by Ciana Stone
“We extended our stay, arranged for the best medical care available for the young woman and blessedly she survived. Anna spent much time with her and they became quite close. The young woman had been in service to a well-to-do family but had been replaced when she was injured and so had no employment.
“Anna insisted that we give her a position with us, but the young woman was loath to leave England. Her brother was in service to the same family she’d been employed with and she did not want to leave him.
“So we hired them both, arranged for their passports and visas, and they came here to live. In time they became citizens.”
“Okay,” Nikki said when he paused. “And this is relevant to us because?”
“Because that young woman and her brother are Louise Gaynor and her brother Osgood.”
Nikki’s mouth dropped open in shock. “You mean…but I thought they were married.”
Simon chuckled. “I’d refrain from making that observation in front of Louise, my dear. She wields a cleaver with some alacrity.”
Nikki shook her head and slumped back on the couch. “This place is just chock full of secrets and surprises, isn’t it?”
“You have no idea,” Simon replied. “Now if there are no objections, let’s see if Louise can’t bring us what we want.”
“Have at it,” Nikki agreed and looked at Max who was talking in her mind. “Oh, and could you also ask her if she’d bring up some food?”
Max grinned his thanks and Simon nodded. Nikki sat back and looked at the stone in her hand. It didn’t seem real. She’d spent years researching the Stones, hoping they were real yet not fully believing the myths could be true and now suddenly she was holding something from legend in the palm of her hand.
The problem was, how did even something as marvelous as the validity of an instrument of power from antiquity help them to free Max from the snare his family had him caught in?
Chapter Twelve
Simon and Max were huddled together at Simon’s computer, the Stones and the key pendant on the desk beside them, and Max’s plan displayed on the screen. Nikki stood behind them watching as they typed. The plan seemed rather complicated from what she’d read, but both men seem to be in agreement that their strategy would be effective. Since she didn’t really know that much about all of the people involved, she trusted them to be correct. Besides, this fight might be important to her, but meant far more to Max and Simon. As they worked, her attention wandered off and the sounds of Louise cleaning up in the dining room drew her attention.
It had taken Louise less than half an hour to not only produce the bag of marbles but also deliver a feast to Simon’s suite. Nikki had noticed Louise watching her ever since she arrived, but so far Louise had said nothing to her. Nikki wondered if Louise was mad, or felt that Nikki had endangered Max.
She went into the dining room. Louise was loading the remains of breakfast onto a serving cart.
“Can I help?” Nikki asked.
“Thank you, dear, no,” Louise replied without turning her attention from what she was doing.
“I don’t mind. Really,” Nikki said and started scraping the remnants from plates into the bin Louise had placed on the table for food scraps.
They worked in silence until the table was cleaned. Louise pulled a dusting cloth from beneath the cart and began polishing the table. Nikki pulled out a chair and sat down.
“I get the feeling you’re mad at me,” she said, deciding that she might as well confront Louise with her suspicions.
Louise paused and regarded Nikki for a few moments, then sighed and pulled out a chair beside Nikki and sat down. “Mad? No. Concerned? Most decidedly.”
“Because of what happened to Max? I swear I had no idea that—”
“I bear no ill will toward you for that, Nikki.”
“Then what?”
Louise cut a look over her shoulder at the door before answering. “Let’s be candid, shall we?”
“Sure.”
“You’re in love with Maxwell.”
That was the last thing Nikki expected and it shocked her into speechlessness. Louise nodded. “As I suspected. It’s true.”
“Miss Gaynor, you don’t understand. It’s…it’s complicated. Max isn’t…never mind.”
“Isn’t the dullard everyone supposes him to be?” Louise leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice. “I’ve long suspected as much. And I am not judging you, Nikki. Though I be an old maid, still I know that more times than not we don’t choose who we will fall in love with. And if there is a chance that Maxwell could live a normal life, then I want that very much for him.”
Her words surprised Nikki but also answered some questions she’d been asking herself since hearing Simon’s story. “You love Simon, don’t you?”
Louise’s cheeks flushed and she looked away for a moment. “Mr. Weston is my employer and has been very kind to both me and my brother. I am quite fond of him and hold him in high regard.”
“And you love him,” Nikki said and waved away the protest as Louise opened her mouth. “You don’t have to say it. See, I have eyes too. And it’s not really my business anyway. But I would like to ask you something.”
“What might that be?”
“When you saved Simon in England. Why did you do it? You risked your life to save him and almost died. Why? You didn’t even know him.”
“It was my duty,” Louise said simply.
All at once a sense of connection took shape inside Nikki. “Miss Gaynor, have you ever met a woman named Danu?”
It was clear from the shock that registered on Louise’s face that she recognized the name. Nikki scooted her chair a little closer. “Danu’s part of the reason I’m here.”
“What?”
“She said it was my duty to protect Max.”
Louise stared at her in stunned silence for a long time then leaned close. “As I was sworn to protect Simon. But why? Richard was a small child when I met Simon, so it could not have been to protect the bloodline. And I’ve never perceived a threat against Simon. Did she tell you what importance Max holds to the future?”
Nikki shook her head. “No. I don’t have a clue. But maybe you protecting Simon has helped him to protect Max. Louise, Max isn’t stupid. He’s brilliant. A genius. He just can’t communicate with words. When he tries to compose words things get jumbled in his head. But he created a program that allows him to key in numbers and decode them into words. He and Simon have been communicating via the computer for a few years that way. I discovered it once Max and I started becoming friends.”
The color drained from Louise’s face and tears welled in her eyes. “My god, what have we done? All these years we believed them, treated him as if he had the sense of a toddler. How he must despise us!”
She grabbed Nikki’s hands. “Why would Simon allow such a thing? Why did he not tell me?”
“Had I told you, your life would have been in danger.” Simon’s voice came from the doorway, making both of them jump.
“My dear Louise,” he said as he wheeled over beside her. “You’ve given your life for me. Though I longed to tell you the truth, how could I put someone so dear in harm’s way?”
Louise blushed to the roots of her hair. “I’m sorry, sir, it’s not for me to question—”
“No more of this, Louise,” Simon’s voice took on a ring of male authority colored heavily with love. “We have all passed the time of lies and deception, of hiding in the shadows, refusing to acknowledge the truth. You risked your life for me and have been by my side through all these years, lending your support, your compassion and your love. Yes, my dear, I know that you love me. And it is time for you to know that I love you. Would that I could travel back in time and make this declaration sooner. But I have been a fool. Forgive me, please, Louise.”
Nikki slid out of her chair and walked to the door where Max stood listening. “Come on,” she whispered. “I think they need some time alone.”
He nodde
d and followed her back to their bedroom. Once inside she closed the door and leaned back against it. “She knows about us, Max. I told her the truth.”
That’s fine, he thought to her.
She smiled gratefully. “So what do you want to do while we wait?”
The look he gave her sent her hormones into a fast burn and a shiver of anticipation skittered down her spine. The look in Max’s eyes promised passion that demanded surrender and submission, and just the idea of it excited her beyond all measure.
Max stripped off her clothes and pushed her back to the bed. He arranged her, feet flat on the bed with legs spread and bent.
I’m going to do everything and anything I want to you and you’re going to let me. You’re mine, Nikki. I’m going to brand you so that no other man will ever satisfy you but me.
“Then brand me,” she breathed in a voice that spoke of man’s original sin, a passion so deep and complete that it fanned the flames inside him to a fever pitch.
He got onto the bed, sitting back on his heels between her spread legs. For a long moment he merely looked at her, letting his eyes caress every inch of her body. Then slowly, he leaned forward and licked her sex, delicately laving her lips, nipping and sucking until she squirmed with excitement. With infinite patience, he slid his tongue into her wet depth.
A quiver ran through her as he penetrated her wet channel. With both hands, he spread her sex so that she was completely exposed. The moist pink of her naked lips and the shadowed cleft hiding her clit called to him.
With gentle licks and strokes, he parted the fragile hood that protected her clit then slowly traced the sensitive erection with his tongue, breathing in the sweetness of her scent, a smell that drove his passion higher. He captured her clit between his lips and circled it with his tongue, applying a little more pressure.
Nikki arched and moaned, reaching down to grab her inner thighs to spread them wider. Her body quivered with excitement, her uninhibited abandon inciting him to drive her to the brink of release only to withdraw, leaving her panting, her skin glistening with a sheen of sweat.
“No, please!” she begged when he paused.
You want more?
“Oh yes. Please.”
Max was certain that nothing could be as sexy as the sound of her lusty plea. He bent to sink his tongue deep into her wet channel then stroked up in a long, slow lick that ended at her clit. She arched, thrusting her breasts into the air, those dusky peaks drawing his hands to them.
“Aaaahhhhh!” she moaned when he squeezed her nipples. She pressed her breast against his tongue and undulated her hips against his erection. “Yes, yes, please. Don’t stop.”
But pause he did, moving up her body to feast on her breasts, circling the hard nipple then flicking it with his tongue. Nikki raised her hips to pump against his erection, threatening his control.
He was so tempted to sink into her delicious, hot silky sex. But the need to drive her to sensual madness before taking her was stronger, so he continued to lick her nipple, running one hand between their bodies to part her lips and sink one finger into her.
Nikki shivered then bucked as his finger found her secret inner spot. With slow, even strokes, he worked his finger over it, in and out of her hot core.
She cried out, wiggling against his finger. “More, Max. More.”
His balls tightened in response, but he wasn’t going to move to the next stage until he’d felt and tasted every inch of her. He worked his way back down her damp body, tasting the sweetness of her sweat on his tongue.
Nikki moaned in pleasure when he went down on her, his fingers stroking inside her and his tongue playing over her clit.
“I can’t—” she gasped a split second before she started to contract against his finger.
He ceased all activity, earning a cry of protest from her that turned into a breathy moan as he slid up her body to capture her lips for a long kiss. Nikki could taste herself on him. Blended with his own unique essence, it was a heady mixture. She sucked his tongue deep into her mouth, wrapping her legs around his waist to feel the erotic thrill of the length of his hard shaft slide against her sex. It was nearly enough to make her come.
She wanted him with an intensity that robbed her of all reason. “Please,” she breathed against his mouth. “Please get inside me.”
Not yet. He slid back down her body to trap her clit in his mouth. As his tongue darted over the sensitive nub, his finger probed into her sex then out. Wet with her fluid, he lubricated her anus and eased his finger into her.
An intake of breath was all that preceded her muscles tightening around his finger. With his tongue tormenting her clit and his finger probing her ass, she was way beyond being able to hold back.
Max felt the tremor that ran through her, felt her hands tangle in his hair and her body arch up. He continued his assault, stroking his finger in and out of her ass faster, taking her clit prisoner between his teeth and flicking his tongue rapidly across it.
The quiver in her body turned to a steady vibration and she arched higher, her body tensing. A long low moan came from her throat. Max did not let up until at last her body started to relax. Then he moved into position and slid his erection into her still contracting sex.
She cried his name and wound her legs around him, bucking against him as he pinned her hands to the bed and pounded inside her.
As much as he wanted it to last, the way she was grinding against him, her sex squeezing and milking him, he could not stem the flood of sensation that sent him catapulting into a realm of pleasure so vast that all else ceased to exist.
When at last the orgasm ended, he lowered himself down on her. Her lips moved to the side of his neck as her hands traced lightly down his back. “Max, my love,” she whispered.
It was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
—
Mark Robinson looked up from the screen on his computer as his secretary ushered the man into his office. “Sir, Mr. Marshall.”
“Thank you, Diane,” Mark said as he stood. “Please hold my calls until Mr. Marshall and I conclude our business.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ben stepped forward as the secretary left, closing the door behind her. He grasped Mark’s outstretched hand. “Thank you for seeing me, sir.”
“You said you have information regarding two of Weston’s clients that I need to be made aware of?”
“Yes, sir,” Ben replied and took a seat on the sofa at Mark’s gesture. “Recently I was hired to break into a computer. A doctor, Charles Abernathy, approached me, saying that the computer belonged to the deceased husband of his client, a widow, and they needed to access files stored on it for probate purposes.”
“I hardly see how that impacts Weston, Mr. Marshall.”
“Well, as it turns out, the system belonged to Maxwell Weston.”
Mark’s stomach clenched at the news. What was Charles up to and how did he get his hands on Maxwell’s computer? Suddenly Ben Marshall had his undivided attention.
“Maxwell Weston? Are you certain?”
“Quite.”
“What exactly was Abernathy looking for on the computer?”
“Supposedly financial, stock and insurance information.”
“Well, surely he had to have known that once you accessed the directories it would become clear that the computer did not belong to his client.”
“I don’t think he expected me to actually access the data, sir. You see the computer was password protected. He just wanted me to break in.”
“And did you?”
“Yes.”
“I see. And so the ruse was uncovered.”
“No, sir. The computer was set up by someone with a high degree of competency in security and encryption. It took me quite a while to hack in and unlock the decryption code. I was so impressed that I accessed the data to discover who’d done the work. That’s how I found out it belonged to Maxwell Weston. But I didn’t tell Dr. Abernathy.
“S
ee my best friend Nikki works for the Westons. She was hired to be a companion for Maxwell for the summer. And if Abernathy had stolen the computer, it seemed he had to be up to something not quite legal, so I wanted to take a look and make sure there was nothing that would put Nikki in danger.”
“And did you find anything of that nature?”
“I’m afraid so. Maxwell’s computer contained files that had apparently been hacked from two other computers. Computers protected by Weston’s Security protocols. The computers the data came from belonged to Dr. Abernathy. And it was quite sensitive material from what little I saw of it. I didn’t have time to read all of it, but it had something to do with falsified medical records and judicial tampering.”
Mark could literally feel his blood pressure skyrocket. Damn that fool. He’d made copies of the data on Maxwell. Why his people hadn’t discovered it when they tapped into the computers was a mystery. That was a bridge he’d cross later, however. Right now what mattered was getting his hands on that data and making sure Charles was eliminated because Mark was now convinced that Charles was plotting against him and Richard. There was no other explanation for him trying to get his hands on information from Maxwell’s computer and keeping copies of records. Particularly in light of the fact he’d been told specifically not to do so.
“And Abernathy never saw this data, you say?” he asked.
“No, sir. I wiped the hard drive of everything but a few game applications. I even erased the communications program, although I hated to do that. It was a brilliant piece of programming.”
“Communications program?”
“Yes, sir. Apparently Maxwell Weston isn’t what he appears to be. He’d created a very sophisticated program that allowed him to key in a numeric sequence that is translated into alpha. From what I saw, he uses it to communicate with people and to keep a detailed journal. There was a lot of stuff about a murder but I didn’t know what it was referring to. As I said, I had little time to actually read the information.”