Wicked Firsts

by Naughton, Elisabeth

  “Wh-what?”

  He hauled her against him. Pressed his lips to hers and kissed her with a wild passion that had her arching against him.

  “It was the right place. Everything about you…” Another hard, drugging kiss. “Everything is right.”

  And even though he was dangerous, even though he was so beyond the men she’d known in her life, Blake seemed right to her, too. So very right.

  Her fingers brushed over the rough stubble that was darkening his jaw.

  “Come back to my bed,” he rumbled the words.

  “Yes,” she said and she followed him up the stairs and back into the darkness.

  Jess was beginning to wonder if she would follow him anywhere he wanted to lead.

  ***

  Sunlight poured onto the bed. Jess reached out her hand, her body stretching, but Blake wasn’t beside her.

  She sat up, pulling the sheet with her. A quick glance at the bedside clock showed her that it was nearing nine a.m.

  “Blake?” Jess called out. Her gaze slid to the bathroom, but the door was open, that room seemingly empty.

  The suite was too quiet. Too empty. His side of the bed was cold.

  She slipped from the bed. Jess hurriedly donned the robe that had been left on a nearby chair. Then she padded down the stairs. The silence in the suite was complete. Blake’s gone.

  She glanced around, wondering if Blake had left a note for her. He’d probably just stepped out for a moment—

  A knock shook the front door. “Ms. Delaney?” The voice was loud, demanding. Masculine.

  She recognized that voice. It was…Carson?

  Frowning, Jess glanced toward the door.

  Then she heard the jingle of keys, and the door opened.

  Carson stood on the threshold. When he saw her, his brows raised. “You’re not ready yet?”

  She pulled the robe closer to her body. “Ready?”

  His gaze darted around the suite. “Yes. Ready. Where are your bags? The plane will be leaving in just over two hours. That doesn’t give us a lot of time, not with the check-in processes these days.”

  “My bags?” Jess gave a hard shake of her head. She seemed to be missing something. “Uh, I don’t know. I haven’t seen them since that—that man took me yesterday.” Hayden. Carson had told her and Blake that the man’s name was Hayden.

  Carson brushed past her and headed up the stairs. She quickly followed him, flushing when they stepped into the bedroom. No way could he miss the wrecked bed.

  But he just glanced to the left, and pointed to the small bags near the wall. “I brought them in earlier, when Blake was leaving.”

  She caught his hand. “Leaving?” Dammit, she couldn’t just keep repeating him. Jess cleared her throat. “Where did he go?”

  “Down to the police station. The cops needed to interview him again.” His lips twisted. “A little matter of death will push them to ask all kinds of uncomfortable questions.”

  He pulled from her. Headed toward the bags. He brought them to her. “Get dressed, then let’s get going.”

  “But Blake—”

  His sigh cut through her words. “You lasted two nights, ma’am. Usually it’s just one. Consider yourself lucky.”

  The burn left her cheeks. Ice seemed to freeze her.

  “Blake arranged for the ticket home for you, and that means that he wants you gone, Ms. Delaney. Gone before he gets back.”

  She was just standing there. Wearing his robe. Her heart was beating too fast. Threatening to burst out of her chest.

  “I always have to be the clean-up man,” Carson muttered, sounding disgusted. His hand dove into her bag and, a few moments later, he tossed her some clothes—and underwear. “Blake isn’t big on the good-bye scenes, okay? Get dressed and let’s go.”

  Her fingers fisted around the clothes. Woodenly, she moved into the bathroom and shut the door. Jess looked up into the mirror and gazed at the ghost there. The woman who had eyes that looked too big. Skin that looked too pale.

  You’re the one who wanted a one night stand. The bitter reminder burned through her mind.

  Only…the one night stand had become something more, at least for her.

  She’d started to fall for him.

  Blake and his darkness.

  She’d never had a chance.

  The robe dropped to the floor. She left it there and dressed as quickly as she could. When she jerked open the door a few minutes later, Carson was waiting with an impatient expression on his face.

  He still held her bags.

  She pulled the bags from him.

  Frowning, he told her, “I can take those down for you.”

  “I’ve got them.” She marched for the door, but then she stopped. Jess glanced at Carson. “Give your boss a message for me.”

  Carson grimaced. “Not another one of those. Look, it’s just the way he is, okay? Nothing personal. You can’t blame the snake when he strikes—”

  “What?”

  “He’s a player, and Ms. Delaney, he played with you.” Brutal words. Cold. “Now he’s done, and you need to get back to your life. Your nice, safe life.”

  Safe.

  He glanced down at the bags. “Now we really should hurry…”

  “Give him a message,” Jess repeated, determined on this.

  A long sigh broke from Carson. “At this rate, you’ll be able to deliver it yourself.”

  “Tell him that it could have been right between us.” Jess drew herself up, standing proudly. There’d be no walk of shame for her. Screw that. She would leave on her terms. “It could’ve been right, if he hadn’t been the one who was afraid.”

  Carson’s eyes widened in surprise.

  But there was nothing else for her to say. Jess spun on her heel, and, taking one determined step at a time, she left that place.

  She didn’t look back. What would have been the point? Blake was gone.

  And it felt like he’d taken her heart with him.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “She left on the flight this morning,” Carson said as he trailed after Blake. “Wouldn’t even let me carry her bags…”

  The place seemed so damn empty now.

  Empty except for the scent of strawberries that lingered in the air.

  “Look, boss, are the cops set? Are you sure they aren’t going to be asking any more questions about the Heart?”

  Blake didn’t give a shit about the Night’s Heart right then. He stepped inside his bedroom, then paused. The bed had already been remade. New sheets, fresh covers.

  No Jess.

  “The cops aren’t a problem.” He’d taken care of them easily enough. “The problem is Hayden Finn.” A dead man shouldn’t be a problem, but he was. Blake turned to level a hard stare on Carson. “I want to make sure he was working alone.” Because if the son had been anything like the father…

  Then you have someone working with you, in the background.

  That had been Jeremiah’s way. Only with old Jeremiah, he’d always eliminated his back-up, after the heist.

  Blake rolled his shoulders. He’d sent Jess away because he had to make sure—absolutely damn sure—that no other threats existed for her.

  As soon as he made sure that any would-be partner was eliminated, then he’d go to her again.

  It’s just beginning for us.

  Once she was safe.

  Carson’s brow furrowed. “Of course the guy was working alone. No one else was at that rundown motel. Just him.” He gave a little laugh. “And with him dead, the Heart’s safe. You can relax and take it easy, boss. Stop seeing danger that isn’t here.”

  “The cops checked Hayden’s phone. Over the last two days, he made seven calls. All to the same number.”

  Carson whistled. “That sounds—”

  “Like he might be calling an accomplice?” Yes, it did. “The number tracked back to a disposable cell. And whoever had that cell, well, the SOB must have already realized that his plans didn’t work out.�
��

  Carson’s gaze darted around the bedroom. “You sure about that?” Now a thread of worry had entered his voice “Boss, are you certain the Heart is safe?”

  Blake frowned, and his stare slowly tracked to the right. This was his private suite. His alone. And he’d been the one to oversee the installation of the security system for this area.

  A system most didn’t even realize was in place.

  Because he was a cautious bastard, Blake actually had twin systems—one in his suite here, and one at his suite in the Landon Hotel.

  Blake headed toward the wall on the right—a wall that wasn’t, not really. A quick press on a hidden lever had the door—not a wall at all—swinging open. Security lights glowed from inside. Carefully, but quickly, Blake typed in the code that would allow him to step into the room without triggering the alarm sensors.

  The room was five feet by eight feet. The floor was lined with alarms that would sound if anyone tried to access the area without using his code. And, at the back of that small room, his safe waited.

  Blake knew safes. He’d sure spent plenty of time cracking them.

  “Uh, boss?” Carson called. Carson hadn’t entered the room. He never did. Blake never allowed anyone to get close enough to see him input the safe’s combination. And he also made sure to change the combination regularly.

  In just a few seconds, he had that safe open.

  Plenty of jewels were inside. Bright, sparkling blue diamonds. Glittering gold necklaces. He’d amassed his fair share of goods before he’d ditched his old life.

  But…

  There was one thing missing.

  An unassuming black pouch. One that should have been as big as his hand.

  One that held a fucking fortune.

  It was gone.

  “Uh, boss?” Now Carson sounded nervous.

  He should.

  Slowly, Blake turned toward him. “We have security cameras positioned right outside my suite. No one should be able to get in or out without the hotel’s security team knowing.”

  Carson nodded. “R-right. Of course.”

  “And the only way up,” Blake said, his words flat and hard, “is the private elevator. You can only access it with a keycard.”

  A keycard that Blake possessed. A card that Carson possessed.

  Blake stalked toward his head of security. With every step, the fury grew within him. “The Heart is gone.”

  Carson’s eyes nearly doubled in size. His gaze flew from Blake to the safe—then back to Blake. “But…but no one has been up here! After the attack at the Landon Hotel, I doubled the security! No one got up. Just you—”

  “And you, Carson,” Blake cut in, the fury seeming to burn right through his skin as the betrayal cut deeply. “You’ve been up here.”

  Frantically, Carson shook his head. “Only when you were here. I came when you were here and when—” He broke off, his lips thinning.

  But Blake already knew what he’d been about to say.

  No, no, no.

  Carson cleared his throat. “I came in this morning when you were gone. Before I arrived, Ms. Delaney…she was here alone then.”

  “Jess didn’t know about the safe!”

  “She knew about the Night’s Heart.”

  “Because I told her.” His hands had clenched into fists. “No,” Blake corrected, voice grim because his response hadn’t been one hundred percent accurate. “Finn told her—he mentioned it when he took her.”

  But Carson looked doubting. “Are you sure he just…told her?” Caron’s gaze hardened as he focused on Blake. “She had access. She had opportunity.” Then his eyes widened. “She wouldn’t let me touch her damn bags. Of course, she wouldn’t let me carry them!”

  Carson started to storm away. Blake grabbed him and jerked him right back. He didn’t even care if he was hurting Carson’s wounded shoulder. “You have the only other access card to the elevator.”

  “And your lover didn’t need one. You brought her up, and you let her right inside.”

  “Jess was kidnapped!” The words came out as a roar.

  “Was she?” Carson’s words were quiet and cold. Controlled. “Or was she involved with Finn all along? Are you sure he took her away—or did she go with him, all the better to draw you out?”

  He wanted to drive his fist into Carson’s face. This was the man who’d been his closest confidant for years. And Blake wanted to beat the hell out of him right then. “Jess was tied up. He hurt her. You saw her neck. Her wrists!”

  “A good show,” Carson snapped, nodding. “That’s what it was. I’d bet on it. He didn’t actually do anything to put her at risk.”

  “Bullshit,” Blake threw right back at him. “Jess saved my life. She pushed me out of the way before Finn could shoot me!”

  “Finn wasn’t aiming at you. He was going to shoot me.” Carson’s words were still cold. His gaze steady. “He wanted to take me out, probably so they could both work on you. She pushed you—hell, maybe she did it so you couldn’t help me.”

  His temples were throbbing. His heart racing. Blake shoved Carson away from him even as he yanked out his phone. Calling the cops wasn’t an option. What was he going to say? Someone took my already stolen diamond. Fuck that.

  Besides, he would handle things, his way.

  In seconds, he had the video surveillance crew on the line. “I want to know every single person who came in and out of this suite. I want to see the footage,” he demanded.

  But he’d need more than that. More than footage.

  Jess?

  No. She couldn’t have betrayed him. He wanted her to be good. To be as perfect as she seemed.

  Carson stood beside him. Waiting. Listening to Blake’s demands as he talked with the surveillance crew. When Blake was finished, Carson said, “Let me dig into her life. Let me find out who she really is.”

  “I know who she is,” Blake snarled, but the words felt hollow.

  “If she took the Heart, we have to go after her.” Now tension hardened Carson’s face. “She’ll try to get out of the country. She’ll run, and you’ll never see the diamond—or her—again.”

  “Yes, I will,” Blake said softly.

  Because he’d already told her. If she ran—

  I’ll follow.

  ***

  Blake stood in the video surveillance room. A wall of screens stared back at him.

  “W-we’ve been watching all morning, and I-I checked with the other shift, too,” the young guard, Andrew Perkins, said with a nervous glance back at Blake. “No one but Carson entered your suite, sir. He escorted the lady downstairs.”

  And the footage of that escort was playing right then, looping on one of the screens before Blake.

  Jess’s body was tense, strained, and her grip on the small bags she carried was incredibly tight.

  There were no actual cameras inside his suite. Blake didn’t allow that. But the cameras strategically placed in the private elevator and in the hallway showed that no one else had gained access to his suite.

  “The system was up?” Blake demanded. “The whole time?” Because that was how Hayden had managed to get inside the Landon Hotel. A two-minute interruption in the security system.

  “Y-yes, sir. Carson—he made sure that we were watching for any glitches.”

  The door opened behind him. Blake looked back. Carson stood there, his face appearing even more grim than it had an hour before. “We need to talk.”

  He wasn’t in the mood to talk. But Blake gave a grim nod and headed toward him.

  Lowering his voice, Carson said. “Our dead man, Hayden…turns out he has one living relative.” He put his hand on Blake’s shoulder. What the hell? As if he were comforting Blake? Screw that. “The man’s cousin, Joe Burns…he lives down in Seaport, Florida.”

  Burns. Fucking Burns. “She was going to marry him.” There was no forgetting that name for him.

  Carson exhaled. “I think she’s running back to the guy now. With the di
amond. They’ll get it, then disappear.” He released his hold on Blake and pulled a small, plastic bag from his coat pocket. A phone had been placed inside that bag.

  “I found this, stuffed between the mattresses in her old room here at the Imperial. The last few calls received are still there.” His voice dropped even more as he said, “They were from Hayden. From the phone that the cops took from him. I checked the numbers—four times—they were from him.”

  He’d been played. Fucking played by a pair of big, bedroom eyes and a slow, sexy smile. Played by an innocent act, one meant to betray him from the very beginning.

  She already had a head start on him. A start I damn well paid for.

  “Get the jet ready.”

  She was running back to her lover. With his heart.

  Hell, no.

  No one betrayed him. No one.

  Jess was about to discover just how dark and dangerous Blake really was.

  You wanted to know my secrets? Baby, you’re about to see who I really am.

  The fury swept over him, consuming the man he’d tried to be.

  ***

  When Jess climbed the steps leading up to her little beach house, she was bone tired. Her connecting flight had been delayed—for over four hours—and she’d been trapped in the airport. Trapped with memories of Blake filling her head.

  A man who’d sent her away without even a good-bye.

  The night sky glittered down on her, and the roar of the ocean filled her ears. Normally, that roar soothed her, as did the scent of the salt water that filled the air. From the moment that she’d first set foot in Seaport, she’d known it would be her home—the beach had just seemed to comfort her.

  She was finding no comfort now.

  Wearily, she reached for the little fake rock near her door. Her key was hidden there. Not exactly high-tech security, but it worked for her. Her beach house was positioned high up on stilts, just like the three others that surrounded it. It was a quiet area. Peaceful.

  Far, far from the bright lights of Vegas.

  She slid the key from the hidden compartment in the rock, and she inserted it into the lock.

  “I’ve been waiting for you…”