Lotus Blossom (13 page)

She was turning in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom when Dash entered from the hall. “How do I look?”

“Wonderful.”

Lotus saw the heat in his eyes and she felt like preening. She lifted her chin, sucked in her tummy, and inhaled.

“Darling, you are lethal enough already. Don’t try to arm yourself any more than you are. You’re shooting me down as it is.” His body reacted to her at once. He grinned at her ruefully when he saw her eyes drop down to the revealing bulge in his trousers. “We’ll have to hope my jacket camouflages your effect on me, angel. I can’t seem to control what you do to me.” He slipped into the jacket he had been holding over his shoulder with one finger. “Do I look covered enough?”

Lotus let her eyes rove over him as he stood before her in the gray silk evening suit, the fine silver threads the same shade as his gray-blue eyes and making the silver lights in his hair gleam. "You’re gorgeous,” she told him.

He felt the blood cascading through his veins at her words, his heart thumping painfully in his chest. He struggled to control his ragged breathing. “You do have a way with words, angel.”

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you’re gorgeous?” Lotus chuckled feeling like Wonder Woman all at once, feeling such a rush of love and gratitude
for
him. He had accepted that her uncle was innocent! He was already committed to finding out who the real criminal was!
She
felt humble

and proud that she was with Dash. What an awesome fate had led her to him!

“Maybe. I don’t know. Even if they did, it sure never mattered as much as it does now,” he drawled, the lazy heat of his smile reaching out for her. “Shall we go?”

“Yes.” Lotus felt helium light as she glided toward him.

“Will I muss your lip gloss if I kiss you?”

Lotus lifted her head. “Kiss proof.”

Dash’s mouth covered hers in a deep, searching kiss. He had to push back from her, his breathing ragged. “Darling, we have to go.”

The taxi ride along Fifth Avenue was a blur to Lotus because Dash held her, but when she saw that they were pulling up in front of the Plaza Hotel, she gasped. “I’ve always wanted to dine here.”

“You’ll like the Edwardian Room.” Dash watched her, passion and amusement filling him as her head swiveled every which way as they entered the side door and walked along the short corridor to the Edwardian Room.

“I like piano,” Lotus said when the maitre d’ led them to a cozy table in the corner so that one view was toward Central Park, the other toward the square across from Bergdorf Goodman. She stared at the graceful brunette playing the instrument, her hands flying over the keys as she played a Gershwin tune. “She’s quite good, isn’t she?”

“New Yorkers are very sophisticated even to the cab drivers, bus drivers, maids, you name it. they demand the best . . . and they get it in New York. There is very little second best here.” Dash smiled at her, then nodded to the wine steward to bring

Dorn Perignon, ordering prawns Pernod at the same time. “I know you like seafood.”

Lotus smiled and nodded, wondering at herself. If her brothers had ordered without asking her, she would have railed at them, but she let Dash do it without a murmur.

He leaned toward her. “I won’t do it again. I know you’re independent, but I wanted you to taste this dish. It’s very special.”

“You read my mind?”

“I could see it bothered you that I had ordered for both of us.”

“It should have bothered me. I don’t know why it didn’t,” Lotus told him frankly. “You have a strange effect on me.”

“God! Tell me about strange effects.” Dash hovered over her while they drank the champagne and ate.

The only person who claimed their attention was the pianist and then only when she played a love ballad.

From the Plaza they went to Regine’s where they danced.

It stunned Lotus at how easily Dash moved through each motion of the slow or fast dancing. He was liquid movement. “Thank you for being she murmured to him, bending her head back to look at him, chuckling when she saw the bemused expression on his face.

He shook his head. “I won’t bother to ask what’s going through your head now.” His voice was thick as he bent over her.

When at last they took a cab home, Dash held
t
and kissed her. Even in the elevator that took them to the apartment he embraced her. Lotus

knew she would have been angry with him had he not taken her right to bed and made love to her all night.

The sun was coming up slowly when she remembered that there was much more to discuss about the Sinclair file. How would they go about searching for the person who had masqueraded as her

uncle?

CHAPTER FIVE

Lotus’s body ached when she awoke, but she felt as though she were seeing life anew. Yet, her limbs felt heavy. Her body seemed to have a density to it that it had never had. She was very much in love.

"Hello.” Dash rolled her over on top of him. Hello,” Lotus breathed, loving the way her hair curtained them from the world.

I've put the coffee on and I came back to this room to waken you, but when I saw your little backside, I had to get back in bed.”

Did you?” Lotus felt tingly. Then she remembered, masking a yawn behind her hand. “Should we talk more about the file?”

“So talk, darling.”

“Right here. Shouldn’t we get up? I should dress.” 'Here is fine.”

Lotus stared down at him, not wanting the world they had built between them to crack and crumble. She sighed. “It’s not a long story.”

"Go on.”

"I didn’t break into your office. As you know, Richard took Hans’s attention away so that I could

slip in the door. I did break into your safe. I’ll show you the tool. I told you a little about my uncle last night and how ill he is. I did it to clear his name of running up gambling debts at your casino and skimming money from our company to pay for them.”

“Go on.”

“He couldn’t do such a thing. He's incapable of being anything but forthright. That’s why I wanted the file. I don’t know who signed his name but it wasn’t my uncle.”

“Who do you think did this?” Dash probed in quiet tones.

“I don’t know.”

“You can’t think of anyone?”

“No. It must have been a stranger. Someone who has access to the company . . .

“That doesn’t make sense, love. How could a stranger juggle the books? What type of accounting department does the company bave?”

“The company is called Sinclairs, after our family My great-grandfather was a friend of George Eastman, the founder of Kodak,” Lotus said, repeating the proud maxim of the family in a distracted way. She gulped a shaky breath. “It has to be a stranger, Dash. Most of the employees at Sinclairs, in every department, have been there for years. Loyalty is a built-in commodity.”

“Gambling can get out of control, like drinking or drugs get out of control. There are no friends just the game, the thrill, the roll of the dice.
An
addicted person will do almost anything to satisfy the craving.” He stroked her. “And then there is the person who has a larcenous soul. they don’t come with a mask and gun, Lotus. Son of them wear business suits and carry briefcases, but they systematically rob the companies or persons they work for year after year. How many times have you read about a lawyer or business manager dipping into another’s income? Thievery has many faces, some of them sophisticated.”

Lotus studied him. “I guess I know you’re right, but it’s very hard to accept that someone like that works at Sinclairs.”

Dash kissed her throat, his hand going over her like a sensuous feather. “Maybe I’m way off the target, sweetheart.”

“And maybe you’re not.” She sighed. She smiled at him, feeling her lips tremor. “If we are to keep talking, you’ll have to stop rubbing my backside. My concentration is slipping.”

Dash chuckled throatily. “Tell me about it.” Lotus let her head sink on his chest. “Let me finish. This isn’t easy.”

All right.” Dash’s breath lifted the fine hair on her brow. “Go on with your story.”

Lotus’s insides felt raw as she recalled those days just after the discovery was made by an out-side auditing firm that had always come in and done the books twice a year. “When the officers of Denton, Denton and Fix came to my father’s and uncle's offices that day, I was there, working, as I Usually did whenever there was a break in my studies."

"This is when you were in the master’s program at the university?”

Rochester Institute of Technology, actually, Thy have a fine Graphic Arts department.”

"And you wanted to be a photographer?”

Yes. I have always wanted to be a photographic

journalist, especially an overseas correspondent, but I have been sidetracked a few times.”

“You’re beautiful enough to be in front of the camera as a model, not behind it as a photographer.”

“I did do a little modeling but I like the camera work best.”

“Did you model in Rochester?” Dash felt a choking constriction in his throat and chest. Jealousy! He’d never experienced such an emotion before meeting Lotus.

“Some, but not much.”

Dash had a vivid vision of her doing lingerie modeling and flinched. “We’re getting away from the subject. You were telling me about the accounting firm confronting your uncle and father.”

“Yes. They told them the attempts to juggle the books were done by someone knowledgeable in accounting and that the handwriting was familiar to them. . .” Lotus gulped and pressed her face into Dash’s chest. “It was uncle’s handwriting, and he had signed the pages, but he swore he didn’t do it.” She jerked her head up. “And we all believe him . . . but, it came out in the papers anyway.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “God! I never cry!” She gasped. “He turned into a ghost overnight.”

Dash rolled her on her side next to him, reaching down to lick the tears from her cheeks. “Darling, don’t.”

“He’s such a good man. His face went from sunny health to gray. He stopped smiling. He wouldn’t look at anyone. Then he had the stroke. Lotus sobbed.

“Damn it. I’ll find out who did this. And as for the debts, darling, they’re canceled.”

Lotus dried her face with her hand. “No. My family always pays its debts. We’ll pay this one.”

Dash looked down at her, her tear-filled eyes having an emerald luster, her pink-white skin flushed as she struggled with her agitation. Her blue-black hair was in damp strands across her face as his fingers gently lifted it away from her skin. “You are so very beautiful, my China doll.”

“Thank you.” Lotus tried to smile at him.

Dash grasped her close to him, his face in her hair. “God, darling, I won’t let anything make you cry.”

Lotus lifted her arms and twined them round his neck. “I don’t think I’m going to get breakfast.” She gave him a watery smile.

“Not at this moment, no.” Dash growled into her ear, his mouth sliding down her frame, touching every pore and pulse point on her body.

Again the life force filled them and exploded in kaleidoscope around them, showering them with electric bliss of sensual love.

Oh, I do like that,” Lotus simpered, blowing in his ear.

You are a little devil,” Dash whispered, patting her behind. “Now get yourself out of this bed, woman, or we’ll never fly to Rochester.”

'I forgot.” Lotus shot to a sitting position.

Dash grinned at her as he rose to his feet, pulling

her with him. “Think nothing of it, angel. I’ve forgotten a multimillion dollar deal . . . and it doesn't bother me,” he finished, amazed at what he had just said. It was true! It didn’t bother him fear he'd put a mega-bucks deal in jeopardy just to be with Lotus.

They showered, Dash telling her ruefully that he had better take his shower in the extra bathroom of the suite. “I couldn’t take a shower with you . . . and not caress you, China Doll.”

Lotus was appalled at the sense of loss she felt when he left her. “Pull yourself together, girl,” she chided herself while scrubbing her head. “He isn’t your lifelong companion. You’ll lose him to someone, or something else in the not too distant future, so bite the bullet, kid,” she muttered to herself as she toweled her body dry.

When she returned to the bedroom wearing only bikini briefs and lacy bra, she started to repack the few things she had taken from her duffel bag, putting everything on the bed she had just made and carefully folding them. She was still bent over, putting things into her duffel bag, when she heard the guttural sound behind her.

“God! I thought you wanted to get out of here today.” Dash was braced against the doorjamb.

Lotus grinned and straightened, not pretending to misunderstand him. “I do. We have to leave in twenty minutes, according to the time I heard you mention when you called the airfield.”

“Then stop walking around in that peach-colored stuff.” He grumbled, glaring at her when she laughed. “Testing your powers, darling?”

“Don’t be silly.” Lotus chuckled.

“i’m not the one strolling around in micro lingerie,” He snapped, his eyes roving her from head to feet.

“I’m standing still.” She poked her tongue at him, grabbed at the blouse and cotton trousers' she would be wearing, and sprinted for the bathroom.

“You’re a siren, lady.” Dash’s words came through the door, making her laugh.

She stared at herself in the mirror, the high color in her face, the emerald glitter of her eyes. “You love teasing him. It does make you feel powerful.” She nodded at her mirror image. “I want the wonderful feeling he gives me. I want to love him,” she whispered to herself. Was she deluding herself? She stared at the eyes shining with happiness that stared back at her. Was she building a dream out of pink fluff that would blow away at the first puff of trouble? She tried to send concise sensible reasons for being cautious to her brain, but all she could think of was being with Dash today, tomorrow, and all the other days in the future.

In a flurry of left-behind things to be returned for, and a jacket that she had misplaced, Lotus was out of breath and red in the face as they went down in the elevator to the waiting cab. “How do you manage to keep cool?” she quizzed him resentfully, scowling at his calm demeanor.