The Billionaire's Voice (The Sinclairs #4) (11 page)

“She cheated on you?” Tessa could tell from his subdued expression that it hadn’t been an amicable breakup.

“I came home unexpectedly from a business trip and found them together. In our bed,” he told her flatly. “I was pretty clueless. It hit me pretty hard. It took me a while to realize that I had nothing to offer
any
woman.”

“That’s not true,” Tessa replied indignantly. “She was a snake. You don’t screw another man in your current boyfriend’s bed. I don’t care if she was going to eventually break up with you or not. It’s disgusting.”

“So you think I deserved to be let down easily?” Micah teased.

“I think she was crazy for not traveling with you. If she didn’t want her own career, she could have helped you build your company. You were both young. She could have seen the world before she decided to get married.” Tessa sighed, knowing if she’d had Micah’s devotion, she certainly wouldn’t have thrown it away. Besides, she couldn’t think of anything more satisfying than traveling around with a man she was crazy about. Micah would be fun, and although she’d traveled some places when she was young and competing, she’d never been able to see anything. She’d been there for one reason and one reason only: to compete.

She’d gone a few places with Rick, but he wasn’t a pleasant travel companion, and he certainly hadn’t wanted to play tourist.

“Is that what you’d do, Tessa? Support a guy you cared about?”

She looked at his questioning expression. “Of course. If he supported me, then I’d support him. I can’t claim to be an expert, but relationships are give-and-take, I think.” She paused before she ran a comforting hand down Micah’s cheek. “I’m sorry she hurt you.”

“I’m over it,” he replied.

She tilted her head and surveyed his expression. “I don’t think you are. I don’t think you trust women much anymore.”

“Maybe I’ve just never found the right one to trust,” he answered, putting a hand over hers as it came to rest on his chest. “Having a woman who can live with my career choice isn’t easy, either.”

Tessa shrugged. “You are who you are, Micah. I’m not saying it would be easy for a woman who cared about you not to worry, but she’d have to accept that
you
wouldn’t be
you
if you weren’t doing what you loved.”

“I don’t do many BASE jumps anymore, and I’ve had to cut some things because my priorities are different. I want to make extreme sports safer. But I could never give up my skydiving team, and I like to push some limits.”

“Slowing down?” she answered teasingly. “Getting old?”

He frowned at her. “No. I’ve just seen too many friends and acquaintances die by doing dumb jumps and not having safe-enough equipment. Finding a safe place to BASE jump is getting harder. It’s illegal in most of the best places to jump.”

“So you leap from a perfectly good airplane instead?”

“Don’t knock it until you try it. My team is pretty damn good, one of the best in the world. And there’s no feeling like a free fall.”

“Actually, I always wanted to try it. When I was younger, I didn’t have time. Then when I lost my hearing, I knew it was never going to happen.” Skydiving had been one of the things she’d always wanted to experience but never had. She guessed maybe it was one of those things that looked fun while she was watching it, but fear might have kept her from executing a jump. There was something a little bit crazy about jumping out of an airplane and relying on a parachute to keep from becoming a human pancake.

“So, do it. All skydivers are deaf once they leave the plane anyway. It’s not like you need to hear. You can’t hear anything except the roar of the wind.”

Tessa shook her head. “Lessons are expensive, and I would have been stepping outside my comfort zone. I’m not sure I could do it.”

“You could go with me,” he suggested. “I’m an instructor and I’ve done thousands of jumps. We could go tandem. I’d never risk your safety. If I wasn’t confident with taking you up, I wouldn’t.”

Oh, he was cocky when it came to his skills, but that confidence amused Tessa. She knew it came from experience, and she had no doubt Micah knew what he was doing. “I’d have to trust you first,” she contemplated jokingly. “But I’d love to fly with you someday.”

He moved so fast that Tessa squealed. In seconds, she was on her back with him on top of her, loosely restraining her wrist at the side of her head. “You’ll trust me,” he told her, a small, confident smile on his face.

“I suppose. You’ve already taken me flying once,” she joked.

“Get ready, woman. We’re about to do another practice run.”

She actually giggled as he began to lower his head to capture her mouth. All thought of skydiving left her mind as Micah kissed her, taking her to heights she’d never even imagined without ever leaving the bed.

CHAPTER 10

Micah was feeling unusually relaxed when he went into town the next day. He’d been willing to blow off their morning run, but Tessa had nagged him into getting his ass into gear. Hell, he was either getting old, or he was worn out from exercising in the most pleasant of ways all night long with Tessa. He was pretty sure it was the second option, since it had been a while since he’d had sex. With a smirk, he realized he’d made up for lost time last night.

After their run, they’d showered and had lunch, then he’d gone to the rink with Tessa. Dropping her off, he told her he needed to run back to the guesthouse on the Peninsula to get some clothing. But he made a stop first, one he wasn’t looking forward to making.

He stopped in front of Sullivan’s Steak and Seafood when he saw that the place was closed. Glancing at his watch, he realized they’d be open for dinner business very shortly. Micah’s eyes scanned the chipped paint on the outside of the building, wondering when it had last been painted. Between the salt water and the humidity, the exterior had taken a beating.

Putting his hand on the door handle, he turned it and then pushed hard on the door, surprised to see that it opened.

Doesn’t anybody lock their doors here?

He’d had to remind Tessa to lock up every time he left Randi’s old house. She did it, but she rolled her eyes at him every single time, reminding him that he wasn’t in New York. Hell, maybe he was paranoid, but he’d never been in a town where half the people never locked their doors.

He entered the restaurant and closed the door quietly behind him.

As he headed for the kitchen, where he was hearing some chopping sounds, he looked around the small restaurant, noting the ragged chairs and slightly tilting tables. The walls were lacking some chips of paint just like the outside of the building. Strangely, with all of the nautical décor, it looked almost normal for the place to appear somewhat old and tired.

“We’re closed.” Liam’s voice sounded from the order window.

“I know,” Micah answered as he strolled over to the kitchen door and entered without an invitation. Now, face-to-face with Tessa’s brother, he added, “I wanted to talk to you.”

“I
said
 . . . we’re closed. Get the hell out of here,” Liam answered stubbornly.

Micah shook his head, resting his hip against the counter as he crossed his arms, staying several feet away from Liam. “I can’t. I have a business proposition to make.”

“I don’t need anything from you, Sinclair,” Liam growled as he went back to what he’d been doing before Micah had entered: removing lobster meat from the shell and slicing it. He tossed the cut pieces into a plastic container, probably in preparation for all of the lobster rolls he’d sell later.

“I think you might,” Micah drawled, watching Liam as he worked.

He had to admit, Liam knew his lobster. Tessa’s brother was making short work of his task in a hurry.

“Doubtful,” Liam answered, chopping a little bit harder at the seafood than he needed to.

“I want to form a partnership, invest money into refurbishing your building, equipment, and whatever else you need.”

Liam stopped working and glared at him. “What the hell for? I don’t need you. Why are you here, anyway?” He cocked an accusing brow. “Stay away from Tessa.”

Micah grinned. Liam was a little late for
that
warning. “We’ve already been together. A lot.”

He stopped smiling as Liam lunged for him, grabbing the collar of his polo shirt. “Did you touch her?”

Jesus! This guy is uptight. And I thought I was bad.

“It’s none of your damn business what we did. Tessa is an adult,” Micah growled as he dislodged Liam’s hand from his apparel. “Keep control of your damn temper, and keep your hands off me. I’m here to talk.”

Tessa’s brother turned red with rage. “She isn’t a woman that you can use and then toss away. She’s been there, and doesn’t need to do it again. She might be old enough to know better, but she has an impulsive streak sometimes.”

“I know,” Micah answered as he straightened the collar of his shirt. “And I have no intentions of tossing her anywhere. I care about her.”
Too damn much!

Liam let out a disgusted male snort. “Whatever. Just take your ass back to where you belong.”

Micah ignored his comment. “I want to put the money into the restaurant, get it fixed up.”

“Why?” Liam was eyeing him suspiciously.

“The locals love this place, and it’s worth renovating.”

“I can do it myself.”

“Then why is Tessa busting her ass to find the funds to fix this place? She counts every damn penny she earns.”

“Our parents left us their house, which is paid for, and a decent sum of money,” Liam snarled at Micah. “The last thing I need is
your money
. I’ve told Tessa before that we have funds. She just refuses to even look at our joint account. Says she wants me to have it.”

“So she doesn’t need to work her cleaning jobs?”

“Hell, no. If she wasn’t so stubborn, she’d see that we have the money. But she won’t look. Mom and Dad left us a nice inheritance. We do very well with the restaurant, and I do some consulting on the side. I live rent-free and I put money away. Most of my problem is time. It’s hard to close the restaurant for renovations, but I’ll do it in the winter.”

“What kind of consulting?” Micah asked curiously.

“I worked in TV and films doing special effects and some stunt work,” Liam answered in a graveled voice. “If they need advice, I consult. I used to patent products I made for my line of work. I make a lot in royalties. The last thing I need is more money.”

Interesting. If Liam and I didn’t hate each other’s guts, we could probably be friends.

Obviously, Liam Sullivan’s expertise was engineering, and doing calculated stunts and work on special effects. If Micah wasn’t here for a far different reason, he’d be bombarding the guy with questions.

“I want to help Tessa,” Micah answered stubbornly. Even if she didn’t need his money, he wanted to take the stress of refurbishing the restaurant off her.

“The last thing my sister needs is your kind of help, Sinclair,” Liam snarled, his face still flushed with anger.

“Much as I hate to disagree with you, you’re wrong.” Micah’s tone was dripping with sarcasm. “She’s skating again, something she should have done a long time ago.”

Liam snorted. “She can’t skate.”

“Something you feel is your fault,” Micah said lightly.

“It
is
my fault,” Liam grumbled. “And how the hell is she skating? The rink is closed.”

“I opened it. She’s regaining her skills, and she’s going to skate a routine for a reunion performance of Olympic champions in just a few weeks.”

Liam stepped forward and grabbed Micah’s shirt again. “What in the hell are you doing to her? She can’t skate. I’m proud of the way she’s learned to function in a hearing world, but she’s still working with a hell of a handicap. What happens when she fails, dumbass? Huh? Are you going to be around to take care of her when her world falls apart again?”

Pissed off now, Micah used his forearm to force Liam to release his grip, then promptly punched the big man in the face. It propelled Liam’s body back against the counter of the preparation area.

Micah shook his hand, irritated that he’d bruised his knuckles on Tessa’s jackass of a brother. “I asked you nicely once. I don’t
ask
a second time,” he warned Liam with a growl. “You might be a little bigger, but I’ve practiced martial arts since I was a kid, and I learned my fighting skills from some of the best in extreme sports. That was a warning. Touch me again and I’ll actually kick your ass.”

“Bastard,” Liam rasped, but he strode across the kitchen to get a clean towel for his bleeding nose, holding pressure on his face as he walked back to stand in front of Micah with a murderous glare. “You’re fast,” he confessed with a grimace as he held the towel to his face.

Micah shrugged. “I can be even faster. I didn’t come here to fight with you. I came here to help. Whether you can get it through your thick head or not, your sister certainly can skate. Losing her hearing didn’t affect her abilities on the ice. Yes, she’s rusty from lack of practice, but she’s improving, and she’ll be damn good by the time she appears in New York. This is something she wanted, something she needed. Nobody was forcing her to try.”

Micah inwardly flinched just a little because he
had
challenged her, but Tessa had been more than capable of calling him on his dare.

“How did you get the rink back open?” Liam asked gruffly.

“I own much of the property on that side of town. I also own the rink and Randi’s old home. I encouraged Tessa to skate again. It was a big part of her life that was missing.”

Liam shot Micah a threatening look as he answered, “You’ll end up breaking her, Sinclair. And when you do, I’ll fucking kill you.”

“It’s not possible for me to break her. Without skating, Tessa was never whole.”

“She was happy,” Liam insisted.

“Happy? With you breathing down her neck, telling her what she could and couldn’t do? Dealing with your sense of guilt? You think she was happy?” Micah’s voice rose automatically until he was almost yelling at Liam to try to get through to him.

“I’m the only one left to protect her,” Liam bellowed.

“Not anymore,” Micah told him in a lower, more dangerous tone.

“You think she carries my guilt?” Liam asked in a confused voice.

“Of course. She feels guilty that you feel guilty.” It sounded strange, but there it was . . . the truth. Liam could take it or leave it. “You need to get over something that wasn’t your fault. Nobody could have known Tessa would get sick, or that she’d go deaf. I get it. If you’d known, you would have been there. But you couldn’t be there and it happened.”

“I was supposed to be there—”

“But you had responsibilities, a job to finish. You made the same decision any person would make who cared about their job. You cancelled. I would have done the same damn thing.”

Liam slammed his fist down on a nearby counter. “Fuck! I don’t understand why it had to happen at all. Not to somebody like Tessa. She’s never hurt anybody in her entire life. She didn’t deserve it.” He strode to the back of the kitchen and threw away the towel he’d been using, his face a dark mask of remorse as he returned.

For that brief moment, Micah could sympathize with the man in front of him. Tessa
hadn’t
deserved
any
of the multiple shitty things that had happened to her, but it was reality. “She’s alive, and she’s handled her situation with more courage than most people would.”

“That’s why I need to be there for her. Don’t you get it? I want her to stay safe. With Mom and Dad gone, she’s my only family.”

Micah nodded abruptly. “Yeah, I get it. But you’re not keeping her safe. You’re suffocating her now. Tessa is capable of nearly everything a hearing woman can do. She’s smart, and she’s talented. If you keep holding her back, you’re shortchanging her.”

“Can she really skate?” Liam asked, sounding uncomfortable.

“Like a champion,” Micah answered.

Liam shook his head in confusion. “I thought she needed me.”

“She did. She still does, as a supportive sibling. She just doesn’t need you to tell her what to do anymore. But she doesn’t want to hurt you, so she’s never going to tell you that.” Micah hesitated before adding, “I’d still like to help with the restaurant. It means a lot to Tessa, and it means something to the community.”

Liam shook his head again. “Dude, when I said I didn’t need your help, I meant it. I haven’t fixed up the place because it’s always so busy, but it’s not from lack of funds. I make damn good money consulting and from royalties, and the restaurant pulls in a really good profit. Tessa and I don’t spend much money because we’re always working. I didn’t want my sister picking up extra jobs, but she said she was bored. I thought it was what she wanted. Even after we renovate, we’ll both have a sizable amount of money in the joint business account, and we have equal interest in a house here that’s paid for. She’ll be far from broke. I’ll break our funds apart and deposit her money into her account. I guess it’s the only way she’s ever going to understand that she’s well set up, and so am I. And I’ll get the renovation work scheduled now that it’s past tourist season. I’ll talk to my sister and make her understand that she has a sizable savings this time.”

Micah nodded and crossed his arms in front of him again. “Good. Because the first two times we met, one of us was naked because of her side jobs. I don’t want her meeting another unclothed guy again unless it’s me.”

Liam reached for him. “Are you fucking her?” he growled.

Micah batted Liam’s hand away. “Don’t do it, man.” He met Liam’s angry stare with an equally irritated expression of his own. “It’s none of your business what’s happening between me and your sister, but for the record, I don’t plan on leaving her.
Ever.
” He stressed the last word through gritted teeth. “I care about her like I’ve never cared about any other woman.”