, weaponless.
When Nic opened her mouth, Abby shook her head and placed her finger to her lips. She probably wanted to ask the question they all had: Who in the hell was it?
Thankfully, she’d checked out the best place to stash a weapon last night and settled on the buffet cabinet next to the door. She pulled out the Sig with attached suppressor from inside the drawer.
“Who is it?” Waiting to see if they overreacted, she stood to the side. The door frame would slow a bullet but it wouldn’t protect her.
“Room service.”
“We didn’t order anything,” she said in an even tone.
“Ms. Nic Savage ordered lunch for four.”
“I did. Sorry. I forgot,” Nic said in a low voice as she looked up at Rex.
Jack waved Nic back when she headed toward the door. “You know better. No room service ever.” Opening a secure location to an unknown asked for trouble. He signaled for Abby to open the door.
She hesitated. When she winkled her forehead and dipped her head at Jack, silently asking if he was sure, he nodded.
Not wanting to scare an innocent waiter, she placed her gun on top of the buffet and edged it behind a large fat-bottomed lamp, hoping it would escape notice. Then she swung the door open while standing to the side. The burgundy short jacket proclaimed he worked for the hotel, but the pistol with suppressor pointing at her told another story. He shot twice as she reached for her gun. One good thing about shooting at a moving target: most people missed. Luckily he had, though she was certain one grazed her hair.
The man landed face-first inside the suite.
Rex and Jack had their weapons out, smoke drifting from the barrels. The way the man’s blood spread quickly on the carpet, their aim had been dead on target through the heart with only one exit wound from what she could see. Another bullet probably met bone and remained inside.
For a few seconds after the blasts of gunfire, everyone was quiet, waiting for shouting or screaming outside the suite. The clack, clack, clack sound of shots through a suppressor were loud enough to grab someone’s attention. Thankfully, one of the pluses the concierge mentioned when they checked in the day before was how the suite was private and soundproof. She doubted he’d intended the noise to be firearm related.
With no alarm triggered, everyone began to move as if on the same string.
Jack called The Circle with a request for a cleanup crew, telling them their would-be killer was sprawled on the beautiful gold carpet and his body needed hauling off without drawing attention. Rex looked into the foyer toward the elevator and then closed the door.
Abby yanked out the tall garbage bag in the small kitchen. After using a steak knife to slice it open, she slipped it beneath his body before more blood soaked the rug. The wounds continued to seep.
“Get me a couple towels out of the bathroom quick,” she said to Nic.
Faster than she expected, the woman returned, tossing them to her. Abby worked at staunching the blood to stop more from pooling on the plastic. Considering the mess they already had on the wall and beneath the body, they needed a miracle that the crew would be successful in cleaning it off everything it had sprayed on.
She turned to ask Rex for help in moving the body, as it weighed more than she’d expected, when she realized Nic had disappeared.
“Where did Nic go?” she asked Rex.
He jerked his head toward his bathroom. Then she heard retching.
“Is this the first time she’s seen someone get killed?” Everyone thought they could handle the results until they experienced it. Abby had been sick for days after her first.
“No. The first one had his arms around her when he was shot. She hasn’t gotten over it.” That was rough. It was after Abby’s fifth that numbness had set in, although she often wondered if anyone ever became blasé about taking a life. Her friend Olivia handled it better than anyone she knew, but even for her the stress became too much, and she’d had a nervous breakdown.
Hours dragged by as they double-checked the plan for the next day and helped the cleaning crew with the mess. All went smoothly with no more uninvited guests, no complaints lodged, and no local authorities showing up. They decided only the Inferno had a reason to kill Rex. The crazy organization believed his alter ego, Rurik, would interfere in their goal of obtaining all of the Hell’s Purifier ammo. Killing the obvious competition would leave them as the only bidder.
Once Jack and Nic left with the others, she stepped onto the balcony for a few minutes of fresh air. Shivering, she tucked her hands under her arms. No way would she go back into that room smelling of cleanser and death. Would she always associate the two?
Another deep breath and a small amount of hope held her there. She wanted Rex to follow her. But at the same time, she needed to stop her body from wanting what would bring only heartache.
The scrape of a footstep warned her of Rex’s presence. The warning proved he could be a kind man at times. For all his size and his attitude, he was light on his feet, and he only allowed his foot to drag a little to warn her of his approach.
She wanted to hate him. He’d broken her heart when she thought he’d died. Of course, it wasn’t his fault that she’d lived with the sorrow for so many years, believing he’d left her by dying. Stupid logic, but it’d been a part of her for years.
“Why are you standing out here in the cold?” His gruff voice was a good distance from her on the long balcony. Each word as chilly as the weather.
Once the sun disappeared over the horizon, his temper had become shorter. She understood.
Death always brought on a need to reaffirm life. With so many people around, they couldn’t touch, sink into each other to forget. Besides, memories of what he’d done yesterday—his mouth on her and his hand on his cock—continued to threaten to bring down the wall she’d built against him.
A breeze picked up. The wind felt wonderful against her heated cheeks.
“The cleanser smell was getting to me,” she said without turning around.
The sensation of a furnace near her back warned that Rex stood inches from her. Then his arms wrapped around her, pressing her shoulders to his chest. A noticeable ridge settled in the small of her back and jarred her for a second, though she loved knowing he hungered for her as she did him. She hadn’t expected it after his broody attitude all day.
“I’ll warm you.”
There was no doubt they would be making love—no, having sex—before much longer. She needed to make something clear first.
“Rex.”
“Hmm.” His warm breath tickled the top of her head. He shifted and his hands slid over her breasts.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. He groaned and squeezed the mounds, her nipples tightening against his palms.
“I understand this is just us playing a part and getting some mutual pleasure out of it,” she said as she struggled to keep her mind on what she wanted to say.
He stopped. “Playing a part, huh?” The small thrust to her back warned he cared little for her remark. One broad hand dipped into her bra and cupped a bare breast. “And getting some pleasure?”
He lifted her breasts into the cold air. Before she complained of the chill, he rubbed his palms across the beaded tips. Heat infused her whole body.
“Jack might come back any minute.” She closed her eyes.
“Did you do this with Jack each time you two went on assignment together?”
“No. The missions were more the straightforward type, no pretending to be husband and wife.” Her eyes opened as her temper flared, but that didn’t stop her body from responding to the way he pinched and pulled at the hard nubs.
“No mutual pleasure?” He tossed her words back at her.
“Jack and I don’t feel that way for each other.” She hoped he understood it was the truth.
“You know, I’m fucking tired of hearing his name on your lips.”
He tightened his hold on her breasts, squeezing to the edge of pain as he kissed her neck, the warmth of his breath behind her ear.
“Hey, careful.” She pulled on his wrists. He eased up slightly. His teeth nipped at her lobe, and she caught her breath when he jabbed several times with his hard cock against the small of her back.
“You want it.”
He was right. She wanted him between her legs and pumping, but she had a little pride left. Was he doing this only to prove that he could have her anytime and anyplace?
“Rex. Stop. Please.” Even to her ears, the words were weak.
“You love it. Look me in the eye and tell me you want me to stop. Even though I feel your body molding to mine even while you say stop.” He was right. She couldn’t stop her body from rubbing against his, her fingers reaching back, digging into his buttocks.
He released her breasts and turned her, pushing her shoulders against the wall next to the sliding glass doors. She refused to look him in the face, afraid that he would see her need. Then he’d know how much control he had over her. He only had to tell her to strip and she would.
“That’s what I thought.” His smugness was hard to fight. His voice, his touch, and even the heat from his body proved he was right. Another pump against her stomach reinforced how hard and big his cock had grown.
She craved him so badly. Weak. She was weak when it came to Rex.
No! She refused to be used. She wanted him but not yet. Not like he wanted her at the moment. He thought she loved Jack. How wrong could he be? She never wanted Jack. It had always been Rex, and she would never let him use her.
“Let me go, you son of a bitch.” She hissed each word beneath her breath.
“You’re beautiful when you’re mad.”
“I’m serious, Rex. Let me go now.” She balled up a fist and hit him in the stomach. He grunted and then stared at her.
“Okay.” He stepped back, his hands raised in surrender.
A SHUDDER ROLLED down his body as he worked to control his desire to chase after her. He’d pushed her too hard. She needed time to realize what had almost happened was inevitable. Somehow he would make her understand he was the man for her and in the meanwhile wipe out every trace of his brother from her body.
He stepped into the suite, closing the balcony door behind him.
The distinct sound of the shower being turned on brought him to a stop outside his bedroom door. The hell with giving her time. As he climbed the stairs, he pulled off his shirt and flicked open his pants.
Maybe he needed to remind her what it was like to be his.
Chapter Eleven
* * *
ABBY WATCHED UNSEEING as the water heated up the shower.
Moments earlier when she’d stumbled into the living room and run up the staircase, she’d headed straight for the large bathroom. Sweaty and sticky and chilly all at once, she needed warm water flowing over her, quick. Now that she was away from his sensual pull, she wanted to go back and wrap his warm arms around her.
When Rex had stepped away from her on the balcony, she’d felt colder than she’d ever been in her life. She squeezed her eyes shut. Christ! They’d come close to having sex for the first time in years. But that wasn’t what had blindsided her.
Looking at his face, angry and sullen, she’d realized they hadn’t kissed one time since the wedding, and a simple brush of the lips didn’t count.
She did remember the last time. He planned to leave for Peru the next morning. They’d made love slowly, drawing out the pleasure to ensure it would hold them over until he returned a month later, mere days before they were to marry in a civil ceremony, nothing fancy. He’d kissed her hand and worked his way up her arm, lightly pressing his mouth across her chest and up her neck until with such tenderness, such love, he sipped at and lingered on her lips. He’d stopped and cupped the side of her face. Those eyes fascinated her. Only a glimmer of light gray showed beneath lids heavy with desire. After a press of his lips to each corner of her mouth, his gaze caressed her face as if he searched for an answer. When her breathing became shallow from fighting the need to feel his lips against her own, he’d covered her mouth, dipping and stroking. It had been the most romantic kiss. Most likely what Sleeping Beauty had experienced with her Prince Charming.
Tears streamed down her face. Unable to wait a second longer, she stepped under the water, partially clothed and uncaring. The steamy spray pounded her face and head. A shadow near the door shifted. She braced her hands on the tile wall, her back to the room as she tried to block out the man’s presence. How long he’d been standing there, she had no idea and really didn’t care.
A click warned her he’d opened the shower door. Then he gently turned her around and pulled her shirt over her head, slinging it into the corner. He leaned down and kissed her neck as his hands covered her breasts. Taut nipples greeted him, welcoming his warmth. She hummed her own welcome as his wet, bare chest met hers. His hands stripped off the rest of her clothes and they landed with a plop in the corner too.
Sparkling drops of water jagged his eyelashes as he looked down. Speechless, she stared up at the face she’d loved for so long. The face she knew would fill with disgust and hate one day if he found out the truth about her.
“Abby,” he said, his tone filled with an emotion she didn’t recognize.
When she opened her mouth to question him, he kissed her. No tongue. A sensation of masculine lips moving against hers took her breath away. He nipped at the lower one and licked the sting. She reached up and held him in place as her tongue searched for his, needing more from him. He leisurely stroked hers, refusing to join her frenzi
ed response as he claimed her mouth.
Her nails dug into his shoulders, as she wanted to be closer. Strong hands lifted her buttocks as she wrapped her legs around his hips. His cock, hard and hot, slipped along her tender folds but not in. He held her too close and wouldn’t let her pull away enough to sink down on him. Their tongues twined as their desire flamed without satisfying their burning need. He rocked against her, remaining outside, only bumping her clit.
She tried to move her mouth from his to beg him to take her, but he pushed her against the wall for support as one hand grabbed her hair, holding her head still. His mouth dominated hers, thrusting and retreating until she gave in, allowing him to show her what he wanted.
Never had she imagined that being controlled and kissed in such a way would turn her on, but she almost couldn’t breathe. Ravenous desire drew the skin on her body tight; pure want ached in every bone.
When his mouth let her go, she cried out and struggled to pull him back.
“Abby, Abby.” Wild with need, a moment passed before she could focus her eyes on his. “On your knees.”
Confused by his command, she blinked and stared at him.
“Now. On your knees now.” His gruff voice sent shivers of delicious yearning down her body.
With legs too wobbly to remain standing, her hunger to touch him overtook all her sense; she didn’t argue but slid to his feet. She licked the thick cock, erect and hot, before her and tightened her grip and then released to tighten it again.
“Yeah. Squeeze me there.”
She opened her mouth and drew him in with a hard suction while she wrapped one hand around the base. She then squeezed and pulled each time she moved her head back. His hips worked his cock in farther until her throat tightened around the head. His hands gripped her hair again, directing her movements.
“Harder, suck harder.” His fingers tangled in the wet strands as he worked her back and forth. He tasted like she’d remembered, all male.
He moaned and then pulled her off him and lifted her face.
She licked her bottom lip, and his gaze followed her tongue as if he wanted a taste too.
Circle of Deception Page 10