Unaware of the turn his thoughts had taken, Alyssa rained soft, soothing kisses across his face. Cheeks, chin, nose and eyelids. She nibbled at his mouth before finally aligning them together and pouring every ounce of emotion into their connection.
And then the only thing he was thinking about was her.
Beckett accepted the balm of her heat, the soothing comfort of her body. He felt her reaction to the scrape of his tongue against hers. Not just the shiver that rocked her spine, but the pulsing constriction of her internal muscles clamping tight around him.
Her hips writhed against his, trying to get him deeper. Closer. Which was what he wanted, too.
Gripping her hips, Beckett coaxed her backward, staying buried inside her the entire time. Their mouths popped apart.
A frown puckered the spot right between her eyes. “Beckett, about the app—”
He cut her off before she could finish, silencing her with a passionate kiss. She moaned in the back of her throat.
Quietly, against her mouth, he said, “No business. Not tonight. Nothing between us, Alyssa. Nothing.”
12
BECKETT HADN’T WANTED to leave Alyssa alone this morning. She’d looked so peaceful...and sexy as hell. Even now, the thought of waking up with her draped across his naked body had his cock berating him for his stupidity.
But somewhere in the middle of the night, probably right around the time she’d taken him into her body and offered pleasure as a salve to his injured spirit, he’d known he couldn’t just let the photographs go without confronting his father...no matter what the visit cost him.
Once the decision was made, he’d been restless and anxious to do it.
He could have woken her up, but they’d had a long, exhausting night and the thought of interrupting the few hours of sleep she would get hadn’t sat well with him. She needed her sleep. Especially if they were going to spend every night like last night.
Visiting his childhood home always caused conflicting emotions. He had few truly good memories, the kind of joy-filled moments most kids had. Christmases, birthdays, Fourth of July barbecues.... After his mom died, those normal, happy experiences disappeared.
But there were a few soft moments attributed to this place. Fuzzy memories of his mother’s lips brushing across his forehead. Rocking. Singing in a high, clear voice. Warmth and love and comfort.
However, the bad far outweighed the good.
Unfolding his body from the low-slung car, Beckett headed to the front door and rang the bell. It had been years—fourteen to be exact—since he’d walked inside without permission.
One of the staff opened the door and ushered him inside. “Mr. Kayne is expecting you.”
Oh, he was certain his father was. Because it was exactly the response the other man had wanted when he’d made the audacious announcement in the middle of a high-society party—Beckett jumping at the pull of his strings. If Alyssa hadn’t been involved, he would have delighted in ignoring the tug his father had given, just to see him thwarted.
But Alyssa was involved.
The man who’d opened the door led him down the hall to his father’s office. Beckett could have found it in his sleep, but he didn’t bother saying that. A moment of joyful sarcasm wasn’t worth losing a man his job. And if his father found out anyone—including his own son—had been left alone to wander the house, that was exactly what would happen.
They rounded the corner to find his father standing just outside the open door to his office, his hand outstretched and enveloping another man’s.
It took Beckett several moments to place the face. He’d been there last night, standing with Alyssa’s business partner. Dornigan had introduced him as Vance Eaton. Beckett had gotten the impression he was a business associate of V&D. What the hell was the man doing here, with his father?
A sense of foreboding settled across Beckett’s shoulders. They tightened and tingled with the need to neutralize a threat he couldn’t yet see.
“Ah, Beckett. I didn’t expect you to surface from your bed until at least midafternoon.” His father gave him a suggestive leer that had Beckett’s hands clenching into fists.
He refused to rise to the bait. Instead, he schooled his features into a cold expression, raising a single eyebrow as if to suggest the dig his father had just taken was cheap and beneath him.
The only evidence he’d hit his mark was the quick thinning of his father’s lips.
Turning away from Beckett, he addressed the other man. “I’m sorry for the unpleasant circumstances that brought us together, Eaton. However, I’m certain we’ll enjoy working together in the future. Fate has a way of placing people in our path just when we need them.”
Beckett had years of experience interpreting his father’s expressions, so he knew without a doubt the man was lying. He was laying it on thick, giving Eaton the impression money and connections had just fortuitously landed in his lap. By tomorrow, his father would most likely have his assistants screening Eaton’s calls.
He’d gotten whatever he wanted from the man and was through.
Having been on the receiving end of the blindsiding dismissal, he almost felt sorry for Eaton. Especially when he remembered how the man had stepped in to defend Alyssa last night.
But it was that contradiction that kept Beckett from giving into the urge. Why was Eaton here, in his father’s home? Whatever the reason, Beckett didn’t like it. He didn’t trust his father, which meant he couldn’t trust Eaton.
Eaton offered him a brief flash of a smile as he disappeared down the hall.
Waving magnanimously at his office, his father bade him inside.
Beckett hated this room. He had memories of standing ramrod straight staring sightlessly at the front of the huge, hand-carved desk. The space was pretentious, everything inside a calculated testament to the power of the man who occupied it.
Fighting the sneer that threatened to curl his lips, Beckett didn’t wait for the invitation, but slumped down into the soft leather sofa at the far end of the room. He refused to give his father the chance to take up residence behind that monstrosity of a desk.
There would be no power position for daddy dearest today.
His father’s eyes crinkled at the corners, the only indication that he registered Beckett’s move and didn’t like it. Left with little choice, he sank into the matching leather chair cattycorner to the sofa.
Wanting to cut through the bullshit, Beckett wasted no time. “What do you want for them?”
At least his father chose not to insult him by pretending he didn’t know exactly what Beckett was talking about.
“There’s nothing you have that I want.”
A slow, smug smile crept across Beckett’s face. “We both know that’s a lie, don’t we?”
His father let out a sigh, the kind of sound that carried the stamp of exhaustion. Beckett wasn’t buying the act.
“Did it ever occur to you that I’m trying to protect you, son?”
He didn’t even hesitate. “No.” The man didn’t know the definition of the word, let alone the first thing about following through on that kind of concept.
“She isn’t good enough for you.”
A low sound rumbled from his chest, combination warning growl and scoffing laugh. “That’s not what you implied last night. Then, you were praising me for screwing my way into a lucrative business deal.”
“And if that’s all this was, then fine. But I know you. There’s more. You’ve been single-mindedly pursuing her for days.”
Beckett curled his hands into fists. It was one thing to think his father was keeping tabs...it was another for confirmation to come out of the man’s mouth.
“She’s Reginald Vaughn’s daughter. When he died, he barely left her a penny. A man like that doesn’t, for all intents
and purposes, disinherit a child for no reason.”
A snort of derision slipped out. Unlike his own father, who’d cut him out without a second thought?
“She’s got a reputation for wild, erratic behavior. There was even speculation several years ago that she was an addict. Not the kind of woman you want raising your children.”
This time Beckett couldn’t hold back the laughter. The thought of Alyssa as erratic was hilarious. And the only wild streak he’d ever seen from her was the one she shared with him. To the rest of the world, she was cool and composed.
If she was an addict he’d eat his own shoe. Running a club, he’d seen his fair share of junkies, and Alyssa Vaughn wasn’t one. She’d even admitted her brush with being high a few days ago was a first.
Whatever his father had heard, it was all lies and rumors. Standing, Beckett let his actions say all he needed about the accusations. His father followed suit.
“You can’t do anything with those photographs without jeopardizing your membership to the club. We both know you’re not willing to do that. So whatever you think to extort from me or her, you won’t be getting it.”
Closing the gap between them, Beckett brought them toe-to-toe. There was a time when he’d thought his father a giant, a scary one. Now, he seemed no more than a sad, lonely man.
Leaning forward, Beckett emphasized each word. “Let me make myself clear. If you ever use those photographs to hurt Alyssa, I will spend the rest of your miserable life making you regret the decision. If you ever again speak to her, about her, or hell, be in the general vicinity of her, like you did last night, I’ll make sure you eat your words...with my fist.”
Spinning on his heel, Beckett didn’t wait for an acknowledgement. He didn’t expect one. But for some unknown reason, he paused at the door to the office. Canting his head back to look at his father, he was surprised at the flash of pain and regret in the other man’s eyes.
No, he had to be wrong. His father didn’t feel those emotions. Only greed and determination.
He still found himself saying, “You know nothing about her,” before walking out.
* * *
“WHAT THE HELL just happened?”
Alyssa stared blankly at the phone in the center of her desk.
Vance Eaton had told them he wasn’t going to be buying their app. The room spun drunkenly, but Alyssa couldn’t tear her gaze away from the damn phone.
She was deathly calm. Unnaturally calm. At least, on the outside. Inside, she was a seething mass of panic.
Those years of burying her emotions were kicking in. The familiar coping mechanisms switching on without any effort. Her shoulders straightened. Her spine stiffened. And her face went blank as she folded her hands into a perfect pose in her lap.
Mitch, on the other hand, was fiery hot. His anger raged around her, unable to penetrate the icy shield crackling and creeping in to consume her.
“What the hell happened? I left him last night and everything was fine. What changed in the past eighteen hours?”
Alyssa didn’t have the answer any more than Mitch did, although it wasn’t as though the knowledge would really change anything. At least, not in time to solve the bigger problem.
They’d find another city-interested buyer, eventually. But not in time to pay off the loan.
And that knowledge was really the reason her inner ice princess was resurfacing. She was going to need the cold indifference to get through what she had to do next.
The moment Eaton had uttered the words, Alyssa had known what she’d do. Hell, Mitch knew, too. Which was probably why he was currently raging. His body moved in fitful, jerky motions. His tanned skin flushed a furious red. Without warning, his fist flashed out to collide with the wall behind her desk.
Alyssa didn’t even flinch. She was too mired in her own mind to react. Not now. Later.
A few moments later Alyssa was grateful for the deep protective layers she’d already started to gather around her. But for a very different reason than she’d expected.
Her office door burst open. Beckett’s father walked in, followed closely by Megan. “Idiotic man! You can’t just barge in here. I don’t care who you are.”
Mr. Kayne ignored Megan as if she didn’t exist, which didn’t help soothe her ruffled feathers.
“I’m sorry, Lys.” Megan threw her hands in the air and then slammed them onto her hips. “I couldn’t stop him.”
No, she didn’t figure Megan could. Mr. Kayne was the kind of man who did exactly what he wanted and damn everyone else.
She waved away the unnecessary apology. “Not your fault.”
There was no telling what Beckett’s father wanted, but nothing good sprang to mind. The man had been a calculating asshole last night. And while Alyssa would have liked nothing better than to throw him out, she knew that in the long run discovering what he wanted was the more intelligent move.
She could daydream about evicting him later.
Mitch made a single, coiled move forward, the fist he’d slammed into her wall already bruised and red. Heading off disaster at the pass, she grabbed his arm and sent him a quelling look.
“Mr. Kayne, what can I do for you?”
The slow, calculating smile that tugged his mouth wide didn’t come anywhere close to touching his blue-gray eyes. Deep beneath the layers of ice, her stomach flipped once in a single, sickening roll of dread. Clamping down on the reaction, Alyssa refused to let it in.
“It’s what I can do for you. No doubt you’ve heard from Eaton by now. I’m here to offer you an alternative to the deal you were working with him. I’d like to purchase both apps from you today.”
Reaching into the leather satchel she hadn’t noticed at his feet, Kayne pulled out a sheaf of papers. Placing them onto her desk, he used a single fingertip to push them in her direction.
“I’m certain you’ll find the terms more than agreeable. I’m prepared to double the offer Eaton made, pay two million for the social media app and settle that pesky loan problem. My bankers are ready to make the transfer within the hour.”
Alyssa didn’t react. Behind her, she heard Mitch shift, his shoes scraping against her thick carpet. The sharp intake of his breath. But she didn’t have anything to spare for him right now. Not when her entire focus was trained on the shark smiling benignly in front of her.
The offer was generous. Too generous. Several million more than they’d anticipated receiving.
“How did you know about our deal with Eaton...and that it had dissolved? We barely hung up with the man ten minutes ago.”
That malevolent show of teeth widened, reminding her of a horror-story villain. “I’m not in the habit of sharing insider secrets, but let’s just say perhaps you should speak to Beckett about his early meeting this morning.”
Shock and illness curdled her stomach. Bile rose in the back of her throat, burning like poison as she swallowed it back.
Had Beckett really left her alone in his bed to meet with Eaton and sabotage her deal? She hadn’t been stupid enough to tell him about her plans, but considering the pieces he’d been given last night, it wouldn’t be difficult for an intelligent man to put them together into a clear picture.
Was the app really that important to him? Important enough to destroy her business?
Alyssa bit back the bitter laughter stinging her nose. Of course it was. He’d already proven he was willing to be underhanded and devious to get what he wanted.
How could she have been so wrong? Or maybe she’d just been blinded by lust.
No, last night had been more. She’d felt it, deep down, the connection between them strengthening and drawing them together.
Or maybe she’d just wanted to feel it. There was no way that could have been one sided. Unless...was she delusional? So desperate to feel desired and
treasured that she’d let a few wild nights coalesce into something that wasn’t real?
Obviously, she was. Because even if his father was underhanded that didn’t negate the fact that Beckett had snuck out on her early this morning.
In a blinding flash, Alyssa realized that even as he’d claimed her body, made her writhe and moan in ecstasy, he had every intention of continuing to screw her over and take whatever he wanted.
Damn the consequences to anyone but himself.
God, she was an idiot.
Resolve crystallized deep inside her, spreading like the cold layer of ice numbing her emotions.
He might think he had her exactly where he wanted, but Beckett Kayne was in for a surprise. She wasn’t through fighting. He wasn’t going to win. She would not let him crush her.
“What’s the catch?” she asked, her voice brittle.
Mr. Kayne’s cutting, acerbic glance scraped across her. “Let’s just say you’ll be dealing with me and me alone as we finalize the deal and work to bring the apps to market.”
He was trying to buy her off. The man who’d abandoned his son and shoved him out into the world alone, was trying to protect him. From her.
If she wasn’t so numb with misery, she might have found that funny. “That’s rich, Kayne. Beckett hardly needs protection, but if he did, we both know he can take care of himself. You made sure he learned the skills he needed to do that when you threw him out on the streets.”
She’d surprised him. A soft wheeze broke through his parted lips. His skin paled beneath the artificial glow of his tan.
“He told you about that?”
Some devil sitting on her shoulder urged her to get a few digs in. To call out this man’s shortcomings as he’d been so willing to highlight her own.
Holding his gaze, she said, “While I was sharing his bed.”
Mitch choked, dissolving into a coughing fit at her back. Without looking, she grasped the bottle of water sitting on the corner of her desk and held it behind her.
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