Australia's Maverick Millionaire

by Margaret Way

  “Be glad I didn’t,” she said tightly. “But you let her up to the apartment. You must have.”

  “Did I really ever say you’re highly intelligent?” he asked in a laconic voice.

  “All right, she managed to slip past tenants going out?” She gave a brief laugh, more from relief than anything else.

  “Now we’ve got that straight.”

  Anger flared again. “Why didn’t you toss her off the balcony? You could have if you wanted to.”

  “That’s right, Clio. I’m all about violence.” It came out a lot harsher than he intended, but his self-control was coming under massive assault with the two of them in the car. He was almost crazy to pull her over into his lap. Take control.

  She bowed her dark head. “I’m sorry, Josh. I confess to being overwrought. We’ve only just buried Leo. Keeley is bringing my father, indeed the whole Templeton family, down. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little out of my mind.”

  “I have to take it as an excuse, then?” he asked.

  Was it a trick of the soft lighting or was his expression unforgiving? She reacted at once. “I don’t give a damn what you take,” she said, her voice abruptly breaking. She had never ever been so close to Josh, let alone in such a confined space. She had been this close to him in her imagination, but this was for real. Josh was different from any other man she had ever known. The excitement was shattering. One should fear having one’s composure totally dismantled. Her flesh tingled. There were tremors all over her body, tiny knife thrusts between her legs. She had read of such extreme sexual arousal. Now she was experiencing it.

  “Could that be construed as a green light?” he challenged in a hard, bold voice.

  She swung her head in surprise towards him, encountered that piercing blueness. “Josh, I—”

  He, the control junky, couldn’t control himself. Too many hungers were erupting. His yearning for this woman was pathetic. It split him wide open.

  She didn’t know quite how he did it, but he reached for her and drew her across the console and into his lap, cradling her like a child. She might have been a child, he did it with such ease.

  “You’re two people,” she gasped.

  “Shhh!” He cupped her beautiful delicate face with his hand, his nostrils inhaling her fragrance. “Keeley wouldn’t even rate beside you in the art of seduction.” His voice dropped deep into his chest.

  For once he didn’t attempt to hide his expression. It was so exquisitely tender, so disarming, it brought tears to her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but they rolled out of her radiant dark eyes and down her cheeks.

  “So now you cry?” His breath was on her cheek as he gathered up her teardrops with his tongue, carrying them most erotically into his mouth. “You cry for Leo. You cry for your father. You cry for yourself.”

  “I cry for you, Josh, whether you like it or not. You have so much hurt locked up inside you, but you won’t let it out.”

  “Ah, Clio,” he groaned. Her gaze on him was so steady she might have been trying to reach his soul. “You think if we sat down together and had a long talk, the demons that ride my shoulder would all fly off?” He spoke with some cynicism.

  “Maybe we can get rid of them one by one. I know the past can never go away, Josh. Not for anyone. Not for me. We all have our memories, the good ones, the bad ones. The bad ones aren’t easily forgotten. With you, the boy is still locked up inside the man. It might help if you could talk to me.”

  “Clio, your tears would run in rivulets.” Clearly she had insight into his mind, but he wasn’t ready to start unravelling. Not even with Clio. “I think my neuroses, if that’s what you’ve diagnosed, would be way too much for you to handle.”

  “How would you know if you won’t even allow me to ask a question? I can only guess at the severity of the damage that was done to you.”

  “So what question would that be?” he asked sardonically, trailing a finger down her cheek. “You almost swallowed an illicit affair between your stepmother and me.”

  She took a shuddery breath. Her body was in a state of agitation, her heart racing. “You’re too much for me, Josh.”

  “I know,” he said. “So what draws us together?”

  “I can tell you my reason,” Clio spoke with great fervour. “I long to know you better.”

  “You want me to reach out?”

  He sounded as if he was determined to dissociate himself from that. “Well, why not, then?” she pleaded. “I sincerely believe sharing would help. I’m sorry if I had a split second of misjudging you, Josh. I should have known better.” “I think so,” he said, putting a lot of feeling behind it. That Clio trusted him was all-important to him.

  “So what are we doing here now?” she asked, with a rush of heartbeats.

  “You’re comfortable, aren’t you?” He gave her a mocking smile.

  “I don’t know that comfortable is the right word,” she said, not with her body on fire. “It’s astonishing how you got me into this position. I feel like a doll.”

  “Not to me you don’t,” he said. “I’ll let you go in a minute, Clio, but first let me tell you what draws me to you. It might even be better if I showed you.” He shifted the weight of her slender body until she was lying back, her dark head resting against his shoulder. “You have such a lovely mouth,” he murmured.

  “Do you know you’re the only man to make me fully conscious of my own beauty?”

  “I like that.” He bent his head towards her with a hungry yearning motion until their lips met.

  Every atom of her being rose to meet him. Everything he did was beautiful to her. She abandoned herself to a state of euphoria, with no thought of denying him. Being with Josh was like breaking out of a cocoon. He could do what he liked with her. It was that bad.

  For Josh it was rapture. To have all her sweetness, even as he knew it was a rapture that could tear him to pieces. Their fatal attraction had been forged many years before. The bond had never frayed or broken. But it could be just another sad tale of doomed love. At that moment it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the taste and the touch of her mouth, the sweet flicker of her tongue as it mated with his. She was perfectly willing to allow him to explore her mouth, willing to allow him to push his hand into the neckline of her shimmering silk dress, his fingers slipping beneath the soft lace of her bra to trace a long slow curl around the dark pink aureole surrounding her aroused nipple. Her little helpless moans drove him on. His fingers moved in to take the tight bud between finger and thumb. He could hear the way her breathing had changed, deepened. Their desire for each other bridged all divisions. Her body was sinking inwards to him. She had to be aware of his powerful erection.

  Smothering sensations were bearing down on them, wave after wave crashing onto cliffs with their inner tumult blocking out the roar. What they had felt for each other for so long demanded expression.

  He continued to kiss her, strangely languid yet immensely passionate kisses that made the hot blood rip through his veins. They were outside time and place now. There was only obliterating excitement. His hands travelled down over the slight curve of her stomach, the tips of his long fingers reaching lower. He wanted to remove her every item of her clothing. He wanted to know every inch of her body. He wanted for her to know him. He wanted to open his whole self to her, what he had endured, but he didn’t think he could bear her stricken face.

  They had reached a point when Clio’s breath was coming in unstable gulps. Nothing so life-changing, so confronting, had ever happened to her before. She was losing herself in him. Her dark head slumped forward.

  “Clio?” He heard the worry in his voice. He had to stop. For a moment he hated himself for his loss of control. His endless desire for her was driving her too hard. Wasn’t that what he feared?

  “It’s okay, Josh. I’m all right, just a little dizzy.” Her voice was soft and whispery, the syllables a little slurred.

  With exquisite gentleness he lifted her chin. “
I don’t know how to properly approach you, Clio.”

  “Oh, Josh.” She was desperate to reassure him. “No one could ever approach me better.”

  “We were getting in too deep?” he asked. “You’re bothered by being in the car?” Why wouldn’t she be?

  “Yes,” she confirmed. “It has nothing to do with the fact someone might see us. It has more to do with my need to lie down. All the strength seems to have left my limbs.”

  “So, the right time, and the right place.” Resolutely Josh drew her supple body back into a sitting position, supporting her against his shoulder. “Will that ever happen, do you suppose?” His voice was rough with emotion.

  She didn’t hesitate. “Wishes can come true, Josh.”

  “That’s your answer?” He gave a laugh that held little humour. “What if I asked you out to dinner?”

  Her throat rippled. “I’d like that.”

  “It seems to me it would have to be out of town, wouldn’t it?” he replied sardonically. “Someone is always watching us, ready to spread the rumours. I should tell you I don’t like you getting mixed up in the Crowleys’ affairs. I understand Susan Crowley’s problems but there are other law firms in town.”

  “She trusts me, Josh. And I’m another woman.”

  “I understand that too. But in coming to you she’s exposing you to trouble. Think about it, Clio. Leo’s death has in a sense left you defenceless. Your father isn’t thinking straight. I’ve had old Paddy try to run interference in my business affairs.”

  “Have you?” she asked worriedly, twisting her head to look up at him.

  “He’d do anything to hurt me. Leo was the buffer. Didn’t you realize that? Crowley couldn’t show his hand with Leo around. But Leo’s gone, and with him a great deal of support. Paddy Crowley thinks it’s only a matter of time before you marry his grandson. He’s always had his eyes on the mansion, only he would pull it down and build some monstrosity or parcel the land and sell it off.”

  “That’s not going to happen, Josh.”

  “Try telling Jimmy,” he responded crisply. “These days you’re on your own in that huge house, Clio. It bothers me greatly. I know you’ve got Meg and Tom—good people, but they couldn’t handle anything. And they live in the grounds. Get them back in the house. At least for a while.”

  She turned her face into the hollow of his neck. “Are you trying to frighten me, Josh?”

  “God, no,” he said forcefully. “I’m trying to put you on your guard. Would you allow me to get the security system at the house upgraded? It’s well past time. Home security systems have improved enormously, Clio. Apart from the house, it’s filled with very valuable art, antiques, furnishings. You need high-tech burglar and fire protection. I know of an excellent firm.”

  She had considered upgrading security herself with Leo gone. Still she voiced a mild protest, “No one would hurt me.”

  “Of course not,” he answered a little roughly, by no means sure about that and unwilling to take the chance. “I just want you safe.” “But you think the best way to keep me safe is steering clear of me.” She angled her body so she could put one hand against his chest.

  “What do you call this?” he asked, locking his two arms around her. “It might be a good idea if you got back in the driving seat.”

  “Give me a minute, can’t you?”

  “You can stay there for ever as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Why can’t we sleep together, Josh?”

  He took a moment to answer. “You mean you’re prepared to totally abandon yourself to me? This man you hardly know? How is that possible?”

  “Not possible unless you let me in, Josh. Take me inside you. Don’t push me away.”

  “Like ‘Open Sesame’,” he said.

  She could feel the tension rise in him like he was arming himself for attack. “Okay, stick to your cage,” she said quietly, kissing him on the cheek. “I think its time for me to get behind the wheel, don’t you?”

  He shifted his legs, opened the door. He waited until she rounded the car and strapped herself into the driving seat. “You know you don’t have to consider setting up business on your own, Clio. Buy the Crowleys out. You have the money. You don’t need Vince or Jimmy. Let them set up shop elsewhere. You’ll find far better lawyers to replace them. Speak to your father.”

  That triggered a dry laugh from her. “Dad won’t go along with that, Josh.”

  “He really has no inkling of how the Crowleys operate?”

  Clio sighed deeply. “You know as well as I do that the Crowleys are long established in this town. People kowtow to them. It’s the same old story. Paddy has a lot of money. That buys him power and influence. Only one man he bowed to. Leo.”

  “There are ways of dealing with the Crowleys.” Josh’s expression turned hard.

  “God, you’re not going to start a gang war, are you?” It was only half a joke.

  His blue eyes blazed. “Why does it always end up I’m the bad guy?”

  “You overreact. You’re a tough guy.” She reached out a calming hand to stroke his cheek.

  There was such warmth and tenderness in the gesture. It seemed extraordinary to him that she could care so deeply about him. “I’d go into battle for you, Clio,” he said. “No one will ever try to harm you with me around.”

  “I’ve no doubt of that,” she said, knowing it was true. Josh would never see her defenceless. “You might have to cross swords with Paddy and Vince,” she said, “but Jimmy is a pushover.”

  The muscles along his clean jaw line tightened. “I can hand you a lever. Over the years I’ve made valuable contacts and gained a lot of inside information. Remember Chris Patterson—the builder that went bust some years back?”

  Clio frowned, trying to recall the name. “Ah, yes, Vince handled his bankruptcy petition.”

  “Among others in the construction business.” There was steel in Josh’s voice. “Vince’s clients paid very heavily for services they didn’t get. Botched services they did get. It wouldn’t be difficult to check out Vince’s mistakes or maybe poor old Jimmy prepared the paperwork for him. Either way, both should pay. Patterson hates Crowley, but he still doesn’t have the money to sue a partner in a highly regarded law firm like Templetons.”

  “You have proof?” Clio was deeply disturbed that the firm’s core values might have been trashed.

  “I wouldn’t be saying so if I didn’t.”

  Clio took a deep breath. “Okay, we move on Vince Crowley,” she said.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  SHE had never driven with tears streaming down her face before. She had never been so humiliated, rejected, or made to feel like a tramp. Keeley dashed a hand across her eyes, smearing mascara down her cheeks. Damn it all, she would have to pull over. Fix her make-up. Get herself together before she returned home to her darling husband. At least Lyle had never turned to the grog. Nor would he dream of shouting at her, or abusing her in any way. Lyle Templeton, the perfect gentleman.

  Josh Hart was the bad guy, the dangerous guy, the hateful guy. She knew which one she preferred. Somehow she would get even with Josh Hart. She had thought she was pretty good at reading the signals. Now, as it turned out, she was colour blind. Keeley pulled over, muttering to herself. Where the hell was her handbag? It had fallen off the passenger seat onto the floor. She reached for it, her head coming up just in time to see a silver Mercedes with Clio at the wheel, closely followed up by Josh Hart’s Porsche speeding by. What the hell was this, a car chase? What were they doing? Where were the cops?

  She heard herself shouting out loud.

  Didn’t you just know it? Josh and her stepdaughter had become involved. She just knew it. Call it a woman’s intuition. Especially a very jealous woman. Wouldn’t her dear husband love confirmation of that? Triumph flared in her eyes.

  See how easy it is, Keeley girl, to take revenge.

  Her father’s secretary, Helen Walters, stood in front of the door of his office, blocking th
e way. “Your father is busy, Clio,” she said, apologetically, looking as though she was about to faint.

  “That’s okay, Helen.” Clio smiled. “I’m going in. Please stand aside. I’ll take full responsibility.”

  “Oh, Clio!” Helen Walters near wailed. “Your father is in such a mood! I’ve never seen him like this in all my years.”

  “So you’ve warned me. Go back to your desk, Helen.”

  Helen went. Clio Templeton had an authority her father quite lacked.

  Fury was written all over Lyle’s face. “I told Helen I wasn’t to be disturbed,” he said severely. “What are you doing here, Clio?’

  “I work here, Dad, remember?”

  “I don’t want to see you,” he said, his furious expression not easing.

  “You won’t want to see this either.”

  “What?” Lyle’s cold eyes flashed to the files in his daughter’s hands.

  “Enough to nail Vince Crowley,” she said, slamming the papers down on her father’s desk. “Force him out of our family firm. You know deep down he has no integrity, Dad. This proves it.”

  Lyle Templeton looked staggered. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “That’s the great pity of it, Dad,” Clio said gently. “You haven’t been firing on all cylinders. So much easier to hide your head in the sand.”

  Lyle stood up. “I know about you,” he said, tears stinging his eyes. “My beautiful daughter sleeping with a criminal.”

  Clio fought down s tremendous rush of anger. “How’s that? I haven’t slept with Jimmy Crowley. I’d say he was a criminal by default.”

  “You know who I’m talking about,” Lyle persisted, doggedly.

  “I’m not sleeping with anyone, Dad.” Clio wearily shook her head. “You and Leo made it as difficult as you knew how. Think about it. The two of you would have been happy with a perennial virgin, only I had to provide Templeton heirs. You do not have control of my life. Both you and Leo seemed to think you had.”