Kate gave him a teasing glance as she lowered her arms and placed her hands on his chest to push him back on the bed. “I’d rather show you than tell you!”
Zander spread his arms out to the sides. “Feel free.”
Which was the equivalent of inviting a starving woman to indulge in a banquet.
“Don’t move,” Kate instructed as she began to kiss and touch Zander everywhere, removing his clothes as she went, until minutes later, he lay on the bed completely naked, hands clenched into the sheets now rather than relaxed at his sides.
She knelt between his parted thighs as she paused to drink in her visual fill of his muscular shoulders and chest, tight abs, powerful thighs. She licked her lips as she gazed at the temptation of his engorged cock curving up toward his navel, a bead of pre-cum glistening on the bulbous head.
“Is there a chapter in the lover’s handbook on how to survive torture?” Zander groaned achingly, gaze riveted on the moisture of Kate’s lips.
She chuckled softly. “Probably. But I think it would be more fun if we just make up our own rules as we go along.” She curled the warmth of her fingers about his straining erection, loving the silky feel of his skin slipping through her stroking palms.
“Jesus, Kate!” His back arched up off the bed as her fingers tightened and she began a slow and remorseless pumping of his cock, for her own pleasure as well as his.
Her glance was wicked between thick lashes as seconds later, she lowered her head and took that bulbous tip into the moist heat of her mouth. “Mm,” she groaned as the taste of his pre-cum burst like sweet nectar on her tongue and the back of her throat.
Kate’s murmur of enjoyment vibrated the length of Zander’s cock, into his balls, and along the length of his spine. “Kate, you have to let me move.” His voice sounded strained.
“Uh-uh.”
Another vibration shot down his cock, drawing his sac up tightly beneath. “Witch,” he groaned.
She gave another, deeper chuckle.
“You do realize there will be payback for this?” Zander bit out between gritted teeth minutes later. His fingers tightly gripped the sheet beneath him as he fought not to use them to reach out and hold the back of her head steady as he thrust into her until completion. “I am so going to enjoy tying you to the bed later.”
Her next chuckle sent even stronger vibrations down his cock, ones that radiated through his whole body. Zander cried out, his breathing ragged, lids squeezed tightly shut, as he lost it completely and his release pulsed fiercely into Kate’s waiting mouth.
“Are you trying to kill me?” Zander groaned weakly several minutes later. Kate snuggled against him, her head resting on his shoulder.
“You just need to eat.” She played with the swirls of blond hair on his chest.
He glanced down at her. “You?”
“Real food,” she said dryly. “And afterwards, we’ll talk about who ties whom to the bed and eats who—” She broke off as the phone on the bedside table began to ring. “Hopefully that’s Bernie returning my call.” She sat up eagerly. “I tried to ring him earlier, but his cell phone was switched off. I thought maybe their flight had taken off, but I guess not.” She frowned as she lifted the receiver. “Bernie—”
“If Buchanan is with you, just keep smiling, because if he tries to take this call instead of you, then I’ll ring off before either of you hears what I have to say,” Joey instructed harshly. “And I promise you, you’re going to want to hear that.”
Kate felt the blood drain from her face, but she managed to keep a smile curving her lips, something in Joey’s voice telling her this time his threats wouldn’t be toothless. “Go on,” she invited neutrally, not daring to so much as glance at Zander in case the fear in her eyes gave away the identity of her caller.
“The Cooks and their pretty nanny didn’t make their flight to London after all,” Joey informed her pleasantly.
Kate felt an icy chill down her spine at the underlying triumph she could hear in his voice. “Why not?”
“They decided to remain in New York awhile longer after receiving a message from Buchanan telling them you had been taken to hospital with a gunshot wound, and a limousine was waiting outside to take them to you at the hospital.”
Her heart began to beat so fast, it felt as if it might pound its way out of her chest. “But—”
“I’ll talk, you’ll listen,” Joey cut in forcefully. “If you value your friends’ lives, then you’ll find some way to get away from Buchanan tonight and come to my apartment. I’m sure the Cooks would be reassured to receive a visit from you this evening.”
Her fingers tightened about the receiver. “You have them there with you?”
“Of course I don’t have them here at my apartment,” he scoffed. “Some of my men have made them comfortable elsewhere for the moment. I’m willing to take you to them. For a price.”
Kate forced down her rising panic, knowing she had to keep Joey talking, to get him to tell her as much as possible. “What do you want?” Joey’s father, Silas, was one of the richest men in New York, so she knew Joey’s “price” couldn’t possibly involve money.
He gave a humorless laugh. “I thought a good place to start was with the headline in tomorrow’s newspapers reading: KATE STEWART TO MARRY JOEY TAYLOR.”
She swallowed down nausea at the thought of ever becoming the wife of this madman. “And after that?”
“Tomorrow, we’ll take my jet to Vegas and get married,” he explained as if she was the one who was mentally deficient in not already knowing that.
Her palms were sweating so much, she was having trouble maintaining hold of the receiver. “I have to fly to Canada tomorrow.”
“What you have to do is exactly what I tell you to in the future.” Joey’s voice had gone cold. “I’ve had more than enough of your bullshit, Kate. It’s time you accepted you belong to me. Now get your delectable ass over to my apartment in the next two hours, or the Cooks will take the consequences. I’ll tell Security to expect you. But if I see so much as a glimpse of Buchanan, you’ll never see any of the Cooks or their nanny again,” he added harshly.
“Kate, what—” Zander broke off as Kate raised a silencing hand.
“Was that Buchanan?” Joey’s voice had sharpened. “Where are you?”
“As you rang me, I’m obviously in my hotel suite—”
“Don’t get cute with me, Kate. Where in your hotel suite?”
“The sitting room. We’re having dinner,” she added quickly.
“Kate, what the fuck—”
This time, she stood and moved away from the bed in order to evade Zander. He would have wrenched the phone out of her hand after hearing her deliberate lie. Joey would completely freak out—instead of only being only half-insane—if he knew she and Zander were in bed together when he rang.
“I’ll be there,” she assured Joey.
“Make sure you are.”
“Please just tell me—” She broke off as Joey ended the call abruptly.
Which was when reaction set in and she began to tremble and then gasp for breath. Her legs were shaking so badly, they gave way beneath her, and she sank to the carpeted floor as the tears began to fall hotly down her cheeks.
Joey had Bernie, Sophie and the children, and their young nanny.
And there was no way, absolutely no way, Kate was going to be able to keep any of this from Zander.
Nor did she want to.
All her life she had thought she was without a family, that she had only herself to look out for. A single phone call from Joey had shown her that Bernie, Sophie, and the kids had become her family these past five years.
This, whatever she had with Zander, also mattered to her. Too much for her to want to keep secrets from him.
“Kate?” Zander moved down onto the carpet beside her, wanting to take her in his arms but afraid to touch her in case she fell apart completely. “Who was that on the phone?”
Her throat moved as
she choked and then swallowed, the tears falling harder than ever. “Joey has Bernie, Sophie, the kids and their nanny. He says he’ll let them go if I marry him tomorrow.”
Zander clenched his fists. What the fuck!
Chapter 12
“So, are we all clear on the situation and how we’re going to do this?” Zander’s narrowed gaze moved over each of the eight employees of Knight Security seated or standing around the sitting room in Kate’s hotel suite. He hadn’t called in the other two men standing watch at Joey Taylor’s apartment building. It was more important than ever they know exactly what Taylor was doing. So far, the other man was staying put in his apartment. Which he would, if he was waiting for Kate to come to him.
“I’m not,” she spoke up from where she sat slightly apart from them near the window. “I’ve listened as you decided what each of your men is going to do when you get to the apartment building, but in none of those plans did I hear what my part is going to be.”
“Because you don’t have one.”
“He’s expecting me…”
“Then he can carry on expecting, because you’re staying right here.”
“Unprotected?” she taunted.
“I’ll inform Jeff Saunders and his men before we leave.”
A frustrated frown furrowed her brow. “You were shot earlier today, so maybe you shouldn’t go either.”
“Not an option.”
“So it’s okay for you to go and challenge Joey, but not for me to accompany you?”
“Yes.”
This conversation wasn’t helping her feelings of frustration in the least. “Shouldn’t you at least have called the NYPD and brought them in on this rather than going in alone?”
“And tell them what?” Zander challenged. “That a member of a prominent New York family abducted the Cooks from the airport earlier today? As far as the airport staff are concerned, Bernie and his family changed their minds about flying this evening and took a refund on their tickets.” He knew all this because he had checked with the airport while Kate took a quick shower and dressed. He had also made several other telephone calls. “Silas, Taylor senior, is a very powerful presence in New York, and we only have your word that Joey has the Cooks.” Zander didn’t enjoy playing devil’s advocate, but someone had to do it.
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you saying my word isn’t good enough?”
“I’m saying it isn’t enough for the NYPD to take action.”
“Maybe you think this is another publicity stunt on my part?” Tension radiated off her in waves.
Zander knew he deserved that accusation. “I didn’t say that either.”
“You were there when Joey called me. You saw how distressed I was afterwards.”
He nodded. “I also believe he threatened you.” The way her face had paled as she collapsed to the floor in tears had been all too real.
“And that he has Bernie, Sophie, the kids, and their nanny?”
“If asked, I can’t confirm that. I didn’t hear Taylor’s side of the conversation. All I know for sure is the Cooks didn’t get on the rescheduled flight to London this evening.”
Kate rose to her feet. Surged might be a better description, as she stepped forward into the center of the room to glare at him accusingly. “So the reason you aren’t involving the NYPD is because you don’t think they’ll believe me either!”
“Stop putting words into my mouth, damn it!” He glowered right back at her. The two of them might as well have been completely alone for all the notice they took of the other men in the room. “What I’m doing is giving you the answers the police would if we went to them with this. We have no real proof, nothing to substantiate your claim Taylor has the Cooks. They didn’t get on the London flight, but the police will argue that, after the shooting at the airport, the Cooks could have changed their mind about leaving today and have decided to remain in New York for a while longer.”
“Someone delivered a message to them, supposedly from me.”
“And we don’t have the time to find that someone.”
“There was a limousine waiting outside for them.”
“Do you have any idea how many limousines there are in New York?”
Kate’s hands clenched at her sides as Zander met every one of her arguments with one of his own. “I’m the one Joey is expecting, so I’m coming to the apartment building with you.”
“I said no.”
Her chin tilted challengingly. “I’ll go where I want to go.”
“No you won’t.” Zander believed Joey had made threats to Kate, had no doubts about that. But he had no idea if Joey really had the Cook family or was just saying he did. Zander hadn’t been able to contact any of the Cooks on their cell phones. Which was pretty damning in itself, but it still didn’t prove that Joey Taylor had taken the family from the airport and hidden them away somewhere until after Kate married him.
Kate had never felt so impotent in her life as she and Zander continued to glare at each other. She knew what Joey had said to her, and she also believed he was crazy enough to do exactly what he said he would if she didn’t follow his instructions. Just as Zander’s stubborn expression said he wasn’t going to change his mind about her accompanying them.
“If you’re going, shouldn’t you go now?” Time was passing all too quickly, and they still had to drive to Joey’s apartment in Manhattan. With or without her.
“We’ll wait to hear from Taylor again when you don’t arrive within the time he specified.”
Kate’s alarm deepened. “He said he would hurt Bernie and his family if I didn’t arrive within two hours.”
“Giving in to the demands of a blackmailer gives them the upper hand.”
“He said he would kill them if I didn’t show!”
“He won’t.”
“You can’t possibly know that.” Kate’s agitation was deepening by the second.
“We wait,” Zander repeated evenly.
“You—”
“Kate has a point about coming with us, Zander.” One of the new men cut lightly into the rapidly heating conversation.
Heated on Kate’s part, that is. Zander remained stoically calm, which was only increasing her agitation.
“She takes Taylor’s second call and stays here,” he stated flatly.
The other man’s shoulder-length dark hair and features bore a distinct resemblance to Ian and Gabriel Knight. Another member of the Knight family, no doubt. Maybe one of the brothers. “A dozen armed men bursting into the building and demanding to go up to Taylor’s apartment is more likely to result in security locking the building down and calling the police.”
“We all have a license to carry in the US, and I thought you liked bursting into buildings, Ethan,” Zander drawled.
“I do.” The other man grinned, a devilish glint in his hazel eyes. “But, as you’ve said, Joey Taylor’s father is a very influential man in this city, and I have no wish to see the inside of an American prison any time soon, thank you very much.”
Zander glanced around the room at the other men. “Anyone else have reservations?”
Ian nodded. “I agree, it’s protocol we wait for Taylor’s second call, but I think Kate should come with us when we leave. As she said, she’s expected, and that’s our obvious foot in the door without drawing too much attention to ourselves.”
Zander’s mouth tightened. “No.”
Kate snorted her impatience. “At the very least, we should take a vote on it.”
“This isn’t a democracy, Kate,” he bit out harshly. “This is my team. I say what does and doesn’t happen.”
“Officially, you aren’t here, and it’s now my team,” Ian reminded him softly.
Zander’s jaw tightened. “Not when it comes to Kate’s safety it isn’t.”
“As there seems to be some confusion in the chain of command, and I’m one of the owners of Knight Security, maybe I should take charge?” Ethan put in.
“Oh for goodness’ sake,�
� Kate snapped. “Are the three of you going to have a contest next to see who can piss the farthest?”
“I like her.” Ethan gave an appreciative grin. “In a purely nonsexual way,” he added dryly as Zander gave a warning growl.
He actually growled.
Any other time, under any other circumstances, Kate might have found that display of possessiveness thrilling. Here and now, with Zander being so bloody-minded and the Cooks as Joey’s unwilling guests, she just wanted to knock these three men’s heads together.
“We don’t have time for this.” It had been almost an hour since Joey’s telephone call, part of that time taken up with her relating to Zander, word for word, exactly what the other man had said to her, and the rest with Zander getting his men together while Kate showered and dressed. “As no one else has a better suggestion, I propose I come with you as far as Joey’s apartment building. Once security has called up to tell Joey I’ve arrived, all of you can then—”
“What did you not understand about the word no?” Zander roared his protest this time.
Kate narrowed her gaze on him. “I thought I’d made it clear you will not tell me what I can and can’t do.”
His mouth firmed. “This is a hostage situation, and as such, far more serious than who is or isn’t on top when we’re in bed together!”
“Zander!” She gasped her dismay as she suddenly found herself the focus of the eyes of nine other men, some openly, some surreptitiously, but all looking at her nonetheless.
Zander gave her a dismissive glance. “You aren’t going anywhere near Taylor or his apartment tonight.” His tone brooked no further argument on the subject.
A warning Kate ignored. “If you’d let me finish?” She didn’t wait for him to deny or confirm before continuing. “I have no intention of going up to Joey’s apartment. Once security makes the call to Joey, the rest of you can go up to his apartment instead of me. One of you can remain behind to guard me and make sure security doesn’t make any further calls.”
“Makes sense.” Ian nodded.
“It does,” Ethan agreed.
Zander should have put Kate over his knee and spanked her when he had the chance. But he wasn’t willing to do that in front of an audience. Which wasn’t to say he wasn’t seriously pissed at her for countermanding his orders in this way.
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