Murder Game (29 page)

Sharon looked at Kadan as if he was a hero, but one glance at Don Meadows told Kadan that the man didn’t have the same opinion of him. He sent Tansy’s father a hard look. No, they weren’t going to get along at all, but Daddy didn’t realize Kadan didn’t give a damn whether he was liked or not. Only whether the man meant harm to Tansy.

“I’m sorry, Mom, I was just so happy that everyone managed to get out alive,” Tansy said. “This is Kadan Montague, my . . .”

She looked so confused that Kadan took her hand and brought it to his mouth. “Fiancé, Mrs. Meadows. I’m the man who is going to marry your daughter.”

Tansy’s eyebrow shot up, her gaze still held captive by Kadan’s.
You sort of forgot to ask me.

I’m asking you now.

Her heart jumped. He was covered in blood, looked weary as hell, had a torn shirt and a smashed vest, bruises on his chest, but he stood in front of her, head unbowed, eyes flickering with blue ice, holding his breath. She felt that. The air caught in his lungs. Need beat at her. Desire pounded at her.
His.
His emotions that he barely recognized, frozen he thought, volcanic she knew—those emotions were for her.

Well, okay then.
How the hell could she ever resist him? Not with his hands running up and down her arms and that stark look of need in his eyes whether he knew it or not.

“What the hell is going on here, Tansy?” Don Meadows demanded, breaking the spell.

Tansy glanced at her father. “I’m introducing you to the man I’m in love with, Dad.”

Don scowled and took an aggressive step forward. The moment he moved, Kadan shifted, his body angled to protect Tansy. As a unit, his team went into position, Nico circling behind Meadows, Tucker and Ian flanking Kadan. Gator sauntered over toward the door, giving himself a clear line of fire to both Sharon and Don. Ryland slipped behind Tansy.

Don froze instantly. “We don’t know the first thing about this man. We’ve never even heard of him before. I hardly think you can be in love with him, Tansy. Tell him it’s all a mistake and you’d like him to leave.”

“What you mean is I’m not good enough for her.” Kadan goaded him, using his quietest voice, knowing the contrast between his low, mesmerizing tone and Don’s harsh manner would be grating on Tansy.

“Hell no,” Don burst out, clearly furious. His face went dark with anger, and he took another step toward his daughter, unable to stop himself, in spite of the threat of Kadan’s team. “This is bullshit, Tansy. Who are these men? What do they want? I don’t believe you’d take up with this . . . this
mercenary
for a moment.”

Tansy gasped in outrage. “I suppose mercenaries are good enough to employ to put their bodies between yours and a bullet, but not good enough to marry your daughter.”

“Keep quiet, Tansy. You’re in enough trouble.”

“Don,” Sharon interrupted. “What in the world is wrong with you? This man saved our lives. It’s obvious Tansy has known him.”

“Nothing is obvious,” Don snapped, his tone dismissive. “You don’t have a clue what’s going on here, either of you.”

Don Meadows was clearly a man who ruled his world and was used to obedience from those around him. They certainly addressed him in tones of respect, and Kadan was certain no one had ever put a boot on Don’s neck. The tread patterns were still there, faint, but discernible.

Kadan settled gentle fingers around Tansy’s arm and drew her completely behind him, shielding her from her father’s wrath. “Settle down, Mr. Meadows. I’ll admit that I’m nowhere near good enough for Tansy, but fortunately, it doesn’t seem to matter to her. Right now, before we get into anything personal, we have to clear up a little business.”

Meadows’s lip curled with contempt. “Of course. Now the truth comes out. How much?”

Kadan remained silent, simply raising an eyebrow. When Tansy would have moved, Ian and Ryland moved up on either side of her, caging her in without seeming to.

“To make you go away. How much is it going to cost me?”

Kadan smiled and there was no humor in the baring of his teeth. He looked what he was: dangerous, predatory—and mean. “You don’t have enough money to make me go away, Mr. Meadows. I suggest you sit down and answer a few questions for me.”

“Dad! Why are acting this way? These men risked their lives to get you free. Fredrickson and Watson would have killed Mom and maybe you as well. You owe them your lives and you’re embarrassing me.”

“You don’t know the type of men you’re dealing with, Tansy, but I do.” Don made every effort to soften his voice. “Honey, these men are employed by Whitney. They have to be.” He snapped his fingers at her, beckoning her to come to him.

None of the men moved, making it virtually impossible for Tansy to go to him even if she’d been so inclined. Instead she glared at her father. “You’re wrong, Dad,” Tansy said. “Fredrickson was employed by Whitney, not Kadan and his men.”

“Actually, Mr. Meadows,” Kadan said, his voice pitched very low. “I’d like to ask you about
your
relationship with Dr. Whitney.”

There was a small silence. Don’s face reddened more, as if his blood pressure was climbing. “That’s none of your business.”

Kadan kept silent, simply waiting. The tension in the room grew thick.

Sharon pressed a hand to her mouth and shook her head. “We despise Peter Whitney.”

“Sharon.” Don’s voice was a lash.

His wife flinched, but she stared at him defiantly. “I said it aloud. I don’t care if he knows. I despise the man and want him out of our lives. I want him out of our daughter’s life.”

Kadan reached behind him and tangled his fingers with Tansy’s.
Your mother is telling the truth.
He had to give Tansy that much. She was appalled at her father’s behavior. Appalled and embarrassed that he would dismiss so casually the men who had saved his life. She was also terribly afraid that he was very mixed up in Whitney’s business. Kadan wanted her to know that even if her father was guilty, her mother wasn’t.

“Did you know Fredrickson worked for Whitney?”

Don pressed his lips together in disapproval, refusing to speak.

Sharon shook her head. “We were so shocked. Whitney is a madman, and he’s been attaching himself to our family for years. We hired Fredrickson because Whitney began to scare us—well, scare me. I was afraid of him, and I didn’t understand what he wanted from Tansy. He arranged our adoption, and at first I was so grateful, but even when she was little, Tansy didn’t like him, and I wanted her to see another doctor for her . . . disorder.” She glanced at her daughter in apology, but Tansy was looking at her father with open shock on her face.

“Why didn’t you get another doctor for her?” Kadan asked quietly.

“That’s none of your business!” Don roared. “Sharon. I forbid this. Our private life has nothing to do with these people. You’re exhausted and scared. There’s no need to continue this discussion right this moment.” He looked at Kadan, openly challenging him. “Is there? Your men look like they could use a shower and a good night’s sleep. You’ve got blood all over you. I suggest we take this up in the morning.”

He wants the chance to talk to Mom alone and tell her not to say anything to you—or to me. He hired Fredrickson when Mom was so scared for us. He had to have known all along Fredrickson worked for Whitney.

There was quiet acceptance in Tansy’s voice and that hurt more than tears. She didn’t need to hear anymore.

Kadan shrugged. “Good enough. We have a room ready for you. The place is well guarded, Mrs. Meadows, and we’ve got alarms on all the doors and windows. The phones aren’t working at the moment, but we have plenty of food if you get hungry. One of my men will be around, just ask him to show you whatever you need.” He took Tansy’s hand and tugged. “We’ll say good night now.”

She didn’t look at either of her parents, but went with him without a word.

CHAPTER 12

Kadan padded on bare feet out of the bathroom to the bedroom, rubbing his hair with a towel, another slung loosely around his waist. Tansy hadn’t said much, other than to order him to go take a shower, once they’d gone to the master bedroom. He wasn’t certain what he was going to say to her, or how he would reply when she asked him what he intended to do about her father. He had no acceptable answer to give her.

He stopped dead when he entered the bedroom. The room was lit with low, flickering candles and smelled like heaven. Tansy sat on the bed naked, only her long hair covering her golden expanse of creamy skin. She looked sexy, a fantasy creature, lifting her eyes to his even as she rolled a bottle of oil between her hands to warm it.

“Where did you get all this?” He wasn’t even certain that was his voice, husky and low and already groaning with desire.

“I have my secrets.”

She flashed a mysterious smile, tipping her head to one side, her hair sliding over her one shoulder and down her back to pool on the soft sheets. Her breasts gleamed invitingly in the candlelight, her nipples already tight, tempting him to devour her.

“Come here.” She patted the bed. “I want you to lie down on your stomach.”

He opened his mouth to protest; lying down wasn’t what he had in mind, but there was something so secretive, so sensual in her expression, he lost his voice. He tossed the loose towel aside and shed the one around his waist, his shaft already growing hard in anticipation. He’d treated the small abrasions and lacerations over his body, but there was little he could do for the bruising. He just hoped she wouldn’t notice too much in the soft light. He stretched out facedown and cradled his head on his hands, eyes open to watch her every move.

Tansy leaned over him, her long hair brushing seductively over his back and sides. The feel of the silky strands sliding over his bare skin had his body tightening instantly. She began a slow massage at his neck, rubbing the scented oil deep into his skin. She paid very careful attention to every line of his muscle, every hard knot. She moved down his neck until he was groaning with pleasure, his body relaxing under her hands.

Her fingers traveled down his biceps with slow, mesmerizing strokes; she tugged until he straightened his arm, and she continued along his forearm, until she twined her oiled fingers with his. Each finger was lubricated and rubbed until he felt almost boneless. She started down the other arm, until once again she’d locked her fingers with his and then begun a slow, individual massage of each digit.

“Are you planning on putting that over my entire body?”

She began working his back muscles, rubbing harder in some spots and with a sensual circle that nearly drove him out of his mind in others. “Yes,” she answered softly. “Everywhere.”

His shaft jerked hard. “I’m leaking all over the bed,” he said, his voice going velvet. He was as hard as a rock, almost painfully so, even his balls tight. She was going to kill him, yet he’d never felt so completely at peace and happy.

Her hands followed the slope of his flank, kneading the tight muscles. Her hair brushed along the back of his thighs, and he jerked in shock when she bit him. The small sting sent lightning careening through his bloodstream and arcing over his skin. For a moment her oiled hand slid under him. He lifted his hips to accommodate her and her fist closed around his shaft, slick with the heated oil. He groaned in satisfaction as she stroked him several times, but when he went to turn over, she stopped.

“No, stay still.” Her hands went to the backs of his thighs, kneading and massaging the heavy muscles and then down to his calves and even his feet.

Kadan wasn’t certain he would survive. Her hands were exquisite on his muscles, and the oil grew warmer, heating more with the manipulation of her fingers, until his skin began first to tingle, and then to flicker with electrical shocks, charging deeper into tissue until fire streaked through his bloodstream and pooled low and sinfully wicked in his groin.

When he was groaning, so full and heavy he was afraid he would burst, she licked up his thigh to his flexing flank, biting again. “Turn over.”

He moved fast, wanting to drag her under him, but she shook her head and caught at his arms, bringing them over his head, leaning in, her breasts tantalizingly close to his mouth as she positioned his hands on the pillow.

“I’m not finished. You’re supposed to be enjoying this. I know I am.” She bent to brush a kiss along his mouth, then caught his lower lip between her teeth and tugged. “It’s only fair that I know every inch of you. If I’m marrying you, I should see what I’m getting.”

Her hands slid down his chest to find his heavy erection. She wrapped both well-oiled hands around his thick shaft, stroking, drawing the head toward her, leaning in to lick at the pearly drops she extracted. The velvet rasp of her tongue sent lightning lashing through him again. Her hands slid lower, beneath his sac, stroking upward, massaging the oil into his sensitive balls until his hips bucked nearly uncontrollably.

He reached for her, but she sank back onto her heels, kneeling just out of reach, shaking her head. “You’re supposed to do what I want tonight.”

“I am?” He lay back, watching her through half-closed eyes. She was so beautiful to him, there in the candlelight, taking the control, giving him more pleasure than he’d ever known in his life, than he’d ever known existed.

She nodded slowly and poured more oil into her hands. “Yes. You scared me tonight. I think that calls for a little cooperation, don’t you?”

Instead of massaging the oil into him, she began a slow massage into her shoulders and then down her arms. Kadan’s breath stilled when her hands cupped her breasts, slid over the creamy mounds, thumbs rubbing the oil into her nipples and kneading it into her skin until she gleamed in the soft candlelight. Her hands slid lower, tracing along her ribs and down her belly.

He touched his tongue to his lips. “I could help.”

She shook her head. “I’m watching you watch me.”

Kadan took a deep breath. He’d never seen anything so sexy in his life. Her hands slid over her body, taking her time, massaging the oil into every single square inch he wanted to taste. He could almost taste her now, a hint of cinnamon in his mouth mixed with wild honey. Her skin glowed in the soft light, her curves accented, her body open to his hungry gaze. Her skin loved the oil, absorbing it quickly until only the glow, scent, and that heightening awareness, the growing heat rushing through his system, remained.