Kept (26 page)

But she knew how this went. Even with no expectations on her side, she knew the more she said it the more she’d want to hear it back. Until not hearing it would eat at her like tiny vermin nibbling away until she got smaller and started wondering what was so wrong with her that no one could love her back.

She shoved the self-pity aside. Whether he said the words or not, she knew he cared for her, more than a lot of the guys who had professed to be in love with her. None of them would have questioned her family and risked their lives to come after her.

That had to count for something.

She dozed off again, waking to find his legs between hers as he slid into her from behind. He eased in slowly, plucking at her nipples, dipping his fingers in her folds to rub her clit till she was flooded with heat and slick with need. He fucked her slow and deep, making her come twice before he finally groaned against her neck and stiffened behind her.

When she woke again, bright afternoon sun streamed
through the drapes, cutting across the carpet and the bedspread to catch them directly in the face.

“I guess we better get up,” Derek mumbled.

Alyssa sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, wincing at the pull of overused muscles and the slight ache between her thighs. As she headed for the bathroom she saw him grab his phone. She could hear the low rumble of him talking as she stepped under the spray.

The shower curtain whipped back just as she was rinsing her hair. She squealed in protest as Derek climbed inside, crowding her against the slick tile wall as he took up all the space.

“You’re unbelievable,” she said on a breathless giggle when she felt him, once again rock hard against her stomach. But she didn’t resist when he pulled her on her tiptoes for his kiss and ran his soap-slicked hands all over her body.

She flinched a little when his hand slid between her thighs. Even the gentle touch was too much for her tender flesh.

“You’re sore, aren’t you, baby?” he murmured, easing up until his fingers barely hovered over her.

“A little,” she said apologetically. “I think I’ve gotten more action in the last five days than I have in the last five years.” She buried her face against his chest, not wanting to lose contact even if she couldn’t have sex. “What are you doing?” she said when he knelt down in front of her.

He shot her a devilish grin, sexier than sin as the water ran down the hard lines of his face and even harder lines of his body. “I’m going to kiss you all better.”

“You don’t—” Her words locked in her throat as his lips and tongue slid over her in a touch that was as soothing as it was viciously arousing. “You don’t have to—” she tried again, the protest lost in a moan as his tongue thrust deep.

“I want to,” he said, the soft, sucking sounds of his lips bouncing off the tile and driving her insane. “I love going down on you, licking you, sucking you off. Tasting your
pussy is almost as good as fucking it.” Another sucking caress. “Your hot peach juice running over my tongue. I want to drink up every last drop.”

He kept whispering to her between sucks and licks, hot, filthy things that made her face flame and her body melt. If it had been anyone else she would have been embarrassed and turned off. But the way he touched her, the way he talked to her, was different. Like something had finally busted free inside him until he couldn’t hold himself back.

She threaded her fingers in his wet hair, pulled him closer, needing him, wanting him, loving him as he took her over the edge and sent her hurtling off into space.

When Alyssa came back to herself she urged him to his feet, pulling his face up for her kiss. He stood under the spray, his wide shoulders nearly spanning the width of the tub. Water rippled over him, streaming down his torso, washing over his jutting cock.

She closed her fist around him, squeezed him from root to tip. He closed his hand over hers. “I’m fine. You don’t have to.”

She ignored him and grabbed the bottle of hair conditioner resting in the corner of the tub. She poured some into her palm and slicked it over him, smiling in satisfaction as every muscle tensed and he let out a rough curse.

“Show me,” she said, pumping him in her fist. “Show me how fast and how hard.”

He covered her hand, his grip desperate, almost painful as he showed her how he liked to be stroked. She kissed his chest, flicking her tongue over his flat, dark nipples.

He let go of her hand, and she kept up the pace, squeezing and pumping as her other hand cupped and caressed his balls. She watched, enthralled as the head got thicker and darker, pearls of precome beading at the tip.

She looked up to find him watching her through slitted
eyes, his lips parted and swollen as his breath came in tearing pants. “Christ,” he breathed. “Alyssa. Jesus.”

She felt him throb, pumping like a heartbeat in her hand. Thick jets of come erupted over her hand. As he watched, shaking like a broken horse, she lifted her hand and delicately licked a thick, salty drop into her mouth.

He lifted her off her feet and pinned her to the wall so he could kiss her. She felt him fumble with the faucet. The water shut off, and he lifted her out of the tub, grabbing haphazardly at towels as he half dragged, half carried her into the hallway.

“You keep messing with me, little girl.” He chuckled. “And you are going to get yourself in all kinds of trouble.”

“Yeah, well, if you don’t put some pants on, we’re all going to be blinded by the whiteness of your ass.”

They both froze as the deep male voice cut through Alyssa’s sexual fog.

“Shit,” Derek said, using his body to block her from view as he wrapped a towel first around her and then around himself. Satisfied she was covered, he moved so she had an unimpeded view of the two men and a woman standing in the living room of the safe house.

T
HE WOMAN SPOKE first, offering Alyssa a tentative smile. “I’m Toni,” she said, pretending Alyssa and Derek weren’t soaking wet, naked, and about to do it in the hallway. But Toni’s porcelain complexion wouldn’t let her disguise her embarrassment. “Sorry we busted in at a bad time.”

Alyssa decided to brazen it out, offering her hand to Toni, who was enviably tall and curvy with a striking Snow White–meets punk-rock-look. “Alyssa Miles. No worries. Not like most of the world hasn’t already seen me naked.”

Toni smiled and hefted the shopping bag slung over her arm. “Well, if you want to cover up, Derek asked me to bring you some clothes.”

“Thanks.” Alyssa reached out and stroked Derek’s arm, touched by his thoughtfulness.

He nodded and moved away, his cheeks flushing deep red under the scrutiny of the two men. Heat flooded her own face as she met their inquisitive stares.

The first she recognized as Derek’s brother Ethan. Though she’d been drifting in and out of consciousness the day before, Derek’s twin had a face that was impossible to forget. And not only because it resembled Derek’s so strongly.

With his dark hair, crystal-blue eyes and physique rivaled only by Derek and the other man, Ethan undoubtedly made
an impression on every heterosexual female who got within ten feet of him. He flashed her a grin that might have melted her panties if she’d been wearing any and greeted her with a wave of his big, tanned hand. “Good to see you back on your feet.”

The other man stood with his thumbs hooked in the waistband of his cargo pants. His black T-shirt stretched across about an acre of muscled chest, the sleeves struggling to accommodate the swell of biceps that were as big around as her waist. His speculative gray gaze flicked between her and Derek, who stood, arms folded across his naked chest. With his chiseled features and thick, dark hair, he had to be the third Taggart brother.

“Alyssa, this is my oldest brother, Danny,” Derek said.

Danny’s only greeting was a sharp nod before he pinned Derek with a steely stare. “How about you two get some clothes on so we can figure out what the fuck is going on here.”

They retreated to the bedroom, the playful, sexy mood having evaporated.

“Sorry about the way they just showed up,” Derek said as he pulled on his jeans. “When I talked to Ethan earlier I didn’t think they’d get here this fast.”

Alyssa pulled on the navy scoop-neck T-shirt and jeans Toni had brought, surprised they actually fit. “Yeah, you probably also didn’t plan on taking a forty-five-minute shower,” she teased and then felt her grin slip away as the realization of why they were here, the truth she had to face, sank in. People wanted her dead, and now they had to find out why. She shrugged. “I had to face reality sooner rather than later.”

She moved to the door as he was pulling a T-shirt over his head. He caught her arm before she could leave the room. “Everything’s going to be okay,” he said and pulled her against his chest. “We’re going to find out who’s behind this and why, and everything is going to be fine.” He cupped her face,
tilting her head back as he bent his head for a kiss. Soft, warm, infinitely reassuring. “I promise I’ll keep you safe until this whole thing is over.”

“Then what?” she asked before she could stop herself.

His dark brows pulled together in a puzzled frown. “What do you mean?”

She licked her lips and cursed herself for bringing it up now. “Nothing. Never mind.” She wasn’t positive, but she thought she saw relief flash in his eyes. She pulled away from his hold and joined the others in the living room.

Danny had switched on the television and tuned it to a news station. He stood stone still, arms folded as he stared at the screen.

Toni sat at the kitchen table, her fingers tapping at the keyboard of her laptop. Ethan stood behind her, his hands resting on the back of her chair as he studied the screen. He pointed at something, and when he pulled his hand back he rested it on her shoulder, running his fingers along her neck in an unconsciously proprietary caress. Toni leaned into the touch without missing a beat.

Though they weren’t overtly affectionate, it took only a few seconds for Alyssa to realize that despite the charming grin and appreciative look Ethan had offered her earlier, there was a deep current of affection and intimacy running between him and Toni.

Just then Derek walked into the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee. Without asking, he scooped two teaspoons of sugar in one and handed it to Alyssa.

“Did you find anything on Abbassi?” he asked as he rummaged through the bag of sandwiches the others had brought.

Alyssa’s stomach roiled at the mere mention of his name, the memory of his hand closing brutally over her breast as she lay helpless all the more terrifying because it was so vague. Derek offered her half a crusty roll piled high with meat and
cheese. Alyssa refused with a shudder, the coffee souring in her stomach.

“Not much,” Toni said, and Alyssa moved closer to hear her over the noise from the television. “He’s involved in everything from oil speculation to commercial real estate. And as far as I can tell, everything about Louis Abbassi and his diamond-cutting operation check out clean.”

“The guy I met with the other night said Louis was dealing with warlords in Africa, transporting weapons for diamonds.” Everyone turned to stare at her in surprise.

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Derek asked, and she felt her hackles rise at the irritation in his voice.

“Sorry,” she snapped. “I guess I got distracted by the whole getting-drugged-and-kidnapped-and-drugged-some-more thing. It’s taking a while for the last few days to come back into focus.”

Derek’s mouth immediately softened in apology. “Sorry,” he said and caught her to him in a one-armed hug. He leaned in close and said, so only she could hear, “And it’s not like we did a lot of talking when you were awake.”

Alyssa gave a little laugh as he pulled away. When she looked up, she saw that everyone was still staring, but this time at Derek, as if he’d grown a horn out of the center of his forehead.

“What?” he said.

“Nothing,” Toni said too quickly as she turned back to her computer screen.

Ethan and Danny looked at each other, back at Derek, then back at each other.

“You ever see that thing on
Wild Kingdom
?” Danny asked Ethan. “You know, where the gazelle adopted a lion?”

“Yeah.” Ethan nodded. “I know exactly what you mean.”

Alyssa didn’t, but Derek must have, because he blasted his brothers with a glare and muttered, “Fuck off,” before
he released her. “Tell me everything you can remember,” he said, turning back to her, “starting with your meeting with—what’s his name?”

“Martin Fish,” Alyssa replied. She sucked down the last of the coffee and poured another cup, hoping the caffeine would hone the fuzzy memories of the last few days. “He said he was a reporter—” Her words choked in her throat as her gaze caught on the TV screen, which showed a close-up of a man in his late forties with a long nose, shaggy hair, and bad glasses. The goatee was gone, but there was no mistaking the man. “That’s him. What are they saying about him?”

Danny aimed the remote and cranked the volume. Alyssa’s stomach knotted in dawning horror as she listened to the newscaster’s voice-over.

“The body of a man found murdered in his room at the Marina Motor Inn yesterday has been identified as Martin Fish, a freelance journalist whose pieces on international politics have appeared in national publications. At this time police believe Mr. Fish interrupted a robbery of his room late Thursday. San Francisco police are urging anyone with information to call this number.”

Alyssa felt the coffee mug slide from her numb fingers as the anchorwoman read the number. “Someone must have followed us,” she said.

“Did you tell anyone besides me where you were going?” Derek asked.

“No.” She shook her head. “Andy knew I was meeting someone. She must have called Louis or something.” She pressed her fingertips against her eyes. She didn’t want to break down here, not in front of three granite-hard men and one tough-as-nails woman. But it was hard not to lose it as the full force of her assistant’s betrayal hit her. She was so stupid, falling for Andy’s act. And she’d repaid Alyssa by drugging her and handing her over to people who wanted her dead.

“I don’t think she knew about Louis,” Derek said. “Richard’s the one who put her up to drugging you. I don’t think she realized what they planned.”

Alyssa nodded. That softened the blow, barely. “When I met with Martin, he told me Louis’s cutting business was a way to move the diamonds into the market.”

“Blood diamonds,” Toni murmured.

Alyssa nodded. “Because we entered into the agreement with Louis, the Van Weldts are his largest customer. If what Martin claims is true, we’re running in a river of red.”

“In your message you said he had information about your father,” Derek said. “What about that?”

Alyssa dug her fingers into the base of her skull where a knot of tension had formed and was starting to throb. “He didn’t have any proof. Only that he interviewed my father shortly before his death. He asked my father some questions about where Louis got his diamonds. My dad got upset, cut the interview short. But Martin thinks maybe Dad did a little digging. And someone—Louis, I guess, and Richard—wanted him to keep it quiet.”

“But that’s just a theory, right?” Danny said, running an impatient hand through his hair. “No proof.”

Alyssa shook her head. “That’s what I said. But he told me I needed to look at the evidence myself, see what was really happening, then see if I was as willing to cover for my family.”

They all looked at her expectantly. “What was the evidence?” Ethan finally asked. “Photos? Documents? What?”

“It was a Web site,” Alyssa said. “He wrote down an address and a password on a card and told me to look at it.” She paused, closed her eyes, and dropped her head. “But I lost the card somewhere between the bar and my house,” she said, not wanting to open her eyes, not wanting to see the disappointment in Derek’s eyes as he realized she was, indeed, the brain-dead bimbo the press made her out to be.

“It’s okay,” he said, curving his hand around her neck,
his fingers honing in on the knot, rubbing until she was weak in the knees. “Try to visualize the card. Can you remember any of the information?”

Like a billboard, the URL popped into her head. “FishBait. FishBait.org,” she said, but her excitement faded immediately. “But it’s password protected—”

“Not a problem.” Toni gave her a dismissive wave and turned to her screen. “Give me ten minutes. Twenty, tops.”

As Toni set herself to hacking into Fish’s Web site, Derek gave Alyssa’s shoulder a last squeeze and went to where Danny was standing in the cottage’s small living room. “Any more news about”—he wasn’t sure how to phrase it—“the bodies?”

“Nothing to help us out,” Danny said, his mouth tight, unable to hide his anger no matter how hard he tried. “Everything’s so wrecked from the landslide, it’s going to be hard to find any evidence. The older female’s teeth are so jacked up, dental records aren’t going to help us any.”

“Shit.” Now they really were in for weeks, maybe months, of waiting for a DNA match.

Danny nodded. “Selfish bitch won’t stop haunting us,” he said, fury turning his eyes the sooty shade of storm clouds. “And the stupid old man keeps letting her do it.” He turned his attention back to the television. But Derek knew he wasn’t really watching. Behind Danny’s unseeing gaze his brain was seething with nearly two decades of anger and resentment. At their mother who left them, and at their father who couldn’t let go.

For all he tried to pretend he didn’t give a shit that their depressed, alcoholic mother had run out on them, Danny had turned his grief into an impenetrable cynicism that didn’t invite close relationships with anyone.

Derek understood too well. But he’d always secretly thought himself superior to both of his brothers because, unlike those two, who only
pretended
not to care, Derek really
didn’t care. Other than his family, he didn’t allow himself to get emotionally invested in anything or anyone.

Or so he’d thought. Then Alyssa Miles had sauntered into his life and blown all that to fucking hell.

The cottage was suddenly too small, stifling, and he went outside to stand on the small redwood deck that stood a couple feet off the cottage’s overgrown yard. He sucked in deep breaths, tasted the first bite of fall in the late afternoon air. Yeah, Alyssa had knocked everything askew. And in admitting he cared about her, he had to admit he cared about some other things, too.

“Hey.” Her light footfalls sounded on the deck as she stepped out. Goose bumps rose on her arms, and her nipples puckered against the stretchy front of her shirt. He knew for a fact she wasn’t wearing a bra. He let himself dwell on that, grateful for the distraction from too deep thoughts about losing his self-imposed identity as an iceman.

Well, not entirely an iceman, he thought as heat pooled low in his belly.

“You were talking about your mom, weren’t you? You and Danny?”

Heat receded, replaced by old hurt he’d managed to keep at bay for the last eighteen years, but hadn’t stopped nagging him since that morning at the beach house when Alyssa had poked and prodded and finally sent him over the edge. He’d fractured on landing, and now little bits kept oozing out, demanding to be pulled out and examined fully before tucked back away. “Yeah.”

She slid her arms around his waist and tucked her head up under his chin. He stiffened reflexively, not wanting to have this conversation here and now. Or ever.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” she said, squeezing him harder, her warmth seeping into his skin. Until he couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair.

He would have laughed if he weren’t so afraid it would sound more like a sob. He’d never been with anyone like her, who offered herself up without reservation. He’d purposely avoided dating women who tried to have any sort of deep, emotional connection, who would ever openly profess their feelings without provocation.