Wanton

by Evelyn Adams

  He hadn’t contacted her and he’d stayed away from the jobsite, at least while she was there. Not seeing him didn’t make the ache any less. She went through her days, doing what was required of her, but she did everything with a gaping hole in her chest where her heart used to be. She missed him with a need that could suddenly take her to her knees. But it didn’t matter, she couldn’t let it matter. He couldn’t give her what she needed and staying with him would end up costing her more in the long run. A clean break was better. At least that’s what she’d tried to convince herself.

  She heard the front door open. She couldn’t count on Jackson’s cameras anymore. She’d asked him to remove them the day Luke walked away but he hadn’t gotten around to it – she suspected on purpose – until the house was finished and she wasn’t staying there until all hours of the night anymore. Plastering a smile on her face to hide her mood, she turned around to charm her first potential house buyers. Eric stood in the doorway holding a clear glass vase full of lilies of the valley. Her heart pounded in her ears. She hadn’t seen him since the night of the aborted threesome and she wasn’t sure what to expect.

  “It’s beautiful, cher,” he said, offering her the flowers. “As beautiful as I knew it would be.”

  She took the flowers from his hand, also accepting a chaste kiss on her cheek.

  “Thank you,” she said. “That means a lot to me, and thanks for the flowers.” She buried her nose in the tiny white cup shaped blooms, inhaling the uniquely sweet floral scent.

  “I mean it; you’ve done a wonderful job. Show me the rest?”

  “Of course,” she said.

  If she was worried there would be any residual strangeness from their night together, she needn’t have. Eric was as charming as ever, putting her at ease as he asked questions about finishes and made observations that showed he was paying attention to everything. His approval added to her growing sense of ease.

  “I was right,” he said when they were back in the kitchen. “You’ll be flooded with offers.”

  “I hope so,” she said, smiling at him.

  “It’s good to see you smile, cher, even though I don’t think you are happy.”

  She blinked furiously at the tears flooding her eyes at his words. She was not going to let herself cry. Not today when she had something to celebrate.

  “I’m so sorry, Claire. I never meant to cause a problem for you.”

  “It wasn’t you.” She’d grown very fond of the sexy, quirky chef, and she didn’t want to lose him too even if they drifted to more casual acquaintances.

  “We’re okay, you and I?” he asked, his eager expression making his face look young.

  “We’re okay.” She reached out to hug him, and he wrapped her in his arms, holding her against his strong masculine chest, and for just a moment she let herself take the comfort he offered.

  “I know I shouldn’t say anything,” he said, and she knew she didn’t want to hear what came next, but she froze in his arms and listened. “I’ve never seen him like this. He’s suffering, cher. He loves you, you know.”

  His words ripped at the tissue paper thin wall she’d built around her heart and the ache started all over again.

  “I know that, Eric, and you know it. But I don’t think he’ll ever admit it to himself. I can’t wait for him to figure it out,” she said, leaning back in his arms. “It hurts too much.”

  IT HAD BEEN weeks since Luke had seen Claire and it didn’t hurt any less. He was afraid he was doomed to carry the pain around with him the rest of his life, just like his father had. He still couldn’t believe he’d made such a colossal mess of things.

  The only bright spot in the whole fucked up situation was that she seemed to be doing okay. He hadn’t wanted to hear anything about it, but he knew Eric had gone to the open house for the Chestnut Street property and declared it a success. Luke knew it would be. Claire would never do anything halfway. She gave her all to everything she tried, including loving him. Things only got screwed up when he tried to force her to hold herself back.

  When the Chestnut Street house sold a week later, she sent him a check for the money he’d paid for her father’s care with a single word thank you note he kept tucked away in his breast pocket the way his father had squirreled away pictures of his mother. Luke may have been a fucking mess, but it seemed at least to him like Claire had managed to bounce.

  According to Sparks’s updates, her part of the Ashton Court project was ticking along the way it should and if Jackson was right the only specter hanging over it – the ATF investigation – should disappear after his head of security shared the information he’d found with the police. If Luke couldn’t be with her, he’d do everything he could to smooth the way for her.

  “Jackson’s here,” said Luke’s PA Colin over the intercom.

  “Send him in.”

  Luke’s head of security walked through the door pausing to give him the once over before he sat. Luke had barely slept since he walked away from Claire. Work and looking out for her was the only thing that kept him going. He knew he looked like hell. He didn’t need confirmation from his security guy.

  “Tell me you have good news,” he said, leaning against the edge of his desk.

  “It’s not exactly good but it’s not bad,” said Jackson, crossing one black clad leg over the other.

  “What kind of noncommittal bullshit is that?”

  “I have solid leads, but I don’t know who planted the ammo or why. I do think, however, I have enough information to turn the ATF’s attention away from Ms. English and her crew.”

  “Who do you think’s responsible?”

  “In digging into the backgrounds of the subcontractors and their crews, I found a connection with one of the framers back to a shipyard in Norfolk. The same shipyard the ATF thinks the ammo came through.”

  “Why hasn’t the ATF found out about this?” asked Luke.

  “It isn’t a straightforward connection. The guy’s second cousin is the one who works at the yard. I doubt the ATF has had time to check that far down everyone’s family tree yet. And I was motivated.”

  Luke couldn’t help but smile, although he was sure it came out as more of a smirk. He’d been on Jackson’s case every night for the past three weeks to find a way to get Claire and her crew out from under the microscope.

  “Will it be enough?”

  “Who knows? If nothing else it will spread the ATF’s attention around. None of this has made any sense to me but even less so with one of the electricians keeping the ammo in the trailer they used almost exclusively. It was like whoever was responsible painted a bull’s-eye on themselves.” Jackson leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “And the phone in tip made even more sense. Combined with the vandalism at Chestnut Street and the death of Mr. Lester, it seemed less and less likely that Ms. English’s crew was involved and more like someone was trying to make trouble for her. Hopefully the ATF will see it that way, too.”

  Luke hit a button for an outside line and waited for a moment until Mason Jeffries picked up the phone.

  “Speak of the devil.”

  “I need you to meet us at the station. Jackson has information we need to share with the ATF.”

  “Hello, Luke. It’s nice to hear from you. Hope the weather’s pleasant where you are.”

  “Fuck you, Jeffries.”

  “No thank you,” said the attorney. “As a matter of fact I’m on my way to the station now. Ms. English has been called back in for questioning and she asked me to go with her. We’re going to negotiate my retainer. She’s an attractive woman, and so I’m feeling flexible.”

  “The fuck you are. It’s my building, send your overpriced invoices to me.”

  “If you insist. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go meet Ms. English.”

  Claire would be there. If he left right now and drove downtown, Claire would be there. She’d asked him to walk away and he’d done it. But being away from her was killing him. He was b
eyond caring about anything but her anymore, and if she turned him away, it couldn’t hurt any worse than it did already.

  “Wait for us. Don’t tell her I’m coming,” he added as an afterthought. “Just wait for us. We’re on our way.” He hung up the phone and turned to Jackson. “Come on. We’re going.”

  Grabbing his coat, he strode out the door with more purpose than he’d had in weeks.

  NOT AGAIN. CLAIRE couldn’t believe they’d called her down to the station for more questions. She didn’t know anything, and it meant she’d had to call Mason Jeffries. God knew how much that was going to cost her. Jeffries had been cagey about his rates, and Claire knew she probably couldn’t afford him, but she trusted him to keep the problems from getting any bigger.

  She pulled into the spot in the parking garage and climbed out of her car. At least this time she’d had a chance to change out of her work clothes and into her nice pencil skirt and sexy librarian blouse. She’d even managed a few swipes of makeup so she wouldn’t look like a homeless waif standing next to Jeffries in her grubby steel toed boots. She snagged her bag from the front seat and started toward the walkway connecting the garage to the station. She was almost there when Luke stepped from around the corner, shocking her so much she stumbled in her heels.

  He rushed toward her, hands out to steady her and she froze. In the face of this man whom she loved but couldn’t have, she simply did not know what to do. It had taken everything she had, every bit of emotional control to stay away from him for the past few weeks. She didn’t have any resistance left. She turned toward the walkway, but he intercepted her.

  “Please, Luke,” she said around a throat gone dry. “I have to go talk to the police.”

  He looked as good as she knew he would if she ever saw him again, his strong body in a suit that fit him like it was made for him, which it probably was. His hair was a little long and his eyes looked older than they had, but just seeing him brought her body roaring back to life.

  “Mason and Jackson are in talking to them now. They think they’ve found something that will take the focus off you and your crew.”

  Claire let out her breath in relief. It would be so nice not to worry that the ATF was going to show up and haul her or one of her guys off the job at any minute.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, hardly daring to believe it could be true.

  “They seemed pretty sure. You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

  The compliment made her flinch. She was too raw, too vulnerable to be this close to him. From the first time he kissed her at Comme Ci the day they met she hadn’t been able to resist him. Time and heartache hadn’t made things any easier. She still wanted him like she wanted the air she breathed, and it hurt as much to deny herself as it did to hold her breath too long.

  “I can’t,” she said, turning to make a last ditch attempt to save herself.

  “Wait,” he said, grabbing her arm, his hand scorching through the thin silk of her blouse.

  When she tried to pull away, he fell to his knees, not in the way most women hoped to see a man on their knees in front of them. More in desperation. Supplication

  “I love you, Claire. I know I fucked up and I will again,” he said kneeling on the greased stained concrete in his custom made suit, offering himself to her. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she had to blink furiously to clear her eyes. “I’ve never loved anyone before, but I love you. I can’t lose you. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  He reached for her, his eyes shining. Before her mind made the choice, her body moved, and she held her hands out to him. Breathing deeply for the first time in weeks the moment their fingers touched.

  THE END

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed WANTON: For the Billionaire’s Pleasure Series – Luke & Claire. WON, the conclusion on Luke and Claire’s story is available now. I’d love to hear from you at authorevelynadams@gmail.com and you can find me on Facebook.Sign up for juicy bits and find out about new releases at www.authorevelynadams.com If you have a moment please consider leaving a review. Honest reviews from readers help authors and make it easier for people to find books they will enjoy.

  I’ve written a novella of Jude and Autumn’s wedding from my Southerland Series. It’s on sale for $.99 but I will be happy to send it to you for free if you sign up for my mailing list. I don’t do newsletters so I won’t crowd your inbox. I only send announcements when I release a new book. No spam and you’ll know right away about the next book. By the time I finish a book, I love the couples I write about and hope you do too! I don’t want you to miss a single story.

  Many Blessings!

  Evelyn

  WANTON

  A Contemporary Romance

  Book Two of the For the Billionaire’s Pleasure Series

  Luke & Claire

  by

  Evelyn Adams

  Digital Edition

  Copyright 2015 Evelyn Adams

  All rights reserved

  The distribution of this work without the express permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

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  Wanton

  Won

  Wanted

  Saints and Sinners

  Deposition and a Dare

  Southerland Security

  Falling Free

  Wicked Intent

  Closer This Time

  Slow Motion

  Breathe Me In (Coming Soon)

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  Practical Arrangement

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  Love at the Lost and Found

  Laws of Attraction

  Someone to Love

  Halfway to Happily Ever After

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  Southerlands: The Complete Collection

  Southerlands: Volume One

  Southerlands: Volume Three

  Southerlands: Volume Two