by Joanne Rock
Thankfully, Mick stepped between Sean and T.J., taking the kid’s arm.
“I think we need to have a long talk.” He took his handcuffs out and clicked them open. “I’ll let you decide if you want to have a group discussion inside the Chapman home or if you’d rather head down to the police station and make a formal statement. Either way, you might end up under arrest at the end of the day. What’ll it be, kid?”
Donata saw Terrance relax a little, his shoulders sagging even as his face remained unnaturally pale. Maybe having Mick and Sean play good cop/bad cop wasn’t such a bad thing.
“I’ll talk here.” His eyes cut to Sean. “As long as he’s not there.”
Sean backed up a step.
“Works for me. That animosity you’re feeling for me goes both ways, believe me.”
He turned and walked toward the driveway and Donata realized how hard it had to be for him to talk calmly to someone like Terrance who had engaged in crimes similar to those his sister’s boyfriend had committed. Sean knew how devastating a moneymaker video could be when deviants of all kinds got hold of the footage. How could kids sell out one another that way? Especially when they claimed to love the person they were filming?
On the way into the house, Donata hung back to ring Sean’s cell phone to let him know she’d rent a car to take to the Hamptons later. There was no point in having him wait around for her to finish when this could take hours.
Her call went straight to voice mail. A sign he wasn’t picking up calls from her?
She left her message and followed Mick inside, wondering if maybe a little of the animosity Sean felt toward Terrance, toward criminals in general and even toward the NYPD, would one day extend to her, too.
Maybe, she admitted, it already had.
* * *
SEAN CHECKED INTO the Southampton bed-and-breakfast under an assumed name thanks to the wide choice of ID he had to back up a variety of covers. He was damn good at the technology aspects of his work, even if some people thought he pushed too hard in other areas of his field.
Donata, for one. And didn’t it suck to be turned on by a woman who pissed him off so much? He couldn’t stick around her questioning of Terrance when the kid-glove method of handling the little creep made him insane.
But then, Donata wasn’t the only one who thought he pushed too hard. His former precinct chief had taken the same stance. Even his own sister, who’d moved to Montana three years ago and since married.
She’d told Sean just last week that she didn’t appreciate him making a lifelong vendetta out of an incident she’d put behind her years ago. It had become a sore spot for them, a topic they normally agreed to leave alone. Except last week Sean had heard rumors that the Chapman family was taking the tape of their daughter to the police and he’d been upset that his hard work might be undone by a bunch of well-meaning cops who would only look at the smaller picture.
As Sean unpacked his clothes for at least one overnight at the bed-and-breakfast, he kept an eye on the parking lot below for signs of Donata’s arrival. He’d arrived in town a few hours earlier after receiving her message, figuring he would use the time to check out her old stomping grounds from her days with Sergio.
The couple had summered in the Hamptons, but their main house had been in the city. When he’d arrested Donata, he’d picked her up at the Manhattan house, so he’d never seen their lifestyle in Southampton.
Closing the curtain to the parking lot below, Sean couldn’t deny the wealth of resentment at her words to him earlier that day. She’d basically accused him of being asked to leave the force when that hadn’t been the truth. He was given an ultimatum, damn it, not asked to leave.
And she’d had a hand in putting him in that position with her noisy accusations. Had she forgotten that part of the equation?
At least back then, he’d been able to admire her in-your-face style that called attention to itself even while she surprised him with how competent she was.
These days, Sean saw more and more of that quiet competence, less of the brash-talking firebrand. Had she changed that much? And which one was real?
He’d just set up his computer to check the feed from her hotel room when a knock sounded on his door.
“Who is it?” Standing, he rechecked the scene in the parking lot below.
No help, really, since he didn’t know what kind of car Donata would have rented to make the trip.
“It’s me.” A soft feminine voice drifted through the door. “May I come in?”
Adrenaline shot through him in automatic response. Jesus, two nights together and he was turning into Pavlov’s dog, drooling on cue at the sound of this woman’s voice.
“Depends.” He wanted her in his room in spite of the way she’d gutted him earlier. That didn’t mean he couldn’t give her a hard time about it first. “Are you willing to concede you stretched the truth when you said the department asked me to leave?”
“Depends. Are you willing to admit you make a lot of executive decisions when we’re supposed to be working together?”
He leaned against the door, willing to wait.
“I asked you first.”
There was a long pause.
“I had no right to fling your past in your face and I’m sorry.” Her lowered voice came through the door in a rush of words. “Your way of doing business makes me nervous. And I’m a little wary of men who don’t take my position into account so I may have stooped to slinging a low blow.”
It took him a minute to unlock the door as he tried to process all that she’d packed in to her statement. When he did unbolt the lock, he found her in the hallway with her purse, her overnight bag at her feet and her jacket still on, spotted with a few damp places from the light snow falling outside.
Wisps of her wavy blond hair sprang out of a dark scarf she had wrapped around her head, her cheeks red from the cold and wind. Her dark, double-breasted jacket was buttoned hip to neck, but not even the heavy lined wool could disguise her generous breasts.
“I take your position into account. Why haven’t you dropped off your bags yet?” He looked around the empty hall, watchful and wary.
Whoever rigged the camera on her apartment computer could be following her and while Sean knew her police training would help her handle the situation, he’d rather not be caught unaware.
“I wanted to find out if you’ve checked the webcam we planted to make sure no one is watching.” She bent to retrieve her overnight bag and he had to ease her out of the way to take it from her.
Bad enough she thought he took advantage of her to do whatever the hell he wanted to with regard to her case. Did she have to think he was totally unchivalrous too?
Men couldn’t win with women today.
“I haven’t checked the feed yet. I was just about to do that when you knocked.” He settled her bag on the floor near a small love seat and gestured for her to have a seat. “You want a drink? I stopped off on the way here to get some bottled water, some orange juice and a few beers.”
She flopped down into the love seat, unbuttoning her coat.
“Am I on duty? I don’t even know anymore. I’ve worked so many days straight since we took on the Chapman case. If I’m not on the clock, I’ll take the beer.”
He grabbed two since his mouth was going dry watching her unbutton the fastenings on her coat. Didn’t matter how many layers a woman wore. Watching her take any of them off was sexy.
“You’re working too hard.” He clicked the keys on his computer to bring up the surveillance feed from her room at the bed-and-breakfast, then he headed over to the love seat to give her the drink.
The temptation to slide into the seat next to her was strong, but he forced himself to maintain a little distance and paced the room instead. Being near her stirred up his senses.
“But I can feel we’re getting closer.” She shimmied out of the coat and took a long swig straight from the bottle. “The talk with T.J.—Terrance—wasn’t terribly helpful, but at least he admit
ted to selling the footage. He uploaded it to a link on the fastgirlz Web site that has since vanished, and apparently he signed a release giving the company permission to reproduce it. He says Sara signed it too, but he admitted she might not have realized at the time what it was for. Mick took him down to a local station to make a statement.”
He watched her hair play peekaboo with a tiny scar on her neck he hadn’t noticed before. The need to kiss that hidden patch of pale skin was driving him crazy.
“The kid had to know Sara couldn’t legally sign away rights she doesn’t have as a minor.” It made him angry to think how willingly the girl had participated in her own exploitation.
“He said he thought it was just a formality and that no one at the film company would really look twice at the document.” She shrugged out of her suit jacket next, revealing a pale blue satin-and-lace camisole that had barely shown under her conservative suit.
Sean took another drink of his beer and tried not to make his slow perusal of her neck and shoulders, her breasts and narrow waist, too obvious. The whole suite conspired against him with the romantic froufrou of complimentary champagne and two red roses beside the bed.
“Was the kid smart enough to keep a copy of the release form?”
“Yes. He’s got it, and Sara’s parents weren’t too happy to hear it. They’ve already contacted their lawyer and are talking about a civil suit if they can’t pin anything on the boy criminally. I think he’ll at least do time for a statutory rape charge.”
“But you don’t think this kid is the one who planted the webcam in your apartment? He’s got a strong tie to Sergio so he’d have access to your old photos and he’s got a vested interest in making Alteri happy.”
“He’s got an alibi at the auto body shop, apparently. We’ll double-check it, but I wouldn’t think he’d be apt to come all the way into the city to plant a webcam on an old broad like me when there’s a much better market for tender young flesh like Sara’s.”
“Some of us are far more turned on by women who are legal. And for the record, you’re way hotter now than you were in those centerfold pictures.”
She smiled and shook her head.
“Is that the Michelob talking?”
“I’m serious. Besides, you can’t forget that whoever planted those webcams in your apartment is probably more interested in blackmail than anything, so Sergio’s godson makes a strong candidate. Is Mick going to take his prints?”
Whoever the bastard was that trespassed in Donata’s house to plant that equipment, Sean wanted him behind bars. Which reminded him he needed to check the feed on her room to make sure no one had tried the same trick here.
“He’ll take prints, but I’m not holding my breath. I think my blackmailer is tied into the filmmaking industry a lot more deeply than someone like T.J.”
She strode over to where he sat at the computer and watched him rewind through the footage from the past few hours. The soft floral scent of her triggered immediate sensory memories of tasting her skin, the warmth of his breath intensifying that fragrance.
The monotonous screen on the computer showed no changes in her room, no disturbance by any intruder, giving Sean no visual distraction from the thrill ride of his memories.
They were so hot together. So combustible. He wondered how long they could be in the same room alone together before the heat flamed out of control.
And yet…shouldn’t he hold even a little residual anger toward her? Yes, she’d apologized for the low blow of saying he’d been asked to leave the department. But there had been something else that should have put him on guard….
Oh yeah.
“When you first came in here tonight, you said you were wary of men who didn’t take your position into account.” She’d slid it neatly into her apology, so it had sort of snuck up on him. He planned to address it before things went any further tonight. “I have to say I don’t appreciate being compared to your gangster ex.”
She turned on her heel and walked away from him, taking her scent and her bombshell body with her.
“You and my ex fight on the opposite sides of the law, so I can see where you wouldn’t appreciate the similarities. But you’re both powerful men who are used to running the show. I don’t want to be maneuvered and managed ever again. It’s part of the reason I don’t give up control well, even though you’ve proven that handing over the reins can be extremely rewarding in bed.” The siren’s smile she sent his way nearly undid him then and there. “But I’d prefer that the bedroom was the only place where I had to make that decision.”
* * *
WAS IT SO HARD to give her that much?
Donata studied Sean as he seemed to weigh his options and her wishes. He had to know that she was putting herself on the line here to even talk about how they related to one another since that implied…a relationship? She wasn’t totally comfortable with the idea herself, but they couldn’t keep going on the way they were, working together with remote professionalism during the day, then heating up the sheets together at night, only to repeat the cycle the next day. Their day and nighttime worlds were bound to collide sooner or later.
He pushed out of his seat to come closer, making it more difficult to think objectively as he stalked across the lushly decorated Victorian suite. Fabric spilled on the floor from the generous sweep of curtains and even the dressing table legs were skirted with yards of white damask. Pillows erupted from the bed in all sizes and shapes, obvious invitations to linger…
Wasn’t it strange how the impending approach of a man she was attracted to could make her so fully aware of her own body when he hadn’t even touched her yet? It seemed a scientific impossibility for her skin to anticipate his touch and yet she swore that’s what happened as he closed the space between them. Her satin-and-lace camisole left her bare shoulders particularly vulnerable to the phantom touches.
“I have strong opinions.” He stopped inches away from her, staring down at her from his taller height. “I happen to think I’m right a lot of the time, so I can’t just stop acting on those opinions.”
Her mind raced ahead to refute his words even if the rest of her body wouldn’t back her up. Her knees already wobbled with the need to fall into his arms. Into him.
“No one gets their way all the time.”
“That’s why you’re more than welcome to argue with me, tell me I’m wrong, and act according to your own opinions. But I’m going to be honest and tell you that compromise isn’t always an option for me.”
She couldn’t hold back a surprised laugh. How arrogant was that?
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not. That’s why I took the out from the NYPD. I had to put myself in a position where I could succeed despite myself.” One side of his mouth lifted in a half-hearted smile.
She would not let herself be charmed by a man who’d just admitted he didn’t bend for anyone. Maybe it was the scent of the roses on the nightstand that was making her feel decidedly charmed anyway. She found herself thinking about what it would be like to find retreat in that pillow-filled bed and drink champagne from Sean’s mouth all night long. With an effort, she fought to combat his incendiary words.
“I can see where your approach might work in your professional world, but I’m curious to know if anyone you’ve ever dated has bought into this personality quirk.” She didn’t mean to pry, but she’d shared so much about her past while she didn’t know anything about Sean’s.
His hazel eyes shifted to a darker brown, his half smile fading.
“Isn’t asking each other about past relationships off limits?”
She’d hit a nerve. But didn’t she deserve to know something about him beyond the compelling, attractive man she saw with her own eyes? Experience had taught her that a person’s past provides their deepest passions, their most intriguing peculiarities of character.
“For a man who refuses to compromise, I would think a woman would have to be a little more pushy than normal.”
“Then maybe we’re perfect together.”
Now it was her turn to smile.
“Why do I have the feeling I’ve just been insulted?”
He reached for her and she found it impossible to walk away from the touch she’d been thinking about all day. His fingers skimmed her shoulders, the backs of her arms. She fought the urge to close her eyes and sink all the more deeply into the sensations he could create for her with only his hands.
His voice lowered as he came closer, the masculine tone vibrating along her nerve endings.
“I don’t know, but I meant it in the nicest possible way.”
CHAPTER 11
SHE MADE HIM think too much.
Sean knew the questions she raised would rattle around his head all night, especially later when she would refuse to sleep in his bed. But then again, the incredible thing about Donata was that she also knew when it was better not to think about anything at all.
Like now.
His hands trailed down her rib cage to her waist, molding the narrow curves before ascending to her breasts, lifting them in his hands. She arched onto her toes in response, sighing into him with her whole body.
And just like that he went from turned-on to sexually intense. Something about her sparked a sense of possessiveness he’d never had with any other woman, a need to cover her, take her, make her his own.
Not questioning the instinct, he simply followed it. He pulled the silky camisole over her head, unveiling her breasts encased in sheer blue mesh with narrow strips of satin covering dark pink nipples.
“So beautiful,” he muttered to himself as much as to her, awed all over again how so much blatant femininity lurked beneath the cover of her forceful personality.
He bent to kiss the soft fullness spilling over one mesh cup when she bracketed his face in her hands.
“That first night we were together and you let me be in charge each time…that was a kind of compromise, right?”
Something shifted inside him to think she would try and see the best in him.
“You’re damn right that was compromise because I wanted to call all the shots very badly. Bottom line, however, I wanted you with me more.”