It’s just a job, I reminded myself. Nothing more, nothing less. No need to drag this out. A guy like Lord Pierce Huntley could never love someone as simple as Henley Cooper. They were in two different leagues. Girls like Amelia Kinsey belonged on Pierce’s arm. She was from his world. Not me. Not the real me.
We both knew it.
I looked up to see those blue eyes studying me. “It was all a lie.”
“I wanted to tell you,” he said taking a step towards me.
“Well, you didn’t. You know what it doesn’t even matter. I’m going home. We’re done. I’m done. This doesn’t work for me. You don’t work for me. You have your life and I have mine and it’s time we got back to them.” I shook my head and turned my back to him. “I leave tonight so let’s forget about it. All of it. I’ll see myself out.” I grabbed my purse and headed to the door. He didn’t stop me. No surprise. Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell.
Dammit you weren’t supposed to fall in love with him you idiot. I cursed myself the whole ride to the airport.
Chapter 13
One Month Later
Bubbles danced across my computer screen breaking my trance. I’d been sitting at my desk for over an hour with nothing to show for it. The Highest Bidder case had wrapped up over a month ago. Bronsen Rodden was still in custody which meant he was locked away somewhere the rest of the world didn’t know about. Launch codes, agent identities and the Cadria drug line was temporarily closed the world was safe once again, for now. And though I helped to take a huge smuggling entity down, something to be proud of, and I was proud of it, another one would surely take its place.
Besides none of it outweighed Pierce. Our encounter was brief, not that it mattered, I couldn’t get him out of my head. I craved his touch. Not that I had a right to. I’d lied to him. He lied to me. How could anything of truth come from that? At least my gut had been right about him, that he was indeed a good guy. The worst part was I couldn’t talk to anyone about it. All credit I’d built from this case would be lost if it was found out I’d fallen for my target.
I couldn’t do this anymore. Pierce Huntley needed to be purged from my life and that wouldn’t happen at work filling out paperwork about the case he was involved in. I shut off my computer, packed up my bag and headed towards Duke’s office. My boss was hunched over his desk rubbing his forehead as he stared at his computer. I tapped on the door frame before I entered. He looked up and smiled.
“Please have a seat.” He motioned to chair in front of his desk. No time for chit-chat.
“I’m cashing in some sick time and heading home.”
“Everything Okay?”
No, it wasn’t, but it would be. “Every thing’s fine, just girl trouble.” That shut down any further questions from Duke.
“Did you—”
“I’ve turned in all my case notes and filed all the paperwork.”
“Fantastic. Then of course you can go. You’ve earned some time off I think. Feel better.”
I gave him a tight smile. “Thanks.”
I made for the door when Duke stopped me. “Henley?”
I turned around. “Yes.”
“Please, be better by Monday because, well you should know we’re going to smoke out the mole and you’re going to help.”
“Really?” I couldn’t hide my excitement. All was not lost. Mourn this weekend, then start fresh Monday. I’d purge all my sadness this weekend. That was my new mission. I left work with a new purpose. My first stop was the bookstore. With two new romance books and a recipe book checked off my list I headed to the grocery store for ice cream, chips and wine. After I had all the requisite comfort foods I headed home. I’d order a pizza with everything, drink all the wine, eat all the ice cream, watch Beaches and cry my eyes out. Sounded perfect as well as cathartic. I’d allow myself to wallow in the loss of Pierce this weekend then I was letting it all go. With my bags hooked over my arms I made my way across the foyer along the hallway to my apartment. Donald Clark came shuffling around the corner.
“Good afternoon Henley.”
“Hey Donald.” Donald was a sweet old man. If I weren’t in a rush to be alone I’d invite him in for tea. Maybe I’d invite him in anyway. “Care to join me for pizza? I have Earl Gray.”
Mr. Clark gave me a smile. “Very tempting but I have a date.” He waved a bouquet of roses at me.
“Who’s the lucky lady?”
“Grace Young. I met her at Bingo. She’s sixty-eight.” He waggled his brow.
“Quite the youngster. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” I gave him my sternest look. Donald smiled. “I make no promises this new hip lets me Foxtrot like I did with Helen at our wedding.”
Helen was his wife who died over a decade ago from cancer. I never had the pleasure of meeting Helen but I loved listening to Donald’s stories about her. One day I hoped to find the same love for myself. Mr. Clark moved past me. “Have a good night with your friend,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. Donald waved me off and headed down the stairs. I stared after him for a minute. He must have been confused. Whatever, I needed to order pizza I was starving. My keys were out and in the lock when a voice said, “Hey.”
I jumped. One of the bags hooked over my arm dropped, luckily it wasn’t the one with the wine.” I turned to see those blue eyes that made me weak staring up at me. Pierce was seated on the bottom stair of the stairwell that lead up to the second-floor landing fire escape.
“What are you doing here? You scared me half to death.”
When he stood up he towered over me. “We need to talk.”
I bent over to pick up the bag I dropped. His footsteps came up behind me. His cologne filled the air. “This reminds me of our first meeting. Though if I remember you shimmied left.”
With a frustrated breath I stood and faced him. “What are you doing here? We said all there was to say.”
“No. You said it all. You never let me say mine.” Man, that voice did weird things to my insides. The one I heard in my fantasies. The one that made a million naughty thoughts flood my head.
“As I recall you didn’t stop me.” This was stupid. I was getting over him not opening up cans of worms. I unlocked the door to my apartment. “Have a good night.” I tried to shut the door in his face. He stopped it with his hand.
“Please?”
I took a deep breath. I could do this. Maybe hearing him out would help with closure. Maybe, if I told myself that enough I’d actually believe it. “Fine you have five minutes.” I held the door open for him with my arm extended, “Please come in.”
I dumped my bags on the dining table as I entered the kitchen. “Are you thirsty?”
“No.”
I grabbed a club soda, closed the fridge door and stood. Pierce was standing at the kitchen island staring at me. “I never tire of watching you bend over,” he said.
I hated that his voice still had such an affect on me. I rolled my eyes. “Clocks ticking.” No time for sentiment. A smile crossed those sexy lips. His jaw was covered under a day’s scruff. To feel it scratching against my skin. I squeezed my legs together leaning on the counter. To feel the cool marble on my back as he drove into me. This was going to be hard I needed to look at something else besides his face. His hands gripped the counter. I remembered how those fingers felt digging into my flesh.
Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.
He needed to get out of my apartment now if I was ever going to move on. I looked up his arms to his chest. He was wearing a black t-shirt. It hugged all the right places.
“What we have,” he started.
I interrupted, “Was sex. Good sex I admit. But sex all the same. That’s all we were was chemistry.”
“Marry me,” he said.
“What?”
He came around the island taking my hands in his. “Marry me.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Yes. Because of you. I tried to stay away. Move on, but I ca
n’t without you.”
“We’re from two different worlds. We met on a lie. How can anything good come from that?”
“Because with those lies we would have never met. I call that fate.”
“What you’re calling fate I call work.”
“Yes, it was. So, what?”
“My job … your title … how—”
“It’ll be work, I’m not saying it won’t, but I never stray from a challenge.” He swiped a thumb across my cheek. I didn’t even notice I was crying. He pulled me to him. There was no denying how safe I felt in his arms. There was no way to mistake what I felt for him was anything but love. “I’m scared,” I whispered against his chest.
He stroked his fingers through my hair rubbing my neck. “Me too. Marry me. Let’s be afraid together.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough. I love the way I feel when I’m with you. Marry me, put me out of my misery.”
“Fine,” I mumbled.
He held me at arm’s length. “Is that a yes?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess.”
He smiled. “Say it.”
“Fine. I’ll marry you.”
His mouth crashed to mine. He hoisted me up onto the counter. “Sounds like someone needs punishing.”
I bit my lip, “And you think you can do it?”
He put his hand on my chest. His fingers traced the spot over my heart. He pushed me back. His other hand skimmed up my calf over my knee, stopping at my thigh. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
His mouth followed his fingers up my thigh heating me up. I knew with all my heart Lord Pierce Huntley was it for me. “Will I be a duchess if I’m married to a Lord?”
He raised his head from between my legs. Those blue eyes pierced through me, “You’ll be mine, that’s all I care about.”
“If you don’t finish what you started I’ll change my mind.”
“God, I love you.”
I sat up. “Say it again.”
“I love you.”
I lunged for him. We fell in a heap to the floor. Me on top of him. “I love you too.”
He squeezed his arms around me. “Say it again.”
“It again. Don’t know why you want me saying something so silly but I aim to please.”
He shook his head. “Not funny. Don’t quit your day job.”
I kissed his cheek. “I love you.”
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