Desired by a Dangerous Man

by Cleo Peitsche

  “The money didn’t last long, and the dreams died soon after. But we never gave up. We’ve been coasting for a long while. We’ve gotten… comfortable.” He spat the word from his mouth like it tasted bad.

  “Ain’t nothing wrong with being comfortable,” one of the part-timers said.

  “No. So long as we haven’t gotten soft. Today, we’re being tested. The county wants to chase us out. Thinks we’re gonna slink away, tails between our legs. They think they can fuck with our business? Take away our home?” He jabbed his finger at the floor.

  He had their attention now. Even Erin and Martin had stopped groping each other and were watching attentively. I didn’t know how many of our employees were privy to the details of what had been going on the last couple of weeks. I hadn’t wanted to know. Maybe half, I guessed, because half seemed unsurprised. The other half looked confused.

  I shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. The loyalty of the people watching was dependent on our ability to pay their salaries.

  “I’m gonna level with you,” Dad proclaimed. “Things aren’t easy right now. Times are hard. However. You are part of this family. You have always been taken care of, and you will be taken care of. I’ve set aside for a rainy day, and friends, the clouds that have been gathering on the horizon are above us. It’s raining. It’s goddamn pouring! I know some of you have been looking at business, wondering if Stroop Finders is going to survive. I can’t predict the future, but I know one thing. This company is strong. Resilient. We’re respected because we earned it.”

  People nodded at all the right places, but I wasn’t fooled, and Dad probably wasn’t either. Bounty hunters weren’t known for the goodness of their hearts.

  I cleared my throat and stepped forward. “If anyone wants to leave, you can go.” I didn’t dare look at Dad or Rob. “We won’t hold it against you, but keep in mind that you’ve signed Do Not Compete agreements. If you walk, you’re not bounty hunting until the contract expires.” Yeah, I knew all about that from firsthand experience. “However, if we can’t make our payroll obligations, we’re in breach of contract. Which means you’d be free. But not before then. It’s your choice.”

  Dad squeezed my shoulder, and I fell back, letting him take over again. “We’re going to occupy this building ’round the clock until the county finds someone weaker to prey on. We’ll do it in shifts. If you can’t handle that, you’re welcome to leave.”

  “One more thing,” Rob said quickly. “I know a couple of you have histories with the local law enforcement. Things might get a little sticky, so anyone with a prior, or anyone who can’t handle a little heat, might want to take a week of vacation, and the rest of us will do what needs doing.”

  Rob’s words were the clincher. Bounty hunter types didn’t like being told what to do by the sheriff’s department—especially those who were former deputies and cops—and they didn’t like looking like they were scared.

  No one got up, though I hoped Martin would. He hadn’t signed a DNC. He was one of Henry’s hires and hadn’t been asked to. Because I didn’t like Martin, I hadn’t bothered to correct that oversight.

  Ten minutes after the meeting’s end, Dad called me and Rob into his office and closed the door.

  His earlier fire had been replaced by cool resolve. “Probably half those guys out there are calling contacts, putting out feelers, looking for work on the sly,” he said. “Let them. We’re going to survive this, and it’s going to make us stronger.”

  Rob and I nodded, and I hoped we were convincing.

  “We need to discuss restructuring the business,” Dad said. “I’m not going to lecture you two about how foolish it was to launch such an expensive project. For one thing, you couldn’t have predicted these obstacles.”

  I wanted to curl up and die.

  Dad looked at Rob, and I figured it was to avoid me. But then Dad said, “I’m proud of you, son, for believing in the business and being willing to sacrifice to build it into something even better.”

  I eyed my brother and tried to tamp down the jealousy bubbling up under my skin. After all, Rob had taken a huge personal risk. I hadn’t…

  Though it wasn’t my fault that Dad had loaned money to Rob so he could buy the condo in the first place. And now, even if I’d wanted to take a loan, I couldn’t because after Dad’s near-death experience, he’d admitted that his finances weren’t nearly as robust as Rob and I had always thought.

  “Do you understand?” Dad asked, slapping his hand onto Rob’s shoulders and shaking him affectionally. “I’m proud of you, son. Real proud. You’ve got grit and foresight. At least you tried, and I apologize if I’ve been hard on you.”

  “Thanks,” Rob said, sounding choked up.

  My lungs seemed, suddenly, incapable of filling, or maybe it was my throat that had gone paralyzed.

  “Audrey.” Dad turned toward me. “Let’s talk about Corbin.”

  My head came up. “What about him?” My tone shaded toward frosty.

  “I like him.” It didn’t come off as insincere, but more like Dad respected him, nothing personal about it. “He made me an offer today.”

  When the hell had he done that? “We don’t need his help.” It was a reflex, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

  “Yes, we do,” Dad said, and Rob was nodding almost imperceptibly.

  An irritating thought slithered to the forefront of my awareness.

  Dad was acting like having a rich boyfriend was my biggest contribution to the company. That made my face steam with anger. For years, while Rob was working the minimum, I’d been the one slaving away for a smattering of recognition that hadn’t come until only a few months ago.

  And then when things got tough, Dad reverted to his old ways.

  I wanted to, needed to say that, but I knew I wasn’t calm enough to air my concerns in a professional manner. With our entire staff just on the other side of the closed door, it wasn’t the right time to curse my father out, so I said, “Shouldn’t there have been a meeting with all the partners?” It came out like a hiss, but at least I wasn’t screaming. I defiantly met his eyes, which were the same shade of brown as Rob’s.

  “Corbin’s offer wasn’t for an ownership stake in the business, though it’s clear that would make him happy.” Dad’s eyebrows lifted, inviting discussion.

  Fuck that.

  “You can’t make unilateral decisions,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m sure you regret it right now, but this business was restructured as a partnership. Legally, each of us has a say.” I knew my dad and brother could—and would—outvote me, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on them.

  “Christ. I don’t regret it.” He dragged a hand over his graying curls and shot a look to Rob for help.

  Rob stared at the wall so intently that he wasn’t even blinking.

  “Corbin wants to buy the building and the lot,” Dad said. “He’ll lease it back to Stroop Finders at a reasonable market rate. Part of the agreement means he’ll take over the improvements.”

  “That’s great news,” Rob said, interrupting his staring contest with the wall.

  In other words, Corbin had gone to my dad with the one thing that didn’t require my vote.

  “Pathetic, Dad,” I snapped. “We’re taking charity from a bored billionaire who can’t stop interfering in his girlfriend’s life.”

  “That’s unfair,” Rob said quickly, and I got the impression that he was offended on Corbin’s behalf.

  Dad flung out his arms. “Look around, kiddo. The asphalt is torn up, the county’s filing to condemn. There’s not a businessman alive who wouldn’t take this deal.”

  All I heard was businessman. Dad’s nostrils might have been flaring, but I was the one seeing red.

  “You are so full of—”

  “Audrey,” Rob said, grabbing my arm. “Let’s step outside a moment.” He practically dragged me out of Dad’s office and to the exit. None of the employees hid their obvious curio
sity.

  Rob hauled me around to the side of the building. He probably would have taken me farther, but we would have needed hiking boots to cross the broken concrete.

  “Get a grip,” he said. “Remember that talk we had about how this is what Corbin needs? He loves you, and he always puts you first. Right now, this is him putting you first. Focus on that, not on the fact that he’s getting a teeny, tiny thing in return.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You benefit from his money, but then you go home for the day. You won’t have to worry about what would happen if the relationship stops working.” I felt myself getting hysterical. “You won’t have to give him whatever he wants out of fear that he’ll raise the rent. He’ll have me cooking and cleaning and running his errands… What are you doing?”

  Rob was staring at me, his jaw hanging open. He threw back his head and howled with laughter.

  My irritation notched higher and higher until I turned and headed away.

  Still laughing, Rob grabbed my arm. “Sorry,” he panted, then began laughing again. Between gulping gasps, he said, “There’s no way you would behave like that. I almost…” He struggled to catch his breath. “I almost want to tell Corbin what you said.”

  “Don’t you dare,” I hissed. “And it’s not funny.” But his laughter was contagious, and even though I was furious, I felt a traitorous little smile pulling at the corners of my mouth.

  “It is,” Rob said, wiping his fingers across his eyes, then blinking. “You? A doormat? Oh, man. I needed that.” He looked at me and snorted again, but he managed to retain control of himself.

  “If you’re done insulting me, I think Dad’s waiting for us,” I said icily.

  “C’mon, Audrey. I’m not insulting you, but if you’re going to act like some repressed woman from the seventeenth century, what do you expect? I love you, but you’re a bitch. In a good way,” he added quickly. “You, sis…” He shook a finger slowly at me. “You’ll never put up with shit from anyone. Not even Corbin.”

  I smacked his hand away from my face. “Don’t do that. It’s obnoxious.”

  “I don’t know what you’re afraid of, but if there’s anyone who can keep his business and personal lives separate, it’s Corbin. Wasn’t that one of your more recent complaints about him? How he compartmentalizes everything? The money doesn’t matter to him, and even if it did, he loves you too much to let it be an issue.”

  “Fine,” I said, and even though I was starting to feel better, I couldn’t help acting prickly. It was impossible to explain why my brother’s rather offensive reaction to my concerns was calming the nagging, doubtful voices in the back of my mind.

  In any event, it wasn’t like we had any choice but to accept Corbin’s generous offer. We’d run out of options.

  The fact that Corbin was willing to assume the entirety of the problems with the construction was a good thing from Rob’s point of view. Being uncomfortably close to losing everything, he was surely anxious to make the loan vanish.

  My dad wanted this, my brother wanted it, and Corbin did, too.

  So what was my problem? Why couldn’t I just let it go?

  Briefly, I wondered if it had something to do with the other Audrey, Corbin’s ex-wife, whose fate was occupying Corbin’s time lately. I didn’t think she figured into my panic… I hadn’t had very many quietly terrified moments since the night Corbin had taken me to see where he used to live in Paris. Something about that had settled all my fears, and the stray worry that occasionally floated by was easily managed.

  “Ok,” I said. “I’ll vote for it.”

  “Selling him the property, or all of it?”

  I hesitated.

  “Look, I’m not saying we have to commit today to bringing him on as a partner, but Corbin needs this, Audrey. I've gathered from my brief conversations with you that he’s cooly handling this is-she-alive-or-is-she-dead business with his ex. But it has to be eating him up inside. He’s stoic, but he’s not a robot.”

  I didn’t need the gentle lecture, but I let my brother deliver it anyway.

  “Let him have this distraction,” Rob continued. “Let him help you. It’s a no-lose situation.”

  “You convinced me the last time you brought up those points,” I admitted with a sigh. “Shall we go in and tell Dad it’s unanimous? Just about the building for now. Give me time on the partnership.”

  “You’re doing the right thing,” Rob promised. “Corbin’s a good man, and he’ll never let this interfere with your relationship.”

  We began walking back toward the entrance, and I glanced to the right and noticed that the road was lined with our employees’ cars. Martin’s motorcycle was parked next to my car, though, and I wondered what would happen if I accidentally knocked it over.

  “Maybe I’m a bad girlfriend if I allow Corbin to make such a crappy investment,” I said, just tossing it out there. Mostly I was thinking about how it was my fault that Stroop Finders was in this mess, yet I was the one being stubborn about the elegant solution offered on a silver platter.

  Even though I was joking, Rob stopped me. “It’s not a bad investment,” he said, brown eyes burning intensely. “If I had extra money to spare, I’d never bring someone else in. It’s a fantastic investment, but one we can’t afford right now.”

  “I know,” I said, but my mind was troubled.

  For all his talk, Rob didn’t like the idea of bringing in a fourth party any more than I did. He just found it preferable to losing everything.

  Chapter 5

  Soothing classical music greeted me as I entered the condo.

  It was late afternoon, and I hadn’t expected Corbin to be home.

  Noise didn’t necessarily mean he was there; the penthouse was tricked out with the latest technology, and the computers could do everything, from opening and closing the skylights to remotely running a hot bath. It was even possible to assemble a casserole in the morning and the computers would have it cooked and ready for when you returned at the end of a long day. Playing music was easy by comparison.

  But I knew Corbin was home because his large shoes sat near the door. They hadn’t been there when I took off in the morning, and Corbin never left more than one pair sitting out at a time.

  He owned the condo—I couldn’t have afforded this level of luxury, not even if I’d scrimped my entire career—but when he purchased it, he’d made sure to include me in every decision, from the paintings on the walls to the firmness of the mattress and the shape and quantity of the pillows.

  He wanted me to feel comfortable there.

  I felt myself smiling. No wonder Rob had laughed at my indignation. The idea of Corbin ever using money to manipulate me was patently absurd, and if Rob opened his big mouth about my freakout, I was going to kill him.

  Though Rob’s opinion might have been different if he’d known how kinky Corbin was.

  My boyfriend liked rough sex, and he liked to call the shots. Foreplay for us tended to include me mouthing off and Corbin warming my ass thoroughly with his broad, rough palms while I moaned and begged.

  It worked for us, and Corbin’s ability to restrict that dynamic to the bedroom was a big part of the reason.

  The thought of his hands on my body sent wet heat pooling low in my belly.

  I found him in the main bathroom, the door ajar.

  Water ran down the walls of the shower stall. Corbin never used the tub, and I’d figured out that he’d had one installed because he knew I liked to take baths. The enormous room was almost as warm as it was outside the building, but the large mirrors weren’t fogged.

  In front of the sink, Corbin was naked except for the snowy white towel wrapped around his muscular hips. I could make out the outline of his powerfully muscled butt through the thick cotton. I wanted to glide my hands over the expansive planes of his back and shoulders.

  “Hi,” he rumbled. Electric blue-green eyes met mine in the mirror, and my heart skipped a beat.

  Corbin was always
sexy, but I liked him like this, raw, his longish hair messy, his square jaw darkened with bad-boy stubble.

  The perfect, bare torso was just a bonus.

  “Hi,” I said. “You talked to my dad. What happened to the plan with all the lawyers?”

  Corbin looked at me warily. “When your father phoned this morning, I realized we needed to move quickly.”

  I frowned. “Dad contacted you?”

  “Right when I was about to return your call.” Reaching for a can of shaving cream, Corbin smiled tightly. “It scared the hell out of me. I thought something terrible had happened.” He shook the can, turned it upside down and shot a loud palmful of foam into his cupped fingers.

  So Dad went to Corbin behind my back. Without even talking to me about it. Really, the outcome would have been the same, so it didn’t matter, right?

  Sure it didn’t.

  But that was something I’d have to work through later.

  “Thank you,” I said, and even though I meant it sincerely, I had to force the words from my throat.

  Corbin met my gaze. “I was flattered that he reached out to me.” He massaged the foam over his throat and jaw, then picked up his metal razor and rinsed it. I’d borrowed it a few times—unbeknownst to Corbin—and knew from experience that it was surprisingly heavy, that the textured handle was rough in an appealing sort of way.

  He raised his hand and tilted his head back and to the side. His eyelids lowered, shuttering those gorgeous eyes.

  “Don’t,” I said.

  He scraped a swath of skin clean. “Don’t what?”

  Too late now. “I liked you scruffy. Stubble is hot.”

  That made him grin. “Unless you like me bearded, you’ll have to suffer through a few hours of smooth skin.”

  He dragged the razor across his jaw. The sharp edge made a rasping, scratching noise that sounded, frankly, painful.

  “For every day you shave, I’m going to go without,” I announced as I hoisted myself onto the long counter, close enough to Corbin to feel intimate but far away enough to avoid getting splattered. I hooked my feet at the ankles and swung them rhythmically.